Category Archives: X’s & O’s

Last look at the final play & the reactions to it

February 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Super Bowl Carroll dumbfounded as Lynch walks past — Pete Carroll stands dumbfounded as Marshawn Lynch walks by after the interception.

Lynch with the wry smile — What was Lynch thinking as he walked to the sideline? Perhaps: “My price to stay just went up, boss.”

It has been three days, and the
Seahawks’ final
offensive play of the Super Bowl continues to reverberate throughout the football world —
certainly nowhere more than in
Seattle.

In that time, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson have defended the play and the man who called it, Darrell Bevell. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has spoken out against the critics, lavishing praise on Carroll and his Seahawks.

EA Sports even created an alternate ending in which the Seahawks run the play nearly all of us think they should have run — with Marshawn Lynch scoring the winning touchdown.

And “NFL Insiders” showed the last play from the sidelines, listening in on the coaches and players and catching a shot of Lynch walking off the field after the interception with a wry smile on his face.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Seahawks never did find an offensive identity

February 2, 2015 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks struggled to find an offensive identity all season. Obviously that had not changed by the last play of the Super Bowl.

For a bunch that continually says they are a power running team and Marshawn Lynch is their bell cow, the Hawks have a funny way of showing it sometimes. Sunday was one of those times.

Why in the world would the Seahawks consider giving Lynch a big contract extension if they refuse to use him in the most important moment of the season?

The inexplicable decision to eschew Lynch in favor of a pass from the 1-yard line, trailing 28-24 with 26 seconds left, was the most head-scratching move in a season that already had caused most fans to claw their noggins raw.

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Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Want to know why the Seahawks will win?

February 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

A year ago, wise football followers knew Seattle was going to beat Denver in the Super Bowl. After all, defense wins championships, and Seattle had the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

Of course, the way it happened was astonishing — with the Seahawks’ defense shutting out the most prolific offense in NFL history for most of the game and Seattle running away with the win, 43-8.

It is hard to imagine the Hawks doing the same thing to the Patriots in this Super Bowl. But, Seattle again has the No. 1 defense in the league and — despite the Legion of Boom being banged up — that unit largely has played even better than the 2013 version.

Wise football followers once again know the Seahawks are going to win. The only question is: How will it happen?

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Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Super Bowl matchup: Gronk vs. Bam Bam & Co.

January 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

One of the most anticipated matchups in the Super Bowl is Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski vs. Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor: Gronk vs. Bam Bam.

But that’s obviously an oversimplification of the matchup. The fact is the Hawks are going to focus their entire defense on all of New England’s offense, and Chancellor will interchange with K.J. Wright and other teammates in coverage against the Patriots’ best receiving target.

The Seahawks allowed just 17 passing touchdowns all season — second fewest in the NFL behind Buffalo’s 16. But 11 of those went to tight ends, making some think the Hawks have a weakness in that part of their defense.

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Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Super Bowl matchup: Browner’s a target, too

January 27, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Right after the
Patriots won the AFC title game, Brandon Browner told reporters he had envisioned meeting his former Seattle teammates in the Super Bowl.

Now he apparently wants to hurt them — or maybe not. Either way, he might want to be more concerned about what the Hawks are going to do against him.

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Playoffs: Green Bay, X's & O's

Did the Hawks really need that onside kick?

January 22, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Now that we all know the Seahawks’ onside kick was legal — like there should have been any question — let’s answer this question: Should the Seahawks have done it?

Seattle came up with several long-odds plays to beat the Packers in the NFC title game, but did the Seahawks actually make it too hard on themselves at the end?

Did they really need an onside kick, two-point conversion and overtime? Wouldn’t they have had at least the same chance of winning if they had kicked the ball deep after Russell Wilson’s touchdown run?

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State of the team, Week 15: San Francisco, X's & O's

Once again, Hawks are winning despite O-line

December 17, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have rediscovered the formula that won them a Super Bowl: No. 1 defense plus Beast Mode plus DangeRuss plus crappy offensive line.

Can you imagine what kind of season Marshawn Lynch would have if he was running behind the 2005 Super Bowl line that featured future Hall of Famer Walter Jones and All-Pro Steve Hutchinson? We’re probably talking a 2,500-yard season with 30 touchdowns.

But that’s fantasy. Reality is that this line is basically in the same shape as the one that limped into the playoffs last season.

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State of the team, Week 14: At Philadelphia, X's & O's

Seahawks need to flip red zone performance

December 4, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ matching 19-3 wins over Arizona and San Francisco the past two weeks have been impressive defensive feats — the lowest two-game total by Seattle opponents since the Hawks beat Philadelphia and San Francisco 83-3 late in their 2005 Super Bowl season.

Of course, led by coach Mike Holmgren and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, the 2005 Hawks had the best offense in the league (in yards and points) and were No. 2 in red zone scoring.

About the only thing this Seattle offense shares with that one is a strong running game. Russell Wilson’s offense has struggled to score touchdowns, especially over the last three games.

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Week 12: Arizona, X's & O's

Despite great game, Wilson shares blame

November 26, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson clearly had one of his best performances of the season Sunday against Arizona, playing a very efficient game in the face of adversity.

According to ESPN, only 13 passers in NFL history had better ratings than Wilson’s 121.6 when being sacked seven times or more. Wilson was pretty calm in the face of the blitzing Arizona defense, hitting 11 of 13 passes for 153 yards in pressure situations.

But he still missed several opportunities and shared plenty of blame for the seven sacks.

Field Gulls put together screen shots and GIFs of each Seattle play that ended in a sack. After seeing those and rewatching the game, the fact is Wilson probably could have avoided at least four of the sacks if he had made quicker decisions and trusted his receivers a bit more.

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Week 10: N.Y. Giants, X's & O's

Passing game is still grounded, but at least the Hawks are running it

November 11, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are finally doing what you, me and everyone else thought they should be doing all year: Running the ball.

Both with Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson.

Pete Carroll and Darrell Bevell royally screwed up the offense in the offseason when they plotted to take over the world with Percy Harvin as their weapon of mass destruction. But — as most of the rest of us could have predicted — he imploded, and the Seattle offense blew up with him.

Thanks to the Percy Plan and many injuries on the offensive line (again), Wilson and the passing game have simply not been in sync.

For the fourth time in five games — and third straight game at home — Wilson was very bad throwing the ball. He threw two interceptions — both his fault — in the 38-17 win over the New York Giants. That followed up a 17-of-35 game vs. Oakland and a below-average performance at Carolina.

But the Hawks have won all three because they are running the ball again.

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