What I learned from watching Seattle and what we're doing wrong

[RS12]

What I learned from watching Seattle and what were doing wrong

Where do I start.

 

[DogFace]

just a sample of OP points-
the seahawks drafted Malcolm smith(USC) in the 7th rd ,we have drafted such distinguished players like Caleb mcsurdy(montana).who looks at Caleb freaking Mcsurdy and thinks he can play in the NFL,what the heck are the scouts thinking.I feel are scouts themselves are very poor and we never talk about them and instead give all the blame to Jerry.we have basically thrown away our late rd picks,the last good 7th rd pick was Ratliff but he went to Auburn.we have had more success with UDFAs than late rd picks .

Exactly right.

 

[daveferr33]

This is team building at its greatest level where you can assemble something special right under the noses of the entire league and within 18 months, you could be crowned king. It shows us once again that the most important positions in the game of football might be the guys who never play - General Manager and Head Coach (Which is likely not what a Dallas loyalist wants to read this morning).

http://sturminator.blogspot.com/

 

[chicago JK]

http://sturminator.blogspot.com/

Great article. While there were silly debates here on who Seattle took before kam and Sherman last week and why they were more lucky than good. That type of argument misses the point totally. It is finding talent in every way possible. Every team is going to make bad picks. The good organization just find talent all different ways.

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Now, with 213 days until the next NFL game that counts, we ponder what we have seen and realize that the Seahawks are now the teachers for how to win in the modern NFL. Draft and acquire from every avenue. Resist the high ticket items and build a solid team that can withstand injury, play a given style, but be able to adjust to beat you in a number of ways. In many respects, it is what this game is all about.

 

[JBS]

Add it ALL up and essentially what you're saying is the GM of this team needs to do the complete opposite of what he's doing now.

Or in better terms-he needs to be replaced / fired.



Yeah....welcome to the club

 

[Future]

They have had over a 1000 roster transactions since 2010. That is far and away the highest in the league.

I guess they have never taken the approach that we have several offseasons saying that the "roster is set".

It should also hammer home the fact that they don't really draft much better than anybody else.

 

[IrishAnto]

21 of the 53 guys on the Seattle roster are Undrafted. So it's not all about too drafts for them. They signed a bunch and traded for a bunch of guys too. It's just having a good gm.

No team can be built through the draft alone.

If you have good and well established schemes on both sides of the ball it makes identifying suitable players (drafted, undrafted and free agents) so much easier.

In addition draft difference makers in the first two rounds (it’s where you should get the majority from).

That takes good coaches, good scouts and continuity.

Aka a good organization.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Carroll got a bad break as a head coach because he was with the Jets for 1-year and was fired after going 6-10 in an organization that has been horrendous. I scoff at people calling the Cowboys the ‘laughing stock of the NFL’ when I grew up in NY and saw the Jets and Bills make the Cowboys looking like the smoothest running organization to have ever existed.
He then went to the Patriots and did a pretty darn good job there. Unfortunately for him, Drew Bledsoe was fool’s gold as a QB. He was fired and replaced by Belichick and they lucked into finding Tom Brady.

The Seahawks’ picks went about where everybody had them going. They weren’t making any big reaches or taking players that nobody else wanted. Guys like Wilson, Sherman, Chancellor, etc went in the draft about exactly where everybody thought they would go.
The difference is that Carroll is a better coach than people imagined. He has the unique ability to find these players’ strengths, get them to play to their strengths and not get them bogged down with their weaknesses.

I don’t see the Seahawks not playing a player because the team and the player insist on the player improving a weakness. I don’t see them having issues with players struggling to learn the playbook. I didn’t see him harp on Percy Harvin’s injuries. Instead he said ‘Percy is ready to play and we are looking to get him the ball in the open field.’






YR

 

[JackWagon]

Jerry made a comment recently in an article that he doesn't see a time they will not be having to manage the cap as they are this season, because he believes this is indicative of their aggressive style.

I love the film "Rounders." In the film, as Matt Damon does the voice over, he says this that has reminded me of the Cowboys for a number of years now.

Mike McDermott: I've often seen these people, these squares at the table, short stack and long odds against them. All their outs gone. One last card in the deck that can help them. I used to wonder how they could let themselves get into such bad shape, and how the hell they thought they could turn it around.

Jerry is looking for one card in the deck to win. But he continues to play gut shot straights and catching that one card on the river that will give him the win.

Is that luck?

I have never thought in poker a bad beat was a card from Heaven on the last turn. The card was there, and there are odds, however slim, that suggest it could be there.

But when a player bets on that card, he is betting on luck. No matter the odds.

Then there are those players that continually bet on that card. The desperate. The unskilled. The ones that never learn from their mistakes.

