It's funny when you think of having to come back to win games this year, but Seattle was busy doing that in 2013. The Panthers, The Texans OT, Rams, Tampa Bay OT, Tenn. Some of those were offensive, some where defensive. Seattle really depended on their defense that year for those close games. This year the offense seems to be the ticket. Different play calling might have changed the outcome in Dallas and Cincy. The Rams loss was a missed field goal. I don't recall Seattle every having an offense like the "Greatest Show on Turf." or the Kyle Shanahan 49ers.
Seattle needs turnovers to win against the top teams. They need big offensive plays. They need a consistant running game. What Seattle is showing right now is winning under pressure, where failure is always inches away. Seattle has to find some answers to the big plays and slowing down the running game. They found some answers in the Philly game where Hurts was the big threat.
How Seattle handles they last two games offers a better look at who they are as a playoff team. The teams that are supposed to be easy wins never are, especially when their games are played with no hope for the playoffs in sight. Pride seems to factor in when being a spoiler is all you have left.
Benching Woolen and essentially Adams changes the scenario in Pete speak. I think it also changes how each player will be used for the rest of the season. Adams is practicing this week but Love is the starter. With the injuries at LB, Adams may be a better fit against the run. Bryant just looked lost out there last week and made some serious mistakes. Seattle has found some new strength against the run with Jackson and Burns getting rotation. If Spoon returns this week this could well be a more improved Seattle defense with the weakness still being at LB. That is going to have to be schemed better to compensate. I will say this for Bush, he looked servicable against Tenn later in the game. If he has to start against his old team he may well put up a worthy effort. The D Line is playing much better across the board and Lucas has helped the O Line.
This year seems to show every team as vulnerable on any given day. 49er and Ravens included. Remember the Ravens lost to the Wilson lead Jets.
Seattle seems to be making some interesting roster moves going into the playoff and is showing some creativity on offense. The mainstay receivers are showing up (Locket had a great game last week with key catches) and the defense seems to be finding it the past two weeks when they need it most.
Let's face it with a little luck Seattle might make the playoffs and have found some personel and updated schemes that might make a splash if they do.
Don't underestimate the QB expereince at the end of the season going into the playoffs. I think the offense feels like they can win with either guy. Ask SF how important that is.
Bringing in Peters on the OL along with reps for Bradford and Oluwatimi might well pay dividends with the injuries piling up across the league. Seattle has shown they have depth in their secondary. That's been missing for a long time.
The right timing and a little luck can go a long way down the stretch. Frankly I was pretty dismayed going into the Philly game. Pete believed when no one else did except the team he was motivating and proved he can still coach. Suddenly Seahawk football feels fun again, and they are still in the playoff conversation.
GWD is a statistical oddity that doesn’t seem to correlate to ultimate success. Plus, every GWD is one less dominant performance; leading the league in them likely means that the team is more lucky than good. Anyway, a club may benefit from 2-3 each year, but it doesn’t have to lead the league in GWD to be battle-hardened.
Agreed. There are also the games where the Seahawks gave up the game winning drive Rams and Cowboys and the game where the Seahawks failed inside the red zone (Cincinnati). Bottom line was a there are a lot of close games in the NFL and the only stat that matters is wins.
Good point. It is professional football and getting paid is the most important point. And on that score Russell Wilson is the biggest winner of the Russell Wilson trade. For the past two years he has made an additional 73 million on top of the 50 million he would have made with the Seahawks for a grand total of 123 million or 61 1/2 million a year.
Great point. In baseball, Pedro Martinez was a great front-runner—in his heyday, he rarely relinquished a lead. One could argue that with him pitching, a leadoff home run was a clutch hit.
Waiting for Ken's aritcle on The Benching of Russell Wilson.
Such a Faustian character was ol' Russ. He wanted so much to be "the best there ever was" and surely made a deal with the devil to try and achieve it. But... after engineering his trade to Denver he is being benched and will be released after the season.
If he had just bought into Pete's system and put the team rather than himself and his image first, he might have reached his goals.
