Tag Archives: J.R. Sweezy

Contracts, Free agency, State of the team, The roster

Offseason priorities

4 Comments

Salary cap logoA couple of months ago, we wrote that the Seahawks’ bosses — Pete Carroll and John Schneider — were going to have to make some changes no matter how the season ended.

Well, the season has ended (prematurely), and now it is time for those changes.

“There’s all kinds of stuff we’re going to be working on,” Carroll said Monday. “There’s tons of stuff. I’m not going to single anything out right now because there’s no way I can do that and be talking straight with you, because I don’t know. We don’t know at this point. We have a lot of thoughts, and we’re just going to start putting them together over the next few weeks and all.”

Although the Seahawks are slated to have more free agents this year than they have had in any year since Schneider and Carroll arrived in 2010, Schneider’s focus will be a little bit different this time.

Continue reading Offseason priorities →

Injury report, State of the team, Week 17: At Arizona

Will battered Hawks be up for challenge?

Leave a comment

Seahawks bandagesIt turns out this big Seattle-Arizona clash might not be a very good gauge of where the Seahawks stand vs. the Cardinals, who are Seattle’s biggest hurdle to reaching the Super Bowl.

Half of Seattle’s key offensive players won’t be in the game, with J.R. Sweezy and Luke Willson (concussions) ruled out Friday — joining Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham, Thomas Rawls, Paul Richardson and probably Russell Okung. That means the Hawks are down to second- or third-stringers at four positions.

Continue reading Will battered Hawks be up for challenge? →

Contracts, Free agency, The roster, Trades

O-line decisions/options for Seahawks in 2016

7 Comments

Russell Okung talks with GM John Schneider during minicamp in June (AP)Another shabby performance has put the focus right back on Seattle’s offensive line — a reminder that no matter how well it played during the five-game winning streak, it is still a very subpar unit that will need to be upgraded next offseason.

The Seahawks have eschewed using high picks on the line ever since 2011 selections James Carpenter (first round) and John Moffitt (third) did not work out; so, instead of Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro, guard Joel Bitonio and right tackle Terron Armstead, they have J.R. Sweezy, Justin Britt and Garry Gilliam.

The line has gotten worse every year since Russell Wilson became quarterback in 2012. It has been terrible at the end of the past two seasons, stuck using rookies and undrafted players to fill in for injured or underperforming high draft picks. And the unit just played one of its worst games of this season, albeit without Russell Okung, causing everyone to hope that was an aberration as the playoffs approach.

However the season ends up, the Seahawks have to upgrade the unit in the offseason, if possible, and try to build some stability in front of Wilson for 2016 and beyond.

They need to determine (1) what to do at left tackle, (2) whether to keep Sweezy, (3) whether to add a veteran center to replace Patrick Lewis and (4) what they are going to do in the draft.

Continue reading O-line decisions/options for Seahawks in 2016 →

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

The O-line the Hawks could have had

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 →

NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Trades

No matter how season ends, Hawks have to make changes next year

2 Comments

Chancellor, Carroll and SchneiderNo matter how the season ends for the Seahawks, they have some key changes to make next year.

They certainly don’t need to blow up the team completely – even if they miss the playoffs. But they will need to make a few small detonations — even if they make the postseason and even if they somehow manage to win the Super Bowl (which seems like California dreamin’ at this point).

Whether Pete Carroll intends to stay beyond 2016 or not, John Schneider needs to fix the problems that have been holding this team back from greatness and help avoid becoming, as he has called it, “one of those teams that skates in and skates out” of contention.

Bottom line: The Seahawks cannot go through another year with such a disjointed offense holding back a potentially great defense. And they have to make some changes to the defense as well – beyond Bruce Irvin leaving in free agency (they will get a taste this week of how Frank Clark and Kevin Pierre-Louis might replace him).

Continue reading No matter how season ends, Hawks have to make changes next year →

State of the team, The roster

Midseason position evaluation

Leave a comment

Rams Carroll Sept. 13The 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, Week 4: Detroit

Carroll and Cable preach patience with developing O-line

Leave a comment

Okung and CableAs the Seattle Seahawks finish the first quarter of the season, their offensive line is still a major work in progress.

But that should come as no surprise. Coach Pete Carroll and offensive line coach Tom Cable are satisfied with the steps the unheralded unit has taken, knowing it was always going to take half the season for Russell Okung, Justin Britt, Drew Nowak, J.R. Sweezy and Garry Gilliam to jell.

“They’re growing and they’re working at it hard,” Carroll said, leading up to the game against the Detroit Lions. “Their confidence is gaining and we’re going to see them continue to improve. I don’t think we’re going to know for another four, five weeks, maybe the halfway point of the season.”

Cable has said several times that this is the most talented group of linemen he has coached.

“I still think they’re going to be the best group (he has had),” he told 710 ESPN last week. “All they’ve done in three games now is get better and better and better.”

Continue reading Carroll and Cable preach patience with developing O-line →

Preseason, State of the team, Training camp

Don’t worry about OL’s poor performance

Leave a comment

Tom Cable on Day 2 of campWhile we chose to focus on the supernova bright spots in Seattle’s loss to Denver on Friday, plenty of people were dismayed by the poor performance of the offensive line.

As we said the other day, don’t worry about it.

You have to remember these facts: (1) Seattle has an inexperienced group, destined to struggle early; (2) it’s largely the same group that the Seahawks had last season, when they reached the Super Bowl; and (3) the running game is mostly a product of Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch anyway.

Rob Staton put together a nice analysis on the NFL’s problem in finding good linemen these days. It piggybacks comments Tom Cable made this offseason about college ruining offensive players.

Continue reading Don’t worry about OL’s poor performance →

State of the team, The roster, Training camp

Don’t worry about the offensive line

Leave a comment
Okung and Cable
Tom Cable watches his linemen drill (Seahawks.com)

Good offensive lines typically are
defined by the four C’s: continuity, consistency, cohesion, camaraderie.

But, the Seahawks get by most of the time with just one C: Cable.

That’s why there’s no reason to be worried about Seattle’s offensive line — despite the uncertainty at center and left guard this year and left tackle and right guard next year. As always, Tom Cable will hook it up.

Continue reading Don’t worry about the offensive line →

Contracts, State of the team

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

Leave a comment

Wilson signing contractWith 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? →