A WIN BY 21 POINTS!! ... but

[makena]

I rarely post.
you all ask and answer questions that I have without me having to break into a convo all that much...
and, I'm cool with that...
...that's why Yoder and I are here and that's why we love this site.

but i need to say, my fellow Shackers. We should of lost!
We ate the brown star after our awesome first drive. Bad pickups on D, poor o line protection, and don't forget about "#3" dropping 2 int into G'man hands.
Our O had to do the infamous "quite the crowd" had sign not knowing it was the Giants fans screaming ( all two of them ). Everyone was nervous in the stands... everyone felt what no one wanted to talk about.
(are we going to lose again at home?!)

Then, near the end of the 3rd quarter, we get a pick out of 'our' end zone that was brought back to our 40... the rest of history.

We win by 21 points!!! ... but
everyone is only going to talk about the int, the last quarter, the beast, and not about the other 75% of the game... like how we could not pass on 4th string corners....
I'm happy about the win and everyone at the Clink felt the Hawk swagger in the 4th quarter. The real feel...

I'm worried though...
holler back and set me straight!

Mak

[savvyman]

If your goal is a Championship season then you should be worried. It will be impossible to win another SuperBowl when a team does not have a passing offense.

[Bird Droppings]

The first half was the quietest the crowd has been in ages ... they've even been louder at pre-season games.

But, that's because the Hawks were playing as if it were a 10 AM east coast game.

there was absolutely no enthusiasm on the sidelines.

Will was aiming his passes ... and doing a poor job of it.

But ... when things turned around they really turned around ... did they not?

Last week was a "turnaround" game. The second half of this game was a "turn it up" game.

It wasn't a locker room speech at halftime ... it was a running back who ran like tough greased lightning and who singlehandedly intimidated New York, New York.

And a young quarterback who suddenly remembered where he was.

that disgusting scoop shovel pass looked like it was out of baby leagues ... but, I believe, that got Wilson tracked.

From then on, he took command.

that's what he has to do.

and the animated camaraderie after Earl's interception with Sherman directing traffic literally had the Giants running backwards.

and the crowd rose to the occasiion ... and so did the the team.

your perceptions are valid,

at halftime, you could have asked everyone in the stadium of the Hawks would win by 21 or more, and only a few drunks, psychos, and polyannas would have bet on that.

they took over the game.

that's the important thing, what with their remaining schedule.

they can do it.

before today? ... maybe not.

zoom

[Zorn76]

Defense wins championships.

Our D is not anywhere close to where is was a year ago, but it's still pretty damn good.

We've given up some big plays that we're not used to seeing, but at the end of the day they are still solid. Even in games we've lost, they played hard and still gave the offense a chance to tie or win, for the most part.

Offensively, it was sloppy by RW in one sense (2 INT's), but positively stellar in another (over 100 yds rushing). He's not on pace for the statistical season from 2013, but not many on this current team are.

We're sitting in a pretty good spot.

Every team has flaws.

The key is just getting in the playoffs. Our experience there will be an advantage if we can get in.

Meanwhile, AZ just suffered a Major blow by losing Palmer, yet Stanton has shown he's up to the task with a couple of wins under his belt prior to today. IMO, the Cardinals are not going to miss the playoffs because of the injury, but it puts a big dent in playing a home game for the SB.

[burrrton]

Our D is not anywhere close to where is was a year ago, but it's still pretty damn good.

We seem to have two defenses- First Half™ and Second Half™.

First Half™ won't get us to the playoffs, but Second Half™ can win the Superbowl.

I'd like more of the latter, please.

[c_hawkbob]

24-0 after the half. Ain't no buts there.

We been a MASH unit up front for most of the year so far, as we get folks back and as they get up to speed we may well not need much from our passing game again cause when healthy; these boys can run block! Pound the rock and play defense. Football just like I like it

[Oly]

Pound the rock and play defense. Football just like I like it

And that's enough for a ring, just ask the Ravens. Not saying the Hawks are in the driver's seat to repeat, but if you can do those two things, you're going to have a shot.

But I have faith that Wilson will turn it around. He's just too hard of a worker and has too much talent to have this run continue. Luckily, getting the running attack firing will give him some space to get things fixed.

[Long Time Fan]

Wilson will turn it around. He's just too hard of a worker and has too much talent to have this run continue. Luckily, getting the running attack firing will give him some space to get things fixed.

This team is going to be fine. The Seahawks have yet to play 60 minutes of football to their capability. We have only seen glimpses of what they are capable of. The second half defense was very good. Its no coincidence that once they started mixing in a blitz package that Manning began rushing his throws and the results speak for themselves.

