Last week was a debacle in the rain against the Saints. The Seahawks needed a get-right game. This was a routine win and exactly what was required.
The Cardinals are rebuilding with a complete makeover. They’re experimenting with a coach and an offensive philosophy. They have an extremely talented, playmaking quarterback who’s learning on the hoof.
They’re not particularly strong in any facet of the game. Seattle’s defense, running game and special teams were going to get ample opportunity to get back on track.
Job done.
Russell Wilson continued his fast start. The quarterback, like the team, has been a slow starter in the past. This feels like Wilson’s best start to a season. His touch is immaculate, his accuracy on point and he’s playing at a fantastic level.
Will Dissly is a major positive. He was drafted with a reputation for safe hands and quality blocking. He’s proving to be so much more. His ability to find soft-spots in coverage and hurt opponents is a major boost. He’s playing like the complete tight end they hoped Jimmy Graham would turn into. Fingers crossed he stays healthy because he’s doing a fine job as a playmaker and safety net — in many ways making up for the loss of Doug Baldwin.
If they were hoping for another Zach Miller — Dissly is showing the potential to be even better. Fingers crossed he stays healthy. It was even more poignant today given this is the stadium where he suffered his serious knee injury a year ago.
Tyler Lockett remains a top-level receiver and his chemistry with Wilson is a major feature of this offense. D.K. Metcalf has had a good start to his pro-career but he can still make more of his size to box-out smaller receivers. There were a couple of 50-50 situations where he missed out. Julio Jones wins those battles. You don’t mention Julio lightly but that’s the type of physical upside Metcalf has. With Lockett, Dissly and potentially Metcalf if he takes the next step — you’re talking about an incredibly balanced and dynamic passing attack.
The running game has stalled so far but today was always set up for positive gains. Arizona has been struggling to defend the run. It felt like they had a better day than they actually did. 115 yards from 27 carries at 4.3 YPC isn’t anything special. It’s a start though. Chris Carson needed a good day and he finished with 104 yards rushing and 41 receiving. More importantly — he didn’t fumble.
They finished the game with an eight-minute drive.
Defensively it was nice to see a few more plays being made. Rasheem Green had his best game as a pro and hopefully he can gain momentum from this. His sack on Murray in the first half where he stalked him in open space, changed direction and dropped him for a big loss was an amazing display of athleticism. He’s always had that in his locker. Let’s hope he builds on this.
Jadeveon Clowney had an excellent pick-six. Ziggy Ansah finished the game with a sack. Mychal Kendricks, for the first time this year, operated as an effective blitzer and had a couple of sacks. He can do more of that. Shaquille Griffin had a couple of smart break-ups.
Without wanting to tempt fate, Jason Myers deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s played so far.
Overall it was a good, solid win against a team they should beat. There’s only one grumble today…
It’s practically impossible to avoid Twitter during a game. It’s too tempting. Yet it’s also at its absolute worst during a Seahawks game.
The amount of complaining that goes on is unbelievable. A case in point. The Seahawks were leading by 17 points and then, while on offense, were flagged for a penalty. It led to 2nd and 20 in their own half.
They threw to Chris Carson for a five yard gain. A short pass to Will Dissly followed and they were forced to punt.
Immediately there were tweets moaning about ‘playing for the punt’, ‘playing scared’ and ‘not going for the throat’. Those only increased when the Cardinals subsequently scored on a drive that was extended by multiple generous penalty flags including a ridiculous holding call on Tre Flowers.
Apparently it wasn’t enough to have a handsome two-score lead in a divisional contest that was well in control. This needed to be a hammering. The fact they weren’t throwing downfield trying to score on 2nd and 20 with a 17 point lead wasn’t good enough.
What happened, guys?
When did football become a never-ending analysis of what a team should do? Has being right become more important than mere enjoyment of watching your team? Especially during what ended up being a straight-forward victory?
They won 27-10. Yet because in that one scenario — needing 20 yards on 2nd down deep in their own half — people were criticising Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer for not playing aggressively (despite throwing on both downs).
Have a bloody day off and just watch the game.
Other notes…
— Given everything awful that has happened in Arizona’s stadium, it’s quite something that Seattle extended their recent run to 6-0-1 there against the Cardinals.
— The Seahawks and Cardinals weirdly had the same number of pass completions (22), sacks (4), total plays (59), penalties (7) and rushing yards today (115).
— Thursday night, if it’s anything like the two games in 2018, will be a shoot-out. It’ll be interesting to see how the Seahawks play the Rams. New England lined up safety’s at the LOS to deal with the sweeps and misdirection. They also adjusted their coverages before the snap to confuse Jared Goff (who still receives the majority of his coverage reads from Sean McVay). Will the Seahawks mimic some of this? It felt like they were against the Bengals (coached by a McVay disciple) in a ‘practise run’ but they ended up giving up a career yardage day to Andy Dalton. They have more tape on the Rams so might return to it. Or they might just play their way and see if Wilson can outgun Goff.
— The NFC is wide open. We’ve seen so many strange games so far. The Lions, arguably, should be 4-0. They aren’t because they collapsed against this Arizona team to tie. Then they played Kansas City about as well as possible without actually winning. The Eagles lost to the Lions one week then beat the unbeaten Packers on the road the next. Atlanta put themselves in a hole every week by half-time. Drew Brees is injured for the Saints. The Panthers are playing better without Cam Newton. The Bears won today without Chase Daniel at quarterback against a Minnesota team who should be a lot better than they are. The 49ers are unbeaten yet the Rams gave up 54 points in a loss at home to the Buccs (who lost at home to the Giants last week). Dallas are the only team playing consistently well at the moment. Yep, wide open.
— Gardner Minshew. How can you resist the bandwagon? He’s just too much fun.
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Sitting through the 3rd quarter, I was like, “yeah, ground and pound and run out the clock.” They achieved it and won. Loved JD’s pick-six! That was so much fun!
BTW, Rob, just stop looking at twitter.
Of course, that is the right (and best advice).
Unfortunately I find it too tempting. Especially during a game. I’m never off twitter for work and it’s hard to kick the habit.
I try to use Twitter for information and occasionally insight, and a little humor. It serves me well during the week when I’m at work and off my phone. I can scroll check during breaks or when I get home. On Seahawk game days I might use it until I see the Inactives list. Then I’m done until the game is over. I don’t get any information I can’t get watching the game and it certainly doesn’t provide insight or humor. I never feel I miss it too many tweeters conflate complaining with insight (no whining, no complaining is such a great rule of Pete’s and it hangs on my classroom wall). I don’t care about other people’s raw emotion during the game. I’ve got plenty of my ownđ.
Good luck with your efforts to manage Twitter Rob. I can’t imagine given your rational, reasonable approach, game day Twitter has much of anything to offer you.
I enjoyed a non-stressful, routine win for a change.
People just need to watch the team play and enjoy days like this in their entirety.
I liked the sensible play-calling. It felt like the Hawks knew they had the game well in control, and were thinking long-term. Let’s get Carson right, and keep our passing game snappy. No need to throw bombs every other play.
Yup
Pete Carroll after #Seahawks’ 27-10 rout of Arizona: “We felt we could move the ball. We felt like we were controlling what was going on on the other side… the guy I’m most excited for is Chris (Carson)…about his style, what he brings to us”
Looking around the league, this is looking like The Year Of The Backup Quarterback. Many of those guys are showing that they can play, and it’s fun to see how they do. Go Minshew.
