Some next year talk

Just to break up the Superb Owl threads...

If Rice restructured his deal to stay, what WR group would you rather see? I don't think we can keep both Tate and Rice so I'm assuming one or both will go. Baldwin RFA is a lock.

I personally think we can get away without neither Tate or Rice if Harvin is healthy and use our cap room elsewhere but if we could afford one over the other Rice with his height would be my choice.

I would like to bring in a lot of big bodied physical guys that compete and high-point the ball well. Via draft or free-agency.

How much do you think Tate is worth on the market? He definitely won't command #1 money. I don't see why we wouldn't be able to restructure Rice (assuming he is open to that) and keep Tate. Couldn't we keep them both for less than or about what Rice is due?

I expect rice will be gone, we will keep both Baldwin and Tate (and Percy obviously). I think the writing is on the wall for Rice. He's likely not back.

Draft or FA a tall guy for the edge.

Hardin, Baldwin, Kearse, draft guy.

I say let Tate go. We can't have 3 short similar guys. We need a redone big body receiver.

put a tag on baldwin, pick up another draft pick. let tate/and or rice go. rebuild our wrs through the draft and cheap FAs and attack the position like we did with the dline and other positions.

percy/kearse/?/draft pick/draft pick

we all want to keep our guys, but its not realistic. even if tate doesnt command number one money, doesnt mean we dont need to free up more cap space, if only it were as easy as to say well if its 5 million and not 10 then it doesnt matter, unfortunately its not that simple. I dont think its worth it to keep guys even on affordable 4/5 million a year contracts when we dont use that position and dont get a ton of production out of it. If rice loves seattle so much he can stay on a minimum prove it deal for a year since he didnt earn half his contract in the first place.

Plus with the way we run our offense, it makes absolutely no sense to have all small quick wrs. we hardly throw quick routes or screens to take advantage of yac, RW usually makes them high point balls or waits till a break in coverage, something a bigger wr would do better/just as well. not to mention the blocking/physical nasty breed of football they want to play, im inclined to think a bigger person would hypothetically be better at that but im sure ill be told how wrong i am and that yac trumps everything.

it honestly doesnt make sense to me how they built this wr core based on the type of offense they run, my only assumption is it was last on their priority list in the rebuilding process, and rightly so.

I don't understand why people want to get rid of Tate, his value is more than Baldwin or Kearse imo because he's incredible with YAC.

I will say Baldwin and Kearse have been pretty impressive hands guys though.

I voted the first option, but having Rice and Harvin intrigues me for some reason. I have a feeling that if he had Harvin to take some pressure off his production would drastically increase.

I think we outright release Rice, and I think he ends up getting signed to a decent sized deal by a desperate Patriots team. I hope we keep Rice, but there are options in the draft this year, including one guy in particular who I'd bet is very high on Seattle's radar (Brandon Coleman).

I think Tate doesn't get much of a market and ends up signing for a similar deal to what Big Mike Williams got a few years ago. Baldwin is a RFA but he will be given a no less than a 2nd round tender and Seattle will likely balk at trade offers. Baldwin has proven to be a major asset this season, not just because of his production in the biggest games but his excellence as a KR in the likely event of recurring Harvin injuries. Kearse is growing into a nice #3 WR and isn't going anywhere.

Normally, I'd expect Lockette to be gone next season, but I think he's actually got a chance to stick for a few more years. He's been kicking some serious ass on special teams, and Ben Obomanu hung around a good long while with a similar profile. There isn't a coach in the NFL who values on special teams more than Pete. His unequaled use of starters on specials proves it.

I expect Seattle to draft a WR pretty early, then bring in a whole bunch of roster fodder guys in the late rounds and UDFA to help add competition and depth in the summer. If they keep Rice somehow that might change the priorities, but I think after this year Seattle probably wants to avoid rolling with the exact same group. Teams have figured out our offense, and the only way to counter (other than replacing Bevell which probably won't happen) is to make them fear our WRs more. Hard to do that with the exact same group, so I'm expecting some moves.

I think Baldwin could be gone. He's got a boulder on his shoulder; he wants to prove to the world he is as good as he thinks he is. That will never happen in Seattle as long as Carroll is around. From day one Carroll has said he wants a strong defense and running game.

Baldwin's an RFA. He can't just leave if he wants to.

I think the Superbowl will have a major impact on all of this. This is their time to shine, in the biggest game ever. If one or more of them lights it up their stock may go through the roof, and effectively put them out of reach for us. If they stink it up, I think our chances of keeping them increases. A bit of a double edged sword in that respect. Rice will not be back here next year with his current contract, that's not to say he wont be back. At least he will get a ring.

The other thing that no one seems to be mentioning is that we could (potentially) have Anthony McCoy back next year as well. He was progressing well prior to his injury. I know TE is not the focus of this thread but it needs to be mentioned. Do we keep 3 big Tight ends?

If we HAD to keep only one, I keep Tate.

Returning ability, great hands, YAC.

I love Rice, too. The guy is a warrior and can stretch the field, but I can not count on him to stay ON the field.

Can't spend money on two guys riding the bench anymore.

Rices injury was early enough that he should be in good shape by next season. If he doesn't get cut I'm pretty sure he would restructure, the we sign Tate with that money.

ceej22":3q9uwbcr said:

I think Baldwin could be gone. He's got a boulder on his shoulder; he wants to prove to the world he is as good as he thinks he is. That will never happen in Seattle as long as Carroll is around. From day one Carroll has said he wants a strong defense and running game.

Click to expand...

Doug just went for over 100 yards in the conference championship. I'd say that counts for something.

Food for thought:

Baldwin "Mr. Clutch":
When the chips are down, you throw his direction. Especially when you need a first down (1st in the league on 3rd down reception percentage). I've gone in depth on this guy in two different posts, so if you don't believe in him now... well I don't know what to tell you.

Tate the Dual Threat:
He was 2nd in punt return yardage this year. He's also 2nd or 3rd in yards after the catch (I would have to redo the numbers, but they are in previous posts).

Kearse:
Is the 4th Best DYAR receiver in the league (DYAR) for receiver's under 50 passes. For receivers with over 15 passes he's 1st in DVOA. He's also tied for first in touchdowns (under 50 passes). This under 50 passes group includes: Michael Floyd, Curtis Crabtree, Sydney Rice, Mike Williams, Austin Collie, Randal Cob.

The only black mark on Kearse this year is his catching percentage at 58%. Though being a 3rd read receiver most times he's usually getting some really difficult passes thrown his way.

Other Factors:
All these guys block their backsides off.
They were brought up in a Pete Carroll system.

To me the biggest question you have is Sydney Rice. He is your tall downfield receiver. Seems like folks want to replace him, but I would be careful who you are replacing him with.

If Rice will restructure I would say Harvin, Baldwin, Rice, and Kearse but that scares me having two very injury prone receivers on our roster(and yes Harvin IS injury prone). So its hard to see Tate go if he were to leave. He isn't the tallest or fastest but he is shifty and more reliable than Harvin or Rice. As good as they are they do us no good on the sidelines.