Many of you have noted the lack of posts recently. It dawned on me today that I should’ve simply been smarter at the conclusion of the draft and took an immediate break. I’ve been writing this blog for 11 years now and I’m still confused by what we do with it during the summer months.
The NFL claims it doesn’t have an off-season and that’s true to an extent with mini-camps ongoing currently. Yet this is a decidedly quiet time. I should’ve completed my write-ups on the full draft class sooner and for that I apologise. However — between the months of August and May this is a labour of love. Almost a second full-time job. Not that I’m complaining. Interacting with this community, studying each draft and following the Seahawks provides real joy. I’m still amazed anyone cares what a British bloke thinks about any of this.
I did need to take a break though. To reintroduce myself to my two kids and my wife. To focus on the day job. I should’ve been honest and admitted I needed that break, this year, immediately after the draft.
So I’m going to take some time now and come back refreshed and stronger in July. Be reassured though that normal service will resume. And while this place usually heats up around January time — my favourite period is the college football season. Learning about the draft class, finding players. Discussing options. I hope you’ll join us for that — not to mention the weekly analysis of Seattle’s 2019 season.
In the meantime I’d be very interested in your views about the blog. What do you like? What don’t you like? What do you want to see moving forward?
(Yes — I know the design is dated and must change ASAP. I’m working on it).
Go Hawks.
personally I don’t care what the blog looks like. I come here for the incredible info. ive said it many times but this is the best place for seahawk info anywhere!!
I will miss your articles but you deserve a long break. hope you enjoy the family. go hawks!
Enjoy your break, you deserve it. Any thing related to hawks I’m all in because you always got quality content. Heck, even comments are interesting and place where we learn new stuff.
Good luck with Eng vs NZ cricket game – have fun.
Rob, entirely understand the need for a break and have no problem with that. Get some rest, take your wife out for a nice dinner, and spend some time with the kids.
I really like the simple/clean layout of the site, I don’t need tons of media and other bells and whistles.
But if I had one wish for an improvement, I really would like the ability to edit comments after the fact. Maybe with a set time limit like 15 minutes so it can’t be abused by trolls. Never ceases to annoy me when I typo or auto-correct badly something and the only fix is to reply to my own post with a correction like an idiot.
+1
Enjoy your family. We’ll still be here when you’re ready to start it up again. One suggestion for the blog would be a like button. I like a lot of comments that I don’t feel compelled to reply to, but it’s nice for others to know I like what they said.
+1
Agree
I can’t imagine anyone would think any sort of apology from you could ever be needed Rob. The blog is great, and although I rarely post as I don’t feel that my level of expertise justifies much of a contribution on my part, it is the site at the top of my bookmarks, gives me hours of pleasure, and has taught me more about the game than anything else ever has.
Take that break Rob, you deserve it! I am consistently amazed by the excellent content that you put up for free. As far as the site goes, I’d say that as long as it works correctly, it’s fine. It’s simple and clean and functional, which is all you need.
I was worried and went to your twitter page. “Pheww”
Glad you recognized the need for a break, and took it. I, and I’m sure everyone else that reads your blog, looks forward to hearing from you in a month or two, or three.
Ray 🙂
As to the blog, maybe a changing banner with Seahawks players past and present, and prospective College players?
Love the idea of putting past and present Seahawks drafted players in the banner. How about swapping Manziel’s A&M pic with a RW Wisconsin pic, a Walter Jones FSU pic, a Wagner USU pic, or a Collier TCU pic? Lots of great picks over the years.
Take a good break Rob, we all need to recharge our batteries from time to time. This is a great blog with a passionate community. We will be here when you return.
How about a banner with the HoFers or Ring of honor inductees?
Thank you Rob for all you do, and thank you to your wife and kids for letting you do it. Tell them this British Bloke is loved in Seattle!
Rob, I think your site is unique.
As you say, your obsession is scouting College football. You clearly enjoy the work of finding, comparing, and evaluating with passion, the plethora of players presented by College football. You also enjoy comparing your findings to what the Hawks (Your Pro Team) need and look for. One last also, you enjoy reporting your view of the Seahawks game by game performance and how the teams performance, or lack thereof, factors into your ever evolving view of what talent might be available in the draft for the team the next year.
The blog gives YOU an opportunity to share information, thoughts and ideas with like minded “friends.” On your blog community there are more than several who contribute to your educated reflections with their own researched reasoned thoughts and ideas.
The blog gives ME, as an non-expert but still obsessed Hawks fan, an opportunity to read the exceptional information YOU and your informed FELLOW TRAVELERS exchange on YOUR site about MY TEAM and OUR opportunities going forward.
