This is the start of a guest-post series written by Curtis Allen
#1 Quarterback
Players under contract for 2021: Russell Wilson
Players under contract for 2022: Russell Wilson
2021 Cap Commitment: $32,000,000 (18% of $178m cap)
Restricted Free Agents: none
Unrestricted Free Agents: Geno Smith
Exclusive Rights Free Agents: none
Futures Contract Signings: Danny Etling, Alex McGough
Salary Cap Notes:
Russell Wilson signed through 2023 season
-Currently $7m cap hit if cut or traded before 2021 ($39m dead money)
-$11m savings if cut or traded before 2022 ($26m dead money)
-$26m savings if cut or traded before 2023 ($13m dead money)
He has been amenable to a contract restructure to acquire other players in the past
2020 Season Overview
The basics:
-He started all 16 games for the ninth season in a row. He’s been incredibly durable.
-Wilson had career-highs in passing attempts, touchdowns, first downs and QBR.
-His completion percentage of 68.8 was also a career high.
-He was not supported by his teammates all that well. The team had 27 dropped passes this year — a big increase from the 18 in 2019 and the 17 in 2018. Catch six of those 27 drops and Russell hits the magic 70% completion rate number.
-He also had a career-high in interceptions.
-He was sacked 47 times, his third-worst season to date.
-His rushing and passing yards accounted for 75% of the Seahawks’ offensive yardage in 2020 – about the same as 2019 (74.3%).
The numbers on the whole do not look all that bad but a deeper dive reveals how bewildering a season it was for Russell:
After only three games, he had fourteen touchdowns and only one interception. In the final eight games, he recorded twelve touchdowns and had five interceptions.
What happened?
Weeks nine and ten might be the worst two game stretch of Russell’s career. In those demoralizing losses the Bills and Rams, Russell was fighting the scoreboard the whole game. The opposing offense ran up 17 points in each game very quickly to put a lot of pressure on the offense.
As a consequence he was sacked eleven times, had an incredible seven turnovers and only two touchdown passes. It was clear that Russell was pressing, constantly hearing pass rush footsteps and trying to do too much. It appeared that defenses had figured out ways to limit this explosive offense.
After those two weeks, Pete Carroll took over the offense and the passing game was significantly reined in.
The offensive play calling and game strategy from then on did not give Russell the best chance for success but even so he constantly seemed to have trouble executing the plays called. He was obviously struggling to find a middle ground between ball security and aggression.
Another factor was the running backs once again missed large chunks of games. Russell was the leading rusher in a full quarter of the games this season and in many others the defense knew they could key on him and not worry about the running game.
In summary, Russell’s year was exhilarating, frustrating and when times were both good and bad, it was far more difficult than it should have been.
The Seahawks have one of the biggest roster assets in the modern game — a franchise quarterback, locked into a contract and in his prime.
One of the strongest points of emphasis for this offseason needs to be, how does he fit this team? And if they deem he is still a fit, how do they assure his continued success?
Offseason Questions to Address
1. Can Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson get on the same page?
It was credibly reported that Russell made a near-ultimatum in the 2020 offseason to let him be more aggressive passing the ball early in the game. The Seahawks apparently heeded the request and the results were amazing to watch early on.
But as the season wore on, the team came back to the more conservative approach that Pete Carroll favors. Carroll then in his season ending press conference dropped two big pieces of information — that he had reined in the offense to limit turnovers and had no problem with low scoring wins. Then he stated his main offensive goal for 2021 was to run the ball more.
The next day Brian Schottenheimer and the Seahawks parted ways, citing ‘philosophical differences’.
It seems evident those differences were in play during the season and Russell was caught in the middle, trying to reconcile them in real time on the field. Absent a consistent running game and above-average pass protection, the results were a seriously mixed bag.
He was trying to run the offense, protect a porous defense and keep two coaches with unaligned principles unified. That is just too many fronts to be fighting a war on. His play evidenced a mental fatigue.
There must be a meeting of the minds some time this offseason. Can Russell and Pete find a middle ground in their choice of offensive coordinator? Can they agree on core concepts that can both inform their personnel choices and get the offense working properly?
When Pete was pontificating about his run heavy philosophy in the end of season conference, he tossed in an offhanded “..and Russ knows this” comment. Pete has definitely thrown the gauntlet down — between his conference and the parting of ways with an offensive coordinator who helped Russell have his best years as a pro.
Russell then had his own press conference, where he expressed (very positively and diplomatically) a different vision for the offense.
Does Russell really understand the depth of Pete’s conviction? He said they’ve talked extensively but have they really had a heart to heart and come to an understanding about the way to offensive success with this team?
If they cannot come to a middle ground, will Russell still want to play within the bounds of Pete Carroll’s coaching?
Stay tuned.
2. What kind of roster support will the team give Russ?
Let’s assume that Russ is on the team in 2021.
They have several decisions to make at the running back position, and obviously they will affect the play of the quarterback.
Chris Carson is an unrestricted free agent. Do they bring him back? He actually proved to be a weapon in the passing game in 2020 as well. He caught four touchdown passes.
