Seattle slump

Only Cleveland has allowed more sacks than 0-2 Seattle (Credit: USA Today)

The season's hopes are draining away fast.

Starting with two road games is tough, but the Broncos and the Bears were both beatable teams coming off terrible 2017 campaigns.

Injuries have exacerbated the impact of high-profile veteran departures on defense. The secondary remains decent, but a poor pass rush and rookie linebackers have let mediocre Bears and Broncs passers carve us up like roast poultry.

So far, Mike Solari's revamped O-line has proven as porous as its predecessors--Tom Cable's deservedly maligned units. Offensive coordinator Brian's Schottenheimer's puzzling playcalling has achieved the incredible feat of making me nostalgic for Darrell Bevell. Despite vows to run the ball more, we continue to throw too much and invite defenses to blitz, swarm the pocket, allow Russell Wilson no avenue of escape, and reap a rich harvest of sacks.

This is looking more and more like the rebuilding year skeptics predicted.

Here's hoping the 12s can inspire the Seahawks to a better showing today.

Earlier this month, SI detailed how Seattle's dynastic ambitions disappeared into the gaping chasm separating the defense and Marshawn Lynch from Coach Carroll and his allegedly privileged pet, Wilson. The lack of input from Carroll and Wilson's camp makes it difficult to evaluate whether this is the whole story or just one side of the story, but the article provides helpful context for understanding why our roster and team culture remain in flux.

Rest in Peace, Coach Knox

Coach Chuck Knox confers on the sideline with quarterback Dave Krieg, c. 1989 (Credit: Bellingham Herald)

An old-school badass, Coach Knox seized the reins in Seattle in 1983 and wasted no time remaking the team in his winning image: a smashmouth, run-first offense, coupled with a bruising, larcenous defensive juggernaut.

Ground Chuck's journeymen run-blockers paved the way for halfback Curt Warner, whose ankle-busting cuts froze and frustrated hapless defenders. To compensate for an offensive line far less adept at pass blocking, Knox boldly benched fan favorite Jim Zorn in favor of backup quarterback Dave Krieg, an uncanny gamer who remained reviled by ungrateful Seahawks fans despite a consistent knack for winning, vastly superior chemistry with Steve Largent, and Hall of Fame-caliber statistics that clearly establish him as one of the finest passers of '80s.

On defense, Knox knew how to stuff the run, pressure passers, and force turnovers. In his 3-4 scheme, All-Pro nose tackle Joe Nash wrecked the middle while linebackers knifed through for the kill. A long, tall Texan--the All-Pro sackmaster, defensive end Jacob Green--sped in to haul quarterbacks to the turf, force fumbles, and even grab an occasional interception. How fast was Green? In 1983, he finished Cleveland by picking off a Brian Sipe pass and sprinting for a 73-yard touchdown. In 1985, #79 scooped up a fumble and ran for a 79-yard score.

A Denver defender peels away from double-teaming nose tackle Joe Nash (#72) too late to save quarterback John Elway from getting sacked by defensive end Jacob Green (#79); Seattle won this 1991 game, 13-10 (Credit: Getty)

Knox's secondary lacked a catchy nickname, but it hit as hard as hard as the Legion of Boom--and grabbed far more interceptions. All-Pro strong safety Kenny Easley hit like Kam Chancellor, nabbed picks like Earl Thomas, and returned punts as well as Golden Tate. Though decent before Ground Chuck came to town, Dave Brown blossomed into an All-Pro shutdown corner under Knox.

Knox made Seattle a winner and took the Seahawks to the playoffs several times. Critics blamed the coach's conservatism for limited success in the playoffs, and there is something to that, but Knox proved more resourceful than his detractors remember. 

No prisoner to philosophy, Coach did what he needed to do to win. In 1984, after Seattle lost star running back Curt Warner to injury in Week One, he adapted by wisely ditching Ground Chuck and adopting an Air Knox offense. The team rallied around Krieg, who rose to the occasion and posted Dan Fouts-like numbers. In the playoffs against the Raiders--who had eliminated Seattle the previous year en route to a Super Bowl win--Knox confounded the Raider defense by reverting to Ground Chuck and running the ball right at All-Pro defensive end Howie Long. Backup fullback Dan Doornink carried the ball 29 times for 126 yards, and the Seahawks won, 13-7, eliminating the defending Super Bowl champions from the postseason. Long curses Doornink's name to this day, but he should blame Knox.

