A podcast, Seattle’s advanced stats & a trade suggestion

Before we get into today’s piece, check out the latest podcast below as Robbie and I preview the Dallas game, discuss the advanced stats and talk about my trade pitch for Ryan Kerrigan.

Stats don’t tell the whole story but they can give you a better idea of what’s going on.

So here we go. We’ll start with the defense and end with the offense. The defensive numbers are, unsurprisingly, very concerning. However, I do offer a silver lining.

— The Seahawks are blitzing 36% of the time, sixth most in the league after two games. That’s more than Gregg Williams and Todd Bowles in New York and Tampa Bay respectively. This isn’t a minor tweak. This is a sea change. They are being more aggressive than they’ve ever been under Pete Carroll to make up for the struggling pass rush.

— In comparison, they blitzed 26.9% of the time last season and 18.4% in 2018. Basically they’re blitzing twice as much as they previously did in this scheme.

— This increase has resulted in just three sacks, two of which are credited to Jamal Adams (and one was in pursuit of Cam Newton on a scramble and should probably be considered a TFL).

— Seattle’s pressure percentage is 22.3% which is middle of the pack and they are credited with 23 pressures which is among the NFL’s top-10. However — this is manufactured pressure as we can see from the blitz percentage. For example, Jamal Adams leads the team in pressures.

— It sounds positive — top-10 for pressures — but if you’re getting those numbers by rushing six or seven against five blockers, you should expect this. Pressure percentage is a useful statistic for individual defensive linemen as it indicates how often they win. For teams, you probably have to contextualise it with the frequency of blitzing and who is creating the pressure.

— Adams has blitzed 21 times so far, the third most by any player. The only two players who have blitzed more are Pittsburgh duo T.J. Watt (25) and Bud Dupree (24) and they are rush linebackers. Maybe this is linked — Adams is giving up 20.8 yards per reception allowed, that’s the eighth highest among players after two games. His yards per target is at 15.6. He’s also missed three tackles and his yards conceded is 187 — second most in the league behind only Quinton Dunbar (212).

— If the Seahawks continue to blitz at this pace we’ll probably see decent numbers in terms of pressure percentage for the rest of the season and I suspect some people in the media will present this as evidence that the pass rush isn’t that bad after all. However, this is a red herring. As I said, when you blitz a lot you will manufacture pressure. It’s a pure numbers game. The key is getting home. If you don’t get home, you expose your secondary. You can be credited with a ‘pressure’ and still get torched on a blitz. You can send Jamal Adams off the edge and have Bobby Wagner attack up the middle. They could get close to the QB and gain a pressure. If the quarterback gets that throw off to, say, Julian Edelman on a hot route, the pressure doesn’t mean anything. If you sack the quarterback in that scenario, it means everything. This is why, in the context of the Seahawks, 23 pressures is not the important statistic to focus on. It’s the three sacks (two from a safety), the 3% sack percentage (among the leagues lowest) and the 36% blitz percentage (among the leagues highest) working to create a perfect storm of a struggling four-man rush, the compensatory risk involved with increased blitzing and the low number of sacks per play.

– If you need further evidence of this being an issue, just look at the passing yards and explosive plays conceded by the Seahawks. They’ve given up 831 cumulative passing yards. Their 8.2 net yards conceded per pass attempt is the third highest in the league behind only the Falcons and Dolphins. They’ve given up 45 passing first downs, the most in the NFL and nine more than second placed Cleveland (36). You can make a case that Atlanta and New England were both chasing deficits in the second half and that could’ve inflated the numbers. It’s also worth noting that both teams moved the ball with ease in those situations. The Patriots nearly won the game in week two, so you can’t put this down to garbage time. Contrary to popular opinion, the Falcons actually had the ball at midfield with seven minutes to go driving to make it a one-score game in week one.

– When Seattle had the best defense in the NFL in 2013, they gave up a league low 2752 yards for the season. That was 350 fewer than the second best team. After two games this season, they’ve already given up 970 yards — a third of their entire 2013 total. Nobody expects the 2020 defense to perform anything like the LOB but it helps illustrate how poorly Seattle’s pass defense is performing currently.

– The most striking statistic involves explosive plays. The Seahawks have allowed a league-high 47 plays of +10 yards. Considering they’ve only defended 147 plays in total, that means 31.9% of Seattle’s defensive snaps so far have resulted in them giving up an explosive play. That is an incredible stat. The Seahawks are 2-0 but how sustainable is it when a third of your defensive snaps result in an explosive play for the opposition?

– For what it’s worth, the Dallas Cowboys lead the NFL with 41 offensive plays of +10 yards. They visit Seattle on Sunday.

What’s the answer?

I want to offer a silver lining and some hope for the future moving forward. I genuinely believe they just need one player who can win 1v1 to be able to get through this.

Just look at the way, in 2018, they were able to blitz half as much as they currently are because they had a player in Frank Clark who recorded 13 sacks (36% blitzing in 2020 vs 18.4% in 2018).

The Seahawks were league average for yards conceded in the passing game (#16) in 2018. Their sack percentage was 7.3% — more than twice as much as it is now and just outside the NFL’s top-10 (#11). They had the fourth highest pressure percentage (28.5%) despite having the fifth lowest blitz percentage.

Nobody would’ve called Seattle’s 2018 D-line a top unit. Yet because they had one player capable of producing sacks off the edge and threatening opponents in 1v1 situations, they were able to create pressure without blitzing.

The Seahawks badly miss a player like Clark.

However, what it tells us is they really only need one player to rectify this problem. If they can acquire someone who can deliver pressure off the edge — just as Clark did — they can reduce how often they blitz, they can increase their sack percentage and the chances are they will drastically lower how many yards they’re giving up and how many explosive plays they are conceding.

One new player won’t create a top performing defense. They might have a league average unit though — capable of not undermining the efforts of Russell Wilson and the offense.

Benson Mayowa is not good enough to be the premier rusher. Losing Bruce Irvin, who they were counting on to contribute 6-8 sacks, is another big loss.

It really is as simple as this. The Seahawks can still salvage their defensive output by adding a dynamic edge rusher. Fail to do so and the numbers above will have a consequence eventually. It’s just not sustainable to be this bad in the passing game, while being this aggressive. As good as Wilson has played in the first two weeks, it’s unrealistic to expect him to deliver 16 perfect games to compensate for this glaring weakness.

The Seahawks only really have one asset left as a bargaining chip — their 2021 second rounder. Somehow, they’ve got to find someone who can come in and provide a spark. They should be prepared to give up that high pick.

If there’s a pass rush equivalent of Quandre Diggs or Quinton Dunbar out there for a day three selection — great. It’s hard to imagine who that could be, though.

For me it’s worth being aggressive. The Seahawks need a solution to this. It’s the one thing holding them back from being a legitimate, serious Super Bowl contender.

I noted yesterday that Ryan Kerrigan might be the best bet. He has two sacks already this season, so he’s started well. He wanted to return to Washington this season to break the franchise sacks record and he’s done that now. Ron Rivera is rebuilding that team and they have two first round picks (Chase Young & Montez Sweat) at defensive end and two others at defensive tackle (Jonathan Allen & Daron Payne).

Kerrigan is a free agent at the end of the season and could be departing anyway in a matter of months.

He could be the 2020 answer to Duane Brown. When they saw a massive glaring weakness in 2017 (Rees Odhiambo starting at left tackle) they aggressively solved that problem with a big trade. Kerrigan, like Brown, isn’t a long term fix. However — if he comes in and gets you 10 sacks between now and the end of the season, that could be a game changer for the Seahawks.

That, for me, is worth a second round pick. Especially because you can negotiate an extension with him at any point to make sure you secure him for an extra year or two. Like Brown, Kerrigan is a solid pro with a good attitude.

