Random Musings…

[Hawkamaniac]

I believe Hawks have a quagmire, Olu is better run blocker, Sundell is a better pass blocker. Our run game picked up considerably after Olu replaced Sundell, perhaps it was the competition, I don't know.

I believe you’re correct. And though it’s never done I wonder why they couldn’t rotate them based on down and distance. Every other position group has packages.

 

[DTiempo81]

I believe you’re correct. And though it’s never done I wonder why they couldn’t rotate them based on down and distance. Every other position group has packages.

Sundell didn't look great in pass pro today. The line looked like it took a massive step backwards in both run and pass blocking. I think they need to get Olu back in there. As much as I like Sundell as a player, he's just not big/strong enough.

 

[AROS]

I just don’t get why we struggle so much to run the damn ball. We shouldn’t be THIS bad. Every time I watch K9 or Charbs they are either gaining one or two yards or no gain or a loss.

I wish I knew the solution but I don’t. I think we are being coached well enough. I know RG is a concern. Did switching back to Sundell cause an issue?

All I know is this has to be fixed or enjoy one and done in the playoffs.

 

[glenwo2]

If Darnold has tells, they need to fix this and fast.

 

[JPatera76]

If Darnold has tells, they need to fix this and fast.

If he has tells .. like mebane has stated… why hasn’t he reached out to the team lol. Odd most former players are always eager to help our boys. Mebane seems to keep his distance

 

[glenwo2]

If he has tells .. like mebane has stated… why hasn’t he reached out to the team lol. Odd most former players are always eager to help our boys. Mebane seems to keep his distance

Or maybe Mebane is just assuming things that are not really there?

I mean now that I think about it : If Darnold did have tells, wouldn't the Coaching staff have noticed that?

The Coaching staff who look at Darnold far closer than someone who is looking from a distance?

 

[JPatera76]

Or maybe Mebane is just assuming things that are not really there?

I mean now that I think about it : If Darnold did have tells, wouldn't the Coaching staff have noticed that?

I feel like Macdonald would’ve 100000% sorted that out and fixed it

 

[HawkinNY]

Is it time to seriously be concerned about the ineffectiveness of the running game..?

Why do we use Walker who is seriously challenged running with or while his blocking? Either that or dancing rather punching through the gaps. He’s not a keeper.

This weakness of the running game is a critical rate limiting problem. To me it is clear problem.

I think every run play they ran yesterday should be scrapped from the playbook. They need to do something diff cause no one cares about our run game anymore.

 

[hawkfan68]

OL as a whole was terrible yesterday. Sundell comes in and it goes down the drain. Not only that, Charles Cross has been awful the past two games. He almost allowed a safety against the Falcons (1st series of the game) and his play wasn't much better in yesterday's game.

 

[hawkfan68]

I just don’t get why we struggle so much to run the damn ball. We shouldn’t be THIS bad. Every time I watch K9 or Charbs they are either gaining one or two yards or no gain or a loss.

I wish I knew the solution but I don’t. I think we are being coached well enough. I know RG is a concern. Did switching back to Sundell cause an issue?

All I know is this has to be fixed or enjoy one and done in the playoffs.

The RB coach left the team. So might be on to something here.

 

[keasley45]

I just don’t get why we struggle so much to run the damn ball. We shouldn’t be THIS bad. Every time I watch K9 or Charbs they are either gaining one or two yards or no gain or a loss.

I wish I knew the solution but I don’t. I think we are being coached well enough. I know RG is a concern. Did switching back to Sundell cause an issue?

All I know is this has to be fixed or enjoy one and done in the playoffs.

I think a lot of it has to do with our blocking assignments being easily confused given their zone nature. We have all seen more images of lineman standing around after a play with no one to block than we would care to for the rest of our lives. Some of this is due to the fact that pressure schemes and rush defenses have been pretty adept at blurring responsibility for our guys. ZB requires really intelligent lineman and communication similar to what we are seeing take place on the back end of our D. When you have a weak link whether along the line or in a TE chipping in, it screws up the entire play in a way more noticeable IMO than in a straight up man blocking scheme. There are just more 'if, then's ' to consider before you can fire off the ball with confidence .

It's all made worse if we have tells that are giving away run/pass.

 

[bileever]

Having a game like this before the Rams game isn't the worst thing in the world. If the Seahawks won in a blowout, they go into the next game thinking that everything with the offense is hunky-dory. It's good for Kubiak to understand the issues on the offensive line and running game going into the Thursday game and try to address them with some urgency. Now, Macdonald and Kubiak are reminded how the offense looked against the Rams in the first game, and they're on notice that the house is on fire and things have to be fixed.

