Seahawk Addicts
It would appear to me this would validate what many have believed all along.
It sounds like Shaun's departure is good for the team's chemistry.
Nothing about that is out of line.
Just from a morale standpoint it'll be improved without SA around.
Some young fellas with attitudes and chips on their shoulders.
Hopefully it'll have the Tiki Barber/Jeremy Shockey going on IR effect for the Hawks.
It's a fairly mild rebuke. Although I think Sims should be concentrating on improving his own well behind last year's line.
Still, glad he's happy with the new coach. Hopefully he'll have a good year
Somewhere in that well crafted sentence I'm missing 'game. Neither ran'
;o)
This doesn't prove that Sims is happier now that SA is gone it just proves that there is a good team feel right now.
All of this could change if the "new look" running game ends up being a bust.
I don't see that happening but you never know....
I think it would be very telling if J. Jones rushed for 1500-2000 yards this season, but then the Shaun apologiests would credit the coaching of Solis and the addition of Wahle as the causes of the improvent..
stir that pot nice 'n well
***
So...I remember hearing a few times that since our Oline had changed so much, there was a need to actually change the way our team ran, not just in scheme, but in how the players actually ran and attacked the holes (or lack there of). It appeared that Alexander refused to adapt to the changes and failed to evolve his game to improve our/his ground attack. He was stubborn in his ways I thought....maybe the team thought so as well.
Anybody who watched the games knows Shaun wasn't running hard, Maybe had he stepped it up a notch, they in tern {OL} would have to...I wanted him gone after '06, so I'm glad it happened.
I for one am Glad-Thankful-Grateful-and Happy that #37 is gone. Holmgren and Ruskell play good cop bad cop real well. #37 was a cancer and Sims is alluding to it. Team chemistry is everything. The fans aswell as #37 own peers have spoken about it around the league.
I don't know if you've already seen this, but there's a great Hawks tribute on youtube.
Type in Seahawks thunderstruck to see a defensive highlight.
Anyone that combines the Seahawks and AC DC is cool.
I'm excited to see our offense in '08!
I think the drafting of LoJack/Bryant solidifies that our defense can more than hold it's own up front so that the strength of our defense can make plays (LBs; lesser extent DBs).
This should equal a run to the Super Bowl... and to win the damn thing this time!!!
Sure, there's some questions, as there is with every team, but I feel good about our questions i.e. the improved middle of our offensive line and our receivers (and to a lesser extent - RBs).
Im really excited about addition of Jones.
One thing about the loss of Hutchison and Tobeck was there was nobody who going to get on 37 for not hitting the holes. I remember a NFL films clip where Hutch was yelling at Shaun when he was running back to the huddle asking "ARE YOU GOING TO HIT THE ******* HOLE!!" I was suprised to hear that. After Hutch left there was NOBODY that was going to call out Mister MVP.
Lastly, does anybody remember 37 calling out the line after the Pittsburg loss? He was interviewed on KIRO and basically said when asked about the lack of rushing attack...."it is was it is" Since he would NEVER say "yeah. I suck" He was calling out the line. It got no play in Seahawkville.
Shaun threw the line under the bus a bunch of times last year, including the fateful interview on KJR where he said the Hawks were "too classy" to ask him to restructure.
Even if he was right, and the line sucked, he shouldn't have been blaming them publicly. He should have said he could do better, and let the linemen say they could improve. That way everyone is smiles despite the fact they can't convert a third and short if their lives depended on it.
I LOVE the Thunderstruck AC/DC clip on YOuTube! That rocks!
One of my favorite bands playing my favorite song they do and it's all about my favorite team........ it doesn't get any better than that!
All I keep hearing about JJ is how he hits the hole very quickly and it's so noticeable because of the absence of that trait coming from SA. Along with Solari's coaching and the addition of Wahle as well as the upgrade at RG in getting the old man out and Sims in, I would be surprised if we aren't back to having a dangerous running attack from the Seahawks this year.
Ruskell and Holmgren vowed to fix that problem and they rebuilt it from the ground up. This wasn't a bandaid they applied, it was a major overhaul.
I would bet that Holmgren isn't going to use the running game the same way he used it in 2005 though. He literally turned the WCO upside down to accomodate SA's running style and used him to his best strength. That didn't include all the dumpoff's to the RB that the WCO is famous for because of Shaun's bad hands as well as a different blocking scheme to account for Alexander's gliding style where he would pick and choose his holes while gliding down the line and reverse his field a lot and etc.
