Defensive Underachieving Continues

by: Michael Steffes

Many of you have already expressed similar sentiments in the comments, but the Seahawks' chronically underachieving defense reared its ugly head again.

It was so bad that it was almost hard to get a read on whether or not the team's offense improved. The Hawks' offense moved the ball effectively in the first quarter, but were down big early, giving the Giants' defense a huge advantage.

Before I get into my thoughts on the defense, I did notice some positives. The offensive line did a good job today considering the situations they were in. The offensive unit as a whole did an excellent job with blitz recognition and pick up.

The team did a much better job with penalties than in previous games, and the ones that were called early were ticky-tac, from what I saw.

Now on to the defense. It was pathetic. They never got off the plane. They rolled over for an obviously talented and motivated Giants team.

This is not acceptable and heads need to roll. Jennings was expected to grow into a his role as a top echelon corner, but instead he has regressed. It can't hurt to try Hobbs, who showed he deserves a chance in the offseason.

As for the rest of the secondary, clearly there are issues with the safeties. It is hard to tell whether they are out of position or the Hawks are playing a terrible defensive scheme. It was no more evident when early in the third, Sinorce Moss beat Brian Russell with Deon Grant late to provide help.

While the secondary was awful, I think the linebackers were just as bad today. No one could get off a block to save their life. It was Green Bay in January all over again.

I suppose the two things that concern me the most right now are the coaching and the money. Several defenders got big money in the offseason (Marcus and Lofa). While they haven't been the main culprits, they are still suppose to be the leaders of this under-performing unit. I can't help but think that their urgency may have diminished. As for the coaching, something has changed. Whether it is the fact that Mora was named Head Coach in waiting or not, only the people involved probably know. That said, they aren't getting it done. The game plans all the way through to the execution have been poor. That is a symbol of coaching issues. Heads need to roll this week.

The good news, with Washington beating Philly, and Atlanta beating GB, our next four games all still seem winnable. However, Washington and @Miami now seem like possible losses. We can only hope this team has found its missing mojo by the time those games come around.

If they don't figure it out soon, it could be a long season for this team. Probably even more so for the fans, mainly because we know the talent is there, and there is no excuse for this team to be playing this bad. We show up and pour our hearts out at home games out of our love for the game and the team. This team needs to start playing with similar passion. They have the talent. ~END~