Bummer: Chris Carson Retired

Posted on July 27, 2022 by dunderhead99

It was announced yesterday that Chris Carson has retired. Really, it’s more of a medically-induced forced retirement, because I would say if it weren’t for a spinal injury, he’d have many more yards left to gain.

Carson packed a lot into his 5-year career. Even though he was a 7th round draft pick, you could tell right away that this was a different type of running back. He came to us in kind of a fallow period for Seahawks running backs. 2015 was Marshawn Lynch’s last year here, but by then Thomas Rawls appeared to be the heir apparent. That was short-lived, as 2016 was not only a step-back for him, but for the entire running game, with Christine Michael leading the way with less than 500 yards. 2017 was a running back nadir for this team; Russell Wilson led the team in rushing with 586 yards, and the next guy on the list was Mike Davis with 240.

However, even though Carson finished his rookie season with only 208 yards, he made quite an impression. It was unfortunate that his year ended with injury after 4 games, because if he’d stuck around, he surely would’ve propped up the entire running back room with his powerful running style.

Carson returned mostly healthy in 2018 and had back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. However, he could never quite make it a full year unscathed. By 2020, injuries were starting to encroach more and more, culminating in another 4-game season in 2021, with his neck injury leading us to this point.

He finishes his career 8th in Seahawks history with 3,502 rushing yards. It’s right where you’d expect him to be, with the usual suspects in the top 7: Shaun Alexander, Chris Warren, Curt Warner, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson, John L. Williams, and Ricky Watters all ahead of him. It’s impossible to project where he could’ve ended up had he stayed healthy, because that’s a relative term. Even if he didn’t have this spinal issue, you have to imagine there’d be usual bumps and bruises that would limit him at times.

But, I’ll say this: at his peak, there weren’t many guys I’d rather have on my team. Chris Carson was indeed one of the best running backs in the NFL. Good vision, great size, fierce tenacity to get those extra yards. He was the true heir apparent to Marshawn Lynch, and it’s just a damn shame he couldn’t extend his career out a few more years.

The only frustrating thing about his career was the fact that you never had any idea when it would happen, but make no mistake, you always knew an injury was lurking around every corner. In the early going, I’d cheer like crazy whenever he ran over a guy for a few extra yards. But, by the end, I was wincing every time he took any sort of hit.

In the end, Carson joins a long line of Seahawks legends who’ve had their careers cut drastically short in recent years due to injury. But, ultimately, you can’t risk it. You can’t risk being paralyzed just for the game of football. The note that came out says the Seahawks “took care of him” by … whatever they did when they released him. He’s supposedly getting a few extra million dollars on the way out, which is only right.

The real tragedy of it all is the fact that we could never really build a winner around him. Carson got saddled in a stupid period of Seahawks football, post-LOB, but still with Russell Wilson at the helm. In his five years, we made the playoffs three times, and went 1-3 in those games. And he didn’t even get to be part of the lone victory, thanks to being on IR by that point in the season.

Oh, what might’ve been. Still, I’ll always look back fondly on a punishing runner with sky-high potential.

Seahawks Death Week: What Will They Do This Off-Season?

Posted on January 4, 2018 by dunderhead99

I got into what I think the Seahawks should do this off-season in this post following the debacle against the Rams, so I don’t want to repeat myself all over the place this soon after. I’m on record as saying that I don’t necessarily think THIS is the year to blow it all up and start over – nor do I think that’s the direction the team will take – my whole agenda is to loosen up the cap a little and prepare for a bigger overhaul in 2019. In short, that means letting the dead weight walk (Jimmy Graham, Sheldon Richardson, Luke Joeckel, Eddie Lacy, Blair Walsh, and all the other guys on 1-year deals, except for maybe Bradley McDougald, depending on what happens with the other safeties on the roster); further trimming some of the fat by getting rid of guys like Jon Ryan, Cliff Avril, Jeremy Lane and Thomas Rawls; and then making calculated decisions on some of the aging vets nearing the ends of their deals. For the most part, I’m cool with hanging on to a lot of guys – Bennett, Sherman, Earl, Wright, maybe Kam if doctors clear him to play again – but I’m not going to be devastated if the team opts to trade/release them. I do think, however, that all of those guys should be playing for their jobs in 2018 if they remain, and we look to clean house after 2018 if the team’s record plummets.

So, that’s my take. In a nutshell: run it back with the same core – or close to it – don’t make any crazy trades or high-priced free agent signings (in order to keep our compensatory picks for 2019’s draft), and if things fall apart for a third straight year with injuries, look to the 2019 draft/free agent class to replenish the roster with younger/hungrier options. The key being: DON’T FUCK WITH THE 2019 DRAFT. I don’t know if it’s going to be a good one or not; all I know is we can’t keep kicking the can down the road with these inflated veteran contracts and bad draft classes. And, if we’re going to be bad in 2018 – like I think we probably will be – then at least take advantage of the higher draft picks in each round by having all of them in place.

With that out of the way, what do I think the Seahawks will actually do?

Well, for starters, I don’t think they’ll do everything that I’d like them to do, and I don’t know how that makes me feel. I’m conflicted, because on the one hand In Pete & John We Trust, but on the other hand I just don’t know if they have it in them to be patient. They’re constantly aggressive, which is part of what made their moves from 2010-2012 so dynamic and franchise-altering; but it’s also a big part of this team’s downfall. Start with the Percy Harvin disaster, which gave way to letting Golden Tate walk, which ultimately led to them doubling-down on their mistake by trading for Jimmy Graham, who has never been a fit for this team – even when we finally figured out how to use him in the red zone two years too late – and the Seahawks’ only real offensive success has come when he was out with his knee injury. I absolutely, 2,000% believe that’s no coincidence, and if they bring him back on a high-priced contract, I seriously might have to reconsider whether or not I want to keep following this team as a fan. I don’t care how shitty the draft is at the tight end position, and I don’t care how shitty the tight end free agency class is; if you over-pay for Jimmy Graham, because he’s Russell Wilson’s BFF or whatever, I’ll probably have to take a break from investing myself in this team as thoroughly as I have over the years.

I don’t know if I actually believe they WILL bring him back, and I honestly don’t think he wants to be back, so my hunch is that will work itself out. But, my fear is that they compound this thing even further by trading for some other offensive weapon that’s a terrible fit for our particular scheme, style, and quarterback. I’m not a fan of trading for receivers in any capacity anyway (be they tight end or wide receiver); if I had my druthers, if the Seahawks are going to make any splashes in the passing game, I’d rather they extend Paul Richardson (though, that’s really the lesser of two evils, and in a perfect world the Seahawks would do neither).

I think the Seahawks have lost their minds when it comes to trading away draft picks, so expect more of the same. I would anticipate Plan A is for them to trade back from the 18th pick to get an extra second and/or third rounder, to go along with a low first rounder. I highly doubt there’s a player in this draft who’d fall to them at 18 that would lead them to take him over trading down and collecting more picks, but if there is, then I think you really have to be concerned about this team trading some of its 2019 picks to get back into the second and/or third rounds, which is my nightmare. Of course, my WORST nightmare is they trade 18 for some other team’s unwanted veteran, citing the tried and true (and misguided) credo of: he’s better for us right now than any college player we would’ve taken with that pick. If I fucking hear that one more fucking time, I’m gonna lose it.

See, the worst part of where the Seahawks are at right now, with their core as it is, the salary cap where it is, and where they often find themselves drafting, is we’re in a prime position to finish anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 every year, until we somehow, miraculously find ourselves hitting more on these draft picks. Which means, unless we find some magic elixir that keeps these fucking guys healthy for a full season, it’s gonna be a long, frustrating road back to Super Bowl contention. And, we can kiss goodbye any thought of being as good as we were from 2012-2014. It’s the New Orleans Saints model, and I fucking hate it, because it took them fucking forever to get as good as they were this season, and even now it’s no guarantee that they’ll make it to the Super Bowl, or be great for years to come.

I also think the Seahawks have at least one big free agent splash in them, be it an offensive lineman, an outside pass rusher, or some sort of stud interior pass rusher. I doubt that means re-signing Sheldon Richardson (who I would prefer, if for no other reason than to preserve our comp pick for Jimmy Graham going elsewhere), but I bet it WILL mean we lose out on the surefire 3rd round comp pick we would’ve gotten for whatever insane contract Sheldon will end up signing with some sucker team.

Ultimately, I think it means while a bunch of our outgoing free agents get signed elsewhere, the best we can hope for in comp picks is a 4th or 5th rounder, with a very real chance we get stuck with a 6th or 7th rounder, or nothing at all, if this front office continues to chase the dragon on whoever the equivalent of Luke Joeckel and Eddie Lacy are this upcoming offseason (1-year fliers on the hope of turning around total miserable busts).

It’s bleak, man. That’s really what I’m getting at. I think we’ll get our panties in a wad about some of the free agent signings, as the Seahawks continue to put Band Aids over their amputated limbs; and then we’ll further blow our loads over whatever prospects we settle for in the draft, but will any of it translate to real, tangible improvement? In the running game? In the offensive line? In the passing game? In the pass rush? In the run defense? In the pass defense? At all those levels we struggled at in 2017? And, will there be any LASTING tangible improvement? Or, will half of these guys immediately go down with injury and leave us scrambling yet again to plug the dike?

