This wasn’t a game where you necessarily appreciated the aesthetic performance during the game.
After all, there were some maddening moments in-play.
Yet afterwards, on reflection, this was exactly the type of game we all needed to see.
Seattle’s defense did something it simply hasn’t been able to do since the first meeting with Sean McVay in 2017. They stymied his offense. They limited and restricted them.
They didn’t do it with zany blitzing or anything too creative. They just played their game. That’s the most important thing.
For sure they were helped by further patchy play by Jared Goff and LA’s diminishing list of running backs. Josh Reynolds placing the ball down on the field for a turnover (only to be bailed out by the refs) was a thing to behold.
Yet this is still an offense and a quarterback that has had plenty of success against the Seahawks. Today, they got nowt (as we say in Yorkshire).
The Seahawks couldn’t drop to 1-6 in the last seven against the Rams. They couldn’t go another year without winning the NFC West. Not against a Rams team that might even miss the playoffs and is a loss away from 9-7.
They had to get this one and they did. The defense — the butt of many jokes earlier in the season — is now clearly outperforming the offense.
A few weeks ago they couldn’t even function. Now they can — in a style that suits the defense. That is a big plus.
They also left a mark on the Rams. Goff’s thumb, Rob Havenstein and Darrell Henderson left the game with injuries.
If the Seahawks go to Arizona to play the Niners next week and win — I will happily admit I was wrong with my pre-season regular season prediction. I thought they would finish second in the division behind the 49ers, which is already confirmed as wrong (although the Niners have had quite an experience with injuries this year).
In order to be truly successful in the playoffs though — they will still need the offense to up the ante. They struggled again on third down. This impacted the run/pass balance as I suspect the plan going in wasn’t 32 passes and 20 running back runs. Russell Wilson still doesn’t seem close to his best.
Next week is an important game. It shouldn’t be treated lightly with the NFC West in the bag. Finishing the year properly and establishing some rhythm and explosion on offense would be a huge boost going into the playoffs.
And who knows — the #1 seed could still emerge as a possibility. The Bears will give the Packers a game based on their current form.
They don’t need the week 1-5 offense per se. An improvement feels necessary however. They will likely need to put points on the board against the Packers, for example, if they meet in the post-season.
Even so — this is the formula to succeed now. It’s taken a while but they are slowly but surely finding themselves even if there’s a bit of room for more.
For that, the Seahawks deserve credit.
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NFC West champs again! Finally shake off the McVay boogieman and we can play the seeding game now. So I played around with playoff predictor the other day, and in order to get the number one seed I believe we need a Saints loss to the Panthers next week, and a Packers loss to the Bears. Today’s Packers-Titans game doesn’t have an impact on seeding because the Titans aren’t in the NFC
I think we win a 3 way tie if we’re all 12-4 with the bears beating the packers.
Yep, so a Bears win and a Saints loss in Week 17 to the Panthers, since the Titans game has no effect on seeding
I think a three way tie goes to the Saints.
Well said. Maddening playcalling on offense was the biggest challenge, but full marks to the defense for a game very well played. No TDs allowed in a game for the division title is a huge accomplishment.
Still not good enough
Sarcasm?
Naw, it was a slow start and a lot of shaky play bailed out by a stuttering rams squad
Agree 100%
Stuff to like for sure but there’s a lot to complain about long way to go
I just want to know what is up with Russ. Hiding an injury?
bizarre as it may seem, i think some of it is confidence . . he’s pulling the ball back instead of letting it go. his scrambles are not as effective of late, and he’s lost some confidence there too.
I know it is me totally trying to be optimistic, but I felt like he pulled out a few russell wilson plays on those 4th quarter drives (against a very good D), so maybe he turned a corner back to normal?
Saw your comment on that during the game and I would like to hope that’s the case. But to go from the MVP-favorite level the first 6 weeks to what we have seen after that is bizarre.
I think the offensive play calling has been horrendous. Coaching Russ to stay in the pocket and take deep shots and then calling those plays is great when you aren’t facing a monster DL.
When you do that time and time again, you take away his incredible improv ability and you run the risk of breaking his rhythm and not allowing him to get in a groove.
Look what happened after he hit Moore on that crazy break-contain throw. He got juiced and started making plays after that.
(which, btw, he really should have run though…😁 But great throw and catch.)
Russ missed some throws early but the D came out the gates on fire. Goff may be stuttering and their RB2 wasn’t Akers but the Rams D is top 2 maybe best D in the NFL. I thought the game unfolded as 4xpected for a rivalry game for the division title. Some expectations of this team are incredibly hard to live up to by people’s standards. You can nitpick every team but how you’re not satisfied with this win says a lot more about you than it does this team.
Stop trolling Kenny
Man, I been here a long time aint never had to troll. Im being honest about this team. I’m excited for what’s next, but that was not a complete performance.
I’m not calling anyone out or being rude. So can you give me that same respect. I’m not doing anything wrong and I’m definitely not interested in trolling this site.
I can stop commenting if you’re put out by my thoughts. Ive been a fan for a long time and it was a pleasure to meet you and shake your hand, but i dont deserve your negativity towards me.
Sorry ✌
Some of your comments today have been a bit troll-like. Saying ‘not good enough’ felt that way, even if it wasn’t the intention.
You don’t need to stop commenting but I don’t think saying ‘not good enough’ after that win is going to create the right atmosphere.
If Kenny was saying the Hawks did not play well enough to win a Super Bowl, he is likely right. But it’s an odd time to limit one’s comment to that single concept in a post.
Kenny has been here forever and most assuredly is no troll. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he is something much, much worse… A 🦆!¡!
Or maybe a “sloth”?
I wouldn’t call you a troll. But another unrealistic Seahawks fan who scrutinize a team that is 11-4 and just beat a very good team with a potent offense and a #1 defense to win the division. We should win the SB every year and draft 5-6 pro bowlers every draft. I want that too. We should listen to Adams’ press conference from last week when he said we’re used to making the playoffs but it was new to him. The question I have for the fans, over the last 10 years, outside of the Patriots which team would we prefer to root for?
Man…I also didn’t like some things. Missed opportunities on D# and special teams. Offensive playcalling was absurd (why not run more even for 1-3 yards, why not throw more quick outs, screens, reverses, anything that might slow down their front7, why not move the pocket or roll Russ out)…
BUT! This game was amazing and we should cherish it. Rams offense is mediocre at best, I’d put them between 14th and 20th but they always gave Hawks fits. Our D almost played a spotless game. Played with soul and incredible drive. Sure Rams made mistakes but all teams make.
As for our O# they played against #1 D. Rams are loaded and play really good too. Players played reasonably OK against them. I wanna see more from the offense but the Rams D is truly awesome so I don’t wanna be overly critical
Division title feels good. Things are back as they should be in the NFCW, boys!
My vote, however, is to rest Carson next week. Let Hyde carry the load and Penny get some more carries under his belt.
It would be quite cute to run Hyde against the team that drafted him.
Tbh I’d rest most starters play younger guys like Hart, Swain, Parkinson, Brooks, Robinson, Mone, Penny, etc and vets who usually get few reps. #1 seed seems like a pipe dream and we need as many guys to get 100% as we can
NFC West Champs! I’m happy! Go Hawks!!
They would have dropped to 2-6 if they had lost today Rob. They split the seasons series with the Rams in 2017 and 2019. But 3-5 is nice, it shows the only year they got swept by the Rams was in their 2018 SB season when Rams had probably the most talent in the league.
No, they would’ve been 1-6 in the last seven. I was specifically referring to the last seven games because that is the run since ‘that’ game in 2017 when the Rams took ownership of Seattle.
I see, so you left out the first 2017 McVay game when Seattle held McVay’s offense to 10 points. You’re right, my bad.
And I have explained why.
Not sure why you’re making an issue out of it.
I was 50-50 going in to this game. I thought it was toss up. All it seemed to take was one Goff mistake and that was enough. I’d like to see them win out for sure!
We momentarily interrupt this NFCW title celebration thread to give you some JJ Watt awesomeness:
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1343319453363281920
That’s a dude who gets it! Wish we could bring him to the Hawks to finish his career…
Pass rush is what puts games away, it’s what champion teams can do in the end of the game. Our D Line was swarming against a good offensive line, that they’ve never been able to get push against. I really hope this continues.
My first thought about the game…how effing awesome was it to see the Hawks put a dominant exclamation point on not only the victory but the division title with that soul crushing final drive! That was killer instinct there.
This is before you even get into the D…
great win, defence played great, offence did enough when it mattered.
great to win the division again and beat the rams to do it.
I can go to my bed a happy man.
I guess this is Pete Carroll ball… Minimize the mistakes and play a close game… Edge of your seat stuff…
Congratulations to the Seahawks. I did not think they would win this game. This team is maddeningly frustrating. They have the ability to win the NFC and also to lose in the first round.
Brian Schotty really needs to open that playbook or make better adjustments because defenses have figured out this offense. Not to keep looking at this team has half full but we have some work to do if we want to go deep into the playoffs.
The playcalling has gone to shit and it’s coincided with RW’s play going to shit. I don’t know why they can’t scheme some easy throws to get receivers open and help get Russ into a rhythm like early in the season. There was a couple glimpses of early season Russ in the second half so maybe there’s hope. If they can get that back this team could make some noise.
Every tenured QB has outlet guys (ie Brady, Brees, Mahomes, fuck even Goff) have those hot read guys to dump off. We don’t have that, not sure why?
If we follow the logic that Seattle drafted a player like Brooks in order to effectively counter the Rams/Niners outside zone run games, then I think this offseason we need to add to the O-line. That Rams D Line is absolutely no joke. Seems like every game they get after Russ so quickly.
C, G, T are all positions I will be monitoring in that 2-4 round range.
Also shout out to Brooks/Wright/Adams for really impactful games.
I think a shout out to the entire defense is warranted, but agree those three really stood out. KJ was the best player on the field IMO, he was completely overlooked for pro bowl honors!
When Russ made that completion to David Moore on the first drive of the third quarter, my first thought was, “Rob called it…”.
What a fantastic all-around game by our defense, Adams all over the field, his energy lifts the energy of the entire unit. And Reed is an absolute fantastic find. having him and Shaq (didn’t have a great game, but he ain’t tre flowers) makes us so much more stable. Really proud of how the defense played all game.
And maybe, just maybe, Russ shook off some of that bad mojo that has had all of us scratching our heads the past 5 weeks, that key 3rd down conversion to Hyde, the floater to Lockett, the final TD to Hollister — all those plays looked like the Russell we know.
Props to the Rams defense, they’re excellent, nothing easy in the pass or run game against them. And to Goff too – just played right through that ugly thumb dislocation.
All-in, our defense hung right in there with the #1 defense in football, and our offense was just a bit better – it was a well-earned win. Division champs again and it feels good!
Titans kind of game, cold and snowy.
Get Henry going early and often.
Badly need Henry to run all over GB. I’m 60 fantasy points down with Henry, Diggs, and Tyler Bass left to play (other team is done).
It was hard watching this defense in the first half of the year. It sure has grown! Rob, what do you think the biggest contributing factors are? Sure Dunlap has been great and Reed is clearly a better corner than Dunbar, but it just seems like suddenly the defense clicked part way through the season.
Not Rob, but it’s an interesting question. I imagine someone who breaks down Xs and Os could actually answer it–here’s what my guts saying at a high high level…
Feels to me like 1) struggling offenses (Rams offense **** the bed against the Jets last week and are a defensive team this year, 2) a league-side advantage in offense at the beginning of the season that the Seahawks were especially affected by, and 3) opponents gameplanning to take away the Russ deep pass, which has hurt the Hawks passing O and giving the illusion of a better D.
Don’t discount a limited pre-season/offseason combined with a clear change in defensive philosophy and multiple important new starters and multiple injuries, especially in the secondary.
Great points.
Doesn’t seem like an illusion. The first 9 games the Seahawks were allowing 455 yards per game, but in the last 4 games prior to today they averaged 314. Even today they kept the rams to 334. I do think however teams made adjustments to keep Wilson from scoring 30+ points a game.
Probably a few factors to be honest. There was a lot wrong that was obvious which actually should’ve been fixed earlier. And I think they’ve settled in better to the fact they’ve been blitzing 36% of the time.
But I urge some caution that as good as today was, I won’t do a victory lap on the defense just yet. They’re still capable of ‘moments’.
Well I love how the teams played on D and the sacks and pressure. But we can’t forget the QBs they’ve faced these last 6 weeks. Goff, Haskins, Darnold, McCoy, Wentz and Murray. The latter being the best by far. Like I heard said before by a front office personal, often times a teams defensive ranking is related to their schedule.
It would’ve been nice to see this cohesive D play some of those offenses that torched thdm earlier.
Again I don’t want to diminish the Ds great play of late just keep it in context.
So, if Packers lose tonight, and Hawks/Saints/Packers end at 12-4, are we the #1 seed?
I heard that, and would like to believe, but defer to SDB nation.
No, Saints would be in a 3-way tie. Need NO to lose
Crazy things can (and likely will) happen, but if you pick the favorites in each week 17 matchup here’s how things go:
Week 17:
GB beats CHI
NO beats CAR
AZ beats LAR (they should be heavily favored with Goff out)
SEA beats SF
In this scenario we’re the 3 seed and play AZ in the first round.
