The Seahawks still have holes, even with training camp coming up
It’s July 18th. In ten days time, training camp is scheduled to begin. There’s some doubt whether that’ll actually be the case, as the NFL and the NFLPA discuss a safe return. Reportedly, however, the NFL are wedded to their plan.
For those minded to push back against criticism of Seattle’s off-season, the case for the defense has been to suggest ‘they’re far from finished’. That’s a term used by both the media and the fans. Yet actually nothing has happened since the days after the draft when Carlos Hyde and Geno Smith were brought in.
The Seahawks still haven’t signed a replacement for Al Woods. There’s been no conclusion to the Jadeveon Clowney saga. Everson Griffen and several other familiar names also remain unsigned.
Russell Wilson has been working out with Antonio Brown. There have been rumours about Jamal Adams but I think it’s fair to suggest that Seattle’s interest is more due diligence than an aggressive courting.
At the moment the Seahawks haven’t signed many of their draft picks. They’re still operating with about $5-6m in actual cap space. There’s room for a move — maybe even two with a couple of choice cuts. Anything more will require manoeuvering.
If the Seahawks are going to do anything else, when’s it going to happen? If camp starts in ten days, is that a deadline of sorts to work towards? Are they waiting, perhaps like the rest of the league, to see what emerges from the talks with the NFLPA?
Either way, surely this year more than any other it’ll be necessary to have your players with you at the start of camp? You’re going to be far more limited in what you can do. There are going to be protocols to learn and adjust to.
Every day is going to be important.
Again, there’s not a great deal they can do.
Presumably they’ll want another body at defensive tackle even if it’s just for depth.
Other than that? It’s hard to imagine what possible deal the Seahawks and Clowney could work out to make a return remotely possible. Is he really going to hold out for this long simply to accept a $7m contract? Maybe, if it’s his best offer. I’m not sure from his perspective he’ll welcome a contract like that rather than simply sit out even longer. Maybe even into the season.
Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon could be added, as long as the financial package is cheap. They’d need to be cheap too.
The reality of the situation is that, as has been the case for some time, the Seahawks are pretty much done in terms of roster building for this year. They’ve spent their $60m, used their picks and what they have is, pretty much, going to be what they go with in 2020.
It is fair to question what they’ve done. This hasn’t felt like a ‘Championship off-season’. At least not in terms of adding players.
It’s possible, given everything that has happened in the world, that Pete Carroll’s enthusiasm for the way they’ve handled the lockdown of facilities is warranted. Some teams, especially those with inexperienced or new staff members, might struggle. Having established players who know what they’re doing in the scheme is a bonus.
They also have Russell Wilson. A quarterback of his caliber will make the Seahawks a good bet for the playoffs and a winning record.
Any further optimism feels like a stretch though. The enormous question marks about both the pass rush and defensive line in general, the changes to the O-line, the ways they’ve spent $60m, the use of $25m on two linebackers while simultaneously using their top draft pick on another linebacker and the overall lack of obvious improvement. All of this needs to be challenged.
If nothing else it was critical they fixed the pass rush this off-season and what they’ve done looks like a failure. Subtracting Jadeveon Clowney and relying on Benson Mayowa and Bruce Irvin is not in any way, shape or form an adequate addressing of the problem. It underpins what has been a fairly mundane few months, with little in the way of excitement.
Which is why, ultimately, you currently have the quarterback campaigning for Antonio Brown while his buddy on FS1 happily reveals what is probably a degree of quarterback dissatisfaction with the off-season — especially when he looks at several other rival teams and the way they’ve progressed.
As a franchise are they treading water? It’s six years since the last Super Bowl run and since then the 49ers and Rams have both won the NFC and the Cardinals have competed in the Championship game. Early playoff exits have stacked up and that was easier to accept as one era ended and a reset began.
Now the Seahawks are three off-seasons into their reset. The energy and vibrancy of 2018 is giving way to doubt. Unlike in previous years, the bold and adventurous Seahawks have become fairly conservative in the way they do business.
Everyone expects a competitive team. I’m not sure anyone expects to win the NFC West — something they’ve only done once in the last five years. That in turn means a long route through the playoffs and the increasing chances of another familiar playoff exit in the Wildcard or Divisional round.
The Carroll and Schneider era has always been very good at allowing you to dream. They’d make moves that highlighted an aggressive pursuit of Championships. Not all of their moves worked but at least you knew they were going for it. You could never accuse them of being complacent.
This off-season has been different. It’s been underwhelming. An expression to sum it up would be ‘meh’. Many held out hope that, in time, there would be some further moves to bring everything together. The key moves would come later in the summer. Well, the countdown is on now and the available money is limited.
It begs the question — how are they going to get back into serious contention? They’ve struggled to address a pass rush issue for two off-seasons now. Their drafts have been a mixed bag with more bad than good. There are question marks about the O-line again. Are they supporting Wilson enough — both with weapons, protection and a competent defense?
Currently a neutral observer will tune in to gaze at the brilliance of the quarterback in 2020. Nobody’s throwing down $20 on them winning the Super Bowl though. How are they going to change that?
It’s hard to imagine what they can realistically do between now and the season starting to generate some excitement and more importantly — generate reasons to think they can do more than make up the numbers if they make the post season.
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Good article Rob. We know in general you are positive but the steps taken so far in off-season begs more questions. At the best I want you see some new players emerge from recent draft like M Blair, Metcalf, Taylor etc.
I’ll always be honest.
For the most part, the last 10 years have been a major success story. There’s been little need to be negative or ask questions. And I think the perspective we’ve delivered on here has been an antidote to some of the rampant nonsense on other platforms.
But this off-season has been poor and some questions do need to be asked and some decisions need to be challenged.
“Meh” – couldn’t agree more. This has been a pretty lame offseason and I wonder if Covid piggybacking on Clowneys holdout just got them out of their comfort zone and they weren’t quick enough for a Plan B. We should expect more from a veteran front office and coaching staff when the waters are uncharted for all teams.
Every time I read (or think) about how they spent that 60 million my heart drops a little further into the pit of my stomach. I can even to a certain small degree feel OK about the outlays for LB’s especially with the way P.C. feels about the importance of LB’s in his defensive scheme. That’s all I got! Thanks for the article, Rob… treading water in an ocean of sharks (S.F., L.A.R., Ari.) is not a plan for survival.
Perfectly put. An ocean of sharks is exactly where they’re swimming in this division.
And they’re bleeding out of an open wound on the DL they don’t seem to worried about.
And its not just this season that is put into question.
We simply dont have the foundation of young, emerging talent that we did back in the oft mentioned year of 2012.
There was no question that team was on the upswing…everyone could see it.
