Last week’s Notes started with a Phew!, but this week the Seahawks are getting a big OOF! The Seattle Seahawks laid an absolute rotten egg on Sunday, a 30-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers. That is likely to have a devastating impact on this current team’s outlook.
The score does not do proper justice to how badly Seattle was outplayed. The Seahawks were manhandled by the Panthers, dominated in every facet of the game, and are now preparing for an unstoppable-looking San Francisco 49ers squad to come into Seattle on Thursday. A beatdown of epic proportions looks imminent.
This was a terrible, ugly, saddening loss to say the least. Before we get into all the disappointments and negatives, I do want to get some positive notes in here. The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver group is not the problem, and may even be the reason Seattle was remotely competitive in this game.
Notes from the Nest Week 14: Wide receiver group keeping Seahawks in games
The trio of Metcalf, Lockett, and Goodwin combined to catch 15/25 targets with each receiver gaining over 60 yards and a score. Lockett continues to make his push toward being the second-greatest receiver in Seahawks history. His sixth straight game with a touchdown set a franchise record, as he once again wowed us with another beautiful toe-tapping touchdown. So far this year he has been able to avoid major injuries (knock), and it is showing in a career-best performance in 2022.
DK Metcalf got the big payday this year, and while we may never see the dominance he displayed in the first half of the 2020 “Let Russ Cook” season, he’s quietly putting up one of his best seasons of his career. A threat to break 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns again, DK also is within distance of his first-ever 90+ receptions season. During the Russ years, DK never had more than 129 targets in a season. Through 13 games, DK is already at 110. Seeing the Seahawks put the ball in the hands of their two best players has been such a joy to watch this season.
Let’s not forget to give props to Marquise Goodwin. Expected to be nothing more than a training camp body, this speedster has been a pleasant surprise for a team that desperately needed help at the #3 wide receiver position. His 5 receptions for 95 yards and a score were huge in giving Seattle a shot on Sunday. On the year, Goodwin is going to push for over 30 receptions, 500 yards, and 5 scores. Considering how this new-look offense can perform when healthy, it makes me wonder how explosive Seattle could be potentially upgrading this spot, but for now, thank you Goodwin for being awesome this year.
Geno wasn’t great but wasn’t the culprit for the Seahawks
I think it is safe to say that this was a bottom-three game of the year for Geno Smith. We saw a different Seahawks offense essentially get shut out by San Francisco, and a rough three quarters in Germany against Tampa Bay before catching fire. This game falls into that same category.
Geno’s stats look pretty good, throwing for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns. We also saw only 58.3% of his passes completed, and two interceptions, with one being a terrible decision. While he is still having an incredibly efficient season, the interceptions and poor decision-making have noticeably increased. Geno made some poor decisions while leaving the pocket, taking two terrible sacks when he could have easily thrown the ball away.
There was a play-action play in the second half when the game was still in the balance, Carolina leading 20-17. Geno used the play action to roll out of the pocket, he became focused on Tony Jones Jr, throwing a 1-2 yard pass that got Jones Jr lit up by Frankie Luvu. If Geno looked 10 yards up ahead, he had DK running wide open, with Dissly ahead of him to block one Panther. If Geno sees that play, DK is still running. You’re looking at a 24-20 Seahawks with 20 minutes to go, and maybe the Panthers break from their mindset of pounding the rock.
I don’t bring up these points to drag on Geno like some Seahawk fans are starting to do. He’s a franchise QB, but he needs help. Geno can’t be asked to carry a team with no defense, no running game, and rookie tackles.
I believe Geno has top-7 QB potential and is worth a short and lucrative extension, but to ask him to carry this team right now is unfair to any top QB. No, the blame needs to go somewhere else.
This Seahawks coaching staff is struggling, and that can be good
If I’m going to play the blame game, I think we have to look at this coaching staff. Clint Hurtt has seen this defense fail as a 3-4, look NFC championship worthy for about a month going back to some old defensive schemes, only to fall back into misery. They can’t stop the run, at all.
Yes, Shelby Harris being out and Al Woods getting hurt didn’t help. But this Seahawks team continues to go belly-up against the run. There’s either a clear talent gap, a disconnect between coaching and the players executing, or just a lack of effort to stop the run right now.
It has been and continues to be the most demoralizing way to beat an opponent. Fans of the Seahawks have been fortunate enough to watch Shaun Alexander, Walter Jones, and Steve Hutchinson do this to teams for half a decade. Beastmode, Wilson, and the underrated Seahawks offensive line of those Super Bowl seasons demoralized teams for 3 straight years unlike anyone else in the NFL. When it is one, there’s no better way to put an opposing team in the dirt.
The defense doesn’t have that, and it is truly unfortunate considering the offense is playing near a top 5 level. The Seahawks currently rank 31st in the NFL in run defense, only ahead of the tanking Houston Texans. I firmly believe that with a league-average run defense, Seattle is probably close to 10-3 right now. It is truly a shame and a waste of a potential miracle season.
