Nov 12, 2022·edited Nov 12, 2022Liked by Seaside Joe
Man, Budda should have been flagged on the Walker touchdown. Led with his helmet. I'm hoping Walker wasn't hurt.
It's worth noting that in that play where Parkinson lays down a great block for Walker, Fant's guy manages to pull away and make the tackle. In fairness, Fant had to hold his block longer and he did some other outstanding things in that game.
Was Lock really just a covid diagnosis away from being the starter? Carroll has said Geno led from the start of camp. At the time, I thought he was spewing nonsense but now I tend to think he was being honest. We know Lock has the tools to be a great QB and he'll show flashes of that, but learning to control one's bad instincts takes time. When he finally got his chance, he showed us what happens under stress during a game. Same as Denver fans had been posting. Hopefully Carroll can break him of those bad habits but I question whether it could have happened so fast. Perhaps we'll see him get another chance next season. Particularly if some team is more willing to pay for Geno than Carroll and Schneider.
I recall Denver fans mostly praising Harris. Many referred to him as the one played they'd have preferred to have kept. No one seemed attached to Fant or Lock. They seemed particularly frustrated with Lock. That was my sense of things. On the play in the video, he looked like Aaron Donald.
I know a guy who's going to the game tomorrow in Munich. Managed to get a ticket with a 140 euro face value for 250 euros because he snagged it from a friend of a friend. Friends of friends is a big thing in Europe. They'll invite you to dinner, give you a place to stay, and sometimes a good deal on a football ticket. The seat next to his was resold on ebay for 500 euros. In case you had doubts about German fanaticism. Just glad that they, like we Americans, are mostly channeling it into sports these days.
This is exactly how I saw the Smith/Lock competition this summer. Because it was an honest competition to be won in camp, and the winner and 'loser' would only be better from competing, Lock had a huge hill to climb to beat out Smith. His completion percentage on the field would have been proof for us and the media, but how it was handled in-house, on the field, by texting, and other ways we don't see, Smith was in control just like Pete said.
That said, Lock is a number 1 in their eyes. He can start and run this team just like Geno did last year. The Pittsburgh game they didn't have time to put in a plan that wasn't Russell. Plus, you had Russ out in the end zone before the game taking Phantom snaps saying, 'this is my team.' And it was on the road. AND, in the second half, Geno looked good until the fumble.
Game 2 was a weather mess, and they were still on Russ' system. By game 3, they had installed a a Waldron system that Geno ran. He was amazing. Just like he's playing right now. Making all the throws, commanding the offense, getting to the line, scoring points.
But on Seahawks boards, when I've brought it up (not here), it's been poo-pooed because it was 'just' the Jags. Who had just beat the Bills, competed hard in other games, and were at their point of their season. And Geno went through them like a hot knife through butter.
When they decided to trade Russ, Pete knew from that game he could make it work with Geno. But when they traded for Lock, they got a guy better than ANYONE in this draft with on-field experience. The best of all worlds for a staff that was not in rebuild mode.
I believe they feel way ahead of the game right now with both Smith and Lock in place. The have two guys for which they can run the same Waldron system without disruption, two guys that buy into the 'whole team' concept, who love what's happening. Schneider's involved in it all and they're 'competing' about contracts right now. That's how competition works.
They can ride this Geno wave for the next 3 years if he wants to, and then have Drew ready to go for 3 or 4 more if he's onboard.
They won't have to draft a QB with any of the 1st or 2nd round picks unless someone just blows them away.
And this is happening at QB while their best draft class ever is just getting the program down. And next year they'd only need to hit 50% on the draft and they're one of the best teams in the league--just like they are now. It's the best situation right now.
Interestingly, the best thing that happened to Lock's career was to become backup to Geno Smith, a former second rounder with lots of arm talent, decent mobility, but overconfident, just like him.
If Geno can play at this high level, Lock should be able to do the same if he puts the necessary work towards it.
