MontanaHawk05
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 1, 2009
- Messages
- 18,567
- Reaction score
- 1,491
1. Seattle brought its A-game today against one of the most decidedly uninspiring playoff participants of the last decade. That in no means diminishes the accomplishment. The Seahawks are hurting themselves. Lacking three running backs, five offensive linemen, two tight ends, and two wide receivers, this offense came out and made more plays than it should have against a sterling Eagles D-line on their own turf. The Eagles could not accomplish the same against - well, decidedly not the same level of DL talent. Winning in the NFL is never easy, in any week, against any opponent. Seattle took care of business.
2. Pete and Schotty had the right gameplan today. You almost sense that the injuries along the offensive line forced them to pass quicker and shy away from the run, but given Pete's sheer stubbornness, let's be honest - none of us would have been surprised if he doubled down on the run. Gladly, he didn't. They kept Wilson in a rhythm and picked on the Eagles' lesser, gimpy back seven. And thanks to that balance, when Seattle did need the deep shot, our OL had enough pressure taken off it to actually make some pass protection hold up, at least here and there.
3. The defense was better than it looked today. Despite seven sacks (several were on QB rollouts terminated before the LOS, which are counted as sacks), the lack of pass rush has been what's enabling these ridiculous fourth-read completions from backup QB's all year long. Those don't happen with Cliff Avril or Michael Bennett in the game. But Seattle held the Eagles to 3/11 on third down and allowed no touchdowns, though Tre Flowers tried his best.
4. Jadaveon Clowney chose today to remind Seattle why he should be re-signed. Tons of heart, playing through a grueling core injury - and triple teams - with only sporadic help from anyone else on the line, trying though they are. He believes in this organization and wanted to be here. He's still young and a core player whom Seattle can build around. Get it done, John.
That said...
5. I wasn't a fan of Clowney's hit. I'll leave it at that.
6. DK Metcalf 's 160 yards receiving were the best of a postseason rookie in the Super Bowl era. You read that right. This was a great matchup for him, no doubt, and the Eagles' defensive coordinator deserves to be fired after that much straight man and Cover 0, but DK could have dropped it. He didn't. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a worthy successor to Calvin Johnson. On THIS team.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/FG_Dolan/status/1213988826017914882[/tweet]
I do love being on the right side of those comparisons.
7. If you want a better run game, I recommend not having an offensive line composed of three backups and Germain Ifoul (yes, I'm unreasonably pleased with myself for that awful nickname) against aforementioned Eagles DL - the #4 DVOA run defense - in their home stadium. People seem to be forgetting just how few options we had being that thin at OL. Next week, we get Mike Iupati and Duane Brown (hopefully) back against the #23 run defense on a warm day (for January). Things could look entirely different.
8. Early in the game, Joey Hunt sabotaged yet another drive by just being pushed over by a lineman of NFL caliber strength. It's been happening all year, though nobody has really noticed it. True, it was Fletcher Cox, but you don't find yourself squaring off against a lot of subpar DT's in the postseason, either. I hope it's demonstrating just how good we had it with the constantly underrated Justin Britt.
9. Diggs changes everything. Remember, when you see a QB repeatedly hitting his fourth read, double-clutching, and starting to run, the back seven, at least, has done its job. And a big part of that is Diggs. It's a miracle that Pete and John nabbed this guy, much less for a fifth-rounder midseason. Highway robbery with polished pistols.
10. Ezekiel Ansah getting outrun by a 40-year-old backup QB was downright embarrassing. I was so high on Ansah's signing earlier in the year. It just hasn't worked out at all. If I'm not mistaken, Seattle has the draft ammunition this year to trade up into the Top 18 or so even if the pick after a Lombardi trophy. Do it and get a real impact player for that DL.
11. McCown getting the chance to play in the postseason AFTER coming out of retirement - and giving it a soldier's shot - is worthy of great respect. He made plays and took the loss hard, finding tears afterward. Same to Zach Ertz, who...well, just read this...
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/1214002373032579072[/tweet]
12. Thanks to the miracle-working of John Schneider, we've somehow found enough depth to stand the tests of injury. Diggs, Jacob Hollister, Josh Gordon giving us five crucial receptions, and now, finally Marshawn Lynch. I hope we go even deeper into the postseason just so that damn handsome GM of ours can get his due.
13. This was one of the best games for our linebacking corps all season, and an especially encouraging showing for rookie Cody Barton, albeit against depleted opposition. Five tackles (one for a loss), a sack, a QB hit, and two passes defenses. Given Mychal Kendricks' uncertainty and the age of KJ and Wagner, this needed to be seen out of the third-rounder, and seeing it show up in January speaks to his mental toughness.
14. Seattle is 6-0 on the East Coast this year.
15.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/BrockHuard/status/1213997850738085888[/tweet]
16. You just knew Beast would get in on that touchdown run. If Seattle and Minnesota both win next week, we might just get the chance to bring him back home for one more game this year.
