kearly
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I had four pages of notes after this game (normally I have two, maybe two and a half). Lots to talk about. Some things were already discussed in the random thoughts thread and I won't repeat them here, unless I am changing my opinion or making corrections.
Preface:
Even though Rodgers left after just one series, you could tell that this game meant something to both teams, especially Green Bay. The Packers were playing hard on defense, blitzing constantly, and starting a ton of fights between plays. I don't know if it was leftover bitterness from last season, or just the coaches instructing the players to man up to match Seattle's physicality by picking fights before Seattle could. Whatever it was, there was a lot of intensity between these teams. Felt like a playoff game. Real shame the execution couldn't match their intensity, something the refs assured by penalizing nearly a third of the game's plays.
Also, Green Bay clearly schemed for Seattle's weaknesses, and Seattle did not return the favor (aka running read option down their throats like the 49ers did). So that led to some deceptive results in this game. Further, Green Bay's defense is basically built to stop Seattle, or at least Seattle minus the read option. Lots of blitzing with good interior rush and no shortage of deception.
Seattle's defense seemed way too happy to give up "gimme" conversions on 3rd and short vs. the passing game. This was true against Denver with Manning in the game and it was true in several 2012 games as well. I'm not one to question Pete, but I find the incredible, effortless ease at which teams convert 3rd downs with short bubble screen type passes to be really annoying.
The officiating in this game was very Mike Carey like. The officials called it way too tight, had several bad calls including a few terrible ones, and even had two major, potentially game deciding plays that were called wrong on the field and overturned on replay (the GB fumble forced by ET and also the bobbled TD that was actually incomplete on 4th down). At least they got it right on replay, but you would expect that. Another reason they were like Mike Carey, they did a great job articulating each call and explaining it to the audience. So even when they were making terrible calls, they at least sounded like experts doing it.
Game Notes, page 1:
Seattle's 1st team run blocking was outstanding except for the first drive. The reason for the early struggle? BJ Raji (#90) pretty much had his way with Max Unger on that first drive, consistently knocking him back and blowing up the run. After that drive I'm not sure what changed- maybe Raji got tired or Unger figured something out, but from the 2nd drive it was the opposite result with Unger winning snap after snap in the run game vs. Raji.
Crazy as it sounds, JR Sweezy had a monster game. I had him down for no allowed pressures, and he was unreal in run blocking, by far our best run blocker. He had 4 plays where he single handedly opened huge holes for RBs to run through, and as usual his 2nd level blocking is at an elite level.
On one play he drove the DL out of his gap, which Lynch ran through for a big gain, then turned around and found a second defender to smack around, before jumping on a 3rd defensive player at the very end. Dude's a pinball. Only problem was, the 3rd guy he attacked was the one that got him the 15 yard penalty and wiped out the play. It was a good call, but it was close. Sweezy didn't have a ton of late hit penalties last year so I'm not expecting this to be a serious problem.
Later on Lynch's big screen pass rumble down the left sideline, Sweezy (who has elite speed) came all the way across the field to lay a huge hit on LB AJ Hawk (#50), decleating the Packers inside linebacker. This helped spring Lynch for a few extra yards. After crushing Hawk, Sweezy turned around and laid a solid hit on a 2nd defender.
I could go on and on. Sweezy dominated my notes with his run blocking. He did draw two holds, the first of which was borderline but not outrageous, and the 2nd one looked like horse crap. Granted, they never showed a replay from a different angle, but it just looked like Sweezy blocked his man to the ground and seemed to maintain good hand placement. Sweezy didn't protest the earlier penalties but was incredulous over the 3rd. His reaction to the penalty was essentially "oh come on!"
Micah Hyde crashed down and ankle tackled Turbin on a very well blocked running play. It's a shame that Hyde is a good player and that Turbin is so easy to ankle tackle, because Turbin had a mile of green ahead of him. McQuistan had a pretty pull block on this play and Luke Willson cleaned up with a strong run block to seal the edge. Had Hyde not crashed down so effectively or had it been Christine Michael carrying, that run could have easily gone for 15-25 yards. Instead, it went for 1.
Shortly after this, Sweezy made my notes again two consecutive times for outstanding run blocks.
Luke Willson had a good game. Given the sorry state of our TEs, he's in no roster trouble, but it's really nice to finally see him make some real progress and look more like a football player instead of just an athlete. Willson nearly picked up a clutch 1st down on 3rd and long, tackled just short of the marker after a hot throw from Wilson. If not for a great tackle by Green Bay's Banjo, Willson probably converts.
Derrick Coleman got the start and was underwhelming as a lead blocker. Both Ware and Coleman looked "lost" in regards to lead blocking in this game. I'm starting to become disenchanted with Coleman because while he is a good receiver out of the backfield and is giving great effort, he does not have enough power or strength to lay a quality run block. His arms collapse into his chest on impact, like they are wet noodles. Ware isn't great either, but at least with Ware you don't have to worry about his physicality and strength.
Seattle had a very nice run by Turbin on their 3rd and (goal) draw from outside the 20 yard line. It was just a 3 man line so it's not too much to brag about, but Unger and Sweezy combined for a very impressive combo block on the nose that helped make that run as emphatic as it was.
Tony McDaniel looked even better on DVR review. He was handling double teams, breaking into the backfield, getting TFLs, pushing the pocket, you name it. He's playing like the 1st round DT we didn't get to draft.
Apparently Red Bryant is already 29 years old. Weird. Anyway, Bryant has looked good this preseason. Stout against the run, and strong enough to command occasional double teams as a pass rusher. He also looks much faster than last season and is tracking the ball better than ever. The 3 DT package of Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, and Tony McDaniel was stunningly effective in run defense and was surprisingly decent even in the pass rush. I haven't been a fan of Pete's obsession with having too many big bodies on early downs, but in this game it finally looked like his crazy plan was working.
Red Bryant played only a few snaps at the 5-tech, and looked more than solid at both DT spots.
If we needed him to be, Michael Bennett would be an outstanding LEO for us. He took a couple snaps at LEO in the game and was in the QBs face in under 3 seconds consistently.
