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This is the big one, probably. Do you think that Geno Smith deserves praise for handling himself as best he could in a difficult situation or do you think that Geno Smith should be under pressure to keep his job with Seattle beyond 2024?
Air your grievances or share your appreciation for Geno Smith and please hit the heart on any comments you most agree with!
I’m conflicted about Geno he’s not super expensive and could certainly do the job at times but those back breaking picks should never happen and now we are seeing them all the time.
Geno should be under pressure , the lack of Oline and questionable play calling at times aside his lack of discipline on the majority of the picks is a huge issue which cant be wished away
Pressure. I think Geno has hit his peak in football skill. Not sure if he is interested in developing strong leadership qualities. At the least he has to stop the sideline pouting and replace it with team spirit and boosting his OL players to give him more protection. His accuracy is of no value if a game is won because of FGs. It’s a team sport.
Geno is not worth what he's paid now, let alone more in the future, so he must be cut. He just makes too many boneheaded plays that rookies and other less experienced QBs make and he doesn't do enough otherwise to make up for those mistakes. As I've said before, he's the Dave Krieg of his generation, generally a really good backup, but overmatched when it comes to being a full time starter. You can probably get 6-8 good games out of him, although it's hard to know which ones those would be.
To be fair, I haven't once seen Geno throw the ball backward when trying to throw the ball forward! We have to be looking for a new QB, but in my opinion if we can get Geno down into the 25-30 million range again, then it is the best way to get another QB and let them sit for a year or two. It is hard to pay him $40 million as a placeholder.
There's the rub - I have the sense that Geno is going to want bag, and he's gonna be petty about it. I know he probably won't have a lot of leverage, but he could put pressure on JS to bid against himself. Granted, the CBA fines are pretty steep for holding out, but he could do it.
Considering his level of play these past two seasons, it would take real delusional ego for him to think he can push his way into a bigger payday or even a commitment to keep him beyond one more season.
Pressure: Bad picks and overall offense regressing. I do not think this is all Geno's fault or even most of it... But he is the guy handling the ball every play. At the end of the day, the NFL is the ultimate pressure cooker and if you cannot put up big numbers and big wins, you will be replaced. The contracts in the NFL mean nothing it is all about results. I think he will get another shot next year, but the side that wants him gone has plenty of firepower with picks and lack of TDs. If he does come back, he will be on the hot seat.
Praise: The guy epitomizes mental toughness. I don't know how many other athletes in pressure packed situations bounce back better than Geno. Whether it was the Rams game at home or the Niners game on the road (or all the game winning drives).
Rams game: Throwing an atrocious pick 6 would cause many athletes to cry, put their head down and maybe never return to the arena. Geno? Nope. He through another pick (not his fault). And still bounced back. The final 3 drives he went 6/9 for 121 yards, 11 yards rushing and 1 TD, while dealing with 2 sacks and offensive line penalties. The comeback only fell short when the Hawks ran the ball 4 times in a row in OT.
In SF? The season, possibly his career on the line. Throws another back pick. Ultimately, gets the ball back with 2:38 to lead an 11 play 80-yard drive capped off with an iconic running TD.
The Geno era will come to an end at some point, could be in a couple months, could be in a couple years, I don't know. But whenever it does, I will look fondly back at a guy with the ultimate grit, resilience and unwavering belief in himself. And this year was all about beating those darn Niners! That was one of the best weeks of the year for me.
I praise him for being a mature man and taking a fair amount of responsibility for his errors, which are many. And for preferring to give credit to others rather than to himself. Praise for his many scoring drives, and as others have noted, his resilient personality and spirit.
Pressure constructively offered for him to overcome what I think is his persistent, psychological problem, that being his excessive desire to have huge successes through explosive plays and pulling off super difficult throws, caused by an underlying inferiority complex that came as a result of being put down and relegated to a back up role for a long time.
Today, at least, I think we let Geno try free agency, sending him off with as many kind words as possible that lead up to: We can pay you this much (whatever that number is) and build a team around you. Or you can go somewhere else and get paid and we'll miss you. The door is always open. (Until it's closed.) There's peril in that, of course.
I truly hope JS has the cajones to do this, to hold the line. I've already read in a couple of.places that team Geno will press for a long-term deal, and no more "home town discount", which he felt he gave the team last time (eye roll).
Pressure - lack of leadership (pouting on the sideline, etc.), slow "processor", lack of feel for the pocket leading to sacks or pressure throws that are incomplete or worse ints, too many interceptions with far too many egregious red zone ints. His cost is too high for this team where it is and going to be. At his age, he will worsen and eat up money that could be used to build a team that can compete for a SB in 2-3 years minimum.
Daniel Jeremiah this week said that out of the 15 picks Geno had, eight of them were not his fault. Geno panicks when 300 lb guys want to take his head off and he knows the 300 lb guys charged with protecting him can’t. Can’t say that I blame him. He is not perfect but would be much better with some decent blocking for time to execute the offense. This seems like a no brainer to me but people that want to hate on Geno will
It's easy for Daniel Jeremiah say whatever he wants, he's not on the field and he's not Geno or whoever he thinks should be taking the blame for Geno's interceptions. For more than 50% not being Geno's fault one can only figure he is a man with really lousy luck.
Four tips for ints and DK running shitty routes counts for 6 right off the top. You should listen to the interview. I think DJ knows the league well and really doesn’t have a stake in the Seahawks so I feel he can be more objective than a homer like me
No one knows who was at fault. Geno takes too long to throw, DK is already covered by two defense players and needs to get free. Anyone can come up with the scenario they want to take the blame off someone they want. I am not going to listen to DJeremiah and consider it fact when I am positive he is not a mind reader or an insider who knows how those plays were supposed to go.
I heard this segment. The Red Zone picks are tough to overlook. The OL is also tough to overlook. The only way I could live with Geno is a 1 year extension that allows the Hawks to reduce the 2025 cap number AND you have his replacement in waiting. The replacement does not seem to be there. The Howell trade is a totally separate post that I don't have the energy to type right now
I feel like Geno knows ball. G-knows. But Geno is getting older and I can see arguments for both keeping him and moving on. I believe we will move on from Geno. Again, I do not think Geno is the problem, but I also do not think Geno is the solution. The solution IMO is surrounding Geno with the best team so he can flourish. That would most likely mean Geno taking a lower level salary and allowing money to be used elsewhere to strengthen the team.
Geno had some good moments, but he had more bad moments this year IMO. The reality is that he is no spring chicken and won’t be improving. He’s serviceable, but he’s no SB QB. My concern is that we have not recruited a QB to develop behind him while he has been serviceable. I’m worried that we may have a few seasons of hurt while trying to find our QB of the future.
I honestly don't know what to think about Geno, except to say I think he left it all on the field.
I will be repeating this theme: I think everyone on the team worked their asses off and never gave up. Some players are still learning how to be aggressive as tacklers, I'm mostly thinking of Woolen here, but I think he is doing his best to train himself to be aggressive. Not everyone is born with a motor like Witherspoon.
I appreciate all the hard work and possible future pain these guys put themselves through. I would hate to have to tell any of them to hang up their uniform and get out of football because they weren't good enough.
I think I expected DK to do at least one amazing thing every game and by doing so, make Geno look terrific. Amazing always seems to come from where you least expect it.
I’m in many ways in agreement with Mike McD’s post but have a couple add’l reflections:
- there aren’t even 32 legit NFL QB’s, much less a few extras lying around. Arguably only 6 or 7 are demonstrably better than Geno; and arguably more than 6 or 7 are demonstrably worse than Geno. So when we say “move on from Geno” we need to be prepared for the likely outcome that the next QB is not a Mahomes/Allen/Lamar/Burrow/Herbert/Stafford and could very well be a Minshew/Richardson/Howell/O’Connell/Lock/Huntley/Jones/Flacco/Watson/Winston
- so if you have a Geno/Purdy/Murray/Lawrence/Mayfield/Wilson/Love/Goff/Hurts/Prescott, yes you look for better, but do you throw your fish back into the lake? Maybe you actually do catch the big one (Stroud? Young? Williams? Penix? Daniels? McCarthy?) but maybe you actually end up with a smaller one and then there’s not going to be enough to go around at the family table
- Darnold and Goff are such interesting cases to me. Like Geno they were passed on by their original teams. What are they really better at than Geno? Or said another way, if either of them were in Seattle and Geno was to be playing for the Vikes or the Lions, would we finally be excited, or still looking, maybe toying with the idea of trying to sign Geno?
- which brings the inevitable OL and Ryan Grubb conversations into play. Don’t we need to see Geno behind at least a facsimile of the Lion’s line before we conclude he can’t be at least a Goff? Isn’t it easier to build at least a facsimile of the Lion’s line than it is to find a facsimile of Mahomes or Allen or Burrow?
So I’m “pleasure” I guess. Not oblivious to Geno’s killer mistakes but it could definitely be worse, and when Geno is comfortable he is a VERY good quarterback. So let’s make him comfortable, Mr Schneider and Mr Grubb. And Geno, you need to be reasonably priced in this next extension or none of this will work
I like the Darnold/Goff part of your response...that really is the truth.
However...I feel like Geno is becoming a "keeper" out of fear. Is fear really the reason to keep somebody?
Why did we trade for Sam Howell? Right now...I feel like his only redeeming quality is his 1 million salary for 2025?
I really thought Fields was who we should have gotten last year...especially when you see him go for a 2025 6th round pick...in 2024. Now you are going to be able to get him as a free agent that will cost nothing. His final year with the Bears was pretty good considering that he was playing for the Bears.
We traded for Howell cause his starting experience, solid stat lines as a starter, Lock was getting signed for way more than we wanted to spend. Howell had/has? Upside and was cheap. I loved that signing. He looked awful though.
For me keeping Geno is def as air cover while we try to find someone convincingly equal or better (the GB approach). Gives you 3-4 yrs (max) of steadiness and predictability (the good and the bad).
Why'd you leave Rogers out? He in's a class by himself? ;-)
To me, Darnold, the darling of 2024, is the Geno of 2022.
Pocket passer with a decent arm that needs & gets time to carve up opponents.
I'm ok stay or go w/Geno as long as prioritizing top tier O line build is reinstated by JS/MM. And O line has a long way to go. Every Hawk lineman right of Cross is suspect, including "he's so good for the 6 games his knee works" Lucas.
John Schneider was as untouchable as anyone in the organization for a long time. He was seen, if anything, as the person doing the most to offset any "mistakes" by Pete Carroll and given a lot of credit for Seattle's good draft picks, while letting Pete take the blame for the bad picks. We've even seen teams like the Lions and Packers try to poach John Schneider as GM in recent years. But does his first season as GM deserve praise or should he be under pressure to still be the GM?
Agree 100% with this post...I think he officially gets graded starting this off season. His number 1 test is to prove he can build an OL. Cross and Lucas were good picks but the bargain basement attitude of the interior OL has got to change.
QB is priority 1A. He picked Wilson...massive hit. For years all we hear about is how he was all over Mahomes and Allen AND had a trade of Wilson set in 2018. All of this also proven to be correct. No more Pete Carroll holding him back...needs to get the next Russell Wilson some how
He needs more time to evaluate properly and wash the "Pete stink" off of him. It's not a good start, particularly in the FA area, but the draft wasn't too bad with Murphy, Knight, Barner and Laumea being decent contributors.
Praise: Moving on from a legend at head coach and taking risks on young potential star coaches, Mike Mac and Grubb. Working with Mike Mac and selecting guys like Knight and then trading for Jones. Has the team in a good financial situation, with a young head coach, and a bright future looking to win the division for many years to come.
Pressure: He has famously said that interior lineman are over drafted and overpaid. The Seahawks have one of the worst interior O-lines. He has stood behind a QB that is becoming embattled by a fan base that wants to see change yet there doesn't seem to be an obvious succession plan (I don't fully agree with this but this is the perception). He took a risky hire on a young hot shot OC from college, and now needs to make a tough call: move on after only 1 year or trust in improvements over the offseason?
I see at least a 3 year run, but then I hold little idea for what can be fatal in coaching. Making mistakes for damn good reasons would have you returning in my book. Lack of attention or acting on animus would have you gone.
I think this year's draft, which is tricky, and his FA choices -- who goes, who comes -- will go a long way toward clarifying how we all feel about his stewardship. I'm HOPING he has tricks we haven't yet seen, that he can learn and adapt and surprise.
Pressure - he or his talent evaluators are not good and haven't been since Scot McLoughan left the team. As for giving him time without Pete's influence, I say either he had a big part of the picks here with Pete and should have full accountability or he didn't and really has never been a GM (Pete was), so why would I give him more time since he hasn't done the job for the past 15 years?
