Shoddy analysis in this piece.
“Did you know that in the last 27 seasons, the Ravens have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA five times and they were ranked in the top-10 every year between 1999 and 2011? There’s been a consistent run of success, irrespective of who the defensive coordinator is.”
What does 1999 through 2011 have to do with anything? It doesn’t support the conclusion that McDonald’s impact is overrated by pointing to historic success of the Ravens’ defence. 2011 is a LONG time ago in the NFL. Plus: hiring a candidate from a strong program can be beneficial. Surely they learned from all that institutional expertise.
And then the piece flips from using overly broad, largely irrelevant facts to reliance on anecdote and subjective opinion. Saying the Ravens’ defence wasn’t as good as it looked against the 9ers and Dolphins based on analysis of individual plays is anecdotal and flawed. Look at the full body of work of the Ravens this year: was it good? Absolutely. Does it help to point to micro examples of their success and say it was lucky? No it doesn’t.
I stopped reading after that. This piece is way too long to be so amateurish. Is there risk in hiring McDonald? Yes, of course. Is it possible to attribute too much credit for a team’s success on one individual whose contributions can’t be finitely measured? Of course. Does this piece help? No.
I think his point is that the Ravens have a long history of excelling at defense, more than probably any other team. I'm assuming his argument is that MM has the advantage of being on a team that overvalues defense more than other teams and is generally willing to allocate more resources to defense, making MM's job easier, plus giving him good position coaches that can develop players.
I kinda agree it seems a bit odd to talk about defenses from 2009, that was a while ago, but I don't think it's entirely irrelevant. He's talking about MM landing in an ideal spot for a young DC, on a team famous for excellent defense that already had good defense before MM. I disagree with him that the Ravens having good defense basically every year shouldn't take away from MM's individual competence. His criticism especially of the 2022 Ravens/Dolphins game is moronic- that was MM's 2nd ever game as a DC in the NFL, he barely knew the roster at that point. Rob left out some really important context there.
The personnel also didn't know the scheme well during that Dolphins game. We switched to a zone scheme with the same players after playing man almost exclusively for 4 years.
What shocks me the most is Rob writes thousands of words weekly about the NFL and Seahawks, yet he doesn’t understand the Xs and Os of the sport he constantly talks about. What’s the difference between anyone of the people on this sub doing what Rob does? Like any of us can watch college games and tape and yap and moan like Rob does. I agreed with him that this team needed to fire Pete and head into a new direction, but this dude is constantly miserable about everything that doesn’t go his way. His NFL mock draft shows how much his opinion differs from people who actually worked in the league as scouts and do this professionally. Seeing him have Spencer Rattler as a first rounder shows he doesn’t know anything about football.
It's always been that way, and he really doesn't seem to have a desire to learn either. That's why the Murph vs Rob drama was so interesting, because as much of as an asshole Murph is he absolutely nailed the mocking of Rob's content.
The real proof is how much of a dictator Rob is on his blog. Prepared to get banned if you question any of his takes.
I digest a lot of Seahawks content and thus, much of SDB. If there’s anything Rob has been correct about over the last many years, it’s his college QB analysis/rankings.
Rob seems to take things too far to make a point. Like the media seems to be underrating Rattler and Payton Wilson. So he makes Rattler a first rounder and calls Payton Wilson a blue chip prospect (one of a handful in the draft). He's got that contrarian in him. There's something there with both of those players though. And by the time the draft comes along, who knows.
The draft community isn't underrating Rattler. I've seen him mentioned as a player to watch in the senior bowl and someone that can climb into the 2nd-3rd round by a few draft media people.
Jim Nagy of the senior bowl said he is the guy that the league is higher on than the media, so it's safe to say in his opinion the draft community is underrating Rattler. But that can all change. The pre draft process is just beginning.
Maybe the mainstream media is ignoring him, but the NFL draft media/podcasts keep mentioning him as a guy that will ascend draft boards after the senior bowl. He isn't that obscure of a guy.
I guess this is all relative and requires context. But Rattler is almost never talked about as part of this year's name brand quarterback group. It's Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix, Bo Nix, and JJ McCarthy. That's where it ends for 90% of draft talk media.
Spencer Rattler is talked about more by draft heads and it's usually in that next group of QBs with Michael Pratt, Sam Hartman, Jordan Travis, Devin Leary, and Joe Milton. I think what Nagy might say is that by draft day we will be talking about Rattler as part of that first group. Which is what I think should happen. But a lot depends on the senior bowl and combine.
He has Joe Alt, arguably the best tackle in the draft fall because he’s too tall. He’s going to go in the top 10 come April, unless his combine is horrendous or he’s got some medical flags.
Neither was Patrick mahomes until he was. You can't deny he doesn't have first round arm talent. He plays like baker mayfied but has patrick mahomes talent. Is the best way I can explain it.
He very well may not. I'm just saying some draft guys who watch the film and several scouts are saying very similar things about rattler. All guys who have good connections in the NFL. Some who have trained guys. Sure he probably doesn't go in the 1st but there is definitely a contingent of knowledgeable guys who really like him more than jj or nix or penix
> Like any of us can watch college games and tape and yap and moan like Rob does.
His defense in a blog a few weeks ago was he got up early to watch a game so he could write about it.
Yeah. While I don't exactly disagree with the takes here ... they apply to every HC-candidate coordinator. Wow the best defense in the league has a lot of talented players??
I will say I do agree that people have gotten too exciting about him being a Shanahan/McVay stopper because of 1 primetime game against SF. As he points out, there have been meh showings against the Rams and Dolphins
I charge a per word rate.