They were at an impasse. Pete Carroll had the best approach for utilizing Russell Wilson’s skills. But Wilson had legitimate reason to lose confidence in Carroll’s system.
Wilson's history with the Seahawks is a classic case of "be careful what you wish for." Wilson wanted an offense built around him and that was "pass-first", and it went against the grain of how Pete wanted to build the team. In trying to accommodate Wilson, Pete and John made mistakes building the team and Wilson's personal goals became harder to achieve.
Wilson didn't know what he had with the Seahawks until it was gone... Joni could have told him.
Another way of looking at it is that PCJS failed to build much of anything around Wilson and relied on him to bail the team out. They botched Day 2 drafts over and over despite accumulating a ton of capital. Russell’s ankle got torn up behind an OL that included Bradley F. Sowell and J’Marcus F. Webb. He watched while PCJS claimed with straight faces that Luke Joeckl was the best guard in the league.
It’s going to be interesting to see if any team will take him in trade, or pick him up after he’s released. His ego has done him in and made him his own worst enemy. How he could ever have achieved greatest ever when he was behind many better with no chance to catch up showed his delusional character.
Trading Russ won't be an option--is it possible he will land a gig somewhere for next season? I doubt he will take a "Geno" deal and that is proabably what it would take. But if Cleveland can trade and sign Watson to a stupid deal, there is probably a team that will believe Russ is the answer.
I don't think 4th quarter scoring stats say much of anything. There needs to be context around them. If you have a lead in the 4th quarter your goal is not to score but drain the clock. Also, if you are down by multiple scores then its garbage time.
The 32nd team in 4th quarter scoring is: Kansas City at 3.1 points
By my count, a Geno led offense is (Lions, Browns, Wash, Tenn) 4 of 7 (Cincy, Rams 2, C'boys) in 4th quarter chances. I haven't looked up the average or what is considered to be great. But his offense is 57%.
Don't know if that is good, bad or average but it is certainly not "Geno can't do it", he is "terrible" in the 4th quarter. etc. Which was my point.
Maybe, then why not say he has lapses instead of making up something like he can’t finish games which is false?
Here is a comment from Joe that made no sense to me after the eagles game
“Drew Lock was completely fine for most of the game. He had some good passes that were dropped, along with some bad passes that he may have got away with, but ultimately he had what fans have needed for years: A strong finish.”
What does this mean? We lead the league in strong finishes - what is he referring to?
I hear this often with people that don’t like Geno. They make things up. Or I guess, I don’t understand what joes comment is. I don’t know
Put simply, it shows that the Seahawks are often losing near the end of the game. That’s not a position any team wants or needs to be in. It has involved plenty of luck to have the winning drives. They could have gone either way. I’d much prefer to win comfortably and I’m sure PC would agree.
Denver with Geno would be a playoff team. Russ stats are slightly better but are deceiving because of where he has been throwing it (behind the LOS) and his sack rate despite outstanding protection. Geno on the other hand has been the most pressured QB in the NFL. Imagine what he could do with time and SP drawing up and calling the plays.
I mean, Desmond Ridder has 4 Game-Winning Drives in 2023, Russell Wilson has 4 Game-Winning Drives in 2023. We all know Ridder is just playing in Atlanta because they have no other options and he'll be gone imminently. Wilson has now been dropped by a Broncos team who don't control their own Playoffs destiny. Cousins lead 8 last year for the one-and-done playoff Vikings. Big Ben had 7 for the 2021 Steelers, one-and-done. 2020 is was Tannehill for the one-and-done Titans. 2019 Bills were one-and-done with Allens 5 GWD's. Thank god for Deshaun Watson (a phrase no-one should ever say!) and the Texans 2019 Playoff win (against the afformentioned Bills).
The read you can take is that GWD's get you to the post-season, but get you bounced immediately once you play a good team. Right now, if we make the playoffs, if Atlanta makes the playoffs, if the Broncos make them, even if the Eagles make it, I would imagine all four teams getting one-and-doned. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have four more wins than losses, but I don't see it as a good stat to be leading.
I detested watching a team go into "prevent defense" in the 4th. The Hawks have made that a distant memory. Or maybe we just call it "bend but don't break" defense.
