This is a guest article by Curtis Allen. After the game today tune into the instant reaction live stream which will be available on here and on our YouTube channel
Fact: Pete Carroll has never had a losing season against the NFC West in his Seahawks tenure.
How has he been able to maintain such an impressive stretch of success? Answer: He gets to play the San Francisco 49ers twice a year.
Every team has a nemesis and Pete Carroll and the Seahawks have been the Niners’ kryptonite for a whole decade. In their last 20 matchups, the Seahawks have won an incredible 17 of those games.
And what is more – the three losses?
One was by two points.
Another was by three points in overtime.
The third? By 5 points. But really, it was more like 5 inches.
It is as good a record of success in a head-to-head matchup over a ten-year period as any we are likely to see. And 49er fans know it.
A brief anecdote, if you will allow it. I was able to fly to San Francisco for the Week 10 Monday Night game in 2019. The Niners were 8-0 and were delivering on their promise after a 4-12 season the year prior. The Seahawks were 7-2 and needed to win to keep pace.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric. Both teams came to play.
As you recall, it was a game of punches and counterpunches. The Seahawk offense sputtered early but were gifted 7 points by Jadeveon Clowney recovering a fumble for a touchdown.
The Niners responded by stripping D.K. Metcalf of the ball at the 1-yard line as he reached for the goal line. And so on and so forth.
They had a replacement kicker who heroically tied the game with a clutch field goal as time expired, then blew a chance to win the game in overtime with the worst kick I have ever seen in person.
After that, everyone in the stadium knew what was coming next. But they were forced to watch it unfold and could not look away. Russell Wilson led a game-winning drive that slowly drained the life out of the home fans in the stadium like Chinese water torture. As Jason Meyers kicked the winning field goal, Wilson and the Seahawks danced on the field in delight.
A perfect season, a chance to put the division in a headlock and for one moment the golden opportunity to finally wipe the smug smile off that gum-chewing so-and-so’s face had been snatched from them in painful fashion.
It just became too much to bear for one Niner fan exiting the stadium. He was quietly walking by himself a few steps in front of my friends and I, shoulders slumped in exhausted grief. Then, out of nowhere, he decided he had had enough. With an energy that came from deep down inside, he mustered everything he had and shouted with all his might “F*** PETE CARROLL !!” at the top of his lungs into the void. He took a breath, slumped his shoulders once again and resumed walking quietly.
Causing that kind of existential dread in your opponent’s fanbase is not something that happens every day. The Seahawks need to do their level best keep making Niner fans shaking their heads well into 2023.
While the Seahawks have been typically dominated by the Rams and split with the Cardinals, seeing the 49ers on the schedule – even with the talent on their roster and in the coaches’ room – is a welcome sight. If the Seahawks want to keep that division record streak alive, they are going to have to win Sunday. Which begs the question…
How Have They Been Doing It?
Oddly enough the Niners had a near-identical performance in a loss against Chicago in Week One that Denver had against the Seahawks. Both the Broncos and the Niners:
-Ran the ball effectively
-Outgained their opponent by over 100 yards
-Possessed the ball almost exactly 7 minutes more than their opponent
-Converted nearly 50% of their third downs
Those are normally the prime ingredients of a solid win. How did they both lose their games then?
They both:
-Got flagged an ugly 12 times
-Gave up a busted-coverage touchdown from a quarterback scrambling
-Lost the turnover battle 2-1
That is precisely how the Seahawks beat Denver on Monday and how Chicago beat San Francisco on Sunday.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is in one snapshot exactly why the Seahawks are 5-1 against the Niners in their last six games.
San Francisco has consistently outgained the Seahawks in yards. They have also accrued more penalties and turned the ball over more times than the Seahawks have.
This, oddly enough, is where the Seahawks’ defensive formula of conceding a ton of yards, keeping the game in front of them and stiffening in the red zone works for them. The opposing offense is on the field so often, they are bound to make a mistake sooner or later, be it by running out of downs, taking a drive-killing penalty or committing a turnover.
That is why Jimmy Garoppolo is on the bench in favor of Trey Lance. Until Trey Lance matures, forcing him into a place where he cannot make many explosive plays, so rather he needs to make very good decisions play after play after play will continue to be an important part of their success.
Of course, it only works to their advantage if the Seahawks continue to play a cleaner game than the Niners…
Play Smart
They beat Denver Monday by being far better in this area. But let’s be right: Denver set a low, low bar. Between twelve flags, two back-breaking turnovers, some bad Russell Wilson throws and a bone-headed decision to try an NFL-record field goal instead of giving your new quarterback a chance to be the hero, it would be easy to overlook the areas where the Seahawks need to improve.
D.K. Metcalf had a fumble that Denver recovered. Rashaad Penny got stripped at the end of a brilliant run (thankfully Austin Blythe was hustling downfield and fell on the ball). Geno Smith got strip-sacked and the Seahawks recovered the ball. He also did not execute a quarterback sneak very well on 4th and inches. Tariq Woolen gave up 52 yards on two pass interference flags. Both safeties had chances to intercept the ball and failed to make the game-changing play.
There are many opportunities for improvement.
And not to hammer the obvious once again but when you do not have a field-tilting franchise quarterback who can pull the game out late in the fourth quarter to cover over all those early-game mistakes, the impact of those bad plays is magnified.
They will need to be sharper on both sides of the ball if they are to beat San Francisco Sunday.
As well they will need a real commitment to being the superior ground team…
Beat Them On the Ground
The Seahawks have consistently been the better team in their matchup when it comes to running the football. While San Francisco has gotten more yards in the passing game (and therefore more overall yards), the Seahawks have been consistently been able to stick it to them by running the ball far more effectively.
