Cliff Avril said he understands why Marshawn Lynch wants to play in Oakland, is glad the Seahawks did not trade Richard Sherman, and also looks forward to mentoring Malik McDowell.
Those were the top takeaways from a good interview with Avril on NFL Network on Tuesday — as Avril returns from his Haiti work and a side trip to the NFL draft to announce some of Seattle’s picks.
The Seahawks are still a long way from figuring out their starting five linemen for 2017, but Pete Carroll at least has defined the positions where the key players will be competing.
Luke Joeckel and Rees Odhiambo are working both left spots, George Fant is at left tackle, Mark Glowinski has moved over to right guard to battle Oday Aboushi, Germain Ifedi has moved from right guard to right tackle, and rookie Ethan Pocic is starting out on the right side in an apparent reserve role.
“We have all kinds of flexibility,” Carroll told 710 ESPN, “but we’re zeroing in in that fashion.”
When the Seahawks drafted Malik McDowell after three moves down last weekend, both John Schneider and Pete Carroll had some motivational words for him on the phone — signs that concerns about his effort were valid.
But Carroll explained in more detail Thursday why they are not worried about McDowell’s desire and fit with the hypercompetitive Seahawks.
“He had a monster year as a sophomore,” Carroll told 710 ESPN, referring to McDowell’s 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss for Michigan State in 2015. “He came into the (2016) season with a high ankle sprain. It almost debilitates you, but he kept playing and kept battling.
“We see the whole body of evaluation … that tells us … we’ve got a great guy here potentially,” Carroll added. “He’s 20 years old. … He’s just getting started.”
Richard Sherman is refocused, and there’s “like zero percent” chance he will be traded at this point, Pete Carroll says, but the Seahawks will continue to listen.
And, once they lower the price next year, he probably will be traded.
“There (are) always opportunities to trade,” Carroll told 710 ESPN. “We would say that everybody’s untouchable, but we always have to listen to the opportunities … to compete to make our team better.”
Continue reading Sherman refocused, but Hawks still listening
Putting aside questions about Malik McDowell’s desire and Ethan Pocic’s position, the Seahawks accomplished all of their major goals in this draft: interior rusher, O-line competition, lots of DB depth.
They also added a couple of big receivers, which could be bad news for Jermaine Kearse, and replaced key role players Kelcie McCray and Tony McDaniel.
Asked if the roster is better than it was after the 2016 draft, Pete Carroll really couldn’t say that. The best he could do was: “I feel strong about it.”
He pointed out the three linebackers Seattle has signed, the O-linemen added via free agency and the draft, the two D-linemen.
“We’ve done some great stuff up front to make it more competitive. We’ve boosted the competition, obviously in the DB room but also at the receiver side of it. … I feel like it’s really going to be a competitive go.”
The Legion of Boom officially has been refreshed — thanks to an explosion of draft picks in Rounds 3-6.
As founding members Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman approach the twilight of their Seattle careers and DeShawn Shead recovers from a major knee injury, one of the big goals of this draft was to add to the secondary.
The Hawks accomplished that in a big way with the selections of cornerback Shaq Griffin and safeties Delano Hill, Tedric Thompson and Mike Tyson. It is the most defensive backs John Schneider has drafted — coming after none in 10 picks last year.
Continue reading Boom! Seahawks make secondary primary focus
Ethan Pocic is the Seahawks’ league-high 16th offensive lineman drafted since Pete Carroll and John Schneider arrived in 2010. He also is a symptom of why Seattle has failed to put together a functional offensive line.
One scouting report calls Pocic a “five-for-one lineman offering roster flexibility.” The Seahawks love that so much they almost traded up for him — even though they have no idea where they are going to play him.
“He was the one guy that, quite frankly, we were really sweating out because we felt like you’re drafting maybe two and a half players with one guy,” Schneider said. “We debated whether to go up and get him or just wait and sweat it out.”
“I think he’d admit that he had a rough year. So he’s looking for maybe a new spark and he’s either going to find that here in Seattle or he would find it somewhere else, but odds are he’s going to find it here.”
— John Schneider on Richard Sherman.
That’s the key quote from Schneider’s interview with 710 ESPN on Thursday night.
Schneider also talked about mutual respect, constant communication and “a great relationship” between the Seahawks’ chiefs and the All-Pro cornerback. But the bottom line is in those words: “He had a rough year” and is “looking for maybe a new spark.”
Why did the Seahawks let Garry Gilliam go to the 49ers?
It’s a question some fans are asking, but the answer is simple: They didn’t want to guarantee $1.4 million to a guy they probably were going to ask to take a pay cut this summer anyway.
It was a 50-50 proposition that the Seahawks were even going to tender Gilliam back in March, but they gave him the low tender, $1.8 million, because they were short on bodies.
When they were able to add Luke Joeckel and Oday Aboushi in free agency, it gave them the flexibility to bump Germain Ifedi to right tackle. With the 2016 first-round pick expected to win that job, Gilliam, the former undrafted player who struggled in 2016, looked destined for a backup role.
As they have done with many previous restricted free agents, the Hawks then would have asked Gilliam to take a pay reduction from the $1.8 million tender. So, when the 49ers came over the top with a $2.2 million deal that guaranteed almost the entire amount of the RFA tender, it was a pretty simple decision for the Hawks.
DRAFT COUNTDOWN: 3 weeks. Every Friday until the April 27-29 draft, we look at draft topics related to the Seahawks.
Whether the Seahawks trade Richard Sherman or not this year, the admission by Pete Carroll and John Schneider that the Hawks are fielding offers for the All-Pro is a sign that the Legion of Boom is at a crossroads.
Even if Earl Thomas comes back better than ever, Kam Chancellor gets his contract extension and Sherman avoids a trade, it is clear the end is approaching for the fabled unit. And, as it turns out, this is a great year to find heirs apparent in the draft.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 