The Seattle Seahawks’ Monday night fiasco against the St. Louis Rams showcased and exacerbated the problems with the team’s passing game. Quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked seven times and hit or rushed nearly every time he dropped back to pass. He managed to pass for 139 yards, but 80 of those yards came on one play. In fact, other than that 80 yard TD pass to Golden Tate, the Seahawks pass offense looked dead.
The outlook got even worse after the game when it was revealed that Sidney Rice tore his ACL and would be out for the remainder of the season. With an offensive line that looked like Swiss cheese against St. Louis and with their most experienced receiver sidelined, the Seahawks need to come up with some offensive solutions if they hope to make a run at the Super Bowl.
Even though there have been games where Rice wasn’t much of a factor, he is an important part of the Seahawks’ passing attack. Already this year he’s been responsible for 15 catches for 231 yards and three touchdowns in eight games. Those are lower numbers than last year, but still significant. Beyond the offense he creates, Rice represents a threat that other teams must cover, often with their number one corner. And when a guy makes catches like this, you can’t say his absence won’t be noticed.
With Rice gone, the receiver coverage will likely be more focused on Golden Tate, a receiver capable of big plays, but also capable of mental mistakes. He’s emerged as the leading receiver for the Hawks with 439 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and he’s shown he’s capable of making highlight reel catches. At the same time, he’s shown he’s young by making poor decisions, like the gratuitous taunting call in the Rams game, that have cost the team. In short, he has the talent, but questions remain about his ability to be a leader in the receiving corps.
The most obvious solution to the receiving problem is for Percy Harvin to fully recover and make his Seahawks debut. But Harvin represents a $67 million investment for the Hawks, and they want to make sure he makes a full recovery from the hip injury that’s kept him out for the first half of the season before he returns. Putting him on the field before he’s ready and risking re-injury would be a huge long-term mistake. That being said, Harvin’s recovery has been progressing well, and don’t be surprised if the timeline for his return moves up based on the great need the team has for his skills.
Until Harvin returns expect to see more balls being thrown Doug Baldwin’s way. After a stellar 2011 season in which he led the team in receiving with 788 yards and 4 TDs, Baldwin had a relatively quiet 2012 and hasn’t made a huge impact in the 2013 season (372 yards receiving and one TD). Baldwin has shown he’s capable of making plays when the Seahawks need him, and they will definitely need him to step up in the coming weeks while they wait for Harvin to return to action.
The loss of Sidney Rice represents a great opportunity for Jermaine Kearse. The University of Washington product generated a lot of excitement in the preseason and has made some amazing plays in the regular season, like this game winner against Carolina. He hasn’t broken into heavy rotation yet, with a total of 8 receptions on the year, but that could change in the next few weeks. If he can put his speed to use and show that he can hang onto a pass, he will be a key component as the Seahawks try to establish their new receiving identity.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The Seahawks still have Marshawn Lynch anchoring their run game, and the coming month is the easiest of their season (they’ll face Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Minnesota leading into their bye week). It’s imperative, though, that they use the next four weeks to solve their passing problem. Their bye week is followed by a home game against the Saints and the 49ers at Candlestick. You can bet neither of those teams will let the Seahawks sneak away with a victory like the Rams did on Monday night.
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