Howdy Folks.

Well, here we are, approximately one month away for the 2019 NFL Draft. I have sat down with my expert panel to offer to you our 2019 Seattle Seahawk roster breakdown as we prepare to determine the team’s greatest needs. We then match them with the supposed strengths and weaknesses of this 2019 draft class, and thus conclude with our takes on how Seattle might likely draft. My expert panel includes my orange tabby cat Earl, and my medium haired black cat Kam. Allow us to begin.

QUARTERBACK.

Curtis: The team is set in 2019 with franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, but we all know the elephant in the room. Russell’s in a contract year and probably wants to be the richest football player on Planet Earth. Pete Carroll loves an offense that runs the ball, as much, if not more (probably more) than it passes. Does Seattle want to make Russell Wilson the highest paid player in the league? I would love for them to workout a long-term deal, but I have some doubts, and at some point, the team has got to draft somebody who can potentially become the heir apparent. It’s what smart organizations do.

Earl: If Seattle drafts a quarterback with its first pick, I will take a dump on your bedroom pillow. Seriously. This team needs pass rush, safety help, tight end help, more young offensive line, more receivers. I could go on. If Russell leaves, so be it. They signed former first round pick Paxton Lynch. Maybe they make something out of him. I’m warning you, if they draft a QB early, look before you lay, padre.

Kam: Paxton Lynch was cut after two seasons in Denver. Word on the streets is that he was more into playing video games at 1 AM than his playbook. That doesn’t fit my definition of a player being “all in.” Sorry if I am not putting much faith in that dude. That said, I don’t think Seattle needs to draft a QB high, either. Russell Wilson and Nick Foles were a third round picks. Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins were fourth rounders. I think they get a deal done with Russ, though, and you’re making a big mountain out of a tiny molehill.

Verdict. Seattle has a need for a developmental QB, and there will likely be some interesting options in day two and beyond like West Virginia’s Will Grier, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, NC State’s Ryan Finley, and Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta’amu.

RUNNING BACK

Kam: Seattle has Chris Carson, who looks like a star in the makings, and they burnt a first rounder on Rashaad Penny last year. They also have oft injured CJ Prosise, scat back JD McKissic, and former Alabama power back Bo Scarbrough. While I can’t say this is an area of need, Prosise’s injury history makes him unreliable. I can see Seattle drafting a back. They do that a lot.

Earl: I still can’t believe that they blew a first round pick on a back last year. By that stupid track record of logic, they probably do draft a quarterback in the first round, and come draft day, I’m not going to poop all day long in the event that they do. That said, Carroll loves to draft running backs, and I can see them taking one later on.

Curtis: Seattle is loaded with runners, this supposedly isn’t a great RB class. Thomas Rawls was an undrafted free agent. That’s where I think they might look to add.

Verdict: Not a huge area of need, but given how much Seattle likes to run, they could add another rookie into the mix at some point. Not a great draft class for the position, but Seattle has a knack for finding late round gems.

FULLBACK

Curtis: I miss the days that Seattle had a great fullback that could lead block, tote the stone, and do a little pass catching.

Earl: That’s because you’re a dinosaur. The league has moved away from the position. I suppose you miss SAM linebacker, as well.

Kam: Seattle won a Super Bowl playing out of I formation. Russell Wilson was deadly bootlegging out of that. I could see Pete Carroll wanting to get back to that more. Does that mean that they draft a fullback? Well, last year they drafted a punter, so anything is possible if the right player is there.

Verdict: Debatable whether Seattle needs or wants a fullback. Undecided.

WIDE RECEIVER

Kam: I don’t think Doug Baldwin is playing much longer. Seattle has a HUGE need at wide receiver, and this looks like a class that has decent talent in the second and third rounds. I want Parris Campbell out of the Ohio State.

Curtis: I really like Parris Campbell and his Buckeye mate Terry McLaurin. Both feel like guys Seattle loves to draft at receiver. Fast, and explosive playmakers. I can see Seattle maybe taking a receiver tops overall, especially if they trade down, and with only four picks, you know that they are trading down.

Earl: After Angry Doug Baldwin and nice guy Tyler Lockett, Seattle ain’t got doo doo for wide out. Oh, they drafting receiver. Bank on that.

Verdict: The 2019 Seattle Seahawks have a high need for wide receiver, and could likely draft one within the first two days of the draft. This draft class appears deep at the position rounds 2 through 4.

TIGHT END

Earl: Allow me the privilege. The 2018 Seattle Seahawks sucked at tight end. They blew chunks at tight end, and this was after the said bye bye to my least favorite Seattle Seahawk since Jerramy Stevens; Jimmy Graham. Seattle needs a tight end that will block AND is a pass catching threat. Not one or the other. That’s what a tight end is supposed to be. A blocker and a pass catcher. This team ain’t got squat.

