Robbie and I discuss the reported Jarran Reed injury on Friday, why the Seahawks haven’t signed a defensive tackle and the shape of the O-line this year.
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Great podcast, I love hearing about the offense. Since the usual preseason games have been cancelled, I’m anticipating this revised offensive line will suck for longer than normal. At least they drafted Lewis! I am worried about the center and right tackle positions the most. I do have to ask how that will work for run plays. Maybe the left side will be stronger and they will run in that direction more?
It won’t surprise me if they use both centers this season, at least one is injury prone. I didn’t like that luke warm take on Brandon Shell, but could he be worse than Fant when he was a rookie?
I have a great feeling about the receivers and tight ends this year. Maybe the best thing for the team would be to work on the quick passing game early in the season. Just accept that they will miss a lot of throws but Wilson will be protected for the few seconds it takes.
I like the length of these podcasts and having a second guy to discuss things.
Reed – we NEED YOU.
Thanks for the feedback šš»
Really digging the podcast and the vibe you both bring to it. Is there plans to put it in audio form? Iād prefer audio over video if possible, just so I can listen while on the go!
I will certainly look into it if the podcast develops a decent listenership. Thanks for the feedback šš»
Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) Tweeted:
DTs Jarran Reed, Poona Ford, injured last practice, out here but in sneakers not participating. At least Reed is Tootsie-Rolling. #Seahawks ā¦@thenewstribuneā© https://t.co/Ql4Irdu7sL https://twitter.com/gbellseattle/status/1295089705948557313?s=20
No boots or braces for Reed or Poona. That’s a great sign. Still need another DT irregardless.
Looks like Poona has a wrap on his calf. No boot or wrap for Reed.
https://twitter.com/gbellseattle/status/1295089705948557313
The one thing I took from his interview was on several occasions and he referred to himself as the featured pass rusher. He also made mention that you donāt need big names to have a pass rush. Him mentioning that he was going to be the featured pass rusher seems like that would be coming from the Seahawks themselves.
I don’t agree with Mayowa, but hey if that’s what you need to say to get yourself in a position to perform your best, go for it.
You donāt want to get in the guyās head that he isnāt a āfeatured rusherā, when he is the highest guy on the roster and is going to need to play up to that level (somehow). But then again, thereās likely a reason why only the seahawks have given him this opportunity.
Right. And the fact that he’ll rotate around to accommodate Bruce Irvin on pass rush downs too…cough…
Well he is the starting LEO so his assertion that heās the featured pass rusher is true at the moment
I doubt the Seahawks have gone up to Benson Mayowa and told him heās the featured pass rusher.
Hawks staff: Welp, by process of elimination, poor planning, and some bad luck, Mayowa has to be our Leo starter.
Mayowa: I’m the featured pass rush, fear me.
Part of the coaching process is to make players feel wanted, needed and important.
Part of being a successful player is being confident and feeling excited about what the new season will bring.
Thereās going to be a bit of bluster and self deception involved. But the alternative is worse.
DT PJ Johnson in for a tryout.
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1295101340549513218
he certainly has the size you’re looking for and a young guy only 24 years old. Interesting prospect. I think you’d be counting on him to develop fast though which I don’t know if we have the luxury of doing.
I like PJ Johnson quite a bit actually. He was the only one on that d line at Arizona that made any difference whatsoever. He had one more year of eligibility but decided to take a chance and go pro because he has a young daughter to take care of. Mightāve been around a 5th rounder with an extra year. On the Arizona 247 he still gets talked about and apparently heās a great guy. I think heās gotta be better than Demarcus Christmas so Iām all for giving him a shot. Worth noting Colin Schooler (mlb) had his best year playing behind PJ with 21.5 tfls and 119 tackles.
Guys getting “nicked up” in early practices is to be expected. They have not had any real contact since the end of last season. Hopefully, the injuries stay less severe. There already area a few players on other teams with very significant injuries piling up…. PC can just bring the guys slow, they have 4 weeks to get it together (more or less). No reason for 100%+ from the get-go. They also have to play the who fits best, without preseason games, which will be unusually tricky this season….. which is also why they might be looking at some guys more extensively in practice.
Certainly injuries are going to happen at this time of year. Or any time you have big, 300lbs men competing with each other.
The point with Reed though is that this injury scare — and he sat out today, so we don’t know how serious it is — simply highlights how bad their depth is at DT. Even if he’s not seriously hurt now if it happens at any point between now and the end of the season, they are in a desperate state.
The Seahawks have at times appeared strikingly casual about their DT’s. For a stretch they made it a mid-summer practice to pick up a veteran DT that is out there who eventually plays a significant role. Kevin Williams one year. One year they brought back Tony McDaniel, who just happened to be in Seattle for a camping trip and his agent called the Hawks for a sit down.
I can’t figure why they haven’t signed another. It must be a) they don’t like the current crop of DTs at the price they’re wanting or b) they’re mustering all their free cash for Clowney and have made a considered decision not to address DT until they have Clowney worked out.
It’s very unsettling though.
It seems to me I read that JS anticipated some decent D tackles becoming available (cap casualties, roster cuts). My guess is that the Seahawks will be looking to pick up someone else’s cuts.
As noted though, those players have to go through waivers. So itās not easy to get the players you want, unless most of the league donāt want them.
That’s a placeholder comment by JS. Digging through other teams’ scraps very rarely yields much of value.
