The Percy Factor

[AROS]

I was out tonight at a local bar visiting friends from out of town. Everybody in our circle knows I'm Mr. Diehard Seahawks Guy so it's always inevitable that I get the "Soooo, about those Hawks..." conversation. You guys know what I'm talking about.

Tonight, the big topic of course was Percy Harvin and how it's basically too bad that we lost Percy because apparently he's our only real shot at the Super Bowl.

:34853_doh:

I had to explain myself to 6 different people how that's not true. That the Seahawks are still very much in the mix for a Championship with or without Percy Harvin. Nobody seemed to buy what I was selling.

That's really a shame because it's the gawddang truth.

 

[Hawknballs]

kinda tired of it myself this team was great and a championship contender before percy got here he was as closed to the reason for the expression "ICING ON THE CAKE" as you could possibly get in the sports world.

 

[BlueTalon]

Back under the radar. I kinda like it.

 

[kearly]

This is why I don't like talking football with casual fans. The Seahawks were riding a wave of hype before the Harvin trade, but people have the memory retention of goldfish, apparently.

Even if Harvin was make or break, Harvin will be back 5 or 6 games before the playoffs start. We didn't get our then #1 WR Djack back until there were 5 games left in 2005. How'd that work out?

If anything, those making a colossal deal out of the Harvin injury really just illustrate how we have a problem with reactionary patterns, group think, and intellectual laziness in society. We also really like to hold strong opinions on stuff we don't know dick about, too.

 

[Sports Hernia]

The "shut up stat" I throw at the uninformed is that over the last 10 games of last season, Seattle averaged OVER 32 points a game, that was WITHOUT Harvin!

 

[seahawksTopGear]

As far as I am concerned the Percy factor is still working to our advantage

First we signed Percy harving in the first days of free agency.
With the hype that got us we signed Avril, Bennet and Winnfield to very friendly contracts. No way we get them at that price without Harvin.
Now seahawks are getting dismissed because he is not here. I was worried about what the overhype was going to do to our players, but I _know_ what getting no respect does for them! this is chip on the shoulder central

If (and that is a big if) he manages to make it back in time for some playoff games that is gravy

 

[slipwax]

They're the same people who'll say they knew the Hawks would go all the way from the very beginning, when the Hawks are looking at a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs

 

[chris98251]

I have tried to say we had a bloody 429 Hemi in a Mustang for a team, someone decided for a safety valve we should add Percy Harvin or Nitrous Oxide because it would be fun.

 

[SeaTown81]

This is why I don't like talking football with casual fans.

Hahahahahah. Thanks, Kip. I needed that laugh.

And I laugh because I agree wholeheartedly. And you could take out "football" from your sentence, and I'd still agree. I hate talking anything with casual followers of whatever it is I'm talking about. That is, unless I too am a casual follower. :mrgreen:

What I'm trying to say is, uh, people be stupid. Like, most of them.

As for the Harvin injury. I'm not gonna lie. It's a bummer. But if I'm forced to find the silver lining, I gotta like the fact that it's brining out the Skip Baylesses out there to cast doubts on the Hawks. If anything, this team thrives off of being doubted and LOVES the underdog role. I was started to get worried that we were getting lavished with too much praise, without having done all that much to deserve it. Bring on the Harvin injury and now we got guys like Tate and Baldwin wanting to show the world why they're not chopped liver. I still want Harvin back ASAP. But until then, I like the fact that this is making the bandwagoners and folks who don't pay attention to this team back off on their praise.

 

[AROS]

I have tried to say we had a bloody 429 Hemi in a Mustang for a team, someone decided for a safety valve we should add Percy Harvin or Nitrous Oxide because it would be fun.

Wow. Trippy. I literally said this tonight:

Me: Think of it this way. The Seahawks are already a top qualifying hot rod flying down the track. Chances are, that hot rod is going to win most races. You add Percy Harvin in to the mix, that's basically Nitrous Oxide. It pushes you over the edge.

Pal: Nitrous Oxide. NOS. I like that! Percy "NOS" Harvin!

 

[AROS]

As for the Harvin injury. I'm not gonna lie. It's a bummer. But if I'm forced to find the silver lining, I gotta like the fact that it's bringing out the Skip Bayless's out there to cast doubts on the Hawks. If anything, this team thrives off of being doubted and LOVES the underdog role. I was started to get worried that we were getting lavished with too much praise, without having done all that much to deserve it. Bring on the Harvin injury and now we got guys like Tate and Baldwin wanting to show the world why they're not chopped liver. I still want Harvin back ASAP. But until then, I like the fact that this is making the bandwagoners and folks who don't pay attention to this team back off on their praise.

