Few things:
Going into the season and looking at the schedule, I felt like we would start 0-2 most likely. We were competitive in those contests, with legit chances to win. In both cases held leads that defense couldn't hold.
I though we should be 2-2 after 4 games. Felt like we were in command in both until a fluke mistake allowed Detroit back in. Still closed the game out.
As the season unfolded, Cincy appeared to be a much tougher opponent than assumed in August. They have always been a talented team that drafts well and just seemed stymied by inconsistent QB play. That seems resolved at this early stage and they are playing like legit SB contenders. Again were in command of this game and defense let it slip away.
I have said since the beginning that I expected the OL to really struggle and was really looking for signs of improvement by the end of October to kind of place an expectation on us. And despite the record (which I kind of expected going into the season in August), I'm actually a bit more bullish on Seattle going forward.
I think the OL did flash real quality. Against a quality defensive front. Now let's see if we can sustain and continue an upward trend there. If so, I think it bodes well for the remaining season.
Going into the season, I felt like our biggest focus of need was to win third down. We didn't do that particularly well last year offensively. This year we're doing considerably worse. Third and medium (4-7 yards) is just killing us. We are well below the NFL average in this aspect. Right now we're not winning the money down.
The OL play took a big step forward this week. Earlier than I'd expected. This season is going to be won or lost in November and December when our division rival games start. I had hoped we wouldn't be in a big hole to start the final run, but the Cards aren't playing nice that way.
We're 2 games back of AZ. Catching them is not out of the question. But the Wild card race we're definitely right in the thick of it. Here are our competitors:
Carolina
Giants
Vikings
Rams
Cowboys
Bucs
Redskins
Eagles
Bears
There are some really bad teams in that list. And we play most of these head to head. We can't afford to go 2-4 to start the year. This week really is must win IMO. It does look like a 9-7 team will make the postseason. And of that list, I like our chances much better than the others. Especially if our OL begins to become a positive factor like it was yesterday.
Ultimately, we are just a couple plays away from being 4-1. If we won either the Rams game or the Cincy game, our outlook is entirely different. And we were in legitimate position to win every single game we've played. So I'd say any soured regard for our season is entirely result based. I don't think that is predictive going forward. The predictive indicators I am interested in currently are looking up as of yesterday.
The offense still has failed to reach 20 points in any game this year. We're 18th in scoring and we probably should be closer to 25th or worse. We have 4 TDs by return. No other team ranked 19th or worse has more than one. So removing all non offensives scores from the equation drops us to 28th in the league (behind Jacksonville and just ahead of the Bears). With 7 offensive TDs, we are tied for 32nd with Miami.
So while there seems to be some concern about the defense, the reality is we're right in the thick of the Wild card race, and with just a break or two in the hunt for the division lead and homefield advantage. Despite sporting one of the league's worst performing offenses. I think this offense needs to get whole in order to make the defensive strategy we have work. And I see signs that this could be happening.
So my mood is actually pretty good. It's going to be a tough fight. But this is a tough team that responds well in those situations. So I'm still very excited about the next 7 games. This is where we need to continue to improve and get whole for another late run.
