I read the comments and my take is its not as bad as some think. Sure, the Niners were 6-11 last year and we were 10-7. But they had a ton of injuries and are now mostly healthy. They are picked to go far into the playoff, and some have them winning the whole thing. We held them to 17 points, which will not win a Superbowl in this era. We are better than last year, but so are they.
Things that didn't help - turnovers and penalties. Don't forget Big Cat got that call on 3rd down that kept the Niners drive alive and they ended up scoring. If that penalty doesn't happen, that drive died and the momentum changes.
And that last drive was like the Patriots Superbowl all over again. Down the field, end of the game, driving towards the goal line and not getting the chance to score because of a turnover. Crushing. But the fact we were in the position to win the game is a big deal. We had a chance. JSNs turnover also was bad timing, as the drive seemed to be moving well and should have ended in some points too.
The defense was on the field for 8 minutes longer than they should have and held a good team to 17. That's like .44 points per minute, which is not a lot of points. In a split ToP, its a tie game.
So I am not off the bandwagon. But I would like to shake Woolen by the shoulders and ask him to wake up. He has so much talent but his lack of ability to judge a balls arc is concerning. Maybe he needs glasses?
Well. That was a tough ASK: Going up against a veteran Super Bowl Team with a whole new group of young men searching out their identity. I suppose I was hoping for a few miracles we saw 10 years ago. Cool. We will be better for the lack of them. I trust the 12s were supportive. Next week, success will be initiated with quieting the stadium in Pittsburg. Sam was seeing ghosts early and Kubiak adjusted accordingly. Getting through this issue will be your claim to fame, Sam. Maybe Wilson left a Curse on the position. Our young O-Line opened holes and saw/felt what happens when furious veterans close them quickly on the next attempt. Woolen embarrassed himself and they picked on him relentlessly. Now he has ghosts to live with. Shake it off, Boyz. Fix what needs fixing. Relegate Time and make it your ally. Pull strength from a common prayer.
I’m writing before reading because I don’t want to alter my first impression.
My hope had been for a 10 point win and a louder, pro Seahawks crowd. Obviously I didn’t get the win, but the crowd was improved even if there were still too many 49er fans in the stands. I hope the Seahawks start to give a reason for their fans to crowd out the visitors.
As to game impressions- When Kubiak was hired I said I expected a less dynamic, lower scoring offense than we got from Grubb that was off set by increased time of possession which would benefit the defense. Unfortunately I was only right on the first two. However, it was a first game under a new coach with a new scheme and there didn’t seem to be a lot of mental mistakes so there is still hope for improvement. It was obvious that at this point Shanahan and the Niners are more familiar/comfortable with this style offense. Just to stir the pot though, Geno and Pete won their first game together today with the same amount of install time as the Hawks.
My bigger concern was the defense’s inability to produce 3 and out drives. If not for two timely interceptions and two missed FGs this game would not have been close.
Thankfully Ken talked us off the cliff before the game so no panic here. I was at last year’s 49er game which was way more lopsided and discouraging, but at the end of the season the Hawks had a better record!
Time for us to replace the rose colored glasses with the ones that gave that ‘cold light of day’ tint.
This team isn’t as good as we thought they were, but I believe they are better than they played against the 49ers. I think the coaching, both D and O was disappointing. Looking at the 4th and 1 field the all makes sense for a defensive minded guy. MM wasn’t showing lack of faith in the offense, he was demonstrating his faith in the defense. They say when you’re a hammer every problem looks like a nail, MM needs to be more HC and less DC, I hope that will develop sooner than later. Kubiak called a conservative game but I think that’s understandable in his first effort with a new team. Think everyone was holding their breath on Darnold and for me he did not disappoint.
It’s one game but a loss to the niners sting a little extra. One hopes that the team, at every level learns a lot from this outing. Pittsburg looks a little more scary than they did last week. So let’s all tighten up the tennis and get ready for some real football.
Lots of negativity and disappointment below. From what I watched, I'm encouraged!
Darnold looked closer to Vikings than Jets. JSN looked ready to be the #1. The Dline was tough and in there. Kupp looked good. The secondary was all across the field.
