Postmortem - Hawks v Chardonnay Nation

[Pharmabro]

Did anybody see them put in our 3d string QB at all?

I did not.

Go go gadget give a fk.

[Michael K.]

I almost forgot. The only game last year with fewer yards happened to be the Sam Howell nightmare experience. I remember fondly how everyone in here watched this guy, who hasn't entered a real NFL game since, and blamed his coaches for that too! The dude made decisions at the speed of smell, looked about as prepared to play QB as the Punter would have been, and set the game of offensive football back almost as much as Kubiak did last Sunday! So, the only game the Devil himself Grubb had worse than what Kubiak just did? He had nearly an entire half of Sam Fucking Howell at QB against a damn good GB team. Yep, I see now why we all thought Kubiak was the man!

More glowing reviews. The local guys are trying to grow a nut sack. I love it. Now if only the Mariner reporters called out someone for once.

Most of it was courtesy of the Seahawks’ offense, which scored only six points over the last eight possessions and finished with just 230 yards.

That’s fewer yards than all but one game in 2024, when the Seahawks were held to 208 in a loss to Green Bay in which quarterback Geno Smith was sidelined with a knee injury midway through the third quarter and replaced by Sam Howell.

Suffice to say, it was not the debut first-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was looking for, nor quarterback Sam Darnold.

But wait, there is more!

Preseason performances against the Raiders and Kansas City led to the hope that the Seahawks’ rushing attack, focused around an outside zone scheme, will be markedly better this season.

It wasn’t Sunday as the Seahawks rushed for just 84 yards on 26 carries, an average of 3.2 yards per attempt.

That was fewer yards per carry than all but four games last season, which turned out to be Ryan Grubb’s lone year as offensive coordinator. They didn’t have a run of longer than nine yards, which came from Darnold.

But, But, fuck you Grubb....run the damn ball. Kubiak will fix all of that! NO?

The other guy that was public enemy #1 and had to go...fuck you Geno...right?

Darnold’s 150 passing yards were fewer than all but two of the 54 games Smith started for the Seahawks in which he played the entire way.

Imagine if the Niners had milked the clock, Sam wasn't forced to actually throw down field? It was less than 90 fucking yards passing before the last two throws. Fucking 1980 Cornhusker shit right there. We should have hired Navy's coach.

And advanced stats show Charbonnet had far more room to run than did Walker. Via Pro Football Reference, Charbonnet averaged 3.9 yards before contact and Walker just 1.8. Charbonnet got nine of what were classified as the 14 zone runs, which seemed more successful than the runs between the tackles.

And everyone wants Walker cut. The dude has to dance at the LOS! The O Line John, the O Line. Please, after fifteen years, please remember there is an O Line, and it needs more than scraps.

What of Jalen Milroe?
The game appeared to give a definitive answer that the Seahawks will usually have Jalen Milroe on the active 48-man gameday roster with a plan to use him in some specialty packages.

Milroe got one snap Sunday on the third play of the game, taking a shotgun snap with Darnold split out wide to the right. Milroe kept the ball and ran up the middle for a 1-yard gain on second-and-six.

Macdonald said Milroe had an option to pass (looking at the replay, probably most logically to Walker in the flat).

“He had the option to throw there, the option to use his legs, and he made the right decision in that moment,” Macdonald said. “We had more plays up for him, we just didn’t get to them.”

I guess the offense was working out so well they decided to stick with what they were doing instead?

[D-train]

Steelers gave up almost 400 yards including 182 on the ground to the Jets. Might have a better day offensively in Pittsburg but Sunday was definitely a step backwards.

[D-train]

This writer must be Kubiak's brother. lol

Sports Illustrated: 17 (15)
What you might have seen: an offense stuck in the mud. What I saw: a potentially very fun offense that may have been playing one of the five best defenses in the NFL. One wrinkle that I loved was Cooper Kupp appearing in the backfield time and time again. I think a player that smart can be an incredible resource with that vantage point. I feel like Seattle will get to the point where they are a legitimately fun watch on both sides of the ball.

