Shore Things: The number one thing Pete Carroll loves about Julian Love
Plus Will Levis's strange photos, Geno is the most stable QB in the NFC West, and why didn't Anthony Richardson bet on himself? 3/29/2023
The Seattle Seahawks signed former Giants defensive back Julian Love a two-year, $12 million contract this month, but it could end up being one of those short-term deals that turns into a long-term relationship. Though it’s only been a couple of weeks since the agreement, the way that Pete Carroll talks about Love gives me similar vibes to when Seattle saw an opportunity to grab defensive players like Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, and Quandre Diggs on a discount and felt that they just needed to get them in the building when the chance arose…and then they know they can re-visit the contract in a year or two when it becomes necessary.
Yes, Pete likes Love because of the versatility that he will bring to the secondary after playing 1,006 snaps on Wink Martindale’s defense in New York last season. No, the Seahawks do not plan to part with Jamal Adams this year. Yes, I believe Pete when he says that Love, Adams, and Diggs could be on the field together for a much higher percentage of snaps than anticipated.
But that may not be the element to Love’s football resume that has Pete so attracted to him as the newest member of Seattle’s roster.
I watched Peter King’s podcast on Wednesday (somebody has to do it) and at the 40-minute mark he mentions a 15-minute conversation he had with Peter Carroll at the owner’s meeting this week, focusing his attention not on Dre’Mont Jones (the Seahawks most expensive FA acquisition) and not on their two first round picks and not on the quarterback prospects…
Pete and Pete talked instead about Julian Love and the one thing that really seems to stand out to Carroll over anything else: He’s a special teamer.
“Pete Carroll was really very enthusiastic about Julian Love. For people that don’t know Julian Love, if you watched the Giants last year every game-Every Game-he did four or five impact things to help that team win. He is a very good football player. Carroll made this point: ‘How many football players do you think have in recent years played 1,000 snaps on defense and 200 snaps on special teams? That to me is incredible and that tells me what a great and unselfish football player he is.’”
Though Love, a 2019 fourth round pick out of Notre Dame, also played significant snaps on defense in 2019 (39%), 2020 (66%), and 2021 (52%), he has always been a consistent member of the Giants special teams units. That was under three different head coaches, including former Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge.
Love played in a career-high 95% of the defensive snaps in 2022, but still 220 special teams snaps.
It seems like Love is one of those “I’ll do anything to help the team” types of players and brings back memories of the Legion of Boom getting out there for any non-offensive snaps that they possibly could convince Pete to give them. Last year, Cody Barton played 269 special teams snaps, but was the only regular defensive player to have more than 120 snaps in the third phase of the game; Tariq Woolen played 118 special teams snaps, while Ryan Neal played 106.
With Nick Bellore, Dareke Young, and Love, that could give the Seahawks three of the best core special teamers in the league. Another aspect to Love’s game that made him a priority in free agency (Seattle was shocked to get him at an affordable price) but also potentially an extension candidate in 2024 if Pete’s instincts are correct.
I’m calling this series “Shore Things” (going to start leaning into the seaside theme a bit more) and will go over a few tidbits that I just want to quickly get off my chest.
Speaking of extension candidates: Wednesday’s bonus article on Seattle’s current crop of contract decisions
Wednesday’s free cup of Joe: If Hendon Hooker is drafted 70th overall, Mike Tannenbaum will still be more right than what most people said about Malik Willis last year
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Geno Smith is somehow the only stable QB in the NFC West
A year ago, Geno Smith was a free agent; Matthew Stafford had won the Super Bowl; Kyler Murray was about to get $230.5 million; the 49ers were moving to Trey Lance but eventually also ended up with Jimmy Garoppolo as one of the top backups in the NFL. Then Brock Purdy stepped in.
Today, Geno is signed to one of the team-friendliest contracts in the NFL; Stafford may never play for the Rams (or anyone) again; Kyler’s “studying” how to recover from a torn ACL; Purdy will start over Lance, but that’s only if his elbow gets better in time, and Sam Darnold might end up beating them both to the punch.
“I don’t know, Denny. Don’t plan too much, it may not come out right.”
If I’m right about the Rams shopping Stafford and they trade him to the Falcons or Colts or Ravens, then I really do not understand why I’m not the lead NFL writer at ESPN because nobody else seems willing to question why he’s on that team. They can’t protect him, they don’t have any receivers besides Cooper Kupp (who should also be on the block), and they aren’t going to win six games. After June 1, Stafford becomes affordable to trade and that could explain why teams like Atlanta, Indy, and Washington are conspicuously “fine” with who they have at QB.
I know—Stafford’s arm is about as reliable as a bird’s—but for a team like the Falcons who could be a QB away from easily winning the division, it may be worth the rental price.
Let’s briefly address the division QB situations:
AFC East - Bills (Allen), Pats (Mac), Dolphins (Tua), Jets (Rodgers?)
AFC North - Bengals (Burrow), Browns (Watson), Steelers (Pickett), Ravens (Lamar?)
