Sources: Seahawks are bracing for Russell Wilson to miss at least a month and possibly 6-8 weeks with his ruptured middle-finger tendon that likely requires surgery. Seattle thinking about Wilson’s long-term health. Barring an unexpectedly swift recovery, it’s Geno Smith’s show.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 8, 2021
My reaction to this news was this…
The Jamal Adams trade keeps on giving.
The Seahawks do not own a first round pick in 2022. They now face the prospect of Geno Smith starting multiple games. They’re already 2-3.
A quick reminder. The Seahawks were 2-3 in 2009 too. Matt Hasselbeck had injury issues. They finished 5-11 and ended up with the #6 pick.
This current Seahawks roster isn’t as bad as that Seattle team. It’s a scary prospect though, isn’t it?
Imagine a situation where the Seahawks get their highest pick since the 2010 draft and they pack it off to the Jets for a safety with a lousy 55.5 grade according to PFF. He just had a horror show performance against the Rams. The trade and salary already look like a complete bust.
When the Adams deal was completed, we highlighted how desperate it was and called the price tag ‘unjustifiable’. The Seahawks had only added Benson Mayowa and Bruce Irvin to a bad defense, while losing Jadeveon Clowney.
They overpaid in a desperate attempt to add impact and talent right before training camp. The price tag reeked of a team saying, ‘let’s just get this done’.
It was a glaring sign of a franchise that was losing its way. Reactive instead of proactive. Waiting to address issues rather than fixing them swiftly and effectively.
During the 2020 season, we highlighted how Adams’ production was severely manufactured by specifically designed blitzing. The sack record was a red herring masking the fact that for every sack he generated (by blitzing Bobby Wagner a career high 100 times to shift protection) there were numerous plays where he didn’t get home and left the defense exposed. We talked about his issues in coverage too.
We discussed in the off-season how they should’ve chalked the whole thing down to experience and just moved on. Then we repeated that call in March. He wasn’t a good fit. He wasn’t worth the big money. Just get what you can and move on.
All the talk of being a ‘unicorn’ or a ‘weapon’ was unjustified. His performances were a tell. Greg Cosell called him a ‘glorified linebacker’ and questioned his fit in Seattle. Hugh Millen frequently offered a reality check on Adams.
They then proceeded to pay him $17.5m with $70m guaranteed after a protracted holdout. And we called it the worst trade of the Carroll era (which almost doesn’t feel strong enough at this point).
Now, his 2021 stat line and grade is a disaster. You don’t need to be a football savant to see he’s struggling badly or that the Seahawks don’t know what to do with him. Meanwhile the defense is on pace to set records for yardage conceded and the unit is ranked amongst the worst in the NFL.
The one final kick in the teeth is going to be Seattle potentially having a losing record for the first time in a decade and not even getting the high draft pick as a consolation prize.
The trade has been a franchise changing decision. Forget everything else. The ineptly coached defense, the consistent issues on offense, the bad drafts, the poor use of resources, the unfilled holes, the lack of identity, the drama surrounding the future of the franchise quarterback.
This trade alone should be viewed as a fireable offense.
There are only two silver linings to this. Firstly, if this does go south as appears likely — it increases the likelihood that change will happen.
I’ve been saying for some weeks now that Pete Carroll’s body language and media appearances give the impression of a man no longer enjoying himself. I think he will retire. I suspect it’s just a matter of time and big change is coming in the off-season.
The Seahawks should then go out and land a dynamic offensive-minded Head Coach such as Joe Brady and pair him with an experienced defensive coordinator.
The other silver lining is this. Maybe they can convince someone to take Adams off their hands in the off-season and just eat the $16m dead hit to move on? To an extent, it’s easier to deal someone when they have a contract versus needing to trade and then negotiate with them immediately. You know what you’re getting and you don’t run the risk of holdouts. It’s what happened when Jimmy Graham came to Seattle with three years left on his deal.
They won’t get much in return. Yet it’s looking increasingly like everyone just needs to move on. It’ll cost the Seahawks a fortune but can you salvage this? Will a new staff be able to do that?
It’s sad that it’s come to this with the Seahawks. That we’re having to talk this way.
Yet it’s all felt so predictable.
For once, the only winners here are the New York Jets.
Please check out last night’s instant reaction live stream:
2-11.
Last night Geno performance was fun to watch. We’ve been so used to russell’s game over the past 10 years, it will be fun/entertaining the next month no matter the outcome. may be a glimpse of the future. I did like (with the limited snaps) what geno was able to do with waldrens offense, TEs and quick intermediate hits. he did take some deeper shots too and connected on them against a good defense.
cheers to seahawks football
Hopefully this can be a blessing in disguise for us. Geno stinks it up, Pete quits along with the rest of his goon squad. We find a competent offensive minded head coach that can help turn this team around in time for another run at the SB with Russ as the face of the franchise. Do I see this happening, most likely not but one can dream right.
At least we’ll have a top 10 pick to help build around.
…what do ya mean we traded it for Adams?!
This franchise is in deep shit.
Watch this franchise leave town in a couple of years
It’s bad, but not that bad by a long shot. The NFL has great symmetry right now, and wouldn’t dare leave this market.
I can’t believe people legitimately think Geno Smith is a good QB. I doubt he looks half as good once teams get film on him.
Totally agree – he guided one decent drive on Thursday.
in a desperation move, Pete signs Cam Newton using up all the available cap space
🤮
(but nothing Carroll does in desperation would surprise me anymore)
I wouldn’t even hate this at the right price. I like Cam. Even he sucks, I’ll be rooting for him in this lost season.
