I trust JS to build a competitive roster. The only thing I would have done differently is release Kupp and use the money saved on K9. K9 was way more valuable last year, younger, and no more injury prone than Kupp. The money was close to break even and it seems we overpaid an old Ram WR rather than rewarding a Seahawk RB who had just won the SB MVP.
Having said that, and it’s over now anyway, I don’t see any reason to think the Seahawks won’t contend to win the division and possibly repeat as SB champs!
Great article! Seems some GM's clutch at free agent straws hoping they find someone who hasn't peaked yet or has fairy dust on them from a Championship to help give them a bit of job security. Some are better at spotting the pearls amongst the pea gravel than others, but it's ALWAYS a risk. I feel JS is not just the sharpest knife in the GM drawer, he's the sharpest knife in a drawer full of spoons. I've ALWAYS seen QB's as just one cog in the gears. Yes, they ARE the drivers, but I'll bet on a competent driver in a Maserati to win over a GREAT driver in a VW Beetle every time.
I chuckle every time I see one of the clickbait articles hyperventilating over the excitement of the Raiders getting Mendoza. I only saw the final play of his last college game and instantly attached my opinion of him to the off-the-cuff comment of the announcer: [paraphrasing] "that was the first time Mendoza ran the ball himself. His mother won't let him." Yep, that's the kind of QB an NFL team can count on to make quick decisions without his mom's voice in his head.
I truly want the Raiders to draft him just so I can see if he is all they hope he will be.
Surprised myself that I wasn't disappointed when the Hawks let K9 go.
KenJoe, fully agree with your thesis on 1st round QB’s - empirical evidence is totally with you!
JS has the Seahawks beautifully positioned for the foreseeable future. JSN here for the next 6 years. Does anyone think for all of Puka’s athletic talent, his 10 cent brain is going to keep him in LA for that much longer? JS will likely find a solid and dirt cheap RB, including all the vets we have on the roster already. We have our own top 3 picks in this year’s draft which has depth, but lacks elite talent. We lost depth, not elite talent in Free Agency. Next year we have all of our native picks + likely 4 comp picks in what is purported to be an excellent draft. We should contend again this year (Rams a risk, but not 49ers). And we should be in position to re-load next year while locking up our elite talent like BM next year and E-man and Zabel after that.
Ben Solak was interviewed by Nemhauser this morning regarding his grade of the Seahawks offseason so far (27th, 5 from the bottom). He seemed perplexed they would let K9, Bryant and even Woolen go for as little as $12 to maybe $15 million a year. JS is not an idiot. Why wouldn’t Solak look for reasons JS made those decisions? K9 is injury prone and RB is a relatively easy position to get a decent player for an insignificant amount of money. He already has a number of RBs on the roster who might step up to the job and will likely add one or two more. Bryant became expendable with the ascension of Okada, and some other young players to perhaps step up including two new free agents. (Well D’Anthony Bell isn’t new, new) Mafe would have been a waste of money at $20 million. Woolen was someone MM simply did not believe was a fit for his defense no matter how cheaply he would cost. There’s quite possibly a Mafe level edge in the draft this year. There’s an improvement over Woolen in the draft this year. There’s even a distinct possibility of a RB in the draft who could provide a significant contribution as a replacement for K9 at a fraction of the cost if someone currently on the roster does not step up.
Could it be JS has a better use for that money than K9, Bryant and Woolen? Like JSN (done) Spoon, Murphy, Darnold, Barner, and then Zabel and Emmanwori.
Did JS not do enough? I think this year’s team has the best shot of any team to make it to the Super Bowl - including the 49ers and the Rams. One thing all these people seem to miss is how much needed to be done in this offseason to set up a repeat. We were the 4th or 5th youngest team in the league this past year. Yes, there are a small number of older vets who could see a regression, but this is much more than countered by the MANY young players whose contributions could significantly improve. The entire O-line is ridiculously young and will be better. Barner, Arroyo and Horton could see vast improvements. D Hall could be on the verge of stepping up his game to look like the player we saw in the Super Bowl. Murphy is 23, going into his 3rd season. He could be a pro bowl player easily. Mills could be a big contributor. Then there’s the E_MAN! Within this system the sky’s the limit for what we can see from him this year.
