Seahawks struggle in Red Zone, 3rd Down continue

[Mizak]

Analysis: A deeper look at the Seahawks’ struggles in red zone, on 3rd down

Seahawks QB Geno Smith and O-coordinator Shane Waldron have been introspective on the team's red-zone and third-down woes. A deep dive into the numbers provides some insight.

www.seattletimes.com

But the numbers do show Smith has struggled more inside the 20 than anywhere else on the field.

While Smith has a passer rating of 90.7 for the season, he is at just 74.9 inside the red zone, according to Pro Football Reference. He is 12 for 29 with 91 yards, five TDs and one interception in the red zone.

But interestingly, he has a rating of 95.8 — his best for any area of the field — inside the 10, having completed 5 of 10 passes for 30 yards and five TDs (meaning all five of his TD passes inside the 20 have also come from inside the 10).

That means it’s the area from the 20- to the 11-yard line that’s been the issue. In that range, Smith is just 7 of 19 for 61 yards and no TDs, a rating of 58.11.

One possible solution to that might be a really obvious one — get the ball more to Metcalf.

Metcalf has five catches on six targets inside the 20 for 46 yards and two touchdowns, and he has two catches on three targets inside the 10 for 16 yards and two touchdowns (meaning both red-zone touchdowns came from inside the 10).

That means Smith is 5 of 16 for 31 yards and no TDs when throwing passes from the 11-20 to anyone other than Metcalf, a rating of 40.61.

 

[hgwellz12]

Shane Waldron please step to the mic.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

Jake Curhan gave up 9 pressures on Geno. For the season, the right side has been weak in pass protection. Is is time to bench Curhan and try somebody else there until Lucas returns?

 

[nwHawk]

Jake Curhan gave up 9 pressures on Geno. For the season, the right side has been weak in pass protection. Is is time to bench Curhan and try somebody else there until Lucas returns?

If Curran’s ankle is still an issue, why not. If he can’t drive block, or pass block… he’s even more of a liability than when he’s healthy.

 

[RiverDog]

Jake Curhan gave up 9 pressures on Geno. For the season, the right side has been weak in pass protection. Is is time to bench Curhan and try somebody else there until Lucas returns?

According to PFF, Curan has allowed QB pressures on 14.8% of pass plays, the 3rd highest in the league through Week 6. But the other side hasn't played very well, either. Charles Cross gave up 4 QB pressures vs. the Bengals last week.

PFF has our OL ranked 29th, again through Week 6. But there was one standout performance. Right guard Anthony Bradford led all offensive linemen in Week 6 with a 90.5 run-blocking grade.

 

[WarHawks]

Russ routinely had qb ratings over 120 when he was in his prime. We came to expect it. Seems like an eternity now. Sigh.

 

[WmHBonney]

To me, it seems like they forget about first downs when they get inside the red zone. Every pass attempt goes into the end zone instead of trying to move the sticks. I get it, you want to take your shot. But, how about taking what the defense gives you?

 

[hawkfan68]

Geno’s ball security isn’t very good while in the red zone. It’s an area of his game that needs to be improved.

 

[Slick]

^^^This. Prioritizing the first down instead of a TD in the 11-20 range should help.

 

[xray]

Smith is a deer in the headlights while in the red zone .

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Not defending Geno and the offense, but red zone TD scoring is an epidemic this season all across the league. Most of the league is at 50-55% or lower.




And it's not just red zone scoring down, just about every offensive metric is down. Explosive plays, splash plays, plays over 15 yards, it's all down.

Coordinators are just fine with zone coverages like cover 3, cover 4, etc forcing QB's to grind out long drives. Far less man to man allowing receivers the coverage and time to make big plays.

Here's a good article on Yahoo that goes into all this in detail.

The Overhang: NFL scoring is down, and offenses have been sputtering, and here's why

The numbers are ... stark. And the reasons are plentiful. But there may be hope for a rebound yet.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[GemCity]

Not defending Geno and the offense, but red zone TD scoring is an epidemic this season all across the league. Most of the league is at 50-55% or lower.