I can't find it, and already posted a quote by Pete on my last post, but there's a quote from Iowa when Noah showed up from George Kittles that Noah was going to be the best...or something like that.
All three are so important. Gotta find a way to keep them, but, more importantly, gotta keep them involved and getting better each week.
They're a key to our Super Bowl run...lol.
There were a lot of complaints about the Dissley signing this summer. Thankfully, ALL that stuff has calmed down.
Harris sling with the Woods resigning was when I started looking at the Seahawks as a threat. I thought if they could get interior pressure, allowing their Edges to get after it, and Penny and Walker running, that either Smith or Lock could make the necessary throws.
I watched film on Harris in Denver, and he showed up as much as anyone. Machines is glad he's gone.
The formula's working. Can't imagine how good Seattle would be with a healthy Penny.
I’m not so sure that they’ll draft a QB at all. I’ll look to whether the Hawks keep Lock. We don’t have a window into Lock’s continuing development--resigning him may well signal that PCJS don’t think they can improve on Lock in the draft.
Good point. The significant improvement in the play of Geno after years of studying, demonstrates the benefit of not giving up on guys with arm talent. Drew has arm talent. Still, I late round QB you can stash on the practice squad or compete with Drew might be the best approach. Grayson in the third?
Great points! Makes me think of something I heard recently (can’t remember where) that they were hypothesizing that talent is being forced to play too quickly. The lack of development before starting is causing a worse product on the field.
Maybe PC & Co have found the new QB arbitrage. Instead of low cost rookies, they find low cost back-ups that have the years of development, (assumed) low floor, but high ceiling. That’s essentially a rookie, but with years in NFL practices.
Parkinson does the dirty work. Ever since he wiffed on a Watt block, he has been lights out as a blocker. This entire team has bought in to the idea of working from snap to whistle. Everyone is willing to do the dirty work. Lewis is improving. I just hope Blythe can hold his own against Vita. Maybe we need to sell out to stop Vita. Use two OLmen on his every play?
My thinking (hoping?) is that when a team makes a deliberate decision to go with a smaller center, they also have some approach in mind for dealing with the Vitas of the league. I’m not saying that it will *work*, but whatever Waldron/Dickerson come with that is specific to Vita will augment a general strategy that they have already thought about.
What many fans fail to realize is that QB hits and sacks are the result of the defensive scheme and the personnel. That explains the difference in effectiveness between Harris as a Hawk versus a Bronco. It's still a team game.
I'm surprised to hear that you "discovered" Matty F Brown. I asked him on Twitter where he learned so much about tackle football scheme and formations but never got a reply. Much like I just realized Parkinson is a young 'un, Matty looks like a teenager. And here I am at 53 years old, Googling terminology he uses -and I played football K-12, and have watched more NFL games than months he's likely been alive. I was downright proud of him for his questions in the Pete Carroll presser. Any idea how old that young man is?
I know he did some coaching and I found him via Twitter. Maybe someone recommended him to me. That's around when I pulled in Matty, Ollie Connolly, and Sam Gold, who used to be just a Washington R- fan and now he's all about the Seahawks because I wanted him to make videos for us. But I think Sam hates this newsletter.
Since Kenneth & Matty left Field Gulls content has been surface level, little depth. Matty's X & O breakdowns were so good. Now that he’s on SI.com, the amount of distractions on the site make it hard to enjoy any content.
