Am now very concerned re the QB situation. I know you have been down on the idea of Jimmy G coming but would there not be a solution where you have Jimmy G take over (as late in the pre-season as this is), keeping the seat warm for whichever college QB we draft next year and have him mentor that rookie? Alternative is Geno or Drew mentors and surely Jimmy is preferable?
Don
I think Gino is the perfect QB for this team. The last thing the Hawks need is a quality QB that makes them look better than they really are. Russel Wilson carried the team to higher levels than they deserved in recent years, and it showed in the playoffs.
My personal hope for this season is to get in position to obtain high draft picks and rebuild. If the right franchise QB exists this year they will be able to draft him. I am not upset about the season, because I have low expectations and I am looking forward to the draft.
stregatto
I’ll have what Don’s having. I’d like to stay calm and practical this year.
mtpgod
I agree re: rebuild, and the worse we perform, the better chance we get a franchise-altering rookie qb next year. I’d still just want to see what Lock would do with a full season, might be disastrous or he might improve dramatically with a change of scenery (pressure is off here) and show us at the very least he’ll be a top-flight backup to the rookie we bring into town next season. Geno is Geno, 35-40th best qb in the NFL, not sexy, but not terrible.
Peter
I get fairly worried by fans that are in full on r-e-l-a-x mode.
Talking about how the play makers aren’t playing. Big hopes for Walker. Until I see it Penny is just a guy. Less than 400 yards and three tds a season doesn’t make you a playmaker.
Obviously DK and Lockett are awesome. But a third WR seems like a chicken/egg thing. Someone needs to emerge AND a qb needs to get them to rise up. Both working together.
Glor
I agree, I’m fine with Geno or Lock at QB not elevating the team and being a game manager, but to see the problems EVERYWHERE else, that is concerning. The lack of talent across the board and the lack of discipline.
Peter
Exactly. Currently it’s a lot of problems in all three phases.
Ashish
I feel confident Geno can give us #1 pick next draft. May be by end of season we might not watch seahawks regular season game on TV.
Any Mariners playoff games or regular season games that are critical to playoffs take precedent. Any Gonzaga men’s hoop game takes precedent.
All I see is 12s
I wasn’t aware Gonzaga had a football team
JimQ
A good High School game may be a lot more fun that watching the Seahawks this season.
Had a thought that originated in this last draft. I like the concept of picking 2 players at your positions of needs. So, I hope that in 2023 they not only get their QB of choice but add a mid-round developmental QB as well.
I said “Gonzaga men’s HOOPS”
In case you’re not aware of the term, hoops is basketball.
All I see is 12s
Gotcha. I’m on the Seahawks Draft Blog dedicated to my beloved Seattle Seahawks which boasts the best analyst in the business. I don’t even consider basketball a sport (More of a backyard game you send the soft kids to so they don’t get hurt) so my apologies for not understanding your context.
Soft? Rules have definitely made the game more of a finesse sport, but you obviously have never watched games from the 70s and 80s. It was a rough sport. I’m also pretty sure you wouldn’t call those guys soft to their faces. I know I wouldn’t.
All I see is 12s
Well I would and have. Also have you ever seen basketball players fight? It’s like wa tamer version of bunnies fighting. Eg- try to slap the dude- miss – then wait to be held back before you really start acting tough. Soft game, soft rules… but please- enjoy
mtpgod
Interesting but understandable. Everyone has sports they don’t even consider “sports,” we probably all love football since we’re on this blog. Mine are baseball and hockey, both bore the crap out of me, although a live baseball game with a few beers is doable as long as the company you’re with is good, I can’t get into it at all and they’re a definite no-watch on tv.
Tomas
Undefeated since 1941.
Jordan
As long as Cross, Lucas, Walker, Lewis, Mafe, Taylor, Brooks, Bryant, Woolen, Brown show that they can be big time players, and improve as the season goes along, I’m not actually particularly concerned about the W-L record itself.
But, if the team as a whole looks sloppy, undisciplined and poorly coached, rather than just suffering from poor QB play, that is a real issue.
I really hope that 2022 parallels 2011 in most ways.
Jabroni-DC
It took 3 very good to great drafts in a row & some critical additions via trade & FA to build that championship team.
Did we just have our first very good to great foundational draft of this new era in 2022? That is where the hope lies & finding out the answer to that question is my only real interest in this coming season. Even if the answer is yes there is a long road ahead to contention. One thing is for sure, we need to nail the upcoming drafts.
Eric J
Agree with this – the season is going to be rough, but let’s not lose our nerve and give away any draft capital just because we suck. We knew this would be like this. Hang on folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
Jordan
I feel like 2020 probably gave them 3 long-term solid starters in Brooks, Taylor and Lewis.
Ashish
Yes probably they need to fix the mistakes like giving big contract to Adams. Next 2 years will difficult to watch Hawks. Let’s hope Hawks make it easy on their viewer but let’s prepare for the worst. Last preseason is reminder that it can be unwatchable at times.
Jerrry
This is my take too. The team looked terrible…but they are rebuilding. They look unprepared…but this is a short-term issue. Even if it results in major changes in the coaching staff…is that a bad thing?
This team isn’t going to be good this year. They probably won’t be good next year, as they’ll almost definitely have a rookie QB. This club isn’t close. I think they’ll be picking in the top-5 next year. Their realistic window of contention opens in 2024.
Instead of short-term results, I think we need to focus on the fundamentals. They just had a great draft. They have a ton of draft capital going forward. Their salary cap situation should be good, assuming they don’t do stupid shit.
What is the worst case scenario here? The Hawks could easily lose 12-13 games. That will allow them to draft their next QB without trading up. If they are truly terrible, there will probably be changes in the coaching staff. Is that bad? I wouldn’t mind seeing some new ideas in the building.
If you’re hoping the Hawks will be back in the playoffs in 2023, you’re likely to be disappointed. But their best way to get back to the top is to bounce off the bottom. That’s their current trajectory, and that’s not bad.
McZ
A rebuild starts first and foremost with a decision at HC.
We have to be honest to ourselves. Jody Allen will not replace PC. That ship has sailed. She has decided, that PC will lead this effort, and short of a player revolt she will give him any benefit of a doubt.
Even if she fired him….”Some new ideas” with a team drafted to PCs philosophy won’t cut it. And, btw, this philosophy has dramatically changed since 2016. One by one, he sorted out the natural leaders, read: the opposition, in the team. Now, we have a leadership gap, that no tea cup can fill.
And this is indeed the problem here. Pete ball, that will take us nowhere. A logic hole, that won’t be fixed by drafting Will Levis.
Next year’s draft with 9 picks is going to help big time, I hope the Seahawks trade away a safety since we’re loaded there (Adams/Diggs/Neal/Jones are studs, then there’s Blair to trade) and accumulate even more picks for next year. Tough to do anything to build a dynasty when you have only 3 picks like last year.
WallaSean
That was a repugnant exhibition. If they don’t have a dominant rushing attack, they stand little chance of anything productive or capable of development on offense. Same thing with special teams, shambolic failure will stunt the development of the new core. The offensive offense and the especially poor special teams will leave the young defense in a defenseless position, tired and worn out for the next game before it starts. We have seen this before, with a HOF QB. They should just make their cuts now and play the starters next week against their scrubs to establish something.
Blitzy the Clown
I agree with everything you said and I’ll add a concern about the team culture.
I saw precious little energy, enthusiasm, spirit, etc. from Seattle. Most of what I did see in that regard came in the 4th quarter from Eason, who at least played like it meant something.
I know it’s just one preseason game for me to make a sweeping assumption about the status of the team’s culture, but Chicago showed up dialed in. They were about business. Meanwhile, Seattle was passive and disengaged and almost apathetic.
I guess that’s what you get when the HC goes out of his way to tell the world there isn’t a competition at QB and Geno’s the guy — you get a Geno who isn’t playing to win the starting spot, you get a Geno who’s playing not to lose it. You get a safe Geno who won’t turn it over on a 3rd and long – on any of the what, dozen, 3rd and longs that Geno safes the offense into over the course of just two and a half quarters.
i’ll tell you this right now, Seattle’s season lives and dies by the production of their running backs.
And as Rob said, Chicago had a short week AND had to travel halfway across the country and they looked energized and “into it”.
The “culture” looks bad, really bad, preseason or not.
Peter
So sick of the short turn around excuses. Seems anymore we’re the only team effected but it.
Don
I look at this poor performance and really bad season as a blessing in disguise. Yes, we all want to win every game or at least be competitive. But obviously the Hawks lack the talent and the coaching, so I would rather the Hawks be really bad and get high draft picks.
The worse place for any sports team to be is a .500 team, not good enough to win a playoff game and not bad enough to pick top level talent in the draft. This is where the Hawks have been for the past several years, and it has finally caught up with them.
I am glad to see the Hawks this bad, and I am excited to about getting the #1 pick in the 1st rd, #1 pick in the second round, etc. Get a new young promising coaching staff and think long term.
Jordan
Yep, 4 picks in the top 60 (if not better, as I don’t envision Denver as a playoff team) + DK, Lockett, Fant, Walker, Cross, Lucas, Lewis, Ford, Brooks, Taylor, Mafe, Bryant, Woolen, Brown, Diggs and Dickson is an extremely attractive opportunity for any potential future Head Coach. Especially if you think you can time your ascent with a new QB around the same time that Brady, Rodgers, and Stafford are starting to call it a career in the NFC. Maybe it attracts Sean Payton, maybe Belichick has an opt out and doesn’t see a path back to contention in the AFC (Patriots are in tough).
That said, I don’t think Jodi Allen would have green lit the Russell Wilson trade if she was willing to fire HC/GM based upon the results of the first season post-Wilson. Otherwise you would have just kept Wilson and moved on from the staff.
“The worse place for any sports team to be is a .500 team, not good enough to win a playoff game and not bad enough to pick top level talent in the draft. This is where the Hawks have been for the past several years, and it has finally caught up with them.”
Wasting 2 picks on an ineffective box safety (ranked in the 60s 2 yrs in a row by PFF) really hurt too.
I’m really hoping Clint Hurtt gets on the mic sometime this week. I’d LOVE to hear what he has to say.
He is so plain spoken and he has some fire to him- there’s a story out there of him destroying some video equipment at halftime a while back when he was just the DL coach.
His insights would be far more interesting than anything Pete said.
And speaking of what Pete said – he talked of “postponing” the decision on the QB competition. It’s starting to get to a place where he is not helping anything by not just going with Geno. I’d rather see what Lock has to offer but if it’s Geno just say it is Geno.
That word – postponing – was used a lot by Pete in the middle of their 1-6 stretch last year. “Let’s postpone judgement on this season as long as we can” and it was just another one of those “pete is talking out of his rear” turns of phrase.
12th chuck
I am not as fired up about the new d coordinator. A d line minded coach, in charge of a d that can’t stop the run or tackle. Maybe PC still has his hands all over the play calling, obviously still does on the o play calls
CHaquesFan
I think Carroll is holding out hope for anyone but Geno, hoping that Lock can come in and win the job
My hunch says DK wins over that distance because of higher top speed even though Tariq starts off quicker. Most likely depends on who has the better start/technique in each rep though.
Metcalf topped out at 22.64 mph during the chase down of Budda Baker.
Tariq had a max speed of 22.45 mph recorded at the Senior Bowl. (highest ever recorded there since Zebra started tracking, btw)
TomLPDX
Can we just start calling Tariq the Road Runner! Meep Meep!!
Seems I made the right choice in going to a concert last night instead of the game. Still haven’t watched it, and don’t plan to. While I’ll admit everything I’ve read sparks some concern, truthfully I’m not panicking yet. It’s preseason, the team is young, and so are most of the coaches. I have some (though it’s waning) faith that the team will improve gradually and be more competitive by the end of the year. But…the most concerning things for me aren’t Charles Cross’ penalties or Myers’ awful kicking, it’s the fact we didn’t appear ready for the game. If true, that’s a colossal red flag to be having now.
