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Posted - 16/12/2019 : 07:37:42
blindsided earlier this month when the team released veteran wide receiver Doug Baldwin [url=https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com/Tre-Flowers-Jersey]Tre Flowers Color Rush Jersey[/url] , one of the most beloved players on the roster by fans and most..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteField Gullsa Seattle Seahawks communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsSeahawksOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections VideosCoffee and CigarettesGame AnalysisThe Numbers GameCigar ThoughtsFiled under:The Offseason2019 NFL DraftIt’s all about perspective and expectationsNew,94commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareIt’s all about perspective and expectationsJeff Hanisch-USA TODAY SportsFans of the Seattle Seahawks were largely blindsided earlier this month when the team released veteran wide receiver Doug Baldwin, one of the most beloved players on the roster by fans and most productive receivers in team history. That, of course, brings up the obvious questions about who will fill Baldwin’s shoes for the receiving corps, and which receivers will be tasked with replacing the lost production. It’s no secret that the team went heavy at receiver in the draft, adding DK Metcalf, Gary Jennings and John Ursua, and the excitement for those three players among fans is great. Optimism is nothing new for fans, who are expected to be hopeful for the future of fresh additions to the team, but should Seahawks fans be expecting more from this group than from third year players David Moore and Amara Darboh? It’s been more than two years since the Seahawks selected those two in the 2017 NFL Draft, but fans have cooled on them in spite of the flashes they have shown at times because of the holes in their games that have also been shown. Why is it that fans have greater optimism for players that have zero snaps of NFL game experience than players who have at least been in the system and have experience? Why is it, in spite of evidence that Darboh and Moore can at least hack it at a minimal level fans have turned their attention to the rookies? Is it because humans are inherently drawn to the new and shiny? Is it because research shows that negative outcomes are more impactful on the psyche than positive outcomes and fans now have two season of watching their hopes for Darboh and Moore not be fulfilled as they’d expected? Whether that is the actual reason behind why fans are more interested in the rookies than the guys who have been here for a couple of years or not, it brings me to the point about perspective and expectations. Fans expectations for Moore and Darboh appear to have been reset lower after two years worth of evidence regarding their skills and abilities on the field. This is not to say either of them is not good, just that receiver is a difficult position to play and takes time to learn. A third year breakout for receivers is not uncommon, and thus we come back to the idea of perspective. Similarly, many fans are excited about the prospect of Mike Iupati potentially taking over as the starter at left guard, in spite of his injury history. He’s new [url=https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com/David-Moore-Jersey]David Moore Color Rush Jersey[/url] , so fans have hope that he can demonstrate the All Pro form he showed earlier in his career, and fans are willing to downplay the fact that he hasn’t played a full sixteen games in a season since Matt Flynn was the backup quarterback for the Seahawks. These hopes are founded in the perspective of a Seahawks fan whose never seen him miss a game for their team. In contrast, fans of the Arizona Cardinals fan who watched Iupati miss 25 games over the past four years and never suit up for every game in a season are more than happy to see him depart. And this brings things back to perspective, which is key for setting realistic expectations. For example, take a look at the following and see what jumps out most (Author’s note: You’ll need to open the tweet to see the full picture to understand the rest of what I’m about to talk about). That is a tweet that former New England Patriot Brandon Spikes, sent out on the morning of the Super Bowl back in February. Everyone I’ve ever shown that picture to instantly notices one thing, and that is who is in the picture with Spikes. Yes, that is indeed Aaron Hernandez, which immediately leads to the question of why Spikes would tweet a photo of himself with a convicted murderer to get ready for the Super Bowl matchup against the Los Angeles Rams? The answer to that again likely lies in perspective. The 2011 Super Bowl is the only Super Bowl for which Spikes played in. He was with the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and so his Super Bowl memories are from the Pats 2011 loss to the Eli Manning led New York Giants. In short, from his perspective, Super Bowl memories involve Aaron Hernandez, with whom he played not just for the Patriots, but in