Instant reaction: Sloppy Seattle beaten in LA

Just a few quick notes…

— This was sloppy by Seattle. Obviously there were some positives. Russell Wilson made some plays downfield, the running game looked extremely sharp early in the game and there were a handful of good individual performances (Rasheem Green, David Moore & Michael Dickson in particular). Yet the penalties, relative ease that all three LA quarterbacks moved the ball and cheap points conceded were bothersome. The big run at the end to ice the game was especially frustrating, preventing the Seahawks from having one last shot to get an undeserved win.

— It’s easy to overreact to a game like this but maybe it’s a good thing? There’s certainly plenty to work on. In particular the three LA touchdowns can be a point of emphasis. Philip Rivers made an incredible play to start his day but then didn’t need to break sweat for the rest of his scoring drive. The kick return score was just too easy and Mike Williams beat Akeem King in the second half. Cheap points. In comparison Seattle contrived to make life difficult. Chris Carson’s fumble took points off the board, the Will Dissly penalty was nitpicking but also took points off the board. There also wasn’t much rhythm to Seattle’s play after a fast start. They just had a lot of deep throws but to their credit, the receivers came up big.

— In fairness to Jon Ryan — a fantastic Seahawk — Michael Dickson has surely got the punting gig. Along with Rasheem Green and Jacob Martin, the rookie class again provided some highlights. Quinton Jefferson also continued his good pre-season while Jaron Brown and David Moore showed they’ll be able to contribute this year. Already it feels like the only decision left to make at wide out is whether to keep an extra one and stash Damore’ea Stringfellow.

— The Chargers had 176 rushing yards. Too easy tonight.

— Twitter is focusing on Germain Ifedi but I really hope he isn’t going to be a scapegoat this year. He was beat badly by Melvin Ingram for a sack. Duane Brown also gave up an easy pressure in the first half. It’s going to happen, especially against a team like the Chargers. I think already we can see the first team O-line has taken a big step forward this year. We don’t need to overreact to every sack. I’d urge people to watch some of the other teams in pre-season because it’s been one bad O-line after another so far.

— Alex McGough looked good tonight on his touchdown drive. He had some nice throws to set up the opportunity and finished with style. This was a good positive step forward for McGough on a night when Austin Davis struggled to move the ball. I’m still not convinced the Seahawks will be entirely comfortable going with a rookie backup but Davis has to show better next week.

— Seattle’s 2017 draft class could provide some real quality in the form of Carson, Naz Jones, Shaquill Griffin and Tedric Thompson. But it’s tough to look at the front end of the class. Malik McDowell is out of the league and it’s fair to wonder whether Amara Darboh and Delano Hill are going to stick around much longer. That’s a second rounder and two third rounders spent on very little.

— Tonight painted a very clear picture on what will make or break Seattle’s season. Everything will be down to Russell Wilson and the running game to cover some of the other issues. The defense will likely give up more points. They’re going to need to put points on the board. This feels like a team that needs another draft and free agency to get back to the kind of level where they’re truly competitive.

— Rasheem Green looks great. Frank Clark will do what he does. This team badly needs at least one other D-line pass rusher. Thankfully this draft is loaded with defensive line talent. Later this week I’ll be posting a 2019 watchlist for the new college season. Kenny and I will also be recording a podcast on Sunday going over the Chargers game.

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63 Comments

  1. All I see is 12s

    Rob, I just watched the game on tape delay. I want you to know that you are the first source I go to when trying to digest these games. You do such an excellent job with your analysis and critique, I cannot believe one of the local Seattle outlets have not approached you yet to have you Work in an official capacity. I suspect they all read you and leach off you anyway. I was by and large pleased with what I saw from the offense considering how vanilla everything is in these games. The O line was getting a push. Chris Carson is a monster. And most importantly, Russell Wilson is showing how deadly accurate he is when he gets a modicum of time to throw the ball. As this blog has this discuseed for the last three or four years, it’s all about the run game. If the Seahawks can establish the run game, Russell Wilson can take them to the promised land. If no run game then everything falls apart.

    • Rob Staton

      Thanks man, appreciate those words 👍🏻

      The 2018 Seahawks will most definitely be about the offense and the ability of Wilson and the run to compensate for a defense lacking in certain areas. I still think they will be competitive in games but the season might mix between extreme highs and great wins and some frustrating losses.

  2. Pedestrian

    Thought the WRs had a good showing. I don’t want to use Ifedi as the scape goat, but getting blown over like that doesn’t exactly stir any kind of confidence. It was frustrating to see the late second have drive stall at the end zone, reminded me too much of last season. If RW goes down we might be looking at a top 5 pick.