See, these temporary fixes that the team has employed the last couple years – the same ones I fear they’ll continue trying in 2018 – are what the fanbase at large wants to see. They want to see heads roll. They want to see a massive influx of free agent help. But, the smart franchises don’t over-react to every fucking thing. The smart franchises plan for the future as they continue to play for the present. You don’t have to be the Cleveland Browns – throwing away every valuable player to accumulate as many prospects and draft picks as possible – but you also shouldn’t be the Ravens or Saints – clinging to aging vets and trading away your future picks/prospects in hopes of winning now over all else. Unfortunately for where we are now, the Seahawks have veered over into that Ravens/Saints territory, and have drastically reduced their future flexibility and prospect pool in the process. While some of the moves might have made sense at the time (the Sheldon Richardson & Duane Brown trades in particular), we have to admit they ultimately failed this year, and might have crippled this organization in the short term future. The worst thing you can do is cripple yourselves in the long term future on top of it.

So, take a bath in 2018. Ride it out, and set yourselves up to be in a position to take advantage of things in 2019. Otherwise, expect to keep spinning your wheels in the land of the .500 teams, never quite making the playoffs and never quite getting bad enough to draft the improvements you need for sustained success.

I’m … I’m not going into 2018 with any semblance of a good headspace when it comes to the professional Seattle teams. Wake me up when the year is over.

Dominant Seahawks Victory Harkens Back To A Simpler Time

Posted on November 27, 2017 by dunderhead99

The Seahawks were favored and covered a spread, you say?

This was classic Seahawks, for the most part. The defense shut out the 49ers for most of the first half, until they got a field goal on their final drive. Not for nothing, but the defense also accounted for the 7 points the Seahawks had at halftime, by picking off a pass deep in 49ers territory. It was 7-3 at the break, but it felt like 70-3.

The 49ers got another field goal on their first drive of the second half, but after that the offense picked it up. The 49ers wouldn’t score again until the final play of the game, hitting on a garbage-time touchdown against a bunch of reserve defenders, making the final score 24-13.

Russell Wilson had an efficient game, throwing for 228, running for another 25, and accounting for all three touchdowns. Paul Richardson had a nice little game, catching 4 balls for 70 yards; Jimmy Graham had 3 for 34 and a touchdown; all told, 7 receivers caught passes from Wilson, and all of them had at least 2 receptions.

If there’s a quibble, it’s – of course – the running game, which was decidedly NOT “Classic Seahawks”. Eddie Lacy led the way – the same way a crash test dummy “leads the way” into a brick wall – with 17 carries for 46 yards. He showed zero elusiveness, zero ability to push the pile forward, and in general zero ability PERIOD. But, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. J.D. McKissic was more effective, with 22 yards on 4 carries, but it’s unknown at this time how effective he’d be with an increased workload. We probably use him just the right amount, if I’m being honest (he also had 4 catches for 24 yards).

The real shock was the fact that Thomas Rawls was active, yet didn’t record a single carry, and may have been on the field for just a handful (one?) of plays. He was ripped by Tom Cable earlier in the week for playing running back like a fucking spaz, so that’s probably part of it, but it was all the more surprising that he didn’t at least get some garbage time touches to see if he could run more effectively. Considering Mike Davis should be back this week, it’ll be interesting to see what that means for Rawls going forward. He might not get much play the rest of the season unless guys start getting injured (which, if you’ve seen the Seahawks the last couple years, you’ll know it’s a virtual certainty that he’ll be starting games before too long).

It was nice to see the defense look like its old elite self. Of course, this is the 1-win 49ers, so it’s not like the task was too big. Nevertheless, the line got great pressure on the quarterback, Bobby Wagner continued his All Pro calibre play, and we were able to keep Carlos Hyde & Co. in check.

The win brought the Seahawks to 7-4, with a showdown against the Eagles coming up next Sunday night. The Rams handled the Saints at home to stay a game up at 8-3. And, the Wild Card teams (Carolina & Atlanta) both won to keep pace. You could argue the Lions losing on Thanksgiving helps the Seahawks (who currently sit 7th in the NFC), but the real big help will come from the fact that there are currently 3 NFC South teams in playoff contention, and they should all beat up on one another pretty good the rest of the way.

Down Goes Sherman & Prosise, Up Comes Davis & Maxwell

Posted on November 15, 2017 by dunderhead99

There were a couple of major injuries (as well as a lot of – hopefully – minor injuries) in last week’s Thursday Night game. At the top of the heap is Richard Sherman, who was placed on IR this week, and is definitively finished for the 2017 season. What that means for his future in a Seahawks uniform is a conversation for another day (I, for one, hope he comes back and plays his entire career in a Seahawks uniform). What we know right now is that the L.O.B. took a major hit, and the Seahawks are a worse football team for it.

In his place, Byron Maxwell was signed to a minimum deal. You remember Byron Maxwell! He started his career in Seattle! In his first two years (2011-2012), when he was healthy, he played mostly special teams. He ended up taking over for Brandon Browner in 2013 and had a brilliant finish to the season, culminating (obviously) in a Super Bowl victory. He entered the 2014 season as the starter opposite Richard Sherman and had another fine year. So fine a year, in fact, that the Eagles signed him to a 6-year, $63 million deal.

We all know how that turned out. He played one year in Philadelphia, earned a little over $13 million, then was traded to the Dolphins where he played a season and change, earned $17 million, before being released on October 24th of this year. In his time away from Seattle, he didn’t play well. You could argue that he wasn’t in the right scheme, and maybe that he was counted upon to be someone that he’s not, but there’s a reason why he’s been on the open market for three full weeks.

Now, he’s still only 29 years old, and just three years ago he was good enough to start opposite the best cornerback in the game, so I have to believe he can be a useful piece for Seattle. We have the same coaches, we have a lot of the same pieces on defense, we’re more or less running the same scheme, so he should fit right in! The question that remains is: will he be effective?

There’s a major issue here that I’m not hearing a lot of talk about, and that’s the fact that not only are we replacing a legend, but we’re replacing someone who consistently – and almost exclusively – played on the right side of the field (from the offense’s perspective). Every guy we’ve run out there at cornerback has been put on the left side for the most part. How much of a change will it be for someone like Jeremy Lane – who looks to get the start opposite Shaq Griffin, who they apparently would like to keep on the left side of the field for now? And, if Lane doesn’t work out, how will Griffin or Maxwell fare on the right side? These are questions we just don’t know the answer to, because Richard Sherman never took a game off! He rarely took any PLAYS off! When you double-down on the fact that most right handed quarterbacks (and most quarterbacks ARE right handed) prefer to throw to their right, and it could be a long day (and a long rest of the season) for whoever they put over there.

And, don’t forget the lack of a vote of confidence in DeShawn Shead’s recovery process. Pete Carroll noted on the radio that he’d hit a plateau, which CAN’T be good, considering the Seahawks have to make a decision on him by early next week, to either bring him back to the active roster (in hopes that he’ll get over the hump and back onto the playing field at some point this season) or put him on IR and crush all the hopes and dreams of Seahawks fans everywhere who’d been counting on his return.

It’s going to be vital for Shaq Griffin to take another big step forward in his progression, as I feel like Earl Thomas is going to have to live on the opposite side of the field the rest of the way.

Also, not for nothing, but assuming we ever play another game again this year where all three of our safeties are healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more 3-safety looks, perhaps with Earl taking over coverage duties against the other team’s best wide receiver. Probably more likely that we’d see McDougald in that type of role, but I bet in big moments we see Earl take over. Boy, I hope he’s fully healthy this week.

Moving on, the Seahawks have put down C.J. Prosise, much to everyone’s relief. Fans are obviously frustrated with him, because he was a high draft pick, because he’s CONSTANTLY injured and taking up a valuable roster spot, and because he’s so talented that we KNOW he’d be a game-changer for this offense if he could just stop getting nicked up every time he steps onto the field.

It’s been endless since he entered the league. Not for nothing, but this was also a problem for him in college – to a lesser degree – but the Seahawks rolled the dice on him anyway. He was injured in (or before?) training camp as a rookie. He ended up playing in 6 games last year, having a positive impact in three of them. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this team was playing at its very best in 2016 when Prosise was healthy and commanding his share of the touches:

@ New England, won 31-24, 17 rushes for 66 yards & 7 receptions for 87 yards
vs. Philadelphia, won 26-15, 4 rushes for 76 yards and a TD, & 2 receptions for 5 yards

He was shut down after that Philly game, and the Seahawks immediately lost to the Bucs. They beat the Panthers, but lost Earl Thomas, and the rest was history.

This year, he played in 5 games, having a positive impact in just one of them (a loss on the road to Tennessee, he caught 3 balls for 65 yards while rushing 4 times for 9 yards). Hell, in the Giants game, he was injured on the first play while trying to make a block! With him having spent more time on the rehab table than on the field, it’s been an endless cycle of doing everything in his power to get back to football, then immediately getting hurt again. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: he needs to take some time away from the game, get right, get STRONGER, and hopefully come back to a healthy and lucrative career in 2018.

