I’m in the middle of a very busy day-job period and that’ll likely stretch into next week. From there, we’ll also be entering the ‘quiet season’ for the NFL so my intention is to take a break at some point, then return ahead of training camp as we prepare for another run to April.
I did want to offer some thoughts on the defense currently, however.
I find it interesting that the team is running through a number of nose tackles in a quest, it seems, to find someone they like. Intriguing UDFA signing Robert Cooper has just been cut. Other players are now being brought in.
Although Cameron Young is well placed to earn a significant role as a rookie — depth is required. They’re doing the right thing by checking out different individuals.
I view the situation two ways. Firstly, as noted recently, the 2013 D-line had great depth off the edge but it hardly had a star-studded, loaded interior. The Seahawks had role-players who complemented the pass rush. You can make a strong argument that they didn’t have anyone as potentially impactful as Dre’Mont Jones in 2013. Therefore, I don’t think being overly doom and gloom about the situation is necessary — especially as someone who thinks Young was very underrated during the draft process and could have an impactful rookie campaign.
On the other hand, the scheme is different now. This isn’t the 2013 defense. I’m not an X’s and O’s guy and have never claimed to be. That said, I think it’s fairly well established that the 2013 system basically relied on executing an uncomplicated scheme. The new defense seems a lot more varied. The word ‘hybrid’ gets mentioned a lot. Pete Carroll is already talking about flipping between different fronts, one-gapping and two-gapping. I was a little bit alarmed, I have to say, to read that soon-to-be 33-year-old Bobby Wagner is starting OTA’s trying to fly around the field covering running backs as receivers.
A lot of teams are experimenting with Vic Fangio coaches and elements of his system. As far as I can tell, none are performing particularly well. The idea of the Seahawks using a bit of that, a bit of the old system, and a bit of everything else in between, does worry me a little.
I also completely accept when Carroll talks about the 2013 defense being somewhat ‘found out’ as coaches departed Seattle and opponents worked out ways to attack the Seahawks. It’s understandable why you’d seek to adjust.
There’s no easy answer here, or any quick fix. Yet the defensive results over the last few years have been unnerving. The persistent slow starts, with Carroll noting annually they’ve just got to work things out, have become quite frustrating. I’m not sure giving your players a lot of options in a hybrid system is a great idea. Neither do I think asking 33-year-old linebackers to take on challenging coverage reps is a good idea.
When you look at the offense, it appears loaded. There are barely any holes. Sure, you’d love to have a world-class interior offensive lineman to finish things off. Geno Smith will need to play more like the first half of 2022 rather than the second half. It’s also important players like Charles Cross take a step forward in year two. Yet this is a team that has invested in the O-line and weapons and it’s impossible not to carry a great deal of excitement about what this unit can achieve in 2023.
I’d hate for that to be undermined because the defense is giving up five yards a carry again, while not being able to stop opponents waltzing up and down the field. Too much has been invested in the defense for that to be acceptable now. This is a very expensive defense. Results are required and should be demanded.
One common theme with this type of scheme, which features a three-man front at least some of the time, is bad run defense. If you don’t have a top-level big-man controlling things, it’s hard to see how you avoid this.
That’s why the musical chairs act at nose tackle is a little bit concerning. They’re probably one really established, big-bodied DT away from looking somewhat complete. Relying on a rookie in Young, however intriguing I think he is, while seeking depth virtually off the street, feels like an issue.
It’s also why I think something should’ve been done by now to address Jamal Adams’ contract. He has the biggest cap hit on the team at $18.1m. By all accounts it sounds like it’s at least possible he’ll miss a chunk of the regular season. His injury is serious enough to question whether he’ll ever be the same — and that’s before we acknowledge his lingering shoulder and finger issues.
There’s a section of the fan base that seems to take it personally whenever you question Adams. They’re welcome to that view. I hated the trade from day one, argued the Seahawks shouldn’t have paid him when they did and I think they should’ve chewed up the dead money by designating him as a post-June 1st cut weeks ago. You could’ve used the $8.4m saving in 2023 to keep Ryan Neal and Al Woods and right now, I think that’d be a better bet than hoping — optimistically — that Adams is ever going to amount to anything in Seattle.
People talk about the future dead cap money ($14.2m in 2024) but that isn’t prohibitive and let’s be honest here, the chances are Adams isn’t for long in Seattle anyway. You’re going to take on some dead money even if you give this 12 months. People often argued that dead money would prevent a Russell Wilson trade and that simply wasn’t the case. They handled that financial dilemma easily.
Sometimes you’ve just got to write off a bad move and crack on. I think the Seahawks would be a better team with Woods and Neal rather than the hope that Adams can come back as a blitzing dynamo in a hybrid role and stay healthy.
The Seahawks are currently $570,000 in the red for effective cap space. I don’t know a nose tackle who can come in and solve the problem at this stage in the off-season but it simply makes no sense to commit $18.1m to Adams and have no money to spend. If an opportunity emerges, currently they wouldn’t be able to act. There has to be a difficult conversation here to reduce his salary. If Adams is cut, it’s hard to know if he’d get a job in 2023 with the seriousness of his injury. What would the future hold financially? Surely there has to be some negotiation here, for the benefit of the team and perhaps even the player?
This feels especially necessary with the safety market cratering in the last 12 months. It makes no financial sense whatsoever to be committing $18.1m to Jamal Adams.
I appreciate the reason why teams like Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas and the New York Jets are thriving on defense is mainly down to talent. The Eagles have depth, while the other three have elite players up front. Yet last year all four used systems, as far as I can tell, that were closer to the 2013 Seahawks than the 2022 version. That’s no surprise when Dan Quinn and Robert Salah are involved with two of them, while Salah was previously also coaching the Niners.
I think Seattle has enough ‘edge’ talent now to be a dangerous pass rushing team and with Dre’Mont Jones, they have an interior disruptor. I’d personally like to see them act more like the Cowboys than cling to the bear-front system. That feels like the best way to minimise their lack of an established nose tackle and the best way to get the most out of players like Wagner.
I thought it was encouraging when Richard Sherman said on his podcast they were going back to the old scheme. That was later played down. It’s a shame. I think it makes a lot more sense than persevering with a system that many teams in the league are struggling to execute.
I just don’t want the defense to be a liability again this year, especially with the offense looking potentially as potent as it’s ever looked in Seattle. We can’t endure five or six weeks of terrible play in 2023, with a promise to get better. It’s time for a unit that has had major investment to start to at least provide a base level of performance that doesn’t compare to Swiss-cheese.
That could require some difficult decisions to be made, both in terms of personnel and scheme.
If you’ve enjoyed the blog this draft season and want to support the site via Patreon — (click here)
Look at these Wagner highlights from his All Pro 90 PFF season with the Rams:
https://youtu.be/ZebhTdSl29I
What do you see? Wagner at the LOS, attacking gaps. Reading and reacting and being a menace.
He had a career low number of targets in 2022 and they were all around the LOS. His average air yards per target were an insanely low 1.4 yards.
Meanwhile he had a career-best number of sacks on only 49 blitzes, his second best TFL year with 10 and only had two missed tackles all year. Two!
