Tag Archives: Earl Thomas

Of course Earl Thomas will be back

December 5, 2016 cc Leave a comment

Don’t believe an emotional tweet: Earl Thomas is not going to retire.

The 27-year-old All-Pro safety was just upset about the broken leg that ended his season.

“When you get injured, it becomes very emotional,” said Kam Chancellor, who provided the friendly fire that sidelined Thomas during Seattle’s 40-7 win over Carolina. “Sometimes you say things you might not mean. Sometimes you say things you might mean. It’s one of those things you just have to let him sit back and breathe, let him sit back and go through his process.”

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Injury report, State of the team, Week 12: At Tampa Bay

Hawks’ full depth will be tested this week

November 25, 2016 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ overall depth this year has been considered the best since 2013, when they won the Super Bowl.

They have had to dip into those reserves here and there throughout the season — especially covering for Thomas Rawls, Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett and Luke Willson.

But this week, as the Hawks try to stay on the heels of the Dallas Cowboys with a win in Tampa, the depth is being tested at every level.

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Injury report, State of the team, Week 11: Philadelphia

Hawks looking thin in backfields for Tampa

November 21, 2016 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have weathered a few injuries to key players — Russell Wilson, Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett, especially — this season, but they have yet to endure the kind of bloodbath they took in their 26-15 win over Philly on Sunday.

No fewer than 10 players left the game with various ailments, and the Hawks are looking at playing without at least four key guys next Sunday in Tampa Bay.

The biggest concerns this week are Legion of Boomers Earl Thomas and DeShawn Shead, plus the running back position.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 11: Philadelphia

November 19, 2016 cc Leave a comment

chawk-lines-eagles-at-hawks

With Thomas Rawls back, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks are “in a good situation” at running back.

Rawls is so pumped to return that family members are telling him to relax and “breathe.”

C.J. Prosise’s big hit after a big gain vs. the Patriots had everyone talking this week.

Here’s a preview of this week’s game, plus more to watch as the Seahawks and Eagles meet for the 15th time.

After the Seahawks lost a winnable game in New Orleans, the coaches decided it was time to let a heathier Russell Wilson make plays again.

The Eagles’ defense ranks as highly as Seattle’s in almost every category and will be a big challenge for Wilson and Seattle’s offense.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s defense has slumped a bit without Michael Bennett.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 10: At New England

November 16, 2016 cc Leave a comment

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The Seahawks made some interesting moves Tuesday, waiving Christine Michael and Sealver Siliga, promoting fan favorite Troymaine Pope and signing an interesting D-tackle, John Jenkins.

Michael simply never earned the trust of the coaches (and still had that entitled attitude that goes counter to Pete Carroll’s mantra).

Thomas Rawls is finally ready to roll again (which explains the timing of Michael’s release).

Earl Thomas apparently punctured Rob Gronkowski’s lung on that big hit, but both players have a lot of respect for each other.

Lots of people going gaga over Kam Chancellor’s return.

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State of the team, Week 10: At New England

Seahawks’ season takes the usual super turn with marquee win

November 14, 2016 cc Leave a comment

It was hard to know what to expect in New England. Vegas called the Hawks a touchdown underdog, and most analysts went with that in picking the Patriots in the Super Bowl XLIX rematch.

But the Seahawks bounced back off a short week against the bye-rested Pats and put together their best — though far from perfect — game of the season in a 31-24 upset that Doug Baldwin said evoked a “phenomenal emotional feeling in our locker room.”

That is the feeling that this team has made its typical Second Half Turn and is headed for something special again.

This was not a must-win for Seattle, from a standings standpoint. But it certainly was a big game for Seattle’s psyche — to get even for the XLIX debacle and to measure themselves against the AFC’s best team.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 7: At Arizona

October 22, 2016 cc Leave a comment

CHAWK LINES -- Seahawks at Cardinals

Kam Chancellor likely will not play — plus other injury reports.

Kelcie McCray is ready to start again in place of Chancellor.

David Johnson is playing great for Arizona and is one of the key matchups.

An inside look at the Cardinals via Q&A with one of their beat writers.

The Cardinals’ pass rushers offer another test of Seattle’s developing O-line.

The secret to the strip sack: Aim for the elbow, Cliff Avril says.

The Seahawks have become the most effective blitzing team in the NFL.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 6: Atlanta

October 16, 2016 cc Leave a comment

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Russell Wilson rallied the offense and the defense stood stout at the end as the Seahawks beat Matt Ryan and the Falcons 26-24.

Wilson pulled off his usual magic, proving once again he is one of the elite.

Earl Thomas played his best game of the season.

Cliff Avril’s big game helped his parents’ home country of Haiti.

Michael Bennett should be OK despite leaving the game with a knee injury, but Luke Willson’s status is unclear, pending tests.

Bennett was irate over the cut block by Jake Matthews that knocked him out.

Richard Sherman blew his top over blown coverages.

It seems as though Kelcie McCray – filling in for injured Kam Chancellor — was the culprit on the first blown coverage, missing a defensive call.

Sherman should have been called for pass interference on the Falcons’ final pass play. But he wasn’t. And that’s that.

CHAWK LINES, Week 2: At Los Angeles

September 15, 2016 cc Leave a comment

CHAWK LINES -- Seahawks at Rams

Russell Wilson said he will be “ready to roll” against the Rams.

The trip to Los Angeles will be special for Pete Carroll and all of the California Seahawks.

Carroll explained this week’s roster decisions at corner and fullback.

Earl Thomas said he was so upset about his play vs. Miami that he quickly left without showering.

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State of the team, Training camp, X's & O's

Record-setting defense plans to get better

July 23, 2016 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ defense has put together an unprecedented run — becoming the first modern NFL team to go four straight years as the No. 1 scoring unit.

After Seattle shut down Arizona 36-6 in the 2015 season finale to clinch the top spot again, a beaming Pete Carroll said, “I don’t know if there is a record that I could be more proud of than to see our guys go for four straight years and lead the league in scoring defense. I think that is a remarkable accomplishment by a bunch of guys dedicated to the program and what we are doing.”

Carroll’s defense also has given up the fewest yards over the last three years, ranking first in the 2013 and 2014 Super Bowl years and second last season.

That’s a pretty darn good run of defense — and yet the Seahawks know they can become more consistent if they can cover their Achilles’ heel.

Because they have so many veterans on the unit now, the coaches apparently are finally planning to address the soft underbelly of their defense, which has been prone to giving up big chunks of yards and too many touchdowns to tight ends, running backs and slot receivers.

Their plan to fix that issue figures to be one of the big stories of training camp, which begins Saturday.

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