Very fine margins at this level. I think this team is very capable of turning those few bad moments around, and is capable of smashing the 49ers in SC by two scores when we meet again. Genuinely I found lots to like and a visible path to being a really good team.
Kupp looked good? A few more good games like yesterday and we’ll get shut out. I can’t believe that Schneider had two receptions for 19 yards in mind when he threw money at the guy.
The 49ers were terrible against the run last year, so they drafted to fix it. The Hawks weren't good running last year, so they drafted to fix that. And changed OC. Well...it's easier to break things than to build them, right? Still, I'm baffled. Walker got 20 yards, the D had one sack, the TEs saw little use and nobody's mentioned our FB at all. And didn't we have a promising WR3? No targets?
Lotta teams had rough starts yesterday. I'm still not sure the way the preseason is structured works.
It took MM half a season to get his D installed and his personnel the way he wanted it. I'm not shocked the O stalled out this game. When we were predicting on Saturday I was surprised how many points y'all thought we could score. Which, if the run game had run amok, would have been possible.
Patience.
That said, I've not thought there was any scenario in which K9 got a new contract here. If he's really good, we can't afford him. If he's hurt or ineffective, we don't need to.
Losses are disappointing. Season opening losses to the 49'ers are painful. Not sure these are objective thoughts at this point but;
- If I'm Mike MacDonald, and I have a vision for what this team is all about (and he does), then he's probably already had a talk to Kubiak. Something to the effect, we aren't going to win games going against what we need to do best. Throw out the 'cute' plays (they didn't work anyway) and call the stuff we've been practicing all offseason. Let the linemen go to work. Spread the ball around. Get the TE's involved. Get to the wide zone concepts, even if we know that's what they're expecting. To be the team we want to be we have to be able to run our stuff when they know it's coming.
- Woolen's inconsistency is maddening. I know this probably isn't true, but it sometimes looks like he just doesn't care. I dunno. All the physical ability in the world, and he gets out jumped by a 3rd string TE.
- There was pressure on Purdy at times, but not consistent, and even when it got there, there wasn't any finish. I'd have to watch it again, but MacDonald seemed to call a pretty conservative game, and maybe it would have worked a little better if not for some blown coverages on big downs.
- The defense played pretty well. Good enough to win the game at least. The offense just needed to finish. Feel bad for Abe. He's going to have to watch that snap when they review the tape, and he's going to beat himself up about it. It is Bosa after all, but that won't matter to Abe, and it shouldn't.
- O-line overall I didn't think was bad in the pass game. A few whiffs, but not too many. Not a lot of movement in the run game though.
- Charbs>Walker. The sooner the Seahawks figure that out, the better.
I watched quite a bit of the Steelers game against the Jets. The Jets had a fair amount of success running the ball. Rogers looked plenty solid. He doesn't throw down the field often, but he can still do it. They'll be a tough second game. We need our DT's to get pressure up the middle.
Getting creamed in ToS makes for a horrible game to watch.
That 4th & 1 call is going to be a stain on MM until he can do something to rectify it. Just hated it. What a terrible signal to send.
Still, at least the hype train is thoroughly derailed, and we don’t have to play the Niners again for a while. Still think we might do quite well, but that was a dispiriting start.
I didn’t have a good feeling about this game. The offense takes longer to gel than the defense. The defense for the most part looked good. Walker look terrible.
I wondered, where were the two or three tight end sets. ? Fullback? If you were going to run it, go all in.
After having the evening to cool down a bit I'd like to add there were a lot of teams that came out and were bad on offense - Panthers, Bengals, Browns, Dolphins, Patriots, Raiders, Giants, 49ers, Titans, Broncos, Lions, Texans, Rams, Cowboys and Eagles. A lot of star players were non-existent... too many to list.
I guess my point is that I'm confident things will get better and hopefully by season's end this loss will be a distant memory.
I don't understand why the tight end didn't clip arguably the best DL in the league on arguably the most important play of the game. To me this is coaching.
There’s no mystery here. From a tactical perspective, the most impactful error (by far) was MM electing to kick a FG on 4th-and-1. With the score tied at home with 3:32 left and a gassed defense, you absolutely have to go for the first down. That this was even a question is concerning.
