It’s official. The 2021 Seattle Seahawks suck.

They are an endurance test to watch.

For another year in a row, and with two different teams, career NFL backup quarterback Colt McCoy has looked better than Russell Wilson in a start against them, too. I cannot shake that gross reality.

It sucks. Colt was accurate, athletic, and decisive. Russ was still rusty, indecisive, and had scatter-gun accuracy with his short throws.

People are going to now take more shots at Russell Wilson and be more vocal about trading him next off-season. They will say Seattle can win with any old quarterback, if we can build this team up enough. It will be faulty logic, unless you want to see this team become the Chicago Bears for the last several decades; a team that occasionally makes a playoff appearance because it’s “built up” enough with talent but never advances far because it doesn’t have a franchise quarterback.

If the Seahawks had a fraction of the talent across their roster as the Arizona Cardinals have, Russell Wilson would have out dueled McCoy in this one, even with all the rust. The problem is that this team isn’t very good, and it isn’t coached very well, either.

Also, if a healthy Kyler Murray had played in this game, it would have been a beat down, and the game would have been over with early. I can’t honestly tell if that would have been worse than what we all watched this Sunday.

After a hand full of games of playing better ball, the Seahawk defense underwhelmed mightily with its lack of quality pass rush and coverage. McCoy was able to successfully game manage a simple plan with the host of weapons that Seattle didn’t have enough answers to slow down.

The Cardinals are a well oiled system on both side of the ball. The Seahawks are still trying to figure out theirs, after ten games. I put that on the coaches.

It was frustrating to watch Ken Norton Junior send two pass rushers at McCoy and drop nine into coverage and see McCoy still find easy completions. When Seattle was able to disrupt, they sent extra defenders, and it looked effective, but then Norton would back off.

Norton’s defense has reverted back to being confusing to the eyes.

What are they as a defense anyways?

I can’t tell if they are a 4-3, or a 3-4, or a Bear front, or what. It looks like the defenders have problems figuring it out, as well.

I miss the days when this defense was coached by Dan Quinn and even Kris Richard. It was a basic tilted 4-3 that could rush effectively with four and drop seven into coverage. They weren’t ever trying to reinvent the wheel with anything, and were mostly a tough out for many teams, even after the Super Bowl years.

And another thing. I’m far from a Russell Wilson apologist, but I don’t know if Geno Smith would have fared against this Arizona defense much better. Yes, Russ was sporadic with his short throws again, but he also made beautiful deep passes that would have been unlikely for Smith to make, and in all three of his starts, Smith never seemed to evade pressure very well and took his share of unfortunate sacks. I actually believe starting him could have made this game uglier watch, and then how does that sit with Russ?

But I fully understand the sentiment with some fans asking for Geno Smith. Russ wasn’t good enough for the second week in a row. He came back from injury earlier than I thought he should have, but I also think that can of worms had already opened, and you might as well keep rolling with him until he’s able to shake off all the cobwebs to his game.

The Ghosts Of The 2008 Seahawks Are Haunting Me

I will say it as simply as this. These Seattle Seahawks this year remind me of the Seahawks in Mike Holmgren’s last year coaching in 2008. They look old, slow, injured, not talented enough, and largely overwhelmed.

In 2008, the Seahawks were a battered old team that finished 4-12, and their legendary coach was cooked. Then owner Paul Allen knew this, and likely ushered Holmgren to step down, at least that was my feelings on the situation.

I now think if these 2021 finish 6-11, that would be a minor miracle. They look that bad.

Pete Carroll looks tired and stressed, and Russell Wilson looks confused and frustrated, and Jamal Adams looks..

.. I don’t even know how to finish that thought. I guess the best way to put it is that I think Jamal Adams has the makings of being a really good run and chase linebacker for a defensive coordinator who wants to use him that way.

On the whole, I think this Seahawks team is a loss at Washington on MNF next week away from needing to play the young guys on the roster to see what they have to work with next year on a major overhaul of the roster. I would start Deejay Dallas at running back, and use Alton Robinson ahead of Carlos Dunlap and Benson Mayowa, and LJ Collier over Kerry Hyder. I would consider playing Colby Parkinson more at tight end, and I would even consider playing the rookie offensive tackles more if I thought it wouldn’t put the health of the quarterbacks in further jeopardy.

I’m not convinced Pete Carroll will see it that way. I think he will favor his veterans and try to win every meaningless game he can. If will want to fight it out to the very end, and I suppose he deserves to do that, but I cannot shake the following thought.

I feel Pete Carroll is well past done in Seattle as a head coach.

I don’t anticipate owner Jody Allen will be willing to trade Russell Wilson for a bunch of first round picks, either. I suspect she is a couple more losses away from beginning the coaching search to find the next head coach with fresh eyes to reset set this whole team around Russ. For all we know, she and her group is working on that now.

However this season goes, I am here for this team. I am with them in all games, good and bad.

This is a tough stretch right now, but I think they are one off-season reset away from being a strong contender again sooner than some will think.

Despite his recent play, Russell Wilson is still an elite quarterback, and DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are still top end receivers. There is young talent on the roster that can be starting fixtures on their defense in Darrell Taylor, Jordyn Brooks, Jamal Adams, Tre Brown, Poona Ford, and Alton Robinson. The cupboard is not bare on this team. They just need more, and they probably need fresh eyes to lead it.

That’s how I see it, anyways.

Go Hawks.