Sorry but have to disagree with Andrew. Yes there are players that are 4-5 times better than the others. Case in point. Leonard Williams basically by himself is better than even the collective of Austin Faiolli (sp), Myles Adams, Mario Edwards, Mike Morris, Cameron Young, and Mone. Always? No. Generally, stars are stars due to just clearly being that much better than those behind them. We love underdogs but who remembers the receivers behind Largent or Baldwin?
Thanks for taking my question, and for an answer which clarifies. I had not factored in cap considerations when thinking about the many teams which objectively need QBs: In current draft order: Las Vegas, NYGiants (they both get theirs, I suppose), Tennessee (maybe? I still want Levis to succeed), Cleveland (gawd), the Jets (he can't be coming back, can he?), New Orleans, possibly Miami (probably not, but the concussions), possibly Indianapolis if they can't figure out how to develop Richardson, possibly Dallas. This suggests two things: First, one or more of these teams may draft a developmental QB this season they might otherwise pass on, and hope to get lucky; Second, it may be even harder for the 'Hawks to draft a QB (without tanking) in '26, no matter how deep the class goes, and apparently a bunch of potential picks are going back to school. NIL money and good counsel. Fine, so what to do? Maybe we, too, draft a QB on day three? And maybe we try to make trades so as to build up draft capital for '26. And almost certainly I don't know jack.
I would applaud if the team responded to pressure from the fans, possibly for reasons others might not be thinking about, but crowd sourcing is becoming a legitimate form or analytics. I can think of two times crowd sourcing could have made a huge difference to this team. Humphrey at Center would have been the choice one year, and Watt would have been the choice another year. Both players had near unanimous support from fans. Both are all pros.
I'd love to hear John Schneider say he uses crowd sourcing as a part of his overall strategy. Maybe he wouldn't want to admit it publicly, but I sure hope he is paying attention to all the details.
Good chart here on turnover worthy plays. Geno is one of the least risky QBs in the NFL. The high amount of interceptions is unlucky and will likely correct itself moving forward:
I get this column is in response to questions. And I LOVE that Joe does this.
However this season isn’t over. I’m fully engaged in THIS season. I’ll worry about next year after the playoffs (🤞) or at the end of the regular if no playoffs. If JS extends a player before the end of the season, cool.
Bring on the Vikings. Let them burn their long boats on the shore of Puget Sound. After the Hawks victory, we’ll light a nice funeral pyre.
Could not agree more. I can’t believe we watched Howell play and the consensus isn’t: dang Geno is really good for the situation he is in.
I think that people just hold onto their priors and refuse to change their opinion. Whatever they thought prior to 2022 about Geno is still what they think now despite all the evidence to the contrary
If you go by pass and run block win rates, our line is not as bad as we SSJ commenters suppose. We’re 17th in pass blocking inclusive of the games started by Stone Forsyth. While we’re 28th in run blocking, the win rate (69%) is not that far off the top team (Washington at 75%). I’m not saying that the line doesn’t need upgrading, but it seems clear that the issue runs deeper than that.
I saw your comment above and had to look it up. It is correct and very surprising. Although I think their pressure rate numbers are worse.
Not sure exactly what to make of it. But it is interesting. My immediate reaction would be that the play caller doesn’t help the line which could be ok.
“ We could all agree in 2-3 years that Grubb turned out to be a bad NFL offensive coordinator or a good one, but that doesn’t make him responsible for who is on the roster or what John Schneider and Mike Macdonald are asking him to do with these players in 2024.”
True that Grubb is not responsible for the players. But, largely the same players under Pete Carroll and Shane Waldron led this team to a top 10 offense and a top 3 offense over the final 5 weeks of the season.
Waldron, someone who is already fired, had this offense as top 10 just last year with probably worse players.
It doesn’t mean that Grubb should be fired, but it is pretty clear that he has been significantly worse than an OC that has already been fired.
Poaching top college talent at a time of turmoil seemed like such a good idea to me that I ignored my own tenet that college football is equivalent to AA baseball and teams should be wary of lateral moves.