From a strategic perspective, the lack of production from any receiver not named “Smith-Njigba” was crippling. Who here thinks that JS signed Cooper Kupp with the idea that two receptions for 19 yards against a hated rival was fine as long as he mentored a group of marginally talented receivers?
Here’s what I won’t blame the loss on:
* Kubiak for the play calling. Sean McVey couldn’t scheme a passing game with this group of receivers
* The OL or the RBs. Derrick Henry could only do so much running into a stacked box over and over
* Woolen or anyone else on the defense for running out of steam. Hold the other team to 17 pts in 37+ minutes and you’ve done your job
* JSN for fumbling when he was by far Seattle’s best offensive player
This loss is at the feet of John Schneider and Mike McDonald, period.
Just to be clear, I didn't blame the loss on anyone. I did write that JSN was partially to blame for the loss because if fumbling in the fourth quarter as you approach scoring range isn't contributing to a lower winning%, then why assess anything related to the outcome of a game? But I didn't blame JSN or Kubiak or the OL for a loss. The Seahawks lost as a team, obviously including JS and MM.
Nah, Paul. Can't let Kubiak off. He called a thoroughly shit game. John Schneider has nothing to do with that. Mike McDonald's defense played 37 minutes and gave up 17 points. What more do you want them to do?
No one can spin straw into gold, which what Schneider has tasked MM and Kubiak to do with the receiver room that Schneider “built.” His fingerprints are all over this loss.
Get ready for a steady diet of stacked boxes, keeping an eye on JSN, and daring Kubiak and Darnold to win with Kubiak, Horton, Bobo, Horton, and whoever. Good luck with this one.
My main thought is I hope the Seahawks do not to extend Woolen. He has good plays, but at this point I doubt he will ever become consistent enough and gives up too many big plays. Multiple times he played the ball instead of the receiver and it cost big. He seems to be going for picks, but that hasn’t worked out well since his rookie season.
I read the comments and my take is its not as bad as some think. Sure, the Niners were 6-11 last year and we were 10-7. But they had a ton of injuries and are now mostly healthy. They are picked to go far into the playoff, and some have them winning the whole thing. We held them to 17 points, which will not win a Superbowl in this era. We are better than last year, but so are they.
Things that didn't help - turnovers and penalties. Don't forget Big Cat got that call on 3rd down that kept the Niners drive alive and they ended up scoring. If that penalty doesn't happen, that drive died and the momentum changes.
And that last drive was like the Patriots Superbowl all over again. Down the field, end of the game, driving towards the goal line and not getting the chance to score because of a turnover. Crushing. But the fact we were in the position to win the game is a big deal. We had a chance. JSNs turnover also was bad timing, as the drive seemed to be moving well and should have ended in some points too.
The defense was on the field for 8 minutes longer than they should have and held a good team to 17. That's like .44 points per minute, which is not a lot of points. In a split ToP, its a tie game.
So I am not off the bandwagon. But I would like to shake Woolen by the shoulders and ask him to wake up. He has so much talent but his lack of ability to judge a balls arc is concerning. Maybe he needs glasses?
Well. That was a tough ASK: Going up against a veteran Super Bowl Team with a whole new group of young men searching out their identity. I suppose I was hoping for a few miracles we saw 10 years ago. Cool. We will be better for the lack of them. I trust the 12s were supportive. Next week, success will be initiated with quieting the stadium in Pittsburg. Sam was seeing ghosts early and Kubiak adjusted accordingly. Getting through this issue will be your claim to fame, Sam. Maybe Wilson left a Curse on the position. Our young O-Line opened holes and saw/felt what happens when furious veterans close them quickly on the next attempt. Woolen embarrassed himself and they picked on him relentlessly. Now he has ghosts to live with. Shake it off, Boyz. Fix what needs fixing. Relegate Time and make it your ally. Pull strength from a common prayer.
I’m writing before reading because I don’t want to alter my first impression.
My hope had been for a 10 point win and a louder, pro Seahawks crowd. Obviously I didn’t get the win, but the crowd was improved even if there were still too many 49er fans in the stands. I hope the Seahawks start to give a reason for their fans to crowd out the visitors.
