Gather around this fire, boys.
#SEAvsMIN #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Vo4PfSfO8r
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 10, 2016
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
This wasn’t a good Seahawks performance. They spent three quarters adjusting to the freezing conditions. They struggled on offense from start to finish.
It took a missed chip-shot field goal by Blair Walsh to secure a 10-9 win that wasn’t exactly deserved.
But a win’s a win.
It was a real battle of endurance. Neither team played particularly well in the conditions but Minnesota did a better job overall. The Seahawks seemed to be trying to work it out on the run.
As the offense suffered they couldn’t find a couple of wrinkles to move the ball. The first points of the day were surrendered after a botched punt. When another snap troubled Jon Ryan — they started trying to convert on fourth down instead of playing field position. One of those fourth down attempts led to an interception and subsequent return.
The Seahawks were completely discombobulated on offense.
Things didn’t really improve. It took another botched snap and some Russell Wilson magic to provoke a touchdown drive to make it 9-7. Kam Chancellor’s timely forced fumble shortly after gave them the lead.
Even then, with the game on the line, the offense stalled. They had two more drives after going 10-9 ahead. One was a quick three-and-out. The other went to 3rd and 5 and a conversion would’ve virtually iced the game. No dice.
It was mildly reminiscent of the Cincinnati road game earlier in the year. They just couldn’t finish it off. They gave Minnesota life. They almost took full advantage.
A slightly dubious P.I. call on Kam Chancellor and a big catch-and-run from Kyle Rudolph set up a likely Vikings win. Walsh kicked their hopes wide of the post.
Finally, icing the kicker works.
— this is a good tweet (@KennethArthuRS) January 10, 2016
Kenny’s wit punctuated the immediate celebrations.
Was it the pressure? Was it the cold? Was it the placement of the football? Or was it just a team getting very lucky at the crucial time?
Wilson looked like a block of ice moving out of the pocket. He had a permanent grimace on his face. His deep throws fluttered in the bitter air. The offense couldn’t play like the Seahawks of recent weeks — and they didn’t really have much of a counter. They particularly struggled on third downs — an issue they solved several weeks ago.
This wasn’t fun — but they won’t face conditions like this again.
That’s not to say there weren’t some bright spots. Wilson’s broken-play magic, Christine Michael’s overall performance and this piece of brilliance by Doug Baldwin were highlights:
Going to go ahead and just put this here again #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/fZR9LjhFLx
— Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) January 10, 2016
The defense had a fantastic day. Adrian Peterson was again bottled up for just 45 yards on 23 carries (plus the fumble). Teddy Bridgewater only threw for 146 yards with 24 coming on Rudolph’s late catch and run. It’s an encouraging sign going into next weeks trip to Carolina.
The Seahawks have won six in a row on the road. In that run they’ve given up just one offensive touchdown (vs Arizona).
The mere fact they won’t be playing in conditions akin to the arctic circle will be a big plus. This was a let off — but the season continues for another week at least.
Phew
This team. Is there any other thats this exciting to watch?
A hard fought game. Offense was very inconsistent. Defense played great till the last drive. You can give this win to god.
Defense was pretty much flawless today. They won this game for us again.
Let’s trade Kam Chancellor. Ha!
That PI on him against Rudolph was bogus. What ever happened to letting the receiver and DB hand fighting.
I know. Who interfered with who? Kam was standing his ground and the TE ran right into him. Good argument for OPI there, in my opinion.
Gronkowski has been called for a few of those OPI calls this season in very similar situations. I think you’re spot on.
Offensive playcalling, flawed, very flawed.
Headsets aren’t an excuse for the clock going to zero so many times. An NFL OC should have his team prepared for such circumstances. Calling a bubble screen on 2nd and 8 when you’re in FG range, when your running game has been decent to that point, followed by a delay of game is inexcusable when every point counts in the playoffs, especially in a cold weather game.
Passing on a 47yd field goal? Maybe this was related to John Ryan getting banged up, but it’s Haush$$$ kicking one of the best in the game.
We were lucky to get out with a win. Truly a divine act that won it for us.
The wind was blowing against Seattle on that 47-yarder. Look what happened to Walsh from 27.
It wasn’t a great offensive performance — but the weather had a major impact.
The wind was blowing against him on the 46yd he made in the 4th that’s why it was such a head scratcher, but it was the seies of events before that took it from being a 42yd attempt worst case scenario to a 47yd attempt.
In a game like this, you’re playing for fieldgoals, and at the end it certainly came down to that, and a prayer.
The wind was with them in the 4th.
I’d rather be lucky than heart-broken. A win’s a win. Playoff pressure is the real deal.
gonna have to agree to disagree on this one, I would trade him for the first guy who offered up a pack of smokes and I don’t smoke! He can not cover a bad TE with a bad QB throwing him the ball. Cam to Olson next week a real concern. Trade his ass and give left over cash to Bennett. Could not trust him at the beginning of the year now its the end and still cant trust him to play assignment football. Can’t let TE get by him on the last catch and run.
Yeah- ‘cuz Kelcie McCray or some rookie are such dynamic, physically intimidating game breakers.
He saved 2 games for us this year.
Wow, Seattle’s defense has a weakness. So what? Who doesn’t?
But how many games did his holdout and subsequent below average play in critical moments cost us? 4, maybe 5 games? I am not saying trade him immediately and be done- but he is no longer irreplaceable or even a top 3 safety. And he is getting No 1 safety money. It becomes value. Yeah McCray and a rookie won’t have the legacy that Kam does- but the knockout blow on Demariyus Thomas was 3 years ago. This defense has lots of playmakers and maybe the exorbitant amount of money used on Kam could serve better elsewhere
I don’t agree with an emotional, knee-jerk desire to trade Kam, but I think it is at least fair to dispassionately ask the question if Kam is still the best value for us at SS given his price, age, mileage, declining play, etc. If he comes back to camp without incident next season in shape and ready to play, I think he has at least one more elite season in him. If there is more drama, I think a trade can be legitimately discussed.
I don’t think he cost us any games. His holdout affected this team less than last year’s SB loss or hangover.
He was dominant last year too. Him, ET, Sherm, and Lane were never really 100% either.
We’ll have agree to disagree. Because to me, he’s one of the most unique players on the planet and every team wants them a SS that is the ‘next Chancellor.’ But, there’s only one of him.
I think he did. He was the worst guy on the field in the Cincy game, giving up 9 of 11 for 102 yards and the miscommunication that resulted in the touchdown by their tight end was on him.
We only lost that game by a field goal.
If he were in football shape and in sync with the defense from coming to camp on time it’s hard to see how he’d play so poorly. It’s hard not to put that at least that loss, plus the season opener against the Rams if not the Green Bay game, on his decision to take a half million dollar pay cut and 2 game holdout to prove a point that no one can figure out.
I guess it comes down to what he’s demanding and if he’s going to hold out against. Calculate the cost/benefit of what making him happy is going to involve. But with both him and Bennett making noise, it’s Bennett that came to camp on time and again outplayed out his contract. If JS determines it’s better to stick to his guns and not set a poor precedent, it’d be better to reward Bennett for being a good soldier while shipping Kam out.
Kam has not had a good year this year, any way you cut it. The Detroit play, and today’s play, were huge. But play in and play out, he hasn’t been a force, and at times has been a liability, especially in coverage.
If he holds out again next year, he’ll simply lose more money. The Hawks are even less likely to cave next year than they were this year.
I suspect there will be a way for both parties to look like winners with some kind of renegotiation.
Yes are weakness is Kam does not play sound football and can not be trusted be play discipline football. Makes a splash play or 2 for sure, definitely not deserving of a raise he still wants or the aggravation he causes. When considering price tag were better off playing McCray and using money to resign irvin, or extend Bennett or Avril. Kam is living on reputation now, definitely
no pro bowl player.
I don’t think he’s deserving of a raise, nor will he get one.
Bennett and Avril won’t either. They just signed long term deals. It’s pointless to keep talking about them or KJ getting new/re-worked deals.
Would much rather have Bam Bam over Bruce Irvin. Talk about a guy making a couple splash plays a year.
I don’t think either guy (Kam, Bruce) will be with us next year Vol unless Kam drops his new contract demand and I highly doubt that given he just got another pro bowl nod. Even if it was by reputation only.
Agree Smitty!
Vol I love your insight and value your opinion but Kam has been a liability in pass defense all year and today is was no different when he was targeted. The PI call was bogus but he should have gotten called twice earlier when he got beat easily off the line.
I really did not see any drop off in the defense with Kelce Mcray.
If Kam comes back into the fold this off season and is not looking for more $ then I agree keep him until his deal is up but if he asks for more $ then I would take a 2nd round pick or better for him in a trade.
I know many people including Rob and yourself feel there is no way we trade Kam but I am almost 90% sure we will have a new identity with Beast gone and Kam gone starting the 2016-2017 season.
The only irreplaceable players on this team IMO are Russ, Sherm, ET and Bennett.
I don’t thnk McCray is bad, but he doesn’t bring anything unique or dynamic to the table. I do think worst case scenario, Seattle found their backup SS.
A gu has a bad year and all of a sudden it’s like’ trade him. He’s no good.’
It’s ironic to me that people think he’s so easily re-placeable and such a liability, but yet, not having him early in the season hurt us.
To be fair, I think the question is whether Kam can still bring anything dynamic or unique to the table. Given his unexpected disloyalty and subsequent decline in ability, it has to be a possibility we are at least willing to consider.
Everyone wants the LOB Kam of 2013 back. But this season has taught us there is reason to wonder if Kam will ever be that player again, and that he wasn’t really missed while McCary filled in during the injury. A knee-jerk reaction is not appropriate, but evaluating if Kam is worth what we are going to pay him is something we have to be open to going into next season.
Dynamic… like forcing the game altering turnover against the best RB in the NFL?
Dynamic… like forcing the game winning turnover against one of the best WR in the NFL?
Dynamic… like being a key cog in the best run defense in the NFL?
Dynamic… like putting 350 lb linemen on their back, to secure the edge on a regular basis?
The Kam situation is too complicated to make any snap judgements. And I definitely don’t think we are getting a 2nd round pick for him. We have to wait and see how things play out. I understand why fans are frustrated with him but he’s way too much of a team leader to just write him off.
There are two options:
1. Kam stays a Seahawk
2. Kam opts to retire
And I don’t see him retiring this off-season.
Option 1 happens if and only if he doesn’t insist on more money now.
Why is a trade not an option, especially if he holds out again?
Kam isn’t likely to change his tune about his unhappiness with his deal, but I can’t imagine he holds out again. Worst case is if the team isn’t willing to renegotiate and he develops ill will and resentment to the point that he asks to be traded. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I think any sort of renegotiation is a slippery slope. Bennett was obviously vocal about his unhappiness with his contract but he showed up to camp, and the team knows he will be paying attention to how they handle Kam. Of course, both the team and Kam have a lot more knowledge about the situation and where they stand then we do.
I still think he’s a valuable asset despite having an off year.
and doug, Lockett, and Kearse. 3 of the top ten hands in the NFL don’t just get replaced.
I don’t understand the call on Chancellor either. He has as much right to the space as the receiver does. How can you defend if the receiver can just run right into you and flail like he’s been obstructed?
That PI call was bogus and probably made to make up for the 2 they missed on him earlier in the game.
It was a good call. Kam wasn’t making a play on the ball, he started the wrong way and couldn’t move his feet to run with Rudolph.
Seemed like he held his position and put his arm down on receivers waist during the collision. I think it should have been a no call but it is not totally surprising it was called that way.
I understand it just fine.
Seattle likes to ‘obstruct’ players. They are good at that. And they do it frequently and get away with it a lot. Good coaching.
But refs are far more prone to throw flags on questionable contact in 3rd down/late drive scenarios. How many flags do we see come out for routine stuff that is allowed repeatedly early in series?
I would have expected that kind of play to get that kind of call late in the game. That might be a no call in Q1. But on the last drive of a game — that flag is coming out. It’s not even an NBA ‘hand check’ garbage kind of call. That’s a lot of contact. Seemed more like a moving screen kind of play. One we’ve seen our defenders make and get away with multiple times.
