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Biggest early adjustment: Get Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker III going

To do that, the Seahawks need to avoid falling into a big early hole like they did Sunday against the 49ers, who jumped out to a 20-0 first-half lead. With Penny and Walker, the Seahawks have the makings of one of the NFL's better backfield duos. But Seattle's running backs have combined for only 25 carries and 96 rushing yards through two games, not nearly enough to get defenses out of the two-deep-safety looks that are designed to prevent explosive passing plays. The result: Geno Smith ranked 27th in average air yards per attempt in Week 1, then completed only one pass Sunday that gained more than 17 yards.

Sunday brought a reality check for the Seahawks. The offense was held scoreless by the 49ers, and the defense couldn't get enough stops to keep things competitive in a 27-7 loss at Levi's Stadium. The game featured little in the way of positives, aside from a tremendous special teams play -- the blocked field-goal try returned for a touchdown by Mike Jackson -- that briefly gave Seattle life in the second half. That was it, however: The running game couldn't get going, DeeJay Dallas was the focal point of a trick play that should never be spoken of again, and Geno Smith hasn't led the offense to a point since the second quarter of the opener. We'll always have the Russ Bowl.

Geno Smith and the offense didn't do much of anything against San Francisco. That puts a big damper on what they did in the opener.

A team that wants to get back to establishing the run is currently the worst in the league at exactly that, averaging 56 yards per game.

It's best to understand Geno Smith as a lab-designed teaching example for the limitations of completion percentage. Through two games, he leads the NFL in completion percentage but has led only three scoring drives for a Seahawks offense that ranks 29th in EPA per drive. His league-low 5.3 air yards per attempt, per TruMedia, go a long way in explaining that gap. But even if that's a reflection of Pete Carroll's ideal offense, it seems a waste of DK Metcalf, in particular.

The Seahawks offense hasn't scored a touchdown in six quarters. Whatever got into Geno Smith for that first half of the opener against Denver probably isn't coming back. The Seahawks are fortunate the Broncos were terrible by the goal line and mismanaged the game in the opener, because wins are going to be very hard to come by.

The only thing this team has in common with the '72 Dolphins is its overall approach to offensive football.