Miss the good old days - this offseason is brutal

I don't know how, but I missed it yesterday when Michael Bennett heavily hinted at holding out. "I'm not back just yet." You only care about the money, Mike?

The RW tweets (which I know could be nothing) and the reports of his contract talks being essentially stalled as he and the Seahawks are reportedly miles apart. Say what you want, but it's a bit worrisome on the surface.

Bruce... Whatever.

I miss the good old days when this team was filled with young, hungry dudes on their rookie deals. I'm not saying that anything is wrong with wanting to get paid - but damn, it takes so much fun out of this. There are some unhappy egos on this team. I don't blindly follow what the media says, but to believe that everything is all gravy at the VMAC these days seems unlikely.

Help talk me down. I feel like this team is starting to lose its edge - its focus. More and more guys seem to be all about themselves rather than the team. It feels like this is the Cleveland Indians at the beginning of Major League 2.

The price and consequences of winning in the NFL is steep. The price of winning that trophy clouds things. There's so much to be excited about for the coming season, but this offseason and the speculation that has accompanied it has been a bit unsettling.

As Salk just said, John's job now is to keep the chirping down while guys want to get paid and can't (salary cap).

Just venting I guess... But damn, it's been a rough go of it this offseason (minus Jimmy, of course).

Quit listening to sports radio and quit reading Twitter.

If you're determined to immerse yourself in every little bit of information about the team, you're going to have to deal with the crap that comes along with the good, and every team in the league has crap to deal with.

You think the team is going to lose its edge because of contract issues in MAY? Really?

Step the hell back and take a vacation. Go do something non-Hawks related. Count yourself lucky that you don't follow the Raiders or Jags. Consider what kind of month Pats fans have had.

In other words, lighten up, Francis.

volsunghawk":hi53voa1 said:

Quit listening to sports radio and quit reading Twitter.

If you're determined to immerse yourself in every little bit of information about the team, you're going to have to deal with the crap that comes along with the good, and every team in the league has crap to deal with.

You think the team is going to lose its edge because of contract issues in MAY? Really?

Step the hell back and take a vacation. Go do something non-Hawks related. Count yourself lucky that you don't follow the Raiders or Jags. Consider what kind of month Pats fans have had.

In other words, lighten up, Francis.

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Exactly what I needed, man. Thank you. I know, it's ridiculous.

Sorry for the bitter tone previously, but this place has gotten a little too doom-and-gloomy recently, and we already have a Blitzer. We don't need a bunch more.

This team is coming off of 2 NFC Championships in a row, 1 Lombardi and damn near another, and we're still one of the youngest teams in the league. Oh, and we just traded for the best receiving weapon we've had in years.

And what are our "problems"? A RB who couldn't decide if the money he was slated to get would keep him from retiring, so he got a new deal. A DE who's making noise about wanting more money. A LB who has destroyed his leverage by saying he wants to go to his hometown when his contract with Seattle is done. And, finally, a QB who has been delivering miracles while on the team-friendliest deal that the league has seen in seemingly a generation who doesn't automatically jump at the team's initial offer when it's time for him to get a new deal.

That's it, folks. It's not the end of the world. 75% of the league - if not more - would LOVE to have our problems.

Blitzer and I both live in Pasco. Maybe it's something from Hanford that is messing with our heads. I don't know.

Appreciate the tone. No need to apologize. I needed the frankness.

Rob12":1xfmdmar said:

Blitzer and I both live in Pasco. Maybe it's something from Hanford that is messing with our heads. I don't know.

Appreciate the tone. No need to apologize. I needed the frankness.

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Have they stopped feeding you the radioactive water yet? Government thought it would be a great experiment but forgot to let you all in on it.

chris98251":13vnbvow said:

Rob12":13vnbvow said:

Blitzer and I both live in Pasco. Maybe it's something from Hanford that is messing with our heads. I don't know.

Appreciate the tone. No need to apologize. I needed the frankness.

