5 Off-season moves for Seahawks

From ESPN: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...ill-barnwell-predicts-trades-free-agency-cuts

1) Put a full-page ad in the newspaper thanking Earl Thomas for his contributions.

This nails it. We don't want him back, but we don't want bad blood either. Rest of the article was okay, but I thought that was the highlight.

Eh, Earl is the source of the perceived bad blood. They shouldn’t treat Earl any differently than they treated the other guys who’ve left, and that doesn’t involve the somewhat hollow public apology route.

knownone":1sscawlt said:

Eh, Earl is the source of the perceived bad blood. They shouldn’t treat Earl any differently than they treated the other guys who’ve left, and that doesn’t involve the somewhat hollow public apology route.

Click to expand...

^ This ^, Respect is a two way gig.
Hollow is the appropriate term, and an immature Earl Thomas wouldn't accept it anyway.

It takes a first mover some times. I would have no problem with a thank you to Earl. I think Pete has shown a willingness to do that. Earl may never reciprocate. But he might. No sense slamming the door on it. There's a reason it's called taking the high road.

HawkGA":3pjre5jc said:

It takes a first mover some times. I would have no problem with a thank you to Earl. I think Pete has shown a willingness to do that. Earl may never reciprocate. But he might. No sense slamming the door on it. There's a reason it's called taking the high road.

Click to expand...

Yeah, sure, but how is it the "most important" thing the team needs to do?

Why is it Number 1?

:229031_shrug:

I think the Seattle Seahawks and Fans fully appreciate the contributions of Earl Thomas and have treated him with respect and class.

If Bill Barnwell wants to take out a full page ad then bully for him.

My own view is that the presumption that the Seattle Seahawks and fans need to be told how to behave and proceed is but an arrogant misstep on the part of the author Bill Barnwell.

There is an allure to simplifying complex situations and fans love to sort players and events into a few discrete buckets; good player, bad player, good teammate, and so on. There is a similar motivation here to put the drama behind the team and just remember the positive impact that Earl made on the field. However, that will always be a simplified Disney style version of history that reduces a complex player like Earl to a caricature. How Earl handled the end of the 2017 season through the 2018 season is now part of his legacy as a Seahawk and both the negatives and positives will affect how he is remembered over the years by fans.

sutz":lt40gbo6 said:

Why is it Number 1?

:229031_shrug:

Click to expand...

Oh, well, ya, that part was kind of stupid. I'd like to think of it as an "in no particular order" list.

Fans like players, but they follow teams. When players leave, they need to understand that our loyalty is to the Seahawks, not to them.

As far as I am concerned, Thomas was flipping off *my* team.

KiwiHawk":1pou4i1f said:

Fans like players, but they follow teams. When players leave, they need to understand that our loyalty is to the Seahawks, not to them.

As far as I am concerned, Thomas was flipping off *my* team.

Click to expand...

Here, Here :irishdrinkers:
Come get him Garrett, Yall won't have to do a damned thing to get his loyalty, and in all likelihood, he'd probably even take a "Hometown Discount" in the boot.
Oh and, he's played some great football for my Seahawks, BUT, he is NOT the best player that the Seahawks have ever had. ukeface:

Not to mention how is thanking Earl going to make us better, which is the premise of the article?

Well, in a long-run sense showing good will toward players, even if they are mad at you can sow good will, in general, with other players. There benefits to not being seen as a jerk.

I like the approach in that it let’s fans know that he’s not coming back and that the organization is fine with that. At the same time it continues the precedent that we don’t give extensions to players that aren’t team-first. The warm send off will hopefully avoid the ***t show that followed Bennett and Sherman’s departure.

I would it follow it with the announcement that we’ve extended Bobby with the richest mlb contract ever to add an exclamation point. Clark would be the other priority, but we can always franchise him so I don’t see that as urgent.

AgentDib":38iaqqa3 said:

How Earl handled the end of the 2017 season through the 2018 season is now part of his legacy as a Seahawk and both the negatives and positives will affect how he is remembered over the years by fans.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Fans will be, "He was an amazing once in a lifetime player who helped bring a championship to Seattle BUT, he handled it like a petulant spoiled child."

HawkGA":3tdvyqd2 said:

Well, in a long-run sense showing good will toward players, even if they are mad at you can sow good will, in general, with other players. There benefits to not being seen as a jerk.

Click to expand...

Um, yeah, Showing "Good Will" by stroking ET's ego should be a priority :roll:
When my kids threw tantrums, I always rewarded them.
Showing wimpy good will wont stop immature pissed off players from acting out, Thomas wasn't the first to flip off his team, and I doubt like hell that he'll be the last.

It's not that there will be any payoff from Earl for the goodwill. The payoff comes from other players recognizing Seattle as a stand-up organization they would want to play for. Players coming to Seattle for reasons other than just dollar signs.

I like the one year Wilkerson idea, he's exactly the type of value deal vet we could use on the D-line for production, rotation and depth.

I think they put it #1 because in order to move on to new business you must first take care of old business. Put some closure on it. Sour feelings may linger on and play out in the media and locker room. That could lead to ill feelings with new players. You don’t need negative energy around a young team. I’m ok with a thank you. It’s a good way to end it. No matter if they mean it or not. The man was instrumental in bringing Seattle it’s first Championship.

Now I need to know whose jersey am I going to wear on game day next year? 29 has been my game day go to since he was drafted. Now I have to pick a bew one.

MD5eahawks":yr1gmcwj said:

I think they put it #1 because in order to move on to new business you must first take care of old business. Put some closure on it. Sour feelings may linger on and play out in the media and locker room. That could lead to ill feelings with new players. You don’t need negative energy around a young team. I’m ok with a thank you. It’s a good way to end it. No matter if they mean it or not. The man was instrumental in bringing Seattle it’s first Championship.

Now I need to know whose jersey am I going to wear on game day next year? 29 has been my game day go to since he was drafted. Now I have to pick a bew one.

Click to expand...

I doubt that we'll ever have another player here with the Seahawks that will run up to another Head Coach in public display, and ask him to come and get them ( that was the 1st insult & a middle finger to Pete Carroll & the Seahawks), and the 2nd was the Bird to Pete & the Seahawks, that was ALSO in full public display.
As far as Earl was concerned, that was his farewell wave to Seattle...He's shown ZERO respect, and a real lack of class on his way out the door...It's more than just a personality conflict, and any attempt at good will by Pete or John, would more likely be met with disdain and another Pork You by ET.

I am a huge Earl fan but the guy flat out played this badly and incorrectly.

Earl's downfall began the time he put his personal love for his home team before his employer and showed the entire world where he wants to be.

He didn't need to do that. He could have said nothing and become an unrestricted free agent and got paid by whatever team and an offer still could have been from the Cowboys.

The Seahawks needed to move Earl the off season when they could but they got greedy.

Schneider and Carroll played this wrong themselves, they thought they could keep Earl happy when the dysfunction was clear and public.

Earl needs to go now.