Hopelessly Optimistic (Guest Post)

Written by Jim Sullivan | 27 October 2009

The Sunday night and Monday night games were very reassuring to me as a Seahawk fan.  Sunday night first; what did it tell us?  Arizona has a good defense.  They held a good offense in check.  Even more, the strength of the Arizona defense plays to our current weakness.  They are a blitzing, gambling defense.  We have a decimated offensive line.

What hope do we have the next time we meet them?  It probably won’t be Walter Jones riding in on a white horse to save the day (though that would be nice).  Hasselbeck hinted at it when he said “(we need to be automatic, we need to do a little but do that very well)” (paraphrased).  That brings us to where Monday night’s game gives us hope.  Not that Washington was successful; but they could have been.  Washington and Jason Campbell had the right idea.  Drop back and throw the darn ball; almost immediately. You still need receivers that can catch and centers that can snap; but I think Seattle has that (usually).

Seattle’s defense has played well in all but the Colts game.  They are getting Hill and Trufant back.  Matt can throw.  Now all he needs is to be able to throw very quickly when the opposition sends the house.  I can still smell 12 – 4.

Comments (10)

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written by tam, October 27, 2009

jim, that is exactly how you overcome a crappy line, is with the quick pass. plain and simple. not necessarily a screen pass every other down. but quick slants, outs, hitch routes, crossing patterns. hit these to begin with, and then you open up the deep pass. we simply do not have the kind of line that can protect for 5-7 step drops. 3 steps, and get it out of matts hands. obviously, i am just another armchair coach, and things are always easier said then done. but from where i sit, this is only way compete. but i would love to hear some thoughts on this as well. we cant just piss and moan about how crappy our team is, we need to rise above the adversity.

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written by Hawktastic, October 27, 2009

"I can still smell 12 – 4."

lol, gotta love it!

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written by MMF, October 27, 2009

Gee its a good thing the other teams dont know we are going to throw quick slants.

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written by Hawkdude, October 27, 2009

I don't think Allen will fire Ruskell and replace him with Holmgren. He will defer such decisions to his CEO. Liewicki (sp) gave Ruskell a huge vot of confidence when he was interview prior to his climb up Mt. Ranier. I think we will be with Ruskell and Mora for at least a couple of years yet. Of course, it could be longer if they produce like they claim they will. As a fan, as long as they produce, I'm good with that. Who cares who is in the FO as long as the product on the field is winning....

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Jim, Jim, Jim.
written by LouieLouie, October 27, 2009

When all you can do is to drop back and throw short quick passes, it doesn't take a genius DC to figure out how to stop it. A slight variation of stacking 8 in the box will plug up the short passing game too. Arizona was able to take away the short passing game as well as the running game. Their blitzing took away the long passing game.

We can't just give up and start planning for next year's draft. We just have to keep plugging away at it until we start winning. That will come.

As far as 12-4; care to put some money on that? (Just kidding). Even if they wind up at 4-12; GO HAWKS!

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written by hasselhawk2, October 27, 2009

oh 12-4..??
homer for sure
one can dream..
go hawks!

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written by kona, October 27, 2009

There is one thing with the quick pass, the other team knows that we can't hold the defensive line. so when we go for the quick pass there backfeild is playing tight and under because they know our line can't hold them for a long pass route. im not sure how we can buy more time so our receivers can keep there Db's honest I guess well see if the seahawks have an ideal.

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Hey Kona
written by LouieLouie, October 27, 2009

You got that right about the other team knowing our O-Line can't control their D-line. There are a few ways that we could give Hass more time. One would be to run more 2-Tight End formations. They could release when and if Hass looks protected. With the TE's that we have, it might not work too badly. Both Super-stud Carlson and that new kid from Cal are good receivers.

The other way is to meticulously develop an O-Line. There are no short cuts. No passing GO; no collecting $200 or "get of jail free" cards. It takes a group of guys playing together for an extended period of time.

As most of the other teams in the NFL with loosing records will attest, developing a solid O-Line takes time. When was the last time anyone said; "he has all kinds of time to throw, but just can't make the plays?" (OK, maybe in Oakland).

If Lock, Spencer and Sims could stay healthy, a little tweeking here and there might be all that's necessary. But that is a huge IF. If they continue to be injury prone, its going to be a long, cold autumn. And it will have nothing to do with climate change.

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It is to laugh
written by mh, October 27, 2009

12-4? This team can't win on the road when healthy. Now you have them running the table.

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written by Rugby Lock, October 28, 2009

I think that the ganja smoke you're smellin bro!
Love the optimism!! GO HAWKS!!!

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