Can we overcome our passing offense?

[Rob12]

I don't want to be a naysayer, and I'm not trying to bring the forum down. That was a big win and a dominating second half of football from the Seahawks. There are many positives to take away from that victory.

Since the St. Louis game, our passing offense has been arguably the worst in the NFL. In other areas that we've struggled, there have been variables there in play, such as injuries. But on the offensive side of the ball, and specifically the passing game, there are really no variables outside of our control, with the exception of Zach Miller being out (which is admittedly a huge loss).

It hit me today, even though I already knew it:

Four of Russell Wilson's main targets are undrafted free agents. The other two are rookie receivers with likely bright futures. He was throwing to our third string tight end. Our second string tight end can flash, but has been inconsistent in catching the football.

I love ADB and Kearse, but in truly good offenses these are guys are third or fourth on the depth chart. I hate saying that, but it's reality.

Russ simply has very little help in the passing game. It's arguable that Beast has been his most reliable target, and that scares the hell out of me.

I don't cry over spilled milk, but damn... I never knew how important Golden was to this offense. I don't think many did.

What are the biggest drawbacks to our passing game? I know we're a run heavy team at this point, but it's sad to see Russ struggle. It's tough to see the lack of talent surrounding him in the passing game.

Someone, ANYONE... Help calm me down. I just don't see our offense doing enough. That was a bad Giants team we ran all over, and we're not going to face a team like that again this season.

 

[King Dog]

I don't know, but I'm very frustrated / jealous looking around the league at all these rookie stud wr's tearing it up, while ours hardly even show up on the stat sheet. Great win though.

 

[ivotuk]

Our receiving targets are fine, but Russellhas been off his game. 2 ints versus what is probably the worst, and most depleted secondary in the NFL?

He needs to figure out what is wrong and do it soon. KC will walk all over us if we play like that next week.

I think he needs a better QB Coach, like Jim Zorn.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

The WR are an issue for sure but given our abysmal pass protection, the o line needs to step up. Run schemes have been great in spite of our injuries. Pass pro has sucked all year.

 

[rideaducati]

If they get the O-line up to "serviceable", Russell would look much better. Hopefully, Russell doesn't get the "yips" before the O-line gets it together. We've seen many QBs destroyed by poor O-line play early in their careers.

Russell needs to get rid of the ball on time when he does have time. He seems hesitant to do so recently and is looking for something better all the time.

 

[Rob12]

Our receiving targets are fine, but Russellhas been off his game. 2 ints versus what is probably the worst, and most depleted secondary in the NFL?

He needs to figure out what is wrong and do it soon. KC will walk all over us if we play like that next week.

I think he needs a better QB Coach, like Jim Zorn.

I fully believe that Russell's struggles have less to do with him and more to do with the lack of talent in our pass receivers. Confidence in who you throw the ball to is important.

Did anyone else see Kearse on that bomb? Russ had to direct him. When they showed the replay afterwards, it looks almost like Kearse gave up on the play. When Russ escaped, he directed him and let it go. Kearse looked surprised when the ball was right on him.

Receivers have to play better. I believe they're better than this. But until they prove it, it's hard not to feel really concerned about the passing game. Russ can't do it on his own.

 

[Rob12]

I don't know, but I'm very frustrated / jealous looking around the league at all these rookie stud wr's tearing it up, while ours hardly even show up on the stat sheet. Great win though.

Watkins, Evans, Beckham, Benjamin... Yeah, that hurts.

 

[davidonmi]

Sure, but if you want to compensate our defense has to be elite level. And right now we're getting close to no passrush

 

[WilsonMVP]

I was looking and I believe we only have 3 passing TDs in the last 5 games..which is just...amazingly bad...even a really bad QB/offense usually manages better than that

 

[Abach]

Our receiving targets are fine, but Russellhas been off his game. 2 ints versus what is probably the worst, and most depleted secondary in the NFL?

He needs to figure out what is wrong and do it soon. KC will walk all over us if we play like that next week.

I think he needs a better QB Coach, like Jim Zorn.

I fully believe that Russell's struggles have less to do with him and more to do with the lack of talent in our pass receivers. Confidence in who you throw the ball to is important.

