Upon Further Review: Seahawks-Cowboys
Nov 9, 2011, 10:59 PM | Updated: 11:15 pm
By Brady Henderson
For a few weeks I’ve been meaning to roll out a new (but hardly original) feature in this space which includes things I noticed while re-watching Seahawks games.
I’ll try to do this each week, even if the games end in a 6-3 Seahawks loss.
Here’s what stood out when I watched a replay of the Seahawks’ 23-13 loss to Dallas:
No surprise Zach Miller had no targets. Seattle’s tight end wasn’t targeted once, but it wasn’t necessarily because Tarvaris Jackson wasn’t looking his way. It didn’t help that he only ran a route six times, by my count.
The Seahawks needed all the help they could get in pass protection. Miller and Russell Okung held their own against Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware, even in one-on-one situations.
K.J. Wright made four tackles and a pair of costly mistakes. (AP) |
K.J. Wright’s two costly missteps. The rookie linebacker missed an open-field tackle in the flats, allowing DeMarco Murray pick up 17 yards on first-and-19 from Dallas’ 9. Murray picked up a first down on the next play, and the Cowboys ended their drive with a field goal for a 3-0 lead.
I won’t pretend to know who’s responsible for what in pass coverage, but the television broadcast crew identified Wright as the guilty party on the blown coverage that allowed Jason Witten to get wide open for a touchdown.
Wright did make a hard tackle on Dallas’ Phillip Tanner and provided tight coverage on Witten during a play near the goal line.
Mike Williams is no diva. Williams was wide open at Dallas’ 7-yard line on a second-quarter pass play, with the nearest defender at the goal line. Jackson instead looked for Sidney Rice and overthrew him in the end zone.
That was all noticeable while watching the play live, but what I didn’t catch was Williams’ reaction, or lack thereof. He refrained from any body language that would suggest frustration, at least from what was shown on the broadcast. Cameras showed Williams, Jackson and Rice having a seemingly civil conversation on the sideline after the play.
To his credit, Williams has handled his lack of targets this season like a pro, at least publicly. There are plenty of other receivers who might resort to potentially divisive behavior under similar circumstances.
Only one drop. The same team that couldn’t seem to make easy catches last week caught the ball much better against Dallas. Williams had to reach high and behind himself to make a catch on a slant route for a first down. Doug Baldwin dove to catch an underthrown pass. He later made an incredibly acrobatic maneuver to jump over Gerald Sensabaugh’s back and make what looked like a simultaneous catch. Baldwin was irate that officials, after reviewing the play, awarded possession to Sensabaugh.
Rice had the only drop, and it was hard to tell from the camera angle how difficult a catch it would have been to make.
David Vobora was shaken up after being thrown to the turf. The backup linebacker and special teamer suffered a concussion during the game, and I think I pinpointed when it occurred. After Leon Washington muffed and recovered a second-quarter punt, Vobora raced to the pile and pulled off a Cowboy. Dallas’ Jesse Holley then pulled Vobora away from the pile and threw him to the ground, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Replays showed Vobora’s head hitting the turf. He got up and returned to the pile, then turned around and slowly walked away with his head down and his hands on his hips. He appeared woozy. I didn’t spot him on the field after that.