The John Schneider Blank Slate: Hail King Carroll
by John Morgan on Jan 19, 2010 11:49 AM PST
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PrintJohn Schneider was always a favorite. Like Marc Ross, Ruston Webster, Omar Khan and Floyd Reese, Schneider has spent his career in subordinate positions under powerful men. Of those, Ross and Reese had the most autonomy. Khan was a numbers guy. One would have to pick apart a Steelers contract to have much of an understanding of his ability. What could be found would tell us little about his ability to construct an NFL football team.
Schneider is in the same boat. While his duties were more entrenched in the actual construction of a roster, he was never assigned clear duties of his own. His bio describes his position in Green Bay thus:
strategic counsel to General Manager Ted Thompson, addressing and evaluating the needs of the team in both free agency and in the draft, incorporating a long-range planning process that examines the Packers' roster, as well as the rosters of all NFL teams, and takes into account the potential effects of injuries and salary cap issues, and explores possible trade scenarios
That's a Brazilian nightmare of corporate buzzwords. Schneider aided Thompson. Thompson is still a vital executive and separating the decisions made by Schneider and the decisions made by Thompson is as fruitless as separating the decisions made by Tim Ruskell from the decisions made by Ruston Webster. I never produced a Khan or Webster scorecard, and I'm pretty sure attempting one for Schneider would be similarly noisy and misleading.
Schneider worked with Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City and Washington and Schott is a notorious control freak. He was later fired in a power struggle with San Diego Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith. Schneider also worked under Thompson and Mike Holmgren in Seattle, if you'd like a closer to home analogy for his place within an organization.
Pete Carroll wanted general manager duties, but when that provoked a shit storm, media reports retreated and it was confirmed that he would serve only as head coach. But he'd have final say over the team's 53 man roster. Slyly, that defined what kind of general manager Seattle could and would hire. Superstars like Eric DeCosta dropped out of the running, perhaps knowing they would be taking a subordinate position within the organization. I said that Floyd Reese and Marc Ross were the most autonomous within their past jobs, but neither was the big cheese. Reese was pinned between a superstar coach and a heavy handed owner. Ross worked mostly as a scouting director -- a subordinate but distinct position.
Schneider never achieved that distinction. On May 27, 2008, he was promoted. He didn't replace anyone. Thompson merely shifted titles, naming then director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie to director of football operations and then personnel analyst Schneider to, you guessed it, director of football operations.
With respect to Brian McIntyre, there's no one way to build a team. A good executive adds talent how he can. The perfect counterexample of building through the draft is the New Orleans Saints, who have added essential talents like Drew Brees and Darren Sharper through free agency. One shouldn't credit Schneider for Green Bay not adding talent through free agency. Nor should one discredit them. However the team acquires it, talent is what matters. Signing Colin Cole through free agency is a mistake. Signing Julian Peterson through free agency is not.
I could run a superficial analysis of Green Bay's moves, or couch platitudes in passionate and topical phrasing. There's a infinite ways to sell a candidate if selling is the goal. God knows politics evinces that. Meaningful analysis of a candidate requires some clear idea of that candidate's qualifications and work, and Schneider's career in the NFL provides little of that. That doesn't mean he will fail or is unqualified.
Whether Carroll is nominally Seattle's general manager or not, it is once again clear that he is the man in charge. Hiring Schneider merely clarifies that. It's better to have a general manager than to burden a head coach with two jobs, but Schneider is not and likely will never be a big shot executive like Smith, Ruskell or Bill Polian. He's a team player, for good or ill, and his value within the organization is helping Carroll find the best talent and make the best decisions possible. So, give him good counsel, Mr. Schneider. The future of the Seattle Seahawks depends on it. Kind of.
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Carroll talked about the Hawks buying into him and his plan
so a hire like Schneider makes a lot of sense. Schneider can steer the ship while Carroll charts the course. And as far as lackey GMs go I think Schneider was the best choice. The organizations he’s been a part of have been in large part very successful, he’s experienced with strong characters and theres an art to leading those types to water that he’s hopefully learned.
