Why the Seahawks decided to 'reset'

[sdog1981]

Double standards will undermine any team in any profession. After 49 the players knew the coaches were not held to the same standard so when they heard "always compete" they would just roll their eyes and say "yeah right". It slowly eats away at the team.

 

[Own The West]

With a bunch of aging vets that feel they've 'arrived' and don't need to elevate their game, a bunch of complacent coaches that find it easier to stand on excuses than performances, and a backlog of young talent that can't get the reps they need to excel.

Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett were still near the top of their game in 2017. There isn't a single statistic out there that really counters that to any serious degree. Bennett actually had one of his best years in terms of sacks. They didn't need to elevate their performances, and the coaches didn't need to make excuses for them.

Talk about the increasing injury risk that comes with age, if you like. That's a more sensible reason to let them go. But if you're going to pretend they'd become bad players, you're just arguing with tape and hard numbers.

I wasn't trying to say Sherman and Bennett played poorly, but they had plateaued. And that their leadership may have taken a negative turn: where instead of adding their voices to the "I'm In / Always Compete" message, they were pointing fingers and self-promoting.

I'm sure you've had those high-performers in your organizations or teams that may have inspired early on, but turned into morale-sapping divas later. How do you combat that other that to humble them or move them out? In the NFL, where players can appeal directly to the fan base, it's easier to move them out.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The article is pure speculation. in the NFL its so rare to get actual news we have to guess and predict.

What else is there to talk about in the off season before camp starts.

The main reason we decided to reset is because we went 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Amazing how fast coaches and GM's snap into focus when they're not winning.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

With a bunch of aging vets that feel they've 'arrived' and don't need to elevate their game, a bunch of complacent coaches that find it easier to stand on excuses than performances, and a backlog of young talent that can't get the reps they need to excel.

Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett were still near the top of their game in 2017. There isn't a single statistic out there that really counters that to any serious degree. Bennett actually had one of his best years in terms of sacks. They didn't need to elevate their performances, and the coaches didn't need to make excuses for them.

Talk about the increasing injury risk that comes with age, if you like. That's a more sensible reason to let them go. But if you're going to pretend they'd become bad players, you're just arguing with tape and hard numbers.

I wasn't trying to say Sherman and Bennett played poorly, but they had plateaued. And that their leadership may have taken a negative turn: where instead of adding their voices to the "I'm In / Always Compete" message, they were pointing fingers and self-promoting.

I'm sure you've had those high-performers in your organizations or teams that may have inspired early on, but turned into morale-sapping divas later. How do you combat that other that to humble them or move them out? In the NFL, where players can appeal directly to the fan base, it's easier to move them out.

That morale-sapping is an intangible. Impossible to quantify or falsify. What CAN be quantified and falsified is how well those players were backing up their play on the field. That's what we all called it in 2013 when Seattle was winning. It's only now that we're losing that it suddenly gets called "morale-sapping".

Seattle missed the playoffs because of Blair Walsh and injury. It sucks, and people don't want to give the injury contribution its full weight because it's a factor that's out of Seattle's control and that's frustrating. But it is the only explanation that's really needed.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Yeah, just way too many injuries to overcome. Add that to a crap kicker and pathetic O Line and it's amazing they won 9 games. A few made kicks from 11 wins.

 

[chris98251]

With a bunch of aging vets that feel they've 'arrived' and don't need to elevate their game, a bunch of complacent coaches that find it easier to stand on excuses than performances, and a backlog of young talent that can't get the reps they need to excel.

Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett were still near the top of their game in 2017. There isn't a single statistic out there that really counters that to any serious degree. Bennett actually had one of his best years in terms of sacks. They didn't need to elevate their performances, and the coaches didn't need to make excuses for them.

Talk about the increasing injury risk that comes with age, if you like. That's a more sensible reason to let them go. But if you're going to pretend they'd become bad players, you're just arguing with tape and hard numbers.

I wasn't trying to say Sherman and Bennett played poorly, but they had plateaued. And that their leadership may have taken a negative turn: where instead of adding their voices to the "I'm In / Always Compete" message, they were pointing fingers and self-promoting.

I'm sure you've had those high-performers in your organizations or teams that may have inspired early on, but turned into morale-sapping divas later. How do you combat that other that to humble them or move them out? In the NFL, where players can appeal directly to the fan base, it's easier to move them out.

Yeah Platueing as a All Pro and Pro Bowler sucks they should have been league MVP'S every year.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Yeah, if you're not the best in the league every single year, that's just not acceptable :lol:

 

[Sports Hernia]

It's an interesting "what if" game to play, as in what if they fired Bevell the day after XLIX? It's hard for me not to think it could have changed some of the dynamic in the season's since. The players desperately needed accountability for that train wreck of a call that cost them back-to-back championships and it never came. It fractured that locker room, make no mistake about it.

Would Sherman and Bennett still be here? We will never know. What I do know is that the Seahawks have done what they feel is necessary to "reload" and get young and hungry again.

I think it would have made a world of difference IMHO. It would have showed tha EVERYONE is held accountable, EVEN the coaching staff. It would have showed EVERYONE can and will be replaced if they underperform. It would have shown “the always compete” mantra still had teeth. I think Seattle would have had one more Lombardi if the axe would have fallen on a certain OC after XLIX.

 

[AROS]

I think it would have made a world of difference IMHO. It would have showed that EVERYONE is held accountable, EVEN the coaching staff. It would have showed EVERYONE can and will be replaced if they under perform. It would have shown “the always compete” mantra still had teeth.

Exactly. Instead, Pete decided to take the sword and keep the status quo alive and healthy. And it cost him big time. It cost us ALL the potential for at least two championships if not a modern day dynasty.

Sigh.

 

[daveCFPrez]

https://www.fieldgulls.com/2018/5/18/17368496/pete-carroll-blew-it-all-up-for-a-reason

I wish they had picked a better graph to illustrate their point, but it's an interesting observation nonetheless.

It make sense anecdotally. With a bunch of aging vets that feel they've 'arrived' and don't need to elevate their game, a bunch of complacent coaches that find it easier to stand on excuses than performances, and a backlog of young talent that can't get the reps they need to excel. You're going to see the physical wear down of the season, but not the growth that counters it.

It would be interesting if someone has access to the football outsiders data to see how strong a correlation there is between in-season DVOA improvement and playoff wins.

I believe they should have fired a couple of offensive coaches a day after the XLIX debacle. That would have held those failed offensive coaches accountable on the spot, and would have had 3 more seasons with “the core” still intact with a BETTER mindset, knowing not only players but coaches will be held accountable for their mistakes.

IMHO they wasted 3 seasons by not taking action after that horrible day.

^^^^
this!!!!!!