Some random thoughts

[emurri]

What I really liked about Pete and John we they first got here was their ability to think outside the box and build a unique team. They went with tall, big corners and the Leo position and they were able to hit on these guys later in the draft because teams weren’t building their rosters the same way. That all changed with the Seahawks success. Now most teams were drafting and signing those kinds of players and it made it really difficult for the Seahawks to find and complete for those guys.

Now I think we are at another inflection point where outside the box thinking is going to be needed as we rebuild the team. I just don’t know how teams are going to be successful when they are paying their QB 50 million dollars a year. I think if they can rebuild a dominant, nasty defense with a dominant power run game with a QB being a so called game manager that has enough weapons around him that he can be successful in the passing game enough to keep teams honest might just be a recipe for success. It seems that right now the thinking is that you need an elite QB to be successful but what if you can find that guy who can make the throws when needed and does not turn the ball over a bunch and your not asking him to throw 50 TD’s a season but maybe 20? You pair that guy up with a dominant run game and on o-line that can do a decent job of opening lanes and protecting the QB complemented by a nasty, tough defense and you might just have the blue print to be successful and win a Super Bowl or two. And you would be doing that without breaking the bank with an elite quarterback. I think that’s the team Pete envisions. I have been very tough and critical of John and Pete but if they can build a team like this I think we would all be very happy and a lot of people will be eating crow. I just hope they can become trend setters once again.

 

[acer1240]

Geno Smith was serviceable but had some unfortunate interceptions. If I remember correctly 1 of them was due to Tyler deciding to eat field turf rather than finishing his route.

I don't think this team needs a superstar QB to be successful. I'm guessing that they go very heavy on defense in the draft.

 

[Tusc2000]

Geno Smith was serviceable but had some unfortunate interceptions..

Ha ha. You could say same thing about Johnny Manzel, Ryan Leaf, and a whole lot of other QBs who are not fit to play in the NFL. Bottom line is Geno mostly stunk up the field last season, his only success came when he played a poor team and could get into a rhythm, which means Geno's capable of beating the Jets, the Jags, and the Texans and that's about it.

 

[AROS]

Now I think we are at another inflection point where outside the box thinking is going to be needed as we rebuild the team. I just don’t know how teams are going to be successful when they are paying their QB 50 million dollars a year. I think if they can rebuild a dominant, nasty defense with a dominant power run game with a QB being a so called game manager that has enough weapons around him that he can be successful in the passing game enough to keep teams honest might just be a recipe for success. It seems that right now the thinking is that you need an elite QB to be successful but what if you can find that guy who can make the throws when needed and does not turn the ball over a bunch and your not asking him to throw 50 TD’s a season but maybe 20? You pair that guy up with a dominant run game and on o-line that can do a decent job of opening lanes and protecting the QB complemented by a nasty, tough defense and you might just have the blue print to be successful and win a Super Bowl or two.

Sounds to me like Drew Lock could potentially be that QB and this is precisely the system they are looking to employ to have one final shot at a Championship-caliber formula.

 

[nanomoz]

I had more hope that Pete and John had internalized that they're a couple of years away from being a real competitor up until a few days ago.

The contract Quandre got combined with that WTF press conference (they're either liars or delusional) have me questioning that, however.

But I like the Nwosu contract. I wish Sidney Jones's contract was the two-year deal, not Al Woods. Dissly's contract was kind of high, but he must have been getting other offers. That's what I'm telling myself. And he's definitely one of those guys that is seen as a tone setter/leader.

At the very least, they need to draft a QB to compete with Lock. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced Desmond Ridder is the guy. Probably at the end of the first.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Geno Smith was serviceable but had some unfortunate interceptions. If I remember correctly 1 of them was due to Tyler deciding to eat field turf rather than finishing his route.

I don't think this team needs a superstar QB to be successful. I'm guessing that they go very heavy on defense in the draft.

I would not be OK with Smith as our opening day starter, even if we have a good defense and run game.

You can win with that approach in the regular season, but come playoff time you need a QB that can make clutch throws in the 4th quarter, and Geno has proven he's not that guy. Just ask the Titans how that formula works come playoff time with a game manager at QB that can't make clutch throws when you need him to.

If we're rebuilding, I'd rather see what Lock has, or another younger QB that can develop into an above average QB.

You start Geno, you're staring at a 4-5 win season.

