So I was listening to Brock and whatever show today, and they were talking about what a lot of us on here have been talking about, about who we need to extend as Schneider was talking about with Clayton on Saturday. The main point of the discussion was of the young stars on this team, who should be the top priority to resign (Okung, Kam, Earl, Tate). Sherman and Russell were excluded since the Hawks can't even negotiate with them due to the new CBA.

There were quite a few people calling in and talking about Earl being a priority, buy the guys on the radio seemed to be talking crazy. They said that obviously Sherman would be a priority eventually, but were talking about how both safeties, Earl included, would be easier to replace in the draft, and that Seattle could move forward if they needed too without taking too much of a hit. Then Tom Wasl(sp?) went on to say that he thought Earl had a off year and wasn't that good this year.

I think Earl gets underrated, probably more by the casual fan then on here, but Earl makes this whole defense go. I know he doesn't have the huge int #'s that people look at first, and that didn't really start clicking until the playoffs. Without earl, you can't bring Kam down in the box and play as much 1 single high safety as you do. And as good as Browner is, I don't think you can get away with having a corner at his speed without someone like Earl to cover things on the back end.

Am I alone here?

ET isn't going anywhere. Those blowhards know nothing, he does exactly what he's supposed to do. Thankfully our front office is smarter than them.

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“There’s no reason, with Mr. Allen and the fan base here and the stadium, that this can’t be a stable, long-term winning organization.” - John Schneider

Nice post. And i agree with you. Earl has crazy range and is a beast in run support at the line of scrimmage.

I also think your avatar is criminally underrated and under appreciated

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Earl is far more important than anyone but Sherm, and it is a draw for those two.

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SEAHAWKS.NET. We All We Got, We All We Need

I said this in another thread: Earl is the glue that holds this defense together. Without Earl, we wouldn't be able to utilize Browner and Kam the way we do.

Yeah, what they said. Without ET's range and capabilities we would not be able to run our D like we do. His low stat numbers are a result of the rest of the league knowing better than to challenge him. Much like will probably happen with Sherm. As QBs learn how he operates, he will not be able to bait them as effectively. Doesn't mean these guys aren't at the top of the league in value. Our secondary is scary good, and ET and Sherm are the best back there.

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Talent can get you to the playoffs.
It takes character to win when you get there.

I think casual fans see Earl Thomas dropping INTs that hit his hands and that is what sticks with them. It's not like most fans go to Field Gulls and see the play breakdowns there and how ET has insane range that allows Sherm and Browner to be so aggressive in their coverage.

ET also doesn't bark at players in the media or on Twitter like Sherm does, and to lots of fans, noise = level of importance. That's why so many fans on ESPN and the like are shocked that James Harrison hasn't been signed yet, for an example of my point.

The back seven is built around Earl. He is the must keep of this bunch.

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It's easy to overrate him when 75% of what he does doesn't show up on television aside from QBs looking downfield and checking down.

Seeing as we tend to play a 1-high safety and Earl is the centerpiece to that - he is certainly not going anywhere nor is he easily replaceable. Kam and Sherman are definitely more easily replaceable in our system than Earl.

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Beast Mode...try BORG MODE

Driver of the PC/JS Bandwagon since 2010

Yeah Earl is a beast. I would HATE to ever see him go.

Anybody remember that play where STL was in the red zone. Earl started creeping up, and Bradford hesitated on whether to run or not. He kept the ball, and Earl covered a span of 10-12yds in a split second. That's the first time I've seen Earl's speed show up like that. My jaw dropped. I almost broke my DVR watching that play over and over.

Yeah Earl is a must re-sign. Can't let him get away as he is far too important for our team overall.

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Agree with the Majority on this one. Earl is probably one of the more irreplaceable pieces on this team. He really enables them to play the way they do with all the ground he's able to cover back there.

I only wish I could make it bigger.

That's what she said.

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@SeahawkGreg

...and anyone who doesn't appreciate what Earl does for this defense is criminally stupid.

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@SeahawkGreg

Earl Thomas and Russell Wilson are the two most important members of this team and I really hope they get rewarded accordingly.

They will. JS said the first thing they did with Idzik's replacement was go over 3 year numbers with ET as the focus

What a lot of people just don't get is that Earl's range is part of what allows Sherman and Browner to be so aggressive in coverage. He is a catalyst to their effectiveness.

It's the plays that you don't see that make ET so good. QBs respect him too much for him to put up crazy numbers. You see Sherman putting up the numbers he does because teams would rather take their chances there than mess with ET. (Although they are learning that isn't really a great alternative. That's why the slot receiver because so crucial when playing our D). In my opinion, there is no bigger priority than ensuring he is a Hawk for life.