What is contributing most to Seattle's struggles so far?

[LymonHawk]

RW's spending his off season trying to be a media star.

This is sarcasm right? I mean what does that have to do with anything? He was our run and pass offense almost completely. That pick was a bad mistake although it seemed like a really great play from the D. Beyond that play he seemed to play fairly well. That long one to Baldwin would have been big though. There's no way you believe that his offseason is holding the level of play up though, right. I don't know, that doesn't make sense to me beyond a like silly frustration sort of reasoning.

Maybe you haven't noticed the difference in his play this year, I but certainly have. He looks slower, he's still afraid to let it fly, and his reads need to be better, quicker. YMMV

 

[Threedee]

This thread feels too inviting.

Answer: Bevell

 

[seahawk Dan]

Bevell

Wilson being complacent.

Bevell

And having a rookie DC that looks overmatched and inconsistent.

Yes I think having a new DC is going to be a tough learning curve this year.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

The schedule.

 

[AROS]

6. Stupid penalties. Sweezy's personal foul killed a drive. Bennett kept giving Aaron Rodgers free plays to go deep. 12 guys on the field extended Green Bay's opening drive when we had it stopped cold. The margin for error is such that we cannot afford to keep giving opposing teams so many free yards and free first downs.

Amen brother!

 

[TwistedHusky]

"RW's spending his off season trying to be a media star."

By the way, this is a very valid assessment too.

They even crunched the numbers on him.

There was a report where they cross referenced Wilson's activity on social media with his on field performance. It turns out that his activity almost directly correlated negatively to on field success. I think it was close to half as effective at peak activity.

In fact, the magic # for engagement by Wilson before he starts to slide is 3.5 tweets per day. Apparently anything greater and his on field performance drops significantly. Now correlation does not mean causation but it does suggest a relationship.

And if we are going to say that the main reason that Wilson was so fantastic with such a great growth rate might have been his preparation and work ethic - it makes sense that the lack of because so many things are tugging at him now, might be the reason he is passive/struggling. Then again it could just be Bevell.

But to dismiss out of hand Wilson's engagement with the media as a contributing factor to his slide because it makes no sense? It makes perfect sense, if you are too worried about your off field life and it affects on field performance, then you are not being professional.

 

[original poster]

Without a doubt coaching. Not so much Pete but Bevell and also Richard (obviously there's going to be a learning curve there, he will improve massively and he even said that).

Please god fire Bevell and have Pete and Russ call the plays.

 

[erik2690]

RW's spending his off season trying to be a media star.

This is sarcasm right? I mean what does that have to do with anything? He was our run and pass offense almost completely. That pick was a bad mistake although it seemed like a really great play from the D. Beyond that play he seemed to play fairly well. That long one to Baldwin would have been big though. There's no way you believe that his offseason is holding the level of play up though, right. I don't know, that doesn't make sense to me beyond a like silly frustration sort of reasoning.

Maybe you haven't noticed the difference in his play this year, I but certainly have. He looks slower, he's still afraid to let it fly, and his reads need to be better, quicker. YMMV

You literally just said nothing that related to his offseason let alone being a media star. Your FB critique was not what I said anything about (You didn't critique FB in the OP) it's the logical leap to then relate your critique to his offseason that is weird and without any evidence. The pick on the screen play sucked, but he was the run/pass game tonight and outgained Rodgers in yards. He didn't really look bad to me. We can't have that turnover and of course he can play better. But the running game other than him was nowhere and yet your critique of our struggles is "his offseason".

 

[vin.couve12]

The offense has always been erratic at best. The biggest contributor is that they no longer have to score only 16ish ppg to win.

 

[erik2690]

"RW's spending his off season trying to be a media star."

By the way, this is a very valid assessment too.

They even crunched the numbers on him.

There was a report where they cross referenced Wilson's activity on social media with his on field performance. It turns out that his activity almost directly correlated negatively to on field success. I think it was close to half as effective at peak activity.

