Pete Feels Like This Offseason is a Rebirth

“It almost feels like a rebirth kind of thing,” Carroll said. “We’ve been through a lot of stuff, we’ve been challenged by a lot of stuff. We’ve learned so much: winning and losing and then trying to come back again and still maintaining this huge standard and expectation. And we know it’s right there for us; everybody feels it. That’s what is really fueling the energy around the building and why we’re so enthused. And then we hit it with this draft, so it’ feeling pretty good. Millions of things have to happen, but we’re in the right place right now.”

http://sports.mynorthwest.com/125143/pe ... -seahawks/

I can see some parallels to his first year or two here.

Forget for a moment the current roster, and just look at the UDFA class, and the draft class. Lots of solid starter and ST potential. That UFDA class of Baldwin and Smith, probably a few others I'm forgetting, then this class just looks special.

We could not only churn the back end of the roster, but upgrade our depth and be adding some future starters when guys price themselves out or get too old.

I haven't been this excited about an UDFA class, maybe ever.

Everyone is comparing 2016 to 2013, but to me, this upcoming season is a bit more like 2012. It has a "new era" kind of feel to it. I get what Pete means when he talks about the team going through a rebirth.

2012 we had a rookie at QB, MLB and a secondary cutting their teeth in the NFL. Now all of those players are All-pro (minus the RCB). Apples n oranges. That QB is one of the best in the league and keeps us in every game we play.

Defense still has 9/11 starters from last year.. The only new era feel would be the OL, but that really isn't a new thing around here.

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Scottemojo":194cgdp5 said:

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

They are when you lose in the fashion that we did. Also it doesn't help that the league figured out how to combat our defense if you had the talent at a couple key positions.

On the other hand I agree with you that some changes will happen especially offensively. If for nothing else then the fact the focus will be on Russell Wilson far more than ever before.

MizzouHawkGal":fvo01pzd said:

Scottemojo":fvo01pzd said:

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

They are when you lose on in the fashion that we did. Also it doesn't help that the league figured out how to combat our defense if you had the talent at a couple key positions.

On the other hand I agree with you that some changes will happen especially offensively .

Click to expand...

The league didn’t figure out shit. The Hawks defense is built on simplicity and athleticism. So, facing team after team off extra rest killed that defense more than anything else.

Last year may've been Pete's best coaching job. Ever. A team minus how many offensive starters? So many they literally had to change philosophies midseason. They had their spiritual leader hold out. They faced a very, very brutal schedule. A rookie DC who got his lunch money took for the first 8 games. No depth across defensive line. And still, they adapted and won a playoff game.

It's a rebirth because this draft and FA class represents a push towards returning to the deepest team in the NFL. The Hawks needed quality-quantity over SPARQ-sparcity...and they got it.

Oh...and...."What?"

Barthawk":1121xz1o said:

2012 we had a rookie at QB, MLB and a secondary cutting their teeth in the NFL. Now all of those players are All-pro (minus the RCB). Apples n oranges. That QB is one of the best in the league and keeps us in every game we play.

Defense still has 9/11 starters from last year.. The only new era feel would be the OL, but that really isn't a new thing around here.

Click to expand...

I think this year will be a lot better than 2012. I just think it feels like the start of a new era. I think we'll look back in 20 years at the time line of the Seahawks and 2012 and 2016 will both be key points in the timeline. One for the beginning of the Wilson era, and one for the beginning of the life after Marshawn era.

pehawk":1121xz1o said:

The league didn’t figure out shit. The Hawks defense is built on simplicity and athleticism. So, facing team after team off extra rest killed that defense more than anything else.

Click to expand...

This is a great point. It still amazes me that Seattle had six opponents coming off byes last year.

It was so annoying around this time last year when 90% of the board was saying that 2015's schedule was easier than 2014's. It was pretty obvious to me right away that the 2015 sched was going to cost Seattle a win or two. Whether it meant to or not, the NFL schedule makers reamed us last year.

