The Fickleness of the NFL Playoffs.

I was just reading the NFL Playoff Picture article on ESPN, and noticed this little nugget I had not realized:

As of right now, with Washington slipping out of the picture for the time being, the only NFC team that made the playoffs last season and would make them again if the season ended today is the Seahawks.

Click to expand...

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...picture-cowboys-are-first-team-to-clinch-spot

This is why I don't get angry and scream that heads should roll if we struggle a little. I would have killed for this kind of consistency in the AFC West days. We're on the verge of our second 5 year streak of playoff appearances, both in the last 14 years. God, it's a great time to be a Hawks fan!

And on the verge of being the #1 Scoring Defense for a FIFTH straight year! I don't think people realize how Epic that is, but we will look back at this as the Golden Era of the Seahawks.

And from here on out, every defense will be compared to "The Seahawks Defense of the 201x decade."

I'll have to admit, early on I was sceptical, but Pete really is capable of "Winning Forever" (within reason).

ivotuk":2d45e9ls said:

And on the verge of being the #1 Scoring Defense for a FIFTH straight year! I don't think people realize how Epic that is, but we will look back at this as the Golden Era of the Seahawks.

And from here on out, every defense will be compared to "The Seahawks Defense of the 201x decade."

I'll have to admit, early on I was sceptical, but Pete really is capable of "Winning Forever" (within reason).

Click to expand...

Honestly I cheer for that about as much as I cheer for the actual win.

ivotuk":32nhotlz said:

And on the verge of being the #1 Scoring Defense for a FIFTH straight year! I don't think people realize how Epic that is, but we will look back at this as the Golden Era of the Seahawks.

And from here on out, every defense will be compared to "The Seahawks Defense of the 201x decade."

I'll have to admit, early on I was sceptical, but Pete really is capable of "Winning Forever" (within reason).

Click to expand...

Epic on the level of being the only NFL team to do it

I posted about being Number 1 scoring defense for 5th straight year in the gameday forum after we lost to TB. I basically said cheer up, we only conceded 14 points and strengthened our lead at the top of the points allowed standings.

I then got shouted down for being a weirdo that I wasn't suicidal after a loss.....

Ah the joys of .NET :sarcasm_on:

Now that our division win is basically tied up, after supporting us to the Number 2 seed, I most care about keeping the scoring defense title above anything else [oh wait, bar the injury bug]

Maulbert":20l1jfch said:

I was just reading the NFL Playoff Picture article on ESPN, and noticed this little nugget I had not realized:

As of right now, with Washington slipping out of the picture for the time being, the only NFC team that made the playoffs last season and would make them again if the season ended today is the Seahawks.

Click to expand...

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...picture-cowboys-are-first-team-to-clinch-spot

This is why I don't get angry and scream that heads should roll if we struggle a little. I would have killed for this kind of consistency in the AFC West days. We're on the verge of our second 5 year streak of playoff appearances, both in the last 14 years. God, it's a great time to be a Hawks fan!

Click to expand...

THIS, This is what Im talking about when I tell some people to gain a little perspective.

Maulbert":25jybikb said:

This is why I don't get angry and scream that heads should roll if we struggle a little. I would have killed for this kind of consistency in the AFC West days. We're on the verge of our second 5 year streak of playoff appearances, both in the last 14 years. God, it's a great time to be a Hawks fan!

Click to expand...

Pete Caroll has spoiled us.

I remember those days in the 80's and 90's looking at the standings with my dad going "OMG IF WE CAN JUST WIN OUT WE MIGHT FINISH 9-7 AND GET A WILDCARD SPOT, HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE!!"

Sgt. Largent":31rznqwe said:

Maulbert":31rznqwe said:

This is why I don't get angry and scream that heads should roll if we struggle a little. I would have killed for this kind of consistency in the AFC West days. We're on the verge of our second 5 year streak of playoff appearances, both in the last 14 years. God, it's a great time to be a Hawks fan!

Click to expand...

Pete Caroll has spoiled us.

I remember those days in the 80's and 90's looking at the standings with my dad going "OMG IF WE CAN JUST WIN OUT AND THE 4-10 BUNGLES BEAT THE 13-1 STEELERS WE MIGHT FINISH 9-7 AND GET A WILDCARD SPOT, HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE!!"

Click to expand...

FIFY

sutz":60x58ops said:

Sgt. Largent":60x58ops said:

Maulbert":60x58ops said:

This is why I don't get angry and scream that heads should roll if we struggle a little. I would have killed for this kind of consistency in the AFC West days. We're on the verge of our second 5 year streak of playoff appearances, both in the last 14 years. God, it's a great time to be a Hawks fan!

Click to expand...

Pete Caroll has spoiled us.

I remember those days in the 80's and 90's looking at the standings with my dad going "OMG IF WE CAN JUST WIN OUT AND THE 4-10 BUNGLES BEAT THE 13-1 STEELERS WE MIGHT FINISH 9-7 AND GET A WILDCARD SPOT, HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE!!"

Click to expand...

FIFY

Click to expand...

lol...........yes a LOT of that.

These are the salad days my friends, enjoy every second.

At no point during this year have I been worried about our chances of making the playoffs or winning playoff games. Even with Earl out, I remain confident. We stumble a bit in certain games because it's the NFL, and that happens. One team will just do a better job of preparing, practicing, and scheming, and then it shows on game day. We could have lost a game or 2 in 2013 to very inferior teams if you can recall. I really feel like all our players will bring their A game in the playoffs.

fenderbender123":1p2re4of said:

At no point during this year have I been worried about our chances of making the playoffs or winning playoff games. Even with Earl out, I remain confident. We stumble a bit in certain games because it's the NFL, and that happens. One team will just do a better job of preparing, practicing, and scheming, and then it shows on game day. We could have lost a game or 2 in 2013 to very inferior teams if you can recall. I really feel like all our players will bring their A game in the playoffs.