This would honestly excite me. Maybe I’m a sucker but it’s better than the prospect of watching geno play 8 weeks and go 2-6. At least I’d be entertained
Thomas
I have a gruesome fascination for watching bad NFL play (hooray for Gamepass) and last year Cam’s “efforts” for the Pats piled it on week after week.
Actually, I’m more inclined to believe one of two scenarios:
1. He trades for an oft-injured, end of his career vet on defense, who shows a few flashes of his old self, but ultimately fizzles.
2. He trades the 2nd and one of the 4th picks for a good, but not great, younger defensive player who immediately regresses in his first game.
Cam only gets a look if Geno is horrendous, which I don’t think he will be. It’s dink and dunk time from here on out with occasional bombs, just to keep the safeties honest.
Not that I think Geno is better than Wilson, but I do believe dink and dunk is more in line with what Waldron wants to do. I feel Wilson still looks for the deep ball first. If Waldron is about getting the TEs involved and the RBs in the flat than maybe we can see more Waldron-esk. I feel like the first 5 games have had the same game plan as Schottenheimer. It’s really frustrated me to watch. Don’t get me wrong Wilson is definitely the better QB but I hope he takes this time to look more at the short game to open the long game. Also is it just me or can you see it in Aaron Donald’s eyes that he knows he has our number.
I remember a couple of years ago someone asked Donald if he gets tired playing Russell Wilson and his Houdini antics. He scoffed at the question. It amused him that someone would ask him such a ridiculous question, as if he would ever get tired of sacking someone he has dominated for years. The questioner is standing in front of one of the greatest defensive lineman to play the game and asks him, essentially, about the glory of Wilson. I’m sure if it were a private conversation, Donald would have been a bit more colorful with his response.
My biggest fear is not how Smith does.
No, it’s that the Seahawks, after a disappointing season say “well, everything is really fine, we were just missing our franchise QB, so it’s stay the course with the same brain trust that brought you 2021”.
That would be a disastrous display of inertia and a waste of another season.
Luckily, I think that Wilson saves us from that. His stats looked good before the injury and I suspect his trade value will still be high come of the offseason. I do not think that Wilson will want to give this another year.
Conversely, if Smith does decently (not out of the question looking at the teams he’ll be facing), that also might get the Seahawks to think that they can run their offense on a much cheaper QB. I don’t agree with that, but I really don’t trust the Seahawks’ and their conclusions right now…
I’m rooting for Geno, I want him to show he is a starter quality QB in the NFL
Consolation will be higher draft picks! Oh wait…
Personally, I welcome this. It’s sucks it has happen the year the Jets have our 1st rounder, but it’ll be nice to finally answer some questions that I’ve been pondering for years now….
Can Pete win without a $35 million dollar QB?
Compared to an average QB: does Russ’s strengths ( Deep ball, escapability, late game heroics) actually outweigh his weaknesses (holding on to ball too long, lack of passing in the middle and throwing check downs) in terms of running a PC offense?
I agree, I’m really interested to see what PC will do, and more importantly how the Waldron offense looks with a more average QB
“For once the only winners here are the New York Jets”.
How sad is it that the win is at the expense of the Seattle Seahawks? One of the worst franchises in all of pro sports totally got over on Pete Carroll. Fucking pathetic.
Crap. This was supposed to be a stand alone post, not a reaction post. 😞
I think it could go 1 of 2 ways, either the season gets viewed as a mulligan b/c of the injury, and we see another version of this same team next year; or, as another poster put it, this is accelerant on a fire, and the ’22 seahawks look really different.
I feel sorry for fans.
Football is a release.
It’s escapism.
When you lose hope and have no realistic chance of winning it all, and are not in the middle of a rebuild, then you just have nothing.
We’re just left counting down time.
This is the darkness of the mora era minus kip earlywine’s “suck for luck,” posts that at least gave us hope and something to almost root for.
I’m curious if there’ll be some consistency on offense. I’m sure I’ll be watching still, and I’m not without hope. I certainly do not believe they will be winning the Super Bowl, but I was highly skeptical that would happen anyway. Crisis brings opportunities….
Personally I feel like I’m about to watch a Bond film but instead of Daniel Craig it’s Danny DeVito.
It might be interesting for a little while but then it’ll just start being really s**t
Danny DeVito as Bond. I like it! Many say that the Seahawks have a lot of talent. So does everyone else, some more than others. This is the NFL. It’s sad to think that Michael Dickson, the punter, is relatively better at his job than almost everybody else on the roster is at their job. That’s a bleak perspective on the roster’s talent.
Good news, we might get a ton of look of Dickson 😀
😀
I do think there will be, and that Geno will be relatively effective.
I also think that most games he will end up making poor decisions.
Last night showed that. Not sure that interception was the best spot to throw to. 3 defenders in the area, quite possible it would have been a contested catch.
I would expect to see a few poor decisions every game.
I agree DT. My fear now is Geno wont be that bad (way better than expectations at this point), our d will still lose us games, and hurting the draft price for Wilson
correction, trade capital for wilson
You have to admit, this is the best year for the Kraken franchise to begin. Fans will flock to them in even bigger numbers once the Hawks playoff hopes are officially gone, which might be within the next 6 weeks. Two loses before the bye will make it inevitable, but by week 11, it should be official. As you stated before, Rob, there are too many other distractions to fill a fan’s time. More will gradually skip NFL Sunday and pursue other sports, recreation, or hobbies.
So, so sad.
They’re sold out, only tickets available are 2nd hand.
I don’t believe the Seahawks would of had any impact on the Kraken year one either way.
