Yesterday's win was great, don't get me wrong. But didn't we all expect the Hawks to win? I know I did.

My question is did you see anything yesterday that changed your opinion on how far the Hawks can go this year.......which right now is a #6 last Wildcard spot type of team?

My honest answer is no. I love the progress the offense is making, but the defense still can't stop from being gashed on the inside run game, and still gave up too many 3rd down conversions.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

I'm also at "no" -- for now. We have to play better on the road, because more than likely if we do make the playoffs it's going to be nothing but road games.

We won't have the C Link crutch. To me, the three remaining road games are HUGE. We can't keep coming up just short on the road. Buffalo is the most winnable, Miami is going to be a tough one but it also winnable, and then there is the Bears - who are a FORCE so who knows.

_________________
@SeahawkGreg

YEAH, WE HAVE A DUDE NAMED CHRISTINE...DEAL WITH IT!

I think if we play the Bears tough, not even necessarily win, but play them tough then I'd be happy with that. It'd show that we can go on the road if we make the playoffs and compete.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

I think it moved my meter some on the offense, definitely. But with the defense looking destructible at times, that has me concerned for sure. Regardless of the postulations that we faced a great RB yada, yada, yada, and a great QB the week before, then ya, I'm concerned that other offenses have discovered a weakness in our defensive game and are exploiting it. Because when it comes to the playoffs, everything is worse. Anyway, I do believe the defensive lapses we've seen the last few weeks are fixable, but I hope to see it on the field now.

_________________

Getting to the playoffs is half the battle.. While I would prefer a home game.. teams that are playing their best football in December are the teams to fear in January and beyond.. 2/5 SB Champs were #6 seeds from the NFC.. couple that with the NYG who got in at 9-7 last season and won the division by winning their last 2 games..

just get it.. now, I realize that we are not a force on the road, but we have been in position to win every game this season and the meter is going up on offense..

very excited about the near term and long term future with this offense.. 2nd youngest offense in the league.. not a single person that contributes is a FA next year either..

Defensively, only Branch and Leroy Hill are FAs.

_________________
_____________________

Where can I find Seahawks98.com???

This is the NFL, you're going to play a great QB, RB or WR every week.

But yeah, I'm starting to get nervous about the D. Carroll and Bradley keep saying that the gap control and schemes is fixable...........but when it keeps happening? wtf's going on?

I'm no expert, but IMO it's been on Wagner and the LB's. Too many times out of position and picking the wrong gap.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

Just like against the Lions, my meter moved up due to our offense and down because of our defense. We're talking two steps forward, and then two steps back, but...

AP is no joke, besides his 70+ yard run, we did a decent job of keeping him fairly in check. Yes, he still racked up 108 yards on just 16 carries - 6.8 yards per run - (if you remove the 74-yarder) which is waayyy too high for a team that wants to be successful on defense in this league... but I think we're starting to see glimpses of a very good offense.

If we can put them both together, offense and defense, in the same game, I don't see a single opponent on the rest of our schedule that can beat us. Including the Bears in Chicago...

Yesterday exposed our defense—no one can just arm tackle guys like Gore and AP, you have to bring it every. single. play. If we can do that, watch out NFL!

_________________

Nope. We win at home and lose on the road. Until they can show me they can win on the road, that's just the team we are. They are young and fun to watch though, that's for sure.

_________________


"WE ALL WE GOT! WE ALL WE NEED!"

my answer is no as well, love the offensive improvements, but was again really disappointed in the run D.. i understand it was AP but wow, 200 yrds, come on... to make it to the promise land, we have to be a complete team, solid in all aspects and superior in at least one or two.. so i like what i'm seeing, but we still have work to do to get better and start addressing some of these lingering issues... WR's, Short middle of the field, run defense, penalties,drops.. and i don't know why, but for whatever reason, Houschka makes me nervous as hell with kicks over 30 yrds..

_________________
On to the Next Episode

For me every win moves the meter.

It's hard to win in the NFL and every victory means something.

_________________
You have destroyed us. You found the flaw in the crystal. We are gone. You are alone.

Good perspective.

One of my buddy's was bitching about the defense yesterday, and I said "let me remind you, it was only 4-5 years ago that we had the softest D in the NFL." I distinctly remember the 2009 season watching our D give up in the first quarter on the road against the Colts, the lack of heart was startling.

