The hits keep on coming for the surprisingly toothless Seahawks.
A day after falling to 1-1 with an ugly, 9-3 road loss to the Rams, Seattle was docked a fifth-round pick, a week of offseason practices and fined $400,000 for what the NFL determined was “excessive on-field physical contact” last spring.
Judging by the Seahawks’ woeful performance on offense, the extra hitting in the offseason — which also resulted in a $200,000 fine for coach Pete Carroll — was for naught.
While Seattle’s No. 1-ranked defense is as good as advertised, the Seahawks have scored just 15 points combined in their first two games and are near the bottom of the league in scoring and total yards.
At least so far, it appears a lot of things are coming home to roost for Seattle on Russell Wilson’s side of the ball.
The offensive line long has been a problem and served as otherwise talented GM John Schneider’s Achilles heel, but it is an especially glaring issue this year. The Seahawks are averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, and Wilson has been sacked five times and suffered a high ankle sprain thanks to the poor protection.
Marshawn Lynch’s retirement wasn’t supposed to hurt this much with talented young replacements Christine Michael and Thomas Rawls waiting in the wings, but the Seahawks haven’t committed to the run.
The result has been solid numbers for Michael (a 5.0-yard average) on just 25 carries while Rawls has been awful (25 yards on 19 carries) and is now questionable to play this week against the 49ers after leaving the Rams loss with a leg injury.
With Lynch gone, the running game stuck in neutral and Wilson’s dangerous mobility limited by injury, the Seahawks have become much more one-dimensional — but without the receiving corps to make opponents pay.
Last year’s late-season phenom, Doug Baldwin, has reverted back to the pre-2015 form that scares no defense, catching 12 passes for 112 yards and the Seahawks’ lone touchdown. That’s nowhere near the Baldwin that was the story of the league late last season while tying for the NFL lead with 14 touchdown catches.
No wonder Carroll — now the league’s oldest coach at age 65 after Tom Coughlin’s departure — seems to be losing it. He was caught on the sidelines Sunday throwing repeated tantrums against the officials, including one that resulted in him knocking into wide receiver Jermaine Kearse.
Fortunately for the Seahawks, they haven’t fallen behind in the NFC West and still have plenty of time to rebound. All four teams in the West are 1-1, though Seattle’s loss Sunday could prove costly down the road because it was a division loss.
But the time for the Seahawks to kick it into gear — if they’re going to do so — appears to be now.