Click to expand...

In 2013 our only losses were to the 11-5 Colts, the 12-4 49ers and the 10-6 Cardinals. All very good teams.

However, we did have some scary squeaker wins against the 2-14 Texans, the 7-9 Titans, the 4-12 Buccaneers and the 7-9 Rams.

Against the Texans we were down 20-6 in the 4th quarter, and rallied to win in overtime.

Against the Rams it took two defensive stop from the 1 yard line as time expired to get the win.

Against the Bucs we fell behind 21-0 and came back to force overtime with 2 minutes left.

In Bevell and Cable we trust

Since the PCJS era started we've made the play-offs 5 out of 6 times (and are about to make it 6 out of 7). On the other side of the coin there are 8 teams that didn't make the play-offs even once in this timeframe.

It becomes even more extreme when you look at play-off wins. Under Pete we've had 8 play-off wins so far. Meanwhile teams like the Bengals, Lions and Browns haven't even won a single play-off game since the early 90s.

I think those of us who have been critical of a few individuals understand this completely, and are simply concerned that those few people may hold us back from the very top of the mountain during this very special window.

I assume the Colts went through something like this during Peyton's tenure. A decade of "good but not great." A consistent A- performance becomes frustrating when you can't get over the hump for the A+. That's all we're saying.

Of course when it's over we'll all look back and say it was fun, but until then, we want the A+, lol.

Last week I heard on talk radio how the Seahawks should be out of the top 4 rankings because they lost to Tampa.

Several of the same experts then proceeded with moving Kansas City into the top 4 instead of Seattle because they beat Denver that week.

...........Kansas City - the team that lost to Tampa the week before that........

WindCityHawk":d5wk8m0c said:

I think those of us who have been critical of a few individuals understand this completely, and are simply concerned that those few people may hold us back from the very top of the mountain during this very special window.

I assume the Colts went through something like this during Peyton's tenure. A decade of "good but not great." A consistent A- performance becomes frustrating when you can't get over the hump for the A+. That's all we're saying.

Of course when it's over we'll all look back and say it was fun, but until then, we want the A+, lol.

Click to expand...

This thread should be named the fickleness of a redundant dead horse beating fan.

WindCityHawk":3581ayka said:

I think those of us who have been critical of a few individuals understand this completely, and are simply concerned that those few people may hold us back from the very top of the mountain during this very special window.

I assume the Colts went through something like this during Peyton's tenure. A decade of "good but not great." A consistent A- performance becomes frustrating when you can't get over the hump for the A+. That's all we're saying.

Of course when it's over we'll all look back and say it was fun, but until then, we want the A+, lol.

Click to expand...

Kind of sums up the Holmgren era here.

WindCityHawk":1dbaif1e said:

I think those of us who have been critical of a few individuals understand this completely, and are simply concerned that those few people may hold us back from the very top of the mountain during this very special window.

I assume the Colts went through something like this during Peyton's tenure. A decade of "good but not great." A consistent A- performance becomes frustrating when you can't get over the hump for the A+. That's all we're saying.

Of course when it's over we'll all look back and say it was fun, but until then, we want the A+, lol.

Click to expand...

And those of us on the other side of the debate say it's those certain individuals who have done their part to make this unparalleled run in franchise history possible.

Sure you seek accountability from the offense ... we all do because we want to see the Hawks succeed ... but the demands a faction of this board constantly beat their chests for just seem unrealistic at times. If Paul Allen could dole out $10 to each of the other teams' $1 in payroll in some bizarro world where there was no salary cap constraints, then yes, the Hawks would be expected to hammer teams by 30 points a game and win 9 Super Bowls every 10 years. But with those restraints, which makes a team focus where they're going to put those resources (QB and defense for us), it really makes winning games hard and should give you a greater appreciation of what we've accomplished thus far while at the same time keeping you encouraged for what lies ahead. Pete just opened up last week that this successful model of consistency is what he strives for and takes pride in. It's about having faith in the system and that model and not panicking when those outlier games come around a few times a year.

I'm not telling you how you should think or react, by the way, I'm just giving you another perspective as I feel this is the right time as the tone around here seems to have changed for the better, offering a more constructive chance for dialogue.

WindCityHawk":1k6kucwq said:

I think those of us who have been critical of a few individuals understand this completely, and are simply concerned that those few people may hold us back from the very top of the mountain during this very special window.

Click to expand...

The question these people have to ask themselves is are they being realistic, or even fair in their criticism?

This is the NFL, it's very very hard to win a SB, even if you have a perfectly built team..................which the NFL the past 20 years since the Cowboy and Niner dynasties has made utterly and completely IMPOSSIBLE.

Teams now need to choose which side of the ball they want to excel at. We've chosen to dedicate 60-70% of our cap space to the D, which is why they've been the #1 scoring defense in the league the past four years.

So if you or others are one of those constant criticizers of certain coordinators, line coaches or offensive line play? Then I'd definitely put you into the "unrealistic expectation" of never having a down year, or NEEDING To blame someone if we don't win a SB every single year.

That's as unrealistic as it gets as a fan, no matter the expectations of our team.

Lefthandsmoke posted this another thread...

Amazing stat

---
@FieldGulls
Since 2012, NE has allowed 2nd-fewest points. 302 pts separate them from 21st-fewest pts allowed. Seahawks have allowed 303 pts LESS than NE
---