First off, I have to welcome back the NFL. It’s been forever. Seriously, don’t leave again any time soon.
Moving on, this was as one-sided a game as the Super Bowl was, this past February. The combination of a dynamic offense and the Legion of Boom defense led to the Seattle Seahawks destroying the Green Bay Packers 36-16 in the first game of the NFL season. For the Seahawks it continued an incredible run at Century Link Field as they have lost only once at home in the past three seasons.
Defending Champion Seahawks Carve Green Bay
The WINNING Team: Seattle
The Seahawks played like it was still the Super Bowl, simple as that. The defense, as expected, was top quality. While the offense was just as good. Marshawn Lynch put all doubts anyone had about him aside as he looked more dynamic, stronger, and elusive than ever before. The Packers defense failed to contain Lynch, as he broke tackles and found numerous holes in Green Bay’s front 7. He rushed for 110 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 5.5 yards per carry. Welcome back, Beast Mode.
Not too far behind is Russell Wilson. For all the talk of him being just a game MANAGER, Wilson certainly looked more like a Super Bowl winning quarterback should. There were a few bad throws that weren’t picked off simply because of pure luck (or bad hands on the Green Bay defense), but otherwise Wilson looked efficient. He put the Seahawks receivers in terrific positions to make plays throughout the game, and had 11.1 yards per attempt on play action.
Wilson’s pocket presence continues to amaze. I believe he took only 1 sack, and looked very comfortable scrambling and moving around in the pocket. He completed 19 of 28 passes (67.8% completion rate) for 191 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a 110.9 passer rating. His first TD pass included a beautiful read option play culminating in a pass to receiver Ricardo Lockette. His second TD pass put the game away late in the 4th quarter, a 15 yard play-action pass to Derrick Coleman. We could be looking at an elite quarterback in the making.
Wide reciever Percy Harvin looked to be as much of a dual threat tonight as Jamaal Charles. He provided the extra weapon the Seahawks offense needed. We all knew that his athleticism is incredible when healthy, and he certainly seems to be over any lingering hip issues. He caught 7 passes for 59 yards, and rushed for 41 yards on 4 carries, helping Seattle to drive up and down the field.
Overall, Seattle’s receivers and rushers looked great (so did the QB), but the credit partially goes to Dan Quinn’s defense. The defense made Aaron Rodgers look like Carson Palmer (2011-2013 Carson Palmer that is), and sacked him three times, including making him fumble and recovering for a safety. The rush defense allowed only 80 yards on just 3.8 yards per carry, and the pass defense allowed for few deep ball opportunities for Green Bay. Linebacker Bobby Wagner led the team with 14 tackles (6 solo), followed by safety Kam Chancellor, who had 11 (8 solo). The Legion of Boom rarely allowed the Packers to get any momentum on the night.
The LOSING Team: Green Bay
I expected a victory for the Seahawks, but a much closer game, and not a 36-16 blowout. Not only were the Packers outperformed by Seattle, they were outcoached too.
The running game was barely used effectively, and the Packers often relied on the vertical passing game against perhaps the best secondary in the NFL. As expected, it didn’t work out.
Dom Capers has been overrated as a defensive CO-ORDINATOR, and it appears that he could be on the hot seat this season. Rookie safety HaHa Clinton-Dix played about as silly as his name, but it seems like the whole Packers defense just wasn’t prepared tonight. The rush defense was particularly weak as they allowed 207 yards rushing on 5.6 yards per carry.
Aaron Rodgers played decent, but looked awkward to start the game. Although he had a higher completion percentage than Wilson (69.8%), some of his throws looked off, and he rarely ran for it despite open lanes clearly available to him. It’s obvious Rodgers made some mistakes tonight, but it would’ve been easier on him if his defense didn’t drop 2-3 interceptions that could have given him better field position. His offensive line also seemed to be out of sorts early in the game, as they attempted to deal with the noise provided by the Seahawks 12th man.
Rodgers’ lone interception is not one that should be blamed on him. It was a play that featured a tipped pass by receiver Jordy Nelson that landed in the hands of cornerback Byron Maxwell. It was not exactly a LOB masterpiece. That said, I expected Rodgers to struggle tonight, and he did. Green Bay simply had no answers on offense, and Rodgers finished with 189 yards passing. His only touchdown pass came in garbage time, and Rodgers finished with an 81.5 passer rating.
While Rodgers and company played better against Seattle than the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, does it honestly say much? Nope, not really.
MVP: Marshawn Lynch (20 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD, 5.5 yards per carry)
As good as Russell Wilson was on Thursday, Lynch was just unstoppable. His strength and athleticism were put to extremely good use, and fears of a decline have been put to rest for now. Best of all, he’s made his fantasy owners happy in week one.
Seattle has sent a message to every other team in the NFL; getting past them will take the will of over 100 men, and then some. Pete Carroll has been terrific as a coach thus far, and the Seahawks look as excellent as ever, and move to 8-0 in primetime games under him.
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