One of the interesting things to watch, I think, will be the fan reactions to this season. If we are truly as terrible as we showed last night, I think Pete will just retire or be fired, the fanbase will be too rabid. The setting of expectations has been brought up, and while those of us capable of making inferences know Pete’s just being Pete and will never say he’s rebuilding, I can see a lot of the more cursory fans being furious.
Sea Mode
I hadn’t seen this of DK. Wow! (but hold on to the ball…)
Speaking of him, I did just have a thought yesterday about the QB “competition”: remember the DK interview with Kevin Garnett? He was super high on Drew Lock, like that was “his guy” and we would all see. I wonder if that was just him drinking Pete’s kool-aid (limited edition contract extension flavor) or whether DK really felt that way. Does he still feel that way now after actually practicing with Lock for a while?
I guess I’m just trying to hope that Pete is going with Geno for a few games just to build up Lock’s confidence that he “won” the job away from Geno. By then, the season will be a wash anyways and with nothing to lose it will be easy to convince the fans that even someone as shaky as Lock is an exciting “upgrade/project with upside” over Geno.
STTBM
My two cents: this isn’t just preseason, and it’s not temporary. Pete Carroll has no clue, and apparently the same is true of the coaching staff.
Watching the first quarter, the offense looked eerily similar to the worst OC in NFL history, Greg Knapps under Mora. The defense looked worse than under Mora. THEN Pete channeled Mora and kept using the word “accountability” in his post-game presser: Mora infamously used that word 57 TIMES in a presser–not once referring to coaches, only to the players.
Folks, history is repeating itself. This coaching staff has slowly been drained of talent, and is going to be the joke of the NFL. The next 3-4 years are going to be fugly, no matter how well JS drafts.no matter what qb Seattle drafts, this team isn’t going to function, this staff is not going to succeed. They are utterly lost as far as coaching, and nothing is going to fix that, because it starts with Pete Carroll.
Three to four years of fugly? I don’t know. I absolutely loved this draft. You get two of these in a row and things can turn around in a hurry. Especially when we won’t be so strapped for cash.
But this year we’re not just gonna get beat with the ugly stick, we’ve climbed to the top of the ugly tree and are gonna fall and hit every branch on the way down.
Jabroni-DC
For entertainment sake,
2023 Super Bowl odds to win via Sportsline,
Buffalo Bills 6-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15-2
Green Bay Packers 11-1
Kansas City Chiefs 11-1
Los Angeles Rams 12-1
Los Angeles Chargers 15-1
San Francisco 49ers 16-1
Denver Broncos 16-1
Dallas Cowboys 20-1
Cincinnati Bengals 22-1
Baltimore Ravens 22-1
Cleveland Browns 25-1
Indianapolis Colts 25-1
Philadelphia Eagles 25-1
Las Vegas Raiders 30-1
Arizona Cardinals 35-1
Tennessee Titans 35-1
New England Patriots 40-1
New Orleans Saints 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 40-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Washington Commanders 80-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 80-1
New York Giants 100-1
Carolina Panthers 125-1
Detroit Lions 125-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 125-1
New York Jets 125-1
Chicago Bears 150-1
Seattle Seahawks 150-1
Atlanta Falcons 250-1
Houston Texans 300-1
I’m much more excited about the 2023 draft than I am about the 2022 season. Strictly in the context of that draft it would be a lot of fun if our native pick is sufficient to select ‘our guy’ at QB without burning additional resources. Then we’d have to hope that ‘our guy’ proves to be ‘the guy’ & eventually brings home a Lombardi Trophy to Seattle.
Well: I hope Pete Carroll is happy with Geno Smith behind center. The captain goes down with the Ship. With Smith behind center both Smith and Carroll can go down with their SINKING SHIP.
Or: watching Geno Smith play football is like being waterboarded.
Cambs
Rob, you’ve been a proponent of the idea that the team plays hard for Pete and he’s still a good culture-building coach, thus even if bad they’ll be somewhat competitive and not an absolute bottom-barrel, 1.01-contending team. I’m reading this video as you re-evaluating that position … true?
No, I’m not re-evaluating that because to be fair, I have challenged the so called ‘brilliant culture’ in Seattle for some time. I think there are clear examples of toxicity that we all know about.
I think Pete is a good motivator and could be a good head of the table type if he is willing to delegate. I still believe that.
One thing I’ve learned over the last 48 hours is there are actually Geno Smith stans
Who would’ve thought, eh?
Tomas
Pete is not alone in his delusions.
Peter
It is the damndest thing.
Not going to watch nor link but YouTube feed has internet best voice and weirdest takes “top billin,” doing breakdowns in Geno’s defense.
A case could maybe be made that the Jets draft plus Flacco could be competitive. Matt Ryan could potentially get the colts over a hump. This geno stuff is absurd.
Someone literally compared geno smith to… Steve young 😂😂😂😂
Robbie
Oh my goodness. Stop it! I just read all that and the comments. I’m so confused. Are people watching the same Geno I am. People are trying SOOOO hard to believe in him. The comparisons are absolutely garbage, how these guys get paid is beyond me.
Peter
The comments…..”if only he could have back one or two throws…..”
That is sport in a nutshell.
If only geno was a little better he would be pretty good, Robbie. What are these people watching!
Jabroni-DC
Without reading it I’m pretty sure they meant the comparison in reference to Steve Young now (60 years old) & not Steve Young in his prime. In that case it may be accurate.
Peter
Lol!
Blitzy the Clown
After watching most of Denver @ Buffalo I think the Broncos and the Seahawks are fairly similar this year, with the one obvious exception.
Which is to say, I really like our chances for a great draft next year.
CaptainJack
Broncos roster doesn’t impress me that much. Especially without Tim Patrick, who was one of the more underrrated big body / contested catch guys in the league.
And Noah Fant.
Good running backs, average offensive line, unknown at tight end, good receivers. On defense Chubb and Gregory are both boom or bust. Who knows. Mediocre inside linebackers and questionable dt depth. Secondary looks strong. Overall, a middle of the pack roster.
STTBM
Um, I think the most obvious difference in the two teams isn’t the qb: it’s the coaching staff. Seattle’s is stale, clueless, lost and inept. So far, Denver’s is not
Blitzy the Clown
I might have been a bit off with my less than enthusiastic opinion of Karlaftis
CaptainJack
Because he got a sack in a preseason game against one of the worst teams in the nfl?
Lol
Blitzy the Clown
Two sacks in two games.
But don’t let me get in the way of your condescension. BTW, feel better now?
GoHawksDani
He destroyed a double team, and on almost all play pushed his blocker back onto the the QB’s lap. He seemed much better than Mafe to me. Not crowning him, he might will have 3 sacks or 10-12 yearly, but at least I can see him making 10-12 sacks, while I can’t see much of Mafe. Mafe right now doesn’t seem much better than Alton Robinson to me. Not a bad player by far, but I can only see him making 4-5 sacks and 3-4 TFLs in his better years. He just doesn’t dominate. Has great motor, but only OK passrush moves, and couldn’t see him overpowering OTs
Chris
We actually can do something about Jason Myers. His cap number is $5m. But $4m of which is salary that is currently un-guranteed but will guarantee when the season starts since he is a vested veteran. I’d rather put a young player out a min salary. If they are a rookie, we could get lucky and have the ERFA rights on a decent kicker for two more seasons on a cheap deal. At a minimum we save $3m+ and still have a bad kicker.
CaptainJack
I think we’re all overrating preseason a little bit.
For example, marquise Blair’s missed tackles.
Why on earth would he try to tackle full speed every play in a preseason game, when he’s already pretty much guaranteed to make the team after the Amadi trade.
Like, he’s lost so much time to injury at the point. Why risk more injury now? Psychologically, it should surprise no one he’s purposefully playing soft in a meaningless preseason game.
BruceN
I would agree with that if he didn’t have 9 tackles and a head shot roughing penalty. He was going full speed in my eyes. I also am not sure his job is safe if Josh Jones keeps up his level of play.
DK
It kills me to read blog posts on here with people like Captain. Blair has only one speed, it’s 4th gear or 10th or whatever you want to call it. The guy was awesome for Utah, but he’s also a classic tweener, outside LB in the NFL or ‘Big’ run SS near the LOS that closes off the run on one side of the field. (think Adams) That Mofo sold, and sells, his body on hits, Marquis that is.
In other words, he sacrificed/sacrifices his body on hits, and I know this as a P12 and Dawg fan, the guy had/has my respect….. long before his Hawk jersey went on. There is nothing ‘soft’ about his game, and it pisses me off that this kind of post is even allowed here. Maybe he is done physically from the abuse of the game on his body. Calling him soft, if you know him as a player, is bullshit.
Debate the point, don’t hammer the blog because someone has said something you disagree with
DC
I just can’t get over the fact that the team was booed…during the first half…in the preseason. Fans won’t put up with much of this going into the season?
Seriously when has that ever happened?
CaptainJack
I’m good with fans booing. There needs to be a standard.
A fan base and athletic department with no standards is what has led the UW football program to linger in mediocrity for decades
DC
Agreed. It just blows me away that is what this team has become under Pete Carroll. You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villian
Mr drucker in hooterville
Wyman said in his postgame that he thought Geno looked terrific.
I wish they’d had the ability to draft someone like Channing Tindall
And I’m surprised they didn’t use some of their available cap space on another LB who can seriously compete to start
Peter
Plus note:
Linebacker is one of my favorite positions to look at during draft time and they almost have to draft one to shore up what looks like a weak area on the inside.
1. Qb
2. Game wrecking 3-4 DE
3. Center….maybe road grading guard if Blythe is more than a journeymen.
4. ILB. Perhaps this is less of a need I just have very little faith in the current lineup.
5. True third WR…unless something awesome happens with Melton and/or Young. I just don’t think Eskridge will ever be at full potential.
6. Sadly….safety. Diggs getting older and of course the other guy.
Ashish
Beating dead horse here but imagine drafting Creed Humphrey instead of Eskridge. Never understood PC not giving importance to center.
Mr drucker in hooterville
#3 WR May already be on roster. This season will tell us.
I’m sure that’ll prove as fruitful as the last few years of ‘waiting for roster cuts to add players’
BruceN
I didn’t suggest they will find a gem doing the dumpster diving. I just said that’s what they (and many other teams) like to do. Even the final 53 man roster is not safe because of all the last minute roster shuffling.
Perhaps(?)
Jayden Reed, WR/KR Michigan St., Currently ranked as an early/to/middle day-3 pick. A fast & slippery WR with some success as a WR & he ranks highly as a punt & kick returner, a 2 for 1 pick? Check him out, reminds me a lot of Tyler Lockett.
JimQ
WR-Jayden Reed, Michigan State —-> per: Sports-Reference.com
2021: 13-games, 59-receptions/1026-yds, 17.4-ypr, 10-TD’s
+ 16 KO returns/376-yds. 23.5-ypr, 0-TD’s
+ 11 PUNT returns/238-yds, **21.6-YPR** & **2-TD’s**
cha
JennaLaineESPN
@JennaLaineESPN
Source tells me that it’s a torn ACL/MCL for Bucs guard Aaron Stinnie. Really tough break. He was very much pushing for that starting left guard spot.
8:39 AM · Aug 21, 2022·
I wonder if the Bucs would be interested in trading a future 7th round pick for a reliable veteran option on the interior…
Blitzy the Clown
What an interesting gabe to ponder. I jackson they probably do.
Sea Mode
So now they lost their starting center and guard before the season even starts? Ouch.
So, second game of the season, recorded the game and was really looking forward to the playback. Watching the rookies, analyzing the plays in slow motion, just looking forward to an all around good time with my favorite team.
But as we all know, it wasn’t a good game. The team wasn’t prepared to play, no game plan and much to my surprise it appears that several defensive players have attended the Jamal Adams Advanced Tackling & Contact Course and taken it to heart. But I was kinda ok with all of that, young team, a lot of new faces and new coaches. I expected a more polished product… But the one thing that made the game unwatchable for me was Pete Carroll.
