Poona Ford is off to the AFC East along with Al Woods
I think a lot of us thought that after the draft, there might be an opportunity for the Seahawks to bring back Poona Ford or Al Woods. Maybe even both.
Instead they’re heading for the AFC East, joining the Bills and Jets respectively.
It leaves the Seahawks a bit thin up front but there is some perspective to be had.
I mentioned this on the stream with Jeff Simmons yesterday. The 2013 Seahawks D-line is known for its depth but if you actually look at the defensive tackle position, it’s surprisingly thin.
Brandon Mebane, Tony McDaniel, Clinton McDonald and Jordan Hill were the only pure DT’s on the roster. They used Red Bryant as a big defensive end on early downs.
Nobody had heard of McDaniel when he arrived, while McDonald was a cheap addition to try and add some situational pressure. Hill was a mid-round pick. Mebane was the only consistent, proven veteran.
The current roster actually compares favourably with Dre’Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, Cameron Young, Bryan Mone and Myles Adams. They’re also supposedly trying to turn Mike Morris into a three-technique or 3-4 end.
The true depth of the 2013 line was down to the pass rush rotation off the edge. They had Chris Clemons and Cliff Avril as starters, they rotated in Michael Bennett and had Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa on the roster too.
This year, they now have a rotation with promise if not the same level of proven quality. Uchenna Nwosu, Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are a good quartet with Tyreke Smith and Alton Robinson also in the background.
For that reason, I’m not sure the concerns about Seattle’s defensive front are warranted. Although they’re sticking to the 3-4 DNA, Pete Carroll has hinted at further use of hybrid fronts and systems. They could easily line-up on early downs with Jarran Reed and Cameron Young at defensive tackle, Dre’Mont Jones and Mike Morris at end then play one of the rushers at linebacker. That would provide ample size up front to defend the run. For obvious passing situations, we could see Jones and Morris play up the middle with two edge rushers. I could keep going. They have options.
It’s just not conventional. They don’t have a traditional nose tackle with massive size and two traditional 3-4 ends. The nose tackle, at the moment, is set to be a rookie who weighs 304lbs. Tony McDaniel did a good job anchoring the interior a decade ago and he wasn’t 340lbs.
I also think Morris, for a fifth rounder, could be a legit contributor this year. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if he comes in and forges a role for himself. He can be in the rotation and actually cause a few problems up front. He’s the type of player the Steelers have typically turned into a very useful 3-4 end.
I said during the draft that I think there’s a reasonable chance Cameron Young ends up being as good, if not better, than Keeanu Benton. I don’t think there’s a big difference between the two. The Seahawks splurged on Jones to be their game-wrecking interior presence and it’ll be up to him to be a difference maker, which he’s capable of.
I would prefer a bit more of a battle-tested presence up front and I think, come next year, they’ll need to look at the $40m being spent at safety and transfer some of that to the defensive line. They’ve backed themselves into a corner by paying too much at safety and that’ll need to be rectified. There’s not much they can do now, though.
Even so, there’s further perspective to be had here.
New England had the third ranked defense per DVOA in 2022. Their interior defenders consisted of Christian Barmore (PFF grade — 68.6), Daniel Ekuale (60.1), Lawrence Guy (53.5) and Davon Godchaux (53.1). They succeeded without outstanding interior play or great depth.
The Bills ranked fourth on defense. They only had DaQuan Jones (73.6) with a grade above 70.
It’s easy to focus on the 49ers and Eagles, or Chris Jones with Kansas City, and think you need a cluster of stars and big-time game-wreckers up front to succeed on defense. The Seahawks didn’t have that in 2013 and some of the better performing units in the NFL last season didn’t have it either.
The key is to play within scheme, make sure the rookies get up to speed quickly, get something out of Jones as a pass rusher and perform better at the perimeter.
I’m not sure there’s anything left they can do. Curtis Allen is working on a cap update but a cursory glance at the numbers makes for scary reading. The Seahawks essentially need to create $4.79m just to be able to sign their rookie class. That’s before making any new signings. I’m not even sure how they go about creating $5m, let alone sign anyone to add to what they have. I’m sure Curtis will provide some answers.
I also wanted to spend a bit of time talking about Derick Hall today.
The testing numbers speak to genuine high-upside potential — a 4.20 short shuttle, a 1.55 10-yard split. These are exciting results.
I’ve been trying to think who he reminds me of. Watching him on tape he isn’t your typical lean, long-limbed pass rusher. He’s built like a tank, which makes the testing numbers all the more impressive. As I was watching a couple of Auburn games late on Sunday I thought he reminded me of James Harrison. He’s a better athlete than Harrison but that’s who popped into my head while watching him.
I wanted to see if any similar comparisons had been made prior to the draft and stumbled across this article:
“(Hall) feels like a Steeler as much as anyone in this year’s class… it’s a ferocity and tenacity that serves as the foundation to be a Steelers EDGE rusher. Joey Porter, James Harrison, T.J. Watt. Nasty, junkyard dogs who play that way on the field.”
I can remember when Carroll arrived in Seattle and he made reference to the dominant AFC North teams, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, in the way he wanted to build. They pulled that off, creating the most physical roster in the NFL. They went away from that for too long despite various attempts to recapture it.
Picks like Hall and Witherspoon are a further attempt to re-establish that mentality. Like Harrison, Hall might take a couple of years to really find his feet. However, he appears to have the imposing physicality, the mentality and the commitment to his craft to reach the highest level. Further to that, he is going to be so important in those NFC West games.
I got bored of seeing Fred Warner firing up the Niners ahead of the three wins against the Seahawks last year, yelling at his team mates how much they hate Seattle. San Francisco were better and tougher in 2022. Hall is going to thrive in moments like this. Those big rivalry games. You can see it in clips on YouTube when he’s joshing with Alabama players in pre-draft training. I can almost see it now, him leading the huddle pre-game and rallying the troops before a key contest. Then he’ll be flying around the field like his life depends on the game.
That mentality is back in Seattle. Hall, Witherspoon, Jarran Reed, Bobby Wagner. Even players like Jerrick Reed and Kenny McIntosh will add to it.
Do not underestimate this turn with the Seahawks. They’re getting back to their roots. As much as Seahawks Twitter complains about it, that also includes running the football like this. That’s harder to do when you have insufficient talent and depth at running back. It’s why the Zach Charbonnet pick was important.
A final note. I am racing through the 2024 quarterback class. If you missed my first article on the position, click here. I’ve now watched half of Quinn Ewers’ games for Texas, added another game of Drake Maye and watched Oregon vs Washington. No time to sleep and all that. I will provide some further thoughts in another article coming up.
If you’ve enjoyed the blog this draft season and want to support the site via Patreon — (click here)
Pete talked like Al Woods or Poona Ford would be back this year. I would think he’s disappointed. Both he and John Schneider said their not done on the D-line. Do you think they bring back Shelby Harris? How does he compare to Poona and Woods? Is there another cheap veteran who would be effective at nose?
Would they extend DK to provide some cap space or what would be another option?
I understand your article and agree with it, but with the way Al Woods got injured multiple times at nose, it’d be nice to have another veteran and not count so much on Cam Young.
Thanks again for all your work Rob! I’ve told my Seahawks friends about your website and now they all look forward to reading your articles and have told their other Seahawks friends! What a great community!
Go Hawks!!
Extending Nuwosu would open up some space, as would extending Fant (although i’m not sure Fant has earned it, Nuwosu kind of has). I think there could be a restructure opportunity for Lockett that’s more likely than DK. Two of those three would make the space for another veteran, although looking at the market i’m unsure who we would even want to bring in?
Given we’re not really looking at a Superbowl run this year, I feel it’s better to take the “hit” and trust in our D-Line additions and rookies. We’ll improve this year for sure, and getting all that game time and coaching time into these players will pay off big time in 2024 – when we can finally make significant changes to those contracts on Diggs and Adams, and to sorting out the TE room to be a bit better balanced cost wise. Target is on Superbowl LIV, so riding that minor concern now to pay off big time feels very worth it.
Superbol LIX even
We have a 3.27 mil dead cap hit from releasing Harris so we’d have to take that into account if we re-signed him. I feel like if he was willing to take less money they would have restructured or extended him instead of releasing him — it’s possible that they did attempt to and Harris declined, thinking he could make more with another team. I’d be surprised if we bring him back, not because they don’t like him but because I think someone will pay more than we are willing to especially now that the draft is over and teams have a better idea of where they need additional improvement.
Do you think that there are DL FA’s out there who would be a bigger improvement to our DL than Harris would be. And are we screwed without a kiss in terms of financial ability to sign anyone, unless we do something drastic at safety.
I think there’s a chance Robert Cooper surprises a few people
I think so too. Quick and strong..
He’s in Mone’s spot on the list above. Best udfa chance for the roster, apart from ls.
For the 2013 comparison, Jones will be in the Bennett role.
Robert Cooper’s weight is listed at 307. But he sure looks a lot bigger than 307 pounds. I sure hope that Cooper plays well enough to make the team.
Mike Morris on the other hand is talking big game. It will real be interesting to see how the Seahawks use Morris. Morris does sound like a MAN on a mission.
