Contracts

Wright & Avril likely want more than Hawks prefer to pay

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KJ and CliffThe week leading up to the start of the NFL season is always prime time for contract extensions, and this year certainly has seen its share.

Quarterback Alex Smith (Kansas City), linebacker Vontaze Burfict (Cincinnati) and defensive linemen J.J. Watt (Houston), Jurrell Casey (Tennessee) and Junior Galette (New Orleans) have all secured big contract extensions in the past week or so. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton received a huge deal a month ago. And wide receivers Dez Bryant (Dallas) and Michael Crabtree (San Francisco) are reportedly in talks as well.

It’s no surprise that the Seahawks also appear to be in on the action, reportedly exploring extensions for defensive end Cliff Avril and linebacker K.J. Wright.

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The past eight Super Bowl winners have been blanked in the playoffs the next year. Find out what the Seahawks need to do to avoid that fate.

Tom Pelissero of USA Today provides anecdotal evidence of the pitfalls of repeating by talking to those who have done it.

“I’m just having fun ballin’,” Pete Carroll tells Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times in a piece about Carroll’s drive to keep winning.

Team president Peter Loughlin tells Dave Boling he thinks the Seahawks are becoming America’s Team.

The New York Times details how the Seahawks are cashing in on their first Super Bowl victory.

Kevin Fixler of SBNation offers a look at “the two sides of the unpredictable” Marshawn Lynch straight from his hometown of Oakland.

The Wall Street Journal explores the rise of the back-shoulder fade pass and the Seattle-inspired antidote for it.

Andrew Brandt of MMQB offers his firsthand knowledge of the architects of the Packers and Seahawks.

Condotta conducts a Defense 101 class detailing Seattle’s defensive scheme.

The Packers talk about the key to shutting up the 12th Man (good luck).

The roster

Seahawks are playing crazy eights at WR & OL

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Crazy 8sTalk about crazy eights.

After placing backup center Lemuel Jeanpierre on injured reserve and re-signing wide receiver Phil Bates, the Seahawks suddenly have a very off-balance offense: eight receivers and just eight linemen.

In this case, eight is more than enough at receiver and not nearly enough on the offensive line.

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Injury report

Injury report: Simon will have minor knee surgery

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Cornerback Tharold Simon will have minor knee surgery this week and seems likely to miss the first month of the season.

Coach Pete Carroll called the problem “minimal” but said now is the time to do it. The Seahawks have a bye in Week 4.

“He’s got real minor stuff to get done,” Carroll said. “We’ve got to get some things cleaned up. We’re going to try to do this really quickly.”

Assuming this is arthroscopic surgery, it typically requires 2-4 weeks of recovery time.

Continue reading Injury report: Simon will have minor knee surgery →

Schedule

Seahawks’ schedule keeps getting easier

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WelkerThe Seahawks’ schedule just keeps getting easier.

The news that Denver receiver Wes Welker will be suspended for four games, thus missing the Broncos’ game in Seattle in Week 3, is just the latest blow to a Seattle opponent.

While the Hawks appeared to get better at nearly every spot this year, many of their opponents lost key players.

We took a look at the Seahawks’ schedule when it was released in April and projected another 13-3 record. Let’s see what has changed since then:

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Week 1: Green Bay

Ware reminds Hawks why they cut him & should not draft LSU players

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WareSpencer Ware, cut by the Seahawks over the weekend, was arrested this morning for DUI in Maple Valley, per The Seattle Times. It’s his second DUI arrest this year; he also tested positive for synthetic marijuana while at LSU in 2011.

Obviously, Ware has a substance-abuse issue that he should address. He’s just the latest of many LSU players to run into trouble with the law — Les Miles runs a rogue program down in Baton Rouge.

The Hawks drafted two LSU players — Ware and Tharold Simon — last year. Simon was caught in the same pot test as Ware back in 2011, and then he was arrested right before the draft last year after an altercation with a police officer. The Hawks selected him in the fifth round anyway.

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Jayson Jenks of The Seattle Times delves into Pete Carroll’s deep interest in the psychology of the modern athlete — in this case focused on the concept of “grit.”

Carroll and Richard Sherman talk about the emphasis on defensive pass coverage, as related by Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN. 

Larry Stone of The Times relates how Sherman’s biggest foe in many games is boredom, with Carroll declaring that Sherman has been more focused than ever this offseason.

Art Thiel of Sports Press Northwest remembers the last Packers-Seahawks game — but he is focused on what happened in the first half not at the controversial end.

Field Gulls recently broke down Percy Harvin’s key role in the offense and Bucky Brooks of NFL.com explained why he thinks the Seattle offense is primed to break out.

The roster

Offense is poised to explode this season

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Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images)The Seahawks went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl last season despite an offense that was incomplete and out of sync for most of the year.

Imagine what they might end up doing with this spectacular-looking crew.

Nothing about the 2014 offense looks incomplete or out of sync — not after Russell Wilson and company rattled off 11 scoring drives in 13 possessions in the preseason. They had scoring drives of 74, 78, 62, 67, 61, 89 and 83 yards in blowout wins over San Diego and Chicago and finished with an easy four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in Wilson’s only series against Oakland.

Granted, it was just the preseason, but the Hawks look ready to step on the gas this season and put 2013’s sputtering performance in the rear-view mirror.

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Injury report

Will injuries back Seahawks into a corner?

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As the Seahawks continued to shuffle their roster ahead of the season opener, bringing back wide receiver/kick returner Bryan Walters and releasing receiver Phil Bates, the bigger news seems to be the question surrounding backup cornerbacks Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon.

Jeremy Lane runs with Steven Terrell in practice Monday (Seahawks.com)Lane (hamstring) and Simon (knee) missed the last preseason game, and their absence was so notable that the Hawks traded for cornerback Marcus Burley on Sunday rather than keep Phillips Adams or Akeem Auguste.

The Seahawks could face a deficit in the slot against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s prolific passing attack on Thursday. Burley and/or Deshawn Shead will be counted on if Lane and Simon cannot play. Lane practiced on a limited basis Monday and Simon was out.

Continue reading Will injuries back Seahawks into a corner? →