Getting off Matt

I scared the holy crap out of my poor dog on Saturday.  I mean, she thought the end of all things was at hand, and I was the instrument of this end.  She'd been nervous all afternoon, because I'd been yelling.  A lot.  And, poor thing, she doesn't follow sports or watch TV much, so how could she know that I was yelling in excitement and sometimes pure joy that the Seahawks were playing so well, were competing hard, then that they were leading.  The moment of Armageddon came in her perception at the same time as it came in reality for the New Orleans Saints, and it came not in the form of a Horseman of the Apocalypse but in the guise of a Beast.  Or at least a man, in Beast mode.

I have been one of those dwindling few who felt that two years of mix-and-match offensive lines, countless hurries and knock-downs and sacks had nearly knocked an All-Pro quarterback out.  He'd been hurt, hurried, and was stuck throwing forty-five passes a game because the running game was missing.  My interpretation of the success Charlie Whitehurst enjoyed - though limited - against the Rams, was that he had played 'within himself, within the game plan', but moreover, he had played behind a line that suddenly was getting healthy and beginning to gel.  And I admit that I was eager to see how Matt did behind an improved line that could give him time for his tempo routes and a running game to keep the Saints from blitzing his hand warmer into the turf.  I have felt that if only the Hawks could get 100 yards a game rushing, and run the ball 25+ times a game, that would take enormous pressure off Matt (and Whitehurst too).  With the O-line finally returning to health, and showing some good signs (rushing for 141 yards on 35 attempts; no sacks allowed and only 4 quarterback hits allowed), I did believe that Matt would play well - maybe even very well.  I just never saw his skills tailing off, only his health and the root cause of both ill health and incomplete, intercepted or fumbled balls - lack of offensive line performance.

Against the Saints, Matt had time to throw, and he completed 22 of 35 passes (with four drops and a tip of a ball that was not thrown high, that works out to 27-35) for 272 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Why did he have time to throw?  The line.  They were together again, and they were gelling better by the minute after the momentum from the Rams win.  Rushing for 150 yards on 25 carries forced the Saints to honor the run, and even if you took out the long 67 yard run that scared my dog just short or ruining the carpet, the hawks were able to gain enough tough yards on first and second down that it kept the Saints honest.  I still believe that Matt has another two or three seasons in him, and I was glad to see that the Hawks will work to re-sign him.  If we can keep a healthy line, a Beast, and a veteran All-Pro who has won a Super Bowl (just a nudge to the Steelers fans), the Hawks might break the midpoint in offensive standing in the league next season.  And with the defense getting some key takeaways and stops, there is reason for some optimism there, too.

I think perhaps my poor friend Nellie, the black lab, will not be quite so concerned this week when I yell, and I hope the tiny suspicion that niggles at the back of my small mind bears out to be true - that this team is getting healthy, coming together, and peaking at just the right time.  The last two weeks sure seemed that way, and though it is a tough hill to climb to beat a Bears club that has also been peaking the past three or four weeks, I sure feel better about climbing hills than I did two weeks ago.  At least as a metaphor for the Hawks playing well and perhaps winning as an underdog.

Thanks for the GREAT memory on Saturday, the 12th man induced deafness, the blocking and the throws that Brett Favre would love to have been making this year, but which were coming from Matt...This has been a great two weeks for a Seahawks, and I hope the ride lasts a bit longer! 

Technorati Tags: Seattle Seahawks,Matt Hasselbeck,Marshawn Lynch,NFL Football

Seahawks Pounded Again, Outscored 74-10 in Last Two Games; Fall to 4-4

There isn't a lot to say in the last couple of weeks for the Seahawks, except that those clamoring for Matt Hasselbeck's demise might consider that with the offensive line injuries, retirements and poor play that we've seen these last three seasons, I don't think any big time QB would do much better.  I recall being at the Kingdome for a game against the Vikings way back when, and seeing Fran Tarkenton scramble between 30-35 yards backwards and god knows how far laterally before eventually completing a pass.  There are very few Fran Tarkentons, and very few quarterbacks who could survive, let alone consistently get points on the board with this line play.  I'm not calling out the line, exactly, since it is tough enough to play well when there is unit cohesion and time in a system (this line has had more shuffling in the last three years than most decks at the Muckleshoot Casino, and three systems in the past three years.    Matt Hasselbeck has done his best - which is still damn good - and better than most, but there's only so much a guy can do with no seven step drops possible, and two steps protection on a three step drop.

Another indication of O-line play is the half yard a game drop in average yards per carry for Marshawn Lynch since he's arrived from Buffalo.  Yep, the Bills winless Buffalo Bills managed to block consistently better for this running back than the Hawks have (each over a four game period).  And I have never seen a more ballsy, tough, inspiring run that one particular play Lynch had today.  He broke several tackles and then pushed a scrum of at least seven defenders forward another four yards.  It was as if he were saying to the rest of the team, and the O-line in particular, "Come ON, guys, let's go!". 

When reserve Charlie Whitehurst - playing for the concussed Hasselbeck - made his throws, it is easy to see the arm strength and poise that made Carroll want him.  He's reading defenses a little like a QB making his first start, but the man has an arm, and stays calm.  There were drops, including the painful bobble but Mike Williams in the end zone that not only killed the touchdown opportunity, but gave the Giants the ball and deprived Seattle of any points.  Especially when the QB is under such pressure, the receivers need to make big plays, and damn near every one of them let balls go through their hands, bobbled, dropped and tipped passes that were perfectly catchable. 

And while the defense has been pounded, to their credit the Hawks defense has held strong early in games, but with time of possession ratios like sixteen minutes for the opponent and nine for the Hawks, they are bound to wear down.

Luckily, when you play in the NFC West, 4-4 puts you in a first-place tie, and the Vikes OT win over Arizona gives both the Rams and the Hawks a bit of a cushion. 

