| 20 July 2010
Hey guys. BillT here. I've gotten some e-mails from a few Addicts who made their pleas for me to come back and write again and I just can't ignore the fact that some of you value what I have to say so I'm going to try and ease back into it if you all want me to. I'm not really wanting to jump back in to writing with daily articles but probably like I started out on SA with, maybe a weekly piece for now and we'll see how everything progresses as time passes.
I've been thinking about the team and how ready they are to compete under new coach Pete Carroll. There have been some flashes shown in OTA's and other off-season activities that say the team is ready to get back on track as a contender first in the NFC West and then against the rest of the league at large. After the last couple of years, we the fans are certainly ready to swallow the Pete Carroll kool aid and believe that he can get our beloved team back to at the very least making a good showing on the field and battling until the final whistle like it used to be in the Holmgren years before the team fell apart and needed a total rebuild.
Right now, we have no way to gauge how good our team is likely to be given that we have no way to know how the new schemes and the coaches behind them will stack up to other franchises in the league once we start playing someone besides ourselves. Training camp will give us a glimpse of our talent once the pads are on and we see how they perform when they can follow through with their hits and blocks and it's not left up to the imagination what would have happened on a particular play if it had been allowed to go through to completion while the team trained in shorts during the OTA's. It's always interesting in training camp to see who all of a sudden becomes visible and who disappears once the hitting starts. Sometimes the "stars" of the OTA's become invisible and the players you wonder why you didn't hear anything from become the ones making all the plays and getting all the press. It's an exciting time of year and the beginning of the real deal. Read more.......Here's a three things I think we really need to know if we want to accurately judge whether our team is ready to compete yet or is still in just the beginning of the rebuilding phase or is somewhere in-between. I think the time is ripe for some discussion of these topics which hopefully will be answered in part during the coming weeks as the Seahawks go to training camp.
1) Is Pete Carroll on a long term building plan or is he ready and willing to commit whatever it takes to try and win this year even if it may not be in the long range interest of the team?
Most of the moves Pete has made has been to set up competition among the various factions of the team in an effort to push the best players to be all they can be. He certainly seems to be looking towards the future and has passed up older players who may have been a one or two year fix with the exception of Hamilton and Milloy who were brought in to be mentors to two of our three top draft choices. I think that while he intends to compete for the West title and beyond with what he has, he's not necessarily pulling out all the stops to make this year an all out push to win the championship as opposed to setting the team up to grow into the role of perennial contender by bringing in younger talent to compete and trying to find a few gems in the rough in the process. He has to know there will be some rookie mistakes and inexperience in general to contend with but is willing to live with that in order to get his young talent on the field and get them valuable game experience this season. That will serve them well down the road when they get the rest of the team in place and make a focused push to win at all costs. I think this season is one where they will manage their talent with an eye on the future when they will make winning the only thing.
2) Can Russell Okung make a statement as a rookie from the left tackle position and can Ben Hamilton mentor him like he did Ryan Clady in Denver? Secondly, Can Gibbs draw out the talent we've been waiting to see from Spencer at the center position and the rest of the Seahawks offensive line?
We didn't hear Okung's name called much during the OTA's good or bad and many of us are wondering what's the story. Offensive line play is pretty hard to judge while everyone is in shorts and no one is doing any real blocking. Whether the DE actually would have made it to the QB for a sack is largely a judgement call from the coaches. It's sort of like flag football without the flags. In training camp, we'll finally get a good look at our new prospect and how well he's absorbed what Hamilton could teach him so far. Of course, he's going to get beat from experienced veterans at first but does that only happen once and he learns that lesson or does he have to go through it over and over to master it. That will pretty much tell us what to expect as the season progresses. Spencer being embraced by Gibbs was a surprising thing and all we can hope is that because of his injuries and the different coaching he's received, he's never really had anyone who could utilize his specific set of talents the right way. Gibbs is an acknowledged master of reclaiming players others gave up on and seeing the potential others missed. Spencer certainly seems to be his reclamation project on the Seahawks. I really think that once again, this offense will live or die with the offensive line play. It all starts with the snap and whether Hass has time to let the play unfold and flow as designed or if once again, we're improvising at every turn after being disrupted by the defense. That will all be on the offensive line.
3) Can Pete Carrolls Leo position make up for the lack of a star pass rusher?
