Seahawks' limited passing game tough to judge
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — For all the scrutiny that rookie quarterback Russell Wilson has received as the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback, the limited number of times he's thrown has made it difficult to fully assess how the first seven weeks of his career have gone.
Ultimately, Seattle is 4-3 heading into Sunday's game at Detroit and that's the most important number for the Seahawks. Most of Wilson's low passing numbers are by design, with the Seahawks asking Marshawn Lynch to carry the load of Seattle's offense and spotting Wilson's throws when needed.
Lynch leads the NFC and is second in the NFL in rushing attempts with 147 through seven weeks, and is on pace for 336 this season, which would easily be the most of his career. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have the fewest pass attempts of any team in the NFL and are on pace for the least amount of passes thrown in franchise history since 1977, when Seattle played just 14 games.
The Seahawks believe this can be a successful offensive formula, even though it's not the most exciting offense at times.
"There's a lot of good things that happen when Marshawn has the ball. He gets us going offensively because of how strong he is, how angry he runs. It brings some fire to our offense and gets us going," Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "As long as you're moving the chains and getting first downs, that's good. But as you know, it's hard in this league to get 10-15 play drives and finish those drives with scores because at some point you're not going to be make it all the way. ... You've got to have those explosive plays."
The concerns about Seattle's passing game come on the heels of Wilson's worst performance yet. He completed just 9 of 23 passes for 122 yards and an interception in the Seahawks' 13-6 loss at San Francisco last Thursday. Seattle's hope was that Wilson's dynamic fourth quarter a week earlier that led to a 24-23 comeback win over New England would carry over.
Instead, the loss to the 49ers only raised concerns about just how one dimensional the Seahawks offense is away from home. In his four road games this season, Wilson has thrown seven interceptions and just two touchdowns, averaging 164 yards passing and a QB rating of 55.7. In his three home games, Wilson's QB rating is nearly 117, he's averaging nearly 200 yards per game passing and he's thrown six touchdowns with no interceptions.
"He's obviously very comfortable at home, and we have played better at home than we did on the road. We just have to get through that," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
Seattle is averaging 25 pass attempts per game and is on pace for 400 pass attempts this year. In the last 12 seasons, only five teams have attempted less than 400 passes in a season: Atlanta in 2004, Pittsburgh in 2004 and 2005, San Francisco in 2005 and the 2009 New York Jets. Not surprisingly, in three of those circumstances the teams were starting rookie quarterbacks — Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith and Mark Sanchez.
Perhaps surprisingly, the combined record of those five teams was 50-30 with three of those teams winning at least 11 games.
In no way is that an indication of how the Seahawks' season will go. But it's recent historical proof that playing with such a limited passing game can still be successful.
Seattle also has struggled passing in the middle quarters after finding success early in the game. The first quarter, where the first 15 plays are usually scripted, has yielded scores on Seattle's opening drive in the last three games. But that success has fallen off significantly in the middle two quarters, especially in the third quarter. Seattle has thrown for just 198 yards and a passer rating of 59.9 in the third quarter this season, before seeing an uptick in the fourth.
"I don't think we need to go searching for anything," Wilson said. "I think we have all of the talent, all of the right plays and the guys; we just need to make the plays at certain times."
Ultimately, Seattle is 4-3 heading into Sunday's game at Detroit and that's the most important number for the Seahawks. Most of Wilson's low passing numbers are by design, with the Seahawks asking Marshawn Lynch to carry the load of Seattle's offense and spotting Wilson's throws when needed.
Lynch leads the NFC and is second in the NFL in rushing attempts with 147 through seven weeks, and is on pace for 336 this season, which would easily be the most of his career. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have the fewest pass attempts of any team in the NFL and are on pace for the least amount of passes thrown in franchise history since 1977, when Seattle played just 14 games.
The Seahawks believe this can be a successful offensive formula, even though it's not the most exciting offense at times.
"There's a lot of good things that happen when Marshawn has the ball. He gets us going offensively because of how strong he is, how angry he runs. It brings some fire to our offense and gets us going," Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "As long as you're moving the chains and getting first downs, that's good. But as you know, it's hard in this league to get 10-15 play drives and finish those drives with scores because at some point you're not going to be make it all the way. ... You've got to have those explosive plays."
The concerns about Seattle's passing game come on the heels of Wilson's worst performance yet. He completed just 9 of 23 passes for 122 yards and an interception in the Seahawks' 13-6 loss at San Francisco last Thursday. Seattle's hope was that Wilson's dynamic fourth quarter a week earlier that led to a 24-23 comeback win over New England would carry over.
