What needs to happen before we are a Super Bowl Contender?

[Kixkahn]

Its simple really, we probably need to win our division, then home field advantage, then win all the play off games, and then win the last game of the season.

I think that about covers it.

I think our detractors are keeping to busy pointing out how bad we are winning rather than bemoan the fact we keep doing so. Boy we looked like shit the last 2 games but are still ahead of the ninnirs. But that doesn't seem to count with anyone. Are our competitors able to play like shit for two games and still win them? Well not so far.

:roll:

You have a good point, people are looking only at the negative points of the games and not at the simple fact we won.

 

[drdiags]

Listen to me now, otherwise you are an idiot or 9ers fan. Nothing like a nice impartial poll. :th2thumbs:

 

[Uncle Si]

Win the NFC Championship game.

brilliant

 

[hawkfan68]

Need to make the playoffs first. Anything can happen between now and then so it's not a sure thing.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

If we continue to see improvement in our OL like last week we might not even need the tackles back. But just once for shits and giggles I wanted to see what this team looked like firing on all cylinders this season. Will we make it to the superbowl without Harvin, Okung, and Breno? I think so. The fly in that ointment is that now Unger is out again along with Red. Under those circumstances can we still go to the big show? I still think so. Its a matter of motivation at this point. A time for leadership is upon us and I am looking squarely at our OC and DC when I say that. Job 1 Stop the run, job 2 protect our QB at all costs.

The tackles were not better last week. The scheme was better. The execution by Russ was better. The ends were worse. But Wilson was still getting the snot knocked out of him. IIRChe was pressured more, hit more, but sacked less.

So thats improvement then.

 

[McGruff]

If we continue to see improvement in our OL like last week we might not even need the tackles back. But just once for shits and giggles I wanted to see what this team looked like firing on all cylinders this season. Will we make it to the superbowl without Harvin, Okung, and Breno? I think so. The fly in that ointment is that now Unger is out again along with Red. Under those circumstances can we still go to the big show? I still think so. Its a matter of motivation at this point. A time for leadership is upon us and I am looking squarely at our OC and DC when I say that. Job 1 Stop the run, job 2 protect our QB at all costs.

The tackles were not better last week. The scheme was better. The execution by Russ was better. The ends were worse. But Wilson was still getting the snot knocked out of him. IIRChe was pressured more, hit more, but sacked less.

So thats improvement then.

But not improvement to the OL.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

If we continue to see improvement in our OL like last week we might not even need the tackles back. But just once for shits and giggles I wanted to see what this team looked like firing on all cylinders this season. Will we make it to the superbowl without Harvin, Okung, and Breno? I think so. The fly in that ointment is that now Unger is out again along with Red. Under those circumstances can we still go to the big show? I still think so. Its a matter of motivation at this point. A time for leadership is upon us and I am looking squarely at our OC and DC when I say that. Job 1 Stop the run, job 2 protect our QB at all costs.

The tackles were not better last week. The scheme was better. The execution by Russ was better. The ends were worse. But Wilson was still getting the snot knocked out of him. IIRChe was pressured more, hit more, but sacked less.

So thats improvement then.

But not improvement to the OL.

Well then how exactly do you quantify an improvement to the OL? I will grant you the Rams and Buc’s are two different teams entirely but if you look at the stats week to week it actually paints a pretty significant picture. I am far from a statistician but we showed major improvement week over week.
• 1ST Downs- We had 19 more 1st downs, 11 of which were rushing vs the Rams game we had 1 rushing 1st down.
• Sacks- Against the Rams Wilson was sacked 7 times for 48 yards, against the Bucs 0-0.
• 3rd Down Efficiency- Rams Game 2-11, Buc’s 8-12
• Rushing- Rams Game 15-44 yards, Bucs 35-198 yards
• Red Zone (M-A)- Rams game 1-1, Bucs game 3-6
As I said a lot of this is down to the opponent. But I think you have to admit that it shows that these guys are getting better rapidly. A long way to go for certain, but I will take improvement like this any day!

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Our record already says that we are a Super Bowl contender. In fact we're the #1 seed in the NFC..........so out of all the Super Bowl contenders in the NFC, we're the best.

As far as what do we need to work on to GET to the SB and WIN the SB? I think it's obvious to everybody.

1. Pass Blocking
2. Run Defense
3. Get more consistent on offense
4. Eliminate turnovers and Special Teams mistakes

But this is now, and the NFL is a fluid game. So what we need to fix now may not be the same as what we need to fix in December.

 

[formido]

The best sources, Vegas and Football Outsiders, say we're already Super Bowl contenders. Actually, Super Bowl favorites.

If we want to be the undisputed favorite, then pass blocking needs to improve.

According to PFF, Russell was pressured 62% of the time last week, so Seattle's already league worst pressure percentage went up. The difference is, we schemed to throw a lot more short passes. This resulted in 2 of the worst INTs Wilson has thrown in a long time (didn't hit a receiver's hands, wasn't tipped, wasn't end-of-half). It was also the first multi-interception game Wilson has had since week 5 of his rookie season. The pass blocking is bad and there's no way to have flawless QB play behind it. You always have to give up something.

This game should provide pretty conclusive evidence that Wilson holding onto the ball too long has very little to do with how bad the line looks. Last year Wilson led the NFL in length of time holding onto the ball, and the line still managed to not be the worst in the league in giving up pressures and wilson's production thrived.

Wilson and Bevell have been trying different tactics every week. Pre-Arizona (Tennessee et al), Wilson was jittery, got lots of yards, but had to scramble a lot. Arizona, he stood strong in the pocket, passed beautifully, but fumbled a lot. St. Louis, he stood strong in the pocket, passed efficiently, but wasn't productive because he gave up on plays earlier to keep from fumbling. Tampa Bay, he got the ball out as fast as possible, was productive, but threw two ugly interceptions (one of which reduced our win probability by almost 50% in one play!) and was hurt by several dangerous hits[1].

I personally prefer the pre-Arizona trade-off. Few fumbles or interceptions, scramble to get yards and be in control of the hits you take, rather than taking monstrous hits in the pocket and throwing interceptions. I think that's the best trade-off behind this quality of pass blocking.

1. As Sando said about the game:

"I'm not sure how Wilson made it through the game against Tampa Bay after absorbing brutal hit after brutal hit. He didn't take a sack, but the Buccaneers delivered direct shots to his left arm, head and knee. Wilson was obviously hurting. This situation has been brewing for a while. The key now is for Wilson to make it through upcoming games against Atlanta and Minnesota before a bye week. Left tackle Russell Okung should return in a couple weeks and right tackle Breno Giacomini could return before then. "

[ source: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mike-sando/post?id=3015 ]

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Run the football more and be effective at it. That will go a long way toward slowing the opposing teams' pass rush. It will also keep our team's defense on the sideline for longer periods of time.