2024-25 NFL/Seahawks Season Thread

[South Pender]

With all the 2023-24 football over now, and the NFL Combine coming up next week, it's a good time to turn the calendar to the upcoming season.

The big news for the Seahawks is the almost-complete turnover in the coaching staff--new HC, OC, DC, and many position coaches. The hiring decisions in Seattle have been and will be made for the first time by GM John Schneider. Previously Pete Carroll had final say on all hires.

Unlike last year's off-season, where much was known and predictable and the general offensive and defensive philosophies were known, things are really uncertain with the 'Hawks this time around. Everything will be different to some extent, with a new head coach and coordinators. Offensive and defensive philosophies will change. The Seahawks have a number of important decisions to make about their players--whether to extend them, cut them, franchise-tag them, trade them. These decisions, along with the ideas/thinking of the new HC and coordinators, will determine the team's success in the 2024-25 season.

So it's very early days at this point. I think the first newsworthy happenings will be during the free agent period which will start in about two weeks. I think a lot of important information will become available during this time, with some player churn likely. Stay tuned.

[South Pender]

Here is Peter King's Football Morning in America (FMIA) column for this week. After writing this piece every week for the last 27 years, King announces his retirement, and so this will be his last edition of FMIA, This is really a shame, as King's depth of knowledge about the NFL is absolutely unmatched.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... t-its-time

[South Pender]

Denver Broncos to cut Russell Wilson.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/den ... rcna141766

And there's this from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ell-wilson

This will save the team $37 million in 2025, but they're still on the hook for $39 million owed for 2024. I think it's safe to assume that Wilson will be picked up by a QB-needy team now--as their starter. Despite his drop-off with the Broncos, Wilson has had a great career, with top-5 QB ratings of over 100 in seven seasons of his twelve years in the league. Even this past season, his QB rating of 98 was 7th among all starting QBs. Although he might not have been worth the gigantic contract he got from the Broncos, he is still a legitimate NFL starter, and I think the Broncos may now be in for a period of mediocre offensive results. We'll be watching for trades and a possible draft pick.

To some extent, it seemed that the problem in Denver was HC Sean Payton's relationship with Wilson as well as his general offensive strategy with the Broncos. Payton, who has been regarded as an offensive specialist, came in with a pretty hard attitude regarding Wilson, and I don't think that his relationship with Wilson was conducive to getting the best from him, nor did he get his offense to play up to its potential.

Edit. Still on this topic, here's a piece that discusses some landing spots for Wilson. Just speculation obviously at this point.

https://predominantlyorange.com/posts/r ... -to-best/4

[South Pender]

The player rebuild begins in Seattle.

Today three players were cut--safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, and tight end Will Dissly.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/396 ... ndre-diggs

The release of Adams has been expected. He came to the 'Hawks in a very expensive deal in terms of draft picks lost. He had one good season (his first) when he racked up something like 9 QB sacks from the strong safety position, but has been plagued with several injuries, and his play has dropped off somewhat. His release will free up a lot of cap space.

I was a little surprised that Diggs is being released. He has been the Seahawks' free safety for 4 1/2 years and has played well, although it began to look as if he'd lost a step or two last season. Releasing Diggs will also save a lot of cap space.

Dissly has been a 'Hawk for six seasons. He has been the team's best blocking tight end and has contributed some as a receiver. He lacks the speed to be a really effective pass-catching tight end, and his contract was too rich for the team.

For Seahawks fans, it will be tough to see Diggs and Dissly leave--not so true for Adams who has displayed erratic and dysfunctional behaviour at times with the 'Hawks.

[South Pender]

Free agency in the NFL begins today, and there have already been a lot of surprising moves--starters moving to new teams, like Saquon Barkley to the Eagles and Kirk Cousins to the Falcons, among many such first-day transactions.

One move of interest is Russell Wilson to the Steelers--as their presumptive starter, I'd imagine. Here's Mike Florio's take on this development. Wilson will take home $39 million in 2024, with the Steelers paying only $1.2 million of that. As Florio notes, It will be hard for the Broncos and their fans to stomach paying the Steelers $37.8 million, particularly if Wilson plays at the level he did in Seattle.

