5-1 is a Disaster!

[RiverDog]

Sorry to steal your thunder, Sis, but we need to breathe some life into this place.

[c_hawkbob]

Have I mentioned lately how spectacular a year Russ is having?

[jshawaii22]

3 wins against the weak AFC North by 7 points... total. 5-1 is awesome and it better be 6-1 coming home against a much better Ravens next week. Aren't turnovers wonderful, especially when they're not ours? And yes, Russell is playing like an MVP and having his best 1st half of a year that I can remember.

[idhawkman]

Have I mentioned lately how spectacular a year Russ is having?

I rag on RW a lot as you've pointed out before on more than one ocaassion. That said, I think this was as close to a perfect game I've ever seen any QB play by Russ. He threw it away when he needed to, took sacks when needed, made some great throws and ran when warranted. What really impressed me above all of that was the go ahead TD (I think it was Brown's second of the day) when RW looked to start moving out of the pocket but then realized he didn't need to and stayed in there for a couple more seconds until Brown was open and then roped one to him on the outside shoulder so the defender couldn't get to it. That was one heck of a play by RW.

So now we are 5-1, we get Jarran Reed back and we are sitting pretty good to make our push late into the season. Woohoo! I know everyone one in here would have gladly taken 5-1 as our record going before the season started after 6 games.

[RiverDog]

I was on record as being satisfied with a 5-3 mark at the halfway point, so I'm ecstatic.

And yes, our opposition hasn't exactly been football's version of Murderer's Row, but there's a lot of supposedly good teams getting done in by weaker ones...The Chiefs have lost 2 in a row at home, Rams lost at home to 2-4 Tampa Bay.

As far as Russell's season goes, he's off to the best start of any Seahawk QB in franchise history and is one of 3 early favorites for the MVP (with the other two being Mahomes and McCaffery) and is the major reason why we're 5-1. He's played virtually mistake-free football the entire season. One of my biggest complaints about his play in the past was that he was always looking for the home run, sometimes taking 15-20 yard sacks while he's trying to make something out of nothing. He still gets sacked, but it's not for the series busting, field position disaster losses he used to take. It seems as if he's matured this season.

[Aseahawkfan]

Looks like the 49ers are for real. That rivalry is rekindled. We're going to have to battle them hard for the division.

[Zorn76]

Any win is a good win these days in the NFL, but road wins are extra nice.
RW just exudes positivity to where you believe we always have a shot in a game, even down 20-6.
The defense, well, mixed bag. INT's always key, and they got Baker Breaker for 3 this afternoon,4 total as team.
Chubb is a great RB, but surrendering 157 yds to Browns' RBs is nearly double our season avg.
One of the things that sticks out to me is the maturity of our team. Lots of youth that are learning from vets, and together getting close victories in '19.

[trents]

M. Dixon is struggling this year. He looked better last year, his rookie season. He needs to get back to form.

Fant looked like he held his own today. He has improved. Too bad about Dissley. Hope someone steps up to the plate to take his place and plays over their head maybe. Do you think the Hawks will try to make a trade for a tight end?

[RiverDog]

M. Dixon is struggling this year. He looked better last year, his rookie season. He needs to get back to form.

Fant looked like he held his own today. He has improved. Too bad about Dissley. Hope someone steps up to the plate to take his place and plays over their head maybe. Do you think the Hawks will try to make a trade for a tight end?

10-4 on Dixon. I don't accept the excuse for that shanked punt that he was just 10 yards behind the LOS. They must practice that a lot and he had zero pressure on him. He had a punt earlier this year that was short and to the left that screwed up the coverage that allowed it to be returned for a TD.

Considering all the injuries we've had, the OL played remarkably well today. Hopefully we don't face too many more Miles Garrett's down the road. That guy was impossible to block.