The acting rubs me wrong though. And it did feel as if Rudolph was specifically trying to run into Kam for no other reason than to pick up a cheap contact foul. Bottom line is, I though Kam got his money’s worth on that contact. Call could have gone either way. I think the refs did a good job, with a lot of no calls on Lockett plays that in the regular season may get linen.
Playing with house money now…. Off to the hot tubs.
Hey Rob, I’ll bet you had an entire eulogy written and ready to post, and then you had to start from scratch in the last 20 seconds. Haha!! I’m a wreck wright now anyway. Take your time. Appreciate you, man.
wright, right, rite, whatever.
You are absolutely correct. There is a losing version of this article that will never see the light of day! I’ll give you the highlights — didn’t deal with the conditions, made too many mistakes, beat themselves.
So glad I had to re-write it.
Another amazing finish for this team. I would think the Seahawks are the worst possible match up for the Panthers or any other team in the NFC. The grit and never say die spirit of this team is awesome to watch. Also Doug Baldwin is reminding me of Steve Largent every time I watch him. Truly a great time to be a Seahawks fan after 30 years of disappointment.
Even Largent the Great could not have made that one-handed grab today. Not because he didn’t have the hands (or hand) for it, but because he did not have those hops.
1-0, Dare I say it – Feels like Destiny?
Dunno, felt like destiny after the NFC Championship game last year (and after Kearse’s SB catch). Still have to go out and play winning football three more times.
Hope they practice running out the clock this week
Just shows how narrow the margin of error is in the playoffs. Nothing is a given and nothing should be taken for granted. Sucks for the Vikings, but it’s a lesson they needed to learn. 1.5 yards out from the endzone to win the superbowl? Not a given. 27-yard chip shot to advance in the playoffs? Not a given. If you don’t execute for 100% of the game, stuff like that will happen. Execute for 99% of the game and you can have your heart ripped out.
Pretty much that, except that, sometimes even if you execute 100%, it’s still not guaranteed. Vikings fans still should be excited. Their defense showed up to be a very legitimate defense. It’s pretty much our younger brother team.
I say just leave it at that!!!
I blame our offensive stagnation on the weather. Seriously, that is ridiculous to have to play in those shitty conditions.
Hopefully the team goes into this week with some humility and don’t underestimate their next opponent. I have a bad feeling it’s going to be a tough one.
On the bright side, other than Ryan’s bloodied nose, it doesn’t seem like anyone got seriously injured.
What happened to Bennett for that one play? Hope nothing lingers for him.
I must have smoked half a pack during that game. 0_0
So did I and I don’t even smoke.
Me and you both KD. My lungs hurt yo.
Hah! I just learned they won about an hour ago. I was heartbroken and couldn’t bear to watch the field goal so shut it off and went about my day in misery.
I’m completely SHOCKED. WOW! UnREAL!
Teaches me never to count this team out. I should have learned that after the NFCC last year, but at least I watched that game till the glorious end.
Wouldn’t blame you if this reaction piece is a paragraph long. What can be said?
Yes, the weather played a part. Wilson could not get the ball deep enough. However, a lot of 3rd and short that were terrible calls. Bevell has been so much better, I hope he gets back to it. They really should give Wilson the ability to touch the center and QB sneak it. A few with big gaps that weren’t taken advantage of.
I’m not putting any blame on anyone. Freezing weather is a game changer and I’m just glad they get to thaw out in Carolina
My only gripe with the play calling was the amount of deep shots they took considering the gawd awful conditions. Maybe they were trying to soften the defense, but they’ve been making their hay on the quick hitters, and I was surprised how much they went away from that.
Same thing in the Rams game and it killed us
If he doesn’t underthrow Baldwin, who was wide open, this is a way different game. I’m ok with the shots.
He was getting hit when he was dialing up the pass and wasn’t able to step into it, though. That’s why it fluttered.
I felt the weather would be a huge detriment for us.
Namely, that it would rob Wilson of efficiency in a manner that would not for Bridgewater.
Wilson doesn’t wear gloves, which would make it difficult to suddenly do so now. That cold makes the ball much harder and heavier and also slick. Unlike a wet ball though, the fingers have a hard time with poor ball contact. In wet weather, you can more reliably adjust the tightness of your grip. In the cold, you don’t have good fine motor control of the fingers.
Having lived in Wisconsin and watching Favre, he was a great cold weather QB, and part of that was that he threw a ‘heavy ball’. And more than Wilson, he got over the top of the throw — meaning that ball starts high and drops low. So Favre drilled WRs right between the numbers. He was notorious for breaking WR fingers in the cold air.
Russell doesn’t throw a heavy ball. And while he has an over the top delivery, he doesn’t get ‘on top of the ball’ mechanically. The balls tend to remain flat on plane or even float a little. For sure Wilson throws a more catchable ball. But in the cold, I felt it would be problematic.
Wilson, in normal conditions, generally misses high when he’s off target. I felt there would be at least 3 to 5 completions that his WRs couldn’t make in the cold that they normally do in better conditions. This seemed to be typically true.
I also felt like Wilson would let more balls go high, and that the cold and wind would catch them. Wilson’s long balls tend to get a lot of loft under them, allowing receivers to run under them. In the cold, it’s going to affect a soft ball more than line drives driven hard. At least three Lockett deep passes were soft tear drops that in good weather he can make a play for.
I just felt that the conditions would rob Seattle of their explosive deep balls based on how they would affect the mechanics of Wilson’s delivery in particular. Those chunk plays are a huge part of our offense and I felt was an equalizing force coming into this game.
Thought Michael had a real solid game and his ball security was solid. The player I worried about most was probably our best along with Balwin on the offensive side of the ball. I am sure once Russ warms up he will be back on track next week.
Seems like no injuries which is a huge plus.
Also Carolina will not get any game tape they can use given the conditions. I think we will be 2.5 pt underdogs but have a great shot against Carolina.
Michael has proven himself as a hard runner. That’s about the only thing to take from this ugly game. Just happy we got a gift.
Earl Thomas is a complete pro! His post game interview was nothing but resperct. You win a game like that and your first comment is to send condolences to the Vikings players for losing that way. I feel for them too, that has to be tuff!
A couple points about field conditions. The temperature was -6 degrees Fahrenheit and wind chill to below -20. But the field was heated to 40 degrees, the have an extensive under the field heating system that is capable to -15. The players looked comfortable out there, except for their hands. I am surprised more players didn’t wear long sleaves and gloves. Most positions don’t require bare hand, and even receivers would probably benefit from thin gloves.
The air seemed to affect punting more then anything – does anyone know if the balls were heated on the sidelines?
The other issue was headset commuications were not working propery in first half. There were a lot of clock rundowns due to that issue. The offense could barely get the ball off in time for other plays.
Kam Chancellor said immediately after the game, when asked about the conditions, that the biggest issue for him was how cold and solid the turf was. They can heat it to stop it being an ice-rink — but I bet it still felt like cold concrete.
It looked like the field was icing on top as the heaters thawed a lower level. Conditions looked brutal.
The deep ball hung up in the cold allowing vikes to play FS up a bit.
Cold air affects the depth of a football by about3 yards. It could hang for an extra 3 or drop short.
Wilson was definitely off early on. Short passes were high and long passes hung up in air. With that many problems would gloves really make it worse? I don’t think so.
What about long snapper? He was way off with three low snaps. One caused a 4th down turnover on Seahawks 29 yard line.
That was stupid by Jon Ryan. He had time to re-set and kick. Or at least pooch it.
The cold air affects your grip strength big time my man.
It affects your brain too. Ryan was clearly hypothermic on that play. This ain’t Ninja Warriors Jon!
What a win though! We’ve seen some miraculous stuff in the last 6 years. Pretty impressive to win at least one playoff game in each of the PC era chances.
Ha! He was so damn bad on Ninja Warriors. No idea what he thought he was doing.
10 playoff wins in the PC era. If we count the automatic advancement by earning the 1st round bye.
Well that’s a bit of a stretch for me but a playoff record of 11-3 would work out just fine.
The Hawks seem to be really inept at game planning for bad weather. This game, ST. Louis in Seattle, at San Diego last year…almost cost them today. Either way, hard fought win on all sides. The Defense looked pretty good with a few bad calls and plays sprinkled in. The Offense was bad, but only because of the weather…too many over/under throws and drops. ST was pretty good…really just a weird game to watch. Next up: The Panthers! Go Hawks!!!
I would describe it as ‘extreme’ weather instead of bad. That was abnormally cold today — and San Diego was scarily hot. The Rams are always a pain for this team.
If BM doesn’t return next year I hope they use those resources on the Oline… Might help with the Rams… somewhat as AD is just off the hook!
Wow! What a gutsy, gritty win. The football gods were smiling down on us today!
Defense played brilliantly today.
RW just wasn’t himself today, but yet again, he comes through when we need him most. And yes, the weather was a huge factor today.
C-Mike is cementing himself as our no.2 back behind ‘Rhino’ Rawls going forward.
I don’t care what anyone says. We need an upgrade at C. Patrick Lewis has done a commendable job and is a solid backup, but dude almost cost us this game. Head-set issues or bad C play? It’s the latter for me.
Didn’t think Teddy B could beat us by himself , but he almost did. Hats off to him. I feel bad for their kicker, but Minnesota is legit and will bge a force next year, bet on it.
If we beat Carolna nxt week, we won’t lose again. It’s our SB.
Anyone who lives in in the state of Washington, myself included, need to go get that $1 billion dollar power ball ticket on Wednesday. Ha!
BTW, why does every mocl draft and e ajority of fans thnk we need to go DT early?
We consistently shut down the games best runners, didn’t give up 100 yards on the ground to a single rusher, and ‘Tuba’ aka Athyba Rubin has been this year’s version of Bennett and Avril.
Sure we need depth, and I hope they take one, but I don’t get ‘draft a run stuffing/2 down player’ on day 1. Or 2.
Because are two starters are FA and they both could gone. Rubin balled out today and made a lot of big plays even without the recovery. I hope they can bring him back. I still don’t see a high draft pick either way though
Rubin ain’t going nowhere. Can’t see PC/JS let the best 3-tech he’s had in this system leave.
They’ve routinely plugged in veteran FAs and got the job done too.
Keep ‘Bane and Rubin. At least ‘Tuba,’ sign another veteran DT, and draft one in the 3rd or later.
I think Mebane and Tuba probably come back. At least one of them for sure. But given their age, it’s most probable on one year deals. 3rd round is great range to draft DT, and most likely pass rusher. I can see a scenario that if KC doesn’t get a deal done with Jaye Howard, John Schnieder could be interested in bringing the big boy back. He’s young and has developed into a really solid player.
Jaye Howard would be great. He played the most snaps among DTs,really good.
If Seattle goes bigger in free agency for another guy on the defense, this would be the move I would be all in for.
V12 — I’m right with you on this one.
The Seahawks might not collapse pockets like the Rams or have a stud interior rusher like Aaron Donald — but I suspect they are very comfortable with the production they get out of Bennett, Avril, Clark and the rest when you consider the fact they still haven’t given up a 100-yard rusher this season. That is incredible.
Any pass rush specialist they add to this group is going to work on passing downs. That to me doesn’t scream early pick — and there isn’t a guy I can think of that is good enough to warrant early investment there unless Robert Nkemdiche falls and you’re willing to take a shot (don’t think I would be).
Agree 100%.
I know that me and you don’t see elite, difference making, pass rushing DTs in this year’s class outta the guys projected to go early.
And your right. You don’t have to collapse the pocke like the Rams or Gerald McCoy, etc. do. You can ‘box rush’ like Seattle does, and is so damb effective at.
What about your OU boy Charles Tapper in the 3rd-4th range?
Yeah- something like that. Would love Tapper, because he’s versatile, good athlete, and has overcome a lot of adversity. Growing up where he did, losing his dad early, having sickle cell, being told he’s a basketball player and not a football player.
