Category Archives: The roster

Seahawks’ needs haven’t changed in a year

February 19, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have played — and won — more games than any team in the NFL the past three seasons.

By the time they reached Super Bowl XLIX, their defense was a shadow of itself — six key defenders on injured reserve or out of the game by the end and the Legion of Boom fighting through major injuries. Those issues played no small part in their 28-24 loss to the Patriots.

The Seahawks put 17 players on IR — fourth most in the NFL. John Schneider did a great job making moves to keep the Hawks in the hunt, but the injuries on both lines, in the secondary and at tight end affected Seattle throughout the season.

So, as Seattle coaches and personnel people arrive in Indianapolis for the Combine this week, their major goal clearly is to find players who could improve the team’s depth across the board, with an eye to replacing future free agents as well.

Continue reading Seahawks’ needs haven’t changed in a year →

NFL draft, State of the team, The roster

Lynch is a study in sentimentality: Hawks don’t really need him

February 17, 2015 cc 2 Comments

A major myth has been propagated across the Pacific Northwest and the NFL in recent months. You know, the one that says the Seahawks need Marshawn Lynch in order to win a Super Bowl.

(This is completely separate from the idea that the Seahawks would have won Super Bowl XLIX if they had run Lynch one last time.)

The Hawks have been partly guilty themselves of spreading the nasty rumor, with Pete Carroll and John Schneider talking him up as a core player. They consider him such a key piece that they have offered the soon-to-be 29-year-old a pay raise and extension.

There is nothing wrong with that — they can fit it under the cap nicely and not lose much even if he does walk away after 2015 — but the fact is the Hawks don’t really need Lynch.

Continue reading Lynch is a study in sentimentality: Hawks don’t really need him →

Contracts, Free agency, NFL draft, The roster

Not as many decisions to make on defense

February 11, 2015 cc Leave a comment

We’ve already looked at what the Seahawks need to do on offense — from their shaky situation at wide receiver to an “out of the box” option for Russell Wilson’s contract to the need to determine the future of the unit this offseason.

The defense does not need nearly as many major renovations, but they certainly have some work to do on that side of the ball. Here’s a look:

Continue reading Not as many decisions to make on defense →

Contracts, State of the team, The roster

This is the perfect time to reset the offense

February 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have spent the last five years building one of the best defenses in the history of the NFL — a unit that has allowed the fewest points in the league for three years running and has been the main reason Seattle has reached back-to-back Super Bowls.

But, as we saw in the Super Bowl, the offense is a two-dimensional cardboard cutout — forced to rely largely on the determination of Marshawn Lynch (aka Beast Mode) and the freelance ability of Russell Wilson (aka DangeRuss).

When Seattle’s best offensive personnel grouping includes undrafted receivers Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Ricardo Lockette and fifth-round tight end Luke Willson — and the coaches think throwing to Lockette on the goal line to win the Super Bowl is the best play — the Hawks have a serious problem.

This offseason, that must change. It’s the perfect time for Pete Carroll, John Schneider, Darrell Bevell and Tom Cable to determine the future of the offense — to improve their receiving corps, find some reliable offensive linemen and otherwise make a concerted effort to fix a unit that has been running on the shoestrings of Lynch and Wilson.

Continue reading This is the perfect time to reset the offense →

Coaches, The roster

Lofa’s return trumps other coaching news

February 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

A big day for Kris Richard and the Carroll family was trumped by news that Lofa Tatupu is coming back.

For those who just became Seahawks fans in the last four years, Tatupu was the Bobby Wagner of Seattle’s first Super Bowl team. Tatupu played for Pete Carroll at USC and again in 2010, when Carroll came to Seattle.

Tatupu, a second-round draft pick in 2005, was part of a defensive overhaul that year that helped the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl (where they lost in controversial fashion).

Tatupu went to the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons as the middle linebacker on Mike Holmgren’s Seahawks, but the undersized player quickly wore down with a multitude of injuries.

