What happened Joe? This is the last article I received! My subscription still has at least nine months remaining but for some reason I've been cutoff and I'm going through withdrawals! How do I get this fixed to get my fix?
Kenneth, do you see any way that Pocic would return to the Seahawks? I feel he would be an upgrade over Blythe, knows our system and would not be expensive. He is a FA this year, correct? Sorry if you have commented on this before and I missed it.
On the other hand, making Haynes your day one starter because you know you are going to invest in a big upgrade at center in free agency makes some kinda sense too. Maybe continuity is ensuring you've only got one new player on the line; a person not only expected to start, but to lead.
I would not be happy with a Blythe deal at anything close to what he made this season. I also can’t imagine Blythe wanting a deal at anything less. I am very much hoping for a FA signing and possible upgrade along with one or two iOL draftees, with one of these a big tackle convert and a center.
i think this is a very reasonable comment. Blythe should certainly think he's more valuable this offseason compared to last offseason, whether he's right or wrong.
I do value continuity and the cerebral aspect of the C position, and I don't recall many errant snaps through the year; for those reasons I'd be willing to retain Blythe, but only at a discount compared to last year. Not a massive paycut, but certainly not a raise.
I've created a metric for players at different positions using data from PFF.
For offensive lineman I add the PFF grades for pass protection and run blocking them subtract the pressures given up (hurries, hits and sacks}, percentage x10. x10 in order to see more separation between players and giving it more emphasis because of importance.
I did the calculation for pros to check validity. You can judge for yourself.
Jason Kelce 154.6
Chris Lindstrom 151.6
Lane Johnson 147.0
Corey Linsley 146.7
Creed Humphrey 144.8
Tristin Wirfs 142.4
Trent Williams 141.9
Michael Onwenu 129.4
Laremy Tunsil 126.8
Joe Thuney 125.8
Frank Ragnow 125.5
Andrew Thomas 125.2
Seahawks
Damien Lewis 99.9
Austin Blythe 64.8
Abraham Lucas 63.6
Phil Haynes 43.0
Charles Cross 41.6
Gabe Jackson 7.8
College
Blake Freeland 163.4
Peter Skoronski 162.1
Alex Forsyth 153.6
Dawand Jones 151.5
Chandler Zavala 150.4
Luke Wypler 147.1
John Michael Schmitz 146.9
O'Cyrus Torrence 143.5
Joe Tippmann 143.3
Jaxson Kirkland 137.5
Broderick Jones 136.7
Ricky Stromberg 134.4
Olusegan Oluwatimi 132.7
Javon Cohen 131.6
Anton Harrison 130.9
Emil Ekiyor 130.7
That includes all the scores above 130.
The reason I did this was to see if any names rose the the surface to take a closer look at.
I have already received positive feedback from other sources on Chandler Zavala who played
at the Shrine bowl.
Combine testing will be telling. for IOL 40 times around 5.20 or better or SS around 4.70 or better.
Since the 2022 draft showed us how Pete fixes things - he doubles up...by drafting 2 OTs, 2 CBs, 2 Edges and 2 WRs. This leads me to think he will be drafting Both a C and an OG for Haynes and Blythe to compete with.
I'm hopeful you are right. Haynes' deal does not assure starting to me. I do think Gabe is gone. I also think our depth is horrible and OL are easy to get on the practice squad.
If the $5 million was in 2022, that would be the 7th-biggest cap hit on the team, which is remarkable if Seattle views that as a potential backup guard, but I respect everyone's right to feel differently.
After years of having poor results at O-line which may or may not have been due to a lack of continuity among the starters I'm willing to see what happens if you keep the gang together. Walker did finish with a nice last three games so maybe it took that long for the line to come together.
I believe Haynes and possibly Blythe are hedge signings offering continuity and leadership. Talent will be forthcoming...3rd to 4th round is my guess but Nobody knows - not even JS/PC...yet at least.
The argument that "they wouldn't pay that much for a non-starter" was used for Matt Flynn. I think they see Haynes a starter unless they find someone better. That's how the Seahawks usually operate, especially for the biggest stars.
Paying a top-10 salary on the team for a backup G would be a poor move for Pete Carroll, but I respect everyone's right to think that Haynes isn't guaranteed to start as the highest-paid offensive lineman on the team.
It's hard to credibly any coach who has had as much success as Pete Carroll but I can't help but get frustrated when, time after time, year after year, his clear preference for those he's worked with before leads to the team paying what's likely to be more than market rate for mediocre talent. Carroll has his strengths. His relentless positivity builds a positive culture and gets a lot out of mediocre talent. I just think he'd be a better coach if he wasn't punch drunk on the value of continuity. I don't disagree that continuity is important. Just not in a vacuum. Takes a lot for Pete to declare he's done with someone.
