What the Atlanta game showed me...

[Double Tribble]

....was just how good RW is when he has time to throw and isn't having to scramble for his life. Not just good, but flawlessly good. Wow. The OL had better be a major focus this offseason, obviously.

I thought not having Rice was going to be noticeable, but Kearse, Tate and Baldwin are proving to be a very effective trio. Sweeeet! Can't wait to see how Harvin gels into the mix as well over time. One more big bodied speedster would be awesome.

Having Mrob back is huge for Marshawn. Is it any coincidence the beast busts out for a buck forty-five with MRob back at full force blocking for him? I think not.

Tate's returns are great, but I still miss the major return threat Leon brought. Sigh. And I'd rather not risk Harvin in that role if he proves to be as dynamic a receiver as we all hope he will be.

Those are just a few obvious things I noted as a casual observer. Carry on 12's.

 

[skater18000]

Not super concerned about our offensive line, if Bailey, Bowie and Lemuel are back ups, I think we're fine

 

[Ruminator]

....was just how good RW is when he has time to throw and isn't having to scramble for his life. Not just good, but flawlessly good.

Thought we all knew that and were just waiting for the OL to get their act together, but yes, RW is a freak QB when he has room and time.

 

[firebee]

Hate to be the one that bursts everybody's bubble, but let's remember Atlanta has one of the worst pass rushing defenses in the league this year. So... Let's not get caught thinking our O Line problems have been fixed completely. Our backups appeared to play admirably well, but we could see another game or two like the Bucs game with Minnesota and New Orleans coming up, both good pass rushing defenses.

Bright side: The Saints and Vikings are having some serious issues with stopping the run. They've been getting gashed with power, inside zones and traps. Matter of fact, ironically, it appears the Saints and Vikings are having the same issues our defense was having with run fits. They let their front overpursue and lose control of gaps on the pass rush, which has been creating nice running lanes for their opponents. Bring Skittles and keep the ball away from the opponent's offense.

 

[kearly]

I think our days of atrocious protection are probably over. Not that our protection was ever terrific, but the Coleman situation fouled up our run game, which allowed teams to attack the pass more, which made things much worse when McQuistan and a 7th round rookie became our starting tackles, and then in the midst of this perfectly bad situation, Seattle drew teams with ass-kicking pass rushers such as the 49ers, Texans, and Rams. Even the Cardinals defense is pretty tough.

Now Seattle is facing far less extreme pass rush conditions, with Mike Rob back where he belongs, with a running game that is taking off. If not for a "Sene-sack" by Wilson in Atlanta, Seattle would be sack free the last two games. As could have been predicted.

There are still some tough games left for protection. The Saints, 49ers, Rams, and Cardinals. Maybe the Giants. But the good news is that we'll have our fully healthy line for all those games, and each of those teams are going to be game planning for Lynch first, Wilson second.

If Seattle does draft OL early this next offseason, it won't be out of desperation, but luxury.

 

[HawkMeat]

Not super concerned about our offensive line, if Bailey, Bowie and Lemuel are back ups, I think we're fine

Well, the HUGE positive about Bailey and Bowie is they will be solid depth now that they have played almost half the season as starters! I am sure the FO will target OL in the draft but who knows in what round. I wouldn't be surprised if they use a late pick again and target defense players first and another playmaker on offense.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

Did I see RW taking a nap after one snap looking for his wide receivers to get into position for the throw..Or was I imagining it? It seemed that way on a couple of plays where he had easily 5-7 seconds to throw. Did someone in DENVER now do some commercials like that? LOL Go HAWKS.

 

[nsport]

I thought not having Rice was going to be noticeable, but Kearse, Tate and Baldwin are proving to be a very effective trio. Sweeeet! Can't wait to see how Harvin gels into the mix as well over time.

I had a similar thought. Not having a monster receiver means we have four interchangeable parts, which I believe puts extra stress on the defense. Even Lockette was put in to put pressure on the deep part of the field. A little execution on blocking adds a really nice element to our offense.

