And Ansah makes three: Hawks will have all pass rushers finally

September 17, 2019 cc Leave a comment

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.”

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The roster, Trades

Report: Seahawks tried to acquire Fitzpatrick

September 16, 2019 cc Leave a comment

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?

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Week 2: At Pittsburgh

Hawks finally figure out offense, get big win in Pittsburgh

September 15, 2019 cc Leave a comment

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.

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State of the team, The roster, Week 2: At Pittsburgh

How (in)complete are the Hawks right now?

September 14, 2019 cc Leave a comment

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.

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Franchise history, Week 2: At Pittsburgh, X's & O's

Can Hawks end rocky road streak?

September 13, 2019 cc Leave a comment

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.

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Week 1: Cincinnati, X's & O's

Outcoached again, Carroll needs to get his team up to speed fast

September 10, 2019 cc Leave a comment

We all should be used to this Seahawks fact by now: Pete Carroll plays a conservative (i.e., ugly) brand of football that almost always leads to slow starts.

So why does Seattle always look so bad on offense early in the season? Why does the offensive line start so poorly? Why is the play-calling such a mess?

It really boils down to this: Carroll plays simple football, relying heavily on players to execute relatively basic concepts, while some other coaches use more complex schemes to help their players succeed.

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Coaches, X's & O's

Hawks will keep running, but will Wilson & Schotty be better?

September 6, 2019 cc Leave a comment

As the Seahawks open the season, one of the major points to watch will be the evolution of Russell Wilson and a fully Baldwin-less offense in Year 2 under Brian Schottenheimer.

The Seahawks put a lot of resources (financial and draft) into their passing game in the offseason, which led some to suggest (or hope) they are now building entirely around Wilson and are going to throw the ball all over the yard.

Clearly, people who think Carroll is going to sway from his run-focused approach are dreaming — and not really paying attention. Remember, Carroll is all about that circle of toughness — imposing his will on both sides of the ball.

As Carroll recently told 710 ESPN: “We want to play off the running game. … We want to run the heck out of the football. We love that part of the game, but we love everything that comes off that.

“We hopefully are going to show you a wide-open attack that makes you have to defend the run and makes you have to defend Russell sitting back there bombing footballs. We want to get the ball down the field and attack the heck out of it. That’s a big deal to us.

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The roster, X's & O's

‘How do we work these guys together?’

September 3, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Now that John Schneider has repeated his 2013 defensive line coup, the question becomes: How long will it take Pete Carroll, Ken Norton and company to get this collection of linemen playing to its best capabilities?

Schneider told 710 ESPN that Seattle’s front seven, including a trio of “phenomenal blitzers” at linebacker, is “a really cool group. (Coaches are) putting it together right now: How do we work these guys together?”

For a sampling, we merely need go back to 2013, the last time Schneider brought in two impact pass rushers at the same time.

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Contracts, The roster

Hawks have replicated 2013 moves on D-line

September 1, 2019 cc 2 Comments

In May, we said the Seahawks needed to replicate their 2013 moves and find a way to add a couple of impact veteran pass rushers.

Four months later, they have achieved that goal — in spades (Jadeveon Clowney trumps Nick Perry).

John Schneider getting Clowney and Ziggy Ansah for a grand total of no more than $21.25 million is akin to his 2013 coup of signing Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril for $18 million (Avril signed for two years). And, if Clowney and Ansah play like Bennett and Avril did that year, the Hawks could be looking at their second Lombardi Trophy.

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Contracts, The roster

Why Brown was cut and could return

September 1, 2019 cc Leave a comment

(UPDATED with new details Sunday morning)

When word first came down that Seattle had acquired Jadeveon Clowney from Houston for a couple of backup defenders and a third-round pick, it was almost exactly the cheap price we had predicted Seattle would have to pay if the teams made a deal.

But then came the added cost: Cutting starting receiver Jaron Brown and Cassius Marsh. The latter wasn’t a big surprise because Marsh was suddenly a superfluous player, with Clowney and Ziggy Ansah both capable of playing the LEO spot.

But Brown’s release certainly was a stunner — as it left Seattle with injured David Moore, inexperienced Malik Turner and three rookies behind Tyler Lockett.

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