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

[crosfam]

I think the biggest name we sign, other than our own, will be Walter Thurmond, or a similar corner. I think we draft mostly defense, with a OL or two (Carp may be gone, and I really don't want to replace Okung), and a new rookie WR for the rotation. Hopefully he is a PR/KR type too. We just have some many injuries on the LOB we will get a few new names. We do great of our draftees from last year get healthy and contribute (Pinkins, Marsh, KPP, etc.) If we can keep Mebane and Hill healthy, and defense gets a little more depth, we will repeat to division title and playoffs at least.

I hope Chris Matthews comes through in the WR rotations- he might need to take up for Kearse.

I just think extensions for Wagner, Wilson, and maybe 2 million tender for Kearse will take up so much cap space. No real splash FA unless we get discounts. I see a boring offseason, with the highlight being Wilson and Wagner extensions. A franchise QB and the best MLB since Urchlacher - I will take it.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

I believe they are going to try and land a big time FA either Suh or Thomas. I don't see them trading back to stockpile picks because the team is maturing and spots are at a premium so quality not quantity should be the strategy going forward for the next 3-4 years hopefully. I see them drafting for the offense heavily especially if we don't land Thomas or trade for Marshall or the like, even that might not change the obvious need for the team to focus on the offense both in the draft and FA.

As for next year? I see a down year with a record around 9-7/10-6 with a wildcard berth likely because there are too many injuries in the backend of the defense to assume otherwise.

 

[kearly]

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?

I am okay for trading up in very specific cases. I badly wanted Seattle to move up for Mike Evans last year, for example. But generally speaking, history has shown that teams who trade up do worse than teams who stay put, and teams that trade down do best of all. Trading down is at the very core of JS's moneyball philosophy.

Seattle might have as many as 12 picks (7 + (3 or 4) comp picks + Jets pick), and yet John Schneider still made it very clear in his combine press conference that the #31 pick was for sale. It's true that more picks = more waste for a loaded team like Seattle, but more picks also means more lottery tickets with the prize being the next Richard Sherman.

They have the luxury to move up if they want this year, but I'm guessing they will move down instead and load up.

 

[kearly]

"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!

A certain well known poster PM'd me a theory only a few days ago that Marshawn hates Bevell. He thought this friction between Lynch and Bevell was a likely hangup in negotiations. I thought the theory was a bit rich. But now after hearing Lynch's comments in Turkey, it appears this poster may have been on to something. Bevell, the gift the keeps on giving.

Regarding leverage, Seattle doesn't have any leverage over a player who could retire tomorrow and not give a rat's ass about it. Lynch doesn't need Seattle. But Seattle NEEDS Lynch right now. Hence the very high offers they've made Lynch, hence taking those negotiations public, hence pleading with Marshawn to sign quickly through the media. Like I said, it reeks of desperation. And Seattle should be a bit desperate to get Lynch back, quite frankly. RBs like Lynch are rare as hell.

 

[hawksurething]

As for the draft I am going in a different direction as some. With so many picks Ink 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?

I am okay for trading up in very specific cases. I badly wanted Seattle to move up for Mike Evans last year, for example. But generally speaking, history has shown that teams who trade up do worse than teams who stay put, and teams that trade down do best of all. Trading down is at the very core of JS's moneyball philosophy.

Seattle might have as many as 12 picks (7 + (3 or 4) comp picks + Jets pick), and yet John Schneider still made it very clear in his combine press conference that the #31 pick was for sale. It's true that more picks = more waste for a loaded team like Seattle, but more picks also means more lottery tickets with the prize being the next Richard Sherman.

They have the luxury to move up if they want this year, but I'm guessing they will move down instead and load up.

Absolutely true...if this was a loaded draft that is.

This draft sucks. It has the Lowest grades in the past 5 years ! Yuck. To only good spot are at the top 5 0r 6 in #1WRs & 5-7 #2/slot WRs.

And the deep D-lineman.

5-6 good OGs for hawks scheme.

The RBs are deep too,but only 2-4RBs will succeed behind our most penetrated O-line...Ajayi,Coleman, yeldon,maybe Mike Davis. Gurley is hurt !

The rest of this draft is horrible grades !

 

[kearly]

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.

Yeah I don't get .net sometimes. Almost everyone at .net acted as if the 2014 schedule was the toughest ever, but I thought from the beginning that it was one of the most favorable we've had in a few years. Almost all of the tough opponents had to come to Seattle, and there were only three of the dreaded 10 am starts, all of them against teams who missed the playoffs. Seattle went three and a half months without facing a single elite QB who was healthy from mid-October to the SB. And their SoS ranking was only 28th from weeks 6-17 after being the toughest through the first five games. Not to mention, the NFC West was WAY tougher in 2013 than it was in 2014.

