Sorry we lost Penny in FA. Philly didn't pay him much. Maybe he'll stay healthy and make a difference. for the price, it wasn't much risk. It's surprising that Penny was so durable in college and not in pros. We might go after Bijan in the draft though, have gone after an RB almost every year. Hope we go after John Michael Schmitz for C, maybe Njigba for WR3. Appreciate the content, good reading.
Eskridge is a wild card. Is he a slightly tragic case of injuries, if not chronic lack of durability? Athletically gifted but for whatever reason(s) a bust? A player who is finally going to bloom as an actual WR3, punt or kick returner (and primo gadget play star) now, on the way to being a WR2? I guess the next camp will determine that. But the apparent talent is too much to ignore.
I honestly think those violent head shots he took really messed him up; one of them gave him a concussion he had to see a vision specialist for according to Pete and I believe he missed the rest of the season. I'd like to think his first year didn't really happen from a development standpoint so for me this is his make or break year and if he is off the field as much as last year I think he's kaput.
That’s the most ridiculous hat I think I’ve ever seen that wasn’t a gimmick. I laugh every time I see that picture. If I had any interest in sticking around Twitter I would follow that guy just for his cap space joke.
My goal for Kenneth is to get enough paid subscribers that he can afford to run political style attack ads on TV against anyone he wants, for the smallest slights, whether real or perceived.
Interesting how the Seahawks wanted to re-sign Penny and even offered more money but he wanted a change of scenery and to "change my narrative". I really hope he succeeds!
Godwin Igwebuike is (was) an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, meaning all the Seahawks had to do was offer him the league minimum and they'd have secured his services (or he'd have been watching from the stands in 2023 since no other team would have been able to sign him).
At first, I thought it was strange that we didn't tender him but now I'm thinking it's part of the 'culture' - i.e., I think maybe we told him to go test the market and let us match any offer(s) he receives. I mean, if that's NOT happened then the choice to not retain him boggles my mind and might go down as JSPC's worst decision of the year.
Thanks for the consistency in uour analytical approach, Kenneth. Sports media is an industry dominated by glib hot takes by national, rather than local professionals, but you're dedicated to a more regimented, informed, and consistent analytical approach that makes your articles well worth a read.
Seaside Joe is a Seahawks journalism must for any dedicated fan.
I must've missed something somewhere — lately you've been throwing a lot of shade at Rob Staton. Is that just playing, or did you two have a genuine falling out?
Totally fair question, Scott, and I appreciate that you asked because I'm sure a lot of other writers would just get defensive. I've known Rob for over 10 years and certainly promoted his website as much as I have in that amount of time because I respect him. I don't comment over there so I can't speak from personal experience, I just know that I've had a ton of people comment here that it's not easy to share their opinions over there. And just as I welcome any criticism of the work here, surely I think it's fair to give a balanced review of the Seahawks content that many fans are reading, which sometimes may include criticisms. I don't think it makes sense to go, "Well, only talk about me if you're complimenting me." I write about the Seahawks and sometimes that writing has to combat narratives from other Seahawks websites. Having the support of the community frees me up to make sure I'm doing right by Seahawks fans as much as possible and I'm grateful for that. I don't get any messages, "Hey, why did you compliment and share Seahawks draft blog??" which happens often, only when I say, "I disagree with this" does it seem to ruffle Rob's feathers.
But again, I appreciate you asking and I understand why you would.
I'm guessing this ruffling of feathers is happening on Twitter...? I just haven't seen it (Twitter is a dumpster fire in a cesspool patrolled by slime-oozing mutants), ergo my lack of context. Thanks for the thoughtful response.
Having read every article I’ve only seen light ribbing at worst from Ken. It’s weird but it’s mostly the fans of two Seahawk sports writers who get into it on Twitter. It’s not typical that a sportswriter includes other sportswriters in their work. And when his articles quote old tweets from these guys being so sure of something that never happened, it surely rubs them wrong. But it never reads to me as ridicule. It usually ties up to a greater point. Ken, Rob, Ben Baldwin, Matty F Brown and more go way back. Pretty sure Ken gave a few of them their first writing jobs.
