Seahawks week 4: underachiever and overachiever of the game

The Seahawks pulled out a much-needed win on the road Sunday. There were a few players who could have done better, and many who outplayed expectations. These are my picks for the under and overachievers of the week.

As was every other college navy and wolf gray blooded 12, I was more than a little concerned about our beloved Seahawks heading into Sunday’s pivotal tilt vs the 49ers. A loss would put them at 1-3, a full three games behind whoever won the other NFC West matchup. Now we know that was the surprising Cardinals, but we’ll talk about them another time. For now, let’s just bask in the glow of the Hawks sweet victory.

I have to admit, I was worried after the first half. Seattle had been starting fast, but it looked like San Francisco was going to fast forward the Hawks fourth-quarter woes to the whole game. They sacked Russell Wilson three times in the first quarter, and things looked pretty grim.

And then, the DangeRuss one – okay, DangeRuss3 – started working his magic. We’ve seen him create magic before, so there’s no way I can say he overachieved. In fact, with just 149 yards passing, it could be argued that he underachieved. I’m not making that argument, mind you. Not at all.

Seahawks standouts from week 4

But there were a couple of Seahawks that did underachieve. Chris Carson had just 30 yards on 13 carries. He had zero yards after contact, something that no team has ever managed to do to him before. I’d say that had a lot more to do with the Niner defense than Carson, though, so I’m giving him a pass on this. But I can’t give a pass to my choice for the underachiever of week 4.

That would be cornerback Sidney Jones. Let me say right now, I’m glad Seattle made the switch, and that he definitely deserves the starting nod over Tre Flowers. Jones will be a major upgrade over Flowers, who never settled in at cornerback. Of course, all good 12s know that Flowers played safety in college. Maybe he’ll be able to get some reps at his natural position and reclaim some of his lost luster.

For this game though, Sidney Jones definitely underachieved. He gave up the Niners first score – he had pretty good coverage on tight end Ross Dwelley, though, and Flowers would have been at least three yards off him. But Jones also blew – and I mean completely blew – coverage on Deebo Samuels 76-yard score. That was a major miscommunication, and I don’t think Jones will be making that mistake again. As I’ve said before, one week’s underachiever can be next week’s overachiever.

And speaking of overachieving…on a day that saw the Niners bottle up stud RB Chris Carson, there is no better choice for the player that did more than anyone expected than Alex Collins. I doubt you remember, so I’ll take the opportunity to remind you here that he was one of my preseason picks for a breakout year with the Seahawks.

I never thought he’d get his chance because Carson was ineffective, but I did say he’d give the Hawks a change of pace. And did he ever. 44 yards on 10 carries and a score, plus 34 yards on just two receptions – yes, he caught both targets. When your offense only nets 234 yards and your backup running back pulls in exactly 33.3 percent of those yards, he overachieved.

It’s not wrong to say that the Seahawks wouldn’t have won Sunday without Alex Collins. Nor is it wrong to say there will be a game this year that they’ll win because of Sidney Jones. He’ll play better games, much better. The Hawks made the right call to get him, and Collins, on the field.