An embarrassment of roster riches

The conventional wisdom is that Seattle needs to keep the team together to repeat as Super Bowl champions. That is neither possible nor desirable. The goal is to retain enough players to maintain chemistry while integrating upgraded talent.

The Seahawks soar into free agency and the draft in an enviable personnel situation. Let us count the ways:

1) We just won a Super Bowl with the league's deepest roster. Our only real weakness is the offensive line.

2) Because Seattle just won a Super Bowl, players will take less money to stay with or to join our team, in the hopes of winning a championship.
3) The Great Collaborators (Coach Carroll and GM John Schneider) evidently intend to exploit the rookie salary cap by grooming young talent to make players expendable when they reach free agency and demand too much money. Our roster is so deep on defense that there are no must-keep free agents. Smart personnel moves and great coaching have apparently created an inexhaustible pipeline of young, fast and interchangeable defensive backs, linebackers and D-linemen. Michael Bennett is a great football player, and it would be great to keep him, but if the market bids up his price to an unreasonable level, we'll be fine without him. We could get by without drafting any defensive players, but watch us draft a bunch of them, anyway. (Prediction: Bruce Irvin gets cut or traded.)

4) We have barely tapped into the potential of our 2013 rookies. They were a talented group, but because our veteran roster was so good and so deep, the younglings had trouble making the team and competing to earn playing time. Injuries at tight end pressed 5th rounder Luke Willson into service. Attrition on the O-line gave 7th rounder Michael Bowie some playing time. Our top draft pick--2nd round running back Christine Michael--was inactive most games, and when active, he rarely played, getting just a few chances to run the ball in garbage time. 3rd round defensive tackle Jordan Hill played sparingly in just 3 games. Several Seahawk rookies--5th round defensive tackle Jesse Williams, 5th round cornerback Tharold Simon and 6th round running back Spencer Ware--were placed on injured reserve, probably less for health reasons than to ensure that other teams could not steal them. Rival teams did in fact scavenge two players from our practice squad: the Packers jacked 4th round wideout Chris Harper, and the 49ers jumped our claim to 7th round guard Ryan Seymour. The only draftee we cut--7th round defensive end Ty Powell--caught on with the Bills. The 2013 rookies who remain with the team will return to vie for roster spots next year against other incumbents and against new free agents and the 2014 draft class.

5) We are set at running back. There's little point in bringing in more competition when we won't be able to keep all of our incumbents. Beast Mode is a given, but Robert Turbin's role as his backup will be contested by Christine Michael. The Aggie already runs better than Turbo, but he played sparingly, due to his shortcomings as a blocker. Presumably, Michael will have had plenty of time to learn pass protection and should be more of a factor next year. We could wind up keeping all three again.

6) We are also set at fullback. In fact, it's a serious logjam. When all three are healthy, it will be fascinating to see which two fullbacks survive the competition among veteran team leader Michael Robinson ("the Real Rob"), Derrick "Deaf Jam" Coleman and "Drunk Drivin'" Spencer Ware. Ware could still be stashed on the practice squad if he is odd man out, and if he can stay on the straight and narrow. I'd like to see Rob make the team again, if for no other reason than to keep alive my fantasy that our offense will install a fullback pass trick play for the ex-Penn State quarterback.

7) We have the most enviable quarterback situation in the league. Russell Wilson is a unique talent, an elite quarterback, and by far the the league's best bargain with a modest contract befitting his status as a projected 3rd round rookie backup. Tarvaris Jackson's respectable background as a starter makes him one of the league's best backups. Practice squad passer B.J. Daniels is a DangeRuss clone in terms of height, speed and monster college numbers, but it remains to be seen if he can make a similarly successful transition to the pro game and push T-Jack for the backup job. It wouldn't hurt to add a late-round draft pick or free agent rookie quarterback to the mix, but neither is it essential to do so, except to have extra throwing arms in training camp.


