pittpnthrs":26z1j55m said:
Seattle Person":26z1j55m said:
Can't this same logic be used for the oline then? You're placing a lot of blame on Pocic for the whole oline. I agree that a badass center is good but we can't say the same thing here? You're right that the staff was bad at game planning or adjustments. They didn't do any favors for any dude blocking either. We know we have guys that struggle in pass protection but yet we use still dial deep bombs and our QB runs away (sometimes for his life and sometimes just because....). We can't design a game plan to run away from Aaron Donald? Or not have Pocic block him. How many teams that won the Superbowl, you can name the C or G off the top of your head? We won with Carpenter, Unger, Sweezy as our crew....A lot of teams have won with average center and good everywhere else.
Whether it was Center or WR, I'm glad we went with someone on offense that can help this season. I truly believe D.E is going to do more 400 yds...He is probably going to have more impact on special teams (PR/KR/Gunner), he is going to be more of a factor with decoys, and he is a threat overall.
I agree that the front office should be pushed and challenged because they have done some weird crap over the years but if we gonna criticize, we need to give them kudos for the things they have done well. Last season's offseason was a $h!t show. No plan, no execution, they failed...This season has been a success outside of a #1 CB and C. Although Pocic is a starting caliber C. You can't say that they are not better set than last season. Maybe not SB favorites, but they should be fine. You make a valid point and that the front office needs to earn back some trust but you're just not making the points very well....
Great post and I admit that I mumble up what i'm trying to say a good bit. Getting down to brass taxes, my feelings are as follows - Yes, i'm bitter they didnt take Creed when they could have. Is it possible that Creed could flop in the NFL? Sure, but the odds are he could have been the anchor at center for years to come. Chiefs were thrilled to take him. I believe Pocic is average to below average. Is he serviceable,,,,,I guess, but why settle for serviceable when a possible upgrade was there for the taking, at a position I think is pertinent on the offensive line. With the upgrade of Jackson and an upgraded center, the Oline would have finally been an area of no concern. Now, its just good enough. There's a glaring weak spot on the line and its Pocic.
I understand the Eskridge pick, but I just dont like it where it happened. I still think his numbers will fall in line with every other 3rd WR in the league. I guess they wanted an insurance policy if Metcalf and Lockette went down and I understand that also. Maybe he'll turn out to be some great punt returner (kickoff returners are irrelevant in todays NFL ever since the rule changes and almost every kicker blasts it 20 yards out of the endzone) and a gadget play wizard. Who knows. FO fell in love with him at the senior bowl so they took him. To me, its just another reach when other players were there that made more sense.
Honestly, I cant say if they are setup better than last season or not. They brought in a new OC that has never been an OC before. I dig bringing in somebody that appears to be creative and all, but some forget that he learned from a guy that the Hawks play twice a year in McShay. How unfamiliar can Waldron make the offense when it comes to playing the Rams? Time will tell I guess. Still concerned with the RBs. Carson will more than likely miss time as usual and that leaves Collins as the backup. While I like Collins, it appears Pete doesnt. Another wait and see. Not totally confident with the TE position either. Everett isnt great and I still feel he was signed more so for being Waldrons buddy rather than his talent. Still a slight upgrade probably. On defense, the Dunlap resigning was critical so i'm not so worried about the pass rush. The LBs and CB positions are shaky still at this point. Hopefully they can resign KJ but who knows. Ending all that, there's Pete Carroll. Watching the team with his philosophies, schemes, and tendencies has left me with zero confidence that he can take them any further than the second round in the post season regardless of who is on the roster. He has become more of a hindrance than a compliment at this point. He is to much for the team to overcome. God bless and kudos to him for delivering Seattle its first Super Bowl and creating that unbelievable team with hits like Lynch, Russ, and that incredible defense, but honestly, he had the inside track on the draft picks at the time and thats way behind him. The game has moved on and Pete isnt keeping pace.
Alright. Animosity aside, I think we have a lot we agree on, just a few sticking points where we differ.
