Pete did a great job on a short week. I really liked the energy his team played with, particularly his defense that have been much maligned through the first 9 games of the season, rightfully so (Worst in NFL History.) They played with a lot of juice, and they were getting pressure throughout the night.
It had been a long time since I had seen the team so flat and defeated to the extent they looked really since the 2nd half of the first Cards game. And thankfully that trend has appeared to have ended. Pete is going to have to continue to work with Norton closely, to get his defense on track for the playoffs.
They had a lot of odd calls on both offense and defense tonight, but Pete's philosophy showed through and they overcame it. I still think they do not know how to use Adams, and they are trying to force things with him to justify everything they traded to get him. He simply doesn't fit the traditional Pete Carroll scheme, but progress is being made subtly. I am terrified of giving him a big contract at this juncture. Not because he isn't a good player, but because of the fit. They don't have to make that decision now, thankfully. They have 6 more games + playoffs to continue to adapt him into their scheme, and see where they are at with him then. 1 thing that would help is if hey walk their backers up into the A Gap more, and attempt to confuse the opponents protections, the Seahawks are really lacking in this area, and pretty much telegraph their blitzes. But let me emphasize again, progress is being made.
Seattle plays the easiest schedule the rest of the way, so they should pile up a lot wins going forward. Outside of the Rams, and maybe the sneaky good Giants, they really won't be properly tested until the playoffs.
So I recommend do not put too much weight into the wins they pile up here upcoming. Enjoy them of course, but don't think every thing is fixed from whooping on tomato cans. We won't know until the playoffs if the defense is really improved or not. Fingers crossed they continue to improve and get better, but we will not truly know until playoff time.
It had been a long time since I had seen the team so flat and defeated to the extent they looked really since the 2nd half of the first Cards game. And thankfully that trend has appeared to have ended. Pete is going to have to continue to work with Norton closely, to get his defense on track for the playoffs.
They had a lot of odd calls on both offense and defense tonight, but Pete's philosophy showed through and they overcame it. I still think they do not know how to use Adams, and they are trying to force things with him to justify everything they traded to get him. He simply doesn't fit the traditional Pete Carroll scheme, but progress is being made subtly. I am terrified of giving him a big contract at this juncture. Not because he isn't a good player, but because of the fit. They don't have to make that decision now, thankfully. They have 6 more games + playoffs to continue to adapt him into their scheme, and see where they are at with him then. 1 thing that would help is if hey walk their backers up into the A Gap more, and attempt to confuse the opponents protections, the Seahawks are really lacking in this area, and pretty much telegraph their blitzes. But let me emphasize again, progress is being made.
Seattle plays the easiest schedule the rest of the way, so they should pile up a lot wins going forward. Outside of the Rams, and maybe the sneaky good Giants, they really won't be properly tested until the playoffs.
So I recommend do not put too much weight into the wins they pile up here upcoming. Enjoy them of course, but don't think every thing is fixed from whooping on tomato cans. We won't know until the playoffs if the defense is really improved or not. Fingers crossed they continue to improve and get better, but we will not truly know until playoff time.