Do you believe?

There is a recent drumbeat of negativity from a few prominent posters here.

There has been a change from Bevell and more particularly Cable and potentially FO realization of their error in not moving this way earlier. Some whining voices and unproductive contracts have been moved out, addition by subtraction to some.

The year’s draft starting w/o a 2nd and 3rd and 6th round pick didn’t turn out too bad.

There are some interesting new players here courtesy of FA .

The national media thinks the team is unlikely to finish better than 3rd in the Division, but the majority here thinks the team has a punchers chance at competing.

All that said there is a highly vocal minority here that doesm’t believe, has little confidence in Schneider, thinks Pete is washed up and has lost it along with the team. The front office is staffed by incompetents and is worse by the recent addition of Grigson.

The thing is that several here think differently and that the recent changes for the most part have been positive and that of course with change there are a few questions.

What does the majority here believe?

Is the FO out of ideas?

Will the OLine be improved?

Will the there be a running game?

Will the pass D be adequate?

Will the D Line be able to pressure opposing QBs?

Will Our new DC be an improvement over Richard?

Will our new OC be an improvement over Bevell (not that that wouldn’t be hard)?

Where will the team finish in the Division this season?

Do you believe?

There will always be a small but very vocal collective of noisy negativists. It's always been that way from the moment I started the community back in 1998. I personally try my best to ignore the ones who simply bring nothing productive to the conversation and refuse to wallow in their perpetual cynicism. And I have found the Ignore feature to be quite effective through the years, and in a small minority of cases, still do.

Having said that, I absolutely do believe in this team. I believe the Championship Culture is still very much running through this organization despite the loss of some great players. I have yet to lose faith in Pete Carroll even if some of the older warriors who are no longer a distraction, er, I mean here, did. While Schneider's gloss and sheen has dulled slightly to some fans due to not every draft being a grand slam in recent years, I still have yet to find any real evidence that he still isn't one of the better GMs in the league.

Something changed during the draft. I felt a palpable shift in the collective energy of this franchise. I didn't just celebrate and cheer Shaq's draft selection and the obvious feel good story that comes with him, but the feeling that a new, positive chapter was about to bloom. Sure, I can't offer scientific analysis based off of a feeling, but it's there all the same.

I was watching Total Access this evening and they were talking about Earl's hold out and the implications. One of the analysts said, and I paraphrase, that the Seahawks probably don't need to worry about paying him like they might in the past because after all, we have no shot at a Super Bowl this year and won't even win the division.

He didn't even say it in a snarky way. It was simply an obvious foregone conclusion in his mind that nobody countered with in the segment. While he, and perhaps most people think the Seahawks are full blown rebuilding and have no shot at the division this year, I follow Bobby Wagner's thoughts on the matter.

Don't sleep on the Seahawks.

Or, actually, go right ahead. It's when we do our best.

So do I believe? Hell yes I believe. That doesn't have any impact on the final story of how this season will play out of course but Vegas has us at 8-8 and I am definitely putting money on the over. Will I be the least bit surprised if this team shocks the country and gets back to business? Not in the least.

Believe it.

I believe talent usually decides who wins and we are probably the third most talented team in our division. I believe the roster atrophy is due to several personnel blunders - bad resignings, bad FA acquisitions, bad trades, bad drafts - and Schneider is largely responsible. I believe Carroll's delay in firing Cable and Bevel sent the message that only players are accountable to "always compete " which was hypocritical and lost the locker room.

I also believe Pete is the only guy who can right things. He did a great job to go 9-7 last year without a running game or a kicker. I believe in Pete's formula and trust him to recapture it. I believe we go 8-8 this year and are back on track in 2019.

Thanks for that reply Todd.

With the exception of losing faith in Schneider for me it’s so right on! Nobody drafts well every season but all in all save the trades for Graham and Harvin he’s done well and both cases I sense Pete’s meddling “go for it” interference. Pete needs to listen more to JS and I’ll back the Big Balls Pete when it come to 1st round picks.

I had the blues for a while last season b/c the OLine had worsened and couldn’t block didfly squat, the O was simplistic and predictable and the D was a sieve on 3rd downs.

