niveky
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- Joined
- May 1, 2009
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After that loss to Atlanta his rookie year, barely into the tunnel after the game he was already thinking about how great they could be the next year, when they did end up winning the Superbowl. I am under no illusions that I will be able to shake this loss...that final play...in anything less than weeks and probably even months...but I have already been thinking about what lays ahead for this team during the off season.
I am not going to do any speculation about coaching changes and wish lists and things of that nature. The spirit of this thread is to engage in meaningful conversation about what Pete/John can do to improve this roster and where those improvements are needed the most. On the coaching aspect of it i do have one minor thing to say but that will be it. if they do get rid of Bevell and get another guy in there, they need to get a guy who puts a heavier emphasis on execution so that maybe opposing teams can start having more false starts at Century Link than our Seahawks do. Whoever they get as the DC needs to also have a balance of the energy that Pete wants and also the restraint to not make so many dumb defensive penalties like there were at various times this season.
As far as the roster, I still feel it is really stacked all around...the injury bug still got us pretty good late and did keep major contributors out even though Wagner and Chancellor got back to full strength for the playoffs.
In the draft we know that the FO is not going to be reaching and are going to get the best value they can for every pick.
CB--I could see them drafting 2-3 corners depending on value and if there are the types Pete looks for readily available where they pick. I could see it being a tie between this position and WR for the number of rfa's brought in to get a shot to stick to the roster. Lane could use pushing even though he has held up well. Unless he makes huge leaps and bounds this off season I am not comfortable with Simon in that 4th spot at all. Maxwell is almost assuredly gone unless they pull off some kind of miracle with the roster/salary cap that doesn't hurt us down the road. They are really going to need to find as many players at this position as possible and hopefully get some upgrades to depth and possibly a new starter opposite Sherman that is not already on the roster.
WR's-- I would like to see Matthews continue to develop, and hopefully Norwood will make some strides next year. Richardson seemed like he was starting to put everything together and then he was lost at the end of the season. I am looking to see where his progress will be at when preseason comes to a close. I figure they will draft 1-2 WR's if they get someone they want in the right spots and then bring in 2-4 undrafted guys to all compete. I think that we could be looking at Baldwin/Richardson/Matthews/Kearse/and 2-3 others to fill out the rest of the WR core before final cuts.
HB--*getting down on knees and praying*please please please get that extension done with Lynch..provided it doesn't break the bank because of the possibility(and it would be rightfully so) he could feel snubbed by what happened at the end of the Superbowl. Hopefully he does feel the way he stated in his post Superbowl comments and will be willing to haggle out an extension that will work for both sides. If that isn't able to be done I could see them drafting a couple of rb's and bringing in just as many hb rfa's as I figure they will for wr and cb. Turbin has been solid for us, but I also want to see Michael start coming into his own next year even if Lynch is still here, and especially if Lynch is not here.
TE--I think they could draft a tight end this year and they will probably sift through rfa's for the majority of possible depth to push Wilson, McCoy and Helfert. I believe Miller is done. Too much money to be saved given the circumstances. I have loved him as a Hawk, but the injuries and the cap number just won't justify keeping him.
DE-- If I am not mistaken this was the 2nd year of Avril's deal and he will be a free agent this year. if i'm wrong then that would change maybe some of my thoughts. Not being an expert by any means, but watching the d-line play after Avril went out. It seemed like the defense was getting more pressure after Schofield(sp) came into the game. It seemed like after that point the d-line as a whole was getting more pressure at times than they had been before that point. So we have Bennett/Schofield/Scruggs/Irvin situationally/Dobbs. I think they should keep Schofield, look at 1-2 DE in the draft and bring in probably 2-4 rookie free agents like with the WR's.
DT--I think probably they will look at DT if there is anyone there that they just absolutely love that they didn't believe would fall to them. I think with Mebane/Hill/McDaniel/Williams(if he plays another year) that is a good core. Injuries are a concern, especially if Williams retires or if his deal was 1 year and he leaves(don't keep up with that stuff very well lol), they will definitely need more DT depth. I could see them drafting a dt and a couple other rfa's to compete and either push Cohen into securing his place or overtaking him and improving the quality of the depth at that position.
