Outcoached, outplayed, you name it, we're guilty

I hate to be the pessimist, but this playoff loss was the epitomy of every weakness we have seen this year from the Seahawks.  They ALL mangaged to rear their ugly heads in this game.

Mike McCarthy is a good coach and I'll be glad to tell you why.  He figured out everything Mike Holmgren already knew was wrong with the Seahawks and made it a point to show the rest of the nation on T.V.  

He knew that our defense gets the best pressure from the edges.  What did he do to counter that?  He ran plays right towards our overpursuing rushers.  He threw screen passes right to the areas our players vacated.  He spread the field with offensive formations that forced our linebackers to defend running backs and receivers in one on one coverage. Green Bay's play calling nullified our defensive line, and kept our linebackers out of their backfield.

All day long we got nickeled and dimed to death by 5-7 yard plays.  Green Bay completely dominated the time of possession, especially in the first half. As usual, we couldn't get off of the field on third down.  That's because we play this stupid soft-zone coverage, instead of utilizing our linebacking beasts to ever blitz on a 3rd down.  I find it so amazing that practically every other team in the league will blitz with a linebacker or two on 3rd and long, because they realize it gives the quarterback less time to throw, and he has to throw under duress. Teams do it to us all of the time.  Yet our coaches are too damn stubborn and/or stupid to do it ourselves.  We'll rush 4, drop 8 into a soft zone, and good quarterbacks with lots of time will find the open spots.  

Green Bay was smart to pick on our weakest links in the secondary.  Mainly "Big Play" Babs.  They also figured out that Kelly Jennings is undersized, and simply threw to a bigger receiver (ironically, his name is Jennings).

Simms, Gray, and Womack were horrible.  The sack on Hasslebeck was such a gross wiff on Womack's part.  Shaun Alexander's hits behind the line of scrimage....more credit should go to Gray and Simms, than the Packers.  

We have the worst rushing attack in the league, hands down.  Once the snow started falling, we were doomed.  Somehow, Green Bay was able to run in the snow though.  They were breaking playoff records in the snow.  Thanks goes to Defensive Coordinator John Marshall for that.  

I don't mind at all if Holmgren stays.  He is a coach that the players like and respect.  He is a good coach, with the occasional dumb conservative and predictable play call.  I don't blame him though.  He isn't the one who should be runblocking, protecting the quarterback, or playing the game.

I would like to see Running Backs coach Stump Mitchell fired.  He doesn't know how to use his personel correctly.  He is too in love with Shaun Alexander, who has already seen his best days.  

I would like to see John Marshall fired.  It is amazing how many sacks the Seahawks get considering that Marshall's schemes are not very aggressive.  Seattle could easily have had at least 15 more sacks this season, and that is no stretch.  He is too conservative, plays too much zone, and is just as responsible for Seattle not being able to get off of the field on 3rd downs, as the players are.  We have too many good defensive players to play so inconsistant all year long.  Don't believe me?  Every game we didn't get a sack on the quarterback this year, we lost.

I'd love to see Jim Mora Jr. be our new Defensive Coordinator.  If it looks like Mora might leave for another team, we need to consider letting Holmgren go and giving him the head job in order to keep him.  Mora is a talent.  I don't see his time in Atlanta as a failure.  He didn't have the players in Atlanta that we do here.

Shaun Alexander needs to go.  Chris Gray needs to go.  Babineaux needs a reduced role, i.e. special teams and emergency use only.  Brian Russell needs to go.  He's really not any better than Boulware was.  At least Boulware could stop the run. (usually anyway)

Tim Ruskell, I'm still mad at you for letting Hutchinson get away, and I'm mad at Hutchinson for knowingly participating in a poison pill contract. Serves you right that you are watching the playoffs from home.  I'll give you props Ruskell for trying to get Dielman this offseason.  Hopefully you can get Fancea or whatever his name is from the Steelers.  Plug him in at LG, move Simms over to RG.  That would be an improvement at 2 positions with the aquisition of one player.

I'd like to see Joe Newton improve and make his way into the TE rotation.  He has good talent for someone who went undrafted.  6'7" 260lbs.  

Hopefully we can draft well, make the right personel moves, etc.  The window of opportunity will only shut if the executives of this team fail to do their job.

Go Seahawks!