college with the Florida Gators where the two were teammates for three seasons. To hammer home my point about perspective, though, what jumped out of the picture to me had nothing to do with the teammate in the picture. Take a look at the shoes Spikes is wearing. For the overwhelming majority of fans reading this article, they’ll probably look at his shoes and shrug, but for me, those shoes jump out of the picture. Why? Because of my perspective. One look at those shoes and I know exactly what those shoes are. They’re Reebok Realflex. And they’re not Realflex 2.0 or 3.0 [url=https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com]https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com[/url] , those are the originals, which just happen to be my favorite shoes of all time. I bought a pair in 2011 and instantly fell in love. Over the next year or so I picked up a couple more pairs, and in 2013 I found a half dozen pairs in my size at the Reebok store at the Premium Outlets South in Las Vegas and bought them all. In short, as OTAs wind down over the coming weeks and through training camp in July and August, remember to keep perspective in mind. The flashy new toys that were just recently added may not contribute as much as those who have been working hard while buried on the depth chart. The veteran who had bad injury luck with another team may continue to have bad injury luck with the Seahawks. In short, as fans we’re about to enter into the time of the year when hopes and expectations can begin to far outpace reality as news is hard to come by, but upside and dreams have an inexhaustible supply. What a night.The Seattle Seahawks are 2-1 at home and yet have a negative point differential. No one cares as long as you get the W. They edged out the Cincinnati Bengals by a single point to start September, and they eked past the Los Angeles Rams by that same margin to begin October. These are the Heart Attack ‘Hawks and I hope they pay my hospital bills when I inevitably pass out from one of these games.Alas, I am alive and my voice is still intact after yelling “NO GOOD!” on Greg Zuerlein’s miss. I also have enough rational thought flowing through my head to give you a late night Winners and Losers. WinnersPaul AllenIf not for Paul, the Seahawks would have left Seattle two decades ago. Field Gulls would not exist. This unforgettable stretch of success that has captivated an entire city and significantly expanded this incredible fanbase even at a global level would have never happened. This win was for Paul Allen, and that’s what makes this one of the most memorable victories in franchise history.Russell WilsonI outlined my case for him being an MVP candidate here. He is a marvel. Game manager? Yeah, he’s managing to win games at a really high clip. Take those pejoratives and shove them straight up your collective asses. Since the 42-7 disaster, Wilson has thrown 9 TDs and 0 INTs against Wade Phillips’ defenses, and now he has his first game-winning drive against the Rams since 2012.On the topic of Paul Allen, you saw his emotions pour out in the post-game interview. This meant so much to Russ and it was fitting that he turned in another wonderful performance to guide Seattle to a huge win.Chris CarsonI’d sure have a different placing for Carson if he had dropped that touchdown, which he said he lost in the lights. Instead, he’s an undisputed winner. Another 118 hard-fought yards on the ground and the aforementioned TD. Those fumbles seem like a distant memory now.Tyler LockettFour catches for 51 yards and arguably the greatest touchdown catch he’s ever scored. This is his first year as the obvious #1 receiving option and he’s gone above and beyond to show what a super player he’s become.Will DisslyFour catches for 81 yards and a lateral rush for another 7 yards. Number 88 had 88 total yards of offense and made this ridiculous face mask grab. Dissly’s emergence as Seattle’s second-best receiving option is incredible and unexpected. He has rapidly become one of the most important parts of this offense.DK MetcalfWe got our DK Deep Ball touchdown. Marcus Peters was lit on fire on national television...David Moore...And then David Moore dunked Peters in the toilet.Tedric ThompsonI’d have put him as a loser if not for the interception; Thompson absolutely did not play well as a whole. With that said, you have to praise Tedric for making the type of INT that you would expect Earl Thomas to have made over the years. It ain’t his fault the offense didn’t make that the game-sealing pick. He has been in the doghouse for justifiable reasons [url=https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com/customized]Seahawks Customized Color Rush Jerseys[/url] , I think he has earned some kudos for a remarkable effort.Jadeveon ClowneyOfficially credited with the forced fumble and recovery on that key Todd Gurley turnover late in the 1st half. He might not have gotten a sack but he had several pressures on Jared Goff that forced some bad throws. The basic stats may disappoint in terms of sacks, but as you all know, they don’t