Backup fullback Dan Doornink (#33) runs over a Raider defender in January 1984 (Credit: Seahawks) 

Unfortunately for Knox, a series of poor personnel decisions by the team's front office squandered draft picks and diluted the team's talent. Coach kept the team competitive, but still got blamed for the team's lack of progress. Matters grew worse when Ken Behring bought the team, fired Knox, and intentionally wrecked it to justify a move to Anaheim. It took more than a decade for the team to recover fully from Behring's vandalism.

Knox had won NFL Coach of the Year honors with the LA Rams & the Bills before earning the award a third time in Seattle. After leaving the Seahawks, he returned to Los Angeles to coach the Rams. He inherited a terrible team and failed to improve it much. After three seasons, the erratic owner fired Knox and moved the franchise to St. Louis.

Coach's mind began fading into the fog of dementia a few years ago, but Seahawk Diehards of a certain vintage will always remember Knox for making Seattle a winner and engineering the team's first Silver Age.

Coach gets carried away by guard Reggie McKenzie (#67)--who came with Knox from Buffalo to Seattle--and other Seahawks in celebration of Seattle's 27-20 win over Miami in January 1984 (Credit: Seattle Times) 

Seahawks trade soul, cut out heart

The Seahawks just jettisoned All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman & Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett (Credit: Seattle Times)

This is madness.

Trading Michael Bennett for nearly nothing makes no sense.

Cutting Richard Sherman makes even less sense.

In addition to degrading roster talent, these personnel decisions eliminate long-established locker room leaders, imperil team identity and morale, and threaten the winning legacy of Coach Pete Carroll.

In nine years with the team, Carroll worked with General Manager John Schneider to build the best defense in team and league history. Through good drafts, inspired recruiting, and careful talent development, they erected an enduring defensive bulwark that allowed fewer points than every other NFL team for an impressive five-year run from 2012-16.

Last year, injuries decimated Seattle defenders, causing the unit's performance to plummet from excellent to just slightly above average.

To their credit, Carroll and Schneider are willing to take bold action restore the team's defensive dominance.

It began with firing defensive coordinator Kris Richard.

Now it continues with a purge of veteran players.

Last year's injury plague hit long-tenured defenders especially hard. Pro Bowl defensive end Cliff Avril and All-Pro strong safety Kam Chancellor sustained serious, potentially career-ending neck injuries.

Early in November, Sherman tore his Achilles--an injury from which some players never fully recover.

Carroll and Schneider have evidently decided to jettison the aging nucleus of our defense before further injuries compromise the unit's performance.

But you don't upgrade the best fortress in league history by demolishing a load-bearing wall and dynamiting the cornerstone at the same time.

Michael Bennett, a Load-Bearing Wall

As the anchor of our defensive line, Bennett rarely left the field.

This is unusual. Defensive linemen have uniquely difficult jobs. They are big men who every down must push through or run around even bigger men (offensive linemen), and then chase and tackle fleeter and more agile men (running backs and quarterbacks). Because this is such exhausting work, most teams rotate defensive linemen consistently to let them catch their breath and keep their legs fresh. Consequently, most starting NFL defensive linemen play less than 60% of their team's defensive snaps.

But not Bennett. The Seahawks have hyperexploited that man since 2014, forcing him to play more than 80% of the team's defensive snaps for four straight seasons.

Last year, Seattle accelerated the hyperexploitation with callous disregard for Bennett's advancing age. At 32 years old, and despite a lingering heel injury, the team made Bennett play 84.7% of Seattle's defensive downs. Only five defensive linemen in the entire league played more downs in 2017, and their average age was 28.

How did Bennett respond to this increasingly brutal regime of hyperexploitation? By playing hard. Every down. Without complaint. By consistently disrupting opposing offenses, and making three Pro Bowls.

There is a cold, actuarial argument for ditching Bennett. Although his body has betrayed no outward signs of breaking down, no man could forever endure what Seattle has been doing to Bennett.

If Carroll and Schneider are right that Bennett is due to lose a step, then a 5th-round pick and a reserve wideout could represent good value for him

But if they're wrong--if Bennett remains capable of playing at a high level--then Seattle just gave away a great talent to our conference rivals, the defending Super Bowl champions.

Moreover, why would the NFL's best athletes want to play for Seattle if we develop a reputation as a team that cynically uses up players and then callously discards them?

The deal provides little immediate salary cap relief. Bennett was due just $6.7 million in 2018--a bargain for a Pro Bowl defensive end. But trading him frees up $20 million in cap space in 2019-20.

The saddest aspect of the Bennett trade is the suspicion that the team may be ousting him for his activism.

