Forget The Exodus

If we want to Challenge the Ram's and have a shot at the playoffs, it's not about RW, the OLine, Schotty, KNJr or bad officiating. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ROOKIES. In order to reach double digit wins and be competitive in the playoffs our rookies will need to play at a level which would surely place them as the best first year draft class in the history of the franchise. Early signs show some encouraging possibilities.

Dissly needs to be our block all, catch all, do all saviour.
R. Green will have to combine with Frank Clark to generate some consistent QB pressure.
Poona Ford has to be our wildcard run stopper, to the point of being one of the best UDFA's in the league.
Dickson needs to be the probowl punter he seems to be and punt less.
Penny must morph into the NFL and show us the SDS tape wasn't smoke & mirrors.

Having that all come together this season would be the tallest of orders from a group of rookies, but not impossible.
With some patience and growing pains I can see much of this happening making this an exciting season.
That said, some inspiring special teams play from Griffin and Tre Flowers stepping up his game at CB mid-late season would be extra, extra icing on a pretty damn big cake.
In 2019 our young stable of players will be seasoned with crucial experience and JS will be armed with a ton of cap room & another charge of picks. That my friends will be when the cherries are dumped upon the top of the cake.
A Seahawk blue cake.

Dilly dilly!

The importance of the Rookies to this team cannot be overstated. The usual problems with Rookies is that they are inconsistent.....one game great....then disappear the next. I agree that most of our Rookies played well...for a Rookie... for their first game. However, if we are to win the Division, they will have to be consistently good.
This will also require the coaching staff call plays that play to their strengths. Personally, I think that the Coaching staff could have done a better job in the first game of the year.

I think Dickson will be all pro. The rest, not very confident. I like Uncle Will's potential though.

Rams would need an injury from either Girly or Goof if we want to win our division.

I think we have a chance at wild card. We had a lot of good picks this year. Couple more games i think we will gel together in offense. KJ will be huge when he comes back.

rcaido":27n62fu5 said:

Rams would need an injury from either Girly or Goof if we want to win our division.

I think we have a chance at wild card. We had a lot of good picks this year. Couple more games i think we will gel together in offense. KJ will be huge when he comes back.

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Or offensive line!. If Goff has to start running for his life he will fold like a cheap Walmart lawn chair....quicker than a cat can lick his ass. He is enjoying his time in the spotlight, and is blessed with protection Wilson has NEVER seen in his time here. Pressure this poser and he becomes a hot mess. :2thumbs:

I don't see us having a chance in heck to win the West. That Rams team is a juggernaut and I think the 49ers will be much better.

But, we "could" make it interesting in the wild card if we get a lot of things to fall into place. The rookie are most certainly important, but so are second year players like Carson, Jones, Thompson, Pocic, Griffin, and Moore.

I am not holding my breath for winning the division although a lot can happen between now and the end of December, not just to us but the other teams in the division. I agree with the OP that a lot is going to have to happen with our rookies - playing consistently great football - in order to have a shot at the division. A wildcard seems more within reach assuming injuries don't mount to key players.

I do like our rookie class all-in-all...There could be some real gems here, already in the beginning process of what will hopefully be future pro bowls and All Pro designations down the road. The more I think about it, the more I do think 2018 may in fact be a rebuilding year to get truly back to championship-competing caliber in 2019.

If we have to sacrifice a year to rebuild to have a shot to compete for it all next year? Hell yes I am good with that. What I want to see this year is continued improvement and being competitive in every game.

And yes, as many W's as we are able to rack up. :2thumbs:

Yeah, I don't think we have a chance at the division. I have low expectations this season which helps with the blood pressure. Just going to enjoy the young players developing. Would be cool to make the playoffs.

Were not winning our division. That is a fact.

Perhaps a very outside shot at a wildcard, but even doesn't seem realistic to me. Personally I just want to see us get just a little bit more consistent and better each week. I still see next year as a better gauge as to whether PC can turn us back into a contender again.