“Battle-Tested” is what Pete refers to. Having a QB that can deliver in the clutch with all the pressure on is huge in the playoffs. I’m with Pete, let’s get into the playoffs and see what happens.
I understand why it’s not a great stat, but let’s be honest, this is year 2 of a rebuild, we were never going to have a dominant team. But we do have a team that can execute at a high level with pressure on. I’ll take it.
Also, this is why I am not jumping on the Niner bandwagon for this reason.
To me it suggests not only the flaws of the "how you finish" strategy already mentioned. It also goes with the Hawks' generally poor consistency and discipline factors(ref. the high penalty rate, lousy 3rd down efficiency and weak red zone scoring as further proof). Utterly depending on last minute heroics is not what great teams do, any more than cramming for the final exam is a mark of true scholarship. It also frustrates and exhausts of 12s like me.
This is not a good category to be in, except it would suck to be worse.
The hockey team I follow--the Vancouver Canucks--has been infamously bad at giving up leads in the 3rd period, and losing. This year, however, they are 20-0 in games where they hold a lead going into the final frame. That is good.
What is also good, in football, is going into the 4th quarter with a lead, and finishing with a win.
The Seahawks have been "bad" at complementary football--winning time of pessession with long drivers, getting off the field on D. We have seen a bit of it, and the team *should* be capable but the kind of offense we have seen in the 4th Q vs the Titans (and Eagles) has not been seen except in opening scripted drives and in quarters of halves of "good" performance interspersed with BAD play. Whatever the solution to all that is, I hope the Seahawks figure it out before the post season.
I believe the offense fundamentally changed prior to the Cowboys game.
Pete said he talked to Shane prior to the game. Seems to have worked, as Geno and Shane are getting the ball out much quicker. Drew was fast and Geno in cowboys was 0.4 seconds faster than his average in cowboys. Then:
That might have been Geno's best game (vs the Titans)--no turnovers, getting the ball out quickly. But the offense was not very productive until the 2nd half and really the last 20 minutes of the game. We are still waiting for a full 60-minute effort by the team. Despite the score vs Dallas, that wasn't winning football due to the advantage Dallas had in TOP and number of plays Dallas ran vs Seattle. Yes the D has to play better (and without Adams at Safety they have been) BUT the offense has to be able to control the clock also i.e., be able to convert third downs throughout the game and not just for a quarter or a half.
If you move 1 TD drive from the second half to the first half would that change your perception?
I think overall the margins are incredibly slim. What would’ve happened had the refs called Bobos pass complete on the first drive?
What if Charbs caught the ball on the 4th drive of the first half?
Would those two plays change the entire outlook?
Even with those, the cowboys game and titans game displayed a top offense in the NFL. The 4th downs were unfortunate in Dallas. But that shouldn’t change an incredible (top 3% offensive output) game by the offense imo.
Also, the second half of the titans game wasn’t just good, if they did that for the whole season it would be by far the best offense in the history of the NfL, the Hawks would win multiple super bowls, and Geno would be headed to canton.
That’s a bit too high of expectations, but nice to know they did when needed
It is about time of possession and being able to dictate the game script, and I am pretty sure this is what Pete wants to do also--the Seahawks need to be able to run the ball better than they have done, and it starts with the OL. Run the ball well, and everything else opens up: P/A passing with deep shots, keep the D fresh and able to play fast.
I'm hoping that the team is working on run blocking for the O-line all this week. That and eliminating those penalties that usually stop our drives when the other team can't.
I would add that DK is playing at his potential: which is one of the best in the league.
And I also think the early investment in JSN when he was dropping passes and running the wrong route is now seeing dividends. Great coaching to stick with it.
He is playing up to his potential and excelling. Exactly what we need him to be and why he is paid what he is paid.
With the offense playing great lately. JSN investment paying off. Line getting healthy. DK excelling. K9 getting loose. Geno dicing. Etc etc. looking forward to the last couple games and hopefully playoffs.
