A Grip on Sports: Seahawks’ defense takes away any chance at a win and our wallet can’t take the playoff hit

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again. We don’t know when it started but Mondays have become the day of “takeaways,” whatever those are supposed to be. Everyone else seems to have them. We will too.

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• Our takeaway from the Seahawks’ 39-32 loss Sunday is no different from our takeaway from the other four games this season. The defense is similar to the family vacuum in one way. No, not in that it scares the dogs. It doesn’t scare anyone, especially opponents. It just plain, well, we don’t like to use the word – my dad considered it right up there with the other words that earned us a soap sandwich – but you know what it is.

It is so bad, so inept, Pete Carroll can’t even blame the new defensive coordinator. Well, maybe. After all, the most common sight during games this season is, after the opponent has a big play, the Seattle defenders pointing at each other. We can only assume they are blaming each other for being in the wrong spot but it’s obvious they aren’t on the same page each play.

• Are the Hawks going to make the Super Bowl? Stop laughing. Isn’t that the goal? Five games in, it’s easy to answer “no.” Which means we need to ask another question or three. What is the secondary goal? Making the playoffs? What good does that do?

At some point the emphasis has to switch from being mediocre to being bad. Maybe the vagaries of football will force a change for Carroll and John Schneider. Jamal Adams has been out for a while and is not coming back. Now it looks as if Rashaad Penny has a broken ankle or leg and will miss considerable time. Every major injury makes it less and less likely Seattle wins enough games to become a contender. And more and more likely it is playing for draft positioning.

In that regard, the win over Denver helped in two ways. Yesterday’s loss did the same. Every Seattle (and Bronco) loss helps in April. Wins for other not-so-good teams help too. That’s the best takeaway.

• But not winning doesn’t necessarily mean the Hawks aren’t worth watching. Sunday’s game may have been maddening at times but it was fun to watch. An offense with Geno Smith (a surprise for sure), DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and whoever is carrying the ball is fun to watch. The line is much improved, so the opportunity to score seems in play no matter where the ball is on the field. That’s cool.

It may get you hot under the collar, but the defense is exciting too. It’s sort of fun trying to figure out who will miss the next tackle. Or be locking down the 32-yard line instead of the receiver running free 5 yards behind them. In both cases, we lay our bets on a certain inside linebacker but there are plenty of other players for you to pick.

• We did some research yesterday concerning Mariner ticket prices for their home game (or games) against the Astros. We came away with two takeaways: Our retirement nest egg isn’t big enough (thanks Wall Street). And it might be cheaper to fly to Houston to watch.

Astros fans seem to be saving their 401k money for the American League Championship Series. You can get into the ballpark for less than $50 a ticket for the first two games. At least you could Sunday night.

That’s not the case in Seattle. Getting into T-Mobile is going to cost you north of $300 bucks for the 300 level (maybe that’s how it got its name). Sitting in a decent spot is a lot more than that. A lot more.

It’s a once in-a-lifetime opportunity – maybe – for a once in-a-lifetime price.

• One last takeaway from the weekend. We like it a lot better when the Hawks play in the 1 p.m. window. RedZone isn’t as good then. It’s so much fun to sit there from 10 a.m. to 1 or so watching that channel, especially in the “witching hour.” And then, after all the morning games have wound down, turning over to the Seattle game and enjoying what the Seahawks have to offer.

The other way. It’s not worth it. Either you’re ticked off by the morning result or you are so happy, the afternoon games seem to be a letdown.

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WSU: Colton Clark took a lot of thoughts away from Saturday night’s Washington State loss at USC. And he shares them with all of us this morning. He starts with an overall “rewind,” in which he focuses on the Cougars’ passion. Then he delves into the offensive injuries and the second-half defensive performance. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, the new polls were released, with Jon Wilner sharing his ballot in the Mercury News. He also has some takeaways from the weekend as well. … There is a lot to unpack about Washington’s last couple weeks. … Oregon is the nation’s top-ranked one-loss school. There’s that. … Oregon State was outplayed for three quarters. And somehow found a way to win at Stanford. … USC is at Utah this week. The Trojans are still in the national title hunt. The Utes are playing to survive in the conference race. … UCLA has good vibes in place as it enters its bye week. … Arizona State played its finest game against Washington. … Arizona did not play at its finest against Oregon. … Colorado enters its first game week with an interim coach.

Gonzaga: Around the WCC, this is BYU’s final season in the conference. Mark Pope wants his team to focus on it and nothing else.

EWU: Cooper Kupp scored a touchdown yesterday. He was about the only local NFL player to make an impact Sunday.

Chiefs: Spokane’s power-play defense was ripped apart by the Winterhawks last night in Portland’s 5-2 WHL victory. Kevin Dudley has the story. … Former Chief Tyler Johnson is ready for his second season in Chicago. That leads off a look at local players in the NHL.

Mariners: There are some folks in the Spokane area more than willing to pay up for playoff tickets. Kip Hill talked to some of them. … The Mariners are confident heading into the series with the hated Astros, which starts tomorrow. … Yes, the comeback was that good.

Seahawks: Smith’s legend continues to grow, according to Dave Boling. … Smith has played really well. … The defense spent a lot of time watching Taysom Hill run by them. That’s just part of a season-long pattern. … The officiating was questionable at best and some Hawks questioned it afterward.

Sounders: The MLS regular season is over. Seattle finished with a draw with San Jose. Next up for just about everyone, the postseason. Except, for the first time as an MLS franchise, the Sounders. … But at least Portland did not make the playoffs either.

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• We ate shrimp poor boy sandwiches for brunch. Incredible. Then we had jambalaya for dinner. Even better. Too bad the Saints had the Seahawks for lunch. Until later …