A Grip on Sports: Seahawks delay the inevitable, Sunday and for this disappointing season, but still lose again

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What is there to say about the Seahawks, other than they were able to make the inevitable seem improbable for about an hour Sunday. It’s about all we can ask these days.

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• Well, if you decided to stake some of your hard-earned money on them against the 49ers, you were rewarded. That’s not nothing to a lot of folks. Hollow? To most of those watching in their 12s’ T-shirt, sure. Then again, a good portion of those folks have jumped ship already.

Before the first four-game losing streak in Pete Carrol’s tenure. Before DK Metcalf’s most-recent ejection. Heck, before Christian McCaffery’s 72-yard run.

And that was the first play from scrimmage Sunday in Santa Clara, a harbinger of carnage to follow, especially with Geno Smith watching from the Hawk sidelines in tennis shoes and street clothes.

Except, the carnage didn’t happen for a while. But it happened. San Francisco put up 527 yards – though just 28 points – and averaged 9.9 yards every time it snapped the ball. And the 49er defense did some damage of its own, despite early Seattle life and one of the prettiest plays it’s had in a while, a 25-yard Drew Lock-to-Colby Parkinson third-quarter touchdown pass.

But that bit of perfect execution was about the only bright spot in the final three quarters, as Seattle was 2-for-11 on third down and failed on nine of its final 10.

The 10-3 49ers didn’t just win. They didn’t play well – and still dominated. The gulf between the NFC West’s lone have and Carroll’s way-too-far-away have-nots is wider than its been in years. Maybe since he and John Schneider took control of the franchise.

The defense lacks speed. The offense lacks a dynamic quarterback. The organization seems to lack the ability to fix its woes.

Change is inevitable. But a true rebuild seems improbable with Schneider and Carroll calling the shots. Not when, after the 6-7 Hawks battle but fall to visiting Philadelphia in a week, they have a decent shot at winning their final three games against other residents of the NFL’s decaying middle-class neighborhood.

But what does even a 9-8 record get them? At best a short stay in the playoffs, as that record would only mean a matchup with one of the NFC’s top teams. And that hasn’t worked out well this season.

Three losses get them a bit more, at least in the hope-for-the-future category. Not a franchise-saving quarterback – unless lightning happens to strike. But maybe another decent draft class that can be stacked upon the last two to help solidify a foundation that seems to be sinking in the mire.

We get it. Waiting for a rebuild to pay off in the future has burned the Seattle pro sports fan recently. But the NFL isn’t Major League Baseball and the Hawks aren’t the M’s. It’s possible. Probable, even, with the right folks in place.

There is an issue though. Carroll. Already 72. For the past three years he’s tried to win now. He and Schneider have patched up the roster with the hope of somehow sliding into the postseason and then stringing together a hot streak.

It didn’t work the final year of Russell Wilson’s tenure. It didn’t work last season. It’s not working in this one. It won’t work next year.

Can Carroll be patient? That doesn’t seem to be in his DNA. His eternal internal sunshine radiates a ray of confidence no matter how dark the day. Or cloudy the future. He believes it is always possible to win in the NFL, even while making changes. That optimism has resulted, this season at least, in an overpaid defense that is a step or two slow at key positions. And the Hawks pay the price against well-designed offenses with speed to exploit them.

Like the 49ers. The Rams. The Cowboys. Heck, just about anyone of the NFL’s top tier the Seahawks have played.

The once-porous offensive line has been shored up, though, like most teams, Seattle lacks depth in that area. But what it really needs is a dynamic, game-changing quarterback. And those are in short supply in the 2023 NFL.

The bottom line?

This team isn’t good enough. And won’t be good enough next year without major changes. Is there a will in place to make them? It doesn’t seem so.

