Category Archives: X’s & O’s

Bevell: ‘I can do a better job … but execution is what it comes down to’

October 16, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Darrell Bevell has taken a lot of heat this week for the terrible performance by the offense in Seattle’s 30-23 loss to Dallas on Sunday.

Among the biggest failings, Marshawn Lynch carried the ball just 10 times (despite gaining 61 yards) and Percy Harvin netted minus-1 yard on six touches. That had many people pointing the finger at the play calling.

Bevell laid most of the blame on poor execution by the players, but he also admitted he needs to get the ball to Lynch more.

“It’s overall execution. There’s not one thing,” he said. “I can do a better job. I can get us into some better situations. We can run the ball more like everyone’s asking. … But overall execution is what it comes down to.”

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Week 6: Dallas, X's & O's

It’s time to put offense back in Beast Mode

October 12, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Dallas Cowboys came to Seattle with the 20^th-ranked run defense in the league. You would think the Seahawks would have tried to exploit that weakness using their top-ranked rushing offense.

But, the same Seattle offense that ran for 225 yards on 36 attempts against Washington on Monday chose to eschew the run Sunday in a 30-23 loss. Coach Pete Carroll blamed it on losing the third-down battle, but it certainly was more than that.

True, the Hawks won just 12 of 30 third downs on both sides, which led to a 38-22 edge for Dallas in time of possession. And the defense gave up the biggest conversion — on third-and-20 — with five minutes left.

But the Hawks could have run the ball more than 18 times. Marshawn Lynch carried it just 10 — even though he averaged 6.1 yards per tote. Russell Wilson, who ran for a career-best 122 yards on 11 carries last Monday, ran it just twice for 12 yards vs. Dallas.

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Week 6: Dallas, X's & O's

Why doesn’t Wilson run more often?

October 11, 2014 cc Leave a comment

After watching Russell Wilson outrun Denver in overtime and use his feet to beat Washington, plenty of Seahawks fans have to be thinking: He controls the game so much when he runs, why doesn’t he do it more often?

The simple answer is he prefers to hand off to Marshawn Lynch on those read option plays and keep his eyes downfield when passing plays break down.

Most of Wilson’s running last season was out of necessity as Darrell Bevell inexplicably failed to move Wilson around behind Seattle’s battered offensive line. After rushing for 489 yards on 94 carries as a rookie — much of that on the read option in the second half of the season — Wilson ran for 539 yards on 96 carries last season.

As expected (by us anyway), this season he is running more. With 209 yards on 29 carries, he is on pace for 836 yards and 116 rushes.

Until Monday, most of Wilson’s runs had been scrambles off busted pass plays. In the 26-20 overtime win vs. Denver in Week 3, he led the Hawks to the winning touchdown on scrambles.

But against Washington, half of his runs were off zone-read keepers — a rare game in which he chose to run the ball 11 times, netting a career-high 122 yards in the 27-17 win. It was part of the plan against the Redskins.

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Week 4: Bye, X's & O's

Are Hawks using Harvin to best effect?

September 26, 2014 cc Leave a comment

After the Seahawks unveiled their new, improved (read: healthy) Percy Harvin in the season opener, everyone went gaga over the way the mercurial playmaker was used.

And Pete Carroll stoked the excitement by teasing, “There’s a bunch of other stuff we’ll do. … We’re just getting started.”

It sounded so promising.

In two games since then, though, the Seattle offense has used Harvin more as a decoy than anything, prompting the question: Are Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell using Harvin to best effect?

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Week 4: Bye, X's & O's

Offense has been almost pointless in second half

September 25, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Marshawn Lynch is tackled in the end zone for a safety by Denver's T.J. Ward, left, and Chris Harris on Sept. 21 (AP) — Marshawn Lynch is tackled in the end zone for a safety by Denver’s T.J. Ward, left, and Chris Harris on Sept. 21 (AP)

Russell Wilson said he was “almost hoping” Peyton Manning would rally the Denver Broncos to tie the game Sunday. That way Wilson could get the ball again.

It’s hard to blame Wilson for wanting another chance after the way the second half went. As bad as the defensive meltdown was on Denver’s final possession, the Seattle offense really carried more responsibility for letting a two-touchdown lead slip away.

And that really was just part of a trend over the first three games in which the offense has gone from scoring machine in the first half to almost pointless in the second.

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Week 3: Denver, X's & O's

How did the Seahawks give up the tying TD?

September 23, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Broncos' tying TD pass vs Seahawks — Peyton Manning (at the 33-yard line) throws a touchdown pass to Jacob Tamme after Tamme beat K.J. Wright on a double move.

One of the big mysteries surrounding Seattle’s overtime victory against Denver on Sunday was just how that game ended up in overtime anyway.

Yeah, we know Peyton Manning and the Broncos pulled off a nearly impossible task, marching 80 yards in 41 seconds with no timeouts and converting the two-point conversion to force overtime.

But how did it happen?

Pete Carroll provided the answers Monday.

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X's & O's

All you need to know about the jet sweep

September 13, 2014 cc Leave a comment

In 2012, the Seahawks added a dynamic player with unique traits and eventually found a way to take advantage of them: Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson lit up the league with the zone read option in the last few weeks of the season.

This year, the Hawks have another new player with stellar abilities, and they already know how to use him.

OK, so Percy Harvin isn’t really new — he was acquired last year — but a hip injury limited him to just a few plays all season so this is really the first time he has been healthy and used to full effect. He showed off his skills impressively in the season-opening 36-16 win over Green Bay.

Now everyone is talking about the Seahawks’ use of the jet sweep — i.e., “The Percy Harvin play.”

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