Hawks vs. Bills Game Thread 10/27/24

[D-train]

They lost to the lions but they still played well, they lost to the Bills and played like shit, that's the issue, not their record. Win or lose its the quality of the football they play. The recency bias is witnessing some really crappy football. There's no excuse, the Bills didn't force them into those mistakes. I don't see what MM being a rookie coach would have to do with it either

The worst loss of the season by far was at home vs. the Giants who are 1-6 vs. the rest of the league but then we go on the road and beat the Falcons who are 5-2 vs. the rest of the league on the road by 20 points. Can't take what happened in the last game vs. a SB contender in a game we would have been in if not for two inane trips to the red zone and extrapolate it out to the entire rest of the season. imo

[D-train]

And don't forget this idiot penalty that cost us at least 4 points maybe 7. Also below that, DK will be back and maybe even Fant. Just might make a difference. btw I f-ing LOVE what Reed did.

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
RENTON — Emotions admittedly got the better of the Seahawks at times during Sunday’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field.

Most notable was an on-field argument between veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed and second-year edge rusher Derick Hall that spilled over onto the sidelines, with the FOX broadcast focusing in on the incident, which was portrayed as a team fraying at the seams in frustration.

Reed said Wednesday that all is well between he and Hall — and with the team in general.

Reed explained that the team had talked about how Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen had a habit of drawing flags by flopping when he was hit after throwing passes.

Reed saw Hall hit Allen after a third-down incompletion to draw a flag, giving the Bills a first down at the Seattle 12-yard-line. The Bills scored a touchdown two plays later to take a 14-3 halftime lead.

“For one, emotions are in football, right?’’ Reed said. “But, we’ve talked about what Josh Allen could do all week with the flopping and everything. It was a bonehead play, but I just wanted to let him know that we can’t do that at that time. That was a critical play, a critical time in the game. When you do stuff like that, it leads to explosives [plays]. That’s what we’re trying to eliminate.

“… D-Hall is my guy. He’s one of my friends on this team. Our parents are cool, we’re still cool, there’s no love lost. It just happens. We talked about it right afterward and like we’re just two alpha males. Everybody out there is an alpha male and it happens. You’ve got to move on to keep playing. That’s what we did.”

Reed and Hall had several talks on the sidelines later in the game as the two appeared to smooth things out.

“I think that when you do that and we’re trying so hard to just play a clean game, and it’s already a game with a lot of penalties, you don’t want to see another one,’’ Reed said. “So for me, it’s just I had to do better on my part to address it better. That’s why I doubled back on him. I said, ‘Look, we were heated at the time. Of course, I’m mad. You want to get off the field. It was going to be a huge play. We could’ve taken points off the board.'”

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Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that while emotions are good, they need to be kept in check enough to not distract from the task at the hand.

He said Sunday — when quarterback Geno Smith got a flag for throwing a football at a Bills player after being hit on the sidelines — might have been a time when the Seahawks needed to rein it in some.

“We talked about it on Tuesday,’’ he said. “The guys know. We’ve done a great job of that throughout the season. I felt like this game was the first time where it felt like there was a little bit of looking around rather than coming together. Again, we’re going to grow from it. Our guys see it. Everybody’s been awesome this week. Bump in the road and onward we go.”

Macdonald said while frustration is natural when a team has endured a stretch as the Seahawks have, he said all understand the need to stay together.

“All of our guys are not satisfied with where we’re at and not pleased with the results that are on the field,’’ he said. “It’s going to take everybody to do their part and make it come together and make it come to life.“

Macdonald optimistic Metcalf will play
Receiver DK Metcalf did not practice Wednesday as he continues to recover from a sprained MCL suffered against Atlanta on Oct. 20 that sidelined him against Buffalo.

Macdonald said the team remains optimistic he’ll play Sunday.

“Guy is doing a great job, confident,’’ Macdonald said. “Still not going to practice today, and optimistic for tomorrow. So we’ll kind of play it day by day,’’

Only two others missed practice due to injury — cornerback Devon Witherspoon (foot) and receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (knee). DL Leonard Williams also sat out, listed as noninjury related/rest.

