RENTON – Seattle Seahawks coach Jim Mora demands a level of accountability within the organization, starting with the players and moving up to the coaches.
Of course, he wasn’t excluding himself from being accountable in the frustrating mess that this season has become.
So when he was asked in his Monday press conference to assess and evaluate the job he’s done 10 games into his first season as coach of the Hawks, Mora was blunt, ditching any of the optimism, clichés or coach speak he sometimes relies upon.
“Obviously not good enough, or we wouldn’t be 3-7,” he said in his personal assessment.
But he didn’t elaborate any further.
Obviously, Sunday’s 35-9 loss to the Vikings in Minnesota was frustrating. And the margin hinted to how thoroughly the Seahawks were dominated.
Beyond any statistical measure was the fact that Minnesota was so comfortably in control that they put in backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson at the end of the third quarter.
After watching the game film, Mora found several things he felt his team could have done better, but two factors stood out.
“Our inability to sustain any type of running attack bothered me and our inability to affect the passer bothered me, which resulted in his completion percentage,” Mora said.
The inability to run was glaring. Seattle rushed for 164 yards in the previous week’s loss at Arizona. Against Minnesota, they set a franchise-record for futility, managing 4 yards on 13 carries.
There were several factors.
“At times, it was the inability to move them off the ball, at times not being assignment perfect, at times just getting a little overwhelmed,” Mora said. “All three of those things. We didn’t have any success running the football.”
As for the pressure on the quarterback, it’s something that the Seahawks have struggled with all season.
Seattle sacked Vikings quarterback Brett Favre twice in the first half but most times he dropped back to pass, the Seahawks’ front four applied little pressure.
Favre, a certain Hall of Famer, used that extra time to carve up the Seattle secondary, completing 22 of 25 passes for four touchdowns and a 141.7 passer rating. The 88 percent completion percentage was the highest in his storied career and a franchise record.
“We couldn’t get anything going to force Brett to feel uncomfortable in the pocket,” Mora said.
For all of his disappointment in the performance, Mora tried to remain optimistic.
“I’m just stating a fact that I am impressed with effort and fight we continued to show throughout the game,” he said. “That shows up on tape. That’s what you want. That’s what you expect. That’s what should happen. But it doesn’t always happen. So that’s something we’re going to try and build on.”
Grant to see specialist
Seattle came away from Sunday’s game relatively healthy, but starting safety Deon Grant suffered a ligament injury to his hand and wrist and will meet with a hand specialist today in Seattle.
“It is something that could pose a problem,” Mora said.
Mora wouldn’t speculate on the seriousness of the injury, and also wouldn’t make any predictions as to whether Grant would be ready to play Sunday in St. Louis.
“It might be something significant, it might be something that he’s OK with,” Mora said.
Extra points
RB Julius Jones (lung contusion) is expected to practice this week and play Sunday. He would return to the starting spot ahead of Justin Forsett. … CB Josh Wilson (concussion) should also be back to practice this week and is expected to play Sunday. … LB Aaron Curry saw his number of plays reduced against the Vikings with the Seahawks playing more nickel and dime packages. Mora said that Curry is like any rookie experiencing some highs and lows of their first season. “We’ve tried to take a little off his plate and allow him to focus on being a good first and second down linebacker,” he said.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483
ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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