Do Your Job

[toffee]

I can’t think of one coach or coordinator that they brought in over the last 7-8 years that had any kind of NFL success prior to joining the Hawks. Maybe Cable to some extent but he was more of a castoff. This is probably a result of Pete wanting to control everything and it has cost him.

Greg Olson has decades of experiences both as OC and QB coach.

 

[cymatica]

Crazy, how, we as fans understand that DK is great on deep routes, double moves, third level distance throws, JSN, is great within 20 yards, and Lockett is great at everything but the coaches don’t know how to game plan according to the strengths of the players?

That’s beyond asinine!

It’s elementary play to you players strengths and it’s beyond comprehendible to these coaches….

If you have Marshawn Lynch, you run the ball with him, if you have Randy Moss, you throw the ball to him, if you have Tom Brady, you let him dissect a defense…

These coaches are admitting they don’t know what to do…complete joke of an organization now.

Seahawks aren’t scaring anyone when coaches speak like this…

It's nothing new. After selling the farm for Adams, Pete admitted they were still trying to figure out how to use him.

 

[cymatica]

Olson skillfully worded:

we're still trying to find that combination of plays that benefit the skills of our players, our skill players, and maybe with the wide receivers in the routes that they run, blocking schemes for our running back.

Olson's our QB coach, so he pointed to WR in the routes that they run, haha, finger pointed at WR route schemes, OL run blocking schemes. Both hinted at OC couldn't game plan and play call to maximize our players' strength. What he didn't say was why Geno's regressing, which is his own area of responsibility.

Maybe Geno is regressing because defenses have figured Waldron out and he keeps calling games like he doesn't understand the players he has.

 

[renofox]

The big question is whether we are getting better, getting worse, or just stagnant at this point.

I keep hearing the roster is improving, that we are 'close', but the record and results (ie production from each group) seem to be getting worse. We seem to be better at sacking the QB. Not sure what else we have improved at. But can point out a # of things we are worse at.

Just going by the eye test: HELL NO! WE ARE NOT GETTING BETTER!

This season has been one of the ugliest seasons to watch in a long time. They play ugly football highlighted by mistakes and incompetence. How often do we actually think, after watching a game, "Wow! That sure was a fun game! Players X, Y, and Z looked great out there! This team has a good chance of competing in the playoffs!"

Its been years since I've felt this was a good team, and it's not because the roster has been empty - it's 100% that, just watching the game, you can tell the coaching is so poor that the players don't stand a chance.

I've wanted a serious change to the coaching staff for 5+ years, but it always "meet the new coach, same as the old coach" because the guy in charge of the system has no clue how to design and manage a competitive organization and bring it up to the high standards necessary to compete at the highest level anymore. The environment has changed but he has not.

I'm long past ready for Next Man Up.

 

[toffee]

Maybe Geno is regressing because defenses have figured Waldron out and he keeps calling games like he doesn't understand the players he has.

At this point, I think Waldron is a goner. I would fire him if we don't win tomorrow and allow Olson to take over for the rest of the season.

 

[GemCity]

Pete has made the playoffs 10 of 13 seasons. All he has to do is win one game in the playoffs and he's safe. That's what I'm worried about...

Was just messing around.

He’s definitely one of the most successful coaches in the last decade.

 

[GemCity]

One playoff win since SB49. That might be good enough for some. Not for me. Enough already.

 

[GemCity]

Absolutely.

I forget what loss we had this season where pete came out and said: "We had a good game." I was like WTF are you talking about?! You just LOST!!!

I believe that I've used the statement: "It's CRIMINAL how much talent we have on this team that's getting flushed down the toilet with marginal coaching." And it is.

When I watched Waldron and Hurtt after the loss - I was thinking the EXACT same thing as you posted the other day. Where's the ownership? Where's the red faced pissed off coach who knows they just dropped the ball (literally) emphasizing that they're gonna learn from the turd, and get BETTER at it.

