> Three things about this group that immediately feel wrong to me is a) It’s passer rating, b) Goff is on it, and c) Williams has only played five games. Williams has as many pass attempts this season as Jameis Winston. Tanner McKee almost has as many attempts as Williams.
lol Joe can you explain why you dislike passer rating? It's not very informative to say "I don't like this metric because quarterback X is top 5 in it". That just indicates you have a problem with the metric itself and think there is some criterion (or criteria) that clearly disqualify quarterback X. I'd love to hear more detail on both of those!
Thnx, SSJ. What we did Monday night was a daring adjustment at exactly the wrong time. No QB would have stood up well. Having our rookie Guard change position after 3 years did not include all the muscle memory strength needed while trying to stop the fiercest Rusher in all the League. And who had played that position the week before. No dance coordination needed on Defense. All it took was a few day's prep and a deep desire to KICK ASS all through the trenches. We are GOOD, but not that good. Nobody is. I'm simply pissed and need to vent.
Monday’s game was the first time I really had an issue with Fleury’s play calling. We started a drive at 8:40 left in the 4th quarter down 10. A TD and a FG from tying the game. You have a great shot at two drives to get that done. At the end of the first half the Hawks got the ball with 58 seconds left and 2 time outs. They drove the length of the field for a TD, still had their time outs and left 20 seconds on the clock. Before Darnold threw the INT on that 4th quarter drive they moved the ball 13 yards in 5 plays, (two running plays in there) and took over 2 minutes off the clock. They huddled after every play. They bled the play clock down to single digits with the game clock running. They were on pace to run out of time before they scored on what would be the only drive left in the game.
I didn’t expect them to move it with the speed they did at the end of the first half, but that pace was unacceptable and that I can say is 95% on Fleury. As for Sam, I know not all the turnovers are on him and he has been much better not fumbling the ball this year, but the stats on the Seahawks performance when they have 1 or fewer turnovers vs 2 or more is incontrovertible. In his last 13 starts (including the PATS game in week one as a “start”) where he played a full game, Lock has 7 turnovers. His turnover rate is less than 1/2 of Sam’s rate. MM has said many times protecting the ball is an integral part of complementary offense. Playoff Sam has to get his mojo back, beginning this week. The O-line was a mess vs the Bears. People are over-reacting IMHO based on the Bears game. It was bound to take some time for Jones, Nelson and Zabel to figure it out, and for Sundell and Lucas to mesh with new players. Hopefully it will start this week. It should look better anyway.
Also re- Sam, his ceiling is definitely top 5. No doubt he’s capable of 375+ yards and 4 TDs. But the turnovers kill us. Lock is not going to match Sam’s ceiling, but with this Seahawk defense, 225 yards from Lock and 2 TDS without or at most 1 turnover is complementary football. Sam is the QB Seattle wants, but Lock may be the QB they need to stack wins and play complementary football. We’re still in the thick of the playoff hunt, but if we lose to the Cardinals and Raiders, I want to see what we have in Lock. With this defense we don’t need a top 5 QB. Top 12 will work fine. And let’s not forget Lock was top 1 after 2 weeks. Yeah it’s a small sample size, but Lock had pressure, stood in there with his feet planted, and threw the ball taking the hit. Sam is bouncing and he’s not planting his feet. Even before the pressure arrives on some plays… as if he’s seeing ghost pressure. Settle down Sam!
Drew or Sam? Who is most likely to ask Fleury why we continue to try running through the right side over going left through an All Pro Guard with a proven ability to move someone well off the ball? Where was Horton deep while they double focused on JSN on the other side of the field? Who is most likely to change up the play, adjusting in a quieted stadium? Drew or Sam? Who plays it safe and doesn't piss off the OC? Does as he's told?
My preference would be Sam if he can find playoff Sam and protect the ball. But if we keep losing with Sam, I want to see what we do with Lock. Sam is 2- 4 this year.
This year, the guys got a very real FEEL for the difference with Drew over Sam. To me, it looks like they liked him. A Lot. A Baker Mayfield kind of difference?
So I’ll comment because I can. For the last 2 days the Substack app wouldn’t let me comment, and customer support is now a shitty AI system. Anyhoo…
I’ve been very supportive of Brian Fleury because I’m intrigued by his background and thought he could be really good. But damn, some of the play calling was bizarre.
And this may be an unpopular opinion but destroying the continuity on the offensive line really hurt the team against Chicago. Maybe Nelson is an Oline god, but he hid it well. And Zabel looked lost on the right. Absolutely lost.
Lucas looked a whole lot better 1 week before when he had Bradford next to him. Last Sunday reaffirmed my belief that Oline continuity trumps better talent that hasn’t played together much.
Maybe late this season or next season I’ll be singing the praises of this trade. But for now, I think it’s made the Seahawks offense worse.
I think you're right, and the question becomes how long will it take for the O-line to gel again. This really comes down to Zabel. How many reps does he need at RG to feel at home there? It's not just knowing the playbook, but having the muscle memory to react instinctively and quickly from the opposite side. He may have been versatile at North Dakota State University, but he's only ever played LG against NFL defensive linemen.
This will be Bradford's last season as a Seahawk, so it makes perfect sense to play Zabel as long as he's healthy to get him comfortable at RG. If all goes to plan with Nelson, we've got our guards figured out for the next two or three years, at least. As fans, we just have to hope that Zabel can get up to speed in a matter of weeks instead of months.