Great win today, I felt like we imposed our will on Arizona in most facets for the majority of the game. The d-line looked a lot better – nice games for Clowney and Ansah, Collier had a couple good stops, Green flashed. Kendricks had two sacks and almost had another, Quill played a nice game. Overall, a very promising showing in my opinion.
Can’t help but feel poorly for Kyler Murray. I think as long as Keim is GM and Kingsbury is coach, he’s gonna have a hard time being successful.
It didn’t feel totally like an imposing of will type day for me. Just felt like we were far better (which we should be, in fairness).
Awesome game, just what was needed. Great bounce-back game for Carson–too bad hs TD was called back after a holding call on Dissly. CJ got the touchdown on a nice run of his own.
Russ had a great day too–better than even his stat line suggests. Great decisions with his throws and kept the offence on the field.
Twitter is useless for the game while it is in process.
And… there it is, Rams go down at home to Tampa! Awful game by Goff, 2 INTs and a strip sack fumble for a TD.
Let’s hope he brings that game with him to Seattle on Monday!
Three INT’s!
Right!!!
For the “pass vs: rush” crowd, here is a good example of what being pass happy is all about.
Jared Goff: 45 for 68, 517-yds, 2-TD’s, 3-INT – in their 55 to 40 loss today. In the entire game the Rams had 11 rushes for 28-yds & 2 TD’s, with a long of 13.
I was absolutely baffled by their refusal to establish the run in any capacity. I know Gurley’s knees are a question but they didn’t even establish the illusion they might run – in their first 15 plays, I think 14 were passes. Absolutely insane
I think it was somewhat understandable today. They were 21-0 down early. They were chasing the game throughout. As we saw last week, you hurry things up when you get in a hole and that means a lot more passing.
All the more reason I think they should have made a more concerted effort to slow the game down and not let the Bucs dictate their play calling so much. The game was 7-0 first quarter, don’t know why they were so gung ho on passing. The league seems to be figuring out Goff, maybe if they went a little more balanced he doesn’t throw those two picks so early.
I am sur they are going to be a different and motivated team next week.
Russell Wilson thows no interceptions, certainly not three. Down goes your argument.
Really, we should not replicate Twitter here. We played an opponent not able to stop Carson from running. We have seen in last years playoffs and last week, that this will not work against better teams.
We have to find a middle ground.
If heâs throwing 68 passes I like our chances a lot…
Twitter tends to be an echo chamber and hate watching is definitely a trend. I’m not saying anyone on Seahawks twitter hates their team, but complaints tend to get likes and retweets for whatever reason.
Other than the 2nd half penalties, which unfortunately are kind of a PC staple, I didn’t see what there was to complain about.
Carson needed this game more than anyone to get his confidence back on track and he was the MVP today.
Speaking of, RW continues to play like one.
The LBing trio was money today. And I’m glad you mentioned that Green sack. So impressive and as CHAWK mentioned, he’s starting to come on.
Bobby, KJ and Michael were awesome today. 2 sacks for MK! loved it. And Green not getting faked out by Skyler was cool to see. Good football toady!
The Lions turned the ball over twice inside the 10 yard line!
WR Kenny Golladay is one of the best young receivers in the game.
Agreed he is a stud. I remember you being a fan of his when he was coming out.
He would be top 3 on my “top receivers under 25” list for sure. Tyler Boyd too.
Kinda cheap since Hill, Beckham and Thomas are 25 lol
Nice solid win. Great to see Carson bounce back because he really is a tone setter for what the Hawks want to do on offense.
So impressed with Dissly. I canât remember a guy make things loom so easy this early in his career. Could be special if he can stay healthy.
Nice to see Shaq Griffin play well and I thought TT was better.
So pumped for Thursay night that game is huge!
On an unrelated note I watch the Ravens / Browns early game and wow Earl and that defense looked bad. Seems like Earl clearly misses Seattle and that scheme as much as they miss him right now.
When pC/JS decide to move on from a guy they are usually correct.
Earl was unrecognisable.
After all the pissing and moaning about not re-signing him… nobody can watch that today and say they should’ve paid him a fortune.
Am I seeing that right? On Chubb’s 88 yarder, ET took a poor angle and then slowed to jogging about the 50 yard line? Holy smokes.
Looks like he took a poor angle on Chubb’s “fake half the defense out of its jockstrap” TD run too.
Ladies and gentlemen your $55m safety.
Earl definitely slow jogged. Gave up. Knew he couldn’t catch Nick Chubb.
Also whiffed on the tackle earlier for a TD.
And there was a massive blown coverage before that. Not sure it was on Earl specifically but they just threw it deep over the middle to a wide open WR.
Earl said after the game he gave up because he didn’t want to pull a hamstring. Which is probably a face saving move since you’re right, he wasn’t going to catch Chubb. Business decision.
So it’s not like he blew it, but it’s definitely not a good look for a guy they just handed a bunch of money to.
That’s even worse.
‘I might hurt myself so I didn’t bother running’
“Mr Thomas, Ray Lewis on Line 1 for you.”
Earl had his off days with the hawks too. Heâs in a much more complex system now and it isnât surprising that heâs having a kinda rough transition. I think I remember hearing that he would watch more than double the film that Kam did because it just took him longer to digest. A much more complex system with new communications issues (different guy with the mic in his helmet calling plays with Mosley gone) canât help. Heâs also made some nice plays with the ravens. You guys are kidding yourselves if you think he isnât a good player anymore. Heâs still a huge upgrade over any of our safeties, especially in our scheme.
The injury issues are legit though, and probably a big reason he wasn’t paid by the hawks. That hammy has given him problems and it wouldnât make much sense pulling your hammy on a play where you clearly arenât catching the guy. Still, itâs a terrible look and a big red flag.
Why are we kidding ourselves?
I saw a player that whiffed on a tackle that led to a TD, blew a coverage that led to a long downfield TD and then pull-up running after Nick Chubb because in his own words — ‘he didn’t want to get injured’.
This wasn’t a rough day. It was a mess. And he generally looked bigger, slower and much less effective. The Browns stuck over 40-points on Baltimore. It was a pasting.
I know a Ravens fan and he’s been less than impressed with Thomas — and he said that to me before the Cleveland game. Earl’s getting $14m a year in Baltimore and he’s not playing anywhere close to that level.
I didn’t read the previous comments as saying he isn’t a good player anymore (or even that he’s not better than any of SEA’s current safeties).
Rather, I read them as saying he’s not the player he was with SEA, and he’s not worth the $55M BAL paid him. And part of the proof of those assertions is his doggin’ it on the field vs CLE.
In any event, I don’t think ET3 would be a difference maker for the current Seahawks team, at any price. Would he be an upgrade over Hill/TT? Sure. But not enough to change the team’s destiny this season, and certainly not if resigning him meant losing one of the team’s other stars like Wilson or Wagner, or not being able to add new stars like Clowney and Ansah.
In fairness I said Earl looked finished. And I thought he did against Cleveland. He looked a shadow of the player he was in Seattle. He looks heavy and sluggish. He was not moving well. And now heâs making business decisions to avoid injury.
I just think time has caught up with him. Just as it has many others who were great â Eric Berry and Dez Bryant for example. It happens. Part of me wonders if Earl was more concerned about earning the final contract that actually warranting it. But weâll see what happens. Wonât be surprised if he has a big game on Sunday to make up for it.
