It could have been us

[pattersaur]

Seattle had the 6th best defense in the NFL. Vikings were 3rd. 

But I will say this: I like how Mike McDonald ran that team. Is that his name? I'm not even sure. Nobody seems to know who this guy is. No non-stop media presence, no public statements about "baiting" another team into a draft pick, no kneecap eating, And at a time when the trend has been toward more passing, Seattle ranked 29th in pass attempts. At a time when the trend has been toward going for it on 4th down, Seattle led the league in fewest 4th down attempts. 

And since every NFL team follows the model that won the Super Bowl, the new trend will be toward old school, conservative, run and play defense football with a grown-up making grown-up decisions as head coach.

I was referring to the defense we had last year, when we had Sam. And the effect that had on the playcalling maybe. Also, an extremely shaky kicking game.

Both problems got fixed this year, but alas, no more Sam. I should've been more clear.

[AGRforever]

Seattle had the 6th best defense in the NFL. Vikings were 3rd. 

But I will say this: I like how Mike McDonald ran that team. Is that his name? I'm not even sure. Nobody seems to know who this guy is. No non-stop media presence, no public statements about "baiting" another team into a draft pick, no kneecap eating, And at a time when the trend has been toward more passing, Seattle ranked 29th in pass attempts. At a time when the trend has been toward going for it on 4th down, Seattle led the league in fewest 4th down attempts. 

And since every NFL team follows the model that won the Super Bowl, the new trend will be toward old school, conservative, run and play defense football with a grown-up making grown-up decisions as head coach.

Imagine where our D would have ranked if our O could have stayed on the field.

[purplefaithful]

Play good D, solid running game and Shaheed & JSN on the outside...The HC did a masterful job blending all of it too. Sam had what? 3rd most turn-overs in the league in 25?

But with that D and those running-backs? They were able to sustain and win the big games.

IOW, Sam didnt have to carry the team. Great place for him and I'm glad he got a ring.

[medaille]

Could it have been us? Maybe. I think there’s a lot of ifs and buts. I think the defense was there and ready. I’m not sure Darnold survives a whole season behind that Oline (as it ended up being due to injuries, not blaming roster construction). Mostly, I’m just skeptical that KOC can create a winning gameplan on offense. He’s just so one dimensional that I think it creates limitations in the offense against good teams, which is who you need to be good against. I just don’t think a KOC run offense (as we’ve seen it up until now) is really robust enough to win 3 games in a row against playoff caliber teams. I think you run into a good defense and they’ll take away those deep balls, Darnold would get hit a lot and mistakes would happen. I think Seattle put Darnold in a position to succeed and it worked. I don’t think KOC would have pivoted to an offense that would have worked.

I think winning a SB isn’t just about beating the Patriots, which was probably the most doable part of the equation, but also getting there. I really hope that KOC can take this SB as a learning experience and learn to build an offense that is multiple and works to maximize what the players he has.

On a side note, I’ve been kind of plagued by where we should focus on the draft? Our offense was underperforming, should we give them more help? Or should we give Flores some quality picks so he doesn’t have to make magic out of nothing every year. I’m much more tempted now to give Flores a couple more talented prospects and just see what he can do with them. I'd love to see his scheme with some more elite talent.