Curtis Allen’s off-season positional reviews: ST

This is the sixth part of a guest-post series written by Curtis Allen

#6 special teams

Players under contract for 2021: Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Tyler Ott

Players under contract for 2022: Jason Myers, Tyler Ott

Restricted Free Agents: none

Unrestricted Free Agents: Nick Bellore

Exclusive Rights Free Agents: none

Futures Contract signings Candidates: none

Salary Cap Notes

2021 Cap Commitment: $8.92 million (5% of $178m cap)

Michael Dickson is an unrestricted free agent in 2022

2020 Season Overview

The Seahawks’ special teams unit was one of the NFL’s best in 2020.

It started out in a precarious position, with a brief announcement by Pete Carroll that Special Teams coach Brian Schneider was taking an extended leave of absence and that Larry Izzo was taking his duties over.

But the team responded with a consistently fantastic effort.

Jason Myers trolled Seahawks fans by being a perfect 24 for 24 on field goal tries but missing 4 PAT attempts. If you can figure out how that happened, more power to you.

Michael Dickson had a tremendous year. He was second overall in average punt yardage but kicked 50% more punts than the top overall punter. He also placed 32 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Pete Carroll frequently deployed Dickson as a weapon to give his defense as much help as possible and he didn’t disappoint. Dickson answered the bell every time the defense needed a short punt accurately placed to pin the offense deep in their own zone. When they also needed Dickson to deliver a blast in key times he did it.

The number of times he did something amazing during the season is truly impressive:

– A 63 yard punt vs San Francisco Week 17 that was fair caught by the returner

– A 51 yard punt vs Los Angeles in Week 16 from the back of his own end zone

– Pinning Minnesota inside their own five-yard line twice in Week 5

-A 65-yard punt vs San Francisco in Week 8 that pinned the Niners at their three-yard line and led them to take a knee and concede the drive to run the clock out at the half

How Dickson got neither a Pro Bowl nor an All-Pro selection defies explanation.

The coverage units also performed extremely well this season. They allowed no blocked punts or field goal tries, nor did they allow any return touchdowns.

Cody Barton and Nick Bellore proved to be special teams demons, frequently making coverage tackles and occasionally forcing a fumble.

The also blocked a punt in the Giants game that resulted in a safety.

The returners were very middling. DJ Reed brought a spark at times with some good kickoff returns.

Offseason Questions to Address

1. Will they extend Michael Dickson?

He is in the last year of his contract in 2021. He has returned to top form to be a force and a key part of the special teams unit. He gave the defense every chance a punter could to be effective in 2020.

A top punter makes about $3.5m per season and they should be able to settle on a three or four year extension for Dickson in that range.

2. Who handles the return duties in 2021?

The Seahawks seemed to not have placed a real priority on kick and punt returners in recent years. Perhaps that is a response to the league rules making kickoffs a lower-impact event in the modern NFL game.

It is always strange the way the Seahawks operate in this area.

They seemingly refuse to allow key offensive players like Tyler Lockett and Rashaad Penny – players who have effective histories in the return game – chances to practice their craft. This is presumably out of fear of injury.

DJ Reed will probably be 2021’s victim to this mode of thinking. He has emerged as a candidate to take over one of the starting cornerback spots. So despite his ability to occasionally send a charge into the team with a nice return, he might be kept out of the return game to keep him healthy and focused on his defensive responsibility.

The Seahawks do draft players who have return histories on their resume, like Travis Homer and Freddie Swain, but they have been unable to have a substantive effect at the pro level.

They’ve had David Moore return punts but it seems at times that his mandate is ‘for God’s sake don’t cough up the ball’ rather than being encouraged to advance the ball and give the offense some field position.

3. Will Nick Bellore be brought back?

Nick Bellore has been on one-year contracts the past two seasons for about $1m per season. He is every fan’s first cut when speculating on the final 53-man roster but always makes ends up on the roster, even if he is let go on cut down day.

He had a fantastic year on special teams in 2020. I suspect that if he keeps playing like this he will always have a job in Seattle as long as Pete Carroll is coach.

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103 Comments

  1. cha

    This piece is intended to be a palette cleanser, like a little slice of pickled ginger in between courses.

    Because we’ve all been eating spicy garlic beef all week.

    • DC

      It’s like being with family at the holidays & when an uncomfortable subject comes up someone tries to bring up a different topic. Haha. Thanks for the effort cha.

    • Mick

      I really enjoy your post, but this comment on beef doesn’t take into account how many top sportsmen are reporting as vegans these days 🙂

  2. DC

    This is sacrilege coming from me because I despise the guy but if we get a big enough haul from shipping Russ out I’d consider making a play for Aaron Rodgers.

    • Rob Staton

      Rodgers is a bell end.

      But I would dance around the living room if he ended up in Seattle.

