No longer SB contenders .

The Hawks have been in the SB conversation for almost a decade , going to two and winning one ; but that was along time ago , a lifetime ago for fans . The last several years the Hawks at the beginning of each season have been touted as one of the favorites for a SB appearance at least . It just never happened . This year I doubt the Hawks will be in that same SB conversation ; and might not be in the perennial playoff conversation either . Something really feels off about the Hawks and it's not just the Wilson situation . IMO

Got to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball. We’re young on defense and the offensive line has a major hole (LG & C). The backup depth is questionable also (plenty of hype, below average results).

nwHawk":32852akd said:

Got to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball. We’re young on defense and the offensive line has a major hole (LG & C). The backup depth is questionable also (plenty of hype, below average results).

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We haven't focused on our lines for years. It mostly shows in the playoffs when we're bounced by true contenders. This hasn't been a true SB level team since 2014.

Not in the conversation. Too many bad drafts..dumb trades..and now turmoil at the qb position. I have them as a possible playoff team and one and done....but it is really early yet.

Certainly hard to be optimistic about the team so far. Losing 5(?) starters, decent amount of subpar depth, no draft picks, in a weird standoff with the superstar QB who has openly stated he wants a great OL/hinted at looking to leave if not listened to, and pretty limited salary cap space. I wish they had been proactive about shuffling around some money before FA but that's where we are. Seems like they're really doubling down on the young guys who haven't shown much. It was clear against above average teams the differences in roster talent and the Seahawks had been held up by Russ heroics for the past few years.

I tend to agree. Even if Wilson stays, it’s hard to be optimistic with the way they approach things in the trenches. I am so sick and tired of bargain shopping and signing guys to 1 year prove it deals. And if I have to hear about another “versatile” offensive lineman, I’m going to explode. Just give me a guy who dominates at one thing instead of a guy who is just ok at a bunch of things. I’m really concerned about our RB situation too. I see a rotation of JAGs and nobody who will really rise up.


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Psst............we haven't been Super Bowl contenders in almost a decade.

We haven't been a SB contender since the SB loss.

Once we lost our depth, and started to build our team out in a direction that did not correspond to Pete's preferred playstyle that was over.

But do we need to be in a SB to be considered a success in a season?
We have consistently been one of the better teams in the league for near a decade.

You can be the Marlins, win it all and vanish shortly thereafter...or you can be like the Steelers and Seahawks. Consistently dangerous, consistently competitive and never really overmatched in any game (outside of the playoffs of course).

Unless you are SB or bust, that is still a hell of a privilege to be a fan of.

Much of that success was falls into 2 phases:

1 - The LOB phase
(which should probably be broken into Lynch and Post-Lynch eras)
When we had LOB, Lynch, + Wilson we were clear SB contenders. (Before we traded Unger & lost Tate really)

2 - The Wilson phase (Not SuperBowl contenders but still upper tier team)
Less trustworthy defense offset by fantastic QB play to save games

We were clearly no longer SB anything the moment we kept playing like we had the LOB when they were gone. But the moment Wilson is gone, we probably aren't even a playoff team.

Carroll was never an X & Os guy, he was always about finding better 'Jimmys and Joes'. And for the most part he did a great job with that. It masked his tremendous weaknesses at tactics and strategy. But he hasn't delivered on his supposed strengths for a few years now. Likely lost them.

We hopefully have Wilson for one more year. Enjoy it. Doubt we are a playoff team even then given how much better everyone else in our division has gotten + the discord recently. But, for a long time, this team with Wilson is going to be better than any version without him unless we get a magical coaching change.

The sky is falling! It is never as bad as it seems on the first day of Legal Tampering/Free Agency.

Sgt. Largent":3qs565d8 said:

Psst............we haven't been Super Bowl contenders in almost a decade.

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^^^^ LOLOL, ^^^^ This guy gets it ^^^^ :2thumbs:

xray":2rwsofzb said:

The Hawks have been in the SB conversation for almost a decade , going to two and winning one ; but that was along time ago , a lifetime ago for fans . The last several years the Hawks at the beginning of each season have been touted as one of the favorites for a SB appearance at least . It just never happened . This year I doubt the Hawks will be in that same SB conversation ; and might not be in the perennial playoff conversation either . Something really feels off about the Hawks and it's not just the Wilson situation . IMO

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Havent been contenders in years. Just took some longer to realize that than others.

pittpnthrs":1q143rom said:

xray":1q143rom said:

The Hawks have been in the SB conversation for almost a decade , going to two and winning one ; but that was along time ago , a lifetime ago for fans . The last several years the Hawks at the beginning of each season have been touted as one of the favorites for a SB appearance at least . It just never happened . This year I doubt the Hawks will be in that same SB conversation ; and might not be in the perennial playoff conversation either . Something really feels off about the Hawks and it's not just the Wilson situation . IMO

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Havent been contenders in years. Just took some longer to realize that than others.

