We are past week one of the regular season now. We have seen every team take the field and are starting to see how they will perform this year. But, it can also just be an overreaction to assume anything that happened in this past game will hold true for the rest of the year. They are fun though.
The run game is just like last year’s
So, the running game is just as bad as last year just with a few new guys on offense. Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny combined for 59 rushing yards on 14 carries. Each got seven with Carson cruising for 51 yards and Penny only mustering 8 yards. C.J. Prosise played significant snaps but did not get a carry. The offensive line blocked well at times, but they allowed too much penetration had trouble setting the edge at times. The running game seems like it might do better if given more volume, but the Seahawks had trouble converting on third downs, so they had limited plays to establish a consistent ground game.
The defense isn’t consistent
Seattle forced three interceptions on some great individual efforts against Denver but did not consistently make enough plays to win. Tackling seemed to be a big problem against Denver, it showed up big on several of their biggest plays like Emmanuel Sanders’ touchdown catch and run. Several times broken arm tackles led to first downs that extended drives. There was more of that than actual mental lapses which is a good sign, it is easier to tackle better than it is to read an offense better. Unfortunately, Shaquem Griffin looked a little overwhelmed at times against Denver and Seattle started rotating him with Austin Calitro. Griffin seemed a little slow in his play recognition and was caught with bad pass coverage a few times, he can tighten this up, but it showed in a big way on Sunday. Giving up 27 points was a big deal for a unit that had to compensate for an up and down offensive game. Seattle’s pass rush was also underwhelming against an average Denver offensive line, it needs to pick it up to help the team get off the field on third downs.
The pass blocking is a huge problem again
The Broncos have one of the best pass rushing defenses in football right now, and it showed up with their six sacks of Russell Wilson. Not all of those are the line’s fault though. Wilson took credit for causing three of those sacks, and I agree with him. He got caught several times trying to scramble using his spin move and there were to many slow developing pass plays, where Wilson held onto the ball too long. The offensive line takes the brunt of this though, they allowed far too many sacks and gave Wilson an adequate pocket far too few times in Denver. Wilson can help his line by settling in the pocket and scrambling only when he needs to. And the line can help Wilson by communicating their assignments to each other and making quick decisions. If they can’t do that, then Chicago will have another field day in Seattle’s backfield.
But, the season will be probably a lot better than what I have been talking about here. These are not going to hold true for the whole season or Seattle fans will be incredibly disappointed.
