Seahawks vs 49ers - zone defense and Lynch's authority

By now you've probably heard that the Hawks won over the 49ers 20 - 3. Before the game, Pete Carroll said that his players were eager to get back on the field and prove themselves after the loss to the Panthers last week. 

Referees appeared to overlook a few holds that kept our defensive from getting into place and turned a blind eye to the 49ers roughhousing our players. However, they typically held the Seahawks to more exacting standards both with penalties and first-down rulings. 

This was not a bad thing. For years I have watched the Seahawks deal with questionable (or just irritating) penalties by renewing their efforts tenfold on the next play. Far from discouraging them, they seem to feed off of it. They do best when feel like they are out to get some respect. 

It should absolutely be said, though, that the referees did not ignore 49ers player Antoine Bethea twisting Doug Baldwin's helmet halfway around. The refs gave the 49ers an appropriate 15 yard penalty.

I was encouraged when I heard the players saying things like "We had so much fun," and "we were flying around." This sounds more like the regular mode of operation for the Swirling Zone Defense of Doom. Earl Thomas reported that the defense told Sherman to just go do his thing in his zone and make Kaepernick second-guess himself. That might not sound important, but it required Sherman to trust that the others would cover wherever he did not. 

To his credit, Colin Kaepernick has learned some things. 

He cut down his attempts to throw at Sherman, with the result that Sherman did not intercept the ball. However, in my opinion that caution contributed to Kaepernick's inability to mount offensive drives. He hesitated long enough on pass-plays to get sacked six times. Certainly Wright, Mebane and Bennett deserve praise for getting there to make the sacks but Sherman's roaming presence was an invisible factor that helped to shush Kap's pass game.

The defense kept the lead that Wilson and his offense gave them. Wilson connected with Graham, made some big passes to Baldwin and Kearse, then threw a beautiful 43 yarder to Tyler Lockett for a touchdown. 

You might hear that Wilson "didn't slide right" on one of his read option plays. At any rate, Simms the announcer remarked that "You'd think a former baseball player would know how to slide better." Wilson's ability to slide was not the problem in this particular case. The turf in Levi's Stadium has issues. It was a story before the game, even before this year. Game footage clearly showed Wilson's shoe sticking in the mushy turf, which rolled his slide.  I mention it because at this point the turf is unsafe for players and could easily have turned into an injury for our nimble quarterback. 

The rookie running back Thomas Rawls seemed impatient with his blockers. He often rushed forward too soon. The kid is still young. He'll learn. Beast Mode is not just about charging forward as soon as possible. Beast Mode is also about timing. That aspect of it is subtle, but we saw it show up tonight, as Lynch struck an excellent balance between keeping forward momentum and watching for space to open up on the field.

Marshawn Lynch reminded San Francisco to respect his authority. He rushed for 100+ yards. On the sidelines he followed his typical routine of gazing toward the horizon with a serene if somewhat spacey smile. Then he went back out and pounded the ball past a wall of defenders. He even went past their defensive line for a touchdown. Unlike Rawls, he hung back just long enough for their defensive linemen to fall in a heap of our offensive linemen, then Lynch flung himself over everyone to hit the end zone. 

Lynch terrified the defense so badly that they swarmed to him en masse if he was on the field. Even the 49ers defensive end was drawn in, allowing Wilson to pick up an important first down. 

This was an interesting game for many reasons. The Seahawks always try to play "one game at a time" but I do hope this week's lessons in defensive playing carry over to next week. This was a big step in the right direction.

The Good News:

The Seahawks won an important NFC West game and seemed to be playing for one another and trusting each other in zone defense.

The Bad News:

As much fun as it is to watch Russell Wilson "make something out of nothing," even Wilson cannot escape each and every time the offensive line washes away like a sand castle at high tide. He freely owned up to two interceptions, as he should. However, if he is routinely forced to rush then his chance of an interception will rise. 

The Question:

Can the offensive line protect our quarterback consistently? Or will Russell Wilson be forced into becoming more intimate with various kinds of turf?