Random Thoughts on the Washington game

[hawkfan68]

A few things stood out for me.

1) Russell Wilson is elite. No doubt. He carried the Seahawks to victory yesterday.
2) Okung and Carpenter were terrible. They cost the team 21 points. They better give their game pay to Percy Harvin for flat out robbing him.
3) Seahawks have the best punter in the NFL. Field position was important and Seattle won this battle by a wide margin.
4) Seahawks will be okay without Zach Miller for a bit.

Need to start letting Harvin go farther than 1 yard for passes. Teams are starting to catch on to how Harvin is being used. The Redskins suffered because they have 3rd string CBs playing. Dallas has a better secondary than the Redskins. It seems they are too conservative with plays called for Harvin. He's a receiver for God's sake, let him be one. Baldwin didn't have his best game. He dropped a pass that was right in his hands.

 

[MidwestHawker]

Nice post. One point of disagreement: on 4th and medium (like 4th and 5) I could see going for a fake. On 4th and 1 it sure seems like you're quite a bit better off just having your offense go for it to pick up the first down.

 

[UK_Seahawk]

I couldnt watch the game as I had a work thing I needed to be semi alert for. Have recorded it and planned to ignore the internet, that lasted until about 30 seconds after I woke up. So bearing in mind I know the score and have seen the brief highlights on nfl.com, would anyone recommend that I watch the full game or is likely to make me have a stroke?

 

[grizbob]

Thanks Kip, great read. Can't argue with any of it. :th2thumbs:

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

I couldnt watch the game as I had a work thing I needed to be semi alert for. Have recorded it and planned to ignore the internet, that lasted until about 30 seconds after I woke up. So bearing in mind I know the score and have seen the brief highlights on nfl.com, would anyone recommend that I watch the full game or is likely to make me have a stroke?

The officiating was bad, really bad.
The o-line was not good.

But watch it just to see a future first ballot HOFer QB your team. It's worth it for that alone.

 

[SeaHawk80]

Thanks for your time Kearly I enjoyed it immensely and loved it as usual. Is it Just me or have we ran a completely different Offence every week this season? I am thinking they are practicing a different section of the playbook every week. I am wondering when they start to piece what works together from the different sections and put a 50 burger on someone. A little more discipline on the line last night and we just saw it for sure, 3 TD called back, two moved us out of field goal range. And, lets not forget 2 dropped interceptions and a fumble not recovered. That's is 6 forced fumbles we have not recovered just off the top of my head, that trend will not continue, law of averages will catch up. another W in a game we have traditionally lost over and over in pre-Pete Eras. Go Hawks

 

[WI-Hawkfan]

Thanks for your time Kearly I enjoyed it immensely and loved it as usual. Is it Just me or have we ran a completely different Offence every week this season? I am thinking they are practicing a different section of the playbook every week. I am wondering when they start to piece what works together from the different sections and put a 50 burger on someone. A little more discipline on the line last night and we just saw it for sure, 3 TD called back, two moved us out of field goal range. And, lets not forget 2 dropped interceptions and a fumble not recovered. That's is 6 forced fumbles we have not recovered just off the top of my head, that trend will not continue, law of averages will catch up. another W in a game we have traditionally lost over and over in pre-Pete Eras. Go Hawks

I've wondered about this myself. How much do they change the gameplan to fit the opponents and how much are they holding stuff close to the vest for late season / post season? Is that even a thing in the NFL?

 

[rastahawk]

Great read as always.

I thought we looked like the better team from the get go. Some dubious officiating early really prevented the flood gates from opening. The Skins almost crept back into this game but I felt we always had the upper hand. Lucky we maintained enough of a stride to win it in the end.

Also want a shout out to our special teams. They pinned the Skins back deep making it extremely difficult for them to get going in the second half. John Ryan's boot and Lockette's gunning made that returner think about his mortality. I thought special teams was excellent and was a big part of us keeping the lead.

 

[King Dog]

I couldn't blame Wilson for running so much last night. Overall his line and receivers were garbage.

Don't we have any quick hitters like slants DOWN the field 5-10 yards in our offense? It seems like Russ drops back all the time, looks, 1,2,3, starts running for his life and has to make something happen on extended plays.

The lack of turnovers was frustrating as well. We had a opportunity for a fumble recovery, and at least 2 interceptions and came up with nothing.

We had pretty good pressure on Cousins at times. Strange (and again frustrating) we're not able to sack the quarterback a few more times a game.

Amazing run d last night. Loved it. Wilson is something else too. I couldn't believe my eyes when he completed that pass to Lynch while being chased down by 3 or 4 guys.

Very happy to get out of there with a win though with all the penalties, drops, and just overall sloppiness. I hope we get it together before the Cowboys next week. They're playing well this year.

