Hawks that never reached their potential and drove you nuts

[JSeahawks]

Seneca Wallace. I kept waiting for Holmgren to finally just use him a bunch... Returning punts, WR, etc.
Holmgren kept thinking about it but as he got older he got more and more cautious.
Then when a bunch of injuries finally meant Seneca was going to START a game at WR he hurt himself in warm ups.
Wallace's whole career is a big "what could have been..".

I do believe you just won the thread.

 

[Atradees]

Alexander the Great was adissapointment. WTF?

 

[HawkWow]

Stunned that Blades got mention in this thread. Brian Blades was actually a great Hawk (IMHO). Sure you're not thinking of the other Blades?

Boz? Too easy and also unfair to call injured players busts, IMO.

Mirer? he sucked but we've had much worse: McQuire, Souffer, Freize, Green..OH GAWD!!! The bigger joke regarding Mirer was that we got a 1st for him from Chicago. I too would call him a bust...but nothing compared to a Curry.

 

[Atradees]

what's really weird is that Mirer was a guy like 14? years as a backup?

 

[largenutz]

Kim Il Jong.

 

[HawkWow]

Kim Il Jong.

His grandmother's maiden name was SUK so it was inevitable.

 

[MissoulaHawk]

I realize we did not draft him, but Deion Branch was a highly frustrating player, especially considering what we gave up for him. All the other good ones have been mentioned.

 

[MissoulaHawk]

Koren Robinson- He was one of the most talented WR's we have ever had, he had good size, great speed, could make some amazing catches, could take any ball to the house, yet he could never put it together. He had a few incredible kick returns and a few quick slants to the house. He was my favorite player on the Seahawks. He totally and completely let me down I don't think he strung together two 100yd+games once in his career. Very very frustrating and I think Holmgren gave him too many passes, should have laid the hammer on him right from the start and his career might have been much different.

Jeremey Stevens- Was amazing in college and has forever tampered my excitement for draft picks. I was in the hospital the day he was drafted and literally yelled with excitement when we got him. He had the size, speed, and talent to be one of the best TE's ever. He was just way too immature and had too many drops or penalties in crucial situations. He was a guy who would be unstoppable one game and you'd shake your head the next wondering what the heck is wrong with this guy.


Shaun Alexander- I know he is one of the best RB's in the NFL while he was playing but he is a perfect cause of a guy who never reached his potential and cause much frustration for Hawk fans. During our Superbowl season "Alexanders Contract Year" he was a tough runner and played to his potential. Could you imagine if the 3 years prior or even for 1 or 2 years after if he had played with the same toughness and will to fight for an extra yard as he did that year, he would likely be going into the Hall of Fame. He drove me bat $hit crazy ever time he'd fall down for a loss by a arm tackle from a CB or Safety, or when he'd qb slide instead of lowering his shoulder to get the 1st down, or even when he'd slide out of bounds instead trying for the first. Alexander had all the talent in the world and one of the best offensive lines ever assembled and could have set multiple rushing records but he ran scared and never lived up to his potential.

Curry was disappointing but never really felt like he was or could be something incredible

Tate has also been very disappointing, the expectations were high coming out of ND as a Steve Smith type and big play ability, I think he has flashed some playmakers potential but hasn't been consistent enough, so I'd say he has been frustrating that he is getting a ton of reps and is not cemented himself as a consistent playmaker game in and game out.

Not really fair to label Tate as a disappointment YET, imo. He hasn't had consistent QB play in his short career, save for the 2nd half of last season, and look what he did with it. He has YAC ability that is stifling to say the least. I think it's very possible, likely even, that he finally shows us in 2013 that we were correct to be so excited.

 

[Dismas]

One I haven't seen mentioned is Sam Adams.
Everyone, even Tez, seemed real excited when he was drafted, but he just never seemed to have the will to excell.

 

[Stoned Cold]

Jerramy Stevens had tons of potential but he was a dumb ass in college. Holmgren and club overlooked it or were uninformed. Hard for me to be "drove nuts" with such a risk player to start with.