Besides that there was this sad negativity around the team, Earl was out, then back but seemingly slowed. Sherman was into himself and not his team, Avril, a favourite, was seriously hurt on fluke play and the prognosis wasn’t good. Kam was out and he too looked to be done. Besides all that, the team sort persevered and had our head case kicker made two kicks that should have been possible that broken team could have finished 11-5.i ended the season encouraged but hearty disappointed in missing the playoffs. Somehow though I could see it was still possible for the core of this team, but changes were essential.

Those changes have been made, I believe Solari will improve our OLine and we have some talented RBs. Schotty couldn’t possibly be worse than Bevell, and our DC will even with some missing pieces be better than Richard.

Absolutely I think the team has a puncher’schance to win the Division.

Those negative Nellie types can believe what they want, but it is a mistake to sleep on this team.

Which team is second Thunderhawk? I’ll give you the Rams as #1 for now, but the Hawks still have the best QB in the Division and it isn’t close.

In terms of player talent who’s assessment of talent are you basing your opinion upon?

I've said 8-8 for awhile now. I just cant see the team reaching the heights of a division title or even a wild card when the talent we gave up was replaced with lesser, cheaper players. So many question marks. Will the Oline be worth a darn, will we be able to run the ball at an average rate, will the defense be decent, will our kicker be with us for the season and can he still kick, can the new coaches push us forward, etc,,,. All of this and we play in the same division as the loaded Rams. I also still think Pete bails after the 2019 season when his contract is up. This season,,,I do not believe.

Looking forward to the season. No reason not to be. We made some serious corrections and I like the thinking of what the FO is doing. Really wanted a veteran LG but maybe one of our guys makes a good jump. Things are looking good so far. Now we just have to produce.

I think this year's sophomore class is destined to take a big jump and impress. That plus a scheme fitting rookie class foretells a spirited competition for 2018. It is gonna be fun to watch the swagger return.

What does the majority here believe?


I was vocal about routes, blocking scheme and play calling under the previous offense system and OC O line coach, call that negative if you want but it turns out my opinion along with others was correct. Calling out deficiencies is part of being a fan as well.


But I am also now optimistic about the offense, Schotty has more disciplined and accountability for his QB and players. Solari is more old school punch them in the mouth and keep punch versus lets say a more finesse type scheme.

On Defense I think Pete got wrapped up a bit in his own success and feeling of I knew I could do it and was busy showing everyone he did versus continuing his approach of the best play and holding them accountable, that's coaches and players. With the run and amount of games played players had more mileage on them and injuries ramped up a lot do to the equivalent of more seasons played when you include all the playoff games and less rest off season. The turnover should have happened a couple years ago more slowly and we would not have had the dip along with the change in the Offensive scheme.

Water under the bridge now so going forward.

Is the FO out of ideas?

No, just delinquent in the follow thru of it, that's being corrected and our so called defensive stars in some positions have been moved or allowed to move on. We have hungry guys that have been sitting in the wings and in quantities, add a few F.A. we have signed and the competition will rise, it may look different to complement their unique skills, just as the defense did with the smarts and length of Sherm and physicality of Kam along with the brutality of Browner and Speed of Earl. Additionally, Clemens was a WTF did we get him for when we let Jackson go to Detroit and traded Tapp for him. Then we moved Bryant to Leo and we were all hearing he would have been cut under the previous regime and considered a bust at DT. Brought in Brock when Clemons was injured and we were going what, he has nothing left. Then Avril and we were going why do we need him, he just benefitted from Suh presence in Detroit. Oh and then the Bennett thing, he was a system guy in Tampa and guy we let go the first time and a retread.

On and On it has gone, we have had failures to be sure but we have a lot of success, our failures just happen to be guys that have garnered a lot of headlines.



Will the OLine be improved?

Easy answer yes, they will be worked in a position they know and learn it, more basic and using their strengths and not trying to take the Hulk and make him the Flash so to speak.

Will the there be a running game?