Kam. Will Dissly was a nice looking player as a rook until he tore is patellar tendon early. Tough injury to come back from. Nick Vannett looks like he will have a great career bouncing in Vegas once Seattle cuts him. Ed Dickson is a grandpa. Please don’t tell me that they are converting George Fant fulltime to the tight end position. I would love to see Seattle draft a BAMF at tight end early. Just give me a BAMF.

Curtis: It’s a good looking draft for tight ends, they say. I like Seattle to draft one. I thought the intermediate passing game for them was wanting last year. They missed Graham. I think they should stay local, and go get Drew Sample from the University of Washington. He’s the name on my post-it note that says “No Matter What.”

Verdict: Seattle has a high need for a reliable pass catching tight end that can block, and this draft class has lots of them.

OFFENSE LINE

Curtis: On paper, this is a strong starting line with Duane Brown, Mike Iupati, Justin Britt, DJ Fluker, and Germaine Ifedi. They have some decent reserves, as well, with Jordan Simmons, George Fant, Joey Hunt, maybe Ethan Pocic still. However, Iupati and Fluker don’t seem like guys that can hold up for a full season any longer. I can actually see Seattle maybe taking a guard high this year after trading back.

Earl: Every year in every draft the first pick should ALWAYS be either an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. ALWAYS. Don’t screw around with receivers, backs, quarterbacks, safeties (unless their name is Earl), and corners. Every year, either an offensive or defensive lineman. Period. End of story.

Kam: I like Seattle’s offensive line situation. I never thought I would ever say that. This isn’t a great draft for tackles, but there are a lot of guards. You can find good guards in rounds two through five. At some point, I can see Seattle drafting a guard.

Verdict: Seattle has a strong looking starting lineup with questions about durability and age. Offensive line is probably not the biggest need, but it would be wise, at some point, to draft for depth and development.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Kam: Seattle has a star at defensive end in Frank Clark, and potentially another star at defensive tackle in Jarran Reed. They also have another interesting young defensive tackle in Poona Ford. They have major question marks on the roster as to who will be the starting defensive end opposite of Clark. This is a deeeeeeeeep draft at defensive line. I think Seattle’s first pick is going to be a defensive lineman, and if I had to choose which position, I would say defensive end.

Curtis: You can never have enough defensive lineman. That is what my father used to always say. I definitely think Seattle drafts defensive line, and probably a couple of them. I think they get a pass rusher and a run stopper.

Earl: Give me Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Give me 6-4 and 351 Dexter freaking Lawrence. I don’t care if Seattle doesn’t trade back, takes him at 21, and only has three more picks in the whole draft. Give me Dexter Lawrence lined inside with Jarran Reed. If they do that, I will never leap on the bed and sit on your face at three thirty in the morning ever again.

Verdict: This draft class is hyped as a potentially historic for defensive linemen. Seattle lacks depth at defensive tackle. They have a talented pass rushing end, but no obvious mate on the other side. In short, Seattle has needs, and Pete Carroll loves pass rushers. It might be the safest bet that the first player Seattle selects is a defensive lineman.

LINEBACKER

Earl: Bobby Wagner is the best linebacker on the planet. He is what you build around like the way the Ravens did with Ray Lewis. He has KJ Wright, and they Mychal Kendricks back. Plus they got Barkevious Mingo, and Shaquem Griffin. I don’t see great needs here.

Kam: KJ Wright’s knee makes me nervous and Mychal Kendricks might see some jail time for insider trading. Mingo was Just A Guy for me, and Shaquem looked lost as a rookie. I definitely see some needs. If they loose Bobby for a number of games, they are f***ed.

Curtis: This doesn’t appear to be a deep draft for linebacker. I think that’s probably why they brought KJ and Kendricks back. Still, I think there could be some interesting mid round options. Watch for this name in the middle rounds; Drew Lewis from Colorado. His dad played cornerback for the Seahawks, and the Seattle coaching staff reportedly worked him hard at his pro day. He has the athletic profile they like at WILL linebacker. I can see them taking him as early as round four.

Verdict: Seattle has potentially one of the top linebacker groups in the league if Wright can stay healthy, and Kendricks doesn’t end up serving time in the pokey. Seattle’s LB depth was tested in 2018, and it was shaky at times. Look for Seattle to add depth in the middle and late portions of the draft.

