We just don't match up well with St. Louis

[TwistedHusky]

While the rain may have played some part, I doubt it was the reason we lost.

And I disagree with the assessment that we "mailed it in".

We seem to have strengths and weaknesses that are perfectly offset by the Rams.

It is also important to point out we were missing Okung, Kam & Lynch. I actually believe that with Rawls we win this game, but there have been quite a few Rams games that came down to the wire. Even in the SB years.

In fact, I seem to remember a Rams game where they were starting some backup 278th string QB (Clemens I believe) that was only sealed by a great goalline play. We always struggle against these guys.

Combine that with the several games we have lost due to weird plays (this one with all the fumbles we could have had seems to count), and the Rams just have our number.

Myself, with some of the late plays on Wilson I would have cut them dirty. Get a guy engaged with OL or TE and then send a FB for the knees - would have been worth the 15 as far as I am concerned. Just make sure you only do it to the guys that were putting dirty hits out. But Carroll doesn't play in the dirt like Fischer, so it is what it is.

Either way, I don't think it signals a problem with effort or preparation, the Rams matchup with us well, even when we beat them it is just barely. Unless we ever meet the Rams in the playoffs it isn't a huge issue.

What it does show is that the sudden "resurgence" of the Seahawks might be more a product of the ridiculously weak or hobbled opponents we have faced. Even beating the Steelers doesn't look so fantastic considering the Steelers are getting pilloried for their defense lately.

But we do know that Wilson can win a shootout, we can win if we give up more than 24 points, and we have a potentially very good RB of the future in the wings. All that means the future is looking much brighter, but it is also clear that without Lynch (or Rawls) and without Kam - this team is nowhere near as good on each side of the ball. So combine that with no Okung against a great DL? The game was likely over before the coin flip.

It does, however, give a pretty good indicator that if this team wants to do anything in the playoffs, it better learn to counter cheap shots with consequences. Otherwise, it is going to keep seeing this crap. And I say this as a player who cheated and played dirty in every sport he ever played - playing dirty continues because it is effective. You stop it when it hurts to play that way, otherwise it is just going to continue because that is what the player knows works.

 

[IBleedBlueAndGreen]

The Rams have five first round picks on their defensive line. The Seahawks have four first round picks on their roster.

 

[kearly]

The Seahawks struggle against the Rams... when they have Wilson hold the ball and expect street FA level talents block elite pass rushers for 4+ seconds. During Seattle's five game hot streak they were getting the ball out quickly and making the line look good. Why did that change on Sunday? My only guess is that injuries to the pass catching group had a big impact on Wilson finding quality pre-snap reads.

Even with some horrifically poor execution and game planning, if you just look at the box score it's pretty clear that Seattle outplayed the Rams. The Hawks had 50% more yardage and won all the main stats other than turnovers and penalties, and both of those categories seemed insanely luck based on Sunday. There were also some points taken off the board by bad calls against Seattle.

The game reminded me a lot of Super Bowl 40. I'm glad it was meaningless.

 

[ivotuk]

The Seahawks struggle against the Rams... when they have Wilson hold the ball and expect street FA level talents block elite pass rushers for 4+ seconds. During Seattle's five game hot streak they were getting the ball out quickly and making the line look good. Why did that change on Sunday? My only guess is that injuries to the pass catching group had a big impact on Wilson finding quality pre-snap reads.

Even with some horrifically poor execution and game planning, if you just look at the box score it's pretty clear that Seattle outplayed the Rams. The Hawks had 50% more yardage and won all the main stats other than turnovers and penalties, and both of those categories seemed insanely luck based on Sunday. There were also some points taken off the board by bad calls against Seattle.

The game reminded me a lot of Super Bowl 40. I'm glad it was meaningless.

We only have 5 WR and 3 TE, and if you exclude the Practice Squad talent, that's 3 WR and 1 TE. IIRC, in Pete's interview he said they started Kasen Williams because of concern over ADB. Then we lost Luke Willson, so our receiving core was basically down to Kearse, Helfet, Williams and Smith with Lockett getting dinged.

Carroll interview on DD&M: http://mynorthwest.com/category/pod_pla ... nd%20Moore

 

[ivotuk]

If it hadn't been for the Tukuafu fumble return for a touchdown, this would have been a completely different game.

Just one bad play, a helmet on the ball, and it's out. I don't blame Will for that fumble, it was a great/lucky play by the DB and Ayers.

 

[Ozzy]

I hated the playcall to the fullback right at the dline. See what Michael can do there.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

The Rams have five first round picks on their defensive line. The Seahawks have four first round picks on their roster.

And three more Halas trophies than the Rams this century.

 

[seedhawk]

After every Rams game it sure seems to me that their D-line understands Cables zone blocking scheme better than our O-line does. They just always seem to be in the right spot at the right time.

 

[Chrome_Seahawk]

We also went Empty FAR too often and left the OL on an Island - While we weren't running the ball very effectively, I would have preferred that we at least showed the THREAT of a run to keep the defense a little more honest. Going empty gave their pass rushers too many opportunities to just pin their ears back and rush.

I'd love to see some stats on Empty sets - it seems like we run them more than any other team in the league.

 

[NOLAHawk]

Say what you want,but we are a long way from the 'you mad bro?' Defense. Yes we're awesome but we're without kickass. The Rams are built to beat us. We're built to beat us. Case frigging Keenum.

