No surprise Schneider is shopping Lewis (or others)

John Schneider draftingJohn Schneider has made at least one trade in the preseason in each of his six years in Seattle, so it’s no surprise to hear he is trying to make another this year.

Schneider reportedly is shopping Patrick Lewis, who apparently has lost the battle for the backup center spot to rookie Joey Hunt.

Plenty of teams need offensive line help, and Schneider surely could find one interested in a player who has started 13 games over the past two years. Lewis’ salary is $1.67 million, which could be a hindrance to a trade. Lewis, a former undrafted free agent, probably wouldn’t bring any more than a late pick.

Continue reading No surprise Schneider is shopping Lewis (or others)

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Roster status as preseason winds down

As the Seahawks prepare to cut from 90 to 75 players and then play a game two days later and then cut to 53 two days after that, Pete Carroll said his team is ahead of where it was last year.

“It’s just felt very forward moving,” he said. “The whole time we’ve just been working and growing and dealing with stuff to come together as a team. The learning process and the teachable moments, everybody is in. It’s really been a terrific camp. It’s been a fantastic offseason and a terrific camp of growing.”

That’s a big contrast to the last two years. In 2014, the Seahawks were dealing with Marshawn Lynch rumors and the Percy Harvin headache. Then, last summer, Kam Chancellor messed with team chemistry when he held out into September.

“We’re trying to grow as a team and start this season in a more connected level than we have been in the past years,” Carroll said. “We’ve had a couple distractions that are difficult and challenging and we’ve learned from it and we’ve handled it, but not as well as we would have liked. It’s just felt like we’re ahead of that pace this season.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he added. “You never know until you start playing, but we’re looking forward to that.”

The Seahawks won’t start playing for real until Sept. 11, and they have a bunch of roster decisions to make in the interim — starting Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the roster heading into those cuts:

Continue reading Roster status as preseason winds down

Wilson, fast-finishing Hawks in midseason form

Dallas logoSeattle’s third preseason game — the one that most resembles the real thing — definitely looked like the real thing Thursday.

As usually happens during the season, the offense and defense started slowly and then found their grooves and pulled away — beating Dallas 27-17.

Russell Wilson and the offense were out of sync early — missing a few pass plays, running inconsistently, having snap issues, committing penalties. And Darrell Bevell didn’t help by calling a couple of his favorite bubble screens — Doug Baldwin gained three yards total on both plays.

But the offense did finally get on the board for the first time this preseason — Wilson hitting Paul Richardson on a short touchdown pass after they had secured a field goal in the first half and then finding Tyler Lockett on a scramble play in the third quarter.

Continue reading Wilson, fast-finishing Hawks in midseason form

Roster status entering Game 3 vs. Cowboys

Dallas logoThe dress rehearsal has arrived.

The Seahawks will play their starters for three quarters against the Cowboys tonight, and their first priority will be for Russell Wilson and the offense to finally finish a drive.

So far, Wilson and company have been shut out this preseason.

“We’re just giving too many situations away, making it too difficult to keep the kind of rhythm that we like,” Pete Carroll said. “I like to see us play a lot sharper and see where that leads us. Does that allow us to move the football and score some points like we like to? I would bet it will.”

Wilson was sacked four times by Minnesota, and two of them were his fault.

“I put those on me,” Wilson said. “We just need to do a better job of that. It’s a collective effort, but we’re doing a great job. I’m really excited about what we have, especially up front with what those guys are doing. They give me plenty of time, which is a great thing.

“There are a couple of times when you need to throw it away; that’s my competitive side — that will never change. I’m not just going to give up on plays.”

But he said he understands he needs to save plays from becoming negatives, not turning a second-and-seven into a third-and-13. “So that’s really the simple focus. It’s pretty simple and that’s the way I look at it.”

As for tonight, Wilson said, “We want to play great football across the board. We want to be in attack mode, we want to stay on the field. We’ve had some great drives; we just haven’t put it in the end zone as much as we wanted to. We’re going to do that and we’re excited about that.”

This game will feature the long-awaited Seahawk debuts of J’Marcus Webb and C.J. Prosise, along with the return of Will Tukuafu and the 2016 debuts of Kam Chancellor and Jordan Hill.

