New lineman Bradley Sowell posted an Instagram picture of some of Seattle’s linemen practicing with Russell Wilson and company at USC.
From left to right: J’Marcus Webb, Mark Glowinski, Kristjan Sokoli, Will Pericak, Sowell. Webb and Glowinski are the only ones penciled in as starters right now.
A year ago, the Seahawks were a mess at wide receiver. Paul Richardson was recovering from a torn ACL, Jermaine Kearse had played horribly in the two biggest games of the year, and Doug Baldwin had temporarily changed his name to Dookie.
The Seahawks knew they had to get better at receiver, so they made two blockbuster trades — acquiring Jimmy Graham and Tyler Lockett.
Those two were just what Russell Wilson needed. Even though the offense struggled early in the season behind a poor offensive line and coaches who did not know how to use Graham (send him vertical!), the unit eventually took off.
Yes, they lost Graham to a torn patellar tendon in Week 12, but the stellar Lockett helped Baldwin and Kearse put together their best seasons.
Graham will spend this offseason recuperating and thus miss out on further developing rapport with Wilson until possibly September, but Richardson is back — already full speed as he works out with Wilson, Lockett and others in California. Kearse is back, too, on a three-year deal. And Baldwin is back for the final year of his old contract, pending a major extension.
Continue reading Receiving unit looks so much better a year later
It’s official: The Seahawks have completed the deconstruction of the offensive line that tagged along for the Super Bowl XLVIII win and are in full rebuild mode.
With injured (again) Russell Okung headed to the new Super Bowl champs in Denver on a prove-it deal, the Seahawks have completely turned over their line since 2013.
While continuity is one of the hallmarks of any great line, the Seahawks have not had much of that due to injuries and inconsistent play, so they aren’t really missing anything by letting Okung and company go. None of them were worth keeping.
Continue reading With XLVIII O-line deconstructed, will Clady be part of rebuild?
It’s easy to see why so many people are scratching their heads over the Seahawks’ underwhelming offensive line moves this week, especially when everyone seems to have a different opinion of where J’Marcus Webb will play.
But there is a method to Seattle’s madness — even if we might not agree with it.
First of all, remember that the Seahawks run a zone blocking scheme, which emphasizes mobility and teamwork over talent. Like it or not, that is the approach the Seahawks have taken the last four years — and apparently the approach they continue to take.
John Schneider said it himself at the Combine: “In terms of our philosophy, we are going to keep attacking it the same way we always have.’’
The Seahawks love size and versatility — and they got both in Webb and Bradley Sowell, the guys who ostensibly replace J.R. Sweezy and Alvin Bailey. Both are huge (Webb is 6-7, 335; Sowell 6-7, 315) and have played every position but center. The problem is neither is that talented.
Continue reading We might not like it, but Hawks have their plan
Two down. Three to go. Including the most important.
The Seahawks made a couple of moves Monday, essentially replacing Brandon Mebane and Alvin Bailey with one-time Hawk Sealver Siliga and former Arizona backup Bradley Sowell.
Now they have three spots left to fill, needing to replace Bruce Irvin and J.R. Sweezy and — most important — come up with a starting-caliber left tackle.
Continue reading Finally on the board: Two down, three to go
And then there was one.
With the re-signing of Jon Ryan on Friday, the Seahawks are 4-3 with their eight key UFAs — Russell Okung being the last free agent standing.
If you thought the last few days were full of drama, get a load of this LT puzzle.
As Okung leaves the Giants to visit the Lions (and maybe the 49ers after that), the Seahawks reportedly are planning to meet with Pittsburgh tackle Kelvin Beachum on Monday and reportedly have some interest in Oakland tackles Donald Penn and J’Marcus Webb, along with Arizona’s Bradley Sowell.
Thanks to going minus-five in free agency last year, the Seahawks are going to get three compensatory draft picks this year — including a rare third-rounder.
You can bet John Schneider would be fine with getting another third next year — and he has two free agents who might be able to net him that.
The Seahawks have eight key unrestricted free agents — four defensive starters, three offensive starters and punter Jon Ryan — and are not going to be able to keep all of them. In fact, Seattle could end up losing six UFA starters.
But Schneider would be fine with that — because it would mean another nice haul of comp picks (up to the maximum four) in 2017.
Continue reading Projecting market value for Seattle’s top UFAs
A couple of months ago, we wrote that the Seahawks’ bosses — Pete Carroll and John Schneider — were going to have to make some changes no matter how the season ended.
Well, the season has ended (prematurely), and now it is time for those changes.
“There’s all kinds of stuff we’re going to be working on,” Carroll said Monday. “There’s tons of stuff. I’m not going to single anything out right now because there’s no way I can do that and be talking straight with you, because I don’t know. We don’t know at this point. We have a lot of thoughts, and we’re just going to start putting them together over the next few weeks and all.”
Although the Seahawks are slated to have more free agents this year than they have had in any year since Schneider and Carroll arrived in 2010, Schneider’s focus will be a little bit different this time.
As it turns out, the Seahawks’ 2015 season was an almost exact replica of the 2012 season — from the uneven start to the disastrous postseason finish.
So, if the cycle continues, the Seahawks will be lifting the Lombardi Trophy again one year from now.
Consider the similar paths of the 2012 and 2015 seasons:
**The Seahawks rallied from a 4-4 start to make the playoffs, evolving a paltry offense into a formidable one, and a defense that was terrible in save situations (i.e., protecting leads in the fourth quarter).
**They rallied to win their wild-card game and then got off to a horrendous start in their 10 a.m. divisional game before Russell Wilson led a big second-half rally that fell just short.
**This failure was followed by an immediate excitement about what the future holds, everyone knowing this team is still talented enough to compete for at least a few more seasons.
Continue reading 2015 was like 2012; will 2016 be as Super as 2013?
Another shabby performance has put the focus right back on Seattle’s offensive line — a reminder that no matter how well it played during the five-game winning streak, it is still a very subpar unit that will need to be upgraded next offseason.
The Seahawks have eschewed using high picks on the line ever since 2011 selections James Carpenter (first round) and John Moffitt (third) did not work out; so, instead of Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro, guard Joel Bitonio and right tackle Terron Armstead, they have J.R. Sweezy, Justin Britt and Garry Gilliam.
The line has gotten worse every year since Russell Wilson became quarterback in 2012. It has been terrible at the end of the past two seasons, stuck using rookies and undrafted players to fill in for injured or underperforming high draft picks. And the unit just played one of its worst games of this season, albeit without Russell Okung, causing everyone to hope that was an aberration as the playoffs approach.
However the season ends up, the Seahawks have to upgrade the unit in the offseason, if possible, and try to build some stability in front of Wilson for 2016 and beyond.
They need to determine (1) what to do at left tackle, (2) whether to keep Sweezy, (3) whether to add a veteran center to replace Patrick Lewis and (4) what they are going to do in the draft.
Continue reading O-line decisions/options for Seahawks in 2016
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 