My silver lining for this loss

This season never quite felt right from the get go. We all know the likely reasons for that. Things felt unresolved following SB 49's heartbreaking loss, and with Russell Wilson's contract talks looming large, there was a sense of apprehension.

Russell gets locked up, camp opens, and Kam holds out. A six week holdout, that did plenty of damage. The one quote I remember the most from this season is from Earl Thomas. A reporter asked if he'd heard from Kam, and Earl answered in the negative. Pressed further, Earl said he hadn't talked to Kam in a month. An 0-2 start ensued, and HFA was a pipe dream two weeks into the season. The team felt off.

Today, the team flat out got owned in the first half. That's my silver lining. They can't point to coaching. Falling 31 points behind at halftime was all on the players on the field. There shouldn't be any offseason trips to Hawaii to nurse hurt feelings. This team flat out got outplayed today, and despite the valiant comeback effort, it was too little, too late. It was all on them. Other teams in the league have caught up, and the Seahawks have to be more innovative than ever moving forward. They have to realize that it's not going to be given to them anymore. I realize it never really was "given" to them, but wins come easy when you have the most talented roster in the league. But, that talent only gets a team so far. Look at NE - I don't feel like they're the most talented team in the league, but they're likely going to win the SB again this season. And even if they don't, the success they have sustained over the past 15 years is legendary. They have a no nonsense coach that employs a short leash, and I hope we see PC become a bit more like that. I'm not wanting him to turn into Belicheck, but I want some serious accountability for players who put themselves above the team, and I think we have a couple of those on the current 53 man roster. If we want to still have a shot at a dynasty, some things need to change. The talent is there. The execution has been a bit off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of the Seahawks. They worked their butts off this year and rebounded when the season looked sunk. But part of me is... Relieved isn't the right word, but it's in the same stratosphere. This team needed to get punked, and today, they did. I'm not happy about it. But if I'm being honest, I think it might have needed to happen.

So to summarize, that's my silver lining - the guys on the field got outplayed by a better team TODAY. And today only, because I don't think Carolina is a better team. But they were on this day, and in the playoffs, that's the only thing that matters.

Not sure if this makes any sense, but it's where I'm at. And I'm good with everything. This season has been pretty draining and I hope our guys get a decent break, but have this game on their mind for the entire offseason. If they want to be truly special, it's still there for the taking. Like Richard Sherman said, the core is still young, and this roster is littered with very good players in their prime, and some insanely exciting young players. It's up to them now, and we'll see how they move forward from this.

And another thing - the coaches should be up all night figuring out why this team comes out so flat in the first half. Once the chips are down, it's like they're able to flip a switch and tilt the game. That needs to stop. This team is too good to be coming out like that early on. Figure it out. If they can do that, they could truly be unbeatable. But for reasons unknown to all of us, this team takes punches early on in the fight and then counts on a late round KO. Today proved that's not a very good way to go about your business.

Where was that fire in the first half?

I agree. This team needs to figure out how to come out with the same intensity and execution in the first half of games like they do in the second half. At this stage it's a joke that we can't do that. Why do we need to wait until halftime for the coaches to tell the players what to do in the second half to be successful? It's asinine.

We have the talent to beat our opponents IN BOTH HALVES! So why is this not happening? To me it's the coaching. You either have your players ready or you don't. You either have great calls ready in the first half or you don't. Why are we so SLOW to start most games regardless of opponent? To me, it's coaching.

FIX IT.

I don't think I really made it clear enough. I love this team. Absolutely love them. I am proud of them. I just want to see more, because they're capable of it.

I believe Ron Rivera used Pete Carroll's slow 'feel out' tendencies against him.
The Panthers came out well rested & fired up in the first half, and it didn't help that RW threw two INT's early on....The Seahawks are pretty damned good, but not good enough to be spotting teams like the Panthers 14 points in the first 5 or 10 minutes of a game.
It's plays like that, that set the tempo, and our anemic Pass Protection was exposed, and their hurry up Defense wasn't going to give RW or Lynch any time to get into a rhythm.
Pete is going to have to dial up a hurry up offense to start the games next Season, or the Rams & the like, are going to smother out any fires that we try to light.
Just curious as to why Pete didn't have a player or two run testing the field of play before the game got under way and find out if the cleats that they were wearing were sufficient.

Good post, scutter.

That kind of brings me to another silver lining - our OL. This unit has done all they can do, but they've been exposed all season. Guys like Britt, Gilliam, and Lewis should be backups on a good offensive line. Sweezy is borderline. A healthy Okung is solid, but not great.

If we're going to be trading away picks this year, I pray it's for established linemen. I love Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. Both would look great in a Seahawks uniform. So would Alex Boone, in FA.

If we're going to be a passing team moving forward, get Russell a line. He was the highest rated passer from the pocket in the league this season. He deserves a line that can consistently provide a pocket.

I really want to see 40 to 60 percent of our line replaced, at a minimum.

Honestly, if this were on a neutral field with neutral game start time and neutral game conditions, I'd probably take Seattle 6 times out of 10. Stewart had about 80% of his yards during the first couple drives while Seahawks defenders might as well have been playing on a slip and slide. But after that, they shut down Carolina's running game pretty well. And once the Seahawks OL wasn't letting guys through untouched in the first couple drives, likely also due to footing issues, the pass offense did whatever it wanted.