Nice perspective Rob. It really does seem that we are coming full circle with Pete’s time here. When I saw that we only had 50-something players on the roster going into the draft, I thought of the churn they pulled when they first got here. This UDFA class speaks to that. Bring em in, let em battle and the dogs will sort themselves out.
Like you, I’m still on eggshells thinking about the cap situation. I’m sure they’ll figure it out in the end, but man… they’ve not left themselves a great deal of options. Once they get under the cap, I don’t think it will be that daunting. There will be a lot of guys who don’t impact the cap to be signed after cut day.
Looking forward to Cha’s cap assessment. I misspoke yesterday when looking at what I thought was DK’s contract. Turns out it was Qandre, so I guess that idea is off the board. Excited to see what he comes up with.
Seems like Uchena would be a great candidate to extend to create cap space.
A-mazing draft once again. I think I’m most excited about the Michiganders along with Njigba being first down machine. Morris feels like a Richard Seymour type and getting Macintosh in the 7th is a straight heist. Unbelievable value in so many parts of the draft.
Great coverage of the draft Rob!
Oh is that all?
This is the 3rd or 4th year in a row they have rebuilt the DL in one way or another, and to this point they have yet to do any of those things successfully. In the midst of a scheme change last year, they gave the players rest days in OTAs and camp, for crying out loud.
I will grant they are finally building the right way, and at some point talent may overcome the lack of cohesive coaching. But I’ll have to see it to believe it.
The secondary has solidified & will likely be the identity of the defense. Jones brings a legit pass rusher to the DL. We have a plethora of OLB/edge rushers who will be competing for snaps. Yes the DT depth looks thin-ish. I’m excited for both rookies & hope to unearth a gem or two from somewhere. My top question for the defense is ‘can we stop the run?’.
On the offensive side things look pretty exciting. The OL , WR, TE & RB groups all have depth & serious potential. If Geno plays at top form we’re looking at a damn good offense. Biggest question for me on offense is ‘how quickly will the interior OL gel?’.
The wildcard is always health. This is a roster on the rise. In a flaccid NFC & weak NFC West we’re looking to the playoffs again with a chance to advance.
It’s only flaccid until it isn’t.
There will be 1 or 2 teams in the NFC that we currently think aren’t good that will be in the season. So I won’t be tooting our wild card horn just yet.
Yeah I’m always hesitant on the pre-pre season predictions.
I know it feels like the NFC is wide open. But it was pretty wide open last year as Rodgers already started to fall off a cliff.
I don’t really know if this is every year or just an average but there’s the stat line that half the teams that make the playoffs do not the following year.
Our team did make it on a baby soft schedule and Detroit didn’t on a slightly harder schedule.
Carolina. If young is just functional they look like they’ll be much, much improved.
The eagles….many think they “won,” the draft with Seattle as well.
The niners lose a guy at LB….and gain a really good rotational dlinemen.
I’m getting at I don’t see the doors wide open yet. I could see it in 2012. Couldn’t believe it but see it. That team is what I’m hoping this team becomes. Great draft I hope. Mostly good free agency. But….I need to see Seattle handle some teams not just try their best and squeak I to the playoffs.
This makes me think how Rob mentioned we don’t want to turn into the Indianapolis Colts at the QB position, when in fact it feels like we have been doing it with the D-line instead.
Signing a bunch of veteran retreads trying to create stopgaps instead of developing and playing younger talent. All of the play that Bruce Irvin got at the expense of Boye Mafe while not producing meaningful play was maddening after a full season of Irvin and Mayowa the year before.
I get mixing in veterans like Bobby and Jarran to help lead and guide them, but the Seahawks need to focus on building for the future to contend. It does feel like this is what they are moving towards so fingers crossed.
Makes me wonder how much attitude can compete with size
Not worried, I bet the Trench Monster Robert Copper will make the roster and rotate with Young at NT.
I agree about Big Coop. No one is talking about DT Robert Cooper. He is going to play a lot and will be the best UDGA for the Hawks.
It’s hard to get too excited about UDFA’s
Some don’t even make it past rookie mini-camp
It’s easy to get excited about UDFA’s, but I agree they should not be counted on. Seahawks usually has a UDFA making the roster though, and I would not be surprised if Robert Cooper is the guy this year. Poona, Mone, Blount, Curhan and Rhattigan come to mind over the last couple of years.
Did they pick up any udfa’s you had a reasonable grade on or that you were surprised didn’t go in the draft?
This!
Two UDFA’s that I actually mock at 198 and 237.
Robert Cooper NT and Christian Young S.
Jonah Tovai was very productive at San Diego St.
Noah Gindorff TE
UCLA’s Jake BoBo, wide receiver. Yes they need to find more wide receivers. Lockett isn’t getting any younger.
A reason to cheer for the UDFA this year – the Seahawks got no money, got no money, can’t hire a vet because they got no money! Embrace the UDFAs because there will be more than normally make the team.
Should’ve just drafted a Fire Hydrant at #52 to take on blockers to free up Wags.
The 2013 Hawks had young LB’s to shoot the gaps and Kam Chancellor to drill people.
We need youth at ILB, too. It was a great off season. Likely the Hawks best ever, so it can be fruitless nit picking and beating the dead horse, but it was so easy to remedy and PC/JS couldn’t help but getting cute like they consistently did from 2015-2021.
I’m still very pleased but I do believe 1 fire hydrant up front or a speedy LB would be the difference in 2024 of going to the NFCCG and winning in.
I’m more confidant in Geno than most. All he has to do is distribute the ball to the plethora of weapons like a point guard. Geno can still knock down a 3 ball besides dishing the rock. His body is still like a 27 yo while his mind and leadership is like a 33 yo.
My only caveat to this squad being able to beat a Philly or SF in the playoffs is the run defense. Our running game would be fine with K9, McIntosh and DeeJay Dallas. I’m hoping we throw the ball more in 2023 to get the lead and then unleash the ground attack to close it out.
We shall see but the RUN D with young LB’s and a true vince wilfork type is needed for us to reach the SB again. The 2024 Draft should be heavy there, a TE and a QBOTF.
We’re definitely moving forward at a faster pace than anticipated so hats off to JS/PC but they need to stop with the over drafting of RB’s. We’ve drafted MORE RB’s than ANY TEAM, yes every NFL squad since PC/JS have been a VP/GM tandem. They just can’t help themselves. They’re RB alcoholics!!
And the sad Irony of it all is the only real All-Pro dominant Running back we’ve had in the PC/JS era is a guy that they traded for and didn’t draft. LMAO. Beast mode was the man! Still miss watching him tote the rock. And then PC gets “cute” and decides to throw the ball from the 2 yd line when a simple read option with RW and a time out and it’s back to back. I will never get over that.
You’ve hit on some good, positive points in this to calm the fears of those who are uncertain.
I’m especially intrigued by Derick Hall. For those unfamiliar with his back story I would urge you to search out a YouTube vid called “Derick Hall, Miracle”. You’ll learn some of his life history, and if it doesn’t inspire you…………get your heart checked. I wasn’t very familiar with him before we drafted him, but in seeing some stories and videos about him I noticed that at times when action on the field dictated, his eyes reminded me of Kam Chancellor. The intensity is palpable. Kam was the locker room alpha of alphas in the glory years, and I think Pete has been yearning to find the next Kam. I suspect he thought that guy was Adams, but we know how that has panned out. Hopefully Hall lives up to the promise.
While we rightfully focus on player talent, coaching isn’t always appreciated as an important part of the equation for success. I still have my uncertainties about Hurtt as DC, but the two newest additions to the staff of Olson as QB coach and Jordan as pass rush specialist give me hope. Pete has had a problem with the admirable quality of loyalty which gave us the less than stellar tenure of Ken Norton (to be fair a fine linebacker coach, but a proven poor DC). But he’s been coming around the last couple years to bringing in apparent better talent. DK Metcalf was on Cowherds show a couple weeks ago and in the flow of the conversation he was asked about how he was coached. He mentioned that the first year he was coached by Nate Carrol and basically all he got was a film watching partner. The next season he got Sanjay Lal and you could see his eyes light up as he talked about how much it helped him advance his game. Lal departed for one season but returned and DK said it was a blessing for him and his game. I would hope that the D line will benefit from Jordan in the same way given his list of highly successful “clients” in his prior activities. Likewise for Olson in the QB room. Imagine if he were able to unlock higher performance from Lock going forward……………….now, there’s a dream.
Whatever changed just over a year ago with the mentality of management and how that affected the rebuild of the team, it looks very positive to me, both in the type of players added to the squad and the quality of coaching/management of personnel. Might just lead to a very fun season ahead.
Watched that video right after we drafted him. Easy to fall in love with him.
And yesterday JS said to a man all his fellow GMs he’s talked to after the draft say Hall was their favorite player in the draft as far as the person and the competitor he is.
The hawks addressed their run defense in ways beyond DT. Adding Hall who may hold the edge a bit better than their current edges (or at least can compete), Witherspoon should also assist with outside runs. Coby Bryant was opportunistic, but his tackling was atrocious at times.
