Category Archives: State of the team

State of the team, Week 2: San Francisco

When will Hawks’ O-line investments pay off?

Leave a comment

Logo -- San FranciscoTalking about it is tiresome, but it’s really the only thing hindering the Seahawks from winning another Super Bowl, so, until the Seahawks fix their offensive line, it will remain the topic du jour.

People can talk all they want about Kam Chancellor’s 2015 holdout or Earl Thomas’ 2016 injury being major factors in the Seahawks not advancing far in the playoffs those years. But the simple fact is: If the Hawks’ offensive line had been anywhere close to average in those seasons, the Hawks would have had a great shot at winning the Super Bowl — even with the issues in the secondary.

So now here we are again, coming off a significant opening loss to one of Seattle’s top NFC rivals, and the offensive line remains the biggest hindrance to Seattle’s success. And we have no idea if it will become any good, despite the insistence of Pete Carroll and Tom Cable that it will.

Continue reading When will Hawks’ O-line investments pay off? →

State of the team, The roster

Analysis of Seattle’s initial 53-man roster

1 Comment

The bottom of the roster is going to change over the next week and beyond, but once the Seahawks finally announced their initial 53 (and the corrections that followed), a few things were immediately clear:

**They powered up their defensive line with former first-round picks Sheldon Richardson and Marcus Smith, who replaced Ahtyba Rubin and Cassius Marsh. But they have only eight linemen for now.

**They switched up at backup quarterback, going with the safer Austin Davis over the mercurial Trevone Boykin.

**They kept 10 offensive linemen for now, with undrafted guard Jordan Roos making it and the Hawks acquiring Isaiah Battle from Kansas City. That seems likely to change.

**Seattle upset a few people by not keeping local favorite Kasen Williams. He and Pierre Desir were initially listed as waived/injured, but the team apparently screwed up. Both were just waived — no injuries.

Continue reading Analysis of Seattle’s initial 53-man roster →

State of the team, Training camp

3 keys to the 2017 season

1 Comment

Training camp logo2The Seahawks began training camp today with some pretty simple edicts: Build an offensive line, foster better depth and recreate the chemistry that helped them to Super Bowls in 2013 and 2014.

The Seahawks have been one of the best teams in the league the last five years — No. 3 in wins (56) behind New England (62) and Denver (59) — but they have been on a steady decline since winning Super Bowl XLVIII.

After winning 36 games from 2012 to 2014, the Seahawks have won 20 over the past two years. Double-digit wins are always a sign of success, but it has been a disappointment to see the Seahawks fade — from the Patriots’ 1-yard line in XLIX to bad playoff losses the last two years.

This year they have to reverse the trend. There are three keys to doing it:

Continue reading 3 keys to the 2017 season →

State of the team, The roster

How the roster looks as summer starts

Leave a comment

Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images)The Seahawks embarked on their summer vacation in high spirits — all the apparent negativity of last season and this offseason seemingly dissolved in a big pool of love and happiness. And they seem very focused.

As the Hawks conducted their minicamp last week, we heard nothing but positive things from Seattle’s top defenders. Earl Thomas is healthy again, in mind and body. Kam Chancellor has polished up his once-dented leadership armor. Richard Sherman sounded like a team player again. And Michael Bennett is physically lighter but still philosophically heavy.

The players seemed of one accord, ready to get back on the Super track. And Pete Carroll said his team is as mentally sharp as it ever has been heading into summer.

“I think we had our most compliant OTA season and really proud of that, finally,” he said, referring to penalties levied against his club for overdoing it in past years. “Old dog, new tricks, man. It was hard. But we finally figured it out. And, in doing so, we were able to up the reps that we got on guys.

“I think we’re the smartest we’ve been coming out of this camp than any of the past years. We’ve had the most situation work. We’ve had the chance to put guys in all variety of spots that they have to think and make decisions and choose how they play and fit in with us. So we just feel like we’ve made a lot of movement forward. We have a lot of stuff to get done in camp that does not fit this time of year. This is OTA football. Not real football. That will come.”

Before it does, let’s take a look at how the roster stands …

Continue reading How the roster looks as summer starts →

OTAs, State of the team

Can Seahawks overcome this dysfunction?

3 Comments

Logo -- OTAsPete Carroll says Seattle’s “locker room is in great shape” and the Super Bowl XLIX debacle “isn’t an issue to us at all,” but there’s way too much smoke to think that fire has been entirely extinguished.