How about the center and left guard positions? They were adequate in 2020 but not sparkling. Would some cap dollars spent there give him better protection against the tough interior defensive lineman in the division and allow them to rein back the insane amount of pressure to be a one-man offense he felt this season?
And what about the defense? It could be argued that with Lockett, Metcalf, Penny, Dissly, and Parkinson and then in adding a top running back like Carson, Russ has weapons on offense, and a more consistent vision and game plan that utilizes the talent already in-house could have just as big an effect as adding new personnel.
Therefore, fortifying the defense could in fact be the most sound roster avenue to pursue when considering how to make your quarterback more successful. A stronger defense would give Russ better field position and not put the offense in giant holes to dig out of.
3. What does Russ want?
As a rookie his focus was clear, his intentions were direct and obvious. Success at whatever cost. The only phrase he uttered more often than ‘go hawks’ was ‘no time to sleep’ and ‘the separation is in the preparation.’
It is not easy to reconcile that mindset with what he presents now. The public parts of his life outside of football have grown higher and higher in profile and he seems enamored with them.
There is no questioning he is entitled to a personal life, as we all are. But it’s not unfair to wonder out loud if the volume of content he shows the public is affecting his focus on football.
He recently commented that ‘every minute of his life is scheduled during the regular season.’ Is that healthy and productive?
In 2020 the phrases he talked about changed. He wants to be the ‘best ever’, he wants to be ‘Montana and Rice’ with D.K. Metcalf and there definitely is a desire to be recognized as an MVP.
Let’s take that comparison and run with it a little.
Does Russ understand that Joe Montana only led the league in touchdown passes twice in his career?
The Niners also frequently ran out a top-10 defense during Montana’s prime.
Montana’s most revered quality isn’t his volume of numbers but his ability to marshal his team down the field and consistently be able to make winning plays in the face of massive pressure – does Russell get that?
Where is this all leading? He wants to win, there’s no doubt about that. He named his newborn son ‘Win’ this year. Does he really want to stay in Seattle and make a legacy here?
Will his preference to run a more up-tempo offense that produces huge numbers outweigh his trust in Pete Carroll to win championships with his chosen style?
He is at the peak of his sport. He speaks of having the ‘most touchdowns passes ever’ and winning the ‘most championships ever’. While lofty goals and ambition are highly desirable qualities to have, he may have to one day soon choose between stats and championships. Which will he choose?
4. How big a factor is Russell’s contract?
The guaranteed salary portion of his contract has completed but the balance of the $65million signing bonus still needs to be accounted for.
If the team were to trade Russell, there would be a balance of $39million in dead money that would hit the 2021 salary cap (or put another way, a $7m cap hit over and above what he is planned for in 2021). This would cut the team’s available cap room down significantly, as well as create a huge roster hole at quarterback.
If Russell decides he cannot play in Seattle in 2021 and requests a trade, the Seahawks would likely have little choice but to honor his request and take the cap hit in order to get max value in return. This would require getting very creative to open the cap room for the hit as well as the salary for his replacement.
What about the Seahawks? How deep is Pete Carroll’s commitment to restoring his vision? Would they be so bold as to take the initiative and trade Russell Wilson away?
Paying a quarterback top wages to run a ball control offense predicated on establishing the run has never made logical sense to many. But Pete has found someone that combines skill with grasping his positive-mentality approach, perhaps more closely than any other player he has ever coached.
Couple that with the fact he has had so much success with Russell, it would appear unlikely that he would initiate such a radical change to the roster at this stage.
But then, trading two first-round picks for a strong safety appeared very unlikely last year, and here we are.
Rob’s thoughts on this draft class and potential Seahawks targets
I think this is a reasonable class of quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence will go first overall and Zach Wilson and Justin Fields will also go shortly after.
The second tier has talent but question marks. Stanford’s Davis Mills has the big recruiting reputation from a few years ago. Everyone wanted him and his physical profile is seriously underrated. Not many quarterbacks with his frame run a 4.32 short shuttle and jump a 32 inch vertical.
He’s exactly the type of player pro teams covet. Accurate, can make every throw and poised. Don’t be surprised if he goes a lot earlier than people are currently projecting.
Trey Lance had a great 2019 season and has the movement skills and the ability to thrown downfield on the run that is very popular in the NFL these days. Yet his only game in 2020 was a clunker and teams will have to balance out his potential vs reality.
Kellen Mond has fantastic arm strength and can flick the ball downfield with great velocity and little back-lift. There’s a bit of Colin Kaepernick to his frame — although he’s nowhere near as fast as Kaepernick when running. He was a much more consistent player in 2020 and took a big step forward. He has talent.
Mac Jones was prolific for Alabama but he was also surrounded by elite college talent. Whether he has the physical upside to go as early a some are suggesting remains to be seen. He doesn’t have a huge arm and throwing into tighter windows will be a chore at the next level. Yet he can manage an offense and distribute the ball with timing.
For more on the draft please check out my interview with NC State’s Alim McNeill:
You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.
Very informative position review!
In your opinion will the OC hire and RW’s inclusion in the process go a long way toward answering some of the questions? Will Russ be OK if they hire someone who runs a West Coast offense – is that even a factor?
It’s definitely an ongoing matter. There’s still plenty of ways it could go.