    • NickW

      I dont want to use Ifedi as a scapegoat either, but he did not look great. There were two plays back to back where the same thing happened, Ifedi got pushed backwards, turned, then the d-lineman (Melvin I think) disengaged and had a straight shot to Wilson. Once I think he got home for the sack and the other time he disrupted Wilsons pass just by the pressure and his pass ended up incomplete and high. I understand this was after fluker left and maybe had something to do with it, but it looked really bad and people are going to notice that. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the rest of the o-line looked though compared to the last couple years. They did not look like the worst line in the league. Hopefully that carries over into the regular season as well.

      • Mark Souza

        Ifedi, Ifedi, Ifedi. The line has taken such strides, except for one player. Ifedi is an open turnstile at right tackle. You have your choice as to how to beat him. You can beat him to the inside. You can beat him to the outside. Or you can go right through him. Take your choice. All lanes are open.

        It’s time for this experiment to end before he gets our quarterback killed. It comes down to two things, balance and quickness. The position requires them and Ifedi doesn’t have enough of either. It’s why he had so many false starts. He’s trying to compensate for his lack of quickness by getting a small head start. If an end starts one way and changes direction, Ifedi isn’t quick enough to compensate, he’s already sold out to try to keep up and is out of balance and out of position to mirror.

        He isn’t unwilling, or have an attitude, he is simply playing out of position. He could pull it off in college playing from a two point stance playing against lesser talent than what he he sees every week in the NFL. In the pros, he isn’t quick enough. He needs to be moved to guard where he can compete and potentially dominate. He has plenty of quickness to compete there and have success. We have had enough of a sample size to see he isn’t a fit at tackle. It’s time to stop trying to force a square peg into a round hole.

        • Rob Staton

          Ifedi is not an open turnstyle.

          It’s time for the scapegoating to stop.

          Instead of hammering Ifedi needlessly, I wish people would focus on the clear improvement made by the OL this year.

          • Mark Souza

            I’ll point to the improvement of the line, on the left side. Britt, Pocic and Brown are solid both in run and pass protection. We have something there. The right side is a problem. Thank God it’s not Wilson’s blind side. He can usually see the trouble coming and frequently dodge it.

            I don’t know why the stubborness to make Ifedi fit at RT, a position he’s not suited for, when he could be an All Pro guard. The dude is a mauler when you can take keeping up with DEs off his plate. Power and strength have never been his problem, quickness and balance are.

            If there had been a true open competition for RT from the start, the line would be better than this. I would have liked Fant having the opportunity to complete, rather than being relegated to the LT back-up role. A line of Brown-Ifedi-Britt-Fluker-Pocic would have been an improvement. Imagine how well Ifedi could do with such quality players on either side. But doing it now disrupts continuity and the makings of a very good left side.

            All we are left with is hoping Battle can beat out Ifedi once he gets healthy again, or either a trade for a real RT during the season, or a wait until free agency next year. In my view, Ifedi isn’t a wasted draft pick unless the Hawks insist on keeping him at tackle. It’s not where he can thrive.

            • Rob Staton

              There’s improvement on the right side too.

              People are overreacting to the way the half ended for Ifedi. Pure and simple.

            • GoHawksDani

              Damn, I don’t wanna protect Ifedi, because I don’t like him 😀 but you’re wrong. Ifedi’s main issue was his penalties. He cleared that up so far in these two games. Pocic had been manhandled a couple of times last year. He bulked up a bit, but he also has a really good LT and a pretty good/OK C to help him out sometimes. Ifedi has a new pal in Fluker and while I think Fluker played pretty well, they need to learn to play together.
              So I think Ifedi has a harder job and a long way to go, but he improved a lot. He’s a beast, he just needs to be consistent. When he plays well, he has everything we’d like in an RT. Strength, mobility, quickness. He just needs to get his sh.t together and always play up to his potential. Which might not happen and we might look for different option sooner or later. But he isn’t the root of all misery and evil in the world

  3. H

    Wasn’t super impressed with this performance, but there’s really no need to focus on the negative at this stage.
    In addition to those you mentioned (David Moore take a bow, and a roster spot) I really hope Poona makes the team, every time I focus on him he gets a nice push, could be a really disruptive player.

    As a side note, how terrible were the commentary duo last night? The one guy who kept saying the wrong thing had happened and couldn’t pronounce anyone’s name. And I love LT, but, as well as being super biased, his ‘analysis’ pointed out the obvious to such mind numbing basics such as “and he beats the the right tackle to get pressure on the QB” and “I think he jumped off sides there because he was trying to get a sack.” They even spent some time discussing why a Left Tackle is important in the NFL… At least someone tuning into this game who’d literally never watched a football game before got some good insights from these guys.