As to game impressions- When Kubiak was hired I said I expected a less dynamic, lower scoring offense than we got from Grubb that was off set by increased time of possession which would benefit the defense. Unfortunately I was only right on the first two. However, it was a first game under a new coach with a new scheme and there didn’t seem to be a lot of mental mistakes so there is still hope for improvement. It was obvious that at this point Shanahan and the Niners are more familiar/comfortable with this style offense. Just to stir the pot though, Geno and Pete won their first game together today with the same amount of install time as the Hawks.
My bigger concern was the defense’s inability to produce 3 and out drives. If not for two timely interceptions and two missed FGs this game would not have been close.
Thankfully Ken talked us off the cliff before the game so no panic here. I was at last year’s 49er game which was way more lopsided and discouraging, but at the end of the season the Hawks had a better record!
Time for us to replace the rose colored glasses with the ones that gave that ‘cold light of day’ tint.
This team isn’t as good as we thought they were, but I believe they are better than they played against the 49ers. I think the coaching, both D and O was disappointing. Looking at the 4th and 1 field the all makes sense for a defensive minded guy. MM wasn’t showing lack of faith in the offense, he was demonstrating his faith in the defense. They say when you’re a hammer every problem looks like a nail, MM needs to be more HC and less DC, I hope that will develop sooner than later. Kubiak called a conservative game but I think that’s understandable in his first effort with a new team. Think everyone was holding their breath on Darnold and for me he did not disappoint.
It’s one game but a loss to the niners sting a little extra. One hopes that the team, at every level learns a lot from this outing. Pittsburg looks a little more scary than they did last week. So let’s all tighten up the tennis and get ready for some real football.
Lots of negativity and disappointment below. From what I watched, I'm encouraged!
Darnold looked closer to Vikings than Jets. JSN looked ready to be the #1. The Dline was tough and in there. Kupp looked good. The secondary was all across the field.
Very fine margins at this level. I think this team is very capable of turning those few bad moments around, and is capable of smashing the 49ers in SC by two scores when we meet again. Genuinely I found lots to like and a visible path to being a really good team.
Kupp looked good? A few more good games like yesterday and we’ll get shut out. I can’t believe that Schneider had two receptions for 19 yards in mind when he threw money at the guy.
The 49ers were terrible against the run last year, so they drafted to fix it. The Hawks weren't good running last year, so they drafted to fix that. And changed OC. Well...it's easier to break things than to build them, right? Still, I'm baffled. Walker got 20 yards, the D had one sack, the TEs saw little use and nobody's mentioned our FB at all. And didn't we have a promising WR3? No targets?
Lotta teams had rough starts yesterday. I'm still not sure the way the preseason is structured works.
It took MM half a season to get his D installed and his personnel the way he wanted it. I'm not shocked the O stalled out this game. When we were predicting on Saturday I was surprised how many points y'all thought we could score. Which, if the run game had run amok, would have been possible.
Patience.
That said, I've not thought there was any scenario in which K9 got a new contract here. If he's really good, we can't afford him. If he's hurt or ineffective, we don't need to.
Agreed, still a year or so away. Pass rusher, field stretcher WR. No faith in retaining Riq or K9.
Losses are disappointing. Season opening losses to the 49'ers are painful. Not sure these are objective thoughts at this point but;
- If I'm Mike MacDonald, and I have a vision for what this team is all about (and he does), then he's probably already had a talk to Kubiak. Something to the effect, we aren't going to win games going against what we need to do best. Throw out the 'cute' plays (they didn't work anyway) and call the stuff we've been practicing all offseason. Let the linemen go to work. Spread the ball around. Get the TE's involved. Get to the wide zone concepts, even if we know that's what they're expecting. To be the team we want to be we have to be able to run our stuff when they know it's coming.
- Woolen's inconsistency is maddening. I know this probably isn't true, but it sometimes looks like he just doesn't care. I dunno. All the physical ability in the world, and he gets out jumped by a 3rd string TE.