Pressure. Too many misses in FA. Draft was meh. I want to see better evaluation of players. We need to raise the bar on the o-line for sure. Too many years of lowering the standards has us looking at Laumea like he is gonna save us. Gimme a break. I look at our top 6-8 players pay-wise and compare that to other teams top 6-8 players (the big paycheck guys) and we don't look great stacked up to many other teams. I think JS looks at PFF ratings too much or something...maybe he's lost the ability to use his eyes after analytics took over. I am fine with 'letting the PC stink wash off' but a short leash might be in order. I have a little more tolerance with JS because of some of the past successes, but we gotta remain competitive and I am not feeling secure that we are.
While I think JS has made plenty of errors, I'm sure that is true of every single GM. Yes, he should be under some pressure, but also, we or should I say Jody Allen should have a solid candidate to replace him before she fires him.
Everything we say here might as well be directed at Jody Allen. She is the only one with any power to change the Seahawks front office. From what I can see, they are a class organization, and so nothing should be done without a lot of thought.
My bet is Jody's only job is seeing the 12s are well fed. Russ keeping us on the edge of our seats is entertainment at it's finest. It's a beastly thing to say, but the 12s could see it was time for Russ to move on, and look at him now.
She should be keeping an eye on "her house" which is being over-run with other teams' fans. It's embarrassing, and proper steps need to be taken to get it back to its heyday.
Season tickets are down near the field where specific rudeness can be heard by the guys (Geno). She should be able to work out supplements if they sell to locals, since there exists a more intimate relationship than random seats.
Chip M John Schneider hid a bit behind Pete Caroll with Pete having final said on players. Now in 2025 the question this offseason is whether JS and MM deals with underperforming (Woolen, Tomlinson, Fant) and over paid players (Lockett, Metcalf, Jones).
As far as the draft goes, Schneider was behind all of those convoluted tradedowns that came to very little. PC may have had final say on the players eventually taken, but certain players were not available because of Schneider’s moves.
Woolen is a 5th round draft pick starting at corner. FWIW, Mike Dugar says that Riq is the best coverage player on the team. It’s just about impossible for him to be underperforming. (Whether he’s good enough or his game is what MM wants is something else.) Even during the memorable rookie season, Pete Carroll made it clear that Woolen had a long way to go. The staff’s perception of Woolen’s play and progress (and value) might differ greatly from ours.
Praise for hiring Mike Macdonald, signing Leo, trading for Ernest Jones, and a decently good draft (Murphy, Knight, Barner, and maybe Sataoa).
Pressure for the bad signings in free agency. But I think having a full off-season and a full regular season under their belts together with Mike will help. He may not have known exactly what kind of players Mike and/or Grubb wanted so he took some swings. This coming off-season should tell us more. If he doesn’t address the OL adequately, I believe he will really be on the hot seat.
I do find it interesting that people talk about the bad FA signings as if that doesn’t occur everywhere. But people forget pickups like Jones, especially Leo, how about JReed, and Hankins (needed early until Murphy got better), or J Love, Brady Russell talked about a ton early in the season (he should not be wearing 38 it needs to be in the Ring a massive miss by the Hawks not to honor Mack). I personally like what we’re seeing in the last 2 drafts. Potential and growth.
He should be under pressure. From the 2017 to 2021 drafts, we have left standing DK Metcalf and Michael Dickson as starters. After the Stafford trade, Detroit used the picks received to build one of the best rosters in football, and the Rams have already recovered from giving up the picks to make the playoffs. After the Wilson trade, we are missing the playoffs and Russ will be going to the playoffs without us. The Chiefs have a pro bowl center and we got a worthless receiver instead. It goes on and on. JS proudly says he's had many of the same college talent evaluators for over a decade - always compete unless they're my cronies. He even adds Steve Hutchinson to vette O lineman, giving us Abe Lucas, Christian Haynes and Anthony Bradford, one who can't compete himself onto the field, a swinging door for pass rushers, and one with a chronic knee problem. Can't draft an o lineman unless it's in the top 10 picks. And the free agents are used not to upgrade key roles, but to spackle over shitty drafting, with the mounting cap money pushed into future years steadily reducing flexibility.
Pretty harsh Phil, but I have to agree. My comparison is mostly the Rams more successful rebuild/better drafts. PC/JS "coasted" w/O line rebuild after a lottery lucky healthy '22 O line. '23 was bad O-line, '24 worse than ever.
I worry you're also right about O line projects-only after 10th pick - which is why I'd have been ok with a 6-7 win season. Hawks burnt a 4th on E. Jones who's gonna get overpaid by whoever signs him. NFL ain't college, but I hope Grubb/new-O-line coach/JS can pull at least 1 RT rabbit out of a hat, move Lucas to RG & Olu comes to life.
Honestly, JS needs to probably give more power to the new coach. That's the relationship that needs to be checked on. Are they really getting along? How did the whole cutting 2 free agent linebackers go down? I like both JS and I like Mike McD. But I want them to be in agreement about the way forward.
I believe JS stated after Pete was out, that the coach (now) reports to GM/him.
Working together must happen regardless of how the org chart looks.
Cutting those 2 shotgun wedding LBs in favor of E Jones is a great "working together" example. MM needed better, JS signed a difference maker. That surprised me; a "win now" move for what was looked to be a crappy D. Problem is, E Jones proved to the league he's a difference maker - Hawks are either in a bidding war or let him walk and restart the ILB search.
He needs to prove that he can draft a good QB since Russ as well as fix the gaping lack of talent and dependability on the Oline. If we signed Peters to mentor the young line, how did that work out?why is he on the roster at this point? The whiffs at ILB are both concerning although we did get 2 better ones at least. He’s like the rest of the team in my opinion. Meh. Not competing at the same level as the playoff teams. Give him this year to sink or swim. Then move on if he sinks.
In the past, assistant coaches have often taken the brunt of the blame when Seattle struggles, including Tom Cable, Darrell Bevell, Ken Norton, Brian Schottenheimer, Shane Waldron, and so on...in fact, to the point that many fans are asking for Grubb to be replaced with...Brian Schottenheimer. Interesting how that works! Does Grubb deserve the hate he gets or is it a step too far?
A step too far in my opinion. I liked a lot of what I saw this year, and I think it is too early to discard Grubb when he had a crap OL (including no right tackle for 1/2 the year, and a center for half a year that was probably too hurt to play that well).
Agree 100%...his QB and a competent OL. Unless there is a big "behind the scenes" philosophy difference that we are all not privy to I don't see how he doesn't get another season.
Isn’t that similar to Pete’s journey? College to NFL, back to college before success in the NFL. I think Grubb deserves more than this season considering the players he was given.
Again, another guy that needs a little leeway. It's not easy to put in a new offensive system, and there's going to be a learning curve, not just from the coaches, but the players as well.
Pressure: Grubb inherited a good offense and has made it worse. The Hawks in 2023 were a top 10 offense (per EPA) with a passing offense that (I believe) was 6th in DVOA. Even though there haven't been many changes on the offensive side of the ball, the offense is significantly worse. He appears to be over matched scheme wise, as NFL defenses seem to know what is coming. The offensive numbers are partly helped by the QB who is one of the best 2-minute drill QBs in the NFL.
The hate is a step too far, but he has to be better or be gone.
Huh. Just looked him up and we share a birthday (but not the year!). I don't know what to make of his run calls (or lack thereof): either the line just can't or he didn't want to for some reason. I know there was talk, before the season, that NFL spacing and speed were going to be challenges for him. At the same time he is widely believed to be an innovative offensive mind. I'd like to give him another season, to see how he adapts, what he's learned. I won't be surprised to see him leave for a college gig. I have a hard time evaluating any part of our offense given the troubles the line has had, and the number of guys who've been asked to play those positions. Consistency matters when mastering those dance steps, I'm told, and I tend to believe that. I also have no sense of how the locker room views him.
The whole year for me it felt like our runs are going nowhere and the short and middle range passes gave us lot of 1st downs. Would actually need to check this but I often felt like "just pass this damn ball at least 5-10 yards deep and I would feel better".
Tough, probably pressure. I would be interested to see what would happen if he had a different QB who was able to work through his receivers and move in the pocket. Missing figuring out how to get the running game going or at least some short run-type passes is a big issue and not sure that he wants to do that. I think MM wants that in the future to pair with a dominant defense.
Give the guy some time I reckon. He certainly doesn’t deserve hate - nobody does. He’s been a bit like Geno; some good, some bad. He probably had the toughest gig of all the coaches given the OL players he’s had to work with and a not so great QB. Let’s see what he can do with another season and some fresh blood.
PRESSURE! I am over him as a play-caller. However, I will root for him if he's retained and I do hate when someone gets thrown into a bad situation and is fired for it not working out. But in most every game the way the offense was being run was my biggest frustration. There are a lot of solid arguments in here for giving him another season, and I don't begrudge that take even if I feel differently.
It's not recency bias either. While I do believe that if our defense wasn't on fire and the Bear's offense wasn't a tire fire of its own, we would have lost to a really bad team -there have been many, many games where he either refused to run the ball or just dialed up head-scratchers that didn't work. I was fine with Schotty, and wish we had kept him, so I am not one to want every assistant fired when the team struggles. Though I was ready for the other 4 you named to go by the time they were (or sooner). But starting over yet again means another first time play-caller for the team. And I would like to feel like we can be contenders within the next 4-5 years at least. At some point you need experience with the team to have the cohesion needed. A parallel move would be a step back. It's not like we can just hire Ben Johnson in the offseason.
Clearly pressure but at same time, he noted it in his many pressure filled Q&A pressers, OLine inconsistency was huge. Different OLine every game until bye week. OLine stability from camp forward super critical. Without stability we have poor play. Injuries suck. But recently read about the last of quality OLine coming out of college. Several people noting recently that skill players very good but OLine just lacking vs years before. I wonder if more pressure on OLine coach vs Grubb since he came up with Grubb. Is OLine coach the scapegoat for this season???
Pressure. I feel like he will adapt and come back next year with reinforced o-line and a better sense of the league. I have no problem with bringing him back. There has been chatter about how it looks for the organization as well and that is something to be considered. One and done may send a message we don't want to send to potential candidates in the future. Some of the play calling seemed a little off to me but I get it, there's a learning curve here that needs to be taken into account. I liked some of the new play designs and structure of the offense. Different play calls and better line will give us a new look next year.
The organization is really stupid a put a noob in as a first year play caller in the NFL on such a terrible team with no talent on the O-Line. I don’t blame Grubb because of this. I’m sure he’s made a ton of mistakes it’s his first year in the league. I blame ownership and JS
Pressure. He has top 10 skill position players and an experienced QB. If the issue is the OL then he needs to be identifying what he’s looking for and then pushing Schneider to go get those guys
Russell Wilson has thrown 230 touchdowns in his career in the red zone. He has thrown 16 interceptions in the red zone in his career. So that is about 1.23 per season. He has a total of 267 touchdowns at last count.
You read my comment in a highly exaggerated manner. Red Zone interceptions are not uncommon because the defense is on high alert. It happens to every QB—some more than others. Russell had one last week. It’s not about him as much as it is about the defense rising.
Even more than highly vigilant, it’s much more compacted — all 22 players crammed into maximum 30 yds and esp the safeties can be more aggressive. So thinking process has to speed up bc all the windows close up more quickly
Is he getting off scot free or does Macdonald deserve to be looked at, at all, when it comes to Seattle's slow starts, bad run game, and inconsistent defensive effort? Is he doing enough to hold people accountable?
MM accomplished his main goal for 2024 in getting the D back on track… overall close to a top 10 D for the season and likely a top 5 D going into next year.
Praise: Pete left because of the defense. Mike Mac was hired to fix the defense and modernize it to current NFL standards. I would say that has been a resounding success. As for a HC, I have seen very little if any mess ups with the media. He has shown a significant improvement over his predecessor wiht in game decisions (4th downs, timeouts, challenges, etc.). He needs to keep stacking next year but he has been awesome.
I think for future years a more rounded HC he could get criticized for some stuff (GB crushed him). But for year 1, really good job.
The Bengals have notoriously slow starts, too. Not sure that helps. I'd like to know how much real input he has on the offensive side of the ball. I'm more than satisfied with our defensive progress.
My biggest concerns with Macdonald and reasons for pressure are:
1) Inconsistency (Incompetent v Packers Next Week Close against vikings then sloppy boring 6-3 v bears. Inconsistent play to me is a team not being ready, and that is on the HC. Pete teams never felt this inconsistent
2) Sloppy - plays into the inconsistency, but this team gets a ton of penalties for a guy who is all about making it right, and players taking ownership. Pete teams got penalized too, but his philosophy was more living with and accentuating players and that is different than saying everyone owns their actions.
3) Buy-in - We had to waste resources to get the linebacking corps moving. This defensive guru with NEW TO HIS REGIME players had to cut them mid-season to see improvement. That shows problems IMO. I know it can be rocky to start, but I am concerned we've pulled the trigger on a guy being the head coach who can't get buy-in from some of the more major off-season acquisitions whom he had a say in.