Jerry is betting on luck without preparing himself to be in a bully position on the board. He keeps betting on his expertise, and investing in players who succeeded yesterday, and betting on their continued success for tomorrow as they age.

Can everything align and Jerry be right?

Of course. The odds, no matter how slim, suggest he can.

Which way will you bet on his success or failure.

For me, I don't even need to see a line from Vegas to feel confident about Jerry's moves and their success.

Great analogy.

 

[JackWagon]

I still think the wave of the future will be college coaches.

In the salary cap age, you are going to want to have a young team that the coach can relate to, the shortened practice schedule is just like a college program and you have to be prepared to turn talent over every three to four years.

That is some GREAT insight right there ... great post.

 

[xwalker]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.
I guess that John Fox is a joke also???

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.
You need to review Seattle's draft record. They have had plenty of bad to mediocre picks.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.
Ware is already "signed".

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.
The Cowboys spent more on their D-Line in 2013 than any most other teams. They spent over 31M on 4 players just for the 2013 season.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?
This might be true, but you didn't learn it from watching Seattle. They have solid players at all positions on their defense. Their Star players are DBs.

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.
The Cowboys only have 2 non QBs over 30 under contract (Ware, Witten).

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.
Denver has real football people running the team and a Hall of Fame QB. They still got blown out. I think all other teams also have a non-owner GM, but they are not in the Super Bowl either.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

Here is what I see after watching Seattle:

1. They have a killer attitude but they play smart. They don't over do it like Detroit and Donkey Kong, but they are obviously more aggressive on defense than most teams including Dallas.
The problem for Garrett is that he had to go overboard to instill discipline in the team after Wade Phillips destroyed all discipline and had the team near the top in penalties.

2. They have big DBs combined with a FS that has great range. They have excellent ball skills and are great at creating turnovers.
The Cowboys showed signs of being able to create turnovers in 2013. They had problems with big receivers. They had 5-10 Scandrick starting and their 4th and 5th CBs ended up being 5-10 Webb and 5-9 Moore.

3. They have a very deep DLine. None of them are really Super Stars, but they are about 3 deep with high quality NFL players.
The Cowboys spent to much on too few players. They need to either cut Ware or have him take a huge pay cut. They should let older players like Hatcher and Spencer move on. The Cowboys should avoid ever Franchising another player. It would be good to find some bargain free agents like Seattle did with Avril and Bennett.

4. They have great defensive scheme. It's not to simple but it's not too complex either.
Kiffin indicated that he wanted to implement a similar scheme. It's impossible to know exactly what he would have done in 2013 because the drastic turnover of players combined with very young players forced him to over simplify the scheme.

5. They have a legit running threat. Denver might have over-focused on stopping the run.
Dallas has the ability in this area. The Dallas OL is as good if not a little better than Seattle's. Murray is a legit RB. The O-Coordinator must do a better job of situational running and quit abandoning it like they did in the game against the Packers.

6. Their QB is difficult to sack and he is very accurate on the run.
Romo has done it before. We'll see if his back is up to the task in 2014.

7. Seattle had a secret weapon for the Super Bowl that scared Denver, Percy Harvin.
It wouldn't hurt to take a shot at a mid to later round speed freak in the draft at either RB or WR. Lance Dunbar brought a little bit of this element to the Cowboys. They should probably use him in small doses like Seattle did with Harvin and hope that he stays healthy.

 

[tyke1doe]

21 of the 53 guys on the Seattle roster are Undrafted. So it's not all about too drafts for them. They signed a bunch and traded for a bunch of guys too. It's just having a good gm.

They had a philosophy and drafted players accordingly. Jimmy Johnson did the same thing. He wanted fast, aggressive players with non-stop motors. He taylored his team around these type players. And he got results.

We really don't know what we want to do except be a passing team. But look what our dependency on the pass and Romo have created? I'm not knocking Romo. I'm knocking the philosophy of putting everything on his shoulders. If Green Bay with Favre had adopted the same strategy as the 90s Cowboys instead of letting Favre run the show, they could have won three Super Bowls also. When Parcells left, Jerry put everything squarely on Romo's shoulders, and that was a HUGE mistake.

We have/had our quarterback in Romo (I think he's too old now, and Jerry is too stubborn to change), but we botched his career by putting everything on his shoulders. We should have continued to build the defense, found him a reliable running back and allowed him to make plays when necessary.

 

[LittleD]

just a sample of OP points-
the seahawks drafted Malcolm smith(USC) in the 7th rd ,we have drafted such distinguished players like Caleb mcsurdy(montana).who looks at Caleb freaking Mcsurdy and thinks he can play in the NFL,what the heck are the scouts thinking.I feel are scouts themselves are very poor and we never talk about them and instead give all the blame to Jerry.we have basically thrown away our late rd picks,the last good 7th rd pick was Ratliff but he went to Auburn.we have had more success with UDFAs than late rd picks .

