Pete Carroll’s final press conference was a challenging listen.
A large bulk of it was Carroll explaining the issues they’d faced in the second half of the season on offense, then failing to answer several questions asking why they hadn’t done anything about it.
In one breath he’d correctly identify their issues dealing with two-deep safety looks.
Then he’d explain that they tried to take shots against the Rams because they wanted to try and throw downfield against a coverage deliberately set up to take it away.
He’d talk about the need to adjust better and faster in-games. He rightly highlighted Seattle’s biggest issue as their terrible record on third downs.
But then he wouldn’t offer any explanation as to why these issues were so evident and clear for weeks during the regular season and were often brushed off.
The issues and problems Carroll discussed today shouldn’t be an off-season priority. They should’ve been a priority weeks ago.
It was quite difficult, actually, to listen to all of the obvious flaws we’ve discussed for weeks be laid out by the Head Coach — only to remember that as recent as the Washington game, Carroll dismissed fair questions about the offense with a pointed “I ain’t concerned at all” and an agitated message to the media that he didn’t really know why he was being asked about this all the time.
As far as I can tell, the Minnesota Vikings were the first team to stymy the Seahawks passing game with a two-deep look. Other teams followed the blueprint.
If they’re now going to spend the coming weeks and months trying to find a solution, why on earth couldn’t they find one earlier?
This comes back to one of the things I was talking about in yesterday’s piece.
The Seahawks seem to be far too entrenched in what ‘they are’ and what they ‘want to be’ rather than week-to-week planning and adjustment.
It doesn’t seem to matter if an opponent has an answer for the explosive pass play — they’re going to try and do it anyway.
As far as Carroll was concerned they were playing winning football. It didn’t matter that the wins came against the New York Jets, the Washington Football Team with a reserve quarterback or the San Francisco 49ers’ backups.
Therefore no need to adjust. No need to change the formula.
The Seahawks only had two wins all season against playoff opponents. They beat a Dwayne Haskins-led 7-9 Washington team and the Rams in week 16. They were then absolutely hammered by LA in a rematch a fortnight later.
It feels like the Seahawks were complacent. Clearly they could see the issues just as much as we could. They were all listed by Carroll today. They didn’t act on them though, seemingly because they were lulled into a false sense of security thanks to a cupcake schedule that was a gift from the football gods.
It also speaks to Carroll’s apparent stubbornness to stick to his guns rather than treat each individual opponent like a new challenge. If you know a team is going utilise a two-deep safety look, or if they start to show that early in the game, why not have a specific plan to counter that?
We all knew Aaron Donald having a great game was LA’s best chance to win on Saturday. Aiming to take shots, as Carroll suggested today, while facing two-deep safety looks might as well have come with a bouquet of flowers and a card saying:
‘Dear Aaron, hope you had a great Christmas, here’s a late present courtesy of the Seahawks. Have a safe trip to Lambeau.’
Why wasn’t the game plan tailored to try and lessen the damage? You might argue it’s impossible to limit Donald. But it isn’t. The Niners’ backups did it twice. They handled the Rams twice. They beat them twice.
Donald had one sack in his two games against San Francisco.
Kyle Shanahan came up with a plan that gave them the best chance to avoid allowing Donald to dominate.
Seattle, instead, walked into a buzzsaw.
And the worst thing is they’ve been playing Donald twice a year since 2014. They should know by now how to avoid getting so badly burned. Yet time and time again they are here — trying to be what they want to be, rather than doing what they need to do.
You’ve got to anticipate and adjust in the NFL. It sounds like Carroll is intent on his team trying to impose themselves on every opponent while establishing who they want to be — rather than cooking up a plan that might catch an opponent off guard.
After all — how difficult is it for another team to plan for the Seahawks if they know what they’re going to try and do every week?
Where is this plan getting them? One playoff win in four seasons? Not even remotely close to a NFC Championship in years?
And what happens next year when they’ve worked out a plan to conquer two-deep safety looks and another opponent simply counters that? Are they just going to plough on again and wait until the off-season to address that fresh issue?
It gets worse though. Carroll revealed he overruled Brian Schottenheimer on the 4th and 1 call that led to an expiring play-clock, a false start and then a punt.
Again, Carroll dismissed questions about it from the media like they were making a mountain out of a molehill.
Does he not see the problem though? How often are the Seahawks in these situations with an expiring play-clock?
I know he’s the Head Coach and the buck stops with him. But he needs to make a decisive call on whether they’re going for it or not and then get out of the way.
For all the people who want to criticise Schottenheimer, how often is Carroll getting involved in these situations? And for all the complaints about Schotty this week — what if the Head Coach is insisting on how they play their opponents?
It doesn’t exactly take a giant leap to imagine the same coach who meddles on a fourth down call would equally insist on his co-ordinator throwing downfield against two-deep safety looks every week.
No doubt Carroll’s response would be to point to the wins. What good are they if they mask problems that go unaddressed, only to rear up in the first playoff game?
It’s simply not acceptable for the coach to be so dismissive of certain aspects of a struggling offense, then say after the fact that they needed to do more to address all of the obvious issues. That’s what the coaches job is.
One of the best things Nick Saban has done at Alabama is cede some control. He’s employed a list of experienced offensive coordinators to run things. The results have been emphatic — with explosive plays galore, balance, success. Everything Carroll wants in Seattle.
Yet with the Seahawks, Carroll doesn’t cede control. He appoints people who are prepared to do things his way.
It feels like he actually might’ve given up control for a few weeks at the start of the season as Russell Wilson set the MVP pace. Then at the first sign of trouble — rather than learn and adapt to what teams were doing, he circled the wagons and he was calling the shots again.
It shouldn’t be this way any more. How are things ever going to change if they just keep doing the same thing year after year?
Carroll can clearly coach a defense. Focus on that and your culture and your clear motivational skills. Be the leader this team needs — yet like all good leaders, appreciate the art of delegation.
Let someone else complete the circle for you.
And this has nothing to do with his comments about running the ball more. I’m perfectly comfortable with that.
What I don’t understand though is how they’ve gone about installing that preference during this reset.
We all know what Carroll’s ideal offense looks like. It’s a bit like what we see from Cleveland.
Yet instead of drafting the definitive ideal running back for the Seahawks based on style and physical attributes in Nick Chubb — they select Rashaad Penny instead.
I wrote about this in December. The decision to draft Penny instead of Chubb is one of the single most confusing, avoidable mistakes of the Carroll era.
If you typed all of Seattle’s preferences at running back into a machine, a freshly created Nick Chubb would come out of the other end. I’ve broken this down in great detail.
Their dream player was staring them right in the face and they took someone else.
I saw this exchange on twitter last night:
Nick Chubb is a player that most NFL front offices are sick they passed on.
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 11, 2021
We both know of one team in particular.
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) January 11, 2021
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) January 11, 2021
Here’s Lance Zierlein, confirming what we already know. The Seahawks massively regret overthinking this one and they’re left dealing with the consequences now — talking about needing to be better in the running game.
It’s not just a Nick Chubb issue though. Rather than sign the best right tackle in the league (Jack Conklin) for $8m this year and $13m next year — they spend +$10m on Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister and fritter away millions on players like Joey Hunt and Branden Jackson.
Rather than take the opportunity to draft one of the really appealing runners in the last draft (Jonathan Taylor’s looking pretty good these days) they instead decide a WILL linebacker of the future is the order of the day. They could’ve set up their line for years with Cesar Ruiz and Robert Hunt also within touching distance.
Cleveland took Chubb. Cleveland signed Conklin. Cleveland used their top pick on an offensive lineman. Cleveland has invested across the line in players like JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio. They’ve signed Kareem Hunt.
That is a commitment to identity that simply hoping for the best with Ethan Pocic and adding B.J. Finney just can’t compare to. And sure — Brandon Shell had a strong first year. I would argue he hasn’t played as well as Conklin and it speaks to the contradiction here of wanting a certain brand of team and investing so much resource in other areas.
How exactly are they going to run better and more frequently next season when the top two running backs are both free agents and can’t stay healthy? They have at most four draft picks. They have limited resources in terms of cap space.
Presumably it’ll be another visit to the bargain bin and maybe the second rounder will go on a left guard or a running back.
Carroll painted an optimistic vision for the future several times today yet they only have 34 contracted players for 2021. There are 36 players reaching free agency or restricted free agency.
That’s a lot of players to retain or replace. Thanks to the Jamal Adams trade, taking away their main draft stock for the next two years and seemingly set to eat an $18m a year hole in the cap soon, they have very little scope to enforce the change they want to happen.
Same vision. Same approach. Same players. Limited change.
Why is anything going to be any better next year?
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Great article Rob.
I think the complacency isn’t just on the offensive side but on the defensive side as well. Carroll’s shock at what the Bills did is emblematic. He wanted to take away the run, and by god, he took away the run. For 6 games. And teams ate them up by passing. Even against the Rams last week, the broadcast touted that the Hawks were 6th in the league against the run. Of course, because no one needed to run against them. But when teams ran against us, they did very well. Our defensive “turnaround” was a mirage.
The comments after the Bills game is what sticks with me too. I can accept a few strategic blunders for the resilient culture and never say die attitude Pete brings. But I feel that culture though is on its last legs and on verging of collapsing, Shaq taking the Giants lightly would’ve never stood a few years back for example. Can’t help but wonder if the players have doubts about Pete as a tactician as well. Rob surmised about the potential riff between Carroll and Wilson regarding style and strategy on offense and the jekyll and hyde performance on defense this year on d has to have the team question the game plan put in place week to week and quarter to quarter. As soon as that doubt sets in I feel like it’s tough to get back.
Russ is not absolved of blame either. He can talk all he wants about he and DK striving to be the best ever but outside of an unbeknownst injury, horrid game plan or not there is no excuse for his play to drop off so much for the second half of the year.
I hate to say this, but I think when Pete reasserted control, the wind went completely out of Wilson’s sails.
I’m not saying he gave up, but I think his previously indefatigable passion waned.
It’s going to be an interesting offseason.
Certainly.
What we discussed two weeks ago is so relevant now.
https://seahawksdraftblog.com/how-the-playoffs-could-help-shape-seattles-future-with-wilson
Jeff – I think you absolutely nailed this. It’s the easiest explanation to not only RW’s performance drop, but his demeanor was no the same. Nice call.
I said the exact same thing Jeff, only to me, it actually looked like they did give up.
Rob wrote what I think a lot of has felt and feard for a few seasons now,Carroll can’t seem to fight his football demons. He’s a brilliant defensive mind as well as an amazing culture builder. The problem is as Rob said that he can’t really get out of his own way on offense,presumably because of an obsession with identity. Here’s a thought,identify quality offensive minds and let them coach. If Carroll can just deal with the defense and the big picture and leave the offense to the coordinator and Russ I think we would be much better off going forward. If he can’t do that we might as well trade Russ to invest in the line and running backs and the play the offense Carroll wants.
Pete has turned into the 10-6 version of Jeff Fisher. Yay culture!
I may still be too emotional about that debacle of a game and press conference, so this is how I’m feeling now. If I was Russ I’d tell Pete he needs to stay away the offense & give the OC full control or I’m demanding a trade. Russ ain’t winning rings with a HC that pulls that 4th & 1 nonsense.
Also, Rob, thanks for another great season of articles & podcasts. I really appreciate what you’ve done with the blog. Keep up the great work!!
Thank you
That’s the funniest and saddest thing I’ve read all day.
The issue to discuss that you’ve brought up in the past is lack of accountability. Pete’s not going to fire himself. Jody Allen isn’t going to fire him. Pete has free reign to scoff and dismiss media inquiry into his shortcomings.
Who is able to tell Pete right now that what he did wasn’t good enough?
I don’t know… but someone needs to do it.
