Macdonald: 'Our Expectations Can't Be Any Higher'

[toffee]

Mike Macdonald: ‘Our Expectations Can’t Be Any Higher’

www.seahawks.com

My expectation before reading Macdonald's presser was to play in the Conference Championship game. I am adjusting to winning the Conference after reading Coach Macdonald's presser. We are a team checking all the boxes, aren't we?

Culture: we have Schneider
Coaching: we have Macdonald
System: we have Kubiak

Offense: top 12 to top 5
QB - probowl
RB - top ranked
WR - JSN & Kupp, probowl and all-pro
OL - 15th as floor, probably a lot higher like top 7th or top 8th

Defense - top 5

 

[Y.A. Tittle]

Not sold on JS, but believe in MM and hopeful for Kubiak.

 

[Trackhawk]

I've seen nothing to make me believe the offense, or offensive line, will be that good. Their will be improvements in the areas that Metcalf and Geno were weak in, but their strengths will be missed. The line is impossible to predict. Maybe if we pick up another guard, and everyone stays healthy, we can break top ten. MAYBE. I'll be happy if we make it past the wildcard round.

 

[cymatica]

I've seen nothing to make me believe the offense, or offensive line, will be that good. Their will be improvements in the areas that Metcalf and Geno were weak in, but their strengths will be missed. The line is impossible to predict. Maybe if we pick up another guard, and everyone stays healthy, we can break top ten. MAYBE. I'll be happy if we make it past the wildcard round.

Idk, I can't trust a post that improperly uses "their"

That aside, I don't think the line is impossible to predict. The oline was put in the worst situations possible last season. Kubiak's system is an oline's best friend and will take advantage of the players we have. I think Kupp is an upgrayedd over Lockette in this scheme and DeKoy isn't a huge loss

 

[Trackhawk]

Idk, I can't trust a post that improperly uses "their"

That aside, I don't think the line is impossible to predict. The oline was put in the worst situations possible last season. Kubiak's system is an oline's best friend and will take advantage of the players we have. I think Kupp is an upgrayedd over Lockette in this scheme and DeKoy isn't a huge loss

I type on a phone, and autocorrect screws there, their, they’re up regularly. Sometimes I don't catch it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There is no concrete proof that the line will be better, only a reasonable hope that Kubiak can get more out of it than his predecessor. Zabel is an improvement, but not a panacea. If our tackles stay healthy, there will be an iterative improvement. I just don’t buy into the idea that they can transform into a line that moves up 20 places in the rankings, with the changes they have made in one off-season. They will be facing one of the tougher schedules of defenses in the league. I would be happy if the line ends the season ranked near 20th.

Kupp is a replacement for DK, though their styles are different. He has better red zone hands, and a better attitude, but lacks the speed to take the top off. I believe that's why we brought in MVS. In their respective primes, Kupp was a far better receiver, even allowing for the fact that he played with better QBs. Kupp now vs Metcalf now comes down to whether they click with their respective QBs. Darnold to either is a complete unknown. JSN took Lockett’s role, and he was a clear upgrade when playing with Geno. Will we get the same JSN with Darnold?

Running back is a revolving door, with no clear cut #1 as of now. If K9, Lucas, Fant, and Zabel can stay healthy, Walker should see his best year in this offense which is pretty much tailored to him. If I had to point to one area of our offense that has more than just a blind hope of improvement, it is the running game. Health is the question, not talent.

To me the offense looks like a complete unknown. Cobbled together from pieces that have potential, but have yet to be tested. In order to achieve a place amongst the top ten, all those unknown pieces have to hit, and the likelihood of that is small.

I’m hopeful that there will be improvements on that side of the ball, but not holding my breath. Too many things have to line up for it to be a powerhouse. Fingers crossed.

 

[cymatica]

I type on a phone, and autocorrect screws there, their, they’re up regularly. Sometimes I don't catch it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There is no concrete proof that the line will be better, only a reasonable hope that Kubiak can get more out of it than his predecessor. Zabel is an improvement, but not a panacea. If our tackles stay healthy, there will be an iterative improvement. I just don’t buy into the idea that they can transform into a line that moves up 20 places in the rankings, with the changes they have made in one off-season. They will be facing one of the tougher schedules of defenses in the league. I would be happy if the line ends the season ranked near 20th.

Kupp is a replacement for DK, though their styles are different. He has better red zone hands, and a better attitude, but lacks the speed to take the top off. I believe that's why we brought in MVS. In their respective primes, Kupp was a far better receiver, even allowing for the fact that he played with better QBs. Kupp now vs Metcalf now comes down to whether they click with their respective QBs. Darnold to either is a complete unknown. JSN took Lockett’s role, and he was a clear upgrade when playing with Geno. Will we get the same JSN with Darnold?

Running back is a revolving door, with no clear cut #1 as of now. If K9, Lucas, Fant, and Zabel can stay healthy, Walker should see his best year in this offense which is pretty much tailored to him. If I had to point to one area of our offense that has more than just a blind hope of improvement, it is the running game. Health is the question, not talent.

To me the offense looks like a complete unknown. Cobbled together from pieces that have potential, but have yet to be tested. In order to achieve a place amongst the top ten, all those unknown pieces have to hit, and the likelihood of that is small.

I’m hopeful that there will be improvements on that side of the ball, but not holding my breath. Too many things have to line up for it to be a powerhouse. Fingers crossed.

