United Seahawks determined to correct rough start to season

September 25, 2017 by admin
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NASHVILLE — The Seattle Seahawks sent a powerful political message before their 33-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The problem is that the statement they made with their play wasn’t nearly as impressive. It’s accurate to say Seattle is unified in their beliefs about how best to deal with the controversial statements uttered by President Donald Trump over the weekend. What’s also obvious is that this is a team that is going through some major growing pains in the first month of this season.

There’s really two ways to look at Seattle right now. The first approach is to say their 1-2 record is the result of two tough road losses against strong opponents — the first being a season-opening loss at Green Bay — and that they’ll get healthy in upcoming games against Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Rams. The second evaluation has less to do with who Seattle has been playing and more to do with how they’ve been playing. This defeat at Tennessee reflected plenty of the same issues that have dogged this team through the first three weeks.

Quarterback Russell Wilson continues to run for his life behind a shaky offensive line. The defense has been holding its own but the Titans were able to hit them with some big plays when it mattered most. “We have to find our consistency,” said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. “We’ve got to get it right and we’re not there yet. Hopefully we have enough time to get going. We need to work together (and) play together so that it shows up where we’re connected. Right now it’s kind of spotty and not consistent enough.”

To be fair, it’s not like the Seahawks don’t have experience with fighting through difficult times. They lost four of their first six games in 2015 and still finished 10-6. Last year they struggled after a season-ending injury to Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas — losing three out of their final six regular-season games — and still persevered. Seattle wound up winning the NFC West for the third time in the last four years.

The odds of the Seahawks turning around their early-season problems seem quite likely based on that recent history. If you base it on their recent performance on the field, that optimism probably isn’t as strong at this stage. Seattle actually led 14-9 in the third quarter of this contest until the Titans seized control of the game. Tennessee scored 21 unanswered points after that, including: a 55-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to Rishard Matthews; a 24-yard scoring toss from Mariota to Jonnu Smith; and a 75-yard touchdown run by DeMarco Murray.

It’s fairly uncommon to see the Seahawks give up a succession of big plays like that. It’s just as surprising to watch this team labor on offense. After scoring 21 total points in its first two games, Seattle converted just four of 14 third-down attempts (29 percent) while gaining a mere 69 rushing yards. The stat sheet will say Tennessee only sacked Wilson once but that’s a testament to his mobility. As wide receiver Doug Baldwin said, “I wish we could’ve done more for our defense and we will. We’ll figure that out.”

“It’s a few plays here and there,” Wilson said. “We don’t have to go searching or thinking we’re not a good football team or anything like that. We’re a great football team. And we played a great football team today. That’s respect to them. … For us, it’s staying the course. There’s no panic in this room. We’ve been through it all. We just have to continue to believe in what we’re doing and continue to get sharper.”

There is an obvious reason why the Seahawks weren’t as discouraged by this effort as one would expect. Along with having the confidence that comes from sustained success, they also realize this weekend offered other challenges that affected them personally. Like every other team in the NFL, the Seahawks spent most of Saturday trying to determine the best way to respond to Trump’s inflammatory comments that teams should fire players who protest during the national anthem. The Seahawks responded by staying in the locker room while the anthem was played, a strategy that the Titans also chose to implement.

Some of Seattle’s most prominent players used their respective press conferences to answer several questions about the thought process behind that protest. Cornerback Richard Sherman acknowledged that the players met for two hours to discuss the matter on Saturday and then used another 90 minutes with the coaches to determine a proper course of action. It didn’t take long to see that losing a game didn’t mean as much to them as standing up to Trump.

Baldwin acknowledged that it’s always hard for him to separate what happens to him in everyday life and what happens to him at work. Sunday made that effort even harder. “This loss feels different but I think it’s an opportunity for us to continue to unify,” Baldwin said. “We did some great things today against a very good team. We had our mistakes as well. But that’s football. We’ll go back home, rest up, look at the tape, make our corrections and get ready for next week.”

Added Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett: “We might have lost this game but we have a long season ahead and a lot of football. This is going to unite us in a way that will take us beyond football.”

That unity might very well be a key component of what happens to this Seahawks team moving forward. It’s no secret that there has been dissension between the offense and defense on this team in the past — and that was when this team was playing at a championship level. Sherman talked candidly about how nobody wanted to initiate a protest that didn’t involve the entire team. As he pointed out, the collective impact wouldn’t be as strong if somebody felt uncomfortable about the message they were sending.