Everytime I saw him on the sideline, giving an interview or just being talked about turned my stomach. It’s gotten to the point where I just despise the man. To many years of watching him mismanage my favorite team. It’s really gotten to the point with me, that it doesn’t matter if he does well or not, he just needs to go. He’s ruining the whole experience for me.
New ownership, coaches and front office personnel, I can’t wait!
By staying, especially to oversee the Wilson trade, he’s run the serious risk of turning off a lot of fans
Because this will be ugly before it potentially gets good again
And there’s a very real chance he’s going to really taint his reputation in Seattle and be remembered as the man who built something special, wasted a few years then dealt a franchise QB
Not even the most blinkered fan can predict ‘at least 7 wins’ at this point
Group Captain Mandrake
Does that include the 2023 season? I would be amazed if they managed 7 wins this season. I hope that it doesn’t if I am being honest. Winning 7 games only serves to possibly take them out of range of the really good QBs and I doubt they make the playoffs with 7 wins either so it doesn’t really accomplish anything. I am fine with a losing season as long as there is improvement and hope for the future.
Seeing Jacksonville play a competitive game against Shittsburgh last night did not make me feel any better about this loss. And I don’t know about you, but whenever Trevor Lawrence’s lips are moving (JohnnyUtah @ Pointbreak .com) this is what I hear: “LOOK at my hair. Look AT my hair. Look at MY hair. Lookat my HAIR.”
I don’t think it was tenable to keep Wilson any longer. Check back on what Ian Furness said about the locker room and Wilson. It wasn’t all a Carroll v. Wilson thing.
I will say though that I do wonder if the Seahawks forgot how to coach quarterbacks a bit because of Wilson. Wilson is not a typical quarterback when it comes to how he plays. I think the Ringer said he was basically the back yard quarterback that worked out. He did things that wouldn’t work for many other quarterbacks.
I’m not defending Geno at all, but I just wonder if they forgot how to use a “regular” quarterback.
cha
Bob Condotta
@bcondotta
·
1h
Drew Lock back at Seahawks practice today.
It’s part of your job to know who Robert Quinn is when you’re a NFL left tackle
bmseattle
Utterly ridiculous story.
Even if Cross had somehow never heard of Quinn (unlikely), we are supposed to believe that no one on the coaching staff mentioned him… none of his teammates?
Pete treats the fanbase like children or fools.
12th chuck
add that in with what he said about Lock being so sick etc. now he is at practice. pete treats the fanbase like children or fools is an understatement lol
CaptainJack
Carroll has been made fun of for years for understating the severity of injuries.
Now he apparently overstates them to make excuses for players…
Lol
Sometimes I think we just hate on Carroll because it’s fun
CaptainJack
Honestly
I just don’t care if he knows who Quinn is or not. He hasn’t been a relevant player in the media in awhile.
A lot of NFL players aren’t nfl fan boys like we are
Robert Quinn is one of the biggest name pass rushers in the NFL
If you are paid to pass protect, knowing who he is should be a given
ukalex6674
100% right he should. So that means then if we believe the take on Cross that no film was looked at or studied in the D-Line room?
It’s nothing about being a fanboy, it’s about studying and knowing who you are playing against.
CaptainJack
To play devils advocate…
the coaching staff wouldn’t even know if Quinn would play at all. It’s preseason.
CaptainJack
Robert Quinn was a much bigger name earlier in his career. He’s still a great player, but I’d argue he’s underrated and newer nfl fans may not have heard of him. When you play college football, you’re so busy with practice and academics you don’t have enough time to keep up to date with all 32 nfl teams
Didn’t they do a pre draft interview to see if this guy was somewhat interested in football – watch it from time to time? A reporter should follow-up and ask.
If really true, that he didn’t know or watch any football, I am worried he will be out of football in a few years.
Not saying he will, just not a good sign.
Mick
The only reasonable explanation is that he didn’t realize that Quinn was against him on a certain snap. Anything else makes me question our choice for LT.
Julian L
It was a confusing point, but I took it that he didn’t recognise that he was playing against Robert Quinn? He should have known his number, and done homework on his play, but Cross may of assumed he’d be playing against a backup. Clearly more worrying if he’d never heard of him, but I didn’t read it like this?
Well Carroll literally says he didn’t know who he was
Peter
Hopefully he and the oline staff are going to use that statement to start going through all the players Cross will face.
It may seem sacrilege to us wonky fans to not know Robert Quinn but I can very well see young rookies not knowing players by name. However that doesn’t excuse knowing the player by film and number.
Makes a little worried that the better game against Pittsburgh was a mirage since Watt didn’t play.
Bmseattle
I wonder if he knows who Aaron Donald is?
If not…should anyone tell him? 🤔
Peter
Probably best to leave that as a surprise. Lord knows the staff seems to be surprised by him every year.
I don’t know about you guys, but these days, I believe a fraction of what Pete Carroll says. About anything.
Seriously, and I hate saying this, but Carroll – and his inexplicable penchant for hyperbole that borders on outright gaslighting – is ruining my experience of the Seahawks.
I don’t mean to get political, but it’s such an apt analogy – I take what Carroll says with as much confidence as what Trump says. They’re both full of bollocks. And they’re both wholly incapable of accepting responsibility for the failures of their own actions.
I’m so pissed at Carroll, I actually start to hate him, and see him as the root of all that is wrong with this org.
If this is a lie:
1, Does he really disrespects the fans that bad?
2, Was this the best lie he could think of? How about: “We really emphasized starting quick on the OL, and beating your assignment at the point of attack. We want our OTs to attack the defenders, and scrubbed this idea into them heavily during this week’s practices. Cross did an awesome job, but he was a bit too eager to do this. We’ll dial a bit down and it’ll be amazing”. Perfect explanation and saves face for Charles
3, Shows that PC doesn’t feel ownership about his, his staffs’ or players’ mistakes
If this is true:
1, Shows how unprepared the players are
2, Shows how little the coaches help them prepare
3, This is gonna be a sh*tshow
I get it…this is only preseason, Quinn might not even play…BUT…Cross is a rookie. He should develop good habits RIGHT NOW. Coaches should go over the starters, the potential opponents they see, the other team’s coaches, tendencies, playstyles with players already. They should build a culture of knowing your opponent, watching film, study them. Especially with rookies.
I don’t follow the NFL in general, and I only watch a couple of KC, NOLA games and the playoffs. I suck at other teams’ players and only jumped to watch NFL in ’11 or something like that. I didn’t see Quinn played a ton, but even I know the name, and that he is a good defensive player with crazy stats.
I don’t expect players, especially rookies, especially offensive rookies to be familiar with RB2s or WR3s of every other team. But I expect them to know who are the top20-30 defensive player currently. Who are the current best passrushers on every team, and who are the defensive players on the next week’s opponent’s roster. Especially the #1 and #2s who’ll likely make the roster.
If Cross really had no idea who Quinn was, then it is even worse than his 5 penalties
SeaTown
Sadly this team is DOA until 1- Jody Allen has the courage to clean out JS/PC or 2- Jody Allen sells the team and a new owner cleans house.
Until then we are watching PC destroy his legacy by turning this team into garbage. It’s over for PC he just refuses to admit it.
STTBM
Preach! I agree 100%!
509 Chris
I tend to agree with Robs musings that Carrol may very well be asking what the hell he’s still doing this for. Perhaps he deluded himself into thinking last year’s troubles were just the russ injury, maybe they struggled to plan on the fly around geno, but a full off-season with geno at the helm wod lead to success. Seeing the product on the field now may sober pete up to reality. I know this was rabbit hole stuff but I do believe deep down Pete doesn’t want to totally destroy his legacy. If he can get through this season and get out with any fan support however is an entirely different conversation.
Ashish
Just imagine 2 games of preseason and there’s so much of panic. If Geno starts season and lost 5 games where he plays pathetic
Julian L
Still some interesting FA Linebackers out there. Dont’a Hightower and Anthony Hitchens stand out. Or a day 3 pick with a player, for a starting calibre linebacker wouldn’t trouble me either.
I still think the team should bring in a veteran Offensive Tackle, Nate Solder or Eric Fisher. Those Rookie’s are going to need a break at some point, they’ll be reading opposition playbooks for the first time for every game this season. I’d also hate for them to lose confidence with excessive penalties or a bad game (Ifedi anyone). It can take a lot to come back from such situations at the start of your career. We need our bookends long term.
Peter
I’m okay with bringing in someone to back the tackles up.
However with Cross, I personally expect (and hope because I’m trying to be optimistic,) that he takes his lumps and grows this season. To me a confidence killer is pulling him for a aging veteran.
A top ten pick should play every single snap available short of injury.
I know he had a poor showing but his first start was decent.
On the note of Lucas. Though I hope both play great I think Lucas is going to be the better selection in time. And the tiny bits I have seen from him I don’t think he needs to be spelled out for any reason. The only thing at all holding him back is this coaching staff goofing around with a camp battle. Curhan is a good run blocker. Lucas could be a great tackle.
Henry Taylor
Cross’ last showing was also quite good other than the penalties, which you obviously can’t have in the regular season, but they are theoretically easier to fix than an inability to block people.
He may not know who Robert Quinn is, but he handled him really well when he wasn’t jumping early.
DarrellDownUnder
Don’t think the OT’s will be out there that much with a lot of 3 & outs, time of possession differential will be huge.
JulianL
Curhan needs to be moved to Guard full time. He plays well there. He could play Tackle in an emergency situation, but shouldn’t be considered in this role on the depth chart.
Yes pulling him for an aging Vet isn’t what you want, but it’s almost unprecedented in the NFL that two Rookie Offensive Tackles have no veteran in that important position with significant NFL snaps to learn from. As highlighted in an earlier post, it looks like Cross in particular needs mentoring in game day preparation and on field awareness as much as technical adjustments. This real world approach comes best from experienced current players as off field coaches.
The worse case scenario is they lose Cross for any extended period during the season and the FO panic into trading a Day 1 or 2 pick for a replacement. We need all these picks for the QB next year. So get that Vet in now!
JulianL
Sorry meant to link this under Peter’s post above.
Peter
Injuries worry me of course. The whole line concerns me as well. As does the possibility of his lack of preparedness.
I’m pro-wilson but hopefully the two of them playing with a more regular style offense will help them moving forward.
I’ve made it known that the lack of leaders all over the team is going to be an issue this year. Hopefully blythe does what a decent center can do and organize the new oline. And though Pete is going to say Pete things. I take this as a bit of an indictment not just on Cross but on the coaches as well if they are not getting him ready for an opponent. Additionally it sucks but hopefully when dissly is playing he can provide some support since they are paying him mid tier oline money for his blocking prowess.
They didn’t want to spend a day three flier on a veteran QB so I’d say the chances of trading for a stop-gap fill-in veteran tackle mid-season are virtually nil, let alone for a day one or two pick.
If Cross gets hurt it’ll be Stone Forsythe.
no frickin clue
Vikings just traded for Nick Mullens, and this comes after an underwhelming performance by Kellen Mond (10/20, 82 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs). Maybe Mond is available? Although it could also mean that it’s Sean Mannion who is available in trade.
Spectator
If Mond cant impress in Minn, why would we want him? He does look better than Smith.
JJ
I think you just answered your own question.
Spectator
was meant to be “doesnt”, cause as bad as smith has looked, Mond hasnt looked better.
no frickin clue
Small sample size. Who knows, maybe he’s been given poor coaching, or the offense isn’t the right fit for him. But if the trade-off were a low-rent draft pick, I think it would be worth a flyer.
Tariq Woolen has freaky size and athleticism, but he’s not afraid to play football. I think this is why he keeps edging closer and closer to becoming their starter at RCB so early.
Peter
As soon as Woolen can work on getting his head turned around he has the chance to be a pretty special player.
