How do you guys feel about the 2015 team before FA/Draft?

[kf3339]

Great idea Kearly!

This is especially a good time with the Franchise tag deadline tomorrow. So I will add my thoughts.

I do think this year we will make a major splash in the FA period. Whether it's for a DT like Suh or a WR like Marshall is hard to guess. But it just feels like the team needs to make a statement for both the sake of the current players and us fans. Whether some want to debate the ending to the Superbowl (or not) the fact is this front office and PC need to turn the page with a statement move. Not the literal one they made after that game.

So we will pick up a major FA player or possibly two to help everyone turn the page. My hope is somehow to get both Suh and Marshall and put fear into the rest of the league!

As for the draft I am going in a different direction as some. With so many picks I think this is the year we package picks to move up to get a stud player rather than let the board come to us. Why trade back when we already have 10+/- picks? We need more?

No, I think we may trade up in the first for a stud WR, OL or maybe even a RB they feel can replace Lynch after this coming season. But I don't see 10 spots for rookies this year and it makes no sense to me making picks in later rounds that can't make the team. It's better to package for players they really want. Besides they have proven that every year one or two undrafted players can make the team, so just let that be the case again.

As for the season to come I don't see a drop off, but I also don't see a better record than last year. Getting to 12-4 would be a pretty strong accomplishment in its own right considering the salary cap era of today. Not to mention the loaded NFC and especially NFC West. It's not like we have the same laughable schedule that a team like the Patriots are given to achieve the same record.

So that is how I see it, and the good part is we all get to see starting very, very soon!

 

[AgentDib]

I'm not sure what to think yet. We are heavily reliant on the running game and there's a lot of uncertainty around Lynch. The draft and FA will solidify a lot of things but for now I can see anything between another championship and a 6-12 squad.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

"Quite frankly, our team's Super Bowl aspirations would be in serious trouble without Marshawn right now, and PC/JS know it. And Lynch knows it too."

As it came out this week, Marshawn was pissed about not getting the ball on 2nd down.....so were a lot of people. He realizes that there is nothing that can be done about it......I have a hunch that he wouldn't shed any tears if the OC should happened to stumble over the door step on his way out. Here is the challenge facing Marshawn....."Can you keep your ego in check?" ....and you do not have to be a Pro athlete to have that problem! Bottom line....Pete and John have all the leverage. They will play this game of being nice with Marshawn until their own self imposed date. Then the hammer comes down and they mandate that he play out his last year.....or retire. And frankly at this point....I don't give a rat's ass!

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Interesting topic the way it's framed. Otherwise, way too early of course. Might be fun to look back when the 2015 season is underway as to how our viewpoints may have changed post FA, post Draft, TC, pre-season.

I don't have any strong vibes. Injuries, surgeries, speculation, sting of one of the toughest losses in SB history. Yeah, all that going on. But, the management, chemistry, character and leadership of this team is still very much in place. Let's not forget all the extensions that have already been signed, much to the surprise of some in here who said it couldn't or wouldn't happen.

Compared to 2014... we had thoughts that the team could be unstoppable with Percy Harvin finally healthy. Little did we know... The team fought through a lot of adversity in 2014. If they can get healthy, maybe 2015 has more of a vibe of cohesiveness. I don't think they're going to be the "same" team, but that doesn't necessarily mean they wont be just as competitive. Perhaps they become a better offensive team and more balanced overall... not mainly dependent upon spectacular defensive plays to bail them out of games.

I don't think the 2015 schedule is going to be as daunting as the 2014 schedule. But, it's going to come down to when they play teams and what teams are dealing with at those particular times. There's a lot of factors that are not considered with just a quick simple look and projection based on apparent strength of schedule. The Cardinals won a few close games and the Seahawks lost a few close games the first half of 2014. So many had them crowned until their QB's went down - then, say the Seahawks only won the division b/c of that and mostly fail to acknowledge how injuries had a part in the losses earlier in the season.

I expect the draft will surprise us all... again. The Seahawks are unpredictable. Mel Kiper is even saying so now. The Seahawks do tend to reach for picks based on need at times. But, those players work out sometimes. They also seem to stick to their board and just don't care how others project players draft value. I'm excited to see players like Marsh and KPL back on the field. At this point in time, the Seahawks haven't exactly had the kinds of drafts they did in 2010-2012.