Praise for the defense turnaround during the season and MM certainly is a high quality DC. I am concerned that the Hawks hired a DC for head coach and he may not be able to take the step needed to be a good to great coach (many great coordinators don't translate well into HC jobs, I hope MM does).
Obvious praise for the defence improvement. ‘To be determined’ re. the offence. I’m with Ohratloln there - is he just a great DC - can he make the step to being an overall great HC?
MM accomplished his main goal for 2024 in getting the D back on track. The D came to life after firing two of John Schneider of season trades for linebacker. My big question is whether MM and JS will turn their attention in the same to the offensive line?
I see praise. I’ve read some comments that his in game processing has been good for a new young guy. Further, maybe just perception, but second half adjustments have been good all season. That’s halftime coaching.
It feels like the Hawks consistently shot themselves in the foot with untimely illegal shifts or false starts or something stupid like lining up offside. We saw it with Pete, too and it seems Mike still has some work to do in that regard. The improvement on the defensive side was on and off in the second half of the season. There were times when I thought we were on the cusp of something great, but then it sort of evaporated. I like the general direction though.
Before? Way too early. Imo The dumbest thing a Sports Team can do is to not let a coach get two Preseason and his own players to get things done. The only exception would be a super bad connection between Everybody and the coaches.
I don’t think the team can afford to lose him until they have others who are as good or better in motivation and leadership. There are worse fights on other teams than anything he’s done and they don’t get a reputation for it.
He's not going to be worth the money he is going to ask for. There are too many penalties, drops, bad routes run, and opposing players getting in his head to make up for the great things he does. If he wanted to be paid like a top-10 receiver, he needs to play like it and he's maybe top-25 at best at this point. Time to move on.
Praise: He has been a good downfield blocker and has been very supportive of JSN's success. He seems like a big team guy.
Pressure: He has not put up the numbers and had enough of a direct effect on the games.
If someone tells me, we don't have the resources to buy a guard, then I would say trade him and reinvest in the line. But I am not sure we need to trade him to invest in the line.
We're not going to the Super Bowl next year. Not in any likely scenario. I think the kindest thing to do for DK is to let him go and invest his salary dollars in players who can get us there soon. I don't like his temper, I don't like his stupid penalties, and I don't think his production merits the dollars he thinks he's worth. I'd love to see him thrive elsewhere. Heck, I'd love to see him thrive here but not at the expense of building a team that coheres and grows and can be more than a one- or two-season success.
Pressure - not impressive this year other than a few big plays. Too many stupid penalties, drops and lack of effort going for the ball. Not great with that body. Paid too much right now and when he wants more, definitely not worth it. Similar to my comment on Geno, it is a waste of money to pay him the big $$ (even if he was performing much higher) at this time since the team is quite a ways from being truly able to compete to make the SB, IMO. DK really isn't fun to watch anymore. Let's get a young and cheap WR from draft or semi cheap from free agency (or trade WRs) to replace him. JSN certainly appears to be the real thing and IS so much fun to watch. Yes, need another WR to replace TL too.
I think we need to trade the big guy for two reasons. One, we can get a player in the draft in first round with elite talent at 1/10th price. Two, DK is not worth the money he is going to demand this off season. I’ll expand on the second one based on my observations as a fan.
DK is a body catcher. He likes to bring the ball into his chest when he catches the ball. This is why he is not an elite red zone receiver. Occasionally we see hand catches from him but they are just not consistent enough like we see with the other two receivers this year. Number 14 also does not have the consistency needed to be a true number 1 receiver. He is hot and cold just like his Jekyll and Hyde personality while on the field. Grabbing helmets and hitting other players is just stupid. If he can’t control his emotions then his emotions are controlling him.
Only pushback I have on the trade idea is we won’t get anything close to a 1st rd pick for him. Stephon Diggs, Hop, Devante Adams, Amari Cooper, none of the latest trades for better guys than DK got a 1st. Bc whoever trades for him also knows they’ll need to pony up $30m+ as well. Honestly anything higher than a 3rd would be a surprise. Almost better to let him walk bc the comp pick will likely be a 3rd.
The money’s the problem. If we can convince him to stay for a reasonable price, ok then. If not, let him go whatever way works best financially for the team.
I like the guy and wish he was as good as he occasionally is in flashes. I would not pay him like a top 10 guy, because he doesn't have the productivity. But if I was making a list of pros and cons of paying him 30M+, there would be more cons. On the other hand, WR becomes a huge need if we let him go the same year Tyler retires.
It has been an interesting ride. I think it would be fun to continue but only at a realistic price. I also would like one of JSN's Ohio State buddies like Olave or Wilson to take over from Tyler.
No WR is worth $30 million except for JJ, Chase, Evans and maybe Puka or a couple others, but his production is mid and he is always in danger of costing us with either fumbles, drops, or penalties at the worst possible time. We need to draft someone every year at WR, Edge, and CBs to not have to pay the vets when they hit 4 years. Freshman from Ohio State looks better than DK already.
Pressure for DK makes sense to me. You signed the big boy contract, you talk the big boy trash(and get flags), you aren’t playing the big boy game. I can’t see dedicating ~10% of my salary cap to the second best player at a position on my team. JSN has stepped up big time, and is really putting the heat on him. Physically there is no measurable that prevents DK from being open and catching those possession balls that JSN is making his personality, and that is why DK has pressure on him.
He’s not worth the penalties and drama. He says he’s a team player but his actions suggest otherwise… I was hoping for a breakout year for Metcalf. His time in Seattle is up. Hawks need to let him walk/trade. Hawks need to invest his $ to the O-Line so we don’t have the 32nd highest paid O line by far
At first, we thought maybe this is the next Richard Sherman. Since the first half of his rookie season, however, Woolen's just been a mixed bag. The talent is obvious, the effort not so much. Is Riq Woolen a must-have piece of the future or does he represent a bit of what's wrong with Seattle lately, i.e. not giving effort to make a tackle against the Steelers in 2023?
Another guy like DK, where the negatives are outweighing the positives at this point. The difference between him and DK is he won't be/can't be asking for $30 million a year to play, so he gets some leeway, but they have to bring in more competition for him and make it clear he has to earn his job or he's gone.
Pressure - seemed to have so much talent rookie year. Flashes now and then but a lack of consistency, maybe concentration balances his high talent with complete lapses. Even one year ago I would have deemed him untouchable, but now would be fine moving him for reasonable draft compensation.
Riq sucked this year. His penalties alone cost us two games that I can remember in the second half of the season. His effort has always sucked on tackling and it hasn’t changed. He is fast and can track a ball like a receiver, but he’s soft as a defender, very soft.
Sit him down and talk to him. Point out where his concerns are and tell him what he needs to do to keep his job. Coach him and I’m sure we’ll see improvement.
This one seems like a little specific effort might be needed to make Riq more comfortable. These guys get paid a lot, I know, but the pressure is enormous and the Hawks should protect their investment a little by helping him to be his best. I don't know. Maybe Mike McD's methods don't involve that kind of approach.
To the extent that position value means anything, Riq is arguably the best player on the team. Not many clubs have the luxury of a fifth round draft pick being their best cover guy.
Riq seems to have rare (elite) ability to make up ground when the ball is in the air and he has distance/time to close. He also seems to struggle up on the line tackling and taking on lead blocks. Maybe..just hear me out...he would be better at free safety patrolling over the top, away from the line, far back where he can read and react etc....Anyways. I might think Riq would make good trade bait. He doesn't seem like a MM guy based on toughness and mental makeup IMO.
PRAISE for being the best coverage player on the team and for the position value as a fifth round draft pick starting at CB.
PRESSURE to continue developing his game.
BTW, both Huard and Wyman are definite that the Jefferson TD was on Love. Woolen’s responsibility was to jam Jefferson—which he did effectively according to both ex-players—while Love came over the top. When Love hesitated, Jefferson was able to get back in the play. What looked like a lack of effort to some fans was actually Woolen realizing that the help wasn’t coming and trying to adjust his assignment mid-play.
We need to draft him some competition to let him know he is gonna have e to earn his spot. He knows he can start based on potential and speed no matter what. If we had DJ Reed, he may not still be starting
First he was massively underrated by the opposition which got him his picks last year, now he is the picked player all too often because he has so many coverage flaws. Maybe he is more of a CB3, but at least a super fast and tall one.
I will start by saying something nice. He's a funny and likeable guy. He is decent in coverage. But he can't tackle, has no instincts, no discipline, and the technique I thought he has as a rookie was a mirage. For a 4.3 guy, he doesn't hustle to make up plays far too often. I cannot see him turning into the player we hoped he would become.
Praise, he is still on his rookie deal. Depending on how negotiations go this offseason, he could be a reliable building block. I’m not pressuring a 5th round pick who has flashed cornerstone ability, but isn’t that for 17 games. I see incredible value in a young player here and panicking will only end with frustration in scrambling for another player. If MM is who we want him to be it could be this year of developing and technique changing and next year is the break out.
Unless someone is offering too good to be true trade value for him, then there's nothing to question. He's good enough to keep into the next season and compete, like everyone else, for playing time. Let's give him and MM/staff the offseason and see what we get.
Pressure, bc he’s soft while still on his rookie contract which pays him very little as a 5th rounder. When he’s suddenly pulling down eight figures, is he going to toughen up or become even softer?
After the Lions game I thought Walker was the best back in football. I think he has been playing hurt much of the year, but Charbs has earned the right to compete for RW1 next year.
It should be in danger. He can't stay on the field. He's incredibly dynamic, but maybe they need to make Charbonnet the lead back and him the change of pace #2 back. It would help keep him healthy and hopefully make him more effective when he's on the field.
Walker's health will define his status, alas. If I understand correctly the skills which make him special don't particularly work with the line we have just now -- the holes don't last long enough, something. Charbs just blasts through and doesn't make them hold blocks as long. I may well misunderstand that. This draft is deep in RBs. The real question, for me, is whether MacIntosh is worth keeping.
Probably the most frustrating Seahawk for me. Made worse because I read endless criticisms of Geno after a loss and have to scrape through the Seahawks internet to find any critiques of K9. But I digress, here are the thoughts:
Pressure: I have been incredibly frustrated with K9 this year. Not getting the first down in OT on 3rd and 1 against the Rams. There are so many examples of easy plays like this that he simply does not make. At home against the Niners, 3rd and 2 can't pick up an easy first down. Then he has an illegal formation on a 50 yard TD pass to DK. Just huge mistakes from an easy position to play from a decision-making standpoint.
His lack of vision makes the O-line worse and puts the ball behind the sticks at times. Why not follow the blocks?
Explosive runs: Geno Smith 13 ... K9 13 ... If you are going to go off script with your runs, you better hit some home runs every now and again.
Praise: Mostly excellent out of the backfield. Grubb said he wanted to use him as a pass catcher and he was right, K9 is good in the pass game. Elusive, he is still an explosive runner with game changing speed and moves.
My saying for K9: "He can make plays that no other backs can make ... He routinely doesn't make plays that every back can make in the NFL."
Next year is the final year of his rookie deal, I would split carries with Charbs. And also, Kenny Mac has looked good as he is much more north/south with speed.
Pressure. Too many injuries and a little too "cutesy" running. I know I was spoiled by watching Marshawn for so many years. but I prefer a back who can power through, shedding tacklers while also having quickness to make the moves. Also would be fine moving him for some draft compensation. Draft another RB in late rounds or undrafted.
Praise and pressure for K9. He’s was great when healthy and the OL worked. However, Charbs puts pressure on him by finding some success regardless of whether the OL was working. I think they work really well as a duo and a shared load would work. Can’t we have two RB1’s?
I don’t think that’s fair. When you get only 5 carries hard to be the one at fault. That and several injuries. Old adage you generally don’t lose starting spot due to injury. OLine a total mess when he was healthy. OLine starts improving and he’s not 100%. Couple games ago he had 8 receptions. Get everything going forward what can he do for us?
Both..He's got great ball security and is a threat every touch. He's also a bit of a startled cat sometimes- just work on patience and vision. My question comes as this..if Charbs and K9 are going to split reps in order to keep them fresh and increase durability, how should they best be deployed. I might argue Charbs as the opening back/short yardage could make a ton of sense. Use K9 as the change of pace back or in two back sets and for goodness sake throw K9 the ball as much as you can. Just get him in open space.
He has so much talent, but has a habit of always bouncing to the edge even when there have been holes there where the play was designed to go. Charbs runs better for getting the yards that are there, but doesn’t have the speed or quickness that K9 has
Praise. Is the other Seahawk who is paying a heavy price behind this OL.
