Hawks’ Day 2 bonanzas are well-timed

March 31, 2017 cc 1 Comment

DRAFT COUNTDOWN: 4 weeks. Every Friday until the April 27-29 draft, we look at draft topics related to the Seahawks.

Thanks to two very good years of compensatory picks, the Seahawks are in the middle of some of the best draft positioning they have ever had.

It comes at the right time as John Schneider faces a key reload period over the next couple of years. With about a dozen core players due to become free agents in 2018-19, Schneider needs to fortify his roster.

As much as Schneider has been lauded for his Day 3 draft finds, Day 2 is where teams really are built. Schneider’s Seahawks are no different.

Most of their best players were found on Day 2. Of the team’s top 17 returning players, just two were first-rounders while eight were Day 2 picks (six by Seattle). That doesn’t include the three third-rounders from last year. And the Hawks are currently slated to add four more on Day 2 in this draft.

Continue reading Hawks’ Day 2 bonanzas are well-timed →

State of the team, Trades

If Sherman keeps putting self above team, he will be gone by next year

March 30, 2017 cc 7 Comments

“I wouldn’t want to leave this city and my guys, but I understand it’s a business and organizational philosophies change.” — Richard Sherman to 710 ESPN.

Pete Carroll’s philosophy has not changed at all.

One of his main mantras for his players is: “Protect the team.” Richard Sherman has not done that over the past year, despite several admonishments by Carroll, and that is why the Seahawks are willing to trade him — for the right price.

Sherman, a four-time Pro Bowl player and three-time No. 1 All-Pro, has become one of those egomaniacs we usually see on other teams — the prima donna receiver or cornerback who thinks the team and world revolve around him.

That’s not how Carroll’s Seahawks work, and Carroll has made that clear to Sherman — privately and publicly.

So this is his warning: Rein it in and become a team player again or follow former clubhouse cancer Percy Harvin out the door.

Continue reading If Sherman keeps putting self above team, he will be gone by next year →

State of the team, The roster

Carroll, Schneider answer roster questions

March 30, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Draft -- Schneider and Carroll At the NFL owners meetings this week, Pete Carroll and John Schneider gave us a better idea of where Seattle’s seven new veterans (not counting kickers) might fit.

We also learned that Marshawn Lynch is indeed contemplating a return and the Seahawks really have heard from teams (including the Patriots) gauging a trade for Richard Sherman.

On top of that, Carroll and Schneider addressed their backup quarterback situation, which is a little hazy in light of Trevone Boykin’s recent arrest — but won’t include Colin Kaepernick.

Let’s take a look at the key comments from Carroll and Schneider, by position, courtesy of Bob Condotta and John Boyle of Seahawks.com:

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Franchise history, It's bigger than football, NFL history

Does Vegas really want these fans?

March 27, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Not crying any tears for Raiders fans.

The Raiders’ pending move out of Oakland reminds me of my dad’s story from his ill-advised visit to the Coliseum for a Seahawks-Raiders game back in the early 2000s:

As he and my mom walked through the parking lot to the stadium, the air was filled with the stench of marijuana and other gag-inducing odors. Tailgating for Raiders games is apparently one big bong fest.

As my dad watched the game in the first half, the thug behind him kept spitting his chaw onto the back of Dad’s Seahawks shirt. What kind of a lowlife does that to a 60-year-old man?

I asked him why he didn’t get security to toss the miscreant out or have him arrested for assault. He said “security” had no interest in wading into the stands, where they would have been pummeled by drug-addled roughneck Raider fans.

At halftime, Dad took off the shirt and threw it away (fortunately, it was a sunny day) — then went and found seats where he wouldn’t be assaulted. I suspect that was a pretty tough task.

Enjoy the Raiders, Vegas!

It's bigger than football, State of the team, The roster

Bye-bye, Boykin?

March 27, 2017 cc 4 Comments

Trevone Boykin’s arrest does not bode well for his future with the Seahawks, and you can bet the team is stepping up its scouting for a new backup quarterback.

Boykin showed some promise as an undrafted guy last year, and it’s possible the Hawks had been comfortable adding only a rookie for camp — until Boykin reportedly showed the very poor judgment of getting into a car with a drunken driver who ended up hurting eight people.

The Seahawks won’t necessarily release Boykin now, but their history shows they don’t keep legally troubled backup players for long. And the fact that this is Boykin’s second arrest in two years — including a bust while he was at TCU — could mean the Hawks decide to move on.

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Franchise history, State of the team

Seahawks aren’t nearly as naïve about weight as they once were

March 24, 2017 cc Leave a comment

The two hefty takeaways from the Seahawks’ signing of Eddie Lacy were: (1) They want him to pound the ball; (2) they want him to drop some pounds first.

To that end, the team instituted $385,000 in weight clauses for the running back — giving him specific targets from May through the season.

As Pete Carroll said, “We have a real plan for this or we wouldn’t have done it.”

Weight clauses are nothing new in the NFL, but the way they are handled certainly has changed — for teams like Seattle anyway.

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Franchise history, NFL history, NFL rules

Seahawks at heart of key rule proposals

March 23, 2017 cc Leave a comment

The league owners meetings next week are in Phoenix, which is apropos considering a couple of the proposed rule changes come right out of a game last season between the Arizona Cardinals and the Seahawks.

In that game, Bobby Wagner did his best Kam Chancellor imitation, leaping over the line to block a field goal. The teams ended up playing the full 15-minute overtime and finishing in a tie — the first of two NFL ties last season.

That game provided a lot of impetus for the NFL competition committee’s proposal to ban leaping and cut overtime to 10 minutes.

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Free agency, Video, X's & O's

A scouting report on Luke Joeckel

March 21, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll said Luke Joeckel is a left tackle who can play left guard, and the coach said he hopes Joeckel plays well enough to get a long-term deal from the Seahawks next offseason.

Davis Hsu looked at a few games from last season, before Joeckel suffered an ACL injury, and came up with a bit of a pro scouting report on the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft:

Continue reading A scouting report on Luke Joeckel →

Free agency, State of the team, The roster

Hawks after one week: Better or worse?

March 18, 2017 cc 4 Comments

The Seahawks dominated the NFL news cycle on Friday, signing four players, bringing in four for visits and finding themselves facing the prospect of having to deal with the possible return of Marshawn Lynch.

It was a busy day to cap the first full week of the league year, which has seen the Seahawks focus intently on improving their running attack while also trying to fill holes in their defense.

The Seahawks so far have lost four players, re-signed three and added four. None of their losses — Steven Hauschka, Brock Coyle, Damontre Moore, John Jenkins — have been very significant. But there’s also no guarantee that any of their additions will make them much better than the 10-win team that fizzled out of the playoffs in Atlanta.

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It's bigger than football, State of the team

Baldwin: Social media hinders team bonding

March 18, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Among the many topics Doug Baldwin covered during his stint on 710 ESPN earlier this week was the dynamic of the Seahawks’ locker room.

He talked about Russell Wilson’s growth as a leader, Richard Sherman’s ego, the overall motivation of the players to win and more. One of the most interesting things he mentioned was the trouble younger players have bonding with teammates.

Continue reading Baldwin: Social media hinders team bonding →