And the first practice of the new season and the Seahawks have him splitting out to cover RBs in the passing game. 🤦
I know it’s early. I know they’re working things out. But this defense has not earned any leeway or patience these last few years. If you want to dink around and get cute, it had darn well better bring results.
When Wagner went to the Rams, my favorite comment on Twitter was “well that’s an easy five yards over the middle against them at least.” Rams we’re smart enough not to allow that and I hope it doesn’t return to bite us!
I know it’s hard to give Pete and Clint and others the benefit of the doubt given the performance of the defense in recent years, but I would temper any angst about how Bobby will actually be used during the regular season by how he’s being used at the beginning of OTAs. They reasonably could be doing this kind of drill/practice early partly in order to assess his current capacity to cover receivers. Also, since padless OTAs are mainly about QBs and receivers, it’s a natural thing for him to be doing on defense right now, even if he won’t be doing it later. I have great respect for your knowledge and know you expressly noted it is early, but you also seem concerned and, with respect, I think it is way too early for any real concern about how Bobby’s role will shake out.
Those are all fine points.
But this team has constantly frittered away offseason time on things like this ( last year’s was giving the guys rest days in the middle of camp, when you are changing your whole program of defensive line play, the year before was “it’s OK that our 2 first round picks strong safety isn’t here to learn the defense”, the year before was everything is great because we’re coaching on Zoom ) and not had their act together in the early going, with Pete standing at the podium after games with absolutely no answers, and everyone in the press and fandom making excuses and calling us negative nellys.
I dearly hope I am wrong.
But I am sick and tired of this defense holding the team back.
Yes! it’s time our “defensive” HC get that side of the ball playing at least on a league wide average level. It’s been an embarrassment the last several years If you don’t agree, I challenge to watch a replay of that abomination that the Raiders game was last year or how Tampa Bay ran all over Seattle when they couldn’t run on anyone else or the Detroit game or, or, or…………….
But Rob, then Pete would be admitting once and for all he utterly, completely and totally failed when he made the trade. His ego won’t allow it as he continues to desperately clings to the hope that it won’t end up the way we all can see it’s going to. Of course when you’ve been given absolute power and answer to no one you can waste resources and play ego games like this with no repercussions.
And PS, “prez” ain’t takin’ a pay cut. Gotta pay for those $6000 coffee cups you know.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/wzsAAOSweS5hVHQF/s-l1600.jpg
This defense could very well be the sieve we’ve seen the last several years. Prove me wrong Carroll.
Oh, and congrats on you and Softy being part of the Hawks’ haters club. God forbid the truth be spoken.
https://twitter.com/TSting18/status/1661056968952365068
LOVE it! I know I sound like get off my lawn guy but I’ll stand by my opinion that social media is the ruination of modern society.
And I will agree 100%
No, that is correct. No accountability, people enjoying the world’s saddest power trips because “they have a voice.” You can literally see when society started to erode away once social media took off.
And I’ll say it, get off of my lawn and get your dog off of my lawn!
“…and get your dog off of my lawn!”
THIS.
And the printing press started to ruin society. And the radio ruined society. And TV rotted brains. Then MTV, Dungeons and Dragons, video games, pinball. All change comes with angst and adjustment.
I think social media has done far more harm than any of that combined
I’m not going to compare the affects of everything that you mentioned to Twitter and social media. Imagine saying the printing press ruined society like Twitter….
david, that response is ridiculous. We have evidence for these. You believe anything that is new is always good in everyway? Learn the concept of proportion. Assess. Who claims the printing press was harmful? And you claim tv is all good?
What’s wrong with having a bath with your Nan?
If only this country had more get off my lawn guys…
Love it!
That’s brilliant. And I really wish they could make that happen. There’s a reason I stay off Twitter completely and only occasionally use Facebook or Instagram. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say social media is the worst.
This is amazing stuff
That is too funny! Paddy Power unite!
Oh my God I love this! I would contribute half my paycheck to make this become a reality and watch every one.
That second quotation is a great perspective on the bottom line of the situation. Rob’s words on the best outcome to protect club and player carry a load of sense. Hopefully the talks and decisions are happening, one way or another.
Defense Wins Championships…
The 2023 Seahawks starting D will feature 7 new starters – anytime there is greater than 60% turnover (this season) – or a new coordinator (last) – or a whole new D-line (this year), etc. it is only Reasonable to expect a late-blooming season. Hopefully Hawk fans and media alike will be level-headed. They likely won’t be.
As for the Big guys up the middle…well, we will find out just how talented each are going to be soon enough as they will be given chances. I have viewed the 2022 and 2023 seasons as the build-up to a Trophy-worthy 2024 and it Does feel like we are on our way. Some parts of the build-up will come next off-season. I believe this campaign will be an improvement record-wise to 11-6, landing the top wildcard spot, followed by a payoff exit in the Division round.
Hoisting the Trophy again is the goal, right? Expecting instant proficiency at every position is not very realistic. Simply put, we will get there.
As for Jamal…Rob, your post-draft piece regarding building a championship TEAM by compiling championship-caliber People helped me to get over not drafting my draft crush (Georgia’s stud of an interior defender). Mr. Adams is indeed every bit a ‘Lion’ among ‘Dogs’. For this reason, I feel his presence gets us closer to adding another Lombardi to the trophy case at VMAC.
Best we all can tell, PC/JS are proven championship builders who did show us a glimpse of that last season, followed by a remarkable 2023 draft and free-agent off-season. Their combination of aggression and patience shows tremendous confidence in their ability to complete the task. I too have tremendous confidence in them and trust their process.
I would have more confidence in the defensive performance if we hadn’t seen a consistent pattern of poor defensive play over the last few years, including consistently poor starts to each of the last few seasons
I have no confidence in the current Seahawks leadership to put a competent defense on the field. If they aren’t set on the scheme, then how can they put together the right coaches and players to match the scheme? Are they are going to try multiple schemes to see which one is best for the each weekly match-up?
I get that they don’t want to give away their game plan in May, but what we have seen over the past 5 years thst says PC can figure out his defense?
Calling PC a defensive coach now is like calling me a health food junkie when I have a Coke in one hand and a donut in the other.
That’s not health food? Shut no wonder I never lose weight.
Seriously agree with you and Rob’s post above yours 100%
Saying Adams is a lion among dogs is technically rounding up as much as possible. I guess you can call a cat a lion?
I’d say he’s more along the lines of a torn quad on a body (ba dum tsssss) I honestly don’t know a positive that he brings to the team. Just an inconvenience that doesn’t let you do anything that you want to do.
He’s something that they have to overcome to ever get back to that championship level.
In his injured state he would be the first person they eat. As he will be whenever he gets back on the football field and faces a quarterback.
Speaking of animals, remember, animals never pick their dumbest member to be their leader. Only humans do that.
Spot. On.
I’ve not see any evidence of Jamal being a lion among dogs since he came to Seattle
He’s world class at applauding an opponent sarcastically when they’ve made a big play though
“…it is only Reasonable to expect a late-blooming season. Hopefully Hawk fans and media alike will be level-headed. They likely won’t be.”