The only solace I have as a 40yr old man, wink wink, is that I grew up loving the Buffalo Bills, go figure.
Been there since the decisions of 2017 offseason, personally.
This is good. It’s finally going to create movement, or shorten the timeline to movement at a minimum.
This thing could really meltdown quick, two primetime games in the next two weeks. A wounded show pony getting fingers pointed at him, and the FO taking heat for the deal, all while Russ sits back and can do nothing but watch and wonder WTF.
Saw someone say they should go and get Philip Rivers.
It won’t happen because he’s started coaching
But I’ve always liked Rivers and that would be fun to see IMO
No. Just No!
Fuck it let’s do it. Can’t be worse than watching geno for half a season
Gardner Minshew
Kaepernick
Wouldn’t it be so Pete like to sign Kaep?
That won’t happen
Kaep hasn’t played in like 5 years Geno is probably better for them at this point.
It’s going to be pretty interesting as a terrible experiment to see once and for all which piece of this organization post “reset,” is more important russ and his sometimes brilliance and brain farts or pc and his coaching.
Due to not having the first pick i actually do not want smith to suck. But for people saying he can show he csn be a starter….I actually hope so….but when he was a starter it was pretty awful. Like nearly 1.5 interceptions to touchdowns awful with no move the chains ability.
Like so many others, I’m really bummed that Wilson got hurt and will miss time. I never had high hopes this season anyway, but seeing Wilson pull off impossible throws and beautiful deep passes made it at least fun to tune in.
What also bums me out is that there are SO many other issues that are now being overshadowed by RWs injury. They’ll be (and have been) discussed here, but there needs to be a wider acceptance of reality in order to put pressure on the organization to make changes. To make PC/JS accountable for where this team is.
Feet need to be put to the flames.
💯
On a side-note: what must it be like to be Pete Carroll? I can’t imagine a job where I had no accountability. Might be fun for a bit (nachos and sandals every day, please and thank you!) but anyone who has a growth mindset and is interested in becoming better in their field, is open and accepting of criticism as a tool to become better at their craft.
I feel bad for Seahawks fans. And I feel bad for Carroll too. What must be going through his head and heart in the twilight of his career!
Pete arrived to put out a dumpster fire, and succeeded. I thank him for that.
But now he will be leaving after cutting the fire alarm wires, removing the batteries from the smoke detectors, and locking the exit doors. His hubris has caused this. I don’t feel sorry for the self-inflicted state he put himself in. I didn’t follow his problematic ending at USC, but I can imagine the same scenario happened there.
I totally appreciate your perspective. I just feel a general sense of empathy for Carroll in a way that I would for any human faced so brutally with their own shortcomings at the end of a career and likely the last quarter of life.
There’s no refuting his mismanagement of this team, but he’s still a human being.
Then again, he has his health, more money than I can dream of, and likely a lot of flyfishing in his future. So there is that!
I have zero sympathy for PC or JC they ran the team into the ground with a HOF qb under contract. They had everything they needed to put together 3-4 rings and they blatantly shanked it. He will always be a legend and the 2011-14 years were spectacular but we let him live off that heritage for way to long…
Fly fishing is one of the reasons we moved to my wife’s hometown, Spokane. A 7 hour road trip puts me in Yellowstone. Now, if I was on upper Slough Creek and looked over to see Pete standing there, I would be cordial, but not gushing like I would have been back in 2015.
😊 Very true. Flyfishing has a connective quality to it. I’m in Bend, Oregon and we have a number of nice rivers close by. Very lucky. Still need to fish Yellowstone though!
I actually have a hard time imagining PC flyfishing. He seems too antsy.
I can imagine it. Most seemingly antsy people have at least one activity that completely enthralls them. Fly fishing is all about patience. Technique can be learned and muscle memory, eventually, takes over from there. I never think about my technique when fishing. I’m more focused on situational awareness. Water depth, flow rate, wind speed and direction, water clarity, and bugs. I can easily imagine Pete taking the sport up and it becoming a near obsession for him. Focused patience and the solitary nature it provides would be the perfect escape for him.
Let’s just say we stink it up the rest of the way as a thought experiment. I know it will suck donkey balls that the Jets have our first round pick, but it DOES help to have a high 2nd and 3rd round pick. There’s bag of shyt consolation prize.
This just sucks so much. It was always a risk when we made the trade, but with Adams playing as poorly as he is, it’s just compounds the misery.
With the state of this team I think I’d be kind of ok with it, a higher pick than you expect to get with Wilson at QB to usher in a new era… Nevermind, the Jets can spend it on the next player they ruin.
Let’s look at the positives… Overall the defense wasn’t a sieve. They made stops, and made some big plays. The offense looked like crap, until Geno got in there. He did more than Wilson did in 2 drives than Wilson did for 3 quarters. Do I believe Geno is gonna do great? Hell, if Waldron can do what McVay does, we could win some games. Geno will throw 2 TDs and 2 Int each game, yards 250+. If we get Carson back then that might be enough. I don’t expect us to make the playoffs, but I still think it’s possible.
Anyone else notice more injuries this year? I counted 429 people on the overall injury list for week 4.
How are you going to win with 2tds/2ints a game? Even when Wilson was a game manager his ratio was incredible. I hope smith can split wins and losses while Wilson is out so the draft pick isn’t gross for the jets. I even expect geno to win the next game since there’s zero film of him in this system. That happens often….but geno did more than russ? One more scoring drive and a lesser stat line…. as fans we do know that one of these guys is a near HOF’er and one of these guys was actually pretty terrible in their career so far…
I don’t think anyone expects Geno to have a winning record. It’s just interesting to see a traditional quarterback working the system. It’s a preview to what could happen with a new , taller , quarterback. Both good and bad.
