Mocking 2024 Seahawks Draft Round I: Building The Offensive Line

Posted on April 3, 2024 by curtiseastwood

Could this former Husky be the future of the revamped Seattle offensive line?

Few people can ever gage what is going on in Seahawk general manager John Schneider’s mind when it comes to the draft. I think he’s a very good poker player and intentionally throws out smokescreens through the media.

I have been doing annual mock draft articles on this blog for years now, and I didn’t see Devon Witherspoon, Charles Cross, Jaxon Smith Ngijba, or Jordyn Brooks coming in round one. I did, however, detect that Boye Mafe, Abe Lucas, Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Anthony Bradford, Kenny McIntosh, and Cam Young could all be draft picks and I was right with these.

What does this all mean? It means that even though they can be hard to predict at the top end of the draft, there are players on days two and three of the draft who one can easily project as fits for what Seattle likes at certain positions. They have types.

Last year, I was almost certain that they were going to draft a quarterback fifth overall, or take a pass rusher. The way they pranced around at top quarterback prospect pro days taking selfies with each of them should have been a dead given away of a smokescreen, but I fell for it, anyways. That’s how intoxicating it can be to imagine drafting a young quarterback in round one.

This year’s “smoke screen” was most likely John going onto Seattle Sports Radio a few weeks ago, and lamenting how much guards get over paid and over drafted in the league. It’s clear that they didn’t want to pay Damien Lewis what Carolina just did. It’s also clear that through these last view weeks of free agency, guard remains Seattle’s biggest need. It is also worth noting once again just how uniquely deep this draft appears to be at offensive line.

This first mock draft article exemplifies how Seattle might use this draft to build up its offensive line for the long term, finally. This also might be the mock draft I do that will most realistically mirror what Seattle ends up doing at the end of this month, but we shall see.

With the 16th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks trade with the Detroit Lions

Seattle and Detroit have a long history of trading together, and I have them again scratching each other’s backs. Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson slides to pick 16, and Detroit makes an aggressive trade up for him sending picks 29, 61, and their 2025 second round pick. This satisfies John Schneider, and the deal is done.

With the 28th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Roger Rosengarten, Offensive Tackle, Washington

Seattle surprises by taking an offensive tackle when that is the strength of their offensive line, but in their view, they take best player available. Offensive coordinator Ryan Gruff and offensive line coach Scott Huff know Rosengarten extensively, and he was tasked to protect Michael Penix Junior’s blind side as he put up prolific passing numbers at UW. Rosengarten is a good athlete who tested well at the scouting combine, and will come in knowing exactly what to do in this blocking scheme. His presence could allow Abe Lucas to kick inside to a guard spot in order to better protect his knee and for Seattle to field the best five guys on the field together. Alternatively, it could be the rook who initially kicks inside, and Lucas stays outside. Either way, I would kinda dig this pick.

With the 61st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Ruke Orhorhoro, Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Seattle locked up Leonard Big Cat Williams to a three year deal, and he will be an anchor inside on Seattle’s defensive line, but they might want to find him a mate to rush with him. Orhorhoro has great length and athleticism to play end in the 3-4 stuff they will do, and explosive strength to be an effective pass rushing DT when they go four down linemen. His selection will immediately push Dre’Mont Jones who was the big free agent signing last year that didn’t live up to expectations.

With the 81st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks trade with the Cleveland Browns

In part of the Sam Howell trade, Seattle swapped their fifth round pick for Washington’s early sixth rounder, and in this scenario, they find a trade partner in Cleveland to move back a few spots in the third round to recoup a fifth round pick. Cleveland moves up to take an edge rusher who they think the Vikings, Rams, or Steelers might covet.

With the 85th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Trevin Wallace, Linebacker, Kentucky

Seattle takes a hard hitting middle linebacker. Wallace is an explosive athlete who attacks gaps, is unafraid to take on bigger bodies, and shows signs of being decent in coverage. He also offers pass rush abilities. He would benefit from having Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dobson playing in front of his. His job as a rookie will be to provide quality depth, great special teams, and to soak in Macdonald’s system to eventually take over as a starter.

With the 102nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Malik Mustapha, Safety, Wake Forest

At some point in this draft, I think we see Seattle taking a stab at a potential starting safety type, and I think Mustapha feels like a classic Baltimore Raven back end defender. He’s described as instinctive, rangy, plays the run and pass well. At 5-10 and 205 lbs, he’s not enticingly long, or big, but neither was Quandre Diggs, and I think he’s got those sort of traits.

With the 118th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Layden Robinson, Guard, Texas A&M

Last year, Seattle took massive athletic LSU guard Anthony Bradford in round fourth with intentions of him developing into a starter. I believe that is still the plan for him, but I can see them using another fourth rounder this year on a guard to push him, or become the eventual guard at the other spot. Robinson is another powerful big boy at 6-4 320 lbs, and with Ryan Grubbs taking over the offense, and I think we are going to see a lot of mixtures of zone and man blocking with the scheme. Robinson has the bruit abilities to fit the power man stuff, and could provide valuable swing guard duties in year one.

With the 156th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Joe Milton, Quarterback, Tennessee

At some point in this draft, I believe it is still likely that Seattle will take a quarterback even though they just traded for Sam Howell to potentially be the QB of the future. I think John Schneider is itching to draft quarterbacks now with Pete Carroll out of the picture. Schneider is from the Green Bay school of drafting and developing passers and he has openly lamented only taking two in the last fourteen years.

I have thought long and hard about what prospect they could be targeting in the mid rounds should they not invest in one earlier. Joe Milton offers upside with Cam Newton like size, arm strength, and running abilities, but he is painfully raw with only twelve college starts in an air raid system that doesn’t greatly translate to the pros. However, with Geno Smith and Sam Howell, Seattle might be the ideal landing spot for him to come in and properly learn pro concepts with no pressure to start anytime soon. If he can pick the system up, fix his mechanics, he has crazy upside. At this stage in the draft, why not take a shot on a prospect who could actually blossom into a top end starter if all goes correctly? I would rather see them take a shot at potential greatness than play it safer on a prospect who will mostly likely be a run of the mill backup.

With the 179th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jaheim Bell, Tight End, Florida State

Seattle has Noah Fant locked in for two more years, and they brought in Pharaoh Brown for a couple years to serve as their primary blocking tight end. They have depth players behind these two guys, but I could see them taking a shot on a player like Bell who offers good pass catching chops. At Washington, Grubb loved using athletic tight ends almost as big slot receivers who can get down field on occasion, and offer outlets on third downs. This is what Bell could be in the pros.

With the 192nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Josiah Ezirim, Offensive Tackle, Eastern Kentucky

Here, Seattle goes for its third offensive line prospect, and they take advantage of the unique depth at the tackle spot in this draft. Stone Forsythe is in the final year of his rookie contract, so Seattle could be in need of a longer termed swing tackle. Ezirim is huge at 6-5 324 lbs, and he has natural abilities as a run blocker and pass blocker. At this stage in the draft, he might be too good of a prospect for Seattle to pass up, and now they feel great about the depth of their offensive line for years to come.

With the 235th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Tyrice Knight, Linebacker, UTEP

Knight is a developmental middle linebacker with good athletic traits. He was a tackling monster at Texas El Paso, but has been described as a player who free lanced a lot within the scheme. He will be tasked to learn how to become a disciplined linebacker in Mike Macdonald’s scheme, but in this late stage of the draft, they take a flyer on his traits.

Thoughts On This Mock Draft

If the Seattle Seahawks make a trade such as this one, bypassing a chance at a premiere pass rusher like Chop Robinson by trading into the backend of the first round for a right tackle many will see graded as a second round pick, I can guarantee the outrage all over Seahawks Twitter and sports radio. Before Roger Rosengarten plays a meaningful down of football, fans will be calling for John Schneider’s head on a silver platter.

The truth of trading back, however, is that a great prospect has to land at Seattle’s pick in order to entice the deal. For the folks who want Seattle to trade back in order to collect more picks, they need to square themselves with the fact that Seattle could pass up on a dude who might be an absolute star at a premium position. In this mock draft, I wanted to present a scenario where Seattle does just that.

A few quick thoughts on the quarterback situation for the Seahawks before we get to Roger Rosengarten and other picks in this draft. Even though Seattle now has Geno Smith and Sam Howell, a narrative is being driven that Seattle is still a quarterback needy team. I’m not so sure about that, but I think a few things are worth addressing here as the position ties into this mock draft.

I suspect the Seahawks probably went into this offseason keen to potentially draft one of the top quarterbacks of this class, but somewhere through the course of Senior Bowl workouts, the combine, and pro days, they determined that it would probably be too difficult to land a quarterback they really dig at pick 16, and this is why we saw the Sam Howell trade. They liked Howell a couple years ago, and are probably willing to give him a good long look with two years left on his rookie contract. If he blossoms into a quality young NFL starter, Schneider can hang his hat on saying that he always loved him coming out of college. I believe there’s a decent chance that he could, and I feel the team sees it this way, too.

That said, this Sam Howell trade does not prevent Seattle from starting to draft quarterbacks until they have found their next franchise passer. In this mock draft, I have them taking a fifth round flyer on Joe Milton, who has all kinds of physical talent, but is raw as can be for NFL standards, and will have an uphill battle to improve accuracy and show an ability to handle pro style concepts as a passer. If he clears those hurdles, however, he could be something special, but like Howell, he would be just one bite at the apple trying to find the next franchise passer.

A real key to this scenario of trading back with Detroit isn’t just getting their late second round pick this year, but also acquiring their second round pick in 2025, as well. If they want to take another chomp at the quarterback apple in 2025’s draft class, having two second round picks would give them ammo to move up for one, if they determine Howell or a guy like Milton isn’t going to be the guy long term. It just gives them more options and resources to better find that next guy in 2025, if needed.

The real story of this draft is taking advantage of what the strengths of it is, and that is offensive tackle. This is a ridiculously deep draft at the position. If there are internal concerns over how well Abe Lucas’s knee will hold up long term, Seattle could land a player like Rosengarten later in round one after a trade back, and they can be good to go at that spot for years.

In his recent mock draft, ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper has Rosengarten going to the 49ers at Pick 31. Kiper is a very well sourced draft analyst and might be hearing chatter in the winds that the former Husky is getting a lot of positive traction with teams these days. So, in my mind, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he ultimately finds himself in the backend of round one, and Seattle, with his former Washington offensive coordinator and line coach, knows him better than any other team out there. I’m connecting these dots.

People could read this article and ask why doesn’t Seattle stay at pick 16 and take UW’s Troy Fautanu instead because he is the superior prospect who is also familiar with the coaches, but I don’t expect him to make it to 16. The Chargers, Titans, Bears, and Saints all need offensive line help, and I can see him going to any one of those teams in front of Seattle. Therefore, I think there is a decent chance that they could be keen on Rosengarten after a trade back. He could be their best player available by the time they pick who also fits somewhat of a need.

I do think they will aim for a true guard but it might not be until early day three of the draft where they were comfortable taking Anthony Bradford last year. John Schneider might feel that rounds three through five are great points of the draft to take guards, and in truth, many quality guards in the league were drafted later on. You can find good guards, linebackers, safeties, and running backs in the mid portions of the draft. It’s actually fairly common.

Good offensive tackles, however, those guys usually go in round one. It is, and it has always been a premium position in the league. This is why I wouldn’t be surprised if they ultimately pick an offensive tackle first when the real bullets fly on draft day. Not the most obvious need, but because of the uncertainty of Lucas’s health, I think it’s a sneaky of enough need that also aligns with the top end strength of this draft class. Seattle can get a really good offensive tackle in round one, if they want one.

With the late second round picked gained in the trade back, I opted to go with a good defensive tackle prospect, even though it also didn’t feel like an overt need. I don’t think Schneider wants to get caught up on drafting needs. Orhorhoro was available at pick 61 in the draft simulator that I used, he was the highest rated player, and the pick made sense to me.

Mike Macdonald was hired to stop the Shanahan and McVay teams in the NFC West. His Baltimore defense was built up with a strong defensive line and front seven. I can see Seattle wanting to gift him with a player who has a chance to be special on the defensive line along with Big Cat Williams. Orhorhoro feels like a Baltimore Raven style D Liner. Tall, powerful, plays explosively with good pad level. I like this fit in Seattle.

In terms of linebacker, it has been talked about a lot how this draft isn’t super great at the position. Nobody really stood out at the combine hyped as the next Ray Lewis, or even Devin White, and the few guys being touted as potentially higher picks didn’t work out much. I think Seattle is interested in a few of these guys, but I don’t think they will burn a high pick on one just for the sake of it. Trevin Wallace in the middle of round three makes some sense. Waiting late on a raw yet athletic guy like Tyrice Knight makes sense, as well. No need to force any need here with Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dobson being brought in as veteran starters for 2024. Take a linebacker where ever it feels right to do it.

I like taking day three shots at safety and tight end. It feels right to target them there unless someone truly special falls in their lap earlier. There’s only one special tight end in this class, though, and I don’t think Brock Bowers makes it to pick 16.

