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This is truly sad. It looks like Earl has gotten himself in trouble with the law again:

A judge in Austin, Texas, issued an arrest warrant for Thomas after he violated a court protective order by sending threatening messages to a woman about her and her children, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Thomas faces a third-degree felony charge for allegedly violating the protective order two or more times within 12 months, according to court records obtained by the newspaper. Magistrate George Thomas signed the warrant April 27, but Thomas hasn’t yet been booked into the Travis County jail.

Thomas’ divorce attorney, Trey Dolezal, told the newspaper he left a message for Thomas about the arrest warrant, adding that it involved Thomas reaching out to his wife seeking to see their children. “They were consciously and collectively working together to see his kids,” Dolezal told the Statesman. “I don’t really understand how he could be in violation by working together to visit with his children.”

Police allege in the arrest affidavit that Thomas violated a protective order issued in May 2021 requiring Thomas to communicate with the woman only through a co-parenting phone application.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... pbIUo3KlP4

Hopefully there's nothing to this story if we can believe what his attorney is saying.

Earl had over 600 tackles in the NFL as a safety . I’ll never forget him laying out Gronk in New England and bouncing off him 5 yards downfield . The most courageous tackle I’ve ever seen by a safety hitting Gronk in the chest breaking his ribs . Imo ET is HOF caliber just not the longevity . But he’s got CTE now I’m afraid like so many others . Sad

Hawktawk wrote:But he’s got CTE now I’m afraid like so many others . Sad

Are you sure about that, or are you just speculating?

Well somethings up . You think ? He’s had a tragic trail of incidents the last few years after no previous history of it . Hopefully we agree it’s sad . We can speculate on the reasons

I think one of the downsides of Pete's approach to coaching is he builds up the egos of some of his guys so much, they have a real hard time accepting reality when the party is over. The entire L.O.B. had huge egos. They had egos to match their incredible play. Pete let them run with it as he knew those huge egos were part of it all.

I think Earl, Sherm, and Browner had a hard time coming off the high of being the L.O.B. Hopefully at some point they can accept their new situation and enjoy their post-NFL lives.

Aseahawkfan wrote:I think one of the downsides of Pete's approach to coaching is he builds up the egos of some of his guys so much, they have a real hard time accepting reality when the party is over. The entire L.O.B. had huge egos. They had egos to match their incredible play. Pete let them run with it as he knew those huge egos were part of it all.

I think Earl, Sherm, and Browner had a hard time coming off the high of being the L.O.B. Hopefully at some point they can accept their new situation and enjoy their post-NFL lives.

I don't know if it's Pete's approach that contributes to that kind of behavior. More likely it's the profile of a highly successful athletes often times includes an overly active ego.

The other thing that we have to keep in mind is that there are 53 players on an NFL roster, times 32 equals 1696 players. The odds of one of them getting into this kind of trouble is quite high. Is that rate any higher than the rest of society, especially when you consider that many of these kids come from an urban environment where the crime rate is higher.

But as far as Earl goes, let's wait until this plays out and we get a little more information before we crucify him. It's only a warrant for his arrest. He hasn't been charged with anything yet, let alone found guilty. Hopefully, he turns himself in and gets it resolved.

RiverDog wrote:I don't know if it's Pete's approach that contributes to that kind of behavior. More likely it's the profile of a highly successful athletes often times includes an overly active ego.

The other thing that we have to keep in mind is that there are 53 players on an NFL roster, times 32 equals 1696 players. The odds of one of them getting into this kind of trouble is quite high. Is that rate any higher than the rest of society, especially when you consider that many of these kids come from an urban environment where the crime rate is higher.

But as far as Earl goes, let's wait until this plays out and we get a little more information before we crucify him. It's only a warrant for his arrest. He hasn't been charged with anything yet, let alone found guilty. Hopefully, he turns himself in and gets it resolved.

You're the one that used to say Pete let his guys get away with too much.

I'm sort of agreeing in so far as he let their egos fly off the wire sometimes. Makes for some exciting post-game moments like Sherm's intense sideline commentary or strange moments like Marshawn's, "I'm just here so I don't get fined." But it also seems to let some guys go absolutely too high. I remember our CBs were the only guys who were putting it out there at the Pro Bowl. I knew Pete had the Legion of Boom jacked up when they were even competing hard at the Pro Bowl.