Ultimately what’s more important? Giving yourself the best chance to win this year in what could easily be the best season of Russell Wilson’s career? Or having a late second round pick next April and hoping the current pass rush isn’t going to waste a season of prime Wilson?

Reviewing the offensive advanced stats

— The drop percentage is only 1.6%, the fifth best overall. Two teams (Baltimore, Las Vegas) are yet to drop a pass. At the other end of the scale, Detroit has an 11% drop percentage after two games.

— Russell Wilson ranks joint first for the least number of ‘bad’ or ‘poor’ throws with five (level with Ryan Tannehill). His bad throw percentage is 8.2%, marginally higher than Tannehill’s (8.1%).

— Wilson’s percentage of ‘on-target’ throws is #1 in the NFL at 88.5%. Garden Minshew is second (85.9%) and Tannehill is third (85.5%).

— Seattle ranks ninth in the league for yards after the catch (247) with an average of 4.8 yards after completion.

— The offensive line has given up 24 pressures, the third most. They’re also conceding the highest pressure percentage in the NFL (32.9%). Wilson has been hit 11 times, second most in the league. It’s hard to say how much of this was down to a pretty horrible first half in Atlanta but the numbers could do with improving in the coming weeks.

— The Seahawks have only run one RPO so far which is surprising. Arizona, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Buffalo lead the league with 13. Dallas are second with 12.

— Seattle has 170 rushing yards before contact, seventh most. Yet they only have 68 yards after contact which is surprising. That’s the third lowest number and they only average 1.4 yards after contact so far. Seahawks running backs are only credited with one broken tackle in the first two games.

— Wilson’s passer rating when targeting D.K. Metcalf is 141.4 — 15th highest in the league. It’s a perfect 158.3 when targeting David Moore (admittedly it’s early). It’s 128.9 when targeting Tyler Lockett and 143.7 when looking for Chris Carson.

— Metcalf ranks second in the league for yards before catch per reception (17.3). The player leading the NFL is Dallas’ Michael Gallup (17.6).

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158 Comments

  1. cha

    Wed Press Conf w PC

    “Good to experience being home again. Anxious to see if we can get through it and get a good ball game. Dallas stunning come from behind win. Will be all jacked up. Lot of star power, big group of skill guys on offense. Tough game.”

    [maz] Passing of Gayle Sayers (cha ed: good grief)? “One of my idols growing up. Poster right next to my bed. Guy made HOF in 68 games. I wore his number growing up. Miss him.”
    [maz] Ethan’s leadership on OL? “Nice job. Took lead in comp with background and knowledge. Really smart player, built on that. Instilled confidence in RW, really nice start in 2 games. Still competing and all. Taken adv of opp. Good shape there.”

    [jen mueller] McCarthy in GB – do same in Dallas? “Take a few games. Kellen Moore same OC. Mike probably wanted to build on the good thing they have going. Lot of carryover from last year. Helps QB and RB. MM great coach, tactician.”

    [john boyle] Ugo in nickel, need to do to be successful? “Knows position quite well. Wherever you put him in the game he does well. All over the field the other night. We do trust him and knows system well.”

    [corbin] Mone top 10 PRWR in ESPN? “Interesting you ask. Offseason looking at depth, looked at all of his plays. Look back, he had 40 plays and played consistent, technique, gap control, chase the FB at 340 lbs. Came out of eval with a whole new thought. We’re going to give him a shot, and he’s taken to it. Gives everything he’s got. Big effort guy for a big man. Not surprised solid job.”

    [michael shawn] Brionna Taylor jury decision? “Yes heard about it. Read up again. I don’t have enough understanding yet to talk w our guys about it.”

    • cha

      [bob condotta] Update on Green? Assessment of Dunbar & Griffin? “Rasheem in same mode, haven’t turned corner yet. Need to see improvement. Little something going on. Later in the week. Not cleared yet. Corners – really solid. Seen 100 passes already. Dunbar 3 chances for INTS already. Big pick in the game, another good play. Shaquill been really solid on the other side. Fine.”

      [tim booth] Bruce’s SAM role? “Opp for Jordyn Brooks to start. Looking forward to it.”
      [tim] Trade w KJ at WILL? “You’ll see”
      [tim] Dak development? “Really good FB player, great confidence, stature in pocket, handles rush, escapes when he needs to, accuracy well. Scramble and make plays happen, high level of prod in offense. Kellen done nice job.”

      [matt] Like about Wagner done so far in 2 games, improve in pass D? “Week One best gave ever in pass D coverage. Seeing routes well. Best he’s been. Numbers pass D aren’t showing that. Really able to count on what he’s doing and make breaks and get balls knocked to the ground. I’m really fired up about this next step.”

      [joe fann] Decision on Kyle Fuller yet? “Yes we have. Good chance could be on roster. Welcome him back, anxious to get him back. Don” have info yet.”
      [joe] D Walker help w Bruce? “Yes. SAM spot for us. Growing w us, working really hard. Potential ST guy as well. Rushed passer in CFB. Coming, in consideration to be part of rotation.”

      [Curtis crab] Stood out about Dallas offense 2 weeks? “Really talented, WR’s are all special. Lamb jumped right in, Cooper ridiculous. Zeke carrying FB, fantastic runner and catcher. They’re loaded. Spread field nicely, get ball downfield, Dak can do all. Balanced offense.”
      [Curtis] Coverage issues in NE game? “Have to play better. Not as sharp when Diggs went out. Emphasized how much we leaned on him. Gotta keep Q out there. Backups need to be sharper. Can’t give up the yards we’ve been giving up.”

      [Gregg] In house pass rush or import? “Always competing to find help in all areas. Generate rush. Just converted hands we had on QB Sunday we’d have 5 sacks, and everybody talking about our pass rush. Don’t know why we’re relying on our safety so much for PR, other than he’s a really good player. In house? Yeah, competition about who could be the next guy.”
      [Gregg] downside of blitzing? “Don’t execute well. Pressure w zone and man. Tipping things off, they can take advantage. More guys committed to DL, more spacing, need to be good w zone. Not an issue for us, getting hurt when we pressure, just have to clean things up.”
      [Gregg] Mask policy? “All unique in some regard. I have to adapt.”

      • cha

        [Art Thiel] Pass pro you mentioned good, who influential in progress? “Shell in consistency, Lewis in powerful. Precocious FB player. Good sense for what’s going on. Really happy with right side. Just getting going, pleased with progress.”
        [art] Zoom paying off there? “Specific thing, no. Players are good, doing nice job. Mike S are coaching them up, Schotty mixing protections vs pass rush, RBs block well too, RW fast with FB. Seeing right side really solid.”

        [brady] Brooks readiness to be able to play? “Can do everything we ask him to do. Just experience, whether edge, covering downfield, good tackler, diagnoses well. Just newness. Mistakes? Sure, young guy but we’ll work with him.”

        [Jackie] ST performance, Dickson? “Player of the Week, bombing it, pinning back. Almost perfect so far. Off to a great start, important. He wanted to get better this year. Started well, 50 yard w no returns. Everybody loves Mike, glad recognition. In general, very efficient and clean in ST, staying out of trouble positive.”

        • Rob Staton

          Poor press conference IMO.

          We don’t need to know ‘just how well Bobby is playing’. It wasn’t the only one. There are some questions that should be asked about the defense and it would be interesting to hear Pete’s answers.

          FWIW — maybe it’s just me but I think Pete is delicate and a bit tetchy about the pass rush. I think he knows full well they’ve messed up and he’s trying to put on a brave face. It’s the second time he’s talked about ‘missed sacks’. But we know full well how much value he places on explosive plays and as a highly respected defensive coach, there’s no way he’s looking at these last two games and thinking they were a couple of missed sacks away from everything being hunky dory.

          Also, if they drop a couple of games they should win, answers like this will not be tolerable.