Actually, Wilson's 2023 season in Denver was pretty solid. He ended up with a QB rating of 98, putting him seventh among the league's starting QBs. The problem seemed to be the relationship between Wilson and HC Sean Payton. Payton came to the Broncos with what appeared to be little enthusiasm for Wilson. I think he'll do better under Steelers' HC Mike Tomlin.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... e-to-worse

[South Pender]

Just a quick update on the Russell Wilson story. He has now signed with the Steelers, but the bigger news in Steel Town is their letting the 2023 starter, Kenny Pickett, go--to the Eagles to back up Jalen Hurts. This is a surprise and goes against the "Steeler Way" of patience with their high draft picks (Pickett was a 1st-round pick in 2022). In any case, this obviously makes Russ the indisputable starter in Pittsburgh.

Edit (3/17). Russell Wilson will now be joined in the Steelers' QB room by Justin Fields, just acquired in trade with the Bears. This is something of a stunner. It had been expected that the Bears would use their No.1 overall pick in the 2024 draft on Caleb Williams from USC, but I think the expectation was that they would keep Fields around for insurance. Other scenarios had Fields going to another team as the potential starter, and one line of thought had him coming to the Seahawks to back up Geno Smith. Fields will be Wilson's backup in Pittsburgh, but he is a very talented and mobile QB, and will represent some competition for Wilson.

The Steelers have scored a tremendous coup at QB. They will be paying Russell Wilson only $1.2M (with the rest of Wilson's $39M coming from the Broncos) and only $3.2M for Fields. So they'll have a very strong QB duo for $4.5M in 2024, instead of the typical $30M-$50M cost at QB of most teams.They can see how Wilson does, with the possibility of extending him in 2025 if he plays well. And if Wilson falters, Fields, with his talent and starting experience with the Bears, gives them another option. Chances are good that they will be set at QB by the end of the 2024 season.

Here's Mike Florio's take on this development:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... other-ways

[South Pender]

Some notable Seahawks signings in free agency. What follows is not all of the signings, just what appear to be the most relevant.

On defense (where the need was the greatest), the Seahawks signed two new linebackers to take the place of Bobby Wagner and Jordan Brooks, both lost to other teams. They are Tyrel Dodson, obtained from the Bills and Jerome Baker from the Dolphins. Both Dodson and Baker were starters with their former teams and were brought in to improve short- and middle-range pass coverage, which was very poor last season. Dodson, pencilled in at the moment as the Mike backer, and Baker, pencilled in as the Will backer are both fast and pretty dynamic players.

After letting safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs walk in free agency, Rayshawn Jenkins was picked up from the Jaguars and K’Von Wallace, from the Dolphins—both seen, at least at this point, as free safeties. They will join Julian Love at safety, along with Coby Bryant.

Up front, they re-signed Leonard Williams—seen as the ‘Hawks’ most important move in free agency--and added Johnathan Hankins, a big nose tackle, from the Cowboys. This addition to the interior D-line was seen as necessary given the Seahawks' deficiencies against the run last season.

All things considered, the Seahawks appear to be stronger on defense with these signings than they were last season. However, it must be mentioned that many of the Seahawks' failings last season were due more to poor deployment and play-calling than to individual deficiencies of the defensive players. With defensive specialist Mike Macdonald as new HC, it's likely (or at least hoped!) that we'll see improvements in this area.

On offense, there hasn’t been much change. With tight ends Will Dissley and Colby Parkinson gone, they re-signed Noah Fant and added Pharaoh Brown, who's primarily a blocking tight end. With Drew Lock now gone to the Giants, Sam Howell was signed from the Commanders. Howell, although really just a rookie last season, was Washington’s starting QB. The Howell for Lock exchange is seen as pretty much an even trade off, although Howell will cost the Seahawks quite a bit less than Lock would have. Howell may have more upside than Lock. He is just 23 now, younger than some of the college QBs who will be drafted this year. He is a stocky, strong guy with a big arm, and would seem to be a potentially good backup to Geno Smith.