    • H

      It’s come to my attention that many of you, not watching on UK GamePass may have had a different commentary team.
      Lucky you, and apologies for my rant.

      • Rob Staton

        Yeah in the UK we were stuck with the Chargers broadcast team.

        • OC Hawks

          I feel you guys. I live in Southern California so obviously I had to endure the “local” broadcast team as well. It was truly mind numbing. For example, on the Dissley call, LT kept saying it was holding and then even charted where the “hold” was! This was after the referee said blocking in the back.

          Oh well. Thanks for the analysis, Rob. As others have stated, this is the first place I go to get level-headed analysis on my favorite team.

          • Rob Staton

            Thanks man 🙂

      • Nate

        Check out Brock Huard, actually. His opinion is normally worth hearing.

  4. Largent80

    That was hard to watch. RW and Moore to me were the players that stood out. While Green made plays, a lot of them were in the 4th quarter against scrubs.

    This season is going to be brutal defensively and Earl Thomas would make no difference if the team continues the way they looked last night.

    Even Special Teams looked bad. It was a dreadful performance.

    • FresnoHawk

      Moore is a Beast! Reminds me of Brandon Marshall when BM would be double & triple teamed and still catch the ball. Game winning drives just throwing the ball to Marshall it was crazy. I think he had something like 22 catches in a game. Looks like BM is going to be a problem for defenses this year too. I don’t know how defenses are gonna cover our WR’s. I’m wondering when I’m going to call it “Seahawks best passing offense in the league”! Can that really happen?

  5. McZ

    Much needed dose of realism. Chargers are a Top 10 team, we could not expect a team in rebuild to have an easy walkover. Niners had a crappy showing against Houston, and Cards are winning, but have more than enough to fix. So, let’s stay calm and let them work patiently.

    Atrocious run offense and defense. Penny needs to come back, asap. Not sure, if the defense just had a bad day. It’s a young group, and will need half a season to grow. RB group apart from Carson and Penny is not trusted by QBs enough, to give them more snaps. Prosise doesn’t show any will to break new ground.

    Wide receiver group had hell of a day, but a couple of throws into double protection, against a bad second string secondary. Mmmh…

    Ifedi cannot be the scapegoat. It’s just not enough talent. Period. The line is simply not good enough, especially when a starter is missing, and players continue to be misallocated. We should push Ifedi to RG, Fluker to LG and let Pocic try RT. I think, he has a solid enough technique and calm hands to play there. Quessenberry – whom I regarded a logical Seahawks late round target – had a solid showing. Played like an old guy.

    That Dissly penalty was a typical preseason call. I’m not sure, that this would’ve been called in a real game. He has to clean up his play. Vannett? Was he actually playing?

    Thompson had a couple of good actions, Griffin shut down his side; CB2 is clearly Maxwell plus Flowers, or vice versa. If we play our first string plus depth, we should be okay o the secondary, even without ET.

    Rob’s right, front four is by far the most pressing need 2019. Followed by depth in general, especially OL.

    • Gohawks5151

      Yes Vannett played. He dropped a TD….

      • MyChestIsBeastMode

        He didn’t catch it, but I’d also argue he didn’t “drop” it. The defender made a good play and got a hand on the ball prior to it wobbling into and out of Vannett’s hands. Now, if Wilson puts the ball one foot closer to the pylon then he has a much better chance at a clean grab sans the denfender’s hand knocking the ball out. Besides that, ya Vannett was silent. Hard to say if he did the non-stat-line little things well or not, but I also think we need to be fair in our criticism – with that ball placement it would make for a tough catch no matter who was out there.

        • FresnoHawk

          +1

  6. Hawk Eye

    could not watch the game, so only able to listen to the PC press conference that Rob posted, along with looking at the stat sheet.
    CJ had 6 catches on 6 targets and had 3 rushes for 12 yards, and is not injured (that we know of). That is a positive.
    Looks like run D was not too good and red zone offence was an issue, but pre season is just a warm up. May or may not mean something, really no idea how the season will play out. Don’t think we will see the defense we are used to, I just hope we can see lots of promising kids. I think the key to the offense may be red zone. If that remains an issue, this team will struggle.

  7. CestrianHawk

    It spoils all the pre-season games on GamePass, unless you’re very interested in the home team. I’d forgotten how bad it was, and have to watch the Seahawks away games with the commentary switched off.

    • Rob Staton

      My pet hate is the way they stop concentrating on the game in the second half and just start interviewing people with nothing to say. Stop pandering to the casual fan who isn’t even watching the third quarter in pre-season and start catering to the people actually interested! It’s no different than the TV coverage of day three of the draft. They stop talking about the picks to appeal to a mass audience but the only people watching by that point are the draft geeks!