I also think the Hawks did well in following the market the last two drafts. Beyond QB, what positions have the highest market? T, WR, CB, Edge. Those positions now addressed with young talent. They are now in a position they can move on from Adams and Diggs next year if desired and be able to attack the free agency market at the top of more reasonably priced positions (S, LB, DT) while they have addressed the high ticket items.
I wonder if the Seahawks are still thinking about Deforest Buckner as Rob suggested early in the offseason. By signing him, I think you get the closest player to Calais Campbell in the NFL, who they have long coveted. He can play the Campbell/Bennett role of an EDGE on early downs and then kick inside on passing downs. I’m hoping they can do this (and work out the cap space of course).
If that was going to happen, I think it would’ve been done by now
He would also cost you $13.75m this year, meaning you’d have to create $18m to pay him and the rookies
That’s true, thanks Rob.
Great perspective Rob, thanks.
Behavioural science is very interesting when it comes to Seahawk fans and the annual/perpetual consternation of decisions made by the team. Often we look back and see how the plan fell into place and we’re “amazed” at the end result.
I think this is the new “nit pick” of the fan base – we didn’t draft Carter and took “unheralded” edge and ANOTHER RB in the 2nd round.
It’s hilarious, but glad you just point out some obvious things instead of telling us to shut it.
Last night was listening to a hawks pod.
Some sort of credentialed writer for either the hawks or the nfl…was lamenting they were “sad,” that we didn’t draft Carter…..but I thought : why.
You have access probably greater than most of us here will ever have. You could have. This person got to actually attend the draft. I’m sure if they spent a micron of time they could have looked into it and realized he might not have been a fit.
Staggering how little thought was given to his fit and what was actually happening at Georgia
All of the character stuff was glossed over
Hi Rob!
I’m wondering if you have any opinions about our two UDFA Quarterbacks?
It’s damn rare but not unknown for someone coming from that lineage to end up starters. E.g. Holton Ahlers has me slightly interested – though most of the highlight passes that I saw seemed to be single read, rather than going through multiple progressions.
https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/holtonahlers
Thoughts on the chance of a two year development quarterback making it?
I haven’t watched either and probably won’t — these types often don’t make it out of mini-camp
This kid looks pretty good. A UDFA as Poona was. He looks Cancey-like if you squint just right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXs62ZHnVM
I don’t expect any more vet signings unless they make some kind of major cap move. They’ll fill out the line with young bucks on the cheap and make the best of it. Could be some diamonds in this dustbin.
Yes, I was intrigued by him when I saw on the PFF draft simulator (before they required you to pay) that he had a ridiculous number of QB pressures. Obviously against lesser competition, but I’m glad the Seahawks are giving him a look to see if he can do anything like that at this level.
I guess I am forever going to be known on this board as “that Keeanu Benton guy.” But just for the record, now that he is a Shittsburgh Stealer, I hope he fails.
What? Did you expect class and maturity?
Haha, nope. For some of us you are forever going to be known as “that Drew Rosenhaus doesn’t wash his hands” guy.
I can live with that.
i am a bit concerned on the inside LBs not much after Wagner and Bush is on a prove it deal
after those 2 ILB in the 3-4 dunno who can be effective
My random thoughts:
Cameron Young weighed 314 at Miss St. Pretty sure he slimmed down at the combine to run faster. Mike Morris also slimmed down for the combine to put up faster numbers, only it didnt work lol.
I’ve heard Bryan Mone will miss half the season due to his injury.
3-4 vs 4-3, it seems like they’re just trying to go back to the Red Bryant days. It really sucked when he left.
Can we stop missing Ford and Woods? They were not good and that’s why they’re gone, signing min contracts with no guarantees. I highly doubt we sign anybody else moving forward unless it’s for the vet minimum.
I haven’t been this excited about a rookie class in a long time and i don’t know how we managed such a good haul. Well, i partly know (thanks, Broncos!). Literally everyone has starter/contributer potential.
Also, don’t know if it’s useful, but also up on TY is Quinn Ewers’ every snap from the 2023 spring game.
Agreed. As much as I like Woods, Poona just a little less, they were part of an awful Dline. It was the right decision to move on, and we can get some vet who can contribute as much as they have.
Not overpaying for the middle class players was key for us before. Pay the best and find rookies to replace the rest.
Yep, I’ve watched the Spring Game
I’m not that worried about size. Prolific youtuber Brandon Nelson brought up size and presented a little nugget that the two best run defenses last year had most if their dline running around 305 lbs. Some heavy boys buy those teams didn’t employ the big bodies much more than about 10 snaps a game.
For Young and Cooper, I think what’s more important is they played as 2 gap players, and were successful at it. They are much more a scheme fit at NT than what we mostly didn’t have before.
I want to throw this out there for discussion.
When we talk about explosive testing and it being a key attribute at nose tackle, one of the measurables that goes into that is the vertical jump. But, let me paraphrase a quote from Brian Bozworth’s book about Joe Nash.
“We called him ‘Air Nash’ because when he jumped you could just about get a gum wrapper between him and the ground.”
So, why was he so successful? And why did he play for so long?
Is this what we’re looking for?
I don’t think we’ve ever talked about explosive testing as important at nose tackle
Really?
Yep
Never seen it as important
O-line is the area we’ve talked about explosive traits
Didn’t we with Jordan Davis?
Not specifically
He was an incredible athlete and just talked about everything that came with that
I don’t think it’s paranoid or anything to look at what’s on the roster now, after the draft and say, eh, the DLine is still a little thin. They may look to pick up a vet or two on cheap deals, which would make sense.
DE: Reed, Adams
NT: Young (R), Cooper (R), Mone (IR)
DE: Jones, Morris (R)
Outside of Reed and Jones…..not much experience there. I like Young and Morris as much as anyone, but that’s putting a lot of pressure on them and an UDFA like Cooper. I’m all for rotating bodies and getting the young guys in there. I also think that’s one Reed or Jones injury away from being scary thin.
You neglected to mention Maijeh, Tavai & Anderson
I think they will be lucky if Cooper shows enough to make the roster as an USFA and that will likely be because of how thin they are at NT. I don’t have much faith that any of the other UDFS D-Lineman will make the team. I think it is a stretch to count on Cooper as it is.
I’d encourage you to look into Tavai, think he could be a very useful player.
I’m getting a little tired of the constant drone from some parts of the fan base that seems to treat solid role players who have reached their ceilings as some sort of talismanic figure.
We are talking about Poona Ford and Al Woods, not Kennedy and Green (Jacob). After last season how much lower could the floor be for D Line play? I’d prefer to see young and hungry players, chips on their shoulders, playing an angry style of football. Can anyone tell me what Young or Morris have as a ceiling?
Same with Derick Hall – I’m excited to see what he does, I hope he plays his way into being Edge 1 soon.
In a cutthroat way I’m here with you.
“The were our best players,”….so? The best of a bad situation.
Give me youth. What’s going to happen? One of the worst defenses remains the same but for a lot of millions less….
Rob, I know it is very early to evaluate these QBs, but Quinn Ewers has only had 10 starts in his entire college career. He missed three games because of a shoulder injury that he sustained during the Alabama game. Last year was also his first year starting and he will only get better with more experience and coaching. For reference, Anthony Richardson had only started 13 games at Florida. It will be interesting to see how he progresses with another year of starting under his belt, assuming he can hold off Arch Manning. Plus he won’t have Bijan or Roschon johnson in the backfield.
Steve Sarkisian had mentioned in an interview that Ewers reminds him of Matt Leinart in the way that he stays level headed when the pressure is on. I think that it’s very possible for him to supplant Maye as the QB #2 in the draft.
Sure, I appreciate that. And this isn’t my final assessment. But I would say the tape is quite worrying so far and he needs to make rapid improvements in 2023. Richardson had his issues but not to this extent, plus he had outrageous physical quality.
Right now I wouldn’t be projecting Maye or Ewers to be QB2. And look, we’ll see what happens this year. But Maye has underwhelmed me given the hype and Ewers’ tape has been a bucket of ice water.
Did you have a high grade on AR at this time last year? If I recall, it wasn’t until the Utah game that put him on the map. For the other QBs, MPJ will fall because of medicals. He has had two ACL reconstruction surgeries and a fractured clavicle. As an Oregon alum, Bo Nix gives me major Johnny Manziel vibes and he has an injury history.
He had played two games this time last year
I had no grade on him
Something to mention about Mayes:
He has a new OC this year that loves bubble screens. He also played in an Air Raid Offense last year that infamously was known as the “27 plays of Doom”. I’m curious if he can adjust to a new offense, and not having Josh Downs.
Is QB2 Penix?
Gosh I certainly hope not! Penix isn’t very good!
That Marshawn clip gets me hyped every time I see it!
Glad to read your thoughts on the defensive line, Rob. Very glad you are continuing to generate material!
Everyone bugging Rob about UDFA Quarterbacks needs to stop. The Seahawks are obviously not looking to upgrade at QB or they would have drafted someone. It is also extremely rare for a UDFA QB to make it past Training Camp. I get it that Seahawks QBs are not great and you could find a few UDFAs that did make it, but it is a fools errand looking for the next Kurt Warner or Tony Romo in the UDFA bin.