The one offensive area needing attention is the O-line, particularly the interior of the line. George Fant has returned (he was with the ‘Hawks in the 2016-2019 seasons) as depth at tackle, where Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas are expected to start. However, the Seahawks are currently weak at guard, and possibly also center. It remains to be seen whether Olu Oluwatimi will round into a capable starting center after his rookie 2023 campaign during which he played very little. So the most obvious remaining need on offense is at guard. It is widely expected that the ‘Hawks will use the draft to fill at least one guard spot.

So that's about it for now re the Seahawks. The Seattle Seahawks website provides the details on a daily basis.

Edit. Just for fun and for those interested, here's one evaluation of new Seahawks' backup QB Sam Howell, made when he was entering the NFL draft in 2022. Last season in Washington was a pretty rough one for Howell, but much of that was due to a very weak O-line (accounting for a lot of sacks) and mediocre play-makers around him.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/sam-howel ... cea02da32b

[South Pender]

A few observations on the Seahawks’ 2024 draft selections.

This year the Seahawks had one 1st round pick, but no 2nd round picks. They had lost their 2nd round pick when they traded with the Giants last season for DE/DT Leonard Williams, who was re-signed with a big contract. So, after their 1st round pick, they slid down to Round 3, #81 for their next pick. After that, it was two picks in Round 4, one in Round 5, and three in Round 6.

So it was not what you’d call a “splashy” draft for the Seahawks, but they did pick up some interesting players. They got very lucky in the 1st round picking up the guy who was seen by many as the overall best defensive player in the entire draft, DT Byron Murphy II from the University of Texas. This fortunate turn of events occurred because the first 14 picks in Round 1 went to offensive players, leaving Murphy available to the Seahawks at Pick 16. Murphy is seen as a major force on the inside, providing tremendous leverage, interior pass rush, and double team-splitting, and will immediately improve the ‘Hawks’ defense, particularly against the run. He has played 3-technique, but can play the nose as well. In fact, with Murphy, Leonard Williams, Dre´mont Jones, Jarran Reed, and Johnathan Hankins (picked up from the Cowboys in free agency), the Seahawks now appear to have one of the better defensive lines in the NFL. This was seen as perhaps the main area needing improvement, given the Seahawks’ dismal performance against the run in 2023.

Their first 4th round pick, at #118 overall, went to ILB Tyrice Knight from UTEP who was taken, I believe, with the run-stopping imperative in mind. With Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks now gone, the ‘Hawks needed help at inside LB with a strong run-stopper. Still with the defense, two really intriguing CBs were drafted, both from Auburn, Nehemiah Pritchett, Round 5, #136 overall and D.J.James, Round 6, #192 overall. James would have to be considered a “steal,” I think, as he had been projected to go in Round 3 and is just a phenomenal player. These two players were, I think, drafted purely on the basis of “best player available,” rather than on need, as the Seahawks’ CB room is really stocked with some great players like Devon Witherspoon (last year’s 1st round pick) and Riq Woolen, who made the Pro Bowl in 2022.

Turning to the offense, four selections were made. The first of these was in Round 3, #81 overall, with G Christian Haynes of UConn. This has been seen as another “steal” for the ‘Hawks, as he had been projected as a 2nd round pick by most draft analysts. Haynes is 6-3, 317 lbs. and has been described as a “mauler” and “road grader.” The team needed help at guard with Damien Lewis gone and Phil Haynes still unsigned.

With the loss of TEs Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, the Seahawks needed help at that position and drafted A.J. Barner, of Michigan in Round 4, pick #121 overall. Barner is best known for his blocking ability and will likely play more as an in-line tight end, taking over for Dissly. I think we’ll see a lot of the 12 formation with the ‘Hawks in 2024--one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers. New OC Ryan Grubb likes this formation and used it very effectively at UW last season. The Seahawks have a very talented receiving tight end in Noah Fant, who was a 1st round pick of the Broncos in the 2019 draft. Fant is a very athletic 6-4, 247 lbs. and runs a 4.5 40.