8) Anthony McCoy's return from injury means we shall have talent to spare at the tight end position. Seattle uses starter Zach Miller primarily as a blocker, failing to capitalize on his established capacity as an elite receiving tight end. Unfortunately, in all likelihood it's time for Miller to head elsewhere, unless he's willing to take a pay cut to stay with the team. Seattle would be OK with McCoy, blocking specialist Kellen Davis and Luke Willson, a decent blocker who has shown dynamic potential as a receiver. However, we also have Cooper Heifet stashed on the practice squad, and Seattle recently signed Travis Beckum, free agent blocking tight end.

9) We are better off at wide receiver than the conventional wisdom would have it. Percy Harvin will dominate when healthy.Sidney Rice should have accepted a massive pay cut to stay in Seattle. He owes us. Rice has contributed when healthy, but the team has had to carry him while he missed much of the 2011 and 2013 seasons with injuries. It's hard to imagine another team paying much for an injury-prone receiver who has missed multiple games in 3 of his last 4 seasons. The impending release of Rice means we're in the market for a tall wideout to replace him, and that might be the 6'5" Chris Matthews, a Winnipeg Blue Bomber and 2012 Canadian Football League rookie of the year, who's coming off an injury-marred 2013 season. Golden Tate should settle for a reasonable salary with Seattle, because he's unlikely to develop the chemistry he has with DangeRuss anywhere else, and because he may not start if he stays. (His natural role is as a slot receiver, not a wideout.) Dawg alum Jermaine Kearse and the "Philippine Dream" Doug Baldwin add depth with starting potential. If we find great receiving talent in the draft, we could use it, but we don't need it.

10) Given that we're OK everywhere else, we can afford to devote this draft to shoring up the offensive line. Center Max Unger and left tackle Russell Okung are the only Pro Bowlers and absolute keepers. O-line coach Tom Cable did a great job of getting decent play out of the other modest talents on this injury-wracked unit, but it's time for a literal ton of upgraded talent (that's about 6 linemen). If, in any round of the draft, there is good O-line talent available, Seattle should grab it. The only thing standing between our team and offensive greatness is the play of our offensive line. If we could build an elite O-line, then DangeRuss would post monster passing numbers like Drew Brees and Beast Mode could break the single season NFL rushing record. (If Skittles can run for 1200-1600 yards behind a good-to-average line, then he could easily beastify 2000+ yards if we could complement Okung and Unger with comparable talent.) Right tackle Breno Giacomini is a decent player who has learned to master his nasty attitude, but he needs to take a pay cut or get out of town. Right guard J.R. Sweezy is functional but not dominant. Paul McQuistan is a versatile and capable backup, but as long as he's starting, we won't have an elite O-line. James Carpenter was a first round bust at tackle and isn't very good at guard, either. He needs to step up or get cut. 2013 rookies Alvin Bailey and Michael Bowie showed flashes of potential. On the bright side, Lemuel Jeanpierre is a clutch backup who filled in admirably at center when Unger was out with injury. He can play guard in a pinch as well.

Triumph

It was great to see the 12th Man take over the stadium and elicit the safety suffered by Denver on the game's first offensive snap.

It was even better to see the Seahawks deliver the beatdown of Denver I dreamt of in my last post.

We original diehards have been waiting for this moment since 1976.

Let us enjoy our championship and temper the talk about repeating. We have a target on our backs going forward, we remain in the toughest division in the tougher conference, and we have our work cut out for us in terms of retaining and improving this tremendous team.

The odium that is Denver

It's a great day to be a Seahawks fan.

Last night we received confirmation that Walter Jones will be a first-ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining fellow Seahawks Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy. Big Walt was not only the greatest Seahawk in team history, he was the best offensive tackle ever to play the game. .

Tonight, Seattle faces Denver in the Super Bowl.

Thanks to the appeal of Peyton Manning and the notoriety of Richard Sherman, the Broncos appear to be America's sentimental favorite to win this game. According to a survey of social media, Denver fans outnumber Seattle fans 4-to-1.





