Seahawks win in sloppy fashion

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Tennessee Titans 20 -13 in what was easily their sloppiest performance of the season (at least as far as handling the football). Getting the victory is obviously the most important thing, but it is concerning that the Seahawks have not played up to their potential for two weeks straight now. The difference this week, however, is that Seattle had home field advantage and was able to overcome their mistakes. You can blame it on injuries if you want to, and that is most certainly part of it, but injuries are not responsible for mishandling the football! The Seahawks ended up turning the ball over twice on fumbles by Sidney Rice and Chris Maragos when he suddenly had to be the place holder (okay that one you can blame on injury). Of course Maragos dropped the snap because why not? And of course the Titans returned it all the way back for a touchdown just before half time. Honestly, the score should not have been as close as it was, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Overall the Seahawks dropped the ball five times and were extremely lucky not to turn it over a third time.

The Beast is hungry! / AP Photo: Elaine Thompson

The saving grace of this game has to go to Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, and Earl Thomas. Russell Wilson did not throw for a touchdown, but he did pass the ball for 257 yards and ran for another 61 without turning the ball over; he was constantly keeping the drive alive like he always does. He was absolutely tremendous! Marshawn Lynch was perhaps even more fantastic today running for 77 yards and two touchdowns while tacking on another 78 yards receiving for 155 all-purpose yards. Lynch actually led the team in receiving; I am not sure but I’d guess that is the first time ever for Beast Mode. He did, however, fumble the ball away in the play where Russell Wilson was lucky to recover.

On the other side of the ball, both Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas came away with an interception. Earl Thomas picked one off early on an overthrow by Ryan Fitzpatrick, but his presence was greatly felt all game long. Thomas’ skill and speed never seizes to amaze me. If J. J. Watt is not the greatest defensive player in football, then it has to be Earl Thomas. Richard Sherman stole a pass from Fitzpatrick on a throw where he was tightly covering Nate Washington. The interception came as no surprise because Sherman is Sherman, and also because Ryan Fitzpatrick was throwing the ball poorly all game long. The energy seemed to completely tilt in the Seahawks’ direction after the INT, and Lynch was able to punch it in for a touchdown. The legion of boom, in general, was really good today - Titans’ receivers were able to make a few plays, but nothing really damaging.

The Seahawks face a short week as they travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. That doesn’t exactly leave a lot of time to fix mistakes, but it has got to be addressed. Last week the Seahawks’ defense basically gave the Colts points and opportunities because of broken plays, but they seemed to address those issues this week as the defense looked a lot more fluid. Seattle cannot expect to march into the University of Phoenix Stadium and mishandle the football as many times as they did today and still come away with the victory. With that being said, I trust that they will be a lot better next week. My early prediction is that we beat the Cardinals by 10 points and leave Arizona with an overall record of 6 – 1. The Seahawks should then look forward to a long week where they will have some additional time to heal, and prepare for their second consecutive divisional game against the Rams in St. Louis.

Go Hawks!

Seahawks suffer first loss of the season

Seattle loses a close one to the Indianapolis Colts (34 – 28). I thought this game would be close, but only because of the injuries to the Seattle Seahawks. Upon learning that TE Zach Miller would also be out because of a new hamstring injury, I grew more concerned but still felt like Seattle would beat the Indianapolis Colts. As it turns out it was a close game, but our offensive line was not abused like they were a week before against the Houston Texans’ defense. It was a close game because overall the Colts played well, and the Seahawks did not. Yes, the officiating was bad, but it wasn’t like Seattle got all the bad calls, either. I will say this: the defensive pass interference call against Richard Sherman that shouldn’t have been late in the 4^th quarter was an absolute killer, but the Seahawks were still in position to win the game and failed. Ultimately, it was our own mistakes that finally caught up to us this week. The Seahawks deserved to lose this game because of huge mistakes on defense, and on special teams. Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond III, in particular, were not very good this game. Additionally, I do not recall at the moment how much room Sidney Rice had to work with on 4^th down at the end of the game, but you have got to come back towards your quarterback and help him out. Sidney Rice did Russell Wilson no favors by standing on the sideline and allowing an interception. You HAVE to attack the ball. With all that being said, Seattle at their best would have never let Indianapolis back into this game in the first place. 

