2023 Optomism...so far

[obiken]

I didn’t say one damn word about last year in my response other than “ again “ and I threw out some estimated stats and all of a sudden I’m somehow gloating ? Trash talking? But the ad hominem personal attacks from you and others were fine , called delusional , blind hater of Russ clouding my judgement , dirt bag low moral person , half the morals of Russ .

Ridicule not discussion . Extreme ridicule and animosity once my opinion was known .

If I had a forum friend who was optimistic about my qb and team I’d be hoping they are right , not verbally abuse them over and over . People who will never admit they are wrong are easily as annoying as someone who might be a little too proud of being right .
I hope to be right again .
As for the forum I’m beginning to think it’s been a quarter century massive waste of time . Might try another

Why? Your a bit of a cheerleader, but so is Cbob, I a bit of a doomer but River and I agree most times and most times we are right. I thought the Hawks would just tank and they didnt. You were right and I was wrong! Be happy, its just an opinion forum!!

[Aseahawkfan]

I fall into the realistic category. I predicted 6 to 8 wins and we got 9. I wasn't expecting a terrible Geno, but nowhere near as good as he was. Geno still ain't Prime Russ (even Russ ain't Prime Russ anymore), but he seems like that second or third tier kind of QB like a Rich Gannon or nearly any Redskin QB during their SB runs. You put enough around him and he can get it done.

Biggest disappointment for me last year was how bad the defense was. We probably would have had 10 to 12 wins if the defense was even middle of the pack. The run defense was terrible. Pass defense was better, but you can't do much when the other team can dictate the offense to you. You're always on your back heels.

I hope this defense finally turns the corner this year into at least a top 15 unit. I can't believe this weak defensive performance isn't driving Carroll nuts.

[TriCitySam]

Adams is a very talented player when healthy, but has had misfortune in that area. I sincerely hope he returns to form and if so, he will be a factor.

[tarlhawk]

Outstanding video content on many of our drafted players... and balance of draft between offense (5 picks) and defense (5 picks) makes most fans fired up to see the impact on our team's future! Most drafts you have to wait for 2nd and 3rd year development but Seahawks drafted a few "plug and play" selections (Njigba and both RB Charbonnet and McIntosh...with Whitherspoon and Derick Hall bursting with potential. "Spoon has the same coaching that converted Riq from "project to Pro Bowl" and our Pass Rush Specialist (BT Jordan) gets Derick Hall who "many" outsiders labeled very good...but lacks counters for his dominating power to speed technique. Go Hawks

[NorthHawk]

I'm really interested in the new RBs. Unless there is a massive disaster at RB in terms of injury, we should see very little drop off in production if Walker gets a little dinged up. It might also be an advantage as both Charbonnet and McIntosh are good pass catchers and showed some ability to pass block in college. We could see this Offense really take off (if Pete allows it) by the addition of pass production out of the backfield.

[RiverDog]

I'm really interested in the new RBs. Unless there is a massive disaster at RB in terms of injury, we should see very little drop off in production if Walker gets a little dinged up. It might also be an advantage as both Charbonnet and McIntosh are good pass catchers and showed some ability to pass block in college. We could see this Offense really take off (if Pete allows it) by the addition of pass production out of the backfield.

My guess is that Charbonnet becomes our 3rd down/change of pace back. Walker can't block worth beans, and even if he could, it's probably best to limit his snaps and reduce the risk of injury.

One player that hasn't been talked about much is Colby Parkinson. He hasn't done much since we drafted him back in 2020 but showed a few flashes of what he's capable of last season. This is a make or break season for him as it's the last year of his rookie contract. He might have a difficult time getting snaps in with Fant and Dissly ahead of him.

[tarlhawk]

One player that hasn't been talked about much is Colby Parkinson. He hasn't done much since we drafted him back in 2020 but showed a few flashes of what he's capable of last season. This is a make or break season for him as it's the last year of his rookie contract. He might have a difficult time getting snaps in with Fant and Dissly ahead of him.

Colby's "knock" coming out of College was a major "project" in body leverage to offer any value as in line blocker. Drew Lock upon arrival noted Parkinson in particular as an untapped "Red Zone Assassin". It's hard to gather attention when Noah Fant demonstrates great seam route ability and Dissly is the superior in-line blocker. Geno seeks DK for red zone targets (who can blame him?) but Colby is clearly making strides in getting Geno's attention. Go Hawks

[NorthHawk]

Parkinson and Fant are UFA's after this year and Dissly is a UFA after 2024, so that position seems to lack long term depth and Parkinson has an incentive to progress this year for a new contract either here or elsewhere.
But for this year, they could do some damage if they stay healthy. The knock on Fant has been too many dropped balls, but I don't know how well he did last year. Maybe he's over that issue now.

[RiverDog]

Parkinson and Fant are UFA's after this year and Dissly is a UFA after 2024, so that position seems to lack long term depth and Parkinson has an incentive to progress this year for a new contract either here or elsewhere.
But for this year, they could do some damage if they stay healthy. The knock on Fant has been too many dropped balls, but I don't know how well he did last year. Maybe he's over that issue now.

Not that it makes any difference, but overall, PFF ranked Fant below both Dissly and Parkinson. His pass receiving grade was OK, but both his pass and run blocking sucked.