If I were to nitpick this mock draft, I would have liked to have found another young edge rusher, and maybe taken a shot on another receiver. This is also a deep class at receiver, and it would be a shame for Seattle to not tap into it with Tyler Lockett being older, and Dee Eskridge being in the final year of his deal. While it is not a great need, I like the theme of staying with the strength of the draft, and instead of taking a developmental linebacker in the round three, that pick could have gone to a decent receiver prospect. Just a thought.

‘Tis what it is, though, and generally, if they pulled something like this off, I would dig that draft. I would love to see Seattle build up a great offensive line, and if they hypothetically kicked Abe Lucas to left guard to better protect that knee, a line that features Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, and Roger Rosengarten has an exciting feel to it, at least to me. It would be BIG, athletic, with a good mixture of technically sound pass blockers and physical earth moving run blockers. I could get behind that. Absolutely I could.

Go Hawks.

Assessing The State Of The 2024 Seattle Seahawks Prior To The NFL Draft

Posted on March 28, 2024 by curtiseastwood

Well, here we stand a few weeks after the initial wave of NFL free agency, and a month before the NFL Draft. Starting next week, I will be doing draft articles with thoughts on what the Seahawks might do to further build back towards being a Super Bowl contender.

The NFL Draft is like Christmas for me. I dork out about it annually, and I look forward each year writing these pieces, but until then, I thought it would be a great idea to examine further the current roster in order to determine how close they are towards legitimate contention, and how they might prioritize this year’s draft class.

The Seattle Seahawks made a wave of moves, mostly either short term two year contracts, or one year “prove it” deals to some proven vets to plug in holes, and a couple bigger moves to keep Leonard Big Cat Williams and Noah Fant on the roster. Curiously, they haven’t done much at the position of guard, their biggest need, and this particular lack of action has been panic inducing for many fans, but I think there is more to come here, and I will touch further on that below.

On the whole, I’m pretty good with all their activities. I love keeping Williams and Fant, I like what they did at linebacker, and I really dig the Sam Howell trade. These were all much needed moves, in my opinion. The real moves to jettison this franchise forward over the next few years is what they do in this draft, however.

In my view, it is the smart teams that remain dedicated to building through the draft, and not get too involved in the crazy money of free agency. Seattle, for the most part, has demonstrated this restraint once again this year. Here is a look of the health of the roster heading towards the draft next month.

Quarterback: Healthy

Say whatever you will about him, most metrics say Geno Smith is a top 15 quarterback in the league, and Seattle has him on an affordable deal in 2024. This is a win. Coach Mike Macdonald has described his desire of having an offense that will power up in the run game, and be explosive off of play action, and build the pocket passing off of that. Geno is a very good play action QB, and a great deep ball passer. I look for him to find success in Ryan Grubb’s offense.

In the wings is young gun Sam Howell who started for the Washington Commanders last year, and Seattle swapped some picks for. Most in the league would probably view Howell as a top backup with some upside to become a regular starter. This is how I see him. Geno is the starter, but Howell has the talent to make things interesting, and he could be the future.

With the trade of Howell, I don’t expect Seattle to draft a quarterback high this year. It was very telling that they traded for him right after offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb attended Bo Nix’s pro day. Grubb also know Michael Penix Junior better than anyone in the league.

Could have Seattle determined that there isn’t much difference between Howell and Nix and Penix? I think that is possible, but Schneider has stated his disappointment in only selecting two QBs in fourteen years. My translation to all of this is that, at some point in the draft, Seattle will select someone to develop behind Howell and Geno Smith. We shall see.

Running Back: Strong

Seattle is blessed with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet as a one two punch, and I believe Kenny McIntosh has the talent to be a playmaking factor, as well. I think they add a player in this draft, or afterwards in free agency if they don’t make that selection, but I suspect these guys to be the big three.

Walker has all kinds of playmaking abilities as a home run hitter once he hits the open field, but for my money, I am excited to see more of the hammering elements of Charbonnet this year. He feels like a classic Baltimore Ravens back with shades of Chris Carson and Marshawn Lynch. I’m excited to see how this all fits into Grubb’s offense.

Wide Receiver: Elite

DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith Ngijba make for arguably the best receiving trio in the the league. If these three stay healthy, whether it is Geno Smith or Sam Howell throwing the rock, that quarterback is going to be blessed.

My expectation is the DK Metcalf is going to become a monster in Ryan Grubb’s offense much the same way Rome Odunze did the last two years at Washington. Pete Carroll never seemed much interested in truly featuring his weapons like other offenses do in the league. That changes this year with this staff. DK is going to become the absolute star he was always meant to be.

Tyler Lockett reworked his deal to become more affordable and will stay reliable. It will be interesting to see between him and JSN who takes on the more significant role in this Grubb offense. Seattle burnt a first round pick on JSN for a reason last year. It will be interesting to see how this evolves.

Behind these three is a reliable route running and sure handed Jake Bobo, and explosive Dee Eskridge who the team is going to give a final chance to make an impact. This is an exceptionally deep draft at receiver. I think we could see Seattle take a dip into these waters.

Tight End: Promising

I am one of the few who is pretty high on Noah Fant, and I was pleased to see Schneider make the two year commitment to him, bringing him back. Like DK, he has rare size and speed for this position, and like DK, I thought Carroll never figured out how to take nearly enough advantage of that. I am excited to see what Grubb does with him. I think he can be a star in this league with the right scheming.

Pharaoh Brown will be the primary blocking tight end, and was rated elite by Pro Football Focus that way, and he can also catch the rock. Tyler Marby and Brady Russell are slated to battle for the third spot, I wouldn’t be surprised if this a spot they use the draft for, as well.

Offensive Line: Gas Inducing

To be fair, all of these assessments are projection, and for all we know, the offensive line will become a strength of the team with the new coaching staff, but as of this date, on paper this group is scary thin. Seattle has talent at tackle with Charles Cross, George Fant, and Abe Lucas, but both guard spots and the center position all feature unknowns outside of Anthony Bradford who played okay enough as a rookie. Yikes.

Right now, I am not super stressing the incompleteness of this vital unit. The overwhelming strength of the draft this Spring appears to be the offensive line. There is little doubt that Seattle is setting themselves to take advantage of that strength and I would expect to at least make a couple selections to round this group out.

It also would not shock me if we ultimately see Abe Lucas shift to one of the guard spots to better protect his knee. It was interesting that they brought back George Fant who played really well at right tackle for the Texans last year. The playoff Texans wanted him back, but he chose to sign a 2 year $ 14 million deal with Seattle, instead. Right now, he has been called their swing tackle, but why would he come back here to be a backup when he could have stayed in Houston to start and pass block for CJ Stroud?

Something doesn’t smell right, but if envision a starting unit from left to right featuring Cross, Lucas, Olu Oluwatimi, Bradford, and Fant, all of a sudden Seattle’s offensive line feels a bit of formidable. Maybe Seattle drafts a right tackle with their first pick and another guard in the middle rounds, and by the end of the 2024 season, this is a clear area of strength of the team. We shall see.

Defensive Line And Edge Rushers: Hopeful

Big Cat Williams gives this defensive line probably the best defensive tackle it has had in the past couple decades. For a franchise that drafted Hall Of Famer Cortez Kennedy in 1990, and Sam Adams a few years afterwards, the track record for great DTs coming through here afterwards has not been stellar. Sure, John Randle made a pit stop here in the early 2000’s, and we had Brandon Mebane here from the Mike Holmgren to the Pete Carroll eras, and Jarran Reed has been decent, but Seattle has not had the disruptive force inside like Big Cat brings in a long ass time. That’s why they are paying him $21 million APY for the next three years.

Williams mixed with Reed, and Johnathan Hankins and Dre’Mont Jones give them an interesting blend of veteran experience up front. Jones disappointed last year after being a big free agent signing in 2023, but I think he fell victim of being forced to play out of position in a scheme that never felt sound under the previous coaching staff. I’m interested to see what Macdonald is able to do with him in this new scheme.

Behind the seasoned vets is Cameron Young and Mike Morris drafted last year, who both look like players that can potentially blossom into starters, and Myles Adams who has played well in the past in spots as a situational DT. Because of Young and Morris, I don’t know how likely it is that this team drafts more DT types this year. The new staff might be tasked to developing them more.

In terms of the edge rushers, Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe could both shine in Macdonald’s new scheme, and I expect Derick Hall to take a big step forward after a slow rookie season. Darrell Taylor has been brought back, as well, and while fans aren’t happy with how he’s played against the run in the past, he’s always been an effective enough of a passer over the recent years to think he’s worth a roster spot for that very reason.

I like the potential of these edge rushers, but I could stand to see more added. Because they spent high round draft capital on Mafe and Hall in recent years, and invested big money into Nwosu, I actually would almost rather seem them add a short term proven vet like Kyle Van Noy (who both played for Macdonald in Baltimore) rather than draft the position high again this Spring. I want this unit to feel like a deep rave of rushers this year. Outside of Nwosu and Mafe, however, presently it feels like a wave of maybes.

Middle Linebacker: Interesting

It feels blasphemous to suggest the a couple of solid not spectacular veterans coming in on one year deals to replace Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks could make this unit better, but that’s kinda what I’m feeling about Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. I mean Wagner no disrespect, but I don’t trust him in coverage at this stage in his career in a scheme that calls for solid coverage linebackers, and I kinda feel the same way about Brooks. Dodson is described as a hit the gaps hard linebacker against the run but was highly graded coverage guy by Pro Football Focus last Fall, and Baker has been a highly regarded coverage ‘backer, as well.

There are two ways to look at the one year deals both players signed. One way is that you can look at it as the wanting to draft and develop this year behind them, and they are potentially just stop gap starters. The other way it can be seen is that the team believes in their potential and sold to them an opportunity to come out here into a very linebacker friendly system run by Macdonald that will reset their free agent for next Spring when they can really cash in on the big dollars, and the team will be more than happy to keep them around long termed.

Personally, I think the truth probably lies somewhere in between. I think Seattle is looking to draft a talented young linebacker this Spring, and they also have a serious mind towards Dodson and Baker shining in a way that at least one of them sticks around longer termed.

At any rate, I am interested in this group and what Macdonald might do with it. He has professed that his love is coaching linebackers and seeing the game from that perspective on defense. Carroll was always a defensive backs guy, and preferred the back seven. I am hopeful with Macdonald being a linebacker dude that the front seven will always be the strong point of emphasis moving forward.

Cornerback: Strong

Despite a disappointing sophomore season, I am still a big believer in Riq Woolen. His combined length, speed, and playmaking abilities on the ball can still make him an elite corner in the league. He needs to probably play in a zone press scheme and his fundamentals need to be honed in. Macdonald’s defense in Baltimore the last couple seasons predominantly played zone coverages. If he can scheme to Woolen’s strength, and if Woolen works his ass off to work out his own kinks, he can still be a star in this league.

Devon Witherspoon is already a star, in my view, and will remain Seattle’s difference maker on the backend, playing outside and nickel corner. He will be the chess piece in the secondary that Jamal Adams was expected to be when Seattle traded for him.

Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Artie Burns, and Coby Bryant give Seattle high quality depth. Jackson, and Brown are starters in the league, but in Seattle they will be backups. Burns provides solid veteran depth, and Bryant has split time at nickel corner and safety, but was an outside corner in college. It would be nice to see Bryant finally settle on one spot and master it.

Safety: Okay-ish

I am not going to build this unit up anymore than I think it is, and I am not going to tear it down, either. Seattle has re-shifted it’s approach to the position by moving on from uber expensive starters Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, and replaced them with Julian Love and Rayshawn Jenkins on more affordable salaries.

Neither Love or Jenkins appear to be bad players. Both seem to play the run and pass well enough, and I thought Love played pretty well at times for Seattle last year in replacement for Adams. The team has also added veteran K’Von Wallace into the mix, and has Jerrick Reed on the roster, who some believe was a promising rookie last year before he suffered a season ending knee injury.

This is a position I anticipate they will address further in the draft.

Final Thoughts

Seattle has hedged themselves up pretty well heading towards the draft with the one exception being offensive guard. Unless they plan to move Abe Lucas inside, it feels like there is one more player left to add pre-draft, and former Jets and 49er Laken Thomlison has been somewhat linked to the team, recently.

Whether they add another veteran offensive lineman or not, this is the draft of drafts to address the offensive line. I expect Seattle to add at least two more players here by the time the draft is completed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they added three. It’s projected to be that good.

I also expect them to add an off the ball linebacker, as well. Keep an eye on Michigan linebacker Junior Colson being a potential target for the team if they trade back a few times to replenish more day two picks. He’s experienced in Macdonald’s system, and was highly productive for the National Champs. It would not stun me if he ends up being their first pick after trading back.

