Outside The Press Box
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A few post-draft thoughts from Seahawks Examiner …
Is Chris Michael the next Shaun Alexander?
Carroll on Seahawks’ D-line: The most competitive group we’ve had
Seahawks didn’t reach for linemen but still got a bunch
Key to Seahawks’ success is flexibility
Seahawks stick to their MO and pull a stunner again
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In case you have not been following Seahawks coverage at Examiner.com, check out what you have missed:
Over their first three drafts in Seattle, John Schneider and Pete Carroll have focused mainly on two positions: defensive backs and offensive linemen. Of their 28 picks, 12 have belonged to one of those two position groups. Don’t be surprised if they add some more in a couple of weeks.
It’s no surprise John Schneider picked up another future fifth-round pick in the Matt Flynn trade. Everyone knows he lives for mid-round draft picks — he has had a league-high 10 fourth and fifths in his three years as Seattle’s general manager. Can he keep hitting on them?
The Hawks have few pressing needs as they enter this draft. They could use a weakside linebacker and a run-stopping defensive tackle. But they otherwise are free to “draft ahead” — basically preparing for losing some of their pending free agents over the next few years. How might they do that?
With the 25th pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Seahawks select Percy Harvin, wide receiver/kick returner/running back/pain in the ass for any defense, from Florida via Minnesota. So, with their first pick now in the second round (where they actually seem to like it anyway), the Hawks can take whichever player comes to them.
Sphere: Related ContentIt was hard to believe all along that Pete Carroll really would go with a rookie over the guy the Seahawks ostensibly signed to be the starting quarterback, but Russell Wilson’s performance has taken everyone’s breath away. Matt Flynn has been efficient, but Wilson has been spectacular, and it is hard to argue with Carroll’s choice to make him the starter. The Seahawks have the defense and running game to support a talented young quarterback, and they have Flynn behind Wilson if the savvy rookie is not able to handle it right now. Read the latest from Seattle Seahawks Examiner …
Many observers, us included, thought Seahawks coach Pete Carroll went about his quarterback competition the wrong way. But it became obvious as time went on that Carroll was very serious about giving rookie Russell Wilson a chance to be the starter. And, as it turns out, it really is hard to argue with the choice to go with Wilson. Read more …
The Seahawks took some steps to get rid of deadweight on offense Sunday. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and Terrell Owens will not be a Seahawk — he was among 12 players released as the team aims to get down to 75 players by Monday. And it looks like John Schneider actually is going to get something for Tarvaris Jackson, based on reports that have the quarterback going to Buffalo. His days in Seattle were numbered the minute the Hawks signed Matt Flynn and drafted Russell Wilson. A trade had been rumored for over a week, and the Hawks have to be happy to get something for a guy they were just going to cut anyway. Read more …
Pete Carroll‘s decision to start Russell Wilson at quarterback on Friday obviously means Carroll is seriously considering the dynamic rookie as the starting quarterback. As we’ve said several times, it’s not the way we would go right now. But, considering the Seahawks’ passing game is such a mess thanks to a subpar group of wide receivers, Wilson’s mobility could be an asset in the short term. So, if he does get the starting job, the biggest question, for now and beyond, is: Whither Matt Flynn? Read more …
Sphere: Related ContentWhy would Pete Carroll start Russell Wilson now?
