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Let's see....
1. How bad will you suck this season?
2. How many picks will Wilson throw when you play the Rams?
3. Would you say the Rams will score more than 40 points against you or less than 50?
OK - This Seattle reporter has a different list.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports...awks-as-they-head-to-the-nfl-league-meetings/
Analysis: Three questions for the Seahawks heading into the NFL league meetings
Originally published March 25, 2018 at 3:06 pm Updated March 25, 2018 at 3:45 pm
Earl Thomas warms up at AT&T Stadium for a game last season at Dallas. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
Pete Carroll and John Schneider figure to get a few questions tossed their way this week in Orlando. Here's our view of what might be the three most pressing.
By
Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Schneider and other team execs headed to Orlando this weekend for the NFL’s annual meetings, which run until Wednesday.
While the league meetings often elicit a flurry of rumors, they also serve as something of a break in the free agent signing process with the big-ticket players mostly accounted for and teams now on to the second- and third-wave guys who will mostly get one-year prove-it deals.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t still a lot of questions hovering over the Seahawks.
Here’s a look at a few that Carroll and Schneider may get asked this week in Orlando and our attempt at an answer.
Q: Are the Seahawks really going to trade Earl Thomas?
A: As Thomas himself said Friday, nobody knows and for now it’s a guessing game. The Seahawks are known to have talked to teams about Thomas. In Orlando, those talks could increase as every coach and GM will (or usually is, anyway) in attendance, and maybe meeting face-to-face will spur action — or possibly convince the Seahawks they really aren’t going to get the kind of offers they’d like (essentially, a package including at least first-round pick or its equivalent).
Thomas took to Twitter Saturday to state he’d like to stay in Seattle and someday have his number retired. But that desire is only really meaningful if it leads to agreeing to the kind of extension the team is comfortable giving him.
One thought for why Seattle continues to pursue offers for Thomas is the regret the team likely has for the third contracts it gave Marshawn Lynch, Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor — Lynch and Bennett were long gone before the contracts ended (and Bennett technically before his final contract even began) and Chancellor probably will be.
Another is the Richard Sherman situation a year ago. Recall it was at the league meetings in Phoenix last March when Schnieder and Carroll each acknowledged that Sherman was available. Ultimately, he stayed put, only for the team to then release him this year and get nothing in return.
Seattle seems determined to make an aggressive decision to assure it gets something for one of its most valuable assess this time around — or assures that he stays in the fold long-term but with the kind of contract that won’t hamstring the team down the road.
Q: Are the Seahawks really rebuilding?
A: An initial thought is that neither Carroll nor Schneider would ever publicly admit to rebuilding, and it’s hard to imagine that Carroll would ever really let that seep into his thoughts anyway — this is a coach who got to the second round of the playoffs in his first year with a team that finished 7-9.
Also, any NFL team with an elite in-his-prime quarterback — and Seattle undeniably has one in Russell Wilson — has a chance.
But the Seahawks have admittedly sent some mixed signals this offseason about what direction they think they are heading.
The offloading of veterans such as Sherman and Bennett and the possibility that Chancellor and Cliff Avril never play again — as well as the talk of trading Thomas — certainly give the look of a team that if not starting over, is at least retooling.
Conversely, while it was thought that the Seahawks might not do much in free agency so they could load up on 2019 compensatory draft picks, they have signed enough free agents in the last few week-and-a-half that at the moment they would not qualify for any, according to OvertheCap.com.
Seattle has signed six free agents who qualify for the compensatory pick formula while losing five, a group of signees that includes 33-year-old defensive tackle Tom Johnson and 30-year-old tight end Ed Dickson, each of whom if the season began today might well start. And the Seahawks were also thought to be seriously interested in 31-year-old defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, though logically that appears out the window now.
Still, all are the kind of moves that seem to indicate a team still doing what it can to win now.
Seattle, though, also has kept its spending in check enough that it is set up well for the coming seasons.
While the Seahawks don’t have a lot of cap space for this season — according to OvertheCap.com they have just over $14 million for 2018, 19th most among NFL teams — they have the fifth-most cap space for 2019 and fourth-most in 2020.
So maybe the Seahawks are just doing what they’ve professed to always be trying to do — maximizing today while not forgetting about tomorrow.
Q: Do the Seahawks have any other really big moves up their sleeve other than whatever may happen with Thomas?
A: Maybe not. Some may question doing nothing significant to add to the offensive line other than signing free agent D.J. Fluker, apparently to play right guard. But the Seahawks might argue the big move made on the line was firing coach Tom Cable and replacing him with Mike Solari. They might also argue the same for the offense as a whole (firing coordinator Darrell Bevell and replacing him with Brian Schottenheimer). And the defense has already undergone a ton of change.
And with limited cap space for 2018 and few big-name free agents left, most of the roster building that is left at this point figures to be done through the draft.
That’s where it gets a little tricky, though.
Seattle has the 18th pick in the first round but then nothing until number 120 in the fourth.
Schneider said at the Combine a few weeks ago the Seahawks would explore options to add picks in the second or third rounds — which are held on the second day of the draft, which this year is April 26-28.
Trading Thomas would undoubtedly add to the team’s 2018 draft capital, and also allow them to make more moves if they wanted.
For now, that appears the biggest question left to answer.
