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September 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks activated Kam Chancellor and waived Dion Bailey on Saturday. Bailey could end up back on the practice squad.

As Chancellor returns, the Seahawks are starting over.

The Jimmy Graham Conundrum explained by the principals.

The Chancellor saga showed new Seahawks fans it’s not all fun and games. Will they welcome him back Sunday vs. Chicago?

#CHIvsSEA will pit the Bennett brothers against each other for just the third time.

Three keys to the game from Seahawks.com include the Seahawks stopping Matt Forte.

The Chicago Tribune (via The Seattle Times) breaks down five keys to the game.

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Injury report, Week 3: Chicago

Lynch a game-time call, and Hawks tracking data on Chancellor

September 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

When Kam Chancellor first started telling people he was coming back to the Seahawks on Wednesday, one of the things he said was, “Me and Marshawn started a mission two years ago. I can’t let my dog down.”

It was interesting — and many would say appropriate — that the defense’s heartbeat was recognizing the offense’s thumper as a kindred leader of the team. But, as Chancellor potentially makes his return Sunday vs. Chicago, Lynch might not be with him.

The running back is questionable with a calf injury suffered in Green Bay.

“Yeah, he’s got a calf that we’re working on,” Pete Carroll said. “We’ve been able to condition him some, but we just want to make sure and take care of him during the week, and so he’ll run tomorrow and we’ll see if he’s OK, and it will go all the way to game day on this one though.”

If Lynch can’t play, Fred Jackson would make the start and Thomas Rawls would back him up.

As for Chancellor, the team seems to be planning on him playing.

Continue reading Lynch a game-time call, and Hawks tracking data on Chancellor →

Franchise history, NFL history, State of the team

Will Kam be to Seattle as Emmitt was to Dallas?

September 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The 0-2 Seahawks have an 11 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 1 percent chance to win the Super Bowl, history says (just three of 204 teams that started 0-2 have done it since the playoffs expanded in 1990).

One of those teams was the 1993 Dallas Cowboys.

Will Kam Chancellor play the role of Emmitt Smith, who similarly sat out the first two games in a contract dispute? Smith came back for Week 3 and the Cowboys won 12 of the final 14 games and earned a second straight Super Bowl win.

Continue reading Will Kam be to Seattle as Emmitt was to Dallas? →

State of the team, Week 3: Chicago

Don’t get too excited about Chancellor’s return yet

September 23, 2015 cc 1 Comment

Let’s not get too excited about the return of Kam Chancellor. He’s not going to be some kind of savior — especially because the Seahawks don’t need one.

And there is a very good chance he will get injured and miss time or be ineffective — it’s a very common result for players who hold out for extended periods and then have to rush to catch up to game speed. Hamstrings, groins and anything else that can be pulled are major concerns now.

The big immediate question: Will the Seahawks resist the urge to just throw Chancellor back into the lineup with three days of preparation time? Will they risk the injuries that so often accompany holdouts?

Continue reading Don’t get too excited about Chancellor’s return yet →

CHAWK LINES, Week 2: At Green Bay

September 22, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Controversy king Mike Freeman is at it again, claiming Jimmy Graham is ready to “explode” if he doesn’t get the ball. Freeman is the same dude who put out the inflammatory report last year claiming there was a schism in the locker room over Russell Wilson, who wasn’t black enough for some teammates. Pay no mind to his anti-Seahawk ramblings.

On a more constructive note, Bob Condotta reviewed every pass play that might have been able to go to Graham and determined what we all knew: He could have been more involved.

Field Gulls gave a much longer breakdown (with screenshots) of Graham’s Green Bay game.

At 0-2, the Seahawks look a lot like last year’s Super Bowl team.

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State of the team, Week 2: At Green Bay, X's & O's

Carroll on Graham: ‘We want him to be a big part of the offense’

September 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll is just as frustrated as everyone else that Jimmy Graham was invisible Sunday night, especially when the Seahawks planned to have the Pro Bowl tight end heavily involved from the beginning, and the coach promises Graham will be more involved going forward.

Graham caught one pass in the first half of the opener in St. Louis, but Russell Wilson went to him more in the second half and he finished with six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. But in Green Bay he was thrown to just twice and caught one (for 11 yards).