Haha … I did like the hire at the time. I will say my one issue was how was Grubb going to be able to transition from the best O line in the country to the Hawks.
I think we found the answer: not great.
I think Grubb will be very interesting with this upcoming offseason. I don’t know what will happen there
This is not a comment about joe but this is a good reminder that we will read and listen to a ton of Geno Smith will be traded/cut articles this offseason.
The NFL is like a broken record. Every offseason for almost every team - bloggers, talking heads, comment boards will all talk about getting a new shiny QB and ditching the old one.
2022: Seahawks will sign Baker or Watson because they can’t be serious starting Geno or Lock
Dead wrong
2023: Geno has a better season than 2022. JS said it was similar but to each their own. All offseason we heard Geno will be traded, Geno will be cut. What happened? Seahawks never even blinked. Geno was paid out his roster bonus early and nothing remotely close happened to him
dead wrong again.
2024?: I am sure we will hear more of the same things. We know that Geno will almost assuredly hold out. And I maintain that it is still the most likely scenario that he is extended
Little more uncertain than last year but still most likely extended imo
To be clear this comment is not about Joe it is about NFL communities in general. Read an eagles blog, they are ready to kick hurts out of town and they are in first place!
Not having a trade partner is a good thing for the team. That means that he is unlikely to have strong demand for his services that will keep his contract low. This is part of the upside to finding discarded gems like Baker and Geno. They are cheaper than others even after showing their skills.
I maintain $35M-$40M with incentives. 2 year extension (essentially 3-year deal) will be structured same as the last deal.
If the V8kings are dumb enough to let Darnold go to be replaced by a boom or bust rookie McCarthy, we should sign Darnold asap. He's young and looks like he's figured how to win in the NFL.
Richardson is inaccurate, makes horrible decisions, and has " Happy Feet" in the pocket. I can't believe Indy drafted him in the 1st round! He's Fields 2.0.
Darnold signed a $10M / 1 yr deal. So he will be a free agent and they aren’t going to franchise tag him. Darnold isn’t going to resign as a back up, which means he only stays if they promise him the starting role and pay him as a starting QB. I don’t see them doing that after drafting JJ.
I wouldn't be so sure. When things are working Owners/GMs heavily favour sticking the course. They could definitely get Darold on a very team friendly deal with very few guarantees beyond 2025 (i.e. the Geno/Mayfield redemption contracts). It would make sense, keep the hot arm on board and give JJ all the time to recover and then get up to speed (yes he can be reading the playbook but he's lost an entire year of physical practice which is crucial).
Plus in that scenario Darnold would also be extremely tradable if he falls off or JJ usurps him, maintaining his chances at starting QB ball.
You could be right, but if I’m Darnold and get a big contract offer, why would I accept a team friendly deal without a no trade clause and give away control. It only takes one team, and the Browns, Steelers, Saints or Seahawks are all in need of a long term QB option. He is already playing on a redemption contract and has proven himself. He isn’t the guy who will put a team in his back. However if he has a solid team around him, he can get it done and is accurate and protects the ball.
One other comment specifically on the Geno point: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Let Geno go, and you join the OMG what do we do now gang.
IMHO: focus on the OL and the defense. The rest will come to you. Geno with another 0.5 secs is better than average, for sure
This is why I don’t see Seattle releasing Geno. Also, as bad as the cap situation is next year, it’s very favorable in 2026. So why not stick with Geno another year? It’s not like there’s a realistic alternative.
That Carroll comment is pretty funny. That ownership cares too much about social media. Well…couldn’t you argue that your results determine your social media to a great extent?
Without having done ANY research on this, I would hypothesize that the small market Chiefs have better and more engaged social media than the small market Seahawks, and that the small market Seahawks have better and more engaged social media than the small market Panthers.
