Bengals Game

[RiverDog]

At the start of the season, I had this one penciled in as a sure-fire loss. But the Bengals have been one of the biggest disappointments to this point of the season, and we are coming off a bye and our best defensive performance of the season, perhaps the best defensive performance in recent years.

Joe Burrow is having an off season. His completion percentage is down to 62%, his average YPA is down to 5.3, and he's thrown for just one TD per game. They are still having a hard time protecting him. They are one of the worst rushing teams in the league. But, they won their last game, vs. the Cards, rather convincingly, by two TD's.

I'm calling this one for us in a nail biter, 31-30.

[NorthHawk]

Last week I might have agreed with you, but the Bengals showed signs of coming back to life their last game and Burrow says he's now healthy.
A lot will depend on how healthy we are and whether we come in a little stale after 2 weeks off.

[RiverDog]

Last week I might have agreed with you, but the Bengals showed signs of coming back to life their last game and Burrow says he's now healthy.
A lot will depend on how healthy we are and whether we come in a little stale after 2 weeks off.

I'm not sure if the Cards are a good gauge to measure another team's progress. Plus, as you eluded to, we'll have had two weeks to get healed up and to prepare for the Bengals. I like our chances.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

I'm envisioning a shoot out. The Bengals are allowing 350 yds/gm (about 150 rushing/200 passing), so I have no doubt our Seahawks should move the ball, but Burrow and Chase look like they got their groove back, so they'll do some damage too, especially since we allow 280 passing yds/gm. Both offensive lines have their issues, but I think we'll run well. If the Bengals have to lean on the pass more, this may be a chance for the pass rush to tee off again. That may be enough to give us 1 or 2 more possessions than them to stay ahead.

[Aseahawkfan]

This one is hard to call. Bengals defense looks about the same as ours. If their offense is back to operating at a higher level, could be a rough game. This is a winnable game. Depends on what Bengals team shows up and what Seattle team shows up.

[RiverDog]

This one is hard to call. Bengals defense looks about the same as ours. If their offense is back to operating at a higher level, could be a rough game. This is a winnable game. Depends on what Bengals team shows up and what Seattle team shows up.

Yeah, this is looking like another Pete Carroll defense...ranked 24th in ypg, 29th in passing defense. And people wonder why I'm so down on him.

But there is hope. That Giants game was the best defensive performance I've seen out of our team in some time. However, Joe Burrow isn't Daniel Jones. If they can protect him, it could be a long night. I just don't think they've turned the corner.

[Aseahawkfan]

Yeah, this is looking like another Pete Carroll defense...ranked 24th in ypg, 29th in passing defense. And people wonder why I'm so down on him.

But there is hope. That Giants game was the best defensive performance I've seen out of our team in some time. However, Joe Burrow isn't Daniel Jones. If they can protect him, it could be a long night. I just don't think they've turned the corner.

I'm not down on Pete like you, but I've been willing to accept for a while that his time is done. We've seen this with coaches past and present many, many times where they become stuck in their ways, the luck runs out, the fire isn't there any longer, they get attached to certain players, and all the many factors that allowed a second Super Bowl run just don't happen again.

We've even seeing that with Bill B in New England.

As an owner, you have to realize the time is at an end and hit the rest button finding a coach that hasn't quite put it all together but has shown a lot of promise. Then see if their fire and ambition along with youthful energy can get the job done.

Pete's done it for decades at a high level. He's 72. He's been coaching for 13 years here following 9 years at USC and decades prior. He's got more energy than most men his age, but he's still 72. It's hard to do the Super Bowl push at that age.

I know he seems to be trying to set up Clint Hurtt to take his place, but Hurtt just isn't looking like the man for the job as his defenses have been mediocre or worse.

I wouldn't mind a reset from the top down or giving a Schneider a chance at being GM with full control. See how he does running the whole show.

I imagine Pete will give it another year or two, see how it goes. I see too many good, strong teams out there with coaches either in the prime of their big run like Andy Reid or coming up like the Philly coach.

If Harbauch wins the national championship this year, I'd like to take a strong run at him. I think he can get it done. But I'd be ok with some other coach if John or a new GM can find a good one.

[RiverDog]

I didn't mean to start a debate about Pete, so I won't respond and rather save my comments for a more appropriate thread. Suffice it to say that I both agree and disagree with some of the things you mentioned.

