HawkShack.com

It's probably time for a new thread.

Here's a recap of our additions and subtractions courtesy our old friend the Seattle P-I:

https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/seahaw ... 845626.php

Gains (11): DE Ezekiel Ansah (free agency), FB Nick Bellore (free agency), TE Jacob Hollister (trade), G Mike Iupati (free agency), DE Cassius Marsh (free agency), G Marcus Martin (free agency), DT Jamie Meder (free agency), CB Jamar Taylor (free agency), DT Al Woods (free agency), QB Paxton Lynch (free agency), QB Geno Smith (not official but expected).

Losses (7): FS Earl Thomas (free agency), DE Frank Clark (traded), G J.R. Sweezy (free agency), RB Mike Davis (free agency), CB Justin Coleman (free agency), DT Shamar Stephen (free agency), SS Maurice Alexander (free agency).

This does not include 2019 draft choices, UFDA's, or retirement/cuts (ADB, Kam).

I wonder how many of these players will stick and how many UFA's will make the team.
I'm sure not all of the listed additions will be here at the start of the season, and that's
good because it means competition is the determining factor.

Here's a challenge that might occupy a few minutes of our offseason while still being relative to the Hawks. Rank the signings and losses in order of importance for you. Everyone can try. Hopefully people will ask why someone ranked one player over another without attacking the person's character. If we play by those rules, this should be fun.

Gains/signings
Fluker - I know he wasn't on your list but since he was a FA I would include him.
Iupati - We should have an oline that will protect Russ AND dominate in the rush again this year.
Ansah - We needed a replacement for Clark, hope he can do the job.
KJ Wright - Not on the list but again a UFA so we needed him if Kendrycks can't play.
Al Woods - If he stays healthy we need the Dline
Jamar Taylor - Depth at DB and we needed a replacement for nickel CB.
Marsh - depth at DE is needed especially if Ansah gets nicked.
Hollister - we don't know if our TE draft pick from last year will be ready or not.
Bellore - If we are going to go big on the run again, we need a good FB. Not sure if he is it but we really haven't had one since MikeRob left.
Martin, Meder, Geno and Lynch are primarily camp fodder so I lump them together in a toss up here.

Losses
Clark - He was rounding into his position nicely but he was just too expensive
Earl - He may have been first but since he missed most of last year and we all kind of expected this it lessens the blow in my mind.
Coleman - I liked his play but I think we picked up his replacement so his loss is a bit muted for me.
Sweezy - Same for Sweezy. He was key to last year's line but with the pickup of Iupati the loss of Sweezy is muted.
Stephens - I hate losing DTs but if we had to lose one, I guess he would be as good as any.
Davis - Not as important again because we have 2 or 3 capable backs on the team already. We still have McKissic right?
Alexander - Can't remember him being a big impact player so I guess I put him last.

NorthHawk wrote:I wonder how many of these players will stick and how many UFA's will make the team.
I'm sure not all of the listed additions will be here at the start of the season, and that's
good because it means competition is the determining factor.

It's a slam dunk guarantee that all of those acquisitions won't be on the roster come September. For example, we won't be keeping 3 QB's.

It's a little bit concerning that we lost more than we've gained in terms of quality, specifically Clark and Thomas. But there are a couple that if they can stay healthy, like Iupati and Ziggy, that could end up paying huge dividends.

RiverDog wrote:It's a little bit concerning that we lost more than we've gained in terms of quality, specifically Clark and Thomas. But there are a couple that if they can stay healthy, like Iupati and Ziggy, that could end up paying huge dividends.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you on this but I don't see losing Earl as a huge loss simply for the fact that he's been hurt or MIA for much of the last 2 seasons. Clark is definitely a loss though. Doug's contributions and key catches will be a huge loss, too. I'm not sure how much of a cancer he would have been in the locker room after reading some of the articles lately - especially the inuendos that Sherman threw out there.

I'm thinking the gains this year (I'm including KJ and Fluker in this) are more than the losses as a whole.

RiverDog wrote:It's a little bit concerning that we lost more than we've gained in terms of quality, specifically Clark and Thomas. But there are a couple that if they can stay healthy, like Iupati and Ziggy, that could end up paying huge dividends.

idhawkman wrote:I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you on this but I don't see losing Earl as a huge loss simply for the fact that he's been hurt or MIA for much of the last 2 seasons. Clark is definitely a loss though. Doug's contributions and key catches will be a huge loss, too. I'm not sure how much of a cancer he would have been in the locker room after reading some of the articles lately - especially the inuendos that Sherman threw out there.