      (It won’t happen, I’m just saying)

      • DC

        😂
        Bell end! Had to look that one up.
        We’d have to wait until 2022 for the books to clear regardless but I believe GB might be open to dealing the old man going into his 39/40 season if it helps set the table for young Mr. Love.

  3. cha

    Ed Kracz
    @kracze
    ·
    22m
    SOURCE: #Eagles have talked to Seahawks, Colts about trade for Zach Ertz. While it may prove difficult from a salary cap standpoint to make Carson Wentz and Ertz a package deal to Indy, maybe Ertz and Andre Dillard go in same deal. Here’s a closer look:</blockquote

    https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/eagles-have-talked-to-seahawks-colts-about-trade-for-zach-ertz

    • Rob Staton

      LOL

      Although I’m not sure I’m buying Ed Kracz.

      Sounds like a comedy name for a linebacker for a start.

      And plenty of well sourced Philly journo’s who don’t work for Maven Illustrated aren’t reporting this.

    • Sea Mode

      Hmmm, interesting.

      I like Ertz, just seems like he is always injured, and who knows what he will want on an extension. Could be a solid addition and mentor for Parkinson or could end up being another Greg Olsen (though Ertz is much younger, of course)

      It ends an injury-shortened 2020 for Ertz, who spent five games on IR with an ankle injury. When healthy, Ertz had a career low 36/336/1 line on 62 targets, failing to go over 70 yards in any game. This may be Ertz’s last appearance with the Eagles, who declined to extend him after he asked for a raise in September. Ertz seems likely to shopped this offseason.

      As for Dillard, it says a lot that they don’t mind dumping the #22 pick they traded up to get in 2019. Guess we’re not the only ones who have whiffed in R1… That said, he was an excellent pass blocker in college and seemed off to a good start in preseason of his 2nd year before tearing his biceps. He’s young and could spend a year behind Duane Brown. Supposedly he also would use that time to bulk up since they say he was weak against bull rushes. It’s normal that college OL need time to get up to speed/strength at the pro level. There were also mumblings of some “organizational issues”, but not sure what that means exactly in his case.

      https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-stay-or-go-offensive-tackle-jason-peters-lane-johnson-andre-dillard-05888/

      • BobbyK

        I’m sick of guys like Iupati who are decent when healthy but you know for a fact that they’re really only going to be decent for your for about half the season because they’ll be inactive the rest of the time. I’m sick of asking for injuries from old players who have these injuries. Real ‘smart’ to consider Ertz after the Olsen failure. Let’s get another proven injury machine like Dunbar. Anyone we can draft at #56 this year that’s hurt like Darrell Taylor? If that’s the case, franchise Chris Carson! Can’t let that 9 games of health next year leave! No to Ertz!!!

      • Rob Staton

        The Ertz call, if true, can’t be anything more than a ‘keep us posted’.

        It would be absolute insanity to use resources on another often injured, ageing tight end.

        Especially when they’ve just had a year where they blew a whole bunch of resources on the position.

        Get back in the draft and take Freiermuth or Jordan if you’re that arsed about a new TE.

        • Rob Staton

          Also, this feels so indicative of what the Seahawks have become. They’re constantly trying to plug holes with short term solutions and players who are perhaps past their best.

          That’s fine to an extent. Heck, Tampa Bay have plugged plenty of holes. But they also have a strong, young foundation and have drafted key starters, mixed in with smart free agent acquisitions.

          The Seahawks simply haven’t drafted well enough, or used their resources well enough, to be truly competitive. Now they’ve got a ton of holes and an ageing Zach Ertz doesn’t feel like a smart move.

          • cha

            If their first move of the offseason is trading a pick for an aging TE with an $8m cap hit, you can just pack it in.

            Why they aren’t calling about Cox or Graham is beyond me.

            • Rob Staton

              It’d be a repeat of a year ago.

          • Elmer

            Would you say that 2017 is the year that plugging holes with FA veterans became noticeable? Seems like that is when they started bringing in everyone they could from the 2013 draft (with mixed results at best).

            • Rob Staton

              Not so much — I think it’s just after that. But the issues are from 2017 onwards regarding their drafting. In 2015/2016 they were still hitting on Clark, Lockett, Reed etc.

          • Submanjoe

            What could they even offer for ertz?? What a dumb move it would be. Can we please see Dissly and Parkinson and then a rookie?? They’ll bring in Ertz and we’ll have three tight ends catching 25 passes again…
            I really want to know what Pete is seeing this team as. What could Ertz possibly do for this team? He’ll take snaps from two players we need to see more of, he takes cap space that should be spent on the lines. Grr its such a stupid move.
            And Dillard… straight up Flowers for Dillard…maybe. But Dillard was a pass blocker in Leach’s offense… maybe he could work, i have my doubts.

            • Rob Staton

              What could they even offer for ertz??

              Can only presume they’re offering to help them out as a means of a salary dump and see it as an opportunistic move that will come at a minimal cost.

