Birds Vs Birds: Ask Field Gulls

Josh Wilson was only really ever good for ST around our parts, s’far as I know. Our corners now are huge, fast, and have decent ball skills, which I consider to be an upgrade over Wilson, Tru, and Jennings (the three we used to have).

Why didn’t you guys try to re-sign him? He’s on a cheap, short-term deal ($13.5M/3years) that you surely could have matched.

I see a Hawk unit that rebounds from last week, but still allows Ray Rice modest numbers rushing. We’ll get gashed through the air as usual, our offense probably doesn’t show up, and we lose another one at home. Alas for growing pains. But, I will not discount the rather small probability that TJack comes to play (well, he’s done it…two plus times already this year) and spreads the ball around like crazy. BMW has just started to get involved again (he’s damn near impossible to cover), Rice (Sidney) already has decent rapport with TJack, and if our O-line can get even a whiff of a run game to at least keep the Ravens’ D honest, Zach Miller and Anthony McCoy should be able to run around and catch the ball instead of staying in and blocking. Even in that case, do we win? Probably not. Do we make it good? Definitely.

and done.

My take:

Two distinct possibilities here. Jaxonville Ravens come to play, in which case we have a nerve-wracking 60 minutes of poorly played ball by our guys combined with you guys realizing that you actually have a shot and playing your asses off on at least one side of the ball. Other possibility is that we build on last week’s superb effort and blow the doors of the place and totally stomp you. I can’t decide which happens.

I do know this though: not to be a jerk, but I think it’s fair to say that the Ravens are the far more talented team. If we do find some sad way to either make this game close or (GULP) lose it, it will have had as much to do with our own ineptitude as with any elevated level of play from the Hawks’ end.

1. Most fans were upset initially, but TJack has shown great character and solid leadership. We didn’t pay big money (for the QB position at least) at $8 million for 2 yrs so we’re not heavily invested in him. That being said, he simply is NOT good enough to be a high-level starting QB but he WILL make a great back-up and I think he gets signed to mentor our QBotF and back him up for a long time. He is mobile, tough (has played injured and played well, the injury is to his pec on the throwing arm) and instinctive. He runs the no-huddle offense very well and can march up and down the field on a D that isn’t prepared for it (I don’t expect this to happen on Baltimore unless about 3/4ths of the Ravens D gets food poisoning or something the night before).

2. Absolutely. I think considering the state of the team, we probably draft top 10 if not top 5. Most fans seem split into two camps: Barkley or RGIII with smaller groups clustering around other names. There is also a group advocating a trade-up for Luck.

3. Our most ‘glaring’ weakness is the lack of a true starting QB. TJack simply isn’t the long-term answer and most fans expect us to draft our long-term starter in 2012. However, my opinion is that the biggest weakness of the team lies in youth or a lack of familiarity with the system. Due to our infamous roster churn, we have very few players who have been with the Seahawks longer than 2 or 3 years. Our biggest strength is definitely the run D. Prior to a horrible run-d game against Dallas, we were allowing 3.1 YPC and hadn’t allowed a 100 yard rusher all season. We severely limited Michael Turner and shutdown Frank Gore. Against the Steelers, they tried to punch it in from the 1 yard line and we stone-walled Mendenhall on 1st, 2nd, knocked him back on 3rd and then forced a turn-over on downs on the 4th. I see Ray Rice as having a good game though. He’s the kind of speedy all-around back we have trouble against (power runners don’t work very well against us).

4. Lynch is the same guy he was last year: gets hit 2 yards behind the LOS by two guys. Breaks a tackle. Drags the other guy for a gain of 2 or 3 yards. I don’t think Lynch is some kind of stud RB like Demarco Murray seems to be or Adrian Peterson or Ray Rice, but if our OLine could even pretend to run block, he’d be a solid ‘back. I chalk it up to inexperience (they started the season with a combined 0 games with any other linemen on the team) and hold a lot of hope for the future. I think, considering we’re playing the Ravens, he gets shut down pretty well.

5. Thanks for the compliments on the Century-Link Field (the CLink! hehehehe). Seahawk fans are very proud of the 12th Man and its effect on visiting teams. If the game remains competitive, we make it almost impossible for the QB to verbally communicate with his offense. I think the best example of our home field advantage would be the ‘05 playoff game with the Giants when they had an insane 11 false starts. Obviously that’s an extreme case, but most teams have to rely on non-verbal communication when visiting Seattle unless the ’Hawks get blown out.

6. If the team was supposed to be competitive (See: Chargers, Eagles) then yeah. But our team is in the midst of a full-on, full-scale rebuild. We weren’t supposed to be competitive at all as we have gotten ridiculously young at most positions so the surprise play-off berth and upset over the Saints was just gravy and an amazing experience for our fan base. With the job PC has done, his job is safe for at least another year, probably another two years. I think the majority of Seahawks fans like our head coach A LOT. He brings enthusiasm to the game that is infectious and a constant positive attitude and vision for the team that gives me a lot of hope for the future.

1. Check our blog tagline: The stupidest name in smart football analysis.
We love our team, love football, but try not to take ourselves too seriously.

