The one thing that should give Seahawks fans hope is that this personnel group has played well before. Marcus Trufant has not been the shutdown corner the Seahawks expected when he was drafted, but he was a solid starter before this year. His play has been pathetic this season and the Seahawks would be wise not to offer him a contract extension if he continues to play at this level. He may not be playing the worst football of any cornerback in the NFL this season, but it is hard to find many struggling as much as he has to this point.
The Seahawks defensive unit is still very talented and is underachieving to an amazing degree. The group has the ability to play well, so they can turn things around. The question is how bad they want to and if they can live up to their talent. One key change might be to give Leroy Hill back the role he was successful in last year - rushing the passer - and dropping Julian Peterson back in coverage and allowing him to play more in run support. The Seahawks also need to stop playing zone coverage because they stink at it. Kelly Herndon and Marcus Trufant can play one-on-one coverage with safety help over the top.
On offense, the Seahawks are playing well given the injuries. To mock Dennis Green (something you gotta love) - Seneca Wallace is who we thought he was. As an inexperienced starter, he is going to throw some bad passes and make bad choices that result in interceptions if the DBs can hold onto the ball. At 5'10" with a line-drive delivery he is going to throw several batted balls each game that could be potential interceptions and those hardballs will also lead to an increased number of "drops" by the receivers. However, the offense continues to put up points and score enough to win the game as long as the defense can force a few punts and maybe get a turnover.
The Seahawks were not expected to win in Arrowhead (the Chargers lost their the week before), especially with the Chiefs playing better football. Kansas City has won 12 of their last 14 home games. Before the doomsday naysayers convince you the Seahawks season is over, ask yourself this question: With respect to hope for the future was the Seahawks performance without Hasselbeck and Alexander at Kansas City (4-3) more disconcerting than the Bears performance at Arizona (1-7)? Just because a team struggles one week does not mean that they cannot right the ship.
The Seahawks have struggled in more than one game, but then again so have the Bears. They barely held on to beat the Vikings with a fourth quarter touchdown. Indianapolis almost dropped a game to the hapless Titans. The one thing that appears certain is that the Seahawks will need to win shootouts until the defense gets back on track (or the rest of the year if it never does). The Raiders offense is so pathetic that the Seahawks should win as long as Seneca Wallace does not throw two interceptions returned for touchdowns (see: Ben Roethlisberger).
The Seahawks might lose to St. Louis in Week 10, but Shaun Alexander could make the difference. San Francisco and Green Bay should be pushovers assuming Matt Hasselbeck is back as scheduled. There is a good chance the Seahawks will get Hasselbeck and Alexander back with Jerramy Stevens, Darrell Jackson, and Deion Branch. That offense is capable of winning shootouts if necessary. The Colts defense cannot stop anyone, but that squad is 7-0.
Before everyone gets too excited, the Seahawks did dominate the New York Giants for three quarters (42-3) and everyone is now touting them as a favorite to get to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks are 4-3 and the Giants are 5-2 with the Seahawks holding the tiebreaker if the teams even up their records. The Giants still have Chicago, Dallas, and New Orleans left at home as well as road games at Jacksonville and Carolina. The Seahawks dropped the game against Kansas City, but they should still win three of the next four and be right where they need to be at 7-4. The Seahawks could still beat St. Louis and be 8-3 if everything goes right.
0 comments:
Post a Comment