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If we find the magic from the 4 game WS. Most of the players are the same and certain aspects of the team are rounding back into form . Walker has issues but he’s an explosive home run hitter . The defense is in between but improving .we’re getting pressure . A big key is Geno . He was very good in 3 of those 4 wins . But he’s had issues with turnovers . More as the season went along .
Something is off with he and DK.

That opening play pick DK just runs a stiff route straight upfield then a lazy right turn . No wiggle at all .
Ramsey has leverage all the way and Geno shouldn’t have thrown it but DK quit on the route or he’s at least in a position to play defense . A better question is why throw over the middle at their best player first play? It seems like Geno is trying to force feed DK .

They have had some great games together this year and last year and we need them to have some more . Geno needs to be better . But we showed at one point this year we could be as good as anyone .
See who shows up .

Hawktawk wrote:If we find the magic from the 4 game WS. Most of the players are the same and certain aspects of the team are rounding back into form . Walker has issues but he’s an explosive home run hitter . The defense is in between but improving .we’re getting pressure . A big key is Geno . He was very good in 3 of those 4 wins . But he’s had issues with turnovers . More as the season went along .
Something is off with he and DK.

That opening play pick DK just runs a stiff route straight upfield then a lazy right turn . No wiggle at all .
Ramsey has leverage all the way and Geno shouldn’t have thrown it but DK quit on the route or he’s at least in a position to play defense . A better question is why throw over the middle at their best player first play? It seems like Geno is trying to force feed DK .

They have had some great games together this year and last year and we need them to have some more . Geno needs to be better . But we showed at one point this year we could be as good as anyone .
See who shows up .

There's a lot of weird things yesterday, and you mentioned one of them, Metcalf giving up on a route. There's also both Geno and K9 not even attempting to throw blocks, like they were pulling a Cam Newton and afraid they would get hurt, and Diggs just running out of bounds after an INT and not trying to stop his momentum. Diggs, in particular, is supposed to be the veteran leader, the guy that replaced Bobby.

Perhaps it's a let down from the Damar Hamlin injury, the effects of a very long season, or maybe they all had a bad day. In any case, there were times when I didn't think that we were playing with very much emotion.

Come on guys, everything River said is spot on. We backed into the playoffs and we are going to get killed Sat. The 9ers are just stacked, on both sides of the ball, just too many weapons! Granted, beating any NFL team 3X in one year is hard but on their turf and with as many players as we have out or hurt, its just not going to happen!

"Backing into the playoffs" is getting in while losing your last game or at least with a losing record. We won our way in and finished with a winning record. That is not backing in. That said I don't expect a win this Saturday.

c_hawkbob wrote:"Backing into the playoffs" is getting in while losing your last game or at least with a losing record. We won our way in and finished with a winning record. That is not backing in. That said I don't expect a win this Saturday.

We went 3-5 down the stretch, finished with a .500ish record, and got the very last seed of a bloated playoff system by virtue of a tiebreaker, so depending on your POV, it's completely appropriate to say that we 'backed in.'

I don't expect that we'll win Saturday, either, but stranger things have happened.

obiken wrote:Come on guys, everything River said is spot on. We backed into the playoffs and we are going to get killed Sat. The 9ers are just stacked, on both sides of the ball, just too many weapons! Granted, beating any NFL team 3X in one year is hard but on their turf and with as many players as we have out or hurt, its just not going to happen!

Did the pack deserve to go ? Of the final 3 contenders for the 7 seed Detroit was the most solid , followed by us then the pack . Seattle’s imperfect but everyone is . We’re going down there to play as a 10.5 dog after losing 21-14 to this team with a huge midfield fumble and huge midfield dropped pick by Diggs. He was stupid there yesterday but we dodged a bullet . Frankly I think that wasn’t enough to warrant taunting , clearly a dig at wags but stupid .
We played bad and won . We have lost Dissley and Brooks but the rest of these guys can play some .
House money . I expect neither a win nor a loss . Who knows . Tune in Saturday . We’re not gonna roll over .

obiken wrote:Come on guys, everything River said is spot on. We backed into the playoffs and we are going to get killed Sat. The 9ers are just stacked, on both sides of the ball, just too many weapons! Granted, beating any NFL team 3X in one year is hard but on their turf and with as many players as we have out or hurt, its just not going to happen!

