Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Pete Carroll Fails, the Seahawks Offensive Line is Terrible

It is time for the experiments on the Seahawks offensive line to stop. We know that Pete Carroll, John Schneider, et al are football geniuses. They can spot talent that no one else can. They have proved it time and time again. However, not everyone can get it right every time and when it comes to the offensive line the Seahawks coaches have got it all wrong.

Currently the Seahawks have three players (Nowak, Sweezey, and Gilliam) starting on their offensive line who didn't play       offensive line in college. The Seahawks decided that the raw athletic talent that these three guys possess was enough that they could turn them into NFL level lineman. The coaches thought they could mold them into competent starters and get great value at expensive positions. If it had worked this would sure be a great success story, but instead it has been an utter failure.

On every single offensive play the Seahawks Russell Wilson is put at an increased risk of getting injured because his linemen are unable to even slow down the opponents pass rush. Wilson has already been sacked 18 times in only 4 games. At that paces he will go down for a loss 72 times in 2015. That is a ridiculous amount. His previous season high for being sacked is 44.

Also all those sacks don't count all the other hits Wilson is taking. Sacks aren't recorded when Wilson throws it away right before getting drilled, which is happening a lot. Even though the stats don't show it, Wilson body is still feeling it. He can't continue to take this punishment forever. His play is going to suffer. If he somehow manages not to get injured he is sure to get gun-shy. The constant beatings add up.

The Seahawks are lucky they have Wilson. Without him they would probably be 1-3 and none of those losses would have been close. A slower less mobile QB wouldn't even stand a chance back there. Think of Carson Palmer or Tom Brady. Guys like that would never even get a pass off. Instead we have Wilson who is able to evade onrushing defenders and throw complete passes on the run. His skill and athleticism is saving the Seahawks from humiliation.

As I have repeated stated, the Seahawks offensive line is terrible. That is entirely on the coaching staff. They chose to trade away Pro Bowler Max Unger and let quality players like Chris Carpenter walk without bringing anyone competent in to replace them. It isn't Gilliam, Nowak, or Sweezey's faults they were thrown into NFL games to play positions they don’t understand. Taking a gamble on one guy being able to successfully convert would have been worse the risk, but attempting the conversion on three guys is irresponsibly risky. Pete Carroll should have seen this awful mess coming. Everyone else in Seattle did.

With their current offensive line the Seahawks coaching staff has been a complete failure. Their attempt to find market inefficiencies and succeed by saving money on the line by converting players to the position has been a failure and is putting their star QB at risk for injury. Seahawks are playing with fire and if they don’t change something soon they are going to get burned.

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