Nothing sports-related drives me to reach for a strong drink faster than watching the smug Aaron Rodgers smirk his way to a win at Lambeau Field against my Seattle Seahawks.
Yeah, Lambeau Field was the usual nightmarish cathedral of football horrors for Seattle. Russell Wilson’s scramble on 3rd down was marked incorrectly, denying Seattle a first down. Before the first half ended, a bogus holding penalty called against Seattle’s offensive lineman wiped out a chance to tie the score with a field goal. Then, there was the interception in the end zone where the Green Bay defender didn’t complete the catch. (Maybe the referee was too busy trying to get Aaron Rodgers’ autograph to see the ball hitting the ground.) To top it all off, Pete Carroll couldn’t even find his challenge flag for the routine ill-fated challenge.
But the real problem for Seattle was that an imposter was filling in at quarterback.
This Lambeau version of Wilson threw passes that were too high, wide, low…bah, you get the point. All night long, he missed his target in every conceivable way.
The offense didn’t score a single point. Shoutout to Green Bay, though, for calling a timeout late in the game to make sure their defense lined up correctly to preserve the shutout – Green Bay led 17-0 at the time, and I guess a shutout was very important for their morale. Seattle couldn’t score a touchdown in this game even if every possession started in the red zone.
Aaron Rodgers really doesn’t have anything to complain about these days – he plays on a complete team. The offense can bulldoze their way down the field, and then when Rodgers wants to steal some glory, he can flick a pass to Davante Adams. The defense has also performed well against premier NFL quarterbacks (e.g., Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson – well sort of Russell Wilson). Yet, this dude will find a way to make a great situation sound like hades. Go ahead and leave Green Bay, Aaron, I beg you. You’ll find out that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, and the Seahawks are a dysfunctional group right now. No one knows which part of the organization to blame. Some people believe Wilson is washed, while others say Carroll needs to go. The previous offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer paid the price for last year’s offensive woes. Maybe current offensive coordinator Shane Waldron sucks at his job, but are the Seahawks really going to fire him after one year?
One play highlighted the difference between the functioning offense Green Bay employs versus Seattle’s predictable, ineffective version. For those of you who want to see the play, fast forward your game replay to the 12:29 mark during the second quarter.
- Rodgers executes a play-action fake, keeping the Seahawks’ linebacker Bobby Wagner from dropping into covering the middle of the field.
- Green Bay’s slot receiver runs a vertical route to make sure Seattle’s safety stays deep.
- Seattle’s corner, who is responsible for Davante Adams, is playing outside leverage, probably because he expects help in the middle of the field.
- Of course, he doesn’t get this help because A) Wagner doesn’t drop into coverage fast enough. B) Jamal Adams is covering the vertical route. Seattle’s other safety is nowhere near the play.
- Davante Adams cuts to the middle of the field and is wide open for Rodgers. All too easy.
What a beautiful play.
Where are our beautiful plays, Shane?
Instead, we get a Dee Eskridge jet sweep that lost yards right after a previous, ineffective running play.
Speaking of the running game, can Seattle get a running back who can stay healthy and make a tackler miss every now and then? Alex Collins one-cuts his way into traffic. Does he have poor vision, or does he love contact? At least, he can stay healthy enough to play, though.
No one can reasonably expect a franchise to always compete for a Super Bowl, but the organization should have a well-defined plan that spells out how to get there.
What’s Seattle’s plan?
Is it waiting for Russell Wilson to recapture his previous magic because tanking does no good for Seattle due to the Jamal Adams deal, a deal that looks worse as the losses continue to accumulate?
Trade Russell Wilson?
My plan to cope with the collapse of the Seahawks is to reach out to @TheMikeHerndon and get a few suggestions for stocking the liquor cabinet. (I’m more of a beer guy.) Maybe you can leave a few in the comments, too.
Categories: NFL
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