Lynch controls the action, and his bosses know it

February 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have kowtowed to Marshawn Lynch for years, so why would anyone think they suddenly would take a tough-guy approach with him and set a drop-dead deadline for him to accept a new contract or declare that he will play in 2015?

Carroll and Schneider are not disciplinarians. They ask their players to do things; they never tell them.

In Lynch’s case, they have let him do whatever he wanted ever since they traded for him in 2010. He plays when he wants, he defies the NFL as he chooses and he grabs his junk whenever he is about to score. He has Carroll and Schneider by the balls, too.

Continue reading Lynch controls the action, and his bosses know it →

Franchise history, NFL history, State of the team

If NFL wants Hawks back in AFC, Paul Allen should make league pay for it

February 20, 2015 cc 1 Comment

The news that the Chargers and Raiders are working on a deal to move to Los Angeles together raised once again the specter of the Seahawks moving back to the AFC — and, if the NFL does come calling yet again, Paul Allen needs to make the league pay in a major way.

A few months after Field Gulls posited the idea of the ping-pong move, 12th Man Rising brought it up again Thursday after the Los Angeles Times reported the newest development in the saga to get an NFL team back in Los Angeles.

Continue reading If NFL wants Hawks back in AFC, Paul Allen should make league pay for it →

Free agency, Injury report, The roster

With Lane out, here are some cornerback options

February 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

With the stunningly bad news that Jeremy Lane could miss the start of the season with a torn ACL, it is clear the Seahawks will sign at least one veteran cornerback in addition to drafting one or two.

Considering they have just three other cornerbacks — Richard Sherman, Tharold Simon and Marcus Burley — they have to add some bodies.

Continue reading With Lane out, here are some cornerback options →

NFL Combine, NFL draft, 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 →

It's bigger than football, Super Bowl XLIX

Dookie Baldwin apologizes — finally

February 16, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Two weeks later, Doug “Dookie” Baldwin saw the error of his ways and showed contrition for the “turddown” celebration in Super Bowl XLIX.

It cost his team 15 yards in a tight game, although Seattle’s defense made sure it did not come back to haunt Baldwin, who nonetheless shrugged it off after the game.

On Monday night, he told 710 ESPN’s “Barbershop”: “I apologize to anyone I offended in any way. If I could go back, I would take it back.”

Obviously, Pete Carroll has talked to him about it, and Baldwin now knows — two weeks later — that he messed up.

It still doesn’t change the fact that he and other Seahawks need to grow up and the Hawks need to surround Baldwin with better talent at receiver.

Contracts, Free agency, History

As usual, Hawks won’t use franchise tag

February 16, 2015 cc 1 Comment

John Schneider (via Fresh Files) The Seahawks have not used the franchise tag since 2010 — the first year of the Carroll/Schneider regime — and they almost positively won’t use it this year either.

The window opened today and goes through March 2.

John Schneider has been great about re-signing key free agents before their contracts expire, and the guys they have lost in free agency have been role players or lesser starters they were prepared to lose.

This year they have only two starters scheduled to hit free agency, and they are not going to pay cornerback Byron Maxwell or guard James Carpenter $13 million in 2015.

Schneider has said the team will try to retain Maxwell, but he also admits it will be hard. Maxwell is expected to get an offer worth at least $7 million a year — the Hawks probably would go only as high as $6 million.

Free agency

Would Hawks revisit Bears’ castoffs?

February 16, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Five years ago, the Seahawks were looking for a big No. 1 receiver, and they spent more than a month considering a trade for the mercurial Brandon Marshall.

Five years later, the Seahawks still need a big No. 1 receiver, and Marshall could be available again.

In fact, Marshall is one of several players with ties to the Chicago Bears who have drawn previous interest from John Schneider and Pete Carroll and/or already have been linked to the Seahawks this offseason.

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Schedule

How many games can Hawks win with No. 4 toughest schedule?

February 15, 2015 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL in 2015, based on 2014 results. But it’s not as if a tough schedule is anything new for them. They had the No. 10 slate in 2013 and the No. 6 schedule last year — and we all know they should be 2-0 in the Super Bowl.

But they aren’t, so we are left to look forward to the 2015 season and wonder whether the Hawks can become the first team in the salary-cap era to play in the Super Bowl in three straight seasons.

Here’s an early look at that No. 4 schedule:

Continue reading How many games can Hawks win with No. 4 toughest schedule? →

CHAWK LINES

February 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment