Why Isn't The Seahawks Template More Of A Story?

This was a response I made in regards to John Clayton's article on MyNorthwest.com about the Falcons and Seahawks defensive comparisons. Not that I had a problem with his article per se, but in my mind there's a bigger story that seems to be largely untouched by the mainstream media folk.

Forget the defensive comparisons. I think far more intriguing is how Quinn has taken Pete's philosophy - and the Seahawks Template - (Play for your brother next to you...Forget about personal stats, it's about Love Your Brother, Always Compete, etc, etc) and brought it to Atlanta where it is CLEARLY working.

Funny how I have heard little about the credit the Seahawks organization should be getting for the Falcons current success. I don't mean that in a sour grapes kind of way...In fact Dan Quinn is more than happy to tell media where his philosophy's genesis stems from, I just find it odd that Pete Carroll and the culture he has brought to Seattle since his arrival isn't a major story.

Let's take Denver as an example. Here they were, the most DOMINATE OFFENSE IN NFL HISTORY when we faced them in SBXLVIII. The media had a field day..."How on earth can the Seahawks defense stop the most prolific offense in NFL history?!?"

43-8.

So what did Denver do? Elway was smart enough to realize "Uh, we need to build a dominate defense". And that is precisely what they did. Two years later? They beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl based off a dominating defensive performance.

My point? Not since the days of Bill Walsh and the epic 49ers of the 80's have we seen a team who's template has been as copied as the Seahawks in recent years. Yet, little credit is given for that. I wonder why that is?

To add, I remember watching a segment on NFL Network (Total Access) last year where analysts (both former players and non former players) talked about who was the most dominating defense in recent years. The 85 Bears were mentioned, the 02 Ravens, the 15 Broncos...

NO MENTION OF THE 2013 SEAHAWKS DEFENSE THAT DESTROYED THE NFL'S MOST PROLIFIC OFFENSE IN NFL HISTORY IN THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS???

I about threw my remote at the TV.

This isn't Sour-Grapes-Overly-Sensitive-Seahawks-Fan thinking the team gets no respect at every turn...

This was a clear and orchestrated omission.

I have never forgotten that.

People recognize the Seahawks template.

Now more than ever, even casual fans know that defense wins championships.

The one issue is that the Seahawks template is not an easy one to copy, because the dominant running game was led by a generational RB and the defense a generational FS with a great SS and good CBs that fit the scheme.

Atlanta is winning base on offense, and until they win because of defense it's not Seahawks 2.0.

Jacksonville couldn't replicate the Seahawks.

Denver built that defense with a few pieces already in place.....they just bought some CBs and Demarcus Ware, and got decent LB play. They won with excellent CB play and the best 3-4 OLB pass rushing tandem the league has seen in a long time.

Dallas fundamentally is building strong on the OL and going with a top RB and a mobile QB....similar but different. They'll work on defense next. Their DC is pretty good at maximizing talent.

Not for nothing but the Ravens had that smash mouth mentality for over a decade now, and the 49ers inherited it through Mike Nolan who coached there as well. Singletary and Harbaugh put the finishing touches on a team that had the smash mouth success before the Seahawks (just without the Lombardi).

Niners and Panthers built strong defenses off of front 7s. While the pinnacle abilities of those defenses might not have reached the heights of the Seahawks, they were less reliant on 1 or 2 guys holding it together.

What the Seahawks have done is somewhat unique to them based on their coaching and unique players.

Now the skimping on OL and the Pete Carroll style "antics"....not sure teams want to carbon copy that.

I've been listening to Sirius NFL all week, and they've talked a lot about the comparisons between the Falcons' defense and that of the Seahawks, so not all of the talking heads are ignoring the Hawks D.

I'm disappointed it isn't more of a story too - especially outside of football. I'd love to be a part of a classroom where the students believe something like "always compete" and a class views itself more as a team rather than a bunch of individuals meeting in a classroom for the sake of increasing the efficiency of an instructor. I'd love it if a similar philosophy wasn't just the philosophy of the Seahawks but for our whole country. It would seemingly make every activity, whether its school, work, or a hobby, more engaging, productive, and enjoyable.

