Is Chris Mathews our answer at WR?

[RiverDog]

Big bodied WR, creates matchup problems in the secondary, a red zone threat, seems to have decent hands... isn't that what we have been talking about as a need for nearly a decade?

[NorthHawk]

There's a reason he hasn't got on the field until Richardson was hurt.
He might be one of those guys who can flash for a few games, but not a consistent player.

I'm willing to give him a chance to make it as a starter, though but I would still want to draft a big WR.
Someone like Funchess might fill the bill and maybe have 2 WRs with size for once.

[mykc14]

There's a reason he hasn't got on the field until Richardson was hurt.
He might be one of those guys who can flash for a few games, but not a consistent player.

I'm willing to give him a chance to make it as a starter, though but I would still want to draft a big WR.
Someone like Funchess might fill the bill and maybe have 2 WRs with size for once.

I agree. If he were the answer he probably wouldn't be getting his first career reception in the SB, but you never know, and there is little doubt he will get every opportunity to show what he can do.

[Zorn76]

He played a hell of a game, but we still need some big time help at the position, just like we do at OL, DL, DE, in addition to CB, since Maxwell is probably gone.

We can't continue to rely on just getting by with what we have now.

[NorthHawk]

We have Marsh at DE waiting for his chance.
Hopefully Mebane will be back and Jordan Hill is in full form by the time TC starts, so the DL doesn't need that much attention.
If a penetrating type of DL is available, I can see us drafting him or making a play for a FA, but I don't see it as a higher priority than OL, WR, and CB.

[The POPE]

We shall see. I thought it was interesting before the game that Norwood was inactive. Especially since Richardson was out. Maybe Mathews was the ace they were hiding or maybe the Pats just were not ready/ game plan for him. His use panned out well until the Pats adjusted to it. They didn't see the Hawks going back to the tall possession reciever type since it had not been shown all year.
Next year will tell if he can line up and do it when teams game plan for his presence. I hope he not a one hit wonder, but only time will tell.

[Hawk Sista]

they were not hiding any ace. What coach does that? We have this great player and we are not going to let anyone know about him until desperation time in the super bowl?? What Danny O'Neil said on 710 yesterday was that John and Pete were high on Matthews, but he could not stay consistently healthy. There is reason to believe he could be part of the solution next year. We clearly need offensive play makers in the form of WRs and TEs. Those two are tied at the top of my list. I thought this o-line came along pretty well this year. It does not feel like the emergency it did in the off-season.

Keeping the players we have is job #1 in FA. I know Lynch is under contract - but we have all heard the rumors about him calling it a day. I'd like to resolve that first, pay Russell 2nd, and see what can be done about Bobby and Maxi. I don't know that we can get all of that done and be w/in the cap, so a FA WR seems far-fetched.

[NorthHawk]

I didn't know Matthews had some injury issues during the year.
I guess they happened in practice.

This makes a difference in how I have viewed him in that I thought he just couldn't crack the lineup.
Sundays game shows how much a big WR can help, too so maybe they will go with another one in the Draft.

[Hawk Sista]

Danny was not specific about what injuries he had, but he did say the staff really liked Chris and his potential and were disappointed in the injuries. I hope that he can get healthy and start having an impact.

[Hawktawk]

Early reviews were positive for sure. He was the most dynamic reciever Ive seen on the field for Seattle in the 2014 season.
Ill play devils advocate and say we really dont need to go get a "#1" reciever. Richardson will be back and Norwood will continue to develop.Russ will spread it around no matter who is on the roster. We need help on offensive and defensive line and quality depth in our secondary worse than we need a reciever..

[Hawk Sista]

I'll respectfully agree to disagree. Mebane and Hill will be back next year and our O-line made strides. Yes, we always need to add talent and depth in the trenches. We NEED a playmaker or two.... TE and or WR. We also clearly need corner depth. We saw the devastating impacts of Lane going out of the game early. If Maxwell leaves, and he is likely to, Simon is not playing to the potential that I thought he might. In addition to getting beat early and oft, he wants an OPI flag thrown on every completion to his side and begs for it. It is embarrassing.

[mykc14]

Early reviews were positive for sure. He was the most dynamic reciever Ive seen on the field for Seattle in the 2014 season.
Ill play devils advocate and say we really dont need to go get a "#1" reciever. Richardson will be back and Norwood will continue to develop.Russ will spread it around no matter who is on the roster. We need help on offensive and defensive line and quality depth in our secondary worse than we need a reciever..

I worry if Richardson will be ready. It's his second ACL tear on the same knee and he probably won't be ready for the beginning of the season. That's a lot of time to miss and usually it takes 2 years to recover fully from an injury like that.

[RiverDog]

I'll respectfully agree to disagree. Mebane and Hill will be back next year and our O-line made strides. Yes, we always need to add talent and depth in the trenches. We NEED a playmaker or two.... TE and or WR. We also clearly need corner depth. We saw the devastating impacts of Lane going out of the game early. If Maxwell leaves, and he is likely to, Simon is not playing to the potential that I thought he might. In addition to getting beat early and oft, he wants an OPI flag thrown on every completion to his side and begs for it. It is embarrassing.

