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Author: Justin Ordoñez

Seahawks fanatic and otherwise football obsessed individual.
The Spread Will Save the Seahawks, Exactly Like It Did Last Season

The Spread Will Save the Seahawks, Exactly Like It Did Last Season

Okay, so you know when you put that swear jar out and you told yourself every time you swore you would put a quarter in the jar and then, one day, you would be able to buy yourself a new flat screen TV? Well, congradulations, after Sunday’s game, you’ve earned yourself a month-long, Price Is Right-esque European vacation highlighted by a week in Paris, a weekend in Venice, and the running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain—all because the Seahawks lost in the most gut-wrenching way possible. Remember when the Nazis faces melted off during Raiders of the Lost Ark? That is my sense-memory of this game. It was traumatic. Like, Saturday night, I went to bed after seeing the girl I liked cuddling on the couch with another guy, had a text conversation with her the next morning where she told me if we dated she would do it again and I should get used to it, but still the worst thing that happened to me this weekend took place exclusively between 1:00PM – 4:00PM PST.

2016 Seahawks Recap, Week 1: On One Leg

2016 Seahawks Recap, Week 1: On One Leg

Momentarily trapped between the ground and Ndamukong Suh’s foot, Wilson’s ankle twisted around itself like a wrung towel. It left him playing as if he were living on a swivel. At one point, his foot was so flat he side-armed a throw into the dirt. He would later joke, “When I’m 43, 44, 45 years old, that’s probably what I’ll look like out there.”

In the fourth quarter, Wilson’s oft-mentioned “championship mentality” kicked in. He scrambled for four yards and began to walk with a healthier stride. The injury did have a silver lining of sorts. The offense abandoned the bootlegs and the draws and put Wilson at the helm of a shotgun-oriented spread offense, which Wilson used to negate the pass rush and slice and dice the secondary.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Divisional Playoff: Just The Beginning

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Divisional Playoff: Just The Beginning

Any season that ended without a Super Bowl victory was a season that ended on a sour note, and so was the end of the 2015 Seahawks. A slow start put the team in the hole at 2-4, and the loss of Marshawn Lynch put the offense in SOS mode. Bevell changed philosophies midseason, coaching his unit into a pass-first offense. For the defense, the underperformance at the second corner position was a yearlong struggle. Defensive coordinator Kris Richard moved on from cornerback Cary Williams and found stability in a combo unit of Jeremy Lane and DeShawn Shead. These mid-season adjustments put the Hawks on a winning streak, resulting in a double-digit win total for the fourth consecutive year.

If there was any consolation to be had, it was the emergence of Russell Wilson as the predominant young quarterback in the NFL. Having lived up to his new contract, Wilson played at an elite level, whether it was using his hands or his feet. His leadership was flawless, and his work ethic and passion had focused the Carroll-era into the winningest stretch of Seahawks football. Seasons came, seasons past—but a mid-to-late round quarterback who led a team to the post-season in his first four years, including winning a Super Bowl, was a level of immediate greatness only two others franchises had been fortunate to befall. The 49ers got Joe Montana. The Patriots got Tom Brady. The Seahawks got Russell Wilson.

2016, be forewarned.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Wild Card Playoff: Little to the Left

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Wild Card Playoff: Little to the Left

By utilizing home field advantage, the Seattle Seahawks had propelled themselves to consecutive NFC Championship wins. As a sixth seed in 2015, they would have to win out on the road to experience Super Bowl glory. While historically an inconsistent road team, this year’s Seahawks, after losing their first three away games, had actually won out the regular season at San Francisco, Dallas, Minnesota, Baltimore and Arizona. This playoff game was hosted at a locale the Hawks surely remembered, but not exactly how they remembered it. TCF Stadium was home to the Minnesota Vikings, the exact stadium they had played in on December 6th, save on December 6th the temperature at kickoff was 37 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas it was minus-six degrees for this January 10th matchup, making it one of the coldest playoffs games ever.