Just some random thoughts:
1. Chris Carson played as good a game as he has all year. Even more importantly, he seemed to be playing with confidence.
2. As Rob mentioned, Will Dissly was tremendous. From a ruptured patellar tendon to “Sure Hands Will”. Great to see.
3. Russell Wilson is the best money the franchise has ever spent. What was left of that discussion in now over.
4. Shout out to CJ and LUUUUKEEEEE!! CJ coming up big when needed and Luke playing like he never left.
Nice to see Carson, Kendricks and Ansah having good games.
Loved Shaquill on defense and Dissly on offense. IMO currently our two best performers currently on rookie deal so far this season. Dissly is particularly putting himself among league’s elite at his position.
This is gonna be a fun season.
griffin had another nice game and quietly a very nice year. I have been at times over critical of his play, but he is doing playing better over past years
Congrats to Larry Legend for getting no. 2 in all time receptions. I’m really bummed that he’s been stuck on the Cards for his whole career, and will likely retire soon without seeing a ring
Fantastic player and role model.
I think I can confidently say that we all love Larry. Totally class act and ultimate competitor. Wish he had spent all those years with us.
Seahawks handled this game well enough. And now a step up. Who’s ready for the Rams?! I got my tickets. Let’s go Hawks! Thursday bring it!
Make plenty of noise on Thursday
I have so much respect for Fitz, Iâve never loved and rooted for a rival before. Heâs the best.
The Seahawks Twitter is so laughable, a bunch of keyboard jocks that think they matter.
Nice to see a mostly mistake free game. OL misses too many assignments. This DL is still just barely getting a chance to gel and learn what they can do, 2 more games til Reed returns pissed off and hungry for a contract.
Iâll be there screaming my head off. This Thursday can be a big statement game. Chance to challenge the reigning division champs at home on a short week.
Everyone is an expert these days with the internet. I hate all the negativity that surrounds sports fandom both on the internet and at the stadium. Nothing worse than sitting in front of the guy that thinks heâs a better offensive coordinator than Schottenheimer. Hope Goff canât hear from McVay on Thursday night.
Iâll be there too. Donât plan on having a voice on Thursday. When I call out of work it will be very believable.
Randoms:
* That “holding” call on Flowers was maybe the strangest penalty I’ve seen in a long time. Unless it was another player and the broadcast just missed it.
* I don’t mind the TT defenseless player call on the same drive as the above, but if you’re gonna call that you can’t miss the head to head hit RW took in the Pittsburgh game.
* Got a good chuckle out of the broadcast crew straining to make a point about the Hawks RB depth when Carson hobbled off that one play. Good for Prosise on a great TD run. Love to get him going.
* Same vein, wise to keep Penny out given they’re playing Thursday. Let him get fully over the hamstring.
* I was wondering if Dickson has been hurt or something. 40 yard avg first 3 punts. All 3 were chances to pin the Cards deep and he shorted them. Then he uncorked a 54 yard beauty that went out of bounds.
* Seeing Green, Collier and Ziggy make some plays makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
* Suggs was a good pickup for Arizona. The old man’s still got game.
* Rookie Metcalf keeping his cool while a veteran CB took a swipe at him was LOL!
* Looked like RW had the end zone in sight to run it in on that 3rd and goal and tried to get cute. No idea what makes me say this but in a higher stakes game, I think he tucks it and runs it in.
Just watch Kenny Golladays second TD being overturned. Really, KC and NE are getting a lot of love from officiating.
Glad to see NO playing well. I think Teddy is better than folks give him credit for.
The tone of your reflections on the game and the “Twitter-sphere” are pretty much what I felt like last week when we lost. We threw up a stinker, and almost everything possible went the Saints way for them to win. It happens in the NFL. I was a little concerned, but certainly not alarmed. If we rebounded this week against a weaker opponent (odds in our favor that we would), we’re 3-1 and headed home for a big game game against our new division rivals who got beaten by a lesser team at home this week.
I just don’t think our defense up front is going to come together until the second half of the season. There’s real talent there. Our secondary is still an iffy proposition, and I find myself more open-minded to the idea of a somewhat reasonable Ramsey trade.
Dissly is a frigging revelation, and I’m a huge Dawg fan. I didn’t see this coming. I knew he was a lot better than people figured, but…my lord!…this guy looks fabulous.
Great to see Carson get back on his nasty track today, even if it was against a weaker team against the run.
And RW…with the possible exception of Mahomes, I don;t think any QB is playing as well as he is now in terms of total command of his talent, experience, and leadership qualities. Right now, I thik he’s the MVP of the NFC.
Good solid workmanlike victory. I wanted a lower drama victory this week. We have plenty of drama in store for us on Thursday. God I hope we play well and really get that Century Link buzz going again.
By the way Rob, whatever you got going, I hope it works out. You deliver the quality here. Appreciate. You change my mind sometimes, which is about my highest form of respect.
Why do I almost always want Dallas to lose?
Why would you ever want anything less?
Only when a Dallas victory benefits our playoff implications…LOL
Just a reminder: Both these came from the same player
Suggs grabbin air
https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1178404454279737344
Petersen getting a mouthful of shoulder
https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1178440120082452480
F*** the Rams
No kidding. 54 points? WTF? Let’s get this one. The whole emotional “Qua” of this team could change with any kind of a victory on Thursday. Like Rob has said, we need to get that nasty confidence boiling in our veins again.
Shaq Barrett is having a monster year. 9 sacks already.
America’s team…how effing presumptuous.
Kamara is just an awesome talent. He’s just really, really hard to bring down.
This is the first time I watched Kyler Murray. This kid really has it. My concern about him is his slight build. When some 300+ pounder bounces him off the turf we will see what his long term prognosis is, but he is fun to watch.
The D-Line looked like it is beginning to come around. Collier and Green actually looked like they have a pulse and it’s growing. Clowney is Clowney, and Ziggy got a sack. When Reed gets back the D-Line should be pretty good.
That Saints team, even minus Brees, has to be top to bottom the most talented team in the NFC. They’re a Super Bowl contender for sure.
But they are a team from a minor TV market. Officiating will find a way to stop’em. Yesterrday, it officiating was terrrible in multiple games.
I also can”t help but to check out Twitter at halftime and during some of the commercials. I’ve attempted to mute and/or block the frequent Seahawks commenters that exercise trolling the team as part of their fandom, but just like you I ran into the aforementioned tweet which also managed to suck a little joy out of the game for me. Probably going to need to mute that person too. The numbers of tolerable follows seem to be dwindling but every once in a while a positive follow like Joe Fann or Aaron Fentress join Seahawks Twitter and help make it an enjoyable resource.
I will stress… it was more than one person on Twitter during the game. Several people were being all doom and gloom.
Oh I don’t doubt that for a second. It’s just that on my account the Seahawks Twitter Trolls have mostly been blocked and/or muted or never followed in the first place. It works for me, but I can understand the reluctance to be blissfully ignorant of it in your case.
Thanks, Rob. Great read (Hawks get credit too)!
Rob, quick question: Whatâs your take on Jamar Taylor? I know weâre spending more time in base, but curious on your take so far (compared to Justin Coleman).
I’ve not really had a chance to study him to be honest.
Curious about this position and the recent activity. Jamar, Ugo, Parry and now, Linden. There seems to be a lot of movement. Compared to the RB position where they seem content with CC, Penny, CJ and Homer.
