Seahawks don’t plan on significant O-line changes

The Seattle Seahawks need a major upgrade to their offensive line, but Pete Carroll said the team does not plan on making any major changes.

Pete Carroll, speaking to the media in season wrap-up press conference, said something that will make most Seattle Seahawks fans cringe. The Seattle Seahawks do not plan to make major changes to their offensive line.

There is no reason to sugar coat it. Seattle offensive line was abysmal this season. They could not run block effectively and they let Russell Wilson get pummeled all season long. They were, without any doubt, one of the worst lines in the entire NFL.

Pro Football Focus had Seattle’s line rated as the worst in the NFL, even worse than Minnesota’s line that was decimated by injuries all season. PFF may not be the greatest evaluator of OL play, but that is still a scathing grade.

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Any yet here we are with a pledge from the team that no changes are coming. This is a terrible idea, but the stubbornness of the Seahawks isn’t going to change.

The rational form the Seahawks is that they guys are all young, and that continuity and experience should lead to improvement. That’s great in theory, but the reality of the NFL cares little for such theories.

Gary Gilliam was the young player who was supposed to improve from 2015 to this season. How did that work out? What about Justin Britt from 2014 to 2015? Russell Okung regressed every season from 2013 until he left Seattle.

It isn’t just on the offensive line either. Tye Smith and Tharold Simon never developed at CB. Eric Pinkins never did so at LB. The same goes for Greg Scruggs at DE and Kevin Norwood at WR. The list quickly becomes quite extensive if you just look at the Seahawks over the last few seasons.

Some players do develop and improve. Doug Baldwin did. Deshawn Shead did. The results are there, ready to entice optimism, but success is rarer than you might believe.

And that brings us back to the offensive line. It currently has no great players, 1 above average player (Justin Britt) and one average player (Mark Glowinski). The other three members of the line are all well below average in everything they do.

For Seattle’s line to reach a basic level of competence, they will need significant improvement from three lineman, and at least moderate improvement from Glowinski. The likelihood of all of that happening is extremely low.

Keep in mind that the Seahawks already bet on getting a significant improvement from Gilliam and lost. Going back to drink from that same well would seem foolish.

On the other hand, we are officially in lying season. Everything said by a head coach or general manager from now until the draft has to be considered with a hefty dose of skepticism. Teams never want to tip their hand in negotiations or in the draft.

Agents of the top OL free agents will surely try squeeze a few extra millions out of the Seahawks. It is in the best interest of Seattle that the team does not seem desperate. Suggesting the team is content to roll with the youngsters from season does help sell a lack of desperation.

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In the end, the only thing we know here is that offensive line must improve. If that is due to player development or an infusion of talent (or both), it does not matter. The Seahawks cannot afford to waste another year of Russell Wilson’s prime season to a terrible offensive line.