Hawks are 2-0 with work to do, but odds and schedule favor them

September 17, 2024 cc 3 Comments

“I think the past two weeks we’ve really shown how close of a team we are when battling adversity. I know we are only going to get stronger and play better throughout the season.’’ – DK Metcalf

As we expected, the Seahawks are off to a 2-0 start following wins over seemingly lesser teams. As we also expected, the Hawks have serious flaws up front to work out if they are going to be any better than the nine wins we predicted for this season.

On the bright side, they have made the playoffs all six previous times they have started 2-0 over the last 25 years, per Gregg Bell. And there is plenty of time to fix an offensive line that has had some major struggles in both games and a defensive front that allowed 185 rushing yards to the Patriots in Week 2.

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Contracts

Smith is paid as the NFL sees him, so he needs to change minds in 2024

August 31, 2024 cc Leave a comment

Mike Macdonald seems open to keeping Geno Smith as Seattle’s starting quarterback beyond 2024. But the Seahawks are not considering an extension at this point, John Schneider recently said in response to a report that Smith’s agent has asked for a new deal.

Smith still needs to prove he is worth a raise and extension.

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Trades

Hawks traded Taylor a year too late; Metcalf only 2019-20 pick left

August 24, 2024 cc Leave a comment

Michael Jackson and Darrell Taylor always seemed destined to move on before Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks ever played a real game, so it was no surprise the backup defenders were traded on consecutive days this week.

Taylor’s departure, which really comes a year too late, marks the end of John Schneider’s 2020 draft class – none of whom made it to a second contract in Seattle as Taylor’s $3.1 million returns to the Hawks’ salary cap.

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Contracts, The roster

If Geno plays well, could he stick around for a ‘few years’?

August 23, 2024 cc Leave a comment

Everyone keeps wanting to kick Geno Smith to the curb, replacing him with a draft pick or Sam Howell — or anybody really.

But it sure seems like he is growing on new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. Not enough to get a new contract yet, as Smith reportedly would like, but it sounds as though the door could be open to a new deal after the season – if Smith plays worth it.

During camp, Macdonald hinted that Smith could indeed be in Seattle beyond 2025.

“I think that relationship is blossoming,’’ Macdonald told SI’s Albert Breer. “We’re not there yet; it’s still six months in or whatever. But we’re looking forward to seeing where it evolves over the next few years.’’

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Preseason, The roster

Howell, O-line still have work to do, but Mike Mac’s defense looks good

August 13, 2024 cc Leave a comment

Well, August is here and the first preseason game is in the books, which means our three-month break from football is over and it’s time to start paying attention again.

One thing that seems clear is John Schneider and Mike Macdonald have made the Seahawks better over those past three months.

While Macdonald has been building what looks to be a much tighter, more disciplined defense, Schneider’s addition of center Connor Williams answered the last big question on offense. If Williams is healthy and plays like he did in Miami – and if Ryan Grubb can call an NFL game — the offense should be more consistent than it was in 2023.

If that happens, the Hawks could be better than the nine-win team we peg them for. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Instead let’s look at the roster by position after the 16-3 win over the Chargers in the preseason opener.

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The roster, Trades

Why trade Metcalf? Hawks can easily extend him again

May 1, 2024 cc Leave a comment

DK Metcalf trade rumors and reports just won’t die.

A segment of fans keeps insisting the Seahawks should trade their star receiver, and some even think the Hawks were trying to use him to trade up in last weekend’s draft – probably based on speculation from anonymous league sources to The Washington Post.

But there was no legitimate report indicating that Seattle was shopping Metcalf. In fact, the report that the Hawks allegedly tried to get into the top 10 for Michael Penix Jr. was debunked by both Curtis Crabtree and Brady Henderson.

Now there is scuttlebutt that Pittsburgh has called Seattle about a possible deal to reunite Metcalf with Russell Wilson. No surprise, considering the Steelers reportedly were trying to get Brandon Aiyuk from the 49ers.