I think Pete had a definite hand in ramping the Legion up so high that there was nowhere to go but down. It's been hard on a few of them coming down from that high of being on the mountain top howling as the alpha dogs to falling into obscurity where they can't even keep a job in the league.

I don't intend to crucify any of them unless. Their lives aren't my business. I think it's kind of sad sometimes to see the fall like this. Guys like Sherm, Earl, and even Browner worked up from near nothing to as high as it goes as a professional athlete. Seeing them fall hard sucks. Browner is in jail for attempted murder. Earl and Sherm can't keep jobs in the NFL and are getting mixed up with bad domestic situations. I'm hoping both of them get their lives together and don't let all they worked so hard for continue to go in the wrong direction.

RiverDog wrote:I don't know if it's Pete's approach that contributes to that kind of behavior. More likely it's the profile of a highly successful athletes often times includes an overly active ego.

The other thing that we have to keep in mind is that there are 53 players on an NFL roster, times 32 equals 1696 players. The odds of one of them getting into this kind of trouble is quite high. Is that rate any higher than the rest of society, especially when you consider that many of these kids come from an urban environment where the crime rate is higher.

But as far as Earl goes, let's wait until this plays out and we get a little more information before we crucify him. It's only a warrant for his arrest. He hasn't been charged with anything yet, let alone found guilty. Hopefully, he turns himself in and gets it resolved.

Aseahawkfan wrote:You're the one that used to say Pete let his guys get away with too much.

I've never blamed Pete for his player's off field behavior. I don't think he's has had any more off field player issues than Holmgren did (Koren Robinson, Sean Locklear, Ken Hamlin, Jeremy Stevens, to name a few).

Aseahawkfan wrote:I'm sort of agreeing in so far as he let their egos fly off the wire sometimes. Makes for some exciting post-game moments like Sherm's intense sideline commentary or strange moments like Marshawn's, "I'm just here so I don't get fined." But it also seems to let some guys go absolutely too high. I remember our CBs were the only guys who were putting it out there at the Pro Bowl. I knew Pete had the Legion of Boom jacked up when they were even competing hard at the Pro Bowl.

I think Pete had a definite hand in ramping the Legion up so high that there was nowhere to go but down. It's been hard on a few of them coming down from that high of being on the mountain top howling as the alpha dogs to falling into obscurity where they can't even keep a job in the league.

Earl Thomas is responsible for his own mistakes. He can't blame his coach, he can't blame is mother, and he can't blame is wife. He's a grown man, no less responsible for his behavior than you and me are for ours. If he has a weak enough mind that his coach can manipulate it to the point of altering his sense of right and wrong, that's on him, not Pete. Professional football isn't like the military where you have a drill seargent yelling at you 24/7. They need to be able to compartmentalize their work life from their personal life.

Aseahawkfan wrote:I don't intend to crucify any of them unless. Their lives aren't my business. I think it's kind of sad sometimes to see the fall like this. Guys like Sherm, Earl, and even Browner worked up from near nothing to as high as it goes as a professional athlete. Seeing them fall hard sucks. Browner is in jail for attempted murder. Earl and Sherm can't keep jobs in the NFL and are getting mixed up with bad domestic situations. I'm hoping both of them get their lives together and don't let all they worked so hard for continue to go in the wrong direction.

Yeah, me, too. I don't consider any of them to be heroes or idols, but I do care about them as I would any friend that is having difficulty coping with life's twists and turns.

I've been reserving judgement but he's lost me completely now:

The tweet pushing for Thomas to return to the NFL was posted on April 22. The texts in question, including an alleged threat to poison his children, were sent on April 18 and 19.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... rn-to-nfl/

Aseahawkfan wrote:I think one of the downsides of Pete's approach to coaching is he builds up the egos of some of his guys so much, they have a real hard time accepting reality when the party is over. The entire L.O.B. had huge egos. They had egos to match their incredible play. Pete let them run with it as he knew those huge egos were part of it all.

I think Earl, Sherm, and Browner had a hard time coming off the high of being the L.O.B. Hopefully at some point they can accept their new situation and enjoy their post-NFL lives.

