Bennett not open to home town discount

[Tokadub]

28 isn't exactly a Spring Chicken for a pass rusher, he's likely already beginning to decline. I think a 2 year contract is the most I would be comfortable giving him at 6 million tops a year.

OK I'm still waiting for some kind of proof that he's a great player. I haven't seen it and I've watched every game he played for us.

Bennett was ranked #13th ON OUR TEAM in tackles.

As someone else mentioned he's ranked about #30 in sacks for the NFL even though he benefits from playing on a legendary defense which makes thing much easier for him.

He has no interceptions.

He has 1 forced fumble... Cliff Avril had 5!!!

Bennett has 1 out of our teams 20 forced fumbles (5%)!!!

Bennett has 8.5 of our 44 sacks (19%)...

Bennett has 23.5 sacks in 5 seasons that's 4.7 a season... not including 2009 where he couldn't even play for us he was so bad.

He's averaging almost exactly a sack every 3 games 23.5 sacks/66 games = .356 sacks per game.

The best guys in the league are putting up literally twice the sacks AND twice the tackles plus 8 times the amount of forced fumbles etc...

These guys are blowing away Bennett's stats even when they are playing on crappy defenses and they have to single handedly make game breaking plays.

All Bennett has to do is stand in the middle and the guy has nowhere to go and runs right to Bennett. Bennett just does a dirty shot at the guys knees and the ball falls right into his hands, true story. That is the kind of plays that you guys are praising Bennett for?!

I'm still waiting for some kind of proof that he's the second coming that we are willing to break the bank and destroy our dynasty for this one guy who doesn't even want to be here...

I can understand his comments if we were some lame team like the 49ers... But now he throws our whole orginization and fans under the bus this time. He pretty much said money > than our organization even though he just enjoyed a first class ride to the Super Bowl. We rescued him from the crappy Buccaneers and gave him a chance to do what every player dreams of their whole life and win a Super Bowl and all he can say is he's not Costco? That is not an appropriate comment to direct towards a classy Super Bowl Champion team who is tight on money with the best fans in the world, most players would kill to come here.

I don't want him on our team anymore, the fact that we can't afford him is the main reason, but I don't like his attitude either and this team is all about character.

 

[Missing_Clink]

Sometimes it seems like people look at stats and forget that they watched the games. If you did watch the Seahawks play this year, you know that Bennett was a constant force on the D line. He was constantly collapsing the pocket and playing tough against the run. He was a problem for offenses all season. He played with huge effort and energy. His impact should not be measured and stats, and if you were paying attention this season you should know that. That doesn't mean that you pay him a ridiculous amount, but you do have to pay him in line with what he brings to the team and on this team he was a destructive force.

 

[m0ng0]

I wish we could keep him on the cheap, but that does not seem likely from Seattle's POV or logical from Bennett's, there is another Michael Bennett out there and I am sure Pete and John will find him.......I hope Michael does not forget his dog this time :?

 

[Grahamhawker]

This is business, you play well you get paid, you don't play well you don't get paid. We gave the guy a play well this year for less and raise you stock kind of contract last year. Well sorry to say but the guy was money and is gonna get money. Pass rushers are "not" a dime a dozen as many here would like to think. If they were why has our pass rush pretty much sucked (minus Clem) for a long time. There are players we have that are easily let go to accommodate a Bennett contract. (Rice, Miller, Bryant, Clemons).

Many say that they want Bennett back but only if he doesn't cripple us. I say that about anyone one of our players (Thomas, Sherman, Wilson...). Thankfully, we have an above average front office that has a plan and I'm sure MB fits into that plan and they have a number and all we can do is hope that MB has close to the same number. If he does he'll be a Seahawk next year, if he doesn't he won't.

I trust our FO to keep us competitive given all the tough decisions they have to make. They haven't done to bad thus far.

This is truth.

But my feelings are the number the FO has in mind might be lower than many would like to see. The improved performance of the pass rush was in part due to Bennett. But it only happened as a system. I'm stating the obvious here- this is how d-line's usually work in pass rush- see recent Giants effectiveness, or Aldon Smith without Justin.

Bennett provided the most consistent interior pass rush Hawks have seen in awhile. He came up huge. That's why we're all wanting to keep him. But the whole line played better this year also. It's worth mentioning that on several of Bennett's sacks, pressures, etc. he was not the only lineman who "got there" on that play. Clemons' numbers dropped, but he affected a lot of plays (Could go on with examples here).

FO will evaluate what we have, what we can keep, and what we can get to continue to improve the d-line. I just don't see Bennett as being so special he can't be replaced. And the more he is interviewed since the SB, the more I feel that way.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Sometimes it seems like people look at stats and forget that they watched the games. If you did watch the Seahawks play this year, you know that Bennett was a constant force on the D line. He was constantly collapsing the pocket and playing tough against the run. He was a problem for offenses all season. He played with huge effort and energy. His impact should not be measured and stats, and if you were paying attention this season you should know that. That doesn't mean that you pay him a ridiculous amount, but you do have to pay him in line with what he brings to the team and on this team he was a destructive force.

