It does feel kind of weird to be last. I've been a dedicated Seahawks fan for just a little over two decades at this point (I was only a casual fan before that) and during that time it's been a pretty amazing run (I've watched this team go to three Super Bowls! Not too many other franchises can say the same over that time frame).
However, the last couple of year it's almost felt like I was watching teams that aren't as good as their record (and this year a team that's not quite as bad as their record). We've just been so maddening but we've always had just that little bit of magic to get us past whatever issue we had and now it's like that magic is gone.
TwistedHusky":2j23gdmc said:
Pete likes to keep the game close to hide his coaching deficiencies.
It shouldn't be a mystery.
I honestly think Pete keeps the game close because he's chronically afraid that if we do anything but Pete ball he'll get blown out because of a mistake. I don't know if this is a side-effect from his time as a college coach but it all reminds me back in the prime years of Carroll's time with this team when we would be blowing out a team and then, for some reason, we'd pull out a trick play.
It seemed so stupid at the time. I mean, why reveal our trick play in that situation? Why be a jerk like that to another team that was already pretty much out of the game?
But now I realize, in Pete's mind, piling on the score is the only reason a trick play exists. He's too deathly afraid to bust them out in a regular game. That's why that direct snap run play against GB shocked me because it's one of the few times I've seen Pete run a trick play without being up by at least 3 scores.
Maelstrom787":2j23gdmc said:
TwistedHusky":2j23gdmc said:
Not if you are playing a style of football not well suited for the roster.
Yep. Should be rushing the ball more to take pressure off of his boom-or-bust quarterback.
This is true but I also don't think it's as straight forward as that. It's not just about running but HOW we run. And this is an issue that's not just on Pete, it's also on Russ.
We developed our run-style back when we had Marshawn Lynch and the read-option was one of our most dangerous weapons. Russ was such a danger if he read keep that it kept D's off-balance and Marshawn was such a physical beast that he could still punish the other team even if our rush play took too long to develop.
The issue now is that Russ doesn't ever read keep on those plays anymore and none of our RBs since are Marshawn. So we've developed a run-game that punishes our backs but because Russ has made his bread and butter lining up in shotgun and doing draw plays, that's what we do.
Finally, this year, we started lining up under center again and we see glimpses of a team that is willing to run traditional rushing plays. But, that's still not where Russ is most comfortable and unfortunately, both Russ and Pete are far too willing to trash our rhythm the moment things get a little rough.