Quick Cap: Seattle 24 Cincinnati 21
by John Morgan on Sep 23, 2007 4:48 PM PDT
in Game Recap
40 comments
The Hawks win. Alexander rushes for a hundred. Box score skimmers will no doubt praise our doddering once rusher, for those who watch the game--watch, rewatch; for those who train their eyes on the flickering set like the hovering Holy Ghost, who break their bank accounts to watch miniatures scamper from three hundred yards away, who give their time and money to see 60 minutes of American Goddamn Football 16+ times a year, nothing could be farther from the truth. Alexander hurts Seattle with his pass blocking. He hurts Seattle with inconsistency. His non-receiving. The 2007 Seattle Seahawks deserve better.
Matt Hasselbeck deserves better. Ignore the picks--that's not him. Beck threw for three scores and stepped up every time his team needed him. It's no stretch to say Hasselbeck looks to be beginning what could be a career year.
The Seahawks offensive line deserves better. Hasselbeck enjoyed consistently sound pockets to find his receivers from. Alexander had colossal holes to stumble through, and a CFL caliber set of linebackers in the second level. Walter Jones manned up. Sims dominated. The Hawks line will be ignored until Seattle acquires a rusher worth a squat, but this is a young, very talented and very cheap group that will benefit the Hawk rushing attack for years.
The Hawks defense deserves better. Brandon Mebane and Matchupalooza star Rocky Bernard recorded the only two sacks, but Carson Palmer was consistently harried. The attacking front seven where the invisible drivetrain for Brian Russell's and Deon Grant's picks. Not only did they collapse the pocket and limit time for plays to develop, but they dominated the Bengals power rushing attack. Rudi Johnson ran for 1 or fewer yards on a full 59% of his 17. Palmer had to consistently fight his way out of third down situations. In summation, the Hawks held one of the five best offenses in football to 21 points and four turnovers.
The Special Teams deserves better. With the cover game joining an already elite return, kicking and punting game, Seattle has easily one of the best special teams units in football.
Seattle won a big game, a gutsy game at home to a tough Cincinnati squad, but until they fix their running game they are not contenders. It's clear that Tim Ruskell understands that the Hawks need help at running back, but it's yet unclear what it will take to convince Mike Holmgren to give touches to anyone but Alexander. Loyalty is a quality in character but a liability in business. I cannot stress this enough, to anyone's eyes who watch the Hawks regularly: Shaun Alexander is either hurt, possibly irrevocably, or his career is at an end. If Seattle can't give the ball to someone else, at least for 10+ carries a game, Hawks fans will find out the hard way how true that is.
Hawks win and are now tied for first in the division. Seattle is a better team than San Francisco, but the Niners team speed will eat Alexander for lunch next Sunday. Enjoy this now, things are about to get ugly, needlessly ugly, real, real soon.
Game Ball: Matt Hasselbeck. The Defense deserves mad props, but Beck had to lead the Hawks' O with essentially no rushing attack, no outlet receiver and no backfield blocking.
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Props to D?
by Man From Nantucket on Sep 23, 2007 6:14 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Uh
Just because a guy isn't on every tackle doesn't mean he isn't doing something was helping someone else make the tackle by taking on a block or changing the direction of the ball carrier.
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 23, 2007 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Meh
by Man From Nantucket on Sep 23, 2007 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
As for Alexander
Even if there wasn't a huge hole he was going in with a head of steam.
Another thing I noticed but might not be true and John you could look for this when you watch the game film or look at stats. But it really seems that because of Alexanders hand that we haven't been running left nearly as much because he can't protect the ball. Obviously with Jones and Sims on the left this is a big deal.
Basically I not ready to write of Alexander until that cast comes off.
But I really think well be seeing more of Mo Mo when he gets back.
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 23, 2007 7:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Good Postgame Comments from Holmgren
You read those and you can tell he is still not happy with the running game.