Cold weather and its effects had been a hot topic. In 2014’s playoffs, the New England Patriots had been using under-inflated footballs during a game against the Indianapolis Colts. Some argued that taking a football from room temperature to forty degrees could naturally-but-not-significantly change its air pressure. If so, then a ball at below freezing temperatures faced far greater challenges than just its inflation. The characteristics of the ball—its feel, weight, and grip—could change so dramatically that quarterbacks struggle to intuitively know how hard to throw a ball and how to put an appropriate arc on it. Likewise, receivers may not correctly anticipate how a ball will handle when caught or may find that errant passes exceed their catch radius. Players who handle snaps faced the same challenges. But, if the cold so affected the football, what it did to the field conditions was worse. Fortunately, this would present no issue during the wildcard game, as TCF had had a hydronic heated field installed prior to the Vikings moving into the facility.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 17: Lockett Goes Light Speed

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 17: Lockett Goes Light Speed

For his efforts as a return specialist, Lockett earned Pro Bowl honors. Seven other Seahawks made the squad. Russell Wilson was the only offensive player to do so, having been the best quarterback in football during November and December. Incidentally, his touchdown pass to Coffman broke the single-season team record. The previous mark of 32 was held by Dave Krieg, who accomplished the feat in 1984. The remaining spots belonged to familiar names. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, an underrated speed guy and sure fire tackler, made it and so did Michael Bennett, the elite defensive lineman. Cornerback Richard Sherman earned a nod, mostly likely for his success in adapting to an expanded role in the secondary. Safety Earl Thomas, by far the best player for the Seahawks in 2015, earned his nod for being a 5’10” human being who played as if he were fifty-yard wall towering along the field. Lastly, safety Kam Chancellor was selected, but the selection was a tad controversial. Chancellor had missed two games due to a holdout and had an iffy year in pass coverage. As it was, after his Pro Bowl selection, he injured his tailbone and missed the rest of the regular season, playing in only 11 games, a career low.

Several Hawks received nods as alternates, including defensive end Chris Avril, who had a superb season, and kicker Steven Hauschka, whose foot was as golden as ever. Also, running back Marshawn Lynch and left tackle Russell Okung were elected. With so many Seahawks on the roster, it was hard to imagine any players being snubbed, but two Seahawks had strong cases. Doug Baldwin earned the honor as an alternate but would have likely been a straight-up Pro Browler had voting occurred closer to the conclusion of the regular season. Meanwhile, KJ Wright was a borderline candidate, finishing the year with 116 combined tackles and four forced fumbles. A player on the rise, Wright’s efforts in 2015 were off the charts, even if he did not produce the sexiest stat line.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 16: One Of Those Days

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 16: One Of Those Days

Sans Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls, the Hawk’s rushing attack fell flat against a Ram’s defensive line that had been long heralded as one of the premiere units in the NFL. Christine Michael put up six carries for six yards and Bryce Brown scarcely ran any better, with seven carries for nine yards. Things became so anemic that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell began utilizing the third down offense, led by former Buffalo Bill Fred Jackson, during earlier downs. While Jackson was only a marginal improvement—2 carries for 11 yards—he did contribute with his pass-catching, giving the offense some presence out of the backfield. If anything, it affirmed the talent drop off the offense had seen at the tailback position, an expected reality given the injury situation, but disheartening to see with a post-season appearance already locked up.

The rest of the offense’s day was filled with plays that should’ve been highlights but ended up being groaners.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 15: Wilson Makes History

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 15: Wilson Makes History

Russell Wilson added another three touchdown passes. Having gone five games with 3+ TD passes in each, and having thrown zero interceptions during the span, Wilson had made a claim no other professional quarterback could make. His hot streak was now not only season transforming, it was NFL history.