It’s also true that the Seahawks have some things they have to figure out in a hurry. They may have been able to patch together a serviceable offensive line in the past but this year’s unit poses serious challenges, especially since starting left tackle George Fant tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the preseason. The depth in the backfield also hasn’t yielded great results. Eddie Lacy has vanished from the rotation (he didn’t carry the ball once on Sunday), Thomas Rawls continues to be hampered by injuries and rookie Chris Carson has only looked promising in spurts.

If the Seahawks really are going to become dangerous again, those are two of the major areas that need to be fixed. The good news is that Seattle battled back — even with Baldwin lost to a groin injury late in the game — to come within a failed onside kick of completing a comeback. “We felt like we were going to win the game,” Carroll said. “As odd as that may sound, the way that game looked, we were just one bounce away from getting the ball back and we’re going to win. That’s how we felt and went about it.”

The problem is that Seattle didn’t win. They made an ugly performance look better than it actually was and they left Nissan Stadium with plenty of problems to address. The Seahawks knew they did a lot of good when it came to standing up for what’s right off the field. When they get back to Seattle, they’ll have to spend even more time determining how to address what’s seriously wrong on it.

Follow Jeffri Chadiha on Twitter at @jeffrichadiha.

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Best and worst moments from the Redskins’ 27-10 win over the Raiders

September 25, 2017 by admin
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Vernon Davis catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter. (Photo by John McDonnell / The Washington Post)

The best and worst moments from the Redskins’ 27-10 win over the Raiders at FedEx Field on Sunday night.

Best defense: The Redskins limited the Raiders to 128 total yards of offense and Oakland didn’t eclipse the century mark until its final, meaningless drive. The last time Washington held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards was when they shut out the Eagles on Sept. 30, 1991. Oakland was 0 for 11 on third down, committed three turnovers, managed only seven first downs and averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per play.

Best ‘Finally!’: Washington received the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards on seven plays to take a 21-0 lead. The final 52 yards came on a pass to 2016 first-round draft pick Josh Doctson, who came down with the ball despite good coverage by ex-Redskin David Amerson for his first career touchdown. “I guarantee you at least one word out of his mouth was, ‘Finally,’ ” analyst Cris Collinsworth said of Daniel Snyder as NBC’s cameras showed the Redskins owner celebrating Doctson’s first catch of the season in his FedEx Field box. The 6-foot-2 Doctson was limited to two games last season with Achilles’ injuries. The only thing that could’ve made the play more poetic was if it had come on a fade pass.

Worst leaving the door ajar: The Redskins were in full control after forcing a three-and-out and forcing a Raiders punt with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Jamison Crowder muffed his second punt of the year and Oakland’s James Cowser recovered at the Washington 18-yard line. The Raiders took advantage of the short field, with Jared Cook’s 21-yard touchdown reception two plays later giving Oakland life in a game that had no business being competitive.

Best revelation: Chris Thompson is the Redskins’ best offensive weapon, and it is not particularly close. Washington faced a third and 19 from deep in its own territory on its next possession before Thompson took a short pass from Kirk Cousins and raced 74 yards for a first down. The drive ended with a 23-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, which extended the Redskins’ lead to 24-7. Thompson finished with six catches for 150 yards and a touchdown and added 38 yards on eight carries, which puts him in some pretty elite company.

Chris Thompson just the sixth player with at least 150 receiving yards and 35 rushing yards in the last 25 years.

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 25, 2017

Worst way to make what should be a blowout of epic proportions interesting: The Raiders had 71 total yards of offense and still trailed 24-7 when Redskins rookie Samaje Perine, who started in place of the injured Rob Kelley, fumbled at the Washington 12-yard line with 12:16 to play in the fourth quarter. The Raiders recovered, but the Redskins’ defense tightened, and Oakland settled for a field goal after three Derek Carr incompletions.

Best door-slamming drive: The Redskins extended their lead to three scores on their next possession, marching 65 yards on nine plays and burning nearly six minutes off the clock. Mack Brown, who go the call after Perine’s fumble, rushed for 18 yards on the drive, which culminated in another short Hopkins field goal. But seriously, this shouldn’t have been a 17-point game. The Redskins outgained the Raiders by 344 total yards, their largest margin since they outgained the Bears by 385 yards in 1974. Washington won that game 42-0.