Maybe since our D-Line is a joke and that Clowney ship has sailed ,we know the only way to win games is to give Russell the keys to the offence and as he said āplay like itās 4th quarter all the timeā . We finally have a great WR pairing and our TE depth is actually one of the better ones in the NFL . Plus Carson who was voted in top 100 this year we may just have to score 30 points a game which is realistic especially of Metcalf can take the leap we know he can as that legit number WR 1/ Pro Bowl type of player . Wishful thinking it may but at least we have some path to a SB, eve though historically itās difficult with being below average in the trenches.
Clowney ship hasnāt sailed until he signs somewhere else or they sign someone else.
When you see how cheap Calais Campbell and Trent Williams weāre acquired for it really hurts as they could of made such a great improvement so our team . Itās a shame that we have an elite qb the best in our franchise in his prime and we are wasting it . At least we won a SB.
Lol, franchise has been adding wins to the ledger every season at a clip higher than any other bar one or two, over the past decade. Not saying rest on laurels or that the off-season has been brilliant but cāmon.
Cool podcast. Thanks for continuing the extra work and content Rob! Perhaps off topic but what do people actually want Pete to say if asked about Clowney and the off season? I think it’s a zero sum game. If hes honest and admits how much much they need him then his price goes up. If they say they moved on then they just piss him off and the off season was truly a bust. All signs still point to them being in negotiations so why would you say anything? If it’s purely investigative, I don’t think they or any franchise is going to broadcast their process.
I think Iād just like to see him pushed a bit with a more challenging line of questioning on how theyāve handled their self confessed priority.
PC with PC at 11:20am today. We’ll see.
I’d like to hear about Collier and Green. Haven’t heard a word about either.
Iād like the following to be asked:
ā You said the pass rush was the priority at the start of the off-season. Do you feel that issue has been fully addressed and if not, how challenging has it been this year to fix the pass rush?
– Are you concerned with your depth at defensive tackle, especially in light of Jarran Reedās injury?
– Have you moved on from Jadeveon Clowney or are you still hoping to sign him?
None of these are particularly challenging but they are all relevant and warrant a proper answer.
You know, this could be an epically bad year for offensive line play league wide. 22 offensive tackles, 17 guards, and 8 centers were taken in the 2020 NFL Draft and alot of them were taken early These rookies are going to start folks! And with only “virtual” rookie minicamps and OTA’s this year, it’s going to be ugly.
I am excited for Benson Mayowa. He had 7 sacks last year for Oakland. He is only 29 and he played for Seattle already. He has had a similar career path to Chris Clemons. Chris Clemons did not have a 10 sack season til he was 29. Before his 1st 10 sack season he had 20 career sacks, Mayowa has 20 career sacks right now. Iām just really fired up and excited for Mayowa.
Equally he also has several one sack seasons and emulating Chris Clemons is a tall order. Just because Clemons has a certain career journey doesnāt mean Mayowa will too.
Plus when the Seahawks had Clemons they were completely reliant on him and needed much more, which they got in 2013. Even if Mayowa plays well, he alone is simply not enough. And however people might want to try and promote him ā letās be right, heās been a replacement level or backup player throughout his career.
I think Mayowaās interview was pretty indicative of what we should expect. The whole āwho was on Oaklands lineā thing where he tried to deflect the question (poorly) kinda just says he knows the group is lacking in talent, but he had to say something to indicate they could be successful. So ātime working togetherā is the verdict. Not very encouraging.
Danny O’Neil on KIRO just mentioned the Bandit package of Gus Bradley from 2010 when talking about Marquise Blair’s roll in the Nickel defense this year. IIRC, Bradley used the same package in San Diego last year out of desperation after a bunch of injuries.
Found a couple of links:
https://www.fieldgulls.com/2012/7/9/3147454/reloaded-the-bandit-and-the-big-nickel
https://www.oregonlive.com/nfl/2010/10/seahawks_bandit_package_helps.html
Is that the one with only 1 LB?
Not a fantastic option given their personnel. KJ, Brooks and Irvin on the sidelines?
And what combination of 3 down lineman on their roster gets you any pressure at all?
Agreed.
Iāve posted about PCJS waiting to see who gets cut at DT. What PC specifically mentioned was the impact of the decreasing 2021 cap leading to some surprising cuts.
The players still have to make it through waivers.
And Pete can say that all he wants ā- he doesnāt know what teams are going to do in 3 weeks time.
Those post cut signings are usually competition for the last few roster spots, not competition for a strong rotation role. They should be Bryan Mone level players. Not someone who’s one injury away from playing 80% of your DT snaps.
Yep
Yes, but a team that picks them off waivers has to keep their contract. And the point that PCJS was making is that some good players with unattractive contracts could be waived and go unclaimed.
Robbie mentioned Brandon Williams for Baltimore. He is definitely better than Mebane/Harrison etc. that are out their now or the backups on the Seattle roster. Dareus is the only current FA that I find interesting if he still wants to play in 2020.
Iāve been watching for info on how Kawann Short is looking in practice so far. There is quite a bit out there saying that it is a question of when, not if, he gets cut. Signing Short would put Seattle out of any possible Clowney pursuit but would certainly help the pass rush.
So hereās the problem though.
Brandon Williams has $9m dead cap to his name. So thereās little motivation for Baltimore to cut him this year. If they are so tight next year, they can cut him in 2021 when the dead hit is just $4m. And even if they did cut him this year, any team claiming him wouldnāt pay that much due to the dead hit and could cut or restructure in the off season.
So itās all well and good thinking options like this might be available but the numbers donāt necessarily add up the way you might think.
