Life as a Seahawks fan.
The slow starts, the heroic rallies. Winning with blissful drama and losing in fairly crushing ways too. It’s never dull. Yet ultimately this is another season that ends without a return to the Super Bowl.
There’s no wrong way to respond to this loss and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want to bemoan the slow start that made the failed comeback necessary, that’s OK. If you want to acknowledge the grit and character this team continues to show by never knowing when it is beaten, that’s OK too.
I’m going to look at it this way. I think the slow start in this game is explainable and was predictable. I also think the fact that they fought back is testament to the culture of this organisation. It should be cherished. The attitude that you see today will be integral if/when the Seahawks do eventually make it back to the Super Bowl one day.
Let’s start with the slow start.
In our game preview we more or less correctly predicted Green Bay’s strategy. They started by flooding coverage, played to contain Russell Wilson and dared Seattle to run. There were several occasions when Wilson had lots of time to throw but nobody was open because of the blanket coverage.
We ended up seeing an offense not able to do much at all in the passing game while incapable of running due to the long list of injuries.
The Seahawks adjusted, found some tempo and a way to move the ball in the second half. Yet — due to the slow start — they’d already put themselves in a hole.
We also predicted they had to stay in it early, referencing last year’s game between the teams. In that one, Green Bay took a 14-3 lead. Seattle responded though. They got it to 14-10. The teams traded scores and the Seahawks threw the winning strike. Here, the opposite happened. 14-3 turned into 21-3 by half-time.
Had they been able to cling on early this could’ve been a very different game.
I understand that people will complain about slow starts. I appreciate that Seahawks fans, as they’re known to do online these days, will probably lose their composure over the next 24 hours and call bloody murder.
I hope a modicum of perspective will be used. This is a team that was missing its starting left guard, center, tight end and running back. The two back-up running back’s are also out. So is the backup tight end. Their #3 receiver is suspended. The backup left guard got hurt in the game. Their top defensive lineman is playing with a core muscle injury. Jarran Reed has an ankle issue, Quandre Diggs has just returned with a similar problem. Mychal Kendricks has a torn ACL, Ziggy Ansah is coming to the end of his football career and Al Woods is suspended.
Not many teams could deal with all of this. Seattle has remained competitive purely due to the culture they possess, the quality of a handful of key players (especially their quarterback) and the leadership provided by Pete Carroll.
This doesn’t excuse the too-often slow starts or the fact that life is frequently made more difficult than it needs to be. Yet this is still a team that is one to be positive about and to believe in going forward.
There are still some things that need to change.
Obviously they need to be healthier. That goes without saying. They lost four of their last six games and the main reason was injuries.
They need to tackle better. That has been an issue all season.
The defense is not at the level it needs to be. The unit actually deserves a ton of credit for the way they played in the second half. Yet beyond the tackling issue — the pass rush and run defense needs to be better next season and they need to be faster.
We now know they possess the #27 overall pick in the draft.
In the coming days I’m going to post a series of articles discussing potential free agent targets, favourite draft targets, predictions and more.
Here’s a breakdown of what is coming:
1. They have to re-sign Jadeveon Clowney. They can’t rebuild their D-line by allowing their top player, at a great age, to walk away for nothing in free agency.
2. They have a call to make on Jarran Reed too. The defensive tackle market is peculiar and it’s somewhat possible his price will be lower than some people expect. Pete Carroll has described him as a leader and again. This will come down to price.
3. They desperately need to add a speed rusher who can trouble offensive tackles with quickness and burst. Whether it’s going out and signing Dante Fowler, trading for someone like Von Miller or a different move entirely — the main thing the pass rush (and defense in general) is lacking is speed. They need to find their new Cliff Avril. This won’t be a one-signing fix though and a talent infusion is needed on the D-line.
4. My hunch is they will act quickly to retain George Fant. His versatility is of great value and he’s well liked. He’s a hedge at right tackle while they let that position play out. That way if Germain Ifedi walks, you’re covered. You could also have the ability to re-sign Ifedi (although he’ll almost certainly test the market first), sign another veteran or draft a new tackle. I’d be shocked if Fant isn’t kept though.
5. They’ll need to make other calls on the O-line. There are some very attractive options at guard and center in the draft. Do they cut Justin Britt to free up $9m in cap space and draft a center (Cesar Ruiz, Tyler Biadasz, Nick Harris)? Do they bring back Mike Iupati or another veteran then draft some competition (Logan Stenberg, Ben Brederson)?
6. The other big personnel question mark comes at the skill positions and tight end. With Ed Dickson a certain cap-casualty and Will Dissly returning from a second serious injury, they’ll need to add a tight end at some point. That could be a free agent or trade addition or a draft pick. Remember — the Seahawks have invested in this position before (Zach Miller, Jimmy Graham) and could be bold again. It’s also very likely that they’ll tap into this excellent receiver class relatively early in the draft (rounds 1-3).
The positive is there’s so much clarity on what needs to happen and a clear pathway on how to go about it. The draft is poor for pass rushers but free agency is likely to produce some solutions. It’s a good draft for receivers and the offensive line. There could be interesting tight end’s available via trade or on the open market and the draft.
After two off-season’s of re-setting, it’s time for a splash. They need their Bennett & Avril double-dip that follows the Percy Harvin trade to show they mean business. They have the cap room and the draft picks to go big. Now is the time. 2020 is the year to make the leap.
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7) Address the issue of our slow starts. We act as if points scored in the first half are worth half as much as points scored in the second half. We need to be more like Bill Walsh scripting out the first quarter because of the importance of getting off to good starts.
Easier to do when most of the offense isn’t injured.
Rob, I dig you and respect you immensely and love this site. But…3 points in the first half, 20 in the second half. It’s the same old story. EMPHASIZE fast starts! Try it. Do it. I was a coach for years and years, and when our team was failing in some area, I tried to address it.
I’m frustrated that these slow starts haven’t been addressed these past years. They haven’t at all shown me that this is a concern to them when it’s obvious that it is a concern. It’s a joke amongst me and my partner and all my football friends…here we go again…another slow start…
So you are of the opinion that they like slow starts and they haven’t tried to address it?
No. Absolutely, unequivocally they have NOT addressed this persistent, lingering problem/issue. There is NOTHING to suggest that they have. Nothing.
PS> Dave Wyman, a pretty level-headed guy, just talked about this. He called it the personality of the team. That’s how ingrained it is. This issue.
The team has taken on Pete’s views, and it has been reinforced over and over. It’s basic Psychology. It’s habitual.
I agree that the slow starts are a pain in the ass but it isnt going to change as long as Pete is our coach so we might as well just expect it. The same goes for having Russ s our QB. We will always have high sac totals and blame our OL for it when a lot of these are on him. I remember when Holmgrem was our coach and we would get good early leads and it was great but Pete does it his way by establishing things in the first half then using those things to score points in the second half. Seems like the way we like to win is by scoring about 10 points in the first and about 17 to 20 in the second. We can complain all we want but it isnt going to change.
Leadership is a lot about messaging and actuating that message. PC does a fabulous job in so many ways about this. I would just like to see him *tweak* a few things. That’s all. Play the first quarter, tempo-wise and otherwise, like it’s the fourth quarter, as if the first quarter is as important as the fourth quarter.
Again, it’s about messaging, and actuating that message.
PC> Let’s learn to start faster. Let’s prepare to start faster
TEAM> Yes coach
Can someone just explain why practice squad Hollister ends up with more Targets than Metcalf? Your difference maker physically gets less targets than an undersized 4th string tight end. Scheme DK open for the love of God!
I think the slow starts are because Pete plays conservatively at first, using only base defense and offensive sets to see how the opponent responds, and gauge on their strengths and weaknesses. This also keeps the opponent from knowing what you are doing and adjusting their scheme to stop you in the 4th QTR. He purposely holds back until the end, because we all know you win games in the 4th QTR.
I hope he is also doing one thing in the first half, to set up surprise counter plays for big explosive gains in the 4th, but I don’t know of any actual examples of this happening.
I agree that Pete plays it pretty conservative in the first half of games, trying to feel things out and establish the run. This isn’t necessarily a bad approach, if it works and you can keep the game close at a minimum.
There’s no doubt RW is one of the best finishers in the game, but its so difficult to consistently rally from big deficits, and on the road no less. In this case 21-3 at half, or 20-0 at half vs SF. If we can just keep these games within a single score, I have full confidence the Hawks can win those games.
Pete may have to take the shackles off RW a bit more in the first half of games. Fixing the defense will also be huge. It’s going to be a fun offseason.
I’m proud of the team and think it was a positive step forward this year! Here’s to a deep SB run in 2020!
Five reasons Seahawks fans should be optimistic in 2020:
1. According to over the cap.com, Seattle has the 7th most salary cap space next year at just over $63 Million.
2. 2020 is the end of the current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players association, which means teams will be dumping players. EIGHT of the twelve playoff teams are in the bottom fifteen in cap space going in to 2020. The Patriots (15), Eagles(14), Ravens(12), Packers(11), Chiefs(9), 49er’s (7), Saints(6) and Vikings(1) are in descending order of cap hell. The Rams will also be having a fire sale with the 8th worst cap space in the league. Of all the playoff teams only the Bills have more cap space than the Seahawks, third best with $82 Million. The Titans and Texans are just below Seattle at around $61 Million.
3. The Seahawks are projected to receive the maximum number of compensatory draft picks, four, after losing Earl Thomas, Justin Coleman, Shamar Stephen and Mike Davis in free agency last year. That’s a 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th in addition to their five other picks. Three of those picks are in the top 64 overall.
4. As of the end of training camp this season Seattle was the 4th youngest team in the league with an average age of 25.5. Only the Browns, Bucs, and Dolphins were younger.
5. Every member of Seattle’s last draft class made the team with only Gary Jennings getting plucked away when they tried to stash him on the practice squad. This upcoming draft is loaded at running back, wide receiver, and offensive line. The Seahawks were mired by injuries this year, particularly late in the season, but it’s not hard to see how this team could get the depth they had when they won the Super Bowl very quickly.
I feel pretty confident that this is the peak of Seahawks football while Pete Carroll is head coach. They will never have a defense like 2013. He will continue to give away 30 minutes of football. It is what it is. We have a defensive head coach that has a terrible defense and has a horrendously antiquated approach to football.
I am thankful for what PC did for the city of Seattle. Likewise, I’m excited for the day he chooses to retire. Hopefully that happens before RW is 35 years old. It is borderline criminal what he has done to RW. He is firmly in Mike McCarthy territory (GB days).
Well said, I just posted about the same thing. I love PC, not taking anything away from him, but when you have a generational talent like RW, how do you run an entire offence that doesnt accentuate his skill set?!
How on earth does this offense not accentuate his skill set?
dwon 14-2 and u run Lynch 3 strait plays up the gut and punt!!!
Leaving RW in the pocket looking for lanes he cant see with 3 on 6 in coverage.
Not running a play action adn getting RW out of the pocket to create opportunities
Not running more reverses or screens or misdirections to catch the D of guard.
we basically played into GBs game plan on D the entire first half before adjusting.
I am confused, you also openly mention the pathetic starts yet dont think the offensive play calling is to blame?! What do you consider the problem to be, just poor execution on the base offense every first half all year?!
I explained this in the article.
Green Bay flooded coverage and set out to merely contain RW. They gave Seattle the run because they knew we were beat-up there. So in that situation you’re stuck, I’m afraid, until you can work it out. Running is being offered to you so do you take it to force adjustment? Or do you ask your QB to somehow throw to guys who aren’t open?
When you have injuries and no balance this can happen. Sorry, but c’est la vie.
(Now I really am off to bed)
cheers mate, have a good night sleep.
There were times they ran play action off of max protect but there weren’t enough receivers in the route to challenge the defense. I saw another play where there was a blitz, and Russell ignored it and they had all verticals with nobody in the middle of the field. Such a strange route combo. I know that they’re short handed, but sometimes the coaching has to take the blame. This was a slow starting offense when healthy more times than were ideal. Not only speaking of this year. Still, when you’re running with a backup guard and center who aren’t very good, and you’ve got lynch in the game, you’re tying one hand behind your back. He no longer possess the speed to get outside, but you can’t run inside with any success. The defense knows that you can’t bounce it as well. Little things like that. Corners were playing off. Why not hitch up? Seems like Aaron Rogers has the ability to identify that stuff and target the weakness where as the hawks and Russell are married to the play called in the huddle. Little things that my high school teams do that the hawks can’t seem to master. Get the ball to Dak and Lockett early the way they got it to Adams.
My question is – if Rob can anticipate what the opponent will do, why can’t our coaching staff? Why aren’t they prepared for what GB will likely do to them????
Watch a game with a room full of coaches and this stuff doesn’t seem so complicated. It’s really not. We see the same stuff over and over and other teams know each other as well. There is some stubbornness by Norton and Pete with the defense but they are really dealing with lesser personnel. Still doesn’t explain some issues. Niners, I still don’t see why teams forget that Jimmy G avoids the deep outside routes like the plague and wants to live in the middle of the field. He’s living off of crossers and the play-action boots. Their run game ever dries up, he’s cooked.
Our offense is fairly predictable but the concerning part is the complete lack of blitz awareness and hot routes. Whenever they blitz us, it’s deer in the headlights on tv, but when they show another view, nobody was breaking off their route to be available. Route concepts are either flawed, or the QB needs to make a call pre-snap. There aren’t a lot of mysteries with these teams. The hawks did the best they could with the injuries. No way lynch was going to replace Carson, but it was a cool deal to see him come back.
The coverage dictated check downs, and Russ should have took off running after the first read wasn’t open long before the second half. No matter how the offense started or finished you can’t beat the good teams withe a defense that can’t tackle, pass rush or cover this game was lost on third down. Hated the hiring of Ken Norton.
Exactly my question Rob?
Not to interject any logic here. But the Cincinnati Bengal fans once felt the same. Having a better defense does not mean having a HOF defense. Look at the Raven organization as an example.
You might be in love with the idea of Wilson throwing for 5k yards and DK breaking all receiving records known to man. Stafford and Johnson never did squat for wins and all of the top passing attack teams sat at home while all the top rushing teams made the playoffs.
Also as solid as Russ is, I hope the generational talent learns to read the blitz at some point in a career. Wilson has trouble finding passing lanes. Teams know this. Having a strong run game is one more way to keep the opposition guessing. It plays to both Wilsons weakness and his strengths.
Interesting take about Wilson having trouble reading the blitz and finding passing lanes. I’ve never played football so I’ll ask, do you think that the issue with finding passing lanes is because of his height? If so, do you think the beat up O-Line compounded that problem this year?
A few years ago there was an article talking about how plays were designed so that the O-Line would shift and move to give RW visibility down the field. If the O-Line either A) isn’t used to playing together so can’t execute, and/or B) can’t stand up to the rush so they get shoved back in RW’s face anyway, then I can definitely see it causing him to be unable to see open receivers.
I think his height is probably his kryptonite. If opposing teams can get 6’6″ dudes in his face then he has to scramble just to see down the field.
