Category Archives: Franchise history

No. 1 in miles again, but it’s not that bad

The Seahawks are at or near the top of the NFL mileage log every season, simply by virtue of the fact that Seattle is farther away from the rest of the league than any other NFL city.

Thanks to their trip to Munich to play Tampa Bay, the Seahawks will travel over 29,000 miles in 2022. That was recently contrasted against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will travel a mere 6,442 miles for their away games.

Some say that is unfair, but it is simple geography and has long been a challenge the Seahawks and other West Coast teams have to overcome. Like the 49ers and Raiders, the Seahawks often travel more than 28,000 miles in a season.

The NFL’s schedulers actually were kind to Seattle in plotting this European getaway. Tampa Bay was the only East Coast game the Hawks had on their schedule, so they really are traveling just 5,000 more miles (round trip) than they would have.

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It was time

Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner joined the Seahawks on the same draft day in 2012. They won a Super Bowl together in their second season, and they were the last remnants of that championship team, so it was fitting that both were let go by the franchise on the same day – 10 years after they arrived.

Wilson and Wagner will go down as the greatest quarterback and linebacker in franchise history, both likely bound for the Hall of Fame for their record-setting play over the past decade. As everyone also knows, they were equally exemplary human beings during their tenure in Seattle. They were everything you want in players, on and off the field.

But life requires change, and all things eventually end. This always seemed the month we would say goodbye to both Wilson and Wagner.

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What if Carroll does get fired or retire?

Jody Allen fired the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager Friday, leading some to speculate she might do the same with the Seahawks’ coach and/or GM after this season.

But Neil Olshey was fired for violating the Blazers’ code of conduct, not because the team may miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years. So, it seems quite unlikely Allen would fire Pete Carroll and John Schneider after one losing season, especially when she just extended both of them and neither has any personal black clouds hanging over his head.

But let’s play “What If” anyway.  

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Holmgren, Hasselbeck started this era of winning

With the current Seahawks in a big hole and the playoffs looking slim for 2021, it’s good timing that the team is giving fans something to cheer about by honoring the two guys who took Seattle to its first Super Bowl.

Mike Holmgren will join his longtime QB, Matt Hasselbeck, in the Ring of Honor this Sunday. Hasselbeck was honored Monday night (see his speech).

These are the two guys most responsible for bringing the franchise out of its 1990s slump, getting it to its first Super Bowl and establishing a winning culture that has persisted for two decades.

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K.J. Wright: An unsung hero who was all class

Along with Cliff Avril, K.J. Wright was the classiest player of the Pete Carroll era — and also one of the most underrated players in the Seahawks’ 45-year history.

Only 13 players have played more games for Seattle (Russell Wilson is tied with Wright’s 144 games, so he will make it 14 players Sunday). Some of those guys were highly decorated, and then there were players such as Joe Nash, Mack Strong, Chris Gray, Keith Butler and Wright — longtime stalwarts who were the unsung heroes of their playoff teams.

With Wright’s official departure, Bobby Wagner is the only remaining member of the historic Legion of Boom defense. Wright and Avril were the ultimate team players, the best combination of player and teammate that crew produced. Kam Chancellor’s ill-conceived 2015 holdout put a black mark on his career, and the emotional Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Earl Thomas all created too much controversy and simply did not have the class of Wright and Avril.

After signing with the Raiders, Wright talked about how he was “pissed off” all offseason that no team wanted him. He had every right to be, especially coming off one of the best seasons of his 10-year career.

But he was typically classy in talking about the Seahawks, and the franchise gave him a proper sendoff Monday …

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Schneider’s future should depend on Adams & Taylor

The spotlight is on Seattle’s GM this week as the Seahawks and Jamal Adams face the Jets and Darrell Taylor’s future remains a mystery.

John Schneider’s job security, quite frankly, should depend on two things: Whether he re-signs Adams and whether Taylor ever plays. If neither happens in 2021, the last year of Schneider’s deal, the GM should not be re-signed.  

This is not just about the two big moves to get those guys this year — deals that cost the Seahawks five high draft picks. It’s about a GM who has had a lot more failures than successes over the past seven years, who is still living off his historic 2010-12 drafts, who has whiffed at the top of his last eight drafts way too often, who rarely makes good decisions in free agency, who is not very creative with the salary cap and who for several years has been making it up as he goes, with no long-term plan.

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It’s December: time to get healthy

“We’re in pretty good shape. We’re hoping to keep on this edge on staying healthy. It will really make a difference for us.” – Pete Carroll

December is here, and there is one thing the Seahawks need to do above all else: Get and stay healthy.

December has been a bad month for the Seahawks since 2016. They just have not been able to stay healthy, and it has cost them playoff position and wins. In 2017, when the Legion of Boom blew up, they missed the playoffs entirely.

We said it before this season started: Health will be a key factor in whether they win in December and advance far in the playoffs. Carroll knows that’s the key, as he told 710 ESPN on Friday.

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Hawks are 2-0 for 12th time, but this is not 2013

The Seahawks are 2-0 for the third time in Russell Wilson’s career and the 12th time in franchise history.

The Hawks have made the postseason in each of the other two years Wilson led them to 2-0, 2013 and 2019, and they are 7 for 11 overall in making the playoffs after 2-0 starts.

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Can Hawks end rocky road streak?

Logo -- At PittsburghAs good as Pete Carroll’s Seahawks have been at home in September (15-0 after the ugly win over Cincinnati last week), they have been inversely successful on the road.

They are 3-13 on the road in the first month, 1-11 in the first two weeks and 1-8 in the first road game each season under Carroll.

If the Seahawks are going to end a five-year losing streak in road openers and win for the first time since their championship season, they are going to need to do well early in the 10 a.m. PT start in Pittsburgh.

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CHAWK LINES -- Kam & DougThe departures of Kam Chancellor and Doug Baldwin were expected, but it was nonetheless jarring Thursday to see the line: “The Seahawks parted ways with a pair of franchise icons, terminating the contracts of Doug Baldwin and Kam Chancellor.”

John Schneider said: “These are two of the most iconic players in franchise history, and both were instrumental in establishing our championship culture, great examples of competitiveness and leadership on the field and in the community. These legendary players will always be a part of our Seahawks family.”

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