In denial

[Hawktawk]

Since the horrible loss in SB 49 the hawks haven’t been out of the divisional round an have lost in the wild card 2 of the last 3 years and have gone 3-6 in their last 9 postseason games . I don’t want to be a downer but the window on this Carroll, RW show seems to closing in a whimper . Pete’s in game management is questionable , burning challenges and timeouts , almost never getting his team ready to play in the first half , ever and especially in the postseason .

And can we talk? For 6 of the first 7 games Russ was the league MVP and since then I bet his stats were in the bottom third of the league . He was bad again yesterday , horrible . The pick on the wide receiver screen was the back breaker and a lot of it is on Russ . Immediately at the snap Russ wheels and throws it . He’s looking left before the snap . I’d be curious if that was Schotties call or did Russ audible into it. Swain missed the block completely and even if he had made it the ball looked like it would have been behind metcalf . It was the only interception on a receiver screen in the entire season in the league . I’m not sure DK wasnt pissed about Russ throwing him
Into a huge hit from a safety on a play with no chance .

The accuracy is awful . We get a few Russ rockets and had one nice deep ball but missed a wide open metcalf by 5 yards and several other overthrows , throws behind guys , taking sacks holding the ball too long . Love me some Russ but he’s not earning his money right now . I cannot understand why there are no dump off routes to unload the ball. I don’t remember running a single bubble screen , delay draw , the things you do to an agressive D. When Donald went out there is no excuse . I know this will sound blasphemous . Russ used to have dead eyes , shark eyes , assasin eyes . He had fear in his eyes yesterday . It’s not the first time I’ve seen it the second half of the season either .

[trents]

Yes, with Russ these days there seems to be a lack of sharpness, energy, confidence, killer instinct, boldness, urgency or whatever until there is desperation.

I also wonder if it's time for a coaching change. Pete consistently does not seem to have his troops ready to play. There is a lack of intensity and focus on this team. Pete's laid back, easy going, make it all fund mentality may have shot it's wad. And I wonder if that has spilled over into Russ' mentality.

[mykc14]

Since the horrible loss in SB 49 the hawks haven’t been out of the divisional round an have lost in the wild card 2 of the last 3 years and have gone 3-6 in their last 9 postseason games . I don’t want to be a downer but the window on this Carroll, RW show seems to closing in a whimper . Pete’s in game management is questionable , burning challenges and timeouts , almost never getting his team ready to play in the first half , ever and especially in the postseason .

And can we talk? For 6 of the first 7 games Russ was the league MVP and since then I bet his stats were in the bottom third of the league . He was bad again yesterday , horrible . The pick on the wide receiver screen was the back breaker and a lot of it is on Russ . Immediately at the snap Russ wheels and throws it . He’s looking left before the snap . I’d be curious if that was Schotties call or did Russ audible into it. Swain missed the block completely and even if he had made it the ball looked like it would have been behind metcalf . It was the only interception on a receiver screen in the entire season in the league . I’m not sure DK wasnt pissed about Russ throwing him
Into a huge hit from a safety on a play with no chance .

The accuracy is awful . We get a few Russ rockets and had one nice deep ball but missed a wide open metcalf by 5 yards and several other overthrows , throws behind guys , taking sacks holding the ball too long . Love me some Russ but he’s not earning his money right now . I cannot understand why there are no dump off routes to unload the ball. I don’t remember running a single bubble screen , delay draw , the things you do to an agressive D. When Donald went out there is no excuse . I know this will sound blasphemous . Russ used to have dead eyes , shark eyes , assasin eyes . He had fear in his eyes yesterday . It’s not the first time I’ve seen it the second half of the season either .

I do agree with your first paragraph. The second paragraph I disagree with. A WR screen INT is never on the QB unless the throw is crazy inaccurate. RW gets the ball and throws, that’s it. Now what could have been RW’s fault, which you mention is maybe he changed the play. If anything he probably had the option to throw that or run the ball sort of like an RPO (I would have to rewatch it to say for sure, but I’m not going to do that). At any rate it shouldn’t have been intercepted. I imagine we gave the play away with our formation, the DB guessed correctly, but at the end of the day that’s on Swain. He can’t let that happen. The real question is why do you have Swain out there instead of Moore, who out weighs Swain by 20 lbs? So frustrating!!

