Tonight's Game with Saints

[trents]

Gonna be windy and wet. I expect a low scoring game. Whoever runs the ball most effectively and whoever takes best care of the ball will win.

[NorthHawk]

On paper the Saints have a better RB, better OL, and a better Defense, so they should win tonight.
But the game's not played on paper so a few breaks and who knows what might happen.

[obiken]

But ah, we get to put Karl Mecklenburg's Santa Claus in the ROH tonight! I dont get that one. Oh yeah that was Dave Krieg, yeah I never got that one either!!

[RiverDog]

I did something that I seldom do: Even though I fully expect us to lose, I changed my selection in the Hawkshack Pick-um league to the Seahawks. I've become so disenchanted with our Hawks that I need something extra that would cause me to want us to win. Besides, I'm behind anyway so I need to take a chance and start picking some underdogs.

[Stream Hawk]

Is ugly and not going well. So pete should understand that short passes could have won this game. It ain’t over yet, but it’s the only safe way. Running is not. Obviously. Getting really tired of this dinosaur and his stubbornness.

[I-5]

Give Sean Peyton and the Saints credit, but we got thoroughly out coached and outplayed especially on the offensive side of the ball. Defense played with some attitude at least. Why can't we ever put a complete game together.

[trents]

Ugly, ugly, ugly!

Geno wasting two timeouts. He looked like a deer in the headlights tonight. He got caught from behind in the backfield too many times. I believe Russ would have escaped some of those. Geno is not accurate on the run with his passes like Russ is.

Al Woods jumping off sides at exactly the wrong time.

Jason Meyers missing multiple makeable field goals. He has been as bad this year as he was good last year.

The epitome of shooting yourself in the foot. Sadly, it was a very winnable game.

[EmeraldBullet]

I know there were many contributing factors but that roughing the passer penalty really killed us.

[obiken]

Is ugly and not going well. So pete should understand that short passes could have won this game. It ain’t over yet, but it’s the only safe way. Running is not. Obviously. Getting really tired of this dinosaur and his stubbornness

No, its over. The Cards have a 5 game lead and the Rams a 4 game one. Russ won't be back till week 10. Then we have to play the Rogers and Mighty mouse in a row. 2 losses EVEN if Russ was 100%. OBTWay we have to play the Jags on 6 days rest, our defense against Trevor, not to mention our offense against anyone is not a gimme game.

Maybe River and CBob have a different take, but this game showed me how bad the Saints offense is versus our Defense. The Bucs are going kill the Saints. What do the Hawks do well outside of RW? NOTHING.

[The POPE]

It’s over for the year. Pete is done. Defensive scheme is old and tired. Players are not disciplined. That’s always been somewhat of an issue with Pete’s teams, but until recently there was enough talent to overcome some of the bonehead mistakes. Pete’s insistence on running the ball when the whole world knows you are is unforgivable. Pete had a good run, Hawks had a good run, but short or divine intervention the ride is coming to an end. Russell is too consumed with his legacy to ride this out a couple of years to see if it can be rebuilt and the fact that Pete and John cannot build an o-line worth a dam. To many questions, will Pete stay on if this sh*tter of a year is finally flushed and will Allen’s sister hang on or decide to dump the team. This is turning into the west coast Jets. Total rebuild is coming and even if they traded Russell they are hampered by his no trade clause, thus most likely lowering what the hawks could get for him versus a true open market. The magic is gone, going to be a long dry spell.

[trents]

The Hawk defense was pretty decent tonight I think and kept us in the game. Bent some but didn't break often. The Hawk offense was absolutely inept. There were many opportunities to come out with a win but offense and special teams (Meyers) managed to blow them each time.

[I-5]

Granted, Winston is not a very good QB, but the defense played well...except I blame Norton for leaving Kamara in space for the entire first half. That was frustrating to watch.

[Aseahawkfan]

No, its over. The Cards have a 5 game lead and the Rams a 4 game one. Russ won't be back till week 10. Then we have to play the Rogers and Mighty mouse in a row. 2 losses EVEN if Russ was 100%. OBTWay we have to play the Jags on 6 days rest, our defense against Trevor, not to mention our offense against anyone is not a gimme game.

Maybe River and CBob have a different take, but this game showed me how bad the Saints offense is versus our Defense. The Bucs are going kill the Saints. What do the Hawks do well outside of RW? NOTHING.

I agree with obiken. I envision snow in hell through the now open gates.

[RiverDog]

Good points made by a lot of posters, but like I said in another thread, it's hard to tell how much the weather conditions affected last night's game. Both teams had very poor offensive production despite the fact that neither defense came into the game ranked in the top 10, a reliable FG kicker missed two makeable FG's, and both QB's completion percentages were well below the league average.

As far as it being over, I tend to agree that we're done, this team is dead from the neck up. The Saints weren't that good of a team, neither offensively or defensively. To say that Winston is a pedestrian quarterback gives him way too much credit.

But it depends on your definition. Based on a historical analysis and applied to the current 17 game schedule and expanded playoff format, a 2-5 team has an 11% chance of making the playoffs (cue Jim Mora Sr.: "Playofffs?! Playoffs?! I just want to win a game!") Even a win wouldn't have increased our chances very much, from 20% to 29%, so one could argue that it was already over. IMO that speaks more to the absurdity of the revenue driven playoff format than it does anything else, that a team playing as horribly as we have still has more than a snowball's chance in hell of making the post season.

https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/anal ... -playoffs/

[Rambo2014]

Time to hire the Ryan boys as coaches

[RiverDog]

Bump.