How much better? In those last 6 games they have on average run for 30 more yards than the Niners. They have topped 100 yards rushing as a team in all 6 of those games, whereas San Francisco has only been able to do it twice.
Both teams are seriously committed to the run game. There really is no difference in how often they choose to run when playing each other. The Seahawks have just been more efficient, and therefore better, running an average of 4.25 yards per carry, where the Niners can only muster 3.75 yards.
This is where their model really works. 30 more yards rushing than your opponent in every game means more possession time. Which puts more pressure on the Niner offense to move down the field quickly when they finally do get the ball. Which is all the more frustrating when the Seahawks have built a defense to not get built deep and forces you to eat clock while you dink and dunk down the field. Which the Niners have struggled to do without a top quarterback at the helm. It is like being slowly suffocated by a snake coiled around its prey.
It is a trap that the Niners fall into time and time again.
Of course, there is no assurance the Seahawks will be able to do this again on Sunday. They have to earn it.
Rashaad Penny at times looked like he was just a break here or there from resuming his torrid play on Monday. However, the Seahawks only gave him 12 carries against the Broncos. While he did get 60 yards, they were hard earned. Penny only recorded 11 total yards before contact. That means on overage he had less than a yard per carry before he was contacted by a defender. Denver did an excellent job on the interior of the line keeping Penny from getting into gear.
It may be tough sledding again this week. David Montgomery is a good inside runner and could not get much going against the Niner defense. On the bright side, perhaps the Seahawks will get Damien Lewis and Ken Walker back from injury this week.
Whatever the case, the Seahawk offense is going to really need the running game to be effective.
On the flip side, that also means containing the Niners’ run game.
Elijah Mitchell will not play Sunday after sustaining an injury. That likely means that Deebo Samuel and Trey Lance will be the focus of their ground game.
Let’s look at Deebo’s carries Sunday against the Bears. What do you see from his run chart? He was primarily attacking the edges of the defense:
If they want to continue that trend, that is going to be a real challenge for the Seahawks .
Pete Carroll identified that on Wednesday when asked about defending the run against Denver:
“We were not consistent. We gave up too many plays on the edge and it wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”
His body language, short answer and wanting to move along to the next question said more than his words did. He expected better play there on Monday.
Samuel is so hard to defend in the run game because of his unique blend of speed and toughness. Watch him get to the edge Sunday before Al-Quadin Muhammad – who practically has a free release – can even get set (and give Eddie Jackson a serious pop at the goal line just for good measure).
This is where the change to a 3-4 defense really needs to work. In a 4-3 the edge players are bigger and more physical. In the 3-4 they are quicker to get to the outside and keep the runners from exploiting those wide edges like Samuel did on that touchdown run. Nwosu, Taylor, and Mafe will need to have an active game and help reroute runners inside where players like Jordyn Brooks are waiting for them.
Thankfully, they will get some edge support from the corners in the running game. Watch Tariq Woolen knock KJ Hamler on his butt and show no hesitance about going head on with Javonte Williams on Monday.
I am delighted that the hard-nosed physicality I saw in Woolen in practice is showing up when the games count. The defense definitely showed more intensity Monday night than we saw in 2021. Here is hoping it continues.
What about Trey Lance’s rushes? He had 13 of the Niners’ 37 rushes on Sunday. Six of those rushes gained first downs for the offense. I watched them all. I would say half those runs were scrambles to escape pressure, a quarter were designed runs, and the rest were ‘if your first read is not there and there is an opening, go’ type options.
This was his first game as the unquestioned starter and with the inclement weather, Kyle Shanahan gave him a simpler plan to work with. He took 51 of the 67 snaps from shotgun formation and Shanahan called for several quick throws and the option to take off and run.
The inside defensive lineman must be effective in order to defend Lance. If they keep him hemmed in, his inexperience may really shine through if his first read is not available and there is no hole to escape to. More than once on Sunday the Bears were able to frustrate him into dumping the ball off for minimal gains or poor off-schedule throws that missed their target (9 of his 28 throws were classed Bad Throws by PFR).
Again, this is where the 3 of the 3-4 should be advantageous. Al Woods, Poona Ford, Bryan Mone and Quentin Jefferson should be able to control the gaps. They did not accomplish this very well against the Broncos. Their PFF scores for Monday were far below the standard they need to be. Nobody broke a 60 in run defense or pass rushing except Mone who graded a 70, albeit in only 4 pass rush snaps.
The Seahawks have a fair chunk of cap invested there. They need a better return on Sunday.
The front seven will need to be very, very sharp as a group. Last Sunday, Samuel averaged 4.3 yards before contact on his runs. Elijah Mitchell averaged 4.7. Those are insane numbers. The best full-time runners in the NFL usually average about 2.4-2.6 yards before contact over the season.
They demonstrate the blocking and scheming prowess that Kyle Shanahan and the offensive line bring to the table.
A reasonable expectation would be the front seven cut those numbers in half. While that seems to be a high bar to set, history tells us that Pete Carroll and the defense have not only been able to reach it against San Francisco but to clear it with room to spare. Here is hoping they will be able to do that on Sunday and leave Niner fans in despair once again.
Was looking forward for this, nice done, cha.
If we get anything but a win tonight I will be disappointed. We can beat them, we always have, we got just enough material to do it again. I don’t care about how high we pick a QB, we got Wilson at 75, I want to win the winnable games and this is one of them. Especially if Kittle is out. I hope this is the night Cross stands his ground against Bosa, Taylor and Nwosu own the 9ers Oline, and Woolen and Bryant finish their receivers.
I said the Denver game was entirely winnable and I say the same for this one.
But the main point raised by Cha for me was that it is doubtful the 49ers will give away as many penalty yards as Denver and you can’t ignore the impact of those.
