Titans game - Week #2

[Agent 86]

Little preview courtesy of The Athletic:



Seahawks vs. Titans: Why Tre Flowers’ improvement is so important, X-factor, game prediction

By Michael-Shawn Dugar Sep 17, 2021

Oliver Davis is often studying defensive back play, so when he saw a teachable moment during Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season, he posted a clip to his Instagram page.

The clip shows a young cornerback lined up about 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, 2 yards deep in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt. The receiver across from him runs a delayed slant without any interruption from the cornerback, turns and catches an easy pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the end zone.

The receiver on the play was San Francisco’s Kendrick Bourne.

The cornerback? Seattle’s Tre Flowers.

Davis, a private defensive backs coach, posted the clip on Nov. 12, 2019, one day after the Seahawks outlasted the 49ers in overtime. In the caption he wrote that Flowers, with whom he did not have a prior relationship, should have played closer to the line and put hands on Bourne after the snap. “You must disrupt timing,” Davis wrote.

Flowers, then in his second season as Seattle’s starting right cornerback, commented an objection. Davis had a rebuttal, and they came to an understanding. A couple of months later, shortly after the Seahawks’ season ended in Green Bay in what was a disappointing evening for Flowers, Davis received a message from Flowers about the possibility of them working together in the offseason.

“It was like look, man, I’m trying to work,” Davis recalled Flowers feeling, “I’m trying to get better.”

The Seahawks are one week into the 2021 season, and much of their success in their Week 2 matchup with the Tennessee Titans — and the rest of the season — relies on just how much Flowers has improved. Flowers came to the Seahawks as a fifth-round pick in 2018 who played safety at Oklahoma State. At 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, he was converted by Seattle to outside cornerback. Because of a few injuries to the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, Flowers wound up starting as a rookie and never relinquished the job.

Then came the spring of 2019, which followed a disappointing end to a sophomore campaign in which Flowers surrendered seven catches on nine targets for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay’s Davante Adams in the divisional playoffs. Seattle for the first time in Flowers’ career sought a replacement, trading for Quinton Dunbar. Despite showing up to camp late and not completely in shape because of a felony armed robbery case (charges were dropped), Dunbar beat out Flowers for the starting right cornerback job. Dunbar’s lingering knee injuries thrust Flowers back into the lineup during the regular season, and he produced mixed results. Flowers suffered an injury himself just as he appeared to have turned a corner in Week 12, but by the time his hamstring healed, D.J. Reed had taken his spot.

The 2021 offseason marked the second straight year Flowers connected with Davis, an Atlanta-based defensive backs coach whose Sweet Feet Performance roster of NFL pupils is longer than a Costco grocery receipt and includes familiar names such as Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey. In studying Flowers prior to their initial sessions, Davis saw a long, athletic defender who knew how to play within the scheme and put himself in position to succeed but wasn’t necessarily making the game-changing plays. The play he posted on Instagram was a perfect example.

The Seahawks are playing Cover-2 on a two-point conversion, meaning Flowers is responsible for the flat. Because he’s expecting inside help, Flowers doesn’t press, jam or attempt to re-route the receiver after the snap. Technically, Flowers did his job, but because the help didn’t come it looks like he gives up an easy conversion. Where Flowers could take the next step, Davis felt, is doing more than his job, realizing that because he didn’t have a threat in the flat — the running was on the opposite side of the field — he could squeeze Bourne’s route and potentially record a pass breakup or an interception.

“He’s a good athlete, he just has to lock in and make every rep count, really,” said Davis, who spent about two to three months in each of the past two offseasons with Flowers in Atlanta. “The ceiling is high when you look at the tangibles and what he could be and the potential.”

The Seahawks agree. Flowers, the coaching staff feels, is a good player who plays fairly disciplined football. Talent is not his issue, they believe. If anything, it’s consistency and, to some extent, making those instinctual, splash plays the great players at his position make.