AFC South - Jags (Trevor), Titans (Tannehill), Colts (Minshew), Texans (Mills)
AFC West - Chiefs (Mahomes), Chargers (Herbert), Raiders (Jimmy), Broncos (Russ)
I think you can only count six (Allen, Mahomes, Herbert, Trevor, Burrow, Watson) who seem deadlocked into the position for both Week 1 and Week 18, if healthy. I don’t quite see how Lamar Jackson plays anywhere unless he re-signs with the Ravens or if they just decide to rescind the tender and cut their losses; that’s why I believe Baltimore is monitoring what QBs are/could be available. I’m not convinced the Colts or Texans feel pressured to pick QBs, I think if Houston does it then Indianapolis may choose not to do it.
The dream situation for Indy may be that the Texans pick Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young falls to them, something else King mentioned as an out there possibility that some execs think could happen.
NFC East - Eagles (Hurts), Cowboys (Dak), Giants (Dimes), Moons (Howell)
NFC North - Packers (Love?), Lions (Goff), Bears (Fields), Vikings (Cousins)
NFC South - Panthers (#1 pick), Falcons (Ridder), Saints (Carr), Bucs (Baker)
NFC West - Seahawks (Geno), Rams (Stafford?), 49ers (Darnold?), Cardinals (McCoy?)
Sean McVay claims Stafford will be there and be ready. We’ll see. How long will he be there? The Rams roster could be worse than Houston’s was last year. Kyler is going to miss at least a month, probably more, leaving Colt McCoy and David Blough. Purdy has a torn UCL, Lance hasn’t played regular football since…2019!
Geno is a man alone in the NFC West for right now. It’s remarkable that Seattle also has a stable backup situation and could still draft a top-five QB.
I know Jordan Love is the heir apparent. He also hasn’t played football in a long time and he could be a disaster. Where do names like Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz, Zach Wilson, Matt Corral, and Trey Lance end up? Or Lamar?
Why do I call them the Washington Moons?
I said this in the comments the other day because the question understandably comes up sometimes: I think Commanders is one of the stupid team names I’ve ever heard, I don’t care to use it. I think Moons would be a great team name. We have a pro team that honors the sun, so why not one that honors our moon? That’s it! I think they should be renamed to the Moons.
Zay Flowers keeps creeping up for me
So far, I continue to believe that one of the top-three defensive linemen will be Seattle’s first choice at #5. I think that receiver is making a lot of sense at #20 and I like Zay Flowers out of Boston College. Chris Simms posted him atop his WR rankings this year. Not necessary to agree, but for anyone who felt like they were curious to hear more:
Who are your top receivers in this draft, if you have any? (I see you Charlie Jones!)
Simms also has Michigan’s D.J. Turner as his #2 CB this year, a player who most expect to be available on Day 2. But I do not expect the Seahawks to address cornerback any earlier than Pete usually does in the draft.
As far as offensive linemen, Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy cited Cody Mauch as his favorite overall, all-around, “I just want that guy on my football team” from the Senior Bowl this year. Here’s some tape on Mauch, a guy who might be there in the latter half of the second round.
Is this really what Will Levis wants to be posting right now?
One of the COMPLAINTS that people have about Levis is that he’s “too chiseled”. Obviously, he doesn’t think it’s an issue. He also doesn’t think his accuracy is an issue.
And look, I don’t know who Chad Forbes is, but these are all topics that have been broached in the past and will continue in the league even if not discussed in the media.
We’ve known since the Senior Bowl that Levis seems to be hiding as much as possible and hoping that showcasing his arm strength on tape will be enough to make him a high draft pick. But I will bring up this question with Anthony Richardson also: Why test the NFL Draft now when the number one thing holding teams back is that you’ve only played in 13 games above high school and never had a really great start?
We live in the era of the transfer portal meaning that “Florida wasn’t a good fit for me” can no longer be an excuse.
I question if Richardson was going to be the starter at Florida next year if he had stayed and whether or not there were premium college programs ready to hand over a QB1 role to him next season. Because if Richardson is “the next Cam Newton” then surely he could have transferred to a program with better talent and coaching, made a lot more NIL money, and guaranteed himself a top-three selection in 2024.
That’s a bit puzzling to me. Could it be that he feared having a “Spencer Rattler”-sized drop if he risked putting more bad games on film than what he already has?
Playlist of the Week - M83 Tour Bus
I know I’ve shared some bad music/movies/TV tastes in the past, so why I don’t I share an expert’s instead? You may know M83 from this song but I really like getting music recommendations from actual musicians. I stumbled across the tour bus playlist that M83 posted on Spotify and though it is a short and random list, I think it’s very good.
Said M83 recently, “EDM is probably one of the styles of music that I hate the most.” So take that as you will.
Kenneth, just wanted to say I really enjoyed everything about this article. Thanks
All these little red flags (trying to sound confident but coming across as arrogant/entitled, do-you-think-I'm-hot-selfies in the mirror (why can't people that do this find a friend to take their picture?), mayo in the coffee) wouldn't mean much to me if he had Bryce Young's game film. However, the lack of a great football resume coupled with how he chooses to present himself, makes me hope the Hawks want nothing to do with Will Levis.
Mauch looks quick and athletic for a dude his size in that highlight film, and that is also reflected in his combine numbers. Add in his good showing at the senior bowl and he sounds like a Pete/John target to me.
Kenneth, I made fun of your unconventional film opinions in a prior comment, but wanted to say that I watch a lot of the things that you recommend and I'm never disappointed. I hope you keep mixing your thoughts on film into your writing here at Seaside.