Official Post Game Thread - Seahawks vs Raiders

[savvyman]

Let's start this.

Why do I feel less like we won a game and more like we narrowly escaped a disaster? Anyone?

[Oly]

Because the Hawks shot themselves in the foot so many gawddamn times (mostly with penalties) that what should have been a comfortable win felt like a series of punches to the gut. Because the offense could have done so much more with the field position they had in the first half.

But mostly because I wasn't drinking enough for a game like this.

[c_hawkbob]

I'm happy with the win.

Sure it's more fun dominating every game but let's give some consideration to factors like injuries, youth, and dumb luck (good and bad) eh? This is the NFL. No matter how good your team looks at it's best the difference between that level of play and the worst team in the league is the slimmest in all of sports. Even the "bad" teams in this league are capable of winning any game.

We had some injuries last year but last year we weren't as injured as we are this year and we weren't coming off a SB victory and hadn't lost so many key contributors to the financial realities of the NFL so we were better able to absorb the injuries we did have. We just don't have the depth we had last year; "next man up" only goes so far ... Also, as the team that won it all last year every week is the Super Bowl for your opponents, whether it is for you or not.

all in all this was a good week for us. Hopefully next week will be too.

[monkey]

Felt better about the offense after the Rams loss...just saying.
Still, I am with Bob in that, every win counts, it doesn't matter who it came against or how it happened, they all add up the same.

The negatives are obvious, injuries, stupid penalties and poor offensive line play being the worst, but there were some nice positives as well!
The defense looked much better for a while, the turnovers are starting to come as well, Bruce Irvin has now had back to back studly games, and with Walters no longer returning kicks, we have a reason to believe that we can get an advantage in field position from the return game again.

Luke Willson and Jermaine Kearse both had lousy games. Kearse is just not getting open, (really disappointing, I like that guy and really want to see him succeed!) and Willson needs to learn to catch the danged ball!!
Offsetting that somewhat though is what I saw from Norwood late in the game, he looks like by next year he will be our #1 WR, and will be darn good at it too! I LIKE his hands, I LIKE his speed, that kid has got talent. I'd like to see Pete make more use of him.
I was already VERY excited about Richardson, firmly convinced he is going to be a good receiver for us, but the more I see of Norwood, the more, and more impressed I become with him.
Right now the receiving corps looks like a bit of a mess, but the parts are there and just beginning to come together the slightest bit. You can just see the beginnings of what could become a nice receiving corps.

[HumanCockroach]

That line looked pretty damn bad, but so did quite a few of those throws by Wilson without pressure. Last two weeks he has been sailing quite a few of some pretty basic throws, and I wonder if there is a mechanical "glitch" he has picked up, maybe footwork? or possibly dropping his elbow? Not really sure, but it has been happening at an alarming rate the last two weeks. something isn't right, and Wilson needs to find what it is, and correct it.

[monkey]

Agreed HC, Wilson's accuracy has left MUCH to be desired the last two games now! We're fortunate to have played the teams we did.

[Hawk Sista]

Honestly, now that I've stopped swearing & pacing... This was a good win. Listening to post game on 710 & Pete & co. were pleased w/ the win. 7-9 starters out (by the end) & we held on for an important win. Cable said that was the single most difficult coaching job of his life.

When we get a few key people back on both sides of the ball and win a few... we'll feel a whole bunch better. I believe we will overcome it all...every nasty, ugly bit of this stretch, & make the playoffs. Once we do, it's game 1 all over again. Think back a few weeks ago when the Pats were DONE, the Packers were done & the Donkeys and Chargers were unstoppable. Then the Pack came back and was unstoppable until they met up w/ the hapless Saints. Just making the point that every week is its own and that I believe we are gonna be ok. (I mean my SF Giants were all but out of the WS race a few shorty moths ago and climbed back in w/ grit and solid management. I think we are similar in that regard, I really do.

R E L A X! Unger, Russell O, Maxi, Bobby, Bam-Bam, Zach, Jeremy Lane, Malcom are not out for the season. Meanwhile, we are getting game experience for lots of folks. Our injury list is sooo long, we had active players in streets today.

And my final point... This spring we thought Rice & Harvin would lead a hopeful pack of young talent. Now we know it just is gonna have to be a different iteration of the team than we imagined. PC & JS too. Who could have predicted these I juries in these #s?

The light at the end of the tunnel is still shining.

[mykc14]

I agree with most, a rough tough win and I will take it every week! RW had a bad game, Willson had a bad game, O-line played poorly but we were still able to get the W. We are still not clicking on O and game up too many points against a pretty bad O but if we can get wins while we work through those issues I will take it.