Anthony Simmons is a good call. He would show up sometimes and disappear most. Frustrating guy.

Cuury is the poster child. The best defensive player in the draft, the safe pick, and he always disappointed.

The old skool guys that were big names don't bother me as much. Maybe enough time has passed that I forget but Boz had a lot of hype but he wasn't bad. Degenerative shoulder, thats just a guy breaking down prematurely.

Rick Mirer was actually rookie of the year. He never progressed but getting what we got for compensation from the Bears and Dave Wanstadt was break even in my book.

Dan McGwire I had never heard of so I can't say I was disappointed in him. His claim to fame was his brother. I've read too that Knox wanted to draft Brett Favre or a linebacker but was over ruled by Flores and Behring.

In the end Curry has to be the biggest one in my book. All that talent but had a $.02 brain. I learned a lot from that pick though. Linebacker is played with a lot more smarts than instinct. Theirs a great Stealers article I read that gets into that issue. They let guys sit and watch and learn and study before they let them on the field. A Dick Lebeau philosophy that has made them LB'er University.

 

[Zebulon Dak]

Shaun Alexander??...

Shaun. Alexander.

:rofl:

 

[Zebulon Dak]

Shaun Alexander- I know he is one of the best RB's in the NFL while he was playing but he is a perfect cause of a guy who never reached his potential and cause much frustration for Hawk fans. During our Superbowl season "Alexanders Contract Year" he was a tough runner and played to his potential. Could you imagine if the 3 years prior or even for 1 or 2 years after if he had played with the same toughness and will to fight for an extra yard as he did that year, he would likely be going into the Hall of Fame. He drove me bat $hit crazy ever time he'd fall down for a loss by a arm tackle from a CB or Safety, or when he'd qb slide instead of lowering his shoulder to get the 1st down, or even when he'd slide out of bounds instead trying for the first. Alexander had all the talent in the world and one of the best offensive lines ever assembled and could have set multiple rushing records but he ran scared and never lived up to his potential.

Curry was disappointing but never really felt like he was or could be something incredible

Tate has also been very disappointing, the expectations were high coming out of ND as a Steve Smith type and big play ability, I think he has flashed some playmakers potential but hasn't been consistent enough, so I'd say he has been frustrating that he is getting a ton of reps and is not cemented himself as a consistent playmaker game in and game out.

Can I nominate this for silliest 3 paragraphs of all time? I know it won't win but it deserves a nod.

 

[Happypuppy]

Dan McQuire. He was a very high pick (16) and he never played much
Anthony Simmons. Another one of those cant miss guys that always claimed injury
Marcus Tubbs. Never was healthy had some great games though
Brandon Koutu. Only the 4th place kicker we ever drafted. He sat on the roster for a year taking a spot and never played.

 

[two dog]

Wide receiver Darryl Turner, long time gone. Man, he could have been anything.
First play of the game in Denver, 80 yard touchdown from Krieg.

Couldn't keep his nose out of the candy jar and after a couple of years, his time
in Seattle was over. Don't know if he ended up on another team.

Cornerback Newton Webster, was a starter and for one brief shining season,
was as good as any CB in football. Don't know what really happened but
last I heard, he was back in Oklahoma, in the ministry, I heard.

Can anyone enlighten me about Newton Webster's quick exit from football?

 

[cesame]

Marcus Tubbs was so ridiculously talented it's a shame his career was cut short by injuries. He was the kind of DT that made every other tackle on the line better just with his presence.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

Curry and Leonard Weaver for me. I had high hopes for Weaver in particular.

* On a side note has there been a thread on biggest high dollar acquisitions gone bust in Seattle?

 

[Hawknballs]

I might get flack for this but. . . Lofa Tatupu is at least high on my list here, only because he had such an incredible rookie year, but never quite got back to it. In fact he just got worse as time went on, until he finally couldn't play anymore due to injury. So while It's probably unfair to lump Lofa in with a list of 'busts', he answers the question for me of a "hawk who never reached his potential and drove me nuts". It drove me nuts to see him decline year by year after a rookie season that seemed so promising of a great career.