I am concerned that the leadership and comradery DK brings to the team would be a great loss at this point in time. Too many changes at once in places that matter. This DK as a decoy ploy is great for JSN and fun for the fans, but how long before DK says enough is enough, he wants to play. As long as Russell Wilson is still starting QB anywhere, DK will be secure in having a place to go where he knows he will be the feature receiver. Maybe the strategy is to use him as a decoy long enough to stop the opposing teams from covering him with such a priority focus. I will hate to see him in any other uniform.
Is DK a DeKoy though? While opposing defenses have to account for DK, JSN’s production is “earned “ in that he is getting open enough for Geno to get the ball to him and he is making plays.
DK’s production is down partly due to injury and partly due to not making plays when they are available.
DK would love to be isolated in the end zone with 1:1 coverage by the slot corner. We kind of sneered at his 55-yd TD on a busted coverage—this pass was even easier:
Yeah I don’t know either but if I try to put myself in Grubb’s position, do I trust DK to win on a 50/50 ball more than I do JSN? If I need a first down play I am looking for JSN.
I see a big difference between the coverage since DK is kept to the outside and opposition knows it. Grubb is new. Coaches, like teachers and bosses don’t always have receptive people to their guidance or styles. It takes time for trust and confidence to be established after changes happen. Grubb is learning along with Mike Mac and the team. I drifted off DK there, sorry! 😁
I can easily see a Geno trade scenario - in August, for a 7th, because we found out in camp he was cooked, our newly drafted Ewers is a good player, and another team needs a late day vet to step in.
Now the Ewers part could (should) happen as we use this final Geno year to actually establish a succession plan at QB. That Geno flops around in camp could easily happen. The sticking point is another team needing to panic buy in August.
Geno can ride a bench in 2025 behind our new guy, idc. I just want, by the end of August, to see what the future plan is at QB. We've been treading water since 2022, and now with a new coach it can't keep going on.
I heard somewhere that Ewers was being counseled to take a grad season somewhere new to improve his stock for '26, but won't make that decision until his season is over. Or until the rules say he has to. The only way we think about starting Howell, based on what we know now (which will change) is if we mean to tank '25 to get a lottery pick in '26. imho
I hope Ewers doesn't do that but it's a scenario we do need to get used to with NiL in play. He'd be much better served spending the year as backup on an NFL team (still making more than 95% of people, in case anyone forgets when we talk about money for players they are all still in that elite echelon of society).
It's also not a guaranteed tank. The talk this season is identical to that when we were trading RW. Geno guaranteed failure, we'll be the worst team in the NFL, his sub appearances were terrible, Lock is a proven failure on his one prior bad team, all hope is lost if we change so we should stick with the option that is also not working.
It's the NFL. Oh no, we'll miss the playoffs again. Better to swing and miss than sit around being mediocre and still missing just less spectacularly. This team has done nothing at QB since 2012 and hasn't been a threat since 2016. Time to do something, risk something, because in the NFL there is no real penalty for trying.
“If nothing else, I think the Seahawks might do something there just to appease the fans and while I don’t know if that’s the right process, it could produce better results.”
If you could, you’d keep Geno and build the offensive line through the draft… DK, gone; Tyler, gone. You need other weapons to throw to, and JSN has been made way better through the DK decoy, but Geno with just a little bit more time, can be effective. I do think Grubb will improve. Right now he’s astonishingly predictable, but this also could be Geno checking to plays that he trusts, because it’s impossible to trust the five guys in front of him. So I’m sure he’s seeing the defense showing a look that leads to checks that in turn, lead to predictably. You don’t know what the initial play was. Essentially there are more variables than known outputs. One variable we do know about is that whatever the play is the line cannot block. If that’s the broken toy you’re given and you’re Grubb, you’re constantly screwed no matter how well you drew it up. The bomb blows up on the first play of a series. Or the second, or the fourth.
Rolling another season forward with Geno and a better line but no DK doesn’t sound sexy but just imagine if Seattle averaged even mid-NFL gains on first and second down runs? Just imagine if Geno averaged .75 more seconds of protection? What we keep seeing across the NFL is that not amazing wideouts and RBs succeed when the line play produces holes and time. Brock Purdy isn’t amazing. He’s just ok. Which is why you’re seeing so much regression this year, because suddenly he’s playing behind a line nearly as busted as Seattle’s.