Hawktawk wrote:Did the pack deserve to go ? Of the final 3 contenders for the 7 seed Detroit was the most solid , followed by us then the pack . Seattle’s imperfect but everyone is . We’re going down there to play as a 10.5 dog after losing 21-14 to this team with a huge midfield fumble and huge midfield dropped pick by Diggs. He was stupid there yesterday but we dodged a bullet . Frankly I think that wasn’t enough to warrant taunting , clearly a dig at wags but stupid .
We played bad and won . We have lost Dissley and Brooks but the rest of these guys can play some .
House money . I expect neither a win nor a loss . Who knows . Tune in Saturday . We’re not gonna roll over .

I didn't think that Diggs taunt was flagrant, either, but it was clearly a violation and we're lucky it wasn't called. I'm wondering if he lost track of the game situation and thought that we were ahead and that the game was essentially over, which would explain both the taunt and his not at least trying to stay in bounds.

Speaking of stupid, I see where Quay Walker, the Packers' LB that shoved a trainer that resulted in a PF that arguably cost the Packers the game, has publicly apologized and taken full responsibility for his actions. I also saw where it's the first time since 2000 that a player was ejected from two games in the same season.

Tough to beat the 49'ers, excellent run defense (#1 overall defense, but #20 in pass D). But they had to go to OT to beat the Raiders and we were close last time despite losing TO battle. If we can get the run stopped, we'll see what happens. I'm not ready to crown Mr. Irrelevant yet.

I think that relying on other teams losing to get in is a form of backing into the playoffs.

We were lucky yesterday with the many breaks we had from the Referees, and at crucial times, too.
It all balances out over tme and yesterday was our day to benefit.

NorthHawk wrote:I think that relying on other teams losing to get in is a form of backing into the playoffs.

We were lucky yesterday with the many breaks we had from the Referees, and at crucial times, too.
It all balances out over tme and yesterday was our day to benefit.

Agree with all this. Yes, the Seahawks cleaned up their side of the street yesterday, but it was still out of their hands after that. It wasn't "win and in"; that's backing in in my book.

Very disappointed in Metcalf and Diggs. Emotions run high, but this was a close game where a loss means you for sure are done for the season. Same to the Packer's players. It was overlooked this time; that won't fly in Santa Clara.

Edit: Backing in is still in. I'll take that.

TriCitySam wrote:Tough to beat the 49'ers, excellent run defense (#1 overall defense, but #20 in pass D). But they had to go to OT to beat the Raiders and we were close last time despite losing TO battle. If we can get the run stopped, we'll see what happens. I'm not ready to crown Mr. Irrelevant yet.

That's the kicker; Purdy hasn't played anybody. Combined record of 44-57-1. The playoffs are a completely different animal. If Purdy falters, it won't be for lack of talent around him, but the Seahawks have to put him in uncomfortable situations and hopefully catch some breaks.

Blah blah blah . Many teams over the years come down to week 18. We can look at things Seattle did wrong to be 9-8, penalties , turnovers , dropped passes but also weird calls and non calls and picked up flags , 6:30 AM tee time on jello halfway around the globe . Injury issues .

I don’t apologize for my teams success but you all go ahead. The one team that did control their destiny lost with their 50 million dollar smart ass qb

Go Hawks . Congrats . Great job .

c_hawkbob wrote:"Backing into the playoffs" is getting in while losing your last game or at least with a losing record. We won our way in and finished with a winning record. That is not backing in. That said I don't expect a win this Saturday.

Yeah, I've got to agree we didn't back into the playoffs, we earned it. In today's NFL a 9-8 record is earning a playoff spot. I also agree that we are a very long shot to win on Sunday... probably would be the biggest upset of the weekend.

I don't think much about backing in or deserves or any of that. You get in if the numbers line up. We have our numbers good enough to get in. 49ers have Brock Purdy at QB. We'll see if he is ready for playoff football.