We all need to hear some home truths from time to time.
I’m not convinced ‘Tater’ or his son actually did that. I mean, it’s Tater and his son. It needs to be someone who he respects who will tell him a few things he maybe doesn’t realise he needs to hear.
I thought it was incredibly telling when he was asked who he leaned on to tell him the truth, the named his two sons and someone who works for the Houston Texans as his go-to truth tellers and lamented that he’ll miss that from Brennan.
Not a single mention of his two coordinators.
Your top two lieutenants should have free reign to tell you when your battle plan isn’t working. He should expect it from them. They should be having regular discourse.
My heart sank multiple times during that press conference. This was one of those moments.
Pete used to provide hope and optimism. Now he just makes me want to fast forward five fan years.
He also said any successful person needs honest feedback, and in the same breath admitted he doesn’t get it very often.
How absolutely confounding.
Let’s just say it…
He talked a load of absolute bollocks.
He’s a politician that has lost the ability to spin the narrative.
Same here Rob. I felt completely crushed.
Well said.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
There is only one person above accountability, and it’s the one running the show.
I am sad, we’re going to see the same thing next season.
Same old, same old
Carroll can clearly coach a defense. Focus on that and your culture and your clear motivational skills. Be the leader this team needs — yet like all good leaders, Carroll can clearly coach a defense. Focus on that and your culture and your clear motivational skills. Be the leader this team needs — yet like all good leaders, appreciate the art of delegation.
Let someone else complete the circle for you.
So beautifully put. Pete even stated to missing Brennan his son and Sherman Smith telling him what’s up, especially when its not what he wants to hear. He needs coaching too!
Let John negotiate some more say in who they draft. Russell Wilsons camp demand say and control of offensive direction or just trade the man and build the best running game/defense draft picks and free agent dollars can do.
This article sums up the way I’ve been feeling since the press conference. Really sapped any hope I have for this offseason.
I appreciate your vein of “pessimism” Rob, although I think it’s pragmaticism, not pessimism.
I see a team going nowhere until Pete retires. Yeah, we may make an early playoff entrance and exit, but that’s the extent of it. Pretend for a second that Cleveland doesn’t fumble and John Elway doesn’t make “the drive” and the Browns win and go on to win the Super Bowl.
Would anyone see Pete as any better than Marty Schottenheimer? And what was Schotty Snr known for? Great defense, run-first football that fell flat in the playoffs. It was only via the extraordinary superiority of one of the top5 defenses of all time that Pete Carroll became a SB winner, and it is only through luck that he won’t forever be remembered exactly like Schotty Snr, as a great motivator and defensive coach who was behind the times offensively.
If you keep doing the same thing year after year you’ll get the same results.
I too feel that’s where we’re at with the Seahawks now.
And Carroll seems more concerned with proving a point about his way of doing things than embracing what might give him a better chance to end his career with glory.
The problem i think now going forward is Russell Wilson.. On the radio i heard a pretty good question that i think is extremely relevant… If this is the offense you’re going to run.. do you need a 35 million dollar QB?
I think we all know that the answer is no.
And I think it’s a question that warrants a serious, adult conversation.
We all love what Russ has been to the Seahawks. But you can certainly make a case that if this is the way we’re playing for the next five years, then what Carroll really needs is a QB that can do what he needs — convert third downs, keep the offense on track, not be totally useless with the deep ball.
And then plough that $35m into your defense, O-line and running game.
If you don’t want to do that, then you have tailor your offense to the skills of your $35m a year investment, not your own personal philosophy.
Tyler! Howzit?
I quit FG and rarely comment here. I figured out that contemplating Pete makes me a raging arsehole (when in Rome) and I should stop inflicting myself on kind and gentle people when I am in that state.
Still fighting the good fight I see.
Hope all is well.
i frequently visit both, a surprise to see him here too.
Never got the hate for SDB though, a different viewpoint is always beneficial to discussion
Yeah, I like Rob’s position, and what’s more, I like to hear it even more when I don’t agree with it.
Awww, I pop in here from time to time. Like Coral, not a fan of the commenting system. Love Rob’s work and always read him whether I come in or not.
I didn’t realize you quit FG. The place is definitely worse for it.
Search me out on FB – Tyler A Jorgensen Someday when it’s allowed again, we’ll sit down with some beers and talk about the greatest dynasty that never was. But get me on FB regardless, buddy.
I find two themes in nearly every post on this blog and I’m not sure they can both be true:
– Pete Carroll isn’t getting the most out of the team.
– The team is poorly constructed.
I just don’t think you get a perennial playoff team from a coach who’s no good and a whiff on every pick. Alternatively, what if Pete is great at managing men but loses some of his value with play-calling, and what if the Seahawks haven’t nailed all their picks, but have built competently given how low they’ve picked?
I guess my feelings about the Seahawks are really close to my feelings about SDB: moments of excellence and joy with a handful of lingering concerns because inevitably we’re all human. Even if neither are the best of the best, their both very, very, good, and that’s an accomplishment.
I think you’ll find it’s more a case of suggesting obvious and avoidable personnel mistakes have been made that have prevented this team from reaching its full potential — and pretty basic glaring errors like failing to anticipate what an opponent will do defensively, not having a coherent plan to beat them or adjusting where necessary are being made.
It’s fairly simplistic to reduce a 2000 word article (which has followed two others totalling 8500 words overall) to the implication that my stance is ‘coach crap, everything’s a whiff’. That’s not remotely what I’ve argued.
This is pretty much the crux of what I’ve argued. So I’m not sure what the stuff above is about. Although I dispute they’ve built competently. There have been too many mistakes since the reset to claim this has been a competent build.
I guess it’s a shame some commenters don’t deliver the best of the best all the time, too.
It boggles my mind how people can’t stomach constructive, well thought out criticism of something they care about. This shade towards Rob especially in a holier than thou fandom tone I find insulting to Rob’s work and pointless toward productive discussion.
Sadly…I can. I responded to a twitter poll the other day about thoughts if PC was not the coach next year. I said “I’d be more optimistic but understand that things could absolutely be worse. I want to gamble on ceiling.”
I have a minimal presence on Twitter but received tons of responses:
“You entitled prick.”
“F*** off a**hole.”
“Oh so you’re smarter than PC you POS.”
So yea…I’m not at all surprised that people, in 2021, are wholly incapable of handling an opposing opinion without interpreting it as a personal indictment.
That last sentence is so depressingly spot on.
Yeah but that’s not what we’re doing here, myself or Rob. I value his insight, I read his blog, and I disagree when, for me, the reasons dictate. I’d never debase the blog or its author– they both provide hours of well-developed content. I just happen to disagree.
I’m not even sure how much we disagree about the issues– just their scope.
I agree that some of the problems are obvious. But I also think that the obvious ones (play-calling, for example) are smaller issues than the things that the team is getting right (motivating a group of people). I also think that biggest tensions that we can identify– including the apparent conflict of styles between Russ and Pete– are black boxes to us as fans. It’s basically unknowable how good this team is without Pete. It’s not impossible that Russ is long gone from the NFL!
Rob, your writing on the draft is basically the best on the internet, for any team. So what value is there in going back and saying the team obviously missed on Chubb? It wasn’t obvious at the time! Nor was it obviously to any other team that DK would become what he is. Thank goodness we got one of them!
I think that Pete’s shortcomings– which are both obvious and at his age, calcified– are balanced out by the leadership that delivered us a winning decade. For me, the steady focus on Pete makes this a 12-4 blog rather than a super bowl winner and I stand by my reasons (and the fact that 12-4 is excellent!).
This isn’t the point though.
Over the course of the last decade I’ve been able to identify and write in depth about what the Seahawks look for at certain positions. At running back in particular, I’ve been able to narrow down small lists… sometimes including just two players… and identify which players the Seahawks will take at the position. It’s been quite easy to do and I’ve picked out the players they’ve drafted… from Prosise to Carson to Penny to Dallas etc.
Chubb didn’t just fit the category of what they look for. He was the living embodiment of it. If you said to me… create the perfect Seahawks running back. It would be Chubb.
Yet they passed on him. I discussed why I think they did in this article https://seahawksdraftblog.com/the-three-big-draft-mistakes-that-impacted-seattles-reset
It was a huge mistake and clearly, based on the tweets contained in this piece, they know it. They absolutely know it. They talked themselves out of drafting THE guy who would’ve been perfect for them.
That’s why it’s a problem. It’s just such an avoidable error.
As for DK Metcalf — I don’t know anyone who was ruling out a career like he’s having. Many people had him down as a top-10 pick. It was ridiculous he fell as far as he did and it was clearly because teams were spooked by the neck injury.
There’s no question, with hindsight, drafting Penny over Chubb was a mistake. A big one even after watching him run yesterday!
But as you said, the reason lots of teams passed on DK is exactly the same reason the Hawks passed on Chubb. He was coming off of a serious knee injury (even though players generally recover from these without issue) and that scared Pete/John off. They thought Penny was a near equal talent, one without any injury history! It’s a tough irony that Penny is now the one with the knee injury and hasn’t played in a year+.
Like Jose said, I feel fortunate they were able to land DK when they did. I’m also disappointed they didn’t take a chance on Chubb, or Taylor this year!
Chubb and DK are totally different cases though.
For starters, DK was told towards the end of his final year in college that he should consider retiring. He chose not to after further looks at his neck injury. But his next game after picking up that injury was literally his debut for the Seahawks.
Nick Chubb suffered a serious knee injury. Nobody told him to consider retiring. He then came back and played two more full seasons at Georgia and helped them reach the national championship game, showing no ill-effects.
Metcalf nearly dropped into round three. Chubb was the #35 overall pick.
The two situations are nothing alike. And if they thought Penny was a near equal talent — they were wrong. And if ‘health’ was a difference maker (and I’ve speculated that it possibly was) then it’s pure ineptitude by the Seahawks given Chubb played multiple seasons as a starter for Georgia and they judged Penny’s durability on ONE single season as a starter in a more easier conference.
But look — we know they f-d this up and we know they know they f-d it up. Look at Lance Zierlein’s tweets.
I shouldn’t have said these two situations were “exactly” the same, you’ve pointed out some differences.
I still contend there’s a lot of similarity though in the reason teams passed on DK and the Hawks (and other teams) passed on Chubb. Regardless of whether teams were right or wrong and despite the nature or perceived seriousness of their respective injuries being different, some teams were wary of each player’s health. Both players were prospective first rounders, and clearly round 1 talents, who slipped to round two primarily due to health concerns.
You do an outstanding job of talent evaluation, but I imagine you would agree that there’s very few sure things in any draft, beyond the top 10-15 picks! In other words, there was no guarantee Chubb would turn out to be significantly better than Penny. Or better than Procise, or the host of other RB’s with very similar measurables. Sure looks like teams were wrong on Chubb and the Hawks were right on DK, so far at least.
But Chubb didn’t slip, that’s the point. He was expected to be a late first or early second round prospect. That’s generally the range where the best running backs go these days. He went earlier in the draft than Derrick Henry.
D.K. Metcalf nearly fell into round three. That is a significant, big difference. We can’t compare the two situations at all. As I said — Metcalf was told he might have to retire. His next game was for the Seahawks. Chubb hurt his knee, got healthy and played two more years.
It’s possible the Seahawks whiffed on Chubb because he’d had a knee injury and Penny hadn’t — but we can clearly see that they made a huge error there and talked themselves out of drafting their ideal RB.
It’s nothing to do with sure things in the draft.
If as an organisation you identify a clear and consistent profile for certain positions — and then you have the perfect player for your preferences, but talk yourself out of taking him — that is a mistake that warrants criticism.
