It's bigger than football, State of the team

Honeymoon is over: Wilson can’t please anyone apparently

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Wilson HBO clipWant to know the real reason Russell Wilson drinks Recovery Water? To wash away the bad taste from all of the stupid or hateful things crappy people say about him.

For as great as the guy has been for Seattle — a standup person, a charitable man, a highly skilled player, a great leader, a Super Bowl champion — he sure has taken a lot of flak from fans this year. The honeymoon celebrated by an entire city that fell in love with him in 2012 and 2013 apparently is over.

Maybe it’s the goal-line interception in the Super Bowl, or maybe it’s his increased celebrity and association with other stars, or maybe it’s his girlfriend (one of said stars), or maybe it’s his faith in God. Whatever it is, people seem to find a lot about him to pick apart.

Continue reading Honeymoon is over: Wilson can’t please anyone apparently →

CHAWK LINES
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A former GM joins the chorus of those who think the Hawks might end up having to trade Kam Chancellor.

If it comes to that, where might the Seahawks trade their Pro Bowl safety — and for what?

Doug Baldwin calls the Chancellor holdout “the price of success” and says “it’s a difficult time, both for the organization and for him.”

Bob Condotta answered the question: Has a player ever held out for a full season? The next natural question is: What happened after that? John Riggins returned to the Redskins after new coach Joe Gibbs recruited him back. Sean Gilbert left Washington for Carolina. Todd Bell — like Chancellor, a thumping star safety — returned to Chicago under a new deal the next year. But he regretted missing out on the Bears’ Super Bowl title in 1985.

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Contracts, Free agency

Broncos will pay Mathis up to $4 million

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Despite Evan Mathis’ visit this week, the Seahawks seemingly had little chance of signing the free-agent Pro Bowl guard. And it turns out they couldn’t, as he signed with the Denver Broncos instead on Tuesday.

The deal is worth up to $4 million, per Adam Caplan. The Hawks couldn’t really go past $3.5 million — and even that would have required them to shuffle a contract or two.

Pete Carroll had basically referenced the difficulty Monday when he said, “He would obviously bring us experience and all that, but there’s a lot of (financial) issues here that we have to take care of to get that in order. We got the information that we needed.”

The Hawks moved on to Samson Satele, who is still on the market despite starting 16 games for Miami last season. It remains to be seen whether they work something out with him or just stick with their youthful crew.

“We’re going to keep competing to figure out who else is there and available as we try to make our choices,” Carroll said Monday, “and really we’re going one step at a time. … We’re continuing to look at who’s available.”

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Michael Bennett made some waves this morning talking about mediocre QBs getting mega money, but he also said of his own contract dissatisfaction, “I can’t let my unhappiness trump my professionalism.”

Marshawn Lynch was fined $75,000 for not talking after the NFC title game, bringing his total fines from last year to $195,000 (as far as we know).

It appears Evan Mathis might be willing to play for an incentive-laden deal that paid him $3.5 million or so. The Hawks could do that.

Mathis is going to pick a team by the end of the week, agent Drew Rosenhaus said.

Rumblings that the Seahawks might be willing to make a concession for Kam Chancellor. #CanOfWorms

The Hawks also had free-agent center Samson Satele in for a visit.

While the Hawks consider adding a veteran, they will start the same five this week — Okung, Britt, Nowak, Sweezy, Gilliam.

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Preseason, X's & O's

Evaluating Gilliam’s performance vs. Chiefs

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Tom Cable was satisfied with Garry Gilliam’s performance at right tackle vs. Kansas City, and Gilliam will start in San Diego on Saturday.

“I think the athleticism probably jumped out at me,” Cable said. “I think he’s physical, he has some really nice finishes in the run game, so you see a guy who has really grown a tremendous amount. His challenge is to do that again this week.”

Here’s a breakdown of Gilliam’s first-offense blocks by Davis Hsu of Field Gulls:

Continue reading Evaluating Gilliam’s performance vs. Chiefs →

Contracts

How could Seahawks afford to sign Mathis? Let us count the ways

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Evan MathisNo surprise: Evan Mathis reportedly left Seattle without a contract Saturday.

But, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, he didn’t close the door on his way out.

