Long term QB plan

[RiverDog]

Well, they did upgrade (maybe) at center with Brown, and drafted the Rimington Award winner in Olu.

But I agree, interior guards are still suspect. Hopefully with the center position improved, and year two improvements of the young tackles = much improved O-line.

I don't know if Brown is an improvement or not. He's never won a starting job outright, has bounced around the league and practice squads (the Hawks are his 5th team in 8 years), has been released several times, and has never found a home. But then again, it won't take much of an improvement to exceed Austin Blythe, of whom PFF graded out as one of the worst centers in the league.

Olu has an impressive trophy case, having won not only the Rimmington award, but the Outland trophy as well. And he was all Big 10 and has played a lot of games at center for two different FBS programs.

But with that much hardware and accolades, why did he drop all the way to the 5th round? It's because he has some physical limitations that teams didn't like, isn't a road grader blocker, and struggled against the top DL's, which are going to be the norm rather than the exception when he transitions to the next level.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I don't know if Brown is an improvement or not. He's never won a starting job outright, has bounced around the league and practice squads (the Hawks are his 5th team in 8 years), has been released several times, and has never found a home. But then again, it won't take much of an improvement to exceed Austin Blythe, of whom PFF graded out as one of the worst centers in the league.

Olu has an impressive trophy case, having won not only the Rimmington award, but the Outland trophy as well. And he was all Big 10 and has played a lot of games at center for two different FBS programs.

But with that much hardware and accolades, why did he drop all the way to the 5th round? It's because he has some physical limitations that teams didn't like, isn't a road grader blocker, and struggled against the top DL's, which are going to be the norm rather than the exception when he transitions to the next level.

1. I do think Brown is an upgrade over Blythe. He's much younger, bigger and stronger, and IMO ready to take over a starting center position.

2. The knock on Olu was his lack of quickness and explosion off the line. Too heavy footed to deal with the modern NFL nose tackles and quick burst D-lineman. Especially in run blocking. Allowed penetration.

So IMO he'll take a little longer to develop. But from what I've read and heard, he has ALL the heart, determination and tangibles to develop those weaknesses into strengths.

 

[RiverDog]

1. I do think Brown is an upgrade over Blythe. He's much younger, bigger and stronger, and IMO ready to take over a starting center position.

2. The knock on Olu was his lack of quickness and explosion off the line. Too heavy footed to deal with the modern NFL nose tackles and quick burst D-lineman. Especially in run blocking. Allowed penetration.

So IMO he'll take a little longer to develop. But from what I've read and heard, he has ALL the heart, determination and tangibles to develop those weaknesses into strengths.

I think you're exaggerating just a tad. Blythe turns 31 this month, Brown will be 27 in September, so I wouldn't say that he's "much" younger. Blythe is 6'2" 298, Brown checks in at 6'3", 320, so yea, he's a little bigger, but I don't know if an inch and 22 pounds qualifies as "much."

I do agree that Brown's likely an upgrade and said so earlier, but that's not saying much as Blythe wasn't very good to say the least.

I love Olu's bio. He started out at the Air Force Academy, and they aren't known for bringing in dummies, and he's played for two different FBS programs, meaning that he's probably had to play in different systems. That would seem to indicate that he has some smarts to him, an attribute necessary for the QB of the offensive line.

Hopefully one of those guys works out, but nevertheless, our interior OL is one of the more suspect areas on our team and I was disappointed that we didn't spend very much capital on improving it.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Hopefully one of those guys works out, but nevertheless, our interior OL is one of the more suspect areas on our team and I was disappointed that we didn't spend very much capital on improving it.

Guards are one of the cheapest position groups salary wise, so it's very difficult to get a good one on the free agent market. Because teams just keep extending their good guards, leaving either journeymen or high risk guards that were good, but were cut due to bad injury type situations.

So IMO we should be madder about the mediocre guard draft picks over the past 6-7 years, rather than not spending on guards in free agency.