RE: Chubb vs: Penny;
PC is described here by many as a coach who knows talent evaluation well and will “nearly always” use a player to his strengths. When Penny entered the draft it was acknowledged by many “evaluators” that his strongest performances were running outside, – in space. Since becoming a Seahawk, Penny has averaged around 6-7 carries a game and the vast majority of his carries have been up the middle, off tackle runs and very few “outside” runs. Chubb, on the other hand was/is a Carson clone and due to the previous seasons injured RB situation, his injury was perhaps of major concern for Chubb’s durability. Bottom line, PC only wants to run up the middle & he’s not open to running the ball outside much if at all. That also isn’t using a player to their strengths. PC = bullheaded and living on his past success. Perhaps PC just needs to retire sooner rather than later.
Here’s the one single note of optimism I have. To lose like this to a divisional opponent in the WC when you had all the tools you needed to beat them is quite unlike our losses in years past. You’re not exactly out for blood against Dallas and in all fairness, they were a pretty goddamn talented team that year. Maybe you can rationalize that one. And Green Bay – well, maybe you can justify that loss as not having what you needed to play your game. However, you had no excuse this Sunday. Absolutely none.
To me, that’s the nail in the coffin. And I’m praying it’s the reason why Pete takes an honest look at both himself and this team and identifies what he needs to do to fix the culture, coaching and execution.
how do you build an offense built on rhythm and timing when you have a QB whose greatest weakness is the quick pass and vision to the short underneath routes. when he knows he can’t see, he tucks the ball and takes a bad sack. when he can’t see, but doesn’t realize it, he throws terrible picks.
Wilson used to be able to compensate for his lack of vision with 9 step drops and otherworldly escapability, but defenses adjusted to the 9 step drop and as he’s aged, Wilson is no longer able to escape the pocket with enough regularity to have an efficient off-script offense.
The answer, it seems, is to build the offense to compensate for Wilson’s weaknesses rather than to try to ignore his weaknesses. Wilson needs a good interior line that doesn’t give up ground and can control pass rush lanes. He needs taller targets on pass routes, which might be why we saw the drafting of Parkinson and Sullivan, and why the team thought Olsen would be valuable.
My biggest concern is that Wilson’s compensatory mechanisms for his limited vision have dropped below the event horizon and that no amount of help will allow him to be a consistent threat against upper tier DLs.
This defense could be a top 10 unit next season, if we can re-sign a few key players and barring injury misfortune
I’m far less optimistic about the offense, and I’m not sure Wilson will ever perform as a top 10 QB again.
This 100%
Instead of throwing to his outlets, Russ stubbornly forces things down the field causing him to hold the ball and take way too many sacks.
Also, this does not get talked about enough, Russell struggles mightily with pre-snap reads and adjustments. The only time he is able to make an adjustment is when it’s obvious it’s cover 0.
It’s taken Russ 9 years to learn how to use a hard count and he sucks at it, drawing his team offsides more than the defense.
Really well said, I’ve been reading a lot about Wilson’s lack of knowledge pre snap and timing deficiencies. I feel what helped Wilson a lot during his younger years was play action and his mobility. He was able to make the passes when the defense bit on the play action and his mobility helped him make passes when plays were broken.
We’re seeing Wilson’s mobility decrease slowly, but soon it’ll be non existent. When Pete talked about “running” more I think he knows what he has in a quarterback. I don’t think Wilson is in the same category as Cousins, but he is showing some severe limiting qualities. I hope the FO sees this and makes the best decisions soon moving forward.
Well said.
Where does John Schneider fit in all this? Who made the Penny over Chubb call? Is Carroll meddling too much in other areas? Is that why we hear rumors of JS to Detroit? OR has JS lost his mojo ? For all his talk of wanting to be bully because as hell doesn’t draft bullies! Penny, Jimmy Graham, are hardly the bully type this team team needs to be gutted. But sadly they will just remain on life support until Carroll walks away in five years
Would love to know the answer to these questions.
Purely speculative here, but I’m guessing Schneider was not in favor of the Percy Harvin or Jamal Adams trade. It’s gotta suck for Schneider to go into this off-season with limited cap space and only 1 quality draft pick and 3-4 picks total. Not only that but there’s no 1st round pick to be had until 2023.
I think you might be right.
This is where my mind has settled.
Right on!
Those questions are at the absolute core of our speculations about what is wrong. If we could know the answers we could comment with better focus.
As you have said before, I would add just one other thing that we can’t know for sure: To what degree is ownership allowing the FO to run amok?
I think Pete may be taking a bullet for his coaches (which wouldn’t be out of character) on the 4th down play – doesn’t matter, whatever happened, it’s 100% unacceptable.
I’m also not going to judge as harshly on the Chubb/Penny issue – b/c every team has hits and misses (among others, Belichick passed on Chubb to take Sony Michel).
But . . .I sadly agree w everything else in this piece. I do think Carroll is stubborn, and just not an innovator, and I don’t have an argument as to why the offense will turn around unless he cedes some control, as you’ve noted.
The wins, of course, do make it incredibly tricky. Who fires a perennially successful coach after a 12-4 season? it takes a certain type of uber-demanding owner, which as you’ve also pointed out, we don’t really have right now. OK, now I’ve depressed myself.
Don’t forget Russ. He said they got the play in, Russ just didn’t get it hiked in time.
I don’t think so. I mean, it makes perfect sense. You call a play. The Head Coach then meddles. The play-clock runs out because they don’t get the play in on time.
But Nick Chubb isn’t the living embodiment of everything Belichick wants in a running back.
Not only does he meddle, he meddles during an injury timeout and they STILL need to rush the snap. That is just bad football, period. And trying to justify it by saying that it was a decent decision to punt the ball anyway is seriously wince-able.
One thing I will say about the media, though. There are some relative newcomers who are starting to get in Pete’s face more at these conferences. It’s not all love and lollipops at this point. Just mostly. But by Seattle standards, a change in the mood.
I think you’re right about Pete taking a bullet for his coaches, and not just over the 4th down play on Saturday. He did this quite a bit when people were calling for Ken Norton’s head. And a good leader should do this to some regard, as long as he also is working to correct the problems.
The main issue is that Pete has no accountability now with Paul Allen gone. He admitted as much in his interview. And 69 year old men are not very likely to change their philosophy on how to build a successful team. I also think that he should be asked to relinquish control over roster construction. This should be John’s job, and of course he would want input on players from the head coach.
Like most people, Pete has strengths. Rob nailed those I think, as he’s a fantastic motivator and culture creator. Don’t think Pete has ever been a particularly innovative coach or one who adjusts quickly and counters what other teams are doing. If Pete has a team with supreme talent, one that can be the bully, he will be very successful and even in the playoffs. If not, we’re left with a decent regular season team who won’t have much playoff success.
You both may well be right about taking a bullet for his coaches. He did for Bevell.
But that fourth down was not one of those instances. The play gets in late because Pete was meddling. He’s done it for years. There’s no way any play caller in the NFL can’t get a play in after a 10 minute injury break. That was 100% because Pete meddled.
PC admitted as much. It was one of the scant times he showed some necessary and humble candor.
PS> What got to me though was the almost arrogant way in which he emotionally retorted to a perfectly reasonable question. The speaking-truth-to-power thing.
How many times we have to take time out just to figure what 4th down play will be. Time management is issue which is overlooked. However great coach PC might be but not trusting his coordinator has been big issue.
All i know is when going into the draft that year every team passed on Chubb.. The Hawks didnt trade back and i thought they would go for chubb for sure.. hes everything you want in a RB and especially PC.. Except his gnarly knee injuries is what i think made teams shy away in the first round..
I mean its the browns that took him.. no telling of how far he could have fallen if the browns hadn’t selected him.. Maybe not long.. but who knows.. So many guys fall off the map during the draft that you wouldnt anticipate to drop..
For me though.. i thought chubb was the pick if they went RB.. and never even heard of Penny at the time.. So, i agree.. not drafting Chubb will always stick out to me .. Even more than drafting bruce Irvin and not chandler jones..
Its confirmed today that Pete is not changing anything, instead calling the season a success. we are living in Pete’s bubble. We can suck and moan all but either Pete changes or gets fired to win another SB. good luck with all one and done playoffs.
thanks Rob (and Cha) for the constant updates and articles. The local sport reporters here are getting bland with covering of the hawks. Has been for a while, they dont necessarily drink the “pete cool aid ” all the time, but are very hesitant to be critical. Appreciate the time and effort it must take to keep this site going
TBH, it’s scary to see the similarities between Marty Schottenheimer and Pete Carroll. Run, run, pass. Conservative. His son on the coaching staff.
Seahawks were one of the highest early passing teams all season long
Yes. I got sick of the first play in practically every game would be a pass. Heck, as far as I’m concerned, Seattle should have went run, run, and run or pass on 3rd against the Rams. It would have saved them from the many times they were off schedule and facing long conversions. It also would have limited the Ram’s sacks. Their play calling against defenses the past several weeks was like pissing into the wind.
“No doubt Carroll’s response would be to point to the wins. What good are they if they mask problems that go unaddressed, only to rear up in the first playoff game?”
Truth.
Funny how Doug Pederson outcoached Bill Belichick just a couple of years ago in the Super Bowl and now he’s unemployed. Never mind the plethora of injuries on that roster.
I think next season will be so decisive. We will have a very strong schedule (this season was garbage), and an outdated coach that’s gonna double down on his view of football.
I see 3 possible outcomes:
1)win it all petes way and go to the Sb (very unlikely)
2) same thing for the last 6 years, not bad, not great, early exit (very likely)
3)miss out the playoffs (more likely than 1)
PC will only change/retire/get fired if he exhaust all possibilities of winning with his culture and we as fans lose with all of that
Oh god I made the mistake of looking at next year’s schedule. We’ll be lucky to win 10 games, and most likely we’ll win 8. Bears, Lions, Jags, Titans, Saints, Packers, Vikings, Texans, Colts, Giants…
The Jags are the only team I can feel confident in beating. Titans, Saints, Packers, Vikings, all will probably beat us. Then we split our NFCW games and we’re at 7 losses.
I don’t see that as a tough non-division schedule at all. Saints are done after this year. Vikings always flounder. Packers are good but every team has to play someone good. Bears, Lions, Jags, Texans (especially potentially without Watson) all suck.
Spot on Rob. I have commented many times here over the years on his inflexibility and his inability to move into the 21 century and be more creative. For years they have run the same basic defense with maybe three variations that every body knows. For the life of me I cannot understand why they steadfastly insist on making RW into a pocket passer. They shunned the roll out that worked well in the 4th quarter of the 49er game, why? I always point to Belichick changing the game plan week to week and lament why PC cannot due the same. People say ” He has won a lot of games, you cannot argue with success.” But is it really success exiting early in the playoff’s every year? unfortunately , his comments tell us he won’t change. Just have to suck it up until his contract is up.
Great article Rob. Agreed. Petes room for error has now ran out. He should be fired next year if this continues and refuses to cede control to the offense and adapt to the 21st century. Still in favor of firing Schotty. But pete is right next to him on the chopping board should we see the same result next year.
Absolutely terrible exit from the postseason this year.
He even admitted in the postgame press conference that the Rams had success because they’d seen what the Seahawks do a lot and planned for it.
Joe Fann asked him why doesn’t that go both ways? They see the Rams just as much. PC answer? They have Aaron Donald and if you can think of way to contain him, good on you.
I’d give anything if Joe had retorted ‘well you’ve got Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner and the Rams seem to do fine with containing them, so what does that say about you?’
Or…
“Well, maybe you have to be as smart as Kyle Shanahan to figure it out.”
I just wanted to add to my post. After the Ram loss, Lockett commented on why the offense didn’t go well the second half of the year, He said ” Teams were giving us coverage looks we hadn’t seen before and we weren’t really prepared for”. Enough said.