Russ and Pete could decide to part ways this offseason.
They could agree on an OC but Pete could overrule him and force it back to his preferred style. At which point Russ would have a decision to make in 2021.
Russ could decide winning is the most important thing and be convinced that Pete’s way of doing things is his best shot at more rings.
Rob, if Wilson should be traded and we get a high pick (for discussion’s sake #2), which of the QBs you’d like to have us draft?
Cha, thanks for taking the time to do this, it’s quite interesting. I disagree somewhat on calling Penny and Dissly weapons, but maybe the new OC will use them better.
I’d rather not answer that unless it happens Mick and I will then study the QB’s thoroughly
Wow. Quick passes in the flat to blunt the Rams’ pass rush.
Who would’ve thought.
Can’t believe they aren’t trying the ‘sit in the pocket and try a long bomb’ tactic.
I can’t bring myself to watch this game, by the way.
McVay just called a timeout on 4th and 1, followed by a Rams false start.
Sounds familiar. I’m with Rob, I can’t watch it either.
Wonder if that’s something he added to his playbook after he saw it last week? 😉
Can’t blame you, Rob, but it is a good football game and the Rams are staying in it.
I’m not in the mood to watch it. I’m watching draft prospects instead.
I hear ya rob! I watched leon on the way in which is a great film!!
Now I’m at half time I feel less pain as at least I enjoyed the film!!
Maybe there’s a lesson in that for the Hawks. Of course, making that work isn’t all on the QB. It takes WR, TE, RB personnel who can get open quickly and it depends on the OL.
I think the Seahawks should hire a new offensive coordinator.
or a new Head coach..
The first TD throw to Adams literally took ONE second from snap. Donald has been irrelevant so far. I hope Russell is watching the game and paying attention.
Nice write up Cha. Look forward to the rest of it.
My ideal scene: Pete Carroll unveils a plan, basics of which were agreed between he and Paul Allen (RIP) before he passed: Pete steps back to a 30,000-ft position which is: designed to set the continuing tone for the team, leave a legacy for the organization, and hire an individual the best individual for the long-term success of the franchise. In turn, he selects Eric Bieniemy as head coach.
I don’t get all this Eric Bienemy hype.
If he brings Andy Reid and Pat Mahomes with him, I’m down.
Great article per usual, Cha.
I am watching this game and rooting against the Rams (yes, I also hate the Packers, but FTR especially since they just beat us).
1. Sign Linsley or Scherff
2. Draft Banks or a center
3. Sign Juju, Godwin, or ARob
4. Develop Colby
Offense will be fixed.
Aaron Donald so frustrated that Green Bay is handling him he gets a PF foul. Hey Aaron, play harder. This isn’t the Seahawks o-line so there’s not any matadors.
Quick passing? Check
Tough inside running? Check
Goading Aaron Donald into penalties? Check
Must be some kind of secret formula to beat LA. I mean quick passing to neutralize their pass rush? Naw, long slow developing deep patterns are a much better approach.
Seeing Packs methodically handle Rams D, how disgusting Hawks offense was. Pure stubbornness and arrogance.
Its nice to see Donald being handled and pissed off.
Forget Doug Pederson then…
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/doug-pederson-very-unlikely-to-take-a-coordinator-role-despite-interest-expected-to-sit-out-2021/
Still, the Seahawks are doing a sterling job leaking into the media all these juicy names to make it seem like they’ve done a really thorough search before appointing Dave Canales or Shane Steichen.
Couldn’t find anything about Doug in that article?
For some reason the link flips to the next article if you scroll down too far. I’ve edited it now, back to the Pederson article.
Here’s the gist…
Would’ve never guessed it would end up being a total yes man like Norton, Schneider, etc.
forget anyone else besides yes men. KNJ still on track to keep his job…that’s our indicator.
Vrabel’s assistants are getting HC jobs. Pete’s assistants are getting fired or sucking. there is another indicator.
I just have this horrible sinking feeling that the defense will play like crap again in 2021…
And we’ll come to rue a 2020 schedule that had us finish against Colt McCoy, Dwayne Haskins, Jared Goff, CJ Beathard and the winless Jets…
But hey, maybe Jamal will get 10 sacks while ranking 101st in coverage so at least we can um……”enjoy” that.
Cigars out
Bingo
Sorry Curtis, I did not give this recipe a close read cause Russ cannot cook. There is no recipe other than the legion of boom that will get Russel back to the Superbowl. Of course it’s rare for any qb to play in one Superbowl let alone two. Wilson is not a franchise qb in my opinion for three reasons…1-he needs an elite defense. 2- he needs an elite on-line. 3- he’s too damn short…or lacks vision in the middle of the field. Carrol can hire whatever offensive coordinator he desires, but for every play for the rest of Russel’s career he will see the two high safety look. If they keep Wilson beyond next year…they have better go get a dynamic running qb like Payton did with Hill to counter that look. Rob has talked about Zach Wilson from byu… he’ll be long gone…but who is there in this draft class that can provide that change up? I wouldn’t throw some money at Mariota if he encounters a cool market. The problem here is the solution…qauterback.
Is Jalen Ramsey disrespecting Jamal Adams?
Don’t know if he wore the 4 armbands before, but he definitely didn’t last week.