I knew no matter how we lost the Fire Pete crowd is going to be insufferable this week. If anything this season with this roster was a great example of why we should keep Pete.
You mean the roster Pete Carroll has control over?
PC is the man and he must stay, he just needs to open up the offense more, imagine this team with NO or KCs offense?
Look how Andy Reid has evolved offensively, we need PC to do the same, thats all.
Well, if Andy Reid does what Andy Reid does, and fails to win a Super Bowl, maybe he’ll be available to be our OC. Heck, we might as well go for Wade Phillips as DC.
The thing is, Pete won’t evolve. It just isn’t going to happen. Full stop. He and John will continue to build an average roster that overachieves and consistently loses in the wild card or divisional round. With Pete at the helm, this team will never make the Superbowl again. Losing Peter is a risk; the new coach could very likely be worse. But the Hawks under Peter will never make a Superbowl again. They will continue to mishandle their talent evaluation (the first round will be a bust), they will continue to emphasis the wrong part of the offensive line (focusing on run blocking overpass blocking), the defense won’t evolve, the offense won’t evolve, and Pete will cotinue to be a bad in-game coach. If you are satisfied with making the playoffs most years and the occasional plaffoff win, Pete is your guy. I would rather role the dice and hire a coach that has a chance to win us a Superbowl.
*A roster built by a team of people in a league designed for parity that suffered a lot of heavy injuries, and a league where sustained success outside of Bill Belichick is very rare
Matthew, are you bitching because you want to go through years of irrelevance like the Niners, Rams, and Cardinals? Personally I’ve enjoyed two years of playoff football while team reset from the LOB.
But have we been truly relevant the last six years? We have made the playoffs most years since 2014, but we have not really been a threat. I guess it all depends on what you want out of the team. I would be willing to have some bad years if we could have a year like the Niners are having every once in a while. I just don’t understand how not making it past the divisional round in six years (and being underdogs the whole time) is enough for folks. I want a shot at the Superbowl. Folks like you think that folks like me don’t have enough appreciation; I feel like folks like you are way to comfortable settling. I don’t think that we will ever get back to the Super Bowl under this regime and I would rather risk regressing (with the possibility of more success) than staying stagnant under Peter.
We’ve had more shots than anyone other than the Pats in the last 10 years. You really think making the playoffs is as easy as constantly hotshotting some random coach and continually tearing down infrastructure? Fans like you say they’ll take sucking for a few years but will be the first ones crying for a new regime as soon as there’s a losing season.
Look at the Pack. Stuck in mediocrity under Mike McCarthy until they give him the hee-hoo and now they are in the NFC championship game. We have had shots, sure, but not a realistic one. This team has not been a contender since after we lost our second Super Bowl chance. Pete can inspire an undermanned team to perform beyond their abilities. This regime will also consistently construct a poor roster and will lose games due to their game managment. If we get rid of Pete I would give the next coach the same rope that I’ve givin Pete. If they go five seasons without making the NFC championship game they are out. How many more years does Russ have in him? Keeping Pete will squander Russ and we will eventually have to start over. But hey, it least under Pete we will have a chance to lose in the Divisional Round every year!
For every LaFleur there’s plenty more Kitchens, Gase, Patricia, Nagy, etc.
You say were ‘squandering Russ’s best years’ and yet you are okay with the big risk of sucking for another five years? C’mon, I dont think even you believe what you’re saying right now.
I would rather roll the dice. I have no faith in Pete/John. Their roster construction and management has been horrible since 2012. Pete is a downright bad in-game coach who is stuck with an outdated offensive mentality and a defensive system that only works when the team has elite talent (which they can’t find anymore). This team is going nowhere under Carroll. I know what this team will be like if we stay the course and loosing in the divisional round is the best that can be expected. I would rather take a risk then be stuck in this mediocrity. Have a coach/regime that has no chance of leading us to the Super Bowl is squandering Russ. Roll the dice. Hiring a new coach may mean the team sucks but it also means we have a shot of winning another bowl with Russ. Keeping Peter ensures that we won’t.
If you think 8 consecutive winning seasons with 1 ring and 2 super bowl appearances is ‘horrible’ and ‘hopeless’ in this league then I have no idea what to tell you, other than that you should maybe consider being a Patriots fan since that might bring you more joy. You can see into the future anyways actually so pick whichever team wins the most rings Nostradamus.
SoCal12 how is the 4th best 10 year record in the league “sucking”? That doesn’t make any kind of sense. BTW I think GB will get steamrolled by the Niners. Oh, and let’s see how long the Niners remain relevant after all their top ten picks reach their second contract. Can you say Rams?
The Pack is not the example that I would choose. The jury is still out on whether or not Mike McCarthy was the problem. I love Aaron Rodgers, but he’s terrible this season. People keep saying that he’s adjusting to the new offense, and MAYBE that’s true, but it’s hard to believe that’s the only problem when he consistently misses easy throws to wide open receivers.
My point is, we as fans often want the latest and greatest thing, but the latest and greatest thing is usually a passing fad.
Just remember that BB and TB went for 10 years between Superbowl wins (they got to them 2 times in that period and lost). Getting rid of Pete before the reset is even complete would be insane. Let’s see what he can do over the next couple of years. Then if we keep stumbling to the finish line and Shanahan/McVay/MLF/Reid keep winning championships we can talk.
Give over.
This is why I asked for perspective.
Some Seahawks fans have no idea how good they have it.
I completely agree with you Rob. There are some clowns out there.
Totally agree. We need to be proud of how well our team has done.
Lack of knowledge doesn’t prevent fans from expressing their opinions. Nor should it. In that spirit, I’ll express an opinion. The defensive secondary absolutely must improve. Aaron Rodgers predictably attacked #21, Flowers. You all saw the results. #42, Hill, was in the game at the end. IMO that never needs to happen again.
Finally, let’s figure out how to be world-class at managing injuries. The team was simply too injured today. We could begin by being careful about bringing in free agent veterans with injury histories.
Being a fan is the definition of NOT having perspective. “Fan” comes from fanatic and that can mean fanatically, continuously angry regardless of reality. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy Pete, his positive culture, his antics on the sideline, and his winning ways. Some folks like watching Bill Belichick press conferences. Que sera…
Well said, Rob. The only thing that was disappointing about this game was that the rush attack never got flowing against a bad Packers run defence. Obviously the misisng players were the key to that but it is completely understandable why that approach was taken.
one quick game note. I was screaming at my TV when we punted there, you have to go for it, you have to leave the ball in your only out of world player, you cant give it back to GBs HoF QB with an entire field to work with. what a terrible terrible call by PC there. Even if you dont get it, its a short field, there is a very good chance you keep GB to a FG and its still an 8pt game. However punting gives GB the whole field to work with and drain time.
That being said, I wnat to make this one thought. If you have a generational QB like RW with his skill set, at what point do you say, after a decade, that maybe we should go to an uptempo, pass first, modern day offense? How many times do we need to dig our way out of deficits or have early playoff exits when we have a god like QB who can do what he does. At what point do we switch to an offensive system based around him, not running the ball and stout D?!
I know, we have won a lot and what we are doing is good, keeps us competitive, but would we really regress that much if we gave the best player the franchise has ever had more opportunity to shine?
I was kind of hoping they would go for it as well and I love Russ. But the thinking was likely that he just took a really bad sack because he did not have the awareness to throw it away and give then a 4th and 4 instead of 4 and 11. So lets punt it and get a stop and then give Russ the 2 minute drill to win it.
I’m not blindly defending Russ. He makes mistakes. But IMHO taking that sack wasn’t one of them. He doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head. He had to rely on….Hollister I think?….to make that block and give him time to throw.
We can debate until the end of time whether or not that was the right play call, but I don’t think it’s Russ’s fault he took that sack.
Matthew, criticizing the offense for being too run heavy in 2019 is a bit tired, and frankly odd given the state of the league right now.
Every team in the playoffs had a capable running game, and the the 49ers are a perfect example of how well it can work. And that’s the reality of what Carroll is proposing: multiple talented backs keeping the offense as close to a 50/50 ration between run and pass as possible. I know we all talk about the run game not meaning anything, but right now the league is showing otherwise.
The key to success is having a clear vision and then executing it. They’re starting to do that now. Not everything is going to work right away! But this team was better than last years. The core figures will be back, and we’ll have a legit shot at being a juggernaut if the cards fall right. So much of this is luck.
Go Hawks. I liked the grit.
This is the only divisional game came of interest till the end.
Now go damn fix Edge, add speed in LB, competition at CB. Offense may be alright if we can stabilize TE position.
BTW, Malik Turner better be taking the bus back from GB.
I am sure nobody feels worse about it than he does. We all see how much better the offense is when Rw runs with the ball. It is a big part of his game. One of the commentators said Shotenheimer said they prefer Wilson to run in the second half when defenses are tired. That is not taking advantage of his skill set.
The Turner drop is the one that bugs me the most for some reason. We dont know what would happen after that but it would have been nice to know.
When that drop happened I immediately thought “that should’ve been Josh Gordon”.
Thought the exact same thing. His departure, among the many during that 2-3 week stretch, really hurt us.
In a nutshell..it came down to GB pass rush vs ours and GB won. What a good FA addition of pair by GB.
Rob, I feel compelled to just thank you once again for this site and your writing. You bring such a clarity and brilliance to being a fan of the Seahawks that I just can not say enough about it.
It will be a very interesting offseason, between an expected big free agency (hopefully starting with news of them signing Clowney long term) and then a draft with multiple high draft picks.
It is awesome that there is G/C/WR talent in the draft, as that perfectly plays to our needs. Imagine coming away with Ruiz, a good WR, and maybe a fast playmaker on the defense with our first 3 picks. Would be awesome. Eagerly awaiting your future articles Rob, well done on the season.
Thanks Troy
couldn’t have said it better, Thanks Rob and fellow S.D.B participants!
+12 Rob, thank you!
Building an offense that minimizes the HOF qb. Continues to coach like the first half of games don’t matter. Totally reliant on roaring back in the second half.
Two kicks away from missing the playoffs. The best of Carroll is gone, and unfortunately he’ll be allowed to stick around and be good enough to make the playoffs, but without a massive talent advantage they’ll probably never make the Super Bowl under him again.
The Carroll era needs to end sooner rather than later. Fun season, bummer it’s over, but there’s a pretty severely flawed process in Seattle right now.
Jesus christ, how are people looking at THIS loss as the end of the Pete Era? Ya’ll really thought we were gonna win the Bowl this year?
The issue is the process. He coaches like he has the 2013 team still, has an offense built for his running backs and not his quarterback. Not winning the Super Bowl isn’t the issue, the issue is the process doesn’t set up well for them to ever do it again.
What Colin wrote exactly. This team will continue to lose early in the playoffs and have no shot of winning the Super Bowl. Rob does a great job of scouting talent for the draft but reading about first-round players is a waste as the team will continue to draft third-round talents with their first pick (who will be busts anyway).But it is what it is.
Can we please stop debating the running vs. pass thing? I think the league proved this year that it doesn’t matter as long as you execute.
Seahawks quit when they punted that ball. They haven’t stopped Adam’s all night and they give Rodgers the ball back. Anyways Let’s start the rebuilding chatter like we always do every janaury. But hey you don’t win the game in the first half.
But hey winning is as easy as dismantling your teams entire infrastructure and chasing the next McVay every season right?
Save this stuff for Seahawks twitter, Colin.
Okay, Rob. Don’t engage in any discussion. Just keep pretending it doesn’t exist.
So far that’s the common denominator among those who see no issues with Carroll. Just pretending all is well.
And the common denominator amongst the Fire Pete crowd is the constant strawmanning of people against that idea as ‘seeing no issues’ or ‘pretending all is well’.
Thank you for making my point- by not making one.
Thank you for completely missing the point.
If you want to have a discussion about Carroll, I’m more than happy to engage.
I’m not going to waste my time being told I’m wrong because ‘best 10 years EVVVVVA!’
I hear Kitchens is available, they should pounce.
Name one other coach right now besides Pete and Belichick that has a team with 8 consecutive winning seasons currently. Since you clearly know better than the organization, who according to your professional football expertise right now would best replace the current infrastructure that we currently have with a better one that would lead to better measurable success?
No one is claiming Pete is perfect (except your strawmen), but since the flaws he has lead you to believe that we would acheive better success with someone else, you will have to provide an example of what a better alternative would be and what specific ways we will improve under their system. Otherwise discussion is moot, since there’s no path forward other than typical fan entitlement and armchair gm’ing.
Well said SoCal. For those old enough to have followed the Hawks early years (or just the pre-Carroll years for that matter) there were lots of years of futility. They didn’t even make a SB appearance for almost 30 years, and were frequently not a playoff team as well. Those are difficult years for fans, knowing your team doesn’t even have a chance.
Someone said they would rather follow the 49ers recent path to success, which was to have a number of horrible years before finally being relevant again. Man, I just don’t get that type of attitude. There’s no guarantee of SB success if you follow this model, but you are definitely guaranteed to have some horrendous seasons/teams along the way. I prefer to have a team that is relevant each and every year, and most years in the playoff hunt.
I have a good friend who is a Browns fan, and another who’s a Cardinals fan. I always feel so lucky to be a Hawks fan and love having team bragging rights nearly every year!!
Nope. We see the whole picture. The culture has has created where guys like Jadeveon Clowney tell the Texans he wants to be traded to Seattle.
We see guys who never quit regardless of the score.
We see a team and a style that contends year in and year out.
We have seen the greatest 10 year stretch in Seahawks history
Amen
We’ve seen a coach who refuses to learn anything new about the game.
We’ve seen a coach who still makes decisions like he has a good defense.
We’ve seen a coach who takes the ball out of his best player’s hands in the most important situations.
We’ve seen a coach be unable to get plays called on the goal line with the game on the line.
Pete Carroll has created a great culture around the team. There’s no denying that. But at times it seems like he’s actively standing in the way of that culture at times. This team doesn’t like to use it’s strengths, it doesn’t get plays called on time, it doesn’t self-scout well. Someone said at one point that Pete is very good at the hard stuff and very bad at the easy stuff. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to see room for improvement in himself.
Hey Ben – can you give me a short list of a few available head coaching candidates who you think would do a better job than Carroll? Which head coaches in the NFL, or in the college game, do you think are better than Carroll?
Personally I don’t see what you are talking about. The guy has lead the team to the playoffs 8 times in the last 10 seasons. I don’t think you can accomplish that without learning, without coaching up defenses, without letting his best player’s do what they do best.
Yes, those are PC’s flaws. But in totality he and JS have built a culture and a nucleus that has been on a winning streak this franchise has never seen. As a matter of fact, only 2nd to the Patriots over the same stretch. So I’m glad the ownership doesn’t pay attention to us weekend GMs and keeps PC/JS in charge of our franchise. Thank you.
Add some speed in the secondary.
To all of yall criticizing Pete. He was great this year and helped Russ get his FIRST ALL-PRO. Russ was also in the mvp discussion.
