Category Archives: State of the team

State of the team, Week 7: Bye

Bye week status report

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“We’ve put together four weeks of pretty good football. … I’m really pleased with where we are right now taking off for this break.” — Pete Carroll

As sad as the death of Paul Allen is — and will continue to be this year and beyond — the Seahawks still have a season to play. And it looks like they at least have a chance to make it a special one in honor of Allen.

The Seahawks took care of business in London, climbing back to .500 in style — a blowout win in front of a record, partisan crowd — as they head into their bye. Their three wins are one fewer than we thought they would have by this time, but they’re also just 12 points short of a possible perfect start.

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State of the team, Week 4: At Arizona

Seahawks’ status report after NFL’s first quarter

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at-arizona-logoThe Seahawks could barely get out of their own way in Arizona, missing two field goals, going 0 for 10 on third downs, committing eight penalties, losing Earl Thomas and Will Dissly.

If it weren’t for a 171-yard rushing day, some stout defense against David Johnson and rookie QB Josh Rosen and Arizona dropping some passes, the Hawks might not have evened up their record at 2-2 as they prepare to host the juggernaut Rams, who sure look like the NFL’s top team at this point and come to Seattle as touchdown favorites.

The Hawks are a game off our projection due to the loss in Chicago, but how does Pete Carroll see his team after the first quarter?

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Injury report, State of the team

Kendricks likely done until 2021

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Seahawks bandagesIt looks like the Seahawks just lost three players for the season.

In addition to Earl Thomas and Will Dissly, who both were put on IR on Tuesday, Mychal Kendricks looks unlikely to play the rest of the way — he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for his inside-trading case and is likely out of commission until after he finishes his prison sentence.

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State of the team, Week 3: Dallas

Hawks need to end Thomas drama

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Dallas logoThe Seahawks need to end this soon.

They have enough problems without having to put up with the drama of a star player who refuses to practice. Time to trade Earl Thomas. Take the second-rounder and move on.

The Hawks reportedly are considering fining him for missing two practices last week as they prepared to play his favorite team, Dallas.

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State of the team, Week 2: At Chicago

Triangle of distrust

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Logo -- At ChicagoRobert De Niro’s “Meet the Parents” character would be disappointed. Pete Carroll, Brian Schottenheimer and Russell Wilson would not make Jack Burns’ “circle of trust.”

They can’t even create their own triangle of trust with the Seahawks. Wilson does not trust Schottenheimer’s scripted plays, so he holds the ball too long, which puts the Hawks in deficits. Then Carroll gets impatient and orders Schottenheimer to abandon his balanced attack and take deep shots. When those fail and the Hawks are in desperation mode, Wilson starts calling more audibles. But, because his lack of trust helped put them in this position, Carroll and Schottenheimer don’t trust him to do that.

On top of that, no one buys Carroll’s explanations for his running back roulette.

It’s a vicious circle of antitrust.

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State of the team, Week 2: At Chicago

Off to bad start, defense will get much better

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Logo -- At ChicagoPete Carroll’s defense is sitting in a very unfamiliar place after one game, ranked 28th overall and 29th against the pass. So, how worried should we be?

In the short term (this month), maybe a little. In the long term, not very.

There were a lot of variables at play in Denver that surely won’t be such big issues a month from now. The heat and altitude were factors; the Hawks were playing with five new starters, including two rookies; Earl Thomas had just returned; and K.J. Wright was not playing.

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Injury report, State of the team

Grading roster strength

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Seahawks bandagesThe Seahawks have not suffered any devastating injuries this preseason, which puts them one up on some NFL teams; but, they certainly have their share of dings.

The Seahawks have just a handful of veteran stars left from the Super Bowl core, and a couple of them are banged up as the season approaches. But K.J. Wright and Doug Baldwin aren’t the only injuries that will affect the team when it takes the field in Denver in a little over a week. The team also figures to be without Dion Jordan, Ed Dickson, Jamarco Jones, J.D. McKissic and perhaps Byron Maxwell and Neiko Thorpe.

At least five of those eight players were expected to be big contributors this season, so it’s at least a little concerning that we don’t know how long Wright and some of the others will be out — and it’s unfortunate to hear Baldwin will play the season at 80-85 percent as he manages a knee problem. (UPDATE: Coach Pete Carroll said Wright the “optimistic” estimate is two weeks. The range is typically 2-4 weeks for arthroscopic surgery.)

We’re giving the Seahawks a B-minus for roster strength. Here are grades for each position, based on health and depth (updated 8/29):

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