I think the issues with Russ are symptoms of the issues with PC’s philosophy, an inability to adjust on offense, and a basic offensive system. RW was so turnover adverse that he was continually using those deep throws as ‘throw aways’ not rest trying to complete them, as he admitted to after the miner game. The problem is he was throwing away the ball when guys are open.

[mykc14]

I think our OL is an issue again as well. It’s ironic the first 5-6 games they were supposedly great, but towards the end of the season we began to see the same old terrible OL play. Yesterday was as bad as it gets. The Rams were continually able to get pressure with 4, even with Donald out.

[NorthHawk]

Yup, the OL needs to upgrade the LG spot as Upati is having trouble staying healthy. As well we need a long
term replacement for Duane Brown. He’s not the problem but he’s nearing the end of his career.
I heard a comment on Seahawks Gameday when Dave Wyman said it almost seems like opposing Defenses
sometimes know what plays are called. I think we’ve all thought that, too at times and I also think it’s
because of unimaginative play designs and calling. That goes directly to Pete’s philosophy unfortunately, but
it doesn’t have to. For instance a large portion of the Rams Offense is run from the same formation and they and
other teams run basic plays with a lot of pre snap motion. We need to add some sparkle to the Offense just to
give the Defenses something else to think about and practice against.

[RiverDog]

I really thought that we had a good chance to get to the SB this season. Now I'm having to perform the sad task of taking my 12th man flag and putting it up until September.

The pick 6 was a killer. You can't give up 7 points in a close defensive struggle. Take the pick 6 out of the equation and the score is tied going into the 4th quarter. The DB obviously saw something that keyed him to jump the route as he was moving before Russell started his motion. It was hard to tell if Russell could see him breaking or not. Swain looked like a matador, making only a half hearted attempt to make that block.

I'm losing faith in both Pete and Russell. We seem doomed to mediocrity. Metcalf looks like a head case, has a selfish look to him. Our offensive line was over matched, and on the occasions they did provide decent protection, Russell was off target and indecisive. He screwed up by taking a costly delay of game penalty on a 4th down that if successful, might have gotten us back into the game. Outside of a TD to Metcalf on a broken play and another during garbage time, all we could manage was a couple of long distance FG's by Chris Meyers, who had the best season for any kicker in franchise history.

I'm tempted to say let's hit ctrl-alt-del, fire Pete, trade Russell, and start over. But I want to give it a few days for it to sink in.

Damn! I just inadvertently deleted my recording of the Hawks-Rams. Oh, well, par for the course.

[trents]

Outside of a TD to Metcalf on a broken play and another during garbage time, all we could manage was a couple of long distance FG's by Chris Meyers, who had the best season for any kicker in franchise history.

Weren't both of Metcalf's TD catches on scramble plays?

For sometime now we have all commented on how the offense seems to have success when Russ is moving around and the receivers are too. That suggests to me that opposing defenses are locking in on our predictable play calling and when things break down they can't do that. And something positive usually happens because it's then that we are utilizing our skill players' skills.

[c_hawkbob]

So, who is supposed to be in denial?

[obiken]

I think our OL is an issue again as well. It’s ironic the first 5-6 games they were supposedly great, but towards the end of the season we began to see the same old terrible OL play. Yesterday was as bad as it gets. The Rams were continually able to get pressure with 4, even with Donald out.

That's what I have been saying for years know. But Little Creek aka River, has been in a state of denial! Seriously, I think the treatise that Bob wrote is a little exaggerated, but not totally off. Russ took some vicious hits in the Bill and Card games. The sad reality is we have seen the best of RW. We have wasted the last 4 years of his prime with a patchwork quilt on the Oline. He is rushing the ball out to avoid hits, he has become a human being. He will be 33 next year, he is not TB, he cannot play till he is 40ish without help. Sorry, he needs protection now. With our current O-line we cannot run the ball, so no play action, and Russ is getting pummeled! We gave up 2 first rounders for a guy that plays lights out but is injury prone, so I dont see much of an upgrade possible. Moreover, how many contracts are coming up for renewal, that are going to rob the cap even more. Add to that, Bobby went out yesterday, he will be 31 in June of next year, old for a 6ft O inch linebacker. FA? do we have the money? I am NO cap expert but I would say no.