He has a dead cap bit of $9M but he still saves over $4M against the cap this year (which can be rolled over to next year) and another $9M next year so there are $13+M reasons for Baltimore to move from Brandon Williams if they feel their young guys are good enough.
And I think the point PCJS was making is that contracts like this will also make it likely for the player to clear waivers.
The Ravens donāt need to save $4m this year.
They can save $10m next year by moving him ā if they even have to ā and will actually know what the cap situation is by then, unlike now.
Letās not try too hard to wish this into happening.
Robbie pointed out Damien Williams as a possible cut in KC.
Another name I have heard is Kawann Short. He is a former All-Pro coming off shoulder surgery who will count over $40 million against the cap in the next 2 years.
Philadelphia has huge 2021 cap issues and so does Atlanta and New Orleans. There are 17 teams according to Over the Cap that are underwater for 2021 if the cap drops to $175 million. That is probably a worst-case scenario but even if the cap stays the same, there are serious implications for veteran cuts and 2021 free-agency.
JS said the team delayed finalizing the Adams trade until Seattle had some clarification on the 2021 cap from the League so I think this issue is also a part of their current plan for adding a FA DT and for Clowney if/when he moves off his contract demands.
Robbie mentioned Brandon Williams the NT from Baltimore in the podcast. Not Damien Williams the KC linebacker who also might be a surprise cut but Seattle doesnāt need another linebacker.
Gerald McCoy and potential torn ACL could cause more issues in finding veteran DL help. Then again, we aren’t signing anyone right now
Ruptured quad… He’s done for the year
Philly had two DT’s go down for “multiple weeks” as well. Hargrave and Barnett.
Jernigan rumored to be close to a deal with the Jags.
The thin pool of DT’s is going to start looking more like a puddle on a 95 degree Seattle day.
I’m looking at Over the Cap and find it interesting that at $2.6 Million, because he was drafted, Demarcus Christmas is paid more than Poona Ford and Brian Mone COMBINED.
PC
“First day in pads, preparation in virtual mtgs well, gotta keep stacking those up. Couple guys, Poona Ford and Reed in walk through, OK today, not serious injuries at all.”
Benson, how much changed? “Real nice surprise, really a pass rusher, see it in his get off. Comes to us fitting the position well. Off to a good start. Highlight rushes yesterday.”
Remember about Benson’s tryout years ago? “Raw athlete, good upside.”
LG, Mike Iupati’s job to lose? “Been around a long time, very good ballplayer. Competition is on, he’s taken all first snaps. Formidable competition in Haynes and Simmons. Those guys look good.”
Letting go of Hunt, vote of conf in Pocic? “Yes, also seeing where BJ fits and Kyle Fuller. Pocic hasn’t been able to feature at C, I thought he always looked best at C. Fantastic offseason. Competition is on.”
OL, mentioned two weeks ago, no offseason gel, how is going w Lewis as a rookie? “Just getting started. It’s a smart group. Lewis is a special FB player. Tremendous body for the position. Really powerful. Return to balance really well. Smart, studies really hard. Guys can sense they can count on him to know what’s going on. Moves well at 2nd level. Nothing but good stuff so far. Had a sit-down a couple days ago. Really impressed.”
Behind Jared & Poona, 4 games of NFL experience. Concern? Early impressions of young players? “Really excited about Mone. Did a special study on him in summer. What can we expect? Played really well in plays last year. Stout, strong, willing to run like crazy, and chase. Had two highlight plays in practice. Came in at 350, he’s 340 now. 2nd year, feels like he’s been around. Definitely in the rotation. We know that he can play FB. Like to play him on the nose over C. Christmas like a rookie right now, right in the mix too. Also, you’ll see in time Green and Collier will play at 3T in nickel situations. Looks different when you mix in. Depth and athleticism.”
Working with Quentin, how much enjoy 1on1? “Enjoy it, he worked with Marquand Manuel, so he knows our terminology. Gives him a real jump. Quick transition for him. Love working with these guys. Favorite group to mess with. Give him a week before we really check him out.”
Brooks, what versatility? “Looks the part. Great body. Built diff than we’ve seen guys. Low C of gravity. Very quick and explosive. Shown good instincts playing off blockers, use hands well. Looks the part all the way. Getting him to groove into how we practice the whole time. Gonna have to have a great camp to play early in season.”
Viable KJ ???? “No changes there”
Falcons no fans Week One… Impact anything? “No. Will be familiar with stadium and no fans. Use imagination to get sense of that.”
Carson back to normal after injury? “Doc said he’ll be fine. Is in tip-top shape. Give him time w family. Looked great, explosive.”
Duane Brown sitting out practices? Taking care? “Taking care over long haul. In incredible shape. Quick as ever. Lesser workload, long haul thinking. Cedric needs as many reps as can.”
Cedric looking? “Great feet, great flexibility, hard to find guys who have the physicality to play LT. Wont’ have as good a picture as we’d like coming out of normal preseason.”
Feel like Bruce is best SAM Why? “Years since we had him, big rusher at Carolina and Raiders. More time to rush, great athlete for the spot. Perfect for position, covering TEs, edge, sense for all the nuances. Great story to get him back, tried a couple times to get him back, couldn’t make it happen. Looks really good.”
LB corps as a whole? “Cody looks great, BBK too. Juice and speed in group, Griffen too.”
Thanks for posting this Cha.
Efficiency of online learning? “Guys so into it, coaches great teachers. Been really impressive. Positive feedback.”