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A team that was an OT loss away from being the #1 seed in the NFC hasn't been a contender for years? Interesting.

I thought they were real contenders last year. The defense got better but then the offense took a dump. Even though they were winning games most of them were as a result of playing weak teams. I think if the offense had kept Eli g they could of made a run.

Cyrus12":1u32172w said:

I thought they were real contenders last year. The defense got better but then the offense took a dump. Even though they were winning games most of them were as a result of playing weak teams. I think if the offense had kept Eli g they could of made a run.

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Nah, our 12-4 record was inflated due to the easy 2nd half of the season schedule. 12-4 is 12-4, but we were more a 10-6 type of team with some glaring holes and issues, which reared their ugly heads in the playoffs.

I'm normally OK with John and Pete not going big in the first wave of free agency, but last year was the perfect year to go spend on bringing a Jack Conklin and Leonard Floyd in here to be real difference makers and a SB contender.......instead of the 5-6 scrubs they brought in because they thought they could coach them up, or whatever their reasonings are for not going after bona fide front line starters every free agency.

Only 4 teams that made the playoffs, last year, had a tougher strength of schedule than the Seahawks. But yeah, Seattle was not a contender because they played an easy schedule. And, I suppose neither were the Chiefs and Packers since they had easier schedules than Seattle.

The narrative fallacy coupled with a highly uncertain single elimination playoff structure fools you into learning things that aren't true. The Seahawks were more likely to win the Super Bowl last season than the Bucs were, but most fans are uneasy taking a probabilistic view and instead scratch and claw to explain to themselves why whatever happened must have happened. This thread reads like most of the posters were part of some deterministic cult, but I would bet outside of sports the same people have no problem using probabilistic thinking.

The Bucs finished the season strong and played great in the playoffs, so kudos to them. However, if what we cared about was finding the best team every year it wouldn't be to take an entire season's worth of results and then jam everything into a single game/single elimination playoff format. This way is entertaining but it's important to take the outcomes with a grain of salt or two. If the 2020 Seahawks and the 2020 Bucs played each other either team could have won.

knownone":3daulmdy said:

Only 4 teams that made the playoffs, last year, had a tougher strength of schedule than the Seahawks. But yeah, Seattle was not a contender because they played an easy schedule. And, I suppose neither were the Chiefs and Packers since they had easier schedules than Seattle.

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Idk what metrics you're using, but by January the Hawk's had the 20th ranked strength of schedule, and THE EASIEST 2nd half schedule.

http://powerrankingsguru.com/nfl/streng ... hedule.php

Bottom line, this team was never a legitimate SB contender, and haven't been for a long time. Russell wanting out should be enough proof of that, he knows this version of this team reached it's potential under Pete long ago, and isn't getting better.

Day 2 of free agency and the season's over? This might be a record for even this vitamin E deprived board.

There were 6 teams with a 12-4 record or better last year. We were one of them. Our core is intact and we have cap money. Why the drama?

Sgt. Largent":1z1es3od said:

Psst............we haven't been Super Bowl contenders in almost a decade.

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This. Soon as Sherman and and our D Ends left/retired, that was especially after Thomas and Kam left.

Sgt. Largent":15dh5ymy said:

knownone":15dh5ymy said:

Only 4 teams that made the playoffs, last year, had a tougher strength of schedule than the Seahawks. But yeah, Seattle was not a contender because they played an easy schedule. And, I suppose neither were the Chiefs and Packers since they had easier schedules than Seattle.

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Idk what metrics you're using, but by January the Hawk's had the 20th ranked strength of schedule, and THE EASIEST 2nd half schedule.

http://powerrankingsguru.com/nfl/streng ... hedule.php

Bottom line, this team was never a legitimate SB contender, and haven't been for a long time. Russell wanting out should be enough proof of that, he knows this version of this team reached it's potential under Pete long ago, and isn't getting better.

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You play the teams on your schedule, if given those parameters the Patriots would never have been Super Bowl contenders considering their schedule over the last 20 years.