As much as I would lose my noodle with excitement if this team drafts Michael Penix Junior next month, and I don’t expect this to happen. I think they like Sam Howell as a potential long term answer at quarterback maybe more than some realize. That said, I still anticapte, at some point in this draft, they will take a shot on a quarterback to develop. I just don’t think they want to force that pick in the early rounds if they aren’t completely sold on a guy. Therefore, I would look at the middle rounds for them to maybe take a shot at a player like Tulane’s Michael Pratt who they met with at the NFL Scouting Combine.

I anticipate that safety, and tight end will also be areas that they will look to continually shore up. For myself, I would like them to add one more edge rusher, and I wouldn’t turn my nose on adding another defensive tackle, either, if the dude can rush.

At any rate, overall I like how this roster is rounding out. There is elite talents sprinkled through the skill positions of this team. Adding more beef inside feels like the final stage of overall completion of this roster construction, and this is the draft to do this that. I dig it.

Go Hawks

Good Vibe Thoughts On This First Week Of Free Agency For the Seattle Seahawks

Posted on March 15, 2024 by curtiseastwood

I like this guy (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Last week, I dropped an entry on this blog listing all of my hopes for the Seahawks this offseason. Ain’t no lying, I am a happy guy with how everything is shaking out, thus far.

First and foremost, I wanted them to commit to building up their front seven on defense by hopefully signing back Leonard Williams, and adding a playmaking linebacker like Tyrel Dobson. Boom!

Done and motherf’ing done. We got both.

Secondly, I wrote very strongly about my desire to see this team bring in a quarterback of the future. I implied heavily that I wanted to see them draft this player in April, but I also noted that if they were to go the route of trading for a young quarterback on a rookie contract, I wanted that player to be Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders. I just have a better vibe about his potential that I do Mac Jones, or Justin Fields, or that Ridder cat. BOOM!

Done, and motherf’ing fudging done, mother-fudgers!

I also wrote about my desire to see them bring back tight end Noah Fant.

BOOM, MOTHERFUDGING FUDGERS!

Also, I stated my desire to see them aggressively go at the offensive line in free agency and the draft. I felt they should sign a good vet and draft a couple players. So far, they signed a couple decent vets and are poised to draft a pretty good player in an offensive line rich draft class. BOOM!

So, here are some of my off the cuff thoughts on the additions and retained players this week.

Leonard Williams and Tyrel Dobson can be key players for Mike Macdonald’s exotic defense

Leonard Williams felt like the must bring back player for John Schneider and not just because Seattle dealt a 2nd and 5th round pick to the Giants for him last Fall. He was the best defensive lineman for Seattle last year, and he physically fits the mold of Baltimore Raven defensive linemen. He’s big, long, strong, and athletic, and he’s disruptive. He can play multiple positions but works best as a 3 technique defensive tackle, and should play through his three year deal no problem.

For years, Seattle has been searching for a defensive tackle of Leonard’s abilities. Now that they finally got one, let him be the fixture up front moving forward. I would be totally cool if they doubled down in the draft, as well.

Tyrel Dobson is a very interesting young linebacker who has yet to be much of a name in the league but was an ascending talent for the Buffalo Bills last year, and graded out highly by Pro Football Focus both as a coverage guy and stopping the run. Many Seahawk fans have been bemoaning the team for allowing Jordyn Brooks to leave to Miami, but as I sorta sensed it, I think Seattle let Brooks go with the idea of adding a player like Dobson. This is a new coaching staff with a new scheme, and I think we are about to see a shift in types of players they are going to want. In Baltimore, it seemed like Macdonald preferred ‘backers who were really good coverage guys. I really super dig this signing. I need them to add one more vet, though, before the draft.

I am excited about Sam Howell coming to Seattle and here is why

Look, I get it for you are not wowed by the idea of the Seahawks trading for Sam Howell, especially after the botched Drew Lock experiment. While many are applauding the move, I see some negative reactions on social media ranging from feeling the need to defend Geno Smith by dismissing Howell, to being bummed that maybe Seattle won’t draft Michael Penix Junior after all, or just kinda mean spirited jabs going at Howell’s mistakes he made as a passer in his first season starting in the NFL.

I see Howell, and I think he could become a pretty good player in this league, if given the proper chance. I am not saying he will, but I think he could. He’s got a great arm, and he’s a really good athlete. I think he’s a much better passer than Justin Fields.

He’s got to learn how to limit turnover worthy plays, and not force things into unfavorable coverage. I also think he hangs onto the ball too long in the pocket, instead of dumping it to the check down, or taking off for positive gain, but it’s not like any of this isn’t correctable. These are all things that can be fixed in a young quarterback.

I also think Seattle’s offensive scheme could end up being a really good fit for him. Ryan Grubb designs passing attacks that make it favorable for quarterbacks. In Fresno, Jake Haener put up flashy numbers, and at Washington, they took a flyer on a banged up player who was almost washed out of college football in Michael Penix, and Grubb turned him into a star.

With Howell, the Commanders had him throw at a crazy high volume last year. It was baptism under fire, go be Patrick Mahomes type stuff in his first season starting. While he started out looking great, in the second half of the season it caught up to him when their line turned to trash, and he turned into a turnover machine.

John Elway, Brett Farve, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning were also turnover machines when they first started out, as well. If you are to look at the first year of Brees starting for the Chargers, Howell’s numbers from last year compare pretty favorably to him.

In Seattle, however, the vision is to be a ball control offense that leans into the run and builds play action off of it. Whether it is Geno Smith, or Sam Howell, the quarterback isn’t going to be tasked to be a high volume passer. This isn’t likely going to be the Ryan Grubb offense we saw at the University of Washington the last two years. Grubb is going to build an offense that will run it significantly more, and look for the explosive plays off of it through play action. This is how Mike Macdonald has described it.

In order to run that sort of offense really well, you would like a quarterback with a big arm, and it helps tremendously if he is mobile. Sam Howell has both of those things going for him.

While it is certainly possible that acquiring Howell is simply a hedge for a quarterback in this coming draft, it could also be possible that Ryan Grubb, who knows Michael Penix Junior better than anyone, went down to Eugene to watch Bo Nix throw at his pro day, and he came back saying to John Schneider that there is not that much difference between Nix, Penix, and Howell. Either one of these scenarios could be true, and time will tell how this all plays out.

Here is what I will say about Howell in comparison to the quarterbacks of this draft. He is younger than both Nix and Penix, and he has 18 games of starting experience in this league, and that is significantly more than what Drew Lock has had. I think he has a stronger arm than what Nix has, and he is a much better scrambler than Penix will likely ever be.

Schneider describes him as highly intelligent, and tough. That does actually mean something to me. Those are character traits to work with.

When I see Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, I get some diva vibes, honestly. When I look at Drake Maye, I can see great size and physical tools, but I see a lot of sloppy unrefined play. With JJ McCarthy, it feels like he’s guy who has superb character traits but maybe a limited arm, and ceiling. Each one of these guys kinda bares questions, one way or another. I have a hard time imagining that all of them are going to be superstar passers at the next level. Each comes with a risk.

By trading for Howell, who is roughly the same age, Seattle flipped with Washington a third rounder for a fourth, and a fifth for a sixth. That is all. That’s peanuts.

When they traded for Matt Hasselbeck in the early 2000’s, all they did to get him was to flip first round picks from Green Bay to bring him in. It was a low cost trade not that dissimilar to this one with Howell in order to take a shot on an unproven quarterback who the coach kinda sensed might blossom into a good starter in time, and it ultimately paid off.

If Howell doesn’t work out long term, so what? They gave up little for him.

But if they take Penix at 16, and he proves to be Teddy Bridgewater, that’s going to sting, especially if they passed over a pro bowl guard, or a premier edge rusher. And if they trade future first round picks to move up for JJ McCarthy and he is just mid as a player, at best, well, that’s going to be considerably worse.

Would I love to see Seattle draft a quarterback in April? Yeah, I would absolutely, positively dig that.

Would I be okay if they punted at drafting one and gave Howell a long look here to see if he could be further developed? Yeah, I would be pretty okay with that also.

I kinda dig him, actually.

And I dig this trade. I’m curious in ways I wasn’t with Drew Lock.

Noah Fant is back and this is rad!

One of the things in life that I will never understand, outside of the popularity of mayonnaise, is the lack of popularity of Noah Fant with Seahawk fans. Personally, I think it has more to do with the fact that in 14 years, Pete Carroll had no idea what to properly do with a big athletic tight end than anything else, but still..

What is the deal with all the Noah Fant “meh” crap?

He’s big, and athletic, and fast in ways that most tight ends are not. He also runs good routes and catches well. Ryan Grubb loves to use tight ends.

THIS IS A MATCH MADE IN TIGHT END HEAVEN!

Mark this words; in two years time, Noah Fant’s contract is going to be due and all these ungrateful Noah Fant naysaying nincompoops out there are going to be flipping out of their skulls with worry about him potentially leaving. That’s how awesome he is going to be in this new offense with Sam Howell throwing him darts.

Oh, also of note, the Seahawks signed this run blocking tight end Pharaoh Brown dude who is a former Oregon Duck. He will almost certainly be my wife’s favorite player.

George Fant and Nick Harris are fantastic signings!

Speaking of Fant, how about George Fant coming home?!

George Fant played really well for the playoff Texans last year and Seattle is paying him good money to return home to be a “swing tackle.” Two years $14 million tells me that there are legit concerns perhaps of Abe Lucas staying healthy with a gimpy knee, and Fant is a needed insurance policy.

If Lucas stays healthy, maybe one of them kicks inside to a guard spot. Schneider described Fant as a swing player, but I doubt he signed here thinking he wasn’t going to be a starter. We shall see how this plays out.

Center Nick Harris is a sneaky interesting signing. He played for offensive line coach Scott Huff in college at Washington, and was a really good player there. He was signed for better money that Seattle used on former starter Evan Brown last year. In Cleveland, he was a backup, but he also played snaps as a fullback on occasion. That’s a testament to his athleticism as a big man.

My hunch is Harris is a hedge for Olu Oluwatimi to become the starter after getting drafted last year as the outland trophy winner of college football’s best interior offensive lineman honors. However, there is this other side of me that wonders if Oluwatimi might be tried at guard because he actually has some decent enough size to play there, and Harris is a hedge for a center they like in the draft. Just a wee thought I have.

Just a wild thought. I got lots of them. For example, I think in high school’s across America, there should be a mandatory history class taught about World War Two. Maybe then we can get past the growing number crazy ass extremists that seem to be working at tearing our society apart every election cycle.

Rayshawn Jenkins intrigues at safety

Jenkins has been a proven safety in this league for a while and has played free and strong safety. He’s big at 6-1 221 lbs, he’s fast, he can cover and play the run. He is on a two year deal with very similar financial numbers to the contract Julian Love signed last year.

I think Jenkins and Love are Mike Macdonald’s starting safeties for 2024, but they will look to the draft. I suspect with the trade for Sam Howell, maybe Seattle is now looking to trade back in round one to get more picks and there is a safety or two they may target with some extra picks.

What intrigues me about Jenkins is frankly the financial commitment. Under Pete Carroll, Seattle has spend a ridiculous amount of money at the safety positions. He’d get a couple players he liked and he then had to make them the richest defenders on the team. I wonder with Macdonald whether Seattle now sees the position as something that they don’t need to spend top dollar on, and with his scheme, they can get by fine with good serviceable starters on affordable deals.

I don’t have a great vibe on Jenkins the player. It seemed like he had a market in free agency, and San Francisco was also looking at him. That’s something!

Final thoughts!

Love the Sam Howell trade. Love, love the Leonard Williams, Tyrel Dobson signings. Love, love the Noah Fant return.

I would love to see Seattle add one more proven veteran starting linebacker and a proven guard. They don’t have to be top shelf types either. I’d be happy with kicking the tires at guard on Mark Glowinski in Seattle again, or Halapoulivaati Vaitai. I would be cool to pair Dobson with Denzel Perryman or Kwon Alexander.

I need these two areas covered a bit more before we head into the draft, get a guard and another linebacker. As it stands right now, these are two positions that this team is likely to aiming to draft, but I don’t want them to force any needs.

What if a quarterback they dig does slide to their first pick? What if a great offensive tackle prospect is there? Or a great edge rush prospect?

Passing over great talent to fill a need leads to LJ Collier and Germain Ifedi selections and I would like to see this team avoid that type of mess. So, covering all bases, as much as possible feels vital.

So, go get that guard and linebacker, Schneider. So far, so good, but I need more. I can’t wait for more good news.

Go Hawks

A Very Excellent Offseason Wish List For The 2024 Seattle Seahawks

Posted on March 6, 2024 by curtiseastwood

By now, most people have heard the news that the Seattle Seahawks have released strong safety Jamal Adams, free safety Quandre Diggs, and tight end Will Dissly. While shocking moves to some, more tempered fans who may have been studying Seattle’s roster, salary cap situation, and pending free agents probably saw these actions coming. There could be more on the way before free agency begins next week.

