Bird Down: The Stranded Seahawks

Pain.

That was the caption for the Instagram story after the recent Seahawks vs 49ers game. Seattle was outmatched, outcoached, and outplayed by the 49ers. I would say it is hard to remember such a beatdown, except a similar thing happened against the Ravens mere weeks ago. Yet, this seemed to mark a turning point for the Seahawks. Maybe it was because I was there at the game this time, or maybe it was because it was against the hated 49ers, but this loss feels important. A common criticism of the Pete Carroll-coached Seahawks over the years was playing down to competition. Yet, the team also managed to stay competitive and sometimes win games it had no business being in. Yet, with the departure of Russel Wilson, it seems like this trait has left, and a serious conversation needs to be had about this team yet again. From the players, the coaching staff, the personnel decisions, and even the ownership of the team, real conversations need to be had.

The Geno Smith story was fun while it lasted. For the first half of last season, Smith was playing at a borderline MVP level. This 2nd round pick turned career backup had somehow found a way to revitalize his career. It was an awe-inspiring story that had everyone rooting for the eventual comeback player of the year. Yet, in the last half of 2023 and throughout this season, Smith has been average. The special wow of his arm talent and decision-making were gone. Smith has started holding onto the ball too long, is inefficient in the red zone, putrid on 3rd down, and is top 10 in turnover-worthy plays AGAIN this year. Smith is also 20th in QBR, behind Russel Wilson and barely above the likes of Sam Howell and Justin Fields. His Passer Rating is 18th, near Jordan Love and Sam Howell. It was a fun story while it lasted, yet it is clear Geno Smith is not the man for next year. Especially given the fact that he is due over 30 million dollars next year. Super Bowls are not won by overpaying for mediocre quarterbacks. Simply ask the Raiders with Derek Carr, the Vikings with Kirk Cousins, and to some extent the Cowboys with Dak Prescott. The best-case scenario for Smith at this point is he can be an adequate bridge, setting up the future for a new, younger quarterback to eventually take over the reins.

It’s not just Smith who hasn’t played well, DK Metcalf can’t seem to stop beating up on defensive backs downfield. Top 20 pick Jaxon Smith-Njgba has not had the Day 1 Impact that so many believed he would. Lockett is underutilized along with the various tight ends used. Back-to-back second-round picks have been used on Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonent and yet Smith is asked to drop back 40 times a game. The offensive lines which seemed like it was finally going to be a spot for optimism are routinely burned and pushed back. Defensively it feels like Devon Witherspoon, Boye Mafe, and nothing else. Bobby Wagner looks like he is moving at 0.5 speed and the heavy investment in Dre Jones and Leonard WIlliams has returned minimal results. Riq Woolen has been average this year while the 48 million dollars poured into Jamal Adams’s (69.6 PFF) and Quandre Diggs’s (55.2) PFF grade seems like it could have been better used on Lightning McQueen sketchers. A ton of investment has been poured into the defense and yet middling to below-average results remain.

Speaking of resource management, Seattle has a little over 6 million in effective cap space to attempt to retain or replace the likes of Leonard Williams, Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Noah Fant, Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes, and more. Additionally, after 2 drafts with extra ammunition, Seattle lacks a 2nd round [pick in a short-sighted attempt to “compete” this year through the Leonard Williams trade. Meanwhile, the likes of Smith, Adams, and Diggs make up over 85 million dollars in cap space next season. How have Pete and John squandered their resource management again? They have overseen 2 iterations of the Seahawks since the old days of the Legion of Boom in 2017 and before. The first was carried by Wilson’s prime years while the latter have seen the Hawks go 15-14 without him. They have squandered 2 years of good drafting with awful contract management, a short-sighted approach to roster building, and inadequate coaching. Seattle’s offense seems to struggle to generate a yard, as seen by the 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 attempts seen on Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, outside of beating up on a horrible Giants team and the Cardinals and Panthers, Seattle’s defense still faces the same issues. It’s too easy for good offenses to move the ball on this unit and Clint Hurtt has done nothing with the gobs of resources spent on this unit, as has Shane Waldron. The team feels like an organizational failure, and it does seem to be so to the very top.

Ever since the late Paul Allen died, his sister Jody Allen and his estate have owned the Seahawks, to sell them to donate money to Allen’s non-profits in his will. Yet, the team remains unsold 5 years after his passing. Allen famously kept Pete and John accountable for the offensive line woes the Seahawks faced. Yet, Jody Allen seems uninterested in the team, simply drifting along with no plans to sell the team shortly. It leaves us fans waiting and drifting along as well, wondering when change will come. We want an owner who cares about the team. We want a young offensive-minded innovative head coach, a shrewd and skilled general manager, a young exciting signal caller, and a team we can be excited to watch. The Seahawks seem lifeless, stuck in the water with no hopes of a championship without serious change. Yet this serious change feels forever off, leaving us stranded. Carroll deserves a statue built of him outside the stadium, celebrating the man who brought a Super Bowl to the City as he retires gracefully from the game. Instead, we must simply watch on as an old Pete Carroll attempts to win a championship with unchecked power in a game that has passed him by, leaving the team stranded and lost in his wake.