Take 4: Rapid Reaction to the Seahawks vs. Bears

Your 4 Take, Rapid Reaction to the Seahawks 27-11 home defeat to the Chicago Bears

1) Even for the preseason, this was tough viewing—personally it was compounded by a 2am Big Mac meal order (no, that didn’t help, the fries were soggy).

“Man there just seems to be so many lessons for us right here, there’s a big list,” assessed Carroll.

The Seahawks committed 13 penalties for 92 yards.

They turned the ball over for a touchdown via a Cade Johnson muffed punt.

And the worst side of exhibition football nearly happened: left guard Damien Lewis was rolled up on at the end of a run and had to leave the field on a cart with an air cast around his right knee. Thankfully, Carroll told reporters afterwards that Lewis only suffered a lateral ankle sprain with all of the X-Rays negative: “We were very, very fortunate there.”

In the meantime, Seattle will now lean on Phil Haynes at left guard and Gabe Jackson at right guard. What once looked like quality interior depth is now a bit short, with options like Greg Eiland or Jake Curhan in the backup mix.

You could definitely tell this was an ultra-short week for Seattle with over 20 players not dressing—Louis Riddick kept making a point of that on the broadcast—and a last Saturday night flight from Pittsburgh on the bodies. “That’s no excuse,” Carroll said in his press conference.

2) The messiness leads nicely into point 2: Geno Smith was not all that bad.

The other 10 on offense did not help their quarterback enough.

“He did okay,” assessed Carroll. “You know, we needed to come through, we needed to help him a little bit. You know we needed to make the plays around him too.”

His 10 out of 18 for 112 passing yards stat-line looks a lot better when you factor in that Seahawks receivers had 6 drops, 4 on perfect throws and 2 on catchable throws. “We’ve got to catch the football better,” Carroll stated.

Meanwhile, the offensive line had 5 penalties that handicapped drives.

Smith did have some narrow misses on dig routes, an area of the field he is typically accurate in. It’s hard to tell what exactly is to blame here, but the quarterback did appear to be throwing the football harder and away from his receivers. There was room for better timing and touch.

We need the tape to evaluate Smith’s game properly. We must also remember that the Pittsburgh All 22 showed Smith to be near perfect in his quarterbacking of Seattle’s offense, with two moments of overcaution the only slight dings.

“He’s running the show well, you know he’s doing okay,” said Carroll.

The real concern was Smith entering the field in the second half with a big ice pack around his right knee. After the last sack, the quarterback did rise off the floor gingerly. Carroll described the injury as a “bursae, like a bruised knee.” It sounds like Geno will be okay.

With the quarterbacks, it’s also worth noting that they have been throwing to receivers like Freddie Swain, Penny Hart, and Bo Melton. “We need DK, and Lock, and the fellers out there,” Carroll said of the higher receiving strings of Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Marquise Goodwin, and Dee Eskridge. “We need those guys to come through if he’s going to be good.”

The competition is still on: Carroll mentioned how Drew Lock will get the chance to play a significant amount of football versus the Dallas Cowboys in the third and final preseason game.

I’m still curious to see how he plays with us, yeah I am,” said Carroll. “And he’s done enough good things, he’s got some real stuff to him and some real exciting ability and playmaking stuff that you will see when he does get his chance eventually.”

3) Pursuit angles, tackling and special teams continued to be poor.

Pete Carroll was upset about the first two in his sideline interview with Laura Rutledge. And the Seahawks head coach should be, given he identified these as areas that needed dramatic improvement following the loss in Pittsburgh.

“We gotta clean some stuff up with our guys and if they don’t get it right then they won’t be able to be here,” assessed Carroll. “You know, we’ll get some guys that can.”

The special teams factor speaks to a worrying depth issue in Seattle.