The Seattle Seahawks' loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 can't necessarily be laid at the feet of any one player or even one position group, but if we were to play that game, we'd have to turn first to the offensive line.
Russell Wilson was under pressure all day, right from the jump, and he never got a chance to get in any sort of rhythm. By the end of the afternoon, he was pressured on nearly 40 percent of his drop backs, per Pro Football Focus, a rate that far exceeded the NFL average of 32.2 percent on opening weekend. I mean, look at this nonsense.
Look at left tackle Rees Odhiambo (No. 70 in white) getting blown the hell up by Nick Perry right here:
Look at Luke Joeckel (left guard, No. 78) being made to look like a Pop Warner player by Mike Daniels right here:
But it wasn't just Wilson who was harassed behind the line of scrimmage. The Seahawks' non-Wilson ball carriers totaled 50 yards on 16 carries, an average of just 3.1 a pop. Here's Daniels blowing up Joeckel again, this time to tackle C.J. Prosise in the backfield before he ever had a chance to gain a head of steam:
Unsurprisingly, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was not at all happy with the way the line performed. "I am disappointed in that," Carroll said, per the Tacoma News Tribune. "I am disappointed we are talking about that today. I thought we were moving in the right direction. I've seen us move in the right direction. But in this game, we weren't as sharp."
That's putting it kindly. Look at the Pro Football Focus grades for Seattle's group up front. Be careful, this might hurt your eyes.
It really shouldn't come as a surprise to Carroll that his offensive line was dominated. After all, the offensive line was an outright disaster for much of last year, and it's not like they made any big upgrades during the offseason. The Seahawks brain trust has done a lot of things well over the years, but identifying and developing offensive line talent is not one of them.
When you're starting Rees Odhiambo at left tackle and paying Luke Joeckel $8 million to get shoved four yards into the backfield by Mike Daniels on every snap, things are not going to go well. The O-Line has a chance to bounce back against the 49ers next week, but it seems likely this group will hold the Seahawks back against good defensive fronts all season, just as it has over the last couple years.
Seattle hosts divisional rival San Francisco in Week 2 at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.