Dan Quin to the cowboys
I saw that (guess I’m the only other one besides you! 🙂 )
Good luck Dan!
I think today is the day i realized we’re the 00-03 mariners. A good team that is unsure of itself, one lacking identity and focus.
Additionally the comments pete made today regarding the offense really just hammer home that nothing is changing anytime soon. Russell will want out but not want to say it because it’ll ruin his “good guy” image. Pete will continue to hammer away at his style and nothing much will change. They’ll always have a chance because more times than not they’ll punch the ticket into the post season. It just won’t matter.
At this point someone has to hold them accountable and without paul allen around i’m afraid that ship has sailed. Jody won’t let pete go all in on his style because it would mean trading russell and that wont’ fly if she’s trying to sell them in a few years, conversely, you can’t fire pete because you want stability at the top if you’re trying to sell as well.
All in all it adds up to the same exact BS every year. Here’s hoping for some stupid luck one of these next few seasons….
I’m not sure Russ or Pete being around will dramatically affect the value of the franchise when the trust decides to sell. The Hawks are worth about $3B. Someone who buys a team is looking for cash flow, and Seattle is a small market team. The fans will still support the team if changes are made; but if the team slouches towards mediocrity, the value will go down. It all depends on how soon the trust plans on selling.
i don’t mean that it’ll affect it monetarily, just the uncertainty of having change at the top would effect the likelihood of being able to sell to a particular type of buyer, much easier with a HOF QB and Coach at the top imo
A buyer is going to have his own football people to evaluate staff and personnel. So they’ll be able to spot the flaws in the team and the organization pretty quickly. When sold, everyone in the organization will be gone in short fashion; and player wise, only players under firm contracts will be kept. When you’re spending $3B, a buyer is really looking at the long term cash flow of the team.
Seattle is the 12th largest media market in the US as of the 2010 census, which did not include the last decade of explosive growth in the region. Seattle is not a small market team.
Pete’s endless optimism works against him sometimes. I truly think he believes they were super close to winning it all this year. Not that any of us would truly wish it, but in some way do any of you think a 6-10 season next year might be the best thing going forward? I just don’t see how another 10-11 win season and first round exit does us any good.
If we had our own first round pick next year then I would say it would be good. Won’t do us any favors sucking next year.
This is what I don’t understand. Not once during this season, nor in the offseason did I feel like the Hawks were in a position for a deep run in the playoffs, much less a SB win. They had question marks all over the place. The OL was Duane Brown and four guys either rookies, first time starters, or retreads on their way out of the league. The RBs were all either injured or injury prone. The TEs were either undersized, recovering from catastrophic injuries, or one step away from the broadcast booth. Russ and the WRs were the only sure things.
On defense we had no pass rush, our secondary was extremely sus, and our LB core was aging fast. On special teams (which performed the best of all units throughout the season) we had Dickson who is worth his weight in gold.
We also had a coach who makes terrible decisions in clock management, and can’t make a good challenge to save his life.
And this was a team that was going to go all the way? I just don’t see it. 12-4 was a mirage. This team had no chance.
100%
Agree with everything you said Chris. Which makes the early season success when only the offense was working even more puzzling. I guess it was just the weakness of the opposing teams.
Boyd World Herald
Boyd, MN
Sunday, December 10, 2022
Seahawks Can’t Strike Gold In San Francisco
The Seattle Seahawks concluded its 2021 NFL season the same way it began, with a loss in Santa Clara to the San Francisco 49ers. After losing to San Francisco week one, the Seahawks finished 11-4, including a week 13-12 week fifteen defeat of the 49ers in Seattle after Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, and first-round pick Aaron Banks had been injured in a bus accident on their way to the game.
After failing to establish the run early, the Seahawks seemed to find life late in the second quarter as Russell Wilson orchestrated a 64-yard drive as the half winded down. Trailing 14-3 with :14 seconds remaining, the Seahawks faced a third and goal from the 2-yard line. A delay of game penalty on the boys in blue required a 10-second run-off. Seattle had previously lost its final timeout (to prevent the run-off) just prior to the 2-minute warning after challenging a San Francisco touchdown.
Carroll had challenged the San Francisco receiver didn’t have two feet in bounds on a touchdown, even though he caught the ball on the 49ers logo midfield and ran for a score straight down the center of the field after bouncing off a would-be tackle attempt by Jamal Adams for a 49-yard reception.
With only :04 seconds remaining in the half, Wilson stared down DK Metcalf and the ball was picked off in the end zone by the team in red.
Although the third quarter was another nightmare for Wilson and the running game, including the loss of Chris Carson to a broken toe, Carlos Hyde after he celebrated his longest run of the day (2 yards) by pulling his hamstring, and Rashaad Penny (undisclosed injury), the Seahawks stormed back into contention on the first play of the third quarter when Carlos Dunlap, playing extra snaps for an injured Darrell Taylor, tipped a pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown by the ageless KJ Wright. After a missed Jason Myers extra point, the Seahawks were still within striking distance only down 14-9.
The 49ers would extend their lead to 17-9 when its offense orchestrated a 20-play 74-yard drive that took a majority of the fourth quarter.
With only 2:58 remaining in the game, Wilson led the Seahawks within striking distance to tie the game in the final minute. Twice the Seahawks had converted on 4th down (they were 0-9 on 3rd down). However, a potential game-tying 18-yard reception by tight end Colby Parkinson was nullified on an Ethan Pocic holding penalty.
In a last gasp attempt, Wilson again looked for receiver DK Metcalf, who was covered by seven members of the 49ers. The pass was tipped away as time expired as a wide open and all-alone Tyler Lockett stood in solitude and disbelief on the other side of the field.
The biggest offensive play of the game for Seattle had been a 67-yard field goal from the foot of Jason Myers early in the second quarter.
After the game, Coach Carroll talked about how proud he was of the team and its ability to finish the season 11-6. Although Carroll lamented the “uncharacteristic” problems the Seahawks had on this day, he refused to let this singular loss define the season. “We’ll bounce back and go get it next year,” he said.
While the 49ers prepare for their divisional showdown next week, the Seahawks will be left to ponder what might have been. Again.
Stupid non-spell check. It should be “Sunday, January 10, 2022.” Not December 10.
“win 13-12 week fifteen” and not “week 13-12 week fifteen” Ugh. Sorry.
Absolutely fantastic read Bobby. Sadly, sadly freaking hysterical.
As I said yesterday – it feels like the end of an era. As an organisation we’re treading water (which sounds ridiculous after a 12 win season) but how many games have you genuinely been excited about this year? We’ve either been bemoaning the embarrassing defence or speculating why the offence has retreated into its shell – Plan A hasn’t worked. Let’s try Plan A again…
I hate to think it, but without a radical overhaul, and some left field thinking, I can’t see how we improve enough over this off season to even compete in the West and break .500 let-alone make the post season next year. If anyone ever has that feeling at work where you think you’ll get found out for not doing your job, that’s how I sense those within Lumen Field are feeling. That we’ve been found out and it’s been two years in the making and the buck stops with PC.
Yup, basically my sentiment during the game.. I think in hindsight, Rob was right.. Hawks were gifted a pretty easy schedule.. Patriots were not the same team with so many players opting out and Cam as the QB.. and still struggled..
Miami was actually looking good and we struggled a tiny bit putting them away. A lot of injuries in the division and we still let cardinals win 1 and had trouble putting away the rams.. 49ers were decimated beyond belief.. Other than that there were no real challenges this season.. Didnt have to play greenbay, saints, Bucs, or ravens.. got lucky to play the AFC east this year and turned in a good year from the outside looking in..
Playoff football is differnt.. And they showed pete carrolls record in the playoffs the last 5 years..
one other thing to note.. one of the NFL memes pages in insta showed russell and his first wife.. he had a 6-2 record and 1 SB win ..
but with Ciara hes got no superbowls and a losing record in the playoffs… Coincidence? i think not..
Oh no. He divorced one woman and married another.
I think Ciara is the least of our worries.
I think the most frustrating part of this season is Carroll got his 5 year extension on Nov. 8th or something. So signed a deal the day Buffalo absolutely embarrassed them.
Puckett on kjr950 was saying that he didn’t think Carroll was happy at all winning like they were.. Which i don’t think anyone could be happy a defense was giving up all time worst yards passing in the history of football… I don’t know what goes on in the meeting rooms or coaches meetings, but the defensive scheming and play calling was atrocious and needed to be fixed. The offense was running high powered and fell behind because the defense couldn’t play and Russ started to make too many mistakes..
I get it, don’t turn the ball over.. But that makes Russell play so terrible, you can see it when he pumps the ball looking deep.. he doesnt pump to fool anyone, hes doing it cuz he wants to let it rip, but hears pete “dont turn it over”…
Its the same brand of football you see throughout the years with bevell or schotty.. they just force it to the best option they have and dont have a lot of creativity.
the only creativity is to run or pass in the same formations and they switch it after you run the same play over and over..
Which i think they meant to do on the 4th and 2 that they couldn’t get off. the Shotgun RPO they always run the ball in, looked like Russ was gonna tuck it and run for the first. too bad they cant get in the huddle and out with enough time letting the clock run under 2 seconds on most their plays.
I said during the game on here, just be ready to turn in some decent season and make the playoffs only to show up like this.. Pete showed that he needed special talent at key positions to turn in a SB run, and some of those players turned on him when they got older and wiser.. Not all of them, but most.. And now Russ is the next guy to turn on Carroll, I wont guarantee it, but put it at 50/50 Russ will turn on them, or ask to be #1 payed QB when his contract is up.
Thanks Rob for your critical articles, its just what most of need.. Too many Seahawks pundits are critical about things on the field but not with every aspect of their decision making.. Well i think KJR 950 is pretty critical but they draw a line when it comes to Pete Carroll himself. They were saying today he needs people that will keep him in line with some game management stuff like Norm Chow did when USC was at their best. Don’t know a lot about it so, couldn’t say if that’s accurate..
Anyway, thanks Rob and here’s to an offseason where they probably don’t draft anyone that you talk about even though they should… I say most players you talk about end up as solid starters across the league.. except for Will Greir.. cheers
Agree, Russ will work his way out of Seattle and that’s probably the quickest way for Pete to get honest feedback/retire. We can sit here and watch Russ 10-6 his way to his late 30’s, or see him leave so we can change for the better. Pretty sad.
Just my pessimistic opinion but I think the organization needs to clean house. I know that sounds like a lot and I don’t think that means everyone has to leave the organization but changes have to be made if we are going to progress. It would be great if we keep Pete as a hands on VP, someone who could be an ambassador and a continuing culture Builder. But it is clear by his last two press conferences that the game, from a coaching perspective, has passed him by. I worry that he has no accountability now due to ownership being in flux and that is no good.
I would be interested in seeing how John Schneider does with full and complete control and I would be interested in seeing what a young, bright offensive mind could do with Russell for the next 5 years. We could even let the new VP tinker with the defense as I still believe he is one of the finest defensive coaches of this era. Pete could still be Pete if we moved him up in the organization and we could keep the best coach we’ve ever had happy and part of the organization without him sabotaging the rest of Russell’s career.
This might be a bit too far for everyone but this is what I would like to see and it remains my wish. Go Hawks!
I would “go for it” or “comPete” next year and then clean house, if necessary. I only say this because these clowns don’t have a first round pick in ’22 and if they actually clean house and trade for the future – they’re going to end up with a top 5 pick next year. It’ll be the exact same thing as the Texans this year (the don’t have the 3rd overall pick because they’re idiots).
If I were upper-management, I also would not approve any trading away of draft picks in 2023 (or anything more in ’22).
Trading the farm for Jamal Adams was stupid (it didn’t help them win a Super Bowl). They got further in the play-offslast year without him.