Beastie
Also in that clip, that terrible missed tackle by Blair isn’t getting enough attention. My god, what a 2nd round bust he is shaping up to be.
no frickin clue
Well he *is* unofficially leading the team in un-defendable hits to the head, so there’s that.
DriveByPoster
I usually agree with you, cha, but on this occassion I will beg to differ. Tackling someone around the shoulders is very poor technique. The centre of gravity works against you. He should be coming in low & driving through the player.
I wasn’t complementing his specific technique, it’s that he had the guts and strength to make that play.
I pointed it out because a perception can be built that this guy is so fast and sleek he may not be up for the real grind of football.
He easily could have made a token attempt, reasoning it’s a preseason game and the score doesn’t matter anyway. But no. He went after him with authority.
Our $70million safety could learn a thing or two about this from our 5th round rookie.
It’s a good suggestion cha, but the problem is that our 70 million dollar safety would be late to the play so no chance he’d go after the guy with authority. He’d just pile on late, possibly hurt one of our guys and then peacock it like he made the play.
Not to mention a low driving tackle wrapping arms around the legs (usually the best practice) at that point would have probably resulted in the player falling forward and scoring a touchdown with arms reached out.
We look like crap. So now I’m going to invest all our time to try and make sure we don’t completely embarrass ourselves in front of a national audience against Russell Wilson’s Denver
So the competition is done. Whatever has happened up to now, that’s your lot
TomLPDX
Some competition this was…what a joke.
Henry Taylor
Seems that way, unfortunate but probably inconsequential. Still fairly likely we see Lock start some games at some point this year.
I think the plan all along was to have Geno Smith start until he sucks and then Drew Lock
comes in with less pressure. Probably the best plan in reality.
Ashish
I bet Lock will get rep with number one offense before 3rd pre season game.
Gross MaToast
Our guys are in the classroom right now, busting their tails trying to figure it out. They want to get this thing right and learning all of the players from other teams, you know, it’s something that – it’s like the moon landing, some people said it couldn’t be done and other people say we never went, that it was a hoax and, you know, it’s really impossible to know who’s right, but I guess it’s like when we drafted Russell, they asked if I wanted Russell and I said, “sure, “ thinking it was JaMarcus, but it was a different Russell – Russell as a first name, Russell Winston, I mean Wilson, see I was thinking of Jameis, so many guys with similar names, I mean – I met another guy named a Pete once and I was like, are you me? – so it’s confusing for these guys and, you know, I’m not even sure they had names in college so this is new to them, but we’ll get it figured out and get this thing back on track ‘cause, doggone it, these guys just care so much. They want to be the best. Also, Jamarcus Adams has a herniated pinky toe and will miss the rest of the season. I mean, Jamal. See, it happens to all of us.
CD
Just peed my pants again GMT.
GoHawksDani
“I’m not even sure they had names in college so this is new to them” roflmao :DDDDD
James P
Love this!!
Old but Slow
Well done. “…are you me?” I lost it.
no frickin clue
Projected 2022 season, by quarter and Pete’s best spin for Jody Allen:
Games 1-4:
2-2 record
L, L, W, W
Spin: We’re Right in There, Battling, Starting to Turn The Corner
Games 5-8:
1-3 record
L, L, L, W
Spin: It’s a Journey, No One Said It Would Be Easy. Also, Injuries.
Games 9-12:
1-3 record
W, L, L, L
Spin: We’re Going To Work Our Tails Off To Make This Right. Also, We’re Young.
Games 13-17:
3-2 record
W, W, L, W, L
Spin: See? Look How We Finished! Progress! I’m Super-Excited About Next Season!
(I don’t see 7 wins out of this mess but maybe you’ll be correct)
Peter
On the one hand Pete carrol 7 win team, Yada, Yada, etc.
On the other hand some of these games that looked like near locks in another world are starting to feel like pick’ems.
GoHawksDani
Question for the community:
Which teams’ games are worth following though the season? Especially younger, up-and-coming teams. I like KC (Mahomes, Kelce fun to watch), I know Bills or Chargers might be interesting too.
Can the Jets/Jags/Dolphins be entertaining this year?
I’ll watch the Hawks games, but just out of loyalty. Those won’t bring much fun and joy…and if I paid good money for Gamepass, I’d like to get some good times out of it
Mick
Depends what kind of football you like to watch. For example I enjoyed watching the Ravens a couple times last year. I would also like to see how Panthers and Dolphins will develop this season. Bills and Chargers are an obvious option. If you’re past the Wilson history, Broncos might also have nice offensive games.
Henry Taylor
The Ravens seem to be recommitting to the full Greg Roman heavy formation read option offense that made them the most fun team to watch in 2019. New young DC coming in to spice up that unit as well, with funky players like Kyle Hamilton for added fun.
Bengals with Joe Burrow also always make for entertaining viewing.
I think the short answer might just be the AFC.
Peter
All the teams Mick and Henry Taylor mentioned are great ones.
The afc west. There’s a couple of big story lines. Since I like Wilsin minus his weirdness and that team has blog favorites it will be an easy watch. Really like to see if the Chargers are for real because if they are not they are going to pay a ton of money at QB and have less resources for that team.
Are the Bengals going to remain contenders? History is not too kind to the superbowl losing team. Are the ravens going to take over?
Odd teams to pay attention to: jets….awesome looking draft. And finally, JAX. I’d like to see if Trevor Lawrence really is the best pure qb prospect with the absolute crappiest of luck to be on an urban meyer team.
509 Chris
I’ll have an eye on the jets this year. They had a killer draft. A lot of young pieces. Also I think Detroit could sneak their way to relevance this year.
GoHawksDani
Thanks fellows!
Yeah, I’m curious how RW will fair in DEN, so that’s a must watch.
I like Burrows, so Bengals also an option
AFCW seems fun.
I like a team with high energy, fly to the ball, TO creating young defense (like the Hawks was with the early LOB).
Jets has Saleh as HC, right? Or is it JAX? I liked Saleh, hoped he’d get PC’s job 😀
HOUSE
I just read a piece regarding Geno Smith and the possibility of him being cut prior to week 1 because of how his contract is structured. When I started reading and initially thought “this makes no sense”, it actually started to make a ton of sense. I don’t know what to really think anymore. I don’t understand how Smith/Lock are still in competition, but Geno saw all first team snaps yesterday. I’d like to think they’re content with Lock, but he hasn’t done anything to merit that as the QB2.
I’m not crazy, am I?
Sean-O
Geno getting cut? I don’t see that. Geno is what he is. A placeholder at best (at least for part of the season).
I am curious as to what would happen if, during final cuts around the league, a QB project becomes available. For example, let’s say PIT rolls with just Trubisky & Pickett. Is Mason Rudolph someone SEA would be interested in? WAS is another example. If they go with just Wentz & the rookie Howell, is Taylor Heinicke an option? Other young QB’s like Anthony Brown, Nathan Peterman, Brett Rypien, Sam Ehlinger, Easton Stick, etc. could be available.
QB’s like those wouldn’t change the trajectory of SEA in ’22 but it might be interesting to see if there’s anything there for ’23.
GoHawksDani
I wouldn’t mind Heinicke. If I don’t mistake him with somebody he washed up the floor with the Hawks 1-2-3 seasons ago maybe as a Rams backup QB or something like that
I don’t think there is any chance of Geno getting cut. That would be crazy.
However, a confession: I’ve been keeping the Geno and Lock cap numbers in my back pocket a little in this whole Geno vs Lock discussion.
Lock is set to make $1.5m this year. Geno makes $3.5m with incentives up to $7m.
I can easily stomach eating $3.5m to keep Geno on the team as Lock’s backup no problem. But the idea they’ll pay him another $3.5m for playtime incentives (equalling 4x what Lock makes) when Lock has been at least his equal if not better in camp, well that’s just a bridge too far.
Peter
If the plan here is to cut Geno bring in Jimmy G with no play book or training, have Jimmy g get us to holy land of NINE whole wins, and then relegate ourselves both out of contention for a new young qb but then the “opportunity,” to pay an average as average gets QB not quite Wilson money but approaching Cousins money….
Well I, my friend, will actively root for MY team to lose so hard that Pete and js are literally booed out of MY hometown. Nothing against Jimmy G. He’s fun.
They made the decision that this was the direction to go in. Just like all the nonsense trades and bad drafts the only way out of what is going on is to go forward, take every lump, and turn four picks in the first two rounds into a badass team again. If, they even have a clue how to do that anymore.
Cutting Smith without getting Lock a fair shake to work with the ones will be Jim Mora fireable levels of incompetence.
Peter
Reply to HOUSE
HOUSE
It’s exactly what I am thinking. I could see the financial reason (somewhat), but to not give Lock any run with the ones is mind-blowing.
JJ
First weekend of CFB games coming up. What are we watching?
Robbie
Quarterbacks 🙂 hahaha
Gross MaToast
“The Seahawks are a disaster and this is where hope goes to die.”
It reminds me of the South Park episode that was parody of Presidential Elections. They are choosing a new school mascot either a “Douche Bag” or a “Turd Sandwich”.
This QB battle, was long decided by PC, was Geno’s to win. Lock didn’t seem to have a reasonable shot. We probably shouldn’t pretend that this QB competition matters a whole lot since it would be gross incompetence if either of these guys are considered QB1 of the future.
It reminds me of the South Park episode that was parody of Presidential Elections. They are choosing a new school mascot either a “Douche Bag” or a “Turd Sandwich”.
YES!
You have just produced the best comparison imaginable
About 7-8 years ago Shein was on his way to becoming a Rapaport if not a Schefter. Somewhere along the line he decided he’d rather spend his time doing a bad Howard Beale impression. It’s sad really.
I’m shocked he didn’t bellow into the screen “AND THE SEAHAWKS CUT THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN THE NFL!”
Yesterday, after a stormy weekend of Senior Bowl like rain here in Pensacola, the showers let up to a Seattle-like drizzle. My pointer/pit bull mix Daisey gets really scared during thunderstorms, so despite the yucky weather, I took her to Bayview Dog Beach to go calm her nerves with a swim. I was wearing the same thing I did at the Senior Bowl, my neon green cycling jacket and my vintage Kelly green Seahawks knit cap.
Often during the winter there you will see the Blue Angels practicing, or fighter jocks from National Navy Aviation School in their trainers, But in the summer you often see mated pairs of osprey out here fishing, especially when the bait fish are running. Sometimes, you will see only one if they are nesting, but rarely do you see more than four. Yesterday,, I saw what could properly be called a squadron of eight Seahawks circling a large school of fish in the dark gray sky. One of them dove deep into the water near the fishing pier from a 90 degree angle like Dick Best going after the Akagi. Then it emerged from the water with some kind of big trout in tow.
Rob – totally agree with the assessment.
Am now very concerned re the QB situation. I know you have been down on the idea of Jimmy G coming but would there not be a solution where you have Jimmy G take over (as late in the pre-season as this is), keeping the seat warm for whichever college QB we draft next year and have him mentor that rookie? Alternative is Geno or Drew mentors and surely Jimmy is preferable?
I think Gino is the perfect QB for this team. The last thing the Hawks need is a quality QB that makes them look better than they really are. Russel Wilson carried the team to higher levels than they deserved in recent years, and it showed in the playoffs.
My personal hope for this season is to get in position to obtain high draft picks and rebuild. If the right franchise QB exists this year they will be able to draft him. I am not upset about the season, because I have low expectations and I am looking forward to the draft.
I’ll have what Don’s having. I’d like to stay calm and practical this year.
I agree re: rebuild, and the worse we perform, the better chance we get a franchise-altering rookie qb next year. I’d still just want to see what Lock would do with a full season, might be disastrous or he might improve dramatically with a change of scenery (pressure is off here) and show us at the very least he’ll be a top-flight backup to the rookie we bring into town next season. Geno is Geno, 35-40th best qb in the NFL, not sexy, but not terrible.
I get fairly worried by fans that are in full on r-e-l-a-x mode.