What bothered me about this game is that once the game and field conditions weren't an issue anymore, the game was already over. I give Carolina plenty of credit for cashing in on every opportunity, but this felt like the cheapest way to get a playoff win over Seattle that could be imagined. Honestly, this game almost has me as mad as SB XL, because like that game, it felt like the circumstances of the game prevented us from really finding out who the better team was.

There was a lot of reasons to be confident about Seattle's chances in this game and you saw glimmers of it starting in the late 2nd quarter. But credit to Carolina, they sunk their free throws. Newton also did a terrific job on 3rd down all game long, and some of his 3rd down conversions in the 2nd half could have easily been the difference in the game. I have nothing but respect for Cam's performance, even if the win itself feels a bit tainted.

Rob12":hcbhs372 said:

Good post, scutter.

That kind of brings me to another silver lining - our OL. This unit has done all they can do, but they've been exposed all season. Guys like Britt, Gilliam, and Lewis should be backups on a good offensive line. Sweezy is borderline. A healthy Okung is solid, but not great.

If we're going to be trading away picks this year, I pray it's for established linemen. I love Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. Both would look great in a Seahawks uniform. So would Alex Boone, in FA.

If we're going to be a passing team moving forward, get Russell a line. He was the highest rated passer from the pocket in the league this season. He deserves a line that can consistently provide a pocket.

I really want to see 40 to 60 percent of our line replaced, at a minimum.

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Pipe dreams are cool while they last. About now, I wish I was in WA so I could have one of those.

" Other teams in the league have caught up, and the Seahawks have to be more innovative than ever moving forward."

IMO, this is where coaching comes in - specifically our OC.

"Look at NE - I don't feel like they're the most talented team in the league, but they're likely going to win the SB again this season. And even if they don't, the success they have sustained over the past 15 years is legendary."

Again, coaching. That team has a system that has no names becoming effective players. Doesn't hurt to have a future HOF QB running the show, either, but a lot of what they are able to do comes from solid scheming (and cheating

All kidding aside, it was a combo of players getting manhandled along both lines in the first half, along with Bevell (and Cable, for thqat matter) not making any real adjustments until the game was way out of hand, basically lost.


"That kind of brings me to another silver lining - our OL. This unit has done all they can do, but they've been exposed all season. Guys like Britt, Gilliam, and Lewis should be backups on a good offensive line. Sweezy is borderline. A healthy Okung is solid, but not great.

If we're going to be trading away picks this year, I pray it's for established linemen. I love Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. Both would look great in a Seahawks uniform. So would Alex Boone, in FA.

If we're going to be a passing team moving forward, get Russell a line. He was the highest rated passer from the pocket in the league this season. He deserves a line that can consistently provide a pocket.

I really want to see 40 to 60 percent of our line replaced, at a minimum."

^^^ Couldn't agree more.

kearly":1lmurpnt said:

Newton also did a terrific job on 3rd down all game long, and some of his 3rd down conversions in the 2nd half could have easily been the difference in the game. I have nothing but respect for Cam's performance, even if the win itself feels a bit tainted.

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Agree with the whole post. Just thought I'd quote what I feel is the most significant reason SEA couldn't complete the comeback. Newton was money on 3rd down nearly all game long. His OL set the table nicely, and all he had to do was take what was given. The patience and maturity that takes has an often-underestimated effect on the game's outcome.

Zorn76":3h1rdhl7 said:

" Other teams in the league have caught up, and the Seahawks have to be more innovative than ever moving forward."

IMO, this is where coaching comes in - specifically our OC.

"Look at NE - I don't feel like they're the most talented team in the league, but they're likely going to win the SB again this season. And even if they don't, the success they have sustained over the past 15 years is legendary."

Again, coaching. That team has a system that has no names becoming effective players. Doesn't hurt to have a future HOF QB running the show, either, but a lot of what they are able to do comes from solid scheming (and cheating

All kidding aside, it was a combo of players getting manhandled along both lines in the first half, along with Bevell (and Cable, for thqat matter) not making any real adjustments until the game was way out of hand, basically lost.


"That kind of brings me to another silver lining - our OL. This unit has done all they can do, but they've been exposed all season. Guys like Britt, Gilliam, and Lewis should be backups on a good offensive line. Sweezy is borderline. A healthy Okung is solid, but not great.

If we're going to be trading away picks this year, I pray it's for established linemen. I love Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. Both would look great in a Seahawks uniform. So would Alex Boone, in FA.

If we're going to be a passing team moving forward, get Russell a line. He was the highest rated passer from the pocket in the league this season. He deserves a line that can consistently provide a pocket.

I really want to see 40 to 60 percent of our line replaced, at a minimum."

^^^ Couldn't agree more.

Click to expand...

Not many coaches that can game plan the way Belichick does without poor execution. That said, when Gronk and Edelman were missing this season, we all saw that not even Bill's master schemes could produce consistent Ws. They have a few players that have a worth to the team that's off the charts. Brady and Gronk come immediately to mind. The Seahawks don't have any one player on offense as dominant as Gronk...we're talking about unstoppable here. Add a distraction like Edelmann, who's catches everything and is always a threat, and they are darn near set on O. Don't kid yourself; Belicheat is very good at finding the right personnel fits for his way of doing things.