2016 Seattle Seahawks - HMD no more

DanoooME

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Went to the game Sunday. A really amazing experience for me, as it was my first Hawks game in person. Some quick notes:

* Even my wife noticed the crowd was friendly, even to Dolphins fans, of which there were quite a few at this game. The only sad thing for them was the majority of folks wearing jerseys had on Marino or Zach Thomas, almost no current players. I saw one Tannehill, one Cameron Wake and a couple of Suhs and that was about it.
* Crowd never got angry drunk, even when the Hawks fell behind with 4 minutes to go. Lots of happy drunks and the mood never got dark. It was almost like they knew there was a good shot at a comeback.
* The crowd chants were great, really enthusiastic. The entire crowd stood and made noise while the defense was on the field (and it got really loud, as I expected), and you could hear watches ticking when the offense was on the field.
* The stadium is just awesome, lots of room everywhere, nothing felt cramped even with a sellout as usual. The North Plaza had plenty of entertainment pre-game and the whole thing was generally a blast. Seats were roomy, even up where we were in the nosebleeds.
* Went to a Friday night free happy hour-type event at the stadium where they had a DJ, games, and the opportunity for free autographs from my 2 favorite Seahawks of all time, Steve Largent and Jim Zorn, who were basically the guys that got me hooked on the Hawks in the late 70s. They couldn't have been nicer guys to meet either. I got an old-style Seahawks logo hat signed by both and that will be prominently displayed in my office.
* We sat in the upper deck about 15 rows or so from the top. The pitch was so steep, it turned into a hell of a stair master workout. But the benefit was an awesome view that was like watching all-22 film.
* O-line played like total crap, but that was kind of expected going in, and I didn't even know Ifedi was going to miss the game (didn't get any pregame updates).
* I noticed Russell limping after Suh stepped on him, but it wasn't obvious he was hurt as he was only limping a little.
* The defense played great as usual, really only blowing the one crossing route that went for 50 or so yards on their TD drive.

With the Rams laying down against the Niners last night, that gives me hope that maybe they'll still be off their game this week, because the Hawks always seem to struggle against them. We'll see.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Jul 16, 2005
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That's awesome, Dan. I guess you don't live in this area?

I haven't been to a game since the early '90s. I looked into tickets but they are awfully spendy right now for obvious reasons.

Glad you had fun.
 

DanoooME

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That's awesome, Dan. I guess you don't live in this area?

I haven't been to a game since the early '90s. I looked into tickets but they are awfully spendy right now for obvious reasons.

Glad you had fun.
No, I've been an East Coast guy all of my life, so this was my 1st trip to Seattle during football season (I was in Seattle for the 2001 MLB All Star Game and stayed with a friend who lived out there at the time).
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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Is it time to start wondering if the Seahawks offense just really sucks now?
12 points on Miami, 3 so far against the Rams.
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Is it time to start wondering if the Seahawks offense just really sucks now?
12 points on Miami, 3 so far against the Rams.
Without Lynch they have zero running game. You can sit back and cover Baldwin and Graham all day.
 
Apr 7, 2006
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There was scuttlebutt last week about Lynch maybe reconsidering. (Possibly on on of those fantasy football new icon deals, so...many grams of salt.) Anyone hear any more news of that?
 

dcmissle

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Pete has lost a step. In college he was one step ahead of the law.
 

tims4wins

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Monday's discipline is the third time Carroll and the Seahawks have been penalized for breaking the "no-contact" rules. In 2014, the Seahawks were fined $300,000 and lost practice time the following year for violating the rule during a mandatory minicamp. In 2012, Carroll and the Seahawks were fined an undisclosed amount and forfeited two OTAs the following season for violating the rule.

Popped 3 times for the same offense and they are up to a 5th round pick. Maybe by the time they violate it a 10th time they will earn a 1st round pick forfeiture.
 

SoxVindaloo

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Went to the game Sunday. A really amazing experience for me, as it was my first Hawks game in person. Some quick notes:
.
Glad you got to go Dano. Because of a lot of work in Seattle I get to about 1 game a year there (I do make the trek, and I mean trek, to Gillette once a year also). My favorite NFL stadium bar none. Great place for concerts too as the acoustics were built around Paul Allen's love of music. The fact that it is downtown makes it even better.
 

DanoooME

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3-1 after beating the Jets 27-17 and the bye coming this week, which will be a big help for the walking wounded (Russell at the top of the list). Defense continues to do its job and the O-line seemed much improved with Ifedi back and Justin Britt finally finding a home at C after spitting the bit at LG and RT. If healthy, they should be as dangeruss as anyone in the NFC the rest of the season.
 

tims4wins

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Plus given Arizona and Carolina's starts, and the mediocrity of the east, things are shaping up very well for the Hawks to earn a crucial bye. This team can win on the road but a bye plus a home game and they are the clear NFC favorites IMO, even if they end up having to play on the road in the NFCCG at, say, Minnesota.
 

DanoooME

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Seahawks reach 4-1 with the win over Atlanta. This week is a big game too, @Arizona. A win gives them solid control of the division with the Rams starting to fade.
 

