As I have said in other comments , DT/DE with the 1st pick , if they can get the guy they want by moving around ,fine. They need a Center more than a guard IMHO. A guy that will be there leading the O-line ( in calls at least) for some years. If they can get that guy with one of the 2nd rounders fine, but they need to get one.
If Seahawks draft Carter at #5, Rob Staton might just "January 6th" his followers at the VMAC.
In all seriousness though, there is so much to discuss about Jalen Carter --- his past, current situation, and future as a professional. There's just no way Pete and John have already crossed his name off the board. His unique college tape is enough to keep the book open.
If I were Pete and John, I would have a designated draft subcommittee focusing on just him. What will Carter be like in an environment surrounded by other consummate competitors and team leaders like Quandre and Bobby? How will having an agent like Rosenhaus, who in his best financial interest, keep a young Carter's head straight to ensure a long and successful career?
Carter reminds me of a young Marshawn. I'll leave it at that
Great work as always Ken. I don't think anyone ever questioned Carter's tape. I personally don't really care about the racing arrest either. The thing that makes me want to pass on him is his seemingly attitude about everything. Didn't do anything at the combine, and then shows up overweight and out of shape to his Pro day. This is supposed to the most important 3 months of his life and he can't even work out?
I know to us fans combines, pro days and the three months leading up to the draft can seem like the most important but teams have been scouting these players for years and for the most I don't think a single event could take a player of a board outside of medical evaluations. Apparently some guys start getting scouted as early as middle school!
I know car analogies are cliche but I liken it to buying a car -- all the research you do on the cars you're interested is the scouting; pro days are like taking it for a test drive to see how it compares with your research; and the combine is like taking it to a track to test the limits of what it can do. The test drive and track might change your mind if it doesn't line up with your research at all but the research you did will carry the most weight. At least that's how I see it but I'm just some Seaside Joe blow on the internet!
That can change, too. I had to teach myself to work harder as a fisherman. But more than anything else that makes a person growing up is having children. A friend of mine started fishing horrific weather because he needed the money to raise his child.
I am a criminal defense attorney. What is not there is what is important to when it comes to Carter’s criminal case in Georgia. There was no evidence that Carter left the scene. When officers arrived they gave Carter a field sobriety test and he passed with no evidence of alcohol or narcotics impairment. There was likely little evidence of the rate of speed of Carter’s car and/ or racing making very likely that Carter admitted what had happened to the investigating officers. He was likely Mirandized prior to speaking to the officer’s because of the seriousness of the accident, and he still told them what happened. The speed of the investigation indicates that his story checked out because if other evidence contradicted his version of events the case would have been referred to a grand jury. He agreed to pled no contest keeping open the ability to contest the likely wrongful death suit (he is the deep pocket so will likely be sued despite not being criminally charge with respect to the cause the death) and he almost certainly told all the top teams about it.
What I see is a young man who went out partying but did not get drunk or high. Acted impetuously because that is what 21 year old young men do. They think they are invulnerable, (which is why 18 to 21 years make good soldiers because they don’t believe they can die). I know I did some very stupid things it his age and was more a function of luck rather than my character that I didn’t kill myself or someone else.
What most important to me is what Carter did not do. He did not leave his friend and attempt to flee, he did not lie or fail to take responsibility. Finally rather than being unaffected by the tragedy. The weight gain is consistent with a natural period of mourning and depression. Drug or alcohol abuse attempting to flee, lying, refusing to take responsibility and being unaffected by the loss of a friend are all things I would expect if he had real character issues. What I see is a young man who had enough character to not compound his mistake and deserves a second chance.
Seems to me there was this back-up QB, who also made an error in judgment and was fortunate no one was killed. That player, re-dedicate himself, won comeback player of the year, and embraced the city that gave him a second chance.
Competing is really about the willingness to keep fighting when down. These are the people Pete loves. If Carter is ready to compete every day, Pete Carol can work with that.