I almost wonder if the NFL feels guilty about it, given how favorable the 2016 schedule ended up being.

pehawk":1121xz1o said:

Last year may've been Pete's best coaching job. Ever. A team minus how many offensive starters? So many they literally had to change philosophies midseason. They had their spiritual leader hold out. They faced a very, very brutal schedule. A rookie DC who got his lunch money took for the first 8 games. No depth across defensive line. And still, they adapted and won a playoff game.

Click to expand...

I don't really know how to judge a coaching job in a season, but it did seem really tough last year. Hopefully the struggles last season caused will help Pete win a stupid award from the media when Seattle goes 14-2 this year.

pehawk":1121xz1o said:

It's a rebirth because this draft and FA class represents a push towards returning to the deepest team in the NFL. The Hawks needed quantity over SPARQ...and they got it.

Click to expand...

The Seahawks tapped into something special last year. This year is about polishing that product, honing it. Hopefully, getting 19 games of it.

pehawk":q8o7rwyt said:

MizzouHawkGal":q8o7rwyt said:

Scottemojo":q8o7rwyt said:

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

They are when you lose on in the fashion that we did. Also it doesn't help that the league figured out how to combat our defense if you had the talent at a couple key positions.

On the other hand I agree with you that some changes will happen especially offensively .

Click to expand...

The league didn’t figure out shit. The Hawks defense is built on simplicity and athleticism. So, facing team after team off extra rest killed that defense more than anything else.

Last year may've been Pete's best coaching job. Ever. A team minus how many offensive starters? So many they literally had to change philosophies midseason. They had their spiritual leader hold out. They faced a very, very brutal schedule. A rookie DC who got his lunch money took for the first 8 games. And still, they adapted and won a playoff game.

Oh...and...."What?"

Click to expand...

I'd ask you the same. You sound angry and frustrated. Trust me that isn't good for you. You have your opinion and it's valid but it's not going to change my opinion. Isn't it wonderful to have that privilege.

What I saw was an offense refusing to use their talent correctly which wore ab elite defense down that teams with the right scheme and talent already knew how to take advantage of. And allowed undeserving teams to beat us because the offense was too busy trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for eight weeks.

No anger at all...proud of that 2015 squad. All but the 1% fold under such circumstances. They didn't. It was an amazing accomplishment.

MizzouHawkGal":2196bo4l said:

Scottemojo":2196bo4l said:

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

They are when you lose in the fashion that we did. Also it doesn't help that the league figured out how to combat our defense if you had the talent at a couple key positions.

On the other hand I agree with you that some changes will happen especially offensively. If for nothing else then the fact the focus will be on Russell Wilson far more than ever before.

Click to expand...

It has way more to do with a bad line and a Kam holdout. And a really bad signing of a CB from Philly. It took half a year to shake those issues. That was the hangover I refer to.

pehawk":3ptdg6ac said:

No anger at all...proud of that 2015 squad. All but the 1% fold under such circumstances. They didn't. It was an amazing accomplishment.

Click to expand...

Never said I wasn't and doubly excited for the next 3-4 years. I feel there will be small but significant changes in philosophy. Not earth shattering just a couple shifts in focus.

I repent of saying bad line. That is a trite way to say a bad offensive line philosophy that had Britt, new at guard and not good, lined up next to a defensive player struggling to play center, in front of a QB struggling to make line calls the inexperienced center would logically have no clue about.

That portion of the hangover hangs directly on Cable, and by extension, Pete.

Scottemojo":3lob1f3e said:

MizzouHawkGal":3lob1f3e said:

Scottemojo":3lob1f3e said:

I think Pete feels this way because they are going to try some new permutations on defense and offense.

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

They are when you lose in the fashion that we did. Also it doesn't help that the league figured out how to combat our defense if you had the talent at a couple key positions.

On the other hand I agree with you that some changes will happen especially offensively. If for nothing else then the fact the focus will be on Russell Wilson far more than ever before.

Click to expand...

It has way more to do with a bad line and a Kam holdout. And a really bad signing of a CB from Philly. It took half a year to shake those issues. That was the hangover I refer to.

Click to expand...