Continue reading Lofa’s return trumps other coaching news →

State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX, The roster

Seahawks have to get better at receiver

February 2, 2015 cc 1 Comment

As much as receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse complain about not getting any respect and being labeled “pedestrian,” the last two games of the season showed the criticisms have a lot of merit.

And when the Seahawks went to Ricardo Lockette — really?! — for the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the Super Bowl, it was a clear indicator that the Seahawks have to upgrade the receiver position in the offseason.

After playing horribly in the NFC title game against Green Bay — shut down for most of the game until they both came up big in overtime — Baldwin and Kearse were almost completely clamped by the Patriots’ secondary in the Super Bowl.

Until yet another undrafted player, Chris Matthews, came up big and sparked the Seattle offense, Russell Wilson had nowhere to go in the first half as Baldwin and Kearse were blanketed by Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.

Continue reading Seahawks have to get better at receiver →

Super Bowl XLIX, The roster

Williams can thank Allen for Super Bowl

January 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kevin Williams said he’s not gloating to former Minnesota teammate Jared Allen.

But, if not for Allen forsaking a shot at a Super Bowl with the Seahawks for a few dollars more in Chicago, Williams likely would not have gotten the chance.

The Seahawks pursued Allen last March, but they were not willing to pay him more than they were paying Michael Bennett ($7 million a year), and Allen got another $1 million a year from the Bears.

In June, the Hawks instead signed Allen’s former Vikings teammate, giving the 34-year-old Williams a one-year deal worth $2.1 million.

“I actually thought he was going to come up here (to Seattle),” Williams said. “I thought it was pretty much in the bag.”

But Allen didn’t, and now Williams is in the Super Bowl while Allen, who lives in Phoenix, will be cheering his former teammate on against the Patriots on Sunday.

Continue reading Williams can thank Allen for Super Bowl →

Contracts, The roster

All rainbows: Defense set to dominate through 2017

December 19, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Double rainbow at Seahawks headquarters — A double rainbow at Seahawks headquarters in Renton on Friday was quite apropos considering K.J. Wright and Cliff Avril got their pots of gold.

The Seahawks’ deals for Cliff Avril and K.J. Wright had been in the works pretty much all year, so it was no surprise they got them done before the end of the season.

It takes away the top two players from Seattle’s sizable 2015 free-agent list and means Seattle now has all but one starter from the league’s No. 1 defense under contract next year (two if you add Kevin Williams to Byron Maxwell).

Wright and Avril join Legion of Boom stalwarts Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, plus defensive lineman Michael Bennett, as the keys to a defense that could reign over the NFL through 2017.

Continue reading All rainbows: Defense set to dominate through 2017 →

Contracts, State of the team, The roster

With decisions to make, Hawks need to create a more dependable O-line

December 17, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks' line — Russell Okung (76), James Carpenter and the rest of the Seahawks’ line sit on the bench during their win over the 49ers on Sunday (Seahawks.com)

Rookie right tackle Justin Britt’s
struggles have opened up the
debate about whether the
Seahawks should consider
replacing him next year, but the bigger question is whether the Seahawks should replace the left side of their line — Russell Okung and James Carpenter — over the next two years.

The Hawks are unlikely to give up on Britt so soon, but they definitely will have decisions to make along the line in the next couple of years, especially with three starters up for free agency — not that we can tell a starter from a backup anyway, considering injuries continually knock out Okung, Carpenter and center Max Unger.

Offensive line has long been Seattle’s weakest link — and that predates John Schneider, Pete Carroll and Tom Cable. The last time the Hawks started the same five all season was 2007, and they have averaged seven combinations a year in five seasons under this regime. They really need to find some consistency so the offense can progress.

Continue reading With decisions to make, Hawks need to create a more dependable O-line →

State of the team, The roster

Schneider deserves credit for helping the Hawks stay in the race

December 3, 2014 cc Leave a comment

If the Seahawks are able to sustain their newfound energy and momentum and make a major run through the postseason, a lot of credit will go to the veteran players who pulled the team together after the Kansas City loss. A little more credit will go to coach Pete Carroll and his staff.