I love Wilson’s QBR, but he has been erratic at best. Maybe because of the offensive line.
Alaska,
We’ve been commenting since forever here…but i honestly do not know what you are talking about. Erratic play? In the first five games Wilson is a plus 70% passer. On pace for his usual middle high 30’s td’s and sub ten INT’s. Of course there’s throws we wish he would make.
But a preview of a taller qb? To what end? There’s tons of taller qb’s that have come and gone in Wilson’s time.
Where i’ve met with forever and still at this point…i’d rather not see a taller qb but rather a hulked out oline that Wilson can stand behind and throw out of. People seem to forget for his houdini act Wilson is actually a great pocket passer. I’d love to see an offensive coach come in and recognize that a guy that can be a near 70% passer who is getting older and shouldn’t run around as much would be a nightmare for other teams if he could just stand there and lob bombs and darts w/o getting drilled season after season by aaron donald, etc.
He throws for 70% while taking a bunch of big sacks. If he would just throw it away, his percentage would look worse but it would be a lot better for the team. The O-line looked A LOT better with Geno in there. I almost feel like the offense doesn’t want to play with Russel as the leader. They had some life when Geno got in there. How is the defense supposed to continue to shut down offenses when they are routinely destroyed in time of possession? We need a QB that can get first downs, not one that cares more about his stats. An incompletion is better for the team than a 10 yard sack, but we constantly see Russ choose a sack over throwing the ball away.
You’re not wrong on throwing it away. But the defense is a problem regardless of wilson…..see last season prior to Dunlap. Or against the titans. Listen I’m so desperate for different things that i would love for smith to be good. Maybe a shakeup goes a different way with Wilson leaving.
But I’m sorry one half of football hasn’t shown me that Smith isn’t the guy who threw more picks than touchdowns as a starter. He now has about 6 games to do that. But the defense isn’t helped anymore by a guy who throws an int per td anymore than a bad sack, which they are terrible that Wilson takes.
Btw…I am a hawks fan. Not a Wilson honk. So if smith is good to pretty good i’d welcome that greatly. Would present some real options for seattle next year.
I had forgotten Adams was a hold out. What an a**hole.
Alright, if this season is out of reach now with the Wilson injury, let’s maximize what we can get for Adams.
Blitz him as much as we can get away with. Let’s get him the sack record again. Give him an open opportunity to break his own record. Increase his value as much as we can, see if we can sucker some other team to trade for this unstoppable sack machine.
Rob. You have been beating this drum for a long while now. I have appreciated your point of view even when I have not wanted to agree with it. But who can argue against your take now? I’m still hoping for a turn around but it’s becoming harder and harder to believe it can happen.
I don’t want the inevitable rebuild to be dragged out any longer than necessary and I want to see the whole thing blown up. Goodbye Pete, John, KNJ, and entire staffs. Trade Jamal, Bobby (it breaks my heart to say) and any player of any value for whatever draft picks we can get. Then trade Russ so that we’re not without a first rounder after all and get started now, not three years from now. Build it slowly and build it right by putting the right people in the right positions to make the right decisions and in 3-4 years you are where the Bills are today. Just blow it all up and start over ‘cause I’m done with what we’ve seen the past five years 🧨
RW clearly packing it in, not risking injury so he can leave this offseason!
What a terrible end to the best player to ever wear a Hawks uni…..
Hes out. Clearly this was a move by his camp, not the teams.
I love RW, but…ahem…Walter Jones.
*cough* steve largent *cough*
I kid it really could be either…..though I would love to see this FO ever in the last decade get ayone as talented as cortez kennedy….though theyd probably have him dropping into coverage
So you’re saying Wilson is purposely sandbagging for the next month+ so he can leave this offseason? What an absolute shit take. There are plenty of things people can take issue with as far as Russell Wilson is concerned but his work ethic is not one of them.
And no, he’s not the best tho top 5. Walter Jones is one of the 3 best LTs to ever play and Largent was better too.
The type of compensation and contract paid to Jamal means we should be getting a Charles Woodson/Ed Reed type player. Cmon man this is just ridiculous!! I’m tuning out for the season. Done wasting my time watching this garbage team. I thank Pete, John, Russ, LOB, and more for some of the best memories, but time has run out! I will always be a fan but I won’t truly regain interest until there is a shake up.
The really sad part is, the compensation for Reed or Woodson would likely have been less.
Horrible desperation trade.
Like Rob said forever ago; if the Seahawks really wanted Adams they could have traded him before the draft and atleast been sure of the year on compensation. Obviously the Jets would have still taken that deal.
Fast forward to now if they did that; we know Adams wasn’t a fit, but still have our 1st.
So the obvious thing here is; they didn’t trade for him before the draft because they bet their offseason on keeping Clowney then panicked when it didn’t happen.
I still believe this is 100% PC not JS. Could be wrong, but I doubt it.
Either way Horrible trade for so many reasons. Add in the timing as Rob pointed out and it’s even worse. Who would have thought the Adams trade could be worse.
Easily worst trade in Seahawks History, possibly NFL history.
Herschel Walker still worse. But I hear you.
Just for giggles-any probability prognostications?
-Pete and KNjr go-Russ stays, gets that O minded coach _? %
-Russ goes, Pete and KNjr stay (😞) _? %
-All go, Terra Incognito _? %
-All stay, ‘Ground Hog’ s Day, all over again _? %
Also; any hunches about the realistic, pessimistic, and optimistic scenarios for re-supply of our draft capital? (guess I can work out the pessimistic projection myself).
