The real reason we aren't rolling over people

The real reason we aren't rolling over people is the human nature of winning a Super Bowl 43-8 and making it look easy. We are now the hunted, no longer the hunter. We can try to prop ourselves up and use whatever we can to motivate us, but it is impossible for us to be the hunter anymore. You can't play that role after you win it. You have to take on a different persona. The Cowboys and Chargers were the hunters. They were confident, and they were desperate to win those games. They needed those wins so bad they would claw until their fingernails bled. We couldn't match that. We're not desperate to win. It isn't about effort. All of our guys give maximum effort, all the time. It is human nature to not be as hungry.

The good news, is that this can be fixed. We need to get that killer instinct. We don't know how to play with it yet. We've got a team full of underdogs and late round picks, and undersized, unwanted, castaway types. It was easy for them to play hungry. That was their nature. They're going to have to learn how to take the hunter and rebuke them because you are the king of the castle. Luckily, Pete has been here before. He'll get it figured out. It is going to take a couple of wins, beating a good team, something to spark it, and we'll be fine. It isn't about getting fed up with losing. It isn't about playing harder, studying harder. It is about taking joy in taking somebody's best shot and stepping on their throat anyways. Russell was a little bully. He'll figure it out. He's got a team full of badarses that can play this role perfectly, they just have to get comfortable with it first.

Last year we were the bullies, so as is human nature, everyone wants to kick the bullies ass.

We have taken some good teams best shots. 2 of them won, neither won hugely on the scoreboard but both losses the Hawks were outplayed and more importantly OUTCOACHED.

If I were a Hawk coach this year I would be putting in a LOT of overtime.

That being said, there is a lot of fight in this dog and in no way are we as bad as what appeared last Sunday.

Pretty much...

...yeah...

...uh huh...

...yep...

Having our entire secondary be decimated by injury isn't helping matters either

Super Bowl 48 gave many the false perception that the Hawks were some sort of unstoppable juggernaut all last year.
There were plenty of nail biters, improbable victories over bad teams, and blowouts of bad teams. The First Niner Game and the Saints game on Monday night were the closest things to signature wins we had in the regular season over quality opponents.

We had lots of games last year that we didn't just "roll over" people. Where this idea that we blow everyone out came from I don't know.

It's made up in your minds.

To be fair, if you are going to make something up your mind is a pretty good spot to do so in.

Last year our game in St. Louis was a 14-9 defensive slug fest that we easily could have lost. If we repeat that this year everybody will flip out about how we are no longer championship material.

It's literally impossible for everything Tical just said to be true.

Last I checked the Seahawks lost 3 games last year. It's not like they went undefeated, and many of their wins (especially on the road) were won in the final minutes.

The Seahawks are just losing to some really good teams (Chargers and Cowboys). Stop making so much out of it.

The real, real reason we aren't rolling over people? We've had by far the most difficult schedule of any team so far.

The average DVOA of our opponents has been 15.6%. Green Bay, San Diego, Denver, Washington, and Dallas. Other than Washington, we've played the two best teams in the AFC and two of the best NFC teams.

The good news? By DVOA, the rest of our schedule is ranked as the 26th most difficult (-3.9% average DVOA). While the team certainly has some issues to work out and it's hard to have perspective after a tough loss, people will be feeling a lot different after we stroll into SF at 8-3 or 9-2.

I reject the original premise. Last year at this point in the season we were 4-1 coming off of a 3 point OT win against the worst team in the league and a loss to a Colts team that was worse than either the '14 Chargers or Cowboys. Our wins against the panthers and 49ers were no more impressive than this years wins over the packers and broncos.

Looking at the rest of the '13 season we beat a bad Titans team by 7. Struggled mightily against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Trailed the 0-7 Bucs 21-0 in the second quarter. Late in the season we lost at home to a Cardinals team that was giving out interceptions like candy on Halloween.

This is the NFL. Through our first 5 games we have played 4 of the top 6 teams in NFL.coms power rankings. WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT. Are you really that naive that you expected a 43-8 beatdown against every top team in the league?

The main similarity between this year and last are all of the melodramatic brain dead fans crying that the sky is falling at every sign of stormy waters.

[youtube]p7CaiWxKYBo[/youtube]

The pass blocking isn't getting done.
The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.
The defensive line isn't getting sacks.
The defensive secondary isn't taking the ball away.
The bell cow RB is yielding a ton of plays to others.
Both Seattle and their opponents are building game plans to use/stop Harvin. The opponents are winning.
The schedule has been beastly tough.

