2021 Seahawks at Colts Postgame Thoughts

[Zoltan]

Here's an outside idea, which I think contributes to our early season struggle. We have the 9th youngest roster in the league according to ages on september 7th and only have 4 players over the age of 30 (Carrie, Rhodes, Doyle, Fisher) according the Colts website. Of those 4 only two played in the game, granted we have a young talented roster but we are missing that veteran presence on the field.

 

Although like I said it's an outside the box idea, take from it what you will.

[EastStreet]

Just now, Zoltan said:

 

Okereke seems to be trying to play to fast, like he's running into the hole to meet the RB but many times Carson would make a small cut and he would whiff the tackle

Purely my opinion, but I think 3 things are in play here.

 

First, our 4-3 is really a 4-2-5 most of the time. Our MLB isn't just a MLB. Both LBs are asked to do a lot. The NB and SSs are both shallow often on the flats to help, but both LBs are asked to cover and be a hoover (tackles). 

 

Second, folks underestimated Walker's strengths (vs the run), and harped on his pass D deficiencies. 

 

Third, we gambled that Oke, who struggled vs the run in college, would develop. 

 

What we found out in year one, was that a Walker/Oke combo was effective with Walker playing early downs and Oke on passing downs. Oke's passing grades weren't that much better than Walker's. Then last year, we started playing Oke more snaps, and we ignored the run struggles thinking he only needed more snaps. Maybe he will turn the corner, but he got exposed this week. Only time will tell, but not looking good right now. He's never been good in traffic, and he's has to, if he's going to be a 3 down MIKE for us.

[Patrick Miller]

Well after this embarrassing loss I'm not looking forward to our next game against the Rams. 

[EastStreet]

5 minutes ago, GoatBeard said:

They blitzed Kenny Moore on both Lockett TDs

Thanks.

So he wouldn't have been taking Lockett deep anyways.

 

But if he didn't blitz, we might have stayed in C3 with Rock or Carrie on him, and a FS to help. Would love to know if we only played C2 during blitzes. I don't think so though.

[compuls1v3]

28 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

 

I know the TD pass to Lockett against Willis was on a corner blitz and Wilsons 11 yard run on 3rd and 9 was also a corner blitz.

 

But Cris Carsons 33 yard run also had Okereke miss the tackle at the line of scrimmage, that play made me miss Walker.

On Wilson’s big scramble Paye ran right by him 

[EastStreet]

1 minute ago, compuls1v3 said:

On Wilson’s big scramble Paye ran right by him 

[compuls1v3]

Just now, EastStreet said:

Not quite like that, but I’d be embarrassed if I were him.

[EastStreet]

Just now, compuls1v3 said:

Not quite like that, but I’d be embarrassed if I were him.

lol.. i know. 

our OT's were Ole'ing their DEs too it seemed.

[krunk]

39 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

If we're playing 2 high, and Locket is the vert on Willis's side, it's simply Willis's guy to cover. There is no help. You don't have a FS lurking to help, he's got the other deep half. Doesn't really matter if we're blitzing.

But why are we playing zone there? To me if we play 2 man then what you likely get is Lockett faced up on a corner with help over the top. Instead what we got is Lockett streaking through a zone and getting on top of a safety who cant guard him. Im assuming they were concerned with Wilson escaping the pocket. I just felt schematically there was more we could have done to prevent wr from getting 1 on 1 with Willis like that. Hes not going to win many of those match ups. I dont believe we have the Lockett problems with man coverage from Moore or Rogers. 

[Zoltan]

7 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Purely my opinion, but I think 3 things are in play here.

 

First, our 4-3 is really a 4-2-5 most of the time. Our MLB isn't just a MLB. Both LBs are asked to do a lot. The NB and SSs are both shallow often on the flats to help, but both LBs are asked to cover and be a hoover (tackles). 

 

Second, folks underestimated Walker's strengths (vs the run), and harped on his pass D deficiencies. 

 

Third, we gambled that Oke, who struggled vs the run in college, would develop. 

 

What we found out in year one, was that a Walker/Oke combo was effective with Walker playing early downs and Oke on passing downs. Oke's passing grades weren't that much better than Walker's. Then last year, we started playing Oke more snaps, and we ignored the run struggles thinking he only needed more snaps. Maybe he will turn the corner, but he got exposed this week. Only time will tell, but not looking good right now. He's never been good in traffic, and he's has to, if he's going to be a 3 down MIKE for us.

Yeah, that's why I haven't really been worried of not having a high quality 3rd linebacker, because we don't have 3 on the field often. 

 

The encouraging thing is that Okereke is going to the right spot, the hope is with more snaps he can develop and slow down physically and mentally so he can make those tackles.

