Apologies I’ve been quiet for a few days. Saturday was a hectic day-job day, Sunday I was at the Bills vs Jaguars game and today I attended my uncle’s funeral. I managed to squeeze in some college football when I could, so here are some brief notes…
— The more I watch the more underwhelmed I am with this draft class. There’s depth at certain positions (QB, DT) but a lack of top-end quality. There’s a distinct lack of outside pass rush with blue-chip potential, I’m struggling to find dynamic players in the secondary and aside from Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr and Brock Bowers — it’s really difficult to identify top-10 prospects. Unless you pick right at the top of round one, this could be one of the worst draft’s in years to possess a high pick.
— This was a really poor week for quarterbacks. Kansas State’s Will Howard did not play well in a loss to Oklahoma State with some ugly turnovers. I’ve no idea what Quinn Ewers was doing with his first of two interceptions against Oklahoma. It was a totally careless, bizarre error. He hesitates on the throw, clearly doesn’t like the look and yet throws it anyway. Why? He remains erratic although he settled into the game and showed off easy arm strength (he can flick his wrist like a certain former Green Bay QB). Cam Ward threw a couple of interceptions. All three lost. I was particularly keen to see more of Howard and while there were some mitigating circumstances in his display, he still played poorly. I didn’t see Drake Maye or UNC this week and I’ve only watched highlights from Williams/USC. Spencer Rattler and Michael Penix Jr didn’t play.
— I don’t understand why LSU’s Maason Smith continues to be projected by some as a high pick. He looks cumbersome and awkward to me and LSU’s defense continues to toil. He was credited with a sack against Missouri but what actually happened was he grabbed the QB’s facemask and pulled him down to the turf. No flag was thrown in one of the worst decisions of the season. I also thought Ohio State duo Michael Hall Jr and Tyleik Williams played within themselves, as did Texas’ vaunted D-line. Howard Cross was typically active but stayed stuck on a few too many blocks against Louisville. A disappointing week.
— Let me chuck in a positive. I like the look of Missouri QB Brady Cook. He’s only a junior and could do with staying for his senior season, adding some size/power and playing more games. However, he has a good arm and can complete difficult passes. He’s a really useful athlete when he needs to move around or scramble. He’s shown poise and accuracy this season. At the weekend he, like the QB’s mentioned above, had a bad interception. He threw the ball straight to a DB when the read was never there, similar to Ewers’ first pick. He also had a desperate heave with 37 seconds remaining that led to a pick-six and a fumble in the game. However, he also suffered a number of dropped passes and Mizzou really shot themselves in the foot against LSU. They should’ve won. Cook is one to monitor for the future.
— The other big positive for me is the continued performance of Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, who I wrote about last week. He’s so big and athletic — with the ability to get into position with ease and then use his physical tools to maximum effect. Every time I watch him I come away impressed and there’s no doubt in my mind he’s turning into this year’s Darnell Wright. Few people were talking about Wright during the season a year ago but his performances were so good at right tackle, he stood out a mile during games. He was eventually drafted 10th overall. Don’t be surprised if Guyton similarly goes a lot earlier than anyone is projecting.
Sorry to hear about your uncle, Rob. Funerals are the worst.
Thank you for still putting out content during such a time in your life. Seahawk fans are lucky to have you.
Sorry for your loss, Rob. Thank you for all that you do.
No need to apologize… for writing a free blog… in your spare time!
And even on the level of a hobby you would like to put out regularly for your readers, we get it.
Thanks for the notes and may your uncle rest in peace.
I knew it hasn’t been going well with the Raiders, bit I hadn’t heard of a trade or anything… 😂
Wasn’t the prevailing narrative that John wanted to acquire additional draft capital (or at least, not trade away any picks) for 2024? Is the class playing below expectation or is this another annual case of “next year’s draft is the one?”
to me it seems the class isn’t top heavy, but one can find godo value in “the middle pack”.
Many players are good, very few great that needs to go top 5.
Sympathies Rob.
Thanks for a bit if your strapped time and some thoughts on a few college guys.
Sorry for your loss, Rob.
If it makes you feel better, I rocked my Seahawks Draft Blog T-Shirt today, here in Pensacola. Someone in Crubl (a cookie place) said, “Hey, is that the Seattle Seahawks?”
I said, “Yes.”
“Hey, have you ever seen that site FieldGulls?”
“Um, yeah. I…have seen…that site.”
Amateur.
Shoulda thrown down wit
There is a lot of interest here right now because of Witherspoon. My next-door neighbor’s daughter just graduated from his high school, Pine Forest.
Hasn’t been this way since Doug Baldwin, from Gulf Breez, was playing in the Super Bowl.
