NFL Weekend Thoughts

Non Seahawk related thoughts.

1. Vick Ballard just made what I suspect to be an ESPY play.  This should be played over and over on ESPN as a lead in to SportsCenter, NFL Live, 32, and PrimeTime. The NFL world has been craving for any Luck highlight that they can exploit for ever and this is one.  What an amazing play.

2. Dallas Cowboys, this is just hard to talk about.  What can one say that isn't going to be said more times than we can handle by all the major sports outlets?  I have both Romo and Dez Bryant on my fantasy team so I am very invested in the Cowboys. I am also very biased and feel that the Romo to Bryant TD at the end of the game could have been called a touchdown.  I see the finger is out of bounds but does the wrist that lands a split second earlier establish him in bounds? I know I'm begging here but it's the fantasy talking.  Nonetheless, it was an amazing moment for about 20 seconds. Sadly it turned like too many games have this year for the Cowboys. Another week equals another loss and more "finger" pointing. How long until wholesale changes occur in Dallas?

3. RG3 double standard?  In no way shape or form do I
dislike RG3.  I enjoy watching him just as much as the next guy.  However, I am getting tired of seeing every talk about him.  He is turning into that favorite song of yours that gets played over and over and over by the radio station until it has been ruined!  No matter what RG3 does it will be covered by everyone all the time.  Why, when his receivers drop a couple balls, do all the major media talking heads jump at the opportunity to provide excuses for his poor numbers?  Have they been watching the Seahawks and Russell Wilson? Okay, that was a dumb question.  I know they haven't! Regardless, let's treat RG3 like all the other rookie qbs.  Nobody likes a person with a silver spoon and we will all respect his efforts more if we don't feel like he is getting favorable treatment. Can his receivers do better? Yes, of course but every qb needs their wrs to make every catch.  It's just not going to happen so I say treat RG3 like you treat every rookie qb.

Seahawk Weekend Thoughts

It's never everyday that I am able to stay at home and watch a little Monday morning ESPN and NFL Network.  Should I thank Hurricane Sandy for this rare opportunity before it knocks out our power and I am left freezing, hungry and without access to a computer, TV or anything else relying on electricity for the next several days?

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to generate thoughts and words after a loss?  It's not that I can't write about a victory, it's just that I get so frustrated with a loss that I have to clear my mind with all the areas I found problems.  Honestly and shockingly I am not upset with the offense this week.  In fact, I will even go as far as saying I thought Golden Tate actually played well.  He made the exact catches that I stated last week he has to make consistently.  Zack Miller made an impressive catch in the end zone for what should have been a game winner.

Where do the problems live this week?
Dare I say coaching?  For two weeks in a row I have now been upset with our approach to play calling on 3rd and long when a 50 plus yard field goal is in our back pocket.  What is wrong with a dump off pass if all we are wanting is 5 more yards?  Clearly the delay run is not working.  It is darn near offensive to the viewer to see this sort of effort.

Easily my least favorite situation, which occurred a painful 10 times in the game were the 3rd down conversion by Detroit.  Okay, let's be more specific.  Detroit converted 12, 3rd downs out of 16 tries and 3 of the 3rd down conversions were touchdowns. This includes the game winning touchdown.  That is a ridiculous 75 percent!  These stats would be pointed out for a team with a bad defense.  However, the Seahawks are a great defense.  Dare I say they are not if this happens?  The 3rd down and long conversions are giving me convulsions!!!  This is absolutely impossible for me to watch.  If you have seen as much Seahawk football as I have you know what is happening.  Countless times this year it's been 3rd down and 10+.  Pick your qb...Tom Brady, Alex Smith or in the case of yesterday Matthew Stafford.

