Winners and Losers from Rams 26 Seahawks 17

I have no idea why I’m not pissed off right now.

If you were in my presence last weekend you’ll find I was more pissed during an eventual win over the San Francisco 49ers than I was for a potentially devastating home loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which Russell Wilson may finally miss playing time with that finger injury.

Maybe it’s because I’ve accepted this is not a very good team (at least not right now). Or that my expectations have already lowered drastically and after several false “is this the end?” proclamations, this may finally be the season that, yes, Russell Wilson proves he’s mortal, and yes the Seahawks won’t win every close game, and there isn’t any brilliant front office magic to save them anymore.

...Or maybe it’s because I knew I was going to have some spring rolls and Pho from one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants for dinner.

Let’s get to Winners and Losers.

Winners

Geno Smith

Honestly he’s my biggest winner because I didn’t expect whatsoever for him to look that good in an emergency situation. I don’t fault him for the interception because Tyler Lockett tripped and shit happens. He looked in total command of the offense and was making smart decisions with the ball and showing accuracy we didn’t even see in the preseason. That was a gutsy performance on short notice and even in a losing effort, I commend him for that outing.

Michael Dickson

I don’t care that the double punt probably should’ve been flagged. It was still awesome to watch him turn a disaster into a positive outcome. Apparently you can punt it twice behind the line of scrimmage, but Dickson might have been beyond it and thus should’ve been flagged. Camera angles make it inconclusive. I repeat, I don’t care. This man delivered an improvised punt after a proper one got downed inside the 5. What a player.

DK Metcalf

He pretty much played a perfect game. Metcalf hauled in all 5 of his targets for 98 yards and a couple of touchdowns, including one on Jalen Ramsey. DK also drew a defensive pass interference on Ramsey on Geno Smith’s first throw. That was an excellent performance on a day when the offense seldom showed excellency.

Darrell Taylor

Four sacks in five games is nothing to sniff at for someone who didn’t play at all last season. He’s been one of the few bright spots on a disappointing Seahawks pass rush. Hell, he might be the only bright spot.

Quandre Diggs

I’m not sure Diggs actually played well but he kept his word so I tip my hat to him for this.

Losers

Jamal Adams

For reasons outlined already. His biggest impact play outside of a 2nd down run stuff was laying a big hit on Jordyn Brooks. Speaking of which...

Jordyn Brooks

Not all of this is his fault. Ken Norton Jr loves himself some schematic mismatches and too many times Brooks ended up covering wide receivers deep down the field. Of Jordyn’s 11 total tackles, 5 of them were after a first down had already been converted. His others tackles were on plays that gained 9, 3, 6, 8, and 7 yards on 1st and 10, and then a -1 yard TFL after Seattle was pretty much doomed to defeat.

He has been benched already this season for a stupid penalty and seems to have trouble consistently shedding blockers and staying assignment correct. Brooks is inexperienced but Seattle can’t afford for him to look lost out there. The K.J. Wright succession plan is not working.

Bobby Wagner

This might be the first time I’ve ever put him on this list. Getting old sucks and while Wagner is a legend I think his best days may be well and truly behind him. It’s most apparent in the run game, speaking of which...

Defensive line

They are not good enough against the run and that should really tip the scales against Ken Norton Jr. The collapse of this run defense is staggering and the ease at which they are wrecked at the point of attack is unacceptable. The pass rush is also futile, with just the Taylor sack and three QB hits. Poona Ford was probably the best pass rusher on the team and that’s not supposed to be a good thing.

Sidney Jones

“At least he’s better than Tre Flowers” is going to look pretty suspect if he’s going to have similar issues in coverage as Flowers. I was in awe watching him play miles off of Robert Woods on 3rd and 2 to jump another route. Why? I’ll keep giving it time but not that much time.

Duane Brown

That holding penalty was both unnecessary given Wilson had space to climb in the pocket and also cost them a touchdown. There’s no debating whether or not it was a hold, either. Just a brutal penalty from someone who’s supposed to be the team’s best offensive lineman.

Jason Myers

His missed kicks are costing the Seahawks games. He had a key missed PAT against Tennessee, a missed FG against the Vikings that led to a touchdown, and a missed FG from 35 that should’ve given the Seahawks a 10-3 lead. Not good enough for someone who was brilliant last year but is otherwise a serious liability right now.

Pete Carroll

He went for it on 4th down (and it failed) after punting from 4th and 3 at the Rams’ 43 on the opening drive. Have some consistency, man! But I’ve got a column I’m working on that can either be construed as a defense of Carroll’s conservative 4th down decision making or an indictment of the 4th down offense and the offense as a whole.

Carroll is a loser not just for those decisions. This team looks poorly coached. They cannot execute basic plays on a consistent basis without some sort of disorganization. And to get off of Ken Norton Jr’s back (seeing as I’m unrelenting that he should be fired), the Norton era is on Pete. That’s his guy. And whether you think this is really Pete’s defense and Norton is a figurehead or Norton has some independence and is a gross incompetent reflects poorly on Carroll either way.

Pete’s given us great memories. I wouldn’t trade this era for any other era of Seahawks football because... well... other eras of Seahawks football yielded a lot of seasons without a playoff win before 2005. But I can sense the clock is ticking. I don’t want it to end in ugly fashion.

Final Notes

• It’s so unfortunate to see Russell Wilson get his finger mangled like that. Pretty sure that’s what happened to Drew Brees against Aaron Donald in 2019, so this dude can get QBs hurt without actually fully hitting people. I hope he can heal up and not miss several weeks. As for his overall performance, I thought he was fine but that 2nd down sack to start the 2nd half was absolutely horrendous, as was his managing of the clock on the one-minute drill. That wheel route to DeeJay Dallas should’ve seen an immediate spike, another play run, or a timeout called. They burned 20+ seconds and that played a role in ultimately coming away with no points. Ultimately his positive play outweighed the negatives but the injury is THE negative.
• Alex Collins really showed next to zero vision on that failed 4th down run and was a non-factor as starting running back, but I don’t think the offensive line did him many favors.
• Penny Hart got a couple of touches for 19 yards, including that push pass that the Seahawks had tried a few times in the past but usually blocked poorly.
• A final thought: The 2020 Seahawks played a farcical schedule. They only played 4 teams that eventually made the playoffs and one of them was Washington. I don’t think this team has gotten demonstrably better in any facet of football and it shows in the way they’ve started the season. And just think, the tough part (at Green Bay, vs. Arizona) hasn’t even happened yet.