I agree with the comments and want to add that after experiencing a 4 game skid, those game winning drives do give us that much needed "hope" when the game is on the line in the last minute or so, or less. That feeling is much better than feeling the game is done and over at that time. I'm not sure our team is coached for a blow out win, but it would be easier on the heart. "Do you win the game in the 1st quarter..." :)
It's funny when you think of having to come back to win games this year, but Seattle was busy doing that in 2013. The Panthers, The Texans OT, Rams, Tampa Bay OT, Tenn. Some of those were offensive, some where defensive. Seattle really depended on their defense that year for those close games. This year the offense seems to be the ticket. Different play calling might have changed the outcome in Dallas and Cincy. The Rams loss was a missed field goal. I don't recall Seattle every having an offense like the "Greatest Show on Turf." or the Kyle Shanahan 49ers.
Seattle needs turnovers to win against the top teams. They need big offensive plays. They need a consistant running game. What Seattle is showing right now is winning under pressure, where failure is always inches away. Seattle has to find some answers to the big plays and slowing down the running game. They found some answers in the Philly game where Hurts was the big threat.
How Seattle handles they last two games offers a better look at who they are as a playoff team. The teams that are supposed to be easy wins never are, especially when their games are played with no hope for the playoffs in sight. Pride seems to factor in when being a spoiler is all you have left.
Benching Woolen and essentially Adams changes the scenario in Pete speak. I think it also changes how each player will be used for the rest of the season. Adams is practicing this week but Love is the starter. With the injuries at LB, Adams may be a better fit against the run. Bryant just looked lost out there last week and made some serious mistakes. Seattle has found some new strength against the run with Jackson and Burns getting rotation. If Spoon returns this week this could well be a more improved Seattle defense with the weakness still being at LB. That is going to have to be schemed better to compensate. I will say this for Bush, he looked servicable against Tenn later in the game. If he has to start against his old team he may well put up a worthy effort. The D Line is playing much better across the board and Lucas has helped the O Line.
This year seems to show every team as vulnerable on any given day. 49er and Ravens included. Remember the Ravens lost to the Wilson lead Jets.
Seattle seems to be making some interesting roster moves going into the playoff and is showing some creativity on offense. The mainstay receivers are showing up (Locket had a great game last week with key catches) and the defense seems to be finding it the past two weeks when they need it most.
Let's face it with a little luck Seattle might make the playoffs and have found some personel and updated schemes that might make a splash if they do.
Don't underestimate the QB expereince at the end of the season going into the playoffs. I think the offense feels like they can win with either guy. Ask SF how important that is.
Bringing in Peters on the OL along with reps for Bradford and Oluwatimi might well pay dividends with the injuries piling up across the league. Seattle has shown they have depth in their secondary. That's been missing for a long time.
The right timing and a little luck can go a long way down the stretch. Frankly I was pretty dismayed going into the Philly game. Pete believed when no one else did except the team he was motivating and proved he can still coach. Suddenly Seahawk football feels fun again, and they are still in the playoff conversation.
GWD is a statistical oddity that doesn’t seem to correlate to ultimate success. Plus, every GWD is one less dominant performance; leading the league in them likely means that the team is more lucky than good. Anyway, a club may benefit from 2-3 each year, but it doesn’t have to lead the league in GWD to be battle-hardened.
IMHO, FWIW (and, as usual, EIEIO) there really isn't any difference between a "Game Winning Drive" and a "Game Winning Interception".
Every game that doesn't end in a tie has some drive where the winner put the game out of the loser's reach. It doesn't always come in the last minute.
It's just a circumstantial "hype statistic". These aren't the stats you're looking for. May the Farce be with you!
Agreed. There are also the games where the Seahawks gave up the game winning drive Rams and Cowboys and the game where the Seahawks failed inside the red zone (Cincinnati). Bottom line was a there are a lot of close games in the NFL and the only stat that matters is wins.
Well...wins, and take-home pay.
Good point. It is professional football and getting paid is the most important point. And on that score Russell Wilson is the biggest winner of the Russell Wilson trade. For the past two years he has made an additional 73 million on top of the 50 million he would have made with the Seahawks for a grand total of 123 million or 61 1/2 million a year.
