Lack of Oline acquisitions is puzzling

[Seafan]

2014 vs. 2015
Okung = Okung
Carpenter < Britt
Unger/Lewis/LJP ? Nowak
Sweezy = Sweezy
Britt < Gilliam

Overall the '15 line is better than the '14 line.

Carpenter > Britt
Unger/Lewis/LJP > Nowack
Britt = or > Gilliam

Anyone who says they are comfortable with our line as of this moment is fooling themselves.

I was never comfortable with Carpenter and same for Britt last year. Unger wasn't strong but was smart. I think this year the Hawks will have an improved pass blocking line. The run blocking has some real potential and it will depend on their growth week to week.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

It's probably because they've been watching the NFL over the last ten years and realizing that the offensive line has become one of the least crucial positions in football.

 

[theincrediblesok]

I think it was on Brock and Salk recently that I heard a discussion about the dearth of o-line talent coming out of college these days. The theory was that the spread offenses at that level tend to cover up issues with talent and technique with o-linemen, resulting in guys coming into the league who aren't actually that good and/or just aren't coached up as much as they used to be.

Yup I read an article that Tom Cable said it was a huge disservice for the O-linemen who plays in a spread offense

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-in-college-are-a-huge-disservice-to-players/

 

[Seafan]

Anyone else surprised that we have not made any even somewhat significant Oline acquisition this offseason? I still cannot believe we are going into the season with 60% of our line being unproven players. I'm only counting Sweezy and a healthy Okung as proven. Thoughts?

Speaking of Sweezy, this is what he said about another OL:

"I’ll tell you somebody, he’s on the practice squad right now, but Will Pericak. He switched from D-line to O-line. He’s really impressed me how he’s taking on to it and how he’s learning every day. I think down the road he can be something special. Something to keep an eye out for."

 

[Rocket]

I'm confused about the whole fooling yourself thing. Since you, hopefully, know exactly what you're thinking, it's pretty much a lost cause to try to fool yourself.
Here, let's try an experiment. Put up your dukes and try to smack yourself in the face, using only your other arm and hand to block. No ducking !!! I've tried it a lot and I ain't never hit my own face.

YMMV, of course.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Anyone else surprised that we have not made any even somewhat significant Oline acquisition this offseason? I still cannot believe we are going into the season with 60% of our line being unproven players. I'm only counting Sweezy and a healthy Okung as proven. Thoughts?

Speaking of Sweezy, this is what he said about another OL:

"I’ll tell you somebody, he’s on the practice squad right now, but Will Pericak. He switched from D-line to O-line. He’s really impressed me how he’s taking on to it and how he’s learning every day. I think down the road he can be something special. Something to keep an eye out for."

Sweezy needs to shut his damn mouth.











Aint NOBODY safe on the Practice Squad.

 

[Overseasfan]

The OL situation is blown up. They had one terrible game with a line that looked completely different from the one we have now. This current line has been very consistent. They are not great or anything like that but they certainly aint mediocre.

 

[seabowl]

It's probably because they've been watching the NFL over the last ten years and realizing that the offensive line has become one of the least crucial positions in football.

Having a Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson who are probably in the league the 2 best players to have to combat a mediocre line (at best at this point) is our saving grace. OL IMO will almost always be one of the most crucial positions in football. If you can run the ball and control the clock you are wayyyy ahead of the game. My OP was about going into the season with at least 2 payers if not 3 on our OL that have very very little experience and have not shown whether or not they are capable of being long term answers in this league. I'm not saying they needed to make a big splash and sign Mathis but maybe someone that has at the very least played in the league more than 1 year and shown they can be capable.

Maybe I'm the minority here but again IMO OL is very important in most cases to a teams success.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

The current crop of O linemen don't have to be world-beaters, but it would be nice to see Wilson (on a more consistent basis) have more than .5 second to throw the ball this year. We'll see...

 

[Atradees]

I predict the Oline colossally failing.....Then we are forced to make free agent additions. I hope it just doesn't cost us any of our new toys.

Yes, I have faith in the amazing team that has been built here in Seattle. I just think we should have been more serious and not kid ourselves about values. Russell Wilson could possibly be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. I think we would be better served by exploring what additional talents he has or can acquire with great work ethic he has. His (RWs) talents are surely under utilized when there is total chaos laid before him.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Back to Back Super Bowl games w/a weak offensive line. I'll wait to see how it plays out on the field. I suspect it will be pretty rough the first month until they gel.

 

[CodeWarrior]

Speaking of Sweezy, this is what he [Cable] said about another OL:

"I’ll tell you somebody, he’s on the practice squad right now, but Will Pericak. He switched from D-line to O-line. He’s really impressed me how he’s taking on to it and how he’s learning every day. I think down the road he can be something special. Something to keep an eye out for."