Thanks for the insight! I think what people also forget with Carter is that teams are drafting a 21-year-old but hoping to see what man he will be at 24, 27, and if they're super lucky, 30. Just as it would be with a prospect who needs to work on his game or improve his footwork and so forth. Certain teams will say "Working on a person's work habits is not in our culture" and they won't take Jalen Carter. Other teams will be glad to take the project off of their hands.
You bring up some serious things to think about in as it relates to Carter. Thank you for this input. Jalen Carter sounds like a stand up guy in how he handled this terrible situation. How many of can honestly say that we never participated in drag racing on the streets in our youth. I know that I have and I believe probably most of this Seaside Joe community has also. I know that I was lucky, many times, to have escaped death and or serious injury. Many of us have pushed the limits of rational driving in the late night hours. Jalen Carter will be drafted and he has had a real life, changing experience, that will help him grow. I, for one, hope he is available at 5 and that the Seahawks draft him.
Our family had a Cortina, they bought it because Britain was having economic troubles and there was slightly more leg room in the back seat. It was a piece of junk.
Young people make mistakes, it's how we learn. I'm not going to castigate this kid. I don't understand this expectation that some have that college kids aren't going to make mistakes.
Wow. Bing Bang Bong. I had not seen this tape of Carter, but I saw another one that started my reconsideration of Carter, who I said didn't have enough good tape to justify his reputation. I regret that ignorant take. I mean, none of us are professionals and expected to actually study every angle and watch every bit of tape because we subscribe to every outlet that has inside information or more tape to watch before we make statements of opinion on an internet site available for the entire world to read, and for every future football historian to study and make their doctoral thesis on why the Seahawks drafted Jalen Carter two hundred years from now, and note that Stephen Pitell was giving ignorant opinions on a guy he barely knew anything about, but he read some guy called Rob Staton who said the Seahawks will 100% not draft Carter.
But today, I am happy to announce, Rob Staton has tempered his opinion by infinite amount. He went from a 100% guarantee to a 99.5% guarantee that the Seahawks will not draft Carter at #5. Period. Followed by 10,000 words on the subject.
And so in one corner we have Seaside Joe AKA Kenneth Arthur, former heavyweight champion of the Field Gulls SBN Seahawks site and current daily writer for over thirty three million words on the Seahawks (half of them free) without taking a breather and in the other corner we have the Briton, Rob Staton of the BBC of soccer fooootball fame, and a self taught draft expert on the Seahawks and Authoritarian Dictator of the SDB.
I am fully onboard the Carter train and I just loved your lines:
"We’ve heard many times that C.J. Stroud made his money in this single game against Georgia, but there’s also evidence of Carter winning reps, getting held, running after Stroud, and making a difference IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF THIS GAME against Ohio State’s elite offensive line. Which is strange because most of the reports we’ve heard were that Carter is usually resting on a gurney with an IV in his arm by halftime and that he doesn’t emerge from the darkness until days later."
If I were of this generation I would know how to highlight IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF THIS GAME, but alas I am of the generation that only knows how to push the cap locks key to highlight something. So my highlights, but something Seaside Joe should have thought of if he is the near genius we all know him to be.
I just can't believe that Rob has said that if you disagree with him, it's because you don't follow the Seahawks and you don't know nearly as much as he does. That's the only possible way that Rob thinks a person could disagree with him on an unknowable situation.
He feels as if his logic unassailable. I've seen it before. But what astonishes me the most is how his treatment of his followers has created a group that rarely questions him or his logic, and they fall in line without a peep. No one, for instance, would dare to say, yea, yea, Rob, I have already read that column three times. He doesn't enhance his arguments, he just repeats the same points. He could cut and pasted his Jalen Carter has character issues from at least three previous articles.
Unfortunately, that’s my experience. He has a tendency to present in either/or terms or to jump to conclusions, and takes offense to anyone who points out that things might not be so simple.
All I want is the priority you may be suggesting here: use the 1st round to help strengthen both OL and DL first. (IMVHO, do whatever else is wisest - restructuring contracts most likely - to bring either Woods and/or Ford back.) The Hawks’ wealth of total # of picks and their skill at finding great value in later rounds to bolster other present & future needs seems sensible to me.