The deciding touchdown was taken out of the shotgun and thrown downfield to Tyler Lockett. Lockett had crossed the formation and, at the snap, was being chased by linebacker Tank Carder, who had been obstructed by Jermaine Kearse. Once Kearse was free, he cut inside, taking cornerback Trey Caldwell and safety Tashaun Gipson with him. Lockett simply jetted down the sidelines, and by the time Caldwell had recovered, Lockett had located the ball and crossed into the end zone. Caldwell did lasso Lockett’s right arm, but all it accomplished was making the catch that much more spectacular.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 14: Baldwin Blows Up

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 14: Baldwin Blows Up

Wilson’s primary target was the often overlooked Doug Baldwin, a gritty player and persona who had never complained about the size of his role in the offense and was vocal about his demands that the other pass catchers follow suit. What had led Baldwin’s burst was his running style. Baldwin was able to go off-stride and change direction with precision, oftentimes using shoulder and head movements to disguise his feet. In doing so, he was tying defenders into knots and then blowing past them, where he would be—by no exaggeration of the term—wide open with nary an opponent’s jersey in sight. Against the Steelers, Baldwin put up 145, for a 24 yard/catch average. Against the Vikings, it was 94, for an 18.8 yard average. Against the Ravens, it was 82, for a 13.7 yard average. Out of Wilson’s 11 touchdown passes during the last three weeks, Baldwin had accounted for five. Against the Ravens, he and Wilson added three more.

For his final TD, Baldwin was covered by cornerback Ladarius Webb. Webb, whose slight nudge on Baldwin had prevented an earlier touchdown, had decided he needed a bigger cushion against the speedster. Backpedaling from Baldwin before the snap, Baldwin started at Webb furiously but then laid off the speed while still accelerating and lengthening his strides. The result was like an off-speed pitch in baseball. At the release, it felt like the pitch would come in hot, but it arrived so late that the batter had already swung. In this case, Webb had panicked when Baldwin rushed him and had gotten happy feet, forcing him to leap when Baldwin stutter-stepped to the outside. Webb flopped onto his hands and knees. He was turned so far around that he was able to watch Baldwin complete the catch.

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 13: A Complete Win

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 13: A Complete Win

After an offensive juggernaut against the Pittsburg Steelers, and being 4-1 over their last five games, the Seahawks were resembling the team of yonder. Spending most of the season in a daze, it was hard to know if these point explosions—in the last three contests, the offense had scored 32, 29, and 39—were signs of true development or simply a fluke. The team would be tested once again in week 13, facing another likely playoff team. The surprising Minnesota Vikings, who had amassed an 8-3 record, were winning in a way the Seahawks recognized. By utilizing a smart, tough defense, the Vikings kept games close, and by utilizing their dynamic tailback, Adrian Peterson, they set a slow and suffocating pace to games.

The way to beat the Vikings was not so different from the way to beat the Seahawks. Use the pass to build an early lead and put that great defense on its heels instead of its toes, thereby relegating that great running game to the bench. Victory was only a matter of sinking the Viking defense’s low scoring ambitions, but could the offense deliver?

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 12: The Youth Movement

2015 Seahawks Re-Watch, Week 12: The Youth Movement

The Pittsburg Steelers were in a similar position as the Seattle Seahawks, both had had rough stretches of the season, but had seen a recent uptick in play, and both were battling to obtain a wildcard spot. A victory on this Sunday would put either the Steelers or Seahawks in the driver’s seat. The challenge for the Seahawks was an awesome one. The once elite Legion of Boom had been surgically splintered by quarterbacks who could make pre-snap reads and deliver accurate throws. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was just that, and he was in the midst of an elite season thanks to his chemistry with receiver Antonio Brown. Since returning from injury, Roethlisberger had led the Steelers to a pair of commanding victories, scoring 38 and 30. The Steelers were going to score on the Seahawks, this much seemed certain. A sub-20 point performance from the offense would result in a costly loss. The offense couldn’t just be good—they had to be great. Or more specifically, Russell Wilson had to be great.

* * *

The Seahawks were the top rushing team in the league and had a history of being a top rushing team. With the emergence of Thomas Rawls, and his break-out game against the 49ers, the Steelers decided to send a clear message. Thomas Rawls would not do to them what he had done to others. If the Steelers lost, it would be due to Russell Wilson’s arm. It was a familiar theory. Many teams had had success by selling out to the run and putting the Seahawks in difficult third downs, where the team felt forced to pass. Initially, the Steelers were happy with the plan. While the Hawks had managed to move the ball, the first quarter was a shut-out. A low-scoring game was what the Steelers wanted, but wait…