The Seattle Seahawks are coming off their second
defeat this season and unfortunately, it had to be at the hands of their
division rival, the San Francisco 49ers.
For a Seahawk fan, losing to the 49ers is akin to losing a child or
something similar. Jim Harbaugh and
Colin Kaepernick carry the honor of being the most disliked 49ers and they
always seem to be the ones with their mouths flapping constantly anytime a
microphone or camera is nearby.
After the loss to the Niners, free safety Earl
Thomas mentioned that perhaps some of his teammates got too caught up in the
idea of winning the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by earning the
number one seed in the NFC. The Seahawks
took care of business, beating the New Orleans Saints, in Seattle the week
prior, but their flight down to San Francisco didn't turn out the way they had
hoped or expected.
First, and foremost, the Seahawks committed far
too many penalties and what's worse, the flags occurred on plays that were
critical to drives leading to field goals rather than touchdowns. Reportedly, 49ers head Coach Jim Harbaugh and
OC Greg Roman, had a pre-game on-field meeting with NFL referee, Clete Blakeman,
and the rest of his officiating crew. Harbaugh and Roman tipped them off that, in
their words (paraphrased), "The Seahawks held our receivers on every
single play up in Seattle, in our first meeting. That's why our receivers were unable to get
loose and make plays down field."
They went on to warn the officiating crew on practically every infraction
Seattle has drawn since Pete Carroll took over in 2010. I don't quite understand why it is that the
referees tolerate coaches attempting to sway them into making penalty calls
against their opponent. The officiating
crews should already be prepared for all rules and penalty situations as well
as interpretation for all on-field infraction calls before the game starts
without a pregame powwow with the coaches and other team personnel. It’s preposterous and should be considered a
giant insult to the NFL officiating crews, but somehow it’s allowed. There were several ghost penalties on
Seattle, though I also saw several penalties called on the 49ers that had no
merit whatsoever. This is by far the
worst officiating performance on the year that I have seen in recent memory. Clete Blakeman’s have been highly criticized
for making errors in officiating and affecting the outcome of more games than
any other crew currently officiating. If
the replacement officials were making these calls, they would be crucified by
the; league, media, fans, the players and coaches alike. I expect more from these professionals and it
just might require that the National Football League pay the officials like
full-time employees, rather than the job being seasonal, something like public
school teachers deal with each summer.
The decisions and interpretations made during these pro-football games are
integral to calling a clean game, and each individual game has more gravity and
impact than perhaps any other team game in terms of the ramifications that lead
to post game qualification. Not to
mention, the difference of hundreds of millions of dollars between successful
organizations and perennial losers. Last
season, the Seahawks were denied a divisional championship by "one half
game" because the 49ers tied with the Rams earlier in the season. Because of that, Seattle became a wild-card
team and did not get the first round bye in the playoffs or a home game in
postseason play. Instead, they had to
fly across the country to Washington DC to play the "Washington Pro
Football Team" in the wild-card matchup at FedEx Field, in Landover,
Maryland.
Although Seattle did get some questionable
officiating calls against them at Candlestick Park, it's important to point out
that poor officiating wasn't the reason that Seattle lost to the 49ers last Sunday. The Seahawks had their chances and simply
didn't execute. This was a very hard-fought
contest that remained close for all four quarters of the game. The only major difference in the game was
that when the 49ers needed a big play, they got it. Running back, Frank Gore, ripped off a 51
yard trap play, placing the 49ers well within their kicker's (Phil Dawson)
field-goal range. Many, including
myself, sat in front of their televisions wondering why Coach Carroll didn't
simply allow the 49ers to score, which would have left the Seahawks offense and
Russell Wilson more than two minutes to put together a "possible"
game-winning or tying drive. Seattle had
a one point lead 17-16, so even if the 49ers would have scored a touchdown, and
tried for a two-point conversion, Seattle would have only trailed by six or
seven points. They could have
figuratively driven down the field, scored a touchdown and tied the game with
the PAT or could have tried for a two-point conversion, themselves, for a
victory. The two point conversion for
Seattle would have been unlikely, though.
