What If The Seahawks Take A Quarterback With The Fifth Pick?

Posted on March 6, 2023 by dunderhead99

This question feels like a waste of time. It feels like clickbait nonsense. When you read it from established journalists/pundits – as opposed to yours truly, who’s writing this in his pajamas in the middle of the afternoon while listening to some #FunkyDiscoHouse – it feels like they’re just parroting what unnamed agents/NFL front offices want them to “leak”, for financial/competitive gains.

When I read about the Seahawks showing interest in the quarterback position at the top of the draft, it seems very disingenuous. That’s what we WANT the rest of the league to believe, so the price to trade into our spot goes up. Or, so teams will leapfrog us, in hopes that one of the bigtime defensive line prospects falls to us. And/or to drive Geno Smith’s price down.

99.9% of me believes it’s bullshit that the Seahawks would select a quarterback with the fifth overall draft pick. I can’t say 100%, because nothing is 100% in the game of football. But, I’m saying it without saying it: the Seahawks are NOT drafting a quarterback fifth overall.

I say that as a fan of the Seahawks who has followed this organization VERY closely through the years.

Can you name the highest-drafted quarterback in the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era? You should, because his name is Russell Wilson, and he was famously taken by us in the third round. We’ve taken exactly one other quarterback in the draft since 2010: Alex McGough in 2018, in the 7th round. That’s a 50% success rate, for those keeping track at home.

The Seahawks have largely been unconventional at the spot over the last 12+ years. The inherited Matt Hasselbeck, they traded for Charlie Whitehurst (a huge bust), they took on Tarvaris Jackson because he was familiar with Darrell Bevell’s system, they made a medium-sized splash on Matt Flynn, and they’ve run through a number of starting busts to sit behind Wilson until we got to Geno and Drew Lock last year battling it out. LOTTA crap there, up to and including Hasselbeck’s last year here (when he was over the hill), outside of hitting the lottery on Russell Wilson.

But, at the same time, there haven’t been those huge swings you see out of most other franchises. Do you know who was the last quarterback we drafted in the first two rounds? The much-maligned Rick Mirer at number two overall, back in 1993. In fact, there’s only one other QB the Seahawks have taken in the first two rounds, and that was Dan McGwire at number 16 in 1991 (when Chuck Knox lobbied hard for Brett Favre). That’s a 0% success rate, for those keeping track at home.

Isn’t that interesting, though? When you think about the Seahawks, you don’t think about us being totally bereft of quarterback talent. But, we’ve been unorthodox at getting our guys. Jim Zorn was an undrafted free agent. Dave Krieg was as well. Warren Moon was a free agent, Matt Hasselbeck was a trade acquisition; those are all the big names, that comprise a significant chunk of the Pre-Wilson Seahawks history.

What’s also interesting – especially going from the Holmgren era through the John Schneider era (both with ties to the Green Bay Packers way of doing things) – is that this organization doesn’t even take a lot of draft fliers the way the Packers model themselves after. We get our franchise quarterback, and we throw whatever scrubs we find off the scrap heap behind him. Now, to be fair, what are we talking about? The Packers have made two high-profile draft picks of Aaron Rodgers (when Favre was still playing at a high level) and Jordan Love (when Rodgers was still playing at a high level); it’s not like they’re actually drafting a new quarterback every season.

But, that’s their reputation, and that’s also the reputation that was foisted upon John Schneider. I don’t know if he buys into that or not. Maybe that was an unfair allegation that was levied against him, since he came from Green Bay. But, regardless, it hasn’t been even remotely his practice since coming here. Not even when you consider this team really could’ve used a little more attention paid to the position!

There are those rumors that he was all in on Patrick Mahomes and/or Josh Allen. That if those guys would’ve fallen to us in their respective draft classes, we would’ve taken one of them even though that was smack in Wilson’s prime. Of course, we’ll never know; it’s easy to plant those stories to make yourself look smart. It’s also easy to plant those stories when you want to drive down the price of your own franchise quarterback in times of contract extension. But, it’s a great What If. What if we traded Wilson back in 2017 and acquired a ton of draft picks at that time? What if we used those picks to select (or trade up for) one of Mahomes or Allen? Wouldn’t that be exciting?!

That’s where you get to the 00.1% chance of the Seahawks taking a quarterback at five. Because to do that, they would have to be SO SURE this guy is the next superstar in this league. Which is what makes all the Anthony Richardson hullabaloo at the combine over the weekend all the more intriguing. He blew the collective minds of everyone watching, with his freakish athleticism, with his interviewing skills, and with his leadership traits. He also apparently had a very positive interview with Pete Carroll (who, as we all remember, had that crazy interaction with D.K. Metcalf before we later took him at the end of the second round).

Would I be excited if the Seahawks took a quarterback at five? You’re damn right I would be! Because I love a surprise out of left field. Because I don’t really want to overpay for Geno Smith’s services. And because I would have to 100% buy in on this guy, since the organization is taking such a huge risk. With our philosophy largely undermining the quarterback spot throughout the years, this would be a HUGE step in the other direction.

Naturally, it depends on who we take at five. I’ll say this, there’s no “sure thing” in this draft. Bryce Young is undersized and slight of frame. Also, I don’t know how much I buy Alabama quarterbacks, after the underwhelming showing of both Mac Jones and Tua (Hurts goes pretty far in turning that tide for me, but he also transferred out of there, and had to find a way to succeed without the crutch of being on the best roster college football has to offer). C.J. Stroud has great accuracy, but lacks a willingness to scramble, and if I don’t trust Bama quarterbacks, I REALLY don’t trust Buckeye QBs. He also had the luxury of being on an elite roster of players, and it’s impossible to tell how someone will react to the real world of the NFL, where there’s significantly more parity.

Richardson is naturally on everyone’s minds – and might excite me more than the other two guys, if only for his potential upside – but he has serious accuracy problems. He also didn’t play much at college and might be a little too reliant on his legs for success at the next level. I know it feels nitpicky – one guy runs too much, the other not enough, what is this a 3 Bears situation? – but that’s the nature of the beast with drafting a quarterback, especially in the upper half of the first round. For every Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning, there are dozens of Blake Bortleses. You don’t often get those “sure things”. Most of the time, you get someone with flaws that you hope don’t usher him out of the league as a bust.

But, as I said, if the Seahawks take a quarterback at five, of course I’m going to be excited! What other choice do I have? That being said, if it’s not one of those three guys I just referenced, not only would it be a gargantuan shock, but it would be downright irresponsible. There’s just no one else worthy of that kind of attention.

When Seahawks fans speculate on the team taking a QB, it’s usually in the second or third round; MAYBE with the 20th overall pick (or trade down from 20 and take him later in the first). That feels a little more reasonable. It’s FAR less sexy, but it’s also probably the smarter play. Take a bigger project with less upside and hope to mold him over this season as he rides the pine behind Geno. But, can you imagine how much we’d lose our minds if we were one of those teams to take a quarterback in the top five?! What a thrill!

How Many Titles Can We Expect From The Seahawks & Russell Wilson?

Posted on May 20, 2020 by dunderhead99

The NBA has obviously been on a lot of minds recently, with the Michael Jordan documentary (still haven’t seen it, still probably won’t see it) coming to a conclusion. When you think about the greatest players in NBA history – Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Shaq – you’re talking about guys with multiple championships (somehow, of the guys on that list, Bird has the fewest titles with three). One guy in the NBA can change things SO DRAMATICALLY for a franchise; you look at these players with their careers spanning 13-20 years and it would be fascinating to go back in time and be able to tell those fanbases: with this guy, you’re going to witness anywhere from 3-6 championships during his career.

It obviously doesn’t work that way in the NFL. The most important player is obviously the quarterback, and of the best all-time (since the merger in 1970), there have only been four NFL quarterbacks who’ve won more than 2 titles: Tom Brady (6), Joe Montana (4), Terry Bradshaw (4), and Troy Aikman (3) (I don’t count Steve Young here, because he was only the starter for one of his three championships).

For what it’s worth, you see A LOT of guys with 2: Peyton Manning, John Elway, Roger Staubach, Ben Roethlisberger; A LOT of guys with 1: Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Ken Stabler, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees; and A LOT of guys with 0: Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon, Philip Rivers.

In the middle of all of that, we have Russell Wilson with his one championship (the same number as Patrick Mahomes, probably the only quarterback most people would take over Russell Wilson if they had to start a franchise right now and could pick any player). Wilson is smack dab in the middle of his prime; he was the best he’s ever been in 2019, and we can expect right around that level of effectiveness for the next few years at least. He still hasn’t even surpassed 10 years in the league yet! And quarterbacks nowadays can play 20+ years.

But, it’s SO. FUCKING. HARD to win a championship in the NFL. Even for the very best players in the league! So much harder than it is for the very best NBA players. Which makes it reasonable to ask: how many more championships can we expect from Russell Wilson while he’s still in a Seahawks uniform? If Future Steven were to come back in time from 15 years down the line, how many Super Bowl titles would he be able to tell me I have to look forward to?

Odds are that number is ZERO! Odds are, I’ll have up to 15 more years with Russell Wilson (at the MOST; probably closer to only 10 more years) and I will see zero more championships for the Seattle Seahawks in that span. That feels just so damned demoralizing to think about, but that’s the nature of the beast. The Tom Bradys of the world are a once-in-a-generation breed. Wilson has played eight seasons; by this point in Brady’s career, he’d already won three championships. Montana had won twice. Bradshaw had also won twice and Aikman had nabbed all three of his. Wilson, again, just the one (and we’re all super-impressed that he’s already been to the Super Bowl a second time, but that fakakta play-call at the goalline obviously screwed the pooch).

I’m a firm believer that Russell Wilson will – when it’s all said and done – have a Hall of Fame career under his belt. That’s why I’m talking about him among these other all-time greats. I’m almost assuredly biased, but I think Wilson is a better player than all of those QBs I mentioned above who have one or fewer championships. I would like to think Wilson is among the elite level that Manning and Elway reached, which means I would HOPE he has at least one more title in him before he hangs ’em up.

If I’m right, then I think it’s reasonable to expect another Seahawks championship at some point in the next decade. Obviously, it’s unfair to put all of that on one guy; this is the NFL after all, there are 50+ other players on the team that need to pitch in to make this thing work. But, make no mistake, the quarterback gets all the credit and all the blame for a reason. The all-time greats find a way to come up big in the biggest moments. If Russell Wilson aims to be lumped in that category, then he’s going to need to find a way to take this team on his back and will them to victory.

I’ll say this: he’s on the right track. You can complain about play-calling and how the coaching staff is hamstringing him, but this is the organization we’ve got, and they’ve proven they can win in this league with their system. We’re not the Kansas City Chiefs, we’re not the New England Patriots; we’re the Seattle Fucking Seahawks, and Russell Wilson is being put in situations to succeed nearly every year. And, quite frankly, we haven’t been able to get it done in recent seasons. We haven’t been able to win enough regular season games to take the NFC West and lock down one of the top seeds in the conference, and we haven’t played our best on the road in these playoff games. At some point, we have to talk about Russell Wilson the way we talk about all of the other all-time greats, and stop making excuses. As everyone else needs to be better, so does Russell Wilson. Yes, he’s the best thing going for the Seahawks right now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be better!

All I know is, I don’t want to wake up this time in 2030 and see the same number of championships next to Russell Wilson’s name. The clock is ticking. Yes, the Seahawks need to take advantage of Wilson’s prime, but you know who else does? Russell Wilson.

The Mediocre 90’s Ended With An Unlikely Seahawks Playoffs Apperance

Posted on March 31, 2020 by dunderhead99

I’ve been seriously negligent in my ongoing series of Seattle Playoff Futility, so thank you COVID-19 for killing sports and affording me the opportunity to wallow in the past. I’m effectively the human embodiment of this meme:

The 1990s were fucking HARD to be a Seahawks fan, especially for me. Which is a shame, because I was born in March of 1981, so they should’ve been smack dab in the epicenter of my wheelhouse. I was 7 years old in 1988 – the last time they made the playoffs before this year – and I remember very little about that time as a Seahawks fan, other than the fact that Steve Largent was my favorite professional athlete on the planet. But, he retired after the 1989 season, and it was all downhill from there (Largent would go on to a Congressional seat in Oklahoma by the time the Seahawks returned to the post-season in 1999).

