by fellow 12 Clinton Bonner
Don’t look back in anger. Don’t look back in anger… I heard ya say. At least not today.
No, today we gaze back, but only to look ahead to the 2016 season! So instead of the usual game recap, we’re calling an audible right here on the fly.
So, what’s in store for this week’s 3 In, 3 Out ??? Glad you asked.
First, we’re going to do our best Chuck Woolery and give ya 2 and 2! That’s right 2 things about the entire offseason and preseason that has us fired up and 2 things that’s left us more dazed than King Hippo after a barrage of belly blows from the indomitable Little Mac!
Then we’re going to romance the stone and rub the crystal ball as we peek into the first 4 games of the season as only we can here on 3I, 3O!
So buckle up and remember, ya gotta gotta get up to get down … so let’s start with a big, big, big up… Our first IN !!!
IN – Let me see your 1, 2 step!
Back in May, it got a little drafty in here as we dove into our 2016 draft class. We were unsure about Ifedi, we scratched our head about using 3 picks on RBs (which with the coming and going of da-Pope is a bit more frustrating now!), and we applauded loudly the maneuvering magicianship of Schneider to trade down to acquire picks, only to trade up and nab Jarran Reed!
With training camp and 4 pre-season games under our belt, it’s time to re-assess that draft class.
This is simple. This draft has made this team a LOT better.
Ifedi is now our starting right guard and as part of this revamped offensive line, he looks really good. He’ll get a great test out of the gate with the Fish who can bring the heat.
Despite Jarran suffering an ankle injury that kept him out of the last two tilts, when he was in there he looked like, and more importantly played like, a slimmer Vince Wilfork.
There are other nice players who were both drafted and signed as UFAs such as Quinton Jefferson, DeAndre Elliot, Tanner McEvoy and CJ Prosise who are likely to contribute this season.
Taking a glance back to look ahead, it’s pretty clear the Seahawks had an exceptional draft and the 1, 2 step of Ifedi and Reed could be the catalyst to another Super Bowl run. Can you dig it!!!???
UPDATE: Let's hope Ifedi's ankle injury is not severe!
OUT – Morgan Freeman or Morgan Stanley?
No, no… this is not a woe is us segment mired in how badly our Seahawks will do due to the missing piece of Bruce Irvin in this defense. I think our Seahawks defense will be fine, as is to say, a top NFL D, and very potentially the best in the league again.
But, I also think that by about week 4 or 6, someone else might be starting in place of OLB Mike Morgan. In the run game, Morgan is competent, seemingly a good tackler, and though not as quick to the ball as say B-Wagz, he’s sound.
But in the passing game. Covering shiftier folk in the flats, I just don’t see Morgan keeping this spot all year. The bleeps, sweeps and the creeps aka the dinks and dunkers of the NFL understand Seattle’s vulnerability and will attempt to exploit it time and time again. Mediocre teams will not be able to, but good teams that can build upon, not rely on the dunks, will.
Look no further than the first offensive play from scrimmage last week from the Raiders. Morgan is flat-footed for a half-second too long as a silver & black glides beyond him in the flat, catches an easy toss in stride and takes it up field for a 1st down gain of 5+. Too easy.
Later in the game Cassius Marsh identifies the same play much, much quicker and effectively smothers the route, forcing the QB further into his progression. Job well done Cassius.
Like any Seahawk, I’m cheering hard for #57 to prove me wrong. But my gut tells me that in a binary world we’re closer to having a Morgan Stanley than we are to having a Morgan Freeman. The great part about the NFL?… we’ll see it unfold in week 1 v. a shifty Dolphins O! C’mon Mike, prove me wrong!!!
IN – Kelcie Kelcie I believe
I don’t know about you, but I really like what I see in Kelcie McCray. The coolest part is that many Seahawks fans and certainly most NFL fans don’t realize that we acquired Kelcie really late in the pre-season just one year ago for a 5th round pick.
At the time this trade with the Chiefs seemed fine. Nothing to get too excited about, just something to look forward to as we’ve grown accustom to Schneider pulling of sly trades that have big payouts down the road.
Well… Kelcie is paying off. If you got into this pre-season – and of course you did!!! – you saw a safety who could close. You saw a safety who can tackle. You saw a safety who can disrupt.
He is a solid player and just another brick in our defensive wall. Of course a player like this is going to get lost behind the likes of Earl and Sherman. But that’s just it, he’s behind All-Pros in that defensive backfield and can step in at any time and just do his job. Looking forward to watching Kelcie Kelcie make a few big plays this season! Go get em!!!
OUT – The Future Ghost of White Smoke
This hurts… Sure not as much as jumping on a bicycle with no seat, but it hurts!
It’s hard to imagine what a player needs to do to make this roster if Troymaine Pope was the 54th man. I read tweets suggesting that because Pope was a UFA he had a better chance of clearing waivers than say an Alex Collins… yeah, about that.
Turns out, he had NO chance of clearing waivers because for the entire pre-season he was our 2nd best back, arguably our best. This just doesn’t add up to me.