 

[QuahHawk]

I think as it stands now if we don't add 2 big pieces we won't make the Super Bowl for a 3rd time in a row.

My perfect offseason would be to
1. Re-sign Wilson to a long term team friendly deal (under $20 mil per year)

2. Sign a disruptive DT (Suh would fit nicely if we can make the numbers work)

We need to 2 new pieces to our DL rotation

Locks= 1. Bennett 2. Avril 3. Hill
Likely= 4. Mebane 5. McDaniel
Border line= 6. Marsh 7. Schofield



3. Bring in two big targets for Wilson, 1 TE and 1 WR - they need to be 6'3 or taller ( J.Thomas would be great, I'd also like C. Shorts or Vincent Brown as affordable veteran WR's as long as we still get a big WR in the draft). Got to get a Redzone threat TE. We need to get bigger targets for Russell in the Red Zone

We need more talent at WR, I wish Baldwin was our 3rd best WR. P-Rich was playing like our best WR before he went down with injury. Matthews played like our best in the SB. Please give Wilson an arsenal

Locks= 1. Baldwin
Likely= 2. Richardson 3. Norwood
Borderline= 4. Kearse 5. Matthews


4. Find CB depth. We are going to need 3 cb's if we don't re-sign Maxwell. Sherman, Simon, and Burley are it right now with Lane injured and I'm not sure our rookie this year Pinkston will be anything special. Even Simon and Burley should be forced to fight for a roster spot.




.

 

[Bobblehead]

Why would we not want the best available at that spot that we have, in fact, why wouldn't we want to trade up, giving up some picks that we have? I'm all for Quality over quantity.ever time, and I do realize that the draft is a crap shoot, but, it is a weighted crap shoot.

Good post on a thought provoking subject.

As I see it, the rationale behind trading down is that quantity can become quality if there is high uncertainty in the draft outcomes. For example, it looks like the Rams have ended up with the better overall quality from the Redskins deal because they had a lot more shots at players who might work out while the Redskins put all of their eggs in one basket and it hasn't worked out yet.

Think of it like buying lottery tickets. Guys like Brady and Sherman have shown that late round picks can still have the same ceiling as the high picks but at a lower probability and that reduced probability can be more than offset by more picks.

Yes, except those Ram choices were all on the top half of the 1st round.

Yeah, I agree with the late rounds, there are picks to be had, and like you said, it's a lottery, and do you know how hard it is to win the lottery?

I just don't want to pass up on a great talent just for the sake of getting more players.

If anything we should trade those draft choices for picks in several years when veteran contracts are up and we need to re load.

 

[scutterhawk]

What kind of offseason are you expecting? What kind of draft are you expecting? What kind of team do you think we'll have in 2015? Obviously, we'll have to revisit this after the offseason is over, but I thought it would be fun to talk about what we think will happen in this moment in time.

What kind of offseason am I expecting?

I think the first question is the hardest for me, because it definitely feels like Seattle is preparing to make a run of some kind in free agency despite the contract situations with Wilson, Lynch and Wagner. I think PC/JS are very aware of the unusually good FA class this year coupled with the fact that the salary cap is currently rising every year at historic rates. There is sound reasoning in Seattle staying put, but I just get the feeling that PC/JS are planning to make 2015 a spendy year.

Maybe that means landing Suh. Maybe that means trading for Marshall. Maybe that means signing Julius Thomas or Jordan Cameron. Maybe that means keeping Byron Maxwell. Maybe that means they look into Dez Bryant, or if the Lynch negotiations stall very badly, perhaps AP or Murray. I think the Seahawks are going to be "in on" a lot of potential deals on March 10th, and the deals that fall their way will likely be the ones that Seattle signs. They'll even be in on some deals that don't make a lot of sense on the surface, because JS isn't afraid to kick the tires just to see what happens.

What makes this question hard is that not all of these scenarios are equal. For example, landing Suh would probably cost roughly the same amount of money as trading for Brandon Marshall plus signing Julius Thomas, but I would be significantly more excited about a Suh in Seattle scenario. Marshall and Thomas would be high end accessories, but Suh would be transformative. Which is amazing to think about, given where Seattle's defense is currently.