Did anyone else see Kearse on that bomb? Russ had to direct him. When they showed the replay afterwards, it looks almost like Kearse gave up on the play. When Russ escaped, he directed him and let it go. Kearse looked surprised when the ball was right on him.

Receivers have to play better. I believe they're better than this. But until they prove it, it's hard not to feel really concerned about the passing game. Russ can't do it on his own.

I also saw Wilson miss a wide open Kearse for an easy td. ...

 

[Schadie001]

Last two games were played in pouring down rain. Idk what you say, big hands or not throwing in the rain sucks and messes with accuracy. He threw for over 300 in two weeks ago in the dome. WRs are fine just like they were last year when we just happened to win a super bowl with what most described as mediocre WRs. Both picks today were all on russell, probably due to wet ball.

 

[stang233]

I'd like to see more of Ricard . Dude seems clutch this year.

 

[Rob12]

The WR are an issue for sure but given our abysmal pass protection, the o line needs to step up. Run schemes have been great in spite of our injuries. Pass pro has sucked all year.

Sadly, our offensive line is what it is. They have regressed from pass pro dating back to last year, IMO. It's on Russ and the receivers at this point.

 

[Rob12]

Last two games were played in pouring down rain. Idk what you say, big hands or not throwing in the rain sucks and messes with accuracy. He threw for over 300 in two weeks ago in the dome. WRs are fine just like they were last year when we just happened to win a super bowl with what most described as mediocre WRs. Both picks today were all on russell, probably due to wet ball.

Eli did just fine in the rain.

 

[AgentDib]

Passing TDs isn't a good metric to focus on in isolation because what really matters is total TDs and red zone %. If we are racking up the rushing TDs then who cares if we have zero passing TDs, the problem comes about when we can't get into the end zone in any manner. Today was a very positive step in that direction even if we didn't see much production out of the passing game.

Sadly, our offensive line is what it is. They have regressed from pass pro dating back to last year, IMO. It's on Russ and the receivers at this point.

That's a bit circular. You could just as easily say that Russ and our receivers are what they are, and it's on the offensive line to improve going forwards. Of course that wouldn't be correct either, pretty much every facet of the passing offense has room for improvement right now from the coaching on down. In a way I think that is actually a more encouraging view too, because with how interconnected every area is we only need to make minor improvements to every area in order to get a major improvement in the on field results.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

We have the perfect storm of bad pass blocking, rook WRs and no serious threat among the vet WRs. They will improve as a unit as the rooks improve, but I'm not sure this is happening at the best time of the season. Oh well.

 

[themunn]

It's tough watching those rookie receivers produce - but the four rookie WRs that really look like studs were all drafted before our 1st round pick, so that takes a little sting from it. Let's not forget that generally rookie WRs have a hard time adjusting to the NFL - it's surprising that so many are doing so well this year (I imagine the emphasis on defensive holding has had an impact on how easy the transition has been for them).

Right now we simply don't have a guy where you just throw it up and hope he can make a play on the ball - we used to have Rice and Tate for that. Baldwin looks like he's a guy that can do it, but his style is more traditional "beat the man with the route". Wilson doesn't seem to have his mojo at the moment and so that's affecting Baldwin's impact.

 

[DrDix]

It's a combination of factors. The last two games first of all, have been in heavy rain, which makes it much more difficult. I don't know how no one mentions this, but at one point last week against Oakland after Carpenter went down, we had 3 starters missing from the O-Line. Not to mention 3rd string center....so many people seem to not understand you need continuity in the offensive line to stay on schedule, and Russ has not had this his entire career. Someone on the line seems to always be injured, it's just ridiculous how this has happened in all three of his seasons. He is running for his life half the time. People need to understand, you NEED a fluent O-Line, you need to be able to play with the starters to stay on schedule.

Our WRs, are having the same problem they had around this time last season, unable to get open most of the time, not a lot Russ can do when no one is open.

The last factor is Russ has not played well for 3 weeks. It's not like he can't pass the ball all of a sudden. He just hasn't played well, it happens.

It's a team sport, you cannot pinpoint a teams problems on one player.

