Seahawks oline per ESPN.

[Blitzer88]

It is a miracle we had as good of a year that we did. Seriously, one of the most important parts of the team (O-line) was down for over half the year and we won the freaking Super Bowl. Shows just how good the Defense and the other parts of the Offense were doing to keep things going.

True dat!

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

I think Russell deserves a medal for doing what he did behind the revolving door offensive line this year. Kid took some beatings, but minimized the damage and was never, ever out of a game all year because of it. Not much has been made of him playing injured in the Superbowl, but he did and handled it like a stud. Highly evident in the Gatorade bath at the end. So glad this dude is our QB! Give him, even a healthy version of last years O line and he'll be like Jack the ripper out there!

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

You all just assume that somehow we got lucky in winning the Super Bowl, when practically every playoff team had a better O-line than we did.

Does not Occam's Razor (i.e. simplest explanation is usually correct) imply that maybe, just maybe, the offensive line is not the be-all and end-all of a football team?

But, but, but... I was told the offensive line was the only good thing about the 2005 team!

 

[kigenzun]

You all just assume that somehow we got lucky in winning the Super Bowl, when practically every playoff team had a better O-line than we did.

Does not Occam's Razor (i.e. simplest explanation is usually correct) imply that maybe, just maybe, the offensive line is not the be-all and end-all of a football team?

Even simpler, dare I suggest, that, our Offensive line was actually GOOD! And when I say good, I mean pretty damn good all season, and Grrrrr-8 when it mattered most, in the playoffs vs. Saints and 49ers, and in the Super Bowl vs. the Broncos.

Considering the injuries we suffered SIMULTANEOUSLY at LT, C, and RT, midseason, would have crippled most teams, and ended their SB runs completely... Tom Cable & Pete Carroll outdid themselves to patch together our developmental depth to survive mid-season, get Marshawn 1250+ yards overall, and keep Russell free of injury(relatively) & on the field throughout a hard fought franchise record 13-3 season; all of which then paid off huge dividends in the playoffs, and ultimately yielded up the trophy when everybody was healthy and clicking on all cylinders 8 DEEP!

I say, let's finally set the record straight, reiterating these FACTS straight up in the face of the ESPN experts, (most of whom apparently assume they know our team better than we do... 'cuz after all, they're experts lol) that Occam's Razor suggests... our Offensive Line as a whole (depth/starters/rookies/etc) , as men in the arena fighting their asses off for their very lives, not critics up in the stands eating popcorn and sipping soft drinks, was doing Friggin' Great, under the circumstances. To help win all of these games! I mean 20-3 including preseason and throughout the playoffs? Not too shabby...

Sure, we barely held it together, and at times it got real ugly against Quinn/Smith...

+++IMO the weak link was McQuistan, and tho he tried his little heart out darndest... he was a turnstile at LG/LT, and sadly that is what most people remember.The nasty 1.5 second sacks...+++

But, y'know, we were, if not great... pretty damn good, and if not pretty damn good... Friggin' Good Enough to win the Lombardi trophy. Something no other O-Line, might I remind you, did this season...

last place my ass~!

Our O-Line is First Place! My evidence?
Okung & Breno holding up the NY Times headlines, and Sweezy hugging Pete under a shower of blue and green confetti...

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM ARE WELL-EARNED, DESERVING CHAMPIONS!!! And I will remember their names fondly for the rest of my life. They did it with class, perseverance, and a measure of enduring toughness... NEVER WHINING OR COMPLAINING... throughout mountains and mountains of: adversity, obstacles, and negative media attention BS that would've reduced lesser men to, i don't know... talking heads on ESPN.

*[edited quickly multiple times for spelling and grammar, while cleaning up the entire basement in preperation for furnace man maintenence visit this afternoon]*i.e. please forgive the messiness

 

[volsunghawk]

You all just assume that somehow we got lucky in winning the Super Bowl, when practically every playoff team had a better O-line than we did.

Does not Occam's Razor (i.e. simplest explanation is usually correct) imply that maybe, just maybe, the offensive line is not the be-all and end-all of a football team?

Even simpler, dare I suggest, that, our Offensive line was actually GOOD! And when I say good, I mean pretty darn good all season, and Grrreat when it mattered most, in the playoffs, and Super Bowl.

Considering the injuries we suffered SIMULTANEOUSLY at LT, C, and RT, midseason, would have crippled most teams and ended their SB runs completely, Tom Cable & Pete Carroll outdid themselves to patch together our developmental depth to survive mid-season, get Marshawn 1250+ yards overall, and keep Russell on his feet & on the field...which then paid off huge dividends in the playoffs.

++IMO the weak link was McQuistan, and tho he tried his little heart out darndest... he was a turnstile at LG/LT, and sadly that is what most people remember.++

I say, and must reiterate this FACT straight up in the face of the ESPN experts, who all apparently think they know our team better than we do... ('cuz they watched the games with expert insider knowledge, and we didn't right lol) Occam's Razor suggests... our Offensive Line as a whole (depth/starters/etc) was doing Great!

Sure, we barely held it together, and at times it got real ugly against Quinn/SmithAn... But, y'know, if not great... pretty damn good, and if not pretty damn good... friggin' good enough to keep Marshawn going strong, and to keep Russell on the field to the tune of a record 13-3 record and a deep playoff run, AND completely sack free in winning the Super Bowl and Lombardi trophy. Something no other O-Line, might I remind you, did this season...

last place my ass~!