Instead, the loss to the 49ers only raised concerns about just how one dimensional the Seahawks offense is away from home. In his four road games this season, Wilson has thrown seven interceptions and just two touchdowns, averaging 164 yards passing and a QB rating of 55.7. In his three home games, Wilson's QB rating is nearly 117, he's averaging nearly 200 yards per game passing and he's thrown six touchdowns with no interceptions.
"He's obviously very comfortable at home, and we have played better at home than we did on the road. We just have to get through that," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
Seattle is averaging 25 pass attempts per game and is on pace for 400 pass attempts this year. In the last 12 seasons, only five teams have attempted less than 400 passes in a season: Atlanta in 2004, Pittsburgh in 2004 and 2005, San Francisco in 2005 and the 2009 New York Jets. Not surprisingly, in three of those circumstances the teams were starting rookie quarterbacks — Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith and Mark Sanchez.
Perhaps surprisingly, the combined record of those five teams was 50-30 with three of those teams winning at least 11 games.
In no way is that an indication of how the Seahawks' season will go. But it's recent historical proof that playing with such a limited passing game can still be successful.
Seattle also has struggled passing in the middle quarters after finding success early in the game. The first quarter, where the first 15 plays are usually scripted, has yielded scores on Seattle's opening drive in the last three games. But that success has fallen off significantly in the middle two quarters, especially in the third quarter. Seattle has thrown for just 198 yards and a passer rating of 59.9 in the third quarter this season, before seeing an uptick in the fourth.
"I don't think we need to go searching for anything," Wilson said. "I think we have all of the talent, all of the right plays and the guys; we just need to make the plays at certain times."
No need to worry northwest sports fan a 7 and 9 season is well with in the grasps of the Seahawks...
 @Windowseat Completely agree...I feel like the wheels are about to fall off the wagon. We have won some games that in all likelihood we should have lost (GB, NE). Have some tough games on the road and Wilson hasn't proven anything. Everyone wants to praise him...but the Hawks are winning in spite of him, not because of him...The defense can only play lights out for so long. They are not going to get help from our TERRIBLE offense...7-9 sounds about right to me!
I think Wilson is terrible personally. He only has success rolling out of the pocket....and defenses are quickly catching on. He tries to run way to soon and flushes himself out of the pocket. He makes incorrect reads, misses receivers in stride, and can't see the field. Carroll let his ego get in the way....again. Having said that, I would love for him to prove me wrong. The second half of the season will tell us a lot about him....and I hope that they open up the passing game....we need to know what we have...
Flynn this year would be the correct choice...but Carroll's ego won't let him sit./down... Think Wilson IS the QB for the longrun...but figure if we started Fynn, would have won the AZ game, and prob SF game (drops killed us, despite what has been said).Â
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6-1 w/ Flynn, 4-3 w/ Wilson...but Wilson is the guy for the next 6 years +
 @Petes why so stuck on flynn? russell is now the more experienced quarterback lol...Â
 @customerservice  @Petes I think if you watch Wilson play, and then compare the tape with Flynn last year, you will see that:
A. Flynn stays in the pocket, Wilson doesn't (A prerequisite for a QB)
B. Flynn is more accurate (Wilson misses receivers in stride and this results in 2 of his interceptions this year)
C. Flynn has been in the league for 4 years and has a much greater understanding of the NFL (even if it was on the bench, he has 4 years of watching NFL defenses)
D. The most unpopular reason (Flynn is taller. Doesn't anyone ever wonder why Wilson roles out of the pocket on 50% of his passes? Thats the only way he sees the damn field. Case in point was the 49'ers game. He there into triple coverage.....TRIPLE...He looked like a bad high school QB in that game)
I like Wilson...I really do BUT...
With M. Lynch being a beast (despite all the $$ from contract) Give props to Lynch!! Top 3 in rushing yards and good avg...& a top 5 (maybe top 3) Defense= 4-3 record w/ the worst passing game in the NFL??
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Something is not right here: top 3 rushing O, top 2-5 in D= 4-3?? ( Should act be 3-4 GB game)Â
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With that D and Running game "we" should be 5-2 or 6-1...at least one would think, right?
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Still like Wilson, but whats up?
I like the comments below. specificly the one about drafting an athletic wr in the next draft who would be better suited than G. Tate to grab Wilson's long ball. I think someone like Vincent Jackson, who is 6'5" would be ideal, but I would definitely be open to Kearse, who's already part of the practice squad and known exactly for his long ball big plays at UW.