Good shout. I’m a big fan of Tapper and what he brings to the table.
I’m a Tapper fan as well. For an inside DL guy to draft in the mid rounds, Vernon Butler is a guy we’ve discussed here. I just have a feeling like Butler is the type of player Seattle would be interested in. One other mid-round interior DL that intrigues me is Hassan Ridgeway from Texas–major athleticism and upside, though a bit rough.
What’s box rushing?
A box rush is mush rushing. You send 4 DL after the QB and keep a LB in the box.
Is it still a box rush if you leave two LB in the box?
Depends on scheme. Some mush rush you actually don’t get after the quarterback, instead keeping him in the pocket. Think of last year’s SB and what NE did to us.
Other mush rushes can be, the DE’s only get as deep, or upfield, as the QB gets in his drops.
A 3-4, 4-3, or bear 46 defense all have different variations of it. And then when you get into LBs, it can become confusing.
He may not always finish them off, but Mosesbread blows up as many plays as anyone in the NFL.
Mosesbread was dominant today. Sacks are one of the most overrated stats in the league. Hurries, pressures, and as you said, disruption, are just as, if not more important.
Agree completely Vol. There is a reason our run defense is so solid. Mebane and Rubin plug the middle and keep our LBs clean. They are exactly what Pete wants in a DT and unless an Arron Donald or Wilerkeson type talent fell to us we wlll never go DT early.
Good call and you and Rob are both spot on with that assessment IMO.
The oly DT in this class who would warrant a 1st round pick on physical talent only for the Hawks is Nmkdeche and he is a basket case mentally and likely off their board.
I just say no to Nmkdeche. Say yes to Vernon Bulter, Johnathan Bullard, Sheldon Day, Sheldon Rankins, Charles Tapper, Luther Maddy or Aziz Shittu in later rounds. Say hell to the yes to Jaye Howard if he hits free agency.
Keep an eye on Indiana’s Darius Latham. Almost identical to Tony McDaniel,
Hey I’d say keep an eye on the Justin Zimmer from Ferris state. Let Tuba two gap and get some young athletic Bobby Boucher freak to shoot the B gab.
well this one i agree with completely if they sign the guys we got there is no need to upgrade with an early pick. Unless the kid from Miss St has a colossal fall.
Hey V12, who are some Cs you think Seattle will like? Kelly from Alabama? Would we be willing to move back into the 2nd and pick someone up like taht?
I like Kelly a lot actually.
K-St’s Cody Whitehair is someone I’m high on and think could be a good C at the next level.
LeCharles Bentley has been endorsing Arizona St’s Christian Westerman lately. Another guy I could see moving to C.
IDK if he’s declared and he might be better for a power run team, but LSU’s C Ethan Pocic is a stud.
TCU’s Joey Hunt might be the best ZBS C in this class. He’s a late rounder though.
Keep in mind that Seattle seems to like converting LT’s into C’s too. Their usually the best athletes on a line anyways. Draft LT’s and then figure out where to put them.
They could go the FA route at C too.
Whitehair is a LT. He could go the Unger route and get broken in at G first until he was ready to take over at C. Or maybe he could make a quick transition. I’d be happy with that pick.
I just watched some tape on Westerman – wow. What a powerful man. Could definitely see them picking him up in 3rd or 4th for competition at C and OG.
I think they might have looked to Cody Whitehair last year too,we know they scouted Lockett’s school, and James Carpenter was FA and they knew Sweezy also would be FA this year.So they needed a G, they may have thought they would draft a G in both 2015 and 2016 draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if they draft Cody Whitehair with their first pick. He could be this years Zack Martin.
Read this interview of Cody Whitehair, it looks great.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/25295574/meet-the-prospect-kansas-state-ol-cody-whitehair
I’ll put some part of it here. He says he’s okay with all positions on the line and he looked up to Russell Okung.
Q: At the next level, do you hope to stay at tackle or are you open to a move back to guard?
A: I would like to think I can play both. I would prefer to play guard. But if a team that I play for needs me at tackle, I’m up for that too. I’m up for playing whatever position. Someone needs me at center, I could tackle that position. Ultimately guard and tackle. Either way I feel comfortable.
Q: Is there an offensive lineman you look up to or try to model your game after?
A: My first few years in the Big 12, I watched Russell OKUNG from Oklahoma State and so I looked up to him and watched him play. Obviously I’m not as big but I admire him.
How about a Joe Dahl converting from LT to C.
I like Dahl too. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s a good enough run blocker for Seattle.
He isn’t
At some stage we need to get younger on the D line.
Maybe next year is not the year for it, but something to keep in mind.
Plus before this year Rubin could not finish a season without injuries and mebane was on IR for some time in 2014. Think it would be smart to add some depth there in first coup;e of rounds. Would be a nice surprise if Jesse Williams could make team if healthy for cheap depth also wonder what front office thinks of Francis usually doesnt suit but he is a big body.
Nick, another guy at C is NC St’s Joe Thuney. He was a LT this year, has played every position on the O-line, and is rumored to be moving to C in the NFL.
Apparently, NFL personnel guys are pretty high on him.
This is the Seattle Seahawks of today. This is why they are so hard to watch. If we get Bad Wilson but good Bevell- then our playmakers make plays and usually YAC and the running game get us the win. If we get Bad Bevell and Good Wilson- then we hang around and make a game winning score usually in the end of the game and steal one. Good Wilson and Good Bevell equals last week- unstoppable. Bad Bevell and Bad Wilson- you get today. And we STILL won. People say it a lucky missed field goal to get us over the top- but that was precipitated by a really dodgy P.I. call that could have totally decided the outcome of a game. So it was 50/50 on the lucky breaks there. We overcame Bad Bevell and Bad Wilson and won a game in the most extreme conditions this team has ever seen- on the road- against almost an entirely different defense- in the playoffs. This was a hard fought, quality win. And I knew all we needed was to get to Carolina. We could run away with it
The weather conditions can’t be stressed enough. It wasn’t just cold. It as the 3rd coldest playoff game in NFL history.
Agree about getting to Carolina.
I don’t think Bevell called a bad game. I would have liked to see more read option plays called but other than that, he mixed long passes with shorter/quick ones and there was good balance between our passing and running game and for the most part, I felt that our offensive futility was more due to the players not making the plays rather than the quality of the calls. Wilson had a bad game (mixed with some great plays) and beyond the overthrows and passes that were just inaccurate, a couple of times, he also pivoted/rolled into pressure and sacks. But I think the really cold weather had much bigger impact on their play than any of us expected. The D played awesome and except for that big 20ish yard reception that Kam gave up to Rudolph at the end, really didn’t make any mistakes. And wonders of wonders, I actually saw ET wrap-up on a tackle on the sidelines.:) Michael ran hard and protected the ball and while I would love to have Beast back for the rest of the playoffs, I’m not too concerned with Michael & Brown carrying the load for the rest of this post season either. Bottom line, we persevered through a really tough game and should be primed for a much better game in Carolina!
Completely agree with you Tien
For as often as I hear the pundits and fans say we need a DT this team is amazing upfront at stuffing the run. Mebane and Rubin are exactly what Pete wants in a DT to stuff the run and the proof is the last 2 games against Min. Props to them both for solid game. I really hope we can retain them both at least one more year.
I’d give Tuba a multi-year deal.
He has been somewhat of a revelation, indeed. If we can get Hill to stay healthy we could have something.
Agreed. Rubin has been a perfect fit. What kind of deal do you think?
3/$9 mil too low?
I think 2 years $6 million for Rubin. He’s 30 years old.
Rubin deserves a multi year deal. Also Bennett sure played his heart out today! I’m so happy with how the defensive line turned out.
No. A 2-3 year deal in the range you and C-Dog mentioned.
Wow how lucky was that? 97 percent of 27 yard field goals are made.. That was as ugly a game as I thought it would be, but I am glad they are moving on. I actually feel better about the Carolina game than I did about this one. I don,t know if that is a good omen or bad. The Hawks will probably open as dogs, and that is good for them. Now if someone will just remember to cover Olsen around the goal line they will have a good chance to win. The other thing I worry about is Green Bay winning out, the weather in two weeks there could be just as brutal..
Funny, I was thinking the same thing. As it turns out, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the most challenging game all post-season for the Hawks.
Next week all the pressure is on Carolina and Cam. I don’t think either team will run away with it, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all with a Seahawks victory.
CMike earned himself a contract for next year today IMO. Solid but not spectacular which was all that could be expected given the weather. He never even bobbled a ball today and was extremely careful to wrap up with 2 arms on contact. I was very impressed with his diligence in this regard.
Next year RBs
#1Rawls
#2Michaeal
#3 Rookie or Vet 3rd down back who can rally catch the ball out of the backfield. In the draft I kind of like the kid out of ND as a 3rd down type back. I was really hoping they were going to take David Johnson last year for just that reason.
I hope in 2017 draft everyone thinks Christian Mcafferey is available when we pick because he would be amazing in our offensive system IMO pair him with Rawls and use him as 3rd down RB and slot wr from time to time and he would be incredible. Anyways thinking way to far ahead. We have an SB to win in SF first.
Agreed. And NOBODY hated Michael more than me before he was traded. He is a Pro finally. You can read the press and see exactly why the coaches had given up initially. Now he shows up, is a part of the team, does his job, keys in and learns, and has been humbled. He has turned in to a very effective RB and that is all we could ask of him. Honestly lately he has reminded me of Ricky Watters when he was here back in the 90’s. More athletic yes- but just a hard runner that gets the yards that are there and a tough out. I want Michael back. As long as he stays THIS Michael of course
Michael was very solid today. He did what we needed him to do.
I haven’t seen a heap of AP’s career, but apparently you can still be a great running back while being a ‘fumbler’.
I was shocked by his fumbling numbers, works out to 3-4 times a year.
One point the announcers made was that Lynch got 85% of first team practice, and Michael only got 15%. So he wasn’t getting the practice he needed, and his head was getting messed up by a demotion. After all that he had a good game. Seahawks should quite treating him like a backup.
The most impressive stuff about Christine Michael’s performance was:
1- The Vikings DL played their A-game against the run.
2- Run plays weren’t consistently called, and when they were called, they were predictable, specially on the first half (when Fred Jackson was in, pass play, when Michael in, run play).
And still he brought home some hard fought yards.
Imagine how many times they re going to show the Walsh missed FG when they are talking about the 2016 SB Champs Seattle Seahawks this summer.
I don’t know about this team being not particularly good. The defense was HUGE today, they were stifling, they were resilient, they were absolutely huge. 3 and out continues to be the hallmark of the bevel regime and the defense took up the slack like they’ve been doing for years, shutting down Minnesota for series after series only to go right back on the field.
When the defense kicks ass, the offense shares the credit, and when the offense sucks, the defense shares the blame. What an epic performance. The defense kicked the offense’s ass today.
Bevel had a great call though on the snap over Wilson’s head, where Russ acted like he didn’t expect it and No E pretended to improvise, great play design.
But seriously, tired of expecting Russell and the defense to overcome these terrible play calls. Bevel overthinks things.
Let’s not turn every performance that is less than stellar turned into a Bevell debate.
That was a horrendously cold day and it had a major impact on the offense. Russell was well off his best, the whole offense was. They still won and still have the #2 DVOA ranked offense in the entire league. They must be doing something right.
Agree this was a survival game. There is no way to game plan for that cold. Most of us would not even venture outside in that weather much less play a game.
I think Bevel has done a good job in being creative and utilizing the players we have.
Lynch took most of the 1st team reps this week and I am sure that affected some of the play calling as well. If a couple of those balls Russ underthrows in the 1Half because of the weather connect then this game is 21-9 and no one is questioning the play calling.
“Agree this was a survival game. There is no way to game plan for that cold. Most of us would not even venture outside in that weather much less play a game.”
Exactly. This game was a gift. There’s really nothing to take from it. Next up Carolina!
