Well, it’s official. The Seattle Seahawks losing to the 49ers, losing three games in a row, losing by turning the ball over, and not getting turnovers is officially going to create a lot of doubt in the minds of fans, media, and maybe even some of the players, themselves.

Injuries are most certainly a major issue with this team. Stone Forysthe is most clearly not a starting caliber right tackle in this league, and is a full on liability. Seattle is also a banged up in its secondary, defensive line, and their linebackers haven’t been great, lately.

I think the schemes, and the play callers on both sides of the ball for this team are sound, but the execution within these schemes is proving subpar. It’s a combination of not having enough talent on the offensive line, not having players on defense playing fundamentally sound against the run and pass, and then not having their best players play their best ball. I call it like I see it, and this is what I see.

Ryan Grubb has been a recent target of ridicule with fans, myself included after the loss to the Giants, but I’m not hanging this loss on him against the 49ers. I think his play calling got drives going, and he found creative ways to get hyper talented running back Ken Walker involved in screen passes and runs. After six games, I feel like Grubb is largely handicapped as a play caller because of the state of the right side of his offensive line, and he’s trying his damnedest.

I actually wouldn’t mind if they gave 42 year old Jason Peters a go in Atlanta after this ten day break just to see the line settle in better, and give valuable experience on the field. Maybe that helps the right guard situation settle down a bit more, and maybe that makes Geno Smith settle down, as well.

In my opinion, and this is just my view, the biggest reason why we lost this game against the 49ers was the two interceptions Geno Smith threw that took potential points off the board, and gave points to the pain in the ass divisional enemy. Those two picks happened while they were moving the ball against a not so intimidating 49er defense that I don’t think is nearly as good as it has been in seasons past. The numerous other off target and late throws from Geno also proved damning.

I have been as big of a Geno supporter as any out there, but that was not the play of a quality NFL quarterback. That was the play of someone who feels like he is starting to struggle. I wish I could see this differently, but this is what I see.

It could be all the hits he has taken, and maybe he’s injured after that rough outing against the Giants four days ago. It would explain why he was inaccurate at times against San Francisco, and appeared extra jittery.

It could also be something deeper, however, and maybe more concerning. It could be the pressure he feels from essentially being in another prove it year situation with the team, being 34 years old, and pressing to impress for another big contract. I don’t really want to speculate, but one this is clear. Injuries aside, this team will only be as good as he can be, and if he wants to be a $50 million a year quarterback around the corner, he has to quarterback them into being a lot better than this right now.

He has to not throw picks, throw more touchdowns, throw on time, and throw accurately. If he cannot do this, this team will not have a winning record this year, and he will not become a top paid quarterback in this league. It is that plain and simple.

Geno is not the only Seahawk player that I have outwardly defended who had a rough night against San Francisco, and I do not know what this means for this team moving forward. I am now concerned that Seattle may have a DK problem.

I don’t love the sideline antics and body language of DK Metcalf in this one. Being on the phone, yelling at Ryan Grubb was not a good look on my television set. Having a dejected look while sitting on the bench midway through the first half of the game wasn’t great, either. There was another moment where Geno had some bad body language on the sidelines.

I know a lot of fans are going to cut these two slack, and point to the state of the offensive line, but they still have to lead. Call me old school, but bad body language doesn’t display great leadership skills to me, and these two are supposed to be the leaders of the offense. Maybe I am reading too much into these things, but I feel like I saw enough to sound some alarm bells, and I think their body language in tough games is something to monitor moving forward.

Can we say that Geno Smith and DK Metcalf are going to be ride and die Mike Macdonald/Ryan Grubb guys?

This is the question I am presently asking. Their body language has me doubting a little bit. Both guys are known to be hot heads, and it has been commonly reported this year that this new coaching staff especially wants to see how Geno Smith is able to lead, and maintain poise. He did not seem poised enough last night, and DK seemed to resort to DK’ing in ways that will give his critics plenty of ammo.

Defensively? What can I say?