Packers OL is holding up in spots but the majority of these throws are gone lightning quick
Packers. Running the ball and quick passing game against this best defense in the world as Pete called it. What a novel concept and game plan.
Mind blowing, isn’t it?
You have to be a real genius to cook up a plan like this.
Most other coaches clearly would’ve had their QB sit in the pocket trying to throw deep, with Aaron Donald right in their grill.
Matt LaFleur must have some kind of magic playbook with all this ‘quick passing’ stuff.
Saddest thing if all is that Pete won’t change is approach to LA next….oh hell, ever.
Unfortunate reality is, Pete does not have players to match his scheme. Yes men cannot squeeze juice out of this.
It’s great when you have a OC who can design plays to counteract the so called best defense in the league. Just want Pete to hire a young and up coming OC but dreading the puppet yes man we will end up with.
I hate both of these teams.
That said, the 2 back set with Dillon and Jones is giving the Rams absolute fits. If nobody goes with jones he’s in the flat with space, if someone does travel with him it’s man on man with a 250# freak coming downhill with no extra help.
So simple. So effective.
Packers Vs Chiefs SB. that’s one heck of a match up. Lets book it.
Rematch of Super Bowl I
Some of us are so old we actually watched that game.
Sigh
Here’s hoping it’s Bills vs. Saints.
Frustrating
The Packers offensive creativity today is what I wanted the Seahawks to employ
The pass to Adams for the TD, why couldn’t DK do this? Play him man up, wreck them.
Could have called a play like that if our OC could have adapted a game plan in the second half of the season.
Or if the Head Coach would get the F out of the way.
Carroll, the man in charge, could never — you know — suggest a game plan like this.
The Seahawks have a $35m quarterback. They need a coach in charge who will scheme and plan for that QB to thrive, just as LaFleur is doing in GB.
But that aint going to happen.
For five more years.
During which the team has little to no chance to get to a Super Bowl.
This game goes to show how unacceptable the Seahawks offensive line building approach has been. This was the “best line of Russ’ career” according to many and it’s not close to this Packers OL which is missing it’s best player in Bahktiari.
LG / C have been playing well this game (and all season) for the Packers. I’ve thought this was the Seahawks weakness this last season…… specifically the rotating LG spot the last 2 seasons.
Center is huge. Linsely is an all-pro caliber player and Pocic is barely average and it kills the running game.
Upgrades badly needed and there are quality vets avaliable this yr in free agency just again worried Seahawks will be shopping in the bargain bin.
Seahawks flat out cant scout/evaluate o lineman
They also refuse to pay top dollar for them on FA.
Guess who their best OL has been? Duane Brown, whom they traded a 2nd and 3rd for and gave a healthy extension.
I would be very surprised if he played a full season next year, starting to show some serious wear and tear
Lewis played well, Shell was more than serviceable at RT….. they certainty have had some whiffs, but they also hit on a few as of late.
You have to be kidding me. Last year, against a worse Packers team, the Seahawks were down 21-3 at halftime. The Packers have scored on every possession so far and this Rams team, with an injured Donald and Goff, are only down 19-10. So not only are the Packers showing how to score on every possession against this Rams D, the Rams “Goffense” started better than ours against this team last year. 🙁
Called good coaching
Like to see the likes Mack and De Castro added to the Seahawks interior line to counter the likes of Donald. Just feel we have money tied up in the wrong players 17m to a middle LB and potentially 15 million plus to a pass rushing SS. The trenches is where money needs to be spent.
Mark my words, that one trick pony…..er, pass rushing SS will cost more than 15 my friend.
He will ask for $20m and will probably settle for $18m.
SDB PSA: Buy your lotto tickets
Too bad it wouldn’t be enough to buy the Seahawks
Do you want the good news?
Russell Wilson is watching this in Mexico. And there’s no way he’s going to accept a crappy OC appointment.
Do you want the bad news?
If they appoint a crappy OC anyway… watch out…
Man I don’t get that hawkblogger tweet you responded to… was that supposed to be a defense of Pete?
Run game + short passes against the #1 D… and also 48 TD to 5 INT in the previous 16 games. Turns out you can actually “do what it takes to win” and win the MVP. The two are kinda related, actually.
I think Brian’s point was more aimed at those who think you have to be ultra-modern, high-passing all the time.
I just replied in the way I did because I wanted to moan about the situation. The Seahawks’ game planning is absolutely pants.
Eh, to me that’s a strawman. No one who isn’t trolling or worth listening to actually thinks you should only ever pass the ball at 75%+ of the time.
I like Brian – but he’s reflexively a defender of Pete as if he is just some innocent bystander in this whole thing. A little too naive for a very smart guy.
Packers draft a QB and Rodgers plays pissed pff and gets an MVP.
Maybe we should draft a QB.
Might not have a choice
I noticed the Seahawks have two quarterbacks I’ve never heard of on the practice squad. Why not start one on the first game next year and really piss Wilson off?
Aaron Jones…. LOL
He’s really good…better than chris carson
I think I and a lot of other hawks fans have been overestimating how good chris carson is. we might be surprised by how little he signs for this offseason. Maybe like a $5-7 mill deal.
