Overrated/Underrated?

Overrated- Ben Obamanu. Seeing how he’s essentially our wr2 at this point, I find it perplexing people aren’t enthusiastic about a major talent/ceiling upgrade there. He’s a league average player. Not great, not bad, but certainly easily upgradeable.

Most underrated?
Alan Branch. I RARELY hear his named mentioned, but at a non-stat acquiring position, that isn’t entirely a bad thing. He holds his ground well and provides a great anchor with additional bulk in the core interior of our defense. Is he a pass rusher? No. but he, with Red Bryant and various additional DL depth, may allow PC to get far more flexible with this defense. I’m predicting more 3-4 looks and mixing things up, and Branch is a huge get in that regard.

I love KJ, but for all his value, Baldwin is more important. If you spilt O and D up, they are the two.

Realistically though, you could even gives them co-RoY, they’ve both been wuite valuable.

1st round- WR or LB. Fallback- DL
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2nd – LB (if WR in 1st) or RB2 (Polk, who I think is a perfectly similar understudy for Lynch.) Fallback – front 7 D depth.
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3rd – QB prospect; either the ASU kid or the NIU one.

End summary- minimum 2 LB’s, with at least 1 an immediate starter. 1 qb of future, unless they see Portis in that role, then sign a vet to compete. 1RB who can do close to what Lynch does if he should get hurt. Possible 1 3rd down back as well (I doubt they will be the same player).
2 DL.

No DB’s… Only because I think we’ll focus attention elsewhere, bring back Tru and Bigby and go after DB again after next season.

No OL. We’ve got youth, solid depth, and a couple prospect types already. Like DB, I think we’ll readdress and reassess after the upcoming season.

Skills have declined a lot but the media don’t seem to have realised it. Every time we play Arizona the announcers seem to use that stock quote from Larry Fitz when he said the Tru was the best cover corner in the game. Needless to say, he’s not.

Underrated – Hawthorne. Not really one for a flashy play but hugely assignment-correct and a tackling machine.

Rookie of the year – Has to be Baldwin, with an honourable mention to Sherman for stepping into a potentially disastrous injury situation and performing well above what could be expected of a 5th round rookie. Baldwin was unbelievable though, his route running and football smarts are off the charts, it boggles the mind he went undrafted.

Pete Carroll – I think he’s already a successful coach, he’s turned around a roster that was ageing and lacking in direction and turned them into a quickly developing young roster that have bought into an ethos. We’re on the way up.

Draft – Any conversation has to include the possibility of trading up for RGIII. However, if we stand pat, we primarily need pass rush, both from the defensive line and LB spots.

Lynch bought in to Cable’s system around mid-season and since then it’s been so fun to finally watch the Hawks run with authority again. It’s been years of futility, replaced all of a sudden by smash-mouth, aggressive, downhill running. I pray we resign him

Overrated – hard to say. Any of our LBs would do, they’re all pretty awful in coverage and get easy mop-up duty thanks to our front four. On an NFL-wide perspective, probably Brandon Browner. Getting a lot of interceptions and PDs isn’t an accomplishment when your picked on that much. His pick as pro bowl alternate is a bit silly, he’s not even the best corner on his team.

Underrated – Probably Brandon Mebane. Mebane would be a pro bowl player with an actual 3-tech next to him, instead of Branch.

Rookie – Doug Baldwin. No explanation necessary.

2012 draft – We don’t have any elite talent on our front 7. Whether we switch more to 4-3-under one gap and/or 3-4 Phillips (functionally the same thing) which would create usability of a pass-rushing OLB, or stick to a more traditional look and get a DE, we need something more on our front 7 than just the ability to outmuscle running backs. QB is the other need, trading up for RGIII is the dreamboat. If not, we’d probably have to trade down for a front 7 upgrade, whatever system we cycle to.

Marshawn Lynch – is still running like he always has. He’s working better with the OL than he was in late 2010 and early 2011, but all the stories writing him off were simple. He, the OL players and the system just needed time.

Loyal fan base – Seattleites are just nuts for sports, and understand there are down times with the hight times. If anything, it’s expected.

Overrated: Brandon Browner, he’s come a long way and he’s a capable starter. Like Beekers said above though, pro bowl alternate is a little silly.

Underrated: Russell Okung, when he is healthy he is one of the best in business. Over the past two years he has been a force when he is on the field and has lived up to be the #6 overall pick.

Rookie: Doug Baldwin, duh.