If I was Leiweke this isn’t how I would have gone about restructuring the Hawks and these aren’t the names that were near the top of my list. But for now I’m just thankful the results haven’t been representative of the process.
Just a small factual note.
Vilma was acquired via trade.
Thanks
I remember he was traded now that you mention it.
by John Morgan on Jan 19, 2010 12:21 PM PST up reply actions
I would think the point is recognizable without support, honestly
I just pointed to the Saints as a rhetorical tool, but thanks for the correction. This was kind of slammed out.
by John Morgan on Jan 19, 2010 12:29 PM PST up reply actions
bummer
I wanted Marc Ross :( Oh well just glad it’s not Pat Kirwan.
Eliminating power struggles became the paramount objective for the franchise.
Is it a gamble to make personnel evaluation take a back seat? Time will tell, I spose. Targeting harmony doesn’t mean they hired complete stiffs. If this fails and another structure will be implemented, I wonder if talent evaluation again becomes paramount, or if alleviating the biggest headache or biggest aspect of failure will be, if it’s not talent evaluation.
Oh, and “Floyd Reese and Marc Ross were the most antonymous” should be "autonomous. Great perspective, and so quick to observe the big picture and ramifications.
Thinking more about aversion to power struggles
now that we know more — or have been fed more, whatever truth or accuracy — about struggles between Ruskell and Holmgren, it seems like it was dysfunctional. I am betting that Holmgren wanted more infusions of offensive talent, over the course of the tenure. But Ruskell also gave Holmgren some pieces he wanted, that did go against some of the grain of Ruskell’s plan. Deion Branch helped make Ruskell unpopular but that was for Mike. That’s a Holmgren player, through and through.
So maybe it’s kind of like an Adam Smith principle. Competition in the free market stimulates innovation. Maybe opposing forces with disjoint value structures is conducive to more thorough vetting, whereas no opposition to one man with a plan…well, we’re all familiar with the perils of having only yes men….
by jacobstevens on Jan 19, 2010 12:32 PM PST up reply actions
I meant to say, it seems dysfunctional now, Ruskell/Holmgren
but it might have only been uncomfortable, not dysfunctional. Talent evaluation still seemed fine. Balance of talent seemed off, but it’s just too convenient to blame dysfunction for what’s happened to the team, and with the talent and coaching we brought on board it may well have still unfolded the way it has even in spite of front office harmony.
by jacobstevens on Jan 19, 2010 12:34 PM PST up reply actions
One final note, and then I have two things today I absolutely can not ignore
I am thrilled that it’s not Floyd Reese. Reading through the history of the Oilers and how Bud Adams put Houston over a barrel before ripping that team from the city was an eye opener and makes me feel true sympathy for the city of Buffalo. Chan Gailey is another lackluster hire that only moves the Bills closer to relocating. Anyone supporting the current ownership is going to face a massive backlash the day that happens. The move may be inevitable, but fans don’t have to swallow the spin.
Schneider is not maybe my favorite among the candidates, but blank slate is an apt description. The Seahawks organization may know something, but outsiders will have to evaluate Schneider from here on out.
blank slate?
I understand he doesn’t have a clear record of independent decisions on which to judge, but I rather think that all GMs work in collaboration to make their decisions. Although we tend to praise or blame one guy for those decisions, most required a staff working together.
Scheider worked under Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson in Green bay for years, and then Thompson hired him from Green Bay to Seattle. When Marty Schottenheimer was hired as GM in Washington, he brought Schneider to be his VP of Player Personnel. After that, Green Bay later hired Schneider back before they hired Thompson back. Schneider was valued by all these teams and never fired once that I know of.
So I don’t see a blank slate in Schneider. I see a guy who has been a valued part of personnel effots by some of the best in the business: Wolf, Thompson, Schottenheimer, and Holmgren.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
And my point isn't that he doesn't have experience or ideas of his own
only that the positions he has been in makes it very difficult to know what those ideas are.
I agree we don't know but that isn't bad
I kind of like it, it makes me want to check headlines everyday.
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
by Generzal Zod on Jan 19, 2010 5:59 PM PST up reply actions
maybe there's a cat inside.
(sorry, REALLY outside reference)
Dead Cat in the box theory?