Regardless of the validity, what is the point of hyping up or even commenting on a PS player? Seems downright stupid to me.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

With what money? They drafted 3 players for o-line and needed to pay Wilson and Wagner.

This.


They made a run at Mathis, but didn't have the cap room to make it work.

If you haven't noticed, our FO's game plan for the overall cap is to hope Cable can make chicken salad out of chicken crap in order to afford to keep and get free agents at other positions.

 

[nanomoz]

I really believe the coaches thing Gilliam is better at RT than Britt. He might not be quite the run blocker right now, but he's probably more capable in pass protection. And he has the ability to be first rate as a run blocker, he just needs work.

Britt honestly ooks like he'll be all-pro at left guard with more work. So that's a huge upgrade over Carpenter et. al.

And Gilliam got on the field by proving something and having incredible potential.

Nowak is the only cog I'm waving on. That's a cognitive position to play in the NFL with so little work. He's a good enough athlete, and by all accounts a really hard worker. But there will be at least a few rough weeks. At least.

I'm more excited about the line than I have been since Hutch left.

 

[c_hawkbob]

We might see something in the way of a veteran lineman after game one, when they don't have to guarantee the full year salary.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

Give them time. They aren't going to blow anybody away right out of the gate, fair enough. But with enough playing time and having to face our own rather fearsome DL rotation every day in practice will bear fruit sooner or later. Have some faith people!

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

It's probably because they've been watching the NFL over the last ten years and realizing that the offensive line has become one of the least crucial positions in football.

Shaun Alexander likes this post.

And the whole thing's an interesting concept, really. We were basically told straight up we made the '05 Super Bowl because of (and almost only because of) our offensive line. We were told offensive lines were the basis for every good team out there, that great offensive lines can make anybody look good.

And now the paradigm is that offensive lines are one of the least important parts of the game?

Is it that the game has suddenly changed tremendously, or that the line was never as important as people opined it was before? One would think that in this Age of Quarterbacks™, the offensive line would be the end-all, be-all critical cog in an NFL roster.

 

[hawk45]

I really believe the coaches thing Gilliam is better at RT than Britt. He might not be quite the run blocker right now, but he's probably more capable in pass protection. And he has the ability to be first rate as a run blocker, he just needs work.

Britt honestly ooks like he'll be all-pro at left guard with more work. So that's a huge upgrade over Carpenter et. al.

And Gilliam got on the field by proving something and having incredible potential.

Nowak is the only cog I'm waving on. That's a cognitive position to play in the NFL with so little work. He's a good enough athlete, and by all accounts a really hard worker. But there will be at least a few rough weeks. At least.

I'm more excited about the line than I have been since Hutch left.

I have hopes for Britt, but I have a tough time thinking that at this point in Britt's career he is a superior guard to Carpenter's healthy last year. Feels like it may be true down the road but a big stretch for this year.

Sweezy has been the most successful of Cable's projects, and he took years to mature. We're attempting the same strategy at multiple positions on the line now, I don't see how that goes well in year one.

My sincere hope is that everyone remains healthy all year. If that happens, it might offset some of the teething troubles. If Okung takes his annual multi-game powder, it will be ugly.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

It's probably because they've been watching the NFL over the last ten years and realizing that the offensive line has become one of the least crucial positions in football.

Shaun Alexander likes this post.

And the whole thing's an interesting concept, really. We were basically told straight up we made the '05 Super Bowl because of (and almost only because of) our offensive line. We were told offensive lines were the basis for every good team out there, that great offensive lines can make anybody look good.

And now the paradigm is that offensive lines are one of the least important parts of the game?

Is it that the game has suddenly changed tremendously, or that the line was never as important as people opined it was before? One would think that in this Age of Quarterbacks™, the offensive line would be the end-all, be-all critical cog in an NFL roster.

Many conference champions since 2007 have had mediocre to bad offensive lines. Packers, Steelers, Cardinals, Seattle twice. The Colts line was revealed as terrible once Peyton went elsewhere. The Cowboys' line has been consistently great for years. Look how much good it's done them.

As far as '05, Mike Holmgren ran a system that was highly dependent on the offensive line, to a somewhat outstanding degree. Few systems are like that. Seahawks fans assumed that their exception was the rule because all we had to listen to in those days was ignoramuses like Steve Kelley and Jerry Brewer. Also, that offensive line was the best football has ever seen.

Here's how it boils down: a great QB or RB can make their line look good. The reverse is not possible unless your OL is like 2005 Seattle's.

 

[Rocket]

If the o-line has become so unimportant, why do we cough up so much money to Mr. Okung???
It appears that there is a hole in the new theory, eh?