This game has been so good to me no regrets.. A lot is running through my mind including retirement thanks for all the prayers.
— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) December 5, 2016
I don’t know about you but I struggled to focus on the game after this.
The Seahawks were driving late in the half trying to pad a comprehensive lead. They had two big plays to Doug Baldwin and Jimmy Graham. Russell Wilson had a nice scramble.
Then the Tweet.
None of it felt important after Earl Thomas tossed out the possibility, randomly, that he might retire.
He suffered a cracked tibia after a mid-air collision with Kam Chancellor. He tried to stand up and couldn’t. He was carted off and took an X-ray. Seahawks fans held their breath for good news.
Then, with no update other than Michele Tafoya noting he left the X-ray room on crutches, this social media bombshell.
So 2016. So unnerving, chilling.
There’s a chance it was a heat-of-the-moment, emotional reaction from a player best described as ‘unique’. Having never missed any time in his career until last week a major, sudden season-ending injury might provoke such a Tweet.
It still leads to some big questions. Is Earl questioning his future in the game anyway? How serious is the injury? Can Seattle’s defense be effective without Thomas?
Making the situation more maddening is the sliding doors effect that led to the injury. A brutal Wilson interception on 3rd and 19 gifted Carolina a cheap possession and good field position. Two plays later Thomas was injured on a downfield throw. It was so avoidable.
You can second guess scenarios like this all the time of course. Who knows what would’ve happened if one play here or there ended differently? It just kind of adds to the overall misfortune of the situation though.
This really has been a season of brutality. Injuries galore — Wilson, Thomas, Bennett, Rawls, Prosise, Chancellor, Shead, Willson. That’s just the highlights.
Gronk a few days ago, Thomas today. Two of the best in the game both facing uncertain futures, suddenly and unexpectedly.
It might be time to break into the Budda Baker and Shalom Luani tape again.
And that’s worth noting at this point. It’s a really, really good draft for safety’s. So if the Seahawks want to add some depth to the position as Thomas heals or if they truly do have to seek a replacement — they will have some options. They just won’t get another Earl.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
At least there’s this:
Tibia fracture for @Earl_Thomas
Bad news: big shin bone, usually surgery, season done.
Good news: excellent chance to return, 100% in 6+mos https://t.co/0VCTzHju6m— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) December 5, 2016
Now would be a cool time for Earl to tweet ‘j/k’.
Onto other notes…
— Thomas Rawls and Tyler Lockett were clearly major positives. And while Russell Wilson is hitting an unusual November/December consistency slump, the skill players around him are looking dangerous again.
— Rawls still managed to get dinged up before half-time. And while they might not focus on running backs as an early round need, adding more bodies will be important in the off-season.
— Some of the run blocking was superb and Carolina are ranked among the best in the league vs the run. The Seahawks ran all over their opponent — and we haven’t been able to say that about this offense this year. No Luke Kuechly had an impact but this was still a good performance overall.
— The pass protection was, sadly, still a work in progress. On Carolina’s third sack they had 3 vs 2 on the left side. Justin Britt blocked one of the two pass-rushers to his right, leaving Germain Ifedi basically covering nobody while Mark Glowinski and George Fant were outnumbered. Whether it’s Wilson, Britt or whoever responsible for adjusting the protection — it looks like they’re still working this out.
— Cam Newton was kept on the sidelines for the opening drive for breaking a minor team rule. As a punishment, Ron Rivera had Derek Anderson throw an interception to spot the Seahawks three points. Ol’ Riverboat Ron really taught Cam a lesson with that one. It felt like an unusual punishment for what was revealed to be a ‘dress-code violation’ (reportedly, he didn’t wear a tie). Maybe next time they’ll ask him to do fifty push-ups instead?
— The defensive line had a few splash plays but they were surprisingly quiet against Carolina’s patchwork O-line. Frank Clark was arguably the best of the bunch but Seattle failed to record a sack.
— Aside from the big play immediately after Earl Thomas’ injury, Seattle pitched a shut-out and scored 40 points in the process. If it wasn’t for Thomas’ setback, this would feel like glorious revenge for the two defeats last season.
— The Seahawks are 6-0 at home — a big improvement so far considering they were 5-3 last season.
The Seahawks remain the #2 seed for now but a new challenger has emerged. Detroit are 8-4 against Seattle’s 8-3-1. With Atlanta losing at home against the Chiefs, the Lions and the streaking Buccaneers might be their two biggest rivals for a playoff bye.
I saw most of the Lions win in New Orleans. They’re looking very good — offensively and defensively.
Detroit hosts struggling Chicago next week. If they win and the Seahawks lose in Green Bay, the Lions will possess the #2 seed. The game against the Packers is significant and tougher than it looked three weeks ago.
Lions remaining Schedule:
vs Chicago
@ New York Giants
@ Dallas
vs Green Bay
Buccaneers remaining schedule:
vs New Orleans
@ Dallas
@ New Orleans
vs Carolina
Seahawks remaining schedule:
@ Green Bay
vs Los Angeles
vs Arizona
@ San Francisco
Glad for the win, devastated with the injury. Really hard to enjoy the outcome. 0 satisfaction right now although it’s football.
He will be back. I’d be more worried about Gronk’s future than Earl’s. He will be back.
It sucks. But, that’s life. Its not about the cards your dealt. Its all about yow you play your hand. And if anything, this team will respond in a big way.
“Its not about the cards your dealt. Its all about yow you play your hand.”
That’s a classic Chuck Knox quote, Volume 12. Right. On.
Dominant win.
Bummed about ET, but he’s gotta do what’s best for him and his FAM. I love him either way.
I just think he was feeling some type of way after missing last week and now this. He’s never been hurt before he should be in his head. He’s too competitive though. He’ll be back.
Seattle will have to play more Tampa 2 w/o instead of their Cover 3.
So excited to see Lockett back to the weapon he is. I’m a little partial to him. He’s my favorite player along with Bam Bam.
Rawls looked his old self. I agree that a RB is needed for depth with him and Prosise always banged up. But, man that duo could be ?. No denying that.
I thought it was a great sign that the defense was this dominant without much of a pass rush. No two ways around it. Frank Clark is a star in the making.