I think that about covers it.

Mick063":1f7gng01 said:

The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could point to the specific plays where this happened. Or are you just parroting the nonsense that all the other trolls have been spewing on here?

pocketprotector":3ryxjzxq said:

Mick063":3ryxjzxq said:

The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could point to the specific plays where this happened. Or are you just parroting the nonsense that all the other trolls have been spewing on here?

Click to expand...

Sounds like this QB doesn't even belong in the NFL...Seahawks should get rid of him

Maybe it is an attitude thing. I don't seem to see the same fire and energy from this team as last year.

The problem I have is schematically different from last year.

We have the same OL, sure Okung is dinged, but both of our Tackles were out for a stretch last year. Carpenter looks better than I've ever seen him, and much better than McQuistan. Yet, even with mostly the same personnel, we can't run the ball.

We're also not taking shots down the field. I don't think the pass pro is worse than last year (I'm not even sure it's possible), but we're not taking shots down the field. Our "moveable chess piece" in Harvin is being extremely limited in what we're doing with him. By definition, being versatile means using someone in a variety of ways.

On defense, we're not getting great pressure (not a shock, given the lack of enforcement of certain rules; it's also not endemic of just us), our secondary depth is decimated, and our secondary in general just doesn't look the same to me. I think the new rule changes honestly affected the mentality of the LOB.

That said, it all boils down to us winning a few games last year by making a few plays a game. This year, we're not making those plays. That said, we could be forcing more turn overs, and I see that happening eventuallly.

pocketprotector":179nwhk3 said:

Mick063":179nwhk3 said:

The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could point to the specific plays where this happened. Or are you just parroting the nonsense that all the other trolls have been spewing on here?

Click to expand...

Calling it like I see it.

I see helter skelter. It is Lotto passing attack. Sometimes a big play. Most the time not. Nothing consistent to build around. Run in circles, receivers in scramble drill, chuck it out of bounds to avoid a bad play, get smacked hard as the ball is let go.

Lineman not knowing where the quarterback is, unable to properly set up a pocket, instinctively grabbing and holding because pass rush pursuit is a continuous change of vectors.

Chaos.

Barely surviving on bubble screens (at about 80% completion rate) and scramble drills (at a bad completion rate).

I love the Fran Tarkenton ability. Very entertaining. Just not on every 3rd and long. Going to that well much too often.

How about a simple timing pattern......thrown on time. How about finding the receiver that is singled up and trusting he can make a play instead of instantly deciding it isn't worth the risk, tucking the ball, and doing pirouettes EVERY SINGLE passing down.

-The Glove-":1xzrgezf said:

pocketprotector":1xzrgezf said:

Mick063":1xzrgezf said:

The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could point to the specific plays where this happened. Or are you just parroting the nonsense that all the other trolls have been spewing on here?

Click to expand...

Sounds like this QB doesn't even belong in the NFL...Seahawks should get rid of him

Click to expand...

We should go get the backup QB in Green Bay. That always works.

Bring back the bandit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mick063":qmrk91wc said:

pocketprotector":qmrk91wc said:

Mick063":qmrk91wc said:

The QB is holding the ball too long.
The QB is afraid to stick it in there with single coverage.
The QB won't throw it unless a receiver is wide open.....a rarity.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could point to the specific plays where this happened. Or are you just parroting the nonsense that all the other trolls have been spewing on here?

Click to expand...

Calling it like I see it.

I see helter skelter. It is Lotto passing attack. Sometimes a big play. Most the time not. Nothing consistent to build around. Run in circles, receivers in scramble drill, chuck it out of bounds to avoid a bad play, get smacked hard as the ball is let go.

Lineman not knowing where the quarterback is, unable to properly set up a pocket, instinctively grabbing and holding because pass rush pursuit is a continuous change of vectors.

Chaos.

Barely surviving on bubble screens (at about 80% completion rate) and scramble drills (at a bad completion rate).

I love the Fran Tarkenton ability. Very entertaining. Just not on every 3rd and long. Going to that well much too often.

How about a simple timing pattern......thrown on time. How about finding the receiver that is singled up and trusting he can make a play instead of instantly deciding it isn't worth the risk, tucking the ball, and doing pirouettes EVERY SINGLE passing down.

Click to expand...

You ain't seeing much then if you think he never throws to covered players (Lockette on Talib), he's doing pirouettes every passing play, and can't/doesn't throw "simple timing patterns"