A Grip on Sports: The Seahawks make Carolina look like a juggernaut in a disappointing loss
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’re not about to throw the Seahawks under the bus this morning. What’s the point? They were run over Sunday by the juggernaut known as the Carolina Panthers.
•••••••
• Did you catch the sarcasm there? If not, you are a lot like the Hawks’ run defense. Catching something, anything, was not their forte yesterday – or throughout much of this season.
We knew that aspect of the Seahawks’ defense was going to be a liability when Cody Barton came out of training camp as a starter at linebacker. A decent special teams player throughout his career, Barton isn’t anyone’s idea of prototypical NFL linebacker.
But he’s not the only reason the Hawks aren’t stout against the run. There is at least a dozen of them. Mainly, this defense, as it was built in the offseason, was always going to be sieve-like up front. And when Jamal Adams went down with a season-ending injury in like the first six minutes, the outlook was grim.
It’s not gotten any better. At times, the Hawks have been able to overcome its deficiencies in personnel with scheme. At time, the Hawks’ personnel have been able to overcome the deficiencies in the scheme. But most of the time, if their opponents have committed to the run, Seattle has folded.
Eleven yards here. Eleven yards there. The Panthers gashed them. Heck, even a nonsensical series at the Seahawks’ 3-yard line – four consecutive incomplete passes – couldn’t stop Carolina. The result? A 30-24 Seattle loss that basically closed the door on the NFC West title – anyone out there going to predict a Seahawk win Thursday night at home against the division-leading 49ers? – and left it outside looking in at the playoff race.
Yet, despite a rush defense that yielded 223 yards, the Hawks could play the what-if game today. And point to one play that changed everything.
Isn’t football a funny game? Carolina dominates, but if an offsides flag is thrown on a second-quarter play – three Panthers were obviously offsides – maybe Seattle wins.
Geno Smith saw the players jump early. So did his center. The ball is snapped. It’s a free play. Smith tries to convert a long downfield pass that he usually doesn’t throw. It’s intercepted. No big deal. The offsides will wipe it out. Except … yep, never count on others’ competence. No flags. The Panthers convert the turnover into three points. The Seahawks, near midfield, are robbed of a chance of three-points of their own.
Weird. The margin was six. Even in a game in which the Hawks shouldn’t have been within shouting distance, one play may have made the difference.
Maybe that’s why we watch.
Or maybe we watch to see how many yards the Seattle rush defense will give up.
• The Hawks are 7-6. They have four games remaining. Three of them are at home, where Seattle is a mediocre 3-3. The lone road game is at Kansas City (10-3) in two weeks. But the home games are against San Francisco (9-4), the New York Jets (7-6) and the Rams (4-9). A 2-2 finish would be expected – at best. Is 9-8 good enough to make the playoffs?
Maybe, but probably not.
Four losses would improve the Seahawks draft status. Lower Geno Smith’s asking price. And make for a miserable last month of the season for those of watching at home.
Then again, as long as the Broncos continue to lose, the future seems brighter.
•••
WSU: Bowl games have changed. What with the transfer portal, the opt-outs and now with the early signing period in the middle of the bowl season, games are a distraction in some ways, not a reward. That’s part of Colton Clark’s notebook this morning. … Colton has two other football stories, one on a recruit committing and one on a reserve corner headed to the portal. … The Cougar women’s basketball team fell at Washington in the Pac-12 opener for both. … Former Washington State coach Mike Leach is hospitalized in Mississippi, reportedly in critical condition after suffering an undisclosed health issue at home. Anyone who has crossed paths with Leach, it seems, is on social media wishing him well. We’ll do it here. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Oregon is losing players to the portal, sure, but the Ducks picked up a couple commitments this weekend that should help fill gaps. … Oregon State has made Johnathan Smith one of the higher-paid conference coaches with a new six-year contract that is worth $30.6 million. … A former WSU receiver is joining Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado. … Utah will be playing in the Rose Bowl without its best receiver, tight end Dalton Kincaid. … Now is the time for USC to honor Reggie Bush. … Arizona State’s new coach is making good moves. … In basketball news, Oregon State lost at Texas A&M. … We missed this yesterday but California dropped to 0-11. … Arizona’s bigs were behind the win over Indiana.
Gonzaga: It’s been a tough time for the women’s basketball team, what with injuries and sickness. The Zags were back at home yesterday afternoon, shooting down UC Davis from the outside en route to a 73-55 victory. Jim Allen has the game story. … The men are back in McCarthey tonight, hosting overmatched Northern Illinois. Jim Meehan has a preview and the key matchup. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Loyola Marymount fell to undefeated Utah State. … Though BYU topped Creighton, the Bluejays played without their starting center.
Idaho: The Vandals never led but they stayed close to visiting UC Riverside most of the game Sunday and tied it near the end. But the Highlanders scored the final bucket and took a 76-74 victory. Peter Harriman has the coverage. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky Conference, Idaho State introduced its new football coach.
Seahawks: Dave Boling was at Lumen Field and has his thoughts on the Hawks’ disappointing loss. … There are other thoughts from Larry Stone in the Times as well as coverage from the Seattle area. … There are always grades.
Mariners: How is the roster shaping up? There are still a couple holes to fill.
Kraken: Even without one of their toughest defensemen, the Kraken figured out how to earn a win in Florida, defeating the Panthers 5-2 Sunday.
•••
• We watched the Hawks’ loss through the wonders of the DVR, fast forwarding through the commercials and the dead times. It didn’t take long at all. All that was missing was the joy of watching with our son and ruining his experience with our smart-aleck quips. Until later …