What about Jimmy Graham?
That is the question many are asking as the Seahawks embark on the most important offseason of John Schneider’s tenure (or at least since they went quarterback hunting in 2012).
It’s preposterous to think the Seahawks would cut Graham, who just rallied from a severe knee injury to set team records for receptions and yards by a tight end. And it doesn’t sound like the Seahawks will be interested in trading him either.
A year ago, the Seahawks’ obvious priority was to build an almost entirely new offensive line. They ended up with three first-time starters, a fourth in a new position and a fifth who was only in his second year at his spot.
Everyone hoped against hope that bunch of neophytes would not be this Super Bowl contender’s undoing. But, along with a few key injuries, it was.
Despite the apparent lack of progress, Pete Carroll thinks they have set a foundation and the continuity will help the group improve even if the club does nothing to add to the unit. He also made it clear they do not plan to spend much money on the line.
Are the Seahawks “in the middle of it” or coming to the end of it? That is the big question after three straight disappointing playoff seasons.
Pete Carroll, of course, says the Super Bowl window is still open. Just as he said after the XLIX debacle in 2015 and after the near blowout in Carolina last year, he reiterated Saturday night that the Hawks “are right in the middle of it.” But are they?
All of this team’s best players are signed for another year, but Carroll’s club has been on a steady slide ever since the ridiculous decision to throw the ball from the 1 vs. the Patriots. In 2015, Kam Chancellor’s holdout fractured the defense and the offensive line had trouble against good fronts — a big reason they were nearly blown out by Carolina in the divisional playoffs. In 2016, injuries and attitude problems messed up the defense and the offensive line was even worse than it had been in 2015– the main reason they were blown out by Atlanta.
This team is not the aging crew Mike Holmgren had left after his Seahawks’ five-year playoff run in the mid-2000s; but, as constituted, Carroll’s club is not a strong contender anymore.
Continue reading Are the Seahawks still ‘in the middle of it’?
The Richard Sherman-Julio Jones matchup is the one everyone will be keeping an eye on. (We hope Kris Richard learned a lesson from last time.)
Gene Steratore, who tries not to get in the way, will ref the game. He was the ref for the excellent Seahawks-Patriots game earlier this season.
Jones will be curious to find out how Steratore’s crew plans to call the game.
C.J. Prosise is unlikely to return or this game.
Will the Seahawks use Jimmy Graham in the red zone more in this game?
Everyone’s going gaga over the resurgent rushing performance of Thomas Rawls and the offensive line in Seattle’s 26-6 win over Detroit. But the proof will be in Atlanta.
As expected, the Seahawks are headed there for a rematch with Dan Quinn’s Falcons and a chance to redeem their 2012 playoff loss. To do it, they will have to run the ball as well as they did against the Lions — when the linemen seemingly channeled former All-Pro Steve Hutchinson after he raised the 12 flag.
Yeah, the Hawks beat Atlanta 26-24 in Week 6 without a running game (Christine Michael led an attack that garnered just 76 yards). But they wouldn’t have won without Earl Thomas, who had a stellar game despite the defense’s breakdowns in the third quarter.
Thomas won’t be around to help combat Matt Ryan’s prolific offense this time, which is where the running game comes in: Seattle needs to play keepaway.
Continue reading Seahawks need to keep running it in Atlanta
A year ago at this time, the Seahawks were getting ready for a wild-card playoff game against an NFC North team they had helped build. They ended up escaping frigid Minnesota with a lucky win over the Vikings and Teddy Bridgewater, the quarterback Seattle enabled Minnesota to draft in 2014.
Now, here the Hawks are in the wild-card round again, about to face another NFC North team, and personnel ties loom large yet again.
As the Hawks prepare to host the Detroit Lions in the first playoff game between the teams, two of the big storylines involve Golden Tate and Cliff Avril going against their former teams. But the personnel links are deeper than that.
Since coming to Seattle in 2010, John Schneider has done more business with Detroit than with any other team. Of his 42 trades, seven have been with the Lions. And two of them helped create the Legion of Boom.
Earl Thomas might not be with the Seahawks on the field, but there is no doubt he is with them in spirit.
He has been actively cheerleading via Twitter since he got hurt, sometimes with hilarious comments.
He also held a chat via The Seattle Times on Thursday, during which he said he is feeling pretty good after surgery on his broken leg, misses the game and feels like the team is not as good without him.
Continue reading Injured Thomas on Seahawks: ‘We don’t have all our parts’
Five things the Seahawks need to change vs. Detroit and beyond, per Dave Boling.
A detailed look at the matchup, which seems to favor the Seahawks unless Detroit wins big on special teams.
A look at the key figures for the Lions.
Russell Wilson says he is feeling fast and might get rid of the knee brace.
Tony McDaniel won’t play due to a concussion suffered vs. the 49ers.
It’s that time of year again — when disenchanted fans get to hope some team hires away Tom Cable or Darrell Bevell.
Cable already has been mentioned as a candidate in San Francisco, although the Patriots’ Josh McDaniels seems to be the favorite to run that dysfunctional club.
Bevell has been mentioned as a candidate to replace the retiring Gary Kubiak in Denver. Seattle DC Kris Richard also has been mentioned in connection with the Denver and Buffalo jobs.
It would be a surprise if any of them were hired though.
Continue reading Don’t expect Hawks’ top assistants to be hired away this year
Even before injuries robbed them of their main return man and long snapper, Seattle’s special teams had turned into a major mess this year.
Tyler Ott can’t be much worse than Nolan Frese (on IR with an ankle injury), but did the Seahawks create a potentially bigger mess by adding Devin Hester?
Clearly uninterested in making Richard Sherman return punts in the postseason, they took a gamble on the 34-year-old former All-Pro returner, who apparently fumbled five times in 12 games before Baltimore cut him Dec. 13.
It’s a bit of a desperation move, and Seattle has to hope Hester is not nearly as mistake-prone as he was in Baltimore.
Continue reading Will Ott & Hester make special teams better?
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 