The little dump pass for 5 yards turns into a 10 yard gain and first down.  What is happening here?  Are we so committed to stopping the deep ball that we give up every 3rd down dump off pass for a first down?  What do we need to change because I want to change it immediately!  From my eye, Bobby Wagner can cover a ton of space, why is he not simply roaming the middle and shadowing the rb or the TE that slips past the offensive line?  Seattle will lose a lot of games if this is not reconciled.  We have Percy Harvin coming to town this next week and he will take these dump-offs and stretch them much farther than a first down.  (Granted this would be great for my fantasy team but when it comes to the Seahawks my fantasy team takes a very distant 2nd place! Please, someone chime in with your thought on how we can stop these 3rd down conversions and dump off passes? We can't keep losing games in this way.

I want to see more of my favorite celebration dance.  Let's get back to big stops and a great defense!

Get Your NFL Probowl Vote on With This Link

Okay, okay, okay.  I've never actually voted because I never actually had it so available to me before. I want to make this as easy as possible so we can get our entire secondary rightfully in Hawaii at the end of the year. Click the link:

http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot

Hardest Hitting Team of All Time?

I have been searching for this gif of Marshawn Lynch since the moment he railroaded Dashon Goldson in the first quarter of last week's game. It took a while but like a run from Lynch you can always expect me to finish strong!  What was Goldson thinking?  I know it was a shortened week but did he skip out on every film session?  I don't even think a linebacker wants any part of Lynch.  Why would a defensive back even think to take on Lynch above the ankles? I suspect he will approach a tackle like this differently in our rematch.  Can you think of a team that has ever been this hard hitting?  Of course there are historically hard hitting defensive teams but think about the team as a whole.  None of these players are even defensive. THIS IS OUR OFFENSE!!! We all know without the assistance of a gif how hard our defense hits.  Come to think of it, send me a URL of a gif for one of our defensive players and I will add it to this collection of amazing hits.

What is your favorite gif of the year so far? Vote in the upper left corner of the blog and then leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

#1 Marshawn Lynch

#2 Golden Tate

#3 Leon Washington

Leave me a comment of your favorite hit.

Sourdough in San Francisco

It's a well known fact that San Francisco makes the world's most famous sourdough. Its the unique air in the Bay Area that has higher than average yeasts and lactobacilli cultures that feed the sourdough during its leavening.  I don't understand this process anymore than the average fellow but what I do know is that same air in San Francisco must have been the reason for my sour feelings in the 2nd half of Thursday night's game. Speaking of sour feelings is this why Jim Harbaugh is quickly becoming one of the least liked people in the NFL. I used to think he was great but now I just can't stand the camera on him.  Does the air in San Fran have this affect on everything?

Anyway, back to my sour feelings.  Was it just me or did the Seahawks look to be controlling the game from the beginning?  Our #1 ranked defense looked like they were well number 1. They were in control and doing their thing like only they can do.  Our offense marched down the field like the 49ers had the 25th ranked defense not the 5th ranked.  Minus the drop by Robert Turbin, who I will continue to state is one of my favorite players in a draft that I think we did very well.  In fact on draft weekend I was most excited about our Robert Turbin pick.  Now it's a toss up between Wilson, Wagner, Turbin or even Irvin.  What a draft!  Back to the drop.  That was painful.  I think Turbin would have bulldozed his 28inch biceps into the endzone for a touchdown had he kept those normally soft hands on the ball. It was game 7 and his first mistake. 

I'll let it slide but I do think that changed the development of the game.  At some point in the near future our Seahawks need to stop kicking field goals and punch the ball in for 6pts.  Until we can consistently  score touchdowns we will be looking at Wilson and our defense in the 4th quarter to save us.

Speaking of Wilson, if I hear anyone over the next week and a half complain about his passing yards I'm going to actually mirro Jim Harbaugh's look in the above picture and believe me I want no part of modeling anything Jim Harbaugh related.  Wilson was posed, mature, accurate and spectacular throughout the game.  I know, I get it, he only through for 130 yards and a 103 were in the first half.  That stat line is terrible but did you watch the game?  Did you see Obomanu fall in the open field?  That may have gone for a TD.  Did you see Moore drop what looked like an impossibly perfect pass along the sidelines?  Did you see Golden Tate drop a 3rd and 2 to start the second half?  That may have been the most damning drop of them all.  The Seahawks were marching down the field like the 49ers were soft butter on a piece of that warm sourdough bread.  We had TD in our eyes and all Tate was focused on was whether a maple bar doughnut is tastier than a slice of sourdough!  Until Tate starts catching deep balls I don't want to see his arms go up questioning why there was no flag thrown.  Tate...you got your one dream call against the Packers.  Don't rely on the refs to give you a catch.  You better make it on your own or else you will be working a normal 40 to 50 hour work week like the rest of us soon.  I'm already brainstorming your replacement in this next year's draft!