              But knowing the Seahawks they’ll probably give them next years third rounder.

          • BobbyK

            You know who else was good at this:

            Tim Ruskell

            That’s what we’ve become. Again.

            • BobbyK

              What Tim Ruskell was and Pete Carroll has become is one in the same. Same BS free agent type signings all all the (crap) trimmings. Bad drafts, bad use of resources, etc.

              • Hoggs41

                I agree adding Ertz is really unecessary snd not tbe best use of resources but there is a chance that this could be something Russ has asked for.

                • Rob Staton

                  I don’t think Russell will have asked for any as specific as this.

                  Because I think, as some have suggested, he’s simply agitating to leave.

              • Big Mike

                Carroll = Ruskell 🙁

                We’ve sunk to that. (Notice I have no counter argument)

            • STTBM

              Yes, I agree. Picking players high based on positional need rather than BPA, and locking in on only guys who fit specific molds (as Sea does at RB, DT, OL, CB) leads to whiffing way too much. Russkell claimed to go BPA early, but all too often he didn’t stick to that. Yeah, Carrol and JS have pretty much flubbed the draft for 7 straight years: they’re living off the extra first round pick Carrol inherited and their 2012 draft. And Carrol has been screwing up the cap overpaying for losers like Ansah and Feast Mode (Lacy), to say nothing of his terrible trades for Harvin, Graham, and now Adams. No long-term planning, just getting tight with money, only to misjudge the market and end up overpaying for worse players (playing cheap with Maxwell when he said he’d have taken less than we ended up paying his replacement if they’d offered it before he hit FA) or just failing to plug holes.

              • UkAlex6674

                Has Shane Waldron requested this, maybe not specifically Ertz but a TE to suit his scheme? The Rams utilized their TE’s in the passing game, think it was Higbee and Everett.

                • Rob Staton

                  They were both quick, sudden TE’s though. Ertz is much more orthodox.

  4. charlietheunicorn

    Good stuff Cha. We all need a little drink after this previous week. Jack and Coke please.

    • cha

      I’ve been trying to ration my Eagle Rare because you can’t find it at stores lately.

      It’s not going very well.

      • KennyBadger

        Dude COVID is destroying my liver. You can literally hear it beg for mercy.

        • Big Mike

          Switch to edibles, easier on the liver.

  5. Rob Staton

    I’ve added Amari Rodgers’ name to my player watchlist from a few days ago.

    Didn’t realise he’d run a 4.4 at SPARQ.

    • Sea Mode

      My guy!

  6. pepoandart

    Fun write up cha. It was refreshing to see the special teams play so well this last season. Rob are there any WRs that could also serve as a returner in the draft that the Seahawks might consider?

    • Rob Staton

      There are plenty of fast receivers, some who have returned in college and others who simply look like they could. I watched some Amari Rodgers earlier and he had a nice return in a game I saw.

  7. Big Mike

    Thanks for the diversion cha. Good read as always.
    ST were the best part of the team to watch this past season for me. Consistent play, especially in the coverage game. And yeah, very good point about Dickson. He got the shaft when it comes to post season awards.

  8. Rob Staton

    Can anyone remember that old QB calculation that put together college starts, wins, stats etc and delivered a score?

    It was talked about a lot when Wilson was drafted.

  9. STTBM

    Rashad Penny returned a few kicks for us. And he looked as if he’d never done it in his life: he was AWFUL. I assume he didn’t do all that well in practice either, because that failed experiment ended quickly.

    Lockett has enough to do returning punts and being our most reliable WR.

    Dickson a victim of playing in Seattle, and having an early playoff exit his whole career here. Not enough exposure.

    David Moore ain’t great at kick returning either. I’d love to see Swain get a shot, myself.

    • cha

      They cut Lockett’s kick and punt returns way back in 2019. Then they totally took him off both in 2020.

      • charlietheunicorn

        He got nicked up both years with leg/foot injuries. He is as vital as any other piece of the offense.
        I had no problem with letting the younger bucks take a shot with the returns.

        As for Swain, when he got the ball in his hands, he gave me the P Harvin vibes… like he was on a whole different level of speed and acceleration than everyone else on the field. Really was hoping to see him more in the screen game and fly sweeps…. never happened. 🙁

        • Sea Mode

          Really? Freddie Swain?? I just saw average at best (which is fine). Nothing that would even remotely make me think of Percy. I think you might need to head over and watch some Percy highlights from back in the day to refresh your memory. (or I am totally missing something on Swain…)

          • Rob4q

            Just draft D. Eskridge to be the returner…dude looks electric in his highlights!

