Mid-Season Roster Thoughts

[animaltested]

Eight games in, 4-4. I think a lot of Seattle fans figured 7-9 wins was the likely result this year. Anyway, figured it was a good time to throw in your thoughts regarding each position group.

 

QB: Russell Wilson has been …. well.... fine? Him and Shotty just haven't clicked as well as Wilson clicked with Bevell. There was a lot of growth after week 2 but last week against the Chargers was a massive regression. The issue is Russell is supposed to be a 30 million dollar man next year, and he isn't playing up to that level. This year has just been very, very weird. 

RB: Chris Carson is a boss. But always seems banged up. 3rd time he has missed significant chunks of games dues to brittleness. His running style is fierce, so this might be the after effect. I don't think Carson can be relied upon to be a feature back until he can show himself to be more resistant. Mike Davis has been a solid #2. Good production in Carsons absence. I do think last week showed he shouldn't be a feature back. Leaves too many yards on the field. Penny has been a huge disappointment. He should be able to outplay Davis, but just hasn't. Maybe his production will increase as the season grinds on [to limit Carsons wear and tear]. Hopefully he shows something before the end of season. CJ Procise is just.... invisible. Tre Maddon is a special teams player at best now. 

WR: Lockett has been pretty good, Doug has been Doug, and David Moore has stepped up big time. Jarron Brown has been ok as awell [contributing to special teams too] As a fan I wish these guys could get more consistent touches. Not sure if its a scheme thing, or Wilson not being able to get the ball out to them. I do think Seattle will add to this unit via the draft. 

TE: Losing Dissly early sucks. Guy was flashing a lot of talent. I was hard on Vannett earlier but he seems to have settled into the role nicely the last few games [although, the dude still has butterfingers]. Dixon being back helps too. Although I don't think his name was called last week. Gonna include George Fant here as well. I think he get a catch or two this year. 

OL: What a turnaround. Sweezy and Fluker have led this renaissance. Fluker really has had a big of an impact as any newcomer to any team period. Also, we has fans really need to applaud Ifedi. Dude has made some amazing strides. One disappointment has to be Pocic. Pretty high expectations for him coming into the year. As a 2nd round pick you'd like to see more output. Joey Hunt replacing Fluker last week was an interesting sign.

DL: Frank Clark is a monster. PAY THE MAN! Jarran Reed is a bad dude. PAY THE MAN! This unit is essentially a two man unit. There has been a noticeable drop off from Richardson and Bennett to Jefferson and Stephens. Not that those two are bad, but if Seattle wants to get back to contending next year, they need more talent at those positions. Jacob Martin has been a quite surprise. Brings a lot of heat off the edge. Rasheem Green and Dion Jordons injuries issues has been frustrating. Frank needs some help! Naz Jones has really disappointed as well. He look poised to carve out a major role this year, and his 2019 season was DOA. This is probably the weakest group on the team. I hope Seattle addresses this unit via FA and the Draft, especially if Frank Clarks price point is deemed to high. 

LB: By far, the best unit on the team. Bobby is Bobby. Having KJ back is huge. And Mingo is making plays all over the field. Crazy to think that this unit (if healthy) will be getting Kendricks back in a few weeks. 

DB: Tre Flowers and Tedric Thompson have thoroughly exceeded all expectations (although they need to clean up their tackling a bit). McDougald has been playing out of his mind, and hopefully his injury doesn't slow him down moving forward. Delano Hill played well last week, and this is important since Seattle does use 3 safeties quite a bit. Justin Coleman has pretty much picked up where he left off. The one disappointment has been Shaq Griffin. Kinda having a sophomore slump. He just doesn't seem to be getting better. Overall if this team wants to make a run at the playoffs this year, this unit as a whole needs to tackle much much better. Last week was deflating experience for this group.

Special Teams : Dickson is awesome. Pudge has been …. eh. Better than Walsh at least. The coverage units have been awful. They really need to fix it. 

[showtime]

On 11/7/2018 at 11:29 AM, animaltested said:

Eight games in, 4-4. I think a lot of Seattle fans figured 7-9 wins was the likely result this year. Anyway, figured it was a good time to throw in your thoughts regarding each position group.

 

QB: Russell Wilson has been …. well.... fine? Him and Shotty just haven't clicked as well as Wilson clicked with Bevell. There was a lot of growth after week 2 but last week against the Chargers was a massive regression. The issue is Russell is supposed to be a 30 million dollar man next year, and he isn't playing up to that level. This year has just been very, very weird. 

