Tag Archives: Tariq Woolen

#SEAvsARI

Because the good outweighed the bad & ugly, the Hawks are 3-1

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The Seahawks should have beaten Arizona by two touchdowns on Thursday. Instead, they needed Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and more special teams magic to win 23-20 on the final play and get to 3-1 this season.

That gave the Hawks a pair of crazy 8s: Eight straight wins over Arizona and eight straight road wins.

The Hawks would have won long before the last play — if Tyrice Knight had not knocked the ball loose on Coby Bryant’s interception return, if Kenneth Walker III had not thrown a football at a Cardinal for a 15-yard taunting penalty, if Riq Woolen had not committed three penalties, if the offensive line could have asserted itself for a game-sealing four-minute drill.

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#SFvsSEA, X's & O's

What happened to Kubiak’s offense?

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The Seahawks promised a new offense under Klint Kubiak — one focused on running the ball and misdirecting defenses to create a much more productive unit than Mike Macdonald’s team had with Ryan Grubb last season.

It all looked good in the preseason as the Hawks ran the ball with gusto. But that all disappeared in the 17-13 opening loss to the 49ers as Kubiak’s offense looked a lot more like Grubb’s than the one that was promised this year.

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NFL draft

Draft IQ shows how it could play out

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We’re just days away from the NFL draft, and the Seahawks and the rest of the teams are finalizing their draft boards.

NFL.com has a new tool called Draft IQ that projects the top eight on the big board for each team, using a combination of pre-draft interest, team needs and draft philosophies.

If they stay at 18, who are the Hawks most likely to pick? Which guys in that top eight might still be there? We used the Draft IQ boards to walk through the first round and see how it might play out.

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NFL draft, Trades

Trade talk: Howell, Woolen — who else?

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When the Seahawks brought back Drew Lock last Friday, the first thought that came to mind was: Whither Sam Howell?

With Lock reportedly signed to a two-year deal, it sure seems to put Howell on the trade block.

The Hawks acquired Howell in a pick swap last year, getting a fourth and sixth while giving up a third and fifth. It was not a bad price to pay (equivalent of a fourth-rounder) for a look at a guy who had started a full season in the NFL and might be a possible long-term QB.

But Howell was no competition for Geno Smith and showed very poorly in clearly trying circumstances against the Packers late in the season.

John Schneider had said he looked forward to seeing Howell in Klint Kubiak’s offense because Ryan Grubb’s offense “wasn’t a good setup for him.” But now here comes Lock back, and he seems like as good a fit or better as the backup in Kubiak’s offense, which includes plenty of rollouts and bootlegs.

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NFL draft

Draft talk: Moving up in Round 2, adding corners and more

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At the NFL meetings this week, John Schneider and Mike Macdonald offered a few draft nuggets – some of which confirm conventional wisdom and others which create questions.

Macdonald said they would take the best player available – offense or defense – with their top pick (18). He also said they would be looking at drafting some cornerbacks, and he gave a lukewarm endorsement of Riq Woolen – a guy we think might be traded at some point this year.

Schneider, meanwhile, said (1) he was laying groundwork for trades with other NFL execs in Florida, (2) he might consider moving up in the draft and (3) the Hawks likely won’t be able to upgrade at center.

Here’s a look at the key draft-related comments from Seattle’s two chiefs and our take on them.

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NFL draft

NFL draft: Top needs, best strategy and what Schneider might do

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While the Seahawks continue to add role players to the bottom of their roster and still might sign a veteran guard later, they are pretty much done in free agency. So all eyes have turned to the draft, which is now a mere three weeks away.

We are not scouts, nor do we pretend to be draft experts. And we certainly have no idea what John Schneider is going to do in three weeks – who does?

But, after checking out consensus boards, seeing what top analysts think of this draft and running through a bunch of scenarios, we have thoughts on the strategy Schneider should/could use.

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Coaches, Free agency, Trades

Carroll joining Raiders spices up offseason possibilities

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It is a surprise that some team wanted to hire a 73-year-old coach who fizzled out over his final three years in Seattle, but kudos to Pete Carroll for making an unexpected return to the NFL.

That now leads to natural questions about whether he might want to bring any of his former Seahawks players to Las Vegas. New Raiders GM John Spyvek, hired from Tampa Bay, will have a lot to say about that, of course.

The Raiders have plenty of roster needs, including quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback. The Hawks have three players at those spots whose names have been bandied about in trade speculation. Would Carroll have any interest in a reunion with Geno Smith, DK Metcalf or Riq Woolen?

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The roster, X's & O's

More ‘bad ball’ from the defense means it’s time to look ahead

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Now that the Seahawks have proven how far they are from contending, with another double-digit loss to the 49ers, attention for most is turning to the future of this franchise. How do they get where the 49ers are?

Pete Carroll’s team is technically still in the playoff chase, but the odds are against the Hawks making it. They are 6-7 with four straight losses – something Carroll hasn’t been a part of for at least a couple of decades — and probably will go 2-2 in the final four to finish 8-9.

The Hawks are among the league’s many mediocre teams: 13 are 6-7 or 7-6. The 49ers are the clear class of the NFC, if not the NFL, and Seattle has been beaten by that Super Bowl contender by an aggregate score of 59-29 (average of about 30-15) twice over the past three weeks. So we know the gap between the Hawks and Super Bowl contention: two touchdowns.

But no one really knows what the solution for this team is. Many want Carroll gone (whether he is fired or retires). Others want coordinators ousted. Others want better players at key spots. Some people want all of the above.

One thing’s for sure: Something has to change.

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Week 10: At Tampa Bay (Munich)

Was Munich just a bad trip or a bigger sign?

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The Seahawks are 6-4 and in front of the rest of the NFC West as they hit their bye, but – in the wake of a poor performance in Munich — the question remains: Can they sustain it?

The Hawks have outperformed expectations so far – they are two games better than we projected (we had them 4-6 on the way to 8-9) – thanks to Geno Smith and a surprising offense that ranked fourth in scoring through nine weeks.

A win in Munich would have solidified the Seahawks as contenders (especially considering the extreme travel involved), but their disappointing performance in a 21-16 loss to Tampa Bay left questions. Was it just a bad European vacation, with poor prep? Or was it a sign that the Hawks have peaked and cannot really hang with playoff contenders?

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Week 8: NY Giants

Lots of credit to go around so far, including Waldron

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The Seahawks had a heck of an October, going 4-1 to leap into first place in the NFC West, and credit has deservedly been shared by many players – Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker III and Tariq Woolen pulled a trifecta of monthly NFC awards.

Clint Hurtt also has gotten a lot of credit for flipping the defense – since Week 6, the Hawks have cut points allowed in half (30.8 to 15), rushing yards almost in half (170 to 92) and passing yards by a quarter (260 to 198) while tripling their sack total (six to 19).

But another guy who should get some credit is Shane Waldron. The second-year OC took some heat early in the season for getting too cute – the worst example coming when he trotted out four RBs against the 49ers and DeeJay Dallas threw an INT at the goal line.

But Waldron has presented a variety of formations and some great concepts that have helped Smith and the offense succeed beyond anyone’s preseason projections. They are the No. 4 scoring offense in the league, at 26.3 ppg – behind only AFC powerhouses Kansas City (31.9) and Buffalo (29) and undefeated Philly (28.1). The Hawks are the No. 7 unit by DVOA.

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