Vision Board: Seahawks-Saints

Seaside Joe 1312: 3 things I foresee happening on Sunday, because I made a vision board

For the second time in as many tries, the Seaside Joe vision board is looking NICE. Last week’s visions:

Hold Jamaal Williams under 3.0 YPC (Vision: DESTROYED)

Williams had 108 rushing yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns

Score two second half offensive touchdowns (Vision: ACCOMPLISHED)

Following Tariq Woolen’s pick-six that gave Seattle two second half non-offensive touchdowns prior to scoring their first offensive touchdown of the season, Rashaad Penny ran for 36 and 41-yard scores.

DK Metcalf reaches 150 yards (Vision: ACCOMPLISHED)

Even if Metcalf got a little cute by only gaining 149 yards, this vision was up to my snuff.

That’s basically two visions boards that got two out of three. Can I vision myself into a 3-for-3 game this weekend against the New Orleans Saints? I foresee it happening.

Speaking of visions, before we get started I have to point this out. On Thursday, I compared Russell Wilson to Lucas from the movie Lucas, which prompted me to re-watch the movie with Seaside Jay on HBO Max last night. Could anything be more fitting than this:

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Something I didn't realize until re-watching Lucas last night

I’m making things happen in the universe. Help us continue to make things happen by hittin’ subscribe and sharin’ the Joe with Seahawks friends.

Force the Saints into 3 turnovers

This cat turns over three times and that’s what the Seahawks should force on Sunday: Three turnovers. Except Seattle will be facing more of a tabby.

The Saints announced on Friday that Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas will both miss this game, which means that Andy Dalton is under center for the second week in a row. As I wrote earlier this week, maybe Dalton is even a better option than Winston. But he’s still Andy Dalton.

Not having Thomas puts more pressure on rookie Chris Olave, especially since Jarvis Landry is also questionable.

The Seahawks have forced two turnovers in three of their four games this season. I think you could argue that blocking a field goal is also a turnover, which resulted in a touchdown against the 49ers. But Seattle finished 25th in takeaways in 2021 and they only had more than one turnover three times: 3 each against the 49ers and Lions, and 2 in their other game against the 49ers, all of which were Seahawks wins.

Seaside Joe: Daily Seahawks Newsletter @seasidejoenews

In 17 games last year, the Seahawks forced multiple turnovers only three times. In 4 games this year, the Seahawks have forced multiple turnovers three times.

The last time that Seattle forced more than three turnovers was November 24, 2019 against the Eagles, when they had five.

The Saints lead the NFL in giving the ball away this season. They had five turnovers in Week 2 against the Buccaneers, and they’ve had five in the two games since. Dalton is less likely to give the football away than Winston, but what about the other New Orleans players? The team has fumbled the ball seven times, not including three by Winston. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have combined for three fumbles—and they haven’t even had that many touches yet.

With the rookies forcing both turnovers last week, now is a good time for Quandre Diggs and Jordyn Brooks to get involved.

Don’t forget to leave your own Week 5 visions in the comments.

Geno Smith throws a TD directly in Tyrann Mathieu’s face, basically

I am in no position to declare that Tyrann Mathieu is overrated by any means. But I have found it interesting that the Cardinals, Texans, and Chiefs have all found reasons to say “Goodbye” within the last five years.

Mathieu has a reputation for big plays, which has helped make him so famous among NFL fans, but he can give up the big plays too. Mathieu has not been blamed for giving up any touchdowns yet this year, but he has given up 12 total over the previous four years, so I say that he’s due.

Or I don’t say it, I envision it.

Mathieu hasn’t faced the Seahawks since his final game with Arizona. That was a 26-24 Cardinals win, but included a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown by Tyler Lockett and an unexpected win for backup quarterback Drew Stanton. Geno Smith is the most unexpected player in the league through four weeks, now would be a great time for him to take care of the skeptics who say that the Lions and Falcons (it’s not just the Lions, the Falcons defense is also really bad) helped boost his rebound from Week 2.

The Saints rank ninth on defense by DVOA, including 13th against both the run and the pass. New Orleans is third in red zone defense, allowing just four scores in 11 opposing drives. Geno Smith struggled to get into the red zone for the first two games, but is now 7-of-12 passing with four touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in that area of the field this season.

It’s not my intention to pick on Mathieu, nor will it be Smith’s, it’s just what I see!

Dee Eskridge sets career-high with 45 yards

This kid is big enough to fit in this presumably photoshopped hole. But this is not meant to be a reference to Dee Eskridge’s size, only a Vision for setting attainable targets. Eskridge comes into Week 5 with a career-high of 35 receiving yards and his playing time has only increased as the season’s gotten older.

Eskridge played five snaps, then six snaps, then 12 snaps, and finally 19 snaps in last week’s win over Detroit. He had a season-high 10 yards, as well as his first rushing attempt of 2022. Why not take another baby step and have a three-target day with 45 yards against a Saints defense that will be without starting defensive back P.J. Williams?

During his rookie campaign, Eskridge saw a similar increase in snaps when he returned from injury: 5 snaps, 11 snaps, 13 snaps, 22 snaps, 28 snaps, and then finally a career-high 40 snaps in a loss to the Rams. Over 20 snaps this week seems to be in Eskridge’s wheelhouse, and Seattle has basically wielded zero return from having Marquise Goodwin out there.

Obviously at this point, the Seahawks number three receiver is Will Dissly, and the team is getting a kick out of using all three tight ends on a regular basis. But Eskridge is a unique weapon and we have to assume Shane Waldron and Pete Carroll are increasing his reps for some reason. It’s not to block.

Bonus Vision: More games like this would be great:

Don’t forget to share your visions for Seahawks-Saints in the comments.