Brandon Shell? Read on him? “Might be my favorite acquisition, looks the part. Good body control. Consistency in technique joy to see. Can get downfield, stout in pass pro. Tons of film on him. Really consistent. Physical enough to be dominant. He’s on his game”
Need to see out of WRs that aren’t Tyler and DK? “RW to connect with those guys. Offseason work is obvious, well under way. Already hit Philip on a number of plays. Philip really a good player, so fast. RW bombed him a couple times. Made a play with a blitz on a hot, changed the route, Greg made a one handed catch. Experienced players. These guys can all play, don’t worry about it. DK serious, focused, great offseason, so tuned in. Preparing to be a great player.”
Something happen to Freddy and DMO? “Small injuries, nicked back ok. Good first impression for Freddie.”
Closer on Taylor? “(Deep sigh) Hasn’t run yet. Won’t let him run. Couple procedures. He’s frustrated. Procedures to get him ready. Gotta wait and be patient. Gonna be a bit.”
Jarran Reed injury? “Knee sore from work. Overworked a little. Tests MRI really clear. Looks like he can practice. If we had a game this week he’d play.”
Benson true pass rusher, what mean Benson and Irvin having fun? “They are, excited about roles. SAM and LEO spots. Race to the QB. Competitive with each other. Focus for Benson to be a rusher helped him. Good get off, good up and unders. Shows. Alton Robinson had couple good rushes too.”
Taylor like LJ Collier last year, same time line as last year? “LJ in shape, quicker, battling, (something about Collier not being fully ready in shape last year).”
correcting about Taylor being similar timeline to Collier “want 2 good weeks of work with us. I say that not knowing how he compares with the other guys. If not we’ll go with what we know. Played injured all last year, played well. Tough kid. Dying to get on the practice field. Doing a lot of condition work w trainers. Want to see him a couple weeks before we count on him in a game.”
Just clarifying the last point (I was typing a mile a minute)
The reporter asked if Taylor’s injury and Collier’s injury had a similar timeline. PC at first misunderstood and was talking about Collier. Says he didn’t show up in great shape and got hurt, but this year Collier looks much better.
Then when the reporter clarified he was asking about Taylor and if we can expect a similar timeline to Collier, PC then talked about Taylor. He’s not practicing at all, working with conditioning staff, and they want to see two weeks of good practice before he would play in a game.
Also a couple times I put “FB” in the quotes from PC. That’s my shorthand for “football” not “fullback”
Dang, I was getting my hopes up for them running out Mone at fullback at some point… š²
That’s probably the biggest reason I clarified that, LOL
SeaMode I’m not trying to appropriate your press conf posts, I won’t be able to do them all, I just had time today and wanted to see if we’d get any more pass rush info.
Feel free to continue your postings. Please!
On the contrary, cha, I’m happy to see someone else do them. Whoever’s got time and feels up to it, really. I didn’t even make time to watch this one so I’m grateful to be able to get the rundown from you. Keep it up.
I like all the updates I can get. Thanks Cha.
I literally LOL’d Sea Mode. Nice.
Cha these posts are effing awesome! Thanks!
Great podcast Rob. Love it bring on more
Thank you.
We’re planning to do one a week and jump on for extra’s if anything big happens.
You can ask for SDB chat session if you are looking for more topics. Infact like me many would love to hear about your thoughts. You have done that in past, so nothing new.
As someone posted on reddit, we could hear something about Josh Gordon today.
He applied for reinstatement 60 days ago.
“All individuals involved in the process will take steps to enable the Commissioner to render a decision within 60 days of the receipt of the application. If conditions are imposed, the Player will agree to comply with those conditions as part of his reinstatement to the status of an active Player.”
On today’s press conference.
It was good that someone (Corbin Smith) finally asked PC about the striking lack of depth at defensive tackle. It’s OK that Carroll deflected it with over the top praise for Bryan Mone. The point is it’s a question that simply needed to be asked and at least now it has. It’s up to Carroll how he chooses to answer it. Ultimately they will still, surely, add a defensive tackle at some stage regardless of what was said today. There’s nothing wrong with praising a player who might benefit from such a public boost.
I would still like a question to be posed about the overall off-season approach to the pass rush.
Such as:
— You said the pass rush was the priority at the start of the off-season. Do you feel that issue has been fully addressed and if not, how challenging has it been this year to fix the pass rush?
Also:
— Have you moved on from Jadeveon Clowney or are you still hoping to sign him?
Neither of these questions are aggressive or overtly negative. They still, for me, need to be asked.
At what point do we decide to trust Peteās judgment?
Iāve been wrestling with this question. On paper the DL stinks and OL has question marks. I know Peteās job and schtick is to ra ra his guys and kill them with positivity. Weāve also learned to decode him a bit on the negative stuff too.
But his praise today has me feeling optimistic about personnel development/ improvement and the staffās ability to study a guy and see his fit.
We really canāt know until the Falcons game I suppose, but I think Iām going to spend the next 3 weeks trying to take Peteās word or discount it.
Hey, Rob, just curious: did you change anything on the site. Now when I click on “reply”, it brings me to the bottom of the page instead of opening the text box below the comment I am replying to.
Just curious if this is a WordPress update thing, a Google Chrome thing, or if anyone even noticed the same.
Yws,I noticed it, and its the same as you describe.
Ditto
Not sure — I haven’t changed anything personally. Might be wordpress.
