Completely start again with our pass catchers. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction to tonight, because aside from Sunday these guys aren't getting it done. Too many drops tonight in the biggest game of the season.

- Golden Tate dropping 3-3, wiffing on a key block and then standing there like emotionless afterwards when Obomanu gets slammed into the turf for a two yard loss.

- Sidney Rice complaining at Wilson (on his back) because he didn't get a throw.

- Zach Millier... M.I.A. again and set to earn $11m next season.

- Braylon Edwards... gave up on the pick too easily. Sure, bad decision by RW. But I thought this was 'personal' for Edwards per twitter?

Doug Baldwin is the only guy coming out of tonight with any credit... an UDFA working his tail off for the cause.

If we want Russell Wilson to work, we have to get him reliable receivers. Guys who play with the same attitude as the rest of the team, that are going to go out there and work their asses off to the ball, fight for catches, fight to get open. The single biggest problem with this team begins and ends with the passing game and it's the reason we're 4-3... or more importantly... 0-3 in the NFC West.

Matt Ryan started as a rookie, and Atlanta got him Tony Gonzalez to go with Roddy White, then traded up for Julio Jones. We need to surround our young QB with similar talent if he's going to succeed.

Tate is a baby. We need a young to and plaxico

We're relying on Golden Tate, Braylon Edwards, Ben Obomanu, and Charly Martin for our depth. Be honest now people...does that REALLY encourage any of you? And Baldwin's still struggling to stay healthy. I don't care how much Miller and Rice are making - if we're going to the playoffs this year, we need reinforcements.

Tate is not a starter. He's a situational guy and role-player, and he's not even looking good in THAT role. If he has a place on this team, it's with a real offensive guru for an OC behind a much stronger starting corps. This is one example of PC's penchant for "unique characteristics" and "big-play ability" biting him on the ass because he can't handle the bread-and-butter stuff. Not a good choice for a young offense.

Tate was awful, Edwards had no chance at that ball and is a stretch to blame him and Rice had every right to be mad. Wilson threw into triple coverage instead of making a good decision. Miller didn't suddenly become bad because he came here, play calls or Wilson are to blame for that. I do agree me need to get a receiver.

MontanaHawk05 wrote:We're relying on Golden Tate, Braylon Edwards, Ben Obomanu, and Charly Martin for our depth. Be honest now people...does that REALLY encourage any of you? And Baldwin's still struggling to stay healthy.

Not at all. To the point where this isn't a 'one draft pick' type solution. Team has to get creative here, think about a couple of early picks... a trade... maybe even a veteran FA pickup (although those aren't working too well for us so far).

Cut them all. Draft 5 pass catchers. Sign a couple more

Dwayne Bowe... please pick up the telephone.

No doubt it's the #1 concern. It's weird too because WR is such an odd spot to have an issue with, or at least to me. (Teams overvalue the position) but maybe not the Seahawks.

4th n 12 and Tate is on the sideline drinking water,what a DOUCHE.

We need BOWE combined with Rice with Tate/Baldwin in the slot. We need a true #1 receiver that can beat double coverages.

JSeahawks wrote:Dwayne Bowe... please pick up the telephone.

Completely agree with this.

agree with razor150.

Wilson should've NEVER thrown that ball. Triple coverage, and oh...my bad, Edwards was supposed to run over 2 guys then the ball was 7 yards away from him ? That was the worst pass I've seen Wilson throw this season.

It was seriously bad enough, that I would've benched him for a series or a quarter and put Flynn in. You can't seriously just let that go as a coach. It was probably one of the worst passes I've seen this season, from any body

I like how we go from "Oh! I'm so glad we won't have to draft a WR in the first!" last week to "cut 'em all."

razor150 wrote:Tate was awful, Edwards had no chance at that ball and is a stretch to blame him and Rice had every right to be mad. Wilson threw into triple coverage instead of making a good decision. Miller didn't suddenly become bad because he came here, play calls or Wilson are to blame for that. I do agree me need to get a receiver.