“He’s very smart, he knows down-and-distance, he knows splits, he picks up on tendencies,” Davis said. “For Tre, it’s more him going out and playing that way, actually believing that he can and understanding he is a vet now and capable of making game-changing plays. It’s just up to him to turn it on. That’s where we’re at now, waiting on that.”

This was the point of emphasis when Davis most recently trained Flowers. They began each day with a warmup and a ball-oriented workout, followed by a specific focus on a different aspect of coverage, whether that be press-man coverage, off-man coverage or zone concepts and dissecting routes. The sessions were simple but structured, much like a Pete Carroll defense.

About once a week Davis would bring in receivers to spar with the defensive backs so the defenders can rep attacking the ball, an area Flowers has admitted he needs to improve in. Seattle believes he has improved, otherwise Flowers wouldn’t have been reinserted into the starting lineup at the expense of Ahkello Witherspoon. One of the many compliments paid to Flowers by the coaching staff during camp came from defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who said, “In this particular summer he tried to master his craft. He’s been really physical, focused on his game, and we expect that to turn into high-level performance.”

Seattle first put this to the test in Week 1 against the Colts, which had a rather pedestrian starting lineup of receivers in Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal. Coupled with constantly pressured Carson Wentz, Seattle’s cornerbacks didn’t see much action. Flowers was targeted three times and allowed three receptions for 28 yards, according to Sportradar. This includes the only touchdown Seattle allowed in man coverage: an 11-yard reception from Pascal on a post route in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee’s receiving tandem of A.J. Brown and Julio Jones is far from pedestrian. Brown is a rising star and Jones is at the back end of his career but can still play at a high level. They’re both built like NBA shooting guards. Reed, listed at 5-9, is in for a challenge, too, but Seattle’s faith in Flowers feels like a much bigger gamble, one that will be tested against one of the more physically imposing receiving duos in the league.

“It’s a real challenge,” Norton said of Jones and Brown.

How Reed and Flowers respond to that challenge may not only determine the outcome but showcase the potential ceiling of Seattle’s defense. Davis, like Seattle’s staff, has faith in Flowers, noting that he’s “more patient with his eyes than he used to be. More patient in press-man than he used to be. Just trusting himself more.” Flowers said one of his goals is to “put it all together” in Year 4, the final season of his rookie contract. Putting it all together this Sunday would be a step in the right direction and perhaps silence doubters who have pegged Seattle’s CB room as one of the worst in the league.

“The next step for him is to actually be in that position in a game and just trust what he’s already done,” Flowers said. “I feel like if he does that, he’ll make a lot of plays.”

I expect a big game from …
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. On defense, the Titans were 26th in dropback EPA, according to RBSDM.com and 26th in passing DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. One of their starting safeties is on injured reserve. An already below-average secondary is facing one of the best quarterbacks in the league, with arguably the best receiving tandem in the NFL at his disposal. This is a mismatch, and even though the Titans have talent on their defensive line I’d be surprised if Wilson, fresh off one of the most efficient performances of his career, doesn’t take full advantage of Tennessee’s passing defense.

The X factor will be …
Julio Jones. Acquired in a trade from the Falcons in the offseason, Jones had a disappointing Titans debut. He ran 34 routes, saw six targets and caught three passes for 29 yards, averaging 0.85 receiving yards per route run. That ranked 88th among qualifying receivers in Week 1, according to TruMedia. For reference, Jones was fourth in yards per route run in 2020. Jones against Arizona had multiple drops, one in the end zone and another that led to an interception. His head coach called him out after the game. Despite being a run-first operation, Tennessee has had a dynamic passing offense since handing the keys to quarterback Ryan Tannehill during the 2019 season. Adding Jones to the mix was supposed to form a borderline unstoppable pairing with Brown, a Pro Bowler last season. Jones has a talent advantage over Flowers and Reed and if he exploits that matchup on Sunday, it could be the edge the Titans need to pull the upset.