Carroll would likely have opted to play for the “tie” and an overtime
period to live to fight on. However,
when the Seahawks coaching staff decided to play for a defensive stop or
perhaps a turnover, (which made no sense whatsoever) they left so little time
on the clock that any kind of heroic drive to score and tie the game was
unlikely with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation. The ensuing kick was short, giving Golden
Tate a chance for the return.
Unfortunately, he was only able to manage a return to the 15 yard
line. Next, Russell Wilson found
Jermaine Kearse on a deep "go route" down the middle of the field. Kearse tripped on his own feet, and fell down
as he tried to adjust to the ball. This allowed
the defender to intercept the ball, icing the game for the 49ers and ultimately
splitting the 2013 series with Seattle, 1-1.
So, what did we learn about the 49ers game last
week?
The Seahawks played one of their worst games of
the season and lost by only a deuce.
Colin Kaepernick didn't look particularly sharp and even without Brandon
Browner and Walter Thurmond, the Seahawks kept the Niners' wide receiving and
tight end “quartet” under control for the most part. Kaepernick was 15-29, 175 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
and a passer rating of 67.5. The Niners
signal caller has never had particularly good outings against the Seahawks,
going 1-2 and getting blown out in both trips to the Northwest. Seattle's defensive line also did their jobs
for most of the game; Frank Gore had 110 yards, with 51 of those yards on one
play at the end of the game, the play that ultimately decided the game. The Niners had no touchdowns rushing and they
kept Kaepernick from using his feet to attack Seattle's defense. The real breakdown was on Seattle's offense
and the ongoing problem with making mental errors and drawing ridiculous and
unnecessary penalties on big plays and important drives. The Seahawks had four plays called back of 20
or more yards gained passing and rushing.
Five of their nine penalties were on third down, killing drives and
giving the ball back to the 49ers. Russell
Wilson was 15-25, 199 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a passer rating of 81.9.
The Seahawks protection of Russell Wilson was much
improved, from what the diminutive QB phenom has dealt with over a 10 game
stretch, while 2/3 of his best offensive lineman were out with various
injuries. Breno Giacomini, Russell Okung
and the rest of the offensive line allowed Wilson to be sacked just twice for
21 yards. Unfortunately, Seattle could
not get their running game going throughout the game. Marshawn Lynch tallied just 72 yards on 20
carries and his longest carry was for just 11 yards; Lynch scored the only
rushing TD. Robert Turbin was the only
other Seahawks running back with a carry, just 2-12. Another aspect of Seattle's offense that was
nonexistent was Russell Wilson running the read option or even taking off of
boot passing plays where he would usually tucked the ball under his arm and run
if he couldn't find an open receiver.
Wilson carried the ball just once for 2 yards. This is highly unusual for the Seahawks
offensive not to utilize Wilson's speed while out on the flank looking for
throwing lanes. Slot receiver, Jermaine
Kearse, had a real good look at a well thrown ball from Wilson in the left
front corner of the end zone that hit Kearse right in his hands, but failed to
haul it in. This was a game of missed
opportunities and far too many mistakes.
The mistakes have been a common theme for Pete Carroll's Seahawks over
the last two years. However, making
plays hasn't been a chronic problem for this football team. Each week it seemingly turns out that a new
hero arises and makes the plays necessary for Seattle to move the ball and
score often enough to win. Wilson was
unable to consistently find open receivers as Tate (6), Baldwin (3) Kearse (2),
and Miller (1) seemed almost nonexistent.
The leading receiver of the day was rookie tightend, Luke Willson, 3-70,
TD.
From the onset, it didn't appear that the Seahawks
came into the stadium with the energy we are used to seeing from Pete Carroll’s
highly excitable players. There was a
lot on the line for both football teams; the Seahawks playing for the division
title and playoff rewards and the 49ers simply playing for a spot in postseason. It was as if, the Seahawks' players believed
the 49ers game wasn't one they needed.
As it turned out, that's the way they played the entire game, too. Seattle had no energy, no sense of urgency
and even the coaching staff seemed unimaginative, tentative and careful with
their playcalling. All in all, it was an
uninspired afternoon of Seahawk football, with too many errors and not enough
big plays to win. The 49ers players were
well aware what was on the line for them.
This was a must win game or they were going to be back on the Bay, watching
the playoffs (on TV) this year from their living rooms.
