I've followed multiple Seahawks blogs (and more "traditional" sources) over the past three decades - you continue to be my favorite. You consistently manage to find the sweet spot where your observations and insights give me hope for the team's future while treating the present day's shortcomings with honesty. Too many other writers swing too far in one direction or the other in search of clicks/views/subscribers/etc (of late, excessive fatalism has become far too trendy). Thank you for your work!
They were the team I expected them to be today. I still think the roaring boos of the Seattle crowd last week were instrumental in beating Russell Wilson, and they weren't going to have that this week. Considering the OL features two promising rookies and the defense installed a whole new system with a bunch of rookie players, I didn't expect either to be good to start the season. The running game keys off the OL, so if the OL hasn't gelled yet, the running game is going to suffer. If the defense is still learning and developing, it will create a lot of pressure on the offense to not only score but maintain possession and keep the defense off the field. That's a lot to ask of Geno Smith, especially when his OL is getting creamed by the Niner's front seven.
It's disappointing that there was almost nothing I could get excited about today but Pete Carroll can say whatever bullshit he wants, this was always a rebuilding season. This team wasn't ever going to contend for much other than the future this year and that's fine, that's how this works. They've got to learn to walk before they can run.
The reason Lockett is tasked with fielding punts is that he has the surest hands in the league. Last year he had 0 drops, the most targeted wide receiver with a perfect rate.
No one was expecting Lockett to take it to the house. No one asked him to do so. Lockett will fair catch always, because he can catch, and that is safe. Pete wants to play as safe as possible to properly evaluate talent.
Tyler took the blame saying that he should have instructed better the guy blocked into him. But that's not on him. He was there to fair catch and give us 3 offensive snaps.
The OL was the culprit on offense. Penalties, Geno hurried and hit often (yet 80% completion rate), RBs behind zero push getting 2.6 YPC. Terrible.
The DL allowed crease after crease. Their OL got to the second level and caught Brooks and Barton in the wash. Safeties shouldn’t be making the tackles on runs up the gut. Pete will be preaching about gap management Monday.
Sep 19, 2022·edited Sep 19, 2022Liked by Seaside Joe
The Seahawks just got run over by a team that made the playoffs last year. The Hawks now know where they stand in the Division; and what improvements they will need to make, in order to make the playoffs by the end of the season. In short, they need allot of growing to do between now-and-then.
The wildcat was cool, but neither play really worked. I feel like Penny was supposed to be an option for Ken to pitch to on the first play, but he outran the play too early. A non-Ken would have taken a 3-yard loss. The next play may have had a small window in the back corner of the endzone, but DJ makes about the worst pass I've ever seen in an NFL game. Seems like Ken is ready to wildcat, but the rest of the team doesn't know how to yet.
Geno just seemed like he had no anticipation and was late on everything he missed. If it wasn't his first read to whoever he decided to throw to pre-snap, then it was thrown after the WRs were breaking open and DBs already reacting.
All our young CBs need to learn to avoid those under thrown DPI gimme balls. Last week it was Woolen and this week Jackson. Others will notice and take advantage until you fix it.
I'm ready to start running Laps for Lock. If Geno makes it past week 3, I may consider Runs for Walker.
(Banned)Sep 19, 2022·edited Sep 19, 2022Liked by Seaside Joe
First, I want to say that the Tre Lance injury bailed out Shanahan and Lynch big time. Not for trading the farm to move up and take Lance but at least their season is no longer a subject for controversy. Shanahan is many things but stupid is not one of 'em. Anyone could see that, the way Lance was playing, he was likely to get injured. He was coaching the kid on many things but not avoiding injury and he wasn't calling plays that would shield him. So I have more than a sneaking suspicion that he was fine with Lance going down.
Look at it this way: Now he looks like a genius for re-signing Garoppolo. A day earlier, there was controversy in the press and the fan base over who was starting and why. That controversy was showing no signs of abating and every sign of growing worse. It's not clear at what point it would have impacted the locker room but that day was coming. So signing Garoppolo would have been a really bad move if Lance was expected to:
A) Be good; or
B) Stay healthy.