I agree that the team, following the philosophy of either 2018/2019 OR 2020, wasn't going to get anywhere in the playoffs. I'd have low faith in that too. I agree that center is the obvious weak point of the line, I just disagree on a personnel change being the best way to fix it, and I disagree about the Eskridge pick.
In the chats I was in at the time, believe it or not, I was sitting there saying "well, holy crap, he actually fell. they gotta go get him, go get creed, just write the name on the card and do it." Creed's a great prospect. I have to assume there was something I didn't see that NFL teams did for him to fall to 62, because he was my top center prospect in the entire draft behind Rashawn Slater, who I think would be better if he made the move.
When they picked Eskridge, I made the following tweet. I get where you're coming from, believe it or not.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/turbinsbicep/status/1388296457061556225[/tweet]
The reason I've come around is as follows:
1. WR, to me, was as big of a need, because I feel like the WR3 spot was weaker than OC1 when considering where the players are as it relates to replacement level. Pocic is slightly above replacement level talent-wise in my eyes, whereas Swain is likely below and behind him is a lot of practice squad quality. Furthermore, Lockett is injury prone, and the season would be on its last legs if he or DK went down for significant time.
2. Eskridge's profile is great. He's got sprinter speed, produced well, and brings something sorely needed when we consider the types of concepts that Waldron is likely to run. Pete, in a shocking reversal, actually came out and strongly said Russell is by far at his best when getting the ball out quickly. He also said Waldron keeps saying that having 3 solid targets is a necessity. They're focusing heavily on tempo. You know what that tells me? Zone rushing with jet motion added, and a lot of play action rollout.
Think 2018 Rams with Brandin Cooks. They had an amazing zone rushing attack partly because the threat of their jet sweeps picking up yardage froze defenders and spread them out. Brandin Cooks was a bona fide threat in that role, just like we saw Percy COULD be if he had his head on straight. No one on the Seahawks roster can do that. Swain doesn't have the plus athleticism, Lockett has lost his speed and lives and dies on his savvy, and DK is better as a traditional WR1 threat. A true weapon there opens up everything - not just in terms of traditional receiving, but opening up the run game and deeper targets.
3. I really think Pocic stands to improve greatly, and this isn't even because I believe in him, but because of where the offense is heading. The Rams made a solid center out of Austin Blythe, who is even more prone to getting blown back than Pocic is. Not only do we have Waldron, who played a big part in that, but we have Andy Dickerson now as the run game coordinator, who was assistant to Aaron Kromer in crafting that line.
Schottenheimer and Carroll ran a scheme that was hell on linemen. There wasn't any lateral movement, not much rolling out... basically, drop back and hope the line holds. The fact that the line DID hold for longer than they could in previous years even without the run game being used to help move the chains speaks well for the unit, and if Pocic was average in that offense, I think he can be above average (like he was at LSU) with another year at the spot, next to a much better guard, in a scheme that figures to take a lot of pressure off.
I think they'd have more trouble finding a legit threat at WR for those new offensive wrinkles than they would a center, and at the end of the day, I think they have more to gain from Eskridge than Creed after sitting back and combing through the hints about the direction of the offense.
As far as Carroll not changing, I'm optimistic that he will. 2020 was an entirely new direction, embracing Let Russ Cook. The wheels fell off, and I think they recognize that the way to fix it is by getting Russ rolling out, spreading out the defense with a legit zone run attack with jet sweep threats, and getting the ball out of his hands faster to targets that are schemed open more often. I think that's where the philosophical differences were between him and Schotty - Schotty wanted to stick with Let Russ Cook without having a viable plan to get the chains moving so the defense doesn't get killed, and Pete knew he needed something different.
I could be wrong. I've been wrong before and disappointed with Pete before, like in the 2018 WC vs. Dallas. But all the writing on the wall, to me, reads like he's looking for a new approach like he did in 2020.
PS: I also don't think it was a reach, just because the Rams obviously got screwed and ended up taking a worse prospect with the same type of skillset in Tutu Atwell directly after. But... that's just an educated guess.
