All posts by cc

It's bigger than football, The roster

Cliff Avril: A great leader and ‘statesman’

Leave a comment

Avril on NFLNThis day was destined to come, but it doesn’t make it any less sad to see a stellar player’s career end (at least in Seattle) due to injury.

If you measure the best by (1) how they played and (2) how they comported themselves on and off the field, Cliff Avril goes down as one of the best Seahawks ever. He was pure class as a player and remains so as a person. (Just check out his Players’ Tribune tribute to Seattle.)

As Pete Carroll said after rookie minicamp Friday: “He has been a great leader and a bit of a statesman for us. He always says the right thing and stands for the right stuff and he has been a really high-character guy who you can just always count on. He has been a great competitor in the program, and I love him, and we’d like to keep him connected with our club as long as we can, because he’s just exactly what you’d hope to represent you.”

Continue reading Cliff Avril: A great leader and ‘statesman’ →

NFL draft, Trades

How the Hawks moved down to add Green

Leave a comment

John Schneider draftingThe Seahawks got Rasheem Green because four teams fell in love with other defenders in the first round, but should Seattle have gotten more out of moving down?

Everyone knew Seattle was going to trade down from 18 — the question was which team would be the trade partner. It was somewhat apropos that it turned out to be Green Bay, especially after John Schneider and Mike Holmgren, both former Packers, had chatted on draft day about the difficulty in trading down.

“I was talking to Coach Holmgren about … how everyone thinks you’re going to move back and it’s so easy,” Schneider said after the first day. “The board has to start falling a certain way, and you have to have certain people that want to give up and that want to come with us. Where Green Bay came from is a long way, from 27 to 18. We weren’t confident.”

Continue reading How the Hawks moved down to add Green →

NFL draft, The roster

Hawks should have what they need for the O-line

2 Comments

NFL draftSome — maybe even many — people thought the Seahawks screwed up by not drafting an offensive lineman before the late fifth round last weekend.

Sure, they could have selected Austin Corbett or Will Hernandez instead of Rashaad Penny with their first pick (after trading down, of course). But the Seahawks have put a lot of resources into the line over the past couple of years, and Pete Carroll obviously is betting Mike Solari will do a much better job with that talent than Tom Cable did.

Carroll is expecting Solari to boost the Hawks out of a two-year funk that has seen them rank second only to Detroit in fewest rushing yards by non-quarterbacks. (Russell Wilson’s 845 yards raise Seattle to 11th worst.)

Continue reading Hawks should have what they need for the O-line →

NFL draft

Did Hawks just redraft 2016 third round?

6 Comments

NFL draftThis draft almost looks like an admission by the Seahawks that they screwed up the third round of the 2016 draft — they basically performed a do-over by drafting Rashaad Penny, Will Dissly and Jamarco Jones.

The 2016 third-rounders, who were supposed to be part of the next core, have done next to nothing for Seattle. C.J. Prosise has been injured almost his entire first two years, Rees Odhiambo was ineffective before getting hurt last year and Nick Vannett has barely contributed.

That trio has one last chance to show something, but the Seahawks’ additions of Penny, Dissly and Jones are obvious signs of discontent by John Schneider and Pete Carroll.

Continue reading Did Hawks just redraft 2016 third round? →

NFL draft, The roster

A look at the roster after the draft

Leave a comment

NFL draft“You never hear a doctor come out of a surgery, ‘You know what, I don’t know if that was such a good surgery.’” — John Schneider

As always, and as with every team, the Seahawks think their draft went well. Of course, they got their typical mixed reviews from analysts (the NFL’s worst grade in this composite) — understandable considering they drafted Rashaad Penny and Will Dissly higher than most ranked them and then traded up for a punter.

We’ve long known Schneider is not great at getting the best value for his picks — certainly not like the Patriots and some other teams are — but, throwing draft strategy out, it looks like the Hawks landed five roster locks and a couple of potential projects. And they kept Earl Thomas (reportedly ignoring Dallas’ offer of a third-round pick on Day 2).

