by: Chris Sullivan
Well, the Hawks still suck. Hurrah.
After an embarassing performance yesterday, the Hawks season is really down to one question: will this tie the Seahawks' all-time low mark of 2-14? Realistically, our best chance of going out with a third win is against the Rams or the Cardinals (especially if Arizona has clinched its seed in the playoffs and has nothing to play for). I think we should be able to handle the Rams, but who knows anymore?
The Hawks played poorly, no question. I said there were four things that we needed to do to win, so let's see how that went:
- Hasselbeck must play more like a Matt and less like a Tim. Well, he definitely played more like himself, but he was still a bit off. I saw fewer drops from the recievers, which was nice, but other than that Hass still looks a bit off. More than anything he looks easily frustrated, no longer the steely resolved Matt we're used to seeing, but I think that Matt will be back to his old form next year. I said before that for the Hawks to win consistently, Matt needs to be near 65% completion; yesterday, he was around 58% with no TDs and a pick.
- Julius Jones must prove himself to Dallas and, more importantly, to Seattle. Some might argue that Jones did prove himself to both teams yesterday, but unfortunately he proved himself to be something of a disappointment and someone unable to live up to his own big mouth. I like Jones, but his constant talk about being disrespected and having a chip on his shoulder was a rallying point for the Cowboys and their fans. Once he fumbled, he couldn't regain any composure. Morris played considerably worse, however, netting 10 yards on 6 carries for 1.7 yards per carry (versus 3.4 ypc for Jones).
- Trufant and Wilson must shut T.O. down. Well, they did an alright job, and on TO's touchdown it was Peterson covering him (which probably goes as another strike in John Marshall's column). More importantly though, the Safeties and LBs didn't shut Witten down. Romo threw where he wanted to throw, there was rarely a Seahawk near the intended reciever and, let's be honest, Wilson probably had his worst game starting this season as both a corner and kick returner.
- WIN IN THE TRENCHES. Hasselbeck was sacked 7 times. Romo was sacked 0 times. Seahawks RBs combined for 70 yards on 21 carries, while Cowboy RBs combined for 102 yards on 22 carries. The Hawks lost this one big time, and our otherwise pretty good offensive line finally starting showing the cracks we should've been expecting weeks ago. With only our starting OTs playing, Vallos and Willis both showed their inexperience at their positions. Walter Jones had a bad game as well, giving up two sacks to Demarcus Ware (no doubt one of the best rushers in the league, but still). It's hard to believe he wouldn't have fared better with Wahle next to him.
|