[Hawktawk]

10-4 on BMD. His stroke is off.Not only the shank but booting into the endzone from midfield for a net 30. ST coverage is horrible in general. Chubb is a beast, very efficient at subtle shifts in angle making guys miss without shedding speed. Tough back. Reminds me a little of Bo Jackson .
But so is Carson, as big time a back as anyone in the league and gutted it out on a sore shoulder. Our D was pretty lucky and Mayfield was pretty unlucky with some of those tipped balls but that's how it is sometimes. DK is becoming a monster.
Awful about Dissley.

Clearly the difference in the game was our QB vs Mayfield or any other guy we play most weeks. Obviously the 9ers loom large but we have a huge advantage behind center although they have stoned the last 2 offenses they faced.Completely stuffed the Rams holding Goff to 70 something yards!!!!!! They are gonna be tough. I hope someone can knock them down a peg before we see them twice in just a few weeks time.

So bring on the Ravens and their running back with a big arm and ET. I know he's going to want to be the first to pick Russ. Should be a show. I would not have expected 5-1 and as has been said they have all been pretty close but look at some of our final scores the year we hoisted the lombardi. A win is a win. No style points

[idhawkman]

10-4 on Dixon. I don't accept the excuse for that shanked punt that he was just 10 yards behind the LOS. They must practice that a lot and he had zero pressure on him. He had a punt earlier this year that was short and to the left that screwed up the coverage that allowed it to be returned for a TD.

Considering all the injuries we've had, the OL played remarkably well today. Hopefully we don't face too many more Miles Garrett's down the road. That guy was impossible to block.

Just a question. Could the wind have been a factor in the punt? Sometimes if a gust hits the ball as he drops it to his foot can blow it off just enough (an inch would do) to create a shank. Also, I wonder how much the play calling is effecting him. E.g. is he being allowed to do what he does best or are they telling him to kick it 45 yards and as high as he can instead or rocketing one 60+ yards? These are questions we don't know and it would be interesting if we could find out.

[idhawkman]

Any win is a good win these days in the NFL, but road wins are extra nice.
RW just exudes positivity to where you believe we always have a shot in a game, even down 20-6.
The defense, well, mixed bag. INT's always key, and they got Baker Breaker for 3 this afternoon,4 total as team.
Chubb is a great RB, but surrendering 157 yds to Browns' RBs is nearly double our season avg.
One of the things that sticks out to me is the maturity of our team. Lots of youth that are learning from vets, and together getting close victories in '19.

Especially with an early start for this team.

[idhawkman]

By the way, on that shanked punt, we had a great opportunity to just throw the ball to the wide out on the near side since his coverage all went into the line. He signalled for them to toss it to him but they waived it off.

[Uppercut]

I watched the past two Niner wins against the Browns and Rams. They looked very efficient and smooth in their play. Not a jail break panic at the snap of the ball and the D looks about as good as it comes.

But what struck me was how the Browns and Rams seemed to give up in the second half and just try to get it over with. Not sure if the Niners just physically beat the stuffin out of them but I don't see the Hawks raising any white flag early if behind.

[Aseahawkfan]

I watched the past two Niner wins against the Browns and Rams. They looked very efficient and smooth in their play. Not a jail break panic at the snap of the ball and the D looks about as good as it comes.

But what struck me was how the Browns and Rams seemed to give up in the second half and just try to get it over with. Not sure if the Niners just physically beat the stuffin out of them but I don't see the Hawks raising any white flag early if behind.

Maybe bad team leadership. Russ don't have any quit in him. None of the leaders on our team do. No one on the Seahawks will give up.

[RiverDog]

Just a question. Could the wind have been a factor in the punt? Sometimes if a gust hits the ball as he drops it to his foot can blow it off just enough (an inch would do) to create a shank. Also, I wonder how much the play calling is effecting him. E.g. is he being allowed to do what he does best or are they telling him to kick it 45 yards and as high as he can instead or rocketing one 60+ yards? These are questions we don't know and it would be interesting if we could find out.

Not a chance. It would have to be a gale force cross wind to move a football even an inch in such a small vertical drop. The wind wasn't that bad.

