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Hawks Playbook Podcast Episode 45 – End of Season Review and Awards Show
Open: Welcome to another addition of the Hawks Playbook Podcast. Join your hosts Bill Alvstad and Keith Myers as we dive into the 2017 Seattle Seahawks regular season from free agency and the 2017 NFL Draft, the first regular season game vs. The Packers all the way to the last Blair Walsh missed field goal and the 26-24 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals. Sure, the season started with great hope that this could be another special team, and make a deep run into the playoffs, but it fizzled out in the end. Why did we have so much hope at the beginning and how did we get to such an ugly finish? Bill and Keith will spend a lot of time talking individual players and evaluating performances, and with that, we have our first annual Hawks Playbook Awards. We will hand these out in several categories, like Player of the year for each position group, including coaches, and a few other categories just for fun.
Featured Segment One: The year in Review
- 2017 Free Agency. Who did we lose and who did we get in this annual search to add veteran talent to the team.
- 2017 NFL Draft. A quick review of the players we drafted and the expectations that were set for this year’s crop of young rookies.
- Right before the season was set to begin, the Seahawks make a blockbuster trade to acquire Sheldon Richardson to help the middle of our D-line, and make up for a lost rookie before he even took the field.
- What we saw before the season began that gave us thoughts that this could be a very special team, and possibly return us to compete for another Super Bowl Title.
- As the season unfolds, it becomes clear we are struggling on offense and there is virtually zero running game. Seattle decides to trade for LT Duane Brown. Brown has one more year, 2018, left on the contract the Seahawks inherited when they traded a third-round draft choice this spring and a second-round pick next year to Houston for him at the end of October.
As for the defense, and early game vs the Titans shows us this team has new vulnerabilities stopping the run.
- This off-season, the Seahawks’ offensive line that went through five iterations of starting lineups during the 2017 season will change yet again. It has to. The Seahawks can’t even begin Carroll’s stated top goal of returning to a running game until they fix the line that could not provide lanes through which to run in 2017.
Plus, Seattle allowed Wilson to get hit 121 times this past season, third-most in the league. It was 10 more hits than in 2016, when the pass protection was so bad it got Wilson a severely sprained knee and badly sprained ankle in the first three games. The Seahawks’ O-line allowed 43 sacks in 2017, 11th-most in the NFL and one more than it gave up in 2016.
- After a 5-2 start, the team loses to the Redskins at home with 3 missed Blair Walsh field goals leading the way. An ominous sign to be sure.
- Soon after, the Seahawks lose a close game at home to the Falcons to help us realize, that while this team had great players, they were now vulnerable.
- Injuries start to pile up, including 3 defensive stars. Would it be too much to overcome?
- Seattle loses a humiliating game at home to the Rams, 42-7. It’s losses like this that force franchises into wholesale reevaluations in the off-season.
- Seattle holds out hope until the last game, to get into the playoffs, but an Atlanta win and a somehow appropriate loss at home to the Cardinals sends us to the off-season with a season ending record of 9-7
Featured Segment Two: 1st Annual Hawks Playbook Awards
Player of the year Award for each position group: (To know our choices, you’ll have to listen to the show!)
QB’s/Running Backs:
WR/TE’s:
Offensive Line:
Interior D-Line:
DE’s:
LB’s:
Safeties:
Corners:
Special Teams:
Coaches:
Biggest Surprise:
Best Performance:
Biggest Disappointment:
Biggest Injury Loss:
Overall Player of the Year:
Close: Thanks again for listening to the show! See you next week.
Go Hawks!