Pretty sure the 49ers will have watched the 2nd half of last week and identified how Smith got shut down, and I’m not entirely convinced his game can get better than the 1st half, so we better think of something early to get DK and Lockett established to keep the 49er D guessing.
Winnable.
It’s difficult for me to envision our offense being able to sustain drives against the 49er defense.
I think we are going to need a few explosive plays to score enough to win this game.
That means DK and, perhaps, Penny, will likely need to show up big.
Thank you much for the effort and knowledge cha. Outstanding as always.
Thanks for the write up. I really appreciate these. We’ve had so many great games against the niners.
Great work Cha.
Imagine if we win this game and sit at 2-0 with Atlanta and Detroit up next. Some expectations are going to get out of hand. (Probably including mine ngl)
Charles Davis, who is the color guy with Ian Eagle on CBS is probably my favorite color guy in pro ball. So sharp and so erudite. He knew a rule before Mike Tomlin had to have it explained to him by the refrs. They are the #2 network announcing team behind Nance and Romo but I think they’re better, or at least as good.
I really did enjoy the opportunity to tune out Troy Aikman last week for the Manning cast,
Ian is no slouch either. I like these guys. Yesterday Brock did the Oregon game. Always like to hear Brock in the booth.
Really getting tired of Nance though.
I dunno. It’s never a good thing when everyone thinks the #1 reason why you’ll beat your next opponent is because of your past success against them.
Not saying that’s you cha. Your article is detailed and well supported as usual.
This is indeed a winnable game, but mostly because Trey Lance is worse than Geno Smith.
Even so, I’m excited to watch our OTs vs a top-5 DL, excited to watch our DB group continue to evolve especially now that Jones is full time with the starters. Also hoping Barton continues to play well.
I think the Jets took notice of how sloppy everybody’s special teams were last week when they converted a fake punt in their own end. Also, the trend of lots of turnovers continues.
And can someone help me finish this joke?
L.J. Collier and Jamal Adams walk into a bar…
I’ll play
They ask, “Who’s going to buy us the first round?”
Jamal trips over the threshold and L.J. tries to catch him but misses and Jamal breaks his other shoulder when he lands.
ok, weak, but I could see it!
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/012/132/thatsthejoke.jpg
Nice
…to meet D’Wayne Eskridge for a drink, but they couldn’t because Creed Humphrey bounced them at the door
Hi-yo!
Remember a couple years ago when the rumors of us adding Minkah Fitzpatrick were floating around, but instead we later traded for Jamal Adams. Neither are moves I would sign off on but man Minkah is a game changer for that Steelers defense
Detroit and Jacksonville looking really good today. When was the last time those two teams won on the same day?
Both QBs looking good.
JAX with the shutout!
Man, Indianapolis, what a rudderless operation with a garbage philosophy/plan at the QB position – just year after year going with someone else’s discarded QB. It’s like they don’t know what to do when not gifted an elite prospect with the 1st overall pick.
Rudderless is a bit over the top. Maybe they have one eye on next year’s crop like a lot of teams do.
Matt Ryan = Turd Burger
Joe Flacco = Sh*t Sandwich.
Matt Ryan is NOT a turd burger. Can’t argue about Flacco though…
Well at this moment the artist-formerly-known as Turd Burger has put zero points on the board. The Sh*t Sandwich has 17.
3500 words on the draftable quarterbacks coming on Monday
Sweet!
I thought you were gonna sleep last night?
Watched all the games today
Rob doesn’t sleep…he’s not human.
Awesome. Cannot wait. Content you cannot get anywhere else.
Inactive
Artie Burns
Justin Coleman
Joey Blunt
Dareke Young
Jake Curhan
Myles Adams (Early front runner for the Annual January “PC says we should have given more snaps to this DL” Award)
George Kittle Inactive
Kenneth Walker?
Active!
The NFL needs to rethink how they are managing pre-season the level of play these first 2 weeks has been horrific IMO.
NFL Redzone earlier called the last two minutes of each game last week “the witching hour.” I call it “the choking hour.”
Doubt many Seahawks fans are still clamouring for Baker after these first couple of weeks. Awful!
Same ol defense
Quandre Diggs. /shakes head
Josh Jones/same
What’s this D doing again?
Looks like the 49ers paid attention to MNF and saw the Seahawks couldn’t stop the run.
Difference is I don’t think Shanahan will abandon it like Hackett did.
Exactly Big Mike that is what I’m afraid of and we won’t have two fumble gifts inside goal to go either.
It’s really hard to watch
I will never understand Pete’s insisting on deferring receipt of the opening kickoff when winning the flip. When you’ve got an all-world defense, it made sense. Now, you’re basically ensuring you’re playing from behind early.
Bend don’t break
What no fumble recovery in the red zone defense? And good job browns.
Defense doing the bend don’t break philosophy to perfection again. Let the other teams’ offense do what they want until they get inside the 10 yard line.
After a 3 and out our defense will be on the field for the rest of the 1st quarter
Gonna be a long game if we don’t fix our run d
Lions win! Jets win! Giants win! Dolphins win! Jaguars win!
Let’s see if Seattle can match these other mediocre teams and get a win today!
Baltimore had a 3 touchdown lead in that game against Miami and lost
Hopefully Houston wins
Kenneth Walker for the 1st down on his inaugural NFL rush attempt!
Abe Lucas looked very good vs Bosa on that drive.
Meh. At least they didn’t go 3 and out to start the game.
San Fran doesn’t even need to pass
Run pick up 5 plus yards rinse and repeat.
Our tackling is pathetic
Is it even “tackling” if you don’t touch him?
From Legion of Boom to Hot Butter. Youch.
God awful blown tackle by Taylor
The entire D scheme is terrible. How can you give Deebo so much space?
I just…I mean…sigh
So….. Taylor is NOT an LB. He contains like a colander.