JS did exactly what he should have done this offseason. Why would you take your car to a mechanic to spend money on new parts when everything is humming at peak performance? Don’t listen to the experts!
MM quickly adjusted after meeting the Rams in Game 16, and look what we did. Any Team expecting to meet last year's Team is in for rude surprises. Our Year2 Defense has ascended for Year 3 by removinmg guys who's play was falling off in in-house metrics. Our Year 2 Offense will be new and improved. Mike and his Coaches are matching the talents of our Players, demanding upping their Game. Any hardshiops encountereed bgy our young Support Group will face the genius of MacDonald. Much as the League and Media wishes to ignore his genius, it will become clear in Year 3. Same thing with Schneider, now he's been let loose under his own Banner. When our guys realize JS chose them because he knows when he is looking at an Elite Player, the question will not be about Repeat, but 3-peats and 4-peats. Maybe then the Networks will notice...
Really good article....it's hard to contradict pop opinion. I00 percent agree on QB being over drafted. LV should (consider a) trade if they could. I like mendoza but he's not (likely) gonna save LV overnight.
Najee Harris has been in town, ideal addition to the RB room. The Browns just restructured Garrett's deal to be relatively tradable. For all the lamentation of being leapfrogged by the Rams (foolish pundits) and/or the 49ers (genuinely dumb pundits), what if we got to draft night with those two on board. Like, that's how you win an off-season, by being patient and striking surgically to compliment your team as a whole.
As much as we all imagine we are Sonny Weaver Jr, the majority are Tom Michaels. Dangle that shiny nugget of a QB out there and we'll forget any logic. Ironic really it's the Browns that are the worst at this, no matter how many HC's or GM's roll through town.
I trust JS to build a competitive roster. The only thing I would have done differently is release Kupp and use the money saved on K9. K9 was way more valuable last year, younger, and no more injury prone than Kupp. The money was close to break even and it seems we overpaid an old Ram WR rather than rewarding a Seahawk RB who had just won the SB MVP.
Having said that, and it’s over now anyway, I don’t see any reason to think the Seahawks won’t contend to win the division and possibly repeat as SB champs!
Great article! Seems some GM's clutch at free agent straws hoping they find someone who hasn't peaked yet or has fairy dust on them from a Championship to help give them a bit of job security. Some are better at spotting the pearls amongst the pea gravel than others, but it's ALWAYS a risk. I feel JS is not just the sharpest knife in the GM drawer, he's the sharpest knife in a drawer full of spoons. I've ALWAYS seen QB's as just one cog in the gears. Yes, they ARE the drivers, but I'll bet on a competent driver in a Maserati to win over a GREAT driver in a VW Beetle every time.
I chuckle every time I see one of the clickbait articles hyperventilating over the excitement of the Raiders getting Mendoza. I only saw the final play of his last college game and instantly attached my opinion of him to the off-the-cuff comment of the announcer: [paraphrasing] "that was the first time Mendoza ran the ball himself. His mother won't let him." Yep, that's the kind of QB an NFL team can count on to make quick decisions without his mom's voice in his head.
I truly want the Raiders to draft him just so I can see if he is all they hope he will be.
Surprised myself that I wasn't disappointed when the Hawks let K9 go.
KenJoe, fully agree with your thesis on 1st round QB’s - empirical evidence is totally with you!
JS has the Seahawks beautifully positioned for the foreseeable future. JSN here for the next 6 years. Does anyone think for all of Puka’s athletic talent, his 10 cent brain is going to keep him in LA for that much longer? JS will likely find a solid and dirt cheap RB, including all the vets we have on the roster already. We have our own top 3 picks in this year’s draft which has depth, but lacks elite talent. We lost depth, not elite talent in Free Agency. Next year we have all of our native picks + likely 4 comp picks in what is purported to be an excellent draft. We should contend again this year (Rams a risk, but not 49ers). And we should be in position to re-load next year while locking up our elite talent like BM next year and E-man and Zabel after that.