Thought Fant took a step forward in his development. And IMO this was Ifedi’s best game. He’s a dominant run blocker in time. Wow. Never thought I’d say this, but is Britt the glue that holds this O-line together or what? Give that man his $$.
KJ Wright continues to be criminally underrated. A LB with the length of D-lineman is unheard of. His football IQ is off the charts!
If there’s ever a year to need a safety, this would be it. But, like Rob said. We’ll never truly replace ET if it comes to that.
Damn. Big time win with a black cloud over it. Get well soon ET. We 12’s love ya and need ya my man.
I agree Vol. I think Earl is such an emotional guy that missing last weeks game really bothered him. He was flying all over the field early in this game.
Really believe it was a spur of the moment reaction tweet after getting devastating news.
ET loves the game to be done because is a fractured leg. If it was a head injury the retirement tweet would be a much bigger concern IMO.
I think that was earl being emotional he has contemplated leaving the game before he is an emotional dude I think he will be back next year
I remember him saying he thought about retirement when he was hurt after the superbowl. I belive it’s just emotion too
If KJ Wright is not a Pro Bowler maybe even All Pro this year then something is wrong. He has been our best player on either side of the ball. As Vol said earlier his football IQ is off the charts.
KJ, Bobby aka The Ninja Turtle, and Kam have been our best defenders. With Avril and Clark tied right behind them.
God damn. Just typing that makes me realize how truly special this defense is.
Pay 9-10 guys, get depth in the draft, and build your stars on day 2 and UDFA.
Yep! They will go down as an all time great D and just keep adding to the legacy being on pace for the 5th straight year best scoring D. That sort of consistency is incredibly rare. That is why they have not lost a game by 10 pts or more in the Russle Wilson era. That D has too much pride to lay down like Carolina did tonight.
These are treasured years.
For us old folks who saw the Steel Curtain, purple people eaters, monsters of the midway, Ravens…this defense is as good as those legendary defenses, if not better, and they have given half a decade of pure memories.
It’s because the pro bowl ridiculously doesn’t recognize the difference between 3-4 OLBs, and 4-3 OLBs, which are almost entirely different positions.
Rob, thanks for the blog. Definitely some of The best sports content online. Immensely enjoyable reading for this Hawks fanatic.
Great game by the hawks ! Perhaps the o-line simply needs experience playing together. Dallas not withstanding, A lot of teams have won with less than stellar inveatmentbin the o-line, as you’ve mentioned before.
A couple interesting factoids revealed on the t.v. broadcast,
As relates to the perceived value of high draft capital
On the the current 53 man roster, the Seahawks have,
Only two 1st round draft picks, and even more remarkably, 25 (almost half of the roster) undrafted free agents.
Coincidentally with thomas’ injury, I see you have budda baker as about the 5th rated safety. He loooks phenomenal playing here at UW. Is it his size and the fact he’s a more traditional free safety, a la, Earl Thomas?
With earls tweet it might be an opportunity to start LOB 2.0 with a view to the future and grab baker late 1st/ early second
Thanks for the kind words Darren. I would have Budda higher most other years — but there are so many good safety’s this year. Really liked him when I saw him live two weeks ago. Big fan.
One of the things that I’ve noticed is that since we’ve got all our core players locked in, we’ve been drafting primarily for depth. All our great drafts occurred when we were seeking starters. Because of that we drafted talent who ended up being stars on our team!
So, the silver lining here is that if Earl Thomas is gone long term, it gives us a chance to draft another star for this defense. Since the 2017 draft is so deep with safeties, it presents an opportunity to add a great, young, controllable player to an already talented and consistent defense.
How they go in the Draft will be very telling with what’s going to happen with Thomas.
But I would be surprised if he’s not back next year fully recovered.
The lack of pass rush, or rather the inability to get to Newton, was noticeable. They did put some pressure on him. Just couldn’t touch him.
To me it looked like they were more concerned with playing contain with 4 guys and dropping 7 without truly making an effort to get consistent penetration. Usually with one delayed guy to prevent Cam from running to hurt us (which he only did once). They also blitzed him very little, seems that they did not respect Carolina’s receiving options that much, and it seemed to work.
The only two times this strategy seemed to backfire was on the 2 3rd and longs that they converted.
I think Bennett may have tried to come back a week too early. He had no explosion off the line at all today. Would prefer they just let him get 100% for the stretch run.
Nah Moses just needs a bit of time to knock the rust off. He had a couple of flashes in limited playing time. 7 weeks between games coming off a knee surgery it’ll take a couple games to get into football shape for the stretch run. 89 yards rushing allowed, with at least 20 being in garbage time.
Agreed. You need some games to rev up to game speed, and he missed almost a third of the season.
Bennett was consistently doubled and occasionally tripled, many holds went uncalled as well. Clark was especially unblockable and forced holds by the Carolina offensive line. Bennett was still very disruptive with his penetration, which is what put Clark in favorable matchups. Besides, his run defense was spectacular. He causes a pile-up wherever he is at on the d-line. Do yourself a favor and watch the game on the condensed replay on game pass and focus on Bennett on every defensive snap. What you’ll see is double & triple teams, some of which Bennett beats cleanly and others where he holds his ground or clogs up lanes and defeats blocks for his teammates to roam free.
Bennett flashed right off the bat, then seemed to disappear. He was getting double and triple teamed, true, but he was also being very careful of his knee and looked tentative. He’s very aware now of his own mortality, and of the dirty tricks teams are now resorting to in a vain attempt to deal with him. The same thing teams have done to counter-act Watt they are doing to Bennett; double teaming, going for the knees, sending a delayed double team to hit him from the side and take him out, taking his ankles out, even triple teams…
As you say, that level of focus on Bennett will open things up for guys like Clark to wreak havoc.
No surprise Bennett was a little hesitant and rusty, and not a bad thing he’s being careful; he was pretty reckless before, and I’d rather have him pick his battles than get hurt again.
I barely noticed Avril last night. seemed he didnt play much or at least I rarely saw him doing anything. What gives?
Wasn’t exactly tracking the numbers, but it sure seemed like the Panthers were keeping 6-7 blockers in on most plays. Yeah, the pass rush wasn’t exactly dominant, but other than the one shot play deep to Ginn, the Panthers got virtually nothing going in the pass game. If opponents want to keep extra blockers in, I’m fine taking our chances covering 4 receivers with 7 defenders.