CORNERBACK

Curtis: Honestly, I know this runs counter to a lot of fans, but I don’t think Seattle is in bad shape at corner. I think that they have two that they like a lot in Shaquill Griffin and Tre’ Flowers. Are either of them Richard Sherman? No, but both players have upside. I can still see them drafting a corner in the mid rounds where they like to spend draft capital on them, drafting and developing, but I am not expecting them to take a corner high. They’ve never done that.

Kam: I’m not even sure that they burn a pick on a nickel cornerback, because they usually pluck those guys out of nowhere, as well. Do they probably draft a corner? Yeah. I think this draft class offers players that fit the Seattle profile of length, but none of these guys are high round sorts. Color me not really worried about it.

Earl: Damn straight better safety play helps the corners out. Remember when Earl Thomas was playing at the beginning of the season? Yeah, everyone was talking about how great Griffin was looking stepping in for Sherman. Remember what happened to Griffin after Earl was lost to the season? His season went straight into the litter box. Draft cornerback, if you want to, but Seattle NEEDS safety help.

Verdict: Seattle could have interest in adding at cornerback, but likely not the pressing needs that some fans feel. They have an area of the draft they like to target, and that is almost always in the mid rounds. If they draft corner, expect it there.

SAFETY

Earl: Do not get me started about this. I could pen Shakespearian soliloquies about the Seattle Seahawks need at safety. I still can’t believe they did Earl Thomas like that. Yeah, Seattle needs safety help. They need to draft a safety within their first two picks, and if they don’t, I got a doo doo storing up with your name on it.

Curtis: Again, like the corners, I think Seattle likes their safeties better than the fans do. I think they could draft a safety, maybe even somewhat high, but I also think Carroll genuinely likes Delano Hill at strong safety, and that probably puts Bradley McDougald at free safety. The defense played better towards the end of the season when those two were on the field like that, but it is kind of forgotten because Hill was lost to injury, and the lineup reverted back to Tedric Thompson at free and McDougald at strong, and that was the lineup that fans seemed uninspired about. I don’t see safety being a bigger need that defensive line, receiver, tight end, and possibly even backup quarterback.

Kam: You’re whack, Jack. Safety is most definitely a need. And guess who be pouring into the VMAC for top 30 pre-draft workouts? Safeties. Single high free safeties in Maryland’s Darnell Savage and Virginia’s Juan Thornhill. The 2019 Seattle Seahawks are going to draft a safety. Bank on it.

Verdict: If Seattle wants to continue it’s three deep single high safety defense, the players that they have been linked to for pre-draft visits fit that mold. Seattle is possibly preparing to draft a free safety to replace Earl Thomas, as they already have enough decent options at strong safety already on their roster.

SPECIALISTS

Curtis: Seattle just signed pro bowl kicker Jason Myers to a four year contract, and they have a pro bowl punter in Michael Dickson. If anything, they might look to add a punt returner.

Earl: Seattle has a kicker (finally) and a stud punter. They have options on the roster as returners. They are good here.

Kam: You know you are in Seattle when the fan base gets excited about signing a kicker.

Verdict: The 2019 Seattle Seahawks look set at kicker, punter, and long snapper. Returner could be something that the look to sign as a undrafted player or late round pick.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

Curtis: Seattle’s biggest needs are pass rush, receiver, tight end, backup quarterback, and maybe safety. Everything else is bonus. I think that’s how they probably draft.

Kam: Seattle needs defensive line help, a receiver, a legit tight end, but most of all, Seattle needs a fricking SAFETY. This is a draft that can easily land you all four.

Earl: Safety, defensive line, offensive line, tight end, and receiver. If they draft a quarterback and neglect any one of those position groups at the cost of that, vengeance be my bowels. Oh, yes, vengeance be them well.

I love playing Madden. Been playing it for decades. I’m a year away from needing to see a proctologist for an important exam, and I still vigorously play the video game when I can. It’s my jam.

When I play, I don’t screw around with it either. No lazy six minute quarters for this cowpoke. No, Sir. I play the full fifteen minute ones, and whenever I’m up three scores in the fourth, I sub out my starters and get the reserves in there to whoop ass, and earn the XP points necessary to develop as future studs, themselves.

I don’t play online, because, frankly, that kinda creeps me out. No, I play with myself, and I’m not ashamed at all to admit that.

Is it boring going to the Super Bowl year after year after year after year in the Madden Sphere playing with yourself? For me, it’s fun, but for me, truth be told, quite often, the real fun is when I get into the offseason portion of the game’s franchise mode. I have to choose whom I extend, and whom I say adios to as they go off to free agency. I have to be smart in free agency and look for players to come in at good prices who can immediately add to the team, and I have to draft really well, and be willing to start the right rookies right away.

