2017 PFF Oline Rankings are out

Looks like they believe we will pick up right where we left off last year. I personally believe we should improve some, but seriously doubt we come close to league average (that would be a 15+ team jump). That said, they sure don't have the confidence Cable does.

Say what you may about them (PFF), but bottom line is, 28 of 32 teams use them for stats to help them evaluate players and teams.

I seriously hope they are wrong. Having the worst oline again would trash any shot at another ring.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pr...sive-line-units-heading-into-the-2017-season/

32. Seattle Seahawks

Even with the addition of Luke Joeckel, there’s little reason to think this won’t yet again be the worst offensive line in the NFL. They finished dead last a season ago in snap-adjusted run-blocking grade and snap-adjusted pass-blocking grade. Getting PFF’s lowest-graded left tackle, George Fant, out of the starting lineup should help, but it won’t fix the unit overnight.

They're wrong.

I will say this about Fant -- that he was put in a starting role said everything about the Seahawks leadership and how bad our O-line was and NOTHING about Fant.

There should not be a lot of players in the NFL that had room for more improvement over last season which is a good thing. It should also be expected that he is massively better than he was. Now we don't know where his ceiling is but he started at the bottom. Most other players are somewhere closer to starting in the NFL at 75%-95% of their ceiling.

I am intrigued to see what he brings this year and cautiously optimistic. I am concerned that we didn't do enough for the possibility that he is never a starting caliber NFL player.....

mikeak":9dnzih34 said:

I will say this about Fant -- that he was put in a starting role said everything about the Seahawks leadership and how bad our O-line was and NOTHING about Fant.

There should not be a lot of players in the NFL that had room for more improvement over last season which is a good thing. It should also be expected that he is massively better than he was. Now we don't know where his ceiling is but he started at the bottom. Most other players are somewhere closer to starting in the NFL at 75%-95% of their ceiling.

I am intrigued to see what he brings this year and cautiously optimistic. I am concerned that we didn't do enough for the possibility that he is never a starting caliber NFL player.....

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I agree with everything you said there. Fant is the one I am really pulling for as well and hope he succeeds. Not just because I want to win, but I love his story and his determination.

I am most concerned over the Joeckel move as even at guard at that price I think we may not get much value. Pocic I hold more hope for, but it may be 1/2 way into the year before he can begin to hold his own IMO.

Time will tell.

Nothing wrong with PFF stats if you don't want to take into consideration injuries. Wilson got hurt in week one and week three with injuries that severely hampered his running and ability to escape the pocket all year long. Wilson's career rushing average coming into 2016 was 5.85 ypc last year he averaged 3.6 ypc. Russell has always hid the OL's shortcomings. The OL got exposed further with the injuries to Rawls and Prosise. Rawls injured his leg again week two got shutdown and didn't look right until the playoffs. Prosise played only six games due to injury but showed flashes. The Seahawks Scored 31 and 26 points in back to back weeks in road wins vs. NE and Phi with Prosise playing a huge role before being injured in the Eagles game. BTW the Seahawks were 7-2-1 at that point and on their way. With the additions of Joeckel, Aboushi and Pocic. Fant, Ifedi, Glow and Odhiambo all with another year under their belts plus the pickup of Lacy should help as well. While i don't think the OL will be in the top 10. It is hard to say that the OL won't improve i could see them ranking in the 17-22 range which would be a massive improvement over last year where everything that could go wrong went wrong. just my two cents!

Based on the line's relative inexperience, technical (in)proficiency, and lack of raw talent, there is very little reason for me to disagree with this ranking. I expect Fant & Ifedi to start at the tackle positions by default. Both are good-looking athletes, but both have serious issues with their technique in pass protection. I don't know how much better those two can realistically be expected to improve their pass pro technique in such a short amount of time, especially with the NFLPA's restrictions on scrimmaging. I think both starting tackles will be beaten A LOT around the edge.

Neither tackle displayed a sound drop step or used his length particularly well. Fant tends to try to charge at players to "bear hug" them, which leaves him vulnerable to counter moves. Ifedi, at least, has a few years of experience playing football. But he too has a multitude of technical flaws that are only heightened by his poor mirroring instincts and questionable lateral agility.

My 2nd concern is the frankly paltry depth that the front office has provided the offensive line. Odhiambo, Hunt, Aboushi, Myers, Senior, & Roos would probably not even make the 3rd team for a lot of NFL teams who prioritize athleticism and pass protection technique. Those guys would not start for a lot of college programs either. Watching our 2nd team OL in the preseason could be really embarrassing. And that's assuming these guys are relegated to depth and not required to START due to injury to one of the presumed starters.

Joeckel was paid LT money, but he will likely play guard due to need, and he has huge injury red flags and conditioning concerns while coming off major knee surgery. There is a good chance we will need someone like Odhiambo to start if Joeckel is hurt and Pocic isn't given the chance to beat out Odhiambo.

I do think the offensive line will be marginally better than last season if they avoid injuries to their top five or six players. They are more experienced and more talented than they were a year ago. But pass protection will likely continue to be a concern, and once again we will be breaking in young players at different positions than they played a season ago. Continuity is not what it could have been because last year's right guard is being moved to right tackle. Athleticism is about average or maybe slightly above for the starters, while athleticism for the backups is way below league average. And technique is very raw for both projected starting tackles. These are blocking weaknesses that our opponents should be expected to attempt to exploit over and over again at the line of scrimmage.

