Field Gulls
I mentioned in the preview for this game that a bit of overreaction is natural in Week 1. I believe the time without watching the regular season makes us eager to get angry in case of a loss and excited in case of a win.
Realistically, things are likely to change a lot during the season. They could even change significantly for Week 2 (not that I believe that). So let’s take a closer look at the Seattle Seahawks’ performance in their home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
All data used in this article was taken from PFF.
Things don’t happen randomly. You can’t bet on Anthony Bradford as your starter and expect your OL to be solid. The result couldn’t have been any different.
Ken Walker had barely received the handoff and the defender who had easily passed Bradford already had the RB in his sights. There’s nothing that can be done.
A play in the red zone. The guards have no one in front of them, so their goal is to block the LBs at the second level. Zabel and Bradford can’t execute the block, and the LBs can stop the run.
Jalen Sundell was a standout in the preseason but couldn’t repeat his performance in his debut. On this play, he shows all his explosiveness and speed, getting to Fred Warner, but he can’t sustain the block.
The same old stunt problems continue to recur. Zabel can’t stay ahead of Bosa, and the hit lands on Darnold.
Another season, and Charles Cross continues to have anchoring issues and struggle against stronger defenders.
Abe Lucas allowed two pressures in the game, one of which was the final one that resulted in the loss. I believe he chose the wrong pass set for much of the game, allowing Bosa space to use his speed to power, and the RT is moved back.
If you watch the game without paying attention to the players, you could easily think you were watching Ryan Grubb or Shane Waldron’s offense. An offense without any adjustments and without any sense. There didn’t seem to be a game plan because nothing seemed to have been planned.
The Seahawks called two play-action plays that resulted in a 21-yard gain and a 5-yard run by Sam Darnold. I expected the Seahawks to be among the teams that used play-action the most. That’s the idea Kubiak sold when he said we would be a team focused on the run game.
Speaking of which, less than 41% of plays were under center. He simply managed to complicate simple things, like put his 3rd string QB to run a draw.
An example of this. Notice how much unnecessary stuff happens. He puts Darnold in motion unnecessarily, he puts Kupp in to block an edge… In short, he could have called simpler screens. He tried to create unnecessary additional...