Yes, see above, and we will use the skill sets of our guys better, they can catch and we will have a legitimate blocking TE and FB, all that will make a defense honest and have to respect the run game.

Will the pass D be adequate?

Again I say yes, screens and timing routes will help a lot, the running game will help more, defenses will not start out in a sprinters position to get to Wilson.

Will the D Line be able to pressure opposing QBs?

We have three former 1st round picks that we picked up from what many considered a scrap heap, they got healthy and showed something at the end of last season, we have Clark and we will use Mingo and Shaquem, Norton will blitz more and we will be more of a Quinn aggressive defense then the conservative hope they make a mistake deep zone of Bradley or Richards defense.

Will Our new DC be an improvement over Richard?

We were at our best as an aggressive defense, hitters need to hit, aggressive mentality needs to be able to play down hill not on their heals, we will get more turnovers also.

Will our new OC be an improvement over Bevell (not that that wouldn’t be hard)?

Schotty will use a more complicated route system, timing as I stated above and screens not the ones that start with a Bubble, but RB's in the flat and swing routes, pick routes and different levels of the field, I also think he will use the middle more, Bevel never went crossing patterns or seam routes rarely with the TE. Add the improved running game and the whole offense will look rejuvenated. Throw in Motion , yes Motion and shifts to help Russell Identify coverage and blitz's and it will be a lot better, Wilson will need more study time and be asked to carry more of the load as far as audibles and change ups based on what he see's as well.


Where will the team finish in the Division this season?

I expect the first half to have bumps as everyone has to get timing down and comfort levels, we will also see moments of brilliance as well. Cards have talent but a QB transition happening and that's never smooth, add a new Coach and that's bumpier still, 49ers had a run at the end of the season, but now everyone has had a whole off season to look at what they did, They don't have all the pieces yet on offense, I think we can take away their running game and make them one dimensional just with our team as it is. Question is can the rest of the league. I think it will be a dogfight for the Wildcard with the 49ers for second in the division in honest evaluation that is if all the talent the Rams added does not eat each other, focused and clicking out of the gate they could be a very scary team, if what typically happens with a dream team does they will devour each other Percy Harvin style when they hit their first major road block and then it will be trying to keep the wheels on the rest of the season. They may still win the division but it won't be going away and us or the 49ers could steal the top spot by a game easily if they implode.

Do you believe?

I believe in what I have seen to date, that's an attempt to correct the course, I need more information to see if the winds are at our back or if were still waiting to raise the sails so to speak. I think when we see it click it won't be a questionable, its just when and if the players here will rise to the occasion. I think the mediots stories will feed a early push by the players that they can build on. We have the Front office that will use those in a motivating manner, many teams don't have that psychological advantage that Pete uses with his players.

Belief from fans, outside sources, etc are all irrelevant. Might make people feel better about themselves or warm and fuzzy or some nonsense, but it literally means nothing about the Seahawks themselves.

What matters is that the players do. And they now do. That's what this offseason has been about. I don't want to sound like cliche Pete, but that much is absolutely true and there really is no way around it. They have to be in it and seize opportunity, not to mention actually having a tangible opportunity in the first place. Some things had gotten somewhat caustic on the inside and it's better to leave that behind and try and look forward rather than endure at cost. We had great runs with some of these guys, but it is what it is. We'll have a few new guys on D and a couple on O. I think the offense is absolutely upgraded too and haven't thought that for a few years. On defense, McDougald reiterated today how much Kam has helped him mentally in this defense and that helps a ton in working with Wagner and KJ too. We have 3 good, proven corners in this defense and if we can get some productivity in the pass rush, we'll be absolutely fine and have a chance to win in every game.

I am optimistic that the new young guys will perform on a high level

I am worried the offensive scheme of Schottenheimer and PC is football of old that won’t excite the fan base nor win games

I hope to be right on the first and wrong on the second

I think our defense will be solid but concerned about getting pressure on the QB so he can’t just find outlet players and TE over the middle

I still think we are in the fight for wildcard

I am sure people will say this is negative....

As a fan, in my gut I always believe they can win every game and have a chance to win the SB.

