First Kenneth thanks for the season, I’ve enjoyed your writing.
Watching the game yesterday, what struck me was the absence of the interior offensive line and defensive line in the video coverage. When the Seahawks were on defense on I literally didn’t see a single defensive lineman in Connor’s gash runs - just linebackers and DBs getting blocked juked and run over. Conversely on the Seahawks running plays everything was a cut back where Walker created his own hole.
In past years the Seahawks got better on defense and offensive lines - atrocious to okay. This year the offensive line started out by being decimated by injury and then got worse as the season progressed. The defensive line started out as okay and then finished as one of the weakest in the NFL.
My biggest complaint with the offensive coaching in this game was the failure to make second half adjustments to the game plan. In the third quarter the offense kept trying to run the ball when the Seahawks had literally not won a single block at the point of attack in the first half and instead relied exclusively on cut backs. During half what do you think the Cardinals coaching staff talked about the defense? If it had been me the topic would have been simple, stay in your lane do your job and they can’t run. The game plan was clearly to run Walker but nothing from the first half said that would work in the second half if the Cardinals played with discipline. For much the second half it appeared that Seahawks game plan was for the Cardinals to continue making mistakes or the Seahawk offensive line to do things, they hadn’t done all year less in the game to that point .That is not good coaching.
The only reason that the Seahawks won was that coaching on the other side of the ball in the last few minutes was even worse. Over the season the Seahawks have struggled with blitz pick up not only physically but mentally. Well coached teams like Cincinnati and Dallas attacked Seattle in closing minutes and Seattle made the inevitable mistake. Instead of bringing pressure, Arizona sat back in coverage and let Geno pick them apart. That and missed field goals resulted in the loss. (Missed field goals balance out over time- cost the Seahawks in LA saved them in Phoenix).
Ken and by extension, the rest of us spend a lot of time talking about the players we see on television. But on the few occasions this year that I’ve looked at the all 22 to my slightly trained eye, it’s the players that we aren’t seeing on TV that are keep the Seahawks mired in the middle.
There is something about the culture that is not right. Everyone including many players talk about the culture as a great thing but I don't think it's a great thing if the results aren't there. I think it's great that stuff like hotel accommodations are handled in a first class manner, (at least Bruce Irvin liked not having to stay at Hampton Inns) and that the general manager and head coach aren't preachy puritans with broomsticks stuck you know where. But a team that is lousy on third down and in the red zone, tackles poorly, has a high penalty rate and poor defense
despite having experienced on field leadership in my view cannot be a team with a "great" culture. PC is famous for his motivational tecnique but I am left wondering. That's why I think they should own the term "rebuild" in at least this offseason and throughout 2024. Not the usual NFL shuffle. Sell off, waive and suffer dead money as needed. Not so happy New Year, but at least an honest wake up call.
We cannot run block. K9 got most of his yards on busted plays he bounced outside. If we insist on running the ball on first and second down, we need to learn to run block.
As close as we are to being a very good team, being able to run the ball would put us over the top.
The defense needs new leadership.
Fix those two things, I think we would be a competitive with the best of the league.
Not saying Pete should come back or be fired but everyone always claims he controls everything and rules JS, the OC and DC ... what evidence is there of this? Has it actually been stated by the team or just insinuated by team performance? He's all about letting players be themselves so why not the coaches? And if I remember correctly, Wilson is the one who wanted Waldron.
There are so many factors that come into play, it's hard to know that fixing x, y, and z will make everything better. I agree with everything that everyone says, which is to say I have no righteous take on anything. But let me ask this, without prejudice or animus: What did the Rams do to be where they are this year?
Before the season began I expected a 10-7 or maybe 11-6 season. Part of that expectation was the hope that Cross and Lucas would continue to improve and that the center position was upgraded. The first half of the first game was ok and then both of the young tackles were injured and probably never fully recovered throughout the season. Even with that, the team was a missed FG in LA from meeting my expectations.
Yes there were some fluky wins, but also some fluky losses. That’s parity in the NFL. The league wants a bunch of 9-8 and 8-9 teams so everyone has a chance at playoffs in the final week.