Mathis, a Pro Bowl guard cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in June, reportedly has been holding out for at least $5 million a year. The Hawks can’t really afford that. But they might be able to give him around $3.5 million, if they moved some things around.

Continue reading How could Seahawks afford to sign Mathis? Let us count the ways →

Preseason

Mixed results from offense, secondary as front seven dominates

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Wagner vs. Chiefs Aug. 21The Seahawks entered their second preseason game with a lot of questions on the offensive line and secondary and came out with some mixed answers in a 14-13 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City.

They also showed what Jimmy Graham will do for them, saw more from Tyler Lockett and got another great game from their No. 1 front seven on defense.

With Justin Britt moving from right tackle to left guard and Garry Gilliam stepping in at right tackle, the offensive line performed much better than it had in the opener vs. Denver, which got seven sacks.

Wilson was not sacked as he completed 9 of 15 passes for 78 yards. But the first offense really struggled again to run the ball and could not get into the end zone. Robert Turbin ran for a mere four yards on six carries, and Christine Michael ran for 27 on 10 attempts (and also busted a running play by going the wrong way). It wasn’t any better than the first game, when the Seahawks totaled just 89 yards on 24 attempts.

Pete Carroll said he liked the pass protection but added, “We’re not running the ball as well as we would like at this time. … That might change once No. 24 (Marshawn Lynch) gets in there.”

He said the offensive line “did not get the movement we need.” He also confirmed that free-agent guard Evan Mathis is coming to Seattle for a physical Saturday.

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Contracts, State of the team

Are OL moves desperation or just due diligence?

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Evan MathisThe Seahawks played half of their games in 2013 with rookie tackles and used four centers in 2014, and they still overcame those “offensive” lines to get to the Super Bowl.

So, they can’t possibly be panicking about their left guard position after just one bad preseason game, can they?

Even though Pete Carroll says he is not concerned because he expected the young linemen to take time to develop, the team’s moves this week sure make it sound like alarm bells are going off at VMAC.

First, the Hawks moved Justin Britt from right tackle to left guard and inserted Garry Gilliam at right tackle, and now they reportedly are going to bring in former Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis for a visit Saturday.

Is it desperation or just prudence?

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CHAWK LINES, Training camp
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Some observations from the final official day of camp from those who were there (and other features):

Former Seahawk Marcus Trufant skydived into camp before practice.

Jermaine Kearse needed a good camp to stave off challenges from among the deepest receiving corps the Hawks have had under Pete Carroll, and he apparently continues to impress.

Kevin Smith has had a good camp and played well vs. Denver, but will it be enough to beat out Ricardo Lockette or B.J. Daniels?

Russell Wilson says he is clicking with all of his receivers and he is not concerned about the offensive line.

Hawk Blogger says the starting line looks fine with Justin Britt at left guard and Garry Gilliam at right tackle. But he also asks what we all are wondering: What happened to Alvin Bailey?

The P-I offered five takeaways from camp.

Richard Sherman supports Tom Brady in his appeal of his four-game suspension.

Darrell Bevell told Peter King he wouldn’t change the Super Bowl play call but it “will always be there to drive me.”

Contracts

Chancellor’s agent is bluffing — isn’t he?

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Kam and BennettEarlier this year, Michael Bennett’s agent tried to bluff the Seahawks into giving Bennett a new deal. Now Kam Chancellor’s agent is doing the same thing. We think.

In April, agent Drew Rosenhaus seemingly spread rumors that Bennett wanted to be traded to Atlanta, where former Seattle DC Dan Quinn is now coach. But the Hawks were unfazed. Even as Bennett told everyone who would listen that he is not happy with the deal he signed last year, the Hawks did not budge from their budget. In fact, he has said they haven’t told him they would do anything with the contract that still has three years and $18.5 million left on it.

Now, Alvin Keels, Chancellor’s agent, is saying Chancellor will remain out until the Hawks redo the deal he signed in 2013, which still has three years left.

“He will not report without his contract being addressed this season,” Keels told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “The team and I have been in contact, but we haven’t been able to agree on any compromise.”

Continue reading Chancellor’s agent is bluffing — isn’t he? →