Maybe Ahlers can get picked up by the AAF or whatever doomed Spring Football League. I think they pay 2 Dollars per completion, if they haven’t gone bankrupt.
Exactly.
They’ve given Geno every possibly opportunity to shine this year. Five year starting lefties in a non power five conference with below average arm strength and non impressive completion levels is not the future.
Ahlers best bet is that he’s as funny as bellore in the locker and replaces him as he looks built like a guy that plays in a wedge formation when that was still legal on special teams.
Yeah, they need to (and are going to) take a real shot at fixing the long-term quarterback issue. UDFA’s and throw in’s in trades are nothing more than getting the bodies that you need. You need a backup (and hopefully don’t have to use him) and you really should have someone on the practice squad so there is a body for that unit.
They need to take it seriously and not get cute by hoping/banking on those kinds of players. It looks like John is being REALLY (really, really, really) careful and doing his due diligence with this matter.
The qb talk is pretty tiresome. Or rather the takes:
First rounders bust…..except that the majority of truly great qbs with multiple rings are top picks. Even weighed against Brady.
You can get one late. Yeah you can. And you can win one ring and toil for years. See: us….or better yet not get a ring and live in purgatory: vikings, dallas.
Drew lock could be geno!…..or he could just be drew lock.
Look at Purdy!….yeah okay. Tell me what exactly he did. I’ll wait.
It’s just so lazy. The greatest qb transfers are when teams got big and bold. Young for Montana. Drafting Rodgers in the first behind Brett “never miss snaps,” Favre. Big swing on Mahomes with a probowl safe bet in Smith.
It’s like finding Wilson and then lucking into a never before seen version of Geno has in some ways melted the brains of seahawks fans that think we will forever luck our way into some unknown gem that only John has the code to access.
It’s going to be a very, very long year: summer, NFL season, college season, draft period…. And either now or along the way, it’s probably going to be more and more apparent that Seattle is going to want to take someone early.
I hope this doesn’t get insanely, headache-inducingly unbearable. I’m worried that it will be. Everyone will have their take and preconceived opinions (most likely me included).
A lot of the air of this last draft was taken out by the whole Carter vs. QB debate. I’m worried this upcoming year will be worse because it could be a quarterback.
I find comments & threads like this equally toxic and lazy as those getting upset at people for even considering someone other than Jalen Carter.
As someone who spent all offseason excited about the big 4 QBs, and also a fan of Ahlers, I don’t get the hate towards even expressing some excitement about an interesting prospect. Yes it would be ideal to draft a top 5 QB. That is a year away at best so in the meantime, part of being a fan is diving into the prospects we did bring on board. If that’s not allowed here I’ll show myself out.
There’s a pretty big difference between debating the merits of a top five pick regardless of how people do it and commenting tongue in cheek about Ahlers.
Be excited all you want. We all have college players we like. To toss out that it’s toxic….
I don’t know all about that. Is it the snark? Had he said: I think Ahlers has a good shot playing in Canada but in a neutral tone is that better?
Just on a very practical level he doesn’t possess the arm strength of Geno or Lock. He is a lefty to the projections would need to change. And for all the grief I give Geno he was immensely accurate.
If Ahlers sticks through mini camp great. If he’s on the practice squad great. Seattle actually loves to celebrate their late udfa finds but I don’t think this team is any better at utilizing or elevating them than any other team.
To be fair, I was just kidding around about the multiple posts asking Rob about Ahlers, and people expecting Rob to have scouted QBs who were on no ones radar and had a slim to no chance to get drafted. If Ahlers could become the next Tony Romo that would be outstanding for the Seahawks. Of the 14 quaterbacks who were drafted, many will probably never start a game in the NFL.
I have never seen Ahlers play and have little expectation that he could make an NFL Practice squad but wish him well.
I looked through the best undrafted quarterbacks of all time. None of the players on the lists I found started their NFL career in the past 20 years. I beleive this shows how unlikely it is to expect a UDFA QB to become a quality NFL Quarterback. Two of these QBs should be familiar to Seahawk fans.
#1 Kurt Warner- Excellent Career HOF
#2 Warren Moon- HOF, unfortunatley,alterior reasons contributed to him not being drafted
#3 Tony Romo- Had a very good career, multiple Pro Bowls and a lot of injuries.
#4 Jeff Garcia- Very decent career with 4 Pro Bowl appearances
#5 Dave Krieg- Long time Seahawks starting QB who was a mixed bag
Jeff Garcia. Talk about making to the top. Didn’t he marry a Playmate of the Year aswell?!
Yes he did! They are now sadly divorced according to Wikipedia:
On April 21, 2007, Garcia married Carmella DeCesare, an American model who was Playboy magazine’s Miss April 2003 and Playmate of the Year for 2004[41] at the CordeValle Resort in San Martin, California.[42] They have four children.[43][44] In a Christmas Day 2020 reply to a poster on his Instagram account, Garcia stated that he and DeCesare were divorced.
Toxic?
Hate?
For some reason, despite the lack of proven talent on the DL, and despite the track record of the D unit over the past 3-4 seasons I’m cautiously optimistic. Perhaps it’s because of the overall upward trajectory of the drafting and team building, but I have a hunch we will be improved. This group will not strike fear into any teams, but maybe if they just have guys that play together, with a bit mean to them, that actually fit the scheme they can be competent against the run. I do fear we have too many eggs in the Dramont Jones basket, but I’m glad we aren’t running back the same guys. Harris and Woods are old and older. Poona is mostly a JAG that is beloved by fans for some reason.
At least if they are bad on DL again this year, we can have young guys developing to root for. Unlike the recent trend of facepalming old vets that can’t get it done.
What do you mean by to eggs in the Jones basket?
Putting all your eggs in one basket is a phrase that means you’re counting on just one investment to deliver for you (the asset in this case being Jones). The alternative would be to diversify, put a couple of eggs in many different baskets, so if one investment fails, the others might deliver.
Getting ahead of myself since cha will be posting a salary cap article soon, but……………cut Adams 6/2, free up 8 million. There’s’ the 5 for rookies plus 3 more for other needs. Salary issues solved and the team SIGNIFICANTLY better by addition through subtraction. On top of his play being nowhere near his salary level, I worry a great deal about the effect the peacock will have on the young guys with his me first attitude and play.
Heard a line last night that killed:
On a scale of collier in the first and trading two firsts for Adam’s how stupid would it be to yet again have Adam’s as a focal point for this defense.
Especially considering it’s very likely his body will allow him to play no m ore than half a season at most. So once he’s out for the season, do you have to revamp your approach in mid-stream because you initially started with him as the focal point? Not an intelligent approach to a defense that has struggled and will have a fair number of young players. Seems smarter to get them as comfortable as possible in defined roles.
Show us development of your D and of your culture is more important than saving face on the Adams trade Pete by just cutting him 6/2.
Once they released Neal it really feels like Adams is here for 2023.
Adams is not going to be cut. If he was, we would have drafted a safety earlier than the 6th round.
The trade for him was horrible and the worst decision of the PC/JS era. But it’s time we move on and accept that he’s here to stay this year and we should hope he remains healthy and can play at least a little bit like PC hoped for when he made the trade. Let’s save all the “peacock” monikers for Rams/49ers players and support one of our guys.
I don’t really remember any Ram or 9er players show boating or making it about themselves lately (now that Ramsey and Beckham are gone from LA).
Why would he start playing at any positive level now? He very well could be the #1 weakest part of the defense for this next year. Could also still be cut. He won’t be, but if they have no other choice, then it is still an option. The roster isn’t complete so just because they didn’t take anyone last week doesn’t rule out him being gone.
Guy has done everything that he can to make himself hard to root for and he has been a complete unknown on the field WHEN HE GETS ON THE FIELD, and has been a huge division of the fan base. So I don’t think it’s as simple as just ignoring everything that has led to his situation.
This.
My expectation is that Adams is still on the roster in an effort to salvage literally anything from him. They’ll give him one more season to show some level of productivity in hopes of making him a usable piece or building some level of trade value.
If this season goes like past. (And let’s face it. It probably will) they’ll accept defeat next offseason and move on.
Tatupu51: You can feel free to tell me not to call him peacock even if it seems to me it’s a case of you telling another member how to be a fan (“save it for the 9ers/Rams”). However, I will continue to call him that if I so choose because it’s totally deserved.
Don’t know how long you’ve been here but the person that created this site has shown video of the guy interchanged with a real peacock. I think if he feels that way, I’m good to go with that here. Hell iirc Rob was the person that nicknamed him that. And it fits 1000%.
You are right tho that he isn’t going anywhere and because of that I sincerely hope he doesn’t have a major negative effect on the young players on this defense. Hopefully Bobby will offset his “I,Me, Me Mine” attitude (and yes, that’s a Beatles reference).
I’m here for this Big Mike.
I don’t want Adams to play “a little like what Carrol thought he would,” that’s why we are in this mess. He already did that three seasons ago and last year on the back of nothing that’s partly why the defense was atrocious.
And agree with LouCity….part of me just never resonates to players making tippy top tier money, screeching best in the nation, right before getting donkey on the face mask…
The only way the trade for Adams works now:
Play all games including playoffs. 10 plus sacks. 5 ints. 3 forced fumbles. And be behind only witherspoon and wagner in tackles. And I just don’t see any of that happening.
