It’s Definitely Time to Panic for the Seattle Seahawks

By Curt Popejoy | Oct 13, 2015

Going into Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Seattle Seahawks knew the game would be tough. After all, the Bengals were undefeated going into the game, and one of top teams in all of the NFL. But c’mon, this is the defending NFC champions. However, when the clock hit zeros, the Seahawks once again found themselves on the wrong side of the ledger and are now staring up the much of the NFC, and it is time to worry.

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Sitting at 2-3, the Seahawks are tied with the St. Louis Rams, and both trail the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals who are sitting pretty at 4-1. Had Seattle been able to squeak by the Bengals, this wouldn’t look nearly as daunting going forward.

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But what’s going wrong? And can it be fixed? Well, the answer to the first question really has two answers. First, there’s the problem with the offense. That problem is the offensive line continues to put quarterback Russell Wilson in harm’s way. The Bengals sacked Wilson four times and hit him 10. It is getting to the point that when you watch Wilson in passing situations, he is vacating clean pockets. That’s panic, not poise.

One of the strengths of Wilson’s game has been his poise. Getting the yips because you are afraid the offensive line won’t hold up, shows a lack of confidence in his front. And leaving a clean pocket and scrambling just opens Wilson up for bigger hits. Additionally, when Wilson works on the run, he is again failing to target tightend Jimmy Graham.

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This week Graham only had five targets. Not terrible when you consider that Wilson only attempted 23 passes, but his lack of production continues to be indicative of a disconnect between he and Graham. Nevertheless, Wilson has plenty of targets to throw to, but his offensive line is letting him down.

Now we turn to the defense. The Bengals took every opportunity to pick on cornerback Cary Williams. Normally head coach Pete Carroll isn’t one to panic, and rarely deviates from his plan. He chooses to force opponents to adjust to him.

However, on Sunday things were bad enough that Seattle broke form and had star cornerback Richard Sherman shadow Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green in coverage.

Typically, the star cornerback lines up to the defensive left no matter where the opposition puts their top receiver. And traditionally this has worked well. Seattle creates enough disruption up front, paired with Sherman shutting down a lesser receiver, and the quarterback often has to force a throw.

If Sherman is getting out of his comfort zone, that reduces his effectiveness, and that weakens the entire defense. That means Williams needs to get his mind right and be the cornerback from the first couple of weeks of the season, and not the last one.

In the final analysis, this team should be in full panic mode. After trading away one of its best offensive linemen, the line is struggling, and they haven’t adequately replaced the defensive backs lost via free agency. As the defending NFC champs, they get every team’s best effort, and right now that is winning.

The trade deadline is approaching, and Seattle should give serious consideration to making a move to improve one of these areas before they fall too far behind the Cardinals and just can’t catch up. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, and so now is not the time to just stand pat.

Next: What's wrong with Jimmy Graham?

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