Ugly? You Bet! Seattle Seahawks Pick Up First Win

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. In the first win for the Seahawks, we saw a little of both.

There were times when the defense made you stand up and pay attention and times when the offense made you scratch your head with "What the .... was that"?

Seattle stuck with its game plan and pulled off an ugly victory. I am sure they are jumping up and down in the locker room, they deserve it, but there is still a long way to go.

Let's take a look at what worked and what didn't.

The Good News on Defense

It was good to see the Seahawks defense come together. When Arizona wasn't in its hurry-up offense, Seattle dominated the tempo of the game, shutting down the Kolb-to-Fitzgerald connection and keeping the running under wraps all day.

I noticed the linebackers looked much more active in the new starting alignment, and much more together as a unit. I am sure that Aaron Curry had a better game today than in the past, but the plays we saw on TV were ones of him in coverage against Fitzgerald on the flat and that is a tough assignment.

He couldn't keep up on those plays however, which seems to limit his usefulness to being on the field during running plays only. His inability to be as versatile as K.J.Wright is cutting into his playing time. This might turn out to be one of the best moves so far by Gus Bradley.

Kam Chancellor is gaining a reputation for big hits already. The one on tight end Todd Heap certainly caused a stir among the Cardinals.

The reaction by coach Whisenhunt was classic. I am sure he was concerned about his player, but reading his lips it looked like he was telling the ref that the hit was uncalled for. From my point of view, that's football.

He could have pulled up, but then again, do hard-hitting defenses pull up? No. Did he try to hurt him, or try to take him out of the game? No. He did put the hurt on him, and it sent a message. "We are here to play tough defense."

The Bad on Defense

Larry Fitzgerald is good, no doubt. The Seahawks got schooled on a few plays, fortunately, it was just a few.

There was not much to complain about on the defensive side of the ball. The defense won this one for the Seahawks, it is that simple. The one smudge on the record is the Cardinals ability to move the ball during the hurry-up offense in the first half.

That was adjusted at halftime and it showed during the two drives by Arizona at the end of the game. One of those ended in an interception by Chancellor and the other ended in a huge hit by Leroy Hill at the end of the game.

It was an exclamation point, and one that the Seahawks defense needs to carry into next week's game with Atlanta coming into town.

The four-man pass rush looked better, with Clemons and Brock coming off the edges. It looked like Clemons is finally getting into game shape and is feeling healthy again.

I'm sure as the season goes on, this unit will start to dominate offenses. We are not quite there yet, as our youth still shows up on occasion, such as the completions on third-and-long to receivers in double coverage.

I am a bit concerned with the tackling at times also. I must admit, with the strength and speed of the receivers and backs in this league, it has to be difficult to put your shoulders at risk by tackling with your arms instead of taking their legs out with a shoulder, arms tucked in.

I see a lot of that in many of the games, not just the Seahawks, and can only guess that shoulder pain is the reason. Have you ever tried to tackle a telephone pole? Probably something similar to trying to tackle Marshawn Lynch. 

The Offense: Marshawn Lynch Finally Gets to Run

First off, the running game got started and showed up when needed. It showed us what's to come when this line finally gels. Marshawn Lynch still hasn't gotten to 100 yards in a game but 78 yards is such a big improvement.

Can we get excited about almost 300 yards of offense? You bet! When you compare that to the last two weeks, it is definitely an improvement.

There were times when anyone could see what Pete Carroll has been preaching since training camp opened. We are a young, active team, and as long as we don't give the ball away on offense, we will hang in there long enough to give ourselves a chance to win.

Thank you, Sidney Rice, for showing up for this game. The reception along the sidelines definitely helped stretch the field and opened some room to run. Thank you, Darrell Bevell, for opening up the playbook a bit. Thank you, Tom Cable, for kicking some .... and getting the most out of this young line.

Carry on, it's working.

Thank you, Tarvaris Jackson, your TD won the game and will give you some breathing room and time to get this offense rolling. Thank you, Zach Miller, you are making a difference already.