Division Champs!!! Beating the Rams to do it… Epic
Rob, I thought of you as soon as David Moore caught the deep pass down the sideline after your rant about third receiver options on the podcast. Loved him stepping up to break a big play.
Long time fan of yours and thoroughly enjoy all you do.
Might be seeing the Rams again in 2 weeks….. hold onto your hats
The Rams are in so long as the Packers don’t stumble against the Bears, and boy what a tasty matchup that will be for whichever team plays them. I don’t think John Wolford has ever taken a snap in a regular season NFL game. I don’t think it’s very likely that team will be the ‘Hawks however, since it would require one of the following:
1. A Rams victory over the Cardinals next week (making the Rams the 6 seed and us the 3)
2. Saints loss to Carolina coupled with a Cardinals win (then we’re 2 and Rams are 7)
3. Saints and ‘Hawks both lose and LA wins. (3 vs 6 again)
I know Rob doesn’t necessarily like recommendations on what to write about but I’m going to ask anyway. I was watching the dolphins game and saw Robert Hunt pop up on the screen and started to think… During draft season we fall in love with a handful of players and a lot of that is on Rob’s great scouting and film sessions (thank you) but when these players go to other teams we stop following them. I would love to see like a “year in review” where we can see some good reflection on some of the players and if they balled out or busted… Just thought I’d put the thought out there. Thank you for this community and constant reads.
I think this is an awesome idea as well. It’s easy to follow the skill position players at QB, RB, and WR but guys like Hunt are a little tougher to track on their progress.
I would love to read this too. I sometimes check out guys years down the road who’ve been blog favorites just to see how their careers are going.
It is funny to watch other games and a few players always stand out and I try to figure out why the name seem familiar.. and I remember because they come up in predraft discussions or throughout the College season..
This defense is giving up less than 190 yards a game passing since the loss against the Rams.
I realize that their opponents in that timeframe have been less than stellar, but that is elite, championship level play.
The offense hasn’t clicked for awhile, but when it does, it can be as good as any in the league.
I’m not going to bet the mortgage or anything, but this team can absolutely with the Super Bowl this year.
How about the game that KJ had! Wow!
He’s been great most of the season which I just did not expect.
He seemed like an easy guy to jettison this offseason, but now I’m hoping they can get him back at not a horrible number.
Absolutely. I have to eat crow for wanting to move on from him (in order to fund a pass rusher) this past off-season.
KJ has been on point. Resign the man.
KJ looked like Earl back in the day knowing what was coming pre snap. The whole defense looked prepared but I loved seeing KJ direct and seal the edge multiple times perfectly.
Most satisfying win of the season. Work still to be done. Need better play calling and DE play.
When was the last time a playoff team picked in the top 3?
Aside from most of the 2nd quarter I was thrilled watching this defense.
In this very weird year where both the O & D went dyslexic, This was exactly what this team needed. Denying L.A. a TD with that goal line stand was just exhilarating !!!!
PC Post Game Press Conf
“Really great Seahawks day. Proud of what we’ve accomplished just getting to this point now. For this group to hold focus and find their best through the process, I’m really fired up about it. Time. Defense is good, show it again in the most difficult challenge, not give up a TD, that’s big time. Conssitency, didn’t matter who showed up. Guys making plays. Russ showed up in the right spots, no Turnovers today. Committed to running game. Got through halftime situations presented themselves. Heroic performance at goal line, guys just did not let it happen. Never forget it. Coupled with offense getting TD we needed. Huge play to David Moore. Russ TD run really really big, what whole sequence was. Wish our fans were here. Wish you had a great time at home, hooting and hollering. We love all the 12s.”
[joe fann] Special to keep offense like Rams’ out of EZ? “Really is for us. It is how we’ve been playing. I know you’re looking at who we’re playing against, but this is our style. Kenny made adj during the game, bobby fixed things, opp presented and guys came through.”
[greg bell] Mentality when Rams got near goalline? “Give us a blade of grass and we’ll defend it. Full on attack mode. Always taken a shot with those types of plays.”
[Gregg] Brooks’ speed? “Nothing new. Plays fast, plays downhill. Really settled in. Poised, clear thinking during game, plays like he’s been around for a while.”
[Curtis crab] Last year, yard for division and short, this year made it? “Bit of poetry there. Exact same situation. What I like about it, is we’ve been here before. This time pushed over the top and left no doubt. Schotty knew exactly what he wanted (Hollister TD) and Jacob played it perfect. Complimentary football. Jets game looks different now, doesn’t it? Big game for us.”
[Michael shawn] How shut down boot game, and play action? “They ran 6 or 7 boots in the first half, worked really hard to contain them, see all the crossers. In general we played it really well. A couple runs broke out, give them credit. Game plan not to control FB with perimeter passing.”
[Michael shawn] Moore catch spark offense? “Every part great. Changed field position and shifted the mode. Hit Carlos and again. Key to that drive.”
[tim booth] No sacks for Adams, impact on D? “Hitting and running and doing really great things. We made a couple mistakes on his rushes. Not him. Fantastic part of our team. Rubs off on others. I want to make a point – what a great acquisition that was. A marvelous fix for our football season. John deserves credit.”
[max veda] Complementary FB? “Executing, throw and catch to Tyler classic. Crucial situations for years. Huge play. Just as impactful as David Moore’s was. Enormous execution during drive. Practicing, coaching ot get that done.”
[john boyle] KJ Wright important? “since we adj his position, he’s blossomed in his role. Use his instincts, I said to KJ ‘we have one more shot’ and I had KJ talk to the team before the game. He could easily be in the Pro Bowl, he’s had such a great career for us.”
[larry stone] Toughest division in FB, off season challenges, extra sweet? “Good point, Niners come off big year, a lot of injuries and hard stuff. We did our damage to the NFCE. Add to the accomplishment because division tough as you can find.”
[art thiel] Off field stuff made it more intense to get to division title? “Big part of it, no denying it. Constant, for months before we even started. Rule #1 always protect the team mentality, needed it every step of the way. Just pulled off something to get through this season to avoid having the issue come our way. About conscience. Thousands of decisions each day to protect the team. Whole lot of other stuff. Only thing out of whack is no fans here. Remarkable season.”
[brady] Have all RBs feel good? “Ran fine, didn’t get as many attempts, love to have another 10-15. Thrilled to have our guys. All 3 capable to do damage. Sometimes games like this, not enough carries for our guys.”
[brady] Injuries? “Bobby bruised…nothing of consequence, in great shape.”
[bob condotta] Challenge on 3rd down goal line play, what you saw there? “We knew ball out, to me worth it. What if they could see something on camera that showed we had the ball. I just took a shot.”
[bob] Something worth adv stopping play? “Did think of that, was thinking that during the time, but that was it.”
[bob] Snacks asked to be released? “Talk tomorrow, he was disappointed he wasn’t active for the game. I don’t have anything other than that.”
[chris francis] 3rd down numbers good 2nd half, Russ out of pocket more? “Started to find some angles to get out and took adv of it. DK catch over the middle, so physical, landed on his head popped back up. Played really tough today.”
[Jackie] Greg Olsen 1 catch today, comeback? “Remarkable comeback, the epitome of that mentality. Competitor and stud that he is. Most never playing in the game so soon. Credit for wanting to be part of this championship.”
Thank you again for doing these
Oooh, I totally forgot about the Hollister redemption angle!
Good to see the defense play how they did and outside of some poor tackling played winning football, I especially liked seen my Adams rushing less and being a bigger truer part of the secondary (even though he’s all over the place really).
Still not sure what ails the offense – seems to be a number of things adding up from coaching to defense’s schemes to receiver’s play to the o-line and yes Wilson. Really seems to be mental with him, I just hope that the extra stakes of the playoffs help him to be able to just play ball and lose the tentativeness.
Overall a pretty solid and obviously important win. Hoping for no injuries next week and expecting things to be pretty vanilla. Bring on the Rams in round one of the playoffs!
Man Alan making his money with that Adams fit. Id rock that sweater fs
That sweater was dope. Alan is my mvp today.
Another funny note on that adams interview. Its about team, not stats, not me. Then has wardrobe consultant for what then????
He said best defense in the league.
Dude is a nutjob and i love it
Kenny, you need to rock that sweater.
Alan can keep your outfit tight as well as Adams… for free.
Nuh uh. My daughter called dibs.
What does wanting to dress nicely have to do with his demeanor as a football player? Let the man have a consultant if he wants one ffs.
People are allowed to take the piss out of the fact he had a fashion coach called Alan too.
This is my best case scenario today. If RW caught fire and the D was inept in winning, id be more concerned. Today, the D shutdown a ver good offense. They played a complete game on D. The offense still sputtered, but did put together a game winning td drive to cap the game. I still have more faith in RW catching fire and offense figuring it out. Rams D is for real and the hawks scored tds. 2/2 in redzone tds.
Now, offense please figure it out. Schotty and rw, fix this.
I may be alone, but I love this Jets team not laying down and dying. Thats what football is about: pride.
Trevor aint fixing that mess. Rather trade down and build a team.
Even in a closed system like the NFL it just doesnt pay to tank
I fully believe in losing mentality. For all the hawks issues, every year they show up with a winning mindset. Theres a reason franchises like the jets, browns, mariners, etc seem to never fix it. Its because losing becomes the culture. Talent, also an issue, but there becomes an oh well, we aint winning anyways type of belief. Or always playing for that draft pick. Pete excells at positivity. Its why guys who come over like adams/dunlap/brown absolutely buy in. Theyve been in the storm of teams being in ruts.
100% This is a special era for this team
Start by building the lines so that the infrastructure is in place for a QB. That’s two sets of position that can play well regardless of whether a QB exists (unlike TE or WR). Pick an elite DE or LT (a Ronnie Stanley or Myles Garrett) with your top 5 pick since elite ones can only be picked up with high first rounders. When you have the infrastructure in place and you’ve identified your guy at QB, go all in to get him (KC for Mahomes, Texans for Watson).
They are locked into the #2 lick now. No Trevor.
It looks like Gase and Darnold are playing for their lives. i guess their jobs are more safe now.
I dont think I’ve ever rooted for a nfl team outside the seahawks as hard as I’m going for these Titans
Merry Xmas SDB, yall a great bunch of guys.
Sorry
Dang… kudos to him.
So if we do play them in 2 weeks, who will it be?
Didn’t look broken, just dislocated.
He wouldn’t have been able to grip the ball at all if it were indeed broken.
Painkillers and adrenaline… you know the nfl docs load these guys up with painkillers in the medical tent lol
they are incredibly tough mofos
lol
What sucks the most now is its shaping up to be round 3 against the Rams as they are the team we are most likely to play in the playoffs.
It’s the playoffs. It’s not like there’s an easy team out there. Everyone is capable of beating us. They need to bring it no matter who they play.
Game Over Man
Outside of Carson and Metcalf, nobody on this offense can break any tackles. You see other teams 2/3 WRs and tight ends run through arm tackles but if the Seahawks don’t scheme open Lockett, Moore, Swain, Olsen, Dissly, or Hollister then there are no YAC. I feel like they need more BAMFs on offense.
The podcast is now live at the top of the article
and this is why homefield matters – even this year w no fans. GB is just better than anyone in the snow. who wants to go play a game there in a month…
I’m with pdway in having a bit of hope that we saw the “right” Russ on that last drive……moving around, finding guys quickly, dialed in.
Oh and i should say I am quite happy to be chowing crow as I fully expected another Rams win against the Hawks and said as much.
Grading my watch points
Win the turnover battle
Grade: A-
They won the battle 1-0. Why the A-?
They had several chances for more and couldn’t close the deal. Adams got both hands on a ball and couldn’t bring it in.
They had a chance to really put the Rams in trouble with a recovery on the punt return fumble forced by Barton and couldn’t make it happen even with 3 Seahawks right there.
As well that was a ridiculous challenge by PC on the Goff goal line fumble. “I thought they’d see something” ? No. Thankfully it didn’t bite the Seahawks later in the game.
While we’re talking about turnovers, anyone want to dig through the rule book and find out how a player dropping a live ball on the turf is considered “giving yourself up”? Great awareness by Wagner to pick up the ball and run even if it was overturned.
Gear down on offense early in the game and control the tempo and the clock
Grade: D+
They only threw 5 deep passes, completing 2. One of those wasn’t a scripted play, as Russ broke the pocket and found Moore for a circus catch. So marks for not bombing away.
However. They called several long-developing plays that RW never got to throw. RW got sacked 5 times and each time, it stalled a drive. Seemingly every time they started build some rhythm in the first half, they called a long-developing play, RW got sacked, and it killed a chance to work the clock and score more points. He was sacked 3 times in the first half, losing 21 yards. They punted once and had to settle for FGs the other two times.
I don’t see as much humility in the game plan as there needs to be. Respect your opponents’ strengths more and scheme what you can do within the confines of their abilities. This game should have been 14-6 or even 17-6 at the half.
The defense really bailed the offense out in this game.
Defense — play creative, assignment-correct football and impact this offense
Grade: B
A solid game. This defense was able to contain a lot of the Rams’ creativity.
Jamal Adams’ flying tackle to save a TD was incredible to watch.
KJ Wright reminded us why he’ll likely be back in Seattle next year.