With all respect to Diggs and Dissly being players for Seattle that I really liked over the years, these moves should pave the way for a fun, and active offseason. In this piece, I kinda blend my hopes for what this franchise does with what I think are also kinda likely moves.

With the NFL Scouting Combine now at its conclusion, a neat little picture is forming for how the offseason might go for our beloved Seattle Seahawks. This draft appears rich at interior defensive line, offensive line, wide receiver, quarterback, tight end, and possibly safety. Not so much for linebacker.

This informs us what to expect the free agent market to be. The areas of the draft that appear weak will drive up those same areas in free agency, and conversely, the areas that are deep should make those same positions more affordable on the free agent market.

How this effects Seattle is pretty simple. I feel they should be able to reach a deal with defensive tackle Leonard Williams, but given the fact that both of their starting middle linebackers are currently without contracts, Seattle is likely going to have to pay the piper one way or the other in free agency to settle a position who new head coach Mike Macdonald says he has a special affinity towards.

Seattle has a lot of work to do this offseason. They need to find two quality starting middle linebackers, they have apparent holes at guard, center, and tight end, and, in my opinion, they need to be thinking about a long term plan at quarterback.

The draft can offer some solutions, but they must nail free agency first. Now up to general manager John Schneider to make all the right calls.

The good news is that everything the Seahawks have done, so far, this offseason has been highly encouraging. In short, they made the bold move away from long standing head coach Pete Carroll in favor of bright young defensive mastermind Macdonald, and they paired the new coach with former Washington Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. They filled out the coaching staff with numerous promising coaches including a dude who looks like he might become a star offensive line coach in the league.

In my last piece, I wrote all my reasons why I am excited about the Macdonald/Grubb partnership moving forward and you can read it here. It is clear that the Seahawks want to become the Baltimore Ravens. They want to play dominant on defense, and they want to be explosive on offense. While this can be said about virtually every NFL team, I believe with these coaching changes paired with the talent already existing on this roster, Seattle is poised to be this team right out of the gates this Fall with a proper offseason of free agency, trades, and the draft.

The Seahawks are committed to Geno Smith this year by restructuring his deal, and that is a good thing. Fans are very polarized about him with some viewing him as a top ten-ish quarterback, and other feeling like he is bottom half. My view of Geno is that he is a solid second tier quarterback. There are only four quarterbacks in the league who I would describe as elite, and then there are everyone else.

For me, I will take a good vet like Geno and partner him with DK Metcalf and others in a Ryan Grubb offense that will lean further into the run and play action. Smart football minds can see the fit with Geno in that style of offense, as he is one of the best deep ball passers in the game. Physically and tools-wise, he is similar enough to Michael Penix Junior.

Offensively, I think Seattle is close to being some special in this league, but it is defensively where I see the most work being needed. Personally, I think there is talent on that side of the ball, but currently, neither middle linebacker is signed to a contract, nor is DT Leonard Big Cat Williams who the team sent a second round pick to the Giants for mid season last year. Personnel wise, there is a lot of work to do on that side of the ball.

Thus, this is what most fuels my wish list for this team moving forward. Here it is.

Commit to the front seven of this defense through free agency and the draft

Enough is enough with sinking nearly $50 million dollars into the safety positions. Seattle needs to start paying for boys that play much closer to the ball and around the line of scrimmage.

The need to work a deal out with Big Cat Williams feels like a given. Seattle sent a 2024 second round pick and a 2025 fifth round pick for him, and those are valuable assets. He is a very good defensive tackle, and losing him to free agency would seem like a bitter blow considering what Seattle gave up to bring him in for half of a season.

However, this free agency cycle appears to be a very good one for the DT position, and I think this is an intriguing draft class for the position, as well. I would think that the hiring of Macdonald is going to be appealing to Williams, who can be a star up front in that defensive scheme, but should he decide to sign elsewhere, Seattle could find a player of similar value out there one way, or another. For me, the goal should be Big Cat, or one of these other talented dudes out there in free agency. Just get one.

The more daunting issue for the defense might be middle linebacker with starters Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner both being free agents. For me, I think Seattle will probably move on from Wagner at this stage, but might make an effort to bring back Brooks at the right cost.

I don’t think Brooks coming back is a given, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Macdonald chooses to sign a couple middle linebackers from outside who he feels might be better suited for his scheme. Currently, I am leaning more towards this idea.

Instead of seeing this team drop a huge amount of money on a big name free agent like Patrick Queen, I would rather see them add two very good veteran coverage linebackers who would fit Macdonald’s scheme well, and then see whatever the draft brings. Maybe they add former Washington State Cougar Frankie Luvu who has played well in Carolina with 123 tackles, 6 sacks, 11 QB hits, let him have his homecoming, and then pair him with promising Bills linebacker Tyrel Dobson who earned high honors from Pro Football focus as being one of the top coverage linebackers in the league last year. That could be a dream scenario, and it would give Seattle a solid and affordable one two punch at middle linebacker.

In the draft, just keep depth adding pieces to the linebacker room and the D line. You can never have enough defensive linemen.

Find the Quarterback Of The Future

I need this team to start an honest search for the Quarterback Of The Future. Geno will turn 34 this October, and his salary in 2025 inflates to a whopping $38.5 million. I don’t see Seattle bringing him back next year at that cost, and their choices will be either to move on or sign him to another extension that will bring that 2025 salary number down.

There are many reasons why Seattle should be actively looking for its next franchise quarterback. Geno, while good, is probably at his ceiling, and is only going to get older, but even if he keeps playing well enough, he will continue to be an expensive good not great quarterback. Therein lays the problem.

In the rough economics of the NFL, there are huge benefits to having a quality franchise quarterback playing on a rookie contract for a while, but even if he plays into an expensive deal, time and youth will still be on his side. Continually extending a good not great Geno Smith until he is near 40 is not a great path towards getting another Super Bowl ring, in my humble opinion. How well has that worked out for the Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins?

What I would like to see this team do this offseason is either take a shot on one of the seven or eight quarterbacks in this draft who look like they could become promising NFL starters, or trade for a young talent already in the league. If they walk back Drew Lock to be QB2 again on a one year deal behind Geno, and don’t address the position again, it will feel like a let down.

Next year’s quarterback class doesn’t feel nearly as promising as this year’s does, and Seattle will likely be too competitive in 2024 to earn a top ten pick to draft a quarterback worth it this year. Because this year’s QB class feels unusually deep, it feels like this is the year to take a swing at one. I hope they do.

Anyone who has regularly reads my writing knows how strongly I feel about the Seahawks drafting Michael Penix Junior. I think his arm talent is A+, and he’s a lot more athletic than people are making him out to be. He can extend plays, but he does his best work from inside the pocket, and if you are to run a committed play action offensive such as Mike Macdonald has said he wants to see in Seattle, well then, Penix was the best play action passing quarterback in college last year. He just ticks so many boxes for what it appears Seattle wants to be moving forward. If Macdonald wants an explosive offense, Penix has the arm talent to deliver that exact threat, make no mistake about it.

There are others in this draft I fancy, as well, and I don’t have a great preference over any of them, to be honest. I would just love to see Seattle take a shot at one.

Some people are freaked out about the idea of Seattle trading up for one of these guys. If Seattle did that, I would be flipping out with excitement. I trust John Schneider to find his guy, and if he sees one in this class that he really loves and doesn’t want to wait around to see if he falls to 16, I say just go get that dude.

Alternatively, if they felt inspired to trade a page out of the Mike Holmgren book and trade for a young QB who might have some upside, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing them take a shot on Sam Howell, if Washington drafts a QB second overall. There was a rumor a couple years ago that Howell was the quarterback Seattle was considering drafting after they traded Russell Wilson. Howell is a good deep ball passer and has some fun duo threat abilities as a runner. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like there could be something there with him, and he has two years left on his rookie deal to find out. I think it would be worth a shot, if they choose to go another direction in the draft. Just a thought.

Be aggressive fixing the offensive line

Listening to Ryan Grubb discuss how much he values his offensive line play the other day got me ridiculously pumped. He wants an aggressive offensive line that will dictate the tone of his offense. This was the Washington Huskies for the past two years with him running the offense.

Seattle has some pieces in place on the line that can probably play to that style. I think they need possibly two more on the interior at guard and center. This is looking like an insanely good draft to add a guard and a center, and it doesn’t even have to happen in the first rounds.

My ideal approach would be to solve one spot with a quality veteran and use the draft for the other. I won’t lie, I think it would be perfectly fine to bring back left guard Damien Lewis, or center Evan Brown, and use the draft to fill the other spot.

I think you want to give Anthony Bradford (drafted last year) legit shot at the other guard spot. He is a massive athletic freak of a player who offensive line coach Scott Huff should be tasked to develop into a monstrous starter. I think his upside is pretty special, to be honest.

It would be incredibly tempting to sit at pick 16 and take the best guard or center prospect, but I think 16 is way too rich for those positions. Rounds 2 and 3 tend to be the prime spots unless there is a true blue chip Steve Hutchinson type player sitting there (Wasington’s Troy Fautanu might be that guy, if they don’t go quarterback).

This is why I feel the best move for Seattle might be to find a trade partner who is picking in the twenties and willing to move up by adding a second round pick to the deal, and they make that deal. It may not happen, but it opens the possibility of Seattle being in position to draft QB of the Future and a talented offensive linemen with their first couple picks. Then in round three with two picks there, they can take shots at safety to replace Quandre Diggs, or a tight end to replace Dissly.

At any rate, Seattle needs to dip into the offensive line in this draft, and preferably double dip. Even if they wait it out into the middle rounds, it looks like the value will be there. Just seize it.

Bring back Noah Fant at tight end

At first thought when thinking about this offseason, I felt Seattle could probably let Noah Fant walk in free agency, rework Will Disney’s expensive 2024 salary to get the cost down, and then draft a tight end. Upon further reflection, I have shifted to thinking the opposite.

As much as I love Uncle Will, I think Seattle was right to release him, and now maybe use those dollars on Fant who is a superior athlete and receiver. Ryan Grubb loves to feature tight ends in his offense and Fant has the speed and pass catching ability to stress a defense. He also has a built in chemistry with Geno Smith. In Grubb’s offense, I think Fant has a real chance to become the star he was meant to be when Denver drafted him in the first round.

The Seattle front office appears to think highly of him, as they themselves considered drafting him in the first round of the 2020 draft, and demanded that he be part of the Russell Wilson trade to Denver. So, why not commit to him long term? It makes perfect sense to do this.

Sign Fant, and use then draft for depth. This appears to also be a good draft for tight ends.

Or how about this wild idea? Have Jake Bobo add weight and convert him into a tight end. Bobo is a natural route runner with great hands, and good size, but will never have the speed to truly work the perimeters. Converting big receivers into tight ends isn’t foreign in the league as Vegas did this very successfully with Darren Waller a few years back. Just a thought.

Find a way to keep Tyler Lockett

Tyler Lockett is the name that some folks are locked onto these days as either a cap casualty or a trade candidate. His 2024 cap hit is $27 million, and Seattle would be able to save about $8 million by moving on from him pre June 1st, and considerably more afterwards. With DK Metcalf and the emergence of Jaxon Smith Njigba, Lockett does feel like the eventual odd man out, especially considering how easy it is to draft and develop receivers these days, and this draft is crazy deep at receiver.

For me, Tyler Lockett feels too much like a Mr Seahawk to just cut bait with him, though. Instead, I would rather this team work out a short extension that will free up 2024 dollars, and give him an opportunity to retire here. He has a great chemistry with Geno, and is still very productive. He is also a supremely awesome teammate. My feeling is that Lockett would be receptive to this idea, and a deal can get done.

If the goal is for Seattle to win games early with this new coaching staff, and be a playoff contender in year one of this new regime, I think keeping Lockett makes tons of sense. I want it to be the case. We shall see.

Continue developing this roster from within

John Schneider has done a great job of drafting the last couple years, finding immediate starters in the 2022 and 2023 classes. For Seattle to truly take the next step into building a contender, it’s probably not so much as what they do in free agency and this draft as it is for this new coaching staff does developing and uncorking these current youngsters on the roster.

I believe Derick Hall has a chance to be a very good edge rusher in this league mixing in with Boye Mafe, and Uchenna Nwosu. They have to get him ready to take the same step forward in 2024 as Mafe took in 2023.

Cameron Young and Mike Morris need to be developed as starter types on the defensive line mixing in with Jarran Reed and hopefully Leonard Williams. If Morris can take a big step forward, he has the traits to become a really effective pass rusher.

Coby Bryant is too talented to be lost in the depth chart of this secondary. This coaching staff needs to decide what his position is and have him own it. Perhaps he is a reason why the coaches felt they could move on from Quandre Diggs, and they will lock him down at free safety.

Anthony Bradford has too much size, and physical talent not to be a mauling force of nature guard on the offensive line. He must be made a starter this season.

Kenny McIntosh has too much playmaking potential to be buried in the depth charts of the running back group. He should be developed as a legitimate third down back at the very least.

