One of the most head-scratching things about the Seahawks’ loss to the 49ers in Week 1 was Klint Kubiak veering away from the formations we saw so much in the preseason, which had enabled a strong running game.

It led to a lot of failed early downs, which led to too many third-down failures and resulted in just 13 points off a 38-22 deficit in time of possession. While Kubiak kept his run-pass balance to a good ratio (26-23), he ran a lot of 11 personnel and the fewest play-action snaps in the league in Week 1 (just two). And Sam Darnold’s reads continually led to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so the Hawks had a very one-dimensional offense.

They cannot do any of that in Week 2 at Pittsburgh if they are going to avoid an 0-2 start, a hole that typically means just an 11% chance of making the playoffs.

Continue reading The real offense needs to show up in Pittsburgh →