SB Nation User Blog: Snuffleupagus

Random Observations

Snuffleupagus — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:46:03 -0000

Today's election day and so I look for a distraction to make it pass by a bit faster and naturally I turn to football.

There are some thoughts that have been rolling round in my head and I thought I'd see if any people around here wanted to chat about them. Don't be shy, I just thought it'd be fun to have a general discussion thread here. Sure, John Morgan is the best football analyst anywhere, but sometimes the front page just isn't enough for me and I want to chat. So in no particular order . . . . .

1. Has Jon Ryan unleashed some monster punts recently? No one seemed to comment on it but I feel like a few of his punts the last couple weeks have been absolutely HUGE. am I imagining this? or are they low punts and therefore don't have the requisite hangtime to be considered good punts?

2. How does Marvin Lewis still have a job? I know this isn't a Hawks question but with head coaches dropping like flies this year I can't get this question out of my head.

3. Can someone remind me why Mora was our pick for the next generation Hawk team and not Zorn?

4. I know we're all aware of a need to start the grooming process for the next Hasselbeck but am I the only one who's seriously worried about finding the next Walter Jones? Our last draft seemed way too light on offensive line. Does Ruskel know something I don't know? is there depth within the organization? I'm a firm believer that a football team starts and ends with its o-line and that thought leaves a pit in my stomach when I think about the future of the Hawks. Is there any depth here?

5. How could the defensive coaching be this bad? I just can't blame the talent. Why? Because the wide receivers of other teams are frequently amazingly open. When a db can't cover a guy, or gets beat, he's usually somewhere in the vicinity, just a step or two behind the receiver and it's clear he got beat or juked. But, whenever there's a decent pass play against the Hawks it seems like there is no one around. anywhere. Just a receiver standing all by himself, it happens ALL THE TIME! It seems like it's been a problem all year. How can the defensive coaching be THIS bad? anyone?

6. Which running backs are people liking in this backfield? Personally I really like Julius Jones. He's playing with something to prove and he can BLOCK. I'm not someone who goes back to look at game film, but even in casual game watching I have seen Jones make some great blocks and pickups in pass protection. That kind of versatility makes him the key back to keep over the next few years, in my mind.

7. On the RB note, why don't we use Duckett more? I get that he's the 'short yardage' back, but it seems like shaking things up and using him on some first or second downs with 7-10 to go could pay dividends. He runs hard and defenses (right now) won't be looking for it.

8. How awesome is this site? seriously. And how has John Morgan not been offered a job by ESPN? I know he just focuses on one team, but I have learned more about football from this site than I would reading espn.com everyday for years.

9. Why are we playing Seneca Wallace over Charlie Frye? Is it because he gives us the best chance to win right now? I think Wallace played fine against the Eagles, but presumably we picked up Frye because Holmgren (or someone) saw something in him that they thought could make him a good QB in the future. Isn't this the situation to test that out? or is he so not ready that trying him too early could break him?

10. I really didn't intend such a long list. But now that I'm here I really feel like there should be '10'. So . . . how awesome is Matt Ryan? Did anyone see that play action fake he did where he tossed the ball up and flared his hands so the defenders could see that he didn't have the ball and then he caught the ball and threw that pass? I've never seen anything like that, and sure, the risks probably outweigh the benefits, if you don't count one of the benefits as that move being completely AWESOME.

thoughts?

Thank you John Morgan!

Snuffleupagus — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:49:21 -0000

I have recently realized something: this site is freakin awesome!!

I don't mean this just as hyperbole or natural hometown pride. I mean that this site is objectively better than the others. Since this news is a recent discovery of mine I thought there might be other people here who don't realize exactly how lucky Seahawks fans are to have this place, hence this diary.

How did I make this realization?

Of course anyone coming here can recognize that this is a great site. Frequent posts, inciteful analysis, responsive to the community. I saw all that right away. But there is more.

This site's great analysis of SA's declining play allowed me to make a critical trade in my fantasy league for MoMo (Mecury rising?) right before the 'phantom' injury to SA. After that I had the brilliant idea of scouring all the SBN blogs for other teams to get the inside track on smart fantasy moves. By reading these blogs I would gain insightful information into players and teams around the league just like I get about the Seahawks. Even if I didn't get fantasy advice, I'd surely become a football genius!

