The answers: The 2016 draft class. Third-rounders. Fourth-round receivers.
The question: Where have the Seahawks struggled in the draft recently?
The trade of Nick Vannett leaves five of the 10 picks from the star-crossed 2016 draft class and just three of the league-high seven third-rounders from the 2016 and 2017 drafts.
Continue reading Vannett deal highlights some draft struggles
“You have to learn in this game, if you’re going to be really consistently good, to get out of your own way … and we haven’t gotten there yet.” — Pete Carroll
The Seahawks probably would love to be playing this Thursday, rather than next, so they could quickly expunge the bad taste of that loss to New Orleans.
But it’s probably a good thing they go to Arizona first, before a huge Thursday home game against the Rams as they face division foes twice in the next 10 days.
The Cardinals are really the ideal elixir for a good Seattle team that needs to show it is better at tackling, rushing the passer, holding the ball and coaching than it showed against New Orleans.
“There’s so much for us to do,” Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN. “There’s so much.”
Continue reading Time for Hawks to show they are better than this
If you had not known Drew Brees was sidelined by injury and then someone told you the Saints beat the Seahawks 33-27 on Sunday, you probably would have shrugged and said, “Not a surprise. The Saints (who should have been in the Super Bowl last season) are really good.”
In fact, way back when the schedule came out, we expected this to be a loss and for Seattle to be 2-1, just like they are.
The thing that made it disappointing is that Brees was not playing and the Hawks beat themselves in a dozen ways to make that loss a reality. If they’re still going to win our predicted 11 or 12 games, they have to clean up their game, from the top down.
Continue reading ‘We didn’t do that right either’: Carroll & Co. beat themselves
As the Saints come to town with Drew Brees sidelined, they still have Teddy Bridgewater and multi-tool quarterback Taysom Hill, and coach Sean Payton smartly is not letting on about how he is going to use them.
As Pete Carroll said, “I don’t know what Sean is going to do. Rarely does anybody know what he’s going to do when it comes to game time.”
In his two-plus seasons with the Saints, Hill has played all over the place: QB, tight end, receiver, running back, special teams. He’s a wild card the Seahawks will have to watch out for. But how much QB will he play?
“We have not seen enough of Hill to know how they would play him in this kind of situation,” Carroll said. “He’s been spotted in and out and they’ve done a lot of cool things.”
The visit by Hill and the Saints brings up a concept we have long wondered about: What could a two-QB offense do in the NFL? Not two rotating QBs, but two on the field together for most of the game.
Continue reading As two-QB Saints march in, how about a double quads formation?
John Schneider and Pete Carroll always say they check out every major opportunity that arises, and the star defensive backs on the trade market early this season obviously have piqued their interest.
They reportedly were one of the handful of teams in the Minkah Fitzpatrick sweepstakes, but they obviously were not interested in giving up the first-round pick that Pittsburgh ended up sending Miami.
Now word is they are among the clubs that have made “substantive inquiries” about Jalen Ramsey. Still, it would be surprising if the Seahawks actually traded for Jacksonville’s star corner, who is expected to be dealt by next week.
There are a bunch of reasons a Seattle deal for Ramsey seems unlikely.
Continue reading Ramsey deal seems unlikely, despite ‘substantive’ inquiry
Jadeveon Clowney and L.J. Collier have each made their debuts over the last two weeks. Now it’s Ziggy Ansah’s turn.
If it goes well, the Hawks might have the trio that, for this year anyway, is supposed to approximate the 2013 pass rush of Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Chris Clemons.
“We wanted to make sure everything was right,” Pete Carroll said of the long wait for Ansah. “He’s had three good weeks of work and he’s in really good shape. … He’ll play a considerable amount. He’s practiced hard enough to do that.
“That’s really going to be fun to see him out there, to see how we’re going to use him in the game plan. I’m really excited about that.”
Continue reading And Ansah makes three: Hawks will have all pass rushers finally
UPDATE: The Steelers reportedly are sending a first-round pick to Miami for Minkah Fitzpatrick. So read the below for background on the Seahawks’ interest.
The Seahawks reportedly are one of half a dozen teams involved in talks with Miami for former No. 11 overall draft pick Minkah Fitzpatrick, and a deal involving “first-round value” apparently could be finished Tuesday.
Among the other teams reportedly in the mix for the premier young defensive back are Washington, Dallas, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Some think Pete Carroll might see Fitzpatrick as his next Earl Thomas. If so, would John Schneider want to give up his 2020 first-round pick? Or more?
Continue reading Report: Seahawks tried to acquire Fitzpatrick
It took about seven quarters into the season, but Brian Schottenheimer and the Seahawks might finally have figured out exactly how this offense should run.
In Pittsburgh, they picked up right where they left off in that ugly opener against Cincinnati: The line gave up three sacks in the first quarter and was called for three early penalties (plus Jaron Brown’s), Chris Carson fumbled for the second straight game and the Hawks burned all of their timeouts (two on offense) by early in the second quarter, ruining their chances on a two-minute drive at the end of the half.
But Schottenheimer put the offense in Russell Wilson’s hands in the third quarter, and the QB rallied the Hawks to a 28-26 win over the Steelers and their first 2-0 start since the 2013 championship season. It also gave Pete Carroll his 100th win on his 68th birthday — which got him the game ball and a water bath in the locker room afterward.
Continue reading Hawks finally figure out offense, get big win in Pittsburgh
Just how far from their best are the Seahawks?
Judging by the Week 2 league injury report, the Seahawks appear to be one of the more banged-up teams. They have six guys on the official game report (only the Chargers and Redskins have more), and they had 16 guys listed with injuries on the practice report Friday.
Almost every offensive lineman has some kind of ailment, and the Hawks are going to swap out two injured defensive starters this week, too.
Their most stable positions have been quarterback, running back (if you can believe it) and linebacker. Otherwise, they are in a state of flux everywhere else.
We previously said they are better almost everywhere, but right now we estimate they are only about two-thirds of what they eventually will be. And it might take a couple of months to find that final third — barring any major injuries.
As good as Pete Carroll’s Seahawks have been at home in September (15-0 after the ugly win over Cincinnati last week), they have been inversely successful on the road.
They are 3-13 on the road in the first month, 1-11 in the first two weeks and 1-8 in the first road game each season under Carroll.
If the Seahawks are going to end a five-year losing streak in road openers and win for the first time since their championship season, they are going to need to do well early in the 10 a.m. PT start in Pittsburgh.
