I just can’t get excited about this win or, to be honest, this team.
They held a 20-3 lead in the fourth quarter, going up against a quarterback who Washington had consigned to the dustbin a few weeks ago.
Dwayne Haskins struggled, badly, for three quarters. He threw two terrible interceptions. He looked disjointed and frankly quite hopeless.
Yet with the game virtually in the bag, somehow the Seahawks allowed him to lead two easy touchdown drives and he was on the brink of a third until L.J. Collier and Carlos Dunlap saved the day with a pair of sacks.
Had Seattle lost this game, it would’ve been even worse than the Giants debacle.
Until the late sacks, the pass rush offered nothing. It was all so easy for Washington’s rag-tag cast of characters, against another backup QB and missing their top running back.
When an opponent gets on a roll, the defense too often looks like this.
Passive, soft and vanilla.
It’s not good enough and you can start counting down the days towards major staffing changes in the off-season.
Yet the bigger concern is on offense.
Russell Wilson just isn’t right. And look — I appreciate the game plan today called for a heavy dose of running. The Seahawks had great success running, managing 181 yards on 26 rushes.
But nobody can look at how Wilson is playing currently and feel confident about his ability to turn it on in the most important game of the regular season next week.
The offense just went into a box in the fourth quarter, when they simply needed one drive to finish things.
The only real positive I even feel like mentioning is D.J. Reed. He had a terrific game. Kudos to him.
Yes the Seahawks won and yes they’re in the playoffs. Let’s be real, a post-season berth was the absolute minimum expectation this year.
The key thing is what you do in the playoffs. Nothing about how Seattle has played this season suggests they’re set to go on a tear when it matters.
Maybe next week can spark things? They have to be a lot better than this.
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what do we think is the deal w RW?
this is the same guy who was killing everybody in weeks 1-5. the pass protection was not awful today.
Is he hurt? Is it in his head?
It seems crazy to say, but he is the problem on the team right now.
I think above all teams have made adjustments. They take DK seriously now, and everyone took Lockett pretty seriously before.
I think we lack weapons. Hollister and Dissly are fine but nothing exceptional. Maybe the OC’s play calling has been a bit underwhelming? These things add up.
I hear you – but you shouldn’t be able to take away two good WR’s just b/c they now know they’re good. Teams take all the good receivers around the league seriously, and they still produce.
Agreed. Our TEs are not that good. Also really not a fan of David Moore. We need a starting level 3rd WR
Flash to the rescue?
I’m sorry but RW has some kind of post-concussion syndrome
Having had it from soccer, you are rummy, rattled and your thinking, decision making is really simple almost child-like self-preservative
He looks half-debilitated out there
forever though?
it’s been a long time since he took the shots we’re thinking of against AZ.
It’s something though…. this is the worst stretch I can recall from him.
The hit he took on the play immediately before he threw the pick to Buddha Baker in the 1st Cardinals game (the pick DK chased down). He took a nasty hit and his game has been off ever since then. Go back and watch the tape. Pretty sure he was KO’d on his feet and it was missed.
I agree with you.
Russ is an average qb right now.
All I can say is agree 100% with this. I just can’t get excited about this win or team either. I would take it a step further and say I can’t get excited about NFL football. The rule changes and officiating have made it almost unwatchable at times.
That call on KJ was BS.
The Tampa Bay gift 1st down at the end of the game was one of the biggest BS calls I’ve seen in a while.
The way the rule is written, its a judgement call if the receiver is defenseless. He went upfield and lowered his head and body. I agree it sucks.. In todays NFL you just have to make snap judgements on defense when to lower your shoulder and when to put your hands up..
In this scenario he was going down so, KJ coulda have just fell on top of him.. Which sucks for defensive players because it opens them up to more injuries if they haver lower their shoulder to match an offensive players head and shoulder being lowered..
In no way shape or form was that a penalty. KJ hit him with his bicep. The only reason he got hit in the head was because he balled up and lowered his head. There’s no way he was defenseless as he balled up to protect himself. I’m all for player safety but if the league is really serious about it they would start flagging ball carriers for lowering their heads like that. They won’t but that play was only dangerous because of the receiver.
I agree with you, however by the rule they have in place.. its closer to being a penalty than not a penalty..
You have to read KJ’s lips and even vilma picked up on it.. He said “where do you want me to hit him” thats why the new crackback block says if you his a player and your back is to the endzone its instant penalty.. It they put their hands up and a blocking/shock absorption type of play… No penalty..
Thats what i think the future of the NFL is gonna be.. And i dont know why it hasnt been taught to defenses for the last 3 or 4 years.. Especially when the NFL has been implementing these unnecessary roughness calls for years now. They’ve tweaked em here and there and made it better… its just not worth it to me to hit a player going to the ground or thats leaning forward.. he scrunched into a ball. you just have to put hands on him to make him down by contact..
plain and simple.
If you don’t think the NFL doesn’t want Golden Boy Tawmmy in the playoffs you haven’t paid attention to how he and Pey Pey were treated throughout their careers.
This. And if anyone has watched the Bucs a lot this year they will have seen a team hooked up by the refs more than any other by far. Blatant no calls that should be called against them all across the board and a bunch that go for them against their opponents. A good number in the total bs category.
This win left me feeling empty. All they had to do was hold the 20-3 lead and I would have been a really happy camper. Instead, we had to have the high drama of watching them try to give the game away…again.
As the Jets come out and dominate the Rams in the 1Q. I am sure it will change but how does that happen.
It’s the NFL Trev. U know this. So much can change week to week.
I saw a stat that the Jets have scored in 8 straight opening game drives. They dont play bad the first quarter, just the other three.
Agree Vol thats why it is the hardest sport to bet on IMO.
Nah forget about winning games. We should just have the chiefs beat the Packers in the super bowl right now and be done with it.
Every seed is sewn up, and the NFC goes through Lambeau already
I don’t know why you get so het up on this topic.
The Packers have to lose to the crappy old Bears and the Seahawks have to win out for the #1 seed.
The Packers have won 17 of their last 20 games against the Bears.
The minute Seattle lost to NYG, it was done. It was a fair thing to say.
You’re acting like it was thoroughly outrageous.
Yup. 538’s odds aren’t perfect, but they tell the story. 4% odds at the #1 seed at the moment. If the Jets hold out today?
Still 4%.
The team’s best change, IMO, is getting the 5th seed and taking on the best of the LEast.
Won’t matter one bit if the Rams actually lose to the Jets, which they won’t. But if they did, they still win the division if they beat the Hawks next week and then the Cards in week 17. They’ll have the tiebreaker on us virtue of 2 wins head to head. Our only hope would be the Cards beating them and I hate depending on other teams.
Spread was 5, won by 5. Right on schedule.
They had to win the last 2 games and they did, so kudos to them. But the season truly comes down to the Rams. If they can beat the Rams (who they have struggled mightily against), then I will have hope for the post season.
If they can’t even beat the Rams, that essentially guaruntees a wildcard berth and subsequently a short playoff run.
I just don’t think our coaching is up to snuff. Carrol and Norton are done. They are old, Pete loves to waste time outs, and this team is just not able to adjust when they have to.
Kudos to Schotty and the offense for playing the right way against this team and having a good game plan, really if Rus doesn’t throw that pass that got tipped he comes away having a pretty decent game considering how good Washington’s dline is.
Unfortunately, doesn’t look like we are getting rid of Pete. But Norton needs to go. Even if schotty gets hired as a hc, I would fire Norton. The Seahawks’ message of “continuity is important” is absolute fiction, considering the o-line just dominated one of the best d-lines in football despite having little continuity from last year.
not that should have mattered – b/c we seemed to be the far superior team through 3 quarters – but the biggest play in the game was that tipped pick w the Hawks up 20-9 and driving in WA territory. it’s a bit of bad luck, but seems like bad things keep happening in our crappy passing game right now.
maybe we can turn it around, but it’s been a long time since the offense has looked crisp and effective, let alone explosive.
Absolutely was. Momentum changed and it knocked Russ out of the little bit of rhythm he was in. DK was starting to get going too. Wonder if he shoulda sude armed that?
One thing Ive noticed over these last 10 years is we have never had a killer instinct. We just dont know how to put teams away. We always take our foot off the gas and play conservative. To me this will always be the way it is as long as Pete is our coach.
McVay gonna hammer this defense.
It seems like what the offense needs are threats up the middle of the field and a couple designed QB runs up the middle towards the beginning of the game to keep them honest. Teams have learned to bracket DK and Tyler deep, but we’re not exploiting LBs in coverage up the seam or forcing them do dedicate a QB spy.
Great point Seamode. I am really surprised they have not tried to get Dissly or Hollister more involved early with some throws down the seem to at least make DC’s have something to think about
Seattle has had more sacks than any other team over the last six games, and held teams to 16 points per game over that stretch. The Rams may play well next week, but it won’t be because Seattle’s defense has been recently exposed or exploited.
If the Jets pull off a miracle and the Chiefs beat NO I will feel a whole lot better about this win I can assure you that.
I just have so many questions:
It’s been brought up a few times in the gamethread. But it’s very clear that getting the ball in David Moore’s hands has been a big part of the gameplan this year (the screens, the reverses, the manufactured touches). And you have to ask why? I can’t understand it. I just hope now that Gordon will be back it will be Lockett in the slot running those plays.
We’re getting used to it now, but why are TE’s so underutilised in this offense? Washington had backups/rookies at LB today. Logical to target TE’s? Obviously not.
Why does it take them so long to get DK involved? It’s almost like they get to the 3Q and then remember that they have a player like this on the team.
In the first quarter we were running all over them. Yet so often they’ll gash them for 10 yards on the ground, followed by an empty backfield on the next play. Why can’t you keep at it or run PA?
Why is there 2 drives a game where the D just falls asleep and looks like toilet paper?
When it became Washington’s entire offense gameplan was Logan Thomas and passes to the running back, why did we just let it happen and not make an adjustment?
I wish the Seattle media would do their job…
Speaking of Media, I thought Vilma was horrendous today. My favourite quote from today- “Seattle has to put the gas on the pedal”
All those questions are legit, and I think a lot of it boils down to poor coaching, pure and simple.
Vilma was horrendous, listening to Romo and Nantz now is night and day. Pretty amazing the difference of quality in commentors, you wouldn’t think it was that hard of a job but when Romo and Nantz are the exception, I am starting to think I am better off having the game muted.
We don’ t see all the downfield routes that hes running.. but they do try and get him 1 on 1 coverage a lot.. When he was getting more catches he was just running slants and a few crossing routes.. They went to 5 defensive linemen look to take away the run and the fact they were missing most their linebackers so..
I didnt mind Vilma all that much, he just see the game differently as a defensive player, he just looks that that side of the ball more than the offense.. Still better than most, especially Joe Buck and Troy Aikmen or Brady quinn, Adam Archuleta, ect..
For all the lamenting, the OL performed pretty well.
Only had 2 injuries of note… which was a big deal to me… with the crap field in Washington.
The injury to DJ Dallas was hard to see, love the kid. Iupati is banged up again with a neck injury.
The game plan worked pretty well for the offense overall…. controlled the most dangerous element of the Washington Defense (DL) and neutralized them mostly. RBs looked good and had several big plays including one explosive play for a 50 yard TD. Rushed the ball pretty effectively with Penny seeing a few touches, while Carson and Hyde looked fresh and healthy.
Washington got a gift penalty on the KJ Wright pass play. Putting them in position to make it interesting…. but the defense held up just enough. The CBs held up on most passing plays, only the TE was giving Seattle true fits all game.
