So after preseason game three, how do you like our chances?

[Largent80]

This team starts slower than a 1952 Ford tractor. I just don't see the spark this pre season, however the team is way more veteran than young now and I truly believe there isn't an all out effort by the players and the staff.

Season starts in a week, I hope they figure it out because week 2 is a buzz saw.

 

[sutz]

I suspect that many of us are comparing this year's pre-season team with 2013's end of season team.

Without doing specifics, because it ain't really my gig, I feell as good about this team as I have about any Pete Carroll team so far. I'd be surprised if we don't win at least 12 games.

 

[SpokaneHawks]

Pre-season has me concerned with Bevell calling plays that don't fit the personnel. Although we don't necessarily want to show our hand before they actually count, that short wideout screen pass to the sideline makes me want to pull my hair out! Our Offense this pre-season has looked like it did beginning of last season, LAME! Last season I thought it had to do with everybody trying hard to get Graham involved, it seemed like when he went down it all clicked. This is also why I'm worried what happens when he sees the field again!

 

[sutz]

Pre-season has me concerned with Bevell calling plays that don't fit the personnel. Although we don't necessarily want to show our hand before they actually count, that short wideout screen pass to the sideline makes me want to pull my hair out! Our Offense this pre-season has looked like it did beginning of last season, LAME! Last season I thought it had to do with everybody trying hard to get Graham involved, it seemed like when he went down it all clicked. This is also why I'm worried what happens when he sees the field again!

Not concerned about Graham. IMHO, things were starting to click before he got injured, including him. I'm looking forward to him getting back on the field.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

For me, I like the chances.

Pros:

OL -- I get the hesitation regarding the OL. Wait and see is warranted. But compared to last year where the impending train wreck was pretty easy to see and predict -- I don't see a repeat. Not of that magnitude.

Offense -- Outside of the OL, I feel this team has made a lot of strides compared to last year. This time we were wondering how on earth we'd survive without Lynch. The skill position group hadn't popped. Was Graham going to be Harvin 2.0 in terms of miscast talent. Last year the WRs popped, we ended up doing great even without Graham and we found out that life after Lynch wasn't this wasteland of running production we feared.

This offense should be in a much better position to not merely get leads for the defense to hold. But to extend and protect leads by keeping the ball. Protecting leads is a team wide exercise. And the offense was not totally without blame in the inability to maintain/preserve leads.

Cons:

Pass Rush -- It's the mother's milk of a great defense. We are still without the ability to produce interior pass rush. We are still reliant on the same two players to provide this critical function. I'm hoping we see some improvement this year. But it's basically the same as last year

Penalties -- It's an Achilles heel for this team. We seem perpetually doomed to concede 150 free yards in almost every game we play.

Protect the leads -- It's a team aspect thing. But this is a defense that on paper should be reliable in this regard. We commit far too much salary and second contracts on this side of the ball and in particular in this secondary to have this be an issue.

Soft middle/TE's run amok -- It sure doesn't look like we've solved this issue. If it were just a preseason thing -- I'd be less concerned. But it was an all season thing last year. So the expectation should be until we see change here, we should expect the same performance. This preseason just seems to have confirmed was already was.

Turnovers -- This troubles me. We haven't been getting them. They are most often the single biggest reason for wins/losses. Is this a symptom of something amiss? Are we a step slower than we were in 2013/14? Are teams finding/copying ways to keep from interceptions?


Every team is going to have some areas they struggle with. Seattle seems less flawed than most contenders. But we still have weaknesses to be exploited. I sincerely hope that the offense is now in a position to mask what seems like a defense that can be more readily had?

Overall, I like the chances. Because I think we have the pieces to change the blueprint for success for this team. If the defense does have issues, I can see us evolving successfully. This team isn't the 2013 team. But it's more capable of changing it's stripes and winning in other ways than it was too.

 

[StoneCold]

There is more talent on this team than last years. But the Offense had trouble moving the ball and scoring. Would like to have seen more consistency and not rely on the big play. That said they showed flashes that I can only imagine will get better as the season goes along. Defense gave up a lot of running yards and of course the dink and dunk passing was more effective than I'd like. I get it's how you attack our D, we make you make 20 perfect plays to score, but it seem those dinks and dunks were going for more then 3 - 5 yards we would like.

