xgeoff
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- Oct 18, 2014
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Don't misunderstand the title of this post. It's not a rant against this team. However, it is a recognition that this team really isn't very good right now.
Brock and Salk made a big deal a couple weeks ago about repeating the mantra 'The Seahawks are a good team' over and over again after they lost to the Redskins.
And I disagree with that mantra. The Seahawks are not a good team right now; they are an extremely dangerous team, perhaps the most dangerous team in the league.
I say this for a couple of reasons:
1. The Seahawks are missing a lot of their core talent. Missing Kam and Sherman and Cliff and Chris Carson are significant. And I think the backups have been doing a good job, but it's still a dropoff.
2. The offensive line is playing better, but there are still two huge holes (Joeckel and Ifedi) in that unit.
3. Special teams is erratic. Blair Walsh's numbers are better, I think, than he actually is. I hold my breath with every one of his kicks. The kick coverage teams have scary moments as well.
4. We drag every opponent into a fistfight. Against lesser teams like the 49ers it gives those teams a chance, instead of blowing them out of the building. But it also means that against good teams like the Eagles or the Patriots, we can beat them. We seem to play up or down to the level of our competition. So if we make the playoffs, the better teams would have every reason to fear playing us.
5. If the game is close in the 4th Quarter, Russell Wilson can make magic happen, in many different ways. This team always seems to have a chance at the end of the game.
6. Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas are special players who can single-handedly change the complexion of a game. We saw that in the Eagles game.
7. The penaties and general lack of discipline really hurt this team. It's another way that we give crappy teams like the Cardinals a chance against us instead of us blowing them out of the building.
8. I don't know what happened to the pass rush. It still shows up in some games (like the Eagles game) but it was non-existent against the Jags. Frank Clark is an enigma. He looks like a world beater some times and like a no-talent at others. Can't figure him out. Bottom line is that Blake Bortles had all day to sit back in the pocket and get comfortable. And so we made him look like an All-Star.
9. I find the lack of ability to convert 3rd and short maddening. I have never seen a team (and I watch a lot of football) look so inept in that situation. The play calls look horrible, and at times the whole offensive strategy looks like a mess. Sometimes not. But there is definitely not a consistent, positive nature to the play calling.
So my point is simply that I would put our team up against any other in the league, and feel that we can beat anyone. But to say that we are a good team right now, well I just wouldn't say that. We're the reservoir dogs right now, undisciplined and dangerous. If we can just make the playoffs, anything can happen.
Brock and Salk made a big deal a couple weeks ago about repeating the mantra 'The Seahawks are a good team' over and over again after they lost to the Redskins.
And I disagree with that mantra. The Seahawks are not a good team right now; they are an extremely dangerous team, perhaps the most dangerous team in the league.
I say this for a couple of reasons:
1. The Seahawks are missing a lot of their core talent. Missing Kam and Sherman and Cliff and Chris Carson are significant. And I think the backups have been doing a good job, but it's still a dropoff.
2. The offensive line is playing better, but there are still two huge holes (Joeckel and Ifedi) in that unit.
3. Special teams is erratic. Blair Walsh's numbers are better, I think, than he actually is. I hold my breath with every one of his kicks. The kick coverage teams have scary moments as well.
4. We drag every opponent into a fistfight. Against lesser teams like the 49ers it gives those teams a chance, instead of blowing them out of the building. But it also means that against good teams like the Eagles or the Patriots, we can beat them. We seem to play up or down to the level of our competition. So if we make the playoffs, the better teams would have every reason to fear playing us.
5. If the game is close in the 4th Quarter, Russell Wilson can make magic happen, in many different ways. This team always seems to have a chance at the end of the game.
6. Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas are special players who can single-handedly change the complexion of a game. We saw that in the Eagles game.
7. The penaties and general lack of discipline really hurt this team. It's another way that we give crappy teams like the Cardinals a chance against us instead of us blowing them out of the building.
8. I don't know what happened to the pass rush. It still shows up in some games (like the Eagles game) but it was non-existent against the Jags. Frank Clark is an enigma. He looks like a world beater some times and like a no-talent at others. Can't figure him out. Bottom line is that Blake Bortles had all day to sit back in the pocket and get comfortable. And so we made him look like an All-Star.
9. I find the lack of ability to convert 3rd and short maddening. I have never seen a team (and I watch a lot of football) look so inept in that situation. The play calls look horrible, and at times the whole offensive strategy looks like a mess. Sometimes not. But there is definitely not a consistent, positive nature to the play calling.
So my point is simply that I would put our team up against any other in the league, and feel that we can beat anyone. But to say that we are a good team right now, well I just wouldn't say that. We're the reservoir dogs right now, undisciplined and dangerous. If we can just make the playoffs, anything can happen.