When I was first playing the game, I felt the impulsive need to extend all my key starters once their contracts where up, and as I won Super Bowl after Super Bowl, those starters ratings would go up through the roof, and so would the costs of retaining their services. It’s terrible. I’m a romantic. Hopeless so, and due to that, I should never be left initially in charge. Pretty, shiny, smell good, I’m suckered in.

I would fall overly in love with my guys, and I would just want to continue seeing my left defensive end getting 28 sacks in a season along with the 18 that my defensive tackle gets, and the 24 that my right end gets, and the 12 that my nose tackle gets. I needed to keep that fearsome foursome together, but before I would know it, two or three seasons into the game, I would find myself in salary cap hell. Not only would I no longer be able to keep good players who’s deals were up, I would have to cut other good players just to have enough money to sign my draft class and replace my retired kicker in free agency. Soon after a while, I learned a valuable lesson in reality about this NFL biz; the salary cap forces you to make tough decisions, and you cannot keep everyone no matter how much you love them, or like them a lot.

In order to stay competitive, you need to hang onto a few players that you consider cornerstone talents. Typically, most teams operative under a rule of thumb that your most important players are you quarterback, left tackle, pass rusher, and shutdown cornerback. Those are your cornerstones as once laid out by Super Bowl winning head coach and great hair enthusiast Jimmy Johnson.

After Seattle built up a Super Bowl winning team, head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider did things a bit differently. They paid their quarterback, two of their top pass rushers, their nose tackle, their shutdown corner, their running back, their strong safety, their free safety, their middle linebacker, their outside linebacker, their slot receiver, and they traded away for an expensive pass catching tight end. Essentially, they did a variation of what I used to do in Madden, and over time, it caught up. Any savvy Madden player could see where this was heading.

Seattle suddenly could not afford to hang onto its pro bowl left tackle (cornerstone player), and tried replacing him with bargain basement scrubs for a couple seasons in a row. They couldn’t afford to make significant additions in free agency because they were pushed against the cap. They weren’t developing the players that they were drafting as well as year before because they weren’t getting on the field as much because of all the expensive talent in front of them.

Guess what also happened? One by one, most of those expensive talents started to physically breakdown. Some started mentally breaking down, expressing outward unhappiness (if not full on hostility on the sidelines) when they began to become less dominant as a team. John Schneider and Pete Carroll had to make tough choices.

By 2018, many of those star players were either cut, traded, or were forced into early retirement due to injury. Remarkably, Seattle still made the playoffs with its youngest roster in almost eight years. They had quarterback Russell Wilson leading the offense, and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner leading the defense, and a roster that was pretty much unrecognizable to any average football fan outside of the Pacific Northwest. Young players like receiver Tyler Lockett, defensive end Frank Clark, defensive tackle Jarran Reed and running back Chris Carson stepped up and stepped into the lime light, all having career years. Rookies that would have likely rode the pine in other seasons stepped into either starting roles or significant contributing roles like cornerback Tre’ Flowers, and nose tackle Poona Ford.

Now, here we are, deep into the 2019 NFL offseason mode, and I’m here to say, I think Pete Carroll and John Schneider are learning how to play it pretty well. They let a player leave in free agency that about two years ago one could have easily argued was the best player on the team that was still loaded with premier talent. They kept a few key veterans and signed a pro bowl kicker. After a few weeks of free agency, their vision for this team moving forward seems clearer.

Through Carroll’s words, we know that they are committed to making sure their best passer rusher in Frank Clark, and their all-planet middle linebacker Bobby Wagner are continual fixtures in Seattle moving forward. These are no brainer decisions. We also know that with their early free agent activities of bringing back linebackers KJ Wright and Mychal Kendricks, that it appears like they intend for the strength of the defense be more in the front seven than in the back four as it was on that historic defensive roster a few years ago.

When pressed about his young talent at the owner’s meetings this week, Carroll was quick to bring up a number of rookies from last year’s roster. He mentioned Poona Ford as a player they are genuinely excited about, edge rusher Jacob Martin as a player that they think can have a much bigger role moving forward, and Tre’ Flowers as a guy that they think can become a “monster” in the secondary.

This is how a pro plays Madden’s offseason mode. You keep a few of your nicest pieces, not all, you sign a few moderate veteran free agents to plug a few gaps, and then you draft and develop, and you draft and develop. You churn the roster. That’s what Pete Carroll and John Schneider did when they took over the sad state of this franchise in 2010. In my opinion, they got away from it after 2013, but they are coming full circle now. I think the theme song to these 2019 Seattle Seahawks could be the Beatles “Get Back.” They’re getting back to where they once belong. I know that sounds cheesy, but sometimes cheesy fits, and when cheesy fits, you have to embrace the cheese.