By contrast, the 2015 schedule has almost all of the toughest opponents on the road, and since they are mostly east coast teams, this means a lot of tough matchups at 10am next year most likely. Should be brutally tough, especially if there are holes in the defense going into next season.

 

[kearly]

This draft sucks. It has the Lowest grades in the past 5 years ! Yuck.

I think it definitely sucks in the first round. But most years are roughly the same in the mid-to-late rounds.

 

[hawksurething]

This draft sucks. It has the Lowest grades in the past 5 years ! Yuck.

I think it definitely sucks in the first round. But most years are roughly the same in the mid-to-late rounds.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/tracker?i ... t-by-grade

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/tracker?i ... t-by-grade

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/tracker#d ... t-by-grade

I studied the high end to mid end of this class,& it is so weak. Any grade under 5.5 is asking for a bust. High bust rate,especially with our loaded team. Low grades fighting for roster spots won't work with hawks Superbowl team.

 

[kearly]

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

Nothing would shock me with PC/JS. They are as unpredictable as they are unconventional. They've made genius moves that looked like horrible mistakes, and they've made horrible mistakes that looked like horrible mistakes.

But cutting Miller would REALLY surprise me. I can hardly think of a worse way to save $2.8 million in cap space. Not only is Miller our best TE, but he's the only TE we can count on to block at a high level. PC/JS have struggled a bit at finding a Miller-type TE in the draft process too.

It would also look pretty bad if Seattle cut a guy for getting hurt, especially after he renegotiated his contract in good faith to stick around last season. Is that the message PC/JS want to send other players whom they might approach for restructures in the future? Cutting Miller would basically be the equivalent of the team lighting itself on fire to win a $100 bet.

Most of Miller's $2.8 million is tied into a $2 million roster bonus, which will likely kick in very soon. Roster bonuses are basically designed to incentivize cutting a player by a certain date. If Miller wasn't in Seattle's plans, they probably would have cut him by now like they did for Trufant a few years ago to not only get out of his roster bonus, but also to be fair to the player and give him the best opportunity in free agency. Miller is still here, and free agency is only a week away. I think it's very likely he stays.

Also worth mentioning, I don't think Seattle is in nearly as dire straights financially as a lot of fans think.

 

[kearly]

This draft sucks. It has the Lowest grades in the past 5 years ! Yuck.

I think it definitely sucks in the first round. But most years are roughly the same in the mid-to-late rounds.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/tracker?i ... t-by-grade

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/tracker?i ... t-by-grade

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/tracker#d ... t-by-grade

I studied the high end to mid end of this class,& it is so weak. Any grade under 5.5 is asking for a bust. High bust rate,especially with our loaded team. Low grades fighting for roster spots won't work with hawks Superbowl team.

It is a sucky draft to be sure.

Keep in mind that Richard Sherman had the lowest draft grade NFL.com handed out in 2011. It was like a 2.4 or something... just an absurd number. Most of Seattle's best picks had very poor grades from scouts. So I wouldn't give up hope by any means.

 

[Wizofwest]

I still like our roster. Losing Maxwell will hurt if he leaves. Losing Marshawn would be horrific. If a 28-year old Suh who has made a ton of money comes to Seattle on a decent contract to try to win a championship....well, look out. That will lessen the loss of Maxwell. If we lose Marshawn, those are some awfully big shoes to fill. The offense takes a step back in that case, but if they can develop over the season we will be ok for a playoff run.
The biggest thing we need to do is get and stay healthy. We were a top 5 injured team using almost any metric. Lost games due to injury, lost quarters due to IR, pick a stat, any stat.
I predict we will be where we want to be by the end of the season with as good a chance as any to get back to the big game.


Go Hawks!

 

[kf3339]

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?

I am okay for trading up in very specific cases. I badly wanted Seattle to move up for Mike Evans last year, for example. But generally speaking, history has shown that teams who trade up do worse than teams who stay put, and teams that trade down do best of all. Trading down is at the very core of JS's moneyball philosophy.

Seattle might have as many as 12 picks (7 + (3 or 4) comp picks + Jets pick), and yet John Schneider still made it very clear in his combine press conference that the #31 pick was for sale. It's true that more picks = more waste for a loaded team like Seattle, but more picks also means more lottery tickets with the prize being the next Richard Sherman.

They have the luxury to move up if they want this year, but I'm guessing they will move down instead and load up.