Closer than some would have liked, but I had always thought this might turn into a slugfest… and late money was coming in an Washington and at +6.5…. LOL
You’re neglecting to mention that somehow in the fog of an almost defeat, Rob forgot to include in his rant how many sacks Montez Sweat and Chase Young combined for against our third string left tackle.
Oh, what? It was zero? That’s not possible, I thought DJ Reed was the only Seahawk with a good game.
But surely Michael Dickson gave Washington great field position all day.
What? He had 4 punts averaging 50 yards each, and they were all inside the 20 (at least two inside the 10)? And Meyers hit his 31st consecutive FG and Seattle’s special teams are the best they’ve been in years? Oh, geez.
And Jamaal Adams had his 9.5th sack of the season, plus two other 3rd down stops? Wow, maybe Seattle doesn’t suck after-all. (Oh, I forgot — Adam’s sacks don’t count because someone else has to play safety when he gets them.)
Sorry — right tackle.
Rant?
So because you disagreed, my opinion is now a rant?
I’ve never been so aware of the use of undermining tactics as I have this year. Is it an American thing?
Also the point about Adams — why do people feel obliged to desperately misconstrue everything that has been written to try and win a point?
Are people that insecure about the Seahawks?
Yes, they are. They really are.
Rob, my apologies for the sarcasm and passive aggressive remarks. I’m very grateful you run this blog, and you’ve added a lot to the Seahawk fan experience over the years.
All that in mind, I’ll state my point more directly: you only found one player worth making a positive comment about on the entire team. This when the offensive line was down a starter and had a masterful performance against one of the best D-Lines in the entire league, allowed no sacks, racked up huge rushing yardage, and won the game on the road. Isn’t that what you call “being the bully”?
A game review that ignores all of that (plus the other redeeming elements I noted in my snarky post above), points out a few bad elements of the game (which there were!) and then says, “The only real positive I even feel like mentioning is D.J. Reed,” qualifies as a rant in my view.
As for Adams, it seemed to me that your take on his sacks last week was needlessly negative. It takes him 10 rushes to get one sack a game…and that’s bad? How many rushes does Aaron Donald take per sack? You’re right to wonder how the defense does when he rushes, but evaluate the defense as a whole — especially since picking up Dunlap — and they are a top unit over the past several games.
I’m not averse to hearing critique of the Seahawks, I’ve got plenty of my own including critique of Russell Wilson and the coaching staff. But this blog has been on a consistently negative tone for the past few months. It’s easier to take the negative when the positive is acknowledged in equal measure.
As I said in the piece, it was the only positive I felt like highlighting. That was my view. I’m allowed to have it.
As I said in the piece and in more detail during the podcast, to me the lasting taste of the game was a fourth quarter where the offense collapsed and had 39 yards and a defense that gave up two ridiculously easy scoring drives, nearly lost the game and just about hung on against a Washington team starting a QB they’ve written off.
If you want to talk about some positives, that’s fine.
I am not obliged to. It’s an instant reaction post. Sometimes I go into a lot of detail, sometimes it’s just a few thoughts. I didn’t feel like writing a lot about this game.
The definition of a rant is: ‘speak or shout at length in an angry, impassioned way.’
I hardly think narrowing my list of positives to DJ Reed is speaking or shouting in an angry, impassioned way.
You see, this is when I do get annoyed. I wrote a long, detailed article and you’ve not only completely misinterpreted it but you’ve limited the whole argument to a sentence which is essentially — ‘you are negative’.
I’m not repeating the whole entire piece but come on, clearly there’s a difference between Aaron Donald rushing the passer in a standard formation from the D-line and Jamal Adams blitzing, taking a body out of the secondary, ten times a game, far more than any other player in the NFL, to create one sack. You are literally giving the opponent 10 opportunities to capitalise on that aggression and it’s not unfair to question what happens on the other nine occasions when he doesn’t get home and how this much more aggressive approach could be impacting other players (as I highlighted in the Jets game).
And no, I don’t need to then add an extra 2000 words on the end to say, ‘oh well but at the same time Carlos Dunlap…’.
I wrote a piece about Jamal Adams’ blitzing. You seem to be very keen on telling me what to write. It’s a personal blog, I write about what I want to write about in my spare time.
I think the person who commented earlier about too many people on here essentially are acting like angry customers who haven’t got the exact service they expected. Well I’m sorry, but this isn’t a restaurant. It’s a blog where I write about what I want to write about. You either have to take it or leave it I’m afraid.
Then don’t read it.
I’m not going to personally deliver you a blog that completely suits your tastes.
I’m going to write about what I want to write about.
It’s as simple as that. You’re going to have to like it or lump it.
I’m sick of talking about ‘the blog’ and not about actual football. Any more posts about ‘the blog’ in future are going in the bin.
Thank you for at least showing you’re not a troll. Please prefer this tone in the future if you can. The discussion is more enjoyable for everyone that way.
Um, this is a really, really bad argument.
Agree on the OL and rushing performance in the first half, but why did our offense totally stall after the first 1 min. 30 sec. of the second half? After Hyde scored on the 4th play of the 2nd half, we went 3-and-out, 3-and-out, INT, 3-and-out. Racking up a grand total of 5 yds rushing and 47 yds passing in all but the first 1min. 30sec. of the second half.
Really hard to acknowledge that as a big positive, IMO.
I feel forya, Rob. First let me state that I am a Canadian (and a founding Seahawks season ticket holder), not an American. I am also a blogger and I teach the subject to my journalism students. I have been kicked out of countries for criticising the government on my blog. To understand what you are experiencing (in actually a mild form), you only have to look at how virulent discourse has become on social media in the U.S. It is not quite as bad in my country. I can’t imagine it is much better in the UK. So you can expect to draw some heat when you express strong opinions on a subject dear to people’s hearts. Your post wasn’t a rant. I have, however, noticed an increasing pessimism on your part. This seemed to worsen after this past draft when the team chose players you had not focused on. It seems to have disheartened you. You are right that blogging has lost popularity. Facebook and Twitter are now the thing. They do not require the kind of commitment that blogging does. Not many blogs have endured as long as yours. Many big names have chucked it, eg. Andrew Sullivan. I hope that a bit of time off revitalizes you because it is obvious that your labour of love is appreciated by many.
Post game Press Conf w PC
‘Really proud of our club. Defense continues to play really good. Couple lapses when they got to dinking the ball around, give them credit. When we needed it, the defense came up with 3 sacks to win it. You can see we respected this opponent. Schotty did a great job with the plan. Russell did a great job with the ball. Obviously we needed another TD drive in the second half to feel really in control. Whole team played together, Michael Dickson and a huge game today. Hope we cna keep playing complementary FB that makes us hard to beat.”
[john boyle] Back in the playoffs? “10 wins is a beautiful marker. Next week another championship game for us. Young guys never been in it, can’t appreciate it. Guys who have been aroudn the league, appreciate it, play with Russell and Bobby. Big accomplishment.”
[john] Talked to Jamal, first season in playoffs? “Haven’t. Dunlap here too. A lot of good stuff.”
[corbin] Reed play? CB controversy? “I don’t see it as a controversy. He’s playing good FB. Activity and consistency, tackling well. Has a lead to hold that spot this week. Dunbar in better shape, see how that works out.”
[matt calkins] Consistency, 8x in 9 years playoffs? “Really proud of that. Here to do, keep on winning, give ourselves a chance to win championships, got a shot. Attribute to leadership, Bobby, Russel, KJ those guys. I say things, only as meaningful as they make it. Different way of dealing with things, without their support message wouldn’t be as strong. I love this team. Telling you that since way back. Guided by Russell and Bobby.”
[michael shawn] Not sharp on 3rd down offensively? “Trying really hard to convert every one. I dont’ know. Gotta keep working at it, would make game so much easier. ”
[micael] RW and Schotty carried out plan? “4 #1s on D, hauling ass at you. Didn’t get Russ. Our pass rush did, you saw effect. Tribute to guys up front, russ getting ball out of hands.’
[curtis crab] Reed impact halfway through this year? “JS working his magic. Done this so many times. Realized time he wouldn’t be available. Didn’t’ think of him as being a starting CB, more nickel. Terrific at the spot. I think this team and how we put it together, John deserves so much credit.”
[bob condota] Running game? “Consistency of guys, all had 50 yards, Russ had a big play. Running game alive for us. Penny to get a couple carries, all we could have hoped for. He did it. Next week use him more. Worked out perfectly for us today.”
[greg bell] Dunlap game saving sack again, more than expected? “Hopes he would come in and be a factor. Not a great game early. Clint did a great job challenging him on sideline, got back in and showed us. Powerful man. HIs factor helps other guys. Alton’s rush was perfect today on forced fumble. That’s how we see him, hoping to do more.”
[gregg] Collier come up big? “Continues to be really steady and a factor. Add style to our play. Slippery way rushing passer. Look at this as his rookie year, terrific season for us.”
[joe fann] balance tipping cap to good D, and not having good offensive play? “You do that, go ahead and do that. I’m not worried about that at all. RW had another Bart Starr type game. This game, this team, neutralized their strength. I don’t see anything negative about this game. Almost the score we thought it might be. Really tight, championship match.”
[joe fann] So 4th quarter just football? “3rd downs didn’t convert.”
[joe fann] 20-3 in 4th and 39 yards not trying to be combative? “Don’t see it like that. Would like to see more.”
[jackie] Defense coming alive in 4th Q? “So fired up to see them answering finishing challenge. Just let guys cut loose. Took life right out of them.l”
[brady] Reed not prototype CB? “Different style player, feet lightning fast. Athleticism sudden. Can make up for it. 183lbs stay out of situations he gets pushed around. They come in different shapes and sizes, we have to be open, look at our QB.”
[brady] Dallas? “Sprain ankle, Xrays negative. Good report.”
[ben arthur] Defense in 4th Q lapses? “Didn’t turn focus towards getting after passer. Kept in base mode. Hadn’t done very much. None of those things were factors, had to shift gears, Kenny and those guys did it, turned guys lose, it all showed up.”
That was one of the more irritating, reality-defying post-game win conferences I’ve seen from Pete. You can only hope he does not really believe some of what he said….
“Trying really hard” (to actually convert on 3rd down). For fuck’s sake Pete, this response has gotten so damned old…………..
Pete is a circus clown currently. He has his little straight A students Bobby and Russ, spreading his words while they all live happily in their cute little world until an uncharacteristic playoff lose will happen but they’ll try harder next year
Hawks lost plot from 4th quarter they need to stick plan to run the ball more and with 20-10 they were in position. With defense getting sacks on right time will give lot of confidence. That’s positive. Playing close games will give taste of what’s coming in future against tougher opponents. Offense need to fix their game.
The Jets are leading the Rams 13-0 in the 2nd Quarter
13-3 Jets at the half. The Jets have an INT and a blocked punt.
Jets just just drove the field for a TD. 20-3 with 8:30 to play in the 3rd.
20-10 Jets. Rams drove the field in 2:21 for a TD.
They must be really bad because we just blew out the Jets
Remember when the Cardinals beat up the Giants after we lost to them? Does that still translate in this situation
If only we ever played the Rams to see who is better…
Its still a good win overall for a defense that has played really well.. It does feel like an incomplete game like they played against the giants… Three fantastic quarters and 1 bad quarter. In both games RW’s throwing confidence was pretty low.