Hey Chuck, to be clear: I don't think "throwing shade" is the same thing as "ridicule". And I certainly didn't intend to imply that Ken has been ridiculing Rob or his SeahawksDraftBlog. Lately I've just noticed a few variants on "here you get THIS, which is better than what you get OVER THERE", so I just wanted to get some context. I hope that's clarifying.
I thought your original comment was fair, and perhaps could have worded my response better. I see it more as using the quote tweets to prove points like, “we tend to stick to our opinion even when it gets disproven” and such. I’d see it more as shade throwing if Ken didn’t post his own. And a big part of the narrative here on Seaside Joe is that none of us know the future and are all of us are often wrong. I think a lot of how these articles read to us is colored by what we expect the agenda is going in. I’ll be the first to say that minus the context I tend to read them in, you could post many examples that look like pure shade. And I completely understand how both readers of the other blogs and their writers feel offended.
I think PC/JS are doing a really good job hyping up Seattle as a franchise trending in the right direction. No secret the league as a whole highly rated the '22 Draft, then showing the work improvement on Geno to make the Playoffs, whilst still carrying good draft capital. Why would these guys not want to come here?! And thus far i feel each deal has only built and built on that, giving the team cap flexibility this year and next, showing clear intent to compete and return to the playoffs, and an obvious established coaching plan and scheme set.
I think a few of those names will still return, there's just no rush from either the team or players. All setting nicely to again let the draft come to JS/PC. All setting nicely to have room to move in case of a good trade opportunity, or a late release. Keep the buzz going, keep setting this team to become a juggernaut in 2024. Big "A" grade thus far for the off-season as a whole.
Igwebuike is a no brainer to re-sign. I have always liked Poona. I think he might fit better and get more $ from another team, but I wish he could stay. You must love Irvin as a true Hawk, but his time is up and younger players must take precedence. He’ll land somewhere by the trade deadline. Maybe re-sign Muse but he needs to compete in camp.
Igwebuike was an ERFA and we could have kept him simply by tendering him an offer at the league minimum (like we did with Michael Jackson, Myles Adams, and Jon Rhattigan). I'm surprised we didn't but Mr. Schneider has been full of surprises so far and I'm assuming he's good for a few more.
What hurt me the most was Homer. Penny indeed needed a change of scenery, and I’m happy for him, and I hope he balls out. Maybe he may come back later like Reed did. I take the middle stance on Barton, he wasn’t as good as his hype-men wanted to believe, but especially not as bad as us angry fans said he was on a weekly basis. Homer, though, should be a first ballot special teams hall of famer, if such a thing existed. Before 2022, he was the best blocker on the team under 30. Scratch that, he was the best blocker not named Duane Brown. He was good taking outlet passes too.
As for Julian Love, he’s very flexible like Adams, but his flexibility is closer to Diggs and Neal. He can play box, deep, and nickel. Nino was a nickel converted into safety (who plays both in the box and deep, though he stayed deep most of the time with the Hawks). He helps depth at many positions and is a great leader and special teamer.
I like Homer too, but the cap hit to keep him would have been $1.75M. This just wasn’t in the cards. Also, my take is that PCJS would really like to draft a Robert Turbin type who can spell Walker for an entire possession rather than just play in certain situations.
I’m going to miss Travis Homer. No tears shed over losing Barton but I didn’t hate him. We were spoiled for a long time with lb play that was consistently somewhere between solid and elite.
I think the age, athleticism, and run stopping abilities of Reed and Dre Jones make the pair the better choice over Poona, QJeff, and Shelby Harris. AND they are probably better pass rushers, too. I like the direction JS is taking us, but that has been his M.O. IMO. They have really addressed key spots, so far, that will be an improvement over last year even if, like you said above, they get no help from the draft. So, they can afford to take shots on guys who may be higher risk like Jalen Carter, or a guy who might hit enough to relegate one of the FA guys to a smaller role. A++ for the job done, so far.