Anything I left out?
I’m noticing a weird correlation of Seahawks Twitter that thinks RW is not good and that Jamal Adams is amazing but we simpletons are too stupid to understand his on-field brilliance.
That’s the world today. If you don’t think like me, you’re stupid. Seahawks Twitter. Pete Carroll. Democrats. Republicans. Kind of a crappy time in life right now.
100%
Just a weird thing I noticed today.
I get that Wilson is super annoying….but it has been wild to see all the mini john grudens out over the years talking about Wilson like they have access to and understand “all 22,” tape. I fully get it sucks not having him do different stuff and rely on the deep ball…I also understand with no great footbsll mind that since the reset Wilson has been THE only consistent thing keeping seattle winning. Not some devastating run game. Not some suffocating defense. I don’t love his self made sacks or the need to press all the time. I don’t think he’s one every game by himself either. I do think he is the main reason Seattle has kept winning after the LOB and lynch
Social media is utter and complete shit and is by the biggest reason for what you’re saying BobbyK.
I can see why they think that, performance on the defensive side is much harder to assess than offensive. You can just look at yards, TD, INT, QBR, and say “hey he sucked”, but less so can you say that for sacks, tackles, PD, pbu, etc.
Oh totally. The weird thing is despite RW not playing well; his stats are good. It’s just really odd to me – RW has his flaws, but to pretend he’s just not that great is comical. Especially when the next tweet is “what an outstanding performance by Jamal.” Like, I think it’s hard to tell if a Safety has a great game…but an amateur can certainly tell you when they played a bad one.
I was at the game the previous Sunday and focused on Adams quite a bit. All I noticed in person was zero impact and a guy that was easily blocked. He can’t read-react-disengage for anything. Add that to no sacks, INTs, etc. and you’ve got a relatively worthless player who calls for “more dawgs.”
Now – if he’d been a 6th round pick on a rookie contract – I’d have ZERO problem with him. That’s not the case.
When you give up multiple 1st round picks AND help destroy your salary cap – there needs to be serious questions and accountability.
My question to Mr. (or Mrs., as I don’t know if Alan wears the pants or not) Adams is… Why would the D need more “dawgs” if you claimed last year that you and Bobby Wagner on the same defense is “unfair”? Aren’t YOU a “dawg”? And isn’t Poona, Reed, Diggs, etc, serviceable players? Isn’t Taylor emerging? They aren’t the quality of “dawg” you want even though they are better than you to the naked eye and rankings from others (who are probably “stoopid” to you).
I was too young when the Tony Dorsett trade happened. I can’t comment on that. But I’ve been a huge Seahawks fan since 1983 and can’t recall a worse trade. It’s terrible. Embarrassing and sad at the same time, though Pete Carroll would probably belittle me for being to dumb to know any better. Sorry, Pete.
When you love a team with a front office that thinks Malik McDowell is better than TJ Watt, Penny is better than Chubb, Collier and Blair are both better than DK Metcalf… I guess you’re supposed to be okay with it because “they’re the professionals.” Sorry I don’t feel that way. Ugh.
I’ve been telling myself that Adam’s ‘dogs’ comment was just him trying to deflect and redirect blame from falling on the coaching staff.
I think it’s a forgone conclusion that at the end of the season Russ demands a trade…
On a positive note,
Joe Brady, offensive coordinator, Carolina Panthers
Brady interviewed with a handful of teams last year, likely as an appetizer for a far more active cycle in 2021. He has a difficult but golden opportunity ahead of him this year, to assist in the saving of Sam Darnold. Brady had a stint with noted offensive guru Sean Payton on his record before transforming LSU’s passing game and future first-round pick Joe Burrow in the process. While his stock could ebb with the Panthers’ performance this year, any tangible progress from Darnold should be noted. This may be a bigger overhaul than the lay fan might think. Brady received interest from the Jets, Falcons, Chargers, Eagles and Texans during last year’s cycle.
If PC and Norton were gone and Brady brought in as HC, I think you could possibly get Wilson to stay around
Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills
Daboll continues to cement his status as an offensive mastermind capable of creating mismatches anywhere on the field. His role in the development of Josh Allen has been overlooked, though the football world got a small taste in his QB acumen after watching current pupil Mitch Trubisky carve up his former team in the preseason. Having an eye for matchups that can transcend scheme is a gift few offensive coaches possess, which makes Daboll’s skill set all the more valuable. Some in coaching circles were surprised to see him miss out on the cycle last year, especially with some obvious fits with the Texans or Chargers.
This would be a pretty interesting hire you’ve pointed at.
He would definitely be my first choice. I believe Rob thinks highly of him as well!
Blue colored glasses on. The next 4 weeks aren’t horrible. No division games. Mini bye leaving to a Pittsburgh team that hasn’t played well. Extra day of rest before a Monday night game vs Saints is a rough one. Home vs Jags should be a win. Then a bye. Timeline is uncertain but if Russ gets back early they can come out of this stretch ok.