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 23, 2007 7:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Serendipity
Shaun Alexander, God bless him to all get-out, is at his most valuable when we need to run the game clock in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter and he can put together two 10+ runs to keep the opponents from calling enough time outs. I'm starting to come around to Morgan's position on him. It's sad, but he's struggling too much.
Bobby Engram: Man.
Nate Burleson: I know this guy can be a game-breaker. I know it. I can sense it. There's a little bit of franticism that we need to tame in him, but he's got it. The game-winning TD he caught this afternoon is the sort of stuff he should be pulling early.
Question: Did our double-teaming of Chad Johnson look the same on TV as it did in person? i.e., non-freakin'-existent?
That's all. I hung out at Pioneer Square much longer than I ever have before. Needless to say, we happy. Hopefully this game will be emblematic of our tenacity this year, and not our desperation. Hell of a game though.
P.S. That Seattle guy who won Dancing With the Stars raised the 12th man flag. I couldn't text this from the stadium. I thought you should now. Qwest Field hearts speed skaters.
by Shrug on Sep 23, 2007 7:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Heh.
by Shrug on Sep 23, 2007 8:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
On a positive note...
by Shrug on Sep 23, 2007 9:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
(thanks in part to
(and Marion Barber & Anquan Boldin)
by Shrug on Sep 23, 2007 9:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
7 of the 13 comments in this thread
Just kiddin' ya.
by TIF on Sep 23, 2007 10:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I got an excuse!
heh...
by Shrug on Sep 24, 2007 12:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Important Preface : I watched at Qwest
Nate: Cardiac Kid and I don't mean that in a good way. He is a WR4 at best and was the benifactor of a ball on the number in the endzone twice.... and caught one.
Shaun: didn't see a lot of holes from section 339 (not the best seat in the house) but it appeared he stepped up when we needed him. I know it's cool to hate Shaun but he is still going to end up in the top 3 all time for TD's. Why can't a guy get old in Seattle without being the goat? It's not his fault we have not been grooming his replacement. Breaking News: It's not MOMO!
Matt: 3rd best QB in NFL. There is a guy in Indy I would trade for... Carson is better/younger.... after that there is nobody better than Matt right now.
Josh Wilson: better still return KO's after Hackett is back.
Qwest: was it loud today? I know I was. Section 339 was doing it today. Why were they showing the false start stats from 2005? Why was a skater doing the Hulk Hogan "let me hear you" hand to the ear? How does a skater follow Mama Blue?
by The Manchild on Sep 23, 2007 11:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
We're Seattle.
Or something.
by Shrug on Sep 24, 2007 12:35 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I take exception to this:
Nobody hates Shaun. This happens everytime someone wants to analytically critique someone's career declination; you get accused of hating that person. Nobody hates Shaun Alexander. I personally love the guy. I love what he's done here. I love what he's done for the team. I love what he's done for the community. I love that he's our running back and will probably end up having a career worthy of the Ring of Honor.
And no, it isn't his fault we haven't groomed a replacement, but we have other options. Unless someone can tell me why Leonard Weaver, Adrian Pearson, and (when healthy) Mo Morris can't get touches on a consistent basis, then there's no reason to stop pointing out the obvious weaknesses of the team.
We all want the Seahawks to win and succeed. Just like with DMZ and Dave Cameron and Jeff Sullivan with the Mariners, we want to point out some ways to get there. Fandom doesn't just mean "rah rah"ing, buying tickets and team wear, and riding the emotions. That's just the fun part.
by TIF on Sep 24, 2007 1:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Excellent...completely agree with everything.
by Harrison on Sep 24, 2007 8:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hackett has never returned a kick
And Matt's the 4th best QB in the League. Tom Brady is playing out of his fucking mind right now
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 7:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hackett doesn't return kicks? Really?
