We're Saved !!! O-Line "Nailed"

sdog1981":23cn4atc said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

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Josea16":rga0ou4s said:

sdog1981":rga0ou4s said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

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We are but some people are a bit slow on the uptake and obviously don't look at current threads. It's too hard when there are 10 separate threads about the OL at all times because of .Net's negative fetish about the OL.

Case in point, all the Negative Nellies don't account for experience, continuity, or people playing in their correct and/or natural positions unlike last year. They will be average this year and that's all the Seahawks need. They admitted last year was a mistake. It's not going to happen again because there are too many "at least average" veterans in the mix to make it possible.

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sdog1981":111v6vqs said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

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Jimjones0384":14ecgnc9 said:

sdog1981":14ecgnc9 said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

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They haven't stopped talking about this for years. I wonder what people want. Do you him to come out and say, "you know what, these guys suck. We are doomed"? If he did, they would bitch about that too. It's borderline delusional, the expectations of this fanbase, that is.

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jammerhawk":4w95s8an said:

He's clearly not a RT and the experiment with at G didn't work. He was a Pro Bowl C though. Who knew? Coach Cable did. All in all if we assess the scrap pile players the team has recycled they have certainly found the odd one that proved out not to be horrible.

Pittsburgh won the SB last time they won with a horribly bad OLine. Throwing money at the problem is clearly not the answer and finding quality players for the NFL especially on the OLine is not easy. BTW I listened to Coach Cable and he never said the OLine was nailed, only that he was excited with what he was seeing from his young charges. That sounded like coach speak, but then again aren't coaches expected to encourage?

Let's wait and see.

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Bigpumpkin":1178rrwv said:

Josea16":1178rrwv said:

sdog1981":1178rrwv said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

Click to expand...

We are but some people are a bit slow on the uptake and obviously don't look at current threads. It's too hard when there are 10 separate threads about the OL at all times because of .Net's negative fetish about the OL.

Case in point, all the Negative Nellies don't account for experience, continuity, or people playing in their correct and/or natural positions unlike last year. They will be average this year and that's all the Seahawks need. They admitted last year was a mistake. It's not going to happen again because there are too many "at least average" veterans in the mix to make it possible.

Click to expand...

Hummmm...seems like we've heard this before. Too bad we gotta wait three more months for the opening game.

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Josea16":1frzojfq said:

Bigpumpkin":1frzojfq said:

Josea16":1frzojfq said:

sdog1981":1frzojfq said:

I thought we were already talking about this?

Click to expand...

We are but some people are a bit slow on the uptake and obviously don't look at current threads. It's too hard when there are 10 separate threads about the OL at all times because of .Net's negative fetish about the OL.

Case in point, all the Negative Nellies don't account for experience, continuity, or people playing in their correct and/or natural positions unlike last year. They will be average this year and that's all the Seahawks need. They admitted last year was a mistake. It's not going to happen again because there are too many "at least average" veterans in the mix to make it possible.

Click to expand...

Hummmm...seems like we've heard this before. Too bad we gotta wait three more months for the opening game.

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Yes, we have heard it before but the difference is this year it's actually true. Fant will be better as will Ifredi (by playing his actual and natural position) just by being 2nd year players and nothing else. Joekel is definitely a better then average LG and whoever wins the RG spot will be league average. And Britt is the real deal.

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jammerhawk":3pouq0mc said:

Won't all the 'negative Nellies' be disappointed if in fact the OLine is average or better. Let's remember the Hawks OLine is still the cheapest and certainly one of youngest in the league. I remain curious as to the additions and genuinely expect some real development of the 4 starters left from last season and from the other players the team has drafted. Of course they won't all prove out but you have to think they will be better.

Several aren't happy around here if there isn't a coach or player to pick fault with.

Lately if not Bevell, it's Cable, and of course Kearse, Britt went from being a .net pariah by finally playing a position where his physicality could work and he demonstrated he was able to master the mental part of the game. He's clearly not a RT and the experiment with at G didn't work. He was a Pro Bowl C though. Who knew? Coach Cable did. All in all if we assess the scrap pile players the team has recycled they have certainly found the odd one that proved out not to be horrible.

Pittsburgh won the SB last time they won with a horribly bad OLine. Throwing money at the problem is clearly not the answer and finding quality players for the NFL especially on the OLine is not easy. BTW I listened to Coach Cable and he never said the OLine was nailed, only that he was excited with what he was seeing from his young charges. That sounded like coach speak, but then again aren't coaches expected to encourage?