DanoooME

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Aye caramba. A 6-6 tie with Arizona that defies description.

The defense was positively heroic. An incredible effort for a group that was on the field for over 3 quarters (46:21) and didn't fold.

The offense was positively septic. The OTs were both burned repeatedly and even potential addition by subtraction with the Sowell injury didn't help. The interior of the line was better, but not much. I don't know what they can do. Rawls getting healthy would help. Somebody needs to step up at the OT position. Gilliam was horrible, had multiple penalties and looked like a revolving door all night.

Special teams coverage units were almost as awesome as the defense. Hauschka, well, he's usually pretty good, but that $2.7M in savings on the salary cap is a tasty option to open up.

Next up is heading to New Orleans, which hopefully will help cure some of the offensive woes.

Edit: On top of all that, just found out that this game was the first tie in Seahawks' franchise history.
 

Ed Hillel

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Michael Bennett is out this week and there are a number of stories he may need surgery on the knee he got chop-blocked.
There are also some "season ending" whispers out there, but I haven't seen that from a credible reporter yet.
 

dbn

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That's too bad. I've become a fan of the brothers Bennett since watching the ESPN pieces on them that people have posted (and Martellus being a Patriot and awesome, of course). It's a lot more fun to cheer for players that appear to be good, interesting people.
 

DanoooME

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Michael Bennett is out this week and there are a number of stories he may need surgery on the knee he got chop-blocked.
There are also some "season ending" whispers out there, but I haven't seen that from a credible reporter yet.
Out 2-3 weeks from what I've read in multiple sources.

Today was yet another frustrating game, losing @ NO 25-20. It's clear that the defense wore down at the end of the game after being on the field forever in the second consecutive game. The offense is still dogshit and Bevell has to take some of the blame by not running at all in the first half (I believe it was 3 carries for 3 yards). But a big factor in the game was the officiating. 11 penalties called on Seattle to 2 for NO. Most of the Seattle penalties were legit, but there was a key one in the 4th quarter, a defensive hold on 3rd and 5 on DeShawn Shead that just wasn't there at all and ended up giving NO 3 points. Then there were at least 2 uncalled OPI penalties on NO, one blatantly obvious, the other not as obvious, but still perfectly valid. And after all that, the Hawks STILL had a chance to win, but Wilson's floater in the endzone to Kearse was just a little too far.

Fortunately, the Cardinals lost as well, so they still maintain a 1 1/2 game lead over the Cardinals with those Cards heading into their bye week and the Seahawks hosting the Bills Monday night.
 

tims4wins

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How injured is Wilson? On the season he has 25 carries for 44 yards, 1.8 YPC. He doesn't have a single run of 10 yards or longer all year. Last year he had runs of 10 yards or longer in 11 of the 16 games they played. He also has only 5 passing TDs after throwing 34 last year. Is he going to get back to 100% this year, or will they have to make do?
 

DanoooME

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He's one of the walking wounded right now.

High ankle sprain he got week 1 when he got stepped on by Suh, doubt that has healed completely yet, his ankles are still heavily taped.
Knee injury he got week 3 when it hyperextended during a tackle. He's wearing a knee brace for that one, could be a partially torn ligament, but not confirmed.
Pec injury that showed up a couple of weeks ago. Supposedly he's healed that one. That has to affect his throwing.

I don't think he'll be 100% this year. They've already had their bye, which did seem to help a little. He's just going to gut it out and see how it goes.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Jul 16, 2005
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Kam Chancellor and Luke Willson are expected back, but Rawls, Michael and Bennett are likely out.

I expect a loss, just hoping they can keep it close and keep their double-digit loss streak intact.
 

DanoooME

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The writing has been on the wall for a few weeks now, so it's little surprise Christian Michael was released today. That makes it pretty clear Thomas Rawls is ready to go and with Prosise really proving himself against the Patriots, they hopefully will be a solid 2 man tandem going forward.
 

DanoooME

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Hawks defeat the Eagles at home 26-15. Game was close early and probably turned on an illegal formation call against the Eagles on a long screen pass TD that was called back. The Eagles never really got it together after that.

Seahawks had multiple injuries in this game including RB CJ Prosise (shoulder, may be out the rest of the regular season), FS Earl Thomas (hamstring), 3rd string RB Troymaine Pope (high ankle sprain) and CB DeShawn Shead (hamstring). Michael Bennett should be back next week or the week after and hopefully none of the others will be long term. RBs are down to Rawls and Alex Collins right now.

The rest of the division gave the Hawks a gift by all losing and leaving them with a 3 game lead in the NFCW with 6 to go. Remaining schedule is @TB, hosting Carolina on a Sunday night, @ GB, hosting the Rams and Cards and ending @SF. All of the toughest games are at home, so that will help.
 

DanoooME

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Absolute dogshit effort by the offense today in a 14-5 loss to the Buccaneers. The OL was repeatedly beaten over and over. No running game. Wilson throwing picks. The defense was off on the first two drives, giving up two TDs but then didn't give up squat.