As for Brady....I don't think cheaters can make the top ten. By that I mean I was still a little drunk when I posted last night and forgot about him.
by The Manchild on Sep 24, 2007 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Gotcha
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 11:04 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
first time poster
My dad says that Alexander takes advantage of the defense late in the game because they are tired. He belives that Alexander will be helped out by a second back who is more of a bruiser, who will wear down defenses, Weaver might be that guy, but from what I have seen that's not really his style. My dad does agree that his pass protection is horrible, but he believes he is a decent pass catcher it's just his wrist.
The only thing really uncharacteristic about Alexander this year is he is getting off to slow starts every game, it's hard to tell why the o-line seems to be doing a good job, hopefully that will change, and when Mo gets healthy, or Weaver steps up it will help Alexander out.
I read so far about a half a dozen columnist say that the Seattle crowd was worse then Philly fans today when they boo'd Alexander. Again I respect your opinion a lot, but my dad and tons of sports columnist do not share your opinion.
by Joeshow12 on Sep 24, 2007 12:04 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
S.A.
I love Shaun. Everybody who's been with this site since day one knows I love Shaun. And I guarantee that as hard as we are on him, he's harder on himself. (Well, Morgan might be a bit harder on him than I would be, but other than that...)
Nobody wants to see Shaun have a great comeback year more than I do, because he's a symbol of the great character of this franchise. But you have to wonder. The combination of his losing a step, his trying to do too much on misdirection or changing direction, and our defensive line woes -- all of that just makes the younger, hungrier running backs in the NFL -- i.e., Gore, Jackson, Addai -- seems to relegate Shaun to the old guard.
You know what I hope? He reads all this stuff (not here, specifically) and gets pissed off, then goes out and scores two rushing touchdowns on 180 yards next week. That's what we all hope. We ain't Shaun haters. We're Shaun Hopers!
And I agree -- the booing of Shaun at Qwest this afternoon was shocking. The last Seahawk that got booed by the Qwest crowd was Jerramy Stevens. I didn't get that at all.
Morgan can defend himself if he wants. But I felt like saying something. Thanks very much for coming here, and come back again!
by Shrug on Sep 24, 2007 12:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
As I pointed out in the game thread
The fans got on Darrel Jackson and Koren Robinson during the Dropilitis Epidemic of 2004, too. I remember the fans giving D-Jack a rousing standing ovation when he caught a simple curl route after a particularly bad bout of butterfingers. The fans don't hate Darrel Jackson, but it got old really fast week after week of dropped passes. Fans get frustrated, and they let him know it.
And now they're letting Shaun know it. Shaun knows he's dropping the ball, so he really doesn't need to be boo'd by the fans. The fans want to cheer for him, like they do everytime he busts a run or scores a touchdown. They want to cheer him catching the ball, too. But he just isn't cooperating.
The booing of Shaun isn't along the same vein as the Mariner fans booing Jeff Weaver during the early part of the baseball season. Jeff Weaver sucks, we know he sucks, and he just proved it, and we voiced our displeasure. We know Shaun is good, good, good. It's just that one part of his game we don't like so much.
I have no problem with fans booing players for screwing up. It's part of the game. You take the ups and the downs, the cheers and the jeers, the agony and the exstacy and you deal with it like a professional (read: paid) athlete should.
by TIF on Sep 24, 2007 1:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have to disagree
by Joeshow12 on Sep 24, 2007 12:35 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
He can't run left because of the wrist
But he has always been a bad pass catcher even in practice with no contact he drops balls.
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 7:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh and by the way
As for me? I'm still giggling like a girl watching replays of Nate Burleson's 4th quarter touchdown today. Hee hee hee hee...
by TIF on Sep 24, 2007 2:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Couple of questions.
My impression of Alexander, and I wish I had the numbers to convince me, was that he wasn't getting many yards after contact. Am I off base in this? I don't mind if my running back isn't as fast as Warrick Dunn as long as he's not just as easy to tackle as well. Does the wrist brace factor into this, or is it a more pressing concern?
by Patrick on Sep 24, 2007 7:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Alexander has always just kind of been like that
Personally I've never had a problem with this thinking because it keeps him fresh.
