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
Now comes a real test.
After a training camp, three preseason games and a month of games that count, the Seahawks are quickly running out of excuses for their poor play. Adjusting to a new defensive scheme should not take this long. Veteran players should be leading the way, not getting outplayed by rookies.
Something’s gotta give.
The Saints just might be the perfect test to see where the Seahawks are. They have a talented roster made up of veterans and some exciting young players, an established record of success against the Seahawks and a chip on their shoulder thanks to two very close losses this year.
They are also a fit for the Seahawks because they are coming off a game a few time zones away in London, are banged up and have not been nearly as tight under Dennis Allen as Sean Payton had them. They are currently worst in the NFL in giveaways and turnover ratio, are second-worst in penalties called and have been slow starters.
It betrays their effectiveness in the other areas of their game. It should surprise no one that they are both 1-3 and favored to beat the Seahawks on Sunday.
How can the Seahawks take the next step with a win?
Control the Game Script
This game might be the ultimate test of strategy and gamesmanship.
The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the NFL in first quarter scoring so far this season. The Saints are one of the very worst. It is hard to imagine a Saints team coming back from London, with an unsteady quarterback situation and missing a star player like Michael Thomas coming out of the gate quickly.
That’s the good news.
The bad news? The polar opposite is also true. The Seahawks are one of the worst scoring teams in the fourth quarter on offense – and one of the worst defensive teams – while the Saints are one of the best on offense. They have scored nine touchdowns this year, six of them in the fourth quarter.
The Saints close like a freight train and play fantastic when their backs are up against the wall. The Seahawks like to build a lead and pray to the heavens above that they can hold it until the clock reaches zero.
With the way the defense has performed to date, it will likely fall on the offense to carry more than their share for this game. They will need to capitalize when the Saints come out of the gate slowly, turn the ball over or shoot themselves in the foot in other ways.
They will also need to not let off the gas pedal. If they have a 14-3 lead in the second quarter for instance, they will need to avoid the temptation to simply maintain their lead by playing conservative football. They need to build on it.
The fourth quarter will be the time to try and drain the clock. Keeping the ball out of the Saints’ hands with a lead will be critical. It will require a level of planning and execution they have not accomplished as of yet.
Do Not Let Alvin Kamara Take the Game Over (Again)
If you could go into a lab and build a player to specifically attack this Seahawks defense, you’d get Alvin Kamara.
He is fast, hard to tackle and deployable as a real weapon all over the field and the Seahawks defense has arguably had more trouble with this one player in recent seasons than anyone else.
His last two games against the Seahawks: 55 touches, 340 yards, 14 first downs and 3 touchdowns.
That is about as good a two-game stretch against any one team as you are likely to find in the NFL.
Here is what makes Kamara so good when he plays the Seahawks — yards after contact in the run game and yards after the catch in the passing game.
72 of those rushing yards came after contact and 222 of the receiving yards came after the catch.
Tariq Woolen is correct when he said Kamara is “like water” when you are trying to tackle him, so smooth and silky. He may not be the biggest or the fastest but he is incredibly hard to take down on the first try. He has balance and a fierce determination to stay on his feet. Package that with an innate ability to present unclean angles to the tackler and his ability to absorb contact and it’s no wonder he annually is in the top two or three players in broken tackles.
With the lack of effort and the open lanes we have seen from the Seattle defense so far this season, getting Kamara to the ground effectively might be the difference between winning and losing Sunday. Kamara is that good and the Seahawks have been that bad.
The best thing I can say for defenders is to have a tackling plan for Kamara. Watching tape, I cannot tell you how many times I watched defenders think they can just knock Kamara down with a shoulder-to-shoulder type hit. Maybe it is because Kamara is not the biggest player. Maybe defenders are just programmed that runners his size fall down when you hit them that way. I am not sure. But everyone needs to be committed to wrapping Kamara up, no matter what. Got that, Cody Barton?
Pete Carroll is absolutely correct when he speaks about knowing the situation when tackling. There are times when you blow the player up, times when getting him to the ground is the best option and times where the best thing you can do is grab on and wait for help to come. The Seahawks currently have no concept of those times. That seems like a pure coaching issue but that is where we are right now.
Given how poorly the defense has played these first few weeks, it is hard to have much faith that the defensive staff will get this problem corrected with three days of practice and a couple of film sessions. Kamara presents a serious challenge in tackling. If anything, we will be able to gauge the coaching staff’s effectiveness with as big a test as it gets on Sunday.
One thing we can praise the defense for with Kamara is the halftime adjustment they made last year to combat his effectiveness in the passing game. Her burnt them to a crisp in the first half with eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks responded by double covering him when he ran routes in the second half. Result? Only two catches for 19 yards.
Jameis Winston struggled with his security blanket taken away. He was 5-for-15 in the second half targeting everyone else and was sacked twice and the Seahawks were nearly able to close the gap and squeeze a win out.
