Why is our offense not clicking?

[Sac]

I'm going to throw out an alternative theory, our defense. Our offense goes up against the most stifling defense this league has witnessed in years.....every freaking practice. Offense's are all about timing and it's difficult to get into any kind of rhythm when you are struggling every practice. I imagine our offensive prowess will pick up as the season progresses and we are able to get our timing down, much like last season.

I have been thinking about this theory for a few weeks now. I think it is a very sound theory. Holmgren used to force the defense to back off in practice while Pete pushes his defense to step it up and stop the offense in practice. A personally believe that Carroll's way in the long run will pay more dividends especially when it comes down to playing hard fought games on the road.

I said something similar to this in the pre season. All our defenders have such great length, that in order for RW to complete a pass against them in practice he almost has to over throw the receiver a bit and count on them to go get it, or make finger tip diving catches. I can see him pushing to make throws like that in games too.

If he hits his receivers perfect, in stride against the average opponent it's a good thing. If he tries the same thing against the Legion, it get batted down or picked in practice.

 

[oldhawkfan]

Offenses are always behind the defenses early in the season. Lets see if we are having this same conversation come Monday.

 

[Tech Worlds]

Penalties.

Take them away and look at the production

 

[plyka]

Well besides putting up 300 yards passing the first game, and scoring 29 points against SF the second week..... You know, and being 2-0.

Penalties are really the only issue. I expect that to get cleaned up.

Probably bored with questions from fans who can't come to realize Wilson's 300 yard performance on the road or putting 27 offensive points against the second best D in the league.

Maybe give it a chance

I get a sense that Seahawk fans are the most defensive fans in the entire league, cannot face even an ounce of criticism. The Seahawk offense has not looked good. This is obvious if you look at it objectively. Let's stop acting as though Carolina is the 2002 Ravens, and that route of the 49ers had anything to do with the offense. Don't get me wrong, they haven't been horrible, but they have been far from gravy. Especially Russell Wilson, who while making excellent decisions, has been extremely inaccurate with his passing.

Why have they been doing bad? I'm not sure to be honest. I think it is just early season jitters, the offense just doesn't look in sync. Wilson is superstar caliber, he is playing far below his potential. The WRs corp have sucked it up, the TE's have sucked it up and the oline has been sub par. Will they turn it around? I think so. Tomorrow I'm hoping we see the first signs.

 

[Cartire]

Well besides putting up 300 yards passing the first game, and scoring 29 points against SF the second week..... You know, and being 2-0.

Penalties are really the only issue. I expect that to get cleaned up.

Probably bored with questions from fans who can't come to realize Wilson's 300 yard performance on the road or putting 27 offensive points against the second best D in the league.

Maybe give it a chance

I get a sense that Seahawk fans are the most defensive fans in the entire league, cannot face even an ounce of criticism. The Seahawk offense has not looked good. This is obvious if you look at it objectively. Let's stop acting as though Carolina is the 2002 Ravens, and that route of the 49ers had anything to do with the offense. Don't get me wrong, they haven't been horrible, but they have been far from gravy. Especially Russell Wilson, who while making excellent decisions, has been extremely inaccurate with his passing.

Why have they been doing bad? I'm not sure to be honest. I think it is just early season jitters, the offense just doesn't look in sync. Wilson is superstar caliber, he is playing far below his potential. The WRs corp have sucked it up, the TE's have sucked it up and the oline has been sub par. Will they turn it around? I think so. Tomorrow I'm hoping we see the first signs.

What are you talking about? Its not defensive. ITs reality. A team puts up 300 yards passing and someone says its not clicking, I dont know what you want me to say. A team puts up 29 points against a great defense, and people have issues with the offense.

I said penalties were an issue, and thats really it. I understand that we expect 50 point games everytime, but thats not really realistic, is it?

How about this. Exactly how much production would be acceptable before you too would think that this question is off that mark?

And "Extremely inaccurate"? Check the stats for the carolina game. He made a few bad throws in the first half of the 49ers game (you know, when it was downpouring.) and all of a sudden hes "extremely inaccurate?

Maybe its not so much defensive as it is befuddled.