He overthrew even is high arching passes, one was a free play that he should have attempted a first down play since they were 3rd and 7… but cant blame him for taking a shot to DK 1 on 1. But the ball was thrown out of the end zone beyond even DK. Not even a jump ball. Two other balls were just flat out misses where Russ never really misses. You only saw him throw accurately on just strait fast ball throws.
The batted pass was an extreme eyesore.. He had to seen him coming or he woulda just taken off instead of throwing it.. but tried to throw without a pump fake (which he used to do when on the run a lot) and it was easily tipped on a drive they absolutely needed to get points on and wind some clock..
Jordyn Brooks is still lacking in coverage and that could be why Bobby is getting into man coverage situations. It looks like Brooks athleticism is far greater than bobby at this stage of his career. Its one of the reasons i think Haskins got in a rhythm on all the crossing routes and TE/RB dump offs.. They just don’t have the speed at LB they used to.. Even though KJ and Bobby can diagnose a lot of plays and pre-emptively disrupt or get TFL, its harder now to play the same type of defense they used to when all their defense was young, talented, and hard hitting.
LOB era defense would still give up underneath dump offs and yards, but crack down on redzone or goal to go.. Without pass rush and the need to blitz, they cant disrupt the quick throwing plays until they forced 2nd and 3rd in long at the end of the game. Plus Alton Robinsons FF that was negated by a poorly written rule.. Which is frustrating because the game could have been potentially over unless they go for it on fourth n 4.
KJ hit a player that lowered his head and body going forward. If they don’t change it, the defense has to be taught to not put a shoulder into and player that lowers their head. They have to put hands into the player first and tackle. Which the new crackback blocks i think is an indicator that they will keep these rules. Guys are gonna have to put their hands up to block like a linemen or make sound tackles, instead of lowering a shoulder unless the player is upright and you can hit them in the abdomen to chest region.
Overall its still much better to win like this instead of losing in the same way to giants. I’ve lost a lot of confidence in Russell Wilson’s ability to play well and make the throws needed against a good defense. He seems a bit shell shocked even in a game that he didn’t get sacked or hit a lot in. He looked poised and played the rush well.. but didnt throw the ball like he did against the Jets.
So, im kinda with ya rob. As a playoff team, they will be able to hang in there right now and maybe get a win or 2 with the now expanded playoffs, but if RW doesn’t get some confidence and carry the offense.. Then this whole year of “let russ cook” is all the evidence you need to have a heavy rush attack that he can use play action with and possibly heat up the passing game when it allows it..
Even Aaron Rodgers is in a heavy rush offense now, and he’s outplaying russ in the stat sheets and winning games.
Agree with LB take. Brooks shows poor diagnoses skills, Bobby and especially KJ slower/aged(to be fair Bobby is a middle lb), add in the the confusion/poor coverage due to Adams and once the wideouts clear things a bit going down field(or just straight 1 v 1 matchups against LB’s) the under belly of the defense is far to easy to attack and it’s a big reason why terrible QB’s with average receiving corps can still move the ball so well against us.
I think, hopefully…. that PC and KNjr blitzed Jamal Adams so much since they acquired him so he could get the sack record because they got him so late and there wasnt even a real offseason.. He has to be the one flying around and coming downhill like Kam used to.. His zone coverage has seemed to improve so far(almost had a pick against the jets), hopefully with a full offseason program and training camp he can take a big step and be a more complete safety..
I guess time may yet tell. I’ve just seen too many plays like the TD he gave up today where the player got comfortably behind him for an easy throw and catch. Yes he brings some really nice stuff but he also lacks creates some issues with his free lancing ways too.
You can watch it at the 4:00 mark here: https://www.nfl.com/videos/seahawks-vs-washington-highlights-week-15
I’m not sure whose responsibility it was to pick up the RB in the flat on that play. It very well could have been Bobby’s. Adams might have had free reign to rush.
If I had to guess, it’s Bobby. By the way he initially is sprinting out to meet McKissic, then gets distracted by the WR and turns around to slow him down, despite having Shaq (and supposedly Diggs) behind him. Maybe he thought Adams had picked up McKissic’s route, so he was safe to take away the window to the WR.
I think if it were Shaq’s or Adams’ fault, Bobby would have held out his arms or shown frustration towards them after the play, and from the shot we get of him after the play, he doesn’t.
But someone who knows the X’s and O’s better than me can correct me if I’m wrong.
Its hard to tell not knowing the exact defense they were in. It appeared that Jamal got rubbed out by a slot TE and didnt have the right angle… But bobby and shaq took the same guy into the endzone which gave Mckissic a walk in TD. It was a fast paced play but i would guess its bobby’s job.. its tough to play zone that close to the goal line since you have to hand off coverage in a zone.
My non professional, arm chair QB take on the game. I was pretty much fine with the game through almost three quarters. I wanted them to utilize a quicker passing scheme, use the RB’s out of the backfield, run the ball until it doesn’t work, shorten the field and grind out a somewhat convincing work-man-like victory.
As far as the D was concerned, playing against Haskins, I thought their defensive game plan through most of the game was apropos. Make Haskins beat us. And he couldn’t through most of the game. No need to blitz as much.
I just don’t understand why we can’t put teams away when we should, why we let teams hang around, gain confidence against us, and all too often make tight games for us when we should be stamping our foot down decisively on our opponent? It just happens too often to us. There’s some killer instinct that so often seems to allude us.
Baffling and frustrating to me.
It’s really hard to take the foot off the gas when you’re winning and maintain a big lead in the NFL. Almost every game has a comeback attempt. That’s the NFL.
I can’t help but perceive a psychological flaw that’s run through the PC regime even when we had more talented teams. Our slow starts through the years. Our playing down to the competition all too often. Two out of the last three weeks we let worse teams with highly flawed QB’s take control of the game when we had the control of it in the palm of our hands. We play the psychological game well when we’re down, but not when we’re up.
Simply put, through the entire PC era, do we play better from behind or better out in front? It’s not even close to me.
I agree, its tough to keep blitzing when the game is on the line.. they utilized their short passing and JD mckissic for TD drives and you could see Haskins getting extremely confident. He got the ball out or ran for first downs like a seasoned pro in the 4th quarter..
Luckily the pass rush started winning one on one matchups for 3 sacks. They have to defend the deep ball with a guy like Terry Mclaurin, so they allowed even more short passes and dump offs even with some blitz’s mixed in.
Good to hear that DeeJay’s injury isn’t as bad as I thought it was.
Looking like KC is the better team this afternoon compared to NO.
Are play offs the minimum expectation ? You’ve been telling us all season how garbage the seahawks are. So surely they have over achieved. Still the Ravens won, back on that bandwagon no doubt.
Oh why don’t you just piss off? I know you’re Spireite Seahawk under a new name.
You’re on here saying you’re done with the site… but you’re not. You’re still here. You’re on other sites harping on about this place.
Imagine wasting your time with posts like this. What a sad life you must lead.
Clown.
Dad: “Son, you need finish your vegetables then do your homework.”
Son: “WHY DO YOU HATE ME, DAD?”
Rob analyzes the Seahawks and does a damn good job of it. Some of you guys take this stuff so personally and live in this black and white world where you either think the Seahawks are completely infallible or the worst team ever.
Nuance. Try it.
Least the Seahawks Defense looks legit. We just need Russ to start playing well again lol. The Redskins are a solid club.
I’m excited for this win and this team — I can only assume a bunch of people here have no idea what following a team that is actually bad feels like.
Being far from perfect doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re 10-4, and doesn’t take away from that fact that for 3+ hours every Sunday I get to take a break from the real world.
Tack on United curb stomping Leeds, and today is a great fucking day.
You follow the Seahawks and Manchester United.
You have NO IDEA what it’s like to follow a team that is actually bad.
I guarantee I have had much, much, much more sports misery in my life.
All facts 😂😂😂
Seattle is such a spoiled sports town
I will never talk about which soccer team I grew up following over here, for work purposes.
But if you took a 2-14 Seahawks season, multiplied it by 100, throw in a potential move to LA, an Aaron Curry draft pick and a sprinkling of Jim Mora, you would still be 10,000 miles away from the shit show I lived through as a sports fan.
It still won’t top the Sonics.
You want a bet?
Nobody should lose their team. I’m willing to concede on that point, for sure. But you’re living in an American sports bubble. Over here, things are far, far different. I could tell you some stories.
As an Australian who can’t go home for the holidays this year, I’d suggest you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Australia’s sports scene is exactly the same.
You have no f-ing clue.
None.
There is nothing remotely close to the abject stupidity that goes on in English soccer.
It seems like every year some team is going through some dirty financial straits like Watford this season.
I was about to ask what club you support but I remembered you dont talk about that.
From your description I was gonna guess Sunderland though 😂😂😂😂
Nope, it’s worse than that.
AFC Wimbledon???. Ok I’m done guessing hahaha
The coach of my AFL team was murdered —- by his own son — mid-season 2015.
That’s not sports misery though.
That’s just a horrible human tragedy.
Mariners have the longest playoff drought in all the major US sports leagues. What is spoiled is all the people moaning about a team that now holds the longest active playoff streak in the NFL.
Worse than the Detroit Lions?
Lions made the playoffs in 2016.
Cleveland in 2002 is the longest active in the NFL.
But mariners also hold the record for most wins in a single season.
All seattle fans are spoiled. We’re blessed with championship franchises
You mean the season where they bounced out of the ALCS in 6 games? One of the winningest teams ever in a season and not even a world series showing.
Yeah mariners arent great but it could for sure be worse.
You’ve never heard of the Seattle Mariners?
Pre-Holmgren Seahawks?
The Sonics are just for doing gone – not much more sports misery than that.
Hell — I stayed up many late nights watching my Adelaide Crows get blasted every game.
You can’t guarantee anything.
Longest active playoff streak in the NFL, but you’d think we were watching Jaguars fans.
The Sonics moving, I’ll give you that. Nobody should ever lose their team.
But the freaking Mariners and Seahawks? If they lost every game for three straight years, you still wouldn’t be close to some of the abject disgust I’ve experienced. You will have to take my word for that, because I won’t disclose the team in question.
But no, Seahawks and Man Utd? You’re a chuffing billionaire in the sports misery world.
The worst team in American leagues get the highest draft pick. Our leagues are designed to make every franchise viable no matter what kind of abject state they are in
Worst seahawks season only won 2 games.
On Europe you can be relegated twice in one calendar year and be playing semi-pro ball with a completely new roster and front office.
Im not with you Drrew, even the pre-holmgren seahawks were a historically .500 team.. Had lots of 9 and 7 wins season and their worst season ever was…… Their first year as a new franchise with 2 wins. They also had a 2 win season in ’92 in which they scored even fewer points, but the point differential was less than in ’76.
In ‘92 we had Drew Bledsoe to look forward to, but it was such a crappy year they even managed to screw that up.
I don’t know what would be better: winning NFC West and playing Bucs or losing to Rams and playing Washington again.
The game plan of the first half was fine: quick throws, get the ball to TEs every now and then, runs, screens, intimidate Haskins, keep Adams off blitzing. WFT adapted and again our coaching team had no response. KJ had a good game (call against him was a joke), DJ, Poona, the offensive line (it wasn’t on them that Russell had so few yards). I even liked Adams until he started going crazy. I see us winning at most a game in the playoff unless Russell gets back to his usual self.
It’s an interesting thing about this team – they give us these glimpses of what they could be – top level QB, top-5 running attack – defense showing significant improvement and looking at least decent. And we’re up 20-3 against a solid team that’s won 4 in a row and is playing for something, on their home field (no fans, but you still have to travel).
So to us fans, hope starts blooming, ‘hey, maybe this team is putting it together’ . . .and then this year . . just not quite.