I don’t know what 2026 holds for QBs out of the draft, but my guess is it’s less dire than 2025. Even if you regress even further next season, with the same amount of wins or fewer but core elements in place, that’s probably the most realistic path. Then a big jump forward the following year. We’ve seen the parts bin approach. It doesn’t work, which is why Seattle has the ignominious crown of being meh season after season. The Steelers are just a shade better and get to the playoffs consistently—then stall. Even that would be an improvement, but it would be preferable to actually take two steps back to get to three steps forward.
Hmmm. You raise a valid concern: Are teams figgering what Geno will revert a play to or what Grubb is calling? Is that the common denominator that results in sad OLine performance ("Oh Shit. Not this again...)?
FWIW, Seattle is 17th in pass block win rate, including games started by Stone (“Turnstile”) Forsyth. While they’re 28th in run block win rate (69%), the top-ranked line (Washington) is at 75%. I’m not sure that blocking explains everything.
I agree that Geno is pretty much untradeable which means he will be released prior to the roster bonus coming due if that is the direction that the Seahawks go. The D is well on its way to being fixed, it is time to rebuild the offense around a core of JSN, Cross, Lucas*, K9, and Charbs. Everyone else is upgradable, but Olu, Barner, and Haynes are all cheap and in development.
Sorry but have to disagree with Andrew. Yes there are players that are 4-5 times better than the others. Case in point. Leonard Williams basically by himself is better than even the collective of Austin Faiolli (sp), Myles Adams, Mario Edwards, Mike Morris, Cameron Young, and Mone. Always? No. Generally, stars are stars due to just clearly being that much better than those behind them. We love underdogs but who remembers the receivers behind Largent or Baldwin?
Thanks for taking my question, and for an answer which clarifies. I had not factored in cap considerations when thinking about the many teams which objectively need QBs: In current draft order: Las Vegas, NYGiants (they both get theirs, I suppose), Tennessee (maybe? I still want Levis to succeed), Cleveland (gawd), the Jets (he can't be coming back, can he?), New Orleans, possibly Miami (probably not, but the concussions), possibly Indianapolis if they can't figure out how to develop Richardson, possibly Dallas. This suggests two things: First, one or more of these teams may draft a developmental QB this season they might otherwise pass on, and hope to get lucky; Second, it may be even harder for the 'Hawks to draft a QB (without tanking) in '26, no matter how deep the class goes, and apparently a bunch of potential picks are going back to school. NIL money and good counsel. Fine, so what to do? Maybe we, too, draft a QB on day three? And maybe we try to make trades so as to build up draft capital for '26. And almost certainly I don't know jack.
I would applaud if the team responded to pressure from the fans, possibly for reasons others might not be thinking about, but crowd sourcing is becoming a legitimate form or analytics. I can think of two times crowd sourcing could have made a huge difference to this team. Humphrey at Center would have been the choice one year, and Watt would have been the choice another year. Both players had near unanimous support from fans. Both are all pros.
I'd love to hear John Schneider say he uses crowd sourcing as a part of his overall strategy. Maybe he wouldn't want to admit it publicly, but I sure hope he is paying attention to all the details.
Good chart here on turnover worthy plays. Geno is one of the least risky QBs in the NFL. The high amount of interceptions is unlucky and will likely correct itself moving forward:
https://x.com/acccountstat/status/1870288946862928093?s=46&t=GOr4QVtKtJ8ZabyL8K_o7Q
I get this column is in response to questions. And I LOVE that Joe does this.
However this season isn’t over. I’m fully engaged in THIS season. I’ll worry about next year after the playoffs (🤞) or at the end of the regular if no playoffs. If JS extends a player before the end of the season, cool.
Bring on the Vikings. Let them burn their long boats on the shore of Puget Sound. After the Hawks victory, we’ll light a nice funeral pyre.
Absolutely love this comment.
I’m fired up for the game tomorrow! Let’s win the next three and roll into the playoffs hot!