On the other hand, more people seem to be shopping for Seahawks gear...



Source: http://www.sli-systems.com/blog/2014/01/denver-or-seattle-online-shopping-behavior-shows-fan-popularity-for-super-bowl-2014.html

These results may seem contradictory, but they are actually reconcilable: Seattle supporters are probably genuine fans who would be more motivated to buy team merchandise. The Broncos have genuine fans, too, but most of their support is probably soft--that is, people rooting for Denver because they want to see Richard Sherman receive his comeuppance, or because Peyton Manning is a charming pitchman with a comeback story that tugs at the heartstrings. Soft supporters typically don't buy team merchandise.

Fortunately, fan opinion doesn't decide football games. Most of the country was rooting for San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game, but it was the athletes on the field and the 12th Man in the stands who determined the outcome, from Beast Mode to Doug Baldwin's superclutchness to our suffocating defense causing Colin Kaepernick to melt down and choke the game away in the 4th quarter.

Fan opinion won't decide the Super Bowl tonight, either. It was sweet to stab a figurative talon in the eyes of all of those Niner fans two weeks ago, and it will be equally sweet to do the same to all of the misguided Bronco fans today.

Everyone seems to think this will be a close game, and they may be right. This battle pits not just the best offense versus the best defense in 2013, but possibly the best offense and defense in the history of the National Football League.

But this should not be close. Denver deserves nothing less than total humiliation tonight.

That may seem harsh. Peyton seems like a good guy, but he neither needs nor deserves this win, neither to secure his legacy nor for any other reason.

The fact is that Manning has a history of working for evil men.

In Indianapolis, he served the Irsays, the clan of scoundrels who stole the Colts from Baltimore in the dark of night. It wasn't his fault that Indianapolis drafted him, but he didn't have to stay with that tainted franchise as long as he did.

When the Colts jettisoned him, Manning had an opportunity to be a Seahawk.

Instead, he chose to work for this odious villain:



Latecomers to the Seattle bandwagon may find this hard to understand, but John Elway is our nemesis.

The Seahawks shared a division with Denver from 1977-2001. As the Bronco's quarterback for most of that span (1983-99), Elway was the equine face of that rivalry.

When Chuck Knox and Dave Krieg led the team, it was a real rivalry. The Seahawks split the series with the Broncos in those years, tormenting Elway as much as he tormented us. However, when Ken Behring wrecked the team, Denver dominated us, and we wasted a misspent decade watching his hideous horseface grin with gloating glee twice a year after the Broncos trampled our hapless Hawks.


Elway is now the Broncos executive credited with reviving the team's fortunes.

We will never have an opportunity to sack or intercept him on the field, but we can begin to exact karmic equivalence by treating Manning as if he were an Elway voodoo doll.

I want the 12th Man to take over the stadium.

I want the Legion of Boom to brutalize the Bronco receiving corps and set a Super Bowl record for pick sixes.

I want our front seven to blow through their vaunted offensive line to flatten Manning and school Knowshon Moreno.

I want our O-Line to step up and take over the game.

I want Beast Mode cranked up to maximum Skittles.

I want Percy Harvin to earn a year's pay in one day.

I want the rest of our reviled receiving corps to show that they are legitimate NFL starters.

I want DangeRuss to shred the Denver D with his fleet feet and his big arm.

Send the Broncos to the glue factory.

Go, Hawks!

Offensive

A lot of people are picking the 49ers to win today because they're riding an impressive 8-game winning streak.

And because the Seahawks have been fading. After starting 11-1, we have dropped two of our last five games, one of them in San Francisco, and the other a demoralizing home loss to Arizona. Last week, Seattle almost let the Saints come back late in the game.

Our offense is the problem. The Sea-fence stifles our opponents so reliably that we should dominate time of possession, but we seldom do, due to our inability to sustain drives and score points when we have the ball. Consequently, our defenders get worn down. Against New Orleans, after shutting down the league's most potent passing attack for three full quarters, our defense got tired and started yielding yards and points.