The other area of real need for the Seahawks has been the O-line, a team weakness for pretty much the entire Pete Carroll era. So not surprisingly, they took two O-line guys in Round 6, Sataoa Laumea from Utah at #179 overall and Michael Jerrell (#207 overall) from the University of Findlay, a small private Christian college in Ohio. Both played tackle in college, but at least Laumea is expected to slide in to guard with the Seahawks, as the team has two very good tackles in Charles Cross at LT and Abe Lucas at RT. Jerrell is strictly a developmental prospect, but the hope is that Laumea can provide immediate depth on the O-line. With free-agent pickups G Laken Tomlinson,from the Jets and G/C Nick Harris from the Browns, along with G Anthony Bradford, drafted in the 4th round last year and C Olu Oluwatimi, drafted in the 5th round last year, the Seahawks have a number of guys competing for the interior O-line. As always, with the changes in personnel on the O-line, it will take time for the five starters to jell as a unit.

All things considered, I think that this draft would have to be considered a fairly good one for the Seahawks. It’s certainly not up to the level of their 2022 and 2023 drafts, which were really outstanding, but this year they didn't have as many high-round picks as they did in 2022 and 2023. The team did pick up some players to address immediate needs, and acquired some exciting prospects that, although perhaps not urgently needed at this point, are very good players (particularly the two CBs) that may play a role with the team down the road. Most of the many draft analyses have given the Seahawks’ 2024 draft a grade of either a B or B+.

When the off-season progresses a little more, and the OTAs and mandatory minicamp have taken place, providing a better evaluation of the personnel under new HC Mike Macdonald (and perhaps some trades have been made), I’ll try to assess the Seahawks’ overall prospects later in the summer. This off-season is different from those of the Pete Carroll years, which were fairly predictable. There has been a complete changeover in the coaching ranks at all levels in 2024. In addition to new HC, OC, and DC, the 'Hawks have 15 new assistant coaches. There are just too many unknowns at this point to reasonably assess the team's prospects for the 2024 season.

[South Pender]

It's a pretty slow time in the NFL right now, with OTAs wrapping up and then 6 weeks before training camps open. However, I ran across this piece about former Seattle Seahawks players that have landed in the CFL:

https://www.fieldgulls.com/2024/6/6/241 ... 024-season

[South Pender]

Seahawks 2024 Preview

With the 2024 training camps officially opening today, it's time to take a look at where the 2024 Seattle Seahawks stand. Change is the operative concept with the Seahawks as training camp opens this year. Let’s take a look at some of the changes as the Seahawks head into the 2024 season with far less certainty than they have in the past 14 years under Pete Carroll.

Coaching Staff

The biggest change, of course, is new head coach, Mike Macdonald, whose vision for the ‘Hawks defense differs considerably from that of Pete Carroll over the past decade+. Macdonald, the youngest head coach in the NFL, has been touted as a defensive genius primarily because of the outstanding defenses he built with the Ravens, as their DC for the past two seasons. The defensive coordinator will be Aden Durde, who came over from the Cowboys having been their D-line coach for the past 3 seasons. It’s safe to say that the defensive strategy and makeup will be largely Macdonald’s, with Durde looking after the day-to-day details of installing and operating Macdonald’s defense. The new offensive coordinator is Ryan Grubb, who joined the Seahawks after two years as OC at the University of Washington, where he headed up what was generally regarded as the top college offense in the country at UDub. With a new special teams coordinator (Jay Harbaugh, who came over from the University of Michigan coaching staff under his father, Jim Harbaugh), the Seahawks have all new faces in the key coaching roles.

But the changes don’t end there. All things considered, the ‘Hawks have something like 21 new coaches (so just about a 100% turnover) in various roles--so really nothing remaining in the coaching ranks from the previous regime. Nothing less than whole new offenses and defenses are in the process of being installed, and this alone adds a ton of uncertainty regarding how the team will perform in 2024. In the Pete Carroll years, the overall contours of both the offense and defense were very apparent, with only some of the details still unclear as the seasons approached. That is no longer true, and it is in many ways unknown just what offensive and defensive philosophy and structure will emerge this season.

