hawknation2015":28mcq036 said:
That same site shows that we were 20th in red zone TD percentage. That's not getting it done, IMO.
I will give you an example that I know you actually watched, since I assume you have not seen every Seahawks game:
In the opener against your Packers, we intercepted Rodgers and took it down to the eight-yard line. Rather than run the ball in, Bevell decides to throw on first down, and the pass is incomplete to Kearse, who had no chance at it whatsoever. This was the perfect opportunity to exert our will on you guys and pound the ball in, but instead Bevell decides to get cutesy by trying to outsmart a defense that is anticipating a Lynch run. Mercifully, we hand the hand the ball to Lynch on 2nd down, and he slices through your defense all the way down to the three-yard line. We had already gashed your defense for over 150 yards on the ground. So what do we do now, in the red zone, less than three yards away from pay dirt? We throw a freaking screen pass to Harvin that goes absolutely nowhere. That sequence pretty much epitomized the agony that was Bevell's play calling in the red zone last season.
Thanks for the well thought out post and while I do watch a lot of football, I do not see every Seahawk game. However, now that you are contenders with an excellent football team, I do watch more than in past years. The plays you brought up I will address below.
After the interception, Russell Wilson fakes an inside handoff to Lynch then rolls right for an incomplete pass to Kearce. Ok, first off, did Wilson audible? Most likely just calling out the coverage. Lynch switches sides and the offensive line all looks back at Wilson. Wilson snaps the ball, fakes the handoff but Matthews recovers in time and forces Wilson to either throw a bad pass or throw it away. I think Wilson just threw it away knowing he didn't have a good shot at making a TD and did not want to risk the INT.
If Lynch gets the hand off, good chance he scores around the left end. Unless Perry slips the block in time to cut his legs out from under him. But with Jones and Perry each taking the inside and leaving the outside exposed, it is anyone's guess at what would or could have happened. Maybe Lynch never goes outside and gets a small gain.
In the defense of Bevell on this play, he had Wilson show the Read Option formation which he had been doing a lot that game. It was a sound strategy that kept the Packers off-balance all game. To be honest you had a lot success all game in either the run or the pass out of that formation. I think I counted Wilson in that formation (I call it the Read Option formation, not sure what Seattle refers to it as.) 36 times throughout the game.
Like you stated, I would have run the ball there. But I am not "into" the game like Bevell is nor am I sure that Wilson did not audible out of the run and decided to run it in himself and when he got caught by Matthews, just threw it away.
The Percy Harvin pass was tipped at the line and had it been a clean pass, I think he falls into the end zone for a score. Was it even supposed to go to Harvin? Hard to tell on the film, even all 22 from the end zone is not 100% clear to me.
I would have run the ball in from here as well.
But you can't run the ball on every play. You have to mix it up and that includes mixing it up in the Red Zone. They tried a "bunch formation right" and the play didn't go at all as planned. The Packer defense didn't cooperate at all and got some hands in the air to knock the pass off target.
After watching the rest of the game (condensed) I though Bevell did a nice job which included that trick play to Harvin (which he stole from Auburn) was pure gold. The rest was Lynch and the Seattle offense having their way most of the game, thanks to Capers trying to employ something called the "quad" defense that failed miserably. It got shelved after that game, never to see the light of day again.