I am thrilled, every day of the year that you add something to your blog. I visit your blog EVERY DAY – even when I know you’re on a “time out” – just in case you write something.
BUT: I see myself as a fly on the wall of YOUR obsession. I want YOU to do what you want, when you want, how you want. Personally, I consider it a privilege to follow you. I’m gratified that you give me access to your thoughts, opinions and the results of your ongoing research. Whatever you let me see, read and evaluate of your “obsession” is a gift to me.
A gift I treasure.
Roger really said what I felt here too. Your obsession allows me to peek into the mind of someone who studies the game. Your insight changed the way I watch the game.
I enjoy the Mt Rushmore banner. Manziel, Lee, Clowney and.. I’m guessing either a Rutgers (Sanu or Caroo maybe ?), Utah, or Ohio State player.
Rob, I was becoming worried for you as well and I am super happy to see you surface, and 100% support you taking the time for yourself and your family!
Comments about the blog? Keep doing what you are doing, man. I would love to be able to “like” responses since there are so many great ones, but it almost seems superfluous to do so. You have cultivated a great Seahawks community here Rob.
Get all the R&R you need Rob. Enjoy every moment with the wife and kids, those kids don’t stay young long enough. See you during Training Camp. Best regards!
I’m still waiting for Clowney’s July 15th deadline. If we can get him we would pay him at least $16M this year but we would likely have to sign him. If he did play on the tag we would still have roughly $7,785,000 in cap space. If we signed him to around $20M/year, we could cut a couple guys and get back up to $5M+ in cap space easily.
And you dont have to worry about taking breaks, Rob. You could take a week off during summer, in season, draft season and right after the draft and we wouldnt complain. You deserve it, you have a family, and you do this all for free. Take all the damn time you want!! We will be here when you get back lol. Thanks for doing this man, this really is the best seahawks site out there.
Cutting Barkevious Mingo alone would net us $4.1M according to Over the Cap. Signing Clowney to $20m/year and cutting Mingo (obvious cut?) Would get us back up to $7.885M in cap space, plenty to go after preseason and camp cuts.
I’d be curious if the Hawks are wary of trading with Houston again after that mess with Jeremy Lane in the Duane Brown trade.
Thanks for the update, Rob, but no need to beat yourself up like that! I think we all realize that you’ve been taking some much deserved time to recenter yourself. Can’t wait to discuss the upcoming season with you and the community.
Take all the time you need. While I click on your site every day hoping to see new content, you’re a man not a machine! Come back refreshed and thank you for all you do for me, my city and our team!
Rob – First time responding, but a long time reader. I echo what the others have said – that this is the best place for thoughtful Seahawk information without the hype, and that you deserve a well deserved break. Come back with the batteries recharged. Look forward to hearing from you again as the season approaches.
As one of the least tech-savvy folks around, I’m quite happy with the blog in its current form. Did like Erics like-button idea.
We are heading into that gap in the action when the players take time out to make sure their bodies are right when things get real. How could we not gladly afford you-our Warrior Of The Web, the analogous investment of time?
By all means, reconnect with the family and recharge your social batteries. We all have faith that you’ll be back to us when the time is at hand.
So, no apologies needed-though this is a good way to get a new open-thread started. So, an open, way-too-early question to the other denizens…which new young players are you developing some excitement for through OTS and min-camp? I liked what I liked what I heard on 710 about WRS Brown and Jennings. Back up QB competition sounds interesting, for a change. Phil Haynes sounds to have been a good get too. Cheers, all.
I don’t know Rob. I mean
I don’t know Rob. You left me hanging, there was a sudden sharp void in my life. I kept clicking to this page,
and there was another Damn Google hangout.
I gotta be honest it was tough.
However even if you told me it was recess i’d still be anxious untill you came back.
Your the best man.
Always wondered why you bothered during the offseason 😉 You do a fantastic job, but right now, there’s really nothing worth talking about…take a well earned rest and come back when things heat up…rinse and repeat…I like your blog, and want it to keep coming.
We talk a lot about the great community and discussion that we have here… have you considered a message board style for the redesign? Another sports board I’m on has the discussion board as well as an “articles” area that would allow you to still share your brilliant, well thought out blog content
Esksfans.com is the site – CFL football discussion
You can take as much time off as you want Rob. You have a life outside this blog and you deserve to live it with your family. When you come back, trust me all of us will be here because you have built a community that makes you feel comfortable to share your thoughts with others about interesting topics.