I'm not remotely happy about resigning Blythe for another season but it's better than 2015 when they traded away Unger and replaced him by converting a defensive player to Center with Drew Nowak, which was a fucking disaster. Bringing back Blythe signals to me that they will take a Center in the draft but probably not one capable of starting as a rookie. That's...OK.
We will know for sure if the Seahawks re-sign Blythe and Fuller for another year. Then I would be shocked if they added a rookie center any time before UDFA.
After reading these comments and thinking about it, I suspect there's a better chance they add two Guards, see if one possibly can be converted to Center this year. If not, that becomes a priority for 2024. I expect Jackson to get cut and not sure their depth at either spot is what they'd like.
There's no question that the Seahawks lack depth and if history is any indication, day three picks will be used on versatile OL. Maybe even a DL-OL convert.
It's possible we paid Haynes $5 mil to get him on a one year deal because John found Haynes was going to get other offers for a multi-year deal. Why would John insist on a one year contract? Could it be that they intend to draft a guard and don't want to be tied past this year if the rookie wins the job? Clearly though, John doesn't want a "must have" to get in the way of fixing the front seven. He's also talked about the need to retain guys prior to free agency and Pete has been open about preferring his guys to unknowns. This has been their methodology for many years.
Difficult to see why Haynes' agents wouldn't have been aware of multi-year offers elsewhere, if John Schneider was aware of it. Teams often sign players to multi-year contracts that are cut after one year with no money left or little money left. Possible agents pushed for a one-year contract because Haynes is betting on himself.
What happened Joe? This is the last article I received! My subscription still has at least nine months remaining but for some reason I've been cutoff and I'm going through withdrawals! How do I get this fixed to get my fix?
Kenneth, do you see any way that Pocic would return to the Seahawks? I feel he would be an upgrade over Blythe, knows our system and would not be expensive. He is a FA this year, correct? Sorry if you have commented on this before and I missed it.
On the other hand, making Haynes your day one starter because you know you are going to invest in a big upgrade at center in free agency makes some kinda sense too. Maybe continuity is ensuring you've only got one new player on the line; a person not only expected to start, but to lead.
They should get someone bigger and better if they're going to spend at center, I agree.
If Blythe is signed I will celebrate. If he is not signed I will celebrate. In the meantime, I hope they have a plan Sun Tzu would be proud of.
Yes, I think it's good to remain open minded.
I would not be happy with a Blythe deal at anything close to what he made this season. I also can’t imagine Blythe wanting a deal at anything less. I am very much hoping for a FA signing and possible upgrade along with one or two iOL draftees, with one of these a big tackle convert and a center.
i think this is a very reasonable comment. Blythe should certainly think he's more valuable this offseason compared to last offseason, whether he's right or wrong.
I do value continuity and the cerebral aspect of the C position, and I don't recall many errant snaps through the year; for those reasons I'd be willing to retain Blythe, but only at a discount compared to last year. Not a massive paycut, but certainly not a raise.
I've created a metric for players at different positions using data from PFF.
For offensive lineman I add the PFF grades for pass protection and run blocking them subtract the pressures given up (hurries, hits and sacks}, percentage x10. x10 in order to see more separation between players and giving it more emphasis because of importance.
I did the calculation for pros to check validity. You can judge for yourself.
Jason Kelce 154.6
Chris Lindstrom 151.6
Lane Johnson 147.0
Corey Linsley 146.7
Creed Humphrey 144.8
Tristin Wirfs 142.4
Trent Williams 141.9
Michael Onwenu 129.4
Laremy Tunsil 126.8
Joe Thuney 125.8
Frank Ragnow 125.5
Andrew Thomas 125.2
Seahawks
Damien Lewis 99.9
Austin Blythe 64.8
Abraham Lucas 63.6
Phil Haynes 43.0
Charles Cross 41.6
Gabe Jackson 7.8
College
Blake Freeland 163.4
Peter Skoronski 162.1
Alex Forsyth 153.6
Dawand Jones 151.5
Chandler Zavala 150.4
Luke Wypler 147.1
John Michael Schmitz 146.9
O'Cyrus Torrence 143.5
Joe Tippmann 143.3
Jaxson Kirkland 137.5
Broderick Jones 136.7
Ricky Stromberg 134.4
Olusegan Oluwatimi 132.7
Javon Cohen 131.6
Anton Harrison 130.9
Emil Ekiyor 130.7
That includes all the scores above 130.