Nevertheless, formative Steven A. Taylor caught the Seahawks bug coming out of the 80’s, which made the next ten years all the more tragic.

When you talk about the Worst People In Seattle Sports History, most others get overshadowed by the people involved in the Sonics going to OKC, but there’s a special wing in Sports Hell for Ken Behring (and owners of his ilk). He bought the team in 1988 – again, the last time the Seahawks made the playoffs – and he did everything to destroy this franchise from the inside out, so he could move them to Los Angeles in 1996.

It all started by disillusioning would-be Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Knox after the 1991 season, stripping personnel control away from the most-successful figurehead in franchise history to that point. Behring went on to hire Tom Flores, who had success with the Raiders in the early 80’s, but was well past his prime. It’s hard to tell who was more inept – the bumbling Flores, or the men he was charged with turning into professional football players – but the real losers were the fans, who had to watch the Seahawks from 1992-1994 go 14-34; including the absolute nadir in franchise history, when we went 2-14 in 1992 (as fate would have it, we weren’t even competent at LOSING, as we somehow managed to defeat the only other 2-14 team that season – the New England Patriots, IN Foxboro – to miss out on drafting Drew Bledsoe #1 overall, settling for the incomprehensibly-pedestrian Rick Mirer at #2).

As we got to the Dennis Erickson era from 1995-1998, my interest in rooting for the Seahawks took a serious nosedive. Thankfully, Paul Allen stepped up in 1997 to save the franchise and help get a new stadium built. That nevertheless didn’t stop this team from an endless string of middling finishes during this period:

1995: 8-8
1996: 7-9
1997: 8-8
1998: 8-8

Woof. There were some interesting players on those teams – future Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy was wrecking fools on the D-Line, Joey Galloway was drafted and was easily the most-talented receiver we’d had since Largent, and Warren Moon was a gun-for-hire for those last two seasons at the tail-end of his career – but we were simply unable to put it all together for one reason or another (epitomized in a December game in 1998 against the Jets in Giants stadium, when Vinny Testaverde was clearly short of the goalline on a 4th down QB-sneak, yet the refs didn’t see him reach the ball over after the fact, resulting in the NFL re-instituting Instant Replay the next year; you could argue that lone play prevented us from making the playoffs and ultimately cost Erickson his job).

By the time 1999 rolled around, I was all but actively courting other NFL teams to root for (the Atlanta Falcons were a particular favorite of mine at the time). If it were easier (like today) to root for a team in another market, I’m sure I would’ve bailed long before. Paul Allen, to his credit, was quite a hands-off owner, but he knew when to step in at the right time. When it was clear that Mike Holmgren was available, Allen stepped in and hired him to be Head Coach and General Manager, unprecedented to that point in franchise history. And it worked! That move single-handedly kicked off the greatest run of Seahawks teams (until Allen turned around and hired Pete Carroll in 2010).

Even factoring in the disasterous Jim Mora season in 2009, from 1999 through 2019, the Seahawks made the playoffs 14 times in those 21 seasons (including 9 division championships, three Super Bowl appearances, and the one NFL championship I’ll never have to write about for this series).

What makes the 1999 season awkward to analyze is the fact that so many of the guys on this team were holdovers from the Erickson era (especially that 1998 team that came so close to breaking the futility streak). It’s brought into even starker perspective when you consider that first Holmgren draft was among the worst in franchise history (Lamar King, anyone?).

But, that team was weird in general. There were zero expectations heading in; we all figured there’d be at least ONE rebuilding season before Holmgren could tear everything down and build it back up again. Which made it all the more surprising when the 1999 Seahawks started out 8-2; they would go on to finish the season 9-7 and be improbable champions of the AFC West. Jon Kitna won the starting job and was a reasonably-capable Game Manager in his 15 games that season. Ricky Watters was an absolute stud for us at running back with over 1,200 yards rushing and another 387 yards receiving. Unfortunately, Joey Galloway – who should have THRIVED in a Mike Holmgren system – held out for half the season in a contract dispute and hardly made a dent that year when he did play (he would go on to be traded the next year for two first round picks, who would go on to be Shaun Alexander and Koren Robinson).

Obviously, backing into the playoffs is never a good thing (we were tied with the Chiefs at 9-7, but held the head-to-head tiebreaker by defeating them twice, including a Must Win matchup in Week 16 in the Kingdome), but considering it had been over a decade since our last post-season berth, beggars can’t be choosers.

Our reward was the #3 seed and a home Wild Card matchup against the 9-7 Miami Dolphins. All things considered, that was EASILY the cushiest of matchups that we could’ve gotten, considering the Titans – who would go on to lose in the Super Bowl to the Rams that year – were a 13-3 Wild Card team in the 4-seed, and the Bills were 11-5 as the 5-seed (Hello Music City Miracle!).

This was our first home playoff game since the 1984 season. It would also prove to be the last time Hall of Famer Dan Marino ever won a football game (the Dolphins would go on to be DESTROYED by the Jags the next week, 62-7).

But, Seahawks fans old enough to remember January 9, 2000, obviously remember this as the Trace Armstrong game.

Trace Armstrong was a … good defensive end. He played from 1989-2003; in five of those seasons he had double-digit sacks (and one of those seasons he was a Pro Bowler, in 2000, when he had a career-high 16.5). Sometimes he was great, sometimes he was mediocre, and obviously – because this is football – sometimes he was injured.

On January 9, 2000, however, he was a fucking WORLD DESTROYER!

Of his three sacks in the game, two of them came on third down (resulting in punts). His final sack came late in the fourth quarter, on a drive that would result in a punt (it resulted in a punt, because on third down, he stopped Kitna for a 1-yard gain to force yet another punt). But, even that doesn’t do his day justice. He was in Kitna’s face ALL DAMN DAY. If he wasn’t getting the sack, he was wreaking so much havoc that the guy next to him got it (Kitna was sacked 6 times total, 3 times in the fourth quarter, including twice on that all-important next-to-final possession).

On the final possession of the game, Kitna was 1 for 7 for 17 yards. This game outlined in great detail the need for improved offensive line play, as well as at the quarterback position (within two years, the Seahawks would go get Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, and Steve Hutchinson – on top of eventual MVP Shaun Alexander – to really solidify things on the offensive side of the ball).

The Seahawks had so many chances to win this game. They were up 10-3 at half, and then 17-10 midway through the third quarter after a kickoff return for a touchdown. The offense couldn’t do jack shit in the second half, though. Aside from that kickoff return, we went 3 & Out, 5 & Out, 6 & Out, 3 & Out, and that final 7-play drive that ended on Downs; we moved the ball a total of 27 yards of offense and another 22 yards of defensive pass interference on one play. That’s just never going to get the job done.

Jon Kitna was 14/30 for 162, 1 TD and 2 INTs; Dan Marino wasn’t much better (17/30 for 196, 1 TD and 0 INTs), but he was only sacked one time and obviously didn’t make the mistakes Kitna made. In the end, it was a workmanlike 20-17 victory for the Dolphins, in the final game the Seahawks would ever play in the Kingdome (indeed, the final event the Kingdome ever hosted!).

All of that turmoil being said, as you could see by the thrashing the Jaguars gave to the Dolphins the very next week, there’s no way in HELL the Seahawks would’ve advanced any further. So, would you rather lose in a semi-heartwarming way to a beloved figure like Dan Marino? Or, would you like to be murdered and have your corpse micturated upon by Hitler and The Devil after ass-fucking you for three consecutive hours? Kind of a harsh image to put on a team like the Jags, but you get the idea.

Better days would be ahead for the Mike Holmgren-led Seahawks, but of course, not before a few more instances of utter heartbreak.

Is Russell Wilson The Greatest Dual-Threat Quarterback Of All Time?

Posted on June 19, 2019 by dunderhead99

The first thing we have to ask is: what constitutes a true Dual-Threat Quarterback? I think it’s pretty easy to whittle things down on the Eye Test alone. For starters, we’re talking about quarterbacks who can also run with the football. So, we’re not talking about the greatest Running Quarterback, because if you looked at just the 2018 season, you’d have to say Lamar Jackson was the best Running Quarterback in the league. But, Dual-Threat means he can beat you with his legs AND his arm, and it’s pretty safe to say Jackson hasn’t built up that arm half of his game just yet.

So, I went into Pro Football Reference and played around with the numbers. First, I separated all the quarterbacks into a list of those who’ve run for 1,000 yards in their careers. But, that’s not quite good enough, because Tom Brady has 1,003 rushing yards in his career, and he is NOBODY’S idea of a Dual-Threat. So, I went ahead and bumped it up to 1,500 career rushing yards (mostly to knock him the hell off of a GOAT list, because he has enough GOATs in his life).

When you list them by rushing yards, you’ll find someone by the name of Tom Matte, who is listed as a quarterback and a running back. Among all quote-unquote Quarterbacks in NFL history, Matte has the 4th highest rushing yards total with 4,646. But, he only threw for 246 yards, so he’s obviously got to go. To be considered as the Greatest Dual-Threat Quarterback Of All Time, I figure at a minimum you need 20,000 passing yards. That drops our total from 53 to 38, which is a number I can get behind.

Such a list includes favorites like Jim Zorn, Andrew Luck, Joe Montana, Warren Moon, Archie Manning, and even Ryan Fitzpatrick! But, it also includes such stiffs as Vinny Testaverde, Boomer Esiason, Jay Cutler, Johnny Unitas, and Brett Favre. While they’re all pretty good-to-great, I don’t think you’d ever fear for your life if they were running with the football. Those guys mostly just hung around long enough to qualify for my arbitrary cutting-off point.

So, to whittle it down further, I had to put a limit on Yards Per Game. Yards Per Attempt isn’t worth a damn for a quarterback, because most guys scramble once or twice per game, and with the defense not expecting it, they tend to rack up a lot of garbage yards in the process. We need to focus on guys opposing defenses are specifically game-planning for. Setting it at 10 yards per game gets us down to 30 guys, and just barely keeps Jim Zorn on the list. But, it also keeps Jay Cutler on the list, and I just can’t have that. So, I increased it to a minimum of 13 yards per game, which also managed to cut off Joe Theismann, Ken Anderson, and Mark Brunell (who had 12.5 yards per game). While I like Brunell an awful lot, I don’t mind lopping him off because I don’t think he belongs in the conversation.

1,500 career rushing yards, 20,000 career passing yards, and 13 rushing yards per game put us at 25 quarterbacks. But, a couple of names still bothered me, because mediocre quarterbacks like Jeff Blake and Aaron Brooks were still hanging around. So, I made the cutoff 22,000 passing yards, and we’re left with a Top 23. This fits better with my idea of a Dual-Threat Quarterback.

For what it’s worth, I was going to be more strict with the Rushing Yards Per Game, and set it at 20, to really separate the wheat from the chaff, but that ended up cutting off guys like John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach, and Aaron Rodgers. While I don’t consider A-Rod to be a “running quarterback” per se, he’s still lumped into that Dual-Threat mold, even though his arm is VASTLY superior to his running ability (I’d put it at somewhere like 90/10, or 80/20 at the very most). And, while Elway certainly slowed down on running in his old age, you just can’t have this conversation without him.

There are a number of ways to go about ranking these guys, but I’m just going to go by Who I Would Most Want On My Football Team, at the beginning of their careers, for the duration of their careers.

I’m also going to split them up even further, because ultimately I have a Top 4 REAL Dual-Threat Quarterbacks.

There’s no perfect way to rank these guys, because all of the ones in the aforementioned Top 23 are much more passers than runners. But, I would argue that the vast majority of them are more “scramblers” than actual threats to run downfield with the football. So, if I had to pick a Top 10, I would definitely include guys like Andrew Luck (10), Donovan McNabb (9), Steve McNair (8), Fran Tarkenton (7), John Elway (6), and Aaron Rodgers (5). Those guys have a ton of rushing yards, pretty solid Yards Per Game averages, and a ton of passing yards. But, to me, they’re not REAL Dual-Threat Quarterbacks in the sense I’m defining here.

Just outside my Top 10, I might add, we have Alex Smith, who I wouldn’t have expected to show up here, except he has over 34,000 passing yards, over 2,600 rushing yards, and averages over 15 rushing yards per game. I’m also leaving out Michael Vick, because his passing game was far too weak to be considered, even though he leads all QBs in total and per game rushing yards.

