Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll.
The Seattle Seahawks began the year with Super Bowl aspirations. Why wouldn’t they? Seattle has a HOF quarterback in his prime, with two top wide receivers. They re-signed their top running back and added a dynamic pass-catching tight end. To cement things on that side of the ball, they brought in a starting guard and one of the most highly regarded OC’s in the sport.
Defensively they would have a full season with Carlos Dunlap and Darrell Taylor helping the pass rush. Potential star linebacker Jordyn Brooks continues his development as Bobby Wagner‘s new wingman. And for the first time since the Legion of Boom, not one but two top safeties.
Sure they lost cornerback Shaquill Griffin to free agency, but they replaced him with Akeelo Witherspoon. Not to mention they get an entire season of D.J. Reed. But this year’s defense would be, at worst, solid.
Eight weeks into the season, the Seattle Seahawks champagne dreams have already turned to urine. Their victory over an injury-depleted and hapless Jaguars team provides no comfort. So far, Dunlap has been a non-entity, The Prez, Jamal Adams, provided few impact plays, and their corners are a travesty.
On the other side, Chris Carson, as per usual, already missed several games with an injury. D.K. Metcalf is still as streaky as ever, and he and Tyler Lockett never seem to both be a factor in the same game. Gerald Everett could still be in Los Angeles for all the good he’s done for Seattle. So what went wrong? Why aren’t the Seahawks contending for a division title?
The first mistake was resigning Carson. Seattle was cash strapped and couldn’t bring back Griffin or add another starting-caliber corner. Carson is a better-than-average back but is just north of C.J. Prosise on the injury-prone leaderboard. Now we’re hearing he might be out of action for a few more weeks with an injured neck. Those types of injuries are the most dangerous and are difficult to form a long-term prognosis about. Just ask Kam Chancellor.
Running back is the most fungible position in the NFL, and as Alex Collins demonstrated, solid backs are everywhere. If Seattle had invested that money in a corner, how different might their defense be? Instead, that cap space is a sunk cost on a player who hasn’t played a full season in two years. Bringing him back was a poor use of resources on a team where every dollar is at a premium.
The next issue is the Seattle Seahawks’ strange inability to evaluate talent at the cornerback position. When one of the key offseason additions gets cut during the preseason, it’s fair to say signing him in the first place was a bad move. It’s been a comedy of errors opposite Reed, and there doesn’t look to be a solution coming any time soon.
Hopefully, Tre Brown can stick. But hoping for a late-round rookie to become a serviceable NFL starter is not the way to build a championship team.
The Gerald Everett signing also seems to be a waste of money. Everett’s looked good in his few opportunities, but that’s the issue, his lack of opportunities. COVID stint aside, he has not been a focal point of the offense.
On a team with barely enough touches for their star receivers, no tight end is going to make a big impact. Prime Jimmy Graham couldn’t even make an every game impact. They would have been fine sticking it out with Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson as the top guys and saved some money.
All of these points lead to the final issue, an identity crisis. Russell Wilson has been clear about wanting to open things up. To help facilitate that, Seattle brought in Shane Waldron from the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately for both, the head coach still wants two runs for every pass.
Instead of a Rams-style attack, Seattle has gone for the Joey Gallo offense: Four strikeouts for every home run. Neither side is happy, and the results only add to the misery.
John Schneider proved to be an excellent evaluator of talent and demonstrated an ability to go out and execute the big trade. He should be safe in his role for now. The real issue behind almost all of these moves is one man, Pete Carroll.
I love Carroll; I think he creates an environment for his players that is unique. He’s an excellent motivator and gets the most out of his players as individuals. However, he falls short in adaptability and, in an odd way, humility.
I’ve written before about his conviction that he can make anyone into a good defensive back, and that’s a big part of the team’s defensive struggles. Maybe it’s time Carroll admits that he’s not the miracle worker he thinks he is.
The inability to adapt has been evident in his offense growing incrementally more stagnant every season. His insistence on running the same defense with less talented players year after year also doesn’t scream innovation.
In a league that’s constantly evolving and adapting, these are the type of issues that kneecap a franchise. As much as it pains me to say, if the plan is to keep Russ and compete for a title, Pete Carroll must go.
What are your thoughts on the Seattle Seahawks in the first half of 2021? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.