Harvin trade still sinking in

[loafoftatupu]

Last season, as we watched the Hawk offense develop to form, I realized how dangerous they really were. If you asked me what we needed to improve it at the end of the season, I would have simply said "time" because they ran like a well oiled machine. To me, it was simply the idea that continuity would develop further improvement. The balance, the ability to move the ball in any situation, against any type of defense was simply incredible. One way or another, the Hawks would break through on offense. We knew the defense would be very tough, but I don't think anyone could predict that Wilson would be putting on a clinic week after week. Very satisfied, I just didn't think they "needed" anything other than depth.

Enter Percy Harvin: PC/JS just added a Turbocharger to a performance car that was already built to win races. They took a very balanced system, where every receiver gets the ball, combined with one of the top running games in the league and gave both aspects of offense a major boost.

How can you look at this guy and not just be amazed by his speed, elusiveness and physicality? He does it all and he does it all well. The guy is good enough, that when I watched Tate improve, I thought that he reminded me of a poor man's Harvin. He isn't coming to a team desperate for yards or scoring, he is coming to a team where any focus on him will prove to be a fatal mistake. That rings true the other way too. On this team, the defense doesn't have the luxury of planning only for AP and Harvin. Opposing teams are going to have to focus on other players, giving a guy like Harvin a much better opportunity to work without congestion.

There are concerns about his health, but frankly, the guy was taking on a much higher load as a Viking that he will never see wearing Blue and Green. He won't be subjected to the same level of contact with the attention spread out. Even with the contact, the guy played through it. He was severely injured here last year, but he came back and played with a totally bum ankle.

I honestly feel that even with the touches spread out, that Harvin will reap heavy numbers due to his opportunities. That he is just going to explode in this system. This is going to be a very special season indeed and I just get the feeling that Harvin is going to make a very big impact.

The talk about him is pretty quiet right now, but after a few games as a Seahawk, I could see him being the flavor of the season. With flipping PONDER as his QB and one other big play threat, he produced big numbers. On a team like this one, Harvin is going to be like a kid on Xmas morning every single game. There are fans from other teams that minimize the addition of Harvin as some sort of oft-injured player or locker room problem. Think about that, those fans can't stomach the fact that this guy is a Seahawk, so they tell themselves everything is going to be OK by claiming that Harvin is going to be injured or a problem player. They are worried about what Percy brings to this team because they really couldn't stop the Hawks without him.

They should be worried.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

Loafotat said, "Opposing teams are going to have to focus on other players, giving a guy like Harvin a much better opportunity to work without congestion."

On the contrary, DB's and the Safety will focus on Percy and the other WR's will get open!! I expect that Percy will clear out an area then another WR or TE can come right behind him and be more open.

 

[Spokane]

Its going to be 50+ point games all year...record breaking baby!
I still think Harvin is in the top 10 of NFL WRs, He catches like Rice and moves like Sanders!

 

[loafoftatupu]

Loafotat said, "Opposing teams are going to have to focus on other players, giving a guy like Harvin a much better opportunity to work without congestion."

On the contrary, DB's and the Safety will focus on Percy and the other WR's will get open!! I expect that Percy will clear out an area then another WR or TE can come right behind him and be more open.

Actually..

he is coming to a team where any focus on him will prove to be a fatal mistake. That rings true the other way too.

So, I totally agree with you. Harvin presents a "pick your poison" situation. I am not saying that the Hawks are going to be unstoppable though, I am simply saying that the Seahawks added the kind of player that will garner the kind of attention that can only force defenses to leave someone in a favorable situation. Very favorable.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

Yep....we agree 100%

 

[Sac]

Fap Fap Fap

 

[Dreadbelch]

Ya'll are asking for a hitch in our giddyup with such talk. Until the Rings of Power are in our grasp, we should assume the team bus could get carried off by a pterodactyl.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Loafotat said, "Opposing teams are going to have to focus on other players, giving a guy like Harvin a much better opportunity to work without congestion."

On the contrary, DB's and the Safety will focus on Percy and the other WR's will get open!! I expect that Percy will clear out an area then another WR or TE can come right behind him and be more open.

Actually..

he is coming to a team where any focus on him will prove to be a fatal mistake. That rings true the other way too.

