Mark Schlereth tells it how it is

[keasley45]

This is where I was at...I'm not too sure if Huff can "coach up" an NFL O line. Everyone knows it's a much different game from the college ranks.
Schlereth said it himself..."Your LINE COACH is the most important person on the team!!!" ...I just don't understand how they can run out numerous combinations on the O line and they, most times, always look like garbage. I understand you need consistency in who is out there, but I also believe they are NOT being coached properly...and that falls on Huff.

X100000

 

[Rat]

He is playing far and above average in Carolina.

Im not disputing that, I'm saying I doubt he'd be looking as good here. I don't think it's a coincidence that several of their offensive linemen are absolutely killing it this season.

 

[keasley45]

Im not disputing that, I'm saying I doubt he'd be looking as good here. I don't think it's a coincidence that several of their offensive linemen are absolutely killing it this season.

Yup

 

[pittpnthrs]

This board wanted Lewis gone they wanted Pete gone and they absolutely wanted Clint Hurtt gone…
Lewis doing fine, and Hurtt is helping lead the top defense in the league. If Pete wasn’t being paid for this year he would probably be leading some other team to the playoffs.
This board has all the answers…

So Lewis regressed to the point of being let go under Pete. Hurtt had the leagues worst defense for two years running under Pete and you wanted to keep Pete? Glad you have the answers man.

 

[pittpnthrs]

This.

Everybody had labeled him another bust that John missed on because he cant draft lineman.

ITS THE COACHING THATS MAKING THIS LINE LOOK AS BAD AS IT HAS.

And it was OBVIOUSLY the coaching under the last OC (no longer in the NFL) and line coach (not retained).

Are Bradford and his buds at Guard the best in the league? No. But they also arent the worst. And as was shown in the GB highlight reel from Sunday, its not just as simple as our guys not being big enough or quick enough. They are schematically outmatched... constantly. They do not function as a complete unit.

Damien Lewis looked just as bad as Bradford after his rookie year. Think about that. The longer he was in Seattle, the worse he got.

The issue is not how Schneider sees the O line or how he values individual positions. His assessment that Guards and Centers are overpaid on average more than other positions isnt at all inaccurate. There are fewer good interior o lineman and therefore, simple supply and demand dictate that a team will have to pay more for no other reason that supply is low.

And not signing Damien Lewis cant be just taken in a vaccum. It was either invest the dollars in Big Cat or at Guard. I think he made the right decision at the time and think his rationale was likely that the brilliant minds of Grubb and Huff could get Bradford, Tomlinson and Haynes to play above their pay grade.

And THAT is the issue with Schneider's stance to date. If you are going to rely on 2nd tier talent at the interior o line spots to overperform, YOU NEED A GREAT COACH TO DO THAT.

Schlereth has said it everytime hes been asked about us - a great coach can take an overall avergae player or unit and get them to excell.

We have taken average players at interior o line (because we had money to spend elsewhere) and hoped coaching could lift them up. Instead, coaching has let the whole thing collapse.

THAT is the problem more than anything else.

I agree with everything you said, but why has Seattle missed with so many Oline coaches and coordinators? We need to start there.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Everyone on this board wanted him gone. (Except me.)

Everyone? That's quite an exaggeration. And that's coming from ME

 

[SeaWolv]

This board wanted Lewis gone they wanted Pete gone and they absolutely wanted Clint Hurtt gone…
Lewis doing fine, and Hurtt is helping lead the top defense in the league. If Pete wasn’t being paid for this year he would probably be leading some other team to the playoffs.
This board has all the answers…

Not that I was clamoring for Hurtt to go but he's not a DC in Philly he's just straight up DL coach and that's his bread and butter.

 

[James in PA]

I mean, what the hell is the problem with Seattle that our o line is a train wreck year in and year out? Is it talent evaluation? Is it player development? Is it coaching? Then you have a team like Philly who loses one of the best centers to ever play the game who was still playing at a very high level and they don't skip a beat. I truly believe we need to bring in outside consultants. Maybe we could hire Schlereth.