Remember that we definitely outperformed this year then what early season projections were (7-9 – 9-7). Just as Rob said we need to make a splash and rebuild this defense. We have a lot of cap space this offseason. We can improve DB, DE, TE, WR, OL.
How was Pete great? Our defensive coach that has ultimate control over the roster couldn’t field a middling defense.
It’s a good job Bill Belichick wasn’t fired when his defense had a couple of rough years.
Come on Matthew.
Belichick knew not to trust that defense when it wasn’t good.
11-5 and won a playoff game despite serious injuries and suspensions, yet people actually complain. Incredible.
Seattle is rebuilding folks. There has been a ton of roster churn the last two years. Most teams go 4-12 after hitting reset. We have two playoff appearances and 20+ wins the last two years. That is 100% thanks to Pete Carroll and the winning culture he created. What’s wrong with you people? Your expectations are absurd.
You will never ever be as good at anything as Pete is at coaching. Get over yourselves.
Well put Saxon. It never fails to amaze me how much trouble some people have recognizing talent, ability and excellence.
But what is the foundation that we are building? Clowney’s gone and he is the only player on the d-line that isn’t a JAG. We are gonna let Ifedi walk and start over AGAIN at RT. Think Ifedi is bad? Get ready for his replacement next year. We’re gonna have to draft a RB early again cause we have no idea what Carson and Penny will look like if/when they recover from thier injuries. Dissly, god bless his heart, is an injury bust and we are gonna have to start over again at TE. All the while, the Niners are gonna keep rolling, the Cards are gonna build, and the Rams have our number. This is going to be the era of the permanent rebuild. Every year is going to be “just like 2012” and every time we get bounced early from the playoffs the Pete Posse is gonna say “we’re almost there! It’s only year (fill in the blank) of the rebuild!”
Matthew, Matthew, Matthew… at least put in the effort to make a good argument. The Hawks have the 4th best record in football for the last ten years. Before Pete, John and Paul Allen we had little to cheer about. You wanna know where SF, LA, and Arizona rank for the decade?
Rams – 24th
Niners – 21st
Cardinals – 18th
What’s are the records for the decade’s other top teams?
New England 1st – 12-4 out in the first round
Pittsburg 2nd – 8-8 missed playoffs
Green Bay 3rd – 13-3
Seattle 4th – 11-5 out in second round
New Orleans 5th – 13-3 out in first round
Baltimore 6th – 14-2
Kansas City 7th – 12-4
Atlanta 8th – 7-9 no playoffs
Denver 9th – 7-9 no playoffs
Dallas 10th – 8-8 no playoffs
With the composition of the team I’m actually impressed they got middling results.
Great season-closing instant reaction Rob.
Let’s look back so we can go forward. I can’t wait for our next game already.
I’m going to hold my tongue whilst everyone gets this loss out of their system
Its been busted flush since the injuries became insurmountable and I think the frustration has been built up since the slide began well before the ‘1-yard short’ of a division championship. Had we been healthy and at home, the narrative could have been a lot different.
In PCJS I trust, the team on both sides of the ball will get better and have a chance to become dominant once again.
>There’s no wrong way to respond to this loss and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
“Fire Pete Carroll”
“Fire Kenny Sloth” lol
Ok, boomer
I believe that’s “Okay boomer” to which I reply, “I think you mean Legion of Boomer”!
I get these jokes off. To the annoyance of probably everyone.
RW showing the grit and heart he did was inspiring. This team never quits. Never goes away. They have nothing to be ashamed, other than not taking advantage of certain opportunities, considering everything they went through this season. Especially the month of December.
I enjoyed the season. Always do. I think they’re 1 year ahead of where they maybe thought they’d be and look forward to what should be one of the more exciting off-season’s in recent memory not including ’12.
It’s true that the ‘team never quits’-the second half. It’s also true the team doesn’t always come to play the 1st half due to play design, coaching, or game philosophy Sometimes the lackluster 1st half play is too much for the ‘team that never quits’ doesn’t quit but also doesn’t win.
Great game, great season that exceeded expectations. My only disappointment from the game today is that they did not go for it on fourth down. Somehow, I believe Russ would have come up with a play to make the first down and if not, would at least have gone down firing all of the bullets so to speak. Punting was a conservative move but came with the risk of not getting the ball back.
There are so many positives to this team. I agree with Rob that the pathway forward is clear and with a ton of draft capital the Seahawks are well-positioned for a great offseason to acquire the necessary talent via trade, free agency, or the draft.
Hey Doug:
Punting the ball was the right move after RW was sacked on 3rd and 5. The D had the Packers at 3rd and long on the next two sets, but they just couldn’t get off the field.
We did better this season than last year. However, we’re at a crossroads as to whether or not we can take that next leap. We have the cap and draft picks available to elevate again to the upper echelon of the NFL. Get healthy boys and get ready for another go at it in September…well except for you Ken Norton. Lano Hill in on those key 3rd Downs…seriously!?!?…Piss off!!!
Disagree. Slow starts have been a staple of Pete’s teams even back in the 2013 days; injuries were. Or the reason we did absolutely nothing in the first half.
It is so frustrating to watch a team that continually wastes an entire half of football before opening up the playbook and putting it in their best player’s hand. Is this roster championship caliber? No. But fumbling away every first half and expecting your MVP candidate to bail you out in the second half every single game is not sustainable.
I love PC. I’m not calling for him to be fired. He has brought more success to this franchise and city than anyone before. But if the “solution” to the clear pattern of flawed philosophy his offenses have shown every single year is “let’s do our best to stack talent and make the 2013 defense again,” then there’s something clearly wrong with his philosophy.
His offensive philosophy is flawed to the core. You can acknowledge that while also acknowledging he’s a very successful coach. They aren’t mutually exclusive. He needs to relinquish control of his offense to someone who can scheme around our MVP candidate. Or we can sit here for the rest of Wilson’s prime, wistfully hoping that a home run draft pick can put us over the edge.
Injuries were not to blame for our slow starts*
Good post. It’s just about looking at facts and reality and strengths and shortcomings and what you have to work with and forming an effective and winning strategy with it. That’s all. It’s not about trashing anyone, but rather about seeing what you’re actually seeing, commenting on it, and offering opinions about what may make it better. You know, being a dedicated fan. 🙂
Hey Sea Husky:
Pete C. took a team of rookies and neophytes to 11-5. They had no business being that good. Last June, most people on this site predicted 9-7 (or worse). 10-6 was more like a wet dream. I can’t remember anyone predicting 11-5.
Ahem. I predicted exactly 11-5. It’s on the record. 🙂
Paul:
Beyond the wet dream.
Well, good game and good season, was a lot of fun to watch. I mirror Rob’s thoughts a lot in this article. Considering the number of injuries that happened late I’m just happy this team made it to this point. Final 8 aint bad for a walking corpse. Lots of ups and downs this season, but I can’t complain too much. I enjoy watching this team, and I have a feeling next year will be the one…just need to add a few key pieces and maintain health for a full season. A rematch vs the 49ers would have been cool, but I think a loss in that game would have been far worse than today’s loss.
The only major staff change I’d like to see this offseason is a new DC. I know it won’t fix personnel or change scheme too much, but Norton doesn’t fit imo. Obviously keep who we can and get who we can from free agency, and of course nail the draft!
I’m really looking forward to this offseason though. A lot to be excited about. I expect at least one unexpected (Harvin/Graham/Avril like) move in free agency, and plenty of trade downs in the draft. I think this will be one of the more exciting offseasons this team has had in awhile (watch them do nothing exciting XD).
Either way, good season, went better than expected and I only see improvement from here on out. Go Hawks!!
I too wasn’t too affected by losing today. I think seeing the other teams with high expectations losing in crushing manners made me appreciate the competitiveness of the Seahawks more, especially given all the injuries. They did not embarrass themselves and made Greenbay sweat.
This was suppose to be a reloading year and agree with you that we should see improvement for next year!
Absolutely agreed on all points. Even before this season began it seemed like 2020 would be a more promising season than this one—this year like last year was largely a transitional one and the team had to move on from a lot of players (remember when Baldwin retired??). The fact that the Seahawks were competitive in spite of all the roster churn and injuries is a positive and speaks to the organization being one of the top ones in the NFL. It’s very very hard to get to a conference finals —just ask the Saints—and losing in the division round isn’t an indictment of Carroll. Some of the decision-making was suspect, sure, but really we lost because Flowers got repeatedly torched by one of the best WRs in the game, not because of anything the coaches did.
I wouldn’t mind a new DC, but it’s really Pete’s defense. IDK if a new DC will make a huge difference.
In all honesty, the Seahawks exceeded the number of wins predicted this season. They played gritty football all year, but sometimes that isn’t enough. Too many things gone wrong on the defense this year to have expected to win a super bowl. time for a long offseason 🙁
Thanks Rob for your excellent coverage this season. I enjoy your analysis and wide perspective that makes following The Seahawks less emotional and more enjoyable. Look forward to your off season analysis now!
Go Hawks!
Thanks PK
Every year my brother and I put together a list of 20 players we want the Hawks to draft right before draft night. In the last 6 years we have draft a total of 2 players on our list.
The 2 players:
Tyler Lockett
Malik Mcdowell
We feel bad about the Mcdowell pick to be fair.
I have followed the blog for 10 years but it seems no matter how much we want certain players
other teams get them. So frustrating.
Some of the names on our list that we could have had:
Davante Adams
Allen Robinson
Kenny Clark (We have a note calling him the crab crouch man)…don’t ask
Henry Hunter
Michael Thomas
…..and so on.
We will not be making a list this year. Collier was not on our list. Neither was Penny.
Reply
So you guys are to blame for McDowell! Jk
I was really into the draft during the Tyler Lockett year and was so excited they moved up to get him.
Hope you guys continue the top 20 list if It is something you and your brother enjoy. Keep some perspective that while there are players on the list that turn out good, there is likely more that we were lucky the hawks didn’t draft (6 years of list = 120 players )
For the Colliers there are the Metcalf’s. Just gotta enjoy the process.
Hey PK:
Don’t give up on Collier just yet. It takes some guys a couple of years to get their poop together. Look at Frank Clark. By year 3 he was a stud pass rusher.
Good reminder LouieLouie. I haven’t given up on him but just the comparison to Metcalf who has done well in his first season.
Agreed let’s see how it turns out in a couple years. I remember Britt seemed like a bust until he moved to center and was a stud.
I’ve pretty much given up on L.J.. Keep in mind he was a relatively old draft pick who lacked athleticism and great size for his position. Collier’s whole appeal was the hope he could come in and contribute to the D-Line rotation from year 1. I suppose there’s a chance he suddenly becomes really good but it’s unlikely and you could basically say that about anyone.
If you did a redraft I think it’s unlikely LJ goes before round 5. Just not a lot there to build upon.
Give him a chance. It’s only year one.
I know it’s Pete’s defence, but do questions have to be asked about Norton? The tackling has been a joke all year, it’s a straight up technical issue that’s correctable and has been seemingly been completely ignored. And then not to pick one game/moment whatever, but I don’t understand the plan to handle Adams tonight at all – especially that last play where he was covered by Amadi and Hill?
They need to have a massive look at the S&C team. They’ve given the classic Carroll cronyism a go, bringing in his old USC mate, but the injury rate, especially soft tissue stuff, appears to be up.
Would like to see more pace across the team, on both offence and defence. Can never have too much pace, and the Hawks are a slow team.
We all know the issues with the D-line, no point rehashing that. It needs an enormous infusion of talent. Who knows if anything will come of Collier, but they really need to go back to the well in a big way.
Honestly not sure where things go next year. I think we could easily see an improved team that doesn’t get as lucky in close games and either misses or only just scrapes into the playoffs.
Sucks to lose but I am very proud of how this team played this year. With all the injuries and everything this year this team never gave up at all. We need a freak of an Edge Rusher, A Pocket Collapsing DT, possibly another CB. But overall this team needs to get BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER, MORE PHYSICAL, and NASTIER on defense.
Can’t wait to see what this draft brings this year. They have an opportunity to really improve this team and I hope we hit on some major talent this year.
And yes. I do agree that these slow 1st half starts just hamstring teams. You waste a limited # of drives. Can’t win the 1st half, bit you sure can lose.
Anyone notice a common theme in these playoffs? Jumping out to an early lead. Doesn’t always work, Houston, but it did for 3 of the 4.
Did you really think Graham made a first down at the end? I thought for they’d move it back a yard – his elbow even took out a huge divot and you could see the divot was a 1/2 yard short of the yellow line to gain!
I just wanted to see if I was the only one shocked that they didn’t remark the ball at the end. I haven’t been impressed with replay this year – I don’t think anyone has been.
We need someone besides Lano Hill at safety also – Rogers targeted him on both key 3rd downs at the end.
Go Hawks!
Graham did NOT make the first…clearly. I actually counted 6 bad decisions by the refs on our account.
Rob, I know the draft is more of your forte, but many thanks for the Instant Reaction posts, and overall coverage of the football season. On to the draft! While I’m disappointed the seasons over, it went about the way I thought it would. Agree with the article, and fall into the group that bemoans the typical ‘slow starts’ that the Hawks always put us through. I can’t help but think that the only way that ever goes away is when PC hangs it up. As I said to a friend, I think of this game as the ATL game when the 9ers last went to SB. Hopefully we do enough in the offseason to have a repeat of 2013/14. Thanks again, Rob. Go Hawks.
I’m going to bed. I’m not going to be around to monitor the comments until tomorrow.
Please, people, I’m asking politely. Use perspective. Don’t overreact. It’s tempting after a loss to want everyone fired. Take a step back. Breathe. Maybe don’t even post today.
Consider your views. I don’t want this place to be a trashy, OTT hot takes forum.
Good call. We Americans tend to have hot tempers. You Englishmen should try it sometime. lol
First and foremost, Thank you for the content you provide and the manner you present it as well as the governing of others. I appreciate the investment and sacrifice on your part to provide this. You provide a reasoning atmosphere and sense of calm that I have come to appreciate in the off-season. I look forward to your future articles for the off season. That being said. I am encouraged by this season. We went 11-5 with a lot of crucial injuries, young players that got playoff experience (yes some of them got burned tonight), ageing players that we are going to have to make decisions on. I am excited to see how they address our Offensive line. Defensive line. Adding speed to our defense. Good news is we got cap space and a number of draft picks. I remind everybody how bleak it was last year after cowboys loss, with not much cap space and very little draft capital and still the Seahawks managed an 11-5 season. Slow starts and all, it absolutely is part of Pete Carroll’s coaching style, but as John_s pointed out his coaching style absolutely affect this team in a positive way. The only thing that really bothers me about this team this season is the pick on L.J Collier and the lack of production/inactive on a line that did not have a consistent pass rush. Concerning and hope its more of redshirt type of philosophy similar to Rasheem Green
Rob,
Thank you for another year of insightful and fantastic coverage. Always enjoy your writing. Please ignore some of this rubbish from so many weekend GMs. Going 11-5 with the incredible number of injuries during a supposedly rebuilding/retooling years and making it to inches of going to the conf championship would be a dream season for Browns/Lions/Jets/Raiders/Dolphins/etc. fans but not to this fan base. Keep up the great work. Look forward to your future articles on how to improve this team thru FA and draft and your specific suggestions.