[RiverDog]

Outside of a TD to Metcalf on a broken play and another during garbage time, all we could manage was a couple of long distance FG's by Chris Meyers, who had the best season for any kicker in franchise history.

Weren't both of Metcalf's TD catches on scramble plays?

Could be. I was a bit distracted on the 2nd TD.

For sometime now we have all commented on how the offense seems to have success when Russ is moving around and the receivers are too. That suggests to me that opposing defenses are locking in on our predictable play calling and when things break down they can't do that. And something positive usually happens because it's then that we are utilizing our skill players' skills.

Perhaps. It's really hard to tell when all you're looking at is a postage stamp size picture of the defense. I know that there's been times when Russell has had open receivers short and was going for the home run. I'm also not sure if Russell is getting gun shy and apprehensive due to the interceptions.

What ever it is, whether it's the OL, play calling, play design, quarterbacking, or a combination thereof, it's obvious that something's not working.

[trents]

Aren't Pete and Belichick the two oldest coaches in the league? Pete certainly acts younger than his age but you can't totally ignore time either. Eventually, the game passes you by and the strategies that used to work for you no longer do.

[obiken]

Aren't Pete and Belichick the two oldest coaches in the league? Pete certainly acts younger than his age but you can't totally ignore time either. Eventually, the game passes you by and the strategies that used to work for you no longer do.

Exactly, Bill cannot draft WR's, thats why Tommy left.

[RiverDog]

Exactly, Bill cannot draft WR's, thats why Tommy left.

I think it was a little more complicated than that, Obi. For one, "Tommy" was using his own personal trainer in lieu of the team's.

[trents]

Another curious thing to me is that Pete places a premium on establishing a running game but it seems he's not willing to spend much draft capital to get top O linemen. But, on the other hand, the Hawks modicum of success for an extended period of years now has not given them a lot of high draft picks and there are always various needs to fill.

[Aseahawkfan]

My opinion is the same as it has been. Pete Ball works a certain way. Pete doesn't do high powered passing games. He doesn't like them. Right now we don't have the necessary components for Pete Ball.

Pete Ball requires:
1. Strong, run blocking O-line.

2. Opportunistic Passing.

3. Strong defense

We lack the strong defense. Our D-line is weak. The strongest component of our defense right now is the LBs. Until Pete gets the defense rebuilt, Pete Ball doesn't work very well. Pete's style of offense is too careful, too focused on ball control and retaining the football, and generally going to do the job unless we have a top 10 defense, preferably top 5.

Pete always gets an O-coordinator who runs Pete's style of offense. Russ used to that style of offense back to his Wisconsin days. We just can't play Pete Ball well now. We won't until he gets the defense built into a top unit again.

[RiverDog]

Another curious thing to me is that Pete places a premium on establishing a running game but it seems he's not willing to spend much draft capital to get top O linemen. But, on the other hand, the Hawks modicum of success for an extended period of years now has not given them a lot of high draft picks and there are always various needs to fill.

That's the curse of mediocrity. You play just good enough to insure that you never pick above the 20th slot.

[c_hawkbob]

It's not mediocrity, it's secondteirocrity at worst.

[RiverDog]

It's not mediocrity, it's secondteirocrity at worst.

Alright, that's it! I'm challenging you to a game of Scrabble!

[mykc14]

That's what I have been saying for years know. But Little Creek aka River, has been in a state of denial! Seriously, I think the treatise that Bob wrote is a little exaggerated, but not totally off. Russ took some vicious hits in the Bill and Card games. The sad reality is we have seen the best of RW. We have wasted the last 4 years of his prime with a patchwork quilt on the Oline. He is rushing the ball out to avoid hits, he has become a human being. He will be 33 next year, he is not TB, he cannot play till he is 40ish without help. Sorry, he needs protection now. With our current O-line we cannot run the ball, so no play action, and Russ is getting pummeled! We gave up 2 first rounders for a guy that plays lights out but is injury prone, so I dont see much of an upgrade possible. Moreover, how many contracts are coming up for renewal, that are going to rob the cap even more. Add to that, Bobby went out yesterday, he will be 31 in June of next year, old for a 6ft O inch linebacker. FA? do we have the money? I am NO cap expert but I would say no.

