I was one of the harshest critics of the Harvin trade, both the day it happened as well as the day it ended. But there's no way that it trumps the Adams trade. The Adams trade is to date the worst we've ever made, and hopefully ever will make.
And I'll add this: It was the Adams trade where I finally fell off the Pete bandwagon. Up until then, I trusted his judgement at least when it came to defense. With the exception of his first season where he thrived in a vacuum where we were on pace to have a historically inept pass rush, he was a liability on defense, a one trick pony. The fact that he's an A-hole adds insult to injury.
I'm mostly in agreement. I'd stop short of the harsh judgment. Marshall Rosenberg, the genius who created a peacemaking technique called Non-Violent Communication or NVC, said that "judgement is a tragic expression of unmet needs". When I notice myself feeling judgmental toward someone or something, I look for the unmet need.
In the case of the Seahawks under Carroll, I had a need for efficiency that was thwarted by trades where it seemed like we were giving way too much. This would cause feelings like frustration and anger. I think Pete belonged nowhere near the levers of power when it came to trades, signing free agents or re-signing veterans. He was a great cheerleader.
I fell off the bandwagon later than you. I was no fan of the Adams trade. Like you, I hated it from the beginning. But I understood that, with an aging Russell Wilson, it might make sense to mortgage the future a bit for the "right now". So I talked myself into it.
I fell off the wagon irrevocably when the Williams trade went down. It seemed beyond obvious to me that our record to that point was an illusion. When he gave up our second-most-valuable piece of draft capital for a ten game rental of a veteran when we had no legitimate chance of having a deep playoff run, I lost it. And when I say I lost it, I mean I lost it. I was angry and contemptuous. The guy seemed selfish and stupid. Pete seemed to me an old man just desperately trying to hold on without consideration that we fans might have different interests. Like the long term.
Talk about judgment; those are pretty heavy. It would be fair to say I felt hatred. Using NVC, I could see that my need was, again, for efficiency. For an approach that wasn't futile and that wouldn't mortgage the future. But that was the point when I decided it was time (and in fact well past time) for Pete to go. It became more than clear that he could not be trusted (and that John and the rest of the organization could not be trusted to contain him).
As far as I'm concerned, John is not out of the woods. I like our recent drafts. I love the way he went about choosing a coaching staff. We'll see how he handles future trades, free agent signings and the like. Can he be efficient, as were and are his Green Bay mentors. As was and are the Baltimore Ravens.
