Tag Archives: Kenneth Walker

Dominated up front again, Hawks keep regressing

November 27, 2022 cc 2 Comments

A bunch of things – almost none of them good — happened in the Seahawks’ embarrassing 40-34 loss to the Raiders.

Seattle fell out of a playoff spot and showed it really is just an average team that will have to scramble to remain in the playoff hunt. The defense got blown up by Josh Jacobs (303 total yards, an opponent-record 229 rushing yards and the winning 86-yard run in overtime) – the second straight game the defense has been dominated in the run game as it focused instead on the passing attack.

Seattle’s running game was dismal again and now has just 104 yards in the past two games – losses to Tampa and Vegas.

Geno Smith also failed in two late tries to win in the clutch – extending doubts about whether he really should be extended.

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Week 8: NY Giants

Lots of credit to go around so far, including Waldron

November 4, 2022 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks had a heck of an October, going 4-1 to leap into first place in the NFC West, and credit has deservedly been shared by many players – Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker III and Tariq Woolen pulled a trifecta of monthly NFC awards.

Clint Hurtt also has gotten a lot of credit for flipping the defense – since Week 6, the Hawks have cut points allowed in half (30.8 to 15), rushing yards almost in half (170 to 92) and passing yards by a quarter (260 to 198) while tripling their sack total (six to 19).

But another guy who should get some credit is Shane Waldron. The second-year OC took some heat early in the season for getting too cute – the worst example coming when he trotted out four RBs against the 49ers and DeeJay Dallas threw an INT at the goal line.

But Waldron has presented a variety of formations and some great concepts that have helped Smith and the offense succeed beyond anyone’s preseason projections. They are the No. 4 scoring offense in the league, at 26.3 ppg – behind only AFC powerhouses Kansas City (31.9) and Buffalo (29) and undefeated Philly (28.1). The Hawks are the No. 7 unit by DVOA.

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Week 7: At L.A. Chargers

Carroll loves first place, but ‘the best is yet to come’

October 25, 2022 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks have surprised everyone, leading the NFC West at Week 7 with a 4-3 record built on two straight good-looking wins.

Now everyone wants to take a pause to congratulate Pete Carroll and John Schneider. There are still 10 games left, but no one predicted the Hawks would be leading the division at this point (the closest we came was a 3-4 projection) with a quarterback who is playing better than the erstwhile star he replaced and a young defense that has seemed to find its way after a rough start.

Carroll is enjoying this rebirth, both of his roster and himself and Schneider, who could be seen in the SoFi Stadium suites Sunday excitedly watching his new young team beat the Chargers 37-23.

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Week 6: Arizona

If defense flipped a permanent switch, Hawks are a playoff contender

October 17, 2022 cc 1 Comment

Don’t look now, but the Seahawks might be turning into a playoff contender before our very eyes.

After a 19-9 win over Arizona, they are again tied atop the so far middling NFC West — and they suddenly might have figured out how to play defense.

The West has no standout team. With San Francisco and Los Angeles also 3-3, the division is up for grabs. So, if the Hawks have indeed discovered the secret sauce on defense, it could be a fun, competitive ride from here on out.

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NFL draft, The roster

Building around QB spot: Roster report after the draft

May 4, 2022 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks may not yet know who their quarterback will be – Geno Smith, Drew Lock or someone else — but they certainly are building around that position.

For once, the Seahawks played the draft by the book – and the result looks like their best set of rookies in a decade.

They filled all of their most pressing needs except center — adding tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, running back Kenneth Walker, pass rushers Boye Mafe and Tyreke Smith and corners Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen. They tossed in a pair of receivers/possible return guys in the seventh round.

The Seahawks got proper value for every pick. Cross, Lucas, Walker, Mafe and Bryant look like five foundational players – four who should be starters now or quite soon. Woolen is an intriguing project as well.

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