Category Archives: State of the team

Hawks keep up the drama

September 6, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Seattle’s two most interesting positions this summer have been running back and the secondary, and the Hawks sure kept the drama rolling with their first cuts to 53 on Saturday.

Among their moves, they placed Robert Turbin on season-ending IR and acquired safety Kelcie McCray from Kansas City.

The Turbin move was a bit of an about-face from the report Friday that the Hawks were set to waive the fourth-year back, who has a high ankle sprain. If they had waived him, they would have risked losing him but also would have had the chance to bring him back. They decided instead just to stash him on IR, meaning he will miss the season. He’s a free agent next year, and this certainly will impact the market for him and probably increase the likelihood that he stays in Seattle.

Continue reading Hawks keep up the drama →

State of the team, The roster, Trades

Hawks’ RB plans: Replace Turbin with Jackson, trade Michael

September 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks were busy juggling their running back stable Friday, reportedly agreeing on a one-year deal with Fred Jackson while dangling Christine Michael in a trade and planning to waive Robert Turbin for the purpose of putting him on injured reserve.

The Hawks reportedly will waive/injured Turbin, which means he will revert to season-ending IR if no other team claims him. But, he is expected to miss only about five weeks with his high ankle sprain, so some team might be inclined to pick him up. If not, he will miss the season on Seattle’s IR.

The Hawks are taking a little gamble that Turbin will be scooped up — as they did with Michael Bowie (claimed by Cleveland) last year. But, Turbin also is scheduled to become a free agent after the season, so the risk might not be that high. Or the Hawks might not care.

If they had wanted to put him on short-term IR so he could return at midseason, they would have had to keep him as part of the 53-man roster this weekend and wait until next Tuesday to place him on IR/return (which cannot be used until the Tuesday after final cuts are made).

Meanwhile, John Schneider said Thursday that he was busy working the phones for possible trades. He didn’t mention any players, but Jason La Canfora reported Friday that the Hawks were indeed shopping Michael, the 2013 second-round pick who has not really gotten on the field.

Continue reading Hawks’ RB plans: Replace Turbin with Jackson, trade Michael →

Preseason, State of the team

Lockett, Clark finish preseason like they started it: Bang!

September 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Tyler Lockett and Frank Clark finished the preseason the way they started it — with a bang (or two or three).

And B.J. Daniels surely locked up a roster spot with his display of diversity in Seattle’s 31-21 win over Oakland on Thursday.

Lockett’s 63-yard touchdown catch off a perfect pass from Russell Wilson was the rookie’s third touchdown of the preseason — he returned a kick for a score in the first game and also had a punt return for a TD.

Clark dominated the line of scrimmage vs. the Raiders, notching a tackle for loss and causing a fumble for a TD on a sack in the end zone.

Pete Carroll was impressed with all three players.

“Obviously B.J. had a great night tonight,” he said, referencing Daniels’ great running (75 yards on seven rushes) and saying the receiver/quarterback managed the team well.

As for Lockett and Clark, Carroll said, “They’ve made great strides throughout (the preseason). Their going to definitely help us.”

Continue reading Lockett, Clark finish preseason like they started it: Bang! →

Injury report, State of the team

Jackson a possible fill-in for injured Turbin

September 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The reason for Fred Jackson’s visit became clear when Pete Carroll talked to media Tuesday: Robert Turbin suffered a “significant” high ankle sprain in San Diego.

Carroll said he did not know how long Turbin will be out, but it obviously will be a while (short-term IR?).

Carroll said Jackson is in just for a meeting and physical and the team had not yet decided whether to sign him.

“This is a visit for us,” Carroll said. “This isn’t a signing. This is a visit for us. We have tremendous respect for this player. He’s got obviously a wealth of background. He’s tough, he’s smart. He’s sharp. So we need to see where he is right now at 34 years old and see what he looks like. He’s got a big physical coming up today and we’ll talk to him later. But … we have not made that decision at all at this point. We love that he’s here and we are trying to get our ducks in a row for what may be necessary later on.”

Continue reading Jackson a possible fill-in for injured Turbin →

NFL draft, State of the team, Trades

Another fourth-round flunkout for Schneider

August 31, 2015 cc 1 Comment

John Schneider has been hailed for his ability to find mid-round diamonds in the rough, but his track record in the fourth round certainly hasn’t been responsible for that reputation.

The trade of Kevin Norwood is the latest example. And, if rookie Terry Poole is let go this week as well, Schneider’s Round 4 record will take yet another hit.

Obviously, the fourth round is a bit of a crap shoot, but teams should hit on at least half of those picks. Since Schneider took over the Seahawks in 2010, the league average on successful fourth-rounders has been between 55 and 60 percent (not counting this year, of course).

But the fourth round has been Schneider’s worst — based on typical expectations. In his six drafts, Schneider has selected a league-high 12 players in the fourth. Of the 10 drafted before this year, just four remain — and only two have really done much to help the Hawks.

Continue reading Another fourth-round flunkout for Schneider →

Preseason, State of the team

Expect offensive issues to continue for a while

August 30, 2015 cc 1 Comment

It’s no surprise the Seattle offense looks like two
turtles in a three-legged race — slower than usual,
confused, clumsy and very green. And we expect it to
remain that way for the first few games of the season.