            • Sea Mode

              Sounds like a great plan! Unfortunately, we’ll likely need a top 50 pick to do that…

          • GoHawksDani

            Agree there Sea Mode. I don’t see anything special about him. He was as open as he was for his catches because…well…Lockett and DK (and maybe even Moore). He could be a good WR, but he’s more a Lockett/Baldwin type than a Harvin

  10. sonicreducer

    Rob

    If Russ is dealt, what are your thoughts on signing Jameis Winston as a stop gap. He signed for 1.1M in NO last year, so he should be cheap. Do you think Pete could “reel him in” so to speak to reduce his INT’s? Although I’ve never been a big Winston fan, he can sling it downfield.

    I bring this up because if Russ is dealt, I would rather get back all the draft capital we can vs. taking on someone else’s qb just to get a deal done. Of all the FA qb’s out there, I think Winston can be a good value. PCJS were sniffing around Mahomes and Josh Allen when they were drafted, so hopefully they can find a quality qb in the next few drafts if needed.

    Thank you for the great content, Rob. I don’t post much but I check in at least twice a day. Best Seahawks site and it’s not close.

    • Rob Staton

      I think you could do a lot worse.

      Whether Pete can live with his history of turnovers or not… not sure.

    • cha

      If you look at Matt Stafford’s first 5 full seasons, his stats are remarkably similar to Jameis Winston’s.

      But honestly I don’t know if that’s the argument for Winston or against Stafford.

  11. Trevor

    Rob if Russ is forcing their hand and the Hawks pull the trigger on trading Russ when would that most likely happen? I would assume if it does not happen before the draft we would have to deal with the drama for at least this season.

    • Rob Staton

      I would imagine things have to move quickly. The new league year is a month away. You need time to plan and prepare. So I would say by the end of the month.

      • SonGoku

        Yes, totally agree with Rob. Teams have to plan, prepare for the draft. And if Russ wants to be involved in personnel decisions, he should be on the team he plans playing for in September, by the start of free agency.

  12. Sea Mode

    From Breer:

    8) I think Russell Wilson’s displeasure relates to Aaron Rodgers’s. You got my take on Rodgers’s rumblings almost a month ago—I saw it as a calculated play to try and pressure the Packers to act with the urgency he has (as a guy who turns 38 this calendar year). And my feeling on the Seahawks quarterback is similar. Wilson wants more help, and that part isn’t new. For years, his camp would quietly grumble about the state of the offensive line, and later the issue was the scheme and skill players. The difference, this time, is that it’s playing out publicly. The trigger, really, for all this is the path the Bucs, Chiefs and Bills took to the top of the league. Each got it right at quarterback, yes. But each also aggressively surrounded that quarterback with investment. Investment on the O-line, investment at receiver, and investment in the coaching staff. And naturally, when another quarterback sees how well Tom Brady did after forcing his way into a better situation, it only makes sense that others would give his gameplan a shot. Rodgers has never been afraid to say some of this stuff publicly. But doing it this time gave Wilson cover to drop his own complaints into the box. And, to be sure, I don’t know if this is about to become a trend. I think that sort of will connect to whatever outcome Rodgers and Wilson get from it.

    Also says the Falcons should be considered strongly in play for a QB at #4:

    The Falcons had a very strong presence at Lawrence’s Pro Day. And it wasn’t just the number there—a league-high four—it was who made the trip. The Atlanta traveling party included coach Arthur Smith, GM Terry Fontenot, offensive coordinator Dave Ragone, and VP of player personnel Kyle Smith, where most teams sent college scouting directors, national scouts or area scouts. [… A scout] said that he wanted to be able to see Lawrence in person to help him really understand the difference between him, and Wilson, Fields, and Lance, so if his team were to decide to take a quarterback (this team would be one that would look at it), he had proper context for the situation.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t think some writers have grasped that Wilson has been making this clear to the Seahawks for a while and the reason we’re hearing so many people talk about a trade is because he’s starting to think that’s the best thing to get what he wants.

      If anyone out there thinks a Zach Ertz trade and spending #56 on the O-line will quell the concerns you’re in for a big shock.

      • Mick

        If I were Wilson and the good news would be that I got another wrack of a TE as Ertz I’d ask how soon can I be traded. If we trade Adams for a 2021 high 1st round pick that we spend on the O-line AND we sign a really big O-line name in free agency, e.g. Thuney, then I’d say “OK these people are trying, I might stick around for a while”.

    • cha

      Can’t help but cry over spilt milk. I often wonder where we’d be right now if the team had a proper offseason last year.

      Imagine a real investment in the DL instead of the Adams trade and Mayowa/Irvin. And then adding an assassin like Dunlap midseason to a group of killers.

      Imagine a good investment at LG and C instead of Finney and Olsen.

      Imagine two good draft picks, two of the three spots, OT/WR/RB instead of Taylor.

      Imagine having your first and third round picks this year.

      All easily within their reach and yet we get this slop.

