Insightful interview with Coach Carroll

http://www.iheart.com/show/Mitch-in-the ... -OnDemand/

He talks about relentlessly instilling a positive attitude in his teams, which requires discipline. Language is important, and he does not like synonyms when conveying his core philosophy. Consistency is key.

Offensive line is definitely a work in progress with a long ways to go. They know what they have in Jeanpierre and Bailey at center and left guard. Those two each have starting experience and understand all the line calls. However, they are still looking at some of the more physical young guys at those two spots. It's a process to improve the communication of these inexperienced players.

Carroll could not believe New Orleans put Jimmy Graham on the trade block and thought they would pull the plug on the deal. Graham is going to make everyone better, but the goal is not to change the offense for Graham like they mistakenly did with Percy Harvin. After Harvin was released, they went back to doing what made them great with Lynch running the ball and Baldwin in the slot on 3rd downs. Graham, as a big receiver, gives them a great target on 3rd downs and in the red zone. Carroll has known the value of having a big receiver since he was at USC with Mike Williams and other players. It's a comfort for the QB to have a big receiver.

Chris Matthews gives them another big receiver. They had no idea how good Matthews was in practice, before the Super Bowl, in part because their corners matchup so well with big receivers. Carroll told his coaches that they are going to count on Matthews being the big receiver in this offense until someone takes his spot. They are going to feed him the ball and not wait and see whether he shows that he can be that player again in practice.

They are working hard to get Kam Chancellor back on the field. Chancellor is a unique player, like Marshawn Lynch is a unique player. Marshawn was in a similar situation last season, where he did not have much guaranteed money left on his deal. The Seahawks agreed to guarantee money that Marshawn was already scheduled to make in per-game roster bonuses and incentive money, plus gave him an additional $500,000 that he had been scheduled to get in 2015.

Excited about what they said about Matthews. They saw in game his matchup advantages. Now, with Matthews and Graham, Baldwin, Kearse and Lockett, it is looking like we are going to have a pretty good receiver corps.

SalishHawkFan":3nz3mst0 said:

Excited about what they said about Matthews. They saw in game his matchup advantages. Now, with Matthews and Graham, Baldwin, Kearse and Lockett, it is looking like we are going to have a pretty good receiver corps.

Click to expand...

At the same time, it indicated to me that Matthews has had some nice moments in practice but still isn't really dominating like he did in the Super Bowl.

Here was one take on Matthews during this year's training camp practices:

The Chris Matthews hype train may have left the station too early
Anyone who saw Matthews emerge in the Super Bowl had to be wondering if that was the start of something big for the 6'5" receiver. After all, his plays in that game were due to being tall and being able to time his leap. Those attributes should not change a year later. Matthews, though, has not looked all that effective at routes other than the deep ball so far. He is definitely not close to challenging Kearse for starting reps, and is more likely going to be a valuable role player.
http://www.hawkblogger.com/2015/08/seah ... notes.html

Click to expand...

Does being "the big receiver" mean Matthews will start at split end ahead of Kearse, regardless of their comparative performances during practice? I also wonder what that means in terms of using Jimmy Graham in that big receiver role on 3rd downs. I really like the idea of Graham being a plug-and-play guy, who can line up at split end, in the Mike Williams' role, or in the slot. Matthews has also reportedly been practicing a lot in the slot on 3rd downs. What might that mean for Tyler Lockett's role in those situations?

If he is only a roll player that would still be an improvement over last season. Red zone target will be a great roll for him.

Honestly, anybody but Kearse and im happy. The GB game... then the drop in the 4th of the superbowl. Kearse is on my shit list. He makes the craziest most spectacular catches. But damn it man make the easy ones...........

Matthews had one solid half of football in his NFL career + one amazing special teams play. And his great success can largely be attributed to him being a complete unknown as a WR and in a perfect matchup situation until NE moved Browner over to cover him.

Not surprised that we are hearing reports that his consistency is uneven. Pumping the brakes on our dreams of him being the new Megatron is probably a wise decision (and yes, I had those dreams all offseason!).

Matthews is only in his 2nd year. He is still in the process of learning like 80% of all young players. It takes time to climb to the top of your class.

Matthews is also heavier than his listed weight of 218, it was reported earlier about during OTAs that he was at 230. So, hes probably still trying to get comfortable playing at weight. I also dont think he is known as a quick cut route runner, so I dont know what Hawkblogger is griping about. In the SB he was basically a deep ball mismatch role player that forced Browner to take him on... And like Carroll said, the type of CBs that the Seahawks like to employ that give Matthews fits. So it makes senses being young that he will struggle against our guys. But not every team employs those types of DBs, and not every team will put those types of DBs on him, with Graham on the field. I think its fine if thats Matthews role for now as a deep ball and perhaps Redzone specialist.