Forget the media; their job is to deliver audiences to advertisers, and level-headedness doesn’t generally sell. But as for fans—who have endured years of inexcusably shite defensive play, mind you—exactly what sort of level-headedness should they project if they happen to find themselves sitting through YET ANOTHER “late-blooming season”? (By the way: quite the euphemism, that.) No fan who has been with the team for a good while should be criticized one bit for voicing displeasure over Carroll’s perennially ineffectual defenses, which haven’t sustained an upward trend in a long, long time.
—
“Expecting instant proficiency at every position is not very realistic.”
Who’s expecting that?! …(sniff) (sniff) What’s that—is that straw I’m smelling?
—
“Simply put, we will get there.”
Will? You’re stating that the Seahawks WILL “hoist the trophy” in this next window? Surely, the calculations girding the hyper-confidence of this prognostication can’t have been come by THAT simply. Please enlighten us as to your methodology and detailed findings, or at least furnish an abstract. With a claim that bold, I know you won’t mind.
—
“Mr. Adams is indeed every bit a ‘Lion’ among ‘Dogs’. For this reason, I feel his presence gets us closer to adding another Lombardi…”
(Kevin Calabro style) Actually: no. Mr. Adams is indeed every bit a peacock among NFL players. Not much to say about his “presence”, given he’s more known for his absence.
—
“I too have tremendous confidence in (PC/JS) and trust their process.”
Two consecutive good drafts and a promising roster reset are a good start, but “their process” also includes everything they’ve done post-Malcolm Butler to remove the team from viable championship contention. What, we’re just gonna ignore all that? Pete and John have A LOT more to do to justify “tremendous confidence” in their stewardship of the franchise heading into this next window. For now, the team should, if nothing else, be an entertaining watch. But whether their arrow will be legitimately pointing upward by season’s end is far from a given.
Serious question: as it stands right now, what is the weakest part of the defense? I think it has to be Adams. We can rotate and throw bodies on the defensive line, but out of our starting 11 on defense, who is worse/a bigger liability?
Wagner might be playing out of position so I don’t count being mismanaged. I think it is clearly Adams. A good team can EASILY exploit him.
And people that are still trying to justify anything about that pigeon (not even going to call him a peacock anymore) are the equivalent of my 2 year old trying to tell me that the sky is green. There is no argument. You probably need a nap and to watch a few episodes of Bluey.
Start with the “Copycat” episode.
If you’ve seen it, you know how perfectly it applies to JA.
I know it well.
All I can think of is Jamal being the budgie and us needing to put him in the shoe box!
And Bluey struggling to grasp what happened and trying to talk his way out of it.
Bingo. Pun not intended but is a plus.
It might be Pete Carroll & coaching. This defense has had more than enough talent to succeed over the past few years yet time and time again they’ve failed to do so
How can Adams be a weakness when he’s never on the field? Or rather, the weakness is in the money he eats up that could go to other players who can actually make an impact. Also, I’m not sure he’s a good fit personality-wise. I think he may be a detriment, in that sense.
However, the weakest part of our defense to me remains the run defense. That might be a scheme thing and/or lack of run defenders.
100% PC and the coaching is the biggest weakness.
Some of the players they had in the past, like Cody Barton, should not be starting in the NFL, CFL or even one of the Spring Leagues. Even if someone picks JA or IDL as the weakest point on the team, PC takes the blame for the lack of talent on the field.
I take your point, but will be interested to see how Barton does in Washington with a good DL to keep him clean. In coverage he was good, but he couldn’t get off a block.
My point was more, out of the starting 11, where is the weak spot? Who is the other team going to attack? This upcoming year. Coaching is too easy because they were who brought Adams in.
On the field, he is who everyone is going after. Bad run defense, can’t cover, ole’s tackles, can shy from contact.
The weakness will be the front 3 or 4 defenders. Teams should just continue running right at the Seahawks. Maybe they can be a little better against the run and only average giving up 125 yards a game. The Seahawks secondary should be sold. ( crossing fingers that Tariq will be fully healthy in Week One).
NFL coaches are a cunning bunch. A lot of the time you don’t know your weaknesses until someone finds something on tape and comes up with the game plan that exposes them. That’s why I love the NFL!
Well, we got that third round pick from Denver for next year we could deal for IDL help.
Anyone catch your eye getting near the end of their contract from this list?
https://overthecap.com/position/interior-defensive-line
There’s a very good argument to be made that Cam Young, a 4th round pick, will be the most important rookie to this teams success. The other picks added strength to strengths and that’s cool and the Seahawks stand to be really elite in those areas.
But it’s that 4th round guy who needs to perform above expectations for this team to not have a gaping wide weakness in the middle of their defence.
That’s a very damning assessment. Surely, they’re not done adding to the D-line. They can’t go into the season heaping such pressure on a fourth rounder, can they?
B-Wags had some interesting things to say about the defensive scheme, here and league wide, if nobody’s watched it yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvXJh_rsC8
Maybe I’m under-reacting but it’s OTAs. Aren’t they meant for trying out stuff like Wagner covering RBs in the flats? Doesn’t mean that’s what he’ll be doing in the regular season. Doesn’t mean he won’t, but again, it’s OTAs.
And isn’t that partly why they signed Love? I thought he’s supposed to be the response to Seattle getting gashed in the intermediate passing game last season.
I don’t expect to see the defense in its regular season form in mid May.
Not to mention the LB core is thin. An aging HOFer, a bust of a R1 pick, and a motley collection of castoffs and never-weres. That’s the problem.
And Adams. He’s a problem too. I’m trying to be patient, and I get there’s no need to make a move until 6/1, if a move is to be made. But it’s hard.
I respect the effort Adams is putting into his rehab. Regardless of my opinion of him with respect to the team and with respect to his personality, it’s clear he’s committed to a full recovery. Whether, and when, that’s possible remains to be seen. And notwithstanding my respect for him in this way, I would prefer he continue his pursuit back to the field with another team.
I use twitter a lot, mostly to connect with like minded people and share knowledge about things I’m interested in. AI, digital art, writing, and Seahawks. There’s a lot of camaraderie and collaboration in the first three subject groups, and a lot of tribalism and mob mentality in the last one. I’d say those are examples of the two sides of the social media coin.
But even in Seahawks twitter, there’s a certain professionalism among those practicing the trade of journalism. Disagreements of opinion are handled with respect, discussions ensue, and the broader community is better off for that.
The rest are very discouraging. To equate legitimate criticism of, in this instance Adams, with “hate for the Seahawks” is immature, puerile and pernicious.I don’t engage with them.
Absolutely. 100% you are correct.
But with the Seahawks
1) Historically unable to get an even basic defense installed until Week Six the last four years or so
2) The actual days of practice more limited than ever
3) A whole new DL and LB corps this year (seriously, 7 of the top 10 in 2022 snap counts won’t start the season for this D)
Like I said in my post above, why are you dickering around with getting cute?