On the offensive side, the fact that we can put together that sort of rush attack without any real passing threat is testament to the fact that OL is best when aggressively run blocking. The passing yards will come when defenses stack the box against the run. Our team is still evolving and injured players returning should bear well for a tough stretch ahead.

It needs to be said that each opponent has played well against the Seahawks; this should be to no one's surprise. The defending champs get everyone's best shot. It will steel them for what's ahead.

At 6-3 I'm happy with where we are at given all that has occurred thus far. The Seahawks need to improve and they can improve; its a work in progress. Enjoy the ride.

[NorthHawk]

I heard Moon make a comment about Russ and the pass game that might have some merit.
He basically said he's not yet on the same page with the new Receivers and it will take a little time.
This would be most true for Norwood as he was injured, but if you think about it, during TC it seems a lot of work was done on Offense with the focus on Harvin so there probably wasn't as much time spent on Richardson or Norwood and with the new CBA, practice time is limited. It might be why the INT was thrown and might be why it appears Russ is "Aiming" the ball and not throwing it like years past.

[burrrton]

We been a MASH unit up front for most of the year so far, as we get folks back and as they get up to speed we may well not need much from our passing game again cause when healthy; these boys can run block! Pound the rock and play defense. Football just like I like it

Word.

[Seahawks4Ever]

LTF; I wish I could talk you down but I am seeing the same thing you are and it disturbs me greatly. Sure, I am happy for the win and all but I see a passing game that is digressing and not getting better by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember that it took Hass several seasons sometimes to get in sync. with new receivers (although with Jerivicious he clicked right away) and it seems that RW does not trust Norwood or Richardson to run the route they are supposed to run. I say that because Wilson's timing is all off. He should be throwing the ball earlier so that when the receiver turns around the ball is there. That's what happened with that first INT., RW threw the ball late so the DB was able to make a play on the ball, if Wilson throws the ball a bit earlier it would have been arriving at Richardson as soon as he turned around and all the DB could have done was make the takle.

Wilson is also under throwing receivers who then have to wait for the ball and again DB's are able to make a play on the ball.

There is another problem I see, it is in the passing schemes themselves. Bevell draws up his schemes as if he doesn't believe that RW can throw the ball over the middle from the pocket, and if he can't do that then our passing game will ALWAYS be in trouble no matter if we had a stout O-Line and All Pros @ WR.

Now, I would like to think that Wilson can find passing lanes and make those throws but they just don't seem to be in the game plan. I mean, why has Wilson not been throwing to Kearse and Lockette more often?

As great as our running game was it should have opened up the passing game, but it didn't.

How many other teams are going to fall for that fake hand off and allow RW to run for boofoo yards? Not very many and probably none of our opponents the rest of the way, especially after watching the film of the Giants falling for it repeatedly.

BTW, I am sure you are not happy with me because I have been busting your chops about your post about Luck. The thing is, we are NEVER going to have Luck as our QB so it doesn't matter if he is statistically better than RW or not, Russell Wilson is our starting QB and he is going to be our starting QB for the forseeable future. There is no way the Colts would ever trade him so why even fantasize about it??

[obiken]

This a was a great win, but lets not Cantonize them yet. NY is NOT a good FB team. We should have put this game away early. Outside of that, Wilson and Beast are carrying the offense. Are WR's suck. They are not getting open enough. Thank goodness our LB's are playing well. Fortunately Bruce Irvin is making a liar out of River and I, even he getting better. When we start beating the Cards and 9ers at their house then I will celebrate. The Cards are 8-1 two games away from the playoffs we are 4 Away. We have Chiefs in KC, sorry that's a loss when I penciled in the wins and losses at the beginning of the year. So we have tough road to hoe. 7 games left we have to go 4-3 and win at least one road game against a really good team. Phili, SF, or Az. So yeah we won but we supposed to win. Now IF we beat the Chiefs and the Eagles then we are in, that's a big if.

[Long Time Fan]

There is another problem I see, it is in the passing schemes themselves. Bevell draws up his schemes as if he doesn't believe that RW can throw the ball over the middle from the pocket, and if he can't do that then our passing game will ALWAYS be in trouble no matter if we had a stout O-Line and All Pros @ WR.

This is the Miller effect. His injury is huge. When healthy, the Seahawks run clear outs to leave Miller one on one with a LB over the middle. The slot receiver should run more shallow crosses if the Wrs are sent downfield, but Richardson isn't being asked to do that. Yet. I'm surprised that RB out of the backfield doesn't find the open space under the coverage, but we need all the blockers we can get.

LTF;
I am sure you are not happy with me because I have been busting your chops about your post about Luck?