It’s expected (hoped?) that the defense will be stronger with both Macdonald and Durde replacing the inadequate defenses that Clint Hurtt installed and managed. For the offense, any solid predictions about improvement are hard to make at this point. It has been generally acknowledged that Shane Waldron was unable to get the ‘Hawks’ offense operating up to potential, but whether Ryan Grubb will be able to install and head up a better-operating attack is at this point unknown. Grubb was best known for his outstanding passing offense at Washington with QB Michael Penix Jr. lighting things up on a weekly basis in the No. 1 college passing offense in the country. So hopes run high for Geno Smith and his talented receivers to step up and realize their potential.

The Roster

Offense. There have been some small changes in offensive personnel via free agency and the draft. At the offensive skill positions, the Seahawks have real strength, particularly at RB and WR. At QB, the Seahawks will go with Geno Smith again. Although not in the elite class of NFL QBs, Smith has been pretty solid in his two years with the team. He’s not top-5, but I believe that he’s definitely top-10. His accuracy is excellent, and his deep ball is among the best in the league. He has good arm strength, but his footwork sometimes gets muddled up. The slight drop-off in 2023 from his stellar 2022 performance is more on the pretty awful O-line he played behind and the sub-optimal offenses installed by then-OC Shane Waldron than on Smith himself. Backing up Smith will be Sam Howell, acquired from the Commanders this off-season. I’ve discussed Howell in Post #7 in this thread, and so there’s no need to add more at this point.

At RB, the ‘Hawks have two really solid backs. Kenneth Walker is the No. 1 back; he’s very elusive with good speed. Zach Charbonnet is a bit bigger (at 216 lbs.) and provides a different--power-running--style than Walker. These will be the starters and represent about as good a running back room as just about any team in the NFL. 2023 7th-round pick Kenny McIntosh and this year’s UDFA George Holani appear to be the front-runners for the RB3 position.

At WR, the Hawks are loaded. Perennial all-stars DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are WR1 and 2. 2023 1st-round pick (20th overall) Jaxon Smith Njigba is WR3. Smith Njigba showed some signs of real promise in his rookie season in 2023, although his participation was somewhat limited, and the expectation is that he’ll flash greatness in 2024. There will be a battle for WR4 and 5 during training camp, with Jake Bobo, Dee Eskridge, and Dareke Young vying for playing time, along with several others.

However, as has always been the case with the Seahawks in the last decade or so, the thing that has kept the skill-position stars from really starring has been the offensive line. Ryan Grubb brought with him his O-line coach Scott Huff, who’d held the position at U of Washington for seven years. Huff’s Huskies O-line received the Joe Moore Award, recognizing them as the best college O-line in 2023. Huff will have his work cut out for him with the O-line players he has inherited.

The most promising O-line players are the tackles, LT Charles Cross and RT Abraham Lucas. Both are solid, although there are lingering questions about Lucas’s health and whether he’ll be up to a full season in 2024. The main concern is the interior of the line. The ‘Hawks lost their best guard (LG), Damien Lewis, to the Panthers in free agency. His replacement at LG appears to be Laken Tomlinson, a 32 year-old veteran picked up from the Jets. Tomlinson is not expected to really excel, being well past his prime, but is seen as providing experience and leadership to a young, inexperienced O-line group. There will be a training camp battle for center. The ‘Hawks acquired Nick Harris, from the Browns, in free agency, and he will compete with 2nd-year center Olu Oluwatimi. At RG, Anthony Bradford returns after a mediocre rookie season, and he’ll compete with 2024 3rd-round pick Christian Haynes. How well these O-liners pick up Ryan Grubb’s system, and jell, will determine how the Seahawks’ offense fares in 2024.