Point being, if you had asked me whether I’d take a 5 point win against WFT team, I’d for sure take it. I was like 60-40 confident of a win. And if we’d gotten the win in a close game, where RW drove us down for the winning score, we’d all likely feel pretty good. But the way we won, again, just raises more doubts than hopes. So it goes this season.
“Nothing about how Seattle has played this season suggests they’re set to go on a tear when it matters.”
Exactly this. Another week, another opponent Seattle played down to.
They deserve credit for being 10-4. They deserve credit for beating Washington on the road in a huge swing game. They deserve credit for making the playoffs again.
But this team has no identity as it enters the playoffs. They continue to play down to their opponents. They continue to prove no lead is safe. And they make even below average QB’s look respectable. If the bar is a Super Bowl, it seems very difficult to get 4 wins in the playoffs given the above.
Strangely, they beat Washington and the Rams are losing currently to the Jets and I feel less confident about next week than I did yesterday.
Closer than it needed to be but got the win. Wish it wasn’t but this is the Seahawks. The back end of the schedule was a chance to stack wins and get healthy. Those are still possibilities. Seattle is as flawed as anyone in the NFC. The winner coming out of the AFC again.
Agree with all the talk about Seattle not taking advantage of the middle of the field. Hopefully with Gordon back they can move DK to the slot sometimes and get mismatches there. Also Olsen is coming back and he seems to be the only TE Russ trusts in the middle of the field.
The defense was good for 3 quarters and the two scoring drives were hugely aided by personal foul penalties. They tried to rest Dunlap too and the past rush reverted right back to earlier in the season. What a wonder another dependable pass rusher would be. They still don’t have a great solution for when they blitz Jamal. It clearly is not dropping Benson Mayowa.
Running game looked good. Like Russ hitting the quick routes. Still need the screen game to come along. Pieces of a complete team game that just haven’t come together. Still hoping though
I disgree, this is a quality win. Long road trip, trap game with Rams on deck after a blowout. This game had all the makings of a loss against a scrapy Washington team that had won 4 in a row. We played 3 amazing quarters on D and had two huge sacks to close it out. This is a good win.
This is a really good win in the NFL.
There’s only one team blowing people out consistently
That’s not it. It’s that the offense looks lifeless. Run game was solid today, but we were well into the 3rd, I think, before Russ passed 100 yards. He was throwing high all day, like he wasn’t stepping into throws. The inability to sustain drives in the second half left the defender on the field more than they should have been.
Yes, they won, but this offense doesn’t scare anybody. This doesn’t look like a team going anywhere. I do love to see the defense flying around and looking like they are having fun, but why can we never seem to put the pieces together?
I agree, satisfied with the win and the three quarters of play.
I do genuinely agree with Rob that it is overall hard to get to excited about this team right now. But I also just don’t rate anyone in the NFC that much more.
Good for Hunter Bryant
https://twitter.com/Lions/status/1340733912075661312
Time to stick the needle in a bit…………….I believe Robbie had the final as 20-17, closer than Rob’s 19-9.
Just sayin’
🙂
We are 10 and 4. Just beat a solid redskins team that had backup qb. But haskins was first round pick and started to look like one as he got feel for game. 10 and 4. I was fan of Seahawks starting in 1992. I think we went 2 and 14 that year. Hawks fan have been spoiled this past decade.
I absolutely detest posts like this.
Expectations are rightly high for this team. You don’t get to quash any legitimate complaints by pointing out the Seahawks were really awful 25 years ago. We don’t have to forever live within that context. And nobody should be made to feel ‘guilty’ or ‘spoilt’ because they want this team to perform to a higher standard.
Also, I might not have been a Seahawks fan since 1992, but if you knew what soccer team I grew up watching — and if you knew what it was like being an England sports fan in general, you would never accuse me or others like me of being spoilt. I have experienced things no Seahawks fan will ever experience. Ever. Thank god.
Wow, posts like yours rob makes me feel better about being extremely critical of Russell, the offensive scheme, and defensive play calling.
Thanks Rob.
I detest posts like these. You don’t get to proclaim moral and intellectual superiority because YOU think you’ve had it bad due to… wait for it… cheering for a certain sports team.
You’re cheering for laundry. It’s entertainment, not life. Get over yourself.
Well piss off and don’t read my views then.
Nobody forces you to come here.
Clown.
Sure, but having a future HoF qb in his prime years changes expectations. Isn’t that reasonable? It’s not about the record, it’s about not looking like they are going to compete in the postseason yet again. Having a qb like this is a rare thing and people don’t want the chance to be wasted.
“Hawks fan have been spoiled this past decade.”
Agreed.
That’s not to say fans shouldn’t be critical. For all the examples of mismanagement in player acquisitions and on the field(there’s quite a bit tbh), PC/JS is the best Seattle has ever had. It’s not close. At all.
I don’t get this idea that anyone has been ‘spoilt’.
The Seahawks elevated under Paul Allen to a point where they were no longer a basket case. And now they have raised expectations to where we can fairly criticise aspects of the team, without needing to be constantly reminded of the early 90’s.
We talk about this in the podcast. I/we don’t go around telling the content fans to be ‘more critical’. So maybe those telling everyone they are spoilt can take an afternoon off too?
Its the Ricky Bobby mindset. If youre not first youre last. Super Bowl or bust. Fire PC after a loss. Attitude that strikes me as spoiled.
Its pretty cool the Hawks have made the playoffs 8 out of 9 seasons.
It sucks we arent SB favorites this year, but have a slim shot at the chip.
The players seem to think thats pretty cool too.
Go Hawks!
I don’t know any fans who do this though. There’s probably a few on twitter. But that’s twitter.
But if you’re not winning the SB you’re basically last in the history. Do anyone know who was left early in the playoffs in 2015 for example? Or in 2003? Nobody. History only remember winners. We can’t be excited about a potential SB win (reasonably), we can’t be excited about the draft or the offseason. Sure you can get wet in a puddle but it’s not the ocean. And yeah, the Jets suck. It must be embarassing for the fans too. But if they change the FO they’ll have a ton of possibilities with picks and money. They might rebuild and win SB in 2-3 years. 49ers almost did that. I truly doubt Hawks will win an SB with this flawed philosophy and pissed away resources
Do you think PC/JS are happy simply making the playoffs every year? Pretty sure they aren’t.
Yep. I also love this attitude like these guys aren’t making millions of dollars doing this. Some people act like we are just at shitting all over some volunteer youth coach, who is so kindly just donating their time and effort. It’s infantilizing.
So true.
“Some people act like we are just at shitting all over some volunteer youth coach, who is so kindly just donating their time and effort.”
Nope youre just shitting on the best head coach in organizational history. If history even matters anymore. Feels like it doesn’t on here and life in general.
It’s possible to both acknowledge Carroll’s placing within the history of the Seahawks and also criticise him.
Your response, I have to say, kind of validates the point Matt is making. This desperate need to protect.
Okay. I guess I just feel like winning should be celebrated more than it seems to be. Regardless of the opponent or margin of victory. Winning is hard in the NFL. A playoff spot was clinched today. We all want a SB win. Think the Hawks have a decent shot at getting it done. Probably the best chance since 2016. If ppl want to focus on what is wrong with the team I wont say peep anymore.
I do not see how pointing to PCs resume of success, and historical context within the organization, is a desperate need to protect. PC is not infallible just think that his contributions deserve more props than what he gets.
I don’t understand what you expect though?
You say you want people to celebrate the win more. Maybe they did celebrate, or are celebrating, but want to discuss some concerns on here?
This is the problem I have with what you and others are saying. You’re essentially trying to police the debate. ‘You should enjoy this more’.
Nobody is telling YOU that you should be more critical. So why not offer the same courtesy to others who disagree with you?
Happy? Yes
Satisfied? No
If you gave Pete a candy bar and 2 minutes to open it, he’d take 1:59 and end up with 8 paper cuts.
Then he’d talk about what a great battle that wrapper gave him. How it was uncharacteristic of him to inflict so many paper cuts on himself, but at the end of the day, he got the job done.
You forgot that he’d say he “tried really hard” to get the wrapper off the bar sooner and that he “needs to get better” at unwrapping them.
LOL
I love this post! Well done, dcd2!!!
You win
I frankly don’t think it matters one bit if the Rams lose to the Jets today, I simply don’t see the Seahawks winning next week. Please serve me a large plate of crow Pete and Co.
Kind of reminds me of last years game against SF where I thought they had no shot going in but somehow they kept it really tight and Hollister came up just one yard short. That is the thing about Pete and his teams they are incredibly frustrating but they could easily go out next week and beat the Rams. I personally have my doubts but I certainly would not shock me if they beat the Rams.
Please Pete and Ken study the Pats SB, Giants, Jets defensive game plan. Take away the sweeps and stop the run and force Goff to beat you. My biggest concern next week is that Akers and the Rams will just run it down the Hawks throats.
“force Goff to beat you”. An excellent strategy IF you can get a modicum of pressure on him with a 4 man rush Trevor. I don’t see it but I of course would happily chow a large plate of crow if I’m wrong.
It would be classic Jets if they win today and miss out on Trevor Lawrence.
All the talk about if Lawerence would spurn the Jets. I assure you he would prefer to play in NYC over Jacksonville.
I guarantee the Jets will lose even having a lead.. Either way, I feel bad for Trevor Lawrence.. His best case scenario would be a team trade up for him with massive amount of picks.. But that wont happen since im sure their new coach won’t have faith in darnold.
My reply did not age well.. I guess i just need to make more guarantee’s that dont involve the hawks.. and they do the opposite
Serious question. Are we really rooting for the Jets? Next week is most likely going to decide tbe division. Teams dont usually play two bad games in a row so Im not sure we want an angry Rams team coming to town.
I am in two minds whether I want LA to lose.
This is a kick up the arse.
Ownership will be calling down the sidelines soon. No way the Rams blow and opportunity to draft Lawrence. The in game bet on the Rams would be a great pick now IMO.
Good shout.
Just had a dabble.
Good call Trevor. Rally coming spurred on by strange Jet mistakes.
?!?#?!?!?!??
I WANT THEM TO LOSE AND BE HIGHLY MOTIVATED AGAINST US
Gotta beat the best at their best.
If the jets can play poorly 13 times in a row, the rams can play poorly twice? Idk, just being hopeful.
It’s a tough call cuz on the one hand they could be royally pissed like you said but OTOH, they could be suffer a serious hangover from a loss to team that is truly the dregs of the NFL. Psychological reaction is very difficult to predict.
This was the 4th win of the season that required a defensive stop in the final minutes. The defense has been heavily scrutinized, rightfully so, all season, and has looked completely inept at times. It should not be overlooked that the D has shown a pattern of showing up in big moments.
I’d be plenty of content if they had more third down stops to prevent needing to come up big late in games.
How Frank Gore has played this long is one of the mysteries of the universe. I remember that devastating knee injury he had in college and wondered if he would ever play an NFL game. His longevity is truly a remarkable story.
And never a negative word mentioned about the guy to my recollection.
Maybe Darnold is playing angry on his home turf to try and get traded back to an LA team?
Pete’s coaching nearly cost us this game.
Seahawks drives after their second-half opening TD:
* 3 and out: (0 yard run, 6 yard run, 3 yard pass, punt)
* 3 and out: (0 yard run, -5 yard penalty, incomplete, 4 yard pass, punt)
* 6 plays, interception
* 3 and out (-4 yard run, 7 yard pass, incomplete, punt)
That first one was after the Haskins interception and featured a punt on 4th and 1 from midfield. That’s a disastrous call; you have to make the conversion and go score to put the game away.