They broke down the play on English TV (fewer adverts here, we have guys in a studio breaking it down). No way Wilson could've spotted that with pressure to his right. He had two options, take the sack of throw towards the area he did but out of bounds. Instead he tried to make a foolish play. Edwards could've shown more effort though, he kind of skulked away from it as soon as he realised it wasn't heading his way.

The season isn't over fellas not even close.These professional WR's just need to step their asses up and make plays.Tate needs to be benched and put Braylon in.I have not given up on this team or the season.

Hawks46 wrote:It was seriously bad enough, that I would've benched him for a series or a quarter and put Flynn in. You can't seriously just let that go as a coach. It was probably one of the worst passes I've seen this season, from any body

That's silly, very silly. Imagine if coaches pulled QBs every time they make a mistake! And what was Flynn going to do in those two series coming into a game like this raw? Good grief.

Anyway, for those saying Dwayne Bowe - can I recommend this piece on a possible trade earlier? Would be interested in your take: http://seahawksdraftblog.com/should-the ... wayne-bowe

Agreed, we need an absolutely #1 stud who can create separation for himself, and for our other receivers to sneak some stickum onto the field

Receivers did no favors for Russell tonight.

We could start by not cutting a veteran pro bowl TE for some scrub cut by a bottom tier offense. Evan Moore is so bad that it actually gives me hope that I can make it as a walk on.

I am sooo tired of the dropped passes over the years. Let's fix this before we let this season slip away. Trade for Bowe! There are all sorts of rumors flying around that Bowe might be available for trade. I am not sure what we would have to give up for him but it will be worth it regardless of if he fits our system. With Bowe and Rice as our 1 and 2, we can put Tate/Baldwin in the slot and actually have a formidable WR corp. Also, this will open all sorts of running lanes for the beast.

As a reminder: This is the second game we have let slip away from us this season due to a case of the dropsies.


What Say You?
Perhaps we can get enough fan influence to force the Hawks to do something as this is down right painful to watch.

Here is a well written article on this very subject: http://seahawksdraftblog.com/should-the-seahawks-trade-for-dwayne-bowe

That interception was a poor decision to throw into triple coverage, but the ball was tipped by patrick willis which is why it came out like a lame duck.

It was hard watching turbin, moore, tate, yadda yadda drop passes. Just not much room for error facing a much better pass rush, secondary than on Sunday.

I believe we were tied for last in dropped passes leading into this game.

ensett wrote:We could start by not cutting a veteran pro bowl TE for some scrub cut by a bottom tier offense. Evan Moore is so bad that it actually gives me hope that I can make it as a walk on.

Winslow was already giving up on plays in the preseason.

Winslow can give up on a play and still be more effective than Moore can. Winslow is a beast. Moore is out of the league within 2 years.

Hawken-Dazs wrote:I believe we were tied for last in dropped passes leading into this game.

Probably not the case anymore... and we're also throwing less than every other team in the league.

We obviously need help at receiver but I think the lack of protection was just as important tonight. I worry that too many of our lineman are there because of their ability as run blockers. They may be "good enough" as pass blockers against marginal teams, but against good defensive lines we are just not getting the job done. If we do make the playoffs or expect to contend we need to be able to give our QB a lot more protection than Wilson got tonight.

I thought Wilson's protection today was the best it's been all season.

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:- Braylon Edwards... gave up on the pick too easily. Sure, bad decision by RW. But I thought this was 'personal' for Edwards per twitter?

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO? Wilson threw it over his head into triple coverage!

Yes and the pass was tipped to boot. d4mn patrick willis!

MontanaHawk05 wrote:I thought Wilson's protection today was the best it's been all season.

This. Protection wasn't the issue today.

Couldn't disagree more. Will revisit with specifics when the game is up tomorrow but right now my prediction is that over half of our passing plays were hurried, tipped or broken up by pressure.

