Takeaways: Seahawks Suffer Crushing Loss to Colts

By Jackson Safon

A 38-24 loss on the road to a playoff team is not a bad loss. I repeat, it is not a bad loss. The immediate reaction from many Seattle sports fans is panic, but this should not be the case. The Colts were a playoff team last year and are even better this year. Plus, to have been 4-0 going into the game is probably better than expected, so as I saw it put multiple times on Twitter, the Hawks were “playing with house money.” Having a record of 4-1 through five games would have been considered a success before the season, so the Hawks didn’t have much to lose. However, they eventually lost the game and lost their position as the top team in the NFC. This being the first loss of the year, the takeaways are more important than ever.

 

1. The Legion of Boom is mortal

The defensive backfield got torched. It may have been only 229 yards and two touchdowns, which is not nearly the most they will allow this season, but they got torched nonetheless. Whether it be the 73 yard touchdown to T.Y. Hilton or the consistent third down conversions to Reggie Wayne, Andrew Luck and the Colts sliced through the Seahawks pass defense like a hot knife through butter. It is important to remember that the defense cannot play perfect every game and they will learn from this. Obviously letting up consistent big plays like they did today can’t be tolerated the rest of the season, but the good news is that the Legion of Boom is not only talented, but smart as well. They will study the tape like no other and learn from this. I do not expect mistakes of this magnitude for the rest of the season.

2. The boys are back
Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons are back and better than ever. This was Irvin’s first game of the season after a four game suspension and although it was Clemons’ third game back, he has still been working to get back to full strength from his ACL injury. Irvin made an impact from the get go with a tackle for loss on the second play and a sack later in the game. Clemons made an impact later in the game as well with a huge sack-fumble on Andrew Luck. With Clemons getting back into the swing of things and Irvin returning from injury, the defensive front is now fully healthy. This group will only continue to improve as they continue to work together, and a unit lead by Clemons, Irvin, Avril, and Michael Bennett is going to be a fantastic one.

Bruce Irvin played well coming off a four game suspension.

ESPN.com

3. The offensive line play is improving
With the Hawks still missing their starting center and both starting tackles, the offensive line is still depleted, but the group played considerably better than last week. Granted, last week they played a stout Texans defensive line, but as a whole the Hawks offensive line played better. Wilson had much more time to work which allowed the passing game to flourish much more than last week. Wilson had a career high in rushing yards, mostly on scrambles, which would imply that the offensive line wasn’t giving him much time, but I wouldn’t necessarily agree. There were simply lots of openings for Wilson to run and I am extremely encouraged by the offensive line play going forward.

Thanks for reading and follow us on Twitter @seasportssoup! Like us on Facebook as well. Keep checking back for more updates!

Round 1: Seahawks Playoff Breakdown

The Seahawks completed a very successful regular season, finishing with an 8-0 record at home en route to an 11-5 overall finish. This was not quite good enough to win the division, but was strong enough to earn the Hawks the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs. The rest of the seeding is as follows.

1. Falcons (bye)
2. 49ers (bye)
3. Packers
4. Redskins
5. Seahawks
6. Vikings

This means that in the first round, the Seahawks draw Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. Because the red-hot Redskins won their division, they get to play at home and the Hawks will have to go on the road, where they went only 3-5 in the regular season. That being said, the Seahawks have been playing much better on the road recently. Both teams are considered a tough out in the playoffs because of their current winning streaks, and strong rookie quarterbacks.

RGIII will look to make some plays against the Seattle Defense. He is coming off an injured knee, although he looked good last week against Dallas.

US Presswire

The NFL is a league based on matchups, and those become all the more important in the playoffs when every game is win or go home. The Seahawks and the Redskins have a very intriguing matchup, because of their similar offenses. Both teams have mobile but accurate quarterbacks, have an above average run game, and have used the read option as a dangerous weapon in recent weeks. While most people would consider the rookie quarterback the most dangerous part of the Redskins offense, surprisingly, that is not quite the case. RGIII is an excellent runner who can keep defenses from over-playing the pass. But he has help as well, big help in the form of running back Alfred Morris. Morris and RGIII have combined to lead the Redskins to the number one rushing attack in the NFL, and scored 28 points against the Cowboys last week while managing only 100 yards passing.