No one deserves a good break more than you Rob! Enjoy the hell out of it
Rob,
This is an amazing site. I have been reading your posts for years. Go recharge and enjoy your summer.
No need to change imo. Best Seahawk site by far.
Rob, you always take a break at this time and it’s well deserved. And no one here cares what a British block thinks but thats not you. Your honest and professional opinion and assessment is all this site needs, not flashy lights and cool graphics. The way you control the comments and not let the crazys take over like everywhere else makes this site a daily read even with out a new article. I often tell draft geeks that are fans of other teams to look at this site because it’s so refreshing your personal takes on players that are usually on point. Best football site ever!
brexit has begun.
Rob – have you considered adding another writer to the site? It might take some pressure off you and add another dimension.
I agree with the earlier comment. The current design is fine. Content is king.
+1, although there have been a few articles by Brandon Adams that were also very good
Yes if you can get Brandon back to blogging on football more regularly that’d be a great addition. His 17 Power blog was must reading alongside Rob’s for a couple years there.
Is Kip Earlywine at all active any more? He was a great co-contributor back in the day
I was going to ask exactly this.Would you consider articles from third parties? It would keep content churning over and would allow visitors to continue to comment which I think is the real value of the site. Admittedly this would would require some editorial oversight which might be a burden.
Anyway thanks as always for your hardwork and enjoy time with your family.
Glad you’ve taken some time off. I’m assuming that you look at comments vs. views on the blog and all that. I just hope that you know how many of us there are that read this very often and don’t comment. This is probably my first comment in about 8 years.
Because of your blog, I wanted to look at film back then. Downloaded full games (not All-22). Think I looked at Charlie Brown, Jimmy Clausen and Morgan Burnett that year. I even wrote a horrific evaluation of Clausen that you published and is unfortunately still on this site. Your work has more impact than you know. We all appreciate you very much!
– Guy who advocated for Clausen at #6 overall
I admit I was wondering if you fell off the earth…But I am glad your taking time with your family and your real (sic) job!! I only started reading your blog just over a year ago, but have found your column to be one of the most insightful and enlightening. Thank you and have a great vacation!! And really, who cares what the site looks like when the dialogue is so good!!
Rob – I really want you to be able to monetize on your site with how awesome the content you bring in. I have no problem with ads at all when you do the redesign. Your content is golden, there’s nothing compared to it on the web.
Hi Rob,
Glad all is well! Enjoy the break!
I agree with what others have said. It’s the content that matters, not what the blog looks like.
Also, if you are following the Blades down here to the South coast on 21st December, I’ll be happy to meet up & buy you a beer or two! 🙂
Rob as mentioned above I don’t know how anybody could complain about you not writing articles….especially this time of year. I think many of us just have a habit through most of year like coffee in the morning and checking to see if you’ve written something new for the day.
I myself check first thing when I pop my computer on in the day. I don’t know how you would remedy the situation other than just posting a short article every year telling us that you are taking a break and won’t be back until whenever.
BTW the complaining is a compliment(:
Glad you’re taking a break and there’s not some other issue going on. Enjoy it, you deserve it!
Maybe during the summer months, the blog could just have weekly open thread articles so those who want to stay engaged in the comments can do so? Another thought could be having some guest posts to fill the void and encourage discussion. I have an idea of something I’d like to do, but not sure when I would be able to get around to it since it involves a bit of in-depth research and prep. And there’s the fact that guest posts should probably pass through you first so you can be sure of the quality which would kind of defeat the purpose of a break for you.
Anyway, just my two cents (pounds for the Brits?). Take advantage of the break to recharge!
You do what you need to do Rob – it is an absolute pleasure to read the blog and honestly it’s the first thing I read after I wake up in the mornings. The combination of top journalistic skill with the raw enthusiasm of the geographically-distant fan is just perfect to me. Do whatever you feel like doing blog-wise – it’s certainly been working so far! I’ll be heading even further away from the NFL this season (UK to Montenegro for my first job!), so I will be relying on SDB more than ever to keep me posted!
Site is perfectly fine. If you really want to do some changes here are some ideas:
– I’d remove all the previous menu points, move all those stuff into an archive menu. You can either have 2 menus: blog/home and archive. Or if you want to have more, you could use different sub-blogs (college blog, draft blog, regular season blog) and put related contents to each of these
– I’d pull in a commenting plugin that breaks down the comments to multiple sections with pagination (so only show like the 10 latest, but you can step to the 3rd comment section to see comments 20-30). It just clean up the looks a bit, but nothing major usability impact in my opinion
– I’d put in 2 search bars if possible. One to search in the content of the blogs (put on the top of the page so users can find it easily), and one if you only want to search in the comment section. (Or you could use 1 searchbox and a dropdown next to it to select in which content the user would like to find something)
– I would love to see certain stuff to be pulled from the blog format and put it in a different format.
