Cast your mind back to last year when the Seahawks were⌠pretty good? Great, even, when Earl Thomas was healthy? It doesnât feel that way though, because the usually exceptional Seahawks run game was a mess last season, due to underperformance from both the offensive line and health issues with the running back corps.
Thatâs why this off-season hasnât merely been about a great team (assuming Thomas will return to health) restocking the cupboard. Making sure that mistakes were repeated in terms of offensive line construction was crucial. And yet⌠rather than going out and getting a great offensive tackle to stabilize the unit, the team has added former top prospect, and current surgery recoveree Luke Joeckel, as well as running back Eddie Lacy.
These moves are concerning maybe?
Letâs start with Joeckel, who, coming out of college, was considered the leagueâs next great tackle. Now he seems like the Seahawks' latest doomed reclamation project on the offensive line. Itâs not that heâs devoid of talent, itâs that he was surprisingly middling to this point in his career and is coming off a surgery to repair three separate knee ligaments. And his contract? $7 million guaranteed.
Woof.
If he's healthy, Joeckel will provide a boost over last yearâs moribund unit, but that health is a huge question mark, and pretty much anyone who qualifies as a professional football tackle would have provided a boost over last yearâs unit. And while the top tackles on the market were maybe out of Seattleâs price range, itâs weird there wasnât a happy medium between âtop tackleâ and âtotal reclamation project.â
The Lacy signing is also weird. For $3-$5 million depending on performance, the Seahawks have gotten a physical runner, with a Marshawn Lynch-esque pedigree and penchant for exploding through tackles. They also got a player whose performance has declined consistently since entering the league, and a player who's struggled with weight issues. This contract could be great, or it could be an absolute waste of money.
â¨What we do know is what the teamâs new Skittles equivalent is:
presenting the most dangerous one-two punch in the NFL: Eddie Lacy and china food pic.twitter.com/X0Oa8kNyiH
â Grant Goldberg (@GrantGoldberg) March 10, 2017
Some men just want China Food, and let it be said that for better or worse, Seattle is a far better spot for Asian cuisine than Alabama or Green Bay. If you love the Chinese food of Alabama, youâre gonna go nuts for Dough Zone or Din Tai Fung.
Really, though? Iâm concerned. We still donât have solid answers on the offensive line, and there are other spots on the roster (interior defensive line, secondary, weakside linebacker) that are startlingly thin.
All that said, the Seahawks were really good last year and Earl Thomas is healing and ready to play. The team has won a playoff game for five straight seasons. Things are fine. Things. Are. Fine.