That may be true, but has moving down been really successful this last draft or two? It seems to me that has not been the case at all. So perhaps JC and PC should look at going after a real stud or two who have a strong chance of being not just a contributor(s), but impact player(s) and potential All Pros.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

"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!

A certain well known poster PM'd me a theory only a few days ago that Marshawn hates Bevell. He thought this friction between Lynch and Bevell was a likely hangup in negotiations. I thought the theory was a bit rich. But now after hearing Lynch's comments in Turkey, it appears this poster may have been on to something. Bevell, the gift the keeps on giving.

Consider the infamous flipping the bird to the sideline episode of 2013 where we had 1st and goal inside the 5 and passed 3 straight times for a glorious field goal.

I think there are indicators beyond Marshawn's recent comments, to his (derisive?) laughter after the SB pick, to the bird situation where Marshawn has let his feelings known publicly about his misuse in situations like that. It always seems to have the feel as if running Marshawn has come in spite of offensive design. And the heavy use of 11 personnel packages this last year kind of gives the offense a 'keep them honest' kind of approach to running the ball. As opposed to the 2010/11 use of 2 TE packages or 21 personnel with a fullback.

I too have been frustrated by the lack of faith in Lynch in those situations. It frequently seems like Seattle will run one time, and if Lynch can't get it in with the first try, no matter how close he gets -- that's the last touch he's going to see. It was a peeve of mine all season long, and I was jumping mad when we lined up 4 wide in the SB long before the ball was snapped.

For a team that extolls the virtue of 'circle of toughness' as it pertains to Lynch, it seems we completely abandon that principle when it matters most. With Lynch, and considering our entire offensive line made this roster and were selected in the draft for their run blocking acumen -- to me it's unconscionable that we forget who we are and what we do with such regularity.

 

[dumbrabbit]

Am I crazy for thinking that Schneider will draft a Safety in the first round? My thinking is that Johnson is a FA as well as Shead. That leaves us with Chancellor and Thomas, and the only backup safetes are Steven Terrell and Dion Baley, not a lot of proven talent(then again, no draft picks can immediately prove talent). Might want to get a great Safety in the first round for depth just in case Chancellor orThomas have problems during preseason.

Sounds incredibly stupid, right?

Edit: half of my points were discussed in the OP.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

............
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?

Biggest question for me too, by far. I agree that a locker room split could happen. If it doesn't, it'll be a helluva psychology job by Pete and the team leaders. If Bevell had "resigned" I'd feel a lot better about this. because as kearly said:

Bevell, the gift that keeps on giving.

In fact Kip, I like it so much it's now part of my sig. Thank you.

 

[seahawksTopGear]

How do I feel? I feel like it is going to take a lot of work to help the team forget about that last play.

Suh? No thank you. It will cost us Mebane and good as he is we have much better places to spend our money.

Wide Receiver. If we go another year without a tall wide receiver that bails us out on third down and is a legitimate red zone threat I am going to end up without nails. I was drooling last draft as Martavis Bryant kept falling, only to see him taken five spots before we got Norwood. I would have been fine with Martavis as our first pick, knowing full well he would have been a 2015 project. I hope we can nab somebody like that in the draft this time arround.

Marshall? a bit of a luxury. We don't need a number one receiver, I doubt we go for him. In fact I doubt we grab anybody in free agency that we have to pay more than Bam Bam.

Tight end? I would not be surprised to see a couple of veterans come in, Cameron, Paul

KR/PR I don't think we can do anything here, let's hope we get lucky on the draft.

Offensive line, we need a guard and backup Tackles and Center. That is just to stay put on one of the worst passing lines on the NFL. As long as it does not cost us RW I am ok with this.

Cornerback, not as worried as most people. As long as Earl is healthy that is.

Safety, time to bring in one or two backups for Earl, wherever you can get them.

Predictions:
RW contract is going to be awesome! We are going to go nuts on (cheap) free agency to take advantage that people really want to come to Seattle. Beast will be back better than ever.

 

[Hyak]

Consider the infamous flipping the bird to the sideline episode of 2013 where we had 1st and goal inside the 5 and passed 3 straight times for a glorious field goal.

That's not how that sequence went down at all. They had 1st and goal at the 5 and the first play was an incomplete pass to Kearse. 2nd down was a 5 yard td run for Lynch only to see replay overturn it and have him down at the 1. On 3rd and 1, the call was a play action pass (at which point Lynch flipped off the sideline while in formation). The play worked perfectly and it was a wide open touchdown pass to Kellen Davis.

