Instant reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on Seahawks’ loss to Atlanta

As we do after every Seahawks game, we have polled the voices of 710 ESPN Seattle for their initial thoughts. Here’s what they’re saying after Seattle was knocked out of the playoffs Saturday with a 36-20 loss to Atlanta:

Bob Stelton of “Bob, Groz and Tom”

The Seahawks’ season has come to grinding halt. The problems that plagued them throughout the regular season came to life in this game. Bad O-line play. Defense unable to get off of the field. Some VERY ill-timed penalties (Kevin Pierre-Louis holding on Devin Hester’s return). The Falcons were the better team and it showed. The Seahawks now need to do some soul searching and figure out what kind of team they want to be. If they still want to be a run-first team, they MUST take a different approach to this O-line. The defense was far from the elite-level defense we had seen in previous seasons. It will be very interesting to see what this roster looks like next season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some big changes made.

Brady Henderson, Editor in Chief of 710Sports.com

This game was not about Seattle’s offensive line or its inconsistent running game, and as much as Devin Hester’s negated punt return swung things in the first half, penalties didn’t decide it. This came down to the Seahawks’ defense running into a buzzsaw and having no answer for Atlanta’s No. 1-ranked offense, specifically a passing game that picked Seattle apart. There wasn’t enough pressure in the first half, a big difference from the first meeting when the Seahawks hit Matt Ryan throughout. Seattle went without an interception – on 36 Ryan attempts – for the sixth straight game. I’m not ready to declare that Seattle’s defense is done. It was playing without Earl Thomas, maybe its most important piece, and it showed. And injuries to DeShawn Shead and then Jeremy Lane left the Seahawks down to their fourth and fifth cornerbacks at one point in the fourth quarter. But this game was more evidence that Seattle’s defense is no longer invincible. Lane didn’t have a great season after getting a new deal last offseason. Kam Chancellor’s cap number spikes in 2017. Thomas (and possibly Shead) will be coming off injuries. And then there’s the Richard Sherman situation. This could be an interesting offseason for Seattle’s secondary.

Tom Wassell of “Bob, Groz and Tom”

Tough to pin this loss on one play, but I will anyway because I’m mad. Up 10-7, the 70-plus-yard kickoff return by Devin Hester that was negated because of a Kevin Pierre-Louis holding penalty completely turned this game around. It didn’t help that Russell Wilson was on his back in the end zone one play later for a safety. A 99-yard Falcons TD drive to end the half at 19-10 Atlanta made the defense look as weak as it ever has under Pete Carroll. I feared the Coleman/Freeman running game all week and was reminded why on the opening drive of the second half. They destroyed the Seahawks defense. DESTROYED it. Even with all this, Russell Wilson still had an opportunity to bring his team back, but missed an open Doug Baldwin in the end zone moments after they were given new life on an illegal formation penalty by Atlanta on fourth down. You can’t give away chances like that in the playoffs, especially on the road. Bottom line, they missed Earl Thomas and failed to take advantage of the few opportunities that the Falcons gave them.

Brock Huard of “Brock and Salk”

Atlanta dictated with their style and the Seahawks couldn’t get the flow of the game into their hands and strengths. The Falcons dictated because they won nearly every critical one-on-one match-up across the board. After a promising opening drive mixing run and pass and taking 8:30 off the clock, Atlanta answered – and answered and answered and answered. The Falcons knocked out a proud Sattle defense that desperately needed their All-Pro free safety and more. This will be a fascinating offseason for John Schneider and staff. The secondary has had a hard time in the last four years finding quality depth and difference makers. The offensive line showed flashes of brilliance and utter failure, both today and throughout the season. The championship window is certainly still open, but with improving Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Detroit and others in the NFC improving, this is no time to stand pat.

Mike Salk of “Brock and Salk”

It’s tough to win when the heart and soul of your team is gashed, and that is exactly what happened to the Hawks in Atlanta. Despite all the hand-wringing over the offensive line, the health of the quarterback or the use of Jimmy Graham, the Seahawks are, at their core, a defensive football team. And that unit got flat-out beat by a superior offense. Yes, a few big plays could have gone their way and it might have forced the Falcons into some mistakes. But when the Seattle decision-makers go back and look at what went wrong in this one, they will start with their strength. The question is, what can and should they do to improve it before September?

Jim Moore of “Danny, Dave and Moore”

It would have been interesting to see how it would have played out if Germain Ifedi had not suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first half. Or if Kevin Pierre-Louis hadn’t been called for holding on Devin Hester’s 84-yard punt return. If Ifedi had been healthy throughout, maybe Russell Wilson would have had more time to throw. And maybe Thomas Rawls would have had more room to run. Not to pin all of the offensive line’s issues on Ifedi’s replacement, Rees Odhiambo, but they were building some continuity in their fifth straight game together. With the Hester return, the Seahawks were going to have the ball at the Falcons’ 7-yard line with a chance to build on a 10-7 lead. After the holding call on Pierre-Louis, they got the ball on their own 7, and you saw what happened two plays later. Odhiambo stepped on Wilson’s right foot, and the Seahawks’ quarterback fell in the end zone, giving Atlanta a safety and narrowing Seattle’s lead to 10-9. And you could look at DeShawn Shead’s knee injury at the start of the third quarter that further decimated a Legion of Boom already playing without Earl Thomas. Those could be used as reasons why the Seahawks lost 36-20, but I still think if Ifedi and Shead did not get injured and if Pierre-Louis had not held on that punt return, the Falcons would have won. They were the clearly superior and more physical team, closing out the game the way the Seahawks used to, with a punishing running game wearing down the defense.