Category Archives: The roster

Hawks cut Harris in flurry of moves

December 15, 2015 cc Leave a comment

In what really came as no surprise Tuesday, the Seahawks released running back DuJuan Harris among a flurry of moves.

They also cut defensive back Akeem Davis and wide receiver B.J. Daniels while placing Thomas Rawls on injured reserve.

Those moves made room for the team to sign running back Bryce Brown and tight end Chase Coffman while activating linebacker Brock Coyle from IR. They have one spot open on the 53-man roster.

They also terminated three from their practice squad: WR Antwan Goodley, DT Justin Hamilton and LB Alex Singleton.

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Contracts, State of the team, The roster

Hawks are no longer desperate at cornerback

December 8, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Going into last offseason, the Seahawks were suddenly uncommonly thin at cornerback — and that, in a nutshell, explains why they wasted $7 million on Cary Williams and ended up losing Tony McDaniel.

After the Super Bowl, Richard Sherman, Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon were all facing recovery from injuries of varying severity. On top of that, Byron Maxwell was getting ready to sign a blockbuster contract with another team, which turned out to be the Eagles.

That left young Marcus Burley as the only healthy cornerback and DeShawn Shead as a largely untested emergency option who had more experience at safety. So, the Seahawks covered themselves by signing two veteran corners — Williams and Will Blackmon. And then they drafted Tye Smith in the fifth round.

Blackmon once again did not make the roster, and Williams struggled so badly that he was benched three weeks ago, made inactive the past two games and released Monday.

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have never been afraid to admit mistakes and move on from them — e.g., Percy Harvin last year — and that’s basically what they did here.

But they did it because they have plenty of talent at the position, and the future is bright.

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Franchise history, State of the team, The roster

At tight end, it’s the same as it ever was

December 2, 2015 cc Leave a comment

At tight end for Seattle, it’s the same as it ever was — and that was good enough to get to the Super Bowl the past two years.

Plenty of people are all atwitter about Jimmy Graham’s season-ending injury and wondering how the Seahawks will replace him.

Well, how about the same way they replaced Zach Miller last year? Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet and a new guy.

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NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Week 12: Pittsburgh

The O-line the Hawks could have had

November 27, 2015 cc Leave a comment

OL redraft collage.png

As Bruce Irvin misses another game and David DeCastro comes to town with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, it’s a great opportunity to show you how the Seahawks could have put together a very good offensive line by now — if they really wanted to.

It all starts with DeCastro, a Bellevue native who has played some very good guard for the Steelers ever since they drafted him in the first round in 2012.

He should have been Seattle’s choice — as we said then.

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Franchise history, State of the team, The roster

Rawls-Lynch looks like Alexander-Watters

November 25, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Alexander vs Raiders When the Seahawks surprisingly chose Christine Michael in the second round of the 2013 draft, it seemed a clear heir-apparent setup for replacing Marshawn Lynch.

As we wrote back then, Michael looked as though he could be the next Shaun Alexander — the highly drafted running back waiting to bump the veteran star from the roster.

But, two years later, Michael was sent packing and Lynch remained the main man — until now.

And now Thomas Rawls looks like the Alexander to Lynch’s Ricky Watters.

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NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Trades

No matter how season ends, Hawks have to make changes next year

November 20, 2015 cc 2 Comments

Chancellor, Carroll and Schneider No matter how the season ends for the Seahawks, they have some key changes to make next year.

They certainly don’t need to blow up the team completely – even if they miss the playoffs. But they will need to make a few small detonations — even if they make the postseason and even if they somehow manage to win the Super Bowl (which seems like California dreamin’ at this point).

Whether Pete Carroll intends to stay beyond 2016 or not, John Schneider needs to fix the problems that have been holding this team back from greatness and help avoid becoming, as he has called it, “one of those teams that skates in and skates out” of contention.

Bottom line: The Seahawks cannot go through another year with such a disjointed offense holding back a potentially great defense. And they have to make some changes to the defense as well – beyond Bruce Irvin leaving in free agency (they will get a taste this week of how Frank Clark and Kevin Pierre-Louis might replace him).

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State of the team, The roster

Midseason position evaluation

November 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have been highly disappointing this season as the combined effects of a Super Bowl hangover (i.e., not fully trusting Pete Carroll anymore), contract squabbles and new additions have yielded the worst-case scenario: a 4-4 record.

But, they won two straight before their bye and now have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games.

Let’s take a look at each position to see how it has performed, what it needs to do better the rest of the year and what it might look like next year.

QUARTERBACK

Russell Wilson is completing a career-high 68.8 percent, but that has done nothing to help the offense in the red zone, where Seattle is the league’s worst offense.

Wilson’s crew has been the main culprit in meltdown losses against Cincinnati and Carolina – games the Hawks should have won.

Wilson is in his fourth season now and should be playing at a consistently high level, but he is not. Some of that is due to the subpar OL in front of him, some of it is due to the inconsistent play calls, some of it is due to him.

Wilson needs to have more urgency. He needs to change plays more at the line. He needs to account for blitzers. He needs to move more to create better passing lanes. He needs to find his open receivers more quickly and get the ball out fast.

The Hawks have little room for error in the second half, and Wilson needs to play like it.

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State of the team, The roster, Week 8: At Dallas

Seahawks trying to build what Cowboys have

October 31, 2015 cc 1 Comment

The Dallas Cowboys have what the Seahawks want, but the only way Seattle could get it is by losing a lot more and using first-round picks.

We’re talking about a great offensive line, of course.

If Russell Okung, who injured his ankle in practice Thursday, misses the game in Dallas on Sunday, the Seahawks will end up starting undrafted players at the tackle spots and center, with a seventh-round conversion at right guard and a second-round reach at left guard.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, have invested three first-round picks in their line over the last five drafts, and they lucked into a potential first-rounder when rookie La’el Collins went undrafted due to a murder case he was peripherally attached to.

The Cowboys won a recruiting war for Collins, adding him to an already stacked line that includes left tackle Tyron Smith, the No. 9 pick in the 2011 draft; center Travis Frederick, the No. 31 pick in 2013; right guard Zack Martin, the No. 16 pick in 2014; and veteran right tackle Doug Free.

“They’ve put their money in it. They’ve got three No. 1s playing there, those guys are all terrific football players,” Pete Carroll said. “Tyron was a guy that we loved coming up; he’s a fantastic athlete at the spot. And Zack’s terrific; it’s just a really good group. I think that they made a commitment to it and they’re benefiting from it. I don’t know if they’re the best one — we won’t see everybody particularly – but they’re as good as we’re going to see all year long.”

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State of the team, The roster

P-Rich’s return will mean more later, but just imagine him & Lockett

October 27, 2015 cc Leave a comment

If the Seahawks actually gave Russell Wilson enough time to throw the ball consistently, the return of Paul Richardson would mean a lot more.

As it is, his impending return — whether this week or after the bye — won’t add much to the offense. Not immediately anyway.

But, if the Seahawks can get to the point where Wilson has time to throw some deep balls, Richardson and Tyler Lockett should offer a great deep duo.

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Injury report, State of the team, The roster

Another busted year for Simon, who is almost out of chances

October 10, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Tharold Simon’s career with the Seahawks looks just about finished.

Sure, he has one more year left on his rookie contract, but the cornerback simply has not been able to stay healthy in his three NFL seasons and it sure seems doubtful he ever will.

The Seahawks have shown great patience with injury-prone players, and it paid off with cornerbacks Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell.

Simon’s career arc seemed like it was following Maxwell’s — until Simon’s season was ended yet again Saturday when he was put on injured reserve.

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