Bennett sitting during the national anthem with the support of center Justin Britt (Credit: The Nation)

Bennett angered many by sitting during the national anthem. He did this to express concern over racial injustice, and to show support for Colin Kaepernick, a starting-caliber quarterback apparently blacklisted by NFL teams in 2017 as punishment for his 2016 anthem protests.

I admired how Carroll publicly supported Bennett's freedom of expression. I appreciated Justin Britt's decision to show support for Bennett and the teammates who joined him on the bench. I rejoiced when our generally progressive city and region embraced or at least respected Bennett's activism--in stark contrast to many less enlightened NFL fan bases, which evidently believe that black men forfeit free speech when they sign on as professional athletes.

So, it is disappointing to think the Seahawks may have traded Bennett to rid the team of his activism.

(In my own work as a public educator, I often encounter people who believe I, too, have forfeited free speech as a condition of my employment. For that reason, I offer the following clarifications: I share Bennett's concerns about racial injustice, because I attend to objective reality, listen to people whose experiences differ from my own, and because, as a careful lifelong student of history, I have some concept of the scope and depth of the problem. Even if I did not share Bennett's concerns, I would support his right to protest, because I understand and endorse the Bill of Rights. In the unlikely event that Bennett were to ask my opinion, I would recommend that he protest during the anthem not by sitting--which many construe as disrespectful to veterans who have fought for our country--but by kneeling. Kaepernick himself shifted from sitting to kneeling to show greater respect, at the suggestion of ex-Green Beret Nate Boyer, a former Seahawk. Kaepernick's teammate Eric Reid aptly observed that kneeling "was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy." I would add that kneeling has a football-specific meaning: on the gridiron, we take a knee to show respect for an injured player on the field. By extension, I find it eloquent to take a knee for a country harmed by centuries of continued racial divisions.)

Bennett is a natural leader, but it is hard for outsiders to gauge whether he wielded that power for good or ill in the locker room. The fact that his teammates nominated him for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award, however, suggests that his leadership was probably mostly constructive.

Of course, Bennett is no saint. Penalty-prone, he often jumped offsides and sometimes hit quarterbacks late--sometimes very late. Last December, in the waning seconds of garbage time, he took a blatant cheap shot at an opposing center's knees.

Still, the Seahawks lost more than a load-bearing wall by parting ways with Bennett. The team traded away its soul.

A former Seahawk shares his displeasure with his former defensive coordinator Kris Richard (Credit: Clutch Points)

Richard Sherman, the Cornerstone

Seattle's handling of Richard Sherman is similarly incomprehensible.

Sherm is the nationally notorious face of the franchise. The best corner in the game. First among equals in the Legion of Boom. The greatest Seattle defender of all time--rivalled only by Earl Thomas III. And--after the incomparable Walter Jones--the greatest Seahawk ever.

In cutting Sherman, the team is cutting out its own heart.

Like Bennett, Sherm played hard, with reckless disregard for his body. He knew his Achilles tendon would snap sooner or later, but he gave his all until that happened.

His reward? The team tried to punish him for getting injured by extorting a pay cut from him. Sherm opted to test the market, instead.

Here again, cutting Sherman makes possible actuarial sense. Some players never regain full speed after an Achilles injury.

But Sherm is relatively young, with an impeccable work ethic and a longstanding history of punishing people who underestimate him.

And--again--why would the NFL's best athletes want to play for Seattle if we develop a reputation as a team that cynically uses up players and then callously discards them?

Like Bennett, Sherm is a team leader. But while Bennett makes public statements on national issues, Sherman publicly challenges coaching decisions--including yelling at coaches on the sideline. Carroll tolerated those antics more than most coaches would, but if Sherm were less talented, the team would have cut him long ago.

There may have been good reason to move on from either Bennett or Sherman, but not both at the same time.

If you want to strengthen a fortress, you do not start by knocking down a load-bearing wall and blasting out the cornerstone.

In purely athletic terms, it is hard to imagine finding a serviceable replacement for Sherman or Bennett in the draft or free agency.

It will be harder still for the team to compete in 2018 without its heart and soul.

Beyond Blair Walsh: Blunders, silver linings, and prescriptions from a season of frustration

Choke Machine #7 strikes out again (Source: 24/7 Sports)

Blair Walsh did not blow the game yesterday.

Seahawk coaches should know by now not to bet games on the erratic kicker's foot.

Seattle's final drive began on their own 25-yard line with 2:18 remaining. Always clutch in the 4th quarter, Russell Wilson promptly completed two 20+ yard passes to Doug Baldwin and Jimmy Graham.This gave the Seahawks 1st down on the Arizona 31 at the 2:00 warning--plenty of time to continue the drive.