Additionally, if you were to look at whom they have been bringing in for free agent visits, edge rusher Nick Perry, a defensive tackle, and wide receiver, those positions also reflect the strength of this coming draft class. Seattle is probably looking at free agent hedges for positions that they will likely target in this draft (they do this often). Safe bet is that, however many times Seattle ends up picking, defensive line, pass rush, and receiver are going to be a part of the haul.

Interestingly enough in all of this, Pete Carroll had less to mention of star quarterback Russell Wilson’s pending extension, and this on top of word filtering out this week that the team may not be interested in paying him “Aaron Rodgers money.” Could Russell Wilson become one of the team’s toughest choices to make moving forward? Yes, he could, but also keep in mind that these leaked reports about Wilson wanting a record breaking deal and Seattle not wanting to spend more than Green Bay did on their QB could well be simply both sides playing a high stakes negotiating game in the media, and eventually the two sides find middle ground. Hopefully, that happens because Russell is a superb fit for this style of offense.

I will say this, though, sometimes it’s fun in the Madden offseason mode to go to town a bit more signing star veteran talent, and then drafting a rookie quarterback to take over. For a team like Seattle that wants to run the ball like they do, it wouldn’t shock me at all  if they ultimately decide that $40 million annually is too rich for a quarterback that plays point guard. It would be the most Madden thing ever if they either traded Russell Wilson, or they simply let him walk after a few seasons.

As we inch into April, we will focus more on the draft. It’s always an exciting time of the year for football fans. It’s Football Christmas, or for secular types, Football Prom.

Next piece will feature myself along with my expert panel as we go through the team’s position groups to determine where their greatest needs are and pit that with the supposed strengths of the draft class, and thusly, with any educated luck, we might just come up with an inkling notion of how this April’s draft will go for this Seahawks.

My expert panel, of course, consisting of my tabby cat Earl, and my medium longhaired black cat Kam. You’ll want to tune into that one, I think.

Go Hawks.

I love the smell of NanoBubbles in the morning. It smells like.. victory.

I love Russell Wilson. Anybody that knows me well knows how much I love the plucky little passer. I don’t use the word “love” loosely, either. In the pantheon of Seattle Seahawk greats, I have loved Kenny Easley, Jacob Green, Cortez Kennedy, and Russell Wilson. I’ve liked a lot of players, but those all have been My Guys.

My appreciation of Russell came well before his tenure in Seattle. I enjoyed watching Russell play college ball at Wisconsin, and I felt that his game could probably translate pretty well into the pros. So, as you can imagine, I was thoroughly stoked when Seattle had taken him with the 75^th pick overall in the 2012 draft. Yet, even then, I sort of felt he was going to be a bit of a project, and that the recently signed veteran Matt Flynn would be the guy for a while.

Then things changed dramatically when the third game of the 2012 preseason happened in Kansas City. Russell Wilson had started in place of the injured Flynn, and essentially lit up and torched the Chiefs number one defense and stole the starting gig out right away from Flynn. That’s when I did a barrage of violent fist pumps in the air that almost took out my rotator cuffs. Russell Wilson, from that moment on, became My Guy.

As we know, the first few games of the 2012 season weren’t especially great for Russell. Pete Carroll went ultra conservative with the rookie, and wasn’t opening up the playbook. It was hard listening to local sports radio because he was getting slammed by callers, and even a few hosts. I felt bad for the young fella. I knew he had the talent, but fans were frustrated, and doubts his ability and his height were mounting. There were calls for Carroll’s job.

That’s when I decided that I would go out and purchase a Russell Wilson jersey. I was going to champion Russell and Pete Carroll’s decision to start him. I believed in him and that coaching decision, and I was sure that fans and radio show hosts would come around. The last Seahawks jersey before Russell’s that I would wear was Cortez Kennedy’s; another Seattle great that started out slow as a rookie.

Then within a month into that season, my nephew Ben had reached out to me with tickets to see the New England Patriots play Seattle at Century Link as a birthday present (I’m a Libra). I was stoked to go, but had very little in expectations of Seattle actually pulling off the upset. Seattle was 3-2 at that juncture of the season, but Carroll was still keeping Russell pretty under raps, and New England was looking like, well, New England. I wore my Wilson jersey to the stadium, and in the nose bleeders that we were sitting in, I didn’t see a lot of number 3 Seattle jerseys in the stands. I think I may have even garnished a few smirks from other Twelves that day. It didn’t bother me. Russell was My Guy, and I was sticking with him.

Then it happened. The Game.