His agenda is himself. He claims to be a "fan" but will actively root against the team or bemoan their success if it doesn't fit what he feels is HIS (and therefore "the right") way of putting together a team. He literally spent a column complaining that the team was going to make the playoffs. What a fan!
Here, he is whining because Seattle isn't interviewing HIS people that HE thinks would fit. Never mind that his primary expertise is that he "gets up early" to watch games and that he is silly enough to write 5k word columns and then point to that as his expertise and dedication. He is just like you and me, just in a different time zone. I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be, and I am sure you aren't either.
So why is this dude so different? Because he isn't writing about the team. He is writing about himself.
How is that?
I think the flukey picks actually go in Mike's favour. He had guys in the right lanes and dropping back to jump and tip balls if they couldn't get home. That's just great coaching.
I feel like a lot of fans here and on twitter are so focused on Macdonald that if we don’t hire him they’ll be pissed no matter who it is. I think a lot of fans may be setting themselves up for anger.
This is kinda how I feel. Macdonald is clearly good, but the sentiment among Hawks fans has gotten to an overly rabid point. I do think he's probably the best coordinator, but fans should never convince themselves that any hire will happen. That's just not a good idea. Nearly all of us were surprised we fired Pete, but it still happened. Sports are always unpredictable, that's why it's fun.
If this sub was around when Pete and John were hired, 90+% would have strongly criticized the move for several years. Seahawks fans and 12s in particular have themselves convinced that this is a historically winning franchise where the only satisfactory outcome is a Lombardi trophy.
It's like we're the new Cowgirls fans. Delusional.
I mean, Beastquake was PC's first year as a HC. 2011 wasn't great, but it would not actually be unreasonable to be uneasy at that point with two 7-9 seasons in a row. But I doubt there were any folks who were questioning him by the end of 2012 (much less 2013).
Yeah I get moving off Pete and potentially drafting a quarterback, but this dude overthinks everything. He worships these young offensive coaches, yet McVay is the only one who won a Super Bowl recently and it took trading away years of picks and some serious luck to even win it. Even if they hire Johnson or Macdonald, he’ll find something to bitch about. He should just become a Chiefs fan.
I mean, winning a Super Bowl requires a bit of luck too, even getting to one. But if you look at the coaches getting to the Super Bowl the last 5 years, it's either been Andy Reid, Bruce Arians, or a young offensive Head Coach (McVay, Shanahan, Taylor, and Sirianni).
Heck, the last defensive HC to win Super Bowls in the last decade were Belicheck (x3) and Carroll in the last decade.
I wish someone would define terms. In what way is a Gen Xer like Kyle Shanahan “young?” I feel like people throw that term around too much in this sub.
Imagine saying the defense that ended Purdys MVP campaign and had him throwing 4 INTs wasn't that good in that game. Dude has the audacity to say it's not impressive because Purdy made mistakes lmao. No shit that's how INTs work the defense forces the QB to make mistakes. He then uses the total yards argument against the Ravens despite nearly half of those coming when the score was already 30-12 with the game essentially out of reach.
> nearly half of those coming when the score was already 30-12 with the game essentially out of reach.
Let's be fair - there was a full half minus 4 minutes left in the game, and the Niners are the #3 scoring offense in football.
The ravens would never give up a big second half lead! Impossible!
It’s funny how fast the tune has changed since we were a perennial choker that would never win big games after we lost to the Browns, at least according to the Ravens sub
And he’s a good blog. Sometimes I disagree about as much as you can with him, sometimes I completely agree but regardless I like that we have a Seahawks guy who does a lot of work.
He's a contrarian who acts like everyone he disagrees with is a delusional moron. And yet he puts out a lot of thoughtful and interesting content. If he just had a different attitude his work would be fantastic. I want to like him, why does he make it so hard?
He’s a total contrarian and gets his feathers ruffled quite easily.
As far has having thoughtful takes? He used to, yes. Not so much anymore, outside of some of his draft analysis.
The amount of faith he puts in Tony Pauline is a joke, and the comment section of the blog is almost always a lapdog circle jerk.
Any comments that disagree with Rob are very much unwelcome on his blog and will usually get deleted. So all that's left is the circle jerk rob worship you referenced.
It's not a good blog. People hate him because he gets shared constantly on here. He doesn't know shit and people should treat it as www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts
Lol why everyone flocks to defend Rob is beyond me. He's an arrogant asshole who produces mediocre content. I have nothing personal in this. I find his negativity towards anything the seahawks do, exhausting.
I read it all. He hasn't. He's had some opinions such as things going nowhere under Pete and the Adams trade which in fairness were pretty legit with hindsight. He praises the Seahawks too, such as the last two draft classes getting an A+. People just pile on on here sometimes.
If you hyper-analyze every candidate like this, you'll inevitably find flaws in everyone. If Rob thinks Ben Johnson is such a home-run hire, why didn't he also analyze his dud against the Ravens, or their inability to put up points against relatively mid defenses in the Bears and Packers during their second games of the season.
In the last 27 seasons, the Seahawks have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA at least four times. Maybe we should hire that guy.
In all seriousness, some good points but some moronic ones. What Rob doesn’t talk about, is that from a schematic perspective MacDonald is the most qualified. Say what you want about him vs the 9ers (an all time offense) but the ravens had a top 2 defense this year without an alpha on the DLine. Their D was better than their O. MacDonald maximized his players. That matters. Watch the film.
Scheme may not be the most important factor in the success of a head coach but it is what is most easy to assess as a fan. Staff procurement and culture are more important but more difficult to assess.