To me, there is far more upside to pumping your guys up and helping them believe in themselves than there is a down side. Those who go the opposite way - Frank Kush comes to mind - have a difficult time in the NFL building a "team". Now you can certainly point to Belichick and say it works, his reputation as a winner has assisted him - but we have seen some cracks recently with players leaving and unhappy about how he comes across.

TriCitySam wrote:To me, there is far more upside to pumping your guys up and helping them believe in themselves than there is a down side. Those who go the opposite way - Frank Kush comes to mind - have a difficult time in the NFL building a "team". Now you can certainly point to Belichick and say it works, his reputation as a winner has assisted him - but we have seen some cracks recently with players leaving and unhappy about how he comes across.

Our players have been leaving unhappy too. Sherm, Earl, Bobby, and now Russ have all left on questionable terms.

It's not just the ego pumping. It's letting them do whatever they want while pumping up their ego. They start to believe their own hype a little too much.

Bill doesn't let people do whey they want. He's always turned over players. He doesn't care. You reach what Bill thinks is the end of your career or ask for too much money, Bill is confident he can replace you and outcoach the other coach, so he doesn't care.

But this is all speculation. At the end of the day, each person is responsible for their own behavior. They need to learn to live with the end of their NFL careers without losing their minds. I hope Earl and Sherm can do that at some point. And Browner after he gets out of prison.

As I said, far more upside. Bobby and Earl at the end of their productivity, Sherm close. RW? It was about something else.

I hope ET is going to be all right.
But he’s always been a different type of person even in his early years.
Is this a case of CTE? I hope not but his actions the last few years have been odd, even for him.
It does seem from some of his actions that got him in trouble that he’s lost any type of
filter he may have had.
I just hope he ends up getting help if help is available.

TriCitySam wrote:As I said, far more upside. Bobby and Earl at the end of their productivity, Sherm close. RW? It was about something else.

I wish we knew more of what happened with Russ.

I cannot recall a team trading their franchise QB in his prime and doing well after. I can't even remember any GM doing it to be honest. Maybe the Cleveland GM with Bernie Kosar? It's one of those trades you never expect a team to do it. Even Green Bay bent over backwards to keep Aaron Rodgers. We're in uncharted waters at this point.

My dream though is both Seattle and Denver fall hard next year, we end up with two top 3 picks, we draft the next Mahomes and Aaron Donald in the same draft. It's an incredible concatenation of events that leads to a new Seattle super team.

Really, it's the only way we're ever gonna see football in Seattle as good as those first 5 years of Pete Carroll. He didn't just build a great team, he built a legendary team. That Legion of Boom led Seattle defense is like the Steel Curtain or the Purple People Eaters. They weren't just great, they were ridiculous. It's gonna nearly impossible to reach that level again. They literally took Peyton Manning, who had thrown for the most TDs in NFL history, and an offense more productive than NFL history and even account for metrics normalizing the 4th best offense in NFL history and b**** slapped them. That's how good that defense was.

How do you equal that? I don't know that I'll ever see a team in Seattle as goo as that team from 2012 to 2015 on both sides of the ball really. Even our offense averaged like 50 points a game for 3 games. It was such an incredible high watching the first five years of that Pete Carroll team with all the colorful figures and swagger like we've never seen in Seattle.

How do you get that back? I don't know. Some crazy drafts is the only way I can imagine. That team was so good, so good.

I miss that beautiful period of watching the rise of a legendary NFL team in Seattle. I wish it hadn't ended so badly and been such a downhill ride from there.

I wish we knew more of what happened with Russ.

Here is what I've put together from different stories in the press and hearing radio interviews from people who've talked to Russ and Pete or been
around the team. Some were former players who get different information than reporters, but it all pointed in the same direction.

Russ had been pushing to be more creative on Offense and Pete pushed back for a few years.
Finally Pete relented somewhat after hiring Schottenheimer and the Offense almost singlehandedly won the first 5 games of the season.
Then it hit a rough patch and they lost. The Defense at that time was trending to be one of the worst in NFL history.
Pete then said (paraphrasing) "This is not the football that I understand" and proceeded to rein in the Offense (after it was the Offense
that covered for the Defense - and mostly it was Wilson doing it). Instead of talking about the Defense he was talking about the Offense.
Wilson went into the next week meeting with ideas of how to fix the Offense. His ideas were rejected out of hand and told they are
going to do it Pete's way.