[monkey]

but if we can get wins while we work through those issues I will take it.

This ^^^^

[Hawk Sista]

I'd rather have this ugly win than fumble the go ahead score on the goal line as time expired.

[monkey]

I'd rather have this ugly win than fumble the go ahead score on the goal line as time expired.

[burrrton]

I'd rather have this ugly win than fumble the go ahead score on the goal line as time expired.

QFT.

[Zorn76]

We played a great 1st half - even left a few points on the board in the process - then scored 6 pts in the second.

It's like a good movie with an exciting 45 minutes to start, then falls flat for awhile before a decent ending. I'd like to see us put away a game like this in more convincing fashion, but all things considered, we played pretty well.

Pass protection/blitz pickup, as is, will Not do in a postseason game, however. Big Improvement needed, and some of that will happen with Okung and Miller back in there.

DL is playing hard, but still need better pressure. Irvin has stepped his performance significantly, and Sherm gets his 1st INT, though he's still been having a good season overall.

A win is a win. They are hard to get. I believe our season has more to do with injuries and a lack of focus at times rather than the opponent gunning for us "even harder" now that we're SB Champs.

Our team psyche should be strong enough to sustain anybody else's best effort regardless.

Next up: NY Giants.

NO LETDOWN.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

[jshawaii22]

I'm gonna throw this out there... It looks to me that Russell may have a shoulder or chest injury that we're not hearing about. He used to throw deep with little or no 'body' motion. The last 3 weeks, I''ve noticed he has to turn with his body to get depth into the throw. If he is played injured, I can understand a lot of the bad overthrows and lack of deep passes.

js

[mykc14]

I'm gonna throw this out there... It looks to me that Russell may have a shoulder or chest injury that we're not hearing about. He used to throw deep with little or no 'body' motion. The last 3 weeks, I''ve noticed he has to turn with his body to get depth into the throw. If he is played injured, I can understand a lot of the bad overthrows and lack of deep passes.

js

I wouldn't be surprised, he has had the crap knocked out of him this season. I don't know how he isn't hurt, to tell you the truth. Lets get our O-line healthy, keep RW upright, and let him heal up a bit because we are going to be needing him to be as healthy as possible the rest of the season.

[Anthony]

I'm gonna throw this out there... It looks to me that Russell may have a shoulder or chest injury that we're not hearing about. He used to throw deep with little or no 'body' motion. The last 3 weeks, I''ve noticed he has to turn with his body to get depth into the throw. If he is played injured, I can understand a lot of the bad overthrows and lack of deep passes.

js

It would explain a lot and given how badly he has been hit this year it makes sense.

[monkey]

I'm gonna throw this out there... It looks to me that Russell may have a shoulder or chest injury that we're not hearing about. He used to throw deep with little or no 'body' motion. The last 3 weeks, I''ve noticed he has to turn with his body to get depth into the throw. If he is played injured, I can understand a lot of the bad overthrows and lack of deep passes.

js

I don't know about this, but I do know that the line has NOT been doing it's job in pass pro, though given the amount of injuries we're dealing with, that's not a huge surprise, and the receivers are just NOT getting open.
Wilson was 15 of 22 targeting players not named Luke Willson and Jermaine Kearse. 2 of 12 when targeting those two.
Not good. Not good at all.
Kearse is not getting the job done at all, and the reason that Willson has two "L's" in his name? In case he drops one.

I still think that by the end of the year, the passing game will look different as Preach and Norwood earn more and more playing time. Right now they're still growing into their roles though so it look UGLY right now.

[Hawktawk]

Wilson got slammed again on a couple of slides, one in particular absolutely should have been a flag.And it seems to be every crew. I wonder if there has been a little conference call to discuss how to handle Russ because he runs and slides so effectively. I saw him get driven into the ground on another hit. And we had a Tackle playing left guard by games end. There was no line protection. Cable called it his "most difficult coaching job ever". Ill take the win. Wilson struggled with his mechanics most of the day but he has at times throughout his career. Yesterday the ball was soaking wet as well. The win reminds me a lot of a few last year, also the 2005 season when that group wound up in the SB. Win the hard ones and dont trip over the easy ones.You have to be good, and lucky.At least the D looked championship caliber for once.

GO HAWKS!!!!

[burrrton]

Pass protection/blitz pickup, as is, will Not do in a postseason game, however. Big Improvement needed, and some of that will happen with Okung and Miller back in there.

And Unger. His loss is a big key to the whole O-line collapse we saw yesterday (and much of the last 2-3 weeks). But yeah, our O-line doesn't have a lot of room for error when healthy, so the decimation they're playing under now leads to defensive tackles and ends coming *untouched* into the backfield over and over again.