I went to GBHS (and might have the only #15 Baldwin jersey in Seattle, ordered the day he made the 53). How did I miss that Witherspoon went to Pine Forest?
It was misreported that he went to Escambia, where Emmitt Smith attended school. Derrick Brooks went to Washington High School
Heh, a bunch of the huge games Emmitt had at Escambia were against GBHS when I was there. But I didn’t play football, I was in the band 🤣
My sincere condolences to you and your family for your loss Rob. May your uncle’s memory bring you all joy
Nobody likes a flopper, Zach Tom.
It’s criminal how the first WR pick of the draft is being used by Hawks and seeing contributions from all those rookie WRs out there..
Thanks Rob. Always appreciate the time you take to scout. It’s a big commitment.
I thought Louisville’s middle linebacker was very impressive. Blitzing, holding the point of attack, and even covering wide receivers. But wearing #23 and at 6010 & 230 Lbs. the redshirt sophomore is a little undersized and looked like a box safety.
Thought that was Drake Maye’s best game so far. Built like Herbert but has a Trevor Lawrence like quality to him. Think theres a huge drop off in QBs after him & Caleb Williams. Thats not me saying the QB class doesn’t have talent this year because it does and theres gonna be starters found on day 2 & 3, IMO those 2 are just a cut above the rest. Which leads me to…
LSU QB Jayden Daniels. Theres something there w/ him. Might be an ideal candidate to sit behind Geno for a year.
A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper is intriguing. 6 sacks in 3 weeks. Tons of TFL. An off ball LB but love the way he attacks downhill. Saw a lot of this type of LB on the 49ers D last night.
And unless he has T-rex arms, I think Jer’zhan Newton is gonna be a very early draft pick.
I dont understand the hype for Bama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry. Give me Malachi Moore over him any day of the week. Can play single high, in the slot. Gives me a little bit of Brian Branch vibes
Wow, Newton is from Clearwater, Florida. That’s fancy. One of the best beaches in the state. LOTS of strip clubs!
What did you think of Jamari Thrash the receiver from Louisville? I think I need to take another look at him.
Agree about Jayden Daniels. All he did was make plays vs Mizzou
Thank you for keeping us up to date with the college football. Rob. Sorry to hear about your loss.
Condolences for your loss.
Any thoughts on two local players playing at Ohio State: Emeke Egbuka & JT Tumialou? Both are projected to be 1st rounders, but would enjoy hearing your assessment.
Emeke balled out last year. I haven’t seen Ohio State play this year.
Yes, that’s weird.
Ive watched a few games of Ohio State because of these two (and Gee Scott). Emeka is really good. OSU QB is not at the same level as the past OSU QBs, so hes not getting as much volume, but he has over 300 yards and 3 TDs on the year as the number 2 wr behind MHJr. Watching him though, hes better than the stats. Gonna be a really good pro.
JT doesnt quite pop off the screen or a stat builder. It looks like OSU is emphasizing containment and assignments, opposed to letting him just get after it. Not even sure he is the 2nd or 3rd best Def player on that team. There Dline Williams is good, and they have a really good corner. Sucks cause i thought JT was gonna have a break out year and kill it.
Sorry to hear about your loss Rob. Prayers for your family.
Sorry for your family’s loss, sir.
My deepest sympathies for you and your family Rob
Condolences Rob…
I echo the sympathies for your uncle Rob.
Re Guyton, you were early on Abe Lucas and on D. Wright, hoping you’re also correct on Guyton, and other beefy boys. Watching the 49ers and their front 7, I would like to see the Seahawks pick up some nasty Olinemen. But given how solid the Niners look in all areas of the game maybe the Seahawks just need to add depth and nastiness everywhere. Good to hear DT choices might be decent. Have you looked at UWashington linemen on both sides of the ball?
Mario Cristobal, wow. People don’t seem to be picking up on it but he basically did the same thing at Oregon and lost a crucial game to Stanford while Oregon had Justin Herbert. It took more complicated math since it would require three kneel downs, but you’d think someone would learn a lesson..he used the need to close out games running the ball excuse
I’d love Seattle to come out of day 2 with 4 players that are real badasses, leaders and most importantly, play QB, DT (x2) and preferably a LB or Guard. Sounds like a draft class where you can get a QBotF, two solid rotational/starter caliber runstopper/rusher DTs and mix in a LB for development, as per now seattle don’t really have a long term solution at MLB.
Sorry for your loss Rob.
Rob, sorry for your loss. Take care.
Fair Winds and Following Seas
Rob- sorry for your loss.
What are the chances that Belichick hires Cristobol to be his Offensive Coordinator next year? 🤔
Prayers for you and your family. May your memories keep your uncle alive in your heart as that is where we all wish to reside in our loved ones, Love survives death and I hope with time when you think of your uncle you will smile and think of the special times you shared with him. I am sure he would like that.