Safety has also been an exciting position – which you covered last week.
I am glad Chris Carson had an awesome game. Especially when the Cardinals goal was to stuff the run. There is SO MUCH to love about this game.
With ten minutes to go in the game Seattle goes on a time consuming eight minute drive. Capped off by a touchdown. Ziggy, Clowney, Collier, Jefferson, Raheem Green all had big plays on defense. The linebacker play was excellent. You could go on and on.
Now comes the REAL test. The Rams. No doubt the Seahawks will be sky high for the game. But the Rams always play Seattle tough. In fact the Rams have won six out of the last eight meetings against the Seahawks. I don’t have to tell anyone on this forum how crucial this game with the Rams is. I know it is early. But if the Seahawks have Super Bowl aspirations they have to beat the Rams at home. I know it is not a must game. But the Seahawks need a victory in the worst way Thursday night.
Carson flat trucked some people.
In my opinion it was more than just a solid game; he took some of those would-be tacklers out behind the wood shed. No dancing or hesitating, just planting his foot and lowering his shoulder. Pure attitude. It had to take a toll on that defense.
He is worth the price of admission most games, just to watch him run over and through defenders. His style reminds of Earl Campbell or Jim Brown, some of the old school backs who would rather run over people than around them. Its gotta put some fear in defensive backs to see that freight train coming at them!! Here’s to more of that on Thursday!!
Carson: https://www.seahawks.com/video/2019-week-4-chris-carson-physical-12-yard-run
I think he watched this video đ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Rh6KuuH6w
Beating the Rams would be a great victory. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world if w lost either. We’d still be 3-2, and if we could win 2 our of 3 of our next 3 games we’d be 5-3 and then headed into the 2nd half of the season where our defense stands a decent chance of gaining some kind of a more formidable identity.
If it does, then 10-6 is quite possible, and 11-5 is not out of the question.
It’s a difficult year to predict. We do need a few more players to step up and grab the mantle of leadership, as so to speak. We need this team to really start believing in itself.
I tend to be slightly more on the optimistic side of things. I could be wrong. We’ll see.
Paul: I don’t think Pete Carroll wants to just settle for 10-6 or 11-5 record. Yes the Seahawks could indeed end up with a 10-6 or 11-5 record. But if they do end up winning only 10 or 11 games then it will be a really tough road to go to the big dance. Pete Carroll and John Schneider want to go to the Super Bowl. Not just settle for the playoffs. That’s why this Ram game is so critical. If Seattle wants a legit chance to go to the prom they need to beat the Rams. It’s that simple. Seattle has four games against the Rams/49ers this year. They NEED to win at least 3 of those four games.
Nice win. The Seahawks really benefitted from that angle of greater intensity level from a road team coming off a loss.
All of the road teams this week with surprisingly healthy performances and win margins were coming off of a defeat — Seattle, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Tennessee, Cleveland. The Chargers defeating Miami by 20 wasn’t exactly a surprise but no question the Dolphins had less opportunity to be competitive once San Diego blew the big lead to Houston a week earlier.
I realize the mainstream media never mentions this angle. But it is valid. In betting circles it is well known and a major focus. Early season none of the teams have packed it in. That’s why road games after a defeat can carry such surreal energy level and surprising results. Last season Buffalo was 0-2 and a huge underdog when it handled the Vikings easily on the road.
Road teams coming off a satisfying victory often show up and go through the motions, like Minnesota today.
Later in the season when some teams have accepted their fate you get more erratic results from road teams that lost a week prior. Early season if you lose a game there’s no question it is preferable to have the following game on the road. I can almost guarantee Seattle would have struggled with the Cardinals today if that game had been played in Seattle. In that situation Arizona would have been the road team coming off a defeat.
so things dont look so good for us thursday? but i spent so much on tickets and travel đ. well this familyâs lungs are ready!
Great game. Very cool to see how much the D has adapted this year with the three LBs.
Still think the draft’s focus should be on the trenches.
Nick Chubb is the truth, too.
I was going to mention Chubb too. He fit our RB profile to a tee and is an awesome dude too. I like Penny and still believe he will be really good for us, but would have loved Chubb as well.
Between the two, I think it probably mostly came down to long-term health outlook. Chubb had major wear on the tires and the gruesome injury on his resume, Penny just one year of use and no injury.
Funny that, early on in their careers, Penny has been the one injured…
This rules. Too bad Jared Goff was confused as soon as he said Cover 4.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1178421420977803265
He prolly needs McVay to explain it before he can understand it.
But seriously, the lesson from TBB is lots of pressure on Goff works. That and mixing up the coverage scheme (or at least disguising it). It’ll be a good test for SEA defense. They can stop the run, and Gurley ain’t what he used to be anyway. If LAR are to win it, they’ll have to do in through the air. I hope Norton dials up the pressure, especially with Kendricks. Goff won’t see him coming.
Thanks Rob,
Your comments on twitter comments mirror my feelings. Thanks for having the stones to say it on your blog. People need to enjoy a bloody day off and enjoy watching a pro team operate. Indeed.
Also — this:
“The Seahawks and Cardinals weirdly had the same number of pass completions (22), sacks (4), total plays (59), penalties (7) and rushing yards today (115).”
If that doesn’t give sabre-metrics fans a freaking clue that MOST football stats are completely irrelevant… well, I rest my case.
Some random post-rewatch observations
Britt was the best OL for SEA. On back to back plays he turned the NT to the outside to clear a lane for Carson to make big gains. Everyone had a decent game (though 4 sacks is too many), but Britt stood out.
Ansah gets an A for effort, if not for actual performance. Dude was hustling when he was in, running down plays from across and down the field. Seriously impressed me how hard he was working. Truly played through the whistle.
Kendricks is a really good LB blitzer. They need to stunt him more.
SEA gave up too many big plays. Poor tackling again (though better than vs NOS), plus some blown assignments. They need to clean that up. I get they have a bend-but-don’t-break defensive style, but ARI ripped off some chuck yard plays that, if they were a better team, would’ve made things a lot closer than they needed to be. If I was to cite a reason, I’d say it’s (relatively) poor safety play. If an opposing RB can get past the LOS and the LBs, there doesn’t seem to be much support from the DBs, in particular the safeties. I think TT had a decent game (I though the personal foul he picked up late wasn’t really his fault — the Cardinals WR jumped high to try to make a catch and ran into TT instead of the other way around). And I also like the way Hill is eager to hit. But they don’t seem to make the right reads a lot of the time, which puts them out of position to make a meaningful contribution in run support. I’d really like to see what they have in Blair soon.
What can I say about Dissly? 7 catches on 8 targets for 57 yards and a TD. He seems to have a knack for finding the gaps in coverage and the hands to make the most of each opportunity. He needs to clean up his blocking penalty wise, but that’s about it. I think he and Willson are a pretty good TE tandem.
Speaking of stats, Russell Wilson has a 71% completion rate through 4 games with 7 TD and 0 INT.
Timely day for Jaron Brown to finally show up, against his old team.
Carson had the most Lynch-like running game for SEA since, well, Lynch. I get ARI isn’t a great run defense team, but Carson was taking it right at them. That’s the kind of smash mouth, BAMF play we’ve been looking for. He keeps it up, the rest of the team will follow. 4.7 yards per carry is strong.