Instead? They went super conservative, like Pete was back to coaching USC against Oregon or something. After that punt I turned to my girlfriend and told her that it was so egregiously cowardly that they deserved to lose the game. And they very nearly did!
Completely disagree. You’re up 20-3 and the opposing QB has shown no sign of doing a damned thing, your punter has been nails and your D has played very well. There’s times I believe the analytics are crap and old school approach is right. That was one of them.
To each their own tho.
I agree with you Jeff. Wouldn’t go for it only to put the game away but more for showing my offense that I trust them. And showing my defense that if the offense cannot do it, I trust them to stop the opponent
Right with you Rob. Poor pass rush with a bad d-coordinator. Adams still gives up and/or causes too many big play’s it regardless of his other contributions. Offense continues to show it will struggle against teams with decent d-lines and cb’s. Receivers and TE’s : are they getting open enough or is Russ just playing to carefully? At the least Lockett’s play is becoming concerning and probably Dissly too as a receiving option. Jarran Reed had a bad game, no pass rush and absolutely man handled backwards one on one by a guard to give up a rushing TD.
Both offense and defense to blame : 50/50 for me as yes the offense should be better and deserve real criticism but the (by the numbers on the season horrible) defense has been playing plenty of terrible offenses and a few like today on bad backup QB’s, missing starting RB’s etc, so to me the defense’s upswing has been a bit of a mirage. Aaron Rodgers will put up 40 plus points against us without a doubt.
This team’s post season hopes lie with Russell – will he throw caution to the wind and zone in like days of old and take over games? If not we won’t be going far.
I don’t see how jarran reed is on the roster next year with the cap hit he currently has.
I said something similar on the previous blog post, but I haven’t seen jarran reed or Bobby Wagner make a lot of plays recently. I’m probably underestimating their value, but to the more casual fan it doesn’t seem like they make a difference and certainty aren’t worth the contracts they are making.
Agreed. I don’t see how they could replace them unfortunately, between a lack of draft picks/no real up and comers for their roster spots and I believe pretty solid dead cap concerns sadly we’ll probably see them suiting up next season with Reed making quite a bit more $ and Bobby another year older.
Again goes back to Schneider’s free agency/in house contracts/drafting etc. They were desperate to keep Reed and over paid to keep him from getting to free agency and with Bobby it was again a combo of no real replacement option along with Schneider’s sentimentality/lack of hard edge business ways that led to grossly over paying a high mileage player on a late career contract.
I think there’s a chance j reed gets cut, but they like to keep their guys and I know they look at him as a leader. He just doesn’t look like an elite player. You’re totally right they were desperate and got way too caught up with the 10 sack number he had a couple years ago.
The podcast is now live at the top of the page.
Expectations are rightfully very high and for no small reason. But this is a team that is challenging for the #1 seed. We’re very close to being contenders
Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan have combined to win the NFC West 3/8 times that they’ve been in this division
Pete Carroll is 4/11 for NFC West titles.
Sorry I was counting the 2020 season thats not completed.
SM + KS have 3/6 division crowns possible
PC has 4/10 possible division titles.
(Side-note the Cardinals were 13-3 in 2015?!?? Why do i not remember that?)
Kyle Shannahan has 3 losing seasons out of 4 seasons coached.
You don’t have to keep going on about the #1 seed Kenny
The #1 seed is pretty important tho. This is a team that was written off in July by some and they’re in the hunt behind the Packers as much as anybody.
I think the 1st seed is a huge benefit and we looked dead in the water a few weeks ago. I’m happy we can sew up the NFC West next week and the Packers are playing the Titans which look like a real force to be reckoned with, even if it is in Lambeau.
I’m going to keep rooting for them to take the top off the conference. Need to get hot at the right time to take advantage if we get such good seeding.
#1 seed should be the goal of anyone that doesnt want to play in Lambeau in the dead of winter.
not looking good for the hawks next week the rams will be ready to play for the division after being embarrassed by the jets
Russ isnt broken, can we end that narrative?
He needs a new fashion coach however 😉
Idk about that, but I know Alan needs to pick out new gloves for Jamal Adams so he can hang onto the ball
Not a bad idea…. but with a bumb finger now, doubt he will get an INT even if he wanted to.
Should always go with the Action Green gloves
Alan, calling Alan……..
No.
It’s perfectly fair to question what’s going on with Russ.
in fact, it is now without questiont the biggest question for the rest of the season and post-season . . .
Sitting here wondering, how many football fans in Jacksonville, Florida are desperately rooting for the New York Jets right now?
Jets lead down to 6 with 7 and a 1/2 minutes to go.
Now down to 3 with 6:35 to go. The collapse seems imminent.
My bad, 5:13 to go.
Jets next series, 3 plays, 2 yds gained. 10 seconds off the clock. Rams go ahead TD coming up…………
Jets will relinquish the game even if NFL awards it. NO way they win another game until Jags win one.
Especially watching this game and the season J.D. Mckissic had with the lions.. It was a huge mistake to keep tre madden on the roster over Mckissic.. He had bigtime plays for hawks when 2017 was such a dumpster fire for their RB’s… I know they had a healthy Carson coming back and drafted Penny, healthy procise and mike davis.. But tre madden and mike davis were more expendable. If Mckissic was on the roster, there would have been no need to draft travis homer, IMO…
I could be wrong, i cant remember everything about roster cuts.. i know he was hurt most of training camp tho.
I was thinking the same thing during the game.
“Healthy Procise”? I do not remember that. I do remember thinking he was going to be healthy or would be healthy, but not him ever being healthy.
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (5 p.m. ET on ESPN)
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans (8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN)
Notre Dame, such garbage
But you knew that ND would get the nod for the 4th seed. I’m going to enjoy the TAMU v. Oklahoma game and not even bother watching Alabama destroy ND.
That Alabama blowout of Notre Dame has already been moved to AT&T in Dallas (Jerruh World) cuz no parents or other family allowed in California.
And face it folks, ESPN runs the college playoff and they want ratings. Notre Dame means ratings.
Disney knows how to milk a cow and make max money
Screw them
Yes ND will get blown out, but they deserve that chance. They beat a good UNC team handily and also beat a Clemson team earlier this year. ATM was already blown out by Bama, had one good win against an up and down Florida team, and have been beating 0 and 3 win teams by 1-2 scores all season. In other words, they have had one good game and have otherwise looked pedestrian. Even a crap Tenn team they struggled to put away.
I also don’t see what OSU has down to get a spot in the playoffs, blow outs against truly awful teams and they barely beat the only two decent teams they played. Clemson will beat the crap out of them by 3 TD’s despite OSU’s talent.
Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State. Same 3 teams every year. I thought the playoff system was a great idea, but it has had an unintended consequence – the rich keep getting richer and leaving everyone else in the dust. I absolutely love college football, but have gotten to the point where I don’t care about the championship anymore. I’ll watch regular season games and bowl games with teams I follow, or with matchups or players I like, but am losing interest in the post-season. There have always been dynasties in CFB, but not like there is today. I don’t think the lack of parity at the top is good for the sport.
I’m with you, totally agree.
I hear you but I think NIL will help level the playing field. You will get more big time recruits picking 2bd tier schools because it will allow them to cash in quicker and without having to make the NFL.
As a UW fan, I can’t help but think this will greatly help my team. It’ll take a few years for that to show up in the standings, but I sincerely think this is the best chance to get “new players” without doing something stupid to water down the product.
We miss Mckissic type player this season, hope Penny fulfills that role. Homer and Dallas are not good enough.
neither is hyde. I cant remember if Bo can come back or not
Gregg Bell actually put something useful out…
The Carlos Dunlap Effect:
Seahawks in the first seven games, without him: 12 sacks.
Last seven games, since his debut following trade from Cincinnati: 24 sacks.
Jets at mid-field, 1st and 10, 2 mins to go and Rams out of time outs. Expect a mysteroius Darnold fumble any second now………….
Keep me updated, Big Mike. I’m only able to see the KC/NO game (which is pretty darned good!) and rely on the internet for updates on the Rams game
that is an embarrassing L for the Rams
Frank Gore is Father Time. Simply incredible on that final drive to run out the clock for the Jets.
Jets beat the Rams. Lmaoooo.
Wow!!!!!!
Vol I know you love Frank Gore too. How clutch was he on that final drive. He is a freak.
Loved Gore since he was at the U. Not bad for a guy who read at a 3rd or 4th
grade level when he got there.
Seemingly ageless
Rams have no chance at the 1 seed. Thats what happens when you lose to a team from NY
J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!
OK since the Jets just blew the Trevor Lawrence Bowl the Hawks are now in 1st in the NFC West and the 3 seed. Does anyone know if we move up to the #2 seed if NO loses to KC (Chiefs up 6 with more than a quarter to go).
Hawks and Saints would both be 10-4 if KC beats NO
Classic Jets.
Seahawks lose based on conference win/loss
We’ll have to wait for the Steve Kornacky playoff update on NBC to know. 🙂
😀
Trevor Lawrence must have just thrown up thinking about heading to Jacksonville.
I wouldn’t do it if I were him. Go back for your Sr. year Trevor.
Are you kidding? North Florida vs. New York City? He’d be a god in JAX!!!
(that was sarcasm, Big M)
😀
He will be playing in London soon….. just watch
Not sure how Jacksonville is any worse spot than NYJ. Trevor is from a small town in Georgia, with a population under 20k. Would think he’d welcome Jax over NY.
in other news – deandre hopkins is the best receiver in football.
anyone else just see that catch? damn
Good job, Jets. Who knew this song was about Trevor Lawrence?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOWtNx16yYY&ab_channel=darrelljbrand
I can’t believe the Jets.
I cannot believe they have handed Trevor Lawrence to the Jags.
They might as well throw in a billion dollars too.
I also don’t know how to feel about this from a Rams perspective.
How will they respond to this? Massive slap in the face?
Or at they imploding?
They were going to be motivated either way….. division title on the line
That’s my guess
Just a classic trap. They will get their act together and next weeks game should be pretty darned good…always is!!
Really hard to say man. Like I said above, predicting a psychological reaction to that kind of negativity is difficult. They could double their resolve or fold up their tents.
But if they win out they’re still the division champs so guessing they’ll double down on their resolve.
That, I would guess, will be their motivator this week from McVay.
There is a reason why they are called the Jets
Imagine being a fan of that team the last 50 years… wowza
I’m just enjoying that this is a team the Seahawks dismantled last week.
So many teams the Seahawks lost to, or barely squeaked by this year, the following week got smashed.
Very satisfying to see the opposite happen for a change.
Isnt the tie breaker a coin flip still? Im sure they wont win their last 2 games or 1 of them.. this was a huge upset for them.. but they still have a tough next 2 games..
Never mind.. the first tie breaker is strength of schedule. However jacksonville has 2 winable games against the colts, who they already beat and the bears. While the jets play the patriots and browns.
The Seahawks did the same thing in ‘92 beating the Patriots. Both teams finished 2-14, but NE got the #1 pick and Drew Bledsoe. Most disappointing win in Seahawks history.
100%!!! Truly heartbreaking win.
Felt like Bledsoe was destined to be in a Hawks uni. Mirer was never anything better than decent, even at ND.
Congrats Packers
1 seed is yours
I truly hate Rodgers! Smug AH! 🙂
With you Tom. Cannot stand the guy
They play Titans next. That should be a tough game for them even at home
Problem is the CBS guys said they only have to win one of their last two to secure the #1 seed.