I wonder how much of it is actual decline and how much is just feeling differently because our favorites left? When Danny Kelly left for the Ringer, I was bummed. Then when Kenny had to go cover the Rams because of some new CA labor law, I was infuriated. I still really like Mookie, STUFR, and FTR, and there was another who I haven't seen in a while (name escapes me) who was becoming my favorite. The posters are ever evolving but lots of us have been there since before the Super Bowl. Though I probably post 10% as much as I used to, and lots of regular names seem to contribute less these days. The reason for me is that it got exhausting how some posters just couldn't let go that we kept Pete and Traded Russ. I won't go naming names, but it was downright nasty at times and I let it take away from my enjoyment of the site. And it was always boiled down to that simplistic take too: we chose Pete over Russ. Like there were only 2 options -one was fantastic and the other awful -and we made the horrible one. As if had we fired Pete and told Wilson that he could cook anything he wanted he would have been happy to stay and more championship years were all but guaranteed. I've seen it said on Twitter that folks on the internet should apologize to Pete Carroll. Fair enough but first they should apologize to all the other real people they treated poorly on the internet for the crime of having a different opinion. I suppose it should just feel good having been right and having a fun team to enjoy on Sundays again.
One thing I like about Seaside Joe is that it's just Ken. I suppose sites like FG are always going to have turnover in writers as well as users, just like the sports radio show lineups, right down to the team we follow. That doesn't mean we have to like every change, but they're the only constant, as they say.
I still read FG daily and I don’t think the change is just Kenny or the writers. I very much appreciate the team that puts in the elbow grease to pump out content.
What I’ve noticed seems to be macro level article structure changes. The article structure that typically align with SEO ranking - and tends to be repetitive. I imagine a lot of this comes down from the BR top.
I feel like the changes have taken out some of the writers personalities (not all of it, but a decent amount) and it also seems to have caused shorter articles with less technical detail.
I think what Kenny did bring was asking his writers to challenge assumptions. That lead to articles that would try and breakdown things differently (ie the original running backs don’t matter).
I still like FG content, but yeah, it used to be better. But there definitely remains some subject matter experts, like JPG (whom I love to hate) on cap space.
I’m thinking they ought to offer Geno an extension right now. Drafting somebody and hoping they will function nearly as well as Geno has, in the near future, is a huge gamble with long odds. Geno has earned a raise.
Man, Budda should have been flagged on the Walker touchdown. Led with his helmet. I'm hoping Walker wasn't hurt.
It's worth noting that in that play where Parkinson lays down a great block for Walker, Fant's guy manages to pull away and make the tackle. In fairness, Fant had to hold his block longer and he did some other outstanding things in that game.
Was Lock really just a covid diagnosis away from being the starter? Carroll has said Geno led from the start of camp. At the time, I thought he was spewing nonsense but now I tend to think he was being honest. We know Lock has the tools to be a great QB and he'll show flashes of that, but learning to control one's bad instincts takes time. When he finally got his chance, he showed us what happens under stress during a game. Same as Denver fans had been posting. Hopefully Carroll can break him of those bad habits but I question whether it could have happened so fast. Perhaps we'll see him get another chance next season. Particularly if some team is more willing to pay for Geno than Carroll and Schneider.
I recall Denver fans mostly praising Harris. Many referred to him as the one played they'd have preferred to have kept. No one seemed attached to Fant or Lock. They seemed particularly frustrated with Lock. That was my sense of things. On the play in the video, he looked like Aaron Donald.
I know a guy who's going to the game tomorrow in Munich. Managed to get a ticket with a 140 euro face value for 250 euros because he snagged it from a friend of a friend. Friends of friends is a big thing in Europe. They'll invite you to dinner, give you a place to stay, and sometimes a good deal on a football ticket. The seat next to his was resold on ebay for 500 euros. In case you had doubts about German fanaticism. Just glad that they, like we Americans, are mostly channeling it into sports these days.
This is exactly how I saw the Smith/Lock competition this summer. Because it was an honest competition to be won in camp, and the winner and 'loser' would only be better from competing, Lock had a huge hill to climb to beat out Smith. His completion percentage on the field would have been proof for us and the media, but how it was handled in-house, on the field, by texting, and other ways we don't see, Smith was in control just like Pete said.
That said, Lock is a number 1 in their eyes. He can start and run this team just like Geno did last year. The Pittsburgh game they didn't have time to put in a plan that wasn't Russell. Plus, you had Russ out in the end zone before the game taking Phantom snaps saying, 'this is my team.' And it was on the road. AND, in the second half, Geno looked good until the fumble.