Sherm gets his 1st INT, though he's still been having a good season overall.

This is something that's completely lost on most, including me- they were showing his #s yesterday, and outside of the picks (1 now instead of 4 at this point last year), he's having a *better* first half than 2013 (at least by the metrics they displayed).

[burrrton]

Wilson got slammed again on a couple of slides, one in particular absolutely should have been a flag.And it seems to be every crew.

Yep- I said this last week. What the h3ll is it with officials allowing so much contact on Russell??

And we had a Tackle playing left guard by games end.

Let's not overstate things- he was "playing left guard" only in the technical sense, in that he lined up at that spot and moved when the ball was hiked. There was no blocking taking place, though.

[Hawk Sista]

Let's go through the list of QBs in the league who would have fared better than RW w/ that mess of an O-line.

Aaa and, go...

1.

[Distant Relative]

Didn't think this needed its own thread so I thought this was as good as place as any to put it. Theses are pictures form the game from Seahawks.com.

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/p ... d2ce7d63a8

Check out how big RW's hand is when he is slapping hands with #7.

And here are some highlight video clips of the game. http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/v ... 4f18b2670d

[Anthony]

Let's go through the list of QBs in the league who would have fared better than RW w/ that mess of an O-line.

Aaa and, go...

1.

LOL

that's the complete list I agree

[Hawktawk]

I want to dump on Darrell Bevell, the O coordinator. Looking at the play by play (NFL.com), we attempted to pass 13 times on first down (3 turned into scramble runs by RW), and we called running plays 11 times (including the kneel down). That included 4 completed passes on first down, one for a loss.

I can understand calling an occasional first down pass to try to be less predictable, but this is more than that. If the passing game was working well it make more sense, but it was the run game that was most effective. Case in point was the first drive when we ran at them and drove for a TD, after that, not so much.

Also, since I am on a roll of being negative, what has happened to our special teams? Last season we were lights out on covering returns, but now we are giving up major yardage. Our own returns have not been bad, not many mistakes, but coverage is poor.

And there you go OBS. Right on the money. After the half I told my son they need to run the ball with a 21 point lead. Run run run and kill the clock. Anyone could see it wasn't RWs best outing and the O line was a mash unit. But oh hell no they came out and threw in an obvious passing formation. Second down Lynch for 3 yards and then incomplete on 3rd and 7 and the tone was set for the miserable second half where Kearse may have been the only thing between Seattle and a disastrous collapse.

I dont understand Carroll's love affair with Bevell. He fired Bates a day after Bates called one of the best games in Hawks history and we have spent the last 4 years going WWHHHaaat the hell? on some of these gameplans.
And finally can we smell the coffee? ST has been brutal costing us a game and nearly another yesterday.

[Seahawks4Ever]

What is wrong with Russell Wilson? The same thing that was wrong with Tom Brady and Ben R. earlier in the season, our make shift offensive line. Our O-Line has been beat up all season long and it has affected Wilson's play. Plain and simple. When the O-Line gets healthier and we get many of the starters back R.W. will be back to his "old" self.

[THX-1138]

RW has looked off for two games to my eyes. I have to agree that there may be an injury that is being kept from the public. His mechanics are off (not that I would know much about that other than all of a sudden his accuracy is not good). And what's the deal with RW getting creamed when he's sliding? He got pancaked yesterday almost AFTER his slide was complete with a ref standing right there and even Russell is giving the ref a "WTF?" because the hanky stayed in the pocket. Kind of outrageous but oh well.

Kick and punt coverage (especially punt coverage) is as bad as I have ever seen. THAT could end up costing us more games if it doesn't get fixed now.

[Distant Relative]

I understand all the injury's that the Hawks are playing through however I don't under stand the complete lack of discipline across the board that we are seeing. I know some are going to say that its the back ups with less experience that is causing this trend.... I say BS, these guys got to the level they are at because they know how to play football. Coaches need to get a handle on the Oline and special teams STAT!

Oh and by the way, in no way shape or form are the Giants a gimme game.

[Uppercut]

Good thing we did not play the Rams yesterday with this holy OL. I think they sacked Kaep like 8 times.

[Oly]

RW has been running for his life, which explains some of his performance. But there were also a few plays where he had time and a lane, and still missed the throw. I'm not that worried, though, as long as some of the OL starters return. You can afford to miss the WR a few times if you aren't also battling protection issues.

[THX-1138]

If the Hawks are going to spend half the game going 3 and out then we REALLY need the punt coverage team to be better. MUCH better.