To be fair, the Saints did not have much in the way of receivers in that game. Now, they have Chris Olave and Jarvis Landy (Michael Thomas is out).
It is also possible Kamara will not be 100% as this is his first game back from an injury.
Still, with the amount of damage he has done to the Seahawks’ defense in the last two games, nobody on the defense should get set in their pre-snap positions without knowing exactly where #41 is and what their assignment is for him.
Win the Receiver-Corner matchups
Get your popcorn ready for Metcalf-Lattimore II. Last year Metcalf tormented, taunted and abused one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks with a signature performance. It is a shame the Seahawks could not get him more touches.
What is in store this week? Metcalf threw some serious cold water on the ‘Jeff Okuda is becoming a lockdown corner’ party last week. Another dominant performance would take some real heat off this poor defense and further cement his legacy.
Tyler Lockett and Bradley Roby should be a great matchup as well. One underrated thing we are learning about the Seahawks’ offense post-Russell Wilson — chemistry with Tyler Lockett was not a sole possession of Wilson that left with him when he went to Denver.
Lockett makes his quarterback look very, very good as long as he is competent in getting him the ball.
Both Roby and Lattimore are scoring in the 50’s in PFF rating this year. So this should be a very big test for them to see how they are really doing this year.
How about the other side of the ball?
Chris Olave is quickly taking his place among another great crop of talented young receivers. The Saints traded third and fourth round picks to move up five spots in the first round to select Olave at #11 and he is rewarding them with a great rookie season only four games in.
A matchup with fellow rookie Tariq Woolen will be fantastic television. Will it happen? The Saints line up Olave all over the field but at the moment he is predominantly lining up on the right side. So, Sidney Jones or Michael Jackson will likely cover him the majority of snaps.
Woolen will not be bored, though. He will have Jarvis Landy to cover. He has been one of the NFL’s most productive wide receivers and is looking to recover from a down year and a change of scenery to New Orleans.
Can Geno Redeem Himself?
Week 7 last year was Geno Smith’s second start and his third game for the Hawks in 2021.
His play was dreadful.
He was 12-for-22 for 167 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked five times for 38 yards, so his net passing yards were 129. Eighty-four of those yards came on one play — the busted-tackle D.K. Metcalf touchdown in their first series. So put another way, he only managed a measly 83 yards of passing the rest of the game.
He was hesitant. He was jittery in the pocket. He scrambled only once, gained 12 yards and then shut that down for the rest of the game. He threw two terrible balls right to Saints defenders that should have been intercepted. Freddie Swain was targeted more than Metcalf or Tyler Lockett. You get the idea.
It did not help that the running game could not generate much of anything – linebacker Demario Davis owned center Kyle Fuller in this game and Rashaad Penny was M.I.A. – or that Jason Myers missed two field goal tries, or the weather was inclement. But Geno did nothing to elevate his team’s play.
Not many things would help the Seahawks more than for Geno to put that behind him and turn in a solid performance in this game. A duplicating of his game last week against Detroit is too much to ask. Remember – the Lions are on a historic pace for ineptitude on defense this year. They might go down in the record books as one of worst defenses in the 21st century if they do not get their issues sorted out.
New Orleans poses a much greater challenge. They have a good defense, with some pieces at every level that needed to be accounted for.
The defense has put up good numbers for being hamstrung a bit by the offense. They lead the NFL in giveaways so far this season. Absent that, the defense likely would look much better.
One matchup that should provide some intrigue is how they defend tight ends. Through four games, the Saints are the best in the NFL at defending tight ends. Granted they have not faced a murderer’s row just yet but Kyle Pitts and Cameron Brate are nothing to sneeze at. They will face a good challenge with Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant coming into New Orleans Sunday.
Here is the primary assignment for Geno in this game — make good reads and good decisions.
Why? The Saints are 30th in the NFL in blitz percentage so far this season. They are preferring to keep defenders in the backfield and force the quarterback to go through his progressions.
As a result, they are clamping down on explosive pass plays, only giving up 36 first downs through the air, good for fourth lowest in the NFL.
The tradeoff is their quarterback pressure percentage and sack numbers are in the cellar. Bottom five in the NFL. Here’s where 2022 Geno can run circles around 2021 Geno. He will have time to process. He will need to be patient and slowly plod down the field at times. A little bit of dink and dunk might be just what the doctor ordered. Sprinkle in some timely scramble runs when he sees them available. Bide your time and then take a shot or two to your downfield threats.
Currently the offense is running out a 40/60 run/pass split. While that feels like a bit of a mockery of the “run first” mantra Pete Carroll preached for years, Smith has settled into an approach Carroll is far more comfortable with — take care of the football, take what the defense gives you and take your shots when they come instead of trying to make them.
