While I agree the game plan was a disaster.

Some are focusing on it too much.

Fact is this team has a lot of holes. The offensive line was absolutely terrible today.
Britt's holding penalty killed the game for us and was easily preventable if he had just moved his feet.

The tackling in the secondary has been awful all season. Thompson and Griffin need to be backups at best moving forward, they suck.

Pass rush on the road was once again not good enough. Clark and Reed want to get paid but it seems like they are largely a product of the link until they prove otherwise. A lot of things need to cleaned up this off-season.

Dallas is a better and more complete team. you're lying if you think otherwise. I don't think it's as simple as if we pass more we win.

With that said Wilson, lockett and Doug are more than capable of covering up a lot of those warts and it's absolutely heartbreaking that Pete and schotty didn't give them an opportunity to shine on a big stage. an opportunity they deserved and something that was necessary to win the game.

The front office is gonna have to decide whether run and play defense can be a super bowl winning identity when Russ is rightfully paid 30 million. He's never had an offensive coordinator that truly calls plays to his strengths, maybe it's time for pete to get out of his comfort zone.

davidonmi":37owsvik said:

With that said Wilson, lockett and Doug are more than capable of covering up a lot of those warts and it's absolutely heartbreaking that Pete and schotty didn't give them an opportunity to shine on a big stage.

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You had it at this!!!

davidonmi":35ge3s1i said:

Pass rush on the road was once again not good enough. Clark and Reed want to get paid but it seems like they are largely a product of the link until they prove otherwise. A lot of things need to cleaned up this off-season.
.

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Clark had a sack and 3 QB hits (game-high for both teams)

The problem is we only have two guys who can rush.

This is a strong draft for DL - I hope we can get another elite pass rusher to pair with Clark.

The reason we were so good in 2013-2014 was we had Irvin, Clemons, Bennett, Avril, McDonald - our pass rush was unstoppable.

WestcoastSteve":2uy14dvj said:

davidonmi":2uy14dvj said:

Pass rush on the road was once again not good enough. Clark and Reed want to get paid but it seems like they are largely a product of the link until they prove otherwise. A lot of things need to cleaned up this off-season.
.

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Clark had a sack and 3 QB hits (game-high for both teams)

The problem is we only have two guys who can rush.

This is a strong draft for DL - I hope we can get another elite pass rusher to pair with Clark.

The reason we were so good in 2013-2014 was we had Irvin, Clemons, Bennett, Avril, McDonald - our pass rush was unstoppable.

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he had a sack on a stunt yes. one of those hits came on a completion, not sure about the other. Putting up stats is fine, but great rushers like Avril consistently affected the quarterback. Clark lacks that consistency.
If he wants to get paid as a top pass rusher he needs to be better on the road. Prescott had too much time far too often. there were a lot of plays where no one came even close to touching him, can't happen.

I agree he needs help though

one of those hits came on a completion,

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It's not his fault it was a completion, his job is to put pressure on Prescott and he did.

If he wants to get paid as a top pass rusher he needs to be better on the road.

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8 of his sacks this season (including today) came on the road.

Prescott had too much time far too often. there were a lot of plays where no one came even close to touching him, can't happen.

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We are never going to be a heavy blitz team so we need four really good rushers on passing downs to get pressure.

I agree he needs help though

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You get it :2thumbs:

It wasn't the defense.

We did not score 30. We were less than 18 near the end of the game. You will not win ANY playoff games like that.

We did not put a game plan together that focused on letting our best player win the game for us.

Instead we focused on trying to run the ball against a stout defense SELLING OUT AGAINST THE RUN while we had at least 2 offensive linemen playing below 100% as they were probably not completely recovered yet. But even with potentially hurt OL, key OL, we insisted on putting a gameplan together to try to run the ball repeatedly.

And then when the kicker went down, so you KNEW you had to score more given close games would put you at a disadvantage - we still kept to the same stupid plan.

None of that was the defense. If anything the defense picks off a pass that would have been another score. The offense did nothing for a full half.

