Okung Going to the Pro Bowl -- Where Are The Haters Now?

[Polk738]

If he's healthy for a whole season without false starting at least 2x a game then i'll be impressed but untill then.....good for him.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

He is about 100x better than Sowell

A traffic cone is better than Sowell.

 

[ivotuk]

Players tend to get desperate when they are over half way through their NFL life span, and put in the kind of effort in the off season that they should have been putting forth with the team that drafted them.

How many times have we heard late in a players career "I'm in the best shape of my life." "He's in the best shape of his life."

"He's really got the play book down now and is putting forth full effort on the offensive line."

And I'll chit a brick if this one happens "Okung played all 16 regular season games without missing any time."

 

[Jimjones0384]

If he is playing good and healthy after 12 games, then there will be plenty of crow to eat.

Til' then, meh.

Not really. He was paid a lot of money, and was unreliable. He is a pro bowl talent, most of us would agree. At a certain point, you have to move on from a player if they are not reliable. The only real predictor of the future, is an examination of past occurrences. He may have success, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a mistake to let him walk. It just seems so right now. They will get this straightened out.

 

[2_0_6]

If he is playing good and healthy after 12 games, then there will be plenty of crow to eat.

Til' then, meh.

Not really. He was paid a lot of money, and was unreliable. He is a pro bowl talent, most of us would agree. At a certain point, you have to move on from a player if they are not reliable. The only real predictor of the future, is an examination of past occurrences. He may have success, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a mistake to let him walk. It just seems so right now. They will get this straightened out.

So if he has an All Pro season for the Ponies, and we roll out Sowell and his penalties for damn near all season you would still be in the camp that it was a wise decision to offer him a one year deal and let him walk?

I for one would eat a plate full of crow if Okung has a great year and is healthy.

 

[gowazzu02]

Only a matter of time until he gets hurt. Guy can't seem to stay healthy.

 

[Overseasfan]

Everyone knows Okung is a top 10 LT when healthy, only problem is that he's not healthy all that often.

If he turns it around and can stay healthy while playing for the Broncos then good for him but with his injury history I completely agree with PCJS for not paying such a risky player a huge amount of money.

 

[DavidSeven]

The whole "injury prone" thing is the same thing everyone said about Unger last year.

Well, Unger played all 16 games, helped Mark Ingram have a career year.

Jimmy Graham suffered a season ending injury.

Okung is playing now. Our 1st round OL hasn't even practiced yet.

You can't predict injuries in football. It is bad sense to base your football decisions on that kind of stuff.

 

[mrt144]

This conversation has made something clear to me:

Some fans hold the downside risk of a player against a player individually while discounting whatever upside that player has over replacement. Nor do they hold the FO accountable for whatever that replacement is no matter how bad.

Okung had various injuries through out his career here in Seattle, yes.
It's not his fault that top to bottom the FO thought they had a viable replacement in Sowell or Webb.

Allow me if you will an analogy to trail mix.

Okung wasn't the best trail mix, he had some carob chips thrown in to an otherwise good mix of nuts and dried fruits.

The FO replaced Okung with an all carob chip mix. And it costs a 1/10 of what the Okung trail mix does. Cause nobody actually likes carob chips.

 

[brimsalabim]

He doesn't move well latterly so protecting a mobile QB wasn't helping him. The Denver system suits his strengths. We played him to his weakness.

 

[Chapow]

Hey, guess who just got a 15 yard personal foul penalty and is now laying on the sidelines with a boo boo when his team needs him on 3rd and 10?

I'll give you a hint, his name starts with an R and ends with an ussell Okung.

 

[mrt144]

I think our most important lineman doesn't even play for the Hawks anymore. The microscope is zoomed in sooooooooo far.

 

[Seahwkgal]

. Last year was the most consistent in his career here, what a coincidence, a contract year.

Okung's most consistent year was his Rookie year. Didn't he start every game that season? Anyways, I still think it was a HUGE mistake letting him go. Also, considering the success of linemen that leave here, maybe it's not the players as much as the system(Cable).