If he’s not spending his entire offseason at the squat rack, I’m going to be VERY upset with him.

In his place, Mike Davis gets called up from the practice squad. I don’t know HOW he’s lasted on the Seahawks’ practice squad all year, but the Seahawks are very fortunate to have him now. He spent his first two years in the league as a backup in San Francisco, not really doing a whole lot. We claimed him off waivers back in May and he had a nice run in the pre-season, playing in all four games. Honestly, I thought he deserved a roster spot, but the team had Thomas Rawls, they’d just signed Eddie Lacy to be their big bruising back, they had C.J. Prosise, they had J.D. McKissic as C.J. Prosise insurance, they had Tre Madden as a fullback, and they drafted Chris Carson who looked like the Running Back Of The Future for this team. In a numbers game, the Seahawks ended up releasing both Davis and Alex Collins (who has gone on to great success in Baltimore, much to Seahawks fans’ chagrin). But, with Carson and Prosise on IR, and with Lacy nursing an injury, it’s Rawls and Davis, with McKissic as your third down back. And, considering Rawls’ injury history, I think it’s only a matter of time before Mike Davis is the starter.

There’s a reason why Mike Davis was on the practice squad all this time. One could argue that the rest of the league didn’t think he was worth the roster spot, which is fair. But, on the flipside, the Seahawks churn through their practice squad as much as any team, but it doesn’t seem like they ever even flirted with getting rid of Davis (not that their running game should’ve inspired enough confidence to do so, but still). I think they like him a lot. And, for what it’s worth, so do I.

I don’t think Davis is elite in any areas, but I think he’s solid in every area. He’s what I would describe as a running back’s running back. Sure-handed, blocks well, will hit the correct hole more often than not, can catch a pass out of the backfield, I think he can do everything you’d ever ask of a running back. He may not have elite speed or power, but he’s good enough in those areas. On top of that, he MUST have better patience and vision than someone like Rawls, who gets the ball and turns into that old Warner Bros. Tasmanian Devil cartoon.

Mike Davis probably isn’t someone you’d want to build your offense around, but I believe he’s the best early-down back this team’s got at the moment, and he could be a fine #2 going forward behind someone like Chris Carson.

Seahawks Barely Get By Deshaun Watson & The Texans

Posted on October 30, 2017 by dunderhead99

This was a game you’ll love if you’re a fan of numbers. Specifically offensive numbers, as we had oodles. Russell Wilson: 452 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 30 rushing yards. Deshaun Watson: 402 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs, 67 rushing yards. DeAndre Hopkins: 11 catches, 224 yards, 1 TD. Will Fuller: 5 catches, 125 yards, 2 TDs. Tyler Lockett: 6 catches, 121 yards. Paul Richardson: 6 catches, 105 yards, 2 TDs. Jimmy Graham: 4 catches, 39 yards, 2 TDs. Hell, even Lamar Miller had 54 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards, and 2 combined TDs. Offense. For. Days.

But, it was pretty slim pickin’s as far as defense is concerned. Earl Thomas came back with a pick-six after giving up a long opening-drive touchdown bomb. Richard Sherman had a couple interceptions after being challenged with impunity all game. Jadeveon Clowney was a beast, both in pass rush and particularly in the run game. The Seahawks had 5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss, including big games for Bennett, Clark, Wright, and Wagner. Even Dwight Freeney got in on the action with half a sack.

All of those things were great, but you don’t come out of a 41-38 game and heap praise on the defense. And, I gotta tell ya, while it was a refreshing change of pace to see the Seahawks go out there and sling the ball up and down the field, I think I still prefer it when our defense is the best group on the field. There’s something about both teams scoring on 13 possessions out of 26 (not counting end-of-half kneeldowns) that’s a little overwhelming.

What I did like was the fact that no team was ever up by more than 7 points. That’s pretty rare, considering how much scoring took place. I mean, the Over damn near hit before halftime! When there’s a game like this, it usually involves the Seahawks looking like crap for the first half, then scrambling to come back by multiple scores to win by some miracle at the end. This one was just a slugfest; two insane offenses throwing haymakers back and forth.

In a game like this, you can take it one of two ways: you can breathe a sigh of relief and live with your heads in the clouds over how the offense moved the ball. Just throw out the books and appreciate this one for what it was: probably the most exciting game (from start to finish) in the NFL this season (perhaps narrowly edging that Chiefs/Raiders Thursday Night game a couple weeks back, but I don’t want to succumb to recency bias). Or, if you’re like me, maybe you can’t help but see some of the warts.

I’m willing to more or less overlook the L.O.B.’s lack of dominance in this one, because let’s face it: they’ve pulled this offense’s ass out of the fire on PLENTY of occasions. Every once in a while, they deserve to have a bad game and somehow the team still finds a way to win.

I thought, for the most part, the run defense looked pretty good, aside from some key breakdowns in contain when it comes to Deshaun Watson. I mean, where was the spy? Isn’t this game tailor-made for Bobby Wagner to have eyes on Watson all game? What you absolutely can’t have happen is the line getting sucked over to one side, with 20 yards of open field for Watson to punish us.

More than anything, you can say the Seahawks’ defense – while mediocre as a whole – made just enough big plays when it mattered most. The aforementioned Earl Thomas interception returned for a touchdown. The Sherman interception that led directly to a field goal that gave the Seahawks their first lead of the game at 27-24. The sacks and D-Line pressure that led to the Texans’ five punts on the day. And, the biggest play of the day that no one is talking about:

With just under 3 minutes to go in the game, and the Texans up 38-34, the Seahawks were driving. Russell Wilson just scrambled for 21 yards that had me literally exclaim, “Wow, how did he do that?!” He stepped up in the pocket and ran through a nexus of three Texans who all converged on a single spot, and instead of getting his block knocked off, he somehow caused all three of them to hit one another as he scampered to the 20 yard line. At that point, it was without question that the Seahawks would re-take the lead, and the only question that would remain would be: did we leave the Texans too much time on the clock? Except, instead, Wilson treated everyone to his single worst throw of the game, an out-route that was easily picked off, as if he had intended to throw it to the defender.

(which, I mean, let’s not rule this out. You know as well as I do that Russell Wilson is a wizard. He just is. He’s magic, and we’re all fortunate to be graced with his presence. So, hear me out on this: what if he could see into the future, realize we were in the process of scoring too quickly, and had we done so, Deshaun Watson would be the one everyone is lauding for his last-minute game-winning efforts? I submit this as my argument that he MEANT to throw that interception, knowing we’d get the ball back, and ultimately score with too little time left on the clock for the Texans to do anything about it)

But, I digress. Getting back to the biggest play of the day that no one is talking about:

The Texans took over with just under three minutes left in the game. They ran the ball for 4 yards on first down, the Seahawks opted to save their time out. They ran the ball for 8 yards on second down, and we hit the two-minute warning with a fresh set of downs. After the break, the Texans ran again for 1 yard, time out. THEN, we get to the play of the game: second down, hand off to Miller again, this time for 5 yards. But, if you look at it, the Texans had that thing blocked to go for double-digit yards or more. Things just opened up like you wouldn’t believe, and if it weren’t for Michael Bennett diving in there and slapping at his foot to get him to fall down, the Texans would’ve ended the game right there. Go back and look at it! If you can find it, that is, because like I said, hardly anyone is talking about it, and yet the only reason the Seahawks had a chance at the end is because Michael Bennett saved the day.

Now, I’ll also say I agree with the majority of America today: Bill O’Brien should’ve put the ball in Watson’s hands on at least the third down play. I can see it both ways: with the run, you take away Seattle’s final time out, and as I just discussed, there’s a decent chance of converting a 3rd & 4 with the way things were going as recently as that very drive. But, on the other hand, Watson was a juggernaut yesterday. You could’ve run with him, you could’ve had him drop back and pass, you could’ve done a run-pass option, you could’ve done one of those fucking plays where he fakes it to three other guys before hitting a fourth option (that our defense somehow could NOT figure out, at any point in this game). Instead, in hindsight, it feels pretty weak to just run it back up the middle again for the fifth straight play. The Seahawks stopped it for a 2-yard gain and the rest was history.

I suppose more of my consternation with this game comes from the fact that the Seahawks’ run game was abysmal. I mean, just the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’ve lived through full seasons of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett!

Part of this absolutely has to do with Chris Carson going down with injury, because God fucking dammit would he come in handy right about now! Why do all of our best running backs have to be fucking injured all the God damn time? Him and Prosise this year, Rawls and Prosise last year, Rawls the year before. I mean, shit!

Part of this has to do with Eddie Lacy, because he’s effectively useless. I’d been willing to give him time to grow with this offense up until this game, because he’s a volume rusher, and gets better the more you feed him (ironically enough). But, 6 carries for 0 yards? No. No thank you. Go home, eat your China food, and waste some other team’s time. You’ll never for ONE SECOND get me to believe the guys on the active roster are better than Mike Davis, who is LANGUISHING on the practice squad right now.