Defense. The Seahawks’ defense was abysmal last season, ranking 25th in scoring defense and 31st against the run, and so anything short of significant improvement will constitute a failure with this season’s team. The thought has been that the 2024 D should indeed be much improved with the hiring of Mike Macdonald, some new coaches on the D side, and some additions to the roster. So let’s take a look at the defensive position groups.

First, the D-line. Last season’s D-line was not a strength—probably more from DC Clint Hurtt’s poor player development and defensive game-planning and strategy than from the players themselves. Some players, like the high-priced Dre’Mont Jones, simply underperformed, but again this was largely due to his being poorly utilized. However, with Leonard Williams (their best D-lineman in 2023) re-signed, the signing of Johnathan Hankins, a big nose tackle, from the Cowboys, and the addition of Byron Murphy II, who was the first defensive player taken by any team in the 2024 draft (and widely regarded as the best college defensive player in 2023), the position group that was at best so-so in 2023 looks to be a strength now.

At off-ball linebacker, the ‘Hawks lost their two best inside LBs in free agency—Bobby Wagner and Jordan Brooks—and added Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker in free agency, both starters with their former teams, Dodson with the Bills and Baker with the Dolphins. Wagner and Brooks were solid run-stoppers, but struggled in coverage. Both Dodson and Baker were brought in to improve short- and middle-range pass coverage, which was very poor last season. The two main pass-rushers will be Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe, both very strong, but depth at that position is a concern.

In the secondary, the ‘Hawks have strength at corner, but perhaps some questions at safety. The cornerback room is very solid, with Riq Woolen and either Mike Jackson or Tre Brown on the outside and superstar Devon Witherspoon in the slot. However, behind these four starting corners the Hawks have real depth, including two intriguing rookies picked up on the 2024 draft. So cornerback should be a strength this season. At safety, the picture is less clear. After letting safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs walk in free agency, Rayshawn Jenkins was picked up from the Jaguars and K’Von Wallace, from the Titans—both seen, at least at this point, as free safeties. They will join Julian Love (who had a pro bowl year in 2023) at safety, along with Coby Bryant, the latter two likely playing in the box. I’m kind of hoping that the ‘Hawks bring Diggs back as he’s still unsigned. His 2023 season was not quite up to his previous seasons when he was very solid, but the team could benefit from his experience.

All things considered, the Seahawks’ defense appears stronger than it was last season. A lot depends on how successful Mike Macdonald is in teaching his players his new and quite complex defensive schemes—schemes that worked well in two seasons with the Ravens.

Special Teams. The Seahawks should be just fine in the kicking game. Jason Myers has been a Pro Bowl placekicker, although not always consistent. Punter Michael Dickson is very solid, having been named first-team all-pro in the past. His average yards per punt stands at 48.0, leading the franchise all-time in this category. As for the return game, last season’s main kickoff and punt returner, DeeJay Dallas, left for the Cardinals in the off-season. With the new kickoff rules, this has become a more important position, but it will take all of training camp, I think, to know who will be filling this role this season.

What’s Ahead and Early Expectations

With training camp opening officially today, the picture should become a little clearer in the days ahead on just where the Seahawks stand in the 32-team NFL. There is still time to add players, and at least one veteran player (a center) is currently meeting with the team. Other additions could occur, and, as I noted, I hope that Quandre Diggs is one.

As for expectations at this point for the 2024 Seahawks, there’s just far too much that is new and unknown to form realistic expectations, unlike in previous years when the coaching staff and overall philosophy were well-established. The almost 100% turnover in the coaching ranks alone means that completely new offensive and defensive philosophies will dictate new strategies and schemes that will require time for the players to absorb and get used to, and so the start to the season may be slow and uneven. It will probably take until the 2025 season to know how effective the new offensive and defensive systems will be once all the players have learned and executed them.

The general consensus around the league, among many prognosticators, is that 2024 will be a pretty rough season for the Seahawks. The team definitely has talent in many areas, but with the changeover in philosophy and strategy, it may take some time for this talent to flourish. Season record predictions range from a low of 5-12 to a high of something like 9-8 at this point. Very few are predicting a playoff appearance for the ‘Hawks.