Not gonna root for every player because they wear blue and green. Haven’t since about ’84….not gonna start now.
Witherspoon, Hall, & Young all seem to have very well developed and strong personalities, each was a worker and presents a different sort of attitude. I’d be surprised if any of them changed.
As far as Prez goes, he rubbed me the wrong way from the start. I was brought up in a family with a strong military background and with blue collar values. So I’ve given him a lot of grace, and injuries are not something that can be helped, but it is probably best for him to part ways.
Part of me does wonder if a trade is not in the works, not sure of the cap cut/trade implications, the safety group and edge group just got a bit crowded, TE room is a bit crowded – leads me to wonder if there is a player/pick scenario out there for the Hawks.
Sincerely hope you’re right about the young guys you mentioned LouCity. From listening to Rob and some other folks I do have hope that’ll be the case.
I am right there with you on Jamal’s ‘rub’. I think most here are, but I don’t think there is any way he’s traded this year.
Listening to Pete talk last year about ‘all of the things’ they were going to with him and how disappointed he was that he got hurt… how it made them change their schemes, etc. I think he’s already cooked in to be a huge part of the gameplan.
KJ was talking on the radio yesterday and saying JA was going to be “everything to this defense”, “this defense will revolve around his health”, “how well he plays is how well this defense plays”.
That sounds more like the most important player on the D, than the player most likely to be dealt.
I’m not arguing that it SHOULD be this way, just that it certainly appears to be. The idea of him being traded is slim and none in my eyes. I think a big part of the Love signing is that a big chunk of their gameplan went up in flames when JA went down, and they want to have a viable fill-in. Neal, for as much as a lot of people liked him, was inadequate to fill that role in their eyes.
I’m not a smokescreen guy, but if I was trying to move someone, I certainly would be talking about them in a way similar to the way Prez is talked about.
One trend I see with this defensive I’m hoping, stays consistent, is they are trying to assemble many good to great pieces, with a particular emphasis on character and attitude. Seems to be the trend on offense as well.
Rob,
I’m mostly happy with this draft, but I have a question on the defense.
It seems like there’s some debate whether the Seahawks plan to use a 4-3 or 3-4 base D. Possibly some of the new picks are decent fits playing in either. My question is: If Pete tries to install a chameleon of a defense, what does this do to the team’s ability to master it? It feels like we are putting an awful lot of trust in Clint Hurtt et al. to coach up the D in what could be a difficult learning process.
Back in 2013, there was just the 4-3, no? We trotted out more or less the same D every time and dared teams to beat us. We didn’t need subterfuge or shifting looks, we just had really good talent and a clear system where everyone knew their role. And then we punched them in the mouth, beat the crap out of the other team, and imposed our will on them.
Maybe I’m over-thinking this, or don’t understand how much variation on defense is actually involved, or maybe I’m not giving the defensive coaching staff enough credit. But given how badly the D looked in the last couple of years, I wonder if we’re looking at a rough early part of the season (at least until Adams goes down for the season in week 8 with a broken toenail), and then maybe putting the pieces together better in the second half.
Offense and defense are always changing and evolving, no one is doing the same things they were in 2013 and for good reason.
Also, “Our team is loaded with multiple guys who are hall of gamers or top 5 in their position, so we don’t need a great scheme” is a nice thing to have but not exactly easy to replicate.
I didn’t see any difference in their defensive line last year. They lined up 5 players on most downs and rushed 4-5 every play. I doubt we will see a difference this year either. I don’t think they have ever made the change in scheme, it’s more a change in players available.
I think the Seahawks will have some surprise help in terms of DL and ILB. From the UDFA. I was really hoping they would get Ivan pace. But they got found some talent there
Brock and Salk are literally quoting your points from this article haha. Specific mention to the 2013 DT room.
That’s exactly what I was going to post. It’s like Brock reads s.d.b and repeated it on air
They aren’t the only ones….
Although, in fairness it could be their producers cribbing stuff without attribution.
just give Rob credit and have him on! And get rid of Bumpus
I’m resigned to never going on local radio again
This is the first time in years it hasn’t happened and it’s not going to happen now the draft is over
Grateful to Jake for the opportunity
Its a tricky one, because everyone shares ideas to an extent, but it just seems like such odd timing. I haven’t heard or seen any Seahawk analyst’s or fans compare the DT room to 2013 outside of Rob, although I suppose it’s not entirely possible that it could or would eventually happen. It just seems a little suspect.
Rob, this is my first post and I have be following you since 2012. This is the best Seahawks site, and this year you hit out of the ball park. Many thanks.
BTW, saw Brock listed as one of your Twitter followers.
I still think they are in win now mode. Pete and John’s contracts are up the moment they sell the team (I’m sure a gazillionaire could clear them out if they wanted).
I also don’t believe in BPA. It’s a catchphrase. You’re not going to draft 10 corners in a row.
They hitched their wagon to Smith.
Well part of what Bezos will be acquiring is a highly respected front office and coach. I don’t see any chance a new owner comes in and pisses off the fan base day one by firing the most successful GM and head coach in franchise history.
I don’t see any real evidence of them sacrificing anything to “win now”. If anything, they have been making the smartest decisions they have in years in support of the team’s future.
I don’t think BPA means that you make a list of players and just blindly pick the top player on your board each time (i.e. pick 10 corners in a row because that is what your board says).
I’ve always taken BPA to mean that you are picking a player in your top tier – you might target or avoid a position within the top tier of players available, but you won’t dip below the top tier of available players to fill a need. At the top of the draft I would guess the tiers are smaller, i.e. the report that Seattle’s tier at the top of the draft was basically Anderson and Witherspoon.
I do believe Witherspoon and Anderson were their guys. That makes me think they were never going to take a QB.
The only way I can justify taking Witherspoon over a few others is if you are betting on the fact that the NFC has almost no qbs. If Smith is top 5 in the NFC, that tells you right there. They’re counting on coverage sacks.
I think the ship has sailed at QB for us. Lockett is not going to play forever. We won’t be able to pay all of DK, Cross, Lucas…
I don’t think they take a QB high next year (assuming Smith is middle of the pack). They contend now and in 2024.
Unofficial Depth Chart:
QB : Gino Smith – Drew Lock
LT : Charles Cross – Stone Forsythe
LG : Damien Lewis – Phil Haynes
C : Olusegun Oluwatimi – Evan Brown
RG : Anthony Bradford – Phil Haynes
RT : Abraham Lucas – Stone Forsythe
TE : Noah Fant – Colby Parkinson
RB1 : Kenneth Walker – DeeJay Dallas
RB2 : Zach Charbonnet – Kenny McIntosh
WR1 : DK Metcalf – Dareke Young
WR2 : Tyler Lockett – Cade Johnson
WR3 : Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Dee Eskridge
DE : Dre’Mont Jones – Mike Morris
NT : Cameron Young – Robert Cooper
DT : Jarran Reed – Myles Adams
LEO : Boye Mafe – Darrell Taylor
SAM : Uchenna Nwosu – Derick Hall
MIKE : Bobby Wagner – Jon Rhattigan
WILL : Devin Bush – Jordyn Brooks
RCB : Tariq Woolen – Mike Jackson
LCB : Devon Witherspoon – Tre Brown
DB : Coby Bryant – Jerrick Reed II
FS : Quandre Diggs – Joey Blount
SS : Julian Love – Jamal Adams
Looks pretty good actually.
Completely agree…
Locked Down: RB, WR, T, G, CB, S, OLB
Upside: QB, TE, C, DL
Longshot: ILB
—
Future Hole: QB, TE, DL, ILB, S
It feels like you have combined positions for the 3-4 and 4-3 front seven.
DE, NT, DT, LEO, SAM, MIKE, WILL,
Maybe that was intentional as the thought may be the team will morph back and forth between the two schemes. Not sure I think that is a good idea, but that is neither here nor there.
I actually prefer them in the 4-3 scheme with their current D-Line personnel and think it gives them better depth there and would compare better to the 2013 D-line depth Rob discusses in the article. Having to fill a 3-4 D-Line with current personnel (both DE positions and the NT) gets a little thin and relies heavily on rookies and Adams for depth.
Looks good… where’s Dissly?
I’ve got Dissly (injured), Curhan and Bellore as third stringers…
Id take Curhan over Stone….played better, plus he can play tackle and guard. Hope Stone picks it up this year though, his physical profile is very interesting
I do really appreciate Rob doing all the dirty work and actually watching games and players I only watch a little bit of…everyone is talking up some QB from Coastal Carolina? I will check him out next off-season if he is still being talked up.
For now, I’m looking forward to Fall Ball and my usual heavy diet of SEC and Big-10 action, safe in the knowledge I’ll only have to stay up for West Coast games if the forums here start making it sound like Nix is must see TV (I’m already out on Williams, Maye, and Penix (sorry))
Grayson McCall is being hyped up by some, but I just don’t see it. His offense is even more simple than what Hooker does (it’s basically a triple option), and doesn’t have the same arm strength.
So a high school offense and a noodle arm? Yikes! Give me Daniels right now over that.
