3. Penalties – It wasn’t the number of penalties. No, once again it was when they occurred that caused the problems. A false start here, a holding there, every time something good happened for the Seahawks, a yellow handkerchief brought them back to earth.
4. Offensive Line – The O-Line was just plain offensive. The Raiders D-line is good but there is no way the Seahawks should have gotten pushed around like this. I don’t know how to fix it. Two sacks in the first three plays, eight sacks overall, less than 20 yards rushing, the numbers tell the whole story here. It’s the main problem with the Seahawks right now and this ride will be over quickly if something isn’t done.
The Raiders are in no way 30 points better than Seattle. Oakland did play well; they executed their game plan and, when execution let them down, the football gods blessed them with the lucky bounce. The Raiders got the treats while Seattle sucked down the tricks.
The question now is how the Seahawks respond to the beat down. The NY Giants are coming to town on Sunday. If Seattle is still showing the effects, this could get ugly fast. I believe Seattle will bounce back. It’s a question of cleaning up the mistakes and catching the damn ball more than players not performing. Except Mike Williams, of course. He had better get that chip off of his shoulder and prove that the games against Chicago and Arizona were not mirages. Otherwise, he’ll be out of the league again before he knows it.
I’m nervous about Sunday. I want to believe the Seahawks are getting better each week. I want to believe things will improve. Are they though? That’s a question that will only be answered on the field.
Article comments
1 - Raider Fan
Haha...Really...Close? Even though the score was only 10-0 at the half...It was no where near close. A complete domination and saying otherwise is like the Los Angeles Times saying nothing is Obamas fault. Very Biased Russ. Face it...a whooping is a whooping.
2 - Football Fanatic
Ya, you really are grasping here. That game was nowhere near close. The Seahawks didn't get their 1st first down until 2 minutes left in the 1st half. They didn't convert a third down until the 4th quarter and were 1/16. The Raider's Defense owned the Seahawks and the Raider's offense wore down your D. If anything, the Raiders left points out on the field and are actually more like 50 points better than the Hawks.
3 - Russ Evenhuis
Thank you for your comments! I really do appreciate the feedback.
I did say that Oakland played well and executed better in the original article. However, you have to admit that luck played a huge part in this game. Unless you want to tell me that the Raiders practice pass plays that go off of three receivers.
The Raiders defense, particularly the defensive line did "own" the Seahawks and Seattle failed miserably to adjust to it. A failure I should have noted in the article. My bad there, a screen pass or draw play or two would have went well against that aggresive line.
The Raiders offense did wear out the Seattle defense, very true. That's why the score was 10-0 at the half, after Mare missed a FG, and Oakland only had 180 total yards at half. They may have ended with gaudy stats but that was more to do with time of possesion than Oakland being better.
Again, thanks for the comments and I appreciate them. Good luck to your team for the rest of the season!