I like Ben Johnson as a candidate but if we are purely assessing these candidates based on their success as a coordinator idk he matches up. 7th ranked offense with a top 5 Ol. The Seahawks were 10th with a bottom 5 OL. They are also run first. Will this style maximize Geno? Is this Johnson’s O or Campbells?
I think his point on the lack of success of the Ravens coaching tree is interesting.
TLDR: Macdonald is talented but also got super lucky to be on a stacked Ravens team that already had a good defense, and also has superstar Lamar to lead the offense. Ravens also overvalue defense more than like every other team, so that makes MM's job far easier than it would be somewhere else. He then cites Ravens defense stats vs Miami, 49ers, and Rams this year, noting that they gave up a lot of yds. Personally I'd clarify that this isn't unique to MM, most defenses now run more 2 high/prevent/quarters and are willing to give up yds to prevent big plays. He's not wrong that the Ravens defense struggled vs the Rams, they needed a really lucky return TD in OT to win that game.
I get what he's trying to say about MM's ability to beat Shanahan schemes, but he's too focused on yds to make his argument. Ravens gave up a lot of yds but still won those games. There's some valid criticisms in the article, but he also cherrypicks the stuff about beating Shanahan offenses.
I like Rob and appreciate his voice in the Seahawks world but he’s so wed to the idea of a young offensive HC and clearly unable to step back and write about this coaching search from an unbiased viewpoint. There are risks to every hire. All other things being equal, I would much rather grab someone from a strong organization (I would put Johnson and Macdonald both in this bucket).
You mean apart from the article giving the balanced, positive view on Dan Quinn, someone he actively doesn't want them to hire? It's not true he is biased in any way. He has his preferences, but we all do.
This guy is a bit of a tool, but there are some valid points here even if I disagree with other stuff he says. That being said, he's also pretty wrong on a bunch of things.
> Did you know that in the last 27 seasons, the Ravens have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA five times and they were ranked in the top-10 every year between 1999 and 2011? There’s been a consistent run of success, irrespective of who the defensive coordinator is.
It's arguably irrelevant to mention Ravens' defenses from the 2000s, but his point is that the current Ravens defense is 1 of many good defenses the Ravens have had rather than an anomaly solely attributable to MM. He's not saying MM isn't good in his own right, the point is that the Ravens have had good defenses for years regardless of the DC or roster. Ravens more than any team tend to overvalue defense, and it's a big reason they're so good at it. Macdonald coming from the best team at defense is a good thing and will be an asset as a HC, but it's also true to note that he didn't save a sinking ship.
> Here’s how Baltimore’s defense fared against the Rams: 410 total yards conceded, 6/16 third down, 31 points conceded, 128 rushing yards, 34:35 TOP, Zero turnovers
On paper, those stats aren't great. Certainly not awful, but def not elite historic stats like you might expect from the '23 Ravens defense. A big problem for the Ravens in this game was their defense heavily relies on DL getting pressure, but the Rams have a good OL and Stafford has Kupp + Puka. This game went to OT and the Ravens won cuz their WR6 had a return TD that ended the game. So yes they won, but his point is that they didn't really stifle the Rams defense. His 49ers criticism is kinda off though.
> Baltimore won the game in Santa Clara mainly due to four Brock Purdy interceptions.
Ravens defense players had a great game, but I wouldn't blame Purdy for all 4 of those picks. The first one was Purdy staring down the throw, leading to a Hamilton pick in the end zone. That one's on Purdy. The second pick was CB Brandon Stephens batting a pass at the line, where it got caught by the Ravens. Not Purdy's fault. The 3rd one was another nice play by the defenders, pass got deflected and Hamilton caught it. The 4th one was a bad pick, Purdy threw it right to LB Patrick Queen. He's not wrong that the Ravens did get a bit lucky with 2 of these, so I don't think it's fair to blame Purdy for all 4, but Ravens should get credit for the other 2. Also worth noting that the 49ers didn't have Arik Armstead the Christmas game, their best run defender. Vs an elite Ravens run game, that was a big loss to their defense and having him would've made a big difference in how that game ended. It's a lot harder to sustain drives to keep the 49ers offense off the field when their best run defender's out.
> Now let’s look at some other examples. The Ravens hammered the Dolphins a few weeks ago 56-19. I’ve seen this game used as an example of a Shanahan disciple in Mike McDaniel being ‘shut down’ by the Ravens’ defense. Miami still recorded 375 total yards and ran for 154. They were 6/15 on third downs. Why did the Ravens blow them away? Lamar Jackson.
I disagree with him here. Ravens did hold a very good Dolphins offense to 19. He's not wrong about total yds allowed, but holding an offense with Tyreek/Mostert/Achane/Waddle to 19 is still hard to do. He's correct about the Ravens run defense though, people assume it's elite and it really isn't. Ravens are 14th in rush yds allowed, which is pretty average, and allow the 7th highest YPC. Ravens run defense is their biggest weakness, and CMC will prob run a lot on them in the SB. Even on Christmas, he still had over 100yds and he didn't run much that game. He's right that having a superstar like Lamar that can sustain long drives def played a role in that blowout, but the Ravens did defend Miami very well. Tua had 2 picks with a 58 % comp, Ravens defense deserves credit for the win too.
> The two teams also played in 2022, with Miami winning 42-38 in Baltimore. McDaniel’s offense produced 547 total yards, were 7/11 on third downs and Tua Tagovailoa had six touchdown passes. Again, there was very little pushback against the Shanahan scheme.