My Top 4 includes Randall Cunningham (4) and Cam Newton (3). I LOVE me some QB Eagles, and if their careers both ended today, he’d actually rank ahead of Cam. But, given Cam’s age and the fact that he has so much left in the tank, he’s easily the superior option. Even though I don’t love the way he reacts in losing situations, it would be idiotic to keep Newton outside of the Top 3.

My Top 2 should come as no surprise. In some order, it’s Russell Wilson and Steve Young. Young has over 33,000 passing yards, over 4,200 rushing yards, and over 25 yards per game. He’s right in that sweet spot of elite passer and elite runner, and if you just count his prime (from 1991-1998), you’re talking about eight Hall of Fame seasons where he averaged nearly 4,000 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns, with an average of over 400 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. I mean, just unstoppable production, and his total career could’ve been so much better if he A) wasn’t saddled behind Joe Montana for so long, and B) didn’t succumb to head injuries (among other maladies) late in his career.

So, if we’re just talking about today, I have Steve Young at #1 and Russell Wilson #2, but it won’t be too much longer before Russell Wilson is the All Time Greatest Dual-Threat Quarterback, with Cam Newton coming in at #2 (in other words, we’re watching the two greatest Dual-Threat Quarterbacks while they’re in their primes, and that’s pretty amazing).

Not for nothing, but if you compare Young’s best 7 years to Wilson’s only 7 years, you can see what I’m talking about:

Steve Young 1992-1998: 24,266 passing yards, 178 TDs, 68 INTs, 66.9% completions; 2,450 rushing yards, 29 TDs, 5.8 yards per attempt
Russell Wilson 2012-2018: 25,624 passing yards, 196 TDs, 63 INTs, 64.2% completions; 3,651 rushing yards, 16 TDs, 5.7 yards per attempt

As I said, it’s only a matter of time before Wilson surpasses him in all career numbers. And, considering Wilson’s best statistical years might still be ahead of him, it could be sooner than we think.

Finally, I know nobody likes talking about superficial things QB Winzzz or Pro Bowl/Playoff appearances, but I’m sorry, you just can’t have this discussion without bringing those into the mix. Young’s record as a 49ers quarterback was 91-33 over 13 years; Wilson is 75-36-1. Young was in 7 Pro Bowls to Wilson’s 5, and he was on 3 First All Pro Teams to Wilson’s 0. Young has 14 Playoff Games Started to Wilson’s 13, with an 8-6 record to Wilson’s 8-5. Young, of course, has 3 rings to Wilson’s 1, but two of Young’s were as a backup to Montana. Finally, Young has 2 MVPs to Wilson’s 0, and 1 Super Bowl MVP to Wilson’s 0. Wilson is RIGHT THERE in so many areas, but just not quite over the hump.

Not yet, that is.

Mount Rushmore: Seattle Sports Announcers

Posted on July 11, 2017 by dunderhead99

It’s All Star Week in Major League Baseball, which means it’s pretty much a dead week in sports. I’m not 12 years old, so the All Star Game doesn’t mean anything to me; I’m not 62 years old, so golf doesn’t mean anything to me. But, a blogger’s job is never done! Or, I dunno, maybe it’s been done ad nauseam. Either way, I’ve got nothing timely to write about, and I’ve got nothing else better to do, so I’m doing this.

We’re celebrating some of the local Mount Rushmores in a series of posts this week, because that’s something people do, right? Sports radio and the like; what’s your Mount Rushmore of Women You Jerked Off To When You Were 14? Off the top of my head, I’d have to say Christina Applegate, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Jennifer Aniston, and Madonna, but that’s neither here nor there.

Today, I’m going a little bit outside the box – maybe just right next to the box – and I’m gonna talk about some of the local sports announcers.

The Greats …

Maybe every major city with a bunch of bigtime sports teams feels this way, but I think Seattle has been particularly blessed to have some of the best play-by-play guys in the history of the business. Obviously, because they worked in Seattle, they get overshadowed by more nationally renown guys like Vin Scully, Marv Albert, Harry Caray, Chick Hearn, Pat Summerall, Keith Jackson, and so on and so forth. But, I would argue that some of the guys I’ve got on my Mount Rushmore are equally as talented as those hall of famers, and would’ve flourished on a national stage had they gotten the opportunity.

At the top of the heap, I don’t think there’s any question about it: Dave Niehaus.

He worked for the California Angels from 1969-1976 with Dick Enberg, before the Seattle Mariners poached him for their inaugural season in 1977. He headed up Mariners broadcasts through the 2010 season before his untimely death that offseason.

Dave was the absolute greatest. Oftentimes, he was the main reason to even tune in to a Mariners broadcast! The way he painted a picture over the radio enlightened as it entertained. If you’re even a casual fan of the M’s, you’re aware of his iconic calls and catchphrases; he’s second to none. And, deservedly, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Ultimately, he called over 5,000 Mariners games, and each one was a delight for his involvement if nothing else.

Next on the Mountain, we’ve got Kevin Calabro.

While Dave is the best, KC is probably my personal favorite. He voiced the Supersonics broadcasts from 1987 through their demise in 2008.

I think KC’s greatest attribute is that he could always match the action on the court, which for many of those Sonics teams in the early-to-mid 90s, was as action-packed as you could get! The games themselves were exciting, but KC’s calls brought them to another level. You were nothing if not entertained every time you turned on the game. When the Sonics were on a national station like TNT or NBC, I’d frequently listen to the radio broadcast because who was going to top the duo of Kevin Calabro and Marques Johnson (who, not for nothing, make up the greatest play-by-play/color commentator team in the history of sports broadcasting)?

Third on my list is actually the whole reason for wanting to write this blog post: Bob Rondeau.

We got some bittersweet news this year, that the Washington Huskies are going to lose Mr. Rondeau to retirement. Obviously, he’s been with the school for 37 years, broadcasting both football and men’s basketball games as long as I’ve been a fan, so he deserves to go out on his terms and enjoy his life, but we’re all going to lose a true titan of the industry, and someone who could’ve EASILY gone another 10-15 years or more if he so desired.

As I’ve gotten older, and as I generally take things like this for granted, I haven’t had a chance to listen to games on the radio as much as I used to. But, whenever I do, I find myself not really missing the fact that I’m not watching it on television. As a fan, I don’t think there’s a higher compliment you can pay a play-by-play man than to say I feel a tremendous comfort level whenever I listen to Rondeau call a game. For me, he’s probably my most trusted personality in sports journalism. Yes, he’s employed by the Huskies, but he’s also going to tell you how it is, even if it’s not in the most flattering light for the program. And it’s never in a way that makes you feel like he’s bashing the school or the players; it’s more like someone who expects better and wants better, but when something goes wrong, he’s just a disappointed parent or something. I dunno, it’s hard to explain. Obviously, there’s no greater phrase to the human ear than when Rondeau says deeply and richly into the microphone: “Touchdown Washington!”

Finally, I know I’m going to catch some Hell for the final choice in my local sports announcer Mount Rushmore, but I should remind you that it’s MY mountain and not yours. Anyway, I’m going with Steve Raible.

Here’s the deal, I’m no spring chicken, but I’m also too young to remember the likes of the Sonics’ Bob Blackburn or the Seahawks’ Pete Gross. Obviously, if you ask someone who got to listen to those guys, I’m sure they’d put them in here over a couple of my choices, but what can you do? I don’t have that attachment.

For me, this final spot came down to Steve Raible and Rick Rizzs, and indeed it was a tough call. Unlike a lot of Mariners fans/haters out there, I very much enjoy what Rizzs brings to the table. Is he a Mariners homer? You betcha! But, you know what? He’s also, like, the world’s nicest guy, so it’s not like he’s some phony over there shilling for a paycheck. He’s just a genuine, happy individual, and I can’t think of a better match for him than to work for the Mariners, a team so frustrating and loathesome at times it’s too much to stomach. Rizzs helps the medicine go down, and I’ll be honest, he’s been remarkable in the wake of Dave’s passing in 2010. If we didn’t have Rizzs to soften that transition – aka, if we went straight from Niehaus to Sims with no buffer or alternative – I don’t know where I’d be as a fan right now.

Anyway, getting back to Raible, he was an original Seahawks player, drafted in the 2nd round in 1976, and played 6 seasons for the team. He joined the broadcast team with the aforementioned Pete Gross in 1982 and has been a local institution ever since (also as a news anchor for KIRO 7). Raible’s stock has obviously risen heavily since he took over play-by-play duties, as the fortunes of the Seahawks themselves have skyrocketed. It’s always a joy to go back and listen to his highlight calls after a game, as he brings tons of energy and enthusiasm to the game. His pairing with Warren Moon is the best broadcast pairing we’ve got going in the Seattle market right now.

So, that’s it. Agree? Disagree? Throw out your Mount Rushmores and your rankings in the comments.

My Top 25 All Time Favorite Seattle Seahawks

Posted on February 10, 2016 by dunderhead99

With Beastmode’s retirement this week, I thought I’d take stock and reflect upon where he lands among my all time favorite Seattle Seahawks. While he’s my favorite over the last quarter century, he comes up just short of my all time fave.

I should probably point out that my knowledge of the Seahawks prior to the 1990s is pretty limited (I was born in 1981). As such, you won’t find many of the old-timers. Indeed, only 5 of my 25 played prior to 1990, and none of those five are named Dave Krieg, Jim Zorn, or Curt Warner. Zorn was a guy I never saw play, Warner was always hurt when I started watching football, and the years I watched Dave Krieg were those loser years where he heavily contributed to his standing as one of the most fumble-prone quarterbacks in NFL history. If I never again see Dave Krieg raise his arm back to pass, only to watch in horror as the ball gets flung backwards thanks to his criminally under-sized hands, it’ll be too soon.

Among the actual Honorable Mentions are the following:

Ricky Watters – a guy who reminds me a lot of Beastmode, but unfortunately didn’t play with us quite long enough to merit breaking through; Chris Warren – very underrated back, who unfortunately was saddled by a lot of mediocre Seahawks teams; Eugene Robinson – solid safety for some solid defenses; Michael Sinclair – second on Seattle’s all-time sacks list; Cliff Avril – who could potentially climb into the Top 25 one day, if he continues to produce the way he has; Red Bryant – mostly a fan favorite type, who I was happy to see find a role in the early Pete Carroll years; Robbie Tobeck – helped solidify the greatest offensive line in team history during the Holmgren years; Steve Hutchinson – who gets a bad rap even though it was Tim Ruskell who dicked him over first; Rocky Bernard – an underrated interior defensive lineman who this team would kill to have right now; Sam Adams – someone who blossomed after he left the Seahawks (and someone who I randomly have a signed jersey from); Bobby Engram – who was Doug Baldwin before Doug Baldwin; Chad Brown – who gets overlooked a little bit because he came from the Steelers, but still played quality football for his Seahawks tenure; Rufus Porter – a speed rusher off the edge and another fan favorite type; Zach Miller – who I’ll always respect for his toughness even though he got injured a lot; and Joe Nash – who would be my #26 if this list went that long, because he was an awesome nose tackle for this team who played here FOREVER.

Anyway, without further ado, My Top 25 All Time Favorite Seattle Seahawks:

1. Steve Largent – He was this team’s first Hall of Famer, and when he retired, he had most – if not all – of the wide receiver records before they were broken. When I started getting into football in the late 80s, there was every reason to be a fan of some other team in some other city, as those Seahawks teams were okay, but nothing special. The 49ers had Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, the Raiders (who were a particular favorite among my elementary school classmates) had Bo Jackson (’nuff said), the Redskins, Oilers, Dolphins, and Bengals were all loaded with talent. I don’t totally remember my thinking on this one, but I’m certainly convinced now that I would never have become a Seahawks fan if it weren’t for Steve Largent. I mean, yeah, they’re the local team, so it’s easy to say I’d just stick with that as the reason, but throughout the 1990s, I used to mock this team relentlessly, and would frequently bet my family members that the Seahawks would lose (and won quite a bit of cash in the process, for a kid in the 1990s anyway). But, I could always hang my hat that at one point, Steve Largent played for the Seahawks and was the best player at his position. Also, didn’t hurt that I got to meet him at an autograph signing at the Tacoma Mall. It was many hours of waiting in line, but it was worth it.

2. Marshawn Lynch – Unlike many of the guys on this list, who were either career Seahawks, or played many more years here, Lynch became a favorite of mine in a little over 5 and a half seasons. His bruising style of play, all the highlight runs, and his abilities as a receiver and blocker make him not only the most complete running back in franchise history, but one of the very best overall players we’ve ever seen in a Seahawks uniform, including the other Hall of Famers coming up next on this list.

