Future of Hawks.

[obiken]

We, like Dallas, are not the same on road as we are at home, so I was not surprised. What I was shocked at was turning a season that I thought was lemons into lemonade.
So my wish list for next season: 1. Get a new Special teams coach. Too many blocks, run backs, and lack of run backs for us. We need to move on and get a real kicker, Seajack is done. Most of all, we need a Superstar WR and a Zac Ertz type TE. I know, they do not grow on trees, but Julio Jones would be nice! This WR by committee is getting old.

[RiverDog]

We, like Dallas, are not the same on road as we are at home, so I was not surprised. What I was shocked at was turning a season that I thought was lemons into lemonade.
So my wish list for next season: 1. Get a new Special teams coach. Too many blocks, run backs, and lack of run backs for us. We need to move on and get a real kicker, Seajack is done. Most of all, we need a Superstar WR and a Zac Ertz type TE. I know, they do not grow on trees, but Julio Jones would be nice! This WR by committee is getting old.

You can have your offensive stars. As I'm watching the Bears/Eagles playoff game with Kahlil Mack and Fletcher Cox wrecking havoc on their opponents, I want a DL that can play anywhere on the line, like JJ Watt did in his prime, or on a slightly lesser level, Michael Bennett did for us, providing a pass rush from inside or outside while not sacrificing anything against the run.

[mykc14]

IMO we need to do these things:

1) Resign key players: Clark, Fluker, Sweezy, Coleman, and either KJ or Kendricks (depending on his legal situation) are musts.... Dion Jordan would be nice as well... RFA who really need to be considered are Jefferson and Fant.... ET is still in the mix as well (barely). Resigning these players will eat up most of our cap space (about 66 mil) and will really limit our opportunity to make a splash in Free Agency. I could easily see Clark getting an F-Tag...

2) DL help... we need to get consistent pressure on the QB and stop the run.

3). Depth at OL.

These things would be nice:

1) Big bodied WR (or a true #1 WR).. expect Brown to be released as the Hawks will save almost 3 mil by letting him walk. PC has been looking for a big bodied guy like this his whole coaching career and as much as I like our WR’s we lack the big bodied guy that is always open due to his size.

2) Upgrade at Kicker. This is close to a need, but not essential IMO. I don’t like Seabass but he wasn’t the worst kicker in the league last year.



Really that is all I can see. We made a significant stride this year but need to make another big step next year to be considered a SB contender. PC and JS are going to have to take this step with limited resources (4 draft picks and not much cap space after resigning our guys and filling out our roster).

[NorthHawk]

Depth at OL might not be too bad considering the backups are Fant, Simmons, Jamarco Jones,
and Pocic.

DL needs edge rushers and if possible a penetrating DT type.

[RiverDog]

Depth at OL might not be too bad considering the backups are Fant, Simmons, Jamarco Jones,
and Pocic.

DL needs edge rushers and if possible a penetrating DT type.

Pocic is a bust. I'd be very surprised if he's on our 2019 roster come September.

[NorthHawk]

He might be best at Center, like Britt was.

[RiverDog]

He might be best at Center, like Britt was.

Except that Britt started out as a tackle and then a guard before he found his home at center. Pocic started out as a center then was moved to guard. He isn't even used as a backup center, we use Hunt to back up Britt.

Pocic hasn't seen much PT most of the season and looked horrible at guard last week. I can see why he's fallen out of favor with our coaching staff.

[politicalfootball]

Yep our OL needs to be addressed in the off season. So we resign those who are worth their salt , Britt ect.... new contract for Wilson and restructuring resigning any others who are due. New kicker and ST coach. There

[burrrton]

Pete's indicated there's no way they're going to let Clark get away, but... man oh man is he going to be expensive.

[NorthHawk]

Except that Britt started out as a tackle and then a guard before he found his home at center. Pocic started out as a center then was moved to guard. He isn't even used as a backup center, we use Hunt to back up Britt.

Pocic hasn't seen much PT most of the season and looked horrible at guard last week. I can see why he's fallen out of favor with our coaching staff.

He's been shuffled around the OL like Britt without the benefit of actually playing a position for a year and developing some feel for the NFL.
However, I trust the judgement of Solari more than I did with Cable, and maybe Pocic might not fit the style he wants to play.
He's young, however and said to be intelligent, so maybe they have some plans for him.
That being said, Simmonds, Fant, and Jamarco Jones look like they could be solid players or good backups and a better group than some might give credit for.