Which gets me to my next gripe: Darrell Bevell. Not Darrell Bevell the play-caller, mind you. I know that’s what everyone gets on him about, but again, I thought he called a pretty great game, all things considered. He gave the running game everything he had, but it clearly wasn’t working and he gave it up for the most part in the second half. What I’ve got a problem with is Darrell Bevell the offensive coordinator. And, by that I mean, the way he designs his offense, and how he uses the players he’s got.

It took him FUCKING FOREVER before he put Jimmy Graham out wide near the goalline this season. Why is that? Because he doesn’t want to tip off his play-calling. It’s why he lines Graham up inside on run plays, when Graham is the worst blocking tight end in the universe. You can’t just have Graham out there on passing plays, because then defenses will expect that. SO FUCKING WHAT? Here’s a newsflash, you fucking moron: what you’re doing now – by “out-thinking” the defense – ISN’T FUCKING WORKING! Rushing plays with Graham on the field get blown up CONSTANTLY!

Same goes for Thomas Rawls, out there on third downs. Why would you do this when you’ve got a talent like J.D. McKissic? Oh, because if McKissic is out there, the defense will know you’re passing? WHO CARES? It beats throwing to a fucking stone-hands, who drops carefully-lobbed balls in the endzone!

I come from the school that says, “Put my best 11 guys up against your best 11 guys and let the chips fall where they may.” Because, more often than not during the Pete Carroll/John Schneider Era, the Seahawks have had the most talent in the NFL. That’s just a fact. And, you know what? It used to be enough for this team. The Seahawks used to be a team (albeit, with Beastmode in the backfield, which obviously has to account for a lot) that would run the ball when the opposing team had 8-9 guys in the box, and we’d STILL get a productive gain on the play! Because our 11 guys were better than their 11 guys, and we’d make them pay for their inferiority.

But, nowadays? The Seahawks have lost their sack. They’re trying to get cute, which leads to throws to Rawls, runs towards Graham’s side, long bombs to McEvoy, and fullbacks streaking free up the middle for 66-yard gains. Which, obviously, when it works – like the throw to Madden, and the 53-yard bomb to McEvoy – you look like a genius. But, more often than not, those plays haven’t been working this season, and you just look like an asshole who’s trying to get a head coaching job somewhere else. Which, GREAT, DO IT, GET OUT OF HERE! But, of course, the NFL sees right through that, so we’ll be stuck with Bevell here for as long as Pete Carroll remains head coach. It’s our burden, but one I’m willing to live with. Still doesn’t mean I’m not going to bitch about it.

Thankfully, the receivers were there to pick up the slack. Doug Baldwin was mostly quiet, which is shocking. But, we had 100-yard games from Lockett and Richardson, who both had a bevy of long bombs they went up and snagged. P-Rich in particular looks like the Golden Tate we’ve been lacking since we let him walk to Detroit. See, the Seahawks don’t necessarily need a guy who’s 6’5; we just need a guy like Richardson who’s 6’0, but can jump like a freak of nature. Thankfully, he’s been able to stay healthy, because he sure looks like a stud this season.

Let’s finish with some quick hitters.

The Seahawks took over their final drive on their own 20 yard line, and Russell Wilson immediately uncorked a dagger. Honestly, I don’t know how Ifedi got away without a holding flag, and I’ll admit, I half-expected another flag on P-Rich for offensive-PI (replays showed that to be a clean catch, but I’ve seen flags for less contact than that).

I hope Earl Thomas’ hamstring injury isn’t too serious. At the same time, I was relieved that Steven Terrell wasn’t back there to get torched in the game’s closing moments.

I thought the Special Teams got short shrift for having a pretty great game. The Texans didn’t get much of anything on their returns, Jon Ryan made some clutch punts off of some poor snaps, and Blair Walsh was a silent assassin. He made his two field goals (both pretty short range), and all 5 of his extra points, which ended up being huge, particularly the last two that gave us 3-point leads, as a Houston field goal in response would’ve only tied the game instead of given them the lead. The NFL’s objective with the longer extra points was to make them more exciting, and while I hate them with a passion and wish like Hell that they’d move them back to the 2-yard line, I have to admit they’re maddeningly interesting, particularly in games like this.

Finally, I’d like to shout out the offensive line. Not so much for the running game, in which their blocking was predictably awful; but in pass protection, they were okay!

I know, the narrative now and forever is that the pass-protection was, is, and always will be dreadful. But, I mean, if it was really THE WORST as everyone (particularly the national media) claims it to be, could Wilson have thrown for a franchise-record 452 yards? Obviously, while it wasn’t the best, and a stick figure quarterback like Jay Cutler or Eli Manning would be lunch meat behind this kind of line, it was Good Enough. Hawkblogger’s Sunday night tweets go into it in a lot of detail, so check out his Twitter. Essentially, the Seahawks were middle-of-the-road, from a leaguewide perspective, when it comes to pass protection, and God bless ’em, that’s all Russell Wilson needs! Hell, that’s all any of us have been clamoring for since Wilson busted out onto the scene! We don’t need a Top 5 unit to put up a ton of points, just give us a Top 15-20 unit and watch us go to work! And, yesterday, the O-Line (again, from strictly a pass-protection perspective), played like just that. They gave Wilson time to throw, and when they didn’t, they at least opened up lanes for him to scramble around until he could find someone down field. That’s our game!

What’s frustrating is when there’s a guy in his face on the third step of his 3-step drop. I’m sure the Texans’ defensive numbers will show a lot of good pressures on Wilson, but those are the types of pressures we can all live with. And, in the end, it all added up to Wilson’s best day as a pro.

Of course, we’ll never REALLY know how much of that was due to his wizardry, but that’s the beauty of magic: it’s more fun when you DON’T know the magician’s secrets.

Seahawks Handle Inept Giants

Posted on October 23, 2017 by dunderhead99

I feel like we could say this every week, but I’m gonna say it again: it should’ve been MUCH easier than that.

The Seahawks went into New Jersey and beat the Giants by a score of 24-7. That sounds like a quality, sound win, right? 17 points easily covered the spread. Pretty hard to complain about a 3-score victory. And yet, here we are.

For starters, I should point out that I have no beef with the defense. They were what we thought they were. I said in my preview on Friday that the Giants had no business scoring more than 9 points in this game, and lo and behold look at what we got. On top of that, the 7 they DID score came off of a fumble recovery; they had to go all of 17 yards to get their lone score. Someone said something to this effect on Twitter yesterday: the offense gave up 3 points and the defense only gave up 4 points. That’s the appropriate way to look at this. You could argue the Seahawks should’ve shut them out, which would’ve been the second consecutive time they shut out the Giants on the road (last time: 23-0 back in 2013).

Eli Manning was held to 134 yards, on 19/39. The running game was held to 46 yards on 17 carries for a 2.7 average. The Giants were 2/12 on third down and 0/1 on fourth down; not counting turnovers or end of half, the Giants were held to a 3 & Out on four possessions. Really, the only guy who had a good day on offense was their tight end, Evan Engram, who caught 6 for 60 with a TD. On the one hand, that’s kind of annoying that it was their tight end who had all the success, but he really was their ONLY weapon on offense (Sterling Shepard was a pre-game scratch). Also, the Seahawks were shadowing him with Bradley McDougald most of the time, which overall was pretty successful. I mean, Engram had 6 catches, but he was targeted 12 times.

The Giants couldn’t do a damn thing, bottom line. And if the Seahawks’ offense didn’t repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot, they would’ve been buried early in this one. This was the type of smothering defense we haven’t seen from the Seahawks in quite some time. Harkening back to the good ol’ days of 2013!

But, holy hell, that offense. I guess their solution to the running game woes was to repeatedly run the fly-sweep to Tyler Lockett for minimal gains. It might’ve been effective had the Seahawks ever, I dunno, showed that look in the past. Maybe faked it to him on occasion, to at least put that play on tape, so that when we finally hand it to him it’s actually surprising instead of totally telegraphed? I dunno. That was actually my only problem with the play calling, shockingly enough. I mean, I don’t know what more you want from Darrell Bevell. He’s calling runs, and either they’re getting stuffed, or Wilson is checking out of them. He’s even isolating Jimmy Graham out wide near the goalline with more regularity! It’s not his fault that Wilson can’t throw a fade for some reason, or that Graham fucking drops everything in sight.

I know he ended up redeeming himself, sort of, with 3 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown, but a lot of that (particularly the score) came when the game was decided. When shit was on the line? That’s when he couldn’t get out of his own way. He dropped a perfect pass in the endzone (one of two goalline targets on that drive alone, so don’t tell me the Seahawks aren’t looking out for Jimmy Graham), then later dropped another perfect pass when he was wide open near the sideline with nothing but green ahead of him for at least 30 yards. I’d like to say that this was just an anomaly, but he’s been dropping passes regularly all season. Sure, things worked out this time, but as long as he’s healthy and wearing a Seahawks uniform, he’s going to command a certain percentage of the targets, and his fumble-fingers are going to cost us an important game. I can see it now! Don’t say I didn’t warn you, when we gag away a winnable game.