Aros":x5wmf3e5 said:

To add, I remember watching a segment on NFL Network (Total Access) last year where analysts (both former players and non former players) talked about who was the most dominating defense in recent years. The 85 Bears were mentioned, the 02 Ravens, the 15 Broncos...

NO MENTION OF THE 2013 SEAHAWKS DEFENSE THAT DESTROYED THE NFL'S MOST PROLIFIC OFFENSE IN NFL HISTORY IN THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS???

I about threw my remote at the TV.

This isn't Sour-Grapes-Overly-Sensitive-Seahawks-Fan thinking the team gets no respect at every turn...

This was a clear and orchestrated omission.

I have never forgotten that.

Click to expand...

I think the Broncos D might be more memorable and even seem better for some mainly because of how atrocious their offense was. We've seen the stats demonstrating how comparably amazing both defenses were. However, the eye test for non-Seattle fans probably suggests their D did more because they had a bad offense to carry whereas ours was somewhat good.

Saw something similar at nfl.com when they went on and on about how Quinn has instilled a brotherhood and competition mentality into the Falcons. The Seahawks or Pete didn't come up once.

Btw. Not begrudging Coach Quinn, as he's his own man and has earned his place, but for many other coaches/teams they would constantly bring up the coaching tree and such.

BirdsCommaAngry":oj9zg1uf said:

Aros":oj9zg1uf said:

To add, I remember watching a segment on NFL Network (Total Access) last year where analysts (both former players and non former players) talked about who was the most dominating defense in recent years. The 85 Bears were mentioned, the 02 Ravens, the 15 Broncos...

NO MENTION OF THE 2013 SEAHAWKS DEFENSE THAT DESTROYED THE NFL'S MOST PROLIFIC OFFENSE IN NFL HISTORY IN THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS???

I about threw my remote at the TV.

This isn't Sour-Grapes-Overly-Sensitive-Seahawks-Fan thinking the team gets no respect at every turn...

This was a clear and orchestrated omission.

I have never forgotten that.

Click to expand...

I think the Broncos D might be more memorable and even seem better for some mainly because of how atrocious their offense was. We've seen the stats demonstrating how comparably amazing both defenses were. However, the eye test for non-Seattle fans probably suggests their D did more because they had a bad offense to carry whereas ours was somewhat good.

Click to expand...

Atrocious?, are you kidding?.... Manning had just put up one of the greatest Offensive season's in football history, and then got Destroyed in the NFL's Grandest showcase, the SUPER BOWL by Pete's Dragon.
Make no mistake, the rest of the NFL, including the stunned Donco's, took notice, (because of that drubbing), and started scrambling to rebuild their Defenses.
Cowboys copied the Mobile Quarterback & kick-ass RB formula that made the Seahawks Offense so formidable.
Dan Quinn knew that the Seahawks had ONE HALF of the LOB in Richard Sherman & Kam Chancellor defending the Secondary, he saw that Pete Carroll had one hand tied behind his back.....EASY PICKINGS for Quinn.

The Falcons are an offensive juggernaut thats why. They dont win by defense.

scutterhawk":31lfsc1f said:

Atrocious?, are you kidding?.... Manning had just put up one of the greatest Offensive season's in football history, and then got Destroyed in the NFL's Grandest showcase, the SUPER BOWL by Pete's Dragon.
Make no mistake, the rest of the NFL, including the stunned Donco's, took notice, (because of that drubbing), and started scrambling to rebuild their Defenses.
Cowboys copied the Mobile Quarterback & kick-ass RB formula that made the Seahawks Offense so formidable.
Dan Quinn knew that the Seahawks had ONE HALF of the LOB in Richard Sherman & Kam Chancellor defending the Secondary, he saw that Pete Carroll had one hand tied behind his back.....EASY PICKINGS for Quinn.

Click to expand...