AgentDib wrote:Couldn't disagree more. Will revisit with specifics when the game is up tomorrow but right now my prediction is that over half of our passing plays were hurried, tipped or broken up by pressure.

You might be right in the second half, I suppose. First half I remember Wilson having time to step into several throws.

Sidney wasn't complaining about Wilson, he was complaining about being held on the play.

Protection wasn't horrible, I'll say that. I don't see Wilson throwing any checkdowns in the middle of the field and short. Either he can't see it, or is worried about passes getting tipped, and doesn't have the lanes for it.

At this point, I'd have to say we go BPA with OT and WR being our biggest need. I'm starting to give up on Giacominni.

Absolutely need to find a #1 WR, it'll simply take pressure off everyone else. Rice can be a serviceable #1.. but how much more potent could our offense be if he's featured as a #2.

rpmischris wrote:We need BOWE combined with Rice with Tate/Baldwin in the slot. We need a true #1 receiver that can beat double coverages.

Firstly, bowe we'd have to trade for. Likely.a 2nd rounder at the latest. Likely more than that tho.
Secondly, he's gonna want #1 w/o money. Not gonna happen when we r already paying rice so much. Id rather see us get one in the draft

Id like to see martin in there and see what he can.do. and I wish we used our TEs more. We did some in the NE game

AF_Hawk wrote:

MontanaHawk05 wrote:I thought Wilson's protection today was the best it's been all season.

This. Protection wasn't the issue today.

When you play a D like San Fran and Seattle you have to capitalize on the plays that present themselves. We had some big drops. If those are caught the game is completely different.

Maybe Wilson made a bad read on the interception, but who cares. He was trying to make a play and being hit.

One gripe I had was on the play when our receiver was knocked out of bounds. It looked like a defensive back (I think a safety) came in to help. He wasn't even on coverage, but came across the field and knocked the receiver out of bounds. I still don't understand why that isn't interference. However, I also felt like we got away with a call, but it's not coming to me at the moment.

Just a frustrating loss where making one or two plays would have changed the entire game. I'm already getting bombarded by Niner fans. Gotta go crawl into a bunker and sulk until the Lions. I wanna absolutely destroy the Lions!!

Sorry Rob, but yes I do think this topic is reactionary. Don't forget that 2 of our drops were by RBs. Another was by a TE. We are talking about 3 drops by our WRs tonight. That sucks, but they also made some really nice plays- Rice and Baldwin especially. It's a shame that Tate's hands sucked, but that is VERY out of character for him. Piling on after this game on Tate is a lot like when Mora let Mare have it after he missed a couple kicks in 2009. Hopefully the aftermath is similarly ironic.

I'm not excusing anything- I think clearly the drops made the difference in the outcome of the game. How can a rookie QB build momentum when he's got almost as many drops (5) as completions (6) with just 5 minutes left in the game? Wilson actually looked very composed for a while and then the entire team just unraveled after that horrible drop by Tate on 3rd down.

This game screamed "growing pains" to me. Our running game is great, our recievers have talent, our QB has talent... but there is an awkwardness to this offense right now. The Dallas game was the only game where every aspect of the offense clicked at the same time. It really felt like Wilson was on pace for a special game before those drops and some very questionable non-calls for DPI threw a wrench in things.

Oddly enough, I thought Seattle looked like the more talented team in this game. The defense had SF on lockdown in quarters 2 and 3 and the offense came so freaking close to finishing drives countless times before the 49ers seemingly always caught a huge break to avoid points.