 

[scutterhawk]

The Seahawks struggle against the Rams... when they have Wilson hold the ball and expect street FA level talents block elite pass rushers for 4+ seconds. During Seattle's five game hot streak they were getting the ball out quickly and making the line look good. Why did that change on Sunday? My only guess is that injuries to the pass catching group had a big impact on Wilson finding quality pre-snap reads.

Even with some horrifically poor execution and game planning, if you just look at the box score it's pretty clear that Seattle outplayed the Rams. The Hawks had 50% more yardage and won all the main stats other than turnovers and penalties, and both of those categories seemed insanely luck based on Sunday. There were also some points taken off the board by bad calls against Seattle.

The game reminded me a lot of Super Bowl 40. I'm glad it was meaningless.

The OP is right, Fisher & Williams pull all the stops out when playing the Seahawks, they use whatever dirty tactics that they can get away with, They've gotten away with almost every single dirty play in the book while playing Pete Carrol's Seahawks ,and they will continue to do it....I mean Hey, why not, the League doesn't seem to give a shit.
LUCK, ya, that's a good one LOL.
Pete Carroll prides himself in playing the game the right way, tackling in a way that features safety first and his playoff wins reflect that, and in fact, a lot of schools are trying to emulate his programs, now Fisher? yeah, not so much.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

The Seahawks struggle against the Rams... when they have Wilson hold the ball and expect street FA level talents block elite pass rushers for 4+ seconds. During Seattle's five game hot streak they were getting the ball out quickly and making the line look good. Why did that change on Sunday? My only guess is that injuries to the pass catching group had a big impact on Wilson finding quality pre-snap reads.

Even with some horrifically poor execution and game planning, if you just look at the box score it's pretty clear that Seattle outplayed the Rams. The Hawks had 50% more yardage and won all the main stats other than turnovers and penalties, and both of those categories seemed insanely luck based on Sunday. There were also some points taken off the board by bad calls against Seattle.

The game reminded me a lot of Super Bowl 40. I'm glad it was meaningless.

Part of that was down and distance issues because of a non-existent run game. I'm think 4+ seconds is an exaggeration in most cases. I DO think Bevell ditched the short passes too early in the second half though. Pushed out of his comfort zone, he may have reverted to his all-or-nothing approach to passing. The Rams knew they didn't need to respect the run, so everyone just kept the ball in front of them. It blows when they can consistently bring enough heat with 3-4 rushers. I have to believe Okung and Willson would have made a noticeable difference. Too much of a ripple effect with those two out.

Looks like Okung may be out again as well as Sweezy, and Willson still hasn't made it though concussion protocol. That should get VERY interesting against the Tards. I hope a light goes on for Bailey because Russ doesn't need blind-side protection failing on top of all the other weaknesses along the OL.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

The OP is right, Fisher & Williams pull all the stops out when playing the Seahawks, they use whatever dirty tactics that they can get away with, They've gotten away with almost every single dirty play in the book while playing Pete Carrol's Seahawks ,and they will continue to do it....I mean Hey, why not, the League doesn't seem to give a shit.
LUCK, ya, that's a good one LOL.
Pete Carroll prides himself in playing the game the right way, tackling in a way that features safety first and his playoff wins reflect that, and in fact, a lot of schools are trying to emulate his programs, now Fisher? yeah, not so much.

Pete Caroll's tough-guy mentality is a good thing in most cases, but I think it causes him to let dirty play like this slide. It's ok if you look the other way for creative holding and PI, because that happens with all teams and doesn't really increase the risk of injury. Where he REALLY should draw a line is when terribly-coached teams like STL consistently deliver late hits, lead with their helmet, etc. The most blatant STL 'tackle' was the guy who dived helmet-first into RW's knee. Not only is that dirty, it's a loser mentality of trying to remove threats, so you don't have to compete as hard. Kind of like a rabbit punch in boxing, only worse.

This is already a league of attrition when playing by the rules. We really don't need knuckle heads trying to push the injury envelope to gain a competitive edge, while regarding their pursuit of this practice the same way as they would something like a NON-career-threatening turnover. Those two coaches seem to live back in the day when Lambert was clotheslining receivers and concussions were something you shook off. Somebody needs to give them a reality check.

How the league can do nothing as they watch Fisher and Bounty Gate Greg thumb their nose at player safety is beyond me. I guarantee Those two schmucks are laughing because, as they disregard the rules that most other teams follow, their players won't often be on the receiving end of such low-brow 'crap.' Why the Rams keep Fisher is beyond me, and Greg Williams is proving he didn't deserve a second chance. The dude shouldn't be anywhere near football at any level.

 

[Seanhawk]

The Rams have five first round picks on their defensive line. The Seahawks have four first round picks on their roster.

And three more Halas trophies than the Rams this century.

2 more. The Rams went to the Owl in 2001.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

In spite of how horribly we seem to match up with St. Louis, that was their first win in Seattle since before the days of Joe Jurevicius.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

After every Rams game it sure seems to me that their D-line understands Cables zone blocking scheme better than our O-line does. They just always seem to be in the right spot at the right time.

Knowing this, I don't understand why our coaches refuse to play more man blocking with a power running scheme against them. Our OL has demonstrated they can do it when called upon. But hey, why simplify when you can stay complicated enough confuse yourself against all of the stuff they dial up. It's almost like The Rams 'zag' to 'zigs' they already know will happen, and they certainly have the physical prowess to execute that.

If's goofy, I tell ya! We know them as well as they know us, but we have get to effectively exploit any of that knowledge.