3. Cortez Kennedy – It’s hard to pick one over the other when it comes to Tez and Big Walt; both are consummate bad asses. While you could make the argument that Walter Jones was the best player at his position in NFL history (which I do), I don’t think I’d necessarily put Cortez Kennedy as the best defensive tackle in NFL history (though, to be fair, I haven’t tried ranking them all, so who knows?). What I will say is that what won me over in Tez’s favor is his Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1992. First of all, it’s hard as fuck for a DT to win that award (there have only been two other players since 1992 at that position to win that award – Dana Stubblefield & Warren Sapp). Secondly, no player at any position has ever won the award while playing on a shittier team (the Seahawks were 2-14 that year). But, such is the fierce brutality that was Cortez Kennedy (who ranks 4th all time in franchise history for sacks); he finished that season with 14 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and a whopping 92 tackles. Let me repeat: 92 tackles!!! There are linebackers who don’t get that many tackles, and here we are, looking at a DT who got 92 tackles. Just insane! To compare, Stubblefield in 1997 had 15 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and only 48 tackles; Sapp in 1999 had 12.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and only 27 tackles (that wasn’t even Sapp’s best season, but regardless, he never surpassed 50 tackles in a season, so that point is moot). Tez frequently battled double- and triple-teams throughout his career, and was still a God damn hurricane to deal with in the middle. It’s just too bad he couldn’t be rewarded with more playoff appearances.

4. Walter Jones – If you went pound for pound, you’re probably talking about the very best player the Seahawks have ever had. With Bad-Assery being a theme, they don’t get much more bad-ass than this guy. He was repeatedly franchise tagged, repeatedly held out in training camp and in the pre-season, then showed up right before the regular season started not only in tremendous shape, but ready to start from Game 1. Then, when you tack on his training regimen of him pulling Cadillacs to get ready for the season, and I think I need to go lie down for a while because I just got winded writing that statement.

5. Matt Hasselbeck – This is probably where things start to get a little more fluid. In five years, I would anticipate someone like Russell Wilson will have surpassed someone like Matt Hasselbeck. Indeed, many fans might disagree with me, but I gotta admit I’m still a pretty big Hasselbeck fan. He led this team to its first Super Bowl appearance, which is always going to be huge, even if the result isn’t what we wanted. Where his talent may be lacking compared to a guy like Wilson, his personality and charm in the media more than makes up for it. It’s always WAY more entertaining to hear a Hasselbeck interview than a Wilson interview. I know, that means little compared to on-field accomplishments, and as I mentioned above, Wilson will probably pass him in a few short years. But, for now, I hold Hasselbeck in higher esteem.

6. Richard Sherman – This future Hall of Famer has nowhere to go but up on this list. Pretty unlikely leader in the clubhouse of Legion of Boom participants, but Sherm has been the most consistently elite through the 2015 season.

7. Shaun Alexander – He gets a bad rap for not being Marshawn Lynch, but I think a lot of fans forget just how great he really was. If he didn’t start breaking down towards the end, he was well on his way towards getting into the Hall of Fame. As it stands, he was one of the best two or three running backs in the NFL for a good five-year period. He should be a shoo-in for the Ring of Honor, if the Seahawks ever get around to putting more people in there.

8. Brandon Mebane – Love this dude. He won’t be a Hall of Famer, he won’t have his number retired, he might not even make the Ring of Honor when it’s all said and done. But, he was one of the better Tim Ruskell draft picks. As a third rounder, he got on the field right away and has been a staple for this defensive line ever since. Nine years in, he looks as good as ever, and I hope the team retains him so he can retire as a Seahawk.

9. Kenny Easley – He’s the only player on this list who I don’t really remember watching play live. So, I’m really basing his ranking on highlights and on testimonials from players around the league who talk about this guy with some of the highest reverence I’ve ever seen. If his career wasn’t shortened by kidney disease, he’d be in the Hall of Fame right now. Compared to Ronnie Lott, he’s the only other Seahawk to win the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award, in 1984, when he had 10 interceptions (2 returned for touchdown). As it stands, he’s a Ring of Honor guy, and the best safety in franchise history (eventually to be surpassed by the next guy on this list).

10. Earl Thomas – He’s our Ed Reed. Our Troy Polamalu. Our All Pro Machine striving to be the best this game has ever seen. The only thing that could cut him short on his quest is if he succumbs to injuries. His dedication to the game and being the best puts him in my Top 10.

11. Russell Wilson – Seems criminally low, I know. I don’t think it’ll be too much longer before he’s in my Top 10. Maybe even one more season. The way he’s playing right now, and with Lynch’s retirement, this will be HIS offense. If he manages to carry this team to unknown levels of awesomeness, I think he’s destined to skyrocket up my list.

12. Jacob Green – He was an absolute monster throughout the 80s, racking up the most sacks in franchise history with 97.5 (and that doesn’t even include his first two seasons, when the NFL didn’t record sacks as an official stat). Certainly one of the more underrated defensive ends of the 80s.

13. Joey Galloway – Probably another controversial pick – especially this high in the rankings – but I don’t care. He only really played 4 seasons for the Seahawks before holding out for 8 games in his fifth year before forcing Holmgren’s hand, but those four years were outstanding! He was an elite return man from the get-go, and a big play machine on offense as well. If we only could have paired him with a competent quarterback (he was saddled with Rick Mirer, John Friesz, and Jon Kitna before we were able to get Warren Moon in here for a couple of injury-plagued years towards the end of his career) he might have been even better, for as crazy as that sounds. Still, even the way he left things wasn’t so bad, as we ended up getting two first round draft picks (one of which we used to nab Shaun Alexander, with the other being traded for multiple picks so we could get Koren Robinson, Heath Evans, and some backup offensive lineman I’ve never heard of).

14. Doug Baldwin – Another player whose ranking could go way up on my list if we manage to keep him on the team beyond his current contract. He’s proven to be a clutch possession receiver, as well as a guy capable of making bigger plays downfield, and as of 2015, a touchdown monster. To think an undrafted receiver who has started since his rookie year could still be getting better in his fifth season is pretty amazing. I want to see the Wilson to Baldwin connection continue for at least the next half decade, if not longer.

15. Golden Tate – Maybe another controversial pick, but I like who I like, and I like me some Golden Tate. I kind of dismissed him when he left for Detroit, as we still had Percy Harvin, after all. But, when Harvin proved to be a huge chump, I’ve longed for Tate’s big play ability ever since. His loss is now mitigated by the drafting of Tyler Lockett, but there’s still a lot to like about a guy like Tate who was another outsize personality on a team full of ’em. A guy who got under the skin of opposing defenders (like the fucking Rams, for instance). And a guy who played bigger than his size. Not extending him, in favor of bringing in Harvin, is a move this team continues to regret.

16. Brian Blades – The wide receiver parade marches on, with Blades, who played significant minutes for a rookie under Chuck Knox, and who eventually went on to replace a legend in Steve Largent as this team’s #1. He was never super flashy, and only made one Pro Bowl in his career, but he’s this team’s second-leading career pass catcher. He has the team’s second-most receiving yards, and is fifth in touchdowns.

17. K.J. Wright – He cracks this in large part due to recency bias. He’s been here for five years, has played all three linebacker spots, has only missed a small handful of games, and should be in the Top 10 in franchise history in tackles by this time next year. I love his smarts, his professionalism, his toughness, and the fact that on a defense full of superstars, he just quietly goes about his business of being consistently great. He’s never been to a Pro Bowl, and probably never will, but when it’s all said and done, he’ll go down as one of the best linebackers in Seahawks history.

18. Marcus Trufant – He was rarely flashy, but he was a first round pick and a starter from day 1. He made a Pro Bowl in 2007 when he had 7 picks, and it doesn’t hurt that he was a local kid who made good. And, not for nothing, but we went to the same high school and played on the same Freshman football team (he was the superstar, I was the third string right tackle who never ACTUALLY got to share a field with him on gameday, because I was terrible).

19. Michael Bennett – In three short years, Bennett is already #10 on Seattle’s all time sacks list. Of course, he’s so much more than sacks, but that’s still pretty impressive. With his ability to play both inside and outside, against the run and against the pass, he’s probably the most talented defensive lineman in franchise history (just behind Tez, that is). If we can keep him happy and playing through the end of this contract – or onto another if he keeps producing – he could easily shoot up this list as well.

20. Kam Chancellor – He took a bit of a hit this year with his holdout. I don’t mind a guy who holds out of training camp and/or the pre-season, but I tend to draw the line when a guy starts missing regular season games (and starts costing us those games with his absence). Truth be told, his 2015 was far from ideal; but, that doesn’t wash away the previous four years of amazingness. If we can make him happy again and keep him around a few more years, he’ll return to his rightful place among the Top 15 or Top 10 on this list. For now, it’s sort of Wait & See mode, for fans and the franchise alike.

21. Lofa Tatupu – His career was relatively brief, but man did he shine bright! In only six years (one of them severely injury-marred), he made three Pro Bowls, one first team All Pro, and cracked the top 10 in tackles in Seahawks history. THIS is the best draft pick of Ruskell’s tenure, and a big reason why this team made the Super Bowl during the 2005 season.

22. Darrell Jackson – Fourth in franchise history in receptions, second in touchdown receptions, and the number 1 receiver for most of Matt Hasselbeck’s time here. His reputation was somewhat tainted by drops early in his career, but I feel he more than made up for it from 2003 through 2006. Another guy who never made a Pro Bowl, and will probably never make the Ring of Honor, but he’s a big part of those Holmgren teams that brought the Seahawks to a level of respectability we’d never seen to that point.

23. John L. Williams – Listed as a fullback, but he was really a do-it-all type of back. He had hands like a receiver (3rd all time in receptions, 6th all time in receiving yards in Seahawks history), had quicks like a running back (fifth all time in rushing yards in Seahawks history, 9th in rushing touchdowns), and the size of a bruising fullback (5’11, 231 lbs), he could really do it all. In an era that pre-dates these types of specialty backs who are equally as good at catching as rushing (LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, etc.), John L. Williams was truly a trailblazer. He’s securely third place in franchise history in total yards from scrimmage (behind bellcow back Shaun Alexander with 10,940 total yards, and Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent, who had a total of 13,172 yards), ahead of other, more notable, running backs like Curt Warner, Marshawn Lynch, and Chris Warren. John L. played largely a reserve role, as a third or fourth option for this offense for most of his tenure here, but he played that role splendidly.

24. Bobby Wagner – He’s been great since his rookie year, I only expect further greatness going forward. He’s another who could easily skyrocket up this list, the longer he remains the quarterback of the greatest defense we’ve ever seen.

25. Jermaine Kearse – What can I say? He’s another local kid, another undrafted free agent, who worked his way through the practice squad into being this team’s #2 receiver. Doesn’t hurt that he’s a Husky. Also doesn’t hurt that he’s made some of the biggest catches in franchise history, including the 4th down touchdown against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, and the game-winning touchdown against the Packers the very next year in the NFCCG (not to mention the super-human TD catch in Super Bowl XLVIII, and the beyond-human bobbling/diving catch in Super Bowl XLIX). He might have played his last down in a Seahawks uniform, and if so, I’ll be sad. But, I’ll also be happy for a guy who started at the bottom and worked his way into a contract that was too big for the Seahawks to match.

Time To Kick It Into Higher Gear, Seahawks

Posted on December 4, 2015 by dunderhead99

I don’t know much about cars; do you really kick gears?

The Seahawks did a great and impressive thing last week: they stepped toe to toe with one of the better offenses in the league, and they came out on top. When you look at the probable major players for the NFC playoffs, you’re going to have to overcome some impressive offenses: Arizona, Green Bay, and Carolina (even though nobody thinks of them as having an impressive offense, go really look at the numbers they’re putting up this year with essentially no one but Cam). It’s going to be vital in some of these potential playoff matchups (if, indeed, that’s where the Seahawks end up) to have our offense clicking to match theirs.

On the flipside, we have this week’s matchup against the Vikings. They DON’T have an impressive offense. In fact, it’s pretty feeble. It’s Adrian Peterson and A LOT of game managing out of their quarterback. But, their defense is rock solid in just about every aspect. When you look at teams like the Vikings, Arizona and Carolina again, and to a lesser extent the Falcons, you’re going to see some good defenses in the playoffs as well. Getting our guys going against these stout fronts will make all the difference in getting back to a third Super Bowl in three years.