That’s true Rob the cold did affect them and Russell was off in the beginning and conditions like that help the defense. Then there was the headset issue, which I don’t know necessarily buy that. Ran out of timeouts in the end after burning so many when we didn’t get the plays out on time, a recurrent issue here.
To my mind, the Hawks won entirely through defense, in spite of the offense, in conditions that favored defense. The defense just couldn’t get a breather, and the offense’s only td came on a fluke that Russell and Locket made something out of. Haushka hit a bigtime FG.
The offense has the talent to be play well against good teams, but they can’t seem to do it.
One example of playcalling I didn’t like, in the second quarter:
We’d been running it well, Michael just started breaking through the holes and we come out in first down. I said to my uncle they’re going to run and they did, and it worked, Michael gains six. Then I joked that Bevel would empty out the backfield, but he did, second and 4 with the run game going and no running threat in the backfield, incomplete pass for Jackson. Third down they don’t get the play out and burn a timeout. Come back in shotgun (??????) on 3rd and 4, and the play wasn’t effective but Russell improvises and nearly gets a first. Punt.
In the last play that matters, Vikings line up for a 25 yard field goal, not even an extra point, after 2 consecutive Seahawk 3 and outs. The lucky td was preceded, going backwards, by a 3 and out, an interception, a 5 and out and the turnover on downs when Ryan took off.
I guess we can agree to disagree though and that’s ok. Like I always say your blog is my favorite Seahawks read and I’m really glad you do it.
My only gripe with Bevel’s calls today were the amount of deep shots they were taking in the extreme conditions. Maybe they were trying to soften the defense to the runs and underneaths, maybe they thought they had opportunities, but Russell’s hay has been made off the short hitters and play action. I think they put this one behind them and bounce back better against the Panthers. Probably happy just to be able to play in 45 degrees.
I think they saw they were struggling to move the ball and thought deep shots were the way to try and score points. The long, developing drives weren’t working. And there’s always a chance you get a P.I. if not a catch (see: Lockett).
Hopefully next week, in better weather, they hit on a few more of them because you can guarantee Carolina is going to be loading up the box as well.
Playcalling was horrible. Bevell’s playcalling should be really restricted to Play Action, Read Option and running through Christine Michael. Instead, too much empty backfields, too much spread offense. Also that call on a 4&13 pass instead of taking the 4-yd kick was beyond terrible, but that’s on Carroll.
Wilson was really off, threw two interceptions that were dropped and one that was caught, and in general, a lot of passes were off. Luckily not everygame is under these conditions.
Hard to criticize going to the spread offense and empty backfield when this fundamental shift in offensive scheme has been one of the contributing factors to why the Hawks offense and Russell Wilson has been so efficient and deadly in the 2nd have of the season. Though I do agree with some of the 3rd down play calling particularly on the 3rd and 1 and 3rd and 5 which both could have sealed the game. What happen to the rub routes or, on 3rd and 1 zone read which was there ALL game. That was a point where Wilson needs to take over the game and get that yard if the DE crashes.
Most of the 3rd downs it looks like the Vikes were showing double A gap blitzes with press coverage which, from what I understand, they get pretty creative in terms of who they are bringing. In this situation pretty much the only guaranteed one on one shot you have there is the go route on the outside which explains some of the deep shots to Lockett. Unfortunately Wilson just couldn’t connect on those although Lockett did get the PI on one.
Seeing Wilson miss on the deep shots (esp Baldwin in the end zone) which would have been a TD had to it been in grown like “frozen” rope, it seemed despite RW nonchalance in the presser, really affected RW throws. To my eye it looked like Wilson’s hands were so numb that he couldn’t fully grip the ball with strength and ended up basically “shot-putting” the ball which explains why he floated that in there instead of what we’re used to. i wish he had thought about wearing gloves because a lot of those throws couldn’t have been worse and maybe if his fingers weren’t frozen he could have put some zip on the ball. I mean, the int to Coffman what was that? Wide open on 3rd down and you can’t even get it on his chest. It seemed he was trying to loft everything (Baldwin OBJ catch) and I believe his hands were to numb to get a good grip. Anyways, I sure hope that’s what the issue was today because that means hopefully it won’t be an issue next week
I get your point. The problem is: did they just ignored the fact that we wouldn’t be able to keep a high volume passing offense given the weather condition? Why they even tried anything other than run the ball/playaction/read option? The three poor games by Russell Wilson was the gusting divisional round clash against Saints in 2014, the biggest downpour in Seattle ever in the NFCCG last season, and now, in the 3rd coldest game in post season history. Russell Wilson suffers in bad weathers.
They just ignore that kind of problem.
I agree. A lot of players should have been wearing gloves on Sunday including the snapper. Wilson should have practiced all week with gloves and made a game time decision on wearing them. Being macho is fine and dandy if you are an Aleut or Eskimo that has lived in the cold for generations. The rest of us in Alaska wear gloves. Wilsons pass accuracy was terrible.
A win is a win. But I’ve just about lost all confidence in how Carroll and Bevell are handling things in the end of the 4th quarter of these close games. As good as our defense is, and as tough as the weather was making things for both offenses, we can’t keep giving the ball back to the other team for the 2 minute drill in a game where a field goal can win it.
I agree. They can’t put teams away with their offense
The thing is that they’re not really trying to put it away with offense unless the opponent makes it easy. Why they have such an itchy trigger finger for deep shots is baffling to me. And in this one the running game was strong overall and the read-option in particular was effective. They treated a 1-point lead like it was at least 2 scores.
Wilson had a huge mental error on the Seahawks last drive…when he went the wrong way on that 3rd down play action. Hopefully this is his one off day for the playoffs. I think that against the Vikings defense they could have used Luke willson to open up the middle. I’m curious to see how the marshawn lynch drama unfolds this week. Do they ir him? Or is he worth the distraction?
IIRC that was our second to last possession. On our last 3rd and 5 we had Fred Jackson lined up wide and Tyler Lockett coming out of the backfield and just going into the flat. I like the idea of using Lockett in the backfield for a few plays a game but I have no idea why they did it in that scenario. Doesn’t seem like that play works to the strengths of either Jackson or Lockett.
I know Bevell likes to rotate players in and out, but there have been a lot of games lost over the years without our best personnel in the game, or play not going to someone who gets many reps.
I thought Bevell did a very good overall job until the end of the game. He always seems to make a head scratching call or two. It appeared they were using Baldwin as a decoy on the 4th down play that Wilson threw a pick on. Seems like he almost outsmarts himself at times, but I guess if the play works it doesn’t come under the same level of scrutiny.
Lets just thank the football gods and accept this for what it was a survival game in awful weather. A win is a win is a win in a game like that.
Wonder if AP is blaming the coaches after today’s game. I don’t think so. It was not the coaches fault he has less than 80yds in 2 games it is great D.
Love to see GB and the Hawks in another NFC final classic. Don’t think they have much of a shot in Ariz but GB and Sea are the two team with experience and leadership so who knows.
Players are probably hoping for Ariz and to never have another cold weather game again after today.
I fully expect for Michael to get the bulk of the snaps in practice this week. He’s earned the right to be the lead back for the rest of the playoff run regardless of how Lynch decides he feels. The dude has been incredibly solid and put up a hell of a performance today. He did his part today and didn’t fumble. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he’s earned my trust as a fan.
Agree completely!
Seriously. If they feed Lynch more first team reps as opposed to Michael I will be pissed. The team should prepare to not have Lynch and if he is a go, then yay. He is an 8 year vet, he should be good on practice. Honestly I wouldn’t be at all disappointed if they just IR’d his ass. I want this narrative to be about the Seahawks finding a new way to establish dominance- not about Lynch and the media. That was just overkill last post season
I agree
Michael has run hard and been tough when needed, but maybe the most important change he’s made is he’s clamped down on the ball and wrapped up when he senses a defender closing in. It’s probably more than what needs to be done, but the “I’m not taking any chances” mentality is most refreshing to see from him.
Shaping up to be a (historic?) Wild Card sweep of the Division Winners.
Maybe time to rethink the seeding structure? Too many bad teams winning bad divisions and getting clowned at home by much better wild card teams that finished second in much better divisions.
I love the way it’s set up. Winning your Division gets you a home game. The Cinncy-Pitt & Minny-Seattle games had epic finishes.
Just watched Petes post game locker room speech. Can’t believe he is the oldest coach in the NFL. Love his enthusiasm and the culture he has created in Sea.
I was frustrated by the number of outside passes and deep passes the Hawks tried today. I. Those conditions, the greater the pass distance, the less the margin for error. The Vikings seemed to make all their positive yards on short passes over the middle and to McKinnon out of the backfield. The PI call Lockett drew was helpful, but on balance those plays resulted in too little reward for the associated risk.
On a positive note, I thought Christine Michael was brilliant. I was worried about him going into the game, but he ran hard AND took very good care of the ball. Excited to have this version of him paired up with Rawls next year.
Probably the best thing about today is i think we came out pretty healthy, and maybe we get Beast and Wilson back next week. Although like most here starting to have some faith in Michael right now. Hes no beast but playing good sound hard nosed ball. Seems like the idea of working at Wall Mart did not appeal to him.
Yes, the cold was a major factor, perhaps THE factor. But I have to wonder if they could have prepared better. Is there “no way to prepare”? Acclimate earlier so conditions are not a surprise. Expect the passing and kicking game to be stifled. If you can’t smashmouth run the ball and control the game, your chances are worse. Which brings us back to the need for a dominating o-line and running attack. Thank goodness the defense was okay today.
Can they prepare better? Yes and no. Until you’re in that situation it’s hard to know what’s going to happen. I think they could’ve adjusted better more than prepared better. But they got it done.
They could have flown in on Monday and practiced in the cold. It isn’t rocket science. It was just more comfortable for them to stay in Seattle.
Are you being serious? Did you really expect them to spend an entire week in Minnesota??
Oh come on, it’s not that bad. The Mall of America is neat and the people are nice.
More seriously, a week in Minn wouldn’t have helped because the temp didn’t drop until Sat.
I think it could have been helpful to come out a few days earlier and do walk throughs in the actual cold.
But the whole message was… we’ve won 5 road games in a row and we’re not changing the regime. If they’d come out early and then they lost — everyone would say it’s because they changed the regime.
Heard Holmgren on the radio last week. He said that when he was in Green Bay and had a really cold game coming up, at first he had the team practice outside with the weather to get acclimated/used to it. He said he figured out it worked better to just practice in comfort indoors and just suck it up on game day because the outdoor/weather practices were so bad.
Ignoring the situation isn’t the way to handle it either. The eagerness to throw deep and the early to mid-game lack of commitment to the run (especially the RO) reeks of the stubbornness that has been a bigger problem than a weak OL ever was.
I don’t think they ignored it. It’s very hard to prepare for a game like this. Let’s say they spend all week assuming how the conditions will impact things. Remember — none of these players or staff have played in such extreme cold before. And when they get there — the forecast is wrong or the weather just doesn’t have the impact you thought.
You’ve adjusted your game plan from a 36-6 beat down against the Cardinals to your own detriment.
They had to prepare as if it was just another game and then adapt on the run. It took them a long time to adapt — too long. But they got there. The throwing deep thing IMO was totally down to the fact neither side was moving the ball and they felt it was their best chance. A chunk play or a flag. Get some big yardage and cheap points because long sustained drives were virtually impossible. And it made total sense IMO.
I’m not sure there was any real adjustment at all, even late.The field goal drive set up by the defense in the 4th featured 2 fruitless deep shots. The opening drive of the 2nd half was pretty well sustained, despite still being ineffective twice throwing deep, including on 4th-and-3 from the MIN 40. The next possession started with 2 plays where Wilson dropped deep and held onto it for awhile.
If there was any real difficulty in sustaining drives, it was generally due to the lack of patience and trying deep shots rather than higher percentage plays to keep the chains moving.
The weather was the great equalizer and, in the end, the Seahawks came up with the explosive plays to win it.
What makes Wilson great is precisely that play to Lockett–turning a 20 yard loss into a 35 yard gain and a near TD. No other QB, including Cam Newton, makes that play. And the Seahawks don’t win without it.