Cheers…
Great write up Rob I think you have summed up the sitatuon and off season priority perfectly.
For all those clamouring for Pete’s job. Please give your head a shake, What other team could have overcome this many injuries and made it the the NFC semi -final with a chance to win. This team team battled above their weight class all season and that is because of the culture thier coach has created. Hawks fans will never know how good they have it till he is gone likely. Ask USC fans.
I agree, good season. This hurts like the rest of them But if we take the experter view point this is what year two of a rebuild 😉
Thanks again Rob for the hard work this season! No onto minimise and control and get better.
Also, I was wrong Clowney is a STUD. Needs to be a Hawk for a good while at least, if not retire as one!
Heads up guys. Pete and his scheme and staff do a lot with not a lot and those players are better for it. And we are lucky for it.
Some quick thoughts;
– The first half blowouts are frustratingly consistent, and even more so is Pete’s seeming disinterest in addressing these issues.
– That said, Pete has earned himself plenty of mulligans. This team has no business being in the post-season, as even Carroll’s most ardent critic would have to admit.
– The Seahawks found a couple of foundational players in Clowney and Diggs, but too much of the rest of the defense has shown itself to need replacing with more talented/higher ceiling options and the Seahawks need to be aggressive in making these changes.
– The same can be said for the offense, though it was much more of a victim of injuries than simply poor performance. That said, the Seahawks can’t pin the status of their offensive line on a bunch of over-thirty guys going forward…
– So long Germaine Ifedi, Ziggy Ansah, Brandon Jackson, CJ Prosise, Mike Iupati… Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Yeah, the team really is in a great spot, a ton of cap room, a lot of picks, a HoF QB and one of the most opportunistic GMs in the NFL. There is no reason (outside injuries) that this team is not right there competing for the SB next year. Of course PC needs to open up a bit on O but I think that will come naturally.
” Now is the time. 2020 is the year to make the leap. ” …I sure hope you are right Rob
One thing I must say. Reed is not making the impact of a 15 million per year tackle. Less than 10…Maybe.
I’d give him about 5-7 mill per year. Nothing more.
Pretty sick of people talking like Pete is killing russ. Both have a ton of success and weve seen better quarterbacks spend entire careers dreaming of this success. Dan Marino never got 1. Guys like brees, Rodgers, young, only got 1 or been there once. Hawk fans who talk like Wilson should have 2 or 3 more by now can go to hell. To think that Pete has handicapped him need to look around the league aside from Brady. This is the NFL. Parity reigns. And Pete has built a sustaining championship-ish team for 10 years. Just getting the chance every year in playoffs is a good thing. Firing coaches who only win 10-12 games a year is a stupid thought.
Hate his philosophy. Hate his gun chewing. But respect the fact he is winning every year. Looking for the next flash in the pan is a stupid reactionary thought.
Lol. ‘Hate his gum chewing.’ Are there really people who don’t like that a coach chews gum?
‘Vince Lombardi sucks! Look at him. Always over there smoking.’
‘Stupid Tom Landry. I hate your newsie hat.’
I think its ridiculous that any thought of criticism is seen as treason and idiocy. We all love PC, but he is not in fallible. If you know football you know that his play calling and X’s and O’s have been suspect his entire career. He isnt going down as the best game caller anytime soon. His beauty is the culture he creates and what he gets out of talent. Guy is a god in Seattle, he just needs to evolve on his offensive theory, like Andy Reid!!!
Nobody is saying don’t criticise or that PC is fallible. We criticise plenty, I’ve criticised plenty. But there has to be a perspective to everything. There’s a lot to consider. In this case the supreme culture, consistent winning, the laundry list of injuries and the inadequate defense that needs an off-season repair.
Fact is, after watching this team struggle for years, PC is one of the best things to ever happen for Seahawk football.
With all the injuries had this year, can’t think of too many other coaches who could still navigate an 11-5 record along with a road playoff win.
PC likes ground and pound football.
He likes a balanced attack.
Deal with it.
What’s more, RW LOVES Pete Carroll. Wanna piss him off?
It seems pretty apparent that most players really seem to really enjoy playing for Pete.
Also, his record of success over the last 10 years is as good as anyone not named Belichick.
So let’s see what happens.
Maybe this is 2012 all over again.
Tons of cap space, lots of draft capital.
He and John have earned the right to retool this thing.
I for one can’t wait for next year.
He needs not evolve his offense like Reid? Reid, the guy who hasnt won the big one. Who is the most pass happy coach in the league. Listen, I get the frustration watching the hawks. They seem to make it hard on themselves. But they dont. Look at the team and how they act when they are down big. Did the ravens come out and fight? Or did they put there head down and look defeated? Did MVP Lamar act like cool calm russ, or did he go full cam? See, teams that fight to the end like the hawks tend to always do isnt as consistent as you think.
We can beat up Pete’s theories, say hes old and the game is past him. We can hammer his in game decisions. But acknowledge his consistency. This isnt a guy with an 0-7 playoff record like marvin lewis. He has rebuilt and transitioned his team without falling off into top 10 pick territory.
I’m not trying to knock criticism of better situational coaching. I’m just not acting like this is an old team who’s trending down. We are turning this around from 2 years ago, when we had that disastrous 9-7 season. Which is hilarious. That’s the worst it’s been since 2011. Let’s focus on what hawks need to do to add to retool. Simply overhauling the entire coaching staff seems counterproductive. Or imagining pete comes out throwing 50 times a game and running a completely different style. That is not his style and trying to coach something you dont fully believe in tends to have worse results. Pete will be Pete, and until his teams start really losing, he deserves to be not thrown under the bus.
I’m not just directing this at you, it’s the Twitter happy fans who forget the misery of watching this team suck. The websites that trash a guy for not winning it all every year. Let’s enjoy being a perennial playoff team. Unlike the rams, cards, 9ers. Who sandwich winning between wasted years with no hope.
Does anyone know the production value of Shaquem Griffin when we have him rushing the passer? he’s made some plays here this year.
Thank you Rob, what a well rounded perspective. Of course, I’m disappointed but, so proud of the fight of this team. I encourage everyone to become a patron of Rob. I did today. Go Hawks!
If two of these three are playing today I think the outcome is completely different .
Starting TE : Dissly
Starting RB : Carson
Starting C: Britt
WSe had a lot of injuries but those three were game changers IMO.
My brother said earlier that our backup center has no business playing in the NFL….LOL
I like his heart but Hunt is too small and played with a broken finger today as well. We got no push up the middle in the run game at all. He really struggled today.
We all lament about the slow starts in games. Well, looking at the last three games the reason should be obvious. When Wilson runs with he ball as he has in the second half of the last three, the offense does real well. When he doesn’t they can’t get going.
Man I am so hyped for this offseason. We have the cap space and draft capital to push us over the top. We almost made it to the NFC championship with a dog poop roster. With 80+ mill in cap space and lots of draft capital, we are ready to make a run. People need to shut up on Twitter, be blessed you have a winner like Pete for a head coach. Spoiled fans.
+1
Clowney has to be resigned. If not…yikes. My gut call – I don’t think he signs with us.
I don’t like your gut….it must be huge and unhealthy. lol
Clowney wanted to come to Seattle, because of D Brown and other reasons, so what’s to suggest he isn’t interested in re-signing? By all accounts he enjoyed his season here and wants to return.
Another team could offer a ridiculous contract, one the Hawks can’t/won’t match, but that’s the only reason he wouldn’t be back IMO.
3rd string guard and center. Left tackle had knee surgery 3 weeks ago. Two tight ends who weren’t on the team at the start of the year neither of whom can block. 4th string running back and a running back who retired 3 years ago.
And yet that offense nearly pulled it off.
I’m disappointed but I also loved this team. I watched Houston and Minnesota and Baltimore crumble and look defeated this weekend. Seattle with a shell of a team in many respects nearly pulled it out again. Being in this game to the end is all about Pete’s culture and belief. He’s not a perfect coach but this team being this close is astonishing.
Rob. It’s a pleasure coming to this blog and reading your thoughts, thoughts which challenge me as a fan to think more clearly. Your draft work consistently gives me a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of this team and much of the league. You are the best!
Great perspective on the state of the offense and the culture of the team.
The question is, with all that against them why so much better in the second half than the first ?
I think great adjustments at half. They saw what was working and what wasnt. Homer played more, lynch more goalline back. The started moving the ball. Plus russ looked on a mission. Once they started rolling, GB had trouble countering.
The moved the ball somewhat in first half, but missed some conversions on 3rd down. Sometimes it’s not a X and O thing. Its execution.
Great post!
This was a severely depleted and limited team by playoff time, but they really showed tremendous heart, fight and resolve. Pete Carroll is directly responsible for much of that, and I bet you won’t even hear him talk about the team’s injuries, not in terms of an excuse or reason they aren’t moving on. He is a master motivator, an eternal optimist (which does rub off on many of the players), and a class act. He’s already thinking ahead to the start of the next season. Seattle is lucky he continues to coach this team!
This is going to be a fun offseason, for once the Hawks have both cap space and draft picks to work with. There’s lots of holes to fill but JS will get it done. Should be a blast to discuss and to see how it unfolds!
Good unintentional idea, Rob. I’ll drown my sorrows in some Green Day on shuffle
Well, it’s over. Good season. It was clear that defense has to be our highest priority. I was glad to see Phil Haynes play LG. I think he’s going to be a big asset going forward. Didn’t like what I saw from Tre Flowers. He has the speed and the length, he just doesn’t have the quick change of direction to hang with better receivers. Any thoughts about drafting a top CB and switching Flowers back to safety, the position he played in college. He has Earl Thomas, Eric Berry speed, but is much longer and could cover sideline to sideline. I’d love to see him get that shot.
A friend of mine told me an interesting stat a little while ago – the Seahawks have been outscored 112-13 in the first half of 5 road divisional playoff games. That’s pretty crazy.
That being said – would we really trade places with anyone in the NFL in terms of stability of head coach and franchise QB in Russell Wilson? Seriously?
I love Patrick Mahomes, but not enough to want Andy Reid over Carroll in the switch. I love D. Watson, but not at the expense over either Wilson or Carroll.
There is no other head coach-QB combination that I would rather have.
I’m saddened by the end of this season, but I’m excited for what’s ahead…
What hurts the most is the second guessing. I’m talking about myself and what I think. Like when Turner dropped that easy first down catch late in the fourth quarter and the Seahawks ended up with a 4th and 11 and punted. Just stupid stuff like that. But – that happens (sometimes for us; sometimes against us). It’s part of it. Every playoff teams ends the season with a bad taste in their mouths except for one. It isn’t fun, but at least we actually have draft picks to look forward to this off-season. Sure, the first and two in the second won’t come until late in each round, but it’s better than entering the offseason the last two years in a row with only a singular pick total in the first two rounds.
I’d think about Reid and Mahomes and I’d think about Harbaugh and Jackson and that’s it. And that’s the two most recent MVPs with two of the four or five best coaches in the league. Pete and Russell are right there with them on both fronts.
But that doesn’t mean neither one has flaws. Pete is a little like Reid in that he’s an all-time great weekday coach installing a system and a culture, developing and teaching players, etc., but not necessarily a great gameday coach in terms of strategic decisionmaking, timeouts, challenges, stuff like that. He’s also very set in his ways, believes he knows what way is best, and isn’t interested in listening to outside input. So he won’t listen to analytics on running the ball or long field goals, he hires a Brian Schottenheimer who will tell him what he wants to hear instead of considering an innovative college playcaller who might challenge him, brings in Norton who’s one of his guys and will run his defense instead of somebody who might add new wrinkles, and so on.
I don’t believe any DC could make chicken salad without any chicken. This defense is void of talent at too many spots. When Lano Hill is on the field ever – you know you have a problem. And when you basically have defensive linemen, most of whom cannot rush the passer or stop the run… what wrinkles can you put in that will mask the lack of talent?
The offense needs a good, young guard like Solomon Kindley and it needs another receiving weapon for Wilson. When a guy like Turner is getting targets late in the fourth quarter with your season on the line and drops easy receptions – you need to do something because the WR depth after DK and Lockett is terrible. That’s two important pieces with only 3 picks in the first 2 rounds – and more young talent needs to be assembled on defense (in addition to free agency to be able to allow the team to draft a guard early and maybe a WR, too).
But Pete/John drafted Lano Hill. He and Tedric were their succession plan at safety. ANd the d-line was the d-line that this regime built. It’s not like 2010 when Pete had to take a roster that someone else built and do what he could to make it a winner. Why would you trust this regime to improve on this roster when they were the ones who built it in the first place?
Why wouldn’t you and who is your choice as a better alternate? I’m not interested in having someone fired for the sake of firing them and if you’re talking about a new head coach – can you prove to me that he’ll never get outcoached? If you can – then, yes, let’s get that coach. But even Belichick has been outcoached a few times before.
Pete has on more than one occasion out coached Belichick
It’s interesting how the Pete apologists constantly move the goalposts. Talk about Pete’s bad in-game coaching? It’s because he has bad players. Mention that he brought those players in? It’s because every coach makes mistakes. We haven’t made it to the NFC championship in five years. Pete has an antiquated system on both sides of the ball that only worked cause he stuck gold and had amazing talent. Pete hasn’t been able to find the talent again (and pushed that talent out in the first place). He creates an amazing winning culture but has neither the scheme nor the players to make it past the quarterfinals in the tournament. If Russ choked five years straight would we want him as our QB? Pete isn’t good enough. The job is to find someone who can take what he built and take it too the next level. This isn’t about being “outcoached a few times” This is about five years of being outcoached.
Asking you to come up with a superior alternative is NOT ‘moving the goalposts’.
Neither is it being ‘a Pete apologist’.
I don’t understand why people have to be such jerks about this. It’s OK, you know, to actually like a successful Head Coach. It doesn’t make you an ‘apologist’. It just makes you a normal bloke.
Your post stinks of naivety, SeanMatt. ‘He only succeeded because he struck gold’. Yeah, alright. Get in the sea.
I like PC and am happy with him. But I would like to hear an explanation why Adams was not bracketed more (or something – w/o the all 22 hard to see exactly what they did and didn’t do). Or at least what they tried. With Adams and Jones as the only real threat it’s frustrating to have Adams open so often and covered by 28 or 42 on the biggest plays of the game.
For the draft I’d rather focus on the OL than WR. The happy feet and self sacks need to stop, even if it means investing more in an area of already large investment.
I’m a Wagner and Wright fan, hoping the lack of good run D is not them losing a step.
Funny people think slow starts is the fault of Pete but the halftime adjustments, where good coaching really shows, are not his credit.
Remember in 2012 playoffs when the Hawks comeback fell just short in the Divisional round? Clemons was our only semblance of pass rush in 2012 and needed help. I think he missed that game against the Falcons…If we can infuse the pass rush ala the 2013 free agency period (Averill and Bennett) to join Clowney (a must re-sign), I feel like our defense is really 2 CB away from a strong defense (Flowers needs to step up in year 3 or be replaced. Amadi hopefully is ncb of future but needs competition). Possibly one more year of Wright but a need for some more LB speed.
