This blog is not going to turn into the daily moan.

I have a piece lined up discussing Tua Tagovailoa’s status and I’ll run through the Bob McGinn draft notes.

However, right now there’s only one topic in town. Seattle’s off-season. So I hope you’ll indulge me talking about this again today.

Rather than the pro-active, problem-solving off-season many of us expected — the inactivity to date is increasingly creating confusion and frustration.

The latest update today is there’s no progress with Jadeveon Clowney. However, he’s now reportedly weighing up one year deals because his market is cold.

Meanwhile Everson Griffen has told Minnesota he’s moving on. According to Chris Tomasson though:

“A lot will depend on where Clowney signs and then Griffen could end up being an option B for a team that doesn’t get Clowney.”

How has it come to this?

At the combine Pete Carroll and John Schneider spoke of the critical need to fix the pass rush. Carroll called Clowney a ‘huge priority’. He talked about getting a premier pass rusher to play the LEO and a dynamic five technique.

Why hasn’t that been the priority then?

They’ve spent money retaining Jarran Reed, adding three offensive linemen and signing up a collection of mediocre RFA and ERFA’s. They’ve brought back Luke Willson and tendered Jacob Hollister to stack up the tight end position.

Why are they waiting it out with Clowney and/or Griffen instead of Brandon Shell and the currently unsigned Germain Ifedi? Why not roll the dice on Cordy Glenn being available down the line instead? Why zap resources on three O-liners who will need to compete for a job when the pass rush remains untouched barring Bruce Irvin?

For some reason, Ed Dickson remains on the roster. As does Tedric Thompson.

What are they waiting for? Are they waiting to see if Clowney fancies it? If not, just sign some cheap pass rushers and Ed and Ted can stick around for another camp?

I’ll repeat — why are Ed Dickson and Tedric Thompson still on the roster?

It just doesn’t make any sense.

Get your pass rush sorted. Everything else can wait. Go and get your five technique and your LEO. Solve the big need. Then let all the other things come to you.

So what if you need to pay Clowney a bit more to get it done? The Eagles paid Darius Slay and Javon Hargrave a bit more. The Dolphins paid Byron Jones a bit more. The Falcons paid Dante Fowler a bit more. It’s free agency. You generally end up having to pay a bit more than you want.

At the Pro-Bowl Russell Wilson asked for superstars.

He was right to. We can all see this was an off-season that required action.

So why hasn’t it happened yet?

Many are willing to call for patience. And that’s fine. But being patient is risky. What happens if you wait out Clowney and he goes somewhere else? How much longer is Griffen going to be available as a backup option? And if you don’t get either — then what? Talk to the Jaguars or Ravens about Yannick Ngakoue or Matt Judon with very little leverage? What if they decide they want a massive return via trade?

Names like Benson Mayowa are being thrown around. Really?

Being active in week one of free agency doesn’t have to be reckless. Have the Ravens been reckless in acquiring Calais Campbell and Michael Brockers? Or the Bills in trading for Stefon Diggs? Or the Cardinals stealing DeAndre Hopkins? Or the Eagles in signing Hargrave and trading for Slay?

The Seahawks, by their own admission, needed to fix the pass rush.

And now they’re in a stalemate with a player merely to maintain the status quo. Keeping Clowney simply means the same line as 2019 that finished in the bottom five for pressures, sacks, hurries, was a league leader for missed tackles and struggled to defend the perimeter run. The only difference is Bruce Irvin has replaced Quinton Jefferson.

Are they going to rely on a weak D-line draft class to try and rescue the 2020 season from being another first or second round playoff exit before the same old talk of this ‘feeling like 2012’ while promising to fix the glaring issues?

The retention of Dickson and Thompson, the collecting of tight ends, preferring to wait out the pass rushers and instead quickly signing three offensive linemen who (at best) are unknown quantities.

And the only pass rush move is Bruce Irvin.

I’ve spent 24 hours trying to work this out and I just don’t get it.

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