Finally, the big thing about this week’s game is that this is the last really good team we’re going to face until the playoffs (if you think like I do, that the Cards will be resting the bulk of their starters for the bulk of that game in week 17, as they’ll have the 2-seed wrapped up by then). I see this as the true litmus test of the second half of this season. To date, until defeating the Steelers, the Seahawks had lost every game against every quality opponent they faced. They’re now 1-4 in those games, with – as I mentioned – one final test to go. If these are the same Seahawks we watched struggle to a 4-5 start, then I would put all my money down on the Seahawks LOSING this weekend in another heartbreaker. BUT, if they’ve somehow turned a corner (like they did towards the end of 2014 and 2012), then the Vikings will be just another mediocre opponent we’ll have no trouble defeating by 7-10 points.

The formula couldn’t be simpler: stop Adrian Peterson and you stop the Vikings. At that point, it’s just a matter of getting to 17-20 points to give yourself enough of a cushion to withstand any late-game heroics. Do I think the Seahawks are capable of doing that? Mmm, I think anything’s possible.

As I mentioned in my review of the Steelers game, I like our defense to make a big leap forward in the coming weeks. I like Shead as our other starting corner. I like getting Lane back and him having a full game under his belt. I think we’re JUST starting to get our groove back as a whole, defensively. But, I think it’s highly probable that we’re not giving Teddy Bridgewater enough credit for limiting mistakes and getting the ball into the hands of playmakers. The Vikings have a good, young receiver (Stefon Diggs) and a quality, underrated tight end (Kyle Rudolph), and I think they’ll be able to move the ball through the air just enough. I also think it’s impossible to stop Adrian Peterson for a full 60 minutes. We’ve got a very good run defense, but then again, is it good because of the long line of stiffs we’ve been playing against? Take a look:

The Rams, pre-Gurley (Benjamin Cunningham led with 45 yards on 16 carries)
The Packers, featuring Fat Eddie Lacy (James Starks actually led with 95 yards on 20 carries)
The Bears, featuring Jimmy Clausen & no Alshon Jeffery (Forte, with 74 yards on 20 carries)
The Lions, ’nuff said (Ameer Abdullah with 33 yards on 13 carries)
The Bengals, featuring Disappointing Jeremy Hill, and playing from way behind (Giovani Bernard with 80 yards on 15 carries)
The Panthers, first solid rushing team (Jonathan Stewart with 78 yards on 20 carries)
The 49ers, ’nuff said (Carlos Hyde with 40 yards on 11 carries)
The Cowboys, no Romo (Darren McFadden with 64 yards on 20 carries)
The Cardinals, decent rushing team (Chris Johnson with 58 yards on 25 carries)
The 49ers again, this time no Hyde (Shaun Draughn with 37 yards on 12 carries)
The Steelers, primarily a passing team (DeAngelo Williams with 29 yards on 8 carries)

I mean, really, LOOK at that list! Carolina ran the ball well, aside from J-Stew. Starks had a solid game. Bernard burned us pretty good at times. But, NONE of those guys are even close to what a healthy A.P. can do. Are we SURE the Seahawks’ run defense is that good? We’ll find out this weekend. If it isn’t as good as we thought, we’ll be in big trouble.

Lose this game and it’s not necessarily the end of the world. Drops us to 6-6, with three easy games (at an injury-riddled Baltimore Ravens; home vs. Cleveland; home vs. the Rams – who we always beat at home) and another potentially-easy game against the Cards. 10-6 would still be possible with a loss this weekend.

But, a loss also leads to shifting expectations. I don’t think we’d have any business believing that this is a championship team. If we can’t beat the Vikings, what would make us believe that we’d beat a try-hard Cardinals team, or a still-good Packers team, or a flawless Panthers team? We’d be making the playoffs just for the sake of being there, and we’d probably get bounced in the first round by the winner of the NFC North. Especially if that team is the Packers and we have to go back to Green Bay again, this time in the bitter cold.

A victory in Minnesota this weekend, however, puts a total re-set on the season. It would mean the Seahawks ARE legit, and they HAVE flipped the switch at the exact right time. At that point, I’d expect the Seahawks to win out, nab that 5-seed, and go into the winner of the NFC East and DESTROY them with ease. My excitement level for the final four weeks will be off the charts.

As a closing aside, the last few years we’ve been talking about the great dynasties of past decades. The Vikings of the 60s, the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Cowboys of the 90s, the Patriots of the 00s; but, one “dynasty” I’ve always had a soft spot for is the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s. Yeah yeah, I know, they lost four straight Super Bowls, and from a historical perspective, they’re laughingstocks. But, do you know how IMPOSSIBLE it is for a team to go to four straight Super Bowls? The Dolphins went to three in the early 70s (winning two), everyone else it’s two in a row or less. Just getting to four straight Super Bowls, even winning none of them (though, coming to within a missed field goal of winning that first one) is an all time miracle of professional football. That’s being consistently good enough to be dominant year after year, while at the same time catching fire in the playoffs. And the Bills weren’t beating up on a down conference, either! They had Marino’s Dolphins, Esiason’s Bengals, Moon’s Oilers, Schottenheimer’s Chiefs, and Elway’s Broncos to contend with year-in and year-out. Some of the greatest players and coaches of all time coached in this era, and still the Bills went to back-to-back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls. Unreal!

I’m not making an argument that I’d trade places with those teams or anything, but I like the idea of the Seahawks making a serious run at going to four straight. Well, this would be year three. In years 1 and 2, the Seahawks were division winners and top seeds in their conference. In years 1 and 2 for Buffalo during their run, the Bills were division winners and top seeds in their conference. In year 3 for the Bills, they had some struggles and finished second in their division. But, they nabbed the top Wild Card slot, won a crazy playoff game where they came back from being down by 32 points (still the greatest comeback of all time), and scratched and clawed their way back to their third Super Bowl (knocking off the #1 seed in the Divisional Round, then beating their divisional rival in the Championship Game).

This year’s Seahawks team looks like it’s headed for a Wild Card spot. We already had our huge “comeback game” against the Packers last year, but who’s to say we don’t win some crazy Wild Card game this year, face the Panthers in the Divisional Round, and then have to go down to Arizona for the NFC Championship Game?

For what it’s worth, that fourth Bills team easily won its division and reclaimed their #1 seed in the playoffs. So, we have that to look forward to, if my prophecy comes to fruition (except, no more getting beat in the Super Bowl, thx).

Is Dustin Ackley The Most Disappointing Draft Pick In Seattle Sports History?

Posted on May 14, 2015 by dunderhead99

Right off the bat, don’t talk to me about the Sounders, the Storm, or any other lesser sport I don’t care as much about. This is a Seahawks/Sonics/Mariners discussion, so LAY OFF!

Also, we’re talking straight draft picks. Believe me, I’m well aware of all the bad trades and free agent signings, as well as the draft picks we’ve traded away, but this is a look at the most disappointing players we’ve seen drafted in this city for those three professional franchises. With that out of the way, let’s begin.

Dustin Ackley was taken with the #2 overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 2008, the Seattle Mariners finished 61-101 for the right to pick #2 overall. You may recall that, going into the final three games of the 2008 season, the Mariners were 58-101 and in line for the #1 overall pick. The Washington Nationals, with three games to go, were 59-99. So, what happened? The Mariners swept the A’s and the Nationals got swept by the Phillies. As such, the Nationals were graced with the #1 overall pick and the right to draft the hottest pitching prospect since Roger Clemens: Stephen Strasburg.

You can say what you want about the injury-plagued start to Strasburg’s career, but you can’t deny he has elite stuff and you can’t deny he’s had three very good seasons from 2012-2014. We don’t know where his career will take him – and obviously, with Mike Trout being selected by the Angels with the 25th overall pick, it’s not like he’s the best player in that draft – but one thing we do know is that he’s a HELLUVA lot better than Dustin Ackley will ever be.

We got screwed. Dustin Ackley was supposed to be the clear best hitter and most Major League-ready player in that draft. We were going to get an athletic guy who could play the outfield or various infield spots, and a mainstay in our lineup. Your prototypical 2-hole hitter. He was supposed to have a good eye, get on base at a fantastic clip, and even hit for a bit of power (mostly doubles, but the occasional homer), with just enough speed on the basepaths to keep everyone honest.

What we GOT was a guy with a poor eye at the plate, poor pitch selection, a noodle-arm, who rolls over on balls to the second or first baseman 80% of the time. At a time (coming off of our attrocious 2008 season, continuing through our 2010 season where we were one of the worst offenses of all time), Ackley was supposed to breeze through the minors and give our lineup a boost. Instead, he’s been spoken in the same breath as Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero WAY too often for comfort.

He sucks us in because he’s a #2-overall pick, and because he sometimes has these wonderful second halves to seasons that trick us into thinking he’s finally gotten everything figured out. Then, he turns right back around the following spring and hits:

.200/.222/.341/.563, with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBI, and about 50,000 runners left on base in 30 games

This is his fifth year in the Major Leagues. Here are his career numbers: .243/.305/.365. You have to wonder, if he doesn’t turn it around and I mean SOON, if this is his last chance with the Mariners. I can’t imagine we go into 2016 with him as a starter, but I have to wonder if we go into 2016 with him even on the roster at all!

Does this make him the most disappointing draft pick in franchise history? Well, let’s take a little look back. Too soon to talk about Alex Jackson (2014) or D.J. Peterson (2013). Mike Zunino was the 3rd overall pick in 2012; he’s been less than ideal at the plate. But, he’s still probably too young (and at least hits for SOME power) to make a judgment. Danny Hultzen was the 2nd overall pick in 2011 and has been severely injured for much of his career of late, so he has to be in the running, right? Except, the thing is, he’s a pitcher, and the Mariners have been fairly flush with pitching in recent years since he was selected. Hard to call him as much of a disappointment when we haven’t really needed to rely on him for anything.

Maybe we should take a look at what it means to be disappointing in a sports setting. For starters, I feel like you have to be a first round pick. These are the guys who – in theory – should be the closest to helping your team right away. In baseball, you expect these guys to be on the fast track, to hit the Major Leagues in 2-4 years, depending on their development. In football and basketball, depending on how deep your roster is, you expect these guys to contribute immediately, and in some instances even start for you immediately. So, when they fail to live up to those reasonable expectations, they’re disappointments. Obviously, the higher you draft them, the bigger the disappointments.

Going back, here are the rest of the Mariners’ top-10 draft picks through the years:

2006 – Brandon Morrow (5)
2005 – Jeff Clement (3)
1995 – Jose Cruz Jr (3)
1993 – Alex Rodriguez (1)
1990 – Marc Newfield (6)
1989 – Roger Salkeld (3)
1987 – Ken Griffey Jr (1)
1986 – Patrick Lennon (8)
1985 – Mike Campbell (7)
1984 – Bill Swift (2)
1983 – Darrel Akerfelds (7)
1981 – Mike Moore (1)
1980 – Darnell Coles (6)
1979 – Al Chambers (1)
1978 – Tito Nanni (6)

Sure, Brandon Morrow was disappointing, but for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, we should’ve taken UW’s Tim Lincecum instead. Second, we kept dicking around with Morrow by starting off his career in the bullpen. Third, we probably gave up on him and traded him away too soon (for Brandon League, who was an all-around disaster). Ackley still has Morrow beat in the disappointment department.

Clement was disappointing, but I think we were all more disappointed in our front office moreso than the player. That 2005 draft was FUCKING STACKED; 6 of the first 7 players selected have been All Stars (with Clement being the only dud), and 8 of the first 12 have played in an All Star Game. Bill Bavasi at his finest!

Jose Cruz Jr was solid when he was a Mariner, then we traded him away for two shitty relievers, then he got really bad, and then he was gone. Again, more disappointed in our front office for giving up on a quality prospect too soon.

A-Rod was disappointing because he was a greedy scumbag & soon-to-be cheater. But, his level of play on the field was unmatched, so there’s no way I’m calling him a bigger disappointment than Ackley (also, yes, I would have taken the money and played for the Rangers, so eat me, he’s still a greedy fuck).