Well, hope he’s not exaggerating just because we have no other option…
49ers receivers Jalen Hurd and Deebo Samuel both have major injuries. That will slow them down a bit. But they also added Tavon Austin – who is a quick guy. Not to root against them – but if Kittle goes down, they would be a lot easier to beat.
Amazing. Hope we fix the pass rush because wasting this would be a shame.
And not a single MVP vote.
Pathetic isn’t it? South Alaska curse. Can you imagine how much the media would slobber all over him if he played in the almighty NFC (L)east?
Nice. I literally just tuned into the Seahawks live practice on YT and not 30 seconds go by and Jamal Adams gets a pick 6…!
Vid: https://youtu.be/y5A6kvLQGSA?t=3217
If that had been Richard Sherman making that pick, he would have been cussing at Russ out of his mouth and his arse!
Sounds like BJ Finney got hurt today
Good
Great. Canāt lose him.
What do you think of us bringing PJ Johnson for a try out? Has Snacks retired and/or not interested? Or too expensive? How about Dareus? Iām pretty excited about our D as far as the DB/S/LB positions. But need better quality upfront (as has been repeated here daily).
Snacks talked about sitting out, a year after retiring. I think he might be done.
I don’t really recall PJ Johnson so can’t really pass comment.
Yikes. Damien Lewis absolutely buries Collier in 1v1 pass rush rep…
Rasheem Green gets stonewalled in two consecutive reps by Kyle Fuller at LG.
Bruce Irvin with one clean win and one partial win vs. Jamarco Jones at LT.
Now that the live stream has ended I can link to the 1v1s:
https://youtu.be/y5A6kvLQGSA?t=3726
So, you’re saying that the o line won the day? Good for them, that d line though…WELP!
Collier………………smdh…………………….SIGH
Brooks on the sidelines, sneakers and no helmet. ??
I saw that too at the end of the live stream. Here’s what Bell says:
phew…
I think it might be adobe flash is blocked on some browsers, which causes the chat to scroll to the bottom. Which is why I’m commenting here, instead of a post a few hours ago about the “problem”.
OK that’s a relief.
Rest this soon? That’s not encouraging.
Wouldn’t shock me if they’re pacing the rookies as they didn’t get Rookie Camp or OTA’s. The rookie wall you hit about Week 12 is real.
Good point. Hope you’re right
Stoked about the new look secondary and stoked about our elite linebacker corps. Canāt wait to see how the defensive line does with all that backing them up! Being 26th in league was lame, gonna be better this season for sure!
You canāt āback upā a league worst DL into not being a liability.
Melvin Ingram sitting out practice today- pouting over his contract after Bosa got paid. Only $2mm and change dead money. Trade unlikely with a $17mm cap hit.
Canāt see how he fits in the Hawks scheme at 6ā2ā 260#, but could do worse I suppose if heās cut.
Rob. Great podcast. Like the length, video format and dialogue.
All, what is the timing on when we see will see these cuts?
Biggest impression for me from Petes presser is Pocic as exclusively C this season.
I still have hope he can be much better center than Britt.
Yeah, and Pete also mentioned that C is the spot that Pocic should’ve been in all along, and that he knew that. So…why the heck did he start out at T then move to G???
That was my exactly frist thought too, but when you think better, you realise Britts place.was cemented, and Ethan best chasce to play and start were at G. And last year when Britt gor hurt, Pocic got hurt too.
In the strongest DL class in years we take LG Collier an old (for college football), unathletic tweener in the first round. How is that possible with the number of scouts the Hawks had on staff?
Is it all because the liked his attitude at the Senior Bowl? Really?
Hated the pick at the time and more and more every time I see a clip of him getting dominated. The idea of him and Green making up for not signing a true pass rusher is laughable.
Iād recommend reading this:
https://seahawksdraftblog.com/why-seattles-possible-2019-draft-plan-needs-to-be-challenged
In case anyone’s got an hour to kill…
A UNIQUE Start to Training Camp 2020! | Hard Knocks Los Angeles FULL Episode 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5vHxY8kdU
What do we here at SDB think about the local sports media spin that improving the secondary is going to make the pass rush more effective?
This has been debated and addressed several times over the past few weeks. Sure its nice to have a great secondary and it can’t hurt the pass rush, but what’s really needed to help the pass rush is some more talented players.
I think Irvin and Mayowa will be fine, maybe even good, but they just aren’t the answer on their own. They need other talented players to rotate with and feed off of, but unfortunately we don’t have those players right now aside from Reed. Taylor is hurt and he and Robinson are rookies anyway, so hard to expect much from them. Collier and Green are just average Joe’s at best.
So, unless the secondary proves to be better than the LOB, they can only minimally make the pass rush more effective IMO.
Generally speaking, PC’s defense is designed to limit big plays.
In the passing game, don’t let anyone get behind the defense. Keep everything in front of you.
In the running game, contain the edges and maintain gap discipline. Long runs should be kept to a minimum.
In other words, force the offense into a posture where they have to be very proficient, papercut the defense to death by slowly and steadily moving down the field. Which increases the chances they won’t be able to convert 4 or 5 3rd downs in a row.
The issue I’m seeing is the Bennett-Mebane-Avril crew allowed the LOB to know they only had about 3-5 seconds to do their job and could rely on the QB having to make a quick decision. That allowed them to play aggressive and instinctual football. Take more chances and deliver bone crushing hits.
The current backfield won’t have that advantage. They’ll be doing their job for 5-7 seconds. So their focus will be more on being sticky and on not allowing that killer deep shot rather than being the aggressive unit PC wants in his backfield.