49ers are a tough draw, but you play who is in front of you and give it all you got. Right now this experience playing playoff football is seasoning our guys. Our rooks have to be excited. First time in the playoffs and they are a major reason why. Pete will have them jacked up to do the job.

We were a bigger underdog vs the Saints for beastquake . Bring it on . House money .

Who here wouldn't be happy with how this season went even if we lose Saturday? They have clearly surpassed anyone's expecation, so even though Pete wants to win, there is no pressure on us at all, and that's good.

If the Niners have one weakness, it's defending the deep ball. We connected on long balls in SF, and Raiders really connected. Even though the spread is 9.5/10, I think it's going to be be closer, with SF edging us. I expect to see some crazy plays.

The Niners will need to give it to us. A pick 6 or two can be a great equalizer. Penalties, blown coverages, a defender falls down, fumbles, or bad calls can all turn a game.

For we draft nuts this last weekend was a disaster. Denver winning, Detroit winning, and Seahawks winning meant we pick 5th and probably 20th instead of 3d and maybe 12th. It is what it is, and we are still in a very strong drafting position.

So, now it is the playoffs and time to hope for something special. Go Seahawks.

Old but Slow wrote:For we draft nuts this last weekend was a disaster. Denver winning, Detroit winning, and Seahawks winning meant we pick 5th and probably 20th instead of 3d and maybe 12th. It is what it is, and we are still in a very strong drafting position.

Yeah, that's the big problem with fielding perpetually mediocre teams like we have recently. Not good enough to compete for a SB, not bad enough to go into a rebuild.

Yeah, that's the big problem with fielding perpetually mediocre teams like we have recently. Not good enough to compete for a SB, not bad enough to go into a rebuild.

When a team is in the middle like that they are nowhere.
I think that when a team finds themselves in that position it’s best to tear it down and start over.

RD

Yeah, that's the big problem with fielding perpetually mediocre teams like we have recently. Not good enough to compete for a SB, not bad enough to go into a rebuild.

NH “When a team is in the middle like that they are nowhere.
I think that when a team finds themselves in that position it’s best to tear it down and start over.[/quote]

Are you guys angry with this reload in 1 year ? Starting 7 rookies and in playoffs .

And news flash Riverdog . We’re competing for a Lombardi . Everyone in the tournament Is. There’s already a 9 win champion and they beat the Goat . I think you people would b**** no matter what Pete and john do . You wanna trade everyone and tear it up now ? Jesus . I like playoffs 10 of 13 years a lot better then being Denver or Texans , bears . Pats proved you don’t ever have to rebuild for 2 decades .

Hard to figure some fans out .

In the general, yes, finishing middle of the pack year after year means a team can only draft middle round players; harder to get those franchise changing players. Seattle hurt themselves more by giving up their mid 1st round picks for splash players that didn't pan out and then missing out on Creed Humphrey. This team could have been in much better shape had they not done those type of moves.

This year, though, is hardly the disaster stated by Old but Slow. Picking at #5 and #20ish in the 1st and 2nd rounds (4 picks in the top 50) is an excellent and highly enviable position to be in after what came out of the 2022 draft. It would be hard to name a team in a better position.

I think we are getting far more benefit out of getting in the playoffs than losing enough to be in the top 10 of the draft order. The rookies and other first-time starters will only be better for it; these guys will go into the off season knowing that you play to win week in and week out and let the rest take care of itself, as it should be.

Hawktawk wrote:
And news flash Riverdog . We’re competing for a Lombardi . Everyone in the tournament Is. There’s already a 9 win champion and they beat the Goat . I think you people would b**** no matter what Pete and john do . You wanna trade everyone and tear it up now ? Jesus . I like playoffs 10 of 13 years a lot better then being Denver or Texans , bears . Pats proved you don’t ever have to rebuild for 2 decades .

Hard to figure some fans out .