Seattle was hanging tight with New England. By the end of the first quarter, Seattle was only trailing New England 14-10, and Russell threw a beautiful 24 yard deep pass to Doug Baldwin, and the significance of that was that, at least in that first quarter, Wilson was trading touchdown passes with all-world Tom Brady. The second quarter was less pretty. The only scoring was a New England field goal to bring it to 17-10. Both defenses had muddied up the game enough to only fuel the intensity. It was awesome. Seattle wasn’t backing down from its dominant opponent. By the end of the third quarter, Seattle was trailing 17-10 but they had picked off Tom Brady twice. Still in this thing, and holding New England’s explosive offense in check, and frustrating Brady. So fun to watch, especially sitting right behind a few drunk obnoxious New England fans.

Then the fourth quarter.. happened. New England kicked a field goal after a Seattle fumble making it 20-10, and things didn’t initially look as promising anymore for an upset anymore, but then Seattle answered back with another Wilson touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards making it 20-17. It immediately got instantly very, very interesting. New England proceeded to punt to Seattle three times after before Russell Wilson finally threw perhaps the prettiest deep pass I had ever seen in my life at a live football event; a gorgeous 46 yard rainbow strike to a sprinting Sidney Rice between two New England defenders with 1:20 left in the game putting Seattle on top 24-20 for the W. Awesome. Russell Wilson then became MY GUY.

That whole 2012 season was magical. The come back overtime win in Chicago is almost legendary. Russell Wilson just had ‘it.” You could feel it. Even in the divisional playoff loss at Atlanta, you just knew Wilson, with Marshawn Lynch, and that young hungry defense, you knew sh*t was about to get real.

Soon enough, 2013 came along. With the additions of defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, nothing was going to stop that team, but maybe, just maybe, the bitter division rivals in the San Francisco 49ers that had sported their own dynamic young star quarterback, star running back, and angry defense, but alas, and gloriously, even they were not enough to stand in the 2013 Seattle Seahawks way. The Denver Broncos were just the dessert in that Super Bowl; a big dish of spumoni ice cream. Seattle felt like a team that was not just going to win another Super Bowl, they felt like a team that could win several.

Then 2014 happened, and it was rough. It wasn’t just the interception at the one yard line, but that was certainly the exclamation point. The season was frustrating as they fought their way back that Super Bowl. Articles started to surface midway through the season that some players on the team didn’t like Russell, and felt he wasn’t black enough, and not one of the guys. Personally, I was incredibly disheartened.

Yet, as the team stayed competitive, articles like that didn’t really go away over the following seasons. They kept surfacing in greater details. The Seattle Seahawks, even while annually making the post season, felt like a continuous circus train heading further off its tracks.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated articles would come up almost annually in long drawn out features about the divisions within the team that would mainly center around the quarterback. Most of us have probably read them, or know of them. Again, Russell was portrayed as not being “one of the guys,” got special treatment, ya da da ya da da. I found them all continuously annoying. Russell is the quarterback, of course he is not “one of the guys.” Quarterbacks aren’t typically “one of the guys,” as they have to spend the most time around the coaches.

Argh.

Then when the 2018 season happened, I felt great relief. Gone where a number of “guys” that likely didn’t think Russell Wilson was “one of them.” What felt even better was that Seattle didn’t really need them. They returned to a more traditional Pete Carroll running team, and Russell Wilson had one of his best statistical years in passing efficiency and production. The team was not nearly as talented on defense, but the truth was that the once historic defense had be slipping the last few years, and it felt like time was right to usher in new blood, and some really nice players emerged like Jarran Reed, Frank Clark, and Tre’ Flowers. Seattle went 10-6 and had an unsatisfactory quick bounce from the playoffs, but it felt a little bit like 2012 again. They just needed a few more pieces on the young defense to build properly around Russell Wilson, who they are probably going to extend in the offseason of 2019. All is finally coming together for My Guy, and My Team. Right?

Well, so far, we are in the first few weeks of free agency signing of 2019 offseason, no real words are coming out about a Russell Wilson extension, and there is growing suggestions out there about troubling waters laying ahead for the player and the team. In fact, there are reports from prominent NFL beat writers that strongly suggest that Russell and his camp could be fully intending to not enter discussions with the team, at all, and that they want to use free agency to maximize his earnings, following what Kirk Cousins did when he left Washington DC for the Vikings. In short, they want to hit the free agent market to drive up a bidding war.

Crap.

I got to be honest. I kind of saw this coming. Yup. In the back of my mind, I kind of saw all this coming. I just didn’t want to admit it.

After the Super Bowl XLVIII, Russell was spouting around on the national airwaves about wanting to one day be a team owner. I was just thinking that was silly talk to keep him motivated in life. You know, shoot for the stars, maybe you might hit the moon. Then he divorced his college sweetheart and started seeing this pop princess, and eventually married her, and stole her son away from his rapper daddy. Okay, that’s a bit different for Seattle sports standards. I don’t think Gary Payton, or Randy Johnson ever did that. Somewhere in all that he was promoting NamoBubble water, as well. So, he wants to make a little extra cheddar on the side. Who doesn’t?