Never know what can happen in the playoffs
Did everyone see Howell on Sunday?? Judging by the desire to jettison Geno it makes me wonder what folks have in mind as a replacement/upgrade🤔
Upgrade oline and I think Geno will perform better just like every other good qb behind a decent/good line.
Careful what you wish for…there are ALOT of worse quarterbacks in the league imo.
Excited for tomorrow… I think we’re gonna be pleasantly surprised🥳
YES!
Could not agree more. I can’t believe we watched Howell play and the consensus isn’t: dang Geno is really good for the situation he is in.
I think that people just hold onto their priors and refuse to change their opinion. Whatever they thought prior to 2022 about Geno is still what they think now despite all the evidence to the contrary
If you go by pass and run block win rates, our line is not as bad as we SSJ commenters suppose. We’re 17th in pass blocking inclusive of the games started by Stone Forsyth. While we’re 28th in run blocking, the win rate (69%) is not that far off the top team (Washington at 75%). I’m not saying that the line doesn’t need upgrading, but it seems clear that the issue runs deeper than that.
I saw your comment above and had to look it up. It is correct and very surprising. Although I think their pressure rate numbers are worse.
Not sure exactly what to make of it. But it is interesting. My immediate reaction would be that the play caller doesn’t help the line which could be ok.
“ We could all agree in 2-3 years that Grubb turned out to be a bad NFL offensive coordinator or a good one, but that doesn’t make him responsible for who is on the roster or what John Schneider and Mike Macdonald are asking him to do with these players in 2024.”
True that Grubb is not responsible for the players. But, largely the same players under Pete Carroll and Shane Waldron led this team to a top 10 offense and a top 3 offense over the final 5 weeks of the season.
Waldron, someone who is already fired, had this offense as top 10 just last year with probably worse players.
It doesn’t mean that Grubb should be fired, but it is pretty clear that he has been significantly worse than an OC that has already been fired.
Poaching top college talent at a time of turmoil seemed like such a good idea to me that I ignored my own tenet that college football is equivalent to AA baseball and teams should be wary of lateral moves.
Haha … I did like the hire at the time. I will say my one issue was how was Grubb going to be able to transition from the best O line in the country to the Hawks.
I think we found the answer: not great.
I think Grubb will be very interesting with this upcoming offseason. I don’t know what will happen there
This is not a comment about joe but this is a good reminder that we will read and listen to a ton of Geno Smith will be traded/cut articles this offseason.
The NFL is like a broken record. Every offseason for almost every team - bloggers, talking heads, comment boards will all talk about getting a new shiny QB and ditching the old one.
2022: Seahawks will sign Baker or Watson because they can’t be serious starting Geno or Lock
Dead wrong
2023: Geno has a better season than 2022. JS said it was similar but to each their own. All offseason we heard Geno will be traded, Geno will be cut. What happened? Seahawks never even blinked. Geno was paid out his roster bonus early and nothing remotely close happened to him
dead wrong again.
2024?: I am sure we will hear more of the same things. We know that Geno will almost assuredly hold out. And I maintain that it is still the most likely scenario that he is extended
Little more uncertain than last year but still most likely extended imo
To be clear this comment is not about Joe it is about NFL communities in general. Read an eagles blog, they are ready to kick hurts out of town and they are in first place!
Not having a trade partner is a good thing for the team. That means that he is unlikely to have strong demand for his services that will keep his contract low. This is part of the upside to finding discarded gems like Baker and Geno. They are cheaper than others even after showing their skills.
I maintain $35M-$40M with incentives. 2 year extension (essentially 3-year deal) will be structured same as the last deal.
If the V8kings are dumb enough to let Darnold go to be replaced by a boom or bust rookie McCarthy, we should sign Darnold asap. He's young and looks like he's figured how to win in the NFL.
Richardson is inaccurate, makes horrible decisions, and has " Happy Feet" in the pocket. I can't believe Indy drafted him in the 1st round! He's Fields 2.0.