The Seahawks win if …
They replicate Arizona’s Derrick Henry Plan. Using a defensive front similar to the one Seattle is expected to use, Arizona shut down the reigning rushing champ to the tune of 58 yards on 17 carries. The Cardinals were fully committed to limiting Tennessee’s strength, as Henry faced eight or more defenders in the box 35.2 percent of the time, the ninth-highest rate in Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats. He was tackled by the line of scrimmage a league-high four times, according to Sportradar. Arizona’s front seven, led by linebacker Isaiah Simmons, defensive tackle Corey Peters and versatile defensive lineman J.J. Watt flat-out dominated Tennessee’s offensive line in a concerted effort to clog the run lanes. If the Seahawks do the same, Seattle wins easily.

The Titans win if …
The offensive line shows up. Left tackle Taylor Lewan after the game tweeted a thank you to Arizona defensive end Chandler Jones for kicking his ass and exposing him, which says everything you need to know about how the Titans’ front line performed in Week 1. There’s a viral clip of Budda Baker, a safety, strong-arming Lewan into the dirt. Only Wentz was hit more than Tannehill in Week 1, according to TruMedia. Everything for Seattle starts with the front line. Ditto for the Titans on offense. If the Titans can somehow win that battle, then maybe they can win the game.

Game prediction
Seahawks 31, Titans 24

Tennessee’s offensive line can’t possibly be worse than it was against Arizona, which is why I’m predicting more points for the Titans this week. But the Seahawks have a reliable run defense, an explosive passing offense and a talented front seven that should be enough to win and cover the spread in their home opener.

[RiverDog]

Flowers has been a pet peeve of mine this season, and the article does a good job of explaining why. He doesn't have good football instincts. But he played well last Sunday, particularly in run support. He'll have his work cut out for him going up against a big, strong receiver like Julio Jones.

[NorthHawk]

It's early in the season and Jones is healthy so most DB's will have problems with him - if he gets thrown to.
It's up to the DL to get enough pressure to help out all of our Secondary because they have 2 really good receivers.

I look at the Titans like a wounded bear. They're mad as hell about last weeks performance and they may come out real strong.
Or maybe last year they peaked and are now in a decline as some teams do after a good year where they almost went to the SB.

[RiverDog]

It's early in the season and Jones is healthy so most DB's will have problems with him - if he gets thrown to.
It's up to the DL to get enough pressure to help out all of our Secondary because they have 2 really good receivers.

I look at the Titans like a wounded bear. They're mad as hell about last weeks performance and they may come out real strong.
Or maybe last year they peaked and are now in a decline as some teams do after a good year where they almost went to the SB.

Not only do they have two big, physical receivers, the Titans have one of if not the best running backs in the league in the form of Derrick Henry. And you're right, the Titans are really smarting as they got absolutely manhandled in their home stadium by the Cards. Tannehill was sacked 6 times and finished with a QBR of 22.6 and Henry was limited to just 58 yards rushing. Taylor Lewan, the Titan's All Pro offensive tackle, sent a thank you text to Chandler Jones for "kicking my ass" saying that it will force him to get better.

I don't think we're going to sneak up on them. This game has the feeling of a trap game even though it should be considered a toss up.

[Vegaseahawk]

I like the Hawks today. Look for a one sided game with lots of Chris Carson. Final score 33-17 YOUR Seahawks emerge victorious.

[RiverDog]

I like the Hawks today. Look for a one sided game with lots of Chris Carson. Final score 33-17 YOUR Seahawks emerge victorious.

Although I'm picking us to win this afternoon, I'm still not completely on board with this team and probably won't be until we start beating some divisional opponents. This year's NFC West looks stronger than I've seen it since we moved in.

[obiken]

Can we block anybody!!

[obiken]

Finally!

[jshawaii22]

The whole game turned around in about 2 minutes. Awesome. The NFC West is going to be a shootout!

Julio's foot looked inbounds on the overhead video. It looked like there was green between his shoe and the white sidelines marker. I never saw anything that would overturn it. A gift for the 'Hawks? -- Tyler Lockett gets better with age. Fun to watch him against Julio Jones, kind of an in-game game.