Oh man, I remember on Seahawks reddit a few months back most were insisting Carson was easily a top 5 guy better than Zeke, Aaron Jones, Kamara, etc. Basically they’d only say Henry and Dalvin were better. What utter nonsense.
Carson is not worth anything more then 4 million a year at very best
Skip Bayless: “Aaron Jones is the real MVP”
(i’d guess)
Yeah chris carson is solid but isn’t those guys. I mean according to Seahawks fans we have the best safety, linebacker, quarterback, and wide receiver but then lose in the first round of the playoffs solely because of Pete Carroll. So I don’t know if we can take a lot of them too seriously.
They just extended the GM for six years… According to Brock and Salk worth it for “the culture.” They then went on to blame the roster for the last few playoff losses.
You just know Carroll’s watching this and saying to himself “look at that run game win” while conveniently ignoring that it was actually set up by the short & intermediate passing game.
He’s probably thinking… ‘we need to fix the OL as a priority’…
Cue two signings at $2m a pop and $15m spent on retaining a bunch of average RFA’s while Brandon Scherff signs with the Rams.
Jack Conklin laughed at your post.
I cried a little tho
I think Luke jockel is available for 8 mill…
Crying a little harder….
The Seahawks are really good at signing FA to 1 year deals when they would be better off setting that money on fire and using it to heat the building.
Goff is outplaying Rodgers. This is hilarious.
Don’t believe you would’ve said this if Lazar catches that near sure TD pass and it’s 32-10 right now.
What about the pass right before where Rodgers missed MVS wide open? He’s missed at least six other throws too throughout the game. Goff has flat out been more accurate.
Obviously I’m not saying he’s better or even in the same league, it’s just the case today.
Fair
That was a fantastic play for a 2pt conversion. what creativity!
Insert Black Panther “we don’t do that here” meme
🙁
Time for Aaron Donald to earn his money. If he takes over the game here the Rams have a good shot.
Or time for the likely MVP to take over the game and drive GB down for a TD?
Doesn’t hurt when his o-line picks up a blitz on 3rd and 6 giving him time to find Lazar for the 1st.
Nope
Those misses and drops from before are haunting them rn
Josh McDaniels might become HC of Eagles….. LMFAO… good luck friend
Wow, Zardarius smith got punked there
Cam Akers is the truth. So mad the Rams got him.
#1 Offense just smoked the #1 defense and it could’ve been worse with better execution by QB and WRs. Opportunities were there all day.
Yyyyyyup – at some point, maybe Pete will understand that the days of 13-10 are over. He has the weapons in offense – build a multiple attack and target opponents weaknesses.
It wasn’t a smokin, more a methodical movement of the ball on long drives.
The defense was missing Donald for about 30% of the snaps, which changes the Rams defense considerably. And Goff played well until the 4th quarter, then folded the tent.
They scored on, what, every drive but two (not including this kneel down drive)? That’s a smokin. The Rams allowed 18 points per game and the Packers just put 32 up on em, almost double. That’s a smokin.
Unless your definition of smokin is, what, 40+ points?
Donald missed a bunch of snaps against the Seahawks and it didn’t matter much.
Not sure why you’re mentioning Goff as I was solely discussing the Packers O vs. the Rams D.
Well said OP. GB could’ve easily dropped like 43.
Aaron Donald is going to go down as a top 5 (top 3 in my book) defensive player of all time. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that him being injured might have had something to do with the final score.
http://twitter.com/LopezOnSports/status/1350568072474669062
I, for one, am greatly disappointed by the Seahawks’ 2020 season. But it’s always nice to remember that I could be a Texans fan.
Also, if this is the type of stuff that happens between Russ and the Seahawks, I will be very sad.
That’s one way to look at it. The other way is the Seahawks have exactly the same number of playoff wins the last three seasons as the Texans, 1. Which coincidentally is also the same number of playoff wins the Browns have in the last three seasons. So in a way, you could argue the Browns and Texans have been just as successful as the Seahawks the last three years.
This. The metric for ‘an excellent season’ should be playoff wins
Just as last years Super Bowl, the number 1 offense defeats the number 1 defense. It just goes to show you are better off with a great offense and a modest defense rather than the other way around. With the new rules defense will never carry the impact on games as it did years ago. I don’t know where that leaves the Seahawks.
Not getting to a Super Bowl
I don’t agree here. A great defense can still prevail. The Niners should’ve won last year but didn’t finish.
My take is that often the superbowl teams have both good offense and defense. But the passes come out so fast, that the defense have a hard time stopping them. Watching teams like Green Bay or KC. They make everyone look bad regardless of defense.
Unless you have a truly elite defense; I think the best (realistic) formula is great offense, good defense. I think that gives you the greatest margin of error.
Pete’s proclaimed “Best Defense in the World” got schooled today. Could’ve easily been 40+ points. Instead of kissing their @ss, maybe he should figure out a way to BEAT the Rams.
Now tell me why Nathaniel Hackett shouldn’t be on the top of the list for OC in Seattle… GB just put over 200 on the ground against LA, an ultimate demo of “Pete ball”.
Because he’s already the OC in Green Bay?
A better team?
With better prospects to become a Head Coach one day?