The defense to me is, in someways, more dominant than ever…but also more inconsistent. The way they are playing now, the Seahawks will be in every game.
One thing is clear though, if the Seahawks can’t establish their quick rhythm passing game….every game is going to be a struggle. It would be interesting to see the offensive stats for the last 8 weeks when Wilson passes the ball w/in ~2.5 seconds and when he unloads it from 2.5 to 5 seconds or so. It’s been a Jekyll and Hyde offense this year and which one shows up will go a long way to determining whether they can win their 2nd SB.
Given their pathway to another SB, it’s almost inevitable that they would have to survive a game such as this. Might as well get it out of the way early.
Minnesota’s whole defensive focus was stopping the short passing game – they knew that our deep passing game will not work because of the cold weather. They have a great safety and a great CB to do that.
In Carolina, if we are going to win, it will be because of the passing game. Carolina is down their 2nd and 3rd corners (Benewekere and Tillman – both out for season). Benewekere was a good slot corner. Norman doesn’t really go in the slot so most likely he will be matched up against Lockett. The game will come down to Wilson to Baldwin and Kearse.
Also, their safeties are not great coverage safeties – Harper and Coleman. Coleman has 6-7 INTs but partly that’s because he gets targeted a lot.
Also, having some speed at TE with Willson back will help against the linebackers.
Thoughts?
Sounds like a plan to me.
I’ve always been an advocate of some designed RW runs early just to inject some juice into the offense and loosen the defense up just enough to open a little daylight for the RB’s and the TE’s to get behind the LBs.
It is unfortunate that the uninspired performance against the Rams in week 15 cost us the 5 seed since Washington proved itself to be a pretender not a contender. Should the Packers and Hawks win next week it also cost us a home game. Fisher is probably smiling.
Fishers probably looking at job openings
Everyone go watch Portland Timbers first playoff game in MLS this year.
Portland had no business winning that game… But they did… And then they got hot.
Go Seattle Seahawks… Be the Tombers.
Off-season priority: Ahtyba Rubin. Bring him back.
Yes. If you ask me, he’s better than Mebane.
Rubin was sensational.
Player of the game if you ask me, he was all over it
Next week will seem like the shackles are being removed after what they dealt with today. I think we are easily the better team, but we made some mistakes and that’s life. Carolina will
Be pumped up, and the Hawks will need to bring their best effort… But I do not believe that they can beat us if we play our best. They got lucky last time and the legion remembers… They definitely remember…
Oh man…I was totally spent after that one. But, it was almost impossible for both teams to play in these conditions. -6 to 0 deg F. Are you kidding me? And it hurts our team more because it’s harder to throw the deep ball in such cold; our team in built on taking some of these deep shots which the hawks inevitably did today. And 3 times the receivers were open but all of RW’s throws were underthrown – mostly due to weather.
No blame for the offensive playcalling. Minnesota has a great, great defense at all levels and they did a great job of taking away our quick, short passing game for most of the game – knowing that it’d be very difficult to throw deep.
The ONLY play I had an issue with is on a 2nd and 6 with 2:07 seconds left (Minn had two TOs left). Hawks ran the ball and gained like 1 yard. Why not roll RW out of the pocket on a bootleg or something and throw an intermediate pass that would have taken 7+ seconds anyway? If we get the first down, great, but if we don’t and even if the pass was incomplete, the two minute warning would have stopped the clock anyway.
But anyway, can’t really complain about any offensive issues in such weather. It was BRUTAL.
LMFAO…. “Finally Icing the kicker works”
Could be just me, but after watching the game again, having a WR with some size would’ve been big for us today.
For how many years we all thought Seattle would draft a big target, and I’m sure some of the guys they liked were drafted before their selection. They went with the smaller, quicker wideouts which do fit this offense and RW better to a certain degree.
But, now we’re saying they don’t need a big wideout. Would it shock us if they took one? Point being, we zig and they zag.
I spent the first half thinking Jimmy Graham would’ve been ideal for Seattle. A nice big target they can feed in tough conditions. Getting him back next year will be crucial — even if he isn’t going to be a 1000 yard, 10-TD receiver like in New Orleans.
He will add a nice dimension to the new passing game. I really hope his rehab goes well.
Having Luke Willson in the game would have helped as well.
I 2as thinking the same thing watching the game
I think Jimmy can be Wilson’s security blanket, maybe like Jason Witten or Heath Miller. It would be great to have a target like that.
Jimmy Graham would have been a nice option yesterday.
Interesting article on a guy I have talked about a lot on here as the only true replacement I see in this draft for Irvin or who could be our ideal LEO. Noah Spence I thought his off field baggage might drop him till the end of Rd #1 but I am guessing after Senior Bowl and combine he will be a Top 15 pick. If Shane Ray can get charged for Pot possession prior to the draft and still go in Rd #1 then his guy should be as well if his interviews check out as he is far more gifted athletically. Best hip flexibility and bend around the edge of any prospect I have seen his size. The comp is Von Miller but miller is not as big.
Some of his tape is hit an miss but you cannot miss the athleticism and potential when you watch him and he has been productive since he was a true freshman at Ohio St. Was considered a better prospect than Bosa when they were both Sophmores.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2606705-small-school-pass-rusher-noah-spence-is-2016-nfl-drafts-most-volatile-star
If Shon Coleman, Eli Apple and Cam Sutton are gone then I would be all for taking a shot on Spence. He would contribute as a dynamic pas rusher from Day #1 much like Bruce did even as a rookie IMO.
Woke up this morning and still can’t believe he hooked that kick.
I went from cursing the TV after Kam missed that tackle on Rudolph to near disbelief. No team provides more drama on and off the field than the Hawks under Pete Carrol and I am grateful for being a fan of this team.
I am from Eastern Canada and the year I started watching the NFL Curt Warner was the starting RB and a star for the Hawks. So for no other reason I decided I would be a Hawks fan and grew to love Largent, Easley, Cortez and even dare I say Dave Krieg. For years an SB seemed so far away and my buddies thought I was nuts. Being on the east Coast just north of NE the are all Pats fans. Then Hassleback, Jones and crew teased us so against Pitt. But now this truly is the golden area of being a Hawks fan.
No team provides more excitement and drama than the Hawks and we should relish every moment of it as fans. I know I do! Yesterday’s game was this team in a microcosm (frustrating, exciting, baffling, unrelenting and passionate and successful). The never give up and their stars are stars when it matters most.
Have you ever been out for a game?
Refuse to be a Toronto Bills fan? ha ha
Funny you say that Ed because one of the only Hawks games I have been to was the game in Toronto against the Bills when they crushed them 50-17.
Was also at the dreaded SB loss to the Steelers. Still think they were robbed. Saved up for a year to go and get tickets and then was devastated by that loss.
That is why the SB win vs Den was so sweet. It was like walking through the desert and finally getting a drink after stumbling across an oasis at the halfway mark.
A few “scientific” observation about COLD and why i didnt like the “it will not affect our pla” vibe from the team the past week:
In such harsh conditions the air is dense and the ball travels less. Add to it a very cold and hard ball held by colder fingers with nerve ends that are in shock and everything that has to do with passing especially over distance and accuracy can not be expected to work well.
The body directs more of the blood stream to the torso and head to protect the vital organs and less to the extremities (hands and legs). That makes you slower, weaker and less explosive.
An athlete relies on muscle memory. His body knows what it needs to do in order to obtain a desired result. When you are in such extreme conditions you can not trust your body to do that accurately. It makes your actions partly instinctive and partly conscious. You need to concentrate to overcome the above and that makes you less effective. It also affects your concentration, decisions making, response speed, communication etc. It will obviously have a bigger effect over skill actions and that played against us.
A good example of those combined effects is a kicker, after seeing Sherman diving from the right and almost blocking his previous FG he may compensate by trying to get the kick a bit faster and avoid going to the right in case the blocker makes it there. In those conditions, that kick could easily end a yard to far left.
When you add the above it becomes clear that the preparation for such a game should have been simplifying the game plan and concentrating on executable individual tasks and using your advantages repeatedly. The “we don’t think the cold will be a problem and we are not changing our plans” was not the perfect preparation.
I felt that the Seahawks did not respect the above effects enough and did not have the proper game plan for this game and just came to do what they always do. MIN played a game plan that was suited to the elements. Simple, short, safe. It was only in 4th qtr playing from behind that they extended it and suffered those sacks etc.
We survived it. I’m sure that the next time we play at such extreme conditions there are many lessons learned that will be implemented.
If you want to win in unusual conditions you need to practice in those conditions. Whether it is cold or heat or mile high air. Get out there and practice in it. Quit acting like it doesn’t matter what the conditions are because you are so macho and it just won’t affect you. It will affect the team and then need to be prepared to deal with it. No long sleeves, no gloves, are we playing in Miami???? Need to get out of their home field comfort zone.
Exactly. They should have taken the time to acclimate. Probably would have won the game without so much drama.
It’s possible many Seattle fans have never experienced such cold. The coldest I had experienced in the state as 10 above, and that was in Spokane. Having since lived in Denver (41 below) and upstate New York (many sub-zero days) I can’t imagine playing football in those conditions. Despite being able to fully dress, you still can’t function normally, as EranUnger points out. And it was obvious on the field.
Sure, both teams suffer the same disadvantage, but to EranUnger’s point, it didn’t seem like Seattle (or Wilson) truly respected the challenge. And it almost cost them the game.
First winter in western Wisconsin we had a 15 day streak where the high was below zero.
We looked like Ralphie’s little brother in Christmas Story when we’d go out for some night hockey/broomball.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like in basically lycra bike shorts.
hogwash
The Hawks are being trashed on blogs as the luckiest team ever. I don,t see it that way. 4 years ago we lost a divisional game in Atlanta on a field goal with 10 seconds remaining, then last years Super Bowl loss with alittle over one minute to go. Breaks usually even out over a period of time. I look at the field goal situation as a wash. They missed a easy field goal , we handed them a easy field goal in the first qtr. Football should never have to be played in that kind of weather, that was inhumane. We did not get to see the full potential of either team. I feel confident the Hawks will give Carolina a run for their money next week. I amonly concerned about possibly returning to Green Bay with similar weather conditions.
I would bet on RW wearing glove’s in Green Bay with similar conditions. Lesson learned?
Seahawks were lucky. So what!!! We deserve it.
At this point in the season, every team needs a little bit of luck to keep playing in the tournament.
I can’t think of one team over the past, IDK how many years, that haven’t had some type of luck and advanced in the playoffs.
I don’t get the debate at all.
1. Who cares if we’re lucky? Should we apologize for that? Or just concede that we aren’t worthy? Is that the correct protocol?
2. Why does it matter to Seattle fans if we’re getting bashed by other fans about how lucky we are? Do we require that all other fans appreciate and love our Hawks like we do? Do we need their permission and acceptance that we’re not lucky — but simply good?
Ultimately, I don’t need outside confirmation about the Seahawks’ worthiness to enjoy this team. We were damned lucky yesterday. We were fortunate to be in a close game and in close games the routine misplay or bad luck play often times looks like the sole reason for the outcome. When in reality these same miscues are just lost to oblivion in games that aren’t close. Because they didn’t affect the outcome of the game. There were easily 20 other plays that could/should have been made (or not made) that would have sealed the win for Minnesota.
We don’t necessarily deserve luck. It’s pretty much random. Although it tends to smile on teams that can keep games close more than others.
I’m with you, other than being lucky it was close. Definitely lucky to get the miss and the end result, but I could never imagine the Vikes pulling away to any real degree.
Man, if the Seahawks had lost on a Hauschka shank in the exact same way, you know who would be bashed? Still the Seahawks.