I'm not sure I want to say that the OL made strides. IMO they held their own at best. Plus Carpenter's contract is up and we may not be able to, or want to, pay the price to keep him, and a similar dilemma is waiting next season as Okung's contract is up then. I wouldn't mind picking someone up that can play guard and center. Like it was last season, the OL is going to be one of the top off season priorities.

Agreed about Simon. He's a weak link that hurt us bad against the Pats. Edelman made him look like a fool. Maxwell is almost certain to depart. We need Pete to hit another home run in the 5th or 6th by finding a diamond in the rough DB.

[monkey]

He'll get a shot, but he's going to have to show that he's learned how to work hard.
The biggest knock on him before was, he was labeled "lazy". Whether or not that's true, I don't know obviously, I don't know the man, but I do know that, that is the label he got stuck with.
That and "too slow".

My guess is that, at the moment he's definitely in the mix, but that the team will be looking for an X receiver, anyway. I don't think he's done anything to show that he's got a job next year, much less a starting gig.
He will have a shot at it though. He;s definitely earned that with his BIG TIME play on the field in the biggest game of his life.
In my opinion, if you can play the way he did in that big a spot, you have something, something worth giving serious consideration to.

[HumanCockroach]

I think he is definitely a "piece" of it ( otherwise they wouldn't have signed him from the CFL and held onto him all season) for me though, there needs to be more....

[Steady_Hawk]

I think he is definitely a "piece" of it ( otherwise they wouldn't have signed him from the CFL and held onto him all season) for me though, there needs to be more....

The guy has some definite questionable character flaws but Dorial Green Beckham who is supposed to be a top 10 prospect may fall to the end of the first round. He's being compared to AJ Green. I'm not sure if we roll the dice if he's even there, but man do we need WR's right now.

[HumanCockroach]

Character "issues" don't seem to phase this staff, but I suppose it depends on what else they see, the drive to be great is a huge determining factor in their assessment it seems, and a player that relies on talent has no chance of sticking in Seattle. If the guy is a hard worker, wants greatness than I can See Seattle rolling the dice, if not, I just can't see them going that route, whether it was the next Randy Moss.

[NorthHawk]

I think they got rid of Harvin because of "Character Issues", so it does mean something.
I suspect the issue for him was his unwillingness to compete when Pete tried to send him in.

What they do want in a player is someone who is really focused on Football and will do almost anything to compete and win. That's where the interviews and psychologists come in.
It's a reason they have a basketball hoop - to keep the competitive nature alive.

Green Beckham is an interesting case as he didn't play last year, but has all of the measurables teams are looking for.
Someone will take him in the 1st or 2nd, I suspect but if he's there late in the 2nd maybe he's worth a chance. It's up to whether they evaluate him that high.

I think another guy who might be there is Funchess a 6'5" WR/TE with a big wingspan. He's a bit of a hybrid, but could be a matchup nightmare because he's too fast for a LB and too big for a CB.
Another WR is Sammie Coates who according to media rankings and mock drafts should be there for us. If Richardson is questionable, Coates at about 6'1 or so and legit 4.4 speed at 210 - 215 lbs and a 33 1/2 inch arm length could be a bigger version. From what I've read he loves to play so that helps from an attitude perspective.
The knocks on him are inconsistent routes and not always a hands catcher.
Most college kids don't run good routes, but the hands are concerning.

[Zorn76]

For as good as we were defensively this season, we all saw what a lack of a pass rush can do to a defense - give opposing QB's way to much time to throw from a clean pocket. The better the QB, the worse it can get. We saw some of that Sunday, as we sacked Brady only 1 time, while giving up 3 against Wilson.

We have a Great team, that's obvious by virtue of two straight SB appearances with one win.

But this team could be that much better with some key talent added. IMO, we can't stay idle and bank on some injured players returning and having stellar seasons. You gotta bring in legit talent this spring through the draft and/or FA. If we add a couple of key pieces, coupled with a few of our guys returning by next fall, we could again be the #1 seed and get back to the SB.

We're in great shape compared to others in the NFC, let alone the entire league.

[NorthHawk]

Jordan Hill started showing some push up the middle until he got hurt.
I'm hoping he will start where he left off last year. That would give an immediate impact to the pass rush along with Marsh on the edge who should be able to start this year much more comfortably than a rookie would.

[monkey]

Jordan Hill started showing some push up the middle until he got hurt.
I'm hoping he will start where he left off last year. That would give an immediate impact to the pass rush along with Marsh on the edge who should be able to start this year much more comfortably than a rookie would.

Jordan Hill was our best pass rusher before he got hurt. I'm actually VERY excited to see our defensive line come together next season. We have a lot of young guys who just haven't gotten enough time to really show what they are about due to injuries, but int he limited time they did have, showed more than enough to have piqued a lot of interest.
Guys like Hill (who was STUDLY until his injury) Cassius Marsh who showed an ability to play at DT or DE like Bennett, which gives us so much flexibility...man I'm positively stoked about that D Line right now.

O line...not so much, we've got a lot of questions there!