Then, of course, there’s our own running game struggles. Sure, we eclipsed 100 yards, but it took 31 carries to do it, with 5 different runners (including Lockett and Wilson). No one looked good. Rawls had his usual burst, but he also, quite frankly, runs like an idiot. He’s always going WAY too fast and lacks any semblance of patience. On a screen pass, he had a nice 16-yard gain, but if he’d just allowed his blockers to run ahead of him and do their job, he could’ve gone for twice that amount! And that’s aside from his usual slip & falls when he tries to hit the hole like a fucking Tasmanian Devil. Just, you know, take half a beat, collect yourself, then explode through the hole! You don’t have to go 100 miles per hour all the fucking time! I mean, honestly, between that and his constant parade of nagging injuries, I’m more annoyed at that than I am his fumble which led to New York’s only score. That’s just sort of a fluke, but the rest of it is who he is, and it’s fucking difficult to watch.

Unfortunately, Eddie Lacy was Eddie Lacy. He is who he is, 11 carries for 34 yards.

Russell Wilson finished with probably his best game of the season (27/39, 334 yards, 3 TDs), but he also left a number of plays on the field. As I noted before, he over-threw Graham on a goalline fade (when he really should’ve just lazered it in there, as Graham had his defender walled off; but then again, he probably just would’ve dropped it like he did the next throw his way, so whatever). He had Doug Baldwin wide open for a long bomb and over-threw him by about 10 yards. And, I want to say he had something similar going to Lockett where he over-threw him. Again, all of these mistakes prevented the Seahawks from really pouring it on. I mean, 50 points wasn’t out of the question yesterday, had things gone according to plan.

But, the offense as a whole looks a lot better than it did early in the season. The Seahawks generated 425 yards. They converted 6/13 on third down (0/1 on fourth). They held the ball for over 35 minutes. The offensive line pass protected pretty well (I want to say the sack was on Wilson for holding the ball too long and not stepping up into the pocket; ditto the intentional grounding), though they could still be better in their run blocking (I’m hearing good things about Pocic, who got a lot of play at left guard, though he was out-snapped by Glowinski 48-34).

Doug Baldwin had an epic game (9 catches for 92 yards and a TD). Paul Richardson had a couple big catches (2 for 61 and a TD). Beyond that, Wilson did a good job spreading the ball around.

Again, as I say seemingly every week, all that matters is the W. The Seahawks are 4-2, a half game behind the Rams (who will be on a BYE this week), and are still in a good position for the playoffs and possibly competing for a top seed.

What I will say is, they can’t keep playing like this on offense. They need to cash in on their scoring opportunities. It’s one thing to dominate the likes of the Giants and Colts, but aside from a close win over the Rams, who have they beaten? They lost to the Packers, and they lost to the Titans (which looks more grotesque with each passing week, as the Titans’ offense continues to struggle against the rest of the league). Yes, I want the Seahawks to win against everyone, but I don’t give a shit about these games they’re SUPPOSED to win. The whole point is to win a championship, which means the Seahawks need to start showing up against teams destined to make the post-season!

I’ll be very interested in how they look at home next Sunday against the Texans. Deshaun Watson looks like the real deal, he’s got tons of weapons on offense, and even though they’ve been hit by the injury bug on defense, they still have enough talent left over to make our lives miserable. Win THAT game by 17 points and I’ll be impressed.

Also, not for nothing, but the delicate ecosystem that is the Seahawks’ defense sure as shit needs to stay healthy if this team is going to go anywhere. Thankfully, they look back to their elite form, just in time.

The Seahawks Play The Giants This Weekend

Posted on October 20, 2017 by dunderhead99

Before the season, this game looked a little scary. The Giants were pegged to contend for the NFC East, Eli Manning had a bunch of cool weapons on offense to throw to, and a defense that looked remarkable in 2016 had a year’s worth of experience and an off-season of moves to better itself. Then, the Giants started out 0-5, and all of a sudden this game looked like one of the easier matchups on the Seahawks’ schedule. THEN, the Giants went into Denver as something like 13-point underdogs last Sunday night and somehow managed to not just win, but DOMINATE the Broncos 23-10.

And now this game is scary again?

I’ll admit, I didn’t watch a lick of that Giants/Broncos game. Like most everyone in America, I expected the Broncos to win easily. I don’t know if I necessarily expected a blowout, or even a cover of the point spread, but I did think we’d be in for a boring, grind-it-out game where the Broncos would win comfortably by 7-10 points or so (with still a reasonable chance of it being a blowout victory). It feels impressive that the Giants were able to run for 148 yards and a 4.6 yards per carry average against a quality defense like the Broncos. It feels even more impressive that the Giants were able to win at all, considering Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall were out and are officially lost for the season, but, you know, last week was a crazy fucking week. A lot of underdogs won outright. Hell, this SEASON has been fucking crazy with the underdogs; it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!

But, I digress. The question remains: are the Giants good or not? Obviously, with 5 losses in their first 6 weeks, and all their injury issues at wide receiver, it feels impossible for them to make the playoffs. I’m sure they’ll give it the good ol’ college try, but I can’t see them finishing any worse than 8-2 over the next 10 games and still making the post-season. With the Eagles at 5-1, that probably puts the division out of reach, so they’d have to hope for a Wild Card berth at 9-7 in that scenario, which isn’t impossible, but again, I don’t know if I see 8 more wins on their schedule.

The Giants lost on the road to the Cowboys and Eagles, which feels reasonable. Those are a couple of good teams. They lost at home to the Lions, which isn’t out of the question, as you’re talking about a playoff team from a year ago (largely the same as they were), and a team looking to compete for the NFC North. But, then you tack on a road loss to the Bucs (who look bad) and a home loss to the Chargers (who look worse) and I gotta tell you: I think the Giants are NOT good.

In which case, this should be a win for the Seahawks, right? I’m not saying it’ll be easy. They’ve still got a quality defensive line that should give us fits (as they all do). But, I mean, where are they getting their points from this Sunday? Their best and healthiest offensive weapon is rookie tight end Evan Engram, who legitimately looks like he could be one of the better players at his position. Second year wideout Sterling Shepard should be returning from an ankle injury, so there’s another. But, I mean, come on. I know we like to joke around about the Seahawks’ defense sucking against tight ends, but we’ve actually been vastly improved this year! It looks like Kam Chancellor has taken more of an active role in guarding them one-on-one, and he’s shutting them down pretty good. Instead of being the worst in the league, the Seahawks are right in the middle of the road, which is fine. That sort of improvement is something you can take to the bank. Engram will get his looks, but I hardly think he’ll be a dominant force like we’ve seen from other tight ends in years past.

As for Shepard, he looks okay, but he hasn’t made that leap to elite status (not with ODB hogging all the glory to date), and it’s questionable that he ever will. He looks fine. If Richard Sherman were to follow him all over the field, I have no question whatsoever that he’d be locked down, but something tells me that’s not the gameplan. But, either way, Shaq Griffin has looked better and better every week, and I think he’d be fine against Shepard.

Which leaves their running game. I know the Seahawks have gotten gashed this season, but that was by the likes of DeMarco Murray, Derrick Henry, and Carlos Hyde. Those are some of the most talented and productive running backs in the league this season! That having been said, this defense used to eat even the very best running backs for breakfast, so getting gashed at all is of great concern. But, Orleans Darkwa? Wayne Gallman? Shane Vereen? I’m supposed to be quaking in my boots over this triad of suck?

Even when the Giants had all the receivers in the world, they weren’t able to run the ball effectively. It’s only last week – when they had no one to throw to – where they put all their effort into the running game (and Denver mysteriously didn’t load up to stop it). That one will puzzle me to my last breath, but I guess you could say that since the Giants over the last 2-3 years haven’t put any sort of running game whatsoever on tape, the Broncos just weren’t expecting it and had no evidence on how it could theoretically be stopped?

Well, it’s a good thing the Seahawks were on BYE last week, because they had nothing else going on last Sunday and were able to watch every minute of that game.

It’s also good, because I think you’re going to see incremental improvement in the Seahawks’ run defense over the next few weeks. There’s been a lot of turnover on the D-Line. Tony McDaniel is gone. Ahtyba Rubin is gone. Those guys were instrumental in stuffing the run the last couple seasons. Jarran Reed is getting more playing time. Naz Jones is a rookie. And Sheldon Richardson is new to our system. As they get more experience in practice and games, with gap assignments and whatnot, I expect this unit to gel and return to its run-stopping roots.

So, I mean, if we stop the Giants’ running game, what do they have left? Eli Manning? Please. He should be lunch meat, with or without Cliff Avril.

Speaking of which, that’s a really sad case right there. Avril was knocked out of the Indianapolis game a few weeks back with a neck/spine issue (he was seen, right after the hit, shaking his arm as if he’d lost all feeling, which is pretty terrifying for him). Ever since, he’s apparently been seen by every doctor on the planet, and it’s looking more and more like he’s headed for surgery and the Injured Reserve. At which point, he’d be eligible to return in mid-to-late December. But, given the nature of the injury, and the uncertainty around the surgical procedure, it’s possible he misses the rest of the year entirely.

It’s also possible he’s played his final game in the NFL, which is the biggest bummer of all.

