Playoffs: At Atlanta, Playoffs: Detroit, State of the team

Seahawks need to keep running it in Atlanta

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logo-playoffsEveryone’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.

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Playoffs: Detroit, Trades

Lions face the Legion they helped build

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logo-playoffsA 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.

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Playoffs: Detroit, State of the team

Injured Thomas on Seahawks: ‘We don’t have all our parts’

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logo-playoffsEarl 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.

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CHAWK LINES, Playoffs: Detroit
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CHAWK LINES -- Lions at Seahawks

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.

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Coaches, Playoffs: Detroit

Don’t expect Hawks’ top assistants to be hired away this year

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Darrell Bevell speaks to reporters WednesdayIt’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.

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Playoffs: Detroit, State of the team

Will Ott & Hester make special teams better?

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logo-playoffsEven 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.

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Playoffs: Detroit, State of the team

Hawks aren’t toxic or tenacious enough

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logo-playoffsWhen the Detroit Lions come to Seattle on Saturday for the first playoff game between the franchises, they will have the fortune of going against Pete Carroll’s worst team during the Russell Wilson era.

While Carroll’s club is one of three to make the playoffs in each of the past five years, along with Green Bay and New England, this is clearly the weakest Seattle playoff team since the 2010 crew that stunned New Orleans at home in the wild-card round and then lost in Chicago.

The Hawks can’t run the ball, can’t score in the red zone, can’t kick the ball consistently and really can’t sustain the level of play needed to go far in the playoffs. And Russell Wilson is just not as dialed in as he needs to be to go the distance.

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Contracts, Free agency

2017 moves will be based on 2018 salary cap

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Salary cap logoMichael Bennett’s new deal is the first of several extensions John Schneider figures to consummate in the coming months as he presumably focuses on keeping the core of this Seattle team intact.

With no major free agents — Steven Hauschka and RFA DeShawn Shead will be the biggest — Schneider’s 2017 offseason will be more about setting up 2018 and beyond. And, if we’re lucky, he might do something about Seattle’s biggest weakness.

Some fans are giddy about the apparent salary cap boon of up to $38 million, thinking the Hawks can go hog wild on offensive linemen in free agency. But Schneider and contract specialist Matt Thomas know their 2017 offseason is really based on the 2018 salary cap — and they don’t have the flexibility fans think they do, assuming they plan to stick with their MO of keeping their own stars.

With Kam Chancellor, Jimmy Graham and Justin Britt also due for extensions in 2017 and a bevy of star defenders, plus Tyler Lockett, signed only through 2018, every move Schneider makes now has to be made with those players (or replacements) in mind.

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Contracts

With Bennett deal, Schneider gets a jump on 2017 extensions

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Salary cap logoJohn Schneider has several big extensions to consider in 2017, so it makes sense that he started early — removing any doubt about Michael Bennett remaining with the team beyond 2017.

Schneider and Doug Hendrickson, Bennett’s new agent, had been talking about a new deal since the summer, so it is not a big surprise they finished it off before this season ends.

The extension, reportedly for three years and $31.5 million, is almost the terms of the deal they worked out for Marshawn Lynch after the 2014 season.

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Injury report, Week 16: Arizona

2017 season already off to bad start

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Seahawks bandagesIt has been a long time since the Seahawks started a season at full strength. They won’t do it in 2017 either.

Tyler Lockett will require up to nine months to come back from a gruesome broken leg, which means he might end up on PUP to start the season. For the second time in three years, Earl Thomas also will be coming off a serious injury (also a broken leg) and trying to find his playing confidence as the 2017 season starts.

Pete Carroll told reporters he expects Lockett back for 2017 camp; but, even if he does make it, he will be brought along slowly – making it the third straight year the Hawks will start at less than full strength.

The Seahawks have gone through the same thing for most of the last four years. In 2013, it was Chris Clemons (ACL) and Percy Harvin (hip). In 2015, it was Thomas (shoulder), Jeremy Lane (arm and ACL) and Paul Richardson (ACL). This year, it was Jimmy Graham (patellar tendon) and Thomas Rawls (broken ankle).

On top of that, Rawls’ durability is a major question after a broken ankle, broken leg and now a shoulder problem. He’s a tough runner, but he batters his body too much and seems destined to never play a full season. With C.J. Prosise even more NFL-fragile, the Hawks will have to address running back in the offseason.

Alex Collins ran well in the second half vs. Arizona – his best look since the preseason. But the Hawks, who have given the ball to 10 running backs this season, almost surely will add more backs in 2017.