It starts with coaching. The team's recent offensive slump probably doomed Darrell Bevell as a head coaching candidate this year, and with good reason. Last month, the 49ers figured out our offense. They showed how a good defense could load the box, limit our run game, play zone to smother our receivers and deploy a spy to neutralize Russell Wilson. Subsequent opponents have tried to replicate that formula. Arizona had the defensive talent to pull it off and humiliate us at home. New Orleans nearly did it, too: the Saints consistently shut down our passing attack, but they could not stop BeastQuake II.

Remarkably, Bevell has so far failed to rise to this challenge as offensive coordinator.

Aside from a few plays designed for Percy Harvin, there have been no discernible changes in our offensive schemes. Harvin provided a brief spark, but he's out again today.

Russell Wilson is in the worst slump of his life. He hasn't played a good game in more than six weeks. Once clutch, calm, accurate and decisive, Wilson now seems tentative, and with good reason. Our schemes don't work, and he knows it. His receivers can't get open. Our offensive line remains porous on passing downs, and the run blocking isn't great, either. (Tom Cable won't be a head coach this year, either.)

Beast Mode took the offense on his shoulders last week, and he'll try to do so again, but that won't be easy against San Francisco's solid defensive line and all-world linebacking corps.

Darrell Bevell could help by designing an offensive game plan to frustrate San Francisco's assumptions. We know their secondary can normally shut down our present complement of wideouts, but can their linebackers divide their attention between their expected duties (shutting down Lynch and spying on Wilson) and some unanticipated ones (e.g., covering tight ends, running backs and perhaps an eligible tackle on pass routes out of run formations)? A few unexpected wrinkles can throw a defense off balance, bolster your team's confidence and help even your bread-and-butter offensive plays work better.

Our special teams also need work. The 49ers blocked a punt in each of its two regular season games against Seattle. The Seahawks can't let that happen today, nor can we allow another successful onside kick, as we did against New Orleans last week.

The defense remains the strength of our team. With help from the 12th Man, they should be able to limit the 49ers.

Seattle needs to win this game. Championship opportunities are rare, and this team has an opportunity to surpass the 2005 Seahawks as the best in franchise history.

It's also important to piss off the world. The Washington Post ran this map of the United States showing the percentage of Facebook users in each county that support the Seahawks vs. the 49ers: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/files/2014/01/original.png

The map shows strong support for Seattle in only five states: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. The other 45 states are rooting for San Francisco. Every single one of those other states needs their eyes torn out by our talons.

Everyone is predicting a close game, but I hope they're wrong.

I want another beatdown.

I want BeastQuake III.

I want DangeRuss to get his groove back.

I want Michael Robinson to show Navarro Bowman what a hard hit feels like.

I want Zach Miller to become again the dominant receiving tight end he once was.

I want Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse to break out.

I want Golden Tate to take a punt return to the house.

I want Frank Gore to discover the real Inconvenient Truth: opponents can't run the ball in Seahawks Stadium.

I want the 12th Man to keep confusing quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

I want the Legion of Boom will abuse his receivers and pick off his passes.

I want Big Red Bryant to flatten leadfooted left guard Mike Iupati and toss his QB like a rag doll.

I want Jim Harbaugh to wonder what our deal is.

Kap will not kiss his biceps, but he will eat FieldTurf.

Go, Hawks!

Saints vs. Seahawks

For the fifth time in seven weeks, the Seahawks have to deal with some saints.

It began with blowing out the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football back on December 2nd.

The following week, Seattle lost narrowly to San Francisco.

In the season finale, the Seahawks humiliated St. Louis.

During the first-round postseason bye, Jude--patron saint of the impossible--evidently worked a miracle cure for Percy Harvin.

This afternoon, of course, the New Orleans Saints return to Seahawks Stadium, the scene of serial prime time crimes, the epicenter of the 2011 BeastQuake that buried the defending Super Bowl champions, and the field on which Seattle thoroughly dominated them just last month.