Talking about how the play makers aren’t playing. Big hopes for Walker. Until I see it Penny is just a guy. Less than 400 yards and three tds a season doesn’t make you a playmaker.
Obviously DK and Lockett are awesome. But a third WR seems like a chicken/egg thing. Someone needs to emerge AND a qb needs to get them to rise up. Both working together.
I agree, I’m fine with Geno or Lock at QB not elevating the team and being a game manager, but to see the problems EVERYWHERE else, that is concerning. The lack of talent across the board and the lack of discipline.
Exactly. Currently it’s a lot of problems in all three phases.
I feel confident Geno can give us #1 pick next draft. May be by end of season we might not watch seahawks regular season game on TV.
Any Mariners playoff games or regular season games that are critical to playoffs take precedent. Any Gonzaga men’s hoop game takes precedent.
I wasn’t aware Gonzaga had a football team
A good High School game may be a lot more fun that watching the Seahawks this season.
Had a thought that originated in this last draft. I like the concept of picking 2 players at your positions of needs. So, I hope that in 2023 they not only get their QB of choice but add a mid-round developmental QB as well.
I said “Gonzaga men’s HOOPS”
In case you’re not aware of the term, hoops is basketball.
Gotcha. I’m on the Seahawks Draft Blog dedicated to my beloved Seattle Seahawks which boasts the best analyst in the business. I don’t even consider basketball a sport (More of a backyard game you send the soft kids to so they don’t get hurt) so my apologies for not understanding your context.
Really? Soft kids? Someone really doesn’t understand basketball.
Go zags!
Soft? Rules have definitely made the game more of a finesse sport, but you obviously have never watched games from the 70s and 80s. It was a rough sport. I’m also pretty sure you wouldn’t call those guys soft to their faces. I know I wouldn’t.
Well I would and have. Also have you ever seen basketball players fight? It’s like wa tamer version of bunnies fighting. Eg- try to slap the dude- miss – then wait to be held back before you really start acting tough. Soft game, soft rules… but please- enjoy
Interesting but understandable. Everyone has sports they don’t even consider “sports,” we probably all love football since we’re on this blog. Mine are baseball and hockey, both bore the crap out of me, although a live baseball game with a few beers is doable as long as the company you’re with is good, I can’t get into it at all and they’re a definite no-watch on tv.
Undefeated since 1941.
As long as Cross, Lucas, Walker, Lewis, Mafe, Taylor, Brooks, Bryant, Woolen, Brown show that they can be big time players, and improve as the season goes along, I’m not actually particularly concerned about the W-L record itself.
But, if the team as a whole looks sloppy, undisciplined and poorly coached, rather than just suffering from poor QB play, that is a real issue.
I really hope that 2022 parallels 2011 in most ways.
It took 3 very good to great drafts in a row & some critical additions via trade & FA to build that championship team.
Did we just have our first very good to great foundational draft of this new era in 2022? That is where the hope lies & finding out the answer to that question is my only real interest in this coming season. Even if the answer is yes there is a long road ahead to contention. One thing is for sure, we need to nail the upcoming drafts.
Agree with this – the season is going to be rough, but let’s not lose our nerve and give away any draft capital just because we suck. We knew this would be like this. Hang on folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
I feel like 2020 probably gave them 3 long-term solid starters in Brooks, Taylor and Lewis.
Yes probably they need to fix the mistakes like giving big contract to Adams. Next 2 years will difficult to watch Hawks. Let’s hope Hawks make it easy on their viewer but let’s prepare for the worst. Last preseason is reminder that it can be unwatchable at times.
This is my take too. The team looked terrible…but they are rebuilding. They look unprepared…but this is a short-term issue. Even if it results in major changes in the coaching staff…is that a bad thing?
This team isn’t going to be good this year. They probably won’t be good next year, as they’ll almost definitely have a rookie QB. This club isn’t close. I think they’ll be picking in the top-5 next year. Their realistic window of contention opens in 2024.
Instead of short-term results, I think we need to focus on the fundamentals. They just had a great draft. They have a ton of draft capital going forward. Their salary cap situation should be good, assuming they don’t do stupid shit.
What is the worst case scenario here? The Hawks could easily lose 12-13 games. That will allow them to draft their next QB without trading up. If they are truly terrible, there will probably be changes in the coaching staff. Is that bad? I wouldn’t mind seeing some new ideas in the building.
If you’re hoping the Hawks will be back in the playoffs in 2023, you’re likely to be disappointed. But their best way to get back to the top is to bounce off the bottom. That’s their current trajectory, and that’s not bad.
A rebuild starts first and foremost with a decision at HC.
We have to be honest to ourselves. Jody Allen will not replace PC. That ship has sailed. She has decided, that PC will lead this effort, and short of a player revolt she will give him any benefit of a doubt.
Even if she fired him….”Some new ideas” with a team drafted to PCs philosophy won’t cut it. And, btw, this philosophy has dramatically changed since 2016. One by one, he sorted out the natural leaders, read: the opposition, in the team. Now, we have a leadership gap, that no tea cup can fill.
And this is indeed the problem here. Pete ball, that will take us nowhere. A logic hole, that won’t be fixed by drafting Will Levis.
1000% agree
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Next year’s draft with 9 picks is going to help big time, I hope the Seahawks trade away a safety since we’re loaded there (Adams/Diggs/Neal/Jones are studs, then there’s Blair to trade) and accumulate even more picks for next year. Tough to do anything to build a dynasty when you have only 3 picks like last year.
That was a repugnant exhibition. If they don’t have a dominant rushing attack, they stand little chance of anything productive or capable of development on offense. Same thing with special teams, shambolic failure will stunt the development of the new core. The offensive offense and the especially poor special teams will leave the young defense in a defenseless position, tired and worn out for the next game before it starts. We have seen this before, with a HOF QB. They should just make their cuts now and play the starters next week against their scrubs to establish something.
I agree with everything you said and I’ll add a concern about the team culture.
I saw precious little energy, enthusiasm, spirit, etc. from Seattle. Most of what I did see in that regard came in the 4th quarter from Eason, who at least played like it meant something.
I know it’s just one preseason game for me to make a sweeping assumption about the status of the team’s culture, but Chicago showed up dialed in. They were about business. Meanwhile, Seattle was passive and disengaged and almost apathetic.
I guess that’s what you get when the HC goes out of his way to tell the world there isn’t a competition at QB and Geno’s the guy — you get a Geno who isn’t playing to win the starting spot, you get a Geno who’s playing not to lose it. You get a safe Geno who won’t turn it over on a 3rd and long – on any of the what, dozen, 3rd and longs that Geno safes the offense into over the course of just two and a half quarters.
i’ll tell you this right now, Seattle’s season lives and dies by the production of their running backs.
And as Rob said, Chicago had a short week AND had to travel halfway across the country and they looked energized and “into it”.
The “culture” looks bad, really bad, preseason or not.
So sick of the short turn around excuses. Seems anymore we’re the only team effected but it.
I look at this poor performance and really bad season as a blessing in disguise. Yes, we all want to win every game or at least be competitive. But obviously the Hawks lack the talent and the coaching, so I would rather the Hawks be really bad and get high draft picks.
The worse place for any sports team to be is a .500 team, not good enough to win a playoff game and not bad enough to pick top level talent in the draft. This is where the Hawks have been for the past several years, and it has finally caught up with them.
I am glad to see the Hawks this bad, and I am excited to about getting the #1 pick in the 1st rd, #1 pick in the second round, etc. Get a new young promising coaching staff and think long term.
Yep, 4 picks in the top 60 (if not better, as I don’t envision Denver as a playoff team) + DK, Lockett, Fant, Walker, Cross, Lucas, Lewis, Ford, Brooks, Taylor, Mafe, Bryant, Woolen, Brown, Diggs and Dickson is an extremely attractive opportunity for any potential future Head Coach. Especially if you think you can time your ascent with a new QB around the same time that Brady, Rodgers, and Stafford are starting to call it a career in the NFC. Maybe it attracts Sean Payton, maybe Belichick has an opt out and doesn’t see a path back to contention in the AFC (Patriots are in tough).
That said, I don’t think Jodi Allen would have green lit the Russell Wilson trade if she was willing to fire HC/GM based upon the results of the first season post-Wilson. Otherwise you would have just kept Wilson and moved on from the staff.
“The worse place for any sports team to be is a .500 team, not good enough to win a playoff game and not bad enough to pick top level talent in the draft. This is where the Hawks have been for the past several years, and it has finally caught up with them.”
Wasting 2 picks on an ineffective box safety (ranked in the 60s 2 yrs in a row by PFF) really hurt too.
I’m really hoping Clint Hurtt gets on the mic sometime this week. I’d LOVE to hear what he has to say.
He is so plain spoken and he has some fire to him- there’s a story out there of him destroying some video equipment at halftime a while back when he was just the DL coach.
His insights would be far more interesting than anything Pete said.
And speaking of what Pete said – he talked of “postponing” the decision on the QB competition. It’s starting to get to a place where he is not helping anything by not just going with Geno. I’d rather see what Lock has to offer but if it’s Geno just say it is Geno.
That word – postponing – was used a lot by Pete in the middle of their 1-6 stretch last year. “Let’s postpone judgement on this season as long as we can” and it was just another one of those “pete is talking out of his rear” turns of phrase.
I am not as fired up about the new d coordinator. A d line minded coach, in charge of a d that can’t stop the run or tackle. Maybe PC still has his hands all over the play calling, obviously still does on the o play calls
I think Carroll is holding out hope for anyone but Geno, hoping that Lock can come in and win the job
Baldy loving some Boye Mafe
https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1560693915522478080
Also did clips on the rookie tackles and Tariq Woolen
https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1560696257441476609?s=20&t=_uCzrDtPXzv6Dp3-WTFFng
Who wins a DK-Tariq 100 meter?
My hunch says DK wins over that distance because of higher top speed even though Tariq starts off quicker. Most likely depends on who has the better start/technique in each rep though.
Metcalf topped out at 22.64 mph during the chase down of Budda Baker.
Tariq had a max speed of 22.45 mph recorded at the Senior Bowl. (highest ever recorded there since Zebra started tracking, btw)
Can we just start calling Tariq the Road Runner! Meep Meep!!
https://twitter.com/BirdsUp2001/status/1560709962111885313
MaToast, this is gold! So true!
Seems I made the right choice in going to a concert last night instead of the game. Still haven’t watched it, and don’t plan to. While I’ll admit everything I’ve read sparks some concern, truthfully I’m not panicking yet. It’s preseason, the team is young, and so are most of the coaches. I have some (though it’s waning) faith that the team will improve gradually and be more competitive by the end of the year. But…the most concerning things for me aren’t Charles Cross’ penalties or Myers’ awful kicking, it’s the fact we didn’t appear ready for the game. If true, that’s a colossal red flag to be having now.
One of the interesting things to watch, I think, will be the fan reactions to this season. If we are truly as terrible as we showed last night, I think Pete will just retire or be fired, the fanbase will be too rabid. The setting of expectations has been brought up, and while those of us capable of making inferences know Pete’s just being Pete and will never say he’s rebuilding, I can see a lot of the more cursory fans being furious.
I hadn’t seen this of DK. Wow! (but hold on to the ball…)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ykBH1vqyvjA
Speaking of him, I did just have a thought yesterday about the QB “competition”: remember the DK interview with Kevin Garnett? He was super high on Drew Lock, like that was “his guy” and we would all see. I wonder if that was just him drinking Pete’s kool-aid (limited edition contract extension flavor) or whether DK really felt that way. Does he still feel that way now after actually practicing with Lock for a while?
I guess I’m just trying to hope that Pete is going with Geno for a few games just to build up Lock’s confidence that he “won” the job away from Geno. By then, the season will be a wash anyways and with nothing to lose it will be easy to convince the fans that even someone as shaky as Lock is an exciting “upgrade/project with upside” over Geno.