That said, I give them an A+ for their tenure, so far, too. I have never been more proud to be a 12. JSPC have really built a "program" like PC has said since he arrived. It is one that makes players want to come to and stay in. They treat people well, and that is important to me for my support.
Penny being healthy is the biggest "if" I have seen in a long while, but I think the depth at RB he provided is the biggest loss so far
Penny needed to leave. He only has one chance left, and it's amazing he is still the running threat he ever was and not diminished from his injuries. This latest one may have diminished him and even if he is ready to get paid for running doesn't mean he will avoid small injuries like he did the last time during his first year back. So, for the Seahawks' sake, I wanted him back, but I figure Pete told him to leave for his own sake. A new start. No bad mojo around.
That's why I chose Muse. I want him back to see if he can put up some more 85 PFF grades for pass defense.
As for Geno, his contract was an A+++. You needed more categories for A. Because compared to just an A for Geno, none of the other contracts came close, and grading on a curve C would be the best grade I would give, but grading on a curve SUCKS. So I gave A's to the entire off season so far.
Same here. It would have cost $2.627M to use the least-expensive RFA tender on him and I can understand why JSPC didn't see that as a good choice. My guess is that he'll test the market and then come back and sign a 2/$4M deal with us (give or take a little bit)
Theoretically, Rashaad is the biggest loss. I've had a lot emotionally invested in him (relative to the universe of professional running backs.) I'd love to see him run for 2000 yards. But I'm afraid the nagging prosisitis will send him to IR before six games are done.
Travis Homer is a mensch and good luck to him in Chicago where they will appreciate that. We can replace him as he replaced J.D. McKissick, another good guy who did well elsewhere.
We can also replace Cody. He has a great linebacker stare. I hope it translates into a better career with the Commodores. I did that on purpose. I assume Ron Rivera sees something in him. Is there a Seaside Joe post that explains the nickname "Moons?" I assumed it was short for "Morons," but maybe not.
I don't know what post the name originated with, but one day I was randomly thinking of what might make a good general team name. I'm a big fan of the moon. Then I realized that there's an NBA team named Suns and nobody complains about that name, it seems to work and have a nice ring to it, so why not honor the moon with a pro team? It isn't being used anywhere that I know of and I think it's a fairly simple straightforward and good name for a team that honors one of nature's greatest gifts to humanity: The Moon.
Then when it comes to the Commanders, I just think it's a stupid name that sucks. So if they can choose a stupid name that sucks, why can't I replace it, especially since it seems like really nobody is using it. I still see "Washington football team" all the time. Commanders sucks. So I prefer Moons. That's about it haha.
Thanks for that info! It does accurately describe an organization that could easily be mistaken for a Semi-Pro one, as I'm sure all the Will Farrell fans out there would agree.
Thanks so much for the explanation, Ken. I now see that you're a wholesome young man and were not thinking, at least consciously, of the kind of moons that flash, though they've been treating their fan base like that for some time.
I am not sure Ken has ever explained the Moons moniker fully. I have always assumed (given ownership) it is was short for, as Bugs would say "Maroons".
Sorry we lost Penny in FA. Philly didn't pay him much. Maybe he'll stay healthy and make a difference. for the price, it wasn't much risk. It's surprising that Penny was so durable in college and not in pros. We might go after Bijan in the draft though, have gone after an RB almost every year. Hope we go after John Michael Schmitz for C, maybe Njigba for WR3. Appreciate the content, good reading.
I heard this is a good class at center. I reckon PCJS can and will wait till day 3 and it'll be fine.
Eskridge is a wild card. Is he a slightly tragic case of injuries, if not chronic lack of durability? Athletically gifted but for whatever reason(s) a bust? A player who is finally going to bloom as an actual WR3, punt or kick returner (and primo gadget play star) now, on the way to being a WR2? I guess the next camp will determine that. But the apparent talent is too much to ignore.
