All posts by cc

Hawks finally found their five O-linemen

December 9, 2017 cc 2 Comments

As Luke Joeckel returns to Jacksonville to face the team that made him the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft, the Seahawks finally have put together a quintet of blockers that could carry them the rest of this season — and perhaps for the next few.

The crew of (from left) Duane Brown, Joeckel, Justin Britt, Ethan Pocic and Germain Ifedi looks like the best Seattle has had in two seasons. It should be, based on draft pedigree — Brown, Joeckel and Ifedi were first-round picks and Britt and Pocic second-rounders.

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Playoffs, Schedule, State of the team

Playoff scenarios as final quarter begins

December 8, 2017 cc 2 Comments

Amazing what one big win can do for a flagging franchise trying to find its footing.

After the Seahawks had lost two straight home games for only the second time with Russell Wilson, they were on the outside looking in at the postseason picture. But they quickly dug out of the slump with an upset victory over the NFC’s top team, Philadelphia.

Now the Hawks (8-4) suddenly own their destiny again, and Atlanta helped their pursuit of a top-two seed by knocking off the Saints on Thursday night.

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Contracts, The roster

Key guys playing big roles in contract years; who might be back?

December 5, 2017 cc 2 Comments

Three-quarters of the way through the season, the Seahawks are finally starting to look like the Super Bowl contender we all expected.

Well, not exactly like we all expected.

Having lost three star defenders and their preferred starting running back, while dealing with a variety of other injuries and issues (penalties, offensive line shuffling, etc.), they have had a lot to overcome and have changed in unexpected ways. That explains why it took them 12 games to look like one of the NFC’s top teams.

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Week 13: Philadelphia

‘It’s December — time to be great’

December 4, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Don’t sleep on the Seahawks — at least now that they’re awake themselves.

K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner took offense that the Hawks were underdogs to the Eagles at home and people were writing them off. But the Seahawks had only themselves to blame after losing two straight home games they could have won (or tied in the case of the Falcons).

To shut people up, the Hawks had to open some eyes and prove they were still contenders. And they did that vs. the Eagles, coming up with their best win of the season, 24-10 and making it look like the Hawks are ready to make their typical December run. They’re a league-best 20-5 in the final month with Russell Wilson.

“It’s December,” Wilson said. “It’s time to play. It’s time to be great.”

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Week 13: Philadelphia

Defining game: Wilson is 5-0 in his birthday week

November 30, 2017 cc 2 Comments

How apropos that the 10-win Eagles come to town this week — giving the Seahawks their annual defining game at the usual moment, right after Russell Wilson’s birthday.

The Seahawks seem to have a watershed game right around Wilson’s birthday (Nov. 29) every year, and they are 5-0 in games played on or immediately following his big day. They’ll look to make it 6-0 against the juggernaut Eagles.

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Injury report, The roster

Hawks face a Lynch scenario with Avril, Kam

November 28, 2017 cc Leave a comment

In a cruel twist, the Seahawks could lose two of their star defenders to injury-forced retirement in the next few months.

Kam Chancellor will join Cliff Avril on the sideline for the rest of the season with a similar spinal concern, as Avril was set to have surgery to repair a disk in his neck. Pete Carroll said both will have to decide whether to try to continue their careers next year.

So now the Seahawks find themselves in a Marshawn Lynch situation again — needing to know the fate of these stars by early February so they can move forward with the rest of their roster.

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Week 13: Philadelphia

Hawks go from 10-loss team to 10-win team

November 27, 2017 cc 1 Comment

A win against a 10-loss team showed us nothing about the Seahawks we didn’t already know, but a win against a 10-win team Sunday night would tell us a whole lot we didn’t expect.

The 24-13 win over the 49ers was just as ugly as expected and the Seahawks had most of the same troubles that have plagued them all year — scoring in the first half (just seven points), running the ball (68 yards by the running backs), throwing interceptions and missing kicks. The only weakness that seemed stronger this week was penalties — they broke their five-game streak of 100-yard days.

Beating the 10-loss 49ers was no statement. But, if the Hawks had lost, it would have said a lot — i.e., that they were not a playoff team. That is still in question, since the Hawks, even at 7-4, are outside the playoff picture right now.

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Week 12: At San Francisco

Hawks recover from horrible first half to beat 49ers

November 26, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson shook off a first-play interception to account for three touchdowns as the Seahawks handed the San Francisco 49ers their 10th loss of the season Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

Wilson ran for one score in the first quarter and found his tight ends for scores on the first two drives of the second half as Seattle won 24-13.

The 49ers fell to 1-10 as they lost to the Seahawks for the eighth straight time. The Seahawks (7-4) remained a game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West. The Rams (8-3) ended New Orleans’ winning streak at eight games.

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Contracts, The roster

Head-scratching moves by Carroll, Schneider

November 22, 2017 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have made some head-scratching decisions this week.

First, Carroll made a string of admitted errors that helped his team lose at home to Atlanta on Monday. And now Schneider is backstepping on a key move he made a few weeks ago, dropping Dwight Freeney because the Seahawks decided they can no longer afford him.

Schneider chose to drop the productive 37-year-old pass rusher because the Hawks suddenly ran into a big injury storm — losing Richard Sherman and possibly Kam Chancellor for the season. Schneider could have gone to another vet, perhaps Bobby Wagner, for some cap relief. But, the Hawks had 11 defensive linemen and Dion Jordan has played well in his two games, so Schneider decided to lop one of his few luxury players.

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Week 11: Atlanta

Looks like Hawks have to win division to get in

November 21, 2017 cc 2 Comments

What happened Monday night in Seattle was no surprise — it was just more of the same stuff we have seen all season from Pete Carroll’s unsteady Seahawks.

Penalties, turnovers, injuries, missed kicks, incompetent offense.

It all added up to a 34-31 home loss to Atlanta that was not as bad as the ridiculous defeat to Washington two weeks earlier but still wiped out any thought of a first-round playoff bye for Seattle this season.

There is simply no way the Hawks (6-4) will be able to catch up with the Eagles (9-1), Saints (8-2) and Vikings (8-2) for the top seeds.

These are not the 2014 Seahawks, who also were 6-4 after 11 weeks and then won their final six. That team had the NFL’s best running game and the No. 1 scoring defense, which is why it overcame its No. 1 ranking in penalties. These Hawks are No. 1 in only one of those categories — the penalties — and just aren’t complete enough to do any damage even if they do make the playoffs.

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