Special shout out to Poona Ford for turning tail and running 20 yards downfield to tackle a WR after Shaquille Griffin whiffed on the tackle. That’s effort right there.
But let’s be right here. Jared Goff was terrible today. Strange reads and questionable decisions at times really sputtered the Rams’ offensive momentum.
At times the defensive formations and calls were head scratching. How many times did Carlos Dunlap drop in coverage? What in the world was Rasheem Green doing on that 3rd and 11 conversion? He wasn’t rushing he wasn’t dropping in coverage. Just standing there like a statue. The announcers said ‘you know Goff is going to Kupp, and you can’t stop it!’ Well not if you rush 3, flood coverage with 7 and have 1 man standing there like a pee wee footballer who has no idea what to do.
And Shaquille Griffin not only had a rough day tackling, he was erased by WRs on running plays where he is the edge man. More than once, what should have been a 3 or 4 yard run max to his area of responsibility, was 10 or 15 due to him being blocked right out of the play.
Special Teams — continue to be a championship unit
Grade: A
Myers was perfect again.
Dickson averaged 48.6 yards, including a 56 yard line drive beauty that was un-returnable.
Why no downgrade for the Neal penalty on the punt? The offense was struggling badly and I like the aggressive call to attempt the block. The game would’ve turned if they get a block, or better, get a TD off the block. The defense was playing well and they made the play stand up, intercepting Goff on that drive.
I think Neal may have tipped that punt… I haven’t seen the reply, but if he gets a finger on that ball it’s not a penalty.
It felt like all the calls we going in favor of the visiting team, hate that!
And, thanks Cha!
“Myers was perfect again”.
NO JINX!
What’s up with the Rams punt unit? Second time in two weeks they’ve let a man through.
“While we’re talking about turnovers, anyone want to dig through the rule book and find out how a player dropping a live ball on the turf is considered “giving yourself up”? Great awareness by Wagner to pick up the ball and run even if it was overturned.”
He didn’t “drop” the ball on the field. He purposely set it down and was clearly saying “next play”. Strange play, but he was clearly signifying he was not trying for more yards and conceding the play was over.
It’s definitely worth asking the question. It was an awkward play all around.
A few observations:
1) Russ is a half a bubble out of plumb, a bit askew on the treadle or just pain hurt, sick or now knows so much that he is thinking himself into a stupor. Something has to change.
2) Late in the game Ramsey and DK were together talking, they shook and hands and patted each other (in a manly sort of way). Two wonderful professionals.
3) It seems to me we were playing Wright outside of the DE on one side and Brooks the same outside the other DE. This almost eliminated their jet sweeps, etc.
4) Adams played very well but missed an important tackle. Since he has two broken fingers he gets a mulligan.
5) I fear that what we have just seen is what Pete wants to see. Pete wants a suffocating defense with an offense that strikes when needed but doesn’t make mistakes otherwise. To me it was like watching an early 60’s Green Bay – Minnesota game being played in a -50 freezer and a 6″ per hour blizzard.
6) But dear god, so help me, I do love winning. Winning is my precious and I loves her…
bit askew on the treadle
Pardon?
Cha, Rob knows, all Brits know, all Canadians like myself know and the few civilized ‘Mericans alive know. Do the Google and be prepared to be enlightened!
I know. You missed the joke.
Ah… Cha, at my age missing a joke is the least of my worries:)
3) They were playing a variation of the 4-6 Bears defense. Stacked the LOS with bodies and make it incredibly difficult to get to the edges via rushing. The Patriots did this in the SB and many other teams have been stacking the line vs the Rams ever since. Trusting Goff will be Goff…. I actually thought they went to a 3-4 defense on some plays, when they didn’t crowd the LOS.
They have been playing A LOT of 3-4 recently, part of it with KJ playing so well on the line at SAM
….and the play of Brooks the last 4-5 weeks. His speed and explosiveness in run support has started to show up… increasing the team speed at the 2nd level of the defense….. he looks like he is dialed in now, justifying his draft position/pick.
The defense was fun to watch. I really enjoyed them shutting down the Lambs for the division championship. Defense is humming and sacking the QB. The team is very healthy and playing Carroll football. This is sweet!
I am fired up! Such a huge win. Defense played lights outside. Adams was incredible. Game changer man. D-line played really well, DJ Reed has been an absolute diamond in the rough, and Brooks just keeps making sit up in your seat, splash plays. Awesome to see J. Reed turn it on at the end there.
Offense is meh, but I expect Penny to have a big game here soon and as someone said above, Russ looked like Russ that last scoring drive. Would love to see Russ come out firing on all cylinders next week.
Was such an enjoyable change of pace to see a fantastic defensive performance (goes for the entire league).
Agree! Also loved the 2-back set they showed with Penny/Carson
The two back set was sweet I don’t know why they haven’t done stuff like that before.
They haven’t been as creative as they were earlier in the season on offense maybe it was the turnovers that made them go back to being more vanilla.
To me this ranks as Seattle’s best all around game. Offense, defense and special teams. 5 times the Rams starred inside their own 20 yard line. Jason Meyer made both field goal attempts. And also was 2 for 2 in his Pat’s. As well as the Hawks played their first round opponent could very well be the Rams again.
If GB (11-5) loses the next 2 games and we end up 12-4 with NO, who gets 1 seed?
Saints in that scenario due to conference record.
Seattle. They will both have a 9 and 3 record in the conference and will have to go to the next tie breaker which is best win/loss percentage against common opponents with minimum of 4 games. Seattle would be 4 and 0 and New Orleans would be 4 and 1 with 1 loss being against Philadelphia. If Green Bay loses to Chicago and there is a 3 way tie then Green Bay is eliminated because of an 8 and 4 conference record and Seattle still becomes the number 1 seed. The fact that Breen Bay beat New Orleans in a head to head I think would not be considered in a 3 way tie.
GB and NO would have to lose and SEA win to get 1 seed. I think they (NC SNF) said there is a 6% chance they get the 1 seed now….. 3 way ties favor NO…. Bears/Packers should be a fantastic game. Bears are playing legit offensive football and the defense is coming around as well. Very good playoff preview.
If there is a 3 way tie and the first rule is head to head, does that eliminate NO because of their loss to GB?
my understanding is they go by the record in conference 1st….
Ignore, I was using rules for wild card seeding. A team is screwed by hoping to get the number one seed on a tie breaker if playing in a strong division.
RW was just off the first half. Missed a bunch of throws and still held the ball a little too long. RW has got to play better if we’re going to do any damage in the playoffs. He wasn’t bad so much as he wasn’t special, as he needs to be.
There are things to be optimistic about now on D. Both Reeds, Dunlap, Ford, Wright, Brooks, Diggs, Amadi all playing pretty well now. Adams is a beast. Wagner still our captain of the D. Even Mayowa showing signs of life. They do seem to be starting to peak at the right time.
I think our OL (if Shell comes back healthy) is good enough. I think our offensive weapons are good enough. We’ve got our 3 best RB’s healthy. We’ve got 3 TE’s in the fold now. We’re a little weak with our WR depth, but Metcalf and Lockett are about as good of a one two punch as you could want.
It’s really up to RW and his game. He needs to get back to where he was earlier in the season.
I’m not real scared of anyone other than GB on the road in the NFC.
We’ll see what happens.
AJ Dillon going to be RB1 in Green Bay huh.
Sign me up for drafting Jovante Williams in the 2nd round
Is it just me or does it seem like the reefs keep bailing the Packers out? That “offsides” on the field goal attempt was ridiculous.
Even though they didn’t have their best game, the Seahawk Special Teams unit is by far the best unit in the NFL. Far better than any Offense or Defense in 2020. No great team this year but Seattle has the most upside of any team entering the Playoffs. The only question is what will next weeks victory against the Niners cost the Seahawks? If the defense is stressed as much as it was today it doesn’t bode well for the Hawks in the playoffs unless they get the #1 seed.
Finally..NFCW champs!
Can Hawks hang with Packs and Saints? Can this offense score 30+ against them? tough luck with out a bye.
Schedule for next week just shown on NBC. Saints game, Packers game and our game all kicking off at 1:25 Pacific time next Sunday. NFL has been doing this for several years now so not a surprise. Rams v. Cardinals also same time.
They want drama and no competitive advantage.
A once-maligned Seattle defense has come alive the past month. Sunday’s smothering of the Rams marked the fifth-straight game Carroll’s defense has allowed fewer than 20 points, and the second time it hasn’t allowed a touchdown all season. ~ NFL.com
“Impressive, most impressive” ~ Darth Vader
Honest question: what has to be confirmed on a coaches challenge for it to not be a charged timeout?
I thought Pete’s challenge was stupid either way. But can he challenge just that the ball was fumbled? Not that we necessarily gained possession, just that it was fumbled (since it wasn’t called on the field)? That much was pretty obvious even live, but posession was impossible to determine.
Seems like a tactical way to use a challenge in place of a timeout, but I don’t know that part of the rules.
Can we now say that Ken Norton Jr. is off the hot seat?
I still think that he’s a goner. There were those rumors about the Seahawks looking for a new defensive coaching talent a few weeks back
Meh
I don’t think he will be DC next year
If ARI win vs Rams and NO beat CAR we are playing against Cardinals.
If CHI win vs GB, we cant play vs Rams.
Only two scenarios we are playing Rams again.
1.GB, NO, TB and LAR all wins (though it is most realistic scenario)
2.GB, ARI wins and NO lose.
Kudos on a NFC West Div Title!!! 🍾
Let’s get/stay healthy & play to our potential. It’s a Hawks team with vulnerability but also the capability to win any single game against anyone. We haven’t seen their ‘best’ yet.
Rob,
Woke up on Sunday morning and told my wife that the Hawks would win 19-16. Whole bunch of field goals and maybe one touchdown. Defensive smothering on both sides. But knew that we’d make big plays, stops. Did it again like all year.
This has really rounded into a PC football team, just didn’t like that they didn’t stick with run game after gashing the Lambs a couple of times.
Too many times they had plays called that looked like Turkey Day backyard shit, everyone-go-to-the-end-zone cuz we are all open plays, and when it broke down, no one came back to help RW. Maybe cuz his eyes were 40 yds down the field.
Good open to the campaign, then close to the season. RBs and DL are healthy. Could work to SB.
As I wrote you guys last week, the key is surviving without injuries, winning (ugly if necessary) to get in position. Then when it comes down to a handful of games, play those handful well. Here we are. The Seahawks team that has no business being here, in position.
This was a statement game. Statement made. Next week will be tricky, with the 49ers D inspired by the likely exit of Saleh, but I believe the Hawks will prevail.
I don’t see any team in the NFL pulling ahead of the pack. It is down to individual games, and the preparedness of each team for each game. Pete must seize the moment now, and raise this team up at the perfect time.
Very excited about last night’s game. For the first time this season, it looked & felt like a classic Seahawks game. Slow start by the Offense but solid Defense kept the game close. A nice turnover & opportunities for more; consistent pressure on the opposing QB (he didn’t get injured by accident, it was because the DLine was right in his face). A nice touchdown drive to get the lead & an excellent, long, clock-killing TD drive in the 4th to put even more pressure on the Rams offence. Then all wrapped up by the D forcing a turnover on downs with the Rams offence pinned inside their own 20 on 4th & a mile. And a huge shoutout to Myers (perfect again & a nice tackle on returns) & Dixon (forced the Returners out of bounds inside their own 20, twice) for continued awesomeness in the kicking game.
A couple of side notes. Russ needs to stop double-c;utching on some of those throws. But, having said that, I’d rather he gave up a sack than gave up the ball & there wasn’t a sniff of a turnover last night.
Although the stats won’t show it & he only got limited touches, I thought Rashaad Penny made a real difference in the 4th quarter. He was hitting the line at speed & it felt genuinely dangerous when he got the ball. I also like that there was at least one play where both he & Carson were in the game together.
And finally, yesterday was my birthday so I can genuinely say that I aged a year whilst watching the game. Go ‘hawks!
Great win and division title.
Now we just need the early season offence to hook up with the end of season defence and I think we will be a handful for any team left
Dark horse’s, SEA HAWKS, SEA HAWKS
Jared Goff suffering a broken and dislocated right thumb during the Week 16 decision. That’s according to ESPN and NFL Network, which reported Sunday that the former No. 1 overall pick could miss the Rams’ season finale against the Arizona Cardinals, if not the entire playoffs, assuming L.A. makes it.
The Backup QB for the Rams is John Wolford, 1 year experience, Wake Forest. He has never thrown made a pass attempt in the NFL game. He did competed for the Alliance American Football (AAF) Arizona Hotshots in spring of 2019. I think the Rams will be signed a QB soon.
Maybe we should hope to play them again…
Choose between Rams, Cardinals or Bears.
I think Pete Carroll should be voted coach of the year this season. There’s always a lot of talk about how he’s not a great in game coach, but he makes up for it with the culture he creates. In my opinion that culture has never been more valuable than this year. How many games have we actually put it all together in all three aspects of the game? One or two? It would be easy to point to that as a strike against Carroll and the coaching staff as a whole, and that wouldn’t be unfair. Another way to look at would be to say that despite never really firing on all cylinders his team is still mathematically in it for the #1 seed in the conference, and are champions of a Division that’s probably sending 3 teams to the playoffs. Even more importantly though is the way in which this team has handled the extraordinary circumstances of playing football during a pandemic. In a year where a practice squad wide receiver started a game at QB this team has been nearly unaffected by Covid. Some of that is luck, and what credit is due deserves to be spread around the entire team; players, coaches, and all the other staff as well. Ultimately though I think this has to be a consideration when it comes to voting this season, and you’d have a hard time telling me that anyone has done a better job than the ‘Hawks.
