On Jan. 9, the Seattle Seahawks were taken down by the Los Angeles Rams with a final score of 20-30 in the first round of the playoffs. It was a collective effort to not get it done at home vs. an injury-riddled Rams team, but somebody will end up being the scapegoat.
Russell Wilson’s performance picked up right where he left off last week with a below average performance, throwing 11 for 27 passing with only 174 yards. Wilson had been on a dry spell for the last six weeks, but still managed to squeak out wins against low level teams. Everyone hoped coming into the playoffs was that the old Wilson would be back, firing on all cylinders. That, unfortunately, was not the case.
In Russell’s second half of the season, he was much more frantic in the pocket and has not been able to find any targets. Wilson’s giant arm and precision on top of his composure in the pocket is usually what makes him such an incredible player, but he continued to get sacked over and over. The Rams sacked him 5 times, compared to an average of 2.72 sacks per game. A franchise quarterback cannot complete less than 50 percent of his passes at home in decent weather in a playoff game and expect to win.
The Rams had a fantastic defense, but Wilson was supposed to be the best player in this game and his team and his offense came up way short. After a truly frustrating end to the season, everyone knows how much potential the Seahawks have with an incredible offensive line and stars like Wilson, Metcalf and Lockett.
Another major flaw emerged when head coach Pete Carroll failed to call a timeout during the 4th down, and the shot clock went to 0, causing the Seahawks to punt. It was a crucial moment in the game that was completely on Carroll. Making those types of decisions in a tight game makes all the difference, and Carroll said he was very frustrated about the outcome.
“We thought we were going to get it off. Honestly, right there, I could have called time out. I realized, I could see it was going, and then I didn’t mind that we were going to have to kick the football, because that was not a bad choice there. We just had to take it,” Carroll said.
Part of the blame can also be placed on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. His hand-me-down offensive philosophy of Marty Ball didn’t against the Rams and has been frowned on in the modern NFL. Marty Ball is a philosophy of football associated with and named after former NFL and UFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. In simple terms, it means a focus on the running game, with passing used only to further the running game. Seattle should consider parting ways with Schottenheimer after this game to try and improve their odds in the upcoming season.
In summary, the Seahawks community can agree that with many great players and regular wins, a lot needs to change if the franchise wants to actually win a Super Bowl, instead of losing in the first round.