It’s been noted the last 3 or 4 years in the offseason that this ‘defense is going to have more looks’ and is ‘going to really disguise coverages more’ but they can’t even get the basics of lining up and gap control properly.
It’s like talking about how amazing the subwoofers sound in your car that can’t even get you to the grocery store without having problems.
Yeah I forgot about the lack of actual practice days
But it’s hard to see clearly until Adams is settled one way or another
Adams ain’t going anywhere my friend. Pete’s ego will not allow it. If I am wrong I will not just come here for a heaping plate of crow, but I’ll literally drop whatever I’m doing to do so. It would be tastiest meal I’ve had in a long time too.
Amen to that
I could live with the tribalism, if there was cannibalism.
I’m a Donner party animal!
The difference between a Dinner Party and a Donner Party is a subtle meaning of who’s being served now
Sometimes I really have to wonder about you fellers.
Perhaps we should discuss it over dinner?
I’ll bring beer.
Or a nice Chianti!
And a side of fava beans!
Only if we’re having döner.
Your clever use of an umlat shows me you are a fine young cannibal.
And buy the way, I just had kufta kabobs from the In and Out Kitchen here in Pensacola.
You never know what kind of meat is in kufta.
And what is being served.
Top Billin’ Tartar?
All the Donner Party had to do was just stay in Reno for the winter. Hang out, hit the buffet, do the pioneer shit later.
Actually next time you’re in Truckee the Donner Memorial State Museum is worth a visit. Take the guided walk, myths are dispelled.
And… there’s a connection between that and the also worthwhile San Juan Batista historical park. Small world.
Mmmm, now I have a hankerin’ for some ribs.
I was in Reno for Super Bowl XXVI when Dallas absolutely blasted Buffalo. I had Buffalo to win for $50 of the $110 I had on the game. I had Thurman Thomas to be the first one to score at 4-1 for $10, which landed. I also had $50 on the over which I collected at half-time. Because Buffalo got boat raced.
You guys ever see Ravenous? Had Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, and Jeffrey Jones in it. Made about fourteen bucks at the box office—seems folks just didn’t have much of an appetite for it, but I found it oddly…satisfying.
LOL. My favorite horror movie is From Beyond.
I’ll let you read and make what you will of it. I agree with the author 100% even if we don’t see it in a regular season game. The reason behind it he has laid out well.
And also be aware seeing someone in Marshawn’s number a year or 2 after he retired was crap too imo.
https://predominantlyorange.com/posts/seahawks-officially-have-crossed-line-russell-wilson-disrespect
Well, it doesn’t “Burns” as much as when Rick Mirer wore #3.
Good one
Look it’s not even giving the jersey number that irks me as much as it’s the litany of endless disrespect he’s shown by so many associated with the organization both present and past.
If we had drafted Lewand Jones, I would petition the league to allows us to give him #206.
Someone tried to get me fired one time, went to management where o worked and demanded that I be fired.
That was 20 years ago, I’ve moved on and own a business.
I still stick it to that person whenever the opportunity arises.
Well, like I said earlier about Super Bowl XL. Now that the NFL has women officials, it’s okay to throw a flag for something that happened 18 years ago.
Oh man, now that is damned funny Palatypus
Ba-duh-BOOM!
You should, LouCity. Revenge is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Forgiveness is overrated.
I don’t really mind about the Russ ‘disrespect’. I love and respect what the guy did while he was here but…
1: Seahawks had a vested interest in his failure last year so we were obviously going to route against him.
2: I think number retirements should be extremely rare, and if you force your exit from the club the way Russ did you lose that right.
3: One time in European football a player named Luis Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid and a fan through a pigs head at him during a match. That’s actual disrespect.
I wasn’t a big Wilson fan at the end, but I have to say that he was the best quarterback they ever had. He was leading the offense when they won a superbowl and came darn close to winning a second time. So I think they should retire his number.
Like I said, I’m just tired o0f all the lousy treatment from people within and outside of the franchise. Move on. This shit is childish.
Didn’t most of them shut up after Marshawn talked about Russ (on Sherm’s podcast I believe)?
Usually to get retired you have to fulfill 2 criteria:
Be one of the best players ever at your position
Stay with the team your entire career or want to stay with the team and get cut as a vet.
Steve Largent was the GOAT receiver when he left the league (obviously overtaken since then)
Walter Jones was the best left tackle ever to live
I can’t imagine what could possibly be wrong with issuing Rick Mirer’s old number to a current player. Big deal. The team hasn’t retired it, and only 95 numbers are available for the 90 players who will be suiting up for training camp, anyway. Use it, I say—better yet, Burns either switches numbers if he makes the final 53 or simply gets cut, making #3 available for Chris Stoll or whomever Schneider digs up to take over longsnapping duties.
The nose tackle position is interesting as our inability to stop the run has been our biggest issue.
Honest question from someone less knowledgeable on scheme:
What to make of going smaller at NT?
While Young is good size, the others (Tavai, Faoliu, and Bumphus) are all well under 300 lbs. Only Merrill has the girth of an Al Woods (Mone not included). With smaller, more athletic NTs, what are the implications on scheme? Back to cover 3? Doubling down on hybrid? Not sure what to make of it.
Agee that it feels like Young and whomever they can sign off the street. And, not sure I have faith in Pete and Clint to figure it out.
Ugh… coming off the draft high, back to the reality of scheme du jour and 5 yards and cloud of dust ups..
Schematically, big bodies only help you if they are good, stand up to double teams, control gaps, etc…. Think Ted Washington. Those types are becoming more rare.
Watch Cameron Young take on double teams, he sits down well.
Strength matters more than size.
Thanks
Hopefully we’re stronger on the other side of this.
+1. Of all the positions to be concerned about on a roster, NT and OG are typically the ones you can get by with replacement-level players, if needed, and not have a big problem on your hands. This being overblown. We’ll be fine as far as personnel but the scheme has to be tightened up and nailed down.
‘Overblown’ in this instance being raising the point modestly?
Not sure “we’ll be fine,” with personnel. I’ve yet to see an upgrade at LB. Is the dline better ot just almost filled out? Dremont Jones…pretty big plus. Everyone else….feels like a lot of the same every. A hopeful late rounder here, a project guy there.
I think having stouter DE play will help, especially if we are playing over the tackles.
Maybe they approach Adams when camp comes along? Either way I dont see him on this team after this season. Could bebLove replacing him and then Reed replacing Diggs the year after that.
What remains of curiosity to me, is why an organization that is obsessed with the idea of always compete, is not afraid of taking risks, making bold moves, angering its Fanbase…. Seem so stuck.
D coordinator has been a problem for years now, the Adams trade was bad, signing him was bad, why are we staying the course when it appears to be a sunk cost?
This is usually a sign that emotions are governing decision making. What is so emotional about the Fangio approach or Adams?
“Always compete” is a relic from a different time.
Don’t call it a comeback
Yup. Definition of a sunk cost. The past is past, Fo what’s best for the future. Maybe they think that it is best and are ready to cut and run if it doesn’t work out that way.
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em …
Stop. Cut. Accelerate. Gimmeit.
https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1661502927679406080
Oh, I don’t like that at all (/sarcasm)
Is this a witherspoon highlight or the sleepiest break and softest one hand catch attempt?