Riq Woolen needs to be developed and used in ways that complement his unique blend of size and speed at corner. Have him play to his strengths or move on from him.

We can talk about what Seattle should do at quarterback, free agency, and the draft, but the number one task of this new coaching staff under Mike Macdonald must be developing this roster from within. This is the Baltimore way, and in the early years of Pete Carroll, it used to be the Seattle way, too. Time to get back to exactly that.

Final thoughts

I don’t think the recipe for building this team up into a proper contender is that daunting of a task. Having the right young coaching staff prepared to be bold in their schemes, and having an ability to coach young players up is the biggest key, and it feels like Seattle is on the right track there (even though it is probably too early to really call it).

I have faith in this new staff, though. So much faith that I feel Seattle can afford to be bold at going after a young quarterback, if they so choose. It is nothing against Geno Smith. He is a fine quarterback to ride with right now. I just have a very particular feeling that Seattle should make the move on a quarterback this offseason, if they can.

That said, quarterback is not the end all be all of needs and wants. I want better coverage linebackers, and that is why I am not totally sold the absolute need to bring back Jordyn Brooks or whether there are other players in free agency who would suit the Mike Macdonald defense better.

I love my idea of adding Frankie Luvu and Tyrel Dobson to be the new starting linebackers. After all, this is no longer Pete Carroll’s team, so why not have Mike Macdonald put his own stamp on it now by adding new blood with players who will be “His Guys” moving forward?

The one player who I do believe suites his defense is Leonard Big Cat Williams, though, and I hope Seattle works out a deal with him, or lands another DT with similar traits. Something tells me that Seattle and Big Cat will get a deal done. I can see him wanting to play for Macdonald, and feeling like this team is close to really competing.

I need Seattle to add to the offensive line. I need a quality veteran player added and I need them to draft there. I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple picks in the draft go to the offensive line.

Finally, onto the more sensitive topic of what to do with Tyler Lockett. This is tough. I would like to see them figure out a way to bring back Noah Fant as the starting tight end, and keep Tyler Lockett. I just don’t know if that is going to happen. As much as I want Tyler back, I can see John Schneider making a tougher call to save dollars with the belief he can draft his replacement in this class.

With new regimes, often surprising moves are made with players. It wasn’t surprising to see the team cut Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Will Dissly. These were all bad contracts given out to good not great players playing non premium positions.

I won’t lie and say that there isn’t some small part of me who thinks the true stunner around the corner might being Lockett, though. A lot of money can be freed up if this team trades or releases him.

What if they want to go really aggressively into free agency signing top tier players to the offensive and defensive lines? Those guys would prove quite expensive and the $36.5 million opened up by releasing the two safeties and Will Dissly won’t cut it if they also want to find a couple starting linebackers and possibly a safety, as well.

Therefore, something tells me that Lockett might be the surprising odd man out of this equation with the offense moving forward. Receivers are easier to draft these days based on what is happening in college, and Seattle might simply see Lockett’s replacement in this draft easier than it sees other veterans they want to keep.

My hope remains that they can rework his deal to drop the 2024 costs down, but we shall see. Right now, I can’t call it either way.

At any rate, I’m excited. Are agency begins next week, and I am ready to get this offseason going. Let’s do it.

Go Hawks!

With Mike Macdonald And Ryan Grubb, The Seahawks Are Set For Greatness

Posted on February 10, 2024 by curtiseastwood

The only thing that would make me happier is if the Seahawks permanently rough back this old look

I have not been this excited about the Seattle Seahawks in a long ass time. The last time I felt myself doing fist pumps in the air over this team is when they drafted Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft well over a decade ago.

Over the past week and a half, Seattle landed the best head coaching prospect in the league with Mike Macdonald, a guy thought to be an absolute defensive mastermind, and then they followed that up by pairing him with Ryan Grubb, the best offensive play caller in college football last year. Make no mistake, these are home run hires for this program after parting ways with the legend of Pete Carroll.

The plan for this program is clear and it is undeniable. They want to be dominant on defense, and they want to be explosive, offensively. Shattered is the image that hiring a defensive minded head coach will lead to conservative offensive play calling. No way. They plan to dominate on both sides of the ball.

Seattle wants to be the Baltimore Ravens. I wrote months ago that the way to pry this division away from the 49ers is for Seattle to adopt the Baltimore model. I’m not going to say that John Schneider reads this little blog, but I will say that the blue print is obvious, and I saw it back in December as bright as daylight.

Kyle Shanahan’s offense is too well oiled to match it with a simplified defensive scheme. You need to punch it in the mouth with talent in the front seven, and you need to send pressures and disguise coverage in ways that limit the gimme plays that make Brock Purdy way too comfortable as a passer. As a defensive play caller, Macdonald has shown this ability, and he did that in Baltimore with a defense that lacks true superstar talent.

Conversely, San Francisco’s defense is too talented to play it safe against. You need an offense that is loaded up with explosive potential. The 49ers want you to play it safe against them with quick out patterns that they can jump. They want you to abandon the run for the pass as the game wears on.

Ryan Grubb’s offensive scheme is all about creative explosive plays with the run and pass, and it was evident as throughout the Washington Husky season last year. When opponents starting doing everything to take the deep pass away from Michael Penix Junior, Grubb leaned further into setting up explosive runs with Dillion Johnson. Even when Penix slumped a bit, it was hard to make this offense one dimensional. Penix always had outlets to dump off, and he tested defenses enough to keep the run game viable to lean into. Explosives eventually would happen, one way or another.

I get it if some fans will be skeptical as to whether Grubb can translate to the NFL. I just trust more the voices of Mike Holmgren and Hugh Millen, who are former long term NFLers that have closely observed Grubb’s offense at Washington, when they say Grubb is more than ready for the league with all of his motions and creativity to get big runs and passes going.

In my very humble opinion, I think pairing Grubb with Macdonald is a Hollywood styled fairytale story concocted by John Schneider. The cherry on the top of it would be drafting Penix this Spring, and while you might feel compelled to brush that idea off, I sorta feel the table is perhaps being set up for exactly that.

I also totally get it if readers wince at this idea, and believe that I am just a locked in homer who isn’t a serious footballer mind. I just beg to differ. I think Penix has the natural arm talent to be an elite passer in the NFL, but is clouded with just enough questions about his durability and the scheme he played in at Washington for him to slide into Seattle’s loving arms in the draft this Spring.

Penix has the arm talent that John Schneider craves, the high level starting experience that makes his floor fairly safe, and above all, he has a solid history with Grubb. If Seattle does draft him, he will be stepping into a situation perfectly set up for him to succeed with the weapons he will have in this offense along his former play caller. The fact the Grubb is bringing along with him former Washington OL coach Scott Huff is yet another reason to be optimistic about this pipe dream scenario.

So, forgive me if I dare to dream of all of this becoming a reality in a few short months. I think it is worth dreaming about, and will continue this process.

As for now, I am supremely excited for these Seahawks. I love the boldness of these coaching hires. With Macdonald, Grubb, Huff, Leslie Frazier as the assistant HC, Aden Durde from the Cowboys elevated to the DC working with Macdonald, I see a fascinating staff emerging.

A lot of stuff still needs to happen. I am plenty aware of this. More coaches need to be hired. Decisions need to be made about some expensive older players, the team needs to figure out a way to keep Leonard Big Cat Williams, and Jordyn Brooks, and perhaps Damien Lewis, and improve the offensive line.

I’m excited to see how it all shakes out. So far, this is a great beginning to a promising offseason for the team I love most.

If Cougar fans and Duck fans hate the idea of Grubb as the new OC, they can suck it, and root for a mediocre Mariners ball club instead, for all I care. If they will cash in their Seahawk fandom if this team does draft Penix, I say that they probably weren’t the biggest Seahawk fans to begin with.

For me, I say bravo on Grubb, and I hope Penix is the next franchise quarterback, and I got nothing against Geno Smith. I’m just willing to dare to dream a little bit more about the longer termed outlook with this team moving forward.

And if the rumors are true that they will be going back to their old color scheme with the uniforms this Fall, I think I will have reached my football Xanadu. My fingers are very crossed for that, as well.

Go Hawks.

Seahawks Land Mike Macdonald As Their Head Coach And This Is Freaking Awesome

Posted on February 1, 2024 by curtiseastwood

Let the Doobie Brother jokes begin. The Seattle Seahawks drafted my guy, and I don’t care if he looks like a gym rat version of Doogie Howser, either.

Over a month ago, I wrote about my deep desire to see the Seattle Seahawks become the Baltimore Ravens. It was on the heels of that embarrassing debacle at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In that game, Seattle got thoroughly pushed around by a mediocre Steelers team, players looked disinterested in tackling with playoffs on the line, and I had enough. I typed a long, rambling, semi deranged, and toxically fueled piece about needing sweeping change, and needing to see Seattle become an organization comprised of blood thirsty orcs and Tyrannosaurs.

The only team model out there that I saw as a beacon of hope, that if Seattle could just commit to emulating, was the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens had recently dismantled the San Francisco 49ers on their home turf, harassing and picking off Brock Purdy five times, and physically matching them toe to toe in the trenches. Weeks prior to that game, Seattle ventured into Baltimore and they put a thorough ass whooping on the Hawks.

With the Ravens, I saw a team comprised of strength in the trenches, speed on the outside, speed at linebacker, a dynamic playmaker at quarterback, but ultimately, I saw a team that played smart, fundamentally sound, and disciplined football. In short, I saw a team very opposite of Seattle.

So, you can image my delight when this news broke that the Seattle Seahawks have made sprite 36 year old Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald the ninth head coach in their franchise history. Bravo!

I had been keeping a very open mind though this coaching search, but he was the guy I really wanted, and not just because he was the guy Mina Kimes was banging the drums for (although I respect the hell out of everything she says). In my gut, I felt he was the best candidate, and if Seattle chose someone else, we would likely regret it for years.

Deep down, I needed a clean break from Pete Carroll, and while I wasn’t as down on the idea of Dan Quinn potentially returning as many others were, I feared a return to Quinn would have him unfairly judged by fans as being Pete Carroll-lite, and he would just never fully get out of Carroll’s shadow in his return here. I appreciate that former Legion Of Boom players were lobbying for Quinn, but if John Schneider allowed players to influence his decision making, that would frankly be pretty flawed decision making.

I will admit that I liked the idea of Mike Vrabel, but I wasn’t nearly as convinced of the greatness of Detroit OC Ben Johnson as many other fans were. I was sorta interested in Bobby Slowick for five minutes. I was also open to Mike Kafka, but the guy I kept circling back to was always Mike Macdonald. I just didn’t know if he would be interested, or if the team would seriously pursue him.

Turns out that he might have been their top choice all along based on some reports, and it was just a matter of John Schneider staying patient and waiting him out. Sometimes, things work out pretty well in the end.

I AM SO DAMN EXICTED!

I need this team to have a fresh break from Pete Carroll, and I am not completely sold on the narrative that to be successful in today’s NFL, your organization needs an offensive mind coach at the helm. Call me crazy, but I think you just need the best coach available. In my view, I felt Macdonald was most likely that guy.

You need a dude who’s vision is strong, who communicates clearly, is good with players, and it helps greatly if his Xs and Os are Grade A level stuff. In recent days, Macdonald has been described in the NFL media as a “defensive minded Sean McVay” – a guy who will adjust his scheme to attack his opponents weaknesses, week by week, and through the duration of game.

Yeah, sign me up for that.

Want to get excited about what Macdonald can bring to Seattle? In 2023, without any major investments on defensive personnel, the Baltimore Ravens had the top NFL defense in points allowed, sacks, and turnovers. First time that has ever been done, I believe.

I fully believe that Seattle is getting a bright young coach, and the cream of this coaching crop. Given the fact that they signed him to a six year contract, that tells me that they believe they have the guy who can win us titles. That should excite every fan.

Now they just need to pair him with a sharp offensive coordinator. We will see where that goes, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are able to lure Mike Kafka out of New York with the toxic work environment of the Brian Daboll, and the Giants. Kafka was actually my dark horse candidate to win this Seahawk HC job, and it is rumored that he is so unhappy in NY under Daboll that he would be willing to make a rare lateral move.

Once I started reading up more about him, I actually grew to like Kafka a lot through this process. He’s an Andy Reid disciple who Reid and Patrick Mahomes think very highly about. I thought in 2022, he did a very serviceable job fixing Daniel Jones in New York, but things fell apart in 2023 due to the huge rash of injuries. Personally, I would love a potential pairing of him and Macdonald in Seattle, but we will see if that’s the direction they go.

What I am most excited about is Seattle pulling a guy brought up in the strong Baltimore culture to come out here. I need this team to become Baltimore Ravens West. Even more, I love the idea of pairing him with general manager John Schneider who now has full control of this team, and the freedom to lean further into his Ron Wolf Green Bay Packer background. I’m a believer in these two joined together.

