This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Record: 1-4

Thoughts

Not much went right for the Seahawks this quarter.  A loss to the Lions that closed out the first quarter could be rationalized away, given how good Detroit has played since then.  But losing four out of five has absolutely put this team in a tailspin heading into the bye.

They were outscored by 28 points, outgained by 396 yards (374 of them in the running game) and their turnover ratio was -3.

A ‘get right’ win in Atlanta now looks like a poor performance by the Falcons more than a full-force display of how the Seahawks will operate for the remainder of the season.

MVP

1 Geno Smith

It is not his counting numbers (64.48% completion rate, seven touchdowns, six interceptions) that necessarily bring him the hardware. It is his resilience and the fact that nearly every player capable of Team MVP play (D.K. Metcalf, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Leonard Williams, Riq Woolen) has either been hurt or turned in a pedestrian level of play this quarter.

Playing behind one of the NFL’s worst Offensive Lines and not getting killed is achievement enough.

His receivers did not help him much, either.  He had a 64.48% completion rate this quarter but suffered through 18 drops by his targets.  If all 18 of those catches connect his completion rate skyrockets to 74%.

2 Michael Dickson

Amidst the chaos on both the offense and defense, Dickson had one of his best-ever five game stretches this quarter.  That is saying something, given Dickson has been one of the NFL’s best all-time punters.

Dickson had nine punts of 55 yards or more this quarter, topped out by a 68-yard blast.  He also had two 62-yard punts, including one from his own end zone after the Seahawks had taken a Delay of Game penalty.

In the Buffalo game he had four punts for a 61.3 yard per punt average.

He was asked more than once to punt instead of the team trying a long Field Goal.  He only had one touchback and recorded eleven punts inside the 20-yard line, again one of his career-best stretches.

I know how it sounds.  When your punter is getting MVP votes, things are not going well for your team.

But none – and I mean none – of Seattle’s woes are due to Dickson.  He is still in his prime and he enters his final contract year in 2025.  Expect another extension this off-season.

3 Charles Cross

He has played 100% of the offensive snaps at Left Tackle, only been flagged once for Holding and is sporting an 84.6 PFF grade (#5 overall), split between an 80.4 Pass Blocking (#17) and 82.9 Run Blocking (#6) Grades.

In a fair and just world where the rest of the line is not a disaster, those numbers might even be better.

He may not be Walter Jones but Left Tackle has been the one position fans do not have to worry about and that is extremely valuable to a franchise with so many holes on its roster.

Rookie Of the Quarter

1 A.J.Barner

Nine catches on twelve targets for 92 yards and six first downs is not nothing.  After nine career games (including two with no offensive action) Barner is just about matching Will Dissly’s 2023 output at the halfway mark for the Seahawks for about a tenth of the cap cost.

His blocking needs improvement but there is skill to work with.

2 Everybody Else

No other rookies really differentiated themselves this quarter.

Byron Murphy missed games with an injury, Tyrice Knight did not get on the field much and Christian Haynes has not been able to win time from Anthony Bradford, who looks dreadful.

Mike Jerrell had a nice game against the Falcons after being thrust into the lineup by another Right Tackle injury but looked like a sixth-round rookie against the Rams after another Right Tackle injury.

Successes

1 The Atlanta Win

That was a signature win this season.  Going into Atlanta and enforcing your will on a talented club was a thing to see.  They did not turn the ball over and only were flagged for five penalties.

Yes, the Falcons ran for over 100 yards in the first half on this defense.  But they could only manage a touchdown while the offense was managing seventeen points.

The defense adjusted at halftime and shut the Falcons running game down in their first two series of the second half, making Kirk Cousins pass his way for a touchdown on their opening drive.  The offense then immediately answered with a touchdown drive of their own and the defense three-and-outed the Falcon offense, and the game turned one dimensional.

Seattle’s talented young pass rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall combined for a strip sack touchdown and that essentially was game over.

Coby Bryant and Julian Love recorded interceptions just to slam the door on the Falcons and make the plane ride back across the country a happy one.

2 Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Career Game

Smith-Njigba has struggled to find his place in this offense, from being overshadowed by D.K.Metcalf being force-fed targets to once again being shoved into a non-optimal role of being Line of Scrimmage Gadget Guy.

It felt like those shackles fell off against the Rams and a career day resulted.  Seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns were the result.  131 of those yards were gained before the catch, finally showing how he can exploit defenses further downfield.

NFL Defensive Coordinators know that Smith-Njigba is talented.  But now they know he can carry the Seahawks’ passing offense if Metcalf is out.

3 Lavishka Shenault’s 97-yard Kickoff Return for a Touchdown

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

1 Coaching

This team has swung wildly from brief moments of success to head-shaking failures that even the most casual fans can easily identify.  Mike Macdonald appears like the little Dutch boy trying to plug 11 holes in the dam with just ten fingers.