21 Aug 2012Well, Pete Carroll is nothing if not unconventional. It’s hard to argue with the way he has built the Seahawks’ defense and the way his No. 2, Tom Cable, has developed the running game. But what the heck is Carroll doing at quarterback, reportedly naming Russell Wilson the starter for the third preseason game Friday against Kansas City? We’ve made our thoughts on the matter clear previously and did so again Monday, but then Carroll apparently decided to throw a curveball. Here’s the latest from Seattle Seahawks Examiner:
Why would Pete Carroll start Russell Wilson now? All of the people getting excited by the rookie’s relative success against backup defenses need to take chill pills. Yeah, Wilson obviously is a more dynamic player than Matt Flynn. The rookie throws with more zip and is a better athlete by far. But it is clear that Carroll is — and probably always was — going with Flynn as the starter. It has become pretty obvious that — despite all of his proclamations about a three-man race — he intended for Flynn to start all along. Read more …
The Seahawks reportedly plan to trade Tarvaris Jackson by Saturday, and they apparently have plenty of interested parties. According to Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports, the potential suitors include Green Bay, Miami, Minnesota and San Diego. That goes along with a report that suggested Arizona as a possibility. And we threw out Denver. Here’s a look at why each team might be interested …
While Terrell Owens looked very rusty Saturday in Denver, Deon Butler continued to make plays. Butler is the most overlooked receiver on the Seahawks’ roster, which has 13 receivers, but Butler has been the most productive this preseason. Read more …
Middle linebacker was a position of concern for the Seahawks this offseason, but it says a lot about the progress of K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and Heath Farwell that the team had no problem trading veteran Barrett Ruud to New Orleans. Read more …
Sphere: Related ContentThis blog has resembled a ghost town for the last four months, but that’s just because all of my Seahawk content has migrated to Examiner.com. You can go there to find all of my stuff since April, but here are the most recent items on events related to the Seahawks:
So whaddya think: Will Peyton Manning talk to Pete Carroll this time? The last time Carroll went to Denver, he sat on the tarmac at the airport hoping Manning would come talk to him about signing with the Seahawks. It was the beginning of Carroll’s odd odyssey to finding a quarterback this year. Read more …
Earlier this year Carroll went to Denver to try to entice a quarterback to Seattle. How about going to Denver to dump a quarterback? The Seahawks reportedly have talked to at least two teams about trading quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. Arizona is the prominent rumor, but most observers do not expect that one to happen We also mentioned San Diego, which is gambling on Philip Rivers’ health with only Charlie Whitehurst behind him. A couple of other teams come to mind, however, including the team the Hawks play Saturday: the Denver Broncos. Read more …
Carroll is getting it about half right at the quarterback position. While Carroll is right to stay with Matt Flynn as the Seahawks’ starter and let Russell Wilson learn behind him, there’s no reason to maintain the charade that Jackson is still in the hunt. It is simply unfair to Jackson. Carroll told reporters Tuesday that Flynn will start in Denver on Saturday and Wilson will play behind him again. And Carroll repeated that Jackson’s body of work from last season keeps him in the competition — in fact, Carroll implied that Jackson is ahead — but who really believes that? Read more …
As Matt Hasselbeck returns to Seattle for the first time since the Seahawks decided not to re-sign him last year, he will face a Seattle team that pulled his possible long-term successor from the same place the Seahawks got Hasselbeck 11 years ago. Now that Carroll finally has named Flynn the starter — for the game against Tennessee on Saturday and probably for the season — the Seahawks appear to be in a very similar situation to where they were when Mike Holmgren traded for Hasselbeck in 2001. Read more …
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The second round of the NFL draft got off to a good start Thursday when the Seattle Seahawks picked Bruce Irvin with the 15th pick overall.
It continued a trend of the Seahawks skipping over the first round to begin in the second.
Semi-joking aside, the Seahawks’ pick of Bruce Irvin certainly stunned the majority of draft analysts and observers. The Seahawks were smart enough to move down from 12 — and they should have moved farther, as general manager John Schneider said they considered doing.
Most analysts had Irvin rated as a second-rounder for two reasons: (1) He’s nothing more than a pass rusher (at least for now) and (2) he had a checkered legal history.
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- Tags: big reach, bruce irvin, pass rusher
Seahawks’ draft trade scenarios
23 Apr 2012
We’re down to four days before the NFL draft, and the draft rumors are heating up as usual. I’m doing my best to stoke those fires by offering up potential scenarios for the Seahawks to trade down from the 12th pick.
Last year, perhaps because of the lockout, there were just four trades in the first round. That was a big drop from the previous four years, when there were seven trades on average in the first round.
The Seahawks have talked to other teams about moving down in each of the last two years, and they should consider it again this year unless they want to take David DeCastro or Luke Kuechly at No. 12.
There has been some chatter about the Seahawks drafting Ryan Tannehill if he somehow slips to 12, but it’s hard to see that happening for a lot of reasons.
