Season Over--Ruskell Done--What Now--Tank?

[Bulltalk]

I am convinced that yesterday's loss marked the end of the Ruskell era, or should have. He's in the 5th year of a 5 year contract, and he hasn't been renewed. I'm not going to totally dump on him, as he did some good things (Tatupu, Carlson, Mebane, Hill...), but his overall record has been pretty damn disappointing. Let's look at his 5 first round picks:

--Spencer
--Jennings
--Branch (via trade)
--Jackson
--Curry

Let's face it, four duds, and though Curry is uber talented, and might be a star some day in this league, we had serious needs on the OL (particularly LT), an aging and injury riddled QB, and haven't drafted a strong RB prospect since Alexander. I'd have to give him a D on his first round picks.

Then there's his complete **** of the Hutchinson thing (that can never seem to be lived-down as long as our OL remains decimated), his showing of a HOF coach the door, his main FA pickups which have yielded little positive results on balance, his complete inability to build a stable OL, etc...

Agree that Ruskell needs to go? I have to admit, however, that he does have quite a knack for acquiring talent that can't seem to remain on the field. LOL

I'm feeling a 6-10 record now. How about you? I don't know what to think of Mora yet, injuries and all, but I already dislike Knapp our offensive coordinator. Please get rid of him. To add insult to injury, Denver is 5-0, which makes me throw up a bit into my mouth when I thought how potentially sweet that pick might be last spring.

Thoughts?

[Sweezo]

Yesterday's game has me extremely frustrated and a fair bit angry, but Knapp and Ruskell aren't what irritate me.

Knapp's offense can only go as far as his offensive line allows him, and I am not all that shocked that a line that keeps shuffling around is having trouble creating space for running backs and giving the quarterback time. When Hass had time last week, the offense looked unstoppable. When Hass had no time this week, the offense was completely inept.

As for Ruskell, there have been some disappointments in the draft, but I don't think it's that dour. Spencer is a better center than he is given credit for. Jackson has been a lot better in his second season, which isn't a-typical for DE. I agree that Jennings was a poor choice as a slight CB, and a #1 for Branch was the definition of overpaying.

But blasting his first round picks also ignores the job he has done in the second/third round. Tapp, Unger, Carlson, Mebane, Tatupu, Josh Wilson, Leroy Hill, David Greene. One of those players was a failure, and the others have been successful, impact players.

Ruskell's now in a position where the best players of the last regime are, really, about done. His star LT needs to retire. His star QB is a poor bet to stay healthy and seems unable to complete a pass over 20 yards. Those players have to be replaced, and the game of seeing how long we can hold off on doing so appears over. And if he doesn't do that in the 2010 draft/offseason, he probably has no business being a GM anymore.

Yes, we could have used depth on the offensive line. And a new QB. But tell me, which of the players available to us at #4 would've saved this team from the situation it finds itself in right now?

Mark Sanchez? I was impressed early on, but he's been exposed as a rookie QB the last few weeks...put him behind the same line Hass has and he'd fail miserably.

Eugene Monroe? Looks completely awful, and has been demoted.

Andre Smith? He sucked at the combine. He looked out of shape. And then engaged in a lengthy holdout. After signing, he broke his foot a couple days later...bad luck, or a result of being unprepared and out of shape?

Probably the best bet so far would be Michael Oher, who was drafted #23 overall. But do you seriously pass up Aaron Curry to roll the dice on someone like Oher THAT early?

The main things that have really irritated me this year are:

[1] Injuries: How the hell does this happen two years in a row? Is it bad luck or something else? Poor conditioning? Muscle tears and groin pulls? It's not like we are dealing with broken bones and concussions...

[2] Special teams: Often caught off guard, and making sure the battle for field position starts off on the wrong foot. Is it the personnel or poor coaching?

The team has to find a way to address those situations...it doesn't really matter who you sign/draft if no one can stay on the field and the defense is constantly playing on its heels.

[Billy]

I think there are some great building blocks that Ruskell has brought in. Whether or not he should continue to oversee things..? I don't know.

I had some high hopes for this year, but I also had some worries.

1. I felt the line was one injury away from mediocrity. I felt going in that outside of Walt and Locklear, Seattle didn't have many answers on a line full of questions. I figured if one went down it would send the line into a free fall. It was mediocre to start without Walt, and has become downright atrocious with both Lock and Walt out. I like what Unger has shown, and I think Spencer has shown some flashes of solid play. But in essence this line has to be rebuilt. As Sweezo said though, the options at the top of this last draft were overpriced and high risk. I do feel that Ruskell would have been better served to start looking for a future replacement to Walt in particular, at least a couple seasons ago.