My two cents: this isn’t just preseason, and it’s not temporary. Pete Carroll has no clue, and apparently the same is true of the coaching staff.
Watching the first quarter, the offense looked eerily similar to the worst OC in NFL history, Greg Knapps under Mora. The defense looked worse than under Mora. THEN Pete channeled Mora and kept using the word “accountability” in his post-game presser: Mora infamously used that word 57 TIMES in a presser–not once referring to coaches, only to the players.
Folks, history is repeating itself. This coaching staff has slowly been drained of talent, and is going to be the joke of the NFL. The next 3-4 years are going to be fugly, no matter how well JS drafts.no matter what qb Seattle drafts, this team isn’t going to function, this staff is not going to succeed. They are utterly lost as far as coaching, and nothing is going to fix that, because it starts with Pete Carroll.
Three to four years of fugly? I don’t know. I absolutely loved this draft. You get two of these in a row and things can turn around in a hurry. Especially when we won’t be so strapped for cash.
But this year we’re not just gonna get beat with the ugly stick, we’ve climbed to the top of the ugly tree and are gonna fall and hit every branch on the way down.
For entertainment sake,
2023 Super Bowl odds to win via Sportsline,
Buffalo Bills 6-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15-2
Green Bay Packers 11-1
Kansas City Chiefs 11-1
Los Angeles Rams 12-1
Los Angeles Chargers 15-1
San Francisco 49ers 16-1
Denver Broncos 16-1
Dallas Cowboys 20-1
Cincinnati Bengals 22-1
Baltimore Ravens 22-1
Cleveland Browns 25-1
Indianapolis Colts 25-1
Philadelphia Eagles 25-1
Las Vegas Raiders 30-1
Arizona Cardinals 35-1
Tennessee Titans 35-1
New England Patriots 40-1
New Orleans Saints 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 40-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Washington Commanders 80-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 80-1
New York Giants 100-1
Carolina Panthers 125-1
Detroit Lions 125-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 125-1
New York Jets 125-1
Chicago Bears 150-1
Seattle Seahawks 150-1
Atlanta Falcons 250-1
Houston Texans 300-1
I’m much more excited about the 2023 draft than I am about the 2022 season. Strictly in the context of that draft it would be a lot of fun if our native pick is sufficient to select ‘our guy’ at QB without burning additional resources. Then we’d have to hope that ‘our guy’ proves to be ‘the guy’ & eventually brings home a Lombardi Trophy to Seattle.
I would put a dollar on the Jets.
Well: I hope Pete Carroll is happy with Geno Smith behind center. The captain goes down with the Ship. With Smith behind center both Smith and Carroll can go down with their SINKING SHIP.
Geno Smith is more of a wakeboard than a ship.
Or: watching Geno Smith play football is like being waterboarded.
Rob, you’ve been a proponent of the idea that the team plays hard for Pete and he’s still a good culture-building coach, thus even if bad they’ll be somewhat competitive and not an absolute bottom-barrel, 1.01-contending team. I’m reading this video as you re-evaluating that position … true?
No, I’m not re-evaluating that because to be fair, I have challenged the so called ‘brilliant culture’ in Seattle for some time. I think there are clear examples of toxicity that we all know about.
I think Pete is a good motivator and could be a good head of the table type if he is willing to delegate. I still believe that.
One thing I’ve learned over the last 48 hours is there are actually Geno Smith stans
Who would’ve thought, eh?
Pete is not alone in his delusions.
It is the damndest thing.
Not going to watch nor link but YouTube feed has internet best voice and weirdest takes “top billin,” doing breakdowns in Geno’s defense.
A case could maybe be made that the Jets draft plus Flacco could be competitive. Matt Ryan could potentially get the colts over a hump. This geno stuff is absurd.
Top Billin has mastered the art of positivity clicks for sure
Remember in preseason last year when Dave Wyman called Geno “The best backup QB in the NFL” ?
The hype is alive and well.
Just watched the first quarter of Buffalo v. Denver. Case Keenum played the 2nd series for Buffalo. He’s better than Geno.
https://twitter.com/chuckmodi1/status/1560388053566459905?s=21&t=Q45bGYujJzAPcBm06FfKTQ
Someone literally compared geno smith to… Steve young 😂😂😂😂
Oh my goodness. Stop it! I just read all that and the comments. I’m so confused. Are people watching the same Geno I am. People are trying SOOOO hard to believe in him. The comparisons are absolutely garbage, how these guys get paid is beyond me.
The comments…..”if only he could have back one or two throws…..”
That is sport in a nutshell.
If only geno was a little better he would be pretty good, Robbie. What are these people watching!
Without reading it I’m pretty sure they meant the comparison in reference to Steve Young now (60 years old) & not Steve Young in his prime. In that case it may be accurate.
Lol!
After watching most of Denver @ Buffalo I think the Broncos and the Seahawks are fairly similar this year, with the one obvious exception.
Which is to say, I really like our chances for a great draft next year.
Broncos roster doesn’t impress me that much. Especially without Tim Patrick, who was one of the more underrrated big body / contested catch guys in the league.
And Noah Fant.
Good running backs, average offensive line, unknown at tight end, good receivers. On defense Chubb and Gregory are both boom or bust. Who knows. Mediocre inside linebackers and questionable dt depth. Secondary looks strong. Overall, a middle of the pack roster.
Um, I think the most obvious difference in the two teams isn’t the qb: it’s the coaching staff. Seattle’s is stale, clueless, lost and inept. So far, Denver’s is not
I might have been a bit off with my less than enthusiastic opinion of Karlaftis
Because he got a sack in a preseason game against one of the worst teams in the nfl?
Lol
Two sacks in two games.
But don’t let me get in the way of your condescension. BTW, feel better now?
He destroyed a double team, and on almost all play pushed his blocker back onto the the QB’s lap. He seemed much better than Mafe to me. Not crowning him, he might will have 3 sacks or 10-12 yearly, but at least I can see him making 10-12 sacks, while I can’t see much of Mafe. Mafe right now doesn’t seem much better than Alton Robinson to me. Not a bad player by far, but I can only see him making 4-5 sacks and 3-4 TFLs in his better years. He just doesn’t dominate. Has great motor, but only OK passrush moves, and couldn’t see him overpowering OTs
We actually can do something about Jason Myers. His cap number is $5m. But $4m of which is salary that is currently un-guranteed but will guarantee when the season starts since he is a vested veteran. I’d rather put a young player out a min salary. If they are a rookie, we could get lucky and have the ERFA rights on a decent kicker for two more seasons on a cheap deal. At a minimum we save $3m+ and still have a bad kicker.
I think we’re all overrating preseason a little bit.
For example, marquise Blair’s missed tackles.
Why on earth would he try to tackle full speed every play in a preseason game, when he’s already pretty much guaranteed to make the team after the Amadi trade.
Like, he’s lost so much time to injury at the point. Why risk more injury now? Psychologically, it should surprise no one he’s purposefully playing soft in a meaningless preseason game.
I would agree with that if he didn’t have 9 tackles and a head shot roughing penalty. He was going full speed in my eyes. I also am not sure his job is safe if Josh Jones keeps up his level of play.
It kills me to read blog posts on here with people like Captain. Blair has only one speed, it’s 4th gear or 10th or whatever you want to call it. The guy was awesome for Utah, but he’s also a classic tweener, outside LB in the NFL or ‘Big’ run SS near the LOS that closes off the run on one side of the field. (think Adams) That Mofo sold, and sells, his body on hits, Marquis that is.
In other words, he sacrificed/sacrifices his body on hits, and I know this as a P12 and Dawg fan, the guy had/has my respect….. long before his Hawk jersey went on. There is nothing ‘soft’ about his game, and it pisses me off that this kind of post is even allowed here. Maybe he is done physically from the abuse of the game on his body. Calling him soft, if you know him as a player, is bullshit.
Debate the point, don’t hammer the blog because someone has said something you disagree with
I just can’t get over the fact that the team was booed…during the first half…in the preseason. Fans won’t put up with much of this going into the season?
Seriously when has that ever happened?
I’m good with fans booing. There needs to be a standard.
A fan base and athletic department with no standards is what has led the UW football program to linger in mediocrity for decades
Agreed. It just blows me away that is what this team has become under Pete Carroll. You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villian
Wyman said in his postgame that he thought Geno looked terrific.
Just a shill for Pete and the franchise.
Last I heard last season he was dying on the “Jamal Adams is good” hill too.
https://twitter.com/seahawksPR/status/1561084936781647873
Seahawks get a head start on the Tuesday deadline. Most notable cut LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe.
People are going to be disappointed Bolden got cut. Dropping Joel leaves us with even less depth at LB, we should try and make a move there.
Got to think they’ll be doing something at LB
Which begs the question when they hadn’t already. The depth was rubbish there
Rob, I am curious as to your thoughts on Cidy Barton?
I think that he is a JAG and shouldn’t be in their future plans.
Well he is a jag
I wish they’d had the ability to draft someone like Channing Tindall
And I’m surprised they didn’t use some of their available cap space on another LB who can seriously compete to start
Plus note:
Linebacker is one of my favorite positions to look at during draft time and they almost have to draft one to shore up what looks like a weak area on the inside.
As long as it’s not a high pick
I can agree with this
Order of needs (for me) :
1. Qb
2. Game wrecking 3-4 DE
3. Center….maybe road grading guard if Blythe is more than a journeymen.
4. ILB. Perhaps this is less of a need I just have very little faith in the current lineup.
5. True third WR…unless something awesome happens with Melton and/or Young. I just don’t think Eskridge will ever be at full potential.
6. Sadly….safety. Diggs getting older and of course the other guy.
Beating dead horse here but imagine drafting Creed Humphrey instead of Eskridge. Never understood PC not giving importance to center.
#3 WR May already be on roster. This season will tell us.
Ashish: we’re gonna be talking about what might have been with Humphrey for the next 10-12 years imo9.
I am sure they are waiting for the next round of major cuts to add to the LB depth.
Lots of roster churn coming up.
100%.
That’s what they do.
I’m sure that’ll prove as fruitful as the last few years of ‘waiting for roster cuts to add players’
I didn’t suggest they will find a gem doing the dumpster diving. I just said that’s what they (and many other teams) like to do. Even the final 53 man roster is not safe because of all the last minute roster shuffling.
Never suggested you did say that
There isn’t that much shuffling though IMO. It’s always a bit overblown for me. Players are generally cut for a reason.
They might just play a bunch of 3-3-5 where Brooks is the only true ILB on the field.
3500/22/9 🤮
3500 very good prediction
22 take the under
9 take the over
We need a player with a skill set like this:
https://nypost.com/2022/08/21/kavontae-turpin-makes-huge-cowboys-statement-with-two-return-tds/amp/
Perhaps(?)
Jayden Reed, WR/KR Michigan St., Currently ranked as an early/to/middle day-3 pick. A fast & slippery WR with some success as a WR & he ranks highly as a punt & kick returner, a 2 for 1 pick? Check him out, reminds me a lot of Tyler Lockett.
WR-Jayden Reed, Michigan State —-> per: Sports-Reference.com
2021: 13-games, 59-receptions/1026-yds, 17.4-ypr, 10-TD’s
+ 16 KO returns/376-yds. 23.5-ypr, 0-TD’s
+ 11 PUNT returns/238-yds, **21.6-YPR** & **2-TD’s**
I wonder if the Bucs would be interested in trading a future 7th round pick for a reliable veteran option on the interior…
What an interesting gabe to ponder. I jackson they probably do.
So now they lost their starting center and guard before the season even starts? Ouch.
And the thing Tawmy likes the least (as is the case with most QBs) is pressure up the middle.
So, second game of the season, recorded the game and was really looking forward to the playback. Watching the rookies, analyzing the plays in slow motion, just looking forward to an all around good time with my favorite team.