The Hot Tub Time Machine QB tour during the draft pissed me off a little bit too. Great - fly around with your hair back enjoying the QB tour. And then come back with NO QB. WTF was the point of that?

I think Pete might be on the tail end of his career - and gotten even more soft with people - although the 'mystery possible benching of DK' lends itself to the negative of that.

I want a coach who comes out and is like "We're gonna fight for EVERY ******* blade of grass. And if you don't - you're gonna get cut."

Rant off. I hope we win tomorrow. But the namby pamby - everything is sunny days it's just not clicking yet - well I agree, it is December. Put your big boy pants on.

Sorry - it's just been bugging me.

Love it.

No need to apologize. Great post!!

 

[James in PA]

Didn't we win 2 playoff games since SB49: Blair Walsh and at Philly? Still not acceptable by any means.

 

[cymatica]

Was just messing around.

He’s definitely one of the most successful coaches in the last decade.

One of the most successful regular season coaches. He's been a complete failure in the playoffs post 2014.

 

[strohmin]

One of the most successful regular season coaches. He's been a complete failure in the playoffs post 2014.

Yeah every playoff game was either a ugly slopfest of a win or we just werent at all competitive

 

[Maelstrom787]

This quote from QB coach Greg Olson pissed me off. Especially the part I bolded...

"If we all had the answer, you know, we would have solved a lot of it. We're in the problem-solving business as coaches and so we're still trying to find that combination of plays that benefit the skills of our players, our skill players, and maybe with the wide receivers in the routes that they run, blocking schemes for our running back. So we've got to just become more consistent. We've had some good games and we've had some clunkers. So how do we find that consistency that you're looking for as an offense and how do we cater our offense to what fits our players?"

Gee, I don't know coach. Isn't that what YOU guys get paid to do? This is crap that should have been figured out in training camp, not December.

I feel more and more that this team needs a complete regime overhaul with the coaching staff. This team has too much talent to look this poor.

It's really not what he does, though. He's a positional coach. He doesn't call plays or coordinate.

Organizational dynamics are at play here. It would be asinine for a quarterback coach to say anything other than a generic, but true, statement. Clearly defining the question that needs to be answered is the first step, and it does no good to talk about his personal solution to issues in an interview, especially since he's not the coordinator.

I find this answer completely reasonable from his point of view. I think we're just looking for stuff to be pissed about now.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Olson skillfully worded:

we're still trying to find that combination of plays that benefit the skills of our players, our skill players, and maybe with the wide receivers in the routes that they run, blocking schemes for our running back.

Olson's our QB coach, so he pointed to WR in the routes that they run, haha, finger pointed at WR route schemes, OL run blocking schemes. Both hinted at OC couldn't game plan and play call to maximize our players' strength. What he didn't say was why Geno's regressing, which is his own area of responsibility.

I don't get why people would think that the *quarterbacks coach* should've said anything more definitive.

Just put yourselves in their shoes for a second, guys. Please. It makes a lot more sense when you do that. Not every answer can be some ridiculous self-flagellation to please the bloodlust of angsty fans. It's not professionally sound, and this is indeed a profession to these guys.

 

[toffee]

I don't get why people would think that the *quarterbacks coach* should've said anything more definitive.

Just put yourselves in their shoes for a second, guys. Please. It makes a lot more sense when you do that. Not every answer can be some ridiculous self-flagellation to please the bloodlust of angsty fans. It's not professionally sound, and this is indeed a profession to these guys.

or, as a QB coach, he could have said nothing.

 

[AK49Hawk]

The downfall of having talent where the sky really is the limit…

 

[AROS]

It's really not what he does, though. He's a positional coach. He doesn't call plays or coordinate.

Organizational dynamics are at play here. It would be asinine for a quarterback coach to say anything other than a generic, but true, statement. Clearly defining the question that needs to be answered is the first step, and it does no good to talk about his personal solution to issues in an interview, especially since he's not the coordinator.