Can he keep doing that against a far better defense than Detroit’s? How Geno controls the tempo and pace of this game will tell us a lot about the Seahawks’ chances for a successful offensive season this year and whether Geno has a chance to put together a full season of good play.
Good stuff Cha. I’ve found myself really looking forward to this game, more so than I have been with the Seahawks in recent years. There’s less pressure to succeed and this Geno Smith redemption arc is just fun to follow for as long as it lasts.
With Darryl Johnson on IR I think we will get to see really extensive snaps from Boye Mafe, a good breakout game from him would be an absolute dream.
‘Adjusting to a new defensive scheme should not take this long’
Well how long should it take?
I would hope it would progress from ‘shambles level’ four weeks in 😂
Two weeks ago PC said it would take time to fix.
This week he said it shouldn’t take this long to fix.
So…two weeks?
Unless the scheme doesn’t match up very well with the abilities of the players you have. Then it’s back on the coaches.
If recent seasons tell us anything. then it should take the Seahawks about 8 weeks to fix the defense. Then the offense will regress at this point and we would blame everything on Russell Wilson. I guess we will have to blame Waldron instead this year when the offense eventually apart 😀
Not sure we’ll see the offense fall apart. Mostly because it hasn’t been that amazing.
Stalled out performances against three teams and feasting on the one team worse than us on defense has filled the youtube/ internet with a metric ton of snappy praise and hype videos.
MV-GENO….anyone, anyone, is this thing on?
Have been enjoying reading comments from other sites quite a bit this year. Some goofy a– tribalization which ends predictably with calling someone “butt hurt,” if there’s a whiff of guarded neutrality in regards to how this team has actually played.
Rob has Calijah Kancey come across your radar?
There’s a narrative some are running away with a little. Under sized Pitt Panther DT who has special skills getting into the backfield. It’s fun but Aaron Donald is a once in a generation player.
He looks to my untrained eye like a guy you draft in the third or fourth round and rotate in early on, and see how he handles the NFL size and skill disparity. Best case he develops into a 50-60% snap type player.
https://youtu.be/CUQntVD10bE
On a side note thank you for properly using the term once in a generation. There are few more sports terms that cause me to roll my eyes than that.
I didn’t follow Donald much in college but his TFL were pretty far off the charts in college. Even his overall tackles for a dlinemen show that he was carrying the load for that defense.
Kancey is a bit intriguing. Has skills. Not sure if it’s on the level of “special.”
I’ll watch him
Fantastic post as always, Curtis. Cody Barton’s bad angles and poor tackling are ripe for disaster with Kamara, as you mention. We’ll also need Diggs to actually catch the interceptions he’s tossed. I think Landry is a bad matchup for Woolen (he’s more of a cover DK than Tyler guy). Cody Bryant would be a better fit. Olave could have a big day, but I actually like Sydney Jones on him. Bad and banged up as he’s been, I would double (spy) Kamara to cover for Barton. If we can stop the run and the short passes to Kamara, we have a chance to get a pick or two and get off the field.
This Saints team isn’t what it used to be. We should go out, “be the bully” and never let up. When you’re playing a 1-3 team without its starting QB, without its #1 WR, with its best player (Kamara) banged up and underperforming and coming off a trip to Europe, you don’t play down to their level and keep them in the game. You jump on them and ram it down their throat.
Instant reaction stream and article won’t be so instant today
I’m in London watching the Packers vs Giants
Will watch the game in the car and get straight into it when I get home
What a game to be at!
Prediction: Penny and Kamara both run for 120 yds+ and Saints win by 3.
Little concerned about penny and how his shoulder is. Hopefully it’s no big deal.
My prediction is also NO by a field goal
Mine is NO by 7
I predict Seattle, but in a squeaker.
Daboll is doing a phenomenal job coaching the Giants.
Inactives
Marquise Goodwin
Sidney Jones
Justin Coleman
Teez Tabor
Jake Curhan
Dareke Young
Very interesting. Two veteran corners out.
Goodwin out, so Eskridge should rightly get his snaps.
Saints Inactives
Jameis Winston
Jarvis Landry
Michael Thomas
Nick Vannett
Calvin Throckmorton
Markus Maye
Payton Turner
Hawks by 21 with Vannett out.
Brian Daboll not only doing a great job but just had the best celebration heading back into the locker room 😂 he was PUMPED
Mildly excited 😉
https://twitter.com/BrandonLondonTV/status/1579149190630092800
Thanks as always Curtis.
If I’m the NO OC, the Seahawks are going to get a very heavy dose of Alvin Kamara today until they prove they can stop him.
2 runs and we haven’t given up a t.d I’m impressed
“Legion of Gloom”
How appropo
No Jarvis Landry. There’s no excuse not to add help for Kamara and Olave. New Orleans is going to go after Mike Jackson all day (vs. Olave). When Olave goes out, double Kamara with a spy.
