I keep reading posts where people keep saying the Seahawks are a young team and that is why they struggle at times or are inconsistent. I will agree that the team's secondary is pretty young and inexperienced but I would say that the rest of the team's units are made up of mostly veterans or a mix of veterans and some younger players. So, who are the "young players" that keep being mentioned -- the only ones I see are the ones in the secondary.
QB - RW is a vet now
WR - Baldwin is an "old vet" by NFL terms these days. Lockett is probably in his prime now so hardly a "young" guy any more in terms of inexperience. Moore is pretty much a rookie has been inconsistent at times - but if he becomes a bonafide #3 receiver then does anybody really think that will change this team's chances of being a true contender?
TE - Dickson is an "old vet" and Vannett is 3rd year pro and played his best season so probably not one of the "young guys" that most are referring to. Dissly is injured and was playing above expectations before his injury.
Defensive Backs - McDougald is the only vet. Flowers has made some mistakes as a rookie but has hardly been singled out especially considering rookie defensive backs are frequently targeted even high picks. Griffin is in his 2nd year and Hill and Thompson are the obvious "young guys" that I can agree have been inconsistent but do you really think that they will be stars in this league or dominant at their positions with more time and experience?
Defensive Line - Clark is his prime. Reed is having pro bowl season and best season of his career. Dion Jordan is a vet at this stage in his career and Stephens is the same. Green is a rookie but so far he has barely played so he has been a non-factor so far.
Running Back - they are mostly young but playing well and I don't think their youth has affected their play or inconsistency at all. More likely, their youth has probably been a benefit since they run the ball so physically. Penny has obviously the greatest amount of potential unreached but his lack of consistent development has had little affect on the team's overall performance because of the play by Carson/Davis.
Linebacker - With Wagner, Wright and Mingo -- this is probably the most experienced unit on the team. Griffin has been relegated to special teams. So outside of injuries (when youth was forced to play the first month of the season), it has been vets getting lion share of playing time.
Offensive Line -- It is now two-thirds old veterans with Brown, Sweezy and Fluker. Britt is entering his prime and far from what you would consider a young guy making youthful inexpierenced mistakes. Ifedi probably is the one guy that meets the definition of "young guy" who needs time to grow although almost everybody on this board was ready to kick him to the curb about 2 months ago. Fant has a lot of potential still to reach but playing as the 6th OLine guy has probably met or exceeded expectations too.
I don't see the "youth/inexperience" that people keep referring to as one of the reasons for the inconsistent play this season. In fact, I think after writing this that the "youth" on the team is probably performing better than expectations and that the real issue is that the roster is just NOT talented enough. I think RW has not made enough plays, the linebackers haven't dominated like they have in the past, the defensive line is not deep enough to consistently create pressure without blitzes, the offensive line doesn't pass block well enough and wide recievers don't have a guy that causes defensive coordinators to game plan for. The Secondary is probably the one "mostly youthful" unit on the team but I haven't seen flashes of brilliance from Thompson/Hill/Flowers/Griffin that make me think that they just need time to grow before they dominate. McDougald is having the best season by far but he is probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning.
Z.
QB - RW is a vet now
WR - Baldwin is an "old vet" by NFL terms these days. Lockett is probably in his prime now so hardly a "young" guy any more in terms of inexperience. Moore is pretty much a rookie has been inconsistent at times - but if he becomes a bonafide #3 receiver then does anybody really think that will change this team's chances of being a true contender?
TE - Dickson is an "old vet" and Vannett is 3rd year pro and played his best season so probably not one of the "young guys" that most are referring to. Dissly is injured and was playing above expectations before his injury.
Defensive Backs - McDougald is the only vet. Flowers has made some mistakes as a rookie but has hardly been singled out especially considering rookie defensive backs are frequently targeted even high picks. Griffin is in his 2nd year and Hill and Thompson are the obvious "young guys" that I can agree have been inconsistent but do you really think that they will be stars in this league or dominant at their positions with more time and experience?
Defensive Line - Clark is his prime. Reed is having pro bowl season and best season of his career. Dion Jordan is a vet at this stage in his career and Stephens is the same. Green is a rookie but so far he has barely played so he has been a non-factor so far.
Running Back - they are mostly young but playing well and I don't think their youth has affected their play or inconsistency at all. More likely, their youth has probably been a benefit since they run the ball so physically. Penny has obviously the greatest amount of potential unreached but his lack of consistent development has had little affect on the team's overall performance because of the play by Carson/Davis.
Linebacker - With Wagner, Wright and Mingo -- this is probably the most experienced unit on the team. Griffin has been relegated to special teams. So outside of injuries (when youth was forced to play the first month of the season), it has been vets getting lion share of playing time.
Offensive Line -- It is now two-thirds old veterans with Brown, Sweezy and Fluker. Britt is entering his prime and far from what you would consider a young guy making youthful inexpierenced mistakes. Ifedi probably is the one guy that meets the definition of "young guy" who needs time to grow although almost everybody on this board was ready to kick him to the curb about 2 months ago. Fant has a lot of potential still to reach but playing as the 6th OLine guy has probably met or exceeded expectations too.
I don't see the "youth/inexperience" that people keep referring to as one of the reasons for the inconsistent play this season. In fact, I think after writing this that the "youth" on the team is probably performing better than expectations and that the real issue is that the roster is just NOT talented enough. I think RW has not made enough plays, the linebackers haven't dominated like they have in the past, the defensive line is not deep enough to consistently create pressure without blitzes, the offensive line doesn't pass block well enough and wide recievers don't have a guy that causes defensive coordinators to game plan for. The Secondary is probably the one "mostly youthful" unit on the team but I haven't seen flashes of brilliance from Thompson/Hill/Flowers/Griffin that make me think that they just need time to grow before they dominate. McDougald is having the best season by far but he is probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning.
Z.