We’ve seen how the the Niners and Rams operate their offenses. They’ve have had great success with attacking the perimeter of the defense, and finding receivers on slashing cross routes that call for catch & run. On the flip side, both Grop and Goff are susceptible to making big mistakes when they have pass rushers in their face. So yes, while the Hawks have gotten better in the backfield and hopefully the perimeter game is better, the defense they’ve assembled thus far isn’t a really great counter to the teams they play 4x a year because the rush is a big piece of the puzzle to forcing these teams to do what they don’t want to do.
I think itās a load of bollocks.
You canāt have the worst DL in the NFL and be a serious contender.
But can you have a bottom 5 pass rush and also have a middle of the pack defense overall?
An average, or even below average (DVOA) defense with a great offense stands a better chance at a SB than vice versa.
It won’t mean anything.
When the playoffs start… or even in the loaded NFC West games… if you have a bottom five pass rush in the league — you aren’t very likely to win those games.
For what it’s worth I don’t think you can be ‘middle of the pack’ with one of the worst pass rushes in the league.
But let’s suppose they end up in that range anyway. I don’t want to come out of this season feeling like the DVOA improved and call that a good year. I want to win meaningful playoff games and not get stuck in the wildcard or divisional round yet again. DVOA won’t do anything for you there. If you can’t pass rush against the top teams you are f****d.
I do agree that the pass rush is an abject disaster at this point and, barring injuries, the most likely eventual demise of this team. If they do manage to get Clowney signed and a TBD DT, we might have actually improved the rush. The overall state of the line, I’m not sure is much better and I agree that the approach to addressing it has been baffling.
That being said, you’ve pointed out the stats for the 2019 team. Top 5 DVOA for the offense, along with the miserable defensive numbers. If the offense can hold serve and hang around the top, even a modest improvement by the defense could have us contending. We’ve improved the secondary with Dunbar and Adams, while now having Flowers and Blair as viable depth, rather than questionable starters. We’ve added speed to the LB corps via Brooks. The DL of course is still the issue. Without Clowney, I think it’s all moot. With him though, it might be enough to say we have a shot.
This article outlines the correlation between offense/defense/DVOA and Super Bowl winners. 7 of the past 30 SB winners had a ‘dominant’ defense. 23 had a ‘dominant’ offense. Maybe 10 of the last 30 SB winners had both.
https://www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com/2020/01/22/defense-wins-championships-myth-or-fact-in-the-super-bowl/
That’s fine. I’m not arguing that you can’t build a Championship team with a strong offense and a middling defense. I would expect the disparity in the numbers you provided because most winning teams have exceptional QB play and that would tilt towards a great offense merely by their presence. And that could be the Seahawks too.
But I don’t see the Seahawks winning the NFC West and then going on the road and winning three playoff games with one of the worst pass rushes in the league — regardless of their DVOA numbers at the end of the year.
I tend to agree. That’s how I ended up at that site with the DVOA chart. I wanted to see how many instances there were of teams with a bad DL winning it all.
I found it at least somewhat promising that a good offense is more important than a good defense based on those results and we seem to have a team built that way.
It also is true what you say about the fact that without being able to create any pressure with the front 4, our defense may suffer even more than last year. Somehow it does feel like they’ve backed themselves into a corner where there is only one guy left who can truly elevate the team another level.
I don’t think it’s right to say the offense is ‘more important’.
I think it’s simply indicative of the importance of a good quarterback. As I said previously, if you have an elite level QB it stands to reason that your offense will be ranked higher than your defense. One top player at QB can elevate an offense into the top-five. It’s very unlikely one pass rusher or one linebacker will do that on defense.
Thus in order to have an ‘elite’ defense ranked somewhat significantly higher than the offense, it will take multiple players in the defensive unit to achieve.
It’s not ‘more important’ though. Quite aside from our own experience in 2013 — look at the Broncos. They won a Championship mixing between a has-been Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler purely down to an elite defense. So it’s not about importance it’s just about how an offense can be individually elevated by a great QB and the regularity with which that has occurred versus teams being able to build superb defenses.
Any chance the Hawks make any sort of play for Ingram?
No. Too expensive and wants a new deal.
They should get some help on the defensive line from Demarcus Christmas. His listed weight is 302 pounds, but he looks bigger than the other lineman on camera. I know I’m grasping at straws – but who knows? If he is healthy and Collier is healthy, with Ford and Reed, at least it is a rotation.
Do you want him starting a key NFC West game though?
With Carroll basically admitting heās having a rookie season this year.
Yes I do – I want to see what these defensive linemen can do when they are healthy. I want to see how Pete Carroll integrates the ends and other pass rushers he has collected. Will the sum be greater than the parts?
There are also similar questions about the offensive line, but they been getting by with changes on the offensive line for a long time now. I have high hopes for Lewis. Question marks at the center and right tackle spots.
Will the sum be greater than the parts?
This is just a clichĆ©. A bunch of backup (or worse) level pass rushers don’t suddenly become a good group just because there are a few of them.
Maybe if the Seahawks are allowed to play an extra two pass rushers and line-up 13 on defense, perhaps you’d have a point.
Press Conf 8-18
How much can you tell after one day of padded practice? “Waiting a long time to see these guys. Guys jumped right to it, transition quick. Starts to take shape, but we learned some stuff yesterday.”
Learned about Jamal Adams LOL? “Don’t need that to see what he can do. Hammered for ball security on that play.”