So, I totally agree with you. Harvin presents a "pick your poison" situation. I am not saying that the Hawks are going to be unstoppable though, I am simply saying that the Seahawks added the kind of player that will garner the kind of attention that can only force defenses to leave someone in a favorable situation. Very favorable.

What Harvin does is transform our offense into the same deadly pick your poison situation Atlanta enjoys and we may be better because we're far younger.

 

[NYCoug]

Ya'll are asking for a hitch in our giddyup with such talk. Until the Rings of Power are in our grasp, we should assume the team bus could get carried off by a pterodactyl.

I'm incredibly optimistic about the Hawks in 2013 and this is still one of my favorite posts on .Net ever. Seriously. I love the mindset and I love the idea of Red Bryant, James Carpenter, and Michael Bowie being on a bus and a pterodactyl trying to swoop down and lift it to the skies.

As a diehard Toronto Blue Jays fan though, I agree with the sentiment 100%. A lot of people, Jays fans included, had the Jays pegged for huge things this season. Things haven't turned out quite like anyone expected. Huge difference being that the Jays were more like the Eagles and built a team through obtaining players from elsewhere. The Hawks on the other hand have built this thing from the ground up and have the continuity and team chemistry that fans dream of. They add pieces to the puzzle that can help unlock the riddle. Guys like Percy Harvin. Percy's not being brought in to be the savior here, he's being brought in to add another weapon to an already loaded offense.

Having said all that, I can't wait til Hawks fans jaws drop the first time Harvin shows the uncanny athleticism that the city of Seattle hasn't seen since the days of Joey Galloway. That's gonna be a moment where everyone remembers where they were and where there lives were at when they look back on it. I can't wait, hopefully it's in Charlotte!

 

[Seafan]

I remember Jon Gruden lamenting the fact the Hawks didn't have a receiver who could stretch the defense in a game he was covering. Harvin brings the element the offense really needed last year. He'll definitely open things up for everyone. Against teams who can't cover Harvin it will be a sight to behold.

 

[warden]

Harvin will drastically reduce the snaps of the FB and of the second TE. Expect to see a huge amount of 3 WR sets with Zack Miller in as TE and single back formations. This will be an absolute nightmare for DCs. Do we run the ball? read option?, which WR do they focus on? and do not forget about Miller.

 

[DavidSeven]

It's like Earl Thomas told his DBs in SoundFX against MN last season, "you have to recognize who Percy Harvin is...you gotta lean his way." He's going to open things up for everyone on the field.

 

[formido]

There are fans from other teams that minimize the addition of Harvin as some sort of oft-injured player or locker room problem. Think about that, those fans can't stomach the fact that this guy is a Seahawk, so they tell themselves everything is going to be OK by claiming that Harvin is going to be injured or a problem player. They are worried about what Percy brings to this team because they really couldn't stop the Hawks without him.

They should be worried.

Great post. I've noticed the preponderance of non-football-related criticisms from fans in mixed forums, too. Of course, that happens everywhere, but it's been especially vicious this off-season. And it extends beyond just Percy's migraines, injuries, and locker room presence, which is very gratifying. "Paper champions". "Seadderall Seahawks". Warms my heart every time cos it's an implied admission of weakness.

Another thing opposing fans chortle about is that Seattle has no 1000 yard receivers. I love that they're concerned about individual players' counting stats while our team is concerned about offensive efficiency.

Famous film junkie, Greg Cosell, had a great article explaining how much more potent Harvin makes the offense.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... --nfl.html

The only thing that can stop this Seattle offense is injuries or themselves.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

What I like about the Harvin acquisition is that he is really, really diverse. I like the idea of having players that can play in multiple spots effectively because that means that you give defenses way more looks and it becomes harder for other teams to get consistent tape on you.

Harvin can effectively play X, Z, slot, and RB. Including what he does on KOs, we can hopefully get him 10-12 chances with the football per game. I also cannot wait to see what weird backfield stuff we put together with Harvin back there along with Lynch, Michael, Turbin, and Robinson.