By all means enjoy this latest victory to the max.
But coach of the year!!!????!!!
I see what you are saying and Pete deserves some votes but the national media won’t give him any. I know this won’t be popular but Schindler deserves some GM of the year votes also.
I don’t want to burst your bubble fellas.
But no.
Just no.
Let’s enjoy a really good win without needing to try and argue that Carroll and Schneider have done an award winning job this year. They haven’t.
I’m cool with having that discussion at a different time. I don’t want you to think IMO either deserves to win. I just think they should get a couple of votes and they probably won’t get one between them.
I don’t really think it warrants a discussion to be honest.
If they get no votes, nobody should have an issue with it.
Coach of the year should be between Matt LaFleur, Sean McDermott, Kevin Stefanski or Andy Reid. I’d be tempted to go with Reid. Going 15-1 (potentially) after winning the Super Bowl is incredible and shouldn’t be ignored just because they have Mahomes. Few teams win like they do immediately after winning the SB. McDermott would be #2 and I don’t think a loss to the Jets with two position groups effectively hammered by Covid should mask what the Browns have achieved.
Exec of the year should be Brandon Beane. The Diggs trade has clearly helped elevate Josh Allen’s play and the Bills overall have done a great job compiling that roster.
Honestly, Stefanski should get it hands down. You go into Cleveland, dumpsterfire of an organization, no history of winning for almost 20 years…. and make them a viable contender in a tough division. You face some adversity due to COVID and still are at 10-5 headed into week 17. Side note: It would be a Browns move to go 11-5 and still miss the playoffs.
I would give the nod to McDermott as well, he has built a viable contender….
Reid will get the PC treatment, no love since they were “expected” to be good.
Brian Flores anyone???????
Both great choices and I definitely think Stefanski should win coach of the year with McDermott a close second. I also think Flores deserves some consideration. As for Exec. I’d have no problem with Beane. I certainly wasn’t trying to imply people should take to the streets if JS/PC don’t get a vote.
I’m with you. Schneider is long overdue to get GM of the year.
For this type of award consistency and history counts, and I think it should. No one is more deserving for their body of work than Schneider.
Rob argues the Bills GM did better getting players, well what would Schneider have put around Russ if he wasn’t sucking up an extra 25 million in cap space compared to Allen? Those rookie contracts for good QB”s make a huge difference and give the GM a HUGE advantage.
So many of our key players were shrewd value acquisitions. Schneider has been hampered by picking at the end of the first round every year but still manages to find his share of gems in the draft.
Schneider was snubbed in 2012, it’s time he finally gets his due.
Schneider spent $50m and used three first round picks this year.
The ‘Josh Allen contract’ argument is an invalid one.
Of that 50 million a large amount went to plugging holes. Saying an extra 25 million wouldn’t make a difference makes no sense.
In my opinion saying high performing QB’s on rookie contracts is not an advantage to team building is an invalid argument.
The Bills didn’t give up much less draft capital to get Diggs and he is owed far more money than Adams over the next couple years.
I think any argument that Schneider shouldn’t be in the running is just wrong.
They squandered millions of dollars on players not worth it. If you want the list, check the archive.
It’s not an advantage when you literally have $50m to spend yourself.
They also used three first round picks.
The Bills gave up one first round pick, this years, to get Diggs. So they spent one first round pick this year — not three.
You can keep this going if you want…
Quick message for the community…
Sharky wasn’t able to continue this conversation in a civil way and resorted to abuse and insults.
We’re not interested in having idiots ruin this forum. If you are an idiot, may I recommend one of the other Seahawk communities?
Thanks,
Merry Christmas.
Rob, I get where you disagree with How JS built the the team this year. I did not agree with how they went about things this offseason but he has managed to have what looks like a pretty good draft (Brooks, Lewis, Robinson & Swain) are all making contributions. The recent trades have brought in talent. I understand balking at the 2 firsts for Adams but he’s made a massive impact. Dunlap was a steal and going back to last year he got Diggs for a song. Now did he make moves that didn’t workout such as Dunbar and Finney sure. We all think he over paid for Olsen but Shell, Ogbuehi and D.J. Reed have been great for the price. Could he have done things differently and set this team up better possibly but potentially finishing 12-4 and being a tiebreaker away from the one seed is quite an accomplishment.
The thing is, we’re all very aware of players like D.J. Reed and Dunlap. And we’re listing someone like Freddie Swain, who hasn’t really done much, in an argument for the GM being exec of the year.
I’m pretty sure fans at every other team can also offer similar examples. Should New England’s front office win an award for JC Jackson? The Bills found a really good starting WR in round four after spending their top pick on a player who has transformed the QB and is on a team friendly contract for years.
The Seahawks have used more resources than any other team in the NFL in 2020, with seriously mixed results. If I gave you ten million bucks and told you to invest in different companies — and you have mixed results — we can’t then compare your performance to someone who used a tenth of your resources and had equal or more success.
John Schneider should not be exec of the year. To me this is a reactionary take based on a good win. Let’s just enjoy the win, we don’t need to start giving out awards.
I could care less if PC gets or doesn’t get ‘Coach-o-the-Year. I could care less if JS gets or doesn’t get GM-o-the-Year. And actually I could care less if RW gets or doesn’t ever get MVP. If they need it for an ego massage that’s fine with me, but sheesh, let’s move on from this…
Pete for Coach of the Year seems tough to justify in most years, and is really out there this year. The in-game management mistakes are clear and obvious game after game, year after year, and many of them can be attributed directly to Pete. The suspect game plans are pretty clear negatives and easily attributed to coaching. The stubborness to play schemes that are not well suited to the skills of the players is clear and attributable to the coaching staff. The very positive ‘culture’ thing might be real and might outweigh all of the stuff I just mentioned, but it is awfully hard to evaluate that and difficult to clearly attribute to Pete. Similarly, not having major problems with Covid, etc…hard to attribute to coaching…it could be other parts of the organization or just plain luck. In sum, the easy things to evaluate trend negative, and the difficult things to evaluate are…difficult to evaluate.
I am not saying Pete is a bad coach, but the the most readily observable parts of the coaching job do not look overwhelmingly positive. It seems to me that Pete’s teams have finished the season strong (barring injuries) almost every year, and that should be attributed to coaching and is a huge deal, and he should be credited with the advantage we had in some years with cheaply acquired DBs, but the rest of the potential positives are just hard to prove.
Actually Carlos Hyde has broken a few this year. But yeah, there aren’t many. I like Moore a lot!
So nice not to be gashed by McVay’s offense! The speed and physicality of Adams and Brooks plus having Reed and Amadi covering and tackling was the difference v past games. On the broadcast they showed a look with KJ and Dunlap (long and savvy defenders) on the edges with three down lineman and it was a huge positive to see us scheming and it working. I don’t know if Alton Robinson (is there a rookie who has more than 4 sacks?) is anything more than a Benson M type rotational pass rusher but to have 8 sacks between the two of them is huge compared to last year’s blackhole opposite Clowney. This team is so much more well rounded and healthier than last year’s team coming down the stretch. Looking forward to the playoffs.
I think the play of the game was David Moore’s 45-yard reception. First drive of second half, staring at a three-and-out, tied at 6-apiece. That play energized the team in my opinion. A jolt of confidence.
Definitely happy to get the division crown and at least the one home playoff game that comes with it, and also happy about how much progress that the defense has made over the last several weeks. However, let’s take a look at the QBs that we’ve faced over that stretch – not exactly the ’27 Yankees here:
Week 12 – Carson Wentz – 25/45, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Week 13 – Colt McCoy – 13/22, 105 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Week 14 – Sam Darnold – 14/26, 122 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Week 15 – Dwayne Haskins – 38/55, 295 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Week 16 – Jared Goff – 24/43, 234 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Now, I’m not a Football Outsiders premium subscriber, but from their QB statistics page, I can see that among QBs with at least 200 pass attempts this season (a total of 36 QBs), and ranked by DYAR, Haskins ranks 33rd, Darnold ranks 35th, and Wentz ranks 36th. Meanwhile, Goff ranks a middle-of-the-pack 18th, and McCoy shows up in the bottom 5 for QBs with under 200 pass attempts this season. Our defense has made a ton of improvement, sure, but it’s come against guys who don’t exactly put the fear of God in you. For comparison, this season, Russ ranks 9th on that list.
Think about who we might play in the playoffs if we make it to the divisional round, which has been kryptonite the last few years.
The Bucs? Brady ranks 6th
The Saints? Brees ranks 10th
The Pack? Rodgers ranks 2nd
The last five QBs we’ve faced in the regular season have averaged 5.1 yards per attempt against our D, which is pretty ugly. We are not likely to see the same from that trio above. So far this year, Brady is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt, Brees is at 7.7 yards per attempt, and Rodgers is at 8.1 yards per attempt. For comparison, Russ is at 7.7 yards per attempt for the season.
My view is that while we’ve done a good job shutting down opposing offenses in the last few weeks, we haven’t really had the opportunity to see what it can do against a quality QB. I suppose you could argue, if you want, that Goff falls in that category (I don’t see it, but he’s had a few really good games), the broken thumb means we didn’t get that version of Goff yesterday. I think for us to get past the divisional round, it’s going to have to be on Russ to step up his game to match his peers because this is what he’s done if we break down his season into three groups of five games apiece:
Games 1-5 of the season: 8.9 yards per attempt, 19 TDs, 3 INTs
Games 6-10: 7.7 yards per attempt, 11 TDs, 7 INTs
Games 11-15: 6.5 yards per attempt, 8 TDs, 3 INTs
alternatively, in words:
Games 1-5: Russ Cooks, restaurant earns 3 Michelin stars
Games 6-10: Russ Cooks, but there’s a grease fire in the kitchen
Games 11-15: grease fire has been put out, but menu has been stripped down
I hope I’m wrong, but if we’re going to make some noise in the playoffs, I think we need early season Russ to re-emerge because I’m skeptical that the D is going to shut down quality QBs in January.
There’s little doubt in my mind that RW has got to play some great football from here on out if we’re going anywhere in the playoffs. He has to mostly neutralize or exceed the play of the opposing team’s QB. He’s not playing at that level now, for whatever the reason. Thankfully, our running game is healthy and on track now. That could be an advantage for us in the playoffs, but we still need RW plus now.
Rams offense is 6th in the NFL in YPG – holding them to 9 pts, making a 4-play goal line stand like that — those things matter. Goff wasn’t effective before the thumb injury, so I don’t think you can point to that as the reason he struggled against the Hawks defense.
The biggest point is that this same Rams offense absolutely gashed us in the first meeting, ran right through us in the 1st half. Totally different story today – and it’s Reed, Dunlap, Shaq in the line-up, and also better play from Adams, Brooks and others. It’s fair that we haven’t played an elite offense, but the D is playing it’s best ball of the season.
It’s not fair to take away credit for the defence shutting down a unit (the Rams) that has consistently smashed them because Goff isn’t that good and he hurt his thumb. This scheme with Goff at the helm has consistently sliced through this defence like a hot knife through butter (to borrow a favourite phrase of Rob). Today they didn’t, that’s a huge improvement and it’s not fair to marginalise it as just weak opposition.
Also, low key, Goff’s best pass all day was immediately after the thumb thing. Maybe it was always whack and he finally fixed it?
Another good point about the D/pass rush: “Seattle may have finished with only three total sacks on Sunday, but the thing about a successful pass rush isn’t how many raw sacks a team gets, it’s really about how much consistent pressure they can create. This is exactly what the Seahawks did by putting Jared Goff under constant duress. In the first half, Goff was pressured 15 total times which was the most he ever had in his career.”
Strangely enough, I didn’t see as much pressure on Goff yesterday as these stats suggest. I thought he had plenty of time to throw much of the game. Those times where he rolled out seemed designed that way, for whatever the reason (he’s not a good runner). I just didn’t see Goff under this constant pressure that this quote suggests.
I agree. The idea that Goff was under a lot of pressure didn’t meet the eye test for me. Sure, there were plays where he rolled out and took his time and eventually a defender closed on him, but he had plenty of time first. It appeared to me like he generally was free to make decisions about where to throw and to throw unencumbered. And he made a number of short-medium throws that moved the chains until they got into field goal range.
Where was that from clbradley? Link?
I’m enjoying this win- Division title against the bogeyman Rams, feels awesome.
And I can’t help but look ahead to next season. I don’t believe this Hawks team can beat the Packers or Saints, much less Chiefs or Bills (that’s the extent of the list of teams I think are unquestionably better than the Hawks). If Russ plays like early season and defense can do this against top 10 QBs, then sure, they can beat anyone.
I glanced at PFF season grades, and besides Russ, Wags, Brown, Carson, and DK, the only offense/defensive player with a PFF above 80 was Poona. Several players solidly in the 70s, but there were also some abysmal grades (Jarran Reed- 52).