Just let me have this one ok?
I think we are going to be seeing a lot of these around Pensacola very soon.
https://proshop.seahawks.com/mens-nike-devon-witherspoon-college-navy-seattle-seahawks-2023-nfl-draft-first-round-pick-game-jersey/p-358833337178026016+z-93-2592713764?_ref=p-DLP:m-GRID:i-r1c1:po-4
Random thought of the day:
Do you think they will play “Spoonman” by Soundgarden when Devon Witherspoon makes a big play at Lumen Field?
Or this: https://youtu.be/4iGSAFjzBd8
The Tick was prescient!
I’m thinking that what Pete is doing with the defence is the same thing he does with the Offence. There’s a reason he drafts RB’s high. He wants balance. He wants to be good at running and passing.
With the defence I see them working towards a hybrid 3-4 that can get big when needed and can get after the QB when needed. They are trying to balance the D to be good against the run and pass.
For years they primarily focused on stopping the run with formation and stopping the pass with talent. Then the league changed rules and passing dominated and the talent left. So they’ve been trying to use formations to stop the pass and that’s made them vulnerable to the run. So I see this year as one of trying to get more flexible.
Which is fine provided the results are different
Won’t know until you try. But I think the reasoning is sound. It’ll come down to new guys fitting in and sound game planning like most things.
The were trying last year
They’ve been trying to work the defense out for years
This isn’t the flex you think it is.
Took him 10 games to get back to snuff.
https://twitter.com/qdiggs6/status/1661603773712842753
Pete Carroll has a reputation as a defensive coach, a “guru”, but I don’t see it. Probably more appropriately he would be a defensive back coach who fell into a great defense. Aside from a period when he had a group of exceptional players, has he ever innovated or designed a good defense? It seems the team has failed to find an identity, but founders around with this system and then that one, and the struggle continues.
The answer to the question escapes me, and I am mostly just venting my frustration, but I certainly don’t want to hear anymore about the defensive genius.
He was definitely innovative with the long corners and those corners hitting receivers within 5 yds of the LOS until the Seahawks won and the league made it illegal to do so in the continued interest of skewing the game toward the offense.
There has been a number of corners and safeties that just don’t meet pro standards. For the most part they aren’t on the team anymore. We are on a high because Woolen is looking good. But they have a real mixed bag of development in the secondary. Mostly it rests on the early Seahawks, who also weren’t able to get off the field on third downs.
I would rather have Al Woods instead of Adams. lt really doesn’t make much sense to keep Adams. But they didn’t ask for my opinion.
This is kind of interesting.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/closer-look-at-key-miami-dolphins-ota-topics/ar-AA1bCYX9
“Speaking of size, Raekwon Davis is a massive human.
I was reminded of this when I noticed him tower over rookie understudy Brandon Pili, who is listed at 6-3, 316 pounds.
We make such a big deal about Christian Wilkins being in a contract year, but Davis, who is listed at 6-7, 335 pounds, is also in a pay-for-play season, and he’s not making $10.7 million this season like Wilkins is.
Davis is making $1.4 million, so imagine the motivation he has to ball out in this new scheme, doing more than just eating up double teams and clogging running lanes.
Imagine if Davis finally played up to his talent level and started putting centers on skates, collapsing the pocket 10-12 snaps a game this season?”
We probably can’t pry away Raekwon this year. But he is exactly what we need.
I haven’t watched him since college.
But a cursory stats glance shows a 43 PFF last year, a 36 the year before, almost zero action on the other team’s side of the field.
Sounds like a Tony McDaniel at best to me.
I don’t have access to that information. Thank you.
We’re starting early with this line in 2023
https://twitter.com/johnpboyle/status/1661846881079799809?s=46&t=uv5_Cfk4hepYHPYUO6WNbQ
I think better is the least we should expect given they spent major FA money, a top five pick and a high second round pick on the unit
Next camp: “We’re going to be more aggressive this year, attack more.”
Oh, and the offense will “play with more tempo.”
Things I, Gross MaToast, would rather have than Jamal Adams for $18,000,000:
22 million cans of cat food.
The house next door to Margot Robbie.
Margot Robbie
An island in the Caribbean.
1,750,000 pounds of #2 rubber bands.
60 Ferrari 488 GTBs…all with the undercoating, which is extra.
15,320 Versace Crystal Medusa Travel Cups.
340,000 pounds of shredded elephant dung
A Loon 70m yacht with an original Picasso in each bedroom.
3.6 million Happy Meals
$18,000,000 in gold
$18,000,000 in lithium
$18,000,00 in cash
13,500,000 Bic Grip Roller Pens (all lost before noon)
As Jamal’s biggest fan, I sure hope the Seahawks don’t let him sit on another team’s IR for the next year or two. He’s the glue that glues this defense to itself.
Picasso in the bedroom?
You ARE a freak!
Me and Pablo like to bring the ruckus to the ladies…well, him not so much anymore, but…yeah.
I have a tattoo of the bull from Guernica on my left shoulder blade.
You’re paying too much for dung. Who’s your poop guy?
That’s what I said, but my poop guy is like the best poop guy in the business. According to him, it’s the “shredding” of the elephant dung that really jacks the price. You want elephant dung – fine – there’s plenty. You want “shredded” elephant dung? Different story. He’s got the top dung shredders in Zimbabwe on standby, so you’re really paying for 24-hour, on-call poop shredders and that’s a pretty damn nice thing to have going for you.
Zimbabwe is a good call on shredded elephant dung. It’s landlocked, so no pirates to deal with and Boko Haram is pretty far away.
But how do you export it? I’m guessing the Chineese.
But what really concerns me is the first item on your list: 22 million cans of cat food.
Zimbabwe borders South Africa to the south. In the movie Distict 9, the alien “Prawns” in the concentration camp were fed cat food.
Is your poop guy CIA?
MI6
Gross MaToast, I’ve been on to you for a while. And I know who your collaborator is. It was too obvious.
Come on’.
Jadaveon Clowney played the Joker position at NC State. The Joker being the best blitzer on the team.
Blitzy the Clown is your spy. And when you turn the ACSCI of your brainwashed lackey into binary, you get the coordinates of your doomsday lair and the identity of your evil overlord which is
Albert knows too much Yeetur
It’s time to implement protocol Best in the Nation
I repeat: implement protocol Best in the Nation!
C’mon people this is not. drill! It’s GO TIME!
My poop guy say there are three classic blunders in the poop game. Number two is: never trust the Chinese when shredded elephant dung is on the line. You’ll be lucky to end up with triple cut camel dung, at best, and I think we’ve all been there.
No, you want the dung you paid for, you go classic. Spend the money and hire the Burmese. You’ll get your dung and maybe a little something-something extra.
How do you know the poop is not from Indian elephant if it goes through old French Indo-China?
The smell of curry?
Oh c’mon Groos, don’t you think that’s a bit high falootin? I mean Jamal limits himself to $6000 Louis Vuitton coffee cups. I think you could do the same here. Is Vuitton not good enough for you?