 

[pehawk]

Thanks for your time Kearly I enjoyed it immensely and loved it as usual. Is it Just me or have we ran a completely different Offence every week this season? I am thinking they are practicing a different section of the playbook every week. I am wondering when they start to piece what works together from the different sections and put a 50 burger on someone. A little more discipline on the line last night and we just saw it for sure, 3 TD called back, two moved us out of field goal range. And, lets not forget 2 dropped interceptions and a fumble not recovered. That's is 6 forced fumbles we have not recovered just off the top of my head, that trend will not continue, law of averages will catch up. another W in a game we have traditionally lost over and over in pre-Pete Eras. Go Hawks

I emailed some pillowbiter from this place this AM about this very topic.

I'm not sure whether it's Bevell, or just how they choose to manage it, but this version of the Hawks always needs about 1/4 of the season to get things rolling. That's from both a play calling and execution perspective. It could be they choose to layer in the playbook, week by week, to insure they peak at the correct time. I know that sounds silly, you want to win every game, but this regime has an amazing Tao understanding of both the sprint and the race.

Last night WAS the Seahawks offense I'm accustom to, and will continue to peak.

 

[byau]

Fantastic post-game post as always!

Even though Seattle won 27-17 in a game that looks boring on the stat sheet, this is a game I'll remember for decades. The next time Seattle is in a brutally painful game, Seattle at Washington on MNF in 2014 will be the measuring stick for me. All the same, Seattle won (by 10 points (!) ), and presumably avoided injury. Not because the other team screwed up, but because they simply are not in the same league as a franchise.

Love it. And reminds me of Wilson. He seems to find encouragement in everything, good plays and mistakes (like his comments after his interception in the Denver game). You know he took away a lot from his OT drive against Denver, and definitely a lot in this game. He actually seemed to show a small bit of frustration with the TDs that were called back, but by the time the next play started he showed his poise again.

What a great game for Wilson and for him to learn from.

Seattle was up 17-0 in the blink of an eye because apparently Washington hadn't watched any of the film of teams containing Wilson and spying him.

They played man most of the time right? Which meant they were putting a lot of pressure on Wilson. They just didn't do it well. When they tried to edge rush him, Wilson stepped in front and then off to the side. When they tried to contain him, seemed like Wilson had quite a bit of time to stay in the pocket and do his reads. How can you beat that, right?

-Marshawn Lynch is amazing, and without him I think this team is probably in a bit of trouble on offense. For all the talk of Wilson making clutch plays, Lynch has been every bit as trustworthy when the game is on the line.

In a movie-scripted world, Wilson would take a paycut and give that money to Marshawn and the entire Seahawks organization would keep it a secret to not make things awkward, because Wilson realized the value of Lynch.

-IMO, Percy Harvin just had his best game as a Hawk. Unfortunately for him, this game's officiating was overseen by probably the most incompetent head official in the league. That's not to say every clutch penalty that killed Seattle was a bad call, but too many of them were.

The post-game locker room interview with Harvin: he really seemed to take it in stride, saying something along the lines of 3 TDs would have been nice, penalties happen, and that's that. Almost like a "What's Next" type attitude. Gotta love that.

-A couple days ago, I very nearly made a topic on Bruce Irvin and now I'm really wishing I had. Despite being the most physically talented LB on Seattle's roster, he's basically been the #4 LB this year, and the reason quite simply is because when you watch him closely you can see him avoiding scrums and contact. To some, those might be viewed as business decisions.


Well, tonight they put Irvin back at DE. Yes, his opposition wasn't exactly top shelf. But Irvin had a hell of a game.

Just started re-watching 2012 season on NFL Game Rewind. Just got through game 3 and yeah, Irvin seems to really have that passion there as DE.

-Big Balls Pete made an appearance tonight, calling a fake punt with a 7 point lead. I can only imagine the firestorm that would have created had it backfired and Seattle lost. That said, I loved the call. The decision to pass with about a minute left and Washington out of timeouts though? Not so much. Thank you Russ for taking that sack.

-Jon Ryan had a hell of a game. Again.

Jon Ryan ... so awesome. His post-game locker room interview was fun too. He said he hadn't run like that since high school when he was a running back. And that they've been practicing that play all week.

-Kirk Cousins can sure drop some dimes when he feels like it.

For sure. The game last week I bet was a bit of an outlier and he'll learn from the 4 INT.

Excellent post-game thoughts!

 

[the ditch]

What did we have 4 dropped passes, I`ll have to go back and watch but I think I remember Doug with a couple, Willson, and Harvin, they weren`t all perfect passes but they should have been caught. Thought it was odd because we typically are sure handed.

 

[MysterMatt]

-I was pretty pissed off last night but after some sleep, I'm now just annoyed. On the bright side, I think most teams would love to have our problems.

-The play was sloppy all across the offense, but there may be something to the theory that having so much time off early in the season has had a negative affect.