 

[Hawks46]

I honestly wasn't too concerned about losing Rice. He's the tallest WR we had left, but RW wasn't throwing him too many jump balls, meaning Baldwin could've stepped up and made the catches Rice was making (ironically enough, Baldwin and Rice both make some amazing sideline catches). Kearse is healthier and probably quicker at this point in his career; he's already getting better separation than Rice was. I have a pretty good feeling where we are going to get a good chunk of our cap savings next year.

I read Kearly's post and I was thinking "wow, he seriously isn't worried about Allen and Robison off the edges for Minnesota?" Then I remembered that we're getting Okung and Giacommini back. If they can stay healthy...wow. Both guys are not only better in pass pro than we've been seeing, but better in run blocking overall. Okung is very underrated as a run blocker; he moves guys. I think our run game will actually get better when they get back.

10-1 going into the bye just sounds amazing.

 

[McGruff]

What the Atlanta game showed me is that we've played some incredible lines that made our makeshift OL look very bad. And that when we play a bad line, our makeshift OL can look average.

The improvement in recent weeks has nothing to do with our OL playing better. It has everything to do with better play calling by Bevell and weaker competition overall.

The main encouraging thing to me was seeing our defense take on its third horrid rushing team Ina row and NOT giving up 200 yards for a change.

 

[Ad Hawk]

The improvement in recent weeks has nothing to do with our OL playing better. It has everything to do with better play calling by Bevell and weaker competition overall.

There may be some truth in what you're saying, but this is overstatement. The O-Line can't but be improving with playing together, and they did pick up some blitz packages that Atl threw our way. Also, getting a chance to put both Bailey and Bowie in, and move them around, has only given Cable more tools to play with.

Hopefully we'll keep our first-string line for a while; but if one guy goes out, we should cover the deficiency better now than before.

 

[formido]

What the Atlanta game showed me is that we've played some incredible lines that made our makeshift OL look very bad. And that when we play a bad line, our makeshift OL can look average.

The improvement in recent weeks has nothing to do with our OL playing better. It has everything to do with better play calling by Bevell and weaker competition overall.

The main encouraging thing to me was seeing our defense take on its third horrid rushing team Ina row and NOT giving up 200 yards for a change.

Partly true but Bailey was much better than McQuistan when he was in, so that's genuine improvement. Now that the coaches have seen it, that bodes well if there are future injuries on the line. Many people have been calling for the Bailey experiment for several weeks. Just another bit of evidence suggesting that the staff is not perfect and fans can rightly question some decisions.

Lost in the pass blocking woes, the line deserves kudos for doing a very good job run blocking this whole year. That matters and that's as responsible as anything for our best record ever to this point in the season.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The improvement in recent weeks has nothing to do with our OL playing better. It has everything to do with better play calling by Bevell and weaker competition overall..

I wouldn't say "nothing to do with."

If I had to apply a percentage, I'd say it's 20% our O-Line improving, and 80% who we played. When you play as poorly as this make shift line played against the Rams, there's ALWAYS room for improvement.......and I think we've seen that the past two weeks.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Hate to be the one that bursts everybody's bubble, but let's remember Atlanta has one of the worst pass rushing defenses in the league this year. So... Let's not get caught thinking our O Line problems have been fixed completely. Our backups appeared to play admirably well, but we could see another game or two like the Bucs game with Minnesota and New Orleans coming up, both good pass rushing defenses.

Oh, don't bring context into it. You'll only be raining on people's parade.

 

[DavidSeven]

Wilson is a 100 rated passer with the worst protection in the league. He's easily 110+ with even decent protection. We saw it at the end of last season. And he's better this year.

 

[griffonks]

I dont get to watch a lot of Hawks games, but I dont think they have the worst line in the league. The Broncos lost two OT's for the year.

RG III is running for his life, Dolphins line is now decimated and there are others.

The Hawks are gonna get their tackles back and be BAD A$$ed.

 

[McGruff]

Every statistical analysis puts the Seahawks in the bottom two or three offensive lines in pass protection.

 

[NavySeaHawk]

Offensive line improved via experience, and the results of the game give the O line confidence in and amongst themselves.

Starters are back and will rotate in and out with capable back ups. Not the greatest protection consistently with the starters
out with injury, but enough to achieve wins in the standings. Basically im not worried about the o line.