Week 1: vs 49ers

[Irish Greg 2.0]

As with most first games of the season, it's hard to gauge this one.

The 49ers are weakened in the offensive skill positions, so the game plan will need to be to focus coverage on Kittle as he is Purdy's security blanket. The Seahawks need to be rigid against the run and force the newly paid Purdy to try and beat them throwing.

Offensively, the Seahawks are going to try and establish the run right out of the gate. The 49ers are starting two rookies on defense, and have a new (albeit old) DC in Robert Saleh. One thing I like about Kubiak's offense is he has built in outlets for the QB to get to if the primary play breaks down. I think the tight ends will be heavily featured in this game.

But - for some reason - I have the feeling this is going to be a statement win for the Seahawks. I'm not as high on the 49ers as a lot of media pundits seem to be, but they have a core of legit talent. However, they seem to be relying WAY too much on that core (Purdy, Kittle, CMC, Warner, Bosa) and are an injury or two away from being in real trouble.

[River Dog]

This game is a mystery to me, not only due to the new OC, but we have a lot of new/different players in critical positions, like the QB and center. I'm not real high on the Niners, either, so if we don't beat them decisively, I'll be pretty disappointed.

It will be interesting to see who gets the call at RB. K9 is listed as first on the depth chart, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Charbonnet get most of the carries/snaps even if he doesn't start.

[NorthHawk]

The 49ers are a veteran team that knows how to win and they have very good coaches in Shanahan and Saleh.
However, I think they may have slipped a little from their best seasons just from getting older and losing some very good players.
Seattle should be moving up so I think it could be a tight game. Who wins? I have no idea but to me it depends on which team is better prepared for what the other is going to try to do.

[Agent 86]

This game is a mystery to me, not only due to the new OC, but we have a lot of new/different players in critical positions, like the QB and center. I'm not real high on the Niners, either, so if we don't beat them decisively, I'll be pretty disappointed.

It will be interesting to see who gets the call at RB. K9 is listed as first on the depth chart, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Charbonnet get most of the carries/snaps even if he doesn't start.

Riv, I know you have been impressed by Charbs in the preseason, and with K9 nursing an injury, he has shown enough to get people excited for him to be more involved (last year as well too). But I ain't believing it, I think K9 is in for a big year (health dependent obviously which is a big "if" at this point). I am anxious to see him run behind this new O-line and revamped system. He has often frustrated me with his East/West style instead of just taking the 2-3 yards and making it a positive gain. Charbs will definitely be involved, but I am not expecting more than 8-10 carries max. I would hope that K9 gets 20+ touches.

The 49ers have lost alot of good talent on D (Greenlaw/Hufanga/C. Ward/Hargrave/Collins/Floyd) as well as Deebo and Mason on offense (and Aiyuk on IR). They have really dominated us for the most part for the last 5 years, but I hold out hope this is the year we turn it around with them. This 1st game is massive, our home record wasn't good last year (3-6), that needs to change this year and the wins need to double up at least.

I am expecting a pretty close game (49ers are favoured on the road), something that comes down to a few plays in the 4th quarter, but I think our D will be the difference and we get a close home win.

[River Dog]

Riv, I know you have been impressed by Charbs in the preseason, and with K9 nursing an injury, he has shown enough to get people excited for him to be more involved (last year as well too). But I ain't believing it, I think K9 is in for a big year (health dependent obviously which is a big "if" at this point). I am anxious to see him run behind this new O-line and revamped system. He has often frustrated me with his East/West style instead of just taking the 2-3 yards and making it a positive gain. Charbs will definitely be involved, but I am not expecting more than 8-10 carries max. I would hope that K9 gets 20+ touches.

The 49ers have lost alot of good talent on D (Greenlaw/Hufanga/C. Ward/Hargrave/Collins/Floyd) as well as Deebo and Mason on offense (and Aiyuk on IR). They have really dominated us for the most part for the last 5 years, but I hold out hope this is the year we turn it around with them. This 1st game is massive, our home record wasn't good last year (3-6), that needs to change this year and the wins need to double up at least.

I am expecting a pretty close game (49ers are favoured on the road), something that comes down to a few plays in the 4th quarter, but I think our D will be the difference and we get a close home win.

Actually, I haven't seen much of the preseason. Most of the reason why I'm favoring Charbs comes from his performance last year and that he seems to be a better fit for this offense vs. Grubbs' offense last season. Charbonnet is a better between the tackles runner, which seems to be the direction we're heading.