Worst decision: Starting Carr in your fantasy league. He threw his second interception of the game early in the second quarter to Kendall Fuller and finished the game 19 of 31 for 118 yards. The Raiders’ dynamic receiving duo of Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper were limited to a combined two catches for 13 yards.

Best QB: Cousins, meanwhile, turned in his best performance of the season. He completed 25 of 30 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Best start: Fifty-six seconds into the game, Redskins rookie safety Montae Nicholson intercepted Raiders quarterback Carr’s deep pass intended for Amari Cooper. Carr’s first interception of the season came on Oakland’s second play from scrimmage and, coupled with Mason Foster’s game-sealing interception against the Rams last week, gave Washington’s defense interceptions on consecutive passes. That’s a recipe for success.

Best capitalizing off a turnover: Eight plays later, Cousins found Thompson wide open in the flat for a 22-yard touchdown, Thompson’s team-leading fourth score of the year. Cousins was 3 for 3 on the drive, including a 26-yard completion to tight end Vernon Davis on third down.

[Redskins players, owner link arms during anthem following Trump’s criticism]

Best pressure: The Raiders’ second possession went better than their first crack at the Redskins’ defense, insomuch as they avoided turning the ball over. Jonathan Allen and Junior Galette combined to sack Carr on second down and Preston Smith registered his third sack in as many games on the next play to force an Oakland punt. Washington sacked Carr four times.

Best points off turnovers: Davis, starting in place of Jordan Reed, caught an 18-yard touchdown pass on the drive following Carr’s second interception to give the Redskins a 14-0 lead. The tight end celebrated with a jump shot over the crossbar, which is is no longer a 15-yard penalty.

Best first-half domination: The Redskins outgained the Raiders 223-47 in the first 30 minutes and took a 14-0 lead into the break. Washington had 11 first downs to Oakland’s two.

Worst playing it safe: Facing fourth and inches from the Oakland 40-yard line with 40 seconds remaining in the first half, the Redskins attempted to draw the Raiders offside before taking a delay of game penalty and punting. Washington knew it would get the ball to start the second half, but with the way the Redskins’ defense was playing, it seemed like a missed, low-risk opportunity to get at least three points before halftime.

Best moves: Davis still has it at age 33. He made Raiders cornerback TJ Carrie look silly with a quick change of direction on a second-quarter reception.

Vernon Davis shook 38 so much he stumbled for 5 yards and tackled his own teammate pic.twitter.com/i3Qp8FF3B9

— Danny (@recordsANDradio) September 25, 2017

Best prime time performers … on Sunday nights since 2016: The Redskins improved to 7-21 in prime time since the end of the 2007 season and 4-6 in Sunday night games during that span. Washington routed the Packers, 42-24, in its only Sunday night game last season.

Best underdogs: The Redskins improved to 13-10-1 straight up as underdogs since 2015, which is the most wins of any underdog.

Best leg workout: Marquette King and Tress Way alternated punts on six consecutive first-half possessions.

Worst sight: Before Sunday, the Raiders were the only NFL team that hadn’t made at least two trips to FedEx Field. Local fans of the Silver and Black were excited to see them, judging by all the Oakland jerseys in the crowd. The Raiders’ only previous visit to Landover was a 16-13 Oakland win on Nov. 20, 2005. The Bengals (0-2), Chiefs (0-3), Falcons (0-2) and Steelers (0-2) are now the only teams Washington hasn’t defeated at least once at its current home.

Not sure this shows it but there are a lot of Raiders fans. A lot. pic.twitter.com/PWyQEaRa2p

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 25, 2017

Best Beast Mode: The NFL is better with Marshawn Lynch in it. He only managed 13 yards on five carries in the first half, but he had a classic Beast Mode run on a short gain in the second quarter and avoided a fumble despite Josh Norman’s best effort to punch the ball loose. D.J. Swearinger rocked Lynch on his first carry of the second half. Lynch finished with six carries for 18 yards.

More on the Redskins:

In a world polarized by Trump, FedEx Field becomes an unlikely oasis

London Fletcher: If I was still in the NFL, I would demonstrate

Trump’s remarks drag NFL owners into political debate

In showings of protest and solidarity, NFL teams respond to Trump’s criticisms

Brewer: Can Kirk Cousins win when the going gets tough?

The Raiders’ prolific passing attack provides a big test