2. Hasselbeck injury = another failed season. Granted, there aren't many teams that can weather a long term injury from their starter and make it a successful year. Heck even that Pat's fell short of the playoffs despite a pro-bowl effort from their backup QB. That said, I would have liked to see Seattle look harder at options at that spot. Again, maybe this last draft wasn't the best spot to start looking, but I think it's fair to say that Seneca isn't the answer post-Matt. If anything, I think Seneca has shown enough that I'd be comfortable losing him and bringing in a proven QB to backup Hasselbeck--someone like Garcia.

3. Subpar running game rarely translates into a winning team. This has been a problem ever since Alexander's MVP season. The running game has been weak (again, the line doesn't help here) and I think it's hurt Seattle. I think Seattle has a good back in Forsett, but right now they don't seem to trust him for whatever reason. I think Seattle would be very well off if they pursued a big back and team up with Forsett in the back field. I feel that Ruskell pinned to much hope on Julius Jones.

Ultimately, a lot of Seattle's problems can't necessarily be attributed to Ruskell IMO. On paper, they've got a lot of talent. The biggest problem is injuries. Now I do wish that Ruskell had been a bit more pro-active in addressing some of the issues listed above which could have helped offset some of these current injury problems... but who knows on that.

[sonic-ben]

Yesterday's game has me extremely frustrated and a fair bit angry, but Knapp and Ruskell aren't what irritate me.

Knapp's offense can only go as far as his offensive line allows him, and I am not all that shocked that a line that keeps shuffling around is having trouble creating space for running backs and giving the quarterback time. When Hass had time last week, the offense looked unstoppable. When Hass had no time this week, the offense was completely inept.

As for Ruskell, there have been some disappointments in the draft, but I don't think it's that dour. Spencer is a better center than he is given credit for. Jackson has been a lot better in his second season, which isn't a-typical for DE. I agree that Jennings was a poor choice as a slight CB, and a #1 for Branch was the definition of overpaying.

But blasting his first round picks also ignores the job he has done in the second/third round. Tapp, Unger, Carlson, Mebane, Tatupu, Josh Wilson, Leroy Hill, David Greene. One of those players was a failure, and the others have been successful, impact players.

Ruskell's now in a position where the best players of the last regime are, really, about done. His star LT needs to retire. His star QB is a poor bet to stay healthy and seems unable to complete a pass over 20 yards. Those players have to be replaced, and the game of seeing how long we can hold off on doing so appears over. And if he doesn't do that in the 2010 draft/offseason, he probably has no business being a GM anymore.

Yes, we could have used depth on the offensive line. And a new QB. But tell me, which of the players available to us at #4 would've saved this team from the situation it finds itself in right now?

Mark Sanchez? I was impressed early on, but he's been exposed as a rookie QB the last few weeks...put him behind the same line Hass has and he'd fail miserably.

Eugene Monroe? Looks completely awful, and has been demoted.

Andre Smith? He sucked at the combine. He looked out of shape. And then engaged in a lengthy holdout. After signing, he broke his foot a couple days later...bad luck, or a result of being unprepared and out of shape?

Probably the best bet so far would be Michael Oher, who was drafted #23 overall. But do you seriously pass up Aaron Curry to roll the dice on someone like Oher THAT early?

The main things that have really irritated me this year are:

[1] Injuries: How the hell does this happen two years in a row? Is it bad luck or something else? Poor conditioning? Muscle tears and groin pulls? It's not like we are dealing with broken bones and concussions...

[2] Special teams: Often caught off guard, and making sure the battle for field position starts off on the wrong foot. Is it the personnel or poor coaching?

The team has to find a way to address those situations...it doesn't really matter who you sign/draft if no one can stay on the field and the defense is constantly playing on its heels.

Draft OFFENSIvE line .. LT , Guard, Running back , Safety

[sonic-ben]

LineMAN block on Offense
DLineMan put pressure

so important in Football ... only time people notice lineMAN is when your getting your ass whipped every Sunday

[Danny Darko]

Hmmm I cannot believe we are forced to do this again this year so damn early and for the same unbelievable reason: Injuries.

Let's talk Russell:

I like alot of what he's done: I'm glad we don't have any serious character issue guys. I like alot of his drafting and it had to be curry this year and we had to bank on Matt having something in the tank. He's gotten some names in free agency (kerney, Housh, etc...)

What I don't like: He clearly has no concept of drafting for the secondary and takes a bunch of risks (Bouleware, Jennings, laaate round no names)
The Hutch situation is infuriating and his RB signings have been bad.

Alot of the core group that went to the Super Bowl were drafted by Holmgren. last but not least- Tim is in love with small players. Yay underdog... wtf.

Does he need to go? I would give him the opportunity to start a rebuild this year... he knows the team, and may change his philosophy on 2ndary and Running backs.


O-Line:

Walt- done... sentimentality aside he's got an injury that takes 2 years to come back from... he'll be 40 by the time he's really ready again. Bye Walt.