Now that Lance is down, Lynch and Schneider look like geniuses for re-signing Jimmy. They still look like idiots for trading three picks to roll the dice on a kid with zero experience against talented competition. But at least now everyone's not chattering about it every day. The 49ers are a better team and Lynch / Shneider don't look like obvious imbeciles.
Now, onto the Seahawks. Last week, I had to eat my hat because I gave our guys zero chance of beating Denver. I forgot that, on any particular day in the NFL, anything can happen.
In the clear light of the days that followed, I went back to my analysis of the situation, which is that this team sucks. We were lucky to beat Denver and our chances of beating San Francisco in San Francisco were preciously small. I don't claim to be a genius or to be the only ones who saw this. In fact, I'd say it was obvious to anyone paying attention. It's just that it's hard for fans to maintain objectivity. That includes me but, at least on this, I've managed to do so. The result is I was able to watch this game without suffering. Because I didn't expect anything different.
I'm fine with what is. I'm glad the Huskies are doing well. Yesterday, even when the Dawgs were up on Michigan State by multiple scores, I remained anxious because I knew Michigan State had the talent to hit back hard and fast. I wanted the Huskies to win and knew they could. So the game was entertaining but not relaxing.
Today, I was cool and calm. I observed all these interesting nuances. Had a great time. Hope everyone else did too. There's a lot to be said for rooting for a losing team. As long as one doesn't get overly attached to this annoying notion of winning. Surrender all hope and everything's fine. The coach can't afford to do that, but you and I can. No one's paying us big bucks to deliver wins so we can do whatever we want.
Geno’s stock is down only because market euphoria after Week 1 elevated it above what it is: A penny stock.
Next week against Atlanta is probably make or break for Smith in the near term, and we should accept that this game is no longer a gimme: The Falcons may be 0-2, but they’ve played both NOLA and the Rams close in the bargain. Mariota has been credible and their running game has been reasonably effective (despite the presence of Germain Ifedi on the roster). Just saying…
That was the ‘slapping in the face with a wet fish’ moment. Joyful homerism allowed me to ignore the fact that the Broncos ran all over us last week, and that another apparently bad O-line, with their premier back missing, would struggle this time. And that somehow, just somehow, the Seahawks wouldn’t. Reality, indeed!
This always promised to be a tough season, so I am glad to have Seaside Joe to help me through it, at a cost of a measly 16 cents per day (in other words, pay the man!)
I was wrong, in my assessment of the nine and a half points Vegas was saying the Niners would win by, or more. Thank goodness I haven't been bit by the gambling bug. I was sure with Trey Lance, we would confuse him into making mistakes and turning the ball over. I bet there are a lot of Niner fans, not happy Lance got hurt, but happy Jimmy G is behind center.
I am more concerned with our defense not being able to get off the field, for 3 years, without George Kittle playing. It is a freaking shame Jamal Adams is out for the year. In hindsight 2 first round draft picks was to much to give up but when he is on the field with Diggs it is one of if not the best safety tandems in the league. He is a great F up the play guy who.could sac the quarterback, but he couldn't catch a cold ot a bus if you like that better.
We won't be able to run well until we can prove we can thrive on the underneath stuff. Geno is handcuffed worrying about turning the ball over. Geno wasn't the reason we lost today, but he needs to throw to Goodwin and Eskridge more. It is possible that they are not getting open, but I would be shocked if Waldron called any plays where they were supposed to be the first option.
For me I saw some signs of good players like KW3, Penny still looks ready, and DK maybe made the best catch of his career but it got called back because Lucas was way to powerful for whoever was trying to block him. Our tackles and Newosu sorry he plays far better than I can spell his name on a Latish Sunday night.
Atlanta won't be a push over, but I can see us being more like Monday night than today.