But as we all know, it wasn’t a good game. The team wasn’t prepared to play, no game plan and much to my surprise it appears that several defensive players have attended the Jamal Adams Advanced Tackling & Contact Course and taken it to heart. But I was kinda ok with all of that, young team, a lot of new faces and new coaches. I expected a more polished product… But the one thing that made the game unwatchable for me was Pete Carroll.
Everytime I saw him on the sideline, giving an interview or just being talked about turned my stomach. It’s gotten to the point where I just despise the man. To many years of watching him mismanage my favorite team. It’s really gotten to the point with me, that it doesn’t matter if he does well or not, he just needs to go. He’s ruining the whole experience for me.
New ownership, coaches and front office personnel, I can’t wait!
By staying, especially to oversee the Wilson trade, he’s run the serious risk of turning off a lot of fans
Because this will be ugly before it potentially gets good again
And there’s a very real chance he’s going to really taint his reputation in Seattle and be remembered as the man who built something special, wasted a few years then dealt a franchise QB
I’ve stopped watching his pressers.
I 100% think that it’s going to play out pretty much as you’re suggesting Rob. It’s sad.
AL: as I’ve said here before, I hate that I now hate Pete Carroll.
Pete made absolutely sure that USC was a smoldering heap & heading toward sanction city before he abandoned ship. They’ve never recovered,
He wore out his welcome here years ago (with me) but I will say with certainty that it was all worth it. I’m rooting for a comeback story.
We win at least 7. He’ll be fine.
Not even the most blinkered fan can predict ‘at least 7 wins’ at this point
Does that include the 2023 season? I would be amazed if they managed 7 wins this season. I hope that it doesn’t if I am being honest. Winning 7 games only serves to possibly take them out of range of the really good QBs and I doubt they make the playoffs with 7 wins either so it doesn’t really accomplish anything. I am fine with a losing season as long as there is improvement and hope for the future.
Seeing Jacksonville play a competitive game against Shittsburgh last night did not make me feel any better about this loss. And I don’t know about you, but whenever Trevor Lawrence’s lips are moving (JohnnyUtah @ Pointbreak .com) this is what I hear: “LOOK at my hair. Look AT my hair. Look at MY hair. Lookat my HAIR.”
“…and his hair was perfect.”
Werewolves of London
Love me some Zevon!
I don’t think it was tenable to keep Wilson any longer. Check back on what Ian Furness said about the locker room and Wilson. It wasn’t all a Carroll v. Wilson thing.
I will say though that I do wonder if the Seahawks forgot how to coach quarterbacks a bit because of Wilson. Wilson is not a typical quarterback when it comes to how he plays. I think the Ringer said he was basically the back yard quarterback that worked out. He did things that wouldn’t work for many other quarterbacks.
I’m not defending Geno at all, but I just wonder if they forgot how to use a “regular” quarterback.
But, but, Pete said he was “really sick”. Must’ve been a miraculous recovery.
It’s possible to both be really sick, and then to recover
Carroll just said Charles Cross didn’t know who Robert Quinn was when they played the other night.
FFS.
I think he thought he was sharing that story to counter the idea that he was trying to jump early to get in front of Quinn.
But not knowing who you’re playing against? That’s not how you do things in the NFL, fellas.
Imagine having never heard of Robert Quinn
He has 101 career sacks
It’s part of your job to know who Robert Quinn is when you’re a NFL left tackle
Utterly ridiculous story.
Even if Cross had somehow never heard of Quinn (unlikely), we are supposed to believe that no one on the coaching staff mentioned him… none of his teammates?
Pete treats the fanbase like children or fools.
add that in with what he said about Lock being so sick etc. now he is at practice. pete treats the fanbase like children or fools is an understatement lol
Carroll has been made fun of for years for understating the severity of injuries.
Now he apparently overstates them to make excuses for players…
Lol
Sometimes I think we just hate on Carroll because it’s fun
Honestly
I just don’t care if he knows who Quinn is or not. He hasn’t been a relevant player in the media in awhile.
A lot of NFL players aren’t nfl fan boys like we are
Robert Quinn is one of the biggest name pass rushers in the NFL
If you are paid to pass protect, knowing who he is should be a given
100% right he should. So that means then if we believe the take on Cross that no film was looked at or studied in the D-Line room?
It’s nothing about being a fanboy, it’s about studying and knowing who you are playing against.
To play devils advocate…
the coaching staff wouldn’t even know if Quinn would play at all. It’s preseason.
Robert Quinn was a much bigger name earlier in his career. He’s still a great player, but I’d argue he’s underrated and newer nfl fans may not have heard of him. When you play college football, you’re so busy with practice and academics you don’t have enough time to keep up to date with all 32 nfl teams
You’re acting like Charles Cross is a casual fan of the NFL
Not a starting left tackle
🤦♂️
I was under the impression that Quinn didn’t play. He at least doesn’t show up in the box score for the game.
He did play
Didn’t they do a pre draft interview to see if this guy was somewhat interested in football – watch it from time to time? A reporter should follow-up and ask.
If really true, that he didn’t know or watch any football, I am worried he will be out of football in a few years.
Not saying he will, just not a good sign.
The only reasonable explanation is that he didn’t realize that Quinn was against him on a certain snap. Anything else makes me question our choice for LT.
It was a confusing point, but I took it that he didn’t recognise that he was playing against Robert Quinn? He should have known his number, and done homework on his play, but Cross may of assumed he’d be playing against a backup. Clearly more worrying if he’d never heard of him, but I didn’t read it like this?
Well Carroll literally says he didn’t know who he was
Hopefully he and the oline staff are going to use that statement to start going through all the players Cross will face.
It may seem sacrilege to us wonky fans to not know Robert Quinn but I can very well see young rookies not knowing players by name. However that doesn’t excuse knowing the player by film and number.
Makes a little worried that the better game against Pittsburgh was a mirage since Watt didn’t play.
I wonder if he knows who Aaron Donald is?
If not…should anyone tell him? 🤔
Probably best to leave that as a surprise. Lord knows the staff seems to be surprised by him every year.
Win
I don’t know about you guys, but these days, I believe a fraction of what Pete Carroll says. About anything.
Seriously, and I hate saying this, but Carroll – and his inexplicable penchant for hyperbole that borders on outright gaslighting – is ruining my experience of the Seahawks.
I don’t mean to get political, but it’s such an apt analogy – I take what Carroll says with as much confidence as what Trump says. They’re both full of bollocks. And they’re both wholly incapable of accepting responsibility for the failures of their own actions.
And another win
I’m so pissed at Carroll, I actually start to hate him, and see him as the root of all that is wrong with this org.
If this is a lie:
1, Does he really disrespects the fans that bad?
2, Was this the best lie he could think of? How about: “We really emphasized starting quick on the OL, and beating your assignment at the point of attack. We want our OTs to attack the defenders, and scrubbed this idea into them heavily during this week’s practices. Cross did an awesome job, but he was a bit too eager to do this. We’ll dial a bit down and it’ll be amazing”. Perfect explanation and saves face for Charles
3, Shows that PC doesn’t feel ownership about his, his staffs’ or players’ mistakes
If this is true:
1, Shows how unprepared the players are
2, Shows how little the coaches help them prepare
3, This is gonna be a sh*tshow
I get it…this is only preseason, Quinn might not even play…BUT…Cross is a rookie. He should develop good habits RIGHT NOW. Coaches should go over the starters, the potential opponents they see, the other team’s coaches, tendencies, playstyles with players already. They should build a culture of knowing your opponent, watching film, study them. Especially with rookies.
I don’t follow the NFL in general, and I only watch a couple of KC, NOLA games and the playoffs. I suck at other teams’ players and only jumped to watch NFL in ’11 or something like that. I didn’t see Quinn played a ton, but even I know the name, and that he is a good defensive player with crazy stats.
I don’t expect players, especially rookies, especially offensive rookies to be familiar with RB2s or WR3s of every other team. But I expect them to know who are the top20-30 defensive player currently. Who are the current best passrushers on every team, and who are the defensive players on the next week’s opponent’s roster. Especially the #1 and #2s who’ll likely make the roster.
If Cross really had no idea who Quinn was, then it is even worse than his 5 penalties
Sadly this team is DOA until 1- Jody Allen has the courage to clean out JS/PC or 2- Jody Allen sells the team and a new owner cleans house.
Until then we are watching PC destroy his legacy by turning this team into garbage. It’s over for PC he just refuses to admit it.
Preach! I agree 100%!
I tend to agree with Robs musings that Carrol may very well be asking what the hell he’s still doing this for. Perhaps he deluded himself into thinking last year’s troubles were just the russ injury, maybe they struggled to plan on the fly around geno, but a full off-season with geno at the helm wod lead to success. Seeing the product on the field now may sober pete up to reality. I know this was rabbit hole stuff but I do believe deep down Pete doesn’t want to totally destroy his legacy. If he can get through this season and get out with any fan support however is an entirely different conversation.
Just imagine 2 games of preseason and there’s so much of panic. If Geno starts season and lost 5 games where he plays pathetic
Still some interesting FA Linebackers out there. Dont’a Hightower and Anthony Hitchens stand out. Or a day 3 pick with a player, for a starting calibre linebacker wouldn’t trouble me either.
I still think the team should bring in a veteran Offensive Tackle, Nate Solder or Eric Fisher. Those Rookie’s are going to need a break at some point, they’ll be reading opposition playbooks for the first time for every game this season. I’d also hate for them to lose confidence with excessive penalties or a bad game (Ifedi anyone). It can take a lot to come back from such situations at the start of your career. We need our bookends long term.
I’m okay with bringing in someone to back the tackles up.
However with Cross, I personally expect (and hope because I’m trying to be optimistic,) that he takes his lumps and grows this season. To me a confidence killer is pulling him for a aging veteran.
A top ten pick should play every single snap available short of injury.
I know he had a poor showing but his first start was decent.
On the note of Lucas. Though I hope both play great I think Lucas is going to be the better selection in time. And the tiny bits I have seen from him I don’t think he needs to be spelled out for any reason. The only thing at all holding him back is this coaching staff goofing around with a camp battle. Curhan is a good run blocker. Lucas could be a great tackle.
Cross’ last showing was also quite good other than the penalties, which you obviously can’t have in the regular season, but they are theoretically easier to fix than an inability to block people.
He may not know who Robert Quinn is, but he handled him really well when he wasn’t jumping early.
Don’t think the OT’s will be out there that much with a lot of 3 & outs, time of possession differential will be huge.
Curhan needs to be moved to Guard full time. He plays well there. He could play Tackle in an emergency situation, but shouldn’t be considered in this role on the depth chart.
Yes pulling him for an aging Vet isn’t what you want, but it’s almost unprecedented in the NFL that two Rookie Offensive Tackles have no veteran in that important position with significant NFL snaps to learn from. As highlighted in an earlier post, it looks like Cross in particular needs mentoring in game day preparation and on field awareness as much as technical adjustments. This real world approach comes best from experienced current players as off field coaches.
The worse case scenario is they lose Cross for any extended period during the season and the FO panic into trading a Day 1 or 2 pick for a replacement. We need all these picks for the QB next year. So get that Vet in now!
Sorry meant to link this under Peter’s post above.
Injuries worry me of course. The whole line concerns me as well. As does the possibility of his lack of preparedness.
I’m pro-wilson but hopefully the two of them playing with a more regular style offense will help them moving forward.
I’ve made it known that the lack of leaders all over the team is going to be an issue this year. Hopefully blythe does what a decent center can do and organize the new oline. And though Pete is going to say Pete things. I take this as a bit of an indictment not just on Cross but on the coaches as well if they are not getting him ready for an opponent. Additionally it sucks but hopefully when dissly is playing he can provide some support since they are paying him mid tier oline money for his blocking prowess.
They didn’t want to spend a day three flier on a veteran QB so I’d say the chances of trading for a stop-gap fill-in veteran tackle mid-season are virtually nil, let alone for a day one or two pick.
If Cross gets hurt it’ll be Stone Forsythe.
