Just curious to see what you guys think. ADVANCED POLL!!!

I gotta go with Chris Clemons, Max Unger, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. Not bad, but most on defense obviously. You guys? Any you thought I missed?

MRob is elite.
Sidney is knocking on the door of elite.
KJ will be elite this time next year.

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My milkshake brings all the turtles to the yard.... damn right... and men's room Drakkar... damn right... and men's room Drakkar.

I thought about putting Robinson on but only 6 options!!!!!!

Sidney Rice no, sorry. But he's kinda close.

And gotta agree on KJ, but not yet. I thought about putting him over Mebane though.

Elite is a big word. I think we have 5.
Marshawn Lynch
Earl Thomas
Richard Sherman
Brandon Mebane
Jon Ryan

Unger, Red, and Clemons are close

Browner, chancellor, Wagner, Robinson, and KJ Wright round out the potential pro bowlers

This team definitely gets 6-8 on the pro bowl roster. The first four are locks to get voted in by the players. No question.

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"If I were Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn, I'd be leery of this kid because if you give him a chance, if you give him a chance and look past his 5 foot 11 or 5-10 and a half or whatever it is, if you give this kid a legitimate chance to win the job, he'll win it" - John Gruden

Unger's close, Clemons is somewhat of a system product (albeit an awesome one)...the other four, I think, would be anchors on any team.

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WTH you're supposed to be a skeptic, not insane optimist!!!

OUR ENTIRE TEAM IS ELITE!! WE THE BESSSSSSST!!

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Tanzania¹²

A lot of talk around here about how great some people think we are. There is still a LOT of work to be done. We haven't done anything yet.

A healthy Rice for a full season with an in-sync QB targeting him could easily approach elite status.
I was really torn about the Clemons pick. It's the "system" argument. But dammit, the dude has flat made plays against some very good O-Lines. Just ask Aaron Rogers...

Can anyone with a strong opinion pro or con on Clemons as "elite" make the case for or against him with some good data points we should be considering?
Data point #1 is the 'Hawks just gave him a new contract. So far Clemons is playing at or ABOVE his contract, IMO. (Another chorus of kudos to the front office on both signing him and having him play "worth it"). But what does "elite" mean? I think Clemons is elite for a LEO in Carroll's defensive system. But I don't know if he is elite in other team's defensive schemes. Philly didn't seem that upset to let him go. And do we call Irvin elite too if he gets 15 sacks as a rook?

Stays healthy through great conditioning, has 10+ sacks two years in a row and well on his way to a third. Elite means amongst the best, and dude qualifies...

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I love Lynch with all my heart, but he doesn't have the type of breakaway speed to be elite. I wouldn't trade him for another back, but if I'm being objective about elite status, that's my honest opinion.

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I guess I'd want to know what you're definition of "Elite" is before answering.

Elite to me means top 2-3 of their position. So using my definition I'd say Mebane, Lynch and Thomas are Elite, and the other's are knocking on the door to Elite, but not quite there yet.

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If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

Unger finished last season pretty close to Elite, but so far this year he's been inconsistent.

Browner , that Carolina game man. Beast

I would say that being elite is playing at an all pro level, not just pro bowl level.

Earl, Chancellor, Sherman, Browner, Mebane, Clem, Unger and Lynch all qualify.

KJ, Wagner, Rice and Tate look like they could get there.

MRob at full back? Sure, he's an elite full back.

The scary thing to me is that when it's all said and done, Russell Wilson may be the very best of them all.

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Neither does Arian Foster, but he's elite. Lynch is easily top 5 talent as his position. He runs harder than anyone, has vision and has wiggle. I think McCoy, Rice, Foster, and Peterson are the only RBs with more talent. Richardson has the potential.

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"If I were Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn, I'd be leery of this kid because if you give him a chance, if you give him a chance and look past his 5 foot 11 or 5-10 and a half or whatever it is, if you give this kid a legitimate chance to win the job, he'll win it" - John Gruden

mebane over clemons, no way.. he's good damn good, but clemons is a game changer constantly...

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On to the Next Episode

I'm a little surprised more people picked mebane than clemons. Not that mebane isn't a nightmare in the middle, but Clemons is the type of player that quarterbacks must account for before every snap, or at least he's nearing that realm.

I think the only elite guys are Thomas and Sherman.

Then we have a lot of very good players..

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Seahawks vs. TBD - Super Bowl 48 - February 2, 2014

Clemons gets the publicity cause he gets sacks, but ask anyone that knows defense which defensive lineman the Hawks couldn't afford to lose, and it'd be Mebane. He is the #1 reason the Hawks are so tough against the run, he takes on two blockers freeing up others, pushes in the pocket and disrupts running lanes on just about every play.

Defensive scheme is about making the other team one dimensional........and Mebane IS the reason we make other team's offenses one dimensional.

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If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.