Meanwhile, we supposedly have an 'elite' QB. But even a very good QB would have done what we needed if only we bothered to make it his responsibility. I get you 'dance with the one that brung ya' but that was stupid.

TwistedHusky":15y0jfv5 said:

It wasn't the defense.

We did not score 30. We were less than 18 near the end of the game. You will not win ANY playoff games like that.

We did not put a game plan together that focused on letting our best player win the game for us.

Instead we focused on trying to run the ball against a stout defense SELLING OUT AGAINST THE RUN while we had at least 2 offensive linemen playing below 100% as they were probably not completely recovered yet. But even with potentially hurt OL, key OL, we insisted on putting a gameplan together to try to run the ball repeatedly.

And then when the kicker went down, so you KNEW you had to score more given close games would put you at a disadvantage - we still kept to the same stupid plan.

None of that was the defense. If anything the defense picks off a pass that would have been another score. The offense did nothing for a full half.

Meanwhile, we supposedly have an 'elite' QB. But even a very good QB would have done what we needed if only we bothered to make it his responsibility. I get you 'dance with the one that brung ya' but that was stupid.

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WOW okay I agree with you. Sorry having read a lot of this board before joining I did not expect you and I to agree a lot. My apologies

WestcoastSteve":2q4wrpqx said:

one of those hits came on a completion,

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It's not his fault it was a completion, his job is to put pressure on Prescott and he did.

If he wants to get paid as a top pass rusher he needs to be better on the road.

Click to expand...

8 of his sacks this season (including today) came on the road.

Prescott had too much time far too often. there were a lot of plays where no one came even close to touching him, can't happen.

Click to expand...

We are never going to be a heavy blitz team so we need four really good rushers on passing downs to get pressure.

I agree he needs help though

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You get it :2thumbs:

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I honestly didn't know that 8 of his sacks came on the road.
In the panthers, 49ers and this game we did not get enough pressure on the QB.

TwistedHusky":3t7qgv3h said:

It wasn't the defense.

We did not score 30. We were less than 18 near the end of the game. You will not win ANY playoff games like that.

We did not put a game plan together that focused on letting our best player win the game for us.

Instead we focused on trying to run the ball against a stout defense SELLING OUT AGAINST THE RUN while we had at least 2 offensive linemen playing below 100% as they were probably not completely recovered yet. But even with potentially hurt OL, key OL, we insisted on putting a gameplan together to try to run the ball repeatedly.

And then when the kicker went down, so you KNEW you had to score more given close games would put you at a disadvantage - we still kept to the same stupid plan.

None of that was the defense. If anything the defense picks off a pass that would have been another score. The offense did nothing for a full half.

Meanwhile, we supposedly have an 'elite' QB. But even a very good QB would have done what we needed if only we bothered to make it his responsibility. I get you 'dance with the one that brung ya' but that was stupid.

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I'm not blaming the defense. Point is cowboys were better in all 3 facets of the game today. Wagner and Wright were special players, but there were too many missed tackles and mistakes in the secondary. Mistakes which you can't make and expect to win in the playoffs.

TwistedHusky":1h2s9238 said:

It wasn't the defense.

We did not score 30. We were less than 18 near the end of the game. You will not win ANY playoff games like that.

We did not put a game plan together that focused on letting our best player win the game for us.

Instead we focused on trying to run the ball against a stout defense SELLING OUT AGAINST THE RUN while we had at least 2 offensive linemen playing below 100% as they were probably not completely recovered yet. But even with potentially hurt OL, key OL, we insisted on putting a gameplan together to try to run the ball repeatedly.

And then when the kicker went down, so you KNEW you had to score more given close games would put you at a disadvantage - we still kept to the same stupid plan.

None of that was the defense. If anything the defense picks off a pass that would have been another score. The offense did nothing for a full half.

Meanwhile, we supposedly have an 'elite' QB. But even a very good QB would have done what we needed if only we bothered to make it his responsibility. I get you 'dance with the one that brung ya' but that was stupid.

