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browna · 01-14-2013, 12:57 AM

A plethora of thoughts from the game a few hours later...still tough to digest.

-Missed Clemons big time. 1/3 of Seattle's seasons sacks out of the lineup. Only pass rush was secondary blitzes, the first caused the first Ryan INT, but was sparse after that. No sacks, few knockdowns of Ryan. Never heard Irvin's name called, plus Atlanta ran at him and got a lot more yards then Seattle gives up.

-Lynch first half fumble was a huge turning point. Ryan had just thrown an INT, and Seattle was moving the ball down the field ok, and almost in FG range if he didn't fumble it. It let Ryan off the hook, and took a potential 3 points off the board...so instead of 3-3, it was 10-0 a few minutes later and Ryan had confidence instead of doubting himself.

-Gonzalez was going to be the factor that Seattle had to stop, knowing that the WR's were covered up pretty good, and they didn't...3 or 4 big 3rd down conversions in the first half, a TD, and the late catch. All big plays.

-Browner and Sherman and SEA secondary were more or less effective as possible on Jones and White. Sherman with some knockdowns, Thomas with a good game. Sherman got feet tangled as he was closing on White on the TD bomb. Unfortunate, but not like he was torched.

-Going for 4th down. Understand the reason, and tried to trick the Falcons with Robinson, but the wrong call.
-Wilson not throwing the ball away with no timeouts

-Either of the above two plays go for an easy FG, Seattle wins. Often you can say "well, if they scored, then the rest of the game plan and play calling for both teams would change". I don't think so..20-3 vs 20-0 at half wouldn't have changed the game plan. Credit to Seattle for sticking with the plan..no 4th down gambles after that point or starting to just chuck the ball and hope; just sticking with the game plan and getting success in the 2nd half by doing what they've been doing the last 2 months...good planning, and solid execution.

-Second half started with fluffy soft defense from Atlanta allowing Seattle to rip off 15-20 yard plays and not hitting guys. Tate and Miller with 100+ years each, both with 18 yard averages. Miller huge again for second week in making crucial plays, finishing with 142 yards.

-Seattle responded well after ATL's 3rd quarter TD with yet another long drive...this is the way Seattle was playing the last 2 months, always in control of themselves and confident...something haven't seen from this team in a long long time. Full credit to the coaches and Wilson.

-Inevitable, you knew Ryan was going to start getting the food lodged in his throat...sure enough, throws up a floater the play after Seattle sniffed out the reverse to White, and Ryan looked impatient, and then made the mistake. Game on with the Thomas INT. 2 minutes later, its a one score game thanks to a great run by Turbin and more poor Atlanta soft defense.

-Credit to Seattle line...one false start, and no holding calls I don't think. Wilson never used the read option which is odd. He had a good day running, but that was not by choice, just his usual scrambling abilities.

-Final drive, great play by Lynch to go 20+ yards. Then the TD run...if he fumbled that and Unger picks it up, Seattle doesn't get the TD but ball on goal line, with clock still ticking. Would have likely run down clock some more, and not left ATL with 31 seconds.

-The last 31 seconds will haunt the team and fans for a while. Seattle fans saw this vs the Bears, after Wilson lead them back to take a 3 point lead back a few months ago. Two plays in under 30 seconds, one long one and then a short one, setup CHI in field position for the game tying kick, which they made. Seattle won that game, but the defense was poor. Far too much zone. Same thing here...had Wagner a LB cover 3rd reciever Harry Douglas, and the rest of the secondary was pushed too far back by White, Jones, and Gonzalez. Far too much yards to give up. Then, 18 more yards to Gonzalez, who fought for an extra 3 or 4 yards. Then, Carroll trying to ice the kicker...haven't heard his reasoning for that post game, he said a few times during the year he wouldn't do that. Of course, he missed the practice kick and made the real one.

-The squib; shame Seattle didn't pick it clean, it would've given them 2 or 3 more seconds on the clock and maybe 2 or 3 more yards. If they made a 7 or 8 (or longer gain), and had it at a 50 yard kick. However, without the regular kicker Haushka (thanks crappy Fed Ex field last week), it would've been a 65 yarder and that's too far for a guy in Longwell who's career high was 55....6 years ago. Haushka may not have had the range either, but I guarantee they would've tried it...and imagine that finish.

Not to be in the end. But no reason to hang heads if Seattle...all told, Wilson caps off the year with a new playoff passing yard mark for a rookie at 385 yards. 60 yards running. An incredible 10 for 11 in the second half...the only incomplete pass was the hail mary as time expired. Clutch.

Almost 500 net yards for the Seahawks. Would've been the largest comeback in a playoff game (and would've been down by 20 twice) in 55 years...31 seconds, or a 1st half "meaningless" FG away.

It looked grim in the first 30 minutes, but never, after watching this team do what it has and turned into this year, seem impossible. The game planning, but more importantly the execution of Wilson and the confidence the players have in him (and thus make them better), cannot be overstated. With Seattle moving the ball ok in the first half, anything was possible in the second half with some luck and Ryan's and ATL's playoff confidence...but you knew that missing 3-9 or more easy points in the first half, may turn up big, and that was the case.

Will be interesting to see the comments in the next few days...and where this team goes from here. You'd like to think only up, as the talent is there as is the youth. A home playoff game or more would've had this team, but silly losses to crap teams like ARI, MIA and DET earlier in the year sealed that.

A post-mortum of this incredible season and a look ahead, in another post later on, for those few who care.