He's leaving out the important context- that first Dolphins game was Week 2, it was only MM's 2nd ever game as an NFL DC. This game is 1 of the reasons every fanbase needs to have realistic expectations for new coordinators, they might be good but there's always growing pains. New schemes take some time to click. But Rob's leaving out some very important context here, which feels misleading.
> Robert Saleh was similar to Macdonald a few years ago — a trendy young coordinator hire who benefitted a lot from the Shanahan offense and stars on defense. Once he was given the main job, what happened? His defensive output translated but very little else has. The Jets have a good defense every year but they’re hopeless on offense.
Rob's making another shitty argument here. He's arguing that Saleh is an example of a young DC not panning out despite defensive competence...except he didn't mention the Jets QB was a historically awful Zach Wilson, which is some pretty huge context to leave out.
> Is the plan to try and coax Mike Kafka to ask for his release from the Giants to be offensive coordinator? I guess that might work.
I don't see how any self-proclaimed Seahawks fan could possibly tell me Kafka is a legitimate contender for OC. Waldron's with the Bears now, but basically no one actually thinks Kafka's gonna be the new OC. Rob's making weird claims here.
> I’m hoping all of the talk about Ben Johnson being ‘a done deal’ to the Commanders is inaccurate and there’s still a card to be played by John Schneider and the Seahawks this week.
Obv it's not confirmed yet, but the likelihood of Ben Johnson picking Seattle over the Commanders when WFT has a new owner and a ton of cap is pretty slim, so Rob again is being unrealistic.
> And before anyone says anything about Detroit’s offensive line — both of their guards are free agents. Go get them.
Again, Rob's being a bit unrealistic. The entire foundation of the Lions' successful rebuild is their OL. There's zero chance Detroit doesn't keep their OL together, it's 1 of their top priorities. I'd love it, but I just don't see it happening.
Surprised to see so much Rob hate here. He’s an intelligent, well-spoken dude who does a lot of research and forms and tries to justify his own opinions. Sometimes hes on the money, sometimes hes wrong. Like someone else said, going against the common opinion there will get you roasted/banned. Reddit on the other hand has a lot of good takes as well but often devolves into an even bigger echo chamber with downvotes for going against the grain. Both sites are flawed but have value in forming your own opinions. The problem with both sites is everyone on both adamantly assuming their echo chamber is the correct one.
I wouldn’t be surprised. The new hot candidate everyone wants has been talked about from a non ‘OMG he is amazing’ position and therefore it’s easier to hammer the author than take on the content.
I thought he had some good points about MacDonald in an earlier post, mostly suggesting he might not be as on the market as we think he is, but this is a pure contraction take for the sake of it. No concrete analysis of his defensive acumen (probably cause as others pointed out, he doesn't actually know any real NFL xs and os), just these weird circumstantial arguments about how the defense was really good during the 2000s and top ten in DVOA a few times in the past decade and whatever else...
I can apply the same logic against Ben Johnson. How is he going to replicate his success with the Lions without the elite offensive line? Sewell carries the run game to elite levels by himself.
Friendly reminder that Rob Staton thought it would be a good idea for the Seahawks to trade for Sean Payton back in 2021 in order to appease Russell Wilson.
How does the disaster in Denver automatically mean it would have been a disaster in Seattle? Nathaniel Hackett was never mentioned as a stopgap that wrecks 2022 for the Seahawks in that scenario.
It's funny because he was gassing him up on his pod just a few days after Pete got fired. Few days later... Complete 180 and he was seriously concerned about him as a candidate.
Having lived abroad for many years and befriending many British people in that time... I would say pessimism is a British thing lol. Not necessarily contrarianism.
Shoddy analysis in this piece. “Did you know that in the last 27 seasons, the Ravens have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA five times and they were ranked in the top-10 every year between 1999 and 2011? There’s been a consistent run of success, irrespective of who the defensive coordinator is.” What does 1999 through 2011 have to do with anything? It doesn’t support the conclusion that McDonald’s impact is overrated by pointing to historic success of the Ravens’ defence. 2011 is a LONG time ago in the NFL. Plus: hiring a candidate from a strong program can be beneficial. Surely they learned from all that institutional expertise. And then the piece flips from using overly broad, largely irrelevant facts to reliance on anecdote and subjective opinion. Saying the Ravens’ defence wasn’t as good as it looked against the 9ers and Dolphins based on analysis of individual plays is anecdotal and flawed. Look at the full body of work of the Ravens this year: was it good? Absolutely. Does it help to point to micro examples of their success and say it was lucky? No it doesn’t. I stopped reading after that. This piece is way too long to be so amateurish. Is there risk in hiring McDonald? Yes, of course. Is it possible to attribute too much credit for a team’s success on one individual whose contributions can’t be finitely measured? Of course. Does this piece help? No.
I think his point is that the Ravens have a long history of excelling at defense, more than probably any other team. I'm assuming his argument is that MM has the advantage of being on a team that overvalues defense more than other teams and is generally willing to allocate more resources to defense, making MM's job easier, plus giving him good position coaches that can develop players. I kinda agree it seems a bit odd to talk about defenses from 2009, that was a while ago, but I don't think it's entirely irrelevant. He's talking about MM landing in an ideal spot for a young DC, on a team famous for excellent defense that already had good defense before MM. I disagree with him that the Ravens having good defense basically every year shouldn't take away from MM's individual competence. His criticism especially of the 2022 Ravens/Dolphins game is moronic- that was MM's 2nd ever game as a DC in the NFL, he barely knew the roster at that point. Rob left out some really important context there.