 

[seahawks08]

I think it is a rhythm thing. They will do.better tomorrow for sure but will that carry over to Houston? That's what I am looking forward too. Being efficient and taking it to a road game. If we are talking Superbowl, defense helps but the offense need to click and should click now as home field advantage is important for making the run. We were not efficient so far, our ROI is not paying off and hopefully that will get fixed. What I don't want is to make a run in the end and not get home field advantage post season. The formula of going to Superbowl should be through clink. Given the offense we have so far, we will be beat by a team like Miami again.

 

[Tical21]

Well besides putting up 300 yards passing the first game, and scoring 29 points against SF the second week..... You know, and being 2-0.

Penalties are really the only issue. I expect that to get cleaned up.

Probably bored with questions from fans who can't come to realize Wilson's 300 yard performance on the road or putting 27 offensive points against the second best D in the league.

Maybe give it a chance

I get a sense that Seahawk fans are the most defensive fans in the entire league, cannot face even an ounce of criticism. The Seahawk offense has not looked good. This is obvious if you look at it objectively. Let's stop acting as though Carolina is the 2002 Ravens, and that route of the 49ers had anything to do with the offense. Don't get me wrong, they haven't been horrible, but they have been far from gravy. Especially Russell Wilson, who while making excellent decisions, has been extremely inaccurate with his passing.

Why have they been doing bad? I'm not sure to be honest. I think it is just early season jitters, the offense just doesn't look in sync. Wilson is superstar caliber, he is playing far below his potential. The WRs corp have sucked it up, the TE's have sucked it up and the oline has been sub par. Will they turn it around? I think so. Tomorrow I'm hoping we see the first signs.

What are you talking about? Its not defensive. ITs reality. A team puts up 300 yards passing and someone says its not clicking, I dont know what you want me to say. A team puts up 29 points against a great defense, and people have issues with the offense.

I said penalties were an issue, and thats really it. I understand that we expect 50 point games everytime, but thats not really realistic, is it?

How about this. Exactly how much production would be acceptable before you too would think that this question is off that mark?

And "Extremely inaccurate"? Check the stats for the carolina game. He made a few bad throws in the first half of the 49ers game (you know, when it was downpouring.) and all of a sudden hes "extremely inaccurate?

Maybe its not so much defensive as it is befuddled.

12 points against possibly the worst secondary in the league is clicking? 3 catches by WR's in a full game against a suspect secondary is clicking? Marshawn Lynch averaging 3.1 YPC is clicking? 1-10 to start a game is clicking?

If this is our version of "clicking", we're a 10 win team at best.

I know there are a myriad of reasons, and I fully expect it to get much better, and by no means am panicking, but to say that our offense has been impressive is kinda ignorant.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

#1: Offensive Line- It just hasn't been as good or as consistent and the injury to Okung doesn't help. Pass Pro has been horrible, bottom 5 in the NFL, give Wilson more time and he'll make better plays.

#2: Penalties/Refereeing- Shooting yourself in the foot doesn't help your momentum nor does ticky tack phantom fouls.

#3: Rice/Tate- They're aren't getting open and making consistent plays as a #1 and #2 should.

#4: Opposing Defenses/ Weather Handicaps: 10 AM Road Opener @ Car in 90 degrees of heat & humidity, Vs SFO in HEAVY RAINFALL and Lightning Storm, Delay, Rivalry

#5: Leadership/Comedic Relief- Not only is Mike Rob gone but as is to a lesser degree Leon Washington and Frank Omiyale. All consummate team players with veteran status. Considering the experience of their replacements you can include Braylon Edwards (Williams), Charly Martin (Kearse), and Anthony McCoy (Willson).

In a more minor factor: there is M-Rob + John Moffitt whose locker-room adventures probably put the team at ease with some good laughs and built up the camaraderie of the players off the field.

#6: Philosophy/ Play-Calling: Going away from M-Rob kind of changed the game plan up especially with Coleman being a little green behind the ears. New wrinkles in the game plan still need to be ironed out while young players needing to gain experience. The team needs time adjusting to those changes while sifting out the plays that are unsuccessful, and strengthening the ones that are successful into the bread and butter of the game-plan.

#7: Two Games into the Season: Rome wasn't built in a day. Maybe if we had a veteran heavy offense we would start faster but again we have the 4th youngest team in the NFL. Youth will make mistakes and suffer more miscues.