A year ago, the Seahawks returned four starters on the offensive line — their offense was clicking in the preseason and kept on rolling in the season opener against the Packers.

This clearly is not 2014, though. Oft-injured Max Unger and James Carpenter are gone and the Hawks are working in new starters at three line positions. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson has not looked sharp in his preseason action. He has underthrown and overthrown and failed to find receivers when he has had time.

The No. 1 offense has not scored all preseason. And, for the second straight week, Wilson correctly took blame for the offense not moving as well as it should: “Ultimately we have to finish drives. That’s on me.” But he also said he is not concerned it will carry over into the season.

We disagree. And Pete Carroll is getting a bit anxious, too.

Continue reading Expect offensive issues to continue for a while →

Preseason, State of the team, The roster

Preseason status report & projections: offense

August 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks loved B.J. Daniels so much last year that they paid him 150 percent of the standard rate to keep him on the practice squad.

They called him up at the end of the season as a reward for his hard work on the squad, and now they are giving him every chance to make the team for real this year — as a wide receiver instead of a quarterback.

“The thought was we love him as a football player (so) let’s see if we can find a place where he can make the team and play,” Pete Carroll said. “He wants to get on the 53, so lengthy discussion back and forth really allowed us to get to that thinking: Let’s give it a shot. So he went for it in the offseason, which he needed all of that time just to kind of get acclimated, and we’ve continued on with him. He’s doing a good job and playing well in the games.”

Seattle values versatility as much as any team in the NFL, and Daniels scores points there with his ability to play wide receiver, kick returner and quarterback.

“Yeah, it’s the more you can do,” Carroll said. “That’s a real motto in the league, and he’s an example of it. I love that he covers kickoffs so aggressively too.

“He’s shown a lot of good things, got a lot of natural ability. He’s a very, very competitive kid. We like the heck out of him, and the fact that he can play quarterback is huge. Who else can do that? It’s rare to have a guy like that.”

The Seahawks have to cut the roster from 90 to 75 by Tuesday and then to 53 four days later.

Here’s a look at the offense heading into today’s game in San Diego:

Continue reading Preseason status report & projections: offense →

Preseason, State of the team, The roster

Preseason status report & projections: Defense

August 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The secondary is one of the Seahawks’ most competitive spots this summer, but most of the competition has been missing the past week or so thanks to a
legion of boo-boos.

In Kansas City, the Hawks were without seven of their 11 cornerbacks and had only four safeties available. It was so bad that DeShawn Shead moved from safety to start at corner and fifth-round rookie Tye Smith played almost the entire game.

Shead and Smith both took advantage of their chances, drawing praise from coach Pete Carroll after playing tight coverage throughout the game.

Now it’s time for the rest of the corners to get their chances when the Seahawks play the Chargers in San Diego on Saturday night. Richard Sherman, Will Blackmon and Tharold Simon all are expected to play — with Blackmon needing to nail down the nickel job and Simon needing to prove he should be on the team (forget about starting).

Meanwhile, safety Earl Thomas apparently is on track to be ready for the opener in St. Louis on Sept. 13.

“Earl got a lot of work this week. He’s getting ready to be in shape to play for the opener,” Carroll said. “His timing is getting down, his calls, you can see him fitting in, his intensity that he brings is starting to show up. That’s important.”

The Seahawks have to cut the roster from 90 to 75 by Tuesday and then to 53 four days later.

Here’s a look at the defense heading into the third preseason game:

Continue reading Preseason status report & projections: Defense →

It's bigger than football, State of the team

Honeymoon is over: Wilson can’t please anyone apparently

August 27, 2015 cc 3 Comments

Want to know the real reason Russell Wilson drinks Recovery Water? To wash away the bad taste from all of the stupid or hateful things crappy people say about him.

For as great as the guy has been for Seattle — a standup person, a charitable man, a highly skilled player, a great leader, a Super Bowl champion — he sure has taken a lot of flak from fans this year. The honeymoon celebrated by an entire city that fell in love with him in 2012 and 2013 apparently is over.

Maybe it’s the goal-line interception in the Super Bowl, or maybe it’s his increased celebrity and association with other stars, or maybe it’s his girlfriend (one of said stars), or maybe it’s his faith in God. Whatever it is, people seem to find a lot about him to pick apart.

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Contracts, State of the team

Are OL moves desperation or just due diligence?

August 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks played half of their games in 2013 with rookie tackles and used four centers in 2014, and they still overcame those “offensive” lines to get to the Super Bowl.

So, they can’t possibly be panicking about their left guard position after just one bad preseason game, can they?

Even though Pete Carroll says he is not concerned because he expected the young linemen to take time to develop, the team’s moves this week sure make it sound like alarm bells are going off at VMAC.

First, the Hawks moved Justin Britt from right tackle to left guard and inserted Garry Gilliam at right tackle, and now they reportedly are going to bring in former Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis for a visit Saturday.

Is it desperation or just prudence?

Continue reading Are OL moves desperation or just due diligence? →