17 Things I Saw vs the Packers

Natethegreat

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Geno definitely makes some wow throws that's for sure. Like, WOW! I can't believe he threw that! What was he thinking?
Now to be fair he also has WOW that was an incredible throw as well.
But both throws have been part of his profile for quite some time now.
I'm ready to move on but I dont think its feasible. We will see what he demands this off-season.
Last time he tried free agency he got no interest so maybe he will be realistic. If not it's time to move on.
 

Scout

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1. The Packers like to throw out of run-friendly looks and ran with a striking amount of heavy protect and tight formations (as opposed to out-wide) to assist in pass protection. That accounts for much of the ineffectiveness of our defensive line in that game. Their play designs also include a ton of misdirection. It was a mental challenge for any young defense and this one just didn't have the answers on key plays.

2. Speaking of, Jacobs is one of the best running backs in the league. He punishes you for the slightest holes, makes guys miss in the open field, and creates havoc in general. It's not as if we were out there getting gouged by Justice Hill or something. Raiders fans are still on suicide watch over the team having let him walk in free agency.

3. That offensive line is one of maybe four in the league whose fans aren't constantly griping about it. They're very good. They get off their blocks, put a hat on each guy, and hold him. They just do it. It's tough for any defensive line to find success against that.

4. There's an interesting vid on Twitter of Tariq Woolen's four back-breaking plays in this game that honestly might have almost made the difference singlehandedly. Awful. He's dogging plays, not thinking, and on the first Doubs touchdown he was going for the strip instead of the tackle and just got out-wrestled. Josh Jobe is perilously close to outplaying him, despite a bad DPI of his own.

5. Fieldgulls had an article pointing to our rookies all having a bad day Sunday. Sataoa Laumea had his worst game. Tyrice Knight had some spectacular, untimely whiffs, including a bizarrely athletic missed tackle on Jacobs in open field during the first quarter. Also a couple of plays where he positioned himself badly on obvious assignments, like the Doubs touchdown, where he fell to temptation by presnap motion.

6. It was painful watching our D against jet sweeps. Infuriating to see vets who should know better, like Nwosu, Dre'Mont Jones and Rayshawn Jenkins, blithely overpursuing the play and getting burned by Jayden Reed. In fairness, Reed does that to every team, which is why they love to use him there. (It's worth mentioning that Jones has actually been showing a lot of hustle and even some pressures to show for it this year, despite me being hard on him.)

7. One rookie who had a very good day was Jalen Sundell, our UDFA backup center, who came in after Oluwatimi's departure. PFF had good grades on him and the tape backs it up.

8. Gotta give credit to the pull game on our offensive line. They're good at it and they make big things happen out of those schemes a lot. Unfortunately, it seems to be one of the few things they're good at.

9. This defense has playmakers. Leonard Williams, Ernest Jones IV, and I daresay Coby Bryant. I'm struck how often the latter can be found corkstopping potentially big plays with nice open-field tackle work, instead of them going the distance. It speaks to his range, his discipline, and his reading of plays. He's come a long ways.

10. I'm going to die on this hill: Geno isn't the problem. You can all see how bad this line is. People love to obsess over the TD/INT ratio, but at the end of the day, despite this OL...it's a positive ratio. The fact it's that HIGH, that he's third in passing yards with a 70% completion rate, that he's making multiple elite throws every game despite the poor situation...sorry, haters, he's an elite QB, at least until Grubb sabotages him in the red zone. He's not going to lead us to a Super Bowl, we should draft a QBOTF at the first chance, but he's an elite QB. Those statements aren't contradictory. Not in this context.

11. John Schneider's "guards are overpaid" comment is going to be what gets him canned at this rate. That's the kind of comment GM's train themselves out of making in public because if they don't come through at that position, you look doubly stupid. Laumea still has a chance to work out but his pass protection has never been strong. Laken Tomlinson...I don't know what he was thinking with him. Awful signing.