Our O-Line was First Place... !!! DESERVING CHAMPIONS ALL!!! and did it with persevereance and class, through mountains and mountains of adversity, obstacles, and negative media attention that would've reduced lesser men to, i don't know... talking heads on ESPN.

I admire the spirit of this post.

It's wrong, but I admire the spirit.

 

[Anthony!]

This was originally on Insider and has now been reposted to Football Outsiders:

Here's a fun fact: The Super Bowl champions had an offensive line that finished dead last in both actual sack rate (9.5 percent) and Adjusted Sack Rate, which accounts for down, distance, and opponent.

Makes what RW did that much more amazing.

 

[Anthony!]

Also, we have to ding Russell Wilson for holding onto the ball and taking some inexplicable sacks. There was one he took early in the ATL game that was particularly noticeably awful.

What should he do when there is no one open, he cannot through it away on every play.

 

[Jville]

neither left tackle Russell Okung nor left guard James Carpenter has yet to play a full season in their NFL career, and they've had seven combined shots to do so. Meanwhile, one of the starters who has been able to play a full season at some point, right tackle Breno Giacomini, is an unrestricted free agent, likely to leave for greener pastures.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

.........+++IMO the weak link was McQuistan, and tho he tried his little heart out darndest... he was a turnstile at LG/LT, and sadly that is what most people remember.The nasty 1.5 second sacks...+++......

I do not agree with your entire post, but I do agree with this part when McQ was at LT. He did do somewhat better at LG though that's not exactly raising the bar to a high level.
Unger did not have a good year either. Really hoping for a turnaround in '14 for him.

 

[Penman96]

A few of those sacks are on Russ and the receivers, there were times when Russ suffered some indecision last season, and our receivers weren't getting open. In fact most teams knew they could single cover our receivers, so they had a extra man to help corral Wilson in the pocket and hence get him sacked...

All this changes when we get Harvin on the field (or some other receiver that can scare a defense). We saw that in the SuperBowl.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Bevell.

More like 'injuries'.

Most teams in the league would rank poorly if they lost their starting left tackle, right tackle and center for the length of time Seattle lost Okung, Breno and Unger.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Bevell.

More like 'injuries'.

Most teams in the league would rank poorly if they lost their starting left tackle, right tackle and center for the length of time Seattle lost Okung, Breno and Unger.

He's a Bevell-lover that is just trolling.

 

[Penman96]

If we're blaming coaches - it's Cable we should start with. I however don't believe the coaches were really all to blame for these poor stats. Every player on the offense is somewhat culpable.

 

[OrFan]

This is exactly why I hate stats. A lot of other things figure in.

Wilson was both the cause, and the cure on a lot of the o-line problems. He caused a lot of the sacks himself, he also bailed us and them out big time when we were using backups.

I have not looked at their stats at all, but I'll bet you they have Denver's line listed as being pretty good. They are awful! Manning bails them out with quick releases.

Having faced the defenses we did this last year plays a big part also. Manning and his line didn't face anything near what we did.

This could go on and on, too many variables to try and give a rating. If a team's line works for what they want to do, they are successful.

 

[NorthDallas40oz]

The critical factor here, even more so than talent, is CONTINUITY. Injuries are a bad thing at any position, but from a position group perspective they're the most impactful along the offensive line, because one injury (let alone multiple injuries) can negatively impact the continuity and overall effectiveness of the entire unit. Communication and tandem blocking are cornerstones of any offensive line, and the best O-lines typically represent a whole that is greater than the sum of its individual parts (case in point on the college level: the recent Alabama O-lines) when the 5 individual parts are working cohesively as a single unit. Adding better pieces here and there wouldn't be a bad thing for the Hawks, but the best thing would be simply getting a fully healthy and uninterrupted season out of some sort of combination of Okung, Carpenter, Bowie, Unger, Sweezy, Bailey, et al, so that they can realize their full potential as a unit. If that happens, you'll see sabermetric stats like "Adjusted Sack Rate" look a lot better really quick.

 

[Jville]

:thcoffee:
This offensive line criticism sounds so recycled.

I remember this same discussion back in the 70s with Jimmy Zorn running around in the backfield.

 

[chris98251]

:thcoffee:
This offensive line criticism sounds so recycled.

I remember this same discussion back in the 70s with Jimmy Zorn running around in the backfield.

Yeah, and he ended up with a Theismanish broken leg and was never the same.

 

[chris98251]

We all know it needs improvement, whether it's healthier or better players especially at guard, but consistentcy and continuity is really important.

The upside, if we can meet that even half way how much more dangerous will our running game and passing game be.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Okung has missed more games due to injury than all the other LT's who started for the Seahawks throughout the teams history COMBINED. There's not going to be any continuity in that offensive line so long as he's our LT. We really need to start drafting his replacement. And some guards.

 

[Jville]

:thcoffee:
This offensive line criticism sounds so recycled.

I remember this same discussion back in the 70s with Jimmy Zorn running around in the backfield.

Yeah, and he ended up with a Theismanish broken leg and was never the same.

Theismanish? It wasn't anywhere near that gruesome.