Encouraging news about the offense

[HumanCockroach]

I was skimming through my "special" paper this afternoon in anticipation of the playoff game tomorrow and happened upon a couple amazing stats regarding the Seahawks often maligned offense. I had to read it twice before I realised I hadn't misunderstood, and it said what it indeed said, which was basically this...

The 2014 Seattle Seahawks set the team record for most offensive yardage in team history, breaking the mark of the 2005 Seattle Seahawks ( yep, the number one ranked offensive juggernaut, with the league MVP on it), and also broke the least amount of turnover by an offense in Hawks history ( same 05' Hawks).

Sometimes I wonder if we as a whole, are seeing a "failure" in the offense, not because they are "bad" ( I mean after all they ARE a top ten total offense, and a top ten scoring offense in the NFL) because of how impressive the defense is, or because we can glean how incredible they could be with just "one more piece" or just a bit more clutch etc...

Anyway, there is quite a bit of talk about how average they are ( both nationally and within our own fan base), and I thought a bit of surprising positive news would be nice is all. Pretty impressive to me.

http://seattletimes.com/html/jerrybrewe ... 09xml.html

[Zorn76]

It is easy to overlook that we were (are) a top 10 offense this year.
And I do think it's because we have a much stronger defensive signature, as you mentioned.

And because said defense is so strong, it follows that we're not going to take as many risks - or be as aggressive - as other teams who rely heavily on out scoring their opponents via shoot outs.

Course, their are some OL issues concerning pass protection to work on as well:)

When our offense is burning the clock and moving the chains effectively, 20 pts is more than enough for us to win just about any game, including the playoffs (And SB:)

[jshawaii22]

Now that was an interesting stat. Cool! -- It's RW's running that skews the pooch. They don't give him enough credit and Marshawn was barely in the top 5.

When we resign him to 22m a year... what will the haters say?
js

[HumanCockroach]

I do think there is a disconnect with some in regards to the actual philosophy of Carroll and Co, like the idea that the Seahawks should be pushing to score 50 every game while surrendering 0 and until that point the offense will not be "successful" ... I personally think that some of it has to do with the force fed narative that many have been lapping up for years with no end in sight ( it can be described as "QB's win SB'S" or " offense wins SB's" or " RB's value isn't much" or " a team HAS to have a true #1 receiver to succeed" or"its a QB driven league" or etc or pretty much any other way that says defense and run games are worthless, and only the passing game matters).

Every highlight, every accomplishment center around primarily, the QB, the rules have been basterdised to help them, highlights, news, salaries, fantasy, everything revolves around the QB, or the players the QB needs to accomplish new highs.

Since Seattle does NOT adhere to that belief ( and does so incredibly successfully) that the media, and fans enamored with stats, INSTEAD of success, don't know how to judge the offense fairly, and whats worse is the "experts" have been so thoroughly saturated as well, they also don't know how to describe it. So it is " mediocre" (honestly when was the last time you guys can remember a top ten scoring and yardage offense in the NFL, that LEAD the league in "explosive" plays, be described as "average" ? Anyone?). Which is simply misinformed and truly assinign..

The truth is, WINNING is what matters ( or at least should) and I pray that at some point the deluge of media, will figure out, that you know, a top ten offense in yards, and scoring that had MORE explosive plays than ANYONE ( yeah you GB, Denver, Indy, SD, NO, ATL, Pits, Baltimore, Cincy um.... EVERYONE not named SEATTLE) IN THE LEAGUE cannot, by definition be an "average", mediocre or as I've heard some say " below average" offense ( seriously? Where do they get guys to say stuff like this and pay them for it??)...

The stuff that made offenses great in the past was scoring, driving, and explosive plays, now, it is simply pass attempts = yards= great ( and we can skip whether the team can beat a winning team in the post season at this point)...

Man, Seattle fans, DON'T help these idiots out, Stop whining about how "average" this teams offense is, it ISN'T.

[Hawktawk]

Lets hope they are above average today....
It's laughable how RW and our offense are constantly disrespected due to our excellent defense. There are offensive guys in the HOF who played with some excellent defenses in their championship years. So far we have enjoyed watching one of the most clutch QB's in the game.The perception in the media doesn't matter. I assure you defensive coordinators around the league understand how good Seattle's offense is.

[NorthHawk]

It really helps the stats when the Defense limits the opposing Offense to only a few series of more than 3 and out.
Any average Offense will tend to grind out the stats over time just by the provided opportunities alone.

I think it also shows how important a RB that year after year is at or near the top at breaking tackles, and having a QB that can move is for this Offense.
What happens when Russell loses a step and Marshawn has moved on?

The rest of the players are playing their roles pretty well, but could be upgraded but our best OL players miss significant time every year.
Okung has missed 20 games in 5 years (currently said to be playing with a torn Labrum), Max Unger has missed 30 games in 6 seasons (his 2nd season skewes the stats as he only played 1 game), Carpenter has missed 19 games in 4 years.

That's 60% of the OL missing a large number of games each year - granted not always at the same time, but it means there can't be much continuity up front.
Those figures mean attention to the OL should be one of the highest priorities as quality depth is an obvious requirement. Thus the call from many of us to draft OL early or mid rounds every year, not just 7th round picks after much of the talent is gone. If they happen to beat out one of the starters, even better as that's real competition.
The good thing is this year Britt stayed healthy and Sweezy toughed it out, so if that holds true in the longer term, it's good news for the right side.

What are the rankings in the Red Zone and short yardage? That should tell us more about the Offense and it's where a big WR can add real value.
Just my gut feeling is we are at best middle of the road for TDs (missed chances tend to stick in my mind), but nothing to back that up.

[HumanCockroach]

North, you should look into man, because Seattle is poor in those situations ( comparitively to where they are in the other categories) Seattle, is not "getting more opportunities" than other teams, they lead the league in explosive plays, meaning even with average opportunities, they are gaining more yardage, and scoring more points, than they have any right to do.

How many times have we seen a long drive turn into fg's or no points this season? How many times have we seen Seattle score from long distance ( outside the redzone)? Far more often than given credit for.

I'm not saying they "are the best" simply they are a far cry from " average" and we should appreciate a hell of a lot more than we do. Since the the narative nationally is how average they are, seems that we are slow to acknowledge how good they are ( similar to the still running narative about how Seattle isn't the "same team on the road" ) hogwash. This is one of only a few teams left in the NFL playoffs with a top tier O and D, something no one in the NFC can boast.

[monkey]

I do think there is a disconnect with some in regards to the actual philosophy of Carroll and Co, like the idea that the Seahawks should be pushing to score 50 every game while surrendering 0 and until that point the offense will not be "successful" ... I personally think that some of it has to do with the force fed narative that many have been lapping up for years with no end in sight ( it can be described as "QB's win SB'S" or " offense wins SB's" or " RB's value isn't much" or " a team HAS to have a true #1 receiver to succeed" or"its a QB driven league" or etc or pretty much any other way that says defense and run games are worthless, and only the passing game matters).

Couldn't have said it better.
People are so surprised when they see that the Seahawks offense was a top ten offense, they must be shocked when it's a top ten offense for the second year in a row!