 

[gowazzu02]

This conversation has made something clear to me:

Some fans hold the downside risk of a player against a player individually while discounting whatever upside that player has over replacement. Nor do they hold the FO accountable for whatever that replacement is no matter how bad.

Okung had various injuries through out his career here in Seattle, yes.
It's not his fault that top to bottom the FO thought they had a viable replacement in Sowell or Webb.

Allow me if you will an analogy to trail mix.

Okung wasn't the best trail mix, he had some carob chips thrown in to an otherwise good mix of nuts and dried fruits.

The FO replaced Okung with an all carob chip mix. And it costs a 1/10 of what the Okung trail mix does. Cause nobody actually likes carob chips.

I think Okung wanted out for some reason. He made a point to negotiate his own deal. Signed a stupidly team friendly contract in Denver.

Hey I will alwyas be grateful to big Russ. He was on the most magical team I have ever seen. He helped bring a ship to Seattle. Ill always have love for him, Giacamini, Carp and Sweezy too.

 

[IndyHawk]

The whole "injury prone" thing is the same thing everyone said about Unger last year.

Well, Unger played all 16 games, helped Mark Ingram have a career year.

Jimmy Graham suffered a season ending injury.

Okung is playing now. Our 1st round OL hasn't even practiced yet.

You can't predict injuries in football. It is bad sense to base your football decisions on that kind of stuff.

Well Unger has been out so far this year yes?It just came along later than normal for him..

 

[Sgt. Largent]

This conversation has made something clear to me:

Some fans hold the downside risk of a player against a player individually while discounting whatever upside that player has over replacement. Nor do they hold the FO accountable for whatever that replacement is no matter how bad..

Not discounting, weighing the pros and cons and deciding whether said player is worth the money they're making, and would ask for in an extension.

Sure we could have kept both Okung and Unger, sign them to nice multi year extensions and crossed our fingers that they stayed healthy and productive.

Both player's history tell us that while good players, have tendencies to miss games.

So Pete and John decided to Walmart the O-line in order to keep players that are AS productive (or more) that don't have that same injury history.

IMO neither is right or wrong, just a hard decision by the FO that had to be made.

I still like the Graham trade, and would have kept Okung for continuity with so many new faces on the line.

 

[gowazzu02]

This conversation has made something clear to me:

Some fans hold the downside risk of a player against a player individually while discounting whatever upside that player has over replacement. Nor do they hold the FO accountable for whatever that replacement is no matter how bad..

Not discounting, weighing the pros and cons and deciding whether said player is worth the money they're making, and would ask for in an extension.

Sure we could have kept both Okung and Unger, sign them to nice multi year extensions and crossed our fingers that they stayed healthy and productive.

Both player's history tell us that while good players, have tendencies to miss games.

So Pete and John decided to Walmart the O-line in order to keep players that are AS productive (or more) that don't have that same injury history.

IMO neither is right or wrong, just a hard decision by the FO that had to be made.

I still like the Graham trade, and would have kept Okung for continuity with so many new faces on the line.

This is a perfect response.

In reality, these are the decisions top teams MUST make. Simply put we cannot keep everyone. We are paying top dollar at QB, WR, TE, 2 LB, 2 CB, SS, FS. We also have third contract guys at DE (yes MB we know its not top dollar)

Facts are facts, we couldn't do all of that and keep Okung, or Sweezy at the numbers they signed.

No ill will, just BIdness.

 

[DavidSeven]

Well Unger has been out so far this year yes?It just came along later than normal for him..

Unger has played 100% of the snaps this season and is projected to start tonight.

 

[IndyHawk]

Ok maybe I was thinking Sweezy

 

[CodeWarrior]

Unger is a stud. Has played in every game for NO since his trade there and they just extended him for three years, $22.2M with $14.3M guaranteed.

Wasn't the word that Seattle was set to release Unger if they weren't able to trade him? I don't have a source on that, was just the scuttlebutt on these boards at the time of the trade.