Vikings just traded for Nick Mullens, and this comes after an underwhelming performance by Kellen Mond (10/20, 82 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs). Maybe Mond is available? Although it could also mean that it’s Sean Mannion who is available in trade.
If Mond cant impress in Minn, why would we want him? He does look better than Smith.
I think you just answered your own question.
was meant to be “doesnt”, cause as bad as smith has looked, Mond hasnt looked better.
Small sample size. Who knows, maybe he’s been given poor coaching, or the offense isn’t the right fit for him. But if the trade-off were a low-rent draft pick, I think it would be worth a flyer.
Just a public service announcement: This fantastic tackle isn’t getting enough attention.
https://twitter.com/ZukoSamba/status/1560428165637349376
Tariq Woolen has freaky size and athleticism, but he’s not afraid to play football. I think this is why he keeps edging closer and closer to becoming their starter at RCB so early.
As soon as Woolen can work on getting his head turned around he has the chance to be a pretty special player.
Also in that clip, that terrible missed tackle by Blair isn’t getting enough attention. My god, what a 2nd round bust he is shaping up to be.
Well he *is* unofficially leading the team in un-defendable hits to the head, so there’s that.
I usually agree with you, cha, but on this occassion I will beg to differ. Tackling someone around the shoulders is very poor technique. The centre of gravity works against you. He should be coming in low & driving through the player.
I wasn’t complementing his specific technique, it’s that he had the guts and strength to make that play.
I pointed it out because a perception can be built that this guy is so fast and sleek he may not be up for the real grind of football.
He easily could have made a token attempt, reasoning it’s a preseason game and the score doesn’t matter anyway. But no. He went after him with authority.
Our $70million safety could learn a thing or two about this from our 5th round rookie.
Fair point! 😀
It’s a good suggestion cha, but the problem is that our 70 million dollar safety would be late to the play so no chance he’d go after the guy with authority. He’d just pile on late, possibly hurt one of our guys and then peacock it like he made the play.
Not to mention a low driving tackle wrapping arms around the legs (usually the best practice) at that point would have probably resulted in the player falling forward and scoring a touchdown with arms reached out.
These always have some interesting nuggets from around the league
https://www.nfl.com/news/2022-nfl-preseason-week-2-recap-things-to-know-about-position-battles-injuries
Seahawks stuff at #40 and 65 but not much new information.
Sounds like Carroll’s comment that ‘development time is over, it’s about getting the starters ready’ yesterday is being put in place.
AKA
We look like crap. So now I’m going to invest all our time to try and make sure we don’t completely embarrass ourselves in front of a national audience against Russell Wilson’s Denver
So the competition is done. Whatever has happened up to now, that’s your lot
Some competition this was…what a joke.
Seems that way, unfortunate but probably inconsequential. Still fairly likely we see Lock start some games at some point this year.
I think the plan all along was to have Geno Smith start until he sucks and then Drew Lock
comes in with less pressure. Probably the best plan in reality.
I bet Lock will get rep with number one offense before 3rd pre season game.
Our guys are in the classroom right now, busting their tails trying to figure it out. They want to get this thing right and learning all of the players from other teams, you know, it’s something that – it’s like the moon landing, some people said it couldn’t be done and other people say we never went, that it was a hoax and, you know, it’s really impossible to know who’s right, but I guess it’s like when we drafted Russell, they asked if I wanted Russell and I said, “sure, “ thinking it was JaMarcus, but it was a different Russell – Russell as a first name, Russell Winston, I mean Wilson, see I was thinking of Jameis, so many guys with similar names, I mean – I met another guy named a Pete once and I was like, are you me? – so it’s confusing for these guys and, you know, I’m not even sure they had names in college so this is new to them, but we’ll get it figured out and get this thing back on track ‘cause, doggone it, these guys just care so much. They want to be the best. Also, Jamarcus Adams has a herniated pinky toe and will miss the rest of the season. I mean, Jamal. See, it happens to all of us.
Just peed my pants again GMT.
“I’m not even sure they had names in college so this is new to them” roflmao :DDDDD
Love this!!
Well done. “…are you me?” I lost it.
Projected 2022 season, by quarter and Pete’s best spin for Jody Allen:
Games 1-4:
2-2 record
L, L, W, W
Spin: We’re Right in There, Battling, Starting to Turn The Corner
Games 5-8:
1-3 record
L, L, L, W
Spin: It’s a Journey, No One Said It Would Be Easy. Also, Injuries.
Games 9-12:
1-3 record
W, L, L, L
Spin: We’re Going To Work Our Tails Off To Make This Right. Also, We’re Young.
Games 13-17:
3-2 record
W, W, L, W, L
Spin: See? Look How We Finished! Progress! I’m Super-Excited About Next Season!
Final record: 7-10
Pumped and jacked babeeeee!!
(I don’t see 7 wins out of this mess but maybe you’ll be correct)
On the one hand Pete carrol 7 win team, Yada, Yada, etc.
On the other hand some of these games that looked like near locks in another world are starting to feel like pick’ems.
Question for the community:
Which teams’ games are worth following though the season? Especially younger, up-and-coming teams. I like KC (Mahomes, Kelce fun to watch), I know Bills or Chargers might be interesting too.
Can the Jets/Jags/Dolphins be entertaining this year?
I’ll watch the Hawks games, but just out of loyalty. Those won’t bring much fun and joy…and if I paid good money for Gamepass, I’d like to get some good times out of it
Depends what kind of football you like to watch. For example I enjoyed watching the Ravens a couple times last year. I would also like to see how Panthers and Dolphins will develop this season. Bills and Chargers are an obvious option. If you’re past the Wilson history, Broncos might also have nice offensive games.
The Ravens seem to be recommitting to the full Greg Roman heavy formation read option offense that made them the most fun team to watch in 2019. New young DC coming in to spice up that unit as well, with funky players like Kyle Hamilton for added fun.
Bengals with Joe Burrow also always make for entertaining viewing.
I think the short answer might just be the AFC.
All the teams Mick and Henry Taylor mentioned are great ones.
The afc west. There’s a couple of big story lines. Since I like Wilsin minus his weirdness and that team has blog favorites it will be an easy watch. Really like to see if the Chargers are for real because if they are not they are going to pay a ton of money at QB and have less resources for that team.
Are the Bengals going to remain contenders? History is not too kind to the superbowl losing team. Are the ravens going to take over?
Odd teams to pay attention to: jets….awesome looking draft. And finally, JAX. I’d like to see if Trevor Lawrence really is the best pure qb prospect with the absolute crappiest of luck to be on an urban meyer team.
I’ll have an eye on the jets this year. They had a killer draft. A lot of young pieces. Also I think Detroit could sneak their way to relevance this year.
Thanks fellows!
Yeah, I’m curious how RW will fair in DEN, so that’s a must watch.
I like Burrows, so Bengals also an option
AFCW seems fun.
I like a team with high energy, fly to the ball, TO creating young defense (like the Hawks was with the early LOB).
Jets has Saleh as HC, right? Or is it JAX? I liked Saleh, hoped he’d get PC’s job 😀
I just read a piece regarding Geno Smith and the possibility of him being cut prior to week 1 because of how his contract is structured. When I started reading and initially thought “this makes no sense”, it actually started to make a ton of sense. I don’t know what to really think anymore. I don’t understand how Smith/Lock are still in competition, but Geno saw all first team snaps yesterday. I’d like to think they’re content with Lock, but he hasn’t done anything to merit that as the QB2.
I’m not crazy, am I?
Geno getting cut? I don’t see that. Geno is what he is. A placeholder at best (at least for part of the season).
I am curious as to what would happen if, during final cuts around the league, a QB project becomes available. For example, let’s say PIT rolls with just Trubisky & Pickett. Is Mason Rudolph someone SEA would be interested in? WAS is another example. If they go with just Wentz & the rookie Howell, is Taylor Heinicke an option? Other young QB’s like Anthony Brown, Nathan Peterman, Brett Rypien, Sam Ehlinger, Easton Stick, etc. could be available.
QB’s like those wouldn’t change the trajectory of SEA in ’22 but it might be interesting to see if there’s anything there for ’23.
I wouldn’t mind Heinicke. If I don’t mistake him with somebody he washed up the floor with the Hawks 1-2-3 seasons ago maybe as a Rams backup QB or something like that
I don’t think there is any chance of Geno getting cut. That would be crazy.
However, a confession: I’ve been keeping the Geno and Lock cap numbers in my back pocket a little in this whole Geno vs Lock discussion.
Lock is set to make $1.5m this year. Geno makes $3.5m with incentives up to $7m.
I can easily stomach eating $3.5m to keep Geno on the team as Lock’s backup no problem. But the idea they’ll pay him another $3.5m for playtime incentives (equalling 4x what Lock makes) when Lock has been at least his equal if not better in camp, well that’s just a bridge too far.
If the plan here is to cut Geno bring in Jimmy G with no play book or training, have Jimmy g get us to holy land of NINE whole wins, and then relegate ourselves both out of contention for a new young qb but then the “opportunity,” to pay an average as average gets QB not quite Wilson money but approaching Cousins money….
Well I, my friend, will actively root for MY team to lose so hard that Pete and js are literally booed out of MY hometown. Nothing against Jimmy G. He’s fun.
They made the decision that this was the direction to go in. Just like all the nonsense trades and bad drafts the only way out of what is going on is to go forward, take every lump, and turn four picks in the first two rounds into a badass team again. If, they even have a clue how to do that anymore.
Cutting Smith without getting Lock a fair shake to work with the ones will be Jim Mora fireable levels of incompetence.
Reply to HOUSE
It’s exactly what I am thinking. I could see the financial reason (somewhat), but to not give Lock any run with the ones is mind-blowing.
First weekend of CFB games coming up. What are we watching?
Quarterbacks 🙂 hahaha
“The Seahawks are a disaster and this is where hope goes to die.”
I mean, he’s not wrong…
https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNet/status/1561848187345928192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1561848187345928192%7Ctwgr%5E349af9ca83dfd394aad94aecac645451e8656734%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebiglead.com%2Fposts%2Fadam-schein-rips-seahawks-sad-pathetic-qb-drew-lock-geno-smith-competition-01gb575qmzws
It reminds me of the South Park episode that was parody of Presidential Elections. They are choosing a new school mascot either a “Douche Bag” or a “Turd Sandwich”.
This QB battle, was long decided by PC, was Geno’s to win. Lock didn’t seem to have a reasonable shot. We probably shouldn’t pretend that this QB competition matters a whole lot since it would be gross incompetence if either of these guys are considered QB1 of the future.
YES!
You have just produced the best comparison imaginable
About 7-8 years ago Shein was on his way to becoming a Rapaport if not a Schefter. Somewhere along the line he decided he’d rather spend his time doing a bad Howard Beale impression. It’s sad really.
I’m shocked he didn’t bellow into the screen “AND THE SEAHAWKS CUT THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN THE NFL!”
Hopefully, this is a portent of things to coe.
Yesterday, after a stormy weekend of Senior Bowl like rain here in Pensacola, the showers let up to a Seattle-like drizzle. My pointer/pit bull mix Daisey gets really scared during thunderstorms, so despite the yucky weather, I took her to Bayview Dog Beach to go calm her nerves with a swim. I was wearing the same thing I did at the Senior Bowl, my neon green cycling jacket and my vintage Kelly green Seahawks knit cap.
Often during the winter there you will see the Blue Angels practicing, or fighter jocks from National Navy Aviation School in their trainers, But in the summer you often see mated pairs of osprey out here fishing, especially when the bait fish are running. Sometimes, you will see only one if they are nesting, but rarely do you see more than four. Yesterday,, I saw what could properly be called a squadron of eight Seahawks circling a large school of fish in the dark gray sky. One of them dove deep into the water near the fishing pier from a 90 degree angle like Dick Best going after the Akagi. Then it emerged from the water with some kind of big trout in tow.
I think I will call that one “Boye.”
They need Serious help at Quarter Back