Back from the dead

I apologize to my regular readers for my weeklong absence. After last week's humiliating loss in San Francisco, I was too shattered to blog. I figured I would feel well enough to analyze the game by Monday, but the spiraling demands of an extraordinarily busy week at work prevented me from writing until now. Which is just as well, because I still wince whenever I even think about the debacle of last Sunday.

It was one of the costliest losses of the year. A victory would have kept Seattle on track to compete for the division title. It would have made a winning record possible and a .500 record likely.

Instead, Seattle lost, allowing St. Louis to maintain pole position in the division, and letting lowly San Francisco stay in the hunt for the NFC West crown. We probably condemned ourselves to a third consecutive year with a losing record, so in the unlikely event that we do manage to take the division, we will be the league's laughingstock as the only playoff team in history with a sub-.500 record.

Beating the 49ers would have demonstrated that the Seahawks were ready to finish strong, that we were determined to compete every week, that we had put that extended midseason slump behind us.

Instead, Seattle solidified its identity as an inconsistent team that either wins unconvincingly, or gets blown out.

We were outcoached and outplayed in San Francisco. Mike Singletary's decision to start Alex Smith under center proved wise. Normally, Smith scares no one, but our feeble defense made him look like Joe Montana. Really, any NFL quarterback can look like a Hall of Famer if the defense is too courteous to sack and pressure him, too gracious to cover his receivers, and too generous to stuff the run.

In Week One, Seattle comprehensively shut down the 49er offense. Last Sunday, our defense could not stop them.

What accounts for the difference?

If there has one thing we have learned this year, it is that we have no depth on defense. Apparently, losing Red Bryant to injury has essentially crippled our ability to stop the run.

But the big story in San Francisco was that we were outcoached. The 49ers kept fielding a three tight end scheme for which we had no answer. From that formation, they could run or throw with equal facility, because their tight ends are complete athletes, as adept at blocking as they are at catching balls.

Great coaches can adapt on the fly and find ways to counter opposing schemes that they did not initially anticipate. Unfortunately, the Seahawks do not have great defensive coaches. After we surrendered so many points in 2009, Carroll's decision to retain defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was mystifying. Given that Carroll himself is a defensive coach, the continued weakness of our defense is unforgivable.

At least in terms of individual statistics, Leon Washington is the biggest beneficiary of our bad defense. The more points we surrender, the more opportunities he has to return kickoffs. If our defense can surrender a few more fortyburgers, he will own the NFL season and career records for return touchdowns.

We failed to execute on offense. Our O-Line still can't block. On several occasions, we tried the power right play, which had been money so many times against Carolina, only to discover that the right side of our line can't manhandle a competent defense.

Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, whom I often malign on this blog, actually called a pretty good game. When San Francisco took away the run, Bates came up with a varied mix of inspired play selections that kept the ball moving until Hasselbeck turned it over. As we fell farther behind, Bates became more aggressive. Sometimes too aggressive. (Throwing a fade on fourth and short? Again? Really?)

Hasselbeck had a bad game. To be fair, one interception wasn't his fault--the ball hit the wideout in the hands, but the receiver bobbled it to the defenders. I would have benched him after the third interception, but I was impressed at Matt's ability to settle down and play better after that.

Hasselbeck can't do it alone. Few NFL quarterbacks can carry a team that can't run the ball in a game where his two starting wideouts are sidelined by injuries.

Bringing this blog back from the dead wasn't hard; I just needed a few hours of free time.

Bringing my beloved team back from the dead will prove a much tougher task for our coaches and players.