Should Seahawks Fans Be Worried?
....after the 37-6 massacre they underwent in Chicago last night?
Yes. And here's why.
1) The secret is out: Seattle has no running game. They haven't really had one all season, and that can be traced back to the free agent departure of left guard Steven Hutchinson. That started the unraveling of last year's best offensive line in the NFL, which has metastisized into a series of injuries which has extended to NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, whose cracked foot bone (as opposed to broken foot) will keep him out for at least another couple of weeks.
2) With Alexander playing, the illusion of a running game was still in place (he averaged 2.9 yards a carry in the first three games). Without it last night the Bears knew all they had to do was pin their ears back and go after quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, and that's what they did, to crushing effect. It didn't matter how many receivers coach Mike Holmgren put on the field, Hasselbeck didn't have any time to get the ball to them.
3) With the offense shut down, it was up to the defense to pick up the slack. At this they failed miserably, allowing Bears QB Rex Grossman to light them up downfield at will, and even giving up triple-figure yardage on the ground. Stopping the run had been their strength. Not last ight.
4) Yeah, even with the whole team at full strength, beating the Bears on the road in a game toward which they'd been angling since the schedule came out six months ago would have been a tall order. But the Seahawks' problems don't just stem from last night. In sixteen quarters of football thus far they've only played worth a damn in four of them (first quarter vs. the Cardinals {14-0}, first three quarters against the Giants {42-3}). Not coincidentally, those were both home games. On the road they have yet to score a touchdown, Hasselbeck is leading the league in interceptions thrown, and in the past five quarters they've been outscored 64-6.
The reason why Seattle was undefeated was because they hadn't played an elite team yet. Last night they did, and the result speaks for itself.
5) An axiom of team sports teaches that blowout defeats are easier to recover from than nail-biting heart-breakers. Players just shrug, rationalize that "Everybody gets their ass kicked once in a while" or "It wasn't our day" or "Hey, those guys played great, we tip our hats to them," forget about it and turn the page.
Most of the time that's true. But sometimes a whuppin' lingers, generates negative momentum, and can send a series, or a season, spiralling down the tubes.
I had a bad feeling about the Seahawks' fourth quarter collapse against the Giants a week ago. They'd looked so dominating in the first three quarters, and then looked so awful in the fourth, I feared that that "karma" would carry over. Though I'd wager everybody in the organziation from Paul Allen on down would dispute it, I'm convinced it did.
It's a good thing that their bye week is coming up, because otherwise I think you could guarantee a loss in their next game, a crucial divisional matchup at St. Louis.
6) On the other hand, I think a loss is highly likely even without the bad "karma" factor. They still won't have Alexander, they'll still have a crumbling offensive line, and every team in the league now knows how to handle the Seahawks' four wide receiver sets: kill Hasselbeck. Given that the Rams should be favored this week at Green Bay, that would put the defending NFC champs a game and a half behind in what was supposed to be a weak division they would win in a walk.
Looking at Seattle's remaining schedule, an 11-5 finish still seems realistic, and that should probably be enough to win the NFC West and make a quick exit from the playoffs. Or Hasselbeck could get broken in half and the season could collapse altogether.
Either way, for those of us who spent the offseason consumed with getting back to the SuperBowl and avenging the heinous crime of Detroit, February 2005, that dream is going to have to wait another year - at least.
Yes. And here's why.
1) The secret is out: Seattle has no running game. They haven't really had one all season, and that can be traced back to the free agent departure of left guard Steven Hutchinson. That started the unraveling of last year's best offensive line in the NFL, which has metastisized into a series of injuries which has extended to NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, whose cracked foot bone (as opposed to broken foot) will keep him out for at least another couple of weeks.
2) With Alexander playing, the illusion of a running game was still in place (he averaged 2.9 yards a carry in the first three games). Without it last night the Bears knew all they had to do was pin their ears back and go after quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, and that's what they did, to crushing effect. It didn't matter how many receivers coach Mike Holmgren put on the field, Hasselbeck didn't have any time to get the ball to them.
3) With the offense shut down, it was up to the defense to pick up the slack. At this they failed miserably, allowing Bears QB Rex Grossman to light them up downfield at will, and even giving up triple-figure yardage on the ground. Stopping the run had been their strength. Not last ight.
4) Yeah, even with the whole team at full strength, beating the Bears on the road in a game toward which they'd been angling since the schedule came out six months ago would have been a tall order. But the Seahawks' problems don't just stem from last night. In sixteen quarters of football thus far they've only played worth a damn in four of them (first quarter vs. the Cardinals {14-0}, first three quarters against the Giants {42-3}). Not coincidentally, those were both home games. On the road they have yet to score a touchdown, Hasselbeck is leading the league in interceptions thrown, and in the past five quarters they've been outscored 64-6.
The reason why Seattle was undefeated was because they hadn't played an elite team yet. Last night they did, and the result speaks for itself.
5) An axiom of team sports teaches that blowout defeats are easier to recover from than nail-biting heart-breakers. Players just shrug, rationalize that "Everybody gets their ass kicked once in a while" or "It wasn't our day" or "Hey, those guys played great, we tip our hats to them," forget about it and turn the page.
Most of the time that's true. But sometimes a whuppin' lingers, generates negative momentum, and can send a series, or a season, spiralling down the tubes.
I had a bad feeling about the Seahawks' fourth quarter collapse against the Giants a week ago. They'd looked so dominating in the first three quarters, and then looked so awful in the fourth, I feared that that "karma" would carry over. Though I'd wager everybody in the organziation from Paul Allen on down would dispute it, I'm convinced it did.
It's a good thing that their bye week is coming up, because otherwise I think you could guarantee a loss in their next game, a crucial divisional matchup at St. Louis.
6) On the other hand, I think a loss is highly likely even without the bad "karma" factor. They still won't have Alexander, they'll still have a crumbling offensive line, and every team in the league now knows how to handle the Seahawks' four wide receiver sets: kill Hasselbeck. Given that the Rams should be favored this week at Green Bay, that would put the defending NFC champs a game and a half behind in what was supposed to be a weak division they would win in a walk.
Looking at Seattle's remaining schedule, an 11-5 finish still seems realistic, and that should probably be enough to win the NFC West and make a quick exit from the playoffs. Or Hasselbeck could get broken in half and the season could collapse altogether.
Either way, for those of us who spent the offseason consumed with getting back to the SuperBowl and avenging the heinous crime of Detroit, February 2005, that dream is going to have to wait another year - at least.
posted by JASmius at 3:09 PM
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