I’m kind of amazed they went the entire first half without a penalty. And kind of disgusted they had like 7 or 8 in the second half (though the one call on Flowers was a total joke and the personal foul on TT at the end was also pretty weak). But seriously, they gotta get that under control. Those could cost a game against a tougher opponent. If they can go one half without penalties, they should be able to go another half with only 1 or 2.
I think the DL is going to improve dramatically over the course of the season. They just need some time playing together to become more effective at getting to the QB. Green is looking pretty good; that sack on Murray was pretty amazing considering he goes about 6’4″ 280lbs and Murray is one of the most agile and elusive QBs in football. Clowney was pretty quiet again aside from his brilliant pick 6. I kind of expected him to have more of an every down impact, but so far his teammates are picking up any slack. Can’t wait for Reed to rejoin them and really turn things up.
Griffin had a nice game. His stat line shows only 1 PD but I counted 2 when I rewatched it. Anyway, I think he had his best game of the season.
Was just checking out Mychal Kendricks’ Combine/pro day numbers because he looked so quick on his QB stunts today and wow.
4.56s 40yd with a 1.53s 10yd split both electronically timed. That’s elite level get off (4.47s 40yd hand time).
As far as agility, he ran a 4.14 SS and an amazing 6.68 3C at his pro day!
He also jumped 39.5″ vertical and 10’7″ broad. Serious athlete. No wonder he can cover ground so quickly.
Sincerely hope Norton starts using him more regularly to get after the QB.
Might be the priority re-sign of all our FAs in 2020 at this point from what he’s shown so far.
Shaq Griffin gets my early season award for most improved player, dudes been pretty much lock down so far this season. He just needs to start forcing some takeaways and he’ll step into that elite territory.
Russel Wilson is worth every penny. CC brought that BAMF mentality. Great to see Rasheem Green (or is it Griffin?) And Collier get to make some plays in this one, dare I say depth?
I enjoyed watching the end of the Rams loss this week almost as much as our own victory. God bless you Bruce.
1) “â Gardner Minshew. How can you resist the bandwagon? Heâs just too much fun.”
All I can say is… balling out. The Jaguars have a pulse and he is the heart of it. Stick with the kid and don’t look back.
2) Rob, I really don’t understand why you even pay attention to twitter. It is a haven for trolls and spoilsports. They take joy out of small and large things related to the team. I’m not on twitter, so I really don’t know why people love it so much. Perhaps I’m the wrong generation.
3) The New Orleans defense may be better than we were led to believe, they handled Dallas. Which was not a small thing. Cooper and Elliot were more or less neutralized most of the game. The consistent pressure they put on Prescott was also pretty impressive. So, I’m looking back at the Seahawks / Saints game with a more positive attitude than I had immediately afterward.
I’m very much of the Twitter generation… and I stay well away from it.
Twitter is the verbal equivalent of the selfie.
Chris Carson was born in 1994…⊠I feel old now, I’ll let myself out.
Hey Rob,
Do you think that the promotion of Adrian Colbert to the 53 is a sign that Pete might want more safeties for the Rams game Thursday? It seemed like an odd move to cut Mone, a guy who was getting meaningful snaps at a position we aren’t that deep at for him. But perhaps it was a specific move to get extra depth at an important position for the Rams gameplan?
Actually, they said that part of the agreement to lure him to sign here was that he would be promoted right away to the active roster.
It’s an interesting thought. Very possible. I also suspect though that they just liked Colbert a lot in the draft and want a closer look.
Friends don’t let friends do Twitter…
(says the guy responsible for copying and pasting the most Tweets in the comments section on SDB… đ. I just look at my feed with a few select guys I follow and that’s about it. Those 18 guys do me the favor of covering or retweeting pretty much anything Seahawks/NFL/draft that would be of interest to me anyways. I honestly don’t even know who “Seahawks Twitter” consists of, and I plan to keep it that way.)
Anyways, here’s another one. You can bet the Hawks have this Thurs. primetime game underlined. They know what it means in the NFC/NFCW race and once again see themselves as the young underdogs trying to make a statement by beating an NFL darling team:
I quit all Seahawks message boards over all the negativity and even personal attacks. Twitter is no different. I abstain and let others bash their heads together.
This is one of the very few places I go for my Hawk fix and to type a few words. Done are the days of defending myself over a game.
That catch by Willson was awesome. And seeing Carson truck Peterson on that toss play got me straight up in the air.
Thanks for being part of the community here.
A guy named Rob feels right at home….hahahaha.
Agreed with everything. Good game. Especially happy for Carson. I wanted his head…but I still love him. He’s too good to fumble that much. Now he holds the ball differently and cover it with both hands. He had a great game. Wilson is awesome. Something like 71% comp, 7 TDs. Some overthrows, but overall good decision making, and I LOVE how he progess in his reads and uses middle route receivers and checkdowns. Schotty uses him much better.
It was nice to see Brown having some catches. Still not a fan, but good to know he can deliver too.
DK had a quiet game, but still played good. As well as Tyler.
Dissly is an animal, hopefully he’ll continue on his path.
Griffin plays awesome so far this year. Flowers struggles a bit. Watched the Lions game…bad idea, Coleman was absolutely brilliant in it.
Also cool to see the DL applying more pressure. Tackling was good in this game.
All in all pretty solid game, I was happy with it.
Some concerns though:
– Run defense for the DL. Yeah Kamara is amazing, and Johnson is good, etc. But still too many opportunities for these guys and LBs have to be on point always. It would be good to see more 0 yard or negative yard runs. Especially from the DTs
– Too many penalties in the second half. Incredible clean first half and then 7 penalties in the second. Some were bs, but some were cruels (I look at you T2)
– And while I’m on the topic…forget T2. Start Hil, use Blair. Thompson had plenty of opportunites, can’t recall a single awesome play from him, but I can clearly recall 2 busted coverages resulted in TDs and now this stupid penalty
– Prosise is electric, but he’s more of a gadget player than an RB. We need Penny back, Carson won’t be able to run this hard this much in my opinion. Also why didn’t they use Homer at least some?
– OL was good. There was some hard tasks and sometimes Russ could’ve avoid the sack. Dissly needs to block a bit better. He’s still raw and needs to learn some finer things (when to release the defender, which angles to choose, etc)
– Amadi will be the ST captain in at least a couple of years. He’s a really good gunner (although almost cost us a penalty with the fair catch-hug the returner stint lol)
– We need Reed (sounds cool too, starting a hashtag #WeNeedReed, will also print some T-shirts with it :D). An inside playmaker who can push the pocket and read the offense. Poona still young, Woods can be pretty good but mediocre also. We need a guy who can generate pressure on a regular basis and can demand double teams and play the run well.
– Ansah had high motor. He was always on or at least close on tackles. He might be good if he can pick up the pace
– We see in my opinion what Clowney can mean to this defense. He’s not BWagz. He won’t create pressure on every play, won’t make solid plays on every snap. But he’ll flash every once and then and bring a big play, like a FF, an INT or a big sack on 3rd down, or a TFL when needed. Great to have him, but I wouldn’t give him a 20+ mil APY contract
– Collier was a bit quiet still, but he had a nice tackle on Johnson. If he can deliver that and develop some passrush he’s a solid addition.
– Awesome trap blocks with Iupati. Loved the running game for this game.
“We see in my opinion what Clowney can mean to this defense.”