I think you underestimate how much worse Grubb and Huff made the oline look and how much Kubiak's scheme makes their life easier

 

[Trackhawk]

I think you underestimate how much worse Grubb and Huff made the oline look and how much Kubiak's scheme makes their life easier

Chicken or the egg. Who made who look bad. I think the absolute ceiling for this unit is 15th, and that would be a remarkable improvement. Even 20th would be quite an accomplishment.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

The OL doesn't need to be Top 10. They just need to be average.

 

[CouchLogic]

I think you underestimate how much worse Grubb and Huff made the oline look and how much Kubiak's scheme makes their life easier

Grubb was hands down the worst OC Seattle has had in awhile, maybe ever.

 

[rjdriver]

I love the optimism, but winning the entire conference?

I just can’t go that deep. I’m excited as all get out, but seeing how Darnold performed in his playoff and “playoff like” games last year with a talented offense has me dubious we can make a super deep run.

A couple more pieces and another year or so experience from our rooks and we just may be right in the mix though.

 

[MORGULON]

I think Kupp is an upgrayedd over Lockette in this scheme and DeKoy isn't a huge loss

 

[toffee]

I love the optimism, but winning the entire conference?

I just can’t go that deep. I’m excited as all get out, but seeing how Darnold performed in his playoff and “playoff like” games last year with a talented offense has me dubious we can make a super deep run.

A couple more pieces and another year or so experience from our rooks and we just may be right in the mix though.

Can't be higher, that would mean super bowl?

 

[CouchLogic]

I mean he's not wrong. Expectations should be to win the conference every year. Seattle isn't some trash franchise like Jacksonville, Arizona, the New Yorks, etc. "wishing" and "hoping" for something good to happen. F#$@ that noise.

 

[PateratoWilson]

View attachment 72689

I see what you did here. Ha

 

[cymatica]

Chicken or the egg. Who made who look bad. I think the absolute ceiling for this unit is 15th, and that would be a remarkable improvement. Even 20th would be quite an accomplishment.

It's not a chicken or the egg in this case. Huff aside, Grubb called an offense in a way that made it hard on the oline and easy for the defense.

 

[Lagartixa]

Grubb was hands down the worst OC Seattle has had in awhile, maybe ever.

Even when Grubb had help sucking from other people as incompetent as he was, it was his own fault because of his own stupid decisions.

Despite the Seahawks being a team that could field an NFL Bizarro Hall of Fame™ of OL coaches it's had in its nearly-50-year history, Huff somehow managed to stand out as the worst ever by quite a bit.

So you might be tempted to say Grubb didn't achieve new levels of NFL suckitude on his own. And it's true. He did have some "help." That he brought with him. Intentionally.

Yikes. Ouch.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

There's many reasons for optimism and I definitely prefer that to the alternative.

I think the team over-achieved my expectations last year. This year even with the changes I'm getting the sense that this assembled bunch really knows what the hell they're doing. I especially like the coaching being handled right away on the field - a change from previous regime. Should result in a more prepared team.

I'm actually beyond cautiously optimistic. I'm legitimately excited to see what the talent and chemistry of this team can accomplish.

The Hawks should definitely have the capability, barring injuries of course, to go into each game with a legit shot at winning.

No prediction from me. Might be first. Might be last. But our opponents should see a tough and improved Seahawks team. Really looking forward to this season. Let's friggin go!

 

[FrodosFinger]

I've seen nothing to make me believe the offense, or offensive line, will be that good. There will be improvements in the areas that Metcalf and Geno were weak in, but their strengths will be missed. The line is impossible to predict. Maybe if we pick up another guard, and everyone stays healthy, we can break top ten. MAYBE. I'll be happy if we make it past the wildcard round.

We drafted all O linemen on roster and an O line gets better with age and continuity. Zabel will solidify the left side with Cross. Lucas is solid. They tried to address center but were snake bitten by Connor Williams and Olu is a good backup. Right guard should be fine if Bradford plays up to his potential. Need a better center

 

[Trackhawk]

It's not a chicken or the egg in this case. Huff aside, Grubb called an offense in a way that made it hard on the oline and easy for the defense.

Symbiotic relationship. We frequently hear the phrase that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this instance, the whole was less than the difference of its parts.

Trash O-line didn't help trash coordinator look any better, and vice versa.

 

[Trackhawk]

We drafted all O linemen on roster and an O line gets better with age and continuity. Zabel will solidify the left side with Cross. Lucas is solid. They tried to address center but were snake bitten by Connor Williams and Olu is a good backup. Right guard should be fine if Bradford plays up to his potential. Need a better center

Agree, but I still don't see how the line goes from 30th (ish) in the league (and still widely predicted to remain there) to a floor of 15th and a ceiling of 7th. That kind of improvement needs the addition of multiple proven, veteran commodities, and/or an extraordinary stroke of luck.

Zabel looks promising, but he's one player, and an unproven one at that. I'm a huge FCS fan, but there is no question the FCS D-lines are a big step behind the top FBS lines, which are, obviously, a big step behind the average NFL D-line.

Zabel will be facing two huge steps ahead of what he has seen before, though he did perform admirably in his only game starting against an FBS opponent, Colorado, who had, arguably, the top defensive line, and one of the top 3 defenses in the Big-12 in that season.

A reasonable goal for this line is in the 15 to 20 range. That would be a remarkable improvement, and it would be consistent with the player and coaching changes we made, and the ongoing maturation of the players who were here before.

Health will be the big question again this year.