 

[Wsumatt1982]

I always liked Schlereth even if I remember him as a Bronco. Very smart dude, knows what he's talking about and was damn good during his playing days

 

[keasley45]

I agree with everything you said, but why has Seattle missed with so many Oline coaches and coordinators? We need to start there.

We missed under Pete because he was more concerned with giving guys chances than he was getting the right guy.

We have Huff and Grubb because they fell to us given how late we were in getting Macdonald inked. I get why they did it. The choice was either to pick from a bunch of NFL guys that represented the best of the rest, or gamble on the best college OC / line tandem there was. They chose to go the college route. It remains to be seen whether Huff can cut it. Grubb has shown to be brilliant at times and woefully naive to the NFL game at others.

Hopefully, whater the WL outcome of this season, Mac and John take a thorough accounting of the offensive side of the ball and make sure we have the right people in place next year.

 

[SweepSanFran]

I think there is a point to be made about O-linemen leaving us after they played there way out of Seattle and going to another team and having success. Schlereth knows o-line play and he tells it like it is. But if we look at all the facts surrounding the Hawks, our o-line play has been bad for a long time going back to the days of Cable saying he can turn any player in to a lineman. Drafting guys who were D-lineman and making them play o-line. We have made some bad calls as to our o-line and coaching staff but when they brought in Grubb and Huff I was excited because of how well they had done everywhere they had been with offense and o-line play. Now whether or not that translates to the NFL and having success i dont know but looking at some of the other bonehead calls the Hawks have made in that area over the 20 years I want to find out. Inconsistency in coaching staff kills any kind of momentum that is built along the way. I want to see how we do after a full off season with the same coaches and same team with of course some free agents and draftees and see if they can rite a ship that was completely sunk as far as our o-line play went.

 

[GeekHawk]

Grubb/Huff came into the NFL with their ideas and ran with them for the first half of the season, with mixed results. The bye week came and they got a chance to look at tape in detail, and made some adjustments to their approach for the second half of the season. Again, with mixed results. I firmly believe that no matter the outcome, when this season is over they will both be carefully studying tape of the entire season for the entire off-season and will make changes to everything that didn't work - hopefully the right changes, but at least something based on their baptism of fire this season. That and some personnel changes and I think we'll be MUCH improved next year!

 

[chris98251]

You have to look at this whole season on offense especially as a rookie year, flashes of what can happen but still learning what you have to adjust too to be consistent. Defense is the same way, we have flashes but still need to assemble the whole package and learn together.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

It's going to take at least 2 years. Mid 2025, I can see this team being VERY good.

 

[FrodosFinger]

His takes smell as bad as his stinky poop. Probably has gut rot from all the toradol he took during his playing career hence the nickname “stink”

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Stink was a phenomenal football player. And he's hilarious. And he doesn't care if he hurts feelings or not. One of the best segments on 710 every week.

 

[Ozzy]

This board wanted Lewis gone they wanted Pete gone and they absolutely wanted Clint Hurtt gone…
Lewis doing fine, and Hurtt is helping lead the top defense in the league. If Pete wasn’t being paid for this year he would probably be leading some other team to the playoffs.
This board has all the answers…

lol he could’ve coached this year and his contract with Seattle isn’t stopping him. That was something said to show him respect and give him a little money because of it. It had zero to do with him not coaching. For some strange reason there just wasn’t much interest in Pete.

Now there seems to be some interest in Chicago? Might actually be a good fit for Williams and Pete is great with quarterbacks. Just don’t let him pick his coordinators.

 

[SmokinHawk]

Everyone on this board wanted him gone. (Except me.)

I always thought he was a mauler. I didn't really get the hate, myself.

 

[Ozzy]

I always thought he was a mauler. I didn't really get the hate, myself.

Smokin sighting, glad to see you posting.

 

[calinator]

Schlereth for OL coach. I'm not joking.