Hm.

Yeah, that doesn’t really seem like Richard Sherman, Brandon Mebane, Kam Chancellor, and Doug Baldwin. That’s.. that’s pretty different.

Alright, I’m just going to lay it out for you now, if you haven’t stopped reading this piece yet. The Seattle Seahawks are kind of screwed with the Russell Wilson situation, but relax. I think they know this well.

There is a reason that they have been seen scouting quarterbacks hard over these past couple draft classes, and are scouting them again this Spring. They likely know full well what Russell wants, and that thing may not be as simple as just “give him more than Aaron Rodgers and call it good.” If it was, they would be hammering out the deal now, but this doesn’t mean that he is gone after the 2019 season, either.

I see two possible paths that general manager John Schneider can go down in dealing with Russell, if these reports are true. One is that they find an eventual replacement, and franchise tag Russell until that replacement is ready to take over, and allow Wilson to enter free agency. The other is to trade him, and possibly now if they get the right blockbuster deal.

Personally, at this point, I don’t have a problem with them trading My Guy because frankly, if this is all true, I think Russ is being a bit more than a greedy bugger in all this. The problem I see in working out a trade is that, if Russ is intent on not signing all long term deal on any level before hitting free agency, what team will trade a bunch of first round picks for him?

So no, I don’t really see it happening. What I see more than likely happening is that Russell Wilson will be in Seattle for likely three more years, 2019 through 2021, and in 2022, he will enter free agency with the chances of him coming back to Seattle shrinking pretty substantially. Here is something else that I see; I don’t think that is a bad thing.

That would give Seattle three more seasons to try to get another title with a premier quarterback, and it buys time for them to properly develop his replacement. They don’t even have to draft a quarterback this year if the player isn’t there that they have conviction in, and they don’t even necessarily have to take one high. They can be patient.

If I am John Schneider, I am keeping Russell Wilson’s agent’s digits in the back of my rolodex, and I am working on getting deals done with Frank Clark, Bobby Wagner, and Jarran Reed. I am also continually looking at the young quarterbacks coming up from college, and yes, I am answering phone calls from any general manager who might be interested in my star quarterback.

Let’s remember, when Russell Wilson was drafted in 2012 by the Seattle Seahawks, he was a bit of an afterthought for many when he was taken in the third round. People say that it is difficult to acquire franchise quarterbacks. I don’t fully agree with that. Sometimes, I think franchise quarterbacks are made when they are in the right place at the right time with the right team and coach. Russell Wilson was a good college quarterback that came into the right team at the right time and then grew into a top franchise quarterback. There was great talent already assembled around him.

My overriding piece of advice is to not panic over Russell Wilson if a deal isn’t done. As long as Pete Carroll and John Schneider keep adding the right pieces throughout this roster, another quarterback can come in, and do just fine. Pete Carroll’s formula is solid. Run the ball, play good defense and special teams, and be efficient at the quarterback position. That’s what the Philadelphia Eagles did with Nick Foles at quarterback when they won the Super Bowl. Is Foles a better quarterback than Wilson?

Trust the Pete Carroll and John Schneider process. I think part of that process might be building the team back up again so some other plucky passer can take over, and Russ can go enjoy himself with all his hundreds of millions somewhere else if that is all that concerns him. Personally, I hope he and Seattle find a way to make it work, but I won’t have a problem with him moving on from the team, if it comes down to it. He might be My Guy, but the Seattle Seahawks are My Team, and this is no Guy in Team.

Go Hawks.

Howdy.

I’m a Seattle Seahawks fan. Life long Seahawks fan, in fact. Well, okay not entirely in fact, but ever since 1983, when I was a freshman in high school, and Chuck Knox took over as their head coach, and my dad said that was a big deal, and then the team officially became the Little Train That Could in the NFL that year, not only going to the playoffs for the first time in their young history, but also making it all the way to the AFC Championship game against the dreaded Los Angeles Raiders, and then losing rather painfully and embarrassingly. Sorry for that run on sentence. Horrendous way to start a blog.

Anyhow, every year since then, I dreamed would be the year that they would take the Lombardi Trophy home. It only took about thirty years and a highly abused liver for that to actually happen, for the team to become the Little Train That Did, but it was well worth the wait.

