A Grip on Sports: The recipe for Seattle’s latest defeat against one of the NFL’s better teams included way-too-many ingredients

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Want to assign blame for the Seahawks’ disappointing 30-13 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers on Sunday? There are enough culprits out there, including, believe it or not, the cook in our house.

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• Wait. What? Sure. Superstitions are part of every fan’s experience, right? And, according to one member of our household, the lack of a Seahawk-opponent-themed meal played a major role in Seattle’s defeat.

Forget that the Hawks came into the game with an 8-5 record and there was a meal with that label prepared in each of the previous five losses. Oh, no. Protocol was violated. And that was the difference. In a 17-point, couldn’t-have-been-much-worse defeat.

Seems like the grief over Seattle’s playoff chances not-too-distant demise has cleared the first step already. It can’t be the offensive line issues – though it is. It can’t be Geno Smith’s poor red-zone decision-making – though it is. It can’t be the defense’s pass-rush weakness – though it is. It has to be serving chicken noodle soup instead of brats. That’s the ticket.

Speaking of which, how many Seahawk “fans” sold their ducats to folks from Green Bay anyway? It sounded at times – at least on NBC’s fan mikes – that the city’s entire population was in attendance.

That had more to do with the loss than culinary choices.

But that’s the thing with habits and traditions. When you become too dependent on them, it’s easy to lean on them. To expect them to last. And when they don’t, anger follows. Every 12 everywhere has become complacent. Winning was a thing from the second season Pete Carroll donned those white tennis shoes. John Schneider made great choices, Carroll and his staff did their jobs and, viola, success. Until it all disappeared. And Schneider made Carroll disappear.

Now the 12s have become ticket brokers. The problem is the Hawks still win against cruddy teams. Even with their obvious holes. And this is an issue because it engenders false hope. Allows anyone with a Marshawn Lynch jersey they pull on each Sunday to offer it in trade for a measly playoff berth. This year. To, you know, break the depressive cycle of the past couple seasons.

Accept it. This team may happen to make the postseason – as long as Smith’s knee injury isn’t enough to send him to the sidelines. It may only require one over-their-head win – more than likely at Los Angeles to close the regular season – to get it done. But then what?

A Super Bowl run? Nope. A trip to the NFC title game? Nope. A first-round upset? OK, possible, mainly because it could be in Lumen Field and even the worst 12 in the world wouldn’t sell their ticket to that game. Would they?

• Let me get this right. An NFL pass rusher isn’t allowed to hit a quarterback below the knee because there is a clear and present danger to said quarterback’s knee ligaments – let alone other injuries too ugly to show on TV.

But if the quarterback feels the pressure and jumps even as much as high as the Reardan phone book in an attempt to lessen the severity, it’s no longer a roughing the passer penalty, even if the contact is the same – and an injury results? That makes a lot of sense.

The league determined the action is inherently dangerous. It needed to be legislated out. There are other examples of that. Pulling a facemask, for one. A player can do it with incredible force and be penalized because it is dangerous. Or pull it just a hair. With little risk of injury at all. Same penalty. Do I have that right? Heck, the NFL is contemplating using replay to help its officials see such a play.

But when it comes to low hits on a QB, the most important player on every team, there are levels of injury risk in play? Feet planted, throw the hanky. Feet barely off the ground? All good. Well, all good except it can still lead to an injury.

Hey, by jumping, the league must feel it makes it hard for an official to determine if the defender’s target was too low. With a facemask, it has decided to error on the side of safety and just penalize the defender 15 yards. No matter what. With a possible blown-out knee? Parse an eighth-of-an-inch.

Is there no one with common sense in the league offices? Replay assist happens already. There is a move afoot to expand it. Why not to help determine the defender’s target area? Too low, a flag. No matter where the feet are.

Nah, we’re good. Geno? He’ll be fine. If it happens to Josh Allen? Patrick Mahomes? Heck, maybe even Aaron Rodgers, if he can jump anymore? Then the rule will change.

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WSU: Greg Woods tries to keep you up-to-date every day with his transfer tracker. We found this piece of news on Ansel Din-Mbuh, who is headed to TCU. It’s also possible there will be news today on the John Mateer front. John Canzano wrote yesterday about Mateer’s upcoming transfer decision. … Former Washington State safety Jaden Hicks grabbed another interception yesterday. That news leads off Ethan Myers’ latest roundup of local players in the NFL. … The women’s basketball team finished up its nonconference schedule with a 76-48 rout of visiting Saint Martin’s. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Oregon has picked up another defensive back from another Big Ten member. … An Oregon State offensive lineman is headed to Michigan State, coached by his former mentor. … The awards have been handed out. Now Colorado has to get ready for the Alamo Bowl. … Utah picked up a running back from the portal. … California is in the midst of huge change heading to its bowl game Wednesday. … How is USC doing with the portal? … Arizona State could play either Texas or Clemson in its first CFP game. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, San Diego State is mining the portal heavily already. … Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty thought he should have won the Heisman. We agree with him. … In basketball news, Oregon State’s women continued their tough season with a home loss to UC Irvine. No shame in that. … The 12th-ranked Oregon men eased past visiting Stephen F. Austin despite an injury.

Gonzaga: Graham Ike was not good against UConn on Saturday night. Theo Lawson examined his offensive struggles in this story. Ike finished with three points, matching his worst output in a GU uniform.

Idaho: The Vandal men were at home Sunday but didn’t play like it. UC San Diego came into Moscow and blasted UI 80-56. The women won, however, for the seventh consecutive time. Peter Harriman has the coverage of both.

EWU: There will be a change in the Eagles’ offense next season, and not just due to personnel. Offensive coordinator Jim Chapin is moving up to the FBS level, to Central Michigan. Dan Thompson has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, being eliminated in the FCS playoffs is bad enough for Montana. Seeing its arch rivals as the favorites makes it worse. … The Bobcats have a lot of playoff experience. And they are at home. … In basketball news, the Montana State men had little chance in Los Angeles against a rejuvenated USC team. … The Sacramento State women blew out visiting San Jose State.

Seahawks: Dave Boling played offensive line at a major college. He knows that part of the game as well as anyone pounding a keyboard these days. His judgment of the Seahawks’ group Sunday? He labeled its play “malfeasance.” As good a description as any. But, sorry, Hawk fans have no legal recourse. … We can pass along a game story, sure, as well as the Bluto Blutarsky-level grades. … There is more, of course, including the takeaways and opinion pieces and thoughts on Sam Howell and more. … There is national coverage, as it was NBC’s late game. … And Smith’s injury? That’s covered by multiple sources as well.

Kraken: Seattle is still rotating goalies.

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• A heads up. We might be a little late tomorrow morning. It’s Christmas time and there are travels ahead. Which means an airport run in the early hours of the morning. We’ll start our column, do our best Uber-driver imitation and then return here to finish up. At some point we will have a finished, if not polished, product. Until later …