I believe with John in charge for football operations, we are going to see a much strong investment in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Under Wolf, Green Bay valued the line of scrimmage players highly. In Seattle, it’s long been my hunch that Pete Carroll had always felt they could get away with going cheaper there, and John has just had to deal with that.

I also suspect that John is also itching to draft a quarterback soon, but we can get more into that another time. For now, I am just really curious and excited to see how the Green Bay philosophy melds with the Baltimore one out here.

Both organizations value offensive and defensive linemen, and both are primarily draft and develop teams. So, I don’t know if we now see Seattle slash a bunch of salaries in order to be big spenders in free agency. They might make a splash on the offensive line just because it badly needs it, but I can see them shopping for value on the other side of the ball.

The true beauty of what Macdonald has done in Baltimore is taking the 28th ranked defense a couple of years ago, and turning it into a top one, immediately, without the team spending big on talent. There are players on this Seahawk defense who would very much fit into what Macdonald did in Baltimore.

They have promising young edge rushers in Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derrick Hall, and they have good young corners in Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Tre Brown. If they can sign Big Cat Williams back at DT, their interior defensive line would be pretty similar to Baltimore’s. If they can bring back Jordyn Brooks and pair him with another fast young linebacker, I don’t think this defense would necessarily be that far off.

We will see how this coaching staff now fills out, who the OC is, if there will now be any QB change, and how free agency and the draft goes, but I have supreme optimism that with Macdonald, they can now be a true threat within the division against San Francisco and Los Angeles. Macdonald seems to match up very well against Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

He makes things confusing in coverage and how he sends pressures. In that MNF game in San Francisco, Brock Purdy looked genuinely unsure what to do.. like he was anticipating one thing and then seeing stuff that was surprising him. I think that shows the quality of Xs and Os from Macdonald.

We don’t know tons about him because he has only been a coordinator for a few years, but he is said to be a man of high intelligence, and a clear communicator. Players praise his ability to coach up the small details and explain why it’s done the way it is. It was said somewhere recently that he’s so sharp that there was a future for him in high finance on Wall Street that he actually turned down for coaching.

While he is said to be a players’ coach, in many ways, I think we are also going to find Macdonald an antithesis of Pete Carroll in terms of personality. He’s more reserved, and buttoned down, and he’s a bit of an introverted personality. That doesn’t scare me. Abraham Lincoln was a famous introvert.

I’m introverted, damn it!

Macdonald does not need to get up in front of 53 players and give fiery speeches. Don James wasn’t that type, and he did alright. He just needs to show his players that he knows football inside and out, that he’s a strong communicator, and he’s got a great plan. He can let a top lieutenant on his staff give hype speeches.

He just needs to be himself, stay true to himself, and everything that got him here.

I am absolutely stoked beyond my mind about this hire. At the very least, I can dare to dream big again.

I want this team to become the thorn in the side of the San Francisco 49ers again. I don’t ever want to see Shanahan smirky smile again whenever we play them. I want that dude stressed out the whole freaking time.

Mike Macdonald wasn’t the hire to get this team more competitive against San Francisco and Los Angeles. He was the hire to eventually bury both franchises back into the cellar of the NFC West.

I’m here for that.

Go Hawks.

The Seattle Seahawks Are John Schneider’s Ship Now And What It Means Moving Forward

Posted on January 17, 2024 by curtiseastwood

For the first time in his 14 year career as a Seattle Seahawk, General Manager sat by himself yesterday to talk with reports about his search for the next head coach. I listened to the press conference in traffic and watched it later in the evening. Some have nitpicked his emotions when discussing Pete Carroll, and called his opening statement “rehearsed” because he read from a script, but I found his presser both fascinating, and highly encouraging.

First off, John is no Pete when it comes to charisma with the media. He’s likable in sort of a midwest Chris Farley-light sorta way, in moments, but I don’t think he should be criticized for bumbling a bit reading what he wrote down in his opening statement, nor should he be made fun of getting caught up in emotions when talking about his co-worker and friend for the last 14 years after he was let go last week.

It is safe to say that John and Pete probably did not see eye to eye on a lot of things over the years, but I believe it when both have said how tight they are with each other. I don’t think John did any Game Of Thrones or Succession styled back stabbing of Pete to get him fired and gain further power over the team. When ownership asked him what he saw as the issues holding this team back, I think John most likely gave a very honest and candid answer that was probably very different than Pete’s. That is how I would read all of these tea leaves.

When fielding questions, John made a big point about this team becoming stagnant over the years, and not really moving forward. This has been the same complaint most Seahawk fans have had for many years now.

He also talked about the need to keep up with the current landscape of the league, which has become more offensive and analytic driven with the top winning teams. Many of the cool kid fans of Seahawks Twitter X, for years now, have implored this team to move off of Pete Carroll’s old school-ness in favor of a coaching staff who would embrace such trends. Well, listening to John, it feels as though they are about to get their wish.

Having gone through this presser a couple times now, I believe, in his ideal world, John Schneider would love to find a bright offensive minded coach to lead this team into the future. Schneider comes from the Green Bay model, his biggest mentor is the legendary Packer GM Ron Wolf (who he spent a lengthy amount of time with on Friday chatting with), and steeped in the model is the tradition of having offensive minded head coaches who develop young quarterbacks.

There are enough tea leaves out of this press conference to conclude that Schneider wants to draft a bright young quarterback around the corner, and pair him with a Green Bay style coach. People will read into his comments of Mike McCarthy, and draw a conclusion that Schneider wants him here in Seattle should Jerry Jones cut him loose, but wouldn’t read too much into that, just as I am not reading into the idea that Dan Quinn is his top candidate.

John talked at lengths about following the current trends, analytics, and sports science. He said his one directive from Jody Allen was to find a coach who will maintain the built in positive culture of this team, but the rest of the time, he talked about keeping up with the Joneses within the division. I think it would be an INCREDIBLY hard sell on this fanbase to replace the legend of Pete Carroll with Mike McCarthy or Dan Quinn after that playoff debacle in Dallas. John is probably smart enough to see that.

Therefore, I suspect that, of the long list of candidates who Seattle has formally requested interviews with, Detroit OC Ben Johnson, Houston OC Bobby Slowick, and Miami OC Frank Smith are probably sitting top on his list to this date. I bet John would love to meet with one of these guys and be wowed with their plan for this team, and their plan to put together a great staff.

Right now, Ben Johnson feels like the hottest name with Seahawk fans, but for my money, I would circle the name of Bobby Slowick perhaps being the dude for this gig. It has been widely rumored that Johnson has a back channeled handshake deal with the new GM for the Washington Commanders to follow him there, and I am going to buy those rumors. Slowick, however, doesn’t have such rumors swirling around him.

What Slowick does have is a history that sorta ties him to the Green Bay Packers when John Schneider was the assistant GM there, and Slowick’s dad was on the staff in the early 2000’s. It is safe to assume that Schneider knew of a teen age Bobby Slowick then, and tracked his coaching career over the years. Last year, Slowick left his position of pass game coordinator on Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco to follow DeMeco Ryans to Houston, and be the guy running his offense. In the past, Shanahan has raved about Slowick, and their connection started in Washington when Kyle’s dad Mike ran that team.

Slowick’s career is very interesting as it connects to Schneider’s likely needs and wants. He started out in 2010 with Washington as a film analyst, and eventually a defensive assistant (what his dad was in Green Bay), but then after the older Shanahan was fired, he went to work at Pro Football Focus, the leading football analytic company as a Senior Analyst. When Kyle got the job in San Francisco in 2017, Slowick followed him, and has worked for Kyle as a defensive assistant, an offensive assistant, and eventually Kyle’s pass game coordinator.

Never mind the fact that, last season, Bobby Slowick took over the sad sack Houston Texan offense, made it an explosive unit, and coached rookie quarterback CJ Stroud into a star. That’s all dandy on the surface, but looking deeper into his career, it is clear that Slowick knows offensive AND defensive football, well, and he is steeped in football analytics.

I am not writing this piece to predict that Bobby Slowick is going to be the next Seattle Seahawk head coach in the next week or two. What I will say, however, is that Slowick ticks A LOT of John Schneider’s boxes, especially if Schneider wants to draft a QB this Spring (I think he does). Therefore, he is the guy that I am willing to put pretty decent odds on. If he interviews for this gig, and truly impresses with his vision on what staff he would put together, and he feels like a good culture guy, I think this gig might be his.

The other guy who I think might have a bigger shot at this job than people are expecting his none other than Mike Vrabel. A lot of the top NFL insiders are connecting the former Patriot legend to Seattle, and it has been noted, repeatedly, that he is friends with Schneider. It has been so much so lately, that I am starting to believe the idea of “where there is smoke there is fire” just as I bought into it about Carroll maybe moving on, and Russell Wilson being traded a few years ago.

People will scoff at the idea of Vrabel taking over for Pete Carroll in Seattle, but a deeper dive into him kinda shows that he is much more than a defensive minded head coach. Over the years, Vrabel has been one of the leagues more forward thinking analytic driven head coaches in the league, and he put together one of the best offensive staffs when he got to Tennessee. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur was his initial offensive coordinator and that immediately landed him the Packer gig. Arthur Smith then took over, and guided Tennessee’s offense into a top five DVOA unit, and that landed him the Atlanta job.

It is not too far out of the realm of possibility to image that, if given the opportunity in Seattle, Vrabel would bring Arthur Smith along with him, and because things didn’t go great for Smith in Atlanta, Smith could have an extensive stay in Seattle bringing along a young quarterback.

Arthur Smith might be thought of as a great coordinator who just really isn’t head coaching material. The league is full of these coaches, and while most fans probably prefer Schneider to land Ben Johnson, or Bobby Slowick, who is to say that both guys won’t end up more on the side of Arthur Smith’s fate than that of Matt LaFleur’s storyline?

If we really spend enough thinking about Vrabel as the next Seahawk coach, I don’t think he can be as simply written off as a Dan Quinn (who will be interviewed) or a Mike McCarthy (if he gets fired). Vrabel is highly respected across the league, and his firing came as a genuine shock across the NFL landscape. Personally, I think he is a strong CEO type of coach like Dan Campbell in Detroit and Dan Lanning in Oregon, as much as anything, and he is young enough, with enough pelts on his wall as both a player and coach, that my hunch is good people would follow him here, and players would buy in quickly.

If Mike Vrabel interviews for this job, all I think he would have to do is convince his friend John that he will have no problem with John calling all the shots with personnel, and he would have no issue with bringing along a young quarterback. I get that people believe that a rookie QB needs to be paired with an offensive head coach, but look where Vrabel came from. It was defensive minded head coach Bill Belichick who embraced a young Tom Brady over veteran Drew Bledsoe, and then embarked upon a long historic campaign of Super Bowls with the young gun.

I am saying it now, I think Mike Vrabel in Seattle is a real possibility, at the very least, and I would not be shocked at all if he ends up the dude. If John isn’t a hundred percent sure on any of these younger offensive coordinators, or Baltimore DC Mike McDonald (who I like, by the way), or Dan Quinn, I think that opens that door for Vrabel to bust through it.

And no, I do not think Jim Harbaugh will be a candidate. Not that I don’t think he is a great coach or a good culture guy. It is more so that I think he would want more control over personnel than Seattle would be willing to give. It is iron clad in Schneider’s contract with the team that he now has full control over all personnel decision making, and he has full control over coaching hiring and firing. Harbaugh isn’t going to want to work under those parameters.

In the end, given what John Schneider revealed in his presser, I am highly encouraged about this team moving forward. I think his search for the new coach will be broad, and that is right to do. I love that he is willing to look at all these bright young assistant coaches instead of going for whatever previous head coaches are and might end up on the market. I dig that he used terms like “evolving” and “current trends” frequently in his press conference.

I thought he might have dropped a few interesting nuggets in this press conference that made me believe drafting a quarterback this Spring is a very real possibility, and it should be. This year’s draft class appears quite loaded with them with as many as eight being discussed has potential franchise starters.

I am not going to predict who this guy will be. I have strong hunches on Slowick and Vrabel, but I am also very prepared to be surprised.

I just feel like Seattle is now on a path to get more modern with this this league, and I am excited for that. I believe that this team had gotten too stagnant over the years, and now I am looking forward to them breaking out of it.

John is right. This roster has bright young talent. Seattle is a great destination. The facilities are world class, and the fan base is super built in.

He has every reason to believe that he will attract a really good coach. I am looking forward to this process.

Go Hawks.

The Greatness Of Pete Carroll Deserves A Statue

Posted on January 11, 2024 by curtiseastwood

Pete Carroll was My Guy. I don’t know any other way I can characterize him for myself.

I vividly remember the day when it was announced that he was taking over as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. I was so excited, that almost created a wreck in traffic. I listening to Sports Radio KJR, heard the news, screamed, and swerved, and course corrected. Then once I heard all the horse crap out of the station’s blowhards complaining about the hire, that is when I decided I was going to be a KIRO 710 listener from then on.

It all happened just like that, and the minute they started talking shit about Carroll, I was done as a regular listener. They couldn’t even give the hire a single benefit of doubt. Why should I give them another listen?

