It's all about ending the season on a 4 game ( maybe 3) winning streak in the Playoffs/Tournament. If we happen to go 10 & 0 for the rest of the season, that would mean that means we would have gone 16 & 0 to win the super bowl. Only generational teams have done that in the past. I don't think we are quite there yet. Maybe if we get our running game back to looking like we did in the pre season...
I remember when MM was hired - we all looked at the Ravens and said, oh, took him part of the first year to get things sorted when he became DC, defense started looking better in the 2nd half of that season, and then they kick a— the next year. We sure hoped to see that path with the Seahawks, right? Here we are.
I am kind of amazed to see how good the D is when we basically threw everything at the offense in the off-season. I worried about depth on D, but wow, look at how our depth has stepped up. Not a problem there.
And look at the steps forward on offense and special teams. We completely remade the offense, just about. Lots of good hiring decisions, but I also believe MM has brought his philosophy to that side of the ball. Lots of credit to go around - JS, Darnold, Klint, Zabel, JSN, the line coach, etc. But my gut says MM stepped up and said, I’m the head coach, the buck stops with me, and I’m going to put my imprint on my offense this year. Good for him.
If you think back to the 1990's and early 2000's, the Rams had our number. The old 'Greatest Show on Turf' crowd just played with us like we were an amusing appetizer. We finally broke through in 2002 with a December beatdown of the Rams 30-10. Slight asterisk to the game....Jamie Martin (who?) was the QB that day for the Rams, but we held Marshall Faulk to 13 yards on 9 carries. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 303 yards. Then, from 2005 to 2009 we beat the Rams 10 straight times. Ten!
I'm hoping we're at a similar inflection point, but I wouldn't say it's quite the same. The Rams have drafted too well to go completely in the toilet over the next 2-3 years. But I'm hoping we start to handle them more times than not. JS hired Mike MacDonald so we could develop a defense that could handle MacVay and Shannahan, and I think Mike is up to the task.
So I'm hoping this year we go 2-0 against the Rams, send a message, and then we don't look back.
What I'm thinking we'll see different in the back half of this year (starting this week against the Moons) is that our running game will pick up, largely because defenses will start trying to take JSN away. Can't load the box AND take JSN away, so they'll have to choose. So far teams have been a bit arrogant about that, and have tried to handle him without safety help. It has not gone well. Hopefully Kubiak will know what to do when he sees that happening.
Robbie Smash is back, so that alone will be a boost to our running game. Love watching him play.
Speaking of schedules. See Ravens? Opponents have .442 record right now. GB only top. Pittsburgh twice and NE. Cincy x2, Jets, Clev, Vikes. No wonder they feel good even at, now, 3-5
Easy Peasy. It's those f ing Rams. We beat them and everything falls into place. We lose to them, and best case scenario, we are the second best team in the NFC and second best in the NFCW. Unfortunately. So we just need to suck it up and beat the crap out of everyone in preparation for those f ing Rams.
When the schedule was released in the off season, I had the Hawks 12-5, splitting with the Rams and 49ers, losing to the Texans, Washington, and the Falcons. After preseason, before the regular season, I had them 13-4, changing the loss to the Falcons to a win. At the bye, I changed to 13-4, having them go 9-1 the rest of the way, splitting with the Rams, losing in LA and winning in Seattle.
I'm almost as worried about the "honorable losses" as anything -- like you say, good teams beat other good teams. In particular the completely out-of-character defensive meltdown against the Bucs -- the Rams are the kind of team that will make that happen if you don't control the game. Trying to remember a more critical game than this first Rams game coming up...
I think we can be okay and lose the first Rams game away. I’d love to win it, but I feel 9 wins 1 loss will be enough to take the division. Rams have Bucs, Lions, 49ers and us twice on the schedule. I don’t see them losing less than 2 games in the next 10.
My hope is that the Seahawks were in a similar boat in 2012, losing close games to many teams they should beat (all 5 losses on the road though), and then when the light switch flipped on, look out.
My current prediction for the Hawks is a final record of 14 wins, 3 losses. Going 9 and 1 the rest of the way if there isn’t a major injury to key player(s). I consider Love to be a key player, but the quality play of backup Okada might mitigate Love’s loss to some extent. The one loss I have predicted is the RAMS away game in three weeks. If we beat the teams with losing records and get Love back for the Colts game, I think the Hawks are still a 14 win team. Love can be put on IR and still be back for the Colts game. We need to avoid that NY Giants type game against losing teams in the coming weeks and teach Daniel Jones a lesson when he comes back to Seattle.
I don't even want to say it out loud, but can you imagine if Sam Darnold went 14-3 two seasons in a row, with two different teams, and lost the division both times?
I think this year, we’d win the tiebreaker against the Rams. I think the Rams, will lose a game to us, and at least one of the games they have against the Lions or Bucs. I don’t see them winning 14 games. Heck, they could lose to us twice and the 49ers twice.