If a cat in a box dies is it really dead until someone opens the box? Get your quantum theory out of here.
that was the joke
it’s actually Schneider’s Cat.
I hope to God there is more discussion involved
And less PC just being a pseudo GM. I doubt that will be the case, but it’d be nice.
by DJ C-Raig on Jan 19, 2010 12:29 PM PST via mobile reply actions
While I greatly prefer DeCosta, at we don't have to start offing ourselves over a Reese / Kirwan hire.
It’s somewhat unfortunate that this is the case, but it looks like we’ll be flying blind for quite some time until the new regime starts making moves. I like Pete Carroll the person. I like what Green Bay has done the last few years with respect to acquiring, developing, and utilizing talent. Boy I hope this works out.
Antonymous?
Nice! Very underused, especially in comparison to its antonym.
Signing Colin Cole through free agency is a mistake. Signing Julian Peterson through free agency is not.
How about trading Julian Peterson for Cory Redding, forcing a Aaron Curry pick ? Typical Ruskell move, Saving Cap room to blow it out in triplicate.
yea dude
I may not be super well-versed in Seahawks history, so I'm just wondering...
what other times has he shown this “typical Ruskell move”?
I liked trading JP for CRed
Didn’t we get a 3rd round with that as well? I like it.
by DJ C-Raig on Jan 19, 2010 1:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
"Forcing a Aaron Curry pick". We don't know the causality here.
Maybe Ruskell saw Curry as an absolute slam dunk and so he moved an asset in order to make room for Curry (and managed to get some neat stuff in return). Maybe it’s none of those things.
The Curry move certainly wasn't forced
Ruskell knew better than almost anyone about David Hawthorne and Will Herring. Curry’s availability allowed Ruskell to pick between Hill and Peterson, and he picked Hill.
could be he knew Hawthorn was that good
I think he just didn’t like Julian not renegotiating his contract. was there damage? not really. At the time I wanted O line so I am a little jaded on the subject. The Linemen available at that pick have not made an impact, they blossom more in 2nd 3rd year and Curry was the best pick at the time ( most people thought the best player in the draft )
yea dude
Curry
After Reggie Bush’s performance last weekend, I was thinking about the 2006 draft and the whole Mario over Bush thing. Within 4 years, we’ve gone from Mario is a bust, to no he’s not but Reggie is a bust, to both of them adding significant value to their respective teams, but has Mario tailed off and Reggie’s on the rise…? Evaluating drafts in terms of talent picked (aside from trading up or down) is only slightly less difficult after a year or two than on the day itself.
Curry may work out to be a solid 10 year starter or Lawrence Taylor Lite, or he could drop out of the league after his rookie contract. We don’t know yet. GM’s don’t (or at least certainly shouldn’t) draft talent to produce only in the first year of their contract. We should try to avoid evaluating them on that basis as well.
To avoid confusion, this is a reply because it’s on related subject. I’m not disagreeing with dirtyktm
People thought Mario was a bust?
That’s a bust I would kill for.
by DJ C-Raig on Jan 19, 2010 3:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
There were some pissed people in Texas
Oh Yea . They wanted Bush. They wanted the GM fired pronto
yea dude
good examples
of draft picks that took a few years to develop.
I don’t want to give Tim Ruskell too much credit, but when he resigned he statement was something like “we had a plan to rebuild, and it simply wasn’t happening fast enough.”
Many of us called LoJack a bust, but his third and fourth years may prove that was wrong. Many of us have considered Spencer a bust at one time, but that may be proved wrong. I think the perceived talent problem on the Seahawks was perhaps exaggerated this past two seasons by the injuries and poor coordination of coaching and schemes.
Alex Gibbs and Pete Carroll just might end up getting a lot of credit by suddenly “developing” some of the players who didn’t look good in 2009. Truth is, it takes a while to learn how to play in the NFL.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
On a personal level
I’d be fine with Pete Carroll getting all the credit for developing Ruskell’s players simply because he’s a more entertaining personality. Though I was actually hoping Ruskell would have been retained, Mora was the guy I got sick of as the year wore on.