It feels like we’ve squandered these 3 “reset” years.
We should now be “set”.
Instead, we just have question marks.
At this point I just want to watch some live football. I don’t expect the Hawks to go far but I’m getting real sick of doing nothing.
Couldn’t agree more and “meh” may be too generous. It’s hard to imagine such a veteran front office and coach having much worse of an offseason with as many draft picks and 60 million to spend. Plus if Bruce Irvin does opt out of the season as he’s suggested, that will take things down another notch. Other than this site, the Seahawk press has been awfully quiet on calling them out and asking for the reasoning in back of this offseason plan. Let’s hope the actual season turns out better than it seems, I sense a lot of angst about to happen.
The Seattle media has for years given this front office a pass. There is literally no one in the local media willing to ask difficult questions or press some of the repeated failings of this team that continue to show for years. It seems even the hosts of 710 mostly kiss the team’s ass to keep their exclusive coverage. Other sports markets in this country would do a much better job of holding their teams accountable for the same mistakes that continue to show. Instead, we get pom pom waivers with little journalistic integrity. Kudos to Rob for keeping it real. This off season is what it is.
Rob,
If there has been once consistent theme in our posts this offseason, that latest summarizes it.
But the offseason isn’t over yet. There are several things that could happen that might change our collective outlook. I don’t need to name them – everyone knows what they are.
At some point time will run out and those options will no longer exist. At that point, I think your concerns are completely valid. Until then, not so much.
My question would be this: do we (or you) have a sense that JS/PC are done with offseason moves? In other words, do we have any sense that they are content with the roster as it stands for 2020?
If the answer is yes, then I agree – they haven’t inspired any confidence for competing for a championship. But I suspect the answer is no, and that we haven’t seen the entire plan unfold.
Or perhaps they have simply run out of options – time, money, available talent. I don’t know, but I still think there is time for additional transactions that may tip the scales a bit in Seattle’s favor.
At least I hope…
I think that’s one of the points raised though Hawksince77 — the off-season has in fact been pretty much done for months. People have clung to the hope that there would be more to come. Probably because they know it’s been underwhelming and thought, ‘that can’t be it, surely?’.
And yet the reality is — yes, this is pretty much it. They have a few million to spend on maybe one more player at a modest price. They’ve spent their money, used their picks. This is what they’re left with.
You suggest we might not have seen the entire plan unfold. Let’s be right here. What ‘plan’ involves waiting deep into July to address your key needs? You build your roster in March and April, not July and August. Any ‘plan’ that involves moves this late into the off-season, to the point that it’s virtually the pre-season now, isn’t much of a plan at all.
We don’t need to qualify any criticism of this off-season with the suggestion that there’s more to come. We should analyse it for what it is — $60m and a draft class spent with questionable results.
The only thing I can really think of is that at some point they decided to bet on there not being a season
I can’t for a second believe Pete Carroll, the most competitively minded person on the planet, decided his game plan for this year would be to assume ‘no football happens’.
Treading water sums it up real well Rob. This organization is stuck in a good not great position. They’re coasting on past victories and that one Super Bowl ring. If this front office is incapable of action, then I suggest new leadership is needed.
Agreed. It feels like this team is stuck in the past. Even in their positive comments they always compare the team to our SB squad or past epic games from over 5 years ago. It is now 2020. We must adapt and make some moves if we wish to actually return and win a SB.
Perhaps the Hawks were going to make a splash…I expect they were…just like I had planned on going to the mozart revival…and then the insidious pandemic cancelled all sausage parties big and small. So their devil if I do approach to belly flopping free agency should be an absolute advantage.
The pandemic didn’t seem to stop other teams improving and filling their needs…
I was hoping they could do more in the off-season with their $ and picks, but I think they are better than last year at this time (and Vegas seems to agree according to a quick search). Dunbar’s legal woes hurts since I think he could have really elevated the secondary and I do think they add a DL or 2 and maybe a DB between now and the start of the season (local beat writers still think Clowney returns and we sign a decent cheap vet DT every year) but even if they add no one I think we are deeper, faster, and more balanced. I also think they played the COVID game well by bringing in guys they know or seasoned vets. I am excited for Olson, Dorsett, and Hyde since they all fit our offense really well and provide insurance against injuries or rookies with no minicamps derailing an otherwise top 5 offense. We got rid of two of the worst OL in the league and although I worry about continuity I think we have much more upside as a line and better pass pro. On D we have heavily invested high picks the last two years and I think he ones from last year (plus Green, Poona and Flowers) only get better. Two of our best defensive players in Reed and Diggs only played 1/2 the year and were hurt. We had no speed (literally no true LEOs and now we have 4 who could play there) or containment on the edges last year which hurt both the run (jet sweep, scrambling qbs and stretch plays-that super long run by the AZ RB past KJ), pass (TEs) and pass rush and we have addressed that with Brooks, Taylor, Robinson, Irvin, and Benson. In other words, it wasn’t just the pass rush which suffered. To me, this season depends on the Hawks willing to play the young defensive players (unlike last year I think we have guys ready to make an impact who they didn’t reach for) so we have elite speed and athleticism again and if the opportunity presents itself (e.g., Clowney) be willing to move on from or renegotiate contracts that no other team in the league would give guys if they were FAs.
I’m struggling to see how their additions and simply playing some of the younger players will equate to ‘elite speed and athleticism’. Is Benson Mayowa an elite athlete? Or Bruce Irvin, now well into his 30’s? Is Alton Robinson an elite athlete and in any position to contribute as a fifth round choice? Will Darrell Taylor even be a contributor in year one, given their track record with previously drafted D-liners?
You also say they played the Covid game well by signing guys they know or seasoned vets. At the end of the day, quality also matters. And nobody can look at Seattle’s D-line and say that’s remotely good enough to challenge for a Super Bowl.
You’ve done an admirable job in trying to see the positives but to me, everything falls short as a counter to the long list of issues that are easily tallied and discussed from this mediocre off-season, such as:
Is it not right to ask why the roster is loaded with offensive linemen yet so far, even Al Woods hasn’t been replaced at defensive tackle? To critique the decision to spend $11.796m on David Moore, Branden Jackson, Joey Hunt, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jacob Hollister — while enduring a painful stalemate with Clowney (yet being unwilling to simply move on and sign someone else — for example Everson Griffen).
Is it wise to invest $12.8m of cap space in Greg Olsen (35) and Bruce Irvin (33 this year)? Why are they paying Jacob Hollister $3.259m as a restricted free agent having already committed $6.9m to Olsen and then drafting two tight ends?
Is it a good use of funds to be spending nearly $25m of 2020 cap space on two linebackers — while also using your first round pick on the position?