The one guy who seems to be drawing the most interest around the Seahawks’ pick is Alabama safety Mark Barron. Peter King has even suggested that the Seahawks should take him themselves, explaining that the Hawks use a lot of nickel and could play Barron, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor on the field together at least 60 percent of the time.
Of course, that is a far-fetched idea that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The far better idea is to use Barron as trade bait for teams like Dallas, Philadelphia and even New England.
Even if Barron isn’t the trade lure, it could be a number of other players, and there figures to be at the very least a fair bit of conversation about Seattle’s pick.
The Chargers could want to move up for a pass rusher, which would allow the Seahawks a mulligan of sorts on their bad Charlie WHitehurst deal from 2010. The Eagles could want to jump over Dallas at 14 to get Barron, and the Patriots reportedly might be interested in leaping up from 27 to get Barron, too.
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- Tags: chargers, eagles, patriots, trade down
Mariners still don’t have an offense
14 Apr 2012
A week ago in Oakland, it looked like the Mariners might be a changed team — that is, one with an offense.
They scored 15 runs in two wins over the A’s and followed that with five more in an 11-5 loss to Texas that gave them 20 runs in a three-game stretch — something they did just three times last year.
The question then was: Was this a momentary blip or a sign of things to come for the Mariners’ offense?
After Friday’s pitiful home opener — the first I have ever attended — we have our answer. The Mariners now have scored seven runs in their last four games and look no better on offense than they have been the last three paltry seasons.
Sphere: Related ContentProgramming note: I will be using a more concentrated forum for posting Seahawk content going forward, but I will post highlights with links here. Please feel free to follow these promo links to Examiner.com, where I am now the Seahawks Examiner. You also can follow me on Twitter:
The Hawks had plenty going on last week.
See “how Pete Carroll talked Paul Allen” into those kooky new duds …
See why the Seahawks should try to trade down in the first round …
See why Barrett Ruud and Deuce Lutui don’t solve the issues at linebacker and guard …
See how the rumors are already flying and what general manager John Schneider says about them …
And check out whom the Hawks are taking in my first mock draft …
Sphere: Related ContentIt’s time for NCAA to contract and pay football and basketball players
By: Chris In: NCAA hoops
4 Apr 2012
NCAA basketball has hit a low point. It’s really unfortunate, considering it has long been one of the best sports in the country.
The uninspiring title game Monday was a fitting end to one of the most lackluster NCAA tournaments in recent years. It was the second straight dud championship game. And now we get to watch another mass exodus to the NBA.
The Huskies’ worst fears have been confirmed as both Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten are going pro. Most of Kentucky’s starters figure to follow — for the third straight year.
It’s hard to blame any of them for leaving. They are getting paid peanuts in college, yet have to play for a year if they want to be drafted into the NBA.
The NCAA needs to put a stop to it. There’s a simple, very logical way: Pay the players as university employees and make them sign three-year contracts if they want to play for the school.
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- Tags: huskies, terrence ross, tony wroten
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Two former sports reporters freed from the constraints of traditional print media write about the hot topics on both the Seattle and national sports scene. No deadlines, no word count, no press box decorum — we're Outside The Press Box.
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- Chris: I would have been fine with Kuechly. Would have been interesting to see if the Hawks would have been [...]
- Brian Barney: What are your thoughts about Luke Kuechly or is drafting a linebacker early a mistake after the Curr [...]
- AgentJ: College tuition is already high enough. Giving the NCAA a blank check to up the price of a degree is [...]
- Chris: Nice work, EZ. Here's the one I was writing at the same time: http://www.examiner.com/washington- [...]
- Chris: You were right. (I just wanted to test our comments) [...]
- Seahawks Examiner: Is Chris Michael the next Shaun Alexander?
- Seahawks draft notes: Which positions in which rounds?
- Hard to argue with Carroll’s choice of Russell Wilson at this point
- Why would Pete Carroll start Russell Wilson now?
- Will Peyton Manning talk to Pete Carroll this time? (And more)
- Seahawks got second round started Thursday with Bruce Irvin
- Seahawks’ draft trade scenarios
- Mariners still don’t have an offense
- Catch up on a week’s worth of Seahawk content at Examiner.com
- It’s time for NCAA to contract and pay football and basketball players