I am happy we made the playoffs. My issue with PC and JS can be boiled down to a few things/ 1- Early playoff exits, bad playoff losses. After going 7-3 in his first 10 playoff games as Hawks coach PC is 3-5 over his last 8. 2 - Paying RW a ridiculous amount of money and then not using him. It is looking more and more like PC/JS were doing a good job of corralling RW rather than letting him cook but if you pay a QB like the Hawks paid RW you have to have a QB centered offense and too many times over the years when RW was making a ton of money we wouldn't utilize his talents until we needed him to bail us out in the 4th quarter. The fact that they were able to recognize this and eventually trade him really was a shrewd move and hopefully makes this a moot point eventually, but we wasted a handful of years paying for a Ferrari and using it like a mini-van. 3- This my biggest and most frustrating issue I've had with PC over the past 5 years our defense has been bad. If you are a defensive minded head coach and your defense is really bad then there really is nobody to blame but yourself. There is no doubt that there is a talent deficit at the DL/DE/OLB positions for us but who is to blame for that? I am hoping we are a few bodies away from being a good defense again, but until that happens I still am holding this one against PC.

I don’t want to start another argument but PC and his team and his franchise qb went 3-6 in Russels last 9 playoff games including 49 . And 2 of those 3 wins were WC 2015 and 16 with most of the LOB still there . The key stat in those losses is how slow our offense started . In 5 of those 6 losses we never had a halftime lead . In 4 we never led . In Russels last playoff game he was 11-29 with a pick 6 , 5 sacks holding the ball . Donald was out the second half . It’s a team we beat 2 weeks earlier , not a talent issues .

I’ll be curious how our offense performs Saturday . First time in 13 years someone not named Wilson is starting . Let’s see . I’m curious about the last few years with the issues we all know about now .

My memory may be failing, but literally the ONLY playoff game I can think of during the Russ era where we started fast was SB XLIX (49) where we scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage and got an early pick 6 from the D. What am I missing?

Edit: I just remembered Seahawks vs Eagles in Wild Card game 2020...that was a rare satisfying playoff win from start to finish. Still close at the end, but a great game esp for DK.

Hawktawk wrote:I don’t want to start another argument but PC and his team and his franchise qb went 3-6 in Russels last 9 playoff games including 49 . And 2 of those 3 wins were WC 2015 and 16 with most of the LOB still there . The key stat in those losses is how slow our offense started . In 5 of those 6 losses we never had a halftime lead . In 4 we never led . In Russels last playoff game he was 11-29 with a pick 6 , 5 sacks holding the ball . Donald was out the second half . It’s a team we beat 2 weeks earlier , not a talent issues .

I’ll be curious how our offense performs Saturday . First time in 13 years someone not named Wilson is starting . Let’s see . I’m curious about the last few years with the issues we all know about now .

I agree with most of this although you can add that that same franchise QB led furious comebacks in most of those games and it could be argued that those slow starts on offense had more to do with the extremely conservative play calling than the play of our franchise QB- which is why I put the blame of most of those playoff losses on PC.

I-5 wrote:My memory may be failing, but literally the ONLY playoff game I can think of during the Russ era where we started fast was SB XLIX (49) where we scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage and got an early pick 6 from the D. What am I missing?

Edit: I just remembered Seahawks vs Eagles in Wild Card game 2020...that was a rare satisfying playoff win from start to finish. Still close at the end, but a great game esp for DK.

Yeah that basically seems right to me. We had a decent start to the Home win vs. the Panthers as well... at least I'm pretty sure we had the half-time lead. That was the game where Kam jumped over the line to disrupt the FG attempt at the end of the first half.

It's funny but when it comes to the Mariners I would prefer to have perpetually competitive team without a world series win than I would a one and done world series followed by a fire sale and many years of losing seasons. With the Seahawks, however, I'm not content with a SB followed by years of mediocrity. I think it has something to do with the farm system piece in baseball and the fact that it generally takes years to develop players. It's a much longer cycle than it is in pro football.

mykc14 wrote:Yeah that basically seems right to me. We had a decent start to the Home win vs. the Panthers as well... at least I'm pretty sure we had the half-time lead. That was the game where Kam jumped over the line to disrupt the FG attempt at the end of the first half.

Yes, that Panthers game too was a fast playoff start. I feel like if we get in a big hole early against SF this Saturday, it will be impossible to dig out of it. They have to keep it close until the 4th quarter and wait for Purdy or someone else to make a mistake to give us a chance.