Draft: Pretty much agree with Beekers.

Pete Carroll: Yes, I believe he will be a successful head coach. You see the improvements everywhere. The team gets better everyday. Look at how we dominated the 3rd quarter this season. They get better during the game, week to week and over the course of the past two years. Our player development and talent evaluation has been crazy looking at guys like ET, Okung, Baldwin, Wright, Chancellor, Tate, Carpenter all have made big strides since coming on board.

Lynch: I think a ton of credit should go to Tom Cable, the guy can develop a running game like no other.

Fanbase: This city craves a winner and the Seahawks are the only team to provide a consistent one in the past 10 years. Holmgren was so successful to the point that even a couple lean years couldn’t keep people away. A lot of credit should also go to the current ownership for bringing back and really cultivating the 12th Man persona. It hasn’t always been like this though. I remember sitting in a 2/3 full Kingdome and Husky Stadium as a kid, and games being blacked out on TV. The Mariners were king then, strange I know. I’ll never forget being at the Arizona game in 2003 when we beat them and locked up a playoff spot. I looked at my brother and said “Are you ready for this place to be a lot more crowded next year?” And it’s pretty much been rolling ever since.

We don’t have many highly rated guys to begin with. We’ve got some glaring holes-and we’ve got some young up and coming stars flying under the radar. So overrated? There isn’t one. We’ve got underrated, and guys we’re looking to replace.

Underrated: Red Bryant. Has weaknesses in his game, but showed soft hands in some picks, blocked 4 FG/PATS by getting skinny and shooting the line, and was the biggest difference between this years D and last years D that fell apart after his injury.

ROY: Doug Baldwin. No question. Also underrated for his special teams play.

Draft: We need a QB, LBS, DL, a backup RB. The key to this draft is predicting correctly which one of the second tier QBs is going to be a future franchise QB and getting him. I like Osweiler personally. And if we get a shot at a play maker like Dwight Jones I think we’ve got to take him.

Carroll: Yes. We’ve gone 7-9 in the last two seasons with what was essentially an expansion team. He basically cut the whole damn team and started over. And we’re now a handful of positions away from contention.

Lynch should make the pro bowl/all pro for the next two season. Anything else will be disappointing.

And us 12’s, well we’re used to being ignored underdogs in Seattle. We barely exist to the rest of the country out here in south Alaska. We’re used to it.

Overrated: Michael Robinson. I liked him this year, he played well at times but he’s not someone we should throw a ton of cash at to retain this offseason IMO. I feel there are better, more “pure” hard nosed FB’s coming out of school this year.

Underrated: Zach Miller. He didn’t have the receiving #‘s he’s accustomed to getting but he showed he is a great blocker. Many of Marshawn’s best runs this year wouldn’t have been possible without him. I think next year we’ll see him regain his receiving #’s.

ROY: Offensive, Doug Baldwin; Defensive, Richard Sherman. If I had to choose one I’d say Sherman because I feel he has higher upside and plays a cornerstone position.

Draft: QBOTF, DE, OLB, RB2. Re-signing Marshawn is really important but we also need someone who can spell him. This year any time he came off of the field our offense lost nearly all of its effectiveness. Pass rush is a no-brainer, as is QBOTF.

Side note: If I see another mock draft with us taking an undersized CB in the 1st I might shit a kitten.

Carroll already has had some significant success rebuilding this team. The talent level is night and day compared to what he came into. I think most of us feel the team is trending up in a big way.

Lynch is Beast Mode. He sounds like he’s legitimately happy here and we’re legit happy to have him. His success this year has as much to do with him deciding to be a monster running the ball as it does with our commitment to rebuilding our o-line into something that can be called elite. Lynch is a power back on a team that’s committed to power running; the fit is perfect.

Our situation is unique. We’re all alone way out here in South Alaska. It’s us against the world. No one outside of the northwest particularly likes us or respects us; in fact, the attitude towards us seems to be either aggressive indifference or snarky confusion as to why we even have a franchise way out here. FUCK. THEM. We all we got, We all we need. Every Sunday is an opportunity to piss in the punch bowl. The vision of us winning a Super Bowl with Pete Carroll at the helm causing angered, confused reactions around the nation gives me a warm feeling :)

Getting to the Pro Bowl in your second year is a great achievement (especially when you play in Eastern Siberia), and I think Bad Bones is as awesome as everyone else, but I don’t want Earl to think that he’s reached his ceiling yet, or is even close to it. He only had 2 picks, one forced fumble and 0 sacks this season; maybe his stats will organically improve when the rest of the defense catches up, but I want Earl to strive for more, no matter what.