I renew my prayer for alpha dog Brooks to heal very well, and of course Mr. Adams too; they should return only when truly fit and I’m glad the Hawks are usually cautious that way. Sorry to know that Mone’s injury was severe and that the surgery was hard.
FWIW, in the current Seahawks Man-to-Man, Mike Dugar says that his investigation shows that Carter shows a trend of making bad decisions. He thinks the Seahawks will pass if the opportunity arises, although he admits that Carter’s talent is otherworldly. Still *nothing* ascribed to Carter rises to the level of criminality--it’s not he’s violent or threatening. That’s praising with a faint damn, I guess, but the NFL has excused worse.
Much is made of the character of the 2022 class and of the Seahawks recommitment to character. Well, maybe. It’s possible that the question never arose--that the players at the top of their board happened to be great character guys.
In our current world I feel a little bad for saying this but I would be happy to cheer for Lawrence “The Human Rap Sheet” Tayler crushing O-Linemen every week for the Seahawks. I’m glad MLB holds their HoF players to higher moral standards but the Seahawks don’t play baseball.
For me, I think it comes down to this: How many snaps per game do you think he's good for? I'm torn on the opposing narratives surrounding Carter. On one hand, he's double teamed quite a bit and went up against top prospects in Georgia's playoff games, and still got pressure. On the other, he had 3 tackles and no sacks in those 2 combined games. I go back and forth every time I watch a Georgia game or hear an informed opinion.
Our lives become much easier on the evening of April 27th: Either we're faced with seeing how Carter's career plays out or he goes to another team and we don't have to think about it again. If the Seahawks draft him, I think we'll see a lot more optimism around Seattle on how overrated or concerning his resume really is.
"If the Seahawks draft him, I think we'll see a lot more optimism around Seattle on how overrated or concerning his resume really is."
Make no mistake, while I would prefer to see his career play out from afar; I will absolutely root for the big fella the second we select him. It's an enormous gamble, but so is anyone else who might be on the board at 5, for various reasons. I write that under the assumption that Will Anderson will be off the board by 5. It's gonna sting for a while that the Chargers couldn't win that last game against the lowly Broncos.
I have no doubts about that. Don't get me wrong, I have serious questions if Carter is worth the risk. Here's the thing: If the Seahawks had the #5 pick in 2021 and Jalen Carter was in that class, just pick Penei Sewell or JaMarr Chase or Micah Parsons or Jaylen Waddle and run in the other direction. This is the type of draft class where everybody at pick 5 comes with a gigantic risk attached.
Though the reminds me that there were questions of Micah's character two years ago too.
As a rookie he won't likely get more than 40% of the defensive snaps by the end of the season, but if he is on the field for the majority of 1st/2nd down I would be happy with that to start. I would absolutely love a draft where we end up with Carter, Skoronski , and another big DL out of the first 3 rounds.
As I have said in other comments , DT/DE with the 1st pick , if they can get the guy they want by moving around ,fine. They need a Center more than a guard IMHO. A guy that will be there leading the O-line ( in calls at least) for some years. If they can get that guy with one of the 2nd rounders fine, but they need to get one.
That's all and good but showing up out of shape to what is basically a job interview is not a good look for a guy with reported "character concerns".
Apparently the Seahawks had a private workout according to Schneider and he wouldn't divulge his location to keep it secret...
If Seahawks draft Carter at #5, Rob Staton might just "January 6th" his followers at the VMAC.
In all seriousness though, there is so much to discuss about Jalen Carter --- his past, current situation, and future as a professional. There's just no way Pete and John have already crossed his name off the board. His unique college tape is enough to keep the book open.
If I were Pete and John, I would have a designated draft subcommittee focusing on just him. What will Carter be like in an environment surrounded by other consummate competitors and team leaders like Quandre and Bobby? How will having an agent like Rosenhaus, who in his best financial interest, keep a young Carter's head straight to ensure a long and successful career?
Carter reminds me of a young Marshawn. I'll leave it at that
Fine with me if Carter is a young Marshawn!
