DE's on Prove it deals ala Avril/Bennett 2012

Hyak · Feb 7, 2015

My presumption is that the Suh talk is just that and he will sign with someone for huge dollars and not in Seattle.

I think there may be a couple of guys worth considering given the skill set and age that could upgrade our LEO position and enable Avril and Bennett to have less overall snaps and allow the pass rush front 4 to be Avril, Bennett inside, Hill, and the new guy.

Brian Orakpo - coming off two straight injury seasons.
Greg Hardy - obviously requires vetting about the domestic situation but he may be open to a one-year prove it deal.
Jason Pierre-Paul - good year in 2014, non factor in the two years prior.
Derrick Morgan - solid DE/OLB in Tennessee on a bad defense. May flourish surrounded by better talent.

Alexander · Feb 7, 2015

JTB":2cjn9ymw said:
My presumption is that the Suh talk is just that and he will sign with someone for huge dollars and not in Seattle.

I think there may be a couple of guys worth considering given the skill set and age that could upgrade our LEO position and enable Avril and Bennett to have less overall snaps and allow the pass rush front 4 to be Avril, Bennett inside, Hill, and the new guy.

Brian Orakpo - coming off two straight injury seasons.
Greg Hardy - obviously requires vetting about the domestic situation but he may be open to a one-year prove it deal.
Jason Pierre-Paul - good year in 2014, non factor in the two years prior.
Derrick Morgan - solid DE/OLB in Tennessee on a bad defense. May flourish surrounded by better talent.

3 out of the 4 make sense for "prove it" type deals, but Greg Hardy has nothing to prove talent- or production-wise. His problem is solely about off-the-field stuff, which isn't going away anytime soon. His legal issues have still not been resolved, and even if they were, do you really want the guy on the team? He makes Suh look like an angel.

The other three are intriguing options.

Hyak · Feb 7, 2015

On Hardy, there was an article a while back that said Carolina was unlikely to re-sign him and that many teams are scared off because of the domestic violence issue.

The vetting part to me is seeing what the outcome of the trial is (starts Monday). If he's acquitted and somehow is out there without a market, I think he could be a consideration. I'd rather have others given the choice but I will say PC has taken on guys in the past with issues.

HawkFan72 · Feb 7, 2015

Other than Hardy, that's a good list to keep an eye on.

IndyHawk · Feb 7, 2015

3out of 4 for me too..4 if that one guy is not guilty..

Hyak · Feb 9, 2015

Hardy's charges were dismissed although it appears he settled out of court with the ex-girlfriend. It's unclear what the NFL will do. I'll be curious to see what his market is.

Hawkfan77 · Feb 9, 2015

On the field, I would love to have any of the 4. I think in the right situation (i.e. ours) they could all flourish and provide much needed depth without breaking our cap model. But Hardy is a different story

swagcity21 · Feb 9, 2015

JTB":3lwava2z said:
My presumption is that the Suh talk is just that and he will sign with someone for huge dollars and not in Seattle.

I think there may be a couple of guys worth considering given the skill set and age that could upgrade our LEO position and enable Avril and Bennett to have less overall snaps and allow the pass rush front 4 to be Avril, Bennett inside, Hill, and the new guy.

Brian Orakpo - coming off two straight injury seasons.
Greg Hardy - obviously requires vetting about the domestic situation but he may be open to a one-year prove it deal.
Jason Pierre-Paul - good year in 2014, non factor in the two years prior.
Derrick Morgan - solid DE/OLB in Tennessee on a bad defense. May flourish surrounded by better talent.

Derrick Morgan has been talked about as a realistic shot for the team. Orakpo would have to take a little less to sign with us.

Hardy is interesting in that he has all the talent and ability but just has his off field issues. If that could be taken care of I think he fits great here..... and if he is suspended give him a prorated contract and he comes in fresh for the second half of our super bowl run :lol:

2_0_6 · Feb 9, 2015

Orakpo scares me, two torn pectoral injuries that ended two seasons early. Unless he comes here as an absolute bargain, Id pass.

I have family down in Carolina, and all the talk down there is that Hardy will be a Panther next year. Having him in their lineup SIGNIFICANTLY improves that already potent defense.

Hyak · Feb 10, 2015

Hawk_Nation":2jgu0krs said:
Orakpo scares me, two torn pectoral injuries that ended two seasons early. Unless he comes here as an absolute bargain, Id pass.

I have family down in Carolina, and all the talk down there is that Hardy will be a Panther next year. Having him in their lineup SIGNIFICANTLY improves that already potent defense.

I've read a couple of articles recently stating that Carolina will not re-sign Hardy from their local Charlotte beat writers but who knows. I think the dust needs to settle on whether he will be subject to a suspension by the NFL like AP. That will significantly drive his market value.

Sgt. Largent · Feb 10, 2015

IMO this is the pool of D-lineman that are more realistic gets than Suh.......and certainly fits into Pete and John's philosophy of going after proof it free agents.

I'd be most excited over JPP or Morgan, both would be tremendous fits here.

Hyak · Feb 10, 2015

Sgt. Largent":dt0ywqni said:
IMO this is the pool of D-lineman that are more realistic gets than Suh.......and certainly fits into Pete and John's philosophy of going after proof it free agents.

I'd be most excited over JPP or Morgan, both would be tremendous fits here.

I tend to agree with you that Suh is unlikely to be signed by the Hawks and that this scenario is more likely. That said, if Suh is attainable, I am sure they would consider it given the impact.