Here’s a look at the roster status heading into the Dallas game:

Continue reading Roster status entering Game 3 vs. Cowboys

Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Salary cap logoMichael Bennett reportedly came to camp because he expects a reworked contract before the season, but that thinking goes against the Seahawks’ philosophy (no new deal with more than a year left), and Pete Carroll made it sound like nothing is going to happen this year.

Carroll told KJR on Tuesday: “We’d love to have Michael here for a long time. We want him to finish his career with us. We intend to get that done. … It’s something that we’re working at. It’s a very difficult thing to get done.”

Asked whether they would do it this year, the coach declined to answer. “We’re going to do it when we can and when it makes sense.”

Continue reading Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Bennett praises Carroll, McDaniel, Clark

While Michael Bennett talked a lot Monday about the reason for his dust-up with Bradley Sowell on Sunday, the Pro Bowl end also had a lot more to say — per usual.

Among the best outtakes, he said Pete Carroll is a great coach because he “understands the moment,” Tony McDaniel brings needed “veteran wisdom,” Frank Clark is a “wild dog” who needs “tuning” and young players need to learn this is a job.

Continue reading Bennett praises Carroll, McDaniel, Clark

Bennett needs to stay healthy, wants new guys to ‘find that line’

Bennett at campMichael Bennett has been feistier this summer than in any other, and it has made plenty of people think he is taking out his frustrations about his contract.

But it’s probably a little more sensible than that: It’s probably about him trying to make sure he gets the extension that should be coming his way next offseason — something he can’t do if he gets hurt before the season even begins.

Speaking a day after he once again was involved in a fight — this time with Bradley Sowell — Bennett said the new players have to “find that line” while competing and learn to respect teammates and not hurt them.

Continue reading Bennett needs to stay healthy, wants new guys to ‘find that line’

Old bugaboos return, plus positional observations

Minnesota logoSome of the age-old bugaboos showed up in the home opener as the Seahawks committed penalties, gave up sacks and surrendered big chunks of yardage in the short passing game.

They committed 12 infractions, costing them 111 yards. It’s to be expected in preseason games, with lots of young guys shuttling in and out, so not a real big deal. And let’s remember: The Hawks led the league in flags in both Super Bowl seasons.

Sacks were a big problem early last year, with Wilson being taken down more than four times a game through the first eight. On Thursday, the Vikings got him four times — mostly due to him holding the ball too long or getting caught by blitzes.

Wilson took the blame for two of the sacks, and Pete Carroll said the offense did not react to Wilson’s blitz pickup call on another.

On defense, the Hawks ran into the same problem that has plagued them for most of Carroll’s tenure: short passes. Veteran QB Shaun Hill picked them apart with his running backs and tight ends in the first half, hitting 11 of 17 passes for 127 yards and leading the Vikings to a touchdown.

Here’s a look at what else we saw, by position:

Continue reading Old bugaboos return, plus positional observations

Hawks vs. Minnesota: What we’re watching

Minnesota logoThe Seahawks got off to a good start in their preseason opener in Kansas City, receiving some solid performances from the No. 1 offensive line and many rookies — namely undrafted quarterback Trevone Boykin, safety Tyvis Powell and wide receiver Tanner McEvoy.

Now they have to keep it going tonight against the Minnesota Vikings.

A lot has been said about this Seahawks squad being as deep as — perhaps deeper than — the 90-man group the Hawks brought to camp in the 2013 Super Bowl season.

This week, Russell Wilson called this “the most competitive team and talented team” the Hawks have had. Pete Carroll agreed.

Continue reading Hawks vs. Minnesota: What we’re watching

With Sweezy gone, Britt makes ‘technical jump’

Training camp logo2Justin Britt played a surprisingly good first game at center in Kansas City, earning the praise of Pete Carroll for how he handled Chiefs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dontari Poe.

It may have been Britt’s coming-of-age moment. And one of the keys apparently was the departure of J.R. Sweezy.

While Carroll didn’t exactly say it that way, he told 710 ESPN that Britt has improved his technique and is no longer trying to be a brawler like Sweezy.

Continue reading With Sweezy gone, Britt makes ‘technical jump’