I’ll try to follow as closely as possible developments during training camp and will post some more observations as we get closer to the regular season kickoff.

[Gridiron Ernie]

Thanks for the concisely-written yet impressively informative introduction to the 2024 Seahawks, South Pender. An interesting read. Much appreciated. It's an intriguing time as we wait to see what unfolds after so much change in and around that team.

[South Pender]

The Seahawks have now had a couple of weeks of training camp, and one development of note is the signing today of veteran center Connor Williams. This is seen as a big deal as Williams has been regarded as one of the best centers in the NFL. He became available to the Seahawks because of an ACL injury that ended his 2023 season. Williams passed the physical administered by the 'Hawks a couple of weeks ago, but whether he'll be 100% by Week 1 is unknown. He may require some time to return to full efficiency. The following Sports Illustrated piece about Williams provides more details.

https://www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/seahawk ... g-addition

One of the biggest areas of need for the 2024 Seahawks has been the offensive line, particularly the interior, as noted in earlier posts in this thread. The guard and center positions have looked weak with inexperienced players in those spots. With the signing of Williams at center, along with the earlier acquisition of veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson, this really leaves only right guard lacking an experienced player, with rookie Christian Haynes and second-year player Anthony Bradford (who had a mediocre rookie season) battling for the spot. The tackle positions will be manned by at least somewhat experienced players—outstanding left tackle Charles Cross (now entering his third year) and right tackle Abraham Lucas (also in his third year), this assuming that Lucas is sufficiently healed from his knee surgery to play. In the event that Lucas will not be ready at the start of the regular season, the ‘Hawks brought back veteran George Fant.

All things considered, the O-line now looks improved over the really ineffective unit we saw in 2023. If Lucas makes it back from his off-season surgery, the O-line could be at least average and possibly a strength.

The Seahawks play their first pre-season game this Saturday in LA against the Chargers.

[South Pender]

The first week of preseason games is over now, and the first preseason game for the Seahawks went very well in beating the LA Chargers 16-3 in LA--although it's important not to give much weight to preseason games, particularly the first one. The Seahawks' defense played well in executing HC Mike Macdonald's defensive philosophy. First round draft pick DT Byron Murphy was the beast he was expected to be. The offense, with a pretty-much all-backup O-line, wasn't as impressive, with backup QB Sam Howell (and later 3rd-stringer PJ Walker) leading it, but there were a few positive signs there as well. Here's a brief video showing some of the highlights:

https://www.seahawks.com/video/2024-pre ... n-44-yards

[South Pender]

Most Seahawks fans have a lot of respect and affection for Pete Carroll--by any account the best coach in the Seahawks' history. Here's a piece on his current and future activities. At age 72, he seems to still have the boundless energy and enthusiasm we've seen over the years. I wonder what class he'll be teaching at USC.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/409 ... ortunities

[South Pender]

Seahawks Final 2024 Season Preview

With the 2024 preseason now over and the Seahawks' final roster settled, including practice squad (at least for now), this is a good time to consider the team’s prospects for the upcoming season. So let me bring together what's been already written and how things look now that we're a week away from the opening regular-season kickoff. This is a more difficult task than it has been in prior years, given the year-to-year continuity the team enjoyed through the Pete Carroll period. Now the entire coaching staff is new, and new offensive and defensive systems are in place. We’ve seen a little of what’s new in the preseason games, but not really very much, as the coaches have kept their playbook pretty close to the vest. The vibe around the Seahawks’ camp has been pretty positive through training camp and the preseason games, but it’s hard to imagine that they will challenge the top teams at this point. They may well have a decent 2024 campaign, but as for challenging the 49ers and Rams in their own division, they may be a year or so away from this. But we’ll see.

The first question is how the new offensive and defensive philosophies and strategies will play out. New O-coordinator, Ryan Grubb, has received a lot of praise for his innovativeness and what he has introduced, and the defensive system of new HC and main defensive head guy, Mike Macdonald, looked pretty solid in the preseason games. Whether these offensive and defensive changes will translate into winning performance is a big unknown at this point, but I’d say that, in general, there is optimism.

