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It just occurred to me watching the game with WTF today, the Hawks have not had an effective kick returner this year. I can't remember any long run backs, much less any to the house.

I can think of a few more things I'd ask Santa for before I'd put down a kick returner, like a stud pass rushing DE.

However, I do think that Santa has this guy in the back of his sleigh that could prove to be much more of a weapon than any kick returner:

A familiar weapon is back in Russell Wilson's war chest this week. Josh Gordon, recently reinstated from his latest indefinite NFL suspension, first needed to adhere to the terms of his conditional reinstatement set forth by league commissioner Roger Goodell before he could jump back into the mix for the Seattle Seahawks. One such condition was to remain out of the team's practice until the conclusion of Week 15, at which point he'd be permitted to suit up and be eligible to take the field for the last two regular season games. Having now reportedly crossed all of his "t's" and dotted all of his "i's," the 29-year-old will reportedly join the Seahawks on Monday, Dec. 21, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Gordon reported to the team with only seven percent body fat and at around 238 pounds, and an take the field in a blockbuster matchup against the division-leading Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 7 -- one that could send shockwaves throughout the NFC West and playoff bracket as a whole.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/josh ... y-vs-rams/

No, I'm not saying a good kick returner is our biggest need by any means. I was just struck by a lack of productivity in that special teams area as I reflected on the season.

And I'm a little worried about conflict of egos between Metcalf and Gordon. And I'm not sure how much they can plug Gordan in before the end of the season as he is relatively new to the system.

trents wrote:No, I'm not saying a good kick returner is our biggest need by any means. I was just struck by a lack of productivity in that special teams area as I reflected on the season.

I didn't mean to suggest that you were prioritizing a kick returner over other positions. Of course, it would be nice to have a good kick returner.

trents wrote:And I'm a little worried about conflict of egos between Metcalf and Gordon. And I'm not sure how much they can plug Gordan in before the end of the season as he is relatively new to the system.

Not knowing much about either personality, my guess would be that Gordon will be happy just to get back on the field with his teammates again as he's been exiled from the league for over a year and like all of us, must be frustrated with the 'social distancing' and other fall outs from the pandemic.

Obviously Gordon isn't going to be seeing 40 snaps a game, but I can see them putting him in there in certain situations. If nothing else, he's a wild card that is going to throw a monkey wrench into the Rams' defensive game plan.

Gordon and Metcalf are very close in size and speed. It's going to be interesting to see how opposing Defenses try to neutralize them.
I suspect there will be more emphasis on pressuring Wilson so any deep routes might be nullified. But of the 3 (including Lockett) who
does the Defense double team? Somebody should have a 1 on 1 matchup that can be exploited.

NorthHawk wrote:Gordon and Metcalf are very close in size and speed. It's going to be interesting to see how opposing Defenses try to neutralize them.
I suspect there will be more emphasis on pressuring Wilson so any deep routes might be nullified. But of the 3 (including Lockett) who
does the Defense double team? Somebody should have a 1 on 1 matchup that can be exploited.

Getting Gordon really helps us, obviously. It would have been nice to have gotten him back a few games ago so that he could have been practicing, but overall he presents a huge matchup issue for defenses. With DK, Gordon, and Lockette we present multiple matchup issues for the defense but who knows how much we will use him. Last year he played 5 games for us and had all of 11 targets. It would have been nice to see what he would look like in this offense with a full season of practice. I'm hopeful he plays a lot but I imagine he's not going to get a ton of snaps or targets this week.

Very excited to get Gordon back - we saw his effectiveness over the middle on 3rd downs last year.

On kick returns, we're about in the middle of the pack (15th) and have had 17 over 20 yds and 2 over 40 (ties for 5th). Punting around the middle as well (18th), but a extra yard and a half gets you to 7th.

Overall, I think our special teams are outstanding. Both Myers and Dickson are gems, as is Ott. I remember in the early days it was tough finding a returner that wouldn't fumble it!

Christmas? With the age of Duane Brown and our recent sack success (31 sacks in 9 games), finding another Walter Jones would suit me fine. Something that I'd like to see, that I'll never see? Another John L.