Category Archives: Week 11: Atlanta

Looks like Hawks have to win division to get in

November 21, 2017 cc 2 Comments

What happened Monday night in Seattle was no surprise — it was just more of the same stuff we have seen all season from Pete Carroll’s unsteady Seahawks.

Penalties, turnovers, injuries, missed kicks, incompetent offense.

It all added up to a 34-31 home loss to Atlanta that was not as bad as the ridiculous defeat to Washington two weeks earlier but still wiped out any thought of a first-round playoff bye for Seattle this season.

There is simply no way the Hawks (6-4) will be able to catch up with the Eagles (9-1), Saints (8-2) and Vikings (8-2) for the top seeds.

These are not the 2014 Seahawks, who also were 6-4 after 11 weeks and then won their final six. That team had the NFL’s best running game and the No. 1 scoring defense, which is why it overcame its No. 1 ranking in penalties. These Hawks are No. 1 in only one of those categories — the penalties — and just aren’t complete enough to do any damage even if they do make the playoffs.

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Schedule, Week 11: Atlanta

The playoffs begin Monday vs. Atlanta

November 18, 2017 cc 2 Comments

As banged up as the Seahawks suddenly are after that Arizona bloodbath last week, they have to find a way to beat Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons on Monday if they want to have a shot at a first-round bye — and possibly if they want to win the division.

With 10 teams over .500 in the NFC, every game is basically a playoff game from here on out. Each loss will cost something — home field, a bye, a division, a home game, a playoff spot. (And the Hawks have to hope that horrendous home defeat to Washington does not come back to bite them.)

The Seahawks (6-3) have about an 11 percent chance of snagging a first-round bye, according to an aggregation of projections by Five Thirty Eight, the New York Times and Football Outsiders. They have a 61 percent chance of making the playoffs and a 38 percent chance of winning the NFC West.

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Injury report, Week 11: Atlanta

Is Chancellor out for the year, too?

November 16, 2017 cc 2 Comments

The Legion of Boom took a double whammy last Thursday, losing both Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.

Sherman is out for the season, recovering from surgery on his Achilles and looking toward a return next spring. Chancellor apparently could be following him.

It sounds like the strong safety is out this week with the stinger (i.e., nerve issue) suffered against Arizona, and rumors are flying that he could be out for the season as well.

Pete Carroll said he was still undergoing tests this week and his prognosis was unclear. It sounds like his injury might not be as serious as the one that sidelined Cliff Avril earlier this season and has Avril considering his football future. But the loss of Chancellor would be another tough blow — making him the third starter gone from Seattle’s star-studded defense.

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Franchise history, Video, Week 11: Atlanta

7 sacks! So what?

November 15, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Adrian Clayborn’s six-sack performance for Atlanta in a 27-7 win over Dallas last week has a lot of Seahawks fans crossing their fingers that Duane Brown can play Monday.

Clayborn’s six were one off the record set by Derrick Thomas in 1990 — against Seattle. But do you remember how that game turned out? Maybe Russell Wilson can channel a little Dave Krieg, if needed:

Free agency, The roster, Week 11: Atlanta

Hawks counting on Dolphins’ castoffs

November 13, 2017 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks are picking up the scraps of the Miami Dolphins and figure to get some good work out of them the rest of the year.

Just a few days after Dion Jordan made his long-delayed season debut, the Seahawks brought back former Legion of Boom original Byron Maxwell (2011 sixth-rounder).

Jordan is another case of the Seahawks’ patience seemingly paying off. Nurtured back by the Seahawks after missing two and a half years due to a suspension and a knee injury, Jordan got off to a great start in Arizona last Thursday — notching a sack and three quarterback hits. He could come in very handy as the Hawks play without Cliff Avril and Malik McDowell and with a bunch of banged-up linemen — Michael Bennett, Sheldon Richardson, Frank Clark, Marcus Smith, Jarran Reed — down the stretch.

“He’s got a big upside now,” Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN on Monday. “He is a big, physical tough guy with a lot to prove.”

Assuming Jordan stays healthy and plays well enough, the Hawks could easily retain him in 2018. Jordan will be a restricted free agent, meaning the Seahawks will have the right to keep him via tender.

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