This time, the Saints get to face the Beast and Legion of Boom in broad daylight, but presumably the 12th Man will be just as loud. (An NFL Network teaser last night promised that this morning's pregame coverage would show "How the Saints can silence the 12th Man." I didn't tune in to watch, because I assume New Orleans lacks the medical manpower to anesthetize 67,000 fans and excise their larynges.

The Saints arrive emboldened by their road win over the Eagles last week and determined to avenge their earlier humiliation at our hands (talons?). Presumably, New Orleans will put up a better fight today. Even nonaligned fans must salivate at the prospect of a rematch between the all-world Saints offense and the all-world Seattle defense.

Our failure to handle Arizona at home last month should inoculate the Seahawks against a letdown today. With the cathartic beatdown of St. Louis in Week 17, Seattle made a good start toward restoring our reputation for invincibility at home, but a loss today would all but erase that small beginning.

The win over the Rams did not prove that the Seahawk offense is back on track. In those two December defeats, San Francisco and Arizona figured out how to stay safe from DangeRuss and keep Marshawn in Least Mode. Of course, subsequent opponents will try to use the same schemes to stymie our offense  St. Louis lacked the secondary talent and the team discipline to execute those schemes, so Seattle moved the ball well enough against the Rams. Unfortunately, New Orleans has good corners and safeties, and Rob Ryan has the Saints playing good, disciplined defense.

Hopefully, with rest and self-scouting during the bye week, plus Percy Harvin, our offense will return to form.

Go, Hawks!

When the Saints go down in flames

[To the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In"]

Oh, when the Saints go down in flames
Oh, when the Saints go down in flames
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh, when their ears begin to bleed
Oh, when their ears begin to bleed
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh, when Drew Brees gets sacked and picked
Oh, when Drew Brees gets sacked and picked
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh, when Big Kam earholes Jim Graham
Oh, when Big Kam earholes Jim Graham
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh when Wilson is DangeRuss
Oh when Wilson is DangeRuss
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh, when the state feels the BeastQuake
Oh, when the state feels the BeastQuake
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Oh, when the Saints go down in flames
Oh, when the Saints go down in flames
How I wish I were with the 12th Man
When the Saints go down in flames

Seattle slump

Seahawk players and coaches have hewn admirably to the party line, insisting that the team's recent woes do not constitute a crisis.

Most analysts continue to rank Seattle as the league's top team.

In Vegas, we opened the week as 10-point favorites over St. Louis, and have since grown to 12-point favorites.

The fact is that the Seahawks are in a slump, having dropped two of the last three games.

I was not shaken by the loss in San Francisco 3 weeks ago. Seattle nearly beat a potent opponent on the road. The 49ers were fortunate to escape with a win.

However, last week's shattering debacle should have rattled even the most fervent diehard. Puzzling failures on offense and special teams squandered a heroic performance by the defense.

Wasted chances

How do you lose a game when the defense picks off Arizona's quarterback four times? Answer: When an anemic offense fails to capitalize on those turnovers. The payoff for those four picks was four kicks: two punts, one shanked chip shot, and a successful field goal for a grand total of three points. Pathetic.



When the habitually clutch choke...

That failed field goal still rankles. Stephen Hauschka entered the game as the most accurate placekicker in the NFL, having nailed 30 of 31 field goals (97%). He had not missed a field goal from under 40 yards since the 2011 season finale. That inhuman accuracy is testimony to the consistent clutchness of the entire placekicking unit: it takes good blocking, dead-on deep snapping and remarkable dexterity on the part of the holder routinely to create optimal opportunities for the kicker.

In this case, clutchness morphed into putzness as Clint Gresham fired back a high snap. Jon Ryan deftly caught the errant ball and got it on the ground, but his heroics created a split-second delay in his choreography with Hauschka, who choked and shanked the kick, sending the pigskin clanging ominously off the left upright.

