Jason Puckett
Email: jasonpuckett@clearchannel.com
Twitter: @jasonpuckettkjr
It's pretty simple why the Seahawks lost on Sunday, it's because they refused to play with urgency and and they no doubt rested too much on their bye.
From the get go the Seahawks were lethargic and undisciplined and they allowed the Dolphins to hang around long enough that it eventually bit them in the you know what for a 24-21 loss.
The two main factors, in my opinion, for the loss was the overall play of the defense and the offense's inability to move the ball in the first half, coupled with a very conservative game plan led to the biggest loss of the season.
Let's first start with the defense, who allowed 435 total yards to a team that was ranked 26th in the NFL in total offense, averaging 321 yards. What was more disturbing was the fact the Dolphins pounded the Seahawks on the ground to the tune of 189 yards on 28 carries. On the season Miami averages about 108 yards, good for 16th in the league.
However, what's an even more of a disturbing trend is the fact that the Seahawks can't get off the field in crucial situations when their offense has given them the lead. In the fourth quarter the Seahawks defense gave up three scoring drives. Two touchdowns and the game winning field goal that covered 82, 80 and 65 yards. What's even crazier is the amount of plays it took for the Dolphins to score those points: 7, 6 and 7 plays. A playoff caliber defense can't allow that to happen and too many times this season it has happened. The game against Miami and Detroit were prime examples of their defense not being able to hold onto a lead. But, if it weren't for a god awful throw by Cam Newton on a potential game winning drive for Carolina we'd be talking about a defense that has allowed three teams to march the length of the field for the game winning score. If you aspire to be a Super Bowl champion this just doesn't take place.
Combine those drives with Miami's first score of the game that covered 94 yards on 8 plays. It's not exactly as if Miami is some type of New England offense, I mean they are the Dolphins for crying out loud. In their two previous games against Buffalo and Tennessee they scored a combined 17 points!!
As bad as the defense was, and really they should be the focal point of every fans rage, the offensive performance in the first half was downright disgusting. But, the most disgusting part of it was the fact that Miami was playing them to throw and the Seahawks were so damn stubborn that they continued to try and run against 7 and 8 man fronts instead of trying to throw the ball. This was especially evident on first down where the Seahawks were simply a disaster in that department.
In the first half, the Seahawks ran the ball six times for a total of two yards, that's an average of .3 yards on first down!! They elected to pass the ball three times and Russell Wilson completed two of those throws for 32 yards. However, those 32 came on just one play to Golden Tate. Wilson also scrambled for eight yards on first down and he was sacked for six yards on another first down play.
The second half wasn't much better, but when they elected to throw they found success, but the problem is that those passes were too far in between. In the second half Wilson threw two times and was perfect on both attempts for a total of 26 yards. They ran the ball 10 times in the second half for 28 yards. So, if you are counting at home, the Seahawks completed 4-of-5 passes for 58 yards on first down. On the flip side, the Seahawks rushed the ball 16 times for 30 yards for an average of 1.9 per play.
From the get go the Seahawks could not produce anything on first down, especially when it came to ground game. For whatever reason the Seahawks and their offensive strategy refused to adjust their game plan and they continued to ram their head into a brick wall. At the end of the season the Seahawks may look back at this game and question their strategy as they are watching the playoffs from home.