I'm having trouble getting there after thinking about it more. If you don't have the most talented team, you have to win by consistently outsmarting opponents with creative gameplans and play designs, and I don't know that's a strength of our coaching staff. I think the defense should be better than a lot of people think because Pete Carroll usually fields a great defense and we still have top tier players on that side of the ball. The pass rush "on paper" really worries me though.

The team will probably go as far as Russell Wilson can take them and they haven't really prioritized building around him, so I'm a bit worried about that. Our receiving options are arguably as weak as they've ever been in the RW era, but I'm hoping that with an improved OL we can have better pass protection and a good running game so it'll balance out. Schedule looks tough on paper as well, but a lot will probably change by the time the season rolls around.

This is the first season in a while that I'm not coming in with an expectation of 12 to 14 wins. Whatever the record turns out to be, I can tell you as a fan I'm going to enjoy it. I have no expectations with this team, everything seems new and fresh, there is opportunity everywhere. I'm looking forward to being pleasantly surprised with all the naysayers eating a little crow.

Do I believe?

Yes I do.

Now, my thoughts on that (if you view it as a problem)?

Don’t engage, ignore it, and carry on as though they weren’t here.
My opinion is, you will enjoy your time here much more.

Realize that anytime you have this many people voicing opinions, that there is always going to be both ends of the spectrum, and many time the ends will be extreme.

YMMV

pittpnthrs":34qmgmuf said:

I've said 8-8 for awhile now. I just cant see the team reaching the heights of a division title or even a wild card when the talent we gave up was replaced with lesser, cheaper players. So many question marks. Will the Oline be worth a darn, will we be able to run the ball at an average rate, will the defense be decent, will our kicker be with us for the season and can he still kick, can the new coaches push us forward, etc,,,. All of this and we play in the same division as the loaded Rams. I also still think Pete bails after the 2019 season when his contract is up. This season,,,I do not believe.

Click to expand...

You give no value to changes in our kicking game, punting game, running game, OL coach change, OC coach change, draft, or the launching of 2 of our loudest, highly paid detractors.
Some folks can only see the negative angle. It is their agenda.

This should be an 8 or 9 win team.

That is pretty good.

Based on what we know now.

But we have no idea what the D will look like because we changed our DC.

We have no idea what the O will look like because we changed our OC.

We had no run game last year so that will probably be better.

We lost a lot of our key receivers so that is a complete mystery.

Our secondary is likely very different.

So until we at least see some of the preseason games, we won't have a clue. Belief is one step below speculation but speculation is all we have right now. It makes no sense to be pessimistic as we have never seen the offense or defense yet. And it makes no sense to be optimistic for the same reason.

I believe that our roster is headed in the right direction again, getting young and hungry.

But I also believe that we're still another 2-3 years away from adding key pieces and depth, especially on defense to seriously compete for another SB run.

Too many holes and unknowns in the roster right now for me to believe we're serious contenders in 2018. BUT, I believe Pete and John are headed in the right direction again.

We have Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, and Chris Carson. That's some serious offense right there.

Bonus: The same 5 guys playing together through the off season, pre-season, and regular season. That's a point that Russell Wilson made the other day. That's something we haven't had because a previous coach believed in "versatility."

I'm a firm believer that, as long as we have Russell Wilson, we're a SuperB Owl contender.

I believe that games will be more enjoyable without expectations. I still think he have a pretty good team but we don't have players running around telling us how good they are and how disrespected they feel.

I am excited about this years draft class. I can only guess until I see them play. As a rabid fan, I watched the Fumble King with high hopes.......I call it like I see it sometimes. This years draft has a different feel and I think it has to do with the new staffs input. Now -I have gotten spoiled and I feel insulted when someone suggests that the leagues best quarterback cant win 9 games all bye himself in a relative fashion. We have more tools than that and last year we did play without many contributions from some of our departed players.

If we miss 3 field goals and lose three games because of it I am gonna go unhinged, berserk, crazy, pugilistic, :rumble:

That being said I love all 12's. Cant wait for the season to start.

(I do like that we seem to have purged some malcontents, too)