I agree with most of this, unfortunately no there isn’t really any money for a true upgrade. I would imagine the OL looks exactly the same next year except at LG. I don’t see us going the FA route in any position really. We don’t have the space and have too many guys to resign and that’s not even including Adams extension.

[jshawaii22]

All of you are at least mostly correct, based on the poor showing yesterday and the performance over the bulk of the 2nd half of the year, we're spinning in mud right now. It's hard to comprehend how bad the offense got between week 6 and now. I don't get it. We went into yesterday as healthy as we've been all year and played like we had a team of 2nd stringers.
Pete just signed a new contract for 3 more years, so don't expect any major upper management changes unless JS wants out. Wouldn't surprise me to see Shotty go. He must of had a lot to do with the "let Russ cook" and something (or someone above him) triggered that massive change back to the old way of the Seahawks that only works against bad teams.

As for the team personnel changes, the OLine will change because 3 of them are on the final years of contracts, so they probably won't be back. Our subs played better, IMHO.
We have very limited cap space right now and a whole lot of major players coming due this or next year. "Rebuild" is not out of the question with no #1 picks until 23. Looking at that 32+ million a year for Russ I wonder if it's time to make a change. Lots of options out there, starting with Deshaun Watson. We seem to like the Texans as a trading partner.

[Hawktawk]

So, who is supposed to be in denial?

Me

[Hawktawk]

All of you are at least mostly correct, based on the poor showing yesterday and the performance over the bulk of the 2nd half of the year, we're spinning in mud right now. It's hard to comprehend how bad the offense got between week 6 and now. I don't get it. We went into yesterday as healthy as we've been all year and played like we had a team of 2nd stringers.
Pete just signed a new contract for 3 more years, so don't expect any major upper management changes unless JS wants out. Wouldn't surprise me to see Shotty go. He must of had a lot to do with the "let Russ cook" and something (or someone above him) triggered that massive change back to the old way of the Seahawks that only works against bad teams.

As for the team personnel changes, the OLine will change because 3 of them are on the final years of contracts, so they probably won't be back. Our subs played better, IMHO.
We have very limited cap space right now and a whole lot of major players coming due this or next year. "Rebuild" is not out of the question with no #1 picks until 23. Looking at that 32+ million a year for Russ I wonder if it's time to make a change. Lots of options out there, starting with Deshaun Watson. We seem to like the Texans as a trading partner.

Our subs did play better on the line . Wilson for Watson? Hmmm..

[RiverDog]

Looking at that 32+ million a year for Russ I wonder if it's time to make a change. Lots of options out there, starting with Deshaun Watson. We seem to like the Texans as a trading partner.

Man, that would be a stunner, biggest trade in Seattle sports history and by far the most controversial. Russell Wilson is God to a lot of Seahawk fans.

There's a lot of teams that will be in the market for a QB, including the Pats, Eagles, Cowboys, WTF, Broncos, and Colts, and once you get past the top 2 in the draft, ie Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, who will probably go 1-2 to the Jags and Jets, the class looks pretty thin.

I'm not closing my mind on a possible trade, but I don't think I'm quite ready to give up on Russell. He has two years left on this contract, so maybe next year before he becomes a free agent. But if the Texans offered us Watson and a #1, we'd be foolish not to consider it.

[TriCitySam]

As I said yesterday, I don’t blame RW on the screen INT. I watched that play a half a dozen times. When Russell threw the ball, he did not have a clear view of the defender. Swain was supposed to block him and missed it, and Swain blocked Russell’s view. And why are you might not like Pete’s game decisions, when I heard him explain it last night I can’t totally disagree. He was OK punting the ball. Given what happened to the Colts, with a one Ford on fourth and wash the three points would’ve tied the game, I get it. It was not a good spot to go for on fourth down against that defense.

