O line ranked 14th in the league

[Jjones84]

http://static.nfl.com/static/content/pu ... hoto-A.jpg

This was taken from nfl.com. pretty good value from the o line.

[Hawktawk]

They have been streaky but when good they have definitely been the best since the 2013 season at least. The only real aberration recently was Tampa and it was a combination of playing an overlooked team with Britt out.
Carroll said as much after the Carolina game while praising Britts leadership. work ethic and intelligence.

I've said myself Britt is playing at an all pro level. And he is far more physically nasty than Unger ever dreamed of being.

Its coming together. The Hawks have proven it isn't how you start, its how you finish....

[NorthHawk]

Consistency both from game to game and within the game is what they should be striving for.
Britt being out showed us how valuable he is at C, so it's going to be a decision whether to extend him or not either in 2017 before he becomes a FA, or wait until 2018 and maybe tag him.
Of course they could just give him a lowball offer in 2018, too and let him leave.

[Jjones84]

They have been streaky but when good they have definitely been the best since the 2013 season at least. The only real aberration recently was Tampa and it was a combination of playing an overlooked team with Britt out.
Carroll said as much after the Carolina game while praising Britts leadership. work ethic and intelligence.

I've said myself Britt is playing at an all pro level. And he is far more physically nasty than Unger ever dreamed of being.

Its coming together. The Hawks have proven it isn't how you start, its how you finish....

I really do think Britt has that much impact on the line. I just can't believe the turn around. I hope we keep him. I also hope he will take a little less to stay here. This staff was way loyal to him, gave him three chances. Most would have cut him year two. Paid off on both sides for sure.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

With Britt, assuming he continues playing well for the rest of the season, the front office can show their quality by resigning him. If they let him walk, then I will lose my ever hopeful attitude about the progress of the oline and the plan the FO has in building it.

[HumanCockroach]

Wait, you mean they're drastically better than last year's line?

Imagine that....

[Uppercut]

The trick is if the line keeps improving maybe keep the same ones through 2017!! It seems like we build them up then sell to the highest bidder which is OK if they are expensive and aging, but it would be nice to have a group play together for multiple seasons.

[NorthHawk]

The trick is if the line keeps improving maybe keep the same ones through 2017!! It seems like we build them up then sell to the highest bidder which is OK if they are expensive and aging, but it would be nice to have a group play together for multiple seasons.

Keeping them together should create consistency of results. I hope they all come back at the same positions as well.
It looks like Gilliam is on the way out considering he's no longer starting at RT. Part of me is wondering if it's because it's his contract year, but I may just be a little paranoid (or conspiratorial?) about it.

[RiverDog]

I'm not too impressed with a stat showing us essentially in the middle of the pack (14th out of 32 teams). OL play is a little hard to quantify, much more so than the play of a QB or a WR. About the only thing that it validates is some of you guy's observation that there's a lot of teams besides us with offensive line problems, something I've never denied.

But even if we do accept the stat as completely reflective of our standing amongst the other teams, their average play over 13 games is not what I'm complaining about. My beef has always been that they are woefully inconsistent, that they can play very well in one games and like dog chit in another. That's not good enough if our goal is to win the SB.

[NorthHawk]

Consistency comes with reps together.
With this CBA, it really only happens during games as the practice times are limited and contact during practice is restricted.
If they can keep them mostly together playing the same positions, they should be better next year.
If the OL has a wholesale change again next year, we will probably see another performance like this year.
What they do with Britt after this season (extend him a year before his final contract year) should tell us their plans.

[RiverDog]

Consistency comes with reps together.
With this CBA, it really only happens during games as the practice times are limited and contact during practice is restricted.
If they can keep them mostly together playing the same positions, they should be better next year.
If the OL has a wholesale change again next year, we will probably see another performance like this year.
What they do with Britt after this season (extend him a year before his final contract year) should tell us their plans.

I understand the reasons, but understanding how and why we got to where we are isn't reassuring. Regardless of how we got here, it's the biggest weakness on this team is the OL, and if we don't bring home a Lombardi it's most likely going to be due to poor performance from that unit. All I care about is winning the big one.

[NorthHawk]

I've been saying that for a couple of years also and to the point of being called a whiner, but it is what it is.
All we can do is hope it gets better from here. And that starts with keeping the players together for the most part.
The edges need upgrades, and maybe Fant is the answer at LT, but he needs work beginning at TC and that is next year.
I don't think we can expect consistency for the rest of the year as they are still well within their learning curve, but who knows what the future holds as we approach the playoffs.

[HumanCockroach]

http://www.fieldgulls.com/2016/12/9/138 ... ree-agency

Wow, I knew he missed a lot of games while in Seattle, but I have to be honest, I was surprised by how many it actually was..

[NorthHawk]

From what I hear and read, the Seahawks demand a more physical component to our OL than a lot of teams.
I read questions about Joe Thomas coming here from Cleveland and there were comments in different media wondering if he could withstand the physical demands at his age.
It may be part of why Okung missed so much time and why he went somewhere else so easily.
Carpenter hasn't missed as much time, either nor has Giacomini and Sweezy has back issues he's been dealing with, so maybe there is something to that observation.

[RiverDog]

From what I hear and read, the Seahawks demand a more physical component to our OL than a lot of teams.
I read questions about Joe Thomas coming here from Cleveland and there were comments in different media wondering if he could withstand the physical demands at his age.
It may be part of why Okung missed so much time and why he went somewhere else so easily.
Carpenter hasn't missed as much time, either nor has Giacomini and Sweezy has back issues he's been dealing with, so maybe there is something to that observation.

Maybe. Okung made 47 straight starts at Oklahoma State so it's odd that he'd suffer so many injuries as a professional vs. his college career, so you might be on to something.

[HumanCockroach]

25℅ is crazy low. Okung history injury wise is a stretch to call a product of Seattle's system. The torn pec isn't anything but a dirty play by an Eagle, beyond that it was a whole lot of ankle issues, something all lineman in all systems have to deal with.

Knees, ankles, shoulders are products of the position ( much like knees in RBs, fingers in receivers etc) not some sort of regimen specific to Seattle.

[Jjones84]

Another good article detailing the improvement of the line.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/patience-v ... 16369.html