Man, what a game, though. Right? Did anyone see that coming? I didn’t see that coming. Maybe Peyton did a little when he was looking at game tape of Seattle’s defense, but the national talking heads didn’t see that coming. Man, I almost felt bad for Broncos fans for that painful beat down, but then I remembered well that the Denver Broncos used to be bitter division rivals of my Seattle Seahawks, and well, screw those fans. It was a glorious game.

Nowadays I generally bask in that Super Bowl victory pretty much on a daily basis. It helps me get through the hardships in life. I bask in it in the morning when I sip my first cup of Joe. I bask in my afternoon commute home when I’m stuck in traffic and listening to Seattle sports radio. I bask in it when I kiss my family goodnight, and when I scoop out the cats’ litter box before brushing my teeth and going to bed myself. I bask as I shut my eyes, and dream of Cortez Kennedys. I’m basking as I’m typing this. I just know that this year, in 2019, the Seattle Seahawks are going to win it all again. They got the QB, and a great run game, and some nice pieces on the defense. They just need a little bit more, that’s all.

I bask so much so about my Seattle Seahawks, just so very much so, that after years of typing long winded pregame and post game posts on the Facebook for any friends and family members who hadn’t blocked or un-followed me yet, I decided I would create this here blog, so that I can bask online to you all. Sorry for that run on sentence again, but I hope you find it enjoyable.

So, I figure I should type a little bit about myself, if you don’t mind. I played a little high school football at Ferndale High School in the Northwest corner of Washington State in the 1980’s, but I wasn’t very good at it. Frankly, I was terrible. I was a tall gangly kid who the coaches thought maybe might make a good defensive end because of my broad shoulders and wingspan, but I had a pension for not wanting to lift weights much less take on blockers, and containment never really seemed all that important to me. I just enjoyed rushing right at the quarterback every single time, even if it was a hand off. Also, to be fair, I had a life outside of football that I was well aware of. The latest AC/DC album, the perfect hair gel, and where the next beer kegger seemed vastly more important at the time than practice in the freezing rains of November.

The coaches didn’t really like me much, and I suspect I wasn’t well thought of by a lot of teammates, as well. I suppose I wasn’t “all in.” What they didn’t know is that under the Friday night lights in Whatcom County, I was “all in” damn it. I just wasn’t getting into the games (so frustrating. I had swim moves). I suspect it had something to do with  practice habits. So, screw it. I had enough of that, quit my junior year, and focused more on my hair.. which was amazing.

My high school quarterback was a much better player. Way better player, in fact. He’s presently the Head Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, I’m name-dropping on this blog. I know Doug Pederson. He even worked on my family’s farm for a spell, if you can believe that, and just so we are absolutely clear on this; I fully consider my somewhat ties to Doug Pederson from thirty some odd years ago street cred enough to make me a bit of a football expert. So, you can haggle with me all you want on the finer points, I know Doug Pederson, damn-it, and you’re going to have to deal with that.

So what else can I say about myself? I’ve been an actor in Seattle for many years, and I’ve written a bit for the stage and screen. I have some IMDB credits, and a cool demo. It’s nothing amazing, or anything.

I’ve been known in the Seattle Theatre circles as that guy that really loves the Seattle Seahawks, and football, and it may well be what I’m known best for in those circles. Artist types, either diehards or fair weather fans, would approach me after during intermissions so that I could impart my football wisdom to such things as why Seattle would pass the ball on the one yard line. My answers would surely be construed as nothing short of pure unadulterated Football Zen. I would simply say something like, “Because running the ball would have been way too obvious.”

Ah.

So, I think that this is what this blog is going to be about. I’m going to offer to you my Zen. I’m not going to get wrapped up into metric analytics. I wasn’t a math, or economics major. I majored in Drama. So, I’m going to offer you my gut intuition. What does Pete Carroll want? What is the motivation of Russell Wilson? What is John Schneider’s through-line? What are their obstacles? These are the fundamental questions an actor asks about his character and this is I will ask about this team.

Yes, so there you have it. I will essentially act out my greatest role throughout the course of the blog. I will become the Seattle Seahawks, and from me doing that, I think we will gain some practical insight, or, at the very least, it will be a fun exercise, and we have lots to unravel. I suspect we are entering into a dynamic time in the team’s existence.

We have a star quarterback that likely wants to be the highest paid player in the league entering the last year of his contract. We have the best middle linebacker on the planet entering his last year, as well. We have a dynamic young pass rusher who won’t enter training camp without a new deal, and we have a defensive tackle wwho has blossomed into a legit pass rusher entering the last year of his rookie deal. Folks, the Seahawks got stuff to do, and guess what? They only have for picks in this April’s draft to fill out other needs.

This is a great time to start a blog. I hope you hang around. Comments are welcome, just don’t be a d**k head.

Go Hawks.