Great long-term offseason so far - thoughts

[TeamoftheCentury]

There's plenty to be excited about long-term.

Very cool that Zach Miller was willing to rework his contract to remain with the team. Michael Bennett is re-signed. Anthony McCoy, S. Hauschka, T. McDaniel, TJack. Super excited about extensions in the works for Thomas and Sherman. Russell Wilson is a special leader and will have this team on top for years to come. Kam Chancellor will continue to (literally) leave his impression on the NFL. Just ask Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, etc. Byron Maxwell has already given us memorable highlights. He hasn't even played a full season as a starter yet.

Pete Carroll telling Peter King in an interview at the NFC coaches breakfast at the league meetings how cool it will be for PerSEA-HAWvin to have a full off-season with Russell Wilson... that they are going to be together. I'm not going to just jump to conclusions and say #11 won't stay healthy next season. Would anyone say that to his face if you got to talk with him? I wouldn't. I don't think you project that on anyone. Yeah, he's dealt health issues. Still, that's no reason say that he will automatically continue to miss time. He could be in a great position now to be healthy enough to play a full season in 2014-15.

This team is still loaded. That hasn't changed. It's going to be interesting to see what additional pieces are added through the draft, etc. Then, to see it all put together. Greg Scruggs has shown us fans enough to know to be excited about what he will likely bring to the team. If they figure out a way to get C. Michael on the field as well? GREAT Off-Season as Super Bowl Champs with a team that was built to withstand this free agency period thanks to how JS/PC set up this team for the long-term.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

Seriously though, now that Clem is gone, can we use some of his former salary to extend Cliff Avril?

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Seriously though, now that Clem is gone, can we use some of his former salary to extend Cliff Avril?

I think this is an excellent idea.

 

[Sully250]

I don't see carp going. He is on his rookie contract and unless he improves may not even make the team bases on who we draft

I will agree Browner was great in 2011 and 2012 but he struggled majorly in 2013. There were so many games where we would blow coverage and end up either getting beat for a big gain or end up giving up a hold or PI call. At one point about half way through the season I think he was like their 4th best CB only ahead of Lane. As for CB`s I was way more disappointed to see Thurmond go especially for only 3.5m. I guess given his past ped use he received a lower value contract.

 

[brimsalabim]

We have some cap room but we haven't addressed any of our needs and we do not have a lot of high draft picks to work with either. I agree with using that cap to lock up ET and or Sherm but I am worried about the safety of our QB.

 

[NYCoug]

Great stuff, TDOT. You a Jays fan by any chance?

One player who is poised to have a big season is Bruce Irvin. He could be under the radar scary good this year lining up as a joker rush player that we thought we might have had him in last year. I see him taking snaps at LEO, strong end and taking zone drops that just frustrate QBs and blocking schemes. Last year was quiet for him but he slowly developed into a very well rounded player from the raw one tool players he was out of the draft.

Agreed 112% right here. A lot of people are overlooking the fact that Bruce wasn't supposed to be able to pick up the NFL game as quickly as he has. He was supposed to be the athletic freak who makes splash plays but often looks lost and gives up big plays as well. Especially after transitioning to LB in only his second year in the league. That hasn't happened. Instead, the coaching staff has been able to get through to him and he actually looks like a disciplined player out there. Yet another tip of the cap to the best coaching staff in the biz.

I'm always a year off with my predictions of player breakouts and I thought that Bruce (and Golden for that matter, who I really think is going to go nuts in Detroit's offense this upcoming season) would have a MONSTER season this past year. Hopefully my tradition of jumping the gun on guys holds true to form and Bruce continues to round out his game, only this time with the production that the team envisioned he could one day achieve.

Agree w/ the OP. This bandwagon needed to be thinned out anyway.

I say any "fans" who start in with "the sky is falling" themed thoughts, should turn in their bandwagon cards immediately. We just won the freaking Superbowl for crying out loud. Get a hold of yourselves.

Sack up and enjoy the ride. This is the good part. We are finally playing with house money after 4 decades at the table.

An early contender for "Post of the Year", no doubt.

 

[TDOTSEAHAWK]

Great stuff, TDOT. You a Jays fan by any chance?

Of course though I was way too hyped up last year for such a dismal season. This is my hangover year.