Hardy is a close second in terms of impact but he's really more questionable character wise than Suh is plus he's likely to get some sort of suspension.

Sgt. Largent · Feb 10, 2015

JTB":2o6ff2cn said:
Hardy is a close second in terms of impact but he's really more questionable character wise than Suh is plus he's likely to get some sort of suspension.

Maybe, but I think every team is steering clear of Hardy until his legal and league disciplinary issues are resolved.

I know the charges were dropped, but word is Goodell is still going to spank him. Personally we had enough drama last year, I'd rather not have Hardy in the mix for 2015.

vonstout · Feb 10, 2015

It looks like Hardy paid off the ex. That's a crime by itself. I wouldn't want him regardless.

DJrmb · Feb 10, 2015

This is a good topic and a direction I can definitely see the team going, although I'm thinking more interior D-Line. Probably the two biggest injuries this year that really hurt us in the playoffs was losing Mebane and then losing Hill. On top of that it's been said that Pete likes playing Avril and Bennett in tandem on the two edges. When we lost so many guys inside though we had to move Bennett inside to compensate at times. Because of that I think they look for more rotational depth inside.

I could see us trying to entice guys like:
Nick Fairley - (I would definitely get Avril's opinion on him if I were Pete and John)
Jared Odrick
Stephen Paea
Henrey Melton

With that, I could also see them trying to snipe one of the pass rushers too on a prove it deal. A guy like Orakpo is really interesting on this team because he will come REALLY cheap and doesn't have to be an every down DE. Orakpo has the talent to be an awesome situational pass rush specialist on a team where that's all he's asked to do.

I also think that with all the teams staying away from Greg Hardy that makes it the perfect time to swoop in and get a steal knowing fair well that he may be suspended by the Comish for half or more of the season. Greg Hardy is going to need to wait a year or two for things to settle down before looking for that last chance to get paid. I think he's a guy that you could convince to take a 1 or 2 year prove yourself type of deal. Of course John and Pete would want to protect themselves in the type of contract and the verbiage in case he does something else or if the Comish goes way overboard but if all the teams are staying away you could find yourself a desperate player looking for a chance to prove himself.

Recon_Hawk · Feb 10, 2015

DJrmb":gqm0sc0c said:
This is a good topic and a direction I can definitely see the team going, although I'm thinking more interior D-Line. Probably the two biggest injuries this year that really hurt us in the playoffs was losing Mebane and then losing Hill. On top of that it's been said that Pete likes playing Avril and Bennett in tandem on the two edges. When we lost so many guys inside though we had to move Bennett inside to compensate at times. Because of that I think they look for more rotational depth inside.

I could see us trying to entice guys like:
Nick Fairley - (I would definitely get Avril's opinion on him if I were Pete and John)
Jared Odrick
Stephen Paea
Henrey Melton

With that, I could also see them trying to snipe one of the pass rushers too on a prove it deal. A guy like Orakpo is really interesting on this team because he will come REALLY cheap and doesn't have to be an every down DE. Orakpo has the talent to be an awesome situational pass rush specialist on a team where that's all he's asked to do.

I also think that with all the teams staying away from Greg Hardy that makes it the perfect time to swoop in and get a steal knowing fair well that he may be suspended by the Comish for half or more of the season. Greg Hardy is going to need to wait a year or two for things to settle down before looking for that last chance to get paid. I think he's a guy that you could convince to take a 1 or 2 year prove yourself type of deal. Of course John and Pete would want to protect themselves in the type of contract and the verbiage in case he does something else or if the Comish goes way overboard but if all the teams are staying away you could find yourself a desperate player looking for a chance to prove himself.

Good post.

Count me in for Fairley. He needs a healthy, productive year to really cash-in in free agency.

Hawk-Lock · Feb 10, 2015

No Greg Hardy. I don't care that his case was dismissed. Watch this, and then tell me you still want him.....

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11513357

Hyak · Feb 10, 2015

Hawk-Lock":ge1pt5rp said:
No Greg Hardy. I don't care that his case was dismissed. Watch this, and then tell me you still want him.....

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11513357

You're right. He's a POS and I totally believe that he paid her off. Someone will sign him but I hope it's not the Hawks.

ErikG803 · Feb 10, 2015

I'm starting to wonder if we aren't focusing on the wrong defensive lineman from Detroit. Nick Fairley seems like a guy who has shown flashes, but also injury and character concerns. He'd certainly be easier to fit under the cap, and maybe he just might view Seattle as an opportunity to earn a bigger contract after a year or two if he does the right things, a la Avril and Bennett

Frozenropers · Feb 11, 2015

Jabaal Sheard sounds like a very interesting option. He's still young at 25 and is coming off a down year playing in a less than ideal situation as an Outside Rush Linebacker in Clevelands 3-4 scheme. All reports out of college were his best fit was as a RDE in a Tampa 2 style. Sounds like he might be a very good fit at our LEO position. Had solid sack numbers his first couple seasons.

I think solidifying that RDE (LEO) rush position is still one of our biggest needs. Bennett was a beast rotating in at DT during the superbowl and I think Avril's best rush position is at LDE. When we can pair up Bennett at the 3-tech and Avril at LDE on passing downs that gives the right side of the opposing offensive line fits. With Hill back healthy next year at RDT on rushing downs we've got that covered. If we can bring in someone like Sheard on a reasonable deal, while taking care of our main guys, I am beginning to think that might be the best solution for our D-Line.

Just my 2 cents.

:thirishdrinkers:

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