St. Louis is better this year, but they're not as good as Seattle made them look today. On the other hand, the Seahawks may be fully as bad as we appeared.
Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer wrote last week that the Seahawks are better than they look on paper. No, they're not. They're much worse.
Leon Washington set the tone early on, talking smack before the game to Rams punter Donnie Jones. This was stupid on multiple levels:
1) Kick returners shouldn't talk smack, because they rarely make an impact on the game. Washington is a fool if he believes that he'll be scoring return touchdowns on a regular basis.
2) Kick returners shouldn't talk smack, because they don't hit people, they get hit, by opponents with a long running start. Why give them extra motivation to tee off on you?
3) Kick returners who don't return punts shouldn't talk smack to punters. If Washington wanted to talk smack to the right person, he should have gotten in Josh Brown's face.
4) Talking smack is for bitches. Real men let their play do the talking.
To his credit, Jones--though just a punter--stood up to Washington. Jones, by the way, like Brown, is a former Seahawk. While Brown was perhaps the greatest kicker in Seahawks history, Jones got cut during a disastrous rookie season, but has since developed into one of the better punters in the league.
But today's loss lands squarely in Pete Carroll's lap.
Some criticized his use of the red challenge flag. I did not quibble with his first (successful) instant-replay challenge, though it only netted the team a few yards. However, his second challenge was foolish. Doesn't he have eyes upstairs? Did he know there was no visual evidence to support the challenge?
Why let Jon Ryan try to run for a first down when Olindo Mare can nail a 51-yard field goal?
But that's small potatoes. Carroll's lack of effective leadership hurts the team on a much deeper level.
Failures of defensive coaching were complicit in our defeat today. After our aggressive pass rush got scorched by a 49-yard screen pass to Rams running back Steven Jackson, our defensive adjustment was to blitz Sam Bradford again and get torched by a screen pass on the other side of the field, which St. Louis backup Kenneth Darby took for 21 yards and a touchdown.
I thought Carroll was supposed to be a defensive coach.
However, the offense remains our biggest problem. Our offense has gotten worse every week this season. Hasselbeck continues to function like a turnover machine (one interception, one fumble), but he's not getting a lot of help. He got sacked four times, and had several passes batted down at the line of scrimmage because defensive linemen were in his face.
A lack of playcalling imagination has contributed to our offensive underproduction. Aside from the occasional gimmick play--like the pass by fullback Michael Robinson to Leon Washington--the Seahawks don't have a very deep bag of tricks, and can't seem to establish an effective playcalling rhythm. Part of the problem is that Hasselbeck and the other veterans are playing their third offense in as many years, while trying to gel with a host of newcomers. The new offense's emphasis on improvisation appears to be a weakness, because Hasselbeck and his receivers are often clearly not on the same page.
Much of the trouble starts up front. We started the season with an offensive line that could pass block, but couldn't establish a ground game. Now, we have one that can run block passably, but can't provide adequate pass protection.
Of course, the O-line has been reshuffled constantly all season. Injuries dictated some of the changes, but others have reflected frenetic efforts to upgrade the unit by cutting training camp stalwarts and replacing them with waiver wire fodder. Consider the case of Mansfield Wrotto, a reserve guard who filled in admirably at left tackle during the last two exhibition games. His reward? Getting cut to make room for tackles Allen Barbre and Breno Giacomini, who have yet to learn the system or make their mark for us.
The team's constant roster churn between games raises a real question: Is the payoff in talent upgrades (thus far unclear) worth the cost in terms of team morale? Maybe it motivates marginal players to perform because they know they can get cut in a heartbeat. Or perhaps it paralyzes them with fear and impairs their play because they know the team has no patience and no loyalty to their players.
This represents a jarring contrast with Pete Carroll's rah-rah approach to coaching, which depends in part upon the pretense that the coach actually cares about his players. In college ball, players have the security of knowing they won't lose their scholarships if they don't perform in a given game. Pro players have less security on every team in the league, but Seattle's ruthless personnel decisions this year have made our players among the least secure in the NFL.
Last week, the NFL Network's Sound FX show aired a segment from our home victory over the Chargers. The footage consisted of a miked Carroll shouting a girlishly high-pitched "Woooo!" every time something good happened on the field. It was embarassing, and it reminded me of similar footage of Dick Vermeil. However, the famously teary Vermeil cared about his players on a level that the mercenary Carroll probably does not and can not. Vermeil cried when he cut players. Does Carroll?
The signing of Brandon Stokley represented a tacit admission that the team made a mistake when it cut Housh. In Stokely, they sought to find the clutch possession receiver they lost when they let last year's leading receiver go. Hasselbeck's heavy reliance on Stokley today underscored the point; though new to the team, he is familiar with our scheme, and he was the team's leading receiver in a losing effort.
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, TJ caught the game-winning touchdown for the Ravens.
In other ex-Seahawk news, Seneca Wallace logged another solid if unspectacular week behind center for Cleveland, leading the team to its first victory of the season over division rival Cincinnati. Chop Womack & the O-line opened holes for 100+ rushing yards and gave up only one sack.
Detroit put up a good fight against Green Bay, but former Seahawks contributed little. Mo Morris had as few touches as Burleson, who sat out with an injury. Rob Sims & the Lions O-line helped the offense exceed 100 yards on the ground and 300 through the air, and Julian Peterson logged a couple of tackles on defense.
In Philadelphia, fullback Owen Schmitt continues to represent, both as a blocker (the Eagles compiled more than 100 yards on the ground), but also as a receiver, grabbing three balls for 43 yards.
Finally, former Seahawks safety Deon Grant--now playing for the New York Giants--just nabbed a red zone interception from Bears backup Todd Collins, helping to preserve a victory for the home team.
The Seahawks--who for the third straight week have made their opposing quarterback look like a Pro Bowler--might have benefited from more depth in the defensive secondary. Trufant played heroically on a bum ankle, but Josh Wilson and Deon Grant would have come in handy today.
A pro-quality head coach would come in even handier.
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