Mora press conference: ‘We’ll get over the hump’
Posted By Eric Williams on November 22, 2009 at 2:53 pm
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Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim Mora called Minnesota the most complete team the Seahawks have faced so far this season. And he said offensively, Seattle didn’t give itself a chance with the defense playing well early on.
“The first quarter defensively we played well,” Mora said. “We needed to get something going on offense to give ourselves a little energy, a little juice to support what the defense was doing, and we weren’t able to do that.”
The Seahawks have now lost six straight on the road dating back to last season, and are 5-16 on the road dating back to the beginning of the 2007 season.
So what gives?
“We’ve tried everything,” Mora said about his team’s struggles on the road. “We went to the blue pants. We’re going to keep searching. We’re not going to throw up our hands and give up. We’re going to keep working and fighting and searching, and we’ll get it done eventually.”
On Seattle’s struggles getting the running game going, which included a franchise-worst four yards on the ground, Mora had this to say:
“They don’t have a weakness on their football team quite frankly,” Mora said. “They’re just good all round. They’re big and they’re physical, and they’re fast. And there’s just a lot of good football players on that football team.
“We just that we could get a block made and spring something, and they didn’t let us. They just didn’t let us.”
Mora said his team has to continue to practice and prepare hard each week in order to break out of a season-long funk, particularly on the road.
“That’s the only thing I know that helps you dig out of one of these things,” Mora said. “And I believe if we do those things, as bad as it seems right now, as awful as we feel right now, because we do feel awful … We’ll get over the hump. But if we don’t do those things then it’s going to be difficult.”
Asked if he felt the team took a step back, Mora had this to say:
“It never feels like a step back to me. You’re always moving forward, it just doesn’t feel like it after the game We’re going to find positives in that game, just like we’re going to find negatives
“This team will continue to fight hard. I don’t question their effort. But effort is not going to be enough. We’re going to need to execute better.”
Some tidbits.
* Seattle’s effort to establish the zone blocking scheme took a huge step back again today. After rushing for 164 yards last week, Seattle rushed for a franchise-worst 4 yards on 13 carries, breaking the franchise mark of 14 yards set earlier this year in the first game against Arizona.
* Seattle finished 1 of 10 on third down conversions on the game, had just 70 yards of offense in the first half and did not cross the 50 yard line in the first half.
* Favre finished 22 of 25 for 213 yards and four touchdown catches for a 141.7 passer rating ,the second highest of his career. Favre’s 88 percent completion percentage was the highest in his career.
* The Seahawks finished with 10 penalties for 64 yards.
* The Vikings held a 42:11 to 17:49 advantage in time of possession.
* Seattle finished with 212 total yards.
* Linebacker David Hawthorne led Seattle again in tackles with 11 solo and 4 assisted for a total of 15. Seattle finished with two sacks, one by Darryl Tapp and Cory Redding. That was Redding’s first sack of the season.
* John Carlson was shut out in his homecoming. The Litchfield, Minn., native did not have a catch and was targeted four times.
* Nate Burleson fared better playing against his former team, finishing with eight catches for 100 yards, including a long of 36 yards on a one-handed catch that set up an Olindo Mare field goal.
* Justin Forsett struggled in the running game, finishing with nine yards on nine carries. But he also added 80 yards of receiving on a catches, and scored the team’s only touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.
Audible - I actually agree with you. I can't justify taking Curry. My only point in saying I'm glad we have him over Monroe/Smith is that I think Curry will make a better pro than either of them (and I thought it on draft day too). The records in this blog archive clearly shows that I wanted a RB (Moreno) or LT (Oher) with the #4 pick. Part of it was because I didn't feel like we needed another LB and part of it was that I just loved Moreno/Oher (regardless of their position).
The 2008 team was so much better than this team. And that team had 10x the injury problems this team has. This team has been fairly healthy for the last several weeks and was down by 17 at home against Detroit and lost by double digits the last 2 games.
Last year the Seahawks played quality teams close. In the final 8 games, they faced just 1 team with a losing record and were in all the games but the Cowboys game until the end.
