Seattle Seahawks: Don't Be The Bucs

Kenneth Arthur over at SB Nation's Seattle Seahawks site Field Gulls has put up a three-part series on what the Seahawks could learn from the recent Bucs' failings. It's a pretty interesting look at the Bucs and their failings from an outsider's perspective. In this final installment he interviews me about the Bucs' decision to draft a lot of defensive linemen the past three years, and what focusing on one position like that does to a franchise. The Seahawks have essentially done the same thing on the other side of the ball, focusing on the offensive line. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Sander: The reason why this double drafting made sense for the Bucs was really that they had to completely re-vamp their defensive line in a short amount of time. They needed two new defensive tackles in 2010, and they needed two new defensive ends in 2011. With the importance of the defensive line in the NFL the strategy made perfect sense.

But they have a lot of (admittedly injured) talent on that defensive line right now, and continuing to spend high picks on that unit instead of fixing other problems on those positions would make little sense going forward.

(Seattle has spent high pick on Okung, James Carpenter, and John Moffitt. So, a lot of people have wondered about David DeCastro, G, Stanford as a possible first round pick for Seattle. Though many people would like to replace Robert Gallery, I feel safe in saying that it is not going to happen. And to spend yet another high pick on an offensive lineman seems like a terrible idea while Seattle has so many other needs to fill. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have DeCastro, but how many drafts in a row can Seattle focus on just one unit?)

If you want to read the whole piece and ask Kenneth some questions about his thoughts on the Bucs or Seahawks, head on over to Field Gulls.

You can find the rest of his series on Field Gulls too. Part 1 on re-signing running backs is here and Part 2 on re-signing old players is here.