We ran out of draft picks and free agent options before we really addressed replacing Kerney as our premiere pass rusher. Some people say that was by design because Carroll prefers using the Leo position to create his pressure on the opposing QB and others claim he's using the Leo because he didn't get the pass rusher he wanted. Either way, how that pans out will be a huge factor on how our overall defense performs this season and in my opinion the key to everything defensive. Can Chris Clemons, Nick Reed, and Aaron Curry get the job done? Will the experiment to offset that with the move of Red Bryant to defensive end on the other side give us enough pressure to allow our defensive backs to hang with opposing receivers and still be able to shut down the run without a lot of situational substitution? The answers to those questions will go a long ways towards determining if our defense will make us proud this year or once again allow opposing no name QB's to sit in the pocket and pick us apart at will. This is Carroll's side of the ball and the area where he boasted upon being hired that he knew his scheme thoroughly and could teach it and would be able to find players who would flourish within it's framework. Now we're going to see how that confidence carries to real players on a real football team in a real NFL game. Bets? Right now, I'm still hanging with Carroll but it's probably more giving him the benefit of the doubt based on his reputation and achievements until I can see it isn't working.
As far as the rest of the team goes, I actually think we're in pretty good shape as long as the offensive and defensive lines can produce a good effort.
I know some of you think our receivers are in need of a star number 1 player to set them off but I think the problem has been not enough time for plays to develop and poor scheming rather than a real lack of talent. We have young talent in Butler and Tate and a proven veteran in Housh. That's three of our probable five spots right there and the players fighting for the last two or possibly three spots include some pretty good players although some with issues. Adding Branch, Obomanu, and Williams among others could form a pretty powerful receiving corps if injury doesn't change the outlook and Williams stays committed to resurrecting his career. One of the telling signs that Carroll is looking towards the future more than making an all out assault on the title this year is the very fact they didn't go after Vincent Jackson from the Chargers which is something you do when you are gearing up for a shot at the title. I think he might prefer that Butler and Tate get more playing time and therefore gain valuable experience this season that will carry forward as the team matures. I think if the offensive line gives Hass time to throw, our receivers will do just fine this year. You have to consider that Carlson should be in the mix this year more than last year and that will be a big boost to the receivers.
The running back situation is another one where some fans want us to bring in a big bruiser to compliment our smaller backs. This is the same story as the receivers. Many have called for a back who can get yards on his own regardless of blocking but once again, you're looking for a very special and elite back who can do that and those are rare and hard to get your hands on. I'd rather have the running game the Denver Bronco's had where their ZBS allowed them to bring in average backs who would then get the job done. I hope Gibbs can get that whole thing going here in Seattle because it's much easier to find average backs as well as ZBS linemen in later rounds and maintain your running game that way than to always be looking for that elite back or elite offensive linemen (except for left tackle) in the first round. Once again, if our offensive line doesn't suck, I think our running game won't either with what we have.
Our defensive backfield should take a big turn for the better if not forced to hang with NFL caliber receivers for over 2 or 3 seconds again this year. Milloy, Adams, Babineaux, Chancellor, Thomas, Thurmond, Trufant, Wilson, and Jennings make for a squad that features veteran depth, players entering their prime, and new up and comers who will challenge to find playing time. The affinity shown for Jennings is a bit of a surprise but as one shrewd fan observed here on SA recently, Kelly really only had one real bad year. He was heralded as having had a pretty good rookie year and played pretty well last year in a dysfunctional defense. If Pete can draw his talent out and make it useful to the team, who are we to bitch and moan about that any more than about Gibbs resurrecting Spencer's usefulness to the team? Not wanting to sound like a broken record but once again, the defensive backfield's performance will depend hugely on the performance of the front seven. Good play up front should translate into good play from our defensive backs.
I think we're in the best shape of any team in the West when it comes to tight end and quarterback. Hass is the wily veteran of the West now and Carlson entering his third year and with good backup behind him to block and man the other half of the double tight end sets, should emerge as a dangerous target down the middle and stretch the field for Seattle this year and just add spice to the receivers. Both positions will rely heavily on the offensive line to put them in position to succeed. If Hasselbeck is given the time to run the offensive plays as drawn, he can dissect any defense given that Bates has a good selection of plays to run. If Carlson doesn't have to remain on the line as an extra blocker, he'll be out in the pattern and making life difficult for opposing linebackers. Again, we're in great shape if the offensive line produces (yeah, I know, broken record).
Special teams should be a strong point. Definately our kicking and punting game will be top drawer with our coverage and return teams the wild cards to be determined. It will be interesting to see what kind of emphasis Carroll puts on special teams and the amount of time he devotes to it at training camp. With all the competition for positions, I have to believe that special teams will be staffed by eager young players wanting to make their mark on the team and that should translate into good special teams play in general.
So, are the Seahawks ready for war? I'm not sure we can answer that yet but there has been an abundance of enthusiam so far for Pete Carroll's philosophy of creating competition at every level and that makes every day at practice like war. Guys from USC used to say the practices were harder than the actual games. That can only help prepare the team to go into real battle as the season arrives and force each and every player to be the best player he can be. With Seahawk players going to war every practice fighting for their jobs or to earn a place on the team, the real thing shouldn't come as any big change when game time arrives. The Seahawks should be well prepared to go out and be aggressive and fight like hell. That's half the battle right there.
