The formula was working. Things were going according to plan. The Seahawks took a 17-7 lead early in the 4th quarter over an inferior foe, after spotting them a 7-0 lead... Just like the week before in St. Louis. The D was making stops, and Marshawn Lynch was violently assaulting the enemy defense. All the Seahawks needed to do in order to notch a 3rd straight win was hold off the feeble Redskins.
Unfortunately, the Redskins are not the Rams, and the Seahawks are not yet who I hope they can be. Seattle's defense uncharacteristically allowed two long DC TDs in the 4th- and suddenly trailing, our best offensive weapon (Marshawn Lynch) was rendered irrelevant. T-Jack couldn't lead a winning drive, and all realistic hope for the playoffs died on the Seahawks Stadium Field Turf.
The big story really isn't that blown 4th-quarter lead, though- Today the Seahawks were bedeviled by the same deficiencies we've seen all season:
-TOO. MANY. PENALTIES.
-Not enough pressure from our front four on the opposing QB
-Dropped passes
-A QB who can be admired for his toughness, but also has very clear limitations
-Did I mention the penalties?
I'm taking this one hard- I'm sure part of the reason is that I was at the game today, but this truly was a game we had in hand, and it was a victory that would have kept our foward momentum rolling and our playoff hopes alive. I could have handled our playoff hopes dying at the hands of the 49ers or the Bears- But the fucking Redskins? That's a self-inflicted wound, and it'll sting for a while... I mean, how am I supposed to accept fucking REX GROSSMAN coming into our house and beating us?
There's plenty of blame to spread around today- This truly was a loss by the entire Seahawks organization. I'm not here to spread a message of despair and doom, though. I still think our arrow is pointing up; This is a young team with a good amount of talent that needs to learn to be more consistent and more disciplined IMMEDIATELY.
It would be crazy to react to today's loss by declaring Thursday's dust-up with Philly a hopeless endeavor. The Eagles must come 3000 miles west on a short week, and they've shown absolutely ZERO mental toughness this season. A Seahawks team that has slayed the Giants and Ravens can surely best the Eagles. That's the big question, isn't it? Which version of the 2011 Seahawks will take the field Thursday evening?
The loss aside, it was great to be at Seahawks Stadium again with my brother James- I also got to meet fellow Twelve Mark Dickenson (@Seahawkeye on twitter), who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia to catch the Redskins and Eagles games.
C'mon, Seahawks- Send the dude home with a win. It's the least you can do.
What do you think, sirs?
2 comments:
I recall reading some stuff previously from other writers in which they opined that Brandon Browner's style of play was reminiscent of what the style of play of Oakland's DBs in which they basically commit a penalty every play but are not always called.
However, Browner's fouls are becoming more and more egregious and at this point it's beyond acceptable for me. He needs to figure something out, and that means the coaches need to figure something out, too. I feel that there is a reason why he was in the CFL prior to this year.
Browner has a chance at success in the NFL, but he needs to figure out when his style of play can be used an advantage and when to temper his style to ensure it doesn't impede the momentum of his team, which he did several times this game.
His fouls, to me, were far more flagrant and purposeful than those on others today, most especially K.J. Wright, who seemed to not be able to catch a break. There was a bad call against him in pushing Grossman and he got unlucky when he hooked a finger on a receiver's face mask inadvertently. Those are a different type of penalty, and wouldn't have meant as much had Browner's penalties not already compounded the situation earlier.
I think TJax deserves major props for his courage and conviction, but at this point, it appears his injury is something that requires him to be placed on IR. It seems very clear to me that the coaches are so against Whitehurst at this point they're willing instead to put TJax into a position in which he potentially gets so further injured it may threaten his career. For them, TJax is simply a Dutch boy with his finger in the dam until they find their Quarterback of the Future, but he still deserves respect as a professional and someone who has been willing to give them his all, including a lot of his time spent on his back earlier in the season due to a green offensive line still working the kinks out.
There is clearly a spark there, but the fire just isn't catching. I believe, and I have hope, that it will, but this is very hard to watch, and there are issues that can be corrected now, including Browner's penalty situation, even if that means benching him.
Such a frustrating game. For Browner, I think it is time to step up or step out of the line-up. Great pick but too many penalties plus he is getting beat deep and masking some of those with further penalties.
@12thManUK22
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