The loss of Shaun Alexander had more of an impact than many people are realizing. The concern for the rest of the season is that the breakdowns in the Chicago game started from the top down. Mike Holmgren, Matt Hasselbeck, and Marcus Trufant deserve the lion's share of the blame for the terrible loss. The good news is that those guys should bounce back to play and coach at a high level. If they do not, then this team might not even go to the playoffs.
On offense, Holmgren and Hasselbeck appeared at a loss when the oppossing defense was no longer focusing their attention on Alexander. If Jeremy Shockey played for the Seahawks, it would be known by everyone that the Seahawks not only got outplayed, but also outcoached. Holmgren's play-calling was nothing short of pathetic. He showed his tendency to pass on first-down. When Holmgren does this and the pass is incomplete, it leaves the Seahawks with a second-and-ten, and then Holgrem inevitably calls a run straight up the middle into the teeth of the defense for a couple of yards. That leaves the team with third-and-long, which is always difficult, especially against a good defense.
The play-calling was especially poor inside the ten yard line. In the first quarter, the Seahawks marched down the field and had a first-and-goal from the 7-yard-line. Holmgren called a pass, instead of letting Maurice Morris at least get a couple of yards. He did call a run on second down, but that play should have been run on first down. Second-and-goal from the 5-yard-line is a great situation to keep the defense guessing, but third-and-goal from the 5-yard-line means a pass. Holmgren did not give Morris or the offensive line a chance to get into the endzone. In the second quarter, Holmgren called three straight pass plays from the 6-yard-line (all incomplete). Terrible! He also out-thought himself on a third-and-six and a third-and-ten when he ran draws with Mack Strong. That does not work against the Bears.
Matt Hasselbeck played a terrible game as well. He took a sack late in the first quarter on the Seahawks third possession. After that he lost confidence in the offensive line and played scared. He rushed throws, panicked, and made bad decisions the rest of the game. We can blame the offensive line all we want, but it was more Hasselbeck than anyone else. The interceptions were terrible and he just made some bad throws. Darrell Jackson did drop two catchable balls and Nate Burleson another, but they were not easy catches by any means because of poor placement on the passes. When asked to shoulder the load without Shaun Alexander, Matt Hasselbeck failed. Those criticising K.C. Joyner's article on Matt Hasselbeck's decision-making owe Joyner an apology.
Walter Jones did get beat for two sacks, but one of them was 100% Matt Hasselbeck's fault. Jones had pushed Alex Brown to the outside and all Hasselbeck had to do was step up in the pocket, but he ran backwards into Brown for some reason. However, Jones was struggling all game. The worst play might have been when he was blocking for Maurice Morris out in the flat. He ran completely laterally and Morris outran him. People want to blame Morris for not following his block, but if he had he would have run straight out of bounds. Jones needed to get down the field some or the play was doomed. If he would have moved vertically a little bit, Morris could have followed him. Jones also appeared to give up in the second half and was clearly not giving a full effort. That is inexcusable, especially for an All-Pro.
Starting the game without Jordan Babineaux and then losing Michael Boulware with a concussion didn't help, but the secondary was in trouble from the start. The defensive line did not get much pressure, but the Seahawks coverage was absolutely terrible and Marcus Trufant was the biggest disappointment. He did not even play well enough to start for Wilson High School. It would almost be comforting to hear that he had the flu or some undisclosed injury because his play was horrendous. Oliver Celestin can be blamed for most of the plays that made Kelly Herndon look bad, but that is understandable for a guy that barely made the team. Herndon requires help over the top, especially against a fast receiver, and Celstin did not give it to him.
Outside of Trufant, the biggest problem on defense was the game plan. Remember what the Seahawks did against Tiki Barber and the Giants? Stop the run with the front-seven and drop the safeties in coverage. That might have worked against Chicago as well, but the Seahawks bit on every play-fake, committed safeties to stopping the run, and got burned in the secondary because of it. Stick with what works and change it only if something isn't working. The Seahawks got outcoached on both sides of the ball in a major way.
The Seahawks got humbled and they needed it. The coaching staff underestimated Rex Grossman and the Chicago offense. They need to avoid making the same mistake with the St. Louis defense. If the Seahawks do not commit to running the ball against the Rams and dropping safeties in coverage on defense to help defend the pass, then a loss in St. Louis is almost guaranteed.
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