Punched in the Mouth

by: Mike Parker

Mike Sando hit the nail on the head today in this post, in which he recaps Julius Jones' statement before yesterday's game about needing to "hit the Giants in the mouth." The approach Jones took before the game would've been a great way to attack the game, if only the rest of the team looked like they cared enough to follow suit.

From the opening touchdown scored by the Giants, it looked as though Seattle had inexplicably given up. The secondary let everything happen right in front of them, giving up 20 and 30 yard plays to a Giants receiving corps missing its top player in Plaxico Burress. The whole time I sat there completely slack-jawed at the shocking amount of apathy in the Seahawks' secondary, wondering if this really was the same unit that allowed the fewest number of touchdown passes in the league last year. I couldn't believe what I was watching, and I didn't want to.

A few things that rattled around in my head in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter:


-Remember in Week 1 before the team flew out to Buffalo when Jordan Kent, Logan Payne, and Courtney Taylor--the young group of unproven receivers--were referring to their unit as "the mystery group?" I now think the defense has stolen that moniker away from them, due to their horrendous play that may redefine the very word "mystery."

-Why haven't these linebackers played to their potential? I saw more failed tackles yesterday than I'd ever seen this team attempt. Shockingly enough, almost all eleven players were guilty of this at some point.

-Is Deion Branch made of glass? I understand he's an undersized receiver who played against a very physical secondary yesterday, but I'd really like to see him play more than 17 minutes without getting hurt again. Bobby Engram looks like he's going to carry another heavy load, but if there's one player I have the utmost faith in, it's him. He's already proven what he can do, and it's one of the silver linings I took from yesterday.

Speaking of silver linings:

-The running game, though stifled yesterday, still looks rejuvenated compared to last year. Julius Jones threw himself through holes and gained extra yardage, showing a subtle hint of a swagger that the rest of the team was sorely and obviously lacking. Jones puts out a commendable effort every time he gets the ball.

-The offensive line did an adequate job of holding off Justin Tuck and company,with the exception of the play on the opening drive that gave everyone the scare from hell. The rest of the time, however, I thought the line looked decent, especially considering the fact that they were overmatched the entire time by a very stout NY defensive line. Here's hoping Matt's hyperextended knee isn't anything more than that. MRI results on that will be back sometime today, Holmgren said.


Overall, this was quite clearly the most disheartening and embarrassing performance I've probably ever seen this team put forth. What's frustrating to me, most of all, is the fact that these players are far better than the level at which they're currently playing. They're underachieving to a point that completely baffles me, and like I said before, I'm amazed that these are the same eleven guys who allowed the fewest touchdown passes in the league last year. What happened?

Blame can be spread across the board, of course, but I'm not going to point fingers. A loss is the team's fault, just as a win is to the team's credit. Regardless of the beating we took yesterday, I still have hope for this team. I still see glimmers of the greatness that could be, but the glimmers are buried beneath a lot of obstacles this team absolutely needs to overcome to keep this season alive.

To elaborate a bit on what Julius Jones said about being punched in the mouth, you always have a plan until you get hit. Undeniably, the Seahawks have been hit. What matters now is how they get up again. -END-