Initial Thoughts

I had to remove my heart from this game before halftime. And it became easier to watch from a rational mindset. A view from 20,000'...

Our Oline deficiencies cut our playbook down significantly, and we already had a small playbook. Russell did not take a snap under center the entire 2nd half. No bootlegs, no play action at all. We have Marshawn Lynch, but don't have the OLine to exploit half of what he brings. Dissapointing, but we can only get better and there aren't many teams we'll line up against that have the front 4 that these guys do.

Unless we absolutely needed to, we refused to throw the ball downfield. This part of our game has vanished. We did it successfully, at times, today…why not put that piece into the puzzle as a staple?

Our DLine is too damned good, and deep, to not match these guys sack-for-sack…or at least hurry-for-hurry. I also thought our runD was mediocre relative to where I thought we'd be and considering the OLine there in StL and Cunningham is 3rd string.

Lockett is a phenom. Use him as much as possible, in every situation possible.

Graham…ibid. We only used him when we absolutely needed him. He needs to be our base in the passing game. Between he and Lockett, we should be golden in the passing game, period.

I'm not going to even say a word about Cary Williams or Dion Bailey. Just…damn. He had a freak play that was a beauty, but…

Wagner was gone today. Not sure what to say about that. Someone please watch the film and explain this to us idiots.

But, to me... it all boils drown to our offensive scheme. We have, what looks like, about 4 formations and maybe a dozen plays. I called half of them to my family today and I was half-drunk by halftime. Any DCoordinator salivates when they play us.

We look like an 8-10 win team, with our schedule, this year. I'm ready to settle for a rebuilding year. I'm not saying the sky is falling, just trying to set my mind up for a possible reality….

…which means I'm officially [relatively] emotionally detached until I see evidence that we can compete for a championship. Hopefully, I can be rational going forward with this mindset. I hope I'm wrong.

JB

+1 on bobby. Kam and lofa had a bigger presence on the field. Well, enjoy your paycheck boys.

good review...ya where was Wags today??

Our O-Line held up against even a high end DL but sometimes they just completely collapsed. It was either decent or horrible. There is potential but we need consistency.

The worst thing to see was that Kam cost us this game. Not because his replacement made a crucial mistake but because of the effect of him not being there had on Earl and Sherm. Sherm lacked serious motivation today. He covered well but never even tried to make a play and Earl was constantly just a bit too late while that never happens with Kam next to him.

If Kam doesn't play all year I seriously doubt we make the play-offs. Such a waste of a year if that happens.

I've also started to think more rationally and realized that this is the first freaking game of the season

If no one else wants to, I'll take a dig at both Cary Williams and Dion Bailey.

1st: Bailey, outside of a solo tackle in coverage, he did absolutely nothing this game. No presence on the field at all. Then to top it off he gets caught flat footed against a TE, stumbles and gives up the game-trying TD.

2nd: Holy **** did Cary Williams fail at covering his assignments today. I think he got burned for 150 yards. Great TD/sack, but the guy can't cover at all. It was terrible watching him out there.

I just can't believe how bad our defense looked out there. I mean, damn. We looked bad.

As an aside, what the hell was that unnecessary roughness call on Hill I think? Am I the only one that didn't see anything to warrant a flag? Dude was trying to get up and they flag him for 15. wtf.

All in all, today sucked, next week doesn't look good at all.

Lethargy seemed rampant today. Bobby was invisible much of this game. Could just be me, but it seemed like Sherm is still favoring his injured arm. Earl isnt getting his full range of motion yet either. Not a fan of Cary Williams yet, but seems servicable. Bailey I thought did ok all things considered. Falling down happens. We are misusing him,but Graham at least was sure handed today so I like that. Lockett is a star already. Wilson had a rocky first half AGAIN. Willson dropping that touchdown was inexcusable. We were ultimately undone by coaching on this one though.

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

I thought the tackling just looked bad overall today, and couldn't believe how a 3rd string RB was running rampant on the defense. I was really disappointed in the secondary, Earl seemed slower than normal.

gadgor":hdg69309 said:

I've also started to think more rationally and realized that this is the first freaking game of the season

Click to expand...

Absolutely. I was present at the StL game last year and left wondering the same thing I'm wondering today...are we this bad?

But it's the concepts a much as- or even more than- the execution. Our offensive concept is just bad. Predictable and unintelligent.

Not sure yet what to make of this defensive performance.

Evil_Shenanigans":2c56zxbt said:

Lethargy seemed rampant today. Bobby was invisible much of this game. Could just be me, but it seemed like Sherm is still favoring his injured arm. Earl isnt getting his full range of motion yet either. Not a fan of Cary Williams yet, but seems servicable. Bailey I thought did ok all things considered. Falling down happens. We are misusing him,but Graham at least was sure handed today so I like that. Lockett is a star already. Wilson had a rocky first half AGAIN. Willson dropping that touchdown was inexcusable. We were ultimately undone by coaching on this one though.

Click to expand...

I think the ball hit the Ram defender's arm before it even got to Willson. That's how it looked from one angle.

gadgor":1vr9dw60 said:

I've also started to think more rationally and realized that this is the first freaking game of the season

Click to expand...

will you say the same for game 2 when we are 0-2...our defence couldn't stop Benny and the Jets and Whitehurst's younger brother...how do they stop Rodgers and Lacey? I guess our offence should be better against GB's crappy d though too...

RW92":6ab62kml said:

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

Click to expand...

Rebuilding?