Rob is out of control. He's really lost it.
I think these would be excellent picks. What I am wondering is how far Skoronski will fall before John goes after him
I'm wondering the same, could be he doesn't make it out of the top-8
Great work as always Ken. I don't think anyone ever questioned Carter's tape. I personally don't really care about the racing arrest either. The thing that makes me want to pass on him is his seemingly attitude about everything. Didn't do anything at the combine, and then shows up overweight and out of shape to his Pro day. This is supposed to the most important 3 months of his life and he can't even work out?
I know to us fans combines, pro days and the three months leading up to the draft can seem like the most important but teams have been scouting these players for years and for the most I don't think a single event could take a player of a board outside of medical evaluations. Apparently some guys start getting scouted as early as middle school!
https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/how-to-get-recruited/early-scholarship-offers
I know car analogies are cliche but I liken it to buying a car -- all the research you do on the cars you're interested is the scouting; pro days are like taking it for a test drive to see how it compares with your research; and the combine is like taking it to a track to test the limits of what it can do. The test drive and track might change your mind if it doesn't line up with your research at all but the research you did will carry the most weight. At least that's how I see it but I'm just some Seaside Joe blow on the internet!
Yeah the biggest question is does he want to practice?
That can change, too. I had to teach myself to work harder as a fisherman. But more than anything else that makes a person growing up is having children. A friend of mine started fishing horrific weather because he needed the money to raise his child.
My new draft where I at #5 I could pick between Will Anderson, Jalen Carter, and Anthony Richardson.
Seattle Receives:
2023: Round 5, Pick 161
2023: Round 6, Pick 201
Houston Receives:
2023: Round 5, Pick 151
My Selections
5Seahawks Logo
Jalen CarterDL | Georgia LogoGeorgia
20Seahawks Logo
Bijan RobinsonRB | Texas LogoTexas
37Seahawks Logo
Brian BranchS | Alabama LogoAlabama
52Seahawks Logo
Jack CampbellLB | Iowa LogoIowa
83Seahawks Logo
Luke WyplerIOL | Ohio State LogoOhio State
123Seahawks Logo
Jonathan MingoWR | Mississippi LogoMississippi
154Seahawks Logo
Riley MossCB | Iowa LogoIowa
161Seahawks Logo
Keondre CoburnDL | Texas LogoTexasTRADE
198Seahawks Logo
D.J. JohnsonEDGE | Oregon LogoOregon
201Seahawks Logo
Israel AbanikandaRB | Pittsburgh LogoPittsburghTRADE
237Seahawks Logo
Jalen RedmondDL | Oklahoma LogoOklahoma
If this happened I'd go crazy and someone would have to hold a plastic bag over my head until I passed out and calmed down.
I am a criminal defense attorney. What is not there is what is important to when it comes to Carter’s criminal case in Georgia. There was no evidence that Carter left the scene. When officers arrived they gave Carter a field sobriety test and he passed with no evidence of alcohol or narcotics impairment. There was likely little evidence of the rate of speed of Carter’s car and/ or racing making very likely that Carter admitted what had happened to the investigating officers. He was likely Mirandized prior to speaking to the officer’s because of the seriousness of the accident, and he still told them what happened. The speed of the investigation indicates that his story checked out because if other evidence contradicted his version of events the case would have been referred to a grand jury. He agreed to pled no contest keeping open the ability to contest the likely wrongful death suit (he is the deep pocket so will likely be sued despite not being criminally charge with respect to the cause the death) and he almost certainly told all the top teams about it.
What I see is a young man who went out partying but did not get drunk or high. Acted impetuously because that is what 21 year old young men do. They think they are invulnerable, (which is why 18 to 21 years make good soldiers because they don’t believe they can die). I know I did some very stupid things it his age and was more a function of luck rather than my character that I didn’t kill myself or someone else.
What most important to me is what Carter did not do. He did not leave his friend and attempt to flee, he did not lie or fail to take responsibility. Finally rather than being unaffected by the tragedy. The weight gain is consistent with a natural period of mourning and depression. Drug or alcohol abuse attempting to flee, lying, refusing to take responsibility and being unaffected by the loss of a friend are all things I would expect if he had real character issues. What I see is a young man who had enough character to not compound his mistake and deserves a second chance.