That stuff is like mother’s milk as far as I’m concerned. How many years we were just out there in Alaska (no offense, AlaskaHawk), churning out 8-8 seasons. Fact that the Seahawks are relevant enough to be so feared … relevant enough for hate and schadenfreude and rending of garments … it’s all a part of the golden age. The subtext of that stuff is all “@#$! Vikings you had a chance to slay the dragon … now we gotta see them in Carolina.” Basically the game was a tie in terms of run of play and scores. The winner is always going to be somewhat about luck; the Vikings got FG1 on a short field and FG3 on a ridiculous PI call. Seahawks got the TD thanks to a great, but also lucky, play by RW. Last break ended up being ours. That’s the way the cookie crumbles and I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen it crumble agin’ us too many times over the years to apologize about it.
As my nym would imply, I attended the game. It was … not comfortable. 12s represented well. I’m not a native Minnesotan and didn’t go to the regular season game here, nor any other Vikes games. Minnesota Nice definitely applies to the Vikings fans … a very genial bunch. And fatalistic. So many people even in the immediate aftermath filing out of the stadium not even mad about it, just talking matter of factly about “of course, because Vikings.”
I’ve found Vikings fans to be among the most pleasant and personable out there.
My dad said to me, if you go to the game, you’ll always have a great story – and we do indeed have that!
Everyone was very nice and friendly – the couple of people who were jerks had a few too many, and I didn’t take it personally.
My next door neighbor is a born and breed Vikings fan from Minnesota. ‘Fatalistic’ is a great descriptor of his demeanor today. Now that I think about it, he was that way before the game too, when he actually said to me somewhat glumly, ‘nobody wants to play Seattle.’ He was right about the result, if not the reasons for it.
Football can be cruel.
And the Patriots weren’t lucky in the SB?
Two major reactions from the Viking’s game:
1 – hope Cards beat the Packers. No more games in those conditions.
2 – yes, Rubin should be a priority re-signing, but the top priority is to keep the current 0-line. That means making Okung the priority. Reasoning goes like this: it took half the season to get the o-line to gell, and that first half cost Seattle the division, a first round bye and resulted in having to play this ugly game. Don’t go through that again. Make sure you begin the season with a decent o-line. Re-sign Okung. Try to re-sign Sweezy (although Glow makes that less urgent). Pick up Mack in FA, or draft the best center in the draft. Draft a couple of o-lineman, mid to late rounds.
Am I over-reacting? Perhaps, but if Seattle fields a competent o-line, nobody can beat them (in normal conditions). This strategy allows Seattle to draft impact players throughout the draft, offense or defense. It allows them to go into next year with a minimal baseline on their offensive line.
I agree with you on resigning Okung. However I expect the Seahawks to draft at least two offensive linemen and bring in some UDFA. The offensive line has looked bad at the start of every season for the last three years. Nothing will change until they get the right starters that can sustain a running game and provide pass protection. The offensive line can and should be be upgraded. Let’s just see which linemen we like in the college national championship tonight and draft accordingly. I’ll start with Alabama center Kelly who can be drafted in the mid rounds. I’m not trying to pick on Lewis, I’m just saying if the Seahawks can upgrade they should.
Okung is the must sign in my mind, followed closely by Lane and Rubin. Mebane, if they don’t lure in a younger talented veteran DT. I think Glowinski should be able to handle RG. I can see drafting a center to compete with Lewis, but I don’t think this is a great center draft, and don’t see them drafting one high. I like Jack Allen in the mid round range.
Glowinski appears poised to be an upgrade at RT. Sweezy is a hell of a 2nd level blocker. But who cares if he takes out the LB every now and then? His passpro is atrocious.
I wonder if Nowak will win the job next summer?
Rubin, Lane, Shead priority. Okung, Sweezy, not so much
Irvin?
No thank you on Sweezy. JR McWhiffersen needs to move on. Okung stays for the right price. Lewis is a solid, solid backup for a great team. Is he good enough to excel against good teams? Britt is just a guy. Honestly, we need to draft a guard and maybe a center if we keep Okung.
I think ever since Wilson learned he can step up into the pocket, Okung’s value to Seahawks rose. It’s very tough to say goodbye to an above average LT like Okung. At this point, making a fair extension with Okung is just as much as a priority as reaching an agreement with Kam and Lynch. I’d let Sweezy go. Resigning Athyba Rubin and Jeremy Lane are also a priority. Depending on how well PC/JS handle the Lynch departure, they can even study an Irvin extension.
Going into the draft, in the first two days I’d target CBs, LBs (specially if we can’t resign Irvin) and C. We need to target LBs even if we don’t resign Irvin, because if we can’t reach any agreement with Kam, I think the best possibility for us to replace him is with KPL or Shead. Shead is OK outside but I’d rather see the Seahawks going for a more natural CB outside in the first three rounds.
Day three, first thing I want the Seattle Seahawks to get is a short yardage receiving option. I have two ideas of this guy in my mind. The first is a pass catcher that plays on the backfield, to play third downs to complement Rawls and Michael. The other idea would be a more reliable TE than Luke Willson that could allow Graham to fly around the offense more often. Also, on day three, I’d seek a Guard that can compete with Britt and Glowinski (and hopefully Sokoli), and depth at the front 7.
The GBP-ARI game got a little more interesting. ARI loses Okafor and Redding for the season and GBP won’t have Devante Adams for at least this game.
IMO Redding is the bigger loss, even though Okafor starts, because Kareem Martin is an effective replacement. Redding is key in the ARI DL rotation. I know they signed Justin Babin to help, but how effective can he be at 35?
Interesting analysis of the missed kick: http://insidethepylon.com/film-study/film-study-nfl/special-teams-film-study-nfl/2016/01/10/explaining-blair-walsh-missed-field-goal/
How badly do Minnesota need another receiver?
Wallace is surely gone.
It was absolutely crazy cold yesterday and we were on the sunny side. I cannot imagine how cold it was on the Seahawks sideline – so do not underestimate that the weather played a part. We were in the west end zone and I knew that not much was going to happen at our end for scoring, so I was happy when I knew we’d have the ball in the 4th Q going east. I always felt that we would win the game and I think the Vikings fans knew how fragile the lead was regardless of their bravado. So when Russell made his fantastic play, you could have heard a pin drop in our section. I turned around and said – I’m sorry, but Russell Wilson is the only guy who can make that play.
We had a bad view of the kick so everyone thought Blair had made it – and I felt a bit bad for the Viking fans – tough loss. But, the fans were fantastic – mutual respect – and I think they gave us a bit of credit for showing up to watch the game. They were shocked that we came. When I explained that we got our game tickets, airfare and hotel for less than a ticket, they couldn’t believe it.
It really was a great weekend – for all the bad we hear about opposing fans, it reminded me that there are far more good fans than bad.
Minnesota did what it could, their defense was solid, but obviously if Russell had been able to throw those passes on time and deep enough, both Lockett and Baldwin were open in the end zone.
Happy for the win, and any of these road wins will be tough.
Cool story, man. Way to represent. I’ve been in that kind of cold once in my life in Montana. It’s almost impossible to breathe. It’s so cold the moisture in your mouth and throat freezes with each breath. No desire to ever experience that again.
The way I see it, the field goals were a wash. The Hawks handed them a chip shot in the first qtr, they missed a chip shot in the 4th. Throw those out you get 10-6 end of story.
Any sleepers we should be watching in the game tonight?
If we lose Mebane in FA, any thoughts on #48 for Clemson, DJ Reader, 6-3, 325? Looks and moves a lot like Bane.
Reader is definitely interesting. I kind of like OJ Eilliams the bama tight end. He can block a little and has good hands. More of a traditional TE, something we lack.
Williams.
Ok, seriously. Auto correct… OJ Howard.
I actually thought Clemson DT Carlos Watkins showed better than Reader.
But the guy that I still like and is the most under appreciated/under rated D-lineman on ‘Bama is DJ Pettway. That boy can play.
Fair enough on Watkins over Reader. Pettway looks more like an outside guy and not an interior run stuffer. I’m wondering about replacements for Mebane if we cut ties.
Pettway made a statement last night. Not sure if I like him for SEA. He seems redundant to Frank Clark.
The game reminded me of the playoff victory over the Cowboys when Romo couldn’t handle the snap on what was an even shorter FG try and Babs tackled him before he could run for a first down.
I haven’t gone back to watch Blair’s missed FG but it seemed to me that they went with a quick count to neutralize Sherm’s rush and that Blair rushed his leg “swing” and hooked the ball just like I do when I rush my golf swing.
I question whether there were headset communications issues. It looked to me that Lewis was late making his presnap blocking calls because the Vikes were disguising their defensive alignments until the last possible moments.
I really want Seahawks to pick Alabama tight end OJ Howard. Great blocker.
And as I said above, good hands when they ask him to receive.
I recorded so a little behind. Howard had a nice catch coming out of the backfield. Nice run and gain on the play.
I’d be for another Zach Miller-type TE.
You and everyone else who watched that game haha. He looked good but we already are going to have Graham and Willson next year. I think we are set at tight end when it comes to adding players.
And big time touchdown for Howard!!!
Two TDs in the game, I really like Howard. He is fast, good hands, good blocker.
Wilson should have worn gloves yesterday. I took my camera out and snapped some pictures and my fingers were literally frozen and couldn’t do anything 20-30 seconds after I had taken off my gloves and mittens (yes, gloves over gloves over mittens). It was crazy stupid cold.
My buddy got a water at halftime. By the end of the third quarter it was rock solid. Not slushy. A frozen block of ice in that last 1/4 of plastic bottle. I saw a beer can (must have snuck it in) as I was leaving that had literally exploded (as you see when you leave something in your own freezer too long).
I am from Minnesota and went to the game five weeks ago. Wilson was fine five weeks ago. He was walking around and talking to people and looking at photos of the Vikings defense. Yesterday I saw him do very little of that (I was in the first row behind the bench for both games). The only thing he cared about was his hands and keeping them warm. His meeting time with Bevell, Carroll, and receivers was limited in terms of what it was like at the game five weeks ago. If we travel to Green Bay in two weeks and it’s another game around zero – we’re not going to score many points.
Tiny hands Bridgewater had a much easier time with the ball wearing gloves than did Wilson and his big hands with no gloves. Time to let technology be your friend, Russ, if this team plays the Packers in 13 days.
http://overthecap.com/one-offseason-move-for-every-team-afc-edition/
Bit of light reading.
On the idea of Irvin leaving and finding a replacement for him at SAM. What do you all think of the possibility of using Kam as SLB? Will Kam extend his career by playing down in the box? He’s more then capable of just destroying people at SAM, and dropping into coverage as well as providing safety depth, but giving McCray the start in 2016 at SS?
I know this seems like a long shot, but Kam has not looked good in coverage this year and has just not been himself. Thoughts?
Three years ago, I went on a rant on this very subject. He was getting killed on coverage, (two bad mistakes against the redskins, late getting over against Atlanta and we fell short). Well, they resigned him and I thought he should have moved to linebacker. Well, you know what happened next. I think once he gets healthy he should be ok. He hasn’t been right in about a year, really. He can’t miss another camp, though.
The problem is, even as a SAM, Kam would still have to cover. He doesn’t do it well.
Maybe the Seahawks defense will play more of an AZ Cardinals style… Kam taking the place of their LB/SS type…. Buchanan. Not saying it would happen or should happen, but it would be intriguing in certain match-ups or formations.
Kam had a terrible game vs the Vikings, but the strip covers a multitude of sins. First game back after missing 3 with hip injury. Hopefully, he is better this week. He never had leverage vs the FO; he has even less now! Another holdout would be laughable. As the game and Seahawks evolve, I think our next SS will be better in coverage and not as formidable in run support.
I think they will try to keep Irvin. With him at SAM, there is hardly ever anything going on in his neighborhood. He just quietly shuts down that part of the field without much fanfare. And Pete just loves having Irvin roaring off the edge in our NASCAR package! Remember the back to back sacks last year vs Panthers? On the second sack that effectively ended the game, Bruce HURDLED the LT to sack Cam!
Clemson is every bit as good a team as Alabama. Their defensive front 7 played like warriors tonight. Alexander’s injury hurt bad. Watson is the real deal.
But Nick Saban, oh my. Bloody freaking brilliant.