One thing that isn’t commented much re Walker is his pass-catching out of the backfield — is VERY good (although SSJ predicted this during the draft, said the knock on him was just lack of oppty)
And for me, Charbs is a very good RB2 but he’s not an RB1 whereas Walker clearly is. So if the consensus is bc Walker is injured too frequently or he’s doomed bc this is the best OL he’s going to see, then better to let him go and go get a new RB1 who (for me) could only be better than Walker if he is better able to stay on the field behind this OL.
Julian Love. He's been a solid presence on the defense all season. Leonard Williams has been a beast, Devon Witherspoon is the glue, and Ernest Jones fixed a major hole on the defense, but Julian has been there the whole time and was the rock they needed.
All of the comments above work for me. Though I’ve gotta praise my fellow countryman, Dickson, who just keeps on doing his thing very well. He put the early Dickson downers back in their box this season I think 😁 (just joking SJ. I felt I unintentionally hit a nerve with that early this year).
I think you need to some of those good analysis you do on some of the other guys. AJ. Or how about Coby. Love what he’s turning into. A less dynamic ET. Knight coming on. Coby one. Love of course. But Coby, Knight, Barner and Love. Add those 3 behind the Spoons and Big Cat and JSN, we have some nice pieces.
So many to point out on ST and Defense. Not much on offense other than JSN. I think Leo is the top choice on Defense as Spoon got the national recognition but Leo was dominant too. Ernest, Julian, Tyrice, Jaren Reed and Coby Bryant really showed some improvement as well as his ability to create some turnovers. Jenkins isn’t worth keeping next year as well as Fant and Brown and Chenna.
Coby Bryant is just getting started. The current staff needs to send the previous staff a thank you card for convincing him to change his major to safety.
Don’t know if this is praise (I guess it is) but, given our OL limitations should Byron Murphy II be getting 20-25 snaps on offense/game, as a Pat Ricard sorta guy?
They are almost identical size-wise but Murphy II is substantially quicker in the 40. And he used to play RB so it’s not totally foreign to him. As a blocker or a ball carrier ahead of K9, couldn’t he be a legit 2-way player?
It seems I have been continuously disappointed in Fant, but I don't think he will be here next year. Sad to say that maybe it is Lucas. I know his play is related to his injury, but if he can't come back to form (and probably even if he does) we need to have another capable tackle in stock.
Riq Woolen is a clear #1. The entire OL needs to improve. There's a chance some of those guys are going to be studs, but it needs to be on all of them (after they get rid of Laken Tomlinson of course).
K9. I can't believe how little the fan base talks about his issues. But the biggest games of the year made huge mistakes (Rams, Niners). I still can't believe he didn't just run straight ahead on 3rd and 1 in OT ... All you need is a yard! Run straight. This game on Sunday would probably mean a lot more if he would've just got the first down instead of cutting for no reason.
Christian Haynes, Bradford, Laken, all Centers, Abe, Fant, DK, K9, Pharoah and Tre Brown. Riq, Mike Morris, Dremont, Jenkins, Bobo, TL. May be a little jaded still with the letdown that was this season. I guess at least we’re not the niners🤣
I'm going to ignore all the guys that might not be here next year because their contracts outweigh their contributions, and the Hawks have an obvious out this offseason to save cap dollars. I'm left with Cross, Mafe and Hall. If those three, who will almost certainly have large roles next season, can improve to at least be in the pro-bowl conversation, it will make a huge difference. I really like these three, but they were disappointing in 2024, based on my expectations.
I posted some hypothetical cap work a few weeks back trying to see if it would be possible to create enough room to buy some Pro Bowl talent at a few critical positions, and in that process ended up cutting several guys who my definítion therefore are on the Pressure list (ie not worth their 2025 cost):
- one of my favorite Seahawks of all time, Tyler Lockett
- Uchenna bc he’s just never on the field and we must have a legit #1 edge for $21.5m
- Dre’mont Jones will earn $25.6m?? (wouldn’t we all rather have another Jarran Reed instead of him, for 1/3 the price?)
- Noah Fant the eternal disappointment
- Laken Tomlinson and George Fant, not that expensive but man, is this the best we can do? Give the young kids these snaps, maybe one of them improves
- Rayshawn Jenkins not worth his 2025 cap of $7.9m
- Pharaoh Brown is welcome to return to his sarcophagus
And Geno and DK need to be extended with lower 2025 caps than $38m and $31m respectively, neither is worth that kind of money. So both immediately in the Pressure bucket at those cap charges
Does Allen's decision to fire Pete Carroll and hand the team over to John Schneider look better, worse, or the same in hindsight? Are the Seahawks in good hands or should fans be counting the days until the team is sold to someone else, hopefully someone who will be a natural at building a Super Bowl champion?
Praise. She is trying to elevate this team, and to the extent she played a part in the RW trade or the PC fire, she deserves praise for taking bold action to try to make the Seahawks relevant again.
The most important thing Jody Allen does is stay the hell out of the way and supports the people she hired to do the job. There's just too many owners that get in the way and ruin things for their team (DAL, CLE, NYJ, CAR, Daniel Snyder before he sold), so I am thankful the Hawks have an owner who lets people do their jobs.
You are right! The only way the Cowboys get to the SB is if owner Jerry Jones fires GM Jerry Jones and fires HC Jerry Jones. That will only happen when it snows in hell.
Pressure - My belief for many years now is that the best teams long term have quality owners. The Seahawks have been that way since Paul Allen bought them, but I can see the changes that have happened since and this is not positive for the franchise. Nervous about selling the team, burned in the past with the Behring sale, but I think the franchise will continue to suffer without someone different than her. I do miss PA.
I don’t see her as that influential in the team’s performance, but she does take care of the business side well enough? If she puts JS on a short leash, I will have more respect for her.
If her mandate is to turn this roster into a super bowl team, then we should be hoping for someone willing to go through more ups and downs. If she's ok with trusting in JS to do what's best, even if it means getting worse to get better, then I'm ok with her leadership.
Definite pressure on the Hawk mascot. I didn’t see enough antics from him this season. Although that may be the fault of the telecast not showing him.
Oh, and what ever happened to the choreographed player celebrations? The Hawks were once the best IMO. That’s on all the players.
I’d like to praise the trainers and medical staff behind the scenes. It’s can be a pretty thankless job, but they are integral in keeping the players on the field and healthy. I know. I’ve done it here with Australian football teams.
DK is a big disappointment. I'm not just disappointed in all the yards and momentum he cost us with his bone head penalties, I'm way more upset that he's not a rookie or a youngster any more, he's a vet and it seems he's not doing better at handling his emotions he's getting worse . This is doubly frustrating given what an incredible asset he COULD be. I wonder what his net gains are, if course we can't really know the sum of his opportunity cost
John Rhys Plumlee! Maybe he's the star that shines bright in the last game of the season. I see opportunity for offensive creativity, wouldn't that be refreshing
I praise Witherspoon for keeping his intensity 100% and being a team player about it. Not getting pissy about not filling a stat sheet and showing up week in week out. I know he came with pedigree but not everyone lives to it and he seems to be.
My feeling is that we have discussed Geno to death and there's nothing more to add. Geno is and always will be Geno. No better.
New coaching staff did ok for year one and I give them a pass. Case in point is the above-mentioned Schottenheimer (who we fired before Shane Waldren) as a Grubb replacement. Quick coaching changes are the first sign of bad ownership.
We've spent the season talking about overpaid players not pulling their weight. Some won't contribute even at minimum wages and HAVE to go.
If we are truly going to compete for the NFC West title, we need to dump all of the non-contributors that haven't got the potential to become everyday starters, and spend that money simply on players who make plays.
From my perspective, Seaside Joe, you are correct that the hottest seat is under John Schneider, who will be judged at the end of the season compared to the rest of the West AND the NFC playoff teams.
Great point...remember while "Let Russ cook" was the butt of many jokes the Hawks were 8-0 before the infamous "meeting" between Carroll and Schottenheimer.
It seems we as a collective have forgotten what patience is in society. It’s year one of a new chapter in this organization. Do we think Paul Allen would drop Grubb and John after one season post the most successful coach in franchise history? I don’t. I think Paul Allen and others know that patience can actually pay off if you put it in to the right people. If year two looks just like this year then I would expect John to be shown the door.
I would be surprised if Ryan Grubb was fired. What if this year he's learned like 10 valuable lessons from what went wrong and becomes so much better next year -- as many people tend to do -- but he's picked up by Sean McVay? I think same OC, different QB.
Posted above it’s like OLine coach that becomes the scapegoat to give Grubb another year. Get a high quality teacher and find the 5 in camp, early, then see what Grubb is. Same next year, he’s gone.
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PRAISE OR PRESSURE: GENO SMITH?
This is the big one, probably. Do you think that Geno Smith deserves praise for handling himself as best he could in a difficult situation or do you think that Geno Smith should be under pressure to keep his job with Seattle beyond 2024?
Air your grievances or share your appreciation for Geno Smith and please hit the heart on any comments you most agree with!
I’m conflicted about Geno he’s not super expensive and could certainly do the job at times but those back breaking picks should never happen and now we are seeing them all the time.
Replaced per Ken… Geno has regressed since 2022 and should be cut to create more cap space to improve the OL.
I will agree that we should not be paying Geno $40 million plus. Thus, either a restructure or a cut may be necessary.
I’m betting restructure. Same with DK
Geno should be under pressure , the lack of Oline and questionable play calling at times aside his lack of discipline on the majority of the picks is a huge issue which cant be wished away
Pressure. I think Geno has hit his peak in football skill. Not sure if he is interested in developing strong leadership qualities. At the least he has to stop the sideline pouting and replace it with team spirit and boosting his OL players to give him more protection. His accuracy is of no value if a game is won because of FGs. It’s a team sport.
Geno is not worth what he's paid now, let alone more in the future, so he must be cut. He just makes too many boneheaded plays that rookies and other less experienced QBs make and he doesn't do enough otherwise to make up for those mistakes. As I've said before, he's the Dave Krieg of his generation, generally a really good backup, but overmatched when it comes to being a full time starter. You can probably get 6-8 good games out of him, although it's hard to know which ones those would be.
To be fair, I haven't once seen Geno throw the ball backward when trying to throw the ball forward! We have to be looking for a new QB, but in my opinion if we can get Geno down into the 25-30 million range again, then it is the best way to get another QB and let them sit for a year or two. It is hard to pay him $40 million as a placeholder.
Hear Hear!
There's the rub - I have the sense that Geno is going to want bag, and he's gonna be petty about it. I know he probably won't have a lot of leverage, but he could put pressure on JS to bid against himself. Granted, the CBA fines are pretty steep for holding out, but he could do it.
Considering his level of play these past two seasons, it would take real delusional ego for him to think he can push his way into a bigger payday or even a commitment to keep him beyond one more season.
Both.
Pressure: Bad picks and overall offense regressing. I do not think this is all Geno's fault or even most of it... But he is the guy handling the ball every play. At the end of the day, the NFL is the ultimate pressure cooker and if you cannot put up big numbers and big wins, you will be replaced. The contracts in the NFL mean nothing it is all about results. I think he will get another shot next year, but the side that wants him gone has plenty of firepower with picks and lack of TDs. If he does come back, he will be on the hot seat.
Praise: The guy epitomizes mental toughness. I don't know how many other athletes in pressure packed situations bounce back better than Geno. Whether it was the Rams game at home or the Niners game on the road (or all the game winning drives).
Rams game: Throwing an atrocious pick 6 would cause many athletes to cry, put their head down and maybe never return to the arena. Geno? Nope. He through another pick (not his fault). And still bounced back. The final 3 drives he went 6/9 for 121 yards, 11 yards rushing and 1 TD, while dealing with 2 sacks and offensive line penalties. The comeback only fell short when the Hawks ran the ball 4 times in a row in OT.
In SF? The season, possibly his career on the line. Throws another back pick. Ultimately, gets the ball back with 2:38 to lead an 11 play 80-yard drive capped off with an iconic running TD.
The Geno era will come to an end at some point, could be in a couple months, could be in a couple years, I don't know. But whenever it does, I will look fondly back at a guy with the ultimate grit, resilience and unwavering belief in himself. And this year was all about beating those darn Niners! That was one of the best weeks of the year for me.
THIS. Just about sums up my thoughts. Daniel Jeremiah had some good insight on Gebo’s picks too when talking to Brock and Brady on 710.
I praise him for being a mature man and taking a fair amount of responsibility for his errors, which are many. And for preferring to give credit to others rather than to himself. Praise for his many scoring drives, and as others have noted, his resilient personality and spirit.
Pressure constructively offered for him to overcome what I think is his persistent, psychological problem, that being his excessive desire to have huge successes through explosive plays and pulling off super difficult throws, caused by an underlying inferiority complex that came as a result of being put down and relegated to a back up role for a long time.
I think that is an astute psychological assessment. Add to that what I think is "information processing" deficit, and you have Geno in a nutshell!