Sims- meh... I don't care for him. When we had a mauler at LG the running game was MVP worthy. I think you need a strong side running game that you can lean on. Clearly Sims isn't special.

Spencer... Don't know what to think yet. He's hurt alot and he wasn't the kind of smart center we had before him. He might be worth the wait, though. I do tend to think Centers must be smart and not necessarily maulers, but he's a guy who could be both and was supposed to be.

Unger... He's solid and only a rookie. Basically the only player I'm happy with on the line.

Willis... I liked his run blocking last year, but he lacks pass protection. If Locklear is healthy I'd like to see what shakes with him as a guard, but he needs to improve his QB protection.

Locklear... I'm would really never consider him at LT unless we had to. I see him as the RT with good pass protect and average run blocking.

O-Coordinator

I give Knapp a pass. His biggest weakness this year has been a traditional strength of his, which makes me think he'll turn it around. The running game is a personnel thing right now. Lame RB + lame O-line equals no running game.

QB:

I don't think Matt is as broken down and old as I'm hearing in tone on this thread. I do think he has poor scrambling judgement and needed to come back from the disc injury. I also think that it's time to shut him down if we don't win the next 3 in a row. He does seem to lack touch outside of 20yards, which is something I love about Mike Teal. Teal really has a nice delivery and placement when he's not looking like a rookie decision maker.

Sen is a backup... he has the tools to be very good as long as we really invest in him as the go to guy... it won't happen while Matt is here and it supposes that Wallace has the IQ to stop his mistakes.

Teel still seems like a gamble, but I did really like some things i saw in preseason. Enough to sway my decision away from QB in the draft if someone tantalizing at another position of need is there, but not enough if a stud is available. Then again look at Quinns, Vince Youngs, Jamarcus Russels, and other highly touted duds for every Manning brother, Flacco, or Ryan.

Defense

Clearly our line is decently strong and deep. Our LB corps can be terrific and deep if healthy, too. Our secondary situation basically requires we dump everyone but Wilson as a backup, Babs at nickel, and Ken Lucas will be 30 but viable imo.

Really good defenses have guys like Adrian Wilson, Ed Reed, John Lynch in his day, or Ronnie Lott. Babs isn't a great Safety, Grant is overrated by his teammates because of a good locker room presence, Lawyer is 62 years old.

To me this screams stud FA and stud draft kid. I'm still a Mays fan- he's big fast, brutal, even if he has some maturing to do. The FA pool looks a little bleak depending on how the Franchise tagging goes, but here's the potential FA DB's for 2010.


So I guess we have some college scouting to do and hope miraculously that the Broncos start falling to pieces.

Tank?? I'll strongly have to say so if we drop any of the next 3, but there seems to be alot of terrible teams this year that already seem to be tanking with a lead on worst record: Lions, KC, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Raiders to name a few.

[Danny Darko]

On Mora- I like his demeanor and he seems to have a good relationship with players. I would say axing him is way early, but they again I would rather:

Have Bill Cowher

or

Have Mike back at GM and coach

[Sweezo]

Sorry, Danny Darko, this is one of my hot button issues...

Personally, I don't think anyone can criticize Ruskell for bad draft choices and then advocate hiring Holmgren on as a GM. Lamar King, Jerramy Stevens, Ike Charlton, Koren Robinson...he had some really poor early picks himself. ESPECIALLY on defense. He may have landed SA and Hutchinson, but those were his highwater marks.

He falls into the same trap Ruskell does, where they decide to divert from their draft board and go for 'need' instead of overall talent. Alexander was drafted because he fell in the draft, not because they really needed a RB with Watters and Ahman Green still plugging along. When Holmgren needed a DE or a CB, he drafted what was needed...and ended up with a lousy player.

Just like Ruskell drafting Kelly Jennings. CB seemed like a need when they picked him, so they drafted what was available...a slender CB who would later go on to be abusive by larger WR.

When it came to drafting, Holmgren was a lousy GM. He was unable to constanly find starting talent and depth in the draft, which meant relying on a carousel of veterans to step up. Ruskell has his faults but he does find depth and starters fairly consistently.

[Bulltalk]

I've got to agree with Sweezo that the Walrus wasn't a great GM, perhaps average at best.

The Draft

Good

--Alexander (1st)
--Hutch (1st)
--Lucas (2nd)
--D. Jackson (3rd)
--Womack (4th)
--R. Bernard (5th)

Bad

--L. King (1st)
--C. McIntosh (1st)
--K. Robinson (1st)
--Stevens (1st)
--Charlton (2nd)

Free Agents

--Tobeck
--Engram
--Randle
--Eaton

Trades

--Hasselbeck for a 3rd pick
--Galloway for two 1st round picks

Not that impressive really for 4 years.