Last thought. I was shockingly disappointed in the Seahawk defense.  I was surprised beyond my expectations that the 49ers ran the ball on us like they did.  I get it, Gore has our number.  I don't understand it but I have grown to expect it. What happened to our dominant defense in the 2nd half?  It wasn't just Gore.  It was those little dump off passes in the middle that really killed us.  I was very impressed with our ability to stop Vernon Davis but not at the expense of letting Alex Smith feel comfortable and confident in the passing game.  I would have liked to have seen a DE not rush but sit in that intermediate zone and wait for Alex Smith to check down.  He had no intention of passing deep he was just buying time for clearance in the middle.

Nonetheless, if we all learned one thing it is that the Seahawks have no reason to fear anyone.  My dream for this year was to jell, to build a culture and trust around 1st and 2nd year players.  Have we done this?  Oh yes and far better than I expected by game 7.  Let's focus on the good and let's count the days down until we can see more Marshawn Lynch running over the aging 49er secondary.

Swick Smack, it's a Little Classier than Sherman

The smack continues and it got a little spicy over the past few days.  Like a great bottle of Tapatio on Taco Tuesday I like to drown my naysayers fast and furiously!  Check out the latest ESPN posts:

Even Tom is Pointing at the Scoreboard and the Seahawk Record with Excitement!!!

Sherman Talking Smack?

What is your opinion of the smack talk delivered to Tom Brady following the game?  Don't get me wrong I was getting pretty burnt up when I saw Brady motioning to the 12th man with his hand to give him more noise.  But I also feel like Brady is one of, if not, the classiest players in the NFL.  Think about the number of big game losses he has suffered recently and tell me if you would handle it as well as he has.  I, for one, would not be able to.  I struggle with a Fantasy Football loss so how can I compare myself to the likes of Tom Brady losing in the Super Bowl after a perfect season or losing a Super Bowl following a dropped pass by his most trusted wrs?
Check out these comments from a recent ESPN post I made.  What are your thoughts?

My wife, as I imagine many wives out there get a little more interested and excited about football when Tom Brady is involved.  Don't get the wrong impression she is a TRUE SEAHAWK through and through but I'm not too proud to say I fully understand that her interest peaks when Tom Brady is involved.  My philosophy is that Tom Brady has helped me watch, discuss and enjoy more football.  And for that I will welcome him into my home any Sunday. 

Check out my wife's contribution...You know you have married the right woman when she can provide this sort of information about football. This is some great research!

(Tom Brady quotes on playing for the first time in Seattle and the impact of the crowd...)

The opponent was the Seahawks...it wasn't the crowd or the weather or the refs. It was the Seahawks and we lost to a good football team. They certainly play well at home. We had an opportunity and we just didn't get it done." 

"They are a good defense. They really force you to make good plays. When we made them today we did a good job and when we made bad plays they took advantage of them. They have a good secondary and a good pass rush. Obviously they are a very good team. They are playing well."

If Brady thinks this way, we must be doing something right!! Maybe our luck has spiked and the Patriots has fallen... Of course, its not luck, it comes down to... me.  Yes- my energy this season is so powerful that the hawks can feel their 12th woman cheer them on :) Just playing.  Their skill is clearly growing and thanks to the positive energy of Pete, everything is looking up!!!

Frustrating Loss

Yes, frustrating but am I as frustrated as the Dallas Cowboy fan that I recently posted?  No, infact disappointed may be a better way to describe the feeling I had following the outcome of the Ram game.

