Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Do Seattle's defense’s fourth-quarter problems begin with the offense?
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November 18, 2015 at 3:57 pm #34369
znModeratorDo the Seattle Seahawks defense’s fourth-quarter problems begin with the offense?
One theory for the defense’s late issues is this: The Seahawks’ struggling offense has left the defense on the field for too many minutes and too many plays.
Jayson Jenks
RENTON — To its credit, the Seahawks’ defense has accepted responsibility for the five blown leads in the fourth quarter this season.
“That’s not our MO, man,” defensive end Cliff Avril said after another blown lead, this one in a 39-32 loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals. “I don’t know. I don’t get it, either. That sucks. I just know who we are — I just know who we’ve been, I should say.”
But while the bottom line is that the defense hasn’t finished the job, the context matters, too. And one theory for the defense’s late issues is this: The Seahawks’ struggling offense has left the defense on the field for too many minutes and too many plays.
In four of the five losses, the Seahawks’ opponent had the ball longer than they did (the exception being the loss to the Rams). In three of the five losses, opponents ran at least 72 plays, and the Cardinals piled up an astonishing 84 plays.
“I do think there’s a common thread there,” coach Pete Carroll said. “You get into the 80s, that’s a lot of plays. Then when it comes right down to it, maybe (play) 79 and 80, those are the ones that make the difference in the game. We have to find a way to be at our best and work through that. But we don’t want to be in that situation.”
Avril thought the defense played well against the Cardinals, until he looked at the box score. The Seahawks allowed Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer to throw for 363 yards, the most by an opposing quarterback since 2007. The Seahawks allowed two receivers to have more than 100 yards receiving for the first time since 2008.
But Carroll agreed with Avril’s initial assessment, even after watching the film Monday. “I thought they did a terrific job in a bunch of areas,” Carroll said.
Which is not to say the defense didn’t have issues; Carroll said big plays in the passing game, a lingering issue all season, and penalties were troubling. But the defense tried holding the line even when put in bad situation after bad situation.
The Cardinals had three drives start inside Seahawks territory and another start at the Arizona 41.
On those four drives, the Cardinals scored 20 of their 39 points.
Carroll’s philosophy always has revolved around taking care of the ball, winning the field-position battle, chewing the clock and playing good defense. He has made the point that all of those elements work together, but more often than not, they haven’t this year.
For a little context:
• Since 2013, the Seahawks have lost 12 regular-season games. They’ve lost the time-of-possession battle in eight of the 12.
• In 2014, the Seahawks had the ball longer than their opponents in 12 of 16 games.
• In 2013, the Seahawks had the ball longer than their opponents in just nine of 16 games and still went 13-3.
But that team had what one analyst called “an embarrassment of riches” along the defensive line. No lineman played more than 58 percent of the team’s plays that year.
That is a rare luxury, and the Seahawks no longer have the depth up front to remain on the field for so long, so often.
The offense has struggled all season. The problem is that its struggles also have worn on the defense.
November 18, 2015 at 4:01 pm #34370znModeratorNFC West, what happened to you?
http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2015/11/17/nfc-west-what-happened-you/75939806/
If this NFL season were a high school reunion, most of the NFC West would resemble the ex-star quarterback who shows up sporting 20 extra pounds, a combover and a two-pack habit.
After a couple of cocktails, you might ask, “Dude, what happened to you?” because you are curious and you still preface questions with,“Dude.”
That might be an unfair and premature assessment, because everyone has seven games to play, anything can happen, it’s a crazy league, and blah, blah, blah.
But we doubt it.
Two years ago, the NFC West was the best division in football. And no one else was close.
The Seahawks won the division with a 13-3 record, the 49ers were next at 12-4, and the Cardinals, at 10-6, narrowly missed a playoff berth.
The Seahawks beat the 49ers 23-17 in the NFC title game and went on to win the Super Bowl.
Two years later, the Cardinals are the only team in the division with a winning record after nine games.
At 7-2, the Cardinals are three games above the current mess that used to pass for the NFL’s toughest division.
The Rams are what they have been for years. Very good within the division. Not so hot out of it. Tough defense. Nasty demeanor. Changing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators yearly.
It’s the 49ers and Seahawks who have changed so much they’ve lost their defining features.
Everyone figured the 49ers would fall on hard times. Coach Jim Harbaugh left. Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Chris Borland and Anthony Davis retired. A handful of other former key players, including running back Frank Gore and guard Mike Iupati, left via free agency.
At least they had a talented young quarterback.
But halfway through the season, Colin Kaepernick was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert. The 49ers are 3-6 and it’s hard to find much hope for the future.
The Seahawks, who came within seconds last February of winning a second consecutive Super Bowl, are 4-5 after Sunday night’s loss to the Cardinals.
Even though it gave up 39 points to the Cardinals, Seattle’s defense is good enough to keep the Seahawks in contention for a wild-card spot.