Darnold signed a $10M / 1 yr deal. So he will be a free agent and they aren’t going to franchise tag him. Darnold isn’t going to resign as a back up, which means he only stays if they promise him the starting role and pay him as a starting QB. I don’t see them doing that after drafting JJ.
I wouldn't be so sure. When things are working Owners/GMs heavily favour sticking the course. They could definitely get Darold on a very team friendly deal with very few guarantees beyond 2025 (i.e. the Geno/Mayfield redemption contracts). It would make sense, keep the hot arm on board and give JJ all the time to recover and then get up to speed (yes he can be reading the playbook but he's lost an entire year of physical practice which is crucial).
Plus in that scenario Darnold would also be extremely tradable if he falls off or JJ usurps him, maintaining his chances at starting QB ball.
You could be right, but if I’m Darnold and get a big contract offer, why would I accept a team friendly deal without a no trade clause and give away control. It only takes one team, and the Browns, Steelers, Saints or Seahawks are all in need of a long term QB option. He is already playing on a redemption contract and has proven himself. He isn’t the guy who will put a team in his back. However if he has a solid team around him, he can get it done and is accurate and protects the ball.
One other comment specifically on the Geno point: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Let Geno go, and you join the OMG what do we do now gang.
IMHO: focus on the OL and the defense. The rest will come to you. Geno with another 0.5 secs is better than average, for sure
This is why I don’t see Seattle releasing Geno. Also, as bad as the cap situation is next year, it’s very favorable in 2026. So why not stick with Geno another year? It’s not like there’s a realistic alternative.
That Carroll comment is pretty funny. That ownership cares too much about social media. Well…couldn’t you argue that your results determine your social media to a great extent?
Without having done ANY research on this, I would hypothesize that the small market Chiefs have better and more engaged social media than the small market Seahawks, and that the small market Seahawks have better and more engaged social media than the small market Panthers.
I am concerned that the leadership and comradery DK brings to the team would be a great loss at this point in time. Too many changes at once in places that matter. This DK as a decoy ploy is great for JSN and fun for the fans, but how long before DK says enough is enough, he wants to play. As long as Russell Wilson is still starting QB anywhere, DK will be secure in having a place to go where he knows he will be the feature receiver. Maybe the strategy is to use him as a decoy long enough to stop the opposing teams from covering him with such a priority focus. I will hate to see him in any other uniform.
Is DK a DeKoy though? While opposing defenses have to account for DK, JSN’s production is “earned “ in that he is getting open enough for Geno to get the ball to him and he is making plays.
DK’s production is down partly due to injury and partly due to not making plays when they are available.
DK would love to be isolated in the end zone with 1:1 coverage by the slot corner. We kind of sneered at his 55-yd TD on a busted coverage—this pass was even easier:
https://youtu.be/wzsFC0-GWhw?si=q-rNQpT1zDnr5t4m
LOL - I don't know, I'm not privy to coach decisions but I'm repeating what announcers have said. LOL
Yeah I don’t know either but if I try to put myself in Grubb’s position, do I trust DK to win on a 50/50 ball more than I do JSN? If I need a first down play I am looking for JSN.
I see a big difference between the coverage since DK is kept to the outside and opposition knows it. Grubb is new. Coaches, like teachers and bosses don’t always have receptive people to their guidance or styles. It takes time for trust and confidence to be established after changes happen. Grubb is learning along with Mike Mac and the team. I drifted off DK there, sorry! 😁
True, and it has taken a while to figure out how to best utilize JSN too. That looks like it is happening.
I can easily see a Geno trade scenario - in August, for a 7th, because we found out in camp he was cooked, our newly drafted Ewers is a good player, and another team needs a late day vet to step in.
Now the Ewers part could (should) happen as we use this final Geno year to actually establish a succession plan at QB. That Geno flops around in camp could easily happen. The sticking point is another team needing to panic buy in August.
Geno can ride a bench in 2025 behind our new guy, idc. I just want, by the end of August, to see what the future plan is at QB. We've been treading water since 2022, and now with a new coach it can't keep going on.