      • Largent80

        I shut the sound off and watched it in quiet. There were several times where they barely got the camera onto the actual game during those interviews.

        I just kept watching because I wanted to see what the depth looks like. Not impressed much by what I saw there. King got burned for a TD, didn’t bother turning to the ball. Hill was on another plane somewhere. That ST return was all on Ryans punt. We should just release the guy because that competition is squarely over.

      • Coug1990

        I have always hated the dumb interviews as well.

      • FresnoHawk

        Definitely notice the difference between announcers who cover the drafts vs local hero’s. At least the hero’s know whose standing out on their team. But the best preseason games to watch are the ones covered by draft experts.

  8. Austin

    Rob great stuff as always. I watched Ifedi on about 10 plays in a row and he was beat on all of them. It was really, really bad. I want to watch it again and I know Ingram is fantastic but on at least one occasion he didn’t know his assignment and doubled down inside leaving Ingram untouched. He seems completely lost and broken. There was a report that he freaked out coming off the field and multiple teammates tried to talk to him and he wouldn’t have it. They may be out of options with Jones hurt but I think Ifedi is bad enough he can sink what looks like a somewhat promising offense.

    • Rob Staton

      I will go back and watch all of his snaps later today. I can’t say during the game I particularly noticed anyone playing consistently poorly on the O-line. Brown was beat, Ifedi was beat but that will happen. As noted in the piece, I’ve watched (strangely) a lot of the pre-season stuff so far. Many teams are really struggling with their O-lines. Seattle’s starting unit has actually looked quite good in comparison.

      • Shadow

        Jordan Roos did not look good either when he came in for Fluker, and I thought that O-Line really went downhill at that point. Fortunately, it sounds like Fluker’s injury isn’t serious, but I really hope that Sweezy can do a better job of filling in for Fluker (if necessary) than Roos did.

      • DC

        I’m sure rooting for Germain but yah he stood out. I was in and out watching the game but what I saw was bad. He got knocked on his ass & then repeatedly beat. In over his head. Just being the technician that he is had Jones not been hurt he’d probably be running with the ones after this game.

      • CHawk Talker Eric

        Ifedi looked lost to my eye too. But I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because it was Melvin Ingram who beat him soundly.

        I don’t know that SEA have other options. I saw Fant in the game, which is encouraging. Maybe they give him a look at RT. I still think Ifedi was best at RG, where he really started to come into his own until the injury vs ATL in the playoffs.

        What’s with the disappearing comments too? I can’t see my posts

        • Rob Staton

          I’ve just rewatched all of Ifedi’s snaps and I’m absolutely baffled.

          I expected a horrendous performance given what everyone has been saying.

          What I actually discovered is its a huge overreaction.

          He had a couple of really rough snaps (Duane Brown was also beat badly once). The rest were perfectly adequate and on occasion I thought he did quite well to get into position, square up and deliver a block.

          I don’t get the criticism. He didn’t have a brilliant game but anyone would think he was pure trash based on the reaction. He wasn’t. Far from it.

          • Hawk Eye

            past performance, low expectations and the fact that they will only show or highlight when he makes a mistake, or Russell is running for his life
            the ideal game from an o lineman is when you don’t hear his name called.
            I doubt there is a series of 5 or 6 plays being shown where he blocked well, as that does not draw clicks

            probably a better way to analyze him is to watch his snaps and the other 10 or 12 other RT’s who would be 2nd or 3rd year players and see how many mistakes the other guys make compared to him
            but everyone loves to focus on the negative
            He is still young and very few young players are mistake free. I think with him it will depend on his attitude and if he can mature mentally fast enough to improve

          • CHawk Talker Eric

            Not pure trash, but definitely the weak link on the OL. Like I said in another comment, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt as he was going against Ingram who’s one of the best in the game. His run blocking wasn’t bad but in pass pro the pressure kept coming from his assignment. It’s only the 2nd preseason so any reaction other than an observation is over done.

            • Rob Staton

              That’s not what I saw Eric. For me he did a very admirable job holding up Ingram. Was he stoning him dead at the LOS? No. But he was doing enough to keep RW clean. I thought he played fine.

              • CestrianHawk

                I don’t claim any expertise in judging line play, but after studying all of Ifedi’s snaps in the first half I came to the same conclusion as Rob. I found it hard to reconcile what I saw with statements such as “I watched 10 plays in a row and he was beat on all of them”.

                • Rob Staton

                  I’ve found the reaction baffling and increasingly I think he’s becoming a scapegoat.

                  He was fine. Got beat on a couple of bad snaps late in the half. But Brown was beat earlier in the game too. And it was Melvin Ingram not just some camp body.