Bennett + McDaniel is a very fun combination inside. They appeared in my notes quite often. I need to change my pants after thinking about an Avril-Bennett-McDaniel-Clemons lineup.
Maybe my favorite thing about this preseason is that Pete seems to be getting back to the idea of dual pass rushers on 1st and 2nd downs. DEs Mayowa and Schofield manned the end spots for most of the starting defensive snaps the last two games.
Mayowa is such an oddball. Despite being undersized and underpowered as a pass rusher, he's a surprisingly good run defender. I keep waiting for him to get ragdolled against the run and it just isn't happening. He's already a more natural pass rusher than Bruce Irvin (keep in mind that Irvin has much better physical talent), though like Irvin Mayowa has some issues with the bull rush and looks his best on stunts.
On that note, Mayowa had a key pressure when stunting on a 6 man blitz. He nearly had a sack and forced a hurried throw deep that fell incomplete.
Schofield is a really nice all around player. I feel like he's gotten a bit better each game.
One of the rare times the starting OL was genuinely at fault in pass protection came on a 3 man rush during a 3rd and forever. Green Bay rushed just three but the two outside rushers both jetted up the field and caught both Okung and Giacomini unprepared. Wilson expertly avoided the rush by stepping up, but was forced to hurry his throw and just missed Golden Tate near the sideline. Tate very nearly caught the ball anyway, though it would have been a couple yards short.
I'm guessing Bruce Irvin was only in this game for 10 snaps at most, and in that time he only had 1 (terrific) tackle. He had a couple other plays where he didn't get the tackle but was in the vicinity after navigating through traffic very well. He a couple snaps at the LOS, including one where he rushed like a DE. As usual, he fired hard up field and was escorted out of the play, though doing so did coincide with a quick throw. So it wasn't like Irvin had much of an impact out there.
That said, I love the intangible "vibe" Irvin 2.0 gave off in this game. He had a quiet, nonchalant confidence. It's as if he's a badass and he knows it. Kam's the same way. Bradford too. Leroy Hill was like that. Also, I hate it when players cut their braids, but in the case of Irvin- good move. Irvin has been trying to reshape his image ever since he quit being a drug dealer, and his most recent "personality" really seems to fit what Seattle wants out of a SAM LB.
Bowie entered the game at left guard while the rest of the starting OL was present. Bowie did a great job locating BJ Raji and blocking him during an improvised Wilson scramble (to the left). He'd later add a solid pull block in the run game.
Page 2:
Yup, that was all from just page 1.
Okung had a killer block that helped spring a nice Christine Michael rush on a cutback.
KJ Wright had a very good game. I've harped on Wright's lack of speed but he has not looked slow this preseason. He's also a smoother ball tracker than any time previous. He and Irvin combined for a spectacular run stop, with Irvin navigating traffic and delivering a hit in a manner very similar to Kam Chancellor. Wright attacked the gap, then quickly turned 90 degrees and dove at the runner for a run of no gain. Irvin was not credited for his portion (the scorer probably lost his number in the pile) but he was a significant factor in the play.
Dan Quinn loves to move players around. Kam Chancellor took at least one snap at OLB that I noticed in this game. Other than Mayowa, Wagner, and Wright, I think every other front seven player played at least two different positions during the game.
On one particular play, Bruce Irvin lined up at CB over the slot WR while Browner was at the LOS covering the TE.
When Seattle sends six, this defense is downright intimidating. Lots of big angry men with power, speed, and arm length. It is such a huge contrast with the 2009 team that constantly blitzed 6 or 7 but had issues with those blitzes getting picked up. The 2013 version of the 6 man blitz looked physically impossible to stop. On that note, Wright and Bennett crushed the pocket on one such 6 man blitz, forcing a very quick throw that was completed for minimal yardage.
Something you don't see every day: Richard Sherman slips on a short pass going for an open field tackle and then one second later Earl Thomas whiffs on a hit-tackle. Packers get a first down they had no business getting.
McDaniel bats down a pass.
Thurmond makes a saving tackle inside the five yard line.
Seattle lived in the nickle defense during this game. Never saw Winfield. Thurmond had a ton of play time. Wagner and Wright were Seattle's two nickle linebackers on seemingly every 1st team play.
Turbin reminds me so much of Mo Morris. He's fast and well rounded, but lacks resilience and is the definition of "one cut and go" with minimal change of direction or cutback ability behind the LOS. Turbin hits the hole quick but seems to have his mind made up before getting the ball. Every Turbin run looks the same behind the LOS.
Russell Wilson throws a bad pass on a short route to Tate that should have been intercepted by Green Bay's Francois (#49). Looked like he didn't see him.
Wilson throws a legit pick when he overthrows a very well covered Doug Baldwin. Even if he hadn't overthrown, it might have been picked anyway. Uncharacteristic, poor decision by Wilson, who was not hurried on the throw.
Schofield generates a pressure on a stunt.
Bennett lines up at (left side) LEO, explodes into the backfield and forces an incompletion plus a (100% legit) holding call.
Earl Thomas tries to sneak in for a punt block, narrowly misses, and rolls near the punter while trying to avoid contact. The punter (just barely) touches Thomas with the bottom of his foot and then executes an epic flop that would make Manu Ginobili proud. Seattle is flagged for running into the kicker, wiping out a massive punt return from Golden Tate as well as a 15 yard personal foul on the Packers. If not for the punter tapping his foot on ET and then flopping, Seattle would have had the ball inside Green Bay's 25 yard line.
Packers pick another fight after the ensuing punt return.
Seahawks played extremely hard on defense. Watching the game on second viewing, the intensity of both teams really came across. Playoff intensity.
Tony McDaniel breaches the line and roars into the backfield for a monster TFL against the run.
Eddie Lacy btw, was the pick immediately before Christine Michael in the 2013 draft. Had GB drafted Michael, it's seemingly likely that Seattle would have taken Lacy as they were both BPA type selections and Lacy fits the Seahawk profile at RB very well. Christine Michael had 97 yards on 11 carries, 25 more yards on 1 reception, and generally looked awesome doing it. Eddie Lacy's final line? 8 carries for -5 yards. If Lacy does flame out in the NFL, it seems likely that Christine Michael's name will be mentioned somewhere on Lacy's career epitaph.