Nice start by geno
Outstanding ad lib by he and DK on the TD
Gooooooooooaaaaaaal!
Beautiful floater by Geno
Great start to things. So refreshing to see the offense running smoothly right away.
If geno has a good game I’ll start to change my opinion if him
Al Woods is having none of it so far today!
Al Woods is having himself a game
What was the secondary of New Orleans doing there, afraid to tackle DK? Anyways, great play by Geno and Metcalf.
Business decision, yeah
Myles Adams sighting!
If football had w.a.r Taylor would be a negative
Nice defensive series
Good defensive stand. I liked see Brooks pressuring on 2nd down, but Taylor on 3rd was UGLY. Nice tackle Neal!
I think this off-season Taylor listened to all the hype about himself and got a bit cocky
Love that run formation
Penny runs like a top end luxury 4 door sedan.
Yeah, he doesn’t look that fast on tv because of his size
Throw that play in the trash
My thoughts exactly.
Still no punts.
Should the Hawks have packaged the rockstar punter with Wilson?
Wonder if DK got the wind knocked out of him coming down from that leap.
Coby Bryant looks better on Olave. Jackson is a disaster. Btw, when I say “double” Olave, I don’t mean have someone in zone seven yards short and someone seven yards behind him while he sits in the hole for an easy catch. Stick him and take him out of the game!
Walker doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence, needs a TD.
It’s hard for a r.b to get in a rythym with a couple touches a game
Jesus Christ! We are bad
Diggs taking “tackling lessons form Jamal Adams
Let Geno Cook!! Who would have thought the better QB was riding the bench lol!
I can see this team fighting for a wildcard and right out of the Will Levis sweepstakes, Go Hawks!
Sucks to be Russell Wilson right now, I wonder if he’s homesick?
There’s the defense we know
He gets a lot of grief here, but Cody Bryant does an amazing job at making sure the Seahawks dont get caught with 10 men on the field
We better go on scoring, Kamara and co will be hard to contain.
Make Dalton throw the ball
Same for Hill! You know it’s going to be a run when he’s in. Where were Brooks and Diggs?
Diggs is starting to really suck. Not sure if it’s trying to compensate for other players or if he just doesn’t give a crap. So much for trying to build a defense from the back forward, it doesn’t work
Especially when they are 30 years old and on their 3rd contract.
Tale of two sides of the ball….this offense is a lot of fun to watch right now. And i know, i know, don’t get your hopes up…but Geno looks… really good. He really only ever got to play those first 2 yrs in NY, and never got consistent field time after that. Maybe he gets it now? His tools are pretty solid. Still too small a sample size, I know….
And on the other side of the ball…man, one of the least inspiring defenses of the Carroll era. Maybe the worst one. Somehow being bad against the run is even more demoralizing than being bad against the pass.
Geno has zero pocket awareness
Lucas got a lesson in hand fighting
Dallas needs to chip block to help
Abe just got schooled by Cam Jordan 🙁
Geno needs to step up and/or get rid
That’s the first sack Lucas has given up this year.
That was all Geno
Agreed. He stood there completely numb to the pressure. All he had to do was move a little
yeah…too bad that Lucas gets a “sack allowed” for that.
Lucas will learn a lot going against jordan
The certainly had learning moment written all over it
Not sure why we’ve gone away from the TEs in short and manageable situations. Shouldn’t need Geno to hang in the pocket for so long when needing 5yds or less.
Sometimes you have to give credit to the other team they might have had it all covered
If Al Woods was 5 years younger we could build our DL around him.
seen a lot of Seahawks offenses look like this Saints offense
man Seahawks dodged a bullet 3rd and 14
With our defense 3rd and 14 seems very manageable to convert
Coby Bryant messing around behind the LOS
Not much urgency in the run game today. Erryone seems to be half stepping it a little.
ugh another 3 and out
Seems like we are getting a little conservative
wtf
What’s the point if you’re not at the marker when you make the catch?
Is Waldron calling plays this quarter or has Pete taken the playbook? No creativity since the long Penny run.
What are we doing?
Was that planned or Dickson ad-libbing?
It looked planned based on the blocking.
LOL. What the hell was that?
Uh wut?
What in the actual f*ck?
What was that?
Que the Benny Hilll theme song ” Yakety Saks”
OMG – just give them the win.
Why try to be cute at 10-10 so deep in your own land? But they started stopping our O too easily.
Our D has enough issues without giving an opponent this kind of field position.
i’m not sure that was even a called play
It absolutely was. The blocking was set to go right. You don’t block that way on a punt. That said he probably had the option to punt it. Stupid call though.
what in the world…
so dumb
Dickson doesn’t touch the ball last week. Feels the need to be seen this week? Way to give up a touchdown, you tosser.