Why is Irvin’s 2020 salary 32% more than the deal he signed in Carolina a year ago? What did Cedric Ogbuehi show in his 155 total snaps for the Jaguars last season to warrant a pay increase from $895,000 to $2.237m?
Why is the offensive line being rebuilt with career backups and projects? Why is there no long term planning at tackle?
Why didn’t they properly address the defense in free agency so they can tap into the strength of the draft early — WR, RB, OL — instead of being forced to aggressively go defense in order to fill existing holes?
There are more issues, these are just a selection.
Rob, that was painful to read just because of the truth of it. What the heck are they doing!?!?!?!
I am with you on all the $ on LB. I hope they move on from KJ (and BJack, etc) and add further to the DL or an impact DB. Irvin was coming off a career high in sacks (nearly triple Clowney’s in only 13 games). His deal is reasonable (and probably one of the most reasonable paid by any team to a consistent pass rusher other than Benson). So is $2 million for a backup LT who was a first round pick and has started some games who you could cut for presumably half that if need be. By young guys I mean Brooks, Blair, Ugo, Collier and the 2 DEs we just drafted who have speed. I don’t see a OT or WR helping us much in a COVID year. I am also happier with Brooks + Hyde (with the flexibility to move on from KJ and get better or have a depth problem like in 2018), than with a RB + still maybe needing KJ).
Whether positionally the deals are reasonable is not the point. Why did they get substantial pay increases? It doesn’t make any sense. Especially when Bruce practically admitted he had his heart set on Seattle and by all accounts there didn’t seem to be a hot market there.
Also, they won’t cut KJ. If that was happening it would’ve happened by now. So they only have a few million left. Not enough to make a splash.
There was a recent story about the Jags getting on offer for Yannick(sp?) from a club that involved a pro bowl caliber player. I immediately thought it was the Hawks and KJ. Could they be using KJ in a trade rather than a cut and were waiting for deadlines and other aforementioned negotiations to take place first?
It almost certainly wasn’t Seattle.
They don’t have the cap space to inherit his 2020 contract, even if they move K.J.’s deal.
And why would the Jags entertain that offer given they just signed Joe Schobert for $53.75m and still have Myles Jack?
Bam, there it is… one body of text featuring all those burning questions.
The Hawks’ special teams are definitely treading water as well.
Michael Dickson went from First Team All Pro in 2018, 2nd in the league in yards per punt, being an absolute weapon in the punting game and a fun sensation story to being 20th in yards per punt in 2019. The team seemingly lost all imagination in using him in creative ways. Maybe his drop in performance led them to reel back some of their aggressive use in that area.
Jason Myers got a top 10 FA contract from the Hawks and had a tough time producing top 10 results. 2 for 4 from 50+ and 4 for 7 from 40-49. Missed a GW from 40 yards against Tampa (RW bailed him out in OT) and just outside the top 10 in touchback percentage on kickoffs. Granted he picked himself off the dirt after the Tampa game and kicked the OT winner against SF after they tried to ice him. But the if the Hawks are honestly going to field the defense as currently constructed in 2020, there’s going to be some close games and the margin for error is slim. Myers has to be sharper.
Kick returns are hard to ding the Hawks on, with the new rules in place there aren’t many chances for big plays.
Punt returns, right now the best the Hawks can do is “catch the punt and don’t fumble it.” Lockett didn’t have much of a year, being so banged up and hasn’t made a difference in a while. David Moore was just a trusted player put back there to not make a hash of things. There was very rarely any shortening of the field for the offense in 2019. Perhaps they’ll look at Ugo to inject some juice into the game. Maybe that’s a side benefit of bringing AB in if they decide to do that.
Coverage was just average as well. A couple good plays by Barton, and Ugo had an absolute cracker of a tackle in punt coverage vs Minnesota, so there’s some promise there. But the Hawks lost by 6 to the Saints in a game with a punt return TD given up.
Overall, for a unit PC has championed and not been afraid to spend money on, the results are also just “meh” and they’re not closing the circle and giving the offense and defense much breathing room.
Ugo’s perfect tackle
https://twitter.com/johndavidfraley/status/1163261400484962304
I could watch that all day! Wasn’t that an amazing tackle!
I loved how #27 did an Earl Thomas. “I’m not gonna catch him so why hurt myself?”
on other note awesome picture selection of Carroll
+12
Ok, I’m officially depressed. Call me in the morning, I’ll be ok. 😉
Great article Rob. You are speaking the hard truth about this team. Something needs to change. Maybe we can add a new assistant coach or assistant GM to this team. Im still a big fan of Schneider & Carroll but the team seems to be lacking the confidence/ability to make major changes and adapt. We need to move past our past successes and focus on the current and future of this team. An older Bruce is not the answer nor a past seahawk Mayowa. Its almost like the past success of Hawks are now holding them back from reaching the next step.
I really hope that the hawks will do something before the season starts. Making a move for AB, Adams, Clowney or something. Pete’s mantra was all about always competing. It feels like this team has gotten complacent with what they currently have and are still stuck in the past.
I dont mean to be critical but havent we read this article like five times now. We understand your frustrations with the off-season but it feels like a broken record.
Don’t read this article then.
It’s a free blog I do in my spare time. I think people sometimes forget that.
Truth is truth, and in this situation it needs to be repeated ad nauseum, because as was spoken about further up in this chat, very few in the Seattle media are touching on this. Carroll and Schneider continue to be given a free pass. Should Rob just create a bunch of sunshine and roses articles when the clouds are darkening? Be positive just to change it up? Come’on. Wouldn’t you rather honesty?
Here is the deal….
Every team in the NFL treads water. It takes a bit of luck and an “Edge” to win the Championship. This is why what hijinks the Patriots have pulled over the last 20 years is so damaging to the NFL brand. Everyone knows they are cheats and have been caught in various points “with the hands in the cookie jar”. Maybe 20-30 years form now, the dirt will come out on what truly went on as part of the “Patriot Way”..
….. the margin for a team to be 500 and win a championship is ultra thin. Seattle could have went farther last year, but got saddled with injuries at one position group (RB), wrecking any chance they truly had. Other teams had bad breaks or bounces of the ball (Saints). I was glad to see the Chiefs win (since Seattle couldn’t), since they appear to have done things the right way and have many likeable players, coaches, etc.
Sustained success in the NFL is truly difficult. JS/PC have combined for a good run, which isn’t over yet… keep the faith.
The 2019 Seahawks were lucky. Incredibly lucky.
Lucky to a point, where a sure-as-hell Greg-the-leg FG was borked, sending us to the playoffs, and not the Rams.
If PC/JS didn’t have a consensus master chief at QB, this team would collect top 5 picks.
