CHAWK LINES, Week 8: Houston
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CHAWK LINES -- Texans at Hawks

The Seahawks continue to call about left tackles and reportedly are willing to deal Jimmy Graham — although Pete Carroll emphatically refuted that report and John Schneider also shot it down.

The Texans are in turmoil, and the Seahawks had a few things to say about it. The Texans have a demonstration planned.

The Seahawks are thankful to have Paul Allen as their owner.

Justin Britt will be a game-time decision, but signs point to him playing.

Rookie QBs are 2-10 in Seattle, meaning Deshaun Watson will have a tough time.

Will Watson play into the Seattle pass rush’s hands?

Five things to watch in #HOUvsSEA, from John Clayton. And three keys, via Seahawks.com.

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Injury report, Schedule, Week 8: Houston

Next three foes have some big injury woes

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Logo -- HoustonAt this point in the season, every team is hurting.

The Seahawks certainly are, with 12 guys on various injured lists (IR, NFI, PUP) and eight on the weekly report. Against Houston on Sunday, they will play without five, possibly six, players who would be starters if healthy — Cliff Avril, DeShawn Shead, Chris Carson, George Fant, Luke Joeckel and maybe Justin Britt (ankle).

But, as bad as the Hawks have it, some of their upcoming foes might be even worse.

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It's bigger than football, Trades, Week 8: Houston

Perfect time to try to get Brown again

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Logo -- HoustonDuane Brown probably would love a trade to the Seahawks at this point.

He probably would love to play for an owner who supports him off the field just as much as he does on the field — an owner who considers his players partners, not “inmates.”

The Houston Texans are not happy campers as they get ready to come to Seattle. Like a moron, Bob McNair has stoked the fires of discontent some more with his tone-deaf comments implying players should shut up and just play ball.

The Texans almost boycotted practice on Friday — star receiver DeAndre Hopkins did — and we can expect Texans and Seahawks players to band together in a show of solidarity before the game in Seattle on Sunday.

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Injury report, The roster, Week 8: Houston

Freeney will play, plus injury updates

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Seahawks bandagesDwight Freeney is going to play this week. Jeremy Lane just wants to play. Dion Jordan is finally practicing, but DeShawn Shead and Malik McDowell are not ready yet.

Those were the top takeaways from Pete Carroll on Wednesday, as the Seahawks brought in the 37-year-old former All-Pro Freeney, apparently demoted Lane and allowed Jordan to return to practice.

Freeney, who has 122.5 career sacks with four teams, said he had always wanted to play in Seattle since leaving the Indianapolis Colts in 2013.

“I think it’s a little something different on defense in this city,” he said. “Now that I am here, I already know how special a place this is.”

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State of the team, Week 7: At NY Giants

Slow-starting offense frustrates everyone

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Logo -- NY GiantsWhen Doug Baldwin pushed aside Tom Cable in the second quarter in New York, it was a perfectly timed expression of frustration that reflected what every Seattle fan was feeling.

Although some fans would love for Cable to be shoved out the door, Baldwin apologized for the physical move — but he also made it clear he, like all of us, was sick of how the offense was playing.

“At that moment, I was really frustrated with the offense as a whole,” Baldwin said. “Not the coaching staff — the players. Again, it goes back to our X’s and O’s. We had the play calls. We just didn’t execute. Whether it was passing the ball, blocking, catching, jumping offsides, false-starting, whatever it may be, we weren’t executing as players.”

Although Baldwin and the Seahawks came up with three touchdowns in the second half to win 24-7, the very poor first-half starts remain. And the red zone continues to be a black hole for Russell Wilson and company.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 7: At NY Giants
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CHAWK LINES -- Hawks at Giants

Cliff Avril was placed on injured reserve. He said he is not retiring and might be back this season.

Jeremy Lane probably won’t play in New York, but Michael Bennett “looks like he’s ready to go.”

Quinton Jefferson is expected to play with a cast. Projected inactives: Jordan Roos, Isaiah Battle, Luke Joeckel, Jeremy Lane, Tedric Thompson, C.J. Prosise, Garrison Smith.

Here are five areas where the Seahawks need to improve ASAP.

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Franchise history, Injury report, It's bigger than football

Is this goodbye to Avril?

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Avril on NFLNIt looks, unfortunately, like Cliff Avril’s career is finished.

Pete Carroll told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the Seahawks are going to put Avril on injured reserve, meaning his season probably is over. Carroll said the 31-year-old is “seeing a bunch of doctors, seriously looking at a big decision.”

If he can’t play now, despite apparently feeling fine after suffering a stinger against the Colts, why would he return off IR in eight weeks or come back at all in 2018? Carroll previously said tests “showed some stuff” — and the IR move indicates that “stuff” was serious enough to shut down one of Seattle’s top defenders.

Avril told Yahoo Sports he is not thinking of retiring right now and that the “big decision” is whether to undergo neck surgery.

But Michael Bennett made it sound very much like Avril, who is in his 10th NFL season, knows he needs to retire.

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Injury report, The roster

Another lost vet bet, and we’re on O-line No. 3

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Seahawks bandagesThe Seahawks’ $8 million gamble failed.

Luke Joeckel made it five games before hitting the shelf again. He’s out at least a month, and it could be a lot longer. He’s just the latest big-money addition that hasn’t turned out for Seattle.

In eight offseasons in charge of the Seahawks, John Schneider has paid 11 outside veterans at least $4.8 million a year. For a variety of reasons, just two of them — Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril — have turned out to be worth it.

Unless Joeckel returns for the final five or six games and helps steady the offense through the playoffs, he will end up joining the likes of Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, Robert Gallery, Matt Flynn, Percy Harvin, Cary Williams and Jimmy Graham as big-money busts.

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Schedule

Still looks like a 10-win season for the Seahawks

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As the Seahawks (3-2) get ready to embark on the final two-thirds of the season, they are sitting in the driver’s seat in the NFC West and are viewed as the likely winners of the division.

After Sunday’s games, FiveThirtyEight gives them a 56 percent chance to win the division and 66 percent chance to make the playoffs. Those numbers basically match what Football Outsiders had entering the weekend. Both models put the Hawks at about 10 wins, which is where we had them to start the season and where we still think they will end up.

Let’s take a look at the rest of their schedule:

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The roster, Trades

How the Hawks could acquire Duane Brown

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Salary cap logoCould Duane Brown really be a Seahawk by the time the Hawks play the Houston Texans in Week 8?

We suspected the Seahawks might have checked into Houston’s holdout left tackle during training camp, so it’s not a big shock to see the Hawks apparently are still working that angle.

One report indicates the Seahawks could be close to getting the Texans to lower their asking price, with Seattle’s workout of Branden Albert on Monday helping their cause.

The obvious question: What would it take, in trade and cash, to get the 32-year-old three-time Pro Bowl tackle to Seattle?

Continue reading How the Hawks could acquire Duane Brown →