Well that was...

disappointing. I wasn't able to see the whole game, but from what I gather and what I did get to see, here are some bullet point thoughts.

• Loss was NOT Wilson's fault.
• Marshawn Lynch had 12 carries??
• Playcalling was suspect, yet again.
• Rice's drop might be the worst drop of the year thus far.
• Secondary was our primary weakness (c wut i did there?)
• 3rd down D is getting even worse.
• Clock management?? Two blown TOs.
• No adjustment at the half or any other time by our D.
• Special teams was not very special.
• Sherman covered Megatron like a wet blanket.
• Pass rush was not very effective.
• Is our defense really "elite"?

Until I watch a replay of the full game I will reserve judgement on the play of individual players or units, my bullets were just base observations. I'd like to take a look at whether or not our defense is truly an "elite" defense. 

Its a subject that was discussed on twitter a whooooole bunch after the game, with generally varied opinion out there, but I think the majority of fans and analysts still believe our defense to be elite. I'll admit, I'm in the minority here. 

In the opening game of the year, the Hawks forced 2 turnovers, held the Cardinals to 253 yards of total offense and 3/10 on third down, yet still lost because of similarly stymied offense and a bit of bad luck. In game 2, we held the Cowboys to 296 yards and 7/13 on 3rd down and got another 2 turnovers, and won thanks to a 9 minute advantage in possession and a strong running attack.

Week 3 as I'm sure you recall we beat the Packers despite gaining fewer than their 268 yards of total 

offense. GB was 7/15 on third down, compared to just 2/11 for our Hawks. We got just one turnover versus the Rams in week 4 and kept them to 286 yards of total offense and 5/13 on 3rd down, yet still lost. Our best defensive effort came against the struggling Panthers, where we went to their house and held them to 190 yards, 2 turnovers, and 2/11 on 3rd down. 

For the first 5 weeks, I'd say that the Seahawks defense sure looked elite. If we had even a mediocre offense we would be 5-0, no question about it. Then it seemed like something changed in the Patriot game in week 6. Yes, we won. Yes, the Patriot offense is strong. However we allowed a season high 475 yards and allowed the Patriots to throw the ball all over the field despite our "elite" secondary. I think this was the start of our apparent "bend, dont break" mentality.

The last two weeks we've given up 313 and 415 yards, respectively. Yes the teams we played were strong offensively, but for a team that was supposed to be a top 3 defense in the league those numbers do not back up your play. For those keeping track at home, through the first 4 games we gave up a total of 1,103 yards and went 3-1. Over the last 3 games we've given up 1,203 yards and went 1-2. 

But yardage totals don't tell the whole story of course. The last few weeks our pass rush has not been nearly as present as early in the year, and we have not forced the same number of turnovers as we'd have liked. I like our defense a lot, I think it is surely a top 10 unit, but if you want to see a model of an elite defense, look at the Bears defense. Ours is good but until we can routinely get off the field on 3rd down and force turnovers we're just that; very good.