Lack of pass rush is going to put a lot of strain on the secondary. For all of the talk about Frank Clark and his 7.5 sacks, our boys up front didn’t get a lot of pressure on Cam Newton, only had 2 tackles for loss, and didn’t notch a sack. This against an offensive line that might give ours a run for its money as the worst in the league.
I know Cam is hard to bring down, but Oakland, New Orleans, and Kansas City all got to him with 2 sacks each. Is it the interior pressure not being great?
I’m worried about Green Bay, because if we give Rodgers time, he’ll pick on ET’s replacement more than Cam was able to do today – could be a long day in Lambeau next week.
As long as other team can only score 7 each game I don’t care if we don’t get another sack all year
They kept extra guys into block all night that is why no one was open downfield.
Those teams also scheme heavily and bring more than 4 pass rushers.
Rodgers biggest asset is his movement in and around the pocket to buy time. It’s not time in the pocket that worries me about him, it’s those plays where the rusher misses him and opens up space for him to move into and hold the ball even longer. Somehow he’s more accurate on the run than he is with his feet set. Clark and Avril will have to rush with more discipline than they usually do. Avril sometimes gets too far upfield and Clark sometimes comes in out of control and misses (like he did against Cam last night).
OL and DL still seem like biggest draft needs IMO. With the depth at CB and Safety in this draft would love to see JS do his annual trade back and pick up a 4th rounder. Then go OL and DL with picks 1 and 2 and Safety / CB with the 3rd pick and RB with the 4th.
Agree about the DL, but I really think the OL keeps getting better and next year should only be 1 starter to replace:
Fant/Glow/Britt/Ifedi/Ob (maybe)
I hope they keep the rest of the OL in tack as well Ed. Just giving them a whole off season together would be huge. Adding a guy like Bolles in Rd #1 would give them a chance to be a top 10-15 unit next year though and take our offense to a whole other level.
Agree letting this unit of grow, draft a RT or RG-depending on their plans with Ifedi, extend Britt. Imagine how great our offense would look with an average OL.
I agree that they still need a high round tackle and another offensive line pick or two to develop. The team looked better but is still a work in progress. Sowell/Gilliam seems an easy place to upgrade.
Let’s not forget this is the Seahawks, not the Cowboys. They don’t want to spend for an elite line, they just want a functional line and have cable get them playing good football by the second half. Nothing has changed in that approach. Ifedi was necessary because we lost Okung, Gilliam will be much easier to replace, which is why I don’t see them going OK in round 1. Maybe round 2 but definitely not round 1 in this draft. They will look to another spot where they feel they can get an impact athlete, most likely going defense with our first pick and I think that’s pretty much set in stone.
Since Rawls returned we’re 1st in YPC (over 6) 3rd in YPG (Around 170) and I believe 5th in TDs (4) our running game is fine. Yes we could use a right tackle but if Ifedi goes out there we’ll be set up pretty good with guards in this draft who could be had in round 2-4.
Rob’ s guy Bisnowaty is making more and more sense as time goes by.
I thought Nick Vannett had a real solid game tonight with some nice blocks and a couple of catches. Very positive sign.
Agreed. I really think he can be a Zach Miller type of guy for us.
Agreed. Looks like a complete TE.
Carolina spent a lot of time in max protect today. Kept him upright at the cost of available targets. Green Bay’s quick timing offense next week will give Steven Terrell and our defensive line a much bigger challenge.
Agree completely. It also explains the lack of pass rush today.
I do think GB will target Terrell, but he’s better than I thought he was.
If Seattle can disrupt the timing of his receivers in and out of their breaks, we’ll be OK. We gotta win 1 outta these next 2.
Sucks we got a short week going up against LA, but that mini bye after that game will be much needed.
Terrell has been in this system a long time and I think he will be adequate as a replacement. He will just not be the dynamic game changing presence we are used to. The team will adjust. There are 6-7 other great players on that D. We all thought Bennett could not be replaced but when he went down the D did not fall apart.
Kam actually makes the calls on the back end so from a communication standpoint he is much more important.
That all being said Earl is the most dynamic free saftey in the leagues and will be sorely missed.
Oh I agree 100%.
Its just like NE w/o Gronk. Granted they have Bennett, but these are the 2 teams that do the ‘next man up’ better than anyone else.
I’m interested to see if they do with more Tampa 2 looks or stay in the Cover 3.
I am sure it will be Pete and Richards #1 discussion this week. GB is actually a nice match up to see where they stand before getting to playoffs as the Rams and SF will nit give the pass defense a legit challenge.
Lambeau in December has never been good for the Hawks.
I hope they stay in the Cover 3. The reason Terrell is around is his speed and range. He may not have the instincts that Earl has, but you can bet Earl will be in the film room tutoring him. I worry that Rodgers will be able to take advantage of him once or twice on plays where he scrambles, but hopefully either Rodgers misses them or Terrell has the patience to stay deeper than the deepest. Specifically, those deep over concepts give even good safeties trouble because plays generally don’t last long enough for that route to develop.
Let’s not forget that Terrell had an impressive interception (and return) from the FS spot that was neutralized on a ticky-tack PI by Wright where the ref ONLY threw AFTER he saw the ball was intercepted.
That was pass interference though. That was different than two guys hand fighting.
I must have missed this, I have the game recorded, do you know what quarter this was?
ET injury is a killer, hes done for the year for sure and I dont know if we can win a SuperBowl without the QB of our defense. That being said…….STOP IT RIGHT NOW IF YOU THINK ET IS RETIRING!!!!! His tweet was the typical heat of the moment comment that over emotional athletes make and why social media should be avoided when wound up (please tell our new presidnet!). remember what Lionel Messi said after they lost to Chile in the COPA?! He was back on the national team in a month. Do not worry, Earl will be back in top form for next year.
Agree 100% there is a reason players are forbidden from using social media during games. Anyone who has played sports at any level knows during or right after a game emotions are flowing and things get said that are 100% emotion not clear thought.
Not only that, but this team ain’t gonna lay down and quit or pack it in.
I hope this gives them extra fuel to the fire. Kind of like the Beastmode sighting on the sideline. Very cool he’s still around this team so often.
Loved seeing that! I miss Beastmode
I’ve got a jersey I’d let him borrow!