RB: Chris Carson is a boss. But always seems banged up. 3rd time he has missed significant chunks of games dues to brittleness. His running style is fierce, so this might be the after effect. I don't think Carson can be relied upon to be a feature back until he can show himself to be more resistant. Mike Davis has been a solid #2. Good production in Carsons absence. I do think last week showed he shouldn't be a feature back. Leaves too many yards on the field. Penny has been a huge disappointment. He should be able to outplay Davis, but just hasn't. Maybe his production will increase as the season grinds on [to limit Carsons wear and tear]. Hopefully he shows something before the end of season. CJ Procise is just.... invisible. Tre Maddon is a special teams player at best now. 

WR: Lockett has been pretty good, Doug has been Doug, and David Moore has stepped up big time. Jarron Brown has been ok as awell [contributing to special teams too] As a fan I wish these guys could get more consistent touches. Not sure if its a scheme thing, or Wilson not being able to get the ball out to them. I do think Seattle will add to this unit via the draft. 

TE: Losing Dissly early sucks. Guy was flashing a lot of talent. I was hard on Vannett earlier but he seems to have settled into the role nicely the last few games [although, the dude still has butterfingers]. Dixon being back helps too. Although I don't think his name was called last week. Gonna include George Fant here as well. I think he get a catch or two this year. 

OL: What a turnaround. Sweezy and Fluker have led this renaissance. Fluker really has had a big of an impact as any newcomer to any team period. Also, we has fans really need to applaud Ifedi. Dude has made some amazing strides. One disappointment has to be Pocic. Pretty high expectations for him coming into the year. As a 2nd round pick you'd like to see more output. Joey Hunt replacing Fluker last week was an interesting sign.

DL: Frank Clark is a monster. PAY THE MAN! Jarran Reed is a bad dude. PAY THE MAN! This unit is essentially a two man unit. There has been a noticeable drop off from Richardson and Bennett to Jefferson and Stephens. Not that those two are bad, but if Seattle wants to get back to contending next year, they need more talent at those positions. Jacob Martin has been a quite surprise. Brings a lot of heat off the edge. Rasheem Green and Dion Jordons injuries issues has been frustrating. Frank needs some help! Naz Jones has really disappointed as well. He look poised to carve out a major role this year, and his 2019 season was DOA. This is probably the weakest group on the team. I hope Seattle addresses this unit via FA and the Draft, especially if Frank Clarks price point is deemed to high. 

LB: By far, the best unit on the team. Bobby is Bobby. Having KJ back is huge. And Mingo is making plays all over the field. Crazy to think that this unit (if healthy) will be getting Kendricks back in a few weeks. 

DB: Tre Flowers and Tedric Thompson have thoroughly exceeded all expectations (although they need to clean up their tackling a bit). McDougald has been playing out of his mind, and hopefully his injury doesn't slow him down moving forward. Delano Hill played well last week, and this is important since Seattle does use 3 safeties quite a bit. Justin Coleman has pretty much picked up where he left off. The one disappointment has been Shaq Griffin. Kinda having a sophomore slump. He just doesn't seem to be getting better. Overall if this team wants to make a run at the playoffs this year, this unit as a whole needs to tackle much much better. Last week was deflating experience for this group.

Special Teams : Dickson is awesome. Pudge has been …. eh. Better than Walsh at least. The coverage units have been awful. They really need to fix it. 

I agree with most of what you wrote here.  Very good post.  The longer the season goes on, the more I'm beginning to sour on Russell Wilson.  He's obviously a really good QB, but he has regressed this year.  It's not just the playcalling or the OC, he's making really bad mistakes.  The pick 6 vs the Chargers late in that game was back breaking.  We might win that game if he doesn't throw the ball directly to a defender.  A few days ago, in the 4th quarter, he gets sacked and fumbles the ball.  Very next play the Rams score a TD.  Back breaker.  Against the Bears.  And so on.  I really don't get what's going on with him.

[animaltested]

75 % In ...

QB: Russell is Russell once again. 4th in TDs, been lights out the last couple of games. He and Shotty seem to have finally figured things out. Perfect timing too sense the progression of the offense has coincided with the regression of the defense. 

RB: Carson is beasting, and Penny has slowly been taking more of Mike Davis' touches. RP has been averaging like 7ypc the last 4 games. MD still has value since he is the best blocker of the group. 

WR: Lockett is beasting. He and Russell have the highest Pass Rater combo in the NFL. David Moore is still coming along [That Carolina TD was amazing!]. Doug is automatic in the redzone. Jarron Brown has found his niche nicely. I still think Seattle might address this position in the draft. Not high, but definitely a mid round pick. 

