Postgame: Seahawks 3 - Rams 20

I hope it's very clear now that the Seahawks are not a good team. That's ok, right?

People insinuating that this team could be very good, could breakout for whatever reason, were getting a little ahead of themselves. This felt like a win in the preseason and that, and that people then assumed Seattle would be 3-1 entering the bye, made people think this team was going to run away with the division and maybe make some noise in the playoffs.

The Rams are not terrible. Their defense is gelling very quickly, and, let's face it, Sam Bradford is doing what very few quarterbacks can: prove serviceable as a rookie. Would it be too controversial to say he looked like the better quarterback today? I know people think I have it in for Matt Hasselbeck, but I surely have it in for Sam Bradford too, right? I hate them both, but I guess today, I hate Hasselbeck a little more.

Don't worry, this is not about to turn into a tirade about Matt. I'm almost ready to start saying nice stuff about him again, because, it's not like this is his fault.

Anyway, the offensive line really struggled. The Rams probably have the best pass rush among teams Seattle has so far faced, or at least the best pass rush when we factor in an early lead, playing at home and the fact that Russell Okung left injured and Seattle swapped tackles mid-game. This isn't a great line. It has some parts. Chris Spencer is not a great center. He's a toolsy center that still makes a lot of mistakes. Spencer is almost certainly the Seahawks best offensive lineman, and that about summarizes the line's potential and performance.

The defense played mostly well, though play fakes are clearly a problem. Anything that looks like one thing and that lures the Seahawks into over pursuit, and then breaks another way, whether a screen, roll out, cut back, or a straight play action, will cause damage. Seattle is compensating for insufficient pass rush personnel with aggressive blitzing, and I'm cool with that. The defense didn't have its best day, but it didn't let the game get away, and as ugly as those back to back screens were, they didn't decide the game.

The offense did. The offense is bad. The passing attack is hopeless and the run game is nowhere near talented enough to compensate. Justin Forsett is better than Julius Jones, but he's not a great running back, and he doesn't have great blocking or a deep passing game to force the safety out of the box.

Seattle has a legitimate chance to win the NFC West, but that's about as high as anyone's hopes should reach. Given that, and I think that's a fair and accurate statement that isn't overly reactive and doesn't single anyone out to scapegoat, it's time the future is given more respect. The Seahawks are not a contender, but there's talent, and that talent should make this season exciting, but what excitement I can feel will be muted as long as this team is a franchise quarterback away from legitimate contention. Insanity or not, it's no longer fun losing the same way, through the same assumptions, and without meaningful progress towards a better team.

Game Ball: Lawyer Milloy

This is a tough one to give out, because the team was pretty rotten throughout and the defense didn't do much other than not defeat the Seahawks on their own, but Milloy looked aggressive, sound, disruptive when he needed to be and disciplined when he needed to be. Earl Thomas makes the strong safety-free safety strategy work, but Milloy makes the strong safety a weapon.