[Aseahawkfan]

The run defense crumbles at home. We have a tie against the pathetic Titans. Damn.

[obiken]

How in the hell did we lose that game!! Our defense is nothing more than warmed over garbage. We could not get a stop in the entire 4th quarter!!

[EmeraldBullet]

That was an embarrassing second half.....jeez.

[c_hawkbob]

Complete team second half collapse. Embarrassing.

[obiken]

The run defense crumbles at home. We have a tie against the pathetic Titans. Damn.

A tie my butt I would have taken a tie, now we are at the bottom of the division in a game we should have won. We just had to run the ball with 5 minutes to go, but no we have to run trick WR plays. This game just sucked!!

[obiken]

I really thought we had turned the corner on defense. I am with River we will have to beat some in division opponents, that is a tall order.

[Rambo2014]

So Sorry Boys but what I expected. sniffle

Rams are on TOP now and U fellas are on the deep bottom

[NorthHawk]

I really thought we had turned the corner on defense. I am with River we will have to beat some in division opponents, that is a tall order.

I don’t think it’s the Defenses fault. The Offense didn’t produce in the second half and the Defense just
got worn down. It’s our lack of a running game that was our downfall and hardly getting any first downs
or consistent drives after halftime.

[mykc14]

Second half offense was terrible except for one play. Very frustrating loss. Overtime offense was terrible. 3 pays that had no chance of success and then game over… #32 is good maybe we should hand it to him sometimes. I can’t believe we didn’t give it to him in OT. The same offense that went like 70 yards in less than a minute before the half was inept as it gets in the second. Hopefully we learn from this.

[obiken]

I don’t think it’s the Defenses fault. The Offense didn’t produce in the second half and the Defense just
got worn down. It’s our lack of a running game that was our downfall and hardly getting any first downs
or consistent drives after halftime.

I just cannot agree, all the penalties like the taunting penalty, late hits, etc. No doubt NH, 5 minutes to go, 2 and 6 you run a WR pitch reverse, and then you are facing 3 and 8 instead of 3rd and 4. Moreover, why not give Collins more chances to show what he can do, he has looked really good till now??!! The play calling after you get a 2 td lead just sucked.

[RiverDog]

4th quarter and OT was a complete and total collapse on both offense and defense. No way should we have lost a game we were leading by 14 points with 12 minutes to go in the game.

[Aseahawkfan]

What a pathetic loss against a non-contending team at home.

I'm glad our 17 million a year safety is so good at covering with no pass defenses even with overtime. He did such a great job against the run with Henry running over us. This is why I don't consider paying that kind of money for a safety who isn't amazing at pass defense worth it.

[RiverDog]

What a pathetic loss against a non-contending team at home.

I'm glad our 17 million a year safety is so good at covering with no pass defenses even with overtime. He did such a great job against the run with Henry running over us. This is why I don't consider paying that kind of money for a safety who isn't amazing at pass defense worth it.

Yeah, the whole Adams thing looks extremely unwise at this point. He was a non factor in Indy last week and if anything was a liability today.

[Hawktawk]

What a pathetic loss against a non-contending team at home.

I'm glad our 17 million a year safety is so good at covering with no pass defenses even with overtime. He did such a great job against the run with Henry running over us. This is why I don't consider paying that kind of money for a safety who isn't amazing at pass defense worth it.

Not sure what you mean by non contending team . The Titans were in the divisional round last year and have great players all over the roster . They have a great up and coming coach in Vrabel who completely outcoached Pete today . They played bad last week and kinda like norths prediction I anticipated a wounded animal opponent . All that aside I agree on Adams: he was out of control and out of position . He gave up Henry’s house call being out of position trying to jump around the blocker instead of engaging him. I think we may be seeing why DK sat on the board . He’s a head case right now , played very lazy at critical times . All the boneheaded penalties all over the roster . Then Waldron morphs into bevel at the critical time . Where I disagree is that it shameful losing to Tennessee . Imo it’s an 11 or 12 win team and I wouldn’t rule out 16-1 for Seattle . It’s the way we lost that is sickening , nauseating .