The season didn’t go as I’d hoped, and some changes are needed and are coming. But the two seasons post “The Trade” were probably better than most expected. Several of the post draftees have shown promise and hopefully come back better and stronger next season. Clear off some underperforming big contracts, continue with decent drafting and some younger, quicker FAs and there is hope for better things next year.
Also my first season as a Seasider. Its made this one a hell of a lot more fun as a result, thanks to you and the amazing community you have built. I look forward to reading the next 240 odd daily articles (plus bonus ones!) before the next season kicks off anew. Time to start mock drafting! :)
My take is to let the dust settle and not overreact.
Ken, here's some good news for you. I was 41 in 1996 can't remember a single thing about that 7-9 Seahawks team. Even so, I had fun cheering for them even if I probably couldn't figure out why they didn't play Steve Broussard more.
Go get Penix, hire DeBoer as OC/assistant head coach and then when Pete’s contract expires, make DeBoer HC. One thing’s for sure: we’d have a competitive offense, along the lines of Shanahan and McVay. Maybe not so competitive while Pete is still HC (bc he seems to be able to suck the life out of any OC) but a positive step in a positive direction.
Want a tough as nails defense? Find someone who always has a tough as nails defense. Vance Joseph? Spoon and Love, Williams and Reed, and Mafe give us at least a chance of being tough.
I’ve been consistent saying that 2024 would be the ‘Hawks season, bc two consecutive great draft classes would be more mature and productive. But I’m not sure that many of the 2022 class have materially grown -- prob Mafe and Walker for me, but Cross and Lucas for different reasons aren’t the bookends I thought they would be, Cobe def a back-up and Riq should maybe change his name back or whatever he needs to do to not be an embarrassment.
The 2023 class which also had such promise: Spoon as advertised, for me Jaxon too, and Bobo is the UDF you always hope to find. All four of Hall, Charbonnet, Bradford, and Ole are wait and see but feels like they desperately need better coaching. Will this end up being a 2-player draft, as far as our “reload” is concerned?
(Watching our last 7 years with and without Russ, if that’s reloading instead of rebuilding, we need better bullets. Otherwise rebuild the popgun into a bazooka)
Comes down to Pete. Wouldn’t fire him but would find the next HC (behind the scenes with whoever the new owner is going to be), would bring him in now, let him work with Schneider on this next draft and FA decisions, glean what he wants from Pete’s way, and then turn the page when Pete’s contract expires. In 2025 when Jody officially sells the team.
Which probably means Seattle’s year is 2026.
This is the saddest and most disappointing realization I can think of for our beloved Seahawks.
Thanks for the season Joe. I look forward to reading your takes every day, and will continue to do so.
As for the team....I feel the OC and DC need to change. Pete needs to be given a last chance - improve or go. Draft a QB (Nix is my pick) and focus on getting at least a couple of big linemen with talent/potential.
We’re set at RB, we probably need a replacement for Lockett (I think he’ll retire), but otherwise should be able to cope with our WR’s, our CB’s are serviceable, choose which TE(s) we want. That would be a good start.
With the QB - I’m sure we were all in at least semi-agreement last season that we were happy to see how it went b/w Geno and Lock coz it wasn’t the year for a good QB, then draft one this year if they weren’t the answer. I don’t think that should change as I don’t think they are the answer (though it’s hard to tell with Lock given he only had minimal playing time).
We won yes, but we needed Prater to do something he'd never done before in his 49year long career -near enough twice! Against a 4-13 team everyone agrees is one of the weakest talent wise in the NFL. It's in the win column, but it wasn't much of a win.
Same old same old. Flashes of good stuff, long periods of really poor play. Completely out coached by a division rival again. This team worries noone and it's record is really flattering.
I'm not going to speculate on players futures until we know what's happening with Pete. I've been clear for a few weeks I'm done with him, I don't believe he has the will to take the drastic changes required to return to SB contention. I don't think Hurtt has the talent to turn around the defence. I still think Waldron is good on paper and very selective individual plays, not as an OC.
