Category Archives: State of the team

This year, Hawks have needed the young guys

October 30, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Because the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season, it is easy to forget that half of their roster is comprised of players with less than three years of experience.

Starters Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin, J.R. Sweezy and Jermaine Kearse are only in their third seasons, and 21 more of the 53 players on the roster have not yet played three seasons. Eleven others are in just their fourth seasons.

The Seahawks barely used any of their rookies in 2013, relying largely on veterans — and that’s a loose term, considering some of them had just one or two years of experience.

So, coming into this season, the Hawks in effect had almost two full rookie classes. And the questions were: Would any of the remaining 2013 rookies step up to replace departed free agents and would the 2014 class redshirt as most of the 2013 class did?

Due to injuries and one big trade, the answers are yes and no, as many young players have stepped forward in recent weeks.

Continue reading This year, Hawks have needed the young guys →

State of the team

Carroll denies reports of rift with Lynch

October 27, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll responded directly Monday to reports of a rift between himself and running back Marshawn Lynch, saying, “I don’t know where that came from,” and scoffed at the idea that the Hawks would consider trading Lynch.

Both ESPN and NFL Network reported Sunday morning that the Seahawks had grown tired of Lynch’s attitude and had already decided to move on from him after this season. The ESPN report indicated that the Hawks might have tried to trade him if Derrick Coleman had not broken his foot last week.

“I have no idea where that came from,” Carroll said. “We have nothing to say about that. At this point I don’t think it behooves us to try and respond to all of these kinds of things in the locker room. Our players have told you how they feel, our coaches have told you how we feel about it and we’re in a really good place right now.”

As for the report that Carroll and Lynch do not communicate, Carroll said he talks to Lynch “whenever I need to.”

Continue reading Carroll denies reports of rift with Lynch →

State of the team, Week 8: At Carolina

Lynch & team bosses reportedly at odds, but it’s not a distraction

October 27, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Amid reports that some teammates are jealous of quarterback Russell Wilson and that the Seahawks are ready to part ways with Marshawn Lynch, coach Pete Carroll and Wilson declared Sunday after they beat Carolina that the team is not distracted.

“The things that have been said have been said on the outside. We have no problem. No problem,” Carroll said. “Whatever the conversation is, that’s the job of the media to try to figure stuff out. That’s not what’s going on here. I have no problem. It was not a distraction at all. Our guys don’t care about what’s being said.”

In the wake of the Percy Harvin trade and Mike Freeman’s incendiary report on Wilson, the latest revelation is that the Hawks’ relationship with Lynch has reached a breaking point, with the team finally tired of the running back’s antics and Lynch apparently so upset with the team that he is talking about quitting again.

Seattle might even have tried to trade Lynch by Tuesday’s deadline if fullback Derrick Coleman had not suffered a broken foot last week, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported. With Coleman out, though, the Hawks have to use No. 2 tailback Robert Turbin as their fullback.

Continue reading Lynch & team bosses reportedly at odds, but it’s not a distraction →

State of the team, Week 8: At Carolina

Carroll & Schneider learned how fragile their team’s psyche is

October 26, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Percy Harvin Debacle was a great lesson for Pete Carroll and John Schneider: They learned just how fragile the psyche of their young Super Bowl team still is.

And they probably learned which other malcontents they are going to need to send packing to make sure their team remains a Super Bowl contender.

This was bound to happen. Carroll and Schneider have flirted with this kind of danger ever since they came to Seattle — bringing in bad apples such as Terrell Owens, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow while courting chuckleheads such as Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson.

Adding those kinds of idiots to a young team is always a huge risk — too many impressionable kids on your team. Harvin apparently swung a few of them his way in his 19 months in Seattle.

Continue reading Carroll & Schneider learned how fragile their team’s psyche is →

State of the team, Week 7: At St. Louis

Seahawks showed folly & wisdom in Harvin saga

October 18, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ stunning trade of Percy Harvin says a lot about John Schneider, Pete Carroll, Darrell Bevell and the entire franchise.

They were naïve, hopeful, enabling and nearly self-defeating, but they also realized what a colossal error it was and probably made a great move — however shocking it was — in order to save their offense and season.

The ill-advised decision (we said it then, so we can say it now) to trade for Harvin and give him a $67 million contract last year was easily Schneider’s biggest gamble since he and Carroll arrived in 2010. And, unsurprisingly, the GM lost big time.

Continue reading Seahawks showed folly & wisdom in Harvin saga →