People go on about play-calling — does anyone seriously think Nathaniel Hackett would prefer to run Pete Carroll’s offense with him meddling on 4th and 1 than just crack on helping run Green Bay’s offense???
One other thing — Pete Carroll replaced Hackett’s dad at USC after he was fired. So let’s not assume there’s a great love between the Hackett family and Carroll either.
Rob, all great points, I apologize I forgot to add the /s at the end of my comment, it was meant to be sarcastic which is even better considering the point about Hackett’s dad, totally forgot that! Keep up the great work!
Rodgers played MVP ball. Only 2 passes into danger, otherwise…. perfecto.
He missed a bunch of throws in the game. I counted at least six in the first half alone. Mostly managed the game. Goff was actually more accurate.
To be clear, he played very well and got the ball out on time in structure and managed a few collapsing pockets. Not sure about MVP level or “perfecto” but he played very well.
Interesting debates continue to take place re: blame apportioned to Russ, to the OL, and to the scheme.
https://twitter.com/wprice23/status/1350586153372512257
I don’t doubt all 3 can improve next year: Russ return to form and play more disciplined within structure, OL personnel, and quality of OC. I also doubt they will, sadly.
See, I don’t know. I just don’t know.
Great tweet Jamal.
Really showed the Rams there.
Maybe the NFL will let the Seahawks play this weekend after all.
Sometimes you need a clutch between your brain and your mouth. Cha is right, I just don’t know …
This is kind of funny
Is it?
I just think it’s lame.
They kicked our arse last week and all we can do is send them silly tweets a week later.
I could see how it comes off that way. To me it seems pretty playful and not something I’m surprised someone like Jamal whose constantly talking would say
Pathetic
I know it makes we wonder what we could get with a sign and trade.
That is some pretty weak smack talk.
That’s something Bobby Wagner would never do, and it’s not like he can’t trash talk. Or Sherman let’s say. Adams should learn to keep his mouth shut.
This is random but why doesn’t anybody talk about how bad off ball linebacker contracts have been lately.
Cj Mosley: terrible contract
Kwon Alexander: terrible contract
Jaylon smith: terrible contract
Deion jones, Myles jack shaq thompson, and Cory littleton have all been okay but I would hardly call them difference makers.
There’s no way the Seahawks can pay Bobby, kJ, and Jamal who is basically a linebacker huge contracts while not paying their offensive and defensive lines. To me it would be like paying multiple running backs a bunch of money and paying nothing to offensive line.
But also the positions the hawks seem to pay confuses me 😅
Got a post on this coming on Monday (unless they appoint a new OC).
👍
This is why I didn’t like the Jordyn Brooks pick. I’m actually liking Brooks but it’s not a good use of resources.
PC/JS treat draft picks and cap space like gift cards they got on their birthday.
I think it was a good pick, but you can’t afford to pay a bunch of linebackers if you have a good young player at that position.
John and Pete with few exceptions have only given large extensions to guys who have “been in their program” and I don’t think that is always the right way to build a team especially when they haven’t drafted and developed guys well recently.
Brooks looks fine.
That’s it.
Compared to lj collier, rashaad penny, and Malik McDowell he’s ray lewis.
Maybe so but we need to get out of comparing their previous bad picks and start analysing whether the best use of your primary resource a year ago was on a non pass rushing linebacker.
I’m mostly in agreement with you, they have too many resources at unimportant positions.
My point is that with brooks is looking solid so they need to move on from guys like Bobby Wagner and/or Jamal adams and pay more important positions. Also it would get them some picks and make our mock draft season more interesting lol.
I like Brooks fine, but life would be so much easier if we had a bell cow at RB moving forward. Colts have a franchise RB moving forward, and we have a WILL who doesn’t suck.
Yeah I hear that. It’s a good pick if they move Bobby tho. He’s been incredible, it sucks, but….sacrifices need to be made: Russ, Bobby, Jamal, pick 2, bonus if there is only 1 imo.
I figure they picked Brooks a year early so they could train him up to replace Wagner or Wright. As it turns out both Wagner and Wright look like they got a few years left in them.
Yes. They certainly have some years left but the cap hit for Wright Wagner and adams will be over $40mill and they can’t pay linebackers that with Russell Wilson’s contract.
they wouldn’t have had to pick him if they didn’t whiff on Ben Burr-Kirven or Cody Barton
They have missed on Cody Barton so far with them trading up in the 3rd round. I think if you asked the Seahawks they’ve been happy with bbk being a solid special team player and backup. They didn’t draft him thinking he was a starter.
I wish Paul Allen was here.
I wish they hadn’t made the trade for Adams. But yeah, that would help too.
Who knows maybe if Paul Allen was still here he might have said no to the price for Adams. Unfortunately he’s not so now it’s pay or hope u can recoup some draft capital. I Sadly think we’ll be stuck with him, but would love for someone like the Raiders to say they’d give pick #17 for him. I’d be fine with that straight up if offered.
So true.
I met Paul Allen a few times. I always thought he was thoughtful and somewhat shy. He definitely had a vision for what success meant to him and he empowered people working for him to reach their peak. I’m sure he would hold anyone accountable for not reaching that standard. I still am grateful for what he did, literally save the Seahawks from moving out of Seattle. Everything else was gravy on the top.