Greg the Leg was in that position because we signed a Pro Bowl kicker who missed a 44 yarder. SO no, if we count one kick, we should count the other.
He missed 9 FG tries in 2019. He had a really great year a couple years ago but his 2019 wasn’t sure as hell in any way, shape or form.
Agree this hasn’t been an exciting off season, normally I do enjoy your view and outlook on the Seahawks but this off season I have found a very down beat view.
One inch from division winners with a raft of injuries, stay healthy next season would be a big focus for me as I feel the NFC West will be so tight with all four team being very competitive. SF won’t improve on last season’s record, AC will improve on last season’s record, LA and Seattle are harder to predict but the Seahawks are the most consistent. Anyone could win it next season and the into playoffs….
As for holes let’s wait until what the final roster looks like
As for clownley I would argue good but not that good last season, would he be missed???
PW & JC are definitely keeping everyone guessing and causing frustration with journalist reporting on the Hawks, surely after the last decade they haven’t lost the plot as many articles are pushing.
Trust
I’m not going to write positively about the team for the sake of it Matthew. You get honesty on here. I will say it how I see it. I’ve had more abuse, negative comments and claims of ‘never reading again’ than ever this year. And you know what? I’m fine with it. Because this needs to be a place people can trust to call it and not be agenda driven or constantly positive or negative.
People often mention how close they were last year but I just keep offering the same counter. Read what I wrote and what we talked about after the Ravens, Saints, Falcons, Rams and Cardinals games. And some others. This team was not as ‘close’ as people think. It had major, major flaws and did well to win a lot of close games that could easily go the other way next time. A lot of the issues we’ve discussed this off-season, we also talked about during the season. And those issues remains inadequately addressed.
Therefore, we have to talk about them.
Still enjoy all your views, just throwing my out there.
You keep writing I’ll keep reading
And all views are welcome.
We have to accept, that playing behind crappy lines will increase injury risks. Which is a common point being made here and elsewhere since years. How many RB healthes shall we “spend” before it gets better?
There is also a clear measure to quality of team building.
I’m still having nightmares of that Tampa game, where two DTs ran on RW unmolested a couple of times. One lazy hit on our QB, and the team’s done.
And this is not true for the Saints, Rams and Niners. Even the Lions were competitive with a backups backup.
Lions didnt win a single game without Stafford. Competitive my ass.
Thanks for an honest take as usual. It has certainly been an underwhelming off season, unless you’re into signing 25 OL and 15 TEs who are mostly complementary and project pieces (excluding Olsen). I still can’t imagine they are done. There has to be more moves to round out the roster. Has to…
Thats the trap! There “has to” talk. Man there doesnt have to. There doesnt have to be another move. This could be it.
Couldn’t agree more, they have been treading water for 3-4 years. I don’t see us winning another SB for at least a few years with how hard it is to get out of NFC and the strength of KC and Baltimore.
It will be interesting to see how people look back on the Carroll era. For me it will be breathtaking plays by extreme athletes, edge of seat finishes, luck, and just satisfaction and amazement we won.
But… there will always be this nagging that we underachieved. When you combine a legendary defense with an offense that had 6 players who were or would be pro bowlers and two who are potential Hall of famers it just seems like an incredible combination yet only won once.
Just for the record every team has holes.
Nobody has suggested they don’t.
The point here is that not many teams with serious ambitions of winning the Super Bowl have glaring holes, fail to address them despite spending $60m and then get to have those moves go unchallenged.
Rob. The moves by the Hawks have not gone unchallenged. You have criticized every move they made.
Not every move, so please spare me the snark.
Stuff like ‘every team has holes’ isn’t remotely an adequate counter to anything I’ve argued. If you think I’m wrong and want to challenge me on what I’ve written, then you’ll need more than that.
Thanks Rob for another article as said by many over the last few months this blog has been a bright light each week in the face of the daily bombardment of Covid, Russians, China, Inner City Violence – rinse/repeat etc. The Hawks have had a lackluster off season – no objective fan can deny that. The 2020 season may just come down to the players we have on the roster improving and just playing better plus finding a way to win close games with their superstar qb. Daunting considering the apparent lack of elite talent. Football is the ultimate team game and we need our young players to bond with the veterans we have stockpiled this offseason to be better than the sum of their parts. The front office needs to perform better or the RW window will close and we will look back and wonder what happened. Thanks again Rob- keep writing I’ll keep reading.
Thank you!
Rob is right on this one. First, their defense was very suspect last year. Gave up huge plays to every team they played. Remember the embarrassing display at home against Arizona? They needed to get better on defense. Instead, they lost QJeff and Clowney. They got worse. Quintin Dunbar is not going to play for the Hawks.
Frankly, I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Seahawks decided to get younger this year and play for next year. Sad to say with a franchise QB in his peak.
-Alex
I’m certainly not opposed to the Hawks getting younger, as you suggest, but they need to get hungrier and better as well. That’s what I remember about the 2012 team…they were young and hungry for success. They were not going to be denied.
We all better hope that Green, Collier, Blair, Barton can develop into serviceable pros very quickly, and Brooks, Taylor, Lewis, Robinson, etc turn out to be good picks!
Can anyone seriously see Green, Collier and Barton being part of the foundation of a Super Bowl run?
Because I can’t.
Even with time, they are depth players. It would be shocking to see any develop into serious contributing starters.
Heck, they just used a R1 pick on a LB a year after drafting Barton.
I agree it seems unlikely any of those three develop into serious contributing players, there’s no stars in that bunch! But hopefully they can and should improve to the point they are decent role players. That also means we still need to find the starters. Again, hopefully guys like Blair, Lewis, Taylor, Brooks, Haynes, etc can be some of those guys!
They’ve needed to acquire some blue chip talent for a couple of years now. They somewhat started to do that with Clowney and Diggs. But now they’ve allowed Clowney to walk and not replaced him and they squandered $60m in free agency. They’ve also traded Clark, a blue chip, for picks and not replaced him either.
With this draft and the money they had they needed to hit on 3-4 impact players. Instead, they’ve added to an already mediocre middle class of the roster at massive expense and not added any difference makers. They also used their most prized asset — their #1 pick — on a bloody linebacker, despite paying $25m for two already.
And the one player that might’ve been able to help in terms of real impact might never play for them (Dunbar).
You’ve picked on the LB piece quite a bit – -and I get it, but two things –
– any team that has a Bobby Wagner type in a position spot (i.e. a candidate for best in the league at his position) – is going to see an outsized spend on the position
– don’t we all think that KJ’s deal (probably a little overpriced) is a 1-year thing, and Brooks was picked to play a big role thereafter? Meaning, the $25MM to the LB’s this year isn’t optimal, but it’s likely a 1-year problem – and having a playmaker LB next to a somewhat aging Bobby isn’t the worst hand-off
I know it doesn’t answer the D-line issues, but I’d argue that it wasn’t an either/or, and maybe we didn’t like any of the pure pass rushers on the board at the sport where we ended up picking Brooks.
