Proof of RGIII bias (among other east-coast biases)
The fact that Robert Griffin III won rookie of the week for week 16 just proves that no matter what Russell Wilson does, he'll never get the rmecognition he deserves. Last week, he threw 4 TDs against the best defense in the NFL (49ers), which no other quarterback has done this year. In fact, only one other TEAM has scored 4 TDs against them, which was the Patriots and their Hall of Fame QB. And Tom Brady threw the ball over 60 times against the 49ers but only threw one touchdown. Russell Wilson threw his 4 touchdowns on only 21 attempts
So what did RGIII have to do to overshadow such an outstanding performance by RW? He played fairly decently against a mediocre team and barely did enough to win the game. Sure, I'll admit he made some nice throws, but he had worse numbers in a less important game against a worse team.
But he somehow managed to win the Rookie of the Week voting. Why? Because he's RGIII and people know his name. I think it's about time to take away the fan-voting (or at least make it less-influential) and start having pro-scouts determine who gets weekly honors and end-of-year awards. Make sure the players get what they earn. If you need any other proof of bias against the pacific northwest, look no further than the fact that Richard Sherman isn't in the Probowl. 'Nuff said
I have to admit, this video is very clever and I'm really happy that there's finally some attention up here in the Northwest. Also very fitting that the niners are the "Dark Power" haha. Go 'Hawks!
The Seahawks, when they've won this season, have averaged a 15.25 point margin of victory. When we've lost, it's been by a 4.8 point margin. You can take these to mean whatever you want them to, just thought it was interesting.
But goddammit that Seahawks game was so fucking frustrating. We DOMINATED the first half, but completely just fell apart when we got towards the red-zone and left a ton of points out there on the field that we should’ve had. Our receivers are by far the most inconsistent in the league and they showed that again tonight, with numerous unacceptable drops. Their mistakes lead to punts which lead to our defense having to be on the field way more than they should’ve been. I don’t know what we can do to improve our receivers’ consistency, but SOMETHING has to happen, because that’s been the reason for each of the losses we’ve had this season. Now let me analyze that last play for a second. Everything that happened on that last play was incorrectly called by the officials. You ARE allowed to make a cut block on an engaged defender if you are the adjacent linemen, which the blocker was. Therefore, no illegal cut block should’ve been called. And either way, THAT WASN'T EVEN A CHOP BLOCK. Also, since the initial contact was outside the endzone, even if you did call it, it should be half the distance to the goal, and a replay of down, not a safety. Not to mention the debatable spot on the catch, because to me he clearly made the first down. Not too happy right now.
An amazing performance today by the Seahawks, despite a few silly mistakes. The most important thing that you can take away from today's victory is that the Seahawks made a few extremely poor mistakes, but were able to fight through them and win the game through big plays on offense. Russell Wilson made some huge throws and really started to show what he can do when he's given the opportunity. Not to mention the huge performance by the receivers; Doug Baldwin finally had a solid game, Golden Tate made a few huge catches, Sidney Rice was effective when called upon, and even Braylon Edwards got involved on his fantastic TD catch.
However, not everything went well for the 'Hawks today. They didn't get nearly enough pressure on the Quarterback (until the last few drives) and they gave up too many intermediate passing plays. But you can give a lot of the credit to the outstanding offense of the Patriots, so that's not too big of an area of concern, especially considering the fact that the 'Hawks were able to force Brady to throw two interceptions. You would also like to see a more effective ground game, but it ended up not having too big of an impact on the game due to the offense's ability to throw the ball against a less than average Patriots pass defense.
Overall, great game, and now we just have to wait and see if they can get a victory against the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. Perhaps the two best defenses in the league will be facing each other and the win will likely go to whichever team makes the fewest mistakes.
One thing I always keep an eye on throughout the NFL offseason/preseason is how the NFL and the media perceive the likely (or unlikely) success of the 'Hawks during the upcoming season. More often than not, we get unfairly negative predictions (although of course I might be SLIGHTLY biased) but this year it seems like the media actually recognizes the Seahawks as having a legitimate chance of being a "surprise team".
Every year, there are a few teems that exceed expectations and end up finishing a lot stronger than most would've guessed. For example, last year the 49ers really surprised the league by having possibly the most dominant defense in the league and making it to the NFC Championship game (and almost winning it). And I think that's a fair place for the 'Hawks to be right now. Not necessarily saying we'll be as successful as the 49ers were last year, but we have a chance to really show people that we are legitimate playoff contenders.
We have a lot of questions that still need to be answered, though. Is Russell Wilson a viable starter at QB? Is our pass-rush where it needs to be to push our defense to the next level? Will our offensive line be consistent enough to protect the QB? Is Marshawn Lynch going to be suspend, if so for how long? But if none, or even only some of those become an issue, this team is set to really surprise some people this year. One of my favorite things about Pete Carroll and John Schneider is that since they've arrived here, they've consistently been making moves that have brought the Seahawks some VERY needed national attention; something we haven't had since the 2005 Superbowl season.
