McDaniel as the new Bryant?

[c_hawkbob]

I like it. Red was very important to us and if Tony has anywhere near the success at the position he'll be much more valuable to us than strictly inside.

[NorthHawk]

I didn't realize he was that big, either - 6-7, 320.
I thought he has more of a fireplug type body.
Maybe he can also provide a little more pass rush if the opposing team starts passing on early downs.

I had originally thought maybe one of the young guys like Williams, Hill, or Scruggs would be there, but this might work out pretty well.

[Bird Droppings]

McDaniel was often overlooked ... or confused with McDonald.

He got a lot of snaps, but little pub.

With a full corral of DLinemen this year, the rotation could lead to some magnificent fourth quarters of guys who aren't even panting compared to their counterparts with their hands on their knees coming out of the offensive huddle.

But my super longshot to make the 53 is back-up NT/DT And Roo Pulu, as i think they well may lose him is they try to sneak him onto the practice squad.

And, unless one of the inside guys get injured, the odds on that longshot get longer and will make for an interesting camp (by the way, the sign-ups for camp notifications were e-mailed to season ticket holders yesterday).

Way back when Red's F/A came up there were mumblings about a replacement .... and someone on staff, can't remember who, specifically mentioned McDaniel.

At that point I began identifying him as the "X-Man", after cartoons and a very tenacious pro basketballer for the Sonics.

zoom

[HumanCockroach]

This was being talked about when they resigned McDaniel, and his ability to stuff the run. That said, Bryant wasn't being utilised the same way he had been the previous few seasons last year as solely an end and they were indeed moving him inside throughout the season. Personally, while I loved his tenacity, his production last season wasn't close to what he had done previous years, and I understood the desire to move on from him. McDaniels is really just a band aid solution ( 1yr contract) and my guess would be the plan to move one of the young guys into that role as they move forward. Bennett for all intents and purposes becomes the "elephant" ( which is the role he really filled for most of last season, splitting snaps with Red though Bennett not Red had the majority) Avril becomes the Leo, and they will of course rotate as always to keep guys fresh, but overall, those positions ( Clemons and Bryant) had ALREADY been filled by the end of the year. I'm more concerned with finding an additional edge rusher to allow Bennett to slide inside, than how they are going to divy up Reds 20 snaps a game.

[RiverDog]

I didn't realize he was that big, either - 6-7, 320.
I thought he has more of a fireplug type body.
Maybe he can also provide a little more pass rush if the opposing team starts passing on early downs.

I had originally thought maybe one of the young guys like Williams, Hill, or Scruggs would be there, but this might work out pretty well.

Wow. Add me to that list of those that were surprised of his size.

If he brings any pass rush at all, it will be more than what Red provided. If this defense has a weakness, it's that we at times can be susceptible to the run. Hopefully Tony can fill this role as a run stopper.

[savvyman]

Some big shoes to fill. I will never forget the famous head butt that Big Red gave to the opposing Jacksonville? player in a road game in 2011. It was Red's manner of delivering a message to the entire league that a new kind of Seahawk defense had taken up residency in Seattle and that this team would not be pushed around any longer. Big Red was definitely the heart of our defense for 3 solid seasons.

[HumanCockroach]

Pretty sure it was Cleveland ( same game he blocked a kick and a pat I think) also where the phantom holding or /clip called back a TD return by Washington. Pretty crappy game overall, but there was moments. ( guess I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it was Cleveland, and it was a big mistake at the time).

[RiverDog]

Pretty sure it was Cleveland ( same game he blocked a kick and a pat I think) also where the phantom holding or /clip called back a TD return by Washington. Pretty crappy game overall, but there was moments. ( guess I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it was Cleveland, and it was a big mistake at the time).

Yep. That was the Charlie Whitehurst game. What an abortion! It followed one of our best efforts of the season after we beat the eventual SB champ Giants on their turf. Stupid move by Bryant that arguably cost us the game. I recall getting into an argument with ASF about disciplining Red.

[NorthHawk]

That was one of those games before we learned how to close the deal.
It's amazing how far we've come.

[Futureite]

With as fast as Thomas is and the 2013 aquisitions of Bennet and Avril, I am not sure how much a guy like Red is missed. All 3 of those guys allow Hawks to stack the box and crowd the LOS. That alone clogs the running lanes. QBs don't have much time to throw, and Thomas goes sideline to sideline faster than any safety in the league. This, IMO is why Carroll has had success plugging in guys with a specific athletic trait into other positions. With that D concept and those players, I do not expect a substantial dropoff in play (if any).

[RiverDog]

That was one of those games before we learned how to close the deal.
It's amazing how far we've come.

It was a close game, I'll give you that, but saying we just didn't close it is giving us way too much credit. We deserved to lose that game.

We, indeed, have come a long ways since that season. If I recall, 7 of our 9 losses came by three or more scores. In the last two years, none of our losses have been by more than one score.

[NorthHawk]

That was one of those games before we learned how to close the deal.
It's amazing how far we've come.

It was a close game, I'll give you that, but saying we just didn't close it is giving us way too much credit. We deserved to lose that game.

We, indeed, have come a long ways since that season. If I recall, 7 of our 9 losses came by three or more scores. In the last two years, none of our losses have been by more than one score.

Teams that have learned how to close are also teams that win when they get the chance - even when they are playing badly.
We hadn't learned that then, but we have now.