But that offense? The line is terrible, quarterback Russell Wilson is having to scramble way too early on pass plays, and they haven’t figured out how to take advantage of tight end Jimmy Graham’s talents.
The Seahawks needed to beat the Cardinals last Sunday night to contend for a third consecutive division title. After the game, coach Pete Carroll said they had a great offensive game plan for Arizona, but couldn’t get to it in the first half because of penalties.
No question that’s true. The Seahawks faced first and at least 20 four times in the first half. But the Seahawks of the previous two seasons would not have let the Cardinals go 83 and 80 yards for touchdowns in the final quarter.
The Seahawks, at least, have the talent to make a playoff push. They don’t have any glaring weakness on defense, and they look as good as any other NFC wild-card contender.
Yes, that’s a back-handed compliment.
November 18, 2015 at 4:21 pm #34373
wvParticipant===========
“…The Rams are what they have been for years. Very good within the division. Not so hot out of it. Tough defense. Nasty demeanor. Changing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators yearly.
It’s the 49ers and Seahawks who have changed so much they’ve lost their defining features….”
————Same Ole Sorry Ass Good-in-the-Division Bad-outside-the-Division rams.
That would be, what? SOSAGD-BD-R
w
vNovember 20, 2015 at 2:35 pm #34457znModeratorSeahawks quarterback Russell Wilson struggling this season, but says Ciara, big contract not the reason
By Jayson Jenks
Seattle Times staff reporterRENTON — Russell Wilson has always tried to “ignore the noise,” but he is not immune from it.
Wilson entered a different level of fame over the last six months — that of a celebrity. He started dating the singer, Ciara, and signed a new contract that pays him among the game’s top quarterbacks.
Both have upped the spotlight’s intensity, and he has acknowledged the scrutiny even while downplaying it.
On if his new contract has brought more pressure: “No, I don’t think so at all. People want to make it something else, but for me I just love the game of football. I love working. I love coming to work. I love getting here early and leaving late. That’s what it’s about. I think ultimately I love the guys on this football team. Nothing has changed.”
On why he shares his private life on Twitter: “I keep most of it private. My private life is my private life, but at the same time, there’s no fear or anything like that. I’m grateful for the people I have in my life and the surroundings from the team to my friends. I’m sure you’re referring to Ciara, too; she’s an unbelievable person. That’s a part of, but I think ultimately when it comes down to football, the focus is on football. That’s just how it has to be and how it always is.”
This came a day after offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell made his most pointed remarks about Wilson’s performance in the pair’s four seasons together.
Wilson completed just 44 percent of his passes (including a couple of drops) in a 39-32 loss against the Cardinals. That’s his worst completion percentage since the second game of the 2013 season. He also had two turnovers.
Wilson had both Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett deep in the third quarter but misfired for an interception. An accurate throw to either would have been a touchdown.
On Seattle’s first two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, down two, Wilson floated a pass over the head of Baldwin, out of bounds.
“He just has to make a better throw on it,” Bevell said. “He had an opportunity to give Doug a chance and really didn’t give him a chance.”
On Seattle’s next two-point conversion later, the Seahawks tried to unleash the three-headed monster that had people drooling before the season: Wilson could hand the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch, run it himself or throw it to tight end Jimmy Graham, who was one-on-one outside.
Wilson kept it, rolled out and threw the ball incomplete to Graham late in the play.
“We feel like that’s about as good as we can get with three of our best guys,” Bevell said. “Russell is obviously the facilitator in that. He’s got to be able to make really good decisions when he does that. Again, you’ve got to give the guy an opportunity to make a play.”
Carroll made similar comments about Wilson this week: “I think that in this game, we talk about the ones that got away, the throws that got away from us, and the opportunities that got away, there were plenty of them in there,” he said.
Wilson is completing a career-best 66 percent of his passes, but he has already thrown as many interceptions (seven) as he did all of last season.
He is playing behind an offensive line that has allowed 33 sacks, second-worst in the league, although some of those fall on Wilson. Carroll said the leaky play of the line has had an effect on Wilson, but Bevell didn’t think Wilson had “happy feet.”
Interestingly enough, against the Cardinals, the Seahawks allowed 17 quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. The Cardinals allowed 30 quarterback hurries, and quarterback Carson Palmer dealt with the pressure by passing for 363 yards and three touchdowns.
Wilson, for his part, said he was “just a bit off.”
Wilson still made some thrilling plays, but with the contract and attention come heavy expectations. He has missed throws he normally makes. He has had uncharacteristic turnovers, including a fumble that turned into a safety against the Cardinals.
“He’s just trying to get better, like all of us are,” Carroll said. “But he made some marvelous plays to give us a chance, and we missed a few opportunities that we needed to make a difference, too.”
It has been that way for most of the season.
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