There have been a lot of dropped balls this season and quite a few in this game alone. Obviously they need to work on fixing that if this team is going to be successful. This particular game though the loss was not really a shock to me. I figured it would be close. Was hoping to see more from both offenses and a high score on both sides that was close, but that was really wishful thinking. This game was for the division lead and I didn't expect SF to just roll over and hand it to Seattle. I expected a dog fight and that's what it was. Those drops could have made the difference yes, but far from discourage me, this game actually made me feel there's hope for the future if they can get the catching thing figured out. It may be they do just that through free agency or the draft, but one way or another this trend of drops has to stop. It just has to. QB is the least of the offensive problems atm imo.

kearly wrote:Sorry Rob, but yes I do think this topic is reactionary. Don't forget that 2/5 of our drops were by RBs. We are talking about 3 drops by our WRs tonight. That sucks, but they also made some really nice plays- Rice and Baldwin especially. It's a shame that Tate's hands sucked, but that is VERY out of character for him. Piling on after this game on Tate is a lot like when Mora let Mare have it after he missed a couple kicks in 2009. Hopefully the aftermath is similarly ironic.

I'm not excusing anything- I think clearly the drops made the difference in the outcome of the game. How can a rookie QB build momentum when he's got almost as many drops (5) as completions (6) with just 5 minutes left in the game? Wilson actually looked very composed for a while and then the entire team just unraveled after that horrible drop by Tate on 3rd down.

This game screamed "growing pains" to me. Our running game is great, our recievers have talent, our QB has talent... but there is an awkwardness to this offense right now. The Dallas game was the only game where every aspect of the offense clicked at the same time. It really felt like Wilson was on pace for a special game before those drops and some very questionable non-calls for DPI threw a wrench in things.

Oddly enough, I thought Seattle looked like the more talented team in this game. The defense had SF on lockdown in quarters 2 and 3 and the offense came so freaking close to finishing drives countless times before the 49ers seemingly always caught a huge break to avoid points.

Excuse me... 3 drops by our receivers???? Tate dropped 3 catchable passes on his own. Edwards had another drop that hit him in the hands, Rice had a drop that hit him in the hands and I'm pretty sure Obomanu dropped a catchable pass in the 3rd quarter if my memory serves me correctly. Granted... Edwards and Rice dropped a couple tough catches they had to go up for, but they got both hands on the ball and they didn't make the catch. In the NFL... If the ball hits you in the hands... It's a drop, regardless if you're in double coverage, going up for the ball or diving for a ball. 2 hands on the ball that doesn't end up caught is a drop. Our receivers accounted for multiple drops and Tate accounted for 3 of them.

I can cut Turbin a little slack because he's a rookie and he probably had some jitters early in the game. Not to mention... The wheel route is one of the hardest catches for a back to make because they're typically not downfield receivers. Lynch has never been known for being a great receiving back, so I expect him to have a drop or two in a game if the ball's thrown his way.

As for the interception... If you get a chance... watch the replay on that. I don't think Wilson intended to throw it in the field of play. I think he was trying to get it out of bounds near Edwards to avoid intentional grounding and came up lame on the throw due to pressure. That's why it was way over Edwards and a lot closer to the sideline than Edwards was.

For immediate assistance, I'd really like to see us sign Plaxico this week. I'm done with Tate. I've been waiting for him to develop into a solid reliable receiver that gets open and makes plays consistently for 3 years now. It's always one thing or another with him. Either he has a hard time getting open, he drops passes when he gets open or he doesn't make a play after he catches the ball. Tate is vastly overrated in my opinion. He's a great athlete that can play receiver, but I want a great receiver that's athletic.

As for Edwards... He's been notoriously inconsistent throughout his career. One play he'll make an amazing catch and then he'll drop the easiest catch a receiver could make the next 2 or 3 times he's targeted. It's been a well publicized knock on him throughout his career. Again... Could care less if he stays on the team. I was actually hoping we'd keep TO over Edwards and give TO some time to work himself into the offense.

I'd trade Edwards and Tate for Nate Burleson in a heartbeat and that's not saying Burleson is a great receiver. It's just saying he's a hell of a lot more consistent than Edwards and Tate are combined.

Also... Who the hell is our receiver's coach??? I'd say he's on the hotseat at this point. Last, but not least... Does Bevell know how to use a f#@&^! screen? The only screens I've seen him use are slip screens and bubble screens to our receivers. Here's a thought. Maybe run a play-action screen pass that allows Robinson, a good receiving FB, to leak out and get a lot of space to work with when he catches the ball after the front 7 have closed in on the HB and the secondary is downfield with our receivers.