It's not that I think the Rams are bad.  My feelings of disappointment stem from the excitement, the momentum and the aspirations I have seen grow within my hopeful soul.  I did not see the Rams as a team we could just walk into a nearly empty stadium and beat.  They, no matter who the coach is, play the Seahawks very tough.  Back in the days with Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce and Marc Bulger I understood the battles.  Both teams were good, both teams could move down the field quickly and both teams were respected throughout the NFL.

But what about now?  I have never understood that while the Rams were the armpit of the league the Seahawks still played them close. Granted it's not like the Seahawks were much better over the past few years.  Nonetheless, what happened on Sunday?  Why did this happen? And most importantly how do we keep this sort of offensive performance from peaking it's very ugly head out again...ever!

Of course I've heard opinions ranging from my cousin to people on the radio and even President Obama (okay, I lied there) that Matt Flynn should be plugged in immediately.  All I have to say is this is crazy, irrational thinking.  No offense to this sort of thinking but maybe I am equally  as crazy for thinking that Russell Wilson needs to be our guy all year.  We need to see what he can do through thick and thin for 16 games.  When Pete Carroll decided to name Wilson the starter he decided to roll with the ups and downs of a rookie.  I'm sticking with my original statement that Matt Flynn should be traded.  Nothing against Flynn but what is the point of having him on the roster next year?  Please feel free to defend him and his place on the team in the comments. I say get a younger and taller prospect in the draft and cut ties with Flynn prior to the draft.

Okay, I got off track with the source of our loss.  Of course some of the blame falls on the shoulders of Wilson but does it stop there?  No way!  The offensive line is great in a rushing formation but what about pass protection?  We need to see a more clean passing pocket and a whole lot less empty referee pockets!  What is going on with the false starts and the late hits?  These need to stop asap.  I like a tough physical team as much as the next fan but modeling the FREAKING Raiders philosophy is the last thing I ever want to do.  Let's clean this up asap.

As for our wrs... can we get some separation?  I get it, these guys are not top tier players at their position but can't someone get past the safety or behind the linebackers?  Can we find the soft spot in a zone?  I know Baldwin has not been healthy but is he the biggest surprise so far on this team?  Is this purely a chemistry problem between Wilson and Baldwin or is there something we are not aware of at the present moment.  I'd like to see Sidney Rice be able to make a catch steaking down the sideline or on a post.  I'd like to see Golden Tate be used like Percy Harvin.  Get him the ball 10 times a game, he is a natural athlete that can move more fluidly than anyone on the team.  No offense to Lynch or Turbin as they were spectacular against the Rams.  Their game is more of the bulldozer variety and I don't want to change a thing about them.

Last, I cannot let the defense off the hook.  While they have been as good as advertised and met all my expectations we just simply cannot continue to give up big 3rd down plays.  How are we the beasts of the west on 1st and 2nd down but not on 3rd?  Can we dial up some stronger pass rush schemes on 3rd down?  Why are we rushing 3 players most of the time on 3rd down?  I want to see some 4 or 5 man fronts that will keep a quarterback like Sam Bradford from completing 15-20 yard passes on 3rd down.  LET''S DIAL THIS UP!

And last our special teams finally let us down.  While they have been very strong and kept us in all of our games they down right were outdone by the Rams.  Their rookie field goal kicker looks geared up to be the Josh Brown killer that the Seahawks once used against the Rams.  Let's not provide short fields via an onside kick from now on. And the fake field goal turned touchdown?  That left me in a Chris Carter, Keyshawn Johnson COME ON MAN moment!!!  Take that away and give the Rams a field goal and the Seahawks win 13 to 12.  That just hurts.

We could be sitting here talking about being 3-1 but instead we are 2-2.  Can you say 3-1 once more because it sounds so nice.  Alright Seahawks, let's show Cam Newton this weekend how the new NFC West feels on the East Coast.  No East coast let down. Prediction: Panthers 10 Seahawks 17