Tag Archives: Thomas Rawls

CHAWK LINES, Training camp
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CHAWK LINES -- Training camp new

With training camp starting in one week, let’s look at some pre-camp player reports:

Michael Bennett is griping about his contract yet again. But don’t believe him when he says, “Just get rid of me.”

Russell Wilson, who now looks almost as hulked up as Robert Turbin, told Q13 Fox: “We’ll try to bring back Super Bowl 51 if we can. We’ll do everything we can, every day. That’s a promise.”

Justin Britt’s switch to center is one of the major camp stories to watch.

Pete Carroll reminds us why the Seahawks think J’Marcus Webb will succeed with them.

Can Thomas Rawls take over for Marshawn Lynch — even if he doesn’t play in the preseason?

John Clayton projects Rawls to get 16-17 carries a game, with the other backs getting six or seven.

Christine Michael — among those trying to replace Lynch — admits, “I was just being a young guy, just being a knucklehead.”

Like last year, all eyes will be on Jimmy Graham — from camp through the season.

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Injury report, State of the team

Odds against Graham? Not on this team

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Jimmy Graham catches a pass on Day 4 (Seahawks via Twitter)The future of Jimmy Graham is a hot topic — not just his future with the Seahawks, but the mere prospect of him playing in the NFL for much longer.

Pete Carroll does not seem concerned, but a recent report by ESPN.com reiterated the severity of a torn patellar tendon — the injury Graham suffered in late November — and questioned whether the tight end will be able to make it back.

ESPN injury expert Stephania Bell cited a recent study saying players with TPTs “fared the worst when it comes to rate of return to play and performance metrics like yards gained and touchdowns scored. And their careers were shortened overall significantly. It’s not to say that one individual can’t come back and be phenomenal, but it’s telling you that the odds are against them in terms of returning to form.”

Of course, the Seahawks are all about bucking the odds, and there are reasons to believe Graham will overcome the injury better than previous players.

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CHAWK LINES, Training camp
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CHAWK LINES -- Training camp new

The countdown is well underway, with camp starting in about two weeks. Let’s look at some pre-camp player reports from some of the local outlets:

Bob Condotta looks at the importance of first-round pick Germain Ifedi working out.

Thomas Rawls said he is aiming to be ready for the start of camp.

John Clayton thinks Alex Collins could challenge Rawls for carries.

Collins is among 710 ESPN’s 25 Most Intriguing Seahawks.

Others on that burgeoning list include Jeremy Lane, Jordan Hill and rookie Tyvis Powell.

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The roster, Training camp

Rawls knows he needs to get back ASAP or risk losing the No. 1 spot

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Rawls out for seasonIt should be no surprise that Thomas Rawls is fighting hard to be ready for the start of training camp: After all, he has a lot of competition to stave off.

Sure, Pete Carroll said Rawls remains the main man replacing Marshawn Lynch — a right Rawls earned by the way he played as a rookie last season (830 yards in 12 games). But the Seahawks drafted three running backs, and Carroll has said they have big plans for third-rounder C.J. Prosise.

Carroll’s overarching theme is ComPete, and Rawls knows it is entirely possible that he loses the No. 1 job if he is slow to get back on the field and Prosise and fifth-rounder Alex Collins excel in his absence. There are only so many carries to go around — even in Seattle’s run-heavy offense.

While everyone else is taking a few weeks off before camp, Rawls is working hard to come back from the broken ankle he suffered against Baltimore in Week 14.

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Minicamp, State of the team

Worn down by two Super runs, Hawks refreshed

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Wilson and SchneiderPete Carroll and John Schneider have raised expectations so high that missing a third straight Super Bowl appearance was considered a stunning failure last season — especially after the Seahawks had recovered from a poor start and put together a dominant second half of the season.

Not even record-setting performances from both the offense and defense could make anyone feel any better after the Seahawks let themselves be ramrodded by the Panthers in the playoffs.

The fact is, though, there’s a reason no team has gone to the Super Bowl three straight times in the salary-cap era or that the only team in the 16-game era to do it (Buffalo) lost every title game (four straight) or that the only other team to reach three straight, Miami, did it in 14-game seasons.

Football is a game of attrition. The more games they play, the more players they lose.

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CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Week in review

Back from a couple of unplugged weeks in Europe, here’s the most recent on the Seahawks:

Bob Condotta ran down some personnel pairings from the OTAs.

Seahawks.com posited six takeaways, including a reminder not to forget about Tharold Simon (who has been easy to forget in his first three years).

Pete Carroll says he won’t rush Jimmy Graham and Thomas Rawls into training camp and is “kind of counting on” them to be ready for Week 1.