This time around he has a back that can hit the hole hard and fast and catch the ball well on dumpoff's and coming out of the backfield. The blocking scheme's are going to be more traditional for a WCO back which is what we have in JJ. I think Holmgren is going to pass more than he did in 2005 even if he has as good a running game to utilize and you're going to see the short passing game back in the WCO with a TE in the mix who can get open over the middle and down the seam.
At first Carlson isn't going to be running downfield routes as much as the short stuff along with the RB or FB in the flat and coming out of the backfield. The bread and butter WCO stuff that Holmgren moved away from when he had to build the team around Alexander's talents.
That was a credit to Holmgren that he could tailor his WCO to what he had to work with in Alexander and he'll do again with this team. Only it'll really be getting back to his roots and the way the WCO was designed to be run. My guess is that we're going to be seeing a vintage Holmgren WCO this year since he finally has all the pieces with the necessary talents to run it that way.
My advice to other teams.......watch out! This team should be very dangerous on both sides of the ball this year and with the added incentive of it being Holmgren's farewell tour, is going to be playing over their heads on pure emotion all season long. They are now a veteran team with great chemistry and everyone is on the same page with only one rookie and one free agent starter this year which pretty much eliminates the learning curve we had last year with many new players both rookie and veteran learning our system. Overlook this team, and you're likely to get spanked good. Disregard this notice at your own peril. 
Just my 2 cents.
Very well said 2 cents.
Agreed. While Shaun was great in his day and at his best was the kind of back you would cater to; Julius Jones is the best fit at RB for what Holmgren likes to do since Ricky Watters.
Wahle significantly upgrades the left side/nastiness/attitude. While I have always thought Sims was better suitedat RG where he could play against the lighter/quicker 3-techs as opposed to the big hoss 1-techs (Sims is a very good pass blocker and good against stunts)
Throw in Weavy, Duckett and the brick Schmitt house , and short yardage is taken care off.
And you have reliable Mo.
It's gotten to the point where I fully trust Tim Ruskell:
Last offseason everyone knew that the secondary (primarily the safeties) needed to be fixed; two new safeties and a new db coach later they are allowing the fewest passing TDs in the league.
2005, when Tim took the job he saw the defense as the weakness it was and now it has as much young talent as any defense in the league.
Ruskell knows how to identify needs and fix them.
A new starter at LG, new starter at RG, a freshly paid borderline elite RT, a new oline coach , new RB coach, 3 or possibly 4 new backs (Forsett?).
Billt, that was more like a dollar or two, good stuff!
I remember an interview on the radio involving Kevin Gogan and Groz on KJR. Gogan said that an o-line blocks harder and better when they are 100% bought into their RB. He said that based on how SA chose to run, that there is no way that line is doing all they can, because Shaun didn't reward their effort with his...
I think we can call that a chemistry issue! Gogan aint on the line, but he was a bit more Hutch-like than anyone currently on the Hawks line.
It will be refreshing- hopefully- to see the running game this year. But they could lay an egg...its possible, and how will the faithful 12th man respond? Will they boo Jones like they did SA? Probably not, as long as the effort appears to be there.
I just hope we see our line play and think- this IS A PHYSICAL RUNNING GAME! Add that to a hard-hitting big play defense, and you have a recipe for success.
papahawk,
SA's running style from day one lent itself to criticism because it always appeared he was running soft and that he avoided contact. Holmgren always defended him in saying that it was just his style and pointing out rightly so that he was a very productive running back. From a fan's point of view though, they will probably accept much less production from a back that they perceive is running hard and giving it their all than from Alexander whom they thought was sandbagging it even while he was having a MVP year.
That's the difference between perception and reality. You've really gotta take notice of the accomplishment not so much how it was accomplished. I hope we all like JJ's running style better than SA's but more so, I hope he actually produces on the field and we aren't saying at the end of the season "well at least he tried hard" to console ourselves. Having a pleasing running style to watch is fine but I want some positive stats out of it too that show he was productive. Except for the last two seasons when he played hurt, Shaun was.
Bill: I do not accept the story that he was hurt and that effected his performance, if he was hurt get (and keep) his butt off the field, put him on IR and get him better. Lots of players are on the field hurt and it doesn't cut their performance by 70-80%. I know my view of St Shaun doesnt make me many friends but I really believe if you are gonna take that kind of money, you dammed well better produce!
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