The reason I did this was to see if any names rose the the surface to take a closer look at.
I have already received positive feedback from other sources on Chandler Zavala who played
at the Shrine bowl.
Combine testing will be telling. for IOL 40 times around 5.20 or better or SS around 4.70 or better.
For OT 40 times around 5.00 or better.
Since the 2022 draft showed us how Pete fixes things - he doubles up...by drafting 2 OTs, 2 CBs, 2 Edges and 2 WRs. This leads me to think he will be drafting Both a C and an OG for Haynes and Blythe to compete with.
Ha, yeah I really hope you're right. Not taking one of each would be really disappointing for me.
I'm hopeful you are right. Haynes' deal does not assure starting to me. I do think Gabe is gone. I also think our depth is horrible and OL are easy to get on the practice squad.
If the $5 million was in 2022, that would be the 7th-biggest cap hit on the team, which is remarkable if Seattle views that as a potential backup guard, but I respect everyone's right to feel differently.
After years of having poor results at O-line which may or may not have been due to a lack of continuity among the starters I'm willing to see what happens if you keep the gang together. Walker did finish with a nice last three games so maybe it took that long for the line to come together.
I believe Haynes and possibly Blythe are hedge signings offering continuity and leadership. Talent will be forthcoming...3rd to 4th round is my guess but Nobody knows - not even JS/PC...yet at least.
A Top-10 salary for backup/hedge signings due to leadership would not be advisable, but I respect anyone's right to feel that way.
The argument that "they wouldn't pay that much for a non-starter" was used for Matt Flynn. I think they see Haynes a starter unless they find someone better. That's how the Seahawks usually operate, especially for the biggest stars.
I meant "*except* for the biggest stars"
Paying a top-10 salary on the team for a backup G would be a poor move for Pete Carroll, but I respect everyone's right to think that Haynes isn't guaranteed to start as the highest-paid offensive lineman on the team.
I’m still holding out hope for drafting Cody Mauch and converting him to Center. I think his athleticism is a good fit for the zone blocking scheme.
If he is a late second or third round pick, perhaps this is something Pete Carroll would consider.
Me too. He looks fast and strong.
It's hard to credibly any coach who has had as much success as Pete Carroll but I can't help but get frustrated when, time after time, year after year, his clear preference for those he's worked with before leads to the team paying what's likely to be more than market rate for mediocre talent. Carroll has his strengths. His relentless positivity builds a positive culture and gets a lot out of mediocre talent. I just think he'd be a better coach if he wasn't punch drunk on the value of continuity. I don't disagree that continuity is important. Just not in a vacuum. Takes a lot for Pete to declare he's done with someone.
Whereas I mostly agree with you, shouldn't JS take more credit for this?
Difficult to say when one gets credit or blame, which they probably prefer.
I'm not remotely happy about resigning Blythe for another season but it's better than 2015 when they traded away Unger and replaced him by converting a defensive player to Center with Drew Nowak, which was a fucking disaster. Bringing back Blythe signals to me that they will take a Center in the draft but probably not one capable of starting as a rookie. That's...OK.
We will know for sure if the Seahawks re-sign Blythe and Fuller for another year. Then I would be shocked if they added a rookie center any time before UDFA.
After reading these comments and thinking about it, I suspect there's a better chance they add two Guards, see if one possibly can be converted to Center this year. If not, that becomes a priority for 2024. I expect Jackson to get cut and not sure their depth at either spot is what they'd like.
There's no question that the Seahawks lack depth and if history is any indication, day three picks will be used on versatile OL. Maybe even a DL-OL convert.
It's possible we paid Haynes $5 mil to get him on a one year deal because John found Haynes was going to get other offers for a multi-year deal. Why would John insist on a one year contract? Could it be that they intend to draft a guard and don't want to be tied past this year if the rookie wins the job? Clearly though, John doesn't want a "must have" to get in the way of fixing the front seven. He's also talked about the need to retain guys prior to free agency and Pete has been open about preferring his guys to unknowns. This has been their methodology for many years.
Difficult to see why Haynes' agents wouldn't have been aware of multi-year offers elsewhere, if John Schneider was aware of it. Teams often sign players to multi-year contracts that are cut after one year with no money left or little money left. Possible agents pushed for a one-year contract because Haynes is betting on himself.
Actually, I'm good with this scenario. It just gets me more excited about the draft. The possibilities! Keep it going Seahawks!