The Seahawks Will Remain Relevant

[AROS]

I am of the opinion that this team is not going back to the dark years of the early 90s. Complete and utter irrelevance. Sure, we have to find our next franchise QB (sorry but I do not believe Lock is that person) and yes we still have to build our OL and DL but I truly do not think we are that far off from being a solid playoff team. Keep Lockett and DK, get that running game rolling, solidify that pass rush and we could be in the dance as much as anyone.

Losing Russ was a massive blow that I have not personally recovered from emotionally quite yet but what is done is done. I think this team can still find success even without a once in a generational player like RW3.

I hope Lock is that stop gap to bridge us to the next era of roaring success.

I don't see 7-10 seasons ahead. 9-8, 10-7 type of seasons as we rebuild. Regardless, I am excited to see what this next phase looks like.

 

[Hyak]

Love Russ but honestly it was hard to envision the team as constructed with the GM/HC they have making SB runs. They have one playoff win in the last 5 years and missed the playoffs entirely in 2 of them. Something had to give and Russ declining in terms of efficiency on top of being difficult to work with contract wise tilted it into Russ leaving.

The alternative - siding with Wilson and firing Pete and John? Not sure that's right either long term. In some ways, Wilson is completely delusional babbling on about winning 3 or 4 more SB's and his legacy all of the time. I mean - just shut up and win.

Now personally I think ownership could have opted to blow it all up but I assume that will be left to whomever ends up buying the team from the estate.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I will wait until after the draft and rest of free agency to agree or disagree with you Aros.

But if I'm evaluating the roster on March 21st? This is a 6-7 win team, tops. So far all we've done is brought back some of the same players, signed a couple mid-level free agents with upside and traded away the only player that has kept this underwhelming roster from being a perennial top 10 draft pick franchise for the past 7-8 years.

Again, plenty of time and draft capital to spend on improving the roster with some playmakers.

But now? Err, don't share your optimism.

 

[nanomoz]

This roster looks lie a three-to-five-win unit at the moment, to me. Holes everywhere.

But I'm not being doomgloom man. I'm more than happy to accept a rough year if it means building a well-rounded roster for when this team is actually ready to compete with its next franchise quarterback. I know that Pete and John can't come out and say, "we're probably not going to be very good this year, but watch out in 2023!" I get it.

I really think people should curb their expectations for 2022.

 

[Aircrew]

Agreed. I still believe Pete has a good forumula for winning and, provided they draft well, the Hawks will be a contender again soon. Pete's a good motivator, he'll have the guys overachieving the next 2-3 years while the roster is under construction. They'll be fun to watch.

 

[Jville]

With an unprecedented $44,584,057 eaten up by dead cap charges, this is shaping up to be a post Covid reset year. That figure is currently the league's third highest.

This is going to be a youth and second chance oriented year. The defense is shaping up quickly from the inside out ...... @ DT, ILB and saftey. On offense, the wide receiver corp and tightends already on board look solid. Running backs corp is being put together.

I like change. A lot of new looks in 2022. This year is going to be special in that regard.

Good times

 

[John63]

I see 4-5 wins at best as of now. That could change depending on the rest of FA and the Draft. I don't see us winning any games in the NFC or AFC West. that right there is 10 games. But again there is still more FE and the draft and based on recent past history I don't hold much hope one never knows even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

 

[TwistedHusky]

For the next half-decade we probably end up in the bottom third of the league. IF that is relevant, yes.

But not really. We stopped being relevant the moment we traded our QB (actually the moment we extended our HC)

If you are a Giants or Texans fan, your future might be bleaker than ours.

But otherwise, most teams are going to experience greater success in 5 years, and few will experience the nadir we will when Pete finally is done. In 5 years we will make the Jaguars look like a well run org. We are going to be left with a team of broken down vets, expensive contracts, and gaping holes. It will take a while to dig ourselves out and we likely don't reach even the levels of the past few years for 3-5 years after Pete does go.