At Miami (11-5), lost by 2 with chance to win at end
vs Arizona (9-7), lost by 5 with chance to win at end
vs Wash (8-8), lost by 3 with chance to win at end
at Dallas (9-7), blown out
vs NE (11-5), lost by 3 with chance to win at end
vs STL (2-14), win
vs NYJ (9-7), win
at Arizona (9-7), down by just 7 in 4th quarter but lost by 13, similar to this year
For the last 5 games, the team was missing Walter Jones, Chris Spencer, Rob SIms and Sean Locklear (2 games). They were also down to 3rd stringers (Kyle Williams and Goddard). Yet, the games were close and exciting.
What happened?
bobbyk, have you ever thought that maybe there was denial about walter jones growing older?
I like the Curry pick but I would have love to have another 1st round pick in the 09 draft as would been awsome to get Michael Oher and everybody knew Walter Jones time was coming up with his surgery and not many players coming back 100 percent mean that Hawks should have had back up plan and that should have been Michael Oher or Eugene M.
Sean Locklear isn't LT I would count to build the OL round of and neither is Ray Willis as both are good complimary but you need someone who can actuality protect your QB like one of these young guys who came out in 09 draft. Walter Jones was getting older, Locklear has injuries problem, Willis may have not got it by now.
It time for complete rebuilding on both Offensive side and Defensive side and if it was me than draft OL and tell him that his job is protect the QB. Get a shut down CB and release Deon Grant as need someone who can tackle not a guy who going to push him down, upgrade Defensive End and cut Kerney.
The difference between last year and this year is; we had a hall of famer coach which made the team competitive even with all the injuries we had last year. Did you honestly thought you can replace Holmgren with Mora and the team would not drop in performance?
This team is in serious need of a front office overhaul. How do you allow a team that went to the Super bowl just 4 seasons ago to a laughing stock in that amount of time? Paul Allen may be sick but he still has class and wants a winner, not to spend millions on a joke of a franchise, look what he has done for the trailblazers, and it started with replacing the old GM with a good one so don't think he doesn't have a plan in place and that Tim Ruskell will be making those first round picks at next years draft.
I thought Mora would be better for '10 than Holmgren. I know Holmgren is the better coach... but sometimes, in the short term, change is good. I really thought (hoped hard) we'd be much better this year.
I wonder what type of cap savings the following would bring: Grant, Kerney, Hill, Lock, Branch, J.Jones, and W.Jones would bring? Not that I advocate releasing Lock or anything. I know Hill is better than Herring, but Herring at a million bucks is a much better value than Hill at $6 million.
I wanted to be in denial about Walt. I still hope he comes back next year (know it probably won't happen).
I'm watching the Eagles/Bears and McNabb hit Jackson on a bomb. It got me to thinking about our team. There's no way we could do that. Chris Collinsworth (liked as a player, not as an announcer) pointed out that McNabb had 4 full seconds for Jackson to get by both safety coverage before throwing. Matt doesn't even get half that time.
Thats what I liked about Holmgren, he knew that games where won in the trenches, he built a line around the best LT of all time and they all complimented one another, this thing we have now couldn't block a collage D line, let alone a pro.
Cnt blame mora its his first year!!! Cut branch , replace willis he a good back up! Put lock back at right guard! Draft or find via free agency a great left guard! Let spencer go and let unger play that position! Get butler on the field the kid is good! Trade senmeca wallace or use him better receiver etc... He's no QB in the nfl sorry!! Defense run a 3 s defense use our strongest points our linebackers get a hard knock defensive coach! A la dick lebeau. Let kerney go. Replace babineau! Put jennings on a serious weight program the guy is a good nickel DB better than babineaux, trade trufant this guy is extremely over rated and really did not deserve the money we gave him!! This guy clearly robed us and I dnt know why no one says it!! Grand is not the problem at all! I do think we should get a stud safety but we need a stud shut down corner first! Look and how jenkins the rookie with dallas plays way better than trufant! Come on in his first season!! Its like seattle is the place to cme get free money! I'm not shure about knapp or bradley as coaches no more!!! And play carlston he's good that's why we need a better line we are wasting his talent up there blockin on the line and let's get owen shidcht on the feel already we have some good young players by the way forsett and rankin is the gut who should play let jones go next year! And I dnt think bringing back holmgram is the answer! The guy has a old approach to the game very conservative laid back and does not attack enough lacks that aggresive nature!! How quick we forget how many mistakes and things with the play calling etc.... That drove us crazy when he was coaching very predictable!!!! You remember??!!!!
preach on bornhawk preach on Ruskell got to go
Bring back Chuck Knox.. I want to see ground chuck type offense. Chew up the clock. Build solid lines.. Knock the tar out of the guy in front of you.
