Last week’s defeat to Arizona was tough, but with hindsight doesn’t look quite as bad seven days later. The Cardinals defeated New England on the road today, playing the same brand of football that beat Seattle. The Seahawks were a play or two from winning last week, and today’s beat-down of Dallas proves the team is on the right path.
The offensive line was much improved, with Frank Omiyale doing a good job stepping in for the injured Russell Okung. The unit handled DeMarcus Ware and with Okung and James Carpenter set to return, it could turn from a negative in week one back into a positive. The Seahawks dominated in the second half, soaking up the clock and running all over the Cowboys.
Russell Wilson was efficient, which is all he needs to be as a rookie. In the future he will need to have a 300-yard passing game, but that’s for another time. Today he needed to avoid mistakes. Apart from a high throw and a near interception in the first half, he looked comfortable. I like the fact Seattle was prepared to shorten the field in the second half, throw underneath and use the tight ends. When he was afforded time in the pocket, Wilson took full advantage.
Defensively it was the same old solid run defense, but there were some frustrations on third down. Dallas repeatedly extended drives on third and long, with the Seahawks using a pretty vanilla three-man rush and blanket coverage. In the second half they were more exotic, throwing in an extra lineman and letting a linebacker blitz. Romo was a different quarterback under pressure and once again second half adjustments paid dividends.
If the Seahawks play this brand of football at home they’ll be a tough team to beat. Can they slow down the Packers on MNF in week three, as they did with Romo and the Cowboys? It’s harder to stamp your authority on a road game and it’ll be interesting to see how they handle the next two road trips against St. Louis and Carolina. The NFC West is rock solid this year and might be the most physical division in the conference. The Packers, Cowboys, Patriots and Redskins have all lost to NFC West opponents already, while the Detroit Lions were pushed very close. It’ll make life difficult for all the teams in the NFC West – it looks like all four will be scrapping around for wins. But as we’ve seen in the past, playing in an ultra competitive division can help come playoff time. And the way this division is shaping up, nobody will fancy visiting a NFC West opponent in the off-season. You’ve just got to make sure you’re in there.
If you thought that was looking too far ahead (I know it’s only week two), well this is a draft blog and we try to dissect what Seattle’s needs might be on a week-to-week basis. Wilson threw to six different receivers – with Anthony McCoy coming out on top with five catches for 41 yards. It’s hard to single out receivers after a game where Seattle dominated with the run and the quarterback only threw 20 passes. However, there’s still room for a playmaker in this offense. Sidney Rice is earning the kind of money that should make him a fantasy starter every week, but he only had three catches for 33 yards and ended the game hurt. For Wilson to fulfil his potential it’s easy to assume he’s going to need greater threats outside, guys he can rely on. We considered Cordarrelle Patterson in the week – a receiver from Tennessee with big play potential, downfield speed and YAC ability. He might be the best receiver eligible for the 2013 draft. But he has some maturing to do, on and off the field.
After yesterday’s piece it was easy to imagine Chance Warmack lining up on that Seahawks offense, creating big holes for Marshawn Lynch. I can imagine the Seahawks showing a lot of interest there. And there’s still room for a quality interior lineman – this draft could be rich in that department with Jonathan Jenkins, Sylvester Williams, Jonathan Hankins and Kawann Short. But tonight’s all about enjoying the teams first victory. A great victory against Dallas. We can talk draft later in the week.
You forgot to mention Irvin’s first sack!
Keep doing these reaction pieces – they are great! Solid game all around, after a sluggish start on offense. I really, really wish RW had made the throw to Tate on that deep ball….he severely under-threw it.
Ware got to him. Not a clean release, but I agree, would have been cool to see.
Ah, thanks for letting me know. Hard to see that from my seats. I’ll check out the play again on Rewind.
That block by Tate–simply awesome. I dont know which was more brutal….Tate’s block, or Washington’s demolition of Berry in the preseason. I never get enough of plays like that. Keep up the good work, Rob!
Love it! always have an eye on the draft. I would love to see a Top Ten Needs article by you Rob
This draft appears it’s going to be considerably deep at WR, which could match up nicely with our draft plans. Even outside of the cream of the crop there are a few others I’ve been monitoring that might be had in the middle rounds. Those guys include Aaron Dobson of Marshall and Aaron Mellette from (small-school) Elon.
Completely agree. We really need to capitalize on that this year. I’d like to see a couple higher end picks used on receving threats, whether that’s 2 WRs or 1 TE & 1 WR.
I am really keeping my fingers crossed that we land Cordarrelle Patterson. Dude is a monster. I know it’s really early, but he’s turning into my favorite guy in the upcoming draft.
Rob, what are your thoughts on Eddie Lacy?
I like Turbin, but don’t think he’s anywhere near Lynch. If Lacy was available in R3 or R4, I’d be ecstatic to pick him up. He reminds me a lot of Lynch.
Second question, would this FO really spend a R1 on Warmack if that scenario presented itself? I would be torn. You have opened my eyes up to him and I think he is noticeably better than DeCastro. Straight power player and his performance against Arkansas was just overwhelming. He had a goal line push that was an obvious running situation and he just blew a hole open.
I like Lacy – yards after contact. Big physical runner who won’t wow anyone with great speed but he’s a battering ram. Limited value because he’s a bit one-dimensional but he’ll interest teams who love powerful runners. As for Warmack – I hope so. Really it would depend on how early they pick and what other options were on the board. They may feel comfortable with the o-line by the end of the year to not need to spend a third first round pick in four years. They may feel like there are other more pressing needs. That could be the case. But he’s such a good football player who suits Seattle’s personality. If they don’t want to write off Carpenter as a bust though, they either need to reconsider the decision to move him to guard or avoid the position next year in round one.
I could be totally wrong about this…but I wonder, due to his athleticism and youth, if the Hawks would toy with the idea of trying JR Sweazy at RT? Basically making him a versatile guy, which is monumentally important in the NFL.
I am fine with Giacomini and Moffit, but if the opportunity presented itself, and Warmack was available, I could see him being a huge upgrade over Moffit. Moffit doesn’t do a whole lot for me. He seems like his ceiling is adequate starter (due to pretty average strength & mobility).
We definitely agree that spending yet another first rounder on the O-line could be overkill. That said, Warmack’s talent is overwhelming and would only further enhance our identity as a team. After you mentioned his name, I went back and watched the Arkansas game…wow. It wasn’t even competitive. And we aren’t talking an FCS opponent. This was a talented SEC team and he flat out demolished people.
I could see him tumble a bit, due to him being an interior guy and the fact that he has an odd body type. It seems stupid, but I think we have seen that perception can more often than not, overtake production (cough RW & Melvin Ingram cough).
Food for thought. It’s obvious that this FO does anything but the obvious thing, so I got my eye on Warmack. I think that offensive weapons need to be the priority, but man, it would be awfully tough to pass on Warmack if given the opportunity.
Love these threads Rob!
If there’s anybody on this team not getting enough recogonition, it’s Brandon Mebane. That man has been an absolute monster to start the year, but playing the one tech tends to get you overlooked. He is deserving of Pro Bowl honors.
Completely agree.