Game 2 was a weather mess, and they were still on Russ' system. By game 3, they had installed a a Waldron system that Geno ran. He was amazing. Just like he's playing right now. Making all the throws, commanding the offense, getting to the line, scoring points.
But on Seahawks boards, when I've brought it up (not here), it's been poo-pooed because it was 'just' the Jags. Who had just beat the Bills, competed hard in other games, and were at their point of their season. And Geno went through them like a hot knife through butter.
When they decided to trade Russ, Pete knew from that game he could make it work with Geno. But when they traded for Lock, they got a guy better than ANYONE in this draft with on-field experience. The best of all worlds for a staff that was not in rebuild mode.
I believe they feel way ahead of the game right now with both Smith and Lock in place. The have two guys for which they can run the same Waldron system without disruption, two guys that buy into the 'whole team' concept, who love what's happening. Schneider's involved in it all and they're 'competing' about contracts right now. That's how competition works.
They can ride this Geno wave for the next 3 years if he wants to, and then have Drew ready to go for 3 or 4 more if he's onboard.
They won't have to draft a QB with any of the 1st or 2nd round picks unless someone just blows them away.
And this is happening at QB while their best draft class ever is just getting the program down. And next year they'd only need to hit 50% on the draft and they're one of the best teams in the league--just like they are now. It's the best situation right now.
Interestingly, the best thing that happened to Lock's career was to become backup to Geno Smith, a former second rounder with lots of arm talent, decent mobility, but overconfident, just like him.
If Geno can play at this high level, Lock should be able to do the same if he puts the necessary work towards it.
Hope it doesn't take him five more years to figure it out, which would approximately replicate Geno if I've got my dates right.
I can't find it, and already posted a quote by Pete on my last post, but there's a quote from Iowa when Noah showed up from George Kittles that Noah was going to be the best...or something like that.
All three are so important. Gotta find a way to keep them, but, more importantly, gotta keep them involved and getting better each week.
They're a key to our Super Bowl run...lol.
There were a lot of complaints about the Dissley signing this summer. Thankfully, ALL that stuff has calmed down.
Harris sling with the Woods resigning was when I started looking at the Seahawks as a threat. I thought if they could get interior pressure, allowing their Edges to get after it, and Penny and Walker running, that either Smith or Lock could make the necessary throws.
I watched film on Harris in Denver, and he showed up as much as anyone. Machines is glad he's gone.
The formula's working. Can't imagine how good Seattle would be with a healthy Penny.
I’m not so sure that they’ll draft a QB at all. I’ll look to whether the Hawks keep Lock. We don’t have a window into Lock’s continuing development--resigning him may well signal that PCJS don’t think they can improve on Lock in the draft.
Good point. The significant improvement in the play of Geno after years of studying, demonstrates the benefit of not giving up on guys with arm talent. Drew has arm talent. Still, I late round QB you can stash on the practice squad or compete with Drew might be the best approach. Grayson in the third?
Great points! Makes me think of something I heard recently (can’t remember where) that they were hypothesizing that talent is being forced to play too quickly. The lack of development before starting is causing a worse product on the field.
Maybe PC & Co have found the new QB arbitrage. Instead of low cost rookies, they find low cost back-ups that have the years of development, (assumed) low floor, but high ceiling. That’s essentially a rookie, but with years in NFL practices.
To me, R1-3 is where you look for starters. There’s such a bias toward big schools that they can probably get McCall in R4-6.
Parkinson does the dirty work. Ever since he wiffed on a Watt block, he has been lights out as a blocker. This entire team has bought in to the idea of working from snap to whistle. Everyone is willing to do the dirty work. Lewis is improving. I just hope Blythe can hold his own against Vita. Maybe we need to sell out to stop Vita. Use two OLmen on his every play?