Love appears a victim to early aging. Anyone working the very physical Trades know it takes muscles longer to get back to optimal peak performance as we get older. Gone are the days when lack of pain dictates Go Time. Julian is getting his first rude replies from his body, some earlier than others. I see the Rams and Colts games as our make-or-break Playoff deciders. MM will no doubt now give him as much rest time as he can while targeting those Games. But then I have little knowledge of the advancements the Sciences have made in tissue generation and training, which can only provide optimism. No doubt Sports Medicine has made huge unsung contributions to all of us. Running Jamal Adams back in too early should have taught the needed lessons. These men will go all out. They don't know how to do less.
the crazy thing is that Love is only 27 but this is his 7th season. Kam Chancellor's last fully healthy season was age 25, his last Pro Bowl season was age 27, and he never saw the NFL at age 30. Made it 8 years.
A hamstring is generally something you can come back from at 100%. Fingers crossed Love has a few years left. I want him to play a few years with our K9 successor - Jeremiyah Love Aren’t we due for a round 2 running back?
I think we're seeing good self scouting and planning. In game changes are looking good for the most part. I think we are ahead of schedule. I expected this unit to take half the season to iron out wrinkles and get cohesive along the o line. I like what I'm seeing, from the preseason you could tell these guys like and respect each other and want to win. If we keep up this pace I think we're in the hunt and competing for it all, which is awesome. I'm getting that same sense I got when the LOB was starting to form. That confidence that you get from seeing your team begin to dominate their opponents, not just get lucky and pull out a win. Play good clean football and let's see how far we can take this! Begaw!
Yeah, great points, Scott. Certain personalities have either gone in or gone out and the offense meshed quicker than expected. Just need to run the ball better as the season continues.
It's all about ending the season on a 4 game ( maybe 3) winning streak in the Playoffs/Tournament. If we happen to go 10 & 0 for the rest of the season, that would mean that means we would have gone 16 & 0 to win the super bowl. Only generational teams have done that in the past. I don't think we are quite there yet. Maybe if we get our running game back to looking like we did in the pre season...
I remember when MM was hired - we all looked at the Ravens and said, oh, took him part of the first year to get things sorted when he became DC, defense started looking better in the 2nd half of that season, and then they kick a— the next year. We sure hoped to see that path with the Seahawks, right? Here we are.
I am kind of amazed to see how good the D is when we basically threw everything at the offense in the off-season. I worried about depth on D, but wow, look at how our depth has stepped up. Not a problem there.
And look at the steps forward on offense and special teams. We completely remade the offense, just about. Lots of good hiring decisions, but I also believe MM has brought his philosophy to that side of the ball. Lots of credit to go around - JS, Darnold, Klint, Zabel, JSN, the line coach, etc. But my gut says MM stepped up and said, I’m the head coach, the buck stops with me, and I’m going to put my imprint on my offense this year. Good for him.
If you think back to the 1990's and early 2000's, the Rams had our number. The old 'Greatest Show on Turf' crowd just played with us like we were an amusing appetizer. We finally broke through in 2002 with a December beatdown of the Rams 30-10. Slight asterisk to the game....Jamie Martin (who?) was the QB that day for the Rams, but we held Marshall Faulk to 13 yards on 9 carries. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 303 yards. Then, from 2005 to 2009 we beat the Rams 10 straight times. Ten!
I'm hoping we're at a similar inflection point, but I wouldn't say it's quite the same. The Rams have drafted too well to go completely in the toilet over the next 2-3 years. But I'm hoping we start to handle them more times than not. JS hired Mike MacDonald so we could develop a defense that could handle MacVay and Shannahan, and I think Mike is up to the task.
So I'm hoping this year we go 2-0 against the Rams, send a message, and then we don't look back.
What I'm thinking we'll see different in the back half of this year (starting this week against the Moons) is that our running game will pick up, largely because defenses will start trying to take JSN away. Can't load the box AND take JSN away, so they'll have to choose. So far teams have been a bit arrogant about that, and have tried to handle him without safety help. It has not gone well. Hopefully Kubiak will know what to do when he sees that happening.
Robbie Smash is back, so that alone will be a boost to our running game. Love watching him play.
HEY EVERYBODY… WATCH THIS NOW!!!
https://youtu.be/pPXZlK9puqw?si=gg6PmW1ECZrUhdvU
Seriously. It’s about the value of running, and the Seahawks are the featured team.
Speaking of schedules. See Ravens? Opponents have .442 record right now. GB only top. Pittsburgh twice and NE. Cincy x2, Jets, Clev, Vikes. No wonder they feel good even at, now, 3-5
Easy Peasy. It's those f ing Rams. We beat them and everything falls into place. We lose to them, and best case scenario, we are the second best team in the NFC and second best in the NFCW. Unfortunately. So we just need to suck it up and beat the crap out of everyone in preparation for those f ing Rams.
Pete popularized the phrase, “Win Forever.”
I prefer to be more direct… “Never lose. Ever.”
18-2.
