Tag Archives: Bruce Irvin

January 6, 2016 cc Leave a comment

chawk lines -- Vikings

Marshawn Lynch is back with the Seahawks and will practice Wednesday with an eye toward playing in Minnesota.

In other personnel updates, Pete Carroll said the Hawks could get back almost everyone who missed the last game or two — Kam Chancellor, Russell Okung, J.R. Sweezy, Luke Willson.

Bob Condotta takes a look at the NFC North champion Vikings.

The temperature is expected to be in the single digits. That would be the Seahawks’ coldest game ever.

Carroll said the Super Bowl (i.e., his mistake) lingered in players’ minds for too long this season.

Carroll also shared the story of his vision to Win Forever: It started in Buffalo, where he won his first game as a coach.

Hawks GM John Schneider and others talk about Russell Wilson’s stellar season.

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NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Week 12: Pittsburgh

The O-line the Hawks could have had

November 27, 2015 cc Leave a comment

OL redraft collage.png

As Bruce Irvin misses another game and David DeCastro comes to town with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, it’s a great opportunity to show you how the Seahawks could have put together a very good offensive line by now — if they really wanted to.

It all starts with DeCastro, a Bellevue native who has played some very good guard for the Steelers ever since they drafted him in the first round in 2012.

He should have been Seattle’s choice — as we said then.

Continue reading The O-line the Hawks could have had →

CHAWK LINES, Week 11: San Francisco

November 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Marshawn Lynch wants to play vs. the 49ers but appears to be a game-time decision.

Paul Richardson is out with a hamstring injury, which is too bad considering he showed what he brings with a 40-yard catch vs. Arizona.

Earl Thomas criticized Seattle’s commitment and will to win, saying, “We need to give it up for each other.”

With Bruce Irvin out a couple of weeks with a sprained knee, Frank Clark is expected to get more playing time.

Clark talked to 710 ESPN about his days as a gang member when he was a kid in Los Angeles.

Russell Wilson insists his big contract and high-profile relationship with Ciara have not distracted him.

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State of the team, The roster

Midseason position evaluation

November 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have been highly disappointing this season as the combined effects of a Super Bowl hangover (i.e., not fully trusting Pete Carroll anymore), contract squabbles and new additions have yielded the worst-case scenario: a 4-4 record.

But, they won two straight before their bye and now have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games.

Let’s take a look at each position to see how it has performed, what it needs to do better the rest of the year and what it might look like next year.

QUARTERBACK

Russell Wilson is completing a career-high 68.8 percent, but that has done nothing to help the offense in the red zone, where Seattle is the league’s worst offense.

Wilson’s crew has been the main culprit in meltdown losses against Cincinnati and Carolina – games the Hawks should have won.

Wilson is in his fourth season now and should be playing at a consistently high level, but he is not. Some of that is due to the subpar OL in front of him, some of it is due to the inconsistent play calls, some of it is due to him.

Wilson needs to have more urgency. He needs to change plays more at the line. He needs to account for blitzers. He needs to move more to create better passing lanes. He needs to find his open receivers more quickly and get the ball out fast.

The Hawks have little room for error in the second half, and Wilson needs to play like it.

Continue reading Midseason position evaluation →

State of the team, Trades, Week 8: At Dallas

Don’t expect any major deals from Seahawks

November 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Don’t get too excited about the reports that the Seahawks are working the trade phones ahead of the deadline Tuesday: Any deal they might make almost surely would be minor.

It’s no surprise John Schneider is on the hunt for offensive line help, but the Seahawks are not in financial position to bring on a big-money player such as Cleveland’s Alex Mack or Joe Thomas.

The report that Schneider is willing to trade a receiver such as Chris Matthews is evidence that any deal Seattle makes would be minor. The Hawks are not going to get much for Matthews or Ricardo Lockette, and they surely aren’t going to deal Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett or Paul Richardson.

Continue reading Don’t expect any major deals from Seahawks →

CHAWK LINES

September 2, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kam Chancellor was among those interviewed by precocious 10-year-old Isabella for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” But will he even be there when the Hawks play Green Bay on “SNF” in Week 2?

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report thinks the Hawks will extend Chancellor by a year so they can pay him more this year. That goes against most opinions on the Hawks’ thinking.

Bruce Irvin is conflicted about Chancellor’s holdout: “We need Kam, but Kam deserves his money.”

Irvin also has advice for fellow Seahawks draft gamble Frank Clark.