I did see a punter from Cal once when they were playing WSU in Spokane in the mid 70's when the wind was so fierce that it blew a punt backwards. But I've never even heard of a punter complaining that they couldn't strike the ball cleanly due to a cross wind. It's as lame of an excuse as I've ever heard.

[Hawktawk]

I actually remember a punter back in the 80s. I think the game was bears vs Giants . Sean Landetta I think . The wind was howling and he flipped the ball to kick it and utterly whiffed on it. So it can be a factor . Not yesterday though. Our ST is off for the most part and MD is part of it

[Distant]

Ravens so far this year.

Wk
Date
OPP
Result
Record
1
Sep 8, 2019
@

Miami
W 59-10
1-0
2
Sep 15, 2019
vs

Arizona
W 23-17
2-0
3
Sep 22, 2019
@

Kansas City
L 33-28
2-1
4
Sep 29, 2019
vs

Cleveland
L 40-25
2-2
5
Oct 6, 2019
@

Pittsburgh
W 26-23 / OT
3-2
6
Oct 13, 2019
vs

Cincinnati
W 23-17
4-2

[Hawktawk]

It will be the most mobile qb we’ve faced in a long time kyler Murray notwithstanding . Rushed for 152 and passed for 226 becoming the first qb in history to rush for 150 and pass for over 200. It’s gonna be an all day job

[RiverDog]

I actually remember a punter back in the 80s. I think the game was bears vs Giants . Sean Landetta I think . The wind was howling and he flipped the ball to kick it and utterly whiffed on it. So it can be a factor . Not yesterday though. Our ST is off for the most part and MD is part of it

Like I said, it would take a gale force wind blowing in exactly the right direction. The wind wasn't blowing hard enough to blow balls off of tees on kickoffs so it certainly wasn't blowing hard enough to cause a shanked punt. The amount of time the ball stays suspended in the air before it is struck by the punter is a fraction of a second. There's no excuse for missing a punt that badly. He just plain blew it. Sure, he was in a short kick formation, but they should be practicing that a lot. Him and the deep snapper get about 2 hours per practice session to work on things like that.

There's been a lot of discussion about Michael Dickson. His game has been seriously off this season:

Dickson’s average is down to 45.1 yards per punt this year — 22nd in the NFL — from 48.2 last year, which was second in the NFL and a team record. His net punting average is down to 39.4 yards, 30th in the NFL, from 42.5 last year, a team record and sixth in the NFL.

The net punting is obviously heavily influenced by the Saints’ 53-yard TD return (and coaches said his punt wasn’t really the issue there). Still, Dickson hasn’t been as consistent and had a notably bad punt that led to a Browns TD in the fourth quarter, the 23-yarder from the end zone.

Carroll said after the game it was just a bad kick — no other specific explanation given. “I think Mike’s still finding his groove,’’ Carroll expanded on Monday. “I don’t think he’s really nailing it. I think he’s got more consistent, special kicks in him. … That was too bad on that one, he’d do anything to have that kick back. But, it’s too bad.”

Coaches laud Dickson’s work ethic and have to make sure he doesn’t kick too much. So, it’s not that. But they hope he smooths out the rough edges that have led to some inconsistency this year.

[Hawktawk]

I disagree with the coaches about the punt vs the saints. It was a low short punt with no hang time. Coverage was also atrocious as it has been all year but that punt was a factor. Better figure it out soon. When you look at the inconsistencies throughout this team its Russ Wilson from stinking up the joint.

[RiverDog]

I disagree with the coaches about the punt vs the saints. It was a low short punt with no hang time. Coverage was also atrocious as it has been all year but that punt was a factor. Better figure it out soon. When you look at the inconsistencies throughout this team its Russ Wilson from stinking up the joint.

I thought the same thing about the punt vs. the Saints. As I remember, it was short as well as to the left, which screwed up the coverage. The coaches are probably just taking some heat off him.