Anyone before A-Rod is out of my wheelhouse (aside from Griffey, of course, who was the single greatest draft pick in franchise history). You can post your reasons in the comments as to why you think some of those old timers might be more disappointing than Dustin Ackley, but for now, I’m saying this with full confidence: Dustin Ackley is the most disappointing draft pick in Mariners history.

***

Let’s jump right into the Seattle Seahawks. Who is their most disappointing first round draft pick? Again, I’ll run through all the top 10 picks (even though I think we all have a pretty good idea who this is going to end up being):

2010 – Russell Okung (6)
2009 – Aaron Curry (4)
2001 – Koren Robinson (9)
1997 – Shawn Springs (3)
1997 – Walter Jones (6)
1995 – Joey Galloway (8)
1994 – Sam Adams (8)
1993 – Rick Mirer (2)
1992 – Ray Roberts (10)
1990 – Cortez Kennedy (3)
1983 – Curt Warner (3)
1982 – Jeff Bryant (6)
1981 – Kenny Easley (4)
1980 – Jacob Green (10)
1978 – Keith Simpson (9)
1976 – Steve Niehaus (2)

Not gonna lie to you, I’m not up on my Steve Niehaus or Keith Simpson knowledge, but let’s just assume they’re not the most disappointing draft picks in Seahawks history. Green, Easley, and Bryant were mainstays of a dominant defense in the 1980s, so count them out. Curt Warner was only disappointing because we didn’t use that pick to try to trade up for John Elway (or trade back to take one of the other amazing quarterbacks in that class). Curt Warner the player was dynamic when he was healthy.

Cortez and Walter Jones are probably tied for the very best draft picks in Seahawks history, as both are Hall of Famers. Ray Roberts was a solid offensive lineman in his career (if not specifically his Seahawks career). Sam Adams was a fringe Hall of Famer for the Ravens, but had a nice and long career elsewhere (including Seattle for a few productive seasons). Joey Galloway and Shawn Springs were studs who had their best years away from the northwest (but, again, were no slouches in a Seahawks uniform). Okung has been a steady starter at left tackle (and a fine Walter Jones replacement when healthy) since he was a rookie.

For me, the disappointments come down to Aaron Curry, Koren Robinson, and Rick Mirer. But, before I talk about this trio of Top 10 turds, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions from a little lower in the first round.

Lawrence Jackson was taken 28th overall. He was supposed to come in and breathe life into our tepid pass rush. Instead, he joined our team in 2008 as the franchise bottomed out, let Mike Holmgren walk, and eventually ushered in the Era of Good Feelings that has been Pete Carroll and John Schneider. Oh yeah, and Jackson stunk the whole while and it wasn’t long before Carroll traded him away for scraps.

In 2006, the Seahawks selected Kelly Jennings with the 31st overall pick. Coming off of our first-ever Super Bowl appearance, we were in desperate need of shoring up our secondary. Kelly Jennings was no help in this regard. While it’s hard to expect super-greatness out of your 31st overall draft pick, he was still a member of this team – and a starter at that – for far too long, leading us to suffer a barrage of long bombs over his outstretched midget arms.

In 2002, the Seahawks selected Jerramy Stevens 28th overall. That’s all I need to say about this wretch.

In the 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft, the Seahawks took Brian Bosworth with what amounts to a first round draft pick. He was subsequently given the largest contract in franchise history, and rewarded us with lackluster and often embarrassing play. He was a better action movie star than a football player, and that’s REALLY not saying much.

But, let’s get back to our Top 3 disappointments from before. I’m scratching off Koren Robinson, for starters. Yes, he had the talent to be elite – and pissed it all away with addiction – but one has to wonder if he was even the right fit for this type of offense to begin with. And, while he wasn’t spectacular, he was far from dreadful. I’m giving him a pass.

This boils down to Aaron Curry and Rick Mirer. You may recall with Aaron Curry, we were coming off of our dreadful 2008 season. With the 4th overall pick, people were screaming for the Seahawks to take a quarterback. With Matthew Stafford already off the board, and Mark Sanchez sitting there, the Seahawks opted to do the prudent thing: take the “safest pick in the draft”. Aaron Curry was an outside linebacker and – depending on who you talked to – was some mix of Lawrence Taylor and Derrick Thomas. We were going to pair him with Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill to have the best linebacking corps in the entire NFL.

Instead, he was slow to pick up the game mentally, slow to pick up the intricacies of his position, and just all-around slow on the field. He did practically nothing for us, wound up being traded for a low-round draft pick, and was replaced on the field by a mid-round draft pick. But, considering the Seahawks were bottoming out all over the roster, it’s hard to peg all of our troubles on Curry. Even if he’d panned out as we’d hoped, he still would have been just a good player on a crappy team.

Rick Mirer, on the other hand, was supposed to save us. In 1992, the Seahawks shared the worst record in the NFL with the New England Patriots at 2-14. Thanks to our victory over those very same Patriots, they held the tie-breaker for the #1 overall pick. As a result, they got to select the best quarterback of that class – Wazzu’s Drew Bledsoe – while we had to settle for Rick Mirer out of Notre Dame.

Mirer came out of the gate on fire, breaking many rookie quarterback records that would eventually be broken by Peyton Manning (the only time Rick Mirer should ever be mentioned in the same sentence as Peyton Manning, by the way). He quickly either regressed or simply failed to develop, but either way, he SUUUUUUCKED thereafter. Adding fuel to the fire of his disappointment, I recently was referred to this article (hat tip to Dave Krieg’s Strike Beard) that revealed there was an outside shot of the Seahawks getting Steve Young from the 49ers for the rights to allow the 49ers to draft Mirer to be Joe Montana’s heir apparent. Isn’t THAT just the ultimate kick to the groin? Doesn’t that make Rick Mirer the ultimate slam dunk most disappointing draft pick in Seahawks history?

I want to say yes, but RACING PAST THE PACK ON THE OUTSIDE, OUR DARK-HORSE CONTENDER: 1991’s 16th overall draft pick, Dan McGwire!

What’s the meaning of THIS? Well, I’ll tell you: the Seahawks brass was very high on the 6’8 towering suckferno, while Chuck Knox – easily our greatest head coach in franchise history to that point – wanted to select a little guy out of Southern Mississippi, the 6’2 Brett Favre.

Dan McGwire started all of five games with the Seahawks in four seasons. Chuck Knox left the franchise after 1991, right before everything bottomed out in 1992. As stated above, the Seahawks would use the #2 overall pick on yet another quarterback two years later, and the franchise overall would founder in mediocrity for a decade until Mike Holmgren turned things around. All of this MAY have been avoided, if Chuck Knox had his way and we’d drafted a certain hall of famer who owns or owned just about every passing record in NFL history.

Most disappointing draft pick? For all those reasons, I’m going with Dan McGwire by a nose over Rick Mirer (bottom line: at least Mirer had ONE good season).

***

In an effort to prevent this post from going beyond the 5,000 word mark, I’m going to give the abbreviated version of the Sonics’ most disappointing draft pick: it doesn’t compare to what the Seahawks and Mariners have stacked against them. Purely for disappointment’s sake, it’s disappointing to see Scottie Pippen’s name as our #5 overall draft pick in 1987 (he would be traded to the Bulls and replaced by Olden Polynice, but again, this isn’t a post about trades), but at least Pippen’s departure eventually led to Shawn Kemp’s rise.

The fact of the matter is, the Sonics – for the most part, until the last decade or so – were a well-run and successful organization (crazy, I know). Our first round draft picks were generally low in the round, if we had them at all. The high ones tended to pan out (Payton, #2 overall; McKey, #9 overall; McDaniel, #4 overall). And, since once again I’m not all that familiar with all the old-timers, I’m not even going to go there and you can hash it out in the comments.

In an effort to save time, let’s just say the most disappointing draft pick in Seattle Sonics history is Robert Swift (#12 overall in 2004, when we were in DESPERATE need of a big man; he would be the first of three consecutive first round draft pick duds – Petro & Sene to follow – that would ultimately cost this franchise dearly). Now, let’s call it a day and everyone agree that Robert Swift is nowhere NEAR as disappointing as Dan McGwire or Dustin Ackley.

***

So, where do we land on all of this? Is Dustin Ackley the most disappointing draft pick in Seattle sports history?

Welp, I’ve already discussed the cases for both he and Dan McGwire. With Ackley, we’re still talking about an Incomplete. We don’t know how his career is going to pan out, even if we have a pretty solid idea that he’s going to continue to be terrible. With McGwire, we know how it panned out, and we know what we could’ve had with Favre. McGwire FEELS like the more disappointing of the two, but before we give him the crown, we have to speculate on the ol’ butterfly effect.

Dan McGwire kept us from drafting Brett Favre (or, rather, the organization choosing to go with him over Knox’s preferred choice). That’s the case, right in a nutshell. So, we have to wonder: how good could the Seahawks have been with Brett Favre at the helm?

Would Chuck Knox have stayed on past 1991? Would the team have drafted appropriately around him? It’s pretty safe to say that Brett Favre would’ve been great wherever he went, but how much of his career was molded by Mike Holmgren? I wouldn’t call the Packers a bastion of a franchise when they traded for him, so it’s not like the team was great and then Favre appeared as the last piece of the puzzle. He grew with that franchise to be one of the best in football. Could that have rubbed off on the Seahawks? Or, would our franchise bumbling have prevented Favre from being his very best?

I would argue that the Seahawks would’ve been rock solid throughout the 90s. Much better than the string of .500 (or near-.500) records we were saddled with. There was always talent on those 90s Seahawks teams, but we were ALWAYS missing out on the quarterback position. Warren Moon had a couple good years, but that was at the tail end of his career, and he kept getting injured when we needed him most. Every other quarterback we had in the 90s was terrible.

With Favre in Seattle, does Mike Holmgren become MIKE HOLMGREN in Green Bay? Does he find another quarterback to mold and turn that franchise around? I think it’s safe to say, Favre in Seattle means we never hire Holmgren later. And, you have to wonder if we have the group in place that we have now.

Does Favre turn this franchise around before Ken Behring sells the team to Paul Allen? Does he have a change of heart and decide to keep the Seahawks and keep them in Seattle? Do we have what is now CenturyLink Field? If Paul Allen isn’t the owner, we certainly don’t have our stadium in its current form; I’m sure it would look much different now. And, I have to wonder if we have the Sounders either, for what it’s worth.

Ultimately, does Brett Favre lead the Seahawks to be world champions? THAT, I’m not totally sure about. It’s nice to think so, but you have to wonder how it happens. How long does Chuck Knox stick around if we give him the quarterback he wants? He was already getting up there in age by 1991; how many years does he stick around after that? And, who becomes his replacement? I would argue Tom Flores was the worst head coach we’ve ever had in Seahawks history; I don’t think he wins even with the mid-90s Cowboys. Does he still replace Knox? Do we grab someone else?

The point is: there are SO MANY “what if’s” that go into the Brett Favre as a Seahawk scenario. And, what I would argue is most important in all of this is: if Brett Favre never leads us to a world championship (whether or not it’s his fault, or the fault of ownership, or just the players we saddled him with), then he is 100% not worth the trouble. The way things actually happened – with the Seahawks winning it all in the 2013 season – made a lot of the previous suffering worth it. That’s all that matters.

Now, if Brett Favre coming here means the Seahawks would’ve been a dynasty much earlier, then I think he is worth it and I think Dan McGwire wins the title of most disappointing draft pick. Even if it means the team we have now (in this hypothetical universe) looks nothing like the team we have in our real, actual universe.

Ultimately, my gut tells me that even if the Seahawks had taken Brett Favre, and he’d turned into the franchise quarterback we waited SO LONG to get, I kinda doubt we ever would’ve won it all with him. Too many variables. We likely wouldn’t have had the type of hall of fame coaching staff that Holmgren assembled in Green Bay, and we likely wouldn’t have gotten the type of championship talent to put around Favre like they were able to do under Ron Wolf. Let’s face it, for a lot of reasons, the Seahawks were just plain broken as a franchise in the 1990s. It took all the tumult, the disaster of an owner, the mis-management of the general manager, the bumbling of the coaching staff, and the underperforming of the players to lead to Paul Allen, Mike Holmgren 2.0, Matt Hasselbeck and our success in the 2000s, the bottoming out in 2008 & 2009, and the foresight to bring in Pete Carroll and pairing him with John Schneider to finally turn this organization into a world-class sports franchise.