12. You Sam Howell truthers...forgive the pun, but it's time to pack it in. He ain't it. Throwing stick into basic Cover 2, getting coverage sacked with not one but two alert options on the field, bailing on the pocket for no reason a la Russell Wilson (but without the magic) and cutting your options in half, throwing at guys' feet...just get Geno back out there. Anyone who played fantasy football last year already knows exactly what we have with Howell.

13. Grubb. He's going to need a long offseason spent staring in the mirror. I'm not sure what the logic was with this hire. Why is a college offensive line coach and D2 offensive coordinator serving as an NFL coordinator? That said, I've seen enough to where I think he deserves a second season.

14. I'm not sure what to think about the play-calling balance. With LB Quay Walker out, it feels like the Seahawks missed a major opportunity to run the ball. Then again, you fall behind by two scores and MOST teams are going to start abandoning the run.

15. The defense really buckled down after the first quarter. They kept fighting and had a turnover and key stops to show for it. Love had to start making plays with his feet in the second half. Unfortunately, he's one of those guys who will seriously burn you in that dimension. I'd mentioned before the game that the last time this defense played a QB who could both make plays from the pocket and show off plus mobility was Josh Allen, and...well, I won't remind you of what happened there. I noted the Bills also had success against Seattle when throwing out of heavy looks. Mike will need to work on solutions against play action.

16. The Packers got really lucky late in the second on a wounded duck. Big Cat jumped offsides, Jarran Reed got in Love's face, and Love just put it up for grabs - but Coby Bryant miscalculates the grab and Tucker Kraft was there to bring it in. This on 2nd and 12 on the Packers' own 12, and it led to a Packers FG. It was just that kind of day for the Seahawks.

17. I don't know why people thought this team was becoming dominant. This four-game winning streak featured us beating Kyler Murray twice, Brock Purdy without weapons, and 2024 Aaron Rodgers. IT's nice that we could shut those guys down so thoroughly and it does speak to genuine talent on the team, but the Packers? They'll likely be in the NFC championship along with the Lions. Eagles and Vikings fans are just sitting around waiting for their QBs to get exposed in the playoffs again. The Packers aren't just good, they're probably Top 5. It's alright. We need another season to think about the big dance.

That physicality is inherent in many NFC teams. The Rams vs 49ers game for example that was played recently was a very physical low scoring game. Eagles, Bucs, Lions, etc all play a brand of physical football too. Seahawks are still learning the ropes to be more physical and keep up with teams like the Packers.

Jacobs at times looks better than Saquan and King Henry but he is not hyped by the media as much so he is a forgotten. I would say he is more elusive than he looks based on his body type too.

Packers always put emphasis on OL and it shows because they know that they need that for a running game and play action passing. I think the Seahawks are moving in that direction but JS has to go all in fixing the OL this off season IMO.

Woolen when he is focused a very good player but the mental battles he is facing requires experience and also coaching. He will improve but hard to say what his ceiling is because it requires applying himself.

Rookies are erratic from week to week so that doesn't bother me but overall I am pleased to see rookies contributing so quickly to the team which bodes well down the stretch and into 2025.

Given that the Hawks play in the same division as the 49ers and Rams one would think they would play more discipline against the jet sweep. But I am sure Mac will address this and fix it quickly.

Bryant is interesting because he was considered the most complete CB in collegiate football. But his athletic traits didn't exactly guarantee he would translate as a boundary CB at the NFL level. But with that said he is all around an all purpose football player like his teammate Love is. That is a solid safety tandem to have where both safeties are solid and versatile.

I do not think Geno is an elite QB but he is easily top 10. The problem is how long can he maintain that level of play? Rich Gannon for example had his return as a Raider but he eventually leveled off.

Guard are overpaid in free agency so I agree with JS on that point. That is why you have to draft guards higher to avoid over paying for them in free agency. The Hawks have drafted guards recently but they need to aim higher and see if one of the lower round guards develop further.

Howell needs a year to sit and learn and I felt that way watching him this off season. No point in rushing him out there with that OL lol.