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Have they stopped feeding you the radioactive water yet? Government thought it would be a great experiment but forgot to let you all in on it.

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Apparently they haven't judging by me being mentally all over the place this offseason.

Rob12":3scxqh70 said:

Blitzer and I both live in Pasco.

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Well Rob, it can't be the horrible smell from the paper plant in Wallula that is souring your spirits; that stench often ends up my direction further east and south.

But now you have me curious. What have been the offseason rumblings in the past couple of seasons that caused us trepidation about the future? Loss of Tate? Suspensions? Surgeries? I can't remember it all. But it sure seems there's always something to fear or to hand-wring over if we dwell on it too long.

I'm just basking in the fun I've had watching this team, getting our first Championship, and the hope that this year will be just as enjoyable, deep into the winter again.

Go Hawks!

Werent the "good ole days" checking this space daily to see what high profile free agent used the Seahawks to up interest elsewhere only to sign...well elsewhere?

Nah...I'm good

Better to dismiss getting all worked up and looking like this guy ......

volsunghawk":1t7vc4zd said:

Quit listening to sports radio and quit reading Twitter.
...
In other words, lighten up, Francis.

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BINGO !!!
This has ALWAYS HAPPENED... we just didn't have players sending us all 30 word messages when they had the urge.

In this case, the Good Old Days was 3-5 seasons ago when we were all excited to see Pete and John sweep all the old, slow, and broken players out the door and build their "college program" in brand-spankin-new college navy uniforms.

But since the beginning so much of the chatter was about "how will Pete handle it once his ties to the collegiate game are further out and John has to figure out how to pay those young studs?" So we knew this was coming, we just never exactly knew what it would look like. Add in mercurial social media and the muddy waters get murkier.

Pete and John handled the first couple waves with aplomb: the foresight to reward Kam as the enforcer he's become, locking up Earl, Sherman, and KJ, letting replaceable guys like Breno and Carp walk, working the tightrope of Marshawn's contract. They had their misses, but every power hitter swings a little too hard and strikes out occasionally, to mix sports metaphors.

But everyone knew the tsunami on the horizon was Wilson's second contract. It was always the "yeah, but" for those who didn't enjoy the Seahawks' success as much as us 12s did. We've been frolicking naked and carefree in the blue lagoon. All the while, the shoreline has been slowly receding and the tidal wave building momentum in the form of back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and Seattle's first Lombardi Trophy.

In the past, our FO has skillfully protected the team – and by association, us fans – from the monsoons and riptides. They've kept the program intact and thriving. Now they're facing their biggest challenge contract-wise. It's a different ballgame, but it's the same sport, same arena. Pete and John will get everyone to higher ground while they surf the most bodacious, gnarly, excellent wave this franchise has ever seen.

Rob12":3ss8lelr said:

I miss the good old days when this team was filled with young, hungry dudes on their rookie deals. I'm not saying that anything is wrong with wanting to get paid - but damn, it takes so much fun out of this. There are some unhappy egos on this team. I don't blindly follow what the media says, but to believe that everything is all gravy at the VMAC these days seems unlikely.

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Are you a new fan? Cause since the team began there's been contract holdouts and salary battles with players........it just hasn't played out on social media.

Steve Largent and Dave Krieg crossing the picket lines, The Boz doesn't want to play here, Ken Sleezy Used Car Salesman Behring pulling up to Renton with moving vans, Walter Jones franchised for the 87th year in a row, Hutchinson poison pill debacle, please baby Jesus don't give Sean Alexander a new contract.

Not sure bout everybody else, but I'll take "hmmm, which of our AMAZINGLY talented players do we keep and which ones do we let go because we have too many of them" discussions 7 days a week 365 days a year 24/7.

Every offseason is different, yet similar.

Every team has different issues and player personalities to deal with during every offseason. It seems to me that in relative terms our team is doing pretty darn well managing a complex set of circumstances and yet there seems to be more media handwringing than usual about contracts, personalties and the like. Perhaps when there is no story the best thing for the mediots is to attempt to create a story.

