Random Thoughts on the Dallas game

[dumbrabbit]

The entire game was pissing me off. We had a 10-0 lead, sure, but passing only gets you so much. We're built to run the ball, so why didn't we use Lynch more? What gave Bevell and Carroll the idea to throw more? Don't they realize you lose more games by throwing and not running?

Our season is going to go downhill fast if we aren't running the ball more. The only way we get back to the SB is by running the ball. A LOT more than we did tonight.

 

[WilsonMVP]

I applaud Carroll for putting Sherman on Dez after the Maxwell injury. Unfortunately, the move exposed Sherman as a player that is now clearly having a down season.

Uh.. what? Dez had two catches against Sherman.. one of them was an amazing grab.

If this is indicative of a "down season" ... Sherman is fine.

I do agree though that depth is a major concern right now. Feel bad for Burley and Terrell for being thrown in the fire. Maxwell is down for at least a couple games you have to believe.. we need Simon back ASAP.

And no, the Cowboys are not the best team in the NFC.

Ya one of the throws was a back shoulder throw and Sherman actually got his hand inbetween Dezs hands..he was able to reel it in with his one hand

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Last year there was an air of manifest destiny to this team. In every tight game they seemed to win and in every big game they seemed to dominate. Simply put, that isn't there this year. Now that doesn't mean we aren't a playoff team or that we aren't a contender it just means this year FEELS different.

For me, it feels like Seattle is having something of an identity crisis. On the one hand, we are trying to be the dominating defensive team that we were last year, the physical, swarming, punch you in the mouth defense that took us to the SB. And on the other, we are a finesse, gimmicky offense based around short passes and YAC. And it just seems like neither of these two identities are meshing right now. And I think something is going to have to give.

This team can get it fixed but it's going to take a shift in identity. I agree with kearly on the shift back to a meat and potatoes offense. But I also think Seattle needs to mix up it's D. Seattle isn't the Alabama of the pros like alot of people thought they'd be this year, but I didn't expect it. We have weaknesses and unfortunately, our depth (especially in the secondary) is being tested. And I think it's time to start comparing this team to 2012 more than to 2013. Much like 2012, our D is being held back by a struggling and inconsistent offense and much like 2012 our D isn't equipped to win games when we need to. 2012 was saved by an offense that got rolling by seasons end. It'll be interesting to see how (and if) 2014 is saved.

I will also be watching the draft closely this year. Seattle needs to begin replenishing it's depth and it's not going to be with UDFA. We need another 2012 level draft and hopefully JS has one of those in his pocket.

Good post man. And yeah, more Beast and less gimmicky crap please. Running the ball keeps your defense off the field and keeps them fresh. That 2nd quarter today and most of the SD game killed our D and would've killed any team's D.

 

[NJlargent]

We will beat the Rams next week and everything will be confidant again. Then we will expect to beat Carolina coming off of our road win and we will complain very quickly that Cam is exposing our weak pass rush and we will be giving up long scrambles on 3rd and long after the over-pursuit. The all will be well again after we thump Oakland and the pretending will continue.

 

[nanomoz]

Am I out of line in thinking that the defense and offense are lucky they didn't just lose by 20+ at home? We like to cite "freaks" for the closeness of results (when not in our favor).

But if not for such freaks on the part of the opposition, this team would have been bitch slapped at home.

 

[kearly]

Well, that's what happened today. Seattle was not mistake-free, Kip. Pass rush evaporated for too long (absent for the first half, then Irvin whiffed twice on a sack at the end).

I've seen three or four Dallas games so far this year. Romo has had great time to throw all year. That OL is for real. And Seattle's pressure was okay when they weren't selling out to stop the run on rushing downs.

Seattle did have a lot of penalties, but no more than the usual amount we've become accustomed to, and very few of them hurt Seattle all that much.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Am I out of line in thinking that the defense and offense are lucky they didn't just lose by 20+ at home? We like to cite "freaks" for the closeness of results (when not in our favor).

But if not for such freaks on the part of the opposition, this team would have been bitch slapped at home.

No, you are not out of line. And the Hawks did get bitch slapped at home today. If not for a blocked punt and a fumbled punt by their special teams, the score would've reflected it just as you said (20+).

 

[Ozzy]

Shocked that people are ready to call us a "bad team" We beat two of the best teams in the league in Denver and Green Bay and if not for a crazy 3rd and 20 reception we probably win today. We definitely need to fix some things but this is far from a bad team.

 

[kearly]

You do realize "season average" is 8 per game, thats too many.

How many they have last year when they won it all?

 

[nanomoz]

You do realize "season average" is 8 per game, thats too many.

How many they have last year when they won it all?

They had a historic defense last year. And it was fairly consistent. Can this year's team overcome this sloppiness? I repeat: that's five dead ball penalties by our franchise left tackle in two games. An aberration? Maybe. At the very least, I hope the coaches are asking these sorts of questions.

Comparing this year's team to last year's team stopped being helpful (for me) about three weeks ago.

 

[kearly]

Agree with almost all of this except for Richard Sherman. I thought once he went to press man coverage shadowing Dez he played fantastic. Romo threw his way a lot.

Maybe my standards of Sherman are higher than others. I'm counting the DPI as a "got beat" play. In half a game covering Dez, he was beat 3 times one on one, as opposed to zero PDs or INTs for Sherman. Over a full game, that would be five or six victories in Dez's column. Granted, one of those plays was well defended, but it just seems like this is the latest example of Sherman looking like a guy that is playing catch up with a receiver rather than being in control. With the exception of maybe two games from 2011 to 2013, Sherman always seemed like a guy who was always in control of the matchup.