“contains like a colander.”
That’s damned funny man
Jimmy time
I remember talking about an emotional let down this week after all the hoopla last week
Looks like those concerns were valid
Bullshit. You’re just negative.
And a “hater” 😂
I mean it not even be an emotional let down…..it could be we just aren’t good Rob. Like you said before as well.
I heard the D word. Rhymes with portable womans showering device. har har
But honestly Rob – way to hang in there for your blog and fans!
What’s the point of having a defensive minded head coach when the defense looks like this?
If we can’t stop the run it doesn’t matter who the QB is. Contain and goddamn tackle!
Oh great, here comes an actual NFL QB.
Not that it’ll make much difference, but SF are better with Jimmy than Trey.
Conspiracy theory:
Shanahan kept running Lance so he gets hurt and he can put in Jimmy without controversy.
Glimmer of hope, Jimmy with his blackouts.
Ask Cam Newton how long a QB lasts running like a Fullback all the time. Sorry to see Trey go out on the Cart…
Best wishes to Trey Lance I hope it’s not serious
Ditto, but sadly I think it is.
CBs can play up tighter now.
Jimmy couldn’t throw deep before his shoulder injury.
Probably has even less arm strength now.
Well, Coby Bryant has made the best run tackle so far…
Nwosu looks like a very good signing.
Nowusu is our best defensive player in a bad bunch
Darned if Nwosu hasn’t been a pleasant surprise.
He’s turning out to be a rare FA win for Seattle.
We badly need some points now.
Nwosu may be the best FA acquisition for the ‘Hawks since…. Avril? Struggling to think of a FA that JS has brought in that actually impacted the game?
This is where I worry for our offense
When they are behind and have to chase a bit
Jamal Adams and Trey Lance walk into a bar…
Too soon?
For walking in? Yes
After this week, would be a certain type of ‘bar’ if Lance is involved
*groan* 🙂
*rimshot*
Not sure what you mean by this comment Rob. Is it a bar for incompetent people? Never heard of that…Seriously, what you mean by that?
Lance was filmed in a strip bar this week
Trey: “They traded 3 firsts for me”
Jamal: “I guess I suck, they only traded 2 firsts and a third for me.”
Jamal: “But then I got paid.”
Nice
Lets spice that joke up by adding Deshaun Watson!
If you look close enough, you can see the first round picks float away like dandelion spores.
I’m liking the Lucas-Jackson blocking tandem. They work well together.
Is Myles adams active today?
Nope, healthy scratch
No. This year’s recipient of the Alton Robinson award
Hey Big Mike, Pete and the guys were looking for ways to get him in there. He just sort of gets lost in the shuffle and that’s on Pete and the coaches and they need to get better at finding ways for him to get in there…..or some bullshit like that.
Like cha said up above, at the season ending presser, PC will talk about how they should’ve found ways to get him more time on the field………after the fact.
You’ve got to love a 3rd and 12 throw to the flat behind the LOS
THREE scoreless quarters for the offense and not looking good
But… remember the 1st half of week one?
I think there are going to be a lot of unhappy Geno nut-huggers by the end of the night.
Literally, makes me long for the utter worst of Darrel Bevell…
When you can’t pass and they know you can only run…
I know this sounds crazy… but maybe we try a pass more than 5 yards downfield?
Myles adams had to good of a preseason to play on this defense I guess
Defense soon to wear down and give up a TD drive.
This is the offense I feared
It was a great half against Denver
But this is the reality. We look incapable of doing much of anything
This is the defense I feared…
We are really, really, really bad
But at least we won our SB last week eh
That’s what mattered most to Pete………and Sherm, and Baldwin, and…………
Still a couple hours that you can scream we are #1.
Defense — pathetic
Blown coverages, bad tackling, no discipline or serious pressure
Offense — non existent
They can’t do anything
It’s Coaching…or lack of it…
Uh, exactly…I think many of us k RW this was the reality, but fully enjoyed winning that game. How are that, and seeing what we k RW to be the truth related? Would we be better today if last Monday was different, or the victory lap after wasn’t a mile? Nah, this was going to be the reality regardless.
Christ, on my phone, sorry. k RW = know
We’re clearly going to need all of our draft picks to fill in our many, many holes.
So if we are truly this bad, better to lose and not have to package picks to move up for a QB.
Top 5 pick baby!
But in all seriousness I think many, including myself take and eat this humble pie. I’m still looking for progression for our key pieces moving forward.
New defense same as the old defense
Les Incompetant…
I really, really, really hope the Seahawks haven’t blown a development year for Coby by trying to convert him inside to a nickel.
Very good point
I feel like Bryant’s lack of speed and quickness gets exploited inside.
and his lack of size will get exploited outside, at this level.
He might be kind of a tweener.
Lack of size? He’s 6’1. He’s built for the outside. Weird take.
All too easy. I put it on the coaches, we aren’t the only team starting rookies.
I can just hear Pete now….”Can you win the game in the 2nd quarter!?” my reply back would be…”No coach but you can lose it”
And now with Jimmy loosening up the run D cuz he can actually pass at an NFL level, the run game will get better for SF.
I’m surprised so many seem surprised by our offensive ineptitude. This is Carrol/Waldron at its finest. The offense has talented players, but not talented coaches. Larry Izzo and Sanjay Lal are the only real NFL staff on this team.
But who needs that bum Wilson, we got PeteBall!?
The hardest question that will be asked at the post game press conference will be how good is Al woods
They are putting 11 guys out there on D, right?
Things we always knew that are being confirmed today: Barton sucks and our LB depth is terrible, although this new Williams guy is looking good early, and Darrel Taylor is way overrated.
If Brooks and Taylor don’t establish themselves as building blocks this year, we’re in even worse shape than we imagined.
We need to start developing guys who can be difference makers.