All of the other positions, except quarterback, I think will just be about adding quality depth that may be able to push into starter roles in spots if they work hard enough, and at the least push all the other starters to a higher level of play. If they see players graded out at a high enough level at a certain pick then it won't matter what position they play, but hopefully when those things happen they will be for roster spots that really need to be filled.
I am not going to do any speculation about coaching changes and wish lists and things of that nature. The spirit of this thread is to engage in meaningful conversation about what Pete/John can do to improve this roster and where those improvements are needed the most. On the coaching aspect of it i do have one minor thing to say but that will be it. if they do get rid of Bevell and get another guy in there, they need to get a guy who puts a heavier emphasis on execution so that maybe opposing teams can start having more false starts at Century Link than our Seahawks do. Whoever they get as the DC needs to also have a balance of the energy that Pete wants and also the restraint to not make so many dumb defensive penalties like there were at various times this season.
As far as the roster, I still feel it is really stacked all around...the injury bug still got us pretty good late and did keep major contributors out even though Wagner and Chancellor got back to full strength for the playoffs.
In the draft we know that the FO is not going to be reaching and are going to get the best value they can for every pick.
CB--I could see them drafting 2-3 corners depending on value and if there are the types Pete looks for readily available where they pick. I could see it being a tie between this position and WR for the number of rfa's brought in to get a shot to stick to the roster. Lane could use pushing even though he has held up well. Unless he makes huge leaps and bounds this off season I am not comfortable with Simon in that 4th spot at all. Maxwell is almost assuredly gone unless they pull off some kind of miracle with the roster/salary cap that doesn't hurt us down the road. They are really going to need to find as many players at this position as possible and hopefully get some upgrades to depth and possibly a new starter opposite Sherman that is not already on the roster.
WR's-- I would like to see Matthews continue to develop, and hopefully Norwood will make some strides next year. Richardson seemed like he was starting to put everything together and then he was lost at the end of the season. I am looking to see where his progress will be at when preseason comes to a close. I figure they will draft 1-2 WR's if they get someone they want in the right spots and then bring in 2-4 undrafted guys to all compete. I think that we could be looking at Baldwin/Richardson/Matthews/Kearse/and 2-3 others to fill out the rest of the WR core before final cuts.
HB--*getting down on knees and praying*please please please get that extension done with Lynch..provided it doesn't break the bank because of the possibility(and it would be rightfully so) he could feel snubbed by what happened at the end of the Superbowl. Hopefully he does feel the way he stated in his post Superbowl comments and will be willing to haggle out an extension that will work for both sides. If that isn't able to be done I could see them drafting a couple of rb's and bringing in just as many hb rfa's as I figure they will for wr and cb. Turbin has been solid for us, but I also want to see Michael start coming into his own next year even if Lynch is still here, and especially if Lynch is not here.
TE--I think they could draft a tight end this year and they will probably sift through rfa's for the majority of possible depth to push Wilson, McCoy and Helfert. I believe Miller is done. Too much money to be saved given the circumstances. I have loved him as a Hawk, but the injuries and the cap number just won't justify keeping him.
DE-- If I am not mistaken this was the 2nd year of Avril's deal and he will be a free agent this year. if i'm wrong then that would change maybe some of my thoughts. Not being an expert by any means, but watching the d-line play after Avril went out. It seemed like the defense was getting more pressure after Schofield(sp) came into the game. It seemed like after that point the d-line as a whole was getting more pressure at times than they had been before that point. So we have Bennett/Schofield/Scruggs/Irvin situationally/Dobbs. I think they should keep Schofield, look at 1-2 DE in the draft and bring in probably 2-4 rookie free agents like with the WR's.
DT--I think probably they will look at DT if there is anyone there that they just absolutely love that they didn't believe would fall to them. I think with Mebane/Hill/McDaniel/Williams(if he plays another year) that is a good core. Injuries are a concern, especially if Williams retires or if his deal was 1 year and he leaves(don't keep up with that stuff very well lol), they will definitely need more DT depth. I could see them drafting a dt and a couple other rfa's to compete and either push Cohen into securing his place or overtaking him and improving the quality of the depth at that position.
All of the other positions, except quarterback, I think will just be about adding quality depth that may be able to push into starter roles in spots if they work hard enough, and at the least push all the other starters to a higher level of play. If they see players graded out at a high enough level at a certain pick then it won't matter what position they play, but hopefully when those things happen they will be for roster spots that really need to be filled.
