2018 Surprises

oldhawkfan

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Every season has its share of surprises and 2018 is no exception. Here are my surprises.

Playoffs
While I'm not exactly surprised that they made the playoffs I am surprised at how seemingly easy it came in terms of when they clinched. Pete has almost always had this team in the playoffs so it wasn't surprising.

Running Game
They went from a team that couldn't fall forward for a yard to the #1 rushing team in the league. With the offseason commitment to repairing the run game, I figured they would average at best.

Defense
With the number of marquee players dismissed I looked to see a bottom tier defense. I guess I forgot that Pete was a defensive minded coach and really good at coaching up young defensive talent.

Players
First the good surprises.

Tre Flowers-Lower round pick and a position change. I thought he would be a year away and might get playing time as a nickel.
Michael Dickson-BBD, nuff said.
DJ Fluker-Way better than I hoped and a stabilizing force on the line.
JR Sweezy-welcome back. I thought the change from RG to LG would hinder him.
George Fant -versatility as a TE.
Poona Ford-Undrafted FA played extremely well down the stretch. I had hopes for him but he exceeded.
Jacob Martin-Not a lot was expected of him coming out of Temple. Looks like he could be a major contributer going forward.
Chris Carson-With the limited time he had last year, what he was able to do this year and with the power was amazing.

Now the bad or dissapointing
Doug Baldwin-Only in his lack of availability
KJ Wright-lack of availability
Jaron Brown-Hoped he would do more as a big play WR
Rasheem Green-With the draft and preseason hype I expected way more. What happened?
Shaq Griffin-I'm hoping his lack of development can be attributed to a sophmore slump.
Ethan Pocic-Totally regressed
Naz Jones-Where did he go. I really expected him to be a large part of the dline rotation.
CJ Procise-waste of a roster spot given injury history.
 

jammerhawk

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I think you meant Shaquill Griffin as 'Quem is a rookie.
 

MontanaHawk05

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Jarran Reed - thought he was solid, but to morph into another Cortez Kennedy with double-digit sacks? Didn't see that coming.

Nick Vannett - massive improvement as a run blocker. Like night and day.

Germain Ifedi - I expected him to be benched by year's end.

Bobby Wagner - gotta be honest, I was looking for a dropoff this year. Didn't happen.

Mychal Kendricks - he was plug and play. Immense pickup.

Justin Coleman - thought he'd turn into this year's Tanner McEvoy. Instead he was a stabilizer in the secondary.

Jaron Brown - big asset in run blocking, if not pass catching. He made quite a few Carson TD's happen IIRC.

David Moore - He dropped off the last few games, but I didn't think he'd even accomplish what he did.
 
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oldhawkfan

oldhawkfan

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jammerhawk":2hal853j said:
I think you meant Shaquill Griffin as 'Quem is a rookie.

Fixed it. Thanks. I really did expect more from both.
 

nanomoz

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Flowers has to be the top in terms of surprising me.

He's not a nickel back, being very tall and long, but I think you might see him take LCB away from Griffin soon or. If Griffin isn't careful and the tackling worst don't stop, heould be 3rd in the depth chart outside behind Flowers and King (I expect him tendered).
 

Bigpumpkin

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Surprises? The damn injuries that affected our team's ability to work together.

The year we won the SB, there were very few injuries to key personnel.
 

getnasty

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Frank Clark was better then I thought he would be and I thought pretty high of him to begin. Lockett, Mike Davis, McDougal were all better then expected too.
 

getnasty

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Didn't know what to think about Solari but he might have been the best offseason addition and I knew what to think about Shotty and still think the same about him but he also exceeded expectations.
 

Mick063

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I thought DT Jarran Reed was the biggest surprise and most improved player. By far.

Quinton Jefferson is competent and gives decent interior push on passing downs.

I guess I'm just spoiled by an elite secondary, but Griffin is not even in the same stratosphere as Sherman. The best compliment I can give him is NFL starter. McDougald was the best secondary player and it wasn't even really close. Tre Flowers has the prototype tools (for a Carroll DB), but he certainly needs to make a leap to get to what we have become accustomed to.

Frank Clark is the best kept secret in the NFL. A terror from the edge and he comes up big at critical junctures.

Lockett had a breakout year, gets open deep, and catches the ball when it is in his vicinity. He is sure handed on returns, and uses extremely good judgement when deciding on fair catches and returns.

I hated the Janikowski signing from day one. I still hate it. Washed up.

I hope like hell they don't sign Ifedi or Pocic to veteran contracts. I can suffer their rookie deals, but time for them to move on when their contracts expire.
 

nwHawk

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Good list so far.

I'd add Will Dissley as a big surprise before he got hurt. Love that kid. Poona is going to be fun to watch. His drive and determination remind me of a young John Randell. He had very good penetration and is a natural run stuff for such a young player.

On paper Tre Flowers was decent, but I was very impressed with his transition from college safety to NFL corner. I think he'll be damn good next year. Shaq, well I was very disappointed in him - specifically his discipline and effort.

I think Ifedi played surprisingly well considering how bad he was the past two years. Brown's ankle last year left me wondering if the trade was worth it - he was very solid this year.

Disappointed in our inability to find a quality and consistent fullback.
 

nwHawk

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I forgot Jacob Martin. I can see him being a big part of the defense next year.
 

niveky

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Evem though he got hurt early, i would tentatively put Dissly on the good list.
 

West TX Hawk

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Reed should be at the top of anyone's list. Guy just flat dominated from the interior. Unbelievable he wasn't even a pro bowl alternate. Interior pass rush is so hard to find so we are fortunate to have found a gem. The fact he was labeled a run stuffing specialist early on only makes it more sweet how much he produced at getting to the qb.

Lockett was so nails this year and after finally getting fully healthy we got to witness the deep threat consistency. Pete's projection of him in giving the extension was spot on.

Carson's durability in holding up through 15 hard fought games including the WC game should bode well for the future. Any doubt about his health or ability to withstand the rigors of a full season should be eliminated.

Solari was such a pleasant welcome and instilled a completely logical system for our OL that maximized their strengths. What a concept!
 

Jville

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I'd add Coach Clint Hurtt to the list 2018 surprises. He exceeded all reasonalbe expectations. His focus was never phased by the blindside loss of Malik McDowell to a bad decision. He moved on from the loss of three starting linemen. And, so many of his next up replacements showed such visible improvement as they accumulated snaps. Rising stars Jarran Reed and Frank Clark displayed extraordinary growth as players. New comers Jacob Martin and Pooda Ford saw more snaps as the season progress. Veterans like Quinton Jefferson bounced back into rotation relevance.

As much as I celebrate the return and impact of Coach Mike Solari, it was the outstanding development of Hurtt's charges that tipped the scale for me in favor of Coach Clint Hurtt as the Seattle Seahawks 2018 Position Coach of the Year. Tip of the cap as well to assistant line coach Jethro Franklin who joined the Seahawks on February 27, 2018.

These are the best of times,

Go Hawks!
 

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