So, let me see if I've got this right: the biggest loser is also the biggest winner.
Talk about karma...
Great point. In baseball, Pedro Martinez was a great front-runner—in his heyday, he rarely relinquished a lead. One could argue that with him pitching, a leadoff home run was a clutch hit.
Waiting for Ken's aritcle on The Benching of Russell Wilson.
Such a Faustian character was ol' Russ. He wanted so much to be "the best there ever was" and surely made a deal with the devil to try and achieve it. But... after engineering his trade to Denver he is being benched and will be released after the season.
If he had just bought into Pete's system and put the team rather than himself and his image first, he might have reached his goals.
Wasn't there an old Abbot & Costello routine about that?
Who's On Faust? Something like that...I may be mis-remembering...
"I don't know" on #3 :D.
Wasn't Toady pitching? Tamale catching? Who picks up his check? Naturally!
They were at an impasse. Pete Carroll had the best approach for utilizing Russell Wilson’s skills. But Wilson had legitimate reason to lose confidence in Carroll’s system.
Wilson's history with the Seahawks is a classic case of "be careful what you wish for." Wilson wanted an offense built around him and that was "pass-first", and it went against the grain of how Pete wanted to build the team. In trying to accommodate Wilson, Pete and John made mistakes building the team and Wilson's personal goals became harder to achieve.
Wilson didn't know what he had with the Seahawks until it was gone... Joni could have told him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2595abcvh2M
Another way of looking at it is that PCJS failed to build much of anything around Wilson and relied on him to bail the team out. They botched Day 2 drafts over and over despite accumulating a ton of capital. Russell’s ankle got torn up behind an OL that included Bradley F. Sowell and J’Marcus F. Webb. He watched while PCJS claimed with straight faces that Luke Joeckl was the best guard in the league.
There are two sides to this story.
It’s going to be interesting to see if any team will take him in trade, or pick him up after he’s released. His ego has done him in and made him his own worst enemy. How he could ever have achieved greatest ever when he was behind many better with no chance to catch up showed his delusional character.
Trading Russ won't be an option--is it possible he will land a gig somewhere for next season? I doubt he will take a "Geno" deal and that is proabably what it would take. But if Cleveland can trade and sign Watson to a stupid deal, there is probably a team that will believe Russ is the answer.
I’d also give a shout out to Waldron for bouncing back after the cowboys game. He took a lot of heat for the 4th down call. IMO, rightfully so.
But he came back, didn’t lose confidence, and executed with the season on the line and a backup QB. Even down to the last play.
Then the following week in Tenn... he goes back to the same play that didn’t work against Cincy to win the game.
I’ve given Shane some heat but got to give him some praise for the last two games. Great stuff
On another note, love seeing Seahawks tied for first in the NFC in sacks. I don’t think there’s a downside to that stat.
Great News
Many solid comments on here that it isn't necessarily a great team stat.
However, this pretty simply puts to rest the false Geno narrative that he can't finish strong or lead a team to a game winning drive etc.
Number of games were the Hawks have scored 0 in the 4th QTR? 6! I'd argue the narrative around Geno is still up for discussion.
I don't think 4th quarter scoring stats say much of anything. There needs to be context around them. If you have a lead in the 4th quarter your goal is not to score but drain the clock. Also, if you are down by multiple scores then its garbage time.
The 32nd team in 4th quarter scoring is: Kansas City at 3.1 points
The Hawks are 20th at 5.7 points
https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/4th-quarter-points-per-game
By my count, a Geno led offense is (Lions, Browns, Wash, Tenn) 4 of 7 (Cincy, Rams 2, C'boys) in 4th quarter chances. I haven't looked up the average or what is considered to be great. But his offense is 57%.
Don't know if that is good, bad or average but it is certainly not "Geno can't do it", he is "terrible" in the 4th quarter. etc. Which was my point.
I think the criticism of Geno are the long lapses on offense that lead to a game-winning drive being needed in the first place.
Maybe, then why not say he has lapses instead of making up something like he can’t finish games which is false?