                  • Logan Lynch

                    Rob,

                    I’ve seen it mentioned that SEA didn’t keep a TE in with Ifedi to help very often (and maybe not at all) this past week. Do you think this was a conscious decision to match him up 1-on-1 with Ingram and see how he holds up? Give them a bit of a barometer for his progression or lack thereof to show Solari what he needs to focus more on?

                    I actually agree with you that Ifedi had some very solid plays. For example, I remember he and Roos picked up a DL stunt. That frankly did not happen last year. It’s just that the negative ones get bandied about so much that it taints the overall picture. And to be fair (as was mentioned by Sam Gold from the Athletic), sometimes Russ was taking extremely deep drops which makes it tougher on the OL. There were a few plays where Russ could have stepped up into the pocket (there actually was one, I saw it!), and Ingram could’ve been pushed helplessly out of the play.

                    To finish my rant, as I mentioned below in a separate comment, Ifedi’s inconsistency is the most frustrating thing to me. He’s still a young player, that’s not unexpected. Is he improving from last year with Solari is what I want to know, and I haven’t really seen anyone address that. Side note, his poor plays seemed to come after Fluker left with an injury and was replaced by Roos (and I thought outside of that one stunt pickup, Roos played pretty poorly).

                    • Rob Staton

                      Personally I think Ifedi will be fine. The fans and the media overreacting to the way the first half ended on Saturday won’t help.

                      As for the TE — not sure to be honest. It might be they just want to keep things simple in pre-season and not tip their hat too much.

              • CHawk Talker Eric

                Thanks Rob I appreciate the feedback. I haven’t rewatched the game, and I acknowledge my recollection may be based on a couple of blown assignments Saturday, combined with Ifedi’s struggles from last season. Even with my misconception I’m not saying the sky is falling where Ifedi is concerned. It’s only the 2nd preseason game and Ingram is an elite EDGE defender.

  9. neil

    That 52 yard catch by Moore was terrific, but he was blanket double covered and it should have never been thrown. Could have just as easily been a pic. Maybe, Wilson took the chance because it is only pre season but he needs to take a big step forward this year and stop forcing balls and take what the defense gives him. The schedule is too daunting this year to be a gunslinger. In the first six games [ 4 on the road] The Hawks will only be a slight favorite in one, maybe. I understand they want to stretch the field this year to loosen up the defense for the run game, but Wilson has to be able to recognize double coverage.

    • FresnoHawk

      …..

  10. CHawk Talker Eric

    It’s easy to focus on our team to the exclusion of their opponent. LAC have one of the better rosters anywhere in the League. Pretty much only position they’re thin at is TE. I’m not making predictions about how far they’ll go this season, but they have a fine squad, even without Bosa in the lineup.

    I say this because it’s easy to look at Ifedi and think negatively. He wasn’t good last night, at least in pass pro. But he got beat by one of the top EDGE defenders in football. There just aren’t many RTs who could stonewall Ingram, and Ifedi’s just one of the many who can’t.

    If you’ll remember, one of my two “must gets” in the draft was Rasheem Green. Nuff sed. Trey Flowers and David Moore look promising too. I also thought the 2nd unit OL handled themselves almost as well as the Ones. It was nice to see Prosise get some action, even if against lesser competition later in the game.

    • FresnoHawk

      Flowers was good last night and he’s not afraid to hammer the RB loved it. I haven’t gotten the chance to watch much of Quill but last night I did, he looked like a #1 CB has that Wow quality!

  11. Uncle Bob

    Just some observations off the beaten path. One thing to keep in mind is how intact from last year’s team the Chargers are, particularly when compared to the significant changes the Hawks have wrought.

    All things considered the Hawk secondary isn’t looking as bad as all the doom and gloomers are/were predicting. T2 in particular did well. He hasn’t been called out for any big wiffs, in fact, when Flowers blew an assignment early Thompson was there to seal off the receiver for minimum gain after reception. Considering how well the passing game of the Chargers is developed, the obvious weaknesses of the Hawk pass rush, and the preseason environment, not a bad job for the group.

    David Moore champions should be very pleased, as should the coaching staff, with his ability to take possession of that double covered pass, but then follow that with the leaping catch then carrying the defender on his back attempting to cross the goal line. This kid wants that job.

    Glad to see Prosise have decent stats and not apparently get injured. However, his runs seemed more frenetic than the usual gliding style we’ve seen from him. Wonder if that’s reflective of some urgency in his mind?

    Some have said Vannett was nowhere to be seen, but he did have a chance to score in the end zone, but Russ put the ball just a bit behind where it needed to be to overcome the defender. That’s not on Vanett.