[EastStreet]

Just now, krunk said:

But why are we playing zone there? To me if we play 2 man then what you likely get is locket faced up on a corner with help over the top. Instead what we got is Lockett streaking through a zone and getting on top of a safety who cant guard him. Im assuming they were concerned with Wilson escaping the pocket. I just felt schematically there was more we could have done to prevent wr from getting 1 on 1 with Willis like that. Hes not going to win many of those match ups.

IIRC, the corner took the flat/curl route, and the S has the vertical. That's the correct assignment. A vert on one side is normally combined with another pass catcher (could be a RB, TE, or WR) going shallow to peal the CB. 

 

[EastStreet]

2 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

Yeah, that's why I haven't really been worried of not having a high quality 3rd linebacker, because we don't have 3 on the field often. 

 

The encouraging thing is that Okereke is going to the right spot, the hope is with more snaps he can develop and slow down physically and mentally so he can make those tackles.

Yup, SAM is highly situational. It's one reason I poo poo'd the Banogu SAM stuff. You can use a SAM in different ways (run stopper, or like a rush OLB), just depends on scheme/call. 

 

Oke normally goes towards the right spot, he just doesn't navigate the traffic well, and his strength is sometimes questionable shedding. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

You guys should listen to for the Colture boys podcast from the game. They are right on about Reich. How do you go empty backfield and not max protect.  All kinds of stuff on here.
 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-colture/id1508194540?i=1000535115803

[craigerb]

Liked CW's QB rating, but we need to use Eason on short yardage 3rd or 4th downs, like JB did for Rivers.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

For the Colture boys had a good point why say we need more weapons when Reich doesn’t use what we have.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, craigerb said:

Liked CW's QB rating, but we need to use Eason on short yardage 3rd or 4th downs, like JB did for Rivers.

Nah. Wentz is so Mobile why take him off the field.

[EastStreet]

11 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

You guys should listen to for the Colture boys podcast from the game. They are right on about Reich. How do you go empty backfield and not max protect.  All kinds of stuff on here.
 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-colture/id1508194540?i=1000535115803

thanks. listening now. probably shouldn't right before bed lol.... 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

thanks. listening now. probably shouldn't right before bed lol.... 

 

Let me know what tiy think about what they said about Reich. I agreed with most of it. If you go back to even 2018 you see the same issues.

[krunk]

40 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

IIRC, the corner took the flat/curl route, and the S has the vertical. That's the correct assignment. A vert on one side is normally combined with another pass catcher (could be a RB, TE, or WR) going shallow to peal the CB. 

 

1st Lockett TD this happens bc we sent the dime corner blitz which forced Willis to cover Lockett 1 on 1. So we took a chance. The blitz caused this. Wilson proved hes not Deshaun Watson. You can get Watson with stuff like that more frequently.

 

 

That 2nd Lockett TD i need to be convinced of why we need to play the zone there that releases him into 1 on 1 coverage with Willis. Youre right it wasnt a busted coverage. They did it on purpose and it makes no sense to me. They didnt even get any hands on him to slow him down off the release. Im not running anything there that allows for an easy deep strike.

[EastStreet]

5 minutes ago, krunk said:

1st Lockett TD this happens bc we sent the corner blitz which forced Willis to cover Lockett 1 on 1. So we took a chance. The blitz caused this. Wilson proved hes not Deshaun Watson. You can get Watson with stuff like that more frequently.

Here's the vid. Unless I'm seeing this wrong, Rock is the CB to Lockett's side. He correctly stays to assignment (TE Dissly in the flat), and let's the vert go to the 2 high S on his side. Kenny isn't on that side.

 

 

[GoColts8818]

15 minutes ago, krunk said:

1st Lockett TD this happens bc we sent the dime corner blitz which forced Willis to cover Lockett 1 on 1. So we took a chance. The blitz caused this. Wilson proved hes not Deshaun Watson. You can get Watson with stuff like that more frequently.

I thought Vilma did a really nice job on the broadcast pointing that out along with the fact that when the Colts did send pressure Wilson was burning them so it forced the Colts to stay in their deep safeties defense.  

[EastStreet]

17 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

Let me know what tiy think about what they said about Reich. I agreed with most of it. If you go back to even 2018 you see the same issues.

 

Half way done, and it's spot on. 

He's harping on a lot of things I've mentioned. 

I lol'd when he brought up the Jax game last year.

 

[PrincetonTiger]

1 minute ago, GoColts8818 said:

I thought Vilma did a really nice job on the broadcast pointing that out along with the fact that when the Colts did send pressure Wilson was burning them so it forced the Colts to stay in their deep safeties defense.  

[krunk]

16 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

I thought Vilma did a really nice job on the broadcast pointing that out along with the fact that when the Colts did send pressure Wilson was burning them so it forced the Colts to stay in their deep safeties defense.  

