Improvements Obvious in Near Win
By author
I loved this game. Yes, I know we lost, and that ridiculous field goal attempt might as well been a commercial for Andrew Luck. All that being said it was still a great game.
Offensive line: C+
This group is getting better every week. Despite the fact that the Seahawks had a measly 5 yards rushing at the half. Gallery’s presence was missed terribly, however, he should be back after the bye week. Moffit is looking like the real deal as his nastiness is starting to come out. One play in particular that really stood out was the Lynch td run. Everyone held their blocks on this play, but Unger, Moffit, and Miller couldn’t have done a better job of creating the lane. This was especially nice for Zach Miller who had just cost the Hawks a touchdown. The line also did a pretty good job running the screen on a few plays the best of which was when Lynch set up behind Moffit and gave him a little shove. Moffit hit his man so hard he had to leave for a couple of plays. It was a nasty block by a bad man. This line definitely showed flashes of what may be the future of this Franchise for years to come finally giving fans something to look forward to. One of the offensive line’s most defining plays was during the first drive of the 3rd quarter. It was 3rd and 2 and Forsett picked up the 1st down up the middle. Even though the play went for 3 yards, it’s the type of play that defines offensive lines. It was the best play of a great drive.
Quarterback: B
Tarvaris Jackson had a career game. Although the accuracy issue still surfaced at times like when he missed a wide open Obomanu for 6, his willingness to work through his reads and spread the ball out more was far more apparent than in previous weeks. Jackson hit 7 of his targets 3 or more times. Jackson looked far more comfortable as well feeling the pressure and stepping up in the pocket. The 52yd td to Rice was the result of Jackson drawing a defender offsides with a hard count, so he could take advantage of the free play. The result was a highlight reel fans in Seattle could get used to quickly. I know I’ve been hard on Tarvaris, we all have, but he sure played well in the second half of this game, and I got to give it up for the guy. He nearly won that game for his team. If given the chance with 13 seconds left, I think he would have.
Defense: C+
I liked a lot of things that the defense did against Atlanta… in the 2nd half. During the first half, the Seahawks could not seem to get off the field and trailed by double digits before I finished my hot dog. Matt Ryan shredded the secondary hitting Julio Jones at will. It seemed like that guy was involved in every other play. This brings me to Browner or as I like to refer to him, Magnum. Magnum P. I. seems to find a way to blow a big play in every game. This last week it was a Magnum P. I. on a crucial 3rd down when he tried to tear the jersey off Jones. I will say this about Browner, however, the guy knows how to tackle, he just can’t seem to stay with the NFL caliber receivers he’s been facing. Earle Thomas turned in another great performance. It is amazing how quickly he finds his way to the ball on running plays, and watching him pull down Michael Turner looked like something straight out of a rodeo. All in all the defense reminded me a lot of the offensive line: flashes of greatness, but unable to put an entire game together. That’s not to say I don’t like this defense, I love watching them, but they still need the experience of playing together.
Doug Baldwin: A
Who saw this guy coming? Before I begin with the praise, he did drop a pass, but he’s a rookie, and they will do that from time to time. What rookies don’t do is haul in 5 passes for 84 yards when they are the fourth guy on the depth chart, and more than one of those passes were clutch. I’m not saying that Baldwin is the next Steve Largent or even the best receiver on this team. I will say that he has 12 catches for 194 yards and 1td and 11 of those 12 catches were for first downs. This type of receiver doesn’t put up huge numbers, but they make big plays when you need them most and this week he came through late in the game when the Hawks needed him the most.
Comments: This was my first game back to the stadium this year, and I had a great time. I’ll admit that at 14-0 I was bracing for the worst, but that seemed to be as bad as it ever got. This team showed that they have the ability to claw there way back into a game with multiple big plays despite a dismal first half. They showed an ability to play through their mistakes rather than unraveling as they have so many times before when they find themselves behind. I think they are on the right path here, but still have a season to go. Hope requires patience and patience requires progress. This week was a success in that regard.
Overall Grade: C+