Seahawks win battle of the birds 33-10
Many things impressed me about the game on Sunday, however one thing stood out above all others in my book. In the Seahawks‘ first two drives of the second half they were able to take an impressive 14:25 off the clock.
That’s right, nearly an entire quarter of the second half was eaten up by the first two Seahawks’ possessions.
Talk about ball control.
Another impressive stat was that the Seahawks only punted the ball twice all game. The first of which was Russell Wilson’s fault, then they wouldn’t punt the ball again until their final drive when they were just running time off the clock.
Maybe even more impressive is the fact that every other possession the Seahawks scored on, and they had no turnovers and no drives stopped by the end of a half.
2nd year miscues
Going back to that first punt, it was the second Seahawks drive, they got a field goal on their first, and Seattle was in field goal position again when Russell Wilson took an unnecessary sack.
For one play he did everything wrong.
Kearse finished the game with 3 reception for 75-yards and a touchdown
The pocket was clean but he felt pressure that wasn’t there and escaped leaving one of the best pockets he has had to work with all season. Wilson couldn’t find a receiver to throw too so he just stood around and waited to be sacked.
On the play he lost 8-yards which was enough to take the team out of field goal range.
It wasn’t like Wilson couldn’t see the defender coming, he just chose the sack rather than an incompletion. It is plays like that, that remind us he is still a very young player with much to learn.
The rest of the game he was on fire having his highest rating of the season at 134.6. Or, if you prefer, his passer ratting was roughly 40 points higher than Colin Kaepernick’s passing yards on Sunday.
Mr. TD
Once against Jermaine Kearse made big plays that helped the Seahawks win. It started when he tracked down the kick returner on the opening kickoff and tackled him inside the Falcon’s 15.
Throughout the first half Jermaine made play after play, including his touchdown reception. I have to give credit to Darrell Bevell for the trickery.
The play looked off from the beginning but I didn’t realize what was going on until Marshawn Lynch turned around and “thew” the ball to Wilson.
The way Jermaine Kearse plays the ball in the air on back shoulder throws makes him nearly impossible to defend. Kearse finished the game with 3 reception for 75-yards and a touchdown, all of which came in the first half.
Golden Tate’s 106 receiving yards were a single career high and only the second time he has had over 100 yards receiving in a game. His other one came week 17 last season against the Rams.
Tate is one of those rare players who has an ability to make big plays, especially when it comes to keeping his feet in bounds. Tate capped the 1st half off with a one handed catch in the back corner of the end zone, while dragging his second foot in bounds as momentum took him out, with one-second left on the clock.
Golden Tate’s 106 receiving yards were a single career high
Another thing that Tate does so well is accelerate.
He has the ability to go from a stop to full speed in just a few strides which doesn’t give defenders much time to adjust.
Ever since the Rams game it has been obvious that Darrell Bevell has been told that he need to get Marshawn Lynch more involved in the game. On Sunday Lynch ran the ball 24 times (second highest of the season) for a season high 145-yards with a touchdowns.
Marshawn Lynch was all Beast-mode Sunday running for a punishing 6.0 yards-per-carry for the 3rd time this season. Not bad with an offensive line that is missing 3 starters.
Don’t tell Jimmy Johnson that though, according to him the Seahawks are “healthy.”
Sea-Notes
Speaking of backup offensive lineman we got to see Alvin Bailey in at left tackle as well as right guard. In the wise words of Pete Carroll, “That was pretty cool.” I haven’t had time to assess how well he did but it was good to see him out there.
Brandon Browner ended up leaving the game with a groin injury. Not sure of his status but judging by the looks of his reaction it isn’t one of those mild strains that a player can come back from the next week. I could be completely wrong, I’m just speculating.
He tweeted post game that his groin is ok, for what its worth.
Before Browner left the game he was playing pretty well other than the 20 yard reception he gave up to Roddy White, White’s only reception in the game. I guess Richard Sherman was right, he was “an easy matchup” this season.
I actually thought Steven Jackson was going to finally get 100-yards rushing against the Seahawks defense but despite having a different jersey on his back the Seahawks still had his number. Jackson finished the game with a very forgettable 11-yards on 9-carries, ouch.
Hauschkamatica!
I’d like to suggest that from now on we call Steven Hauschka ”Mr. Automatic.” I mean the kicker’s accuracy is seriously insane. Unless he’s asked to kick the ball over 50 yards, or it gets blocked at the line, he simply doesn’t miss.
Sunday Mr. Automatic went 4/4 with a 53-yarder, just another day at the office. In my fantasy league that worked out to 17 points. Think about that for a second…
I think Pete Carroll should have pulled Russell Wilson and brought in Tarvaris Jackson to finish the game. There was no sense on leaving the starter in the game to hand the ball off.
You never know when something bad could happen. Luckily it didn’t.
The rich get richer next week. We get the lowly Vikings at the Clink, and reports are Percy Harvin will be back on the field. Time to lick those chops…
Go Seahawks!
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