I know PFF isn’t everything, but there’s going to be some tough calls to make this offseason.
And I think those PFF grades are fair.
Poona, incidentally, in my eyes was superb again yesterday.
Poona’s not listed on over the cap as a Seahawk for 2021, but he’s an RFA. Hopefully he can be retained on the same deal as the 2nd rd. tender we gave Hollister(+ Moore, Jackson & Hunt). Probably too much for a 3rd string TE, but would be a bargain to have starting/heavy rotational DT Poona back for that same 3 mil. price tag for 2021.
He’s for sure going to get tendered. He’s earned it.
I have a couple concerns with Poona though. I’m not sold on this coaching staff/FO being able to maximize his productivity.
If they cut or trade Jarran Reed to save the $8m cap number and don’t have at least an adequate replacement lined up, thinking they’ve got a star and Poona can handle more, that’s going to cause a real issue. He plays about 50-60% of snaps and that appears to be a great workload for him that his frame can handle. I think it’s easy to see a higher salary being equated to a higher workload, and him getting overworked next year.
Secondly, it would appear a good chunk of his increase in production is a change in his responsibility. They’ve moved him away from the pure 1T/NT type position, where your job is the inglorious filling of gaps and occupying blockers and not to gather stats. My gut doesn’t have strong confidence that this team wouldn’t pay him and then dump him right back into that role, because they haven’t made any other acquisitions, and then the fans / media get to ride this wave of “oh, I guess Poona was a flash in the pan, the Hawks paid him and now his play has fallen off…”
Is there a way to find out PFF grades in a selected section of games? I’d be really curious to see Reed’s scores before and after Dunlap, because the counting stats are far better.
Games 1-7 (before Dunlap): 1 sack, 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QB Hits
Games 8-15 (after Dunlap): 6 sacks, 19 tackles, 5 TFL, 12 QB Hits
didn’t realize Reed had 7 sacks, that’s super solid for an interior D-lineman.
I’m not sure, and don’t pay for it. Not sure if the season grade is an average of games or snaps, or something else.
The theory is at least consistent with what we saw when lining up with Clark, but he didn’t do the same when next to Clowney (albeit both Clowney and Dunlap snaps are a small sample size).
Maybe is value is up to trade him for an R3. Or sign him to extension and pull down his 2021 cap hit. I’d be fine with either.
The entire d-line seems so much more active since Dunlap joined the team, but it has been especially noticeable with Reed & Poona
Not to be too much of a downer, but as No Fricken Clue so fricken cluefully pointed out above, the passing offenses we’ve faced lately have been terrible.
And Dunlap has been injured and sparsely playing…
Not sure we’d look so good if we played the Bills again tomorrow.
You’ve really got to hand it to Rodgers, his numbers this year are incredible. 44 TDs against 5 picks? It’s like he’s the QB for some college football powerhouse. And doing it a 37, with one elite WR, but not all that much else to throw to.
Evidently, getting out of that relationship with Danica Patrick gave his game a bit of a resurgence.
Jordan Simmons had 0.0 pass blocking grade. Yikes.
Lewis was awfully graded in pb with 16.
Ogbuehi was more than good again. Maybe we get something in him.
He was so awful against Philly but honestly kind of saved the season with his back to back solid performances. We don’t win last two weeks with him being the turnstile he was against Philly
Not very encouraging facing a very good SF Dline next week, or going into the playoffs. Thought the OL had turned it around against an outstanding Washington DL. Not only do we need to take care of business, but I’m going to be rooting for the Bears and Panthers to win against the Packers and Saints. AR and the GB D dominated against a very good Titans team last night and the Saints with Alvin Kamara and their D look awesome against the Vikings on Christmas. No way do I want to see us going to GB and playing in the snow. Go Bears!
They’re desperate IMO for something up front. Looks like the most immediate upgrade on the roster. That could change depending on what happens w/ Carsin of course.
* Carson
I’ll be interested to see some all22 reviews from spots on the internet to gauge Russel’s indecision when he hits the back of his drops. Is there nobody open? Is the scheme bad? Are WRs running bad routes or is he just gunshy? You can’t tell from the TV broadcast.
But, huge credit to him and the entire offense for going out and winning the game with that last drive. Converting multiple third downs, great play call and execution on the Holister TD.
This still isn’t a great defense, but the improvements are massive and they deserve credit for that.
I honestly think that RW has to make himself into a better pocket passer. I just think he’s so used to breaking free of the pocket and buying time that it’s become a bit of a habit/hindrance to him as he gets older and can’t do with his legs and athletic ability what he used to. He seems to give up too quick in the pocket and go into this default mode, trying to extend plays and make something less ordinary happen. It worked in the past, and will continue to do so, but probably on far less of a successful scale than in the past.
I truly believe it’s a mindset more than a scheme, gun shy, or lack of open receiver thing.
Just my armchair QB opinion.
Possibly, but we have seen him be deadly from the pocket, when he steps back and releases the second hits his drop. We have seen very little of that the past 2 months. He’s been hit a lot, perhaps that’s taking a toll. It’s most likely a combination of things.
There is no position in major teams sports quite like the QB position in terms of overall import and public expectation/criticism. It’s easy for me to say he needs to get it out of his hands soon after he hits his drop. All I know is that it seems to happen to him a lot more than it should now, that he has talent in the receiving corp, and that he’s not quite as quick and mobile as he used to be. I just see some potential evolutionary room for improvement. That’s all.
Nope. I think ur 100% spot on. He’s not a great pocket passer because he holds the ball longer than any other QB.
That throw he made to David Moore on the run, outside the pocket? My goodness.
It’s a mistake to try and change that at this point in his career, though. I’d rather they play to his strengths more and get him on the move more frequently.
It is going to become less and less of a strength as he slows down with age.
No it won’t. It’s not an issue of top-end speed. It’s a skill of buying time, keeping your downfield vision up, and throwing on the run. Those won’t diminish with age.
Drew Brees is a master of moving around and creating that extra second he needs to throw and you can time his 40 with a sun dial.
Anybody else remember Victor Cruz “giving himself up” vs the Cardinals in 2011? Had that buried in a memory after last night and looked it up this morning.
Caught pass, goes down (quite intentionally), gets up without being touched, and leaves the ball behind. Cards pick it up rightfully.
Refs ruled that he was down, gave himself up. Cards were up 27-24 with 2 minutes left. Eli throws TD next play, Giants win 31-27. Kick in the nuts.
Still not sure if I agree or disagree with it. Seems like a player ought to just hang on to the damn pigskin until he’s touched or theres a whistle.
I thought that call was bs. He never gave himself up. He gets up because he was untouched, then set the damn ball on the ground. Or am I remembering it wrong?
If Reynolds runs after he gets up the refs don’t whistle the play dead and say he already gave himself up. That’s the issue i had with the play. If he laid the ball on the ground prior to getting up i can see saying he gave himself up. I didn’t expect them to award Seattle the ball there because that’s how they seem to call those things
PC show on 710
[q] Division champs! “Really good day, championship ballgame.”
[q] Closeout the game w drive? “Complementary game. Kicking game was on. Defense took advantage of chances. Loved the 4th Q drive by the offense.”
[q] Calm at halftime? “I thought we were in control. Such good D. Challenged us with stuff that could be difficult, we were matching them play after play. Didn’t have any problems. Just needed to keep battling. Russ makes a couple plays here and there – DMO catch was a big time play – showed we had controlled. Wasn’t worried about how the game was going at all.”
[q] McVay getting edge work – Hawks stopped it why? “Players played the plays right. Knew what concepts expected. Demanding about being in the right spots. Worked for weeks solidifying the concepts. Trouble last year. Got it nailed. Doesn’t mean anything in practice – gotta show in game. At halftime confident, wasn’t much they could do we couldn’t’ handle. Kenny great job, players made sense of prep.”
[q] Jamal said best D in NFL? “Playing as well as anyone. We just saw the best D yesterday, fortunate to do so well. Measure after week 8 after getting butt kicked in Buffalo, as good as anyone in league.”
[q] DK in slot – matchup or evolution of his play? “Both. So smart he doesn’t have any restrictions, harder to zero in on him. Primarily a zone team so they didn’t match up with him. Matter of Schotty moving him around. Really good tough game yesterday.”
[q] Goal line stand awesome? “”KJ really set tone by knocking TE back, hammered guy. Took running lane away, space for other guys to get in. Great moment. Those moments in FB are intense. You’re in that moment of tension but you have to answer with ferocity, just throw yourself at the moment. Such an extraordinary sequence. Guys never forget those plays. Lunging and scrapping and clawing.”
[q] Defensive stand more impressive no fans? “Good observation. Cool observation. They did do all of that. Moment is extraordinary, guys in unison explode. Really moved by that.”
[q] Comfortable in one yard situations, NE, Minn, done it before, Adams bolt play? “Coming w pressure, likened to DK vs Cardinals. Every step max intensity, took all that to keep guy from getting in. Marvelous moment of effort.”
[q] Hollister rub play for TD on 3rd and 4? “Really a statement of trust. Practice all the time in different combos. Russ trusts execute. Great call for situation. 1on1. Perfect pass, timing and rhythm of that – it isn’t a pick, an exchange – Freddy did great. Jake patient and poised. Just perfect. Great moment. Poetic that it was Jake last year. I was pissed we didn’t make it last year, should’ve won division last year.”
[q] Vintage RW game, opps in 2nd half, force the D? “TD drive, float outside, great ball to Moore, then Carlos, next play, total legs drill just running it in. Doesn’t have to be sitting in the pocket, throwing TDs. Patience, waited for opps to present themselves, they came.”
[q] 3rd down in 2nd half great? “Great short yardage play, DK BARELY moved. Should’ve been still. A lot of times they don’t call that. They did this time, they were right. Game comes down to 3rd down. We did great.”
[q] Woods putting ball down? “Wasn’t Robert, he was a Trojan he wouldn’t have done that. Opp to make a mistake was given, and that guy made a mistake. He shouldn’t have done that. They say he declared down, well he dove to make the catch, he didn’t catch and then go down. I’m probably not supposed to talk about it – but I can’t wait to talk to the league about it. But I don’t care.”
[q] Rams play action boot defend LBs? “Best job I’ve seen us do, ever. Taking away a concept. 11 variety boots, avg 3 yards a play. Phenomenal. Execution. Not let play be a factor. Declared ‘they’re not gonna get those any more.’ So many variety of movements, opps. Kupp hit a good play, guy right in his face.”
[q] Big picture, traits allows D to improve so much? “Connection between what coaches teaching and players playing, and ownership of that accounting. Getting it right play after play. Kenny said ‘dead plays need ot be dead.’ Practice and play need to be the same. Stacking up things you’re really good at. Boot game, screens, perimeter – own them, recreate them week after week, everyone is in on what it takes. That’s the connection. Understand base defense, you can fix things during the game, that’s the jump. We’re not doing anything different. Same stuff. Tweak things, stay within package. Adapted style but reacquainted selves with base defense. D is precision work, not just knocking the hell out of people. Relative spacing, conscience, technique, all it takes to get done, arrived there. Not any different, just better at it. Players speak, clearer about. Excited.”
[q] Snacks Harrison – expect him to be a Seahawk this week? “He’s decided to stop playing. He’s done playing. Talked to him this morning, good spirits, grateful. Got a big family, 7 kids. Get him back home and safe – I don’t know what other teams….sorry to see him go and we’ll keep going.”
[q] Beating the Rams? “No doubt, playing against us really well. Really excited about that. Coaches did great job in this game. Tried so hard in years past, I’ve overtried at time. Totally answered in this game the way we wanted to. This is the game we’ve been preparing for – championship game. More practice, more confidence. Championship game of championship games this season. Execute the way we’re capable of. Not about elevating this moment. Doing what you’re capable in circumstances of heightened expectations. Jets game just as valuable as this week. Shows how committed dudes are to getting this thing done – look at what the Jets just did! Played the same vs Jets. Mentality, mode, get things done.”
[q] Congrats on hosting a playoff game, fans not here, living vicariously? “We all need something good right now. Hope people having moments of joy and pride. We’re taking you with us whether you’re here or not!”
Dwayne Haskins is cut
Guess you can say he was stripped of his duties.
Wonder if he knew-d consequences of his actions
((I’ll see myself out now))
Damn funny man
He had an alphabet problem. Instead of studying his X’s and O’s, he was focused on the T’s and the A’s.
So just so I’m clear, the greatest number of playoff scenarios has us playing the Rams in the first round of the playoffs. And if the seeding holds both next week and in the playoffs, the Seahawks path to the Super Bowl would mean beating the Rams at home, then beating New Orleans in New Orleans, and then beating Green Bay in Green Bay. Is that correct?
The Cardinals and Giants losses were MASSIVE.
Looks like this’ll b Robert Saleh’s last game as DC in SF. Would be really cool if he goes to Detroit, good fit IMO, and they keep Bevell as OC.
I think it’ll be really interesting to see where Saleh’s ends up, not sure if Detroit is the best spot IMO
Jags – You get Lawrence (Huge Draw)
Houston – Watson and a pissed off JJ Watt and not a lot of picks.
Detroit – Stafford (average injury prone quarterback)
Jets – ALOT of picks and the most FA money for 21.