Curry was the best pick at the time
and Peterson and Curry I think give us the same value – plus we got a pick for Peterson and cap space – so it was a good move. Curry may not be an All-Pro but he will be a solid LB for a long time, this season was demoralizing for everyone.
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
by Generzal Zod on Jan 19, 2010 6:02 PM PST up reply actions
All this Curry talk made me think of this:
Carroll: “As a matter of a fact, within the first hour that I was there, I had Gus make a cut-up for me so I could check up Aaron Curry. So we were in watching film of Aaron Curry and trying to figure out what might be best for him, right from the first hour I was there, we were looking at him coming off the edge and trying to make up a position and a style for him that can really suit his addition to the team. No. 1 pick last year, he played a lot, but he could have a much better year and will be big factor I hope, if we do this right.”
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:07 PM PST up reply actions
There's nothing involuntary about it. He's awesome.
by abender20 on Jan 19, 2010 7:11 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
That's pretty dead on
I hadn’t really thought about this and you just made my head go “huh”
Mora was so freaking vague about everything. It is nice to hear some specifics for once.
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:27 PM PST up reply actions
I don't remember looking at it that way before.
Maybe I’ve just forgotten past discussion, but I have to say that your wisdom regarding the Seahawks is something I truly admire.
I'm just impressed that he so quickly looked into existing areas on the team that could use improvement with changes
That’s pretty much the opposite of what we had before (dislocating Mebane and Babs for Cole and Russell, etc).
I’m impressed that without knowing anything about the Seahawks, he knew enough that Curry wasn’t being used right and that needed to be addressed. Even if Curry doesn’t put up better results, I think Carroll’s is off to a good start in his process.
I still agree with the JP trade to Detroit.
JP had a good year in the Motor City, but he’s still aging \on the decline\highly paid. Redding has shown flashes (pro bowl appearance), strengthened a position of shallow (quality) depth has less of an impact on the cap and his still in his 20’s.
our D line would have been very bad without Redding
Redding wasn’t a real standout, but he filled a couple of gaps on the left side of our D line in 2009 that might have been huge problems without him.
And the only reason that Peterson was missed at all is because Hill was injured early and Curry was injured late. I thought the Redding-for-Peterson deal was a smart money move at first, and I think it ended up looking like a smart personnel move in the end.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
ha
Tim Ruskell is saying the same thing to himself right now.
Maybe the riskiest thing a GM does is reaching for players at those perceived “need” positions like Ruskell did with Cole. The second riskiest thing is to not take any risks and not find your diamonds-in-the-rough.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
Ruskell had his faults, that is for sure
But the handling of Hill in order to add talent was great, the fleecing of the Broncos was also great. In that situation, do we know it was Ruskell or were the Broncos that desperate to trade up and we just answered the phone? Schneider seems to be a great choice that won’t be as much of a yes-man as other candidates may have been. Although I’m being presumptuous in thinking that I know how the power structure will work
by Big E-Z on Jan 19, 2010 1:42 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Even if Ruskell just answered the phone
it took stones to sacrifice a pick with your job on the line for the higher good.
Agreed. The 2009 draft was great work on Ruskell's part.
Although I can’t get too excited over a mighty-mite receiver yet, the way he worked the draft was near brilliant and stands to be a good draft for us long term. Certainly adding this year’s #14 was great, and you are right in pointing out his unselfishness with regards to his job and trading for a future pick.
I can only hope that our new regime can maneuver around in the draft with the ability Ruskell showed in ’09.
Perhaps my very favorite habit Ruskell had
he showed a willingness to maneuver in the draft for guys he really wanted (Tatupu, Carlson, Unger). I hope Schneider/Carroll are equally aggressive.
Schneider
This could be what the Seahawks need. More of a back room guy with his nose to the grindstone. Someone who can find those gems later in the draft and really see through the 1st rounders. Free agent picks will always be there. That’s a pull the trigger or hold your fire situation, does the player have character, does he fit your team, your needs and can you afford him. The draft seems to be more of a crap shoot and this one is key with 2 -1st rounders.
you can tell i got my rosary out
yea dude
We need a talent evaluator who scores in the later rounds?
