TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – I was not the least bit surprised by the Seahawks’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams. I predicted it a week ago. Fans often overlook the obvious in support of their favorite team. It was no different here. Winners of the NFC West, which traditionally is the toughest division in the NFL made the Seahawks thinking big. But if you are thinking in real terms you would have believed the West was not as tough as it once was. There were in my opinion 14 teams better than the Seahawks and maybe three others that could be added to that. There are reasons why I think the Seahawks were far overvalued. First is that quarterback Russell Wilson is not what he once was. He is sliding backwards. Give him credit for being positive and for working hard to, as he repeatedly says, be the greatest of all time. I get that. I’m super competitive and don’t want to be considered second-rate either. Although now at 125 years old I’m not even considered. Wilson doesn’t have the instincts to escape danger he once had. And he isn’t as quick to escape danger as he once was. Get him out in the open and allow him to unleash his strong and accurate arm he is dangerous as ever. I agree with many others that he has taken on too many things away from the field and the game and it has affected his play. It has to. You do as much as he does, you would fall back too. He’s still a quality quarterback, but I believe it’s time for the people in charge to find the future QB. I don’t know how they do it in the next draft since they don’t have any first-round picks, having traded them to the Jets for Jamal Adams. But if I’m running the team I am looking for the next one. The Seahawks can still win with Wilson, but to do so they have to build up that offensive line. It got better this past season, but with injuries it was not as good as one would like. It definitely was not up to protecting Wilson against better teams, and as I said above about half the league is better. I think the overall power in the league has shifted to the AFC and teams like Kansas City, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore, Buffalo and Miami. I would not fire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as some have suggested. I would give him another year to figure it out. His play-calling is too vanilla for me. When I could predict the next play you know something has to change. Why call a run on first and 25, as he did recently? I mean, c’mon, the chances of getting big yardage on that play up the middle was slim and none. I believe the Seahawks need to revisit their offensive scheme. I know coach Pete Carroll likes to run the ball, and good teams do well when they run it. But I would suggest Chris Carson, while a good runner, is not what they need. The Hawks need an explosive runner with deceptive running style. Rashaad Penny fits that description. The only problem is he’s been hurt more than not and has not been able to help much. The Hawks also need to build a receiving corps on more than two – Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. As we seen in the second half of the season, teams shuttered the Hawks’ offense by taking away one or both of them, leaving Wilson no good options. Teams in the league, if you haven’t notice, have gone to using their tight ends as key components of their offenses. The Hawks do not. They need to use tight ends more and develop other options like David Moore and Freddie Swain. Spread the ball around to everybody. Some of the elite league QBs throw to six or seven receivers all the time. Not Seattle. The pass rush also got better this season. But it’s not elite. Good teams even with backup QBs playing carved up the Hawks’ secondary this year. Either the secondary needs to be retooled or the pass rush needs to be better. Maybe both need to be worked on. Finally, I get tired of close games, many of which the Hawks seem to win. That’s a receipt for disaster, however. Even bad teams stay close and one mistake and they beat the Hawks, like the Giants did this year. At the very least, Carroll and general manager John Schneider have got to take a good, long look at what they have built and see if it can be built better. … The Kitsap Scratch Bowlers Organization is hopeful COVID restrictions will allow it to have a full season. Until that happens, the organization has announced its awards for last season. Casey Jamrog was named Open Division Bowler of the year and Stu McMaster the Under Division Bowler of the year. The KSBO All-Star team was Casey Jamrog, Tom Jamrog, Jamie Watson, Nick Bachteler and Tim Clemens. I might be wrong but is this the first time in years that Lonnie Sharkey was not on the all-star team? Sharkey has been to local bowling what rain is to the Pacific Northwest – very persistence and always there. Through the 2019 season, Sharkey has rolled 18 perfect games (300) and has bowled the most 800 series (5) and the top 800 series (847). That’s it for today.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.