Maybe it was just amplified for me by the fact that he seemed like a genuinely good guy and was an underdog being a little under-sized, so I had a lot more invested in wanting to see him be great. But to me when you talk about never reaching potential/driving you nuts, I think of Lofa because when I see his name I just feel frustrated as a fan and for the guy himself that he went out on such a low note.

 

[volsunghawk]

I might get flack for this but. . . Lofa Tatupu is at least high on my list here, only because he had such an incredible rookie year, but never quite got back to it. In fact he just got worse as time went on, until he finally couldn't play anymore due to injury. So while It's probably unfair to lump Lofa in with a list of 'busts', he answers the question for me of a "hawk who never reached his potential and drove me nuts". It drove me nuts to see him decline year by year after a rookie season that seemed so promising of a great career.

Maybe it was just amplified for me by the fact that he seemed like a genuinely good guy and was an underdog being a little under-sized, so I had a lot more invested in wanting to see him be great. But to me when you talk about never reaching potential/driving you nuts, I think of Lofa because when I see his name I just feel frustrated as a fan and for the guy himself that he went out on such a low note.

Thing is, I think Lofa reached his potential immediately. What we saw in 2005 was Lofa at his peak. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to sustain that, and the pounding he took on his smaller frame put him out of the league early.

 

[Hawknballs]

I might get flack for this but. . . Lofa Tatupu is at least high on my list here, only because he had such an incredible rookie year, but never quite got back to it. In fact he just got worse as time went on, until he finally couldn't play anymore due to injury. So while It's probably unfair to lump Lofa in with a list of 'busts', he answers the question for me of a "hawk who never reached his potential and drove me nuts". It drove me nuts to see him decline year by year after a rookie season that seemed so promising of a great career.

Maybe it was just amplified for me by the fact that he seemed like a genuinely good guy and was an underdog being a little under-sized, so I had a lot more invested in wanting to see him be great. But to me when you talk about never reaching potential/driving you nuts, I think of Lofa because when I see his name I just feel frustrated as a fan and for the guy himself that he went out on such a low note.

Thing is, I think Lofa reached his potential immediately. What we saw in 2005 was Lofa at his peak. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to sustain that, and the pounding he took on his smaller frame put him out of the league early.

I guess. I just never expect rookies, especially at the "QB of the defense" position to exhaust their potential as a rookie hence the frustration. At the time it certainly didn't feel like he had maxed out his potential. Looking back sure you can say he did, you can stay that about most of the players on this list. But at the time I don't know if any seahawks fans were not thinking that the best was yet to come with him.

 

[Rat]

Terreal Bierria - I was so hyped when we drafted this guy. I even referred to him as "Rodney Harrison with range". He was not that. I'm not a Georgia fan, but for some reason, I always seem to love the prospects they put out (Bierria, David Pollack, Johnathan Sullivan, and Matt Stafford are among my favorite draft prospects of all time, and they've put out many other guys that I was very high on). All reports were that he was tearing it up in offseason workouts. He even earned a starting spot early. Then the real games started, and we saw WAY too much of the back of his jersey. The only thing that has been a bigger disaster than his on-field performance is his life since his NFL career ended.

Koren Robinson - This has been covered numerous times in this thread. Wow, did he ever tease us in 2002. It's a shame that he wasn't as mature during his first stint with us as he was during his brief second stint. Good for him that he was able to turn his life around. Unfortunately for us, that didn't occur during his peak physical years.

Charlie Whitehurst - I thought the Whitehurst trade was very clever, even at the steep price. I thought our front office found this real gem with loads of untapped potential. Physically, he has everything you could want in a QB. I still wish that Bates/Bevell had opened up the playbook more for him early on. After the trade, I predicted that Whitehurst would make multiple All-Pro teams. I kind of want that one back.