Our offense is strong with some great young pieces and some Oline tinkering should keep us near the top of the league. As long as we use our cap $ and draft capital well, and Russ keeps being durable and MVP like Russ, we have a strong contender in 2020-2022 and a possible return to the Big game in Feb.
As a side note, I will always cherish the memories of the Beasts 4 TDs in his 3 game span song and loved the double Griffin sack. Got chills in that moment.
Love Pete and his culture and love the no quit attitude that the hawks have. Cherish it all friends!
good points, I hope we can retain Clowney. I hope they also address the piss poor tackling issues. The defense is the weak link on the team. Top of the league is generous considering our division. My guess is the Rams still struggle next year, but the cardinals will be tough, and we will have another tough schedule next year
So I put myself through the misery of watching the highlights. Why was Clowney off the LOS on that last 3rd down? Almost like they were using him as a spy or something.
With the obvious caveats that everyone involved in that play call has forgotten more about football than I’ll ever know, I genuinely have no idea what was going on with it. Clowney off the LOS, Amadi being left to handle Adams with Hill (of all people) apparently giving coverage help…
How about how Phil Haynes played?
I thought he played like a stud considering these were his first snaps
I, for one, am having a scotch to toast what an unexpected and successful season this was. Yes, they had a chance to make the NFC Championship game. But looking at where we started this season and what the expectations were, that statement is simply incredible. Through in a slew of injuries and we have done nothing but vastly overachieve all year. I’m looking forward to the path ahead (even if I think there could be some coaching upgrades within the staff).
The silver lining of this moment? the season ends, and offseason begins. I truly love this blog even more over the next 3 months. Thanks again Rob for the insight, level headed analysis all year, and the work to come.
What a crazy season. I enjoyed it. It was nice to see the Seahawks overachieve. Totally agree with your list of offseason priorities.
Resign Clowney, as long as its not over 20 million a year..
Resign Fant.
Resign Ifedi, the guy never misses a snap… as long as his price is not unreasonable.
Resign Jefferson, should be relatively cheap and he knows the system and plays hard and contributes.
Resign Reed, hopefully under 10 million a year.
Find some depth in secondary.
Find some speed rushers and interior depth too.
Find another tight end and number 3 receiver.
A new punt & kick returner would be nice too.
And keep Jason Myers.
I’ll be checking in almost daily, thanks Rob!
Go hawks!
I love Pete and his energy and all his innovative ideas on defense. But the game plan used by Tennessee last nite to flood the middle of the field and force Lamar Jackson to beat them with throws to the outside is exactly what SEAHAWKS should have used tonite. Aaron Rodgers is too good to allow the middle of the field to be wide open for him to read to find open receivers. Davonte Adams was his main target all nite and we couldn’t figure out a way to cover him. Tough to blame defense when we didn’t scheme it good enough to help get them off field on 3rd and Longs.
Wow, after reading that giant blob of garbage my only take away is that you sound like a huge ass hole. Why do you feel the need to be so petty and vindictive? Rob doesn’t owe you or I anything, he does this out of his spare time and the fact you think it’s valid to criticize him like this is more telling about you then him.
Can’t believe they punted on 4th and 11 at the end. Give Russ a chance…
Thats a tough one as they had all three timeouts and the two minute warning. If we stop them on one of the two third and longs we get the ball back.
With a better defence, sure. But given they’d been unable to stop GB on third down all game, you have to expect that they’re going to be able to put a decent drive together.
4th and 11 is hard, but it’s season on the line stuff. Sometimes you have to play to win.
I’m not defending the decision fully, but the idea that they “hadn’t stopped GB all game” is a bit revisionist history. GB struggled to move the ball in the 2nd half outside of their first drive.
They don’t punt if they don’t take the sack, pretty simple.
I’ll taking my chances trying to get a stop on third and long all day over trying to convert a fourth and 11 in my own territory. Green Bay made plays when they needed to. If our defense comes up with one of those stops, we are probably praising our boys right now.
I had the same feeling when i was watching – GB’s defense looked gassed and on their heels at that point…go for it Pete! But on reflection, the odds of making a 4th and 11 are not great and if they dont, since the defense hadn’t stopped GB for the most part of the game, if GB scores again the game is pretty much over. Instead you take a chance of stopping them over the length of the field with three timeouts plus the two min warning. They got them on third and long twice – just couldn’t stop them on third down when they absolutely had to..
I completely agree on keeping Fant and doing it early. Not only is he a guy who can be our starting RT but he can also take over at LT when Brown hangs them up. I wonder if 2-3 years at about $5-7 million a year can do the trick. I agree this could be one of the first things they do. Then you just dont have to worry about what Ifedi does.
+1
Clowney reports that he wants to go to a contender next years. Says he is not sure that is with the Seahawks… really sad about this response from him.
I think you are reading too much into it. Its smart for him business wise to not commit to any team. Obviously he knows the Seahawks are contenders, and im sure we have just as good if not better chances than any other team to land Clowney. Most of the contenders are tight on cap space anyways unlike the Seahawks.
I think my sadness comes from the lack of excited for the team. I understand the business aspect, leveraging himself, but the lack of excitement and the statement being made shows me a disconnect.
Didn’t see comments, but emotional after game, hurting, disappointment etc… I’m not gonna put too much stock in it
Maybe it is right not to read into it, but the fact it was emotional is what makes it powerful. It wasn’t filtered, it was his true feelings.
1) the Seahawks are contenders
2) that comment means you don’t need to worry about whatever abysmal team with cap space will offer something stupid and that he takes it just to get paid
Agree on both points! I was most concerned a bottom feeder would offer him obscene money, something he might not be able to turn down. If he will only play for a real contender then that shouldn’t be an issue. Don’t think any of the teams with big cap space are really better contenders than the Hawks!
*a contender with a huge amount of cap space and need for a base end in a 4-3
Man Trey Flowers had a really bad game. OL was rough too, definitely let a couple drives crumble in the first half. But they didnt over overthrow Malik, or drop a pass that may have gotten a first down (Hollister).
Sucks, but it was to be expected, their margin of victory was so slim, it just couldnt handle being down this many players.
Its going to be really interesting to see what happens to the OL DL this off season. Lots of picks, and cap space, it could get wild!
Also, this night feels like the day SDB discussion died, and got run over by drunks and trolls. RIP.
Some positives:
Phil Haynes getting to play finally, and in the playoffs
Amadi/Barton got some late season experience too, and hopefully take that into the offseason to build on.
We have FS for next year, on a good contract
We probably won’t have to watch Hill play another snap if Blair can stay healthy and make the leap in year 2
George Fant looks ready to be a starter
A very good, but not quite great, season by the Hawks this year. Sorry that they lost, but they exceeded my expectations, except Russell Wilson because I’ve learned to expect “outstanding”. A good draft and some more experience for the young players and some free agent pickups and we’ll be back in the hunt. Crossing fingers for a much better next season on the medical front. Holy cow I’ve never seen a team drop so many starters, especially on offence.
Thanks VERY much to our astute SDB host for the insights and entertainment! Good on ya, Rob.
Great perspective Rob- going to be a fun offseason with priorities as clear as you outline.
Carroll has his quirks that can be frustrating sometimes, but the end result doesn’t lie. This team exceeded expectations even through a dearth of injuries. Drafting 27 is much higher than most of us on here could have predicted even with a healthy squad.
Hawks are close and have the ammo to improve.
If you are superior, on either side of the ball, then you make a plan, come out, and execute.
If you are not superior, you make a plan, come out, try to execute, and get slapped around (a slow start).
If you are resilient, a culture of battling though. and have the experience to see in real time where the opportunities are, then you rally.
An impressive end to an impressive season, and sure, I wish they had won.
A lot of good football teams have been sent home in the last 8 days.
Thanks for all you do here Rob. You make being a fan more enjoyable, and not just as a Seahawks fan. I’m excited to see what PC/JS does with the warchest of picks they have this year and the continued development of the ’19 class e.g. Amadi, Hayes, Decalf, Barton.
They’ve got a LOT of draft picks this year. And you’re right, it’s very clear what needs to be addressed. I think it’s gonna be a great off-season. Really hoping they keep Clowney and Diggs. I haven’t seen you talk much about this, but I’m curious to see what they end up doing with the kicker position. Meyers got a little better the second half of the season.
Diggs has two years left on his contract
Here is my thoughts when then the Seahawks we’re down 21-3 at half time we all knew we were in trouble . Okay my thoughts are when I think of the San Francisco 49ers my first thought is there defense line and what did Green Bay Packers do in the off season in the off season sign One Smith from the Ravens and one Smith from the Redskins.We all agree that both those teams have a better pass rush then the Seahawks .we definitely have to address that. Al Woods situation definitely hurt run stuffing and overall depth of the defense like. We all know Pete Carroll is a Defense guy and I see some changes coming
Ahh gotcha. For some reason I kept thinking Diggs was a potential 1-year rental. As long as he can stay healthy, that’ll be great.
Draft
1st – Jalen Reagor
2nd – DemarKus Acy
2nd – Akeem Davis-Gaither
3rd – Kamren Curl
Free agency (sign 2 of 3)
1. Chris Jones (If available)
2a. JaDeveon Clowney
2b. Dante fowler
3. Pray that you get 2 of the 3 aforementioned
Not sure if they can pull it off but I would be be happy with that in free agency.
Like the FA options, just not sure Jones makes it to free agency, probably gets tagged by KC. There’s other options though, be interesting to see what Rob has to say in the coming days.
Not very familiar with your draft options, will have to look into this more.
Why not add a reasonable trade for OJ Howard as well, then we’re really cooking.
Go hawks!
Proud to be a fan of this team. Super happy to see them battle back and not completely crap the bed against Green Bay, who I hate. Love Pete’s coaching style, super happy to not have a flash in the pan like Mcvay. Excited for what this team can do next year…give them some time to rebuild after the legion of booms exit. And yes please fix the slow starts.
Rob why for a playoff game are we chat inna 3 day old post???
Um who cares? It was easy to figure out where the community was talking.
I cared. I care that there should easily be a game chat for all games it’s not hard.. but you dont so you are right.
I think you misunderstand the nature of this website. It is Rob’s personal blog upon which he has generously invited comments & exchange of opinions from anyone who cares to make the effort. It’s not a chat room.
I haven’t missed anything. It is a chat and comment/discussion website. There are several people who provide content to “Robs personal blog”. Your argument is irrelevant and disagreeing with me doesn’t make you right.
The final thought of this season is there is zero teams (head coach , GM, roster, cap space, draft capital) I would change for what we have…the only negative for next season is strength of division…
With good off-season we are real SB contenders if not favorites…
Rob (and the gang)
I look at this season as similar to the 2012 season. Not quite the same talent level, but some key pieces have been brought in to build around via draft, FA, etc
They have 2 very good WR options under contract (Lockett + Metcalf)
They have QB locked down (RW)
They have 2 quality TEs (Dissly + Hollister)
LT is locked down by Brown.
The starting safety duo is now set, instead of searching for the last 2-3 years.
2 quality LBs (Wagner / Wright)
So this really widdles down where Seattle needs to look to replace or strengthen the team.
1) More or less the whole DL needs some retooling. Retaining Clowney and Reed would make the job much easier. The loss of Woods to suspension really hurt down the stretch.
2) The back-up safety position is needing to be overhauled. TT and D-Hill just haven’t panned out. I like Blair and Amadi, so maybe 1 more guy to bring into the mix.
3) CB is certainty up in the air right now. Both starting CBs played well at times, but both have also crapped the bed in big moments.
4) RB is up in the air for me. I love Carson, but he has suffered a major injury. I thought Penny was starting to turn the corner and should be ready to break-out next season. But beyond these 2, not much depth or faith, unless you believe Homer is the real deal.
5) Need some depth at TE / insurance incase one of more the guys can’t make it back.
This team is much closer to being a SB team than most in the NFL, everyone has got to keep the faith in PC/JS process.
I would certainty rather be Seattle right now than Minnesota, Houston, New Orleans or Baltimore.
Green Day: “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”
I’ll keep it short and sweet. What a season, over achieved, Russell is a savage, DK proved himself although he has more to show, defense needs youth/work, carson is BAMF when healthy as well as Penny. Lots more to say but I’m happy with what showed with what we have. 2020 should be a year!!!
I guess I am a simpleton, but it seems simple to me. RW has to get back to running more in the first half of games. If he does we can have a great year next year, The second half of the last three games prove that.
It definitely opens up things a ton when he runs but he took some huge hits today. I know he is incredibly tough and durable but I don’t think it is sustainable.
I’m convinced the hits are why he doesn’t run more. He/we want him to play for another decade and that’s much more likely to happen if he doesn’t play like a RB for 17-20 games a year.
Pete Carroll said something after the game that I have posted here before. This team reminds him of the 2012 team. I believe that next year or the year after the Seahawks will play in the Superbowl. Hopefully they will play the 49ers in the NFC Title Game to get there (or maybe the Packers).
The slow start they had in the first half would have been much closer with a decent defense. We’ve all seen John Schneider work in the past, so I have no doubt that the Seahawk defense will not be a liability next year.
They and we said last year felt like 2012. They didn’t take a step forward outside of playing a historically bad 4 seed in the wild card round. Defense is bad. Special teams is bad. No pass rush. Continually relying on RW to play miraculously at the end of games to win. The point differential should scare everyone because that shows the margin of error with this team. It is slim. And Pete doesn’t seem to want to increase margin of error as a general strategy to winning football games.
. . . the way i see it pete just wants to shorten the whole football game to the last five minutes, we know that, and it usually works, but we gotta lock down in the red zone early on so that the halftime deficit is 6 instead of 18 . . . i have no problem with this philosophy of using the first half to see what the defense is going to give you, so you can ope unp the playbook exploit it in the second half, we just need a better, more consistent defense . . .
Hey Rob. I have one question for you. Do you think Shaquem Griffin will be on the roster in 2020? The Hawks have a boat load of draft picks and competition will be fierce.
Rob: When the Patriots signed Stephen Gilmore it made a HUGE difference in New England’s pass defense. Also after the 2020 season Shaquill Griffin will be a free agent. Do you think the Seahawks should target a top corner either in free agency or early in the NFL draft?
We all love PC, but I wish he made adjustments sooner than at halftime. It is a common theme, play vanilla base schemes on defense and offense in the first half, not show all of your cards and save them for the 4th qtr. There is merit to that, I like it, but there comes a point when you are down 14 -3 in the 2nd qtr that you open up the play book more.
If they could only score 3 points in the first half, and 20 points in the second half, then they had the ability do it sooner. It may not be the plays themselves, but the philosophy.
It would be great to use the KC offense with RW, he would thrive in it. But what makes the KC offense work is they have a good run game and passing game. KC has talent and they have a balanced attack, with fewer injuries. Seattle has none of these 3. If Seattle could acquire the talent on the OL and DL, this would provide a good run game and pass protection for a balanced attack, and stay healthy.