Our D might not be "elite".......but one thing's for damn sure, the other teams gonna walk off the field hobbling after getting mauled for 60 minutes.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

I’m still not there but more hopeful as I see the offense put more points up each week. It seems the Hawks are trying to do more game management on the road ‘low risk D and be there at the end’ As the feeling seems to be they can't risk playing from behind. In the past our O was not good enough to support even that. I don't think anything will change with the way this D plays on the road, but as the O gets better that conservative road philosophy may pay off.

_________________
"Horse horse, did you see the size of that chicken?"

Didn't get to see the game but had it on the DVD and the wife will tell you how unhappy I was in several areas. I thought we were lucky to win that game. This is what happens when you can run plays back and forth a lot.


Special teams,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,does anyone tell these people they have to cover their areas on the field and stop rushing off to the ball and having great runbacks go throught their area???

Besides what happened to working together to help the returner? Anything Leon is getting is all on him, our guys are all standing around watching/waiting for him to do something.

Receivers:Golden Tate is all about Golden Tate! Yes he made some great plays yesterday but the goal line thing, he jumps in the air and then is holding the ball up grandstanding as usual. Of course I miss the class of earlier years receivers that caught the ball, handed to the official and trotted back to the huddle. In other words act like they had caught the ball before.

Did you know the NFL has asked our receivers to stop spinning the ball on the ground rather than toss it to the officials? I've heard that several times from around the league. But Tate and Rice seem to think they have to do that.

Defense second week in a row showing the football world you cannot handle crossblocking teams that attack right up the middle. Ummmmm192 rushing yards???

That 74 yard run featured several players faked out of position and others standing around watching for someone else to make a play. The one bright light was Browner outrunning one of the fastest guys on the field to force them to take 3 more plays to score.

Was I happy with the win? damn straight. But doubt we beat anyone on the road continuing to play that way. In fact if the receiving corp is so in love with itself like it looks they very well could lose one or more at home.

Play like a team of professional, that would make me happy.

_________________

Still missing you everyday pal.

To be honest I don't think it did. The defense is showing signs breaking down in the run defense department in the last few games. The offense has dropped a lot of balls that were right on the money. They had 3 yesterday and 5 the game before that. This stuff worries me with the more stout defenses we'll face down the stretch.

_________________
...the cockpit is quiet, the stars are bright, it kinda feels like church in here tonight....

You other concerns are valid, but I'm confused about this one. We FINALLY have a 2nd receiver emerging in Tate that's contributing to the passing offense, and you're criticizing him for showboating?

Everyone's praising Wilson, but one of the big reasons the passing offense is finally succeeding is Tate. If he catches 10 balls with two TD's every game, the dude can grab a microphone and sing We Are the Champions in the endzone for all I care.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

We all have our opinions, I'll give you yours as I'm sure you'll give me mine.

Did I mention we tackled about as well as my sons grade school teams did?

But let me say this about Peterson,,,he's pretty unbelievable!

_________________

Still missing you everyday pal.

Yes other teams are runnig the ball on the Hawks now. Thomas spent a lot of time playing up yesterday and they still did not try our corners. Teams knowing they can't throw at our corners is a big deal..44 yards in the air yesterday?..that is going to pay off...

let them run the ball...my glass is half full

_________________
"Horse horse, did you see the size of that chicken?"

No I hear ya. But I had a bigger problem with the defensive antics yesterday, rather than the WR's. Thomas carrying on after tackling AP? Dude, your defense was on pace to give up 200 yards rushing, wtf are you pounding your chest about?

Browner also had a unsportmanlike conduct penalty that kept a drive alive that pissed me off.

_________________
If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

Petterson has made a living making long runs even when the opponents all know he is running. I am not going to judge our defense on playing one of the best RB's in the game.

With that said - I saw great changes on defense in the half - very positive

I saw RW being even more comfortable in the pocket, stepped up a few times, rolled calmly then passed / took off

Moved forward instead of backwards - big win

I imagine that Thomas was animated as a way to try to get his fellow defenders to get motivated and to play better. Consider where Thomas usually lines up. The guy shouldn't have to be making tackles on run plays.

Of course, my interpretation hinges on the presumption that a guy who is widely considered the key to our defensive scheme isn't a self-centered jerk.

_________________


Okay, so maybe that pass rush is still an issue. Lather, rinse, repeat.