One thing that I didn't realize about Charbonnet is that he hasn't had a single fumble in his two seasons with us.

From my viewpoint, we should beat the Niners by two scores, like 24-14.

[Irish Greg 2.0]

With Samuel gone and Aiyuk out for SF, our defense needs to lead the way.

[Agent 86]

Actually, I haven't seen much of the preseason. Most of the reason why I'm favoring Charbs comes from his performance last year and that he seems to be a better fit for this offense vs. Grubbs' offense last season. Charbonnet is a better between the tackles runner, which seems to be the direction we're heading.

One thing that I didn't realize about Charbonnet is that he hasn't had a single fumble in his two seasons with us.

From my viewpoint, we should beat the Niners by two scores, like 24-14.

You just had to say something eh......

I agree with Charbs being a better North/South runner compared to K9. But I have to believe Macdonald a Kubiak have hammered home the point to K9 he has to stop looking for the house every carry. I expect K9's North/South game to drastically improve this year, and with his shiftiness and athleticism (something that Charbs is limited in), he will still bust a few open, but I expect alot more of 2nd and 6 compared to 2nd and 11 when it comes to K9's carries on 1st down.

[Aseahawkfan]

Be nice to get a win and send a message the division is up for grabs.

[Oly]

I expect Charbs to start, and I expect a double-digit win. Not because I think the Hawks are elite (yet), but because like most on this board I think the 9ers are not going to be all that good.

[Aseahawkfan]

Deebo and Bosa worried me the most on the 49ers. Deebo is gone. He was the weapon that Shanahan used to great effect all over the field on offense. I think Deebo's loss will not be easily replaced. His loss makes the 49ers far easier to defend.

[Irish Greg 2.0]

Deebo and Bosa worried me the most on the 49ers. Deebo is gone. He was the weapon that Shanahan used to great effect all over the field on offense. I think Deebo's loss will not be easily replaced. His loss makes the 49ers far easier to defend.

I agree totally

[River Dog]

I expect Charbs to start, and I expect a double-digit win. Not because I think the Hawks are elite (yet), but because like most on this board I think the 9ers are not going to be all that good.

That's where I'm at, too.

[NorthHawk]

McCaffrey is on the Practice Report. Some sort of calf issue that's limiting his practice. I would expect him to start from what I had heard but he has a history of Calf issues.

[Agent 86]

We had a few players pop up on the injury report as well.

RG Bradford - DNP Thursday (back)
CB Woolen - DNP Thursday (illness)
WR Young - DNP Thursday (hamstring)

WR Bobo(concussion), WR White(shoulder), OLB Nwosu(knee) were all limited, while WR Horton(ankle) was a full participant.

Something to monitor, especially Bradford and Woolen who were not on the original injury report listed Wednesday.

[HawkSis]

I have no idea what to expect. By the look of things from my perch, we will be better on both sides of the ball and the Niners don’t seem better to me… more like status quo. I sure hope we don’t see a sea of red, black, gold, copper, and white ugly azz gear in our house. I hate that.

[Agent 86]

3 players have been listed as "Out" for this weekend:

WR Bobo
WR Young
OLB Nwosu

Woolen, White, Horton, and Bradford expected to play Sunday.

Bobo and Young expected back for week #2 at Pittsburgh. Nwosu sounds like maybe week #3.

[Stream Hawk]

I’m excited football is back.

I’ve been optimistic about this game for a while now. I can’t expect a blowout, but I do think our offense will surprise the doubters making a statement blowout possible. Sam apparently has a great grasp of the concepts and the ball is coming out hot in practice. The most rewarding aspect is the starting line looked incredible during the preseason. A much improved line and scheme raises the ceiling a lot. I’m excited to see a creative wide zone and its impact on K9 and Charb, etc.

Obviously, the defense could be even better. The one thing I’m slightly concerned about is lack of legit outside past rush. But perhaps this is the year Derick Hall gets double digit sacks. Also Murphy taking a leap would be huge.

[4XPIPS]

At the 12:15 mark in 2nd quarter

First opening drive was looking good, but I think running Milroe in there was unnecessary and kind of broke the rhythm a bit. We need to skip the Milroe design plays until it’s actually needed

Defense looks a bit rusty and I think the Leo Williams roughing call could have gone both ways, but that kept life in the 49ers drive and made the Hawks pay for it .

