Crazy? Or Crazy Brilliant?

Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll & GM John Schneider

     It has already been discussed ad nauseam by Seattle fans and NFL media pundits, but the Seattle Seahawks 2012 draft selections are considered as unusual as their new uniforms for the upcoming season. Nike has designed almost superhero like uniforms for the Seattle Seahawks players and head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider have designed a team roster that is stocked up with players possessing superhero type ability.

Now that the initial rush of opinion has died down somewhat after the NFL draft, expert analysts and casual draft observers are starting to understand the design and vision that Carroll and Schneider have been using to create the kind of football team they see taking the field in 2012. It has been no secret that they want to get faster, more athletic and more versatile at nearly every position and on both sides of the football. The NFL has been a sport that has evolved many times over, and while it used to be a grind it out war, primarily fought in the trenches, Pro football offenses have taken to the air and the quarterback position has become primary. On the defensive side, it is all about stopping the pass and harassing, if not all out assaulting the quarterback before he can deliver the ball down the field to wide receivers and other downfield pass receivers. The most recent example and importance of pressuring the quarterback, one only needs to revisit the 2011 Super Bowl.Not just once, but twice, the New York Giants won Super Bowls they were expected to lose and both times, it was the New England Patriots. The Patriots were much better team offensively, and probably a bit better overall, but New York managed to put so much pressure on the quarterback Tom Brady that he was unable to do what he does best. Because of the defensive rush, Brady was prevented from surveying the field and identifying open receivers to pass the ball to.  The Giants learned and showed the rest of the NFL, but it doesn't matter how good the quarterback is on the opposing team, if he doesn't have the time to distribute the ball in a pass dominated league, he can beat you. The Giants had a mediocre offense and their quarterback is overrated now because of supposedly leading his team to 2 Super Bowl championships, but make no mistake… This was all about New York's defense and in particular, the voracious pass rush by Justin Tuck, Jason Paul Pierre, Shaun Rogers and Osi Umenyiora. They put so much pressure on the New England backfield than they could handle. The offense led by Eli Manning, did enough to outscore the Patriots, but they didn't have a strong defense at all. It was all about the Giants defense and they came to play and they executed and they showed that one of the most devastating thing in defense can do is overwhelm the quarterback.

The Seattle Seahawks made a controversial decision to take Bruce Irvin with their first selection in the NFL draft. It turned out to be the 15th pick overall, but Seattle owned the 12th pick and traded down to get more draft picks. Pete Carroll promised that he would have selected Bruce Irvin with the 12th pick if they had not decided to trade down. It is widely believed that if Luke Kuechly would have been available, the Seahawks would have taken him at the 12th, but that just wasn't so. Jacksonville swept him up 2 selections earlier. Kuechly was a very good linebacker and perhaps the best tackling and coverage linebacker in the draft, but he was not considered a very good pass rushing linebacker. The best pure pass rushing linebacker in the draft was still available at the 12 and at the 15. He was Bruce Irvin and there was little opposition to the fact that Irvin WAS the best player in the draft if you wanted someone to flat out again after the quarterback and make sacks. Most  said but  Irvin was a "one trick pony" and that he couldn't play against the run. The truth is, Bruce Irvin was never asked or coached to do anything else while at West Virginia. He was only asked to sack quarterbacks and that's exactly what he did. In his 2 years, he sacked the quarterback 23 times and that is with mediocre coaching. Now, he is playing with the Seattle Seahawks and a very good coaching staff that will squeeze out as much as we can out of the athletically talented sack master from West Virginia. Irvin played his senior year at just 240 pounds, and at the NFL combine he had put on 5 pounds and hadn't lost a step. He ran the 40 yard dash in just 4.5 seconds, and had previously run faster 4.4 seconds. He is big, tall, long armed and has a get off speed faster than anyone his new coach has ever seen. Coach Carroll and GM Schneider believe Bruce Irvin will produce immediately and the experts agree. NFL analyst John Clayton of ESPN and KIRO radio think he can be a 12-15 sack player as a rookie and better as the veteran with the kind of coaching he will get with the Seahawks. The only Seahawks player in double digits with sacks was Chris Clemons with 11 last year. With Irvin coming off the other side, the 2 should give opposing quarterbacks no place to run and they will no longer be able to double team either player.