-I think most of our OL issues are due to execution, which should be correctable. That said, I think we're seeing some serious physical liability with Okung. Carpenter has had some good games and is improved, but last night he took a step backwards, mentally. Unger is just flat-out overrated, stupid penalty call on him notwithstanding. Bottom line: expecting a dominant OL with these players is silly, but if we can negate most of the mental errors we should be okay. Fingers crossed.

-Before tonight it seems our WRs do tend to disappear for whatever reason, but what is really unforgivable are the drops. That was just brutal and had a negative impact on the entire game. We can't depend on Russell to bail us out every time. Again, I hope it was just the extended time off that made us a little dull.

-The run D is awesome, and it was GREAT to see Irvin show more than just an outside speed rush. He really seemed to show up against the run, which gives me some hope that he'll become what Clemons was to this team. Fingers crossed.

-The pass D was okay, but with all the issues on Washington's OL, its amazing we didn't get to Cousins more. Some of you are saying the officiants missed a lot of holding, but I didn't see much. Granted, I was on single-dad duty with my 3 year old, so I could have missed them.

-The LOB is mostly excellent, but we've got to come up with an answer to handing off coverage on those deep routes. It was a good play call, and no way should Kam be covering Deshaun Jackson, but Sherman was left trying to cover two guys deep. Props to Cousins for a great pass on that TD play. We also need to not let turnover opportunities get away from us.

In short, although last night was unbelievably painful for all the reasons Kearly listed, I am still mostly hopeful for our team. Most of our issues were due to execution, and I think consistent practice and games with good coaching can resolve most of that. I am dubious about Okung's ability to play, however, and hope with all my heart that Bailey is ready to fill in at LT sooner than later. He's NOT as good as a healthy Okung, but I think he could be a little better than the guy who's struggling out there right now. Maybe giving him some time off will pay dividends in the second half of the season.

Fingers crossed.

 

[the ditch]

I think you bring up a good point with Kam in coverage, we have seen him this year in coverage a lot and get beat. The San Diego game Gates and Rivers made Kam look silly a couple of times and now on the Jackson play. Maybe Kam`s bone spurs are keeping him from being better in coverage or are we just using him in coverage more I`m not sure but I don`t remember seeing Kam in coverage as much last season.

 

[Russ Willstrong]

Marshawn runs with ferocity and had several good plays. What amazes me is his outstanding HANDS as a receiver. Unfortunately our receivers were less than their usual selves.
The X factor though is our special qb. Wilson deserves all the praise he is getting. He was presented with bad snaps, poor blocking, dropped balls and offensive fouls that negate big plays while putting the offense in pressure situations (against a formidable blitz). A perfect storm for a loss as described.
Yes Russell had many opportunities to cave but didn't do what Peyton Manning did in the SB.
He showed poise and savvy handling the premature snap and evading pressure like no other elite qb. He made plays when it seemed all was lost. And even after the game was won some fans still comment how he is a below average pocket passer. Delusional skins fans are saying that Wilson did nothing more spectacularly than what RG3 would have done or that Wilson ran so effectively because of the read option (untrue).
What gets overlooked is that our little BIG quarterback is a steady and heady field general.
He keeps this team so evenly keeled. I would want no other qb.

 

[nanomoz]

Is Unger hurt again? He seems to be slow to adjust to a-gap blitzes. Was his all-pro season an aberration?

High effort from Carpenter each game. Nice to see, even if it is in a contract year.

Wilson gets so damn much pressure right in his face, from every direction. It's amazing he hasn't gotten killed out there over the last couple of years.

 

[loafoftatupu]

The Hawks took care of business, once again.

I am at the point where stats and image don't mean a thing to me. Every week is a new week and the only trend I care about is that the Hawks are winning.

The Skins hit a couple bombs.. OK. At the end of the game, up two TD's Carroll employs the clock killing defense like a textbook and the other team moves the ball down the field. The Hawks win those games, every.single.time. That last garbage TD was the only thing time that the Skins showed any consistency.

They shut down the entire Skins running game and gave up some crap passing yards.

3-1 doesn't look any different to me if the Skins don't throw for 200.

 

[WilsonMVP]

Anyone want to explain why if Percy is so important to this offense his snap count always seems to be like this every game

Seems like he should see the field more. Reminds me of when he was with the Vikings and they would routinely take him out of the game, especially in the redzone which was infuriating.

Is this by design or just to get him rest?

Does he come out on running plays?

 

[Tical21]

Pete loves to pass when the whole world thinks we're going to run. Or maybe it is Bevell, but we do it more often than any other team I've ever seen.

I've got nothing else. I'm going to try to forget about everything else unless we see it pop up again next week.

 

[Scottemojo]

There is one really good thing about Percy's 3 not really touchdowns.

They are on video. Every team Seattle plays isn't going to care that those plays didn't count, and is going to be more and more prone to have at least two sets of eyes on Percy. Which means more 7 man fronts for Lynch.