These two rookies the key to their offense, as everybody now knows. Not only do they eat up yards, but they set up the play action very well for Griffin. The play-action works so well, that Robert Griffin III is in the top five in the entire league in completion percentage, yards, and touchdowns from the play-action. To counter, the Seahawks have the best defense in the NFL right now, and have the personnel to stop the run and the pass. With previously suspended cornerback Brandon Browner back, and top cover-corner Richard Sherman, the Hawks can leave their two corners isolated on the outside, leaving more defenders to help with the run game. Sherman and Browner can shut down any pair of receivers, which allows safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas to play a bigger role in stopping the run. I believe that the Seahawks have the perfect defense to slow and potentially shut down the potent Redskins offense. One thing to keep an eye on in this game is how well RGIII’s knee holds up. That could hurt the Redskins at times.

The Legion of BOOM will be on their "A" game Sunday with the addition of Brandon Browner back into the lineup.

The Seahawks have an advantage on the offensive side of the ball as well, because the Redskins defense lacks playmakers. Without injured pass-rushers Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo, the only star defenders on the Redskins are cornerback DeAngelo Hall and linebacker London Fletcher. The Seahawks will be able to use their up-front skill at the receiver position and read option (a type of run in which the quarterback “reads” one of the defensive players and decides whether to keep it himself or give it to the running back) to exploit the weaker defenders on the Redskins and come up with big plays on offense. Along with a successful special teams unit, I would say that the Seahawks have the advantage on every side of the ball against the Redskins.

The only thing stopping the ‘Hawks, is the fact that they have to travel cross country and play on the road, a situation in which they have not been very successful at this year. However, the game is on a Sunday which means that the Seahawks will get an extra day of rest, but so do the Redskins. Taking all of these factors in to consideration, I predict that the Seahawks will pull out a relatively tough victory against the Redskins, winning 27-23.

A victory against the Redskins would mean that the Seahawks would play either the Falcons or 49ers in the second round of the playoffs, depending on who wins the other wild card game between the Packers and Vikings. I believe that the Packers will be able to defeat the Vikings because of their powerful home field advantage, and the fact that I just don’t think Christian Ponder will be able to outplay Aaron Rodgers two weeks in a row. This would mean that the Packers would go to San Francisco to play the 49ers, and we would go to Atlanta to play the Falcons.

The Seahawks have a long road ahead of them and will most likely be seen wearing these jerseys throughout the entire playoffs.

AP Photo/Mike Groll

While many people don’t believe in Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, I believe that they are legit, and that they have a chance to go far in this year’s playoffs. Still, I think the ‘Hawks match up very well against the Falcons dynamic passing attack because of our incredible defensive backfield, often referred to as the “Legion of BOOM.” I think Sherman and Browner will be able to contain dynamic Falcons receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones, which would allow the rest of the defense to focus their attention on tight end Tony Gonzalez and running back Michael Turner. The Hawks have the perfect defense to take away quarterback Matt Ryan’s top three options, and I believe they will come out of that game with a victory as well.

If the Seahawks could beat the Falcons in the second round of the playoffs, they would play either the 49ers or Packers in the third round, both of which are teams we have beaten earlier in the season. Both of those games were played at Century Link Field, but if the ‘Hawks had already won two straight playoff games on the road, I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t win one more against a team that they have already beaten. While it would be a difficult road, winning three straight road games, I would not be surprised, and in fact I would even predict the Seahawks completing such a task and getting to the Super Bowl. It will be a fun playoff run.

Thanks for reading and follow us on Twitter @seasportssoup! Like us on Facebook as well! Keep checking back for more updates.

Jackson

Oh, and here's something to leave you with on this first Tuesday of 2013. Enjoy it.