In another interesting move in the 3rd round, the Seahawks chose a quarterback, Russell Wilson out of Wisconsin. This was the surprise selection to most, with the Seahawks already signing highly sought after Free-agent backup quarterback from Green Bay, Matt Flynn just prior to the draft. Flynn, who shined brightly in just 2 career starts in the NFL seemed like Seattle's answer to their franchise quarterback search. The Seahawks thought enough of Flynn to sign him to a three-year deal that could be worth as much as $26 million, $10 million of it guaranteed if he makes the team, of course no one expects that will be a problem. Just the same, the Seahawks selected Russell Wilson with their 3rd round selection (75th overall) and immediately the criticisms begin to pile up by the so-called draft gurus. "He's too short." Said Mel Kiper Jr. "He'll never be able to see or throw over the taller offensive lineman in the NFL." Said Todd McShay. After the rookie minicamp, Pete Carroll saw enough from Wilson that he made a press conference announcement that Russell Wilson would be in the mix for the starting job at the beginning of the season. Carroll lives by the mantra "Always Compete" and he embraces rivalries and competition in every position on the field. He's a believer that competition makes everyone better and without a clear-cut starting quarterback on the roster, Matt Flynn, Tavaris Jackson, Josh Portis and Russell Wilson will all be given that opportunity to advance toward the ultimate goal of starting at the quarterback position for the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. The Seahawks gave Russell Wilson all he could handle in the rookie OTA. Reportedly, Wilson ran over 500 plays, 400 of them being passing plays and of those 400 passing plays, only one of them tripped up the standout QB from Wisconsin. Just one play gave him a hiccup, and it was just a hiccup. The 2nd time that play was called, Wilson threw a picture-perfect pass to Jermaine Kearse running a dig route. Piece of cake  for the kid that is making eyebrows raise all over the country and this was a player that caused the so-called draft experts to question Seattle's sanity in their draft strategy. "Russell is the real deal." Said Pete Carroll. "We gave him everything and he was still standing after over 400 passing plays and was asking for more."

All in all, people are beginning to believe in Pete Carroll and John Schneider. Their strategy is certainly unorthodox, and some people might even say they're out-and-out crazy for making some of the moves they have made. Crazy? Or Crazy Brilliant? Two years in a row, Carroll and Schneider have received poor grades for their draft selections, and their 3rd opportunity to improve the team through the draft has received similar marks. They're not doing things that are popular, that's for sure, but they seem to be making moves for players that can help the team win and in the scheme that they are developing, players that will work and hopefully thrive in a system that might be ahead of its time. I think it's possible that Seattle keeps 5-7 of their draft picks on the 53 man roster. That would be a pretty good draft, I think. Based on their performance Bringing in players that can immediately make an impact on the team is quite good. Everybody groaned when the Seahawks selected James Carpenter with their first pick last year and then came right back with another offensive line pick in John Moffitt. However, both Carpenter and Moffitt started for the Seahawks and did quite well, until both were injured. Then there is the Seattle Seahawks defensive secondary. Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman are both fifth-round picks by Caroll and Schneider, both going to the Pro bowl last year along with a 2nd round draft pick Safety Earl Thomas taken as a 2nd round pick 2 years ago. OLB KJ Wright was also a standout player as a rookie. Undrafted wide receiver Doug Baldwin and linebacker David Hawthorne were picked up by Carroll and Schneider, both producing immediately.
 

2012 drafted players to make the 53 man roster:

• Bruce Irvin, DE
• Bobby Wagner, ILB
• Russell Wilson, QB
• Robert Turbin, RB
• Korey Toomer, OLB
• Winston Guy, S

Practice squad players:

• Jaye Howard, DE
• Jeremy Lane, CB
• JR Sweezy, G
• Jermaine Kearse, WR

Key Veterans Cuts:

• Tavaris Jackson, QB
• Marcus Trufant, CV
• Mike Williams, WR

PUP List Players:

• James Carpenter
• Walter Thurmond