I-5 wrote:
I feel like if we get in a big hole early against SF this Saturday, it will be impossible to dig out of it. They have to keep it close until the 4th quarter and wait for Purdy or someone else to make a mistake to give us a chance.

Yeah, especially with the forecast. Windy and rainy, up to 1.5 inches of rain and 29 MPH gusts.

How well does their field drain?
Are we going to be in another Germany situation?

I-5 wrote:My memory may be failing, but literally the ONLY playoff game I can think of during the Russ era where we started fast was SB XLIX (49) where we scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage and got an early pick 6 from the D. What am I missing?

Edit: I just remembered Seahawks vs Eagles in Wild Card game 2020...that was a rare satisfying playoff win from start to finish. Still close at the end, but a great game esp for DK.

You’re thinking 48. We got a safety then Russell played as perfect a game as any man not named MVP ever did. We didn’t punt until late in the third . Russels offense was as good on defense as the LOB . The divisional that year vs the Saints was a dogfight . The NFC championship was epic , offense handed them the ball on an Aldon smith strip . The LOB holding them to 3 was huge and Sherm won it in the end .
2014 divisional vs Carolina not only featured Kam Bam leaping over the center on back to back kicking attempts but also jumping a route and making a house call from 90. Draft another Kam .Great team game .

That NFC title game Russ was awful , without 2 incredible special teams plays and a hurculean effort by the D we don’t get to see Russ dropping 2 dimes in OT to win with the worst qbr of any playoff game winning qb . Reports were he had some teammates upset he was running around with the tropy and up on the podium like it was all him after the game he had played .
49 made me wish we had lost to Green Bay and that was it for the dynasty .

2015 we beat Teddy Bridgewater 10-9 in 50 below wind chill when Blair Walsh hooked a 22 yard FG as time expired .

The following week on a terrible field we were down 31-0 at halftime off 2 Wilson picks including a pick 6. Lynch fumbled after being out 8 games , stunk it up .

We shut them out second half . Wilson overthrew a wide open Baldwin for a TD on the first play of the half . We wound up scoring a garbage time TD and failing on the onside in a game not near as close as the score .

We beat Detroit the following year then were looking ok early against Atl up 10-3 with a Devon Hester 90 yard return to the Atl 10. Alas a hold on a linemen who was pancaked and just fell down on his back .
It’s Half the distance . Next play Russ gets stepped on by the guard and falls on his ass in the end zone . He didn’t get up in time , a safety . Rout was on .

In the second half he seemed more concerned with Future screaming from the Atl sidelines then playing ball , throwing into triple coverage for a pick to end any chance . Sherman was frustrated by being constantly picked without a call , a huge factor in several Atl plays including a TD

17 we missed due to no fault of Russell’s . He had a great year .


18 went down to the cowboys in the WC . Shottie kept slamming Carson into a wall . Penny had 4 carries for 27 yards but no more touches for whatever reason . Russ cooked second half , not enough .

19 was our last playoff win vs the eagles . Carson Wendz self reported a concussion so we faced 100 year old Josh McCown . Beat him in a game that required Russ high pointing a moon ball to DK on 3rd down to seal the deal .

Against the Pack in the divisional we went down 20-0 in the first half then clawed back . We wound up 4 th and 11 around midfield down a score and I said give Russ the ball and go . They punted .

GB ran out the clock after Graham got a first down on 3rd and long . 2020 was a joke how bad we were against a team we had just beat .

It was the hit too much off-season. And here we are now so let’s see . It hasn’t been a good team in the postseason although it’s good at getting there . Let’s find out about this year

NorthHawk wrote:How well does their field drain?
Are we going to be in another Germany situation?

They currently don’t have it tarped but have huge fans trying to dry it out trying to make room for 1.5 “ of water . It’s gonna be rough but this isn’t avoidable . Munich was . I don’t think it hurts us . We played in it once already . It levels the playing field for an inferior opponent . It doesn’t suit Walkers style or probably McCaffreys either . But it slows a pass rush . Our qb has a bigger arm and throws an extremely tight spiral , important in wind . We need to give Dee Jay some A gap runs too .

It’s an X factor . Let’s see .