Seafan
New member
There are three more preseason games before I make up my mind.
The poll seems flawed since trading Earl for no less than a 2nd is only possible if another team is willing to give up a second. Since that seems unlikely, everyone who voted for trade Earl for no less than a 2nd voted to do nothing and hope. Hope is not a winning strategy.oldhawkfan":3lmgooke said:I know there is a thread dedicated to Earl Thomas but I thought it would be interesting to see how a poll would sort out the pulse of the board. In 2018 the top brass seemed all in for a run to the Owl considering the trades they made. Had he held out last year, they might have caved by now.
TwistedHusky":22wludj0 said:We do this often.
We think we have this amazing system and that players are easily replaceable. 'Next man up' and all that crap.
It does not work.
This team has a tremendous problem in worrying about what it does not have instead of cherishing what it does.
I get players age and you need to replace them. But the differences when you lose guys (or worse, let guys go so you can pay big money to other guys that never fit in here....ugh) is you leave a hole.
We never recovered after losing Irvin, and everyone was sure he was not worth the money. And losing Tate essentially lost us at least one SB and probably a trip or 2 others. You keep your great players unless you are the Patriots. Because the difference makers ARE the players. We removed guys that fit here, so we could pay guys that didn't (Harvin, Graham, etc). Those gambles rarely pay off for us, if ever.
When we lose our better players, we get weaker. We don't do a good job of filling the holes at all. So in that light, creating the hole in the first place is probably something you want to avoid for as long as possible.
Sgt. Largent":3sdzg3l1 said:TwistedHusky":3sdzg3l1 said:We do this often.
We think we have this amazing system and that players are easily replaceable. 'Next man up' and all that crap.
It does not work.
This team has a tremendous problem in worrying about what it does not have instead of cherishing what it does.
I get players age and you need to replace them. But the differences when you lose guys (or worse, let guys go so you can pay big money to other guys that never fit in here....ugh) is you leave a hole.
We never recovered after losing Irvin, and everyone was sure he was not worth the money. And losing Tate essentially lost us at least one SB and probably a trip or 2 others. You keep your great players unless you are the Patriots. Because the difference makers ARE the players. We removed guys that fit here, so we could pay guys that didn't (Harvin, Graham, etc). Those gambles rarely pay off for us, if ever.
When we lose our better players, we get weaker. We don't do a good job of filling the holes at all. So in that light, creating the hole in the first place is probably something you want to avoid for as long as possible.
1. You can't pay everyone. Irvin didn't earn an extension with us, he had 5.5 sacks his last year here..........and we have too much salary already committed on defense. So he was expendable.
2. If we had a lot of cap space and we were in a SB window, instead of in a roster turnover trying to reload? I'd agree with you, I'd take a risk on giving Earl a nice extension and hope he stays healthy and productive for 2-3 more years.
But we're not, so why would you pay Earl 15M a year like he wants when we're still 2-3 years away from challenging for a SB...............IF Pete and John can reload and get the depth back. Makes no sense to pay Earl now. You trade him and use those pick(s) to get younger and hungrier on defense.
If we've learned anything through Pete's tenure here, it's that it's impossible to have an old hungry expensive defense.
Donn2390":16qpcc8z said:His attitude and financial demands would need to improve 100% before I could agree to that statement. As it is, he is on the down hill side of age and health. He should be thankful he has a job, not holding out for more money. You don't see other teams lining up for his services..!!LargentFan":16qpcc8z said:I might get hate for this, but I think Earl might be a top 5 all-time Seahawk. Add in that he is still playing top level football and I am sold on keeping him.
Quick and dirty top 5 Seahawks of all time in no particular order...
Steve Largent
Walter Jones
Cortez Kennedy
Kenny Easley
Hmmm...Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson or Earl Thomas might fit here...
Ok he's borderline top 5 all-time and a lock for top 10 all-time.
Ask yourself this...
The next time Earl Thomas makes a play that no other player could make, don't you want to see him in a Seahawks jersey when he does it?
He needed to come in early, work hard and have a terrific season and then talk about a new contract. An honorable man honors a contract, he is a spoiled child. The rest of the bad attitudes are gone, he needs to follow them.
We have some new stars on the horizon who still want to play hard and earn their spot and their money. Too many of these guys meet with a little success and their ego's get all blown out of shape and they begin to think they are more important than the team or the game. At this point, Earl is NOT a team player. That will lead to failure.
Jac":1mg9gh0p said:That's exactly how I feel. If we're a couple years out from having out next "SB window" roster...and we're not going to sign Thomas to an extension...and Thompson seemingly having a lot of potential and positive reviews...then it doesn't make sense to pull Thompson off the field (particularly if Thomas comes back mid year to accrue his season). Give him that development time. Thomas is pulling this stunt in the most disadvantageous time in the history of holdouts. I sense literally no consternation or hand wringing out of the team regarding his absence.
LargentFan":2dqc8j5q said:I might get hate for this, but I think Earl might be a top 5 all-time Seahawk. Add in that he is still playing top level football and I am sold on keeping him.
Quick and dirty top 5 Seahawks of all time in no particular order...
Steve Largent
Walter Jones
Cortez Kennedy
Kenny Easley
Hmmm...Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson or Earl Thomas might fit here...
Ok he's borderline top 5 all-time and a lock for top 10 all-time.
Ask yourself this...
The next time Earl Thomas makes a play that no other player could make, don't you want to see him in a Seahawks jersey when he does it?
Fade":3jjxqvc4 said:Let him sit. Then Franchise Tag him at the end of the year. Sometimes players need to be made an example of so the other players don't get any funny ideas about holding out.
Strictly business, I don't hold any ill will towards Earl. I just don't want future players getting the idea it's a good idea to hold out. The Marshawn holdout led to the Kam holdout which is now the Earl holdout. That is 3 holdouts in 5 yrs. No more.
jammerhawk":2eugd0wr said:Holding out is hardly negotiating.
My way or no way is Et's negotiating position. the rest of the rubbish is good reason for the two sides to talk but ET doesn't seem to want to talk.
He has a present contract which pays him $8.5 million for this season that he needs to honour, and withdrawing his services is hardly the way to present his best case for a new contract.
I don't want the team to give in, and want them to make him pay the fines for his withdrawal of attendance. He has put himself above the team and needs to show up before discussions can even start on a new deal. Even then there is a large difference in the present market for safeties between what ET wants and what the present market is for the position.
If he isn't 'all in' then he needs to be gone and he is accomplishing that at a significant daily cost to himself. I doubt he comes back to play here for the Seahawks.
jammerhawk":2l065sbg said:He has a present contract which pays him $8.5 million for this season that he needs to honour, and withdrawing his services is hardly the way to present his best case for a new contract.
Sgt. Largent":1wa3axb6 said:jammerhawk":1wa3axb6 said:He has a present contract which pays him $8.5 million for this season that he needs to honour, and withdrawing his services is hardly the way to present his best case for a new contract.
He doesn't need to honor anything, just like teams don't need to honor the contract if they think the player is no longer worth the contract and dead cap hit.
That's the trade off, and why leverage is so important in the NFL when it comes to contract negotiations.
THIS is Earl's problem, he has ZERO leverage.
- No other team wants to pay him what he wants
- No other team wants to meet the Hawk's price for a trade
- We're not in a SB window where it's life or death if he plays or not
- He's not 24 and coming off a Pro Bowl year with no health issues and prime for an extension
That's it, it's that simple. No leverage = no extension...............and the only way to get the leverage back is to play. Sure as hell isn't sitting at home losing millions and continuing to have the injury and performance concerns hanging over you.
Dumb.