Yes draft Ewers in the 2nd round. Play Howell next year but cut Geno to conserve cap and get the upgrades on offense that are needed.
Howell at worst is a much cheaper Geno.
I heard somewhere that Ewers was being counseled to take a grad season somewhere new to improve his stock for '26, but won't make that decision until his season is over. Or until the rules say he has to. The only way we think about starting Howell, based on what we know now (which will change) is if we mean to tank '25 to get a lottery pick in '26. imho
I hope Ewers doesn't do that but it's a scenario we do need to get used to with NiL in play. He'd be much better served spending the year as backup on an NFL team (still making more than 95% of people, in case anyone forgets when we talk about money for players they are all still in that elite echelon of society).
It's also not a guaranteed tank. The talk this season is identical to that when we were trading RW. Geno guaranteed failure, we'll be the worst team in the NFL, his sub appearances were terrible, Lock is a proven failure on his one prior bad team, all hope is lost if we change so we should stick with the option that is also not working.
It's the NFL. Oh no, we'll miss the playoffs again. Better to swing and miss than sit around being mediocre and still missing just less spectacularly. This team has done nothing at QB since 2012 and hasn't been a threat since 2016. Time to do something, risk something, because in the NFL there is no real penalty for trying.
“If nothing else, I think the Seahawks might do something there just to appease the fans and while I don’t know if that’s the right process, it could produce better results.”
If you could, you’d keep Geno and build the offensive line through the draft… DK, gone; Tyler, gone. You need other weapons to throw to, and JSN has been made way better through the DK decoy, but Geno with just a little bit more time, can be effective. I do think Grubb will improve. Right now he’s astonishingly predictable, but this also could be Geno checking to plays that he trusts, because it’s impossible to trust the five guys in front of him. So I’m sure he’s seeing the defense showing a look that leads to checks that in turn, lead to predictably. You don’t know what the initial play was. Essentially there are more variables than known outputs. One variable we do know about is that whatever the play is the line cannot block. If that’s the broken toy you’re given and you’re Grubb, you’re constantly screwed no matter how well you drew it up. The bomb blows up on the first play of a series. Or the second, or the fourth.
Rolling another season forward with Geno and a better line but no DK doesn’t sound sexy but just imagine if Seattle averaged even mid-NFL gains on first and second down runs? Just imagine if Geno averaged .75 more seconds of protection? What we keep seeing across the NFL is that not amazing wideouts and RBs succeed when the line play produces holes and time. Brock Purdy isn’t amazing. He’s just ok. Which is why you’re seeing so much regression this year, because suddenly he’s playing behind a line nearly as busted as Seattle’s.
I don’t know what 2026 holds for QBs out of the draft, but my guess is it’s less dire than 2025. Even if you regress even further next season, with the same amount of wins or fewer but core elements in place, that’s probably the most realistic path. Then a big jump forward the following year. We’ve seen the parts bin approach. It doesn’t work, which is why Seattle has the ignominious crown of being meh season after season. The Steelers are just a shade better and get to the playoffs consistently—then stall. Even that would be an improvement, but it would be preferable to actually take two steps back to get to three steps forward.
Hmmm. You raise a valid concern: Are teams figgering what Geno will revert a play to or what Grubb is calling? Is that the common denominator that results in sad OLine performance ("Oh Shit. Not this again...)?
Great questions. I tend to think things are complicated, so I gravitate to some of all three.
FWIW, Seattle is 17th in pass block win rate, including games started by Stone (“Turnstile”) Forsyth. While they’re 28th in run block win rate (69%), the top-ranked line (Washington) is at 75%. I’m not sure that blocking explains everything.
75 seconds seems like a very long time on the clock.
I agree that Geno is pretty much untradeable which means he will be released prior to the roster bonus coming due if that is the direction that the Seahawks go. The D is well on its way to being fixed, it is time to rebuild the offense around a core of JSN, Cross, Lucas*, K9, and Charbs. Everyone else is upgradable, but Olu, Barner, and Haynes are all cheap and in development.
*Health permitting