TE: Vannett has been really reliable lately. Finally debuttered his hands. Dixon has finally contributed. Solid #2 for down the stretch. George Fant should just switch to TE full time at this point. 

OL: Amazing Amazing Amazing. Flukers injury is concerning. Simmons filled in nicely at LA last time, so whether he can replicate that performance longterm will be interesting. At this point Pocic seems to be on his way out. I figure Seattle will address the interior with mid round pick. Could use another G since both Fluker and Sweezy will be FA. Seattle could definitely upgrade at LG. Also, Britt has been kinda meh this year. At his price, he could be a candidate for release this summer. 

DL: Reed and Clark are great. Everyone else blah. Im happy to see Naz and Ponna get some work last week [49ers]. This draft is supposedly pretty deep, so hopefully Seattle adds 2-3 picks here and maybe a FA or two. ESPECIALLY if they lose Clark.

LB: Bobby is gawd. What worries me is he didn't like the way Sherm was handled, and he is on record saying how KJ is treated this upcoming year will factor into his decision on extension. Pretty sure KJ will be cut [if he turns down a restructure], so this does not bode well long term. I was hard on Calitro this year, but he beast'd Sunday. Kendricks being back will be huge, especially if KJs' injury lingers forward. 

DB: This was once the strength of the unit, and now the weak link. Shaq keeps getting worse, Tre keeps playing like a safety playing corner. What stings is how awful the tackling has been. Depending on how the last 4 games play out, Corner might become a need in the offseason. Tedric and McDougald have plateaued. Still solid though. 

 

 

[showtime]

22 hours ago, animaltested said:

75 % In ...

QB: Russell is Russell once again. 4th in TDs, been lights out the last couple of games. He and Shotty seem to have finally figured things out. Perfect timing too sense the progression of the offense has coincided with the regression of the defense. 

RB: Carson is beasting, and Penny has slowly been taking more of Mike Davis' touches. RP has been averaging like 7ypc the last 4 games. MD still has value since he is the best blocker of the group. 

WR: Lockett is beasting. He and Russell have the highest Pass Rater combo in the NFL. David Moore is still coming along [That Carolina TD was amazing!]. Doug is automatic in the redzone. Jarron Brown has found his niche nicely. I still think Seattle might address this position in the draft. Not high, but definitely a mid round pick. 

TE: Vannett has been really reliable lately. Finally debuttered his hands. Dixon has finally contributed. Solid #2 for down the stretch. George Fant should just switch to TE full time at this point. 

OL: Amazing Amazing Amazing. Flukers injury is concerning. Simmons filled in nicely at LA last time, so whether he can replicate that performance longterm will be interesting. At this point Pocic seems to be on his way out. I figure Seattle will address the interior with mid round pick. Could use another G since both Fluker and Sweezy will be FA. Seattle could definitely upgrade at LG. Also, Britt has been kinda meh this year. At his price, he could be a candidate for release this summer. 

DL: Reed and Clark are great. Everyone else blah. Im happy to see Naz and Ponna get some work last week [49ers]. This draft is supposedly pretty deep, so hopefully Seattle adds 2-3 picks here and maybe a FA or two. ESPECIALLY if they lose Clark.

LB: Bobby is gawd. What worries me is he didn't like the way Sherm was handled, and he is on record saying how KJ is treated this upcoming year will factor into his decision on extension. Pretty sure KJ will be cut [if he turns down a restructure], so this does not bode well long term. I was hard on Calitro this year, but he beast'd Sunday. Kendricks being back will be huge, especially if KJs' injury lingers forward. 

DB: This was once the strength of the unit, and now the weak link. Shaq keeps getting worse, Tre keeps playing like a safety playing corner. What stings is how awful the tackling has been. Depending on how the last 4 games play out, Corner might become a need in the offseason. Tedric and McDougald have plateaued. Still solid though.

Wilson has been so much better lately.  He's been so awesome and it's great to see.  Statistically he's having a great season and is playing great ball down the stretch.  I was going to mention how Lockett and Wilson have the highest passer rating QB/WR combo in the league.  Lockett is having an awesome season... money well spent.  Really love the WR corps with Lockett, Baldwin and Moore.  A weakness heading into the season is now looking to be a strength.  Agreed with your point on Vannett, he's been really solid. Also, agreed on the defensive back unit.  Not really sure what's going on.... do you think it's possibly more film on this unit so teams are understanding how to better attack them.  In addition, the loss of Earl Thomas is finally starting to catch up and bite them.

Bobby Wagner is the best MLB in the league.  I know many people disagree, but I feel he was the best LB in the league last year as well.