John Schneider apparently did not want to leave Seattle, as scuttlebutt had intimated, and it is no surprise that Jody Allen gave him a five-year extension (probably with a big pay hike).
So the Schneider-Pete Carroll show continues uninterrupted, 11 years and counting. But they both need to improve their job performance if the Seahawks are ever going to be true contenders again.
Continue reading The show goes on, but Schneider and Carroll must improve
It came earlier than expected, thanks to an inexcusably bad offense, but the Seahawks’ offseason is here. And it could – perhaps should – be a transformative one, with significant change at the top possibly trumping any personnel moves they make.
The frustration we’ve had with the Seahawks the past couple of years has been over John Schneider’s inability to solve defensive personnel issues (mainly pass rush, which he finally fixed with the trades for Jamal Adams and Carlos Dunlap). As they enter this offseason earlier than expected, the concern has switched to Pete Carroll’s side after coaching cost them yet another playoff game.
Continue reading Offseason prios: Changes at the top before new deals?
The offense struggled to help the defense, but the Seahawks managed to rally to beat the 49ers 26-23 and finish with 12 wins (or more) for the fifth time in franchise history and third in Pete Carroll’s 11 seasons.
The Hawks (12-4) will host the Rams, who beat Arizona, in the playoffs next weekend. The big questions: Will the offense play more like it did in the fourth quarter against the 49ers? And will they have Jamal Adams, who suffered another shoulder injury?
Continue reading Hawks hit 12 wins, records & will face Rams in playoffsQuandre Diggs received a nice early Christmas present, getting his first Pro Bowl spot. The next natural question: Is it the first of many to come in Seattle or will he be a short-timer here? Because his price to stay just went up.
The selection surprised a number of fans, because Diggs seemingly has not made a lot of impact plays this season. But the fact is he leads Seattle with four interceptions, which is tied for fourth in the NFL and tied for tops among NFC safeties with Minnesota’s Harrison Smith. Diggs is also tied with Smith with nine pass breakups, second among NFC safeties.
Clearly NFL people thought he deserved the Pro Bowl selection over the longtime Vikings star, and those who watch the All-22 film, which shows Diggs’ work on the back end of the secondary, tend to agree (although Pro Football Focus picked New Orleans’ Marcus Williams over Diggs).
Continue reading The Quandre quandary
The Seahawks passed the Washington test – and surprisingly passed the Rams in the NFC West in the process.
The 20-15 win over Washington was one of the Seahawks’ best wins of the season – right up there with the win over Arizona. With the Rams stunningly becoming the Jets’ first victim of the season, it put the Hawks on top in the NFC West. A win at home vs. L.A. this week would clinch the division for the Hawks.
“Next week will be another championship game for us,’’ Pete Carroll said. “Just what we’ve been preparing for.’’
Continue reading Hawks pass big test and can win West this week
Jamal Adams’ sack record is getting a lot of attention this week.
Some say it is over-inflated – like a blind squirrel finding a nut in a park full of them. Some say Pete Carroll’s use of a safety as his main sack guy has completely changed his defense. And some say Carroll is again revolutionizing secondary play for the entire NFL.
We say Carroll is doing what he always tries to do (and often succeeds at doing): Use the skills of his players to best effect. So yeah, LOB now means Legion of Blitz. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Continue reading The Legion of Blitz & more hot topics
The Seahawks had a rare on-field respite in Week 14, but now it’s back to work: Three NFC games to determine their postseason position.
After improving to 9-4 with a 40-3 win over the New York Jets, the Seahawks sit one game behind Green Bay and New Orleans in the race for the top seed and accompanying bye. They also have a huge game against the Rams (9-4) in Week 16 that will help determine the division winner; Seattle needs to win that to have a chance at the division, though Week 17 still would loom large.
Continue reading Easy win over Jets sets up high-flying finish
The spotlight is on Seattle’s GM this week as the Seahawks and Jamal Adams face the Jets and Darrell Taylor’s future remains a mystery.
John Schneider’s job security, quite frankly, should depend on two things: Whether he re-signs Adams and whether Taylor ever plays. If neither happens in 2021, the last year of Schneider’s deal, the GM should not be re-signed.
This is not just about the two big moves to get those guys this year — deals that cost the Seahawks five high draft picks. It’s about a GM who has had a lot more failures than successes over the past seven years, who is still living off his historic 2010-12 drafts, who has whiffed at the top of his last eight drafts way too often, who rarely makes good decisions in free agency, who is not very creative with the salary cap and who for several years has been making it up as he goes, with no long-term plan.
Continue reading Schneider’s future should depend on Adams & Taylor
It took almost two years, but it looks like John Schneider finally found Seattle’s next star pass rusher. And he had better plan to keep him beyond 2021.
In three short games, veteran star Carlos Dunlap has proven to be everything we expected — a grand steal of a deal from the Bengals – and he clearly should be in Seattle’s plans next year and beyond.
Continue reading ‘This is just the start’: Dunlap is a keeper, extensions expected
Russell Wilson has never lost three straight games, but he faces the biggest test of that streak ever on Thursday against Arizona.
The Cardinals have won four of the last five in Seattle, all coming in Week 10 or later. And they’re on a hot streak, having won four out of five – including a Hail Murray win over Buffalo on Sunday. That is the same Bills team that put up a Pete Carroll era-worst 44 points against Seattle two Sundays ago.
If the Seahawks lose this game, they will drop to 6-4 and basically be two games behind Arizona, thanks to a sweep. Seattle has an easy slate the rest of the way, with three NFC Least teams, the Jets and the battered 49ers. But the Hawks need to show they can beat good teams.
Continue reading Can Wilson avoid first three-game losing streak?