Gee….wonder who could be hyping him up… That will make for a long year in itself.
He’s not very athletic. It makes me think of pushing the problem down the road. He’s not even a upgrade over Lock to me (takes care of the ball better, but physically he’s not even in the same league).
He’s also playing against weaker competition. Very hard pass.
This is the dream here……be the first person to find the next Tom Brady so you can strut around the internet like a state fair winning, blue ribbon wearing silkie rooster….
Does anybody actually care about this sort of stuff?
I was right about Josh Allen, I was wrong about Russell Wilson.
Sadly….absolutely. There are some that are almost keeping score.
I am lucky to count among my friends a pediatric oncologist, a priest, who donated the million dollar trust fund that he was left and who ministers in Africa, and countless other really impressive people. My uncle was a Purple Heart recipient, and had a box full of metals that would impress most civilians.
The thing that defines all of these people to me is that they never talk about themselves as being even a little bit impressive
Hang on………..
I’ll put a cherry on it.
What impresses me about Rob, and some of the other Seahawks pundits is the work they put in. It is damn impressive, and the funny thing is that most of them don’t talk about the work. Many don’t even talk about what they got right or wrong except for comedic effect.
Crowing about nailing the next big QB is like crowing about winning big in a craps game, only complete sycophants really care, you look like trash to everyone else, and are you going to tell us about all the times you crapped out?
Bingo: they people that have the life: family, happiness, fulfilling job, don’t flaunt it. It shows with HOW the person is.
(response to Lou’s second comment)
I guarantee that I could check 3 sites in 5 minutes and find their articles about “what they got right, or blah blah blah.” Nothing about what the kids will bring to the team.
To quote Tywin Lannister “Any man who must say ‘I am king’ is no true king at all.”
Funny, I was wrong about Josh Allen, and right about Russell Wilson.
I don’t know I’ve just heard it from commenters and some other fans I know.
How hard is it to take care of the ball when you run a triple option?
The weaker competition point is getting more real by the day, I have a lot of questions for quarterbacks who transfer out of tougher conferences
I am legitimately excited to try to study quarterbacks this year. To see what I can think with my untrained eye. I’m the opposite of you, got Josh Allen wrong (Iowa shut him down his senior year), but got Russ right (knew what Wisconsin was getting and more or less figured that it was going to transfer over, still underestimated where he ended up though).
Problem is, I don’t know who to be looking at. I’ve already got a decent list of “nopes.” Williams, Maye, Penix, Hartman, McCall, Nix. Not a lot of faith in Ward, Leary, or Ewers.
Right now enjoying Rattler and hoping for TVD to improve.
I’m all about the line play, but I love it when I see a quarterback who I think could be next level.
2024 will be so different, because of the QB middle class. Daniel’s kind of has my attention, because I wonder if he made the right decision going back for another year
Yeah TVD is on my radar for sure.
One thing the LoB had was length.
Chancellor and Sherman, and in the length and versatility of Wright and the slightly insane brittle-boned heat-seeking missile in Earl Thomas..
I read somewhere that Joe Milton out of Tennessee has a similar skill set as Anthony Richardson. Does anybody know anything about him.
He’s literally Hooker. Was putting up the same numbers, team looked the same with him. Same offense that does the work for them. He might be a better athlete and obviously younger, but nothing like Richardson.
Just looked it up, he actually got beaten out by Hooker in 21.
I remember watching a Tennessee game late in the season and going…..Jesus that guy has a cannon arm.
I know he might get benched for Nico Iamaleava.
Whatever it is that JS is looking for in QBs. I think we haven’t discovered that magic potion just yet.
I don’t think there is a magic recipe. It is absolutely worthwhile to look at patterns and try to discern what traits he prioritizes vs de-prioritizes, but each prospect is different and I would imagine he can like two different players at the same position with wildly different traits. At times we have been able to see that they like CBs with length and WRs who run in the 4.4s, but obviously they are willing to consider different skill sets, even with big investments like 1st round picks.
Nice work by his agency – let’s make sure we get paid before you mess something up.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/04/jalen-carter-becomes-first-first-rounder-to-agree-to-nfl-contract/
Something funny happened to me last night that reminded me of the Jalen Carter situation that I want to share.
A little after 9PM I was out doing DoorDash on Highway 29 near the Alabama border North of Pensacola. It was out in the sticks Cantonement is bracketed by the Perdido and Escambia rivers, so this is alligator country. Anyway my phone starts buzzing because the dispatch changed my order from Burger King to the CVS Pharmacy. I accepted the offer and made haste, since it was going to close soon.
I get there and look at the order and it said this:
1) Azo Yeast Plus Vaginal Symptoms Relief Tablets (60 ct.)
2) Vagisil Maximum Strength Sensitive Skin Formula Vaginal Anti-Itch Cream (1 oz.)
3) Borden Whole Milk (1 Gallon.)
Well, they were out of the Azo tablets, so I informed the customer, Cassandra, picked up the the other items and spirited away. As I cruised down 95a in my Mini Cooper S, I imagined I was Eric Cartman in the episode of South Park where he joins NASCAR in a Vagisil sponsored car.
Go ahead and YouTube it. I’ll wait.
So, since the pandemic most orders are no contact, as was this one. So I was expecting to just leave it on her doorstep, take a photo of it and send that in a text saying I’ve arrived. But, nope. There was Cassandra stand at the front of her driveway. She was more attractive than I expected, a thin older blonde wearing Daisey Dukes and a half-shirt. I noticed she wasn’t wearing any shoes.
Perhaps she really wanted a glass of milk?
Now personally I want no part of that. And I think most people here would recognize the red flags and just say Uh-Uh. I don’t know if her coochie-coo is a doogie chew. I don’t know if it feels like it’s covered with fire ants. Hell, maybe the order is for somebody else. But…just…no.
Now, Howie Roseman on the other hand might see good value here. He’s say, “Sure, maybe she vagina is more infected than that monkey in Outbreak now, but it’s gonna clear up, right?”
Right?
Then, he would cite some ancient Chinese proverb about crisis meeting opportunity and give her his phone number.
But always remember that Cassandra in the Iliad was cursed with the gift of foresight. She saw all the bad things that were going to happen and nobody listened to her.
Ever feel that way, Rob?
Funny thing, I was working down off Perdido bay this week and UberEats kept cancelling my damn orders because there wasn’t a driver available. Should’ve tried DoorDash. Got home today just in time for Thurby, degenerate gambler that I am.
As I was forced to leave my hotel and commune with the locals I found myself thinking about sliding doors. There were two families dining at the place I chose, both appeared at first to be of similar backgrounds…but looks were deceiving… one family was polite, the children showed impeccable manners, and generally I felt better about the universe for them being there. The other family behaved in a manner that would have had me dying of embarrassment should my child have behaved that way…loud, rude, discourteous.
It got me thinking about organizations and indeed, the Seahawks. I was thinking about the grit of Witherspoon, the leadership of Hall, the humility of Young, the drive of Reed…. That creates a culture, a community where everyone starts to hold everyone else accountable. Glad to see the organization placing value here.
All of the Uber drivers are going to be swarming Pensacola Airport, the surrounding hotels, strip clubs and bars. All downtown is nuts on the weekend in the Seville Quarter and if it is Gallery Night FUGGIT-ABOUT-IT.
Next time you are at Perdido Key check out Pizzalute. It’s pretty bomb.
I find it funny an American driving a mini.
No offence!
It’s just my ingrained perception of American cars are either 1) a pickup 2) a jalopy 3) a pick up
You are not wrong.
Awesome post. For a minute there, I thought you were gonna reveal that you delivered this to Jalen Carter’s girlfriend.
It’s a great metaphor though. I’ve certainly had a few “too incredibly hot to not give it a go” ladies cross my path. All the red flags be damned. I dodged the worst of it, but I ultimately regretted ignoring my instincts that told me this was not going to end well.
Once you start sacrificing your standards because of what you see as a rare opportunity, you are quickly on the road to realizing you don’t actually have standards.
I think there could be some surprise cuts to help with the cap situation. Condotta threw out Dee Eskeridge as a possibility, there could be others. We don’t know the health and full picture with many of these players. Non-first rounders in Years 3 and 4 no longer have guaranteed money and cutting a few could make a significant dent in our cap gap (at the expense of depth though).
They can save about $3m by cutting Eskridge and Mone
I wonder if they’d consider extending Fant. We’ve talked about trading him, which would free up more money, but extending him could free up over $4M. Similar story with Dissly, where an extension could open up $3.5M.
Considering we just passed on one of the deeper TE classes in memory and don’t have anyone signed past next year, it could be a way they’re leaning.
I wonder of people think Fant has performed well enough to earn an extension or not? He could be a valuable player heading into his second year in Waldron’s offense but l feel he’s underperformed relative to expectations thus far. Talented TE profile and he’s relatively young.
Fant was 20th in the NFL in targets for TE’s. Guys who had more targets than Fant: Tonyan, Otton, Hurst, Ertz… and they all had fewer yards and TD’s.
He had 63 targets and 50 catches last year. In comparison Kelce had 152 targets and 110 receptions.