I’ve been mulling over the ideas this post raised about scheme and performance since Quinn left.
Watching Quinn in Dallas makes you long for that type of creativity.
I’m willing to give Hurtt a 1 year mulligan, but the performance needs to step up fast. Especially in terms of consistency (Prez-inconsistent, but he a dead horse here). Almost all of the front 7 suffered from inconsistent play last year. I’m willing to extend a lot of grace to young players, as long as they are consistent.
It is unclear, but the focus on Young and similar players suggests to me that they are going to be using more of a 0 tech, as opposed to a traditional NT. They could incorporate a hybrid scheme that could incorporate 3-4/4-3/5-2 or 3-3/4-2/5-1 base alignments without really asking too much of the players. This will work if the players know their assignments and repeat them every time – no freelancing, no plays off.
The investment in the defense needs to have immediate results, if Hurtt isn’t the answer, then the next off-season needs to see PC bring in a Gus Bradley/Quinn type
0 tech is a traditional nose. It’s just lined up directly over Center and responsible for two gaps (A&B). 1 tech is also a nose, but shaded to a side a usually responsible for just one gap. 0 is usually in a 3-4 and 1T is usually in a 4 man front.
Young will most certainly play both depending on formation, but his assignment will change, as it will for most players.
I agree with you that for years the defense has looked out of position often and as if guys don’t know their assignments. I don’t think that you can just say – here’s the one thing we want you to do over and over though. You might get away with that for one game, then DC’s are going to look at the tape and say – every time they have X + Y, it = Z and every time they have A + B it = C.
The coaching needs to improve for sure though. This is a make-or-break year for Hurtt. If the defense looks lost early on, it’s going to be hard to have patience or give the benefit of the doubt.
FYI Young was listed at 304lbs at the combine but PC said a couple weeks ago he’s now at 320.
Yep, it won’t surprise me if he ends up playing most of his career around 325-330.
Al Woods was 309 at the combine.
I’m a little stunned at how quickly he and Mike Morris added that much weight though.
It makes you wonder how quick they will be and whether that new weight is muscle or fat?
Morris is TALL, and still lean. It’s crazy how much he weighs, but still looks svelte and fast. I think he’s going to be a very good player by year two…
The prevailing thought that seems to be going around lately is a strong acknowledgement that Adams won’t be back to start the season. That he will definitely miss games and the hope is he will be effective down the stretch. And yes his contract is a burden but you deal with it next year. You just close your eyes and hope he provides anything on an $18m cap hit this year.
Why?
Why?
Because you think Pete Carroll can do no wrong and you still buy the fantasy given out by Carroll and his sycophants in the media that the guy is a difference maker.
And next offseason, after he plays maybe 2 games this season and ineffectively at that, when he’s FINALLY released we’re going to be told by Carroll and his media lapdogs that he was still an elite player but that the injuries just derailed his career.
Why indeed
Nothing new or gripping content here, but still fun to enjoy the process with them a bit.
I did get to add a Combine visit with Cam Young to the tracker for future reference.
Interesting choice of narrator as well…
New Dawn | The Sound Of The Seahawks: Season 2 Premiere
https://youtu.be/RFj2n4BqKPc
the exchange between JSN and Jalen Carter at around 7:52 was interesting
DeAdre Hopkins cut by the Arizona Cardinals. Not a Post-June1 cut a NOW cut.
Interesting.
Arizona wanted to eat the whole $22m dead this year instead of splitting it out.
They save $8m on the cap now and clear $25m off the books for 2024.
Hopkins can immediately start talking to teams.
Cha would you recommend the same approach regarding J Adams and the Hawks? or is that even a possibility given the current cap situation.?
Possible but highly unlikely. It would cost them an extra $5.78m to do that this year (but it clears 2024 $23m and 2025 $24m completely off).
They would then need to find that much to pay the rest of the rookie contracts, and then find more to get their practice squad and injury replacement rainy day money funded.
This is one of the reasons I staunchly held to my belief that the Seahawks would NOT lower Adams’ 2020 cap hit when they signed him to an extension. He had $8m or so on his 5th year option, and the Seahawks like to eat cap space early and have freedom later.
Somebody here insisted they would and I insisted they wouldn’t.
They did – they lowered it by $3+million. I was wrong.
And now we have that much more on the cap in 2023 because they tried to squeeze a few more nickels out of the cap. After signing a player who had shredded his groin and tore his shoulder in 2020 so bad he couldn’t tackle to massive contract.
agreed. Now we wait until post June 1st but I fear the brass will let the contract play out all the way to the finish regardless of his playing status. Stuck. That is why I kind of like what the Cardinals did with Hopkins.
It’s easier to do when you have bottomed out and only paid a 2nd round pick for Hopkins in the first place.
Further illustration that not only was the trade a very poor and desperate attempt to salvage pass rush that offseason but that the contract extension may have been an even worse decision. It has negatively reverberated through this franchise for several years and will do so for several more.
Wow, a lot of very interesting options for Hopkins too. Love this kind of move… didn’t work, move on.
Carolina?
That was my first thought too.
https://youtu.be/nHZBeZqpGH4
Pelissero tells Eisen that Hopkins saw the OBJ $15m guaranteed one year deal w Baltimore after missing a whole season and wanted that, and that is what killed a trade.
I don’t know if this is sour grapes on my part or just another example of the overhype garbage journalism that is out there.
https://youtu.be/J7x2YWQVs-s
PFF grades the offseason for the Seahawks.
Brad Spielberger gives high marks for the Geno Smith contract, for signing him and committing to less than the franchise tag in guarantees. He says “three years is the shelf life of his career at this point” and “he is still a good QB in this league.”
Which is fine.
Except. In February, or about a month before free agency started, Spielberger said Geno was his #2 overall free agent.
https://twitter.com/PFF_Brad/status/1621202721951961089
Behind the paywall he predicted Geno would get a 4y/$150m contract with $112.5m guaranteed.
Turning around and saying the Seahawks did good on his contract and the best he could do is three seasons is pretty disingenuous.
It just seems odd that he was so far off the mark and then just chose to give the contract he actually got small lip service. I don’t expect him to self-immolate on the air but if you literally thought Geno was worth that much money, and he signed for less than one third of what you predicted, you should be dancing in the rafters that the Seahawks pulled off a heist of that level.
He was wildly off on the $150 million mark. But, the cynical side of me thinks that he may have gotten an incentive from Geno Smiths agent. Hmmm. just think about that. Maybe a little something something, or maybe just access to insider information.
PFF is simply cult like in overplaying their hand on QB’s and going out of their way to undermine other positions, like RB
It wouldn’t bother me so much if people just ignored him. But a very healthy chunk of the fanbase hitched their wagon to that prediction as part of a ‘that’s just what you have to pay for a QB’ argument. While completely refusing to consider the points the same predictor brought out three months later.
If we are going to talk about predictions, I believe I said mid-season that the Seahawks should offer Geno Smith 20 million a year and he might take it. That turned out to be the guaranteed money in his contract. So I guess my track record is as good as Spielbergers.
