Tag Archives: Jamal Adams

Hawks hit 12 wins, records & will face Rams in playoffs

January 3, 2021 cc Leave a comment

The offense struggled to help the defense, but the Seahawks managed to rally to beat the 49ers 26-23 and finish with 12 wins (or more) for the fifth time in franchise history and third in Pete Carroll’s 11 seasons.

The Hawks (12-4) will host the Rams, who beat Arizona, in the playoffs next weekend. The big questions: Will the offense play more like it did in the fourth quarter against the 49ers? And will they have Jamal Adams, who suffered another shoulder injury?

Continue reading →

Contracts

The Quandre quandary

December 23, 2020 cc 1 Comment

Quandre Diggs received a nice early Christmas present, getting his first Pro Bowl spot. The next natural question: Is it the first of many to come in Seattle or will he be a short-timer here? Because his price to stay just went up.

The selection surprised a number of fans, because Diggs seemingly has not made a lot of impact plays this season. But the fact is he leads Seattle with four interceptions, which is tied for fourth in the NFL and tied for tops among NFC safeties with Minnesota’s Harrison Smith. Diggs is also tied with Smith with nine pass breakups, second among NFC safeties.

Clearly NFL people thought he deserved the Pro Bowl selection over the longtime Vikings star, and those who watch the All-22 film, which shows Diggs’ work on the back end of the secondary, tend to agree (although Pro Football Focus picked New Orleans’ Marcus Williams over Diggs).

Continue reading →

Week 15: At Washington

Hawks pass big test and can win West this week

December 21, 2020 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks passed the Washington test – and surprisingly passed the Rams in the NFC West in the process.

The 20-15 win over Washington was one of the Seahawks’ best wins of the season – right up there with the win over Arizona. With the Rams stunningly becoming the Jets’ first victim of the season, it put the Hawks on top in the NFC West. A win at home vs. L.A. this week would clinch the division for the Hawks.

“Next week will be another championship game for us,’’ Pete Carroll said. “Just what we’ve been preparing for.’’

Continue reading →

The roster, Week 15: At Washington

The Legion of Blitz & more hot topics

December 17, 2020 cc Leave a comment

Jamal Adams’ sack record is getting a lot of attention this week.

Some say it is over-inflated – like a blind squirrel finding a nut in a park full of them. Some say Pete Carroll’s use of a safety as his main sack guy has completely changed his defense. And some say Carroll is again revolutionizing secondary play for the entire NFL.

We say Carroll is doing what he always tries to do (and often succeeds at doing): Use the skills of his players to best effect. So yeah, LOB now means Legion of Blitz. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Continue reading →

Schedule, Week 14: NY Jets

Easy win over Jets sets up high-flying finish

December 14, 2020 cc 8 Comments

The Seahawks had a rare on-field respite in Week 14, but now it’s back to work: Three NFC games to determine their postseason position.

After improving to 9-4 with a 40-3 win over the New York Jets, the Seahawks sit one game behind Green Bay and New Orleans in the race for the top seed and accompanying bye. They also have a huge game against the Rams (9-4) in Week 16 that will help determine the division winner; Seattle needs to win that to have a chance at the division, though Week 17 still would loom large.

Continue reading →

Franchise history, NFL draft, Trades

Schneider’s future should depend on Adams & Taylor

December 10, 2020 cc 7 Comments

The spotlight is on Seattle’s GM this week as the Seahawks and Jamal Adams face the Jets and Darrell Taylor’s future remains a mystery.

John Schneider’s job security, quite frankly, should depend on two things: Whether he re-signs Adams and whether Taylor ever plays. If neither happens in 2021, the last year of Schneider’s deal, the GM should not be re-signed.

This is not just about the two big moves to get those guys this year — deals that cost the Seahawks five high draft picks. It’s about a GM who has had a lot more failures than successes over the past seven years, who is still living off his historic 2010-12 drafts, who has whiffed at the top of his last eight drafts way too often, who rarely makes good decisions in free agency, who is not very creative with the salary cap and who for several years has been making it up as he goes, with no long-term plan.

Continue reading →

Contracts, The roster, Trades

‘This is just the start’: Dunlap is a keeper, extensions expected

November 23, 2020 cc 2 Comments

It took almost two years, but it looks like John Schneider finally found Seattle’s next star pass rusher. And he had better plan to keep him beyond 2021.

In three short games, veteran star Carlos Dunlap has proven to be everything we expected — a grand steal of a deal from the Bengals – and he clearly should be in Seattle’s plans next year and beyond.

Continue reading →

Week 11: Arizona

Can Wilson avoid first three-game losing streak?

November 18, 2020 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson has never lost three straight games, but he faces the biggest test of that streak ever on Thursday against Arizona.

The Cardinals have won four of the last five in Seattle, all coming in Week 10 or later. And they’re on a hot streak, having won four out of five – including a Hail Murray win over Buffalo on Sunday. That is the same Bills team that put up a Pete Carroll era-worst 44 points against Seattle two Sundays ago.

If the Seahawks lose this game, they will drop to 6-4 and basically be two games behind Arizona, thanks to a sweep. Seattle has an easy slate the rest of the way, with three NFC Least teams, the Jets and the battered 49ers. But the Hawks need to show they can beat good teams.

Continue reading →

State of the team, The roster

Midseason roster report: Can the defense improve?

November 12, 2020 cc 1 Comment

Midway through the season, the Seahawks are a game better than we expected — despite a horrendous pass defense that might be the thing that keeps them out of the Super Bowl.

The Seahawks are off to one of their best starts under Pete Carroll, 6-2 (or better) for the third time. With the easiest finishing slate in the NFL, they look destined for at least 11 wins. The question, as it has been all season, is whether their defense will improve enough to help them get to the Super Bowl.

They have been 6-2 or better just two other times under Carroll. In 2013, they started 7-1 and finished 13-3 on the way to a Super Bowl title. Last season, they started 6-2 and finished 11-5 (knocked out of the playoffs by Green Bay).

They look good for 11-5 this season, too. The second-half schedule is the easiest in the league. The tough part will be the division games: They play the Rams twice, starting this week, and Arizona in Week 11. But they also face three NFC Least clubs, plus the Jets and the decimated 49ers. The very worst they should do in the final eight is 5-3, which would net 11 wins.

Continue reading Midseason roster report: Can the defense improve? →

Week 8: San Francisco, X's & O's

Carroll on blitzing: ‘It’s going to happen some more’

November 2, 2020 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are going to continue to put the heat on quarterbacks via the blitz, Pete Carroll says.

Led by Bobby Wagner’s two sacks and four QB hits, the Seahawks blitzed on 23 of the 49ers’ 45 dropbacks (51%) — their highest rate since 2010, per ESPN Stats & Info. The Hawks had been blitzing about 24% of the time before that this season.

“I thought that the pressure we threw at them helped everybody,” Carroll said. “We just decided to take a little turn. Obviously, we’re trying to figure some things out to get better, and we just put it on the fellas. … With Jamal (Adams) coming back next, it’s going to happen some more.”

That’s good news.

Continue reading →