I don’t know about that. No training camp, no preseason and a new team for 4 games. I think the 4 games in December will be a better indicator.
I hope you’re right…but I always feel that he’s kinda hot and cold. When he’s hot he’s burning, but sometimes just disappears from games. But it’s true, still early and more importantly Ansah just getting back, Green hopefully just getting the grip of the NFL. When Reed comes back if he can play at a high level, and Ansah comes back fully and if Green or QJeff will take the opportunity, and other teams will have to decide if they double team/chip Ansah, Reed, Clowney or Woods/Poona/Green…then he might play much better
I was definitely impressed by how Ansah popped up on screen around tackles well down the field. But we need to start seeing some production from him. Hopefully he’s still just knocking the rust off and getting up to speed with our DL.
Didn’t see the snap counts, but I think he’s still a bit limited. Like playing 70% of the snaps he’ll play later. And missed camp, missed preseason, the early games. I think/hope that it’s possible everything will click around game 9-10.
Ansah will learn to play with these guys and get back his strength, athleticism. Clowney will get used to the system. Green hopefully will gain more momentum. QJeff will build on his momentum. Reed will come back and get rid of the rust in games 7-9. Not sure if this unit will be great or good, but it’ll look much better than now
J Clowney DE 42- 67%
Q Jefferson DT 40- 63%
R Green DE 39- 62%
E Ansah DE 39- 62%
B Jackson DE 26- 41%
A Woods DT 23- 37%
P Ford NT 23- 37%
L Collier DE 20- 32%
Thanks! I feel our edge will be stronger than the interior. I think QJeff is better as DE. Hopefully they can use Poona more and when Reed comes back the interior gets much stronger too
Re: Twitter, I think itâs a place I like to see the ridiculous reactions of fans, like when I yell at the TV, âcâmon you gotta make that tackle!â, as if it were that easy. Itâs the ignorant sentiment Iâm used to hearing in the stands or at a bar.
Itâs also a holding tank for unrealistic expectations of fans that linger in the backs of all our minds- like how close this team could be 4-0 (or 1-3 if you prefer glass half empty). In the moment of the game, we lack context, hindsight, and actual data- itâs just emotion, thatâs all, and not worth much intellectual value, but fun and alive nonetheless.
For all the glass half empty people out there, the three teams we beat have yet to win a game, and we barely scraped out the first two wins…
Guess that will change tonight though as PIT plays CIN, barring a tie.
Yep- strong reasons to still be down on this team for sure. This weekend saw a lot of teams rebound and others âupsetâ. Really too soon to sort the league outside of Top/Bottom 2-3.
Good win, had to have this one going into a short week against the Rams! Certainly happy the Rams got kicked in the teeth (will take that any/every week), but it may have been a wake up call for them. Hawks better bring their A game on Thursday!
Any new or recurring injuries we need to be concerned about following yesterday’s game? Haven’t heard much.
Adding on to that series of weird coincidences, check this out:
:O WOW
But 1 guys has multiple TDs, the other 1 I believe.
La Canfora, I know, but still:
Or he is being used as a mouthpiece by the Jags. Either way, waiting this one out is definitely the course of action.
Feels like a tactical leak to try and win Ramsey back. “We value you (holds arms out) thiiiiisss much!”
My thoughts:
New Orleans is no slouch. Theyâre a legit Super Bowl contender. Sucks we lost to them but itâs not like they were some scrub.
San Francisco is the only undefeated NFC team left and they havenât played their fourth game yet.
Like Willson coming back and Dissly continuing to make plays makes me feel pretty good about the tight end position. I wonder why Willson couldnât stick anywhere else. He already has come up with another clutch catch for us, a catch Vannett would have never made.
I love how Carroll believed in Carson. Even when players mess up you have to believe in them instead of shame and give up on them. This is why Carroll is such a good coach and itâs also why Mike Leach canât win an Apple cup or the Pac 12.
This Thursday is a very important game for our season. The rams lost so theyâll be extra motivated to beat us. I expect it to be a close high scoring game.
Calling kids dumb and fat doesn’t work?
No. But makes for good TV though.
IDK. I like his pirate tangents a little more.
The wedding prep rant was my personal all time fav.
As a Husky homer, it sure makes for some fun watching. Paul Wulff was like watching paint dry. Lead paint.
The ‘lose their minds’ one or the one about how he took his wife to A&W for their 1st date and used some 2-for-1 coupons? đ
Paul Wulff was a disaster, but I enjoyed him doing things like punting on 4th & 2, down 2 scores, with 3 minutes left.
Ugh… đŁ
Sea, what quote blocking do you use to post Tweets like that?
blockquote
https://prntscr.com/pd16xj
I have those saved as keyboard shortcuts in Chrome with the extension called âAuto Text Expanderâ to make it easier.
Let me help you out with your HTML…
đ
Nice one, Prince Tega Wanogho
https://twitter.com/colecubelic/status/1178502188227813377
Ohio State is stacked.
Shaun Wade the RS SOPH cornerback is absolutely fantastic.
I think they have the most pro talent in CFB ( Bama and Clemson included) say what you like about Urbam Myer he could recruit and he left that program stacked.
They have been challenging LSU as DB U in recent years.
Yup. 3/4 of the Saints backfield is Ohio St alum.
I like the growth of the team thus far. It seems to be headed in the right direction. Things appear to be coming together on both sides of the ball. The positive leadership is apparent in the way these position groups are correcting things that hinder their success.
You really can’t say enough about Pete’s positive approach in coaching up his players. One unsung contributor from the staff that is worth mentioning is Coach Hurtt. JD stated that he has become a better player since coming to Seattle, and that is saying something, coming from a Pro ball player. And the DL is not quite whole as yet. It’s only going to get better.
One area that’s still growing is the stability of the back in. Quill has shown signs of consistency in coverage, while Flowers has yet to show that growth that most expect going into that 2nd yr. I’m hoping that he lets it loose, and goes after the ball, as he excelled in last year.
Competition is a good thing at the safety position that bring about better play from whomever rises to the occasion.
As far as the offense goes, as Russ said, “We could be even better”. Captain Positive’s leadership will make sure that they achieve those goals. Russ’ goal is the SB. Whether they achieve that goal or not, it’s going to be fun to watch.
A 12-4 record is what I thought they may achieve, with a trip to the SB. If they hold serve at home with a “W” against the Rams this Thursday, they would be on par for that course. Injuries will play a key role in the outcome of those goals though. But, I do like the direction the team is headed.
That Saints team is gonna be tough to beat inside their dome. Looks like they’ll weather the storm w/o Brees, probably go 6-2, get Brees back, and their schedule the rest of the way after that is pretty cake.
If Dallas loses Tyron Smith for any extended amount of time, it’ll very likely cripple their offense.
I agreed about the Saints. They do pose a challenge, since they hold the tie breaking win. But, they play better @ home than on the road. They stole that game in Seattle. So, the road games against the Jaguars and the Bears will be a better indicator of how well they hold up until Brees returns.
Admittedly, their schedule is very favorable when he does return. Chances are they do end up having the #1 seed @ 13-3.
I still like where the Hawks are headed. What I like most is their play on the road. They are up for the challenge. Even if it ends up in the Dome, against the Saints.
One thing to remember, the combined record of Seattleâs opponents in their three wins so far is now 0-9-1.
Iâm happy with the direction theyâre heading too but I still think this is a 10-6 team.