BTW, the most entertaining college title game in a long time. At least until the final few minutes.
I agree. Thought it was a great game.
I remember you mentioning HB Kenyan Drake a while back. The kid has overcome a lot. He’s very intriguing as a 3rd down back. Great size and speed, can line up on the outside, decent pass protector.
Would have liked to have seen Ohio State play Bama. Clemson is good but Ohio State going to have like a 11 or 12 player drafted in to 100.
Maybe for the playoff round – it would’ve been a better game than Mich State. But not for the championship. Clemson was better than Ohio State and as good as ‘Bama. The difference in the game was busted coverage downfield – Alexander’s injury was huge – and Saban’s onside kick call.
If Ohio State made the playoff it wouldnt suprise me if they beat Clemson and Bama. Urban myer best coach in CFB. Look at there roster.
Bosa top 3 pick
App;e first RD
Lee first RD
Wsahington 2nd Round
Bell 2nd or 3RD
Jones back up QB 4or 5th RD
Miller 3rd RD
Thomas 1st RD
zeke 1st RD
vennat 3rd or 4TH
Decker 1st RD
6 first rounders and berret might go high when he comes out
Maybe so but a team is usually more than the sum of its parts.
And it’s empirically clear that Nick Saban is the best coach in CFB.
Meyer didn’t look too great in losing to MSU.
Saban didnt look so good losing to ol Miss.
Urban Meyer is 50-4 with Ohio State. 3 time National Champ might have 4 if not for taking over for OSU 2012 that went 12-0 but were on probation. Was 22-2 with Utah. Beat Saban in last years National Champ game despite being a 9 point dog.
Not saying he isn’t a great coach; he’s clearly one of the very best in recent history. He’s also not immune to doing a bad job for a given game. That MSU team that couldn’t hang with Alabama beat that loaded OSU team in Columbus with an inexperienced backup QB due entirely to bad game plan and playcalling by Meyer and and his staff.
That said, OSU is one of those teams that generally has the ability to beat anyone if they play to their talent level. One of the understated things about college sports these days is the increased likelihood that a given team plays well below their talent level for a game.
Jalin Marshall and Josh Perry will be drafted too.
What a great game.
Anyone have anything on Vic Ochi, DE/OLB, Stony Brook? 6’2, 250-255 lbs. 47 tackles, 16.5 TFL, 13 QB sacks. Dude’s quite the physical specimen too.
So pumped for the game this week. Two heavyweights that are almost mirror images of one another.
I love our chances in this game and think we win 27-17.
Only concerns in this game
#1 Kam in pass coverage has been a disaster this year. They have to figure out how to stop Olsen. He is their #1 target and I hope they come up with a plan for him.
#2 Cam Newton on runs from broken plays and even designed runs. Very much like Russ these runs can kill a defense on 3rd down when extending drive and this game features the two best QB runners in the NFL in that regard.
#3 Pressure up the middle from Short. It was a huge issue last game and I hope the middle of our line sures up and gives Russ some time. That Carolina secondary is old and beat up. They ripe for the picking if he has time and just stays away from Josh Norman IMO. The other safeties and corners are all below average.
I’m pretty sure the first game Patrick Lewis started this year was vs CAR. And Short abused him. He’ll have a bit more experience the second time around.
Losing Tukuafu would really hurt. The best chance SEA has to run vs CAR is to block Kuechly at the point of attack. It’s much harder to try running away from him. He’s too fast.
You’re right about their secondary being the weak link. Just stay away from Norman’s side.
I’m not crazy about not challenging Norman. Baldwin is playing as well as anyone at the moment and I don’t think the Hawks should shy away from matching them up and throwing in his direction. Baldwin repeatedly had some room on Revis in the SB last year.
Very happy that Willson is projecting available for this game. He could definitely have some key plays this week.
Baldwin will get his touches, but it may be a game where No E and Kearse get more targets. No E has been able to beat his man deep in numerous games, we just need Russell to get his timing down and hit that play. If he does, it will open Baldwin up as well. Luke Willson back should help too.
Big drop off in DB play after Norman. But Norman baits and jumps routes for ints. And Lockett and Baldwin have sick double moves. I predict we use Normans lust for ints and riverboat gambler approach against him…Lockett clowns Norman with sick double move for 6!
OJ Howard earned himself some $ last night. Career with limited production after being a 5 star recruit but boy he looked like a pro last night.
Howard is a well rounded player that can block or catch the ball, and has enough speed to get open. He is a 2-3 rounder after last nights performance.
http://overthecap.com/one-offseason-move-for-every-team-nfc-edition/
Seattle Seahawks: Trade/Release Jimmy Graham
Seattle is the best in the NFL at admitting mistakes and finding their way to reduce the impact of those mistakes as soon as they can. The Seahawks never seemed comfortable using Graham the way he was used in New Orleans and Graham certainly did not seem comfortable in the offense. Graham will cost $9 million next season and for what he will do in the offense that is too much to spend especially given some other contracts that may be coming up. Trading him will prove more difficult because of a season ending injury but if they can not find a suitor for him they should move on as it is best for both sides.
Disagree wholeheartedly
I don’t think there is any chance that happens if he bounces back from injury. I think he will be a key part of the team next year.
When Graham got injured Wilson was just starting to hit his stride…their connection was looking good, and he was contributing well (for a TE). Trading or releasing him would be the wrong move, especially with Lynch being on his last leg. If he doesn’t click in next year, or if he never fully recovers from this injury, then I’ll start considering a release…give it some time.
I was sure it was gonna say, release lynch.
Don’t think it would happen, but would be ok with losing Lynch/Graham/Okung/Sweezy/Kearse. Use that money to get 2 of 3 (Thomas/Boone/Mack), resign Lane/Shead/Rubin/Tukuafua/Irvin. Move
Wison can avoid outside rush, but can’t avoid inside rush. He has also shown the ability to not need a tru #1. When Bevell sets it up and the offensive line gives him a little time, Wilson makes it happen regardless of his weapons.
Total nonsense IMO.
For starters — Graham was having a fantastic game vs Pittsburgh (the moment SEA’s offense exploded) before the injury. Who knows how ‘comfortable’ he’d be looking right now? Nothing was comfortable about SEA’s offense in the first half of the season.
Secondly, the Seahawks don’t need cap room. They’ll have $34m to spend anyway. Another $9m gets you what exactly? Are they going to go out and make another big splash? Why not just give Graham the chance to return? If he never reaches full capability again you can move on in 2017. But to cut him and admit you totally wasted another first rounder because of one injury would be barmy.
Disappointed this is what OTP came up with.
I’m not saying for cap room, I’m saying for value. Was he starting to gel, yes, but Wilson has shown since he has been hurt he doesn’t need that #1. Put. That $9 million to work other places
“Disappointed this is what OTC came up with”
I know! I was patiently waiting for the NFC edition to come out.
Agree. You spent the draft capitol, let’s see if it can payoff in year two. His learning curve will be very small and he will know the scheme. He could be HUGE for Seattle in 2016.. no way I would cut him. A trade is a slight possibility, but only for something more than we gave-up to get him… a 1st round pick.
Seattle wants Jimmy healthy.
The only way I could actually see them cut JG is if he is injured so badly that he will not see the field for the 2016 season AND he won’t restructure AND the Hawks have some high profile signee they are about to ink and need that cap space right now.
I do wonder why we’ve never heard any kind of a timeline about his potential return, or did I just miss it?
With the new Money Ball approach they plan to take. Most expect them to trade Joe Thomas. If your the Seahawks this off season and you had the option between signing Russell Okung to a long term deal or trade your first round pick to Cleveland for Joe Thomas and the remaining three years $29 million left on his deal, would you do it?
Thomas has been an Iron Man and the best OT in the game. But Okung is well above average when healthy and boy it would be nice to add a 1st round talent to this lineup. What’s your thoughts?
I would love it, if we could spend this off season, aiming to have a top 5 offensive line(via veteran acquisitions and picks), we would be unstoppable.
We wouldn’t be giving up 4th quarter leads like we started the season doing.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Moneyball approach applies to football. All good GM’s are already looking for market inefficiencies, and it’s been talked about trading a low 1st round pick for an established star player is a pretty good trade.
Not only is Thomas maybe the best LT in the league, he has a team friendly contract with no dead money should he get injured or suddenly stop being effective. I’ll be interested to see how this new regime values him in the trade market.
If he’s available for the Hawks #1 pick that would be tempting. Getting the best LT in the league and probably a good 2017 comp pick for letting Okung go might be too much to pass on.
I have heard this thought before, and it confuses me. At the cost of a 1st round pick, you trade a good OT for a better one, with no positive cap implications.
Why not just re-sign Okung and use your first round pick for an impact player for far less?
The o-line move that seems far more appealing (and potentially of far greater value in terms of improving the position) is to sign Mack in FA. Cost $s, but no draft picks.
Upgrade the position, the guy is more chance of playing 16 games, plus it’s a pay as you go deal.
There would have to be some element of guaranteed money if you sign Okung.
I’m not in favor of replacing Okung with Thomas if it costs a R1 pick. I’d prefer they add Mack in FA – it doesn’t cost anything other than the cap hit, and as he’s a bigger upgrade over Lewis than Thomas is over Okung. Also, IMO Okung’s health is often negatively overstated.
But you make an interesting point about guaranteed money.
FWIW, I’ve seen a couple of articles projecting the coming off-season moves for each team that think Okung will move on from SEA.
I agree. Would rather they keep Okung.
I like Joe Thomas, but not impressed with Cleveland’s O-line.
Mack isn’t the same player that he was two years ago. I was a huge fan but I’m watching him this year and wondering who that guy was. Joe Thomas >>> Mack and for the money, definitely JT. Okung isn’t special, he’s solid, but he’s often injured. I’ll take an almost site thing and an upgrade and sign maybe a very guard and draft another.
“it doesn’t cost anything other than the cap hit”
It would nullify an Irvin or Okung comp pick should they get signed elsewhere for an equivalent $ or reduce the number of comp picks the Hawks get in 2017.
Interesting idea. Joe Thomas hasn’t missed a game in 9 years and has racked up 6 first team all pro nods. He’s amazing. But I think we as fans tend to underestimate how much teams can value their draft picks. Especially first round picks that have the 5th year option (although we have declined to pick those up the two times we’ve had the chance).
I think if Okung can be re-signed at a reasonable price it would be tough to part with a 1st round pick, even though it would be a relatively low one.
I’ve run the numbers and found that every time the Seahawks trade away their first round pick they lose approximately 43 million dollars in value over the next 4 years. This has to do with the cheap value of a first round draft pick vs the 10 million/year + signing bonus value of whatever player is traded for.
The single most effective thing that the Seahawks can do to upgrade their roster is to stop trading first round picks for free agents.
Texas A&M CB De’Vante Harris is this year’s Jeremy Lane IMO. Long, lean, great press technique, never turns his back to the QB, tremendous tackling sklls, locates/finds the ball, just a cocky, disruptive corner. Very underrated.
Yeah, 801st ranked player on CBS. That’s pretty lowly rated, sure.
I forgot. CBS sports is the universal draft board.
CBS’ rankings are more miss than hit.
I would check him out on a few other sites, then you can get a better idea where he might be ranked. Each has their own write-ups and draft coverage.. so you can get various takes on players. That is how I try to get a draft range for players.. taking combo of 3-4 sites and merge them together.
Haha
@studythetape: if the Chargers and Rams end up sharing an LA stadium, and Dodge doesnʼt buy its naming rights, someone in marketing needs the sack
LOL good one.
I’ll be curious to see if the LA battle changes the NFC West. The league wouldn’t want two AFC West teams sharing a stadium, and reports are the Chargers & Raiders proposals include their total cooperation in changing conferences with whatever the league decides.
Our division will go from being the NFC mostly West to the NFC West. Do you think the Rams will still kickoff at 10am PT for their home game against the Seahawks just to be dicks?
you need a raise ~ Dodge
Kevin Dodd did as much or more to improve his draft stock than any other prospect in last night’s title game. I see a lot of ‘Mosesbread’ to his game. His get-off, lateral agility, hand use, motor, length – all of it.