Once again, these OL problems could be compounded by below average blocking from the TEs and FBs. Luke Willson is the best blocker of the five TEs we have currently signed on the roster, and that's not a good thing. Algernon Brown is another athletic but inexperienced and technically deficient FB. Marcel Reese covered up a lot of problems for us during his brief stint at the end of last season, but he hasn't been signed yet because the front office is trying to once again shave dollars off the cap. If he is signed again mid-season, how often will Darrell Bevell deploy him as part of the game plan and will that be enough to win the line of scrimmage? We have a ton of spectacular playmakers on offense, but unfortunately we are making things a lot harder on these players than it would otherwise be if they were supported by league-average blockers.

The Seahawk are "Cleveland Browns" when it comes Oline. What's sad is the Cleveland Browns have a better OL than the Seahawks. The Seahawks have been in the bottom half of the NFL on a consistent basis the past few years. Hope that improves this season but history shows it hasn't.

Well when you on the bottom and draft more O lineman and decide to announce your moving people around again the rating is valid, game 9 is really when we will once again see what we have, until then I hope that diet Wilson is on has some Jack Rabbit in it.

Lucky for the Seahawks this season they start off with some time for the line to gel. They will not face an elite pass rush until week 5 in October. In the month of October, they will face the Rams, Giants, and Texans. That is the 1, 9th and 10th defenses from 2016 along with 5 of the leagues best pass rushers. On October 30th we will know what this team has along the oline, it is silly to rank any olines before the first 4 weeks of the season just due to the lack of contact during the offseason and the amount of injuries that pile up during the preseason and camp.

sdog1981":2cwsy66z said:

Lucky for the Seahawks this season they start off with some time for the line to gel. They will not face an elite pass rush until week 5 in October. In the month of October, they will face the Rams, Giants, and Texans. That is the 1, 9th and 10th defenses from 2016 along with 5 of the leagues best pass rushers. On October 30th we will know what this team has along the oline, it is silly to rank any olines before the first 4 weeks of the season just due to the lack of contact during the offseason and the amount of injuries that pile up during the preseason and camp.

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Just my opinion, but the League rules preventing significant contact before Pre-season games really hurts the Hawks more than many other teams because of our lack of maturity. I agree that it takes OL's at least four games to begin to jell.

Looking at the glass half full, this could be a very strong run blocking unit if healthy. Britt, Fant, Glowinski, and Ifedi are all in fantastic shape and look very explosive. Joeckel will take some time to round into shape, but he gives them a 5th long & tenacious run blocker. Pocic is in that same mold of long & tenacious; hopefully he is able to somewhat "redshirt" or play the swing tackle role while he gets stronger and improves his fundamentals.

Six potentially explosive run blockers:
LT Fant 6'5, 325
LG Joeckel 6'6, 315
C Britt 6'6, 315
RG Glowinski 6'4, 310
RT Ifedi 6'5, 325
ST Pocic 6'6, 309

They are wrong about pushing Fant out of the starting lineup, to begin with.

Offensive line better be playing a ton in the preseason....

TwilightError":eod9wjen said:

They are wrong about pushing Fant out of the starting lineup, to begin with.

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That does reduce their credibility, assuming Pocic doesn't take over at LT like I'm hoping.

But Fant was objectively awful. That people love his story, that the FO didn't do enough to stock the position, and that he was thrown in, don't make him better. It's just more reflective of the fan base's general distaste for expensive free agents and their appreciation for UDFA's (because of their track record here). Fant really was one of the worst tackles in the league last year, if not the most, especially when we played any team from Phoenix.

Sure, he might develop. But it's kinda telling that when it comes to Fant, everyone suddenly forgets that it's Tom Cable doing the developing.

hawkfan68":1rghqu7i said:

The Seahawk are "Cleveland Browns" when it comes Oline. What's sad is the Cleveland Browns have a better OL than the Seahawks. The Seahawks have been in the bottom half of the NFL on a consistent basis the past few years. Hope that improves this season but history shows it hasn't.

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Yeah, how many playoff appearances has that led to?

last season's oline was so bad that every player they attempted to block for was injured. It should be a crime to field a squad that bad two consecutive seasons. Hopefully we have improved.

Jimjones0384":1wht43d2 said:

hawkfan68":1wht43d2 said:

The Seahawk are "Cleveland Browns" when it comes Oline. What's sad is the Cleveland Browns have a better OL than the Seahawks. The Seahawks have been in the bottom half of the NFL on a consistent basis the past few years. Hope that improves this season but history shows it hasn't.

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Yeah, how many playoff appearances has that led to?

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We're not going to the playoffs because we have a bad O-line ...

Bigpumpkin":fxq99ubq said:

Just my opinion, but the League rules preventing significant contact before Pre-season games really hurts the Hawks more than many other teams because of our lack of maturity. I agree that it takes OL's at least four games to begin to jell.

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This is my biggest Cable gripe. He is trying to coach 2010 style with two a-days and all the offseason contact, not post 2011 CBA limited contact style.

It's a subjective ranking published to feed it's consumer audience. It is not representative of what professional teams find useful. What teams find useful is far too detailed for the taste of most fans.

Jimjones0384":2rs3xdt6 said:

hawkfan68":2rs3xdt6 said:

The Seahawk are "Cleveland Browns" when it comes Oline. What's sad is the Cleveland Browns have a better OL than the Seahawks. The Seahawks have been in the bottom half of the NFL on a consistent basis the past few years. Hope that improves this season but history shows it hasn't.

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Yeah, how many playoff appearances has that led to?

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I'm not satisfied with playoff appearances when this team should be making Superbowl appearances. Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins make the playoffs.....the bar for the Seahawks is higher than that, IMO, as it should be.