As for the James Carpenter talk. He of course will play out this year. They said they already made a decision on his 5th year option - which I suspect means he is out the door. This FO is very ready to jettison their mistakes and Carpenter just is not an average NFL player and he has very limited upside. His athleticism is just not at NFL standards - especially not for a zone scheme. His footwork and pass blocking has always been below average despite his flashes in the run game.

As for the offensive line as a whole - remember that guards in our system should never be highly paid players and one of the biggest benefits of our system is not having to draft studs (as with a man blocking scheme - San Francisco for instance or the previous Holmgren/Alexander system). This has always been the case with the ZBS. We tend to pick highly athletic lineman (over road graders) who are good pass blockers.

 

[lsheldon]

One thing to keep in mind, the 15 Million cap number doesn't equate to 15 Million they can spend anyway they want to. They will need about 5 Million of that for the 2014 draft class, and another ~3-4 Million for the practice squad players. That gives them 6-7 Million of available cap to spend somewhere.

I feel good about what they have done so far though. They have made the moves they needed to right away, and resisted over-spending for FA's. The draft is coming up, and I would expect to see quite a few undrafted free agents invited to try out for the team after the draft concludes. They always seem to find a few gems amongst the players who were overlooked in the draft.

 

[TDOTSEAHAWK]

One thing to keep in mind, the 15 Million cap number doesn't equate to 15 Million they can spend anyway they want to. They will need about 5 Million of that for the 2014 draft class, and another ~3-4 Million for the practice squad players. That gives them 6-7 Million of available cap to spend somewhere.

I feel good about what they have done so far though. They have made the moves they needed to right away, and resisted over-spending for FA's. The draft is coming up, and I would expect to see quite a few undrafted free agents invited to try out for the team after the draft concludes. They always seem to find a few gems amongst the players who were overlooked in the draft.

Salary cap doesn't include practice squad players - only the top 51 contracts count against the cap number - same with lower round rookies. Only the 1st and 2nd round picks would probably show up on the cap. Probably less than 2 million for both as well.

 

[RiverDog]

Can some of you guys explain to me why you want Carp gone as of right now?

Seriously, give the dude an effin break.

Carpenter was drafted during the lock-out year, people keep saying he's a bust, but they can't name any other linemen that were remotely quality from 25th pick to Mr. Irrellevent.

Two things Carp has over most of those other linemen you can't name is he's at least starting and still on his original team.

After Tyron Smith, Mike Pouncey, and Nate Solder it was a bad year for offensive lineman in hindsight... do the research.

What do you expect from a 6'5, 330 pound lineman coming off two years of shortened seasons and continuous rehab? For him to magically be in the greatest shape and ready to dominate. I don't think so. Instead he did what most giant players would do baloon in weight to 350.

So not only does he have to work himself back into playing shape, he has to deal with the injury psyche that tends to wall an oft-injured player in fear of getting re-injured which leads to some very tenative hot and cold play.

Him finsishing the entire season without any major drawback is a great mutual win for the Seahawks and for Carpenter.

Then you guys are all grabbing your pitchforks and torches taking rather unwarranted stabs at a player who was finally able to develop on the field and process the next step of his career... you guys are ready to burn a bridge with a player without even understanding the adversity he had to go through in his short career. Or understanding yet being an a-hole about otherwise.

The Seahawks ARE NOT GOING TO CUT HIM. At least NOT in this moment of time. They most likely will however encourage James Carpenter to use his first true off-season that is rehab-free, surgery-free, lock-out and really commit to his health and fitness.

They'll likely give him a weight target and a body fat target, they'll tell him to work on his footwork and endurance basically get his athleticism at an all time high as best as he can basically slimmer, stronger, faster and more flexible.

They'll push him throughout OTAs and TC and tell him to compete and use his contract year as leverage to get his 100% effort if not more.

And James Carpenter will either put in the work that is asked and expected of him and if he doesn't the Seahawks will then look to cut him.

But looking at the positive outlook is just more rewarding and a healthier James Carpenter at a lean 315-320 pounds sandwiched between a hopefully healthy Okung and Unger just sounds like a dominant left side.

Seahawks win either way I guess... its really up to Carpenter if he wants to win too. We'll see though.