The window that was opened in the RW trade is rapidly shrinking, and if changes don't come fast and deep now it'll pass by entirely. We have a win, and a winning season, but more by luck. Everyone needs luck, but to be genuinely good we need more. Watching the next few days with interest as to where this team really feels it is and where it's heading.
I don't know why we would expect 2024 to be different from any of the last 7 seasons. It would take drastic change and Pete is not built that way. He is loyal to "his" guys to a fault. Oh he might change coordinators but do we have any confidence he will make necessary player cuts? Geno's $31 million cap hit at the very least needs to be renegotiated. Jamal Adams and his $27 million cap hit should be cut (13.8m savings). Tyler's hit is 27 million, Dissly's is 10m , Mone is 6.4m , Diggs is 21m and Eskridge is 1.4m. No one knows what it would cost to re-sign Leonard Williams and what will happen at linebacker. Maybe Bobby is past his prime, but who replaces him? The Seahawks have dug themselves a big hole and it's going to take more than a season to fix it.
I wrote a lot more than this and deleted it because I realized it was just a rant and the comments section isn’t for that. I’ll try to keep my contributions more focused on informed perspectives.
I watched the Miami game today and heard them say they have had 12 different starting lineups on their O line. I believe they led the NFL. Of course this doesn’t obviously mean those replacements are atrocious but Achane, Mostert and Hill all still had phenomenal seasons and Miami went 11-6. When we start blaming the inconsistency in the o line we have to remember that is low hanging fruit for accountability. Consistency without health can be done. Consistency with a mortgaged future can be done. Consistency with inexperience can be done. We lacked the ability to execute consistently. Did anyone really have a great year? Dissly got his first TD (and what felt like his first catch) of the year today. It appears we all agree that some combination of the coaching staff has to change. We need coaches who can get the most from their players and put them in positions to succeed. I maintain that our coaches failed to do that this year and that starts with Pete and it isn’t just our DC and OC. We absolutely cannot waste another year of this roster on inconsistency and inability to adjust. How many times did we hear the guys say we were not ready this year? WHAT!? Maddening.
We have too many players who are not worth what we are paying them. We have been saying that and I don’t know what do we do about it. I don’t think we can move on from some of those contracts without disproportionate impact to our financial future. Those are decisions we have to live with but partially why I was a bigger proponent of Lock over Geno. If they are basically the same, why wouldn’t you chose the cheaper option? Geno and his upside is not worth 30 mil for a team that has so many problems and not enough money to do anything about it. If our O line was the reason we couldn’t do anything on offense, then we better see investment there.
Last thing I’ll say is that If I’m in that building we don’t draft or pick up anyone on defense who can’t tackle a freaking marble. I wouldn’t run another drill until pre season. If we can get one thing right next season it’s tackling.
9-8 is about what this team should have expected. Last year's schedule was weaker. That said, the way we lost this year down the stretch (ie, soft) is distressing.
Geno was absolutely, positively better in 2023 than in 2022. His oLine in '24 was worse, with injuries and regressions. The run game was bad/inconsistent/non-existent all year. See point #1. And Geno had what 7 4th qtr comebacks in '23? That's insane. Sure, they shouldn't have all been necessary. But he came through under pressure, a lot.
If Geno can perform in the 4th qtr - and he can, very well - then he can perform in qtrs 1-3. The factors holding him back - scheme, line, run game, etc - need to be addressed. That is not to confuse him with Mahomes, but he's as good or better than what is and will be available.
They also should draft and grow a future qb, because teams always should be doing that. Paying one player 40-50 mil a year doesn't really work. Look at the Chiefs this year.... total mess. And it's not bc Mahomes is bad, it's bc most of the rest of that team is. Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts are almost infinitely more valuable than Mahomes and Allen bc of the contract numbers. I would argue that Geno's production:cap is top-5 in the league. He only cost the team 10mm in cap! The problem isn't Geno, it's what the team did with the rest of the money they weren't paying him.
First Kenneth thanks for the season, I’ve enjoyed your writing.
Watching the game yesterday, what struck me was the absence of the interior offensive line and defensive line in the video coverage. When the Seahawks were on defense on I literally didn’t see a single defensive lineman in Connor’s gash runs - just linebackers and DBs getting blocked juked and run over. Conversely on the Seahawks running plays everything was a cut back where Walker created his own hole.