01-14-2013, 12:57 AM	#157
browna Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Calgary Exp:	A plethora of thoughts from the game a few hours later...still tough to digest. -Missed Clemons big time. 1/3 of Seattle's seasons sacks out of the lineup. Only pass rush was secondary blitzes, the first caused the first Ryan INT, but was sparse after that. No sacks, few knockdowns of Ryan. Never heard Irvin's name called, plus Atlanta ran at him and got a lot more yards then Seattle gives up. -Lynch first half fumble was a huge turning point. Ryan had just thrown an INT, and Seattle was moving the ball down the field ok, and almost in FG range if he didn't fumble it. It let Ryan off the hook, and took a potential 3 points off the board...so instead of 3-3, it was 10-0 a few minutes later and Ryan had confidence instead of doubting himself. -Gonzalez was going to be the factor that Seattle had to stop, knowing that the WR's were covered up pretty good, and they didn't...3 or 4 big 3rd down conversions in the first half, a TD, and the late catch. All big plays. -Browner and Sherman and SEA secondary were more or less effective as possible on Jones and White. Sherman with some knockdowns, Thomas with a good game. Sherman got feet tangled as he was closing on White on the TD bomb. Unfortunate, but not like he was torched. -Going for 4th down. Understand the reason, and tried to trick the Falcons with Robinson, but the wrong call. -Wilson not throwing the ball away with no timeouts -Either of the above two plays go for an easy FG, Seattle wins. Often you can say "well, if they scored, then the rest of the game plan and play calling for both teams would change". I don't think so..20-3 vs 20-0 at half wouldn't have changed the game plan. Credit to Seattle for sticking with the plan..no 4th down gambles after that point or starting to just chuck the ball and hope; just sticking with the game plan and getting success in the 2nd half by doing what they've been doing the last 2 months...good planning, and solid execution. -Second half started with fluffy soft defense from Atlanta allowing Seattle to rip off 15-20 yard plays and not hitting guys. Tate and Miller with 100+ years each, both with 18 yard averages. Miller huge again for second week in making crucial plays, finishing with 142 yards. -Seattle responded well after ATL's 3rd quarter TD with yet another long drive...this is the way Seattle was playing the last 2 months, always in control of themselves and confident...something haven't seen from this team in a long long time. Full credit to the coaches and Wilson. -Inevitable, you knew Ryan was going to start getting the food lodged in his throat...sure enough, throws up a floater the play after Seattle sniffed out the reverse to White, and Ryan looked impatient, and then made the mistake. Game on with the Thomas INT. 2 minutes later, its a one score game thanks to a great run by Turbin and more poor Atlanta soft defense. -Credit to Seattle line...one false start, and no holding calls I don't think. Wilson never used the read option which is odd. He had a good day running, but that was not by choice, just his usual scrambling abilities. -Final drive, great play by Lynch to go 20+ yards. Then the TD run...if he fumbled that and Unger picks it up, Seattle doesn't get the TD but ball on goal line, with clock still ticking. Would have likely run down clock some more, and not left ATL with 31 seconds. -The last 31 seconds will haunt the team and fans for a while. Seattle fans saw this vs the Bears, after Wilson lead them back to take a 3 point lead back a few months ago. Two plays in under 30 seconds, one long one and then a short one, setup CHI in field position for the game tying kick, which they made. Seattle won that game, but the defense was poor. Far too much zone. Same thing here...had Wagner a LB cover 3rd reciever Harry Douglas, and the rest of the secondary was pushed too far back by White, Jones, and Gonzalez. Far too much yards to give up. Then, 18 more yards to Gonzalez, who fought for an extra 3 or 4 yards. Then, Carroll trying to ice the kicker...haven't heard his reasoning for that post game, he said a few times during the year he wouldn't do that. Of course, he missed the practice kick and made the real one. -The squib; shame Seattle didn't pick it clean, it would've given them 2 or 3 more seconds on the clock and maybe 2 or 3 more yards. If they made a 7 or 8 (or longer gain), and had it at a 50 yard kick. However, without the regular kicker Haushka (thanks crappy Fed Ex field last week), it would've been a 65 yarder and that's too far for a guy in Longwell who's career high was 55....6 years ago. Haushka may not have had the range either, but I guarantee they would've tried it...and imagine that finish. Not to be in the end. But no reason to hang heads if Seattle...all told, Wilson caps off the year with a new playoff passing yard mark for a rookie at 385 yards. 60 yards running. An incredible 10 for 11 in the second half...the only incomplete pass was the hail mary as time expired. Clutch. Almost 500 net yards for the Seahawks. Would've been the largest comeback in a playoff game (and would've been down by 20 twice) in 55 years...31 seconds, or a 1st half "meaningless" FG away. It looked grim in the first 30 minutes, but never, after watching this team do what it has and turned into this year, seem impossible. The game planning, but more importantly the execution of Wilson and the confidence the players have in him (and thus make them better), cannot be overstated. With Seattle moving the ball ok in the first half, anything was possible in the second half with some luck and Ryan's and ATL's playoff confidence...but you knew that missing 3-9 or more easy points in the first half, may turn up big, and that was the case. Will be interesting to see the comments in the next few days...and where this team goes from here. You'd like to think only up, as the talent is there as is the youth. A home playoff game or more would've had this team, but silly losses to crap teams like ARI, MIA and DET earlier in the year sealed that. A post-mortum of this incredible season and a look ahead, in another post later on, for those few who care.