Week Three - 3 Facts, 3 Questions, 3 Worries about the Seahawks

Three Facts

1. The Seahawks have the look of an extremely focused team.

On Sunday, the Hawks played their 583^rd regular season game in franchise history and they had never been favored by more points than they were against Jacksonville.  In fact, the point spread was among the 10 largest in the NFL in the past 40 years.  In a league driven by the “any given Sunday” ethos, it would not have been surprising to see the Hawks struggle to beat the Jaguars much less cover a nearly three touchdown point spread.  However, Seattle showed that it was focused on the game at hand and would not look past the Jags.  Although the offense experienced an initial three-and-out, they would score 24 points in the first half, which included a fabulous 75-yard drive in only 34 seconds to close out the opening two quarters.  Meanwhile, the defense was flat-out dominating as they held the Jags to only 50 yards and intercepted Chad Henne on Jacksonville’s deepest penetration into Seattle territory.  The Hawks extended their lead to 31-0 early in the third quarter before a Russell Wilson interception practically gift-wrapped the first Jacksonville touchdown.  Seattle’s performance was a textbook example of how to suffocate an inferior opponent and not give them any hope of springing an upset. 

2. Seattle is improving in their red zone efficiency.

The Hawks started out the season by scoring zero touchdowns in three red zone opportunities against the Carolina Panthers. They followed up that horrible start by hitting pay dirt on three of the six chances they had against the 49ers.  Another mediocre to poor effort in the red zone against the lowly Jaguars would have been cause for full-blown panic.  However, the Hawks took care of business by scoring touchdowns on four out of five chances inside the 20-yard line.  It was no surprise that Seattle’s best red zone performance came in a game where the tight end position actually showed up somewhere else than just the game program.  In addition, the Hawks are now trending up in the red zone efficiency category, which is very promising as they head out for back-to-back road games in Houston and Indianapolis.  As they showed in Carolina, this team is good enough on both sides of the ball to win games without scoring a lot of touchdowns, but they become downright scary when they can put the ball into the end zone at the rate they showed on Sunday.

3. The Hawks have the best depth in the NFL.

It is the biggest no-brainer in professional football that the Seahawks have the deepest roster in the NFL.  After Russell Wilson left the game in the third quarter, the Hawks’ back-ups outscored the Jacksonville starters 14-10.  Without Percy Harvin, the Seattle receiving corps had 21 receptions for 331 yards.  They are so talented at running back that an explosive guy like Christine Michael had to wait until the third game of the season to get his first carries.  The depth shows up in an even bigger way on defense.  When Bruce Irvin rejoins the team after week four, Seattle will be able to send waves of pass rushers at opposing offenses like few teams in the NFL can.  They were missing one of their starting linebackers, Malcolm Smith, on Sunday but there was no noticeable drop-off.  Let’s not forget how little impact was felt from Brandon Browner missing the first two weeks of the season.  It is an amazing accomplishment the way that John Schneider and Peter Carroll have built the roster in their four years running the team. 

Three Questions

1. Has Seattle solved their issue with penalties?

After a ridiculous number of penalties in the first two weeks, the Hawks played a much cleaner game on Sunday with only four yellow flags for 24 yards.  The effect of so few penalties was that they were very rarely behind the chains, which is something that Russell Wilson mentioned after the game as a major reason they were able to get rolling on offense.  In fact, the offense had only one penalty assessed against them for the entire game, which was a 180 degree change from the week before when it looked like the offensive line was desperately trying to fill up their “get nine penalties earn the 10^th one free” punch cards.  Seattle will have to take this mistake-free approach on the road because it will be difficult to beat Houston or Indy without it.

2. Can the tight ends build on their best game of 2013?

The Seattle tight ends were basically non-existent for the first two games.  In my opinion, the lack of production from this position was one of the reasons for Wilson’s struggles against the 49ers and the team’s relatively inefficient offense over the first two weeks.  However, Zach Miller, Luke Willson and Kellen Davis broke through in a big way with nine receptions on 10 targets, 112 yards, and two touchdowns.  Willson was a major contributor in the middle of the field, while Miller made his presence felt with two red zone touchdown catches.  The Seattle coaching staff needs to continue to find ways to get the tight ends involved early and often because it will certainly help move the chains and provide a big weapon inside the 20 yard line.

3. How did Clinton McDonald not make the team out of training camp?

When McDonald was cut at the end of training camp, I will have to admit that it was a move that barely registered in my mind.  However, since being resigned prior to the San Francisco game, I’ve been asking myself how he didn’t make the team to begin with.  He went from working out in Arkansas to signing a contract to chasing Colin Kaepernick around Century Link Field in the span of 72 hours or so.  After an impressive 2013 debut, McDonald was credited with 1.5 sacks this past Sunday. With Jesse Williams out for the season and Jordan Hill still trying to make it back from an injury, McDonald has been given a prime opportunity to forge a role as Brandon Mebane’s back-up and a disruptive presence in the middle of the defensive line. 

Three Worries

1. Seattle is a mediocre 15th in the NFL in third down conversion rate.

It might be a nit, but Seattle has to improve on converting third down opportunities.  Currently, they are converting less than 40% of their opportunities, which is keeping their offense from performing at its highest level.  They don't have to be the best team in the league, but it would be nice if they could get closer to the rate that they achieved over the last 10 games last year, including the playoffs, when they were converting nearly 46% of their third down situations.

2. The Hawks are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry through three games.

Right now, the Seattle running game is definitely more about quantity versus quality.  The Hawks lead the league in rushing attempts and they are a respectful 7th in the NFL in rushing yards per game, but we have seen a lot of three yards and a cloud of dust.  Last season, Marshawn Lynch averaged five yards per carry and had 10 games with 100-plus yards, but he has yet to clear the century mark in 2013 and his yards per carry average is down over 1.5 yards.  Wilson has shown that he can win games with his arm, but this team is so much more dangerous when the running game is clicking on all cylinders.

3. In Leon Washington’s absence, the Hawks are in the bottom half of the league in kickoff return average.
In Washington's three seasons in Seattle, the team finished in the top 10 every season in yards per kickoff return.  Last season, they were the number two team in the NFL kickoff return average.  This year, the team is ranked 17th and seems to lack a legitimate threat that can take the football the distance.  Jermaine Kearse generated some buzz in the preseason but it has not carried over to the regular season.  Maybe this is an area that Christine Michael can contribute since the opportunities to get carries in the running game seem to be limited.