Until you know for sure it wasn’t a called play, you might want to hold off on the criticism. Just a suggestion. If you’re right, it’s utterly warranted. If you’re wrong, direct at Pete
I stand by my statement. Unless you’re an Admin, I’d withhold on scolding. This is pot/kettle situation..
Did you notice I said “just a suggestion”?
Do you know for sure that it wasn’t a called play? No one else does.
Copy that. Noted and disregarded. We’re all free to criticize as seen fit, provided things don’t become personal. Let’s keep it that way.
It looked like the Saints brought 4, that was weird
I wonder if that was a called fake?
I thought it was a called fake. It looked to me like Dickson was expecting to throw a pass but there was no receiver out there.
In your own end zone and you try a trick punt or improvise on a special teams blunder … pretty much just gave them massive field position in a tight game … cant be that undisciplined
they cant come back from this, they have yet to make good halftime adjustments for a few seasons at least
Barton there to confirm the TD
He watches plays really well doesn’t he?
Right! Take a picture. Someone must have told them how bad we are at misdirection.
Didn’t they try something similar a few games ago? I don’t think it worked back then = and still doesn’t.
How about some motion? Why is Geno a freakin statue on every play?
See? It works!
Great throw on the run going to his left
Nice throw on the run by Geno. Right on the money.
Nice roll out and throw by Geno!
Great how we move the ball with the TEs
There are some decent plays being called, and with Geno so comfortable hitting tight ends, it can be fun to watch
I’ll give geno credit, he looks better than Russ has for the last couple years.
Nice to have a QB that will take off and grab the yards available to him, rather than take a hit in the pocket while playing hero ball.
Nice downfield block by Walker to help Geno get the first down
Who would have ever thought that we would trade Russ get draft picks and upgrade at qb at the same time.
That pass barely got to the LOS
Hands of stone….
not a gimme by any stretch – – but DK could have had the one. put it in a good spot, maybe a little too much heat on it
He HAS to catch that
100%
Oh c’mon DK!
Can’t blame geno for metcalfs stone hands
cant change those hands
DK has those drops with some tough catches… his hands are like TO
not playing like a $70 million receiver should
Metcalf = so tantalizing = so heartbreaking.
Where is Lockett today? I haven’t heard him called yet.
Cmon DK!
Question, how many Seahawk defenders does it take to tackle Taysom Hill?
Answer, when they can finally tackle him we’ll know lol
Our D makes opposing RBs and TEs into Pro Bowl candidates.
Man Nwosu was breathing down Dalton’s neck
We would need 16 player on defense to tackle him
need to convert that Kamara turnover
Now get a FG
the rookies
Darrell Taylor’s pass rush is nonexistent
And Woolen with the fumble recovery
There’s Lockett
I remember that guy
That’s two fumbles Coby has knocked loose. Pete will like that. Hopefully he can become a solid cover guy.
Just wish they’d put him on the outside
Trying to catch them unawares? Why burn the TO on a crappy run?
Lockett baby solid hands solid catch
Matt Millen is to broadcasting as Matt Millen was to the Detroit Lions.
ooof
Oh my! Geno is playing lights out.
Great job by Geno stepping up and of course Tyler with the great pattern as usual
GENOOOOO
Geno so damn accurate right now
Where’s V12?
All Lockett does is…catch TDs
What a throw too
Wow what a change! Great fumble recovery and touchdown. What a difference it makes in attitude.
What a turn of events
Fooking Myers. Hits a 56 yarder but missed the PAT 🙄
Imagine if d.k could have made that catch
Come out of the half and put another TD on the board. This D will need all the help it can get.
Booya, Geno!!!
If we could be more consistent in the run game geno would play even better.
I see a culture of attitude on the Seahawks offense that has been missing for a while
time to give Waldron some credit too. we have our playmakers involved – we’re using our TE’s consistently, our WR’s are open. we are a good NFL offense. That’s 20 first half pts against a good D.
It’s so weird seeing the middle of the field utilized
and the te’s. almost too much, throw to the receivers or running back sometimes lol
well said
definitely seeing Waldron utilizing Geno’s strengths
The defense is awful but Woolen and Bryant are playmakers and look like long term pieces. Can’t believe how good Geno looks. Figured this might be the week he got exposed but not so far that’s for sure.
If Tre Brown can stay healthy when he comes back, things look good in our CB room.
I agree Smith was really impressive before getting hurt. When he comes back woukd love to see them move Bryant outside and him in the slot.
If they could find an enforcer Strong Safety in the draft next year that could be a really good group.
Meant to say Brown was impressive.
It would also be nice to have a capable veteran l.b to put next to brooks
Refs handled this properly
I think he’s down but I’m prejudiced so…………
Whatever the outcome, good to see the refs handle it right.
I must say we looked much better in the first half than I expected.
D.k puts the ball on the ground way to much
Per usual, DK giveth and DK taketh away.
2 huge mistakes in our own end. This D isn’t good enough to handle that
Nice defense Ryan!