It’s a serious blow to this defense, but not one that’s impossible to overcome. It means stripping away some of our depth at a position of strength, which is always a bad thing. It also means more of a role for Frank Clark. It remains to be seen how that will change things. Will more Frank Clark allow him an opportunity to step up and become a star in this league? If so, that’s fantastic. But, does a little Frank Clark go a long way, and will we see a decline in his production on a per-snap average due to overuse?

Avril is a stalwart. He’s a pro. You can always count on him. He’s also still right there in the prime of his career, as pass-rushing defensive ends tend to age pretty well in this league compared to other positions. Clark is still young, still learning, still growing. I don’t believe he’s yet reached his full potential. Here’s to hoping this accelerates his development and he becomes one of the greats in this league by season’s end.

As for the Seahawks’ offense, your guess is as good as mine. That second half against the Colts feels more and more like an anomaly against a really bad team. Say what you want about the Giants as a whole, but that defense isn’t bad. I think they’re every bit as capable of making our lives miserable as the Rams, 49ers, and Packers. In which case, I guess we’re in for another slow Russell Wilson start, another shitty performance by the running game, with the only signs of life coming in the final two minutes of each half.

Can we win this one 14-9? With that Giants offense, I’d be furious if they reached double digits in points, so I’ll go out on a limb and say yes. But, while a 14-9 victory is still a victory, and you’ll take them however you can get them, it’s still not something that inspires hope.

A good Seahawks team would come out and blow the doors off, winning 44-3 or some damn thing. But, I can’t imagine a scenario where we don’t get more of the same. For the same fucking reasons.

Only now, we’re down our second-best offensive lineman in Luke Joeckel (who used his BYE week to have a cleanup surgery on his knee, and will be out for a month or so). In his place, we’re looking at a combo of Mark Glowinski (the starter at LG last season) and rookie Ethan Pocic (whose natural position is center, and who doesn’t really have much college experience on the left side of the line). For the record, I expect Glowinski to get the start and the lion’s share of the snaps. I also expect him to struggle, and within a week or two I expect Pocic to take over that job until Joeckel returns. Hopefully I’m proven wrong. Hopefully Glowinski takes his recent demotion from the RG spot to heart and returns like a rabid pitbull. But, I just don’t think he has the talent to be a starter in this league. Doesn’t mean he can’t have a long and pointless career as a backup (or move on to another team in the future and have great success, because he’s just not cut out for Tom Cable’s zone blocking scheme).

At running back, I think we’re all hoping for Thomas Rawls to take the bull by the horns, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a steady stream of handoffs to Eddie Lacy. For what it’s worth, I still like Lacy and I think he fits this offense pretty well. I think he’s a volume-dependant running back though, and I just don’t know if this offense, with this O-Line, has what it takes to give him the volume of carries he needs to succeed.

Here’s to hoping Russell Wilson gets some time to throw, though, because I think some serious gains can be had in the passing game. The Giants are TERRIBLE against opposing tight ends, so you’d think Jimmy Graham would have a field day. And, if they sell out to stop him, then it should open up opportunities for Baldwin, Richardson, and Lockett. Again, though, Russell needs time to throw. We’ll see.

All these games are important, but this one really feels big. The Giants are still banged up, we’re coming off of a BYE, yeah it’s on the road across the country, but it’s a late afternoon game and we’ve had a lot of success playing in this stadium. It’s also a conference game, which becomes vitally important for playoff seeding. And, not for nothing, but the Rams went on the road and beat the Jags last week, regaining sole possession of first place in the NFC West. They play Arizona in London this Sunday and could very well be 5-2 when the weekend is over. We need to win just to keep pace with the Rams! Who could’ve ever predicted saying that sentence before the season started?

The Seahawks Beat A Bad Colts Team At Home In Primetime

Posted on October 2, 2017 by dunderhead99

I’m not gonna lie to you, I couldn’t make it past halftime of this game. Maybe if I had some incentive; maybe if the Colts and Seahawks were both good this year. Maybe if the Seahawks showed me ANYTHING in the way of competence through the first three and a half weeks of the season. But, I saw that first half (where the Colts went in leading 15-10, with the last taste in my mouth being a missed field goal from a very make-able distance – 37 yards – out of Blair Walsh), I saw my impending Monday morning workday coming (where I’d have to wake up at the crack of 4am), and I made a business decision. I decided this game wasn’t worth my being exhausted the following day. And I’m pretty sure that’s the only time that’s ever happened with me and a Seahawks game; that’s something I do ROUTINELY with the Mariners though!

Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m equating the Seahawks with the Mariners. That’s how bad this season has been.

I mean, there was no upside to staying up and watching that second half. Either I sit there, miserable, as the Seahawks continue to suck dick against a terrible Colts team; or they scratch and claw to a meager victory; or they do what they did last night, which is outscore the Colts 36-3 (which, not for nothing, is something they should’ve done from the opening fucking kickoff). Any way you slice it, I would’ve been too keyed up to go right to bed afterward, and I’d be sitting here on 5-6 hours of sleep. Fuck that; I have DVR. I’ll watch the second half tonight!

Russell Wilson had a pretty good game. He was 21/26 passing, though two of those misses went for interceptions. He threw 2 TDs and ran for a third. He apparently looked MUCH better in the second half, though he did look sharper in the first half than we’ve seen from him in recent weeks.

I’ll say this, last night’s game was not without consequences. Jeremy Lane strained a groin on the opening series of the game. Cliff Avril has a neck injury that will keep him out for an indeterminate amount of time (the fact that he was shaking his hands, as if he had no feeling in them, is certainly a frightening sight). Rees Odhiambo was taken to the hopsital with a chest injury, as he was having trouble breathing after the game after a hard hit. Frank Clark missed a few snaps; Naz Jones missed a few snaps. And, of course, Chris Carson was carted off the field with an ankle injury that could be minor, or could keep him out for a month or more. Just what we needed in a running back room that already features C.J. Prosise (who missed this game with injury) and Thomas Rawls (who was apparently a healthy scratch and probably watched this game smothered in bubble wrap). So, that’s neat.

At least the team around them stepped up. Eddie Lacy got his first significant work of the season, running the ball 11 times for 52 yards. J.D. McKissic ran the ball 4 times for 38 yards and a TD, as well as caught a 27-yard TD pass to close out the game. That makes me VERY happy, as I’m tired of seeing Prosise’s name in the news for all these injuries. If McKissic can keep that up, we can cut or trade Prosise after the season and move on with our lives!

Marcus Smith apparently had a whale of a game! He had 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 2 QB hits, all in place of Avril. We got him in a minor deal with the Eagles before the season, and that could be HUGE if Avril has to miss a lot of time. Then, there was the Pick-Six by Justin Coleman, who took over the nickel role from Lane after he went down. It was a nifty jumping of an out-route that he had no trouble taking back to the house. He had another pass breakup in there for good measure.

I thought Shaq Griffin looked pretty good, though he got beat on that touchdown in the second quarter. It wasn’t the worst coverage I’ve ever seen, but there’s a better way to play that ball and he looks like he’ll get the hang of it before too long. He definitely looks better than some of the guys we’ve had over there opposite Richard Sherman, and that’s okay in my book.

Bobby Wagner also had a game, with 6 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 tackles for loss, and a fumble return for a touchdown.

All in all, not too shabby, but again, the Colts are terrible. Don’t think all of our problems are fixed. This might as well have been a pre-season game.

The real test comes next week in L.A., against the Rams, who are apparently legit now that they went on the road and out-scored the Cowboys 35-30. Jared Goff looks like he’s for real, they finally have a competent receiving corps, Todd Gurley looks rejuvenated, and their offensive line is no longer a total liability. Tack onto that they have the same defense that always fucking destroys us, with Wade Phillips of all people now pulling the strings, and this one has the makings of an ugly blowout.

The Rams are 3-1; the Seahawks are 2-2. Lose next week, and the Rams are 4-1 and running away with the division, while the Seahawks are 2-3 and trying to cling for dear life to a meaningless Wild Card spot.

God I hate professional football.

My Happy Fucking Seahawks/49ers Review

Posted on September 18, 2017 by dunderhead99

I told you I’d shoot, but you didn’t believe me. Why didn’t you believe me …

I’m gonna breeze through this, because there really wasn’t a lot to like about yesterday’s game. First and foremost, yes, it’s a win. A win isn’t a loss (or a God damn tie for that matter). The Seahawks are now 1-1 and in a 3-way tie for first in the NFC West. More importantly, the Seahawks are 1-0 in the division. MOST importantly, the rest of that division is who we thought they were.

Arizona got ripped on the road in week one to the Lions, then BARELY beat the Colts in overtime yesterday. Of course, through two weeks they’re 1-1, with both games on the road; 8 of their remaining 14 games are at home. But, any way you slice it, it’s not an easy schedule for the Cards, who at best look like an 8-8 team.

The Rams looked like world-beaters in week one against the Colts, but the Colts (without Andrew Luck) are one of the three worst teams in the NFL with the Jets and probably the Browns. Even WITH Andrew Luck, they’re probably still one of the 5-6 worst teams in the NFL, but that’s neither here nor there. The Redskins came into Los Angeles and came away with a 7-point victory yesterday, which should start to quiet those calls for the Rams winning the division. Even worse for the Rams, both of their first two games were at home, and their schedule doesn’t look remarkably easier than Arizona’s.