Bad angles to the football are continuing to haunt this side of the ball. Julian Love is a good safety, but he made a horrific safety play trying to go for a knockout blow against Deebo Samuel on a blown touchdown catch and run, instead of making a simple routine tackle after the catch. Replays also showed Seattle defensive tackles getting their shoulders turned sideways on big run plays, and guys not stepping into proper gaps. This is not good enough.

The lack for football fundamentals is killing this defense right now. Mike Macdonald and his staff have got to fix this moving forward. I think they can, but they have to show it. These next ten days before traveling to Atlanta is going to prove critic for the coaches and players to get this defense back on the course it showed against Denver in the season opener.

Maybe the team looks at available free agents. Maybe they pull a trade, or make a surprising shakeup to the starting eleven, but thing is clear. The players they have on the field right now don’t seem to be cutting it the way they need to be. They have got to get this fixed right now, and how this defense comes out against the Falcons will be something I will closely scrutinize in a week and a half.

Despite all of this, this three game losing stretch is not leading me to any sort of doom and gloom thoughts and feels of this team moving forward. I think despite the mistakes against the 49ers, they showed a bunch of fight, and that was encouraging. I am believing more in Ryan Grubb as an offensive play caller. I believe in Mike Macdonald as a young head coach, and I feel like he should be granted time to have his system evolve, and gather all the talent he needs to properly run it.

I do think that, as we approach the trade deadline in the few weeks, this game in ten days against the Atlanta Falcons on the road might be a bit of a crossroads match. Next week will feel do or die in many ways.

If Seattle wins, do they look to make a trade to help them continue to scrap for the division? What do they do if they lose and fall 3-4 with a strong Buffalo Bills team on the horizon? Do they consider being sellers if they lose to the Bills as well, and fall 3-5?

These next two games around the corner could very likely determine the direction this team takes the rest of the way this year. John Schneider isn’t known as a big seller as a general manager, but with a new coaching staff for the first time in 14 years, dropping to 3-5 in a couple weeks might force his hand. What if the Kansas City Chiefs come offering a first round pick for DK Metcalf?

This all sounds sensational, but let us remember what this season is. This is a season where these new coaches are determining who the building block players are of this team, and who is going to be their core guys moving forward in their systems.

Obviously, I prefer seeing this team win now, but for me, this season has never been about stealing the division from the 49ers in year one of the Macdonald regime. It is about the gradual build into becoming something truly special as a team.

When Kyle Shanahan was hired by San Fransicso in 2017, it was with a goal to beat Pete Carroll in Seattle, and become the divisional bully. It was a gradual build for them to become the top dog they have been in recent years. They went 6-10 in Kyle’s first season, and 4-12 the following year. It took time for players to pickup his complex system, and it took time for him to acquire the right players to fit it. Losing seasons meant better draft picks to build off of in the process. Eventually, he and John Lynch built up a very exciting ball club.

This should be, more of less, the model, and the expectation for Mike Macdonald and his staff in Seattle. Year one should be figuring out who your guys are moving forward, and what you need to add next offseason to take the next big step towards becoming special.

If they turn this losing streak around, win in Atlanta, and stay competitive in other games down the road, and end up with a winning record, and a wildcard playoff birth, then that will be a lot of fun. If they don’t because of various reasons, but still are competitive in losses, then I think that is also fine.

I just need to see marked improvements in the fundamentals within these schemes. I need to see guys playing well together. That’s how I will ultimately judge this team this year.

This game losing this way against San Francisco, yet again?

Yeah, it sucks, but it doesn’t sting, and it doesn’t feel hopeless. I don’t think the 49ers are making it back to the Super Bowl this year, and that is going to put more pressure on them as an organization staring at making a very cheap quarterback a $60 million dollar a year player around the corner in very short time.

Seattle, in the meanwhile, just needs to continue working out the fundamentals with the team they have this year, they need to properly evaluate what they have on this roster that are keepers and what they need moving forward. That is what year one of Mike Macdonald truly is.

I can be patient for that. Can you?

Go Hawks.