oldhawkfan
Well-known member
Every season has its share of surprises and 2018 is no exception. Here are my surprises.
Playoffs
While I'm not exactly surprised that they made the playoffs I am surprised at how seemingly easy it came in terms of when they clinched. Pete has almost always had this team in the playoffs so it wasn't surprising.
Running Game
They went from a team that couldn't fall forward for a yard to the #1 rushing team in the league. With the offseason commitment to repairing the run game, I figured they would average at best.
Defense
With the number of marquee players dismissed I looked to see a bottom tier defense. I guess I forgot that Pete was a defensive minded coach and really good at coaching up young defensive talent.
Players
First the good surprises.
Tre Flowers-Lower round pick and a position change. I thought he would be a year away and might get playing time as a nickel.
Michael Dickson-BBD, nuff said.
DJ Fluker-Way better than I hoped and a stabilizing force on the line.
JR Sweezy-welcome back. I thought the change from RG to LG would hinder him.
George Fant -versatility as a TE.
Poona Ford-Undrafted FA played extremely well down the stretch. I had hopes for him but he exceeded.
Jacob Martin-Not a lot was expected of him coming out of Temple. Looks like he could be a major contributer going forward.
Chris Carson-With the limited time he had last year, what he was able to do this year and with the power was amazing.
Now the bad or dissapointing
Doug Baldwin-Only in his lack of availability
KJ Wright-lack of availability
Jaron Brown-Hoped he would do more as a big play WR
Rasheem Green-With the draft and preseason hype I expected way more. What happened?
Shaq Griffin-I'm hoping his lack of development can be attributed to a sophmore slump.
Ethan Pocic-Totally regressed
Naz Jones-Where did he go. I really expected him to be a large part of the dline rotation.
CJ Procise-waste of a roster spot given injury history.
Playoffs
While I'm not exactly surprised that they made the playoffs I am surprised at how seemingly easy it came in terms of when they clinched. Pete has almost always had this team in the playoffs so it wasn't surprising.
Running Game
They went from a team that couldn't fall forward for a yard to the #1 rushing team in the league. With the offseason commitment to repairing the run game, I figured they would average at best.
Defense
With the number of marquee players dismissed I looked to see a bottom tier defense. I guess I forgot that Pete was a defensive minded coach and really good at coaching up young defensive talent.
Players
First the good surprises.
Tre Flowers-Lower round pick and a position change. I thought he would be a year away and might get playing time as a nickel.
Michael Dickson-BBD, nuff said.
DJ Fluker-Way better than I hoped and a stabilizing force on the line.
JR Sweezy-welcome back. I thought the change from RG to LG would hinder him.
George Fant -versatility as a TE.
Poona Ford-Undrafted FA played extremely well down the stretch. I had hopes for him but he exceeded.
Jacob Martin-Not a lot was expected of him coming out of Temple. Looks like he could be a major contributer going forward.
Chris Carson-With the limited time he had last year, what he was able to do this year and with the power was amazing.
Now the bad or dissapointing
Doug Baldwin-Only in his lack of availability
KJ Wright-lack of availability
Jaron Brown-Hoped he would do more as a big play WR
Rasheem Green-With the draft and preseason hype I expected way more. What happened?
Shaq Griffin-I'm hoping his lack of development can be attributed to a sophmore slump.
Ethan Pocic-Totally regressed
Naz Jones-Where did he go. I really expected him to be a large part of the dline rotation.
CJ Procise-waste of a roster spot given injury history.