I've always liked Dissly, and I feel that he's our best tight end since Zach Miller. PFF confirms that impression, ranking him #11 overall amongst tight ends, with Kelce, Kittle, and Andrews being ranked 1-2-3 (big surprise, huh?). I'm not sure if you guys can read this or not as I signed up for the premium membership with PFF, but here's their tight end rankings from 2022:

https://www.pff.com/nfl/grades/position/te

[tarlhawk]

Parkinson and Fant are UFA's after this year and Dissly is a UFA after 2024, so that position seems to lack long term depth and Parkinson has an incentive to progress this year for a new contract either here or elsewhere.
But for this year, they could do some damage if they stay healthy. The knock on Fant has been too many dropped balls, but I don't know how well he did last year. Maybe he's over that issue now.

Last year Noah Fant caught 50 out of 63 passes thrown his way with only one dropped pass and four TDs.

[Old but Slow]

Parkinson seemed to be more involved in the offense at the end of the season, and showed decent receiving skills. He is a candidate as a breakout player if he improves his blocking and continues to develop. While I like Fant, he is not a great blocker either, and seems expendable if Dissly is healthy. Fant has value and could be traded either for a player (DT?) or just to free up cap room. I admit I don't know how practical that would be.

[tarlhawk]

Colby Parkinson got more attention as he inherited the snaps/targets given to an injured "Uncle Will"...but Noah Fant was a very reliable "safety" net for Geno. If we go to more formations with 3 WR ( 11 personnel formations) using Jaxon Smith Njigba as Geno's new "safety" net then we might see less double TE (12 personnel formations) which will cut into TE targets as a whole...so Noah Fant is playing on his 5th year option and no doubt knows he must retain his value as a pass catching option. So competition within the TE group as well as competition for receiving Targets are at play. Go Hawks

[NorthHawk]

The best thing JSN brings is less double coverage on Lockett and DK. Teams can't double both and Fant could be a beneficiary of that addition.
As well, swing a RB out of the backfield and suddenly there are fewer DBs to cover the WRs and TE. Somebody should be open with a RB on a LB and a TE like Fant on another LB.
The mismatches can be huge in our favor.

[tarlhawk]

JSN in the 13 personnel formation also provides high risk for a defense to diagnose putting in lighter/quicker nickel packages at the expense of having a light box for our more explosive RB to explore. DK and Lockett should see less "bracketing" double coverage as JSN and Walker demand more and more attention. These mismatches are why I have tempered enthusiasm of Geno having more options to keep moving the chains and getting better balance in time of possession which then feeds into sustained rhythm...which leads to longer drives forcing our opponent to minimize its rushing attack...especially if we can run up the scores. It's a nice "falling dominoes effect" as potential builds. Go hawks

[NorthHawk]

The pieces are in place for Geno to do better than last year.
If he doesn't, it's probably on him unless they mess up the opportunity to expand this Offense.
If Pete doesn't throttle the Offense back it will show a huge change of direction from him and it's pretty surprising if it happens.
Consider since he's been here:
The Defense which he ran for ages changed from his 4-3 under to a 3-4 and sometimes a 3-3-5.
The Offense will have changed from a pound the rock then throw for chunk yardage in a very simplistic manner to one where the Defense will be in doubt about the plays and the responsibilities with much more play action, pre snap motion, creative pass plays and route trees but with a strong run game. It will be a momentous change if it's permitted.

[tarlhawk]

Latest re-sign of Artie Burns was hoped for...but what a packed DB room and uber competition environment! Artie Burns had really positioned himself well in last years training camp...but the killer of all NFL dreams struck...an untimely injury. Tariq Woolen also shone out in camp but was supposed to be a project. Just like Richard Sherman... Woolen benefited from an injury of a player with the inside track (and never looked back).

Artie came to us from the Chicago Bears...as a Sean Desai disciple and gained some recognition for "handling" DK in our "winter" game disaster with Chicago in 2021. DK is a respected standard for a DB to get attention...and in our 2022 camp Artie and Woolen both got some rave reviews for their ability to challenge DK in camp. Artie will need to ball out to steal attention from M-Jack/Tre Brown/Coby Bryant and have a shot at our 53 man roster...Good Luck. Go Hawks

[tarlhawk]

One key element that will reflect our improvement on both Offensive and Defensive sides will be Time of Possession (TOP). Can our offense display sustained up tempo rhythm while moving the chains to striking distance of our opponents red zone? Will our defense begin to smother our opponents offense "dialing it up" as our opponent is forced to play catch up while abandoning their rush attack? Can our defense impose its will with fierce pass rushes and tight secondary coverage?


An opponent's flustered offense gets sacked frequently and makes more mistake throws to a ball hawking secondary. All of these "benefits" will be reflected in TOP being consistently in our favor. Other stats like accumulation stats sometimes "hide" a poor defense. Total sacks/defensive turnovers(fumbles/interceptions)/tackles seem good until you realize they reflect your defense being on the field twice as much as other teams...thats when "bad" accumulation stats such as points allowed/rushing allowed/passing allowed begin to sink your defense deeper as the year progresses.

Time of Possession and points allowed are more "telling" signs that reflect the direction of your teams progress toward being the best it can be! Go Hawks

[NorthHawk]

At this point I have more confidence in the Offense performing well than the Defense, but time will tell.

[tarlhawk]

At this point I have more confidence in the Offense performing well than the Defense, but time will tell.

The offense seems more settled boasting more recognized "names" than our defense. Jury still out for defensive confidence with only Wagner and Woolen being "names" recognized outside of our fan base. The narrative is out there that our defense is our team's "achilles heel" (with run defense being our foremost concern)

[tarlhawk]

Our two first round picks offer an interesting narrative as to who will impact our team the most? Will Jaxon Smith-Ojigba provide a bigger boost to our offense? ...or will Devon Witherspoon be an even bigger boost to our defense? Let's hope its a fair (injury free) "fight" of best man winning! Go Hawks