You COULD say that Dan McGwire was a big part in giving us all of this! And, I must say, as a fan in my 30s, I’m certainly appreciating all of our good fortune MUCH more than I would have been as a fan in my teens in the 1990s.

Yes, Dustin Ackley is a disappointment. Yes, there were truly great players taken after him (including the aforementioned Mike Trout). And yes, he’s been a big part of all the sucking the Mariners have been a part of in his time in the Major Leagues. He’s been given MANY more chances to start and play a huge part on this team, and he’s done JUST enough to keep earning those chances even though he’s never broken through to make good on all of his promise. Dan McGwire, for as enraging as his selection was, was never much more than a longshot prospect. His college career wasn’t some amazing slam dunk; we were picking him based on his size, his strong arm, and the fact that he “looked” like a starting quarterback. These types of quarterbacks are selected in the first round every single year, and these types of quarterbacks end up falling well short of their potential every single year.

#2 overall Major League Baseball draft picks are supposed to be different. At #2, you know you have the opportunity to draft that year’s very best pitcher or hitter. In our case, we took the “best hitter”. That guy isn’t supposed to continuously be as mediocre as Ackley has been. Either he’s great, or he gets injured and we all sit around wondering “what if”. Ackley has been nothing if not healthy, and he’s been sometimes intriguing, but most of all he’s been a complete failure.

The Mariners missed and missed big when they selected Dustin Ackley. He not only prevented us from taking a better hitter, but he’s actively hurting us now with his sucking. If he panned out – as the so-called best hitter in his class should have – we’d be looking at a monster lineup with him paired with Cano, Cruz, and Seager. Instead, he’s one of our ever-growing cadre of black holes. We can’t sit him, because we don’t have anyone better (depending on your opinion of Justin Ruggiano), we can’t trade him because we’ll get nothing in return, and we can’t cut him because – as I said before – we don’t have anyone better. The bottom line in all of this is, while the Mariners are improving as a franchise, there are too many holes on this team for it to be a championship contender. Dustin Ackley is a huge reason why there are as many holes as there are. And, for that reason, I’m calling him our most disappointing draft pick in Seattle sports history.

The Key To Roster Building In The NFL

Posted on April 30, 2014 by dunderhead99

I’ll preface this by saying: you can’t do anything without a quarterback. That’s obvious. Everyone knows it, so there’s really not even much point in bringing it up, except if you don’t bring it up, then wise-asses will come on here and tell me I forgot about the quarterback position.

There are all kinds of different types of quarterbacks that can win you a championship, as evidenced by the last decade or so of NFL champions. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady are going to go down as all-time greats. Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger likely won’t. Doesn’t mean they’re BAD; just means that no one is going to put them in their Top 10 All Time Greatest Quarterbacks list.

For the record, my picks:

Joe Montana
Tom Brady
John Elway
Peyton Manning
Dan Marino
Steve Young
Johnny Unitas
Brett Favre
Drew Brees
Warren Moon

But, that’s neither here nor there. The point is, the quarterback is crucial. It’s too early to say where Russell Wilson will fall on that list, but I’d venture to say we’d still be ringless if he had to carry a team with an underperforming defense last season.

And that’s what the elite quarterback will afford you. The elites – like Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Brees, etc. – can cover up for just a so-so defense. Of course, the fact that all of those quarterbacks only have one championship apiece will tell you that a quarterback can’t do it by himself (and, truth be told, the years their respective teams won it all, their defenses weren’t that bad).

The more talent you have around your quarterback, the less perfect your quarterback has to be (hence why Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger both have two championships each). But, the NFL has a salary cap, and teams have got to find a way to fit 53 players into that cap (plus a little extra to make up for injuries and such). So, HOW you build around your quarterback is just about as important as the quarterback itself.

There isn’t exactly one specific way to run your team, but I’ll tell you this much: you’re not going to get very far without a good defense. That means one of two things: elite pass rush, or elite secondary (or, ideally both). Without really delving deep into things, I think it’s pretty safe to say that at least half of NFL teams are pretty happy with their quarterbacks. I don’t think it’s out of the question to say that at least half of the teams have a guy under center capable of winning it all (assuming everything breaks right and they have a good team around them). So, you figure that at least half the time, your defense is going to face a pretty good quarterback.

Now, if you’re going to build a defense to combat all those pretty good-to-great quarterbacks, you’ve got to have one of the two aforementioned qualities: an elite pass rush or an elite secondary. It’s all about disrupting the quarterback’s timing and forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to do. If you’ve got the pass rush, then odds are you’ll be able to force him to throw early; if you’ve got the secondary, then odds are you’ll be able to force him to throw late (and hopefully give your adequate pass rush enough time to get home). So, it would stand to reason that if you’re building your roster to win a championship, you’re going to focus the bulk of your defensive salary cap on edge rushers and/or the secondary.

What you DON’T want to do is start pumping a bunch of money down into your linebackers and interior linemen. Unless that interior lineman is in the Cortez Kennedy/Warren Sapp mold, you’re probably overpaying. You can find wide-bodies just about anywhere, on the cheap, no problem. Ditto linebackers. People will point to some of the quality guys like Patrick Willis and Luke Kuechly, and I will admit that those dudes are pretty awesome at what they do. But, you know who else is pretty awesome? Bobby Wagner. He’s a second round pick making a fraction of what those guys are making and will make. Bobby Wagner isn’t heralded in the least, but he’s still awesome. And, I would venture that you can find a TON of Bobby Wagners in the draft, which will save you money in the long run over massive extensions for the Kuechlys of the world.

Take a look at the Seahawks. We’ve pumped some serious money into Earl Thomas, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor, and soon we’ll devote a whole bunch more into Richard Sherman. Pass rush & secondary. Where are we finding savings? How about three linebackers (Wagner, Wright, Smith) all drafted in the 2nd round or later, all still on rookie deals. Now, the Seahawks MIGHT extend one or more of those guys when the time comes, but I bet they’ll be mid-range contracts that don’t kill our cap for years to come.

We’re also saving money on our interior line. Brandon Mebane has a $5 million APY, and that leads the team on interior line spending. Tony McDaniel is on a short-term, on-the-cheap deal, and the rest of our interior guys are on rookie contracts.

Of course, the Seahawks could always use a little more pass rush security. Maybe Cliff Avril gets extended beyond this year. Maybe we hit on someone in the draft. Maybe we pick up another team’s cast-off. Or, maybe we just try to hold the fort and steal another team’s outgoing free agent next year.

The point is: pass rush & secondary = big money players. Linebackers & interior linemen = savings.

On offense, the Seahawks have proven that a run-first model isn’t entirely out-dated. Nevertheless, their spending in this area kinda sorta is.

Marshawn Lynch has the fourth-highest average per-year salary on the team (behind Harvin, Thomas, and Okung). His contact runs out after the 2015 season. Nobody really expects Lynch to see the final year of that deal as it’s currently configured, because nobody really expects Lynch to continue playing at the high level he’s been at the last three or four years. Plus, there’s the whole issue with Russell Wilson getting his money after the 2014 season (when the team can negotiate an extension and finally pay him what he’s really worth).

As you can see from all the free agent deals for running backs this off-season, they’re not getting the kind of money they used to get even 10 years ago. It sounds crazy when you think of someone like Chris Johnson, who can only get a 2-year deal; he was once the best runner in football and he’s NOT THAT OLD. Same goes for these other guys. What kind of a deal would Ben Tate have gotten even five years ago? Now, he’s playing for peanuts, as is MJD, Darren McFadden, and every other running back who hits free agency.

Why is that? Because teams are reluctant to go with the one-back system and instead opt for a By-Committee approach. Because injuries are a son of a bitch. And because all too often, a no-name guy from the back-end of the draft will enter the mix in the NFL and be just as good, if not better, than these over-paid mama’s boys (Trent Richardson) who somehow still get drafted high.

All of this tells me one thing: you’re foolish if you’re pumping too much money into the running back position.

The Seahawks have the luxury of paying Marshawn Lynch a high salary because they’re paying next-to-nothing for Russell Wilson (and the quarterback position at large). But, when Wilson’s commanding around $20 million per season, you’ve got to find ways to cut corners somewhere. I would wager the Seahawks will pull some of that money out of the running back position (which is a shame, because everyone loves Marshawn Lynch with a passion).

It’ll be difficult, for the Seahawks more than others, because we DO rely on the run so much to make our offense go. The run sets up the play-action pass. The run keeps defenses honest. The run also reduces the risk of turnovers, because if we’re successfully running the ball, then we’re not throwing as much. If we’re not throwing as much, then we’re not throwing as many interceptions. Bing, bang, boom. So, the Seahawks can’t throw just any ol’ scrub in the backfield and expect to succeed.

To do what I advocate, you have to draft wisely and you have to draft often. Finding value in a guy like Christine Michael (if he does, indeed, turn out to be the elite runner we all expect) will set us up for a good long while. Yet, even if we were saddled with only Robert Turbin and whoever else via draft, I’d be content.

Because as long as you put value and talent into your offensive line, it really shouldn’t matter who you have at running back.

Under my system – which incidentally is the one the Seahawks have been using – you’ve got to have a great left tackle. Russell Okung fits that mold. He’s not quite Walter Jones, but then again, who is? You SHOULD be able to cut corners a little bit on the guard spots, as long as you’ve got a great center. The Seahawks have Max Unger, who is pretty terrific. I’d like to see a breakdown of the best centers and how often they’re involved in lengthy playoff runs, because I think they’re WAY more important than most people give them credit for.

Under almost no circumstances should you be paying elite money to a guard. Unless you know you’re getting someone like Hutch in his prime. At which point, you should probably find a value center and make due with a so-so right tackle. Obviously, you can’t pay everyone, but you should probably have at least two guys who are worthy of high-paying contracts.

If you’re a bad team, get that left tackle with a high draft pick. There is ALWAYS an elite left tackle coming out in the draft. So, if you have a high draft pick, make that guy your first priority. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a wonderful coach like Tom Cable, so try to get yourselves one of those.

The model isn’t perfect, obviously. The Seahawks had two great linemen and a bunch of injuries last year and really struggled to protect the quarterback. That’s where your QB comes into play. You can put a crappy QB behind an elite O-Line and make some hay. You probably won’t win many championships, but you can consistently make the playoffs. The worse your O-Line is, though, the better your quarterback must be. Russell Wilson probably isn’t an elite QB just yet, but he was good enough to make up for all the injuries and inconsistencies we suffered last year.

And, of course, that leads us to the passing game. You can run the football all you want, but unless you can throw the ball when it counts, you’re not going to go all the way. Ask Adrian Peterson about that, I’m sure he’s got some stories to tell.

Like I said at the top, you need the quarterback, but it helps if he has talent to throw to.

Some quarterbacks – like Brees, Peyton Manning, etc. – will turn any receiver into a 1,000 yard threat. Others – I’m looking at you Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, Jay Cutler, etc. – need their receivers to elevate their games.

Andy Dalton would be a poor man’s Kyle Orton if he didn’t have A.J. Green. Kaepernick was God-awful last year without Crabtree! And Jay Cutler’s a fucking mess WITH guys like Brandon Marshall, but just imagine how terrible he’d be without him.

Now, say what you will about our receivers, but I think they’ve been pretty great. And, until Percy Harvin came along, they’ve been relatively cheap as well.

Again, a great quarterback will make up for a lot of deficiencies. I have no doubt that someone like Russell Wilson makes someone like Jermaine Kearse a better football player. It’s tough to say what Kearse’s ceiling would be in an offense that passes as much as New Orleans or Green Bay, but I bet it would be higher than you’d think if you had someone like Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees throwing the ball around 35 times a game.

Our offense doesn’t need to over-spend at the wide receiver position, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If you can get someone like Percy Harvin, you probably should do it. If you draft someone and he turns out to be the next Calvin Johnson, then you should probably do whatever it takes to keep him.

This can be a little tricky, because if your #1 receiver is making top quarterback money, AND if you happen to have one of those top quarterbacks, then you can get into a situation like they’ve got down in Detroit. The Lions should probably worry about pumping their resources into an offensive line, or a secondary, to round out their team (and not, for instance, over-pay for someone like Golden Tate, but you didn’t hear that from me).

There are talented receivers out there in the draft and among the undrafted free agents, but you gotta be smart about it. I would more than be in favor of an A-B-C salary structure for your top three receivers. Your A-player gets the lion’s share, your B-player gets a healthy mid-level contract, and your C-player is probably a rookie or a young guy on a cheap deal.

