Vision Board: Seahawks-Panthers

Seahawks defense needs to wake up out of their Groundhog's Day: Seaside Joe 1666

In last week’s vision board against the Lions, I dreamt of:

Ken Walker III rushing for 120 yards with a long of 40

The Offense would get 26+ first downs

The Defense would hold the Lions to under 150 rushing yards

Score: 2/3

In this week’s review of the All-22 versus the Lions, a takeaway I had that I didn’t mention was that it felt like Walker had multiple plays where he was one good cut away from breaking off a big run. I feel as though he’s on the verge of a huge game, it just didn’t happen in Detroit. He wasn’t bad though, scoring two touchdowns and we have to keep in mind that his low YPC (2.53) is at least partially related to situational football: Walker punched it in from the 1 and the 3 and he converted a fourth-and-1 opportunity.

The offense gaining 28 first downs is a huge deal: That’s higher than in any game from 2022 and would easily be their second-best game of 2021. Of course, the Seahawks’ two best first down games of the previous two seasons both came against the Lions. There’s a chance this game will make it three-for-three.

The rushing yards allowed is also a big deal, as Seattle went 1-8 last year when allowing over 150 on the ground. They’ve now held the Rams to 92 and the Lions to 102. However, I do think L.A. is going to continue to be a bad rushing offnse, while Detroit’s David Montgomery performed well prior to getting hurt. The Panthers could prove a biggest such threat so far this season.

Vision Board Season Total: 2.5/5

I made a Bill Murray reference this week, why not stick with that in this week’s visions?

Seahawks finally make Andy Dalton McCrack-under pressure

In the 1996 movie Kingpin, Roy Munson (the hero) has to slay his demon Ernie McCracken (the villain) in the final showdown of the movie. In the case of the movie, it’s Munson who comes off the bench at the end to replace an injured player, but in Seahawks-Panthers, it will be Andy Dalton subbing in for Bryce Young.

Seattle needs to finally put Dalton in his place after all these years of losing to someone who they shouldn’t.

Dalton has felt the joy of blowing out Pete Carroll’s Seahawks (34-12 in 2011), of leading a 17-point fourth quarter comeback (27-24 OT in 2015), of throwing for a career-high 418 yards (2019, although Seattle won 21-20), and of coming off the bench to win (39-32 as the Saints QB last year).

He’s even experienced the joy of victory when not seeing the field, as a member of the Bears in 2021 when Nick Foles led Chicago on a comeback to win 25-24.

The Seahawks need to finally say, “Enough of this Andy Dalton shit”.

The Vision: Hold Andy Dalton to under 180 passing yards and no touchdowns

If you’ve been following the Panthers offense this year, before and during the season, then you may believe as I do that the problems don’t start and end with Bryce Young. Carolina’s receiving corps is led by a version of Adam Thielen that probably shouldn’t be starting, followed by an oft-injured DJ Chark and rookie Jonathan Mingo. It’s not good and the pass protection hasn’t been much better.

As banged up as Seattle’s secondary is, it would be disappointing to not be able to cover this group of receivers, and terrifying given some of the matchups that lay ahead after Week 3.

Boye Mafe shows up “New and Improved”

“They say we’re young and we don’t know, we won’t find out until we grow…I got you, Andy”

It’s a huge risk to try and project individual defensive stats, even something that may seem as straightforward is sacks. The best players of all-time can go without a sack every other game, sometimes impacting the quarterback just as much as if they did reach him, sometimes not. But it’s even more insane to put high expectations on a player who has three sacks in his career and missed last week with injury.

Is Mafe’s partially related to my concerns about starting Darrell Taylor? No.

It’s fully related.

Unfortunately, Mafe is being called a gametime decision due to a knee injury and he only practiced once during the week. Let’s hope that through some unexplained phenomenon, Mafe’s been able to go through a thousand lifetimes of development by living the same day over and over again and that he shows up on Sunday, healthy and ready to send Andy Dalton into purgatory.

Given the “most improved” label by Pete Carroll in the offseason, Mafe had five tackles including one for a loss over 43 snaps in Week 1’s loss to the Rams. But Seahawks fans would like to see return on investment in the near future, especailly because Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, and Taylor have combined for four pressures in two games.

The Vision: Boye Mafe has 1.5 sacks, three pressures, sets the edge

Bryce Young has been under pressure on 31% of his dropbacks this season, second-highest mark in the NFL behind the extraordinary 41.7% for Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. Young is out, Dalton is in, but the offensive line is the same and the quarterback is far less mobile.

Most fans would say that it’s already past time for the pass rush to show up. If the Seahawks don’t get pressure on Dalton and it feels like the defense is repeating the same game over and over again, nobody’s going to be happy when they wake up tomorrow and realize it’s still yesterday.

ZomBoland - Jake Bobo makes shocking, unforgettable cameo!

“I like to blend in, zombies don’t mess with other zombies…”

I think I figured out how Jake Bobo is always open.

Despite 30 career snaps and one career target, Jake Bobo is, I don’t know, arguably the most popular player on the team right now?

Maybe not in the real sense, the selling jerseys sense, or being a featured player who non-Seattle fans are even aware he exists. In the sense of like, there are probably thousands of kids living their lives right now who will one day be 25 and saying, “My most prized treasure is a Jake Bobo autograph that I got when I was 12.”

Any time Bobo is on the field, it seems like Seahawks fans perk up everywhere. So I figure in these visions, I should just pick my spot and take a shot and see if it pans out.

Of all the positions going through injuries right now, receiver isn’t one of them. Yes, DK Metcalf is questionable (injury report notes) and Tyler Lockett has been banged up and Jaxon Smith-Njigba still has (I think) a partially broken wrist. But it’s going to be hard for Bobo to get snaps right now compared to backups at other positions.

But screw it…The Seahawks could use a spark and it could be that Metcalf doesn’t get a full game on Sunday. The Panthers have had an effective pass defense so far despite being without top corner Jaycee Horn, so it could be a chance for Shane Waldron to dial up a few opportunities for Bobo.

The Vision: Jake Bobo gains 50 yards and a touchdown

This would be no minor accomplishment, as fellow rookie JSN has just 47 yards through two games. Does the UDFA score before the first receiver picked in the draft? When it comes to answering that question, I ain’t afraid of no ‘bo.

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