I will always be a Seahawks fan. The Denver win was refreshing, but to me, it was a win based on the opposing Coach's lack of experience or faith in his QB. Yes, the defense did an outstanding job at the goal line. With this week's game, it was the Smith I expected to see, the backup QB. My son is a 9ers fan and when I said backup QB, he said, No, your starting QB. I again said he's a backup QB, and always will be. I was resigned to bearing a hard season of Seahawks ball this year and it may continue on this path for a couple of years, but there are bright spots. Our two rookie tackles, Woolen has been a nice addition and I think Bryant will get better. Walker is the player I am most excited to see get the ball, but if I wanted to watch college football, I'd be watching on Saturday, not Sunday. I'm not a fan of gadget plays in the NFL, even if they work, and having a backup RB throw a pass at the goal line is just not going to win any games. Defenders are just too smart. Play a straight game, win, lose or draw and develop the young players. As I said, I don't have high expectations for this season and that's okay, let's just set up the future so that it looks brighter. Thank you Seaside Joe for your honest and straightforward approach to this newsletter. It's the best thing out there and I always look forward to reading it each week. Seahawks!!
My crystal ball seems on the fritz. Oh, well, I can still use it for a snow globe. Give as many experience as possible. Throw Lock in, maybe, or maybe just run, run, run, and see what happens.
If the team doesn’t improve over time, there are deeper issues with the coaching and player evaluation. I’m not sold that Waldron can call a game—while he got a lot of derision Brian Schottenheimer knew how to design an offense. And I’m not sure the defensive coaches are up to teaching these young players since there seem to be continued problems with tackling and technique.
And ultimately those two issues should probably sink Pete too since he’s overseeing the entire ship. But it’s still early and I expect some stinkers this year.
I will always and forever love the Seahawks. But after the call that had DJ throwing (on the run though there was room, and there was planty of space in the back of the end zone for DK) worse than my 3 month old could throw a hose, i was pretty amazed and laughed out loud. Then when the guy was standing so close to Lockett on the return than he could be shoved into him and we lost the ball ... i took the time to create this ... o damn, it won't let me past my funny picture i made on powerpoint of Blitz wearing a clown nose.
I've followed multiple Seahawks blogs (and more "traditional" sources) over the past three decades - you continue to be my favorite. You consistently manage to find the sweet spot where your observations and insights give me hope for the team's future while treating the present day's shortcomings with honesty. Too many other writers swing too far in one direction or the other in search of clicks/views/subscribers/etc (of late, excessive fatalism has become far too trendy). Thank you for your work!
They were the team I expected them to be today. I still think the roaring boos of the Seattle crowd last week were instrumental in beating Russell Wilson, and they weren't going to have that this week. Considering the OL features two promising rookies and the defense installed a whole new system with a bunch of rookie players, I didn't expect either to be good to start the season. The running game keys off the OL, so if the OL hasn't gelled yet, the running game is going to suffer. If the defense is still learning and developing, it will create a lot of pressure on the offense to not only score but maintain possession and keep the defense off the field. That's a lot to ask of Geno Smith, especially when his OL is getting creamed by the Niner's front seven.
It's disappointing that there was almost nothing I could get excited about today but Pete Carroll can say whatever bullshit he wants, this was always a rebuilding season. This team wasn't ever going to contend for much other than the future this year and that's fine, that's how this works. They've got to learn to walk before they can run.
The reason Lockett is tasked with fielding punts is that he has the surest hands in the league. Last year he had 0 drops, the most targeted wide receiver with a perfect rate.
No one was expecting Lockett to take it to the house. No one asked him to do so. Lockett will fair catch always, because he can catch, and that is safe. Pete wants to play as safe as possible to properly evaluate talent.
Tyler took the blame saying that he should have instructed better the guy blocked into him. But that's not on him. He was there to fair catch and give us 3 offensive snaps.
The OL was the culprit on offense. Penalties, Geno hurried and hit often (yet 80% completion rate), RBs behind zero push getting 2.6 YPC. Terrible.
The DL allowed crease after crease. Their OL got to the second level and caught Brooks and Barton in the wash. Safeties shouldn’t be making the tackles on runs up the gut. Pete will be preaching about gap management Monday.