You are right....Just look at our picks from the 3rd thru 7th rounds the last few years and then look at the picks Seattle has made.
Many of their picks came after our picks. Many of their picks are now starters or very efficient backups (depth a plenty) while
we try and pull scrubs off couches. Like it or not management is and has been our problem for many years. They think they have the
secret sauce and they can't admit mistakes or that what they've been doing isn't and can't work in today's NFL.
We have little to no chance with competing with S.F. or Seattle in our conference let alone Philly. We need a whole new team
and a draft plan to supply it. Sadly, that won't happen so expect more 8x8 or worse years to come.

Enjoy the off season!!!

 

[Direwolf63]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

Good list. But just one question: it took yesterdays game to figure this out.?
This stuff should have been done a decade or 2 ago. But Jerry is too stubborn, arrogant and delusional to see it. It's nice to see it came all together for you. I wish it would for Jerry, but it won't.

 

[Direwolf63]

They had a philosophy and drafted players accordingly. Jimmy Johnson did the same thing. He wanted fast, aggressive players with non-stop motors. He taylored his team around these type players. And he got results.

We really don't know what we want to do except be a passing team. But look what our dependency on the pass and Romo have created? I'm not knocking Romo. I'm knocking the philosophy of putting everything on his shoulders. If Green Bay with Favre had adopted the same strategy as the 90s Cowboys instead of letting Favre run the show, they could have won three Super Bowls also. When Parcells left, Jerry put everything squarely on Romo's shoulders, and that was a HUGE mistake.

We have/had our quarterback in Romo (I think he's too old now, and Jerry is too stubborn to change), but we botched his career by putting everything on his shoulders. We should have continued to build the defense, found him a reliable running back and allowed him to make plays when necessary.

Excellent points. I agree completely.

 

[Galian Beast]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

1. I've said it a lot in the past. We hired a coach who had 2 years experience as a QBs coach. Where he developed no one. He didn't have the qualifications to be an offensive coordinator let alone a head coach.

2. Absolutely. We get too cute with the draft. As if we could coach these players up. We have had one of the worst coaching staffs for a while. I would say generally because Garrett didn't want anyone to usurp him.

3. Disagree with you on Romo's contract, but agree with all other players in that age group. Difference between Seattle and many other teams that aren't paying QBs is that they found someone who was adequate enough for their defense. That isn't at all easy to find.

4. Rather than pay 1 pass rusher, I feel like you need to have 3 to 4 guys who are pass rushers out there. This is why it is important to draft well, but also why it is important not to overpay older players.

5. I agree, but I would say 75 percent of the focus should be defensive line, rather than offensive line.

6. We'll see if they do that by cutting ware and austin.

7. Agreed.

 

[khiladi]

Can we fire Garrett now and hire Seattle's DC as our HC?

 

[Bowdown27]

They had a philosophy and drafted players accordingly. Jimmy Johnson did the same thing. He wanted fast, aggressive players with non-stop motors. He taylored his team around these type players. And he got results.

We really don't know what we want to do except be a passing team. But look what our dependency on the pass and Romo have created? I'm not knocking Romo. I'm knocking the philosophy of putting everything on his shoulders. If Green Bay with Favre had adopted the same strategy as the 90s Cowboys instead of letting Favre run the show, they could have won three Super Bowls also. When Parcells left, Jerry put everything squarely on Romo's shoulders, and that was a HUGE mistake.

We have/had our quarterback in Romo (I think he's too old now, and Jerry is too stubborn to change), but we botched his career by putting everything on his shoulders. We should have continued to build the defense, found him a reliable running back and allowed him to make plays when necessary.

Great great post. Seattle is a run first and having a great defense. Look what happened to them. Sb champions.

 

[khiladi]

Well, Pete Carrol had FAILED twice as a Pro Coach, so calling him proven is stretching a bit. However he had a great record as a college HC. I think taking a guy that has never had HC experience is a big gamble. And Red Ball had so little coaching experience anyway.

Lol... He never had as much time for his process in his stops as Garrett had here. And if anything, Carroll admits it made him change. Our clown HC is getting propped up despite his continual failures.

 

[Nova]

Carroll was thought by nearly everyone at the time to be a stupid hire by Seattle. He only left USC because of the sanctions he put on them with Reggie Bush, not because he was a great NFL coach and really wanted to be there. He had failed twice miserably before in the NFL so to say we should go find another Pete Carroll is crazy.

Man, yeah. I was one of those Carroll detractors. I did NOT see Pete Carroll as a good NFL coach.

And if he was going to be a good coach, I thought he would be coaching a team more like Denver. I did not see him with a hard-nosed, beat you down type team.

Kudos to him, I was dead wrong.