Pete says THIS is the strongest team he has EVER had!!!!

[Marlin Man]

That sure as hell makes me dream of SB again, since Pete has already had TWO SB teams in the past and says this years team is "The strongest ever"!!!!

 

[Laloosh]

He said it could be. Potential is there, the outcome will determine how they rank.

 

[RussB]

I agree , this offense is the best they have ever had and the defense is still as good as ever. All they have to do now is play to their full potential and a superbowl is really possible again.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I'll be convinced when they go 14-2 or 15-1, and win SB 51 44-7. 8)

 

[vin.couve12]

Gotta be careful with this stuff from Pete. He's probably my favorite coach of all time, but he's also ever the enthusiast...almost a hopeless romantic. Not that it's a bad thing 95% of the time, but sometimes he goes a little overboard with things that he says.

He's also not completely ignorant to what he says as it pertains to the confidence of his players, so there's that side of it too.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

To be the best team, we need to improve the run game. We are 1/4 through the regular season and CM is the only one I have been impressed with. Granted, Spiller looked great last week but he is not our future at RB.

 

[NINEster]

Hopefully Marshawn Lynch doesn't hear that quote.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

Where and when did he say this? Link?

 

[Seanhawk]

Where and when did he say this? Link?

He didn't say this. He was asked specifically in the press conference yesterday if this was the best team he had. He responded as Laloosh said...it could be, there's a chance, or something like that.

 

[Seymour]

Cable said last years oline may be the best he's ever coached as well. Might be wise to pump the brakes on the Lombardi celebrations for a few months. :snack:

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Well I'm not a flowers and happiness kind of guy. And I think this is the best team we've ever had.

I had really 3 "We could be really good if" scenarios before the season:

1. OL needed to be functional. It's way more than functional. It's actually looking good at times with a very high probability of getting better in the next six weeks.

2. Pass rush needed to improve. Been harping on this since McDonald left. Well we've doubled our sacks over the first four games last year. And even better, it's coming from a lot of sources, not just Bennett playing lights out. Clark is showing he's no fluke. Marsh is showing his development is bearing fruit. Much better than I actually hoped.

3. Ability to be balanced. Good both offensively and defensively. Good at running or passing. Good at stuffing the run or defending the pass. Just good all across the board. I actually like the fact that we're more balanced now offensively. If a team is bad at defending the pass, then we're passing much more than running. If they're bad against the run, we're running more. We're playing to other teams' weaknesses. Something that we didn't do all the time with Lynch and with a less capable passing game. Our options are greater with Wilson's growth. It's a page straight out of Belichick's handbook.

Those were the three major questions for me. But the cherries on top make it pretty compelling too (Graham, Michael, Chancellor reprising his Azog the Defiler role). About the only smudge on the first month has been Wilson's injury scares. But I'm not seeing the OL as the cause for those.

It's also helped that we're not 2 games behind in division and a first round bye isn't already out of reasonable reach before October. I really like how this team is set up for these next 3 months. It really looks like we have the pieces in place to make a very strong push through the middle of the schedule. And am expecting our annual dominance of November and December.

It's got a 13-3/12-4 vibe to this team. With some good fortune -- maybe more.

 

[nash72]

The defense isnt as good as 2013, the running game isnt as good, and the Oline isnt anywhere nears as good as 2013, so I would say no,

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Pete said this team has the POTENTIAL to be the strongest team he's ever had.

I'd say it's close, maybe the D isn't the ball hawking D that the 2013 D with turnover ratio...........but our offense IMO is better if we can stay healthy. Graham + better and more experienced WR corp and especially Russell now being an elite NFL QB with three more years of experience = POTENTIAL to be better than that team.

But this is the NFL, better doesn't mean anything unless you win the SB. So really this is a conversation for February 6th.

 

[Seymour]

That sure as hell makes me dream of SB again, since Pete has already had TWO SB teams in the past and says this years team is "The strongest ever"!!!!

Just heard the quote, and he did NOT say that anyway. He said there is a chance that it is (big difference) Well guess what??...we all knew that so he really said nothing.

 

[Bobblehead]

I really think the Jets game was a good test for the strength of our team. It was a 10 am game in NY, we came out strong after a hiccup and we ended the game with no doubt. A road win on the East Coast against a team with a very good front defense and against a team that had to be hyped up I'd say was pretty impressive.