Here’s the drill. Seattle will not win another superbowl until they get new ownership. The owners completely set the tone and the culture of the team because the head coach needs to feel shit scared he will be fired if he doesn’t perform in order to actually push himself to do his job in new and uncomfortable ways. Capitalism is premised on that basic idea: unless a worker is accountable, he has no reason to try new things or push himself. Pete Caroll can say the ridiculous things he says in his press conference because it doesn’t really matter. He’s the boss. For him, what a great season. A 5 year deal, NFC West and 12-4. But at no point did he feel any need to really work on making adjustments, being innovative, and listening to new ideas. He’s a control freak and he is the one obsessed with identity because what he wants is to impose his identity, even more than to win a Superbowl. It reminds me of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. An outdated model and philosophy in fundamentally changed, modern game with no accountability. And we’re stuck with this now. Strap yourselves in.
Given we’ll be strapped in for five more years, I think I’ll stretch my legs first.
College Football moan…
Why have ESPN replaced their unobtrusive small box with the score/time with an ugly, fat, distracting bar across the bottom of the screen taking up loads of space.
Ho-hum.
Agree 💯. This is bad. WTH are they thinking at espin?
Cuz it’s ESPN and most everything about them totally sucks nowadays.
Hugh Millen just had a great segment on KJR. Couple highlights:
Dick Fain asked why they couldn’t just run the ball most of the time and just “make it a 15-12 type game.” Millen’s reply, “Dick…I stopped listening because it’s 2021 and you have a $35M QB – I’m not going to entertain trying to win with 15 points.” LOL – funny moment.
On a more serious note, Millen lit RW up on several occasions accusing him of “not making reads that he expects an 8th grader to make.”
I’ve long been outspoken how I think RW really struggles to process the game – this seems to validate it. At the end of the day, I think it’s a combination of RW being a guesser (with defenses), PC putting the reigns on RW after Buffalo, and Schottenheimer lacking creativity and/or being hamstrung by PC.
At the end of the day…yikes.
And yet… this is what Carroll supposedly wants to do.
I’m watching QB tape for the first time in nine years.
It kind of makes me wish JS could have traded russ for a high #1 and get Josh Allen when they looked pretty hard at him.. Would we still have a playoff team since then? maybe.. but i know Josh would be more willing to run and get positive yards when russ just scrambles and gets sacked.. probably would have seasons ending in the same way and saved some money for 5 years..
Find us a winner Rob! Then tell JS about him.
100% regarding Wilson.
Wilson needs a clear picture or else he struggles processing what’s going on. It’s part of the reason why we have so many wasted timeouts because Russ is trying to process the defense pre-snap.
When the Seahawks have a functioning running game they teams need to stop, it puts the defense in more man coverage allowing Russ a clear picture. When teams go cover 2 or cover 4 Russ has a hard time processing the picture.
It’s also why the Seahawks suck at disguised blitzes
Pete is still stuck in his way back machine at USC. He doesn’t trust his coordinators or his players to make the correct call so has to do it himself.
It’s a disgrace that Alabama have allowed Jaylen Waddle to play in this game at what looks to be about 20% health.
Not one bit of that that doesn’t ring true, but even if a good OC where to come in, and PC learns to delegate, without replacing the Wilson this team isn’t going to be a championship caliber team. He was special for a couple years, but he isn’t a real running threat, and can’t beat good teams from the pocket. I dont understand how anyone could see the last half of the season and think the QB situation isn’t the single biggest problem. They overpaid for Addams, but a healthy Addams can fit on a championship team with a scheme that supports and takes advantage of his talents, I don’t think you can say the same with RW. We’ve seen the limit of what the team can be with Wilson, but does he have any trade value? Certainly not the three first round picks it was rumored he was worth at one point, but maybe a first and a couple 2nd from a desperate team like the Dolphins, Colts, Patriots, or Washington. It would be nice to get something before his value drops any further.
Completely disagree. The Seahawks (or almost any franchise in the NFL) can win a championship with Wilson. You simply need to design an offensive scheme to take advantage of his strengths, and provide the personnel around him. That seems to be what most other teams do, and it works. But not in Seattle, we must pound the square peg into the round hole.
At some point of schemings around what don’t you have to ask if people have just figured him out. He’s a bit of an A’s and F’s student, best deep ball in the game, great at scramble drills, but can’t run on schedule and complete short to intermediate with regularly. I think the challenge of scheming around what he can and can’t do is harder on an OC than we give credit for. and given that DK requires the same type of specialty planning around what he can’t do, to take advantage of what he can it’s an extremely tough job on a OC. I think we can do better than Shotty, but I don’t know if Wilson/DK can be fixed, or Carroll for that matter.
I might get ridiculed for this. If Pete wants to run the ball more, should we consider trading DK or Lockett since they won’t be a focus of the offense? Get some draft capital back? Seems wrong but is it? I wouldn’t want to but seems like a waste of talent to keep pushing a conservative run game.
No.
You still need to throw. There’s no need to make life harder there.
What if Wilson was to get traded and asked for Metcalf to go with? What if that was the deciding factor?
They’ve formed a very strong bond, it’s talked about every game and we’ve all seen the photo’s and videos of them hanging out this last offseason.
I love the mentality of Metcalf, but if it pushed a deal over would it be to ridiculous to not look at it? It would not be cheap though, in order to make that trade a team would need to sell it’s soul.
Well if Wilson wants to get traded, he can’t then cherry pick the guys who get to go with him. If he wants DK he has to stay with DK.
I can respect that.
Can you imagine being a running team without WRs would could get deep? Teams would simply stack the box and outnumber you. You wouldn’t be able to run. You need that threat. DK and Lockett can get deep. They’ll just get less chances, but they’ll be more important chances since there will be less though.
I just keep thinking, we’re paying a QB 35 mil then soon a WR 20ish mill for a running team. I get stretching the field vertically, but would we be using our players the best?
I just see Pete Carroll as the old guy on the state farm commercial.. Dangling the dollar bill with a fishing pole.. Oh ohhh.. you almost had it.. He dangles the the run out there and then runs play action deep on 3rd or 4th n short..
Then looks around like… oh did i fool you this time ?!?!? ahah you thought we were gonna run but we threw it ! ahhh haaa! You almost had it that time!..
Sorry for posting so much.. i thought i drank enough saturday night to wash away this season.. but clearly im not over the predictable and atrocious play by Russ and Pete on saturday..
HaHa, loved the visual. Cheers mate!
No.
Unless..you could get 2 first round picks, a third round pick and a player that was about 75% DK Metcalf in return.
But no team would be stupid enough to do that.
Would the Stephon Diggs trade be somewhat of a blueprint? We saw what the Bills gave up for Diggs who is a great WR in his own right and maybe better than Metcalf.
I’m just speculating to speculate.
Sorry that was a dig about the Adams trade.
Sometimes my dry humor doesn’t come across well on a message board.
Ha now I get it, your all good. This format is tricky at times to feel out the others tone.
I think Rob got to the root of the problem with Pete in that he doesn’t trust his staff, hence he meddles and gets in the way. My earlier snarky comment was based on that…just sayin’.
As long as Pete has nobody to call him on his crap, he’ll stay the same.
I miss Paul Allen. Hopefully we get a good owner in the future.
The least the leadership of this team could have done before they finish burning the whole thing to the ground, was keep Rashaad Penny on the bench. It’s like they revel in what a colossal bust they created.
Devonta Smith is the man. Unbelievable
He glides. Beautiful to watch.
Turns out Sark is a pretty good OC, eh? The championship game was a clinic of creativity.
2021, who needs defense.
Ever since losing the SB against the Pats, it feels like this team has been desperately trying to plug holes in the hull of the ship as more and more holes start to burst open. I expect them to start tearing down the sails just to stay afloat. It’s an ugly desperation. I’d rather just board the lifeboats and scuttle the ship at this point.
Maybe it’s time to find a new team to root for. At least until PC retires anyway.
Agreed. Wow. Has got to be up there with best performances by a Heisman winner in a national title game ever so far. Another blog favorite we won’t have a chance at(and even if we did and it was our biggest need would pass on for some idiotic reason only to regret later.)
Pete isnt X’s and O’s. Hes not a gameplanner. Hes a system coach who is good at identifying talent and identifying what type of athlete he wants for his scheme. Great teacher, great organizer thru out the week. But not the X and O guy. Not belichek. Not mcvay. Not shanahan.
Now that the team doesnt have the ridiculous talent of 2012-2015, its shown his shortcomings since. He absolutely needs to find a OC to run a scheme and walk away. Until he does that, we will be just a wildcard team.
Would anyone here want the Hawks to swap Deshaun Watson for Russell Wilson? since Deshaun is upset the texans didn’t hire the GM the firm they hired recommended…
I would. Deshaun is like a young russell
He and Mahomes are the only ones I’d consider trading from
What about herbert? Murray?
With some change since they are not established yet
Its almost extremely unlikely that a trade would happen… Its only because Watson is unhappy and willing to waive his no trade clause..
Sure. I’d also want to swap him for Mahomes. But neither is happening.
It’s worse than I thought and it’s going to be an ugly couple of years. The good news is Rob you’re just going to be rewriting the same article for the next three years that you have been for the last three years. Just save your time and your wife the trouble and cut and paste the previous years articles. This team didn’t win a playoff game. What an absolute joke.
I might actually publish an article from a year ago, not say anything and see if anyone notices.
HAHAHA. That would be classic. Do it. If I notice, I won’t say anything.
Well. …. sad panda here.
But this DeVonta Smith kid… top 5 lock now.
Anybody else running the gamut of emotions watching a dynamic offense play? My brain can’t comprehend the creativity and efficiency.
Too bad Sark going to Texas. Would have been a good get that Pete knows.
I was really hoping for that.
At this point I’d settle for an aging Mike Holmgren to step in as an offensive consultant to get the short passing game unstuck.
That is not even a joke as far as I am concerned. He would be perfect for the role as his offence completely matches Carroll’s vision of a balanced approach without all the same issues which have hammered them for 5 years +. How they cannot implement tempo and timing as driving component to build rhythm on offence with about 10 years of continuity between them is beyond me. Holmgren is master in rhythm, tempo and execution which are all components badly needed for this unit to achieve sustainable success in my opinion.
It has been evident that is one of the big problems on offense every SINGLE year. How many times during each game do they choose to line up in a read-option formation is also killing me. It seems they continue to build on this because it worked in Russell’s rookie season with great effectiveness. Problem is that defenses caught on a long time ago and it is the same look they give every team every week which gives a lot of opportunities to take best practice from each team who has success matching up against us. Go back and watch the game from last weekend. How many times did this run-heavy unit line up in a non-shotgun formation?
Why not have several looks so you have the other team guessing which version who is going to show up each week and make the preparation phase a more difficult challenge? Carroll’s vision of playing his very specific version of football every week works when you are far superior on talent as with the 2013 and 2014 seasons, where we almost had the best players on all positions.
Sark worked under Pete at USC
Effing Alabama. It’s just not fair.
I’m extremely impressed with Justin Fields pocket movement. He’s very calm. I’ve really come full circle on him.
They have to find a way to play each game next year as needed. The Patriots for years have done this. Sometimes pass it 50 times a game, sometimes run it 50, some games even split. Its called adapting. Not after the game but during, not after the season but during.
I’m frankly bored with Carroll, bored with his refusal to adapt and adjust as Rob so eloquently outlined, bored with his same spew (“championship opportunity”), bored with failing to even get to a Conference championship game 6 years running, bored with his piss poor clock mgmt, bored with his wasted challenges, bored with getting lit up by backup QBs, bored with rarely having/holding a comfortable lead against inferior opponents, bored with his poor drafting, bored with the Jamal Adams fiasco (yes, it is a fiasco) etc., etc.