A year ago they traded up for Cody Barton.
Wasn’t he supposed to be some kind of heir apparent for KJ?
Is that pick written off now?
Could they not have simply parted with KJ and used his money to help another area of the team?
Do you need to draft a WILL LB of the future?
that’s fair on Barton – but he’s a 3rd round pick, and losing that level of lost draft capital isn’t great, but it’s not like every 3rd rounder works out.
We could have parted ways with KJ – I suppose that’s the judgment call to rate. Or reduced his salary. one could argue that PC/JS are a little sentimental when it comes to rewarding guys like KJ – though the counter to that would be that those actions also build loyalty among the players.
Thanks, Rob, for another very thoughtful and accurate article. The COVID -19 situation certainly has been a challenge for the Seahawks organization, as it has been for all of the organizations in the NFL. It seems that Seahawks fans praise John and Pete when things are going really well, then questioning their ability to manage when things are not going so well. Only a few years ago fans were calling them “geniuses.” There is still time for John and Pete to address the needs for pass rush and defensive line, and there are still some quality players available. It’s fair to express our concerns as fans, but we should withhold judgement until we see what happens. The real test will be the outcome of the season, and as we have seen in the past (especially last year) injuries and other factors have a big influence on every team’s performance.
I don’t think we should withhold judgement. I think we can equally respect the job they’ve done in Seattle and, quite rightly, criticise what has been a disappointing off-season.
I’m trusting that John and Pete know better than we do how to manage the team.
Ah yes, the classic appeal to authority.
People need to realise that you can challenge decisions made by a football team, even if said football team is run by people who have enjoyed success.
They still get things wrong, including entire off-seasons.
Critiquing what they’ve done doesn’t mean you think you know better, or know more than they do. You’re still allowed to do it. And in a lot of cases, you can be right in that criticism. Even if you’ve not spent two decades in a front office.
I’m not appealing to authority, I’m trusting in greater expertise than mine.
That’s what it means 🤦♂️
None of this is a counter to anything either.
I like how you said that Rob! Certainly none of us know how to run an NFL team better than Pete and John, that much seems obvious! At the same time, we can critique the moves they make and discuss whether we like or dislike them. All of that seems fair, its our right even, and it just goes with the territory.
Pete and John are like every other coach/GM tandem in the league, in that they make personnel mistakes and don’t nail every offseason! It should be okay for us to criticize their moves, or lack of them.
I just hope their conservative approach this offseason isn’t a sign of things to come, that they have lost their go for it attitude they have displayed in the past.
We’ll see I guess. Thanks for all you do, the writing is second to none!
Thank you 👍🏻
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But considering their track record PC and JS get way more lee way than average GM/Coach. They may get things wrong from time to time, but they hold their position because they Do right more than wrong compared to anyone here (and other GMs). I’m not thrilled with this off season. But they know more about this team and their livelihood is tied to the success of the team. So while I’m not enamored so far, I defer to them. Call me naive, but I still don’t think they’re completely done.
I don’t think it’s naive.
I just don’t know why you feel the need to say it.
It’s like turning up at a party to announce you don’t like music or alcohol so you’re jolly well going straight home and not getting involved.
That’s your choice. But it adds nothing to the party. Or in this case, the discussion.
I see your point, but the ‘Hawks don’t do that. Pete isn’t wired that way. They don’t disregard the future, but their focus is on THIS year. They want to win THIS year.
I don’t totally know why things have not worked out this offseason, but I suspect it has something to do with realizing that the 2019 defense was not good, that Clowney didn’t make the defense good, and that they didn’t want to pay top dollar for that. I’m certainly willing to be proven wrong.
I don’t think it’s that at all. They called Clowney a huge priority.
I think they thought they had the best offer and that Clowney would come to them after testing the market. But he didn’t. He stuck to his guns. And I think they got caught between not being able to move on because he was still available, while also feeling like they had to start making other moves. And they’ve ended up with a wholly unsatisfactory outcome.
I think that’s exactly right. Strange situation. they should’ve had a plan B.
maybe the reason they haven’t signed Everson, is they still think they have the best shot at Clowney?
But do they have enough cap space left to re-sign Clowney?
Currently, they don’t.
Maybe a Michael Bennett return? His name has gone cold since he expressed interest in rejoining the team months ago. He’s still good, should be fairly cheap and brings familiarity and leadership. Could be a good redemption story and I’d love to get his work ethic and tenacity around our younger pass rushers.
At this point is Everton Griffen just waiting for an opportunity to go back to Minnesota?
I’m just as confused as a I was in May.
There’s no chance of a Michael Bennett return. As noted a few times now, the team literally paid him significant money to go away after the 2017 season. He’s 35 years old in November. He hasn’t spent more than five minutes at any of the teams he’s joined since leaving Seattle. If he even plays another down in the NFL, it’ll not be with the Seahawks. His name was never warm in the first place in order to eventually go cold. He was asked, on a podcast, whether he’d entertain coming back to Seattle. That doesn’t mean the Seahawks want him anywhere near their current team.
You also have to ask why they got rid of him and why other teams have got rid of him since. I’m not sure ‘leadership’ and ‘worth ethic’ are how I’d describe what he offers.
Couldn’t agree more!! This ship has definitely sailed and won’t be coming back for another voyage!
Just retired
I think treading water sums this off season perfectly.
Rob could the lack of any real significant signing ps have anything to do with the uncertainty about the ownership structure going forward?
They spent $60 mil on journeyman on 1-2 yr deals and the only vet the they have signed to a long term deal going forward it Russ.
It’s certainly plausible.
Eventually, I’m pretty certain, someone is going to have to buy this team. Whether Covid-19 impacts the timing, who knows? But the Seahawks have gone from having a very hands-on owner (albeit not an interfering owner) to what amounts to a holding pattern.
Hate the thought of treading water with sharks in the ocean! Legs getting tired…. Defense will be a huge concern this year for sure. Would love for this team to really open up the offense and force other teams to be on their heels playing catch up.
I’m not sure what to say. I generally follow the blog(10years), Patreon, for the draft coverage.
While I don’t disagree that the off-season hasn’t seen a lot of stars signed, I do think the defense can be much better. While I don’t think Taylor and Brooks are Bosa and Greenlaw, it’s certainly possible those guys have a slightly lesser, but still impactful performance. Diggs for a full season and hopefully Blair stepping up, I really think the D can be top 15.