I honestly think those violent head shots he took really messed him up; one of them gave him a concussion he had to see a vision specialist for according to Pete and I believe he missed the rest of the season. I'd like to think his first year didn't really happen from a development standpoint so for me this is his make or break year and if he is off the field as much as last year I think he's kaput.
Even with the injuries, Eskridge has had his chances. He’s just not that good.
That’s the most ridiculous hat I think I’ve ever seen that wasn’t a gimmick. I laugh every time I see that picture. If I had any interest in sticking around Twitter I would follow that guy just for his cap space joke.
My goal for Kenneth is to get enough paid subscribers that he can afford to run political style attack ads on TV against anyone he wants, for the smallest slights, whether real or perceived.
You can do it Kenneth!
You are definitely picking up what I'm trying to put down, Greg!
Interesting how the Seahawks wanted to re-sign Penny and even offered more money but he wanted a change of scenery and to "change my narrative". I really hope he succeeds!
https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/1636928101849657346?t=NagIRc1cF0wz4WqDIBvdmw&s=19
I like Penny but did we need another K-9 style back? I think we will pick up a short yardage back somewhere in the bottom of the draft.
Godwin Igwebuike is (was) an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, meaning all the Seahawks had to do was offer him the league minimum and they'd have secured his services (or he'd have been watching from the stands in 2023 since no other team would have been able to sign him).
At first, I thought it was strange that we didn't tender him but now I'm thinking it's part of the 'culture' - i.e., I think maybe we told him to go test the market and let us match any offer(s) he receives. I mean, if that's NOT happened then the choice to not retain him boggles my mind and might go down as JSPC's worst decision of the year.
Surely he will be asked about that in his preseason presser. I’m somewhat shocked.
Spotrac says Jarran Reed's contract is 2/$10.8M but they don't have the year-by-year breakdown listed yet. Ian Rapoport, via Twitter, said it's a MAX of $10.8M (https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1635773914025451520).
Thanks for the consistency in uour analytical approach, Kenneth. Sports media is an industry dominated by glib hot takes by national, rather than local professionals, but you're dedicated to a more regimented, informed, and consistent analytical approach that makes your articles well worth a read.
Seaside Joe is a Seahawks journalism must for any dedicated fan.
Thank you, Bret! Going to do my best to keep raising the bar.
I must've missed something somewhere — lately you've been throwing a lot of shade at Rob Staton. Is that just playing, or did you two have a genuine falling out?
Totally fair question, Scott, and I appreciate that you asked because I'm sure a lot of other writers would just get defensive. I've known Rob for over 10 years and certainly promoted his website as much as I have in that amount of time because I respect him. I don't comment over there so I can't speak from personal experience, I just know that I've had a ton of people comment here that it's not easy to share their opinions over there. And just as I welcome any criticism of the work here, surely I think it's fair to give a balanced review of the Seahawks content that many fans are reading, which sometimes may include criticisms. I don't think it makes sense to go, "Well, only talk about me if you're complimenting me." I write about the Seahawks and sometimes that writing has to combat narratives from other Seahawks websites. Having the support of the community frees me up to make sure I'm doing right by Seahawks fans as much as possible and I'm grateful for that. I don't get any messages, "Hey, why did you compliment and share Seahawks draft blog??" which happens often, only when I say, "I disagree with this" does it seem to ruffle Rob's feathers.
But again, I appreciate you asking and I understand why you would.
I'm guessing this ruffling of feathers is happening on Twitter...? I just haven't seen it (Twitter is a dumpster fire in a cesspool patrolled by slime-oozing mutants), ergo my lack of context. Thanks for the thoughtful response.
Having read every article I’ve only seen light ribbing at worst from Ken. It’s weird but it’s mostly the fans of two Seahawk sports writers who get into it on Twitter. It’s not typical that a sportswriter includes other sportswriters in their work. And when his articles quote old tweets from these guys being so sure of something that never happened, it surely rubs them wrong. But it never reads to me as ridicule. It usually ties up to a greater point. Ken, Rob, Ben Baldwin, Matty F Brown and more go way back. Pretty sure Ken gave a few of them their first writing jobs.
