Category Archives: X’s & O’s

Outcoached again, Carroll needs to get his team up to speed fast

September 10, 2019 cc Leave a comment

We all should be used to this Seahawks fact by now: Pete Carroll plays a conservative (i.e., ugly) brand of football that almost always leads to slow starts.

So why does Seattle always look so bad on offense early in the season? Why does the offensive line start so poorly? Why is the play-calling such a mess?

It really boils down to this: Carroll plays simple football, relying heavily on players to execute relatively basic concepts, while some other coaches use more complex schemes to help their players succeed.

Continue reading Outcoached again, Carroll needs to get his team up to speed fast →

Coaches, X's & O's

Hawks will keep running, but will Wilson & Schotty be better?

September 6, 2019 cc Leave a comment

As the Seahawks open the season, one of the major points to watch will be the evolution of Russell Wilson and a fully Baldwin-less offense in Year 2 under Brian Schottenheimer.

The Seahawks put a lot of resources (financial and draft) into their passing game in the offseason, which led some to suggest (or hope) they are now building entirely around Wilson and are going to throw the ball all over the yard.

Clearly, people who think Carroll is going to sway from his run-focused approach are dreaming — and not really paying attention. Remember, Carroll is all about that circle of toughness — imposing his will on both sides of the ball.

As Carroll recently told 710 ESPN: “We want to play off the running game. … We want to run the heck out of the football. We love that part of the game, but we love everything that comes off that.

“We hopefully are going to show you a wide-open attack that makes you have to defend the run and makes you have to defend Russell sitting back there bombing footballs. We want to get the ball down the field and attack the heck out of it. That’s a big deal to us.

Continue reading Hawks will keep running, but will Wilson & Schotty be better? →

The roster, X's & O's

‘How do we work these guys together?’

September 3, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Now that John Schneider has repeated his 2013 defensive line coup, the question becomes: How long will it take Pete Carroll, Ken Norton and company to get this collection of linemen playing to its best capabilities?

Schneider told 710 ESPN that Seattle’s front seven, including a trio of “phenomenal blitzers” at linebacker, is “a really cool group. (Coaches are) putting it together right now: How do we work these guys together?”

For a sampling, we merely need go back to 2013, the last time Schneider brought in two impact pass rushers at the same time.

Continue reading ‘How do we work these guys together?’ →

The roster, X's & O's

Hawks failed Glowinski & still need guards

January 29, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have to be kicking themselves over how badly they screwed up with Mark Glowinski, who has to be just as happy that they released him from Tom Cable’s broken system in 2017 so he could get his career going in the right direction.

The guard was a good pick by Seattle in the fourth round in 2015, coming off an excellent college career at West Virginia, and he should have become one of Seattle’s line mainstays. Instead, Carroll and Schneider let him go in 2017 and he turned into one of the Indianapolis Colts’ best linemen in 2018, earning a contract worth $6 million a year.

Glowinski is the latest — maybe the greatest — example of how Cable’s system held players back in Seattle.

Continue reading Hawks failed Glowinski & still need guards →

Coaches, Playoffs: At Dallas, X's & O's

Coaches talk third-down failure, but it starts on first two downs

January 11, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Third downs get such a bum rap.

One of these days, we hope, Pete Carroll and his coaches will realize third-down success starts on first down. They never seem to get that, constantly droning on after losses about how third downs ruined their offense.

It was more of the same after the 24-22 playoff loss to Dallas, with Carroll telling anyone who would listen that their failure on 11 of 13 third downs was what did them in — as opposed to any play-calling mistakes on the preceding downs.

Brian Schottenheimer continued the refrain Thursday, telling 710 ESPN: “The biggest issue that we had — and it was kind of the issue for us throughout the course of the year when we struggled – was third down. We weren’t able to convert on third downs. We weren’t able to get momentum going. We’re kind of an offense, because we run the ball and we throw the deep play passes, that when you’re struggling on third down it kind of hurts your ability to get started.”

It’s true the Hawks put themselves in big holes on third down; they averaged third-and-8 and went three-and-out six times in 12 possessions.

But how do you get into trouble on third down? How do you get into a spot that is too challenging to overcome? By messing up on first and second downs. And the Seattle offense finished the season just as poorly as it started it.

Continue reading Coaches talk third-down failure, but it starts on first two downs →

Week 15: At San Francisco, X's & O's

Wilson needs to throw to his receivers more

December 17, 2018 cc Leave a comment

If Russell Wilson had found his receivers more often against the 49ers, the Seahawks quite probably would have won — despite all of the other errors by players and refs in the game.

A lot has been made all season of Seattle’s renewed running game and the magic 50 number (completions plus rushes), but the X factor really has been Wilson’s targets.

Including the loss to the 49ers, Seattle has lost four games despite big rushing days and is just 7-4 when hitting the magic number, so those stats obviously have not fully predicted results.

But Wilson’s targets have: Seattle is 0-5 when under 50 percent of his throws go to his wide receivers, 8-1 when over half go to the wideouts.

Continue reading Wilson needs to throw to his receivers more →

Week 5: L.A. Rams, X's & O's

Hawks need a complete game from offense

October 7, 2018 cc Leave a comment

As good as the Seahawks’ defense has been over the first month, it is about to face its biggest test of the season — and that means Seattle’s offense is going to have to be a lot better than it has been if it is going to win a shootout.

Seattle ranks seventh in overall defense, fifth against the pass and sixth in takeaways — rankings built against some of the league’s poorer offenses. Now, without Earl Thomas, they go up against a Rams unit that ranks first overall and second in passing and scoring.

It’s the ideal time for Russell Wilson and company to find themselves.

Under Brian Schottenheimer, the offense still is having trouble figuring out what it wants to be when it grows up.

Continue reading Hawks need a complete game from offense →

Week 1: At Denver, X's & O's

It starts on first downs

September 11, 2018 cc 2 Comments

With a defense in training, the Seahawks absolutely need Russell Wilson to play his best this season. And it starts on first downs.

That’s what made it so disappointing when Seattle came up short in the opener in Denver — Wilson holding the ball too long and taking unnecessary sacks and Brian Schottenheimer doing very little to help him as the Hawks basically ran their old playbook.

Continue reading It starts on first downs →

Week 1: At Denver, X's & O's

Is Carroll’s project ready if needed?

September 6, 2018 cc Leave a comment

With Dontae Johnson now questionable or worse with a hip injury, it looks very possible that the Seahawks will end up starting two rookies in Denver — Tre Flowers joining Shaquem Griffin.

Flowers, a 6-3, fifth-round pick who converted from safety to corner for Seattle, played a ton in the preseason as he learned Pete Carroll’s very specific technique (kick-step, etc.). And he got a lot of up-close tutoring from the coach himself.

Continue reading Is Carroll’s project ready if needed? →

Coaches, Preseason, X's & O's

Offense developing consistency, creativity

August 21, 2018 cc 2 Comments

We’re two preseason games into Seattle’s new offensive era, and the reviews on Brian Schottenheimer and Mike Solari have been pretty glowing so far.

Last week, Pete Carroll reiterated that one of his concerns about the old offense was that coaches were starting to “jam our players into the system” rather than play to their strengths.

The obvious example there is Jimmy Graham, who was forced to become a blocker and was not used downfield as well as he should have been. But Carroll also meant the offensive linemen. As he said in May, “We needed to shift gears a bit to match up with the guys we have here.”

Well, after two preseason games, they seem to be making progress.

Continue reading Offense developing consistency, creativity →