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

[Appyhawk]

Condotta posted some nice views of practice 2 on X that you might find enjoyable.

MSN

 

[toffee]

Condotta posted some nice views of practice 2 on X that you might find enjoyable.

MSN

Good news just keeps coming in, I am readjusting my win total to 14.

 

[Hotchy]

Good news just keeps coming in, I am readjusting my win total to 14.

Lol, bro ......you're setting yourself up for smashing your TV. Keep your expectations modest and be pleasantly surprised. Im just hoping we make the playoffs. That to me would be a successful season.

 

[cymatica]

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

Yeah it's symbiotic, but claiming the oline was just trash and projecting that onto this season misses the boat. Oline was on 3rd string RT, lost the center, and very inexperienced at RG. Grubb would then call games like he had a top 5 unit, he didn't even adjust for Howell. An injured and young Oline was left hanging out to dry. An Oline in a season like that needed it's coaches to step up, instead they made it worse.

The only way I don't see significant improvement is if they get several key injuries.

 

[toffee]

Lol, bro ......you're setting yourself up for smashing your TV. Keep your expectations modest and be pleasantly surprised. Im just hoping we make the playoffs. That to me would be a successful season.

I agree with you, but I can't help it!!! The highs from offseason news just too, well, enjoyable. I am addicted.

 

[hox]

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

Average maybe for a playoff contender. Top 10 generally for a SB winner. 7 out of 10 of the last Super Bowl champions were ranked in the top 10, with several in the top 5 or #1.

If average OL, you better have a top 5 defense or top 5 QB for any realistic chance of winning a championship.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Average maybe for a playoff contender. Top 10 generally for a SB winner. 7 out of 10 of the last Super Bowl champions were ranked in the top 10, with several in the top 5 or #1.

If average OL, you better have a top 5 defense or top 5 QB for any realistic chance of winning a championship.

Myth.

 

[hox]

Myth.

Facts based on the last 10 champions.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Facts based on the last 10 champions.

And I'm sure QB quality has nothing to do with that stat at all.

 

[hox]

And I'm sure QB quality has nothing to do with that stat at all.

Sure it does, but Jalen Hurts is not elite. That #1 OL and defense helped a lot.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Sure it does, but Jalen Hurts is not elite. That #1 OL and defense helped a lot.

It's one way to win. Not the only way.

People keep throwing the "last 10 champions" yardstick around. I think that's really, reaaalllyy convenient to cut it off there given the fact that TWELVE champions ago, there was a team that won the Super Bowl with the #32 ranked team in Adjusted Sack Rate. Literally #32. And people on this board ought to know all about that, because that was the Seahawks.

Teams with average and even bad O-lines have been getting into the playoffs for twenty years. You've also had teams with lines that people thought were good suddenly looking bad when the QB changed, and vice versa.

But people would rather the O-line be more important than it is, because in their mind it's easier to build a good OL than it is to luck out drafting a good QB. So the OL needing to be top 10 is one of the most enduring urban legends among NFL fans. Truth is, it hasn't been that important since the late 90s.

It's why, when Seattle fails to deliver on expectations this year (probably a playoff team but I don't expect a Super Bowl), I won't be blaming the OL.

 

[hox]

It's one way to win. Not the only way.

People keep throwing the "last 10 champions" yardstick around. I think that's really, reaaalllyy convenient to cut it off there given the fact that TWELVE champions ago, there was a team that won the Super Bowl with the #32 ranked team in Adjusted Sack Rate. Literally #32. And people on this board ought to know all about that, because that was the Seahawks.

Teams with average and even bad O-lines have been getting into the playoffs for twenty years. You've also had teams with lines that people thought were good suddenly looking bad when the QB changed, and vice versa.

But people would rather the O-line be more important than it is, because in their mind it's easier to build a good OL than it is to luck out drafting a good QB. So the OL needing to be top 10 is one of the most enduring urban legends among NFL fans. Truth is, it hasn't been that important since the late 90s.

It's why, when Seattle fails to deliver on expectations this year (probably a playoff team but I don't expect a Super Bowl), I won't be blaming the OL.

I'm basing it on the most recent and relevant data set. The game is constantly evolving. Pass heavy offenses for example were thriving after rule changes, but now it's trending back towards strong run game and defense.

The ability to move the ball via passing or running is just so much easier with a strong OL. To me, the trenches are foundational. It makes everything else work.

Again if you don't have a strong OL, you have to have an elite defense like that team from 12 years ago. That team was an extreme outlier. Legendary RB and a mobile/elusive QB that could mitigate the pass rush. That formula isn't easy to replicate. Basically, playing the game on hard mode.

Agree there are different paths to a championship. Having an average OL usually won't get you there.

 

[HagFaithful]

Morale is low, expectations are lower. We've been bamboozled.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Yep. After one game, it's over. Fire everyone. Everything sucks.