While I always appreciate Robs honesty and effort, while doing this for free, I’ve found myself not checking the blog on a daily basis like I used too. Again, you aren’t saying anything that most of us aren’t feeling as well. You are just telling it like it is. And you’re not wrong, I just won’t go out of my way to consistently read things that are negative and repetitive.
I’ll still check in, I’ll still be a Patreon, but I’m looking for more hopeful and Positive things to read in my limited free time.
Love ya Rob, keep, keeping it real.
That’s fine and your choice.
But I have to write about what I think is important. For every one person wanting positive things, there are others who appreciate articles that get into the meat of what’s happening.
Is it repetitive? No. I think that’s unfair. The point of this piece is we’re 10 days from camp now. Everyone kept saying they aren’t done. But we can clearly see they pretty much were now. That differs to the articles challenging their spending in depth, or their approach, or what they could’ve done differently, or whether Russell Wilson is dissatisfied.
It all might be perceived as ‘negative’ but I think actually it’s just what we need to be talking about.
This defense is going to be awful.
The OL isn’t going to be able to work together either, not in the first month or two.
Listen, all you Monday morning QB’s, that don’t know s*** need to take a big fat ripper and chill out for a minute. Clearly the defense needs haven’t been met via free agency. One would be a moron to say otherwise.
JS has invested heavily in the draft on the D the past few seasons. Again this year he drafted early an often on defense. Trust the early picks in ’19 and ’20 and in two years you can bitch if they blow out.
Last season we were two bad late season injuries and 4″ from home field advantage in the playoffs.
Now wonder the rest of the country says Seattle fans are weak. Man up and stop crying like little b******.
What a compelling, articulate riposte.
I’ve got 1 response: Russell Wilsons contract!
Did it prevent them from spending $60m this off season?
I didn’t think I’d wrote this ever…but I don’t care much about this season. PCJS killed almost all my enthusiasm. I think they might have a miracle-like slim chance of an SB run, if Taylor proves to be a huge steal and really fast learner, Irvin and Mayowa plays reasonably well (like 5-6 sacks), Reed goes back to his high sack days (like with 8 sacks), Ford and Green steps up big time, Collier says hello and provide some sort of production; Bobby stays healthy and KJ plays better or Brooks also a fast learner and a true R1 pick. Secondary is OK. Not league elit group, but Griffin-Flowers-Diggs-McDougald-Blair has potential. I have a huge questionmark about nCB, hopefully Amadi can be the answer.
On the offensive side they need to stay healthy, Carson needs to stop fumbling, the OL needs to click fast.
Seems unlikely, but if they get really-really-really lucky, there is enough talent on the O side and enough young guy who could surprise us (yeah unlikely, but who knows, miracles can happen), that it has a 0,1% chance to be THE season. But I’m just burned out because of this offseason. Even if they would win the SB, I still think that’s on the players and coaches rather than PCJS
It feels like a lot of the “there is more coming” talk stems from the feeling of incompleteness. Fans are sitting here looking at the off season and the only thing we can think is: “that’s it? That can’t be it, its impossible..”
After all the talking at the end of the year we fully expected a ridiculous off season that blew our socks off. Big signings, cray trade, masterful draft day….anything. And none of that happened. I think anybody saying just wait for the next big thing coming is really just stuck on the idea that this CAN’T be all there is.
Rob you said the feeling of the off season is “meh.” I actually disagree. I think it is closet to ‘WTF was that?”
Its feels like you are getting ready to play the annual Turkey Bowl game and are one player short. So you tell everybody you know a guy that is awesome and he will fit right in no problem. Then your buddy shows up and runs his first route and the 60 lb overweight brother in law of somebody else that is only there because its Thanksgiving and family has to be allowed to play and he couldnt be left inside with the girls, shuts him down quicker than my high school prom date. All you can do is look at him and go “WTF was that?”
I feel your dissatisfaction with the offseason, like so many others here on the SDB. I just don’t have quite as much pessimism about the upcoming season. Yeah, it wasn’t a sexy offseason, and they didn’t add “stars” to the roster, but I’m not sure they only added your 60lb overweight brother-in-law either.
Although Irvin, Mayowa, Shell, Finney and the new rookies don’t grab your attention and get you overly excited, they are still good to decent players at positions of need. I want to give them a chance before writing off this season entirely. I may be proven wrong, but I hope not!
I think the ‘one more move coming’ thing, at least for me, is because Clowney and Griffen are still both unsigned.
If Clowney signs w the Titans, or elsewhere, I think I’ll kind of sigh and fully accept that this roster is the roster – but until that happens, I’m still clutching onto a bit of hope.
And I’ve said it before here — IF they do sign Clowney, and if Dunbar somehow gets to play — I’m feeling pretty good about this team.
The O-line is unlikely to be worse than last year, and the offensive skill positions should be slightly improved.
On defense, again if Dunbar plays, we’ll have added a good CB, and 1st and 2nd round picks, to that side of the ball. Plus, there’s the not-totally-unreasonable hope that Collier effectively played a redshirt year, and will give us something in Y2.
Anyway – we’ll see.
The O-line could potentially be worse. Shell was benched in New York and isn’t an obvious upgrade, however bad people thought Ifedi was. They’ve signed a career backup who spent most of his time at guard to replace Justin Britt at center. They’ve got a rookie potentially playing instead of DJ Fluker. There’s a lot of question marks.
They could have signed Pro Bowl replacements on OL and I would predict trouble in the first few games, even with a normal off season. Now we have zero off season, maybe 2 pre season games, an unknown amount of contact in training camp (padded practices were practically gone pre Covid, and didnt they decrease with the new CBA?). It is entirely possible the talent is an upgrade, but expecting better play in the first half of the season to me seems even less likely than sacks from the DL.
Fair points
We can hope for the youngsters to improve but jeez man, This offseason has been an eventful head scratcher. All that money, and really not much to show for ANY of it. If they do bring someone in later, it would hardly be any impact player. Plus they don’t even have the rookies signed yet.
AB just retired from the NFL. Again.
Take it for what it’s worth.
My only take is his lack of capitalization and punctuation. But hey, at least he used “than” instead of “then”, so good on him.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………..
Chris Jones comment today says Mahomes told him he “left some on the table for him” and wanted him to get it done.
Where is Russ’ restructure to bring in pash rush?
It wouldn’t surprise me if Chiefs told Mahomes, we can pay you market or you can win more Super Bowls.
I’m certain RW would restructure if the Hawks needed him to. He did for Duane Brown.
But why would you need to restructure RW when you have $60m of cap room to start the offseason with?
I was typing this exact thing and about to post before I saw you beat me to it Denver Hawker.
