PREVIEW: Cowboys @ Hawks

 

 

After watching coaches tape of the Arizona game (thank you NFL Rewind!), I'm more encouraged than I was immediately afterwards.  But... isn't that always the case?  If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm an optimist; one who's often torn between the emotional reactions of a lifelong fan, and the football-geek, analytical part of me that wants to find answers.  Typically, emotion rules on gameday but by Monday I'm trying to find silver linings. 

 

The biggest frustration last week for me was the inability, or unwillingness, of the Hawks to work down the field.  Was it Darell Bevell taking it easy on his first-time-starting rookie QB?  Was it the rookie QB fighting nerves? Were our receivers failing to get separation? Or was it just the result of an aggressive, talented Cardinal defense playing well at home?

 

Most likely.... all of the above.

 

Initially I was cursing Bevell for completely ignoring the middle of the field  Of the 40 times Russell Wilson dropped back to throw, only 5 times did he throw the ball between the hashmarks.  But after watching the tape, I can't lay all the blame on the play-caller.  There were receivers open on virtually every play, many of them over the middle. Wilson either didn't see them, or didn't have time to see them.  Let's hope it was more of the latter.  Still, I'd like to see more crossing routes, slants, and use of the TE moving foward. 

 

There's enough evidence that Wilson is willing and able to throw the ball down the seam, so I'm not worried about any reluctance he may have had in Arizona.  It's one of the qualities I look for in young quarterbacks, and one that I think is a real strength of Wilson's game.  No matter how good we all think Wilson can be, the game still needs to slow down for him.  Seahawks play-by-play guy Steve Raible said Wilson watched the game tape twice during the 2.5 hour flight home.  He saw the open receivers.  He will adjust.

 

Last year when Seattle travelled to Dallas they lost 23-13.  Tarvaris Jackson threw 3 INT's, but if you recall...this is where Tom Cable's zone blocking scheme started to jell, and the running game kicked into a new gear.  Marshawn Lynch managed 135 yards on 23 carries, on his way to 941 yards over his last 9 games.  The Seahawks will need to do that to have a chance on Sunday against the Cowboys devastating pass rush.  Dallas racked up 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss and a couple other pressures against the Giants in their opener.  They will attempt to harass Wilson and force mistakes.  To beat the Cowboys, however, Wilson will have to be efficient but can't afford to be too conservative.  He will need to take some shots down the field.  The Giants averaged 4.3 yards per rush against Dallas.  A similar output by the Hawks would go a long way towards setting up the play-action passing game. 

 

Meanwhile, Demarco Murray rushed for 139 yards against us last year, and the Seahawks rushing defense will have to stand up on Sunday and force Tony Romo and his talented group of receivers into 3rd and long situations.  Murray can be a load.  Long runs must be limited.

 

This is a huge test.  The Cowboys have significantly upgraded their defensive backfield, the most glaring weakness from a year ago.  Their front 7 is as disruptive as any in the league, and the skill position players on offense are unusually healthy.  And when they're healthy.... they are really good.    The Seahawks defense will be tested at every level, and they'll need to limit long drives and come up with a turnover or two to help our young quarterback.  The Cowboys interior offensive line had some struggles in New York, and C Phil Costa has missed practive time this week, that could present an opportunity for our front.  The 12th man needs to be exceptionally loud and make it tough on that Dallas O-line.  If we can get a short field once or twice, we could get this one.

 

If Dallas comes in here and wins, don't panic.  Yes, we are a team with playoff aspirations, but also one with a rookie QB.  This team is being built for the long-run, and will get better as the year moves forward. 

 

But.... if we can stand up and get this one, it would make a huge statement about where the ceiling is for this squad. 

 

Warming up my voice now....



PREVIEW: Hawks at Cardinals

 

That deafening buzz you hear emanating from the Puget Sound region these days is a growing sentiment among Seahawk fans (both loyal and bandwagon-ish) that there's something good on the horizon for the home team.  After enduring over 500 player transactions during the first 3 offseasons of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider regime, the Hawks have amassed one of the more dynamic young talent cores in the NFL, and appears poised to make a run at a playoff spot.

But much of that buzz earned it's momentum via the mercurial performance of diminutive rookie QB Russell Wilson, so it needs to be tempered with a healthy dose of reality.  No matter how gifted they are, rookie quarterbacks will struggle.  Remember John Elway's 7/14 TD/INT ratio as a rookie? How about Peyton Manning throwing 28 picks his first year?

Mark it down.... Wilson will have bad games, and there will certainly be times when a restless fan base desperate for a winner will call out for Matt Flynn to get his shot.  But Carroll has an intense belief in Wilson and his special attributes, primarily his ability to lead in the face of adversity.  He'll let him fail, and give him a chance to respond. 

As I look ahead to this week's opener at Arizona, however, I'm not even thinking about the risks of pitting a rookie QB starting his first regular season game against a defense that should rank among the more troublesome in the league.  Maybe it's because I believe our running game will control the clock and allow Wilson to sustain long drives.  Or maybe I just believe Wilson is that good, and between his mobility and play-action, he'll hit on enough chunk plays to keep the Cardinals on their heels.

But mostly, it's because I see this Sunday as a coronation of sorts; a culmination of a 3 year construction project on defense.  The Cardinals offense is a mess, with both starting tackles on IR and a quarterback that didn't win the QB job as much as he was deemed the lesser of two evils.  Arizona isn't going to be able to run against the Seahawks, and John Skelton is going to struggle trying to make plays downfield with Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin, Jason Jones, K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner breathing down his neck.  Seattle's big, physical secondary will take rookie Michael Floyd out of the game, and while Larry Fitzgerald will make a play or two, he'll mostly be a non-factor. 

This will be a coming-out party for the Seahawks defense.  They gave us a glimpse of what they could be during the second half of the 2011 season, but Sunday they will send a message to the Cardinals, as well as the 49ers and the rest of the league, that their playoff hopes are much more than a pipe dream. 

Expectations still need to be tempered; the early schedule is daunting.  But we get the Cowboys, Packers and Patriots at home during that stretch, and this defense is going to be good enough to keep us in every game.  Even a 2-4 or 3-3 start shouldn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm, as I believe this team will improve as the year advances.  There are questions on offense, with Wilson's learning curve and the unsettled receiving corps chief among them, but what better way to allow that offense to develop than having a defensive unit that can control a game?

It's been a long time since I felt this confident going into a Seahawks opener.

This is going to be a fun year.

Seahawks 31, Cardinals 13