Wagner gets his bogus helmet to helmet penalty.
Red Bryant at DT drives guard back and forces a TFL against the run.
McDaniel racks up yet another TFL vs. the run. I know Green Bay's line isn't great, but this dude looked seriously dominant.
Page 3:
Wilson sacked on 6 man delayed blitz with no backfield protection and apparently no hot read. Not sure if it's Wilson's fault or Bevell's, but it's not OL's.
Wilson sacked again. Guess what? Delayed blitz. This one was on the line, but I should point out that the degree of difficulty to block this blitz was very high. Green Bay delayed blitzed the middle, sending three guys against 3 blockers while twisting around and attacking at different times. Sweezy broke off to pickup the first guy, but Unger didn't drop his assignment to pick up the second, and guess what again? No backfield RB pass protection. Sack.
Wilson had Tate open for a LOOOONG TD down the left sideline, but ironically underthrew him which forced Tate to slow down and allowed both the corner and the ranging safety help to recover. Despite the poor throw and tough conditions, Tate very nearly hauled in the pass anyway, losing it as he made contact with the ground.
The next play was, in all seriousness, my favorite from this entire game: Wilson, under a degree of duress, throws a 2 yard pass to Stephen Williams on 3rd and 16. Not a great decision, but it works anyway. Williams outruns 4 defenders for 16 total yards and the first down. You might expect Percy Harvin to pull that off, maybe Golden Tate, but a 6'5" WR? Damn. JS knows how to work the waiver wires, doesn't he?
Wilson sacks himself by running too close to big DL CJ Wilson (not to be confused with former 2010 4th round pick EJ Wilson), who was being blocked capably by Paul McQuistan. Unfortunately, McQuistan pushed CJ Wilson in the back on reflex when he saw him break for the sack, and drew a legit hold penalty. Not excusing McQuistan's mistake, but Russell Wilson needs to respect defenders more by not cutting it so close when he runs by defenders. Even without the hold, it's still a sack that's totally on Wilson. After last year's Rams game, teams have figured out that if you want to stop Wilson as a scrambler, disengage early and try to grab him as he runs by.
On Christine Michael's TD run, the Packers made two big mistakes. The first was they had a blitz called, which makes sense since it was 2nd and 19. This is what it means to punish the blitz. One of their middle linebackers blitzed a different gap and erased himself on the play, while the remaining inside linebacker had to cover a ton of ground and had hostile bodies in his way. The remaining ILB cut upfield when he should have cut downfield, and after that, all Michael needed was a killer block from Jermaine Kearse to hit paydirt. Kearse's block not only took out a defender, but disrupted the other enough to ensure the TD.
Siliga is very slow but pretty strong. He did a decent job pushing the pocket and looked to at least anchor well vs. the run. Not saying he should make the roster, but he wasn't a bad return for John Moffitt, and he still has a year of PS eligibility left.
Jesse Williams did not play.
Jaye Howard is better at DT than the 5-tech. He had some solid plays at the 5, but all his great plays came at the 3 and his worst plays came at the 5. On one particularly poor 5-tech play, Howard was escorted deep downfield by what looked like a low effort double team, clearing a big hole which Green Bay attempted to run through, but was filled by other Seahawks who filled very quickly. Near the end, Howard had his back turned to the play and did not even know where the ball was.
As mentioned in the random thoughts thread, Howard did have some splash plays in this game including a should have been sack that forced an obvious but uncalled hold, a play that would have killed Green Bay's only TD drive.
I know that we have elite man coverage personnel, but man to man against Vince Young is stupid. Vince Young is the epitome of a QB you play zone defense against. Zone defense mitigates the QB run while punishing hurried throws from bad QBs with interceptions. It seemed like every time Seattle ran man defense, Vince Young said "thank you very much" and immediately ran untouched for 10-15 yards. I wrote in my notes "Man to Man vs. VY is a very bad idea."
Literally the very next play after I wrote that in my notes, Seattle switched to zone defense, and Allen Bradford dropped an interception.
McDonald burst through the line for an awesome TFL. Clinton McDonald is the definition of solid, but he's not much of a playmaker. He had a very strong 4th quarter, which probably says a lot about how weak Green Bay's backup OL is.
Bradford had some mistakes in this game, but he still had some sexy looking tackles. I have him down for a strong tackle on a short pass over the middle.
McDonald swim moves for a near TFL vs. the run.
On the same play that Howard gets hosed for not getting an extremely obvious holding call, Maragos makes an outstanding tackle that would have forced 4th and inches had the ball been spotted correctly.
Mike Morgan had a solid game playing mostly DE. I think Morgan is a waste of time at DE, but he really shouldn't be there in the first place and the fact that he even looks solid vs. preseason competition speaks to his instincts and effort. Morgan did have one negative play, slipping to allow extra yardage on a long reception into the red zone. Maragos cleaned up a few yards downfield with an ET type flying leg tackle. Maragos doesn't appear to be pushed by anyone for the backup FS job, and has earned his backup job yet again with quality preseason play, IMO. He's like a poor man's ET which makes him a logical backup for us.
Howard's effort with the first unit was fine, but started to slack noticeably near the end of the 3rd quarter. On Vince Young's big run that nearly scored a TD (down around the 3 yard line) Howard nearly caught Young at the LOS, then casually jogged and watched the moment Young got by him. Not that I expect Howard to win in a footrace, but it's not like Young was going to run in a straight line and it's very easy for slower players to catch a runner who has to slow down making other defenders miss. I like Howard quite a bit, but the coaches need to give him an earful over that.
Siliga and Bradford combine for a tough, clutch stop on 1st and goal when Franklin runs to the 1 yard line. Green Bay would score on the next play with a short pass. On that scoring play, they sell a run right before passing left. It's a good thing they didn't actually run that way, because Howard and McDonald destroyed the point of attack that direction and barrelled into the backfield.