Wrong. I went to the Bears blog to try to find out if there was a Benson/Peterson controversy going on in that city. Not only did I not find much runningback discussion, I didn't find much analysis at all. Undaunted I went to the Colts blog, the Rams . . .

What I found opened my eyes. Most of these blogs are just places where the moderator makes comments and observations that anyone could make. About record, playoff hopes, general fan frustration or joy. They looked like blogs that I could write, or you could write. Where were the post game break-downs? the pre-game matchups? Where were the diagrams of key blitzing plays, the analysis of offensive line play broken down by individual player? ... it wasn't there.

That's when I realize that we are really lucky here. Anytime I run into a Seahawks fan (since I'm living in DC right now we tend to stand out in sports bars) I tell them to go here.

Mostly I wrote this diary cause I figure there are a lot of poeple who don't go to other sports blogs (I never did, besides Lookoutlanding, another great site) and that people here might not realize how unique John Morgan's quality analysis is.

o, and to say thank you. The time put into this place is appreciated. I'm assuming that this gig doesn't pay big dollars nor land super model girlfriends (if it does, then I retract all praise and a scathing criticism filled diary will follow shortly).

for visitors from other blogs, this isn't meant to insult your blogs in anyway, just to compliment this one

Poll

To be even better, this site needs

More funny headlines

3 votes

Shaun Alexander to get healthy so he can be a controversy again

8 votes

Fantasy Questions

Snuffleupagus — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:23:41 -0000

The real world debate rages between SA and MoMo but the question I have isn't about who Holmgren should use more but who he will use more: should I start MoMo or SA on my fantasy team?

I'm in a point per reception league, which really increase MoMo's value.

So will Holmgren use the 49er game as a chance to pound the ball with SA in a desperate attempt to fix the running game, or at least experiment with what is and isn't working? Or will he continue to move toward a platooning system, maybe using a game the Seahawks should dominate as an excuse to see more of MoMo and Weaver and give SA some rest for his nagging injuries?

Advice?

I also offer up the comment space below for all fantasy questions from people seeking the collective genius of the Field Gulls readership.

Poll

Who should start in a PPR fantasy league?

MoMo

2 votes

Bench em both

7 votes

SA

0 votes

9 votes | Poll has closed

In defense of Alexander

Snuffleupagus — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 22:47:21 -0000

After watching yesterday's game I was obviously pleased. It was great to see the defense dominate, even if it wasn't exactly against the Patriots.

But at the end of the game I also thought "well, that John Morgan guy won't be able to slam Alexander after this game."

So I read the game summary and surprise, surprise . . .

It isn't that Alexander played particularly well. But I believe the tone here was to basically beg Alexander not to single handedly blow this game.

Yet here I come here to get my dose of Alexander bashing and feel the need (for some reason) to at least try to defend Seattle's star back.

FIRST:
Alexander is getting to the point that Seattle needs to look to the future.
Alexander is overrated in the national media.
Alexander needs a kick in the pants to play with more heart (I wish he'd treat the first down line the way he treats the goal line).

None of this makes him bad. It just makes him not great.

Here's my ridiculous defense of Alexander:

Holmgren like Hasselbeck a lot. He wants him to be his next big star and as a result he has a built a passing based offense and ever since the Super Bowl has designed a pass whacky herky jerky offense that does not establish a rythym to no fault of Alexander's.

In the Super Bowl I watched as Holmgren clearly strained to create Hasselbeck (since he was the visionary behind getting and keeping Matt, training him) as the super star of that game. Alexander averaged 4.8 yards per carry in that game. 4.8! Yet early in the game Holmgren went pass whacky, refusing to just run off tackle until the Steelers stopped it. He called pass after pass and lost!

Ever since then he has continued this sporadic strategy.

I know there are still a lot of run plays called, but this is not a running offense. The offensive production comes in spurts, not in steady production.

Even yesterday we saw Holmgren at his best when it was 2nd and 5 inside the ten. Alexander, whatever his faults, loves his TD's and becomes a different person in the redzone. So Holmgren runs in this situation right? ... or.... incomplete, incomplete, in comes Josh Brown.