Did they get a new Strength and conditioning coach lately? I heard this guy was at UW and he had problems with injuries also. I would look into what is being done in that department also to help prevent the injuries.
As I said before, the difference in the first half production and second half is Rw running with the ball. Plain and simple.
The fact that this injury-decimated team almost pulled out another one speaks volumes about this team’s grit and character. If one or two of the injured had been healthy, they win. If they had a few more minutes at the end, they win. If a few questionable calls go their way instead of in GB’s favor, they win. Point is, it was an impressive loss, if there is such a thing.
Next season will be interesting. Stronger, if they have a good offseason.
I think SF smokes GB next week.
And in the spirit of rooting for the deserving underdog among arrogant front runners…..Go Titans.
Couldnt agree more with everything. The spots and some calls were definitely GB favored. It happens.
Seattle should have lost the ball on the 35 yd line after their first play from scrimmage. It was a fumble, and GB came away with the ball, they were very fortunate there.
I desperately rooted for you guys. But i’m not a believer in huge road comebacks given the math so I never allowed myself to believe it would actually happen. Once the hole is that substantial the home team basically only has to have one competent stretch. In this case it was the final drive.
From a strategy standpoint the two plays I didn’t like were the three wide receivers split left on both the 2 point conversion play and also the final third down play. It just seemed like Seattle was betraying itself. When things are more balanced it seems like Russell Wilson has far greater opportunity to relax and identify the evolving weak spot, putting severe pressure on the defense. Instead when everything is congested on one side he’s briefly frozen and focusing there, with so much of his natural advantage forfeited.
Punting on 4th and 11 is very iffy. I would have gone for it. This sport will evolve to greater understanding that you have to go for it…to allow 2 chances instead of 1. Once you give the ball away then everything has to go your way. Stop, stop, then another stop. A defensive penalty is a killer. The opponent basically needs one good play and that opponent has Aaron Rodgers. The Seahawks were given a partial reprieve when Devante Adams went out of bounds. Otherwise it would have been more glaring that the Packers only needed one play.
If you for the 4th and 11 then you control your own destiny for one play. And even if it fails you can stop them at that point. The field position variance simply is not worth throwing away that incredibly valuable fourth down opportunity.
New England likewise punted to Tennessee last week and essentially never got the ball back, unless you count your own 1 yard line with a handful of seconds remaining.
You can certainly argue that the defense simply hasn’t been at the caliber to trust at the end of the game. However, in fairness, they allowed a TD to start the second half, and nothing since. Further, they had two chances to prevent a first down and get the ball back with time for a 2 minute drive. They got the Packers in third and long both times, but ultimately gave up the third down reception each time. The opportunities were there, and the conversions razor thin.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you Rob for another great season of coverage!
Thank you as well for always being reliably considered with your approach to Seahawks analysis when that can often be hard to come by. I’m really proud of this time, especially with decimation of injuries at the end and how they still kept pushing no matter what! I can’t wait for the offseason and I’m ready for those big moves and think we definitely can make the leap!
Now I’m looking forward to the Senior Bowl coverage! Great that we get into draft news and scouting so quickly after the season is finished! Can’t wait to keep reading!
I am amazed that nobody has yet figured out the brilliant strategy Pete Carroll has devised which harnesses the most powerful force in football – momentum. It’s all about the slow starts and fast finishes. In previous seasons I called it Rope-a-Dope – let your opponent wear themselves out by beating up on you. Unfortunately we often got in too deep a hole to dig ourselves out of. He has now modified it to what I call Hang Around – allow yourself to get behind, but not so far behind that you can’t pull it out in the fourth quarter when you get the supertanker turned around. Because you don’t win the game in the first quarter. And you don’t win the game in the second quarter. And you don’t win the game . . . well, you get the idea. I believe we are mostly concerned in the first half with setting things up that will work in the second half. We made this strategy work all season because we have a difference maker at QB. We almost made it work with backups like Homer, Hunt, Haynes, Hollister, etc. Unfortunately we just ran out of time . . . and luck.
Watching both those playoff games yesterday I could not help but think that PC/JS might have picked the wrong DE to give the $20 mil / yr deal to.
I applauded the Frank Clark Trade last year because JS seemingly got something for nothing. But yesterday Clark showed why he is worth that. Whenever the Texans were in 3rd and long he destroyed the play and had 3 sacks in those situations. Two of those sacks really helped switch he momentum. I stress they were not pressures or almost sacks. They were sacks that ended those drives.
I like Clowney a lot and think he is a beast but if we are going to pay someone $20 mil /yr at DE I want a guy who can be a consistent double digit sack guy and I just don’t see that in Clowney.
I personally would let Clowney and Reed walk and spend that $ on Chris Jones (if not tagged) and Dante Fowler. That way you have an elite interior pass rusher and speed rusher.
Let your two early round picks (Green and Collier) play Clowneys base end 5 tech spot.
As always, I am 100% with this.
@Trevor
What do you think what type of money Reed and Clowney will demand?
My guess is Clowney will want $20 mil / yr and Reed $10 mil /yr.
Reed may not find the market given he really has only had one big year so maybe they can bring him back on a 1 yr deal if he wants to boost his value. I like Reed I just dont see him as a top in DT.
The move to trade Clark can’t be viewed in a vacuum of Clowney vs Clark. Firstly, the draft capital obtained for Clark dramatically changed what the team did last spring, and since the acquired pieces are rookies, their benefits will be greater the following season(s).
Considering how little they traded for JD, if they retain him, they would still have a #1 DE and the draft picks, which is pretty solid.
It wasn’t a choice between the two, as Clowney was months later, and nobody could have guessed he would be available for pennies on the dollar.
Clark was also invisible for 2/3 of the season with the Chiefs, so you could point to those games to cherry pick your argument too.
Would they still have traded Clark away had they had a full compliment of draft picks? Was he the price we had had to pay for the mortgage bills we had run up? Or did they simply deem his asking price too high?
We will most likely never know.
Gerry what did the Hawks actually get in the Clark trade though? Collier did nothing year #1 and maybe he will pan out it who knows. Maybe the 2nd rounder this year will be a great pick but who know. Also the Hawks gave up Jaco Martin for Clowney and he had more sacks than Clowney this year.
I am not saying Clowney is not good. He is clearly a physical freak, incredible run defender and gets pressure on the QB. He is has just never been a top notch pass rusher in regards to sacks.
Really the only difference in the DL this year from last year was Clark and Martin for CLowney and Collier. The difference in our pass rush was staggering it really is as simple as that.
Also Clowney certainly did not sound like a guy who was going to give the Hawks any discount to stay her and why would he. I just strongly beleive the $20 mil /yr could be be used in other ways that would enable be of greater benefit.
All that ring said if they bring him back will I be upset? No but they will have to add a lot more as well.
They also didnt have the cap space really to sign Clark either.
Well we can certainly debate the true net gain on the trade, in terms of draft value. Thus far, it doesnt look good, but Im not writing off LJ as a lost cause/bust yet. Its only one season. But the draft is an inexact scinece, nobody is infallible. Additionally , you cant just evaluate only LJ, the sum of the entire draft, all of the picks need to be considered, since all of the moves, and total number of players acquired is a result of the extra draft capital they acquired.
Thus far, I kind of agree, it doesnt seem like the team is ahead, but this is a long term strategy, and the rest of the DL kinda sucks, so I am not sure having Franck Clark this season changes the net results, and their cap would have been extremely taxed.
If the 2019 class steps up and is a major factor next season, and the the team takes a step forward, I think the sum of it all can be a net positive.
IMO, trading Clark for a 1st, 2nd and cap savings was a brilliant move. What they did with the picks and/or savings is up for debate. If all that comes of it is Clowney, Collier and Blair…
Worst move might have been losing Coleman w/o a slot CB in place.
Yep, great points on the picks. Agreed on Coleman, but again, they were fairly tight on the cap last season, which again points to how amazing this season really was: they had 4 picks, minimal cap room, in midst of roster turnover and mild rebuild and they won 11 games and a playoff game.
Thanks again, Rob! Sad the season is over, but we got a whole lot more than I expected before the season. 2020 could be our year. “Let’s take care of our chicken.” -Marshawn Lynch
Are we not going to talk about dropping Clowney into coverage when the season depended on making a stop on 3rd and long? The single best game wrecker and guy who had been causing pass rush havoc in the 2nd half is going to drop into coverage where at best he is a liability and at worst dead space?
I fully understand the Defense is Pete’s thing, its his scheme, his plan, his personnel, etc. But the individual play calling is on the DC. Oakland’s D instantly got better when Norton left and ours has steadily gone down since he’s been in his current role.
No matter how unlikely it is, I am still praying for a different DC.
As long as we are talking about wanting change….Ivan the Terrible anybody? SC fans out there?
They gave up 500 more yards and 90 more points after Norton left.
I’m not saying he’s a superstar d coordinator but this team needs a serious upgrade on defense. They need more speed at all 3 levels and they need pass rushing both inside and out.
As an actuary (stats career), the correlation of Ivan with injury riddled seasons is too strong for comfort for me, and would be the primary guy to go ideally.
The defensive playcalling is puzzling at times, and adjustments often come later than they should. The defense, I think, can succeed under Ken Norton, but it won’t be because of him. The true question is who would be available that would be a proper match for Pete’s philosophy and would stand a strong chance of being an upgrade in game planning and situational play calling? Many fans immediately shout Wade Phillips, but he’s got his own structure and philosophy, and this is Pete’s defense. How comfortable would we be with a first time coordinator? Tough questions to answer.
Agree on injuries. Something needs to change. With league-average injuries we would have a punchers chance of making the Super Bowl.
I started talking to my buddies about Ivan when we hired him. Nobody cared. I remember how he ruined players at UW, and the USC faithful said the exact same thing when he was there. Why Pete hired him is beyond comprehension. Now we are seeing exactly what everyone else has seen, (me twice).
Hi Rob,
My apologies for not readying all the replies here but wanted to add mine. First, nice job covering this year as always. There’s lot to admire about the Seahawk operation. I Iove how they approach the business but they do so many smart things that the dumb things are maddening. I loved last year’s draft and think the players they have are indeed part of our future but knowing we have no RBs, and without our TE, one player we need and shows promise is “inactive”. Hello? A Baldwin-esque player is always needed! We know Wilson plays so much better in an up tempo game so we always start out pathetically methodical. There’ so much to admire of the coaching but things like time management is always an issue. I thoroughly enjoyed the game in the second half, dinking an dunking like so many teams do to us, totally knowing the ending would be so predictable. I’m just spewing because I don’t realistically don’t expect this to change. I mean, the draft is exciting and besides sucking a our first pick each year, the find gems but not playing them defies logic. OK, I’m done. Have a great year and nice job.
This season is finally over and the players get to get healthy, etc. it’s going to be an exciting offseason for sure. There are potential free agent options out there, but the main thing defensively is to get younger and FASTER. Need a pass rusher or two, depending on Clowney, need another corner, ideally. We need some more speed at linebacker as well. Ifedi, I’m sorry, but he needs to take someone else’s money. Conklin in Tennessee is a free agent and they have to deal with Henry and Tanneyhill. He’s an upgrade, but at what price? Have to find a young guard who has starter potential, and Bredeson is a dude who fits that bill. So many variables but it promises to be a fun one. They know that their window is finite. Russell needs a bit more help. This season turned on some crazy injury luck, but there is no promise that they’ll pick up where they left off this season just because they get healthier. It’s going to be fun!
Great points Rob,
It can’t be said enough what culture can do for you, clearly Pete is the best coach that is able to get the most of his guys, sometimes with lesser talent. I would be interested to see if a change in scheme could be coming soon. near the end of the season Sea started more looks in a 3/4 arrangement instead of their base 4/3.
One thing I’d like to see addressed is an upgrade over Trey Flowers. I haven’t been on his case all year, but I think we’ve seen what we need to see at this point. If he’s your 3rd CB you’re in relatively good shape, but we don’t just need competition at CB — we need someone to take his starting job. He doesn’t turn his head and look for the ball, commits far too many penalties (some of which were questionable, but many could’ve been avoided), I see him out of position too often, play recognition not great, and the last straw is he gets absolutely handled in the run game by blocking WR’s.
He’s not the reason we didn’t win the division, or for our season ending early, but objectively it’s not good enough.
That was a pretty bad game for Flowers for sure.
Want to know an interesting fact? The Seahawks have drafted ONE true CB in total over the last FOUR years.
Shaq is the only CB. Flowers is a converted safety, as is Ugo. Blair, Hill, TT, Mike T… That’s 6 safeties to one CB.
Prior to that we took Tye Simpson (Rd 5: 2015), Eric Pinkins (Rd 6: 2014).
It will be interesting to try to ID safeties with good coverage skills and length, as that appears to be the M.O. for drafting bodies for the secondary.
I wouldn’t mind drafting a CB who plays CB, I know that might be too conventional for Pete and John, but other teams seem to like their results. I’m not against looking for value, and hell, even Flowers was a “hit” for being a 5th rounder, but if you want to improve this defense immediately (and I do…) isn’t it time to draft someone who represents an upgrade on day 1?
I tend to agree, but it’s not me you need to convince. Going off of recent trends, I’m just pointing out that we might be better off looking for a Safety who can play CB than an actual CB.
Rob, thank you for another great season on the blog – really appreciate the space.
Looking forward to SDB’s new look in 2020… remember; Bigger. Faster. Stronger.
Go Hawks!
Thank you for reading.
Proud of the team and of the fighting spirit. I feel like we squeezed out all of the juice that this 🍋 had to offer considering the overall talent level & injury situation. It was a fun ride!
At least we know we have the best QB in the NFL.
Two issues:
1. Ken Norton? Terrible defense as DC of Raiders. Pretty terrible in Seattle too. Time to make a change? PC waited forever to get rid of Tom Cable even though it was obvious to everyone that he was bad.
2. WR screens to Metcalf. In the absence of a functional running game, why not employ your best athlete on offense in a “running” type of play where he catches a screen? I thought he looked fantastic in those situations this year and expected to see more on a cold, snowy day in GB. When the line is blocking well, the running game is fantastic with Chris Carson blowing through holes. When the line is hurt and Carson is out, I expected more creativity in the offense. Not sure why we insisted on running Marshawn straight ahead into a mass of bodies. I guess you have to set up the play action game, but it was clear we weren’t going to get any meaningful yards up the middle yesterday.
You know what was really obviously bad? The pass rush.
Funny how DC’s look better (Saleh) with talented pass rushers.
True about Saleh. Anyone with that front line would look good.
As for Norton, his defense in Oakland was really bad and couldn’t force any turn overs. After he was fired they improved in ranking and were able to force more turn overs.
The morning after… Oh hell, good year all things considered. Always sad to see it end. I wanted a rematch with SF, but I feared losing to GB. The GB game *mostly* went the way I thought it would in the negative/loss scenario. We get behind too far too fast, and GB chews up enough of the clock in the 2nd half to win. So I can’t say I wasn’t emotionally prepared for it.