Mine’s white, so he can use it this weekend even in Green Bay!
I wouldn’t exactly say that ETIII is the QB of our defense, not in the metaphorical sense of the word, considering that Bobby wears the helmet with sideline communication and Kam is responsible for the secondary being aligned correctly.
Rob’s last two drafts had Baker getting just past Seattle, was thinking it would be a nice piece. Don’t spend it on a RT, get a special player (DL/S/RB).
I think Seahawks will and should kick Ifedi out to right tackle next year and go find a guard to compete with current roster. First round pick not needed for that.
I’m guessing that the Jets cut Giacomini after this year. Could pick him up to be a better version of the Sowell signing and keep Ifedi at RG.
Detroit essentially has to go undefeated to get the 2 seed. We can go 3-1 and will most likely get the 2. Maybe an extra week to get Earl back if he isn’t done for the season .
Like the schedule comparisons–Detroit and Tampa have a harder road than the Hawks. Then again, Seattle does seem to play down to their competition. Not a lot of room for error.
Had ET not gotten killed by Man’s friendly fire, he picks that off and not only do we pitch a shut out but also put up a 40 burger on offense with a couple miscues in the red zone.
*Kam’s
Amazing we could put up 40 tonight and struggle so badly in the red zone. Really need to get that tightened up for the playoff run.
Yeah.
IDK if it was just Carolina, but the run D looked better with Reed getting the majority of snaps. They still need some size there though.
Clemson DT Carlos Watkins catches my every time I watch them play. Not many DTs with 7.5 sacks, over 10 TFL, and can dunk a Ball at over 300 lbs.
His backstory is crazy. Was in a car wreck 3 years ago that killed his friend, the passenger. The car was overturned for 2-3 hours and he said the whole time he was thinking about football and how would he come back (not knowing what happened to his friend).
Trev, I remember you being a huge fan of Noah Spence and banging the drum for him.
Not only is he a DROY candidate, dude is playing with one arm. That’s crazy. He’s gonna be scary good.
Yeah he looks like he is going to be a 2nd round steal. Think about him and Bosa on the same DL at Ohio St. as freshman. Wow
Good eye with Spence- Trevor. Wasn’t completely sold on him. Jatavis Brown was ballin out too before he got hit with the injury bug.
I agree totally about the Reed effect. Also, did it catch your eye how good he was in lateral pursuit? On about two or three plays he was a hair away from big time tackles that either ended up going to Kam or one of the LBs.
That said, I’d love for them to get another young athletic DT on this team.
I did notice that in Reed.
That fumble KJ punched out.. I look at the guy actually tackling Stewart and say to myself “whos this cat?” Jarran freaking Reed. Love it.
Yeah, there were a couple other plays where he was moving cat quick towards the sideline on a ball carrier just missing out. Very encouraging stuff.
QBs ahead:
1. Rodgers
2. Goff
3. Palmer
4. Gabbert/Kaepernick
Stafford….prescott…then Brady/Carr….
https://mobile.twitter.com/KevinShockey/status/805634324749877248
At halftime Terrell was comforting ET and said he was praying for him. Thomas just wanted to keep giving him tips.
Tells you everything you need to know about that defense.
When rapport tweeted out the thomas news, a ripple went around the stadium. It definitely dampened the noise for a series or two. Almost eerie.
“cracked tibia”? It looked a lot worse than that. If so, no way he is back this year, even for the playoffs.
Wonder if they were using a rush that would keep Cam contained, take away his scramble options.
Both Sherm & Russ seem to be just a little off. Maybe Sherm’s wrist and Russ’ pec are issues.
Our Red Zone offense must rank pretty low. Throw most of the balls to Doug, Jimmy & No E. All three are dominant.
Green Bay seems to have turned things around. Going to be an important matchup.
Mike Bennett said afterward he was surprised how conservative Carolina was playing, keeping 8 in to block and sending only 2 out on routes. They must have been trying to keep Cam from getting killed.
Looks like Earl is done for the year. Dang ! Even if/when he comes back,
1-Baker ( size/range as close to an Earl Thomas as you can get)
2- RB (all over Mixon, if he wants to focus on winning football.
3-DL-LB (?)
I think Jefferson is our interior pressure guy going forward. I think the o-line will gel and grow with time. I can’t think of any glaring needs. Tonight seemed telling that Tampa bay was an anomaly . If we don’t make at least the nfc title game we can blame it on losing earl. If we do and lose to Dallas it’s just their year. If we Make it to The super bowl I can’t find fault with the makeup and direction of the team as is. Green bay will be a good test for us to adjust to playing without earl and let the o-line continue its non-linear development. One issue has to do with a 3rd down back. Farmer looks lost.
I think Q Jeff definitely showed a lot of positives in the pre season, and it was a bummer that he got injured and shelved early. They traded some decent draft capital to move up in R5 to get him, so I think they probably like his future. Wouldn’t be a shocker if they draft DT relatively high again this year, as this looks like a really good draft class for them.
Agree about Farmer. In the small sample size, I think the offense looks a little off with him on the field right now.
On Farmer: For a guy that looked so sound in the preseason he really has disappointed in his limited snaps. He is dropped a pass on Sunday and ran out of bounds on a route he was open on. He’s got to be more reliable than that. But, it may be too late as he’s just shown nothing to this point (in games that matter).
Definitely didn’t see much of him towards the end of the game. I think it was pretty much Pope and that’s it. Rooting for the kid, but he sure didn’t give us much hope last night.
Random thoughts.
1. Still trying to get my head around the ET tweet. My hopeful hunch is that this is a highly emotional player frustrated with his first major injury, that in the heat of the moment, pressed send when he probably should have just deleted. However, I watch most press conferences religiously, and consider his to be particularly Must See TV; I have noticed over the last year or more, a more frustrated tone with his answers at times. Last year particularly when the LOB was a total mess for a span. I wondered last year if I was watching a player tired of the game a bit. Also, I remember him saying last year when he was recovering from the NFC Championship injury, that there were moments where he was considering how much he even wanted to play anymore. So, this isn’t absolutely uncharted territory with him. He didn’t say he was tiring, but would consider.
Fortunately, this is a great draft for Safety. That said, my gut says Kam and Co will talk him out of retiring too soon.