Sweezy was the last starter to leave the game. He played at least one series with the 2nd string line before being replaced by Rishaw Johnson. On his last drive, I had him down for an awesome run block but also a mild hold that went uncalled. It was more of a hold than the two he did get called for, which kind of illustrates my point about hating tightly called games. If you call games tight, it means very inconsistent officiating on holds. Officials miss legit holds all the time and in this game they were calling a lot of borderline holds and also a few imaginary ones.
I love Michael's vision, instincts and patience. His coolest run of the night was a stretch left that was going nowhere when the DE pushed upfield. Michael stopped, ran around the DE, then exploded up field untouched for ten yards before pulling off a completely unnecessary spin move that apparently spooked the GB defense, before recovering and running several more yards up the sideline. It was a laughably unnecessary spin move, like someone hitting their spin move button on accident playing Madden, but it didn't hinder the run and it looked pretty cool.
Michael Bowie played exclusively at LG when he was in there. Mike Person played the RT for the 2nd team line. Person doesn't look like an NFL player to me, and struggled with his cut blocking.
Brady Quinn took an embarrassing looking sack when he rolled right by design after the snap and Christine Michael pushed the pass rusher right into him. Normally Michael would have been right to push the defender upfield, but apparently forgot that his QB would be standing right there. Not a bad block so much as a DERP moment. Quinn didn't make the best effort to evade the sack either, though most of the blame is on Michael.
Page 4:
Bailey and Bowie bulldoze the left side of the line opening a huge running lane. Robert Turbin is summarily ankle tackled for minimal gain.
As much as I defended the OL in the other thread, the 2nd team line was legitimately bad in pass protection. At one point, they gave up an embarrassing sack in only a few seconds to a 3 man rush, but that sack is wiped out by an offsides penalty that didn't really impact the sack.
Remember the play where Brady Quinn gets NAILED by a textbook hit and draws that terrible roughing the passer penalty? Turns out he got creamed because Christine Michael totally whiffed on his protection assignment. Instead of picking up the blitzer to his right, he randomly cutblocks air to his left for no apparent reason. On a night that Michael was destroying the Packers defense, this was a reminder that nobody is perfect.
Ware had zero carries, but took some reps at FB. He's so raw at FB it's insane, but he didn't look any worse as a lead blocker than Coleman did.
Rishaw Johnson whiffed on a pair of second level blocks in close succession. Not long after, Bowie and Bailey whiffed on second level blocks at the same time in the same play. Bailey and Bowie had some positive plays, but overall it was not a bit of a tough night for the 2nd string line. Bowie, btw, looks pretty unnatural at guard. He looked much better when he was at RT. It's nice having versatility, but if he's a future starter, it's at tackle, IMO.
Jeanpierre picked up a couple holding calls. He's been a nice backup in real games but he's having a piss poor preseason.
Jeron Johnson hasn't stolen the show this preseason like he did in 2011 and 2012. He hasn't played much, actually. He did make a very nice pass defense in the 4th quarter and seemed really fired up about it.
Bowie had an ugly blown block that nearly led to a sack, but the ball was released just in time to be completed to Turbin for a short gain. I am frustrated with Turbin as a runner but he is a quality receiver and plays focused.
Seattle had five total 3rd down conversions in this game- two of them were passes to Arceto Clark. Both were impressive moving/leaping catches. If he doesn't get picked up by another team, I think he's shown enough this preseason to merit a PS invitation.
Christine Michael bursts for huge yardage on a poorly thrown, reasonably well defended screen pass that looks like it isn't going anywhere until Michael makes a tough catch and then rockets his way out of trouble. Michael takes that play 25 yards before he's pushed out of bounds. Michael kept his balance and wasn't tackled, if the sideline where just a couple inches further outside, he would have taken that play to the house.
Mayowa returned to action in the 4th quarter after playing most of the first three with the starters.
Bradford had a rare gaffe where he mistracked the ball carrier and got lost in the scrum. A few other linebackers (Smith, etc) screwed up as well, allowing Alex Green to slip up the sideline for a fluky 32 yard gain. Take away that rush, and Green Bay's non-QBs combined for 0 yards rushing on 17 carries.
On further review, Guy was being incredibly reckless on the play he forced a clutch fumble on. He didn't even contact the runners body at all, it was pure shoulder on football with nothing else. If he misses, it's a blatant whiff and maybe the runner gets in for a touchdown. Thankfully, Guy didn't whiff and actually nailed the football, getting the desired result- a game winning turnover (more or less). I wonder how Pete would evaluate that play (if allowed to to be honest). Pete is a guy who hates risks and uncontrolled play, but who worships turnovers.
I never saw Luke Willson (#82) at FB, but I did see one play where #87 did. Who's #87? The Konz.
Kyle Knox and several other Seahawks combined for a sack on BJ Coleman. It's amazing what can happen when the QB actually holds the ball for four seconds.
I bagged on Howard's effort a bit, but he had a nice hustle play where he chased down Coleman to force a game ending incompletion.
Overall, the defense had a stellar performance (Green Bay had just 201 yards of total offense- an average 3.4 yards per play). Their run defense was suffocating and their pass rush did an excellent job when considering that almost every throw the Packers made was out of the hand in 3 seconds or less. The Seahawks racked up a ton of TFLs, but didn't get a ton of sacks, and that pretty much says it all. Green Bay was paranoid in the passing game, and they were paranoid for good reason.
One last note- as many of you know I was a huge fan of Christine Michael before the draft. I hoped we'd get him, and I even predicted that we'd take him in round 2 (gut feeling). I was a big fan of Michael despite the fact that he had a red flag laden injury history, had conflicts with his head coach at Texas A&M, fumbled way too often, was unproven as a blocker/receiver and had very little lateral / cutback ability to speak of. That's how special his rushing talent and explosiveness were, that all those minuses could look almost meaningless in comparison.
Well so far, he's stayed healthy, he's gotten along just great with the coaches, he hasn't yet fumbled, he's looked great as a receiver and has flashed blocking ability at times, but most surprisingly, he's developed into an elite level cutback runner. It's that last part that has really surprised me. Even without the lateral skills Michael looked like an elite rushing talent in college, so watching him make several huge plays on cutbacks and reads was really exciting to see in this game.