[NorthHawk]

The bottom line is we are not a very good team right now. We might go on a roll and squeak into the playoffs if everything falls our way,
but that would just mean a lower 2nd round pick. We just don't have the talent to compete a a high level even though I like the way the
players gave full effort. We were beat along the LoS on both sides of the ball when it counted so without Russ, we can't really compete.

Pete made a comment that he probably wouldn't be here without Wilson. Maybe I read more into that than what is there but I think it
means Pete is looking for a way out after this year. I think he would stay if this was close to being a championship team but he isn't in
it for the required long rebuild. In the end, it turns out the bad drafting has sunk any hopes of another SB appearance let alone win.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... ll-wilson/

[RiverDog]

The bottom line is we are not a very good team right now. We might go on a roll and squeak into the playoffs if everything falls our way, but that would just mean a lower 2nd round pick. We just don't have the talent to compete a a high level even though I like the way the
players gave full effort. We were beat along the LoS on both sides of the ball when it counted so without Russ, we can't really compete.

I agree. With Russell, we probably win at least one out of those last two games, but it likely wouldn't have made a lot of difference in the long run. This team is more than a player or two from competing for the SB, which is why I advocate that we take a long look at our roster and see what we can do to get some more draft picks. We're a week away from the trading deadline, and there's a lot of teams that might want to pull out all the stops and bring in a player that could put them over the hump.

Pete made a comment that he probably wouldn't be here without Wilson. Maybe I read more into that than what is there but I think it means Pete is looking for a way out after this year. I think he would stay if this was close to being a championship team but he isn't in
it for the required long rebuild. In the end, it turns out the bad drafting has sunk any hopes of another SB appearance let alone win.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... ll-wilson/

I hope you're right. Pete has to go, but after all he's done for this franchise, it would be sacrilege to fire him. I would much rather see him retire, perhaps stay on as an advisor, and turn the reigns over to someone else.

[curmudgeon]

Pete isn’t the only one who needs to go. I wouldn’t want anyone in this administration to be charged with a “reset”. They are inept…..

[NorthHawk]

As Pete has the final say on the roster and personnel, I wonder how much input he has in the draft and FA?
JS might end up taking a lot of the blame but he might not have the same power that most GM's do with Pete saying no to players or targeting players
that John might not really be on board with. I know they have had a great relationship, but if Pete overrules player acquisitions (either draft or FA) maybe
his hands are somewhat tied. We saw him build the roster early in their time here and I'm sure Pete had a lot to do with that, but maybe JS thinks a bigger
rebuild is required than Pete wants to do. There is some evidence that is the case with the philosophy shift from long term building and continuing to build
through the draft to giving away draft picks for who they hope are game changing players. The biggest show of this is the first part of their regime, when
we never had less than 8 selections in the draft and JS being very possessive of comp picks to only having 3 picks last year.
The pieces of the puzzle seem to fit that it's an all or nothing strategy - probably driven by Pete.

[RiverDog]

As Pete has the final say on the roster and personnel, I wonder how much input he has in the draft and FA?
JS might end up taking a lot of the blame but he might not have the same power that most GM's do with Pete saying no to players or targeting players
that John might not really be on board with. I know they have had a great relationship, but if Pete overrules player acquisitions (either draft or FA) maybe
his hands are somewhat tied. We saw him build the roster early in their time here and I'm sure Pete had a lot to do with that, but maybe JS thinks a bigger
rebuild is required than Pete wants to do. There is some evidence that is the case with the philosophy shift from long term building and continuing to build
through the draft to giving away draft picks for who they hope are game changing players. The biggest show of this is the first part of their regime, when
we never had less than 8 selections in the draft and JS being very possessive of comp picks to only having 3 picks last year.
The pieces of the puzzle seem to fit that it's an all or nothing strategy - probably driven by Pete.

I suspect that for the most part, Pete and JS are co-managers that look for each other's buy in as at least on the surface, they appear to work very well with each other. But when push comes to shove, this is Pete's team, and anything and everything football related, including the draft, trades, FA signings, et al, are all his baby. He made that clear when he took the job.

I think you're right that Pete seems more on a win now mission than he has been in the past. It's the only thing that would explain his over paying, both in terms of the trade as well as his signing, Jamal Adams.

[Vegaseahawk]

This is turning into the west coast Jets.

Really dude? C'mon man.

[trents]

Almost there. Jets move over.

[obiken]

I suspect that for the most part, Pete and JS are co-managers that look for each other's buy in as at least on the surface, they appear to work very well with each other. But when push comes to shove, this is Pete's team, and anything and everything football related, including the draft, trades, FA signings, et al, are all his baby. He made that clear when he took the job.

I think you're right that Pete seems more on a win now mission than he has been in the past. It's the only thing that would explain his over paying, both in terms of the trade as well as his signing, Jamal Adams.

NO, that changed a long time ago when PA died. Pete has way too much power and it shows. JS was gone, and then the Hawks ponied up with a lot more money. PC will have to be fired or RW is gone.