> Three things about this group that immediately feel wrong to me is a) It’s passer rating, b) Goff is on it, and c) Williams has only played five games. Williams has as many pass attempts this season as Jameis Winston. Tanner McKee almost has as many attempts as Williams.
lol Joe can you explain why you dislike passer rating? It's not very informative to say "I don't like this metric because quarterback X is top 5 in it". That just indicates you have a problem with the metric itself and think there is some criterion (or criteria) that clearly disqualify quarterback X. I'd love to hear more detail on both of those!
Thnx, SSJ. What we did Monday night was a daring adjustment at exactly the wrong time. No QB would have stood up well. Having our rookie Guard change position after 3 years did not include all the muscle memory strength needed while trying to stop the fiercest Rusher in all the League. And who had played that position the week before. No dance coordination needed on Defense. All it took was a few day's prep and a deep desire to KICK ASS all through the trenches. We are GOOD, but not that good. Nobody is. I'm simply pissed and need to vent.
Monday’s game was the first time I really had an issue with Fleury’s play calling. We started a drive at 8:40 left in the 4th quarter down 10. A TD and a FG from tying the game. You have a great shot at two drives to get that done. At the end of the first half the Hawks got the ball with 58 seconds left and 2 time outs. They drove the length of the field for a TD, still had their time outs and left 20 seconds on the clock. Before Darnold threw the INT on that 4th quarter drive they moved the ball 13 yards in 5 plays, (two running plays in there) and took over 2 minutes off the clock. They huddled after every play. They bled the play clock down to single digits with the game clock running. They were on pace to run out of time before they scored on what would be the only drive left in the game.
I didn’t expect them to move it with the speed they did at the end of the first half, but that pace was unacceptable and that I can say is 95% on Fleury. As for Sam, I know not all the turnovers are on him and he has been much better not fumbling the ball this year, but the stats on the Seahawks performance when they have 1 or fewer turnovers vs 2 or more is incontrovertible. In his last 13 starts (including the PATS game in week one as a “start”) where he played a full game, Lock has 7 turnovers. His turnover rate is less than 1/2 of Sam’s rate. MM has said many times protecting the ball is an integral part of complementary offense. Playoff Sam has to get his mojo back, beginning this week. The O-line was a mess vs the Bears. People are over-reacting IMHO based on the Bears game. It was bound to take some time for Jones, Nelson and Zabel to figure it out, and for Sundell and Lucas to mesh with new players. Hopefully it will start this week. It should look better anyway.
Also re- Sam, his ceiling is definitely top 5. No doubt he’s capable of 375+ yards and 4 TDs. But the turnovers kill us. Lock is not going to match Sam’s ceiling, but with this Seahawk defense, 225 yards from Lock and 2 TDS without or at most 1 turnover is complementary football. Sam is the QB Seattle wants, but Lock may be the QB they need to stack wins and play complementary football. We’re still in the thick of the playoff hunt, but if we lose to the Cardinals and Raiders, I want to see what we have in Lock. With this defense we don’t need a top 5 QB. Top 12 will work fine. And let’s not forget Lock was top 1 after 2 weeks. Yeah it’s a small sample size, but Lock had pressure, stood in there with his feet planted, and threw the ball taking the hit. Sam is bouncing and he’s not planting his feet. Even before the pressure arrives on some plays… as if he’s seeing ghost pressure. Settle down Sam!
Drew or Sam? Who is most likely to ask Fleury why we continue to try running through the right side over going left through an All Pro Guard with a proven ability to move someone well off the ball? Where was Horton deep while they double focused on JSN on the other side of the field? Who is most likely to change up the play, adjusting in a quieted stadium? Drew or Sam? Who plays it safe and doesn't piss off the OC? Does as he's told?
My preference would be Sam if he can find playoff Sam and protect the ball. But if we keep losing with Sam, I want to see what we do with Lock. Sam is 2- 4 this year.
This year, the guys got a very real FEEL for the difference with Drew over Sam. To me, it looks like they liked him. A Lot. A Baker Mayfield kind of difference?
So I’ll comment because I can. For the last 2 days the Substack app wouldn’t let me comment, and customer support is now a shitty AI system. Anyhoo…
I’ve been very supportive of Brian Fleury because I’m intrigued by his background and thought he could be really good. But damn, some of the play calling was bizarre.
And this may be an unpopular opinion but destroying the continuity on the offensive line really hurt the team against Chicago. Maybe Nelson is an Oline god, but he hid it well. And Zabel looked lost on the right. Absolutely lost.
Lucas looked a whole lot better 1 week before when he had Bradford next to him. Last Sunday reaffirmed my belief that Oline continuity trumps better talent that hasn’t played together much.
Maybe late this season or next season I’ll be singing the praises of this trade. But for now, I think it’s made the Seahawks offense worse.
I think you're right, and the question becomes how long will it take for the O-line to gel again. This really comes down to Zabel. How many reps does he need at RG to feel at home there? It's not just knowing the playbook, but having the muscle memory to react instinctively and quickly from the opposite side. He may have been versatile at North Dakota State University, but he's only ever played LG against NFL defensive linemen.
This will be Bradford's last season as a Seahawk, so it makes perfect sense to play Zabel as long as he's healthy to get him comfortable at RG. If all goes to plan with Nelson, we've got our guards figured out for the next two or three years, at least. As fans, we just have to hope that Zabel can get up to speed in a matter of weeks instead of months.
I’ve had the same issue with my iPad. The iPhone seems to be okay.
I had the same problem on the Substack APP, but it you sign in to Substack on Safari, you can comment.