    Davis looked like a shell shocked warrior for the few plays he had. Granted, the O-line did him no favors, but McGough had a similar environ and managed to stay composed enough to put together a very nice scoring drive. Redemption, at least for a brief moment in time, for Alex.

    Jon Ryan is putting up a valiant fight for “his job”. Alas, hang time and placement just aren’t his game now……………….advantage the rook…………and man will he be fun to watch.

  12. Lewis

    My first thought coming out of this game was anybody who thinks there is still a punting competition is mistaken. For anyone that didn’t see it, there was a remarkable sequence in the second quarter.

    Two offensive drives stalled in a row deep in their own end of the field (more on this in a second). Dickson punted after the first, Ryan after the second. I believe the ball was between the 10 and 15 both times.

    Dickson’s punt traveled 55 yards and there was fielded with basically no return (maybe a yard or two). Ryan’s punt traveled two yards FURTHER. However, Ryan’s punt was in the air a full second less than Dickson’s. The difference a second makes? Ryan’s punt was returned for a touchdown.

    There is no punting competition. Not anymore.

    Now about those stalled drives. If I’m not mistaken, those came after Fluker left the game. I think Fluker may be helping to cover Ifedi’s flaws. I could be wrong on the timing, but it felt like the offense became much less effective after Fluker left.

  13. Regan

    Couple points…John Ryan trying to compete with the rook booms a punt and outkicks his coverage and gives up the TD. I put that mostly on him.

    Ifedi is hot garbage, he needs a TE on his side when going against a quality pass rusher like Ingram. Hopefully Ed Dickson can get his ass back on the field someday.

    I laughed every time they said Mr. McGoo. It’s just fun to say. Hope he makes the team or makes it to the PS.

    Can’t knock King for the TD, Mike Williams is a BEAST and he did have almost perfect coverage, had his hands on the ball, just couldn’t pull it out.

    Chargers may be the best team in the AFC.

    • FresnoHawk

      I almost thought the same thing on that punt and I’m still wondering why it was DE Martin that was 1st to try to make contact but stumbled and fell. Is our gunner a DE because everybody else is only fast with a running start? Looking for answers! Also LT said there will be a punt return by San Diego for a TD and there was. San Diego did everything right on that play they’re good real good!

  14. Shane

    This season is all about the offense. If its a top 8 or so offense then I think we make the playoffs. The D is young and wont get its feet under them until mid or even later in the season. The Offense has to put up points to win games. 3 things about the offense that stuck out to me were 1) Wilson is still not stepping up in pocket. 2) Horrible red zone efficiency 3) Too many deep passes. I get that you want to stretch the D, but this is preseason and the offense needs to find a rhythm in preseason. Honestly, I felt like I was watching the 2016-2017 all over again. If the Russ and the Offense can consistently be in rhythm and score tds instead of fgs then the playoffs are in play. But what I saw last night was same ole same ole…

  15. Shane

    This season is all about the offense. I felt like I was watching the same Seahawks offense of 2016 and 2017. Poor redzone efficiency, no offenseive rhythm and RW3 still unwilling to step up in the pocket and make plays. Yes, Ifedi stinks, but I saw 3 or 4 times where Russ could have stepped up and kept the play that was called in the huddle going. When he bails on the pocket the play becomes a new play. He’s the best at making unscripted plays work, but this year they need more rhythm and success on plays that are called in the huddle.

  16. Elmer

    If they keep 6 WR’s, who has the best shot at no. 6? Reynolds, Stringfellow, or Johnson? Is it time to say that Darboh may be done on this team? Same with McEvoy? I’m assuming that Baldwin, Lockett, Brown, Marshall, and Moore have it made.

  17. Logan Lynch

    Long weekend! haven’t read the story or the comments yet, but wanted to get my thoughts down before I was possibly influenced by reading some of what you great people wrote. Some of these may be repeats from Rob or others.

    -David Moore is exciting. He seems to be the next in line for the “jump-ball” receiver after having Tate and then Kearse. Personally, I think he’s a lock to make the team along with Doug, Lockett, and Jaron Brown. Marshall will probably make it as well since no one else has performed well enough to knock him off the roster in my opinion. Unless Darboh plays really well the next 2 weeks, he’s likely cut and possibly put on the PS. If they keep a 6th WR, it will be a special teams position. Maybe it’s a battle between an extra RB/CB/WR for that final roster spot.

    -Rasheem Green still looks very impressive. I’ve seen people talk about how a lot of his sacks are “cleanup” sacks and he doesn’t necessarily dominate off the snap and sack the QB. Ummm, so? Those kind of sacks count too.

    -Michael Dickson is very good.