Most would agree that mistakes made by the Hawks were the contributing factors for their lose to the the Saints. Regardless of the team that they play, their success is dependent upon how well they play, up to their potential. Their one lose was an indicator of their potential. If they hadn’t played poorly against the Saints that 0-9-1 would be a different story.
Thursday will be a key game for their season. It should be fun to watch.
Thursday will tell us something about the trajectory of the season. Play a solid game like they did vs ARI and beat the Rams soundly, then suddenly the division is in play and maybe they win 11-12 games. Play like they did vs NOS or CIN, then win or lose, their ceiling is probably 10-6.
Agreed.
They could also go 9-7. The remaining strength of schedule is pretty good. The only “gimme” games are the 3 home games vs BAL, MIN and ARI. I know nothing is gimme in the modern NFL, but those are 3 games SEA should win.
On the road vs PHI, ATL, CAR, and LAR are tough, tough games. And considering SF is 3-0, those games are far from easy (though like with SEA whose wins came against opponents that are 0-9-1, SF’s opponents are a combined 3-7).
At this point of the season, through four games, 10-6 feels like a ceiling to me. The defensive backfield strength is a question and we have yet to see how the WR/TE group can step up against a team that can stop the run.
I think that IF they beat the Rams on Thursday night, in front of a National TV audience, the whole team will have a boost to their positive attitudes and they’ll look at all of the following games with much more confidence. Could be the start of a good streak of wins, hopefully enough wins to get into the playoffs. If there is no Seahawks super bowl this year, making the playoffs and advancing some is a good thing for the young players experience wise & that will help a little in next seasons run to the SB.
I could actually see the Hawks reach the NFC Title game if they realize their full potential. Thatâs as far as it goes though & itâd take some big wins to get there. Iâd be happy for Brees to reach the big one in the twilight of his career. Always respected him as a person & player. The flip side of the coin is that I will always root against A-A-Ron Rodgers. Keep that whiny busta off my telly in January.
Looks like he might actually have a semblance of a defense behind him this time around, so watch out…
Swearinger was released from the cards today. Is he worth a look? FS has had some decent interception numbers. Still only 28.
I think about it like this – he wasnât good enough to keep a roster spot on what is one of the worst defenses in the NFL; and before that, he was released from a team because he openly criticized the defensive coordinator and his play calling decisions. Hard pass.
I’m just hoping that our front seven develops into a monster unit the second half of the season. We’ve got some new real talent on the edge (Ansah, Clowney), youngsters that need more experience (Ford, Green, Collier), and the return in game seven of our Pro Bowl caliber tackle (Reed). If the line can develop into a cohesively aggressive unit to go along with the quality we have in our LB corp, then they might be able to compensate for some of our deficiencies in the secondary. This is all a big “if”, but hey, I can hope, can’t I?
On the offensive side of the ball, it’s all about the line for me. If they can get back to getting some push and opening up holes for our backs like they did last year, our offense will be just fine methinks. RW is just playing some awesome ball now, and our receivers are certainly benefiting and growing from the experience.
Special teams just need to be a little more consistent on coverage. The kicking and return aspects of our special teams play are already pretty top flight.
What we need is luck in the injury department, and some leadership and mojo to blossom on and off the field.
We’ll see. Big test on only a few days rest forthcoming.
We have enough front seven talent to propel a super bowl run.
Wilson is on the money passing. The question will be can the Oline hold up enough to support our run game (foundation of our offense) and can the secondary improve.
Talent? Absolutely. But they still need to put it all together.
Usually we say the DL helps out the secondary by pressuring the QB, but I think there have been more coverage sacks so far this season than pure pass rush sacks.
More WRs? I thought we were “loaded” at the position…
Always be churning the roster brah
ahahahahahaaaa… đ€Łđđ€Łđ well done. well done.
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1178722394585866241
Low-Key feeling these Bengal away unis.
Heinz not bringing any noise.
Key on Britt in this clip. Same play back to back, to opposite sides of the formation, and Britt just bulldozes his man to create a massive lane for Carson to burst through. Good stuff.
https://youtu.be/lZSpaYVlC5w
bUt hE’s NOt a Top-tEn ceNTeR, wE ShOULd tRaDe HiM fOr a R5 CoMP pIck aNd CaP reLieF.
I felt sad when we drafted Penny. I thought we were picking Chubb. The speed, the violent running style, the vision. I thought he matched our identity.
Gardner Minshew is a lot of fun, he has really killer awareness.
What a stud Larry Fitzgerald is!! Really awesome career.
I wonder what teams will grab a qb in next years draft. The qb position looks deep.
I count 10 potentials
Their whole season planned on drafting a QB – Miami
2019 FAs who aren’t dead locks to get extended – TB, Tennessee
Starter under contract for 2020, could be cut and/or need to think long term now – Cincinnati, Minnesota, Carolina, Indy
Need to start thinking long term now – New England, LA Chargers
Stink so bad they will draft in the top 3 and cutting Flacco means lots of cap savings and who cares about Drew Lock and besides Elway is a terrible GM – Denver
Plus two dark horses
Oakland – Who knows what Gruden will do. A top pick QB might put some shine on the LV franchise
Chicago – Trubisky, extend or start over? Better decide this offseason. Massive cap bloodletting coming.
Bengals quietly tanking to compete with Fins for #1
Hmm…
Are the Buckeyes the best football team in the state of Ohio?
I think they’re definitely better than the Bengals. Not sure about the Browns, who have a pretty loaded roster.
Ima go way out on a limb (đ) and predict the best game CIN played this year was the opener vs SEA.
Everybody on the Bengals made it to the NFL. Most of the players on Ohio State wonât.
The worst NFL team will always be better than the best college team.
Also, Jalen Hurts is making a strong case for best QB in CFB this year. Through 4 games, he has a 77% completion rate, going 66 of 85 for 1,295 yards with 12 TDs and only 1 INT.
He’s also rushed for 443 yards and 5 TDs. That’s an insane 9.3 yards per carry and 110 yards per game!
Would love for the Seahawks to draft him. Rob, what do you think? R3 is where he goes? Great leader, competitor…just question his throwing ability in the NFL – no doubt he is putting up crazy numbers.
Letâs see how high he rises. Look at Mayfield and Murray… rose right to the top.
Real question is how long is Lincoln Riley going to be at Oklahoma? QB whisperer, high output offenses. In a world where Kingsbury is an NFL coach he has to be getting calls.
Heâll get calls but look at Kingsburyâs offense…
2019 Week 4: Seahawks at Cardinals | Seahawks All Access
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQSUhdTpsIo
5:49 mark- looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking that pass to Lockett was going to be picked off… Great expression captured on that accidental camera zoom as well. đ
(That’s S&C assistant Jamie Yanchar, in case you were wondering. And check out the profile pic stare… đŹhttps://www.seahawks.com/team/coaches-roster/jamie-yanchar)
You know it. He sure had a point to prove, and the Cards defense lent him a hand.
The man runs so hard. Hopefully he’ll still have his game legs Thursday. With Penny fresh behind him. And Prosise too.
I’m going to guess the workload will be more weighted towards Penny. Carson pounded the rock Sunday and broke all those tackles. He’s probably pretty sore and a 3 day turnaround doesn’t help.
Wouldn’t shock me if they started Penny, used Prosise on 3rd downs and mixed Carson in when they’re up by 20 and need to crush the Ram’s souls.