I didnt think all that blitzing was necessary. Sure do it in spots. Wilson got to the point where he knew what was up. Im assuming they worked blitz more into the game plan once they knew Turay wasnt playing and we had a rookie on the other side. I dont even know how many snaps Rochelle got if any. I think the opportunity they allow him is a bit strange. 

[EastStreet]

34 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

Let me know what tiy think about what they said about Reich. I agreed with most of it. If you go back to even 2018 you see the same issues.

 

14 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

Half way done, and it's spot on. 

He's harping on a lot of things I've mentioned. 

I lol'd when he brought up the Jax game last year.

 

 

To add, he hit the nail on the head on our T situation and a couple others.

Why pay multiple bad Ts a couple mil each instead of grabbing a guy like Okung or other for 5-6m. 

Why ignore your QB getting hit 10+ times, and not keep a back in all game

It's already been said, but career worst games by Oke and Willis. Willis should have never been put in that position though.

Also, why not go to the big boy pass catchers more. 

Reich making same mistakes (not just 4th down calls) this year as the last couple years

 

[krunk]

27 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Here's the vid. Unless I'm seeing this wrong, Rock is the CB to Lockett's side. He correctly stays to assignment (TE Dissly in the flat), and let's the vert go to the 2 high S on his side. Kenny isn't on that side.

 

 

This is the 2nd TD not the 1st one. The 1st one there is a corner blitz involved.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

5 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

 

To add, he hit the nail on the head on our T situation and a couple others.

Why pay multiple bad Ts a couple mil each instead of grabbing a guy like Okung or other for 5-6m. 

Why ignore your QB getting hit 10+ times, and not keep a back in all game

It's already been said, but career worst games by Oke and Willis. Willis should have never been put in that position though.

Also, why not go to the big boy pass catchers more. 

Reich making same mistakes (not just 4th down calls) this year as the last couple years

 

The only thing I disagree with him that he has sad on Twitter is Reich should of been fired.Tou can’t just fire someone and think they grass is always greener on the other side.  I liked when he said that why go get more weapons when you don’t use what you have.
 

I just felt awful for Wentz.

[krunk]

They are going to have to work Strachan and Campbell into the game more. I dont give a hoot who is getting paid more and all the other semantics. Will help to open everyone else up. Did Granson play today?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 minute ago, krunk said:

They are going to have to work Strachan and Campbell into the game more. I dont give a hoot who is getting paid more. Will help to open everyone else up.

They didn’t even try to get WR involved. It’s ridiculous.

[krunk]

I still think we can build a solid O around Strachan, Campbell, Pittman, Pascal and Patmon when he returns. OL play has to get back to what we expect though.

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, krunk said:

This is the 2nd TD not the 1st one. The 1st one there is a corner blitz involved.

Here's the 1st one. It's an inside seam vert with Lockett from the slot. 

 

Lockett would never had been Kenny's man/responsibility. We were in C2 so it would be the MIKE having intermediate coverage responsibility. We went all out blitz and the LB went too. The LB would have been dusted anyway and Willis would have still had to take him. But like the other, playing Willis in a C2 is just a very bad matchup for us with WRs like the Seahawks have.

 

 

 

[EastStreet]

15 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

The only thing I disagree with him that he has sad on Twitter is Reich should of been fired.Tou can’t just fire someone and think they grass is always greener on the other side.  I liked when he said that why go get more weapons when you don’t use what you have.
 

I just felt awful for Wentz.

Yup. I agree with him on the weapons thing. I don't think we utilize our personnel the way we should, and adding someone like Ertz or other won't make a difference. Our O is just pretty stale/conservative and has been for a couple years. Same stuff, rinse repeat.

 

I didn't see where he called for Reich to be fired. I don't want him fired. He should get some constructive criticism from up above though relative to a few areas. I'd love to keep him but move play calling to the OC to be honest. They mentioned that too. 

 

Yup. Wentz having Philly flashbacks. No excuse for not keeping a RB to help once it was clear the OL wasn't holding. Heck, keep Pascal in. He's a great blocker.

[krunk]

10 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Here's the 1st one. It's an inside seam vert with Lockett from the slot. 

 

Lockett would never had been Kenny's man/responsibility. We were in C2 so it would be the MIKE having intermediate coverage responsibility. We went all out blitz and the LB went too. The LB would have been dusted anyway and Willis would have still had to take him. But like the other, playing Willis in a C2 is just a very bad matchup for us with WRs like the Seahawks have.