Every time the offensive line seems at least competent, the defense cannot stop the running game to save their lives.  When the defense starts working, major components get (or remain in the case of Jerome Baker) hurt.  When special teams seem to get out of their own way, Dee Williams has a catastrophic attempt at a return, or a critical game-tying Field Goal try is blocked and they lose the game on the return.

Translating a vision to the players and then onto the field has been exceedingly difficult.

But perhaps one of the most damning aspects of the coaching staff’s performance this quarter was the play-calling and formations.  Ryan Grubb is an imaginative coach whose skillset has a place in the NFL to be sure but he seems handcuffed in a self-inflicted way.

Establishing the running game is talked about every week as vital.  And yet, many times this quarter, the running game was ignored.  When it was given attention, it was simple ‘run up this gap’ plays, running behind guards that have been very poor in blocking.

The Seahawks are down to their fourth-string Right Tackle and yet rarely have we seen any help given to that side in a deliberate fashion.  Leaving that player on an island is madness.  Nor have there been many plays called that shorten up the Quarterback’s release time or use the opponent’s defensive aggressiveness against them.  Grubb’s creativity rarely seems to show up in key moments.

On defense, the pass rush plan has been very confusing.  In the Buffalo game they only achieved one pressure of Josh Allen.  One!  Against San Francisco they achieved four pressures of Brock Purdy.  Five total pressures on two of the NFL’s best Quarterbacks will kill you.  And it did.  They lost the Time of Possession battle in both of those games by a wide margin.

This bye comes at the perfect time to reassess their techniques and ask questions about their game preparation and in-game decision making.

2 The Offensive Line

The Seahawks have been a living, breathing demonstration of how not fielding even a league-average Offensive Line can hinder the entire team.

They were perhaps the worst position unit in the NFL this quarter.

Geno Smith was sacked 17 times and pressured 44 times this quarter.  The running game rarely has holes to run through.

Connor Williams seems to have regressed to a worrisome degree after a decent start.

The guards have been among the NFL’s worst.  To the point questions have to be asked as to why rookies Sataoa Lumea and Christian Haynes are not getting game snaps.  Could they be worse than Laken Tomlinson and Anthony Bradford?

Is Jalen Sundell deserving of a shot at some NFL snaps?

The ‘Offensive Line will gel given time’ argument no longer holds water.

To be fair, the Seahawks have been left with their fourth choice at Right Tackle while George Fant and Abe Lucas recovered from injury and Stone Forsythe was then injured as well.  That one spot on the Offensive line is not hard to justify poor results from (aside from the coaching staff giving them little to no help as discussed above).

This offseason will require a dedicated effort to rebuild this line.  The only option that should be off the table is ‘let’s give this unit another season’ and ‘we’ll fill the holes in our line in the summer like we always have.’

The poor quality of this line threatens to sink the team and her General Manager.  Action is needed.

3 Run Defense

The Seahawks gave up 158 rushing yards per game this quarter and that places them among the bottom 10 teams in the NFL for the season in nearly every category.

Tyrone Tracy, Bijan Robinson, Isaac Guerendo and James Cook had individual games that are at or near their career-bests.

Run-stopper Johnathan Hankins currently has a 33.6 PFF grade.

Mike Morris and Myles Adams could not adequately fill in when Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy were out with injuries.

Roy Robinson-Harris was brought in from Jacksonville.  Jerome Baker was traded and Ernest Jones was brought in as a result of such poor play from the defense.

Third Quarter Games

@ San Francisco

Arizona

@ New York Jets

@ Arizona

Goals for Third Quarter

1 Put Together Back-to-Back Solid Efforts

Showing fans and the ownership the vision that you discussed in January is critical.  A playoff spot this year is not completely out of reach – but it should be considered as such.  So, take this time and work on 2025.

Cut down on the fatal mistakes.  Highlight the fighting effort the players have been putting in.  Swing those field-tilting plays in your direction.

2 Figure Out A Way to Improve the Offensive Line

Abe Lucas may be back soon.  He will likely need a full adjustment period after nearly a whole calendar year away from game action.

Something must give with the three interior players though.  What is it?  A midnight cut?  A very public in-game benching of an underperforming player that shocks the rest of the unit into performing?

Every option should be on the table.

3 Win A Division Game

The Seahawks are 0-2 in the NFC West so far this season.  With three of the four games in this upcoming quarter division games, they have a real chance to show their rivals that they are not going down without a fight.

The Niners will likely have Christian McCaffrey back.  Arizona has been a surprisingly competitive team.

Not much matters when it comes to your standing in the league if you cannot be competitive in your own division.

Time to put up or shut up.