Although it was a tough weekend for qb’s I think by the end of the year we and the rest of the country will find a few draft crushes that will require an earlier pick than the Seahawks possess. Pay the iron price will be chanted from the comments again. Especially without that extra 10 or 15 blue chippers that exite teams I think moving up into the 5 to 10 range might be the play.
I would REALLY love to see Drew Lock get at least a full game, if not a few. (Never rooting for an injury to anyone of course) He came off the bench and lead a touchdown drive, the last offensive td drive of the game. I know it was a great play by Fant and poor tackling by the defense but Lock evaded a sack and found a man open. If Lock can cut the interceptions down he has a bigger arm and way more athleticism than Geno, certainly wouldn’t cost more than Geno probably cheaper, and saves the team spending an early pick at qb while they try to add to this young core in a semi open NFC. I’m really disappointed they didn’t let him finish out the Giants game. I imagine he’d have come out more ready in the second half.
I think a top pick has to be used either way. Lock is just almost 27 and still who he is. Could he get better? Yes. Odds are: no. We need a difference maker/blue chip/alpha. That’s just not him and he’s just too far behind to wait a year or two and hope. The last two draft picks are getting older and expensive quickly.
They have shirked the position their whole regime and it’s time to finally make it THE top priority.
I do 100% agree that he should have stayed in for Geno, though. The team and game felt different for the better. Geno and the offense didn’t do anything after he was back.
(I have also refrained from using the “pay the iron price” phrase already for Rattler, but I know it will be back).
The GRRM phrase “paying the iron price” refers to the acquisition of some valuable by way of brutally murdering the person who owns it and then plundering it off his/her drowned/mutilated/dismembered corpse—not by way of buying it from them with some form of accepted currency. Is there really a way to get over like this on draft day?
It’s just a jokey phrase we started using
We’ve talked about how the term doesn’t really apply based off of the book-meaning compared to what it sounds like tongue-in-cheek.
I guess if we use our draft picks to…attack the other teams in the draft and plunder…their..picks in return?
All I know is that Winter is Coming faster than season 2 of House of the Dragon.
The problem with betting on Lock is that if he does what you hope he’s capable of, that hardly even saves us money. Cutting Geno next year would cost $17.4M in dead money. Let’s say we get Lock re-signed at only $5M for 2024, which would be wildly underpaying for a presumptive starter. We still need another backup QB, which could cost anywhere between $1M and $5M depending if we go for veteran competition or draft a backup on day 3. Geno’s 2024 cap hit is $31.2M. In doing all that, we have saved AT MOST about $8M for 2024. Following that, if Lock has a 2022-Geno-like season, we’re staring down another $30M a year QB contract.
I’m not saying drafting a QB is the only answer, but I don’t really see how pushing Geno out the door to roll the dice on a 28 year old Drew Lock is a better alternative.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/james-conner-is-expected-to-miss-multiple-weeks-with-knee-injury
Arizona’s leading rusher, 5.4 yards per carry so far this year, out for Week 7 vs Seahawks likely.
Makes the Rams at -6.5 against them this week a good wager imo.
Sorry for your loss! This week is Bo Nix v M Pennix Jr = fun watch.
Sorry for your loss Rob
Looks like Jake Plummer gave the cast of Good Morning Football the cordysceps. Colleen Wolfe is going to look great as a clicker.
Here’s how Geno’s escalators currently project:
Pass Yds – 3,596 – $0M
Pass TDs – 21.3 – $0M
Comp % – 68.3 – $0M
Pass Rate – 97.8 – $0M
Wins – 12.75 – $2M
All Five – n/a – $0M
Total Escalation: $2M
Heavy o-line shuffling has been adversely affecting QB production for sure, but it doesn’t explain repeated failures to get the ball to open receivers.
… Not good enough to hit incentives, not bad enough to warrant benching. Sigh.
The Geno contract was brilliant seven ways from Sunday.
Knocks me out that the FO could put together such a great contract, and at the same time be so backwards on others.
Of course, of course. Shows who really had the leverage. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not criticizing the contract. And Geno’s production is (technically) good at #10 in QBR and #10 in passer rating.
I’m just nodding to Rob’s point about the team’s potential salary cap dilemma next year if the team and Geno both remain plateaued somewhere on the upper side of mediocre.
Don’t expect this to change this week. The Bengals have 15 sacks on the year but have allowed the second-most rushing yards in the league at 770.
K-train all day!
Gonna be a Johnnie Walker and Charbonett kinda day.
If by Johnny Walker you mean Jameson, Tillamore Dew or Bushmills I’m in. 🙂
The oline shuffling is doing something but I’m not sure any one can concretely state what it is.