Now it’s the time for Waldron. He came from a team where the scheme propped up a marginal QB with timing, easy throws, extra protection and running the ball. Put Geno in a spot to succeed and see what he does. Perhaps this is an audition to tell Russ and Pete, shut up and do things my way. People poo pooing his efforts and saying wait til the league has tape on him is silly. He has been in the league 8 years. People know all they need to know of him already
They don’t have tape on him in this, whatever it even is, system. If there even is one at this point. I think smith could very well split the games but therein is the problem. Seattle was supposed to be sooo good at this point thst burning a ton of picks on a safety was going to be this final piece to make the team elite. Now we’re crossing fingers and toes to hope an extremely mediocre qb can eek out some wins because it turns out this team might actually be garbage. Certainly the defense is regardless of what smith or wilson are up to
I was sayin for last 3 years, blow up the team, trade Russ, change out the staff. It’s been sooo predictable. So many others said “you can’t trade a franchise QB like Russ, are you crazy???” Now you’ve got to settle for less than you would’ve gotten for Russ 3 years ago, an overpaid safety, and no picks to rebuild. Congrats guys!! We did it, we hit rock bottom with the insistent over optimism! Lol it’s going to take years to be relevant again, when we could be closer now that we actually are.
Well, then, you were wrong… You have no crystal ball 3 years ago to “blow up the team, trade Russ…”
If they’d simply drafted better, then you’ve got a potential dynasty.
Sucks we’re in the situation we’re in…
It took no crystal ball for the Seahawks to proceed wasting draft picks. Not when you watched them wasting picks like hell since at least 2014.
Still Hawkers don’t get it. Or they don’t want to. PC wants it “my way or the highway”. He wants players he can develop, to match his outdated scheme. He needs and picks cronies.
And please don’t say “competition” and “being the bully”. We have traded the single player drafted matching this idea to the Chiefs, because we didn’t want to pay him 20m. Instead, we have payed 40m to fix the hole created, never succeeding.
Sorry for being an ass on this blog about my love to TJ Watt. Mario, can you please provide examples like my TJ Watt scenarios about how he was the BPA that year and what YOU would have done?
Bobbyk, if you want your brain yo explode go google up that draft….for reasons that none of us would ever know even if they didnt like Watt, they could have had ramcyzk with the next pick after….or…
Without lnowing then they could go ahead and waste nine total picks on safeties they could have simply picked buddha baker someone consistent if a bit boring like josh johnson who I ( toots horn slightly) noted during tgat draft abd has gone on to be a multi year starter.
The JA trade was/is the franchise death nell but pc has actually been messing up the team starting with the reset.
One thing I don’t understand is how J Schneider seems to get a free pass on all the awful moves/mistakes that’ve happened these past few years.
He deserves just as much blame as Pete. Our drafts have been bottom 5 in the league over the past 7-8 years.
He definitely doesn’t get a pass
I suspect if PC goes he may well do too
Literally since he turned in the Russell Wilson card, he’s drafted three core guys in 9 years: Lockett, DK, and Clark. It’s simply impossible to sustain a franchise with so little in the talent pipeline.
If the mistakes this year bring down the house it’s only because the foundation has been left to rot for a decade, just living on the remnants of the McLoughan drafts until they dwindled to Russell himself.
Think it’s a bit interesting, when considering GMs at the end of their run, to contrast the shortsighted and self-indulgent Adams trade with Tim Ruskell correctly trading his 2009 second-round pick for the Broncos’ 2010 first-rounder. That’s a man with his arse on the hot seat still acting in the long-term interests of the institution, and without him doing that Pete and John don’t get to build a defense around Earl Thomas.
Not having Russ for 6-8 weeks could easily mean we win 1 game all this time. Geno is a nice guy and he had a good drive, but if Russ couldn’t keep this team on a winning streak, Geno surely won’t. I don’t know if signing a new QB (Nick Foles, Cam Newton, Rivers, Drew Brees, John Rosen or any other joke you can imagine) would be the solution.
On the other hand, we’re getting a preview of how life without a franchise QB looks like, and hopefully someone will decide to stick with him and change the coaching staff.
Rob would you consider cam Newton ? How much would the number 3 quarterback in Chicago Nick foles?
https://twitter.com/jtheaps9/status/1446704581228961796?s=21
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Jake 💪🏻
You can’t hide Adams for long. People will realize and stop covering for him.
He seems to be hiding himself now
Thus, why he was, according to Ian Furness, the only player to shirk the media on Thursday
What a ‘leader’
C’mon Rob, it had nothing to do with shirking the media. Alan didn’t get his $4000 scarf out of the closet so he felt “incomplete”.
So glad someone smarter with X’s and O’s called him out on his continued defense of Adams. Feels like he’s angling for a job with the Seahawks rather than delving into the intricacies of the defense.
Aside from not providing any splash plays, Adams has been right at the center of the three biggest defensive breakdowns this year:
-The Henry TD run
-The Deebo TD catch
-The Desean bomb
“A lot of people owe Adams an apology” ?
Actually just two people: Pete Carroll and John Schneider. They’ve put him in a situation he simply cannot succeed in.
Trying too hard to be a contrarian I think
Backfired here, clearly
Things dont look good. Anyone else worried that the RW injury gives PC perfect excuse for bad season? It’s unlikely franchise management will do anything so we are reliant on Pete retiring. No guarantees that would happen, even if there is a stand off with Russ.
I suspect RW will ensure that isn’t the case
Yeah I agree. Russ will ensure it is the end of the era but we might not get the one we want. It’s up to Pete to leave but I am not convinced he will.
If he was his usual chirpy self I would agree
But he looks and sounds thoroughly like a bloke who’s thinking ‘why am I still doing this?’
He looks like he’s tuning out. Like he knows this was a year too far
Best of all, this injury gives him the perfect scenario to leave despite the inevitable poor season record.
He sounds done, as if he’s just resigned to his fate
Agreed
Excellent point, Dec. Pete will claim team was really coming together at time of Wilson’s injury … Waldron’s changes were just starting to take hold. Pete’s ok if Wilson leaves, might actually prefer it … giving him a clean slate to “clean things up” in 2022. Ownership will be content to let it ride … revenue’s fine or going up, why worry? 710 AM will celebrate the confirmation that Pete, renewed and excited by fresh challenges, will be returning to lead the Hawks forward in 2022. When 2022 team bombs only then will Pete contemplate retirement … maybe.
