2024 Season Thread

[JMR]

The Giants game was a series of dumb unforced errors. But let's not forget that much of our front 7 was either out or just coming from from injury. The Giants offense looked more or less competent in large part because of that. If we have the Jones/Knight defense of the past month we likely win that comfortably.

I am not disagreeing with any of that, but dumb unforced errors are what you see from bad teams. And we did a lot of that this year. The Giants didn't even have Nabers and still beat us that day on our field (not that our HFA is much to speak of these days). Completely absurd.

 

[JMR]

FTR, the Giants are the cautionary tale of tanking. They were a top 2 pick for most of the season. Drew Lock has his best game as a pro and now they are 4 and likely shut out of the QBs and screwed for next year.

If what you mean by that is "If you are foolish enough to think teams in the NFL tank, then just look at what the Giants did yesterday" then I think that's a solid point. That win probably knocked them down far enough in the draft order where they will not have a shot at either Sanders or Ward.

 

[flyerhawk]

With the season officially ending after the Rams game, it's time to think even more about the off-season. Here would be my top 3 roster moves that we could largely control:

1. Sign Ernest Jones to a long term deal. I don't think it was an accident that the D's turnaround coincided almost perfectly with his arrival.
2. Trade DK. Hard to imagine what would be worse: signing him to a market value contract or having him on the team as a lame duck in the final year of his current deal. I like what he brings physically, but he's not a building block player.
3. In free agency and/or the draft, add 2 interior O-linemen. I would prefer we have 2 OL picks off the board by the end of round 3.

I didn't include as a priority because I think it's a no-brainer that we will recoup $50M of 2025 cap space by cutting the following: Tyler Lockett (17M), DreMont Jones (11.5M), Noah Fant (9M), Rayshawn Jenkins (5.4M), and Roy Robertson-Harris (6.6M). I would be open to re-working Fant's deal and keeping him around. I like AJ Barner's potential, but he might be a year away from being your top guy there.

The QB debate will probably get tons of air time again. Brady Henderson was on with Brock this morning, and both of them expect a new deal for Geno. We need a better long term answer, but that player is probably not there for us at 1.18 or wherever we end up, and free agency happens so far in front of the draft that you have to be willing to take some massive risk at the most important position on the field by going into the draft w/o a bird in hand. We saw that last off-season for reference, and that was a draft with an historic level of depth at QB. I think I am starting to agree with Brock & Brady that Geno is most likely going to be here another couple seasons.

Speaking of Geno, he's on the verge of hitting $6M in contract escalators. $2M each for matching 2022 pass yards & completion percentage, and another $2M if the team wins 10 games. As they explained it, this $6M would be added to the 2025 roster bonus that kicks in some time in early March (5th day of the league year).

Good post. I pretty much agree on everything. I would be very surprised if Geno isn't here next year. There is just no path where the team could wind up with a viable option for 2025 that isn't taking huge risks that absolutely no one associated with the team would be interested in taking.

 

[flyerhawk]

If what you mean by that is "If you are foolish enough to think teams in the NFL tank, then just look at what the Giants did yesterday" then I think that's a solid point. That win probably knocked them down far enough in the draft order where they will not have a shot at either Sanders or Ward.

Exactly. NFL teams don't tank. Ever. It goes against the interests of EVERYONE on the team.

 

[flyerhawk]

I am not disagreeing with any of that, but dumb unforced errors are what you see from bad teams. And we did a lot of that this year. The Giants didn't even have Nabers and still beat us that day on our field (not that our HFA is much to speak of these days). Completely absurd.

I don't disagree. There is no excuse for losing that game. But I just wanted to point out that if not for a 99 yard defensive TD, that game would have been out of hand pretty early because the defense completely failed to stop the Giants. We should have known it was going to be bad when they converted on a 3rd and 20 or something like that on the first drive.

 

[flyerhawk]

For me, I think the series of plays that defined our season was overtime against the Rams. 3rd and 1 on the Rams 16. 2 tries to get one yard. ONE yard. And we failed. And that wasn't the only time that happened.

 

[MrS]

FTR, the Giants are the cautionary tale of tanking. They were a top 2 pick for most of the season. Drew Lock has his best game as a pro and now they are 4 and likely shut out of the QBs and screwed for next year.

they did themselves a favor, now they can wait until 2026 and get another manning and win a few more superbowls.

Brady Henderson was on with Brock this morning, and both of them expect a new deal for Geno.

so its another 9-8 at best season in 2025.

 

[flyerhawk]

they did themselves a favor, now they can wait until 2026 and get another manning and win a few more superbowls.

Except that isn't how it works. The NFL isn't the NBA. It's ironic that you bring up Eli Manning given his path to being a Giant.

They are going on 10 years of being a perennially bad team. They have had 7 top 10 picks in the past 10 years. And they continue to be terrible.