I heard someone say today to never be bored by winning. No worries, with a tougher schedule on the horizon and Carroll’s endless stubborn refusal to adjust and continued belief that he can impose Seattle’s will on every opponent like he did for one or two years with one of the greatest defenses in the over 100 year history of the NFL, I have little doubt mediocrity is just around the corner.
If I’m Russell Wilson, I want out NOW. As a lifelong fan since it was announced in 1974 that Seattle was getting an NFL franchise, I find it sad that Seahawks games won’t be appointment viewing for the foreseeable future. The mediocrity that’s coming is not something I want to examine closely but would much prefer to do so casually when I have nothing better to do. Rubbernecking a car wreck is not my idea of a good time. I’m 64, I hope I live long enough to see a new regime win Seattle’s 2nd Super Bowl (should be 3rd) some time down the road. This regime will never sniff a Super Bowl again.
Rob – Check this video out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Tnuch0-M0
Sarkisian on offense. Incredible. Funny enough, he mentions “you play cover 2 and we will just run on you all day.”
I really think PC is holding this team back on offense. I’m convinced of it.
while preaching run first, need to run more blah blah for years and today…
Watch the whole video. Sark is unbelievable.
His key theme is “it’s not about what I want to do, it’s what our players do best and putting them in the best positions.”
It’s a genuine concern when you have a defensive head coach. I understand having an identity on defense (Big or Physical or Fast or Disciplined). I will never understand locking into something on offense, especially when your world revolves around a QB – and you can’t just replace a QB like you can a LBer or Safety, etc (on defense).
Anyways, Sark’s principles are amazing in that video. He’s basically providing simple solutions to his players.
Last comment – one of the coolest points he makes is that he doesn’t want his players catching the ball at a standstill. He said he called “zero hook routes” this year for that very reason. “I am as athletic as Julio Jones while just standing in one spot and catching a ball. I’m not as athletic if he and I are both running to catch a ball.”
DK Metcalf should never be running routes that require him to be a stationary target.
Back during the SEC Championship against Florida just about a month ago, Alabama football star offensive lineman Landon Dickerson tore his ACL. Obviously, that kept him from playing in the College Football Playoff. Well… for the most part. Nick Saban had other thoughts tonight.
With the clock winding down, and the starters pulled, Saban gave Dickerson an incredible final moment of his college career. Just weeks removed from a “season ending injury,” he got to snap the final plays of Nick Saban’s seventh national championship….
WOW, Hell of a story
Hi Rob
Been a long time follower but never posted in this blog. I would like to say thanks for all your hard work this year. It was very frustrating year and a disappointment finish. I hope you keep working on this blog and don’t let some of the negative comment affect you as this is my no.1 site to follow the seahawks.
Some thoughts:
1. I feel like when Pete saying he wants to run the ball and do not want to see deep 2 coverage, it really seems to point at Russell’s deficiency of being able to pass in the middle of the field. I believe how to beat cover 2 is attack middle of the field with post from tight end or corner routes. Even high school coaches knows this, but for some reason I didn’t see any passes to the middle of the field or even a smash concept to attack the corner. Maybe in the nfl it’s not that simple but not being able to scheme against deep 2 for 8 weeks is mind boggling. And how to attack deep 2 is also to run the ball, which Pete said what he wants to do. In my mind it seems like Pete knows Russell cannot see the middle of the field or just have issues with quick reads, therefore next year he NEEDS to run the ball to not see many cover 2 to help his quarterback.
2. For Nick Chubb over Penny debate, I also wonder how much the teams take into account of the interview they conducted when selecting one prospect from other. I remember I had a chance to talk to one of the known nfl media member and he talked about how he was soo impressed with Clelin Ferrell in interview with him. And I saw him go to no.4 pick in the draft, which was pretty high compare to where he was projected. So my thought is that team do take into account of their predraft interview pretty highly. Is it possible that Penny had such a better interview compare to Chubb? When I conduct job interview to the candidate, first I check if the candidate can do the work which is minimum but other area I look for is do you want to work with this person everyday. Again it’s just speculation but it’s one of the things that is on back of my mind when some draft choices doesn’t make sense. (Or some owner forces teams to pick a certain player, I remember Mike Lombardi talking about that in the podcast one time when he was with the Browns, but that is probably not true for Seahawks).
I feel very confident that Chubb was far more impressive than Penny, in interviews. Chubb is all business. Penny seems…unsure, aloof, every time I’ve seen him talk.
Hey Rob,
I like a lot of your stuff (don’t agree with all of it, but I like that you have different perspectives and opinions than me, it makes me think about things differently, so thanks!). I’m right there with you with the game analysis. So frustrating and (at least it seems) so avoidable! I don’t agree with some of your takes on the draft choices, but like I said, I appreciate the perspective.
So here’s my question…
I think we would both like Pete to give up some of the in-game stuff and focus on what he does best (building culture, defenses, and getting the best out of players). Specifically on time-outs,4th-downs, challenges, and high-leverage plays on offense. Who would be your top 3 people to fill that role? And who would be your top 3 picks for OC and DC? (Within reason)
You are a dying breed I’m afraid Spencer. Thank you.
I would like to see experienced coaches brought in. People who have ideally been Head Coaches themselves. Someone eager to earn another shot at being a HC. Someone with the chops to tell Pete Carroll some home truths — not disrespectfully. But someone willing to challenge and provoke thoughts and ideas.
Doug Pederson and Bill O’Brien on offense immediately spring to mind. On defense, I’d take someone who has worked either with Joe Judge or Belichick. Because they’ve found a formula to limit the Rams.
Seems like Bill O’Brien will be the new OC for Alabama
Yes I saw that.
But hey, the Seahawks haven’t even made any coaching changes.
Not going to either. Doubling down on “(Marty) Schottenheimer ball”.
Although Sagan is extremely demanding (and sometimes throws hissy fits), the Alabama coordinator jobs have to be a couple of the best jobs in sports. Sure, there’s significant pressure to win, but they get to coach up the most elite college level talent every year. Their roster is absolutely loaded with blue chip, five star athletes at every position. Even after they send numerous guys to the NFL every year (many in the first round), they simply reload with those who stick around and the next wave of five star recruits. It’s an amazing football factory they have down there in Tuscaloosa!
And good for Bill, he needs something positive in his career!
Meant Saban of course!
Brilliant article. Just brilliant.
I wonder what Schneider thinks. Surely he must have a little more objectivity on the situation than Carrol?
Great read as always, Rob, and spot on again.
PC being stubborn beyond belief isn’t anything new. Neither is his sticking his nose into everything at the most inopportune times. He admitted as much today and again in the Atlanta playoff loss in 2012 when he changed the D alignment on the Falcon’s game winning drive. “I stepped in it, that’s on me” was his quote. He’s admitted several times his “testosterone” gets the best of him sometimes during games. The frustrating thing is that this is the NFL, where playoff wins are very hard to come by and he’s treating the regular season and playoffs like we’ll always be there next year, let’s just move on.
I wonder, seriously wonder, if spending 12-14 hours per day game planning, making adjustments, scheming your opponent…just isn’t part of his makeup anymore. Age? Hubris? Whatever, we’re stuck with 10-12 wins (sounds great) and zero conference championship appearances for the foreseeable future. Very sad.
Prediction: NFL gives teams one year cap relief due to covid. Russ desires a legacy of GOAT and realizes it isn’t happening under Carroll and asks for a trade to an East Coast playoff caliber team resulting in the following trades: Carolina trades pick 8, 2nd this year, 2nd next, and third this year to Miami to get a QB. Miami trades Tua, pick 8, both early 2nd’s, and a third next year to Hawks for Russ. Hawks pick Tucker out of USC as LT of future and use 2nd round picks to maneuver and ultimately bolster LG, CB, and RB positions with their next three picks.
Finally past my overall anger to be able to post something. So much of what you’ve exposed in this article is raw truth, and it’s all so depressing because we know Pete isn’t going anywhere soon and he seems as set in his ways as any coach out there. I think even his culture setting ways may need to be scrutinized – sure it may work on younger players and for a general fun/lax team environment- but at what point does all that carry over to the field? Some vets have come out saying it was old bs after a while and how many others agree but just keep quiet and ‘do their job’? Could’nt that combination of overly player friendly culture and the under current of players not buying into things translate to a team that plays non-cohesively and without discipline?
Could get into his (many imo) particular flaws in deep detail but at the end of the day he’s just not cutting it in today’s nfl and personally I see plenty of flaws in the way of, and a negative balance on the ledger of drafting/trading/free agents when looking at Schneider’s body of work as well.
The only way this team has a chance in the coming 3 years is if Pete does indeed take a huge step back and bring in some truly innovative coordinators and let them do their thing and for John (and Pete) to realize they need to do whatever they can to get a real o-line that can pass protect and some complimentary pieces for the offense like a fast twitch 3rd WR and a good fast scatback type RB who can catch well, a real TE that actually poses a threat etc.
And a few CB’s, and another DE, a DT or two, a good backup safety for when Adams keeps getting hurt moving forward, almost an entire new o-line, replacing all the guys that are set to be free agents . . . . I’m seeing a pattern in this all. We need a ton of draft capitol and a bunch of upgrades on players already on the roster. Throw in Pete and John aren’t going anywhere – and I’m mad and depressed all over again just writing it down in this forum.
The bottom has indeed fallen out and there is little hope for anything more than a crappy playoff exit here and there upcoming if things continue under ‘Pete ball’. And honestly if there is’nt real changes I could see next year being the year that we really come up against it. We’ve had our share of luck the past couple years including playing backup QB’s strangely often, a ton of really close games and a cup cake schedule this year. Who’s to say an on paper much tougher schedule along with a team (and QB) regressing even just a bit more wouldn’t translate into something like 7-9 next year? Top it all off with the insane haul of picks we gave up for an undersized blitzing hybrid strong safety and it’s hard to see a bright future anytime soon for our Hawks. And seeing Pete and John dwindle it all down to where we are now and waste so many of the best years of the best QB this franchise has ever seen has been gut wrenching.
I fear I’ll still be watching the games because I love football and as in decades past I’m a Hawks fan through thick and thin but I wonder how tough it will be coming down off of our golden age being stuck with the leaders that guided things to a painful, wasteful mediocrity and then the years even after they finally leave trying to rebuild again. Sad.
Two things that would help this team so much would be if they could appoint bright, innovative coaches on both sides of the ball and let them do their jobs with minimal interference and secondly start properly game planning for opponents each week.
As Rob has said before they usually have one signature, impressive win each season where they actually come up with a plan to beat a good opponent; the rest of the season they just want to “play our way” and impose their will on other teams. Thing is they don’t have the talent to do that anymore.
That leads in to the awful drafting and free agency decisions of recent years. So often there are obvious, solid players in the draft the Seahawks pass over for “their guys”. Then you watch the other guys succeed and the Hawks’ picks fall flat.
The Adams trade is going to hamstring them for the next two years.
Sadly PC seems to be in denial, genuinely believing this was the year they had a real chance at winning it all. At no point during the season did I really believe this.
He’s too stubborn to change, sadly it looks like the game has passed PC by.
One question Rob, do you see any teams willing to give up anything worthwhile to trade for Adams?
Yes, absolutely. He’d be a great fit for the Belichick-style defensive schemes in New England, Miami and New York. He’d also be good for any heavy blitzing, attack-minded scheme such as Baltimore or Tampa Bay.
First of all, thanks Rob for giving great coverage of the Seahawks through your blog. It’s a great bonus resource that judging by comments, so many fans are grateful for.