Doug Baldwin expects contract talks to start soon, but he is not worried about it.

While we were gone, Bennett told 710 ESPN he will not hold out for a new contract.

The Marshawn Lynch speculation won’t die, but Bennett and Doug Baldwin think he’s done.

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State of the team, The roster

A look at the roster after the ‘rebirth’

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Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images)The Seahawks didn’t have a so-called “championship offseason” last year, and the results were pretty predictable: no championship.

Everyone hoped they could overcome all of the negatives — the loss of confidence in Pete Carroll after his asinine Super Bowl call, the silly fan backlash against Russell Wilson, the poor health of almost their entire secondary, the pointless holdout of Kam Chancellor, the idiotic coaching decision to start Drew Nowak at center.

It all added up to a disjointed start and disheartening finish. It was obviously too much to overcome for a team that had become fractured and really needed to be glued back together again.

The Hawks entered this offseason with more than a few concerns about their ability to bounce back. They needed to replace Marshawn Lynch, deal with unhappy campers Chancellor and Michael Bennett, rebuild their offensive line and fortify their defensive line.

At this point, it looks like they have put the glue in place for all of those fixes: Lynch was replaced by three draft picks; Chancellor made up with the team; Bennett sounds like he will come back ready to repeat his stellar 2015 season; the club replaced Russell Okung, Alvin Bailey and J.R. Sweezy with five linemen and Brandon Mebane with three.

Carroll says this offseason “almost feels like a rebirth.”

“We’ve been through a lot of stuff; we’ve been challenged by a lot of stuff,” he told 710 ESPN on Monday. “We’ve learned so much: winning and losing and then trying to come back again and still maintaining this huge standard and expectation. And we know it’s right there for us. Everybody feels it. That’s what is really fueling the energy around the building and why we’re so enthused. And then we hit it with this draft, so it’s feeling pretty good. Millions of things have to happen, but we’re in the right place right now.”

Let’s take a post-draft look at the roster and see whether that is true:

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NFL draft, State of the team, The roster

Carroll: Rawls is the starting tailback

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Rawls and Wilson vs. RavensHow many running backs does it take to replace Marshawn Lynch while he rides off into the sunset on a camel? Apparently three.

As Lynch led their running game for most of the last six years, the Seahawks had drafted just four running backs (including one fullback). Now, with Lynch retiring — yes, he is, Pete Carroll and John Schneider confirmed — the Seahawks added three backs in this draft alone.

But none of them will displace Thomas Rawls as the starter. Carroll made that clear Saturday after the Seahawks added Alex Collins and Zac Brooks to a backfield that already included third-rounder C.J. Prosise, Rawls and former second-rounder Christine Michael.

“Thomas gives us a great element in his style of play. We love the way he is physical and aggressive and tough,” Carroll said of the second-year back who took over for an injured Lynch as a rookie and rushed for 830 yards before suffering a broken ankle against Baltimore in Week 14.

“I think the message of who we are and what we’re about has been Thomas,” Carroll said. “We’re really excited to continue to see that.”

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CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Week in review

Thomas Rawls said he’ll be ready for camp.

Doug Baldwin said he has not talked to the team about a new contract and he’s “not too concerned about it.”

John Schneider said Frank Clark’s “ceiling is off the charts.”

Russell Wilson, Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett continue to work out in Southern California.

The Seahawks are playing Dallas in Week 3 of the preseason — the big tuneup game.

Cliff Avril turned 30 and talked about losing Brandon Mebane and regaining Chris Clemons.

Clemons said Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman had been recruiting him to come back.

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State of the team

Schneider, Carroll answer personnel questions

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In addition to stating that Kam Chancellor will return to the Seahawks this year, John Schneider on Tuesday confirmed the Seahawks’ offensive line situation is indeed as shaky as we all think it is. He also discussed the plan for replacing Bruce Irvin and waved off any silly concerns that Marshawn Lynch is not really retiring.

With Russell Okung and J.R. Sweezy gone, the Seahawks’ line projects (from left to right) as Garry Gilliam, Justin Britt, Patrick Lewis, Mark Glowinski and J’Marcus Webb. If the Seahawks entered the season with that group, they would be in worse shape than they were with the 2015 line.

At the league meetings in Florida, Schneider confirmed that is where they are right now. And he hinted that the team might not add anyone before the draft.

As the line is constituted, Gilliam would battle career backup Bradley Sowell at left tackle while Webb would step in at right tackle, where Gilliam started in 2015. Schneider admitted they are grasping at straws, calling Sowell and Webb “prove-it signings.”

“That’s kind of the stage we are at right now,” the GM told The Seattle Times.

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