Hawks Eye View Week 1: Chemistry Played Key Role in Seahawks' Explosive Debut
Since training camp began just over a month ago, the football world has collectively wondered: how will hurried August practices and the lack of preseason games translate in September games?
This past weekend, the NFL finally gave us some answers.
For teams that made transformational changes to their teams, the answer was "not so great." But for the NFL franchises fortunate enough to have stability, they had a tangible advantage that allowed them to beat their opponents into embarrassing submission.
Let's look at teams that started a new franchise quarterback in Week 1. There was Teddy Bridgewater for the Panthers, Tom Brady for the Buccaneers, Joe Burrow for the Bengals, Phillip Rivers for the Colts, and Cam Newton for the Patriots. Of these five teams, only one was able to secure a win: Bill Belichick's New England Patriots, a team that has been staunchly entrenched in "the Patriot Way" to the point of causing Brady to jump ship.
Putting quarterback talent aside, the teams that saw losses have had their fair share of highs and lows over the past few years. The Panthers haven't been able to come back after a 2016 Super Bowl loss, and while they've gained a miracle-maker in Christian McCaffrey, they've lost their offensive leader, defensive leader, and head coach in the past year alone. The Bengals are a notoriously dysfunctional franchise, but hope has been renewed with the arrival of Burrow, who held his own in a narrow loss to the Chargers. The Buccaneers gave a new meaning to "30 For 30" with a pre-Lasik Jameis Winston, so while their team is ripe with talent, there's still a lot to get used to with Brady at the helm. Another lauded NFL veteran, Rivers definitely knows how to get it done, but it's unbelievably difficult to do that on a team without the right chemistry.
Chemistry takes time to build. It takes months of OTAs, bonding with teammates, and getting to know new coaches. It takes months of studying - and practicing - a new playbook, working out the kinks collectively to avoid mistakes in the game. Teams need time to build chemistry because every NFL offseason has roster and staffing changes. But the coronavirus quarantine has robbed millions of Americans time, and despite the NFL's decision to chug along as planned, players were expected to adapt and gel together in a matter of weeks. It worked for half of NFL teams this week to varying degrees. As far as franchise decisions go in 2020, fortune favored the old, not the bold.
We had an idea what September 13 might have looked like without a regular offseason, and it's something we covered at SeahawkMaven a few weeks ago. It turns out that our concerns for a prevalence of penalties and missed connections due to a lack of chemistry were a valid concern for some teams, but not for the Seahawks.
Kicking off the season without home field advantage, the Seahawks embarrassed the Falcons with a deafening 38-25 win. Beyond the 13-point differential, coach Pete Carroll's squad found a way to put Matt Ryan's 450 yards to shame. All of that yardage only translated to two touchdowns for Ryan, much like how Tom Brady threw for a record-breaking 505 yards yet still lost Super Bowl LII.
On Sunday, it was all about precision, and eighth-year quarterback Russell Wilson carved up the field like a master at his craft. Wilson connected on 31 out of 35 passes for 322 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, resulting in an 88.6 completion percentage and a 143.1 passer rating. That completion percentage is tied for third highest in league history for a quarterback with at least 35 passing attempts. Sunday was also the day Wilson became the second player to produce 30,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards, with the other being Hall of Famer Steve Young.
Wilson didn't just have a great Sunday - he had a legendary one. But the credit doesn't go to him alone: this was a team win, facilitated by a group of guys that understood him on offense and had his back on defense.
Wilson spread the love amongst his skill players, getting the ball to four receivers, two running backs, and three tight ends on Sunday. His most spectacular spiral was thrown to DK Metcalf, who sprinted into the end zone with a fourth down, 38-yard touchdown catch. The deep ball is always a gamble - Metcalf was the only one who missed Wilson's targets all day - but the risk was worth the reward. The rising sophomore receiver transformed four catches into 95 yards after the Falcons left him in single man coverage on that touchdown play.
To be fair, there were too many potential targets to cover in Wilson's offense, including dynamic running back Chris Carson, who nabbed all six targets for 45 yards and two quick touchdowns in the first quarter. Tyler Lockett was Wilson's favorite with eight catches for 92 yards, perhaps because the NFL's second-best receiver in 2019 is still being left open by opposing defenses. Even a newcomer in Olsen made a splash with four receptions for a modest 24 yards and a thirdquarter touchdown.
Surprisingly, the run game was not the focus of Seattle's offense on Sunday, and maybe that's because it's become a bit predictable for the Seahawks. The team ran 20 times for only 84 yards, a 4.2 yards per carry average that was boosted by a 28-yard dash from Wilson. Luckily, this retooled Seattle offense is incredibly dynamic with mostly tested veteran pass catchers who are on the same page with their quarterback.
However, chemistry is not just crucial for skill players. The offensive line was a point of concern with a shortened preseason because they're all newcomers on the squad. Wilson can only execute spirals if he's got the right guys blocking for him, and his incredible game stats were facilitated by this solid group of blockers. The three sacks on Wilson in the first half on Sunday are concerning, but the team overcame these big losses and the quarterback's skills can buy the front line time to mesh in the weeks to come.
Speaking of sacks, the Seahawks had two of their own, with one coming from returning defensive end Benson Mayowa and the other coming from strong safety Jamal Adams. The pass rush has been Seattle's primary point of concern this offseason and the loss of Jadeveon Clowney alarmed anyone rooting for the Seahawks. The addition of veteran Mayowa already paid dividends in the opener, but Adams was equally impactful rushing the passer along with everything else he did on the field on Sunday.
The defensive Swiss Army knife is already proving himself worthy of the haul Seattle sent to New York to acquire him, making 12 total tackles, eight solo tackles, one sack, and 2.5 tackles for a loss in his debut. Fellow safety Quandre Diggs made the lone Seahawks interception in the opener, answering the offseason claims this could be the best safety tandem in the NFL. It's worth mentioning that Diggs and Adams have been friends since college, crystallizing the notion that chemistry matters.
The Seahawks had the same amount of time to prepare in the offseason as everyone else, so why did they find greater success in Week 1? The organization has been headed by the same two men for 10 years, as Carroll and John Schneider have cultivated a culture that veterans like Olsen, Irvin, Mayowa gravitate to.
Their quarterback talent with Wilson is, if anything, actually underrated, and multi-purpose players like Carson and Adams make it difficult for opponents to plan for. The Seahawks were criticized in the offseason for being a little boring for their free agency acquisitions, but it seems Schneider was more concerned about team welfare than giving Clowney his contract.
When Seattle finally let Wilson cook, he set the field ablaze, charring a Falcons team that's off to another challenging start. Matt Ryan is developing his own chemistry with young receivers like Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage Jr., but on Sunday, he just couldn't compete with Wilson and his cast of weapons. The defense held the Falcons to two field goals and a rushing touchdown until the fourth quarter, neutralizing Ryan and shutting him down on fourth downs.
The Seahawks still has plenty weaknesses to work out, but overall, this is a strong team fortified by powerful chemistry in the locker room and on the field. They hope to use momentum from an outstanding opening week win to find continued success in toughWeek 2 matchup against the post-Brady Patriots.
