More Than A Feeling

This whole offseason has been a plethora of emotions. The demise of this team has been vastly overrated by the mediots.

I even saw a graphic tonight where they were talking about the NFC top stories, and the Seahawks were listed as "RE-TOOLING" (quotes mine). This is a gradual transition from the the dreaded "REBUILDING" label. Yes, semantics I know, but work with me here...

Watching NFL Gameday, the broadcasters, as they were covering the Seahawks/Vikings highlights segment, said more than once "Are we underestimating the Seahawks?" There's a subtle shift going on with the national narrative even with our winless preseason record thus far. The X and O aficionados can quantify it more eloquently than I ever could, but my 49-year-old eyeballs still function (well not up close, that's what reading glasses are for, sigh), and what they see is legitimate improvement.

I see young players with that WANT TO. I see our offensive line starting to play like a legitimate offensive line. Pushing guards, not that broken zone blocking junk that was clearly not effective under Cable. I see that Carroll-esque mantra COMPETE being a real thing again, not just lip service once the loud-mouthed, distracting stars enveloped the entire football team to distracting levels.

(Yes, thank you for your service gentlemen, I mean that with all sincerity, but both you Bennett and you Sherman became a distraction to this team and your release was necessary for us to move on to the next era of hope and possibilities.)

Wagner and Wright are a ridiculously formidable linebacking tandem that alone will make for an opponent's rough day. Forget that penalty, Wagner's bull rush that destroyed Cousins, KJ Wright's LOB-worthy (and legal!) hit on Stefon Diggs is but a harbinger of things to come.

The original LOB may be in our rear view mirror but make no mistake about it...The BOOM is still intact, and it IS coming.

Worried about our pass rush? Sure, there's reason to think that could be a concern but the Vikings game gave us a hint of what is coming this year. Expect aggressive corner/safety blitzing at opportune times to negate any perceived lack of pass rush from the DEs. Green looks like he's legitimately legit, not preseason legit, but he has the tools and the mechanics and the consistency to be a true force. Frank Clark? If he is healthy this season he is a double-digit sack monster guaranteed.

And in the end, we have, oh, ho hum...Some shlub named Russell Wilson that already had more records to his 6-year-career than I can even think of. An elite quarterback, a franchise quarterback that can turn a sure loss into a victory in the final minutes of any game, any given Thursday, Sunday or Monday.

Add in the other ballers like Baldwin, Lockett, Marshall, both Shaq's, T2, McDougald and others? Yeah baby.

It's more than a feeling.

2012 anyone?

Literally a post like this exists on every NFL and college fansite in the nation before game 1.

I mostly agree though that this team could be pretty dang good, but so can the others in the same division. tough sledding this year.

I see that Carroll-esque mantra COMPETE being a real thing again, not just lip service once the loud-mouthed, distracting stars enveloped the entire football team to distracting levels.

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I'm going to stay on my soapbox on this one, Aros: while people may be caught up in the entitlement of the defensive vets we've since jettisoned, there's no statistical evidence that they'd actually stopped bringing the boom. They were still on top of their games. They were still producing. They were still in every Pro Bowl conversation. None of that ever changed. You might complain about how mouthy they were and how much money they wanted; me, I think they were worth it, even as I acknowledge the team can't fit them all once age creeps up on them.

2012 is a highly optimistic outlook for the defense this year. We could be about to find out the hard way just how good Earl, Sherman, and Bennett still were - by missing them. Bennett we may be able to replace (but both he and Avril?). Earl and Sherman (and Kam), I doubt it.

2011 defense this year, methinks.

People sometimes put too much stock into pre-season W/L records. Hey, we all like to win. But pre-season is not about wins, except in the abstract. Pre-season is very much about how players play the game. How they match up against their peers on the other teams. How they execute under simulated "fire." Using those rubriks, I think we've had a pretty good pre-season.

Like you said, Todd, there was a lot of energy on the field, and a lot of intensity. Funny, but I didn't think the players were supposed to like pre-season games, but it sure looked like they were having fun. They were, for the most part, playing loose; loose enough to not overthink things, but not sloppy loose. The first team guys were relatively penalty free, and that is great news if they can keep it up come regular season.

You’re not supposed to count these games. I get it. So I’m not saying Seattle’s winning the division, or winning 12 games. But this reconstruction job by GM John Schneider looks well thought-out so far, and it’s given Carroll a déjà vu feeling. Carroll, 66 going on 26, is presiding over the biggest one-offseason makeover of any good NFL team in recent years.

“This feels like when you’re in college,” Carroll, the former USC coach, told me Friday night. “That senior class graduated—those guys that did all the playing for you. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good team next time around. New players, new coaches. There’s new juice about everything that we’re doing. I go back and do all my teaching again. I’m really happy about it.”

In the locker room afterward, Schneider, who’s the anti-GQ GM, looked like he was dressed for a U2 concert. White T-shirt, sneakers, big smile. I said something like: You’re used to tinkering with a top team. What’s a total makeover like?