1. Same rationalization used in defense of Aaron Curry. Remember the 2009 draft? Jason Smith. Tyson Jackson. Mark Sanchez. The fact that few of the others in that class have amounted to much does not justify a bad pick, and thinking that Carpenter had the tools to be an NFL offensive tackle is easily the biggest misjudgment of our current regime's tenure (they haven't made many). The fact that there wasn't a lot to choose from doesn't mean we should turn down the chance to have a do over on that selection if one were given.

2. Carpenter never has been in shape. He reported to his first NFL training camp so far out of shape that he couldn't make it through one series without breathing like a vacuum cleaner. I understand that he was a victim of the lockout and was prevented from using team facilities, but the lockout did not excuse is poor conditioning as he still had plenty of access to Gold's Gym. His lack of stamina could very well be the reason why he has a hard time holding onto a starting job and could explain is obvious lack of quickness and footwork. He's a very good point of attack blocker, but can't get out onto the second level and cut off linebackers or throw successful trap blocks. Once a pass rusher gets the slightest angle on him, he's done. He doesn't have the foot quickness to stay inbetween the rusher and the quarterback.

3. The fact that he's still a starter does not speak to his performance as much as it does to the sad state of our offensive line. Paul McQuistran, a journeyman OL that we opted to let go, beat him out and started as many games as Carpenter did. Had Carpenter not been under contract, a rookie contract, there's no way he would still be with this team, and depending on who they bring in here to compete with him, he could very well not only lose his starting position, but a roster spot as well.

Carpenter was drafted as an OT and was a complete bust. His fall back position was OG and he hasn't played well enough to solidify it. Couple that with the busting of Moffitt, Okung's numerous injuries, our failure to sign any significant FA OL's, and our not dedicating anything higher than a 7th round pick in the past two drafts and you have the root cause for our current mess on the OL.

 

[CANHawk]

I can't really agree with the above. Carp's been a road grader. He's a monster in those "and short to go" situations. He's shown some very nice athleticism getting to the second level and plastering a LB. His weakness is pass pro (and it is quite the weakness), but that is a trade off that Cable's been willing to make in the name of being a run first team. Luckily we have a QB who makes having world class pass pro a lesser priority. It might be a possibility that Carp is not retained in the interest of the cap, but i don't really see a situation where Carp doesn't get to finish out his rookie contract.

The Aaron Curry comparison is just looking for something to be dramatic about. Curry was the 4th overall pick. Carp was 26th or something like that. the boom/bust ratio at 26 is quite different than at #4.

 

[RiverDog]

I can't really agree with the above. Carp's been a road grader. He's a monster in those "and short to go" situations. He's shown some very nice athleticism getting to the second level and plastering a LB. His weakness is pass pro (and it is quite the weakness), but that is a trade off that Cable's been willing to make in the name of being a run first team. Luckily we have a QB who makes having world class pass pro a lesser priority. It might be a possibility that Carp is not retained in the interest of the cap, but i don't really see a situation where Carp doesn't get to finish out his rookie contract.

The Aaron Curry comparison is just looking for something to be dramatic about. Curry was the 4th overall pick. Carp was 26th or something like that. the boom/bust ratio at 26 is quite different than at #4.

I haven't seen Carpenter being successful at getting decent blocks on the second level very often. One of the plays that sticks out in my mind is vs. Texas when Brian Cushing stepped right around him and nailed Beast in the hole. He can't or won't get out and cut off pursuit on plays that go away from him, and you never see him more than 5 yards downfield. He is a road grader type blocker, useful in short yardage situations, but his pass blocking is suspect. He's a one dimensional, straight ahead blocker. It shouldn't be very hard to find an upgrade. Heck, we even put Carpenter on the inactive list at least once last season.

I wasn't attempting to compare Curry with Carpenter or a #4 with a #26. My point was that you can't use other team's bad luck with a particular draft class to rationalize a bad pick. A bust is a bust. The success or failure of other team's draft picks is irrelevant to that of our own. It's like convincing yourself that you didn't make such a bad deal on that lemon of a car you bought because none of your neighbors that bought cars in the same year fared any better.

 

[MLOhawks]

Agree with OP. Nothing so far this offseason worries me. We did not lose anyone we can't easily replace and we saved cap space for more important players.