In fact, the magic # for engagement by Wilson before he starts to slide is 3.5 tweets per day. Apparently anything greater and his on field performance drops significantly. Now correlation does not mean causation but it does suggest a relationship.

And if we are going to say that the main reason that Wilson was so fantastic with such a great growth rate might have been his preparation and work ethic - it makes sense that the lack of because so many things are tugging at him now, might be the reason he is passive/struggling. Then again it could just be Bevell.

But to dismiss out of hand Wilson's engagement with the media as a contributing factor to his slide because it makes no sense? It makes perfect sense, if you are too worried about your off field life and it affects on field performance, then you are not being professional.

Seriously.......that was a jokey post from SI. You actually believe something like 3 tweets in a day means he's going to play better than 4 tweets? That makes zero sense. No it doesn't suggest a relationship between the 2 things in any real world sense. You can make these correlations with any number of useless data points. There's been zero reports of less effort/work ethic though. That's the space where you are making a logic leap. You have 0 evidence of decrease in focus/work ethic, but are talking as if that is truth. I honestly would just like your explanation on how specifically the 4th tweet makes some difference. It just doesn't hold water as a genuinely impactful correlation.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Simply put, our defense is no longer the best in the league, or at least it has been far from it during the first two weeks of the season. This season I think our defense comes back down to earth due to several factors. The most glaring, being the lack of depth in the secondary. Cary Williams has played poorly, and lacks the ball skills that Maxwell had. There have been several plays that I have noticed where he has had good coverage, but the pass still gets completed due to poor ball skills. Kam being gone is obviously a huge blow, he was a big playmaker for the Hawks, and also the resident enforcer. Teams were visibly afraid of the man. Both Earl Thomas and Sherman look like perhaps they are still healing. While they are not playing bad by any means, they are not playing up to their standards. Our linebacker play is also questionable, Wagner, Wright, and Irvin are missing easy tackles. This development has me perplexed, even if Norton did leave, one does not simply forget how to tackle because they have a new coach. Last, but not least I think Kris Richards is also having a learning curve. I've seen some odd decisions regarding coverage, for example putting Dion Bailey in an unfavorable one on one matchup with one of the Rams better receivers.

Our secondary right now looks like it is lacking in communication, I'm seeing some uncharacteristic breakdowns in coverages, and our safeties, including Earl Thomas being late in over the top help.

The second part of the equation is the offense. Now that the defense is not the world beaters the offense needs to pick up the slack. The problem is the offense is operating like it did when we had a world beater defense. Our play calling is still very conservative, and vanilla. We're playing it safe here when we cannot afford to do so. Our offense needs to pick up some of the slack, and they just aren't doing it. On the playcalling front we are incredibly predictable. Whenever I see Lynch lineup in the shotgun, and only two receivers on the field I know it's going to be a run to the left side, and most of the time I'm right. I was able to call where Lynch was going with boring predictability. Our line is also noticeably lacking in the running game department. Lynch is getting no room to do anything of note.

Wilson looks as if he has regressed. He looks far more hesitant to throw the ball, he doesn't look like he trusts any of our receivers, and he keeps double clutching. His decision making has been questionable, he's lucky that he has only came away with two INTs. I can honestly say that I would take 2012 Wilson over the current iteration that we are seeing on the field right now. Wilson was very decisive, and he played with more moxie. Now he is starting to look a little like Tarvaris Jackson did when he played for us in 2011. I also starting to doubt whether Bevell's offensive philosophy really fits Wilson as a player. I just think that we are not taking advantage of his greatest strengths as a player.

To put this all into perspective, in two games our offense has only scored three touchdowns, Carson Palmer threw for four touchdowns in just one game.

 

[Fade]

There are multiple reasons, but to boil it down the #1 factor is the Offense is on a tight leash, and is not allowed off of it until it gets down in games, or is in a 2 min situation. Once it gains the lead it goes back to being on the leash. This leads to a ripple effect that causes or magnifies the other problems on the team.

Beast Mode in Super Bowl 48 sarcastically, but truthfully asking Pete Carroll if it is OK if we can score more points? Pretty much summarizes it.