always tell the whole story.Jamar TaylorOutside of that one deep ball to Cooper Kupp I thought that Taylor had the best game out of any of the players on the Seahawks secondary. He’s certainly erasing some of the doubts I had about him being the starting nickel corner, and he could’ve had one or two interceptions on the night.Jamarco JonesI thought that losing D.J. Fluker would doom Seattle, because Jones looked out of his depth at tackle in preseason and evidently had never played guard before. All things considered, he was really good in emergency duty. He should be praised much in the way we praised Jordan Simmons last year for his showing against the Rams under similar circumstances.LosersMike IupatiI don’t think there was a worse offensive lineman on the field for either team than Mike Iupati. Even acknowledging the tough task of taking on Aaron Donald, Iupati was penalized for holding three times and gave up so many pressures. That was a rough night at the office for him, and I honestly wonder if Ethan Pocic would not have been a worse option had he been healthy.Jaron BrownThat fumble was absolutely careless on his part and it put the Seahawks in an early deficit. He also may have robbed himself of a touchdown on 3rd and 17 when he abruptly stopped running in a scramble drill. Brown played well against the Cardinals, but certainly not against the Rams. Maybe I should write about benching him and he’ll have a career day next week.That freaking option play on 3rd and 2 Bad playcall by Brian Schottenheimer, bad decision by Russell Wilson to pitch it to Tyler Lockett, just bad all around. They overthought what could’ve been a game-ending 3rd down conversion. I never want to see that play again.Ken Norton’s two-minute drill defenseThat’s three times now this season that the Seahawks have given up an end-of-half touchdown this season, and the willingness to concede underneath routes at the end of the game was just inexcusable. Don’t do that AND give them the sideline. They need to clean this up badly, and while I won’t give it a separate “Losers” tag, the tackling remains abysmal in the second-level.Pete Carroll’s decision makingI didn’t like the OPI challenge on Brandin Cooks. Down by two points, that was an unnecessary risk to take and it cost Seattle a timeout.I’ll admit that I agreed initially with Pete’s decision to go for the field goal on 4th and 1 from the 30. Two weeks ago, admittedly outside of FG range, Carroll went for it on 4th and 1 against the Saints and got stuffed. New Orleans scored a touchdown right after that to go up 20-7. I assume Carroll was afraid of that same fate. It backfired. At the very least, I do not like trying to draw them offsides. Either kick it right away or run a real play [url=https://www.theseahawksfanshop.com/t-shirts]Seattle Seahawks T-Shirts[/url] , don’t do something that has a much lower percentage of getting you a first down and/or points than the other options.Jason Myers and Tyler OttYou can hate on Carroll’s decision all you want, Myers still had a makeable kick. Tyler Ott did not have a good snap, but Michael Dickson got that ball down and Myers had a chance. He just hooked it and that turned into a ten-point swing.RefereesI’ve never heard of Scott Novak or any of his crew, but because several high-profile refs have retired over the past two seasons, there are promotions aplenty. This crew was not ready for primetime. The Rams got away with a blatant false start on their opening drive of the 2nd half, then a delay of game on the Todd Gurley touchdown run. I also thoroughly disagree but otherwise will gladly take that Clay Matthews roughing the passer penalty. Ziggy Ansah was seemingly pushed into Jared Goff’s knees yet that got flagged and cost the Seahawks a TD. You could even argue they erred by not letting Jaron Brown’s fumble play out and then deferring to replay. Other NotesRashaad Penny’s 30-yard catch was a nifty move that even prompted Aqib Talib to hold the shit out of him, and that proved unsuccessful. Good to see him improvise and help Wilson out.Al Woods’ stop on the Jared Goff two-point conversion quarterback draw was so important. Instead of 28-21, it’s 26-21 and you probably get significantly different game strategy the rest of the night. He was also very effective in run support, which is why John Schneider signed him.Rasheem Green had a pass defensed and at least one pressure. I continue to be encouraged by his play in his second season.Malik Turner’s block on the Moore TD was neat. Eric Weddle whined for a flag but I don’t see a case. Anyway, that’s a rare quick screen for the Seahawks that actually worked, and I’m stunned.How about Travis Homer and Ugo Amadi getting it done on special teams? Carroll must love the rookies finding ways to contribute without being a part of the offense or defense.This is going to be an all-timer of an Enemy Reaction. I just know it. That’ll be your Saturday morning reading. In the meantime, I’m going to bed after pressing publish, which is right abooooooouuuuuuuut now.
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