I like Grubb and I think he just needs some minor tweaks to his scheme but no overhaul needed.

The Seahawks are on the cusp of being dominant but they are a year or two out. Ironically the commentators have said that the Packers are a year out from being this year's Lions. But then again the Vikings, Rams and Bucs are seemingly still competing despite changes to QBs and weapons on offense the last few years. Goes to show that it take a strong organizational structure to weather cap and personnel turmoil.
 

cymatica

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Lamar chokes when it matters most. They'll make the playoffs and then he'll look like Kyler
 

Optimus25

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I just can’t even fathom how bad howell looked especially considering he looked like he could actually sling the rock when he came to Seattle and took us to the wire.
 
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MontanaHawk05

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I just can’t even fathom how bad howell looked especially considering he looked like he could actually sling the rock when he came to Seattle and took us to the wire.
1-1 TD/INT ratio in Washington, and he didn't look nearly as pocket-technical as Geno in getting there.

Either one of them could theoretically improve with a better/more experienced OC, but I have to think Geno has more ceiling.
 

Ozzy

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1-1 TD/INT ratio in Washington, and he didn't look nearly as pocket-technical as Geno in getting there.

Either one of them could theoretically improve with a better/more experienced OC, but I have to think Geno has more ceiling.
You could argue though howell was a rookie so in theory could improve quite a bit with good coaching and a different system in place…..like Geno did. Geno is a 12 year vet and is at a 1:1 ratio too? Odds are stacked but a lot of the same arguments used against Howell were used against Geno for years.

It is safer to assume Howell just isn’t as good as Geno though
 

OrangeGravy

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You could argue though howell was a rookie so in theory could improve quite a bit with good coaching and a different system in place…..like Geno did. Geno is a 12 year vet and is at a 1:1 ratio too? Odds are stacked but a lot of the same arguments used against Howell were used against Geno for years.

It is safer to assume Howell just isn’t as good as Geno though
You got 10 years to wait?
 

Ozzy

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You got 10 years to wait?
Maybe it doesn’t take 10 years? He showed enough promise at times last year that we know he’s talented. I’m just out ready to make a sweeping proclamation that he’s trash because of one half of a football game like most are. He may be terrible I just don’t think we can know that yet. And nowhere did I say we should hitch our wagon and roll with Howell. I’m saying I don’t think he’s should be given up on either.
 

HawkRiderFan

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Love the detailed breakdown in the original post and replies. Thanks! I am also in the camp where as I am wavering on giving Grubb a second season to figure it out. So many offences use play action, motion etc and I find it disturbing that the Hawk is is on the low end of use.
I see him use it sometimes so does Grubb get caught up during games and forgets to use some things?
And when we see out and out whiffs by lineman (and the odd tight end) on the guy they are blocking I assume the technique they are being coached should be under scrutiny?
 

CallMeADawg

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Love the detailed breakdown in the original post and replies. Thanks! I am also in the camp where as I am wavering on giving Grubb a second season to figure it out. So many offences use play action, motion etc and I find it disturbing that the Hawk is is on the low end of use.
I see him use it sometimes so does Grubb get caught up during games and forgets to use some things?
And when we see out and out whiffs by lineman (and the odd tight end) on the guy they are blocking I assume the technique they are being coached should be under scrutiny?
People can pick at Grubb if they want but there’s a lot of dudes whiffing on assignments for the plays that are called. I still think the criticism of him not running the ball enough is completely fair but man it’s tough watching poor execution play after play.

Hoping for some much better football today.
 

HawkRiderFan

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People can pick at Grubb if they want but there’s a lot of dudes whiffing on assignments for the plays that are called. I still think the criticism of him not running the ball enough is completely fair but man it’s tough watching poor execution play after play.

Hoping for some much better football today.
Is the execution on the coaches overall or should we really be looking at the OL coaching? When you say execution, I can think of one stuff on a third and short where our TE came across and just did not get there to block up the backside. That was definitely execution
 
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