Chargers – You get a young great quarterback in Justin Herbert and another Bosa. But you have to go against Mahomes twice a year.
Atlanta – Some exciting pieces.
My money is the Chargers if Anthony Lynn gets fired.
If I’m Saleh, I’m sprinting to Jacksonville. Great division and some really good young talent to build around. You get Trevor Lawrence and could easily attract free agents.
“Great division” to be a coach in. Colts have a small window. Tennessee is limited until they get a better QB – yes Tannehill has been pretty good, but he’s not winning you anything. Texans are a dumpster fire with no draft capital.
Chargers makes sense. Atlanta maybe.
I don’t think Stafford stays in Detroit. Will be surprised if NE doesn’t go after him. Detroit is a full on rebuild where he can put his stamp on that team and change/build the culture.
Or SF. Jimmy G only has a $2.8m cap hit and $24m comes off the books if they cut or trade him in 2021.
Imagine what Shanahan can do with a QB that is able to throw more than 5 yards downfield.
The 2020 award for best Only Fools and Horses reference in a US Sports-focused podcast goes to….. Mr. Adam Nathan for Seahawks Draft Blog Instant Reaction, December 27. Congratulations, Adam. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Adam can’t be here to acept the award in person, but I have a prepared statment… “Thanks to Rob and Robbie for giving me the opportunity to share my knowledge of classic British sitcom lines with an international audience, and to David Jason for his inimitable portrayal of lovable rogue, Del Boy, that has added so much richness to the available lexicon of we humble Brits. Finally, I would like to say… Go, Hawks! Go Spurs! F The Rams and The Arsenal! Bonjour mes petits pois.”
I don’t know, I liked Rob describing Tampa Bay as a ‘bad smell’
Well what an honour!! It’s my pleasure to receive this in person!
The thing I loved about the game yesterday is that the defenders weren’t giving receivers huge cushions. Even when they made plays (especially Kupp) there was almost always someone contesting the catch or hitting them almost immediately.
Giving up the long drives that ended in field goals was the most Seahawks-looking thing I’ve seen from this team all year.
I really enjoyed seeing that as well!
Odd to say since I was so frustrated with the offense for much of the day, but yesterdays game was the best I’ve felt after a game all season. It’s not because of winning the West either. They played a relatively complete game against a decent team. With the emergence of Reed at RCB and steal of Dunlap via trade, the defense has really turned a corner. That was so nice to see.
The Packers and Saints aren’t unbeatable forces by any means. If the Packers get the #1 seed, I would argue that they (or Saints) would be one of the worst #1 seeds in the last 10 years. The NFC is wide open.
That being said, if the Seahawks were to get the #1 seed – I would stand by my above comment. The #1 seed in the NFC is not going to be a dominant and unbeatable force the way some teams have been. However, the thing I really like about this Seahawks/Rams thing – is that I see the Seahawks trending in the exact direction you want a team to be going into the play-offs.
There’s a lot of work to do – but at least there’s hope for January. And hopefully February.
I’m kinda glad you brought this up. Can Kingsbury develop Murray beyond where he currently is? Because if he can’t, a big reason why he went #1 overall IMO, who can? He just doesn’t process things. If you could combine his arm and ability to make plays w/ Tua’s mental processing? 👌 perfect.
I actually think him and RW are very similar. I don’t think RW processes the game very well either. I think that’s why both can look unstoppable in a handful of games and downright inept in others. QBs can have bad games, but both of these guys can look completely lost for long stretches.
This is the first year where I’ve thought to myself that I’ve rated RW’s processing ability/football IQ a bit higher than it actually might be. His arm strength, elusiveness, competitive spirit, coolness under pressure, self confidence, winning resume, etc.., sure do cover up those times when I find myself baffled by certain decisions he makes, and/or his seeming inability to make faster and necessary adjustments to his game when something isn’t working.
This is kind of a bad example, but I remember when the clock was running down in the first half and the team had decided to make a stab at getting into FG range and with not much time remaining on the clock instead of throwing the ball deep down field or throwing it away, he scrambles up the middle and slides for a small gain. It was just a pointlessly ineffective move. I wondered to myself…what was he thinking there?
Again, bad example there, but anyway…sometimes I’m left wondering what was he thinking there?
I vividly remember that specific play and I literally said out loud, “what a dumb decision.”
I really am not trying to say RW is dumb or anything. But yes, I’ve come full circle on the “he really doesn’t process the game all that well.” I think it kind of easily explains the massive swings in performance.
For a baseball analogy, he’s a good hitter who guesses at the plate. The year end stats are always good but you can’t help but wonder what it’d look like if “he just didn’t have that 6 week slump.” Thats Russell IMO. How often does he sit in the pocket and move through progressions? The only time he seems to excel at secondary and tertiary reads is when things go off script and he’s scrambling. Far too often, the first or second read isn’t there and he does that weird duck his head move in the pocket.
In fairness to RW, I think there are maybe 6-8 QBs who truly process the game well. Most of the others are like him on that front. He’s just simply better than this either guys.
My worry is that much of the perceived improvement in our defense yesterday, was due to Goff’s poor decision making and lack of throwing on time to his receivers. I hope a better quarterback (e.g. Rogers, Bree’s, Brady) doesn’t expose our secondary. Go Hawks!
I suggest reading Brian Nemhauser’s blog post from this morning at hawkblogger.com
that’s a good blog post.
I was going to make a similar point here to one he made – clearly pass rush was a huge issue, but another critical part of the early season defensive awfulness was how terrible we were at CB. Shaq takes heat from this community – but he’s at minimum a competent corner (and he missed some games). The RCB for the Hawks, on the other hand, either an injured/ineffective Dunbar or the incredibly overmatched Tre Flowers – was the worst starter on the field – and it strikes me that a really bad CB is almost the worst place to have a hole on your defense. Point being, that you can cover up for a single bad D-lineman or LB, but when you have a terrible CB, it’s just an easy/automatic outlet for any decent QB to know that he has a completion when he needs one, most significantly, on 3rd downs, which keeps drives moving, keeps the defense on the field, and produces that cumulative/tired impact.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying that IMO the return to health of Shaq, and the out-of-nowhere emergence of Reed, is a big part of what’s happening on that side of the ball.
Good point. You don’t want to have any weaknesses but they’re especially magnified at CB. You never want anyone bad on the DL or OLB (it’s important to have a strong QB at MLB in a 4-3) or even safety to a certain degree to be a weak spot – but a guy on an island like that is hard to mask.
Even if you only have 1 CB – it’s problematic. We remember the years where Sherman closed off one side of the field but it didn’t really matter because bums like Caray Williams was so bad that teams could still pass on us.
Flowers is a black hole that was exploited by Rodgers in the playoffs repeatedly. And was getting killed earlier this year. Reed has been a huge improvement. Also can’t discount the communication/timing/getting used to between Jamal and Q-Diggs. Amadi has been solid in NB and Jamal is getting better each game. Our secondary needed time to gel and now they are peaking. And of course, the addition of Dunlap is making Reed more impactful and improving the pass rush overall.
I agree with this pdway. The single biggest reason our D has improved is better health. Our DB”s were decimated early in the year. We were down 3 or 4 of our top 5 DB’s for a time (Blair, Shaq, Adams, Dunbar, Flowers have all been hurt). For a while there we were down more than half our good DB’s, leaving some poor players handling key roles. About the same time our DE’s were also decimated. I pointed that out at the time on here and was shot down for making excuses. Was told the real reason was lack of planning in the off season and that the D just didn’t have the pieces to be good.
Getting healthy at both positions, as well as the addition of Dunlap is the reason our D has turned around. We are still without Blair, Irivin, and Dunbar who would have been key pieces. Thankfully Schneider worked his magic and got us Reed and Dunlap in phenomenal moves. Getting Dunlap could be called lucky and does go to the missing pieces argument, but I think Schneider knew getting a DE in season was a real option when he didn’t like the big name guys available in the offseason.
I’m not sure you can blame it all on health. They were healthy in the first few games and struggled. They had a lot of their players back by Buffalo and LA and struggled.
Health is part of it. But there are lots of other issues too — such as a wholly inadequate pass rush, the increased blitzing and how it impacted the scheme, players performing badly, the defense facing better players early in the season than they currently are, and so on.
Thank you for the recommendation, Lewis. It was a fun and informative read. I’m a little more hopeful that our defense represents in the playoffs this year.
Tbh, I thought his take was perhaps a bit overly rosy, but glad you liked it.
I know Rob didn’t think so at the time, but I really do think the defense started to turn a corner in the second half of the first Rams game. They have been on a pretty consistent upward trend for weeks now. This wasn’t just one good game. Nor do I think they have peaked. They are getting better week after week (and healthier).
My concern lies more with the offense at this point.
I still think it’s very hard to take anything away from a defensive performance where the Rams rolled into second gear with a comfortable lead and basically tried ‘not to lose’.
https://twitter.com/nateburleson/status/1343372608339906560
Game Pass is a big bag of shite!
This offseason could be the year of the QB. Never before IMO has there been an offseason with so many QB’s in limbo and possibly on the move:
AFC:
Darnold ( Jets on a rebuild will they let him go and pick another in the draft -Fields?) 2nd pick in the draft
Brady ( 43-44 years old who will be the backup and QB of the future?)
Cam Newton ( Heard Bellicheck might want Jimmy G back if available)
Jags Minshew- ( Number one pick Lawrence)
Colts ( 40 year old P Rivers?)
Carr and Mariotta on the Raiders- will Gruden stay on this path? Could Mariotta be sought after?
Mayfield ( real deal?) – OK maybe not this year bit they will have to pay him when his rookie deal is over – decision time then?
Big Ben – almost 40 and limping to the end
Denver – Lock? They draft in the number 10 slot
NFC:
Brees over 40 ( Is Winston the answer?)
Goff ( will the rams stay on this course?) former number one overall
Jimmy G ( SF has to make a decision sooner than later)
Trubisky/Foles ( ???)
Wentz ( Maybe a fit with Indy and Frank Reich?) 2nd overall pick just a few years ago
Stafford ( Lions on a full rebuild – is he a part of the future?) 32 years old former number one overall Lions will have a top 10 draft pick this year
Ryan ( Falcons in a full rebuild) 35 years old – Shannahan was his old OC in ATL
Dak Prescott – Is Jerry Jones re-signing him? Top 10 draft pick
Teddy Bridgewater – Is he the guy for Matt Rhule and Carolina? Top 10 draft pick
Haskins cut – who is the QB for WFT? Top 10 draft pick
That represents a possible 22 qb’s who could be on the move or replaced. Then comes the draft:
Lawrence, Fields, Trey Lance, Mac Jones, Kyle Trask, J Newman, Mond, Purdy, and Zach Wilson of Byu represent 9 possible qb additions via the draftand probably more when the combine/senior bowl reveal a rising star like they usually do.
With this many QB’s potentially on the move this off season is going to be fun to watch. Glad we have Wilson – maybe we should extend him again before it is a problem. Is it time for the Hawks to get a backup to develop for the future? Who between Newton, Carr, Stafford, Ryan, Prescott, Winston, Goff, and Garrapalo will stay on their current club in 2021?
Rob your thoughts on the upcoming QB offseason and draft prospects?
After the past 2.5 months – I think it’s definitely time for Seattle to get serious about developing a young player. RW is officially past a few bad games and into something looks seriously wrong. Once his legs are gone, I’m afraid he’s going to go even further downhill, in a very quick manner.
Biggest problem is you generally can’t develop a retread or a late-round prospect. Tom Brady (6th round) and Tony Romo (FA) aren’t the norm. Most starting QBs in the NFL were picked in the early rounds of the draft and the Seahawks don’t own any first round picks until 2023 and they don’t even have a 3rd rounder this year either. The Seahawks will have one pick in the late-second round this off-season. They’ll pick once in the first top 130 or so picks. Do they ignore left guard, another weapon for Wilson, a DT with both theirs set to become FAs after ’21, etc.? They are sitting in a horrific position to draft and develop luxury picks.
Oh they should not invest an early pick for the next 2 years, but I do think once you hit R4 – they need to start targeting guys that have high end talent but need refinement. As much as I’ve been critical about PC/JS in the draft; I still can’t believe they haven’t adopted the Green Bat model for drafting QBs frequently.
Maybe they take on a younger reclamation project? Teams are moving in faster from QBs than ever before – which is smart IMO. But that provides Seattle with a unique opportunity to stash a talented guy and let him learn. Chances are it doesn’t work out, but that’s better than having Geno as your #2, IMO.
I could definitely see Indy interested in Wentz.
Been saying the same. Wentz had his actual success under Reich as his OC.
Rams owe Goff too much money to move on in 2021, 2022…. different story.
49ers have an out clause, and the way they have been talking in SF…. he is a goner.
Winston, Netwon and Carr are terrible. Ok, maybe not Carr… he has shown flashes in 2020.
https://www.seahawks.com/news/seahawks-waive-dt-damon-harrison
From the makers of Butt Fumble, new on the market, it’s Butt Block™ !
https://twitter.com/SeahawksFrance/status/1343654589418119168
I know this is probably off topic, but I strongly encourage Rob and others to study Jordan Smith from UAB. He’s an EDGE who is listed at 6’7 and 255 lbs. Looks really quick, dangerous, and powerful off the edge. Seems like an athletic freak the Seahawks would with their 2nd round pick. Here’s some of his highlights: https://youtu.be/n4Q2-5NwRTI
I’ve disliked and mocked Goff since he got into the league, but credit where credit is due. Dude broke and dislocated his thumb, then reset that dislocation himself, then kept playing a game where he has to grip and throw a ball with that broken thumb. Dude may be dumb, but that’s some toughness right there.
