Negative EPA is better for defense. You can see here the four defenses with the most-negative EPA are Houston, Cleveland, us and the Rams: https://sumersports.com/teams/defensive/
Are we Atlanta's consolation prize? Only if we let ourselves be, and I don't think that's the way the team is wired. Make it obvious early we're not about to play with our food, and after the 1st quarter they'll know.....there is no joy to be found here.
One of the raps on Morris is that he’s been unable to hire a good staff. Football applies the Peter Principle remorselessly, as Shane Waldron, Clint Hurt, and any number of head coaches can attest. Heck, in the end the failure to effectively replace departing assistants was a big part of Pete Carroll’s undoing.
My guess is that this was a due diligence thing: Although Schneider already knew who he wanted, he had to have a fallback. Do you recall who else got a second interview?
Why I posted earlier this week that I’m concerned about this game. It’s away. We’re 0-1 in away games. I hope Coach Mac is emphasizing that. I do hope as you’ve done here SJ, that he knows, or like the infamous Replacements Coach of legend “there is no tomorrow for you. That makes you dangerous people”. The one small gap for the Hawks, short passes to TE and Backs. Robinson is a very good RB who can break it at anytime. Pitts highest drafted TE and can play. Getting Love back to break rust off is good. But can’t look past the Falcons. We’re 0-1 on the road.
My prediction is that the defense and RBs eat and that the passing game is conservative with some explosive passes on first down.
Why? EJ4 is back, and ATL’s running game will be stuffed. Depending on tackling, they might get some explosives, but they won’t get consistency. This will give the defense some 3rd and longs with a static QB. What’s the record for sacks from a DT tandem?
On the flip side, let them blitz. Their run defense is weak, and we can get K9 and #22 to the edge before you can say, “Watch out, Sam!” Charbs and the big guys will go on the field on the occasional first down, so they can watch JSN and play action burn Cover-1 a few times.
Atlanta’s rage will turn to frustration and M.O.B will keep the Seahawks focused on the goal.
With the ink about the recent shutout being about the QB, the defense is feeling disrespected. Leonard Williams is ninth in Pro Bowl voting. Grrr. The offense got punked by a blitzing team. They won’t want that two weeks in a row. They’ve got fresh teaching tape to work from. While the Falcons will be desperate, the Seahawks will be quietly seething. Our team is at least as motivated, and also has confidence in the plan. There is no trap in this game.
Don't fret the competition. BE the competition. Good game for JR to come back in on. If Atlanta wants Rough, we'll give them ROUGH and go off the leash. Your call.
Who we will see and who they have been will be 2 different things this Sunday. We go into their House expected to win by a TD+1.5. That insult will rankle any pro (and should). Welcome to enforced parity. Gonna get physical.
Strong missive, SSJ - I can see the tooth gap in each quote! You selected well, bypassing the trite ones (“in the dictionary” “good loser”)
One tiny disagreement - Kirk is not Sam Darnold. 4th round Kirk wasn’t evaluated & drafted #3, he doesn’t “have a hose,” and Kirk’s grandpa was not the Marlboro man!
I think this is the week we see Cam Akers? Also, this is the week Darnold resets his passing game. 3+ TD passes 250+ yards, JSN gets 125+ yards, Shaheed gets an explosive TD reception, Walker continues to improve his run and pass game. Defense holds the Falcons to single digits and gets 4+ sacks. It’s time for Spoon and Emmanwori to get their picks. There will be no sleeping on MM’s watch. This will not be a NY Giant game. Seattle will cover with plenty to spare and despite the lack of scoring by the Falcons, the over is where the money is.
Yeah, I've had the chance to watch him quite a bit when he was on the Vikings. I like Akers and hope he gets the opportunity to contribute to this team.
Jeff Ulbrich's claim to fame: leaving his iPad, which had sensitive contact information on it, accessible to his son who turned around and pranked Shedeur Sanders during the draft.
LOVE this! A couple things come to mind; I n my working life (back in the last century) I occasionally assisted in the capture and relocating wild animals in the Cascades and later in the Olympics . I was warned that as you get closer to confined critters they get more aggressive. I noticed that there is a point at which they rage. Not saying football players are wild animals but the fight for survival is maybe similar. At any rate hawks need to be ready for rage.
I don't mean to sound like Marlon Perkins. I wasn't a wildlife biologist, I was just the muscle very rarely helping to do the packing and loading and mostly standing around for 'just in case" situations. Was very interesting though.
I love this, those Lombardi quotes are legendary!! He is also attributed with another one I use all the time myself (and I think Coach MacDonald agrees with 100%):
"Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect".
That's the cool side of this article. The foreboding part of this article is we seem to be going from trap game to trap game -- thought the Titans game was, thought the Vikings game was, and this one definitely is. Hope like hell one of these doesn't bite us -- as you say, Falcons could be the one...