Ultimately, I do think Seattle is going to have an exciting FA period this year, probably the most exciting since 2013. So far, PC/JS have remained relatively dormant in FA during even numbered years (2010, 2012, 2014) but have been big spenders in the odd years (2011, 2013). I don't know if that means we're getting Suh, but I do think Seattle will probably land at least one big name free agent this Spring.
I think THIS^^^^ is a fantastic post.

I think Lynch is in "he don't give a you-know-what" mode right now, but I think he'll sign an extension with Seattle sometime this offseason.

What kind of draft am I expecting?

Like a lot of people, I think this draft will basically be a repeat of last year. Seattle will probably trade out of the 1st round and it won't require a big offer to do it. I think Seattle will generally let players come to them instead of fighting the board, which means getting a lot of Jordan Hill and Kevin Norwood type picks through the first several rounds (guys that were basically the last of their respective 'tiers" when Seattle drafted them).

However, I do think that Seattle will look to add a WR this year. Even if they traded for Marshall I'd still expect them to draft a WR, given that the FA / trade period options at WR are mostly past their prime. I think they will also look at OL. And possibly RB, depending on Lynch.

This draft is incredibly weak at safety and not much better at corner (Seattle only drafts corners with 32+" arms, and the list of those players who are draftable is very short this year). This is actually my top concern this offseason, as Maxwell is likely gone and most of the LOB is having surgery or recovering from serious long term injuries. Some people have mentioned Will Blackmon and Walter Thurmond, but Thurmond is tough to depend on and Blackmon turns 31 during the 2015 season.

In conclusion, my expectation for this draft is that Seattle will draft some nice redshirt role players at positions of strength ala Jordan Hill types, but will probably struggle to fill some of the teams bigger holes through the draft. It should be interesting to see what they do to address KR/PR, as both areas were incredibly weak last season.

What kind of team do I think we'll have in 2015?

I think we've actually been very lucky with injuries in the secondary. Sherman and Earl Thomas seem to save their injuries for late in the year when they can tough it out to the end. I think there are some similarities between Thomas and Bob Sanders and my #1 worry for 2015 is that this could be the year Earl finally misses significant time. With Jeron Johnson possibly moving on in FA, and with the draft looking terrible at safety, this is something that keeps me up at night a bit. Without Earl Seattle is probably a 10 win team at best.

My bright spot for next season would have been Paul Richardson and the development of the quick hit passing game. But Richardson is basically entering next season in a similar situation that Navarro Bowman had last year, and Bowman ended up never even playing a down in 2014. Richardson will probably miss time, and even if he does play, he's going to be at maybe 80%.

Because of this, WR is a concern, and if Seattle ALSO lost Lynch somehow, Seattle would probably be in a dogfight with Arizona for the division. I think Seattle will probably land a significant contributor in the passing game, especially if they miss out on Suh and have some cash available.

I actually feel okay about the offensive line, though depth needs to be added. Basically areas like OL, DL, and LB are not a concern for me because I think our starters are already good enough and I trust JS to draft good backups in the draft.

Interior pass rush is a concern, but if Seattle gets Suh or if they get lucky with guys like Marsh... I just have a hunch this hole will be addressed.

KR/PR is a problem and I have a hunch it will remain a problem for longer than we'd like.

Overall, the team I'm realistically expecting Seattle to field is probably a 10-12 win team. For the first time in a while, it feels like this team has some real holes to fill and filling them could be easier said than done this offseason. The positive spin on this is that this also opens up opportunity for a draft pick to contribute right away, or for a player like Suh to make a huge difference. Maybe a guy like Will Blackmon still has one more good year in the tank on the cheap? Maybe Seattle gets lucky and their 1st round pick WR also happens to be an ace return man. There is some opportunity for getting lucky this offseason more than in the past.

Basically, I think as things stand Seattle will likely decline in 2015, but an exciting offseason could change that. And this offseason feels like it has a better than average chance of being exciting.

 

[original poster]

I think 2015 will be a different beast to 2014.

2014 was an incredible year, we fought through some massive injuries, relied heavily on the defence to win our games and lost games that we should have won. I think 2015 is the year we stop relying on our defence and unfortunately, I don’t think we will be the number 1 defence in the league, still 2 or 3, but not number 1. The CB situation scares me, it’s all well and good having Sherman on one side totally shutting things down, but if Simon doesn’t step up to a different level we will get picked apart time and time again. I’d like to see us trade up in the first round to address our CB need, Maxwell is gone.