Pete and John are aware of this, but so is every other team in the market for a player like Bennett.

I don't think Bennett is going to break the bank like Mario Williams did with a huge long term deal. But I could see a team that's close to competing for a SB like Green Bay, Indy, Cincinnati, Miami, Philly, etc giving Bennett a huge 2-3 year deal at 15 million per. Which would probably price him out of us resigning him.

 

[volsunghawk]

Sometimes it seems like people look at stats and forget that they watched the games. If you did watch the Seahawks play this year, you know that Bennett was a constant force on the D line. He was constantly collapsing the pocket and playing tough against the run. He was a problem for offenses all season. He played with huge effort and energy. His impact should not be measured and stats, and if you were paying attention this season you should know that. That doesn't mean that you pay him a ridiculous amount, but you do have to pay him in line with what he brings to the team and on this team he was a destructive force.

Pete and John are aware of this, but so is every other team in the market for a player like Bennett.

I don't think Bennett is going to break the bank like Mario Williams did with a huge long term deal. But I could see a team that's close to competing for a SB like Green Bay, Indy, Cincinnati, Miami, Philly, etc giving Bennett a huge 2-3 year deal at 15 million per. Which would probably price him out of us resigning him.

I'd be utterly shocked if some team gave Bennett $15 million a year.

The only DE that made that kind of money this year was Williams. There were only 6 DEs in the entire league that made over 10 million last year, and Bennett doesn't have the same cachet as most of those guys. And most of the deals given to those top 6 were considered significant overpayments (in fact, the guy who gave Carolina DE Charles Johnson his big deal was FIRED).

I think Bennett's market is 8 million a year, 9 tops. And I doubt any team offers him anything over 4 years, with 3 being more likely.

If Seattle offered Bennett a $32 million contract over 4 years with $20 million guaranteed, I think that keeps him here and doesn't hamstring the team's cap situation (let Clemons move on and that's pretty close to a wash).

 

[Tokadub]

So what was Bennett's best game this year? He probably didn't have any stand out games because he's consistently mediocre-slightly above average range compared to the rest of our defense. But if you guys have any suggestions I'll watch the whole game where he made the biggest impact and I will eat crow if necessary.

I still stand by the opinion that it's not too difficult to hold the middle when our secondary is so amazing and we have guys like Kam Chancellor waiting to destroy. The safest play is to just take one for the team and let Bennett pad his very low tackle numbers.

We had multiple mediocre running backs eating us alive throughout the season if Bennett is so good why did that happen?

If anything it was Avril and Clemons coming off the edge like machine beasts which caused the middle to open up like the yellow brick road for Bennett.

When you have no where to throw the ball and the edges are contained how is it surprising that Bennett can continue to put up slightly above average numbers?

I would personally rank all these players more important to our defense than Bennett because they bring something unique.

1) Richard Sherman
2) Earl Thomas
3) Kam Chancellor
4) Bobby Wagner
5) KJ Wright
6) Malcolm Smith
7) Byron Maxwell
8) Cliff Avril

Some of those are pretty close calls but I wouldn't mind losing Bennett to keep any of them. Point is Bennett has a cushy roll that is easily replaced at similar levels of productivity.

You guys do realize that Bennett contributed to just 2.975% of our total tackles (31/1042)

His solo tackle ratio is even worst 2.616% (18/688)

So once again I must ask why this much love for Bennett? He's pretty good I'll admit that but the way you guys talk about him you would think he's like Percy Harvin talent. Truth is he's just a pretty average piece to an all time great defense.

Edit: whoops forgot #8 Cliff Avril should be in that category with 5 forced fumbles and nearly identical sack numbers as Bennett.

 

[RolandDeschain]

So once again I must ask why this much love for Bennett?

Because you don't understand football?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Truth is he's just a pretty average piece to an all time great defense.

This is the opposite of truth. The truth is we don't win a SB without Bennett, he was THE most consistent defensive lineman on our team in 2013 and is one of the most unique defensive players in the league who can play end and tackle............WELL.

 

[volsunghawk]

If anything it was Avril and Clemons coming off the edge like machine beasts which caused the middle to open up like the yellow brick road for Bennett.

You have this backwards.

Bennett played a ton of snaps inside this year, and the interior pressure he put on the pocket prevented QBs from stepping up in the pocket. We had plenty of instances last season where our pass rushers weren't getting home because the QB was able to step up and avoid them. That wasn't the case this year. And even when Bennett or the other DEs weren't getting sacks, they were pressuring the QB enough to force bad throws.