For a team that signed Matt Flynn to big money only to draft and start Russell Carrington Wilson… For a team that prides itself on competition and being an organization that is meritocratic to its core… For a team that just found a spot for DeAndre Elliot because he simply outplayed others favored to nab what is now his spot !!!
The cutting of da-Pope doesn’t make sense.
Alex Collins looked like Larry Holmes.
Troymaine Pope looked like Sugar Ray Leonard.
Pope is better. Pope could step in and return kickoffs immediately and save our #2 WR from taking big shots as he did all pre-season. Cutting Pope was a mistake.
The cyanide cherry on top you ask? I grew up on Long Island… I grew up with the jackal-like Jets fans in my ear… all the time. I sports hate the Jets more than any other professional team out there.
Week 4, at the Meadowlands… the Ghost of White Smoke is going to bite us and it won’t feel good.
We MUST say good luck to the young man. His story, his passion, where he was just a few weeks ago to where he is right now is an amazing tale. Good luck Pope, just not in week 4.
Let’s Rub Some Crystal Balls
In the first half of this post we gazed back to gain insight in what is to come… so let’s keep slipping, slipping, slipping into the future and look at the first quarter of the upcoming season!
Week 1 – Too Close for Comfort
The Seahawks will win the opener, but it won’t be pretty and it won’t be easy. Things you know we’re going to see.
- A Seahawks fan on twitter proclaiming the year is over and how terrible we are with about 5:12 to go in the 2nd quarter
- We will be trailing at halftime… likely by the score of 14 – 10
- That same Seahawks fan will be tweeting highlights of Tyler Lockett eating up the Dolphins rookie DB Xavien Howard
Final Score: Seahawks 24 – Dolphins 20
Week 2 – The Case for Goff
By the end of week 2 the Rams will realize that keeping Goff on the bench and even inactive in order to start Case Keenum is a losing proposition. The pageantry of the homecoming to the city of angels will tarnish faster than the tin roof at the Love Shack.
In a game that usually scares us. This one doesn’t. The California sunshine versus the dead air of that dreadful dome will do the Seahawks good. We walk outta L.A. 2 – 0 and walkin’ tall. Russell connects with Baldwin two times, silencing the haters, once again.
Final Score: Seahawks 34 – Rams 16
Week 3 – Golden Rush
The Chip Kelly era gets off to an even rougher foot as the 49ers kneel into town. Though it won’t be quite the blow out as the week previous, the ‘Hawks methodically dismantle a far inferior squad as Thomas Rawls roars back to full life with a 150+ yard day and a TD!
Final Score: Seahawks 27 – 49ers 17
Week 4 – the Revenge of White Smoke
Walking into this game 3 – 0 all of the media will have the Seahawks atop those oh so important power rankings! Unfortunately, I smell a stinker coming up for our ‘Hawks in week 4. Not because of the early start on the Eastern coast, but simply because the Jets D will frustrate our line, wrack up 5 sacks on Wilson, and limit our big plays.
Don’t get me wrong. We’ll make some ridiculous comeback. We’ll have a shot to win this game, but when the clock strikes zero, we fly back home staring at the abyss of the early season bye week with our first L of the year.
Pope might not score, but he’ll have an impressive KO return with the game knotted at 20 late in the 4th. The Jets take this one as the revenge of White Smoke fulfills the prophecy.
Final Score: Jets 23 – Seahawks 20
Now that we’ve stared deeply into Mama Cleo’s balls let’s re-focus the mind’s eye and get fired up for week 1 of this NFL season!!!
1, 2, 3 What’s Next!???
We are living in the golden era of Seahawks fandom. The talent, the personalities, the twitter, the Lombardi … and yes, Pete Prisco shows like the Sea Hawkers Podcast ! Growing up in Deer Park, NY (Long Island!) I’d wait for the last 6 mins of ESPN’s Primetime just to catch a glimpse of Jacob Green creating pressure or John L. Williams finding well deserved paydirt.
I’d tape Inside the NFL on the ole VCR, I’d read the box score in the Monday Newsday… Heck I even ordered, treasured, and poured over the Seahawks newspaper ‘Inside the Seahawks’.
What am I saying here 12s???
Enjoy this. Enjoy every minute, every snap, every tweet, every pod from our good buddies Brandan and Adam! We are in this golden venn uplifted by a ridiculous combination of a ridiculously good team, in a ridiculously good era to be a sports fan.
Drink it in. Go bigger, be bolder, enjoy your Seahawks more than you ever have.
And as Brandan and Adam suggested in episode 122, this show, the Sea Hawkers Podcast is for all of us! Take part in it! Send a tweet, email the guys, share it with other ‘Hawks fans. I can state as a true fact, it’s made me a better fan. It’s made my love, for something I already loved, grow even more!
Get fired up. Make some friggin’ noise on Sunday and enjoy every second of it!
Till next time ye faithful 12s… Go ‘Hawks !!!
Remember 12s, see something??? Say something on Twitter. Send @seahawkerspod a tweet during the game, tag it #3i3o, and it just might show up in next week’s 3 IN, 3 OUT… and that’s nice!!!