We also choked on kick returns. The coaches did not choose running back Robert Turbin to return kickoffs because he is a threat to break a big one and take it to the house; he isn't. Rather, they gave him the job due solely to his knack for ball security. Before last Sunday, Turbo had never fumbled even once in his 2-year NFL career over the course of 182 touches (150 rushes, 27 receptions, 5 kick returns). However, at home against the Cardinals last week, Turbo chose to choke by carrying the ball loosely and fumbling not once, but twice. An Arizona penalty erased his first fumble, but his second giveaway stood, leading to Turbin's abrupt termination as kick returner.

 Everyone chokes sometimes, even the clutchest players. Normally, a good team can overcome a few isolated chokes. However, on the same day that our clutchest special teams player choked, many of the team's clutchest offensive players also choked.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, one of the league's most accurate passers, choked by missing several open receivers.

Our wide receivers choked by not getting open.

Doug Baldwin entered the game as the NFL's most reliable wideouts, with a 2013 catch rate of 74% (i.e., 49 receptions in 66 targets). Uncharacteristically, he choked against Arizona, catching only only one pass in 6 targets (17%) against Arizona. Baldwin earned partial redemption through two nice kickoff returns in relief of Turbo.

The offensive line choked, struggling with run blocking and failing to protect Wilson from a tough Cardinals pass rush.

When coaches fail

Our offensive coaches failed by...

1) Failing to exploit Arizona's notorious inability to stop tight ends. Zach Miller was one of the top receiving tight ends in the league before he came to Seattle. Unfortunately for him, he's also a capable blocker. The Seahawks tend to relegate him to blocking duties and deny him opportunities to catch the ball. Although on the field for 48 snaps, he grabbed only one reception on three targets. Backup tight ends Luke Willson and Kellen Davis combined for 17 snaps and one reception on one target.


2) Failing to use our fullbacks. We fielded a fullback on only 6 of our 52 offensive snaps. The team has two good blocking backs in Michael Robinson and Derrick Coleman. Fullbacks open holes for running backs, protect the quarterback on passing downs, and can catch the ball out of the backfield.


3) Failing to throw the ball to Marshawn Lynch. Beast Mode has emerged as a capable receiver this year. Using running backs as outlet receivers is a great way to punish overeager pass rushers and counter smothering coverage of your wideouts.

4) Failing to use Christine Michael. He is rarely active on game days, but he was active last week, and the kid can run the ball when given the chance. Before the season began, I dreamt of a relentless rotation of big running backs with fresh legs wearing down opposing defenses: Beast Mode, Turbo, Michael, Beast Mode, Turbo, Michael, etc. Given Turbo's problems with ball security, I understand why he was limited to one offensive snap, but failing to use Michael was incomprehensible.

5) Sticking to a game plan that wasn't working. From the beginning of the game, Seattle came out in three receiver sets, presumably trying to exploit something we saw in the Arizona defense. But our receivers couldn't get open against a deep and talented Cardinals secondary. Still, the Seahawks stubbornly stuck to that game plan throughout the contest. When it became clear that wasn't working, why not try something else? Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The collective offensive failure gave Arizona almost a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession. When an offense loses time of possession that badly, even the world's best football defense gets worn down.

Catastrophic officiating

Even with all of the choking and the bad coaching, Seattle could have won the game if the referees had ruled properly.

I do not mean the Rashard Mendenhall fumble that the officials refused to recognize. Their refusal was understandable, given the technological limitations currently in place. From one view, you could see the ball coming loose but not whether his knee had yet touched down. From the other vantage, you could see his knee touching down, but not where the ball was at the time. A simple technological fix could resolve the matter: If the footage were accompanied by a running clock showing minutes, seconds and tenths of seconds, then the clock could help the officials establish the relative timing of the two events.