[HawkDawg]

Speaking of head cases, I'm getting tired of Metcalf's antics. He's like the Dennis Rodman of the NFL, throwing tantrums and always ready to cause a fight. Meanwhile, you have a guy like Lockett who shows up, does his job and avoids the BS.

[Aseahawkfan]

Not sure what you mean by non contending team . The Titans were in the divisional round last year and have great players all over the roster . They have a great up and coming coach in Vrabel who completely outcoached Pete today . They played bad last week and kinda like norths prediction I anticipated a wounded animal opponent . All that aside I agree on Adams: he was out of control and out of position . He gave up Henry’s house call being out of position trying to jump around the blocker instead of engaging him. I think we may be seeing why DK sat on the board . He’s a head case right now , played very lazy at critical times . All the boneheaded penalties all over the roster . Then Waldron morphs into bevel at the critical time . Where I disagree is that it shameful losing to Tennessee . Imo it’s an 11 or 12 win team and I wouldn’t rule out 16-1 for Seattle . It’s the way we lost that is sickening , nauseating .

Well, damn, I was wrong. Titans are a contender. Still a sickening loss and pathetic. We can't defend the home against the Titans. I'm sorry, but you're not a Super Bowl team if you can't defense the home turf against a team like the Titans. They are not a real Super Bowl contender even if a playoff team.

[Hawktawk]

They have the 2 time reigning NFL rushing leader in Henry, one of 8 men in history to rush for 2k yards . Tannehil has turned into one of the better quarterbacks in the league . They led the league in red zone TD % last year . The coach impresses me the most . Very smart , calm , makes great strategic decisions . He kept his team buying in today in the road way down against a really good team on the road . Mad props . They will be a playoff team for sure and I would not be shocked if they made it to the Super Bowl. Nor would I if Seattle did. Frankly in a weird way it was impressive to almost beat a team like that making as many self inflicted wounds as they did .

[Aseahawkfan]

They have the 2 time reigning NFL rushing leader in Henry, one of 8 men in history to rush for 2k yards . Tannehil has turned into one of the better quarterbacks in the league . They led the league in red zone TD % last year . The coach impresses me the most . Very smart , calm , makes great strategic decisions . He kept his team buying in today in the road way down against a really good team on the road . Mad props . They will be a playoff team for sure and I would not be shocked if they made it to the Super Bowl. Nor would I if Seattle did. Frankly in a weird way it was impressive to almost beat a team like that making as many self inflicted wounds as they did .

Chiefs are looking weak right now. Not sure who looks strong. It's going to be another year of not knowing who will come out on top which is nice. Everyone has weaknesses. Or Brady could win number 8 which would be embarrassing for all these younger teams.

[trents]

My summary: When the going got tough the tough got going. And it wasn't the Hawks. And the Titans did this with two of their starters out on the OL. Except for Bobby Wagner, the Hawks just got manhandled at the line of scrimmage in the second half. No toughness there. Good penetration but lousy gap control.

[EmeraldBullet]

My summary: When the going got tough the tough got going. And it wasn't the Hawks. And the Titans did this with two of their starters out on the OL. Except for Bobby Wagner, the Hawks just got manhandled at the line of scrimmage in the second half. No toughness there. Good penetration but lousy gap control.

Our defense is what it is and they did enough for us to win the game. They got worn out at the end of the game. The 3 and outs we had sure didnt help them catch their breath. What happened to our run game? Wilson was off most of the second half too. Our offense has to play better than that in the second half.

[Aseahawkfan]

Our defense is what it is and they did enough for us to win the game. They got worn out at the end of the game. The 3 and outs we had sure didnt help them catch their breath. What happened to our run game? Wilson was off most of the second half too. Our offense has to play better than that in the second half.

Yeah. Offense is the strength of the team now. They need to step up and get it done.

