Tag Archives: Russell Wilson

Contracts, Free agency, The roster

Good news on the cap, but Hawks still have to make more room

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Based on recent reports, the NFL salary cap is expected to be between $180 million and $185 million in 2021. The actual number is not expected to be set until just before the league year begins March 17, but the ceiling apparently will be at least $5 million more than the floor the NFL and NFLPA had set last year.

The Seahawks and the rest of the NFL would happily take an extra $5 million, if Tom Pelissero’s report is more accurate than Adam Schefter’s tweet. (Here’s an easy explanation of how the league arrives at the salary cap.)

Assuming the number is Schefter’s reported $180 million, the Seahawks still would need to create room just to tender Poona Ford (about $3.4 million on the second-round offer) and a few ERFAs, let alone sign needed starters at center, running back, linebacker and cornerback.

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Contracts, NFL history

Hey, Trader Joes & cap experts, Wilson is not going anywhere

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Russell Wilson, Seattle’s franchise quarterback, was named the NFL’s Man of the Year over the weekend, a long-deserved nod to his many charitable endeavors since he came to the NFL.

In Seattle though, he appears to be persona non grata with a section of frustrated fans who are still plotting (in their crazy heads) to get rid of him. Others are talking about him needing to take less money if the Hawks are ever going to get back to the Super Bowl. Basically, most of these people are saying they don’t believe in franchise quarterbacks.

To be clear: Wilson is not going anywhere. Nor should he since he is the reason the Seahawks keep making the playoffs every year (2017 excepted). And his salary has not stopped the Seahawks from getting back to the Super Bowl; coaching has.

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Coaches, On the air, X's & O's

Wilson ‘very adamant’ about fixing ‘passive’ offense

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In his first comments since the Seahawks hired Shane Waldron to run the offense, Russell Wilson said he was “adamant” about finding an OC who would maintain a dynamic offense and he said he already has talked to Waldron several times about how they are going to do that.

In his radio spot, he also said the Seahawks became “passive” in the second half of last season – due in part to offensive line injuries and his own uneven play.

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Coaches, X's & O's

Waldron: We’ll have an ‘attacking mindset’

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The best thing Shane Waldron said Tuesday in his first public words as Seattle’s new offensive coordinator is that he wants to have an “attacking mindset” and to “be the one that puts the foot on the gas pedal.”

That’s music to the ears of Seahawks fans and Russell Wilson, who enjoyed the offense’s fast start in 2020 and want to continue to score early and often all the way to the Super Bowl.

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Coaches

Carroll: Waldron’s vision ‘made him a must-get for us’

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Pete Carroll called Shane Waldron “a must-get for us” who has a “vision for the future” and will “expand the explosive ability” of Russell Wilson and the offense.

Those comments were included in the team’s announcement that Waldron will become offensive coordinator and fellow Rams assistant Andy Dickerson will come with him to coordinate the running game.

This setup harks back to the Darrell Bevell/Tom Cable days, but with a more definite hierarchy: Waldron is in charge.

Carroll said Waldron’s “creative and competitive approach to the game will bring out the best in our players and coaches. Shane also brings great knowledge and insight about our division. His vision for the future, along with the caliber of players on our offense, made him a must-get for us.”

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Coaches, X's & O's

Waldron’s task: Help Wilson sustain great play into postseason

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If you can’t beat ’em, have ’em join you.

That’s apparently what the Seahawks were thinking when they reportedly decided to hire Shane Waldron to fix an offense that diminished by 11 points per game in the second half of the 2020 season (from 34 to 23) and flamed out against Waldron’s Rams in the playoffs.

Waldron’s task will be simple (OK, simply defined anyway): Get Russell Wilson to sustain his excellent play into December and January, get the offense to play well against good defenses in the postseason and get back over the hump and into the Super Bowl.

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Coaches, On the air, X's & O's

Holmgren explains how to fix the offense

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As Pete Carroll looks for Russell Wilson’s third offensive coordinator in 10 years, DK Metcalf has given his two cents about what happened to Seattle’s offense and Mike Holmgren has told us what the new coordinator needs to do to help Wilson.

Metcalf confirmed what we all saw: “Teams just started to figure us out. We’ve been running deep pass ever since Pete got there. Play-action. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, go deep. Teams just said, ‘We’re just not gonna let you all go deep.’”

Of course, a good OC would have worked around the Cover 2 schemes that oddly stymied Wilson and Brian Schottenheimer for the final two months of 2020. Holmgren, a first-generation West Coast offense disciple, said it is on the OC to adjust.

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Contracts

Adams’ extension should be easy, unless he Clowneys around

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Jamal Adams is a tough guy.

He reminded everyone of that Thursday with his Instagram post detailing all of the injuries he endured in 2020 – broken fingers, a torn labrum, a groin strain, a hyperextended elbow – and reminded people that he did not complain as he played at far less than 100% all season. He also said he is ready to bring the same type of all-out “energy” again in 2021.

In one missive, Adams managed to outline what a football warrior he is while pointing out the risk the Seahawks will be taking when they re-sign him and making everyone wonder what that will cost.

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Contracts, The roster

Reality check for fanciful fans

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We certainly understand (and share) the frustration of fans over the Seahawks’ latest premature playoff ouster, and we are as eager as anyone to see the franchise fix its flaws and finally get back to the NFC title game and Super Bowl. But fans need to stop overreacting and get a grip on reality.

Pete Carroll is not going to be fired, and the Hawks are not going to trade Russell Wilson or Jamal Adams or Bobby Wagner. None of those guys are going anywhere.

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Coaches, X's & O's

More thoughts on the offensive conundrum

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There’s still a lot of analysis going on about what went wrong with Seattle’s offense, which bottomed out against the Rams’ stellar defense in the playoffs.

The bottom line is Russell Wilson’s effectiveness faded in the second half of the season, and Brian Schottenheimer was not creative enough as they faced a number of good defenses. Some don’t think Schotty should have been fired, but he could not right the ship in the second half and his unit ended up costing Seattle a playoff win in the first round for the second time in three years.

One of the big keys to an OC is feeling his QB’s performance and adjusting to help him when things are off kilter. Schotty was not very good at making adjustments during games, had too many predictable play-calling patterns (e.g., running on every second-and-10) and simply did not use his personnel to best effect. So, yeah, Pete Carroll was justified in firing him.

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