      • Sea Mode

        Russ told them he wanted Taylor… they got the wrong one… 😭

      • Big Mike

        And sadly, ALL of this was completely and totally doable. But this regime is no longer capable of that kind of thinking and those kinds of moves imo. To me, DK will be their last gasp of quality drafting/moves.

      • Paul Cook

        It was an epic fail. I don’t claim to be a knowledgeable expert of any kind about such things, but in retrospect, even my own little pipsqueak armchair game plan for last off season would have been decidedly better than the one we got.

        We are now staring at something between shoring up what we’ve got with scant resources to do so, or initiating some kind of major overhaul with a largely invisible owner, an aging beyond-his-best-years head coach with almost unchecked power, a GM who seems to have lost much of the Midas touch he had earlier on, and some potentially combustible personalities who happen to comprise most of the upper echelon of talent on the team.

        We are going to start learning awfully fast about where this is headed.

        • dcd2

          Unfortunately that sums it up pretty perfectly.

  13. Sea Mode

    Hey, maybe health will actually allow us to get him, where as otherwise he would just be out of range.

    https://twitter.com/LanceZierlein/status/1361348088338776066

    • Rob Staton

      An outstanding talent.

      But he’s been injured practically every year.

  14. GoHawksDani

    I’d like to propose a different scenario….because nothing happened yet and it’s hard no to harp on this situation. My new take is that they won’t trade Russ (this year), but try to do anything to please him.

    Why?
    1, If Jody Allen wants to sell the team in the next 2-3 years, it’s worth a loooot more with Russ as a QB than with Mariota/Winston/rookie, etc. She’s not a hands on owner, but if it’s about dollar millions I guess she’d make a call to PCJS

    2, If they wanna plan after Pete, it’d be a much more intriguing proposition to come and be HC for a team with Russ as a QB (+1 reason to try to keep Russ). And if they’d trade Russ, and got picks for 1-2 years in the draft, and they’d sell the team and Hawks would get a totally new FO, the new FO/owner might want to rebuild again

    3, Pete is crazy risk averse. He might risk it a couple of times, but he always burns and it’s just getting in deeper-and-deeper in him, that risk taking is bad. Trading Russ would be a huge risk. It’d likely ruin his legacy. Fans would be mad. Really unlikely that he could bring this team in the next 1-2-3 year to the SB. He knows that the ball is in Russ’ court.

    So my guess:
    PCJS will let Russ have his say in the draft
    They’ll ask him which FA he’d like, and try to pursue them (at least show that they tried)
    They’ll tell Shane to ask Russ’ opinions about how to run the offense.
    Russ will be sceptic, but he’ll try to remain calm and wait that happens.

    Hawks won’t get into the SB. Likely not getting into the PO either with a healthy 49ers, Rams with Stafford, Cardinals getting better day-by-day, really limited resources in FA and a schedule that seems pretty tough (especially compared to the 2019 season)

    Pete might take back the control more and more as the season goes on. Or they might whiff on some of Russell’s choices in FA/draft. But maybe nothing happens that could trigger Wilson, but he’ll realize that he won’t win another SB with the Hawks, and will force his way out next year.

    Because he’ll be adamant that he wants to be traded, FO cannot do anything but trade him. And it’ll be easier with less dead cap hit (I know, re-constructing the contract is doable but much harder than a simple trade without paying money back-and-forth)

    They might trade him, he might finish his career in SEA, but currently I think it’ll be like I wrote above…and this might be the worst scenario in my opinion

    • Rob Staton

      If Jody Allen wants to sell the team in the next 2-3 years, it’s worth a loooot more with Russ as a QB than with Mariota/Winston/rookie, etc. She’s not a hands on owner, but if it’s about dollar millions I guess she’d make a call to PCJS

      This isn’t true.

      The Panthers were sold for a record amount. They didn’t have a top-five QB and weren’t a serious contender.

      The NFL is a massive deal and the value of teams are not dictated to by the quarterback.

  15. SonGoku

    Colin is back on The Herd:
    https://youtu.be/HVlTYHYzrvg

    • Big Mike

      “It’s a Pete Carroll issue.
      Pete Carroll has too much power over the offense, over the quarterback, over Schneider…
      The offense is outdated and the defense is no good and that’s Pete’s specialty
      Russell Wilson feels like a life preserver for a franchise that can’t stop anybody”

      Welcome to SDB and the reality we all seen here Colin and have for some time. Pete Carroll is the problem and will continue to be the problem. He’s right about that.
      News for you Colin, Pete ain’t givin’ up any control and you may well be wrong about RW getting traded.

      • Cl

        What do you think about this video Rob?

        I am with you and I think that Wilson is forcing a trade one way or another.
        The most compelling piece of evidence, for me at least, was Mike Garafolo’s reaction.

        And now you got Colin basically saying “The Situation is not good, Russ is frustrated, he just wants more weapons like Tom Brady, but he is NOT getting traded.”