As fun as a Wilson-Metcalf reunion would be for the rest of the league to see, the Hawks actually have never shown an inclination to trade their star receiver — and they certainly seem better off with him than trading him for some extra cap space and a first-round pick.

They certainly will be able to afford to keep him.

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NFL draft, The roster

Yes, the Hawks look more like a playoff team now

April 29, 2024 cc Leave a comment

A Seattle Times headline asked: With roster shuffling mostly done, are Seahawks closer to being a playoff team?

The answer to that question is “yes” – because John Schneider found an innovative new coach, improved the defensive line and secondary and seems to have made the offensive line and linebacker spots better, too.

Schneider hit what we consider to be home runs with the hiring of Mike Macdonald as coach, the re-signing of Leonard Williams and the drafting of Byron Murphy II in the first round. Macdonald wanted to “build a wall” — and those two guys should help do it.

In the draft, the Hawks also focused on adding blockers – three linemen and a tight end. And they added a much-needed linebacker and Auburn’s starting cornerbacks as well.

Here’s a positional rundown after the draft (RB not mentioned as nothing to note there).

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Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Is a new homegrown defense in the offing?

April 26, 2024 cc 2 Comments

Byron Murphy said he loved watching the Legion of Boom Seahawks when he was a kid. (For some of us a decade is not that long ago, but for a 21-year-old it was half his lifetime ago.)

The LOB was a dominant defense with a core that John Schneider put together mostly through the 2010-12 drafts: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett (Murphy’s favorite player on that defense) were the only core outside additions. And that group of stars dominated the NFL from 2012 to 2016.

Schneider has not been able to replicate that magic over the past decade. He had the perfect chance to do it again in 2016 and 2017, but he absolutely whiffed on most of his 11 picks on Days 1 and 2. Ever since those failures, he has been patching together his defense with trades for veterans.

But, thanks to three straight years with high picks in the draft, maybe he finally is building another core – this time for Mike Macdonald.

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NFL draft

Hawks stick and pick Byron Murphy II

April 25, 2024 cc Leave a comment

With almost every defensive player still available to them after 14 of the first 15 picks were offensive players, the Seahawks stayed at 16 and took the best interior defensive lineman, Byron Murphy II of Texas.

He was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year after notching five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. He also scored two TDs on offense.

Murphy is a 6-1, 297-pound D-tackle who should jump into the D-line rotation with the Seahawks, playing end in their 3-4 looks.

Here is what top analysts said about Murphy.

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NFL draft

Will Schneider make the right choice at 16?

April 24, 2024 cc 2 Comments

As John Schneider gets ready to run his first draft without Pete Carroll at his side, plenty of fans think everything is suddenly going to change – because of course Carroll was pulling all of the strings and was the reason the Seahawks were in the bottom third of the league in drafting success over the last decade.

Schneider debunked that idea earlier this month on his radio show, confirming Carroll had the power to “put his foot down” but he “rarely, rarely, rarely did that.”

“John was in control on draft day and will continue to be,” said Nolan Teasley, Seattle’s assistant GM. “The process stays consistent, so I don’t foresee a lot of change in that regard.”

That’s bad news for fans who thought Carroll was running the draft show all these years. Schneider has been pretty subpar at drafting ever since the historic 2010-12 run. According to a 2022 ESPN study, the Seahawks ranked first in the league in draft value since 2012.

But, if you take out that 2012 draft that netted Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner and start with 2013, the Hawks ranked just 21^st in the league. The last 11 drafts have been middling or worse: The 2013 draft ranked in the bottom 11, the 2014 draft bottom eight, and the 2017 and 2019 drafts were not good either (DK Metcalf notwithstanding).

The last two draft classes have featured some high picks thanks to the Wilson trade, and now Schneider is picking 16^th – which puts him in a prime spot to get a true first-round talent for a third straight year.

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