Never been a better time to be a Hawks Fan!!
But they're experts for a reason... right? RIGHT?
As a hard core contrarian this article is right in my wheelhouse. Thanks KenJoe.
Ben Solak was interviewed by Nemhauser this morning regarding his grade of the Seahawks offseason so far (27th, 5 from the bottom). He seemed perplexed they would let K9, Bryant and even Woolen go for as little as $12 to maybe $15 million a year. JS is not an idiot. Why wouldn’t Solak look for reasons JS made those decisions? K9 is injury prone and RB is a relatively easy position to get a decent player for an insignificant amount of money. He already has a number of RBs on the roster who might step up to the job and will likely add one or two more. Bryant became expendable with the ascension of Okada, and some other young players to perhaps step up including two new free agents. (Well D’Anthony Bell isn’t new, new) Mafe would have been a waste of money at $20 million. Woolen was someone MM simply did not believe was a fit for his defense no matter how cheaply he would cost. There’s quite possibly a Mafe level edge in the draft this year. There’s an improvement over Woolen in the draft this year. There’s even a distinct possibility of a RB in the draft who could provide a significant contribution as a replacement for K9 at a fraction of the cost if someone currently on the roster does not step up.
Could it be JS has a better use for that money than K9, Bryant and Woolen? Like JSN (done) Spoon, Murphy, Darnold, Barner, and then Zabel and Emmanwori.
Did JS not do enough? I think this year’s team has the best shot of any team to make it to the Super Bowl - including the 49ers and the Rams. One thing all these people seem to miss is how much needed to be done in this offseason to set up a repeat. We were the 4th or 5th youngest team in the league this past year. Yes, there are a small number of older vets who could see a regression, but this is much more than countered by the MANY young players whose contributions could significantly improve. The entire O-line is ridiculously young and will be better. Barner, Arroyo and Horton could see vast improvements. D Hall could be on the verge of stepping up his game to look like the player we saw in the Super Bowl. Murphy is 23, going into his 3rd season. He could be a pro bowl player easily. Mills could be a big contributor. Then there’s the E_MAN! Within this system the sky’s the limit for what we can see from him this year.
JS did exactly what he should have done this offseason. Why would you take your car to a mechanic to spend money on new parts when everything is humming at peak performance? Don’t listen to the experts!
MM quickly adjusted after meeting the Rams in Game 16, and look what we did. Any Team expecting to meet last year's Team is in for rude surprises. Our Year2 Defense has ascended for Year 3 by removinmg guys who's play was falling off in in-house metrics. Our Year 2 Offense will be new and improved. Mike and his Coaches are matching the talents of our Players, demanding upping their Game. Any hardshiops encountereed bgy our young Support Group will face the genius of MacDonald. Much as the League and Media wishes to ignore his genius, it will become clear in Year 3. Same thing with Schneider, now he's been let loose under his own Banner. When our guys realize JS chose them because he knows when he is looking at an Elite Player, the question will not be about Repeat, but 3-peats and 4-peats. Maybe then the Networks will notice...
Really good article....it's hard to contradict pop opinion. I00 percent agree on QB being over drafted. LV should (consider a) trade if they could. I like mendoza but he's not (likely) gonna save LV overnight.
Najee Harris has been in town, ideal addition to the RB room. The Browns just restructured Garrett's deal to be relatively tradable. For all the lamentation of being leapfrogged by the Rams (foolish pundits) and/or the 49ers (genuinely dumb pundits), what if we got to draft night with those two on board. Like, that's how you win an off-season, by being patient and striking surgically to compliment your team as a whole.
As much as we all imagine we are Sonny Weaver Jr, the majority are Tom Michaels. Dangle that shiny nugget of a QB out there and we'll forget any logic. Ironic really it's the Browns that are the worst at this, no matter how many HC's or GM's roll through town.