That’s if NO loses this game vs. KC.
Bears getting hot?? 😭
Does this season settle the Goff talk?
You’d think so………….
They should go get Carson Wentz
My gut tells me he ends up Indy cuz Frank Reich was his QB coach in Philly when he had his most success. Rivers on his last arm….., er leg.
I think Indy is his best bet also. Frank R is his coach and if anyone can reignite his career, it’s Frank…and the need a long-term QB.
That’s a good call. He’d look good as an Andrew Luck impersonator
Philly got down to the AZ11 first and 10 down 7. Hurts sacked on back to back plays. Now 3rd and 21 from the 22 with 2:00 to go. Not looking good for an upset there.
Saints will be limping into playoffs..
top 2 WRs now out with injury (or returning in playoffs) and the QB is banged up as well.
Whoever they face, could have an opportunity to win a game in New Orleans.
I would prefer to play the Saint than LA or GB at home.
I’d much rather play LA than New Orleans.
I’m very, very worried about all 3
So is it gonna matter who the NFC rep in the Super Bowl is? I know, any given Sunday and weird things happen in the Super Bowl but good Lord, KC looks damned good, and not just offensively. Plus they have the experience of being there last year.
I don’t think we have the firepower this year in the NFC. NO is hurting and this current game against KC is showing it. I actually think that KC and the Bills are the best 2 teams in the NFL right now. I think the Titans are the AFC version of the Seahawks. Don’t talk to me about Pittsburgh.
Agree with everything you said. Titans D may be worse than ours tho.
DAYUM
Mahomes got lit up on that hit
I just find it funny it funny that this horrible coaching staff has a better record than Bill Bellichek and this blogs boy crush McVay as well as genius wonder Shanahan. The horrible off season plan for our pass rush is a massive failure as we are only in the top ten and rising. Will we win the superbowl? maybe, maybe not? like a dozen other teams.
So you think the Hawks had a good off season and solid pass rush?
I don’t know? judging by the fact they are ranked #8 in the NFL I guess it worked? Their off season was hits and misses cuz that is how it works. Just like the draft is a crap shoot. win some, loose some. Give yourself a shot at a run, which they have. The only sure thing is KC cuz they have an outlier at QB on a rookie deal. I just come here for the hilarious second guessing by a bunch of keyboard warriors.
Pete Carroll 1-6 vs. Sean McVay with the benefit of having Russell Wilson, not Jared Goof at QB. Talk crap if Pete actually wins next week. I’ll give you full credit if it happens.
that is another thing that happens, sometimes a coach, a team, or a scheme has another teams number. Just like Carrol has the 49’s number. I don’t know if they win next week? The point is they are in position to and in position to win the division. That is all you can ask for because there is a thing called chance. There was a chance the Jets win today and they did, there was a chance the Giants would beat us, they did. There is no formula and all any fan can really ask for is to be in it at the end, which we are. Or am I missing something here?
it has to do with qb pressure as well. 1 sack before the 4th qt. and 2 to finish the game. almost 300 yards passing to another 2nd string qb, and almost lose the game. our pass d is an issue and has been for a few years
2-5
Pass rush now post Dunlap trade and pre Dunlap trade is different. Rob is right that the pass rush was never solved during the offseason. The historically bad defense through the first two months of the season proved it. The trade on the week of the trade deadline is what solved it.
This pass rush is not solved, sorry.
It’s better in that it’s no longer truly and utterly useless. But it’s not solved.
it is ranked #8 and rising so yeah, it is fixed:
https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/sacks-per-game#:~:text=NFL%20Team%20Sacks%20per%20Game%20%20%20,%20%204.0%20%2028%20more%20rows%20
I’ll be curious where they rank post Dunlap. I remember hearing that they had the most sacks in November (Dunlap was traded on 10/28) with Pittsburg quite a bit behind.
The issue right now is that the defense is still too reliant on Dunlap (think Clemons in 2012 before Avril and Bennet joined in 2013). So depth at pass rush is a major issue and the pass rush isn’t consistent enough (though they have stepped up when needed). I do believe though that the pass rush is good enough where if the Hawks offense of the first half of the season returned, we would probably be the best team in the NFC. But alas, Wilson has not played well since the Arizona game.
No, it’s not fixed.
Seattle’s sack percentage is lower this year than 2018, despite the fact they are literally blitzing twice as much — 36% compared to 18%.
It’ll be ‘fixed’ when they can get back to and preferably top the level they had in 2018, when they relied on two players on the DL, far less blitzing and still did better than this.
we can throw stats back and forth all we want to justify our preconceived opinion. Your opinion is the front office is incompetent for not fixing the pass rush, mine is whatever bro, they did enough of the right things to open the possibility for a run. Which is all you can ask for. If Russell Wilson shows back up they are in the second best position to make it to the super bowl. As a fan, that is all you can ask for. unless you are rooting for a professional wrestler who is the good guy or some shit!
Do we know the stats for those after 10/28? That’s the key. If the stat provided includes September and October, you’re mixing 2 very different defenses. It becomes a stat that is meaningless for where the Hawks defense are now.
The eye test definitely shows a different defense.
Fisheye is kind of right. The goal isn’t to have THE top pass rush (continues to be a work in progress). The goal is to have enough of a pass rush that the Hawk’s chance of a SB isn’t completely blown. If the Hawks had the same offense they had pre Arizona, this team would probably be the favorite in the NFC.
You’re still blitzing 36% of the time to create pressure.
Until they don’t have to do that, it’s not fixed.
yes, if the season was over after the off season then they blew it, but it is not. The roster is finalized after the trade deadline and they were successful in addressing their pass rush during both phases with Adams and Dunlap. It does not really matter how you do it, just that you do it and the Front office nailed addressing their pass rush. So huge props to the front office for addressing their biggest off season need and not blowing it by signing Clowney who is a big disappointment this year and would have wrecked our salary cap.
I view it a bit differently. I view the draft, FA, and trade deadline as three separate things. Somewhat interrelated, but 3 separate things graded separately.
The draft thus far has been okay with Brooks, Lewis, Dallas. Taylor has been disappointing, but he is not determined yet (I’ll give him another year to overcome his mental roadblock). It’s one of their stronger drafts in recent memory (best since the Lockett/Clark draft).
FA this past offseason on the other hand was one of the worst I’ve seen in a long time. They had a ton of cap space and wasted it on a lot of replacement level players (Shell, I’ll admit is a good signing) and through it all, they didn’t come out of FA with the pass rush issue resolved. It’s not even Clowney specifically since I always viewed him as overrated (can never finish and is always seemingly injured), but there were other pass rushers in the market and trade market and they didn’t land one.
Finally, in the trade market, they made one amazing move (Dunlap) and one questionable one (Adams. Price was too high for a poor fit).
The fact that they nailed the Dunlap trade doesn’t change the fact that FA was largely a debacle and the Adams trade had way too high of a price.
Belichick – Washed up Cam Newton
Shanahan – Starter out for several weeks
Sean McVay – Jared Goff
How do you think the Seahawks would be doing with Nick Mullens or 2020 Cam at QB? That’s not to mention other key injuries those squads have. I’d say McVay has the least excuses and it’s partially his fault they extended Goff so I’d agree with your contention there. To be fair, I doubt the Hawks would do too well with Goff at QB either.
Don’t omit Sean McDermott 11-3, Vrabel 10-4, Reich 10-4, Stefanski 9-4 either. Payton is 10-4 (likely) missing his starter for four games, going 3-1. Other coaches are doing just as well, if not better, than the Seahawks with worse QBs. I didn’t mention GB or KC in that group because their QBs are better (their records are too).
So, yeah, if you narrow the lens exclusively to those three good coaches whose teams are doing worse than the Seahawks, it’s quite funny. Laugh away!
we have been missing our qb for 6 weeks running! ha
And THAT is imo the best post you made all day
Fair enough I’ll grant you 5/6 cuz he was good in the Jets game. But the first five games wouldve been tough to win without elite QB play. Hell, they were hard enough to win WITH scoring 30+ or getting a late game winning drive in the case of the Vikings game.
yeah, and maybe the front office of the niners should be blamed for thinking Jimmy G was the next Brady? And Maybe McVeigh should be over analyzed for thinking Goff is the guy? And maybe the Seachikenz front office and coach should be given credit for drafting Wilson, even if he has been MIA for the last 6 weeks. And maybe this, that or the other FKN thing, all that matters is we have as good of a chance as anyone not called the Chiefs. So, props to our front office and coach. Go Hawks!
I don’t recall the Niners ever phrasing Jimmy G in those terms.
But for what it’s worth, Jimmy G was the quarterback when they made the Super Bowl last year. And he’s been injured for most of this season.
Or maybe he just acknowledges that letting a QB walk who has mastered your system and taken you to the Super Bowl would be foolish, especially when you don’t have any high picks?
Yes, if only PCJS had received praise for this move. They’ve never, ever, ever, ever, ever been praised for drafting Wilson. Nope. Not enough praise.
FFS.
Paying Jimmy G. 24 million a year to sit injured on the bench is a true stroke of genius! Almost as smart as paying Goff 84 Mill! Goff is such a master he lost to the Jets today. And, yes, you are correct, The Seahawks FO and coach deserve and got the praise for making the correct call on the most important position. Another great move, almost as good as waiting the market out to get the best pass rusher available at the perfect time! Go Hawks!
The perfect time to add a pass rusher isn’t half-way through the season you muppet.
And Jimmy G and Jared Goff have both been to Super Bowls in the last couple of seasons. You don’t just get to go to the quarterback tree and pick another one.
Why isn’t the trade deadline the perfect time to add a pass rusher and why should it matter when? Please elaborate.
Because it’s half-way through the bloody season.
I would’ve thought that was obvious.
The implication of your post is that Wilson WILL show-up the rest of the season and through the playoffs. I’m not so sure, based on what we’ve seen the past month that that will be the case. If he doesn’t show-up at his pay grade, there is no way this team will dive deep into the playoffs. A team like GB or KC or Buffalo will light this defense up and without RW in top form the conclusion is obvious.
I sincerely hope some of you people are no older than 12 or 13. Amazes me how many adults are wholly incapable of an opposing opinion, especially in sports.
Crap – replied to the wrong post. Disregard.
The odds are we lost hope for the #1 seed losing to the Giants. But it’s not inconceivable that the Packers could lose both their next two games, and that the Saints could lose to the Vikings. Not holding my breath, but not impossible.
Bottom line, however, it’s still best to get the highest seed possible. Even without fans, it’s better to not have to travel, and it’s certainly possible that the #1 seed falls in the playoffs this year, especially the NFC being what it is.
Let’s win out and see what happens. I’d personally rather play the Rams coming off a loss than a win. Lost once, can lose again.
Mahomes makes playing great look so effing effortless. In every way.
CEH is down… yikes
Looks bad 😕
Oh man…looks bad too
Looked season ending I’m afraid. Picking up LaVeon looks genius now.
NO isn’t going quietly into the night, not yet anyway…good game!
Very entertaining. Mahomes gonna have to throw it on 2nd or 3rd.
Like I said…………..
Yep, game over…was good though.
It is good to be 10-4 especially when you don’t feel like you’ve played great football. But this is a rickety airplane. Still a chance to get it right with opportunities the next 2 weeks. NFC contenders are all flawed but there is no chance if Russ doesn’t get back to his mvp play…
Absolutely spot on, here. He’s had way too many turnovers and is taking way too many sacks.
Do we need to call more rollouts and get the pocket moving?