Today, at least, I think we let Geno try free agency, sending him off with as many kind words as possible that lead up to: We can pay you this much (whatever that number is) and build a team around you. Or you can go somewhere else and get paid and we'll miss you. The door is always open. (Until it's closed.) There's peril in that, of course.
I truly hope JS has the cajones to do this, to hold the line. I've already read in a couple of.places that team Geno will press for a long-term deal, and no more "home town discount", which he felt he gave the team last time (eye roll).
Pressure - lack of leadership (pouting on the sideline, etc.), slow "processor", lack of feel for the pocket leading to sacks or pressure throws that are incomplete or worse ints, too many interceptions with far too many egregious red zone ints. His cost is too high for this team where it is and going to be. At his age, he will worsen and eat up money that could be used to build a team that can compete for a SB in 2-3 years minimum.
Daniel Jeremiah this week said that out of the 15 picks Geno had, eight of them were not his fault. Geno panicks when 300 lb guys want to take his head off and he knows the 300 lb guys charged with protecting him can’t. Can’t say that I blame him. He is not perfect but would be much better with some decent blocking for time to execute the offense. This seems like a no brainer to me but people that want to hate on Geno will
Every QB probably has pressure on picks - why Geno gets absolved is beyond me.
It's easy for Daniel Jeremiah say whatever he wants, he's not on the field and he's not Geno or whoever he thinks should be taking the blame for Geno's interceptions. For more than 50% not being Geno's fault one can only figure he is a man with really lousy luck.
Four tips for ints and DK running shitty routes counts for 6 right off the top. You should listen to the interview. I think DJ knows the league well and really doesn’t have a stake in the Seahawks so I feel he can be more objective than a homer like me
No one knows who was at fault. Geno takes too long to throw, DK is already covered by two defense players and needs to get free. Anyone can come up with the scenario they want to take the blame off someone they want. I am not going to listen to DJeremiah and consider it fact when I am positive he is not a mind reader or an insider who knows how those plays were supposed to go.
I heard this segment. The Red Zone picks are tough to overlook. The OL is also tough to overlook. The only way I could live with Geno is a 1 year extension that allows the Hawks to reduce the 2025 cap number AND you have his replacement in waiting. The replacement does not seem to be there. The Howell trade is a totally separate post that I don't have the energy to type right now
I feel like Geno knows ball. G-knows. But Geno is getting older and I can see arguments for both keeping him and moving on. I believe we will move on from Geno. Again, I do not think Geno is the problem, but I also do not think Geno is the solution. The solution IMO is surrounding Geno with the best team so he can flourish. That would most likely mean Geno taking a lower level salary and allowing money to be used elsewhere to strengthen the team.
Geno had some good moments, but he had more bad moments this year IMO. The reality is that he is no spring chicken and won’t be improving. He’s serviceable, but he’s no SB QB. My concern is that we have not recruited a QB to develop behind him while he has been serviceable. I’m worried that we may have a few seasons of hurt while trying to find our QB of the future.
I honestly don't know what to think about Geno, except to say I think he left it all on the field.
I will be repeating this theme: I think everyone on the team worked their asses off and never gave up. Some players are still learning how to be aggressive as tacklers, I'm mostly thinking of Woolen here, but I think he is doing his best to train himself to be aggressive. Not everyone is born with a motor like Witherspoon.
I appreciate all the hard work and possible future pain these guys put themselves through. I would hate to have to tell any of them to hang up their uniform and get out of football because they weren't good enough.
So true SP. They’re all trying to do their best and live out their dreams. No athlete deliberately makes mistakes. They’re all trying.
I want to make millions of dollars a year just for trying.
lol. Me too, but I’m too old and haven’t got the natural ability that these guys have.
I think I expected DK to do at least one amazing thing every game and by doing so, make Geno look terrific. Amazing always seems to come from where you least expect it.
I praise him for how he carried himself. However, I’ll be disappointed if he’s still with the team in 2025
The Team, including Coaches, stuck by Geno. Just alone that speaks volumes.
I’m in many ways in agreement with Mike McD’s post but have a couple add’l reflections:
- there aren’t even 32 legit NFL QB’s, much less a few extras lying around. Arguably only 6 or 7 are demonstrably better than Geno; and arguably more than 6 or 7 are demonstrably worse than Geno. So when we say “move on from Geno” we need to be prepared for the likely outcome that the next QB is not a Mahomes/Allen/Lamar/Burrow/Herbert/Stafford and could very well be a Minshew/Richardson/Howell/O’Connell/Lock/Huntley/Jones/Flacco/Watson/Winston
- so if you have a Geno/Purdy/Murray/Lawrence/Mayfield/Wilson/Love/Goff/Hurts/Prescott, yes you look for better, but do you throw your fish back into the lake? Maybe you actually do catch the big one (Stroud? Young? Williams? Penix? Daniels? McCarthy?) but maybe you actually end up with a smaller one and then there’s not going to be enough to go around at the family table
- Darnold and Goff are such interesting cases to me. Like Geno they were passed on by their original teams. What are they really better at than Geno? Or said another way, if either of them were in Seattle and Geno was to be playing for the Vikes or the Lions, would we finally be excited, or still looking, maybe toying with the idea of trying to sign Geno?
- which brings the inevitable OL and Ryan Grubb conversations into play. Don’t we need to see Geno behind at least a facsimile of the Lion’s line before we conclude he can’t be at least a Goff? Isn’t it easier to build at least a facsimile of the Lion’s line than it is to find a facsimile of Mahomes or Allen or Burrow?
So I’m “pleasure” I guess. Not oblivious to Geno’s killer mistakes but it could definitely be worse, and when Geno is comfortable he is a VERY good quarterback. So let’s make him comfortable, Mr Schneider and Mr Grubb. And Geno, you need to be reasonably priced in this next extension or none of this will work
Well said.
I like the Darnold/Goff part of your response...that really is the truth.
However...I feel like Geno is becoming a "keeper" out of fear. Is fear really the reason to keep somebody?
Why did we trade for Sam Howell? Right now...I feel like his only redeeming quality is his 1 million salary for 2025?
I really thought Fields was who we should have gotten last year...especially when you see him go for a 2025 6th round pick...in 2024. Now you are going to be able to get him as a free agent that will cost nothing. His final year with the Bears was pretty good considering that he was playing for the Bears.
We traded for Howell cause his starting experience, solid stat lines as a starter, Lock was getting signed for way more than we wanted to spend. Howell had/has? Upside and was cheap. I loved that signing. He looked awful though.
For me keeping Geno is def as air cover while we try to find someone convincingly equal or better (the GB approach). Gives you 3-4 yrs (max) of steadiness and predictability (the good and the bad).
Right on Zez!
Why'd you leave Rogers out? He in's a class by himself? ;-)
To me, Darnold, the darling of 2024, is the Geno of 2022.
Pocket passer with a decent arm that needs & gets time to carve up opponents.
I'm ok stay or go w/Geno as long as prioritizing top tier O line build is reinstated by JS/MM. And O line has a long way to go. Every Hawk lineman right of Cross is suspect, including "he's so good for the 6 games his knee works" Lucas.
Geno has never had time with us. We haven’t had a average line in at least 6 years
Man I didnt mean to leave out Rodgers but at $50m he’d have to go into the Minshew/Richardson group (worse than Geno) wouldn’t you think?
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: JOHN SCHNEIDER?
John Schneider was as untouchable as anyone in the organization for a long time. He was seen, if anything, as the person doing the most to offset any "mistakes" by Pete Carroll and given a lot of credit for Seattle's good draft picks, while letting Pete take the blame for the bad picks. We've even seen teams like the Lions and Packers try to poach John Schneider as GM in recent years. But does his first season as GM deserve praise or should he be under pressure to still be the GM?
JS gets credit for the MM hire and it is too soon to tell how it will all work out. The FA signings were bad but the draft was good?
Agree 100% with this post...I think he officially gets graded starting this off season. His number 1 test is to prove he can build an OL. Cross and Lucas were good picks but the bargain basement attitude of the interior OL has got to change.
QB is priority 1A. He picked Wilson...massive hit. For years all we hear about is how he was all over Mahomes and Allen AND had a trade of Wilson set in 2018. All of this also proven to be correct. No more Pete Carroll holding him back...needs to get the next Russell Wilson some how
Under pressure , the failure of the free agents has been huge , got to nail the off season for sure and in particular Geno + O line...
He needs more time to evaluate properly and wash the "Pete stink" off of him. It's not a good start, particularly in the FA area, but the draft wasn't too bad with Murphy, Knight, Barner and Laumea being decent contributors.
Both
Praise: Moving on from a legend at head coach and taking risks on young potential star coaches, Mike Mac and Grubb. Working with Mike Mac and selecting guys like Knight and then trading for Jones. Has the team in a good financial situation, with a young head coach, and a bright future looking to win the division for many years to come.
Pressure: He has famously said that interior lineman are over drafted and overpaid. The Seahawks have one of the worst interior O-lines. He has stood behind a QB that is becoming embattled by a fan base that wants to see change yet there doesn't seem to be an obvious succession plan (I don't fully agree with this but this is the perception). He took a risky hire on a young hot shot OC from college, and now needs to make a tough call: move on after only 1 year or trust in improvements over the offseason?
I see at least a 3 year run, but then I hold little idea for what can be fatal in coaching. Making mistakes for damn good reasons would have you returning in my book. Lack of attention or acting on animus would have you gone.
I think this year's draft, which is tricky, and his FA choices -- who goes, who comes -- will go a long way toward clarifying how we all feel about his stewardship. I'm HOPING he has tricks we haven't yet seen, that he can learn and adapt and surprise.
Pressure - he or his talent evaluators are not good and haven't been since Scot McLoughan left the team. As for giving him time without Pete's influence, I say either he had a big part of the picks here with Pete and should have full accountability or he didn't and really has never been a GM (Pete was), so why would I give him more time since he hasn't done the job for the past 15 years?
Pressure. Too many misses in FA. Draft was meh. I want to see better evaluation of players. We need to raise the bar on the o-line for sure. Too many years of lowering the standards has us looking at Laumea like he is gonna save us. Gimme a break. I look at our top 6-8 players pay-wise and compare that to other teams top 6-8 players (the big paycheck guys) and we don't look great stacked up to many other teams. I think JS looks at PFF ratings too much or something...maybe he's lost the ability to use his eyes after analytics took over. I am fine with 'letting the PC stink wash off' but a short leash might be in order. I have a little more tolerance with JS because of some of the past successes, but we gotta remain competitive and I am not feeling secure that we are.
While I think JS has made plenty of errors, I'm sure that is true of every single GM. Yes, he should be under some pressure, but also, we or should I say Jody Allen should have a solid candidate to replace him before she fires him.
Everything we say here might as well be directed at Jody Allen. She is the only one with any power to change the Seahawks front office. From what I can see, they are a class organization, and so nothing should be done without a lot of thought.
My bet is Jody's only job is seeing the 12s are well fed. Russ keeping us on the edge of our seats is entertainment at it's finest. It's a beastly thing to say, but the 12s could see it was time for Russ to move on, and look at him now.
She should be keeping an eye on "her house" which is being over-run with other teams' fans. It's embarrassing, and proper steps need to be taken to get it back to its heyday.
Season tickets are down near the field where specific rudeness can be heard by the guys (Geno). She should be able to work out supplements if they sell to locals, since there exists a more intimate relationship than random seats.
Yep. And Geno needs more emotional intelligence to handle that rudeness.
JS is at least solid, so the Replace GM better be Awesome :)
Chip M John Schneider hid a bit behind Pete Caroll with Pete having final said on players. Now in 2025 the question this offseason is whether JS and MM deals with underperforming (Woolen, Tomlinson, Fant) and over paid players (Lockett, Metcalf, Jones).
As far as the draft goes, Schneider was behind all of those convoluted tradedowns that came to very little. PC may have had final say on the players eventually taken, but certain players were not available because of Schneider’s moves.
Woolen is a 5th round draft pick starting at corner. FWIW, Mike Dugar says that Riq is the best coverage player on the team. It’s just about impossible for him to be underperforming. (Whether he’s good enough or his game is what MM wants is something else.) Even during the memorable rookie season, Pete Carroll made it clear that Woolen had a long way to go. The staff’s perception of Woolen’s play and progress (and value) might differ greatly from ours.
Pressure. Find a quarterback
Both
Praise for hiring Mike Macdonald, signing Leo, trading for Ernest Jones, and a decently good draft (Murphy, Knight, Barner, and maybe Sataoa).
Pressure for the bad signings in free agency. But I think having a full off-season and a full regular season under their belts together with Mike will help. He may not have known exactly what kind of players Mike and/or Grubb wanted so he took some swings. This coming off-season should tell us more. If he doesn’t address the OL adequately, I believe he will really be on the hot seat.
