Seahawks Searching for Answers

After failing to clinch the NFC West for the second time in five days, the Seattle Seahawks are in desperate need of some answers. The trouble is this is the worst possible time to have this many question marks.

"Teams that lose in December, if they're lucky to get into January, lose very early in January." - Seahawks DE Bryce Fisher following the Seahawks 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Bryce Fisher is right. December is the month where teams find that extra gear for a Super Bowl run. Right now, the Seattle Seahawks are pulled over on the side of the road waiting for Good Sam or AAA. C'mon, if they can't get the one win they need to clinch the division against the 3-9 Cardinals or 5-8 49ers, what chance do they have in January?

Seattle can, and probably will, win the NFC West. All they have to do is get one win or one 49ers loss, the latter being the more likely avenue, and the Seahawks get to host a playoff game in January. That's how Tim Ruskell and Mike Holmgren envisioned 2006, right?

If Seattle gets to the post-season (I'm wary of a total collapse), they'll go into January ass-first. When teams do that, it's easier for the opponent to push them out.

So what's the problem? Mike Holmgren said this team's identity is "inconsistency", and I agree with him. Last night was a microcosm for this "Jekyll & Hyde" season in Seattle. The execution on offense would be perfect for a few plays, and then a false start would lead to a 1st and 15. Two runs would yield 3 yards and an incomplete pass on 3rd and 12 would bring out the punting unit. The defense would play near flawless football for 2.5 quarters, and then begin their "How Not to Tackle" clinic in the games final 20 minutes.

To me, the most obvious answer to why the Seahawks aren't playing well is "heart". The '05 Seahawks had tons of it whereas this group's cup is empty. A team that plays without heart is going to be inconsistent.

I truly didn't believe that the loss of Steve Hutchinson was that big a deal until Bryant Gumbel relayed what Matt Hasselbeck told him in their pre-game meeting. Hasselbeck stated that last year, the resident policeman in that locker room was Steve Hutchinson. If a player bitched and whined, he'd have Hutchinson in his face. That's a guy who plays with heart. He wants to win, and he knows that bitching about playing time in the locker room isn't productive. Thus far, nobody on this team has filled that void.

The "on the field" impact of the loss of Hutchinson should be obvious to everyone by now. Early in the 4th quarter last night, with Seattle trailing 10-7, Seattle has a 3rd and 1 at the 49ers 27-yard line. Seattle hands the ball to Shaun Alexander going left, which was money in the bank a year ago, and he gets nothing. 4th and 1, Seattle hands the ball to Mack Strong going over the left side and he gets stuffed for no gain. Seattle turns the ball over on downs, which led to San Francisco driving down the field to make it a 10-point game.

In 2005, everyone knew that on those 3rd and 1 downs, Seattle was running "93 Blast" behind the left-side of Hutchinson and Walter Jones. Everyone knew it was coming, but they couldn't stop it. In '05, Seattle was 13th in 3rd down conversions, and 1st in 4th down conversions (they converted at an 87.5% clip). This year, they're 23rd on 3rd downs and 29th on converting 4th down conversion attempts (2-8, 25%).

The poor tackling on defense is another sign that there's a lack of heart on this team. While most of the missed tackles can be pinned on guys looking to make the "knock-out" hit (and whiffing), the fact of the matter is there's too much arm tackling going on in Seattle (and the rest of the NFL, for that matter). How many additional yards did Frank Gore get last night because a defender was trying to tackle him around his shoulders?

Thanks to the injury bug hitting the Seahawks with all its might this season, Seattle knew that they'd be spending December trying to get that "swagger" from 2005 back. To me, it looks like they went back too far and are playing with all the inconsistency of the 2004 team that won the NFC West with a 9-7 record and had so much heart, they were bounced from the playoffs in round one.