Let me clarify: For example: information about prospects (especially the more interesting ones). I want to know things about certain players. I can find those information in different blog posts. One which was posted 2 days ago, one that was posted 3 weeks ago and one that was posted 2 month ago. It is hard to find those older posts. Maybe prospect info and mock drafts could have a standalone sub-page. Drafts are fine with classic blog post style, but I’d use different content style for the prospect information (something like the nfl draft prospect info pages). Actually those can be blog posts, but it would be cool to find all info for a prospect in one place
As for content:
SDB big board… I wanted to make a mock draft platform similar to fanspeak’s (just only for the Hawks, and free, and with a lot more reasonable trade scenarios), but I have no idea how should I put together a big board that is solid. Not saying I’d do it definitely, because it’s a big work, but if I’d have a rock solid SDB big board to use, I might do it next year
Fanposts…There are a couple of guys here who have good eyes and contribute in the comment section regularly. You could ask for trial blog posts from them and if they have time and would like to try it, and they write well, it could help you and this blog with content generating (I’d put these posts also in a subpage so readers know that it is a post not written by you but some other fans)
Thanks for your work!
Also, enjoy your break, you totally deserve it (although I too checked your twitter to see if you’re OK :D)
And also +1 for ad…if you’re open for another medium you could also try youtube
Thought about putting up some paywall for the “advanced” stuff that needs more digging and work on your part, but it’s not that easy to implement nicely and I’m not sure how trusting I am with wordpress paywalls, paying, registration, etc plugins.
If you’d want to monetize this blog, another route could be an SDB online shop (shirt, ball, maybe 1 printed magazine yearly, or things like that)
I wouldn’t mind those stuff
Enjoy the break man. Maybe now is the time to lean on the community. Here’s a few ideas:
1) You have used other writers in the past (Brian or something?) and now may be a good time for them to bring some topics to the forefront.
2) Any any trusted users that live in the area and have attended camp or a practice could give some updates.
3) Maybe some commenters who dive deep into the college scouting (V12 etc.) can create a watch list for positions or teams.
Its the hardest time of the year right now for football but its coming fast. I’m sure we will get Clowney by July so you will have a lot to talk about when you come back!
A break is a very good thing and you should take a good long one for the all work you do for this.
I am grateful, as I find your voice and your opinions on the Seahawks some of the most discerning, balanced, and reasonable around. You do a wonderful job of administering to the community and being very present. Clearly, it’s all greatly appreciated by the folks who read your work.
Personally, I don’t see the need for other voices on here, unless you want to write less than you already do. Other outlets provide plenty of camp updates and likely have better access anyway. So I’m happy to see SDB sleep during the summer and reawaken in August. Cheers.
I assume a lot of your readers have been around long enough to recognize that you usually take a well-deserved break around this time of year.
One of my major regrets, after being on this earth for 75+ years, is that I never took enough time off from working. Eventually, I learned that time off is very important and actually benefits performance once you return to work, you just function better. For a young man with a startup family, such as yourself, it’s even more important. My advise, enjoy time with family, every damn chance you get.
RE: The site and it’s future: This draft, more so than any other, it seems as though many prospects, regardless of their individual performances as college players, IF they didn’t have their heads on straight mentally, they got passed up in the draft. This, in spite of their Sparq #’s, individual testing at the combine, college production #’s & media hype.
The mental aspects of prospects seems to have become one of the more important elements of player evaluation, not just for the Seahawks, but every team. At present, we as fans aren’t privy to much that occurs during the “interview” portions of the evaluation process. I suppose, U-tube video interviews help a little but there are many prospects that we don’t get much information available about regarding the mental side of their game. How that can be fixed, I have no idea, but obviously mental makeup is becoming so much more important each year and likely needs to be considered right along with physical traits, stats and overall college performance.
Rob –
Responding since you asked: I stumbled on your blog years ago, and have followed you faithfully since. Your insight on why the Hawks select who they do has been invaluable. It’s also fostered a greater interest in team building and the draft process.
Just a thank you.
Your blog is so perfect… This is the place for all news Seahawks ! Take a good and well deserved rest, enjoy your family, and, come July, Fire on all cylinders !!! Go Hawks (… and Thank you for your work !!!)