I agree. I never like too many lollipops and rainbows with the national media when it comes to our Hawks. Almost makes me nervous (although lets be perfectly honest, a part of us all loves the attention too, paradoxically). One side of us scoffs at any attention we get ("Oh yeah, sure NOW that we have a rock star QB we are NOW on your radar?!?") while the other side craves as much attention as our beloved team can get...After all, this is OUR team and they DESERVE the coverage we crave!

To your point SeaTown...You have to love how our players could give a rip about the media temperature. Hot or cold, they ALL have giant chips on their shoulders and it is those very chips that separate us from most teams.

Read my signature below. Very telling indeed.

 

[sam1313]

It was all planned by PC & JS. They knew this when they hired Percy, but they didn't hire him to do anything but add that nitrous toward the end of the race. They knew he may not last all year, so you save some money and bring him in when it counts. (j/k but you never know) Plus, I agree, he helped us get other talent for cheaper than we would have otherwise.

 

[sam1313]

It was all planned by PC & JS. They knew this when they hired Percy, but they didn't hire him to do anything but add that nitrous toward the end of the race. They knew he may not last all year, so you save some money and bring him in when it counts. (j/k but you never know) Plus, I agree, he helped us get other talent for cheaper than we would have otherwise.

 

[AROS]

Such a good post you had to post it twice!

 

[brimsalabim]

I think not having him affects Lynch more than anyone else. The threat of Harvin in the flats would have spread the D and forced teams to have to take on Beastmode one on one when he carries the ball. I agree The offense should still work fine though and Lynch will still get his.

 

[warden]

Harvin on the field causes the DC to have extreme nightmares. DCs will have a better nights sleep with Harvin on the sidelines. That is the biggest thing that he brings to this team

First and ten with a 3 WR set, what does the safety do? Load up the box to stop Lynch or drop back into coverage to keep an eye on Harvin, oh chit we forgot that Wilson can run too. Throw in a little Rice Tate and Miller we really are going to be difficult to stop. It will be easier without Harvin

On a positive note, there will be a lot less film on how our offense works with Harvin in the line up come playoff time. Hopefully that turns out to oh shit, I didn't see that one coming

 

[Tech Worlds]

After checking my sources and running the numbers I came up with a 95 percent chance of the Hawks winning the Super Bowl with Harvin.

Without Harvin our win probability drops to 94 percent.

I have been over and over them again and again and the numbers don't lie.

 

[dumbrabbit]

If people still aren't sure, ask them if their favorite team is lined up correctly to make a run at the SB better than we are.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Some of the conversations I've had lately with others have pushed the envelope of how "casual" (as defined in this thread - and that's putting it nicely) some talkers seem to be. They might be fans of their teams, but they are not acting as NFL fans when they speak so ignorantly about the Hawks. In those instances, they are merely talkers.

Just this week a couple of guys involved in my boy's youth football league started up a conversation with me and...surprise!, they are clueless about the Hawks. It would likely go in one ear and out the other that they averaged 32 points a game. And get this... both of those guys didn't even know that the Hawks had even traded for Harvin this off-season. This is the mindless sort of 49er-lovin, east coast ignorance in regards to the Seahawks I put up way too much. It's almost unbearable, but only serves to build my loyalty and passion for the Hawks all the more (if that is even possible.) I trust fans get that no matter where they live. But, at least in the NW, one might be more likely to run into at least somewhat knowledgeable Seahawks fans to perhaps somewhat offset the types of encounters like I just described. Anyway, they initially got a concerned look on their face (which was so very satisfying)... until I had to give the updated information that he's on the shelf for awhile.

It's not everyone, of course. The Defense still seems to get no respect. Others seem to think that knowing that SF (same division association) was in the Super Bowl brings all the insight they need to the conversation concerning the Hawks. So, any mention of the Hawks looking like a contender gets an insulting scoff - both about the team and my personal intelligence for daring to suggest such a thing.

So, I was not only disappointed about not getting to watch Harvin from week 1, but also how that might wake up some of these fools since they are at least aware of the type of talent Harvin is on the field. It might be great for the team to fly under the radar without him, but not so much for fans like me where I live. Sure, I can put up with it as a fan as I have their entire existence as a franchise. Fly under the radar all they want. Just while they're doing that... go win a Super bowl to shut the traps of all these scoffers. Otherwise, the Seahawks are not even under the radar as far as the rest of the league's fans are concerned. They're below sea-level and irrelevant. Nothing less than a Super Bowl Championship will even BEGIN to change all that.

Let's Go Hawks!

 

[Largent80]

It is funny as I had a guy say Harvin this and that, and followed that up with Rice being overseas having his knee drained.

I said, well, we have other people on this team that can, and will beat you.