There's a reason our pass defense went from very good last year to legendary this year. Bennett was a big part of that. His versatility that allows him to work equally well at DE and DT is NOT common. It's not something you can just easily replace.

 

[Grahamhawker]

So what was Bennett's best game this year? He probably didn't have any stand out games because he's consistently mediocre-slightly above average range compared to the rest of our defense. But if you guys have any suggestions I'll watch the whole game where he made the biggest impact and I will eat crow if necessary.

I still stand by the opinion that it's not too difficult to hold the middle when our secondary is so amazing and we have guys like Kam Chancellor waiting to destroy. The safest play is to just take one for the team and let Bennett pad his very low tackle numbers.

We had multiple mediocre running backs eating us alive throughout the season if Bennett is so good why did that happen?

If anything it was Avril and Clemons coming off the edge like machine beasts which caused the middle to open up like the yellow brick road for Bennett.

When you have no where to throw the ball and the edges are contained how is it surprising that Bennett can continue to put up slightly above average numbers?

I would personally rank all these players more important to our defense than Bennett because they bring something unique.

1) Richard Sherman
2) Earl Thomas
3) Kam Chancellor
4) Bobby Wagner
5) KJ Wright
6) Malcolm Smith
7) Byron Maxwell

Some of those are pretty close calls but I wouldn't mind losing Bennett to keep any of them. Point is Bennett has a cushy roll that is easily replaced at similar levels of productivity.

You guys do realize that Bennett contributed to just 2.975% of our total tackles (31/1042)

His solo tackle ratio is even worst 2.616% (18/688)

So once again I must ask why this much love for Bennett? He's pretty good I'll admit that but the way you guys talk about him you would think he's like Percy Harvin talent. Truth is he's just a pretty average piece to an all time great defense.

I'm sure MB's per snap numbers are way better than that. What % of snaps did he play?

To that list I'd add Avril and Mebane at least, maybe others.
Otherwise, points well made.

 

[McGruff]

28 is young. Pass rushers do not decline fast. If healthy, they stay productive well into their mid thirties.

Robert Mathis led the league in sacks at age 32.
John Abraham had 11.5 at age 35
Same for Jared Allen at 31.
Calvin Pace, Shaun Phillips and Terrell Suggs had double digits this year at 33, 32 and 31.
Justin Tuck put down 11 at age 30

That's just this year . . .

Michael Strahan broke the sack record at age 30, had 18.5 sacks at age 32, 11.5 at age 34 and 9 at age 36.

The list could go on and on and on. In fact, other than kickers and WR's, I'd wager that pass rushers have greater career longevity than almost any other position.

 

[McGruff]

And stop citing stats. Stats are for people who can't see. Stats are what people use to argue that Andrew Luck is better than Russell Wilson cause he has more yards.

Watch the film and what you see is Bennett is consistently the first man off the snap, the first man in the backfield, the man reading screens correctly, and the man with more pressures, hurries and hits than any player on the team (and nearly any player in the league). As a pass rusher, he's the best one on the team and the tape bears that out, especially when you consider he's getting there from every where. Avril and (to a lesser extent) Clemons have it easy spreading in the wide nine spot, pinning their ears back and running around tackles. Bennett gets his in traffic by using superior snap anticipation and upfield quickness.

 

[jack_patera]

good player..but that's the nature of the nfl these days...i say good luck mr bennett, here's our offer...take it or leave it...

 

[Tokadub]

Well I fully expect us to lose Bennett and pretty sure that whoever takes his spot will have almost identical if not better #'s.

If we keep him for more than 6 million per year I would consider that to be a huge mistake going forward.

I know it's not all about numbers and stats and he plays hard, still seems like a good but not great guy to me. Definitely overrated in the grand scheme of things for our team in my opinion. He's just really in no position to make those kinds of comments if he really wants to stay here.

I think he's gone but maybe we'll keep him if the rest of the league thinks he's overrated like I do and they don't pay him.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The list could go on and on and on. In fact, other than kickers and WR's, I'd wager that pass rushers have greater career longevity than almost any other position.

You're wrong. Way wrong.

Bleacher Report did a very extensive piece last year on when each position hits "the wall," and D-Line was one of the most dramatic drop offs of any position group.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1683 ... fl-players





The guys you mentioned like Mathis and Abraham are the big exception, not the rule. The majority of D-Lineman hit age 30 and their speed and durability take a HUGE decline.

 

[seahawk12thman]

The drop off will be minimal if any at all.

You hope. :roll:

He is an aging player whose stats don't warrant a 10 million dollar contract coupled with the fact he has a torn rotator cuff. I keep hearing the Bears as a suitor but to me it doesn't make sense to sign a twilight career athlete that may or may not be healthy when there is so much depth in this draft and they have so many needs. While his brother may want him on the team, that doesn't mean the Bears front office parallels that notion. If Michael Bennett was elite, it would be a different conversation but while Avril, Clemons and McDonald all benefited from Bennett, the same is true in reverse.