Here is a comment from Joe that made no sense to me after the eagles game
“Drew Lock was completely fine for most of the game. He had some good passes that were dropped, along with some bad passes that he may have got away with, but ultimately he had what fans have needed for years: A strong finish.”
What does this mean? We lead the league in strong finishes - what is he referring to?
I hear this often with people that don’t like Geno. They make things up. Or I guess, I don’t understand what joes comment is. I don’t know
Put simply, it shows that the Seahawks are often losing near the end of the game. That’s not a position any team wants or needs to be in. It has involved plenty of luck to have the winning drives. They could have gone either way. I’d much prefer to win comfortably and I’m sure PC would agree.
Safe travels! Looking forward to your take on Russ being benched.
Travis Kelce is “on thin ice” after the Chiefs loss, too.
Denver with Geno would be a playoff team. Russ stats are slightly better but are deceiving because of where he has been throwing it (behind the LOS) and his sack rate despite outstanding protection. Geno on the other hand has been the most pressured QB in the NFL. Imagine what he could do with time and SP drawing up and calling the plays.
I mean, Desmond Ridder has 4 Game-Winning Drives in 2023, Russell Wilson has 4 Game-Winning Drives in 2023. We all know Ridder is just playing in Atlanta because they have no other options and he'll be gone imminently. Wilson has now been dropped by a Broncos team who don't control their own Playoffs destiny. Cousins lead 8 last year for the one-and-done playoff Vikings. Big Ben had 7 for the 2021 Steelers, one-and-done. 2020 is was Tannehill for the one-and-done Titans. 2019 Bills were one-and-done with Allens 5 GWD's. Thank god for Deshaun Watson (a phrase no-one should ever say!) and the Texans 2019 Playoff win (against the afformentioned Bills).
The read you can take is that GWD's get you to the post-season, but get you bounced immediately once you play a good team. Right now, if we make the playoffs, if Atlanta makes the playoffs, if the Broncos make them, even if the Eagles make it, I would imagine all four teams getting one-and-doned. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have four more wins than losses, but I don't see it as a good stat to be leading.
I detested watching a team go into "prevent defense" in the 4th. The Hawks have made that a distant memory. Or maybe we just call it "bend but don't break" defense.
“Battle-Tested” is what Pete refers to. Having a QB that can deliver in the clutch with all the pressure on is huge in the playoffs. I’m with Pete, let’s get into the playoffs and see what happens.
I understand why it’s not a great stat, but let’s be honest, this is year 2 of a rebuild, we were never going to have a dominant team. But we do have a team that can execute at a high level with pressure on. I’ll take it.
Also, this is why I am not jumping on the Niner bandwagon for this reason.
I want to play the Niners in the playoffs!
Go hawks
Glad you said "rebuild", because that's truth no matter how PC's positive spinning tries to dress it up with a euphemism.
To me it suggests not only the flaws of the "how you finish" strategy already mentioned. It also goes with the Hawks' generally poor consistency and discipline factors(ref. the high penalty rate, lousy 3rd down efficiency and weak red zone scoring as further proof). Utterly depending on last minute heroics is not what great teams do, any more than cramming for the final exam is a mark of true scholarship. It also frustrates and exhausts of 12s like me.
This is not a good category to be in, except it would suck to be worse.
The hockey team I follow--the Vancouver Canucks--has been infamously bad at giving up leads in the 3rd period, and losing. This year, however, they are 20-0 in games where they hold a lead going into the final frame. That is good.
What is also good, in football, is going into the 4th quarter with a lead, and finishing with a win.
The Seahawks have been "bad" at complementary football--winning time of pessession with long drivers, getting off the field on D. We have seen a bit of it, and the team *should* be capable but the kind of offense we have seen in the 4th Q vs the Titans (and Eagles) has not been seen except in opening scripted drives and in quarters of halves of "good" performance interspersed with BAD play. Whatever the solution to all that is, I hope the Seahawks figure it out before the post season.
I believe the offense fundamentally changed prior to the Cowboys game.
