Random Thoughts™ on the 2012 season

kearly

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Golden Tate is growing into a fringe #1 WR

Going back and watching highlight reels from last season, Tate stands out much more than his 688 total receiving yards. He's outgrown his knucklehead tendencies as a runner. I had to peek through my fingers to watch him with the ball in 2010 and 2011. This year, those poor running decisions have almost completely vanished, and in their place have come some fantastic efforts after the catch. Like this catch, this catch, or this catch. Amazing.

Tate still needs to work on his jump ball timing, and he needs to learn how to improvise for his QB when Wilson is scrambling, but I don't see those as negatives- but room for further improvement. Last year, Tate was an incredibly valuable WR even with those flaws, garnering an excellent 15.3 yards per catch, a very high catch rate, and 7 TD's in just 45 receptions. Like his QB, his rep count is low, but his efficiency numbers are outstanding. If Tate can improve at his improvisation, he could see an increase in his targets next year.

Which would be a really nice development, since Tate finished #2 in the NFL in yards per target last season (10.3).

Improving zone coverage (and the base pass rush) needs to be a very high priority

Mea Culpa, Gus Bradley. I get it now.

I was rewatching the Gruden/Wilson camp chat again last night, for probably the 10th time now. Something Wilson said, as a college QB, caught my attention. He talked about reacting to coverage, in a very common sense, "matter of fact" manner. He said that if it's man coverage, he checks two reads then he can run. Against zone coverage, he just has to find the soft spot in the zone (implying that running isn't a great option).

I already knew that, but for some reason hearing it in his "matter of fact" tone made something click for me. In the Atlanta game, Seattle's 2nd touchdown was a play where Wilson rolls to his left after a play fake, and his two primary targets are covered in man coverage. Those targets- Michael Robinson and Anthony McCoy- each ran for the left sideline area of the endzone, and in effect pulled their defenders to the sideline as well. Wilson sells the pass for a few seconds as he runs left, then casually walks into the endzone untouched. Everyone knows that man coverage is the better pass coverage, but against smart mobile QBs, it can get you killed.

The NFL is turning into a mobile QBs league, even moreso after the 2012 season in which guys like RG3, Wilson, and Kaepernick were major storylines. Every team must be able to run both zone and man coverages. This is tough news for Seattle since their coverage is built for a stifling press style of man coverage. But as the league changes, Seattle will have to run zone more and more to account for mobile QBs.

Of course, even the best zone coverages break down in seconds, and even if Seattle upgrades their WILL LB spot with an excellent coverage linebacker, and upgrades their secondary against zone, it's only going to buy another second or two at most. The end of the Atlanta game showed exactly why you don't want to be forced to blitz with zone coverage against an elite QB. So pass rush is going to be critical as well, because even the best zone coverages are worthless if the QB has 4 or 5 seconds to throw.

Carroll and Bradley knew this, and I think they hoped that they could pull it off, but the personnel just isn't there yet. All those times I was screaming at Pete/Bradley for their zone coverages, I was misplacing my frustration (although I think they should have played a lot more man coverage vs. Atlanta since Ryan is not a threat to run). The advent of the zone-read mobile QB means that zone coverages will dominate future defenses. Pete is a visionary, and I think the reason we saw so much zone late in the season was because Pete wanted to know where we stood there. And unfortunately, the results were not very good.

Russell Wilson is a legend in the making

I guess it's safe to admit this now, but I was a much bigger fan of Wilson than I let on in public this time last year. Most of my out in the open Wilson comments and blog posts were positive yet guarded. I remember Montana and I having a private discussion in PMs around this time last year, and I sent him a manefesto about how much I loved Russell Wilson and how incredible of a prospect I thought he was and how badly I wanted him to be a Seahawk. A few weeks later, Montana copy-pasted that message on fieldgulls, which got a lot of know-it-all snobby negative attention, as most people were heavy skeptics of Wilson at that time. I defended my honor wading through the criticisms, but in retrospect I really wish I had just trusted my instincts and doubled down by pulling a John Gruden at the NFL draft. Finger pointing and all.

I loved Russell Wilson back then. I have a really high tolerance for repetition when it comes to music or music videos. Not lying, I watched Wilson's highlight videos probably 200 times before that draft (and this continued after the draft as well). I would say at least 5-10 times every day. He was so fun to watch, and I was completely convinced height would not be a major factor. After he was drafted by Seattle, I was in a state of "that didn't really happen" shock for many months. And here I am in February of 2013, and I am still watching those Wisconsin highlight videos, as well as some 2012 Seahawks versions as well. Last night I got off work and started watching videos around 1 am and next thing I know it's 4am and I am still watching them. And this is not a rare occurrence for me. If you think this is stalker level obsession, you wouldn't be off by much.

