Tag Archives: John Schneider

Hawks finally tired of wasting a great defense

Draft -- Schneider and CarrollJohn Schneider and Pete Carroll know they have wasted two years of their great defense because of a poor offensive line — one that is even worse than the middling units they had as they reached the Super Bowl in 2013 and 2014 — and the team’s chiefs apparently have had enough.

Fans have been calling for them to add a good left tackle since Russell Okung left after the 2015 season. After using Bradley Sowell, George Fant and Rees Odhiambo over the past two seasons, they finally did it — Schneider pulling off his second blockbuster deal in two months to add another Pro Bowl player.

Some think Schneider is selling the future for one last hurrah, but he’s really just making sure the Hawks don’t waste this window any more than they already have. And he’s doing it at little cost to the future.

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Perfect time to try to get Brown again

Logo -- HoustonDuane Brown probably would love a trade to the Seahawks at this point.

He probably would love to play for an owner who supports him off the field just as much as he does on the field — an owner who considers his players partners, not “inmates.”

The Houston Texans are not happy campers as they get ready to come to Seattle. Like a moron, Bob McNair has stoked the fires of discontent some more with his tone-deaf comments implying players should shut up and just play ball.

The Texans almost boycotted practice on Friday — star receiver DeAndre Hopkins did — and we can expect Texans and Seahawks players to band together in a show of solidarity before the game in Seattle on Sunday.

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Another lost vet bet, and we’re on O-line No. 3

Seahawks bandagesThe Seahawks’ $8 million gamble failed.

Luke Joeckel made it five games before hitting the shelf again. He’s out at least a month, and it could be a lot longer. He’s just the latest big-money addition that hasn’t turned out for Seattle.

In eight offseasons in charge of the Seahawks, John Schneider has paid 11 outside veterans at least $4.8 million a year. For a variety of reasons, just two of them — Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril — have turned out to be worth it.

Unless Joeckel returns for the final five or six games and helps steady the offense through the playoffs, he will end up joining the likes of Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, Robert Gallery, Matt Flynn, Percy Harvin, Cary Williams and Jimmy Graham as big-money busts.

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No early returns from 49ers-Hawks draft deal

Logo -- San Francisco If Pete Carroll’s club plays the 49ers as well as John Schneider did in April, the Seahawks should have an easy time of it Sunday. Of course, neither side will have any of the players drafted with the picks from that first-round trade.

As you might recall, Schneider strung along the 49ers as they repeatedly tried to trade back into the first round to get linebacker Reuben Foster.

Schneider ended up parlaying Seattle’s first-round pick into five players, the deal with the 49ers eventually netting Malik McDowell, Tedric Thompson and Mike Tyson.

As it turns out, none of the players drafted out of that deal are expected to play Sunday — McDowell recovering from his ATV accident, Foster out with an ankle injury, Tyson on Seattle’s practice squad and Thompson likely to be inactive again.

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Big trade will help Hawks keep window open

Salary cap logoSome observers think Seattle’s big move to add Sheldon Richardson is a sign that team brass thinks the Super Bowl window is closing.

Quite the contrary: The Richardson deal will help the Seahawks in the future as much as it helps them in the present.

We previously talked about Young Sheldon’s expected impact as a one-year Big Bang rental, but the deal also gives Seattle a lot of flexibility as John Schneider and Pete Carroll decide how to configure their roster for 2019 and beyond.

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Big Bang Theory: One-year rental works for all

RichardsonIt took John Schneider almost six months into the league year to do it, but he pulled off the big bang we thought he would.

Every odd year since 2011, he has made a stunning signing or trade — and he obviously is hoping Sheldon Richardson turns out more like Jimmy Graham than Percy Harvin or Sidney Rice. Even if it’s for only one year.

The deal that sent Jermaine Kearse, a 2018 second-round pick and a seventh-rounder to the New York Jets for Richardson and a seventh is Seattle’s Big Bang Theory: Add a Young Sheldon and create a universe in which Seattle’s defense goes where no defense has gone before.

For one year anyway. This is almost surely just a one-year rental. And it works best that way.

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Britt’s deal shows eye toward 2018 contracts

Salary cap logoEven as John Schneider extends core players and fills roster gaps this preseason, it is clear he is already looking intently toward the 2018 offseason.

With a bunch of players on one-year deals and half a dozen key extensions to consider next year, Schneider and contract expert Matt Thomas need to create as much financial flexibility as possible.

That explains why they used a rare (for Seattle) structure in Justin Britt’s three-year, $27 million deal: an option bonus.

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Don’t worry about the guys who weren’t there

Training camp logo2The Seahawks’ first day of camp was notable mostly for the guys who were not available, but there is nothing to worry about.

Tyler Lockett, one of three PUPs, failed his physical but will be back shortly. DeShawn Shead, who had a minor cleanup surgery on his ACL knee, was not expected anyway. Rookie Justin Senior is the other PUP.

Malik McDowell and C.J. Prosise were the surprising absences on Day 1, though not a big deal since neither is imperative to Seattle’s Super Bowl challenge.

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Saints looked silly because Schneider was toying with 49ers

John Schneider draftingImmediately after the first round of the draft, we all saw the story of Reuben Foster, former Alabama linebacker, saying he hung up on New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton because the 49ers were calling to draft him instead.

It turns out John Schneider was largely responsible for that — and he made the 49ers squirm a lot in the meantime, according to Peter King’s first-person account from the 49ers’ draft room.

The 49ers, who considered drafting Foster with the No. 3 overall pick, tried to get back into the first round for quite a while Thursday night. They talked to every team from 12 down to the Seahawks at 26. They originally offered the Seahawks their fourth-round pick to move up from 34.

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Boom! Seahawks make secondary primary focus

NFL draftThe Legion of Boom officially has been refreshed — thanks to an explosion of draft picks in Rounds 3-6.

As founding members Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman approach the twilight of their Seattle careers and DeShawn Shead recovers from a major knee injury, one of the big goals of this draft was to add to the secondary.

The Hawks accomplished that in a big way with the selections of cornerback Shaq Griffin and safeties Delano Hill, Tedric Thompson and Mike Tyson. It is the most defensive backs John Schneider has drafted — coming after none in 10 picks last year.

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