I thought Russell was being conservative in the two games prior to this, but his play was subpar I thought. I know I’ve questioned about how busy he is with his outside interests. Sometimes he just has a blank look on his face. Hard to tell, he reveals almost nothing in his post game interviews. OL/DL should be priorities, and I do think we should start looking for future QBs to groom. Also,I think we need to work shorter routes more. Over the middle etc. Seems we spend a lot of series going deep, and I hate our throws in the flat behind the line. Should be a high % play, doesn’t seem to be very productive the way we execute it. Schotty was a wash in his earlier stops, doesn’t seem to have the packages to adjust well.

I will say this, it is difficult to beat a team two X in a row and I don’t care what they say, it’s hard to get up emotionally for a team you think you are better than. Our history shows we’re not very good at it. We’ve made a ton of back up quarterbacks look like pro bowlers. Not saying the D is the reason we lost, but a QB with a broken thumb (and a scrub) put up 30.

[RiverDog]

I'm hearing from some of my friends that Russell had open receivers yesterday but that he's either not seeing them or is hesitating. One guy sent me a screen shot of what appears to be a tight end about 10 yards downfield with no defenders within about 7 yards of him, but no info on down and distance.

So who knows. All I know is that we've basically been treading water for the last 5 years. Personally, I'm not satisfied with winning a division or making the playoffs with competitive every year type of teams. I've always been a go big or stay home type of a guy, a Lombardi or bust.

[TriCitySam]

I'm hearing from some of my friends that Russell had open receivers yesterday but that he's either not seeing them or is hesitating. One guy sent me a screen shot of what appears to be a tight end about 10 yards downfield with no defenders within about 7 yards of him, but no info on down and distance.

So who knows. All I know is that we've basically been treading water for the last 5 years. Personally, I'm not satisfied with winning a division or making the playoffs with competitive every year type of teams. I've always been a go big or stay home type of a guy, a Lombardi or bust.

Well, with the OL unable to keep the pressure off RW it’s hard to find open guys, you don’t have clear sight lines or much time. Both Lockett and RW had comments that can be taken as questioning Schottys play calling. The D’s adjusted to stop our long game, but we didn’t adjust to counter it. That’s on Schotty, and ultimately Pete.

[Aseahawkfan]

I'm hearing from some of my friends that Russell had open receivers yesterday but that he's either not seeing them or is hesitating. One guy sent me a screen shot of what appears to be a tight end about 10 yards downfield with no defenders within about 7 yards of him, but no info on down and distance.

So who knows. All I know is that we've basically been treading water for the last 5 years. Personally, I'm not satisfied with winning a division or making the playoffs with competitive every year type of teams. I've always been a go big or stay home type of a guy, a Lombardi or bust.

They always take these pictures when things are slow. It literally happens to every QB every game where they miss some open receivers. It's a nothing criticism.

Fact is the Rams defense is number one in the the league for a reason. They showed us why yesterday. When our defense was number one, we made a lot of QBs look stupid too.

[RiverDog]

I'm hearing from some of my friends that Russell had open receivers yesterday but that he's either not seeing them or is hesitating. One guy sent me a screen shot of what appears to be a tight end about 10 yards downfield with no defenders within about 7 yards of him, but no info on down and distance.

So who knows. All I know is that we've basically been treading water for the last 5 years. Personally, I'm not satisfied with winning a division or making the playoffs with competitive every year type of teams. I've always been a go big or stay home type of a guy, a Lombardi or bust.

They always take these pictures when things are slow. It literally happens to every QB every game where they miss some open receivers. It's a nothing criticism.

I realize that, and like I said, it has to be put in context of down and distance.

But I do wonder if with Russell spending more time in the pocket, is his 5'10" height now beginning to become the hindrance that conventional wisdom always said it was?

Fact is the Rams defense is number one in the the league for a reason. They showed us why yesterday. When our defense was number one, we made a lot of QBs look stupid too.

You can make the same argument about our offensive line situation. By all accounts, the OL played above expectations all year now all of a sudden it's garbage?

Whatever the reason, I am not comfortable with the direction this franchise is heading. Pete rolled some heads two seasons ago by firing both of his coordinators and that doesn't seem to have done the trick. How much longer until we hold Pete accountable?