I do find it interesting that people talk about the bad FA signings as if that doesn’t occur everywhere. But people forget pickups like Jones, especially Leo, how about JReed, and Hankins (needed early until Murphy got better), or J Love, Brady Russell talked about a ton early in the season (he should not be wearing 38 it needs to be in the Ring a massive miss by the Hawks not to honor Mack). I personally like what we’re seeing in the last 2 drafts. Potential and growth.
For me, it’s not the signings per se as much as the unwillingness to adjust the approach to free agency in response to bungled drafts.
He should be under pressure. From the 2017 to 2021 drafts, we have left standing DK Metcalf and Michael Dickson as starters. After the Stafford trade, Detroit used the picks received to build one of the best rosters in football, and the Rams have already recovered from giving up the picks to make the playoffs. After the Wilson trade, we are missing the playoffs and Russ will be going to the playoffs without us. The Chiefs have a pro bowl center and we got a worthless receiver instead. It goes on and on. JS proudly says he's had many of the same college talent evaluators for over a decade - always compete unless they're my cronies. He even adds Steve Hutchinson to vette O lineman, giving us Abe Lucas, Christian Haynes and Anthony Bradford, one who can't compete himself onto the field, a swinging door for pass rushers, and one with a chronic knee problem. Can't draft an o lineman unless it's in the top 10 picks. And the free agents are used not to upgrade key roles, but to spackle over shitty drafting, with the mounting cap money pushed into future years steadily reducing flexibility.
Pretty harsh Phil, but I have to agree. My comparison is mostly the Rams more successful rebuild/better drafts. PC/JS "coasted" w/O line rebuild after a lottery lucky healthy '22 O line. '23 was bad O-line, '24 worse than ever.
I worry you're also right about O line projects-only after 10th pick - which is why I'd have been ok with a 6-7 win season. Hawks burnt a 4th on E. Jones who's gonna get overpaid by whoever signs him. NFL ain't college, but I hope Grubb/new-O-line coach/JS can pull at least 1 RT rabbit out of a hat, move Lucas to RG & Olu comes to life.
Honestly, JS needs to probably give more power to the new coach. That's the relationship that needs to be checked on. Are they really getting along? How did the whole cutting 2 free agent linebackers go down? I like both JS and I like Mike McD. But I want them to be in agreement about the way forward.
I agree 100% is JS and MM working together or is JS really the boss?
MM’s influence will be according to how much he wins.
I believe JS stated after Pete was out, that the coach (now) reports to GM/him.
Working together must happen regardless of how the org chart looks.
Cutting those 2 shotgun wedding LBs in favor of E Jones is a great "working together" example. MM needed better, JS signed a difference maker. That surprised me; a "win now" move for what was looked to be a crappy D. Problem is, E Jones proved to the league he's a difference maker - Hawks are either in a bidding war or let him walk and restart the ILB search.
He needs to prove that he can draft a good QB since Russ as well as fix the gaping lack of talent and dependability on the Oline. If we signed Peters to mentor the young line, how did that work out?why is he on the roster at this point? The whiffs at ILB are both concerning although we did get 2 better ones at least. He’s like the rest of the team in my opinion. Meh. Not competing at the same level as the playoff teams. Give him this year to sink or swim. Then move on if he sinks.
I love the kind of person he is, and I give him the benefit of the doubt that after a whole season with the new Coaching they know better what to do.
And to be honest, which contracts are really hurting the Seahawks this year? Not the ones from 2024
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: RYAN GRUBB?
In the past, assistant coaches have often taken the brunt of the blame when Seattle struggles, including Tom Cable, Darrell Bevell, Ken Norton, Brian Schottenheimer, Shane Waldron, and so on...in fact, to the point that many fans are asking for Grubb to be replaced with...Brian Schottenheimer. Interesting how that works! Does Grubb deserve the hate he gets or is it a step too far?
A step too far in my opinion. I liked a lot of what I saw this year, and I think it is too early to discard Grubb when he had a crap OL (including no right tackle for 1/2 the year, and a center for half a year that was probably too hurt to play that well).
Grubb can’t really be evaluated until he has the chance to run the offense with “his guys” which means a new QB.
Agree 100%...his QB and a competent OL. Unless there is a big "behind the scenes" philosophy difference that we are all not privy to I don't see how he doesn't get another season.
Isn’t that similar to Pete’s journey? College to NFL, back to college before success in the NFL. I think Grubb deserves more than this season considering the players he was given.
Pete went from college DC to DB coach in the NFL. He did that for six years before becoming a DC, as opposed to Grubb going from OC to OC.
Again, another guy that needs a little leeway. It's not easy to put in a new offensive system, and there's going to be a learning curve, not just from the coaches, but the players as well.
Pressure: Grubb inherited a good offense and has made it worse. The Hawks in 2023 were a top 10 offense (per EPA) with a passing offense that (I believe) was 6th in DVOA. Even though there haven't been many changes on the offensive side of the ball, the offense is significantly worse. He appears to be over matched scheme wise, as NFL defenses seem to know what is coming. The offensive numbers are partly helped by the QB who is one of the best 2-minute drill QBs in the NFL.
The hate is a step too far, but he has to be better or be gone.
Huh. Just looked him up and we share a birthday (but not the year!). I don't know what to make of his run calls (or lack thereof): either the line just can't or he didn't want to for some reason. I know there was talk, before the season, that NFL spacing and speed were going to be challenges for him. At the same time he is widely believed to be an innovative offensive mind. I'd like to give him another season, to see how he adapts, what he's learned. I won't be surprised to see him leave for a college gig. I have a hard time evaluating any part of our offense given the troubles the line has had, and the number of guys who've been asked to play those positions. Consistency matters when mastering those dance steps, I'm told, and I tend to believe that. I also have no sense of how the locker room views him.
The whole year for me it felt like our runs are going nowhere and the short and middle range passes gave us lot of 1st downs. Would actually need to check this but I often felt like "just pass this damn ball at least 5-10 yards deep and I would feel better".
Tough, probably pressure. I would be interested to see what would happen if he had a different QB who was able to work through his receivers and move in the pocket. Missing figuring out how to get the running game going or at least some short run-type passes is a big issue and not sure that he wants to do that. I think MM wants that in the future to pair with a dominant defense.
Give the guy some time I reckon. He certainly doesn’t deserve hate - nobody does. He’s been a bit like Geno; some good, some bad. He probably had the toughest gig of all the coaches given the OL players he’s had to work with and a not so great QB. Let’s see what he can do with another season and some fresh blood.
PRESSURE! I am over him as a play-caller. However, I will root for him if he's retained and I do hate when someone gets thrown into a bad situation and is fired for it not working out. But in most every game the way the offense was being run was my biggest frustration. There are a lot of solid arguments in here for giving him another season, and I don't begrudge that take even if I feel differently.
It's not recency bias either. While I do believe that if our defense wasn't on fire and the Bear's offense wasn't a tire fire of its own, we would have lost to a really bad team -there have been many, many games where he either refused to run the ball or just dialed up head-scratchers that didn't work. I was fine with Schotty, and wish we had kept him, so I am not one to want every assistant fired when the team struggles. Though I was ready for the other 4 you named to go by the time they were (or sooner). But starting over yet again means another first time play-caller for the team. And I would like to feel like we can be contenders within the next 4-5 years at least. At some point you need experience with the team to have the cohesion needed. A parallel move would be a step back. It's not like we can just hire Ben Johnson in the offseason.
Pressure. If the Giants let Kafka go, I suspect that he’ll be “one and done”
Clearly pressure but at same time, he noted it in his many pressure filled Q&A pressers, OLine inconsistency was huge. Different OLine every game until bye week. OLine stability from camp forward super critical. Without stability we have poor play. Injuries suck. But recently read about the last of quality OLine coming out of college. Several people noting recently that skill players very good but OLine just lacking vs years before. I wonder if more pressure on OLine coach vs Grubb since he came up with Grubb. Is OLine coach the scapegoat for this season???
Seems to me that there are too many variables at work here to judge Grubb after one season.
Pressure. I feel like he will adapt and come back next year with reinforced o-line and a better sense of the league. I have no problem with bringing him back. There has been chatter about how it looks for the organization as well and that is something to be considered. One and done may send a message we don't want to send to potential candidates in the future. Some of the play calling seemed a little off to me but I get it, there's a learning curve here that needs to be taken into account. I liked some of the new play designs and structure of the offense. Different play calls and better line will give us a new look next year.
Pressure. Seems mis-aligned philosophically with MacDonald, and if so, that’s a problem.
The organization is really stupid a put a noob in as a first year play caller in the NFL on such a terrible team with no talent on the O-Line. I don’t blame Grubb because of this. I’m sure he’s made a ton of mistakes it’s his first year in the league. I blame ownership and JS
Pressure. He has top 10 skill position players and an experienced QB. If the issue is the OL then he needs to be identifying what he’s looking for and then pushing Schneider to go get those guys
Only grievance I have is red zone interceptions. Frustrating when they happened because it seemed like it was the tipping point of the game.
Wilson did that, too. In fact, he’s still doing it. The defense is always hyper-vigilant close to the goal line.
Russell Wilson has thrown 230 touchdowns in his career in the red zone. He has thrown 16 interceptions in the red zone in his career. So that is about 1.23 per season. He has a total of 267 touchdowns at last count.
You read my comment in a highly exaggerated manner. Red Zone interceptions are not uncommon because the defense is on high alert. It happens to every QB—some more than others. Russell had one last week. It’s not about him as much as it is about the defense rising.
Glad you are thinking for me. Take care Rozone.
Including that one in Super Bowl XLIX…
Even more than highly vigilant, it’s much more compacted — all 22 players crammed into maximum 30 yds and esp the safeties can be more aggressive. So thinking process has to speed up bc all the windows close up more quickly
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: MIKE MACDONALD?
Is he getting off scot free or does Macdonald deserve to be looked at, at all, when it comes to Seattle's slow starts, bad run game, and inconsistent defensive effort? Is he doing enough to hold people accountable?
MM accomplished his main goal for 2024 in getting the D back on track… overall close to a top 10 D for the season and likely a top 5 D going into next year.
He is getting off scot free this year. the defense has become very fun to watch. What a one-year improvement, or even a mid-season improvement!
I think he has shown enough to believe he is the real deal , i think the D will improve further next season en route to becoming elite
Praise: Pete left because of the defense. Mike Mac was hired to fix the defense and modernize it to current NFL standards. I would say that has been a resounding success. As for a HC, I have seen very little if any mess ups with the media. He has shown a significant improvement over his predecessor wiht in game decisions (4th downs, timeouts, challenges, etc.). He needs to keep stacking next year but he has been awesome.
I think for future years a more rounded HC he could get criticized for some stuff (GB crushed him). But for year 1, really good job.
The Bengals have notoriously slow starts, too. Not sure that helps. I'd like to know how much real input he has on the offensive side of the ball. I'm more than satisfied with our defensive progress.
My biggest concerns with Macdonald and reasons for pressure are:
1) Inconsistency (Incompetent v Packers Next Week Close against vikings then sloppy boring 6-3 v bears. Inconsistent play to me is a team not being ready, and that is on the HC. Pete teams never felt this inconsistent
2) Sloppy - plays into the inconsistency, but this team gets a ton of penalties for a guy who is all about making it right, and players taking ownership. Pete teams got penalized too, but his philosophy was more living with and accentuating players and that is different than saying everyone owns their actions.
3) Buy-in - We had to waste resources to get the linebacking corps moving. This defensive guru with NEW TO HIS REGIME players had to cut them mid-season to see improvement. That shows problems IMO. I know it can be rocky to start, but I am concerned we've pulled the trigger on a guy being the head coach who can't get buy-in from some of the more major off-season acquisitions whom he had a say in.
Praise for the defense turnaround during the season and MM certainly is a high quality DC. I am concerned that the Hawks hired a DC for head coach and he may not be able to take the step needed to be a good to great coach (many great coordinators don't translate well into HC jobs, I hope MM does).
Obvious praise for the defence improvement. ‘To be determined’ re. the offence. I’m with Ohratloln there - is he just a great DC - can he make the step to being an overall great HC?
MM accomplished his main goal for 2024 in getting the D back on track. The D came to life after firing two of John Schneider of season trades for linebacker. My big question is whether MM and JS will turn their attention in the same to the offensive line?
Praise. We can see the defence coming together.
I see praise. I’ve read some comments that his in game processing has been good for a new young guy. Further, maybe just perception, but second half adjustments have been good all season. That’s halftime coaching.
It feels like the Hawks consistently shot themselves in the foot with untimely illegal shifts or false starts or something stupid like lining up offside. We saw it with Pete, too and it seems Mike still has some work to do in that regard. The improvement on the defensive side was on and off in the second half of the season. There were times when I thought we were on the cusp of something great, but then it sort of evaporated. I like the general direction though.
