This is one of those moments where the statistics support the eye test.
If you watched the Week 1 loss and thought the Seattle Seahawks offense was lifeless and boring, you get a prize! Statistically, the Seahawks were the least “interesting”* team in the league.
*Interesting defined as: cool, successful, full of touchdowns, and also any semblance whatsoever of pre-and-post-snap razzle-dazzle.
Here’s what happened.
After one of the most exciting preseason games of the summer – Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs – Seattle was the most statistically vanilla offense in the first game that actually mattered.
Boasting the 5th-fewest amount of pre-snap movement, and the lowest rate of play-action, this was not what anyone expected from Klint Kubiak.
That expectation is supported, for the record. Kubiak’s Saints had the highest play-action in the league in the first two weeks of last year.
The end result was the second chart you see, an offense with three explosive plays in the passing game, and none at all in the run game.
So – why did it happen?
Assigning Blame Speculating Responsibility
This is not a John Gilbert hit piece; we don’t assign blame here.
But we can certainly ask. And wonder. Here are some options for why the coordinator who built his career on multiple-tight end, play action, outside boot mid-level passes did not coordinate an offense with a single one of those.
- He forgot. Seems unlikely, but let’s not strike it just yet.
- Sam Darnold cannot run such an offense. This would be pretty terrible, if true.
- The offensive line cannot run such an offense, much less any offense, because they are the Seahawks.
- The head coach told him to do something different.
- The running backs’ ineffectiveness ruined the game plan.
- Out-coached by Robert Saleh.
- Somehow Riq Woolen is responsible.
If you watched that game and thought the offensive line was as bad as even game one of last year, I can’t help ya. If you think Mike Macdonald actually wants to run the most uncreative offense in the league, I can’t help ya.
It’s six and two with a five sprinkle in my mind, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
Heading into Sunday, I would have said what I’m sure many of you would have said: the biggest talent advantage between the two rosters should have been the offensive line/run game vs the San Francisco massively depleted defensive line. Gone are the stars, in are the questionable rookies. And yet, 67 total rush yards between the two backs, and Ken Walker was utterly useless.
It’s at least partly true that Walker flat out refuses to run what’s given to him, much like his (and my personal favorite) predecessor Rashaad Penny.
But more than that, when 11 of the first 15 plays were run plays, it was clear that the Seahawks truly thought they were going to be able to march through the teeth of the 49ers defense far more than they did. And this is where Kubiak was wildly outcoached. Saleh surprised him. I’ve seen the absolutely glowing tape-reviews of Fred Warner already, and while guys like linebacker Dee Winters and DT Jordan Elliott were a real surprise. They thought the simple run game was going to be far more effective in the first half than it was. Some of that is Anthony Bradford’s fault, some of it Walker’s, some of it nobody’s.
Additionally, Sam Darnold is new to everything here in Seattle. And while I believe Kubiak is and will be good this year, few have been as quickly successful with quarterbacks as Kevin O’Connell has been in Minnesota. For the first game here, with a new roster, playcaller, and virtually no preseason game reps, you could tell Darnold was pot-committed to his first read far more often than not. That read was Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
I don’t believe Darnold is incapable of running a high-motion, play-action offense. Nor of throwing the ball to like a freaking tight end or something. I don’t think they placed a high emphasis on that this week. Nor was Darnold as comfortable as (dear Lord we hope) he will be later in the season.
Where do they go from here? Chime in below: do we see more of the same out in Pittsburgh, or will this self-correct rather quickly?