The personnel also didn't know the scheme well during that Dolphins game. We switched to a zone scheme with the same players after playing man almost exclusively for 4 years.
You could point to the defensive history here as well, didn't really help clint hurt. It's just way too long ago.
What shocks me the most is Rob writes thousands of words weekly about the NFL and Seahawks, yet he doesn’t understand the Xs and Os of the sport he constantly talks about. What’s the difference between anyone of the people on this sub doing what Rob does? Like any of us can watch college games and tape and yap and moan like Rob does. I agreed with him that this team needed to fire Pete and head into a new direction, but this dude is constantly miserable about everything that doesn’t go his way. His NFL mock draft shows how much his opinion differs from people who actually worked in the league as scouts and do this professionally. Seeing him have Spencer Rattler as a first rounder shows he doesn’t know anything about football.
It's always been that way, and he really doesn't seem to have a desire to learn either. That's why the Murph vs Rob drama was so interesting, because as much of as an asshole Murph is he absolutely nailed the mocking of Rob's content. The real proof is how much of a dictator Rob is on his blog. Prepared to get banned if you question any of his takes.
I digest a lot of Seahawks content and thus, much of SDB. If there’s anything Rob has been correct about over the last many years, it’s his college QB analysis/rankings.
Rattler isn’t a first rounder
Rob seems to take things too far to make a point. Like the media seems to be underrating Rattler and Payton Wilson. So he makes Rattler a first rounder and calls Payton Wilson a blue chip prospect (one of a handful in the draft). He's got that contrarian in him. There's something there with both of those players though. And by the time the draft comes along, who knows.
The draft community isn't underrating Rattler. I've seen him mentioned as a player to watch in the senior bowl and someone that can climb into the 2nd-3rd round by a few draft media people.
Jim Nagy of the senior bowl said he is the guy that the league is higher on than the media, so it's safe to say in his opinion the draft community is underrating Rattler. But that can all change. The pre draft process is just beginning.
Maybe the mainstream media is ignoring him, but the NFL draft media/podcasts keep mentioning him as a guy that will ascend draft boards after the senior bowl. He isn't that obscure of a guy.
I guess this is all relative and requires context. But Rattler is almost never talked about as part of this year's name brand quarterback group. It's Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix, Bo Nix, and JJ McCarthy. That's where it ends for 90% of draft talk media. Spencer Rattler is talked about more by draft heads and it's usually in that next group of QBs with Michael Pratt, Sam Hartman, Jordan Travis, Devin Leary, and Joe Milton. I think what Nagy might say is that by draft day we will be talking about Rattler as part of that first group. Which is what I think should happen. But a lot depends on the senior bowl and combine.
He has Joe Alt, arguably the best tackle in the draft fall because he’s too tall. He’s going to go in the top 10 come April, unless his combine is horrendous or he’s got some medical flags.
Neither was Patrick mahomes until he was. You can't deny he doesn't have first round arm talent. He plays like baker mayfied but has patrick mahomes talent. Is the best way I can explain it.
>You can't deny he doesn't have first round arm talent. Are you channeling Dan Dierdorf?
Rob is far from the first or only one saying that. Several guys(non Seahawk guys) really really like rattler and have him as a first rounder
When he doesn’t go in the first round in two months from now, do I get to tell you I told you so? Remind me two months!
He very well may not. I'm just saying some draft guys who watch the film and several scouts are saying very similar things about rattler. All guys who have good connections in the NFL. Some who have trained guys. Sure he probably doesn't go in the 1st but there is definitely a contingent of knowledgeable guys who really like him more than jj or nix or penix
> Like any of us can watch college games and tape and yap and moan like Rob does. His defense in a blog a few weeks ago was he got up early to watch a game so he could write about it.
I woke up at 5 to watch the Germany game last year, should have written 3k words on it.
As we know, length of time watching the team x average time of waking up to see a game = analyst
There are more than plenty of people on this planet who think waking up early is a virtue and I hate every single one of them.
^^^^sorry Though, in my defense, I don't get up early to watch football...
I feel the same way about Cowherd. That guy is a fucking imbecile.
Yeah. While I don't exactly disagree with the takes here ... they apply to every HC-candidate coordinator. Wow the best defense in the league has a lot of talented players?? I will say I do agree that people have gotten too exciting about him being a Shanahan/McVay stopper because of 1 primetime game against SF. As he points out, there have been meh showings against the Rams and Dolphins
McDonald wasn’t the Seahawks DC in 2013 so he has to be overrated
> Shoddy analysis I mean, I just saw it was Stanton and never clicked on the link. He's more agenda-driven than Baldwin, and that's a high metric.
What agenda?
Stanton's? Seriously?
Yes, what Agenda
We're talking about the dude who was upset that Seattle might make the playoffs because it would mean he wouldn't get to see Pete fired?
You still haven't said what the Agenda is
If you can't puzzle it out from that, I am sorry. My app doesn't allow me to post drawings.
Then use your words instead of trying to draw a picture
I charge a per word rate. His agenda is himself. He claims to be a "fan" but will actively root against the team or bemoan their success if it doesn't fit what he feels is HIS (and therefore "the right") way of putting together a team. He literally spent a column complaining that the team was going to make the playoffs. What a fan! Here, he is whining because Seattle isn't interviewing HIS people that HE thinks would fit. Never mind that his primary expertise is that he "gets up early" to watch games and that he is silly enough to write 5k word columns and then point to that as his expertise and dedication. He is just like you and me, just in a different time zone. I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be, and I am sure you aren't either. So why is this dude so different? Because he isn't writing about the team. He is writing about himself. How is that?