        • Rob Staton

          I think it’s clear evidence that Colin and Wilson are tight. He’s just explained EVERYTHING Wilson is thinking.

          And anyone listening that should take notice. He’s saying exactly what we’ve been discussing. It’s Pete vs Russell.

          And when he said he was told he wasn’t going to get traded… he did also add that it’s fluid. Which is exactly what Mark Rodgers told Florio. Same word. ‘Fluid’.

          So to me it seems like they’re waiting to see how Seattle returns the serve. And if it hits the net then that’s when this could go nuclear.

      • Henry Taylor

        I do feel the need to push back on this a little. Pete is far from above criticism and many mistakes have been made, but he’s also a consistent winner. You can say that that’s all down to Wilson but he played crap for the last half of the season and they still kept winning.

        The idea that without Russ, PC would just lose his way into obscurity is a stretch for me.

        • Big Mike

          It happened to Tom Landry. It can happen to Pete Carroll. In believe we’re seeing the beginning of the end.

        • Scot04

          He’s a consistent winner because of Wilson…He was 7-9 the 2 years before Russ.
          Without Russ in 2020 we don’t even make the playoffs. He bailed out our defense the 1st 6-8 games; he totally carried the team in spite of Carroll’s defense.
          Carroll knew what was wrong with our defense before the offseason started, yet never addressed it. 50M wasted. Carroll needs to be held accountable for something. After all he pretty much has control over the entire team. To me thats the problem. He needs to relinquish some responsibility for the better of the team.

          • Henry Taylor

            I don’t disagree with any of that, I was just pushing back on the idea implied by Cowherd that Pete doesn’t add anything.

            • Rob Staton

              Pete adds culture and is a good leader and motivator.

              He’s an abysmal game manager, they can’t adjust, his schemes are basic and familiar, he doesn’t catch any other coach off guard, they’ve relied on an insane number of close wins over the last few years — many won because of the QB. He hasn’t developed players the way they were doing in the first flush of the PC era.

              If Pete didn’t have Wilson, what would he be? A coach in charge of a losing team.

    • Rob Staton

      Good for Colin, it sounded very serious last week

  16. millhouse-serbia

    This is tvors reportes virtual meeting and all three with DL…

    #OhioState DL Tommy Togiai has recently met virtually with the #Seahawks & #Patriots.

    • SonGoku

      OL in FAcy, DL via Draft?

  17. millhouse-serbia

    Third not tvors…

    • Rob Staton

      What’s the list so far?

      • dcd2

        Alim McNeil was one and Darius Stills the other.

        • Rob Staton

          Stills had a 4.55 short shuttle at SPARQ.

          • dcd2

            That’s in the wheelhouse for DT.

            Pre-season BIG12 POY, 2x team Captain, explosive but smallish 3T.

            Last year was the first time since 2012 that we didn’t draft a DT too.

  18. JimQ

    I have recently thought about the RW trade situation and I just have to wonder if JS/PC’s –long term– plans all along were to trade RW –THIS– season. PC & JS aren’t stupid and it’s hard to imagine exactly what’s going on with their future team building plans. The logic kind of adds up however when considering they traded so many draft assets for Adams and left only 3 (or 4) picks available in the coming draft. If they knew that they would get a BUNCH of picks back — by trading RW this year –MAYBE– they took the opportunity to trade for a guy like Adams the year before trading away RW this year? So, in other words spending draft assets you anticipate having many more of in a year. This concept might be stretching the logic just a bit but PC/JS may not be as DAFT as some might think and have had – a “long term plan” to trade RW this year – all along????

    At least, that was what I was thinking when I woke up this morning and I still can’t shake it. Maybe it was just a bad dream complicated by my 11 months of hunkered down cabin fever? I certainly hope RW stays around but he would net a bounty of draft picks that improves the team for the future. Of course, the QB position needs to be re-established, –hopefully– they have a good plan for that.

    • RussFanBoy206

      Why would they trade for a safety knowing they might trade their top 5 QB? Giving up your franchise QB with a terrible defense is a recipe for a top 10 draft pick, and trading that away would be malpractice. Jamal was a win now move to improve the defense last minute when they struck out on doing it in free agency and the draft.

    • Big Mike

      There’s definite logic in your line of thinking Jim. Sadly myself, I do think that last offseason they utterly bungled almost the entire thing. I doubt they trade as much for Adams if they’re not desperate for some kind of, any kind of pass rush especially considering how late in the offseason it happened.

    • Sea Mode

      I won’t say I haven’t thought the same: they simply have to have some kind of master plan behind these crazy moves. No matter what you put out to the world in press conferences (PC I mean, cause JS apparently decided to no longer do them…) and what picture of the state of the team they try to sell to fans, they KNOW what it is. I mean, if we as fans can see it, they are faced with it every day.

      Though my conclusion was that Adams was just a rental. They figured they could rent a boost for a struggling defense/pass rush at the net cost of a R1 pick after they flip him again.