Coby coming up huge
No flag for holding?
Two good defensive strips. Is the defense getting tougher?
COBY!!! Great job not giving up
is it a catch in endzone?
Sadly I think it is
doesn’t he have to complete the catch by maintaining possession when he goes to ground?
How is Matt Millen commentating games? Does he know anything about football?
If they ruled DK’s fumble a catch then this should be too. I say they reverse the call. Saints TD.
Agreed. We may not necessarily like it, but at least calls are consistent. 🤷🏻♂️
D.k has cost us 14 pts on his own this game
11 points DK
7 points Dickson
1 point Myers
19 point swing
Bingo
*Dickson or coaches
We still don’t know yet if it was actually called
Dickson has an option to punt.. he has executed similar plays in the past
If so, he chose the wrong option
Time for walker to show up
It’s not your day DK
Thanks to d.k the momentum has totally shifted
100%
Horrible sequence
And right after DK turned it over to give them 7. They obviously have all the momentum right now. They are at their own 10 so maybe we can force a turnover and get our own easy TD.
Anyone else noticing how many points the Lions are putting up so far this week?
Yep. I noticed. Doesn’t say much for our D.
Well Belichick is a defensive coach and Pete Carroll……………….oh wait.
Ha! That made me laugh.
Man… imagine how bad our defense would be if Pete was an offensive coach!
The Lions and Atlanta are doing nothing today. Also the Broncos are a mess and the Saints are not very good. The only good team that the Seahawks played was not very competitive, San Fran.
I am waiting to see if Seattle can compete with the good teams. I am highly skeptical.
High ankle sprain? 8 weeks?
I’ll take that.
Looked worse, maybe.
You might be right
Some people on twitter are speculating an achilles injury.
Did it look like that to you?
Couldn’t tell but cart says they may be right
I just figured high sprain by the fact he couldn’t put any weight on it
Brooks laying wood this drive
But we’re back to running for 1 yard then throwing an incomplete pass… Hard to get something this way.
The receiver’s are letting geno down today
Sadly true.
Olave should be out for the game with a concussion. Zero reason not to sell out to stop the run! We’re playing a team without All 3 of their starting WRs.
Has n.o even thrown at woolen today?
They have now 🙂
Savage!
Kinda knew why not to 🙂 Great job Woolen, what a draft steal.
They just did and INT! lol
and there you go!! Woolen….what a steal in the 5th round….
Woolen LOB worthy!
Tariq Woolen!!!
I was literally just thinking they haven’t targeted Tariq much today. Kid is a stud.
Millen is right about ball placement tho
But credit Tariq with catching it and being in a decent enough position to still get a poor throw
Let the healing begin DK
Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor need to publicly initiate Woolen as part of the future LOB hahaha
Thank you for holding on there DK
Who picked up that inside blitz? Saved the sack.
I’ll run it back on commercial and let you know
Fooking penalty!
Deflating
Geno has played a fantastic game,but the team around him has let him down
So many penalties, we are beating ourselves today.
How can the kicking team block in the back? WTF?
Clearly Cross was holding. But I’ve watched the Saints do the same or worse on a handful of other plays today that weren’t called.
we need to sell it better like they do.
I didn’t see the hold on replay. False call.
Screen against a Seattle all out blitz. Ouch
The one player you have to account for and you let him break out
Bench Darrell Taylor now
Game over
seahawks d getting burnt on a blitz….AGAIN
Feels like we had a shot today and we blew it.
I hate playing the Saints.
Quandre with a Jamal Adams-esque no-hit at the 2.
LIGHT HIM UP.
What a half-ass attempt of doing nothing. 🤦♂️
Not the first time today cha. He got paid. Ain’t no thing
How could you possibly leave the only playmaker on the field (Kamara) uncovered on the screen?
See Curtis’ comments about tackling Kamara.
New Orleans caught Seattle in an all out blitz.
Right! Why would you all out blitz and leave him uncovered? Just stop Kamara. Their starting QB and all three starting RBs are out of the game.
Meant WRs.
This game was ours and we blew it
Play well enough to be encouraged, but blow it with mistakes…
I’ll take that result this year.
They really out here talking about the refs. Against a crap team on a three game losing streak and still down two scores.
Geno playing this well puts us in a weird position this off-season. Do you keep him and build the rest of the roster or draft a rookie qb while you have high draft picks?
Richardson if he declares.
Never expected Geno to play this well, got to admit.
Could give us the luxury of drafting a guy who needs more time to develop.
though… if Geno plays well this year, it might be difficult to re-sign him, even if we want to.
Hopefully strategize for both options, then take the best deal on draft day.
each game that passes by, the less faith I have in the front office to rebuild this team. Again, no halftime adjustments. Pathetic. so much wrong with this team and d scheme, it hasnt clicked t this point, go back to the way it was
Worst. Game announcers. Ever.