Seems to me there was this back-up QB, who also made an error in judgment and was fortunate no one was killed. That player, re-dedicate himself, won comeback player of the year, and embraced the city that gave him a second chance.
Competing is really about the willingness to keep fighting when down. These are the people Pete loves. If Carter is ready to compete every day, Pete Carol can work with that.
These are great points. We shouldn’t conflate grief with character concerns.
Thanks for the insight! I think what people also forget with Carter is that teams are drafting a 21-year-old but hoping to see what man he will be at 24, 27, and if they're super lucky, 30. Just as it would be with a prospect who needs to work on his game or improve his footwork and so forth. Certain teams will say "Working on a person's work habits is not in our culture" and they won't take Jalen Carter. Other teams will be glad to take the project off of their hands.
You bring up some serious things to think about in as it relates to Carter. Thank you for this input. Jalen Carter sounds like a stand up guy in how he handled this terrible situation. How many of can honestly say that we never participated in drag racing on the streets in our youth. I know that I have and I believe probably most of this Seaside Joe community has also. I know that I was lucky, many times, to have escaped death and or serious injury. Many of us have pushed the limits of rational driving in the late night hours. Jalen Carter will be drafted and he has had a real life, changing experience, that will help him grow. I, for one, hope he is available at 5 and that the Seahawks draft him.
I didn’t, but it’s not like a ‘68 Cortina was going anywhere fast.
Our family had a Cortina, they bought it because Britain was having economic troubles and there was slightly more leg room in the back seat. It was a piece of junk.
Young people make mistakes, it's how we learn. I'm not going to castigate this kid. I don't understand this expectation that some have that college kids aren't going to make mistakes.
Wow. Bing Bang Bong. I had not seen this tape of Carter, but I saw another one that started my reconsideration of Carter, who I said didn't have enough good tape to justify his reputation. I regret that ignorant take. I mean, none of us are professionals and expected to actually study every angle and watch every bit of tape because we subscribe to every outlet that has inside information or more tape to watch before we make statements of opinion on an internet site available for the entire world to read, and for every future football historian to study and make their doctoral thesis on why the Seahawks drafted Jalen Carter two hundred years from now, and note that Stephen Pitell was giving ignorant opinions on a guy he barely knew anything about, but he read some guy called Rob Staton who said the Seahawks will 100% not draft Carter.
But today, I am happy to announce, Rob Staton has tempered his opinion by infinite amount. He went from a 100% guarantee to a 99.5% guarantee that the Seahawks will not draft Carter at #5. Period. Followed by 10,000 words on the subject.
And so in one corner we have Seaside Joe AKA Kenneth Arthur, former heavyweight champion of the Field Gulls SBN Seahawks site and current daily writer for over thirty three million words on the Seahawks (half of them free) without taking a breather and in the other corner we have the Briton, Rob Staton of the BBC of soccer fooootball fame, and a self taught draft expert on the Seahawks and Authoritarian Dictator of the SDB.
I am fully onboard the Carter train and I just loved your lines:
"We’ve heard many times that C.J. Stroud made his money in this single game against Georgia, but there’s also evidence of Carter winning reps, getting held, running after Stroud, and making a difference IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF THIS GAME against Ohio State’s elite offensive line. Which is strange because most of the reports we’ve heard were that Carter is usually resting on a gurney with an IV in his arm by halftime and that he doesn’t emerge from the darkness until days later."
If I were of this generation I would know how to highlight IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF THIS GAME, but alas I am of the generation that only knows how to push the cap locks key to highlight something. So my highlights, but something Seaside Joe should have thought of if he is the near genius we all know him to be.
It was unreadable.
I just can't believe that Rob has said that if you disagree with him, it's because you don't follow the Seahawks and you don't know nearly as much as he does. That's the only possible way that Rob thinks a person could disagree with him on an unknowable situation.