However, Zach is looking like beastmode. Plowing forward for positive gains on every run. Our TD was Zach running right behind Zabel. Getting some Steve Hutch vibes!

[Aseahawkfan]

Low scoring game. Seems the 49ers are suffering more attrition than we are.

[c_hawkbob]

Well so far thank god for special teams!

[Aseahawkfan]

Receivers went from a strength to a weakness. Gotta draft more quality WRs.

This offense is sad.

[HawkSis]

I can’t see the game in London. Nerve wracking! Stats say the Niners are better. Scoreboard tight.

[curmudgeon]

Woolen. Toasty……

[HawkSis]

[Oly]

Wow, Woolen takes almost all of the blame for that TD. The 45 yard pass and then the TD both come down to TERRIBLE ball skills.

[c_hawkbob]

Well that's game.

[HawkSis]

Sucks!

[Oly]

The 9ers don't look great, but I thought the Hawks would look quite a bit better. Still time, and I still believe in the project, but the offense still has work to do.

[trents]

I had expected the offense to look better but it was a bust, even if SF is a good defensive team. No run game.

[Aseahawkfan]

We lose to a depleted San Francisco team that didn't even play well, on our home field, with an offense that few people had film on. Doesn't bode well for us at all.

I have to say I'm not impressed. MacDonald did not have this team ready. Now our receiving corps is a massive, noticeable weakness.

As I said at the start of the season, we're at least two to three good drafts away from contention. We need real superstars, not local favorites people think are better than they are because they are Seahawks fans. When the Seahawks were a real contender they had the undisputed best secondary in the league that anchored the best defense in the league. They had a legendary, brutal RB that could squeeze 1 or 2 yards behind an O-line of senior citizens. They had an under-sized QB that was one of the best running-passing threats with a cannon arm and a never say die mentality.

This team has zero superstars. Zero. Not one player we have looks like they even rate on a national scale. Even the defense looks like they have an average coach. The offense looks pathetic with a QB that doesn't have the ability to elevate this team at all. Darnold won't do great if he doesn't have superstar pieces around him and he doesn't.

Bottom line is if you can't beat a 49ers team that is worse than previous years missing key players due to injury on your homefield in the first game of the season with a healthy team and a defensive head coach, you aren't a contender. Not even close.

[Stream Hawk]

I agree with most all of your analysis, ASF. However I think our defense actually did pretty solid overall. The L is on Woolen. He was responsible, almost single-handedly, for the last TD the Niners scored. And other dumb plays earlier. IDK though, maybe we will be less good than I thought. It’s a frustrating one for sure.

The offense needs work. K9 didn’t do anything to move the needle. Lucas got blasted by Bosa to cause that horrific fumble. Geno would have done the same thing, it happens.

[Aseahawkfan]

I think local Seattle media does so well selling the home team that many Seattle fans don't realize our team has no superstars. They really don't. I hear them so rarely talked about on a national scale. We have very few top performers that attract notice. I think JSN is probably the closest we have to a superstar after trading DK on offense. I don't see how you can contend if you're not drafting at least a few star players that challenge for the best player at their position.

Schneider isn't drafting superstar talent. Even Witherspoon is having a problem solidifying his status as part of a defense so weak that no matter how well he plays, he doesn't have much of an impact because everyone else looks terrible.

Schneider knew about Riq's problems as should MacDonald. He shouldn't still be here. But it's more of the same problem we had under Pete: our drafts have been so lackluster that the competition isn't strong enough to unseat so so players like Woolen.

When we were competing and the drafts were strong, the competition was intense for positions on the field. The guys that took those positions became some of the best in the league. Not this weak competition where no one is stepping up to take Woolen's job or take a LB job or be the best pass rusher.

Pretty sad if you ask me. If this team doesn't turnaround this season, I'm starting to think like Irish Greg when it comes to Schneider. He gotta go. He can't pick good groceries. Starting to look like Pete's early knowledge of college football as well as a lucky trade grabbing Marshawn made this team. Schneider doesn't have the drafting ability to rebuild without that special knowledge.

I can't believe we keep having these lackluster drafts where we're happy because Charbs has a few good runs. Dude is just an ok RB. I don't know how any Seattle fan thought Darnold was going to be a contending QB.

Sad start to the season.

[HawkSis]

Geno had a passer rating of 102.something today.

[Stream Hawk]

Geno is no longer on this team. He good/meh at best the last 3 seasons. More importantly Geno did not want to re-sign here. Sam was not the problem today.