In my experience of following sports for over 40 years, the limits of a team accomplishments is determined by the ambition of the ownership. We see in England, how the ambition of a team like Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United is to remain in the Premier League, and that is just about all they accomplish every season. Fenway Group, wanted that first title in 30 years at Liverpool (inheriting a title drought much as they had done with the Boston Red Sox), and made a splash to get it. Ambition achieved. I feel with the Seahawks, the ownership know they can’t hope to win the Superbowl every season, but the value of their franchise is best retained through getting to the Play offs regularly. To risk changing a coach to splash out for a Superbowl, when you might end up with a franchise that starts missing out on the play offs, isn’t a risk they’re prepared to take. Purely commercially they are comfortable reaching the post season every year and no more. Pete Carroll achieves this objective.
The situation very much resembles the last decade of Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, when the team was constantly making the top 4, but was a team clearly too flaky to win the league again. It wasn’t until Wenger wasn’t making the top 4 anymore that the ownership acted, and of course regrettably as far as this analogy is concerned they now don’t get into the top 4!
We don’t want to wish the Seahawks don’t make the play offs, so what pressure can be put on the ownership to make a change if that is what is needed, without seeming ungrateful for the relative success of the team? I think the best thing to do is to have a continuing conversation about the ambition shown by the ownership, and perhaps without just paying lip service to the fan base, we can hear from them what the goals of this team really are?
Excellent post.
Pete Carroll makes me depressed…
Tbh this situation currently is so f’ed up that I just want some change. I don’t even care if it’d blow up the roster, or going from 12-4 to 4-12. But if this continues this team won’t win a superbowl in the next 8-10 years for sure (5 PC years and couple of years for rebuild after that). That is just sad…especially to write something like this after a 12-4 season and a PO appearance, but this is how I feel about the situation
Been watching more Javante Williams, being so locked in to a prospect so early is almost certainly a recipe for disappointment, but the Seahawks need to draft this guy even if they bring back Carson. If Pete wants this to be a running football team he needs a back to be the bell cow and this is the only guy I can see in this class that could be available to them and can do what they need to do on a consistent basis.
In fact, I hope they do bring back Carson as well. Look what the Browns have done with Chubb and Hunt this year, if you want to be a running team you need the running backs.
https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/1348689325383315457
This tweet from Bob Condotta confirms a brake was put on offense to limit turnovers.
My question would be what’s the point in limiting turnovers if you can’t move the ball.
The more I read, the more it becomes clear PC is absolutely in denial about things and that he won’t change anything meaningful. He still acts like they have the 2013 defense.
Hugh Millen had a really interesting take on this type of thing yesterday. He made the analogy of a hitter who is willing to strike out a little bit more and have a slightly lower batting average, but will hit more doubles and home runs.
He suggested, and I’ve never heard this before, tracking some variation of Yards or Points per Interception. Interesting idea – I’d love to figure out how to properly track this because there is obviously a sweet spot of “risk,” when it comes to pushing the ball down the field.
We’ve seen guys like Alex Smith limit turnovers…and lead his teams nowhere. In fact, eerily similar to PC offenses in recent years. The analogy, going back to baseball is, that’s great you have a bunch of 300 hitters – but when all they are doing is hitting singles – all of a sudden you need at least 3 singles to score a single run.
Anyways – Hugh offers really good inisght because I think he’s the one Seattle media member who actually challenges what’s going on – and with his experience, there’s definitely an air of validity to what he says.
Not a bad thought. I also think the risk/reward strategy should be based on your defensive ability as well.
A certain amount of turnovers are going to happen. It is up to your defense to stand up and get the ball back to the offense.
And the defense in 2020 wasn’t great in this area.
Buffalo game – 4th down near the goal line and RW is intercepted. Buffalo backed up. They drive down the field and get a FG.
Miami – RW intercepted in the end zone. Miami drives for a FG.
Washington – RW throws an INT on a fantastic play by the defender. Dwayne Haskins drives the team down the field for a TD.
None of those scores are the offense’s fault.
And while I’m piling on, in the same vein, PC twice in the Minnesota game elected for short punts instead of going for it on 4th or trying a long FG. Dickson did his job. Pinned the Vikings and the 2 and the 4. Vikings drove for a FG on the first and a TD on the second.
Unacceptable.
Totally agree. Circles back to Rob’s point about their unnecessary obsession with “identity.”
Who are you playing? Then focus your game plan on them. There is no reason, ever, that Wolford or a hurt Goff should have beat this team. None.
We all would have been gnashing our teeth with a simple, low risk ugly win versus the Rams. But the idea is to win. And we know the Rams are a horrible matchup.
Now we are playing the Saints? Well – points are at a premium and we can’t waste possessions.
I know we are oversimplifying things, but this team’s approach to opponents is just astounding.
I’d also argue the general media in Seattle (and us to a degree) have focused a lot of attention on the offensive side of the discussion since the year end press conf. But the defense has as many question marks as the offense.
Just because the defense ended the season in a middling state doesn’t mean there aren’t serious questions to be asked there as well. They’re just better hidden by RW’s star power and the defense ending the season having improved from a horrendous start.
They haven’t “solved” all their issues. Not by a longshot.
An article that says some of what this one by Rob and any number if us here have said. There are plenty of others that see what we see:
https://deadspin.com/after-building-the-seahawks-gm-john-schneider-is-now-d-1846036157
The constant trading out of the 1st round is maddening however this article doesn’t account that ultimately JS works for Pete. Pete calls all the shots. I’d be more inclined to agree with the points raised if the JS/PC working relationship was similar to most other teams (i.e. the head coach reports to the GM).
I do wonder what is happening with the Allen ownership group. I doubt Jody Allen is a lady who just signs checks. I doubt Paul Allen was the only person making decisions in the organization besides PC and JS. I’m also a fan of Paul Allen’s other team, the Portland Trailblazers. For years they were his baby until his first bout with health issues. During that time and for a while after decisions were made by higher ups from his Vulcan company. They had a lot of power, even over personnel decisions. Most of the moves they made were bad as they tried to push the team as a fiscally responsible business rather than a winning basketball team. Its not a great model for Seattle to follow but it does prove others have some sway besides the owner, head coach and GM. Surely Jody Allen and the people she surrounds herself hear the noise following the weekend. Will someone speak up or step forward to address some lacking areas? That could be the biggest question of the offseason
Good points.
Have we turned into the Bengals of five years ago, making the playoffs to get bounced in the first round?
Change is good. I’ll take a losing season in the name of progress. Just want to see something different!
All these Seahawks executives that are interviewing with other teams for their GM jobs. Everybody loves the look of the next rung up the ladder for sure, but it’s possible there’s some feelings not unlike what has been discussed with Schneider. Hamstrung, top draft pick assets spent, and working for a guy accountable to no one and who appears to be doubling down on his strategy.
One of my first questions would be asking about the relationship with PC and the front office staff. Do you guys scout and research and make recommendations, only to have them constantly overridden by the Head of Ops? What would you do differently in our organization?
Dane Buglar over at the Athletic published a 2-round Mock and gave Seattle:
56. Seattle Seahawks — Trey Smith, OG, Tennessee
Listing offensive line as a need for the Seahawks is an offseason tradition. Seattle had favorable results after drafting Damien Lewis, a mauling guard from the SEC, on Day 2 last year, so why not follow that formula? Smith could be plugged in as the starting left guard for the season opener.
For those with access to The Athletic article, here is the link:
https://theathletic.com/2316582/2021/01/12/nfl-mock-draft-devonta-smith/
I would be ok with this pick. That is certainly one of the weak spots on our OLine.
*Bruglar
What happened to Phil Haynes? Thought he had a lot of potential. Just injured for 2 years?
Need a center. Simmons and Haynes in the mix I would guess
Smith seems to have been gliding on a wave of recruiting hype forever.
I’m 43, my parents are in their 70s now. You can see the decline is mental sharpness, some things just aren’t as crisp in terms of memory, communication thought process, self assessment and awareness.
I feel like those things are starting to become true with Pete.
“I wish we could have figured out how to get the ball out quicker”. This is not rocket science, call plays with 3 step drops and quick short routes. How can it be that hard to call quick pass plays, and practice/game plan for that? Who cant figure that out? How is that a hard thing to do?
I agree. Worst part is hawks experience this early in season and had chance to fix it. I think Pete was adamant by not accepting it. Giving more balance to offense and ability to change in game time is important
I’ve come to realize that the main reason I’m a Seahawks fan is Rob’s great coverage of the Seahawks.
The team itself has been almost unwatchable in some of the previous seasons. This year it was more interesting in the same way a train wreck is interesting.
Anyway – my two cents is that Russell is becoming the Jay Cutler or Phillip Rivers of quarterbacks. Good enough to get them to the playoffs but not good enough to go farther. It doesn’t help that Pete’s attempts to improve the offense often fall flat. Just one for instance, 5 running backs and because of injuries they are forced to play DJ Dallas. Or the inability to plan for and use tight ends in this offense.
Anyway = I don’t love the team and haven’t since 2015. But I still follow them because Rob’s always there with analysis. Since I do spend time reading about them – I would love to see them succeed.
Unfortunately what I see is another 2 years of reboot. Somewhere in the time period there will have to be a decision about Russell Wilson. If they rehire him, it will be more of the same. If they don’t there will be the uncertainty of a new hope.
I disagree on Wilson as Cutler/Rivers. He was other worldly at the start of the season, and admittedly an unsustainable pace. But it is the job of the coaches to continue to get that type of performance out of a player, and put them in the best position to obtain their best. Adapt, change, evolve. Not bang your head against the wall and keep attempting the same thing only to lament not adapting.
Wilson has limitations, but Shanahan made a SB with Jimmy G. Holmgren made one with Hasselback. McVay made one with Goff, and on Sunday managed to scheme just enough plays to win a playoff game with a QB that could barely throw a ball.
Thank you Alaska
This entire season looks like subterfuge to my eyes. Pete Carroll entered into the season with a rock star quarterback executing his leverage in a bid to transform the offensive identity of the team. Clearly letting Russ Cook doesn’t mesh with Pete’s vision, nor does having culture and identity dictated to him by players (see Sherman, Richard). Lacking leverage of any kind Carroll simply sat by idle in the face of opponents adjustments in a bid to cast Shottenheimer and Wilson as inadequate to the task. Sadly he seems to have succeeded.
Nearly everyone was on board with letting Russ cook but that narrative only lasted until the quarterback “regressed” which, I contend, is exactly what Carroll intended. Once Wilson began to struggle the media and fans alike were quick to question him and not the same organization that has seen the QB running for his life since his career began and has made only a token effort to support him with receiver talent. Now that letting Russ cook has resulted in a one and done rollercoaster season in which the Seahawks struggled against winning teams Carroll can once again sell the fanbase on a return to the days of Marshawn pounding defenses into a fine paste. Thing is there isn’t a Marshawn Lynch out there for the taking and the ‘Hawks haven’t any assets to acquire one.
Looking at the Seahawks I see the Houston Texans, a mismanaged team with too much salary, too many roster holes and too few draft picks. I have no idea how John Schneider fixes this team for next season. Honestly I don’t think he can barring a series of miracles, even then they won’t be Super Bowl contenders. Everyone in the division is going to improve, except Seattle. It will likely be three off-seasons before the Seattle Seahawks have enough draft capital to actually improve. Will they have Russ by then? If so how good will he be at that point? What about Metcalf and Adams, can they endure a rebuild? This team seems to be all questions and no (pleasant) answers for the next few seasons. Sadly it didn’t have to be this way.
Dawg, I get the frustration. But the Texans are probably the worst run team in the league right now. Their best player is currently trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Their second best player is going to leave. Only position they are fine at is WR and maaaaybe LB. While the Seahawks’ problems are real, they are nowhere near the Texans.
Also, are you suggesting Pete intentionally wanted Russ to fail? Cmon now. He’s got his flaws, but that’s ridiculous.