No, I mean the absurd ruling that ended Seattle's final drive of the game. With more than two minutes remaining, I had every faith that DangeRuss would rise to the occasion, and the Seahawks would drive down the field and score a touchdown to tie the game and send the contest into overtime. Unfortunately, when a ball intended for Baldwin bounced off the turf and into the arms of a Cardinals defensive back, the referees chose to call that an interception. Perhaps the officials thought they were officiating a 19th-century baseball game, where a one-hop catch put the batter out. The replay clearly showed a cloud of Field Turf fragments erupting from the spot where the ball hit the ground, but apparently that wasn't indisputable visual evidence for the learned referees. Nor did the officials possess the rudimentary knowledge of physics to tell them that the ball's lively bounce was explicable only if it had rebounded from the turf. If the ball had bounced off of Baldwin's arm, as they claimed, it would have hardly bounced at all. I can't believe I managed to finish that paragraph without resort to multiple expletives.

All in all, last week's game was an exceedingly improbable perfect storm of chokage by athletes, coaches and officials. It takes a village to orchestrate a home loss for the Seahawks.

The cost of failure

Let us count the costs imposed by last week's defeat:

1) Seattle could forfeit pole position in the postseason. The Seahawks can still win the division and secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs by beating St. Louis today. However, if we lose and San Francisco beats the Cardinals in Arizona, then the 49ers win the division and Seattle would drop to the #5 seed as a wild card team.

2) Now people think they can win in Seahawks Stadium. For nearly two years, we built the myth that with the 12th Man behind them, Seattle was invincible. That reputation is now shot. Our home field advantage just became a lot less advantageous. The probability of a road win in Seattle for any visitor just grew from impossible to merely difficult. It will take many months to rebuild the mystique.

3) Russell Wilson will not be the league MVP. Probably nothing could have stopped Peyton Manning from receiving his fifth recognition as the league's most valuable player. This is unfortunate, because Manning doesn't deserve it this year. Yes, his record-setting performance caps a heroic comeback from a devastating injury, but that team was built around him. Any decent quarterback would thrive behind that line with that all-star cast of receivers. But no other quarterback in the world could have done what DangeRuss did in Seattle this year, leading his team to 11 victories while running for his life behind an injury-wracked offensive line and an injury-depleted receiving corps. People were starting to notice, but that one bad game took Wilson out of MVP contention.

4) Seattle keeps getting outcoached on offense. When offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is in a playcalling groove, and when DangeRuss is executing like Robespierre during the Reign of Terror, Seattle's offense has appeared unstoppable. While opposing defenses could load the box to limit Beast Mode, they couldn't seem to figure out how to contain Wilson in the pocket, and seemed perpetually astonished by his ability to defeat the blitz and find open receivers. However, twice this month--in San Francisco and against Arizona last week--it looked like defenses had figured out our offense. Under pressure, yet unable to escape the pocket, our quarterback often could not find open receivers. Sometimes, it seemed that defenders knew where Wilson was going to throw the ball before he or his receivers did. Our opponents will follow this formula until the Seahawks find a way to defeat it.

Silver linings

Even in defeat, Seattle keeps it close. If we lose, we lose narrowly. The Seahawks haven't lost a game by more than a 7-point margin since November 6, 2011 in Dallas.

Seattle tends to rally after losses. The last time Seattle lost two consecutive games was in October 2012, and those were road games in San Francisco and Detroit. The last time the Seahawks lost two home games in a row was in October 2011 (to Atlanta and Cincinnati, splitting two road games in between). The last time Seattle lost two back-to-back home games was in November 2008, the season of Mike Holmgren's dirgelike swan song.
The Seahawks have owned the Rams, winning 16 of the last 18 contests against St. Louis. Unfortunately, Jeff Fisher is a great coach presiding over a very talented roster. We barely beat the Rams earlier this year. St. Louis sacked Wilson seven times and took Lynch down from Beast Mode to Kitten Mode, holding him to 23 yards and the team as a whole to merely 44 yards on the ground.


It should be a good game, but I'm praying for a cathartic beatdown to put the league on notice and restore some of the lost luster to Seahawks Stadium and the 12th Man.

Go, Hawks!