This Week: Seattle Sports
Seahawks and Sounders are rolling
Teams Playing for Real
Seahawks
Defeated the Atlanta Falcons 38–25 on the road to improve their record to 1–0. Here are the top 3 takeaways from the game:
1) The offense let Russ cook: Wilson threw the ball on 10 of the 12 plays on the first drive and called 38 pass plays to only 20 runs. Hard to argue with the results as the offense accumulated 383 yards while scoring 38 points and only punting one time in the second half. Wilson looked like a MVP candidate, while DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett both had big games. It is only one game, but clearly Carroll and Schottenheimer realize this offense needs the ball in Wilson’s hands to be successful. With that said, Schottenheimer still needs to do a better job of mixing up his play-calling for this offense to consistently move the ball on good defenses.
2) Jamal Adams will fit into this defense just fine: His stat line is incredible — 12 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack and 2 QB hits — but isn’t indicative of how much of an impact he had on the game. He ran stride-for-stride with Julio Jones on the first Falcon pass play, sacked Ryan half-way through the second half after the Falcons had trimmed the Hawks lead to 5 and forced 2 three-and-outs and seemed to be in the backfield on half the Falcon running plays. It may just be week 1, but I am already changing my mind about whether or not his trade was good for the Hawks.
3) Pass defense has to improve: 2 sacks may not seem bad, but that cam on 56 pass plays against a subpar offensive line and a QB who isn’t know for his mobility (also the second sack came on a fourth-down play, where Ryan held the ball for a while, rolled out right and still didn’t throw the friggin ball despite Mayowa chasing him down). The defensive line couldn’t pressure Ryan at all on its own and Shaq Griffin and Quinton Dunbar were consistently beat in coverage. This will be one of the better passing games the Hawks play all season, but the line and secondary will have to be much, much better if the Hawks want to make a deep run in January.
Schottenheimer needs to do a better job of mixing in run-pass plays, the defensive line has to get more pressure, the secondary needs to be more dominant with the money invested and Carroll has to manage the clock at the end of halves. With all that said, the offensive line played pretty well, the defense stiffened up in the red zone and Russell Wilson was well….magic — and it is hard to complain about winning an east coast road game coming off of no preseason games. Good way to start the season and gives the Hawks a lot to build off.
Transactions
· Seahawks naming of captains had a familiar feel as Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner and Neiko Thorpe all served in the roles during the 2019 season too
· Special Teams Coordinator Brian Schneider left the team for personal reasons. Schneider has been the coordinator for 11 seasons and it will be interesting to see how his loss impacts special teams play
Mariners
Seriously, who do I need to call to get the Mariners to play the Rangers all the time? An up-and-down week for the Mariners, which is to be expected for a young team but disappointing considering how well they had been playing. Still a 3–3 record when you aren’t playing that well seems to lead credence to the fact this team is getting better. With only 14 games left, the Mariners will need Kyle Lewis, Kyle Seager and J.P. Crawford (when he returns) to break out of their slumps to push the Astros for the second AL West playoff spot. The starting pitching will also need to be better because lord knows the team can’t rely on the bullpen at all.
- Hitting
Another rough week for the offense — again despite not facing very tough pitching. The team only hit .227 with a .330 OBP. Fortunately, the team did have some pop with 6 HRs and were able to get some clutch hits. However, clutch hits tend to be more random in nature, which means the offense needs to find a way to find some more consistency. Especially troubling to see the middle of the lineup and younger players continuing to struggle.
- Pitching
Starting pitching really struggled outside of Gonzalez and Sheffield, which were the only two games the team won. This week shined a bright light on how reliant the Mariners are on good starts to win — because the offense and bullpen are inconsistent and unreliable at best. Good to see Sheffield continue his run of strong outings.
Top players of the week:
- Position Player: Ty France: 9–24, .444 OBP, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 3 RS, 3 BBs and 0 no-hit games
Great first full week for the utility fielder. By himself he has done a good job of making fans feel better about trading Austin Nola. Hit well at the bottom of the order early on and then hit even better when moved into the number two slot in the lineup after Crawford left for bereavement. Patient at the plate and hits the ball hard to all fields. Great to see him pop of couple of HRs too. Will be fun to see how he improves and what his role with the team is next season.
- Pitcher: Marco Gonzalez: 4 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 7 Ks, 0 BB and 1–0
Gonzalez backed up his complete game in his last start with another gem. Gonzalez has an unbelievable 11.5-to-1 K/BB ratio and should be in the discussion for the Cy Young with a good finish to the season. When Gonzalez avoids the long-ball he has been as good as anyone in baseball as shown by his last two starts — 16 IP, 8 H, 15 K, 1 BB and 2–0.