You didn’t need to write this Rob. The quantity of content you put out September to April is insane, I honestly don’t know how you do it with a job and a young family. Enjoy prioritising them over the summer, we’ll all be here when you come back. And if nothing changed on the website? Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest, I come here for the depth and quality of the writing, and the (by internet standards!) sane and reasonable comments section. Best Seahawks site by a mile and it’s not even close. Take care of yourself.
You deserve a long break Rob. Glad you are taking one. Perhaps the best theming would be to just post that you are taking off until camp starts. That way people would know not to check the blog. Whatever, you deserve a break! Great job!
Rob, I really appreciate your effort. I had major surgery just before the draft and your analysis successfully distracted me from a difficult period.
Thanks for providing a great home for Seahawk draft information,
The blog and the work you do is something I really value and it has gotten better each year.
Enjoy the break and time with family! You deserve it mate!
Following Rob’s lead, I would also like to apologize to the community for falling off the map. Not that anything is strictly owed to anyone here (just like Rob doesn’t owe us anything), but we are a community that I feel genuinely cares about each other, something near impossible to create and sustain on today’s internet culture, so I guess it would have been good to at least let everyone know I’d be taking a break. Thanks to those who even sent emails just asking if everything was ok.
I’ll be honest: I cracked long before Rob and kind of burned out before the draft even came along. Maybe I went too hard early on in draft season. Maybe it also had to do with us only having 4 picks and not knowing the range we would end up picking at after trading down. It also coincided with a very busy (in a good way) time for me personally.
But enough about me. Above all, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to Rob and everybody for another great year of Seahawks draft talk! I really enjoyed it overall and look forward to kicking off again in the Fall.
As for the site, I’ve long been interested in helping out in a real way. Many good suggestions have been made in the comments section of several posts over the last couple months, but are often sporadic and then lost in old posts. To help solve this, I’ve created a Trello board to help us all contribute in a more organized way to brainstorming. Then, whenever Rob is ready to move forward, he will have loads of ideas to draw from.
Here is the link:
SDB Site Revamp Brainstorm
https://trello.com/b/C7fmiOJf
You need to sign up for a free Trello account (I suggest using the same user name as you do on SDB), confirm your e-mail, and then you will be able to add suggestions (“cards”) or comment on suggestions that have already been made. You can also give “+1” (thumbs-up icon) to any existing comment to up-vote it.
Rob, if you feel it suitable, maybe you could put this up in a new post to leave the community thinking while you are away. (and, of course, I will make you an admin if you choose to join)
Let me know here in the comments if you have any questions about it.
*Correction:
This is the link you will need to use in order to be able to add suggestions:
https://trello.com/invite/b/C7fmiOJf/1dece88865443dfc9cab610ba903aff9/sdb-site-revamp-brainstorm
I have also enabled voting on the cards themselves, so you can up-vote the suggestion card itself as well as any comment you like.
Mihouse thought u were dead.
In all seriousness though, glad to hear from ya.
😂
THAT WAS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS I EVER READ ON THIS BLOG!
(not the dead part, but the I think I know something happened to Seamode part)
And, if I recall correctly, Millhouse is in Serbia (or the Baltics). Mighty small world we live in….
Your blog is essential reading for Hawks fans. It matters not that you’re a Brit. One suggestion might be to focus more on draft needs than on early speculation about who might be targets.
Hey Rob – this blog is absolute gold. It’s amazing what you have done with essentially a side hustle to your job and family. The site’s aesthetic is very much secondary to the top notch content and analysis you put into it. We greatly appreciate what you do and go take a much deserved break!
Do whatever, just don’t apply for the Jets’ job.
And if ya do, please don’t go Kliff Kingsbury on us and start spying on ur players through fake social media accounts as ‘cute girls.’
Have fun, Rob. Like I told GRRM a few years ago, only write when you feel like it. No pressure. I mean, it’s not like GoT suffered when it ran out of source material…
Also, don’t worry about upgrading the site. You have enough on your plate. We’d all read your stuff even if it was written on a crumpled cocktail napkin. You’re the best.
💯
Hey Rob:
Explain to me why a bloke from the British Isles has one of the best Seahawk blogs. Well, spank those kids for all of us, and we look forward to your return.
Rob,
Take a break whenever you need. This is a blog about passions and interests about football and everything related to it. Primarily draft. But, it also has been a way to talk about various aspects of football, beyond the X’s and O’s. We can talk about prospects, salary cap, trades and injuries. That is refreshing.