This game was lost in the trenches - both ways.
The Seahawks just got run over by a team that made the playoffs last year. The Hawks now know where they stand in the Division; and what improvements they will need to make, in order to make the playoffs by the end of the season. In short, they need allot of growing to do between now-and-then.
The wildcat was cool, but neither play really worked. I feel like Penny was supposed to be an option for Ken to pitch to on the first play, but he outran the play too early. A non-Ken would have taken a 3-yard loss. The next play may have had a small window in the back corner of the endzone, but DJ makes about the worst pass I've ever seen in an NFL game. Seems like Ken is ready to wildcat, but the rest of the team doesn't know how to yet.
Geno just seemed like he had no anticipation and was late on everything he missed. If it wasn't his first read to whoever he decided to throw to pre-snap, then it was thrown after the WRs were breaking open and DBs already reacting.
All our young CBs need to learn to avoid those under thrown DPI gimme balls. Last week it was Woolen and this week Jackson. Others will notice and take advantage until you fix it.
I'm ready to start running Laps for Lock. If Geno makes it past week 3, I may consider Runs for Walker.
First, I want to say that the Tre Lance injury bailed out Shanahan and Lynch big time. Not for trading the farm to move up and take Lance but at least their season is no longer a subject for controversy. Shanahan is many things but stupid is not one of 'em. Anyone could see that, the way Lance was playing, he was likely to get injured. He was coaching the kid on many things but not avoiding injury and he wasn't calling plays that would shield him. So I have more than a sneaking suspicion that he was fine with Lance going down.
Look at it this way: Now he looks like a genius for re-signing Garoppolo. A day earlier, there was controversy in the press and the fan base over who was starting and why. That controversy was showing no signs of abating and every sign of growing worse. It's not clear at what point it would have impacted the locker room but that day was coming. So signing Garoppolo would have been a really bad move if Lance was expected to:
A) Be good; or
B) Stay healthy.
Now that Lance is down, Lynch and Schneider look like geniuses for re-signing Jimmy. They still look like idiots for trading three picks to roll the dice on a kid with zero experience against talented competition. But at least now everyone's not chattering about it every day. The 49ers are a better team and Lynch / Shneider don't look like obvious imbeciles.
Now, onto the Seahawks. Last week, I had to eat my hat because I gave our guys zero chance of beating Denver. I forgot that, on any particular day in the NFL, anything can happen.
In the clear light of the days that followed, I went back to my analysis of the situation, which is that this team sucks. We were lucky to beat Denver and our chances of beating San Francisco in San Francisco were preciously small. I don't claim to be a genius or to be the only ones who saw this. In fact, I'd say it was obvious to anyone paying attention. It's just that it's hard for fans to maintain objectivity. That includes me but, at least on this, I've managed to do so. The result is I was able to watch this game without suffering. Because I didn't expect anything different.
I'm fine with what is. I'm glad the Huskies are doing well. Yesterday, even when the Dawgs were up on Michigan State by multiple scores, I remained anxious because I knew Michigan State had the talent to hit back hard and fast. I wanted the Huskies to win and knew they could. So the game was entertaining but not relaxing.
Today, I was cool and calm. I observed all these interesting nuances. Had a great time. Hope everyone else did too. There's a lot to be said for rooting for a losing team. As long as one doesn't get overly attached to this annoying notion of winning. Surrender all hope and everything's fine. The coach can't afford to do that, but you and I can. No one's paying us big bucks to deliver wins so we can do whatever we want.
Geno’s stock is down only because market euphoria after Week 1 elevated it above what it is: A penny stock.
Next week against Atlanta is probably make or break for Smith in the near term, and we should accept that this game is no longer a gimme: The Falcons may be 0-2, but they’ve played both NOLA and the Rams close in the bargain. Mariota has been credible and their running game has been reasonably effective (despite the presence of Germain Ifedi on the roster). Just saying…
That was the ‘slapping in the face with a wet fish’ moment. Joyful homerism allowed me to ignore the fact that the Broncos ran all over us last week, and that another apparently bad O-line, with their premier back missing, would struggle this time. And that somehow, just somehow, the Seahawks wouldn’t. Reality, indeed!