I'm thinking the gains this year (I'm including KJ and Fluker in this) are more than the losses as a whole.

We never really replaced Earl, either, and he still has some mileage left on him, so it's a big loss, or at least that's my take.

All I'm talking about is roster additions/subtractions, not resignings that were already on the roster, like Russell, KJ, Fluker, Fant, Jefferson, et al.

RiverDog wrote:
We never really replaced Earl, either, and he still has some mileage left on him, so it's a big loss, or at least that's my take.

All I'm talking about is roster additions/subtractions, not resignings that were already on the roster, like Russell, KJ, Fluker, Fant, Jefferson, et al.

I get your point. I just think that even though we didn't replace ET, our defense didn't suffer all that badly after he went down.

I know you weren't couting the resignings but I put them in because they were scheduled to leave. Not all that you listed, e.g RW since he had more time on his contract but Fluker and KJ especially were huge resignings in my mind. That's why I put them in.

RiverDog wrote:We never really replaced Earl, either, and he still has some mileage left on him, so it's a big loss, or at least that's my take.

idhawkman wrote:I get your point. I just think that even though we didn't replace ET, our defense didn't suffer all that badly after he went down.

Earl only played in 4 games, so it's pretty hard to tell how much of a factor Earl's absence was. Our re-tooled defense is middle of the road and not having a still very effective free safety is a major minus when evaluating our current roster.

idhawkman wrote:I know you weren't couting the resignings but I put them in because they were scheduled to leave. Not all that you listed, e.g RW since he had more time on his contract but Fluker and KJ especially were huge resignings in my mind. That's why I put them in.

No problem, those resigning's were important and I'm glad we got them done. It's just that the OP is about plusses and minuses to the roster, an on paper assessment as to if we're likely to be better or worse this season.

Without figuring in the rookies, we might have slipped a bit in our overall talent, particularly with the loss of Clark and ET. But the teams around us, specifically the Rams, might have slipped even more.

Well I hope you are wrong that we will be worse this year than last. As you pointed out, ET wasn't there for 12 games (I think he also held out a couple games, too.) so losing him didn't effect the overall performance of our defense from last year at all. That's not a knock on his overall talent in any way he just wasn't there to contribute. Adding KJ back on the roster since he missed many games last year is a big upgrade over last year's overall performance. If Kendrycks can play this year it will be one of the LB corps in the league.

All together, I think we are better on defense this year than we were last year even with Clark being replaced by Ziggy.

idhawkman wrote:Well I hope you are wrong that we will be worse this year than last. As you pointed out, ET wasn't there for 12 games (I think he also held out a couple games, too.) so losing him didn't effect the overall performance of our defense from last year at all. That's not a knock on his overall talent in any way he just wasn't there to contribute. Adding KJ back on the roster since he missed many games last year is a big upgrade over last year's overall performance. If Kendrycks can play this year it will be one of the LB corps in the league.

All together, I think we are better on defense this year than we were last year even with Clark being replaced by Ziggy.

I wasn't analyzing our overall prospects, I was giving an opinion on our known roster minus the rookies and UFDA's we haven't seen. Truth be known I'm expecting us to compete for the SB this year, not so much due to our own situation, but rather that the NFC West looks like a real cluster. That plus I'm optimistic about our rookies. Metcalf could be the steal of the draft.

If the defense can at least avoid sliding back, I think we'll be an improved team.

I see the offseason as Even so far, but only If our wounded come back for at least the last 2/3 of the season -- Ziggy, Iupati, and Dissly and Kendricks stays out of prison, then we actually did a good job as far as balancing the loss of some top line talent like Clark and Coleman. ET was already 'gone' so it's a different kind of talent loss.
On the field, Clark was the biggest loss, but losing Justin Coleman might be the hardest to replace.
Including the draft, there is absolutely no doubt that we are reforming the roster with higher quality backups (except QB!) and that will help over the course of the year.
We'll never have another LOB, but the new kids did a pretty good job last year. We need to see the new nickle and dime packages this fall. It could make or break us.

jshawaii22 wrote:I see the offseason as Even so far, but only If our wounded come back for at least the last 2/3 of the season -- Ziggy, Iupati, and Dissly and Kendricks stays out of prison, then we actually did a good job as far as balancing the loss of some top line talent like Clark and Coleman. ET was already 'gone' so it's a different kind of talent loss.
On the field, Clark was the biggest loss, but losing Justin Coleman might be the hardest to replace.
Including the draft, there is absolutely no doubt that we are reforming the roster with higher quality backups (except QB!) and that will help over the course of the year.
We'll never have another LOB, but the new kids did a pretty good job last year. We need to see the new nickle and dime packages this fall. It could make or break us.