[Agent 86]

I sure hope this is the last game Tre Flowers starts. Funny how in my OP, the Athletic writer chose him as the main subject, perhaps to give him some positive reinforcement and some nice press.

Julio torched him for over a 100 yards by the 2nd quarter, and he made a brutal attempt at a tackle on Henry's 60 yard TD. You can't tell me every offensive coordinator in the league the Hawks play against isn't game planning that whoever Flowers is covering, they are going to force feed that WR the ball.

I hate to repeat myself, I just don't see what Pete sees in him. It's a huge weakness on the D, he simply is not NFL starting calibre, not even close. I wish the guy well, but really don't want to see him ever start again. He has zero confidence and being a CB, that is no recipe for success.

Agreed on DK too, every team will game plan to get him off his game, it seems really easy to do at this point.

[Aseahawkfan]

I sure hope this is the last game Tre Flowers starts. Funny how in my OP, the Athletic writer chose him as the main subject, perhaps to give him some positive reinforcement and some nice press.

Julio torched him for over a 100 yards by the 2nd quarter, and he made a brutal attempt at a tackle on Henry's 60 yard TD. You can't tell me every offensive coordinator in the league the Hawks play against isn't game planning that whoever Flowers is covering, they are going to force feed that WR the ball.

I hate to repeat myself, I just don't see what Pete sees in him. It's a huge weakness on the D, he simply is not NFL starting calibre, not even close. I wish the guy well, but really don't want to see him ever start again. He has zero confidence and being a CB, that is no recipe for success.

Agreed on DK too, every team will game plan to get him off his game, it seems really easy to do at this point.

What does Pete see in Flowers? He sees the rest of the CB room and the nobody there to step up and take the spots. Our secondary is weak. The 17.5 million dollar man isn't good at coverage. He's no Earl, not even a Kam when it comes to pass coverage.

[RiverDog]

It was a tale of two halves. 24 points in the first half, just 6 in the second half. 15 first downs in the first half, two in the 2nd/OT. One of the best two minute drills I've ever seen a Seahawks team put together at the end of the first half. With one exception, that being the Swain TD, the 2nd half was nothing short of a train wreck.

Lots of places to lay blame on this one. The defense had a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter. They gave up over 500 yards in total offense. They had a number of bone head personal foul penalties (Brooks' late hit, Reed's taunting, Adams roughing the QB). The Titans were down two starters on the OL for all of the 2nd half yet they treated our defense like a rag doll. Adams never got home, got caught inside on one blitz and let Henry run past him for a 60 yard TD allowing Flowers to take a horrible angle and ran himself out of the play. Adams was a non factor last week and a liability this week. He has yet to justify the trade or the contract. We gave the Titans 6 first downs via penalty. As a team, we had 10 penalties for 100 yards.


Our offense is unimaginative. Russell's pass distribution was horrible. He threw the ball 31 times and all but 4 targets were to 3 players, all wide receivers. Two out of every three of his passes were targeted to either Lockett or Metcalf. He completed one pass to a tight end, didn't even target Chris Carson. Our total tight end production was 1 completed pass for 3 yards. Russell made some very poor decisions, rightfully should have been called for grounding in the end zone and a walk off safety. He's lost his escapability. Carson had just 31 yards rushing on 13 attempts for just 2.3 YPC. The Titans had the ball for 42 minutes, we had it for 22, with most of that disparity occurring in the 2nd half. Metcalf is a head case, and can't block without holding.
As good as we looked last week, we looked horrible this week. All 3 of our divisional opponents are 2-0. It could be a long season.

[Hawktawk]

Completely agree with this post . The more I run it over in my mind the more I have to blame the offense and Russ . Remember how we wasted the red zone possession after the bomb to Lockett . On 3rd down Russ rolled right and overthrew a well open Lockett. In the second half he was borderline dreadful . That overtime possession , 30’yard ball on first down that had no chance at all and would have been possibly picked were it in bounds . Second an overthrow of DK then then abortion on 3rd down . I don’t blame Russ for getting sacked . I blame him for running backwards 12 yards trying to spin out of a dead red break instead of throwing it away and trusting Dixon to give us one more chance . He looked like the guy from the Rams playoff loss at the end .