Praise - Defense. Pressure - Offense. Like it's been stated by most here, work in progress on offense, but for a first go around, cool beans.
PRAISE for turning around the defense; PRESSURE over the six home losses.
Happy with Mac. He could’ve been Dan Quinn if we had Daniels instead of Geno
If it stays until the end of year two: Yes.
Before? Way too early. Imo The dumbest thing a Sports Team can do is to not let a coach get two Preseason and his own players to get things done. The only exception would be a super bad connection between Everybody and the coaches.
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: DK METCALF?
Too good to trade or past the tipping point for the AGE+$$$+INCONSISTENCY and in need of relocation?
I don’t think the team can afford to lose him until they have others who are as good or better in motivation and leadership. There are worse fights on other teams than anything he’s done and they don’t get a reputation for it.
He's not going to be worth the money he is going to ask for. There are too many penalties, drops, bad routes run, and opposing players getting in his head to make up for the great things he does. If he wanted to be paid like a top-10 receiver, he needs to play like it and he's maybe top-25 at best at this point. Time to move on.
Tough one. Both.
Praise: He has been a good downfield blocker and has been very supportive of JSN's success. He seems like a big team guy.
Pressure: He has not put up the numbers and had enough of a direct effect on the games.
If someone tells me, we don't have the resources to buy a guard, then I would say trade him and reinvest in the line. But I am not sure we need to trade him to invest in the line.
We're not going to the Super Bowl next year. Not in any likely scenario. I think the kindest thing to do for DK is to let him go and invest his salary dollars in players who can get us there soon. I don't like his temper, I don't like his stupid penalties, and I don't think his production merits the dollars he thinks he's worth. I'd love to see him thrive elsewhere. Heck, I'd love to see him thrive here but not at the expense of building a team that coheres and grows and can be more than a one- or two-season success.
Pressure: complete his maturation as a man in his late 20s; to further improve his footwork and YAC.
Praise: drawing extra coverage that helps other WRs; continued ability to take the top off of the defense and open up the middle for chunk plays.
Pressure - not impressive this year other than a few big plays. Too many stupid penalties, drops and lack of effort going for the ball. Not great with that body. Paid too much right now and when he wants more, definitely not worth it. Similar to my comment on Geno, it is a waste of money to pay him the big $$ (even if he was performing much higher) at this time since the team is quite a ways from being truly able to compete to make the SB, IMO. DK really isn't fun to watch anymore. Let's get a young and cheap WR from draft or semi cheap from free agency (or trade WRs) to replace him. JSN certainly appears to be the real thing and IS so much fun to watch. Yes, need another WR to replace TL too.
I think we need to trade the big guy for two reasons. One, we can get a player in the draft in first round with elite talent at 1/10th price. Two, DK is not worth the money he is going to demand this off season. I’ll expand on the second one based on my observations as a fan.
DK is a body catcher. He likes to bring the ball into his chest when he catches the ball. This is why he is not an elite red zone receiver. Occasionally we see hand catches from him but they are just not consistent enough like we see with the other two receivers this year. Number 14 also does not have the consistency needed to be a true number 1 receiver. He is hot and cold just like his Jekyll and Hyde personality while on the field. Grabbing helmets and hitting other players is just stupid. If he can’t control his emotions then his emotions are controlling him.
Only pushback I have on the trade idea is we won’t get anything close to a 1st rd pick for him. Stephon Diggs, Hop, Devante Adams, Amari Cooper, none of the latest trades for better guys than DK got a 1st. Bc whoever trades for him also knows they’ll need to pony up $30m+ as well. Honestly anything higher than a 3rd would be a surprise. Almost better to let him walk bc the comp pick will likely be a 3rd.
The money’s the problem. If we can convince him to stay for a reasonable price, ok then. If not, let him go whatever way works best financially for the team.
I like the guy and wish he was as good as he occasionally is in flashes. I would not pay him like a top 10 guy, because he doesn't have the productivity. But if I was making a list of pros and cons of paying him 30M+, there would be more cons. On the other hand, WR becomes a huge need if we let him go the same year Tyler retires.
Pressure. Being the career leader in OPI is not hall of fame worthy
Pressure. My guess that is why he came out so vocally this week. Sees writing, grumbling, after we lost out in n playoffs. Talking “sweetly”
It has been an interesting ride. I think it would be fun to continue but only at a realistic price. I also would like one of JSN's Ohio State buddies like Olave or Wilson to take over from Tyler.
No WR is worth $30 million except for JJ, Chase, Evans and maybe Puka or a couple others, but his production is mid and he is always in danger of costing us with either fumbles, drops, or penalties at the worst possible time. We need to draft someone every year at WR, Edge, and CBs to not have to pay the vets when they hit 4 years. Freshman from Ohio State looks better than DK already.
Pressure for being one of the highest paid WR league wide and one of the highest paid players in Seattle and not producing like one.
Pressure for DK makes sense to me. You signed the big boy contract, you talk the big boy trash(and get flags), you aren’t playing the big boy game. I can’t see dedicating ~10% of my salary cap to the second best player at a position on my team. JSN has stepped up big time, and is really putting the heat on him. Physically there is no measurable that prevents DK from being open and catching those possession balls that JSN is making his personality, and that is why DK has pressure on him.
He’s not worth the penalties and drama. He says he’s a team player but his actions suggest otherwise… I was hoping for a breakout year for Metcalf. His time in Seattle is up. Hawks need to let him walk/trade. Hawks need to invest his $ to the O-Line so we don’t have the 32nd highest paid O line by far
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: RIQ WOOLEN?
At first, we thought maybe this is the next Richard Sherman. Since the first half of his rookie season, however, Woolen's just been a mixed bag. The talent is obvious, the effort not so much. Is Riq Woolen a must-have piece of the future or does he represent a bit of what's wrong with Seattle lately, i.e. not giving effort to make a tackle against the Steelers in 2023?
Another guy like DK, where the negatives are outweighing the positives at this point. The difference between him and DK is he won't be/can't be asking for $30 million a year to play, so he gets some leeway, but they have to bring in more competition for him and make it clear he has to earn his job or he's gone.
Pressure - seemed to have so much talent rookie year. Flashes now and then but a lack of consistency, maybe concentration balances his high talent with complete lapses. Even one year ago I would have deemed him untouchable, but now would be fine moving him for reasonable draft compensation.
Riq sucked this year. His penalties alone cost us two games that I can remember in the second half of the season. His effort has always sucked on tackling and it hasn’t changed. He is fast and can track a ball like a receiver, but he’s soft as a defender, very soft.
Sit him down and talk to him. Point out where his concerns are and tell him what he needs to do to keep his job. Coach him and I’m sure we’ll see improvement.
Good point, thoughtful and makes sense.
Bro they’ve done that like every other week of his career.
Pressure. If you want to tackle like Deion, then you need to cover like him as well
This one seems like a little specific effort might be needed to make Riq more comfortable. These guys get paid a lot, I know, but the pressure is enormous and the Hawks should protect their investment a little by helping him to be his best. I don't know. Maybe Mike McD's methods don't involve that kind of approach.
To the extent that position value means anything, Riq is arguably the best player on the team. Not many clubs have the luxury of a fifth round draft pick being their best cover guy.
Riq seems to have rare (elite) ability to make up ground when the ball is in the air and he has distance/time to close. He also seems to struggle up on the line tackling and taking on lead blocks. Maybe..just hear me out...he would be better at free safety patrolling over the top, away from the line, far back where he can read and react etc....Anyways. I might think Riq would make good trade bait. He doesn't seem like a MM guy based on toughness and mental makeup IMO.
PRAISE for being the best coverage player on the team and for the position value as a fifth round draft pick starting at CB.
PRESSURE to continue developing his game.
BTW, both Huard and Wyman are definite that the Jefferson TD was on Love. Woolen’s responsibility was to jam Jefferson—which he did effectively according to both ex-players—while Love came over the top. When Love hesitated, Jefferson was able to get back in the play. What looked like a lack of effort to some fans was actually Woolen realizing that the help wasn’t coming and trying to adjust his assignment mid-play.
We need to draft him some competition to let him know he is gonna have e to earn his spot. He knows he can start based on potential and speed no matter what. If we had DJ Reed, he may not still be starting
Pressure. I hope someone can reach that kid, but if Leslie Frazier can’t…….
First he was massively underrated by the opposition which got him his picks last year, now he is the picked player all too often because he has so many coverage flaws. Maybe he is more of a CB3, but at least a super fast and tall one.
I will start by saying something nice. He's a funny and likeable guy. He is decent in coverage. But he can't tackle, has no instincts, no discipline, and the technique I thought he has as a rookie was a mirage. For a 4.3 guy, he doesn't hustle to make up plays far too often. I cannot see him turning into the player we hoped he would become.
Praise, he is still on his rookie deal. Depending on how negotiations go this offseason, he could be a reliable building block. I’m not pressuring a 5th round pick who has flashed cornerstone ability, but isn’t that for 17 games. I see incredible value in a young player here and panicking will only end with frustration in scrambling for another player. If MM is who we want him to be it could be this year of developing and technique changing and next year is the break out.
Unless someone is offering too good to be true trade value for him, then there's nothing to question. He's good enough to keep into the next season and compete, like everyone else, for playing time. Let's give him and MM/staff the offseason and see what we get.
Pressure, bc he’s soft while still on his rookie contract which pays him very little as a 5th rounder. When he’s suddenly pulling down eight figures, is he going to toughen up or become even softer?
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: KENNETH WALKER?
Should Walker's status as RB1 be in danger at all?
After the Lions game I thought Walker was the best back in football. I think he has been playing hurt much of the year, but Charbs has earned the right to compete for RW1 next year.
Neither. He is injury prone. That’s out of his control, but he sure is entertaining. His double flip is one for the record book.
It should be in danger. He can't stay on the field. He's incredibly dynamic, but maybe they need to make Charbonnet the lead back and him the change of pace #2 back. It would help keep him healthy and hopefully make him more effective when he's on the field.
Walker's health will define his status, alas. If I understand correctly the skills which make him special don't particularly work with the line we have just now -- the holes don't last long enough, something. Charbs just blasts through and doesn't make them hold blocks as long. I may well misunderstand that. This draft is deep in RBs. The real question, for me, is whether MacIntosh is worth keeping.
Probably the most frustrating Seahawk for me. Made worse because I read endless criticisms of Geno after a loss and have to scrape through the Seahawks internet to find any critiques of K9. But I digress, here are the thoughts:
Pressure: I have been incredibly frustrated with K9 this year. Not getting the first down in OT on 3rd and 1 against the Rams. There are so many examples of easy plays like this that he simply does not make. At home against the Niners, 3rd and 2 can't pick up an easy first down. Then he has an illegal formation on a 50 yard TD pass to DK. Just huge mistakes from an easy position to play from a decision-making standpoint.
His lack of vision makes the O-line worse and puts the ball behind the sticks at times. Why not follow the blocks?
Explosive runs: Geno Smith 13 ... K9 13 ... If you are going to go off script with your runs, you better hit some home runs every now and again.
Praise: Mostly excellent out of the backfield. Grubb said he wanted to use him as a pass catcher and he was right, K9 is good in the pass game. Elusive, he is still an explosive runner with game changing speed and moves.
My saying for K9: "He can make plays that no other backs can make ... He routinely doesn't make plays that every back can make in the NFL."
Next year is the final year of his rookie deal, I would split carries with Charbs. And also, Kenny Mac has looked good as he is much more north/south with speed.
Pressure. Too many injuries and a little too "cutesy" running. I know I was spoiled by watching Marshawn for so many years. but I prefer a back who can power through, shedding tacklers while also having quickness to make the moves. Also would be fine moving him for some draft compensation. Draft another RB in late rounds or undrafted.
Praise and pressure for K9. He’s was great when healthy and the OL worked. However, Charbs puts pressure on him by finding some success regardless of whether the OL was working. I think they work really well as a duo and a shared load would work. Can’t we have two RB1’s?
He isn’t the best fit for this offence. He needs an average or better line to really shine
Where the sarcasm font when you need it?
I don’t think that’s fair. When you get only 5 carries hard to be the one at fault. That and several injuries. Old adage you generally don’t lose starting spot due to injury. OLine a total mess when he was healthy. OLine starts improving and he’s not 100%. Couple games ago he had 8 receptions. Get everything going forward what can he do for us?
No. Get some blockers.
Both..He's got great ball security and is a threat every touch. He's also a bit of a startled cat sometimes- just work on patience and vision. My question comes as this..if Charbs and K9 are going to split reps in order to keep them fresh and increase durability, how should they best be deployed. I might argue Charbs as the opening back/short yardage could make a ton of sense. Use K9 as the change of pace back or in two back sets and for goodness sake throw K9 the ball as much as you can. Just get him in open space.