2. Fantastic running game. The OL was on it. IMO, I think it might be the Justin Britt factor on the OL, settling even in. Fant had a good bounce back day. Thomas Rawls is back, Ladies and Gentlemen, and not a moment too soon.
3. IMO, I don’t think Russell Wilson had a bad game, or is playing that inconsistent. He had a bad pick, but he bounced back, completed 72% of his passes and was on it the rest of the way. I thought he had a good game. I just think he had a particularly bad game last week. His INTs are so random, I think it is jarring for fans whenever he does throw one, or two.
4. Run defense was much better. I think having Mike B back, and frankly, Mike Morgan back at SAM helps a ton.
5. Pass rush didn’t get sacks, but they got pressure and made Newton throw when he didn’t want to. It was still effective. Once Mike Bennett knocks some of the rust off, sacks will come.
6. I really hope some fan tried to hand Cam Newton a 12 flag after the game. I know I would have.
Great points all around C-Dog
Thought the exact same. You know Kam will bring him back. LOB
I think Sherm wrist injury was bothering him a little tonight. Late in the 4th qtr Sherm broke up a pass and you can tell on TV that he was in pain with the wrist. For a brief sec we saw Sherm standing there holding his wrist before the camera switched to a different view. Next time we saw him Sherm was on the sideline. I hope he gets well soon.
Bennett looks like he is not 100% either, but will hopefully be soon.
Donald great point about Sherm! He tried to Arm catch that one sure interception in the end zone as well. He never does that. Hope it is not an issue that lingers for him.
I hope they let Bennett get 100% before the playoffs because he clearly had no explosion.
Liked seeing Wilson under center letting Rawls run downhill with some FB and 3 TE sets. It was great to see the offense dictate some action, and click on all cylinders. Lockett ditched the knee brace and flew all over the field. They got Kearse involved-he threw a mammoth block to spring Baldwin(?). The OL played the best they have this year. Kawann Short was a complete non factor…he was playing right?
Earl’s tragic injury was the only negative in the game. He’ll be back starting week 1 2017.Anytime a team loses an all-pro they will be missed. Terrell is no slouch though. He’s looked pretty good in his 6 quarters of FS time. Plus you know Earl is going to do everything he can to help Terrell. Shead looked 100% and made a couple PB. The defense was on it from the first snap. Morgan helped more than I expected. Clark had some wow plays. KJ and Wags did their work like the pro bowlers they are. Bennett will ramp it up in the 4th quarter. I’m not worried about 0 sacks in a dominant win. They kept Cam on his toes. Even without Earl this is a championship defense.
Go Hawks!
Broken bone normally means once it’s healed it’s healed, and doesn’t generally linger/reinjure like ligaments can. ET should be back to start next season, but we’ve seen now that neither he nor Kam is indestructible, and an early pick at S could be worth it this year, as long as it’s a guy who can play another spot and get on the field in the nickel.
Option 1 is a slot corner/FS hybrid (think Budda Baker here, not sure who else in this crop of safeties; could also come from guys listed at corner as prospects, like a Chidobe Awuzie) who could provide depth/competition for Lane as well as backing up Earl.
Option 2 would be a bigger SS type (but with range/ball skills to cover FS) who can play down in the box as a deathbacker or push Kam there in a heavy nickel look–this would be more like a Marcus Maye if he gets healthy.
Maybe not worth it in the first round, but I could see it in the top half of the second after a trade back. Still quite a bit of a luxury pick but if you’re confident the guy will get a bunch of snaps in the nickel and contribute on special teams (and are feeling good about the OL’s development during this season)?
It has been mentioned (by myself previously on the blog) that Safety early in the 2017 draft is likely. Now I’m more convinced than ever. As Jeff M just stated above me, both starting Safeties have missed time in the 2016 season due to injury. Major injuries. It is time to invest in 1-2 safeties in the draft, dare I say 1st round for the right guy and no later than 2nd round.
Some guys to keep an eye on
Early rounds (1-3)
Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut / Height: 6-3. Weight: 217. (My pick if I was running Seattle)
Justin Evans, S, Texas A&M / Height: 6-1. Weight: 200.
Later rounds (4-7)
Josh Harvey-Clemons, S, Louisville / Height: 6-5. Weight: 212. (My pick if I was running Seattle)
Budda Baker, S, Washington / Height: 5-10. Weight: 192.
I think Evans will go too early to be considered by Seattle. Legit possibility he goes top-20.
I also highly doubt Budda Baker lasts until rounds 4-7. He’s a top-40 pick IMO if he declares.
They might go safety early but let’s wait and see here. If Earl wakes up today and decides he isn’t retiring after all, safety really isn’t that much of a need. I think they’re more likely to consider a mid rounder for someone like Shalom Luani until we hear from Earl.
Rod, do you think there’s a chance even if Earl comes back, that they might go safety within the first 3 rounds if there is a special athlete there, kinda like the hedge C-Mike was when they still had Marshawn in his prime?
Possibly. It is a good class after all. I’m thoroughly intrigued to see Shalom Luani’s workout at the combine because his backstory is so Seahawky. He could be a round three type target for sure.
Much depends on what they do between now and the end of the season. If they run the ball really well, shut down the run on defense — it changes their needs a lot.
Yeah, I agree with Luani.
Re: RT, how did you think Sowell held up at RT? I kinda thought he had a bit of a bounce back game. Cable mentioned recently that they like his length and physicality there. Do you feel any growing confidence he has a chance to grow into the present and future answer there? Or is this still more likely stop gap? Gilliam seems like he’s trending towards being done, as he wasn’t even active last night.
Considering the impacts of Earl Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu; I think Budda Baker is a top 25 lock. He quite literally does everything really well except “having a bigger body.” He really does remind me of Mathieu (see below).
While Earl is more physically gifted, I do think Budda has some skills that are tangibly better than ET’s (yes, I know that’s crazy to say). Mainly, I think Budda is better around the LOS. He really is elite when it comes to blitzing and sniffing out WR screens. He also covers really well. Budda is also clearly a really smart kid. Listening to him talk about jumping that route was a thing of beauty.
Here’s the big caveat…we don’t know what Budda can do in the Earl role. Earl completely eliminates the back half of the field. Budda won’t be able to do that at Earl’s level, so the real question is; what capacity can Budda fill Earl’s role? The next question is; why draft Budda Baker if you don’t use him like Mathieu (his true strengths – LOS)?
