Instant Reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on Seahawks’ 24-17 loss to Bears

The Seahawks fell to 0-2 on the season, losing 24-17 to the Bears in Chicago on Monday night. As they do after each Seahawks game, the voices of 710 ESPN Seattle share below their instant reactions. Don’t forget to tune in Tuesday for their full thoughts and analysis on the game.

Seahawks lose to Bears: ‘Painful’ loss | Recap story | Photos | Stats

Mike Salk (Brock and Salk)

The injured and young Seattle defense held its own. The (mostly) healthy offense did not. And while there are lots of reasons why, I thought it came down to – in order – play calling, lack of weaponry, and two horrible decisions by a great quarterback.

The Seahawks ran the ball effectively in this game. They started off running it, then forgot about it for the entire middle of the game. Despite being down by just a touchdown, they ran six consecutive pass plays in the third quarter. Inexplicable and inexcusable for a team not only trying to establish the run, but struggling to pass.

The weaponry is a problem. ESPN didn’t show the secondary on every one of the sacks, but on the ones they showed, there was zero separation.

And you don’t need to read about Russell Wilson’s fourth-quarter pick and fumble. Those were 100 percent on him.

The funny thing about this game is that there were some positive moments with Shaquill Griffin, Austin Calitro, Mychal Kendricks and Rashaad Penny. The Seahawks really did have their chances despite the often impotent offense. They are going to need to start taking advantage – and soon.

Tom Wassell (Bob, Groz and Tom)

For the second week in a row, Russell Wilson will be blamed entirely in a loss for which he’s about 50 percent responsible. Make no mistake, I’m saying that Russell deserves a ton of blame, but that first-half performance by everyone on the O-line was, um… inadequate. Were the receivers getting open? Who knows?

The defense (Shaquill Griffin) actually made enough plays to keep it close, which is all you could ask for on the road on a Monday night game – especially given the injuries they have. A complete inability to get in rhythm in the first half – lack of pass protection, running game – is something we watched all of last year. Nothing has changed.

People want to bring up 2015 as a year where the Seahawks started off 0-2 and rallied to go 10-6. That team was twice as talented as this one.

Jim Moore (Danny, Dave and Moore)

Surprising to see Russell Wilson throw a pick-six and give up the ball on a fumble in the fourth quarter. That’s usually when he’s at his best. Plus it sure doesn’t seem like Wilson is as fast and elusive as he used to be. Maybe it’s just one game, and maybe I’m off with that observation. I certainly hope so because it appears he’ll be running for his life again this season.

Like others, I wondered where Chris Carson was in the second half, and I wondered where the running game was too. At one point the Seahawks called 14 pass plays in a row. Are you missing Darrell Bevell yet?

At least the defense played well – really well, considering they were without K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and Tre Flowers, who started the first game at Denver at right cornerback.

The 0-2 start is bad enough, but when you consider that the Seahawks lost to two mediocre teams, both of which went 5-11 last year, it looks like the team that could go 5-11 this year is Seattle.

Dave Grosby (Bob, Groz and Tom)

It was probably too much to hope for the Seahawks to win a game minus so many key players on defense, but this one is on the offense. The defense with some help from the Bears made enough plays to make this a ball game in the fourth quarter, but Russell Wilson’s inability to make anything happen ultimately doomed the Hawks.

It may seem unfair to blame one player, and the offensive line certainly had its problems, but you expect a franchise quarterback to get it done. Wilson did not.

I’ll be interested in hearing this week how much this will impact the enthusiasm for the home opener against the Cowboys on Sunday.

Bob Stelton (Bob, Groz and Tom)

The fact that The Seahawks didn’t get blown out is a minor miracle. This offense did very little to give anybody hope that they’re close to getting it figured out.

Despite the defense being decimated by injuries already, itgave this team a chance to win. Shaquill Griffin played an outstanding game with two picks and solid tackling. Bradley McDougald, Frank Clark and newcomer Mychal Kendricks all played well for the most part. But the offense still seems to be searching for any kind of rhythm at all.

Russell Wilson making crushing mistakes, the O-line getting handled and providing little to no protection (Wilson was sacked six more times Monday), and the much discussed run game pretty much absent. It was so bad that the offense as a whole gained ONE yard in the 3rd quarter. ONE!

That pretty much sums up what went wrong in this game. If they don’t get this figured out immediately, the Hawks could be looking at a top 10 draft position.