    -Germain Ifedi is frustrating to me because of his inconsistency, but I don’t think there is a better option on the roster right now due to the injuries to Battle and Jones. He had a few terrible plays, but also had some very good ones. Fant is only playing LT right now and hasn’t been playing that well. Despite what PFF grading says, Beavers didn’t look very good either. Maybe Battle comes back soon and competes with Ifedi, but ultimately they may have to keep a TE next to Germain to help him out.

    -I honestly thought Jordan Roos played poorly. He also seemed to struggle last week. I know he made the roster last year, but I don’t think he’s necessarily safe this year.

    -Delano Hill seemed to struggle as well again. He was missing tackles and making incorrect reads, just kind of looking lost. Hopefully he picks it up.

    -Jacob Martin was a bit out of control this week and it showed up. He has a ways to go.

    -Prosise played a lot of snaps and stayed healthy. If that continues, he’s making this team.

    I have more thoughts, but I’ve already taken enough space. More to discuss later.

    • Mark Souza

      Prosise didn’t exactly wow me. I thought this would be his chance to shine. Great hands, I don’t think he missed a catch, but he really didn’t make people miss, which I thought would be his stock-in-trade. I wanted to see him turn a few of those 4 yard catches into double digits, especially against the opponents 2’s and 3’s.

      • Logan Lynch

        Valid points. I remember at least one catch where he got blasted immediately since McGough kind of hung him out to dry with a high throw. He also had to deal with the backup OL which didn’t give him much room in the running game.

  18. Matt

    My gut reactions watching that game and what I think it means for the season…

    -RW is going to put up an MVP caliber season. Legit chance he leads the league in TDs and QB rating.

    -David Moore WILL NOT get the PT we all think he deserves, BUT he will have a really nice season to propel himself into a much larger role come 2019.

    -Chris Carson ends up keeping the RB1 job for the entire season but barely breaks 1000 yards because…Mr. Penny will get substantial carries.

    -I don’t understand the cap implications…but I think Ed Dickson could be cut or put on IR. Vannett and Dissly look real nice and I think we see an awful lot of 2 TE sets moving forward.

    -Germain Ifedi loses his starting spot by week 10. What a wretched performance and combine that with no discipline….yikes. I hate to beat up on the kid, but he’s on the struggle bus.

    -The defense will be below average but the pieces of the next good defense will emerge in the form of Rasheem Green, Quinton Jefferson, Shaq Griffin X 2 and Tre Flowers. We already know how good Frank and Bobby are. I think Tedric and Delano perform admirably but prove to be pieces that we look to upgrade.

    -This is KJ’s swan song in Seattle. He looks like a different player which is not all that surprising. I think by season’s end you could see his role start to diminish, especially if the Hawks are out of playoff contention.

    -I think I see a very promising 7-9 win season. Sounds weird right? Well, I think we see the seeds of the next good team be planted.

    -Most importantly, I think we see a really fun team that plays with a lot of passion. If you view this season through the lens of transition; I think you are in for a fun one. Just manage your expectations.

    • Rob Staton

      That was not a wretched performance by Ifedi.

  19. Ishmael

    The Ifedi meltdown is classic Seahawks fandom these days unfortunately. Embarrassing stuff, largely detached from reality, and driven by a weird superiority complex where any error is unforgivable.

    Like most tackles he’s fine for about 80-90% of his snaps, but the 10-20% where it goes wrong are all the mouthbreathers on Twitter see. He’s not great, but there are plenty of places I’d start finger pointing before I got to Ifedi.

    It’s going to be a frustrating year

    • 80SLargent

      Apparently Pete Carroll is one of those “largely detached from reality, and driven by a weird superiority complex where any error is unforgivable mouthbreathers on Twitter. He’s said as of today, Fant is competing for the RT job, and from the beginning, Solari has said they’re looking for the best 5 to start. Does anyone with a functioning brain stem think Ifedi is one of their best 5 right now?
      Nobody is rooting for Ifedi to suck, but the guy far and away led the NFL in penalties last year, and he doesn’t seem to exactly be taking a step forward from that so far this year. As long as Fant is healthy, it’s not going to take him much to beat out Ifedi. Right now, Ifedi is broken, plain and simple, and the only thing they haven’t tried (yet) to fix him is to bench him. That could be exactly what he needs to get his head out of his hindparts.

      • Rob Staton

        First of all, less language like this: “Does anyone with a functioning brain stem think Ifedi is one of their best 5 right now?

        That’s not how we roll on this blog.

        Secondly, Carroll went to great lengths to praise both Fant and Ifedi today. It’s a competition. They have competition everywhere. He also noted Sweezy was competing ‘on the other side today’ (presumably the LG spot). So it’s nothing crazy or unique that they’re looking at Fant at RT.