“It’s like…,” Schneider said, searching for words, “I mean, this is what the league is now. We move guys all the time. For a while, we were able to reward guys here at the top of their positions. Then we had to make decisions—who to keep and who not to keep—and we got the bad injury news on Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor [forced to retire due to injuries]. We didn’t see those coming.

“But there’s another thing. You know Pete. He preaches competition, open competition, every single day. It’s hard to preach that when you got the best corner and the best free safety and the best strong safety and the best middle linebacker, all young, and you know those guys are locked in there. They were the youngest team to win it all. You don’t tear that apart.

“Now, this. It’s fun. Lots of enthusiasm. So much spirit, so much new. It’s pretty cool.”

Of all the things I didn’t expect on my camp trip, I’d put really liking Seattle at the top. And there is an advantageous early slate, starting with four teams (at Denver, at Chicago, Dallas, at Arizona) that combined for a 27-37 record last year. In the first eight games, Seattle plays one 2017 playoff team. I’m not saying it’s set up to be a magic season for the Seahawks. I am saying it’s got a chance to be a very interesting one.

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https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... cid=fmiatw

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MontanaHawk05":1zck8z2h said:

I'm going to stay on my soapbox on this one, Aros: while people may be caught up in the entitlement of the defensive vets we've since jettisoned, there's no statistical evidence that they'd actually stopped bringing the boom. They were still on top of their games. They were still producing. They were still in every Pro Bowl conversation. None of that ever changed. You might complain about how mouthy they were and how much money they wanted; me, I think they were worth it, even as I acknowledge the team can't fit them all once age creeps up on them.

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That's a touch myopic for me my friend. How can you honestly sell me that Bennett wasn't declining? How can you tell me that Sherman's tantrums on the sidelines (and God knows where else) didn't disrupt the chemistry of this football team?

In Bennett, I saw someone who was clearly declining in productivity. And his political affiliations off the field (whether I agreed with him or not is besides the point) was a distraction, period.

Now Sherman, I will give you, if it wasn't for his Achilles Heel that finally busted on that fateful day...Who knows if he would still be a Seahawk, but I DO guarantee you this...Even if that injury never occurred, the front office was thinking long and hard already about weighing his disruptiveness verses his productivity. At some point you have to make hard decisions for the betterment of the team, and Sherman's attitude and damn near insubordination would warrant making a move by most clubs, IMO.

In the end, I strongly feel the team made the right choice to let both of them go, regardless of what they still may have in the tank.

KitsapGuy":309kh3az said:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/08/27/seattle-seahawks-nfl-camp-tour-fmia-peter-king/?cid=fmiatw

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Perfect Bruce. Thanks for the reinforcement. :2thumbs:

sutz":2glcrjjz said:

Like you said, Todd, there was a lot of energy on the field, and a lot of intensity. Funny, but I didn't think the players were supposed to like pre-season games, but it sure looked like they were having fun. They were, for the most part, playing loose; loose enough to not overthink things, but not sloppy loose. The first team guys were relatively penalty free, and that is great news if they can keep it up come regular season.

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Agreed Steve! There was something there, definitely...The players had that WANT TO I mentioned before...I guess it's what we used to call the "IT FACTOR". You either have it or you don't, and it's hard to describe what "IT" is.

This team, this winless preseason team, has the look of the IT FACTOR to me. That's what I mean when I see it's More Than A Feeling. It's in my gut. I can't explain it. I just feel it.

Does that mean we will be 14-2 and Super Bowl Champions? Not at all.

What it does mean is that this team is going to surprise potentially millions of people this season.

I’m very confident in this offense. Our wide receiver situation is better than I can remember. Our fifth and sixth WRs are better than some of the third and fourth guys we’ve had recently. McEvoy could hardly make it on the field in preseason and he was often active on regular season game day.

Our RB group is deep and talented. We have never had this diverse of a corps.

Our offensive line looks like they’ll be vastly improved over the septic tank we’ve rolled out under Cable.

The problem to me will be the defense. I don’t think Pete is squeezing blood from a turnip, but the talent isn’t exactly otherworldly. I fully expect to see far more high scoring games than we’ve seen under Pete. If the defense starts to mature in the second half of the year then this might be a scary wild card team.

Aros":9qkauedv said:

This team, this winless preseason team, has the look of the IT FACTOR to me. That's what I mean when I see it's More Than A Feeling. It's in my gut. I can't explain it. I just feel it.

Does that mean we will be 14-2 and Super Bowl Champions? Not at all.

What it does mean is that this team is going to surprise potentially millions of people this season.

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Yeah, I've been feeling this way for a while. This is going to be a PITA team to play. Wilson's magic, Carson poised to break out and a dangerous rookie behind him, a definitively improved OL to benefit all of them...along with Dickson making life miserable for opponents all game long. The defense will probably take a step back, but they'll still be tough to run on. Schottenheimer, conservative or not, will put together a cohesive game plan. If Janikowski misses, it won't be because of the yips.