 

[TwistedHusky]

I don't put much stock in predraft talent assessments en masse.

Supposedly this isn't a great QB class. So what?

2017 class was supposed to be one of the best for corners in decades. It had 1 very good corner and then a lot of average guys. Some decent safeties, Adams & Baker as examples.

What the 2017 draft WAS great for was RB. Amazing draft for RB, thick in talent. It didn't seem like people were that hyped about the RB class - but in hindsight they should have been.

Now JS has been linked to multiple QBs that turned into studs. So it could be that he has some 6th sense about QBs. The challenge is we have no idea how many QBs he got excited about that turned into nothing. So we know some of the hits, but not the hit rate.

Still that is basically the only hope. JS has to work his magic again and find a QB that will turn into a top tier QB. And we have to hope there is a QB worth taking while we have the early picks.

Issues:

1 - You have to be able to draft him. Allen was still a high pick. It isn't enough to be able to scout and find that guy that will blow up, you have to be in a position to take him.

2 - If you average it out you probably find that a top tier QB only appears in the draft once every 3-5 years. That average skews weird because some years there are 2 or 3 QBs that turn top tier, and some years there is nothing. Remember that guys like Winston and Mayfield were top draft picks. Sure Hebert had guys picked before him but there are years with nothing worth keeping too.

So when you have early draft picks, there need to be QBs you can even pick from worth keeping.

And when you find the right QB, you need to have an early enough draft pick to be in a position to get him.

Somehow we have to time our draft pick opportunity with whatever QB we are scouting while hoping other teams cannot beat us to the front of the line.

 

[kf3339]

I don't buy JS being some type of QB guru that an sense which draft QB's will be great at all. He got lucky with RW in the third and should have seen the weaknesses in his game after the first 4-5 seasons.

It's pretty obvious that QB's that are too short have a much harder time with some WR route trees, which limits their options. RY did well for what he could do, but became to reliant on those throws. That was more and more an issue there last few years.

It will be interesting to see if a new home and coaching mindset can fix some of those issues, but I have my doubts.

 

[Appyhawk]

"while hoping other teams cannot beat us to the front of the line."
That's the place to do our rebuilding, on the lines. Football is football. Win the LOS and you will win a lot of games. Yes, the "skill positions" are also important, but without the lines the ballyhooed "skill positions" fade into also ran performers. Win as a TEAM, not as a bunch of guys with a great QB,

 

[TwistedHusky]

The Rams had a pretty pisspoor OL and LB group. They won a SB.

They did have an exceptional DL but you could make a good argument that they won more because of their secondary than anything else.

They didn't have an elite QB but they had a top tier.

Unless you can get a FA QB though, having great OL/DL probably makes it harder for you to go very far in the playoffs.

If you aspire to become what the Browns are now, that is your model. Not sure it wins you much beyond one playoff game, occasionally.

Remember the Bucs without Tom Brady? They had a decent OL and a very good DL. So what?

The Commanders actually have decent lines, certainly an exceptional DL. They are going nowhere.

Having a great set of lines assures you win just enough not to be able to draft a good QB, keeping you from really ever being a threat unless you get lucky and fall into a QB that falls to a low draft slot.

But the teams that regularly make the playoffs and continually threaten to win in the playoffs? Those all have great QBs. You want to consistently do anything in the playoffs...it is a requisite.

 

[pittpnthrs]

You need a good QB period. Fans will realize that in short time. Game manager type QBs rarely win the big one. Its happened a few times sure, but its rare.

 

[scutterhawk]

Come playoff time you need a QB that can make clutch throws in the 4th quarter, and Geno has proven he's not that guy. Just ask the Titans how that formula works come playoff time with a game manager at QB that can't make clutch throws when you need him to.

If we're rebuilding, I'd rather see what Lock has, or another younger QB that can develop into an above average QB.

This^^ Even the $50,000,000 Rogers choked the Packers out of going deeper into the playoffs, so even if you have a high octane QB it still offers no guarantees.
Back when Wilson first came to Seattle, he had Lynch to help him destroy Defenses, but even with those two, they still needed the Defense that Pete & John assembled to put them over the top.
I believe Brady took a little le$$ so they could surround him with the TEAM talent they needed to compete.
Wilson wanted to do things his way, but he wasn't going to reach that brass ring again without being surrounded by talented players on BOTH sides of the ball.