Seahawks have a problem on offense but no easy answers
Sep 18, 2016, 10:25 PM
Through two games, Seattle's offense has produced only one touchdown and 15 points. (AP)
(AP)
LOS ANGELES – The Seahawks were supposed to be past games like this.
Three points?
They haven’t scored that few in any game since 2011 when Charlie Whitehurst was standing in for an injured Tarvaris Jackson and Seattle was in that never-neverland reserved for teams that don’t have a long-term answer at quarterback.
Not a single touchdown?
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That hasn’t happened to Seattle since the seventh game of Russell Wilson’s career, on a short week in San Francisco when the Seahawks’ game plan was dialed down to keep their rookie quarterback from being overwhelmed.
This? This 9-3 loss was more than just underwhelming. This is more than a concern, too. Two weeks into this season, the Seahawks have scored a grand total of 15 points, which ranks as the fourth-lowest total after two games in franchise history.
“I never could have thought that we would go the first couple weeks and not score but one touchdown,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I’m just surprised at that. We’re better than that.”
Are they?
That remains to be seen. Through two games, all we’ve got are a ton of symptoms from an ailing offense and an increasingly critical concern.
Diagnosis No. 1: The offensive line is offensive.
This is going to be the most popular explanation for Seattle’s struggles, an argument supported by the fact that the Seattle is spending less on its offensive line than any other team in the league.
That fact is true, but it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, either. Seattle’s offensive line is the least expensive because it is the least veteran. Of the nine linemen on the roster, only two have more than three years of experience. One of the nine – rookie Germain Ifedi – has yet to play because of an ankle injury suffered five days before the season opener.
But for all the scrutiny on that line, the Rams sacked Wilson only twice Sunday.
“I thought they protected well today for the most part and gave us a chance,” Carroll said afterward. “I thought we protected better than we have in past games against these guys.”
The Rams sacked Wilson six times in last year’s season opener. Add in two more sacks a week later at Green Bay, and Seattle had allowed eight in the first two weeks. So far this year, Seattle has allowed five.
In fact, Carroll was adamant after the game that the team’s trouble scoring doesn’t boil down to a weakness up front.
“I don’t think it’s the offensive line,” he said.
Diagnosis No. 2: The ground game is sputtering.
OK, Coach. You said you don’t think it’s the offensive line, so what is it?
“I think we just have to do better,” Carroll said. “I think we have to come around and just be more complete.”
And how do you go about doing that?
“We’ve got to convert on third down like we want to,” Carroll said. “Like we did the second half of the season last year. We’re a little behind schedule there.”
In the second minute of the third quarter, Christine Michael took a handoff on third-and-2 and ran for 11 yards.
It was the only third down Seattle converted in all of the second half, the Seahawks failing on their next four attempts. That’s only a symptom of the real issue, though. Each of Seattle’s final four third-down opportunities required 8 yards or more.
That’s a difficult proposition in the best of circumstances, and that was hardly the case for a Seattle offense that started the game with Wilson playing on a sore ankle and ended it with starting running back Thomas Rawls on the sideline.
For the second straight week, the Seahawks couldn’t get any traction in the ground game. Of the 67 yards rushing, 45 came from Michael on the first two series of the second half. It was the closest Seattle came to summoning any momentum in Los Angeles.
The ground game was an issue against Miami as well, Seattle never really getting the push it wanted.
Diagnosis No. 3: Those opposing defenses are a tough draw to start the season.
“The Miami Dolphins’ defensive line is as good as it gets,” Wilson said after the game. “The Rams, same thing. They’re an active group. They do tons of stuff. It’s one of the hardest defenses we’ll face all year.”
That’s not going to pacify the concerns about Seattle’s offense, and it shouldn’t. The Patriots were down to their third-string quarterback by the end of Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, and the 49ers found the end zone against the Rams just six days earlier.
It is worth pointing out that the strength of both Miami and St. Louis is found along their defensive lines, though.
And ultimately, there’s no explanation that’s going to excuse why the Seahawks were held to three points on Sunday in Los Angeles and why they have reached the end zone only once in the first two weeks of the season.
“We know we’re better than this,” tight end Jimmy Graham said. “And so we need to put it together and figure it out. We’ve got too many play-makers on this side of the ball, and we’ve got to put it together.”