I think trap game is another way of saying that this is the NFL and these guys have nothing left in football after their careers are over. In high school, you have college. In college, you have the NFL. But this is the pinnacle. After this you have...working out? Maybe if you're one of the lucky few, you get a broadcasting opportunity? That's not even really an aspiration to most of these guys. So Kirk Cousins is using 7 days this week to prepare for the Seahawks, not 4 or 5 or 6. Because he may not have anything left after this.
The other thing that’s high risk for us is how many times these “nothing to lose” coaches decide to go for it on 4th down. Almost anything 4th and 5 or shorter, near midfield, they’re going for it.
I’m hoping we have no trap games because the Hawks end up beating all the teams they “should”. I hate the sour taste left by losing to teams that have no business beating you.
Negative EPA is better for defense. You can see here the four defenses with the most-negative EPA are Houston, Cleveland, us and the Rams: https://sumersports.com/teams/defensive/
Are we Atlanta's consolation prize? Only if we let ourselves be, and I don't think that's the way the team is wired. Make it obvious early we're not about to play with our food, and after the 1st quarter they'll know.....there is no joy to be found here.
Yeah, Cousins could be starving after this one.
One of the raps on Morris is that he’s been unable to hire a good staff. Football applies the Peter Principle remorselessly, as Shane Waldron, Clint Hurt, and any number of head coaches can attest. Heck, in the end the failure to effectively replace departing assistants was a big part of Pete Carroll’s undoing.
Knowing how hard it is to crew up, we can expect OCs and DCs deciding to stick with teams they have found success with?
True. It's hard to believe Seattle went to a second interview with Raheem, if I recall.
My guess is that this was a due diligence thing: Although Schneider already knew who he wanted, he had to have a fallback. Do you recall who else got a second interview?
Mike Kafka.
I’m pretty sure that things worked out for the best.
Pearce had a DNP today and is questionable for Sunday.
Oh wow, that's a surprising additions. Yeesh.
The game will be over by the end of the first quarter.
I'd gladly take another Saints game.
I always worry about teams with nothing to lose. "If you see a fork in the road..take it."
Why I posted earlier this week that I’m concerned about this game. It’s away. We’re 0-1 in away games. I hope Coach Mac is emphasizing that. I do hope as you’ve done here SJ, that he knows, or like the infamous Replacements Coach of legend “there is no tomorrow for you. That makes you dangerous people”. The one small gap for the Hawks, short passes to TE and Backs. Robinson is a very good RB who can break it at anytime. Pitts highest drafted TE and can play. Getting Love back to break rust off is good. But can’t look past the Falcons. We’re 0-1 on the road.
Another great quote there.
My prediction is that the defense and RBs eat and that the passing game is conservative with some explosive passes on first down.
Why? EJ4 is back, and ATL’s running game will be stuffed. Depending on tackling, they might get some explosives, but they won’t get consistency. This will give the defense some 3rd and longs with a static QB. What’s the record for sacks from a DT tandem?
On the flip side, let them blitz. Their run defense is weak, and we can get K9 and #22 to the edge before you can say, “Watch out, Sam!” Charbs and the big guys will go on the field on the occasional first down, so they can watch JSN and play action burn Cover-1 a few times.
Atlanta’s rage will turn to frustration and M.O.B will keep the Seahawks focused on the goal.
With the ink about the recent shutout being about the QB, the defense is feeling disrespected. Leonard Williams is ninth in Pro Bowl voting. Grrr. The offense got punked by a blitzing team. They won’t want that two weeks in a row. They’ve got fresh teaching tape to work from. While the Falcons will be desperate, the Seahawks will be quietly seething. Our team is at least as motivated, and also has confidence in the plan. There is no trap in this game.
27-10.
I like your predictions.
Don't fret the competition. BE the competition. Good game for JR to come back in on. If Atlanta wants Rough, we'll give them ROUGH and go off the leash. Your call.
Who we will see and who they have been will be 2 different things this Sunday. We go into their House expected to win by a TD+1.5. That insult will rankle any pro (and should). Welcome to enforced parity. Gonna get physical.
Absolutely. The stakes of playing a team ranked as highly as Seattle could bring Atlanta together.
Your Missy Elliot quote was way better than the Lombardi quote btw
I knew someone would appreciate that!
Keep em coming lol
Strong missive, SSJ - I can see the tooth gap in each quote! You selected well, bypassing the trite ones (“in the dictionary” “good loser”)
One tiny disagreement - Kirk is not Sam Darnold. 4th round Kirk wasn’t evaluated & drafted #3, he doesn’t “have a hose,” and Kirk’s grandpa was not the Marlboro man!
Let’s keep Sam!
Yeah much different players, just that one small comparison about how he won a lot of games with Kevin O'Connell.
Kirk Cousins better have his Keds on. I wonder about his mobility after his ACL tear.
Achilles tear, not ACL.
Yep you are right. Thanks.