Preface:
Even though Rodgers left after just one series, you could tell that this game meant something to both teams, especially Green Bay. The Packers were playing hard on defense, blitzing constantly, and starting a ton of fights between plays. I don't know if it was leftover bitterness from last season, or just the coaches instructing the players to man up to match Seattle's physicality by picking fights before Seattle could. Whatever it was, there was a lot of intensity between these teams. Felt like a playoff game. Real shame the execution couldn't match their intensity, something the refs assured by penalizing nearly a third of the game's plays.
Also, Green Bay clearly schemed for Seattle's weaknesses, and Seattle did not return the favor (aka running read option down their throats like the 49ers did). So that led to some deceptive results in this game. Further, Green Bay's defense is basically built to stop Seattle, or at least Seattle minus the read option. Lots of blitzing with good interior rush and no shortage of deception.
Seattle's defense seemed way too happy to give up "gimme" conversions on 3rd and short vs. the passing game. This was true against Denver with Manning in the game and it was true in several 2012 games as well. I'm not one to question Pete, but I find the incredible, effortless ease at which teams convert 3rd downs with short bubble screen type passes to be really annoying.
The officiating in this game was very Mike Carey like. The officials called it way too tight, had several bad calls including a few terrible ones, and even had two major, potentially game deciding plays that were called wrong on the field and overturned on replay (the GB fumble forced by ET and also the bobbled TD that was actually incomplete on 4th down). At least they got it right on replay, but you would expect that. Another reason they were like Mike Carey, they did a great job articulating each call and explaining it to the audience. So even when they were making terrible calls, they at least sounded like experts doing it.
Game Notes, page 1:
Seattle's 1st team run blocking was outstanding except for the first drive. The reason for the early struggle? BJ Raji (#90) pretty much had his way with Max Unger on that first drive, consistently knocking him back and blowing up the run. After that drive I'm not sure what changed- maybe Raji got tired or Unger figured something out, but from the 2nd drive it was the opposite result with Unger winning snap after snap in the run game vs. Raji.
Crazy as it sounds, JR Sweezy had a monster game. I had him down for no allowed pressures, and he was unreal in run blocking, by far our best run blocker. He had 4 plays where he single handedly opened huge holes for RBs to run through, and as usual his 2nd level blocking is at an elite level.
On one play he drove the DL out of his gap, which Lynch ran through for a big gain, then turned around and found a second defender to smack around, before jumping on a 3rd defensive player at the very end. Dude's a pinball. Only problem was, the 3rd guy he attacked was the one that got him the 15 yard penalty and wiped out the play. It was a good call, but it was close. Sweezy didn't have a ton of late hit penalties last year so I'm not expecting this to be a serious problem.
Later on Lynch's big screen pass rumble down the left sideline, Sweezy (who has elite speed) came all the way across the field to lay a huge hit on LB AJ Hawk (#50), decleating the Packers inside linebacker. This helped spring Lynch for a few extra yards. After crushing Hawk, Sweezy turned around and laid a solid hit on a 2nd defender.
I could go on and on. Sweezy dominated my notes with his run blocking. He did draw two holds, the first of which was borderline but not outrageous, and the 2nd one looked like horse crap. Granted, they never showed a replay from a different angle, but it just looked like Sweezy blocked his man to the ground and seemed to maintain good hand placement. Sweezy didn't protest the earlier penalties but was incredulous over the 3rd. His reaction to the penalty was essentially "oh come on!"
Micah Hyde crashed down and ankle tackled Turbin on a very well blocked running play. It's a shame that Hyde is a good player and that Turbin is so easy to ankle tackle, because Turbin had a mile of green ahead of him. McQuistan had a pretty pull block on this play and Luke Willson cleaned up with a strong run block to seal the edge. Had Hyde not crashed down so effectively or had it been Christine Michael carrying, that run could have easily gone for 15-25 yards. Instead, it went for 1.
Shortly after this, Sweezy made my notes again two consecutive times for outstanding run blocks.
Luke Willson had a good game. Given the sorry state of our TEs, he's in no roster trouble, but it's really nice to finally see him make some real progress and look more like a football player instead of just an athlete. Willson nearly picked up a clutch 1st down on 3rd and long, tackled just short of the marker after a hot throw from Wilson. If not for a great tackle by Green Bay's Banjo, Willson probably converts.
Derrick Coleman got the start and was underwhelming as a lead blocker. Both Ware and Coleman looked "lost" in regards to lead blocking in this game. I'm starting to become disenchanted with Coleman because while he is a good receiver out of the backfield and is giving great effort, he does not have enough power or strength to lay a quality run block. His arms collapse into his chest on impact, like they are wet noodles. Ware isn't great either, but at least with Ware you don't have to worry about his physicality and strength.
Seattle had a very nice run by Turbin on their 3rd and (goal) draw from outside the 20 yard line. It was just a 3 man line so it's not too much to brag about, but Unger and Sweezy combined for a very impressive combo block on the nose that helped make that run as emphatic as it was.
Tony McDaniel looked even better on DVR review. He was handling double teams, breaking into the backfield, getting TFLs, pushing the pocket, you name it. He's playing like the 1st round DT we didn't get to draft.
Apparently Red Bryant is already 29 years old. Weird. Anyway, Bryant has looked good this preseason. Stout against the run, and strong enough to command occasional double teams as a pass rusher. He also looks much faster than last season and is tracking the ball better than ever. The 3 DT package of Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, and Tony McDaniel was stunningly effective in run defense and was surprisingly decent even in the pass rush. I haven't been a fan of Pete's obsession with having too many big bodies on early downs, but in this game it finally looked like his crazy plan was working.
Red Bryant played only a few snaps at the 5-tech, and looked more than solid at both DT spots.
If we needed him to be, Michael Bennett would be an outstanding LEO for us. He took a couple snaps at LEO in the game and was in the QBs face in under 3 seconds consistently.