I find this answer completely reasonable from his point of view. I think we're just looking for stuff to be pissed about now.

Dude. Come on man. I don't care about organizational dynamics. I totally see what you are getting at but to me this is a systemic problem that permeates the coaching culture (even if that means subliminal finger pointing). At best he is offering a generic statement that easily can be misconstrued (which I think is your point), but at worst it sheds a very unflattering light on the collective mindset of the coaching staff. They seem lost, even to the casual fan, they seem stumped to figure out an identity.

That is coaching. That's not fans overreacting. It's a coaching problem.

 

[LastRideOut]

Beyond my control. All I can do is just enjoy the games and once they are concluded, I move on with my life. I'm not young anymore, so the Seahawks don't constitute a significant part of my identity like in years past.

I do think we are close to the end of the PC regime. I just hope JS stays on. After PC is done, it could be worse, or it could be better. Who knows? Life really is too short to worry about these things that have absolutely no bearing in our lives. I hope the Seahawks do well but, shoot, they won a Owl in my lifetime. I'm good. I really am.

At the end of the day, I've got my ATM (Amateur Telescope Making) hobby on the side, beautiful wife + kids, RV'ing, stargazing in the high desert, a career, all that. As long my wife is in this world, life is good for me whether the Seahawks are good any given year or not.

 

[Film12Hawk]

Beyond my control. All I can do is just enjoy the games and once they are concluded, I move on with my life. I'm not young anymore, so the Seahawks don't constitute a significant part of my identity like in years past.

I do think we are close to the end of the PC regime. I just hope JS stays on. After PC is done, it could be worse, or it could be better. Who knows? Life really is too short to worry about these things that have absolutely no bearing in our lives. I hope the Seahawks do well but, shoot, they won a Owl in my lifetime. I'm good. I really am.

At the end of the day, I've got my ATM (Amateur Telescope Making) hobby on the side, beautiful wife + kids, RV'ing, stargazing in the high desert, a career, all that. As long my wife is in this world, life is good for me whether the Seahawks are good any given year or not.

Beautifully and well said. This is really similar to my approach these days. I went through major burnout after the Super Bowl with the Patriots as I became very unhealthy with my obsession to sports. I think it was because of how I used them as an escape from my not so ideal life experiences at the time. I could barely watch football or any sports for a long time. The only exception was the Premier League. It was too much otherwise. Since last year's draft I've been getting more into it again. I really only limit myself to my teams across sports and rarely any other games from other teams. Once the game is over I think about what could've gone differently but move on about an hour later. Then I listen to the one or two sports radio shows I enjoy for a further recap and sparingly discuss things here. It's not my everything anymore.

Life is too short. I instead focus on the things that are more meaningful for me like family, friends, films, art, and learning new things. Currently I'm learning Russian. It's been great fun and a rewarding challenge. It's always better I find to try new things instead of fighting what we can't control.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Dude. Come on man. I don't care about organizational dynamics. I totally see what you are getting at but to me this is a systemic problem that permeates the coaching culture (even if that means subliminal finger pointing). At best he is offering a generic statement that easily can be misconstrued (which I think is your point), but at worst it sheds a very unflattering light on the collective mindset of the coaching staff. They seem lost, even to the casual fan, they seem stumped to figure out an identity.

That is coaching. That's not fans overreacting. It's a coaching problem.

I get where you're coming from as well, but I think he'd be opening himself and his compatriots to some negative outcomes if he'd been brutally honest in a public interview. I've got some background below to explain my reasoning a bit more tactfully than I had originally.

Olson's an old pro who has a varied career with several stops as offensive coordinator in the league. He's been successful in spurts. Runs a healthy amount of PA, ton of experience. He's worked with Waldron before - in fact, he held the same job as Waldron. He was the Rams QB coach in 2017, Waldron was in 2019. Waldron was the pass game coordinator in 2019, as well. (In 2020, he got the QB coach designation removed... which, uh... kinda sounds like a demotion. I didn't know that until now when I was referencing their coaching histories.)