I think Rob is right and he walks away but I can definitely see this scenario play out too. Thing is, he left USC when it started getting ugly and he knows that’s happening here too so that makes me lean toward he’ll retire..
LOL, Ian… 😂😂
https://mobile.twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1446656318039855107
😂
The last 3/5 seasons PC/JS having been flying by the seat of their pants in trades and draft. Always a gamble on a under performing previous high pick, end of a career old pro or a massive punt on potential. No building for the future and all this I believe around the fact that RW is never injured.
Now let’s see if this philosophy will cost the team 3/5 season rebuild program finishing bottom of the NFC West for this period??????
GoHawks you make an excellent point re Waldron propping up a marginal QB in LA (Goff). We’ve got some talent on O to make it happen. Not saying Geno is even on Goffs level, but I think your point is very good.
Spending today misery looking at head coaching candidates…
Interested in guys like Brady and Daboll as mentioned. Byron Leftwich could be an interesting candidate. SB winner as an oc, the Arians inspired vertical pass heavy offense would suit Russ’ skill set and preferences (plus Tyler and DK’s). Probably could bring over someone familiar with the attacking Todd Bowles D as DC to make the most of Adams, since we’ve made our bed on that now.
Kellen Moore also gets nothing but praise for his job with Dallas, would be weird considering he was in the same draft as Russ.
I’m very much in the Brady and Daboll camp
Heartily concur, but fear there’ll be no coaching vacancy to fill – this said with with all due respect to Rob’s observations about Pete’s withered, wilted demeanor, suggesting he’ll step away. Hope I’m wrong.
Whether Carroll retires or is fired by the end if the season I can’t help but feel that Brady or Daboll would either go elsewhere or higher ups in the franchise will push for a retread/another Defensive centric coach in attempts to revive and/or repeat the 2013 Seattle Defense since that was such a major identity to the team.
I’ve been thinking, what’s the best and worst thing that can come for this situation? For best I’ve got a few options. Number 1: Pete retires, JS is fired and Russel stays with a brand new coaching staff. (Coaching staff with upside) Number 2: Pete and JS fired/retire/quit. Russell moves to a “win now” team and we have a new coaching staff (Brandon Staley type of coach) with 2-3 high picks made from Wilson trade. Number 3:Last but worst option would be everything stays the same with Russell and coaching both coming back. (I almost put this option in the worst case scenario options.)
Now to worst case scenarios.
Number 1: Russell moves to different team, Pete and John stay to start the rebuild.
Number 2: Russell stays but Carroll replaced with a retread coach and JS stays also.
I’m curious out of all these options, which one would you guys chose, for best and worst. For me the best is Russell stays with new coaching and new front office (although total reset is kinda appealing for long term). Worst would be coaching staff and front office stay for life after Wilson.
Clean sweep
I’m interested in which franchises you consider the best at talent acquisition. That would be a good topic someday.
I’ve always thought Baltimore was consistently good at it, and recently Tampa Bay and Buffalo. Those are just my amateur impressions, I’d love to get a pro analysis of that topic.
I’ll try and do that piece at some point this season
When you say clean sweep, does that mean you’d prefer to move Russell?
If so I’m curious what your thinking there is? Just that we’re too far away without the picks to turn it around fast enough?
I suspect at this point in Russ’s career he won’t be interested in being part of a rebuild.
No, not Wilson
GM candidates?
I’m guessing we will need to bring in a new backup QB for the next few weeks. What are our options? I don’t know much about Luton, who is currently on our PS. Do we just stick with him or go find someone else to add to the roster?
I’ve got this feeling, that the weeks ahead are the most dangerous for this franchise in the last decade. I could easily see PCJS making some additional patch-up trades to somehow keep the ship floating, burning the rest of what is left of draft capital for fringe players.
In 2018, someone at SDB wrote a comment on how PC ran USC into the ground when his paradigm for success started to evaporate. Never I would’ve thought, we would reach that point in Seattle; since Jodie Allen took over, this prospect became real, and here we are…
Then, Adams… now, alls those armchair experts at FG start to leave the sinking ship on him. This is the most ridiculous storyline in modern football history. Trading two first rounder and somewhat on a fringe position, paying the guy 70m facing a below 70 PFF rating (which in this case is to high on his fabricated production).
At least, in 2020 you could teams scheming around him to some degree. In 2021, the Rams took Higbee and Jackson and pulled his missed coverages deep down our throaths. I cannot see, how someone still can defend this. Of course, this has something to do with scheme. It is the same crap as in 2019. Brooks being required to cover and getting burned is sitiing next to Kendricks being required to bail out Tedric Thompson. We scheme around a bad safety.
Finally, all over the media, there are writings about how this Seahawks offense could work as good under Geno as under Russ. This may be true. With Wilson under center, this offense wasn’t able to play two halves of competent football. They delivered 351 yd/g total offense, #19 in the league, down from 369.5 yd/g in 2020. True, things can be worse as we are #32 in the league with 450.8yd/g allowed. This is with a well paid LT, a well paid franchise QB and arguably one of the better receiver duos in the league. It’s not only a defensive matter. Our yard differential has gone from -9.9 yd/g in 2020 to -99.2 yd/g in 2021.
Fire KNJ will not help. We need honesty first.
Oklahoma spots Texas 14 points in the first two minutes of the Red River rivalry game.