Lord have mercy this team really sucks.. I am sorry, but roll the dice, and get a GM, and new coaching staff.
You can blame the coach as further down it his System that not cutting it in NFL.
Ruskell must go!. What else can ya say. BLUE PANTS! REALLY IS THAT IT...DAMN!!!!!!!!!!
I personally think Mora has lost most of this team. 4 yards rushing how pathetic is that. Bradley and Knapp wouldn't make a pimple on Holmgrens butt. I'm not saying I want Holmgren's offence back. However I am saying we deserve Coaches with his NFL Savoy. What I witness today was the tip of the Ruskell iceberg. He is doing to us what Matt Millen did to Detroit.
RUSKELL GET OUT OF TOWN.
I think our basic system on defense would be perfectly fine if we could have brought home Jared Allen and Kevin Williams. All everyone would talk about, if we added those two players, is how Bradley was a good hire and we like him as our DC. I'm not going to say I've been overly happy with our defensive staff (more happy with them than Knapp though) but they would certainly look a lot better if they actually had more than 1 legit NFL player on the DL.
Oh please let this come true: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/11/22/ruskells-contract-fuels-holmgren-to-seattle-rumors/
You may be right about that too, but that's like saying how good knapp would look like if we had Hutch and Adrian Petersen. if, if, if. You know the old addage, if your aunt had bullocks she'd be your uncle. The truth for these hacks is just what Bill Parcels said, " You are what your record says you are".
For all the people screaming to fire GM Ruskell I have two questions:
1) Who would you hire, and why? (and Mike Holmgren doesn't count as an answer since he was fired from his Seahawks GM job and is not likely to be hired here again, and his mythical return has been talked to death). So what proven NFL pro or young up-and-comer will be available to be hired as GM and build a new staff of scouts and personnel directors? And what's the evidence they will do a better job?
2) If Ruskell does get fired, who among his staff of scouts and personnel pros are likely to leave with him (when he inevitably gets hired by another NFL team)? Which people on his staff are most important not to lose? Who among them, for instance, has been scouting O linemen and QBs all year. Are you prepared lose those guys and why?
At this point there are no wrong answers. But Paul Allen and Todd Leiweke need to know the right answers to all those questions before they can consider firing Ruskell.
Anyone can scream for somebody to be fired. I'm not saying you are wrong, but how about coming with some info to bring to the table.
I'm sure there are several execs that I'd want to interview but a good starting point for me would be:
1. Holmgren - CFO
2. Randy Mueller - GM
3. Shanahan - Head Coach
Ruskell=Bavasi
Leiweke=Armstrong
Mora=McClaren/Riggleman
Change is good. Please Mr. Allen, do it.
bulldog, I like it. I'm not so sure I like Shanahan but its good to see some actual ideas on here.
p.s. and I should have said Holmy isn't likely to be hired. I don't know that. Its just been talked to death and I'd like to hear about some other possibilities from people who know.
I don't see why anyone WOULDN'T want Holmgren. He was hailed as an offensive genius, he drafted offense, and even when the Seahawks were struggling, they always had an elite offense.
Ruskell's calling card is that he allegedly helped construct Tampa Bay's Super Bowl defense. He's come here, been given FULL REIGN to draft whatever the hell he wants and sign anyone he likes, and we still have one of the NFL's worst defenses. Don't let the numbers deceive you, they just benefited from some lopsided wins against the Rams and Jaguars.
And in the process of creating this steaming pile of crap defense, he's sucked the soul out of the offense.
HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED RIGHT AFTER HUTCH
"You know...Curry is an interesting question this year. We draft the guy who is supposed to be, by all accounts, the most talented player in the draft. He starts out pretty well in his rookie season then disappears...do you blame him or the coaching? At this point, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and point to the coaching or lack thereof. Coaching and especially bad coaching can make or break young players....stay tuned."
Yeah, it definitely feels true now. If we had a do-over, I'd probably take Oher. Maybe it's the injury - but Locklear has looked weak to me in the two games he's been back. As another poster put it, our O-line is a train wreck.
