Monday Morning Quarterback

Going into Sunday's game I did not have high expectations for the Seahawks to leave Pittsburgh with a win. My hope for the team was to see some improvements with the offense, the secondary and special teams.  Of course I thought if they got a lucky bounce or a turnover, they might be able to win the game.

I was flying high during the opening series, even though the Steelers marched the ball right down the field. Pittsburgh went for it on fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line.  Earl Thomas stuffed Steelers running back Rarhard Mendenhall at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. The Seahawks took over the ball on their own 1-yard line but more importantly prevented a touchdown.

The Seahawks' offense just looked lackadaisical, like it was just going through the motions, and never got into a rhythm.  The offense did not cross into Steelers' territory until the fourth quarter.  It is hard to score when you're unable to make it across the 50-yard line. 

Tarvaris Jackson had more time in the pocket to throw this week, but did not find the open receivers.  The one thing he needs to work on is overthrowing; twice, receivers had to jump to try and catch the ball, which left them unprotected to get hit by the defenders.   

I know the offensive line is still a work in progress, and they had all of their starting linemen for this game with the return of Robert Gallery.  The O-line needs to create openings for the run game. They only had 31 yards rushing and 12 of them came from Jackson scrambling with the ball.  Again, Jackson was sacked five times, all in the second half, once the Steelers decided to apply pressure.

The defense had soft coverage in the secondary leaving the Steelers' receivers wide open and giving them room to pick up yards after the catch.  The Steelers had possession of the ball for almost 39 minutes of the game.  That is way too long for the Seahawks' defense to be on the field.  When the offense can't move the ball, the defense that suffers by not getting to rest in between series. 

The Seahawks have to work on their starting field position.  Their best start started on their own 36; the worst, on their own 1. Their average starting field position for the game was 20.4 yards, while the Steelers' average start was 26.4 yards.  Special teams did not give up any kick returns for touchdowns but did give up a 41-yard run back (too many missed tackles again).

Ben Roethlisberger went out limping towards the end of the first half -- came back in and took a few more hard hits.  I thought the Steelers might have pulled him in the fourth quarter and let Charlie Batch mop up the rest of the game. The Steelers were up 24-0 and the Seahawks showed no signs of moving the ball.  Why take the risk in injuring your starting QB?

By the Numbers:

First-half penalties: The Seahawks had five for 61 yards while the Steelers had no penalties.

In the first half, the Seahawks were 0-5 on third-down conversions.

The Seahawks eight first downs in the entire game, while the Steelers had 23.

The Seahawks made it into Steelers' territory just once the whole game.  

Neither team had a turnover.

The last time the Seahawks were shut out was in 2007, by the Steelers.

Fun Fact:

From the 2005 Superbowl matchup, the Steelers still have 17 players from that team, while the Seahawks only have two remaining players.