He is a statue.🙂
I think this is the week we see Cam Akers? Also, this is the week Darnold resets his passing game. 3+ TD passes 250+ yards, JSN gets 125+ yards, Shaheed gets an explosive TD reception, Walker continues to improve his run and pass game. Defense holds the Falcons to single digits and gets 4+ sacks. It’s time for Spoon and Emmanwori to get their picks. There will be no sleeping on MM’s watch. This will not be a NY Giant game. Seattle will cover with plenty to spare and despite the lack of scoring by the Falcons, the over is where the money is.
I'll take every bit of that.
I can get on board with all of this.
Man, hard to believe Akers is only 26 years old.
If he’s fully healthy, he has some real potential.
Yeah, I've had the chance to watch him quite a bit when he was on the Vikings. I like Akers and hope he gets the opportunity to contribute to this team.
Jeff Ulbrich's claim to fame: leaving his iPad, which had sensitive contact information on it, accessible to his son who turned around and pranked Shedeur Sanders during the draft.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that!
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" Yogi was the best!
LOVE this! A couple things come to mind; I n my working life (back in the last century) I occasionally assisted in the capture and relocating wild animals in the Cascades and later in the Olympics . I was warned that as you get closer to confined critters they get more aggressive. I noticed that there is a point at which they rage. Not saying football players are wild animals but the fight for survival is maybe similar. At any rate hawks need to be ready for rage.
Love that analogy. Thanks for sharing.
My hope is we aren't 'media darlings' enough for their ire. We don't attract big audiences. Yet. Very dangerous game, in any event.
Wow! What a job, Paul.
I don't mean to sound like Marlon Perkins. I wasn't a wildlife biologist, I was just the muscle very rarely helping to do the packing and loading and mostly standing around for 'just in case" situations. Was very interesting though.
Hey, That's still Cool. Muscle's still needed for the relocation of wild animals.
If you listen carefully, you might hear a "Howl !" of Thanks !
I love this, those Lombardi quotes are legendary!! He is also attributed with another one I use all the time myself (and I think Coach MacDonald agrees with 100%):
"Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect".
That's the cool side of this article. The foreboding part of this article is we seem to be going from trap game to trap game -- thought the Titans game was, thought the Vikings game was, and this one definitely is. Hope like hell one of these doesn't bite us -- as you say, Falcons could be the one...
I think trap game is another way of saying that this is the NFL and these guys have nothing left in football after their careers are over. In high school, you have college. In college, you have the NFL. But this is the pinnacle. After this you have...working out? Maybe if you're one of the lucky few, you get a broadcasting opportunity? That's not even really an aspiration to most of these guys. So Kirk Cousins is using 7 days this week to prepare for the Seahawks, not 4 or 5 or 6. Because he may not have anything left after this.
The other thing that’s high risk for us is how many times these “nothing to lose” coaches decide to go for it on 4th down. Almost anything 4th and 5 or shorter, near midfield, they’re going for it.
Yogi Berra said "Nobody eats there anymore. It's too crowded". We will do well to escape with a Win.
Yogi Berra's most famous quote was, in my opinion, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Also my favorite. Yogi had some really great quotes.
Oh man….now SSJ has got to do a Yogi article!!
“You can observe a lot by watching” 🤣
Like “Hey Boo Boo think I’ll steal another picnic basket”.
Who would be MacDonald’s Boo Boo?
Leslie Frazier 🥰
Yogi Beara 🤣🤣🤣
It’s deja vu all over again….
It ain’t over till it’s over
I’m hoping we have no trap games because the Hawks end up beating all the teams they “should”. I hate the sour taste left by losing to teams that have no business beating you.
All the planning and scheming won't hold up against rough men who've had enough. Let's hope this isn't That Game.
- Leonard Williams has had enough of never being named All-Pro
- Byron Murphy has had enough of being an underwhelming #1 pick especially after Seattle could have had Jalen Carter
- DeMarcus Lawrence has had enough of never making it to the Super Bowl
- Ernest Jones has had enough of not being good enough for the Rams OR the Titans
- Drake Thomas has had enough of being too small and too short armed to be an NFL player
- Spoon has had enough of being too small and not playing up to his draft position
- Tariq Woolen has had enough of being called soft
- Josh Jobe has had enough of being a practice squad player
- Cobe Bryant has had enough of being second fiddle to Sauce Gardner
- Julian Love has had enough of being a 3rd tier safety
- Charles Cross has had enough of being inferior to Penei Sewell
- Grey Zabel has had enough of being considered “good for a rookie”
- Olu has had enough of backing up Jalen Sundell
- Anthony Bradford has had enough of being considered the worst starter on the team
- Abe Lucas has had enough of not getting to play because of his knee
- Sam Darnold has had enough of being called a choker
- Kenneth Walker had had enough of being “almost” a star
- Charbs has had enough of being a back up
- Cooper Kupp has had enough of being considered washed up
- JSN has had enough of STILL not being considered a deep threat
- AJ Barner has had enough of still being considered a 3rd tier TE
- Jason Myers had had enough of being doubted
- Michael Dickson has had enough of relative anonymity since his rookie season