CFO: Holmgren
GM: Scott Pioli
Head coach: Shanahan
Stevos:
Here is my opinion:
1) GM: Ron Hughes, Current College Scouting Coordinator since 2003. Let me give you his background. He served as the college scouting dept in 1982. 1984, he was promoted to Director of Pro Personnel of the Lions. 1990, he was promoted to Director of Player Personnel of the Lions. 1996, he was named the VP of Player Personnel (or GM). Then he was swept aside from Matt Millen in 2001. He was hired as a draft consultant for the Steelers in 2001. Then was offered his current position in 2003.
He made a big splash with drafting Barry Sanders in 1989, although he wasn't the "chief" GM.
Hughes has been around in the league for awhile and if he comes from a winning team - the Steelers (ughhh, who I hate as well), he can bring a lot to the table. He knows his scouting - Look at the players who are making an impact for the Steelers.
2) I would want the whole personnel team to be squashed. This personnel team was built for a fast/cover 2 defense.
=============
I'm off the wagon for a West Coast Offense and Cover 2/Zone Defense. These schemes have become obsolete. The successful WCO has migrated into a Vertical WCO (look at Philly and Minn, Indy). All the current WCO trees don't have a job (Gruden, Shanahan, Jauron, Holmgren, Mooch, etc.)
It's time for a change. Give me a team that is feared, that controls the clock and runs a SMASHMOUTH/Vertical scheme.
FireRuskellNow says: "I don't see why anyone WOULDN'T want Holmgren."
Fire, personally, I'd love Holmgren to be the guy who selects our next QB. I'd love to have him as the QB Coach or Offensive Coordinator. But I'm pretty certain he doesn't want that.
Holmgren as GM? Remember what happened last time: Four drafts and every defensive player Holmgren selected was a BUST, except for Ken Lucas and Rocky Bernard. After four years as Coach and GM, Holmgren's defense in 2002 was a worse unit than either our defensive or offensive units are today. Holmy did a terrible job as GM with the D and the GM job had to be taken away from him and the whole defense had to be rebuilt.
Holmy was a great offensive coach, a poor GM.
But the guy sure could develop QBs. No doubt about that. He's a genius in that area. (though remember that even Holmy whiffed on his only high draft pick QB in Seattle - Brock Huard)
hawkdog206: "I'm off the wagon for a West Coast Offense and Cover 2/Zone Defense"
I hear ya! I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, I'd love to see a 3-4 defense with a big 350 NT installed here (Terrence Cody?). I want to see Curry and Tapp rushing the QB from stand-up OLB positions and scaring QBs. I want to see four LBs on the field since that's the talent Ruskell has drafted. And I'd like to see a running back with power for a change.
Any defense can be productive if they have the talent. Put Freeney and Wilfork on our DL and all of a sudden Gus Bradley looks smart.
No to Randy Mueller. He's been fired twice already by other franchises (Saints and Dolphins.) He's a checkbook GM that overspends and gets teams into cap trouble (including Seattle when he was here.)
If Liewieke = Armstrong, Armstrong didn't do so badly last year. He helped hire a good coach and (against popular opinion) held onto Washburn, which turned out to be a good idea for the Mariners. Lashing out at a guy like this is like a a child throwing a tantrum - just trying to take out frustration on someone regardless of their actual blame.
Pioli already has a GM job (1st year.) I hear Parcells might be looking for a new gig now that he thinks he may have righted the Dolphins ship.
I have defended Ruskell a lot on the past because of the above, and will continue to do so on specific points.
But now it's pretty clear it's not injuries or circumstance. It's coaching and/or talent. And, as Ruskell is now personally responsible for both, the buck has to stop there.
I wonder if Ruskell's ego could handle the same kind of reduction of duties that Holmgren had. I.e. extend Ruskell's contract but as GM only, then hire Holmgren as our Tuna (President of Football Operations) we get Holmgren back and in the increased capacity that he's looking for and then we let Ruskell draft D and Holmy the O.
Tampa won SB 02 and it 09 which mean Russell it been 7yrs since Russell built a team to go back to SB and that doesn't count Seahawks because most of guys on hawks were when Holmgren was in charge.