This always promised to be a tough season, so I am glad to have Seaside Joe to help me through it, at a cost of a measly 16 cents per day (in other words, pay the man!)
I was wrong, in my assessment of the nine and a half points Vegas was saying the Niners would win by, or more. Thank goodness I haven't been bit by the gambling bug. I was sure with Trey Lance, we would confuse him into making mistakes and turning the ball over. I bet there are a lot of Niner fans, not happy Lance got hurt, but happy Jimmy G is behind center.
I am more concerned with our defense not being able to get off the field, for 3 years, without George Kittle playing. It is a freaking shame Jamal Adams is out for the year. In hindsight 2 first round draft picks was to much to give up but when he is on the field with Diggs it is one of if not the best safety tandems in the league. He is a great F up the play guy who.could sac the quarterback, but he couldn't catch a cold ot a bus if you like that better.
We won't be able to run well until we can prove we can thrive on the underneath stuff. Geno is handcuffed worrying about turning the ball over. Geno wasn't the reason we lost today, but he needs to throw to Goodwin and Eskridge more. It is possible that they are not getting open, but I would be shocked if Waldron called any plays where they were supposed to be the first option.
For me I saw some signs of good players like KW3, Penny still looks ready, and DK maybe made the best catch of his career but it got called back because Lucas was way to powerful for whoever was trying to block him. Our tackles and Newosu sorry he plays far better than I can spell his name on a Latish Sunday night.
Atlanta won't be a push over, but I can see us being more like Monday night than today.
I will always be a Seahawks fan. The Denver win was refreshing, but to me, it was a win based on the opposing Coach's lack of experience or faith in his QB. Yes, the defense did an outstanding job at the goal line. With this week's game, it was the Smith I expected to see, the backup QB. My son is a 9ers fan and when I said backup QB, he said, No, your starting QB. I again said he's a backup QB, and always will be. I was resigned to bearing a hard season of Seahawks ball this year and it may continue on this path for a couple of years, but there are bright spots. Our two rookie tackles, Woolen has been a nice addition and I think Bryant will get better. Walker is the player I am most excited to see get the ball, but if I wanted to watch college football, I'd be watching on Saturday, not Sunday. I'm not a fan of gadget plays in the NFL, even if they work, and having a backup RB throw a pass at the goal line is just not going to win any games. Defenders are just too smart. Play a straight game, win, lose or draw and develop the young players. As I said, I don't have high expectations for this season and that's okay, let's just set up the future so that it looks brighter. Thank you Seaside Joe for your honest and straightforward approach to this newsletter. It's the best thing out there and I always look forward to reading it each week. Seahawks!!
If you don’t have a player problem then you have a coaching problem.
My crystal ball seems on the fritz. Oh, well, I can still use it for a snow globe. Give as many experience as possible. Throw Lock in, maybe, or maybe just run, run, run, and see what happens.
Thanks for the needed sense of perspective.
If the team doesn’t improve over time, there are deeper issues with the coaching and player evaluation. I’m not sold that Waldron can call a game—while he got a lot of derision Brian Schottenheimer knew how to design an offense. And I’m not sure the defensive coaches are up to teaching these young players since there seem to be continued problems with tackling and technique.
And ultimately those two issues should probably sink Pete too since he’s overseeing the entire ship. But it’s still early and I expect some stinkers this year.
I will always and forever love the Seahawks. But after the call that had DJ throwing (on the run though there was room, and there was planty of space in the back of the end zone for DK) worse than my 3 month old could throw a hose, i was pretty amazed and laughed out loud. Then when the guy was standing so close to Lockett on the return than he could be shoved into him and we lost the ball ... i took the time to create this ... o damn, it won't let me past my funny picture i made on powerpoint of Blitz wearing a clown nose.
Maybe Lewis injuries prevented them from off loading him to the Bucs early on.