The Elephant in the room......

[Jazzhawk]

One of the hallmarks of this offense are our 'Explosive Plays', which are predicated us having an effective running game so that we can utilize play-action passes.

Our lack of a productive running game killed all those opportunities today against a middling defensive unit..

Pete Carroll's biggest job in the next week is to re-kindle the running game and give us back those opportunities.

 

[falcongoggles]

Someone mentioned a bad weather gameplan. I wonder if that was in the books.

 

[Jazzhawk]

I wouldn't be able to comment on that. I just know we still have a mediocre running game. I long for a healthy Thomas Rawls to come back and make things right again.

 

[FlyingGreg]

I wouldn't be able to comment on that. I just know we still have a mediocre running game. I long for a healthy Thomas Rawls to come back and make things right again.

The 2015 Rawls maybe.

He needs to get healthy. He has looked bad this season.

 

[Flyingsquad23]

3 rushing TD's...... Terrible day

 

[FlyingGreg]

3 rushing TD's...... Terrible day

Three short rushing TDs... and only 2.7 ypc.

TDs don't define anything. That's Fantasy Football.

The running game clearly needs work.

 

[Hawks46]

We should've made them pay for playing a bit deep with the run.

What I don't understand was, watching the 1st half...Michael was just killing it running behind Ifedi. That guy was just crushing anyone who dared lined up in front of him. On Michael's first TD, he not only blocks his guy, then he moves to the 2nd level and takes out two guys. There were gaping holes every time. Why don't we keep pounding it until it doesn't work ?

As for no deep shots, the Falcons were playing a deep zone and taking away everything deep. Any big plays we got were YAC from underneath stuff. You could see it on Wilson scrambles, RB's in the flat, and Baldwin's stuff underneath. On TV, I literally couldn't see any defenders in the picture when Wilson was close to the LOS. I think him being hurt had a lot to do with this.

Don't forget where Quinn came from. Our philosophy is the same thing, he just doesn't quite have the personnel for it yet. We'll give you underneath stuff all day long. The OL gave Wilson enough time, and Wilson scrambled when needed that the WRs carried the defense downfield a lot. This wasn't any short comings of our offense other than the lack of a running game.

 

[TwistedHusky]

There were some misses by Wilson in this one.

Wide open guys he flat missed but in many of those he was on the move. Most QBs do not hit those with accuracy and even though Wilson is pretty accurate throwing on the run - he gets a pass.

But the guy who does not get a pass is Bevell. Our run game is average, at best. And yet he kept trying it or picking short gainers followed by a run, which failed more than it succeeded. Sure we got the 5-yard pass complete and then we picked up 2 or 3 on the run after but to do that for 40-60 yards up the field? No. We converted a few but we missed just as many. It was a bad % shot plan against a team that was going to assuredly move the scoreboard #s.

Only when we got behind did he start playing with a sense of urgency and calling plays were actually a shot to gain yardage.

Bevell needs to buy the entire defense dinner or a fruit basket or something because his incompetence almost cost us the game.

 

[Flyingsquad23]

If you look at the team stats from the game you will see an almost dead heat across the board, does that mean Atlantas O coordinator sucks also

 

[evergreen]

There were some misses by Wilson in this one.

Wide open guys he flat missed but in many of those he was on the move. Most QBs do not hit those with accuracy and even though Wilson is pretty accurate throwing on the run - he gets a pass.

But the guy who does not get a pass is Bevell. Our run game is average, at best. And yet he kept trying it or picking short gainers followed by a run, which failed more than it succeeded. Sure we got the 5-yard pass complete and then we picked up 2 or 3 on the run after but to do that for 40-60 yards up the field? No. We converted a few but we missed just as many. It was a bad % shot plan against a team that was going to assuredly move the scoreboard #s.

Only when we got behind did he start playing with a sense of urgency and calling plays were actually a shot to gain yardage.

Bevell needs to buy the entire defense dinner or a fruit basket or something because his incompetence almost cost us the game.

YES!
And it being offensively even is only because of our hideous play calling on 2nd and short during the 3rd quarter to produce two 3 and outs...

 

[MontanaHawk05]

The idea that we "kept trying to run" is mistaken. We passed 37 times and ran 21. If anything, running MORE would have made us more balanced.

 

[Bobblehead]

Why do we look for run blocking linemen when we don't run very much anymore?

 

[TwistedHusky]

"The idea that we "kept trying to run" is mistaken. We passed 37 times and ran 21. If anything, running MORE would have made us more balanced."

Montana, you are looking at the aggregate numbers, not the numbers by drive.

The reason we did not get as many runs was because the drives we used the runs turned into punts.