I personally disagree with another poster that said our 2014 schedule was harder than our 2015 is looking to be, the 2015 schedule looks tough, very tough. Especially with the away games. It is impossible to predict injuries but with the way we play on defence, I would imagine injuries will play a certain part in how 2015 pans out.

I do believe we will make some big splashes in the FA as well, I really can see Suh and Marshall in Seahawks jerseys next year which really, really will put the fear of god into the whole league. Those two single players, I believe, can transform an already incredible team into something deadly.

In summary, I'd like to see CB addressed in the draft in the 1st as well as addressing some of the holes in the OL via the draft, which I think we will do very successfully. But our offense will be 'sorted' via FA and draft. We can't rely on UDFA's forever and although our UDFA's aren't exactly terrible, they're hardly lighting up the field every week. I get nervous every time the ball is thrown to Willson or Kearse, although both made some seriously impressive plays last season, I don't want to rely on them.

If I take potential injuries out of the equation altogether, and what I believe we will do in the draft and free agency I'm making the following predictions -

We go 13-3
Our defence lesses somewhat to 2nd or 3rd in the league
Our offense steps up tremendously and turns into a genuine threat
We get the number 1 seed as well as meet the Patriots in the Superbowl in Santa Clara , but this time we win.

 

[hawksurething]

This is really easy. Just fill the holes that made us lose in the Superbowl.

Then add depth.

1. WR that demands double coverage & wins in the red zone. Either Marshall,VJacskon,or if need be Dez.
2. Quick slot CB to cover edelman & the likes.
3. Draft future WR that demands doubles,to learn from the star vet & destroy single coverage as the #2 in the meantime.
4. One of the top CBs in free agency with long enough arms. The CBs suck in the draft this year ! You made a excellent point about the arms. Thanks
5. pass rush DE. You can draft 1 or get a FA. Its so deep this year !
6. Run stop DT. FA its deep this year too.
7. LG in the draft.( check out my o- line thread to see who fits best). Only 1 in free Agency is Franklin,the rest suck at pass protection or can't move for our scheme.
8. RT in free agency since there are 4 top RTs. Zero in the draft though.

After these holes, just add depth for competition.

 

[getnasty]

I don't see a big name FA coming in, I suspect the front office to look for 2nd tier guys who can come in a thrive in our system, Much like they did with Bennett, Avril and Kevin Williams last year. If we do bring in a big name I think its becuase Marshawn decides to hang them up or at the expense of a guy like Mebabe. My biggest worry is definitely the potential loss of Bryon Maxwell, if I could find a way to resign him without totally breaking the bank i'd be a happy camper. As far as the draft goes I hope we stay put and draft the best WR, CB, TE, DT or OL available. Suprise offseason pick up goes to Charles Clay, dont ask me why I just have a feeling.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

I guess I see it a bit differently, I think we will be as good or better then last year IMO, we had a TON of injuries that effected the depth mainly on the defense. I assume we will have guys healthier overall this season. I expect the fire will be burning even hotter after that disaster in the SB. I still see a 12-14 win team and the 1 seed.

'Healthier overall?' Sorry, but I don't know how you came up with that. We had injuries to key players very late in the season. Several of those injuries happen in the Super Bowl, so that considerably shortens the off-season/healing time for those players. Also, we've had two of the longest-possible seasons back to back.. The wear and tear of that shows up in even more injuries of the unreported variety suddenly showing up in training camp.

No amount of 'fire' will make our guys super-human healers, but I admire your optimism.

I agree with Kearly that our D will most likely regress...particularly because Pete built it from back to front & most of our 'backside' players will either not be ready to go, or not at 100 percent for much of the season. Add-in the fact that many of our Key DL players won't be 100 percent, even if they are able to line up on opening day, and the odds of any kind of 'fire' fixing those woes become worse.

Not saying it's impossible, but color me skeptical that we reach 12 wins, unless the rest of the division tanks. 10 wins sounds about right.

 

[drdiags]

I think the Team needs to start grooming a center. Unger has had a rough spell the past few years and I am not sure what is up with his snaps from the gun.

I am concerned about Kam, with hip issues the past few years. The way he plays physically, it is going to be tough seeing him not finish out his contract but the secondary is starting to get those nicks as they enter their 4th-5th year together. Always worry about Earl because of his size and how relentless he plays.