I feel like my 3 loss prediction for the Hawks this year is now unreasonably pessimistic ^o^
I do do hope you’re right :-)
Actually, I hope I’m wrong and the win out, 10-0 the trust of the way!
Except who were your losses to originally and why not now???
When the schedule was released in the off season, I had the Hawks 12-5, splitting with the Rams and 49ers, losing to the Texans, Washington, and the Falcons. After preseason, before the regular season, I had them 13-4, changing the loss to the Falcons to a win. At the bye, I changed to 13-4, having them go 9-1 the rest of the way, splitting with the Rams, losing in LA and winning in Seattle.
I'm almost as worried about the "honorable losses" as anything -- like you say, good teams beat other good teams. In particular the completely out-of-character defensive meltdown against the Bucs -- the Rams are the kind of team that will make that happen if you don't control the game. Trying to remember a more critical game than this first Rams game coming up...
I think we can be okay and lose the first Rams game away. I’d love to win it, but I feel 9 wins 1 loss will be enough to take the division. Rams have Bucs, Lions, 49ers and us twice on the schedule. I don’t see them losing less than 2 games in the next 10.
You’re such a pessimist Danno! 🤣
Maybe I’ve become a pragmatist?
My hope is that the Seahawks were in a similar boat in 2012, losing close games to many teams they should beat (all 5 losses on the road though), and then when the light switch flipped on, look out.
"... and they’ve come too close to touching the hot stove"
Whoa, Cool Writing, ... count the basket, 'n shoot the extra point.
Tomorrow I'll try a behind the back alley oop.
Who’s your teammate catching and dunking it? I know JSN can get up there and slam it home!
My current prediction for the Hawks is a final record of 14 wins, 3 losses. Going 9 and 1 the rest of the way if there isn’t a major injury to key player(s). I consider Love to be a key player, but the quality play of backup Okada might mitigate Love’s loss to some extent. The one loss I have predicted is the RAMS away game in three weeks. If we beat the teams with losing records and get Love back for the Colts game, I think the Hawks are still a 14 win team. Love can be put on IR and still be back for the Colts game. We need to avoid that NY Giants type game against losing teams in the coming weeks and teach Daniel Jones a lesson when he comes back to Seattle.
I don't even want to say it out loud, but can you imagine if Sam Darnold went 14-3 two seasons in a row, with two different teams, and lost the division both times?
I think this year, we’d win the tiebreaker against the Rams. I think the Rams, will lose a game to us, and at least one of the games they have against the Lions or Bucs. I don’t see them winning 14 games. Heck, they could lose to us twice and the 49ers twice.
Well, maybe not the 9'ers twice.
I’d rafter knock the Rams out and face the 49ers in the divisional round
Me too, but seriously? Week 10 could be fun.
Love appears a victim to early aging. Anyone working the very physical Trades know it takes muscles longer to get back to optimal peak performance as we get older. Gone are the days when lack of pain dictates Go Time. Julian is getting his first rude replies from his body, some earlier than others. I see the Rams and Colts games as our make-or-break Playoff deciders. MM will no doubt now give him as much rest time as he can while targeting those Games. But then I have little knowledge of the advancements the Sciences have made in tissue generation and training, which can only provide optimism. No doubt Sports Medicine has made huge unsung contributions to all of us. Running Jamal Adams back in too early should have taught the needed lessons. These men will go all out. They don't know how to do less.
I hope you’re wrong, please don’t be offended, but I want Love back at 100% and soon!
I may have filed one of my worser Wild Swings. I was thinking he's closer to 30.
No worries, let’s get him healthy and go get the ring!
the crazy thing is that Love is only 27 but this is his 7th season. Kam Chancellor's last fully healthy season was age 25, his last Pro Bowl season was age 27, and he never saw the NFL at age 30. Made it 8 years.
A hamstring is generally something you can come back from at 100%. Fingers crossed Love has a few years left. I want him to play a few years with our K9 successor - Jeremiyah Love Aren’t we due for a round 2 running back?
I’m ready for the Seahawks to be “disrespectful” to ALL of the teams on the schedule. 10-0 with a bunch of big-time ass whuppins’ thrown in.
(A guy can dream…)
Damn, not many people are more optimistic than I am. I can live with 10 more wins!
Stranger things have happened.
I think we're seeing good self scouting and planning. In game changes are looking good for the most part. I think we are ahead of schedule. I expected this unit to take half the season to iron out wrinkles and get cohesive along the o line. I like what I'm seeing, from the preseason you could tell these guys like and respect each other and want to win. If we keep up this pace I think we're in the hunt and competing for it all, which is awesome. I'm getting that same sense I got when the LOB was starting to form. That confidence that you get from seeing your team begin to dominate their opponents, not just get lucky and pull out a win. Play good clean football and let's see how far we can take this! Begaw!
Yeah, great points, Scott. Certain personalities have either gone in or gone out and the offense meshed quicker than expected. Just need to run the ball better as the season continues.
I can't wait for the run game to click again...Ouzts back and Walker healthy, I'm liking our chances.