Questions, Notes, and Quotes Going Into Seahawks vs 49ers Contest

The Seahawks start Divisional play this week in San Francisco in desperate need of a win for multiple reasons. The Hawks are on a two-game losing streak and facing the possibility of losing three in a row for the first time since October 2011.  Another reason for the  Hawks to get back on the winning side? The Rams, Cardinals are 3-0 and the 49ers are 2-1.  The Cardinals and Rams face off this week. A win over the 49ers would put the Seahawks back in the race for the divisional title. A loss to the 49ers would find the Hawks in desperation mode when they host the Rams next Thursday.

CAN THE SEAHAWKS OFFENSE FIND ITS  SCORING TOUCH IN THE SECOND HALF?

One of the Seahawk’s ailments during the two-game losing streak is the inability of the offense to produce in the second half.   The offense has scored a mere 13 second-half points in the last three games.  Russell Wilson believes the team has the right offensive strategy and it is just a matter of being patient and executing.

“We just have to execute, it’s not anything that we have to go fishing for,” Wilson said. “Obviously, we have the ability to do that, we have done that throughout the game and earlier in the game. I think we just have to execute. I think it’s the opportunities too, the more opportunities the better, but I also think it’s about catching that rhythm and staying out of third and long situations. Sometimes it’s been longer distances, I’m thinking about the third quarter of last game where we had third-and-17 or something like that. Those are always tricky to get but we just have to stay the course. We know what we are going to do, how we can do it, what our mindset is, and what we are capable of.”

BIG TAKE

Seahawks needed to run the ball early and often. Running back Chris Carson is averaging a career-high 4.9 yards per attempt.  As good as that number is Carson has just 41 carries this season averaging just 13 attempts per game.

WILL THE DEFENSE BE ABLE TO STOP 49ers?

The Seahawk’s defense is not blameless. The inability to stop the opposing offense on third down has been the main culprit. There is no push from the defensive line giving opposing quarterbacks time to throw and giving running backs time to pick and choose their lanes resulting in big gains

The lack of pressure by the dine is causing major issues for Bobby Wagner and the rest of the linebackers who are creeping closer to the line of scrimmage to help with stopping the run.

CORNERBACKS DAZED AND CONFUSED

That adjustment has left cornerbacks Tre Flowers, D.J Reed, and safety  Quandre Diggs to fend for themselves in the middle of the field during passing downs.  With Jamal Adams helping with run stoppage the secondary is simply undermanned. A lack of cohesive communication between the linebackers and defensive backs has resulted in confusion leading to a lack of execution.  During his weekly press conference, Wagner said he preached confidence and patience when he spoke to the defensive players this week.

“I spoke to everybody. I feel like we’re all on the same page. I think that was the most important thing, communication is definitely the number one thing,” Wagner said. “We’ve just got to get out of our way. These last two games defensively we’ve been in our own way. Whether it’s the penalties or our execution, we need to get out of our own way. We have the talent, we have the players, we have everything we need to be a great defense, we just need to get out of our way.”

BIG TAKE

If Benson Mayoma ( neck injury)  and Alton Robinson ( knee) return the Hawks could get the needed push to knock 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo off his block. Garappolo is a good quarterback if given time. When pressured he is prone to make bad decisions. Blitzing Adams on multiple downs would be another way to put pressure on Garoppolo. Adams has blitzed just ten times this year.

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