Of the 10 or 11 picks the Seahawks have, they can only trade 6 or 7 of them. With them picking late in each round, it isn't like they have a ton of fire-power to move up unless they are bundling a player with picks but most times that is for mid-round picks. They could trade future picks, but I am not sure that is something they feel that comfortable with. But again, that is what makes watching the draft fun. Those out of left field picks and trades.

The team needs WR help that everyone is clamoring for. Will have a better feel for the team once Lynch, Wagner and Wilson's contracts are dealt with. If they have to open up the offense because of Lynch's retirement they need to be more successful with their TEs and WRs. Not sure how they do it, but they have to be able to attack all parts of the field and not rely so much on the scramble drills.

It seems Carpenter is gone, so they need to get a new LG, hopefully one adept at both run and pass blocking. My other question is whether Okung is your LT after this year. At least he ended the past two seasons on the field, which is encouraging.

I would like to see the DLine having more depth, but figure this will have to come through the draft or 2/3rd tier FA-types. With K Williams and Schofield being FAs and Jessie Williams basically about to be cut (in my estimation), more bodies needed. Scruggs is not cracking the lineup and was waiver wire material last year. Staten's status is unknown to me, maybe he is gone already. Marsh seemed promising but he and KPL got dinged so you just don't know.

Special teams was not as solid as in the past and too bad Harvin cost the team Leon Washington. The team's return game went down the toilet after he left, though he had a few head-scratcher returns toward the end. But no worse than Baldwin, Kearse and P Rich. I think local boy, turned whipping boy Brian Walters is most likely not going to be on the roster this year, but who knows? Maybe he is our PR again this year?

Will revisit this after FA and the Draft are over.

 

[Largent80]

Not knowing the conditions of most of the injured players is a concern, especially with the draft a couple months away.

That makes it hard to get a feel for 2015 for me. Obviously, CB is going to be a huge need. Especially if Maxwell goes, and I can't see us throwing a ton of money at him. Simon is still under developed, and may not pan out. That will mean we will be relying on a F.A. pickup or a drafted/undrafted rookie. Jeron Johnson is a FA, and losing him presents a backup problem and ST problem.

WR.....The deficiencies are known. Regardless of this being addressed every year, we still need help here.

TE......Miller may be gone, I would think this will be addressed.

OL, should be addressed every year just as WR has. As Doc said, center, and LG should be looked at.

I just get the feeling that we could regress some with the injury concerns and loss of key starters, relying on inexperienced players or rookies in the D-backfield.

 

[Scottemojo]

For me, it's all questions about what will happen, not predictions.

Does the reported offer to Lynch have an expiration date before March 10? That money could have other uses, and a deadline of March 7 seems reasonable to me.

Every year, we will take a CB, a LB, a S, a T, a G. We all know that. But KR, PR, DT and WR were huge depth issues last year, where we were unable to replace talent with equal talent following a SB win. THis year the talent drain should be lessened, but what is the plan to build depth at CB, where Lane and Simon will be recovering from injuries? Will we get a free agent nickel? At WR, will they continue to Captain Ahab the elusive over the top red zone threat?

How committed to getting a replacement for Miller are they? A TE capable of blocking and having good hands is not currently on the roster.

Will they put a replacement plan in place for Okung? Center was a huge problem this year, we started 4 of 'em. What do we do about depth at center, maybe even a guy who can challenge Unger, who has to be considered injury prone, and a liability snapping in the gun? WHat is the replacement plan for Carpenter, assuming the unhappiness they expressed about Bailey's weight last year?

So far, Seattle has been the poster child for Sparq drafting. JS kind of indicated that will change just a bit, but how much? Will they actually get that far from the model of previous years? I kind of doubt it.

And finally, the biggest question of all for me. What will the be the hangover of that one play? One play should not be a defining moment, but I think the potential for a locker room split over a single play is very real. Rings and dollars were decided, and motives have already been attached to decisions. The off field drama last year nearly derailed a season. Will there be more of that this year?

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I'm not expecting Seattle to move up in the draft that much. If they do, I can see them doing so later in the draft, trying to get more picks in the 100-150 range.