Bennett + McDaniel is a very fun combination inside. They appeared in my notes quite often. I need to change my pants after thinking about an Avril-Bennett-McDaniel-Clemons lineup.
Maybe my favorite thing about this preseason is that Pete seems to be getting back to the idea of dual pass rushers on 1st and 2nd downs. DEs Mayowa and Schofield manned the end spots for most of the starting defensive snaps the last two games.
Mayowa is such an oddball. Despite being undersized and underpowered as a pass rusher, he's a surprisingly good run defender. I keep waiting for him to get ragdolled against the run and it just isn't happening. He's already a more natural pass rusher than Bruce Irvin (keep in mind that Irvin has much better physical talent), though like Irvin Mayowa has some issues with the bull rush and looks his best on stunts.
On that note, Mayowa had a key pressure when stunting on a 6 man blitz. He nearly had a sack and forced a hurried throw deep that fell incomplete.
Schofield is a really nice all around player. I feel like he's gotten a bit better each game.
One of the rare times the starting OL was genuinely at fault in pass protection came on a 3 man rush during a 3rd and forever. Green Bay rushed just three but the two outside rushers both jetted up the field and caught both Okung and Giacomini unprepared. Wilson expertly avoided the rush by stepping up, but was forced to hurry his throw and just missed Golden Tate near the sideline. Tate very nearly caught the ball anyway, though it would have been a couple yards short.
I'm guessing Bruce Irvin was only in this game for 10 snaps at most, and in that time he only had 1 (terrific) tackle. He had a couple other plays where he didn't get the tackle but was in the vicinity after navigating through traffic very well. He a couple snaps at the LOS, including one where he rushed like a DE. As usual, he fired hard up field and was escorted out of the play, though doing so did coincide with a quick throw. So it wasn't like Irvin had much of an impact out there.
That said, I love the intangible "vibe" Irvin 2.0 gave off in this game. He had a quiet, nonchalant confidence. It's as if he's a badass and he knows it. Kam's the same way. Bradford too. Leroy Hill was like that. Also, I hate it when players cut their braids, but in the case of Irvin- good move. Irvin has been trying to reshape his image ever since he quit being a drug dealer, and his most recent "personality" really seems to fit what Seattle wants out of a SAM LB.
Bowie entered the game at left guard while the rest of the starting OL was present. Bowie did a great job locating BJ Raji and blocking him during an improvised Wilson scramble (to the left). He'd later add a solid pull block in the run game.
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Yup, that was all from just page 1.
Okung had a killer block that helped spring a nice Christine Michael rush on a cutback.
KJ Wright had a very good game. I've harped on Wright's lack of speed but he has not looked slow this preseason. He's also a smoother ball tracker than any time previous. He and Irvin combined for a spectacular run stop, with Irvin navigating traffic and delivering a hit in a manner very similar to Kam Chancellor. Wright attacked the gap, then quickly turned 90 degrees and dove at the runner for a run of no gain. Irvin was not credited for his portion (the scorer probably lost his number in the pile) but he was a significant factor in the play.
Dan Quinn loves to move players around. Kam Chancellor took at least one snap at OLB that I noticed in this game. Other than Mayowa, Wagner, and Wright, I think every other front seven player played at least two different positions during the game.
On one particular play, Bruce Irvin lined up at CB over the slot WR while Browner was at the LOS covering the TE.
When Seattle sends six, this defense is downright intimidating. Lots of big angry men with power, speed, and arm length. It is such a huge contrast with the 2009 team that constantly blitzed 6 or 7 but had issues with those blitzes getting picked up. The 2013 version of the 6 man blitz looked physically impossible to stop. On that note, Wright and Bennett crushed the pocket on one such 6 man blitz, forcing a very quick throw that was completed for minimal yardage.
Something you don't see every day: Richard Sherman slips on a short pass going for an open field tackle and then one second later Earl Thomas whiffs on a hit-tackle. Packers get a first down they had no business getting.
McDaniel bats down a pass.
Thurmond makes a saving tackle inside the five yard line.
Seattle lived in the nickle defense during this game. Never saw Winfield. Thurmond had a ton of play time. Wagner and Wright were Seattle's two nickle linebackers on seemingly every 1st team play.
Turbin reminds me so much of Mo Morris. He's fast and well rounded, but lacks resilience and is the definition of "one cut and go" with minimal change of direction or cutback ability behind the LOS. Turbin hits the hole quick but seems to have his mind made up before getting the ball. Every Turbin run looks the same behind the LOS.
Russell Wilson throws a bad pass on a short route to Tate that should have been intercepted by Green Bay's Francois (#49). Looked like he didn't see him.
Wilson throws a legit pick when he overthrows a very well covered Doug Baldwin. Even if he hadn't overthrown, it might have been picked anyway. Uncharacteristic, poor decision by Wilson, who was not hurried on the throw.
Schofield generates a pressure on a stunt.
Bennett lines up at (left side) LEO, explodes into the backfield and forces an incompletion plus a (100% legit) holding call.
Earl Thomas tries to sneak in for a punt block, narrowly misses, and rolls near the punter while trying to avoid contact. The punter (just barely) touches Thomas with the bottom of his foot and then executes an epic flop that would make Manu Ginobili proud. Seattle is flagged for running into the kicker, wiping out a massive punt return from Golden Tate as well as a 15 yard personal foul on the Packers. If not for the punter tapping his foot on ET and then flopping, Seattle would have had the ball inside Green Bay's 25 yard line.
Packers pick another fight after the ensuing punt return.
Seahawks played extremely hard on defense. Watching the game on second viewing, the intensity of both teams really came across. Playoff intensity.
Tony McDaniel breaches the line and roars into the backfield for a monster TFL against the run.
Eddie Lacy btw, was the pick immediately before Christine Michael in the 2013 draft. Had GB drafted Michael, it's seemingly likely that Seattle would have taken Lacy as they were both BPA type selections and Lacy fits the Seahawk profile at RB very well. Christine Michael had 97 yards on 11 carries, 25 more yards on 1 reception, and generally looked awesome doing it. Eddie Lacy's final line? 8 carries for -5 yards. If Lacy does flame out in the NFL, it seems likely that Christine Michael's name will be mentioned somewhere on Lacy's career epitaph.