The drives we passed? Turned into first downs which led to more passes. If you break successful drives down by offense, you find our offense was much more successful passing. But if you look at the failed drives you find many/most were run heavy.

We passed more because we got behind and "had" to pass. Because running did not work, even our idiot OC knew that and so with us behind and potentially unable to stop their offense with our defense, we had no choice. We had to shoot for 1st downs and scores. Before, we were shooting for what looked like percentages.

Go back and either look at the #s by drive, or rewatch the game. The aggregate #s are skewed because the stuff that worked, kept working when we kept doing it. And at the end of the game, it was kind of required to throw the ball more.

 

[Sports Hernia]

We ran today on a lot of run downs where they stacked the box and ran run blitzes.
They tried too hard after the first drive to "establish the run" instead of letting the pass open up the running game.

 

[scutterhawk]

There were some misses by Wilson in this one.

Wide open guys he flat missed but in many of those he was on the move. Most QBs do not hit those with accuracy and even though Wilson is pretty accurate throwing on the run - he gets a pass.

But the guy who does not get a pass is Bevell. Our run game is average, at best. And yet he kept trying it or picking short gainers followed by a run, which failed more than it succeeded. Sure we got the 5-yard pass complete and then we picked up 2 or 3 on the run after but to do that for 40-60 yards up the field? No. We converted a few but we missed just as many. It was a bad % shot plan against a team that was going to assuredly move the scoreboard #s.

Only when we got behind did he start playing with a sense of urgency and calling plays were actually a shot to gain yardage.

Bevell needs to buy the entire defense dinner or a fruit basket or something because his incompetence almost cost us the game.

Yep, and to add, Quinn is very familiar with Bevell's shortcomings, and knew that without a Marshawn Lynch or a healthy Thomas Rawls, the ground game was going to be a lot easier to defend.
Dan Quinn and the Falcons needed to only eliminate Michael Bennett, and hold Cliff Averill long enough for Ryan to hit one of his 7 or 8 targets.
Michael Bennett was Mr. destructo in the first half, and thus, had to be a cheap shot casualty for them to get anything going in the second half.....That's why I'm feeling pretty good about the Seahawks storming back in the 4th quarter to eke out the win.
The non-call on the last play was payback for the DPI on Kearse in the end zone (and a likely TD).
I think the Refs had made a decide to let the Big Guns on Offense and the half wounded #1 Defense fight it out in the 4th quarter.
Good hard earned & honest WIN for the Seahawks.

 

[scutterhawk]

"The idea that we "kept trying to run" is mistaken. We passed 37 times and ran 21. If anything, running MORE would have made us more balanced."

Montana, you are looking at the aggregate numbers, not the numbers by drive.

The reason we did not get as many runs was because the drives we used the runs turned into punts.

The drives we passed? Turned into first downs which led to more passes. If you break successful drives down by offense, you find our offense was much more successful passing. But if you look at the failed drives you find many/most were run heavy.

We passed more because we got behind and "had" to pass. Because running did not work, even our idiot OC knew that and so with us behind and potentially unable to stop their offense with our defense, we had no choice. We had to shoot for 1st downs and scores. Before, we were shooting for what looked like percentages.

Go back and either look at the #s by drive, or rewatch the game. The aggregate #s are skewed because the stuff that worked, kept working when we kept doing it. And at the end of the game, it was kind of required to throw the ball more.

This ^......Kinda like the shootout with the Stealers last season eh?

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Here's the real elephant in the room...

Russell Wilson isn't close to 100%.

It's OK saying this and that about the run game but completely taking away Wilson as a running threat has removed the read option and he helps with his own collection of explosive (+12yd) runs.

Plus teams are taking the approach that a hurt Wilson can beat them -- but their best chance to win is to try and take away the run and see if he can. He burned the Jets and ultimately worked the Falcons. But that's still the best way to stop this offense right now -- take away the run and force Wilson to throw. It's a good job he's insanely brilliant.

 

[NINEster]

I thought the Seahawks had plenty decent push in the run game.

Definitely better than the Falcons had for a majority of the game.

The Seahawk OL is still a fine unit for run blocking.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

3 rushing TD's...... Terrible day

Three short rushing TDs... and only 2.7 ypc.

TDs don't define anything. That's Fantasy Football.

The running game clearly needs work.

We were just getting to the magical number of touches need to get the run game ticking. We had a serious chance to get something going until we were forced to abandon it because of blown coverages in the 3rd quarter. It happens. I agree that we're not where we need to be yet, but it's not quite so bad is you're making it out to be. There were some good runs in this game.

 

[brimsalabim]

It's what English said.