I said before the season Russ is my biggest question mark and that was an alarming half of football . I respect the other team greatly as I’ve said . It’s just brutal how it went down . Seattle only had to make one more play ….

[obiken]

What a pathetic loss against a non-contending team at home.

I'm glad our 17 million a year safety is so good at covering with no pass defenses even with overtime. He did such a great job against the run with Henry running over us. This is why I don't consider paying that kind of money for a safety who isn't amazing at pass defense worth it.

Thats been my point too!

[NorthHawk]

Also missed extra point that didn't help.
When the Offense only gets 2 first downs in a half, the Defense is going to get worn down. It's unavoidable.
The Titans are a big powerful Offense and their MO is to grind their opponent down with their run game.
We, by not being able to move the football handed them their chance to impose their will on our Defense. And they did just that.
But, like in previous years under PC, we are sitting here lamenting not being able to move the chains just a few times in the 2nd
half to ensure a win.
Since I don't think we have anywhere near a championship team, I'm not really disappointed, but I am saddened by the lack of talent
within this team especially along the Lines of Scrimmage which on Offense has been our biggest issue for almost the entire history
under Pete Carroll. Now we have concerns about our DL, too even though they played better than I thought they would, but don't
expect it to last if the Offense keeps making them play 3/4 of the game.

[RiverDog]

Completely agree with this post . The more I run it over in my mind the more I have to blame the offense and Russ . Remember how we wasted the red zone possession after the bomb to Lockett . On 3rd down Russ rolled right and overthrew a well open Lockett. In the second half he was borderline dreadful . That overtime possession , 30’yard ball on first down that had no chance at all and would have been possibly picked were it in bounds . Second an overthrow of DK then then abortion on 3rd down . I don’t blame Russ for getting sacked . I blame him for running backwards 12 yards trying to spin out of a dead red break instead of throwing it away and trusting Dixon to give us one more chance . He looked like the guy from the Rams playoff loss at the end .

I said before the season Russ is my biggest question mark and that was an alarming half of football . I respect the other team greatly as I’ve said . It’s just brutal how it went down . Seattle only had to make one more play ….

The defense gave up over 500 yards in total offense and couldn't hold a two touchdown lead in the 4th quarter, so they deserve their fair share of the blame, too. Nor did special teams bring their 'A' game. We could have used that XP that Meyers missed and kick returns didn't yield very good field position. It was one of the worst 22 minutes or so of football that I've seen in a long time, a complete and total collapse of which no one escapes at least some blame for.

[RiverDog]

Also missed extra point that didn't help.
When the Offense only gets 2 first downs in a half, the Defense is going to get worn down. It's unavoidable.
The Titans are a big powerful Offense and their MO is to grind their opponent down with their run game.
We, by not being able to move the football handed them their chance to impose their will on our Defense. And they did just that.
But, like in previous years under PC, we are sitting here lamenting not being able to move the chains just a few times in the 2nd
half to ensure a win.
Since I don't think we have anywhere near a championship team, I'm not really disappointed, but I am saddened by the lack of talent
within this team especially along the Lines of Scrimmage which on Offense has been our biggest issue for almost the entire history
under Pete Carroll. Now we have concerns about our DL, too even though they played better than I thought they would, but don't
expect it to last if the Offense keeps making them play 3/4 of the game.

The Titans were a big, powerful offense that was minus their All Pro OT for the whole game and a starting guard for half of it. Their starting center also left the game but I'm not sure if he returned or not.

[curmudgeon]

SOS…..

[c_hawkbob]

After thinking on it overnight I think our second half collapse may well be attributable, at least in part, to our resting our starters for the entire preseason. "Playing yourself into game shape" is real. It's why there is such a thing as mid season form. Our lines, particularly our defensive line, looked totally gassed in the second half.