[Donn Beach]

This writer must be Kubiak's brother. lol

Sports Illustrated: 17 (15)
What you might have seen: an offense stuck in the mud. What I saw: a potentially very fun offense that may have been playing one of the five best defenses in the NFL. One wrinkle that I loved was Cooper Kupp appearing in the backfield time and time again. I think a player that smart can be an incredible resource with that vantage point. I feel like Seattle will get to the point where they are a legitimately fun watch on both sides of the ball.

Check this guy out, really don't know what to make of it. Kubiak operates at a higher level that us mortals can't grasp, compares him to Tom Landry lol.

Seattle’s offensive line had its hands full with Nick Bosa all day, but they kept 11th overall draft pick Mykel Williams at bay in his NFL debut on the other side of the line. He profiled as a strong, stout run defender who would be pro-ready after developing at Georgia, but the Seahawks specifically targeted him with a variety of blockers, which highlights Kubiak’s creativity. His scheme relies on shifts and motions more than most, which stretch the defense horizontally and force them to be ultra gap-sound in the run and communicate well on coverages pre-snap in the pass.

This was exactly why Jaxon Smith-Njigba was able to get loose in the second level so much, as their safeties and corners paid plenty of attention to Cooper Kupp, Kenneth Walker and the tight ends and couldn't keep up. In this regard, the offense just isn't clicking on timing and rhythm yet. Legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry had a similar problem in the early 60's, but molded his too-complex offense into the perfect blend of innovation- except he had to dumb it down so it could be executed in reality. Kubiak was raised by a true pioneer of offensive creativity. He'll know what complexities he's willing to sacrifice as he watches yesterday's tape.

I recruited for a high-school aged club football team that decided to prioritize shifts and motions in particular at one point, because the roster was filled with natural slot receivers but didn’t have a DK Metcalf or Marquez Valdes-Scantling like deep threat- which is exactly how Seattle chose to shape their roster this offseason. It takes an innovative and confident play caller to emphasize the correct coaching points on timing while relating to how their players feel the plays first-hand. It felt like rocket science to some of these kids compared to the typical coaching points they were getting at that age. The basic high school offenses they were familiar with didn’t equip them for that level of competition. But when the coaches could get it to click with each player, they'd realize their intelligence in their football IQ and it'd show up on the field. JSN's offensive flow in the second level is the height of this skill.

[D-train]

[douche]

[DavidGee24]

5 teams scored less than us. No idea what David is looking at.

I just realized I was looking at defensive points allowed, not offensive, on pro football reference. I Mr. Magoo'd it. You're 58 like me, you probably know what that's like.

[DavidGee24]

And if you're running the ball as much as the Hawks are, with Charbonnet consistently picking up four per carry, you SHOULD be utilizing play-action. We'd really better hope that this is a one-game brain fart.

[DavidGee24]

Another way to look at it as that while there were a lot of other teams that came into the regular season very unprepared and played sloppy football (and again, 13 points is 12th in the league), the Whiners came in as one of the better-prepared teams in the league despite the injuries and we just happened to be their unfortunate opponent. And I'll concede that this means they're better coached.

Huh? 13 points is tied for 24th. This is the bottom of the league in scoring. Elite company!

24 New Orleans
24 Detroit
24 New England
24 Seattle 13.0
28 Tennessee 12.0
29 Carolina 10.0
30 Houston 9.0
31 Miami 8.0
32 NY Giants 6.0

You aren't reading a word I type, so forget it. But, do yourself a favor. Look at the NFL team stats. Everyone has played one game. Check out Time of Possession, 3rd down conversion and Total Yards, and look at the very small number of teams below us, and realize? That's not very good.

Add in the fact that the guy that just got shit canned for being inept? Had one single game in his entire NFL OC career similar to the one we just witnessed out of Kubiak. Grubb scored fewer than 13 two times in his 17 games calling plays. And he was a loser that was over his head. But Kubiak just needs more time. Why? Because John and the local yes men media told you guys he was gonna be great. Zero evidence to support, but the Wizard of Seattle didn't want you looking behind the curtain.

I goofed it (see my post two posts up). And yes, I am reading everything you say. You know we pretty much always agree on stuff, right? And this isn't even much of a disagreement, I'm saying give these guys another game together. Believe me, if they stink it up I'll grab the first rock right out of your hand and throw it.