Chargers QB Philip Rivers said he didn’t think anything about his minor scuffle with Clark last weekend.

Tom Cable said this group of linemen — Russell Okung, Justin Britt, Drew Nowak, J.R. Sweezy, Garry Gilliam — could turn out to be the best he has had. Not sure that would say too much.

Nowak grew up a Packers fan in Wisconsin, so Week 2 in Green Bay will be “surreal.”

The call to Fred Jackson proves the Seahawks clearly still don’t trust Christine Michael as the No. 2 back.

Kevin Norwood is ready to play in Carolina, where he is being coached by one-time Seahawks WR Ricky Proehl.

State of the team, Training camp

Training camp status report: Defense

August 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks open the preseason against the Denver Broncos tonight in Seattle. Here is our breakdown of the defense, what we will be watching in the first game and our updated roster projections:

DEFENSIVE LINE
Veterans: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jordan Hill, Cassius Marsh, Greg Scruggs, Demarcus Dobbs, D’Anthony Smith, Jesse Williams, David King, Jimmy Staten, Julius Warmsley
Rookies: Frank Clark, Obum Gwacham, T.Y. McGill

Pete Carroll says this defensive front is the fastest he has had in Seattle — clearly a nod to the addition of Clark. The coach was stoked about the unit after the scrimmage last weekend, and he is clearly excited about a pass rush that features Bennett, Avril, Clark, Hill and Bruce Irvin.

The one bummer was the release of Tony McDaniel, who turned out to be the cap casualty over Mebane after the big contracts given to Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner.

Bennett still is unhappy with his contract, and he even told McDaniel he would love to be back in Tampa Bay (he probably saw the Bucs’ salary cap space: $13.7 million).

But Bennett has been mentoring Clark, who is going to be Bennett Jr. this season — an inside-out player.

“I lean on him a lot; he looks out for me a lot,” Clark said of Bennett. “He’s a guy that’s been in the league for a numerous amount of years. He has experience. He’s a great player, as well as Cliff Avril, Big Mebane; they teach me a lot of things, just the proper techniques of how to play NFL football.”

Continue reading Training camp status report: Defense →

CHAWK LINES, Training camp

August 10, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Some observations from Day 9 of camp from those who were there (and other features):

Dion Bailey is working as the No. 1 strong safety now because “you can’t deny the production.”

Drew Nowak is challenging for the starting center spot, and now Keavon Milton is in the hunt at left guard — at least the Hawks would have Alvin Bailey think so.

Bruce Irvin, out to prove something in a contract year, is having his best camp.

Pete Carroll said Kevin Pierre-Louis stood out most after watching film of the scrimmage Saturday.

So much for Tony McDaniel possibly returning. He reportedly has a deal with Tampa Bay.

Field Gulls rounded up a bunch of radio interviews from the past few days.

Contracts, State of the team

Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep?

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

With Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner signed, the Seahawks can check off their two biggest 2016 free agents.

But what does it mean for the others?

The official numbers for Wagner’s deal are in, and the Hawks are looking at about $14 million in space under a projected $150 million salary cap next year.

With Wilson and Wagner signed and Tony McDaniel released, their key UFAs in 2016 — barring any other extensions — will be Russell Okung, J.R. Sweezy, Bruce Irvin, Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jermaine Kearse and Jon Ryan. They can’t keep all of those guys for $14 million.

“It is so challenging to do this,” Pete Carroll said, “and particularly as it (the salary cap) changes and you don’t know and you have to predict. … This is a big year now (for Seattle free agents); we don’t know what’s going to happen with the cap. We’ll wait and see.”

Continue reading Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep? →

Contracts, State of the team

Okung knows his worth, but what is it?

July 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

As if the Seahawks didn’t already have enough odd contract situations, Russell Okung has added another one.

Russell Wilson’s marathon negotiations have received the most attention, as the quarterback reportedly seeks to be the highest-paid player in the game. On top of that, Michael Bennett has been grouching about his deal, just one year after signing it; Bruce Irvin bitched about not having his 2016 option picked up and talked about playing in Atlanta next year; and the Hawks also are talking with Bobby Wagner about a contract that could end up making him the highest-paid middle linebacker in the NFL.

Now we can add to that cauldron of contract conundrums the news that Okung plans to represent himself. As part of what he eloquently wrote on The Players’ Tribune, he said: “Before I became a free agent, I decided to free my agent.”

Continue reading Okung knows his worth, but what is it? →