1. How bad will you suck this season?
2. How many picks will Wilson throw when you play the Rams?
3. Would you say the Rams will score more than 40 points against you or less than 50?
OK - This Seattle reporter has a different list.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports...awks-as-they-head-to-the-nfl-league-meetings/
Analysis: Three questions for the Seahawks heading into the NFL league meetings
Originally published March 25, 2018 at 3:06 pm Updated March 25, 2018 at 3:45 pm
Earl Thomas warms up at AT&T Stadium for a game last season at Dallas. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
Pete Carroll and John Schneider figure to get a few questions tossed their way this week in Orlando. Here's our view of what might be the three most pressing.
By
Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Schneider and other team execs headed to Orlando this weekend for the NFL’s annual meetings, which run until Wednesday.
While the league meetings often elicit a flurry of rumors, they also serve as something of a break in the free agent signing process with the big-ticket players mostly accounted for and teams now on to the second- and third-wave guys who will mostly get one-year prove-it deals.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t still a lot of questions hovering over the Seahawks.
Here’s a look at a few that Carroll and Schneider may get asked this week in Orlando and our attempt at an answer.
Q: Are the Seahawks really going to trade Earl Thomas?
A: As Thomas himself said Friday, nobody knows and for now it’s a guessing game. The Seahawks are known to have talked to teams about Thomas. In Orlando, those talks could increase as every coach and GM will (or usually is, anyway) in attendance, and maybe meeting face-to-face will spur action — or possibly convince the Seahawks they really aren’t going to get the kind of offers they’d like (essentially, a package including at least first-round pick or its equivalent).
Thomas took to Twitter Saturday to state he’d like to stay in Seattle and someday have his number retired. But that desire is only really meaningful if it leads to agreeing to the kind of extension the team is comfortable giving him.
One thought for why Seattle continues to pursue offers for Thomas is the regret the team likely has for the third contracts it gave Marshawn Lynch, Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor — Lynch and Bennett were long gone before the contracts ended (and Bennett technically before his final contract even began) and Chancellor probably will be.
Another is the Richard Sherman situation a year ago. Recall it was at the league meetings in Phoenix last March when Schnieder and Carroll each acknowledged that Sherman was available. Ultimately, he stayed put, only for the team to then release him this year and get nothing in return.
Seattle seems determined to make an aggressive decision to assure it gets something for one of its most valuable assess this time around — or assures that he stays in the fold long-term but with the kind of contract that won’t hamstring the team down the road.
Q: Are the Seahawks really rebuilding?
A: An initial thought is that neither Carroll nor Schneider would ever publicly admit to rebuilding, and it’s hard to imagine that Carroll would ever really let that seep into his thoughts anyway — this is a coach who got to the second round of the playoffs in his first year with a team that finished 7-9.
Also, any NFL team with an elite in-his-prime quarterback — and Seattle undeniably has one in Russell Wilson — has a chance.
But the Seahawks have admittedly sent some mixed signals this offseason about what direction they think they are heading.
The offloading of veterans such as Sherman and Bennett and the possibility that Chancellor and Cliff Avril never play again — as well as the talk of trading Thomas — certainly give the look of a team that if not starting over, is at least retooling.
Conversely, while it was thought that the Seahawks might not do much in free agency so they could load up on 2019 compensatory draft picks, they have signed enough free agents in the last few week-and-a-half that at the moment they would not qualify for any, according to OvertheCap.com.
Seattle has signed six free agents who qualify for the compensatory pick formula while losing five, a group of signees that includes 33-year-old defensive tackle Tom Johnson and 30-year-old tight end Ed Dickson, each of whom if the season began today might well start. And the Seahawks were also thought to be seriously interested in 31-year-old defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, though logically that appears out the window now.
Still, all are the kind of moves that seem to indicate a team still doing what it can to win now.
Seattle, though, also has kept its spending in check enough that it is set up well for the coming seasons.
While the Seahawks don’t have a lot of cap space for this season — according to OvertheCap.com they have just over $14 million for 2018, 19th most among NFL teams — they have the fifth-most cap space for 2019 and fourth-most in 2020.
So maybe the Seahawks are just doing what they’ve professed to always be trying to do — maximizing today while not forgetting about tomorrow.
Q: Do the Seahawks have any other really big moves up their sleeve other than whatever may happen with Thomas?
A: Maybe not. Some may question doing nothing significant to add to the offensive line other than signing free agent D.J. Fluker, apparently to play right guard. But the Seahawks might argue the big move made on the line was firing coach Tom Cable and replacing him with Mike Solari. They might also argue the same for the offense as a whole (firing coordinator Darrell Bevell and replacing him with Brian Schottenheimer). And the defense has already undergone a ton of change.
And with limited cap space for 2018 and few big-name free agents left, most of the roster building that is left at this point figures to be done through the draft.
That’s where it gets a little tricky, though.
Seattle has the 18th pick in the first round but then nothing until number 120 in the fourth.
Schneider said at the Combine a few weeks ago the Seahawks would explore options to add picks in the second or third rounds — which are held on the second day of the draft, which this year is April 26-28.
Trading Thomas would undoubtedly add to the team’s 2018 draft capital, and also allow them to make more moves if they wanted.
For now, that appears the biggest question left to answer.