[4XPIPS]

Couldn't beat a team missing so many starters, and just got too conservative, and honestly the offense just looks below average at best.

I have never been sold on Witherspoon, and I keep hearing all the hype that he is a future star, but I still dont' see it. He celebrates the dumb stuff, and gets beat on crossing routes. I know collectively the defense did their part, getting two INTS, and having a blocked FG, but at times I just think our defense is going to leak a big play here or there.

Offense was just very vanilla, and I didn't see much out of the short passing game. Yes, the JSN fumble was a drive killer, but I think they wanted to slow the game down for Darnold, and it got too slow at times, and when we needed him to engineer a late drive for the win, I didn't have the confidence he could pull it off. I know it will take time for the entire offense to gel together with a new OC, but it looked very preseason'ish out there. The play calling just didn't look all that dynamic. Also, maybe it's just me, but every time K9 came in for a series, it felt like the offense took a step back, and I felt we were more effective with Zach running the ball.

It's a tough loss, but these are the growing pains of a new OC and new QB.

[4XPIPS]

Geno is no longer on this team. He good/meh at best the last 3 seasons. More importantly Geno did not want to re-sign here. Sam was not the problem today.

He wasn't, but in general, he wasn't asked to do much either. Many of these players didn't play much or at all during the preseason, so it's their first time working together. The Kupp drop was not Sam's fault, but again, they have no chemistry up to this point. It's almost as if they treated Sam like a rookie and kept the game plan simple for him. You look at the stat sheet and see Sam's total targets alone; he barely spread the ball around

JSN 13
Kupp 3
K9 3
Barner 2
Arroyo 1

That is called keeping the play calling simple for a QB. I agree Sam wasn't the issue, but maybe coaching kept it too simple for him.

[trents]

For the most part, our defense was good today. Bent but did not break often. But look at the discrepancy in the time of possession. That's the difference. And our defense was likely gassed at the end of the game when SF scored that last TD. Our loan bright spot was JSN.

[Aseahawkfan]

I don't count this defense as good until they beat a good team. 49ers were depleted, missing Deebo who was their most versatile weapon, and were playing at home to a packed house and still couldn't hold the 49ers down. 17 points to a team missing key offensive weapons like Kittle at home is not great.

I guess the 49ers could turn out to be much better than we thought, but I doubt it. The defense should have been rested, as healthy as they will be all year, have tons of film on Shanahan's offense. They give up 17 at home with the crowd behind them. I can't say I feel great about it.

I guess we'll see. It's game one. I still don't see any superstars on this team. JSN is our best guy on offense. I guess Leonard Williams or Witherspoon are our best on defense. That's slim pickings for having such high draft picks. Schneider missing on the picks no matter what you give him.

[River Dog]

Boy, what a disappointment. I'm pissed at Mac not going for it on 4th and less than one on the Niners' 26 with 3:30 or so left in the game. Put Milroe in there and let him sneak it, QB sweep away from Bosa's side, etc. There's about a 95% chance of getting a first down in that situation. At the very least line up as if you're going for it and take the 5-yard delay of game and maybe we get lucky and get them to jump. There's virtually no difference between a 34 yd. FG attempt and a 39-yard kick. I didn't have the sound on at the time, so I didn't hear what the announcers were saying about that decision, but it has to be one of the stupidest I've seen out of a Seahawk HC for a long time.

Woolen has to go. The guy cost us big time yesterday. Trade K9! He had 20 yards on 10 carries yesterday while Charbs had twice the production. I'll say it again: Charbs is a better fit for this offense.

I do like our offense better than last year's edition. It's what kept the game close. Our defense needs a more consistent pass rush.

I'm putting this one squarely on Mac's shoulders. He makes anymore dumb ass decisions like he did yesterday, and I'm off the bandwagon.

[NorthHawk]

Many of us didn't know what to expect and I'm a little disappointed, too but it's the first game and a lot of work has to be done obviously.
However, I like the basic direction of the Offense. Some of the calls could be questioned, but that's the case for all teams. Even though SF was hurting, their Defense sees this type of Offense in practice, so they should be fairly good at defending it. Having said that I would have liked to see more from the TE's in a pass catching role as that has been a big part of Kubiak's Offense in the past. Perhaps this was a feeling out game just to see who fits the scheme when it really counts. As mentioned by others the pass rush on Defense was a disappointment and that's got to change even though the blitzes seemed to work a lot of the time.
What's really so frustrating is being so close but coming up short.