So after years of struggling with Pete about being more creative on Offense, they finally did so and then Pete pulled back the reins at the
first sign of trouble. It seems this was the last straw.
Wilson was dejected by this and started suggesting he wanted out.
Pete, in a desperate move to placate Wilson, fired Schottenheimer and hired Waldron - but Waldron had to run Pete's Offense.
So Wilson, being fed up forced his way out.

Nobody knows if Wilson was promised anything from Pete that he reneged on except for Pete and Russ but in the end they had different
agendas on how to play football in todays game.

[quote="NorthHawk"]
Pete, in a desperate move to placate Wilson, fired Schottenheimer and hired Waldron - but Waldron had to run Pete's Offense.
So Wilson, being fed up forced his way out./quote]

Speculation is often fun but speculation is Waldron is a puppet and him and RW were stymied by Pete...Waldrons offense seems to be more of a distribution of passes not merely exploiting the deep ball strengths RW possesses.

A distribution type offense is more balanced than just putting stress on the other teams deep safety. RW didnt seem to like the "game manager" label he got early in the Super Bowl years and as his deep ball skill set improved he enjoyed the trust afforded him in being able to audible out of calls sent in...the frequency agitated Pete...and their "shared" vision of running the offense quickly diverged with each passing year.

We ran Pete's Offense last year under Waldron.
It remains to be seen if Pete will adopt the McVay philosophy of pressuring the edges with a lot of motion rather than the same formations
and north south plays. We also don't know if Waldron wants to follow the McVay plan. Maybe he has something different in mind.

You can use the ambiguous "Pete's Way " of north-south running plays...but Shane Waldron was not IDLE in play design...as a team we incorporated more dual TE formations and late in the season more zone blocking with heavy slants to the strong and weak sides. Geno ran a "tailored" wide spread type offense which took advantage of his drop and fire where many of RW's plays were more complex to buy time for his favored deeper developing plays.

NorthHawk wrote:We ran Pete's Offense last year under Waldron.
It remains to be seen if Pete will adopt the McVay philosophy of pressuring the edges with a lot of motion rather than the same formations
and north south plays. We also don't know if Waldron wants to follow the McVay plan. Maybe he has something different in mind.

Pete don't like turnovers. I don't think he ever will. High volume passing attacks increase the chance of turnovers. Pete has metrics indicating turnovers are the primary cause of losses. I've read on those metrics and they are accurate.

So I'd back Pete on that one. I can see how Russ would like to be a more high volume passer so he can put up the numbers like the other top guys who throw more like his idle Drew Brees. I'm still of the mind Pete's way is better than Sean Payton's way.

tarlhawk wrote:You can use the ambiguous "Pete's Way " of north-south running plays...but Shane Waldron was not IDLE in play design...as a team we incorporated more dual TE formations and late in the season more zone blocking with heavy slants to the strong and weak sides. Geno ran a "tailored" wide spread type offense which took advantage of his drop and fire where many of RW's plays were more complex to buy time for his favored deeper developing plays.

Oh, please.
It was the same unimaginative Offense and teams knew from the formations what was coming.
How many bubble screens or even swing passes to the RBs? Or how about just tosses to the RB?
How about pre-snap motion or different plays from one formation like in McVays Offense?
These aren’t high risk plays, but they do make the opposing Defense think or maybe hesitate.
But that’s not part of Peteball. We had zone blocking before and 2TE sets but did nothing
different from them.

NorthHawk wrote:Oh, please.
It was the same unimaginative Offense and teams knew from the formations what was coming.
How many bubble screens or even swing passes to the RBs? Or how about just tosses to the RB?
How about pre-snap motion or different plays from one formation like in McVays Offense?
These aren’t high risk plays, but they do make the opposing Defense think or maybe hesitate.
But that’s not part of Peteball. We had zone blocking before and 2TE sets but did nothing
different from them.

Pete's offensive philosophy has nothing to do with the wins and loss record. I have no idea why you taking this illogical and unprovable line of discussion.

Pete's offensive philosophy set Seattle point records, won a Super Bowl, and took us to a second.

I heard this same talk when Holmgren was coach. It has no merit. McVay's offense hasn't produced superior results with equivalent talent.

It's not a convincing argument.