Random Thoughts™ on the Rams game

Kinda not feeling it after this one, so I'm just going to hit on the major points tonight.

1.

I've defended the OL all season. Statistically, they've been neck and neck with the 2005 unit- in fact the run blocking has actually rated higher this year than 2005 did. But today was brutal. Lynch had another productive day as did Wilson running the football, but far too often did the Rams stuff runs or produce negative plays in the running game. A few brilliant plays helped mask what was a bit of a struggle in the running game today, at least when compared to what we are used to.

And pass protection revealed some very real problems. Okung gave up a sack. Giacomini gave up a sack. Sweezy gave up at least two sacks. In total Seattle gave up six sacks, which is probably the worst display of the entire season. Wilson had only been sacked 27 times over 15 previous games. But what really worried me was how the Rams did it with a base rush. That Wilson finished with a 136.3 passer rating today and very good rushing numbers is stunning. There is no question that the Rams dominated in the trenches today.

JR Sweezy has the tools and ability to be a good RT, so being a good pass protecting G really shouldn't be this hard. I think his problem is mostly experience related. On one of his sacks he picked up the wrong player, and on another he didn't fight hard enough with his hands. I am not giving up on him, not at all. But I think that if Moffitt is cleared to play, Carroll has to start him in the playoffs. Moffitt may not have Sweezy's upside, but he's a better guard right now.

2.

I have respect for the Rams, who had won 4 of 5 before this game. I have respect for Jeff Fisher, who outcoached Carroll in the first matchup.

But that said, I don't think the Rams could have gotten much luckier than they did today. They had an early Seahawks touchdown wiped out by an unnecessary screen block by McCoy. They had a brilliant surprise onside kicked by the Seahawks wiped out by Chancellor grabbing it a foot too early. Take note that Jeff Fisher was badly fooled on that onside kick, btw. They had a fumble-sack for a TD that was called back (I thought it was the right call but wow was it close). They had a (at the time) game winning type play on 3rd and long to Baldwin for 49 yards that was wiped out by a (legit) hold. Not that I'm griping about the call, but it was lucky. I lost count of how many uncalled holds I saw today, but that was not among the missed calls.

The Seahawks kept shooting themselves in the foot like we had not seen since the last time these teams played each other- a game Seattle lost despite never allowing an offensive TD. Seattle dominated the 1st half, but entered halftime trailing 7-3.

Seattle ended up winning 20-13 once the breaks started going away, but you couldn't help but feel like if Seattle plays an ordinary game they would have won today 41 to 13 instead. I wonder if they even have a foot left after shooting it so many times.

Sadly, that pandemic of screw ups ultimately cost Wilson sole possession of the rookie TD record, although I suppose there are worse things than sharing a record with a guy named Peyton Manning.

3.

Overall, this was a frustrating game that was on pace to be the most upsetting loss of the season (for me, at least) before Wilson finally took a load off my shoulders by securing the record tying TD. Andrew Luck beat the fading Texans today to reach 11-5. If Wilson had fallen short of the record today, I think Luck (quite unfairly) would have probably hit the driver's seat for the rookie of the year award.

I'm not used to rooting for individual awards. Only a few times before has Seattle had a player in this kind of situation- Alexander in 2005 and Tez in 1992. I know it's illogical, but I've come to realize that seeing Wilson win the award means a great deal to me. In the end, sports are all about recognition. A win is recognition for being the better team that week. A playoff berth is recognition for a good season. A Superbowl win is the ultimate recognition- a statement that says your team was the best in the land.

Individual awards are recognition too- and Russell Wilson just completed arguably the best rookie season in NFL history, with only Big Ben and RG3 making compelling counter-arguments. I'd hate to pick between RG3 and Wilson this year, really it's a shame they can't split the award. But last I checked, RG3 is not a Seahawk. He was not a 3rd round pick. He was not a guy labelled too short to play in the NFL. He was not a backup in August. So with all due respect to RG3, I would really like to see Wilson get that stupid award. Obviously, winning a championship is priority one, but seeing Wilson take home hardware is a surprisingly close second, at least for me.

So in that sense today was bittersweet. Wilson just had one of the best games of his career and somehow only walked out with one passing TD, when two would have given him sole possession of the record. That sucked- but we won, and he at least got a share, even if he deserved an even better result than what he got.

4.

Seattle finished with the #1 scoring defense with a comfy margin to spare. Last offseason we pined for an elite defense. Nobody would question that we have one now.

With that said, am I the only one who feels that our pass rush is actually worse than last year's? I know the stats don't play that out, and Irvin has basically done what we could have realistically hoped for in the Raheem Brock role, but Seattle did not sack Bradford even once today. This is not the first time Seattle has struggled to pressure a team that came in with below average pass protection. In fact, it seems like poor pass protection numbers from an opponent have been a kiss of death to our pass rush this year. Arizona twice, the Rams twice, the Bears and so on.