So 6-7 wins for a while, shifting to 4-5, then finally 2 or 3 win seasons leaving little behind you can actually rebuild with. The whole thing will have to be torn down and started over from scratch.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

For the next half-decade we probably end up in the bottom third of the league. IF that is relevant, yes.

But not really. We stopped being relevant the moment we traded our QB (actually the moment we extended our HC)

If you are a Giants or Texans fan, your future might be bleaker than ours.

But otherwise, most teams are going to experience greater success in 5 years, and few will experience the nadir we will when Pete finally is done. In 5 years we will make the Jaguars look like a well run org. We are going to be left with a team of broken down vets, expensive contracts, and gaping holes. It will take a while to dig ourselves out and we likely don't reach even the levels of the past few years for 3-5 years after Pete does go.

So 6-7 wins for a while, shifting to 4-5, then finally 2 or 3 win seasons leaving little behind you can actually rebuild with. The whole thing will have to be torn down and started over from scratch.

And he's Mr............................BRIGHTSIDE!!!

j/k. I'm also not bullish on our Hawks, at least until Pete's gone.

But after that? As long as we remain one of the top 5 organizations in the league as far as ownership, facilities and commitment? Then I still have hope that a new coach and/or GM will be hired and do great things.

Translation, as long as there's a commitment to winning from the top down? Then I'm hopeful.

 

[TwistedHusky]

To be fair, if we draft a rookie QB and that turns into at least a QB in the top third of the league?

Then we probably can change the #s to at least be a fringe playoff team.

But

This is the new NFL. Teams without a star QB are NOT relevant.

 

[keasley45]

With the schedule we have this year we could sneeze and get 4 to 5 wins. Just don't see where the gloom is coming from, other than fallout from the Wilson trade or disillusionment with the coach / FO ... and around here that is also to a degree in cases, fueled by the fallout from the Wilson trade.

I agree we need a longterm solution at QB and to shore up our lines. Both of these issues are imminently addressable over the next 2 years
But if we do that... and we have barely entered free agency, let alone the draft, we should at minimum be able to field a respectable team. SB contender, probably not. Playoffs? Outside shot. But next year, we are going into the draft, stacked with picks again. It's just hard for me to see the Hawks squandering the potential capital they have (for 2 years) and current roster talent. And they do have solid talent.

 

[AROS]

I will wait until after the draft and rest of free agency to agree or disagree with you Aros.

But if I'm evaluating the roster on March 21st? This is a 6-7 win team, tops. So far all we've done is brought back some of the same players, signed a couple mid-level free agents with upside and traded away the only player that has kept this underwhelming roster from being a perennial top 10 draft pick franchise for the past 7-8 years.

Again, plenty of time and draft capital to spend on improving the roster with some playmakers.

But now? Err, don't share your optimism.

Yeah I guess I can conceed 6-7 win team for now, especially without that coveted franchise QB. Maybe I am being a touch too optimistic thinking Lock could be that stop gap player, working within the system Pete desires (solid D, solid run game)....I guess we shall see.

 

[keasley45]

And I'd add, what if we do the above AND either Lock turns a corner and plays at a top 12 rate, OR we hit on a top 10 pick Qb that's the future of the franchise? How could we then NOT be right back in the convo for one of the contenders in the NFC?

And it's not as though this FO hasn't been able to secure franchise QB talent in the past... they brought Wilson here. He didn't come galavanting in on a white horse to save the day.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Yeah I guess I can conceed 6-7 win team for now, especially without that coveted franchise QB. Maybe I am being a touch too optimistic thinking Lock could be that stop gap player, working within the system Pete desires (solid D, solid run game)....I guess we shall see.

Well, so far the "solid D" is bringing back a safety coming off a major injury, a LB signing no one's heard of before, and a pretty good DT that came over in the Wilson trade.......and the "solid run game" is a RB that's been healthy like 20% of the time and a center no one's heard of.

Again, early in the off season. But sorry man, so far I haven't been overwhelmed by any moves that tell me we're competitive. So far this off season feels like we're rebuilding and cleaning off all the dead cap we can for 2023.

