Pete got outcoached!

[dude82]

That fakeout return fooled everybody in the building, from the Seahawks to the camera guys. The problem is that that play wasn't the only play that the Seahawks special teams botched. There was another long return where the tackling was just awful. The fake punt probably should have been predicted by the Seahawks coaching staff, but since they were out of timeouts at that point, they didn't have enough time to read and react to it. I say that it probably should have been predicted because with that much time left, even with no timeouts, the Rams had to be scared out of their minds that, if they punted there, Wilson would take the ball and slice and dice that defense like he had been doing the entire second half. If I'm Fisher in that situation, I'd rather take my chances on a fake punt than on my defense trying to stop a redhot QB from driving down the field for a game-winning drive.

 

[Robotech]

I agree with DK. Play would've fooled most coaches bc nobody looks for a fake at that point in a game unless you are playing a Chip Kelly type. I think Seahawks were looking for a good return instead of worried about that.

That fake punt had an element of misdirection, too. It was very well-designed and would have worked against most teams, IMO.

 

[flyerhawk]

The fake return was a well run play and the Seahawks got burned by it.

The fake punt was a VERY risky call. If they don't get the first, the Seahawks have the ball in easy field goal range. They got lucky on that.

 

[blstoker]

Here's an interesting stat I just worked on:

At half time, this is how the Rams' win probability* changed with each Seahawk unit on the field (the lower the number the better):

Offense - +9.5
Defense - +29.1
Special - +18.8

The Rams' win probability at half time was 88.6, up from 30.9 after the opening kick off.

Here's the second half numbers:

Offense - -59.5
Defense - +33.4
Special - +35.1

Defense was hit for a +39.7 due to the 80 yard drive in the 4th, and +16.0 for being on the field after the fake punt. Special teams got nailed with a +41.7 for the fake punt.

Full game numbers:

Offense - -50.0
Defense - +62.5
Special - +53.9

The return TD and successful fake punt by the special teams actually accumulated nearly as many win probability points (+58.0) as the defense got all game. If the D doesn't get the +16.0 for being on the field at the end of the game, their number would have been +46.5. Also, even with the return TD, if the special teams stops the fake punt, their score would have been no worse than -6.6, and likely somewhere near -130 (just a guess).

* this was figured by going possession by possession and taking the difference from when the unit stepped off the field from when they had stepped on. This was thrown together quickly, so numbers may not be 100% accurate, but they will be very close (I believe I calculate that there is 2.7 win percentage points missing from these numbers).

 

[blstoker]

Full game numbers:

Offense - -50.0
Defense - +62.5
Special - +53.9

The reason I would say that special teams had the worse game between them and the defense with this stat is that the defense had 49 plays and special teams only had 18 (not including PATs). That means the D's per play was 1.28 where the special teams was 2.99.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

IDK if outcoached is the right phrase...element of surprise by a desperate team...every team has tendencies and that's what STL picked up on with the return...not much gamble there really...on the fake...I agree with the earlier poster...no way you can anticipate that at that point in the game from that field position...that WAS a big gamble.

On the fumble...while it looked like a Hawk had it, but he didn't have it secured then it was a blur...I'm not sure what a review would've uncovered there.

 

[MKHawk]

The Rams SPTeams knew our punter's tendencies and his own teammates didn't. That's inexcusable.

And to not be ready for something odd on the fake punt is damn near unforgivable.

How many times do the Rams have to get away with doing weird crap on special teams before Seattle's finally ready for something non-standard?

 

[johnson]

I don't think Pete is that great a coach. Last year, he sure looked amazing with elite players at almost every position. Chan Gailey could have got them to the NFC Championship.

This year will show his abilities a bit more since their O-line isn't as good, they just "lost" Harvin, and they have some injuries here and there. So far, not so good.

 

[Caynine29]

It was a good game. Aside from maybe the fake punt, I wouldn't say Carroll was "outcoached", throughout the entire game, though. Remember... the 'Hawks were actually down by 3 TDs going into halftime and only lost by 2. That's not being outcoached. This game was a matter of the Rams actually putting together a full 60 minutes of football for once (Well... maybe 45-50 or so, at least.). Which is the best we've gotten out of them all season.

The return TD was planned, though. Rams ST coach John Fassel had picked up on John Ryan's tendency to push punts to the left when trying to pin a team inside the 10. And to be honest... how often do you really think punt coverage teams actually look at the ball in the air? It was a stroke of genius by the Rams ST, but it wasn't unprecedented. The Bears actually did the same thing a few years ago.

 

[MrS]

The ol was not good last year either, we had plenty of games where our offense looked like the worst in the league.

 

[MKHawk]

It was a good game. Aside from maybe the fake punt, I wouldn't say Carroll was "outcoached", throughout the entire game, though. Remember... the 'Hawks were actually down by 3 TDs going into halftime and only lost by 2. That's not being outcoached. This game was a matter of the Rams actually putting together a full 60 minutes of football for once (Well... maybe 45-50 or so, at least.). Which is the best we've gotten out of them all season.

