John Clayton again

[yossarian]

Is on the Seattle radio and says if Flynn throws for 20 TDs with the Seahawks defense they could win the division.
He also had the 49ers at 10-6 next year and the Seahawks at 9-7

I hope that this lack of respect helps fuel the 49ers.

 

[Bemular]

Is on the Seattle radio and says if Flynn throws for 20 TDs with the Seahawks defense they could win the division.
He also had the 49ers at 10-6 next year and the Seahawks at 9-7

I hope that this lack of respect helps fuel the 49ers.

Clayton's #1 priority, as with all the other pundits, is to sell the game and that is precisely what he is attempting to do. I would be surprised if any of the 49ers even cares what Clayton has to say. But, fwiw, Seattle could be a formidable opponent next season.

 

[clyde_carbon]

I don't see what's so crazy here.

 

[CalamityX11]

We'll see how the seachicks do.... it's not so much on what they'll do but what we would need to do.

No teams did us any favors nor did we back into the division win and playoffs... we won it. We'll win it again.

Go Niners!

 

[abaskin18]

I don't see what's so crazy here.

+1

 

[Jikkle]

Seattle is my darkhorse wildcard team that could sneak into the playoffs but I'm just not buying Clayton's logic here.

It's not to say Seattle is bad but 49ers are arguably better in every area except maybe the secondary which I believe Seattle has a pretty good one emerging.

Why is 20 TDs the magic number for Flynn to throw for Seattle to oust the 49ers? Heck Alex Smith threw 17 last season and I think it's reasonable to expect he'll throw even more than that this season.

Heck Flynn isn't even the starter for Seattle yet anyways. To me personally it doesn't speak well for any of the QBs if there is a 3 man race for the starting gig and the longer PC foolishly drags out this QB competition the worse off whoever wins it is going to be.

 

[clyde_carbon]

God forbid anyone says we won't win 13 games again next year, or a team like the Seahawks, who were 9th in total defense and went 8-8 last year WITHOUT Flynn, can be 9-7.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Seattle is my darkhorse wildcard team that could sneak into the playoffs but I'm just not buying Clayton's logic here.

It's not to say Seattle is bad but 49ers are arguably better in every area except maybe the secondary which I believe Seattle has a pretty good one emerging.

Why is 20 TDs the magic number for Flynn to throw for Seattle to oust the 49ers? Heck Alex Smith threw 17 last season and I think it's reasonable to expect he'll throw even more than that this season.

Heck Flynn isn't even the starter for Seattle yet anyways. To me personally it doesn't speak well for any of the QBs if there is a 3 man race for the starting gig and the longer PC foolishly drags out this QB competition the worse off whoever wins it is going to be.

???

He doesn't have the Hawks "ousting" the 49ers.

 

[Jikkle]

???

He doesn't have the Hawks "ousting" the 49ers.

He said they could win the division if Flynn throws for 20 TDs and with Seattle's defense.

I understand with his win totals he's not picking that scenario but my point of contention is why is 20 TDs the magical number for Flynn to throw to give Seattle that chance to oust the 49ers.

 

[Kinzu]

He said they could win the division if Flynn throws for 20 TDs and with Seattle's defense.

I understand with his win totals he's not picking that scenario but my point of contention is why is 20 TDs the magical number for Flynn to throw to give Seattle that chance to oust the 49ers.

It's only the magic number if our offense regresses. I don't see how that is possible though. We appear to have fixed our receivers and added a lot of depth behind Gore to hopefully keep him healthy for when we need the horse to run. Alex is not proven still I guess so if he takes a step back it hurts even with improvements everywhere else, but has Alex ever really taken a step back? He seems to improve every year if even only slightly.

 

[clyde_carbon]

He said they could win the division if Flynn throws for 20 TDs and with Seattle's defense.

I understand with his win totals he's not picking that scenario but my point of contention is why is 20 TDs the magical number for Flynn to throw to give Seattle that chance to oust the 49ers.

Yes they COULD. Are you saying there's absolutely no way the Seahawks COULD win the division? Is it out of the realm of possiblity that the Seahawks with a good running game, good defense, can win the division with a mediocre QB who throws ~20 TDs?

That doesn't sound familiar at all.

 

[Jikkle]

Yes they COULD. Are you saying there's absolutely no way the Seahawks COULD win the division? Is it out of the realm of possiblity that the Seahawks with a good running game, good defense, can win the division with a mediocre QB who throws ~20 TDs?

That doesn't sound familiar at all.

I'm not saying they can't I just think they'll need more production out of Flynn or whoever is starting if they want to leapfrog us assuming injuries aren't a major factor.

We share the same formula but right now we simply do it better than they do and we're overall a better team.

Overall I do like the way Seattle looks and it wouldn't surprise me if they did make the playoffs it's just I like the way we look more.

 

[Rvnight18]

Seattle needs a pass rush on their defense and they would be one of the top unuts in the NFL. Their o-line has to stay healthy and pkay well but with Lynch, two good TE, young WR, and Flynn they can win any game. Dont take them lightly

 

[BINGO]

I don't see what's so crazy here.