This philosophy can work if you have a GOAT Defense, but if it is not GOAT all it will do is cost you games, and lead to mediocrity. Which is what Pete Carroll was in the NFL before Russell Wilson came along. Why Russell Wilson? Because he has been incredibly efficient and makes so many explosive plays given only 25 throws a game. It allowed / allows Pete Carroll to have his cake and eat it too, but if the D doesn't return to form in a hurry his philosophy will crumble, and lead to 7-9 to 10-6.

I've seen some comments on .NET about the Defense blowing 4th quarter leads, but it is cause and effect. Because once the offense gets the lead in the 4th quarter it goes back on the leash.

#2 Darrell Bevell. Bevell has proven on many occasions he doesn't know how to game plan, and attack opponents weaknesses, and avoid there strengths. Instead he does the opposite thinking it will surprise them. His Red Zone / 3rd down play calling and scheme is some of the worst stuff you will see in the league. Beast Mode, Jimmy Graham, & RW on the same team, should not be as hard as the Hawks make it out to be on Red Zone / 3rd down situations.

#3 The Lack of a strong leader on defense (Kam Chancellor). I see guys that are worn down by having to bail out the Offense week after week (leads back to #1 & #2). While also being fat & paid. (The highest paid D in the league.) They need a guy to kick them in the butt, and scream in there face, do Pete Carroll's dirty work, but it can only come from a guy like Kam. E.T. is in his own world. Sherm is a corner. Bobby Wagner is a quiet guy. Mebane is quiet also. Michael Bennett is crazy, and funny (The class clown.) Kam is the only guy personality wise that has leadership qualities on defense. This can be overcome if you play more aggressive on offense and score more points, but if PC refuses to do so = mediocrity.

#4 The Offensive Line - From all aspects: the available talent pool, scouting & drafting from that talent pool, development, free agency, & coaching. This is a league wide problem, not just a Seahawks problem.

#5 The schedule: You couldn't have drawn up anything worse than Rams on the road wk1 10 AM with a green offensive line, and the Pack week 2 on the road. Overall it is one of the tougher schedules in the league, but the worst is behind them. There is no need to panic yet. The Seahawks can't afford a home loss at this point though. The Hawks have to play 8-0 home ball, and find a way to go 4-2 on the road the rest of the way to get to 12-4. That should be good enough for the #2 seed, and another crack at the Pack in the NFC championship game.

#6 Pre-snap Penalties - the Okung false starts, and the Michael Bennett off-sides is getting tiresome, the rest of the penalties I can live with because they won't call it every play. You can actually gain an advantage.

#7 The loss of Dan Quinn. I saw the return of the Gus Bradley soft zone 4 qtr D in this game. What I loved about Quinn is he would go man, or press bail 90% of the time, soft zone generally only appeared as a change up, or if they had a big lead. Dan Quinn's D-Line background was a perfect complement to Pete Carroll's defensive back background as well.

#8 The loss of Ken Norton. Ken Norton filled the vocal leadership void of a MLB. Also just look at the guys Ken Norton has coached. He just knows how to turn seemingly anyone into a stud linebacker.

#9 Russell Wilson - suffers from mobile QB syndrome. Which is where a QB with mobility is hell bent on proving he can win with his arm and not his legs, thus surrendering the better option on multiple plays. Aaron Rodgers meanwhile had no shame tonight he was looking to extend and scramble on nearly every given drop back tonight. Part of the game plan appeared to get Russell Wilson's legs involved early. Wilson didn't want any part of it. He waited until the 3rd quarter got the lead then the offense went back in the tank (see #1 & #2).

#10 Marshawn Lynch - He has lost a step. He hasn't fallen off a cliff, but he has lost a step.

 

[sc85sis]

In this game? Penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot more than once.

 

[Fade]

In this game? Penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot more than once.

What is the overarching more systemic problems?

Seattle has led the league in penalties the last 2 years. It didn't stop them before.