Isn’t that what Ruskell did?
by DJ C-Raig on Jan 19, 2010 3:37 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Agreed, Ruskell did find talent in later rounds but mostly just contributors.
He never found a star like Kampman or a Colston. His best find was Mebane in the 3rd of the 2007 draft.
I liked Ruskell and sometimes wish he was still with us…But I get easily attatched. Bottom line, he was mediocre. He didnt find difference makers at meaningful positions in the draft.
Hell, I still have not given up on Kelly Jennings.
I am still waiting for him to discover ball skills, Hgh and the weight room.
I give up
4 years is more than enough time to get more than 1 interception in your whole career.
2010 Seahawks Goals: Master the forward pass, sack the QB, and knock Arizona off their perch.
I have this vision...
where Kelly Jennings is racing a WR down the field… in perfect position… inside technique… Jennings and the WR jump together for the ball… the WR catches it, as always… and a blue uniform with 21 on the back flutters to the turf… empty… the equipment manager sweeps it up and the game moves on…
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
It's only last year that Jennings actually decided to jump for the ball
2010 Seahawks Goals: Master the forward pass, sack the QB, and knock Arizona off their perch.
Yeah - he really hasn
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
by Generzal Zod on Jan 19, 2010 6:04 PM PST up reply actions
damn laptop mouse - he really hasn't panned out
we needed a CB more than anything – we took the best one available.
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
by Generzal Zod on Jan 19, 2010 6:04 PM PST up reply actions
I was excited
I was excited that we drafted a CB right after the loss to the steelers … and i was happy that he was from Miami… but where is that swagger with him??? he just doesnt have it at all
A Seattle Fan from Upsate NY living in the South.... Figure that one out!!!! Go Hawks!!!
It's not swagger he's missing.
It’s ball skills and body weight.
Late round talent theory
Just a thought but isn’t late round talent more beneficial to extending the run of a successful but stable/declining team? The seahawks are not a good example of this because the injury bug decimated the team in 2008, so 2007 is the only real year to evaluate. If this is the case then late round talent is less fruitful in the rebuilding phase in terms of total team impact. Sure, you get a few gems but on net, its a few players who are league average to slightly better than league average. Great backups, role players, and potential solid starters (depending on the team) but little else. Questionable benefit if the rest of the team, particularly if key positions that one would need to replace via early round drafting/FA, are near the bottom.
I am not convinced this right; just a thought.
Shanghai Kelly's on Polk St. in San Francisco is the worst bar on the face of the earth (at least on Sunday mornings).
I hope that I am wrong, but...
There is too much grey area around job description, chain of command, and accountability structure in the front office. Tod Leiweke has a huge mess on his hands if he is wrong about all this. Harmony is a result of clarity, not the other way around.
It sounds like they know what they are doing
I think the coach should have the final say about the roster – it avoids the problems Tennessee has had with young and the issues the Chargers had with Brees. This the way Parcells did it…
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
by Generzal Zod on Jan 19, 2010 6:15 PM PST up reply actions
how the hell would you know that?
I keep hearing comments like this. How would you or any of us here know what the “job descriptions, chain of command, and accountability structures” are? Have you read them? Are they published? Were you in meetings with Leiweke or Allen recently?
I think everyone is just passing around bad information.
Paul Allen, Tod Leiweke, John Idzik and company are multi-million dollar business men. They didn’t get that way by knowing nothing about chain of command and accountability. And they didn’t get there without understanding how to make executives collaborate productively. Watching what they are doing from the inside might in fact be full of lessons in management. But none of us are privy to their process, and nor are our sportswriters.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
hmm
I think what is transparent was an awkward hiring situation where Leiweke had to hire his head coach before his GM or risk losing Carroll to another team. I don’t think the management of the Seahawks staff is transparent because we haven’t seen anything happen yet.
I just think that many are jumping to conclusions after hearing all the local Seahawks pundits publicly wringing their hands over this.
You had called Schneider a ‘blank slate’, John, and pointed out that we need wait and watch the deeds of these man before judging. I think that bears keeping in mind throughout this long offseason. We don’t know that the management of this team will be dysfunctional; we can’t assume that without seeing it first.