They've got similar offensive ideas, though. Both love 11 personnel at their core, both thrived under McVay and McVay kept keeping them around (Olson only left the staff for a stint as the Raiders OC), etc.

The reason I bring up this previous working relationship is that I think it's fair to assume that Olson came here because he has a decently synergistic rapport with Waldron. He would've assisted elsewhere if not. To me, that allows us to read into the comments as a tacit admission that he knows there are identity issues with the offense. I'm sure Waldron knows this too. To be any more forceful with that admission wouldn't just cause reputational damage to Waldron, it'd implicate every other assistant on the staff, whether above or below Olson. If my team at work had run into performance issues and I'd been put in a position to have to make a statement to an outside source (which wouldn't happen, but let's hypothesize) I wouldn't criticize my company and state my personal issues and fixes for systemic problems - I'd acknowledge what we're focused on solving as a unit to show intent and handle it internally from there.

Criticisms, as well as his personal solutions as an experienced OC currently serving as a lower assistant, should be kept in-house - this is a basic tenet to protect the organization's reputation. The right move for him is just to acknowledge what they want to fix as a collective unit. The nitty gritty can be hashed out in meetings, where it'll actually contribute to change. Sure, he could make a more forceful statement about what they'd like to do to fix the issues, but can he actually speak on behalf of the entire offensive staff when providing his solutions to issues? If he can, what good does it do to provide that information to the media? It'd give the impression of a plan being present, but it could just as easily provide the impression that there's a chemistry issue on staff.

We should probably just assume that these guys, who've devoted their lives to coaching and have had enough success to reach their current stations on merit, do have an idea of what they'd like to do to fix our issues. Whether or not they have the tools, skill, or talent to fix those issues is another question. I'd lean no, but Olson DEFINITELY can't say that.

I like the approach of "we know what our issues are, and we're trying to fix them." It's the best answer a positional coach could give in this situation.

 

[AROS]

Life really is too short to worry about these things that have absolutely no bearing in our lives. I hope the Seahawks do well but, shoot, they won a Owl in my lifetime. I'm good. I really am.

At the end of the day, I've got my ATM (Amateur Telescope Making) hobby on the side, beautiful wife + kids, RV'ing, stargazing in the high desert, a career, all that. As long my wife is in this world, life is good for me whether the Seahawks are good any given year or not.

This is where I am at. My number one bucket list item was to see the Seahawks win a Super Bowl. Hot damn, it happened.

Everything else is gravy. Yes, I am still emotionally invested of course, but I just don't carry the Freak Flag like I used to. I turn on the game and if it even smells like an imminent drubbing I am out. I turn it off, tell my daughter to only text me if something great happens, otherwise me and my girl are off to watch a movie where I am not a nervous nelly or yelling at my TV for 3 hours.

Some would call me a fair-weather fan for not supporting the team live, for 3 hours. Meh. Been there, done that for nearly 40 years. I paid my dues, man. Now it's about enjoying my life, not letting ANYTHING (including the Seahawks) get me down or disproportionality angry for several hours (or days like it used to after a loss).

Like you said, life is too short man. Let it go. Enjoy the ride. Love your Hawks, but if they are sucking balls, let it go. Move on. It's just entertainment.

My fiancé and I recently moved to Astoria, Oregon. Every day we pinch ourselves. We live on the hill overlooking the Columbia River in a 1916 Craftsman that was recently renovated. We feel so blessed. Surrounded by ocean and water. We live in a tourist/vacation town and we keep feeling like we are in a fantastic AirBnB we have to leave soon. Nope. It's our lives now.

G R A T E F U L .

So the Seahawks sucking? Meh. It sucks, don't get me wrong but thank God for the ability to change the channel. There's a trillion other sources of entertainment on the big screen.