If we got a C, LG and RB, I’d feel good about running Pete’s offense with Russ.
Check out:
Creed Humphrey – C
Rhamondre Stevenson – RB
I’m with ya just add in a legit 3rd WR
And find some better tight ends!!!!
The Ravens are the running team in the league. Lets see how they do. The key to their offense being Lamar Jackson , a dual threat.
Personally I”m rooting for the Bills this game. I like them.
Ravens are the best running team, averaging 191 yards per game.
Definitely rooting for Buffalo
Rob – do the rules permit Russ agreeing to restructure his existing deal, and then agree to be traded to another team? Or is a restructuring only allowed if he stays with the Hawks?
The money he’s owed is the money he’s owed.
A sign and trade isn’t possible.
The cap hit on his deal is for the prorated portion of the bonus, which has already been paid to him.
So, no.
What are the Ravens going to do with Lamar? I really don’t envy them – he’s electric running the ball; but he’s an injury or losing a step from being…what exactly?
win now worry later
A wide receiver??
🙂
This is such an even match up. No idea who is going to win.
I wonder if PC is going to totally blow RW off and just pick who he wants. The try to spin it as this is just the guy for RW.
Nice. Love seeing passionate fellow fans like this!
Especially looking forward to what you have to say about RB and OL.
I’m so worried about the team moving forward because a fan like me is mostly worried about RB/LG now, yet it seems we’ve all forgotten the dumpster fire the defense was through the first half of the season. Terrible depth at DT, KJ about to be a FA, and legit concerns at CB.
This is the most interest I’ve seen in the offensive line in three years. I’m going to enjoy it this week. I’ll worry about defense next month.
OL coach who likes big road graders better at run blocking than pass protection, and a QB who doesn’t get rid of the ball quickly. Mismatch. One effective RB who is injured several games a year, no quality depth behind that. Another mismatch with OL preference.
The Seahawks sold out (draft picks) to win now. It really sucks to watch other teams in the playoffs this weekend. At least most of these other teams having the draft to look forward to if they lose. We have nothing but people running the team who have sold out the future so they can have secure contracts for now. The long-term vision Pete and John once had is long gone and I hate that.
I kind of agree as well, we haven’t finished a season at our best for some time
Nothing to disagree with here. It’s a sad state of affairs. 10-7 or 9-8.
Completely right.
Bills player Johnson just made one of the best defensive play I’ve seen all year. Interception in the end zone and 101 yard run back for a touchdown. Wow!!!
That pick 6…talking about a game changing play…wow…
Chris Carson doesnt follow RW3 on instagram anymore. I bet my house this is because all of the runs that RW3 checked OUT during the RAMS game. Chris Carson was avg 4.8 yards per carry in the game.
Thought it was a nice observation.
Could be nothing. Could definitely be something.
Carson is an injury-prone machine. Hyde is so much better than guys like Dallas, but he sucks so much in comparison to Carson. But injury prone Penny is back. Kind of.
Seahawks need a rookie RB in R2 if they address LG in FA. They have no other choice if they want to think they’ve got a chance next year.
During Wilsons presser he spoke about playmakers and RBs and somehow he sounded pretty cold about Chris. I think he mentioned 2,3 RBs and then said and Chris if he comes back. Something like that.
I hope the new oc takes a page out of the Chiefs play book and designs 6 to 8 plays out of the exact same offensive set. Teams seemed to know the Hawks were running or passing simply by the way they lined up. They also need a speed burner running back to compliment Carson.
Russ is a man of deep faith. His positivity is not the source of his magic on the field, but rather a byproduct of how deeply he trusts. And up until this season, Pete was always the person on the team he had the most faith in. This is how it should be. He didn’t just tap the “All In” sign, he took it to bed with him.
Wilson’s second half play was characterized by second guessing, not trusting reads, holding the ball and all that. In short, he stopped believing in himself and it was clear to everybody. And it corresponded exactly with – for the first time I’ve ever noticed in his career – even an iota of opposition to what Pete is preaching.
I, for one, do not believe a revolutionary new offensive system will break us through to the next level. Championship football is all about the proper use of the Force. In this scenario, Pete is Yoda, the OC is Obi Wan and Russ is young Luke. No, Skywalker does not need to collaborate with Obi and Yoda in the decision making process going forward. Good grief!
Russ does not need to second guess but, instead, trust in the old Jedi Master. A powerful ally he is.
Rob, you really think this is a “reasonable” class of quarterbacks? PFF is calling it one of the best classes they’ve seen in years. Would love to know why you differ.
Do I really need to justify why I think it’s reasonable and they think it’s a little better than that?
There’s a big difference between “reasonable” and “best class in years.” I guess your definition of reasonable is unique. To me that implies average at best.
I don’t know why you are struggling with this so much.
Or why we are having this conversation.
I remember when the Seahawks were young, hungry and exciting like this Bills team
By the way, where are the folks who were saying Carroll should be coach of the year?
I wonder if they have a follow up to that…
Imagine if they asked Carroll about it and he said he didn’t want votes for coach of the year, he wanted to win it.