There is so much to love about this year's team over last year's rotted version, particularly since most of the nation sees them as a 4-6 win club. All the pressure in the world is on the Saints, Vikings, and Rams. This team is young, talented, and fun with really no pressure so to speak. So much has been written about the 2018 draft class, it's been awesome to see how the 2017 draft class has been performing so far this year. The front office got this thing corrected through the draft.

For those wondering, without having inside intel on the team, if Sherman was becoming too much of a distraction to the team dynamic, I ask one question. Do you not find it odd that Sherman gave the Seahawks a chance to match his modest contract proposal from the 49ers and they declined?

The Seahawks made no attempt whatsoever to resign Sherm. I think that speaks volumes that they were flat out exhausted from his personality. Love Sherm, no ill feelings at all towards him and I’ll cheer him on as he jogs onto the field the first time he steps foot at CentLink. But I don’t think the guy has ever held himself accountable for anything in his life. Always someone else’s fault. I know plenty of people like that in real life. That gets tiresome.

Also there was clearly a rift in the locker room towards the end of the season. Wagner popping off on twitter at Earl after the Rams blowout when Earl made a pretty harmless comment towards Wagner. That was very odd.

I think the team will struggle a bit this year but I fully agree on a different feeling from this current team. It feels like the roster bought back into Pete's message even if the talent isn't known yet. Guys like Russ and Bobby are the perfect leaders to spread his message throughout the players. This time next year, won't be shocked if the next wave of unknown Pete Carroll defensive players are being mentioned by the media as potential stars leading the new Seahawks after starting the year writing them all off.

I also think Russell is primed for a monster season and we will see him start to transition into a Drew Brees-ish QB while keeping parts of his electric 'no one else in the NFL can make that play' style. I really like what the coaching staff is doing so far with him on mechanics in the pocket and actually seeing an offensive line do their job (thank you Solari). We might see the offense have to carry the load for the first time under PC while the defense sorts itself out.

They clearly will be competitive. Likely an up and down season, but I see them being in pretty much every game. And might even surprise us and get 9 or 10 wins. I still stick to my 9-7 prediction. This team looks hungry again, are going to be able to run the ball etc.

Your thread title has the Boston song playing in my head. I like that song so thanks for that! I agree with the OP. It really is addition by subtraction. Remove some of the negatives to get a positive. I strongly believe that the discontent that permeated the locker room had a detrimental affect on the team. PC/JS had no choice but to rid the team of the malcontents as well as the weak links on the coaching staff.

First thing I though too. Great tune.

Aros":1w08srl1 said:

MontanaHawk05":1w08srl1 said:

I'm going to stay on my soapbox on this one, Aros: while people may be caught up in the entitlement of the defensive vets we've since jettisoned, there's no statistical evidence that they'd actually stopped bringing the boom. They were still on top of their games. They were still producing. They were still in every Pro Bowl conversation. None of that ever changed. You might complain about how mouthy they were and how much money they wanted; me, I think they were worth it, even as I acknowledge the team can't fit them all once age creeps up on them.

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That's a touch myopic for me my friend. How can you honestly sell me that Bennett wasn't declining?

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Because he had 8.5 sacks.

While it is super exciting that our 2nd and 3rd team defenses are doing pretty good in the preseason....generally there is not a JV section where the 2s vs 2s or 3s vs 3s is a thing during the regular season.

1s vs 1s defense has not been impressive. Spin it how you want it, that is what the results so far say. The defense is clearly less effective. (If you don't see it, not sure what else I can tell you to convince you if you are choosing to ignore what your eyes should be telling you. Since last year the defense would routinely shut down teams for 3 full quarters keeping us in games while the offense would score a single TD in the half.)

That said, this team has almost all the pieces on offense to be very good if not great.

- Great QB
- Tremendous WR group
- Very effective RB group (that only gets better when Penny gets back)

TE is pretty meh and FB is close to a problem. OL is better but we have a QB that is pretty adept at producing even with a substandard line.

There is no reason that this offense cannot be the one to pull this wagon now. It won't be the defense, but it could very well be the passing game.

We have enough pieces to be very good. Obviously, SB is nowhere near in the cards but certainly, this team could compete for a wildcard. With all the pieces we lost, that would be a pretty impressive accomplishment. I don't think it is reasonable to expect this team is going to be in the running to win the division - but if we can weather that storm in the latter part of the season, we could make a run for the wild card.

I honestly don't know what to think of this team.

I do know we are VERY thin on defense, and that will probably pose a problem throughout the season when starters miss time.

But I will tell you this, I am excited about this year because like 2012 we have a very young enthusiastic group of players to root for, and that's a breath of fresh air over the doom and gloom bad vibe that's been kind of hanging over this team with some negative veterans the past couple of year.

So I'm excited to watch, because that's why I love sports..................passion, enthusiasm and elite athletes who love to play the sport. Will we be good? I have no idea, but we WILL be fun to watch.