Tag Archives: Shane Waldron

Week 12: San Francisco

Hawks must get ground game going if they want to make a run

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The Seahawks were expected to have a top-10 offense in 2023, but here we are in Week 12 and they rank 21st overall, 19th in scoring.   

They have not had an offense rank this poorly since 2011, the year before Russell Wilson arrived.

After a predictable 31-13 blowout by the 49ers on Thanksgiving night, the Hawks have lost three of four games to drop to 6-5. And they are staring at an upcoming gantlet of Dallas, San Francisco again and Philadelphia that seems very likely to drop them to 6-8.

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State of the team

Blowout didn’t change anything: Hawks still a borderline one-and-out playoff team

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The Seahawks never seemed like a Super Bowl contender throughout the first half of the season – they never even put together a complete game in a 5-2 start — and their 37-3 blowout loss to Baltimore in Week 9 proved it. There’s no Super Bowl in this team, even if John Schneider’s big deadline trade seemed to say the Hawks thought they had a chance.

The Baltimore debacle was a total team failure, from coaching to QB play to OL play to a million missed tackles on defense. As Jordyn Brooks said, they just did not come ready to play.

The Hawks are neither as good as their 5-2 record made some think nor as bad as this nightmare 34-point defeat would seem to indicate. They are still what we thought they were: a borderline one-and-done playoff team.

Continue reading Blowout didn’t change anything: Hawks still a borderline one-and-out playoff team →
State of the team

After 3-1 start, Hawks need to become more than just survivors

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The Seahawks spent the first month of the season merely surviving — overcoming a decimated offensive line, injuries in their secondary, big passing numbers from opposing quarterbacks and poor third-down performance on both sides, among other things.

They managed to hit their bye week at 3-1, thanks to an OT win in Detroit and victories over Carolina and New York, which are a combined 1-9 after both lost yet again in Week 5.

The Seahawks used a stunningly stout run defense, some big takeaways and some great offensive coaching to make it through the first month. Now they need their offensive line and secondary to get healthy so they can fix issues that otherwise will cost them against the good teams they are about to face.

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Week 8: NY Giants

Lots of credit to go around so far, including Waldron

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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.

Continue reading Lots of credit to go around so far, including Waldron →
OTAs, Video, X's & O's

Hawks still looking, but Waldron breaks down Lock’s positives

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Pete Carroll recently told KJR that the Seahawks did not draft a QB because they considered Drew Lock, a 2019 second-round pick, to be better than every rookie passer.

Carroll also said the Hawks will not trade for a veteran QB at this point, but he and John Schneider also said they will “keep looking” for possible upgrades at QB.

Meanwhile, as Lock and Geno Smith begin their QB competition during Seattle’s OTAs, Shane Waldron broke down some film on Lock from his Denver days.

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Week 11: Arizona, Week 12: At Washington, X's & O's

It’s adjust or bust

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A year ago at this time, the Seahawks were in the midst of an offensive meltdown that had started in Week 9 and dragged on for most of the rest of the season because Brian Schottenheimer and Russell Wilson stubbornly refused to play ball the right way.

The only time they altered philosophy was in a Week 15 game at Washington, where they used a quick, short passing game to pull off a 20-15 win.

Now, nearly a year later, the offensive funk has protracted across a new offensive coordinator as they head to Washington again. Will Shane Waldron and Wilson make the adjustments like Seattle made last year – and then sustain them?

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Week 11: Arizona, X's & O's

Lockett & Wilson see failure differently, which explains a lot

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In the wake of a familiar pathetic offensive performance in a 23-13 loss to Arizona, Tyler Lockett and Russell Wilson’s words illustrated exactly why the Seahawks are struggling.

Lockett spoke the truth: The Seahawks rely on big plays and are not good when those fail because they are bad at making in-game adjustments.

Lockett also told FOX 13 Seattle that defenses are playing the Seahawks differently than they play everyone else, based on the film the Hawks watch in preparing for each game. “They’re not giving us the same looks that they’re consistently giving every other team.” Lockett said the Hawks then do not adapt quickly enough.

Wilson, on the contrary, said he didn’t see the Cardinals do anything different, that it was all stuff he had seen before and adjustments were not the problem. “We just didn’t play clean,” he said.

The difference in viewpoints explains a lot about why the Seahawks are failing on offense.

Continue reading Lockett & Wilson see failure differently, which explains a lot →
State of the team, Week 11: Arizona, X's & O's

Last chance for Wilson to prove he has not hit his ceiling

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In the wake of Seattle’s embarrassing shutout loss in Green Bay, the topic of Russell Wilson’s future with the Seahawks came back to light – with numerous national media revisiting the prospect of a split after this season.

While plenty of fans and media still cling to the myth that Wilson has been failed by the franchise and is a victim of mismanagement and poor coaching and personnel, that’s the bass-ackwards way of looking at it. Wilson is a double-edged sword who always has been half the problem, and he needs to adjust his play if the Seahawks are going to flip things around over the final eight games.

We do agree with all of those people on one thing though: This should be the final test of whether Wilson should stay Seattle’s quarterback going forward.

If he can’t adjust – if he and Shane Waldron cannot agree on how to proceed, if he remains a one-dimensional passer, if it becomes clear he has hit his ceiling — it may indeed be time to trade him.

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Week 10: At Green Bay

Wilson’s ego leads to shutout as Waldron continues to struggle

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Russell Wilson’s ego led to the first shutout loss of his career, and Shane Waldron did not do his part to stop it.

Waldron put the game in the hands of Wilson, who was Russ-ty as he came back from a month off and played in frigid weather in Green Bay. The result: 17-0, the first shutout loss of Wilson’s career.

The Hawks were running the ball well and needed to do it a lot more. Alex Collins was over four yards a pop. Lanes were there.

But Waldron let Wilson throw air balls, wobblers and end zone interceptions instead of mixing in the run to keep it manageable for the still-recovering QB.

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Week 6: At Pittsburgh

At 2-4, season is not over, but Hawks have no room for error now

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“Postponing judgment is a powerful tool.” – Pete Carroll

As much as some fans might want to put the nails in Seattle’s coffin after just six games, the simple fact is the Seahawks (2-4) are still breathing – the season is far from over.

But they are going to need to win their next two home games if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.

Continue reading At 2-4, season is not over, but Hawks have no room for error now →