Had Wilson been drafted by another team, they would have instantly been my 2nd favorite NFL team. But now that he's a Seahawk, the Seahawks are not only my favorite team, but my 2nd favorite team as well. I am almost starting to wonder if I'm a bigger fan of Wilson at this point than the Seahawks. A scary thought.

So consider this almost dangerously obsessed mind following Wilson's historic rookie season, capped off by a pro-bowl where he looked like the best player on the field. I am beyond biased, but I believe that Wilson will be the best QB in the NFL next season (he basically already is if you start from midseason last year), and I also truly believe that if Seattle holds on in that Atlanta game we would be NFL champions right now.

But maybe the best thing is, I feel like this "fantasy world" is actually becoming reality, with more and more people buying in, including millions of non-Seahawks fans. I'm always the first guy to say that football is just a game, that the NFL is entertainment and there is more to the experience than simply winning. But with this guy, things are different. It kind of feels like the world is shifting to surround him- as a natural reaction to rare greatness- whether the world fully realizes it yet or not. What separates Wilson from other great QBs is the emotional connection he creates in people. My first reaction when Seattle lost in Atlanta was to feel bad for Wilson. I never once felt that way for Matt Hasselbeck or anyone else. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are great QBs, but they do not generate pathos among even casual viewers the way that Wilson does.

Darrell Bevell proved his worth

I was a cautious fan of Bevell's after a strong second half finish to 2011. After a patchy start in 2012, I thought he really proved himself as a perfect enabler for this offense as the 2012 season rolled along. He somehow found a way to run the ball on 55% of snaps without having to use the dreaded run-run-pass punt combo. Actually, it's pretty easy to figure out how he did it- by running often on first down, scoring bunches of points and putting the team in clock kill mode by the 3rd quarter.

The offense was a bit of an amoeba last year, a mix of just about every WR/TE formation with a good dose of read option in the second half. Bevell showed his genius with plays that involved running backs- his short yardage handoff to Michael Robinson was only stopped 3 times all year, and the Robinson mini-wheel route in the red zone was frequently wide open for easy touchdowns. When Wilson connected for an easy TD in the red zone, it was almost always to a TE or RB.

Every team in the NFL is studying Seattle's offense this offseason, not just to stop it, but to copy it. That means those wide open passes to Robinson probably won't be so wide open next year, but I think Bevell knows that and will prepare accordingly. I trust him in a chess match.

Marshawn Lynch did not look like a fluke

Lynch averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season (and 4.9 in the postseason). Those are excellent numbers in any context, but even more so when you consider that Lynch does not inflate his averages with frequent big plays. Lynch runs hard, but he also runs smart and his vision and comfort with reads was as good last year as it's been in a long time. Lynch had 315 carries- only four other backs carried 300+ times last season. So wear/injuries have to be something to watch out for, but if he stays healthy I see no reason why he couldn't post another terrific season in 2013.

Other thoughts

There are many performances I could highlight, but this is getting pretty long already. Very quickly, I'd like to cover just a few more:

Brandon Browner played even better this season I thought. I wonder if he would have made the pro-bowl if not for the PED suspension that barred him from going.

I really like JR Sweezy's future even if he did struggle with pass protection last year. His rookie year was light years ahead of Max Unger's, and as good as Unger is right now I think Sweezy's potential is higher because he has longer arms, is quicker, and has more athleticism. I could easily see him earning a pro-bowl nod in a few years if his development continues to go well.

Similarly, I am very bullish on Greg Scruggs and I think Dan Quinn really has a chance to earn some money by coaching this guy up. Scruggs looked like a potentially elite pass rusher in the preseason, and while he only had 6 tackles and 2 sacks in limited action in real games, he still flashed dominance from time to time. He has a lot of power for a 284 pound DT/DE tweener, and he is fully capable of winning the arm battle on every snap against 95% of the guards in the league. That he impressed despite being pretty raw speaks volumes. I think Seattle will still address DT very early in this draft- and may add a second DT later- yet despite that Scruggs might still see an increase in reps if Branch and Jones leave in free agency. He is definitely a player to watch next season, especially if the team gives him looks at the 5-tech spot.