I'd like to see them run Turbin and Washington more, and use Lynch as the power puncher for first downs and TD's
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 @Tacomian Turbin doesn't understand the zone blocking scheme. That's why you see him get dumped in the back field so often. Lynch is one of the best backs in the NFL. You don't take a guy like that and turn him into a short yardage back.
If he can't pass he wont last. Rushing QBs work well in college but not as well in the pros where everyone is big and fast.
One obvious flaw is that he panics too soon when he senses the pocket collapsing...and for QB with happy feet, he's not that fast or elusive. He's like the opposite of T Brady who seem to stay composed in pocket with defenders arms draped all over him. Somewhere in the middle will serve our young QB well.
I think Wilson has a good shot of locking in the starting QB position for years to come. However, he is not quite there yet. His main area of improvement needs to be in showing that he can continuously sustain long drives. Sure he has showcased big play ability, but he needs to show that he can dominate the clock with long drives, score touchdowns on those long drives, and keep the defense off the field (without relying completely on Lynch). It might not be fair, but I've been watching him and comparing him to other Rookies Griffin and Luck. Maybe Wilson just needs more WR weapons. I say we draft or pick up another big threat receiver for next year. Unless Wilson regresses, I say we give him a couple years to keep improving before we talk about ditching him. Â
@Paddy ..well said dude..."we" have not had a good WR since Blades..maybe Jackson = forever!
@Paddy We've needed help at WR for a while now. I'm not sold on Tate, Rice is good but oft injured and Baldwin, while a good posession receiver, is not a deep threat. It'd be great if we could one of those Larry Fitzgerald/Calvin Johnson types. My only complaint about Wilson thus far is he's a little jumpy in the pocket, and tends to roll out faster than he should. That's correctable, though. His arm is a freakin' cannon!
This time is so close to being a championship caliber team. The Defense is there, the kicking game is great, the skill positions are solid and our O-line is finally solidifying. I'm not thrilled with Giocomini (too many penalties and not enough protection) but Wilson can be the QB going forward. We are a much better road team than the past 5 years, at least they show up to play, but great teams win at home and win the games THEY SHOULD win on the road.
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Go hawks!
Wilson's poor performace in SF looks worse than it was. His pick was bad, really bad, and should've never been thrown. But there were 4 back breaking dropped passes, one of them a touchdown, that killed drives and would've changed the nature of the game early on. I think if Wilson can get a bit more consistency from his recieving corps then this team would be dangerous.
 @DudeAbides Did you notice that between halftime and the last 4th down completion that Harbaugh decided to let him have, Wilson completed exactly ONE pass? For negative yards? Blaming the WR's will only get you so far. This passing game sucks, and there's plenty of blame to go around.
It's pretty clear Russell can make good passes and thread the needle. It would help if the receivers could bring in the balls that hit them in the hands. We'd be 6-1 if that were the case.
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I think we need to double his passing attempts. Any question in my mind about his competence has been answered. Time to let him loose.
That puts a lot of strain on the defense. Hopefully the last two weeks isn't an indication of how to beat Seattles defense. Just dump it off over the middle. Seemed to work pretty much every time against the Patriots and Niners.
Go HeeeeHawks.
eeking out wins with the run is a strategy that hasn't worked in the NFL for close to 20 years. Â It leads to a lot of low scoring games, which is fine if you are certain to shut down elite offenses at home and on the road. Â It will be interesting to see if this continues to work.Â
 @Eichler4 Actually it netted a SB championship in the 2000 season for the Ravens....they won with Dilfer as their QB.. He was NEVER asked to do much they won with a running game and great D.
 @Dawgfan67  @Eichler4 As good as the Seahawks D is, it doesn't hold a candle to the Ravens D of the early 2000's. They are not good enough to be able to ride through the playoffs.
@JK15 @Dawgfan67 @Eichler4 ...I disagree, w/ a consistant pass-rush this D is RAD. The Ravens had a vet QB who could give his D a rest and score more then 6 freakin' points in critical games. It's also about time on field, and positions this D has been put into by the O, or big returns/onside kicks..
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Grades:
Defense- A-
Rushing game- A-
Passing Game- C
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Flynn starting= 6-1, w/ more attention (national) about our D...
I still like Wilson. The Seahawks need to start taking the bridle off and letting him do what he does best.
russell's got a cannon, let him use it. the play calling for this offensive unit is anemic and unimaginative. i would love to see the kid air it out a little bit more.Â
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on another note, jermaine kearse did pretty well in the preseason, why not stick him in the slot with baldwin out?Â
@customerservice ...well said. Off Cord (Bevell) needs to GO! To obvious, as said by Custser...