Having thrown three interceptions that day, Smith cannot be absolved of his culpability in Seattle’s latest crisis, as his decision-making hasn’t been where it needs to be for the Seahawks to win games. His two crucial errors in the fourth quarter turned what should have been a multi-score victory into a heartbreaking overtime loss that dropped the team to last place in the NFC West, and he owned up to those mistakes as he did. needed.

But as coach Mike Macdonald pointed out moments before Smith took the podium, as has unfortunately been the case all season, he didn’t have much time to work in the pocket as the Rams swarmed him from the first drive until the end of overtime. . The defense sacked him a season-high seven times and racked up 11 quarterback hits, making it incredibly difficult for the offense to operate cleanly while he was constantly under siege with poor protection against passes in front of him.

“We’re not there yet, far from it,” Macdonald said of Seattle’s online play. “I thought the guys played hard. We played hard up front. But that’s going to be part of what we look at next week. I’m just saying it’s fair to say in all three phases it’s kind of all on the table right now, adjustments, things that we need to move around and shake up and really evaluate everything, so that’s going to be a big part of it.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Rams generated a 59.1% pressure rate against Smith, by far the highest of any defense in Week 9. Many of those pressures happened instantly, with the opposition posting 12 quick pressures with a quick pressure of 27.3%. rate, leaving the quarterback hanging out high and dry with passers immediately rushing into the backfield.

On the right side of the line, the Seahawks hoped the return of George Fant from injured reserve would bolster their protection against Smith. But the veteran lasted just seven assists before going out with an aggravated knee injury, forcing rookie Mike Jerrell back into the lineup midway through the first half.

Between Fant, Jerrell and right guard Anthony Bradford, according to Pro Football Focus rankings, the trio combined to allow 10 pressures, four sacks, one quarterback hit while also being penalized three times, including a catch on Jerrell who cleared a 40-yard shot. completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the third quarter. Numbers like that are simply not acceptable and make trying to orchestrate an offense in the NFL nearly impossible.

In the running game, the Seahawks had quality blocks in spurts Sunday, including three Ken Walker III runs of five yards or more on their only overtime drive, which was a marked improvement over the previous week in a loss to the Bills. However, consistency continues to be a major issue, especially when it comes to creating momentum up front in short yardage situations such as the 4th and 1st innings which the Rams blew up to put end of this training.

Asked Monday about Seattle’s third-and-fourth down short-yardage situations and poor results, Macdonald said it didn’t live up to expectations and that he, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and the rest of the staff d Coaches need to find a way to improve their conversion rates during the bye week.

“It’s a team effort,” Macdonald said. “These are things that we practice throughout the week, that we look at as a team. It’s not good enough right now. We don’t convert in these short yardage situations and that makes it difficult “You want to be confident and excited about these games, so right now we’re not converting at the percentage we need to be a championship-caliber team.”

Given these ugly numbers on both the macro and micro levels in the passing and running games, it’s no wonder Seattle can’t find any consistency on offense. Talented players, especially Smith and Walker, don’t have a fighting chance, with the offensive line operating like a turnstile at every turn, making it much more difficult for Macdonald to evaluate either player and his team.

With a week off to do some much-needed soul-searching, the Seahawks could soon get some reinforcements, as Macdonald indicated tackle Abraham Lucas could make his season debut against the 49ers in Week 11. But even if he comes out from the PUP list Following offseason knee surgery, the team doesn’t know what to expect in its first game in nearly a calendar year and still has other issues to deal with at d other positions.

At center, Connor Williams hasn’t been the difference maker Seattle thought he would be when he signed a one-year deal in August, throwing four bad snaps in the last two games and struggling to win at the line of scrimmage in of the racing match. . As for right-back, after being named a full-time starter over rookie Christian Haynes last week, Bradford’s dismal exit on Sunday could force the team to reopen the competition.

Given the litany of issues plaguing a perennially maligned offensive line, Macdonald said “everything will be on the table” when it comes to improving Smith’s protection and strengthening the running game in the trenches. Whether it’s personnel-related, program-related or general practice-related, nothing will be exempt as the coaching staff examines what went wrong as the Seahawks lost five games on six looking for answers.

Still just one game into a tight division race full of mediocre teams so far, Macdonald remains confident the Seahawks will find a way to get things going in the second half and that a healthy Lucas has the potential to change the situation. But with only eight games on the schedule and the majority of those contests still to come, those fixes will need to be initiated quickly with or without Lucas, or the opportunity to get back into contention will evaporate as quickly as the pocket collapses. on Smith.

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