Worst players of the week:
- Position Player: Kyle Lewis 2–18, .273 OBP, 4 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 RS, 7 K, 2 GIDP and 4 0-hit games
Back-to-back weeks for Lewis as the worst hitter of the week. You could argue Lewis had negative value to the team with the 7 Ks and 2 DPs he hit into. Looks like Lewis started pressing at the plate after hearing his name in MVP discussions. Hopefully, the day off on Sunday gives him time to rest his mind and get back to the stud he was at the beginning of the year.
- Pitcher: Walter Lockett: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR 3 R, 3 ER, 11.57 ERA in 2 appearances
Lockett looked strong in his first outing for the Mariners on Monday against the Rangers (I am telling you just let us play them all the time) but struggled mightily in 1.1 innings against the Giants. Not only did he give up 3 runs in the bottom of the sixth to blow the game wide open, but he also came in during the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs; and all of those runners came in to score as well. With how many relievers have pitched poorly for the Mariners, is it time to call this a curse and not just blame the pitchers?
Transactions
· Claimed RHP Casey Sadler off waivers from Cubs (Hard to get too excited about any move the Mariners make related to a bullpen arm)
· Placed OF Sam Haggerty on 10-day IL (forearm strain) and activated RHP Casey Sadler (Haggerty had brought some good energy and speed on the basepaths — so disappointing to see him on the IL and replaced by another bullpen arm)
· Optioned RHP Brady Lail and called up RHP Jimmy Yacabonis (does it even matter who is in the bullpen at this point?)
· Placed SS J.P. Crawford on bereavement leave and called up Donovan Walton
· Removed OF Mallex Smith from 60-man roster
· Placed 2B Shed Long on the 10-day IL (Shin stress fracture) and recalled RHP Brady Lail
Sounders
It took the Sounders 4 whole minutes to score their first goal; and then they poured it on from there. The Sounders tied a MLS record for most goals in a first half with 5 — and by scoring them in 33 minutes set a record for the fastest team to 5 goals. The game was dramatically different from Sunday’s loss to the Timbers as the Sounders looked more energetic and dominated the flow of the game throughout finishing with a 7–1 win. The San Jose PK goal was clearly garbage; and one must assume the only reason it didn’t get overturned was because San Jose was down 7. But man… Arreaga really could have afforded to have that called back. The 7 goals also set a new team record. The win also put the Sounders into first place in the West — one point above Sporting KC and Minnesota.
More top offensive players of the week — because how can you only select one or two players when you score 7 goals?
Top offensive players of the week:
· Jordan Morris (1 goal and 3 assists): Regardless of the defensive effort, his first goal was a marvelous run at the San Jose defense, and he was dangerous all night. Scary how good Morris can be when he is on the attack for 90 minutes
· Raul Ruidiaz (2 goals and 2 assists): Not the two most spectacular goals you will see, but 2 goals nonetheless. Also, nice to see Ruidiaz setting up others to finish.
· Joevin Jones (2 goals and 2 assists): Two clinical finishes. Another player who is fun to watch when he is confident and on the attack. Hopefully, this gets his confidence going for the remainder of the season.
· Kelvin Leerdam (1 goal and 1 assist): The starting RB has 3 goals in 10 games? Continues to be dangerous running those overlaps and has hammered home 2 goals in the past two games.
Top defensive players of the week:
· Nouhou: Really, really wanted to see him score. What would that celebration look like? He had a few opportunities, but it wasn’t meant to be — must be saving it up for a game winner. Played aggressive defense, won a lot of balls and was always in position. Will be interesting to see if Schmetzer finds more ways to let Nouhou and Jones play together.
NOTES:
· The San Jose game marked the end of the Sounders schedule for the phase one return. The MLS did announce the next set of games and here is what the Sounders are. If the league continues to travel the Sounders will be playing the top teams in the West, the rest of the way. Upcoming schedule:
o Friday September 18 vs. LAFC
o Wednesday September 23 vs. Portland
o Sunday September 27 @ Galaxy
Teams Waiting to Play for Real
Husky Football
· Received commitment from 6’4” 215 lbs., 3-star TE Chance Bogan from Lincoln High School. Bogan had also received offers from ASU, Colorado and Utah. Bogan was the 16th ranked TE nationally
· Pac-12 announced it has reached an agreement to enable daily testing of student athletes. This ability could enable fall sports to be played prior to 2021. Best news Larry Scott has delivered in 2020 (or maybe ever).
Cougar Football
· Longtime football and basketball broadcaster, Bob Robertson, passed away late Sunday at the age of 91. Robertson was a 12-time Washington state sportscaster of the year and was the first broadcaster west of the Mississippi to be inducted into the Hall’s broadcaster division. He worked Cougar basketball for 23 seasons and called 589 football games. While his voice has been off the radio since 2018; his even larger presence will be greatly missed. Always be a good sport, be a good sport always was Bob’s signature call — which seems like a great message for the entire country to adhere to with everything going on right now.
Husky Basketball& Cougar Basketball
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