 

[SonicHawk]

I'm too used to competing to say we're going to run a string of 7-9s for the foreseeable future... but we don't have a franchise QB or stellar defense. Don't have high hopes for '22, but with draft picks and we're not tied to some underperforming top 5 QB, we still have a chance at limiting the bad seasons.

 

[sprhawk73]

I never thought RW would be an elite QB in the NFL. I didn't expect him to win the job. And after PC gave him the nod, I didn't expect him to hold it. So I'm not even trying to anticipate what's to come but clearly PC has some skills in finding formulas to win so it's bound to be more fun than a crap team with elite leaders was.

I don't really think PC has the magical edge of knowing the college players so intimately like he once did so I expect the next couple of seasons to be let downs and his final departure in a couple years. But I doubted him back then too.

 

[TwistedHusky]

I don't see a lot of young raw talent that flashes upside. I see us filling gaps with aging vets or JAGs.

We aren't rebuilding to be a top team. We are plugging holes to tread water.

And some of these moves even look like they will create more holes later.

Plug your favorite top QB in this team and ask if this is a team that wins anything beyond a wildcard. The answer is sure looks like a no. Not sure prime Rodgers could win with this roster, so how can David Locke? (or whateverhisnameis).

The defense is iffy, but we replaced the DC. Maybe it is better? But who on the defense really flashes any kind of amazing potential? 1 guy? 2? if that?

The offense? It is hard to expect it to be better with no QB. But even with a QB, is this going to be an offense that even a top QB could do much with?

This is why just getting a great QB in the draft doesn't really help us. We have holes all over the place. It still seems we might stubbornly insist on trying to play football in a way that no longer is a pathway to success (defense + running the ball). Especially when I don't see the bones of a great team for either of those things. This means we might even be forcing a potentially flawed philosophy despite not even having the roster to successfully execute it.

The entire roster screams this is an average roster with big holes in it. Carroll can likely steer it to 6-8 win seasons (6-7 with an occasional 8) But for the most part, the results will trend down and we will slowly get worse over time.

 

[AROS]

See, boy that's a pretty sour way of looking at things. Sure, I have been guilty for being Mr. rose colored glasses over the years but I am hearing so much negativity where I really doubt it's as bleak as you say Twisted. I mean my goodness, there is some real talent on this roster that can succeed. Gee, ya think other teams might like Lockett or DK on their roster for starters? I mean come on. Sure the OL is meh, the DL is meh, I get we have a lot to be desired but there is still real talent on this roster that can make some noise. I just don't buy into the mindset that we are a total throw away roster and needing to rebuild from the studs up.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Aros,
Things are rarely as bad as you fear or as good as you hope. That makes sense but I would argue that my greatest fear is that the team is so stripped down when Pete leaves/steps down that we will be a 3rd or 4th tier destination...only getting retreads and unproven, less promising or less full resume options for HC & GM.

What Pete does from here on out hardly matters because we are just killing time until the rebuild. What matters in that killing time is that the obligations we enter into now that need to be paid later.

I would rather the complete rebuild.

Strip it down to the studs and bank tons of draft picks. Use Carroll's process to find high-risk high upside guys and just force it with a boatload of picks we bank & build up over 2-3 years. It won't fix the roster but should give us 3-5 stars to build with as our foundation.

It is the 'half rebuild/half commitment to winning' that I fear. Where we do a lazy grab for both, spend what we have to tread water and look effective - then have little to show for it (or worse, draft debt) to even fix the mess later.

Whether it gets bad or not, the only part to really fear is what kind of coach or GM we get after this one, as well as how long that will take to pan out (or fail if it doesn't)

 

[WarHawks]

Looking strategically over the next couple years, I think the Hawks are rebuilding at just the right time. They will be ascending for the next few years, as the rest of the teams in the NFC West will start declining. The Rams have no cap space, few pics, and will start declining in a year or two. Arizona will be in the mix for a while, but Murray hasn't proven himself a champion yet. And the Niners aren't that far off from the Hawks, in that their QB situation isn't great either. Lots to be hopeful and excited about. Realistically, I believe the Hawks will be back in the SB in the next 3-5 years if they draft well and get the right QB.