[Danny Darko]

Not saying that Holmgren was that great, and certainly not that Tim is bad, but I do think there is something to be said for the guy having actually come in, put his stamp on the personnel faces that were playing, and having gone to a Super Bowl. Though I will agree: he's sort of turned into Grandpa Holmgren now as compared to Angry Bear Holmgren

The good is pretty good (and has an MVP and the best Guard in the league still) and of the bad list:

King-- sucked
McIntosh was college stud who really was just a neck injury failure and not a talent failure.
Koren and Stevens were both good players with head issues and both were on that Superbowl Team doing some things.
Ike- was the kinda guy I think alot of us would take: 6' 210lbs CB who looked like a Ken Lucas type or better.

the free agents look good to me, if a somewhat short list all were guys who had done some things, though Randle was old and Eaton was about done.

I'd argue his picks were superior to Russell in most regards other than hidden gem type of players.

[sonic-ben]

quit looking to the past
lets move forward

Draft best Football players
FA sign players to fill weakness

[Danny Darko]

Ohhh ish... here comes the Holmgren rumors...

[Sweezo]

Yep. It sells papers.

[Danny Darko]

Just thought I'd post this scout of Sean Mays for Risdon:

$.10-- Scouting Report--Taylor Mays, S, USC. 6’3”, 235, 4.32 (est.) 40.

Positives: Incredible physical specimen with outstanding measurables for the position. Built like a linebacker with the speed and agility (in drills) of a running back. Big-time hitter. Enthusiastic in run support. Keeps the run play in front of him and excels at cleaning up the tackle. Outstanding closing speed against the run. Doesn’t get fooled by play action very often. Gets to the sideline quickly when playing single high deep. Decent, not great, ball skills; tends to play the receiver and not the ball, but he has excellent timing with his hits and uses his length well. Well-respected in the locker room and a team leader in the weight room and practice field. His father played in the NFL, good pedigree.

Negatives: Much more an elite athlete than great football player at this point. Lacks the ability to flip his hips and change direction in coverage. Speed is very straight-line. Gets caught up in traffic too easily for a player of his size. Often takes poor pursuit angles and arrives a step or two later than he could against the run. Has little feel for what receivers are trying to do in routes. Prefers to hit rather than tackle. Leads with his head way too often, will take penalties and rack up fines in the NFL unless he changes his ways, not to mention the injury risk. Is used to playing much deeper at the snap than any NFL scheme deploys, must learn to make quicker decisions closer to the line.

NFL Comparison: Sean Taylor, Aaron Rouse

Forecast: His athleticism is off the charts and Mays has a well-earned reputation as an intimidating hitter. But his lack of instincts and stiffness are real drawbacks that get overlooked too readily. Will be a top 15 pick, but fairly high bust potential.

[Sweezo]

Where was Taylor Mays when Oregon was romping all over USC this Saturday? For all his tantalizing skills he doesn't do anything on the field that leads me to believe he'd be a difference maker.

[Danny Darko]

fools gold

[Bulltalk]

I want us to lose every single game from here on out. I hope Detroit beats us at home and begins the process of degenerating into total suckitude.. We need the highest draft picks that we can get because we've got a LOT of rebuilding to do. A horrible season would also ensure that Ruskell is gone (if he's not already), and possibly put us in line to get a top flight head coach, like a Cowher, or something. The point being, that we need a major organizational shake up, and the start moving in a new direction in rebuilding this franchise back up. It is so effing obvious that this franchise needs a major shakeup. If you can't see that, you can't see nothing.

[Sweezo]

Problem is...the NFL is often more of a curse than a blessing when it comes to high draft picks. Sometimes it works out, but other times you have the high pick and JaMarcus Russell is the "prize." Is this year's draft class one where having the highest picks possible will reward us?

I hate Bill Cowher. Shanahan would seem to work though. I'm not crazy about Mora...

[Ex-hippie]

Is this year's draft class one where having the highest picks possible will reward us?

Sure doesn't seem like it. But what do I know? At the start of the season, I would have thought Sam Bradford was the prize, and worth trading up to #1 for. Now, suddenly, I see mocks that have Bradford going to the Seahawks with Denver's pick late in the first round, with write-ups that compare him to Chad Pennington. And if Icness is to be believed, the current #1 pick in this draft is... Jake Locker. I left a comment on the NFL Draft message board about this last week, but to summarize here: I don't think so.

So, yeah, it seems like #1 isn't such a big prize this year. Which is fine with me, since there are so many truly terrible teams in the NFL this year that a top-5 pick seems unlikely.

[Bulltalk]

Obviously, I was exaggerating a bit. But I do think the difference between picking 6th, 7th or 8th as opposed to picking 14th or 15th could be substantial. Also, it's not just about the 1st round pick. It's about a higher 2nd and 3rd round pick just as much.

By the way, I like Locker a lot, as I do Clausen. We damn well better walk away from the next draft with the likes of those two or Bradford. I will smoking p*ssed if we don't.