Defense rounding form. Gonna need these turnovers next week.
I like this team. Its not so dominant that no ball game is a contest but theyre good. Fun and likeable. Ive watched almost every Seahawks game since 77 and I can say my favorite version of the Seahawks (84) was pretty similar. Most here, especially Rob, dont seem to enjoy this team. You should cause history says worse versions of the team are coming at some point.
On the contrary, I love being a Seahawks fan.
I also write a blog and do a podcast and offer my honest opinion of each game and the franchise in general.
But I don’t define the way you follow the Seahawks, so you don’t get to define the way I do either.
Period! 👏 👏 👏
One can be a fan without being a fanboy. The difference is that the former can look at the object of their devotion and be objective.
Really succinct and eloquent comment Lewis, I feel exactly the same way.
I enjoy the Seahawks and their wins. Even these where seriously flaws continue to show. Just because we win and still critique the team on where they still need to improve and things that are concerning; doesn’t mean we are not fans.
More it’s we want to see this team do the things it takes to win a Superbowl, not just get into the playoffs. I guarantee you ask any of the players they will say the same thing. I’m glad u like our team, we all do.
Speaking for myself though. It was a disappointing effort after we went up 20-3. While I enjoyed the game and the fact we won; I see so many things that are very concerning. #1 being Russell Wilson. He needs to be the top 5 QB we have seen, not the current version or it will be ugly. Pass Defense #2.
We’ll see. Hopefully the Rams game can be where Russ gets started again.
Looking at the remaining schedule, the only way we can leapfrog the Packers is if they lose to the Bears. Titans game means nothing for them. Not even with the Saints trying to catch them.
Also if the Saints and Packers both win out and we beat the Rams we will be locked in at the 3 seed. Both the Saints and Packers have 10am starts in week 17 so by 1pm we will know if our game against tbr 49ers means anything. Would be interesting to see if they rest guys.
League will probably flex the meaningful games to primetime though.
Grading my watch points
Scheme the offense to deal with the front 4.
Grade: B+
Turns out against all logic, they didn’t have to scheme very much. The running game was effective and they had an excellent performance from the OL. Kudos to Cedric Ogbuehi filling in for Brandon Shell at RT and holding his own.
It does appear though, they wanted to feature some plays to David Moore at the expense of getting DK Metcalf involved. Why? They seem to insist on creating a package of plays for him, and yet he’s not regularly showing he can be a creative type weapon at the LOS.
Rush for 100 yards.
Grade: A-
Carson 16/63, Hyde 2/55, RW 6/52.
This may seem greedy but there definitely were times early in the game when Carson was gashing this defense regularly, and they went away from him. What happened to ‘riding the hot hand’ ? Are they still trying to preserve Carson’s health? Perhaps. But it felt like early in the game, when they went away from Carson and tried a gimmicky type play they lost momentum.
Take advantage of their deficient pass pro.
Grade: C-
As good as the Seahawks’ OL looked, WFT’s OL looked fantastic. The Seahawks couldn’t get any pressure going with their front 4, even with the starting RT left the game with injury. How Terry McLaurin can wander around downfield by himself while the Seahawks are only rushing 4 is baffling.
Once again they were effective exactly when they most needed to be. Collier, Alton Robinson and Carlos Dunlap recording sacks late.
Escape FedEx without any injuries.
Grade: Complete
It appears Deejay Dallas was the only injury of note, and PC said it was just a sprain and Xrays revealed no major damage. Jamal Adams dislocated a finger but returned immediately after getting treated. DK Metcalf again had a brief injury scare but returned.
I’m not with you on the offense – – – unless I have to adjust down my expectations – I still expect a little more out of them than all those 3 and outs when the momentum was shifting, and you could tell the defense was a little on its heels.
the tip pick was a bad break, and Hyde should’ve caught that ball to convert the 3rd down, but still, RW isn’t playmaking in the way we’ve all gotten used to.
Defense got wobbly on those 4th quarter drives, but shouldn’t totally overshadow their two INT’s and holding a team to 15 pts.
I agree. Not being able to sustain a drive for most of the second half and give the defense a break nearly cost us. Seems more like B-/C+ to me.
Bob Condotta
@bcondotta
Jamal Adams said he’s been dealing with a couple broken fingers the last couple weeks. But says keeping them wrapped up well allowing him to keep playing.
2:19 PM · Dec 20, 2020·Twitter Web App
Rob, I gotta say as much as I like your takes in general, I think the pessimism is getting a little over the top. The only Seahawks fans I know who are this pessimistic about the team are the ones who follow your blog religiously, and you don’t seem to take criticism to this very well. The Hawks beat a top 5 defense, and while there were shaky moments, I would give the team an A or at least A- grade for the first 3 quarters. Solid game plan that saw Russ avoid a sack against one of the nastiest if not the nastiest defensive line in the league. That and we watched our divisions main competition suffer a far more embarrassing loss to the leagues worst team (who the Hawks blew out a week ago).
Really not trying to be a dick here, I’m a huge fan of your analysis, but man, you sure are taking all the air out of a mostly competent victory.
It’s just my opinion. There’s nothing over the top about it.
Give it a rest.
Listen, I take criticism all the time.
You want to see some of the messages I get. Some of the emails.
I work in an industry where all you do is get criticised.
A lot of people wouldn’t bother with the hassle for what amounts to a hobby.
If someone comes on here and tells me to stop having my opinions, however ‘pessimistic’ they might be, what do you honestly expect? Me to go away and just change my opinions to whatever you want them to be? Just so I can avoid getting a comment on my blog that isn’t overly complimentary?
If someone comes on here and challenges anything I say with a football based, detailed response — I will happily discuss those points. I want to be challenged. There’s no bloody point having an opinion if nobody ever challenges it.
What I cannot stand is people implying that just because someone like yourself disagrees, I’m over the top, or hate the Seahawks, or are just doing this for some twisted ulterior motive.
No. These are just my views.
It’d be much appreciated if people actually challenged my words and what I wrote and stopped complaining about the fact I’ve written something you don’t like.
And they nearly gave up a 17 point lead in a quarter to a team fielding a quarterback they’ve given up on and was their QB3 when Allen & Smith were healthy. It’s perfectly legitimate to discuss that side of it too.
Well, it’s my personal blog. And I write my views.
I’m not going to start editing my opinions on the off-chance someone might enjoy a game less than they otherwise would.
I’d add in that despite conceding no sacks the seahawks averaged 4.5 yards per pass attempt, which is a dreadful outing. That is well below the “Gabbert zone” of 6 ypa. 8.0 ypa is a good heuristic for a very good passing attack. We haven’t averaged at or above that since the Bills game.
An efficient pass game is this team’s best shot at winning in the post season and we haven’t had a consistent for quite a while now. It’s very concerning.
Fair points
Rob, this is your blog, the best Seahawks blog imo. Please continue to write whatever your heart feels. We need more honesty in our society. I for one, respect that you challenge us Seahawks fans to do some critical thinking. Please, keep this blog going as long as your body and mind allow you to!
Thanks AAA. Merry Christmas!
4.5 yards per attempt overall and 3 punts and an INT in a row at the end of the game is pretty poor execution no? I agree with Rob it’s hard to be confident in the pass offense right now. 9 games with 1+ INT is just awful and not to mention the downtick in efficiency had been dramatic and consistent since the second half of the first AZ game.
After starting with 19 TD to 3 INT in the first five games Wilson has gone for 18 TD and 10 INT. That’s a hell of a drop any way you slice it.
I believe this game went entirely predictably and it’s hard to be too warm or cold about. Seattle was always going to play a vanilla game, and just take the result that produced. In the end it was good enough. They were never going to come out and show their best stuff to a team we could be playing again in three weeks. Heck, maybe WFT were thinking the same thing and were happy to string along and try to pull out a win at the end if it was still close enough to do so. Maybe the Rams didn’t really care too much today, because beating the Seahawks next week is a hundred times more important than losing to the Jets this week. The game in DC meant little to either team and I am neither more nor less confident in the Seahawks than I was before it. We showed enough that we can run the ball with authority, and that the defence has decent capability, but I honestly don’t think we were all that interested in pushing the envelope. It’s frustrating, and trying to be too clever by half, and will come back to bite us when we can’t shift gears against a team that is actually good, but this has been the way the team has approached it for years. I’m over being surprised or annoyed by it. I wish they wouldn’t do it, but it’s a defensible approach and fits the flow of an NFL season. Hopefully they come in with greater willingness to dominate the Rams next week.
The fact that the Hawks got away wiht Cedric at RT against this Washington DL is a credit to Mike Solari IMO. I was really worried about that matchup and it did not burn the Hawks. Also Duane Brown more than handled Chase Young I think. Props to the OL
In fairness the gameplan didn’t exactly tax the O-line in pass pro.
If it were a deliberate decision to be so conservative, I’d actually feel better about how they looked.
This is true. And it’s good game planning. If we’d planned to tax the pass protection against WFT’s front 4, it would have seemed like a really bad game plan. It would have been like the Giants game but worse.
10-4 and in the tournament. This is the most negative you have been
I have faithfully read your site 2010. I am seriously considering giving your site up for good. Very disappointed in you this season.
I love it when people say they are thinking of giving the site up. Just go. Or don’t. It’s up to you. It’s no skin off my nose.
I don’t need a warning.
What you really mean is ‘if you don’t change your opinions to fit in line with mine, I am not coming here any more’.
Whether you continue to read my views or not — the earth will continue to turn, I will continue to wake in the morn and sleep at night and the sky will still be blue.
People expect the American customer service (I’m from a different country, so I understand how American customers are coddled) If I don’t get what I want, I will take my business elsewhere. Can I talk to your manager please?
I get being glad the Seahawks are back in the playoff and a lot of teams would be happy to be in the Seahawks shoes, but let’s be honest the Seahawks lost to the giants with colt McCoy and came within a completed pass of losing to Dwayne Haskins.
In any competitive industry growth and improvement is expected each year. The Seahawks have been treading water for years now. I don’t think wanting improvement and pointing out shortfalls is uncalled for.
Plus sitting here and lying and saying everything is awesome would be incredibly boring.
It appears objectivity and accountability aren’t your thing. I appreciate that you can look at the 10-4 and see only positive things. I think you deserve better, or should perhaps, read this blog with less emotional investment. Because if you step back and have some perspective, you’d realize where our collective “sigh” comes from.
Keep up the great work, Rob. I’ve been commenting here for a LONG time. You and I have had thoughts that PERFECTLY match up and other thoughts where we’ve been in opposition. You have always been fair with your takes.
I will never understand this new age attitude where an opposing opinion has become like a personal affront – “why do you hate X?” It’s weird. It’s childish. This is truly one of the last places where rigorous debate is still had. I, for one, sincerely appreciate all the time and effort you put into this.
Anyways, the fact you get plenty of “sniper-commenters” constantly coming by means you are doing something right. Don’t get discouraged by it. Cheers.
Thank you, I really appreciate that Matt.
Rob
Keep firing back at them. Dont take no guff.
My take is that it is really hard to win on the road in the NFL, especially in a swamp like Washington, maybe the worst field in the last thirty years. The league really should make them put turf on it, it is that bad.
Seattle is a speed team (with no speed) built to play on artificial turf in December. PC wants to win like this, defensive last stands seems to turn him on. In an era with guys like Mahomes who can turn in it into a basketball game in the fourth qtr., it is fundamentally naive, and with the defensive squad he has now, borderline idiotic.