Instead, Seattle coaches reverted to inexplicable conservatism: A vanilla handoff netted just one yard on first down. After an incomplete pass on second down, the Seahawks basically surrendered, first by calling another lackluster handoff on third down (no gain), and then again by inserting Walsh to attempt a 48-yard field goal.

Scoring from that distance is far from automatic even for the league's best legs. But for a subpar placekicker like Choke Machine #7, 48 yards might as well be 48 miles. This is the guy who almost single-footedly blew the Washington game by missing attempts from 44, 39, and 49 yards--forfeiting 9 points in a game Seattle ultimately lost by a mere 3-point margin. And, yes, this is also the guy who--when he played for Minnesota--averted a Viking victory over the Seahawks in the playoffs by shanking a 27-yard try.

Why, then, would the coaches ask the Shankmeister to go out win this one?

Why, when DangeRuss is by far the league's best 4th-quarter passer, and is also by far the team's leading rusher, would coaches take the ball out of his hands on 3 out of 4 downs on that final series?

Of course, beating the Cardinals would not have won Seattle entry to the playoffs. That close loss to Atlanta back in November gave the Falcons an enduring wing up on the Seahawks in the wild card chase.

Still, losing to Arizona was a big deal. 10-6 would have looked and felt a lot better than 9-7 does.

But 9-7 still feels pretty good.

Longtime Seahawk fans who suffered through the '70s and '90s know not to take any winning season for granted.

If we have grown so accustomed to winning 10+ games and making the playoffs that 9-7 feels like failure, then that attests to the greatness of Coach Pete Carroll, GM John Schneider, and the teams they have built. During their 8-year tenure, Seattle has averaged 9.9 regular season wins per year, earned 6 playoff berths, taken the division title 4 times, won 2 conference championships, and garnered 1 Lombardi Trophy. In that span, only the Patriots have done better; thirty other NFL franchises did worse. Most of them did a lot worse.

Coping with an Unprecedented Plague of Injuries

The Seahawks eked out a winning record despite incredible bad luck on the injury front.

Over the summer, the team's top draft pick--defensive tackle Malik McDowell--screwed Seattle by crashing his ATV and sustaining a concussion so severe that he missed the entire season.

Early in the season, serious injuries robbed Seattle of the services of Pro Bowl defensive end Cliff Avril, our best running back (rookie Chris Carson), third-down back CJ Prosise (again), and--after a promising preseason--left tackle George Fant.

In midseason, injuries sidelined two-thirds of the All-Pro Legion of Boom (strong safety Kam Chancellor and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman).

Late in the year, injuries temporarily sidelined or severely limited several other defensive stalwarts, including All-Pros Earl Thomas III at free safety and Bobby Wagner at linebacker, starting cornerback Shaq Griffin, and Pro Bowl linebacker KJ Wright.

Injuries also afflicted the offense, sidelining the following for several games: costly free agent left guard Luke Joeckel, utility O-lineman Rees Odhiambo, and running backs Thomas Rawls, Mike Davis, and free-agent bust Eddie Lacy.

If--before the season--someone had asked you to forecast Seattle's record and postseason prospects under these wretched conditions, then you probably would not have guessed that the Seahawks would post a winning record and remain in playoff contention until the season's final week.

How did Seattle manifest surprising competence under such trying circumstances? Primarily through Schneider's inspired personnel moves.

It began in the offseason with the signing of several veteran free agents, including starters Joeckel and linebacker Michael Wilhoite, and safety Bradley McDougald, who subbed in ably for both Thomas and Chancellor for much of the season. Defensive back Justin Coleman contributed as expected on special teams, but also came up big in limited duty on defense, evoking the spirit of Big Play Babs by nabbing two clutch pick sixes.

Solid free agent pickups continued in midseason, with the inspired acquisition of All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown from Houston, and the fortunate but unexpected retention of Jeremy Lane. Initially traded for Brown to the Texans, Lane failed his physical, reverted to Seattle, and recovered to shore up a suddenly injury-wracked Seahawk secondary until Legion of Boom veteran Byron Maxwell returned at a bargain rate to reclaim his starting position.

What Seattle Must Fix

Despite these savvy personnel moves, Seattle's season foundered due to several critical and persistent errors.

1. Too Many Penalties. With 148 accepted infractions, Seattle did not just lead the NFL in penalties in 2017. The Seahawks drew more flags than any team since 1998, and became the fifth-filthiest team in league history. (The only dirtier teams were the '89 Oilers, the '98 Chiefs, and the Raiders in '94 and '96.) As I have often observed here, this has been a chronic problem under Carroll, and the cause of too many penalties is sloppy coaching. To his credit, Coach Carroll owned the problem in his postgame remarks yesterday and took responsibility for fixing it.

2. Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell's Terrible Playcalling. I've written this more times than I can count, but here I go again: Bevell's playcalling--especially early in games--is killing us. The Seahawks failed to score on every opening drive in 2017. The lack of offensive production in the first quarter, the first half, the first three quarters--it causes Seattle to fall behind early, increasing pressure on our defense, and forcing our offense to abandon the run prematurely. Bevell tends to find his mojo sometime in the second half--often not until the fourth quarter--but by then it is often too late. Seattle must either find a new offensive coordinator, or augment Bevell with a starting pitcher--someone who can script or call viable plays in the first 2-3 quarters until Bevell enters in relief to close out the game.

3. Poor Placekicking. Sadly, the injury-forced in-season personnel moves created a salary cap crunch that made it impossible for Seattle to cut Walsh and pick up a different kicker during the 2017 campaign. Presumably, Walsh's poor performance this year has compromised his market value. Seattle should invite him to training camp for the veteran minimum, and bring in other cheap kickers to compete for the position in training camp.

4. No Home Field Advantage. The good news was that Seattle posted a 5-3 road record. Sadly, the Seahawks fared worse at home: 4-4. If our team ever intends to see the Super Bowl again, then we need to maintain the level of road success, while reviving the days when opposing teams genuinely feared coming here, when we were nigh unstoppable at home. Last week, Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians taunted Seattle several days before the game by calling Seahawks Stadium Arizona's "home field." Instead of making him pay, our team and fans responded by fulfilling his prophecy and meekly letting him claim one final victory, thus to retire as the winningest coach in the history of that (admittedly dismal) franchise. Pathetic.

Reasons for Hope

1. Russell Wilson remains SuperClutch.

2. The Offensive Line should be better next year. Center Justin Britt (a Pro Bowl alternate in 2016) remains solid. All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown played pretty well despite being hurt much of the season, and will prove even better next year as he grows more used to blocking for the uniquely mobile DangeRuss. Presumably, right tackle Germain Ifedi may mature, learn to block better, and stop leading the league in false starts and holding. If George Fant recovers from injury and returns to preseason form, then he could claim the right tackle position and bump Ifedi inside to guard. Several other young linemen gained valuable experience this year. If left guard Luke Joeckel wants to stick with the team, then he'll have to take a hefty pay cut; he gutted it out bravely through injury, but his play came nowhere close to justifying his fat $7-8 million salary. Presumably, more affordable upgrades are possible through the draft and free agency. Unit coach Tom Cable should enter 2018 with the best raw material he's ever, and that should mean the best Seattle O-Line since Super Bowl XL.

3. Seattle has enough good backs and receivers. Lacy proved a certified bust, and should not return. Rawls never really got going, but Carson. Davis, and third-down back JD McKissic all played as well as our O-line allowed. Pro Bowl wideout Doug Baldwin and Pro Bowl returner/receiver Tyler Lockett will need help, as the team could lose Paul Richardson to free agency, and neither Amara Darboh nor Tanner McEvoy appear ready for larger roles. Seattle should let tight end Jimmy Graham go, resign Luke Willson, and seek bargain upgrades to all offensive skill positions through the draft and free agency.

Causes for Concern

1. The NFC West got a lot better this year. The Rams will remain young, gifted, and well-coached. Arizona and San Francisco both had disappointing years, but finished strong. The Cardinals found their defense, and the 49ers found their quarterback. Winning the division will be harder going forward.

2. Tough personnel decisions loom on defense. As our defensive nucleus ages, injuries have become more of a factor. Avril and Chancellor may not be able to return. Sherman threatened to leave last year, and the team may be loath to roll the dice on his Achilles recovery. Many key defenders have a year or less remaining on their contracts, including two out of three starting linebackers (Wilhoite & Wright), defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, and defensive ends Michael Bennett, Frank Clark, and Dion Jordan, and several defensive backs: Thomas, McDougald, Maxwell, Shead, and Coleman.

3. Jon Ryan, probable cap casualty. The defense's 12th Man--punter Jon Ryan--also needs a new contract. Unless he gets sentimental and settles at a bargain rate, Seattle will compound inconsistent placekicking with uncertainty at the punter position.

Fortunately, Carroll and Schneider have a long-established history of making sensibly coldhearted personnel decisions to retain the best players while finding and developing bargain talent. Seattle should win more games and qualify for the playoffs in 2018.