Nope, not kidding. Despite their recording setting run in 2013, Denver was 25th in offensive DVOA in 2015 while playing with the QB combo of Brock Osweiler and a hobbled, soon-to-be retired Manning. Their offense was considerably worse than the Seahawk's offense during our Super Bowl winning season. Thus, some people might feel the 2015 Denver D was better than the 2013 Seahawk D if only because the Denver D won it all with a considerably worse offense. I'm not defending this perception. If that's what they're doing, it's wrong because it assumes too much and contradicts stats, like DVOA, which suggest our respective defenses were equally amazing. I'm just explaining what I think their point of view might be when they highlight the Denver D and not ours when mentioning all-time great defenses.

The stats show it, but Sherman and the rest of the defense have taken a more silent approach in recent years, they are not making headlines or shooting themselves accidently like the Broncos nor a league favorite like the Steelers. Plus I will just say it, were Seattle, the team that the NFL edits film on to focus penalties on us etc.

If the Falcons win, Carroll will finally have a branch on his assistant coaching tree that he can be proud of. It's small consolation for not being there ourselves.

hawknation2017":15h69iqw said:

If the Falcons win, Carroll will finally have a branch on his assistant coaching tree that he can be proud of. It's small consolation for not being there ourselves.

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I thought of that, too. Up till now, Pete's coaching tree consists of that sleaze bag Lane Kiffen and a stumbling alcoholic in Steve Sarkisian.

RiverDog":3ajl4xgh said:

hawknation2017":3ajl4xgh said:

If the Falcons win, Carroll will finally have a branch on his assistant coaching tree that he can be proud of. It's small consolation for not being there ourselves.

Click to expand...

I thought of that, too. Up till now, Pete's coaching tree consists of that sleaze bag Lane Kiffen and a stumbling alcoholic in Steve Sarkisian.

Click to expand...

Those two idiots, plus Gus Bradley and LSU HC Ed Orgeron.

Bill Belichick's coaching tree is also surprisingly underwhelming, until you count Nick Saban, who was Belichick's DC with the Browns.

RiverDog":1n4yrvcy said:

I've been listening to Sirius NFL all week, and they've talked a lot about the comparisons between the Falcons' defense and that of the Seahawks, so not all of the talking heads are ignoring the Hawks D.

Click to expand...

+1.I've heard the comparison / credit given on both NFL Network and Fox several times. It's out there. Just depends on who you listen to.

The short answer is they are a one hit wonder right now. The Seahawks story would be different if they kept losing in the conference title game instead of the divisional round.

Seattle got a lot of attention at the time. A few years removed of course there is going to be a lot of attention.

Abc, and fox are going to report a lot of different things. One is more alternative facts so take it with a grain of salt.

Even though the Hawks are out of it, I wish they'd make it more about us.



:2thumbs:

Seymour":24oynr63 said:

RiverDog":24oynr63 said:

I've been listening to Sirius NFL all week, and they've talked a lot about the comparisons between the Falcons' defense and that of the Seahawks, so not all of the talking heads are ignoring the Hawks D.

Click to expand...

+1.I've heard the comparison / credit given on both NFL Network and Fox several times. It's out there. Just depends on who you listen to.

Click to expand...

Well I watch NFL Network daily so I guess there's your answer.

Aros":35a0shmn said:

This was a response I made in regards to John Clayton's article on MyNorthwest.com about the Falcons and Seahawks defensive comparisons. Not that I had a problem with his article per se, but in my mind there's a bigger story that seems to be largely untouched by the mainstream media folk.

Forget the defensive comparisons. I think far more intriguing is how Quinn has taken Pete's philosophy - and the Seahawks Template - (Play for your brother next to you...Forget about personal stats, it's about Love Your Brother, Always Compete, etc, etc) and brought it to Atlanta where it is CLEARLY working.

Funny how I have heard little about the credit the Seahawks organization should be getting for the Falcons current success. I don't mean that in a sour grapes kind of way...In fact Dan Quinn is more than happy to tell media where his philosophy's genesis stems from, I just find it odd that Pete Carroll and the culture he has brought to Seattle since his arrival isn't a major story.

Click to expand...

OMG!, One of the Announcers in the game tonight, brought up your point about Dan Quinn, and him utilizing the Seahawks "Template"!! :shock: ....Did you send your beef post to someone outside .NET?? :stirthepot:
He felt that there was no coincidence, and that Quinn was indeed tied to Pete Carroll's Defensive mantra.