This season we will show people that we are a team that either sooner or later will be back at the top of the NFL.
Who else is pumped for the first Seahawks Preseason game tomorrow?
Reasons why this game is so fascinating:
- Matt Flynn's first game as a Seahawk
- Russell Wilson's first game as a Seahawk (and first NFL game)
- Bruce Irvin's first game as a Seahawk (and first NFL game)
- First chance to see the new Seahawks Nike uniforms in action
- Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Steve Hutchinson, Jordan Babineaux and more coming back to face their old team (except in Locker's case)
- AND SO MANY MORE AWESOME THINGS THAT WOULD TAKE FOREVER IF I WERE TO MENTION ALL OF THEM
I think I'm just going to be interested in every single snap tomorrow, I can't wait. On every snap there's going to be something worth watching. Gotta love the NFL.
Okay, so I haven't really been on here for a little while, but with training camp starting today, I figured I should probably come up with something to post. So pretty much, here are some questions to ask, and some predictions about the upcoming season for the Seahawks.
The running game will thrive, even if Marshawn Lynch gets suspended.
Tom Cable, in his second season (and first full off-season) as the Seahawks O-line coach, is the reason why our running game will be successful. During the second half of last season, our offensive line started getting their act together and were really starting to dominate opposing lines. Even when Okung, Moffitt, and Carpenter all went out with injuries, the back-ups came in and continued the dominance. This off-season we lost Robert Gallery but other than that we haven't lost anyone that we need, and we've added some depth with Deuce Lutui, JR Sweezy, Frank Omiyale and Alex Barron. With Marshawn, or even Robert Turbin, our running game should really thrive behind a line coached by one of the greatest O-line minds in the league.
One of the 'Hawks receivers is going to have surprise people for us to be successful.
Kris Durham, Ricardo Lockettte, Golden Tate, or Ben Obomanu are going to have to step it up this season to give our team a chance to win. Kris Durham has the physical tool-set to be able to be a true #2 starting receiver, but he has almost no experience and suffered through injuries last season. Lockette has truly elite speed, but lacks the experience and natural receiving ability that are necessary to be successful as a starter in the NFL. With that being said, he can out run almost anyone you line him up again. Tate showed a lot of promise at the end of last season, but it's still questionable if he'll be able to be a consistent option as a starter opposite of Rice or if he'll be stuck in more of a slot role. Obomanu is by far the most experienced and consistent option for the #2 receiver battle, but he's not by any means even close to being elite or even above-average. At this point we know what to expect from him and he'll get the starting job if no one can impress enough to take it from him. But one thing is certain, one of these guys are going to have to step up to give whoever starts at QB a bit of help. My favorite right now would be either Durham or Tate, they have the highest potential of the group. As for the other receivers, Sidney Rice has the #1 spot locked up and Doug Baldwin will be a major weapon for us in the slot position. Having two pass-catching TE's in Winslow and Miller will also greatly help our QB.
We made several off-season acquisitions in order to address our poor pass-rush, which was arguably the weakest part of our team last year. Bruce Irvin, our first round draft choice has the potential to have a double-digit sack season. James Jones, one of our biggest free-agent signings, has the potential to have 5 or more sacks, but he'll help a desperate inside pass-rush, which'll have a much bigger impact than people tend to realize. Jaye Howard, our second selection in the 4th round of the draft, could also add an inside pass-rush presence and will be an important rotational d-linemen. If all of these guys can live up to their potential, and Chris Clemons manages to not fall off after two 11-sack seasons, this defense could go from a top 10 defense to a top 5 or maybe even top 3 defense. If the guys we brought it flop and bust, and Clemons can't reproduce his numbers from years past, then we could go from a top 10 defense to a top 15 defense. It's all about pass-rush this season.
I just watched some interviews with and about Brian Banks and his tryout with the Seahawks. And this just reminds me why I love the Seahawks so much. Out of all the teams in the NFL, the Seahawks seem the most willing to give a guy a chance. Whether it's the obvious stories of guys like Mike Williams or Brian Banks or Bruce Irvin, or the slightly more subtle stories of guys like Red Bryant who is "too big to play D-End", or Richard Sherman/Brandon Browner who are "too tall to play Corner", or any of the countless number of guys who have been given a chance with the 'Hawks who likely weren't going to get a chance anywhere else.
However, they've shown that even though they're willing to give you a shot, they won't let you take advantage of it. They traded a draft pick in Carroll's first year to get runningback LenDale White who the 'Hawks cut due to poor effort during practices and an on-going weight issue.
If you look on this roster, at any position, you'll find a story of someone who has had to deal with adversity to get to where they are today. And that translates directly to effort, determination, and competition at the highest level.