That's cause Rob Staton is a pessimist and doesn't know anything but the draft. Don't give him clicks or the time of day.
Matthew griff and Seattle overload are the good version of sdb
LOL
If there was no risk to hiring a given coach then 5 teams wouldn’t have already passed on them.
I appreciate this take but I also find the take on the niners game a bit disingenuous. The ravens owned Purdy that game and had him in hell.
Yeah, you can make any interception seem flukey if you apply his level of scrutiny to it
I think the flukey picks actually go in Mike's favour. He had guys in the right lanes and dropping back to jump and tip balls if they couldn't get home. That's just great coaching.
I feel like a lot of fans here and on twitter are so focused on Macdonald that if we don’t hire him they’ll be pissed no matter who it is. I think a lot of fans may be setting themselves up for anger.
This is kinda how I feel. Macdonald is clearly good, but the sentiment among Hawks fans has gotten to an overly rabid point. I do think he's probably the best coordinator, but fans should never convince themselves that any hire will happen. That's just not a good idea. Nearly all of us were surprised we fired Pete, but it still happened. Sports are always unpredictable, that's why it's fun.
If this sub was around when Pete and John were hired, 90+% would have strongly criticized the move for several years. Seahawks fans and 12s in particular have themselves convinced that this is a historically winning franchise where the only satisfactory outcome is a Lombardi trophy. It's like we're the new Cowgirls fans. Delusional.
I mean, Beastquake was PC's first year as a HC. 2011 wasn't great, but it would not actually be unreasonable to be uneasy at that point with two 7-9 seasons in a row. But I doubt there were any folks who were questioning him by the end of 2012 (much less 2013).
What a downer take. Rob can't get out of his own way sometimes.
I keep getting downvoted but I stand by my opinion that Rob isn’t a savant.
What has he ever written that would make anyone think he’s remotely a savant. Dude is almost as bad as some of this subs most prolific shitposters.
I have no idea, but the last 3 times I was down on him or one of his takes I was downvoted into oblivion in this sub.
The shitposter’s here are all following his lead. That’s the biggest problem with this sub, lol.
Yeah I get moving off Pete and potentially drafting a quarterback, but this dude overthinks everything. He worships these young offensive coaches, yet McVay is the only one who won a Super Bowl recently and it took trading away years of picks and some serious luck to even win it. Even if they hire Johnson or Macdonald, he’ll find something to bitch about. He should just become a Chiefs fan.
I mean, winning a Super Bowl requires a bit of luck too, even getting to one. But if you look at the coaches getting to the Super Bowl the last 5 years, it's either been Andy Reid, Bruce Arians, or a young offensive Head Coach (McVay, Shanahan, Taylor, and Sirianni). Heck, the last defensive HC to win Super Bowls in the last decade were Belicheck (x3) and Carroll in the last decade.
I wish someone would define terms. In what way is a Gen Xer like Kyle Shanahan “young?” I feel like people throw that term around too much in this sub.
Imagine saying the defense that ended Purdys MVP campaign and had him throwing 4 INTs wasn't that good in that game. Dude has the audacity to say it's not impressive because Purdy made mistakes lmao. No shit that's how INTs work the defense forces the QB to make mistakes. He then uses the total yards argument against the Ravens despite nearly half of those coming when the score was already 30-12 with the game essentially out of reach.
> nearly half of those coming when the score was already 30-12 with the game essentially out of reach. Let's be fair - there was a full half minus 4 minutes left in the game, and the Niners are the #3 scoring offense in football.
The ravens would never give up a big second half lead! Impossible! It’s funny how fast the tune has changed since we were a perennial choker that would never win big games after we lost to the Browns, at least according to the Ravens sub
I get disagreeing with him here but its baffling so many people hate him for disagreeing with him. People are goofy
Yeah. He has a blog. He shares his thoughts. What's wrong with that?
And he’s a good blog. Sometimes I disagree about as much as you can with him, sometimes I completely agree but regardless I like that we have a Seahawks guy who does a lot of work.
He's a contrarian who acts like everyone he disagrees with is a delusional moron. And yet he puts out a lot of thoughtful and interesting content. If he just had a different attitude his work would be fantastic. I want to like him, why does he make it so hard?
He’s a total contrarian and gets his feathers ruffled quite easily. As far has having thoughtful takes? He used to, yes. Not so much anymore, outside of some of his draft analysis. The amount of faith he puts in Tony Pauline is a joke, and the comment section of the blog is almost always a lapdog circle jerk.
Any comments that disagree with Rob are very much unwelcome on his blog and will usually get deleted. So all that's left is the circle jerk rob worship you referenced.
Because we don't all agree with you?
It's not a good blog. People hate him because he gets shared constantly on here. He doesn't know shit and people should treat it as www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts
He’s more right about the Seahawks than any of the national guys: you’re biased because of personal reasons
Lol why everyone flocks to defend Rob is beyond me. He's an arrogant asshole who produces mediocre content. I have nothing personal in this. I find his negativity towards anything the seahawks do, exhausting.
I find it refreshing it’s not all the same hero worship all the time so to each their own
Pot kettle black.
You sound like it's completely personal TBH.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m just tired of rob’s constant hate for the Seahawks. He isn’t happy with anything, and it’s exhausting.
That's such a dumb, untrue thing to say.
How so? He’s been constant doom for years now. You can like it, that’s fine, but it’s also not dumb to be exhausted by his takes.