My thinking (hoping?) is that when a team makes a deliberate decision to go with a smaller center, they also have some approach in mind for dealing with the Vitas of the league. I’m not saying that it will *work*, but whatever Waldron/Dickerson come with that is specific to Vita will augment a general strategy that they have already thought about.
What many fans fail to realize is that QB hits and sacks are the result of the defensive scheme and the personnel. That explains the difference in effectiveness between Harris as a Hawk versus a Bronco. It's still a team game.
I'm surprised to hear that you "discovered" Matty F Brown. I asked him on Twitter where he learned so much about tackle football scheme and formations but never got a reply. Much like I just realized Parkinson is a young 'un, Matty looks like a teenager. And here I am at 53 years old, Googling terminology he uses -and I played football K-12, and have watched more NFL games than months he's likely been alive. I was downright proud of him for his questions in the Pete Carroll presser. Any idea how old that young man is?
I know he did some coaching and I found him via Twitter. Maybe someone recommended him to me. That's around when I pulled in Matty, Ollie Connolly, and Sam Gold, who used to be just a Washington R- fan and now he's all about the Seahawks because I wanted him to make videos for us. But I think Sam hates this newsletter.
I wish I were 53.
Since Kenneth & Matty left Field Gulls content has been surface level, little depth. Matty's X & O breakdowns were so good. Now that he’s on SI.com, the amount of distractions on the site make it hard to enjoy any content.
I wonder how much of it is actual decline and how much is just feeling differently because our favorites left? When Danny Kelly left for the Ringer, I was bummed. Then when Kenny had to go cover the Rams because of some new CA labor law, I was infuriated. I still really like Mookie, STUFR, and FTR, and there was another who I haven't seen in a while (name escapes me) who was becoming my favorite. The posters are ever evolving but lots of us have been there since before the Super Bowl. Though I probably post 10% as much as I used to, and lots of regular names seem to contribute less these days. The reason for me is that it got exhausting how some posters just couldn't let go that we kept Pete and Traded Russ. I won't go naming names, but it was downright nasty at times and I let it take away from my enjoyment of the site. And it was always boiled down to that simplistic take too: we chose Pete over Russ. Like there were only 2 options -one was fantastic and the other awful -and we made the horrible one. As if had we fired Pete and told Wilson that he could cook anything he wanted he would have been happy to stay and more championship years were all but guaranteed. I've seen it said on Twitter that folks on the internet should apologize to Pete Carroll. Fair enough but first they should apologize to all the other real people they treated poorly on the internet for the crime of having a different opinion. I suppose it should just feel good having been right and having a fun team to enjoy on Sundays again.
One thing I like about Seaside Joe is that it's just Ken. I suppose sites like FG are always going to have turnover in writers as well as users, just like the sports radio show lineups, right down to the team we follow. That doesn't mean we have to like every change, but they're the only constant, as they say.
Interesting insights! Thanks!
I still read FG daily and I don’t think the change is just Kenny or the writers. I very much appreciate the team that puts in the elbow grease to pump out content.
What I’ve noticed seems to be macro level article structure changes. The article structure that typically align with SEO ranking - and tends to be repetitive. I imagine a lot of this comes down from the BR top.
I feel like the changes have taken out some of the writers personalities (not all of it, but a decent amount) and it also seems to have caused shorter articles with less technical detail.
I think what Kenny did bring was asking his writers to challenge assumptions. That lead to articles that would try and breakdown things differently (ie the original running backs don’t matter).
I appreciate it!
I still like FG content, but yeah, it used to be better. But there definitely remains some subject matter experts, like JPG (whom I love to hate) on cap space.
If Parkinson continues to raise his stock, then perhaps Fant becomes the gift that keeps on giving as we turn him into future draft capitol next year.
I don't think we can keep Harris at that price and still do the other things we'll want to do. But who knows?
I’m thinking they ought to offer Geno an extension right now. Drafting somebody and hoping they will function nearly as well as Geno has, in the near future, is a huge gamble with long odds. Geno has earned a raise.