I’m not terribly sure you will ever find a player like Earl Thomas (again), so if he actually did retire, unfortunately I think you have to alter the defense a bit. Otherwise, it’ll be like the Mariners trying to find a replacement for Ken Griffey Jr. Good luck with that.
A little side note…as good as Budda Baker is; Taylor Rapp…my goodness. I am not saying this as a response to one game, but he honestly might be the most instinctive DB I’ve seen in college (only a true frosh). I remember saying the same thing about Marcus Peters. Rapp, IMO, is a step above that. *YES I KNOW THIS IS CRAZY TO SAY*
Charlie, you seem enamored w/ measurables. Personally I would love to have Budda Baker as a playmaker. I see a lot of similarities w/ the Honey Badger.
I was devastated last night watching one of my favourite Hawks carted off, like we all were. Earl’s a warrior, who hasn’t gone through anything like this before, so it’s reasonable that he was emotional and contemplating his future. I fully expect him to recover and be back 100% next season. There shouldn’t be lingering effects from a broken tibia once it’s fully healed.
Short term – Terrell has actually played very well besides the 2 TD plays he’s given up in the last 2 games. If he can maintain a solid level of play, the defense can be great enough to make a deep playoff run. The offense will need to step up like it did yesterday, particularly the offensive line. I finally saw the Germain Ifedi that flashed in the preseason, and it would be huge if he could keep improving during the stretch run.
Long term – I’m not so sure that safety becomes a big need. I understand the knee-jerk reaction of many of us on the blog to think of guys like Baker, Evans, Hooker, etc. However, assuming Earl doesn’t retire, he should be the same FS we all know and love, with no chronic injury issue. When Kam is extended, we will have 2 superstar safeties locked up. Terrell is an RFA that will surely be tendered if he plays well in the coming weeks. It makes sense to consider safety in such a strong draft class, but certainly not on day 1, and probably not on day 2 either. Unless he can play the slot in nickel, such a player would never see the field. And it’s hard to imagine a rookie safety playing better at nickel CB than Lane.
Assuming the likely 100% return of Thomas and extension for Kam, the Hawks have far greater needs than safety heading into the 2017 draft.
I concur,Rob. there are some safety prospect’s that haven’t been identified as of yet. It certainly becomes a position of interest now. Thomas will be back though. Brothers in arm’s…
I would be shocked if ET retired. I’m sure it was just the emotions pouring out. He’ll be back. He enjoys the game too much to just walk away from it.
Sucks for the defense, but I’m not going to overreact. This team was built with redundancies. There’s a plan in place if any player goes down (maybe short of Wilson). That deep ball TD was a fluke. If Terrell was a real liability out there, we would have seen further evidence after that play. I trust in the coaching staff.
My biggest concern at this point is further injuries. The defense can react and compensate for one kog going down, but I’d really rather not see how far we can push the system. The regular season can’t end soon enough.
Marcus Williams- S- Utah.
My top Safety Prospect.
Over Reaction Monday Simulated Mock.
27: R1P27
DL VITA VEA
WASHINGTON
59: R2P27
LB HAASON REDDICK
TEMPLE
91: R3P27
RB SAMAJE PERINE
OKLAHOMA
135: R4P32
S SHALOM LUANI
WASHINGTON STATE
206: R6P27
OT JONAH PIRSIG
MINNESOTA
214: R6P35
WR FRED ROSS
MISSISSIPPI STATE
227: R7P9
CB AHKELLO WITHERSPOON
COLORADO
245: R7P27
EDGE TANOH KPASSAGNON
VILLANOVA
Kam, Sherm, and Russ talk Earl out of retiring. With the evolution of George Fant at LT, Bradley Sowell settles RT the rest of the season, and Seattle resigns him in the offseason to maintain continuity.
I dig Jarran Reed, think his upside is evident, and agree with Volume 12 in that whenever he is on the field, the run D looks better. That said, if Vita Vea is sitting at Seattle’s R1 pick, I think I would blow a blood vessel if Seattle didn’t draft him. He might be a bit raw if he comes out, but big men that move like he does are rare. Match him up with Reed on Sundays and this could be a tandem of DTs that Seattle hasn’t seen since the 1990’s. Vea can play nose, 3 tech, and 5 tech with freak athleticism.
Put Haason Reddick on this defense and you also have freak athleticism at SAM again. Get Perine to add more inside running toughness and quality depth to the running back committee. Add Luani to groom as a starting safety, Prisig as a developmental RT project, Fred Ross as a bigger WR option, Witherspoon as another long Seahawk corner, and Kpassagnon as a freaky DL/Edge project (6-7 290lbs, 19 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks), and Seattle’s roster starts looking pretty deep and poised to make another run.
Regardless of “Over Reaction Monday” that would be a tremendous draft haul C-Dog.
First 4 picks would definitely make me a pretty happy camper.
Man, if teammates break bones on incidental contact with Kam, just take a second to imagine what must go through opposing WR’s minds when they know he is actually trying to hit them…
Wow! That was quite the “word picture” you just painted!
Hahaha truly.
Was at the game so I didn’t get to follow along on here, but man that was a true dominating performance. Earl’s injury really sucks, but there’s just something about this team this year that isn’t going to let this get me down. When their offense is on point, there isn’t a team in the NFL at Seattle’s level. It’s so weird how freaky inconsistent it is though. They put up huge numbers against NE, PHI, and CAR, and then get completely shutdown by Tampa Bay. It’s just weird man! Glad to see the running game explode last night. The blocking was fantastic, and against a defensive line that graded out as one of the best run stopping lines in football coming in.
Mike Morgan was a big difference maker. He’s an average player, but that is a big upgrade over what we had at SAM this season.
I’m on the Budda train now, I think of all the safeties in the class he would be able to get on the field alongside Earl and Kam. He would give Lane some major competition at nickel corner. The team really doesn’t have that many needs going into next year.
“I’m on the Budda train now, I think of all the safeties in the class he would be able to get on the field alongside Earl and Kam. He would give Lane some major competition at nickel corner. The team really doesn’t have that many needs going into next year.”
Agree completely. Budda is a helluva blitzer too.