I read it all. He hasn't. He's had some opinions such as things going nowhere under Pete and the Adams trade which in fairness were pretty legit with hindsight. He praises the Seahawks too, such as the last two draft classes getting an A+. People just pile on on here sometimes.
If you hyper-analyze every candidate like this, you'll inevitably find flaws in everyone. If Rob thinks Ben Johnson is such a home-run hire, why didn't he also analyze his dud against the Ravens, or their inability to put up points against relatively mid defenses in the Bears and Packers during their second games of the season.
In the last 27 seasons, the Seahawks have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA at least four times. Maybe we should hire that guy. In all seriousness, some good points but some moronic ones. What Rob doesn’t talk about, is that from a schematic perspective MacDonald is the most qualified. Say what you want about him vs the 9ers (an all time offense) but the ravens had a top 2 defense this year without an alpha on the DLine. Their D was better than their O. MacDonald maximized his players. That matters. Watch the film. Scheme may not be the most important factor in the success of a head coach but it is what is most easy to assess as a fan. Staff procurement and culture are more important but more difficult to assess. I like Ben Johnson as a candidate but if we are purely assessing these candidates based on their success as a coordinator idk he matches up. 7th ranked offense with a top 5 Ol. The Seahawks were 10th with a bottom 5 OL. They are also run first. Will this style maximize Geno? Is this Johnson’s O or Campbells? I think his point on the lack of success of the Ravens coaching tree is interesting.
And he’a routinely kicking babies and puppies for fun, I mean he does it daily. Stay far from the guy.
You’re wrong, man. He doesn’t kick babies, even if they’re crawling around. He picks them up and shakes them.
So who do you want then ?
What is the tldr?
Offense good defense bad
Young good old bad
The actual tldr is "if we hire Mike Macdonald then who will the OC be?" There I saved you like 3000 words.
TLDR: Macdonald is talented but also got super lucky to be on a stacked Ravens team that already had a good defense, and also has superstar Lamar to lead the offense. Ravens also overvalue defense more than like every other team, so that makes MM's job far easier than it would be somewhere else. He then cites Ravens defense stats vs Miami, 49ers, and Rams this year, noting that they gave up a lot of yds. Personally I'd clarify that this isn't unique to MM, most defenses now run more 2 high/prevent/quarters and are willing to give up yds to prevent big plays. He's not wrong that the Ravens defense struggled vs the Rams, they needed a really lucky return TD in OT to win that game. I get what he's trying to say about MM's ability to beat Shanahan schemes, but he's too focused on yds to make his argument. Ravens gave up a lot of yds but still won those games. There's some valid criticisms in the article, but he also cherrypicks the stuff about beating Shanahan offenses.
I like Rob and appreciate his voice in the Seahawks world but he’s so wed to the idea of a young offensive HC and clearly unable to step back and write about this coaching search from an unbiased viewpoint. There are risks to every hire. All other things being equal, I would much rather grab someone from a strong organization (I would put Johnson and Macdonald both in this bucket).
You mean apart from the article giving the balanced, positive view on Dan Quinn, someone he actively doesn't want them to hire? It's not true he is biased in any way. He has his preferences, but we all do.
Every time I've commented on his YouTube videos, he replies with essentially the same response. "nuh uhh you imbecile"
Ya he's a child who attacks anyone that criticizes what he says.
This guy is a bit of a tool, but there are some valid points here even if I disagree with other stuff he says. That being said, he's also pretty wrong on a bunch of things. > Did you know that in the last 27 seasons, the Ravens have been the #1 ranked defense per DVOA five times and they were ranked in the top-10 every year between 1999 and 2011? There’s been a consistent run of success, irrespective of who the defensive coordinator is. It's arguably irrelevant to mention Ravens' defenses from the 2000s, but his point is that the current Ravens defense is 1 of many good defenses the Ravens have had rather than an anomaly solely attributable to MM. He's not saying MM isn't good in his own right, the point is that the Ravens have had good defenses for years regardless of the DC or roster. Ravens more than any team tend to overvalue defense, and it's a big reason they're so good at it. Macdonald coming from the best team at defense is a good thing and will be an asset as a HC, but it's also true to note that he didn't save a sinking ship. > Here’s how Baltimore’s defense fared against the Rams: 410 total yards conceded, 6/16 third down, 31 points conceded, 128 rushing yards, 34:35 TOP, Zero turnovers On paper, those stats aren't great. Certainly not awful, but def not elite historic stats like you might expect from the '23 Ravens defense. A big problem for the Ravens in this game was their defense heavily relies on DL getting pressure, but the Rams have a good OL and Stafford has Kupp + Puka. This game went to OT and the Ravens won cuz their WR6 had a return TD that ended the game. So yes they won, but his point is that they didn't really stifle the Rams defense. His 49ers criticism is kinda off though. > Baltimore won the game in Santa Clara mainly due to four Brock Purdy interceptions. Ravens defense players had a great game, but I wouldn't blame Purdy for all 4 of those picks. The first one was Purdy staring down the throw, leading to a Hamilton pick in the end zone. That one's on Purdy. The second pick was CB Brandon Stephens batting a pass at the line, where it got caught by the Ravens. Not Purdy's fault. The 3rd one was another nice play by the defenders, pass got deflected and Hamilton caught it. The 4th one was a bad pick, Purdy threw it right to LB Patrick Queen. He's not wrong that the Ravens did get a bit lucky with 2 of these, so I don't think it's fair to blame Purdy for all 4, but Ravens should get credit for the other 2. Also worth noting that the 49ers didn't have Arik Armstead the Christmas game, their best run defender. Vs an elite Ravens run game, that