Russ’ contract is a PROBLEM if we want to retain Clowney or go after Adams and a DT at this point.
I’d like to think Russ would be open to restructuring too if it meant competing on a championship level.
I also think its a good ego check for players holding elite contracts to be asked to compromise every once in a while, luckily Russ appears to be a pretty gracious person so I’d bet PCJS would use that to their advantage if a deal is possible.
Responding to cha: because we don’t have $60m in cap room anymore.
Right. But the FO didn’t address their biggest offseason need when they HAD $60m of cap room.
The Hawks aren’t in some kind of crippling bind just because they gave RW a big contract. They had $60m available AFTER accounting for RW’s contract. They’re in a bind because they blew their allowance money on questionable roster depth rather than bringing in substantively solid players.
Go back and take a look at Rob’s alternate reality offseason post. They could have gotten a lot better with the budget they had.
“They had $60m available AFTER accounting for RW’s contract.”
Bingo
Sadly with the signings of Irvin and Mayowa I think PCJS DO believe they’ve addressed their biggest offseason need.
I think if anyone asked them off the record they would admit they have failed to properly address that situation. As noted many times already, I think they thought their strategy to get Clowney back would pay off and didn’t anticipate him holding out. So they basically put all their eggs in the Clowney basket and were then caught between needing to move on but only to the extent of trying to leave some cap room available for Clowney if he suddenly opted to sign. The end result is wholly unsatisfying. They will know that as well as anyone.
That’s what is so concerning to me Rob.
This isn’t a one time blip or them caught with their pants down because they figured they had Clowney in the bag. This is becoming a trend.
Last year they seemed perfectly content to trade Clark away and enter the season with 10 games of Reed, and Mingo, Marsh, Martin, banged up Ziggy, Green and rookie Collier spearheading their pass rush.
We all said the same thing then – give PC a shot a truth serum and he’d admit the pass rush is a real problem area. Well we’re saying it again this year.
And barring some miracle this year, ie Green, Collier, Poona taking hugely significant steps forward, we’ll be saying it again next year.
Russ can just say… “why do you need me to restructure? You just spent $60m and let’s run through how much you’re paying some of your fringe players…”
They only need money now because they’ve squandered so much.
I think we can all agree it didn’t appear a restructure would be necessary at the start of the offseason and that the cap space was not utilized effectively. We also didn’t have the benefit of a Chris Jones on the roster to pay.
Unfortunately, a Russ restructure seems to be the only way the team can improve this year at this point.
I just see a SB winning team and QB managing the QB cap hit to pay stud players so they can win another SB, and so far that team is not the Hawks.
But how can the front office seriously say to Wilson…
“You’re our best player and the reason we are even a playoff team… but we’ve just blown $60m so can you, the best players and only reason we are even a playoff team… now pay to cover for the fact we’ve spent $60m and not done enough to properly support you?”
It’s certainly not a good look and it’s a lose/lose now, but the alternative is “we need you to do more with less, you want to be the top paid QB, you need to figure out a way to win with what we have”.
The situation does feel like the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd takes the last of their money to buy just the bare essentials.
The alternative is simply don’t waste $60m.
And if you do waste $60m, you’re going to have to own it. Not ask the quarterback to try and bail you out.
Let’s put it this way. Would you give up a few million of your money to a front office that just spent $11.796m on David Moore, Branden Jackson, Joey Hunt, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jacob Hollister?
Russell Wilson is well within his rights to tell them to get stuffed. And he probably will.
Sure, but there was an insinuation in your original post that Mahomes is a good teammate and RW should make sacrifices but hasn’t stepped up to the plate. And that’s just not true.
Tell RW we can get a Chris Jones and they need to rearrange his contract and he’ll say ‘where do I sign?’ Telling him he needs to make adjustments so they don’t have to cut Joey Hunt, Branden Jackson, Shell, Obguehi, Olsen, Hollister, is beyond ridiculous.
————————-
But actually all of this is predicated on whether the Hawks actually think they need an upgrade. I’ve thought all summer ‘there’s no way they go into the season with this DL.’ But maybe they will.
I’m not insinuating that Russ wouldn’t restructure. I’m stating that it likely needs to happen at this point for the team to win a super bowl.
If Mahomes is deferring cap to win now, that puts the Hawks at a disadvantage. I’m sure Russ would have done the same in a trade/sign for Chris Jones.
I’m done crying over spilt milk and the offseason that wasn’t. It’s maddening, but I’m also in the now what phase of my grieving and this appears to be one of the few big chips left.
Cha you said: “But actually all of this is predicated on whether the Hawks actually think they need an upgrade.”
As I just posted above, I sadly feel quite strongly that they think Mayowa, Irvin and a couple of rooks ARE an upgrade. I’d absolutely love for them to be right and those of us doubters to be wrong. I’d ask fro my crow fried btw. But if they’re not, as Rob and others have said, the team will be in exactly the same spot next offseason after what will likely be exactly the same WC/Divisional round playoff exit.
This is an apples and oranges situation. Mahomes is still on his rookie deal so there is a lot more room for him to leave some on the table for Jones whereas WIlson is on his 3rd contract. His contract parameters were already set.
Are we all even gonna be here in 10 years? Seems unlikely.
This is a good decision by all parties.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/07/20/reports-league-agrees-to-no-preseason-games/
I’m not insinuating that Russ wouldn’t restructure. I’m stating that it likely needs to happen at this point for the team to win a super bowl.
If Mahomes is deferring cap to win now, that puts the Hawks at a disadvantage. I’m sure Russ would have done the same in a trade/sign for Chris Jones.
I’m done crying over spilt milk and the offseason that wasn’t. It’s maddening, but I’m also in the now what phase of my grieving and this appears to be one of the few big chips left.
Oops meant to posts above to Cha.
An interesting point I just read: how depth will be especially be important if guys are out bc of covid. Hawks have double-downed at nearly position where injuries derailed their last season: DE, OT, OG, TE, WR, and RB. No preseason means depth and veteran/familiar players just became that much more important. I see that hurting both lines in some ways, but they had to turn over the OL and maybe that even increases the chances of resigning Clowney.
MLB, pretty much screws up everything between the owners and player union.
NFL, pretty much gets it right between the owners and players union.
This more or less shows why the NFL is a juggernaut and MLB is fading fast.
https://mobile.twitter.com/PFF/status/1285349525905956870
Other than WR, CB is the strength of this class.
Not sure why Arizona St’s Jack Jones isn’t getting more love. From the little I’ve seen so far he looks like a 1st rounder. Same w/ the kid opposite Mukuamu at S. Carolina & Josh Jobe opposite Surtain, jr at ‘Bama.
Michael Bennett announces his retirement.