Jordyn Brooks no practice? “Slight groin, walkthrough today, not long until he’s back.”
Mentality? “Precision, discipline, org, attitude and juice. Guys have to figure out what we’re all about. Practice harder and faster than anybody else.”
[Corbin]Cody Thompson – seen and where he fits? “Really consistent, really good route runner, gets out of his breaks well, part of the competition right now.”
[condotta] Will Dissly 2nd straight year injury? “Really good at rehabbing. 9months straight in LA never missed. Back in pads, first couple plays coming right off the football. Will has been able to find motivation. Blocks, catches, great team guy. He’s got something to prove, he wants to stay out here.”
[boyle] Greg Olsen brings? “Really gives us a presence. Brilliant FB player. Physically looks really good, moving great. Fast for a guy that’s older, terrific routes. RW had a great summer w him together. Develop a real good connection in crucial situations. Big factor”
[joe fann] Alex Smith relationship/comeback? “Stunning comeback. Haven’t seen 30 for 30. Story – recruiting Helix HS, Reggie Bush, trotting down the field. Alex Smith was his QB – never even noticed it.”
[omar] Week on field, evaluate OL? “Good depth, guard spots in particular. Cedric a really classy tackle. Shell good first impression. Surprised D Lewis handled things, right in comp to be a starter. Simmons, Haynes, formidable. Jamarco can play 4 spots. Played very well in tough games. Center spot with Pocic and Fuller and BJ wide open competition. Will try to settle sooner than later for continuity.”
[m shawn] Pass rush first day of pads? “Mayowa, Irvin, 3 guys on edge that showed up, saw some really good stuff from Alton Robinson, 4 or 5 good rushes. Good first day. Nice up and under.”
[brady hend] Made Wagner the player he is? “Consistency obvious, so first class everything he does. Poised. Work habits perfect. Extraordinarily all around athlete. Agility. Complete FB player.”
[Curtis crab] Penny where he’s at? “Looks lean. Worked hard to keep weight down. Progressing fine. Haven’t heard any timelines. Approach – take time and make sure he’s fully back. Wait it out. Looking good, feels great, flexibility all there. Now just rebuilding strength.”
[tim booth] Dunbar do individual work? Tre flowers in practice respond? “Dunbar will get first work after day off tomorrow. Last couple weeks challenging. Getting all walkthrough, individual work. Tre come back determined. Return to roots of play as a rookie, aggressive, physical, attack the FB really well. So far really well. Looks like an experienced guy.”
Still no proper question on their approach to addressing their self-confessed biggest off-season priority then.
True. But hey, we finally got a comment from PC on what makes Bobby Wagner tick 8 years in, so…
That’s what I find so infuriating.
Fluff questions like that and nothing that cuts to the issues of the day.
I’m starting to think you guys just do press conferences differently over there. Over here it’s a race to get a ‘line’. To either uncover something we didn’t know before the conference started, or have an opportunity to press a coach on a particular matter to try and get an explanation or answer.
If you watched any of PC’s press conferences since the draft you wouldn’t think there was any issue at all with the D-line. Or for the team in general for that matter.
Not to throw gas on the fire, but he prefaced his Wagner question with “This is about as broad a question as it gets, but…”
//smacks forehead
That was the question that immediately made me think – “what the hell is the point of this?”
That’s going to make for a great article Brady. Really dug up some valuable intel there.
The attempt to revise Seattle’s scheme to prop up the D-line decision making is incredible.
Quick reminder.
This defense, from day one, has depended on a four man rush to allow the back seven to play coverage. Everyone, in that simplified system, can focus on doing ‘their job’.
You can’t cover your way to a great pass rush if the D-line is the worst in the league.
And they’re not suddenly going to reinvent the defense because they traded for Jamal Adams.
They need to be better up front in order for this defense to reach its potential. It’s as simple as that.
At this point, I think Clowney is going to sit out this year. Charles Robinson from Yahoo Sports is reporting that only two teams are interested in Clowney at this point (Seahawks & Titans) and both teams will not meet the $17 million price. Some GMs made comments that partial concerns of injury fears because of Clowney not having contact practice for the last 8 months. Here is one of the comments from a GM
“If [Clowney] comes in now and then has some kind of soft-tissue thing that drags on, that could be a months-long thing or even a season-long thing. And I know weāre going to see more of the soft tissue stuff as the pads come on. He might think heās avoiding something by sitting out and taking his time, but itās not a positive at all in my opinion. Especially with all the other things weāre getting used to.ā
So good luck to Clowney trying to get $17-20 million next year.
I think you are probably right regarding Clowney. I think if I was going to place a bet it would be on him sitting out.
However, that report confirms they haven’t ‘moved on’ as many have suggested or even reported. And to me the Seahawks are clearly still holding out some hope. So until he announces he’s not playing, I think the door is very much open and we’ll see if there’s a coming together at some point.
What I do know is we’re nearly two weeks removed from the Seahawks having ‘moved on’ according to Mike Silver with an Everson Griffen or Clay Matthews signing ‘close’. Let that be the latest case of evidence that Seattle is willing to use the media to their bidding (because I know many push back against that, despite all the evidence).
Which is PC’s fault at this point. Clowney is too stubborn to move down the asking price. I wished we kept Frank Clark. It’s easier to find a compliment piece than a #1.
There’s no question that the Seahawks have made a total dogs dinner of their D-line post-Frank Clark trade.
They went into that off-season with two great pieces (Clark, Jarran Reed) and an opportunity, within a strong D-line draft, to keep adding more.