[Aseahawkfan]

You can make the same argument about our offensive line situation. By all accounts, the OL played above expectations all year now all of a sudden it's garbage?

Whatever the reason, I am not comfortable with the direction this franchise is heading. Pete rolled some heads two seasons ago by firing both of his coordinators and that doesn't seem to have done the trick. How much longer until we hold Pete accountable?

Because the Rams d-line is one of the best in the league with two vicious interior D-lineman including best in the league D-end Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald single-handedly owned our line. Brockers was just more pain. Not many O-lines can withstand Aaron Donald.

[NorthHawk]

In 10 years we’ve never had a good OL so we shouldn’t expect that to change. The DL on the other hand has been
good in the past and should be able to be improved. That would go a long way to improving the Defense as a whole
and allow Wagner to stay cleaner than this year. And even with less help up front he had a pretty good year overall.

[obiken]

In 10 years we’ve never had a good OL so we shouldn’t expect that to change. The DL on the other hand has been
good in the past and should be able to be improved. That would go a long way to improving the Defense as a whole
and allow Wagner to stay cleaner than this year. And even with less help up front he had a pretty good year overall.

I agree! And all due respect to River, I think our Oline only looked above average when we were playing below average teams. The sad thing is, as one poster said, IF we would have gotten past the Rams we could have gone all the way to the SB. As River can attest to, I had a bad feeling on this game and predicted a loss. But their was no one else in the NFC I feared as much. IF Goeff can put up just 21 points with their D, I think they could beat anyone. That is a big IF however. I agree with River, I think Pete is on the hot seat, and if we are a one game exit or a Playoff no show it will be scorching a year from now. Note well, that this year we had the easiest schedule I have ever seen as a Hawks fan in a long time. Losing to the Giants was just a killer. SF, LA, and PH, are going to be a whole lot tougher next year.

[RiverDog]

Because the Rams d-line is one of the best in the league with two vicious interior D-lineman including best in the league D-end Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald single-handedly owned our line. Brockers was just more pain. Not many O-lines can withstand Aaron Donald.

Except Donald wasn't in there for much of the game and we still had our problems.

[RiverDog]

In 10 years we’ve never had a good OL so we shouldn’t expect that to change. The DL on the other hand has been
good in the past and should be able to be improved. That would go a long way to improving the Defense as a whole
and allow Wagner to stay cleaner than this year. And even with less help up front he had a pretty good year overall.

I agree! And all due respect to River, I think our Oline only looked above average when we were playing below average teams. The sad thing is, as one poster said, IF we would have gotten past the Rams we could have gone all the way to the SB. As River can attest to, I had a bad feeling on this game and predicted a loss. But their was no one else in the NFC I feared as much. IF Goeff can put up just 21 points with their D, I think they could beat anyone. That is a big IF however. I agree with River, I think Pete is on the hot seat, and if we are a one game exit or a Playoff no show it will be scorching a year from now. Note well, that this year we had the easiest schedule I have ever seen as a Hawks fan in a long time. Losing to the Giants was just a killer. SF, LA, and PH, are going to be a whole lot tougher next year.

Obi, my friend, you've had a bad feeling that we were going to lose a lot of our games this year. You're more of a pessimist than I am. Ramblow predicted that we'd lose, too. Does our losing make his forecast anymore legitimate?

I'm with North Hawk on this one. We never have, and never will have, a top 10 offensive line so long as Pete is here. He's a defensive coach. It's not a bad philosophy as we've won a lot of games while he's been here. Additionally, a QB like Russell that holds onto the ball as long as he does is going to cause the best of offensive linemen to look like fools.

Take a look at this stat: Of 41 NFL quarterbacks this season, Russell Wilson's average time to throw is 37th. Whether that's by play design, by Russell's determination to make something out of nothing, or his indecisiveness, is beside the point. The point is that it's an attribute that for a quarterback, makes him extremely difficult to protect. The other notable thing in this stat is that the 4 QB's ranked below him...Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, and Jalen Hurts...are all at least 7 years younger than Russell. Has Father Time passed him by? Is he refusing to adjust to the reality of getting older? Asking for a friend.

https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/pass ... e-to-throw

[Uppercut]

For Wilson this downfall began the day after their SB win against Denver, That day he suddenly was in the arms of the Hollywood Hip Hop crowd and its been all downhill from there and is accelerating as he ages.

