.........
=== Quarterback ===
Dr. D was definitely not a Tarvaris Jackson skeptic going into the season. I've got nothing against the guy, and you had to figure: if anybody knows who a quarterback is, Pete Carroll does.
But point blank, Tarvaris Jackson doesn't look like he enjoys playing football.
I mean, I'm sure he does. But his best moments are all flag-football darts and outs ... he seems to have little taste for the ball downfield ... he is so calm, courageous, and inert in the pocket (normally very admirable) that he appears to not care whether he is sacked ... when he runs he picks his way around rather than using his athletic gifts...
He just appears way, way overcoached, confused, and static.
.......
I definitely allow for the possibility that I don't know what I'm talking about. Hey, I assume that I don't know what I'm talking about. Somebody tell me that Pete Carroll can pick QB's at least as well as Bill James can pick pitchers.
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=== Running Game ===
Not to offer a value judgment or anything, but you can't win in the NFL with a running back like Marshawn Lynch.*
So the Seahawks' quarterback is a Bobby-Knight-level overcoach job who at best is going to execute a robotic short-range passing attack? And their tailback is a guy you can pencil in for 3.2 yards a game? Is Dr. D missing anything here?
*Except under very weird circumstances, like let's say you have Drew Brees on your team, or something.
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=== Unsung Heroes, Dept. ===
But. The offensive line was unpossibly competent, considering the circumstances. It just all looks so different when Okung's ankle allows him on the field.
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=== Skybox, Dept. ===
Add all that up, offensively and defensively, and .... I was watching a game that could have been coached by Chuck Knocks. Every single roster and playbook equalizer slider bar had been crammed all the way up to "SAFETY AND SECURITY." Well, except for the 2:1 pass-run ratio, of course, but the passes were flag-football passes.
This from Pete Carroll? When did Pete Carroll start coaching as if he were 60? .........
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=== Can You Win Your Next Pennant With This Player, Dept. ===
So here the Seahawks are, in their 2nd year, and all over the field you've got shim jobs, band-aids and baling wire -- huge veteran nose tackles triple-parked on the offensive line, a placeholder tailback with nobody behind him, a veteran NFC Central quarterback whose game looks engineered for Knocks-ian "don't beat yourself and hope your special teams can win it for you" seasons.
Which current Seahawks are going to be here for Seattle's next Super Bowl?
One of you real football fans lay down the reality check. Is Pete Carroll really pulling out all the stops to aim for 9-7 seasons?
Good entertaining football game. I can't see the endgame from here, but hopefully one of you guys will explain it to me.
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Just wondering,
Dr D
...but I think the answer to your "Which current Seahawks are going to be here for Seattle's next Super Bowl?" query is 4/5ths of their OL, a good chunk of their receiving core and most of their defense. This team, given a top-15 QB and RB, will be ready to rip off a string of 10 win seasons starting in 2013. That's Carroll's organizing principle. Everything prior to that is NFC-West-aided gravy.
He is a defensive coach afterall, my hope is that Tavaris is just a way for us to win the luck derby and not really who he thinks gives us the best shot at winning.
Thanks for organizing my thinking about it.
I take it, "most of their defense" means that part of their defense that doesn't consider the pass rush? Or are you holding out hopes on that end?
OK, fair enough Steen...
So why does he kick Whitehurst to the curb, after paying so much for him, and after intriguing potential shown? He says it's about who can come up to speed on the offense quickly. Is that the real reason?
Sorry, I think this team will be lucky to win 7 games this season. No QB + no running game + no pass rush = win scarcity in the NFL. Carrol could very well be playing the Luck lotto this season.
I have no idea why they seem to have cut bait so fast on what was a rather expensive investment. He's barely had a chance to show what he can or can't do....while they went with Tavaris who has had enough snaps that any future development is unlikely, he is what he is.
Elite pass rush is a need that will need to be addressed externally. I think Carroll likes his young DB corps, his middle linebackers (Hawthorne, Wright), and his run-stuffing DL. The spots currently held down by Clemmons and Curry will certainly be upgraded over the next 18 months.
Would have thought they'd have found another DE to go with him, but okay -