 

 

 

That was a corner who was standing directly in front of Lockett(looks like rock) before they turn him loose on the blitz. If we dont blitz that corner and you play man coverage there why would Lockett not be the corners responsibility? You play the man in front of you would you not? Im not tripping that hard off TD#1 though. I will say maybe if that corner does a bit of a better job disguising the blitz maybe wilson goes else where. Maybe, maybe not.

[EastStreet]

Just now, krunk said:

That was a corner who was standing directly in front of Lockett(looks like rock) before they turn him loose on the blitz. If we dont blitz that corner and you play man coverage there why would Lockett not be the corners responsibility? You play the man in front of you would you not?

Whoever is sitting in the mid field has a zone. Normally it would be the MIKE in a C2 (and the Safeties were sitting C2). Can't make out who it is on the vid. 

 

Since it's a likely a customized play, we really don't know for sure, but we know what normal C2 zones are. If that was RYS, I'm assuming he has that center green spot if not being sent as well. And if he has that zone, he'd normally release to one of the other zones perhaps on a straight vert. A LB would at least as they just can't keep up lol.  Just another great play call by Carroll. Even if RYS was there and tried to stick, Lockett still likely blows past him. He can't jam him that deep. Perfect pass and perfect call against our coverage IMO>

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

8 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Yup. I agree with him on the weapons thing. I don't think we utilize our personnel the way we should, and adding someone like Ertz or other won't make a difference. Our O is just pretty stale/conservative and has been for a couple years. Same stuff, rinse repeat.

 

I didn't see where he called for Reich to be fired. I don't want him fired. He should get some constructive criticism from up above though relative to a few areas. I'd love to keep him but move play calling to the OC to be honest. They mentioned that too. 

 

Yup. Wentz having Philly flashbacks. No excuse for not keeping a RB to help once it was clear the OL wasn't holding. Heck, keep Pascal in. He's a great blocker.

I will say this I want to see Reich with the same QB a few years and see if some consistency can be gained. Reich’s first yesr luck coming off shoulder, 2nd luck retires. Thirds covid and rivers has no offseason. This team would of had some consistancy  had rivers returned this year. I do feel bad for Reich he hasn’t had any consistency.

[EastStreet]

7 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

I will say this I want to see Reich with the same QB a few years and see if some consistency can be gained. Reich’s first yesr luck coming off shoulder, 2nd luck retires. Thirds covid and rivers has no offseason. This team would of had some consistancy  had rivers returned this year. I do feel bad for Reich he hasn’t had any consistency.

I just want to see improvement from Reich over the course of the year. I don't want him gone. He's got his QB locked up for a few years. I think it's fair to think/want our O to be more dynamic the 2nd half of the season. My beef is primarily with the same stuff happening over and over... 

[GoColts8818]

52 minutes ago, krunk said:

I didnt think all that blitzing was necessary. Sure do it in spots. Wilson got to the point where he knew what was up. Im assuming they worked blitz more into the game plan once they knew Turay wasnt playing and we had a rookie on the other side. I dont even know how many snaps Rochelle got if any. I think the opportunity they allow him is a bit strange. 

Wasn’t really my point.  I was just pointing out I think Vilma did a good job explaining why the Colts were doing what they were doing.  
 

Rochelle was inactive.

[TheUnshuffler]

Silver lining for me here is that we lost game one to a good team at least rather than let’s say the Jags for instance.

[GoColts8818]

6 minutes ago, TheUnshuffler said:

Silver lining for me here is that we lost game one to a good team at least rather than let’s say the Jags for instance.

Who had the Texans alone in first place of the AFC South at any point of the season?

[shasta519]

3 hours ago, EastStreet said:

Purely my opinion, but I think 3 things are in play here.

 

First, our 4-3 is really a 4-2-5 most of the time. Our MLB isn't just a MLB. Both LBs are asked to do a lot. The NB and SSs are both shallow often on the flats to help, but both LBs are asked to cover and be a hoover (tackles). 

 

Second, folks underestimated Walker's strengths (vs the run), and harped on his pass D deficiencies. 

 

Third, we gambled that Oke, who struggled vs the run in college, would develop. 

 

What we found out in year one, was that a Walker/Oke combo was effective with Walker playing early downs and Oke on passing downs. Oke's passing grades weren't that much better than Walker's. Then last year, we started playing Oke more snaps, and we ignored the run struggles thinking he only needed more snaps. Maybe he will turn the corner, but he got exposed this week. Only time will tell, but not looking good right now. He's never been good in traffic, and he's has to, if he's going to be a 3 down MIKE for us.

Walker was just bad last year though. Too slow in the pass and run game.

 

The Oke hype this offseason was puzzling after what we saw last season. I hope he figures it out.
 

My “bold” prediction about LBs being a weakness was on full display today unfortunately. That has to change because I don’t see the secondary being much of a strength, at least not until they have a healthy Rhodes.