What a nice win for the Seahawks. The defense had an elite performance. Offense is improving with Russell Wilson showing the mobility of a young lad and Rawls getting into gear with some hard running. Hopefully Rawls will remain healthy as he is the only running back that has shown a Marshawn Lynch level of abilities.
So the remaining schedule – with Detroit being the closest to overtaking the Seahawks but having to win one more game then the Seahawks:
ions remaining Schedule:
Detroit remaining games:
vs Chicago
@ New York Giants
@ Dallas
vs Green Bay
I see Detroit as going 2-2 over the last four games. I really like Detroit this year because they have a balanced offense and defense. Not much of a running game but an elite passing game. I just don’t think they will beat the Giants or Dallas at home. Chicago showed some spunk this week. Green Bay probably will be out by the time they play.
Buccaneers remaining schedule:
vs New Orleans
@ Dallas
@ New Orleans
vs Carolina
I think the Buccaneers will go 3-1 with their only loss being at Dallas. This is if they have the same level of effort as their game against Seahawks. That may qualify them for a wild card?
Seahawks remaining schedule:
@ Green Bay
vs Los Angeles
vs Arizona
@ San Francisco
Seahawks can go at least 3-1 and maybe 4-0. I’m not sure who the loss would be too. Maybe Green Bay in their house, or the Rams or Arizona if they play above their level. Green Bay is probably the best balanced team, but they haven’t shown any signs of being an elite team and are struggling with key injuries. Rams always play tough on defense and can cause injuries that affect Seahawks going forward. Arizona is streaky and can play tough. San Francisco has sunk pretty low this year.
So it looks pretty good for the Seahawks if they can just keep improving and avoid injuries.
Tampa and Detroit’s schedules look pretty daunting, and in a way it’s pretty daunting for Dallas too as they have to play both Detroit and Tampa. I’m not very confident with the Green Bay game, they are getting hot now and Rodgers is back to his elite self. I think we lose that one but win the final 3. That should be enough for the 2 seed, which is much needed IMO.
I had a coworker point out that Dallas might rest their starters, but that wouldn’t be till the final game of the season so it shouldn’t affect the playoff contenders.
I was reading about Giants Beckham griping over Steelers game and the refs. Maybe I’m overrating the Giants and Detroit probably can beat them. That would give Detroit a 3-1 record. So Seahawks need to win at least 3 games of remaining 4. I would really like to see them start strong with a win in Green Bay.
Steven Terrell is a better player and a lot faster than many on this blog give him credit for. He’s played very well for us in relief of ET, outside that long bomb from Cam last night. And its not the end of the world for our defense, as long as Seattle recognizes they have a different player with weaknesses and differing strengths and they gamplan and playcall accordingly. Which they will.
No one can replace Earl without a dropoff, but we can still play great D as a unit, as long Richard doesnt make it too complicated and they keep the communication clear. Kam is the key now, he’s the Field General, putting everyone in the right spot and making the defensive audibles for the secondary. As long as he’s there and doing well, this D will be ok.
And the silver lining in this disaster is that since teams will not fear Terrell as they do ET, Terrell and the rest of the LOB WILL have more opportunities to make big plays. You saw Terrell make a great pick that was called back due to Wrights PI; that will continue. Terrell will give up some plays, but as long as he doesnt let anyone behind him deep again like he did last night, we should see some big plays on D. I expect more turnovers from teams as they try to pick on our secondary.
“And the silver lining in this disaster is that since teams will not fear Terrell as they do ET, Terrell and the rest of the LOB WILL have more opportunities to make big plays. You saw Terrell make a great pick that was called back due to Wrights PI; that will continue. Terrell will give up some plays, but as long as he doesn’t let anyone behind him deep again like he did last night, we should see some big plays on D. I expect more turnovers from teams as they try to pick on our secondary.”
Great point. Those big plays being INTs.
There have been some games where most of the defense was tied up in rushing or getting blocked, and Kam would somehow cut through the offense and make the tackle. He has a nose for the ball. It would be cool if Terrell was comfortable enough to start laying some big hits on receivers.
Outside of letting Ted Ginn Jr get by, I thought he played well. I have total confidence in him to hold up moving forward. He’s the only player on the roster who has the speed to play single high safety like ET does. Will he be as good? Absolutely of course not, but he gives the team the ability to continue using that coverage.
Last nights offensive showing was very encouraging. The line’s pass pro struggles continued, but Wilson was able to mitigate most of the pressure, and they found their mojo in the run game and played much better as a unit overall.
Obviously, Carrol and company were lying their ass off last week that Hunt wasnt the issue on the line last week. He was–he couldnt make the right calls all too often, and without Britt the line was simply out of sync. Justin Britt is a hugely important player for us, and perhaps more important to our teams success than Earl Thomas, at least for now. We scored 5 points without him, remember, and had zero success on offense vs a mediocre team. Now, thats not to say he’s a better player than ET, just that the dropoff on offensive success from Britt to Hunt is greater than the drop in defensive performance from Earl to Terrell.
One thing Im really excited about is that just about every starting pass catcher had about 60 yards receiving last night; Kearse, Baldwin, Graham, and Lockett all had 60+ yards, and even McEvoy and Vannett made huge first-down making catches. Damned hard to defend against an offense that spreads the ball around to four WR’s, two TE’s and several backs….successfully! This is the epitome of a Darrel Bevell offense; attack the defense by taking what they give you and spreading the ball around to every single receiver so it wont do you any good to double team anyone or scheme against one or two guys. Wherever you arent, thats where they put the ball–or wherever there’s a mismatch.
Darrell Bevell’s offense will roll over anyone as long as Cable can keep the line run blocking as they did last night, and the pass pro is slightly above awful. Thats all Cable has to do, and this offense will dominate.
And the defense will give up a few more points per game without Earl, no question, but it also may force a few more turnovers. All is not lost!
Really hoping to see us stick it to GB in Lambeau next week!
On zero sacks for our defense, I think Seattle figured Carolina’s line was bad enough they didnt need to blitz so they went with 4 rushers most of the time. They also seemed surprised Carolina kept up Max Protect much of the game. Plus, its Cam; he’s a tough guy to sack.