17. This is the 7th divisional round appearance by Pete Carroll's Seahawks. Pass-first fetishists, be on notice: there IS a point at which it becomes churlish to argue with results.
2. Pete and Schotty had the right gameplan today. You almost sense that the injuries along the offensive line forced them to pass quicker and shy away from the run, but given Pete's sheer stubbornness, let's be honest - none of us would have been surprised if he doubled down on the run. Gladly, he didn't. They kept Wilson in a rhythm and picked on the Eagles' lesser, gimpy back seven. And thanks to that balance, when Seattle did need the deep shot, our OL had enough pressure taken off it to actually make some pass protection hold up, at least here and there.
3. The defense was better than it looked today. Despite seven sacks (several were on QB rollouts terminated before the LOS, which are counted as sacks), the lack of pass rush has been what's enabling these ridiculous fourth-read completions from backup QB's all year long. Those don't happen with Cliff Avril or Michael Bennett in the game. But Seattle held the Eagles to 3/11 on third down and allowed no touchdowns, though Tre Flowers tried his best.
4. Jadaveon Clowney chose today to remind Seattle why he should be re-signed. Tons of heart, playing through a grueling core injury - and triple teams - with only sporadic help from anyone else on the line, trying though they are. He believes in this organization and wanted to be here. He's still young and a core player whom Seattle can build around. Get it done, John.
That said...
5. I wasn't a fan of Clowney's hit. I'll leave it at that.
6. DK Metcalf 's 160 yards receiving were the best of a postseason rookie in the Super Bowl era. You read that right. This was a great matchup for him, no doubt, and the Eagles' defensive coordinator deserves to be fired after that much straight man and Cover 0, but DK could have dropped it. He didn't. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a worthy successor to Calvin Johnson. On THIS team.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/FG_Dolan/status/1213988826017914882[/tweet]
I do love being on the right side of those comparisons.
7. If you want a better run game, I recommend not having an offensive line composed of three backups and Germain Ifoul (yes, I'm unreasonably pleased with myself for that awful nickname) against aforementioned Eagles DL - the #4 DVOA run defense - in their home stadium. People seem to be forgetting just how few options we had being that thin at OL. Next week, we get Mike Iupati and Duane Brown (hopefully) back against the #23 run defense on a warm day (for January). Things could look entirely different.
8. Early in the game, Joey Hunt sabotaged yet another drive by just being pushed over by a lineman of NFL caliber strength. It's been happening all year, though nobody has really noticed it. True, it was Fletcher Cox, but you don't find yourself squaring off against a lot of subpar DT's in the postseason, either. I hope it's demonstrating just how good we had it with the constantly underrated Justin Britt.
9. Diggs changes everything. Remember, when you see a QB repeatedly hitting his fourth read, double-clutching, and starting to run, the back seven, at least, has done its job. And a big part of that is Diggs. It's a miracle that Pete and John nabbed this guy, much less for a fifth-rounder midseason. Highway robbery with polished pistols.
10. Ezekiel Ansah getting outrun by a 40-year-old backup QB was downright embarrassing. I was so high on Ansah's signing earlier in the year. It just hasn't worked out at all. If I'm not mistaken, Seattle has the draft ammunition this year to trade up into the Top 18 or so even if the pick after a Lombardi trophy. Do it and get a real impact player for that DL.
11. McCown getting the chance to play in the postseason AFTER coming out of retirement - and giving it a soldier's shot - is worthy of great respect. He made plays and took the loss hard, finding tears afterward. Same to Zach Ertz, who...well, just read this...
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/1214002373032579072[/tweet]
12. Thanks to the miracle-working of John Schneider, we've somehow found enough depth to stand the tests of injury. Diggs, Jacob Hollister, Josh Gordon giving us five crucial receptions, and now, finally Marshawn Lynch. I hope we go even deeper into the postseason just so that damn handsome GM of ours can get his due.
13. This was one of the best games for our linebacking corps all season, and an especially encouraging showing for rookie Cody Barton, albeit against depleted opposition. Five tackles (one for a loss), a sack, a QB hit, and two passes defenses. Given Mychal Kendricks' uncertainty and the age of KJ and Wagner, this needed to be seen out of the third-rounder, and seeing it show up in January speaks to his mental toughness.
14. Seattle is 6-0 on the East Coast this year.
15.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/BrockHuard/status/1213997850738085888[/tweet]
16. You just knew Beast would get in on that touchdown run. If Seattle and Minnesota both win next week, we might just get the chance to bring him back home for one more game this year.
17. This is the 7th divisional round appearance by Pete Carroll's Seahawks. Pass-first fetishists, be on notice: there IS a point at which it becomes churlish to argue with results.