Of course we both said a lot of other stuff but we won’t bring those other things up now.
🗑️
Considering this roster, Will Dissly might just have himself a $10M+ season…
After having reviewed, watched tape & interviews of ALL of the drafted players almost all of the UDFA’s. I’m really looking forward to the three preseason games. The Seahawks have a lot of really good and interesting high-quality players coming in this year and many have a decent shot at actually making the team as well as the practice squad. My other thoughts……..
RE: The Offense:
IMO-The offense is going to be superb by the end of the season, they may have a few bumps in the road in the 1-st half of the season while integrating new players, but when they get their “shite in a pile”, watch them immerge as a top-5 offense by the seasons end. Balancing the improved running game with an improved receiving core sounds like a road to success to me. 2 1000-yard rushers & 3-1000-yard receivers –as a top outcome– MAY be considered unlikely; but it is still a strong possibility with the quality of players they have acquired.
Defense:
I’ve always heard that an improved secondary HELPS the pass rush. Lord knows, the Seahawks pass rush needs the help & overall improvement. The almost entirely rebuilt defensive line will most likely start slow, like they usually do, but as the season goes on, I think we’ll see some significant improvements, with the young hungry guys leading the way, hopefully to become a top-15 defense, which would be a good start for this rebuild.
My “Projection of their season record”: 11-6, However: 12-5, –IF– they get a “lucky upset” with an end of season playoff berth, where anything could happen, but the Seahawks would have been playing very well to even get that far, so maybe even the division round might be possible.
IMO- It is SO much more pleasurable to me to be “positive” about the team that I am lifelong fan of than being negative. I’m not saying I’m against being critical, it is very often warranted and a needed part of the total fandom experience. However, to me, it feels really good to look at the positives surrounding the team and especially the opiumism provided by the new players in the system – rather than constantly being in “critical” mode. More fans, especially on many other sites as well as on twitter need to be less negative and more positive and thankful for the fine group of professional athletes & some mostly great staff we have.
I believe they’ll go as far as their D will take them and I don’t have a lot of confidence in that side of the ball. Feels like a lot of 33-30 type games cuz yeah the O is likely to be good. Combine a questionable D with a likely tougher schedule and I got 10-7 or 9-8.
I certainly hope that the Seahawks are good enough to win 11 or 12 games and challenge the niners to win the NFC West , but I agree with Big Mike about lacking confidence that the defense will be good enough to achieve those goals. I think that a WC birth would be a very good result with where the Seahawks are at now.
The offense should be a little better overall with the draft upgrades to IDL, WR and RB. I am concerned that we have already seen the best from Geno with his play declining near the end of the year. I see some solid to good skill players on the Seahawks but no one that is truly elite. The offense definitely needs to improve if they want to win playoff games. They were great against the weaker defenses but did very little against stiffer competition like niners.
I do share your worries about Geno, but I also feel we’ve done the right things to put him in a position to succeed: improved Oline, whole lots of weapons for the passing game, three strong RBs to carry us if the QB has a bad day. We might not need Geno to play as good as his good games last years to win games.
The D is a whole another story, many things can go wrong and the coaches keep having a hard time getting the scheme right. I trust the secondary but the Dline and the LBs might be too much of a work in progress.
My Mom’s family from New Orleans has taken over our swimming pool for the Memorial Day weekend, so I just wanted to remind everyone what a football franchise with a plan looks like. It is NOT the New Orleans Saints.
These last two years everything that has happened in the draft and most of the free agent moves have made sense for the Seahawks. Now it is up to the coaches and players. Can the defensive coordinators get the scheme to work? Who is going to play at defensive tackle? What are we going to do at middle linebacker? These are serious concerns, but not nearly as bad as it could be. How many teams out there are worried about OT, CB, and Edge? Pretty much all of them, except us. This is a great place to be.
Now look at New Orleans. They were a cap nightmare a few months ago, but have now somehow made it semi-manageable. They’ve got an aging roster. Is your quarterback Derek Carr, or are you going to stick with Jameis Winston. How does that taste? The answer to your left tackle position is apparently Trevor “I will fight you” Penning, who barely played as a rookie. Your answer at defensive line is apparently top two pick Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey. That does not inspire much confidence in me. And, they are still likely to made some more major cuts.
And an update that may only interest me. My cousin’s daughter, Sierra Sacco, who was a finalist for NCAA D-I Softball Freshman of the year, had a disappointing season this year due to some ankle injuries. She hit over a hundred points lower than last year at .343.
But that is good enough to put her in the transfer portal to a bigger program. She has a dozen offers and will probably leave Conference USA for the SEC., most likely at Mississippi State.
UPDATE: It’s official, she just signed with Mississippi State. Bye Bye La Tech.
Congrats! Ask her to take you out for a burger with that NIL money.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/27/jimmy-garoppolos-contract-includes-waiver-over-foot-injury/
More protection for the raiders.
Yeah, that won’t take her long.
I do not think the video creator intended his piece to be comedy.
But it is both funny and well-executed.
https://youtu.be/jtyAyUIf6Vc
Adams showed real excellence at celebrating.
But not like Koren Robinson.
This has to be a parody right? Right?
Creator spends all his/her time listening to Pete’s bobos on 710.
This isn’t a highlight reel…it’s just Adams playing either piggy back or doing is best orange safety cone impression…
He sure cheered a lot though.
The doink off of his face mask was a beauty too.
I think that is my favorite play ever! Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else do that. Strut your stuff teacup!
He’s done it twice.
https://twitter.com/JackMacCFB/status/1569483588130820101
That’s why it is his signature play!
Astoundingly inept and beyond embarrassing, especially when coupled with his peacocking “ look at me” behavioral antics. FD has got to go on June 2nd.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/29/bills-to-sign-brandon-shell/
Shell will have completed his AFC East bingo card (and Ifedi probably his NFC North card) before Abraham Lucas’ rookie contract is up.
Feels good man.
Yep, total steal. Rob and Kiper both had hin late first/early second. I’ll predict he’s in the Pro Bowl this year.
Anyone able to find reports on Charles Cross’s offseason workouts? I am much more concerned about that.
The biggest weakness on the D is the DC.
If we extend Damien Lewis this summer, can we create 2023 cap savings?
I went to OTC and looked up his contract. If you select “extension” in the :Dead money / Cap savings” column it says we can gain ~1.6M in cap savings.
https://overthecap.com/player/damien-lewis/8809
Hope that helps.
Extend him!
Breer on the DeAndre Hopkins situation.
He confirms what Pelissero said that once OBJ got his deal, that hurt trade negotiations.
Also he doesn’t have a glowing rep around the league.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/05/30/inside-deandre-hopkins-release-options-bills-chiefs
One of the great things about going to Senior Bowl practice is it’s exactly that. You get to see how guys go about practice. Keon White and Keeanu Benton became my draft crushes that way.
“But he always shows up on game day. He’s gonna have to go to a team that knows what they’re getting. You cannot expect a perfect-attendance type of worker.”