I caught the last 10 mins. of the game at work. With about a minute to go, Nessler read RW's stats and then said "but keep in mind he had 6 passes dropped tonight". Then on the way home, the local sports talk station played a comment from Mark Schlereth (who I respect GREATLY) (likely from his radio show tonight) and he stated "Wilson had a much better game than the stats indicate. He had 2 balls dropped in the first half that should've been touchdowns. The Seahawks should've been up like 14-3 at that point and if they had been it could've been a far different outcome".

That sounds to me like exactly what Rob had in mind when he started this thread. This is an area that needs an upgrade.

On the INT... I agree Edwards gave up on it. Especially if it was tipped, you HAVE to become a defender at that point. They are only going to penalize you for it, but as soon as he knew he had no shot, he gave up. He should have been offensively pass interfering like a mo-fo on that play.

Hasselbeck wrote:

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:- Braylon Edwards... gave up on the pick too easily. Sure, bad decision by RW. But I thought this was 'personal' for Edwards per twitter?

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO? Wilson threw it over his head into triple coverage!

He gave up on the play. I'm not blaming him, I'm not saying he should've caught it, but head down trotting away from the ball when it's thrown was not ideal effort from the guy. It wouldn't have hurt to try and break it up and bail the rookie out. If he doesn't succeed, so what? He tried.

Dropped passes are killers. This game was reminiscent of the early Holmgren years when Djack and KRob were dropping what seemed like everything that was thrown their way.

Our WR's need to be held accountable. As bad as the drops were last night, Tate's blown assignment(s), specifically on the bubble screen to Obo was HORRENDOUS. He didn't even look like he was giving an effort on it, then put his hands on his hips and (I hope I'm wrong about this) but began to point to a different WR (Rice, I believe) when Obomanu got up and got in his face. Tate is a major negative factor right now. He needs to step it up and do his job.

Rice is making plays, but when we're only throwing 23 passes a game, he's not getting the chances a typical #1 WR should get. He's working hard out there, and deserves more chances.

As far as a trade is concerned, in-season deals are rare, and difficult to come by. It would also cost us much more, in terms of draft picks, to pull off a trade right now. We need to coach up our guys. Perhaps Tate needs to get back to returning kicks and punts. Perhaps Edwards needs more time in the offense. Perhaps Charlie Martin needs to be given more reps. And perhaps we need to give Winslow a phone call, get him back in Seattle. Evan Moore isn't doing much to present himself as an offensive weapon.

Just my two pennies worth...

overreacting much?

first and foremost, we played the pissed off 49ers in San Francisco. just keep that in mind before you begin ranting. no ifs or buts, its the damn 9ers with their rock solid pass rush and secondary. Russell did NOT feel comfortable the entire damn game.

now on the recievers... I didn't watch the entire game (cause I was in the middle of drinking with buddies and also switched back and forth between the Seahawks and the Oregon game), but here is what I saw.

the three major drops that I remembered:

1) Turbin - a rookie RB not making the big play like he needs to, while catching the ball 20 yards from scrimmage? give the guy some break, its not exactly his area of expertise. We gambled on that one and it just didn't pay off. I am sure he doesnt catch these types of balls 100% of the time even in practice. he is an excellent RB for a 4th round pick and I am perfectly content with him not being a second coming of Ray Rice or LeSean McCoy. he is a great player with lots of potential and I still REALLY llike him no matter what.

2) Moore - ok a 3rd string TE not catching the ball in tight coverage. he blew it, no doubt about it, but hey, he is a 3rd stringer for a reason. He will not be consistent and I am sure he will improve... He has been on our team for how long, like a couple of months? The jury is still out on him, he made a mental mistake, but it is not a reason to put him into the dog house.

