Tag Archives: Michael Bennett

Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Is a new homegrown defense in the offing?

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Byron Murphy said he loved watching the Legion of Boom Seahawks when he was a kid. (For some of us a decade is not that long ago, but for a 21-year-old it was half his lifetime ago.)

The LOB was a dominant defense with a core that John Schneider put together mostly through the 2010-12 drafts: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett (Murphy’s favorite player on that defense) were the only core outside additions. And that group of stars dominated the NFL from 2012 to 2016.

Schneider has not been able to replicate that magic over the past decade. He had the perfect chance to do it again in 2016 and 2017, but he absolutely whiffed on most of his 11 picks on Days 1 and 2. Ever since those failures, he has been patching together his defense with trades for veterans.

But, thanks to three straight years with high picks in the draft, maybe he finally is building another core – this time for Mike Macdonald.

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Contracts, Free agency

Hawks full of (good) surprises in first week of free agency

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John Schneider and Pete Carroll were not kidding when they declared they were going to get better on the defensive line this offseason.

They surprised everyone by breaking out of their frugal free agency routine when they gave Dre Jones the biggest deal they have ever given an outside free agent: $17 million per year over three years. It was a stunningly aggressive start to what has been a surprising free agency period in several ways.

Jarran Reed unexpectedly returned. The Hawks got a good veteran center for much cheaper than expected. Linebackers went fast, but the Hawks added Devin Bush — and Bobby Wagner remained unsigned through this publish, giving Quandre Diggs and many fans hope that he might yet return. The Hawks also added a good starting safety at a bargain, creating all kinds of questions and possibilities at that position.

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Free agency, Trades

Value for good vets continues to elude Schneider

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Over his 11-plus years as Seattle’s GM, John Schneider has been pretty good when it comes to making trades (we put him around .600).

But it’s also rare when Schneider gets value out of good players he lets go.

He didn’t get it for Michael Bennett or Richard Sherman or Earl Thomas. And he certainly didn’t get it with Jarran Reed, who was released Friday because the Seahawks had put themselves in a spot where they needed his $9 million in cap space and Schneider could not get a team to give up even a seventh-rounder for a solid starting defensive tackle who has 19 sacks over the past three seasons.

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Free agency, The roster

Bennett is not the only reunion to consider

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Pete Carroll has never been afraid to reunite with former players — usually after their big-money days are done and they have reached the points in their careers where they are role players.

Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin were the most recent examples, returning to help Carroll’s battered backfield late last season. This week, everyone has been talking about the possibility of Michael Bennett coming back.

While anything is possible, that seems unlikely. But what about some other former Seahawks?

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Trades, Week 6: At Cleveland

What about a reunion with Michael Bennett?

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Bennett thumbs-upIf you had a chance to bring back Michael Bennett to add to the trio of Jadeveon Clowney, Ziggy Ansah and Jarran Reed, would you do it?

The more significant question: Would the Seahawks do it?

Bennett was dumped in the Great Defensive/Attitude Reset of 2018, along with Richard Sherman (and injured Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril and, later, Earl Thomas). Bennett admittedly had tuned out Pete Carroll, who finally got tired of it after his veteran defense fell apart in 2017.

But Carroll is a forgiving sort. And he has brought back, if even briefly, more than one player who left (Luke Willson, Cassius Marsh, DeShawn Shead, Justin Coleman, et al.).

Bennett now seems possibly on the outs in New England, which just traded for him this year but is playing him less and less. How about a third Seattle stint for Bennett, who started his career in Seattle in 2009 and was brought back by John Schneider and Carroll in 2013? Maybe this “benching” experience has humbled Bennett enough that he is ready to be a team player again.

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The roster, X's & O's

‘How do we work these guys together?’

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Logo -- CincinnatiNow that John Schneider has repeated his 2013 defensive line coup, the question becomes: How long will it take Pete Carroll, Ken Norton and company to get this collection of linemen playing to its best capabilities?

Schneider told 710 ESPN that Seattle’s front seven, including a trio of “phenomenal blitzers” at linebacker, is “a really cool group. (Coaches are) putting it together right now: How do we work these guys together?”

For a sampling, we merely need go back to 2013, the last time Schneider brought in two impact pass rushers at the same time.

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Contracts, The roster

Hawks have replicated 2013 moves on D-line

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Schneider at 2019 combineIn May, we said the Seahawks needed to replicate their 2013 moves and find a way to add a couple of impact veteran pass rushers.

Four months later, they have achieved that goal — in spades (Jadeveon Clowney trumps Nick Perry).

John Schneider getting Clowney and Ziggy Ansah for a grand total of no more than $21.25 million is akin to his 2013 coup of signing Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril for $18 million (Avril signed for two years). And, if Clowney and Ansah play like Bennett and Avril did that year, the Hawks could be looking at their second Lombardi Trophy.

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Contracts, Trades

Trade Wilson? Schneider never deals his stars

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Wilson and SchneiderThe Seahawks don’t want to trade Russell Wilson, and Wilson doesn’t want to be traded. Yet the ridiculous rumors continue that Seattle might move its franchise quarterback.

ESPN’s football reporters keep talking about the possibility, and recent Raiders coach Jack Del Rio chimed in about it. Jason La Canfora, whose reports about Wilson’s contract have all been negative, posited some trade ideas from “a smart football guy.” And Pro Football Talk, similarly pessimistic about a deal, offered teams that should call Seattle.

All of those people are forgetting one thing: John Schneider NEVER trades a premier player when he has any value. He keeps him to the bitter end. So it would be a stunner if he even considered dealing Wilson.

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Free agency, Schedule

Seahawks aren’t much better yet, but what about their opponents?

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Logo -- Free agencyThe Seahawks have signed eight guys over the last week, but only one would be considered an improvement over what they had last year. In other words, they are still just getting started trying to make this club better.

So far, they have kept the status quo at offensive line (D.J. Fluker and George Fant back, Mike Iupati replacing J.R. Sweezy), defensive line (Frank Clark and Quinton Jefferson both tendered) and linebacker (K.J. Wright and possibly Mychal Kendricks back). The only upgrade has been the makeup signing of kicker Jason Myers, who should have been their kicker in 2018.

At this point, the Hawks are basically the same team that won 10 games last year. To get better — and have a chance at the necessary home field next season — they absolutely have to add a couple of defensive linemen before the draft arrives. Once they do that, we will see whether they actually have improved.

Meanwhile, let’s see how their status quo approach compares to the moves of their 2019 opponents:

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Franchise history

Wright’s back, but Legion of Boom can take a bow

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Earl takes a bowThe return of K.J. Wright means there will still be two members of Seattle’s famed Legion of Boom defense on the field in 2019. But make no mistake: That unit is now officially gone.

Wright’s re-signing was a pleasant surprise after Earl Thomas’ long, slow goodbye finally ended with him heading to Baltimore for $13.75 million a year.

With Thomas gone, Wright and Bobby Wagner are the only ones who remain from Pete Carroll’s vaunted defense that helped lead the Seahawks to two Super Bowls and put together one of the most spectacular half-decades in league annals.

But the end also is in sight for Wright, who sounds like he’s going to retire after this two-year contract. And there is no guarantee Wagner will be around beyond this year, the final of his deal.

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