He has so much talent, but has a habit of always bouncing to the edge even when there have been holes there where the play was designed to go. Charbs runs better for getting the yards that are there, but doesn’t have the speed or quickness that K9 has
Maybe Walkers strengths could be used better if Charbs grings out the tough yards and Walker can break out for big gains when the defense is gassed.
Pressure. His numbers are his numbers.
I thought I'd be doing a lot more running for Walker this year. Don't worry though, I ran anyway.
Praise. Is the other Seahawk who is paying a heavy price behind this OL.
One thing that isn’t commented much re Walker is his pass-catching out of the backfield — is VERY good (although SSJ predicted this during the draft, said the knock on him was just lack of oppty)
And for me, Charbs is a very good RB2 but he’s not an RB1 whereas Walker clearly is. So if the consensus is bc Walker is injured too frequently or he’s doomed bc this is the best OL he’s going to see, then better to let him go and go get a new RB1 who (for me) could only be better than Walker if he is better able to stay on the field behind this OL.
PRAISE OR PRESSURE:
Who is a player who DOESN'T GET ENOUGH PRAISE for what he did in 2024?
AJ Barner. I wanted to give him all of Fant and Pharoah's snaps.
Julian Love. He's been a solid presence on the defense all season. Leonard Williams has been a beast, Devon Witherspoon is the glue, and Ernest Jones fixed a major hole on the defense, but Julian has been there the whole time and was the rock they needed.
Couldn't agree more.
Love plays like a true playmaker and a leader.
Leo Williams like a superstar.
Give the kickers some love. And we didn't seem to miss our long-time long-snapper.
Steadiness at punter and PK is really under appreciated.
JSN - even with the praise he has had, I think he has been better than that. He also is so fun to watch, makes the game more enjoyable.
All of the comments above work for me. Though I’ve gotta praise my fellow countryman, Dickson, who just keeps on doing his thing very well. He put the early Dickson downers back in their box this season I think 😁 (just joking SJ. I felt I unintentionally hit a nerve with that early this year).
Geno deserves praise for being a leader
I see then opposite in him
I think you need to some of those good analysis you do on some of the other guys. AJ. Or how about Coby. Love what he’s turning into. A less dynamic ET. Knight coming on. Coby one. Love of course. But Coby, Knight, Barner and Love. Add those 3 behind the Spoons and Big Cat and JSN, we have some nice pieces.
Maybe Julien Love. Maybe J. Reed, Coby Bryant, or even Byron Murphy. Dickson showed his value when he was suddenly sidelined.
Offense - Barner. Defense - Love.
So many to point out on ST and Defense. Not much on offense other than JSN. I think Leo is the top choice on Defense as Spoon got the national recognition but Leo was dominant too. Ernest, Julian, Tyrice, Jaren Reed and Coby Bryant really showed some improvement as well as his ability to create some turnovers. Jenkins isn’t worth keeping next year as well as Fant and Brown and Chenna.
Knight for me on defense.
JSN deserves praise he has shown the year over year growth of an organization that develops players to win games.
Coby Bryant is just getting started. The current staff needs to send the previous staff a thank you card for convincing him to change his major to safety.
Don’t know if this is praise (I guess it is) but, given our OL limitations should Byron Murphy II be getting 20-25 snaps on offense/game, as a Pat Ricard sorta guy?
They are almost identical size-wise but Murphy II is substantially quicker in the 40. And he used to play RB so it’s not totally foreign to him. As a blocker or a ball carrier ahead of K9, couldn’t he be a legit 2-way player?
PRAISE OR PRESSURE:
Who is a player who NEEDS TO BE UNDER MORE PRESSURE TO IMPROVE and disappointed you the most in 2024?
It seems I have been continuously disappointed in Fant, but I don't think he will be here next year. Sad to say that maybe it is Lucas. I know his play is related to his injury, but if he can't come back to form (and probably even if he does) we need to have another capable tackle in stock.
Riq Woolen is a clear #1. The entire OL needs to improve. There's a chance some of those guys are going to be studs, but it needs to be on all of them (after they get rid of Laken Tomlinson of course).
Ditto..
K9. I can't believe how little the fan base talks about his issues. But the biggest games of the year made huge mistakes (Rams, Niners). I still can't believe he didn't just run straight ahead on 3rd and 1 in OT ... All you need is a yard! Run straight. This game on Sunday would probably mean a lot more if he would've just got the first down instead of cutting for no reason.
Here is the Rams play with Ray Roberts comment (video previous post): https://x.com/BigRayRoberts/status/1853505024170799544
Part of the early issues with the run game is him having bad vision and not following the play/blocks. We saw that the run game was better with Charbs
If Geno stays, then Geno. Can’t see him improving though. Geno is Geno.
Riq
Noah Fant.
Christian Haynes, Bradford, Laken, all Centers, Abe, Fant, DK, K9, Pharoah and Tre Brown. Riq, Mike Morris, Dremont, Jenkins, Bobo, TL. May be a little jaded still with the letdown that was this season. I guess at least we’re not the niners🤣
DK, Woolen in key moments, K9, and Geno’s critical mistakes that cost games.
I'm going to ignore all the guys that might not be here next year because their contracts outweigh their contributions, and the Hawks have an obvious out this offseason to save cap dollars. I'm left with Cross, Mafe and Hall. If those three, who will almost certainly have large roles next season, can improve to at least be in the pro-bowl conversation, it will make a huge difference. I really like these three, but they were disappointing in 2024, based on my expectations.
1. Every O lineman to the right of Cross
2. Every D lineman on either side of Williams.
I posted some hypothetical cap work a few weeks back trying to see if it would be possible to create enough room to buy some Pro Bowl talent at a few critical positions, and in that process ended up cutting several guys who my definítion therefore are on the Pressure list (ie not worth their 2025 cost):
- one of my favorite Seahawks of all time, Tyler Lockett
- Uchenna bc he’s just never on the field and we must have a legit #1 edge for $21.5m
- Dre’mont Jones will earn $25.6m?? (wouldn’t we all rather have another Jarran Reed instead of him, for 1/3 the price?)
- Noah Fant the eternal disappointment
- Laken Tomlinson and George Fant, not that expensive but man, is this the best we can do? Give the young kids these snaps, maybe one of them improves
- Rayshawn Jenkins not worth his 2025 cap of $7.9m
- Pharaoh Brown is welcome to return to his sarcophagus
And Geno and DK need to be extended with lower 2025 caps than $38m and $31m respectively, neither is worth that kind of money. So both immediately in the Pressure bucket at those cap charges
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: JODY ALLEN?
Does Allen's decision to fire Pete Carroll and hand the team over to John Schneider look better, worse, or the same in hindsight? Are the Seahawks in good hands or should fans be counting the days until the team is sold to someone else, hopefully someone who will be a natural at building a Super Bowl champion?
Praise. She is trying to elevate this team, and to the extent she played a part in the RW trade or the PC fire, she deserves praise for taking bold action to try to make the Seahawks relevant again.
Guess you are not in Portland or follow the Trail Blazers. Fan base down hear want her gone.
Bring Blazers up here, turn em into Sonics!
Absolutely not. Ridiculous comment ;-). Loved the old I5 rivalry. Absolutely sucked what happened back then.
The most important thing Jody Allen does is stay the hell out of the way and supports the people she hired to do the job. There's just too many owners that get in the way and ruin things for their team (DAL, CLE, NYJ, CAR, Daniel Snyder before he sold), so I am thankful the Hawks have an owner who lets people do their jobs.
You are right! The only way the Cowboys get to the SB is if owner Jerry Jones fires GM Jerry Jones and fires HC Jerry Jones. That will only happen when it snows in hell.
AMEN!!! When Jimmy Johnson walked away from a dynasty that should have sent a smoke signal way back in the mid-90's
This is when he became the new Al Davis
Pressure - My belief for many years now is that the best teams long term have quality owners. The Seahawks have been that way since Paul Allen bought them, but I can see the changes that have happened since and this is not positive for the franchise. Nervous about selling the team, burned in the past with the Behring sale, but I think the franchise will continue to suffer without someone different than her. I do miss PA.
Agreed. We need to settle on long term ownership to really stabilize things IMO.
Praise. Tough call to move on from Pete
Praise. It hurt to see Pete go, but...
I don’t see her as that influential in the team’s performance, but she does take care of the business side well enough? If she puts JS on a short leash, I will have more respect for her.
Praise for deciding it was time to move on from Pete. Owners don’t have pressure anyway, by definition.
If her mandate is to turn this roster into a super bowl team, then we should be hoping for someone willing to go through more ups and downs. If she's ok with trusting in JS to do what's best, even if it means getting worse to get better, then I'm ok with her leadership.
Good point re entertaining the possibility of getting worse to get better.
The SSJ 'how to increase salary cap' posts are intriguing
Maybe a good future SSJ question - Burn it down or keep changing the tires while driving?
New staff now knows what '24 roster can and can't do - lotsa holes.
Hawks going into 2025:
O line to right of Cross is bad.
1 reliable receiver + DK
TE revolving door spinning
D line pass rush spotty at best
FA E Jones gets overpaid by Hawks or other team - Hawks out a 4th either way.
Need OLB to replace Nwosu & probably (so at least 1 ILB, 1 OLB.
PRAISE OR PRESSURE: ANYONE ELSE?
I'm forgetting anyone?
Definite pressure on the Hawk mascot. I didn’t see enough antics from him this season. Although that may be the fault of the telecast not showing him.
Oh, and what ever happened to the choreographed player celebrations? The Hawks were once the best IMO. That’s on all the players.
I’d like to praise the trainers and medical staff behind the scenes. It’s can be a pretty thankless job, but they are integral in keeping the players on the field and healthy. I know. I’ve done it here with Australian football teams.
DK is a big disappointment. I'm not just disappointed in all the yards and momentum he cost us with his bone head penalties, I'm way more upset that he's not a rookie or a youngster any more, he's a vet and it seems he's not doing better at handling his emotions he's getting worse . This is doubly frustrating given what an incredible asset he COULD be. I wonder what his net gains are, if course we can't really know the sum of his opportunity cost
DK has certainly felt his Street Cred challenged. He was prepared to brawl, but gave little attention to the rule book. Defense Coaches saw it.
John Rhys Plumlee! Maybe he's the star that shines bright in the last game of the season. I see opportunity for offensive creativity, wouldn't that be refreshing
Hey I posted here about how well Myers was. Think you missed him. Likely breaks all Seahawks career kicking stats next year, assuming he’s back.
Oline scouts? Have they hit on any interior lineman since Unger? Need fresh eyes here.
I praise Witherspoon for keeping his intensity 100% and being a team player about it. Not getting pissy about not filling a stat sheet and showing up week in week out. I know he came with pedigree but not everyone lives to it and he seems to be.
My feeling is that we have discussed Geno to death and there's nothing more to add. Geno is and always will be Geno. No better.
New coaching staff did ok for year one and I give them a pass. Case in point is the above-mentioned Schottenheimer (who we fired before Shane Waldren) as a Grubb replacement. Quick coaching changes are the first sign of bad ownership.
We've spent the season talking about overpaid players not pulling their weight. Some won't contribute even at minimum wages and HAVE to go.
If we are truly going to compete for the NFC West title, we need to dump all of the non-contributors that haven't got the potential to become everyday starters, and spend that money simply on players who make plays.
From my perspective, Seaside Joe, you are correct that the hottest seat is under John Schneider, who will be judged at the end of the season compared to the rest of the West AND the NFC playoff teams.
Schottenheimer left over philosophical differences with Pete Carroll. In the end, he jumped before he was pushed.
Great point...remember while "Let Russ cook" was the butt of many jokes the Hawks were 8-0 before the infamous "meeting" between Carroll and Schottenheimer.
My bet is Schneider has already called this kid:
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/43278528/north-texas-mestemaker-opens-eyes-first-responder-start
It seems we as a collective have forgotten what patience is in society. It’s year one of a new chapter in this organization. Do we think Paul Allen would drop Grubb and John after one season post the most successful coach in franchise history? I don’t. I think Paul Allen and others know that patience can actually pay off if you put it in to the right people. If year two looks just like this year then I would expect John to be shown the door.
We cannot forget what we never had. Society has never had any patience. That's what bread and circuses is all about.
I would be surprised if Ryan Grubb was fired. What if this year he's learned like 10 valuable lessons from what went wrong and becomes so much better next year -- as many people tend to do -- but he's picked up by Sean McVay? I think same OC, different QB.
Yeppers.
In a few years other teams fans'll be talking 'bout how good the Hawk's fans have it.
Posted above it’s like OLine coach that becomes the scapegoat to give Grubb another year. Get a high quality teacher and find the 5 in camp, early, then see what Grubb is. Same next year, he’s gone.
In a preseason poll about what a successful season would be in my mind. My comment: win the opening game