But, let’s dig into this one. The key to this game was simply the 49ers being terrible. They’ll most likely land another Top 5 pick in next year’s draft and we’ll get to see their group nab a bunch more great college players. But, make no mistake, the Seahawks wouldn’t have won this game if anyone better than Brian Hoyer was at the helm.

I’d like to start with some of the cool things the Seahawks did on offense, but it would be criminal to not kick it off with the D. The 49ers were held to only 11 first downs, on 2 of 12 third down conversions. They ran just 48 plays, compared to our 79; and were held to only 248 yards, most of that on the ground. Hoyer was a dreadful 15/27 for 99 yards passing, a 3.7 yard per attempt average, with an interception to Bobby Wagner.

I thought Earl was all over the place, both in the backfield and around the line of scrimmage. I thought Lane showed up really well on his side of the field, greatly overshadowing Shaq Griffin, whose only contribution I noted was a horrendous block in the back penalty on special teams. I thought Richard Sherman was a warrior, playing on an injury that would keep most other cornerbacks out of the lineup. And, aside from some breakdowns against the run, I thought the D-Line looked great in pass rush. Michael Bennett particularly had a great game, as did Sheldon Richardson (whose contributions, again, won’t always show up on the stat sheet). Time and time again, this defense carries this team, and yesterday was absolutely no exception.

Most importantly, I thought this defense harkened back to 2013, like we all expected it to last week. Obviously, a defense is going to be more successful at home, when the crowd is deafening and opposing offenses can’t check out of bad plays as much, but the last couple years this Seahawks defense hasn’t looked as elite at home. Teams have come in here and moved the ball pretty good. I won’t say “at will”, but they’ve been able to move the ball WAY more than they could in 2012-2014. Even suspect offenses. But, not yesterday. There was no way the 49ers were going to win that game, and it had everything to do with the defense. Part of me can’t wait for when a great offense comes in here and struggles (but the other part of me remembers what this Seahawks offense has been able to do, and I get less and less excited).

Offensively, it was the Chris Carson show. 93 yards on 20 carries, he led the way. Most importantly, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Carson picked up the load. On the final two drives (the TD drive to take the lead, and the clock-killing drive to end the game), Carson ran for 58 yards on 7 carries, including five straight runs on that final drive to bring the game to kneel downs. I’ve said all along that I think he’s destined to be our starting running back heading into 2018, and this only leads me to believe that it’ll happen sooner than I thought.

Very interesting, particularly on a day where Eddie Lacy was left inactive, and on a day where Thomas Rawls came back from injury and looked pretty feeble, netting 4 yards on 5 carries. With Prosise as a clear-cut third down/2-minute back, there’s a wide open lane for Chris Carson to run through to grab hold of the starting job. He just needs to hit it and blow past the competition.

This game also saw the return of Russell Wilson: Run Machine. His 12 carries were the most he’s had in a single game since the 14 he had back in 2014 against the Giants. 34 yards doesn’t sound like anything special, but a number of those runs went for first downs, including two on the touchdown drive alone! There were definite spots where he could’ve just handed the ball off on the zone read and didn’t, and I like that a whole bunch. The 49ers weren’t sound defensively on their quarterback contain and Wilson made them pay. That’s going to be big as this offense continues to try to find consistency.

Finally, that throw. The offense has been much maligned – and rightfully so – for going seven quarters without a touchdown. It seems to seize up inside the 10 yard line and find ways to settle for field goals instead of punching the ball over the goalline. When all appeared lost, down 9-6, on 3rd down from the 9 yard line, the pocket collapsed around him and it looked like we’d be settling for a tie. It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve seen some of that good ol’ Russell Wilson magic, but it reappeared yesterday. He ducked under two defenders – who somehow managed to run past our O-Line, only to run into one another – scrambled up into the pocket and threw a laser to Paul Richardson at the side of the endzone for the go-ahead score. Everything about that was ESSENTIAL to how this team won football games in 2012-2014.

Also, shoutout to P-Rich for catching the game winning TD with a broken/dislocated finger. STUD!

I’ll leave it at that, because I want to believe things are headed on the right track, but I just can’t figure out a way this team succeeds next week in Tennessee. I’m just glad we got the first win of the season and we can all quickly move on.

My Big Fat Seahawks Preview 2017

Posted on September 8, 2017 by dunderhead99

It’s insane at work right now, so I’m looking for little pockets of time to write this out and get it done on time before the weekend. If it feels disjointed, just blame the scapegoat du jour.

I’ve already written a couple of preview-ish things on the 2017 Seahawks. Back in April, when the schedule came out, I took a preliminary stab at predicting the outcomes. Now that we’re just days away from the start of the season, I’ll update that with the power of new information! Then, back in July, I took a look at the roster as we were barrelling toward Training Camp. I don’t know how much my opinion has changed – from either of those two earlier posts – so if I harp on the same points, forgive me, but I just don’t have the time to re-read all of my blatherings.

I will say this: whereas before I was cautiously optimistic – believing if everything broke right, it wasn’t hard to imagine this team back in the Super Bowl – now I’m a rock-hard, veiny, throbbing erection of populist Seahawks swaggeration! I haven’t felt this confident about my team since the start of 2013! Except, to be honest, I’ll have to walk that back a bit and say I haven’t felt this confident about my team since the start of 2014. I mean, look, that 2013 team was CRAZY deep and CRAZY talented, up and down the roster. On top of that, the 2013 team actually had a competent offensive line, whereas this year’s team is still very much in doubt (in spite of recent improved pre-season play, which I’ll get to in a bit). Frankly, I was still pretty stoked on the Seahawks heading into 2014, and indeed pegged them for a repeat championship, which they had in their grasp one yard from fruition, but it wasn’t as solid a feeling as 2013.

This year is the same, in my mind. The talent is there, no question. In fact, in some areas, the talent is vastly improved (at least on paper). And, the depth is in some ways back to where it was in 2013. But, the last few years of creeping failure is clouding my enthusiasm JUST enough to have this nagging creature of doubt in the corner of my mind-grapes. I’m doing my damnedest to give that guy the finger though, because I want to be ALL IN on the ground floor with this Seahawks team.

TL;DR: WE’RE BACK, BABY!!!

Let’s just take this position by position, to show you how strong this team is, and to show the world how foolish it is to doubt us.

Quarterback – Top 5 in the entire league, fully healthy, in great running shape (the better to compensate for a questionable-to-say-the-least offensive line).

Running Backs – A deep stable of runners of all stars and stripes! Lacy, the power back. Prosise, the speed/pass-catching back. Rawls, the good mix of both. McKissic, the Prosise insurance. Carson, the overall back & everyone else insurance. If you can’t have Marshawn Lynch in his prime, then the next best thing is to stockpile 5 guys who add up to 1 Beastmode.

Wide Receivers – A Top 10 guy in Baldwin. A burner in Lockett. Another burner with outstanding ball skills in P-Rich. A tall red zone threat in McEvoy. And a rookie project in Darboh. Not as deep without Kearse in the fold, but if you throw in McKissic and Prosise, you’ve got a lot of versatility in the passing game.

Tight Ends – A Top 3 guy in Graham. Another tall receiving threat in Willson. And a young blocking tight end with a good pedigree in Vannett.

Defensive Line – Off-the-charts talent all over the place. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are proven studs. Sheldon Richardson is the pass-rushing interior force we’ve been looking for since Cortez Kennedy retired. Frank Clark is an up-and-coming dominant force who should look to take a giant step into the spotlight this season. Jones and Reed are young interior talents with a lot to prove. Smith and Bass are young ends with a lot to prove. This could go down as the best D-Line we’ve ever had in Seattle, and yes even better than that 2013 unit that laid waste to the entire league.

Linebackers – More off-the-charts talent in guys like Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright; guys who can cover all over the place, who are dominant against the run, and who can rush the passer on occasion. Depth here is vastly improved over the last couple seasons, with proven vets in Wilhoite & Garvin. Injuries should not be as much of an issue as they would’ve been in years past.

Secondary – The L.O.B. is still here and still as good as ever. Earl, Kam, and Sherm comprise the best threesome of any secondary in the NFL. Jeremy Lane is a solid all-around corner, with emphasis on nickel. Shaq Griffin is the only question mark, but he’s got a good pedigree and should get plenty of safety help in the early going.

Special Teams – Blair Walsh looks like he’s starting to get back on track, but will have to prove it when the games matter. Either way, he shouldn’t be as bad as Hauschka was last year, particularly on extra points. Jon Ryan is still going to keep opposing offenses pinned back inside their 20 more often than not, and overall control the return game with his quality punts. The return game is bolstered with McKissic as insurance for Lockett, should the team opt to bring him back slowly, or otherwise take some of the duties off his plate. And, coverage units look a lot better with Neiko Thorpe, D.J. Alexander, and our rookie secondary guys.

The only real area of uncertainty is, obviously, the offensive line. Everywhere else, the Seahawks have elite, top-shelf talent and depth. So, let’s dig into this.

