Rookie offensive lineman and first-round pick Grey Zabel has been playing like one of the best guards in the entire NFL. After getting his leg rolled up on late in the game against the Los Angeles Rams, it’s possible that we won’t see him for the rest of the season. Mike Macdonald didn’t have an update other than to say it was his knee and they were getting imaging done.
Recently activated Christian Haynes replaced Zabel and within a few plays was knocked back at least five yards into the backfield. Not ideal. Without Zabel, there will be a massive hole at LG that could jeopardize the rest of the season for the Seahawks. We saw today what can happen to Sam Darnold when he’s faced with quick pressure. Zabel’s absence will also slow down an already-hindered running game.
Oh yeah, the Seahawks lost 21-19 against the Rams with Jason Myers missing a 61-yard FG at the end of regulation that wasn’t even in the same zip code as the goal post. Seattle both deserved to lose and played well enough to win. It was a really, really weird game.
Seahawks Droppings
- Get ready for the Sam Darnold shit-storm this week. His 4 INTs were atrocious, and will rile up those who were waiting to see him come back down to earth. Darnold has been turning the ball over way too much this season despite playing like an MVP. Seattle was winning games anyway, but that’s not going to happen against good teams. We all knew that coming in today, so it was disappointing to see the Seahawks continue to cough the ball up.
- Mike Macdonald’s defense recovered from a few early hiccups to play pretty much lights out. They had an early red zone stand, and were faced with multiple short fields from Darnold’s picks. Still, they held Matthew Stafford to 130 yards passing. The Seahawks had no business being in the game with how Darnold was turning the ball over, but the defense actually put them in position to win the game. Seattle’s defense is for real.
- What the hell was up with that first penalty on Devon Witherspoon? The guy made a catch, was never touched, and was going to get up off the ground to try and advance the ball. He didn’t even hit him that hard! Just a ridiculous penalty, in an otherwise pretty clean game all around.
- Coby Bryant had a vintage Peanut Tillman-esque punch out on Puka Nacua to force a fumble after one of the Darnold INTs. He also made a huge second down tackle on the Rams last drive, screaming in from his safety spot to chop down Nacua for no gain. If the Seahawks don’t pay Bryant, someone else will.
- For the first time, AJ Barner was stopped on his version of the tush push. It was a weird execution because they sent the guys in the backfield out wide instead of pushing Barner...
Field Gulls