I don’t think it is overloaded with “hot takes”. That is actually one of the best aspects of the site. People will bring up a prospect or player, then talk about their game or scheme fit or w/e. I very rarely feel like I’m reading a Stephen A port or article.
I did have one question for everyone….. is it good for the game to have parity and for teams such as the Blues in the NHL and Raptors in the NBA to win championships? I personally can’t stand the Patriots and “historic” winning teams. I love when an up and comer or a team that has never won a championship gets a piece of the pie…. for example imagine if the Browns won the SB… chaos ensues.
Again Rob, thanks for the labor of love you share with us on the internets.
Sure it is. People like different. Shame we couldn’t have seen a healthy series between the Dubs & Rapture though.
BTW, Stephen A. Smith slander will not be tolerated.
Lol. If I so much as see his name or likeness on any page I happen to be on, I close that tab immediately.
No. Just no.
No problems. Glad you are taking a break, it just means a better blog when it counts. In the words of Mitch Hedberg:
“I walked by a dry cleaner at 3 am, and there was a sign: “Sorry, we’re closed” You don’t have to be sorry, it’s 3 am, and you’re a dry cleaner! It would be ridiculous for me to expect you to be open.”
No worries Rob, it’s the off-season after all.
Notes from OTAs and minicamp:
One rookie that is wowing in minicamp with his speed, hands, and larger than life personality is UDFA wide receiver Terry Wright, out of Purdue. I’m hearing he has a legit shot to make the roster.
Jazz Furguson is also showing off his size hands + body control.
Gary Jennings is finally on the practice field and looks good with solid technique.
Metcalf is wowing with size and speed but also has a lot of sloppiness to his routes and catching technique.
Barton is looking great in coverage and breaking up a ton of passes.
Marquise Blair and Ben Burr-Kirven both sidelined. Safety position is very thin, with Hill, Blair and McDougald all sidelined. Tedric Thompson, Shalom Luani and rookie Ugo Amadi are reportedly stepping up in their absences.
Jarran Reed is back on the practice field. Dissly is expected to be ready for the season and take the field sometime a few weeks into training camp, pretty much the same for Ansah, Carroll says they aren’t going to rush anything though.
Bobby Wagner is there coaching up the linebackers while his contract is worked out.
Iupati is struggling through a lot of injuries, as expected. On the bright side Phil Haynes is drawing praise as the first team left guard in Iupati’s absence.
Penny and the Griffen twins are said to be the most improved players so far from last season.
Another UDFA turning heads is big Bryan Mone out of Michigan, who weighs 366 pounds.
Simmons is being looked at at left guard and Jamarco Jones is getting reps as the second string left tackle.
CJ Procise is already injured again. Time to let him go.
Tight end Jacob Hollister, acquired in a trade with New England, is drawing enormous praise from Schottenheimer for his pass catching ability.
Go Hawks!
Nice writeup thanks. It looks like an embarrassment of riches at WR. Gonna be some hard choices to make to get down to 53. I read that Prosise felt something in his hammy towards the end of the last day of minicamp and they just wanted to give him an early start on vacation. But yeah, if it causes him to miss any more time, then they should move on. Homer seems to be the next guy up to be the team’s pass-catching back, and McKissic has special teams value. Same with Iupati, even though I like the guy. He’s just at that stage of his career where recovery is challenging. Also Haynes is turning out to be a helluva prospect.
Thanks for the detailed update, Captain. Will be interesting to see which WRs stick after training camp breaks. We’ve clearly improved our depth but most of these guys are unproven. Sounds like the starters will be Locket, Moore, Brown. DK is a lock so who are the final two? Definitely will come down to special teams and blocking.
As a relative newcomer, how easy is it for us to retain control of rookie WR (or anyone else) who doesn’t make the 53? I’m thinking Ursua and/or Ferguson.
Prosise is hurt? How? I’m baffled. He’s been nothing but durable. We have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray!
Great info. Thanks for taking the time!
Glad you’re taking care of yourself and spending quality family time.
To answer your questions:
– I’m not a fan of college football
– I come here because I like your style of analysis (especially compared to the majority of NFL coverage)
— More specifically, I like the way you cover the Seahawks. To that end, I like what you write about wrt in-season and off-season Seahawks content.
— Additionally, I *really* like the evidence-driven approach you use to draft stuff. It seems like so much other content about the draft is baseless speculation, so your content stands in stark contrast to the other shite. Specifically, I love what you did with TEF and in breaking down Carroll’s end-of-year presser to determine a plan for the offseason.
Take care!