[Hawktawk]

I'm hearing from some of my friends that Russell had open receivers yesterday but that he's either not seeing them or is hesitating. One guy sent me a screen shot of what appears to be a tight end about 10 yards downfield with no defenders within about 7 yards of him, but no info on down and distance.

So who knows. All I know is that we've basically been treading water for the last 5 years. Personally, I'm not satisfied with winning a division or making the playoffs with competitive every year type of teams. I've always been a go big or stay home type of a guy, a Lombardi or bust.

I saw Lockett open in the left flat maybe 8 yards downfield. Russ actually looked at him briefly, then pulled it down, started looking for the haymaker deep shot and took a sack`. I saw him stick his foot in the ground and throw it on the first read twice I think. One was a pick 6 and the other was so far over the receivers head it should have been picked as well.

I watched the Browns win last night. The Steelers had the #1 pass rush in the league and the Browns had no head coaches, especially on offense. They finished the game on their 3rd left tackle, a kid who mayfield met in the locker room before the game.
Still, quick hitters and midrange balls all night, extremely decisive play by Mayfield firing the ball into tight windows, getting it out of his hand super quick. I think he was kept almost totally clean all night. Running back screens, swing passes etc.He seems to know exactly when it was time to bail out and throw it away or scramble.

Why cant we do this ?Is Mayfield better than Russ. Is their third string coach better than PC and Schottie?

[trents]

. . .The other notable thing in this stat is that the 4 QB's ranked below him...Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, and Jalen Hurts...are all at least 7 years younger than Russell. Has Father Time passed him by? Is he refusing to adjust to the reality of getting older? Asking for a friend . . .

Mayfield didn't seem to hold onto the ball too long last night against the Steelers! He was decisive and snappy with his passes. When it wasn't there, he pulled it down and got out of bounds or through it away. If he plays like that from here on out the Browns will be tough! In contrast, Russ seems to have become tentative and indecisive, too perfectionist and as others have said, I'm sure what Pete has been preaching about ball control and turnovers has contributed to this. If you become too concerned with turnovers you start to commit more of them. And it takes away the aggressiveness that is necessary to keep the chains moving.

[Hawktawk]

Russes time to throw is a combination of schemes without outlet options and Russ just being indecisive. I think he’s so risk averse he’s paranoid of throwing it underneath in the middle between the hashes. In a way his current play reminds me of Russ as a rookie bailing out of the pocket and doing the scramble drill, taking lots of sacks . We had the LOB then .it’s just so mystifying after the start to the season .

[RiverDog]

A friend of mine commented that Russell isn't throwing short and to the middle. Saturday, he had one completion to tight ends for one yard. I'd like to see a scatter chart of his attempts/completions by area of the field to see of this is true or if it is just a perception.

Russell's numbers were about as ugly as they get: 11-27 for 174 yards, 2 TD's/1 INT and a QBR of 17.6. That has to be a career low for the playoffs.

[RiverDog]

Russes time to throw is a combination of schemes without outlet options and Russ just being indecisive. I think he’s so risk averse he’s paranoid of throwing it underneath in the middle between the hashes. In a way his current play reminds me of Russ as a rookie bailing out of the pocket and doing the scramble drill, taking lots of sacks . We had the LOB then .it’s just so mystifying after the start to the season .

We must have been thinking on the same plane regarding Russell not throwing underneath middle. Part of it could be related to his height, too.

As far as his performance at the start of the season vs. the 2nd half, I keep harping about it like a broken record. Take a look at the quality of defenses we faced early in the season (Falcons, Pats, Cowboys, Dolphins, Vikings) vs. that in the latter part of the season (Rams X2, Giants, WFT, Niners). That has to have been a factor.

[trents]

Yes, the early season schedule was soft.

Is it my imagination or do the Hawks throw to he tight ends less than a lot of other successful teams? Maybe it is because we don't have a big playmaker like a Kelce or a Kittle but maybe it's part of Pete's philosophy to shore up the run by keeping the tight ends in for blocking.