Would / Should / Could Seattle take a swing on Haskins as a back-up QB?
Nope.
Not mature enough.
Not talented enough.
Not good enough.
Ohio State, man. They’ve produced a lot of good players over the years. When was the last time Ohio State produced a good NFL QB?
I think the Patriots will.
Rams / Cardinals will have a ton of players injured on both teams. Talk about a crap fest.
There was talk of both back-up QBs playing, with both starters out due to injury.
Legit question for the community:
Who will our two primary LB’s be in 2022?
Wagner & Brooks or Brooks & Wright?
KJ’s game has never been speed but instinct. Wagners is more based on speed which diminishes before instinct does. Now if KJ retires its another story.
Could be whichever linebacker they draft in round two in a few months…
KJ should be on the team and starting, he’s made way more plays than Bobby this year and is way cheaper likely because he doesn’t have the name value Bobby has.
As a fan but not a hardcore football guy it looks like Bobby is worth about half of what his contract is. If it were the patriots he would be cut/traded but I doubt the Seahawks do that.
More, great Darrell Taylor news. Someone needs to lose their job on that one.
I standby that he will never play a down for this team.
It’s trending that way.
Just a really desperate move by the team due to the botched free agency re:pass rush.
Massive shame that it’s going to cost them two players with great club control, especially given who was available.
Also a massive shame because they shouldn’t have gone anywhere near such a risk during a Covid-impacted draft, with such limited info.
It really is shameful how much high end draft capital they’ve wasted. It’s astonishing really.
What would this team look like with just average high draft picks? I’m not even talking superstars, but just imagine an average #2 WR in R2 to go with DK and Lockett? Or how about a Young RT that could be your future LT (like a functional starter, not Duane Brown 2.0). Or how about a young CB that would allow you to let Shaq walk?
Just shameful.
And if anyone missed my views on this, here’s an article on the subject: https://seahawksdraftblog.com/the-three-big-draft-mistakes-that-impacted-seattles-reset
As you mentioned in your article Schrager started all the R1 talk around Taylor. But even before that I saw a couple of mocks that had him go in R2, one of them to SEA. The other, a pretty high R2.
I don’t recall those mocks
If you look at the list of DE’s that were available and didn’t switch teams the market was a wasteland. If they had spent big there it’s more likely than not they would have been burned, like most of the teams that dipped their toe in that market.
Waiting the market out and getting Dunlap for a song was a way better move. Look at most top ten lists of free agent DE’s and you will see that almost all that changed teams were a massive disappointment and waste of cap space.
Our pressure has been damn good since the addition of Dunlap and the return to health for a few other guys. If Irvin, our biggest off season acquisition at the position hadn’t been hurt it would be even better.
Don’t play hindsight and pretend you would have picked one of THE VERY FEW guys available who are playing decent. Most of those who were available at DE sucked, Schneider knew this and waited for a good deal on a REAL player in Dunlap.
This year our first round picks were used well. Schneider got an all pro and a guy who seems like a legit starting LB for 3 picks, all likely end of round. That is very solid.
Historically our first round picks aren’t too far below average given the bust rate and our position, but i’d take that for the mountain of late round gems he has uncovered any day This year he happened to hit on early and late picks with the probable exception of Taylor.
It really wasn’t. This is often said but it isn’t true. Three of the top-12 for sacks this year were free agents in 2020 and five of the top-20 are. Ten of PFF’s top-50 pass rushers at the edge position were free agents. Furthermore, players perform better in different schemes. Carlos Dunlap graded terribly in Cincy and had one sack. He came to Seattle and it’s totally different. There’s nothing to say Robert Quinn or Dante Fowler wouldn’t have had a similar experience.
Or they could’ve had a far better pass rush.
They’re also blitzing twice as much as two years ago, when they had Frank Clark, and still have an inferior sack percentage. So the heavy blitzing should be accounted for. As should the opponents they’ve faced recently. But yes, Dunlap has had a positive impact. It’s a good job Cincy were willing to trade him right before the deadline. Otherwise, what would you be saying about their inactivity in the prior months?
You’re not playing hindsight when you identify a whole bunch of available players, some of which have really performed better than you’re suggesting. Accusing someone of hindsight in this instance is just a mask for saying you’re not allowed to argue that they could’ve done a lot more. Which they clearly could’ve done.
This is a re-writing of history Sharky. Schneider and Carroll spent a lot of time pursuing Clowney, which is fair enough. But they missed out on the available players and then had to make an aggressive trade for Darrell Taylor because they knew the situation was desperate and they hadn’t done enough. How did that work out?
Except they didn’t have three first round picks. They had one, and spent 2021’s and 2022’s too. So they’ve invested the future in that player. You should be honest about that and acknowledge the looming $18m a year contract that is forthcoming too. As for Jordyn Brooks, I think he’s played well. Whether or not the pick is justified still when you’re paying two other linebackers $25m this year and whether you need a ‘WILL of the future’ on the roster is a fair question to ask, even as I’m willing to acknowledge Brooks has flashed in recent games.
I’m not sure why you’ve written this.
A fair critique of the Taylor situation doesn’t mean ‘I hate John Schneider’ and therefore you have to defend his record.
I think sometimes this is the problem debating Seahawks fans. Any criticism is taken as a personal affront. It’s actually OK to acknowledge the following:
a.) they didn’t do enough in free agency to address their self-confessed priority
b.) the Taylor trade was a bit desperate and looks like it’s backfired
c.) the Adams trade was very expensive and a conversation is at least acceptable about the value overall
This doesn’t mean I think Pete and John should be tarred and feathered outside Lumen Field.
“It really wasn’t. This is often said but it isn’t true. Three of the top-12 for sacks this year were free agents in 2020 and five of the top-20 are. Ten of PFF’s top-50 pass rushers at the edge position were free agents. Furthermore, players perform better in different schemes. Carlos Dunlap graded terribly in Cincy and had one sack. He came to Seattle and it’s totally different. There’s nothing to say Robert Quinn or Dante Fowler wouldn’t have had a similar experience.”
I looked at guys that have 8 or more sacks right now, that group goes a little beyond the top 20 in sacks. Only 3 of those players were Free Agents who didn’t go back to their own team: Leonard Floyd, Emanuel Ogbah, and Kerry Hyder JR. All three went to major warm weather cities in Cali or Florida. I don’t know if we tried to get any of the three or if they would have come here. That is hindsight type list and even it shows there wasn’t much available. If you look at lists that ranked the best free agent DE’s during the offseason most of those guys would have been overpays or outright busts.
You could be right that guys like Quinn or Fowler could have done well here, but I trust that our coaches went after the guys they felt fit best. Giving Green and Collier a chance to develop has to be worth something, they seem to be decent filler depth on the cheap (and improvement is still possible for both young players).
Based on what was available they played it pretty well, got some depth and waited for Dunlap who is better than guys like Griffen or Clowney.
“They’re also blitzing twice as much as two years ago, when they had Frank Clark, and still have an inferior sack percentage. So the heavy blitzing should be accounted for. As should the opponents they’ve faced recently. But yes, Dunlap has had a positive impact. It’s a good job Cincy were willing to trade him right before the deadline. Otherwise, what would you be saying about their inactivity in the prior months?”
Our blitz rate has gone down dramatically since our DB’s have gotten healthier. This also coincides with better pressure on the QB. Goff was pressured more than he has ever been and we didn’t blitz a ton in that key matchup.
“You’re not playing hindsight when you identify a whole bunch of available players, some of which have really performed better than you’re suggesting. Accusing someone of hindsight in this instance is just a mask for saying you’re not allowed to argue that they could’ve done a lot more. Which they clearly could’ve done.”
I would be interested to look at your list, maybe you are right on this and you would have found the few diamonds in that trash heap? As you know it has to be a two way street, how many of those that were available and performed actually wanted to come to Seattle? Saying we missed out on a guy is an assumption unless there is proof he wanted to come here. All I know is when I look at the lists out there of best DE’s that didn’t switch teams most of them didn’t pan out for the teams that got them.
“This is a re-writing of history Sharky. Schneider and Carroll spent a lot of time pursuing Clowney, which is fair enough. But they missed out on the available players and then had to make an aggressive trade for Darrell Taylor because they knew the situation was desperate and they hadn’t done enough. How did that work out?”
I largely blame the medical folks on this (granted Schneider hired them). It is out there that they valued Taylor as a first-round guy and considered drafting him there. I think calling him a bad pick might end up being true, but it is hard to apportion blame to me IF they were told he would be healthy. As you know, Seattle got to do more medical evaluation on him than most teams did. They had him in to see their Dr.s before Covid shut everything down, that information was for our team only. If the Dr. told him that he should be good to go and isn’t is that mostly on Schneider that he isn’t? I think that is debatable, there is obviously risk there, but it can only be fairly evaluated by what the odds were, not the actual result.
“Except they didn’t have three first round picks. They had one, and spent 2021’s and 2022’s too. So they’ve invested the future in that player. You should be honest about that and acknowledge the looming $18m a year contract that is forthcoming too. As for Jordyn Brooks, I think he’s played well. Whether or not the pick is justified still when you’re paying two other linebackers $25m this year and whether you need a ‘WILL of the future’ on the roster is a fair question to ask, even as I’m willing to acknowledge Brooks has flashed in recent games.”
Bottom line is they used three first round picks on two guys. One was a proven all pro player, the other is showing signs of being above average value for that draft position (only about half 1st rounders even end up starters right?). So, they probably got two guys that are starters with 3 late round picks, one of those players is all pro. Yes, they will have to pay Adams soon, but not right away. They will also have the leverage of the franchise tag with him. 2 starters with one an all pro is great value when evaluating on picks used.
“a.) they didn’t do enough in free agency to address their self-confessed priority
Most of the available guys were overpriced and we did better getting Dunlap.
b.) the Taylor trade was a bit desperate and looks like it’s backfired
Taylor has more sacks than any other free agent DE with the exception of Leonard Floyd. I think calling him a backfire is premature or just wrong.
c.) the Adams trade was very expensive and a conversation is at least acceptable about the value overall”
I can agree with this. I think the value was there, but it is fairly close. His favorable contract is an important part of the conversation.
You didn’t need to do that. I already stated for you that the top-20 in sacks includes three players who were available in the off-season. That’s a sufficient counter to your point and really, if we’re debating fairly, should simply be acknowledged.
Then read my articles.
It’s nothing to do with the medical folks. This is the situation. In a usual year a player gets a thorough medical check at the combine. For anything that is flagged or pre-existing, the player returns to Indianapolis for a second medical check prior to the draft. On top of this, players are known to do thorough, extensive medical tests with teams and they go through a long, laborious process.
None of this was possible due to Covid. The Seahawks met with Taylor for a day. So they possibly had some medical intel — but nowhere near what they would usually have. And we have no way of knowing how much they were actually able to conduct in that one visit.
Throughout the process we on here and many, many other draft pundits discussed how this was a totally different draft process and that some players would get drafted who ultimately wouldn’t pass a medical any other year. The Seahawks decided to take a huge gamble on Taylor anyway. That’s on Schneider and Carroll, not the doctors.
No, they are going to need to pay him in the very near future. I’ve already discussed why in detail in an article.
I’ve already explained why this was wrong. You also know as well as I do that Dunlap becoming available right before the deadline was not something they could’ve planned for. They capitalised on an opportunity and deserve credit for that. But your continued use of ‘this trade half-way through the season which nobody could’ve predicted justifies their inactivity in March’ is dishonest in the context of this discussion.
Errr… Taylor hasn’t even practised. He has as many sacks as I do.
His favourable contract is about to turn into a deal worth about $18m a year.
Your plan A from best I can tell was to sign Clowney.
Your plan B from best I can tell was Everson Griffen.
Getting Irvin, Mayowa, and Dunlap was far, FAR better.
That was not ‘my’ plan.
The Seahawks said their priority was to fix the pass rush. I very clearly stated, several times and in detail, that I wanted to see how they followed through on that priority. During that process, I pitched many possible targets. It was never limited to two players and certainly wasn’t an ‘either/or’.
I felt that losing Clowney, their only good pressure creator from last year, simply meant someone else you had to replace. Therefore I thought they should build on what they already had. But I never proposed ‘sign Clowney’ as the only act and failing that ‘sign Everson Griffen’. That’s a rather unlettered portrayal of anything I wrote, which carried far more detail and nuance over several long-read articles.
It does get a bit frustrating when people try to tell me what my own arguments were, when they are clearly archived, and then get them completely wrong.
The Seahawks also felt it was totally necessary to re-sign Clowney. Thus, they made him a big offer and then kept the door open for months. They called him a priority. You’re acting like they simply moved on from Clowney and targeted Irvin and Mayowa instead. That is completely wrong. They signed Mayowa two weeks into free agency because they literally didn’t have a proper EDGE on the roster and with Clowney holding out, they needed to act while leaving money available should he change his mind. He was a cheap addition who knew the scheme, because they had to add someone. Then, because they were still desperately short, they made a substantial trade for Darrell Taylor.