This is a big draft IMO. Seattle hasn't really added any core talent in 2013 or 2014. We've taken care of guys drafted in 2010 and 2011. Next year (and this year too) will be about retaining 2012 draft class talent. But we've not drafted prospects that we're likely to resign in the last couple years. And we're just now starting to see some of that talent from the 2010/11 class walk out the door.

Seattle needs to recapture some of that magic from 2010-12. Get some guys to replace the expected departures this year and certainly next year. For an organization with a reputation for drafting well and developing well, this draft seems like a tiebreaker kind of draft. If we have 3 straight meager drafts -- that kind of supports the one time notion that Seattle benefitted greatly due to Carroll's familiarity with college talent at the time of his hire. And the predicted drop off in terms of drafting acumen may well come to fruition.

Seems Seattle needs to show the last two drafts were just flukes. We've drafted for our team and not the league. But lately that strategy has produced non championship caliber talents. Seattle needs to start acquiring the next core talents worth their second contracts. As well as start populating the roster with talents who can elevate to quality starter status to replace some of the 2nd contracts on the roster right now.

Seattle is seen as a team that is young. But they are also on the cusp of being a team that is getting old. Several key contributors are on their second deals (Avril, Bennett, Unger, Mebane, Miller), and we've just started the 2nd contract period for many others (Thomas, Wright, Sherman, Chancellor). The upcoming class (Wilson, Wagner, Sweezy, Irvin, Kearse, Carpenter, Okung) is going to be double tough to keep together. We're going to need to reload on a couple of those. The cap will dictate that. The draft classes of 2013/14 don't provide many reload candidates.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Honestly I'm worried about the Hawks in 2015, not roster wise, but health wise.

Too many guys, especially in our secondary coming off major surgeries hoping to be back and ready to go by the start of the season.

I have no doubt Pete and John will re-stock the roster with draft picks and FA's, but our 2015 fate will be determined by whether all these guys having surgery can make it back and stay healthy while not having full training camps to get their bodies ready to play.

 

[penihawk]

There are a whole lot of moving parts involved in even trying to figure out what this team is gonna look like next year and how its all gonna play out on the field. Having said that, here is what my gut tells me at this time.

I agree with many in this post that our D is gonna take a step back this year and its time for a major shift in the makeup of how we win games here. Even if we reload our D with FA's & draft picks we won't continue to win at the rate we have the last 3 years if the offense doesn't get upgraded significantly.

That means to me we need to upgrade a couple spots in the O-line, get a more dynamic change of pace/3rd down back and most of all upgrade our WR corps. We cant sit and wait for the what ifs and injured to be the saviors, this is the draft & FA period that is gonna take us forward or a step back and battling to make the playoffs the next 5 years.

Brandon Marshall is the only vet that I see as the guy that really elevates us. He is physical everywhere on the field and would be a terror in my mind when Wilson goes into Houdini mode. He must be 100% committed however for me to sign off on that move.

The draft is a tricky one for me in that there are many different sequences of the first 4 rounds that make sense and are gonna be dictated by FA's lost, FA's signed (Marshall trade), and position runs in the first couple rounds. Depending on what gets addressed in FA, the first 5 picks should consist of CB,G/OT,RB (someone more dynamic & different to spell Lynch) & 2 WRs with return duties being addressed within that group. Like I said above, the sequence will be determined after FA and the first 30 to 60 picks.

I think we will be aggressive in FA while looking 5 years down the road with the cap calculator and take a shot possibly at some risk/reward players in the draft if they are sitting there to be had. On that note here is my idea of my dream next 2 months.

1) Lynch signs extension
2)Trade for Brandon Marshall (reasonable compensation and a contract restructure that is beneficial to both sides)
3)Sign Thurmond,Melton & Cameron on prove it deals
Draft picks: 1) Jalen Strong WR
2)Ameer Abdullah RB
3)AJ Gann OG
4)Marcus Peters CB
5)Tyler Lockett WR

I can"t wait to see how it works out in reality over the next 2 months but thanks for letting me get in on the one and only subject matter that has been on my mind since the day after the Super Bowl.

 

[Blitzhawk]

Definitely an interesting topic and great input everybody.

