If Britt sits, it will be OL combo No. 8 — not like it matters to the Hawks

January 16, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It was almost inevitable.

Just when you thought the Seahawks’ offensive line had done its best Humpty Dumpty routine and been put back together again, it appears the Hawks could end up using their eighth starting combination of the season Sunday against Green Bay.

Rookie right tackle Justin Britt, who had started every game alongside right guard J.R. Sweezy while the left three positions juggled around all season, will be a game-time call Sunday due to a knee injury suffered against Carolina last week.

If Britt can’t play, sixth man Alvin Bailey would make his sixth start of the season — at his third position. He started two at left tackle for Russell Okung and three at left guard for James Carpenter, and he also stepped in briefly for Sweezy in one game.

Continue reading If Britt sits, it will be OL combo No. 8 — not like it matters to the Hawks →

Contracts, Playoffs: Green Bay

Wilson could trump Rodgers twice more

January 16, 2015 cc Leave a comment

If the Seahawks beat the Packers on Sunday, as expected, it will be Russell Wilson’s third win vs. Aaron Rodgers. And then Wilson probably will beat Rodgers again within the next two or three months — in contract value.

Rodgers, who is the favorite to be named league MVP, signed a $110 million deal in 2013 — and obviously has been worth it. But another Super Bowl win for Wilson probably would trump another MVP award for Rodgers (who also won in 2011) when it comes to the negotiating table.

Rodgers’ deal guaranteed him $54 million and will pay out $62.5 million over the first three years.

The Seahawks — always willing to pay their homegrown stars — are likely to give Wilson a deal that exceeds Rodgers’ contract, guaranteeing as much as $60 million.

Continue reading Wilson could trump Rodgers twice more →

Injury report, Playoffs: Green Bay

Whew! McDaniel returns to practice

January 15, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Breathe a sigh of relief. Tony McDaniel participated fully in practice Thursday.

McDaniel has been an unheralded member of the Seahawks’ defensive line this season — but a big reason the defense ranked third in the NFL in run defense.

He apparently suffered a shoulder injury against Carolina and did not practice Wednesday, leaving a question about whether he would be able to play in the NFC title game against Green Bay.

The Hawks can’t afford another injury to their D-line, which has been the most injured position on the team this season.

Continue reading Whew! McDaniel returns to practice →

CHAWK LINES, Playoffs: Green Bay

January 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kam Chancellor is the man of the hour and the talk of the town and the NFL as the Seahawks get ready to beat the Packers to head back to the Super Bowl. So let’s start with a bunch of stuff on him:

Pete Carroll talked about Lawyer Milloy’s influence on Chancellor in 2010.

Milloy then talked about Chancellor (and more) on 1090 The Fan.

Bobby Wagner told Chancellor “a pick-six would be great” just before the safety did it, per this NFL.com video feature.

And, for good measure, Gregg Bell wrote a nice comprehensive piece about just how important Chancellor is to the Seahawks.

Continue reading →

Playoffs: Green Bay

Packers-Seahawks got interesting 15 years ago

January 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Newer Seahawks fans — and there are plenty of them — might think the Packers-Seahawks series consists of two games: the Hawks’ infamous Fail Mary victory on a Monday night in 2012 and Seattle’s 20-point win in the opening game of this NFL season.

But this series was full of great matchups back when Mike Holmgren and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck were leading the Hawks against their old team — led by Brett Favre — and this will be the 11th meeting, the third in the playoffs, since 1999.

Continue reading Packers-Seahawks got interesting 15 years ago →

Playoffs: Carolina, State of the team

Max protection: Unger makes a difference

January 12, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Max Unger sets up in pass protection vs. Carolina as Russell Wilson receives the center's snap (Seahawks.com) — Max Unger sets up in pass protection vs. Carolina as Russell Wilson receives the center’s snap (Seahawks.com)

Max matters.

Just ask Russell
Wilson and Pete
Carroll. Oh, and the stats.

In Seattle’s 31-17 playoff win over Carolina, center Max Unger returned from a six-game absence and helped the Seahawks’ offense surpass 30 points for just the fifth time this season while leading a line that protected Wilson as well as it had since the first month of the season.

And Unger survived a scare when he got his just-healed ankle rolled up on late in the game.

“I’m excited to have Max Unger back in there,” Wilson said after the game. “… Max Unger played a phenomenal game tonight. ”

Carroll wasn’t quite as effusive, but he was pleased to have the former All-Pro center back and knows he will only get better.

“He was real solid — pass protection was really good,” Carroll said, referencing the fact that Wilson was hit just twice — one of the cleanest games the Hawks have had up front all season.

“Our consistency, just like we had hoped, was there, along with the communication,” the coach said. “So it was a good start back for him. He hadn’t played in a long time, so you have to kick the rust off a little bit.”

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Playoffs: Carolina

A look at Wilson’s best playoff performance yet

January 12, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson has almost always played well in the playoffs — six games and counting — and his performance Saturday against Carolina was his best yet.

The third-year quarterback buried the ghosts of his poor home games earlier in the season with a nearly perfect outing that also was probably his best game of the 2014 season.

He threw a postseason-career-high three touchdown passes and tallied a 149.2 rating, completing 68.2 percent, while tying Matt Hasselbeck for most playoff wins in Seattle history (five).

Wilson now has nine TD passes and just one interception in six postseason games, and his passer rating has been over 100 in four of them. In fact, his postseason passer rating of 109.6 is the best in NFL history (hat tip to Hawk Blogger for first reporting that stat).

So why was Wilson so good vs. the Panthers? (1) His offensive line kept him clean, (2) he was perfect on third downs, (3) he got the ball out quickly when he could and (4) he trusted his receivers to come down with long passes.

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Injury report, Playoffs: Green Bay, State of the team

With Richardson out, it’s Norwood’s turn

January 11, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Wide receiver Paul Richardson’s torn ACL is bad news, especially because the rookie had emerged as a key contributor, but the Seahawks have the depth to withstand it.

Richardson’s loss is Kevin Norwood’s gain as the other rookie, who was inactive Saturday against Carolina, figures to play vs. Green Bay next Sunday and in the Super Bowl.

Continue reading With Richardson out, it’s Norwood’s turn →

Playoffs: Carolina

Like Easley, Chancellor is heart of defense

January 11, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It was only appropriate that Kam Chancellor had perhaps the best game of his career on the day Kenny Easley raised the 12th Man flag.

Just as Easley was once Seattle’s best player, Chancellor — who, like Easley, is from Virginia and once dated Easley’s daughter — has been this team’s MVP the past two years.

Yeah, that’s a loaded statement on a team that includes so many star players — fellow Legion of Boomers Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Marshawn Lynch.

Everyone likes to say Lynch is the heartbeat of the team — embodying the tough, relentless style Pete Carroll wants his guys to play with.

But the defense is the backbone — the reason Wilson has won more games than any quarterback in his first three seasons — and Chancellor has been the heart and soul of that unit for the past two dominant years.

Continue reading Like Easley, Chancellor is heart of defense →