As for the stats ESPN always seems to be the quickest to update but sometimes it takes a couple days for them to show some stuff.
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 8:22 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I know he has the Franco Harris mentality
It's the arm tackles that worry me. Avoiding the head-on collision is fine, but it seems like defensive tackles (who were getting blocked fairly well) were able to bring him down at the line before the second wave got there.
by Patrick on Sep 24, 2007 8:29 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Hes always kind of been that way
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Helluva game.
- Chad Johnson abused our Cover 2 like the Marquis de Sade abused prostitutes (too soon?). I heard people yelling as we were leaving the stadium that "Ocho F*ck-o didn't do shit against us! We dominated him!" Umm...I guess if you consider 9 catches for 138 yards being dominated...Our secondary really scared me. I understand that we were facing a top-tier passing offense, but when the opposing quarterback passes for as many yards as Palmer did, something's wrong. Sure, we got lucky with some turnovers, but that doesn't change the fact that our defense is extremely porous. The only hard hit I saw today was Hill's hit on Rudi Johnson as he was going out of bounds.
- Hasselbeck was a machine out there today. I was extremely impressed by his even distribution of passes, and his quick reads. The only time he really made a poor decision was the safety play. It looked to be a quick slant sort of play, a one-read play. However, his one read was covered and instead of throwing the ball away, he tried for a second and third read and by that time it was too late. I don't really hang that safety on the offensive line--it looked to be on Hass.
- From my seat in the stadium, it looked as if Shaun was getting plenty of holes in the first half, he just wasn't hitting them. There were several times when he got 3 yards, but looked as if he could have gotten a lot more.
- Pollard did not do his job well today. He got absolutely ZERO separation. I didn't really pay too much attention to his blocking, but he was all but invisible in the passing game. Does he just not have the speed to get more than 5 yards deep on a passing play?
- What's up with Plack? He had a couple of pretty good punts, but he also had a couple of real stinkers. It looked like he was struggling in the pregame warm up too. Did anybody else notice that?
- The halftime show was absolutely terrible. Salsa dancing? Yuck.
by Phildopip on Sep 24, 2007 9:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Halftime was for the norm
Also most annoying fans in the world chanting "who dey" whenever there was a completion.
by Christian on Sep 24, 2007 9:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Our Secondary played better than you saw
by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 24, 2007 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
There were a few plays in the first half where
He doesn't block well or receive well either. Does this make any sense people????? HE IS A LIABILITY. As a player, his only redeeming quality is that he rarely fumbles.
John- since the game I've been thinking that yards gained in a game or yards to carries is not necessarily an accurate way to judge a rushing performance. As you know, Shaun rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries yesterday for a nice 4.8 yards per carry average. On the surface, that looks like a solid performance. If you watched the game you know different.
Take a rush of 30 yards compared to 5 rushes for 30 yards. The former will make your stats look good in addition to the obvious benefit of gaining 30 yards. But if you analyze the 5 rushes for 30 yards, it's possible for them to be of more value. Say one run for 4 yards on a 3rd and 6 gets you a first down. And assume the yards were tough - a broken tackle with a couple of nice moves thrown in - with not much help from the line. The above example are what Shaun NEVER gives us. You can extrapolate similiar runs for the other four rushes; you get the point.
Think of all the 3rd and 7's that should be 3rd and 3, 4th and 2's that should be 1st and 10, 2nd and 10's that should be 2nd and 6, etc. This is where games are won and lost. All those drives ended early because key yardage is not gained. Take away the couple long runs of 20 yards or so and you have a 60 yard on 20 carry performance which to me more accurately reflects his performance yesterday.
Agreed...until either Shaun upgrades himself (unlikely) or we get somebody else to assume more of the rushing load, this teams potential will not be realized.
by Harrison on Sep 24, 2007 9:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
That's why VOA and DVOA are such
by Phildopip on Sep 24, 2007 10:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
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