[Anthony]

RW has been running for his life, which explains some of his performance. But there were also a few plays where he had time and a lane, and still missed the throw. I'm not that worried, though, as long as some of the OL starters return. You can afford to miss the WR a few times if you aren't also battling protection issues.

Agreed QBs miss guys even with great protection ask Manning and Brady last night. The difference is due to the talent around those QBs they can get away with it, We do not have that talent here, Outside of Rw and Lynch none of these guys would start or be #1 on any of the good teams.

[monkey]

Really??? Nothing at all?

The reason that Luke Willson has two "L's" in his name, is in case he drops one, got nothing??

[Hawktawk]

Really??? Nothing at all?

The reason that Luke Willson has two "L's" in his name, is in case he drops one, got nothing??

Willson dropped the one that would have been an amazing throw and catch but Wilson missed him badly a couple of times yesterday and missed Kearse badly as well. Kearse wound up saving the game and Willson caught the game winner the week before. We can debate the reasons why but the QB was off yesterday and quite a bit the week before. He admits it, and he will figure it out. They guys need to try to squeeze everything they can reach and Wilson needs to start throwing the ball more accurately like he usually does. I have no doubt they will figure it out.

[HumanCockroach]

Let's start this.

Why do I feel less like we won a game and more like we narrowly escaped a disaster? Anyone?

Probably because the expectations you had coming into the season were based on how last season ended, not on how last season actually unfolded. weren't a lot of blow out wins last year either, and quite a few that were one play from being a loss instead of a win. Was this game anymore dissapointing or confusing than a near disaster last season against a winless Tampa team? one in which Seattle fell behind by 21 points at home, and needed OT to pull out? I would say absolutely not IMHO, and yet this year, everytime Seattle doesn't look dominant ( which has been every game except GB) people start hang ringing, when there were just as many last season, yet those somehow magically get lost in the afterglow of the Lombardi beat down.

Expecting blowouts in the NFL is silly ( hence the record setting performance by Seattle in 2012, with the consecutive fifty burgers) it simply doesn't work that way.Oakland has been IN every game they have played for the most part, and sometimes people look at overall record, instead of quality of opponent. It is indeed why, winless teams are almost as rare as undefeated teams. Just doesn't happen.

As Carroll so elequently put it "suck it up" and understand this isn't the same year, or same game, or same team even, than last years SB.

[burrrton]

Probably because the expectations you had coming into the season were based on how last season ended, not on how last season actually unfolded.

This.

The Superbowl and kicking the crap out of GB to start the season has skewed our expectations and made us forget how difficult last year really was and how vulnerable we looked at times.

[jshawaii22]

Beating Manning and Denver again didn't exactly hurt our 'expectations' either..

js

[burrrton]

Beating Manning and Denver again didn't exactly hurt our 'expectations' either..

Agreed.

[Hawk Sista]

I agree with the theme here.

I also think we all thought the SD game was a bit of an anomaly at the time. We whupped azz in the SB, we killed GB in the opener and then......the SD game happened. While there were signs of concern there, I think as a whole concerns were chalked to one or more of the following: O-line needs time to gel, it's a super bowl hangover, the heat...OMG - the HEAT, Rivers was just on, we were getting used to the new roster, we were out-coached on this day - good thing they are not in the division...or pick your own.

After that, we beat Denver and all was right again heading into the bye. After the (way too) early bye, we came out and made some exciting plays (and some bone-headed ones too) and won on the east coast by 10 points (could have been 30 if we had played disciplined ball). This is where I saw the tide start to really change in here and it took the media a week to catch up. That we did not clobber the Redskins, that we let the Broncos back in after man-handling them for the majority of the day, that we LOST to SD (now those excuses were starting to fade) and the hand wringing started - and then, just like that, our beloved Hawks laid two major eggs in a row.

My view is the same as I've stated. This season is almost exactly like last year's Hawks in the close games and injury bug early. We just found a way to win those tight contests last year. There were 8 games that came down to the wire and we won most of them last year. There have been 6 close games to date (if you count the Raider game) and we have won 1/2. We are literally 2 or 3 plays from 7 & 1 in spite of how horribly wrong it has all gone. (I need to add that I acknowledge differences this year...what is different about this season from last is the attention from the rest of the nation (RWs jersey is the #1 selling jersey), the expectation for us to repeat, the fact that we are everybody's super bowl, the added stresses of the Harvin situation and all the attention to locker room issues (Marshawn's happiness, Russell isn't black enough).

Actually - in lieu of calling for Quinn and Bevel's head, I give credit to this team and the staff for stapling it together and getting us to the midway point with a winning record. More bad things can happen, sure - that is why it fun, because we don't know. The Rams can upset us and we can beat the Cards....it's like that. Here is to a good 2nd half. Cheers