Bobby Wagner’s right, ‘It sucks.’ But in weak NFC, Russell Wilson-less Seahawks aren’t done
It’s not great.
It’s not where the Seahawks are used to being.
“It sucks.”
That’s what Bobby Wagner says and thinks.
The All-Pro linebacker and co-captain has played for Seattle for 10 years. He’s never been where he is now: 2-5, already five games out of the NFC West lead before Halloween.
That’s scary.
“It’s not a great feeling,” Wagner said late Monday night after his Russell Wilson-less Seahawks held the New Orleans Saints to 13 points yet lost another winnable game. “It’s not a position that we thought we were going to be in.
“And it’s just back to the drawing board for me.”
He’s not alone.
Coach Pete Carroll and play caller Shane Waldron have to find a way to get the offense to help and support fill-in starting quarterback Geno Smith while Wilson remains out indefinitely following surgery Oct. 7 on his throwing hand. That means running into more than a brick wall that rushers Alex Collins and Rashaad Penny mostly found carrying the ball against the Saints.
The run is key to giving the annually porous offensive line a chance to protect Smith while he throws. Smith must have time to be more comfortable and less error-prone than he’s been in the first three games he’s played extensively in four years, while Wilson’s been out.
Seattle has lost all three of those games, by nine points faltering late against the Rams (6-1), in overtime at the Steelers (3-3) and narrowly to the Saints (4-2).
“We’ve got to get our finish together, and we got to do the right things at the end of the game,” Carroll said. “It’s ... it’s ... there’s no ... this isn’t rocket science. You got to finish the game right and do right at the end. And that’s how you become a good finishing club.
“And we’re not right now.”
SO missing Wilson
The greatest finisher the Seahawks have ever had, the best in the NFL since 2012 at ending games and creating fourth-quarter and overtime wins, is in a team jacket watching games helplessly while Smith fails to replicate anything close to what he’s done for 10 years. Wilson’s 35 comeback victories in the fourth quarter and overtime are the most in the league since 2012 when he became Seattle’s starter week one of his rookie season.
Carroll acknowledged Wilson is the reason he’s even the Seahawks’ coach for a 12th season.
“Let’s say it this way: I’ve been here a long time. And if we didn’t have Russell, I probably wouldn’t have been here a long time,” Carroll said.
Wilson hadn’t missed a game in his career until now, 165 consecutive starts from his 2012 to debut to Oct. 17 in Pittsburgh. He isn’t coming back until Nov. 14 at Green Bay, at the absolute earliest.
Even then is far from a sure thing. Carroll again declined to estimate when his $140 million franchise cornerstone will play again. Because he is on injured reserve, Wilson must miss at least three games, per NFL rules. The third missed game is Sunday against Jacksonville (1-5) at Lumen Field.
The Seahawks then have their bye, Nov. 7.
What must Seattle do until, after, Wilson returns?
New Orleans and its second-ranked run defense often stacked the line of scrimmage with eight and sometimes nine defenders to stop Seattle’s rushing offense. The Saints were daring Smith to beat them throwing the ball over them.
He didn’t.
Smith completed his first pass for an 84-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf. It proved to be a fluke, Metcalf strong-arming three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the ground as the pass arrived, with no one behind those two along the right sideline after Metcalf made the catch. After that play, Smith completed 11 of 21 passes for 83 yards and five sacks. Two of those he took by holding onto the ball too long, losses that pushed kicker Jason Myers out of easier field-goal range. Myers missed a 53-yard kick after a sack, three points Seattle sure needed in its 13-10 loss.
Smith has thrown an interception late in the game that gave the Rams the game-clinching field goal. He’s lost a fumble in overtime that gifted Pittsburgh the winning field goal. And he’s taken sacks he could have and should have, by his own admission, avoided. Three of his five sacks against the Saints were from him holding onto the ball far too long, and ruined both Seattle’s chances to take a lead.
So far, Seattle can’t rely on Smith to win games by himself. Carroll and Waldron need to find solutions to run with lead back Chris Carson (neck) with Wilson on injured reserve — and defenses knowing Seattle wants and has to run to win. Expect the Jaguars on Sunday to do what the Steelers and Saints did: stack the box and dare Smith to beat them throwing.
The NFC picture
Through all the problems, failures and injuries, all’s not lost for the Seahawks — only the last three games and five of the first seven.
There are just six teams in the NFC above .500: Arizona (7-0), the Rams (6-1), Green Bay (6-1), Tampa Bay (6-1), Dallas (5-1) and New Orleans (4-2). Seven teams make the playoffs in each conference. So, yes, almost incredibly the Seahawks are one game out of a playoff spot.
Seattle needs to go 7-3 over the final 10 games of the regular season to finish 9-8 and likely be in contention for a wild-card playoff spot. The Seahawks still have Jacksonville (1-5), Washington (2-5), Houston (1-6), Chicago (3-4), San Francisco (2-4) and Detroit (0-7) on the schedule. If they can win those games, the Seahawks would need to find one more victory among games at the Packers, home and away against the Cardinals and at the Rams to get to 9-8.
That is a supremely Carroll-like, glass-half-full interpretation of the Seahawks’ current state. Yet it is a fact.
The coach is driving home that point to his players this rallying week, before Jacksonville arrives for what is no longer a gimme win.
There are no such games with this Seahawks team, without and perhaps even with Wilson.
“Think of all the magic that he’s created in the years,” Carroll said. “He’s got numbers and stats, and fourth quarters, this’s and that’s, and all of that stuff. One of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. And it will be really fun when he comes back and plays football again for us this year. And we owe a tremendous amount.
“You can see how hard it is. I mean, all of these games; the Rams game...the Steelers and this one (with New Orleans). You know, Russell’s a factor. He’s a fantastic, positive factor and always has been. And, I mean, those were exactly his time. That’s his time. That’s when he shines.
“And so, we miss him. And in the meantime, we’re going to keep fighting and clawing, and doing everything we can.”
Including trying to support Smith better than they have.
The 31-year-old veteran isn’t waiting for that. He’s taking it upon himself.
“You can put the blame on my feet. No worry,” Smith said.
“I know I’m going to do whatever I need to do to make sure that we get a win.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 9:55 AM.