In past years the Seahawks got better on defense and offensive lines - atrocious to okay. This year the offensive line started out by being decimated by injury and then got worse as the season progressed. The defensive line started out as okay and then finished as one of the weakest in the NFL.
My biggest complaint with the offensive coaching in this game was the failure to make second half adjustments to the game plan. In the third quarter the offense kept trying to run the ball when the Seahawks had literally not won a single block at the point of attack in the first half and instead relied exclusively on cut backs. During half what do you think the Cardinals coaching staff talked about the defense? If it had been me the topic would have been simple, stay in your lane do your job and they can’t run. The game plan was clearly to run Walker but nothing from the first half said that would work in the second half if the Cardinals played with discipline. For much the second half it appeared that Seahawks game plan was for the Cardinals to continue making mistakes or the Seahawk offensive line to do things, they hadn’t done all year less in the game to that point .That is not good coaching.
The only reason that the Seahawks won was that coaching on the other side of the ball in the last few minutes was even worse. Over the season the Seahawks have struggled with blitz pick up not only physically but mentally. Well coached teams like Cincinnati and Dallas attacked Seattle in closing minutes and Seattle made the inevitable mistake. Instead of bringing pressure, Arizona sat back in coverage and let Geno pick them apart. That and missed field goals resulted in the loss. (Missed field goals balance out over time- cost the Seahawks in LA saved them in Phoenix).
Ken and by extension, the rest of us spend a lot of time talking about the players we see on television. But on the few occasions this year that I’ve looked at the all 22 to my slightly trained eye, it’s the players that we aren’t seeing on TV that are keep the Seahawks mired in the middle.
There is something about the culture that is not right. Everyone including many players talk about the culture as a great thing but I don't think it's a great thing if the results aren't there. I think it's great that stuff like hotel accommodations are handled in a first class manner, (at least Bruce Irvin liked not having to stay at Hampton Inns) and that the general manager and head coach aren't preachy puritans with broomsticks stuck you know where. But a team that is lousy on third down and in the red zone, tackles poorly, has a high penalty rate and poor defense
despite having experienced on field leadership in my view cannot be a team with a "great" culture. PC is famous for his motivational tecnique but I am left wondering. That's why I think they should own the term "rebuild" in at least this offseason and throughout 2024. Not the usual NFL shuffle. Sell off, waive and suffer dead money as needed. Not so happy New Year, but at least an honest wake up call.
We cannot run block. K9 got most of his yards on busted plays he bounced outside. If we insist on running the ball on first and second down, we need to learn to run block.
As close as we are to being a very good team, being able to run the ball would put us over the top.
The defense needs new leadership.
Fix those two things, I think we would be a competitive with the best of the league.
Not saying Pete should come back or be fired but everyone always claims he controls everything and rules JS, the OC and DC ... what evidence is there of this? Has it actually been stated by the team or just insinuated by team performance? He's all about letting players be themselves so why not the coaches? And if I remember correctly, Wilson is the one who wanted Waldron.
There are so many factors that come into play, it's hard to know that fixing x, y, and z will make everything better. I agree with everything that everyone says, which is to say I have no righteous take on anything. But let me ask this, without prejudice or animus: What did the Rams do to be where they are this year?
Before the season began I expected a 10-7 or maybe 11-6 season. Part of that expectation was the hope that Cross and Lucas would continue to improve and that the center position was upgraded. The first half of the first game was ok and then both of the young tackles were injured and probably never fully recovered throughout the season. Even with that, the team was a missed FG in LA from meeting my expectations.
Yes there were some fluky wins, but also some fluky losses. That’s parity in the NFL. The league wants a bunch of 9-8 and 8-9 teams so everyone has a chance at playoffs in the final week.
The season didn’t go as I’d hoped, and some changes are needed and are coming. But the two seasons post “The Trade” were probably better than most expected. Several of the post draftees have shown promise and hopefully come back better and stronger next season. Clear off some underperforming big contracts, continue with decent drafting and some younger, quicker FAs and there is hope for better things next year.
