Slow starts have hampered Hawks
Seattle has been outscored 55-16 in first quarter this season
RENTON, Wash. – With a 3-5 record halfway through their schedule, the Seattle Seahawks have started this season much worse than they had hoped.
Of course the way the Seahawks have started most of their games this season – disastrously – makes a slow start to the season seem fitting.
Through eight games, the Seahawks have been outscored 55-16 in the first quarter, and that lopsided total only begins to tell the tale of Seattle’s early-game woes.
Perhaps we should have seen this coming. Even in the season opener, a 28-0 laugher against the Rams, the Seahawks turned the ball over three times on four first-quarter possessions – the other was a punt – before righting the ship with four touchdowns on their next five possessions.
Things haven’t improved much from there.
And then there was last week. The first two times the Seahawks got the ball, they turned the ball over on the first play of each possession. Their third drive resulted in Jim Mora going against his better judgment and deciding to go for it on fourth-and-1. Predictably the Seahawks got stuffed, setting the Lions up for a 17-0 lead before the first quarter was over.
Of course, the Lions are bad enough that the Seahawks had plenty of time to recover, but the Seattle players and coaches are trying to figure out why they can’t just start off better to begin with.
Fast starts aren’t a guarantee of success. Just ask the Lions. Or you could look at the Seahawks’ Week 3 loss to Chicago, a game Seattle led 13-0 after three possession before the wheels fell off.
Not that they’re hoping to stumble out of the gate again this weekend, but if they do, at least the Seahawks’ comeback Sunday showed that they are capable of recovering. Of course, that was against Detroit. Arizona has already shown once this season it can protect a big lead against the Seahawks, so spotting the Cardinals an early advantage should be avoided.
Notes
Receiver Mike Hass, who was signed off the practice squad last week, was released, and defensive end Derek Walker was signed from the practice squad to the roster. Walker was on the 53-man roster at the start of the season, then released following the season opener to make room for the signing of linebacker D.D. Lewis. … Guard Brian De La Puente was released from the practice squad.