I don't know if I've seen a game this season where a QB challenged Sherman and paid for it. It has yet to happen. I think it's fair to make excuses for Sherman and say that there is a lot going on beyond his play. But I do think the change in technique in the secondary has hurt our pass defense a ton across the board, and Sherman has been hurt by it as much as anybody, IMO.

I do not think Sherman is bad. I think even right now, he's probably an above average corner in this league. But I do think the thing that made him truly great in the past might be something he's not being coached to do right now (with regards to legal contact), and the other aspects of a failing pass D aren't doing him many favors either.

And I think the fact that he was no more effective on Bryant than our other corners exposed him a bit as a guy QBs can go after in 2014.

 

[Yxes1122]

Agree with almost all of this except for Richard Sherman. I thought once he went to press man coverage shadowing Dez he played fantastic. Romo threw his way a lot.

Maybe my standards of Sherman are higher than others. I'm counting the DPI as a "got beat" play. In half a game covering Dez, he was beat 3 times one on one, as opposed to zero PDs or INTs for Sherman. Over a full game, that would be five or six victories in Dez's column. Granted, one of those plays was well defended, but it just seems like this is the latest example of Sherman looking like a guy that is playing catch up with a receiver rather than being in control. With the exception of maybe two games from 2011 to 2013, Sherman always seemed like a guy who was always in control of the matchup.

I don't know if I've seen a game this season where a QB challenged Sherman and paid for it. It has yet to happen. I think it's fair to make excuses for Sherman and say that there is a lot going on beyond his play. But I do think the change in technique in the secondary has hurt our pass defense a ton across the board, and Sherman has been hurt by it as much as anybody, IMO.

I do not think Sherman is bad. I think even right now, he's probably a top 25 corner in this league. But I do think the thing that made him truly great might be something he's not being coached to do right now, and the other aspects of a failing pass D aren't doing him many favors either.

I think this can easily be explained by the madden curse

 

[-The Glove-]

Lol top 25 corner?

 

[brimsalabim]

Anyone have a guess as to why Harvin suddenly can't return a kick off to the 15 yard line?

 

[Scottemojo]

Romo had all day.

two gifts from Dallas are the only reason Seattle was even in this game.

I started to get a funky feeling when Wilson fumbled without being touched in the first quarter.

Bill Leavy is still incompetent, but don't get me wrong, the Hawks did not deserve a win. Dallas is not the best coached team in the league, but they looked like it today. Our blitzes were DESPERATE, our linebackers could not stay square, KJ was abysmal, and this team seems lost without Kam. Even Pete was desperate, his challenge reeked of it.

Murray is a beast. He runs with those short steps, but in his own way, like Lynch, he always has his feet under him. (which is why Turbin isn't better, his body is always a touch in front of his feet)

I don't think Sherman is off his game. I think he is trying to play by new rules, and it will take some time to get it right.

Kip is spot on about cover 3 beaters. I see teams running them twice as much as last year. It takes time to get some of those cover 3 beaters, time teams didn't have last year, but do now.

 

[bigwrm]

2 carries for Marshawn in the first half. It was like the San Diego game all over again. Unbelievable. Especially against a team like Dallas that is vulnerable to runs up the middle but had been defending the edges well and swarming to screen passes.

Dallas is a good team and I thought it would be a close game but they're not the best in the NFC. They're playing great ball right now but they've also been pretty lucky with injuries and don't have the depth to make up for them when they inevitably happen.

I'll be interested to see the all-22 for this game. It looked like Russell was looking deep more than he had in earlier games but for whatever reason wasn't pulling the trigger.

Hopefully this game is the catalyst for going back to our power running game. Given our upcoming schedule, I wouldn't be surprised if we go on a run and head into the thanksgiving game 9-2 or 8-3. We'll all be feeling a lot better after beating up on the likes of the Rams and Raiders.

 

[kearly]

Who is the best team in the NFC right now? Can anyone really say it's Seattle at this point? Maybe if the Seahawks get their act together on pass defense, but I don't think that problem is getting any better, at least not in 2014. It is a rules environment issue. The Seahawks spent years building their secondary to play in the NFL world of 2013, not the NFL world of 2014.

Is that best NFC team the 49ers with all their problems? Arizona with all their flaws? Philly? Carolina? Green Bay?

 

[kearly]

Romo had all day.

I would disagree here, except that Seattle pretty much conceded the 4 man rush so early in the game that it would seem they agree with you through their actions.

Maybe the only bright spot from this game is that Bruce Irvin continues to show tremendous growth as a pass rusher from 2012. On that 3rd and 20 play... the number of QBs that don't get sacked there I could count on one hand. Unfortunately Romo is one of them.

 

[davidonmi]

right now it would be hard to argue with Dallas or Philly

 

[kearly]

You do realize "season average" is 8 per game, thats too many.

How many they have last year when they won it all?

They had a historic defense last year. And it was fairly consistent. Can this year's team overcome this sloppiness? I repeat: that's five dead ball penalties by our franchise left tackle in two games. An aberration? Maybe. At the very least, I hope the coaches are asking these sorts of questions.

Comparing this year's team to last year's team stopped being helpful (for me) about three weeks ago.

And if Seattle had that 2013 defense on Sunday, nobody would be talking about the penalties on Monday. When we lose, people complain about it. When we win, suddenly it's considered the cost of doing business.

Flags are actually a bit down for Seattle this year. And most of the penalties Seattle has suffered have been procedural (the least painful kind) and the sheer number of those procedural mistakes seems kind of fluky.

Penalties were really high in 2013. And 2012. And 2011. And I'm fairly sure, 2010 as well. Pete wants a physical team. Physical teams are going to have more penalties.

Knowing how good a coach Carroll is I'm surprised they've had so many problems with the most preventable penalties as of late, while paradoxically defensive penalties and holds seem to be down for Seattle despite the huge emphasis this year on those two areas by officials.