[RiverDog]

He's (Pocic)been shuffled around the OL like Britt without the benefit of actually playing a position for a year and developing some feel for the NFL.

Didn't he play guard last season, too? Or are you referring to LG vs. RG?

[NorthHawk]

Britt played Tackle for the better part of or the whole year and then Guard for a lot of another.
Pocic has had a few games but not long stretches at one position having only started 15 times in 26 games played.
But like I said, maybe he doesn't fit Solari's style, or maybe he's like a lot of OL and will take a few years of playing to find
his way.
I'm really hesitant to let go of Offensive Linemen early in their careers because they do take longer to develop than other positions.

[obiken]

Pete's indicated there's no way they're going to let Clark get away, but... man oh man is he going to be expensive.

Its all about offense now, getting a WR like a Julio Jones or improving life for Russell is more important to me than overpaying for a guy that wasn't there for the playoffs. Look how a good OT took Mack out of the game for the Eagles. Give me a Walter Jones over a Mack any day.

[RiverDog]

Its all about offense now, getting a WR like a Julio Jones or improving life for Russell is more important to me than overpaying for a guy that wasn't there for the playoffs. Look how a good OT took Mack out of the game for the Eagles. Give me a Walter Jones over a Mack any day.

You're not going to find another Walter Jones. He's truly a once-in-a-generation player. The man had more Pro Bowl appearances than he had holding penalties.

I seriously doubt that you're going to see Pete ditch his philosphy that places the emphasis on defense and a run first, ball control offense.

[NorthHawk]

It would be nice to get a Julio type of player, but we haven't shown to be able to use dominating WR's well enough in the past.
I'm not sure our Offense could handle they type of player without it changing the Offense for the worse. If our Offense was
more dynamic and creative then it would be a no brainer, but we don't play the type of game that would take advantage of
the talents that a great WR like that would possess.

[mykc14]

It would be nice to get a Julio type of player, but we haven't shown to be able to use dominating WR's well enough in the past.
I'm not sure our Offense could handle they type of player without it changing the Offense for the worse. If our Offense was
more dynamic and creative then it would be a no brainer, but we don't play the type of game that would take advantage of
the talents that a great WR like that would possess.

When have we had a dominating WR in the past? I agree it would require us to change the offense a bit to make it worth it, but it almost feels like we are wasting RW a bit in this offense too.

[RiverDog]

It would be nice to get a Julio type of player, but we haven't shown to be able to use dominating WR's well enough in the past.
I'm not sure our Offense could handle they type of player without it changing the Offense for the worse. If our Offense was
more dynamic and creative then it would be a no brainer, but we don't play the type of game that would take advantage of
the talents that a great WR like that would possess.

Agreed. Putting a Julio Jones-type of receiver on our team would be like putting lace around a bowling ball.

In 9 drafts as our head coach, Pete has never selected a WR with his first pick, selected just one in the 2nd round, and one in the 3rd, and even those two (Tate and Lockett) can't be thought of as a true #1 receiver. They were both selected for their ability to return punts as much as they were their pass catching skills.

So you can wish for a Julio Jones/AJ Green/Odell Beckam type receiver, but you're likely to be highly disappointed.

[RiverDog]

When have we had a dominating WR in the past? I agree it would require us to change the offense a bit to make it worth it, but it almost feels like we are wasting RW a bit in this offense too.

The only time Pete has dedicated any resources to a WR is when he traded for Percy Harvin, and even then, the only way he was successfully utilized (outside of kickoff returns) was on jet sweeps and bubble screens. It's simply not part of Pete's philosophy for the offense to be designed around a gun slinging quarterback.

[politicalfootball]

Yeah I suggest we draft a de to replace Bennett. A run stuffing defensive tackle like Mebane was would be good too. Hard to find a great wr like Largent was. I'll say a wr like that probably isn't in this draft. We can work on our OL but no Walter Jones in this draft too. Defense wins Championships in the NFL. What Do you think about some support for Bobby Wagner, ET is still on the team he will be deciding just what he wants to do. Hope he sees the light and not ends up like Sherman did. There is some hope there but probably not.We will see.