Another plus for the offense is it performed against a decent defense. Arizona has not been strong against the run, but they are talented, have big pass rushers and Wilson and Petersen are above-average in coverage.

Sure, the Cardinals aren't going to scare anybody, but they will be in most of their games this season on the strength of their defensive line and their pass-rush ability.

The Bad on Offense: Tarvaris Jackson Still Questionable

The offense had its struggles again. It is good to be home. Without the home-field advantage, this game would have turned out differently. It was at home, though, so let's move on.

No use talking about what would have happened in another stadium. This one happened at home and it almost silenced the crowd early. Two first-half field goals was two more than any other game so far. Two field goals? Are we getting excited about two field goals? Not!

The first drive was a good indication of how Seattle is easing into games. In obvious running situations, they run, in obvious passing situations, they pass. Maybe now that the running game has shown some life, that will change.

I admit, I am not sitting in the stadium watching these games. I live in Hawaii, and what is seen on TV is restricted to camera angles, and views downfield are limited. So put this in perspective.

What I saw was a QB who wanted to throw to his primary receiver. When that man was covered, getting to the next receiver in the rotation took too long. This tendency is not new to Jackson. I have seen it in each game so far.

This game in the NFL moves FAST. Real fast. Quick decisions are a part of the game, and the most successful QB's are the ones who can make quick decisions. Is it easy? Hell no! Does Tarvaris Jackson have that ability? It remains to be seen. Ask the people in Minnesota how they feel about it.

It is easy to see that the offensive line still needs a lot of work and they are learning on the run, literally. I am not alone in noticing Jackson's difficulty getting the ball out to secondary receivers, the commentators saw the same thing.

During more than one replay, I saw open receivers 10 to 15 yards downfield, who had come open on curl routes. If the ball had been delivered on time, we at least would have had a chance for first down instead of a sack or throwing the ball away a few seconds later.

I am well aware that the coaching staff could care less what TV commentators or opinionated fans like me have to say, but I am wondering what it is going to take to see a change at QB?

Will a 1-4 record do it? Maybe. That is still where we are headed. Even after a feel-good win at home.

You Call This Special? NOT!

This is one of the biggest surprises of the season. Perhaps it shouldn't have been; after all, which unit could have been more effected by the shortened offseason?

I saw Marcus Trufant in on punt coverage today. That tells me the younger players are not picking up the scheme on punt and kick coverage.

The touchdown the Cardinals made in the first half probably wouldn't have happened if they had to take it 80 yards or more to get there. The defense was playing stout enough to believe that.

The special teams got better in the second half, thank goodness, but they are not yet Special.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good: The Seahawks Won! Always good. The rest of the good? Improvement on all fronts. Offense, defense and special teams has improved.

There was even improvement from the first half to the second half. That has been the pattern since Pete Carroll arrived last year, a better second-half team. It could have something to do with the statement "You don't win games in the first quarter" or something like that. I don't know for sure.

The Bad: Breakdowns, missed passes and sacks. The offensive line is a work in progress, and they are still looking for some player consistency along with having the same players week after week. Three weeks and three different starting lineups.

Inconsistent play at quarterback. Tarvaris Jackson's running touchdown and 179 yards passing gets him at least another week to get the offense rolling. I am still not a fan. This game was won ugly, not  because T-Jack won it but in spite of him. Missed passes, over, under, behind and not delivered made it a closer game than it needed to be.

The Ugly: the truth, the ugly truth. Next week will be a much better test of where the Seahawks stand. Getting past Atlanta with a win will be a better test of both offense and defense.

I expect the defense to show up tough against the run again, will they continue to improve on pass coverage? I think a shutdown defense might just keep Seattle in the hunt until the offense gets rolling, and the offensive line gels. Then we will see if Tarvaris Jackson is an NFL-caliber quarterback.

In truth, losing Matt Hasselbeck has turned this team into an unknown commodity more than any other transaction. 'With Hasselbeck, we had a chance to win, even when the odds were against us. This year, who knows?