Pete said he talked to Shane prior to the game. Seems to have worked, as Geno and Shane are getting the ball out much quicker. Drew was fast and Geno in cowboys was 0.4 seconds faster than his average in cowboys. Then:
https://x.com/hawkblogger/status/1740024533351104941?s=46&t=GOr4QVtKtJ8ZabyL8K_o7Q
It’s early, but that is a huge shift for a legitimate Geno concern (holding onto the ball).
The result? Offense has been significantly better (o-line getting healthy helps also).
That might have been Geno's best game (vs the Titans)--no turnovers, getting the ball out quickly. But the offense was not very productive until the 2nd half and really the last 20 minutes of the game. We are still waiting for a full 60-minute effort by the team. Despite the score vs Dallas, that wasn't winning football due to the advantage Dallas had in TOP and number of plays Dallas ran vs Seattle. Yes the D has to play better (and without Adams at Safety they have been) BUT the offense has to be able to control the clock also i.e., be able to convert third downs throughout the game and not just for a quarter or a half.
I get your points tho! Would be nice to see a full game.
If you move 1 TD drive from the second half to the first half would that change your perception?
I think overall the margins are incredibly slim. What would’ve happened had the refs called Bobos pass complete on the first drive?
What if Charbs caught the ball on the 4th drive of the first half?
Would those two plays change the entire outlook?
Even with those, the cowboys game and titans game displayed a top offense in the NFL. The 4th downs were unfortunate in Dallas. But that shouldn’t change an incredible (top 3% offensive output) game by the offense imo.
Also, the second half of the titans game wasn’t just good, if they did that for the whole season it would be by far the best offense in the history of the NfL, the Hawks would win multiple super bowls, and Geno would be headed to canton.
That’s a bit too high of expectations, but nice to know they did when needed
It is about time of possession and being able to dictate the game script, and I am pretty sure this is what Pete wants to do also--the Seahawks need to be able to run the ball better than they have done, and it starts with the OL. Run the ball well, and everything else opens up: P/A passing with deep shots, keep the D fresh and able to play fast.
Unfortunately, Seattle is last in TOP. Some uptick in the last three games, but even if that were their season average, they’d still be last.
Probably, this is a direct result of injuries, discontinuity, and relative inexperience of the OL. To compare,
* Seven linemen have started for the Niners this year v. nine for Seattle
* Five OL have made at least eleven starts for SF v. three for Seattle
Better O-line run game would be huge moving forward.
I can't even remember the last time we needed the run game to try to run down the clock to win a game. Feels like it has been forever. Geez.
I'm hoping that the team is working on run blocking for the O-line all this week. That and eliminating those penalties that usually stop our drives when the other team can't.
Yeah ... Definitely something Pete wants to do.
The offense did great in this regard against the Titans. They had one (1) three and out. That was it. The rest were longer drives.
The defense just couldn't stop the Titans which was disappointing to see. We knew the Titans needed to run and we just couldn't stop it.
Finally, we saw the Titans in a passing situation and the defense worked much better.
This is the goal moving forward... can the defense stop the run? Can they get off the field.
With the offense playing really well in Geno's last two starts, we will easily win TOP with some defensive stops.
But yes, the O-line has room to improve.
I would add that DK is playing at his potential: which is one of the best in the league.
And I also think the early investment in JSN when he was dropping passes and running the wrong route is now seeing dividends. Great coaching to stick with it.
Metcalf is the team’s best offensive player.
DK has been awesome the last month or so.
He is playing up to his potential and excelling. Exactly what we need him to be and why he is paid what he is paid.
With the offense playing great lately. JSN investment paying off. Line getting healthy. DK excelling. K9 getting loose. Geno dicing. Etc etc. looking forward to the last couple games and hopefully playoffs.
It’s better than leading the league in losing to game-winning drives.
I agree with the comments and want to add that after experiencing a 4 game skid, those game winning drives do give us that much needed "hope" when the game is on the line in the last minute or so, or less. That feeling is much better than feeling the game is done and over at that time. I'm not sure our team is coached for a blow out win, but it would be easier on the heart. "Do you win the game in the 1st quarter..." :)
Safe 'n enjoyable transit, KenJoe & Seaside Jay.