Also my first season as a Seasider. Its made this one a hell of a lot more fun as a result, thanks to you and the amazing community you have built. I look forward to reading the next 240 odd daily articles (plus bonus ones!) before the next season kicks off anew. Time to start mock drafting! :)
My thoughts...
1) it’s time for a change in the front office. I have tons of love and respect for Pete, but I’m ready for something different.
2) release Geno, keep Lock, draft a QB.
3) I think Hurtt needs to go, the D is trash and it feels like we are not utilizing the talent we have.
4) ILB is a big problem, needs to be fixed.
5) get rid of any / all big contracts for players who under performed.
My take is to let the dust settle and not overreact.
Ken, here's some good news for you. I was 41 in 1996 can't remember a single thing about that 7-9 Seahawks team. Even so, I had fun cheering for them even if I probably couldn't figure out why they didn't play Steve Broussard more.
Go get Penix, hire DeBoer as OC/assistant head coach and then when Pete’s contract expires, make DeBoer HC. One thing’s for sure: we’d have a competitive offense, along the lines of Shanahan and McVay. Maybe not so competitive while Pete is still HC (bc he seems to be able to suck the life out of any OC) but a positive step in a positive direction.
Want a tough as nails defense? Find someone who always has a tough as nails defense. Vance Joseph? Spoon and Love, Williams and Reed, and Mafe give us at least a chance of being tough.
I’ve been consistent saying that 2024 would be the ‘Hawks season, bc two consecutive great draft classes would be more mature and productive. But I’m not sure that many of the 2022 class have materially grown -- prob Mafe and Walker for me, but Cross and Lucas for different reasons aren’t the bookends I thought they would be, Cobe def a back-up and Riq should maybe change his name back or whatever he needs to do to not be an embarrassment.
The 2023 class which also had such promise: Spoon as advertised, for me Jaxon too, and Bobo is the UDF you always hope to find. All four of Hall, Charbonnet, Bradford, and Ole are wait and see but feels like they desperately need better coaching. Will this end up being a 2-player draft, as far as our “reload” is concerned?
(Watching our last 7 years with and without Russ, if that’s reloading instead of rebuilding, we need better bullets. Otherwise rebuild the popgun into a bazooka)
Comes down to Pete. Wouldn’t fire him but would find the next HC (behind the scenes with whoever the new owner is going to be), would bring him in now, let him work with Schneider on this next draft and FA decisions, glean what he wants from Pete’s way, and then turn the page when Pete’s contract expires. In 2025 when Jody officially sells the team.
Which probably means Seattle’s year is 2026.
This is the saddest and most disappointing realization I can think of for our beloved Seahawks.
Thanks for the season Joe. I look forward to reading your takes every day, and will continue to do so.
As for the team....I feel the OC and DC need to change. Pete needs to be given a last chance - improve or go. Draft a QB (Nix is my pick) and focus on getting at least a couple of big linemen with talent/potential.
We’re set at RB, we probably need a replacement for Lockett (I think he’ll retire), but otherwise should be able to cope with our WR’s, our CB’s are serviceable, choose which TE(s) we want. That would be a good start.
With the QB - I’m sure we were all in at least semi-agreement last season that we were happy to see how it went b/w Geno and Lock coz it wasn’t the year for a good QB, then draft one this year if they weren’t the answer. I don’t think that should change as I don’t think they are the answer (though it’s hard to tell with Lock given he only had minimal playing time).
We won yes, but we needed Prater to do something he'd never done before in his 49year long career -near enough twice! Against a 4-13 team everyone agrees is one of the weakest talent wise in the NFL. It's in the win column, but it wasn't much of a win.
Same old same old. Flashes of good stuff, long periods of really poor play. Completely out coached by a division rival again. This team worries noone and it's record is really flattering.
I'm not going to speculate on players futures until we know what's happening with Pete. I've been clear for a few weeks I'm done with him, I don't believe he has the will to take the drastic changes required to return to SB contention. I don't think Hurtt has the talent to turn around the defence. I still think Waldron is good on paper and very selective individual plays, not as an OC.