Wagner gets his bogus helmet to helmet penalty.
Red Bryant at DT drives guard back and forces a TFL against the run.
McDaniel racks up yet another TFL vs. the run. I know Green Bay's line isn't great, but this dude looked seriously dominant.
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Wilson sacked on 6 man delayed blitz with no backfield protection and apparently no hot read. Not sure if it's Wilson's fault or Bevell's, but it's not OL's.
Wilson sacked again. Guess what? Delayed blitz. This one was on the line, but I should point out that the degree of difficulty to block this blitz was very high. Green Bay delayed blitzed the middle, sending three guys against 3 blockers while twisting around and attacking at different times. Sweezy broke off to pickup the first guy, but Unger didn't drop his assignment to pick up the second, and guess what again? No backfield RB pass protection. Sack.
Wilson had Tate open for a LOOOONG TD down the left sideline, but ironically underthrew him which forced Tate to slow down and allowed both the corner and the ranging safety help to recover. Despite the poor throw and tough conditions, Tate very nearly hauled in the pass anyway, losing it as he made contact with the ground.
The next play was, in all seriousness, my favorite from this entire game: Wilson, under a degree of duress, throws a 2 yard pass to Stephen Williams on 3rd and 16. Not a great decision, but it works anyway. Williams outruns 4 defenders for 16 total yards and the first down. You might expect Percy Harvin to pull that off, maybe Golden Tate, but a 6'5" WR? Damn. JS knows how to work the waiver wires, doesn't he?
Wilson sacks himself by running too close to big DL CJ Wilson (not to be confused with former 2010 4th round pick EJ Wilson), who was being blocked capably by Paul McQuistan. Unfortunately, McQuistan pushed CJ Wilson in the back on reflex when he saw him break for the sack, and drew a legit hold penalty. Not excusing McQuistan's mistake, but Russell Wilson needs to respect defenders more by not cutting it so close when he runs by defenders. Even without the hold, it's still a sack that's totally on Wilson. After last year's Rams game, teams have figured out that if you want to stop Wilson as a scrambler, disengage early and try to grab him as he runs by.
On Christine Michael's TD run, the Packers made two big mistakes. The first was they had a blitz called, which makes sense since it was 2nd and 19. This is what it means to punish the blitz. One of their middle linebackers blitzed a different gap and erased himself on the play, while the remaining inside linebacker had to cover a ton of ground and had hostile bodies in his way. The remaining ILB cut upfield when he should have cut downfield, and after that, all Michael needed was a killer block from Jermaine Kearse to hit paydirt. Kearse's block not only took out a defender, but disrupted the other enough to ensure the TD.
Siliga is very slow but pretty strong. He did a decent job pushing the pocket and looked to at least anchor well vs. the run. Not saying he should make the roster, but he wasn't a bad return for John Moffitt, and he still has a year of PS eligibility left.
Jesse Williams did not play.
Jaye Howard is better at DT than the 5-tech. He had some solid plays at the 5, but all his great plays came at the 3 and his worst plays came at the 5. On one particularly poor 5-tech play, Howard was escorted deep downfield by what looked like a low effort double team, clearing a big hole which Green Bay attempted to run through, but was filled by other Seahawks who filled very quickly. Near the end, Howard had his back turned to the play and did not even know where the ball was.
As mentioned in the random thoughts thread, Howard did have some splash plays in this game including a should have been sack that forced an obvious but uncalled hold, a play that would have killed Green Bay's only TD drive.
I know that we have elite man coverage personnel, but man to man against Vince Young is stupid. Vince Young is the epitome of a QB you play zone defense against. Zone defense mitigates the QB run while punishing hurried throws from bad QBs with interceptions. It seemed like every time Seattle ran man defense, Vince Young said "thank you very much" and immediately ran untouched for 10-15 yards. I wrote in my notes "Man to Man vs. VY is a very bad idea."
Literally the very next play after I wrote that in my notes, Seattle switched to zone defense, and Allen Bradford dropped an interception.
McDonald burst through the line for an awesome TFL. Clinton McDonald is the definition of solid, but he's not much of a playmaker. He had a very strong 4th quarter, which probably says a lot about how weak Green Bay's backup OL is.
Bradford had some mistakes in this game, but he still had some sexy looking tackles. I have him down for a strong tackle on a short pass over the middle.
McDonald swim moves for a near TFL vs. the run.
On the same play that Howard gets hosed for not getting an extremely obvious holding call, Maragos makes an outstanding tackle that would have forced 4th and inches had the ball been spotted correctly.
Mike Morgan had a solid game playing mostly DE. I think Morgan is a waste of time at DE, but he really shouldn't be there in the first place and the fact that he even looks solid vs. preseason competition speaks to his instincts and effort. Morgan did have one negative play, slipping to allow extra yardage on a long reception into the red zone. Maragos cleaned up a few yards downfield with an ET type flying leg tackle. Maragos doesn't appear to be pushed by anyone for the backup FS job, and has earned his backup job yet again with quality preseason play, IMO. He's like a poor man's ET which makes him a logical backup for us.
Howard's effort with the first unit was fine, but started to slack noticeably near the end of the 3rd quarter. On Vince Young's big run that nearly scored a TD (down around the 3 yard line) Howard nearly caught Young at the LOS, then casually jogged and watched the moment Young got by him. Not that I expect Howard to win in a footrace, but it's not like Young was going to run in a straight line and it's very easy for slower players to catch a runner who has to slow down making other defenders miss. I like Howard quite a bit, but the coaches need to give him an earful over that.
Siliga and Bradford combine for a tough, clutch stop on 1st and goal when Franklin runs to the 1 yard line. Green Bay would score on the next play with a short pass. On that scoring play, they sell a run right before passing left. It's a good thing they didn't actually run that way, because Howard and McDonald destroyed the point of attack that direction and barrelled into the backfield.
