Seahawks Instant Reaction: 710 on loss to Rams, Russell Wilson’s injury

The Seahawks are back under .500 after a tough 26-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night where Russell Wilson spent most of the second half on the sidelines due to an injured finger.

Fast Facts: Russell Wilson injures finger, Seahawks lose to Rams 26-17

As we do after every Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions from the voices of 710 ESPN Seattle on the loss. Be sure to tune in to the station on Friday as we break down what’s going on with the Hawks starting with The Mike Salk Show at 6 a.m. and The Pete Carroll Show at 9:30.

Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob

You look at the Seahawks roster and see talent everywhere. Elite-level talent in some cases. The problem is they’re just not a very good team.

For whatever reason, they are not playing well together on either side of the ball. Bad coaching, bad scheme, missed field goals, crushing penalties, lack of discipline, lack of talent, etc. – take your pick. I’m sure it’s a bit of all of this.

This defense is just absolutely incapable of putting together a complete effort. They were worst in the league in yards allowed coming into this matchup, giving up 444.5 per game. They allowed 476 yards on Thursday night as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for a season-high 365 yards, and you could argue it should have been better than that as he missed wide-open receivers on at least three occasions.

The Seahawks’ offense has no rhythm to it whatsoever. They will put together a brilliant drive and almost immediately look out of sync and inept on the following drive.

To compound their problems, Russell Wilson suffered an injury to his finger on his throwing hand. While Geno Smith played as well as anybody has seen him play in years in relief of Wilson, you have to believe that if he has to play anything close to a significant amount of time moving forward, this season isn’t going to end well.

Even with Wilson in there, the way this team has been playing doesn’t make it seem like this season is headed for a happy ending. There are more than a few problems with this team on both sides of the ball, and the idea that they’re all going to get fixed any time soon does not seem realistic.

The Groz – 710 ESPN Seattle host emeritus

Seeing Russell Wilson on the sidelines in the fourth quarter is the takeaway from a strange Thursday night. If he’s not coming back in, you have a hard time not thinking the worst. That having been said, it likely would not have mattered as the defense had another total meltdown in the second half.

Matthew Stafford had some issues with his own fingers in the first half but led a Rams offense that piled up 23 points and nearly 300 yards in the second half points

Geno Smith looked good in replacing Wilson, but nobody wants that to be the case long-term for Seattle. Russell is the heart and soul of the team and, well, I don’t need to tell you.

The defense in need of another in-season overhaul is one thing. In fact, they did it last year. But add in your franchise QB being hurt and this may represent the biggest challenge Pete Carroll has faced as coach.

The Seahawks have plenty of time to get it right. You just wonder if they can.

Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob

There are lingering, unresolved questions that both the offense and defense need to address, but all that is moot if Russell Wilson is dealing with a serious injury to that middle finger. It’s a testament to Geno Smith that he stayed ready and prepared sitting behind a guy who never misses a snap, and that showed in the 98-yard touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter.

However, merely having a serviceable quarterback instead of one of the top five QBs in the league eliminates much of what can make this team special. The only sliver of optimism is the timing: a Thursday night game means 10 days to recuperate and recover before the tough stretch of the schedule continues.

Oh, do we have to talk about the defense now? As I’m typing this, I believe Matthew Stafford just completed another pass to Robert Woods. An erratic and inaccurate first half by Stafford helped the defense turn in a terrific outing before halftime, and Seattle held the Rams to 0 for 5 on third down in the first half. The second half was a different story as the least-sacked QB in the NFL was barely touched, and Los Angeles came out of the locker room with two straight touchdown drives and three touchdowns in their first four possessions.

If we’re trying to look for positives (and I am!), it’s that few teams possess the 1-2 punch at wide receiver that the Titans, Vikings, and Rams do, and those are the opponents the Seahawks’ defense has struggled the most against. But yes, you do have to face the Rams again and the Cardinals twice, so by the time those games roll around we’ll see if there has been a fix because the current effort on defense has been this team’s undoing in its losses this season.

Justin Barnes – The Mike Salk Show

Chris Carson, Gerald Everett and now Russell Wilson? Strap in, Seahawks fans. The football gods can be cruel: first they giveth then they taketh away.

Obviously the big story is Russell’s Captain Hook finger, but a very frustrating series of missed opportunities has felt far too familiar with this team through five weeks. Was this gonna be another ugly night? (Narrator: This was going to be an ugly night.)

Darrell Taylor’s sack and the Rams’ 51 rushing yards left me cautiously optimistic leading into the second half, but I knew better. These games are always weird, and the weird was lurking around the corner like a parking attendant waiting for the meter to expire.

Wilson’s middle finger being shaped like a question mark felt appropriate for a defense that was questionably missing for much of the game, but obviously the biggest question is what it’s going to take to get Russ back. The other is when will Jamal Adams show us that he’s worth that contract?

If history has shown us anything, it’s that you had to expect some goofy stuff to happen in a primetime Seahawks game, right? But not like this. Not to Russ. Please, football gods, allow this extended week to give Russ the time to heal up and I will do my best to hold all panic and fears until we hear what the coach Carroll has to say at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning on The Pete Carroll Show.