As much as I like Scruggs, I'm rooting for Jaye Howard to supplant him as the 3rd down DT specialist. Howard is atrocious against the run, but at least in the preseason (and at Florida with Quinn) he flashed tremendous pass rushing skills, roughly on par with a guy like Sheldon Richardson. Violent hands, excellent arm technique, quick, nasty streak, slippery- not the kind of guy a guard wants to block 1 on 1. In a way, Howard is kind of the Bruce Irvin of the DTs, let him sell out for the pass rush and he'll reward you, but ask him to consider the run and he turns into crap. One of my biggest disappointments of the 2012 season was that Seattle almost never had a spot open to activate Howard. With just 45 active spots on a roster, it's hard to carry a bunch of 3rd down specialists on your line.

Doug Baldwin played in 17 of 18 total games last season, yet he only exceeded two receptions in a game four times, and not once did he catch 5 passes in a game after managing that feat five times in 2011. While it's certainly true that Baldwin saw a drop in targets thanks to an offense that spread the ball more due to an underrated collection of weapons, they eyeball test indicated a drop in performance from his strong 2011 season, and there are stats that back this up as well. Baldwin went from 9.3 yards per target in 2011 (14th in the NFL) to just 7.1 yards per target last season (53rd). I think WPA is a crappy stat on par with QBR for it's worthlessness, but WPA has Baldwin as the 13th most valuable WR in 2011, and in 2012 he actually posted a negative WPA score, meaning that every pass that targeted Baldwin, on average, reduced Seattle's chances of winning last year. Compare that 7.1 yards per target average with Sidney Rice (8.8 in 2012, 8.5 in 2011), and Golden Tate (10.3 in 2012) and it's pretty clear who the weak link is in our starting WR corps. As much as we like him as a person, he should be considered as a target for upgrade this offseason.

McCoy had a really nice 2nd season- a season he needed to have. A bit of a wizard, he could slip undetected behind coverages despite standing a very tall looking 6'5". His hands improved nicely, and while he's easy to corral from behind after the catch, there is something to said about having 6'5" targets for our 5'11" QB to find.

I think Giacomini is here to stay. He really cut down on the penalties in the second half of the season and has turned into a really under-rated right tackle I think. Right tackles are often maligned since they cannot live up to the standards set by their left tackle counterparts, but I think if you made a list of the ten best right tackles in the game right now you'd need to find a place on that list for Giacomini.

I think Seattle will continue to churn out DBs in the draft every year. Lane struck me as being Trufant-lite this year (meaning Trufant in his prime)- not great at press and not physical, and mediocre in coverage, but he partially makes up for it with consistent play (avoids huge negative plays) and great tackling. Still, I think we need to aspire for more than that given Pete's track record for finding CB talent, and the urgent need for an improved zone coverage defense.

The most underrated Seahawk going into 2013 is Walter Thurmond. He has quickness and instincts on par with Richard Sherman- he is a pass break up machine. That quickness is critical in zone coverages which require DBs to react and break on the football. People are giving up on him way too quickly, especially since the injury that cost him in 2013 was just a hamstring pull which isn't surprising given a long layoff. Maybe Thurmond is cursed like DJ Hackett was, but I think its just as likely he'll have a healthy season and emerge as one of the best players in our secondary.

Seahawks 2013 Outlook

This has gone pretty long, so I'll condense my outlook in .gif form:

Binoculars to sunglasses
 

QuahHawk

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Nice, good write-up. I wish I could say I had the same confidence as you did in Wilson. I was actually confused when we drafted him as I really wanted Robert Turbin and thought Flynn was solid, and T-Jax was a good back-up. I knew he had skills but like many scouts I was extremely skeptical of his size. The Gruden interview was very impressive and really got me on board that Wilson could do this.

I am surprised by your positive review of Tate and the discovery of how unproductive Baldwin was. I don't not believe you, but I'd still rather have Baldwin than Tate, I still think Tate is the weakest of the 3 and Baldwin will not be dealing with the early season injury and knocked out teeth that cost him time this season. I expect the opposite next year.

One way to improve our WR play will be to improve the TE play. There is no way we do not add a legitimate receiving threat at TE this off-season. Either through the draft or in FA by bringing in a more versatile TE who can give teams matchup problem. right now we only have 2 dynamic players on offense, Wilson and Lynch. Adding a #2 TE who has game breaking skills will not be that expensive. 2nd round pick or 5 mil a year should get that done. With as many 2 TE sets as we run we need to have 3 solid TE's

I'm high on Scruggs and don't know enough about Howard to make any eval, but I would not be surprised if a rookie DT took his roster spot. We have many option to improve our DT situation this season and something tells me a 1st rd DT is not the direction we are going.

