While I want to avoid overall negativity, I do believe that there is reason to be critical of the organization, and I’d love to validate some of the concerns critical 12’s may have. I remember Schneider saying at end of last year after Carroll lost his job: “We over-performed in 2022 and underperformed in 2023.” While he does in fact deserve credit for some draft picks he has made in recent years: Witherspoon, JSN, Cross to name a few, I believe that the refusal to acknowledge successful trends across the league for more than ten years in an attempt to recreate the the incredible run of the 10-12 drafts is cause for concern.

Mainly John’s public acknowledgement that the interior offensive line requires minimal financial investment. Look at Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo and Baltimore. Their investment into signing marquis free agents and investing premium draft capital into this group is paramount to their annual status as contenders. Each position whether is center, tackle or guard has received a certain level of investment. This is where the Seahawks and particularly Schneider has failed.

While he was bailed out by Russell’s mobility in the early to mid 2010’s, his declining athleticism and susceptibility to injury made this issue readily apparent. While patchwork players like DJ Fluker and Gabe Jackson made minimal contributions towards the backend of their careers, the team has not achieved more than ten wins since the COVID year.

I believe in Mike and appreciate his philosophy, but the penny pinching approach to assembling the offensive line has to change, and the focus has to shift from extending realistically overrated players like Metcalf.