The biggest name on our injury list is Damien Lewis. He was carted off the field during the Giants game with an ankle sprain and hasn't practiced since. Adams and Brooks have been limited participants, but both are expected to play. Charles Cross has been practicing, but it's unclear if he'll play or not. Fortunately, the Bengal defense sucks, especially against the run, so we should be able to get by.

[NorthHawk]

I think we've been adequate with Cross's replacement so I hope they don't unnecessarily rush him back because toes can become chronic issues if not fully healed before playing.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

I hope that, too. We'll need Cross for the long haul, so make sure he' right before sticking him out there. As much as a I don't want a loss, I'd rather come against an AFC team if it saves Cross future injury.

Also, I feel like the Bengals' Hendrickson has been quietly good at DE over the last few years. I expect him to line up over Curhan. They need to account for him properly or he'll be trouble.

[jshawaii22]

I wouldn't use the Giants game for any measure of our "D" -- the Giants laid down in the 2nd half of the game and let Giants QB die a slow death on the field. Daniel Jones is not a good QB and he does nothing to help his team. He is not a leader. No surprise there that we won the game, but I wouldn't expect it to continue. We had, what 3 sacks before that game total?

On the other hand, we are outstanding under Pete on EC Time zone, 1pm starts in the last few years. That is amazing considering how bad we were before that. Not sure what he feeds them boys the before the game, but it's working.

Bobby Wagner is now the absolute leader of the team. He seems to have brought new life to the team after the debacle with the Rams, standing up after the game and blasting the entire team for lack of effort.

I think we will win in a close, high scoring game, if they can contain Ja'Mar Chase to about 1/2 of what he did against the Cards. 34-31 Hawks.

[4XPIPS]

Spoon VS Chase

All I can say, this will be fun to watch

[Rambo2014]

IMHO

Cin 34
Sea 16


as a bonus

Ducks 46
Huskies 31

[NorthHawk]

Spoon VS Chase

All I can say, this will be fun to watch

Does Chase play the slot WR position? I was expecting Spoon to continue inside instead of going back to CB, but I've not heard that change.

[Aseahawkfan]

That wasn't fun. I guess we still have the same O-line problems.

[Spohawk5092]

I do NOT like bye weeks any more. Period. For what ever reason they don't seem to be helpful to Seattle. From the opening drive Hawks looked sharp, rested, and ready. Granted they had one hell of a defense to play against today, but two Smith interceptions, and a BOATLOAD of a bunch of really bad penalties did not help themselves at all.....at least Myers was sharp today, but I think it will be interesting to hear what Carroll has to say.

[c_hawkbob]

Geno had a bad day, not just the picks but a couple really poor decisions and just plain missed reads. We had our chance but couldn't close. It went about as I thought it would.

[Aseahawkfan]

Cleveland helped us out. A 49ers loss makes this loss easier to swallow. Good job, Cleveland.

[TriCitySam]

One that got away. Plenty of opportunities, several trips to red zone and missed TD's...bad penalties..TO's. As it was had we not gone on 4th down, a FG wins at end.

[trents]

The O-line didn't perform well and receivers were covered but Geno took some sacks in those last two drives in the red zone that should never have happened if he would have gotten rid of the ball sooner.

[RiverDog]

Yeah, trending back towards .500 and Pete Ball.

Offense played their 2nd worst game. Geno made some bad decisions, offensive line leaked, Walker needs to learn how to block. Pretty disappointing that we couldn't pull that one out given the improved play of our defense.

[NorthHawk]

The Offense has changed enough so Peteball is hard to return to, but he can force them to be more conservative which makes it harder for the new Offense to be successful.

I think what we saw was a couple of things. Geno having a game many of us expected him to consistently have from the beginning of last year, and some injuries along the OL.
It remains to be seen if we can improve enough up front to be better or if Geno can overcome those limitations.

[Spohawk5092]

Petes comments about the game were looney. Maybe time to go Coach. You need to start getting down in a few problems areas, like penalties, and putting a leash on DK for starters....he says, "that was a game to win", and " we are right back in it." In what??? So why didn't you win Coach? I know why, too many ridiculous penalties, two turnovers, and not being able to cash in, in the end zones quite a few times.

[RiverDog]

Petes comments about the game were looney. Maybe time to go Coach. You need to start getting down in a few problems areas, like penalties, and putting a leash on DK for starters....he says, "that was a game to win", and " we are right back in it." In what??? So why didn't you win Coach? I know why, too many ridiculous penalties, two turnovers, and not being able to cash in, in the end zones quite a few times.

