The Good Things

- Considering it was a 10am game, both sides of the ball were actually clicking fairly well early on. We almost always start slow and we changed that trend.

- Although Kam did have a few misteps, it's on the other team to turn those mistakes into big plays, which is always hit or miss, this time we were unlucky and both ended up in TD's. But he is two games back now and will continue to get back into it mentally. After both blown plays their were camera shots of him over on the sideline studying and conversing about it, so it's not as if he has given up because of the contract dispute, he is still studying, still trying to get better.

- The O-line's protection held up longer then it has in other games, and we actually had a solid run game (until we got predictable in the 3rd Q) against a fairly competent D.

- The linebackers probably had their best game yet, and while there were a few missed tackles, I remember there being less then in weeks past.

- While Sherman does not seem to be at quite the level he has been, teams still seem to be actively avoiding him in *most* situations.

- Wilson was making good reads and made his progressions quicker than any game I remember.

- Rawls was excellent. Made the right reads, cut back at the right times, was hard to bring down, and showed speed I did not know he had.

- Graham had some nice blocks where he showed a lot of effort. I am sure there were some misses, but I noticed a couple of high-effort blocks.

- Earl Thomas made a FORM TACKLE! Instead of blazing in like a rocket and hoping shoulder pad contact was enough to bring the runner down, he actually wrapped him up and finished! I was so amazed.

- The D-line was getting pressure constantly, unfortunately the ball was out fairly quick and Andy Dalton read the pocket fairly well so it didn't translate to many sacks.

- Overall I thought the blitzes were well timed.

- Although I do consider Cary Williams to be the weak link in the LOB, I think he has improved since Week 1. I was imagining his week 1 self against this Bengals offense and it was a horrible sight indeed.

Agreed. There were a lot of positives to take away (assuming we forget how it ended). I was very pleased with the improvement on the OL overall. There were massive holes at times for Rawls to run through and that is extremely encouraging.

When Wilson is allowed to make a change at the line based on what he's seeing, it's often a very good thing. That play to Kearse for the TD was a thing of beauty and that was all Wilson.

The team looked ready to battle at 10am on the road in this game and that was evident with how we responded to their opening TD drive. The defense played solid for most of the game until they ran out of juice in the 4th.

If we would have kept up aggressive play calling, we would be talking about how the team looks to be back.

All is not lost...I see improvement and wins ahead.

"Considering it was a 10am game,"

So tired of this argument. They should be able to get the job done at 2 in the morning.

Felt like Bevell had a gameplan offensively.... Early. Was happy as hell about that.

Now just draw up a full four quarters worth you a hole.

WilliamCooper":3piviolu said:

"Considering it was a 10am game,"

So tired of this argument. They should be able to get the job done at 2 in the morning.

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It's not just the Seahawks who have this problem, all West Coast teams do. And the reverse is true as well- all East Coast teams get their butts kicked when traveling to the West Coast for a night game.

Me, I thought Williams played like the line from Days of Thunder...
A monkey "romancing" a football, only romancing rhymed with ducking.

Aros":1nhoccof said:

When Wilson is allowed to make a change at the line based on what he's seeing, it's often a very good thing. That play to Kearse for the TD was a thing of beauty and that was all Wilson.

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Since he's getting bank level of money, maybe we have him call the plays. Seriously. He can't do any worse.

WilliamCooper":4vz0kj6w said:

"Considering it was a 10am game,"

So tired of this argument. They should be able to get the job done at 2 in the morning.

Click to expand...

Wow, let's just ignore common sense.

It's just a simple fact that your body does not perform as well at some times as it does at others. Your body cannot perform at peak performance 24 hours a day.

HawkFan72":2pr3viad said:

WilliamCooper":2pr3viad said:

"Considering it was a 10am game,"

So tired of this argument. They should be able to get the job done at 2 in the morning.

Click to expand...

Wow, let's just ignore common sense.

It's just a simple fact that your body does not perform as well at some times as it does at others. Your body cannot perform at peak performance 24 hours a day.

Click to expand...

Yeah, and I don't really understand "being tired of the argument"? It's not as if we are saying it is excusable, we are recognizing it as a known problem, and complimenting them on overcoming it this game.

The biggest positive by far was having 200 yards rushing, especially since very little of that amount came from Wilson. Only in this weird 2015 season could Seattle rush for two hundy and score 17 points on offense.

The other positive I took from this game was that Seattle was genuinely the better team for the first 52 minutes, which is really saying something considering how hot the Bengals are right now. A lot of people nationally were predicting a Bengals blowout, and I don't blame them. So even though Seattle crapped the bed in epic fashion, it was still a bit of an "arrival" game. If the OL plays like that the rest of the season the Hawks could run the table.

Early in the game, it looked like Wilson got them in a couple good situations against the blitz. He got it protected right and challenged the one-on-one coverage he was getting. This was a good sign, as this has been his biggest area of weakness this season.

That said, he came up way short in the final quarter and OT, even when he was given the reigns during no-huddle, which they went into quite a bit this game. Blame the calls or blame the routes if you want, but Russ was calling his own game with a chance to win and didn't make a single play in the final quarter and a half. To win on the road in the NFL, your QB has to make plays. That's all there is to it.

I marked this down as a bad L as soon as Lynch was ruled out, so I actually think this team is a little better than I thought it was a week ago. I've been on the "wait and see" boat with Rawls, but I'm almost ready to declare him a "player" at this point. I didn't want to fire 4/5 of the OL at the end of this game, so that was another positive sign.

I feel okay with saying that Rawls is at least 1% better than an average RB at this point. He makes a few runs a game that an average RB would not make. The problem with Rawls is that I don't think he's the kind of RB that a team can use to impose their will like Lynch can.

I too put the blame on Wilson for this loss, but if Lynch had been out there in the 4th quarter, I think Seattle would have won. Lynch can salt a game away, whereas I see Rawls as a pretty good RB who makes his hay when the defense doesn't know what's coming, but who struggles in obvious run situations. At the end of the game I was actually rooting for Rod Smith to get the work since his style is much more conducive to battering ram run situations.

Rawls is playing well here, but I think he might be best suited for a team like the Colts or New England that prefer to pass 40-50 times a game and rarely ask RBs to salt games away.

The O-line, Rawls, and the defense for 3 quarters. I still think Kam is not quite in football shape but he will bounce back soon. They dominated this game but just couldn't finish.