Rob, I am amazed, just like everyone else, that you manage a family and a successful career as well as this blog. As a husband and father with a demanding career of my own, it blows my mind to contemplate putting in the effort you put into this blog.
I love the passion and analytical logic you bring to your research and writing. Your podcasts are professional–clear, concise, and on point. I appreciate having a place to discuss my beloved Seahawks with other passionate fans.
What I like least is that some regular posters are allowed to get away with language and insults of other commenters that are not tolerated from others. You are human, and this is YOUR blog, so you can take my opinion as you will.
You should be quite proud regarding figuring out Seattles preferences in speed, size, etc for DB’s, their stubborn adherence to TEF under Cable, and the other positions you have found out a good bit of the criteria Seattle uses to find “their guys”. Its been wild to see local and national writers pick that stuff up, usually with no attribution.
Ive never felt as at home here, as I did on a couple previous Seahawks blogs that eventually died, but I have appreciated your usual insistence on civility in the comments–though admittedly I have been guilty of failing that litmus test on several occasions (and paid for it).
We dont always see eye to eye, and we’ve had our differences. The hardest part there was having comments deleted unfairly (in my opinion) with no reason given, and no way to explain, elaborate, or hash things out. However, as I said, this is your blog and you may do as you wish. You run a fine blog, and your overall performance is pretty damn fine. If thisblog was your career, youd be a success fir that alone in my mind.
And on a Human note: take the time you need Rob. Burnout can be avoided if you catch yourself in time. And like others have said, you will come back stronger because you took time for yourself and your family. You are a good man. Best wishes to you and your family.
Don’t modernize the layout. I have seen so many disastrous results when that is attempted. The site Golfwrx. tried it a couple of months ago and had so many complaints they reverted to prior and even put a banner on top announcing they would restore.
This site is extremely readable. The only problem I have is when I arrive late to a thread and there are something like 381 comments. At that point I think…why bother? But that is typically reserved for draft live blogging.
A brief editing period would be immensely helpful. I saw someone mention that early in the thread. Very often here I make a silly mistake and want to edit it, but cannot. Then I have to decide whether a brief auxiliary post mentioning the mistake is proper, or simply superfluous.
You should take more time off and don’t worry about it in the slightest. June football is like January gardening in northern Canada.
I agree with so many here. BEST SEAHAWKS BLOG EVER.
What to do with it? Keep covering more topics outside of the draft, when you can. Give us more scouting on the Seahawks players, as well as scouting the college players, when you can.
And don’t sacrifice quality by trying to fill up the blog with lesser content. There is too much crap content on the internet already. We come here because YOU are a great football analyst. So charge us, or remind us to donate more, if you need to.
Hey Rob, with as much work as you put into this, I would just suggest to get some help from someone in the community that does IT or graphics design. That would help some.
Maybe have someone like Kip do an occasional article?
CJ Prosise, hamstring injury. Time to cut bait. If you can trade him for a conditional pick, even better. Plenty of other guys to fill that spot on the roster now.
During the end of camp PC press conference (June 11), he singled out Moore and Ursula as having very strong camps. Moore was said to have made a “big jump” going into year 3 of the program. If this is true, there are going to be some fine WR prospects cut from the roster at the end of the preseason. You could potentially get Moore, Metcalf, Lockette and Brown out on the field at the same time. This could be a very strong attacking offense. Very good size and speed at all 4 WR positions. Exciting times to be sure.
The best thing PC said about Moore (IMO) is he can play all the WR positions now. If he can translate a great offseason onto the field in the regular season, that gives the Hawks tons of versatility. Moore, Lockett and Brown can line up many different ways without a personnel change. Lockett won’t be stuck having the top CB always on him.
Sub Metcalf for Brown and line Lockett up in the slot and Metcalf wide next to him.
* send both on go routes and open up the soft zone for Moore & TE’s to work the middle
* create a “legal pick” play where Lockett tucks behind Metcalf and he just stands there with his 6-4, 232 frame
Move Moore to the slot next to Metcalf and have Lockett wide left
* have Lockett jet sweep with Moore and Metcalf blocking (and Fant TE for good measure!)
All kinds of fun possibilities.
Rob, I see this site as the last bastion of passion. With everyone else selling their souls to get full time pay out of this sort of work and spilling out useless content as a result, it’s always a breath of fresh air to visit. (Btw, it’s a crime of cosmic scale that you can’t make a living doing this these days)
It may sound crass, but I don’t want you to care what I think. I want you to do your thing on your terms. I will still be here because, quite frankly, you’re useless to me if you’re dead (or worse – burned out).
