‘Hawk Talk’ highlights: What’s wrong with the Seahawks’ kicking game?

Danny O’Neil hosted another edition of “Hawk Talk” on Tuesday. Here’s the transcript. Highlights are below.

Richard Noggin wonders if Paul Richardson will soon have more balls thrown to him than Jermaine Kearse?

Danny O’Neil: Well, that’s going to something that bears monitoring. I saw that Jacson Bevens — who is definitely worth a follow on Twitter and reading online — showed Russell Wilson’s passer rating when targeting Kearse (40-something) and when targeting anyone else (140+). I also know that last year, when Richardson came off IR, the Seahawks told Kearse he would be getting phased out. I think Jermaine Kearse takes too much abuse and that he might be the most underrated Seahawk in my 12 years covering the team.

Brandon from Btown asked if C.J. Prosise will be phased out once Thomas Rawls is fully healthy.

Danny O’Neil: No. I don’t believe that Prosise will be phased out. I don’t know if he’ll be getting 24 touches per game. But the idea that he gets his hand on it between 10 to 15 times even with Rawls back? I could definitely see that.

Richard Noggin asked if O’Neil liked Seattle’s decision to go for the two-point conversion at the end of the game against New England, as opposed to attempting extra point for an eight-point lead.

Danny O’Neil: Yes, I did. I think it is a mathematically sound rationale for the victory. Conventional thought would be that you make your opponent have to score twice (TD and two-point conversion) to get the tie. But let’s look at the flip side of that: If you get the two-point conversion in that situation, you have a nine-point lead. That’s a two-possession situation, and your chances at victory spike. If you don’t get it, you’re still only risking a tie and likely overtime (which would still be a possibility if you were up eight).

SeaGal wanted to know what’s up with the Seahawks’ kicking game.

Danny O’Neil: I think the whole process is off right now, and I believe that the snapper has the biggest factor in throwing everything off. That said, it looks like Hauschka’s kicks are coming out lower, too. But if you ask me, the primary problem that has seen Seattle miss three PATs this year, not to mention two pretty big field-goal tries, I would say that the snapper has introduced lots of uncertainty.

RipleyRay asked if Seattle has any hope of catching Dallas for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Danny O’Neil: Absolutely. Dallas has a rookie quarterback. That’s hugely significant. And while I feel there were probably people who thought that about the Seahawks in 2012 (and would have been wrong as Russell Wilson showed in the playoff game at Atlanta), I really wonder how a rookie holds up against Seattle’s defense.

PDXHawk doesn’t believe the current Seahawks’ defense is at the same level as the Super Bowl winning group.

Danny O’Neil: I think you’re right. In fact, I don’t think it’s all that close. The Seahawks have now allowed 20 or more points in four of the past five games. They allowed 20 or more points in seven games last season. Let’s put that in perspective: In the three seasons from 2012 through 2014 (48 regular-season games) they allowed 20 or more in 16 games. That’s one-third. Over the past 25 games, the Seahawks have allowed 20 or more points in 11 games. That’s 44 percent.

Tom Page asked how rookie DT Jarran Reed has done so far and how his production has compared to Brandon Mebane.

Danny O’Neil: He was quietly pushed out of the starting lineup as Tony McDaniel got that call early. I don’t know how much that was about Reed or about how good McDaniel has looked. I thought Reed played an awesome game in New England. His best of the year.

Ace asked if Kam Chancellor will likely get fined for the low hit on Tom Brady?

Danny O’Neil: Yes, and I think it’s absolute crap. First, the hit wasn’t at his knee. He hit Brady in his thigh as evidenced by the fact that Weasel-Faced Jim Gray referenced a quadriceps injury in his paid Monday night radio interview with Brady.  Second, that’s only supposed to apply to defenders that have an unrestricted path to the quarterback and then go at the QB’s knees. But this is the NFL where the wording of the rule book isn’t as important as how a play looked. And that play looked bad. And Brady got mad.

King Ralph asked who the fastest player is on the Seahawks.

Danny O’Neil: I think it’s a two-man race: Tyler Lockett vs. Paul Richardson. I would have put Earl Thomas in that conversation three years ago.