Mike Macdonald to blame for Seahawks not running the ball

Josh Jacobs did more to hurt the Seahawks than Ryan Grubb

There’s a straightforward way to blame Mike Macdonald for Seattle’s problems on the ground, which is that he’s the head coach and he’s responsible for everything. If he orders Ryan Grubb to call more running plays, that’s what should happen or Macdonald isn’t actually atop the totem pole.

However, there’s a better way to put the onus on Macdonald without having to mention the offensive coordinator:

YOU COULDN’T STOP JOSH JACOBS!

The Seahawks have long been this team that wins the coin toss and defers, but Packers head coach Matt LaFleur* won the coin toss and wanted the ball. Well, why do you think you would want the ball, against the Seahawks defense, on the road, to start the game?

*The best current head coach who has never been to the Super Bowl?

This is why you take the ball against the 2024 Seahawks:

This is just the opening drive:

• Josh Jacobs had 9 touches for 44 yards (7 runs)

• Jacobs had a first down run on 3rd-and-3, a touchdown on 3rd-and-1

• Jordan Love never had to pass the ball to a WR or TE; 1 scramble

• The Packers didn’t face a third-and-longer than 3

• Riq Woolen had a 15-yard roughness penalty that ushered Green Bay into Seattle territory on the second play of the game

Ryan Grubb got the ball at Seattle’s 25 for the first time when the Seahawks trailed 7-0 and didn’t put up a good fight to stop Green Bay or hold them to a field goal. His first play call was a 15-yard completion to DK Metcalf…

On the next play, he calls a run for Zach Charbonnet that picked up 1 yard—which if I’m not mistaken may have been one of the plays with Sataoa Laumea running into the center, but I could be mistaken. In either case, that’s how the run game started and mostly how it continued.

Then the Seahawks completed a 5-yard pass to Noah Fant, followed by Geno Smith getting sacked by Edgerrin Cooper on third-and-4.

Michael Dickson then had kind of a mediocre punt (43 yards, setup at the 20) and on the next two plays, Jordan Love went 2-of-2 for 30 yards, putting Green Bay at midfield immediately. Here’s how the rest of the drive went:

• 1-yard run on 2nd-and-1 gives Packers a first down

• 19-yard run by Jacobs

• 9-yard run by Jayden Reed

• 6-yard run by Chris Brooks

• 2-yard pass to Reed

• 13-yard touchdown to Romeo Doubs

That’s not cherrypicking just the positive plays…That’s EVERY play.

On the Packers first 18 offensive plays of the game, they had:

• 9 plays on first down (50%)

• 7 plays on second down (39%)

• 2 plays on third down (11%)

• Those were a 3rd-and-1 (TD) and a 3rd-and-3 (Converted)

When Grubb got the ball for the second time, the Seahawks were down 14-0…

At home.

In primetime.

In a game that they needed to win and prove themselves—not just as a team that could now run the ball well, but also one that could play defense at a high level against quality opponents.

The Packers are a quality opponent. They aren’t Josh Allen. They probably aren’t even the Rams when the Rams have all their pieces in place.

Yet the Seahawks defense was absolutely humiliated in the first quarter of this game. So I can’t imagine why when the Packers run 18 good plays against the Seahawks defense, we’re talking about the four—yes the FOUR—plays that Grubb was allowed to run prior to being down 14-0.

Seattle was in a 14-0 hole going into the second quarter and even then Grubb didn’t abandon the run. On the Seahawks third drive, Charbonnet had three carries and Grubb called four passing plays:

• Charbonnet had carries of 0, 16, and -1

• Geno went 3-of-3 for 41 yards, and one sack

The passing game to this point is not bad: Geno is 5-of-5 for 61 yards.

The running game had one really good outcome, three really bad ones.

The Seahawks then cut the lead to 14-3 on a 48-yard field goal by Jason Myers, which is immediately negated by a 39-yard field goal from Brandon McManus because Seattle’s defense once again let Green Bay march down the field and score. And finally with 9:32 left in the second quarter, the Seahawks got their first stop on third down.

Even down 17-3, Grubb did not abandon the run. Quite.

Three of the next five calls were rushing plays, but Geno also completed his next two passes. His first incompletion didn’t come until 6:04 left in the second quarter (a pass to Charbonnet that was negated by a defensive holding call, so it wasn’t officially incomplete) and Geno just kept completing passes in passing situations.

You can’t force runs in passing situations just to appease what your fans MIGHT say IF you lose, and even then if the Seahawks had forced more runs and still lost (down 14-0 or 23-6, you’re probably going to lose either way) then the narrative would be: “WHY DIDN’T YOU PASS?”

It was not until Geno threw an interception from the Green Bay 12 that the passing game truly FAILED…which of course is its own conversation to be had about the starting quarterback…but it is not as though the reason that the Seahawks lost the game is because “RYAN GRUBB DIDN’T CALL ENOUGH RUNNING PLAYS WHEN THE SEAHAWKS WERE DOWN 20-3!!!”

No, that’s not it.

HE STILL DIDN’T ABANDON THE RUN

After the Seahawks allowed the Packers another field goal at the end of the first half—4 possessions, 4 scoring drives—Grubb STILL called this on the first drive of the third quarter:

• Run (3 yards)

• Pass (9 yards)

• Run (2 yards)

• Pass (6 yards)

• Run (6 yards)

• Pass (sacked)

Grubb alternated runs and passes until a sack made it 2nd-and-19. The argument here is that the Seahawks….should have called a run?

It doesn’t make any sense and the deeper you get into the game and the fourth quarter, the less sense that it makes. Sam Howell may have been terrible, but the Seahawks were down 23-6 when he started his first drive. It is beyond absurd that any official publication about the team would be focusing on…Ryan Grubb not calling enough running plays.

If Macdonald has anyone to blame, it is Mike Macdonald.

Seaside Joe 2117