by: Michael Steffes
There are plenty of excuses for why this is, but the Seahawks' offense has been a disaster in 4 out of their 5 games this season. Matt is hurt, Nate is hurt--crap, even Ben Obamanu is hurt. Do I even need to mention Deion Branch? This has done wonders for the Seahawks' opposing defenses. In fact, if you look at the success the Hawks have had running the ball and then consider how much teams are stacking the box, it really makes you wonder what could have been.
Anyway, the offense's problems are causing some major disruption on the other side of the ball, according to this article by Pat Kirwan (thanks Cerjy!). In general, he says that the offense needs to be competent in order for the defense to catch its collective breath and make adjustments. Well, the Hawks offense has been far from competent.
According to this article, the Hawks are in the bottom 5 in the league in 3 and outs:
The worst teams in this category are St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Seattle and Detroit. These teams go three-and-out on 34 percent of their combined drives. Combined record of this reams: 3-27.Ouch . . . not pretty. The Hawks have got to find a way to convert some third down opportunities. Memo to coach: calling a draw play on third and long ain't gonna do it! Obviously there are reasons why, but the WCO was designed to get good offense out of a group with less talent. At least when Bill Walsh created it, that was why.
When a team has a lot of three and outs, they don't sustain many long drives, either:
The Seahawks' offense is at or near the bottom for 10-play drives and 5-minute drives, and near the top of three-and-out drives. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals are close to the top in scoring on opening possession, 10-play drives and avoiding three-and-outs -- all good signs they are going to have a good year as a team.Seahawks fans should have been prepared for the offense to struggle for a few games. Then more injuries struck, and now things look bleak. However, considering Mike Holmgren has rarely presided over such a weak offense, Hawk fans can take solace in the fact that it should improve as players get more time in the system. Once this happens, the team may start to win some games. ~END~
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