This team has been demolished with key injuries, they haven't been fully healthy for a long time now. How people can expect perfect passing game during this is just absolutely beyond me.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Our passing woes against New York cannot be attributed to poor O-Line play. I wish people would stop repeating this when our line plays good. This is the best I have seen them play for a long time, and they deserve some props, especially Bailey. He looked great playing left guard, and he actually looked more competent in the passing game than Carpenter. Wilson had clean pockets most of the game, though Britt did whiff on a couple of plays pretty badly. They deserve some props for putting up their most complete game of the year.

I don't think this can be blamed on our receivers either. There were open guys but Russell wasn't able to connect with them. His ball placement on those two interceptions were very bad, if he puts it on the outside shoulder of Baldwin you have a completion and long gain. If he leads Richardson a little more he has a chance for a completion. He completely missed a wide open Kearse for what would've been a big gain, and another wide open receiver in the end zone. On his two interceptions he had a perfect pocket to throw from, and even though a pass rusher was bearing down on Wilson on the play he missed with Kearse he still had time to set his feet and go through all of the fundamentals of throwing a pass.

Our woes passing the game were completely on Wilson today, it was easily one of his worst days passing the ball ever. Even when he's had time in the last three games he's missed some easy gimmie throws, right now he is part of the problem. I do not think I've ever seen him look so poorly for so many consecutive games. As critical as have been of Wilson, I think he's a good player. What is dis concerning about his play is that these throws are ones that he usually makes with boring consistency. Normally his ball placement and accuracy is solid, though lately he's been having awful overthrowing problems. This phenomenon actually started in the preseason and its been rearing its ugly head over the course of the year.

What I have been noticing is that his footwork is really bad right now, especially within the pocket. He's not completely setting his feet before he throws, and I'm seeing more throws off of his back feet than I've ever seen before. I've even been seeing Tavaris Jackson style jump passes. Another observation I need to note is the lack of touch passes. It seems like Russell is trying to throw bullets on every play. I'm not seeing any of those beautiful touch passes that Wilson is known for. I've even seen him look at open receivers and decide to hold onto the ball for whatever reason.

There was one instance that is memorable against the Raiders. Wilson drops back and he sees Paul Richardson open on a comeback route. I know that Wilson sees him because he's looking directly at Richardson. Kearse is running a go route on the same side as Richardson, Wilson sees he's covered and looks over to the other-side of the field and sees that Baldwin is not open. Wilson scrambles out of the pocket and now Kearse is running open down the field. Wilson sees this, but pulls the ball down and hesitates, he looks like he wants to throw until finally Kearse is covered. At this point Wilson decides to run the ball for a two yard gain.

I'm seeing a lot of these types of plays. He makes a read and holds the ball, it's like he's doubting his initial read, second guessing his every decision when it comes to passing the ball. I don't think he trusts his receivers, maybe due to unfamiliarity?

Right now I think Wilson is his own worst enemy. He's inside his own head, as a result we're seeing him second guess himself, and we're seeing poor fundamentals, and bad ball placement. All of this factors into his poor accuracy as of late.The good news is he looked great moving around the pocket, the best I've ever seen from him. All day long he was stepping up in the pocket, and he even used his movements to set up pass blocks. I'm really glad to see him committing to the pocket, that is what he needs to do to take the next step from a passing standpoint. He also made very good decisions on when to bail from the pocket.

I think we need to simplify the passing game for Wilson right now. Give him those bootlegs with a run pass option, give him plenty of check-down options, maybe even instruct him to make one or two reads and then take off if a running lane presents itself. Something reminiscent to what RG3 ran in his rookie year, just until Wilson gets finds his tempo and gets his confidence back.

 

[RiverDog]

Our woes passing the game were completely on Wilson today.

That's a bit over the top. It's hardly ever all on the quarterback. QB's get too much credit when things go right and too much blame when they don't.

But I do agree that Russell's passing game is off this season, and it needs to improve if we expect to make the playoffs, let alone make any noise once we get in. There's no more pushovers left on our schedule. We won't see any rushing performances like we did yesterday. That Giants defense was the worst in the league at stopping the run.