DK, Parkinson, and Fant all have greater yards per target/per catch than last year.
Tyler is at nearly the same level. Slightly lower.
Tyler is on pace for the same targets as last year.
Fant less ( 7.5 targets) Parkinson more.
The real killer right now is the poor usage of JSN which might not matter ( 5 targets per game) but by trying to feature him DK’s targets per game are significantly down ( 2.5 targets less per game) which is wild because he is currently playing with his highest catch rate and a great 14.9 yards per catch.
2nd quarter watch points. Change how you scheme JSN or stop throwing to him. 85 targets and sub 300 yards is awful use of a top reciever pick.
It’s most likely not because of the oline because he’s not moving the chains to prevent pressure while DK and the TE’s are still able to put up good numbers.
Geno just hasn’t looked right. Hasn’t looked like any difference maker. He’s been more or less efficient, but with the weapons and how well the o-line has been playing no matter who has been lining up, it’s almost been disapppointing.
Is there a more talented offense overall? Not definitively. And they haven’t even looked good on offense, let alone elite.
Rudderless.
Low key enjoy when the more Pollyanna ish of seahawks faithful say ” just wait and see….when every single part is perfect and humming, watch out.”
Yeah. There’s your answer to the question if he’s the real future. Part of football is overcoming setbacks. Team is allegedly stacked with weapons and he’s not exactly getting daniel jonesed behind the line.
“Just wait until it is all clicking.” Fans’ mantra since, 2017?
This week I want a boring game plan. Run the ball with K-9, rinse, repeat.
When in doubt about running the ball with K-9, give the ball to Charbonnet.
I think it’s been “this year is like 2012” for a few years now. 2013 just can’t seem to ever get here.
Wish we could drop it. Just let this era be this era.
DK should be getting more looks for sure. A huge part of the target game is our miserable 3rd down conversion rate. We are 31st in the league at 28.89% (ahead of only the Jets).
We’re bottom 5 in the NFL for plays per game mostly because we don’t convert on 3rd (as our pace of play is relatively fast).
I’ve been reading a few articles about the Cowboys loss to the 48ers last night. Dak Prescott’s name keeps coming up. Making 40 million a year and wanting to get 50 million next year. Is he worth it??
Which also led me to wonder how Geno Smith compares to Dak Prescott this year.
So I found this info about Geno after 4 games:
68.3 % completion rate
846 yards
6.9 yards/comp
5 touchdowns and 1 interception
Dak after 5 games:
69.4% completion rate
1061 yards
6.6 yards/comp
5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions
Geno is playing better than Dak Prescott. But is Geno worth 50 million? du duhhhhh. We will find out!
Dak Prescott is a mirror image of Kirk Cousins. Happy to beat up on poor teams, wilt like a flower in the sun against tough teams.
Every time Kirk Cousins robs a liquor store, Dak Prescott gets arrested.
And vice versa
Good one. Dak is the slow side kick that always gets caught.
My condolences Rob, that sucks
A couple of further thoughts:
— I really like Justin Eboigbe at Alabama
— Typical Drake Maye performance vs Syracuse. Some really, really good moments, some moments that just leave you scratching your head
Who on Sac State are the Seahawks looking at?
There was a safety/LB named Marte Mapu there last year. Patriots took him in the 3rd (76).
Possible they went to see him and someone else piqued their interest. I know it was tough to find tape on Mapu on Youtube, and I don’t remember anyone popping from what I watched.
Could be this guy:
TE MARSHEL MARTIN IV, SACRAMENTO STATE
Marshall is a do-it-all type of tight end. He played almost 700 snaps in each of the past two seasons, with more than 400 per year coming as an inline player and more than 250 per year coming as a slot.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/seahawks-might-not-be-available-until-2025-at-the-earliest
So…..never??
FFS
So a slow dance to the future
Wish we could just get on with it. We all know it’s got to happen eventually anyway
So how much do the Seahawks overpay Bellore or Dissley for the 2024-2025 season now? 10 Million per year?
Jamal Adams cleared the concussion protocol and will play Sunday vs the Bengals.
Assuming he plays more than the first series, I’m looking forward to them using him, Spoon and Tre Brown to pressure Burrow without him seeing it coming.
Watch point I’m looking for. How do our multi blitz dbs look against one of the best qbs at exploiting the blitz.
They can afford to be aggressive vs Burrow IMO — with that injury
Get after him
Judging by comments the Blazers made recently and their change of direction, I wouldn’t be holding your breath.
Today signalled the return of the ‘how good is Bobby Wagner’ question
Pete has a strange thing going on. He’s just toying with the press. He did it monday and did it again today. Bordering on cockiness.
It’s annoying.