Penny was held out of Sundays game because of this Thursday game is my guess. A hamstring isn’t going to improve much in 3 days. He should be good to go and it was nice to see Prosise score.
The game plan this week hopefully isn’t one predicated on what the Rams do early. I think it would be great to throw right off the bat from running formations. The Rams are very vulnerable right now and the Hawks need to knock them down and step on their necks.
Yeah, I hope they don’t try to run in the middle much. Aaron Donald doesn’t need any help having a monster game. Hoping to see a lot of misdirection, play action, RPO and screens.
On defense, the strategy should be to pressure Goff, and pressure Goff, and finally, pressure Goff. Hoping to see Kendricks rushing more like he did vs ARI.
One of the guys on NFL TV (a former DL player but I can’t remember name) said the best way to defend Donald was to run right at him early and often, thus tiring him out for the all important 4th quarter and negating some of his pass rush capabilities. He said Donald wasn’t at his best in run defense and that should be where he is most vulnerable.
I’m not sure if that would work, but it might? I’m sure PC has it figured out in some way.
I can see the logic in that. Run some of those inside power runs that they used so effectively against ARI. Pound Donald with 325lb Britt, 330lb Iupati and 340lb Fluker to tire him out.
You do realize AZ’s run defense is the worst in the league. Every game and every team is different.
The Hawks had 190 and 273 rushing yards vs the Rams in their two games last year. They really know how to run on them.
And so i reach the point in my day where i try and decide if i want to throw on Pete Carroll’s Monday presser or wait for the cliff notes from Sea Mode…. LOL this community really spoils a guy!
IKR? Sea Mode spoils us, on top of Rob spoiling us. And so many others (looking at you V12).
This is far and away the best online community I’ve ever been a part of. Would love an opportunity to watch our beloved team with y’all in person some day.
Whoops! I usually only do Wed. press conference (just kind of helps get over the hump between Sundays), but I guess this short week the big one is the Monday one!
Done!
Off Topic but…that new CA law allowing NCAA athletes to get paid in certain ways is a game changer. The Washington state legislature is going to have to pass something akin to it soon. Can’t stand by and give CA the advantage over us.
I haven’t at all dissected the parameters of the new CA law, or begun to envision all the potential implications of it for college sports. But I know enough to know that it’s a game changer.
S. Carolina DT Javon Kinlaw has one of those back stories that makes ya wanna see great things for him.
Pete Carroll Week 5 Monday Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZiNoNDycoc
In General:
– Opportunity to get back-to-back division games. We love Thurs. night games.
– Special occasion celebrating Paul Allen and all he stood for in the PNW.
– PC came to Seattle because of Paul Allen and his support. Something about him convinced PC to make the jump to Seattle. What he said would happen, did happen. He always came through.
– Was like a celebration to get Luke Willson back. An unusual player, a gifted personality and spirit. The new guys are like, âwhat is going on with this guyâŠ?â. Heâs on PCâs all-time team.
On the Rams:
– Rams have been great since McVay got there, had an off-game Sun, but have all kinds of firepower. All their games have been tough games that theyâve fought to win.
– Gurley just hasnât been as explosive. The numbers arenât up to what they were last year, but heâs still dangerous.
– Rams have had our number at home the past couple years. Itâs really important to get these home games if we want to make a run.
– Is our success in primetime games due to the way we prepare for them? PC not sure, but thereâs certainly something to it.
– Weâre also confident in our method for preparing on short weeks. Have to maximize recovery and get your guys ready to go. You canât practice like you normally do.
– McVayâs early success is rare. Other young guys have tried it and not been able to. He has his own way and has followed it. Now he just has to sustain. âI donât think it has to do with how old you are, I think it has to do with who you are.â
– Donald is as formidable a talent as you can have. More explosive, faster than everybody else and knows all the tricks too.
– Cooper Kupp is a fantastic player. Some might not recognize how much he blocks and contributes in other ways, besides the catches. Have to always be wary of him, because he has a knack for getting things done.
– Last week was a âchampionship matchupâ just as much as this week. Theyâre just a great football team that will require the best out of us.
On Cards game and Seahawks Πthrough the season:
– Solid start with one lousy outing where we gave away a game (to a very good team, as we see). But weâre getting there, in the mix.
– Pass rush is nowhere near where we are going to get to. Weâre still working to bring it together. Improved this week and weâre counting on them. Itâs like the 3rd pre-season game for them.
– Feels like weâre still a new team. Kendricks, for example, had 2 sacks (should have had 3). There are glimpses, but weâre not there yet.
– On Tedricâs hit. If they think you could have avoided it, they are going to throw the flag. He could have hit with the other shoulder and it might have been more acceptable. But thatâs how theyâre calling it because they want to protect the players.
– Safeties thwarted a lot of tricks the Cards tried to throw at us over the top. Job well done.
– Shaq Griffin is playing great football.
– RW off to his best start ever. More accurate, consistent, in command of everything. Really sharp.
– Travis Homer has shown just what you want from a late-round rookie coming along. Is the leading effort guy on ST.
– Because of what our 3 LBs bring individually, to put them all together on the field they bring power and better size. As they develop chemistry, we think it will turn into something unique. Did this in PCâs first year back with the 49ers. Weâve got to have a ton of packages ready for this game.
– Kendricks is fast, explosive, and has great bend. It shows up in his pass rush.
– Ansah is a tough dude. Some great chase plays and hits downfield.
– Big guys running downfield is one of PCâs favorite parts about ball. Always one of the first highlights he shows the guys.
On injuries:
– Penny looked ready to play on Sun, but it was about the time-frame of an 8-day recovery. Heâll run a bit more than the other guys in practice these days to make sure.
– Ethan had something painful going on in his neck. We just have to wait it out. Doubtful for Thurs.
– Neiko Thorpe was close last week, should be ready to go. Will run more in practice like Penny.
Cooper Kupp and Ethan Pocic. Thanks for this. I watched it and couldn’t hear who the reporter was asking about when PC said he’s a fantastic player with how he blocks and contributes in other ways, or who PC was talking about when he talked about the neck thing.
Haha. Sea Mode comes through again. Thanks dude.
My pleasure. Glad someone actually likes to read them…!
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman? Meh, I guess they’re fine as long as we’re not playing the Cowboys…
We all know the other names. Anyone looked at Reager though? Haven’t heard a peep about him yet on SDB.
Have seen 1 game of his this year. Didn’t look anything like he did in ’18. Reminds me of former Ohio St. WR Devin Smith.
Reagor has shown glimpses of speed and playmaking quality but R1? A bit rich for me at the moment. Devonta Smith deserves more attention.
Any concerns about his sleight frame though? Looks like PRich out there. (maybe not the worst thing, but still)
None for me. He’s so sudden.
SF and NYJ have only played 3 games and still have more hits than us… đ„ As PC said in the presser, we’re definitely not there yet.
At least QJeff is still tied for 6th place in QB pressures with 16:
https://twitter.com/NFLMatchup/status/1179089725010915329/photo/1
Everson Griffen in 3rd place. Maybe we should have traded for him after all… (maybe they tried to)
Not surprised to see Carolina at the top. Brian Burns is a big reason why.
Friggin’ Pats. Amazing how they’re always at/near the top of the League in some key defensive metric.
Some Hawks fans gonna be up in arms if this first one happens… đ
Enjoy, friends