The next big question concerns the strength and depth of the player personnel. The ‘Hawks have real strength in certain areas on both sides of the ball.

Offense. At quarterback, there is confidence that Geno Smith is good enough to compete with most other QBs in the league. He is not elite, but is pretty good—likely in the top 10 or so. At running back, the Seahawks are strong, with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet as the top two, but also with some depth. At wide receiver, they are very strong with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the top three slots and some quality depth behind them. This leaves the O-line. With the addition of Connor Williams at center, they’ve added some veteran strength. So at LT and center, the ‘Hawks appear to have strength, but elsewhere on the O-line, there are some real question marks. Both guard positions and RT look iffy at this point, although if Abraham Lucas recovers from his knee problems (and when this is likely to occur is completely up on the air), RT will be in good hands. The O-line is one of two major concerns going into the 2024 campaign, and how they perform will be the major determinant of the offense's success.

So what can we expect from the Seahawks’ offense in 2024. Perhaps some improvement over 2023, but it really depends on whether the O-line will be strong enough to let the skill-position players play up to their considerable potential. The limitations particularly at guard—with veteran retread Laken Tomlinson at LG and second-year man Anthony Bradford at RG—are of real concern at this point.

Defense. I think we’ll see a better team on defense, which will again utilize a 3-4 front-7 alignment. One position group, the D-line, is definitely stronger with Leonard Williams having a full training camp and the addition of 2024 1st-round draft pick Byron Murphy. They’ve also added a true nose tackle with Jonathon Hankins. I think we’ll see improvement against the run with this D-line. They also have some strength on the edge, although top edge-rusher Uchenna Nwosu went down in the final preseason game with a knee injury suffered from a chop block. The prognosis with Nwosu is that he will miss some time, but probably not more than a couple of games. They’ve also just added Trevis Gipson to the edge group. So with starters, Nwosu, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall, and with Dre'Mont Jones now moved to OLB, there is quality in this position and also some depth.

The Seahawks are very strong at cornerback, with top corners Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen and some quality depth players. At safety, it’s a little less clear. Julian Love is solid, but the jury is out at this point on Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace, although both have starting experience. All things considered, I think the ‘Hawks’ secondary should be at least adequate and probably a little better than that.

The second major position group of concern going into the 2024 campaign is inside linebacker. The Seahawks let both Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks leave in free agency, and both were very solid run stoppers. However, neither was good in coverage, and so the Seahawks added veterans Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson and 2024 4th-round draft pick Tyrice Knight. It seems as though the logic was to get some off-ball LBs who could cover, and shift the main run-stopping responsibilities to the D-Line and edge players. Whether this will work well remains to be seen. Baker, Dodson, and Knight are on the small side for NFL linebacker (all in the 230-235 lbs. range) and were chosen for their speed and quickness. Whether they’ll hold up against the run is a question at this point.

Overall Prospects for the Seahawks’ 2024 Season

As noted earlier, the widespread changes to the Seahawks’ program this season make predictions of success difficult. There will be new offensive and defensive systems at play along with some new players in key positions. When one looks at the player lineup, the team appears to be stronger than last season’s team, particularly on defense. Last season, the ‘Hawks went 9-8 and missed the playoffs. For the 2024 season, the odds makers have set the number of expected wins at 7.5 (due mainly, I think, to the coaching-staff overhaul), so a drop-off from last year. Various pundits have predicted anywhere from a 5-12 to a 9-8 record and have the 'Hawks ranked anywhere from 17th to 24th overall. As for the NFC-West division, the Seahawks won’t challenge the 49ers this season, and I think they’ll also have difficulty with the Rams. We will be seeing the introduction of new systems this season (with all the uncertainty that this brings), and my own (perhaps overly optimistic) prediction is something like 8-9 or 9-8, with the changes perhaps not bearing fruit until the 2025 season. I think that, with a new HC and the fundamental strategy changes on both sides of the ball, the ‘Hawks will be fun to watch, and I’m looking forward to their opening game on Sept. 8 against the Broncos.