Let's wait and see.

Click to expand...

Josea16":31k5ateh said:

Case in point, all the Negative Nellies don't account for experience, continuity, or people playing in their correct and/or natural positions unlike last year. They will be average this year and that's all the Seahawks need. They admitted last year was a mistake. It's not going to happen again because there are too many "at least average" veterans in the mix to make it possible.

Click to expand...

Attyla the Hawk":12f6kxnq said:

My take:

1. I can't bring myself to believe the coach who cried, "Our best group yet" for the past several seasons. This is a refrain that should fall on deaf ears to all but the most intractable homers. It's easily been the biggest whitewash BS line from this FO and it's repeated like clockwork every single OTA season.

2. I think this will be our best OL group since we let Hutch walk. Not for any propagandist reasons that Cable is repeating. Namely, I think we've added pieces that fit in a very Tobeck/Gray kind of way. I do think Fant is going to excel quickly. And we have better hedge quality players in the pipeline should our 1a options from May/June not prove effective.

3. Better experience. I fully expect our homegrown talent to be better this year. But that's not a given. I like the fact that we've added Joeckel and Aboushi into the mix. Not as savior types. But as capable options to insert into the mix. There isn't a lot of Fant/Odhiambo/Ifedi players on this roster who basically have to start as rookies or are the primary backups -- providing little real competition to underperforming starters. We don't have any rookies right now that we're counting on. If the starters suck, we have players to elevate without reservation.

4. Ifedi at RT -- not thrilled. I get why we drafted him. And I conceded we'd probably draft him. That said, I still stand by my pre draft opinion that Ifedi is not a good player. Good athlete. Not a good player. And I'm not thrilled that he's going to be slotted at RT -- a move I predicted before last season that we'd make in 2017. Because he was a pretty unremarkable RT in college. So every time I see the staff remark that he's returning to his natural position, I read it as he's returning to his poorly played natural position. His issues at RG were basically the same that he exhibited at RT. I hold out hope that Ifedi blossoms in his second year as most NFL players do. But at this point I'll have to see something that he didn't preface in his rookie season. Immediately I'll be looking to see if he's found a good punch and has rid himself of his severe predilection of bear hugging rushers that he displayed in college. He'll be good for 2-3 holding calls a game if he hasn't.

I find it very interesting that we've invoked competition with the following:

5. Ethan Pocic. The 'new' prototype Seahawk OL prospect. Pocic was a player that very few of us really considered for Seattle. He really appeared to be a player that didn't fit our profile. Seattle has consistently sought athletic but raw players. Players that played OT in college almost exclusively. With the intent to salvage draft value if required by transforming them into interior OL players if necessary.

Enter Pocic. A player who rarely played OT in college. A player who, while not unathletic -- certainly not remarkable compared to the profile of OT prospects we've culled in the past with an eye toward converting to the interior. A player who is assuredly not raw at all. But very technically proficient. A player deeply steeped in the zone blocking scheme. A player who really played interior OL almost his entire career. A player whose ability to keep his hands inside are remarkably dissimilar with Ifedi's 'give me a hug' grappling style.

He really is a departure from the kinds of prospects we've added in the past. And to take him in R2. I have to think this is what Pete and John were referring to when they talked in March about re-evaluating their previous drafts and trying to learn from their mistakes. Because Pocic is most definitely the most obvious departure we made in this draft relative to what we've done previously. We sacrificed some high end athletic upside for proven talent and skill and familiarity with our concepts. And it really seemed like Pocic was the "guy we couldn't leave the draft without", given how secretive we were about our interest in him.

Overall, this group should make a very significant leap in terms of improvement. It's fairly typical for fans to see rookies as failures in their first year and to cast aside the expectation that the same players who sucked in year one can become competent and even quality guys in years two and three. That 'improvement' has to be made by adding totally new guys. As opposed to guys just getting better. Seattle invested in youth last year. And took our lumps in turn. This year we should start reaping the benefits of that investment. But if we somehow manage to not get much in the way of returns, we have better options to turn to than the Sowells and Webbs of the NFL.

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Attyla the Hawk":163g24tc said:

My take:

.....4. Ifedi at RT -- not thrilled. I get why we drafted him. And I conceded we'd probably draft him. That said, I still stand by my pre draft opinion that Ifedi is not a good player. Good athlete. Not a good player. And I'm not thrilled that he's going to be slotted at RT -- a move I predicted before last season that we'd make in 2017. Because he was a pretty unremarkable RT in college.....

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