A lot of us have been calling for Pete to "put a leash on DK" for a long time. That stupid arse PF penalty he drew yesterday didn't happen to hurt us all that much as we came back and got the first down, but it's gotten to the point where a person honestly has to wonder if Pete has control over the team or not, if they still respect him or if they just blow him off. Pete supposedly had a talk with Metcalf just a game or two ago and it seems to have gone in one ear and out the other. Metcalf has made a reputation for himself, and you can bet your bottom dollar that every cornerback in the league will be goading him in an attempt to draw a free 15 yards.

Until yesterday, we've been one of the best teams in the league at keeping care of the ball as we've turned the ball over just 3 times all season, all interceptions, with two of them coming yesterday. Only the Chargers, who play their 5th game tonight, have fewer turnovers on the season than we do, and it's a testament to our backs and receivers. But we haven't been getting many turnovers, either, as we've had just 7 take aways in 5 games.

[4XPIPS]

A lot of us have been calling for Pete to "put a leash on DK" for a long time. That stupid arse PF penalty he drew yesterday didn't happen to hurt us all that much as we came back and got the first down, but it's gotten to the point where a person honestly has to wonder if Pete has control over the team or not, if they still respect him or if they just blow him off. Pete supposedly had a talk with Metcalf just a game or two ago and it seems to have gone in one ear and out the other. Metcalf has made a reputation for himself, and you can bet your bottom dollar that every cornerback in the league will be goading him in an attempt to draw a free 15 yards.
.

I am not sure if it's lack of control or it's been a Pete mantra for a long time. He has always been a high spirited coach and allows his players to carry their expression throughout their careers on or off the field. I can name ton players even back to his USC days where players had a hot head and he always went along with it. However, once it starts to point towards him and the organization ... the player is out and moves on. I think Pete doesn't care if players have strong emotions out there, as along they show up to perform. Sadly, this won't be the last game that DK has a meltdown and causes the team to suffer from his poor childish decisions.

[4XPIPS]

Finally got a chance to watch the whole game. This is a game that will come back to haunt us later down the season when seeding for playoffs become important. The offense is starting to sputter, and our 3rd down success rate, or shall I say fail rate is starting to become a real problem. We seem to move the ball well between the 20s but cant finish drives off with TDs and can't get our 3rd downs figured out. I am not sure if this a product of bad scheming or Geno isn't up to the task to read and react to how defenses are attacking him on third downs. As mentioned before penalties are pathetic at this point, and we had some costly turnovers. Not sure why at the end of the game Waldron didn't keep Dallas or ZC in the backfield to help with blocking as Haynes and company were getting shredded at the point of attack. This loss falls on the coaching as much as the offense not finishing this game off. Credit defense for keeping the game with in reason.

There were a few bright spots

Jake Bobo is a beast and isn't afraid to fight for tough yards. It was good to JSN get more touches and has had his best game all year at this point. Finally it was actually good to see Jamal Adams play up to his billing. If we can get this from Jamal game in and game out and he miraculously stays healthy all year then our defense has taken a big step forward from bottom five to above league average.

[RiverDog]

Finally got a chance to watch the whole game. This is a game that will come back to haunt us later down the season when seeding for playoffs become important. The offense is starting to sputter, and our 3rd down success rate, or shall I say fail rate is starting to become a real problem. We seem to move the ball well between the 20s but cant finish drives off with TDs and can't get our 3rd downs figured out. I am not sure if this a product of bad scheming or Geno isn't up to the task to read and react to how defenses are attacking him on third downs. As mentioned before penalties are pathetic at this point, and we had some costly turnovers. Not sure why at the end of the game Waldron didn't keep Dallas or ZC in the backfield to help with blocking as Haynes and company were getting shredded at the point of attack. This loss falls on the coaching as much as the offense not finishing this game off. Credit defense for keeping the game with in reason.

There were a few bright spots

Jake Bobo is a beast and isn't afraid to fight for tough yards. It was good to JSN get more touches and has had his best game all year at this point. Finally it was actually good to see Jamal Adams play up to his billing. If we can get this from Jamal game in and game out and he miraculously stays healthy all year then our defense has taken a big step forward from bottom five to above league average.