 

[hawkfan68]

1. I do think Brown is an upgrade over Blythe. He's much younger, bigger and stronger, and IMO ready to take over a starting center position.

2. The knock on Olu was his lack of quickness and explosion off the line. Too heavy footed to deal with the modern NFL nose tackles and quick burst D-lineman. Especially in run blocking. Allowed penetration.

So IMO he'll take a little longer to develop. But from what I've read and heard, he has ALL the heart, determination and tangibles to develop those weaknesses into strengths.

Now that Gabe Jackson has departed, I believe the interior play will improve significantly. Evan Brown can also play guard so if Olu does beat him out, there is a chance he could be in the mix at RG. I'm not sold on Phil Haynes (not skills but health is a huge issue). Plus they drafted Bradford which seems as he's a better fit for what Waldron and Dickerson like in OL. Lewis is not the type they like (they like a more athletic types than maulers). Just my observation.

 

[RiverDog]

Now that Gabe Jackson has departed, I believe the interior play will improve significantly. Evan Brown can also play guard so if Olu does beat him out, there is a chance he could be in the mix at RG. I'm not sold on Phil Haynes (not skills but health is a huge issue). Plus they drafted Bradford which seems as he's a better fit for what Waldron and Dickerson like in OL. Lewis is not the type they like (they like a more athletic types than maulers). Just my observation.

Yeah, looking at the PFF rankings, Gabe graded out as the #60th ranked OG. Haynes wasn't much better, checking in at #56. When you consider how poorly Blythe scored, the #33rd ranked center, it's pretty apparent that we have a huge weakness in the interior OL. At #11 for offensive guards, Lewis was our highest ranked OL relative to his position, according to PFF.

BTW, I signed up for full access to PFF a couple weeks ago, so you'll see me quoting them a lot.

 

[keasley45]

i think the FO played the last two offseasons perfectly WRT to the QB and Oline positions.

I think our O line will be vastly improved this year and become a strength of the team for the next 3 years. That bodes well for Geno and whoever comes in next to replace him.

I see Olu winning the job if not this year, then next, which means Brown will slide to guard. That leaves one spot that doesnt have a sure starter. But the fact that that spot will be bookended by solid players means the degree of difficulty to play the spot well will be lower.

I really think our offense is going to take off this year behind a far better than average starter in Geno and a backfield thats going to put the hurt on opponents.

Geno? As big a year as 2022 was for him, i see 23 as even bigger. Not necessarily from a 'set the league on fire' stats perspective, but simply to solidify himself as the unquestioned, steady captain of the ship. I think he'll do that and in doing so, give us a Rodgers / Love type window to get a guy we really want either next year or the following, and groom him to take over when we're about ready to handover contracts to our (by that time) probowl o'linemen.

 

[Appyhawk]

Dude has like a half of season of good tape. And he gets hurt a lot.

Wrong. Hurt once. I've been on this outstanding player since he was playing in HS. There is no more perfect fit for Seattle than this young man. He does everything very well and has everything we are looking for both as a player and as an individual.

 

[CPHawk]

Wrong. Hurt once. I've been on this outstanding player since he was playing in HS. There is no more perfect fit for Seattle than this young man. He does everything very well and has everything we are looking for both as a player and as an individual.

Wrong? He doesn’t only have a half a season of good play? Dennis Dixon comes to mind when I watch him.

 

[HawkinNY]

With Geno getting up there in age, what do you think the long term plan for a qb is? Free agent pickup, draft, Lock?

Thoughts?

Geno will play until his 44th year. We are all set. Lol

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

R - E - L - A - X

John and Petes goal is to "kick butt everyday" (catch that from episode 2 of Sounds?)

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Does any team have a "long term QB plan?"

I mean, the NFL is a year to year, week to week league. It's not like baseball or hockey where you develop players for years and years before they make the team and contribute.

Maybe 20-30 years ago you had QB's you sat for years and developed into starters. But that era's gone. You win now or you lose your jobs.

So what's the long term QB plan? Geno Smith. Because it's 2023, and long term is win now.