The way I see the team as it stands now by position:

Running back is only in question as long as Lynch has not signed extension but is still here next year so the question is more about future. I think he eventually signs the new contract by his actions as far as the Turkey trip and seemingly still very much in NFL mode for the off season. It really feels like to me he is still all in just biding his time. Who knows, maybe the FO and him already know and just letting the game play out keeping the rest of the league in the dark regarding what we may do in FA and draft. At the very least, I am sure they have a deadline in mind regarding when they need to know in order to make the moves they need (ie. FA or draft RB).

Tight end is solid but could be improved. The real question to me is what is the value in improving the position vs. how we utilize it. One of my biggest issues with Bevel and his game plans/play calling is he seems to really get tunnel vision or just plain forgets about other play makers. For example, one game he comes out w/ a great game plan involving the TE position and the next game he forgets they even exist. Basically, what I am getting at here is if we had a "Gronk" here, would we even utilize him as such and would he still be the same "Gronk"?

Wide receiver is the big position in need of improvement and I think/hope will be area of focus for us. I think most of it comes in the draft though.

O'line is solid for most part but could definitely use some depth at least and upgrade if possible. The problem is this is much easier said than done. LT is a position near impossible to improve as the good ones almost never sniff FA and there are very few selected in top of 1st round ready to start. I think we re-sign Okung regardless of injuries as he is good when healthy but there is really no good alternate routes to go to replace him short of a losing season or morgaging a lot of draft capital future. I think we look to find a good backup/future replacement for Unger that can play some guard until ready. We probably add another depth player that backup/develop at both guard/tackle positions via draft. We have good young starters at their positions in Britt and Sweezy. Carp is a question we keep at the right price but could be replaced.

D-line was pretty good when healthy but could use more depth/rotation or even improved starter making our current guys the depth in the middle. I like the rush we get on the outside so that is solid outside of maybe some depth.

Linebacker is good but can always look to add depth.

Secondary is a big question heading into next season which is so odd after the last couple years of being so strong. All the injuries and losing Bmax are big concerns but the secondary is PC's specialty so it does make an odd feeling for me there. I am some how the most and least concerned about it this year, LOL. I think Simon can develop much more this off season so that MIGHT be ok there but we will need to add more depth/nickel starter there. This will probably come via draft.

The Draft seems to me to be really deep in the 2-4 round range while lacking a lot of top end talent. If there is a top end player of interest like maybe Jaelen Strong at WR that falls to us we could take them but I think we try to drop back into top of 2nd to mid 2nd and pick up some more 3-4 round picks. We would then most likely bundle some lower picks to move back up into 2-4 round areas to get some of those solid players. I see this draft being really good for WR, OL, and DL in those rounds for potential developmental guys.

How I see it realistically (and I guess HOPE it plays out)

Lynch re-signs. We lose Bmax to FA.
We sign a big FA like Suh or Thomas.
We trade back to top of 2nd round and then make some moves back up and really work the 2-4 rounds of draft.
We add a couple good solid WR prospects, good Oline to develop, and a CB in the 2-4 round range of draft.
I think/hope we focus primarily on offense in first half of draft and pick up defensive depth in 2nd half.
We also address the PR/KR in the draft as there are several options in the mid rounds to add this as backup WR's or RB's.

All in all, the future is quite interesting and I believe will be bright as bleak as it looks atm. I agree the D probably takes a small step back but think the O will step up a bit. My biggest concern is depending on scheduling (..and we know how the NFL likes to abuse us) early season could be a bit rough getting going again. I think we really shine (as usual) down the stretch and end up in the playoffs again driving relentlessly to our 3rd in a row.

Go Hawks!!!

 

[sutz]

Sorry, but didn't read all of the TL/DR posts. :229031_shrug:

My opinion, briefly, is that we're in pretty good shape. By that I mean that I still believe we are a playoff caliber team for 2015, though that is based somewhat on some hopeful outcomes on the rehab front to several key guys.

I do suspect, however, that the #1 seed might be out of reach. In some ways, that could be a good thing. A road playoff game might be a challenge that would strengthen the team. I wouldn't want two of them, though.

So, yeah, I agree with those that say getting to the SB could be more difficult this year. It'll be interesting, to say the least.

 

[seahawks08]

This will be a retooling year for us, where we find depth and find coachable guys who have unique traits. Even though we locked up some players, the cost of doing business will continue to increase. We will look for someone like Kam or Earl who can be groomed under their wings and split reps in the second year. If I believe in PC mantra, constantly retool and coach young hungry players.