Free agency, The roster

Olsen is insurance, but if he and Dissly are both healthy …

Leave a comment

Logo -- Free agency“Yo @gregolsen88 welcome to the PNW!! TE room is going to be dangerous this year!!” — Will Dissly, welcoming Greg Olsen to the Seahawks

If Will Dissly and Greg Olsen are both healthy, the Seahawks will indeed be dangerous at tight end in 2020.

Imagine the matchup nightmares Dissly, Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister could create for Russell Wilson. Forget a third receiver — these guys could help Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf take the top off defenses even more easily.

Of course, that is the best-case scenario.

Continue reading Olsen is insurance, but if he and Dissly are both healthy … →

Free agency, The roster

Bennett is not the only reunion to consider

Leave a comment

Pete Carroll has never been afraid to reunite with former players — usually after their big-money days are done and they have reached the points in their careers where they are role players.

Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin were the most recent examples, returning to help Carroll’s battered backfield late last season. This week, everyone has been talking about the possibility of Michael Bennett coming back.

While anything is possible, that seems unlikely. But what about some other former Seahawks?

Continue reading Bennett is not the only reunion to consider →

Trades

Schneider should check into Myles Garrett

1 Comment

John Schneider drafting(Updated 2/12) As we bang the drum ever louder and faster for the Seahawks to add a couple of good pass rushers, here’s a name in the news John Schneider should be thinking about: Myles Garrett.

Garrett was suspended for infamously pounding Pittsburgh QB Mason Rudolph on the head with a helmet during an in-game melee last November. It was a wicked assault that certainly merited a suspension, but we aren’t among the self-righteous who think he deserves a lifelong ban or no second chance.

Garrett, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft, met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday and was reinstated Wednesday.

If he has not already done so, Schneider should give new Browns GM Andrew Berry a call and see whether he can get the 32-year-old neophyte to surrender Garrett for a reasonable price (though no trade could be made until March 18).

Continue reading Schneider should check into Myles Garrett →

Free agency, The roster, Trades

What are options if Schneider doesn’t pay Clowney?

2 Comments

Logo -- Free agencyAs the countdown to the new league year and free agency drops under six weeks, NFL fans are salivating over the thought of which players their teams might sign to help them improve.

Seahawks fans know the team needs to focus on the defensive line above all else, and pretty much everyone is hoping John Schneider will break form and pay Jadeveon Clowney the outrageous fortune pass rushers like him make these days.

But what if Schneider doesn’t? Despite having around $50 million for free agents, what if he doesn’t break his MO at all, refusing to splurge on any “superstars” as Russell Wilson suggested he needs to?

Continue reading What are options if Schneider doesn’t pay Clowney? →

Contracts, Free agency, History, X's & O's

Post-Super Bowl notes

3 Comments

Frank ClarkYou have to be happy for Frank Clark, who has gone from tragedy to triumph over the past couple of years. Almost exactly two years ago, he sadly lost his father and other relatives in a Cleveland fire. Last year at this time, he said, “Let’s get this paperwork (i.e., contract) done so we (can) go on this hunt. I’m tired of the same results.” Well, the paperwork turned out to be trade papers and a new contract with the Chiefs, who gave him the $104 million Seattle would not. And then he got the different results he wanted by helping the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV.

The lesson the Seahawks hopefully learned: It’s OK to pay a pass rusher top dollar. It might actually help you win a Super Bowl. They need to pay their top pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney, this time.

Continue reading Post-Super Bowl notes →

Contracts, The roster

Escalators shrink projected cap space

2 Comments

Salary cap logoThe Seahawks lost a chunk of cap space this week as a few players got 2020 pay hikes.

Per OverTheCap.com, instead of a projected $63 million, the Hawks now are forecast to have $54 million (counting cap savings for Ed Dickson’s expected release). That would give Seattle more like $47 million for veterans between now and the start of the season.

The players whose cap numbers all went up include Tyler Lockett ($2 million), K.J. Wright ($1.5 million), Chris Carson ($1.4 million), Shaquill Griffin ($1.4 million), Tedric Thompson ($1.4 million), D.J. Fluker ($750,000) and Duane Brown ($250,000) — for a total of close to $9 million.

Continue reading Escalators shrink projected cap space →

Free agency, NFL draft

Will Schneider answer Wilson’s challenge?

4 Comments

John Schneider draftingJohn Schneider has a pretty well-known MO when it comes to trying to keep the Seahawks’ roster competitive for Pete Carroll: The GM is conservative in free agency and the draft, saving his big splashes for blockbuster trades.

However, given the resources at his disposal this year and the dire need to reformat the defensive line and fortify the offensive line, will Schneider be more aggressive?

Continue reading Will Schneider answer Wilson’s challenge? →

Free agency, The roster, Trades

Will Schneider pay his top pass rusher this time? And who else?

Leave a comment

Logo -- Free agencyJohn Schneider is living his own version of Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day.”

A year ago, he had to decide whether to pay his best pass rusher. He didn’t, so now here he is again, in the exact same situation.

As the Seahawks entered last offseason off a terrible playoff loss in Dallas, their biggest need was to fortify their pass rush. Schneider didn’t want to pay $20 million a year to Frank Clark, though, so the GM made a move that was unprecedented for him: getting great draft value for a star in his prime.

Now, a year and another playoff loss later, Schneider is in the exact same spot — with Jadeveon Clowney now in Clark’s seat and Seattle still needing a second pass rusher as well because Ziggy Ansah did not work out.

Continue reading Will Schneider pay his top pass rusher this time? And who else? →

Playoffs: At Green Bay, X's & O's

Why the Hawks again started slowly in a road playoff game

1 Comment

logo-playoffsWhy did the Seahawks come up short in Green Bay?

Plenty of fans and media are focusing on the end of the game: Pete Carroll’s decision to punt on fourth-and-11 from the Seattle 36 with 2:41 left (we would have punted, too), Ken Norton letting rookie Ugo Amadi cover Davante Adams on a third-and-8 that turned into a 32-yard gain and the close Jimmy Graham play against Lano Hill (why was he in coverage anyway?) on third-and-9 that sealed it.

But let’s be clear: That game was lost in the first half, when Russell Wilson and company scored just three points. It was the fifth time in nine road playoff games that Carroll’s Seahawks had scored three points or less in the first half (the four others were scoreless first halves). In those nine games, the Hawks have averaged 4.7 points in the first half, never scoring more than 13. They have led just once, 10-3 in Philadelphia in this season’s wild-card round, and they are 3-6 in those games (five of the losses in the divisional round).

Continue reading Why the Hawks again started slowly in a road playoff game →