It starts up front . Uhtil that gets fixed this is not a playoff team. Win at Chicago that's what we need right now not a bunch of draft talk about players haven't done anything yet . Win games that all that matters in the NFL . Trading down and passing on Dontario Poe passing on blue chip prospects for players with second round grades isn't going to get it done.

kf3339":1zz7sqai said:

Were not winning our division. That is a fact.

Perhaps a very outside shot at a wildcard, but even doesn't seem realistic to me. Personally I just want to see us get just a little bit more consistent and better each week. I still see next year as a better gauge as to whether PC can turn us back into a contender again.

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Well 7 - 9 won it one year, nothing is off the table yet, based on perception of what happened week one you have a point but Championships are rarely decided in the first week, any number of things can happen that change the balance of power as we well know.

I guess if a sub 500 record can get us in it could happen.

Two years ago the PATS lost 2 of first 3 games....two of those @ home....then went on to win the Super Bowl. The Hawks however don't have an elite QB or a very elite coach. I know that one game is not a season but it showed not so much how the Hawks can win but how many ways they can be beat. :irishdrinkers:

xray":e5c43iy7 said:

Two years ago the PATS lost 2 of first 3 games....two of those @ home....then went on to win the Super Bowl. The Hawks however don't have an elite QB or a very elite coach. I know that one game is not a season but it showed not so much how the Hawks can win but how many ways they can be beat. :irishdrinkers:

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Since there is only one coach in the league with a better track record than Pete, we can safely say no other team but the Pats have an elite coach either so we should be fine in that category. There are maybe only 5 QB's better than Wilson in the league so that may not prove a giant hurdle either.

It's going to come down to injuries like the season always does. Injuries at all the wrong positions dooms a season since no one has depth anymore. So no need worrying about playoffs in September.

Mad Dog":g2py5e2r said:

xray":g2py5e2r said:

Two years ago the PATS lost 2 of first 3 games....two of those @ home....then went on to win the Super Bowl. The Hawks however don't have an elite QB or a very elite coach. I know that one game is not a season but it showed not so much how the Hawks can win but how many ways they can be beat. :irishdrinkers:

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Since there is only one coach in the league with a better track record than Pete, we can safely say no other team but the Pats have an elite coach either so we should be fine in that category. There are maybe only 5 QB's better than Wilson in the league so that may not prove a giant hurdle either.

It's going to come down to injuries like the season always does. Injuries at all the wrong positions dooms a season since no one has depth anymore. So no need worrying about playoffs in September.

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Thank you. Dude's trippin. We've got new oc and dc, massive player overhaul--all installing a new system. We've got massive upside, and and elite coach and qb.

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rookies don't get enough individual "quality" practice time in pads, with contact. The preseason games are used primarily to evaluate all their new guys + getting veterans up to speed. The end results = rookies are still learning (a lot of stuff) when the first few games of the season start, so naturally they make mistakes that a few games down the line, if they get enough actual playing time, they won't make as frequently or at all. Backup players are at a disadvantage in actual playing time because the starters ahead of them are playing a lot and they aren't. This may be why so many rookies don't start out with a bang and take some development time to get up to par.

:smilingalien:

Rookies don't get enough individual "quality" practice time in pads, with contact. The preseason games are used primarily to evaluate all their new guys + getting veterans up to speed. The end results = rookies are still learning (a lot of stuff) when the first few games of the season start, so naturally they make mistakes that a few games down the line, if they get enough actual playing time, they won't make as frequently or at all. Backup players are at a disadvantage in actual playing time because the starters ahead of them are playing a lot and they aren't. This may be why so many rookies don't start out with a bang and take some development time to get up to par.

:smilingalien:

Most seem to be crowning the Rams already. Meh, I'll be believe it when I see them actually win some playoff games.

SoulfishHawk":r6cexfob said:

Most seem to be crowning the Rams already. Meh, I'll be believe it when I see them actually win some playoff games.

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Let's crown their asses NOW. Then KICK their asses in the two upcoming division games.

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