As always, I'm optimistic about the new regime and how it's going about rebuilding the team. I fully expect to see a competative team this year even if it doesn't lead to a lot of wins. In fact, if the offensive line and defensive front seven perform decently, I really believe the 49er fans and Cardinal fans may be in for a bit of a shock given that the division has pretty much been handed to them to fight over for the title by almost everyone who has written about the West so far. At the very least, I doubt the team will roll over and quit on Carroll like they did last year regardless of what happens. I think they will be trying their damndest to win every game and get to the Super Bowl but underlying it all will be the notion that this is the year to get a lot of young players some playing time and boost their maturity level. Next year and definitely by 2012, this team will be tightly focused on winning all the way to the top and younger players will have to get their experience as they earn it because Pete will be coaching only for the win. This year, regardless of what he says, I think he coaches to get the team gelled and on the same page ready to take the next step. Watch for rookie starters at left tackle, safety, and possibly wide receiver and/or cornerback as the year progresses.
Please feel welcome to post your observations and comments. I wrote this to be a base for us to get discussion going about the season we're about to embark upon. Although it's too soon to draw any conclusions, I'm sure lots of you have opinions on how things have gone so far and how the season looks at this point in time. I'll be on vacation for the next three weeks but I'll try and get another article in somewhere along the line.
Happy training camp everyone!
Hasta,
BillT
written by mmf, July 20, 2010
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written by MontanaMike, July 20, 2010
We might not get there this year but we're heading in a good direction.
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written by tomandrachelle, July 20, 2010
At the start of this article you state that you will "Ease back into it if we ALL want you to". Bill your not going to please every one big guy. So stop trying. There are people out there that just love to hate. So let them hate. I would consider these people the jerks of the world. Personally I love your articles. Keep up the good work. if you get critisism from others, review it, consider it, and apply it if it is valid. Other wise let it go man. I am glad to see that your came back to SA!! your insight was missed. I also liked seeing the longer posts! Welcome back.
Tom
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written by JapanHawk, July 20, 2010
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written by HawksfanMSVL, July 20, 2010
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written by SueHawk, July 20, 2010
As for content, I think you are right on with this one. Pete will do what he can to win now but not at the expense of the future. He knows that's where our real hopes lie. I also agree that our talent will hold if our lines hold. I think this team will surprise a lot of folks. We will all have to grit our teeth from time to time as we watch rookie mistakes but, i also think we will find ourselves grinning from ear to ear as we watch this team come together with some spectacular plays as well. Go 'Hawks!
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written by JuiceMcGoose, July 21, 2010
All I wanted at the end of last season was a team that was fun to watch and had a chance to win. We should have that baring injuries.
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written by Dale Little, July 21, 2010
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written by S.TTBM, July 21, 2010
I agree with a commenter: you cant please all the people all the time. As long as you state the reasons for your conclusion, and value everyone's opinion (as long as its stated fairly and courteously), then dont worry if the Troll's sling insults. Dont allow it to affect your health. Even the Seahawks, the greatest team on the planet, arent worth that.
1) Im not sure Caroll has to sacrifice the future to win now. He seems to have done a remarkable job building a talented team that fits his scheme. Of course, time will tell--no pads yet. Some coaches sacrifice the future to win now, while others sacrifice a few seasons to rebuild utterly--Holmgren for instance. I dont see that Caroll and Schneider are doing either. So far, they seem to have done a bang-up job at a one-year rebuild that also sets them up perfectly for the future.
2) Okung and Seattle are lucky: all he has to do is be decent and stay healthy to be leaps and bounds better than what we've had at LT for the last couple years. Spencer is a huge question mark. Personally, I think its a huge mistake to put him back at C just because of his size. He's football stupid, and he's shown no sign of figuring it out. Meanwhile, we have Unger, who while small for a C, is a natural at it and is football brilliant. Of course, Caroll and Schneider know far more than I, and have access to game tape that isolates both players. I just hope they arent falling into the same old trap of evaluating players too heavily on measurables, as oppposed to evaluating based on performance. If they stuck with the old school, Forsett for instance, would rarely see the field.
3) Big question; Can the Leo scheme make our pass rush better? Enough better to help us win? I believe so. Clemons had 11 sacks his rookie year. Reed shows immense promise, and the leo position seems perfect for his skill set. Foley as well.
The recievers look fine, just not great. A real number one would be great, but we have to wait another year for that. Meanwhile Williams is showing great potential and could be the answer to all our prayers. Tate is a fine addition, and Housh is a fine player. With Branch for depth, and Butler hopefully improving, we are ok.