3) Golden Tate - yeah, he had a shitty game. He is not as consistent we wish he was. He singlehandedly won us a couple of games already with insane catches that we will remember forever, but didn't deliver yesterday. what do you propose, cutting him? PLEASE.

I am a lot more concerned with lack of production from Sidney Rice. He is the best reciever we have on our team and he has done practically nothing. Is this really because he was double-covered, couldnt separate himself, or was it because RW just couldnt get the ball to him? Perhaps a combination of all three. but he really is a legit #1 WR and we need to get him involved a lot more often.

I don't want to cut Tate, I want to find a receiver in the offseason who can be more consistent so that Tate can be a situational player next year or less. I think finding a guy to replace Tate who is an upgrade in terms of consistency would be a big help.

Yeah Rice is a special player and since he's healthy I'd like to see a lot more go his way.

hawk45 wrote:I don't want to cut Tate, I want to find a receiver in the offseason who can be more consistent so that Tate can be a situational player next year or less. I think finding a guy to replace Tate who is an upgrade in terms of consistency would be a big help.

Tate by himself (from raw skills standpoint) is extremely good, an exact mold of Steve Smith. his problem is consistency. he is either a boom or bust, we know that.

if you really want a MORE CONSISTENT Golden Tate, be prepared to cough out a 1st round pick for a player of that caliber and hope he pans out. but, with this front office and the defensive-minded coach, do you really expect them to spend a 1st pick on an extremely talented WR? I don't think so.

Drafting WR(s) is likely not going to solve much short term. They usually take some time before they get productive/reliable.

In the 2012 draft there were 33 WRs drafted. Out of those there are 2 WRs that I would consider being productive players in their first year (so far)...Kendall Wright and Alshon Jeffrey...maybe Stephen Hill but he has been very inconsistent.

The FA market looks pretty bad as well. I would love to see Bowe who will be a free agent but he is going to cost a lot of money. Greg Jennings will also be a FA but he has not been able to stay healthy the last few years. I believe Cruz will be a FA as well, but he will likely resign or cost a ton of money. That's basically it for the impact WRs on the FA market.

I'm tapping out on this one, I was trying to disguise my emotional fan reaction as something other than emotional fan reaction.

Emotional fan reaction: Tate you sucked last night I want your ass fired.
Realism: Tate you sucked last night but aren't Mr. Droppy all the time so I'm not certain you're the problem in fact there may not even be a big WR problem let's wait and see what we do against defenses who aren't as kick-ass as the Niners and hopefully by the time we play them again RW has continued to improve and also our WRs and backs don't have such a flukey stupid dropsie day.

chihawk wrote:Drafting WR(s) is likely not going to solve much short term. They usually take some time before they get productive/reliable.

In the 2012 draft there were 33 WRs drafted. Out of those there are 2 WRs that I would consider being productive players in their first year (so far)...Kendall Wright and Alshon Jeffrey...maybe Stephen Hill but he has been very inconsistent.

OK but if you were to look at last year's draft, Julio Jones and AJ Green immediately come to mind. Randall Cobb was an excellent end of 2nd round pick as well for the Packers.

there are some players who you know will be able to deliver from the start, and ooze greatness.
I was talking about these type of WRs, whose upside is virtually unlimited. they all are 1st round pick material. the real question is not whether these players will be available in 2013, but whether or not our front office is prepared to invest in WRs. at this point, I am not at all convinced and suspect that they would want to squeeze the most out of what they have right now.

[Sidney Rice - Doug Baldwin - Golden Tate - Zach Miller] is not really that bad of a WR/TE core, they arent dominating, but they are probably the best in our division, at least on paper.

The FA market looks pretty bad as well. I would love to see Bowe who will be a free agent but he is going to cost a lot of money. Greg Jennings will also be a FA but he has not been able to stay healthy the last few years. I believe Cruz will be a FA as well, but he will likely resign or cost a ton of money. That's basically it for the impact WRs on the FA market.

I'll take Jennings or Bowe in a freaking heartbeat.