by: Michael Steffes
One thing that I think seems to be a point of confusion among Seahawks fans right now is who is to blame for the poor performance this season?
Some seem to be taking the side that it is the players' fault. "Trade Jennings" and "Bench Russell" are some of the sentiments expressed in the comments. Also, many seem to think the problem is a coaching issue. The bloodthirsty Seahawks faithful were also calling for the heads of John Marshall and Jim Mora in the same threads.
So, how do we determine whether or not this is a player issue or a coaching issue? That is a very good question. It is probably a combination of both.
Here is why I am a bit hesitant to blame the players. On the defense, the Seahawks have a unit composed of numerous big-name players with good track records. That does not mean they aren't subject to their play eventually declining, but it was less than a year ago that this defense was considered one of the franchise's best ever. They are not right now, but it would be unreasonable to assume that all of the players regressed so quickly to make this current situation a reality. Thus, coaching and/or motivation has to be involved.
Every year is a new year and adjustments need to be made. Let's look at a few specific examples:
- Kelly Jennings has clearly not taken his performance from last year and improved on it, which is something we all expected him to do. This does not mean he can't still get it together. Anybody else remember Marcus Trufant's third year struggles? Persevering through them helped make him a Pro Bowler. It could be that Jennings has to take a step back before that big leap forward.
- Lofa Tatupu simply has not been himself this year. Could be the headset, could be the knee and hand, but it's hard to say. However, Lofa is too young to be in decline. One could ask if the big contract is affecting him--how could it not be? It may take some time for Lofa to re-adjust his motivations. Maybe now he feels more pressure to perform than he ever has?
- Rocky Bernard is not the same Rocky we have seen in recent years. Many expected Rock to be playing for a contract this year, but he has struggled. There is a chance he isn't physically right after having offseason surgery for the second year in a row.
My point is this. These things happen to every team. There are ebbs and flows. The coaching staff has not yet adjusted to these changes in the performance of key players. That is where I fault them. Mike Holmgren has taken his offense and clearly made adjustments to survive with the personnel issues he has faced. The defense seems to feel that the status quo will work. It hasn't. The same vanilla scheme is not getting the same results anymore.
Not only have teams probably figured out the holes in the scheme, but they are also exploiting its weaknesses. What is hopefully being done this week is an honest and thorough SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. We need to find out what is being done well, what is being done poorly, what situations are they not taking advantage of, and how teams are exploiting their weaknesses. Then they need to use this self-knowledge to adjust the scheme.
This team has quality personnel. They have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball. However, they simply are not excited about playing defense right now. Maybe part of the problem is their own personal motivation, or maybe they don't really believe or buy into the game plan each week. Figuring out these problems is not the highest priority. Whatever the deal is, the defense isn't working. Now is the time to try something different, if only for the reason it may get a different response from all those star players who are currently underperforming. Right now, both the players and the coaches share the blame.
However, if these problems continue, it may be time to admit that having Holmgren on his retirement tour has been a bitter failure. Even if it isn't him, the team's problems could rest with those coaches currently on staff who are sure to follow him out. ~END~
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