Hawks-Eagles Flexed Out of Prime Time

[RiverDog]

For those of you that believe in Prime Time magic, this is bad news. They've flexed us out of the 5:20pm PT time slot and assigned us to a 10:00 am kickoff in favor of the 49'ers-Packers game:

https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/2019/ ... ng-flexed/

On another note, we are 5-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history.

[NorthHawk]

Another 10am start.
I hope the trend continues for us, but the Eagles are a good team.

[Aseahawkfan]

Are the Eagles that good? They're 5-4 and giving up 23.6 points a game. Not sure that is a great team.

[NorthHawk]

They're a good team. And good teams can play great at times.
That's pretty much all I was saying.

[RiverDog]

Are the Eagles that good? They're 5-4 and giving up 23.6 points a game. Not sure that is a great team.

IMO it doesn't matter whether we're facing a team that is 8-0 (Niners) or a team that's 0-8 (Bengals). 7 of our 8 wins have been a margin of a touchdown or less, including the last two in overtime, two wins by virtue of our opponent missing a walk off field goal, and beating a currently winless team by one point, every team in the league is likely to be a challenge for us.

I've never seen a team win as many close games as we have, and across a broad spectrum of both good and bad teams. We've won 2 games by one point (Bengals, Rams), 1 game by 2 points (Steelers), 1 game by 3 points (Niners in OT), 1 game by 4 points (Browns), one game by 6 points (Bucs in OT), and one game by 7 points (Falcons).

[I-5]

I saw a stat somewhere that we've also won 3 games where we were down by 10. I think it's fair to say we're not a GREAT team, in that we don't dominate anyone. But how many cities wish they had a team that knew how to close out a win? That's more than good enough for me, and I think come playoff time, that kind of experience is what counts...especially at the QB position.

[RiverDog]

I saw a stat somewhere that we've also won 3 games where we were down by 10. I think it's fair to say we're not a GREAT team, in that we don't dominate anyone. But how many cities wish they had a team that knew how to close out a win? That's more than good enough for me, and I think come playoff time, that kind of experience is what counts...especially at the QB position.

I agree. Winning close games is a function of having a capable, experienced quarterback, and Russell certainly checks all the boxes. He's entering that stage of his career where he's still physically capable of out running DE's and LB's yet he has years of experience that gives him an advantage over the QB's we've faced in close games, ie Garappolo, Winston, Mayfield, Goff, et al. He is at the peak of his career.

It also helps to have a little bit of luck, like winning both OT coin tosses and opponent's kickers missing walk-off FG attempts. As the saying goes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

[Aseahawkfan]

IMO it doesn't matter whether we're facing a team that is 8-0 (Niners) or a team that's 0-8 (Bengals). 7 of our 8 wins have been a margin of a touchdown or less, including the last two in overtime, two wins by virtue of our opponent missing a walk off field goal, and beating a currently winless team by one point, every team in the league is likely to be a challenge for us.

I've never seen a team win as many close games as we have, and across a broad spectrum of both good and bad teams. We've won 2 games by one point (Bengals, Rams), 1 game by 2 points (Steelers), 1 game by 3 points (Niners in OT), 1 game by 4 points (Browns), one game by 6 points (Bucs in OT), and one game by 7 points (Falcons).

It's a weird year for us. I do think the Eagles are very beatable. We should win against the Eagles, though there is always a chance of a loss with this not so great defense and the fumbling problems on offense. If the defense can finally put something together and our offense can stop spotting the opponent points and yardage, we might get a dominant win.

[I-5]

If the defense can finally put something together and our offense can stop spotting the opponent points and yardage, we might get a dominant win.

I'm suddenly liking our secondary a lot more with Qaundre Diggs back there. He didn't pile up a lot of stats, but that was a huge INT, and he had a couple of big hits. There's no such thing as another Earl, but he's the closest we can get in terms of skills and savvy.

Along with the kind of games we saw not just from Clowney, but Ford and Reed, I feel like this D is going to keep getting better towards the end of the season. You?

[RiverDog]

If the defense can finally put something together and our offense can stop spotting the opponent points and yardage, we might get a dominant win.