- There was pressure on Purdy at times, but not consistent, and even when it got there, there wasn't any finish. I'd have to watch it again, but MacDonald seemed to call a pretty conservative game, and maybe it would have worked a little better if not for some blown coverages on big downs.
- The defense played pretty well. Good enough to win the game at least. The offense just needed to finish. Feel bad for Abe. He's going to have to watch that snap when they review the tape, and he's going to beat himself up about it. It is Bosa after all, but that won't matter to Abe, and it shouldn't.
- O-line overall I didn't think was bad in the pass game. A few whiffs, but not too many. Not a lot of movement in the run game though.
- Charbs>Walker. The sooner the Seahawks figure that out, the better.
I watched quite a bit of the Steelers game against the Jets. The Jets had a fair amount of success running the ball. Rogers looked plenty solid. He doesn't throw down the field often, but he can still do it. They'll be a tough second game. We need our DT's to get pressure up the middle.
Absolutely pitiful display from the offense
Getting creamed in ToS makes for a horrible game to watch.
That 4th & 1 call is going to be a stain on MM until he can do something to rectify it. Just hated it. What a terrible signal to send.
Still, at least the hype train is thoroughly derailed, and we don’t have to play the Niners again for a while. Still think we might do quite well, but that was a dispiriting start.
Same old Seahawks....
I didn’t have a good feeling about this game. The offense takes longer to gel than the defense. The defense for the most part looked good. Walker look terrible.
I wondered, where were the two or three tight end sets. ? Fullback? If you were going to run it, go all in.
After having the evening to cool down a bit I'd like to add there were a lot of teams that came out and were bad on offense - Panthers, Bengals, Browns, Dolphins, Patriots, Raiders, Giants, 49ers, Titans, Broncos, Lions, Texans, Rams, Cowboys and Eagles. A lot of star players were non-existent... too many to list.
I guess my point is that I'm confident things will get better and hopefully by season's end this loss will be a distant memory.
I don't understand why the tight end didn't clip arguably the best DL in the league on arguably the most important play of the game. To me this is coaching.
There’s no mystery here. From a tactical perspective, the most impactful error (by far) was MM electing to kick a FG on 4th-and-1. With the score tied at home with 3:32 left and a gassed defense, you absolutely have to go for the first down. That this was even a question is concerning.
From a strategic perspective, the lack of production from any receiver not named “Smith-Njigba” was crippling. Who here thinks that JS signed Cooper Kupp with the idea that two receptions for 19 yards against a hated rival was fine as long as he mentored a group of marginally talented receivers?
Here’s what I won’t blame the loss on:
* Kubiak for the play calling. Sean McVey couldn’t scheme a passing game with this group of receivers
* The OL or the RBs. Derrick Henry could only do so much running into a stacked box over and over
* Woolen or anyone else on the defense for running out of steam. Hold the other team to 17 pts in 37+ minutes and you’ve done your job
* JSN for fumbling when he was by far Seattle’s best offensive player
This loss is at the feet of John Schneider and Mike McDonald, period.
Just to be clear, I didn't blame the loss on anyone. I did write that JSN was partially to blame for the loss because if fumbling in the fourth quarter as you approach scoring range isn't contributing to a lower winning%, then why assess anything related to the outcome of a game? But I didn't blame JSN or Kubiak or the OL for a loss. The Seahawks lost as a team, obviously including JS and MM.
Nah, Paul. Can't let Kubiak off. He called a thoroughly shit game. John Schneider has nothing to do with that. Mike McDonald's defense played 37 minutes and gave up 17 points. What more do you want them to do?
No one can spin straw into gold, which what Schneider has tasked MM and Kubiak to do with the receiver room that Schneider “built.” His fingerprints are all over this loss.
Get ready for a steady diet of stacked boxes, keeping an eye on JSN, and daring Kubiak and Darnold to win with Kubiak, Horton, Bobo, Horton, and whoever. Good luck with this one.
My main thought is I hope the Seahawks do not to extend Woolen. He has good plays, but at this point I doubt he will ever become consistent enough and gives up too many big plays. Multiple times he played the ball instead of the receiver and it cost big. He seems to be going for picks, but that hasn’t worked out well since his rookie season.