Hey Chuck, to be clear: I don't think "throwing shade" is the same thing as "ridicule". And I certainly didn't intend to imply that Ken has been ridiculing Rob or his SeahawksDraftBlog. Lately I've just noticed a few variants on "here you get THIS, which is better than what you get OVER THERE", so I just wanted to get some context. I hope that's clarifying.
I thought your original comment was fair, and perhaps could have worded my response better. I see it more as using the quote tweets to prove points like, “we tend to stick to our opinion even when it gets disproven” and such. I’d see it more as shade throwing if Ken didn’t post his own. And a big part of the narrative here on Seaside Joe is that none of us know the future and are all of us are often wrong. I think a lot of how these articles read to us is colored by what we expect the agenda is going in. I’ll be the first to say that minus the context I tend to read them in, you could post many examples that look like pure shade. And I completely understand how both readers of the other blogs and their writers feel offended.
But that was Ken’s question to answer. And if there’s more to it, I apologize.
I think PC/JS are doing a really good job hyping up Seattle as a franchise trending in the right direction. No secret the league as a whole highly rated the '22 Draft, then showing the work improvement on Geno to make the Playoffs, whilst still carrying good draft capital. Why would these guys not want to come here?! And thus far i feel each deal has only built and built on that, giving the team cap flexibility this year and next, showing clear intent to compete and return to the playoffs, and an obvious established coaching plan and scheme set.
I think a few of those names will still return, there's just no rush from either the team or players. All setting nicely to again let the draft come to JS/PC. All setting nicely to have room to move in case of a good trade opportunity, or a late release. Keep the buzz going, keep setting this team to become a juggernaut in 2024. Big "A" grade thus far for the off-season as a whole.
Igwebuike is a no brainer to re-sign. I have always liked Poona. I think he might fit better and get more $ from another team, but I wish he could stay. You must love Irvin as a true Hawk, but his time is up and younger players must take precedence. He’ll land somewhere by the trade deadline. Maybe re-sign Muse but he needs to compete in camp.
Igwebuike should be back soon, I hope.
Igwebuike was an ERFA and we could have kept him simply by tendering him an offer at the league minimum (like we did with Michael Jackson, Myles Adams, and Jon Rhattigan). I'm surprised we didn't but Mr. Schneider has been full of surprises so far and I'm assuming he's good for a few more.
What hurt me the most was Homer. Penny indeed needed a change of scenery, and I’m happy for him, and I hope he balls out. Maybe he may come back later like Reed did. I take the middle stance on Barton, he wasn’t as good as his hype-men wanted to believe, but especially not as bad as us angry fans said he was on a weekly basis. Homer, though, should be a first ballot special teams hall of famer, if such a thing existed. Before 2022, he was the best blocker on the team under 30. Scratch that, he was the best blocker not named Duane Brown. He was good taking outlet passes too.
As for Julian Love, he’s very flexible like Adams, but his flexibility is closer to Diggs and Neal. He can play box, deep, and nickel. Nino was a nickel converted into safety (who plays both in the box and deep, though he stayed deep most of the time with the Hawks). He helps depth at many positions and is a great leader and special teamer.
I like Homer too, but the cap hit to keep him would have been $1.75M. This just wasn’t in the cards. Also, my take is that PCJS would really like to draft a Robert Turbin type who can spell Walker for an entire possession rather than just play in certain situations.
Think Seahawks will have to draft another day 3 RB.
I’m going to miss Travis Homer. No tears shed over losing Barton but I didn’t hate him. We were spoiled for a long time with lb play that was consistently somewhere between solid and elite.