Warren Moon is among those who think the Hawks will never win another Super Bowl as long as they continue to have so much discord. But the Seahawks — Carroll, Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, et al. — say they can win even though Richard Sherman and some other defenders apparently have issues with Carroll and Wilson.

So which perspective is right? Can they overcome the dysfunction to win another title? Or do they need to get rid of Sherman and any other major malcontents to have a shot?

Continue reading Can Seahawks overcome this dysfunction? →

On the air, State of the team, The roster

Avril talks Lynch, Sherman, McDowell

1 Comment

Avril on NFLNCliff Avril said he understands why Marshawn Lynch wants to play in Oakland, is glad the Seahawks did not trade Richard Sherman, and also looks forward to mentoring Malik McDowell.

Those were the top takeaways from a good interview with Avril on NFL Network on Tuesday — as Avril returns from his Haiti work and a side trip to the NFL draft to announce some of Seattle’s picks.

Continue reading Avril talks Lynch, Sherman, McDowell →

State of the team, The roster

Carroll reveals O-line depth chart

6 Comments

OL depth projected.PNG

The Seahawks are still a long way from figuring out their starting five linemen for 2017, but Pete Carroll at least has defined the positions where the key players will be competing.

Luke Joeckel and Rees Odhiambo are working both left spots, George Fant is at left tackle, Mark Glowinski has moved over to right guard to battle Oday Aboushi, Germain Ifedi has moved from right guard to right tackle, and rookie Ethan Pocic is starting out on the right side in an apparent reserve role.

“We have all kinds of flexibility,” Carroll told 710 ESPN, “but we’re zeroing in in that fashion.”

Continue reading Carroll reveals O-line depth chart →

State of the team, The roster, Trades

The search for ‘spark’

2 Comments

Draft -- Schneider and Carroll“I think he’d admit that he had a rough year. So he’s looking for maybe a new spark and he’s either going to find that here in Seattle or he would find it somewhere else, but odds are he’s going to find it here.” 
— John Schneider on Richard Sherman.

That’s the key quote from Schneider’s interview with 710 ESPN on Thursday night.

Schneider also talked about mutual respect, constant communication and “a great relationship” between the Seahawks’ chiefs and the All-Pro cornerback. But the bottom line is in those words: “He had a rough year” and is “looking for maybe a new spark.”

Continue reading The search for ‘spark’ →

Franchise history, State of the team, X's & O's

Are Hawks capable of building a talented, consistent O-line?

4 Comments

Pete Carroll has said he wants to create continuity on Seattle’s offensive line.

He said he thinks Seattle’s young guys are going to improve and he hopes Luke Joeckel becomes part of the core. As he said after Joeckel signed, “Now that we have a good young bunch of guys, we’re going to try to keep this thing together.”

It’s debatable whether they have enough good guys yet, but the bigger question as pertains to Carroll’s stated goal: Will they ever be able to keep a quintet together in Tom Cable’s zone blocking system using their scattershot approach?

Whether it’s bad drafting, a bad scheme or just bad luck, Carroll’s Seahawks have had terrible fortune on the offensive line — typically fielding one of the weaker units in the NFL and annually needing to overcome its deficiencies just to get to the playoffs.

Why has it been so terrible? John Schneider and the coaches have consistently pointed to the disconnect between college and NFL offenses and the CBA-mandated lack of practice time.

But every team faces those issues. For Seattle, it has been more than that. It has been a complete inability to field a healthy, consistent line — and a total failure to set up a line of succession.

Continue reading Are Hawks capable of building a talented, consistent O-line? →

State of the team, Trades

If Sherman keeps putting self above team, he will be gone by next year

7 Comments

Hawks vs Packers Sherman all alone“I wouldn’t want to leave this city and my guys, but I understand it’s a business and organizational philosophies change.” — Richard Sherman to 710 ESPN.

Pete Carroll’s philosophy has not changed at all.

One of his main mantras for his players is: “Protect the team.” Richard Sherman has not done that over the past year, despite several admonishments by Carroll, and that is why the Seahawks are willing to trade him — for the right price.

Sherman, a four-time Pro Bowl player and three-time No. 1 All-Pro, has become one of those egomaniacs we usually see on other teams — the prima donna receiver or cornerback who thinks the team and world revolve around him.

That’s not how Carroll’s Seahawks work, and Carroll has made that clear to Sherman — privately and publicly.

So this is his warning: Rein it in and become a team player again or follow former clubhouse cancer Percy Harvin out the door.

Continue reading If Sherman keeps putting self above team, he will be gone by next year →