 

[MrS]

Except that isn't how it works. The NFL isn't the NBA. It's ironic that you bring up Eli Manning given his path to being a Giant.

They are going on 10 years of being a perennially bad team. They have had 7 top 10 picks in the past 10 years. And they continue to be terrible.

bad giants team with arch manning
versus
perennially 9-8 seahawks starting geno smith yet again
which one sounds more exciting? which one has more potential?
let me guess, you would rather be stuck at 9-8 in QB limbo than risk a down year.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

@MrS we could've had a playoff team IMO with what we had...

Grubb was a problem.
Mac was figuring out the defense which was a problem for half the season.
The STeams was a problem....

There were a LOT of problems outside of Geno.

The only person that had a good season for Seattle was Dickson..

 

[MrS]

@MrS we could've had a playoff team IMO with what we had...

Grubb was a problem.
Mac was figuring out the defense which was a problem for half the season.
The STeams was a problem....

There were a LOT of problems outside of Geno.

The only person that had a good season for Seattle was Dickson..

The absolute ceiling with geno is one and done in the playoffs, i want to win superbowls

 

[flyerhawk]

bad giants team with arch manning
versus
perennially 9-8 seahawks starting geno smith yet again
which one sounds more exciting? which one has more potential?
let me guess, you would rather be stuck at 9-8 in QB limbo than risk a down year.

Assuming that Arch declares next year. Assuming that they wind up being the worst team in the league, again, and wind up with the No .1 pick. Otherwise they are just a miserable team year after year which is what they have been since 2012.

 

[flyerhawk]

@MrS we could've had a playoff team IMO with what we had...

Grubb was a problem.
Mac was figuring out the defense which was a problem for half the season.
The STeams was a problem....

There were a LOT of problems outside of Geno.

The only person that had a good season for Seattle was Dickson..

Well that isn't true.

JSN had a very good season. Leonard Williams had a very good season. Julian Love had a good season. Greg Jones had a good season. Devon Witherspoon had a good season. AJ Barner had a good season. Charles Cross had a good season.

It should be pointed out that this year we had a 1st time coach at HC, OC, DC, and STC. It's not shocking that there were some issues. Anyone who thought everything would go smoothly with all these first timers was being completely unrealistic.

We all thought this team would be somewhere around 8-11 wins. We were literally 3 or 4 plays away from being an 11 win team.

 

[flyerhawk]

The absolute ceiling with geno is one and done in the playoffs, i want to win superbowls

You put Geno Smith on that 2013 Seahawks team and they still win a Super Bowl. Geno can't carry a team. But he can win games with the right cast.

 

[MrS]

You put Geno Smith on that 2013 Seahawks team and they still win a Super Bowl. Geno can't carry a team. But he can win games with the right cast.

Totally disagree, genos tendency to shit the bed prevents the team from getting over the top.

 

[flyerhawk]

Totally disagree, genos tendency to shit the bed prevents the team from getting over the top.

He has something like 20 4th quarter comebacks in the last 3 seasons.

People are creating this alternate universe where Geno Smith doesn't do anything well. That's just bunk.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Good post. I pretty much agree on everything. I would be very surprised if Geno isn't here next year. There is just no path where the team could wind up with a viable option for 2025 that isn't taking huge risks that absolutely no one associated with the team would be interested in taking.

But there are paths to get a viable QB and yes there's risk like always. Or stay with Geno and already know he won't get better at 35 and still be a 9 win team and either squeak in the playoffs or miss out.

 

[MrS]

He has something like 20 4th quarter comebacks in the last 3 seasons.

People are creating this alternate universe where Geno Smith doesn't do anything well. That's just bunk.

20 of our 27 wins in the last three years were 4th quarter comebacks?

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

You put Geno Smith on that 2013 Seahawks team and they still win a Super Bowl. Geno can't carry a team. But he can win games with the right cast.

Even you don't believe that.

 

[flyerhawk]

But there are paths to get a viable QB and yes there's risk like always. Or stay with Geno and already know he won't get better at 35 and still be a 9 win team and either squeak in the playoffs or miss out.

They are going to need a somewhat established vet to be the presumptive starter no matter who they want to invest in as their QB of the future. I know you like Fields, and maybe they make a push for him. But as @JMR mentioned, there are several contract deadlines in Geno's contract that would require us to decide pretty quickly on whether we keep him or eat a bunch of money.

Cutting Geno and having only Sam Howell on the roster sounds like an incredibly risky path that requires either a lot of faith in Howell or a lot of faith in whoever else they bring in to be a front line starter next year.

I know for us it is easy to say that we should do X, Y or Z. But cutting Geno and replacing him with someone worse would almost guarantee that Schneider gets fired next year. Maybe Macdonald as well.