We just signed all of our guys to huge contracts and added Jimmy G.

How would we be rebuilding? We might have a down year in regards to wins, but thats not rebuilding unless we start gutting the roster....

RW92":1a7m266s said:

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

Click to expand...

I'm really not bent, actually. Almost relieved. We need time to rebuild a little. At several positions on, and off, the field.

Hawkpower":2e36xep3 said:

RW92":2e36xep3 said:

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

Click to expand...

Rebuilding?

We just signed all of our guys to huge contracts and added Jimmy G.

How would we be rebuilding? We might have a down year in regards to wins, but thats not rebuilding unless we start gutting the roster....

Click to expand...

Everything is relative. In Seattle, right now, we may be entering a time when we aren't championship calibre because we are rebuilding our defensive backfield and our offensive line. I'm just saying I'm ok with taking a step back this year as w develop new, young kids at crucial pisitions.

Bobby had a decent day. In no way did he disappear. 7 combined and 5 solo tackles. That's a typical day for Wagner. Second best behind ET today. And there's the problem: ET had WAYYY too many tackles today. Rams ground game never got started, but Foles was eating us up. Kam usually gets a couple more tackles a game than Bailey, so that was a tiny bit of it. Of course, Bailey face failed the critical TD.

Kam and KJ usually account for far more tackles than ET. It is a bad sign when ET is getting all the tackles. KJ wasn't doing that well either out there.

Actually, looking at their typical games, it was more KJ and Bailey lacking than Wagner, who had a typical Wagner day.

As for our oline, Wilson completed 32 of 41 passes. That's great news. We racked up 31 points on the Rams. That's great news. Wilson's AYA was only 6.1, that's not great, but it's to be expected. Short passing game was always going to be the only way to sustain drives against that front 7. 32/41 passing is sustaining drives. We got the points.

This loss is on the defense. All of our LBers failed in coverage and so did Bailey. Perhaps we saw how important Kam is in coverage? ET sure is going to wear out if he has to keep making so many tackles.

Looked like the first game EVERY season.

Only difference is we didn't pull this one out. We could easily have been 0-1 the last three years. We will be fine in the long run. Just sucks to have to go to GB following today's loss.

RW92":3ix31hzi said:

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

Click to expand...

One question, unless Nick Foles and SUPPOESEDLY inept O- Linemen the Rams Offense are using magic dust on our Defense, how does the Rams 3rd & 4th string RB's make B.Wags disappear for over half a game?
The absence of Kam Chancellor is NOT the entire reason for this loss, the rest of the Defense was looking pretty inept for most of the game, and can take their share of this loss too.
Williams' big play, and Lockett's punt return gave us 14 points.
The Offensive Line is still wet behind the ears, and working on very simple fundementals, and they had to try'n grind it out while playing against one of the toughest Front Four Defense in the League.

scutterhawk":1q2svawd said:

RW92":1q2svawd said:

JB, don't get too bent out of shape. Most of us on this board could see this coming from pre-season forward. The O-line struggles to run block or pass block. And there aren't any other players on the team who are better that can take their place. Unless they (the O-line) can get bigger, faster, and stronger in the weight room throughout the year, this is it.

The play calling as you alluded to was scripted and tailored with such conservatism anyone could see what plays were coming and when. Just telegraphed all day long. And don't blame Russell for not throwing down the field deep. There wasn't any time . He ran from Aaron Donald all day long. As a matter of fact he beat Britt and Sweezy like unwanted step children. It was a shame.

But the coup de grace came on the poor play by Bailey as he stood flat footed, fell to the ground and let the tying touchdown get free. Yes #31 should have been there. And how does Pete call an onside kick and give the ball at the 50 yard line in an over time game? A game in which his team was struggling, but had a better chance in OT if his defense could have held deep. Bad calls are starting to follow Pete around. I just hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

In the end JB was right. If Kam doesn't return, and if Green Bay puts a revenge whooping on this team next week, the chemistry and fire may soon begin to dwindle. The Packers have been waiting for this game all year. And as a result we could be in a rebuilding mode. I hope not. I'm just a realist that faces the reality of what my eyes observe.

Click to expand...

One question, unless Nick Foles and SUPPOESEDLY inept O- Linemen the Rams Offense are using magic dust on our Defense, how does the Rams 3rd & 4th string RB's make B.Wags disappear for over half a game?
The absence of Kam Chancellor is NOT the entire reason for this loss, the rest of the Defense was looking pretty inept for most of the game, and can take their share of this loss too.
Williams' big play, and Lockett's punt return gave us 14 points.
The Offensive Line is still wet behind the ears, and working on very simple fundementals, and they had to try'n grind it out while playing against one of the toughest Front Four Defense in the League.

Click to expand...

Re: #54

It's the only Seahawk jersey I've ever owned; got it his rookie year.

I don't watch film, never coached. When I think of Wagner, I picture a guy that comes out of nowhere and makes plays above and beyond what most middle LBs can do. Today, what I remember about Bobby is no less than three plays that he was late on, slow on, or whiffed. I don't recall witnessing a play when I thought to myself "dude, that #54 is a fantastic MLB".

I'm sure there are folks out there that will say he played his game. Today was not All-Pro (top 2 at hi position) Wagner.

This game is not on Wagner. There's plenty of blame to go around. Just making an observation.

My take on this is you are not as bad as your worst games (see today) or as good as great games.
We looked this bad in St Louis last year and in San Diego, and parts of XLIX. Flush the turds and move on.