      I’m also almost dead sure they plan on moving on from Bobby right now by the way they structured an out in his contract this off-season and the way they forced the Brooks pick last year.

      I don’t think they ever planned to trade Russ. You just are not a better team without him. Now, if he forces his way out, then you get what you can and adjust the rest of the plan accordingly.

      • Big Mike

        If Adams was indeed a rental, there’s at least some logic in that approach even if you needed to do it because you buggered up fixing the pass rush prior to the trade. We’ll see on that one. I have serious doubts but would LOVE to be proven wrong.

      • cha

        I can’t imagine the Seahawks planned to eat a $7.5m dead cap hit in 2021 by trading Wagner. I’m not saying that isn’t what they’re going to do, I just don’t think they planned for it.

        2022 is the out they planned for with him.

  19. DC

    Envisioning 4 different scenarios for how this all unfolds. They are merely possibilities that might resemble the scenario listed. Some are more favorable than others.

    RUSS STAYS (for 2021)
    We shore up C, LG, RB & go all-in on the offense. I actually think this is doable from a personnel standpoint even with our limited draft stock. But at this point… it’s just a boring scenario. If a divorce from Seattle is in the cards regardless then do we want to take the chance that he gets hurt next season and deal with the continual awkward drama for another year? At 32 yrs old & healthy, is his trade value ever going to be higher?
    Ideally Russ completes his career here with at least one more Super Bowl victory. Seems like that’s not going to happen though.

    THE PLACEHOLDER
    We trade Russ and maximize our draft stalk for 2021, 2022 & 2023. We take as much of the cap hit as possible in 2021 so that we are flush with cash in 2022. There will be FA bargains to be had and signings are made opportunistically. We sign one of the FA QBs to a cheap one or two year placeholder deal. It’s going to be a complete re-set year.
    Then in 2022 we strike!!!
    We trade with GB for my most hated opposing QB Aaron Rodgers. He will be 39 turning 40 that season & Love will have sat for 2 of his initial 4 years. It’s time to see what the kid can do. Rodgers throwing to DK, Lockett & (Atwell) would be insane.
    Are Pete & John disciplined enough to execute a vision that takes longer than one season to manifest though? Can they put the credit card away in the interest of winning a championship???
    Not lately.

    THE ROOKIE QB
    Russ gets traded and we have a high enough pick to draft whichever QB not name Lawrence that we want. One era is now completely over & the next has begun. The positive is that we are now looking forward to the excitement of a young team growing as opposed to looking back at an aging core & past glory. It’s possible that they wait a year to do this. QB bust factors are high so pick the right guy!!!

    QB PURGATORY
    Included in the trade for Russ is some overly priced, under-ly talented QB that is neither here nor there. Or we overpay a mediocre FA to be our starter. Seattle has spent all but the RW years in this place. Please, please, please… I’m begging you. Don’t take us back to Purgatory.

    • Sea Mode

      My preference: 1, 3, 2…………………………………4

      Good QBs on rookie deals surrounded by a talent on defense and a mean running game are the best Super Bowl formula out there not named Tom Brady on a team-friendly discount.

    • GoHawksDani

      Mine would be 3, 2, 1……..4

      An elite QB is just an overkill for Peteball.
      Give me a guy who doesn’t make splashy or mistakes. Let us get a HC who is a run guru, and can really creatively run the ball. Use 2 RB sets like 80% of the time. Give me 3-4 solid RBs a good FB and good TEs and lets run it 60-65%. Have a great defense and the team can go to the SB.

      No one wants purgatory, but keeping the drama alive to me would be the same thing. My only concern is the Jets pick for next year. It would suck to give up a top10 pick for Adams especially.

      I’m fine with ARod but only if it’s a cheap “we would cut/trade/don’t extend him anyway” trade. For a R2 or something like that. Giving up multiple high picks for a rental 1-2-3 year QB so maybe you can hit the SB is just too short-sighted imo.

      Best would be to have a young QB sit behind ARod for 2 years. So maybe trade with Jets 4x R1, trade away Bobby, Adams. Fill out the holes with good young guys (CB, RB, LG, OC, WR3, future FS, DT, DE, future LT), suck in 2020. Trade R2 and R4 for ARod next year, play him for 2 years and draft the future young QB in next year or the year after that

  20. cha

    Corbin Smith
    @CorbinSmithNFL
    Source confirms #Seahawks have indeed inquired about Zach Ertz. But $12 million cap hit in 2021 makes deal very unlikely without a restructure agreed upon.
    7:46 AM · Feb 15, 2021

    There was some pushback from the wording of the original report that made it sound like Philly called the Seahawks. But this appears to be what was thought – the Seahawks calling Philly on Ertz.

    But Still. What? Why? No.