I'm thinking that Jamar Taylor will replace Coleman as equal or maybe a little better.

I've never heard of him. Wikipedia: He was drafted by Miami and stayed for 3 years and then traded for a 7th Round pick to Cleveland and they traded him to AZ for the 6th round pick. Released and signed as FA by Denver... who released him. Then he signed as FA with the Seahawks.

If you're right and this 'quality' of player becomes a major cog on our passing formation defences (nickelback) then like I said, this position will make or break us this year. The third CB in the current NFL will be uber important to cover slot receivers. Probably on the field 60-65% of the plays.

jshawaii22 wrote:I see the offseason as Even so far, but only If our wounded come back for at least the last 2/3 of the season -- Ziggy, Iupati, and Dissly and Kendricks stays out of prison, then we actually did a good job as far as balancing the loss of some top line talent like Clark and Coleman. ET was already 'gone' so it's a different kind of talent loss.
On the field, Clark was the biggest loss, but losing Justin Coleman might be the hardest to replace.
Including the draft, there is absolutely no doubt that we are reforming the roster with higher quality backups (except QB!) and that will help over the course of the year.
We'll never have another LOB, but the new kids did a pretty good job last year. We need to see the new nickle and dime packages this fall. It could make or break us.

I have concerns along the OL, specifically with the health of the starting Guards.
Fluker has only played 19 games the last 2 years because of injury and Iupati 11.
We know that Simmons has had trouble staying healthy, so it might be up to Pocic and perhaps Haynes if he learns the system quickly.
The others that might be of use could be Jordan Roos or possibly Marcus Martin who has the size we seem to covet.

WR is a bit of a concern with maybe Lockett as the only sure starter. Along with most of us fans, I hope Metcalf becomes a big deep
threat that can loosen up the opposing Defense for underneath routes and the run game. The wild card at WR for me is Jennings who
might be something special if used properly. Another WR to keep an eye on is UFA Jazz Ferguson who has the physical tools at 6-5
and large catching radius Carroll has been looking for for 10 years here.

At DB, I'm really interested in how well Davante Davis and Derrek Thomas do. They were well thought of as UFA's and seem to have the
length and physicality PC looks for. The depth here is pretty good, but we don't yet know of its quality.

Pass Rush. Ugh. Lots of risk here, but maybe we can pick up someone who is cut after all of the high DL draft picks this past year.
We might have to use the LB's for blitzing, or maybe a Nickel Corner from time to time.

LB and ST look like they should be improved from the draft.

jshawaii22 wrote:I've never heard of him. Wikipedia: He was drafted by Miami and stayed for 3 years and then traded for a 7th Round pick to Cleveland and they traded him to AZ for the 6th round pick. Released and signed as FA by Denver... who released him. Then he signed as FA with the Seahawks.

If you're right and this 'quality' of player becomes a major cog on our passing formation defences (nickelback) then like I said, this position will make or break us this year. The third CB in the current NFL will be uber important to cover slot receivers. Probably on the field 60-65% of the plays.

I know about Taylor because he is a Boise State Grad and I watched him throughout his college days. He's got the right head on his shoulders (based on what I know about the Boise State program) and I'm sure that Pete can bring out the best in him.

Ziggy gave an ambiguous answer regarding his injury, saying that he has "no timetable" for being cleared to participate in workouts. It's beginning to sound like the rumors about his missing the first 4 games of the regular season might have some truth to them.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... be-cleared

Every team in the league has their injuries and health issues, but we seem to have more than the usual number of question marks. With Russell's new contract now on the books, this could be our new norm, ie taking more chances on players that have health concerns.

There will be good DL cut this off season and maybe one or two will end up here.
It should be a prime destination to go to considering Pete is a Defensive coach
and we need help along the DL. It's a good place for a "show what you have left"
type of contract or maybe a longer term if they are younger.

NorthHawk wrote:There will be good DL cut this off season and maybe one or two will end up here.
It should be a prime destination to go to considering Pete is a Defensive coach
and we need help along the DL. It's a good place for a "show what you have left"
type of contract or maybe a longer term if they are younger.

I agree that we have some advantages in attracting defensive players. Not only is Pete known for his defensive mind, but he's also known as a player's coach. Although his personality and management style has been criticized by some (including Yours Truly) for not being able to keep veteran players on the bandwagon, it is an advantage when attracting players that haven't had long term exposure to his type of style.