Trying to run out the last seconds of the game is really painful for real athletes (and fans) to watch. Remember when Marshawn came over and asked Pete if they were allowed to score enough to points to win the game. That’s a perfect peek inside PC’s super conservative mindset… And we are stuck with it.
At least he kicked field goals today. He even had to game plan that.
Watching NYG not kick them has been painful. They would be in this game now instead of going for twice on fourth down.
I most certainly will.
If people want to bitch and moan about this place they can bugger off and do it somewhere else. If people want to talk about the game, then let’s get into it.
Well said Mike.
Spot on. So many chunk plays given to a Haskins-led offense. Concerning!
p.s.
Best place for Hawk talk around. Cheers Rob!
Dexter Lawrence, man. He’s better than he was in college.
Yeah, those two touchdowns the end of the game were concerning.
Overall, I liked the offensive game plan though. WFT having a good defensive line with good pass rush and Russell Wilson was not sacked. Good coaching to use TE’s to help tackles with pass rush blocking particularly RT. They emphasized running game and regained identity as a strong run team, which can help us going into playoffs. They didn’t need Russell Wilson to be spectacular in this game and avoided mistake of attempting long developing pass plays down the field.
Remember Metcalf was also hobbled somewhat in this game but still contributed with some important short to mid range catches.
Lots to be optimistic about going into the playoffs in my opinion.
Have three running backs in Carson, Hyde, and now Penny back.
DJ Reed played fantastic and was a great pickup. Lets give Carroll and Schneider more credit on this.
Picking up Carlos Dunlap is ending up being significant.
Perhaps Hawks can integrate Josh Gordon as a significant contributor heading into playoffs.
The truth is that it comes down to next week though. Can the Seahawks beat the Rams and win the division. Can they beat the 49ers too and be first or second seed. I am not confident that Carroll and company can put a game plan together to beat Rams and 49ers to end the season.
I agree with all of this, with the only exception that I don’t think there’s lots to be optimistic about going into the playoffs personally. I think Wilson has to play better to feel particularly excited about any of the other stuff.
That was the biggest thing I came away with after this game. Can Wilson get himself righted in these last 3 games. If not it will be amazing if it’s not another quick exit.
Do you think it’s likely Wilson can step up his play for the post season? He has a habit of performing in some of the bigger games. Although it’s hard to accept, I feel like it might take the off-season for his head to get back in the right place.
I hope so.
But I am not confident he will based on the way he’s played since the bye.
I agree to a point. Aside from what Rob said, this didn’t feel like a game that was in control, imo. The offense couldn’t stay on the field late. The defense shouldn’t have been out there as much as they were. Even if the offense played conservatively, if they can move the sticks and eat time off the clock, maybe get a fg or two, this game looks far different.
I’ll agree with you on the running game, it was great to see a dominant performance on the ground with multiple explosive rushes.
I think the team’s best shot at going deep in the post-season is a dominant offense, and while the run game looked excellent today, I think the pass game will need to perform at a great to elite level for us to have a shot – including against great defenses. I just haven’t seen anything to suggest the pass offense can be great against a great defense. Their best performance was against SF, which still has a top tier D. Otherwise, the top defenses have shut their pass offense down pretty well (Rams, WFT, and Giants). If the pass offense performs well against the Rams and carries that through the Niners game, I’ll be encouraged and cautiously optimistic for the playoffs!
For the defense it’ll be hard to tell. If they can hold down the Rams that’d be cool. There’s not much more to be gleaned on them until they face a good offense, which they probably will in the playoffs unless we go to WAS or NY.
As awful as so much of this team’s output has been, and as shaky as they continue to look, my goodness they’re in the playoffs. This team.
Is it ridiculous to think….Super Bowl? (Okay, don’t laugh too hard, hear me out.) Perhaps it would be helpful to think of them in the same way as the 1995-1996 Barry Switzer Dallas Cowboys. A proud but mediocre team all season, fading core, coaching highly questionable, losing games to division rivals, looking generally off kilter. Then improving slightly to make the berth, then benefitting from favorable matchups all the way to the final SB, which they win, with some luck, and vs. a weak adversary (the ’96 Steelers were mediocre). All that Dallas team had to do was play one or two decent games.
I still think it’s possible. This is the weirdest season in history. No team looks unbeatable. I see a lot of parity.
Yes, the Hawks remain full of problems. But somehow I think they are in better shape than, for example, the TB Bucs, wheezing and stumbling, despite with their loaded roster and Tom Brady.
I think they are in better shape overall than the Buccs but I can’t say with any confidence that they’d beat them.
Arians always plays Seattle close, especially in Seattle for some reason.
I would be vomiting if I were Trevor Lawrence. A lot of sports writers put out bs articles on why Trevor should refuse or that he could wait another year. Trevor, his family, (prospective agents) etc know that not only will Trevor make about $36.2 mil as the first pick, New York is a YUGE market, Nike will give him a deal and place a billboard in time square, MetLife insurance will pay for commercials. I just cannot see the most hyped prospect in years not choosing to make life changing money during his rookie deal. $37 mil is a lot of 4 years but just change to what he’ll be getting paid through local endorsements.
Last week I commented, “where are the trolls right now?”.
We beat a team starting the equivalent of a potato at qb, the troll are going to come back.
Well done to Joe Fann for asking a fair question post-game and pressing after
Indeed
Quite right. I just wish JF was more consistent. Last week’s questioning from him was ludicrous and really undercut any serious intent towards getting honest answers.
Unfortunately by the way PC initially responded to the initial question (“You do that, go ahead and do that. I’m not worried about that at all.”), it seems indeed his reputation may have taken a hit in PC’s eyes after last week’s question.
If that’s the case my advice, not that I think Joe Fann would want it or need it, is to NGAF.
Never be concerned with how a coach views you. The objective is to ask pertinent questions, not be best buds.
Sure it helps to be able to develop relationships. It can definitely help too when you want to ask difficult questions.
I’m just not sure it’s possible to get into Carroll’s inner circle. Therefore, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Thankfully Joe Fann is asking some challenging questions. Good for him. I wish more would do it — and then maybe Carroll wouldn’t seem so het up when a tricky yet perfectly valid question is delivered.
Yeah, who knows. Maybe an incident like that was just what he needed to shake of the feeling of needing to be the nice guy/coach’s pet and now he will feel more free to ask real questions. We’ll see.
And I agree with you: nobody is getting in beyond ‘Petespeak’. In part because it’s half real; who he is (or at least sees himself as). Heck, I’m pretty sure he even talks to Russ and the team like that. (which eventually got old even for Sherm and the others once the wins stopped rolling in)
I think Pete sees himself as some kind of motivational guru and I’m convinced he talks this way all the time.
It undoubtedly helps a lot of the time but I also think sometimes a kick up the arse and a few home truths are necessary too.
He definitely made a mistake with the whole ‘winning in the fourth quarter’ question and it seems like Carroll has marked his card now. There’s a mild hostility brewing.
But ultimately he’s the only one to ask a question that ultimately needs to be asked — and I like the way he follows up. It’s refreshing compared to the complete fluff offered by the rest of the press pack.
Why are the Saints ahead Of us don’t we have better NFC RECORD ??(
No. The Saints are 8-2 in the NFC and Seattle is 7-3.
I really don’t understand why so many fans want to come here and complain about the blog. Most of these same fans think this team is good because of its record or try to defend it with weak arguments.
Why are they satisfied with good not great? Does anyone here believe this team can win a super bowl with the play they’ve shown these last 9 weeks?
I’m not saying they can’t play more to their potential and make the SB, but it’s right to say this team is badly underperforming and will get smoked by NO and GB. It’s also right and fair to call out what’s wrong and where missteps and failures exist. That’s why I come here. Few fans seem interested in that kind of honesty.
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Hey Rob, have you ever thought of making your content membership/subscription based? I know you were reluctant for years to start a Patreon, I’m just wondering if it would help minimize the Twitter trolls and Pete/John stans? Just looking out for your sanity man, the bombardment you’re enduring is getting ridiculous this year.
I appreciate your concern for my sanity but don’t worry about that.
I have considered, for the first time, whether there needs to be an alternative plan, yes.
Through first 8 games the defense was giving up 435 yards and 30 points a points a game. The last 6 games we have given up 296 yards and 16 points per game.
Yes, this has been a great run against the Jets, Giants minus their QB, Washington minus their QB, Eagles still with Wentz, Rams who scored 17 points in their first three drives and then basically managed the game etc…
Rob, you are learning fast 🙂 Seahawks defense has improved
Dayo Odeyingbo – yes sir. Sign me up
http://twitter.com/BenFennell_NFL/status/1328862310543347713
I’ve had him in my top-15 in mocks for weeks.
I think PART of RW’s struggles is that he is trying to reach GOAT status aka Brady status that it is gone to the point to where he is putting too much focus on that goal. It’s a fair goal, especially when you are considered a top 5 QB in the league by your peers. It’s a goal that QBs like Mahomes and Rodgers are also trying to accomplish, but for at least Mahomes he knows that he has at least ten years to try to reach that goal. Rodgers, on the other hand, is getting closer to the end of his career and he isn’t even close and so he is trying to achieve his goal through stats, especially in completion percentage and QB rating. Maybe RW is reaching that point to where he doesn’t know where he wants to put his time and effort. Should he put it towards MVP? Should he put it towards most wins by a QB? To be the longest active QB in league history? RW needs to get his priorities in check.
I actually saw a lot of positives in this game. I do have the same concerns but I’m optimistic they can win any given game. I attribute the 4th qtr let down to strategy more than poor play. They limited/shut down the big plays and made Washington chip their way down the field. The offense played much better than I thought they would against a formidable defense. Good win imo. On to the Rams. A win will capture the division title…would be amazing and something I would not have given us much hope for when the season started. There’s a small glimmer of hope for the #1 seed…not holding my breath though.
I know others have mentioned this… DJ Reed looked amazing today. Really like his style of play and confidence.
To all the people throwing hate at Rob: be grateful for him opening this place for us to meet and talk about the team we love, and respect the work he is doing for us out of passion. At the end of the day, we all want the Hawks to perform and to do better. Yes, we are extremely lucky to live the times of Russell Wilson, LOB, Bobby Wagner and KJ, Pete Carroll, JS (Dunlap and Reed moves were really awesome from him) and we shouldn’t take them for granted. But also, it’s OK to expect more from the team, it’s OK to call them out on their mistakes, it’s OK to question their decisions. And you can have a different opinion and be happy with struggling to win with WFT, but be respectful with other people’s opinion, and be sure Rob is not celebrating to see one of his negative predictions come true.
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Thank you
-DJ Reed has to keep starting. The players have eyes too.
-Major kudos to Ogbuieh. Young, Sweat and Kerrigan were largely invisible.
– Healthy Adams has been such a force. And it does seem like he is blitzing a little less recently, and yet still getting his sacks.
DJ Reed plays more disciplined and is able to keep up with faster WRs. His size is the only issue, but this eliminates the FS having to try to sit on the top of routes on his side of the field. This enables more double teams on other players… or play man to man and Adams can blitz with less mess-ups in coverage.
I think they (DC playcalling) are reducing the total number of blitzes or giving him less green light to play off schedule and free lance…. but when he brings the pass rush, he seems to be more efficient and puts some heat on the QB.. even if he does not get a sack. When he does explode, he looks like he was shot out of a cannon, unreal how fast he can close on guys in space.
If you’re the Jets, are you taking you’re QB2 now that you’ve blown the first pick?
It’s a good class, but I’m not sure anyone else has clearly better potential than Darnold. May as well try him with a real coach and draft Chase or Parsons.