Seahawks’ no-huddle offense faded quickly
RENTON, Wash. – The Seahawks lost their offensive rhythm just like they found it.
In a hurry.
Seattle’s no-huddle offense lasted all of 2 minutes last Sunday in Cleveland before it evaporated amid a flurry of penalty flags and sustained immobility.
“We never got rolling,” coach Pete Carroll said. “You have to make a first down and keep the thing going.”
The Seahawks made a couple of first downs to start the game, and they didn’t huddle up for any of the first six plays. Then came – in order – a false-start penalty, a sack of Charlie Whitehurst, a delay of game followed by another false start. Just like that, Seattle was facing third-and-31, and the tone had been set for a three-point loss. Seattle was going nowhere fast.
“We just had a couple busted plays that happened in there,” Carroll said. “It kind of just didn’t feel right.”
It didn’t feel any better the next possession when Whitehurst was bumped by running back Leon Washington while attempting a quick screen, the ball fluttering into the air for a fumble Whitehurst recovered. Whitehurst threw incomplete the next two plays, and Seattle punted having used all of 29 seconds off the clock before kicking the ball away.
“We got off to a bad start,” Carroll said. “It was kind of shaky, and we weren’t quite sure we were ever going to get clean with what we were doing.”
The Seahawks were starting over, so to speak, going back to the beginning of this season when it was hard to know what – if anything – this offense could rely upon. The Seahawks scored a total of 37 points in the first 14 quarters and were considered among the worst offenses in the NFL.
The no-huddle offense had been Seattle’s salve for the previous game and a half. Seattle scored 57 points in the previous six quarters entering Sunday’s game while using a no-huddle, hurry-up offense almost exclusively.
All the progress and promise of the past game and a half disappeared in Cleveland on Sunday when the Seahawks managed 137 yards of total offense, their second-lowest total in a game in the past 10 years.
This was about more than just backup quarterback Whitehurst. The absence of Marshawn Lynch left a sizable hole in Seattle’s game plan, and the Seahawks were also missing starting center Max Unger, who is a nerve center of sorts for the line. Lemuel Jeanpierre started in his place.
Seattle’s offense is getting healthier. Unger is expected back this week, and while Carroll offered no guarantees starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson would return to practice, Seattle’s quarterback looked good throwing in pregame warmups Sunday.
If Seattle’s victory at New York showed the no-huddle offense can be like a shot of espresso, caffeinating the offense, then the loss in Cleveland showed that Seattle may need a more balanced diet. When Seattle’s offensive pace hit the skids, it didn’t have anything else to rely upon.
Seattle has to find alternatives, and Sunday’s performance showed it needs to do so in a hurry.