Giacomini is my most underrated seahawk. I believe he is our future RT.

Good work
 

bellingerga

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the gif is priceless dude. Laughed heartily on that one.

Also I've been trying to put my finger on something in regards to wilson. There's just been this aspect that I couldn't quite put into words but you said it, absolutely perfectly.

" But with this guy, things are different. It kind of feels like the world is shifting to surround him-"
 

Hawkstorian

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I think Baldwin will come back to form in 2013, but I definitely agree we need another weapon at WR.
 

Ruminator

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Fan analyses like this absolutely rock. Never has there been a more exciting time to be a Seahawk fan than now. I heart the Seahawks. Happy Valentine's Day.
 

theENGLISHseahawk

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I'm not sure I'd say Jaye Howard is on par with Sheldon Richardson at any point on tape. After all, there's a reason one guy will probably be a top-ten pick and another went in the fourth round. Howard showed a lot of athletic upside and as you say occasionally looked good as a pass rusher at Florida. For what it's worth I went back to look at some old 2011 tape while studying Sharrif Floyd and man what a difference between the two players. Floyd is on a completely different level to Howard. When you know which two guys to look out for, Howard just looks lethargic and mediocre in comparison. I think if you put him next to Sheldon Richardson you'd see the same thing.

The fact he was inactive all year and they clearly rated Scruggs higher was telling for me. Given they have 12 picks this year I wouldn't be at all surprised if Howard isn't part of the roster come the start of the 2013 season.
 
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kearly

kearly

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theENGLISHseahawk":rwyvtcsc said:
I'm not sure I'd say Jaye Howard is on par with Sheldon Richardson at any point on tape. After all, there's a reason one guy will probably be a top-ten pick and another went in the fourth round. Howard showed a lot of athletic upside and as you say occasionally looked good as a pass rusher at Florida. For what it's worth I went back to look at some old 2011 tape while studying Sharrif Floyd and man what a difference between the two players. Floyd is on a completely different level to Howard. When you know which two guys to look out for, Howard just looks lethargic and mediocre in comparison. I think if you put him next to Sheldon Richardson you'd see the same thing.

The fact he was inactive all year and they clearly rated Scruggs higher was telling for me. Given they have 12 picks this year I wouldn't be at all surprised if Howard isn't part of the roster come the start of the 2013 season.

Richardson is way better overall because he's an every down player. But on just 3rd downs, I think they'd be pretty close. I thought Howard looked more explosive as a pass rusher last preseason than he did at Florida, where he was a bit lethargic. By contrast, Richardson plays with an attitude. Reminds me of a very poor man's Warren Sapp.

Wenhawk":rwyvtcsc said:
One way to improve our WR play will be to improve the TE play. There is no way we do not add a legitimate receiving threat at TE this off-season. Either through the draft or in FA by bringing in a more versatile TE who can give teams matchup problem. right now we only have 2 dynamic players on offense, Wilson and Lynch. Adding a #2 TE who has game breaking skills will not be that expensive. 2nd round pick or 5 mil a year should get that done. With as many 2 TE sets as we run we need to have 3 solid TE's

They'll definitely be adding some pass catchers, but I see more weapons than you do on the 2012 squad. I would put Zach Miller, Sidney Rice, and Golden Tate on that list too. And Miller seemed to really come into his own at the end of last season. I hope his foot is okay. You can't just judge a players impact by his overall production. This offense will rarely if ever see a 1000 yard receiver because Wilson spreads the ball very thin. Tate has always been a dynamic athlete but he's starting to come into his own as a receiver too. Watch Tate then watch Harvin. They are very similar players, and Harvin was a production machine before getting hurt because his QB wasn't a spread the ball type.

Wenhawk":rwyvtcsc said:
I'm high on Scruggs and don't know enough about Howard to make any eval, but I would not be surprised if a rookie DT took his roster spot. We have many option to improve our DT situation this season and something tells me a 1st rd DT is not the direction we are going.

This is what I believed as well until I heard Pete's end of season presser where he sounded exasperated over our pass rush situation. At this point, I am about 70% sure we go DT with the first pick. Not just because there is upgrade potential at the 3-tech but because replacing Red Bryant would probably mean drafting a DT and moving him to the 5, and I doubt Seattle would ditch Bryant until they are sure they have his replacement, meaning they'd probably draft a guy this year and hope to unload Bryant next year if his problems continue. Also, the DT options will be a lot better at #25 than they'll be at #58 most likely, compared to a much better 2nd round situation at LB, DE, WR, and TE.
 