“I’m disappointed because … we want him to be a big part of the offense,” Carroll said. “(Six) balls in the first game and a touchdown pass. (Six) balls is a pretty good day. This day it didn’t work out. We were trying to go to him four out of the first five passes.”

Asked why Wilson did not throw to Graham on those plays, Carroll said, “There’s all kinds of things that happen. We get flustered here or there, get pushed away from the route where it’s going. There’s all kinds of stuff that happens and it isn’t any one thing. If it was one thing, it’d be really easy. It’s a variety of things that happen in the route.”

Continue reading Carroll on Graham: ‘We want him to be a big part of the offense’ →

Week 2: At Green Bay

Carroll: Time to get season started

September 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

“We’re going to go back to work and get the season started.”

— Pete Carroll, after the Seahawks self-destructed in Green Bay.

The Seahawks were their own worst enemy vs. the Packers on Sunday, as they lost by double digits (27-17) for the first time since 2011.

Kind of like the loss to the Rams, the errors came from every corner. Michael Bennett jumped offsides three times, Richard Sherman gave up two big plays, Darrell Bevell and Russell Wilson put together another subpar performance, the offensive line was horrible in the first quarter, Jimmy Graham was nowhere to be found, the Seahawks still can’t run a screen play to save their lives, and the defense once again got picked apart by the short passing game.

After that game, some fans probably are wishing Bennett had held out alongside Kam Chancellor. Bennett led the NFL with 13 pre-snap penalties in 2014, and he now has five in two games this season.

Continue reading Carroll: Time to get season started →

CHAWK LINES, Week 2: At Green Bay

September 19, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Do the Seahawks miss Kam Chancellor on the field? Let their other defensive leaders tell you.

John Schneider visited Chancellor and asked him to come back, promising the team would take care of him at some point, Jay Glazer reported. Chancellor thinks he has great leverage, Glazer said.

Dave Boling says the Seahawks need to discover their post-Chancellor identity.

Bob Condotta points to the 1985 Bears, who won the Super Bowl with two season holdouts, as a case study for the Kam-less Seahawks.

The Packers might not be the only ones without their right tackle (Bryan Bulaga). Garry Gilliam is questionable with a rib issue.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 2: At Green Bay

September 18, 2015 cc Leave a comment

In good news for the Seahawks, Packers OT Bryan Bulaga will miss the game with a knee injury suffered Thursday.

Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman both said poor communication led to all of the big plays by the Rams. They also both call it easily fixable.

Communication was the biggest focus this week, per Bob Condotta.

Sherman and Michael Bennett — Seattle’s two most outspoken and controversial players — both chimed in about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Larry Stone points out what we have noticed: Sherman has mellowed out from attention-getting trash talker to thoughtful social commenter.

Bob Condotta of the Times says Jimmy Graham’s debut could be a nice preview of things to come.

Graham apparently stayed in to block 36.9 percent of the time vs. the Rams. Last year with the Saints, he blocked 30.5 percent of the time.

Marshawn Lynch’s mom made it clear she was not speaking for Lynch when she called for Darrell Bevell to be fired.

Marcus Trufant reflects on playing his entire football career in the state of Washington.

Contracts

‘My wife wouldn’t let me hold out,’ Bennett says

September 18, 2015 cc Leave a comment

While Kam Chancellor has stretched his surprising holdout into the second week of the season, Michael Bennett has been practicing, playing and leading by example.

But he said Thursday that he almost joined Chancellor in holding out. Both players are dissatisfied with deals that pay them $7 million per year. Bennett is being paid $6 million this season, and Chancellor was due $4.55 million but is forfeiting 1/17 of that every week he sits out (plus as much as $2 million in fines).

Bennett said his wife wouldn’t let him hold out.

“I’ve got three kids; I’ve got a wife. My wife wouldn’t let me hold out, so I had to come to work,” he said. “(Kam’s) situation’s different from mine. I respect what he’s doing; he respects what I’m doing. too. I just come back and try to work as hard as I can and show the team the type of leader I am and the type of person I am and what I’m willing to do and how far I’m willing to go playing in the games.”

Continue reading ‘My wife wouldn’t let me hold out,’ Bennett says →