“Going for 2 to make it a 3 point game!” Uh, it’s 31-25.
FOX’s 10th string team
That was an awesome and dangerous throw all at the same time!
GREAT throw
Geno is just way beyond what we expected
BOOM BABY!
Nicely done Geno
That was a perfect throw
Geno is wowing me
Geno to Lockett… WHAT A THROW & CATCH!
Beautiful Touchdown throw and catch. Too early to chase the 2 pointer though.
Geno is playing out of his mind.
give lockett thae dk money
Can someone explain the logic behind going for 2 here
I guess if you get the 2, and then score a TD, you’re up 3 and don’t lose on a FG. But kind of a stretch…
Tater pounded a Red Bull, thought it was apple juice.
If Geno plays like this all season – it’s got to change the thought process a little. Game by game – we’ll see. But he is throwing dimes.
I think I can get on board with geno next year and a developmental qb in the draft. The way geno is playing he can get you to the playoffs. We need to spend a lot of resources on our defense
it is such an appealing thought to load the D up w some draft day talent.
Thats going to be tough. If Geno stays at this level he will demand a multi year $20m per year contract. That will use up almost all of our effective cap space. This is his last chance at a contract. He won’t take another one year prove it deal.
Geno should have 5 to passes today against a good defense
definitely
agree 100%
now Millen saying Geno is a Plunkett/Gannon late bloomer QB
I assume going for 2 was to leave us down 7 if they get a FG?
w Olave out – can we not stack the line against the run?
Defense need another turnover or a quick out
Brooks not taking a step up is among the biggest disappointmetns for me this year
Our LBs are a liability.
I appreciate Ryan Neal’s tackling and find him underrated
oh man Seahawks dodged a bullet on 4th down …
what a BS call to give them the 1st down
I lost count, we must be at 20 penalties by now…
“Weak” is a fucking understatement
The NFL really wants NO to win. Phantom defensive holding call on Woolen
Mone playing well today too.
Mafe wasn’t in the neutral zone
Nice make up call there
100%
The refs taketh away, the refs giveth
100% agree
Yes = I would like to see a report on how accurate the refs were in this game. From my viewpoint they have blown several calls. Just let them play.
Long drive now and end it with a TD and we’re ahead.
Win or lose at least we are entertained
it’s only game 5, but this season has been pretty high on the entertainment value – exceeding expectations – and it’s mainly b/c the offense is fun again.
I just wish the refs would let the players play and stay out of the game. Only call obvious penalties
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
OOOOOOO That will boost Walkers confidence.
Come on, we got all the cool kids this year…
Walker 3 era has begun!
Vision to see a large hole. Good backside cut KW
TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS!!!
Kenneth Walker welcome to the NFL!
Geno deserves major credit. Audibled at the line.
I didn’t see that. Thanks for pointing it out
Man this rookie class is awesome!
Next man up… Welcome to the NFL Kenneth Walker III
Wow, KW first huge run! This definitely is entertaining.
good luck catching #9 from behind!!
Win or lose I’m proud of how they battled today.
A lead after all the mistakes is something else.
Saints drive needs to stall they cant have final possession with this dee
I knew he was going to pop one this game!
even when Saints are so blatantly obvious they couldnt stop Hill
Sadly true
Our defense🤮
they are the TURD in the punch bowl…
well, woolen is fast …
Did you see how fast Tariq was even if the play was shit?
Poor defense! Why is everyone on the line?
He may not have the personnel but I’m not convinced Hurtt could coordinate a defense out of a wet paper bag.
i’m so sick of brooks/barton, you know the guys who are supposed to make the tackles, being completely out of the play…..
We may be better off with speedier DBs replacing LBs
bandit package 3 1 7
Quandre another missed tackle at the LOS right in the hole.
$18m
After all the money and draft picks they have put into the safety spot, they still need two safeties. It’s just sick!
Diggs has regressed this season.
The Jamal Adams school of tackling
100%
Nice miss tackle from Diggs.
Those contracts for Diggs and Adams are nooses around this team’s neck
That’s 3 HORRIBLE plays by Diggs today that were extremely visible. It’s almost as if he doesn’t give a damn
Woolen & Woods are the only good players on defense. Have hopes for Bryant.
Hey at least Barton was in on the play for the conversion
and now Geno panics and doesn’t throw the ball away.
would have just been 4th down then. how do you have a play where Kenneth Walker is assigned to block Cam Jordan? crazy
Walker blocked Jordan twice. This is on Geno for not throwing the ball. At least take a shot downfield.
Walker on Jordan is bad
Not even a little. Walker did just fine.
That’s all on Geno.
He bought Geno the time to be decisive, which he wasn’t
Geno content to take the sack rather than take off. He did learn under #3….