          • GerryG

            I mentioned this in an earlier thread, the “missed Sacks” thing is such BS. Id guess 1/3 of the NFL now has a QB that is hard to sack, guys like Rogers, Mahomes, Wilson, Cam etc that can move and avoid the rush well are part of the game today. You are going to miss sacks with QBs that are tough to bring down, the key is to increase the total number of opportunities to get them down. Wilson is a prime example of this. He has avoided 100s of sacks in his career, but there have been such a high number of opportunities to sack him that he has still been sacked a ton.

          • LLLOGOSSS

            Of course Pete knows they messed up, but putting a brave face on is his job at this point. I really don’t think it serves a point to get him to admit he isn’t confident in the players he’s trying to instill confidence in and get the bets out of, and I can’t imagine he’ll be too eager to hear about how we have the worst DL in the NFL at every press conference from here until the season is over.

            His job is to coach; start trying to nail him to the wall every press conference and we will lose all kinds of access to him. He would be correct to shut it down if that’s the case — it doesn’t make his job easier, and it doesn’t help the end-goal, which is coaching his players. That’s his focus now.

            What happened in the offseason may be discussed after the year more candidly.

            • Rob Staton

              “I really don’t think it serves a point to get him to admit he isn’t confident in the players he’s trying to instill confidence in and get the bets out of, and I can’t imagine he’ll be too eager to hear about how we have the worst DL in the NFL at every press conference from here until the season is over.”

              Nobody has suggested this should happen. Nobody has said Pete Carroll should throw the DL under the bus.

              All anyone is asking for is for the media to ask some proper questions about the failing defense. That’s supposed to be their job.

              “His job is to coach; start trying to nail him to the wall every press conference and we will lose all kinds of access to him.”

              Absolute bollocks. I know how press conferences work. If you ask challenging, probing questions you don’t get ‘banned’.

              “He would be correct to shut it down if that’s the case — it doesn’t make his job easier, and it doesn’t help the end-goal, which is coaching his players. That’s his focus now.”

              I don’t think you understand the point of press conferences.

              • LLLOGOSSS

                No, I’ve worked in media as well, and been a part of MLB press conferences once upon a time. I understand quite well that what the reporters want isn’t the exact same thing as what the coach wants, and it’s a symbiotic relationship.

                I’m not suggesting people will be “banned,” I’m saying you won’t get more candid or open responses by making the coach’s job harder. It’s fair to ask about the execution of their offseason, and it’s fair to ask about the efficacy of the pass rush, but the idea is to provoke a response in their own words and let the readers decide. It’s obvious the pass rush isn’t enough, and it’s obvious that Pete is being delicate. That’s the quote. He’s covering for his guys, obviously. If you keep pressing he’ll defend them harder — to a fault. He’ll lie. He’ll say things are better than they are, because his job isn’t to come to account to us and let us into the inner circle, it’s to win games. He needs to coach these guys, and if he needs to do that through the media, that’s what he’ll do.

                I’ve conducted more than a few interviews myself, and I’m all about asking tough questions. I’ve had press events ended abruptly because of questions I’d asked that were too uncomfortable — and they were fair questions.

                I just don’t think it’s a story to get the coach to admit the DL sucks. That’s “bollocks.”

                • TomLPDX

                  Like this. Seems to reasonable.

                • Rob Staton

                  Well, I’ve done 1000’s of press conferences, including three Seahawks ones.

                  And your original post was 100% wrong for the reasons I gave.

        • RugbyLock

          Thanks for putting the press conferences on here Cha!

  2. chase cash

    That is quite the silver lining Rob. I also think PCJS knew that they only needed one elite pass rusher which could be why they sat there twiddling their thumbs over Clowney for so long. With Clowney, Mayowa, and Bruce, complimented by the youngsters forming the rest of the position group, seems much more intimidating than what we have now. Something has to be done, and the sooner the better. In this division every game dropped is going to impact the post-season seeding. A guy like kerrigan could be the difference between 3 road playoff games or a couple of home games.
    Thanks for the write-up Rob.

    • Rob Staton

      Thanks for reading

  3. Rusty

    It is nice to see the scheme moving with the talent on defense … but absolutely this pass-rush is basically untenable with Irvin out and nothing can be expected of Taylor this season. Also Green appears to be likely out for at least another week, man I hate stingers. Trading that 2nd round pick would make for a sad 2021 draft class … a Diggs-esque trade for an edge rusher would be unbelievably clutch right now

    Not that the coverage looked good in week 1, but sheesh Hill is not a FS, Diggs is such an upgrade there. I thought Adams played fine in coverage, a few of those were post routes ran directly into Hill’s deep middle … but he’d wandered off for no good reason. Not that relying on Adams to be our best pass rusher, run defender, and still cover isn’t a total concern though. All to say hopefully Diggs returning and some general meshing in the secondary and the unit can begin to look like it does on paper and they can maybe successfully defend a >10 yard pass this week

  4. SteveLargent80

    https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/1308872424247758848

    This is a yikes. I don’t think Seattle is going to add a pass rusher, I think losing in the NFCCG is probably the best-case scenario at this point

    • Rob Staton

      If a third of your defensive snaps end in an explosive play for the opposition, you’ll be very lucky to make the NFCCG.

  5. BobbyK

    Getting Kerrigan would remind me of having Chris Clemons in 2012. The DL wasn’t great but it would have been good enough to get to and win the Super Bowl. When Clem was lost in the Wild Card – the season basically ended (albeit in dramatic fashion a week later in Atlanta but, ultimately, was not good enough) because everyone else on the DL is like everyone on the DL this year (not good enough).

    Getting Kerrigan would mean Mayowa wouldn’t have to be a “number one” anymore, which he obviously is not. But it would mean his production would probably improve with Kerrigan because then he wouldn’t have to play over 90% of the snaps anymore. With less snaps, he can be more fresh (i.e. more productive) when he is on the field.

    Kerrigan missed 4 games last year. He played in all 16 games all previous years of his career. It’s not like he’s a guy like a DT such as Kawann Short who is on the wrong side of 30 with recent injury situations.

    Really, we need Washington to lose a few more games in the near future because they’re not going to be trading him at 2-1, 3-1, or 4-2. They’re 1-1 and it would be nice if they could get to 1-3 and then I think it could happen. Also, the more games that go by with Washington having Kerrigan (or Carolina having Short) on their roster means the less they have to pay that player for the rest of the season (though reinforcements are also needed ASAP, too).

    • BobbyK

      Washington at Browns this week. If Browns can pull it out… then it’s Baltimore and St. Louis. That would be a scenario where Washington would be 1-4. I could see a deal after 1-3 and definitely at 1-4. Might be something to hope for. Go Browns!

      • BobbyK

        Seahawks DL without Clem in ’12 very similar to Seahawks DL in ’20. Clem single-handedly made the entire group not suck.

        Mebane was good in ’12. Reed is good. Neither is special, but both solid even if their strengths are different.

        In terms of pass rush, you know you weren’t or aren’t getting much pass rush from LDE. DT scenario next to Mebane/Reed was/is not anything special.

        That leaves the only difference between ’12 and ’20 massively different. Clem was a stud, Mayowa is who he thought he was/is. Kerrigan could be Clem and make this unit “good enough.”

        The Seahawks wouldn’t be winning the Super Bowl because of this unit in 2020-1… but at least this unit wouldn’t suck so bad that they can’t win a Super Bowl because of it.

      • Rob4q

        St. Louis???

        • BobbyK

          Rams

          oops

      • lil’stink

        Definitely agree that more losses increase the odds of a team being willing to part with a guy like Kerrigan. But the NFCE could be a dumpster fire with the Giants and Eagles so I can’t imagine Washington would trade Kerrigan for at least a couple more weeks. Although I’d much prefer Carlos Dunlap.