Its all good. Just know that I am thrilled by the play of RW when he is extending plays like no other, running read option, and hitting open receivers. I love the guy, I just don't think the discussion of good young qbs stops with him.

RW best days are ahead of him, he will adjust.

[HumanCockroach]

I was discussing Wilson's funk yesterday after the game, and kind of pointed out last season he also went through a four or five game "funk" ( of course a four or five game funk where you lose one, isn't the end of the world or anything) last year it was towards the end of the year, and everyone was worried, this year, maybe it's now, and everyone is worried. We'll see how the season progresses, I'm not sure what exactly I feel about this team right now to be honest, but they are indeed in a decent position, with everything ( and yes I mean everything they could possibly want) currently sitting in front of them. They can still indeed win the division, and can still indeed garner HF advantage, and still indeed win another SB. How they handle the next seven weeks is what matters, and the rest is history.

[obiken]

I was discussing Wilson's funk yesterday after the game, and kind of pointed out last season he also went through a four or five game "funk" ( of course a four or five game funk where you lose one, isn't the end of the world or anything) last year it was towards the end of the year, and everyone was worried, this year, maybe it's now, and everyone is worried. We'll see how the season progresses, I'm not sure what exactly I feel about this team right now to be honest, but they are indeed in a decent position, with everything ( and yes I mean everything they could possibly want) currently sitting in front of them. They can still indeed win the division, and can still indeed garner HF advantage, and still indeed win another SB. How they handle the next seven weeks is what matters, and the rest is history.

Every QB has ups and downs my point and worry is that a lot of our players are doing the Funky Hawk not just RW. Good news is we get some people back and we did the Funky against the bad teams and it didn't cost us. KC at home is a MUCH greater team than the Giants. Records don't lie. KC has given up fewer points than us and are on a 4 game winning streak. Can we win? yes, but we have to play MUCH better than Sunday.

[Long Time Fan]

I'm watching NFL rewind right now and I'm wondering if all this running that RW is doing is affecting his passing?

The evidence against this theory is the 100 yard running/300 yard passing game.

Still, I think its a legitimate wonder; is RW's running game affecting RW's passing game?

[makena]

I'm watching NFL rewind right now and I'm wondering if all this running that RW is doing is affecting his passing?

The evidence against this theory is the 100 yard running/300 yard passing game.

Still, I think its a legitimate wonder; is RW's running game affecting RW's passing game?

I was listening to the Brock and Salk this morning on 710am. Brock made a point that as a QB, it's hard to run at any level and come back to the huddle, call a passing play, and find your rhythm and timing and pass down field. Brock went on to say that he thinks that's why Russ is a bit off at times. Of all the potential excuses or reasons why Russ has been a bit off, I like Brock's perspective the best so far. They talked about this for about 30 minutes this morning. It was something that I haven't considered.

thoughts?

Mak

[obiken]

No doubt Mak, I guess its academic when you win, doesn't matter what's working along as you get the W. We all realize however, that the passing game is necessary when we hit good teams.

[Anthony]

Lets look at this logically and look at all the things working against Rw and the passing game.

Play calling inconsistent at best
Route trees not very creative
WRs only 2 from the team last year, no true #1, were is his Dez, TY, Thomas, Gronk, etc who always makes a play? He has none
Wrs not getting open or speration
Lack of play making, example the INT to Baldwin last year Tate adjusts and makes a play, our wr are not making plays like last year.
Rw having to run a lot, enough said
Oline its bad
Injuries to players not helping
change in offensive focus(Harvin) the offense was forcing the ball to Harvin with few down field throws and now it has changed
Dropping of catchable balls- there has been a lot of catchable balls dropped in the last several games.
weather (last 2 games anyway) enough said
RW has been hit and hit hard a lot

And that is the on field stuff, add in all the off the field stuff and well there you go.

[obiken]

Please forgive me I had a deep dish pizza and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, so I should NOT be writing. But his biggest problem is he his has no WR's that are go to guys. Non of these guys runs patterns like GTate and I was not a huge GT fan. Imagine him running around and giving Steve Largent the time to get open, gives me the Wiley's just fanaticizing about it. Next year they will have the guy. Remember though, it took until his 3rd year, for GT to really be good so maybe the Richardson's, Lockett's, or Kearse's will emerge. We can only hope!!

[Distant Relative]

I'm watching NFL rewind right now and I'm wondering if all this running that RW is doing is affecting his passing?

The evidence against this theory is the 100 yard running/300 yard passing game.

Still, I think its a legitimate wonder; is RW's running game affecting RW's passing game?