 

[Fade]

#1 factor is the Offense is on a tight leash, and is not allowed off of it until it gets down in games, or is in a 2 min situation. Once it gains the lead it goes back to being on the leash. This leads to a ripple effect that causes or magnifies the other problems on the team

To put it clearly - we play to carefully. We play not to lose. We don't play aggressive till the game is almost over. In past we won some of these games now we are not.

Offense. We only play it for a half.

Bingo! Everything else becomes an uphill, handicapped battle.

I'm encouraged by Russell loosening up in the second half.

The offense has always been erratic at best. The biggest contributor is that they no longer have to score only 16ish ppg to win.

Now that the defense is not the world beaters the offense needs to pick up the slack. The problem is the offense is operating like it did when we had a world beater defense. Our play calling is still very conservative, and vanilla. We're playing it safe here when we cannot afford to do so.

This philosophy can work if you have a GOAT Defense, but if it is not GOAT all it will do is cost you games.

A lot of Posters on .NET get it.

 

[brimsalabim]

To put it clearly - we play to carefully. We play not to lose. We don't play aggressive till the game is almost over. In past we won some of these games now we are not.

This is it in a nutshell. The coaches have to earn their money game planning now instead of relying on the other team to make a mistake.

 

[Seahawk]

Russ Wilson - has a problem with aim/accuracy/timidity
Bennett - has a problem hurting the team with penalties
Kam - has a problem hurting the team by holding out
O-Line - has a problem blocking almost any defensive player
Defense - Playing poorly on purpose to 'support Kam' (just watch Sherman defend passes)
Refs - allowing packers o-line to hold on every play

 

[Yxes1122]

I think our Defense actually played relatively well last night. Take away the two major offsides penalties that led to scores and Rodgers had 1 sustained drive against you. This isn't the smothering D of 2013, but it still is a very good D that has several new faces and is feeling itself out.

The biggest issue for me is that we are trying to be a power run team when we no longer have the personnel to do it. When any team keys in on the run, we go nowhere. Even Lynch on his best day cannot consistently get yardage with this line, and we no longer beat down a team like we used to and run with consistency in the 2nd half. It's time to put the offense on the shoulders of Russell. The issue is he is such a rhythm passer right now. He looked pretty bad in the first half. Got into rhythm in the 3rd QTR, looked unstoppable, then got thrown out of rhythm after the botched Lynch exchange. You could feel the momentum come to a jarring stop after that play. Russ needs to be more consistent and Bevell NEEDS to get Russ into rhythm faster.

The problem I see is that everything that got Russ into rhythm (the PA boots, the RO keepers) are all based on the run game. So if we can't run, but our passing offense needs the run, our offense is in a weird place. I think the key is to pass more. I know it goes against the identity of this team, but it's time to start changing this offense and make Russ the focal point and not Lynch. I think Russ can absolutely do it, I just think it will take growing pains. But I think no amount of gelling is going to make this O-Line get consistent push in the run game.

 

[justafan]

Both games could have turned out different with just the outcome of a few plays in either game.

The Rams game was about as flukey as they get,

Last nights game I have never seen offsides penalties have such a huge impact.

First drive was a 3 and out but a penalty kept it alive and they scored.

Wilson keeping the ball on ZR or scrambling earlier could have made an impact.

Im bummed we are 0-2 but we really arnt that far from being 1-1 or even 2-0

Smarter play,better Oline play and cleaning up a few things on D and this team is ready to roll.


As far as hailing Quinn the hero and blaming Bradley and Richards.Quinn had better, deeper and more experienced talent than Bradley.Quinn had a better coaching staff and more talent than Richards.
Both are are damn good D coaches.The difference is in the talent around them IMO

 

[BleedGreenNblue]

Sloppy, Uninspired, No Fire!
Watch the sideline...
No one is 'into' the game.
Last 2 years everyone is fired up, jumping around, celebrating good plays.
This year they aren't united, aren't 'IN' as it were.
And, it shows.

THIS. I 100% agree with this. No smiles, no passion, no energy. I just dont feel the excitement from the players anymore, especially the defense. Somethings off