Is Morris really better? Your bias on this matter shines through. Today your saying that at the end of the game when the 49ers KNEW the run was coming Morris had some nice runs. Proving he's good. Yet last week, at the end of the game, when the Bengals KNEW the run was coming, Alexander had some nice runs that padded his stats and proved he is overrated (the 100 yard game).

Is it possible that at the end of the game yesterday the 49ers defense wasn't exactly playing with a fire in their belly? (the punt with 5 minutes left was basically the 49ers giving up the game no?)

Also, is it possible that when Alexander is not in the game the defenses fall back for pass? thereby making Seattle's other runners look much better?

Mack Strong averages over 4 yards per carry in his career (over 4.5 last year), this makes him much better than Alexander right? Or maybe when Strong is in the backfield alone defenses don't look for the run . . .

Then you comment specifically on the game yesterday with the 49ers dropping guys back without any fear of a run or catch from Alexander. I would, again, put at least some of the blame for this on Holmgren's play calling. Alexander did catch the only ball that was thrown at him yesterday. If this was such a huge problem why didn't the Seahawks run any draws (not that I saw) or pass to Alexander a couple more times? (I know he isn't a great receiver, but, like I said, he did catch the only ball thrown at him).

Here's the point:

Alexander is not great, but comparing him to Rex Grossman? C'mon! there's hyperbole and then there's stupidity. I have an irrational dislike for Holmgren, but at least I recognize that while I think I have legitimate grievances I tend to be irrational. I might not think he's great, but I'm not going to compare him to Norv Turner.

Alexander needs to start to be phased out, he needs to have a coach get on his ass about running hard, but when the Seahawks don't march on to the Super Bowl and win it won't be because of Alexander.

There, that's my attempt to defend Alexander.

Also since the Seahawks dominated yesterday and I didn't see Alexander make any horrendous mistakes I will give you a reprieve from your promised week off of Alexander bashing in the comments to this diary so discussion can ensue. :)

In defense of Raul and Richie

Snuffleupagus — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:30:37 -0000

Ok, this isn't really a defense of these two players per se as much as it is my own mental justification as to why they continued to receive playing time as starters while struggling.

I am not trying to pick a fight here, I would like to offer some potential reasoning and hear what you think. To be fair I haven't really heard this reasoning from McClaren or anyone else, so I'm probably just trying to justify Mariners actions in my own mind, so be it.

Okay, here's the theory:

Lets presume that the Mariners would do better and would have done better with BB at first base and AJ in left field (not a big leap). So they take that action and play out the season, catch the Angels and win the west.

Now we're in the playoffs and here's where the problem is. Each game is of vital importance in the playoffs and having a good bench is important to add to flexibility during games. But now the Mariners bench is terrible! are you ever ever ever going to pinch hit Richie or Raul after you benched them during a terrible slump? How are you going to use those players off the bench? you can't.

But it still seems really stupid to keep two players starting with the interest of keeping your bench good. How could it matter how good your bench is if you can't win with your starters anyway? Well, fundamentally I think it comes down to this gambit:

The Mariners will not win in the playoffs this year unless Richie and Raul are at least playing decent baseball. Period. They cannot do it (wrong? maybe, but I think this is a reasonable management position).

The only way to get them to play decent baseball and to know if they are turning it around is to play them on a semi regular basis now (especially the earlier it is the season).

So Management seems willing to take a risk. They will lower their chance of making the playoffs (by playing these guys) but at the same time increase the chance of winning in the playoffs (by hoping these players improve).

Does this make sense to anyone? It's how I justify some of the player decision that have been made this season.

Poll

given the choice (without admitting that is what the Mariners are doing now)

I would rather just make the playoff

15 votes

I would risk the playoffs for a better chance to win in them

7 votes

22 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation User Blog: Snuffleupagus

Random Observations

Thank you John Morgan!

To be even better, this site needs

More funny headlines

Shaun Alexander to get healthy so he can be a controversy again

More available answers for poll questions

Fantasy Questions

Who should start in a PPR fantasy league?

MoMo

Bench em both

SA

In defense of Alexander

In defense of Raul and Richie

given the choice (without admitting that is what the Mariners are doing now)

I would rather just make the playoff

I would risk the playoffs for a better chance to win in them