The window that was opened in the RW trade is rapidly shrinking, and if changes don't come fast and deep now it'll pass by entirely. We have a win, and a winning season, but more by luck. Everyone needs luck, but to be genuinely good we need more. Watching the next few days with interest as to where this team really feels it is and where it's heading.
I don't know why we would expect 2024 to be different from any of the last 7 seasons. It would take drastic change and Pete is not built that way. He is loyal to "his" guys to a fault. Oh he might change coordinators but do we have any confidence he will make necessary player cuts? Geno's $31 million cap hit at the very least needs to be renegotiated. Jamal Adams and his $27 million cap hit should be cut (13.8m savings). Tyler's hit is 27 million, Dissly's is 10m , Mone is 6.4m , Diggs is 21m and Eskridge is 1.4m. No one knows what it would cost to re-sign Leonard Williams and what will happen at linebacker. Maybe Bobby is past his prime, but who replaces him? The Seahawks have dug themselves a big hole and it's going to take more than a season to fix it.
I am firmly in agreement with all of your takes and positions in this article. Thanks for a great 43rd year as a 12 and 1st year as a Seasider!
I wrote a lot more than this and deleted it because I realized it was just a rant and the comments section isn’t for that. I’ll try to keep my contributions more focused on informed perspectives.
I watched the Miami game today and heard them say they have had 12 different starting lineups on their O line. I believe they led the NFL. Of course this doesn’t obviously mean those replacements are atrocious but Achane, Mostert and Hill all still had phenomenal seasons and Miami went 11-6. When we start blaming the inconsistency in the o line we have to remember that is low hanging fruit for accountability. Consistency without health can be done. Consistency with a mortgaged future can be done. Consistency with inexperience can be done. We lacked the ability to execute consistently. Did anyone really have a great year? Dissly got his first TD (and what felt like his first catch) of the year today. It appears we all agree that some combination of the coaching staff has to change. We need coaches who can get the most from their players and put them in positions to succeed. I maintain that our coaches failed to do that this year and that starts with Pete and it isn’t just our DC and OC. We absolutely cannot waste another year of this roster on inconsistency and inability to adjust. How many times did we hear the guys say we were not ready this year? WHAT!? Maddening.
We have too many players who are not worth what we are paying them. We have been saying that and I don’t know what do we do about it. I don’t think we can move on from some of those contracts without disproportionate impact to our financial future. Those are decisions we have to live with but partially why I was a bigger proponent of Lock over Geno. If they are basically the same, why wouldn’t you chose the cheaper option? Geno and his upside is not worth 30 mil for a team that has so many problems and not enough money to do anything about it. If our O line was the reason we couldn’t do anything on offense, then we better see investment there.
Last thing I’ll say is that If I’m in that building we don’t draft or pick up anyone on defense who can’t tackle a freaking marble. I wouldn’t run another drill until pre season. If we can get one thing right next season it’s tackling.
9-8 is about what this team should have expected. Last year's schedule was weaker. That said, the way we lost this year down the stretch (ie, soft) is distressing.
Geno was absolutely, positively better in 2023 than in 2022. His oLine in '24 was worse, with injuries and regressions. The run game was bad/inconsistent/non-existent all year. See point #1. And Geno had what 7 4th qtr comebacks in '23? That's insane. Sure, they shouldn't have all been necessary. But he came through under pressure, a lot.
If Geno can perform in the 4th qtr - and he can, very well - then he can perform in qtrs 1-3. The factors holding him back - scheme, line, run game, etc - need to be addressed. That is not to confuse him with Mahomes, but he's as good or better than what is and will be available.
They also should draft and grow a future qb, because teams always should be doing that. Paying one player 40-50 mil a year doesn't really work. Look at the Chiefs this year.... total mess. And it's not bc Mahomes is bad, it's bc most of the rest of that team is. Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts are almost infinitely more valuable than Mahomes and Allen bc of the contract numbers. I would argue that Geno's production:cap is top-5 in the league. He only cost the team 10mm in cap! The problem isn't Geno, it's what the team did with the rest of the money they weren't paying him.