Any players you hated but softened on in retirement?

[AnimeAmore]

I'll start with Shaun Alexander. I was one of the many people who hated his "soft" running style and his general preference for running out of bounds. I criticized him as much as anyone.
Now? I realize that I interpreted things incorrectly and didn't see him for what he was: a solidly built back with enough finesse to find a lane for a long run. He didn't avoid big hits because he was soft, he avoided them because overall they weren't good for trying to get yardage nor was it good for his body. Sure, he gave up a couple yards by not putting his shoulder down, but that just kept him ready to keep running the ball until he cranked out a long one. He *did* use his size and strength to help stay up and ping-pong off of defenders so he could keep running at near full-speed.

We ended up getting what we wanted with Marshawn Lynch, and in hindsight I failed to appreciate Alexander's different-but-effective running style.

 

[Bobblehead]

Boz

 

[Film12Hawk]

Tarvaris Jackson.

I had a toxic dislike for him because he replaced Matt Hasselbeck, my boyhood football hero. Looking back I can see there's no way Matt would've survived the 2011 offensive line and going to the Titans to mentor Jake Locker and later Andrew Luck with the Colts were good things for him. He also extended his career playing under offensive line guru Mike Munchak while with the Titans. Tarvaris gave his all with a torn pec and was a good teammate as they all loved him by all accounts. Doug Baldwin's story about him cooking meals for his receivers to bond with them fully put it in prospective for me that I never gave him a fair chance.

RIP T-Jack!

 

[FlyingGunHawk]

Aaron Curry. But I wouldn't say I 'hated' him. Just disappointed.

Like many others, we were all disappointed in his performance on the field. I thought the guy was going to be a wrecking ball for us after watching how he played at Wake Forest. Some older, more savvy people on the forums knew better, apparently. And called out the atrocious pick in the draft at the start. And using our #4 overall pick to boot that was a real kick in the nads.

Looking back the 2009 draft, there were a few other players the Seahawks could have taken off the board instead that went onto have good careers. Imagine if the Hawks took Brian Orakpo, Clay Mathews, Brian Cushing, or Bj. Raji instead. If memory serves. Orakpo was a real force when he played for Washington.

2009 NFL draft - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Obviously, it did not work out and he turned out as a major bust for the Seahawks.

I'm assuming you mean retirement from playing. Since curry is now a linebackers coach so he's still a part of the league.

 

[Ruminator]

Peyton Manning. Bugged me as a player, much more tolerable now. (Can't think of any who played for Seattle, though.)

 

[Seahawkwalt1967]

Gronk, Brady

 

[morgulon1]

Kurt Warner

 

[rjdriver]

Prime..

 

[MyrtleHawk]

Brady once he "retired" from the Patriots, but nobody from the Seahawks

 

[Boohman14]

On the Seahawks, the only player I never liked was Jeremy Stevens. I did enjoy that game against the Raiders when the Raider D-lineman kick him in the balls.

I still don't like him BTW.

I've softened of Rick Meier. He had a pretty good rookie season then just tanked. I realize that he was just beat the f-up his following campaigns and was probably shell shocked from abuse.

 

[BASF]

Mike Holmgren. As a defensive minded person back in those days, I hated the west coast offense with a passion. I loved watching their QBs getting smacked around by Taylor, Burt, Carson, Dent, McMichael, Marshall and the like more than I probably should have. I respected Holmgren for how much he kept Favre in check, but I did not want him for the Seahawks because of his offensive minded approach. He steadily grew on me and I learned a lot about the offensive side of the ball because of his offense. Basically, he rounded me out as a fan. After he retired, I realized how much I missed him being on the sideline.

 

[Boohman14]

Mike Holmgren. As a defensive minded person back in those days, I hated the west coast offense with a passion. I loved watching their QBs getting smacked around by Taylor, Burt, Carson, Dent, McMichael, Marshall and the like more than I probably should have. I respected Holmgren for how much he kept Favre in check, but I did not want him for the Seahawks because of his offensive minded approach. He steadily grew on me and I learned a lot about the offensive side of the ball because of his offense. Basically, he rounded me out as a fan. After he retired, I realized how much I missed him being on the sideline.

I felt the same way. I never wanted him to retire. I always wondered what he could have done with Russell Wilson, Baldwin and Lynch together.