2011 NFL Draft Results: Seattle Seahawks Winners, Fans Whiners, Dilfer Debunked

Seattle sports fans have been called a lot of things over the years, and most of them are not exactly fair.  We support our teams through thick and thin...and let's be honest—it's mostly thin.  We should be praised for sticking by our teams, not derided because of their lack of success.

The WNBA has done its part, and the Sounders have a great start, but they aren't exactly mainstream sports.

The Sonics gave us our last men's league championship, and that banner now flies under another team's name.

The Mariners built a team capable of winning a league-record 116 games, but the GM didn't realize you don't want a team that can win 116 games in MLB.  You want a team built to win 100 games with three aces and two pitchers that are good enough to win some starts. Seattle had five really good pitchers, but none that could dominate in a playoff series. They've never been to a World Series.

Then there are the Seahawks.  They finally make the Super Bowl, only to have the trophy snatched from their hands.  

So after years of other fans equating us to the success of our franchises...or lack thereof...we get tagged with the moniker of "whiner."  

Calling us whiners has bothered me for years.  After all, we didn't get a fair shake.  But then again, I think back to the parking lot the night before the NFC Championship game.  We were talking about Joey Porter complaining that the NFL was fixing games and using the officials to control outcomes.  I called him a big whiner, too. The issue with lopsided officiating wasn't real to us yet, after all.

For most fans, the issue didn't become real until after Super Bowl XL.  For me, the issue became real during the NFC Championship game.  I went back to the tailgate party and had to admit...Joey Porter was right.  But until other fans recognize a similar loss, they will call us whiners.

I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to see their point.  Seahawk fans are whiners.  Sorry, Family of 12, but we are.

For several years we have complained about our offensive line.  I put up polls on what player fans wanted with the first pick, and "Best OT available" was more popular than Jimmy Smith, Ryan Mallett, God and Peyton Manning's clone.

With this draft we get exactly what we asked for, but we are STILL complaining.  Do we really think we know talent better than Tom Cable, Pete Carroll and the rest of the scouts? OK...a few of us might.  But even if that was somehow true, how many of us know what kind of lineman Cable needs for his blocking schemes to work?

James Carpenter was expected by most analysts to go in the first 12 picks of the second round.  I had him going fifth to Arizona, while most had him going to the Vikings with pick No. 12.  We took him at 25, but what else could they do?  

John Schneider tried to move back a few spots but didn't get the right deal.  They could have moved back into the second round, but guess what?  Rob Rang knew the Steelers and Packers both had their eyes on Carpenter, and had him slated in as the 31st pick.  What would fans and analysts be saying if we moved back and lost out on Carimi and Carpenter?

The Seahawk management team gave us exactly what we've been demanding...we just didn’t realize it.  We wanted the best OT left in the first round, and that very well could have been Gabe Carimi, setting off a firestorm.  But that isn’t what we needed.  Seattle drafted the OT that best fits what Cable wants to accomplish.  

In the second round we could have drafted Moffitt and been justified...he was rated as a late second round talent.  However, the Seahawks knew the teams drafting behind us, and were fairly confident Moffitt's selection wasn't imminent.  They made a trade and picked up a fourth round pick. 

Seattle should have been praised for that move, but some analysts were then stuck on why they used their top two picks for OL.  The Indianapolis Colts do it and are genius because they are protecting Manning.  Seattle does it, so they can give whatever QB is back there a little extra time, and it makes no sense.

But how did Seattle know Carpenter would get drafted and Moffitt wouldn't?  It must be luck, right?  We should still complain. After all, Trent Dilfer said they messed up every pick...and none more than grabbing a WR with the extra pick acquired in the Moffitt trade.

Good...at least we can complain about where we drafted Kris Durham.  After all, what good is a 6'5" WR that runs a 4.5 40?  Oh...wait.  He posted a 4.43 at their Pro Day.  Add a 36" vertical jump to that frame, and Mike Williams would have a hard time catching a ball next to him.  

Durham averaged over 20 yards per catch, and his production was limited only because he played second fiddle to the best receiver in college football.

So how good can Durham really be?  Seattle found out how good other teams thought he was.  

Shortly after the pick, the Kansas City Chiefs were on the phone with Seattle.  They held a private two-day workout with Durham and were planning to draft him later in the fourth round.  Seattle found out other teams had him as a potential third round pick, but opted to look at other talent and try to grab Durham later.

Somehow Durham wasn't on the radar of the "draft experts."  Trent Dilfer wasn't familiar with his work, and since he wasn't on the big board for two or three more rounds, he must be a stretch, right?  Maybe so, but if Seattle wouldn’t have taken him in the fourth round, he would have been gone by the time they picked in the fifth.  Three of the next seven picks were WRs, and the likelihood is Durham would have been taken with one of those selections.

Time will tell how this draft works out for the Seahawks.  We drafted two potential stud OL, and I'd take our tandem over the two guys the 49ers drafted early in Round 1 last year (and they gave up a fourth round pick to get Anthony Davis, while we added one).  We brought in another weapon for whatever QB the Seahawks will throw out there, and DBs will have a hard time covering Mike Williams, Durham, Ben Obomanu and/or Golden Tate.  If Deion Butler can make it back this year, the field gets a little bigger yet.

Seattle drafted situational players for their defensive backfield.  On a pick by pick basis it didn't make a lot of sense.  But as a whole, the picture starts to come together.  They grabbed a press CB that is very good in run support that can play on running downs and short yardage.  Carroll drafted a free safety with great tackling skills, which didn’t make a lot of sense with Earl Thomas at the position.  However, he and one of the CBs have the ability to step in alongside Thomas on passing downs for a two-deep ball-hawking secondary.  The other can step in as a solid dime back.

It is almost as though coach Carroll had a plan in place and schemes in mind, and he drafted guys to mesh with those schemes this year.  No wonder Dilfer complained about the picks…he couldn’t pick up on a defensive scheme as a player, so why would he as an analyst?  I’ll admit, that was a low-blow.  I’ll apologize as soon as Dilfer apologizes and admits he was wrong about Seattle’s draft.

Those late picks were called reaches, but when there are four guys you want, and you have four picks left, what else are you going to do?  Risk that they aren’t drafted and then choose you over another team?

As I stated in my initial post-draft article...sometimes success is a reach.  It was in 2010, and Seattle at least has some pieces put together to make this a competitive team in the next few years.  Now we just need free agency to get here so we can work on QBs and the defensive line.