    • Big Mike

      Well considering how last offseason went, this would be no surprise whatsoever. Hawks maybe get a “bargain” at 6 (only to see him hurt and miss like 1/2 the season?

      FFS Pete, this team doesn’t need more past their prime, injured half the time Mike Iupati types. It needs YOU and John to freaking draft better……………oh wait, you have almost no draft choices cuz you traded them away for the 52nd ranked Safety. Never mind, carry on with your reactionary moves of desperation.

    • Scot04

      2020 offseason 2.0
      Rob get ready for more on possible QB replacements and trade destinations.
      If I’m Wilson and they trade for Ertz I’m asking for trade. Better to try to sign Gerald Everett

    • Tien

      Even if Ertz was healthy and in his prime, it would still be a bad use of resources for the Hawks to trade for him. The Hawks have young players that they’ve spent draft resources on and it makes no sense to bring a veteran starter and thus not develop these young drafted players. What’s worse is that the Hawks have traded for or signed big name TEs like Graham and Olsen and have not figured out how to maximize their talents. What makes any of us believe that the Hawks have suddenly figured out how to utilize the TE in an offense…other than for blocking? To me, it’s just idiocy for the front office to even be inquiring about Ertz.

      • Brik

        New Offensive Coordinator might make things better. I thought Russ was a big part of the problem although he used to use them.

  21. dcd2

    I keep seeing a lot of folks saying: Deshaun Watson or Aaron Rodgers for the replacement. Some Derek Carr’s in there too. I think there is almost no chance for any of these names.

    1. They all cost a lot and in the case of Watson and Rogers, it’s draft capital as well as $$.
    2. Why would Watson or Rodgers want to come here and have the same gripes as RW?
    3. Does Pete really think that we NEED a tier 1 QB to succeed? I don’t.

    Ultimately and unfortunately Pete holds absolute power in the Seahawk front office. What has he said this off-season? We’re going to get back to running the ball… so resolutely that Schotty decided he was better off cutting bait and trying his hand elsewhere. Pete’s greatest successes were with a rookie QB taking up very little cap space and throwing for about 3500 yards and 20-25 TD.

    Whether RW is gone this year or next, he’s likely gone. His ego (polite as it may be) and vision don’t mesh with Pete’s. When Russ goes, I think the last thing Pete is going to want is a high-priced QB who feels comfortable airing his displeasure at Pete’s archaic approach.

    • Big Mike

      I actually feel like Carr would be a good fit. I don’t see him as tier 1, he’s tier 2 to me. Plus, from what I’ve read about his personality he’d be glad to acquiesce to Pete, especially f it meant getting away from Gruden.

      • dcd2

        Of the three he makes the most sense to me as well. Not sure his $20M cap hit is what fits the best, and I’m not sure how much trade value he offsets. Then again, I was arguing for Mariota and just realized his cap hit is $11M.

        If it were Mariota and one of Ferrell or Abrams VS Carr, I’d hope for the former.

        I can’t see Watson or Rodgers even being in the discussion.

  22. Calgaryhawk

    Just some thoughts, I’m not upset that the Seahawks don’t have much draft capital this year. I feel that the pandemic restrictions to the college year, the combine, personal workouts and the scouting process in general, will allow a lot of prospects end up going somewhere in the draft that other years they would not. I also feel a good many quality prospects just might not get drafted. Most years, after the first two or three rounds, drafting is more or less an educated crap shoot. This year, I feel it’s going to be more of a blind crap shoot. Undrafted prospects will be the key for the Seahawks this year.
    I also feel the cap situation isn’t all that bad. I feel there are players on the team that could be extended a year or two in order to give the team more cap room. Brown, Wagner and even Wilson come to mind. Things should be interesting.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t understand why people think there will be loads of good UDFA’s this year.

      We might see poor projections and decisions during the draft (eg Darrell Taylor a year ago) but the chances of a swathe of great players going undrafted? I’m not sure how that computes as a consequence.

      How much do you honestly think they can raise by extending Brown, Wagner and Wilson? And do you want to be in cap hell in a few years for the sake of maintaining the status quo?

  23. line_hawk

    The Marcus Mariota hype train has gained full steam. Mariota hasn’t stayed healthy through out his career and played in 1 game this season (against the flailing Chargers). People talk as if he is some savvy veteran. He isn’t worth anything more than 6-7th round flier if he is available in a trade.

  24. Trevor

    I think the Jets would be the ideal trade partner, I don’t know if Russ would sign off on the trade but I suspect he would given it is NY.

    The have the draft capital and couple send back Sam Darnold who I still think can be really good. He has never had anything even resembling weapons with the Jets and would be a good fit for the type of offense the Rams ran which might gel with the new OC. At the very least he would give the Hawks a year or two to rebuild the OL/ DL and find the long term QB if it turns out that it isn’t him.

    • Rob Staton

      I can’t see any way whatsoever that Russell would want to go to the Jets

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