The Seattle Seahawks are close to the end of all playoff dreams after their clear 7:42 defeat of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The deep strokes, which never cease in the form of injuries, eventually took their toll, while the offense revealed well-known problems. And so, in the face of a potentially turbulent off-season, the question arises: is a great era coming to an end in Seattle?
If the Seahawks had a critical home game late in the season in the past few years – one can confidently go back at least until 2013 – two things were clear: the stadium would go crazy. And, in most cases, Seattle would somehow win the game.
Not always nice or convincing, but marked by huge ambition, incredible internal competition, a spectacularly occupied, dominant defense and a quarterback that can drive a defensive coordinator and his unconventional lay into madness.
A few weeks ago this feeling was felt again when Seattle beat the Philadelphia Eagles at home at prime time. The Seahawks defied the best defensive front of the season despite their lazy offensive line, defensively holding their ground against the big play openers of the Eagles, despite the defensive failures of their time – first and foremost came Chancellor and Richard Sherman.
The bankruptcy against the Rams on Sunday, however, makes this game appear far in the rearview mirror, with Seattle’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread. It’s the first year of Russell Wilson, when the Seahawks miss the playoffs.
And possibly also a far-reaching upheaval after the season.
Head coach Pete Carroll did not mince his words after his defeat against the Rams, which was as clear as never before in Seattle under Carroll. The attackers were “unable to give an answer”, Carroll made it very clear in view of the early leadership of the division’s rival,”which allowed them to get the pass rush going as they wanted it to. And it allowed them to play their run game.”
Carroll went on and emphasized that Wilson had not been accurate enough in his passes after the Jacksonville bankruptcy in the second game in a row. And he openly stated that it was “disappointing and frustrating” to see Jimmy Graham have a total of five targets and a catch for -1 yard over the last two games:”We need him in an active role, and we definitely need him there earlier.
These clear statements fit in with a team whose core needs to be understood when assessing the situation. Like no other franchise, Seattle encourages players to have and share their own opinions. Unconditionally open communication to the outside world is also written in capital letters, which became clear again in the trade rumours surrounding Richard Sherman in the spring. This leads to a collection of strong and unique characters, especially in defense.
It is also a reason for the success of this team in recent years. And it sometimes leads to the fact that the extreme will to win, even in training, can be noticed within the Seahawks. This was also the case on Sunday, when Earl Thomas publicly questioned whether Bobby Wagner should have played in the face of his thigh blessings – and shot back with a poisonous tweet. Carroll played down the incident promptly at the beginning of the week.
The dispute between the Defense Columns, which arose out of frustration over defeat, is in any case not the story Seattle had about the game against LA. I should take with me. Rather the fact that my own pass rush was shaking again in the current season. That the Run-Defense with a beaten Wagner and without the injured K. J. Wright by Todd Gurley. And that – and this is where the view of the possible upheaval begins – the offense was once again massively inconsistent.
Wilson collected seven sacks against the Rams, with 61 percent of his dropbacks being created by Defense Pressure. Guard Luke Joeckel, one of the biggest Seahawks newcomers in the off-season, allowed two sacks, two hits and three hurries, and Duane Brown, who signed via trade during the season, had his worst game in the Seahawks’ jersey. Carroll promptly explained at the beginning of the week that the trades for Brown and Sheldon Richardson “have not yet” worked as the team had hoped.
Seattle’s offense, which came over the 49-yard line of the Rams when it was already 0:40, often lacks a concrete plan. Also because the offensive line mostly forbids that. Instead, the Seahawks often seem to bet that Wilson can win a game more or less alone in and especially outside the pocket. We regularly look for a clear identity on this side of the ball.
The Run Game was supposed to be this identity, Carroll had emphasized before the season that they wanted to attack again “completely”. Seattle had already revealed many of the offensive problems that characterize the current season last year. At that time, the Seahawks had under 500 Rushing attempts again for the first time since 2012, and that was drastic: Only 403 runs ended up in the end.
This was publicly denounced by the team, but injuries and disappointments in the backfield as well as the line prevent the run game from being able to carry the offense. Currently the Seahawks are on course for 408 runs.
There is no question that something must be done aggressively. The Seahawks have put resources into the line in recent years (Joeckel, Brown, Germain Ifedi) and the success is more than moderate. This may also be due to the general orientation of the offense, which has changed philosophically with the commitment of Graham. And that’s not only because Max Unger left the Center Unger in return and the line was severely weakened at a critical point.
At that time, they deliberately took a step away from the run game, towards more focus on the passing game – only to not be able to get Graham involved in the offense for a while. This was achieved this year at least as Red Zone Threat, Graham stands at nine touchdowns and is one of the best Red Zone weapons of the season. On the other hand, however, it stands at only 8.9 yards per catch (career low) and has been completely submerged over the past three weeks with 0.31 yards per route run.
Graham’s contract expires after the season, he collects ten million dollars in the current season and is now 31 years old. Regardless of all the qualities in the Red Zone, Seattle could rely on more versatile tight ends to increase run-blocking. The Seahawks no longer have Marshawn Lynch, who could equalize line weaknesses with absurd stats in terms of yards after opponent contact and Forced Missed Tackles. The offensive line must therefore function better.
Page 1: Clear words from Carroll, the Run Game and the Fall Jimmy Graham
Page 2: The End of an Era in Defense – and the Reorientation Question