I suspect Wilson's deal will get done in good time, the issues with Bennett will get resolved, Irvin will be traded or will play out his deal here and will learn to shut up. I further suspect that Graham will become a popular player on the team and will become a capable blocker; the running game will be as good or better than last season, and the D will continue to be dominant to chagrin of other NFC-W teams. I also suspect the OLine will be a work in progress for the season but will be set up to be improved for a good while. If that is boring deal with it b/c the team likely isn't paying as much attention to most of this rubbish which seems to be creative rumour mongering.

I think this is what happens to fan bases when the team is a perennial contender. People look around at what has been accomplished, and are generally happy, but just can't stop looking at the yawning abyss that is below us, if the team stumbles a bit. Every little glitch seems like it could be that one thing, like a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon, that could bring on the fire and brimstone hell of once again being a mediocre franchise.

Hard to avoid, really. Not a lot to reach for above us, and a whole lot of things that could get lost if the wheels spin off.

I'm not religious, but I'll stick with faith...faith in the FO and faith in Wilson. Perhaps that is naive and silly, but I'm hanging on to it.


GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Bennett would be making a huge mistake to hold out. Seattle has the depth at pass rusher to survive without him. Nobody is going to trade for him and give him a pay raise. Seattle is dead set against making major concessions to a player who just signed a deal for precedent reasons.

All Bennett will get are some practices off, possibly at the cost of millions in fines.

He should also be mindful of life after football. He needs to be careful not to damage his brand if he wants to go into local broadcasting, radio, or TV.

The Seahawks are playing hardball with Wilson. Right now, this is a good thing. You want the Seahawks to be stern negotiators, at least initially. But if the sides continue to be this far apart by August, I would hope to see Seattle make a push to sign a deal with more generous offers. It helps our long term cap situation significantly if Seattle signs Wilson now vs. next offseason.

Irvin I don't care. He's being kind of a dummy, but he's a good player and his response is basically an externalized version of what most players go through when hitting FA for the first time.

Not every offseason is going to be this difficult. Between Lynch, Wilson, Irvin, and Bennett all voicing discontent, it's a bit of a perfect storm. And as big of a headache as they are making for John Schneider, the fact is that all of them are under contract for 2015.

kearly":9fsgkkg6 said:

Bennett would be making a huge mistake to hold out. Seattle has the depth at pass rusher to survive without him. Nobody is going to trade for him and give him a pay raise. Seattle is dead set against making major concessions to a player who just signed a deal for precedent reasons.

All Bennett will get are some practices off, possibly at the cost of millions in fines.

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Bennett is the one that really perplexes me. Is he even underpaid? I mean, I guess that's an arguable point. However, he is not so outrageously underpaid that he could demand a renegotiation after just one year of his deal. It's not like he suddenly became a better player either. The Michael Bennett of 2014 was essentially the same as the Michael Bennett of 2013. Nothing has changed (besides maybe his overall snaps) that would warrant a significant bump in pay.

Maybe he just wants the time off and hopes Seattle makes a mental mistake and gives him more money. Otherwise, I really can't see how he thinks this is going to work out for him. Like you said, no other team will send an asset to Seattle just to pay Bennett even more than he's owed currently.

Bennett doesn't know what he wants, Bob and Wassell played two clips today at noon. One was Bennett last year saying that he didn't care about the money, he just wanted to be on a team with great teammates and an organization contending for SB's.

The other was last night saying he wants to be on the all Finance team.

Make up your mind Mike. You could have easily gone to Oakland and made 10-12M a year...........and lost 12 games a year as well.

Sometimes a public execution is needed. I would love for one of these guys to be made an example of. In particular Bruce Irvin.

IMO ....... singling out an individual or group of individuals for prejudicial or intimidating treatment is not good community leadership.

We already have far too much of that divisive behavior tearing apart the fabric of our society.

Fortunately, the Seahawks have a handle on what leadership is and is not.