I will continue to visit your site because of your passion and insight, not because of how many posts you author a week. I care about what you think because you do. Don’t F that up.
Regards and greetings
From UTC-08:00
I think your being to hard on yourself Rob. I’ve been coming to this site for 10 years since I retired and its just part of my morning routine. In all this time its always been a down time at this point in the year unless something bad happens like an ATV accident or an arrest. There not much really to evaluate from mini camps with no hitting, guys missing time due to injuries, or a backup in deal for an unknown player to bring more competition into camp. This is the perfect time for you to take that much needed and well deserved vacation. Remember all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So get out and live a little while its the time of the year to do it. Most of here aren’t going anywhere because this site covers more about the Seahawks than any other website and I included the official Seahawks website. Enjoy and come back refreshed for training camp when we actually get to see the hit each other. I’m hoping sometime soon you’ll find you have to jump on with an article about the time Bobby signs a new contract that’s the next post I like to see you write about. Well get some rest until then and come back with a vengeance for the start of the season. Go Hawks
Rob, I think we all agree that the website is fantastic just in its current form. If anything were to change its that you need paid to do this full time or you could benefit from at least one more person helping out during the season.
I have always thought a Saturday write up about what players or coaching strategies to look forward towards the next game would get us game day chatting.
Thank you for this site if anyone but one more year it’s the best Seahawks place to be to chat.
Since I’m in thailand I must get back to vacationing but wanted to give m2t.
Thailand what an amazing place, the only spot Ive been that is even remotely as fun is Italy, enjoy.
@sea mode
Man, I am so glad you are here again. 🙂
😁
Since you weren’t here during, thoughts on Seattle’s draft?
Favorite pick? Least favorite?
Feeling what any other team accomplished?
I’m a very big fan of your work. Keep up the amazing work and take the long deserved rest.
“This is SPARTA!” is what I really wanted to post on the prior Google Hangouts thread which is stuck at 299… Would’ve been the 300th comment.
I have nothing more of import to add. Hope everyone is well and Rob – we’ll see ya when we see ya. Enjoy the time away!
I come here for the Seahawksy take on things. As a recent returnee to following the NFL, it quickly became obvious that mainstream journalism treats almost all teams the same. I appreciate there’s an element of pragmatism in that, but they seem to manage to understand Belichick is different, but tend not to go beyond that.
This site’s ability to get into the JS/PC way of doing things ‘ is one of – if not the – best out there.
The fact you’re a Brit is just a bonus.
Get out there and enjoy your ‘time off’, looks like the weather is picking up too.
Sneekes (in Southport)
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/former-seahawks-quarterback-boykin-indicted-150030206.html
What a piece of piss
It is just sad, that talented people, waste their lives by doing stupid things.
It makes more sense why the Seahawks cut him last year, now that the story is coming out.
Family first brother. Been a 12 since 1976. It is a pleasure to read your thoughts!
This is my nightly reading site from August-post draft. Thank you for all your hard work. Enjoy your time with the family. We’ll be back when you are.
Long time reader, first time poster.
Thank you for all the content you put out for free, on your own time away from your day gig and young family. I have become a much better student of the game and an informed follower of the Hawks and the the league at large because of all the hours you put in grinding tape and then explaining in a way through your writing that is easy to understand. I could care less if it’s a geocities site – the amazing content you consitently grind out is what keeps me coming back. Thank you.
Rob, your content is one of the best sources of information about the Seahawks. Keep up the great work (after a well deserved break).
In case anyone missed a pretty cool demonstration of Fant’s athletic ability.
https://twitter.com/BendixenNFL/status/1142708845627625472
Top 7 worst moves (so far) in the NFL offseason (according to ESPN)
#3 on the list RW’s new contract.
Talk about clickbait. SMDH.
Is this the season that an AFC team finally knocks out New England for the conference crown?
The Chiefs or Colts wouldn’t be a surprise to pull it off. Please pump some life and excitement into the Super Bowl with a fresh representative.
Don’t sleep on the Chargers. That defense is absolutely loaded.
Shouldn’t leave the Browns out of that either.
I also think the Bills could be a decent sleeper this year, really good D with a smart coach, improved receiving core and OL, all it’ll take is for Josh Allen to take that step up and capitalise on his unreal physical skills, something I’m far more convinced he’ll do after watching him at the end of last season compared to when he was coming out of College.
Chicago Bears need to sign Wayne Rooney!
https://mobile.twitter.com/MLS/status/1144038107068739585
And MLS needs to abolish the salary cap