One more rusher with those two and you’d be looking consistently at a very capable, Championship-quality line.
How they’ve managed to turn that into Reed, Rasheem Green and Benson Mayowa is unbelievable and warrants a lot more of a challenge than it’s currently receiving.
Which brings the question. Do you think Russell Wilson will try to convince ownership for a new head coach? I think for now they ride out his contract through the end of the 2021 season, but if PC doesn’t decide to retire and wants a third contract, does Russell Wilson try to make a power move to prevent that third contract from happening and go into a different direction (a more pass friendly offense).
Which brings the question. Do you think Russell Wilson will try to convince ownership for a new head coach?
No.
So either you expect PC to retire after 2021 or deal with the questionable decisions of this FO for another 5 years. I don’t know if Russ would want to take that chance.
Why have you come to that conclusion?
I can criticise the team building effort without it needing to be a commentary on Pete Carroll’s future.
I’ve no idea why you made that connection.
Russell Wilson is not going to go to Seattle’s makeshift owner and demand a coaching change. That’s as likely to happen as me winning the lottery this week. And I haven’t bought a ticket.
I believed PC is the problem for the roster mismanagement ever since he signed his 2nd contract in 2015 and I believe that if ownership does bring back PC for another 5 years, this is what we, the fans, are going to be dealing with. Questionable decision making in FA and draft while wasting the prime years of future hall of fame QB. Now i understand if you don’t think RW will try to make changes himself, but changes are going to be needed sooner or later.
You might be right regarding PC being here for another five years.
But I’ll guarantee you this now:
1. This makeshift ownership structure is not going to fire Pete Carroll.
2. Russell Wilson is not going to demand he be fired.
What is more likely is that Wilson will continue to press publicly — either via his own comments or via his friends in the media — to try and pressure the organisation. We saw that this year for sure. A more extreme scenario, of which there’s little point discussing further, is both parties parting ways down the line, possibly after the 2022 season. That’s a way off though.
Well if the ownership doesn’t have common sense regarding to PC, it will be a painstaking decade for Seahawks football.
Listen, I’m not getting into a ‘fire Carroll’ conversation weeks before a new season begins. If they’re 6-6 or worse and the pass rush is the main reason, then feel free to revisit this conversation.
But you’ve got to be realistic about ‘the ownership’. This is a makeshift, temporary situation. I don’t know how likely a sale is during this current pandemic so it might be the current structure continues for some time yet. Jody Allen is going to trust PCJS to run the football side of things. She is not going to hire and fire a legendary coach. And that is a perfectly understandable stance for her to take having been suddenly and tragically thrust into an ownership position.
No, I don’t think so; I think Pete will just be forced to “let Russ Cook” more. Russ speaking up publicly will be the catalyst to do that in my mind. Pete knows that Russ is what saves him…..he just hasn’t HAD to do that yet, as Russ has always been quiet on the matter. Russ leaving prior to retirement would be the worst thing to happen to this franchise ever.
I totally agree Rob. Had we drafted a stud DE in 2019 in R1 (not got cute trading down), and used Ansah and Clowney as a stop gap, JS & PC would have been geniuses. Instead they over draft Collier, Ansah fizzled out, and Clowney is no longer on the team. In my opinion, the only way to recover at this point is signing Clowney at around what he wants. I mean, in the end, Clark got paid anyways, so giving him Clark $$ wouldn’t be any different. As you said, they are NOT changing scheme; we’ll just see a shitty overall D BC the line gets no pressure.
They can’t even draft there way out unless they get lucky in the second round.
Yep…or trade for Nagakoue or someone else (all of whom you’d still NEED TO PAY); they have no draft capital. Just face it….cute the cute crap again, and give a no cost free agent (Clowney) Frank Clark money and lets move on.
A trade for Ngakoue is virtually impossible.
Yes, sorry Rob; I meant it would be impossible without draft capital & they’d still need to play. I should practice proof reading š
I think they traded back in 2019 because there was no DL players left. Only guy they missed on was Montez sweat but i think he had a funky medical (heart? issue after the combine. Otherwise the guys they were connected to like Burns went earlier than they thought.
https://seahawksdraftblog.com/why-seattles-possible-2019-draft-plan-needs-to-be-challenged
If no new additions come on the d line before the season begins then what’s a realistic expectation for this team? I’m thinking they’re a 10-6 wild card that goes about as far as they have since 2014. A great feat if you were a rebuilding team, but that was 2010 and 2018. For this team with this quarterback…disappointing and totally avoidable.
I would say, at this early stage, 9 or 10 wins seems likely.
And that’s only as high as it is because of the QB.
What a completely avoidable shame!
If we end up 3-3 after 6 games, we should be grateful.
The Falcons are a formidable foe for a first game, they have good working lines, that will flatten ours.
Same with the Pats, and the Vikes game will make us cry for their rookie RT. Dallas will be better than 2019, and beware of the Fins, who seem to have very good coach.
Then we move to Glendale, and have dinner with the 49er the following week. Then Bill’s, Rams, Cards, Eagles.
Seahawks “secret” defensive line strategy was revealed by the announcers. They have added lots of late draft choices and walk-ons. Fortunately “Someone always POPS in training camp.” Thank goodness – I feel better now.
They failed to mention that nobody popped a year ago and they were a week away from starting with Mingo, Martin and Marsh as their pass rushers.
Injuries are common in training camp due to explosive movements? These guys are mostly standing around or trotting. It’s hardly a rigorous workout.