Continue reading A look at the roster after the draft →

NFL draft

Draft Day 3: The house of Griffindor

1 Comment

House of Griffin-dorThe Seahawks did what pretty much everyone hoped they would and reunited Shaquill Griffin with his one-handed twin Shaquem — easily the best story of the entire draft right there.

Shaquem, who runs a 4.38 40 at 227 pounds, could play anywhere from outside linebacker to strong safety, and he obviously will be a huge factor on special teams.

The Seahawks then made another notable pick when they traded the 226th overall pick (seventh round) to move up from 156 to 149 and draft Texas punter Michael Dickson.

Continue reading Draft Day 3: The house of Griffindor →

NFL draft

Can Schneider end his five-year funk?

Leave a comment

NFL draftCan John Schneider end his run as the NFL’s worst Day 3 drafter today?

Once upon a time, the Seahawks having eight picks on Day 3 of the draft was something to get excited about.

But that was back when Schneider had built a momentary reputation as the NFL’s preeminent Day 3 picker, cultivating Pro Bowl players such as Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and K.J. Wright from the middle rounds and key role players such as Malcolm Smith, Byron Maxwell, Jeremy Lane and J.R. Sweezy in the sixth and seventh rounds.

For Seattle, Day 3 is no longer the big deal it was for that flash-in-the-pan stretch (2010-12). In fact, Schneider and company have been the worst Day 3 drafters in the NFL since 2013 (based on Pro Football Reference’s weighted AV ratings).

Continue reading Can Schneider end his five-year funk? →

NFL draft, Trades

Draft day 2 live: Another Rash pick

Leave a comment

NFL draft7 p.m.: The Seahawks are making some RASH picks. After picking Rashaad Penny in the first round, they moved down three spots in the third and drafted versatile defensive end Rasheem Green.

The 6-4, 275-pound Green, who recorded 16 sacks the past two years at USC, seems to fit what Seattle likes in defensive linemen. He is expected to be a base end who can play 3-tech on passing downs.

Continue reading Draft day 2 live: Another Rash pick →

NFL draft

Will Penny be worth it?

1 Comment

NFL draftEven Rashaad Penny did not expect to be drafted in the first round, which tells you all you need to know about whether the Seahawks made the right pick at the right time.

John Schneider and Pete Carroll said they had offers to move down from 27, but they obviously didn’t want to risk dropping too far and losing the running back to another team. Their fears might have been confirmed when a team apparently called right after they drafted Penny and offered to trade for the back. Schneider said he had never been offered a deal AFTER drafting a player.

Obviously some people think Penny, just the third back ever drafted in the first round by Seattle, is going to be great. For the pick to be worth it, though, Penny will need to become the primary rusher and score 8-10 touchdowns a year. To do that, new line coach Mike Solari will have to fix a run-blocking unit that was among the league’s worst last season.

If the Seahawks cannot fix the blocking and continue to use a rotation rather than riding Penny, he will have been a wasted pick.

Continue reading Will Penny be worth it? →

NFL draft

Draft day live: Hawks overpay for Penny

4 Comments

NFL draft8:30 p.m.: The Seahawks did not move out of the first round, instead doing what they usually do when they stay: Reaching.

This time it was for San Diego State RB Rashaad Penny, who was rated a Day 2 pick and the sixth or seventh back in the draft. Instead he went second, becoming the third RB ever drafted in the first round by Seattle (Curt Warner and Shaun Alexander).

Penny was a decorated player in the Mountain West. He was the conference special-teams player of the year in 2015, 2016 and 2017, taking eight kickoffs back for TDs. In his only year as a starting RB, he was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year after leading the country with 2,248 rushing yards and scoring a conference-high 23 rushing TDs.

Continue reading Draft day live: Hawks overpay for Penny →