In short, on offense, you’re going to want to pump a lot of money into the quarterback and the offensive line. Stay away from overpaying running backs and tight ends (unless you’ve got one like Jimmy Graham that plays more like a wide receiver anyway). And, just be smart about paying your receivers. If you’re only going to throw 20-25 times per game, maybe don’t throw all your eggs into the receiver basket. But, don’t leave the cupboard completely barren either.

The point of all of this is to say that the Seahawks are doing it the right way. If you root for another team, and they happen to be struggling, then follow the money. Where are their big-money contracts going? Would they be better off putting that money elsewhere? Are they making the same mistakes over and over? Then, you might be a ~~redneck~~ Mariners fan, and get out of my brain.

Jeffri Chadiha Is A Blithering Moron

Posted on January 21, 2014 by dunderhead99

Read this. It was posted to ESPN.com on Monday after the Super Bowl matchup was decided. In it, he writes about how he thinks Denver will win the Lombardi Trophy, and by his claims, it doesn’t sound like he thinks it will even be close.

Jeffri Chadiha is an ESPN columnist who more or less has it out for the Seahawks. I dunno, maybe he likes the abuse he receives from the 12th Man on issues like Russell Wilson ever being elite, or Russell Wilson being MVP-worthy. Obviously, that talk of Wilson being an MVP was an overblown overreaction thanks to a blistering performance on Monday Night Football against the Saints. I guess somebody had to write the “not so fast, don’t forget about Peyton Manning” article on the subject, but I find it interesting that Chadiha drew the short straw on that assignment. Maybe it WAS random. Or, maybe it’s a weak-ass vendetta by a guy who just doesn’t like the Seahawks, for whatever reason.

His Super Bowl preview article at the top, though, takes the cake of utter lunacy. His main points are as follows:

Peyton Manning is amazing and this offense is the best we’ve ever seen
The Broncos have survived countless hardships and come through smelling like roses
Since Baltimore (last year) battled through adversity, that means the Broncos (this year) will do the same
The Seahawks’ offense isn’t good
The Broncos’ defense – in spite of losing many stars – is better than expected
The Seahawks receivers aren’t very good
Percy Harvin sat out the NFC Championship Game
Peyton Manning won’t make the mistakes Colin Kaepernick made
Manning will find the “weakest link in the Seahawks’ secondary and wear that guy out”
The Seahawks’ defense holds & roughs up receivers regularly, so expect the refs to throw flags regularly
Manning is near the end of his career, so they have an emotional edge

So, let’s take this point by point.

1. Yes, the Broncos’ offense is amazing. But, look at the numbers. Amazing offenses often come out on the short-end of the stick in games like these, against top defenses. Just look at the 2007 Patriots: they were the reigning champions of the best offense ever, and look at how that game turned out.

2. Yes, the Broncos have sustained injuries to key players. But, remember the Seahawks? Remember Percy Harvin, who everyone can’t stop talking about? Since you don’t follow this team, your opinion of the receivers is pretty low. You attribute most of that to the fact that Harvin hasn’t played (and some of that to losing Sidney Rice midway through the season – another huge blow to this team). So, wouldn’t this passing game be some sort of miracle, considering all the hardships we’ve had to overcome? Granted, our passing attack isn’t on par with the Broncos, but then again, we do run the ball more than we pass, so the gameplan MIGHT have something to do with it.

Also, let me introduce you to our offensive line. Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini missed a huge portion of the year (and, you could argue, are still playing hurt). Max Unger has been banged up all year and has missed some time as well. Left guard has been a revolving door – not thanks to injuries – but to ineffectiveness. How we landed in the top five in rushing offense is nothing short of amazing when you think about all we’ve had to overcome.

Finally, there were the suspended players. Bruce Irvin, Brandon Browner, Walter Thurmond. People don’t like to bring up these guys unless they’re ragging on our loose culture and “cheating” players. But, this TEAM had to overcome those losses, and the defense never skipped a beat.

Hardships? We’ve all had ’em. Every team that gets to this point has had to overcome adversity. Don’t try to paint it like the Broncos are poor, starving orphans while the Seahawks are the miserly Mr. Scrooge.

3. Are you shitting me with this shit? What in the fuck does Baltimore’s 2012 squad have to do with Denver’s 2013 squad? If anything, Denver’s road to the Super Bowl has been pretty fucking charmed! They made it through a 6-seeded San Diego team that’s nothing special, then followed that up with a New England team that’s a shell of its former championship-self. They had home field throughout … and you’re comparing them to last year’s Baltimore team? A team that was forced to play a Wild Card game, then had to go on the road to play the top two seeds in the AFC? ARE YOU SHITTING ME WITH THIS SHIT?

4. And here’s where we look at the tale of two schedules. The Seahawks’ offense isn’t very good. Right. And Denver’s is amazing. I think we can all agree on that.

Except, who were these defenses that Seattle and Denver had to play this year?

Well, let’s see. Including the playoffs, Denver played all of four games this year against defenses ranked in the Top 15 (Houston – 7th, NY Giants – 8th, Baltimore – 12th, & Tennessee – 14th). Meanwhile, the Seahawks – again, including playoffs – played THIRTEEN games against defenses ranked in the Top 15 (Carolina – 2nd, New Orleans twice – 4th, San Francisco three times – 5th, Arizona twice – 6th, Houston – 7th, NY Giants – 8th, Tennessee – 14th, & St. Louis twice – 15th).

Again, that’s 22% of Denver’s schedule (including playoffs) against defenses ranked in the top half, vs. 72% of Seattle’s schedule (including playoffs) against defenses ranked in the top half.

How do you think Seattle’s offense would have looked if we got to play San Diego three times instead of San Francisco? Their defense ranked 23rd on the season. What about Kansas City’s? Denver played them twice, and the Chiefs are ranked 24th. And that amazing New England team? Yeah, they played the Pats twice this year too, and their defense is ranked 26th.

The best defense Denver faced this year was Houston’s. They haven’t even played a defense in the top SIX! Yeah, I think we can give them a game.

By the by, where is Denver’s defense ranked? How about 19th. You don’t think we can score on the 19th ranked defense, when they’re piecing together a unit out of duct tape? I guess we’ll see.

5. I’ll give you that their run defense is pretty solid, and plays against the strength of our offense. But, remember, this is the same team that had a 100-yard rusher against the vaunted 49ers run defense, in the NFC Championship game. Without Von Miller? Yeah, I think I’ll take my chances with Seattle. Just wait until they bite on the play-action pass for the umpteenth time.

6. I’ll give you that the Seahawks’ receivers aren’t the Broncos’ receivers. It’s not even fair, because I would argue – as a unit – the Broncos have the best receiving corps in the game. Nevertheless, we’re talking about a Denver defense ranked 27th against the pass! The Seahawks played against the 2nd-ranked passing defense in the Saints back in week 13 and Russell Wilson threw for 310 yards.

And, you said it yourself when you say, “Seattle simply doesn’t have the weapons in the passing game to frighten a Broncos secondary that has quickly become a patchwork unit.” Seriously? Do you know what the phrase “patchwork unit” means? It means, “Not very good.” It means, they’ve sustained injuries and they’re barely hanging on for dear life. You know what a GREAT example of a patchwork unit was? The Seahawks’ secondary in Super Bowl XL. Remember how they were shredded? Yeah, that’s the kind of unit Denver has right now. Again, I’ll take my chances with the Seahawks’ receivers doing just enough to get by.

7. You start this section of your article by talking about how Tom Brady wasn’t able to do a whole lot. Then, you continue to denigrate the Seahawks’ receivers again by saying they’re only “marginally better” than the Patriots at receiver. OH MY GOD, I could make out with you for putting such bulletin board fodder up in the Seahawks’ receiver room. Then, oddly, you say, “Wide receiver Percy Harvin was plagued by injuries all season and ultimately sat out Seattle’s 23-17 win over San Francisco in Sunday’s NFC title game.” As if that somehow means something. You didn’t see this team put him on Injured Reserve prior to that game, did you? You do realize that people can recover from concussions and return to the field, right? What does his missing a game (or multiple games) have to do with his availability in the Super Bowl?

8. Peyton Manning won’t make the mistakes Kaepernick made, ostensibly because Peyton Manning is perfect, right? You’re conveniently forgetting the fact that in all three of Denver’s losses this year, Manning has made critical mistakes at inopportune times.

You’re also conveniently forgetting that many of Manning’s worst games have come in the playoffs, in cold environments, much like the one he’ll be in on February 2nd. No, his noodle arm won’t make the same mistakes Kaepernick made. His mistakes will be different, but no less painful.

9. What’s the weak link in Seattle’s secondary? Tell me, I’d like to know. From here, it just looks like regular old, sturdy links. Some are stronger than others, but all of them are pretty fucking solid.

I would imagine he’ll avoid Richard Sherman as much as possible, but I don’t think he’ll avoid him entirely. You don’t get to where Manning has gotten without a little arrogance. He’ll challenge the best in the game, and maybe he’ll win some, but more often than not, he’ll lose.

Byron Maxwell. I’m assuming you’re talking about Byron Maxwell when you’re talking about the “weakest link”. You don’t think other teams have been trying to “wear out” Byron Maxwell ever since he entered the starting lineup? Get real! Maxwell is better than you realize, and you’re going to learn a valuable lesson come Super Bowl time.

As for the other “weak links”, I assume you’re talking about Thurmond and Jeremy Lane. Both have started this year, and both have done an amazing job covering receivers in the slot. If you expect Wes Welker to thrash these guys, you’ve got another thing coming. He’s slow, and they’re long and rangy. He’ll get some, but he won’t be surpassing 100 yards, that’s for damn sure.

And, if you’re NOT talking about Maxwell, Thurmond, or Lane, then I have to assume you’re talking about whoever is tasked with covering Julius Thomas. Yes, because the elite tight ends on the Saints and 49ers had such wonderful days catching footballs in these playoffs. Remember Jimmy Graham and Vernon Davis? If I’m not mistaken, those two combined for 3 receptions for 24 yards. Not too worried about Julius Thomas.

10. Flags. You’re looking at my worst nightmare. Yet, here’s the “point” that you make: Denver is “blessed with exceptional talent” and the league “is biased toward offense”, so that means the Seahawks are going to be called for lots of defensive holding and pass interference.

Yet, what evidence do you have that this has been a trend in these playoffs? Even if you took that information out, what does conventional wisdom say? The refs are more likely to let the players play in the playoffs. To let the game be decided on the field, and not by the judgment of the men in black & white. Now, look again at this year’s playoffs: pretty low flag count, right? Right. You know that, and yet you make this point in your article.

If anything, I would think the refs have seen the tape of Super Bowl XL and will have a subconscious predilection toward NOT screwing the Seahawks over with a bunch of penalties. Of course, if there’s a penalty, a flag will be thrown. But, on some of these questionable calls – where you seem to believe the benefit of the doubt will be given to the Broncos – I contend that the NFL doesn’t want to hear the bitching and the crying from fans saying that the Seahawks “got screwed” again by the refs.

Remember, it’s not every Super Bowl where the head official later comes to town and formally apologizes for his shoddy work.

11. Ahh, the end of Peyton Manning’s run in the NFL. It sure is something special! And you’re right, Denver might have the emotional edge. Just look at Jerome Bettis with Pittsburgh and Ray Lewis with Baltimore. Hell, look at Denver’s very own John Elway! These guys just seem to always go out on top and ride off into the sunset, don’t they?

I would argue the main difference between Manning and those other three guys is that Manning is a hired gun in Denver. Bettis played the bulk of his career in Pittsburgh, and Lewis & Elway both played the entirety of their careers in their respective home cities.

Also, for every Bettis, Lewis, and Elway, there are hundreds of Tony Gonzalez’s, Dan Marino’s and Warren Moon’s. Shit, look at how long guys like Favre, Namath, and Jerry Rice hung on, just to get “one more ring”. Their careers ended in relative ignominy, yet for each one of them “going out on top” would have been an amazing story that surely would have given their respective teams that additional emotional boost to go over the top.

Face it, your arguments are based on ill-informed opinions and karmic idiocy. Instead of writing this drivel, just tell us what you REALLY think: you don’t like the Seahawks and you hope the Broncos beat their brains in. We’ll all respect you more if you just tell the truth.

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