Macdonald talked to reporters before the injury report came out, so he was not asked about Witherspoon. He was not listed with an injury at any point during Sunday’s game, when he played 69 snaps.

Eight players were listed as limited: tackles George Fant (knee) and Abraham Lucas (knee), receiver Tyler Lockett (oblique), linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (ankle), nose tackle Cameron Young (knee), tight end Noah Fant (groin) and guard Laken Tomlinson (NIR-rest).

Asked about Jones, who left Sunday’s game briefly, Macdonald said: “He’s got a shoulder. We’re going to take care of him throughout the week to make sure he is ready to go on Sunday, but we’re optimistic he’ll be ready to go.”

Fant has not played since the opener, but the team hopes he will return against the Rams though Macdonald said he wasn’t sure yet.

“George should start practicing this week in the manner of, ‘Hey, let’s possibly get him ready to go,’” Macdonald said.

If Fant returns he will likely start at right tackle, where rookie Michael Jerrell has played the past two weeks.

“We would not rotate the right tackle right now,’’ Macdonald said. “If George was up, if he started.”

[Michael K.]

Can't take what happened in the last game vs. a SB contender in a game we would have been in if not for two inane trips to the red zone and extrapolate it out to the entire rest of the season. imo

3 games in 11 days. Fuck you Goodell. The team that played the Lions looked NOTHING like the team that played the GMen. "We care about players safety!" Fuck off. That was a straight up screw job. The internet would still be on fire if that happened to the Chiefs or Niners.

[Michael K.]

This team is .500 on paper but it won't be close to a .500 team at the end of the season. Look at the schedule. Do honestly see a path where this team wins any more than 7 games?
Pete didn't inherit a team with a winning record. Pete didn't play his first 3 games against teams without a QB. Pete also had already gone through his growing pains and figured out who he was. Pete had more years experience in football when he took the job than MacDonald has years being alive.

We get it, you wish Pete was still here to tell us it'll all be OK if we just stay positive and do what we have always done, year after year, even though it stopped working. I don't, and the last fucking thing I am going to do is toss aside a young coach to try and find the next young coach, just so I can do it all over again.

[Michael K.]

I honestly don't see this team beating the 9ers or Rams, and maybe not even the Cards. So the sadness is likely to get even worse.
Like I said though, I haven't given up on MacDonald yet. I consider Schneider suspect.

That's a tough one for me, because I have really liked the last few drafts. You can make a case for us using picks in odd positions at odd times. I like Spoon, and am fine with a CB early, but we needed help inside and upfront. Same can be said for JSN...good dude, good player, but pretty early for a receiver that projects as a slot guy, and an odd decision when we need so much help upfront on Offense and Defense. It isn't something I have really dove into much though, I mean, who did we pass on, etc.

[D-train]

Can't take what happened in the last game vs. a SB contender in a game we would have been in if not for two inane trips to the red zone and extrapolate it out to the entire rest of the season. imo

3 games in 11 days. Fuck you Goodell. The team that played the Lions looked NOTHING like the team that played the GMen. "We care about players safety!" Fuck off. That was a straight up screw job. The internet would still be on fire if that happened to the Chiefs or Niners.

Yeah that sure didn't help. This team is going to be fine and I will keep being a homer an put one point on them EVERY weeks.

[Donn Beach]

They lost to the lions but they still played well, they lost to the Bills and played like shit, that's the issue, not their record. Win or lose its the quality of the football they play. The recency bias is witnessing some really crappy football. There's no excuse, the Bills didn't force them into those mistakes. I don't see what MM being a rookie coach would have to do with it either

The worst loss of the season by far was at home vs. the Giants who are 1-6 vs. the rest of the league but then we go on the road and beat the Falcons who are 5-2 vs. the rest of the league on the road by 20 points. Can't take what happened in the last game vs. a SB contender in a game we would have been in if not for two inane trips to the red zone and extrapolate it out to the entire rest of the season. imo

It's not about extrapolating over the rest of the season, it's about seeing improvement over the season played. Yeah they lost to the Bills, the issue for me is they looked as inept as they have all season. If you guys are satisfied with the progress okay then

[Michael K.]

