Did we get worse?

I think it is fair to assume we got weaker with the loss of some of our FAs, certainly considering one strength of our defense was depth and one of our key weapons on offense is lost.

(It happens to most recent SB winners, they get stripped of FAs that are overpaid, so it was to be expected but still...)



The question is whether you think that getting weaker means that certain teams passed us, and if so who?

Are we still the strongest team in the league? How do we stack up now vs the teams that got better and are threats?

Is it still only day two of FA? Have we had the draft yet? Are things still not very fluid?

How can we even begin to answer this question fairly?

No.

I don't really care what anyone else does in Free Agency. The Hawks will have a good chance of beating every team they face.

It's March.

Eh, this team is like a machine which has some critical parts (Earl, Russ ect.) which can't be replaced but many which can. None of the guys who walked, are in the latter former category and not, while talented and memorable, a set back to this team. I think we're still faves to go back to the dance.

TwistedHusky":3epoxbjq said:

I think it is fair to assume we got weaker with the loss of some of our FAs, certainly considering one strength of our defense was depth and one of our key weapons on offense is lost.

(It happens to most recent SB winners, they get stripped of FAs that are overpaid, so it was to be expected but still...)



The question is whether you think that getting weaker means that certain teams passed us, and if so who?

Are we still the strongest team in the league? How do we stack up now vs the teams that got better and are threats?

Click to expand...

Answer to first question: No.

Answer to second question: Yes.

By the way, what's happening to the Seahawks is common for all teams, not just SB champions. As Davis Hsu has pointed out, on average every team loses 12-15 players off their roster. The difference now is that there is a greater shine on our players, so they're getting signed more quickly.

We lost five games because of Crhis Maragos (is that how you spell his name?) and Obrian Shetland.

Yes if we fielded a team today we would likely be worse. But luckily the season does not start today.

The other thing is that losing depth away to big contracts isn't really a big deal. We don't want to pay our depth $$$. We want cheap depth that kicks ass.

It's not how you start. It's all about finishing

here's your answer:



call me in september when the roster is actually set

TwistedHusky":1rwtaefd said:

I think it is fair to assume we got weaker with the loss of some of our FAs, certainly considering one strength of our defense was depth and one of our key weapons on offense is lost.

(It happens to most recent SB winners, they get stripped of FAs that are overpaid, so it was to be expected but still...)



The question is whether you think that getting weaker means that certain teams passed us, and if so who?

Are we still the strongest team in the league? How do we stack up now vs the teams that got better and are threats?

Click to expand...

Hell, its only Day 2 of free agency. After Day 2 last year we hadn't signed anyone yet and still eventually ended up with Avril, Bennett, McDonald and McDaniel and were declared one of the winners of free agency by the talking heads. And then there's the draft as well as a bunch of redshirt freshmen from last year's class. There will probably be at least a dozen players on the opening day roster who aren't on the roster today.

Chill.

Well we didn't really get any better. We lost depth at positions and a starting WR.

So, what you're saying is...

1. Hawks don't have the cap space to throw out stupid money

2. PC & JS are pretty good at evaluating talent and value

3. Patience, as it applies to the NFL free-agent market, is one hell of a virtue- especially considering the reality of #1 and #2

4. This FO's approach seems to work, so we should have faith it will continue to work

...Yeah... I thought so...


(This will be my reply to any FA related question)

You also have to factor in how young our team is and that most of them haven't peaked yet and should improve just on getting another offseason of development.

The first game is 6 months away.

No. No we did not.

Was Tate really that big of a piece? I doubt it, that's why he's not here anymore

I don't understand why people are assuming we got worse...

Stop acting like the guys we lost were all "superstars." In fact pretty much all of them were role
Players (aside from Tate). But with Harvin healthy for a whole season, even Tate becomes replaceable. See Super Bowl.

You make a list of our entire team and rank every player based on how they grade out and I bet you The players we have lost so far are pretty low on that list (aside from Tate/Clem who rank in the middle).

All the the players we have lost so far were good but not great. They were all guys who the Hawks turned in to key role players. Which is something I believe this team will have no problem duplicating again and again...

Breno - Picked up off waivers
Thurmond- 3rd round Pick (first time healthy last year)
McDonald - acquired via trade with Bengals (7th rounder I believe, first good year last year. Cut before season. Best seasons Happens to be the year Bennett and Avril are here)
Schofield- cut by cardinals picked up off waivers. 12 tackles
Maragos- career back up. Best kick holder in league
Tate- 2nd round pick (took 3 years to finally put it together)
Red- 4th round pick (Carroll saved his career basically / role player / age)
Clem- acquired for tapp plus we got a 4th (pretty much shows where his career was going before he got here..)
Rice- who?

There you go, now you tell me how many of these guys are NOT replaceable. They all are. And my point is, is that we found all these guys through trades/low draft picks/ and the waiver wire. We will be able to go through this entire process again and keep bringing in new, young, hungry players wanting a chance. Look at how many guys got paid in FA'gency because the Hawks, that should be attractive to other future players.

Stop worrying about us getting worse. As long as we keep our core in tact we will only continue to get younger, faster, stronger, healthier, and better.

To answer your question though, I don't know... Check back week 1 when the Roster is set to 53.

Little quick correction here, we traded Kelly Jennings for McDonald.

Yes we got worse and a lot of teams we compete against got better too. It's not over yet though.