He feels as if his logic unassailable. I've seen it before. But what astonishes me the most is how his treatment of his followers has created a group that rarely questions him or his logic, and they fall in line without a peep. No one, for instance, would dare to say, yea, yea, Rob, I have already read that column three times. He doesn't enhance his arguments, he just repeats the same points. He could cut and pasted his Jalen Carter has character issues from at least three previous articles.
Unfortunately, that’s my experience. He has a tendency to present in either/or terms or to jump to conclusions, and takes offense to anyone who points out that things might not be so simple.
I read Rob's column and figured there would be a showdown.
I’m convinced (again). I’m ready for the draft now. Where’s Dr Strange when you need him?
All I want is the priority you may be suggesting here: use the 1st round to help strengthen both OL and DL first. (IMVHO, do whatever else is wisest - restructuring contracts most likely - to bring either Woods and/or Ford back.) The Hawks’ wealth of total # of picks and their skill at finding great value in later rounds to bolster other present & future needs seems sensible to me.
I renew my prayer for alpha dog Brooks to heal very well, and of course Mr. Adams too; they should return only when truly fit and I’m glad the Hawks are usually cautious that way. Sorry to know that Mone’s injury was severe and that the surgery was hard.
FWIW, in the current Seahawks Man-to-Man, Mike Dugar says that his investigation shows that Carter shows a trend of making bad decisions. He thinks the Seahawks will pass if the opportunity arises, although he admits that Carter’s talent is otherworldly. Still *nothing* ascribed to Carter rises to the level of criminality--it’s not he’s violent or threatening. That’s praising with a faint damn, I guess, but the NFL has excused worse.
Much is made of the character of the 2022 class and of the Seahawks recommitment to character. Well, maybe. It’s possible that the question never arose--that the players at the top of their board happened to be great character guys.
In our current world I feel a little bad for saying this but I would be happy to cheer for Lawrence “The Human Rap Sheet” Tayler crushing O-Linemen every week for the Seahawks. I’m glad MLB holds their HoF players to higher moral standards but the Seahawks don’t play baseball.
For me, I think it comes down to this: How many snaps per game do you think he's good for? I'm torn on the opposing narratives surrounding Carter. On one hand, he's double teamed quite a bit and went up against top prospects in Georgia's playoff games, and still got pressure. On the other, he had 3 tackles and no sacks in those 2 combined games. I go back and forth every time I watch a Georgia game or hear an informed opinion.
Our lives become much easier on the evening of April 27th: Either we're faced with seeing how Carter's career plays out or he goes to another team and we don't have to think about it again. If the Seahawks draft him, I think we'll see a lot more optimism around Seattle on how overrated or concerning his resume really is.
"If the Seahawks draft him, I think we'll see a lot more optimism around Seattle on how overrated or concerning his resume really is."
Make no mistake, while I would prefer to see his career play out from afar; I will absolutely root for the big fella the second we select him. It's an enormous gamble, but so is anyone else who might be on the board at 5, for various reasons. I write that under the assumption that Will Anderson will be off the board by 5. It's gonna sting for a while that the Chargers couldn't win that last game against the lowly Broncos.
I have no doubts about that. Don't get me wrong, I have serious questions if Carter is worth the risk. Here's the thing: If the Seahawks had the #5 pick in 2021 and Jalen Carter was in that class, just pick Penei Sewell or JaMarr Chase or Micah Parsons or Jaylen Waddle and run in the other direction. This is the type of draft class where everybody at pick 5 comes with a gigantic risk attached.
Though the reminds me that there were questions of Micah's character two years ago too.
I would make book on the second sentence!
Drafting Carter at #5 would mean that PCJS see him playing on passing downs. I can’t imagine that they would take DT that high who couldn’t.
As a rookie he won't likely get more than 40% of the defensive snaps by the end of the season, but if he is on the field for the majority of 1st/2nd down I would be happy with that to start. I would absolutely love a draft where we end up with Carter, Skoronski , and another big DL out of the first 3 rounds.
Plus, eating popcorn while reading SDB...