So, halfway through the season, what do I think of the Pete Carroll stewardship?  I think that he will build a consistent and tough winning team, given time.  His enthusiasm, very good staff, excellent attention to both sides of the ball and the special teams, and most especially the willingness he's shown to let competition decide the starters, and even the roster, and to make as many transactions as it takes to get the best team he can on the field, I believe the Hawks will do very well over the next four or five years.  I hope the owner gives him that sort of time.  I hope that the QB coach is as good as Holmgren was, and Zorn became (as QB coach under Holmgren), because I'd love to see touch, reading defenses, check-down decision-making and great footwork added to the cannon of Whitehurst.  I want Matt to get one more shot at the big one, and that won't happen without an O-line.  And when Matt hangs 'em up finally, it would be great to see a guy groomed, practiced and ready to step in (Aaron Rogers style).  I actually thought the Hawks would be more like 3-5 at this point, and a few things break right they could just make the playoffs,  Even a first round loss would be a good step back toward the great teams the Hawk's have had in the past.

NFL Game Center: New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks - 2010 Week 9

Technorati Tags: Seattle Seahawks,Seahawks,NFL,Matt Hasselbeck,Charlie Whitehurst,Mike Holmgren,Jim Zorn,NFC West

Hasselbeck is NOT What’s Wrong with the Seahawks

Four interceptions and that silly attempt to pitch back to Justin Forsett last week were really ugly plays.  Really ugly.  But do they tell us much about the competence of Matt Hasselbeck?  Perhaps, but I am far more convinced that they speak of a Pro Bowl caliber signal-caller that feels he’s got to do far too much himself for this team to have a chance.  He speaks of his failures, takes responsibility for the team’s shortcomings, acts like part real leader, part Custer at the last stand. I admire the hell out of Matt, and his toughness, integrity and esprit-de-corps. 

This is a Quarterback who has been beset by every hardship that can come to a signal-caller.  Poor blocking for the running game puts pressure on the play action passing game.  The passing game is battered beyond recognition by the poor play of some of the receivers, the injuries to almost all the other receivers, the team’s inability to get in a rhythm, not just between QB and receiver, but in protection schemes, reading the defense and running the proper route, blocking which has had so many hurries, hits and sacks that it is no wonder Matt has been a different guy the last two years. 

I put much of this squarely at the feet of Tim Ruskill, and the line he allowed to decline from the best in the NFL to one of the worst.  It started with the loss of Hutchinson, to be sure, but it continued with young guys that flopped and an apparent disinterest in offensive lineman.  The defense has had to play far too many minutes, from behind, and it has shown that no squad can overcome both key injuries and eons on the field between three-and-outs by the offense.

Sunday’s loss looked like a team that had given up, and a team that has been challenged, threatened and in the end, has not responded.  Telling your team the league thinks they’re ‘soft’ is a far different thing than building an expectation of tough, physical play.  I’m beginning to think Mora is more the guy who blabbed (jokingly according to him) to a Seattle radio station that he’d leave the Falcons even in a playoff run to get the Huskies job, than the guy who took over a Dan Reeves built team and took it on a good one-season roll.  It is likely not fair to form a judgment on the head coach in one season,  though I have no such qualms about the opinion formed over five years with the previous GM. 

There will be some good draft picks to work with, and some money that can be freed up this offseason.  Let’s hope the new GM starts fast, gives Coach Mora the tools, and that Coach Mora makes deft use of them – something I am just not sure he can do.  I really hope so, and I do think it is unfair to him to give him just a season to change systems, personnel, schemes, etc, especially as the GM is let go.  Next year, with some impact players and a season under the new offensive and defensive systems, and perhaps a Head Coach and staff that are settling in, we will see some real improvement. 

Warner won’t be the zillion yard thrower he still is for much longer, most likely, but then, neither will Matt.  Let’s not waste the franchise quarterback’s last good to excellent years.   It ain’t that easy to find and develop the next one.  Just ask around. 

Technorati Tags: Seattle Seahawks,Jim Mora,Matt Hasselback,Seahawks,NFL Football

Disappointing Comments from Jim Mora at Seahawks Presser…Leadership Comments from Matt Hasselbeck at the Same Presser

I can’t blame him on the one hand.  Coach Mora that is.  His team is now 5-9, fourteen games into year one of the “Mora Era” in Seattle.  They have lost to good teams, but they’ve increasingly lost to poor teams, too, a trend perhaps hitting its’ nadir Sunday with a home loss to a 1 win Tampa Bay team.  What was disappointing, as shown in the blog link below, was that Mora took every out he could for the abysmal play of a team he looks very much to be losing as the season dribbles to an end.  Mora has gone from a position insisting that the team is thinking playoffs to now saying the team had a chance until Sunday’s loss to double the number of wins from last season.  It took a row of articulated Metro busses and neat lines formed and waiting for a turn at being tossed under the bus.  The head man seemed to be passing the buck to injuries, and a 4 win team last year; even referring to rebuilding after having taken reporters to task before the season for similar thinking.  The post linked below also very insightfully points out that a “true leader” such as Matt Hasselbeck, asks for no cover, and accepts no quarter.  Seeking no one to blame but himself, Hasselbeck said:

"I just feel like I let a lot of people down today," he said. "It's my fault. It's on me and I'll improve."  Not one word about being pounded like a cheap flank steak game after game.  Not one word about having a better completion percentage than last year.  No, this leader simply says, ‘It’s on me, and I’ll get better’.  Read the article for more.

The SunBreak | Sports | Jim Mora Tries to Save His Job with Revisionist History

Technorati Tags: Jim Mora,Matt Hasselback,Seattle Seahawks,Seahawks,NFL Football