3rd and short… STOP Taysom Hill
Yet anotherEmbarrassing display by the defense
Nice scheme there, Hurtt. Let’s leave the middle wide open. This dude is out of his depth. Somewhere, a strip club needs a good bouncer.
Bad scheme, bad players. Not sure which deserves more credit.
Notice how the Lions got shut out today?
Seahawks need a turnover. This turkey is just about cooked.
dk, diggs and dickeson cost us this game
All of our big money players all played like garbage today
Not Lockett. He came to play, when Waldron remembered he was on the roster.
Ball game
You can’t depend on this D to win jack shit
Pete will still coach like they can
Maybe the seahawks should try to get Taysom Hill in the off season. Gain a good quarterback and hurt the Saints at the same time.
the D is an embarrassment
Cody Barton gets swept out wide before the snap and takes on the blocker, rather than the RB.
This defense should be embarrassed. Imagine being in that locker room and having to look the offense in the eye.
Yee Haw! One game closer to a high draft pick.
unfortunately, pc will be making the draft decisions.
this game was really right there for the taking….couple mistakes, some penalties, and a defense that can’t be relied upon to stop anything anytime. oh well.
This D just gave up 39 points to an Andy Freaking Dalton led team with a bunch of nobody receivers. Blame DK and Dickson all you want. This defense sucks. You can’t expect an offense to score 40 every week.
And 45 to Goff and the Lions who were shut out today. Well done Pete!
So we have a QB who is playing easily top 10 level but can’t win a game in the fourth quarter (think last week was maybe the first time with us so that makes him what 1-4 depending on if you count the Rams game?) and a defense that is straight up garbage.
I think a reasonable plan is to fire PCJS, hire an offensive HC and new GM (PRIOR to the draft), let them see if they want a QB this year and keep Geno at least as a backup.
Also, the Lions scored 45 fewer points this week compared to last week…
Do you have the players to make this defensive scheme work?
What can you say about the effort of your players on defense?
You talked about limiting explosive plays all week. The Saints had several. What is the key to getting these stopped?
Are you concerned this team cannot put a complete game together?
Why are penalties such a big problem for this defense?
What was the thought process on the 2pt try and the Dickson fake?
I completely agree…it doesn’t matter what Geno does, this D stinks like high heaven.
All these last several years have proven to me; is our Defensive HC doesn’t know how to build a Defense to fit any of his schemes.
His personnel decisions & use of players has not improved at all.
It’s a total embarrassment on that side of the ball.
He needs to be asked some serious questions & held accountable.
scheme takes a back seat when your defense is struggling to tackle still
CHA,
Your questions are spot on brother. I don’t think we have the proper personnel to run the scheme on defense. Darrell Taylor has disappeared. Boa Maffei needs more time on the field to actually see what he’s capable of.
Outside of a 35 year old Al woods, Woolen is about our only other bright spot on defense. The linebackers are getting chewed up, but will get a lot of tackles because the ball is always around them. I’m really concerned about safety, because digs seriously looks like he’s just going through the motions.
I think there needs to be a legitimate sit down and a coming to Jesus meeting. They’re literally is no point of this office putting up 30 points a game and the Defense giving up 33 to 35. If this is the competitive nature we’re going with, we better make some huge changes to the defense next year. I know quarterback is our biggest need for a legitimate future, what a really good quarterback still isn’t going to cover this crappy defense
*Boye Mafe…
STUPID TALK/TEXT. ugh
Instead the questions will be how good is Al woods, and how good are the Seattle mariners
As I sit here trying to put into words how I feel about this loss, I am capable of seeing the bright spots of today’s game and I’m also capable of understanding this team is exactly what we thought it would be; a team trying to find an identity in a rebuild.
– Geno played a pretty good game and made some amazing throws today. Him losing out on that touchdown to DK because of the Cross hold really sucks (officials were letting NO do it, but I digress). – Losing Penny and then seeing Walker bust a big run was a plus.
– The defense outside of Woods/Woolen and a couple plays here or there, was complete dog poo, but I’m not surprised to be honest.
– I’m still scratching my head regarding Dickson and the run, instead of punting.
– I am rewatching the game now and I am going to try and key in on Diggs’ mediocre play; he looked HORRIBLE in the 3rd/4th and I’m expecting to see the same in the 1st half. As I continue to think about next year’s cap situation, knowing that we have over $30 million in salary next year for our two bum starting safeties is really disheartening.
I am going to pull a Dennis Green and state “they are who we thought they were”. This was an UGLY, but winnable game. I saw this team being a 5-7 win team and at roughly 1/3 of the season gone, we’re on par with that. I will have more to follow as I watch this game back
I wonder why if Seattle Seahawks made attempt to trade for Deon Jones he would be upgrade in the middle wouldn’t he? Don’t forget it’s all about competition
Rob got another question for you if for some the Seahawks move on from Rashad Penny next year do you think Josh Jacobs would be good option raiders didn’t tender him .