 

[LeftHandSmoke]

RW said much the same, back in August

from
http://sportspressnw.com/2222427/2016/t ... ays-wilson

Wilson’s world is like The Lego Movie song: “Everything is awesome!” Nevertheless, when he says that the current team is the most talented of his Seattle tenure that has included two Super Bowl appearances, a note shall deservedly be made.

“We’ve had great teams before, and I can honestly say this is the most competitive, most talented team across the board,” he said Wednesday after practice.

 

[McGruff]

The defense isnt as good as 2013, the running game isnt as good, and the Oline isnt anywhere nears as good as 2013, so I would say no,

I actually think our defense has a good chance of being as good as 2013. The key to both seasons is depth at Cb and depth along the dline . . . and I think we've got both.

As far as running game, Marshawn and the running game in 2013 was wildly inconsistent, and the overall numbers were buoyed by the running of Russell Wilson. Lynch had 8 games with less than 75 yards rushing, and only 3 games over 100.

But the biggest disagreement comes with the OLINE . . . I think this year's is better overall, and especially trending better. Now, there is a shift in emphasis from brute strength running the ball to a more balanced approach. But I think we forget how bad that line was, and how miraculous Wilson and Lynch had to play to get what they got.

For a reminder, here's a review of the lines from 2013 . . . Seattle ranked 27th of 32.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/2013-o ... -rankings/

Stud: With injuries depleting the ranks, it was left to Michael Bowie (+7.1) to lead the team with their highest grade. He may eventually end up at guard (as he was for their recent playoff victory over the Saints) with his run blocking particularly impressive.

Dud: The team has to hope they never, ever have to start Paul McQuistan (-24.8) at left tackle again. It went very badly and he wasn’t much better at guard.

Analysis: An interesting year. Losing Russell Okung hurt but when they did get him on the field his play was a level or three below it’s usual high standard. At center Max Unger had a down year as a variety of combinations on either side of him failed. Essentially, they did enough at times for Marshawn Lynch to make yardage, but this had the feel of an experimental group with the coaches trying to luck into the right combination.

Here's another one written locally . . . http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2014 ... sive-line/

But the injury bug hit the group early in the season, with Okung, Unger and right tackle Breno Giacomini missing extended time with various ailments. Relying heavily on spot starters like guard/tackle Paul McQuistan and young players like tackle Michael Bowie, the unit struggled — and in turn, so did the Hawks’ offense.

After averaging over 161 yards per game on the ground in 2012, the Seahawks averaged fewer than 137 per game in 2013. Wilson — constantly harassed throughout the season — was sacked 44 times, tied for third-worst in the NFL despite his sometimes uncanny ability to escape pressure.

 

[Hawks46]

I think we're really close to 2013 right now and have the potential to get better.

I think the OL will be the best we've had since Wilson has been here. It's easily the best pass blocking OL we've had already, and it can potentially get better. We need to improve run blocking, but I think that comes in time. They are also probably the largest and most athletic OL we've had. Think about it....these are almost all young guys. Britt is in his 1st year at Center, Glowinski is basically in his rookie year of starting. Ifedi is a rookie. Gilliam is in his 2nd year at the position. There's a ton of room for growth.

The defense is deep again. Our pass rush is as good as 2013 and could be better. We're better on the edges, and are really only missing an interior guy like McDonald was. Our secondary depth is really good and I think Shead is every bit as good as Maxwell and maybe better. The run defense is every bit as good. The only thing we're really missing is the turnovers.

The run game is worse, but the passing game is better. We have better WR's. Lockett is better than Kearse was. Baldwin is better than he was in 2013. Graham is better than anyone we had. Richardson is better than our 3rd WR was then. We're down talent at RB (Lynch > Michael/Rawls) but other than that, our skill positions are markedly better and deeper than 2013. We're a much more balanced team offensively than we were in 2013.

 

[LeftHandSmoke]

RW '16 is also going to be even better.

Woohoo!

 

[BlueThunder]

As long as we can avoid the ***CENSORED*** bug, we should only get better... But it could all go to shit if our guys get ***CENSORED***... Especially if Russ gets ***CENSORED***! Or the O-line... But, that's not gonna happen, right? :evil:

See? Jinx avoided!

(see how stupid that is?)