View attachment 61325


And it's not just red zone scoring down, just about every offensive metric is down. Explosive plays, splash plays, plays over 15 yards, it's all down.

Coordinators are just fine with zone coverages like cover 3, cover 4, etc forcing QB's to grind out long drives. Far less man to man allowing receivers the coverage and time to make big plays.

Here's a good article on Yahoo that goes into all this in detail.

The Overhang: NFL scoring is down, and offenses have been sputtering, and here's why

The numbers are ... stark. And the reasons are plentiful. But there may be hope for a rebound yet.

sports.yahoo.com

Thanks for posting that. It certainly puts things in perspective.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Thanks for posting that. It certainly puts things in perspective.

One thing I've noticed being on this forum for a long time, is a lot of fans don't watch other NFL games, and just watch the Hawks and only see our problems as our problems........and don't see the larger league wide trends.

This is certainly one of them.

But again, we've got WAY too much talent on the offensive side of the ball to not be better on 3rd downs and the red zone. Three good TE's, two big bodied receivers in Bobo and Metcalf, two sneaky quick smart WR's in Lockett and now JSN.......and two very capable RB's.

That's WAY more than most offenses in this league. Waldron and his coaches need to step it up and get more creative in the red zone. On full display last weekend. Far too many traditional 5 step drops trying to hit easily defended crossing routes and outs.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Could be worse people, we could have Carr.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Derek Carr in a nutshell <a href="https://t.co/5gCRaoModb">pic.twitter.com/5gCRaoModb</a></p>&mdash; The Ballast (@ballastsports) <a href="">October 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Throwdown]

Run more

 

[MontanaHawk05]

One thing I've noticed being on this forum for a long time, is a lot of fans don't watch other NFL games, and just watch the Hawks and only see our problems as our problems........and don't see the larger league wide trends.

Forgive me for bringing this up, but another good place to see this phenomenon is fantasy football. Outside of a handful of blue-chip guys, EVERYONE is coming up short of their weekly projections, from QB's to TE's, especially in the last 3 weeks or so. But kickers aren't. They're the beneficiaries of offenses that stall in the red zone, so they're doing great, and it's really important in this year's leagues to make sure you have a good kicker.

 

[scutterhawk]

Run more

I agree, Block Better, "Run More"

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Forgive me for bringing this up, but another good place to see this phenomenon is fantasy football. Outside of a handful of blue-chip guys, EVERYONE is coming up short of their weekly projections, from QB's to TE's, especially in the last 3 weeks or so. But kickers aren't. They're the beneficiaries of offenses that stall in the red zone, so they're doing great, and it's really important in this year's leagues to make sure you have a good kicker.

Butker won my game for me last week lol.

But yeah, I think we're in a bad place for NFL offenses in general. IMO another thing not many people are talking about is with the recent retirements of guys like Brees and Brady, Rodgers injury, etc. There just isn't the elite level of QB play necessary to pick apart these zone defenses, especially in the red zone.

I think it's the youngest average age of QB's in a very long time right now. So other than Mahomes and Allen, there's only two other QB with even 10 TD passes. Stafford and Tua.

So yeah, a LOT of young guys and mediocre QB play right now across the board.

 

[hgwellz12]

Could be worse people, we could have Carr.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Derek Carr in a nutshell <a href="https://t.co/5gCRaoModb">pic.twitter.com/5gCRaoModb</a></p>&mdash; The Ballast (@ballastsports) <a href="">October 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Me and my 7 year old (who is rapidly learning the game) watched this game last night and he was cracking me up with some of the shady comments he made about Derek Carr

 

[hgwellz12]

Butker won my game for me last week lol.

But yeah, I think we're in a bad place for NFL offenses in general. IMO another thing not many people are talking about is with the recent retirements of guys like Brees and Brady, Rodgers injury, etc. There just isn't the elite level of QB play necessary to pick apart these zone defenses, especially in the red zone.

I think it's the youngest average age of QB's in a very long time right now. So other than Mahomes and Allen, there's only two other QB with even 10 TD passes. Stafford and Tua.

So yeah, a LOT of young guys and mediocre QB play right now across the board.

Russ has at least 10 I'm fairly certain...I could be wrong though.