Those are my concerns, but honestly I think we crush this year.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

I would like to add another pass rusher to compliment Bennett Avril and Clark. Thought Clemons was it till he retired but I think we need a veteran for a season.

 

[Rob12]

I think barring injuries to significant players, this is a 12-14 win team. I really think they are that talented.

 

[Fade]

Play-callers man. They worry me.

Glaring Flaws:

Left Tackle. I literally want Brandon Williams in chipping over there every time it is an obvious passing situation. They did it at least once in the Dallas game, so at least they are cognizant of it.

Long Snapper: Seriously, Jon Ryan almost had his knee ripped up on his plant leg because of a bad snap. BRING BACK GRESHAM!

Nitpicks:

Linebacker depth isn't anything to write home about. Mike Mo didn't win the Sam job, it's just that no one stepped forward.

Corner depth. Marcus Burley is a serviceable nickel back. That's it. So Shead, Lane, & Sherm must stay healthy most of the year, or that position could become a problem.

1-Tech. J.Reed is injured for the next couple of weeks, and I don't like Rubin at 1-Tech.

Positively:

The interior offensive line has been a revelation, and it appears they have turned a weakness into a strength. At the very least they can be avg which is still an upgrade. I think Glow makes the pro-bowl.

C-Mike has been so good that he will take carries from Rawls.

The WRs have never been better, and Russ is in his 5th year, and he will be better.

The 1st unit of the Defense is still elite.

Frank Clark is going to pop this year w/8 or so sacks.


Given the schedule, anything less than 12-4 would be a disappointment.

 

[hawker84]

Concerns:

Run Defense
Can't cover backs and tight ends (again, for the umpteenth season in a row)
good D line pressure but not enough sacks
lack of turnovers (I think we had one or two all pre-season) way down last season as well
LB depth

Pros:

DB's look deep and talented
D Line looks fast, Frank Clark especially looks primed to break out this season. Avril looks in mid-season form
Wilson looks unstoppable when he gets a clean pocket and a little time
O Line looks nowhere near the train wreck I was anticipating
RB's look like a seriously solid group, hope to see more from Prosise
Lockett will be a star after this season

Hopes:

Richard gets a little more aggressive this season
It doesn't take Bevell an entire half to make adjustments
Graham and Rawls come back hungry and stronger than ever
Line stays healthy and continues to develop chemistry

Again as many already stated, this teams success is going to come down to coaching strategy, and the ability to adjust quicker during games, on both sides of the ball.

 

[Hawks46]

Strangely enough, I think the team is going to start inverting to what we're used to seeing. I see the offense scoring about 28-29 ppg and the defense giving up 20-21.

The OL looked a lot better than I thought they would. Think on it: this line has only been together for a few months, and only really been banging bodies with eachother for about 6 weeks. For them to look this decent, well that's going to be great if we can stay healthy. It stand to reason they'll only improve with reps and chemistry.

We also haven't seen Rawls yet, and watching the run blocking this preseason, this line is built for him. He's going to guy teams this year, then Russ is going to hit them over the top with guys like Richardson, Lockett and Baldwin. We're also so deep at RB, losing Rawls won't hurt too badly. Michael and Prosise look like they can carry the load.

We have the deepest, most talented WR corps I can ever remember us having. Russ has been throwing to 4 of them for at least a year, which means there's good chemistry to build on. I can see us slicing teams up with the quick passing game, then bludgeoning them with the run game in the 2nd half.

On defense, i'm not too worried about the run game when Reed comes back, but I wasn't impressed against Dallas. We'll shut down average to good rush teams, but very good ones can beat us. This worries me more about the Panthers than the Cardinals or Cowboys. I think we can handle the Packers run game.

I'll worry about the pass rush when Bennett and Avril can't get it done, and Clark doesn't develop. Preseason isn't always a good indicator of this.

I'm not too thrilled with our CB depth, but I think Shead can still get better. Our starting 3 CB's are pretty darn good, so not too worried about that. If we can get pressure on the QB, we can get a few more turnovers, and that will only help us.