The cupboard appears to be very bare. That’s what happens when you draft like shit. One seemingly good draft won’t make up for 5 or 6 bad ones in a row.
Darrell Taylor should be benched. If there is anyone to bench him for
I mean, I can fail at wrapping up tackles.
Houston with a big-time goal-line stand.
Russ starting 2-8, don’t see that very often if ever.
Drew Lock will be starting before mid-season, methinks.
week 5 latest
Great protection and he still threw into double coverage. 🙁
Suddenly Geno isn’t so “safe” with the football.
He’s a turnover machine when forced to throw it.
Late with the throw.
Bad mechanics.
Not enough mustard.
And 2 defenders in the area
The only bright spot is the tackles have held their own so far.
Great Geno, now give them the ball, not like the D isn’t letting them play already.
Can’t wait for Carroll’s litany of excuses….
Will he top Mora’s record of using “Accountability” 57 TIMES in his post-game press conference, not once in reference to Coaches?!
The only mystery in the outcome of this game…
Wow! 2 good plays in a row
We’re lucky there. Should’ve been caught
No idea why they went for that fourth down.
When your folly becomes your boon, tough times
I see even the 49ers can get away from the running game from time to time too. I don’t know why.
Agree. Makes no sense
Our pass rush has been incredibly bad so far this year.
I was hopeful it would be somewhat of a strength.
What a waste of a great play by DK
FFS Abe
Incredible catch.
Sad
That’s 2 big plays he’s negated with penalties this year.
That’s what happens when you cannot create offense with your standard package.
You have to try something silly.
This is a great time to put Drew Lock into the game and see what happens.
I mean, we have nothing to lose
#29 in red looks like a hell of a player.
Geno just throwing the ball up for grabs now?
Lucas blocking too well is so 2022 Seahawks
Big time PI. Can’t complain there Kyle…
Atrocious throw…very lucky
Yes thank you SF for the gift instead of getting yardage without their help on our own.
Geno for MVP?
The pregame announcers were saying that Geno is a 10 year veteran! Sounds impressive. I do like his pretty passes, just not where the passes are going!
Do the niners have 8 in the box?
So is Lewis now heading for injury prone status?
Needing a penalty to finally cross the 50 seems about right for this offense.
That’s our problem!
We game planned for a bunch of defensive penalties, gifting us 1st downs, like last week.
7-10 for 37 yards and one INT…..3.7 yards an attempt!
Move over Mahomes
Stan Gelbaugh/Jeff Kemp here we come! Whoo-hoo!
Don’t worry this is Pete’s plan
Shanahan is so weird. He is very conservative on fourth down overall but then goes for a 4th and long when they coulda pinned us deep or tried a long FG maybe gone up 16-0.
channeling his inner RW
Not like in practice I assume
Ok… that was pretty funny.
Can only laugh…
Our offense is terrible but one positive thing is that pass protection has been excellent.
Complete clownshow!
For the love of God
What in the world is Waldron doing…Why are we getting weird on offense?
Pete is the Head Coach
He sanctioned that nonsense
WTH
Absolutely no need for that kind of play.
My lord.
What a douchenozzle of a play 🙁
LOL! What was that?!
Lockett is amazing and always has been when the play breaks down and the QB scrambles for time. The rookie QB next year will be very fortunate to have that.
If he doesn’t retire
True Big Mike this year might suck the life and joy of the game out of him
Megamind Waldron. 🤷🏽♂️
Jesus wept
That trick play was embarrassing
JFC are you kidding me? This isn’t funny
Dallas throwing a pass? WTF is this shite
I don’t care. I love Pete doing unusual stuff. He has NEVER done that before.
Nobody should EVER do that
Yes he has.
Tanner McEvoy
Sidney Rice
Mike Rob
Golden Tate
Greg bell: how good of a passer is d.j dalles
😀
He was a really good QB in junior high.
I mean what’s next, let Blythe throw? Start Drew Lock if you don’t trust Geno to do it in the red zone.
What a cute offense. They trust geno so much they have a special teamer throwing a pass in the red zone.
I don’t even know what in the hell they are doing letting DJ FLIPPING DALLAS throw the football inside the redzone. GET OUTTA here with that garbage.
Shit ridiculous
I think the most entertaining thing about that wildcat play was Dallas’s reaction after he threw the pic..
Haha, this is not a football team.
Lmao.
Play Drew Lock
At least our run d seems to be improving
Pete will say this is the best d.j has been a a passer
not just a utility back, he’s a weapon.
if Dallas would’ve just run that, it would’ve been a 1st down, but that’s why you don’t put the ball in the hands of a RB w/option to pass.
C’mon guys, get with the program! This is entertainment!
This is getting ridiculous, and I bet if we lose 43-7 and Broncos stays with the 3 they have so far, some fans will still celebrate.
Boy…How it’s only 0-13 is a huge indicator that San Fran is not that good either.
Yea both the Seahawks and Broncos losing will be good every week this year.
I will root for the broncos to lose every game this year. After that I will root for Russ again
Not me. Hope they go 20-0. Anything that speeds up ridding us of Jody Allen, Carroll, JS, and the entire staff…
Someone buy the team, hire Todd Liwieke back to find us a real GM and Coach…
I like the wildcat formation. There’s potential in that set inside the red zone, especially with the RBs and speedy WRs we have on the roster. But FFS run it. Don’t pass it.
And the shitshow continues.
Our own guy hit him, right?
yep
He didn’t call for a fair catch? Why the hell not?
He did, but our own guy was pushed into him.
Christ Crawford! They just can’t do a damn thing right!
We lost before, but I don’t recall the last time we looked so silly.
Where’s that five page thread on Seahawks.net?