Trenchbroom

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Although the first post in this thread was quite the Wilson love letter Kip, would it be possible for you to post your Montana/Field Gulls email in this thread so we can read it? Since it sounds like it turned out to be quite prophetic (checked Field Gulls and the fanposts don't go back very far).
 

kf3339

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Good write up Kearly. I really was hesitant for the first half of the year about Wilson being the guy but his second half play and postseason performance really changed my mind. So Kudo's for believing in him when many had doubts.

I also remember when you thought it might make sense to trade Baldwin after 2011 because he would have value to many teams and get us a decent draft pick for him. You were concerned about his ability to stay healthy, and sure enough that is what happened this year. While I hope he comes back to form this year, I can see how he may not end up in our top 3 or 4 WR options in 2013, so being cut or traded may still happen.

Last, I really want to see how Scruggs and Howard improve with Dan Quinn back running our defense. I really see a possibility that Scruggs could easily back up and possibly replace Red at the 5tech if not this year, then next if he continues to improve. You also have to think that Quinn knows what he has in Howard and may be the best guy to get him going, even if it's only as a 3rd down pass rushing specialist. Basically performing the Jones role for a lot less money.

I still just really hope we get a 3tech DT in FA and not base this position on just the draft. That is just too risky if you ask me unless a major move up the board is planned.
 

QuahHawk

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kearly":1ill0bpi said:
Wenhawk":1ill0bpi said:
I'm high on Scruggs and don't know enough about Howard to make any eval, but I would not be surprised if a rookie DT took his roster spot. We have many option to improve our DT situation this season and something tells me a 1st rd DT is not the direction we are going.

This is what I believed as well until I heard Pete's end of season presser where he sounded exasperated over our pass rush situation. At this point, I am about 70% sure we go DT with the first pick. Not just because there is upgrade potential at the 3-tech but because replacing Red Bryant would probably mean drafting a DT and moving him to the 5, and I doubt Seattle would ditch Bryant until they are sure they have his replacement, meaning they'd probably draft a guy this year and hope to unload Bryant next year if his problems continue. Also, the DT options will be a lot better at #25 than they'll be at #58 most likely, compared to a much better 2nd round situation at LB, DE, WR, and TE.

I really wanted Fletcher Cox last year and when we didn't get him I wasn't too happy, I figured Irvin would get his sacks but thought Pressure from the inside would help the rest of the DL get pressure. Our draft worked out great so I'm not complaining but I just don't think we can geta DT that will make that immediate impact at #25 or #58. Why not get an impact player at #25 even if it isn't the most important position? If we kept Jones and Branch would a DT like Short get enough opportunities to have 3+ sacks? At #25 I think we are going to either find a guy who we didn't think would be there and couldn't pass up (DT Richardson, WR Patterson), make a crazy draft surprise like (WR Austin, LB Green, TE Reed), or trade back and get the safer solid DL player with a late 1t round grade. This is a year I'd trade our #25 for a mid 2nd and a 1st next year in a heartbeat.
 

GoHawks

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What stood out to me from watching the 2012 highlights was the improved play (catches/td's) and blocking from Anthony McCoy, including those which came from a (3TE set) <--- Look forward to seeing more of that next season with whichever TE we pick up in the draft
 

Blitzer88

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Well done again Kearly. Really like what you said there. The pass rush and maybe another couple weapons for Russell should be the priorities this offseason for the Hawks and hopefully that includes your and my favorite WR in the draft DeAndre Hopkins!
 

Hawk n Load

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Nice post, as always.

I'd amend your concern about zone defense, slightly.

Pete didn't just play a lot of zone D to see what the Seahawks had with the rush. It's what they play as a regular base defense. I know you know this, but it bears repeating given the common misperception on this site that the D plays a lot of man-man. Field Gulls had a great article on Cover-3 that came out in the last couple of months, that reiterates the scheme. Pete likes his 4-3 under, with a Leo and a big 5-tech, not a lot of blitzing, not a lot of man. The corners are tall, and force everything to the outside. Because they're tall they don't play straight up man all the time, because they cannot be as good at change of direction and staying on receivers as a little guy. Check out the corners when they get full camera coverage--as tight and physical as Sherman and Browner are, they're always releasing players to Thomas or Trufant or even Wagner depending on the call, when the receiver leaves their zone.