The offense, while still scoring at a high level, is not excused from this blame pie. Shane Waldron has made a name for himself this season. He has Seattle looking as potent as we’ve seen them through 13 games in years. While I don’t expect him to get a head coaching job this year, the clock appears to be ticking. While I’ve been a fan of his, I think he really hurt Seattle’s chances of coming back on Sunday.
After Seattle got that massive stop at the goal line late in the 3rd quarter to keep the score at 20-17 Carolina, Seattle began marching from the 4-yard line. Three straight vertical and aggressive pass completions had the Seahawks their own 43. The offense and Geno were humming, and then Seattle ran less than 100 percent Travis Homer into the middle of a stellar Panthers run defense. The play-call was horrendous, only to be outdone by another poorly executed screen pass to Noah Fant. The two plays put the Seahawks in a tough spot, and Geno was sacked on the next play. The Seahawks punted, and likely lost the game at that point.
I simply didn’t understand Waldron’s mindset on that drive. He came out in shotgun and looked to throw aggressively on the first five plays, only to chicken out when you have the Panthers on the ropes. You had completed first-down throws to your best players, Lockett, Dissly, and Metcalf, and got to midfield. Trust the stars that got you back into the game, not a run play from your number 4 running back and a tight end screen. That drive died at the hands of Waldron.
Lastly, Pete…my man…what are you doing? Stop wasting timeouts and challenges on plays that are clearly not going to be overturned. Don’t make me hire Mina Kimes to do the job that obviously needs to be done. Somebody, please take his challenge flag away.
I was also curious about what he was gonna say after the game. Pete has built a Hall of Fame legacy on running the football and stopping the run, something that this team can’t do anymore.
This quote is pretty telling. In my opinion, Pete is clearly saying that the coaching staff is trying, but this defense just doesn’t have the talent to get the job done when it comes to stopping the run. This is clearly an indictment on Pete Carroll, but also can be a good thing. Acceptance is important, and we will see in free agency and the draft how much the Seahawks look to rebuild their defensive front seven.
If not, at some point you have to look at how many coordinators have to fall on the sword before the seat gets hot on Carroll.
Ramifications of the loss for the Seahawks
While the loss almost assures that Seattle will be picking with their Denver pick ahead of Carolina, it does lay a devastating blow to the Seahawks’ playoff chances.
The loss brings the Seahawks to 7-6, and they fall behind the New York Giants and Washington Commanders for the final playoff spots in the NFC. As it currently stands, the Seahawks’ playoff chances dipped from 64 percent to 48 percent. With the next three games coming against elite Super Bowl threats in San Francisco, Kansas City, as well as the playoff-hopeful New York Jets. Even with the season finale against the Rams, the playoff dream seems dark.
For Seattle to get in, they likely need to pull off a miracle, winning three of four in this brutal stretch. Understanding the difficulty of that task, they likely need a split in their final four games, as well as the Giants to lose three out of four just to sneak in. The Giants do travel to DC and Minnesota, host the lowly Colts, and then finish the year at Philadelphia.
Depending on where the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles find themselves on their season finale, the Eagles may need a win to keep the number 1 seed or may be in a position to rest, likely meaning a Giants win. Much mystery awaits Seattle, as they are likely going to finish on the outside looking in, but could still sneak in, or even get in as the number 6 seed.
Quite the whirlwind for Seahawks fans that initially had zero expectations, and then began to dream big before the Hawks went to Germany.
Seeing the forest through the trees
This Sunday’s loss to Carolina hurts, and while people are frustrated with how this season appears to be heading, it is important to keep perspective:
Number 1: The Seahawks are still better than you thought.
Number 2: This team can still have a competitive finish, similar to what we saw from the 2010 and 2011 Seahawks teams that laid the groundwork for greatness.
Number 3: This team may not be far off those from the 2002-2006 Seahawks era (dominant offense with an average, turnover-hungry defense). The offense can be truly elite and special with a couple more pieces.
Number 4: The Seahawks have the ultimate draft gift from Denver, a chance to add 4 immediate impact players in the top 50 picks, while a potential superstar awaits with their top 3 pick.
Number 5: Pete is under contract through 2025. I think the goal is to make and win a Super Bowl by then. This season was supposed to be a rebuild, and in a way it still is.
Number 6: Playoffs should be the goal in 2023, with a two-year window following to get that last championship of the Pete Carroll era.
Have faith in the process, Seahawks fans. There is plenty of blame to go around as Seattle enters the mouth of the dragon with their schedule. Things might get ugly, and that is part of this process. These next two weeks will show Seattle how far they have to go to get back to where they want to be. The answer may not be pretty, but we’ll have clarity, and that is important for growth.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” Go Hawks!