  6. Rob Staton

    https://twitter.com/Joe_Fann/status/1308880498274557954

    “Kyle Fuller is now officially on the #Seahawks active roster, which is now full.

    My guess is that Fuller will become Seattle’s No. 2 center and B.J. Finney will be inactive moving forward.”

    What a quality signing. So glad they snapped him up for $8m over two years instead of sorting the pass rush.

    • BobbyK

      Come on, Rob. Cut them some slack. He was a “priority!”

    • Robbie

      Well maybe a trade is in the works. We know the Steelers need o-line help?

      *please please *

      • Rob Staton

        I hope they do.

        Waste of money. Might as well avoid it lingering into next year.

      • Pran

        Steelers fans are itching to get him back. may be we can trade him for some pass rush help

    • Aaron

      BJ Finney is this year’s Ezekiel Ansah and Eddie Lacy. Gotta have at least one over priced non factor on your roster.

      • Rob Staton

        For a front office who created one of the greatest teams in NFL history between 2010-12, they haven’t half signed and drafted some shite since.

        • Pran

          Glad this is getting highlighted. Drafting sucked for several years now. FO needs a hard look.

          • lil’stink

            OTC disagrees, at least from this small sample size.

            https://overthecap.com/looking-at-nfl-draft-success-since-2015/

            Not that drafting has been great, but it hasn’t been as horrible as some think. It’s just that there have been too many high profile misses.

            • Big Mike

              Really don’t care what OTC says. Top 2 pix the last 4 years are JAGs. Throw in McDowell and UGH!

              • Rob Staton

                Top two picks since 2017:

                McDowell & Pocic
                Penny & Green
                Collier & Blair
                Brooks & Taylor

                It’s not a great run. Obviously too early to say with Brooks but he’s only starting now due to an injury to Bruce Irvin. They’ve not had any early impact from their top two picks for years.

    • Spencer Duncan

      What do they see in these depth retreads like Dorsett, Finney, Ogbuehi, etc. We know what they are, they’re not going to magically take a step forward, so why waste any money on them? When was the last time one of their reclamation projects was successful?

      Frustrating.

      • Rob Staton

        They need a rethink.

        Too many bad FA signings over the years.

        Their plan for FA isn’t working.

      • Big Mike

        IMO they’re signing these guys cuz A) they’re “reasonably priced” and B) they have to do some creative shit to cover for poor drafts to add depth

        • RugbyLock

          I think you’re spot on Big Mike… sad to say…

  7. Rob4q

    [joe] D Walker help w Bruce? “Yes. SAM spot for us. Growing w us, working really hard. Potential ST guy as well. Rushed passer in CFB. Coming, in consideration to be part of rotation.”

    Does D’Andre Walker offer any hope as a rotational EDGE rusher? What are/were his strengths in college?

    • Rob Staton

      He was a decent pass rusher. Showed some potential. But he’s not played for pushing two years due to injury.

      Pete saying, ‘potential special teams guy’ doesn’t bode well.

  8. James Cr.

    Really strange about BJ Finney as most Pittsburgh fans were choked at losing him and saying he was really solid.

    • Rob Staton

      They can have him back!

      • God of Thunder

        “Come on down Steelers and reclaim him for the small price of _____!”

        • Big Mike

          Just take his contract from this point forward so we have some more cap space and I’d be happy.

  9. CaptainJack

    It really makes me cringe to think of what we could have done in free agency if we passed on Finney and Olsen. weird, weird targets. No one in the league knew who Finney was besides Steelers fans. Olsen hadn’t been in his prime for years, just weird to expect him to have a major comeback at this his point, we saw his age against the patriots. It has been stated to death but I have no clue what they were thinking with those two signings. Floyd, Fowler, Quinn, trade for Ngakoue, Armstead, Hargrave, ,Barrett, Ogbah, Judon, Lawson, Vernon, Griffen, didnt have to be clowney, could have been anyone, and it was Benson Mayowa.

  10. JLemere

    If BJ Finney was demoted to PS, what would happen to his contract? I would assume he gets his guarantee money and then gets paid PS salary for the year (if he stayed there all year) and then the 2nd year of his contract would kick in the following season.

    • BobbyK

      He can’t be put on the PS.

      • JLemere

        Yes he can. Under COVID rules, you can have 6 veterans on PS just for this year and the only player on PS who qualifies as a veteran is Shaquem Griffin.

        • BobbyK

          Did not know that. Thank you. But he’s not giving any of his guaranteed money back.

  11. Kingdome1976

    Let’s face it. Bruce getting hurt isn’t going to change much of anything…AND having Clowney on the team wouldn’t win us the SB. It’s next year we can have some hope. Let’s just enjoy the season and hope for miracles, yeah?

    • Rob Staton

      If it’s alright with you, no.

      I’d prefer to win now.

    • Darnell

      Have hope for this year too, my man. No flawless teams in the NFC this year.

      • Pran

        with injury rate, cant guess who ends up playing for different teams. Staying relatively healthy and make playoffs anything can happen for any team

    • God of Thunder

      Unless you are just a Natural Born Pessimist, please explain this.

      We’re 2-0 after beating one solid team on the road and the Patriots at home. The offence has purred nicely, and RW has been near perfect. Talk to us again after 8-9 games?

  12. RWIII

    Sign me up for Ryan Kerrigan in a New York second. The Hawks could REALLY use him. Plus Washington(almost said Redskins) is going no where and they will probably lose him at the end of the year. This is a NO BRAINER.

    • Darnell

      For a 2nd without an extension though? That would be my concern.

      The parting with significant assets for 4 month rentals (Richardson and Clowney) has always seemed really short sighted.

      • Rob Staton

        I’d happily take the risk.

        For me the Seahawks are in extreme win-now mode. I’d rather take my chances on extending Kerrigan than simply have a late round two pick to look forward to next year.

        The Seahawks have a glaring weakness and they need to fix it to make sure they don’t squander Russell Wilson’s possible MVP season.

        • Darnell

          I certainly appreciate the argument, I just don’t think I could pull the trigger after the Clowney/Richardson experiences ; though Kerrigan seems to show up more consistently on a snap by snap week by week basis.

          Maybe if they included a 4. Essentially jumping 30+ picks in exchange for 3-4 months of Kerrigan.

      • Chase

        At this point we have to be shortsighted. We cannot win the superbowl with the roster as it is. Trading for him will give us a chance.

        • Jordan E

          Agreed. When the opportunity is there you gotta seize it. Not sure when it will be there again. Hawks looking dangerous this year. All we really need is that pass rush and we can go very far.

      • DT

        I’d be somewhat ok with this move, though not sure how much more draft capital we can afford to give up.
        Think we have to look at trading away a solid player and try to get as much back as possible.
        To that end- Chris Carson.
        Can the hawks really afford to sign Carson next year?
        They have $24M in projected cap space…Is Carson going to sign for Tarik Cohen money? I’d take that, not sure he would…
        A contract halfway between Cohen and Kamara/McCaffrey would be roughly 4 years, $40M, $20M guaranteed. Worth it? Can Hyde, Homer, DJ and Penny get it done for us?
        In 2021 we have KJ, Olsen, Quill, Dunbar, Irvin, Pocic, Delano, Iupati, Poona + many more to resign or replace.
        Jamal and Diggs will be in the last year of their deals….Is Jamal gonna quietly play out his last year with no future contract?
        They need to be realistic about what they can do, and if they can’t keep Carson they need to get something back, and not just let him walk in free agency.
        Indy perhaps would be a potential target?
        Marlon Mack went down, J Taylor is a rookie. Rivers threw the ball to Austin Ekeler 92 times last year (10th most receptions in the league). Carson has shown he can catch the ball out of the backfield.
        Don’t know much about their defensive players, but they are tied for sacks at #4 and have given up the fewest passing yards per game….