The Seahawks still possess a two-game lead on the
49ers in the NFC West division, but now it becomes imperative that Seattle wins
two of their final three remaining games against the; Giants, Cardinals, and Rams. The NFC West is widely believed to be the
toughest division in football and division rivalries can create outcomes that
are inconsistent with collective logic.
In simpler words, the Seahawks cannot sleep on any of these remaining
opponents if they have any hope of winning the division and securing a
first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The latter, being imperative, Seattle not
losing a football game in the last 14 contests at CenturyLink field. Russell Wilson has been the starter for all
of those winning games on his home field.
Winning this week against the New York Giants would be a favorable start
to finishing the regular-season and dominating the NFC West. Taking back the division title for the first
time in three years would also be a shot in the arm for the 12th man
and would likely ramp up the volume at the C’Link for the playoffs. Because of the decided advantage for the
Seahawks, playing in Seattle in front of the 12th man at CenturyLink Field,
home field advantage in the playoffs would virtually be "curtains"
for any team coming to the cold, wet and miserable Pacific Northwest in
January.
Pete Carroll seems to have his football team
ready for the New York Giants. This will
be “one” of hopefully “two” visits to the New Jersey Meadowlands this season,
for this year’s Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at New Jersey’s “MetLife
Stadium,” the home of the New York Giants and Jets. It’s a long flight and it will be another
10:00 AM start for the Seahawks, one of five this season (tied for most). Carroll has his team in the mindset that
“time zones and game start times” should absolutely have no effect on their
ability to execute their game plan, and thus far, his team has responded
winning five of seven road games this season, four of them being in different
time zones with one remaining this Sunday.
Seattle has certainly bucked the stigma of being a poor “Road team.” In fact, going back to last season, Russell
Wilson and the Seahawks are 8-3 in road games for their last 11, including a
playoff road win in Washington. It was
the first playoff road victory for the Seahawks in three decades. The Seahawks have a road ready, dominant
defense, and as history shows, you could take a defense on the road with little
or no effect on the players; it’s another case altogether for traveling
offenses, though.
Look for Seattle to re-establish their dominant
running game this week against the Giants, followed by a rigorous and beguiling
play action, read option combination in tandem with a big play deep threat to
punish the aggressiveness of a team that may likely play in the same brand of
football they usually do, but now without the personnel to make it effective. Under Tom Coughlin this season, New York is a
dismal 5-8 and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. So, the question for the Seahawks is likely;
“How will the team react to playing for nothing, literally, in terms of this
year’s postseason. The Giants’ players
are beaten down from a long, and losing, 17 week season, fall of a laundry list
of key injuries and a roster that has been allowed to get old. I believe it all depends on how much is left
“in the tank” for these Giants’ players.
How many of Coughlin’s personnel are playing severely hurt or injured,
and how successfully he can ready them for a game that seemingly has no real
meaning to the players. Other than, to
save their coaches job and for their sense of pride, not surrendering to the
West Coast bullies without a fight, there isn’t much to say about this game for
Giants fans. They must have a certain
amount of pride on that football team, yes?
After all, this team has won two Super Bowl Championships in four years
and both under the tutelage of Coughlin.
The Giants have their share of stars on the roster, as well. Super Bowl MVP QB Eli Manning, big sack men; DE
Jason Pierre-Paul and DT Justin Tuck, and WR Victor Cruz, and WR Hakeem Nicks. Coach Coughlin has always put together very
well coached and discipline defensive squads.
It’s vital that the Seahawks go to the East Coast with an aggressive
game plan and a laser focus… A focus on Nothing other than the New York Giants
football team. The Seahawks must make
this a “statement game” in New Jersey; everything else comes later; the time is
NOW to concentrate on the HERE and NOW.
No one knows the concept of “supreme focus” more than Russell
Wilson.
There is no doubt among the Seahawks players,
that this is Russell Wilson’s football team.
He is; their field marshal, their locker room cornerstone, their calming
centerpiece and their on-field captain (voted by the team).
The Seahawks players must ride the wave of Wilson’s
hopelessly positive attitude and his impeccable attention to detail. They have their leader and now they must
follow him into battle and take care of the business that they are fully
capable of completing. Wilson has
already visualized winning multiple Super Bowls, and now the team must make the
first one in reality.
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