#8 Russell Wilson: He's been making some poor decisions and bad throws, nonetheless, he's still statistically better this year than the first two games of 2012. Keep in mind in 2013, he's had worse pass protection and played tougher defenses.

2012 @ARI, Vs DAL

33 for 54, 61%, 303 passing yards, about 5.6 ypa, an 87.6 qb rating with 2 TDs to 1 Int, and a fumble while being sacked 5 times.

2013 @CAR, Vs SFO
33 for 52, 64%, for 462 passing yards, about 8.9 ypa, a 96.8 qb rating with 2 TDs, 1 Int, and a fumble while being sacked 6 times plus taking some nasty lumps that weren't sacks.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Well besides putting up 300 yards passing the first game, and scoring 29 points against SF the second week..... You know, and being 2-0.

Penalties are really the only issue. I expect that to get cleaned up.

Probably bored with questions from fans who can't come to realize Wilson's 300 yard performance on the road or putting 27 offensive points against the second best D in the league.

Maybe give it a chance

I get a sense that Seahawk fans are the most defensive fans in the entire league, cannot face even an ounce of criticism. The Seahawk offense has not looked good. This is obvious if you look at it objectively. Let's stop acting as though Carolina is the 2002 Ravens, and that route of the 49ers had anything to do with the offense. Don't get me wrong, they haven't been horrible, but they have been far from gravy. Especially Russell Wilson, who while making excellent decisions, has been extremely inaccurate with his passing.

Why have they been doing bad? I'm not sure to be honest. I think it is just early season jitters, the offense just doesn't look in sync. Wilson is superstar caliber, he is playing far below his potential. The WRs corp have sucked it up, the TE's have sucked it up and the oline has been sub par. Will they turn it around? I think so. Tomorrow I'm hoping we see the first signs.

What are you talking about? Its not defensive. ITs reality. A team puts up 300 yards passing and someone says its not clicking, I dont know what you want me to say. A team puts up 29 points against a great defense, and people have issues with the offense.

I said penalties were an issue, and thats really it. I understand that we expect 50 point games everytime, but thats not really realistic, is it?

How about this. Exactly how much production would be acceptable before you too would think that this question is off that mark?

And "Extremely inaccurate"? Check the stats for the carolina game. He made a few bad throws in the first half of the 49ers game (you know, when it was downpouring.) and all of a sudden hes "extremely inaccurate?

Maybe its not so much defensive as it is befuddled.

12 points against possibly the worst secondary in the league is clicking? 3 catches by WR's in a full game against a suspect secondary is clicking? Marshawn Lynch averaging 3.1 YPC is clicking? 1-10 to start a game is clicking?

If this is our version of "clicking", we're a 10 win team at best.

I know there are a myriad of reasons, and I fully expect it to get much better, and by no means am panicking, but to say that our offense has been impressive is kinda ignorant.

Do you have issues with putting words into people's mouths? At what point did he say our offense was "impressive"?

 

[AgentDib]

Regardless of how you feel about our offense compared to other offenses, can we agree that our offense has been playing below their own capabilities? Overreaction goes both directions here.

Personally, I agree that our major issue has been the penalties. However, I think another factor to consider is how well our defense has been playing. The goal is not to score a lot of points but rather to win football games, and the better our defense plays the less we "need" out of our offense and the more conservative we can afford to be. If we run into an opponent who manages to move the ball consistently on our defense then I fully expect to see the offense open things up in return out of necessity.

Why do some chime in to caution everyone to be patient? The OP only asked what the issues are, not whether or not they could be fixed. In fact, his first line after that is confidence it will get fixed.

Many people who identify strongly as fans connect how they think to how the team must be thinking. Every fan forum on the internet is full of posts about staying confident, not overlooking a particular opponent, or not "making excuses" about certain difficulties. The time zone threads here are an example, with many posters downplaying the effects of travel due to a fervent wish that if they just believe it does not matter then it will not impact the team either. I think we all tend to think like this from time to time; it strikes me as one of the basic illogical principles of being a sports fan.