Aggravating game and I never thought I'd say they need Justin Britt back, because the OL clearly fell apart today. Part of the problem is that teams can time the snap count and that's clearly killing them.

Need this team to get healthy, although most of the injuries are on defense and it still played pretty well.

Host Carolina next week in a game that is likely huge for both teams.
 

DanoooME

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Hawks with a costly victory, drubbing the Panthers 40-7 and pretty much ending their postseason hopes (although anything can happen in the NFC South). Earl Thomas suffered a broken leg in a midair collision with Kam Chancellor going for an interception. The severity still has not been published, but with 9 weeks until the Super Bowl, there isn't much hope he'll be back this season. Steven Terrell will take over for him and while he matches Thomas in a number of physical ways (same height, weight, speed), he doesn't have the same instincts as Earl.

The offense got in a groove except for a couple of spots, one of which was when LT George Fant went out for a few plays with a shoulder problem. Wilson, Lockett and Rawls all proved themselves fully healthy and ready to go, with Lockett and Rawls both easily having their best games of the year.

Next up is Lambeau Field and the Packers.
 

DanoooME

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Seahawks sign FA FB Marcel Reece. Will Tukuafu received a concussion and will be out indefinitely. Hopefully he can help on the running game and with pass blocking/blitz pickup
 

Gunfighter 09

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Seahawks sign FA FB Marcel Reece. Will Tukuafu received a concussion and will be out indefinitely. Hopefully he can help on the running game and with pass blocking/blitz pickup
The speed is gone, but he still is a good blocker with solid hands and smarts. I would not be at all surprised if Bevel puts him to good use. Good luck Marcel.
 

DanoooME

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Well, they make a decent comeback from last week's disaster on the frozen tundra with a 24-3 win at home over the Rams to clinch the NFC West.

They still have a lot of work to do to make some waves in the playoffs, especially if they aren't at home.

OL still needs lots of work
Pass rush still needs to improve
Running game still hit and miss
Red zone offense
 

sketz

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Right now it's hard to see this team winning 3 or 4 straight in the playoffs without one clunker in there somewhere. Extremely talented, but maddeningly inconsistent from week to week. Only having to win one potential road playoff game would be huge for them.
 

InstaFace

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Good to see that other players are as haunted by near-misses as Pats fans are about things like The Game That Shall Not Be Named:

Sherman, Carroll clear the air - Last night, snapping from the Rams' 1 yard line, Pete Carroll called for a pass. Richard Sherman threw a nutty over it, in extended fashion, being that he had had a bad experience previously watching his team throwing from the 1 (to understate it a bit). Carroll seems to have handled it quite well - I found this remark of his quite wise in its restraint:

"I was going to make my decision on how to move forward based on what happened and how we communicated [in the meeting in my office this morning]. And I feel very good about it.""
 

brandonchristensen

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Tangentially related but Lynch was inducted into the Las Vegas Bowl hall of fame yesterday.

The host and the organizer had a 30-second over under bet on his speech. He went over by a couple.
 

Gunfighter 09

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They still have a lot of work to do to make some waves in the playoffs, especially if they aren't at home.
It's this simple isn't it? To me it comes down to the offense needing to be at home to succeed.


If the Cowboys find a way to lose out, or get beat in the divisional round, no one is coming to Seattle and winning. Conversely, it is hard for me to see the Hawks beating one of Dallas / Atlanta / NYG/GB/Detroit (assuming Stafford's hand is fine) on the road. The offense looks like it usually does this time of year with the snap count on their side in Seattle and they look like hot garbage on the road when the line's issues are magnified.

I have no doubt Pete Carol will get the defense where it needs to be, even without the league's best defensive back, but I don't think they can get back to the Super Bowl if they have to travel.
 

dcmissle

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Media darling Richard Sherman threatens to pull a press credential. Then has to tweet that Pete controls those. Laughs on Sherman and his Magi.
 

Section30

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More on Richard Sherman, "I'll get your media credential revoked."

"The part that bothered me the most is feeling that he’s so high and mighty and powerful that he can do whatever he wants, and that includes telling the offensive coordinator what plays to run and it also includes telling me or a reporter that he can have a credential removed,” Moore added. “And so it’s just kind of a feeling as holier-than-thou that it came across as.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/12/21/richard-sherman-and-demarcus-cousins-are-sorry-for-threatening-media-members/?utm_term=.f1fe7fe0005c
 

DanoooME

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Seahawks signed Devin Hester to return kicks for the playoffs. Not sure what he has left but he's better than Sherman I'm sure.
I'm sure he can fair catch as well as Sherman has. And at least then they don't have to worry about someone freight training Sherman to knock him out of the game.

Also have a new long snapper, as Nolan Frese was put on IR. Unfortunately, it wasn't Clint Gresham. It was Tyler Ott, former Patriot (among others)

Hopefully they don't fall behind 31-0 like they did against Carolina last year. They should beat Detroit regardless but then going to Atlanta is going to be tough without Earl.