I’d say it’s hard to peg him as underperforming when he’s only getting 3.7 targets per game (29th in the NFL). Then again, it’s tough to say he’s outperforming his expectations based on being a 1st round pick going into his 5th year.
I would be perfectly fine extending him (Dissly too) as it solves for our cap situation and our TE need going forward. Put Fant in KC – feature him like they do Kelce, and I’d bet he’s a top 10 if not top 5 TE.
I’d get behind that a lot more than extending or restructuring Adams or Diggs.
Perfectly outlined Brodie te Fant.
He had a very good season for us but because his initial numbers don’t resemble Madden its overlooked.
I’m more than happy for him to stay. He’s a good player.
I’d extend Parkinson before Dissly.
That’s fine, but it doesn’t do anything for cap relief. Extending Will buys you another $3M to work with this year.
It is highly unusual to extend a player 1 year into a 3 year contract. Even more unusual if the player is rehabbing a major injury.
*for the third time
I looked up DT free agents and was surprised to see Brockers is still available. He’s a guy that Rob has talked about on here as being one that would help us stop the run. What do you think it would cost to get him on a 1 year contract?
The Browns are looking for D-line as well and here’s an article of all the possible free agents right now. Interesting list – seems like more edge options, than DT. I wish it was the other way around.
Go Hawks!
https://brownswire.usatoday.com/lists/browns-nfl-free-agency-dl-matt-ioannidis-ben-banogu/
Brandon Williams, the former Raven, is a free agent also at NT.
Brandon Williams had a reserve role with the Chiefs late in the 2022 campaign, but before that, he was a stalwart in the interior of the defensive line for the Ravens for nine years. If Williams is willing to play for another season, the Rams could use an interior defender like him to plug the interior gaps in the run game.
Can we get a veteran now at a bargain price or do you think John Schneider will wait until Training camp when some serviceable DT’s are cut from other teams?
Brandon Williams is a guy I’ve always been a huge fan of. I wonder if he’s got something left? If so, he’d be perfect.
I think we should talk a lot more about the value of run defense relative to the value of pass defense and especially 3rd down defense. To say it’s a passing league may be cliche but it’s true. Teams that perform well on 3rd downs are very successful teams. One way to win is be elite on 3rd down and teams pass at an extremely high rate on 3rd down. That means great secondary and good pass rush will win games. The over-emphasis on run pluggers has baffled me. Especially considering we signed Jones and Reed. People need to chill.
I see your logic but if other teams are constantly in 3rd and 2 because you’ve given up 8 yds on first and second down a great pass rush isn’t going to do a lot for you. Sadly I described the Seahawks D of last season in that statement.
Good points and a weakness is a weakness – teams will exploit. League average should be enough. Perhaps Bobby, our FA additions, the draft, and some scheme tweaking will be enough.
A secondary full of guys that can not only cover and ball hawk, but are able to come up and knock people out of their cleats on run plays will cure a lot of what ails us.
Woolen was flat our ignored for games. He said against the Raiders he didn’t see a ball thrown his way until the third quarter…and then that was it. Going to be a lot harder now with Witherspoon on the other side.
I’ve mentioned him recently, but would love to hear other opinions of Jordan Travis at FSU.
Has some impressive highlights and dual threat capability. Speaks well in interviews. Doesn’t have a ton of hype despite being PFFs highest graded QB.
I just watched some tape from him. Definitely VERY interesting as a prospect. His improvisational skills were great behind a crappy Oline. He definitely needs to work on his footwork, but there were a couple of throws that made me “How did he get THAT throw off?!?” I need to do some research on the type of offense that FSU ran, he was definitely making reads across the field, but it was few and far between, partly due to that crappy Oline.
The other issue is I wonder if he’s too small at 6’1″ 205 lbs.
This does scare me a bit:
“The Seminoles’ scheme is heavily based on first-read, half-field-read, and pre-snap-read plays, as well as scripted calls and RPOs. Thus, there is a severe lack of true pass sets on Travis’ film, making it difficult to analyze his ability to process and progress through routes.”
I did see this, but I did see some full field reads in some of his tape.
Right- I saw him looking off first reads and making quick decisions to get the ball where it needed to go. Seemed to have good (not great) touch as well.
Definitely has some happy feet but I thought that could be corrected. Arm talent, reading the field and run ability is there.
I’ve watched Caleb Williams now and Jordan Travis is next on my list
Oh look at that, QB School did some game tape review on Travis, released today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ovehptkbg
Rob, let me start by saying I have been a faithful reader of seahawks draft blog for the past five or so years. My day isn’t complete unless I check your site at least once a day. I hosted a morning drive time radio show in Seattle and left from 2000- 2004. 96.5 FM “THE POINT”80’S & MORE.”
I returned home to Whitefish Montana where my family owns seven radio stations one of which is a Seahawk affiliate. I’m not blowing smoke when I say that I sincerely believe that the Seahawk organization should have hired you years ago.(as a college scout or in some type of capacity dealing with whom they draft)
I very rarely post on your site but I wanted to make a request. Would it be possible for you to blog a little bit about the back ground of Seattle’s UDFA’s?
This year the Hawks have signed a few Montana State and one University offers Montana athletes. I’m mentioning the Montana players only because I know a little bit about them. For example readers may not be aware that MSU Bobcat Ty Okada’s pro day numbers would have would’ve been ranked in the top three or better of all DB’S if he would have been invited to the combine. He has a very interesting back story. He was a walk on at MSU. He was a teammate of ATL Falcon Troy Anderson who also tested off the charts at the combine last year.
Then there’s U. Of Montana Griz LB Patrick O’Connell from Kalispell Mt. Same town Brock Osweiler and former Seahawk Sam McCollum were both from. He was a runner up for the Buck Buchannon award. In my humble opinion I feel it would be interesting to know more about the UDFA’s and whom you think may be the sleepers of this group. Who you think could make the team?
I agree. Would love some addl UDFA intel and opinions on the chances they could have to make the team compared to their competition. Thanks
I generally wait until after rookie mini camp just because so many of the UDFA’s are cut after that event
But I’m happy to see what I can find on those who remain on the roster
Robert Cooper will make the team IMO too, had a visit with the Seahawks during the process. DT, 300+
Tavai as well, I’d bet. I think both end up with us, with maybe the one they think they can slide through waivers getting signed to the practice squad.
Our DT depth is such though that I’d roster both of them if they show they can play.
Loved this article!! I feel Rob’s excitement and mine is rising too. Hall, Witherspoon, and McIntosh are BAMFs. I’m down here here in NM and Reed played like a BAMF in the Mountain West, hoping he brings it in the NFL too. This is the most excited I’ve been for a Seahawks season in at least 5 or 6 yrs. And we get to root against Denver for a high 3rd Rd pick in 2024. Hoping 2023 is similar to 2011ish season. The foundation is here and nearly set. I think we’ll see glimpses of the team coming together, big hits, ass kicking offensive line play in the run game, and finally a sense of identity emerging… Cant wait.
I think Morris is a BAMF too, looking at his interviews and physicality. Reed has a strong personality too. We are building something here, no more Colliers…
3 XFL players invited to minicamp:
QB Jack Coan
DE Austin Faoliu
C Alex Molette
https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1654280025212944387
Coan can play
I hope he picks us, unless he can do both
I love that VA tech comeback…
Pro teams, please get the best high school marching bands in the stands.
First, listen to Reggie Wayne say exactly the same things we were repeating all throughout draft season about Josh Downs.
Second, what a reaction! That emotion and fire in his eyes. Wow! 🔥
“The First Step” | With The Next Pick Part 2 | 2023 Colts Draft Series
https://youtu.be/p5ZmnFu2ckI?t=1359
I just wonder why 11 wide receivers were drafted ahead of him then
It’s his size, I guess. A lot of teams just can’t see past it. I’m stoked for JSN and doubt we will regret spending #20 on him but it’s hard not to believe that Downs doesn’t represent a much greater value.
I was surprised when Tank Dell, even smaller than Downs, went earlier than him.
I was also. I do think he’s an electric player, but seems more of a gadget than Downs is. It’s been reported that CJ Stroud personally lobbied for Houston to draft Dell.
This is why I hate draft grades….and similar.
Around 8 wr’s went before Devontae Adams including our very own Paul Richardson. A lot if them had good careers. Just not Adams’ level.
Our very own Tyler Locket had around the same number of recievers taken before him. Not one of those players I would rather be on our team.
I really have come around on our draft. But….there’s a pretty big difference between “we got the #1 player x position in the draft,” and we drafted the first of player x at said position…..still a great place to be at. But different as well.
I actually see Devante Adams as more of a comp to JSN. Great production (DA was insane production, but weak conference) but seen as being not the most athletic. Similar size. Thought of as a slot receiver. Small hands. Ended up going in the second, but probably because of the small school and having Carr as his QB. Think about him and Carr being on the same team in the small mountain west lol talk about unfair.
Lockett is a good comp tho for Downs. Similar size and play style like Rob has mentioned. I guess that would make sense why he dropped to third. But still. I love JSN as I have said for a while, so super happy with him. But Downs drop surprises me
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/04/seahawks-agree-to-terms-with-seventh-round-pick-kenny-mcintosh/
His 2023 cap hit of $772k probably will not even make the top 51 salaries to count against the cap.