 

[olyfan63]

I agree with most of OP's premise, except that Adrian Peterson is a lot for defenses to have to focus on. So AP by himself is probably worth 2+ "normal" offensive threat players a defense has to focus on. AP had such an incredible year.... He ran for 182 yards and 2 TD's against Seattle. Once Harvin got injured in that game, AP was much less effective with no healthy, threatening Harvin, and had a mere-mortal 2nd half after gaining 140+ yards in the first half. If AP is worth 2+, let's say Percy is worth 1.5+ "normal" offensive threat players. Those two really opened up things for each other. I expect the absence of Harvin will hurt AP's numbers quite a bit this year.

For sure, in Harvin we got a steal in terms of VALUE to our offense and overall multiple threats a defense has to worry about. Harvin will both get some numbers AND open it up more for all our other offensive threats. If they key on Lynch, look out for Harvin. Can you imagine the defensive signal caller's mental dialogue during a series?
"OK guys, we got Harvin locked up on this play? Lynch accounted for? Good! Whoops, there went Wilson for 10 yards. Let's defense that damn read option. Crap, Wilson just hit Tate for 25 with RAC out of that damn read option thing. Oops, Wilson to Miller for another 10. Safety, pay attention. OK, good, Lynch went out, and this Christine Michael girls name dude is in. Crap, that chick dude is like greased lightning, just gashed us for 30 up the middle! Let's stop this thing! Wilson to Rice for a TD?? WTF?? Free Safety, where are you? Hey coach, the game plan of stopping Lynch and Harvin is working."

Bottom line, for opposing defenses this season, "Sucks to be you!"

 

[billio155]

I just finished watching the entire 2012 season, (I know...I just miss football!) One thing I noticed was most of our big yardage plays--30 yards or more--were a result of Wilson's scrambling ability-which broke down coverage and gave receivers space to run. But here is the kicker...we had very few plays that resulted in long touchdowns. Several big plays landed us in the red zone, but only resulted in field goals. So lets look at what JS and PC did in the off-season: They traded for one of the biggest game breakers in the league and drafted a back who once in the open field will absolutely slice a defense open with his speed. In short, they invested in players who can turn a twenty yard gain into a touchdown. And I think that is what we will see from Percy. When Russel breaks out of the pocket, guess who is gong to be cutting across the middle from the slot? Yeah, that's Percy freaking Harvin. So if your a linebacker what do you do? Cover Harvin or attack Wilson? Either way your screwed. It's going to be a long year for NFL defenses.

 

[sc85sis]

Don't forget about Ware either. Pete keeps mentioning him and I think if Ware makes the roster we'll see him come in a fair amount on short-yardage plays in the red zone as a runner, blocker and decoy.

 

[Bakergirl]

Things are looking much more favorable with Harvin on board. Our offense is going to give defensive coaches fits. That's the beauty of having so many great weapons at Wilson's disposal.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

And it takes pressure off the defense to be exactly on all the time. This team has the possibility of being like the 1990's 49er's in that being so good on offense that you forget they are nasty on defense also.

 

[kearly]

Sometimes in the NBA, which is the most star-driven sport in America, you'll see a team that rises to a high level despite lacking a true star. The Denver Nuggets were a classic example of that this past NBA season. They didn't win games by feeding the ball to a megastar, they just played like a team and developed great chemistry with a group of above average players.

That's kind of how I felt about Seattle's offense last season. They got amazing effeciency numbers out of what some less enlightened folks thought was an average WR corps. It was never average, I'd say it's damn good actually, but it wasn't good in the traditional "in the box" sense. There wasn't a Calvin Johnson or AJ Green getting 100 yards almost every game. And yet, that group produced terrific team results.

I don't think it's a coincidence that our skill position players are skewed heavily towards a possession skillset. Our receivers drop very few passes. Our running backs produce quality rush attempts on a consistent basis. Our tight ends can block and catch. Miller and Rice were stars before they came here, but in our system they stand out less. Some mistakenly think it means they declined, but to me I see Tate nearly leading the league in catch rate before nearly leading the league in yards per target, or what Baldwin has done, or what McCoy has done, and I see a group that is so strong across the board that players who stood out elsewhere don't stand out as much here.

Russell Wilson is the perfect quarterback for our offense. He's an enabler. Andy Dalton and AJ Green work hard to make each other look good. Russell Wilson works hard to make 10 other players look good.

People might look at our offense and wonder where the star power is. How much star power was on the 2001 Mariners roster that won 116 games? Sometimes you can get a lot more done with ten Honda Civics than you could with one or two sports cars.