It's not about extrapolating over the rest of the season, it's about seeing improvement over the season played. Yeah they lost to the Bills, the issue for me is they looked as inept as they have all season. If you guys are satisfied with the progress okay then

No one was satisfied with the loss to the Bills. I just think it is crazy to say that after a 4 and 4 start, the head coach is in over his head and people knew it all along! Bullshit. He was a highly sought after young mind that we were lucky to get. Does that mean it has to work out? No, but this idea that the best way is a retread is just simply not backed up by ONE SINGLE TIDBIT of data. We went over this add nauseum during the hiring search!

The only thing I showed against MacDonald was that the bright young offensive minds seemed to attract creative offensive minds to be their OC. The opposite didn't seem to be true about the guys that were defensive guys. But? I liked the Grubb hire, and I am pretty sure Demico Ryans was a defensive guy. The Texans looked pretty good on offense last yea. Been a struggle this year, but if I am not mistaken...they have played exactly one full game with Nico Collins, Steph Diggs and Joe Mixon. I imagine that might have a lot to do with the offensive struggles.

[Captain 97]

This team is .500 on paper but it won't be close to a .500 team at the end of the season. Look at the schedule. Do honestly see a path where this team wins any more than 7 games?
Pete didn't inherit a team with a winning record. Pete didn't play his first 3 games against teams without a QB. Pete also had already gone through his growing pains and figured out who he was. Pete had more years experience in football when he took the job than MacDonald has years being alive.

I honestly don't see this team beating the 9ers or Rams, and maybe not even the Cards. So the sadness is likely to get even worse.
Like I said though, I haven't given up on MacDonald yet. I consider Schneider suspect.

Nobody saw us losing to the Giants or beating the Falcons either. There is a reason we all don't have perfect scores in the pick em pool. Recency bias hits hard after big wins or losses...especially the latter...

Frankly they didn't play that well against Atlanta. The Falcons just played like the Huskies.
Atlanta had more yards, more 1st downs, more plays from scrimmage and more time of possession. Atlanta gave them 3 turnovers directly leading to 10 points. They had 15 yard roughing the passer on 3rd and 5 that led to a TD and they missed a field goal. There's your 20 points right there.

[Michael K.]

Frankly they didn't play that well against Atlanta. The Falcons just played like the Huskies.
Atlanta had more yards, more 1st downs, more plays from scrimmage and more time of possession. Atlanta gave them 3 turnovers directly leading to 10 points. They had 15 yard roughing the passer on 3rd and 5 that led to a TD and they missed a field goal. There's your 20 points right there.

So, if we lost a game in that fashion, what would you say? You don't like MacDonald, I get that, what ever. But you don't think this kind of consternation is a bit premature? Holmgren was 31 and 33 his first four years. As I mentioned before, Pete Carroll was 14 and 18 his first two years. This "winning team" that Pete handed him? That you already referenced? Was 25 and 26 the last three years and lost their only playoff game in those three years by a whopping 41 to 23 score. The Seahawks didn't move away from Carroll because this team was trending in the right direction.

I just don't see the handwringing. I didn't think this was a Playoff team, and I may have been fooled by the 3 and 0 start, but I am certainly not going to freak out over losing three games in 11 games, especially when one was a highly competitive game against what appears to be the best team in the Conference, and I am not going to freak out about losing to the Bills. The Bills are 6 and 2 and came into our game having outscored opponents 199 to 136. So, 28.5 to 19. 31 to 10 is obviously worse than that, but I don't know how it's MacDonald's fault that our Center snapped a ball over the QBs head and then stepped on his foot later? Not sure how it's MacDonald's fault that Josh Allen luckily fumbled a ball forward for a first down on what would have been a third down stop? I don't watch a ton of what goes on and think the coaching sucks. I do think we have a talent deficiency. Specifically up front on both sides of the ball.

What I don't see? DBs lining up 8 yards off the ball and retreating on third and six. I don't see as many give up plays on offense. I see us utilizing K9 MUCH better than those fucking jokers last year. I see assignment issues and talent issues. Those can be fixed. Timid scared as shit football wasn't going to be fixed until Pete was shown the door.