        Thirdly, I think we’re just tired of the hyperbolic language some people are using on Ifedi. I know I am. Language like ‘Ifedi is broken’. No he isn’t. Stop it.

        • 80SLargent

          First of all, it isn’t hyperbole just because you’re tired of hearing it. I’d even wager most people saying this stuff are just as tired of saying it.

          Secondly, Carroll praises everyone – even when he’s benching or even cutting them from the team. We know his “praise” should be taken with a pretty significant grain of salt.

          Thirdly, what other spot on the O-Line is really up for grabs right now?
          The veteran Pro Bowl LT? Nope.
          The 2nd year LG? Nope.
          The 5th year C? Nope.
          The 6th year FA acquisition RG? Nope.
          Did they just take a guy they’ve had at LT his entire time and move him to RT? Yep.
          If Ifedi was doing even a decent job at RT, would that have happened? Nope.
          If saying Ifedi is broken is hyperbole, what exactly constitutes “broken”? Does it take Chaz Green versus Adrian Clayborn level of incompetence to constitute “broken”?
          Inquiring minds want to know, because Von Miller is absolutely licking his chops Week 1. Lined up over Ifedi, he could challenge Derrick Thomas’s single game sack record (also against the Seahawks).
          Seahawks fans just want to see a solid offensive line for a change. The glaring weakness thus far is RT, and the team’s actions reflect that. If getting to that solid offensive line means putting a 1st round pick on the bench for an undrafted free agent; even if a stint on the bench somehow makes the light bulb come on for said 1st round pick and he actually earns his spot, so be it.

          • Rob Staton

            Yes, it is hyperbole.

            “Ifedi is broken” is hyperbole.

            Pack it in.

            All this off the back of that game on Saturday that I’ve rewatched and his performance isn’t anywhere near as bad as people are claiming. I never thought Seahawks fans would be like this.

  20. GoHawksDani

    THANK YOU for not putting all the blame on Ifedi.
    Don’t get me wrong. I think he’s mediocre at best, and I’m not a fan of him, never was.
    But it’s crazy how everyone wants his head because of the Chargers game.
    How many penalties were on him? None. That’s huge. He wasn’t penalized in the Colts game either. That’s great. Hopefully, he can keep his game clean.
    I re-watched the first half of the game. He gave up a sack to Ingram, gave up a QB hit and two hurries. But c’mon guys, Brown also gave up a QB hit, and I didn’t have the time to dive deeper into, but I think they put a bit extra pressure on Ifedi as a weak link. And he was 1-on-1 all the time. He didn’t get any help from Fluker/Roos, didn’t get help from additional blockers (TE/FB/RB), didn’t get any chip from WRs/TEs. Yep. He is not the best. But he is much better than he was last year. When he was ready for the rush, he latched onto the rusher and held him. In the run game, he was one of the guys that made the most push.
    He needs to get better, and we might need to look for alternatives in the next offseason (not sure about FA market, I’d like to get D# from the draft). But reading many comments on FB and everywhere that we should just cut them, because of backups certainly better or we could get anyone from FA and that guy would be better is just maddening.
    This is not the best OL in football currently. But it’s much better than last year’s. And it has some potential.

    Other things I noticed:
    Chargers D# is ferocious. Yep, sometimes they were weak against the deep ball, but otherwise, their secondary was latched onto our receivers and only left Russ very little room to work with.

    Jaron and David Moore. Wow, we must keep those guys. Really nice grabs, good plays.

    DL provided little pressure only. They might need a bit more time to gel. Johnson had a nice play when he pushed a double team back a little (didn’t generate much pressure but it was good to see the strength). Jefferson played well. I think Jackson had a batted ball, nice move. Green played OK. Yeah, he had some nice stats, but that was against backups mostly. So yeah, he’s good but let’s not get carried away.
    Also noticed that their OL played with much better angles. Our guys should get lower. When I saw the game first it seemed much worse. After re-watching the first half they weren’t as bad as I remembered, but they need to be a bit more consistent, bit better in their technique and we need to be more dynamic.

    Not happy with our LBs. Neither Bobby, KJ or Mingo made a lot of plays. And not sure who’s that on, but there were some issues with short-middle routes and screens and when a runner broke the LOS it wasn’t for 3-4 yards but more than 7-8 too many times.

    I’d love to hear someone’s opinion about our new safety tandem. I think McDougald is pretty good (makes some mistakes, but seem so eager and fast). He’s not BamBam, but I think he’s a better cover guy and faster than Kam. I have no idea about T2. He didn’t seem to make many mistakes, but neither big plays. Not sure if anyone checked his play out closer to see if he’s mehh, or mediocre or good, or destined to be great?

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