Wait a minute– Trump said that HE was the chosen one…..what gives?

The game was effectively over when Pete Carroll did not go for it on the 4th and inches in the first half. The best way to keep the leaky defense off the field is to keep extending drives. This isn’t like the defenses from a few seasons ago where pinning an opponent way back means a quick turnaround. I’m giving Carroll the benefit of the doubt that the Seahawks usual history of excellent Decembers plus a much softer final third of the schedule gets them to 12-4 or 11-5 and first place in the NFC west.

Thanks Art. Tough times fer sure! All of the deficiencies are finally adding up to where Russell can’t do enough to bring in a win, and it’s easy pickin’s for the really good opponents. I still believe in Russ, and it’s too bad that he’s been put in the position to where he’s not himself, not at his best. I’ve never seen Russ make such mistakes nor never heard Pete Carroll sound so baffled. It’s a bit disturbing. Either there’s more to the story than what we’re hearing (like Russ is suffering from migraines, or another debilitating ailment) or the combination of effects, injuries, COVID, and general personnel unfamiliarity has created a special doomsday sauce to derail what should be a pretty solid team, with an above average defense.

One thing that I find baffling, and it’s in retrospect, not taking in all of the factors at the time, but it seems that rollouts and screen passes sure would create some space for Russ, one of the best mobile passers – especially when he’s getting pressured or sacked by staying put and trusting the pocket. The creativity to allow Russ to be at his best is missing. Even without our stout running attack, you’d think more diversions could come about to free him. Still – (let’s) GO HAWKS!

I know that I’m in the minority and that ALL of the media hot takes are that Pete messed up by not going for it on 4th and inches. But I actually think he made a right call – with one small caveat.

Situationally, Pete’s right. The ball was on their 42 yard line. If they go for it and don’t get the first down, they hand the Rams the ball on the edge of field goal range, with the very real probability that they extend their lead.

There were over 28 minutes remaining in the game at that point and the Hawks were only down 4. Regardless of how good their offense is, how bad their defense is, or how much you do or don’t believe in either unit, pinning the Rams deep and forcing them to drive the length of the field gives Seattle a better chance to keep it a 1-score game.

Personnel-wise, the Hawks were without their top 3 running backs (Carson and Hyde were inactive, Penny is still on the PUP list) and were rolling with their 6th string (?) running back who had only officially joined the team 11 days earlier. Their starting center was inactive with a concussion and their starting left guard left the game in the first half. In their places were Kyle Fuller (making his first start at center) and Jamarco Jones (filling in at guard).

Opposite that pair of young linemen? The league’s BEST defensive player, Aaron Donald, chomping at the bit, ready to DESTROY whatever play the Hawks tried to run.

Up to that point, Alex Collins was the only running back who had taken a handoff from Wilson. In the first half he gained 26 yards on 7 carries; half of them on his touchdown run on the Hawks’ first possession. He’d added 3 yards to that total on the first play of the second half. The other 2 plays in the second half had been Wilson scrambles that netted 3 yards each, leaving the Hawks with 4th and inches.

Raise your hand if you honestly believe that Seattle would have picked up the first down on a running play if they’d called Alex Collins’ number and asked their backup O-linemen to open a hole for him with the best defensive player in the game on the other side of the line.

Personally, I would give them about a 1% chance. And I think I’m probably being generous given that I’m both an optimist and a huge “homer” when it comes to the Hawks.

So what does that leave? A pass play? Let’s look at what was going on with the Hawks at that point in the game.

1. DK Metcalf hadn’t been targeted a single time.
2. The Hawks had called 14 pass plays since the last completion to a wide receiver.
3. Tight ends hadn’t caught a pass since the first quarter – Olsen had a catch on the Hawks’ first possession and Hollister had one on their second possession, right before the end of the first quarter.

Sounds bad right?

To be fair, the Hawks had 4 completions on their last possession of the first half. But all 4 were throws to running backs and one of them was a super-dangerous flip pass that Russ threw to avoid a sack. More to the point though, the 2 backs that caught those passes (Homer and Dallas) wouldn’t have been in the game on 4th and 1.

How do we know this? When the Hawks lined up to try to draw the Rams offsides, they had 3 WRs (Metcalf, Lockett, and Moore), a tight end (Olsen), and a running back (Collins) in the game. They’d already burned a timeout by wasting a challenge so if they were going to run a play, that was the personnel grouping they were going to have to do it with.

As mentioned, I’m a huge “homer” when it comes to the Hawks but the second they broke the huddle, I knew there was no chance they were going to run a play. No chance. They simply didn’t have the right personnel to do so. And I’m sure the Rams knew this as well.

So that brings us to the Seattle defense . . .

Yeah, they’ve sucked pretty bad this year. And yes, the Rams had moved up and down the field at will on their first 3 possessions and had 17 points to show for it. But the defense had gotten a takeaway and forced a punt on the Rams last 2 possessions of the first half so there was at least SOME belief on the sideline that they could be up to the task if Dickson pinned the Rams deep. And pin them deep, he did; the Rams started their drive on the 12.

After giving up a 16-yard run on the first play, Seattle’s defense had a chance to stop L.A. and get the ball back when the Rams faced 3rd and 13 on their 25. Obviously it didn’t work out and the Rams ended up going 88 yards and putting 6 points on the board. Grrr!

That was, however the last time the Rams got any points and their last 3 “meaningful” possessions of the game netted them a total of 21 yards on 16 plays. So the defense DID step up . . . just one possession too late.

Now, here’s where the frustration over the punt falls apart for me.

1. After the Rams scored their touchdown (and missed the extra point), Seattle was down 10 with over 21 minutes left to play.
2. Seattle’s offense had the ball 4 more times and only managed to score 3 points.
3. In the second half of the game, Seattle’s offense ran 33 plays and netted a total of 119 yards (67 rushing, 52 passing), with 30 of the plays and 110 of the yards coming after the reviled decision to punt.

And yet everyone seems to think that Seattle would have (a) gotten the first down; (b) gone on to score; and (c) not simply punted a few plays later (or turned the ball over on downs).

It seems illogical to me. I mean, I get being disappointed by the decision and being frustrated by the loss, but Seattle did NOT lose the game because Pete wasn’t “brave enough” to go for it on 4th and 1 at the beginning of the 3rd quarter in a 4-point game.

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Alright, now for the “one small caveat” that I mentioned.

IF there is a play in the playbook that gives DK Metcalf the ball on a jet sweep and IF the Hawks have ever practiced that particular play, I’d have gone for it. Handing the ball to a pissed-off DK Metcalf with a full head of steam and an angle to the sideline is the ONLY play that I’d have considered though. And only then if the team had practiced it.

Absent that one play, with that one player, I’d kick the ball given everything that was known at the time.