A week of grief for fearing it felt like Seattle enjoyed their win against Russell Wilson too much
I just don’t understand why you even go to that shithole of a site.
But I do hope you go in next week with a comment or two
Yeah, it seems like taking unnecessary visits to troll caves isn’t really worth your time. Who cares what they say?
“I just don’t understand why you even go to that shithole of a site.”
Yup.
I can safely say that this is not how we look in practice.
Pete, you’re supposed to be coaching not here.
Nice 8 yard cushion there Barton.
Well, looks like the Seahawks are who we thought they were :/
And the press will let them off the hook!
You guys were expecting more? I wasn’t.
This is going to be a blowout. Let it be a wakeup call for Pete and company.
Why would Carroll need a wake up call my friend? He’s not going to be fired. He has absolute power and will for 3 more years unless she sells sooner (unlikely).
Because I’m tired of him talking his shit about being competitive each and every week. We won’t be. We need to focus on getting this team right, not the bullshit rah-rah crap that Pete blows out his butt every week.
That’s why I didn’t like the way we won last week. It falls into pc mentality. He will never change.
💯
I dunno if he’d stick around after this season if it’s another 15 weeks of this
But we have a roster that’s close to contending for a Super Bowl. Why would he leave?
I was. Hard to expect this, but it might be the new normal
Winner winner, chicken dinner!
I want to see more of Walker in the second half. I don’t care about the passing anymore.
Seahawks and Broncos stinking up.. Good for draft position.
Well only positive today is Wilson looks terrible and Denver looks like shit
Maybe both parties are just toast at this point. Early in the season, but definite possibility.
Russ was right. Offensive lines do, in fact, matter.
Unfortunately, he moved from a house that has a basement that floods every year to a house that has a basement that floods every year.
With the final scores around the league today, there’s a damn good chance we lock into a top four draft spot, starting this week.
When was the last time we knocked a starting QB out of the game in the first quarter and were down 0-20 at the half?
Not just ‘we’ but anybody for that matter.
I want to say we might have done it to Ron Jaworski/Randall Cunningham.
Goff in that ugly Playoff loss…
That was a total and utter embarrassment
Terrible coaching, execution, game plan, discipline
they are literally getting their ass beat in every aspect of the game. pathetic
Once again, so many broken tackles.
I thought Pete Carroll was a defensive guru and was great at teaching tackling
Where is Rocky Seto when we need him!
Rob, do you already have the recap written up yet?
Thought about starting
Had a tea instead
Figured you could just save some time and sleep. Not expecting anything different this second half so no one would noticed if you did sadly.
Do you think the pass protection showed some promise? A couple of boneheaded plays from Lucas, but it seems like the O line is doing ok. Looking for the silver lining …
Dear me. I haven’t seen ineptitude of that variety since Jimmy Mora was stalking the sidelines.
Yep
It’s 2009 level bad
You guys are spot on
All we need is Pete to start throwing players under the bus and it’ll be ’09 all over again.
Keeping Garapollo has paid off quickly for San Fran.
Youch this game has been bad for the Seahawks, on both sides of the ball.
That was the most inept half of football from the Seahawks since Pete Carroll has been the coach
The gadget plays are absurd.
Solidify your offense, you know the one that disappeared the final 30 minutes last week, before you start digging deep into the playbook for this crap.
Man Russ getting booed for 2nd straight week, let’s ride?
Something, something… grass being greener…..
Let’s ride…the pine!
On a happier note, RW3 looking like hot garbage, Denver’s trailing 6-3, and the crowd is booing the Broncos.
As long as the Broncos are within one score, Russ can bring them back at the end, and they’ll love him in Denver.
Is it Russ or Coach or both?
A new NFL record for consecutive games booed in different stadiums?
Maybe this will put to bed all those championing Smith as the second coming at QB. I saw someone referring to last weeks game as the ‘passing of the torch’ from Wilson to Smith. Absolute cringe.
well this game sucked but I’ll say one thing: we found a good LB in Johnson, he’s been all over the place, hopefully he starts stealing snaps from Barton, who is terrible.
Sean Payton and Pete should trade jobs at halftime.
If only……………
Payton is way too smart to want to coach this collection of “talent”.
I would love to see what Payton could do with two high first round and second round picks though!
this
If they handed him the level of control Pete has, I think he would mull it over. All those picks in 2023.
I can’t see another year and fifteen games of this (before the team might be sold) going down well.
If both we lose and Denver loses today I say that’s a great result.
thing that are still an issue,
1. tackling. several years it has been
2. offensive play calls. for several years
3. can’t stop the run,
4. lack of pass rush or pressure. for several years now
5. special teams play, at least 2 years
6. being out coached
At least we’ve got clear goals for improvement.
You forgot penalties.
and time of possession
Anyone remember an English midfielder in the 80s called Ray Wilkins? His nickname was ‘The Crab’ because he could only pass sideways for 5 yards.
Think we got Geno a new nickname.
We should feed him to the crabs like in House of the Dragon.
We got 24 yards rushing in two quarters. Way to go Pete and Shane.
It scares me how bad this team could be if/when we go on a losing streak and the team quits on Pete
Special teams blocking has been the worst.
No, it’s just special.
As my cousin said: “Keystone Seahawks”
lucas again?
Nope. Spreading the futility around
You know, I’m not a football coach so maybe I’m missing something here but I don’t think I’d block Bosa with a RB.
Penny agrees.
I love the question mark on Pete’s face (as if he does not know…)
It’s a copy and paste from last year.
His dumbfounded, open mouthed stare on the sidelines.
Love Tyler’s effort in the face of a fiasco.
So, the Hawks don’t have any receivers apart from #16 & #14?
Good grief.
I’ve never understood the plan in throwing to a route 5 yards short of the first down marker.
I suppose they are hoping for yards after the catch, but that’s asking a lot.