+1

 

[FourBeeDen]

God forbid anyone says we won't win 13 games again next year, or a team like the Seahawks, who were 9th in total defense and went 8-8 last year WITHOUT Flynn, can be 9-7.

Just a quick correction.. The Seahawks went 7-9 last year.

 

[threelittleturds]

It is June, every team has a chance to win the division. Seattle has a good defense and a good running game, a QB throwing 20 TDs instead of 15 could easily get two or three more wins for them.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I think the Hawks have a chance to be pretty legit. That D could be the real deal if Irvin can help out the pass rush. They are great against the run and have one of the better secondaries in football - though they didn't play a ton of great offenses, so I'm curious to see how they do this year. On offense, obviously a lot hinges on the QB. If the OL can stay healthy, though, even with mediocre play from Flynn, they've got a chance to be pretty effective. They'll run the ball well. Sidney Rice is a weapon when healthy, and they've got lots of young receivers to go with two pro bowl caliber TEs.

I think the NIners should be very strong this season, but a few crucial injuries could easily swing this division another way. We've got pretty good depth, but if we lost either Smith on D for an extended period, it would hurt pretty badly. Actually, if we lose any starting Smith, it could cost us the division. That's kind of funny. Losing Davis would hurt, but with our new-found depth at WR we could probably take it in stride. It's a testament to Baalke that we could probably sustain injuries at most other positions. At least for a few weeks. Safety might be an issue depending on the backups.

 

[yossarian]

Clyde, I think my point was more that Clayton said that if Flynn throws for 20 tds they win the division. I left this out of the original post but he also said that as much as the 49ers have continuity from last year they still have Alex Smith. I think Seattle is a good team as well, but their offensive line is not that great, and their receiver situation is bad, and their defense isn't as good as ours. Clayton is saying basically with some minor improved qb play by the Seahawks they surpass us. I think they need more than that. I'm also still not impressed with the Seahawks offense aside from Marshawn Lynch.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Clyde, I think my point was more that Clayton said that if Flynn throws for 20 tds they win the division. I left this out of the original post but he also said that as much as the 49ers have continuity from last year they still have Alex Smith. I think Seattle is a good team as well, but their offensive line is not that great, and their receiver situation is bad, and their defense isn't as good as ours. Clayton is saying basically with some minor improved qb play by the Seahawks they surpass us. I think they need more than that. I'm also still not impressed with the Seahawks offense aside from Marshawn Lynch.

There are admittedly a lot of "ifs" with Seattle, but they aren't necessarily huge ifs IMO. Last year they lost both Rice and Okung to pretty lengthy injuries. Now, those guys are injury prone, but when healthy are very good players - though Rice has really only had one good year; remarkable that he turned that into an $8 million/year contract. If Okung is healthy, it improves several spots on that OL (LT, RT, and at least one OG spot). If the OL improves their pass blocking, that will allow for greater use of Miller and Winslow, who are good receiving threats.

As far as the WRs, in addition to Rice, Baldwin is a very good slot receiver. Tate was coming on a bit in the second half of last year. And they've got four or five other guys with potential. It's not a stellar situation, but combined with the TEs, they've got plenty of options.

As for the D, they're not as good as ours if everyone is healthy. But we weren't all that great until Aldon Smith came on. If Irvin can contribute even 6-7 sacks (after Clemmons, Hill was second on the team with four), and Jones can contribute 4-5 from inside, they could make a real jump.

Now, there's a lot of would and should and could in there, but that's really all Clayton's talking about. I think the Hawks will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this year.

 

[yossarian]

There are admittedly a lot of "ifs" with Seattle, but they aren't necessarily huge ifs IMO. Last year they lost both Rice and Okung to pretty lengthy injuries. Now, those guys are injury prone, but when healthy are very good players - though Rice has really only had one good year; remarkable that he turned that into an $8 million/year contract. If Okung is healthy, it improves several spots on that OL (LT, RT, and at least one OG spot). If the OL improves their pass blocking, that will allow for greater use of Miller and Winslow, who are good receiving threats.

As far as the WRs, in addition to Rice, Baldwin is a very good slot receiver. Tate was coming on a bit in the second half of last year. And they've got four or five other guys with potential. It's not a stellar situation, but combined with the TEs, they've got plenty of options.

As for the D, they're not as good as ours if everyone is healthy. But we weren't all that great until Aldon Smith came on. If Irvin can contribute even 6-7 sacks (after Clemmons, Hill was second on the team with four), and Jones can contribute 4-5 from inside, they could make a real jump.

Now, there's a lot of would and should and could in there, but that's really all Clayton's talking about. I think the Hawks will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this year.

I agree with everything you said, there are a lot of ifs in there, and if those things fall right they could be right there. Clayton was more unequivocal than that and made the pronouncement based on one IF, Flynn's performance.