Category Archives: State of the team

People want ‘clarity’ on Carroll & Schneider, but we already have it

January 15, 2022 cc 1 Comment

Some fans inexplicably were
expecting a big announcement from the Seahawks by the end of this week, after the season wrap meeting involving Jody Allen, Pete Carroll and John Schneider. But why would the franchise make an announcement that things are … staying the same?

It already was clear that Carroll and Schneider were not going anywhere. They both said it themselves as the season ended. Apparently, though, plenty of fans who want wholesale change think they are owed an explanation for why Allen is keeping Carroll and Schneider.

Continue reading →

State of the team, Week 18: At Arizona

Why would Jody Allen avoid major change?

January 9, 2022 cc Leave a comment

Would Jody Allen really run it back with the same trio at the top in 2022? If so, why?

A couple of recent reports indicate that is a possibility. Sources are telling NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo that the team plans to keep Russell Wilson, and Albert Breer’s sources indicate John Schneider appears safe and Allen actually might choose the status quo for another year. Both reports indicated Pete Carroll is not considering retirement (nor has it seemed that way).

In his pregame radio appearance before the Seahawks finished their dismal season at Arizona, Schneider seemed to indicate the status quo, at least for himself and Carroll.

Continue reading →

State of the team, Week 14: At Houston

Adams & Wilson are still the focus of all of Seattle’s drama

December 10, 2021 cc Leave a comment

The dysfunction and discontent surrounding the Seahawks will remain the story for the rest of the season (unless they make a miracle run to the Super Bowl), and two pieces of news have fed it this week.

First was Jamal Adams’ season-ending surgery, which put the red spotlight back on Seattle’s desperate move to get Adams last year as Pete Carroll and John Schneider tried to find an impact defender. Then came a report that Russell Wilson may be amenable to expanding his trade options to include the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

Continue reading →

Coaches, Franchise history, State of the team

What if Carroll does get fired or retire?

December 3, 2021 cc 3 Comments

Jody Allen fired the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager Friday, leading some to speculate she might do the same with the Seahawks’ coach and/or GM after this season.

But Neil Olshey was fired for violating the Blazers’ code of conduct, not because the team may miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years. So, it seems quite unlikely Allen would fire Pete Carroll and John Schneider after one losing season, especially when she just extended both of them and neither has any personal black clouds hanging over his head.

But let’s play “What If” anyway.

Continue reading →

State of the team, Week 12: At Washington

Time to start shopping Wilson, who has hit his ceiling in Seattle

November 30, 2021 cc 3 Comments

The Seahawks’ season is over. With six games left.

We haven’t said that this early in a season since 2008, when Mike Holmgren’s final squad was stuck on two wins all the way until Week 14 and ended up 4-12. (Jim Mora’s pitiful 2009 band was 4-7 before collapsing to 5-11.)

The Hawks (3-8) have a minuscule shot at the playoffs if they could get to nine wins, but they certainly are not going to win six straight with this quarterback, who showed his ineptitude again Monday in a 17-15 loss at Washington.

So, it’s time to get ready for big change in the offseason.

Continue reading →

State of the team, Week 11: Arizona, X's & O's

Last chance for Wilson to prove he has not hit his ceiling

November 19, 2021 cc 5 Comments

In the wake of Seattle’s embarrassing shutout loss in Green Bay, the topic of Russell Wilson’s future with the Seahawks came back to light – with numerous national media revisiting the prospect of a split after this season.

While plenty of fans and media still cling to the myth that Wilson has been failed by the franchise and is a victim of mismanagement and poor coaching and personnel, that’s the bass-ackwards way of looking at it. Wilson is a double-edged sword who always has been half the problem, and he needs to adjust his play if the Seahawks are going to flip things around over the final eight games.

We do agree with all of those people on one thing though: This should be the final test of whether Wilson should stay Seattle’s quarterback going forward.

If he can’t adjust – if he and Shane Waldron cannot agree on how to proceed, if he remains a one-dimensional passer, if it becomes clear he has hit his ceiling — it may indeed be time to trade him.

Continue reading →

State of the team, The roster, X's & O's

Geno-sis: A new start for Hawks’ offense

October 8, 2021 cc Leave a comment

Plenty of fans were hoping the Seahawks would trade Russell Wilson in the offseason, moving on to another quarterback who didn’t have the same deficiencies. Well, those people are about to get their wish, for a few weeks anyway.

Seattle apparently is going to be without Wilson for 4-8 weeks after he suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand against the Rams on Thursday and had surgery Friday in Los Angeles.

That gives Geno Smith, the former Jets second-round starter, an early birthday present as he turns 31 on Sunday: A starting quarterback job once more. And he will start it off with two prime-time games.

Continue reading →

State of the team, The roster

State of the roster as season begins

September 8, 2021 cc Leave a comment

“It’s a critical time.” – Russell Wilson after another early playoff exit in January

A dramatic offseason and largely uneventful preseason are behind us, and we are finally about to see whether the Seahawks are any better than they were in 2020, when their offense and defense went in opposite directions over the course of the season and they once again failed to move past the first playoff game.

After a 3-5 record in the postseason over the past six years and two one-and-dones in the past three, the pressure is on to go deep into the playoffs and make a strong Super Bowl run in 2021.

Continue reading →

OTAs, State of the team, X's & O's

Wilson ‘here to win it all’; can Waldron help make it happen?

June 11, 2021 cc Leave a comment

“You know what heals all things? Winning.” – Russell Wilson

That’s all we need to know about the state of things between the Seahawks and their longtime Pro Bowl quarterback.

Even though he claims things are peachy now between him, Pete Carroll and the club, Wilson confirmed it was indeed a tumultuous offseason – and Wilson’s future in Seattle still seems to depend almost entirely on whether the Seahawks make it back to the Super Bowl. In every response Thursday about his drama-filled offseason, Wilson circled invariably back to the theme of winning.

“Coach Carroll and I spent a lot of time together one on one, and we’re on the same page,” Wilson said. “We’re here to do what we’re meant to do, and that’s to win it all. I’m excited. I’m excited about who we have, the guys we have. I’m excited where we are. Coach Carroll and my relationship couldn’t be any stronger. My focus is to win. Winning is everything to me.”

Continue reading Wilson ‘here to win it all’; can Waldron help make it happen? →

NFL draft, State of the team

Hawks had a quietly successful offseason

May 4, 2021 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks’ offseason might not seem impressive to some, especially with such a limited draft, but John Schneider and the Hawks quietly have done yeoman’s work to refill and improve their roster, and Pete Carroll is justified in expecting his team to be “very, very competitive.”

The Seahawks had few pressing needs in the draft last weekend because they had made sure to get starters at every spot beforehand. The needs they had were for a corner and center to push the incumbents, a reliable third receiver and a left tackle of the future. They hit on three of those (all but the center), closing the second chapter of a solid offseason.

“I thought this offseason was really successful at situating the roster where we felt good going into the draft,” Carroll said after the Hawks had made their third and final pick (the fewest in team history).

Continue reading →