The run game, same thing. But I dont think a bruiser back would be that hard to find. An all-around back like Ryan Matthews is costly to find, but not a straight bruiser. Dont know why we failed to add one.
I too feel Matt will be great for us. As long as the line plays ok. So big question mark there.
Plus, will Bates' offense click here, and will DC Bradley live up to the potential his D showed at times last year, as well as improve thier consistency?
I fully expect Jerry Gray and Ken Norton to VASTLY improve their squads. Now its up to the DC and the line coaches to drag this talented team out of the muck.
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written by Doug Hanson, July 21, 2010
Obviously the line play will dictate our success this year, and I have always thought that one aspect was the most important to a teams success. Kinda the domino effect, good line=more time for=RB's, to hit a hole=QB, to track down the open WR=WR's to finish their routes to become the open man. It creates a synergy where every other function is allowed to be better by virture of additional time and space to work with.
The difference between an improved line vs. any other positional improvement is that the entire team will not benefit across the board. For example, better WR's will still not get the ball if Matty is on his back. Better RB's will not get more yards if a big ass LB has split the gap (ala the infamous Sims wiff) and blows the play up before the RB gets to the line of scrimmage.
This domino effect also applies to the defensive side of the ball. A great cover corner cannot keep up with a good WR if he has all day to run away from him. If the D-line doesn't get any pressure, guess what....
So BIlly, While your new article doesn't really bring anything new to the table, it definately recaps most of what we are all thinking and saying for the last few months.
I look forward to the season beginning, and when things start happening that you will write about that really mean something, for that is when you shine with your insight, intellect, and historic relevance all coming into play.
Welcome back to the fray, you havent missed anything other than the same-o same-o blather of endless personal opinions, all meaningless until the the first drop of blood is spilled with intent to exert domination, as you said, when the war begins...
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written by AuburnHawk, July 21, 2010
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written by nightwulf, July 21, 2010
Thank you for not letting the forces of ignorance, arrogance and bigotry have a cheap victory! Don't let 'em get you down! For every one of the MTV generation folks who can't focus enough to get through a 1000 word article, there's a couple dozen of us old timers who ;earned to get our information through READING, rather than from an interactive DVD...Not everything is better condensed down to a couple bullet points. I, for one, LIKE the in depth articles, and the thought that goes into them, whether I agree completely, of I think you're full of fertilizer in it's raw state...So keep it coming, good buddy!
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written by omar little, July 21, 2010
I really like the direction our D is headed in. All we really need is a stud pass rusher. Easier said than done but still looking good. If Thurmond's leg is fine I think he'll be a great pickup. He would have been a second rounder if healthy.
Our team is fairly young outside of Hamilton and Hasselbeck and we seem to be building a solid team for our next young QB. If we add a Guy like Andrew Luck or Christian Ponder we'll be legit contenders for years to come. Nothing against Matt but we really need to look to the future, especially if we are not 220% sold on Whitehurst. Charlie is the wild card for this team's future. Can he play at a high level? He was a third round pick in a very deep QB class after all.
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written by omar little, July 21, 2010
Apparently Hill had a court date today. PFT has a post on it. I'd put the link but I'm using my Droid.
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written by timisfly, July 22, 2010
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written by TJay Malgesini, July 22, 2010
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written by Don Millard, July 22, 2010
I wonder if anyone can provide insight into PC/USC's success playing morning games on the east coast? I firmly believe it's the time of day and jet lag that have caused the Seahawks so much trouble over the years. Different players, coaches, scemes, and even owners have not ever solved that problem. I wonder if PC has any tricks to try.
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written by SNOOCHIE, July 23, 2010
Thanks
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written by LouieLouie, July 24, 2010
Good article, but I don't know if PC has to make a choice between winning now and rebuilding for the future. It's obvious that whatever he does, he is rebuilding.
The Packers were winning with one of the youngest teams in the NFL. It would be nice if the Hawks could have raided the Packs front office to get that mindset in Seattle. Oh ya; that's what we did.
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written by Tomahawker, July 24, 2010
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written by Tomahawker, July 24, 2010
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written by Eastsideseahawk, July 26, 2010
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written by GnarlyHawk, July 26, 2010
In one BillT post, I've gleaned insight into politics, learned about site readership statistics based on folks that have no data, witnessed self help advice and even been insulted for simeply being born in a specific generation for having an opinion I never expressed. (at the "older generation guy" berrating on the MTV generation. Really? Seriously?
Perhaps we can Do BillT posts in newsletter formats and simply omit comments on them. This site has not been dead b/c of writers, it's been dead, b/c its a football site in July. This will all change shortly.
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written by teaser_rates, July 26, 2010
Who pleaded with BillT to come back anyway? This is not the first time he quit, everyone should have realized that he was going to return soon or later, that is how he rolls.
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