An argument can easily be made that past seasons’ O-Line groups were made to look better than they actually were because Marshawn Lynch was so money, and I’m hard pressed to go against that line of thinking. Can any of the runners we have now live up to that and make this group of guys look better than they are? I think, maybe, in small doses, Lacy can be that type of runner who limits negative rushes and falls forward for impressive gains. I also think, in between injuries, Rawls can certainly be a Baby Beastmode with his style, but the question with him is how long will those healthy stints last? Prosise has the speed to get around the edge and through holes before they close, but he’ll have to prove he can stay healthy too.

Indeed, even in the pass-protection portion of the O-Line game, the major concern is health: can they keep Russell Wilson from getting injured? Obviously, Wilson can help out his own cause by getting the ball out quickly and eluding pressure before it’s right on top of him; but they’re going to have to drastically reduce the amount of free runners at the quarterback if this thing is going to work.

In a lot of ways, injuries are a matter of luck, and the Seahawks were pretty fucking unlucky last year. Not 2017 Mariners unlucky, but not too far off either. What are the odds that Wilson will spend the entire season hobbled again? In a vacuum, I’d have to say not very good; but with this line I think you have to consider it a coin flip at best. Luck is one thing, but there are things a team can do to limit the amount of bad luck that comes your way. Getting improved O-Line play is one of them.

For what it’s worth, I do think this line will be better than last year’s, and I think it’ll be better right from the start. This is key, as there are a lot of important games early in the season, and we can’t afford to slog through 10 weeks of growing pains before we go on our annual year-end hot streak.

I think Odhiambo, with a year under his belt, will be better than Brad Sowell and 2016 George Fant. Since Fant, last year, was about as bad as you can get, I’d say that’s a huge upgrade (and Odhiambo doesn’t even have to be GOOD to achieve this level of improvement!). Now, obviously losing 2017 Fant to injury is about as devastating as it can get, because he really did look like he was going to take a huge step forward in his development, but I’ll take baby steps at this point over what we had last year.

Luke Joeckel looks like a solid upgrade over Glowinski at left guard. Paired with Britt at center, I think that side of the line will be just fine.

Glowinski slides over to right guard, which appears to be his better side. He’s been playing somewhat evenly with free agent Oday Aboushi, so it’s good to know at least the right guard spot should be adequate (and probably a step above 2016 Ifedi).

My biggest concern is 2017 Ifedi, having moved back to right tackle (where he played in college and was projected to play in the NFL). I’ve seen this movie before, but usually it’s a right tackle who gets moved to one of the guard spots, and not the other way around. The consensus being: tackle is a harder position to play than guard (which is a harder position to play than center … hi Justin Britt!). So, the rationale ends up as: if Ifedi was pretty terrible at right guard last year, what hope is there for him as a right tackle? Indeed, I don’t have a good answer for you there. Again, I suppose I’ll bring up the experience angle. The leap from rookie to second year player, particularly along the O-Line, is pretty pronounced. You gotta figure he’s at the very least more comfortable in his assignments. And, at his size, you’ve gotta give him the power advantage over what should be smaller defensive end/linebacker types going up against him (whereas when he was a guard, he was going up against mammoth D-tackles). His limitations are obviously in the speed game, where his footwork comes into play. I have very few concerns about Ifedi the run blocker, but I have a SHITLOAD of concerns about him in pass protection, as I think some of the better pass rushers can rope-a-dope the shit out of him. We’ll see I guess.

Overall, as I said, I have hopes that instead of being the 32nd-rated offensive line, the Seahawks can jump up to the 25th-best. Even that modest increase could prove to take this offense to as-yet-unseen heights of efficiency and scoring prowess.

Things to watch this season on offense will be:

3rd down efficiency
Red zone efficiency
Yards per rush

In 2016, it seemed like the Seahawks were more prone to mistakes (penalties, missed blocking assignments) on third down, which is just a ball-buster. No one is expecting the Seahawks to cut out the penalties entirely (indeed, some of their very best teams were among the most penalized in the league), but they’ve got to do a better job of not holding on long rushing plays, not getting called for offensive PI on pick plays, and not setting themselves back with third & long nonsense.

For the red zone, it’s simple: find a way to get Jimmy Graham the ball. Full stop. He was the man in New Orleans and he had 9 or more TDs in all but one season there. That needs to happen again, here, this season (and I’m not just saying that because he’s on one of my fantasy teams, but I’m also not NOT just saying that either, I think).

And, look for the Seahawks to get back to their rushing roots. Beastmode may be gone, but the running backs we have now are more than capable of picking up that slack. I’d also like to see a moderate return to the zone read, with Wilson pulling the ball back on occasion to keep defenses honest. Also, not for nothing, but I’d like to see Wilson do this EARLY in games, to put that in other teams’ minds from the get-go.

On defense, watch for:

Turnovers
Late-game heroics
Quarterback pressure, hurries, hits, sacks

To get back to where we were in 2013, we’re going to have to force turnovers. That goes hand-in-hand with pressuring the quarterback into bad decisions, as well as knocking the ball from his hand for fumbles. That also goes hand-in-hand with the late game heroics, as we need to prevent those breakdowns we’ve seen in 2015 & 2016, and instead force turnovers to slam the door on those close games. It’s a team game, and nowhere is that more apparent than the symbiotic relationship that is an NFL defense.

As for this year’s record, I’ll go through the schedule again, briefly.

Week 1 – I like the Seahawks to go into Green Bay and shock the world. It’ll be our official announcement to the rest of the league that the Seahawks are here, they’re for real, and they’re going to stomp all over the lot of you!
Week 2 – A comfortable home victory against the young, rebuilding 49ers team. Maybe not as dominant as we’d like, as they do have some young and talented pieces (particularly on defense), but a win is a win.
Week 3 – The Seahawks under Pete Carroll always seem to lose one road game to an AFC opponent that we’re all pretty unfamiliar with (except for last year, randomly, although we almost blew one at home against the Dolphins in week 1). I think the Titans are really good and I could see the combination of their dominant rushing attack, and efficient passing game (particularly in the red zone) to just nip us for our first loss of the season
Week 4 – I like the Seahawks to get back on track at home, in primetime, against a weak Indy team. With or without Luck, I like the Seahawks to roll.
Week 5 – No more losing to the Rams! Jeff Fisher is dead, and with him so is the Rams’ proclivity of beating us for no good God damned reason.
Week 6 – BYE
Week 7 – I’m not particularly afraid of the Giants’ running game. While they’ve got some good receivers, I think we can hold them in check and put enough pressure on Eli into forcing some mistakes. Their defense is legit, but I like the Seahawks to do just enough in this one and win a close game by 3 in overtime.
Week 8 – The Texans come to town and will be sent packing. I could see this one as a battle of defenses, with the Seahawks pulling away late. Something in the realm of 16-3 or 16-6.
Week 9 – The Redskins come to town and they feel like just the sort of team who should be held in check by us. Force Kirk Cousins into the worst game of his season, eliminate all threat of a rushing attack, and really take it to their porous defense.
Week 10 – Thursday Night in Arizona. By this time, I wonder if Carson Palmer will even be playing. Either way, he showed his age in 2016, and I can’t imagine he’ll be in for a fountain of youth situation this year. No Calais Campbell, no monster in the middle to defend. I think this is another game where the 12’s will make themselves heard on the road, and the Seahawks take the game comfortably in the fourth quarter.
Week 11 – Monday Night in Seattle against the Falcons. I know the Seahawks took them out in the regular season last year, and I know we’ll be coming off of a Thursday game (and thus have all this extra time to prepare), but I can’t help but be concerned about this one. I think it’ll be exciting and I think it’ll be close, but I could also see the Falcons just having our number and being able to score in bunches. Rare home Monday Night loss for the Seahawks here.
Week 12 – At San Francisco, again, I think they should be relative push-overs.
Week 13 – Home night game against Philly. I don’t see enough out of their offense to hold a candle to our defense. Another comfortable, boring win at home at night.
Week 14 – I could see the Seahawks getting off to a sloppy start on the road, in a 10am start, in Jacksonville. But, by the second quarter, the tide should turn and the Seahawks should take this one running away.
Week 15 – I SAID NO MORE LOSING TO THE RAMS!!!
Week 16 – Here we go! Christmas Eve in Dallas! In what could very well be a matchup that decides the NFC’s #1 seed! I can’t imagine the odds of the Seahawks sweeping the NFC East are very good, but I dunno. I just got a feeling that the Seahawks are going to sweep this road slate of impossible NFC teams (Packers, Giants, Cowboys). This one could be another barnburner, with a late turnover keying the Seahawks to victory.
Week 17 – At 13-2 headed into the final week, I think the Seahawks rest a lot of guys after a quarter or two and drop the season finale, with the #1 seed all wrapped up.

13-3 is my official prediction. The Seahawks cruise through the playoffs into the Super Bowl where they await the darlings of the NFL: the Oakland Raiders. Everything about that game gets my loins all a-tizzy. Also, the idea of sticking it to the Raiders brings me tremendous joy.

The Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl LII Champions!

Okay, that’s all for now. Let’s get this season in gear!

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