2. Win now, win forever. I’m a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. I NEVER want me team to lose, I don’t think anyone does. That being said, we’re going to lose. I don’t fool myself, I don’t put on my rose-colored glasses very much. We’re a young, rebuilding team and we’ll be drafting in the top10. And don’t worry, you’re not an ass. Steeler fans are asses (…fuck me, is that how you pluralize it?).

3.
49ers – Great D, but an offense that is VERY suspect. I honestly think we could have pulled it out against them if not for a complete special teams meltdown. I think they go to the playoffs and lose against one of the more complete teams
Giants – Fierce pass rush, suspect secondary. Against us, their OLine couldn’t block my 12 year old sister. Eli has been playing at an elite level this year though, he is MUCH better than last year. I see them sneaking into the playoffs and winning a game or two.
Bengals – very solid all-around defense with an offense that does not make mistakes. I think the AFCN is too stacked for them to go to the playoffs. Next year though…
Steelers – The DLine is showing cracks while the OLine can still be taken advantage of. That being said, their experience and savvy from playing together will get them into the playoffs on a wild-card unless Baltimore suffers a melt-down. on a sidenote: I hate Steelers. That is all

4. The difference was on the offense. Our starting QB was down with a pec strain, so Charlie Whitehurst (AKA Clipboard Jesus) took over and put on a clinic for how-to-miss-wide-open-WRs. We also lost our starting RB Marshawn Lynch literally minutes before the game. We beat the Giants by forcing 5 turnovers and a safety. Our defense was very solid and the offense clicked well.

but I wouldn’t underestimate BMW if I were you. Injuries aren’t too much of an issue…yet.

Brandon Browner: 6’4", 210lbs. Former CFL player
Weaknesses – does not have great ball skills and is a penalty machine. Guy has made an art form out of PIs and Illegal Contact. Gets burned by fast WRs (see: Mike Wallace)
Strengths – Very strong, destroys WR screens. Solid in run support. Has more speed and agility than you’d expect from a guy his size.

Richard Shermon. 6’3", 195lbs. 5th round rookie, converted WR
Weaknesses – inexperience. 3rd game starting in the NFL, so we don’t really have a body of work to build off of.
Strengths – See ‘Weaknesses’ above. He did a solid job on AJ Green two weeks ago, grabbed a pick and assisted on another against Dalton.

Our CBs aren’t the fastest or most agile bunch, but our Safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas compensate for a lot of that.

he took an aging going nowhere losing record team and basically turned the tables and now essentially every important player is under 30. He has talent stocked up really well and with the general consensus that he will pick a QB in the upcoming draft, because it’s a interesting class comparatively to other years, most fans are on board. Naturally you’ll have the naysayers, but we’re mostly thinking that Carroll has the team on the right path

Nobody should have been expecting miracles in two seasons. Most of this roster is new to Seattle.

this has been brought up in basically all of our other ‘ask field gulls’ post. No idea. Oh, sure, we’ll badmouth the other team in game threads, but the emotions are high when you’re losing. In debates, we tend to be generally laid back and rational.

It’s honestly the only team I hate in the NFL.

Steeler fans on the other hand…you try to debate football with them and 2 minutes into the conversation, it turns into: “WELL MY TEAM HAS 6 SUPERBOWL RINGS SO FUCK YOU~!”

Even after they beat Seattle in SBXL, I didn’t really hate Pittsburgh at first, I hated the referees. Then their fans wouldn’t ever shut the fuck up about it. Now? Well, I’ll root for literally ANYONE against the Steelers. All because their friggin’ fan base never lets us forget about it.

He seems like a good fit for our “5-tech” (SS DE) position, but he walked at a time when we traded away a bunch of fan favorites (Josh Wilson, Daryll Tapp, Rob Sims) so his loss might have been missed in the uproar. In his place (when he’s healthy), Red Bryant has been really effective as a run-stopper and pocket-squisher.

Redding sucked as a 4-3 DE, he was a nonfactor against the pass and wasn’t that great against the run either. I’m glad the new FO didn’t bother resigning him. He was a result of a completely terrible trade.

Hass is not part of a rebuild.

When we found out we signed Jackson, it made perfect sense because we have his old OC from Minny, so he knew the offense already, and didn’t need as much time in camp, so because of the lockout, it all worked out.

Jackson is not a bad quarterback. He’s just not a great one. He’s got good days and bad days and he’ll never be “the guy” and we need to draft a QBOTF next year, but Jackson is just fine.

thinking he was broken and done and never really any good. He seems to be proving those people wrong so far in Tennessee. As long as he has a decent pocket and dependable WRs, he’ll continue to produce for a couple of years.

That said, our OL is going through some major growing pains and he wouldn’t be able to take the punishment that TJ has been able to. A healthy Hasselbeck would likely put up better numbers than Jackson, but he doesn’t fit with the rebuild and likely wouldn’t be able to stay healthy.

There were a lot of rumors that we’d bring in Palmer and TJ looked really bad on paper, but it makes sense if we consider them just as placeholders to build the offense around. Earlier in the year, TJ looked really bad but has improved in the last few games (except for his injury).

sad but happy. The truth is, if Hass was still with us right now, we would’ve held his funeral a week ago.