I must say, I got a little wigged-out about the CB position during the game. Perhaps a bit of an over-reaction, but the CB position went up a few notches on my board as a concern. I’m not sure what they’d do about it, as it’s hard to see a rookie coming in and making their mark next year. And any FA worth their weight in coverage is going to cost us some real capital of some sort. Hmm…
Other than that, Rob especially and a bunch of others around here have a pretty good handle on what needs to be addressed this off-season, and what resources are available to us to make it happen.
Anyway, nice hanging with you all this season online. Thanks for that. 🙂
Yeah – Flowers really looks the part, doesn’t he? But he’s just not quick enough – he gives his covers so much space in front of him that they are easy conversions for the other team. Was hoping he’d take a leap in S2, didn’t really happen.
Phill Haynes had 67 overall grade. 77 for pass protection and 60 for run game. That is pretty good and would be second best on our OL (only better is Duane) if it could be average for whole season.
Favorite things about this season? The addition of DK Metcalf, RW balling out (better movement in the pocket especially) and the return of good kick/punt coverage
Worst things about this season? Ball security, tackling and injuries
Fun season with a lot of exciting games and wins.
The team always had some flaws – and they became larger as the injuries stacked up. Ultimately – we lost this one because we let GB score TD’s (and never held them to FG’s) – and then were just talent-poor on the defensive side at the end. When you’ve got a seldom-used rookie DB on the other teams WR1, and a far-too-slow back-up safety involved on the two most important 3rd downs in the game – – this is what can happen.
I feel pretty decent about the season altogether. That 2-3 week stretch where we lost Gordon/Woods/Carson/Penny really put us over the line in terms of talent depreciation. Finishing Top-8 in the NFL feels about right for us, if I’m being honest.
Fully agree that we need to re-sign Clowney, he’s the most dynamic/disruptive player we have on our defense. Agree we need to add another pass rusher, and at least one more receiving weapon for Russell. Good news is that we have more draft assets than usual, and lots of cap space . . .bad news is that it’s a loooong off-season until September.
Until the rash of injuries at the end of the season, I thought Seattle was going to take the number 1 seed and had a legitimate Super Bowl chance. Was anyone projecting that at the beginning of the year? No. Kudos to the team and the coach and the GM for overperforming. Even after the injuries, they finished 11-5 and won a road playoff game. They came one drive from the NFC championship game. I am proud of the grit they showed.
This could be a championship off-season. They have some clear needs but they also have the cap space and draft picks to address those needs.
Russell Wilson is one of the 4-5 best QBs in the game. He is the best clutch QB in my opinion. DK looks like a legit #1 WR. I think Jamarco Jones is a starting guard. I think they keep either Fant or Ifedi at RT. But, they need to add at least one rookie in the draft to compete. Not sure about our needs at TE and RB until the fallout from the injuries is more clear. It is a great year to add another WR in the draft.
Wagner and Clowney were the only stars on defense but Diggs had just as big a positive effect. KJ Wright was one of the few solid tacklers and McDougald was a solid starter. Every other position could arguably be upgraded. Bringing back Clowney is obviously the top priority for the DL. Jarran Reed is probably going to take a 1-year prove it deal after a disappointing season. I’d do that. Our best chance at an edge rusher is in free agency. Rob is all over that. Our run-stuffing DTs had an off year and the tackiling by the DL was poor. I personally don’t think Kendricks is the answer at SAM going forward but I’m OK with him and Cody competing. We need a better nickle CB/S. Maybe one of the young guys steps up but I don’t think you can count on it. The starting CBs would probably benefit in coverage from a better pass rush but I’m not confident in the depth.
The talk of replacing Pete is nonsense in my opinion. With a different coach we would have been 8-8 like Philadelphia and out of the playoffs entirely. The team grit that we all love starts with Pete. I think there are some fans who are spoiled and some who pick and choose their own analytics to support their points.
The KEY takeaway from this season is that if this team had stayed healthy they were a clear Super Bowl contender. Replacing your head coach after a season like Seattle just had is an amateur move.
Our weak spot all year was defense, particularly team speed, tackling and depth. We can get younger and faster in the off-season. Some of the blame for the tackling obviously falls on Norton and his staff. We had some special teams breakdowns which also reflected negatively on coaching and overall team speed.
I think Wilson has done a great job with what he has to work with. However he still seems to have problems reading defenses. On one sack there were clearly more rushers than defenders and he let Lynch release and go into the flat instead of staying in to block. And what about the 2 point conversion ? A defender on the edge with no one in his face, seeing that if their was no one to pick him up, you would think Wilson would immediately sprint to his left instead of dropping straight back and getting crushed.
I’m surprised that so many thought they were Super Bowl contenders.
Even healthy, they didn’t have a pass rush or competent slot corner.
James Lynch from Baylor declared. I haven’t watched or seen much other than highlight videos. What are your guys thoughts on him? Numbers looked good this year.
I think he’s gonna go top 35. Really versatile and very athletic.
James Lynch is one of my draft crushes this year, I’ve been hoping he would enter the draft and even though a speed pass rusher is a big need – hopefully addressed in FA, the interior of the DL could use an
upgrade too. I think his combine will help define his draft position as a likely rd-2 pick, PC/JS may have to move some picks around with their trade down/up stuff in order to land him, but I think he fits the Seahawks well. WR/KR, DL & OC with their 1-st three picks sounds good to me.
From 12/05/19 (not including his last several games): “Per Pro Football Focus, James Lynch has 68 total pressures on the season, which ranks first in the country and is 17 more than Iowa’s AJ Epenesa. He’s a menace for opposing offensive linemen to deal with due to his explosive quickness and power, 12/05/19.”
He’s been mentioned a few times here. He certainly looks the part, and was the Big12 DPOY. He’s not an EDGE/speed guy, but he did create a lot of havoc as a 3-4 DE.
Rob was asked about him a few days ago and said he would take a look if he declared.
My take on the season is that it was a great effort. The replacement players for injuries played way better than we could have hoped. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that the injuries of this year won’t reoccur next year.
This was the second year of rebuilding. I foresee another two years of rebuilding – and that’s if Pete Carroll can choose some good players. That rebuilding needs to happen on both defense and offense.
You may think improving the defense line and adding a cornerback or two will lead to great improvement. Your right.
You might also think that if they would improve the offensive line that it would help the offense move the ball. My ball park estimate is they need three more linemen, unless they are willing to start Hunt at center or Fant at guard/tackle. They also need another running back as good as Carson, and they need a tight end and a third receiver.
there are a few things that need to happen during the off season.
One = Seahawks have got to find starters in their first pick. Not sure why they have such a hard time with that – but it has to happen. In some ways the team is still affected by the McDowell failure.
Two= Take a balanced approach to improving both defense and offense. The foundational need has always been in the line for both groups. Pete has covered it up well with some free agent picks, but there is no reason why they can’t develop more draft picks.
Three – Fire the conditioning coach. He has a long history of injury issues with players, and now that issue has found a home in Seattle. Whether you believe it his fault or not – they are running a business. Pete gave him a year tryout and now should correct his original mistake of hiring him.
I hope the fire Pete sentiment above has had the opportunity to calm down a bit and get some perspective, personally, whilst I was disappointed with the outcome, I was surprisingly ok with the loss, probably because I knew it was an inevitably coming at some point. The only annoying thing is that I think the Packers have no chance against San Fran and i don’t like that they’ll be in the super bowl. Maybe they’ll lose and suffer a Rams like super bowl hangover? That said the Cardinals will probably emerge as the next upstart contender knowing our division luck.
As for the game, the slow start was as annoying as it was unsurprising, but Wilson was downright spectacular in the second half. With a few good roster moves I truly believe he can bring us back to the promised land.
I’m very excited for the off-season, we have a real shot to make some big moves to get this team where it needs to be. I echo the sentiments that Clowney must be resigned at the earliest possibility, we need him and he’s earned it. Resign Fant, let Ifedi and Reed test the market (but consider bringing both back for the right price). I’d probably cut Britt, but again look to bring back at a lower cost.
Additions need to be some big time pass rushing moves, either via free agency or trade (Ngakoue seems like an obvious candidate for the tag on a cap starved Jags team that could be willing to let him go) but I’d like to see either a big splash or multiple small splashes, they cannot sit on their hands with this issue.
For the draft the focus needs to be speed at all three levels of the defence and weapons for Wilson including a RB at some point on day 3 to add depth to the position.
Cheers as always guys, looking forward to the real bowl season here on sDb.
One other note I thought of: Is Kris Richard now a free agent? Because I would really support bringing him back in some capacity (no I’m not calling for Norton’s head, but I also wouldn’t be against it either), either as a DB coach or a defensive assistant of some kind. I feel like he did a great job in Dallas and probably learnt some new tricks he can bring back to the team. Perhaps he can have the “passing game” coordinator role that I don’t really understand and keep Norton as DC in a motivator/leadership role?
Offseason Priorities, IMO
-Resign Clowney
-Add explosion and speed to front 7
-Replace Ken Norton
-Add CB competition via draft (someone to push Flowers & Amadi)
-Resign Reed, Ifedi & Fant if they don’t get big offers
-Add a reliable TE and a slot WR
– Yes
– Yes
– Definitely Yes
– I’d draft another CB and also bring in a veteran NB
– Yes on Reed, No on Ifedi, Yes on Fant
– Yes
Can we talk about how frustrating it is that our first two picks in this draft made zero impact at all this season?
An we have got to get rid of Norton and Schotty….but I don’t think they will.
Norton I’m indifferent on. He’s not good but the defense seems mostly controlled by Pete. Schotty has had Russell playing some of his best ball though and should be retained. Some people just wont be satisfied until Wilson is throwing for a million yards a game.
Hey Sean, how about we talk about the draft picks that did play meaningful time? We had more of our draft picks play towards the end of the season than almost every other team in the playoffs. And DK has turned into a monster! Amadi looks very promising, Haynes did well yesterday, Barton has been getting better every week and BBK has been great on ST all year. Yes Blair has struggled and Collier hasn’t been able to get on the field. These are young guys that take some time…
Maybe you don’t remember guys like Earl and Kam struggling and even sitting for a year before they became great? Young guys almost always take time to come around in Pete’s system. Some work out and some don’t and this team doesn’t seem to care if you were a 1st round pick or UDFA – everyone has the chance to be great!
As far as firing the DC and OC I am just not sure a lot of guys can see the big picture here. Norton really is only DC in name – Pete is truly the one pulling all the strings. They just need more talent on defense and that is starting to happen. Remember we are in a “reset” in trying to replace one of the greatest defenses of all time! And Schotty has been great with Russ and calling games. He is the perfect match for Russ and the running game we have.
Maybe we should just enjoy watching the Seahawks do their thing their way until Pete is done instead of thinking we’re all smarter than they are?!?
Why do they?
How about you give the DC an actual pass rush then judge him?
And if the #5 DVOA offense in the league isn’t good enough for fans, I don’t think anything ever will be.
Regarding replacing the OC and DC every year. “All that glitters is not gold.”
Regarding draft picks learning how to be pros. “Patience is a virtue.”
Can we talk about how awesome it is that our 2nd year players made a big impact this season?
Few coaches in the history of the NFL, dealing with the injuries and roster holes that the Seahawks had this year, have gone as far or done as much as Pete Carroll did this season. I may be disappointed they couldn’t pull out another cardiac inducing win last night, but I’m extremely proud and satisfied with the achievement of my favorite team in what can accurately be described as a rebuild year.
Belichick has you say? Oh yeah, where’d he end up this year relative to Seattle? And I’d argue Belichick had the superior roster in 2019.
Looking around the League watching lesser teams — perennial basement teams — scramble and jostle for their next head coach, I can’t help but feel extraordinarily grateful my team has Pete Carroll at the helm. Ditto for John Schneider.
Having said that, I think SEA would do well to make changes to the DC, ST and S/C coaches/staff.
I’m not too worried about Clowney’s comments after the game last night. He’s a fierce competitor having just lost a close but winnable divisional round playoff game, so his comments about wanting only to win a Super Bowl are right on point. He said he wants to play for a contender. Well, Seattle is a contender. Even during a rebuild year, they were a legit competitor (if you make it to the divisional round you’re a SB competitor). I think SEA have as much a chance to sign him long term as any other team.
One thing Carroll has shown over the years is the ability to accurately define and address areas that need improvement. He hasn’t always been successful, but he always knows what’s wrong and goes after potential solutions aggressively.
I’m more excited for this off season than I have been for pretty much any other one.
I am more excited about this offseason than I have been in the last 2 years. We have a lot of BIG decisions to make but it will be a lot of fun to see how it all shakes out.
https://twitter.com/EvaninSEA/status/1216764258937012226?s=19
So if this is correct “only” 50 mil without cutting anyone. It’s 53 because there is zero chance of not cutting Dickson. But Britt will be interesting…no way we can sign Clowney , Reed plus one more expensive pass rusher without cutting Britt.
Pete said they want Clowney back and they will start to work on that soon.
I’ve said this a few times now though Millhouse. You’re focusing on one number too much. You can spread a cap hit over numerous years to fit things in.
People only have to look at the 2014/15 roster. They paid so many guys and made it work. They will be able to again.
This clown always likes to look at the cap numbers a different way. He is also not taking into account the money that will roll over from this year. Either way you want to look at it they have plenty to do what they need to do.
I recommend OverTheCap.com, which has a calculator mode for scenario analysis of cutting specific players, giving hypothetical extensions, etc.
Interesting stat completely nothing to do with the Seahawks. I was checking on Eddie Georges career stats after what Henry has done recently and look at his carries.
96…335
97…357
98…348
99…320
00…403
01…315
02…343
03…312
He never had more than 4.1 yards per carry and averaged 3.6 for his career but those carries are insane. Averaged 341 carries per year for 8 years.
Rob how did you like Haynes last night and do you think they could cut Fluker (free 3mil in cap space)…
I cant see them cutting Fluker at such a low rate. Continuity is so important for the OLine, you dont want to replace all the pieces.
As much as I don’t like him I can agree with that.
While that’s a good principle, the benefit of continuity really comes in the form of efficient communication in various circumstances. Problem I see is, after 2 years, Fluker and Ifedi both still struggle with properly communicating/exchanging rushers on twists and stunts (a long-time criticism of Fluker even before he came to Seattle).
If we’re not seeing the bulk of the benefit that continuity should be providing in the case of Fluker, should we be overly concerned about plugging in a new piece in his place? Might it not be better to let a new piece grow into that continuity that has the ability to better benefit from it in communication, rather than keeping the same piece that’s known to be limited in that regard?
Considering all the potential changes on the OL, I also cannot see them cutting Fluker.
C, LG, RT all could be moving parts this offseason. No way you add Fluker to that considering his contract is very reasonable. Now, if he gets beat out, so be it.
I’ve not really studied him to be honest.
I wonder if Haynes is an option at Center if they decide to cut Britt?
I don’t know why but I think Pocic could be starting C next season. Its shame he wasn’t healthy when Britt goes down…at least we would know where are we with him..