  13. pdway

    I’m fully in on trading the pick for pass rush help too.

    agree that the NFC is wide open w possibility given the way that SF and N.O. have looked so far (injuries of course a huge factor). It’s the right time to go all-in.

    Strange season so far – not easy to be 2-0 when giving up that many yards, though I see that KC hasn’t been all that much better. Which just means it’s early still.

  14. SeahawkeyezSubj80

    Doesn’t sound like we are getting anybody in free agency. Considering SF signed our castoffs Dion Jordan and Ziggy Ansah is telling about Clay Matthews (asking for too much money or he is done.) Keeping my fingers crossed for Alton Robinson to flash. With the exception of Russell Wilson and Earl Thomas can anyone think of Pete Carroll ever trusting a rookie unless he had to. Not even Kam Chancellor Richard Sherman and Frank Clark started their rookie years.

  15. Rob Staton

    I was bored tonight so went through all the articles since the 2020 draft to look at what each discussed, seeing as we’re often accused of talking about the same thing all the time.

    56% of the articles had nothing to do with the defensive line or Seattle’s off-season. This included several 2021 draft reports, several positional breakdowns, thoughts on Seattle’s 2020 draft class, Russell Wilson, linked players such as Antonio Brown or articles on breaking news such as Sunday’s report on Carroll’s contract and other topics.

    38% of the articles contained criticism of Seattle’s off-season, included Jadeveon Clowney’s future as a topic, discussed Seattle’s poor defensive line, questioned previous decisions (such as the Frank Clark trade) or suggested future moves to fix the problem (eg trades).

    6% of the articles discussed generic things such as the state of the other NFC West teams, ‘notes’ articles talking about random topics of the day in the NFL, podcast appearances or interviews (such as my conversation with Brian Baldinger).

    So overall more than half the articles had nothing to do with the D-line or Seattle’s 2020 off-season and just over a third of the pieces discussed what is undoubtedly the most important current topic relating to the Seahawks.

    • SeahawkeyezSubj80

      I say the 38% struck a nerve. Truth hurts sometimes.

    • cha

      That’s great and all Rob. But I think we need a deeper analytical dive to determine whether you’ve truly had a good offseason of postings.

      What’s your overall Post Logic Win Rate? What’s your PLWR when discussing the pass rush?

      What % of your posts are explosive?

      How about your Troll Blitz Pickup %? Is your Moderator Response Reflex above Replacement level?

      Most importantly, what’s your Wife Of Blogger Support Index? That’s critical.

      I’m not sure I can agree with the surface analysis you presented here until we get some data to support your conclusions. I expect more.

      • AlaskaSouth

        +1

      • Rob Staton

        Apologies.

        I didn’t even include my EPA.

      • Big Mike

        You’re on fire this whole week cha

    • Daniel

      The Seahawks are giving up almost as many explosive plays as articles critical of their pass rush.

      • Rob Staton

        😂

    • Sea Mode

      Actually, this reminds me of something I was wondering the other day: How many comments have I and some of the other regulars left over the years? It’s not a competition, of course, just curious.

      You can see it in the wpadmin with this plugin or display it publicly next to our usernames with this code snippet.

  16. Gohawks5151

    I think that they are going to have to wait a bit for Kerrigan honestly, purely for the optics. Washington is 1-1, the Eagles are bad, the Cowboys should be 0-2, and Giants are bad. Are they the best team in the east? Probably not?… It will take time for them to start losing and make it obvious to fans that they should out up the sale sign. I think the Dwayne Brown timeline is more realistic.

    • Rob Staton

      Fair points

    • Simo

      You’re probably right with respect to Kerrigan and the WFT, doubtful they hold a fire sale prior to the deadline, October 31. Now its still very possible they have a losing streak over the next few weeks that could change their mind, but that puts us within a couple weeks of the deadline anyway. So, no outside help likely for at least a few weeks I suspect.

      I’ll be holding out hope there’s some other options we aren’t aware of. Time for John to earn his money and get this team some much needed DL help!

    • Daniel

      They better not wait too long. There might not be many healthy quality edge rushers left at the rate of injury we’ve seen so far this season. All that competition will drive the asking price up.

  17. BobbyK

    A possible trade would/could be sending D. Taylor for Kerrigan. Washington could give him a physical and determine if he’s part of their future. That would be the obvious key. It’s actually a win-win for both organizations when Washington realizes they aren’t winning the Super Bowl this year. Seahawks get impact pass rusher NOW and Washington gets cost controlled replacement young enough to be part of their rebuild. I know they have four solid DL but you can never have too much good depth (wish the Seahawks knew this) rushing the passer.

    • Jordan E

      This would really hurt our cap situation. Really don’t see Hawks trading D. Taylor.

    • Jace

      I have a hard time believing the Hawks would trade Taylor. They moved up to get him, and both Pete and John seemed to love him. They liked him so much they almost took him R1.

  18. charlietheunicorn

    How about your Troll Blitz Pickup %? ~ cha to Rob

    Ok, this was funny. He missed a few pick-ups, but he smashed a couple attempts up the middle between the tackles in an A gap pressure look.

  19. charlietheunicorn

    Eagles keep taking injury hits.
    It came out the Jalen Reagor is going to IR with a thumb/hand injury.

    Washington may yet win the East just by attrition (or lack of).

  20. cha

    Mayowa didn’t practice with a groin injury and Reed didn’t practice with a back injury.

    thisisfinememe

    • Big Mike

      Nothing to see here

      • RugbyLock

        Move Along…

  21. Chavac

    No mention that they have the number 3 rush defense at this point?

    The pass rush is certainly not good, but isn’t citing absolute yards failing to recognize they’ve been passed against significantly more than anyone else? I don’t think the numbers are pretty any way you cut it (their passer rating against is middle of the pack), but as you mentioned they’ve been putting teams into catch up mode late in the game thus the disproportionate amount of passing and explosive plays. I’m curious if anyone has a way to compare their first half vs second half pass defense stats?

    Also, I’ve seen that Adams stat thrown around but I can’t remember seeing him being in bad position as much as some really nice throws/catchs.

    • Rob Staton

      “No mention that they have the number 3 rush defense at this point?”

      Teams aren’t running against Seattle. Not because they’re scared to death of Poona Ford, because they can pass and pass and pass and have success.

      The Seahawks have given up 970 yards in two games, 55 points and they’re conceding an explosive play on a third of their defensive snaps.

      That’s the reality.

      “The pass rush is certainly not good, but isn’t citing absolute yards failing to recognize they’ve been passed against significantly more than anyone else?”

      No, because their yards per completion and yards per attempt are really high too. And teams are passing a lot because it’s too easy to have success against the Seahawks.

      • Chavac

        Thought this was interesting. So actually, most of that is untrue. Seattle is 5th in rushes against (conversely they lead in pass attempts against by a wide margin), but the reality is that teams aren’t running against Seattle in the *second* half. Rushing attempts in the first half (29) vs second half (16) are quite disparate, with the former actually exceeding the median and the latter dead last if prorated for all four halves. Teams have been abandoning the run because, well, you abandon the run when you’re trying to chase down a quick-scoring RW offense in the fourth quarter (7 total 4th quarter attempts, many of which were QB). Seattle, conversely, has run almost almost exactly evenly across halves. In the first half, when teams haven’t yet abandoned the run, the run defense has been undeniably stellar (3.3 y/a).

        Passing hasn’t been so easy for teams in the first half either actually, and the fourth quarter is accounting for all TD’s allowed and 40% of their yards allowed. You would expect this, of course, from a non-elite defense that goes into a bend/don’t break philosophy in the 4th quarter against an offense running out of the shotgun.

