Seattle Seahawks First Quarter Notes: Secondary

Seattle's secondary was its weakest link on defense. Kelly Jennings was the class of the unit, disappearing and disappearing his man like he routinely did in 2007. Perhaps his brief display of ball skills in the preseason bought him a little respect from Jay Cutler. Or maybe the Bears lack that big receiver to box out and jump over and on Jennings. The Colts lack that receiver too.

Seattle didn't blitz once all first quarter.

Jordan Babineaux is still struggling at free safety. Criticism he received following the 49ers game was unjust and over the top, but in a general sense, his timing is off and his angles are loose. Give him time.

Babineaux and Ken Lucas each missed a tackle on this play.

2-10-CHI 21 (10:15) 6-J.Cutler pass short left to 82-G.Olsen to CHI 35 for 14 yards (57-D.Hawthorne).

Then combined to blow coverage on this play.

3-3-CHI 42 (8:21) 6-J.Cutler pass short left to 80-E.Bennett to SEA 39 for 19 yards (57-D.Hawthorne).

They blew cover in a similar way: both making a play for the ball and ignoring the man. That's bad chemistry. On a double team, good teams have one man play the ball and one man play the receiver. It's not predetermined, the players coordinate the action in real time. When his was with the Eagles, Brian Dawkins combined with a host of cornerbacks to execute the always-pretty interception/ass-whooping. One defensive back grabs the pick; the other viciously drops the receiver. All legal, and all hard-nosed, winners football.

David Hawthorne bolted down field to fix his teammate's mistakes.

Seattle used a lot of zones, but kept with the play much better than they did in 2008. It only allowed one hole in zone reception, but it was a costly error. Cory Redding pressured Cutler and Cutler scrambled right and found Earl Bennett wide open for 31. Hawthorne somehow got the tackle.