 

[sc85sis]

Re: CB, I've been wondering if we could see Shareece Wright come in on a cheap "prove it" contract if SD doesn't keep him. He hasn't done much for the Chargers, but he fits the speed and arm length profile and played for Pete at 'SC. He might be a "system" player who's a better fit for Pete's style of D, or he could just not be a very good NFL CB. I don't know which is true at this point.

 

[Hawks46]

We probably would have won it all if we'd had either of Brandon Mebane or Jordan Hill.

And if, you know, one play(call) had gone differently. Sorry, someone had to say it.

I get what you are saying Montana, but next year's team won't be 2014's team. Next year's schedule won't be 2014's schedule. I don't think you can really just look at last season and think next season will have the same feel. The franchise has a slight "unraveling" vibe to it right now. Doesn't mean a great offseason can't fix that, but for the first time in a while, I think Seattle could take a step back this year if they don't have a pretty strong offseason.

Good OP, and I agree with almost everything you said. I feel the same way, generally, about this team. I just don't feel quite as good about it as last year's. This could be due to the different outcomes of the seasons, but we do have some real holes to fill, and like some have said, the draft isn't strong or deep in those areas.

I disagree about your OL opinion. It seemed to me that Wilson regressed slightly, or if you like this better, didn't progress. I also feel it's due to the terrible pass pro we have. I know Wilson is equipped to deal with this probably better than anyone else in the league, but the break downs were truly atrocious at times and no QB can get better with this pass blocking. Wilson missed a lot of open WRs, and when the chips were down and the pressure on, he tended to zone in on favorite targets. When you predetermine where you are going to go with the ball, you either have trouble getting to your later reads due to reading the defense (Kaepernick) or you don't trust your pass protection (Wilson). At all.

If we fixed some of the interior pass blocking issues (both Sweezy and Carpenter and just plain terrible pass blockers), that would help Wilson tremendously. Even if was consistently from one area, Wilson could work with that, but when both of your Guards are consistently getting their asses beat, it makes it hard for a 5'11" QB to see the field properly. Wilson needs throwing lanes and many times he wasn't getting them. A stud WR is only a bandaid.

I also disagree with the "unravelling" thing. I see some holes, and I feel this team isn't quite as good as last year's, but the division also doesn't feel as good as last year's. SF is in a down slide (any more than 8 wins would honestly shock me), AZ is turning over some of their defense (just released Dockett), and STL's QB position is still unsettled.

I like Jville's post . If Miller comes back, that will help blocking and 3rd down conversions. We don't need much more from the offense: the same run game with a few more 3rd down conversions to keep drives alive and we're really ok. Not stellar, but ok. Also, we won't have the Harvin drama. You can't say with certainty, but Harvin probably kept guys like Richardson and Norwood from developing. Also, Norwood was hurt in TC last year, so I'm hoping he progresses. Him and Miller make this offense more consistent. Couple that with our running game, and we're going to be better.

On defense, I'm worried about CB. Simon looks like he has all the tools, but I think he has difficulty in getting mentally prepared. Every time he knew he was going to be the starter, he was fine. When he came in for a guy with an injury, he looked lost. Plus he hasn't proven he can stay healthy yet. Not sure where we are going to plug that hole. Interior pass rush could be a problem, but Hill could come back strong and Marsh could develop. I liked what I saw from both last season.

Pre FA and draft, yea I'm worried about some stuff. We're making the playoffs, but not sure we have a deep run in us. GB and the Cowboys look to be issues, Carolina could get better with some good moves, and AZ is on the cusp of something good. Then again, things turn so quickly it doesn't keep me up at night. Signing either Suh or Marshall would be enough to put us over the top rather quickly.

 

[AgentDib]

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?

The question is whether the entire draft is a lottery (including the first round). How many of the guys that we would trade up for are sure things? I am completely on board for trading up for the right prospect but there seems to be just as much risk regardless of where you pick.

But Seattle NEEDS Lynch right now. Hence the very high offers they've made Lynch, hence taking those negotiations public, hence pleading with Marshawn to sign quickly through the media. Like I said, it reeks of desperation. And Seattle should be a bit desperate to get Lynch back, quite frankly. RBs like Lynch are rare as hell.

I agree with this bit. Most of the scenarios I worry about next year involve a major step back on the offense without Lynch.

This draft sucks. It has the Lowest grades in the past 5 years ! Yuck. To only good spot are at the top 5 0r 6 in #1WRs & 5-7 #2/slot WRs.

That's way too harsh. I think the lower combine performances have the draftniks in a bit of a funk, but there are still a ton of guys out there with high ceilings and low floors. That's more exciting than a bunch of "safe" prospects any day, many of whom would just turn out to be not that safe anyhow.