Micheal Bennett must also realize that if a team signs Bennett to a 4 year deal and they are NOT competitive in a relative short amount of time, he risks getting cut. If he signs with Seattle, he doesn't have to be a every down player and he has an excellent chance to play at a higher level for a longer period of time giving him the opportunity to play out a contract and not be a salary cap casualty. He is just positioning himself for the highest dollar amount possible from the Seahawks. To me the Seahawks are in a position of power here. :thirishdrinkers:

 

[plyka]

You're nuts, RCATES. Only Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake had better years rushing the passer. It's a simple formula; add the number of hurries, hits, and sacks together for all the best pass rushers, divide the total by the number of passing snaps they had for the year, and you get their average number of pressures per snap. Robert Quinn, #1. Cameron Wake, #2. Michael Bennett, #3.

3rd in the entire league isn't great? Yeah, alright. Better consult a dictionary on what that word means; not to mention, he did his from the outside and the inside.

What you're forgetting to add into the analysis is:

1) The denominator matters. Bennett is a part time player. So when you have less rush attempts, you don't have to have as many hurries/sacks/etc in order to have a high ratio. And players like Quinn are in a league far above Bennett, because they play many more downs and bring that ratio with them.

2) The players around you matter. If you have great players around you, the defense can't scheme around you. Which is the case with Bennett. There are far better players on lesser teams that don't get his numbers because the players around them are not on the level of the players around Bennett. A good analogy would be Cano in the Mariners lineup. He won't have the same numbers, because he doesn't have "protection." The pitchers can pitch around him. So there are many great players in the league, but if they play on bad defenses, they won't have the numbers because they are double teamed, they are chipped, they are schemed around.

You may think that Bennett is the #3 pass rusher in the league, but in reality he is not even close. Still damn good, but no where near #3.

 

[plyka]

In light of Bennett's D-head comment I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. Bennett is NOT that good. F this guy kick him off the team.

He is the perfect fit BECAUSE we have a perfect system for him, there are so many other weapons on our teams defense he just has a play day EVERY day. There are at least 30+ guys who are comparable to Bennett in the NFL not even including the upcoming draft.

I bit my tongue because all you guys are obsessed with the guy for no apparent reason. But now that he's pretty much saying "F" the Seahawk i don't care where I play let's cut this SOB. I'm serious, someone show me some kind of highlight reel or a play that is special from him. I've NEVER thought he was that good and all your guys love for him straight up baffles me.

He is an overweight guy with decent movement, that's all nothing more nothing less. I cannot remember ONE SINGLE PLAY where I was like wow Bennett is so good! I just shut my mouth since everyone here is in love with him, but personally I think retaining TATE is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

Edit: Oh just to clarify Michael Bennett has virtually no highlight videos as a Seahawk. He truly isn't special our defense is just so good his stats are overblown because he's in the ME ME ME stat position on our team, that's the truth.

Scratch that his movement isn't even that good 5 second 40 yard dash...

Do you guys realize Bruce Irvin had 8 sacks his rookie season that's .5 less than Michael Bennett and you guys are all like let's cut Irvin he's a no show! Michael Bennett mustered basically the same sack count as Irvin his rookie season and suddenly he's the man???

Bennett is not as good as people are saying and I truly want to know where the source of all this Bennett love is coming from. It seems to me like media bologna but I'm waiting for someone to prove he's good...

I think we should let Bennett go as well. But you need to take it back like 10 notches. Bennett was a key in bringing this team its first super bowl in its history --a little RESPECT for the man please. Your post is almost like a tantrum. No team can be this emotional in making its decisions. Remember that the man helped bring you a SB!

As for what the team should do, I agree, they should let him go, again, depending on PRICE. His value is inflated, and because it is inflated, the team should not bring him back. You can replace him cheaper. But if his price is reasonable, then you bring him back.

Either way, all Seahawk fans owe the man a big THANK YOU!+

 

[JMR]

Someone already alluded to it, but I'm confident it will go something like this:

Seahawks and Bennett will have some initial contract talks, either a fairly modest offer or none at all from Seattle will come of it, they'll let him go out and visit other teams to allow the market to set the price, then Seattle will probably make an attempt to get him back at a little under that value. If Bennett receives a stupid high offer on his tour of the league, then you can't blame him from taking it. I don't see him getting a $20 mill signing bonus like a couple guys have suggestd here, but $8 mill a year is not out of the realm of possibility.

The good news is this team is going to be an attractive destination for veteran FAs who have made a good deal of money already but now want a shot at a ring. As one door closes, another opens up.