Great writeup as always Rob I think you have summed up the situation perfectly.
Pete seems to have lost the fan base confidence, vertebrae players have to be wavering or have lost it I am sure. Yet ownership gave him a huge extension. What am I missing here?
Here’s what Robert Turbin said a few days about the offense:
“Just gonna say this. Respectfully. For Seattle to have a bunch of dynamic players offensively, they sure do run an undynamic style offense. Predictable. Need to throw some sauce in that thang !”
https://twitter.com/RobertJTurbin/status/1348079253238075392
Sauce is needed
He’s best friends with Russ. I imagine it’s Russ’s way of getting it out there
Kurt Warner made similar oblique references:
“Watching tape from WC games & a couple things that really disappointed me was play of some great Vet QBs & the passing concepts/schemes their teams employed (simple, not innovative, same stuff over & over w/o compliments, etc…)… Maybe my expectations are too high for NFL OCs!”
https://twitter.com/kurt13warner/status/1349039811064066048?s=20
The Seahawks have signed GM John Schneider to an extension through the 2027 NFL Draft. One of the best in the business.
Yes, yes, yes, yeeeeessss
Offseason off on the right foot.
Good news…. I think. Would hope it came with expanded freedom fingers crossed.
He is now signed with the Hawks 2 years past Pete’s contract extension. I like the move!
Someone’s gonna get a gem late day 2-day 3 in ‘Bama RB Brian Robinson.
Good news on Schneider! I think this was the first thing that needed to get done.
I don’t have a problem with Schneider, as I know he’s only a puppet for Pete. I believe he’s good at what he does (we’d all have some busts) overall, but this move can be looked at two ways:
1. He’s Pete’s boy. He’ll continue to do what Pete wants him to. The status quo for a team in need of some type of change or people to actually be held accountable (looking at Pete) to improve to Super Bowl favorite (instead of fringe contender).
2. The owner cares about stability, not championships.
This is a safe move for the organization. It preserves the 10-6 seasons and early playoff exits. It prevents them from being a laughing stock (could always be worse), but also prevents holding people accountable and shooting for the stars (or a Lombardi Trophy). But who knows, this contract is a few years longer than Pete’s. Maybe Schneider will get a chance to do things his way – which would be nice to see a GM accumulate quality picks, as opposed to dealing them like a coke dealer addicted to it.
I have mixed feelings about this re-upping of JS. On the one hand, I like what I know of the guy, and he had a legendary run in his inaugural first three drafts. What concerns me about the signing is that it seems that J Allen, and whoever else might have her ear, is pleased with the state and direction of the franchise both from a financial and competitive standpoint. I’m not sure if trying to win SB’s is her main objective, or if she knows what that might entail at this time.
Anyway…it’s the PC/JS show as far as the eye can see now. That much is clear from this signing. It remains to be seen how RW will feel and adapt to this situation.
IMO people make a bigger deal out of “total control” when it comes to the Seahawks. Has there been any word of PC & JS butting heads in 11 years? My impression is that Pete wants to be heard but for the most part let’s Schneider do his thing.
I’m not sure that we’ll ever know where PC and JS stood with each other on any number of personnel moves. By this signing, however, they seem to be fine with and respectful of each others perspectives.
Not sure if anyone has posted this already, but about sums up the Rams game. Could easily see Rob sitting in his living room saying exactly what Gordon was saying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_67Jgm70z6Q&ab_channel=UrinatingTree
After losing to the Rams, Pete Carroll said he would reflect deeply on what needed to be done with the offense. Less than 24 hours later, he declared they need to run more. I’m not sure that qualifies as deep reflection and I’m highly certain there was a lot of confirmation bias going on.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
In the Rams game, the Seahawks pass to run ratio was 52%/48%–does anyone really believe that running the ball 4-5 times more would have made a meaningful difference? I know Carroll will look at the fact the running game averaged a respectable 4.8 (4.4 when you take out the Wilson scrambles) YPC and be thinking they’ll have a lot of 3 and 1 opportunities and things will open up over the top. However, as the saying goes, never try to walk across a river just because it has an average depth of four feet. As defenses were keying/respecting the Seahawks pass game this season, I doubt we’ll see those numbers next season. As teams key the run, that average YPC will likely be much closer to 4.
I think one residual that came with the 2013 SB title was validation of Carroll’s long-term belief in the run game, the explosive pass play over the top and great defense et al. However, was the win a result of the philosophy or the perfect marriage between philosophy and team strengths? Consider the following, the team had a HOF running back in Marshawn Lynch, arguably the greatest defense ever to play and an emerging young star in Russell Wilson who also happened to throw a great deep ball. In addition, let’s not forget they had a potent, multi-dimensional running threat in that they ran a lot of read option concepts. In other words, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect fit to execute Carroll’s philosophy.
Fast forward to where we are now. Chris Carson is an excellent back but he’s no Marshawn Lynch. The defense especially in the latter part is talented and certainly capable of a top 5-10 performance (if they don’t regress—are they Jekyll or Hyde or simply both?) but still a far, far cry from the LOB. The obvious strength of the team is that they have a legit top-5 player and perennial MVP candidate in Russell Wilson and they have two of the top wide receivers in the league with DK Metcalf looking to be on the verge of superstardom (as long as he continues to improve and gets a handle on those drops). I’m sure Carroll will point to what happened to the passing game this year as another point of validation for his philosophy. However, I disagree. If you look closer, the inflection point was when teams started to play deep cover and dialed up the pressure when and where they needed to—that combination spelled the end of the Seahawk’s offense and they were never the same. The first couple of games where they faced this, the Seahawks simply never adjusted. They were like a riverboat gambler always knowing the next hand was going to be the big winner. In short, they were greedy and seemingly obsessed with head hunting. The problem was that in the span of about 2 games Wilson absorbed over 30 hits (probably not the kind of head hunting the Seahawks had in mind) and he never looked quite right after that (I fall in the camp that he was injured and/or he was concussed in that stretch).
Carroll will undoubtedly point to the QB hits and sacks as confirmation that the pass first game is unsustainable but the real question that needs answering is why the Seahawks couldn’t adjust. The answer, in part, lies in Carroll’s known dislike of reliance on West Coast / quick strike concepts—after all, if you’re going short why not just run, take time off the clock, keep their offense and your defense off the field. However, what almost always takes the most time off the clock is when you move the stickss—if you can do that consistently via the run, then Carroll is right but you need the right team to do it. In this case (and unlike the SB team), I don’t believe this team can rely primarily on being a run dominant team in the way Carroll likes and they will need to develop a consistent and reliable short passing attack to move the ball in concert with a good run game and their deep passing game. I believe the key number for the Seahawks is <2.5. I don’t have the stats but I believe the number of passes attempted in <2.5 seconds and the resulting success rate would be considerably below league standard. If the Seahawks can develop a consistent and reliable short, quick strike passing attack (they have great receivers, very solid+ pass catching tight ends and running backs), they can neutralize a lot of the QB pressure. In turn, if they are successful they will have another offensive dimension that will also help to open up the explosive pass plays that Carroll so covets.
I think one of the indirect residual effects of Carroll’s reverting back to run first is the message it sent to Russell Wilson—in essence, I need you to be more of a game manager. I’m reading the tea leaves, obviously, but Wilson, like all great players, is going to want to be the focal point and will be comparing himself and situation to his peer group—Mahomes, Rodgers, Brady etc. Frankly, he’s earned it and I think that Carroll’s implicit message affected his confidence and play. As has been addressed on this site, this will definitely be a point of tension going forward. Moreover, you have to wonder: if this is going to be a ground and pound team, are players like DK Metcalf going to want to stay. In a few years, he’s going to want to be paid big but also featured big. Let’s see what happens.
In the end, Pete Carroll has always prided himself on letting players be themselves and putting them in positions that play to their strengths. In order for the Seahawks to make another SB run, I believe he needs to bring that same philosophy to the team level—let your team strengths dictate your philosophy and not the other way around.
Sometimes even great coaches need to learn new tricks.
I’ve been reading for quite awhile now, and agree with about 80% of the (admittedly very negative) take on what’s become of the Seahawks (essentially) since the SB loss to the Pats… but there’s been only one post that I can recall really addresses to the most crucial problem holding the entire organization back. Yes, some of the losses have been dumbfounding, unforgivably so, and I’ve certainly wanted both Schottenheimer’s and Norton’s heads to roll on more than one occasion. The Giants, and of course the Rams in the first round come to mind. The Adams signing freaks some people out, and I get that, but I’m very much ok with it, all in all. But I would ask everyone to take a step back from the microanalysis of it all and consider this notion: a team will do no better than it’s offensive line. Ever. I mentioned something to this effect to Max Unger (at a mini-reunion for our shared high school) many years ago while he was still a Seahawk, and he sort of took it as a compliment/gesture of respect. It wasn’t. It was a statement of fact, nothing more and nothing less. All the other hand-wringing and hyper-fine analysis misses undeniable truth. Any and all need for wild scheming (aka “creativity”) is simply to cover for an O-line that either 1) can’t get the running back a decent lane 2) can’t give the quarterback enough non-panic-mode time to get the ball off or tuck it away for a few yards
So you’re saying we’re ignoring the main issue relating to the Seahawks, saying the #1 key issue is the offensive line…
…in response to a 5,200 world article that specifically lists the #1 top, crucial priority as investing in the offensive line.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Sorry folks, hit the send button by mistake, but was almost done anyway. The current Seahawks offensive line is simply not up to the task. I really don’t mean to make it personal towards them in any way whatsoever, but this line is mediocre at best. Does defense win championships? Sometimes, yes, but not if the offense can’t spend time grinding the other team’s defense down with sustained drives that only a very good (or great) offensive line can make happen for 4 quarters of football every Sunday. Just ask yourself when the last time was that the Seahawks had 5 of those guys up front. Hint… just prior to Steve Hutchinson signing with the Vikings. Those 5 were the essential element that allowed for pretty much all of the success that the Seahawks had during that all too short era. As more than a few of you all have pointed out, our SB win (and return to the SB) were courtesy of the kind of talent that’s simply impossible to assemble nowadays, a true once-in-a-lifetime defense, and a rare, HOF level bruiser and his fullback running the ball PLUS a wildcard, young QB that nobody really saw coming. Those days are long gone, and won’t be coming back to Seattle or any other NFL city anytime soon. So? So what’s old is new again. You’ll never get any farther than the 5 guys up front can take you. We all get addicted to living, dying, and raving about the big dollar, “skill” position players, the coordinators, and the coaches/front office… but they’ll never make a dynasty for you unless they have the O-line to make it all possible. Look at every dynasty that’s ever been in the NFL, and you’ll find that common thread. My family has been season ticket holders since the inception of the Seattle Seahawks, and I can say, without qualification, that crappy O-line play has been the hallmark of every bad (or disappointing/underachieving) era that the Seahawks have ever had. Start fixing it now, or expect year after year of continued underachieving and disappointment.
@Rob Staton, I thought I pointed out that there was only minimal regard to the O-line, that the overwhelming majority of what I was reading was hand wringing over Pete Carroll, John Schneider, Russell Wilson, Penny vs. Chubb, Jody in the front office (fcs!). My point was that it all amounted to over-analysis that grossly missed the point.
How is listing the OL the #1 priority ‘a minimal feeling’?
What am I missing here Rob… is there some particular reason that you seem to be taking my thoughts on the Seattle Seahawks as a personal attack on you? Doesn’t make any sense to me but… oh well, take it personally if you must. I was simply pointing out that I probably read 50,000 words which had to do with everything imaginable EXCEPT the offensive line. Try not to take it personally.
A personal attack???
I’m simply confused why you’ve written a lengthy comment saying we’re not focusing enough on the O-line, when it is literally listed as the top priority in a 5,200 word article.