I'm suddenly liking our secondary a lot more with Qaundre Diggs back there. He didn't pile up a lot of stats, but that was a huge INT, and he had a couple of big hits. There's no such thing as another Earl, but he's the closest we can get in terms of skills and savvy.

Along with the kind of games we saw not just from Clowney, but Ford and Reed, I feel like this D is going to keep getting better towards the end of the season. You?

There's a lot of good reasons to subscribe to your POV that we've turned the corner, that Monday was the break out game for a defense that has struggled all season. However, it was just one game against a team we knew pretty well. As a matter of fact, there's a report that Bobby and KJ knew Garoppolo's audibles. From Bobby Wagner:

“They’re a team that runs so many different things that it’s hard to get a tendency, but I felt like the last couple of times that we played them, we were able to figure out what they were doing. Because they run so many different things, it’s a game where you have to be disciplined, and you just have to read your keys. It becomes kind of like simple football: Read your keys, and it will take you to the football. Once we started reading keys, me and KJ started hearing the calls and picked up on the checks he was making, and it allowed us to break faster.”

https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/11/13 ... -scrimmage

Even absent this report, I want to see us do it again before I join you in your optimism that we've finally turned the corner. Hopefully it was a signature win and an indication of things to come, but let's re-visit the subject in a couple of weeks when we can rule out the possibility that Monday was an anomaly.

[I-5]

Even if we play well for 2-3 more weeks, it doesn't mean they'll keep it up to the end of the year and playoffs. Don't worry about my optimism too much; I'm not placing any wagers on games or anything like that. I just finally like what I'm seeing on defense this one game, and hope to see more of it.

I like how Carroll puts it when he talks about the kind of resiliency this year's team has displayed:
“You believe that things are going to go the right way. Without that, then you can’t be resilient. You have to believe and trust that there’s a chance that things can turn the way you want them to. This group has been a really positive, receptive bunch. Nobody is doubting anything, nobody is going off in a different direction, nobody’s got their own agenda. These guys are on board.”

[RiverDog]

Even if we play well for 2-3 more weeks, it doesn't mean they'll keep it up to the end of the year and playoffs. Don't worry about my optimism too much; I'm not placing any wagers on games or anything like that. I just finally like what I'm seeing on defense this one game, and hope to see more of it.

I like how Carroll puts it when he talks about the kind of resiliency this year's team has displayed:
“You believe that things are going to go the right way. Without that, then you can’t be resilient. You have to believe and trust that there’s a chance that things can turn the way you want them to. This group has been a really positive, receptive bunch. Nobody is doubting anything, nobody is going off in a different direction, nobody’s got their own agenda. These guys are on board.”

Agreed with your first sentence. It's especially applicable in that our light of the fact that our remaining schedule doesn't contain a veteran, MVP-type quarterback, with the closest one to that characterization being Kirk Cousins.

I wasn't worried about your being overly exuberant. You've always represented yourself as a well grounded fan. I was simply expressing my POV, that I'm one of those "show me" types.

Your quote is classic Pete Carroll. Man, I wish I were a fly on the dining room table as full of chit as that guy is...and I say that as a half ass compliment. Boy, how his style differs from some coaches from the past, like Jim Mora Sr..."We suck!" It's a different era, that's for sure.

But I agree with the train of thought. It's a long season, and teams change, both for the better as well as for the worse. This defense could be one of those late bloomers, with all the newcomers, injuries, suspensions, etc. The good news is that with a 8-2 record, we're in a great position for a playoff run.

[I-5]

Riv, I agree with your assessment that he's full of chit....HOWEVER, his number one disciple is Russell Wilson, who is possibly even more of an optimist than Pete himself, and he's the main guy that's bringing W's for the Hawks when the chips are down. I think when you consider the level of elite athletes that even the BROWNS have, it's really the tiny things that separate great teams from bad teams, so even if I don't subscribe to the rah-rah, I think it's good if some of the players do, and bring it to the field. There is a reason the Browns of the world can't win (last night''s game notwithstanding), and that the Hawks keep closing out tight games.