So Addams posted a 42 coverage grade a full 20 points less than any other Seahawks defender against the Rams, the claim it’s the worst trade of the PC era has continued to gain merit and is pretty much indefensible now bye any stretch of the imagination. Pff has a great Video out on how RW has basically hacked the grading system, and how his actually rank this year has been about the 21st ranked QB in the league right behind Baker Mayfield, which matches the eye test option of the last few years to me. At some point I hope people start asking how many championships the Hawks would have had with a legit top ten QB instead of Wilson over the LOB era. PC time has come and gone, but so has RWs, time for a clean sweep and a fresh start. I don’t want to kick a guy while he’s down, but think this is a real opportunity to see how much RW actually contributes to winning football games. My gut instincts say he’s more of a detriment than a help, but looking forward to getting some clarity on the enigma that is RW, if Geno can be average enough to actually see how good the team is around the QB position.
Hope you’re around in 8 weeks to take responsibility for this post as I think you’re going to be eating a lot of crow. I think Russell will return after missing 5 games. I’ll put a stake in the ground with my schedule predictions:
@Pitt – L
NO – L
Jax – W
@GB – L
Az – L
The remaining 7 games with Russ:
Wash – L
SF – L
@Hous – W
@LAR – L
Chi – W
Det – W
@Az – L
So I think they’ll end up 6-11, a year after going 12-4. If Russ was healthy for those five games, I could see at least 2 more wins, maybe 3 if he got hot and the defense improved. But he could also end up missing 8 (or more games).
If anyone needs cheering up, i suggest you get to watching the Texas/OU game. It’s a madhouse. 6 TD’s already with 15 seconds of the second quarter elapsed.
Geno is a back-up for good reason. I expect to see more interceptions than TD passes over the course of Geno’s stewardship. The offense, which was yet to bloom under co-offensive coordinators Waldron/Carroll, will wither and die. I say this while acknowledging that Geno looked great against the Rams, and with full respect for the contrary opinions of others. But I see the remainder of this season filled with frustration and despair, a Seahawks Stalingrad.
Spencer Rattler is just not a good decision maker. I keep waiting for improvement in this area from him, but I have yet to see it.
The good thing is regular visitors to this blog will have been ahead of the curve on Rattler who’s always been overrated by the media. And now, it seems, he’s nearing the bench.
Yup. You can have all the arm talent in the world (Spencer Rattler, Jacob Eason), but if you’re not a good decision maker, or not a good leader, for example, you could be sorely lacking at the NFL level.
On a positive note, maybe Rattler will continue to stumble this year, perhaps even be mostly replaced, and he falls in the draft so PC/JS can pick him.
No thanks, not even later on
I kid. 🙂
This has turned into an awesome game, Texas and Oklahoma.
Since Caleb Williams has replaced Spencer Rattler…
TD
FG
FG
FG
TD
TD…
MY Lord! How do they go back to Rattler after this game? Maybe he starts Rattler next game, but has him on a short leash. I don’t know…
Oklahoma can’t stop giving up the big play. The big play is the only thing that has worked for Texas.
Here’s another thing. Difference between Oklahoma/Washington, Riley/Lake…Oklahoma will replace a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate QB when he’s doing poorly with a highly rated true freshman QB, whereas Washington won’t replace a mediocre QB when he’s doing poorly with the top pro style true freshman QB prospect in the country.
Great coaches in top programs don’t mess around when it comes to winning and doing what’s best for their programs.
That was a helluva game. But oh that Texass D, brutal. Reminded me of the Seahawks D.
My partner is a Sooner so Oklahoma has been my B-team behind the Hawks and the Huskies for years now. Thank God for tha,t as the Hawks and Huskies have no chance to chase or even dream about the top prize this year.
Man that was an exciting game, for me the most exciting college game of the year so far.
Oklahoma is back in the CF title discussion now, IMO. I say this for a few different reasons. For one, they’ve got enough at the QB position to compete with anyone now. For two, the one thing more than anything that has held them back this year is their running game, or lack thereof. They’ve got that back on track now.
Thirdly, their D is a lot better than they looked today, good enough for the CFP. They’ve got a pass rush, they’ve got meat and aggressiveness up front, they’ve got enough talent all the way around.
Almost every time they got beat today was a correctable/schematic thing. They either got beat over the top where the safety was mis-positioned and the corner just misplayed it, or they were out of position on the corners during a few long running plays or quick outs and then just whiffed on tackles that should have been made. They never really got over-powered in any way, strange as that may sound after giving up 40 points.
Oklahoma should have an easy time of it the next 4 games before playing Iowa State. That’s about the only team I see able to beat them before their conference championship game if they show up at all.
I’m in, been waiting for this:
https://youtu.be/Z5KgMUgvtig
If we’re going to have a DJ at the games (pointless IMO) he can at least crank this up.
Talking of which, the high school where I work is getting the “Blue Friday Night Lights “ treatment in a couple of weeks: Seahawks dancers, DJ, Blitz, and Blue Thunder will be at our football game.
I literally had no clue that Dexy’s Midnight Runners had more than one song.
I actually think the team will be fine without Russ. They’re deeply flawed already, so they’ll win some and lose some, and Russ will come back with the playoffs a possibility.
Which might be bad for the long-term state of the franchise. I’m in the burn it all down camp, and that includes Pete, John, Jamal, and even Russ. Maybe the Bears still want Russ and we can get Fields and a couple more firsts. Heck, we might as well move DK as well and add to the pick trove, so long as Pete isn’t calling the shots.
When Xavier Worthy grows up he is going to be a weapon!