Our third down and red zone efficiency is the elephant in the room. We convert 3rd downs at just 31.58%, 30th in the league, and it's getting worse as in our last 3 games, it's nearly 2% lower. But you can't blame it all on Geno. Even the last few years that Russell was here, we sucked on 3rd down, ranking 27th in 2020 and 23rd in 2021. Last season, we were ranked 20th. It would seem to be something that's related to our offensive scheme.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/t ... 2022-02-14

Our red zone efficiency is a little better, but still ranks in the bottom 1/3 of the league.

Agreed about Jake Bobo, and apparently, he's a big hit in the locker room as the players often times chant "more Bobo!" And not only is he not afraid to fight for tough yards, he's not afraid to block, either, something that's a rarity for wide receivers. He reminds me a lot of Joe Jurevicius back in our 2005 SB season.

I was relatively pleased with Adams' performance as he certainly didn't hurt us as he has in the past, but he didn't have a very big impact on the game, either so I'm stopping well short of saying that he's living up to his billing. In my mind, it's going to be virtually impossible for him to live up to what we traded for him and that obscene contract we signed him to. But at least he finally finished a game, the first game he's finished in nearly 3 years.

[NorthHawk]

3rd downs have been a big problem all year. Geno is playing like many of us thought he might - not as good as the first half of last year, but not real bad either. Think Kirk Cousins or others than never take the next step.
His problems on Sunday included holding the ball too long on 4th downs and staring down receivers before throwing.

Adams looked OK for his first complete game, and I noticed he wasn't factored into pass defense which is probably a good strategy as he does his best work nearer the LoS.

[4XPIPS]

I was relatively pleased with Adams' performance as he certainly didn't hurt us as he has in the past, but he didn't have a very big impact on the game, either so I'm stopping well short of saying that he's living up to his billing. In my mind, it's going to be virtually impossible for him to live up to what we traded for him and that obscene contract we signed him to. But at least he finally finished a game, the first game he's finished in nearly 3 years.

Yes correct, but I should have clarified my conviction. My new bar for Adams is to have him play an entire game and make tackles when put into position and finish uninjured. We will never get what we traded for him. I picture Adams like a used Porsche, and it has spent so much time in the garage getting fixed, and at this point I just want to see it cruise down the road and make it back in one piece with no lights popping on the dash, and not even try redline it for the sake of it breaking down at this point.

[Spohawk5092]

this loss, will come back to haunt the Seahawks....

[NorthHawk]

Maybe we will get a better draft position.

[RiverDog]

this loss, will come back to haunt the Seahawks....

Every loss could come back to haunt us. But this wasn't a divisional or conference opponent, so if we were going to lose a game, I'd rather it be this one. Our loss to the Rams carries much more significance than the Bengals loss.

[Spohawk5092]

maybe yeah, BUT this is a game we could have won.

[NorthHawk]

It showed that as we currently stand, we aren't good enough to challenge the best teams so if we make the playoffs, we again will probably be 1 and done.
I just enjoy the games and hope to see improvement in general and maybe we can pull a win out of the hat.

[c_hawkbob]

A lot of football to be played before the playoffs. As remarkably young as we are at so many key positions I don't think what this game showed about where we are now in relation to the upper tier teams in the league (and I think if anything it showed that we're capable of playing them head up, not that we're not good enough, but that's another conversation) has much relevance to how we will fare in the playoffs. Much will change by then.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

Every loss could come back to haunt us. But this wasn't a divisional or conference opponent, so if we were going to lose a game, I'd rather it be this one. Our loss to the Rams carries much more significance than the Bengals loss.

A lot of football to be played before the playoffs. As remarkably young as we are at so many key positions I don't think what this game showed about where we are now in relation to the upper tier teams in the league (and I think if anything it showed that we're capable of playing them head up, not that we're not good enough, but that's another conversation) has much relevance to how we will fare in the playoffs. Much will change by then.

Agree with these. If your team is going to get a hard lesson, better it be an out of conference opponent on the road. Still 12 games left to play. A lot can happen.

My biggest concern from the Bengals game was only 2 of 5 redzone appearances yielding points. Can't be doing that if this season is going to go anywhere.

[RiverDog]

My biggest concern from the Bengals game was only 2 of 5 redzone appearances yielding points. Can't be doing that if this season is going to go anywhere.

We were just 1-5 in red zone TD's last Sunday, and that one was in our first series.