Possibly one of THE bargains of the entire 2023 draft.
This kid is coming into the league with a DK-sized chip on his shoulder. Love it.
I am getting excited about Morris and McIntosh.
These guys are pissed off and angry (and might be able to harness the emotions).
Hope there is a strong 2024 ILB draft class… looks dangerously thin.
Wondering if there are any cutdown prospects on the PC/JS radar… ??
Didn’t even think about it until now, but both last year and this year we took a player that won a national award as the best player at his position in college (Coby Bryant won Jim Thorpe and Olo Olu won best center). Pretty cool!
Even better, in addition to the Rimington Trophy for best center, Olu Olu also won the Outland Trophy. That’s best interior lineman in CFB, either offense or defense. A group that includes the likes of Jalen Carter, JMS, Joe Tippmann, Mazi Smith, Steve Avila, O’Cyrus Torrence, etc.
The other two finalists he beat out? Two Top-20 draft picks – Peter Skoronski and Calijah Kancey.
How he was available in the fifth round I’ll never understand but bully for Seattle!
Wow – For as much as we bitch about bad drafting or veteran trades – Sometimes they really get things right and find a bargain too! I want Olu Olu to win that starting job!
I watched a couple more of the episodes of this series. This guy is simply unbelievable.
Road to the Pros: Derick Hall – Episode 2
https://youtu.be/1khktmel4dI?t=769
I hadn’t seen these D. Hall videos. Than you.
PS also 100% better than talking about Jalen Carter (see below). Let it go, people!
I’ve really appreciated the great coverage of this draft from start to finish, this is just a general rant:
The more I hear the details of why Jalen Carter fell the more I get angry and frustrated. Maybe there are important clues, about being late to practice or something else, but these concerns should have been detailed and verified publicly. Throughout, I was just really bothered by the articulation that it’s possible to ‘know someones character’ in any relevant way; it’s just absurd and repulsive. To that point, there have been a number of studies on how people drastically overestimate their ability to ‘judge character/ intangibles’. The book ‘thinking fast and slow’ describes a case involving the Israeli military where psychologists observe intra-team interactions from grueling competitions in boot camp, then use said lengthy evaluations to predict leadership and intangible qualities of members. Even these observations at length from a seemingly perfect test case generated predictions no better than random for any intangible quality, yet even knowing their historically worthless results psychologists maintained their insistence that they had relevant insight into leadership potential.
All that said, and perhaps ironically, I have a very poor opinion of Georgia’s coaching staff. Watching the national semi-final between Georgia and Ohio State I was basically shocked by Kirby Smarts behavior; he threw a full on temper tantrum during the halftime interview and slammed Stetson Bennett for playing a trash half and as being solely responsible for their I think halftime deficit. In three decades plus of following football closely, I’d never seen a coach throw a player under the bus to that degree, I was disgusted. He struck me as extremely arrogant and self centered, so hearing that he went out of his way to bash Carter, seems to fit my existing negative impression. I also feel for a team who won back to back national titles, they did not have quite as many high round draft picks as I would have expected; perhaps Smart was negative toward other players like Ringo. Anyway, bottom line is these whisper campaigns bother me greatly, dirt should be aired publicly to give the accused chance at correction.
This was no whisper campaign
It was spelled out exactly what Carter’s issues were — and there were many
Bad practise habits, horrible to coach, bad effort and conditioning (evidenced in the biggest game of the season, brutally) and then the highly publicised legal issues. Maybe you didn’t get every exact detail but you’ve no right to expect that and people very rarely go into full details (with good reason).
The only person to blame for this is Jalen Carter — not the Georgia coaches or the media. He’s lucky he has the natural talent to still convince a team to take him as early as they did. But unless he changes, he’s going to waste a fantastic career. It’s up to him now.
I didn’t see the lack of effort in the national semi at all, I saw him get lots of pressure up the middle and move Stroud of his spot all game. Any D line or 300 plus pound man is going to get gassed rushing that many times, that’s why you see teams get so much momentum after a first, first down.
I also think football is a physically brutal game and it’s reasonable to have different practice philosophies in terms of percent practice effort, all that really matters is your effect on game-day. Glad he wound up in Philly (if not here) and I’m definitely going to be watching with a lot of interest the next few years. Appreciate the content throughout.
They have had 8 first round picks in these last two years…just first round.
Quite a few of them have had some various red flag issues, including Bennett.
At some point we need to hold people accountable for what they have done. And WE also don’t need to know everything: the teams do. They will make the decisions. The majority are just coming out now so he can say what he wants. Then again, he could have always addressed them.
How he is as a player is how he is. The information was out there and he could have addressed it. The team made a decision.
Jalen Carter said himself he was embarrassed by his performance against Ohio State
He looked like he was going to collapse onto the turf and take a nap
The commentators were pointing out how absolutely shattered he looked, at one point noting he looked done
This wasn’t just an ‘oh he looks gassed after a mighty effort, maybe he should sit out a couple of plays’
This was, ‘he looks like he can’t finish the game, and there’s a half to go’
Again, he himself admitted he was personally embarrassed by it and told ESPN he had been ‘running sprints’ all week to try and make amends in the following game
We don’t need to make excuses for him
We’ve got Philly making the excuses now.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/05/nick-sirianni-on-jalen-carters-conditioning-zero-concerns-no-ones-ready-to-play-yet/
A man who knows fully well what he’s going to spend every night this summer thinking about every time he goes to bed
Taking a different spin, let’s just replace the word “character” with the word “effort” Moreover, let’s presume that the SEA FO has decided that they are going to value effort in addition to talent, and that effort can even have veto power over talent at some point. Perhaps the idea is flawed, perhaps not. But if they so decide then they are to set about collecting as much information as they can on that issue and deciding accordingly.
Moving on, ditto the above and replace character (this time) with “judgement”.
A FO can choose to value these things regardless of how sloppy the tools are, they simply do the lest they can with those tools, interviews, weight, police records, and so on. Sure, nothing predicts the future with players. Not past performance, not the combine, not interviews, not police records.
But to criticize via assertion that the club “knows someone’s character” is a miss in terms of what is going on. They are using tools to try to determine whether to hire somebody. Regardless of language, it is no more than that IMO.
I have no opinion on JCs character, but do on his effort and judgement, and people are using the word character to encapsulate all of the of field things that they consider when making employment decisions, and on that I agree that I would rather see a different word being used than “character”. JC may well be the first guy to throw himself on a grenade to save his mates in a bunker, I have no idea.
If you think you’ve seen it all:
“If you’re wondering who had the better draft class in 2023, CBSSports.com draft guru Ryan Wilson says the 49es had a much better class than the Seahawks. In Wilson’s ranking of all 32 teams, the 49ers ranked fourth overall while the Seahawks were near the bottom, ranking 29th overall.”
I don’t even want to comment on this lol
Weird, considering CBS gave nearly all of our picks very high grades in the draft tracker…biased much, Ryan?
nothing says fourth best draft like taking a kicker in the third round….
How many people does CBS have covering the draft???
And they cannot afford to hire someone even mildly competent?
My goodness.
Ryan WIlson using AI to generate his rankings?
That sounds like the definition of click-bait.
Probably worked too, as people likely rush over there to tell him how wrong he is… click, click, click
I’ll comment.
What a load of absolute bollocks.
Losing Poona is a giant addition by subtraction, I was frankly terrified Pete would try to resign him as he said wanted to.
I don’t think Red Bryant really got enough credit for his contributions from 2011-2013, he seemed to be playing harder than anyone on the field and embodied the spirit of our team in what could have been a trying and dark ugly few years (not having a competent franchise QB). Looking back it seems surprising he did not produce more TFL’s, but he fulfilled his role in setting a hard edge, and I’d suspect the bulk of his tackles were for little to no significant gain. Lots of football can’t be quantified by stats, but those D lines of the early 2010’s were undoubtedly the strength of our team.
To me right now it looks like the Eagles hands down are the top team in the NFC. But anything can (and usually does) happen.
Many said the same about the Rams last offseason. Some teams people are writing off will prove to be a serious contender, and a top-tier team may inexplicably fall off a cliff.
But I agree, on paper the Eagles have a very scary roster. And that’s with me already discounting Jalen Carter as a middling rotational guy.
No doubt Carter will have some great plays early on, but does anyone doubt that as the seasons wears on, and especially during the playoffs, he’s going to be so out of condition he’ll be a total liability?
John Schneider has also mentioned the salary cap casualty wire. He might find someone to his liking.
Brandon Williams and his 335 pounds is still a free agent (.last I checked)
Someone also mentioned Noah Fant as a saalry cap casualty. If the Hawks are looking to make some salary cap room.
You have to trade Fant, his current salary is fully guaranteed.
Rob, John said in an interview this week that there was an “upset” prior to their pick in R3, and the player they were going to take was drafted ahead of them. Therefore their trade with Denver. Looking over the R3 picks, it’s seems likely that the player was Byron Young of Alabama, or Zacch Pickens of South Carolina, both DTs? Your thoughts? I know you were high on Young…