Rundstrom hopes his impression is wrong, and I hope it’s wrong too.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
and their first move is to bring in...
Nate Kaeding – okay so that hasn’t happened so I think we are going to be okay.
Spring cleaning has started early this year!
Dead serious, I fully expect a ton of teams to contact Seattle about Olindo Mare.
Meanwhile, Coutu gets angrier.
2010 Seahawks Goals: Master the forward pass, sack the QB, and knock Arizona off their perch.
Why would they need to contact Seattle? He's a free agent this year.
But hey, at least we signed the punter
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:12 PM PST up reply actions
Possibly, looking at Seattle FA's I'd put him behind Sims, Spencer (if they want to keep him), and Tapp as this years Mr. Franchise
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:37 PM PST up reply actions
Can someone please write a good post that explains this offseason and RFA, UFA, etc.
I keep hearing sports writers talking about implications of a new CBA, or an uncapped year. But not everyone seems to know what they are talking about. We could use a good post that spells all that out. This is not a typical offseason.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
Seattle could sign Kaeding and trade Mare.
I would miss having around one of the greatest kickers to ever live, but if anything of great value could be had for him, boom.
I would miss Mah-Ray.
Dick Stockton needs more chances to screw up his name.
2010 Seahawks Goals: Master the forward pass, sack the QB, and knock Arizona off their perch.
Rumor has it Shayne Graham could be available...
And Shaun Suisham….and… I mean really?..how many kickers screwed the pooch recently?
The most I can say about Solari is that I did not notice his influence that much. Seattle's O-line woes are overstated. I think he's a strict, with the players, coach`emup coach.
Someone to help kids learn NFL skills.
He won't have much talent to work with
So I was hoping for a response indicating that he’s a miracle worker. I wish we had nabbed Alex Gibbs instead of the Seahawks, but I guess history didn’t help there.
Seattle's line is probably better for drilling the fundamentals.
And now they will learn how to end careers.
Most everyone here liked Solari
It’s just the Seahawks couldn’t pass up a legend like Gibbs, and even then Seattle liked Solari enough to want to keep him by offering him a position coaching the tight ends. But obviously Solari’s an o-line coach, so…
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:21 PM PST up reply actions
Skin's have a talented o-line no?
They allowed very few sacks right? He’ll do well there.
erutangis
Tatonka?!? TAKONKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
by jubelthebear on Jan 19, 2010 7:28 PM PST up reply actions
Pretty sure their O-Line is at least as bad as ours
Near dead last in sacks
by B.B.Finnegan on Jan 19, 2010 7:32 PM PST up reply actions
whoops
Solari’s got his work cut out for him then.
erutangis
Tatonka?!? TAKONKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
by jubelthebear on Jan 19, 2010 7:35 PM PST up reply actions
Our offensive line currently looks like this:
LT:
LG: Derrick Dockery, Paul Fanaika
C: Will Montgomery, Edwin Williams
RG: Randy Thomas*, Chad Rinehart
RT: Stephon Heyer, William Robinson
Thomas could retire. Samuels isn’t listed because he’s expected to retire. The rest is a huge pile of ****
Dockery is o.k.
I’ve never even heard of Fanaika. Will Montgomery is a 7th round pick by the Panthers in 2006. Edwin Williams was undrafted last year. Rinehart is a 3rd round pick by the Redskins in 2008 who had trouble beating out Mike Williams as a backup guard this year before going on IR. Stephon Heyer wasn’t drafted in 2007. You may remember him as the single biggest reason you beat us in the playoffs a couple years ago. William Robinson was undrafted in 2008.
It’s the most pathetic group of linemen ever put together. If we don’t move down to draft some linemen this year, we have no shot at getting better.
just don't ask Solari to coach a zone blocking system
Our guys had a year working on it and they never became good at the ZBS.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
I hope you guys draft Okung.
Or Bradford if Clausen is off the board. Or on the board. Basically I hate Sam Bradford (as a pro). Given tendencies and what Alex Gibbs likes in his olinemen I’m not worried about the Hawks drafting Okung anymore.