 

[TwilightError]

About Rice, he will not make the team next year if he doesnt seriously start producing. He has had a few good catches but the end zone drop and many ball spinnings (only one got penalized) are not the reason for his massive salary. Pete said in Brock&Danny that the spinning penalty was a good call, so it seems he has been trying to talk to Rice about it but he hasnt taken note. One more and he should be benched. A good player but his effort does not match with his salary right now. I hope he proves me wrong and kills it the rest of the season!

 

[Tical21]

Impressive, you know, the opposite of not impressive.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Pessimistic, you know, the opposite of not optimistic.

 

[FDNYHAWK]

I'm not really sure. We started off slow in both playoff games last yr and both games this yr.
I think it's a combination of o line, play calling and Wilson not being accurate the first couple of series.
I did love the 2 80 yard drives vs the 49ers last week in the second half

 

[RichNhansom]

Regardless of how you feel about our offense compared to other offenses, can we agree that our offense has been playing below their own capabilities? Overreaction goes both directions here.

Personally, I agree that our major issue has been the penalties. However, I think another factor to consider is how well our defense has been playing. The goal is not to score a lot of points but rather to win football games, and the better our defense plays the less we "need" out of our offense and the more conservative we can afford to be. If we run into an opponent who manages to move the ball consistently on our defense then I fully expect to see the offense open things up in return out of necessity.

Why do some chime in to caution everyone to be patient? The OP only asked what the issues are, not whether or not they could be fixed. In fact, his first line after that is confidence it will get fixed.

Many people who identify strongly as fans connect how they think to how the team must be thinking. Every fan forum on the internet is full of posts about staying confident, not overlooking a particular opponent, or not "making excuses" about certain difficulties. The time zone threads here are an example, with many posters downplaying the effects of travel due to a fervent wish that if they just believe it does not matter then it will not impact the team either. I think we all tend to think like this from time to time; it strikes me as one of the basic illogical principles of being a sports fan.

Very good point AD.

I think balanced might be a better description. That and slow starting. Carolina numbers ended up pretty good for Wilson but the running game was all but absent. The Running numbers against SF ended up impressive but the passing was off. Both games were very slow offensively in both run and pass in the first half.

I don't know the answer but practicing against our D could definitely cause some insecurity and would coincide with getting more comfortable as the game went on.

I personally would like to see more of a high percentage dink and dunk game to start the games out. It feels like we are trying for to big a strike early and are misfiring and opponents defenses are stacking the box early trying to shut down the running game while getting pressure on Wilson and having success because we are taking to long for plays to develop. Start of like Alex Smith was our QB and stretch the field as the game progress's. Eat up the clock and TOP and gain confidence while you dissect the opponents defensive strategy. It would also help our lineman to have less time trying to block and would help in stifling blitz's.

I think we see Bevel's ability to adjust and improve as the game goes on and most notably in the second half but I am questioning why they brought in Harvin if the short game is that hard to execute. Bring in Christine Michael to play the role Harvin will play when he returns or move Tate into that role periodically but we should be able to execute a simplified dink and dunk offense and those usually have better success against good defenses. Look at the GB game last year. We demoralized them in the first half when Rogers was holding the ball to long and waiting for plays to develop. The second half they shortened up the game and started throwing underneath and took control of the game. Had they started that game out the other way, we probably lose that game.

 

[Sarlacc83]

We talked about our offense being a Ferrari all season.

However, if your Ferrari isn't in tune, it's going to be a mess. (Oversimplification, yadda yadda yadda) No pre-season together + crappy line play + (IMO) No Mike Rob = underwhelming results.

 

[AbsolutNET]

Absolutely. This week needs to be focused on coming out of the gates with some rhythm and getting Russ comfortable with getting the ball out of his hand quickly. Our pass pro hasn't been great and I think Bevell is dying to make us a 2 back, 1 TE power running team, but we just aren't. Hopefully he is happy spreading the D out and running, because that's where we're successful.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

Pessimistic, you know, the opposite of not optimistic.

Huh?

 

[seahawks08]

Why do some chime in to caution everyone to be patient? The OP only asked what the issues are, not whether or not they could be fixed. In fact, his first line after that is confidence it will get fixed.

Yes, thank you, that's exactly what I meant. I am not complaining, I don't plan to coach either . As a fan, its a nice topic to discuss about.

 

[davidonmi]

Penalties, line, and no WR separation.