        Seahawks pass defense 2020
        1st half: 35 attempts @ 267 yards, 7.6 y/a, 0 TD; rate 81.5
        2nd half: 63 attempts @ 580 yards, 9.2 y/a, 3 TD; rate 105.3
        (4th quarter: 42 attempts @ 352 yards, 8.4 y/a, 3 TD; rate 112)

        • Rob Staton

          It’s not untrue in the slightest.

          Seattle’s run defense hasn’t been tested. You yourself have pointed out they’ve faced the fifth fewest rush attempts (46) in the NFL. Let me just break down what is included in those 46 attempts:

          — 11 runs by Cam Newton
          — Three GL runs by Newton, two leading to TD’s, that couldn’t go for more than 1 yard (impacting the average)
          — 1 run by a Falcons safety on a fake punt
          — 1 GL run by Todd Gurley (again, impacting the average)
          — A sweep by Calvin Ridley
          — A run for -1 by Matt Ryan

          So the Seahawks have faced only 32 traditional runs. Had they not faced Newton at QB on Sunday, they would’ve easily faced the lowest number of running attempts in the entire league. Several of those runs were in goal line scenarios where only a yard was needed which impacts an average significantly when you have a small sample size.

          Here are the facts.

          The Seahawks have given up 970 yards in two games and 55 points. A third of their defensive snaps result in an explosive play. Their sack percentage is 3% despite the fact they are blitzing more than Gregg Williams & Todd Bowles.

          The Falcons and Patriots had their merry way with Seattle’s defense. If people really want to make out that these running numbers are a ‘success’ — be my guest. It’s a complete irrelevance.

          • Chavac

            So only the Seahawks defend goal line stands? Or Newton rushing out of the wildcat shouldn’t count as an attempt? Why in the world would you think only the Seahawks defend short yardage plays?

            And I’ll reiterate this because I’m not sure if you missed it or just ignored it, but if teams are “having their merry way with Seattle” how do you explain the massive disparity between the first half and garbage time?

            • Rob Staton

              When did I ever say the Seahawks only defend GL plays? What a weird response.

              My point clearly was that they’ve not defended many runs at all which impacts YPC when you have a fair few GL runs where the max yardage is ‘one’.

              And that was one small point among many that you’ve conveniently ignored.

              I didn’t ignore anything. It was a comprehensive response. There hasn’t been any garbage time other than one 75 yard drive by the Falcons.

        • Scott

          Your raw numbers are unhelpful and do not disprove what Rob stated. The rush numbers are inflated because opposing teams have been able to run so many plays against the Seahawks. The fact that they lead “by a wide margin” in pass attempts against is a clear indicator of that.

  22. Spencer Duncan

    Thanks Rob for putting it all into perspective.

    Browsing Reddit, I often saw the rankings of our pressure percentage and people using it to justify how the defensive line wasn’t that bad, but then I saw the PFF rankings and noticed the complete lack of pressure from the DL in games and was questioning how could the pressure percentages be so high.

    I was also obviously confused about why our secondary was getting torched so bad. I knew with the defensive line being in its current state that the secondary would probably not live up to expectations, but 400 yards/game is absurd. Over 30% blitz makes a lot of sense as to why opposing offenses are passing all over us.

  23. Hoggs41

    If we did give up a 2nd for Kerrigan hopefully we could get a lower pick back. Either way I would be in.

  24. Denver Hawker

    I enjoy this take Rob- so nice to be just one piece away. I have to believe the FO will find a trade partner at some point this season if these results continue. NFC is wide open.

    Also going to make for some firework games- Sunday will be a barn burner.

  25. Pran

    Perhaps they are waiting for 0-4 or 0-3 teams to make offers. Lets see who of the below will be ready for sale.

    Jets, Giants, Lions, Panthers, Vikings, Dolphins, Broncos, Bengals, Falcons, Eagles, Texans

  26. DC

    If the Vikings ‘crap the bed’ to the tune of 1-7 or 2-6 & believe they have little chance of re-signing Yannick Ngakoue in the off season, they might be swayed to recoup their 2nd round pick and move him after 8 games. Minnesota would already have paid his $4M signing bonus & half of his $8M base salary. That would leave us paying his remaining $4M for the final 8 games but don’t quote me on that. In this case I would hope to extend him as part of the deal but would still pull the trigger either way.

    This may shape up to be the most interesting trade deadline that we have ever seen in the NFL. There could be a lot more buyers (additional playoff spots) & sellers (decimated rosters) than we’ve witnessed in the past.

    • charlietheunicorn

      I mentioned the Vikings in the previous article thread. I think they are one to watch very closely. They have some cap problems coming in 2021 which could facilitate a deal. I’m not sure if Ngakoue actually fits Seattle, but he could be a very viable option. He has been the only pass rush the Vikings have managed the 1st 2 weeks…. so that is saying something.

      Eagles also are prime candidates, due to cap being a major problem for them in 2021. I have a hard time finding players worthy of tossing a 2nd round pick at a team to acquire.
      Eagles Brandon Graham / 2 years on contract. (Dumping salary for 2021)
      Eagles DT Malik Jackson / 1 year left on deal. (Dumping salary for 2021)

      I would laugh my ass off if…. Seattle trades a second to the Titans for Clowney.
      Since 2020 has been crazy, might as well go all out for calling “a shot”.

      • God of Thunder

        “ I would laugh my ass off if…. Seattle trades a second to the Titans for Clowney.”

        Well we’d be laughing right along with you.

        As for trading with the Eagles, we don’t have to trade a 2nd. It could be lower!

  27. Ukhawk

    Agree the time is now!! Whatever plan they had for the DL, it doesn’t look like it’ll come to fruition without a near term upgrade.

    Play the hand your dealt or adjust course.

    There should be even more urgency given how wide open the NFCW is and with the injuries to SF

  28. Brik

    I decided to look up the time of possession and # of plays per game for our team, thinking it might have something to do with how our team plays. Time of possession we are up 51.5% to about 48.5%, which is pretty good. The surprising thing to me is on offense we are near the bottom of the league at 59 plays per game, 29th out of 32. Then on defense we are dead last with 73.5 plays per game against us. I can see why, but it doesn’t seem sustainable. Obviously wears our team down especially in these early games when conditioning isn’t quite there yet. More plays= more chance for injury too.

    • Rob Staton

      Furthermore, certain players are taking on way too many snaps.

      Benson Mayowa’s at 90% of the snaps so far. Jarran Reed’s at 85%.

      No wonder they’re getting a day off on Wednesday.

      For comparison, Frank Clark only played 73% of the snaps in 2018. Reed played 78%.

      This is supposed to be a rotational D-line. It’s basically become the Reed and Mayowa show.

      • GerryG

        The younger DTs, who graded out well in limited snaps need to increase their snaps substantially. First off, they deserve the shot, secondly Reed cant play that much. The pass rush is awful regardless, so even if it means having these guys play in 3rd down rush situations, so be it.

        I cant believe they completely ignored the nickel pass rush DT role, QJeff was not a world beater, but played that role ok last year. Not sure he was worth $ Buffalo gave him, but they did nothing to replace him.

        • Rob Staton

          This is why I don’t understand the brigade who criticise us for talking about this Gerry.

          They didn’t add a single defensive tackle this off-season. Not one. Despite losing Al Woods.

          How was that ever a reasonable plan?

          What on earth were they thinking?

          It’s a sheer numbers game. Reed can’t play 85-90% of the snaps if you want him for a full, impactful season. That’s insane. You need a rotation there. And they know that better than anyone — it was one of the major strengths of the 2013 roster.

          If Reed gets injured because he plays so many snaps, what then?? If the defense isn’t a full blown crisis now, it bloody will be if Reed goes down.

          Even at DE — they only had Mayowa, Green, Collier and two rookies. That’s not depth. And one of the rookies is still struggling with an injury he’s had for over a year, so how on earth were they ever banking on him?