He may have retired a bit too soon, but then he was always an early jumper
He got dumped by 4 teams in 2 years.
Ok?
I got it and thought it was funny. Apparently I’m alone in that.
Super prickly dude, but he was a lot of fun to watch play. He and Avril were the difference in 2013.
Where do you think that the Seahawks management think they are as a team right now? Do they think they are a year away? Contender right now? I get the always compete attitude but I’m sure they know their own deficiencies. On paper next years FA class has some firepower (Garrett already gone, Bosa (yeah i know Rob)). Did they think one would fall through the cracks? Or with the cap dropping next year and another year with a lot of upcoming cap space for the team, did they think they would have a big advantage next year?
Or do they truly believe in the young players they have acquired and are giving them a chance with Russ holding it all together? Just the musings of a bored man working from home…
Well we know where PFF thinks their Defensive Line is. Don’t see how Seahawks Management can view it much differently.
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-defensive-line-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have our linebackers rated as #1
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-linebacker-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season
I knew my gut feeling of 32 was spot on, and I didnt even need to do in depth analysis.
I think most would agree that Q Jeff, Clowney, and Woods were if not the 3 best DL, all top 5 DL on last year’s team. All are are gone, and none of them have even been replaced really. That’s astonishing.
You don’t take Reed over Jefferson or Woods?
Total body of work, sure, but Reed was not good last year. Barely noticed him, but yeah, you could say Reed was better, and the #2 guy last year Im sure, still doesnt change 3 of your best/better DL are gone and you didnt replace them. They went out and got 3 LEOs, and a 5th rd draft pick, but that’s it
So I would say playoff team , but not contender
As I said earlier, I think they thought they were going to get Clowney.
It’s a known fact that PC is positive to a fault and by extension JS, but it seems that they are also over-confident. While a bit of excess positivity can be a good think in practice and on the field, over confidence is an albatross around the neck of management at a higher level of function. I showed itself, IMO, when they got caught 2 drafts ago with their primaries being off the board and chose Collier to try and make-up for it. The pick this year for Brooks does not seem that much of a stretch, but there was better available talent in other positions that could have certainly strengthened their roster. Over positivity can be a strength, over confidence-not so much.
I don’t think they are overly positive or over confident. I think they just practise the well established approach of a positive mental attitude.
We can sit and critique what they’ve done. They’re never going to do that. They will be positive. It is what it is.
Clowney and Griffen still unsigned – – i know the cap looks bad, but it also seems like NFL teams have intricate ways to figure out cap issues when on the precipice of a deal. Until Clowney signs somewhere else, I’m still holding out hope. In the limited comments he’s made, he’s always kept the door open for a Seattle return.
That “It is what it is” sounds a little defeated no? Are you disappointed in the year or do you think their process has failed? Teams/management can have a bad year. God knows 2020 has a built in “we’ll get em next year” type vibe.
I’m disappointed in the off-season. Everyone should be.
Indeed. I could be wrong but think they have good money to spend in the next 2 off seasons. Do you think they will spend on a big FA at all? or more of the same coming?
No idea
Fair enough, Rob, I always appreciate the nuance and straightness of your responses. They seem to help bring me back from the edge. Thanks!
Antonio Brown retiring again.
Interesting to see Tannehill near the top of a few of these lists. He really did have a bounce back year. Good for him.
He did play well. But it’s also an indicator of how other factors can help a quarterback and that it’s not always the other way round. Clearly RT benefitted from Derrick Henry’s brilliance, the emergence of AJ Brown and a good O-line.
Of course he did, just like Russ benefited from Marshawn and a good defense back in 12/13. But Russ was still Russ. I hope Ryan has another outstanding year.
Not really sure what point you’re trying to make. I never suggested Wilson didn’t benefit from that. But let’s equally not try and pretend that Wilson isn’t light years ahead of Tannehill and was even in 2013. Tannehill needs the help. Wilson doesn’t.
Pretty sure we’re on the same page, Rob. The point is that Tannehill needed help last year to be his best and he got it, just like Russ did early on in his career. He struggled in Miami but once he got with a solid team he was able to play at a higher level. I hope that continues.
where’s Mr. Mahomes in there? Interesting . . .
2020 freaks list is up, y’all. Dig in:
https://theathletic.com/1938659/2020/07/21/bruce-feldmans-freaks-list-2019-college-football-top-athletic-performances-2/
Here’s a peek at the top 10:
1. Kwity Paye, Michigan, defensive end
Freakiest attribute: Speed in the 3-cone drill
2. Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest, defensive end
Freakiest attribute: Pick one
3. Jalen Virgil, Appalachian State, wide receiver
Freakiest attribute: Speed
4. Jayson Oweh, Penn State, defensive end
Freakiest attribute: Speed
5. Boye Mafe, Minnesota, defensive line
Freakiest attribute: Vertical leap
6. Tutu Atwell, Louisville, wide receiver
Freakiest attribute: Speed, but it’s close
7. Master Teague III, Ohio State, running back
Freakiest attribute: Explosiveness
8. Racey McMath, LSU, wide receiver
Freakiest attribute: Speed
9. Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame, safety
Freakiest attribute: Vertical leap
10. Anthony Schwartz, Auburn, wide receiver
Freakiest attribute: World-class speed
At first I read Kwity ‘Payne’ & immediately thought… Seahawk.
Then I realized his name is Kwity Paye & I still think… Seahawk.
A little further down at #18 is Spencer Brown from NIU. Looks like a Beast of a OT. 6’9″, 325. Great natural bender, Former TE so good movement skills. Pretty nasty demeanor. Coach compares him to Kyle Long, Mike Mcglinchy and Frank Ragnow who he also coached. One to keep an eye on
We already knew this but just another reminder as PFF ranks the Seahawks as having the word DL in the NFL.
Worst D line, best LB’ers. Wonder where the CB/S’s will rank? Find out tomorrow I guess.
Unfortunately for the best LB’s to thrive… you can’t have them playing behind the NFL’s worst D-line. Yet here we are…
With the $ and draft capital the Hawks have spent at LB in the last two years (Barton 2nd , Bobby and KJ’s contract and now Brooks 1st) it is really sad that they don’t have a DL that can keep them clean to be as effective as they potentially could be. One would think a greater allocation of resources to the DL instead of LB might have been more prudent considering they already had the best LB in the game in Bobby and the rest of the league seems to be placing less value on the postion not more.
Anyways I guess time will tell if it was the best use of resources.
It’s completely baffling.
Looks like Dunbar is cleared for take-off. I sure hope this turns out to be a setup by shady characters but we just won’t know until we know…
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/07/21/quinton-dunbar-cleared-to-travel-to-training-camp/
#freedunbar