I think the age, athleticism, and run stopping abilities of Reed and Dre Jones make the pair the better choice over Poona, QJeff, and Shelby Harris. AND they are probably better pass rushers, too. I like the direction JS is taking us, but that has been his M.O. IMO. They have really addressed key spots, so far, that will be an improvement over last year even if, like you said above, they get no help from the draft. So, they can afford to take shots on guys who may be higher risk like Jalen Carter, or a guy who might hit enough to relegate one of the FA guys to a smaller role. A++ for the job done, so far.
That said, I give them an A+ for their tenure, so far, too. I have never been more proud to be a 12. JSPC have really built a "program" like PC has said since he arrived. It is one that makes players want to come to and stay in. They treat people well, and that is important to me for my support.
Penny being healthy is the biggest "if" I have seen in a long while, but I think the depth at RB he provided is the biggest loss so far
Yes, it's a great tenure, Shaymus!
Penny needed to leave. He only has one chance left, and it's amazing he is still the running threat he ever was and not diminished from his injuries. This latest one may have diminished him and even if he is ready to get paid for running doesn't mean he will avoid small injuries like he did the last time during his first year back. So, for the Seahawks' sake, I wanted him back, but I figure Pete told him to leave for his own sake. A new start. No bad mojo around.
That's why I chose Muse. I want him back to see if he can put up some more 85 PFF grades for pass defense.
As for Geno, his contract was an A+++. You needed more categories for A. Because compared to just an A for Geno, none of the other contracts came close, and grading on a curve C would be the best grade I would give, but grading on a curve SUCKS. So I gave A's to the entire off season so far.
Yeah, Geno's contract is unbelievable.
I believe Muse can still return. I expect hm to actually.
Same here. It would have cost $2.627M to use the least-expensive RFA tender on him and I can understand why JSPC didn't see that as a good choice. My guess is that he'll test the market and then come back and sign a 2/$4M deal with us (give or take a little bit)
I agree about Geno's contract. I don't think there's any way it could have been better.
Theoretically, Rashaad is the biggest loss. I've had a lot emotionally invested in him (relative to the universe of professional running backs.) I'd love to see him run for 2000 yards. But I'm afraid the nagging prosisitis will send him to IR before six games are done.
Travis Homer is a mensch and good luck to him in Chicago where they will appreciate that. We can replace him as he replaced J.D. McKissick, another good guy who did well elsewhere.
We can also replace Cody. He has a great linebacker stare. I hope it translates into a better career with the Commodores. I did that on purpose. I assume Ron Rivera sees something in him. Is there a Seaside Joe post that explains the nickname "Moons?" I assumed it was short for "Morons," but maybe not.
I don't know what post the name originated with, but one day I was randomly thinking of what might make a good general team name. I'm a big fan of the moon. Then I realized that there's an NBA team named Suns and nobody complains about that name, it seems to work and have a nice ring to it, so why not honor the moon with a pro team? It isn't being used anywhere that I know of and I think it's a fairly simple straightforward and good name for a team that honors one of nature's greatest gifts to humanity: The Moon.
Then when it comes to the Commanders, I just think it's a stupid name that sucks. So if they can choose a stupid name that sucks, why can't I replace it, especially since it seems like really nobody is using it. I still see "Washington football team" all the time. Commanders sucks. So I prefer Moons. That's about it haha.
Thanks for that info! It does accurately describe an organization that could easily be mistaken for a Semi-Pro one, as I'm sure all the Will Farrell fans out there would agree.
Thanks so much for the explanation, Ken. I now see that you're a wholesome young man and were not thinking, at least consciously, of the kind of moons that flash, though they've been treating their fan base like that for some time.
"I'm a big fan of the moon." ... me too.
I liked "The Football Team" way better than the Commanders.
I would have honored Football Team if they had kept it.
Or FT which could also be Fungible Token or Fungus for short.
As a new subsriber, I was wondering the same about the moniker "moons"
I am not sure Ken has ever explained the Moons moniker fully. I have always assumed (given ownership) it is was short for, as Bugs would say "Maroons".
I think it was his funniest name of the ones he thought of that were still better than Commandos.