Earl Thomas is the successor to the likes of Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed; until Earl actually reaches that level of performance then he’s overrated.

He’s a run stopping specialist at defensive end playing next to a run stopping specialist defensive tackle and a very good one tech and they all play in front of linebackers that lean heavily towards stopping the run. He’s very good at what he does, but he’s not the key to the run defense like a lot people seem to think he is. And at the defensive end position he just ends up being way too much of a liability against the pass. He’s a good player but his limitations get ignored and he gets more than his share of the credit for the success of the entire defense.
Most underrated? Unger or Miller probably. Kelly’s pick of Okung was a good one too.
Rookie of the year for the Seahawks? Baldwin.
What do the Seahawks need to address in the 2012 draft? Quarterback and a pass rusher to rotate with Bryant. They should also look into fixing some of their TE coverage issues, probably by finding a corner/safety hybrid to fill Babs old role. Some of that can be done through free agency though.
Do you believe Pete Carroll can be a successful NFL head coach for the Seahawks? Yeah, I do. I think he does a really good job of wearing the CEO hat and he has a very good idea of what he’s looking for in players. I’m still not sold on the defense, it has not demonstrated it can get consistent pressure on quarterbacks with the personnel they’ve decided to use so far. I’m also concerned about the coordinators he’s chosen. That’s all correctable stuff though, and in general I’ve been very impressed with Pete Carroll the coach.
What do you make of Marshawn Lynch’s resurgence as a number one running back? I think the combination of learning the blocking system and slimming down to be able to get to the holes quicker was huge for him.
For a team the isn’t always the best at times, the Seahawks have a very loyal fan base, why do you think that is? I don’t know the reasons why, but Seattle has always been a good sports town. The teams aren’t always the best but they’ve all given Seattle amazing seasons at certain points. 2006 and 2005 Huskies Basketball, 2005 Seahawks, 2001 Mariners, 2000 Huskies Football, Sonics in the 90s, Mariners in 1995, 1991 Huskies Football, some of the Seahawks teams in the 80s, the 1979 Sonics. I think the memories of those kinds of things keeps us going through the lean years.

Overrated=Leon Washington. Underrated=Mebane. ROY=Sherman. Draft=QB/pass rush DL/OLB. Carroll=Yes, provided the front office bring in a QB that can dangerously compliment the “run first” offense the ‘Hawks are establishing. Beast=Under Tom Cable’s tutelage, Marshawn matured into professional this year. He developed the team-based trust that allowed him to thrive in a system that showcased his beastly natural abilities. 12th Man=A VERY deep well of optimism.

I would say Leon Washington but I also believe rating a KR as overrated is a little redundant, so yeah. I’d have to say Robert Gallery. With supposedly knowing the system coming in and all that, his play seems to have been a bit underwhelming. I don’t know what he does with our young guys behind the scenes or anything, but I always seem notice more negatives than postives when watching his play, but I don’t know.

Underrated: Zach Miller. I never seemed to notice him being particularly bad in pass pro, and he has yet to truly spread his receiving wings.

ROY: Richard Sherman over Doug Baldwin only for the reason that I believe it to be harder to cover world class receivers than taking on slower linebackers that already tend to have run-first responsibilities.

Draft: QB. Almost wouldn’t mind if they draft one in every round.

Pete: Absolutely. He seems very willing to humblize himself and fix his mistakes, which is a quality few seem to recognize in successful NFL coaches. Also he and John draft well, which is good.

Lynch: He’s always seemed to fall forward and get 2-3 yards after contact. The only difference now is that that first contact is 2-3 yards past the LOS rather than 1-2 yards behind it. I really don’t think HE has changed all too much.

Fanbase: Because the Mariners have imploded year after year and the Sonics were stolen. They’re all we have left…

Yes it sounds crazy but while he is our best pass rusher way too often he blatantly runs himself out of a play by running way too wide of the QB, and he’s not good in pursuit either. Also he’s good for at least one offsides per game.

Underrated = Okung. Guy is an animal.

ROY – Doug Baldwin

Draft: QB. If there is no QB through FA or the draft then my PC/JS opinion will sour greatly.

Pete: Way too long-winded at press conferences. The guy needs a time limit.

Lynch: SKITTLES!

Fanbase: Because dammit the better alternative is a first-round Sounders playoff defeat.