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My feelings exactly!

TwistedHusky":wqak6iyd said:

It wasn't the defense.

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The fact that they only allowed 24 points doesn't mean they can't be better.

Empirically, Seattle lacks more than two pass rushers, has two replacement-level tackling liabilities in the secondary, and isn't getting anything from the non-Wright OLB (when it's on the field).

That's 60% of a defense. We should not be in that situation.

Yes, it held just barely against a lot of good offenses. Now imagine how much better it could be with a third and fourth real pass rusher, better tackling in the secondary, and an OLB that can rush the passer and make plays on the ball.

Getting indignant over criticisms of the defense is like getting indignant over criticisms of 2017 Russell Wilson. Yes, he's the only reason we got as far as we did last year. Yes, he could still have played better. That isn't a diss - it's a tribute to his ceiling.

We need to reload on BOTH sides of the ball next year.

It isn't reasonable to expect.

EVERY team wants better players on both sides. EVERY team wants OL and pass rushers, and corners.

Our secondary is a weakness not a strength. Our QB is a strength. OL and run game were strengths but the Cowboys focused on shutting it down. We refused to try anything else.

But the defense held them to 24 points, that should have been enough given your defense is your weakness. The defense did OK, they held them almost scoreless in the 3rd, picked off a pass and shut down a few drives in the 4th.

What did the offense do?

TwistedHusky":12v1eh75 said:

It isn't reasonable to expect.

EVERY team wants better players on both sides. EVERY team wants OL and pass rushers, and corners.

Our secondary is a weakness not a strength. Our QB is a strength. OL and run game were strengths but the Cowboys focused on shutting it down. We refused to try anything else.

But the defense held them to 24 points, that should have been enough given your defense is your weakness. The defense did OK, they held them almost scoreless in the 3rd, picked off a pass and shut down a few drives in the 4th.

What did the offense do?

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You're judging purely by results. That's always going to be a flawed approach. Units can achieve better than they perform (like the defense) because the positives cover up for the negatives. They can also achieve worse than they perform (like the offense) for, well, a variety of reasons.

So you have to look at the individuals, too.

I didn't see a horrible game by anyone on offense today, really. A few badly timed penalties, but in a year where we've cut down on them drastically and Britt and Fluker were getting Pro Bowl whispers, it doesn't qualify as horrible overall.

I did see a fundamentally terrible day from Shaquill Griffin, over and over. I saw total ineffectiveness on the DL by anyone with a last name other than Clark or Reed. That's there, regardless of what happened on offense.

BTW, holding a team to 24 isn't good. It's average at best. Nor is allowing 30+ to the Chiefs and Rams. We can do better.

1st the average victor in an NFL game scores 28. So 24 is below that.

2nd, the guy on offense who had a horrible day should be clear as day to you. It was the OC.

I saw a terrible game by the OC and by the RB1. Not sure what you saw. OL struggled but I expected it with Britt and Fluker almost assuredly hurt. Even so, 17 points by your best and strongest part of your team is pathetic.

It isn't just bad. It is seething dripping failure.

TwistedHusky":2oio64fk said:

1st the average victor in an NFL game scores 28. So 24 is below that.

2nd, the guy on offense who had a horrible day should be clear as day to you. It was the OC.

I saw a terrible game by the OC and by the RB1. Not sure what you saw. OL struggled but I expected it with Britt and Fluker almost assuredly hurt. Even so, 17 points by your best and strongest part of your team is pathetic.

It isn't just bad. It is seething dripping failure.

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So...good tackling by the entire secondary, then? Pass rush from that entire front?

You want to focus on the offense. That's clear to me. I'm not saying they were well-coached - I'm saying I saw problems everywhere.

Pass rushers I think are here, Green and Martin will grow more and add weight and muscle by next year, Jordon may also be here, cheap guys that showed something. Need a wide assed run stuffer for the rotation however.