This was my first thought when he was released. If he goes to a contender who has a decent recieving core in place he’ll be great for 50 catches, mostly moving the chains on 3rd down. His days of lighting up secondaries though are probably behind him. I hope he has some success though he’s been fun and frustrating at times to watch.
So, he’s Allen Iverson at the nadir of his career.
I’m sure its been asked before but how do I use the green text for quotes?
It’s an HTML tag, I know that. But exactly how, I’m not sure.
Ooops
Search “blockquote html” & you’ll get the format
I did this (sarcasm) text (/sarcasm) on here once with greater-than and less-than signs once, and it disappeared.
“You have absolutely no idea if Trey Lance is any good at football.”
That was Marcus Spears on NFL Live just now reacting to the news that Brock Purdy is going to start throwing this week.
I would like to say a few words about Geno Smith. Geno Smith seems to be the ultimate team player. He is a total professional. In this day of QBs getting every last possible nickel they can. Geno did give the organization a team friendly deal loaded with incentives. He gave the Seahawks flexibility to out and add key acquisitions to help solidify the roster. Players that were badly needed. The Seahawks signed Dre’Mont Jones, Bobby Wagner, Julian Love, Devin Bush, Jarron Reed and recently they signed Mario Edward’s Jr. Remember Devin Bush ( if I am not mistaken was selected 10th overall in the draft.) Not only that but Pittsburgh traded up to select Bush.
I my opinion the Hawks are deep everywhere except maybe back up defensive nose tackle. Maybe also back up at offensive tackle. The Hawks did add Evan Brown. Brown is listed as the starting center on the Seahawks depth chart He can play multiple positions. I suspect Oluwatimi might win the starting job at center. At any rate Geno Smith’s contract afforded Seattle the opportunity to go out and add these key players to their roster. Players badly needed to solidify the roster.
Geno Smith is a hard worker. He is accurate. Geno Smith’s ability to spin the football is amazing. From what have read/heard Geno Smith is always totally prepared. The players are in his corner. They will go to war for him.The one concern I have is that Geno Smith does have a history of turning the football over. In fact he made a key fumble in the playoffs against San Francisco.
One thing that does impress me is the fact that Geno Smith studies Socrates and plato. Geno Smith could have thrown in the towel but he didn’t. He believed in himself. Especially when know one else did. Including myself. However, in the final analysis the big question is how well will Geno Smith protect the football?
Here is a good discussion from Chris Simms talking about his QB rankings and Geno Smith in particular.
Chris Simms’ Top 40 QB Countdown: No. 15, Geno Smith | Chris Simms Unbuttoned | NFL on NBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30M-RcTwNt4
He’s also a 32 year old journeyman quarterback who was only given a deal like that by Seattle. He either didn’t test the market or there was no market. He was given a contract where the team more or less said that he isn’t the future.
He has busted his butt to get that contract and a chance to start and he will be more or less fine. The rest of the offense will elevate him, not the other way around. He is what he is: somewhat safe but still prone to turning the ball over. A veteran. He isn’t going to go out and win the game, marching down the field. Hasn’t done well with pressure in his career. Food for thought: the only quarterback that he has beaten out is Drew Lock, who is a trade throw in.
He is betting on himself which I commend him for. I am rooting for him. It’s kind of like a big brother/little brother feeling. I/we can critique him (make fun of him as a little brother), but no one else can, he’s my quarterback (little brother).
He is part of the rebuild. He isn’t the product that is going to be there when we are title contenders. We could get close this year, but he isn’t beating anyone out of the AFC. He is the offense’s leader. He is who we have and he is easy to root for. The team is getting propped up pretty high in a lot of corners of the internet but this is only year 2. Geno is part of that.
Not to mention, that Geno’s 2nd half of the year, looked much, much worse than the first half.
Sure, one could excuse the decline in play, and chalk it up to injuries to the offensive line, etc… but it could also be that the first half was unsustainable, and Geno simply regressed to more of the decent to good QB that he likely is.
Defenses may have adjusted to him once they got some tape on him.
Remember how a simple shift to cover-2, completely flummoxed Russ and our offense a few years back?
Those predicting another huge improvement from Geno, at this point in his career, are probably being overly optimistic. The most recent results for a player (especially an older player), are the best predictor of future results.
* I’m not saying that anyone here is predicting huge improvement from Geno going forward… but that *is* a narrative I’ve heard from the local media, 710 ESPN, Hawkblogger, etc.
That Geno has “room to grow”, and that with a year under his belt as a starter in this offense, he should take a further step forward and be even better than last year.
Sure, it’s possible… but based upon his 2nd half last year, it seems like wishful thinking.
Those are the kinds of places that I would expect over-optimism about Geno. He isn’t going to grow and improve. He’s going to decline. He is 32. He could be at this level for a year or two, but there is no getting better for himself, just the offense.
He’s had one good HALF of football since he’s been in the league.
And something that you made me think about when you mentioned defenses adjusting: does he have the offensive coaching to even help him? For me, the jury is still out on Waldron. I have more faith that Greg Olson will be a bigger benefit.
It is fair to expect improvement from Geno this year.
Three solid running backs, the second year of the tackles, more familiarity with DK-Lockett-the TEs and adding JSN should produce nicely.
The challenge I wonder about is will Geno suffer from The Russell Wilson Problem?
The defense is terrible, so when Geno isn’t spot-on fantastic, his mistakes are magnified because the defense can’t cover for him (let alone get him the ball back).
Playoff game: SF down by 1 point at the half, 17-16.
They take the kick and march 75 yards for a TD. 23-17 SF
Geno marches them right down the field but is strip sacked at the 19 and SF recovers.
SF marches 70 yards in 7 plays, with 2 explosives and a 2pt conversion. 31-17 SF.
Offense stalls and they punt. SF covers 76 yards in 2 plays. 38-17 SF.
11 mins to play down 3 TDs, Geno has to gear up and throws an INT (and Lenoir makes a fantastic play).
Defense lets the offense burn 6 minutes off the clock and allows a FG. 41-17 SF.
I will be extremely curious to see if we get more of this in 2023, and if so, will PC do his “the defense is fine we just have to tweak some things” and “the QB needs to focus and make better decisions, and maybe we need to be less aggressive with him” routine?
Fair to expect improvement from 1st half Geno, 2nd half Geno, or something in-between?
I think a slight improvement over the whole-season numbers is a reasonable expectation.
1) I studied So-kraits and Play-Doh too, and no one is impressed with me.)
2.) Chris Simms would know more about quarterbacking if he still had a spleen.
3.) Here is my prediction: JSN is going to consistently put up good, but not great number every week. Nobody is going to be impressed. Then, right around week 10, you are going to look at his stats and say, “Holy crap he has 800 yards and eight touchdowns!”
Looks like Mario Edwards contract details finally came out and it is a MSB deal. Cap hit of $1,092,500 with only $152,500 in guaranteed money.
I love how people have been writing his name down in ink on the final 53. Top Billin did a hype video on him because of course he did.
This is Alton Smith. Bring a veteran in with some pocket change guarantees and if he outplays a DL rookie, great, he gets to stay for a while. If not, hit the bricks and that guaranteed money is a cheap insurance policy.