You see, to further set up context, back in the Mike Holmgren era, I was a film believer that the next head coach should be Pete Carroll. I once said that to my brother, and he looked at me as he so often did when I was a kid eating crayons and dog food, and he thought I was an absolute knucklehead for even entertaining the idea.

“Pom Pom Pete?!”

“That shit will never fly in this league.. fuck, I don’t ever want to see that here.”

My rational was simple. The Seahawks were a fun little kick ass team for a while in the 1980s with a defensive minded head coach who was all about great defense and running the football. I was tired of the more finesse pass happy approach of Holmgren, and I wanted more smash mouth to go along with the cold wet blustery Sundays in Seattle in the Fall and Winter.

“Dude, look what he’s going in USC.. they are running the shit out of the ball, throwing darts off play action, running up scores, and they are killing it on defense.. that is what I want up here.”

Pete Carroll was my guy long before Pete Carroll became my coach, so you can imagine my excitement that almost forced my Ford Ranger into a ditch over the news of his hiring. I wasn’t certain about much in life, but I was pretty certain we were going back to a Super Bowl, and actually winning the motherfucker this time.

Pete Carroll is the greatest thing that has ever happened to Seattle Sports. He is by far the greatest coach this region has ever seen, and I say that in complete respect to Don James, and Lenny Wilkins.

This is not my opinion. It is a statement of fact, and I will not have any debate on it.

In 14 years, Pete Carroll has guided the Seahawks into the playoffs 71 percent of the time. This team went to back to back Super Bowls, winning one, and almost winning another. They won five division titles, and were a wild card team five other times.

Without Pete Carroll, we never would has experienced the Beast Quake that galvanized us as a fanbase. Marshawn Lynch was a troubled third string running back in Buffalo, and Carroll took a chance on him. Lynch would not have likely been a fit on a Mike Holmgren coached team.

Without Pete Carroll, I highly doubt Russell Wilson would have become a long term starter in this league. Philly might have drafted him, and he would have played for Andy Reid, but I doubt they would stayed with him long term in Reid’s high volume passing system that requires a taller quarterback. He would have more likely been a bridge to the next guy, and then likely would have had a Gardner Minshew type impact on the league, but Carroll gave him a shot, grew to love him, and tried to make it work as long as he could.

Without Pete Carroll, Geno Smith would probably still be a second or third string backup, or out of the league.

Without Pete Carroll, Richard Sherman may have not ever gotten a fair shot as a starter.

Without Pete Carroll, Red Bryant may have been out of the league by his fourth year.

Without Pete Carroll, I don’t know if Kam Chancellor would have been a starter in this league when everyone was playing Tampa two stuff.

Haters are always going to hate on this dude, but Pete Carroll gave us so damn much, and I think a lot of us got really spoiled in the process. When your team goes to back to back Super Bowls, just making the playoffs is no longer enough. That’s the expectation before the first kick of the season happens.

Nah, these kids who were eight years old when Pete first got here are in their twenties now, and they don’t know football life without him. Well, get ready for it.

A lot of them want the next 33 year old Sean McVay type, but they might find themselves missing Pete a lot over the next few years. I’m not saying this to be cryptic about the future. I am just saying that Hall of Fame level coaches typically do not grow on trees, and Carroll is most definitely a Hall of Famer.

The team could hire Jim Harbaugh, or Kalen DeBoer and either one of those guys isn’t likely to have the sustained success as Pete. That’s just the nature of the league.

Pete Carroll’s greatest attribute as a head coach was not his Xs and Os, or his schemes. Pete Carroll’s strength was and always will be his heart, and his willingness to believe in others, to give opportunities, and to stay steadfast in his belief in others. That is a thing easier said than done, and this is what gave the breeding ground to his culture being the best in the NFL for nearly a decade in a half.

Pete Carroll is a great leader of men because he leads with his heart. You could feel that in his very raw and authentic way he allowed himself to be in his final press conference to announce with the team. Leaders who are willing to lay it on the line, to be real, and present, and caring, can inspire a collective to move mountains. That is what he did here in Seattle.

My dad was a combat war veteran, and he was as badass as badass could be. Like, old school Lee Marvin badass. He always used to rave about General Omar Bradley, and he hated high ranking officers because of his experience dealing with them as a squad leader in Korea.

In his booming voice, Dad would say that the only person to wear stars who was ever worth a damn was Bradley. He loved Bradley because the general always insisted on marching with his troops and carrying a rifle. If he was going to ask a man to lay down his life, he wanted that dude to know that he was willing to lay his own life on the line with him. The US troops fucking loved Omar Nelson Bradley.

I think Pete Carroll is a lot like Bradley. He’s thoughtful. He cares. He wants others to care. He is very much a servant leader.

That’s what Pete Carroll was at USC for many years, and that is how he rolled up here in Seattle. I wanted him to be the head coach of my team because I thought his style of ball was kick ass, but once I grew to know of him more after he got here, I pretty much wanted him to coach here for life.

Football is a funny fluid thing, though. In recent years, I grew tired of the dramas that crept up like the Jamal Adams stuff this year, and the odd coaching hires that led to the offenses and defenses getting worse instead of better, and I started to entertain more the idea of Carroll moving on. He had been here much longer than Holmgren or Chuck Knox ever were, I felt that maybe hubris filtered in more, and I just thought maybe it was time.

This season, I really started to feel it, and I found it creeping into my writings in ways that made me feel very Get Off My Lawn Dude. I didn’t particularly enjoy writing with that type of energy, but I couldn’t ignore my frustrations as a fan, either.

I actually started this blog as an attempt to create a space for Seahawk fans to visit that wouldn’t be so hypercritical over every little spending decision, or coaching decision, or bad play that happened in a game. I wanted my writing to have some fun, and celebrate all the highs, and joke around with the lows, and maybe share an insight or two, if ever I felt one.

I think subconsciously, I wanted my writing to reflect the goofy nutball nature of my favorite coach. That is how much Pete Carroll has impacted me as a fan, and person. I will always deeply appreciate him, and hold him in the highest regard.

I won’t deny that it’s a bit weird that I wrote about my ideas of moving on from him, and then seeing the team actually do it. I find myself in a very strange, split place with this whole thing, now.

Emotionally, I am very attached to Carroll the person, and I am really going to miss this dude as my team’s head coach. Logically, though, I believe this was the right time to move on, and give another coach a shot.

As stated, chances are significant that the next head coach won’t be nearly as good. That’s not saying this next dude is going to suck, and they won’t have success. This is just acknowledging that Pete Carroll is a Hall Of Fame head coach, and those coaches do not grow on trees.

That said, Carroll is 72 years old and was heading into his final year. I suspect ownership wanted significant changes on his staff. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also wanted a bit more of a roster overhaul with some of the older players. It is entirely possible that they do want to draft a quarterback this Spring, and Carroll isn’t super down.

In any case, I think Carroll is very attached to his guys, and I am just guessing here, but I think he maybe didn’t want to fire a bunch of dudes, or cut a few players that he is very close with and still believes in. This is where being in your seventies might impact proper decisions. You might feel less likely to want to overhaul things once again even if it is clearly needed.

Coaching at this level has got to be an exhausting practice. Mike Holmgren was a superb coach for many years, and he knew he was done much younger than Carroll is today. I think it is incredibly difficult to find sustained success such as Pete has had along with Belichick, Tomlin, and the sane Harbaugh brother. These dudes are coaching rarities.

This team has been underachieving, though, and it has been this way for many years now. They have become perpetually mediocre to good but not great. Something needed to give.

I think Jody Allen wants greatness again, and I think she probably wants a good younger coach to come in who will probably not be as attached to players on this roster. It is very possible she wants someone who will be more of a disciplinarian that maybe Pete has it in him to be at this juncture, and will push his coaches and players more in the details of the game.

Frankly, I think this is what this team needs. It kinda needs a fresh new kick in the pants, and this is what I have been feeling greatly this year.

That does not take anything away from who Pete Carroll is as a coach and leader. In my mind, this just means that all things come to their natural ends, and this was the time for the Carroll era to close, and as I wrote the other day after the win against the Cardinals, if his final game as coach of this team is a nail biting victory, it would be very fitting.

I will never forget this era, though, and all the wild ass shit that went down on the football fields. I will never forget Beast Quake, the Richard Sherman tip in the NFC Championship game against San Fran, the insanity that took place in the come from behind win against the Packers in the following NFC Championship, Michael Bennett riding the cop bike, the Kam Chancellor hits, all the Russell Wilson ridiculous Jedi shit, Geno beating Russ as a Bronco, the insane Jermaine Kearse catch against the Pats in the Super Bowl, all the wild Doug Baldwin grabs, and the Tyler Lockett ones, and that crazy touchdown pass Jon Ryan threw to a backup offensive tackle in that wild championship game against the Pack. This list could go on, and on, and on again.

Pete Carroll gave us all this stuff. He gave us a decade and a half of crazy ass adventure. It was fun. It was stressful. It was annoying at times, and exhilarating.

There is absolutely no debate in my mind who the greatest Seattle Sports icon is. It is Pete Carroll, and it is not even close.

And my brother was dead fucking wrong about him, and so were all of those loud blowhard radio personalities on KJR. I am not right about a lot of things, but I was spot on correct about Pete Carroll.

So please, Jody Allen. Build the Pete Carroll statue in front of Lumen Field. Hire us a good new coach, but build us that statue.

Seattle owes Pete Carroll everything. Period.

Go Hawks.

Tough Loss For the Washington Huskies But Michael Penix Junior Is Still My Guy

Posted on January 9, 2024 by curtiseastwood

First off, I just want to congratulate the entire Washington Husky Football Program for an outstanding year of college football in 2023. It was as fun of a ride as I can remember while following this program. I enjoyed them every single bit as much the the 1991 Steve Emtman National Champ Huskies, and in some ways more.

I have a few impressions that I am left with watching them go down in defeat against the mighty Michigan Wolverines. Most of them circle around Michael Penix Junior.

I cannot remember a Husky player I have more gravitated around than Penix, and I have followed this team for over four decades. He is the best player I have ever seen wear a Husky uniform, and I remember Emtman well, and Vita Vea not that long ago.

I was pretty young when Warren Moon was guiding the Huskies to Rose Bowls, but I remember Moon very well as a pro I rooted for because my dad absolutely loved him. To me, Michael Penix feels like a left handed Warren Moon. His stature, the way he moves off of play action, and through the pocket, and the effortless way he throws perfect ropes down the field. One bad game against a dominant defense with his run game severely hampered, and defenders holding his receivers downfield isn’t going to deter my opinion of Michael Penix Junior, and how he can potentially translate as a pro quarterback.

There are multiple players on this Husky team that I would love to see drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, but none more so than Michael Penix Junior. I get that he picked a bad time to have an off night at quarterback, but I firmly believe in his traits, and his inner fortitude to find success in the NFL.

People are polarized by Penix. They are either overly enamored with his A+ arm talent, or they are scared of his injury history, his age, and, right or wrong, they feel like he is destined to wilt in big moments.

Draft sites and national media members are wildly all over the place with him, too. Some say he’s a top ten pick, while others think of him as a third rounder. Pro Football Focus currently grades him as their 19th best draft prospect, and that puts him right in rage for Seattle picking at 16 in the first round, if they love him.

Personally, I will be pretty crushed if Seattle passes on Penix. If they do this, and he does find success elsewhere, I will likely hold this against the organization for many years. I think he is the perfect fit for what this team has been trying to do offensively. Selecting him in the upcoming draft would be a no brainer pick for them, in my opinion, even if they continue to ride with Geno Smith.

His arm talent is so special that Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubbs asked him to do things as a college quarterback that most other programs don’t ask their passer to do. He threw difficult sideline and deep ball passes at high volume, and I think that is how the coaches saw their best chance at making the playoffs. They road Penix’s arm for two solid years and it finally got them to the championship game. That says something to me.

Chances are that in the pros, he will be asked to play a simpler game, especially as a rookie. If by chance Seattle were to draft him and Carroll is still around, he would probably be tasked to quarterback in a more game managerial role to start out, much like Russell Wilson did. With all the volume passing he has done over the last two years in college, he honestly might welcome not having to initially be The Guy.

In an offensive system like Sean McVay runs, where it is a very balanced attack with a lot of play action passes to the intermediate and deeper middle portions of the field, Michael Penix is perfectly suited to play that sort of game. I think he is closer to Matthew Stafford than he is to Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, and that is cool with me.

The key for Penix moving forward is to get with a strong coach in a good program who will hammer into him that he doesn’t need to be the hero on every single play, and he can just take whatever is in front of him against a stronger defense. In many ways, Seattle would be his ideal landing place because I can totally envision Carroll being this guy for him (Or a coach like Dan Quinn down the road if Seattle makes a coaching change).