I think Seattle adapted to teams throwing short passes with success off and on all year, and really wanted to find a way to not only keep WR’s in front of DB’s , but put extra bodies (LB’s) in zones to squeeze the throwing windows and to cut down on easy short completions. They felt that would work this week since Carolinas line was so iffy. And they were right–we didnt get a sack, but we pressured Cam and hit him a few times and made his life miserable without blitzing. And he only made a few great throws on us and mostly failed to move the ball.
Overall, a great tactical gameplan that worked even after ET’s injury.
Sacks are overrated. You don’t have to knock him to the ground to be effective.
I thought the pass did their job. Disrupted Cam and he threw it for less than 50%. There’s your equivalent to sack #’s.
Exactly. IMO, I think Carolina’s game plan was to get the ball out quickly dealing with the noise and the weak line. Plus, Cam Newton is a hard QB to sack. Every year, it seems like Seattle has struggled getting him down, but they can effect his mechanics and get him uncomfortable, and that’s what you want to do. I actually thought Seattle’s defensive game plan against Carolina was really good. They didn’t go NASCAR too much, they basically left the big boys in and said, “Cam, you are not going to beat us with your legs, you have to do it through the air.”
I was surprised there wasnt more pre-snap shifting and blitz bluffing by Seattle to confuse Carolina’s young line. Perhaps they didnt feel it was necessary, and they wanted to keep their cards close to the vest and not put all their tricks on tape for Playoff Teams to study.
Gotta agree with Demon Sanders.
Losing Sherm would be a much bigger blow. That’s not to say the loss of ET won’t have an impact, but its much easier to disguise coverages and help out a safety. If Sherm were to go down, there’s no one on this team that would do what he does.
Terrell ain’t as bad as I thought he was, and there’s always a crafty vet they could add too.
Fournette goes pro.
Pauline says 6 under class men from Udub turning pro.
And PC mentions W.Michigan and their HC PJ Fleck today. Saying they’ve been watching him. And JS has also personally scouted them.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet · 24m24 minutes ago
Asked two high-level evaluators about #LSU RB Leonard Fournette, who intends to enter the draft. As good as Todd Gurley? “Better,” both said
“Pauline says 6 under class men from Udub turning pro.”
Does he say which 6 players? Think Ross, Jones, Baker are ready. Leaves 3 more between Vea, Qualls, Gaines, Victor, Pettis, Coleman…
May be too early to say- Terrell is going to be a major keep priority this offseason (he is a RFA). He’s played well so far, and if he keeps it up he will garner some interest. Could draw a 2nd-round RFA tender from us along with Shead.
If PCJS wouldn’t take Jarron Reed in the first round of last year’s draft, I don’t think they’d consider Vita Vea in first round of this year. Vea isn’t the prospect that Reed was.
I suspect they’ll trade back into the early second round (seeing as there is such good depth) if one of their favorite Tackle prospects is taken. Then, we could see them take Vea in that 33-40 range.
I agree with many here, including Volume12…I think Vea on the line with Reed would be an ideal combo.
Perhaps they then use their second round pick for a T prospect. Biznowaty?
Apparently, they almost took Jarran Reed R1. John Schneider is on record saying that the debate in the war room was whether to take Ifedi or Reed with the first pick. IMO, I think Pete Carroll would love to have a player like Vita Vea on this line, if there isn’t a more pressing need. Vea might not even be there, if he declares, I could see him go top 15, top 20.
Gotta agree C-Dog. If Vea tests well at the combine with that size and with his tape we could see a Poe, Shelton, Rankins-esque type of rise come draft day.
I want to see him play against a stronger team like Alabama. That performance will say more about him then the combine. He has been pretty consistent with 3-6 tackles per game this season. I am wondering at what weight would he play in the pros? If he goes to the combine at his current weight he will be slow. Most likely he will slim down to 320 to play in the pros – or would he?
So, any thoughts on CB-Jourdan Lewis, Michigan???? He’s 5-10/186, 4.43/40.
I know he’s a CB, but there really aren’t any ET type FS’s out there, but from my observations, this guy looks like he could be as close to ET that I’ve seen this year, could he convert to FS? Likely a late day 2 or early day 3 pick in the coming draft. The combine will be very important for him to show some spark #’s. Lewis seems to be fast & very quick, great sticky coverage guy, but similar to ET, he’s not quite as good against the run, and needs to add some muscle along with some good coaching up.
Not to be overlooked, he had 20-PBU in 2015 & not thrown at much this year because he’s very much a shut down type corner.
Lewis is ready made NFL nickel CB. Think he’d be great value in round 4. Not sure he’s the type of player we target in the draft-short arms, slight build, not a freaky athlete. Like the player, don’t like the fit for the Hawks. imo
ET in the 2010 draft was (as a FS) 5-10, 202, 4.43/40 (http://www.mockdraftable.com/player/860/) so as noted, Lewis needs to add some muscle and bulk up a bit (and that is possible if he lived in the weight room for awhile). I agree that Lewis looks natural as a slot CB, he’s pretty shifty, just wondering about how he might make out as a high FS, keeping everything in front of him – read the plays and close fast (which is where I see ET really shine), Also note that ET has sub 32″ arms, so he’s an exception to that rule.
Calling for snow showers in GB next Sunday. Greeaat. https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Green+Bay+WI+USWI0288:1:US
If our run blocking holds up, I could see this being a nice advantage for us. Green Bay can’t run the ball, and had a heck of a time trying to score against Houston before they wore down.
Will be interesting to see if C MIke will be activated. Seems like bad field conditions would affect him as he has had trouble staying on his feet.
A side note on one of the prime topics of this discussion – the loss of Earl Thomas. Irreplaceable. One can only hope that Steven Terrell can “fit” and get his arms around some of what Earl provided. If he fails, it will not because of a lack of speed. Earl ran a 4.37 at his Texas pro-day. Terrell ran a 4.34 at his Texas A&M pro day. Pro-days are notorious for the exaggerated results. Still. That is fast. I hope it translates.
Tyler Lockett ran a 4.4 at the combine. Probably would have run a 4.3 at a pro-day, if he had one.He looked like the fastest human I have ever seen on a football field last night. Yes, even faster than Percy Harvin.
This is some serious speed. By all 3.
And Terrel has size. He’s much bigger than Earl. Just because he’s been a backup doesnt mean he doesnt have potential. He’s a different player than Thomas, but it wouldnt surprise me to see him develop into a quality starter someday–hopefully soon.