For Pete, there are no %!#*s given for individual awards. He would respond something like the only thing to care about is winning the play, one at a time and all that.
The more Russ believes that Pete’s obsession with turnovers handcuffs the offense and holds him back, the more second guessing you will see from him on the field. It’s not the play call. Russ has a stable of mental health coaches – he should fire the lot and hire Pete.
Or maybe Pete could appoint a proper OC and get out of the way?
Let’s define the word proper. The proper OC to hire for any coach worth his salt is the one who believes in his offensive philosophy as much as he does. If he doesn’t do this, then maybe the folks saying that Pete is issue are correct and he ought to retire.
But he won’t though and this is the good news that folks are missing – see Jude’s column in the Times today for example. He argues that Pete is right “up to a point” about turnovers and in the next sentence admitting that we were 12-0 when winning the turnover battle. Lol.
Watching the Packers last night, I thought let’s just watch the game and try to forget it’s Aaron Rodgers at QB. Found it entertaining and good to watch. A very motivated, physical, disciplined, strong team, well coached with good schemes and quick tempo. Comfortably beating a team who rolled us over last week.
I don’t tend to watch many games if Seahawks not involved other than some Redzone. What hit me most about the game was how it passed so quickly, and how entertaining it was. Sadly this is in contrast to watching the majority of Seahawks games the last few years, which lack tempo and if I am honest in the main not terribly entertaining.
That’s why I hope, probably in vain, for a massive overhaul in culture.
If we are being honest, after 2 games…. this was the expected outcome
Packers and Bills advancing.
Just wonder if the chalk holds for tomorrow….. Saints and Chiefs.
A lot of creative thinking is going into trying to find a way to blame anyone but the problem named Russell Wilson. If you want a prolific offense, you need a franchise QB of which Seattle doesn’t have. You put Allen, Mayfield, Mahomes, Watson, Rodgers, Brady on the team instead and it’s instantly a super bowl winning rooster. What a slap in the face to Hawks fans to claim RW is a better QB than Hassellbeck. What I find interesting is that supporting cast means almost nothing as far as what you get from Wilson, strip the offense down to spare parts besides the oline and Russ will still get you 14-21 points a game, load it with pro bowl talent and you still have a QB who gets you 14-21 points a game. It’s what’s special about him, and while I don’t think he’s a top ten or even top 15 QB in the league you can construct a rooster based around the fact he’s going to get you something even in the worst situation with his kids on recess style play; so 35 million a year isn’t necessarily a waste if you essentially don’t spend any money on the offense side of the ball and load up an all time great defense. The biggest problem the Hawks face is that RW isn’t realistic about who he is as a player, and the negative personality qualities that cost us a dynasty are once again rearing their ugly head to sabotage the team. He’s a bang average QB who’s lack of vision and ability to play inside the structure of the offense undermines any game plan an OC can put together.
Wilson has proven he’s a franchise QB.
Could he have played better? Absolutely.
But the issues stretch far beyond Wilson’s talent.
In general I feel unless you have a top 5-7 QB in the league you should be adding a guy every year to compete; so guys like Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, Matt Stafford, fall outside of my boundaries of that term. Every year there are QB available in free agency on par or better than Wilson at this point of his career, and plenty of guys who wouldn’t be a substantial downgrade are available for peanuts, like Minshew, Fitzpatrick. The first half of the season is an absolute waste given the lack of offseason for drawing any conclusions from the statistics. The second half of the season Wilson was the 19th rated QB which is on par with casual observations, so are there 20 franchise QBs in league? Not being coy or condescending, actually want to know what your opinion is of when it’s time to recognize a need to address the situation. 2/3 of the league have a better QB situation, and once the 35mil a year and lack of draft capital to reload, and lack of quality back up is taken into account it’s arguable that we are in one of the very worst QB situations in the league. Man I wish we could trade RW, Wag, and Addams for Watson.
I think you’re basing your views on half a season and not the mans career.
That’s fair, but as big of fan as I was of RW during his first 3-4 years have always looked at him as an adequate game manager when protecting bye the right system, and about as good as his draft position and nothing more, same with Metcalf. The problem is the system that makes what I consider A’s and F players (so average c players) perform like quality above average players are very much broken bye the Rams personal and scheme. He’s just so erratic, and if not protected bye playing Pete ball always felt like the wheels where going to fall off and this season and playoffs matched that conformational bias. There’s a good old boy phrase called “polishing a turd”, if you smell what I’m stepping in?
I don’t think the Saints are going to be able to pull three wins off against TB, now that Brady is settled into Arians offense. They are a different team at this point in the season. Brady led the league in big time throws, and had the lowest number of turn over worthy plays. The GOAT is still the 🐐, and based on this year I think we can agree he’s not actually a human being, possibly a cyborg or alien.
Film review for the last 9 years shows Wilson does not take advantage of short passing opportunities.
Pete is not ignorant of Wilson’s weakness, and I’m sure it’s very clear to Wilson it’s his Achilles’ heel as well. It’s also become clear that the NFL is now aware that you just take away the deep passing game with Cover-2 and take away the run game with disciplined play and/or zone blitzes.
How do you build an offense where your QB doesn’t take advantage of the short passing game?