Hats off to the Colts. As a Seahawks’ fan I should be thrilled with a 4 – 1 record, but this game still leaves a sour taste in my mouth when 5 – 0 was within our grasp. Even though I am just a spectator, the competitiveness inside of me wants to win every single game. I keep trying to remind myself that historically going undefeated was very unlikely, especially with our schedule – so it is best to just accept it and move forward. Despite not playing our best football, the ‘Hawks will learn from this game; move forward, and get better because they are a great team. I fully expect the ‘Hawks to bounce back in a big way next week against the Tennessee Titans.

 
Go Hawks!

Still think Seattle isn't a very good team on the road?

             Once again the Seattle Seahawks find themselves in position for what many consider to be the game of the week. There has been a lot of talk this week leading up to the game about the two second year stud quarterbacks: Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. All the talk about those two is well deserved because they may be the two best young quarterbacks in the NFL today. Others, however, have spent some time talking about how the Colts’ will win this game because Seattle is not a very good team on the road. If you are a fan of the Indianapolis Colts, or just someone who is hoping for the Seattle Seahawks to lose because it will benefit your team, or any other reason at all; I am here to tell you that if you are still hanging on to the presumption that Seattle is not a very good road team, well, that simply just is not true. Seattle has won five of their last six road games, with their one loss in that stretch coming against the Atlanta Falcons in the last 30 seconds of the divisional round playoff game last season. I challenge you to check and see which other teams lost in Atlanta last year too. Additionally, Seattle had their backs against the wall last week against a very tough Houston Texans team, and they were able to rise up and overcome by not allowing a single score to the Texans’ in the second half. That should scare you.

Photo: Patric Schneider

If it doesn’t, then you are either in denial or simply not paying attention. If you want to look at the first half of the season last year before the playbook became open to Russell Wilson, or the recent years before that, then knock yourself out. Those games mean nothing to the present.

            Still not buying in to the fact that Seattle has overcome their road woes? Well, I decided to compare Seattle to another team that is widely regarded as one of the better teams in the league, yet I never seem to hear much chatter about how bad they are on the road. The team I am referring to was a playoff team last year, and there is a good possibility that they will return to the playoffs this season as well. Over the past six road games dating back to last season around the same time that Seattle opened up the playbook for Russell Wilson, this team has won a total of ONE single game. They are the exact opposite of what the Hawks’ have been able to accomplish. The team I am referring to is none other than the Green Bay Packers. In that span they have lost to the 49ers twice, with one of those losses coming in the divisional round of the playoffs last season. The other losses were in the regular season against the Seahawks (granted it was possibly the worst officiated game ever), the Colts, and most recently the Bengals. Their one victory came against the Houston Texans. On the other hand, Seattle beat the Texans, Panthers, Bears, Bills, and the Redskins in the NFC Wild Card playoff game last season. If you are still not buying in then please tell me why Seattle is a bad road team and Green Bay is not. If I have changed your thought to the fact that Green Bay is bad on the road, then still tell me why Seattle is, because I don’t see it.

            I do agree with everyone else that Seattle has a big advantage when playing at home. The 12’s are amazing. And I do think that road games are always tougher, regardless of whichever team we’re talking about. Denver has been another amazing team this season, but I guarantee you that a game against the Dallas Cowboys would be easier at home than it will be on the road this Sunday. Do I still believe the Broncos will win? Sure I do, but it will be more of a challenge.

            If the game against the Colts were at the CLink this Sunday then I would feel better about a victory this weekend, despite our current offensive line situation. But it is not. The Colts are a strong team, and what Andrew Luck has done with them has been nothing short of fantastic. Without Luck, no way they make the playoffs last season. I do not think Russell Wilson will be in constant danger like he was against the Texans’ defensive pressure, but he will be pressured. Then again, Seattle is just now getting Irvin back and our pressure should just now start to reach its full potential… yeah, Andrew Luck could be in for a long day. Seattle over Indy here, there, everywhere; it doesn’t matter. If Seattle were to lose tomorrow, however, I promise you it is not because they are a bad road team. It will simply because they were challenged on the road against a good Indianapolis Colts team.

Go Hawks!