The Seahawks will try to improve their base rush, without blitzing. They'll continue to tinker with coverages. But Pete is consistent, even stubborn, with his defensive principles. We probably won't see many changes with scheme, no matter how frustrating stretches of games, or of seasons, may prove to us as fans. It's what makes Pete special in the first place--he just doesn't care what others think.
 

CFraychineaud

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Kearly, one thing I've been thinking about since it was mentioned (possibly by you... got a bad memory) was that Sweezy seems like he might be even better suited to play RT than G. He was the fastest and most agile OL at the combine, as decent size (6'5''), and good arm length. Currently looking at our roster, even if you look at Giacamini as a long term solution at RT, our depth there (and possible eventual replacement) is our weakest part of our OL. At guard we have Carpenter, Moffitt, McQuistan and thats not even going into JeanPierre, or something I'd like to see develop with Rishaw Johnson. thats 5 guys to cover 2 spots, with some being backups at C. For OT we have Breno, Okung, and Omiyale, with McQ being an emergency backup.

I feel like having a young line grow together and be stable over years will end up being the best thing for us long term, especially if we have guys who are mobile and can move around to help out russell when he improvises.

I know I'd feel better with a backup OT who could maybe eventually surplant one of the starters rather than another guard in a position of pretty decent depth.

How do you think he would work out? and could that be a possible plan? OG is a decent starting spot on OL right? less responsibility than C or OT. I'd love to see a line of

Okung - Carp - Unger - Johnson/Moffitt - Breno/Sweezy with McQ being our utility man.

On a side note (damn now my post is getting longer than planned), I agree we need to improve our defense especially our pass rush. Out of base, and on passing downs. Would you target some of the talented guys with issues if they fall and fill one of our major needs? (Ogletree, Jones, Any of the top DT's). Or think we have to pursue one primary, or hell even just BPA. I feel like if we could get a top flight coverage WILL that could blitz when we are in base D so its not just clemons or irvin, it would drastically improve our pass rush. Especially since we rarely ever sent LBs when we sent 5, was almost always a safety. When I saw Wagner get sent, it seemed like it was more successful. As for why I mentioned Jarvis Jones. His medical issues might drop him, and clemons wont be around forever. It would be nice to get another good passrusher to bring with Irvin. I also think he would work as the other blitzer on 3rd downs like irvin was used for this season. DE is a position that is usually taken in the earlier rounds that seem to be more successful when compared to 3-tech DTs. Especially when you take out the first 5 picks or so where the blue chip stars are taken. Like the other successful 4-3 teams know, you can never have too many good DE's, just look at the giants.

Anyway, thank you for a season of great thoughts. They were thoroughly entertaining.
 
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kearly

kearly

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CFraychineaud":358tguyk said:
wrote a bunch of stuff

I think the team is happy with Giacomini so long as he stays out of penalty trouble. As far as Sweezy, I think they view him as the RG of the future but that said, I would almost be surprised if they didn't get Sweezy some reps at tackle down the road to help increase his versatility. They may not do it in 2013, since he's still got a lot to learn at guard and they don't want to overwhelm him. In the meantime, hopefully they bring back Omiyale, he was a pleasant surprise this season as a backup tackle.
 

formido

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Kearly,

Blow hards who take a wait-and-see approach to predictions aren't very impressive. Anyone can recognize what's already true. I'm not surprised that you saw what Wilson would become ahead of everyone else; one can see your perceptiveness in all your analysis.

I don't follow college football all that much or spend that much time watching other NFL teams or following draft news, to be frank, but after Wilson's first preseason game, I went back and researched, saw his college records, read what NC State and Wisconsin fans had to say about him, and I was flabbergasted. He was clearly going to be a major star, and I told all my friends and family and posted all over the Internet that he was going to be better than Luck and Griffin. I prayed he'd be named the starter. My wife remembers my jubilation when he was. My 49er boss thought Wilson was underrated, but he was sure Luck and Griffin were much better. In a couple years, I think everyone will agree with us.
 

SmokinHawk

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With the schedule we have, this team could be absolutely monstrous next season. The potential is there to go 12-4 or better with a legit shot at a Super Bowl. I can't say I felt this way prior to the '04, '05, '06, or '07 seasons. Unless there is some major regression, I just don't see us faltering. The schedule is much easier than last year, and we no longer have any question marks whatsoever left at the QB spot. Our only major needs are on defensive line -- address them and we will be incredibly hard to stop.
 
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