Sweezy was the last starter to leave the game. He played at least one series with the 2nd string line before being replaced by Rishaw Johnson. On his last drive, I had him down for an awesome run block but also a mild hold that went uncalled. It was more of a hold than the two he did get called for, which kind of illustrates my point about hating tightly called games. If you call games tight, it means very inconsistent officiating on holds. Officials miss legit holds all the time and in this game they were calling a lot of borderline holds and also a few imaginary ones.
I love Michael's vision, instincts and patience. His coolest run of the night was a stretch left that was going nowhere when the DE pushed upfield. Michael stopped, ran around the DE, then exploded up field untouched for ten yards before pulling off a completely unnecessary spin move that apparently spooked the GB defense, before recovering and running several more yards up the sideline. It was a laughably unnecessary spin move, like someone hitting their spin move button on accident playing Madden, but it didn't hinder the run and it looked pretty cool.
Michael Bowie played exclusively at LG when he was in there. Mike Person played the RT for the 2nd team line. Person doesn't look like an NFL player to me, and struggled with his cut blocking.
Brady Quinn took an embarrassing looking sack when he rolled right by design after the snap and Christine Michael pushed the pass rusher right into him. Normally Michael would have been right to push the defender upfield, but apparently forgot that his QB would be standing right there. Not a bad block so much as a DERP moment. Quinn didn't make the best effort to evade the sack either, though most of the blame is on Michael.
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Bailey and Bowie bulldoze the left side of the line opening a huge running lane. Robert Turbin is summarily ankle tackled for minimal gain.
As much as I defended the OL in the other thread, the 2nd team line was legitimately bad in pass protection. At one point, they gave up an embarrassing sack in only a few seconds to a 3 man rush, but that sack is wiped out by an offsides penalty that didn't really impact the sack.
Remember the play where Brady Quinn gets NAILED by a textbook hit and draws that terrible roughing the passer penalty? Turns out he got creamed because Christine Michael totally whiffed on his protection assignment. Instead of picking up the blitzer to his right, he randomly cutblocks air to his left for no apparent reason. On a night that Michael was destroying the Packers defense, this was a reminder that nobody is perfect.
Ware had zero carries, but took some reps at FB. He's so raw at FB it's insane, but he didn't look any worse as a lead blocker than Coleman did.
Rishaw Johnson whiffed on a pair of second level blocks in close succession. Not long after, Bowie and Bailey whiffed on second level blocks at the same time in the same play. Bailey and Bowie had some positive plays, but overall it was not a bit of a tough night for the 2nd string line. Bowie, btw, looks pretty unnatural at guard. He looked much better when he was at RT. It's nice having versatility, but if he's a future starter, it's at tackle, IMO.
Jeanpierre picked up a couple holding calls. He's been a nice backup in real games but he's having a piss poor preseason.
Jeron Johnson hasn't stolen the show this preseason like he did in 2011 and 2012. He hasn't played much, actually. He did make a very nice pass defense in the 4th quarter and seemed really fired up about it.
Bowie had an ugly blown block that nearly led to a sack, but the ball was released just in time to be completed to Turbin for a short gain. I am frustrated with Turbin as a runner but he is a quality receiver and plays focused.
Seattle had five total 3rd down conversions in this game- two of them were passes to Arceto Clark. Both were impressive moving/leaping catches. If he doesn't get picked up by another team, I think he's shown enough this preseason to merit a PS invitation.
Christine Michael bursts for huge yardage on a poorly thrown, reasonably well defended screen pass that looks like it isn't going anywhere until Michael makes a tough catch and then rockets his way out of trouble. Michael takes that play 25 yards before he's pushed out of bounds. Michael kept his balance and wasn't tackled, if the sideline where just a couple inches further outside, he would have taken that play to the house.
Mayowa returned to action in the 4th quarter after playing most of the first three with the starters.
Bradford had a rare gaffe where he mistracked the ball carrier and got lost in the scrum. A few other linebackers (Smith, etc) screwed up as well, allowing Alex Green to slip up the sideline for a fluky 32 yard gain. Take away that rush, and Green Bay's non-QBs combined for 0 yards rushing on 17 carries.
On further review, Guy was being incredibly reckless on the play he forced a clutch fumble on. He didn't even contact the runners body at all, it was pure shoulder on football with nothing else. If he misses, it's a blatant whiff and maybe the runner gets in for a touchdown. Thankfully, Guy didn't whiff and actually nailed the football, getting the desired result- a game winning turnover (more or less). I wonder how Pete would evaluate that play (if allowed to to be honest). Pete is a guy who hates risks and uncontrolled play, but who worships turnovers.
I never saw Luke Willson (#82) at FB, but I did see one play where #87 did. Who's #87? The Konz.
Kyle Knox and several other Seahawks combined for a sack on BJ Coleman. It's amazing what can happen when the QB actually holds the ball for four seconds.
I bagged on Howard's effort a bit, but he had a nice hustle play where he chased down Coleman to force a game ending incompletion.
Overall, the defense had a stellar performance (Green Bay had just 201 yards of total offense- an average 3.4 yards per play). Their run defense was suffocating and their pass rush did an excellent job when considering that almost every throw the Packers made was out of the hand in 3 seconds or less. The Seahawks racked up a ton of TFLs, but didn't get a ton of sacks, and that pretty much says it all. Green Bay was paranoid in the passing game, and they were paranoid for good reason.
One last note- as many of you know I was a huge fan of Christine Michael before the draft. I hoped we'd get him, and I even predicted that we'd take him in round 2 (gut feeling). I was a big fan of Michael despite the fact that he had a red flag laden injury history, had conflicts with his head coach at Texas A&M, fumbled way too often, was unproven as a blocker/receiver and had very little lateral / cutback ability to speak of. That's how special his rushing talent and explosiveness were, that all those minuses could look almost meaningless in comparison.
Well so far, he's stayed healthy, he's gotten along just great with the coaches, he hasn't yet fumbled, he's looked great as a receiver and has flashed blocking ability at times, but most surprisingly, he's developed into an elite level cutback runner. It's that last part that has really surprised me. Even without the lateral skills Michael looked like an elite rushing talent in college, so watching him make several huge plays on cutbacks and reads was really exciting to see in this game.