          The end product is Benson Mayowa playing 90% of the snaps. Do you know how many he played last year in Oakland? 28%. In Arizona in 2018 he played 49% of the snaps. In 2016 and 2017 in Dallas, he played 36% of the snaps in each season.

          This isn’t just a minor quibble. An irrelevance.

          This is completely abject by the Seahawks. A total and utter mess. A mishandling of epic proportions.

          • cha

            That Corbin Smith piece we talked about the other day didn’t do anyone any favors. Thinking the Seahawks altered the Patriots game plan by calling up a 360lb DT off the practice squad was nonsensical. But also gave fuel to the people thinking the interior DL wasn’t a problem.

            That’s why we listen to what PC and Norton say, but also look at facts and past performance and snap counts.

            • Rob Staton

              Exactly.

              There’s a lot of bad info out there at the moment. I know it’s a lot of negative news but I hope people can take something out of us cutting through the BS. I just want us to talk about this team seriously, not pretend things are fine. Or only talk about this when it’s too late.

  29. Rob Staton

    A quick thought that I might expound on before the weekend.

    I think what DK Metcalf is showing is that it’s always worth being able to roll the dice on extreme physical talent.

    It might not always work out but the upside potential of taking someone with a world class physical profile is pretty clear. It gives you a better shot to discover greatness.

    The Chiefs, for the last 4-5 years, have drafted for physical profile with each of their picks in the top two rounds. They always go for upside.

    The Seahawks flirt with this. They’ve had some misses, such as Christine Michael and Malik McDowell. But ultimately you could argue they’ve missed out on some good players because they seem to be stuck on drafting for need and defined positions early. Maybe they should just be looking for the best possible upside?

    • BobbyK

      You mean LJ Collier isn’t an athletic freak?

      • Rob Staton

        He ran so well at the combine, he might’ve beaten Rich Eisen’s time.

        • Big Mike

          Thank you, I just spit coffee all over my keyboard.
          Maybe I need to finish the morning java before coming here……….

    • Simo

      Yeah, I’m sure a lot of teams are kicking themselves for overlooking DK! But this is not a new concept in the NFL, it happens. DK had a few question marks teams were struggling with in the lead up to the draft, and thankfully for the Hawks he’s been able to overcome them for the most part.

      Teams probably need to (and maybe they actually do this) draft for both physical talent and need. If they happen to find a physical freak at a position of need then even better. I think that’s the case with the Chiefs and CEH this year, a physical specimen, a very talented football player, and a position of need for KC.

    • Logan Lynch

      They may not be to the same freakish extent as DK, but how do you feel Brooks and Taylor fit with this? To me, both of those guys are plus athletes with explosive traits. We’ll see quickly with Brooks what he looks like on an NFL field on a regular basis.

      • Rob Staton

        Don’t know — Brooks only did a forty yard dash pre-draft and Taylor wasn’t cleared to do any testing due to injury.

        • Logan Lynch

          True, we don’t have anything official on them. I think Brooks will pop when he has a role and not just sent in to try and be a pass rusher. He’ll make some mistakes like most rookie, but do them at 1,000mph (or kph…is there an equivalent saying in the UK?)

          I wish the reporters would have asked different questions on Taylor. They kept going back to his trouble in rehab, but Pete said before last week that they were going to have him run and see how he handled it. Then he mentioned in a later conference that they did run him around, but didn’t say how it went and no one followed up. I get he has to sit out at least through week 6, but it would be nice to know if he’s making any progress at all.

          • Rob Staton

            “I think Brooks will pop when he has a role and not just sent in to try and be a pass rusher. He’ll make some mistakes like most rookie, but do them at 1,000mph (or kph…is there an equivalent saying in the UK?)”

            I hope so because Patrick Queen is getting rave reviews in Baltimore. Not to mention that having spent their top pick on a ‘WILL linebacker of the future’ he better be good.

            “I wish the reporters would have asked different questions on Taylor.”

            I wish they’d ask some pressing questions on the defensive output so far. It’s horrendous. It warrants some answers. Instead we get, ‘just how well is Bobby playing?’. Come on.

            • dcd2

              Pretty much everyone had Queen higher than Brooks with their evals. Same with Penny and Chubb. Same with Davante Adams and Paul Richardson. Same with Ifedi or Pocic and half a dozen other guys at their position.

              It seems that the approach needs some tweaking. Maybe they are tweaking it, I’m not sure. One pick that kind of surprised me (though nothing really should anymore) was taking Damien Lewis over John Simpson. Simpson was again higher on most boards, scored a higher TEF and wTEF. Longer arms, taller, stronger, longer history of performing at a top level. Rob wrote “Simpson could have easily secured a 2nd round grade with this performance” after the combine.

              Yet, Lewis was the pick. We didn’t really NEED a Guard, and based on what we know, he was at least a mild surprise. Rob covered him a lot, and even interviewed him, so the community was pretty happy, as it was a player we were familiar with and excited about. It broke from the mold a bit with what we know however.

              It is an often frustrating exercise to put in the time we do on the draft, only to feel blindsided in regards to who they took, where and why. This off-season has been as confusing as any that I can remember. I wonder if there is anything we can take from it going forward, to help understand the process better.

              • Rob Staton

                I thought Damien Lewis was a top-50 player to be honest and a lot better than Simpson.

                • Ralphy

                  The most upsetting part of the Brooks pick for me (and I posted it on here) was if for some reason they thought LB was a top priority then why not draft Queen? He looked like a sure bet to me. Then after last weeks near implosion I looked up his stats. It made it worse.

                  • Steve Nelsen

                    All we know is the testing and measurements, sometimes not even that, so our evaluations are always incomplete. We know that Seattle places a lot of emphasis on their interviews and how they think players will fit in the locker room. Maybe that is where Queen fell short in their evaluation.

                • dcd2

                  True, but you were one of the only ones. I’m not even saying that Simpson is better, but it went against what we know of TEF. Brooks and Taylor as you pointed out above didn’t even have combine numbers (granted many didn’t with the NFL choosing to ‘primetime’ it).

                  Just wondering if there was ANY way to project what they would do this year, so that we can focus more effectively next year. Frankly I don’t see it. Kind of feels like a calculus problem where even when I know the answer, I have no idea how to get there.

                  Are they truly drafting for the following year? Seems like it. Like they don’t think that any of their rookies will have a year one impact, except on special teams and packages.

                  • Rob Staton

                    Very little to take from this year. They seemed to just fall for Brooks — but we had no means of knowing, given the lack of testing numbers. Nobody could project that. Taylor was a pure need/desperation pick. Lewis we talked about and I interviewed and I’m happy we focused on him.

              • Steve Nelsen

                Brady Henderson had a great article on Brooks v. Queen back after the draft. He said even Baltimore ranked Brooks over Queen.

                “One NFL source told ESPN that he heard after the fact from at least five teams that said Brooks — not Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray or LSU’s Patrick Queen — was their top-rated linebacker. The same source said multiple teams believe the Ravens, who took Queen at No. 28 with Murray off the board, would have taken Brooks had Seattle not chosen him one pick before. At least one team said it wanted to trade up into the bottom of the first round for Brooks, according to the source.”

                • Rob Staton

                  And as we noted at the time, I bet that source’s name rhymes with Bon Glider.

  30. Rob Staton

    Jabaal Sheard visiting the Lions:

    https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1309118221631598599

    • Gohawks5151

      Daaaang. I was hoping he would visit us this week.

      • Sea Mode

        Telling of what it’s come to when we’re pining for a visit from a 31 y/o journeyman good for about 5 sacks per season.

        • Gohawks5151

          True, but I’ve always liked the guy. He is past his prime though

  31. Simo

    So, the Lions are the right “opportunity”? The money he’s discussing with Detroit must be right. Not sure if he’s much of an upgrade anyway, your thoughts?