He's running because the o line can't pass block! Watch the game again and compare Mannings time in the pocket to RW's. Nuff said. Coaches are putting those running plays in for him knowing the o line can't give him enough time to pass. Young WR's coupled with a bad o line = a running QB.

[c_hawkbob]

I was listening to the Brock and Salk this morning on 710am. Brock made a point that as a QB, it's hard to run at any level and come back to the huddle, call a passing play, and find your rhythm and timing and pass down field. Brock went on to say that he thinks that's why Russ is a bit off at times. Of all the potential excuses or reasons why Russ has been a bit off, I like Brock's perspective the best so far. They talked about this for about 30 minutes this morning. It was something that I haven't considered.

thoughts?

Mak

He's not coming back to the huddle and calling passing plays. Pete always follows a long run by Russ with a hand off. And it ususally goes for a big gain, as a defender; when you just got done chasing a frustrating runner like Russ down the field the last thing you want to see is a bruiser like Marshawn thundering down on ya.

I think Brock is trying too hard to come up with an explanation for something that doesn't really need one.

[monkey]

I heard Moon make a comment about Russ and the pass game that might have some merit.
He basically said he's not yet on the same page with the new Receivers and it will take a little time.
This would be most true for Norwood as he was injured, but if you think about it, during TC it seems a lot of work was done on Offense with the focus on Harvin so there probably wasn't as much time spent on Richardson or Norwood and with the new CBA, practice time is limited. It might be why the INT was thrown and might be why it appears Russ is "Aiming" the ball and not throwing it like years past.

This may come across as an excuse, but Richardson did NOT attack that ball the way he should have! The pass was thrown to the wrong spot, so that INT is still on Wilson, but Richardson ought to have been going to get the ball rather than sitting back waiting for it to come to him.
Just saying.
Russ does appear to be aiming, rather than just playing pitch and catch, and the lack of familiarity with the new WR's may have something to do with it, but that doesn't explain why he's been BETTER passing to those new guys than he has been when passing to Kearse and Uke Wison (see what I did there?) two guys he should have more familiarity with.
Personally I think it's a combination of factors, which include the line not giving much time, and the receivers not getting separation as well as Wilson is just off right now.

The thing i keep remembering about all of this is, this team right now, is not the same team it will be in a month or two months. The familiarity with Norwood and Richardson will come, and those two will become utilized more often than they are now. It takes time.
By the end of this season, the team should be back to health (so long as there are no new injuries)

[RiverDog]

This was not a good game to measure our status by. The Giants have one of the worst defenses in the league, giving up an AVERAGE of over 400 yards per game, and their run defense is the worst in the league and was playing in the most intimidating environment in football after having traveled across the continent on a short week. They're a runaway train heading for a washed out bridge with a coach that's about to be fired after having been a legitimate HOF candidate just a few years ago. It would have been worse losing to the Raiders considering all the factors and various matchups that were in our favor.

A much better yardstick will be this Sunday against the Chiefs. The 2 quarters of good football we played last Sunday vs. the G-men isn't going to be enough to win this game. We win this Sunday and we'll have a great shot at overtaking the Cards and we'll set ourselves up nicely for a strong stretch run into the playoffs. It's not a must win, but the games are getting more and more important as teams jockey for playoff slots.

[HumanCockroach]

I'm watching NFL rewind right now and I'm wondering if all this running that RW is doing is affecting his passing?

The evidence against this theory is the 100 yard running/300 yard passing game.

Still, I think its a legitimate wonder; is RW's running game affecting RW's passing game?

Interesting, as I'm of the theory that often times Wilson running occationally actually improves his accuracy. I've noticed that once he does start to do it his accuracy improves, not the other way around . That doesn't mean he needs to rush for a hundred every week, I don't want him to, as to much running is also a bad thing, but a few here and there, has noticeably increased his accuracy in games where he is incredibly off.

[monkey]

Interesting, as I'm of the theory that often times Wilson running occationally actually improves his accuracy.

I've always felt that the best way to really get him going in the passing game is to get him going in the run game. Often, especially at the beginnings of games, he misses high, until he settles down. The best way to settle him down is usually getting him running.

[HumanCockroach]

Exactly what I have seen as well, thought I was the only one. As always to much running is going to create issues, but from what I have witnessed over the last two and a half seasons, when he is off, a couple runs seems to dial him back in. Maybe he gets in the flow better when moving, but I don't think it's coincidence that when inaccurate, a read option or two, his passing dramatically increases. Maybe Brock just isn't watching the same things ( though I am not sure why that would be the case) but there has been a LOT more than one game like the Giants game where his throws have been high or off, only to become really accurate after running the ball a little bit. Just something I noticed, and figured everyone else had too.