I can't say it enough- the Red Bryant experiment cannot succeed without sending extra rushers. Maybe if we traded for JJ Watt and Justin Smith, it could. But in the real world where the best we could do last year was Bruce Irvin, Seattle is essentially committing to a 3 man rush on every non-blitz play. Red Bryant brings value in other areas, but in the pass rush department he's a non-factor even by 3-4 end standards. And that's okay- if Seattle had a 3-4 mentality and sent a 5th rusher fairly often. When Seattle does blitz, or even show blitz, the difference in pressure is night and day. I've given Pete the benefit of the doubt the last several weeks, but the playoffs are here and it's time to stop being cute.

5.

Kudos to the officiating today- you will rarely see a tougher game to call. There were probably five or six moments in this game that merited instant replay or otherwise were decided by less than an inch or a hundredth of a second. Although some of the decisions against us sucked, I felt every one of them was correct- save for the DPI on Maxwell- but that play wasn't as big a deal since it was only worth a few more yards than Irvin's legit late hit on the same play. They had a blown call against Janoris Jenkins for "holding" that balanced it out. I felt the officiating was remarkably good and balanced for how tough the situation was. I'm guessing fans weren't exactly rushing to give the refs hugs after this one, but they had a very tough job today and I've rarely seen a crew handle a game with so many tough decisions better.

6.

This might have been Golden Tate's best game yet. He had a terrific scoop catch and made multiple defenders miss after the catch. He broke 100 yards today on just 3 catches.

Final thought:

Unsurprisingly the Redskins emerged victorious from the Sunday Night Cripple Fight. Griffin is a shadow of his former self when hurt and he got up very slow after a crunching hit late in this game. Since it's the playoffs I will respectfully decline the chance to be cocky. Any given Sunday is doubly true in the playoffs. But you have to feel good about this one. Alfred Morris is all that team really has going for them right now, and his mini-beast mode style is a convenient match for our D-line that prefers physical backs over ultra quick ones.

I guess it's only fitting that the two best rookie QBs in NFL history (by passer rating) would meet in the first playoff game this year. It's a fitting way to kick off a great playoffs following one of the most storyline filled regular seasons ever.

Love the 8-0 home record, love Wilson's performance despite a horrific effort by the OL, Tater Tot was fantastic...Some good stuff but overall the game just felt painful to watch and sit through with all the time outs and flags.

I give much respect to that Rams team Fisher is building. Their defense gave us fits all day long and made us look quite ordinary, and that's saying something after the roll we've been on in December.

And Good God can we PLEASE generate a pass rush?!?!!?

I'm starting to think the lack of pressure is kind of by design. It's about gap control, keeping everything in front of the defenders and not giving up what the opposition of the Redskins and Seahawks do. Not saying you shouldn't have both, but, all I see is very VANILLA rush from the base group. Little stunts, if any.

All I see is; just rush to your gap...if you pressure great...if not our LB/DB's will make a play. I think as Irvin progresses that will change, but right now, Pete seems content just filling gaps up front. Which will work quite well Sunday (the opposite of what Dallas did).

The way I feel after this game is a lot like the way after I felt after losing to Arizona in week 1. Yes, Arizona brought the pass rush, but otherwise they were not a good team, and the only reason Seattle did not destroy them was because they couldn't get out of their own way. Seattle obliterated Arizona on the second go around. The Rams are due for an ass kicking. We didn't get it today, but it is inevitable.

I think today, especially the first half was just a classic emotional let down situation coming after our huge win last week.

That, and the fact that we had a soccer coach raise the 12th man flag made it a hard game to get into.

Bradford had waaaaaay too much time in that pocket. Yes, we kept them to only 13 points which should not be understated but I can't stand it when I see Wilson get sacked 6 times and we get nothing on Bradford AT HOME.

Inexcusable.

JSeahawks":uajx4u2y said:

I think today, especially the first half was just a classic emotional let down game coming after our huge win last week.

That, and the fact that we had a soccer coach raise the 12th man flag made it a hard game to get into.

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SO true. When I saw Zig raise the flag, both my wife and I looked at each other shrugging our shoulders. "Huh??"

I also buy that theory that today was a classic emotional let down game. Luckily we have Wilson or historically this game is a "L".

Aros":2f82n5f7 said:

Bradford had waaaaaay too much time in that pocket. Yes, we kept them to only 13 points which should not be understated but I can't stand it when I see Wilson get sacked 6 times and we get nothing on Bradford AT HOME.

Inexcusable.

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Rams also have 2 top 5 picks invested in their DL. Hawks have 1 first rounder.

And, what you said can be said every week about the Hawks; NOT ENOUGH PRESSURE but they held them to blank. Makes me think it's a little by design. Maybe.

Something is going on with Moffitt and the coaches, so I don't know if 'being cleared to play' really matters. Maybe his practices and study techniques this week will be the difference. Clearly the coaches have chosen to go with Sweezy and damn the results. And frankly, it's what they have done since Training camp, so who am I to question it, because it has worked just fine so far. I haven't been able to review the game yet, so I can't comment specifically on Sweezy, but I know he wasn't the only one getting beat today.