Carroll thought the trick goal line play worked, they just need to throw it better? 🙄
The intended WR was double covered in the corner of the end zone.
It did not work. Not at all.
But “we’re close”
*If* the pass had been thrown a tick quicker, with more loft, toward the back corner of the endzone… I think DK would have had a decent shot at it.
It’s just ridiculous to ask for that kind of a pass from a RB.
Agree..DL is doubled irrespective of what play it is. They chose the wrong target.
I caught that too and did an eye roll so big they almost fell out of my head.
Sideline reporter: I asked PC what was up with those trick plays. He said they worked, we just need to throw the ball better.
:\
Asked PC why we punt, punt, interception, interception, fumble, punt. He says the plans work, we just need better players.
Lockett is the only player on the offense with proper heart and talent. Everyone else lacks one or the other and some lack both.
But there was – as per a large % of the fan base – plenty of both on display last week?
I don’t understand this take at all….
Apparently, Denver’s game plan is to pick on rookie Derek Stingley Jr.
Those are just GAPING holes to run through!
Why are you leaving your feet Nwosu?
Even Jimmy G is breaking tackles.
Our dominance of the 49ers is officially over
As a lark, Rob should write up a glowingly optimistic article about the Seahawks after this game.
Lets gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Are goal line stands the only thing this D does well?
That Mike Jack is always in the right spot!
What a thriller. I’ll be here all week!
HaHa!
Michael Jackson is our star this year!
At least it isn’t a shutout (Indy, I’m looking at you!)
WOOLEN!!
Michael Jackson is a smooth criminal!
Ah hahahahahaha!
Eat that 49ers!
Yey we scored. Glad the ST do their job against DF once again.
Hahahahahaha.
Something good for once.
Dwelley is a welly!
SEA plying the long con, got ’em right were they want them.
Love Woolen
The kid’s a baller. Loves to stick his nose right in there whenever he can. Definitely a bright spot
Woolen a really bright spot for me. Just dripping with inexperience, but that will change. Length, game speed, hitter, plays hard. Dude is going to be a star.
Swear, I would have been fuming had the punter caught him. Great play though
If we’re going to lose — at least make it enjoyable. A lot of the young guys playing really well.
Finally, some points! Waldron should draw up some more 5-yd behind the line screen passes to celebrate.
“Special teams unit may have just saved the game.”
????????
Is the announcer high? He does know that Geno is still QB, right?
🤣
Mark has always been terrible
Darrell Taylor coming alive a little bit this drive.
Nwosu is our best player so far, dude has heart
Remember the “Dancing Taylor” on the sidelines during pre season?
The guy is an empty uniform so far this season.
The defense hasn’t given up
That was a really bad call. Be better refs!
Yeah, that was pretty awful.
We’ve had a few big plays ruined by ticky tack penalties.
Killing a good series with a penalty
He’s a rook and deserves a chance to improve but through 6 quarters, I may prefer the whatever is left of Kobe to Coby.
Ouch
But yeah, Woolen shows way more promise.
Justin Coleman didn’t look great at nickle either…Might have to wait until Tre Brown to come back to have a difference maker at nickle.
Hey TOP and total yards disparity right back to 2021 levels.
Rain really affecting Jimmy
Taylor is just *not* winning off the edge.
Super disappointing.
Big time disappointment
Not elevating to difference maker
Not much of an excuse for him either. He’s rushing a lot from the strong side against the RT. He prefers that side too.
keeps doing some weird dance, just doesn’t look good.
Wow we stopped them!
Russ 6-20 93 yards and an interception.
Unbelievably bad
No worries, Cowherd will make some excuse for his “friend.”
Perhaps he’ll blame Seahawks fans?
Turn out the lights…
I really hope Pete doesn’t ruin Will Anderson next year.
How good is he at dropping into coverage, I wonder?
He won’t have time, when he’s anointed our blocking TE.
The way Denver is looking…we might have a couple of higher round picks. Struggling vs the Texans.
Yes!
Never a good sign when the Defensive lineman nearly receives the handoff.
Never a good sign when the blocking assignments are FUBAR’d up so Bosa doesn’t even get blocked.
Pete told the sideline reporter that “it worked”, we just need to handoff better.
🤣
With Bosa running loose in the Seahawk backfield, I think maybe the kids still haven’t learned the players and names on other teams. I think that was an excuse after one of the preseason games.
Gotta go for it here
Oh by the way please don’t forget to block bosa again
Why are we running a read option with Geno on 3rd and 4?
It would have been hilarious if this were at Lumen and the fans started chanting “Drew, Drew, Drew” one week after “Geno, Geno, Geno”.
I’m beginning to get the sneaking suspicion that the coaching staff doesn’t trust “Safe Geno” to throw the ball in throwing situations.
A lot of ticky tack penalties against the hawks.. seem like they didnt prepare very well.. abe lucas mauling a guy on a fake run play? Cmon bro.. it was a designed pass play.. have to fake the run and get back in pass pro…
Geno still refuses to step into throws.. slowly backs away from the line..
No points in 5 quarters.. its not the best decision.. but.. let Drew Lock sling it for the 4th quarter..
Now on 5 Quarters with an offensive point. Classic Peterball offense Run-Run-Run 4th Down.
I’m more worried about how un-dynamic the run game has been.
Right! Is Penny turning back into a pumpkin or can they disregard the pass and stuff the run?
Not much choice with geno at qb
Keep ranting Pete.
It’s all you got.
It was great coverage by Mike Jack though. Nothing you can really do when the ball is under thrown like that.
Al Woods is a very good football player.
I love it when the nfl rewards a shitty throw
It’s still not too late to sign up you kids for the Travis Homer Passing Academy.
Brilliant
Did Deejay attend that virtually during lockdowns?
