5 Takeaways from Seahawks-Dolphins
Ace Ventura, Geno and Charbonnet, plus the Seahawks guard problem
In Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Jim Carrey plays the title character in a ridiculous plot where he is trying to find who stole the Miami Dolphin. Like, the actual dolphin. Soon after, quarterback Dan Marino is also kidnapped. I won’t spoil the ending, plus the ending isn’t very 2024 appropriate. For anyone my age, Ace Ventura was part of our comedy canon alongside Billy Madison, Dumb and Dumber, Friday, and Happy Gilmore. The hilarious moments in these films don’t quite translate to newer audiences, but to us they were gold. While the 2024 Miami Dolphins may not be missing their mascot, they are missing a quarterback. And in similar fashion to 90’s comedy not translating to 2024, the 2023 Miami offense also doesn’t translate.
Are the Seahawks as good as their 3-0 record would make you believe? Well, they are the #1 ranked team according to Pro Football Focus with the #8 offense, #1 defense and #2 special teams. At the same time, Seattle faced Bo Nix, Jacoby Brissett, Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle at quarterback. But as they say, you can only play who they schedule in front of you. We will learn a lot more when the Hawks head to Detroit for Monday Night Football this week. For now, here are five takeaways from the Miami game.
Geno Smith is an Elite QB
Years ago there was a great debate over whether Joe Flacco was elite. In fact, one of the best student sections signs I saw was simply “Joe Flacco is elite”. It meant nothing to the opponent. It meant nothing to the game itself. But it made everyone who attended, including the players, pause and say: “Is Joe Flacco elite?”. Geno Smith might be the new Joe Flacco. You will find plenty of Geno detractors on social media. You will also find some backers in the media. But the reality is that in the current state of the NFL, Geno Smith is elite.
Geno is third in completion percentage, third in passing yards, and sixth overall in PFF grade. He is #1 in the NFL in adjusted completion percentage, meaning the most throws on target of any quarterback. More than Mahomes or Allen or Hurts. More than anyone. Elite.
The Defensive has More Depth than The Great Gatsby
Nearly every American who attended high school read The Great Gatsby. Many will name it as their favorite novel they read in high school. These same people don’t name it as their favorite because it is easy; they love it because of its depth. Finding the meaning behind ol’ Owl Eyes or discussing Daisy throwing shirts around the room isn’t a surface level conversation. On the surface of the Seattle defense, one might be worried about the loss of Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy. (In fairness, you should worry a little). However, the Seahawks’ depth showed up on Sunday and it was fun to watch.
Derrick Hall’s six pressures and two sacks led the way for Seattle, but he was joined by a better performance from Dre’Mont Jones (three hurries) and surprise help from Tyus Bowser and Trevis Gipson. Can the Seahawks withstand playing a Bowser, Gipson and Mike Morris more snaps if Williams and Murphy can’t go? Well, a 24-3 victory would tell you the answer is “yes”, even with the law firm of Thompson & Boyle quarterbacking.
The Hawks Still Need the K9 Unit
Zach Charbonnet was better than last week. In particular, he hit the holes and punished defenders on the game clinching 98 yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Charbonnet collected 42 of his 91 yards on that magnificent drive, including three carries of 10 yards or more. He did what he does best which is punish tired defenders for being near him. Charbonnet is among the league’s best in yards after contact and his style clearly has value in the Seahawks offense. It is just that it won’t be enough against good teams.
Charbonnet still is slow to hit the hole and misses opportunities for cut backs as he seeks contact.
On this play, Charbonnet ran the ball straight at the pile rather than moving to his left and hitting the hole created by Connor Williams and Laken Tomlinson. In fairness, Charbonnet hit the hole better late in the game and also benefited from patience and following blocks for some of his big runs against Miami. However, he was only averaging 3.7 yards per carry in the first half and outside of that late drive was at 12 carries for 49 yards. Those numbers will work in a tandem. Ken Walker III’s ability to explode through the hole will be needed against the likes of Detroit. Using Walker and Charbonnet in a 50-50 split could work really well until Walker gets healthier.
Riq and Spoon Eliminate the Wide Receiver Position from the NFL
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are two of the most talented receivers in the NFL, but you wouldn’t know it from the game this weekend. Hill recorded three catches for 40 yards and Waddle pulled down four catches for just 26 yards. It would be easy to point to poor quarterback play for the lack of success for the Dolphins wideouts. But that ignores the awesome play of Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.
Through three games, Riq has allowed four catches for 31 yards for a QB rating of 7. And the Hawks have not played Northwestern yet. Witherspoon has allowed just 10 catches for 71 yards. And Tre Brown would like to join the party. He has allowed four catches for 52 yards. Amon -Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams will test the Hawks (or more appropriately Jared Goff) this week. Riq and Spoon say “bring it on”.
The Hawks Have a Guard Problem
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was cruising through Sarajevo and was assassinated essentially twice (survived the first attempt and not the second within hours), he had a guard problem. Where were the guards protecting him? When the 2007 Seattle SuperSonics rolled out a starting lineup combination of Earl Watson and Damien Wilkins, they had a guard problem. Similarly, your Seattle Seahawks have a guard problem.
Laken Tomlinson is rated the 70th guard in the NFL in pass blocking and Anthony Bradford is rated 74th. There are 32 teams in the NFL. If you took every starting guard, you would get through every starter in the league plus some reserves before getting to the Seahawks duo. Sure, they are better in run blocking but Anthony Bradford also was called for two more penalties on Sunday. That is seven on the year, good for second worst in the NFL (amazing Laremy Tunsil has 10!). Tomlinson has allowed five hurries and Bradford six on the year. In this game alone, they allowed seven combined hurries by the Dolphins (and Bradford allowed two sacks). Are you serious? Give me some Christian Haynes soon. It can’t possibly be worse.
I don't remember the ending to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Maybe that's a good thing? I caught some of the game. I appreciate the analysis - thank you!