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WSU: This is a year of trepidation in Pullman. But, also, one of hope, at least on the basketball court. The women epitomize that, having entered the season with a mostly intact roster after last season’s magical Pac-12 tournament. For the most part, the Cougars have realized their potential, though slow starts have become a worry. And Sunday, the slowest of starts against Washington became more than a worry. It became their downfall. Greg Woods was in Beasley for their conference opener, a 60-55 loss to the undefeated Huskies. … The men’s optimistic attitude, and their 8-1 record, has been built on a much easier schedule as Kyle Smith tries to meld a new-look roster. That schedule continued Sunday night, with 2-6 Grambling State visiting Pullman. Make the Tigers 2-7 after WSU’s eased-up 83-65 victory. Greg has that coverage as well. … Greg has one more story. Cornerback Chau Smith-Wade won’t be back next year. He’s not headed to the portal. He’s going to try to make it in the NFL. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the 2018 Apple Cup rematch ended the same way in the NFL yesterday, as Jake Browning led the Bengals past Gardner Minshew and the Colts 34-14. That’s the lead nugget in Taylor Newquist’s weekly look at how local players in the NFL fared. … John Canzano explains his Heisman vote. … Oregon State picked up an offensive lineman from Colorado in the portal. That might not be good news, considering the porous nature of the Buffs’ line this season. … Oregon’s attraction of Dillon Gabriel to take his spot meets with Bo Nix’s approval. No word, however, on how he feels about backup Ty Thompson leaving town. … Most Utah players are embracing the tumult of the regular season and are looking forward to the Las Vegas Bowl. … Arizona is using its Alamo Bowl appearance as the beginning of its Big 12 tenure. … In basketball news, Bronny James made his debut for USC but the Trojans fell to Long Beach State in overtime at home. … Colorado posted a big win over No. 15 Miami away from Boulder. That’s good news for the Buffs and the conference. … Utah’s win Saturday over No. 14 BYU has the same impact. … UCLA needs to play more like Mick Cronin’s first Bruin team. … Top-ranked Arizona knew it was going to be able to score on Wisconsin. … On the women’s side, the 11th-ranked Utes had an opportunity to upset No. 1 South Carolina but despite 37 points from Alissa Pill, fell short 78-69. … No. 6 USC remained undefeated, topping UC Riverside 85-63 at home. … No. 2 UCLA also won, blowing out No. 20 Florida State 95-78 away from Westwood.

Gonzaga: The Zags have already turned the page on Saturday night’s loss to Washington in Seattle. Though Jim Meehan hasn’t, offering this post mortem in the S-R. The men’s team, however, has to, what with Mississippi Valley State visiting the Kennel tonight. The Delta Devils have yet to win this season, a piece of information Theo Lawson shares in this preview. He also has the key matchup.

Chiefs: A Wenatchee third-period scoring spurt – three goals in 4 ½ minutes – led to a 4-3 defeat for Spokane in the Arena on Sunday night. Dave Nichols has the story.

Mariners: Who is kidding whom? Shohei Ohtani agreeing to join the Dodgers for $70 million a year for 10 years isn’t good for baseball. And it certainly doesn’t bode well for Seattle ever having enough will to spend enough to win a World Series. We’ve said it a million times. Spending lavishly doesn’t guarantee success. It does, however, widen the margin of error to such a degree as to make it much more likely. The way Seattle spends, that margin is a thin as a paper cut. And just as painful.

Storm: Seattle will pick fourth in the WNBA’s draft. There could be a franchise-changing player left at that spot, depending on if they are willing to take a chance.

Kraken: Once more with (a sad) feeling. Another game, another loss. Eight consecutive ones. We wouldn’t be surprised by news of a coaching change. Seattle’s season is circling the drain. And now the starting goaltender is injured again.

Seahawks: Speaking of a possible coaching change, Dave Boling doesn’t see it happening here, unless Carroll doesn’t have a desire to keep going through treadmill-like seasons. Well, his New Balances are probably cushioned well, with as pillow-soft as insoles made up of a multi-million-dollar contract can be. … There are always grades. And, today, grades for the winning team as well. … Yes, we learned some things Sunday too. … This time, Metcalf actually was tossed for taking a somewhat justified action. The 49ers’ Fred Warner was a baby and got rewarded for it. … The incident, and ensuing scrum, showed how frustrated Seattle is.

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• We’re about to begin the dark days of winter. More than a week before the season actually kicks in. But that’s OK. After Christmas the skies usually clear most days and the sun shines on a layer of snow that seems pristine – at least until February, when the gloom returns. You can either take what winter offers or you can do what we do. Live three months in the future. This time in March, we’ll be treated with a 50-degree day. We know it. Until later …