A likely scenario, though if Britt is truly gone, we’ll likely see a full competition among Pocic, Roos, and a likely draft pick in my opinion.
It was mentioned in season by Pete that they would look at him there.
I think they hope he can be, as they were having him practice at center for a lot of the year. Hunt is out of contract, and if Britt goes, Haynes is the de facto starting center.
They probably want him to be Iupati’s replacement with the ability to play C in a pinch. Bang the drum for Ruiz!!
Who do you see as lock on OL for next season? For me it’s only Brown…and Fant but not sure will he be starting RT or 6th OL…
I would say Brown for sure and pretty close to sure for Fluker. You would think either Fant or Ifedi at RT. That would leave C and LG which could be both or none. If I was a betting man I would say Britt stays but who knows.
I’m with Greg. Britt is going to be the trickiest one. Maybe they extend/restructure his deal. He’s an in-house answer to C, leaving only LG as a hole to fill. That could be Haynes or a FA. At the very least, that would give us the flexibility to go BPA with our early picks.
Brown, Fluker and Fant for sure. I really liked what I saw from Haynes yesterday and think he could be ready to take over the LG spot with a full offseason of health and working through the program. I don’t think Ifedi comes back – some team is going to offer him a big contract and we won’t match it. I think they sign Fant instead and then look for someone else to take his 6th OL/big TE role.
Britt is tricky for sure, but maybe most likely they will restructure his deal and bring him back.
Jones, Pocic, Hunt, Roos should all be back as depth to compete with the new draft picks!
So starting five for next season:
LT – Brown
LG – Haynes
C – Britt
RG – Fluker
RT – Fant
That very well could end up being the starting five.
For sure both Lines will be the funnest part to watch this season. The offensive line shouldnt have that much turn over you would think but the defensive line sure needs to.
If we want to draft a safe bet as a inside OL player, having played everything from C to RT, it’s Gage Cervenka, Clemson. Impossible to tell if he will rise, currently he is projected R3-4. Outside, Jon Runyon or Charlie Heck, both R6-7.
According to Overthecap, restructuring Britts deal will net no cap savings.
Oh, and they point the cap at $64m, not 80 or 90. That’s not too much if you have lots of players to replace.
Who said anything about 80 or 90? They also arent including any roll over money from this year. Thats right, restructuring Britts deal wont save you any money because he is in the last year. They would either have to extend him or ask him to take a pay cut. This one could really go anyway but my guess is he just finished his deal at the current cap hit.
Brown / Haynes / Pocic / Fluker / Fant
Competition definitely needed.
Shrine game week!
Any favourites I should be checking out Vol?
Still can’t believe Tyler Johnson is playing in the Shrine instead of the Senior Bowl. What am I missing with him? Sure he has some drops but off the charts production, runs great routes and gets separation.
Oh yeah. Quite a few guys.
Montana LB Dante Olson
NC OL Charlie Heck
Charlotte EDGE Alex Highsmith
Miss St. C Darryl Williams
Temple WR Isaiah Wright
Arkansas DT Telvin ‘Sosa’ McAgim
Utah QB Tyler Huntley
S. Carolina RB Rico Dowdle
Oregon WR Juwan Johnson
R.I. WR Aaron Parker
UVA WR Joe Reed (might be the best returner in this class)
S. Florida TE Mitchell Wilcox
W. Michigan TE Giovanni Ricci
Syracuse DE Kendall Coleman
Michigan St. DT Raequan Williams
Utah OL Darrin Paulo
LSU LB Michael Divinity
Mizzou CB DeMarkus Acy
SMU S Rodney Clemons
I really wanna check out N. Texas DE La’Darius Hamilton but havent gotten to
Hard to say, but it might be that he doesn’t do anything 1 particular thing at an elite level. Maybe he lacks athleticism? Maybe he lacks functional play strength?
Personal favs would be:
Heck, Huntley, Olson, Highsmith, Wright, Parker, Williams, and Dowdle
Looks like the Seahawks should have #27, #59, #63 & their 3-rd. comp pick which should likely be
somewhere around #99. Their first four picks in the draft could all be in the top 100. Of course, that is before JS/PC make any trades up or down. This should be a really, really fun draft to watch as the annual “JS magic” unfolds.
The Seahawks, with their 8-9 picks in this draft, as near as I can figure out right now, they should be: 27, 59, 63, 99(comp), 135, 143(comp), 214(comp), 244 & 249(comp=?). That’s should allow for a lot of holes to be filled. Almost all of their draft picks from last year made the team, hopefully that can be repeated in the coming draft.
This team doesn’t need draft picks to merely make the team. I’d rather have only 3 draft picks make the team and be big time contributors rather than get 8 guys who simply fill the roster and get 1 contributor.
This roster needs an infusion of real talent; not just role players and special teamers.
I too hope JS works some magic – it has been awhile since he did that. We need to start hitting doubles and home runs in the draft, not merely making contact. It starts with getting more out of that 1st round.
I hope Seattle is willing to keeps Lynch and I hope Lynch is willing to stay on as a mentor to their young RBs.
That would be really cool!
Lynch never was the best short yardage RB but there are few who are better at finding the end zone in goal line situations. I’d rather have Lynch on the roster than Prosise. And I was a big Prosise believer.
Plus I can’t see Carson being happy to be the workhorse and allow someone else to come in and take the glory at the goal line. I know it would upset me.
Lynch didn’t look like a feature back in his limited role but he did get 4 TDs in 3 games and he had a positive impact on the locker room and the fan base. I’d love to see him come back too as our goal line guy and mentor for the young RBs.
Carson/Penny as a one-two body blow, Homer/draft pick maybe? as a third down jab, and Lynch as a goal-line finishing hook would be an ideal combination though.
I haven’t gotten the sense Lynch wants another full season though unfortunately, but stranger things have happened and Marshawn does as Marshawn wants.
I fancied the idea of Lynch coming back obstentibly as a fullback.
I’m not sure Marshawn deciding not to bother with training camp or OTA’s is the kind of mentoring required.
Here are some of my way too early moves
1) Franchise Jarran Reed – $15m
2) Re-sign Jadeveon Clowney – 5yrs $108m
3) Sign Hunter Henry – 4yrs $32m (a little more than Higbee)
4) Sign Robert Quinn or Everson Griffin – 3rs $36m
5) Sign Vic Beasley – 2yrs $10m
6) Re-sign Fant – 3 yrs $21m
7) Give original round tenders to David Moore and Jacob Hollister
8) Cut Britt and Dickson
9) Restructure Brown’s 2020 base to a bonus freeing cap space for 2020.
These moves will leave around $12.5 million left in cap space to cover draft, practice squad, injuries, etc…
I like the Hunter Henry signing because it gives Russ a target down the middle of the field, plus Henry is a plus blocker. With the uncertainty of Dissly, if he can come back healthy it will give an explosive two TE set with DK and Lockett.
You upgrade the pass rush with Quinn/Griffin and Beasley with Beasley being a true LEO on rush downs. I would like to keep Q Jefferson, but i don’t see that they will be able to and hopefully Naz can fill Q’s spot and LJ Collier can fill Branden Jackson’s.
First 3 rd draft
Rd 1) Draft a center – Ruiz/Biadasz
2a) Ross Blacklock – DT
2b) AJ Terrell – CB
3a) Kyle Duggar – OLB – i think he profiles better to OLB than Safety.
3b) Van Jefferson – WR
This kind of stuff I could talk about all day. Like some dont like some.
Great plan overall. Not sure the Centers are there in Round 1. My biggest change would be resign Britt to an extension lowering his 2020 cap hit. Draft one of the dynamic WRs or Hunter Bryant in late Round 1/early Round 2.
That creates a logjam of Hunters at TE. I’m ok with that.
So, per year that is
Reed 15m
Clowney 22m
Henry 8m
Quinn/Griffen 12m
Beasley 5m
Fant 7m
Cuts & Restructure
Britt 8m
Dickson 3m
Brown 4m
63m cap space + 15m savings – 69m signings = 9m. That’s not a lot, if you have FA and rookies to sign, especially if you have no backul QB under contract.
Currently, I see no Clowney resign. The FO will tKe a deep look at his production… and in this case call me not 20m+ impressed.
Having watched some of his 2018 tape, I keep thinking Collier is a bust. With his physical gifts, he would have already made it. It’s not as if there is competition holding him back.
We’ll see what Naz can do after transferring to 5-tech. I think, giving Shaquem a firm speed role in this DL has merit. He brings a lot of energy.
The greatest question looming is, how can we elevate all those position groups? Even with Diggs, the secondary is league average. DL is in shambles, OL average at best. The LB corps is aging, and the offensive skill groups are of questionable depth.
If Rob thinks, 2020 is the year to make a leap, he might be right. But to me, it’s actually more serious questionmarks, and the problems grow worse.
No it’s not.
No team structures contracts as equal blocks of money over the life of the deal. The Hawks will do what they’ve always done, spread out some of the bonus $ so the contracts graduate to higher amounts each year. So there’s more $ than you’re allowing for.
Ex:
Dallas signed Lawrence for 5y/$105m. First year cap hit? $11m.
RW signed 4y/$140m. First year? $31m
Lockett signed 3y/$31m. First year? $7.3m
If they did sign those guys cha is right. The cap hits the first year would be much lower that the APY.
I like a lot of that but really want no part of Biadasz. I think he is massively overrated – he looked terrible against an undersized Oregon DL in the Rose Bowl.
I could get on board with Ruiz but honestly at this point – I think we need to restructure Britt and keep him on the team. I really want to avoid the create another hole to fill type of offseason.
We need as much speed as possible – DB, LB, DE, WR. We need more athleticism – we have slowly become an unathletic team outside of a handful of players. It really shows up in the front 7.
What team is gonna try and copy the 9ers blueprint of spending 1st round picks on D-lineman and signing a former one? They have 5. 5! It’ll take 2-3 years to pay dividends.
Not just 1st rounders, but high 1’s. Bosa was #2, Solomon was #3, Buckner was #7, Armstead was #17.
You have to be in the basement for awhile to go that route.
Dolphins and Raiders both have 2 picks in the top 20 though, and they both took Clemson DL with their first picks last year, so my money is on them.
Yeah that’s true.
Phins were a team I was thinking of too. Maybe Detroit over the next couple of years if they give Patricia a long leash.
I like that the teams people might want to copy this offseason took an approach to success that can’t be instantly emulated.
* stack your DL with top 10 picks
* hope your first round QB can defy all the draft “experts” projections, win the MVP in his second year
* Draft a 6-3 247 RB and develop him for 2 seasons
Good point.
I do think with NFL defenses getting smaller and faster that more teams are gonna start building around the run game. And the same goes for the other side of the ball. We have how many seasons now of the spread concept infiltrating the league? Teams and coaches are smart. They’ll find a way to combat it.
Washington with Chase Young will be a contender in this regard: Young, Payne, Allen and Sweat, all really young first round picks on the defensive line. Rivera is gonna love that as a building block for his new side.
The more I think about it the more I think the Britt decision could come down to what happens with Ifedi. If they resign Ifedi then I think they release Britt. If Ifedi moves on I think they keep him. You just dont want to lose both of them for continuity purposes.
I’d rather lose Ifedi and re-sign George Fant to see what he can do. I think releasing Britt just creates another hole that will need to be filled. I bet Britt would restructure to get a few more years on his deal.
I would rather have Fant and Britt as well. Just not sure they want to extend a guy coming off ACL surgery. They cant really restructure it because he is on his last year. Will be a very interesting story line to follow.
I suspect they will sign Fant back and then play the Ifedi situation by ear.
I would agree. They also dont have to make a Britt decision until after the draft if they dont want to. I would be surprised if Ifedi didnt make it to free agency to test the waters.
After cooling my jets for a bit – this is what I’d like to see this offseason:
-Address slow starts. Have a more aggressive game plan from the word go.
-Spend all your FA$ on Defense. Pass rush, pass rush, pass rush.
-Draft: we need speed.
-Another fast WR (Reagor, Aiyuk, etc).
-LBers that can flat out run.
-Big Bodied RB.
-Balanced TE.
-Big Bodied IOL.
-CB that has actually played CB to challenge Flowers.
This teams needs to be more athletic. We use to be the fastest team in the league and we have slowly become plodders. We need another dynamic pass catcher – Lockett going down basically shut down the offense. Turner’s drop yesterday was unforgivable. We need another young stud who can be a great third option and also provides insurance should anything happen to Lockett or DK.
We clearly need another balanced TE. Dissly’s injury really changed things. He is now a player you hope stays healthy but can’t rely on to do so.
LBers need to be faster. KJ is so smart but so GD slow. Bobby has lost at least a couple steps. Barton certainly doesn’t seem to play at his timed speed. We HAVE to get faster in this unit.
DE needs to be faster. You need to sign a guy in FA (including Clowney) and you need to draft a guy to develop who has speed. No more Branden Jacksons please.
Grab another couple run blockers in the mid-late rounds on the interior. I think Haynes and Jones will be starters next year, but you still need another guy or two to develop that can mash in the run game.
Yes, we need a RB. Carson is on his last year and who knows how Penny will recover (by all accounts a significant knee injury). I love Homer but you need another bruiser between the tackles if you want to maintain the power run game. Ride Carson off into the sunset and hope Penny can recover.
Simple, right? Just my opinion on what needs to happen.
I agree with everything you brought up. I wanted to bring up something about the slow starts. It seems to me that the Seahawks script their gameplay to see how the opponent is going to react to certain plays and formations. This helps them make some of the best halftime adjustments.
To hawks credit they changed it after halftime last year they waited till last quarter. May be change up in 2nd quarter?
If anything I think you’re understating the scope of the project! There’s going to be *enormous* churn on both OL and DL. The following dudes are headed for free agency:
* Clowney
* Reed
* Quinton Jefferson
* Al Woods
* Ziggy Ansah
* Mychel Kendricks
* Ifedi
* Iupati
* Fant
* Prosise
* Dickson
Plus as you point out Britt is a likely cap casualty. And they still do not have an answer at nickel corner.
We had a great year!
Here is my two cents.
Resign:
Clowny
Fant
Wait and See (for the right price):
Reed
Jefferson
Woods
Ifedi
Iupati
Cut:
Dickson
Prosise
Sign some pass rushers in free agency. Remember the Nascar package? I want to see that again.
Draft some speed prospects on defense.
Sign or draft a quality TE. Holister really has stepped up and we all love Dissly but I think the TE position is important to this team and you cannot go into next year with a hope and a dream. Imagine having two quality TE on the field at once?
QJeff broke a bone in his foot yesterday?!?
Rob let me ask you this question if George Fant wants starter money can the Seahawks sign him and Idefi if it came down to who would you prefer to resign.I could be way wrong here but I have a feeling that Q Jefferson will get a lot of money this off season some body is going to pay him a lot.
There’s a difference between wanting starter money (or the chance to start) and actually receiving it.
Just ask Jermaine Kearse — who announced he was leaving Seattle on social media, then re-signed a few days later because nobody was offering him the money he wanted.