Well that's the kind of thing that happens to both Superbowl participants especially the loser. It's why they call it a hangover. A million little things happen which causes lack of focus except in rare cases. And exceeding rare in the modern salary cap era.

Scottemojo":32vd8urg said:

SB hangovers are real.

Click to expand...

One of the things I really love about Pete's Seahawks is how they resist quitting no matter how bleak things look or how much the pressure mounts.

But early last season, Seattle started 2-4 in large part because they were not competing as hard in the 4th quarters of games. And really, they should have started 1-5, if not for Kam punching a ball out and the refs cutting us a break. Prior to that play, the Seahawks looked helpless against a bad Lions offense. At home.

There are football reasons for those collapses, but I think there were emotional reasons too. Seattle just wasn't fighting at the end of those games. Teams were coming back on Seattle. And in Green Bay, it felt like Seattle flat out quit after the fumble that appeared to have been recovered by Britt.

Seattle has lost two SBs, and felt big dropoffs the next season after both of them. I definitely subscribe to the idea that morale matters in football.

My favorite part of last season might have been at the very end, when Seattle put some fright into that Carolina crowd who assumed they had the game won up 31-0 in the 2nd quarter. Just one more stop defensively, and Seattle might have completed one of the biggest playoff comebacks of all time. Early in the season there were only hints of that kind of fight, but by the end of the year everyone was believing again.

We had the most painful loss in the history of the league.

We had a QB making peanuts due for his big payday.

We had two huge players on the defensive side of the ball wanting more money, one of whom was willing to sit out 2 actual games to try and prove a point.

We had an entire secondary recovering from injury and as a result overpaid for a player who just was never a fit on this team.

We had Marshawn Lynch wanting a pay raise to put off retirement for a year.

We overhauled the offensive line with 3 new starters including losing the veteran anchor in the middle.

We had a team that was split in half and fighting with each other until a trip to Hawaii.

We got boned on the schedule to start the season.

And despite all of these things they found a way to finish on a tear, get into the playoffs and without one of the best onside recoveries you'll ever see by Thomas Davis.. may very well have found themselves back in Glendale with a shot at a third straight Super Bowl.

Really if you look back at everything thrown the Seahawks way in 2015.. it's pretty remarkable they won 11 games (10 + 1 playoff game) in itself. Now it feels as though XLIX is but a faint memory, a crappy memory, but kind of like a tough break-up .. the wounds are finally healing even if some things may still eat at you.

If the Seahawks can avoid being the unlucky team with a mountain of injuries.. they're unquestionably one of the 3 best teams in football in 2016. No doubt in my mind.

So yeah, in that sense.. this definitely feels like a rebirth.

The rebirth I think is of attitude and kicking ass and letting God sort the rest out, Browner as TE specialist and the demeanor of the guys we drafted and brought in.

That energy that comes with dominating and dictating how things are done will hopefully be present again, there will be no Beast Mode on offense now, I want to know who sets that mentality there, there has to be emotional energy generated somehow.

The Hawks have entered a new era - the "Post Lynch Era".

During the Lynch era the team really didn't have a chance when he wasn't able to go. The transition last season showed they can win without him but the depth at RB has always been suspect. That is changing and the offense has evolved some or I should say is evolving.

Lynch singularly provided the physical identity that Pete craved for this team. He really set the tone. Without another player like him in the world I fully understand the team makeover. The Hawks are going to a huge, physical OL and bringing in a blocking TE and monster sized fullbacks to help Rawls and Collins create that physical identity that is crucial to Pete's teams. Smash mouth Seahawk football is back in this Post Lynch Era.

The physical nature of the LOB and the defense as a whole fed off of Marshawn Lynch. The special teams look like they are being invigorated with physical, athletic, hungry young studs. The Hawks are getting back to their identity but at the same time I see them able to do some things they have never done. They have more offensive potential than at any time during the Lynch era. This offense has the chance to be really special.

if we get the 1 seed we're going to the owl again

Talk about some GREAT posts all in one thread....a tip of the cap to every single post above this one. This is why I'm here too much. You all got me stoked for the season NOW!