There’s a movie called Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, about a man who is convicted of murdering two teenagers and is sentenced to death. The title of the movie refers to what the prison guards say as the condemned man is led to the execution chamber.
It pains me to say it, but this, ladies and gentlemen, is the theatrical version of your 2017 Seattle Seahawks.
Even if this team somehow manages to make the playoffs, the outcome will still be the same. The season will end with a thud, there will be no reprieve, no pardon from the governor. The sooner we accept this fact, the sooner we can start making ski weekend plans in January.
If losing two consecutive games at home to mediocre opponents, Washington and Atlanta, isn’t enough to seal the deal, consider the way in the Seahawks lost to Atlanta in front of a Monday Night Football audience. Teams that make deep playoff runs don’t:
- Give up 50-yard returns on the opening kickoff.
- Drop a sure interception at the goal line.
- Call for a fake field goal from the 17-yard line with seven seconds left in the first half.
- Drop a sure TD pass in the end zone.
- Waste a fourth quarter timeout on an unwinnable, ill-advised challenge.
- Have nearly as many yards in penalties as they do in rushing.
- Allow the other team to convert nine out of 14 third downs.
- Have your star QB throw an astonishingly bad pass that was picked off on the third play of the opening drive. Then back it up by coughing up a fumble return for a TD two drives later.
But this is the egg the Seahawks laid for its fans – an avalanche of mistakes in a critical game that could have propelled them to first place in the division. The worst part is that these are just symptoms of something bigger and even more troubling. That sound you hear is the window shutting on the Seahawks’ Super Bowl years. Younger, stronger teams like the Eagles, Vikings, Rams, Panthers and Falcons have eclipsed the Hawks, and any one of them would have home-field advantage in a head-to-head match-up in the playoffs.
So how did we get to this point?
I still have not forgiven Darrell Bevell for “the call” that cost us a second consecutive Super Bowl title. And I don’t think the team has ever recovered from it either. Moreover, we have three coaches on our staff – Bevell, Kris Richard and Tom Cable – who haven’t had even a sniff of a head coaching job in the last five years for a reason…they’re not that good. Case in point – when was the last time you saw this team come out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter…or the second? Or the third? The urban myth that Tom Cable is an offensive line genius is just that – a myth. We have the certifiably worst offensive line in the league. It’s one thing to not be physical (and this line would get pushed around by a good college team) but it’s the coach’s fault when they continually commit bondhead penalties that cost the team momentum. Check and check.
Worse yet, this team has gotten too old on defense and is too young on offense. That is a bad combination. The fact that Avril, Chancellor and Sherman are all likely out for the year, and Earl Thomas seems to be getting banged up more and more is a reflection that this once dominant defense is aging quickly. On offense, the fact that we have a terrible – and terribly young – line, young running backs who can’t find their groove, and receivers who are getting pushed around by defensive backs means that all our faint hopes rest entirely on Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin performing magic acts time and time again.
This team, as presently constructed, is destined to finish at 9-7 or maybe 10-6. They may make it to the playoffs (underline “may”), but there is practically no chance they will survive past the second weekend. At this point, we as fans would be well-served to not hold out hope for the Super Bowl, and instead just relish each win we may be able to eke out before season – and this era – ends. Nothing good lasts forever. Thank you John Schneider and Pete Carroll for bringing a title to Seattle…but it’s time to start thinking about rebuilding and re-tooling.
The jailer is coming. The inmates are staring out of their cells to say goodbye to the condemned. Dead man walking.