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| A great, yet sad photo from the .Com blog that says it all |
Excuse my absence the past few days, I am still in mourning as I'm sure many of you are. Despite one of the most magical comebacks in NFL Playoff history, the Seahawks season came crashing to an end at the foot of Falcons Kicker Matt Bryant. It's almost fitting the way the Seahawks season ended. Like Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray, it's a scenario that we saw play itself out numerous times in 2012/13. To say the Seahawks deserved a better fate might be the truth, but we also can not deny that when you only play 1 1/2 quarters of decent football two weeks in a row, in the playoffs, you're asking for disaster. The team managed to get by a hobbled RGIII and the Redskins in DC but in the ATL it was not meant to be.
Despite the "early" exit, yeah that's how I'm looking at it, there is SO MUCH to be proud of with this team. There is talent bursting at the seams, confidence and bravado that allows the team to never feel like they are truly out of any game, no matter how big the lead. Oh, and then there's this dude named Hustle Wilson, you might know him as Russell, not sure if you've ever heard of him before though. Anyway, he's the team's unquestioned leader moving forward and yet again an outstanding effort and a great comeback late in the game was squandered by the team's defense, which started the season as the strongest unit on the team.
What went wrong? It's really quite simple. The team's lack of pass rush finally came back to haunt them. Sunday was nothing new for Seahawks fans who have followed the team closely this season and for the past several years. The team's glaring lack of anything closely resembling a pass rush allowed Matt Ryan to dissect the Seahawks defense when they needed a stop most, with :31 seconds left on the clock. Immediately after the Seahawks scored their go-ahead touchdown you just knew that :31 seconds was probably too much time. Coupling with the Seahawks anemic pass rush was Gus Bradley's insistence upon running Zone Coverage while blitzing Winston Guy on one play and Marcus Trufant on another. Neither blitzed got there and Ryan made quick work of the Seahawks Zone Coverage. I'm not here to bash Gus Bradley, by all accounts he's one of the best coaches to play for in the game, but I will point out that having Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner play that far off the ball in that big of a situation is just asking for trouble.
Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell isn't getting left off the hook either, neither is Coach Carroll. Both had their share of "WTF?!" moments. Bevell's original gameplan and scripted plays were abysmal. The Seahawks couldn't get anything going and Bevell was insistent upon establishing the run despite having a hobbled Marshawn and a Falcons Defense that was hellbent on eliminating the run from the opening whistle. That doesn't mean you give up on the run entirely, no, but this wasn't the first time this season that we've seen Bevell's stubborn approach come back to haunt the 'Hawks. Sprinkle in the decision to run Turbin on 3rd and 1, followed by Robinson on 4th and 1 and you've got a few reasons to believe that Bevell didn't have his best game on Sunday.
Carroll on the other hand struggled with clock management and also made a few decisions that left Seahawks fans scratching their heads. Add in the fact that for the 2nd week in a row the team fell behind big early and you can honestly stand to question whether or not the team was fully prepared heading into 2 games of such magnitude. Regardless, it's obvious that the Seahawks coaching trio didn't have their best day in Atlanta.
Yet the Seahawks still nearly came out victorious. On the road, in a 10am game, against the #1 seed in the conference. That's either a testament to how great this Seahawks team is and can be, or a testament to how overrated the Atlanta Falcons are. I'm pulling for Atlanta from here on out, it'd be nice to see a team come from out of nowhere to defy all Vegas and "experts'" odds, but I'm not quite sure I have the most confidence in them. Ehhh, who am I kidding? I could give two shits less about the 3 remaining games in this NFL season and I could care less who ends up winning the Super Bowl. I'm already looking ahead to the offseason and how the Seahawks can improve and ultimately win the Super Bowl next season.
Much of the talk today is focused on both of the Seahawks coordinators that I mentioned above. Gus Bradley was apparently close to a deal with the Eagles yesterday to take over their shambles of a franchise as Head Coach, and Darrell Bevell was apparently edged out for the job in Chicago by Marc Trestman, he of CFL fame via the Montreal Alouettes and an apparent lover of Russell Wilson. If you would have asked me yesterday morning, I would've told you that I'd be fine with both coordinators heading elsewhere. First, it's good for them and their careers. There are only 32 NFL head coaching jobs and when you get offered one you almost HAVE TO take it. As such, neither coordinator strikes me as irreplaceable and in fact, I think the Hawks could stand to upgrade on both. Might seem crazy considering how the defense finished #1 in the league in Scoring Defense and how the offense came together to become one of the best in the league by season's end, but it's possible.
However, Bradley is technically still with the Seahawks, as is Bevell. I'm a big believer in continuity so if both happen to stay, or Bevell stays and Bradley goes, I could live with that. To me, it honestly doesn't matter who the Offensive Coordinator is moving forward. Russell Wilson strikes me as the "Peyton Manning type", he'll be calling all the shots moving forward and the coordinator is merely just a figurehead. Bevell's job, if he stays, will be to get the hell out of Russell's way and provide him with a second set of eyes. I expect Hustle Wilson to have more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage starting next season and that will limit Bevell's role to some extent.
Bradley on the other hand is apparently well respected and well loved by anyone who has ever met him. I doubt many Seahawks fans are feeling all that bubbly about him, however, and most actually wouldn't mind his departure including yours truly. The Seahawks defense is loaded with talent, and youthful inexperience, and is still not set in their ways. They can adapt to a similar system with added emphasis on blitzing and even more man and press coverage. The guy I'm looking at to possibly replace Bradley if he bolts for GREENer pastures in Philly is Dan Quinn, the former Defensive Line coach of the Seattle Seahawks and current Defensive Coordinator for the Florida Gators. He's familiar with Pete Carroll and his philosophies, has a history of being one of THE BEST Defensive Line coaches in all of football, and believes in generating pass rush with creative blitzes. All things that the Seahawks could use right about now. Pete Carroll stated in his end of the season presser that the #1 priority right now is bolstering the pass rush, obviously. Bringing in Dan Quinn would go a LONG way in achieving that goal and that's without even upgrading any of the talent along the defensive line and linebackers. If Bradley goes, Quinn should be priority #1.
Another candidate who could surface is New Mexico State Head Coach DeWayne Walker. His Aggie teams have been nothing short of awful, but he is a Carroll disciple and Carroll has stated that Walker "understands and has gotten to know" Carroll's system. Walker was a finalist for the DC job when Carroll arrived in Seattle back in 2010 but Carroll eventually decided to stick with Bradley. For those who want to see more blitzing and more creativity from the Seahawks defense, it should be noted that Walker worked under Gregg Williams who is well known for his aggressive style.
Continuity can go a long way, especially in the NFL, but sometimes a fresh perspective can cause an already talented unit to scale new heights. We'll see how it all shakes out in the coming weeks.
Regardless of how it all shakes out in the coming weeks, this team gave us a hell of a season in 2012/13. Every game was thrilling although they didn't all go the way we planned. There's so much to be grateful for and so much to be hopeful for heading into the future. It's true, you never know what's going to happen in the future, but with Russell Wilson at the helm there should be no fears over tomorrow. I promise every single one of you that #3 will bring Seattle it's first of multiple Super Bowls while he's in town. I'm damn near positive that next year will be the year. Fixing the pass rush won't be easy, hell every team wants a dominating pass rush, but I trust in John Schneider to get the job done as he always has in the past. More on that, and some of the prospects in the draft who could help fix the pass rush, later. Til then, hats off to my fellow 12's on what was an amazing year!
GO HAWKS!
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