You can’t frame Dunlap in this like it was a plan to add him that formed in March.
I don’t mind having this same debate over and over again but please don’t frame my arguments incorrectly. I don’t write 2-3000 word articles laying out why I think what I think to be accused of having a Plan A and Plan B, in two sentences, neither of which are accurate.
PC Monday Press Conf
[ben Arthur] Ever seen defense or any facet improve way 2020 defense has? “My examples would be weak. This is an obvious dramatic shift, statistically more than anything. Now to go 7 weeks of really good football, that’s a good turnaround. I’m happy for everybody. Most of all, we’re hitting it at the right time. You listen to TV broadcasts so you get their version of things. Somebody says I’m ‘optimistic’. When am I NOT optimistic? I don’t know if that’s a big statement about us turning around. Coming through hard work, discipline and trust. Believing in each other and in the coaches. Dramatic shift, but most important thing playing good football.”
[ben] Gordon and Taylor? “Nothing on Josh. Taylor (hard pause) pretty sore after workouts on weekend. Doesn’t bode well, give us until Wed and we’ll see what is going on.”
[corbin] Adams covering Woods, Higbee, Everett, Adams living up to skillset and your vision? “Thinking about TEs and Kittle in SF – great player. Taken place w Jamal in this defense, emerged as a terrific FB player. Embraced the whole system, knows where everyone is. Huge factor, even on regular plays. Even on blocks. Set up Shaq great play. Effects others. Impact has been obvious.”
[john boyle] Season mean to you w COVID, racism, election? “Big question John. I don’t think I should address all of it. Extraordinary year of real challenges. Mentality, heart, health is, aspirations. Went downtown to see demonstrations to get a feel. All the stuff taken place. Full challenge. One I felt compelled to go for, like a competition. Come out of it with a chance to have a championship moment, couldn’t be more grateful, thankful to be part of this group. No words to express. Guys safe, family is safe. What happens when season over? No longer have regimen and extended bubble. Don’t know how to deal with that. But grateful and really excited.”
[adam jude] Goal line stand, watch film, what like? Moment jumps out? “Watching it again, didn’t realize how close first play was. Jamal makes play from the backside, chases down the RB, would’ve scored. Realized how impactful that play was. Thrilled on first play, jordyn smacks guy for a loss. Momentum shifts. Next play I didn’t know Jamal made the tackle on that play too. Chance to get the ball on a QB sneak. A chance to challenge it. Didn’t have confirmation from guys upstairs they could see the recovery. Just know the ball was loose. See response of players when we stopped them on 4th down. Demonstrating exhilaration. Watch TV copy and game film at same time.”
[Tim booth] Brooks’ game yesterday? Only 28 snaps 8 tackles? “Substitution to match personnel. Tough, saw things well. Handles the game well. Don’t feel like you’re talking to a pup that’s wild eyed. Makes adjustments.”
[tim] Bobby arm? “Won’t even let us look at it, so I think he’s OK.”
[Michael shawn] Kam quote, keeping things simple on D? “Goes way back. See a little, see a lot, Gus used to say and it fit our mentality perfectly. 6 years straight run of great defense, we were not complex. Great complexity in demands on details, focus, carry things out to letter of law, consistency we demanded. People would say we just play zone all the time, and I laughed at that. Get it immersed in players’ mind, owning it and freed up not burdened with assignments and rules and guidelines. Anything that challenges focus takes away from best ability to play. Simplicity is guided by that thinking.”
[Michael] Helped rookies play early? “No doubt. Always wanted to play young guys. If they don’t know what they’re doing, they can’t perform. We tailor what we’re doing to match special makeup of player, we’ll do it. Enough background to make things make sense to them.”
[Curtis crab] Pass rush turnaround, how big a deal? “It was right at the 8 game mark, Buffalo rocked us. We needed to turn focus to embrace mentality to of the individual players. Generate an understanding of how we can best use our guys. Led us to where we are now, pressuring different than early on. Trying to put players in best position to do well and feel confident. Led us to a more aggressive style. Kenny doing great job with base package to put guys in position to pressure from. Our look threatens pressure all the time. Trying to play up to.”
[Curtis] Taylor long term concerns or just a hurdle? “Trying to not go there. Trying to think we’ll be OK for the time being. Just trying to get him back now. Certainly will help to have another off season. So just stop right there.”
[art thiel] Buffalo you said you don’t recognize us, flight back, convo w Norton produce something? “Yes we did. Put our heads together, did some really important things. So uncharacteristic, so off, that was the final straw. Took us a while to get rolling but we really turned a corner there. I’m not gonna share the details, but that timeframe. That had been enough.”
[bob condotta] New playoff format #1 seed bye, like that? Seedings effect play? “Going for it, love to have break for players if we can get it. Another team gets a shot that’s good. If nobody had a bye that’d be good. All even is better. We’re playing for it, good for your body. Take care of business. All out this week. Championship opp, best situation in playoffs.”
[joe fann] Shell not ready to play or setback? “No setback. Rested him throughout week. able to play but we thought he’d be vulnerable and might not finish. Whole nother week be back fully. Would’ve played if we needed him, last guy to go in. Wanted to go in, but didn’t practice at all that week. Cedric held his own in this game though, did well.”
[Gregg bell] Week 17 do players let up and reset? “They aint hearing that Gregg. I can’t imagine anybody looking for a way out. Don’t realize how important a bye is to get healthy. Only one or two things we’ve played where nothing to gain. Maintain consistency. Keep pushing, trying to get better. A lot of room to get better, a lot of mistakes to fix this week. Don’t like taking chance of breaking mentality. Get up every single week. Every frickin week. Go back to Jets game. Way more indicative of our mentality than this game. Near perfect for us. Crucially important to demo that our guys were in the game. If there was a week to take off, that was it. This week extremely important to come out and play championship. No concern about rising up to play this game.”
[Gregg] Somebody watching Saints and Packers and dial back guys in game? “Easy to keep track of games. I don’t know what time we’re playing or matchups. We’re going for it. You’re competing or not.”
[brady] Q from KC beat reporter – Difficult to repeat as SB champs? “Enormous challenge. Almost easier first time than second. Shift that takes place when you win. Offseason and buildup and storylines and scenarios, mentality of players, coaches. So much goes into handling that. Fact that KC doing what they’re doing is amazing statement. Team, players, coaches, to be where they are…we had a chance and made it back. But it was challenging. Big accomplishment. Winning a SB is big, but winning two is cool. First Q when I came to Patriots. ‘How great is it to win a SB?’ most raised hand ‘Well much how greater is it to win two?’ They looked at me a little funky. But brought out how far do you set your expectations? What are you capable of?”
[brady] Gain by watching TV copy vs coaches copy? “Tons of stuff. Closeup and playback and all the angles. Also I want to hear what they’re telling you guys. The words of those guys become gospel, important to know what’s going on.”
[maz veda] Leadership group accomplished during heightened circumstances? “Really important premise to me to convey. Last thing I want to see is guys elevate to a moment. Don’t believe it’s the right way. Commonplace to talk like that, but you want to be your best in all circumstances, esp at the end. Don’t’ want to be distracted from mentality to be your best. Watched Niners and talked to coach walsh about that in depth about orchestrating performance. Make sure you do at least what you’re capable of doing, not too distracted by not being yourself. They played so fast in championship situations, never takes players outside routine. 25 years of thinking this way. Moments prepared for. Don’t’ have to do things differently, just do things you’re prepared for. Don’t go outside you’re good at. Do something else on gameday in moment, likely not to do well. Whole mentality we preach. Get great at what you’re doing and take that to the ballgame. Don’t make big blunders. Halftime 6-6, asking me what we should do. What you mean?! Just function well. RW second half, that’s what I’m talking about. Championship moment, he frickin killed it. Nothing crazy. Pass to Moore, dump to Carlos, run in. Pass to Jacob he does every day practice. Live for opps to prove our mentality. Stand in and go toe to toe and win the game.”
[maz] Something about RW? “Mamba mentality. KJ saying same. Guys been around, they know. Comfortable with that. Coolest things, not asking to do nothing you haven’t done before. Guys comfortable in the moment. Been here before. Great player, this aint no big deal, just go play. Guys exhibited perfectly yesterday.”
[ben Arthur] Tre Flowers injury? “Feels just close yesterday. Full Wed and all the way through the week, should be returning to us.”
Any chance Taylor will be available coming off the PUP in mid-2023? Should have asked that question.
🙁
Total fubar pick
A reach with injury…sure. Chance to get a rd 1 talent at end of second was worth the gamble to them. Let’s judge that pick in 2021, though I am disappointed also.
Now, a guy that we all wanted and talked about grabbing in 1st; Isaiah Wilson. What a screwed up situation that is! Imagine if we had drafted him……
1. A round one talent according to who?
2. It wasn’t worth the gamble in a covid impacted draft, when you couldn’t do thorough and repeated medical checks.
3. You don’t have to judge the pick in 2021. Carroll’s words yesterday were ominous, as is the situation regarding his injury.
4. Isaiah Wilson has had a bone head season. He needs to grow up. But it’s not improbable he will and will be able to continue his NFL career next season. We cannot say the same about Darrell Taylor. It’s not unfair to wonder if he’ll ever play for Seattle.
5. The situation is what it is. We don’t need to try and make out this wasn’t a mistake.
1) he was projected in rnd 1 prior to injury; u have mentioned this on previous threads
2) we had him in for a visit prior to COVID shutdowns; should have had a good chance to evaluate injury. This is either a failure by them or not taking into account the mental tole for him.
3) ominous yes; definitely done this year. As stated, I am disappointed, but still optimistic for 2021.
4) And boneheaded can run deep. I would not be surprised it he went the way of Haskins at the end of the year. I, liked much of the Board, would have loved him in place of Brooks. With hindsight…would have been a disaster, as we probably would have not signed Shell.
5) yes; it is what it is. Luckily, the adjustments the team has made have worked in our favour.
Hindsight is always 20/20….but sometimes you need to punch all in prior to the River card.
Enjoy the playoffs SBD and Happy new Year😊
I haven’t. I never once saw him projected in round one prior to the injury.
No, that is not a good chance to evaluate injuries. Players are thoroughly tested at the combine. Players who are ‘flagged’ or have existing injuries then return to Indy for a re-test prior to the draft. This did not happen last year and Taylor wasn’t tested at the combine because he wasn’t able to attend.
Aside from this, players can be regularly checked and tested and teams have a ton of information. It’s well known that this simply was not the case last year and that teams were ‘drafting blind’ to some extent.
It wouldn’t have been a disaster. Maybe he will be a Haskins type? We’ll find out eventually. Maybe he’s just immature and needs a kick up the arse? He’s had a dumbass year but there’s nothing other than becoming an adult preventing him from a long successful career.
I was specifically referring to the Taylor pick.
People need to stop playing the ‘hindsight’ card whenever any fair criticism is levelled at the Seahawks. I/we can’t be accused of both ‘talking about these issues too much’ during the off-season and then be told ‘you’re using hindsight’ when some of the concerns are proven valid.
The problem is, then they try and over-compensate the following year by passing on good players who fall due to injury and go only for guys with “the best health grade ever”…
I would add they pass on most of the good players by thinking they are smarter than the rest of the nfl. Like how they consistently pick against the grain if some positions are extra strong they avoid them until late rounds and pick positions that are weak in the draft. Seems illogical- and time is showing it to be so especially since the league caught on to their sparq type drafting ways many years ago. That and drafting less skilled players because of certain ‘attributes’ often associated with their upbringing, another drafting application that is proving to be less than successful over time. We could go on with finer detailed points but there’s no denying this team has more than squandered it’s share of higher draft picks in many different ways.
Gonna be interesting to see if his backup… plays better than him…
I hope we do not see Goff again this year. the Rams out played the Hawks in every offensive stat.
Stefon Diggs now leading the NFL in receiving.
Josh Allen looking incredible since his arrival.
But Minnesota will never trade him for a R1 pick…
That was one of the most mutually beneficial trades I can remember.
The Bills needed an established NFL receiver to pair with their young QB, and the Vikings used the pick to replace a disgruntled and expensive star with a young stud that might be even better down the line. Good job to both teams.
FWIW I am ok with what the Seahawks did with their first pick in the end, I really believe Brooks is gonna be a good player now, even if he wasn’t even close to a big need.
I am still not so sold on Brooks. He has just recently started to make some good plays but it’s clear the team is protecting him from his shortcomings by how limited he is in his snap counts. He took a while to even see the field, was all but invisible for much of the season and is even now only seeing snaps on downs that are deemed to play to his strengths and he is on the bench for plays that are likely to go against his weaknesses.
I am not saying he’s a bust or anything – just saying I think he has’nt been as good as others think when looking at his whole season of play and that he has plenty to work on for the coaching staff to even trust him on the field much less what my eyes see as well the n regards to weaknesses in his game.
I agree Henry; very beneficial trade for both parties.
As for Josh, sure is a far cry from his performance in the playoffs last year where he was seeing ghosts. Gave it a lot of thought last night; I wonder how much the no fans this year has helped the young QBs? And the next question; will that confidence translate to next year?