Is that the guy Hill blasted through to sack
the Skins QB that year? It was basically a pile consisting of Skins O-lineman, Skins QB and Leroy Hill feasting on their bone marrow…
Packer fan here
Whether Carroll is nominally Seattle’s general manager or not, it is once again clear that he is the man in charge.
OK, I write a Packers blog on SB Nation and I had no idea who John Schneider was until he was interviewed by the Seahawks. The above quote is dead on. I think Carroll is the defacto GM.
As far as I can tell, Schneider was the Packers’ cap guy. The Packers former cap expert was Andrew Brandt, who’s now writing at the National Football Post, after he lost out to Mark Murphy for the Packers’ President job. Murphy was hired in December 2007, Brandt quit, and shortly thereafter Schneider was promoted in May 2008, so that chronology seems right. Schneider was promoted so he could take over managing the cap. Which I’m sure is something the Seahawks need since Carroll probably has no idea about the cap.
Reggie McKenzie was the Packers top personnel evaluator, reporting to GM Ted Thompson. When I read news articles about the draft and free agency, McKenzie and Thompson were always mentioned, but never Schneider. If you’d hired McKenzie, then I’d say you’re getting a heck of a talent evaluator. The Packers have done great in the draft since Thompson’s been the GM, here’s the pre-2009 evaluation from Mocking The Draft. They’ve drafted a lot of starters in 2006-2008. And the 2009 draft was a big hit with B.J. Raji (a solid 3-4 DE/DT), LB Clay Matthews is going to the Pro Bowl as a rookie, 4th round pick T.J. Lang is a good looking offensive tackle/guard prospect, and Brad Jones was a steal as a 7th round starting LB. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, I’m not sure Schneider had a lot to do with these selections.
I’ve got nothing bad to say about Schneider because I don’t really know him. Maybe that’s a good thing if you believe in Carroll.
I believe Pete Carroll....can cut Colin Cole immediately.
Thanks for your input.
2010 Seahawks Goals: Master the forward pass, sack the QB, and knock Arizona off their perch.
You would think that with fresh eyes coming in that have no emotional attachment
Cole, Terrill, Branch, and Kerney are certainly in jeopardy. What will be interesting is who they fill those spots with and also what they do with some fringe guys…. Milloy, Jennings, DD, and so forth. It’s fine to say that we need to cut certain guys but I fall into the same trap, their replacements need to be at least as good as them. And younger.
by Big E-Z on Jan 19, 2010 10:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Since you're here
Thanks for writing this. Know that every one of us feels exactly the same way. And welcome to Fieldgulls, if nobody has said so yet.
I followed a series of links and found old comments of mine where I was kind of ok with the Cole signing
Learning you’re retarded is pretty rough.
by Nate Dogg on Jan 19, 2010 11:21 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Reggie McKenzie
Is that the same Reggie McKenzie that used to be a Guard for the Seahawks during the Chuck Knox years. - Nope different Reggie McKenzie. wow
yea dude
Interesting article with some insight on what Schneider's role was in Green Bay
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/82127922.html
One big void Thompson will have to fill is scouting college players. Schneider spent a good portion of the fall – along with Thompson and college scouting director John Dorsey – visiting college campuses. McKenzie, who does some college scouting, could pick up those duties, but more than likely Thompson will have to hire someone new.
And more about his involvement here:
A 17-year NFL personnel veteran who also had stints with Kansas City, Seattle and Washington — where he was vice president of player personnel in 2001 — Schneider was particularly instrumental in the Packers’ long-term planning, league-wide roster evaluations and trade talks. He made college visits during the fall and was involved with the draft as well.
In the press conference just now, Leiweke just said in the press conference today that in the case of a disagreement between Schneider and Carroll regarding a particular move
The GM will defer to Carroll. So, put those hopes of both sharing power equally to rest. :(
I'm okay with that.
Pete Carroll doesn’t strike me as the type of egomaniac who does things his way without even giving a cursory glance toward being reasonable.
According the Schneider's press conference today via Sando:
The Seahawks are weighing the possibility of trying a 3-4 defensive alignment, but it’s early.
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