Boling: Knee-jerk analysis is bad, and so are the Seahawks
DAVE BOLING; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Minneapolis – Those of us in the commentary and analysis biz sometimes are guilty of overreacting either way to big wins or big losses. So I want to avoid knee-jerk excess in describing the Seattle Seahawks’ futility on Sunday.
Everybody knew the one-loss Minnesota Vikings were going to be a problem for the struggling Seahawks.
But the 35-9 loss went well beyond a mismatch, and was a fair display of how massively substandard the Seahawks are at this point, falling to 3-7 (with seven wins in their past 26 games).
I won’t suggest the Seahawks disband the franchise, but at the least they should now ask permission of the Sounders if it’s OK to occasionally occupy their stadium.
And, really, how much of this is worth saving at this point? Top to bottom? General manager to practice squad? Somebody is going to have to start sorting that out pretty soon.
Later on, I’ll give some credit, even if it’s small, because as they fell behind 28-0 with more than a period left to play, there were some individual Seahawk players still showing their pride and professionalism.
But there also were so many guys who are being paid to make plays who are providing meager return for their money.
Is $40 million receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh making this team a winner?
Early in the game, he was too busy bellyaching to an official that he was held to get off the turf and go throw a block for teammate Nate Burleson even though the play was still alive.
Veteran defensive end Patrick Kerney?
Looks like he’s trying hard. But effort doesn’t equal accomplishment.
Deion Branch, for whom a first-round draft pick was squandered? Barely on the field.
Rookie linebacker Aaron Curry might have been on the inactive lists for as much as he has accomplished recently. He’s a kid with great promise, but he looks in way beyond his depth at this point. And don’t you expect a few plays just on raw athletic talent out of the fourth player taken in the draft?
Former first-round pick Kelly Jennings?
The cornerback had a holding penalty on one play, and on one touchdown pass wasn’t within three yards of the receiver on a short slant route.
On the other side, Marcus Trufant is a Pro Bowl talent who was injured earlier in the season. Maybe he’s still rusty, but he looked far from Pro Bowl caliber against Viking receiver Sidney Rice.
Offensive linemen? Mostly ordinary. (But I’ll get to a promising rookie guard later.) I mean, the Hawks finished with a grand total of four rushing yards. Vikings sack master Jared Allen had three quarterback hits, but no sacks, so tackle Sean Locklear deserves some positive attention.
Linebacker Leroy Hill? Nothing special. A play here and there.
The schemes?
Who can tell when nobody is making plays? Or are they making no plays because nobody’s effectively deployed, prepared or motivated? I couldn’t testify.
But then there’s second-year linebacker David Hawthorne, energetic and dynamic, piling up 15 tackles.
His play should be inspiring for every Seahawk on the field … veterans included.
Rookie guard Max Unger has had a few rocky moments this season, but has been surprisingly stout for the most part, and showed with a downfield sprint after a completed pass to back Justin Forsett that he is hungry for that extra-effort block that will spring a back or receiver. That play showed the kind of intensity that will lead to a nice career.
His fellow Oregon Ducks rookie, defensive end Nick Reed, had a similar play, going after the passer and then turning to hustle downfield to make the tackle on Rice after a 10-yard completion. Keep that kid on the field.
Forsett had nowhere to run, but picked up 80 yards on eight receptions. Burleson bounced back from a no-catch game at Arizona to hustle for 100 yards on six grabs.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was under heavy duress, but still completed 19 of 26 passes and continued to look the part of a team leader even as the deficit expanded.
But that’s about it. Given the shrinking news hole, sports sections aren’t big enough anymore to go into all the things that are wrong with the Seahawks at this point.
And there’s six games left. That’s bad if you’re having to watch them.
But it provides a little time, at least, to gather more evidence on how dramatically this team will have to be reconstructed before it has a chance to be anywhere near competitive.
On Sunday, there wasn’t much that looked worth saving.
Dave Boling: 253-597-8440
dave.boling@thenewstribune.com