I had wanted to play the Cowboys mostly because it was a shorter trip and I think we'd do better in their facility, but hey, bring on the Redskins...what do we really have to fear of them?? Our defense is elite and Wilson is too.

I agree with the officiating as regards the difficulties they had to bear. I disagree with your conclusion that they did well. The calls they made to overturn were not clear, and the replays were not close enough to overturn IMHO. But hey, thems the breaks and we won.

Is Red Bryant really an 'experiment' after 3 years? I think it's pretty well established at this point, but ya, somethings gotta be done to bring pressure. I joked on another thread that maybe they have been holding on some wrinkles for the playoffs, but who knows, maybe it's true.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts...always a pleasure.

Good stuff yet again kearly. I really enjoy reading these after each game. You did a great job this season. Thanks!

While I agree with you and nice post Pe, I think the Seahawks do need to mix some more blitzes in for the Redskins game. With RGTres being a little gimpy playing through his injury, I'd like to see Kam sent on some blitzes. Thomas, Sherm, Browner, and co. should be able to provide cover and contain the Skins receivers. I'm a little worried about slowing down Santana Moss but ultimately I think we'll get it done.

Agreed about the O-Line today kearly. Pretty brutal if we're to be honest and the Skins love to blitz. That might play to Russell's strengths however, unless we're letting him get swarmed again back there.

I can't wait!

JSeahawks":yi2e07ff said:

I think today, especially the first half was just a classic emotional let down situation coming after our huge win last week.

That, and the fact that we had a soccer coach raise the 12th man flag made it a hard game to get into.

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Our team appeared to be "unfocused" for much of the first 40 minutes....penality after penality....how frustrating!

Also, found it kind of interesting how this season came full circle in a sense. Started off the year with a chippy, sloppy game against a tough divisional opponent who got after Russell.

At the beginning of the season, we lost this game. Now, with a mature beyond his years quarterback who has improved week by week, we got the W.

NYCoug":3o0rfsj8 said:

Also, found it kind of interesting how this season came full circle in a sense. Started off the year with a chippy, sloppy game against a tough divisional opponent who got after Russell.

At the beginning of the season, we lost this game. Now, with a mature beyond his years quarterback who has improved week by week, we got the W.

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+1

The Wilson award pining isn't illogical for you Kearly. At the very beginning, before Wilson even started, you called that he would be great, and actually called a Superbowl for us if he started (you hit that call on Wilson out of the park). Wilson winning RoY is validation (as if you needed more) for that call, it's also pulling for the underdog after the media love fest to Luck and RG3 (I share the rooting for the underdog thing). And, it's some recognition for our Hawks. After the Sherman Pro Bowl snub, I kinda feel they owe us this one, and maybe Wagner too.

Personally, I felt this would be a close game, but my brain was telling me this was a different Hawks team, on a tremendous roll, and it wouldn't surprise me to ring up 40 on the Rams. But my gut told me this would be close, and the Rams defense is VERY underrated. We aren't the only ones getting snubbed in the media. We needed this one. We needed a dogfight right before the playoffs. We needed that last monkey off our back, and the last bit of confidence that we can win close games. If this next game is close, it's not as much culture shock, especially in the playoffs.

The fact that we shoot ourselves in the foot against the Rams just shows me that oru OL isn't a good matchup against their very physical DL. I'd be happy with a high round interior OL pick in the draft; a WR or OLB also wouldn't upset me. Heck, I'd even be happy with an elite DE prospect.

kearly":3ol3ufn0 said:

Final thought:

Unsurprisingly the Redskins emerged victorious from the Sunday Night Cripple Fight. Griffin is a shadow of his former self when hurt and he got up very slow after a crunching hit late in this game. Since it's the playoffs I will respectfully decline the chance to be cocky. Any given Sunday is doubly true in the playoffs. But you have to feel good about this one. Alfred Morris is all that team really has going for them right now, and his mini-beast mode style is a convenient match for our D-line that prefers physical backs over ultra quick ones.

I guess it's only fitting that the two best rookie QBs in NFL history (by passer rating) would meet in the first playoff game this year. It's a fitting way to kick off a great playoffs following one of the most storyline filled regular seasons ever.

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Pierre Garcon is the big playmaker on that team. He's who we have to shut down if we're going to win this one.

what were your thoughts on jeremy lane and trufant.

Good thoughts. This game, the whole game through, felt like a slug fest where the best team simply found a way to win. It was sloppy, ugly, and a down game, but the Seahawks were simply the better team, and the results showed on the field.

I get your apathy towards the game. It was win, and I'm glad to be done with it. Not much to take away from the game as the team has had better days and, hopefully, will have them soon.

Maybe my memory is off, but I could have sworn Pete blitzed more at USC. I'm wondering if the lack of much blitzing is a Bradley thing more than a Pete thing.

what a season, went to the game today, had a lot of fun, we finished 11-5, my homer prediction at the start of the year was 9-7, and I thought I was being generous. If you're a Seahawks fan you have to be excited for the now and the future.