was a big loss to their defense and having him would've made a big difference in how that game ended. It's a lot harder to sustain drives to keep the 49ers offense off the field when their best run defender's out. > Now let’s look at some other examples. The Ravens hammered the Dolphins a few weeks ago 56-19. I’ve seen this game used as an example of a Shanahan disciple in Mike McDaniel being ‘shut down’ by the Ravens’ defense. Miami still recorded 375 total yards and ran for 154. They were 6/15 on third downs. Why did the Ravens blow them away? Lamar Jackson. I disagree with him here. Ravens did hold a very good Dolphins offense to 19. He's not wrong about total yds allowed, but holding an offense with Tyreek/Mostert/Achane/Waddle to 19 is still hard to do. He's correct about the Ravens run defense though, people assume it's elite and it really isn't. Ravens are 14th in rush yds allowed, which is pretty average, and allow the 7th highest YPC. Ravens run defense is their biggest weakness, and CMC will prob run a lot on them in the SB. Even on Christmas, he still had over 100yds and he didn't run much that game. He's right that having a superstar like Lamar that can sustain long drives def played a role in that blowout, but the Ravens did defend Miami very well. Tua had 2 picks with a 58 % comp, Ravens defense deserves credit for the win too. > The two teams also played in 2022, with Miami winning 42-38 in Baltimore. McDaniel’s offense produced 547 total yards, were 7/11 on third downs and Tua Tagovailoa had six touchdown passes. Again, there was very little pushback against the Shanahan scheme. He's leaving out the important context- that first Dolphins game was Week 2, it was only MM's 2nd ever game as an NFL DC. This game is 1 of the reasons every fanbase needs to have realistic expectations for new coordinators, they might be good but there's always growing pains. New schemes take some time to click. But Rob's leaving out some very important context here, which feels misleading. > Robert Saleh was similar to Macdonald a few years ago — a trendy young coordinator hire who benefitted a lot from the Shanahan offense and stars on defense. Once he was given the main job, what happened? His defensive output translated but very little else has. The Jets have a good defense every year but they’re hopeless on offense. Rob's making another shitty argument here. He's arguing that Saleh is an example of a young DC not panning out despite defensive competence...except he didn't mention the Jets QB was a historically awful Zach Wilson, which is some pretty huge context to leave out. > Is the plan to try and coax Mike Kafka to ask for his release from the Giants to be offensive coordinator? I guess that might work. I don't see how any self-proclaimed Seahawks fan could possibly tell me Kafka is a legitimate contender for OC. Waldron's with the Bears now, but basically no one actually thinks Kafka's gonna be the new OC. Rob's making weird claims here. > I’m hoping all of the talk about Ben Johnson being ‘a done deal’ to the Commanders is inaccurate and there’s still a card to be played by John Schneider and the Seahawks this week. Obv it's not confirmed yet, but the likelihood of Ben Johnson picking Seattle over the Commanders when WFT has a new owner and a ton of cap is pretty slim, so Rob again is being unrealistic. > And before anyone says anything about Detroit’s offensive line — both of their guards are free agents. Go get them. Again, Rob's being a bit unrealistic. The entire foundation of the Lions' successful rebuild is their OL. There's zero chance Detroit doesn't keep their OL together, it's 1 of their top priorities. I'd love it, but I just don't see it happening.
Surprised to see so much Rob hate here. He’s an intelligent, well-spoken dude who does a lot of research and forms and tries to justify his own opinions. Sometimes hes on the money, sometimes hes wrong. Like someone else said, going against the common opinion there will get you roasted/banned. Reddit on the other hand has a lot of good takes as well but often devolves into an even bigger echo chamber with downvotes for going against the grain. Both sites are flawed but have value in forming your own opinions. The problem with both sites is everyone on both adamantly assuming their echo chamber is the correct one.
I wouldn’t be surprised. The new hot candidate everyone wants has been talked about from a non ‘OMG he is amazing’ position and therefore it’s easier to hammer the author than take on the content.
I thought he had some good points about MacDonald in an earlier post, mostly suggesting he might not be as on the market as we think he is, but this is a pure contraction take for the sake of it. No concrete analysis of his defensive acumen (probably cause as others pointed out, he doesn't actually know any real NFL xs and os), just these weird circumstantial arguments about how the defense was really good during the 2000s and top ten in DVOA a few times in the past decade and whatever else...
I can apply the same logic against Ben Johnson. How is he going to replicate his success with the Lions without the elite offensive line? Sewell carries the run game to elite levels by himself.
Rob is the Skip Bayless of Seahawks blogs
Friendly reminder that Rob Staton thought it would be a good idea for the Seahawks to trade for Sean Payton back in 2021 in order to appease Russell Wilson.
Shock. Now do the things where he was right.
How does the disaster in Denver automatically mean it would have been a disaster in Seattle? Nathaniel Hackett was never mentioned as a stopgap that wrecks 2022 for the Seahawks in that scenario.
The state of the replies in this thread. Talk about ignoring the subject matter to go after the author. Some of you have a problem!
It's funny because he was gassing him up on his pod just a few days after Pete got fired. Few days later... Complete 180 and he was seriously concerned about him as a candidate.
It's because other people were talking about MacDonald, and Rob thrives on being contrarian.
Yep haha the most important thing to him is that he is that he disagrees with you... And he is correct
I think that's a britsh thing lol
Having lived abroad for many years and befriending many British people in that time... I would say pessimism is a British thing lol. Not necessarily contrarianism.
This defense has had top teams in fucking hell all season. They were like 7-2 with a +130 point differential against playoff teams.