The return TD was planned, though. Rams ST coach John Fassel had picked up on John Ryan's tendency to push punts to the left when trying to pin a team inside the 10. And to be honest... how often do you really think punt coverage teams actually look at the ball in the air? It was a stroke of genius by the Rams ST, but it wasn't unprecedented. The Bears actually did the same thing a few years ago.

I get that the gunners aren't looking over their heads (they will now), but if the other team knows your punter always tries to pin the team left, why don't his own teammates know that?

 

[STBR 27]

I get that the gunners aren't looking over their heads (they will now), but if the other team knows your punter always tries to pin the team left, why don't his own teammates know that?

No, they won't look over their heads, they will just have to stay disciplined and know that the ball is going to the left and will run to the left no matter what. If the ball ends up going to the right, that is on the John Ryan for making a mistake.

As far as the fake punt, the Rams knew if they kicked the ball, they would lose and at 1-4, they were a desperate team with nothing to lose and everything to gain. If they punted, they were going to lose and if the fake failed they were going to lose, but if the fake worked, they win, so that is what they did. Shame on the Hawks special teams for not recognizing the situation, a return in that situation meant nothing.

On the fumble, I have no idea how Sherman was unable to come up with that ball? But it is what it is. On to Carolina.

 

[BSUSeahawk]

Fisher gets credit for the fake punt -- deservedly so -- because it worked.

But it's hard for me to blame Pete. IMO, that's an idiotic call that they were fortunate to convert. If they don't, they literally just gave us the win.

 

[PolarVortex]

How do you get burned twice in a game by trick plays when they have burned you in the past and have a rep for trick plays. Especially fake punts!

Get your factss straigght, eh? Pete is responsible for the team's overall performance and for hiring the coaching stafff (with Schneider0. But Pete does not coach the special teams, the Special teams coach does. The special teams coach got out-coached. When you play a 1-4 team with nothing to lose, you to be prepared for special teams trick plays. And that is the first time he was outcoached since probably 2012. I can live with it.

 

[Caynine29]

Fisher gets credit for the fake punt -- deservedly so -- because it worked.

But it's hard for me to blame Pete. IMO, that's an idiotic call that they were fortunate to convert. If they don't, they literally just gave us the win.

I don't know that I'd so much call it "idiotic" as I would "ballsy". Lol. Like STBR 27 stated earlier... if the Rams punt that ball away, odds are they lose the game. So, why not take the shot? The "fortune" of the play's success falls directly on the Seahawks, though. The only thing that was more shocking to me than seeing Johnny Hekker cock his arm back to throw... was how ridiculously wide open Benny Cunningham was.

The Rams have pulled the rug out from underneath Carroll and Co. before... shame on them for apparently not even considering it a possibility it could happen again. That's poor coaching.

 

[Dolemite censored]

For the second week in a row, penalties occurred on critical plays, and the Seahawks were out of time outs at the end.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

I don't know that I'd so much call it "idiotic" as I would "ballsy". Lol. Like STBR 27 stated earlier... if the Rams punt that ball away, odds are they lose the game. So, why not take the shot? The "fortune" of the play's success falls directly on the Seahawks, though. The only thing that was more shocking to me than seeing Johnny Hekker cock his arm back to throw... was how ridiculously wide open Benny Cunningham was.

The Rams have pulled the rug out from underneath Carroll and Co. before... shame on them for apparently not even considering it a possibility it could happen again. That's poor coaching.

Would being ready for a fake punt, fall on the coach who heads STs? I think so, the head coach is a general and counts his coaching staff to do their part. For most of the season the STs have been excellent, no reason for Pete not to feel that they would do the same this game. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. It happens. The Rams fans can rejoice for a week.

As for the Seahawks, they'll be focusing on the next game. This is the NFL, shit happens.

 

[SonnyCID]

Would being ready for a fake punt, fall on the coach who heads STs? I think so, the head coach is a general and counts his coaching staff to do their part. For most of the season the STs have been excellent, no reason for Pete not to feel that they would do the same this game. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. It happens. The Rams fans can rejoice for a week.

As for the Seahawks, they'll be focusing on the next game. This is the NFL, shit happens.

The Seahawks were ready for it, the Rams just executed better. You can see the cover guys pointing at the gunners and assigning coverages before the play, they just got beat.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

The Seahawks were ready for it, the Rams just executed better. You can see the cover guys pointing at the gunners and assigning coverages before the play, they just got beat.

This is the NFL some times the absurd happens.

 

[SonnyCID]

This is the NFL some times the absurd happens.

Yeah. I felt like they weren't blindsided by it, they just didn't execute on that play and the Rams did. Oh well, on to the next.