With Pete Carroll, though, I just don’t know if Seattle would draft him if he fell to their pick. Carroll is already stressing to the media that their quarterback position is strong with Geno Smith, and I suspect that he would prefer to just continue on with Geno and use their first three picks of the draft at other positions. I honestly expect him to walk into the meeting with Jody Allen and pitch that all is good with this team, and they just need to hit on one more draft class to further fill things out with Geno at quarterback and maybe bringing Drew Lock back for another round as QB2. That feels very Pete Carroll to me.

So, as things stand right now, I do not expect Michael Penix Junior to be a Seahawk this Spring. I just pray he won’t end up a Ram, instead.

As for the other Huskies who played in this game, I think defensive end Bralen Trice and offensive lineman Troy Fautanu are prime candidates to be potential Seahawks maybe with Seattle’s first pick in the draft. Trice as all the makings of a perfect bookend to Boye Mafe, especially should Seattle return to more of a 4-3 defense again, and I think Fautanu is perfectly built to be a foundational left guard playing next to Charles Cross for years to come. Seattle desperately needs to improve it’s defensive front and offensive line in 2024, and if they aren’t big free agent spenders to get it done, then drafting either one of these two Huskies makes a ton of sense.

Honorable Husky mentions as potential Seahawks, I kinda dig on wide receiver Jalen McMillian in the third round range. I love me some Dillion Johnson at running back, too.

As for the Wolverines, fuck those asshats. They are cheaters, they held on offense and defense all throughout the game, but gosh darn it if I don’t really love how they play ball, anyways. They are physical, and they are as fundamentally sound of a football team as you will see in college.

As for potential Seahawks down the road after the draft who wore blue and maze in this game, give me defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, linebacker Junior Colson, either one of their running backs, and I guess I kinda like that JJ McCarthy kid as a draft and develop quarterback. Some people are very “meh” on McCarthy, but I like his toolsy traits as a game managing play action quarterback at the next level.

I also think Jim Harbaugh is destined to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. Give him Justin Herbert, and I can see the Chargers in the Super Bowl in two years. I can also see him fired by year four because Harbaugh is going to ultimately Harbaugh.

As for UW, the next step is to make Kalen DeBoer the richest college coach in the land, and also get better running back depth than what they had going into this game. Had Washington had a healthier situation at running back, it would have taken more pressure off of Penix to be perfect, and maybe they could have squeezed off this win.

But make no mistake about it, Michael Penix Junior is going to be a good one at the next level. I suspect that he will be unfairly bashed on social media for a while after this game, but I just look at him, and his makeup, and I would be willing to wager that this sort of loss is going to be a really big motivator for him for a long time.

I can see him going into the league pissed off and determined for greatness as a pro. I just pray that it is with the Seahawks, even though I am supremely reluctant to get my hopes up. We can always hope, though.

Go Dawgs.

Seahawks Finish Season 9-8, Miss Playoffs, And Change Is Needed

Posted on January 8, 2024 by curtiseastwood

Watching this game against the Seahawks and Cardinals, I found myself caught up in bi polar emotional states. While this is true for many Seahawk games I view, this one felt very different. I felt hope that the Seahawks and Bears would pull off wins that would make Seattle playoff bound, but then I also felt a comfortable acceptance in losing when it looked like that was going to happen.

I cannot remember watching a season ending game with playoff implications on the line for the Seattle Seahawks, and ever feeling a smidgen of indifference to it in the waning moments. Last year, I needed them to be in the playoffs as the fended off the beaten up Rams, and had to wait to if the Lions would be the Packers. I had stakes then. This Sunday, my stakes were much smaller.

If Seattle had handled business against the Steelers last week, my mood probably would be been different, but having watched this Seattle getting hammered by the Steelers took too much of the wind out of my sail. I just didn’t have much left for this bitter interdivisional matchup against a bad Arizona Cardinals team.

Honestly, I didn’t think Seattle was going to win this one, and if Matt Prater had made two routine field goals, they would have lost. So, color me unimpressed Seattle avoided a losing record, too. It is a nice feather in the cap for the players who fought hard to say that they avoided a losing record, and it provides a better winning record to the legacy of Pete Carroll, but this has to be one of the worst nine win Seahawk teams I have ever watched.

I still see them as mediocre as mediocre can be, and the fact that a bunch of players were smoking cigars in the locker room afterwards, after missing the playoffs, leaves me questioning how strong the leadership is on this team. I mean, seriously. Why?

This leads me to the Pete Carroll question that everyone is asking about with reports that he is set to meet with Jody Allen in the next few days to discuss his future with this team. It was noted in these reports that Carroll will be entering the final year of his contract this year instead of 2025, as previously believed.

I am not in a predicting mood, but I would just say that if Jody Allen has felt the same frustration that I have felt this year with the defense, and inconsistencies with the offense, I wouldn’t be so sure that Carroll coming back in a lame duck year is going to be a given. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the next 72 hours.

In my opinion, Carroll needs to get himself a significantly better defensive coordinator, but if he is going to continue into a lame duck year with no guarantees of continuing in 2025, is that going to entice a solid DC to sign on here? I have big doubts about that.

Coaches want stability. It is an incredible grind, they spend hours away from family, and I think a big payoff is knowing they won’t be moving in twelve months across the country and uprooting family, again. A high in demand defensive coach is going to want to go where he thinks he will have a decent tenure. He will want stability for himself and his love ones who endure his absence.

That’s the rub with continuing with Carroll in 2024 with nothing guaranteed beyond it. We are could be stuck with Clint Hurtt again coaching a defense that is now 30th worst at stopping the run for two seasons in a row.

How does that make you feel? I wanted to puke as I wrote that.

Maybe he does move on from Hurtt, but who is he going to find to replace him in what could be his final year of coaching in 2024? A move away from Hurtt could ultimately be just a very lateral move, and then we would just have to keep our fingers crossed that the new guy is better.

Truthfully, if Carroll returns this year, I want new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The defense has been putrid with Hurtt running that ship, and is probably 90 percent the reason why this team did not make it into the playoffs, but I would also say that an offense that has Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith Ngijba, Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Noah Fant, and Geno Smith should be more dynamic than it was in 2023. In fact, it should be significantly more dynamic.

Clint Hurtt’s run at DC as been maybe the worst I have ever seen in Seattle and I have religiously followed this team since 1983, but Shane Waldron hasn’t exactly lit my world on fire as an offensive play caller, either. Some will say that Geno isn’t dynamic enough, and if they want to make that argument, I will let them have their moment, but I just don’t think this offense had a Geno problem this year.

Offensively, I think they had a clear lack of identity problem. They were in the bottom in the league in rush attempts with a big offensive line, three quality tight ends, and two high quality running backs. They were bad on third downs often. They were sloppy way too often. When certain things would start to work, Waldron would abandon them for something else in the bag.

While this defense was gut wrenchingly bad, this offense was far too often hair pulling out frustrating. I think this team eeked out 9 wins with a lot of luck and by having just enough talent to not be truly god awful.

I think the problem with this team is mainly coaching. While I don’t think this roster is oozing in talent, this team had three pro bowlers on defense and eight pro bowl alternatives. In short, the league sees talent on this roster.

In fact, I think they had enough talent to get to eleven wins. I think they should have split the series with the LA Rams, and they should have been able to beat the very mediocre Steelers.

Geno Smith just set an NFL record for most come from behind wins in a season with this win in Phoenix. While his numbers are down from 2022 (he did miss two games), he still showed enough efficiency to be a more than capable veteran starter moving forward. Give him an offensive play caller who will make life easier for him with a stronger run game, and there is no reason why I would think he couldn’t have sustained success here for a while, if they continue to run with him. He’s got great options to work with in this offense, he’s smart, he’s accurate, and he’s a decent leader.

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t prefer this team to draft a quarterback high (I do), but it just means that they don’t need to throw a rookie into the fire right away. With Geno, they can ease the young gun into this offense, and make the transition happen when he is more ready.. if they get the scheme better hammered out.

With Waldron, after three seasons now, it still feels like a work in progress. This is why I am ready to move on. Year three with Waldron should have gone way better than it did.

So, I guess with that, I would say that if this team continues with Pete Carroll in a lame duck year, I don’t all together think it’s a great idea to spend pick 16 this Spring on a quarterback even should a guy like Michael Penix Junior be there. It pains me to write that because I have been all aboard the Michael Penix Junior to Seattle Bandwagon for months now, but I fear not having a longer termed answer at head coach and maybe a lame duck coordinator would just hamper his development.

Don’t get me wrong, if the team does draft Penix this Spring with Carroll, I would lose my noodle with excitement, but realistically, I kinda think taking the best available offensive or defensive lineman might be the better play, and then wait for the later rounds on a more developmental quarterback prospect. If Seattle moves away from Carroll, however, that changes this equation for me, significantly.

The guy who is set to be the next long term head coach should be the guy to ultimately pick the next franchise quarterback. That feels more proper. I don’t personally think it’s great when a new guy inherits a quarterback that he didn’t chose himself.

Look in Cleveland. Kevin Stefanski was hired to “fix” Baker Mayfield, and in his first year as head coach, they both did pretty well together, and led the Browns to the playoffs for the first time in over two decades. Then the next year, Baker gets injured, struggles to play through his injury, regresses, whines, and then is replaced by creepozoid Deshaun Watson. This year in Tampa, Baker has proven to be pretty good again, but he wasn’t Stefanski’s guy (I don’t know if Watson is either, but I digress, and you get my point, anyways).

Now look at Houston with newly hired DeMeco Ryans as their head coach, and them aggressively maneuvering in the draft to take CJ Stroud. They are playoff bound, and defensive minded Ryans and Stroud feel joined together for years to come. Houston, as big of a league wide laughing stock as they were, did it absolutely right with the bright young coach and quarterback coming in together. I think that sort of partnership matters for a franchise.

That kinda circles back to this meeting with Jody Allen that Pete is set to have. If she has fallen smitten with a few of these quarterbacks set to enter the draft, and so has General Manager John Schneider, maybe they sense it is time to move on from Pete. She might feel that way regardless, but if she feels like having a young bright talent at QB will up the price on an eventual sale of the team, that could really put Pete Carroll in the corner, especially if he’s not super down for that. There are reasons to think he wouldn’t be.

Carroll is unapologetic in his belief in Geno Smith, and Seattle frankly, could have drafted Will Levis twice last Spring, and no analyst would have batted an eye about it, if they did. Carroll chose not to even though Levis had all the physical traits you would think Seattle would crave for a young quarterback in this offense. Why would anyone think it would be different this Spring under Carroll should Penix or Bo Nix be available at pick 16?

It is going to be an interesting few days. I’m not totally certain how things will shake up, but however it goes, I think it is going to tell us a lot about the direction they move in free agency and the draft.

At either rate, I just know that change on this staff is deeply needed. Yes, they need to get stouter up front on defense and the offensive line, some upgrades at linebacker, but this staff did not get the job done on any level with this team this year. I think they coached this team into an underperforming season, and I am not the only one who likely feels this way.

Bobby Wagner watched these young fellas in the locker smoking stogies and celebrating, and he wasn’t into it. In fact, he said so much in his press conference, and then added that these younger players need to learn how to win. He also sounded like a player who is not necessarily going to be back with this team next Fall even though he said he intends to keep playing. Can he be blamed?

Dudes are allowed to act like clowns on this team too often. Jamal Adams behaved like a buffoon on multiple occasions. Players on defense looked like they quit last week against the Steelers with their entire season on the line. Perhaps things are just too much fun and games.

If the Legion Of Boom players missed the playoffs, I guarantee they wouldn’t be smoking cigars after their season finale closer just because they avoided a losing record. I don’t see Kam Chancellor or Richard Sherman doing that at all. Ditto for Michael Bennett and KJ Wright. Those were proud veteran pro bowlers and Super Bowl champs who knew what it took to win.

This young roster doesn’t know it yet, and I don’t know if they have the coaching staff to help them figure it out. If Chuck Knox or Mike Holmgren had see them lighting up cigars, I think both legendary Seahawk coaches would have blown their tops. In fact, I don’t think the players would have had the space to entertain such a notion in their minds. Carroll gives them such loose license.

Therefore, I think it is entirely reasonable to assume that with Pete Carroll, at age 72 now, has just spent so much time here, and is so close to the situation that he just cannot step far enough away to see it for what it has become. Seattle is a soft cultured club right now. They lack fire, and hunger, and toughness, and it shows. Smoking victory cigars after a meaningless win is proof of that.

Maybe it is just a reflection on Pete Carroll. He has been at this for a LONG TIME. He has had a ton of success and has made boat loads of money for himself. Maybe his hunger, and fight isn’t what it once was, and this is why things are what they now are, and I say this being one of his biggest supporters over the years.

Maybe it is time to just finally move on, just rip the bandaids off, and start fresh. Maybe this is what Jody Allen and her right hand man Bert Kolde are feeling.

If so, then I really am glad they got this win to close out the season. If Carroll has coached his last game in Seattle (big if), then it is proper that they win a nail biter at the end. That feels right.

Go Hawks.