Remember when Seattle had CBs that knew to turn and face the ball, so as not to guarantee PI? Pepperidge Farms remembers….
In that particular play though, it’s so hard for the CB to get his head turned around. The pass was so under thrown and the CB reads the eyes of the WR to turn around.
It’s really easy for the WR to draw a PI in that particular play. We’ve seen Tyler do that quite a bit. He slows down and lets the CB run into him.
They’re all rookies. Mistakes will happen.
The D has gotten better against the run as the game has progressed.
Woods is BenjaminButtoning. The vet is looking stronger and faster as the game progresses.
Jimmy G really isn’t very good.
He’s serviceable, no more really. But in fairness the rain has affected him badly.
Coby talking smack…😂
I like it.
Venting.
And displaying that short term memory corners need.
The defense has been much better this half
Sucks for trey lance, feel really bad for him. Dont feel as bad for the niners trading a lot for him
They will be lucky to get 1 productive year outta his rookie contract
Can you imagine if we actually had a viable 3rd WR? Is it Goodwin, by default? Did Eskridge even suit up today?
Who’s this “Eskridge” you speak of?
And yes, we’d still be limited but at least there could be an outlet….
You are allowed a 3rd WR?
Our guards standing 2 yards in the backfield after a stuffed running play.
Not good.
Genoa patented 10 yard drop back.
Yep. Blocking wasn’t bad there. Geno just needs to throw the damn ball.
Gabe Jackson can’t even hold well.
Is Metcalf still playing?
…Madden, in the tent? Yes.
I just hoped they came out and was somewhat competitive.. not inept.. kinda ruins the win over russ and the broncos
Really?
I find that it makes the win over Russ even more satisfying.
Not when the broncos have only put 6 on the texans through 3 quarters
Yawn. I’m off to bed…
Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
🤣
Just think of how exciting the draft season is gonna be
But think how long it’s gonna take to get there
I think that’s the most depressing comment I’ve ever heard. Thanks Big Mike! 😀 🙁
RW gets to throw on 4th & 2 at the 50. 1st down.
Definitely guessing they regret last week.
Yes, but that would be a 67 yard field goal, not 64.
And now they just punted from the 41, rather than try a FG.
Lol, yep
Rob was right about Geno be a very low ceiling QB. After the first half of the Broncos game he has yet to lead a scoring drive.
No pass rush
I don’t think anyone has talked about geno having a high ceiling, he is what he is. Hasn’t changed since his days with the jets
You do realize a fairly large portion of the fanbase has said Smith is/will be better than Wilson don’t you?
I may not be a football expert, but I don’t believe that getting outgained by 200 yards every week is sustainable.
Cody Barton has to be the softest ILB in the league.
His read step on every play is to shuffle backwards, and then proceed to hug an interior lineman.
Yea Johnson has looked good, I bet he starts taking snaps from Barton.
What? Broncos fans booing? YOU CANT BOO! Thats bad fandom…
CaNt dO tHaT!!
My God I switched to watching the Denver vs Houston game and the Broncos coach just screwed time management and scoring again.
Not sure if any of you are following what just happened in the Broncos game…wow that coach is having a great career start.
yep.
why not kick a fg from there?
so weird.
SF 188 yards rushing
SEA 31
Utter dominance
Not winning the penalty battle this week, are we?
Off-season needs: qb,center,guard,entire defensive line,safety,2 inside lb’ers, 3rd wr. Am I missing anything?
Head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator…
💯
Cornerback.
both outside and nickle
Whatever the defense found in the 2nd half — keep doing it. I still like what we’ve seen from the young CBs. Jackson has had tight coverage despite his PIs. The 2nd one was tough…I thought it was clean.
Waldron needs to put juice in the run game. Too much Geno. Pretty boring offense.
Maybe jazz it up with a red zone half-back pass.
You’re hired
I lied…they also showed a wildcat formation. So creative…
This defensive line is so bad at rushing the q.b our db’s are gonna have rough moments.
Ummmm…Falcons coming back against the Rams???????????????????????????????
The Seahawks today? To quote Dr. Ian Malcolm: “That is one big pile of shit.”
First Coach Fired:
A. Kliff Kingsbury
B. Nate Hackett
C. Frank Reich
D. Pete Carroll
Hint: It ain’t Pete.
She will not fire Pete. The only way he’s gone is if he resigns.
By the way, the correct answer is likely to be Reich.
Are you sure? Arizona has looked like poop this season.
At least we don’t have to listen to the media fawn over Pete and his system this week.
Don’t be so sure. Salk actually apologized to Pete for the Buffalo blowout loss a couple years back.
I realize it doesn’t matter… but… throw the damn ball, Geno!!!
To use a Rob term……shambolic performance today
Shamwow!
Geno is completing 80% of his passes for a sub 7.0 YPA…the “is he actually great”
Conversations need to die quickly.
I think Geno is gonna have to write back this week.
I really think it was wrong to think Geno was going to feed DK and “give him more chances,” than Russ. Good on Tyler for playing well.
Sometimes I take pride in writing the watch points.
Other times I hate it when I’m right.
Play Smart
SF turnovers: 0
SEA turnovers: 3
SF penalties: 1
SEA penalties: 10
SF idiotic coaching decisions: 0
SEA idiotic coaching decisions: many
Beat Them On the Ground
SF 189 rushing yards
SEA 35
It was definitely an ugly game.
“Idiotic Coaching Decisions” is my new favorite metric.
Texans are folding in Denver, unfortunately.
Hah.. the denver crowd is synchronizing the countdown of the play clock for russ… thats hilarious..
If I could go to Pete’s presser, I wouldn’t even ask any questions.
I’d just throw a red challenge flag every time he opened his mouth.
Or a rotten tomato
LoL… that’s a great visual.