 

[Hawkstud]

Great post, Keasley. I don't buy any of the "they looked past the Colts" speculations, because it's just that: uninformed opinion.

The Colts are/were a balanced team. The Hawks are still learning how to play offense against good defenses. I hope it's not true that Darnold has tells.

Do we have the horses up front to open holes for the running game? Can we throw more RB/TE screens to slow the rush? The offense has some assets, but enough to beat the next three teams and run deep in the playoffs? You'd think so after beating the defenses of Vikings, Falcons, and Colts.

You can't look past the zebras in any game; they got away with obvious cheating all game long.
Truth is, the Seahawks had to beat the Horseshoes and the Refs to get that razor thin victory yesterday.
GO SEAHAWKS!

 

[pmedic920]

He did what great QBs do. Which is drive down the field and win the game when it matters the most. 40 seconds and no time outs and Serious Sam GOT THE JOB DONE BABY WOOO GO SEAHAWKS

This is the bright spot I need constant reminders of.

Sam was poised and handled those last two drives as good as anyone could, better than the vast majority. (IMO)


I still have zero confidence for TNF

 

[SNDavidson]

I think I've learned what the NFL values above all else is stories, because stories sell to the entire potential fanbase. I enjoyed this game outside of our offense, and the officiating showed that the NFL values stories.

Everyone, whether they admit it or not, loves Rivers, he has the same thing that annoyed every team PC ever played, he's a gamer. This life is hard, we appreciate f-you too gamers. Rivers is awesome, the officiating was not.

Our team overcame it like the Sherm sock pick against Hou, good teams have no problem winning a squeaker against a legend, this can only make us harder.

I love it, Phillip made it tough on us, I like this more than a blowout tbh.

 

[pmedic920]

Or maybe Mebane is just assuming things that are not really there?

I mean now that I think about it : If Darnold did have tells, wouldn't the Coaching staff have noticed that?

The Coaching staff who look at Darnold far closer than someone who is looking from a distance?

Most parents don’t recognize when their children are being little dicks.

Maybe it’s a love is blind situation?

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

I'm sort of surprised they didn't try the 3rd rb when things weren't working. He looked pretty good the week before and gives something a bit different

 

[NoGain]

As others have mentioned, our running attack is pretty abysmal now. Almost every time we attempt to run wide I think to myself we just gave up a down. It's a combination of things, scheme, blocking talent, and Walker, who's proving to me that he's neither instinctual nor twitchy enough of a runner to create yardage out of a difficult situation. He's been dropping like a stone in my mind of late because he's just not the complement to a more downhill runner that I thought he'd be. I'm okay with Charbs as our more downhill runner, and he's got decent hands, but he's certainly not a feature back either.

Whew. I've got to think that OLine and RB are near the top of the agenda of needs to be addressed this coming off season.

Also, we've got to better develop the depth and versatility of our receiving corp. When I looked at the stat sheet from yesterday's game, I was surprised to see that both Sheed and Kupp had 5 catches each. Excepting a few late game catches by Sheed, those were some of the quietest, most unmemorable catches that I can recall.

But I knew our offense was going to be our weak link heading into this season. Our OLine made me nervous (I felt desperate for them to make a move there at the trade deadline), our WR corp was lacking in depth, and I was in wait-and-see mode with Sam. Sam has actually proven to be a real bright spot for our offense, in spite of his turnover issues, whereas our running attack, which I thought might be one of our strengths on O, has been the disappointment.

We're going to have really scheme well on O from here on out to get the most out of what we have to beat the quality opponents we'll be facing. I'm holding out hope that we can cover up enough of our warts to make a run from here.

 

[Seahwkgal]

Great post, Keasley. I don't buy any of the "they looked past the Colts" speculations, because it's just that: uninformed opinion.

The Colts are/were a balanced team. The Hawks are still learning how to play offense against good defenses. I hope it's not true that Darnold has tells.

Do we have the horses up front to open holes for the running game? Can we throw more RB/TE screens to slow the rush? The offense has some assets, but enough to beat the next three teams and run deep in the playoffs? You'd think so after beating the defenses of Vikings, Falcons, and Colts.

Don’t forget about Houston, the best defense we’ve faced.

 

[MORGULON]

I believe you’re correct. And though it’s never done I wonder why they couldn’t rotate them based on down and distance. Every other position group has packages.

Because teams would figure it out and know what Seattle is looking to try and do by who's in the game