Seahawks week 10 underachiever and overachiever of the game

The Seahawks badly needed a win in week 10. They got the badly part done, they just missed the win. Two players stood out in this game, one for the right reasons, the other…not so much.

Most of us here at 12thManRising were confident the Seahawks would win at Lambeau Field for the first time since wooly mammoths roamed the glaciers of Wisconsin. None of us foresaw a shutout. Yet here we are. As always, there were underachievers and overachievers. I’ll get to the player who stood out for the right reasons soon enough. For now, let’s investigate the one player of the Seahawks who truly came up short.

That player for me has to be – I’m gonna say it – Russell Wilson. No, I never expected to write that sentence either, 12s. But let’s change the jersey number, and see what your assessment would be. Let’s say instead of number 3, we were watching number 7 today.

Seahawks best and worst from week 10 loss to Packers

So let’s critique that quarterback’s performance. The Seahawks QB completed 20 for 40 passes for 161 yards. He was sacked three times, threw no touchdown passes, and was picked off twice. He wound up with a passer rating of just 39.7. In fact, he failed to lead his team to a single scoring drive. Everyone knows if this had been Geno Smith, the 12s would be howling for a new backup. Unfortunately, it was Russell Wilson. It turns out a broken finger can limit Mr. Unlimited.

I’ll clarify here that Wilson doesn’t exactly deserve blame for this performance. The concept is underachiever, not OMG fire the guy. He came back too soon, clearly. The fact he couldn’t take a single snap under center because of his injury is all the proof we need of that.

It isn’t his responsibility to determine if he’s the best option for the Seahawks. That lies on head coach Pete Carroll. Pete shares the underachiever designation. DangeRuss is one of the best QBs in the league, if not the best. But you can’t put him into a situation like this. When it was clear that he couldn’t be Russell Wilson at the half, Carroll should have put in Smith.

My overachiever, a much more pleasant subject, is a pleasant surprise. Based on last year’s stats, I would have said this was a solid game, not anything too far above his usual level. But this has been a very different (and difficult) year for safety Jamal Adams. Today, he looked like the player the Seahawks traded half a draft for.

All number 33 did was get his first two QB hits of the season, his third pass defense of the year, and his first interception. Granted, the pick wasn’t the most difficult play of his career, but Adams certainly celebrated it in style. I’d celebrate my first interception as a member of the Seahawks, too. It was only the third pick of his career, in fact, so I’d say that yes, Jamal Adams overachieved against the Pack.

I think it’s safe to say the loss was one of the worst ever for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Their narrow window to make the playoffs is just about shut now. As Lee Vowell wrote in his article (you see the link, right?), there’s still hope. But until Wilson is healthy, or the coaching staff realizes he isn’t, that hope is about as strong as Russ’s passer rating yesterday.