As for Kearse, he's fairly young and last year he kind of was forced into a more prominent role. I think he'll do just fine, he has a contract to play for and every experience adds up. Progression is a real thing, and right now the past is in the past and these guys have another month to keep learning and getting better.

I am okay with Matthews being a situational player. As long as he is given a few catching opportunities per game (hopefully on big pass plays) I will be happy with that. If he shows he deserves more, then fit him in more to the game plan accordingly.

Of course he isn't suddenly a top 10 receiver. Those things take time and it looks like the Hawks are willing to invest it in Matthews. Which is a good thing in my opinion because he clearly has potential.

Matthews= the new BMW. If he can stay healthy and be the physical possession receiver we need, similar to BMW 2010, I'm all for it.

Yes, it's true Marthews production dipped after they put Browner on him, but 1) most teams don't have corners like Browner that can match up like that and 2) even if they do, Graham will probably draw that attention. Graham should help Matthews and vice versa. Not to mention what will open up if some of these other bigger receivers make the cut.

His comments on Kam were interesting. He kept saying that Kam is a special player just like Marshawn is a special player. They also said something along the lines of they are working on him everyday, which makes me think they are actually considering caving. If they do, I think another player will just take his place in asking for more money. It will never end.

edogg23":197mfqwj said:

His comments on Kam were interesting. He kept saying that Kam is a special player just like Marshawn is a special player. They also said something along the lines of they are working on him everyday, which makes me think they are actually considering caving. If they do, I think another player will just take his place in asking for more money. It will never end.

Click to expand...

What they did for Marshawn, and are likely willing to offer Kam, is not even that special: converting incentive and roster bonuses into guarantees and moving a little money ($500k) from next year's salary into this year.

Hopefully, it is a way for Kam's agent to get this done without losing face. His agent called this deal a true blessing when it was signed and has previously boasted about all of his clients being happy with their contracts. Get it done, already.

Trenchbroom":3lbdzu51 said:

Matthews had one solid half of football in his NFL career + one amazing special teams play. And his great success can largely be attributed to him being a complete unknown as a WR and in a perfect matchup situation until NE moved Browner over to cover him.

Not surprised that we are hearing reports that his consistency is uneven. Pumping the brakes on our dreams of him being the new Megatron is probably a wise decision (and yes, I had those dreams all offseason!).

Click to expand...

I'm sticking to my dreams of Matthews being the Seahawks version of Calvin Johnson. After only one NFL game he is already tied with Kearse in 100+ yard games. Pete put him in and Russell went to him immediately and often. Matthews provides a size mismatch that the Seahawks have been lacking on the outside and it's obvious that Russell is good at finding mismatches. With Graham coming in, the Seahawks have more than enough to create a size mismatch somewhere on the field. Throw in Baldwin's speed and Lockett's quickness and we should be watching a pretty good pass game this year.

Now, if they could only find a couple million dollars to put towards an upgrade at another position.

The Matthews commentary was unexpected and very interesting. It might be the first time Pete has talked about feeding the ball to a WR that I can remember.

Kearse is not a perfect WR, but last season he was the only WR Wilson could trust on the deep ball. It's important that Matthews and Wilson gain chemistry on red line routes, especially if Seattle doesn't have plans to keep Kearse in 2016.

rideaducati":1znix0h9 said:

Trenchbroom":1znix0h9 said:

Matthews had one solid half of football in his NFL career + one amazing special teams play. And his great success can largely be attributed to him being a complete unknown as a WR and in a perfect matchup situation until NE moved Browner over to cover him.

Not surprised that we are hearing reports that his consistency is uneven. Pumping the brakes on our dreams of him being the new Megatron is probably a wise decision (and yes, I had those dreams all offseason!).

Click to expand...

I'm sticking to my dreams of Matthews being the Seahawks version of Calvin Johnson. After only one NFL game he is already tied with Kearse in 100+ yard games. Pete put him in and Russell went to him immediately and often. Matthews provides a size mismatch that the Seahawks have been lacking on the outside and it's obvious that Russell is good at finding mismatches. With Graham coming in, the Seahawks have more than enough to create a size mismatch somewhere on the field. Throw in Baldwin's speed and Lockett's quickness and we should be watching a pretty good pass game this year.

Now, if they could only find a couple million dollars to put towards an upgrade at another position.

Click to expand...

OC???? oh Nevermind. :stirthepot: :thfight7:

Thanks for the summary Hawknation, it is appreciated!

The third down drop by Kearse in the SB is one I honestly can't watch. It's not fair putting a single play as being a play that changed the outcome of a game and I know that I just still can't get past it.

I am excited about this group but I really wish Richardson was healthy to start the year.