  32. Walter Rucker

    The Seahawks are hosting snacks Harrison next week. Do you think that adding him and God willing an edge rusher is enough? I love the Kerrigan idea Rob. Great Blog thank you for all your hard work

    • WalterRucker

      If the Vikings tank hard enough, then we should do our best to pry Hunter from them.

      • cha

        LOL Ngakoue: I gave up $5million for this?

        • GerryG

          If the Vikings completely S*!* the bed the next few weeks, and dont have a win, seems it would make sense to trade Ngakoue and try to recover some of the draft capital they gave up. They could still sign him next year.

          • cha

            FYI He didn’t do the “no tag” thing Clowney did though, so the rights to tag him goes with him in trade.

            • GerryG

              Ahhh, I didnt realize that, I thought he did do that.

    • cha

      Better late than never I suppose. Maybe Snacks was waiting for teams to get their COVID bugs all worked out.

    • Gohawks5151

      Hooooo boy… Please be under 380lbs…

      • dcd2

        lol. Seriously!

    • Rob Staton

      It could be enough. Far from ideal but better. It’s certainly worth finding out.

      • Walter Rucker

        Thanks Rob

  33. RugbyLock

    According to Adam Schaffer the Hawks are talking to Snacks

    https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1309142664961560578

    • Steve Nelsen

      Snacks won’t help with the pass rush and the Seahawks are doing fine against the run. I don’t know that Snacks as a run defender at this point is much better than Poona/Mone/Rush.

      • Michael Braund

        We still need DT help. Rotation is key and the run defense needs help too.

      • cha

        Reed is playing 85-90% of snaps and showed up on the injury report yesterday. We absolutely need more help at the DT.

        • dcd2

          We’ve been saying that for 6 months though and the FO has done absolutely nothing about it.

          • GerryG

            They are not done yet!!

        • Steve Nelsen

          We need more help at DT. I don’t think we need more run-stuffing help at DT. Jarran Reed is playing so many snaps because he can rush the passer. What we need for the DT rotation is another pass-rusher. And that ain’t Snacks.

          That spot (or spots) could be filled in two ways:
          1. By another Reed-type DT but there aren’t any on the roster or immediately available via trade/FA.
          2. By moving a 5-Tech type DT inside on passing downs. They are doing that now with Collier and they could use Alton Robinson in a similar role.

          • cha

            I don’t disagree Steve but the time to be picky was when you’re looking at the free agent/trade market/draft buffet in the spring, not when you’re knee deep in Week 3 prep scrambling for options.

            If Snacks can take some early downs for Reed, that’ll keep him fresh to do what we need best, rush the passer.

  34. Schleems18

    Snacks has more experience than Poona/Mone/Rush combined. The position and experience should help offset a slight loss in performance. The seahawks run defense hasnt really been tested, if the offense comes back down to earth against the cowboys we will see how good it is. Im rooting for collier and robinson to have an above average outing. No reinforcements this week.

  35. coach62344

    I thing Brooks will be a better fit in Seattle as a linebacker. NFL Draft says he is sound linebacker, physical player and a sure tackler. Also read that KJ Wright was told he would not ready until Sept or Oct. to be back from his off season surgery. If true that could be another reason why Seattle took him so high. Seattle IMO needs Brooks skill set more than Queen.

    Is it possible Queen is doing great because he is a great fit in the Ravens defense scheme?

    • Rob Staton

      “Also read that KJ Wright was told he would not ready until Sept or Oct. to be back from his off season surgery. If true that could be another reason why Seattle took him so high.”

      Well they traded up in the 2019 draft for a linebacker. I’m not sure KJ Wright not being able to start the season is justification for taking another in R1.

      “Is it possible Queen is doing great because he is a great fit in the Ravens defense scheme?”

      There aren’t many 227lbs linebackers playing in the 3-4. There are several like that in a fast, fly-to-the-ball 4-3 though — such as Darius Leonard.

  36. Scot04

    I think the physical profile, mainly the weight is why the Seahawks went with Brroks. There’s no denying Queens speed and athletic ability; plus he’s only 21, so can add weight. Will be interesting to see how Brooks looks in his 1st start. Queen through 2 games had some typical rookie mistakes and some trouble in coverage.
    He still has looked worthy of a 1st round pick and what should be a long term starter going forward.
    Hoping Brooks can show similar in his 1st start.

  37. cha

    Seahawks PR
    @seahawksPR
    The
    @Seahawks
    have signed WR Lance Lenoir to the practice squad. #GoHawks
    10:26 AM · Sep 24, 2020

    • Rob4q

      So one spot left on the PS?

      Cha, do you know where Breeland Speaks ended up or is he still a FA? Wondering why they didn’t kick the tires there?

      • cha

        Last I heard they had him for a visit and nothing more.

  38. Frank

    Queen vs Brooks, or Chubb vs Penny arguments come with a couple problems. The Hawks preference is to redshirt defensive player, and always draft players for season two and beyond. I don’t expect to see Brooks do much until next year when KJ gets cut. Penny has gotten so much grief, for not beating out Chris Carson for the lead role, and getting injured but his numbers have been fantastic when he’s allowed to play. Chubb has amazing blocking, and a QB who has been seeing ghost last year so extra ample opportunities to rush the ball a ton of times. Taylor and Robinson both perfectly fit the ideal physical profile for Leo, as Clemons for as good as he was, also could be a liability in the run game, and bigger players lack the first step explosion. Hopefully the addition of Snacks keeps those LBers a bit cleaner, and allows the edge players a bit more freedom to pin there ears back and go for it. I don’t mind Adams blitzing some, but it shouldn’t be so damn predictable that he get torched. Enough draft capital has been used on edge, time to look elsewhere for improvement although I’d hoped Reed would have been that guy. He’s simple had long enough trying and has shown he isn’t.

    • Rob Staton

      “The Hawks preference is to redshirt defensive player, and always draft players for season two and beyond.”

      They didn’t redshirt Earl, Bruce, Bobby, K.J., Thurmond, Reed, Griffin and they weren’t going to redshirt Malik McDowell either.

      • Frank

        The pattern is still there in general though, even if a high first round draft choice Earl, a certain superstar Wagner, Wilson, or desperation from a total team rebuild in the first years taking over the team are counter examples, seems more like flexibility from there ideal. Kam and Blair, both redshirted a year, and I’d suspect certain positions that extra experience is valued higher such as safety or MLB or Will as they have higher responsibilities to play the run, and coverage. I agree on McDowell, he was that Calis Campbell clone they’ve been looking for too long to not break into, and DT aren’t asked to diagnose much of the offense. Do you have any interior penetrators on your radar as trades, that would be better than Snacks?

        • Scott

          He just listed 7-8 players that were not drafted to be a first year redshirt player then you counter with just 2 who were and that is supposed to show a pattern?

          • Frank

            Did you actually read what I wrote? Sorry for the delay, my post keep popping in hours after they’ve been written. Last year this sight had probably 10 articles explaining this very tendency in response to Blair not getting on the field, when he was the only person on the team that created splash plays in defense and couldn’t see field time. Rob even pointed out how Earl was played out of desperation (and validation of the high draft pick) although he frequently blew his assignments. I didn’t waste the time looking up all the names of the players that have been redshirted. If you follow the team over the last decade it more of a “the sky is blue” statement. but it’s been a tendency throughout to prefer experiences and knowing your assignments over talent and youth, especially at positions that require high responsibilities and quick decision making in the pass and run game. Finally starting to understand Robs frustration with the sudden addition of Trolls as this sight has gained popularity over the last couple years, but good on ya for loving the hawks enough to come trade original ideas and not just fall into the national media takes without a closer look.

            • Rob Staton

              I think a more accurate way to describe it is some players have been redshirted. I don’t think it’s a policy.

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