He finished the year with 23.5 TFL and 11 sacks opposite of, and overshadowed by, Lawson (who had 19 TFL and 13.5 sacks). Lawson likely with be a top 10 pick, at least the first half of R1.
Is Dodd a top 100 prospect? Might he last to the end of R3, and if yes, would he be a good pick for SEA there?
His get-off looked slow/bad to my eye. Could just be a technique issue.
I’m going to say, yes, he will last until the end of round 3.
Having said that, he’s interesting. Has the look and play of an NFL offensive linerman, great production, looks versatile, I just don’t see quick twitch with him. But, to be fair, I’m not seeing very many quick twitch players overall in this class, in terms of edge rushers or defenders.
I almost wonder if Dodd would be better suited as an under sized 3-tech.
I think he would be better as an inside rusher. He has a great motor and uses his hands really well. CHawk was right his lateral agility looked really good. Not sure he has the quicks off the edge but I liked his game.
He looks like a classic Carolina or NYG D-lineman.
FWIW, Matt Miller, with whom I often disagree wildly, has Dodd at #25 overall on his Big Board and the #3 DE.
Yeah- not a fan of his either. He also had us picking ND WR Will Fuller in his last mock draft IIRC.
Does he still have Penn St DT Austin Johnson in the 1st round?
I thought Dodd had good hand technique and skills that will translate well in the NFL. A solid player. Third round would be a good spot for him.
Great article on the Seahawks culture and being Seahawky.
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/pete-carrolls-creation-theyre-not-just-football-players-theyre-seahawks/
Dear Rob,
Please write a new article soon. I’m starting to develop an unhealthy refresh obsession.
Signed,
Concerned Blogger
Ditto!
Lets give him some story ideas.
How about a Seahawks draft based on any two college teams? I’ll start with Clemson and Alabama.
Apologies — been a bit tied up with work. We’re doing the podcast tonight.
I think we should all bow our head and thanks the gods that we have an owner who cares about the Seahawks and Seattle. What is transpiring to the St Louis and the Rams almost happened to Seattle not that long ago.
Thanks you Paul Allen.
I’m still pissed that the Supersonics left town. How can Seattle get a basketball team? They got the billionaire owners, they just need a team.
And not just any team. I want OUR team back and only our team.
Since May 31, 2008, shortly after the Sonics last game in Seattle, Chesapeake Energy Corporation stock price has gone from $62.40 a share to $3.77 today. Aubrey McClendon, the money man behind the heist has been booted out of his own company as CEO. Oklahoma has been riddled with earthquakes. The Zombie Sonics have been riddled with injuries.
When they return home they will win a title.
What do you guys think our advantages against Carolina will be?
I think OLine might be both of our teams weaknesses on offense. But I think ours is a nod better and better equipped to deal with their front 7. I don’t see Carolina getting into a rhythm against us.
They store thin at CB and Receiving options for Cam to throw to, so I think we’ll have a tremendous advantage in the air
No E can change a game at any minute.
I feel like this could get ugly quick if all of our guys come out fired up and our offense plays just a decent game, but am anticipating a low scoring, grind it out game like we always have with Carolina.
I really do think we got a way better team, looking at Carolinas roster on ourlads, and it doesn’t look like a number 1 seed type of a team, much less a conference champion.
It will be cool to see if our Kam has a similar postseason to last, in the game against Carolina last year he made so many plays, the Pick 6 that sealed it. Jumped over there line twice in a row on those fg attempts, and tho they were meaningless, they prolly were a little intimidating to Carolina. He also had that big hit on Tolbert, it was one of those hits where you almost feel sorry for the guy…almost.
I’m hoping our guys come out and play to there potential, if Carolina wins fair and square, ill be good with it. I would just hate to lose in a fashion where we dont show up, or the refs have a nig negative impact.
I’m just happy we caught a break and we are getting another shot at this thing
*are so thin at wr and cb
**big negative impact
That hit on Tolbert is what makes Kam so unique IMO. He’s a tone setter. One big hit from him early in a game can change the whole complexion of the other team. The last guy to do that was Ray Lewis.
Had Carolina not beat us in week 6 was it, I’m not convinved they woulda went on to have the season they did.
Seahawks have to start fast on offense. Too many games have started with three and outs, over and over through the half. Mr. Conservative making the play calls, punctuated by the occasional long bomb with small percentage of success. Just open it up from the first play and act like a championship team. RW needs to be decisive when he is chased and throw the ball away quickly.
Carolina is supposed to be weak in the secondary, so lets get some rhythm with the throwing game. And for goodness sake, thow the ball downfield and not to the sideline. Jeez.
Also the Seahawks will need a Cam Newton spotter for the game. Wagner or Shead would be a good choice.
Both good choices, but KJ is probably the best spy we got.
He certainly has the best instincts and is the most versatile.
Yeah, those sideline routes are maddening. They are low percentage plays because they are slow to develop and require our Oline to hold up in passpro longer, which usually causes Russ to bail and cue Benny Hill theme. Also, those sideline patterns allow the DBs to gain leverage using the sidelines. And finally, those are typically longer and more difficult throws because of the angle and sideline. Our offense went on an epic run of productivity during the last half of the season by spreading out the defense and featuring quick hitters in the short and intermediate middle of the field. The only way to really stop that is line up Aaron Donald to blow up the middle of our Oline or pray for an arctic blast! But the Panthers have Kawaan Short and Star Lotueii!
Tall order, but if our GCG play well, I think our offense will light up the Panthers and their ok secondary. Gotta stay on top of Gill and help Kam with Olsen. I desperately hope the Seahawks game-plan to spread out the Panthers D and force them to play small with only 6 in the box!
Who’s Gill?
Gynn?
Ginn
Has Seattle ever drafted more than 2 juniors in the same draft class under PC/JS? And I’m not talking UDFA’s.
Shon Coleman is starting to show up on a lot of the national blogs now. I knew he was too good to slip through the reeds to us. Another nice early call Rob.
So is Eli Apple.
He’s suddenly shown up at #35 on walterfootballs latest mock, after not appearing anywhere in the first 4 rounds a week ago.
Draft breakdown has us selecting Shon Coleman.
How ironic would it be if the Rams sign RG3? Kind of like SEA resigning CMike while netting a R6 pick, but writ LARGE.
The Rams salaries are really low. Only four players have a base salary over 6 million per year. I hope the Seahawks start poaching players off their team. It would be a twofer, get a good player and weaken the Rams. Incidentally, Spotrac already has them listed as Los Angeles Rams.
That’s about to change though, they have a lot of key free agents this off season. Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson are going to eat up a lot of their cap room if they decide to sign both.
Interesting.
John Clayton aka ‘Poindexter’ said he thinks Kaepernick will be a Ram next year.
I also wonder if Dallas or Houston will make a run for RG3?
Very curious as to where the both of them end up.
Likely Manziel could be in the mix too. ESPN reported that Cleveland told Hue Jackson that working with Manziel was not a pre-requisite in taking the HC job.
I wonder if someone like Houston tries to make a trade for McCarron.
I don’t know that LAR are interested in RG3, but considering the king’s ransom they received from WAS for the pick that he was drafted with…
Also, PFF sez: Aaron Donald is the best player in the NFL
Aaron Donald could easily be the NFL’s best. Just an unstoppable, brilliant player.
Aaron Donald is one of the best DT in the league…. definitely top 3
JJ Watt is one of the best DEs pass rushers in the league… definitely top 3
K. Mack is one of the best LBs in the league… definitely top 3
Each was “greatness” this season. I could see any of them getting the DPOY.
Perhaps we are seeing some of the greatest defensive players to ever play, while the league has become so lopsided to offensive football. Each was voted as an All-pro. Each has a chance to walk into Canton one day, if they keep this up for 3-4 more years.
It is also crazy to think, in an era of offensive football, Seattle has been able to play as a team and have the lowest PPG average for 4 years in a row. That is an impressive legacy as well.
DeSean Jackson might get cut… He has one year left at $8million.
Would anyone take a one year flyer on him here?
In 2016 Lynch will be gone.
Rawls and probably a rookie will be RBs, if Seattle likes “Explosive Plays”, wouldn’t Baldwin/Lockett/DeSean Jackson be a pretty tough trio? All of a sudden the NFL media would say we have one of the BEST WR groups!
Albeit, not sure i would want another possible Percy Harvin situation. Another “outsider” with a high dollar coming in. Although everyone seems to really like Jimmy Graham, and it would be a one year deal. If it worked, then extend him…If we did this, we would also extend Baldwin first, and have to let Kearse walk for the cap space…
An idea…any takers? Rob?
I’d take him in a heartbeat. One of my favorite players in the league. Him and Sherm are extremely close, so he does have built in relationships already. And I think PC recruited him too.
Would love that move myself. Ya got me excited just thinking of the possibility.
A couple of boneheaded plays on the weekend.
Would PC tolerate that?
One where he cost his team 7, and another where he turned back towards the line of scrimmage, and just sat there waiting for the ball to land on his chest, gives the DB a play on the ball and results in an incompletion.
He takes 2 steps back towards the ball and he grabs it easy.
Why have we all given up on Richardson?
U know what they say potential gets your coach fired, he’s shown flashes but can’t make the team from the tub.
I don’t think anyone has given up on P-Rich. Seattle clearly likes and has a lot of time for him. Thing is, can you trust him to stay healthy?
IMO, he might be best as that shot in the arm off the bench. Specifically design a package for him.
I’m expecting their WR core next year to be, Baldwin, Lockett, Kearse, rookie, P-Rich, and Lockette. And either Smith or Kasen on the PS. Maybe both.
Don’t forget that they could be upgrading the tight ends too. It would be easy to add another player.
I’d be thrilled if Lockette was back next year.
I’m thinking Lockette will be gone. He was good, but they need more greatness in the WR group. The neck injury was severe and hopefully he recovers fully.
P-Rich is the guy I can’t decide what to do. He can’t stay healthy to save his life. He also is rather thin, so I’m not sure how durable he would be long term.
The exUW WRs have done enough to warrant a spot on the roster (overall). One or both might get scooped up other places looking for nice sized WR talent.
Seattle will grab at least 1 WR in the draft and possibly 2 guys….. and of course, keep the UDRFA flowing into the organization… they will find one guy from off the radar to compete as well.
I think PC is a huge fan of D-Jax — but not sure they take the 29-year-old version. Maybe a few years too late.
Would the up and coming Redskins really cut Jackson? $8 million is a good price for someone as explosive as Jackson. The way the Eagles chose to force him out was no doubt dubious, but his immaturity and supposed attitude issues are hard to overlook. If he comes here he won’t be happy if he doesn’t get the ball, and what happens to our offense if we feel pressured to force him the ball? Baldwin deserves to be extended; does signing Jackson complicate that? What kind of message does that send to guys like Baldwin and Graham? It seems like it could be the Harvin situation all over again, even though Jackson would probably be a better fit for our team.
He’s a tantalizing talent and I love watching him play, but I think signing him it has the potential to complicate things.
I think we should pay our own receivers before bringing in any more high priced free agents.
Ultimately, this is what will happen. They will keep in house guys and draft replacements. It ends up keeping the salary cap manageable and gives the team hundreds of options in the draft each year.
Sad to hear about bout RB Lawrence Phillips today. He was a knucklehead (under stament),but those Nebraska teams in the mid ’90’s were fun to watch. QB Tommy Frazier was electric man.
I’m kind of enjoying how the top coaching candidates are avoiding SF… good good. The longer they wait and get a 5th/ 6th option, the better.
Rob, if Bruce Irvin isn’t re-signed, do you think Seattle drafts more of pass rushing ‘backer or more along the lines of a KPL or Striker type of LB?
Because if it’s the latter, I was wondering if you had checked out any of the LB’s from the SEC. Tons of good talent there at that particular position.
I think it really depends on who is available. Could see them going in either direction.