Where do we stand in the draft?

So the draft is coming up and we have the 12th overall pick....what do we do?  Then after the 1st round, where do we go from there?  We have the 43 (2nd), 75 (3rd), 106 (4th), 181 (6th), 225 (7th) picks.

Lets start where I think we might go first....DE.  I think Quinton Couples, 6'6" 284 lbs might be the guy they go after.  They may look at Nick Perry of whom Pete Carroll recruited to USC.  He comes in at 6'3" 271 lbs.  If they don't go DE first, they may look to go ILB. Luke Kuechly's name has been thrown around. At 6'3" 242 lbs, Luke is a pretty good sized kid with some good speed with a 40 yard time of 4.5.

Could we go for a OG for the third straight year?  I don't know that this is such an driving need for someone early on as we have some good guys in the trenches, we just need to stay healthy.  I could see them going for a 2nd round OG though.

Michael Lombardi for the NFL network has suggested taking a CB such as Stephon Gilmore from South Carolina.  Had a good combine and a strong 40 time.  But do we really need a CB?  Browyner is solid.  Thurmond and Sherman are both tall and fiscal and still both young.  It is a position that takes some time getting used to the NFL speed, especially going up against a receiver all game long like Larry Fitzgerald twice a year.  Remember that Thurmond only played 1.5 games.

I will try and get some solid predictions of my draft picks by next week.

Free Agency

Ok, so after getting denied by Peyton Manning...Seattle goes out and signs the next best QB in the draft - Matt Flynn.  Matt comes with a couple years under his belt as a backup to arguably the best quarterback in the league right now in Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers.  Flynn has had two opportunities to come into a game as a starter and done a fantastic job.  But does this amount to him beating out TJackson? Vote on the sidebar....

Other pick ups thus far in the free agency include: Matt Jones, DT.  Matt is a big fella...tall and broad.  He looks like he can pack a good hit and can be quick on his feet to slip through the inside.  At 6'5" and 276 lbs.  And it looks as though Carroll has plans to use him down inside with an occasional situational end usage.  He is going to go well with Big Red and Clemons.

Peyton 2.0

How could I not talk again about Peyton Manning on this day that he is released from the Colts?  Yes, that’s right, he is a free agent.  He, arguably, could be the biggest name on the open market in NFL history.

So where does he end up?  Well I mentioned several weeks ago the pros and cons of Peyton coming into the Seattle.  But what are the other possible locations?  Some teams being thrown around in the discussions include: Miami, Washington, NY Jets and the Cardinals.  I do not agree with the idea that Peyton could go to Washington.  I cannot see how he would want to face his brother Eli twice a year, especially with Eli coming to his prime and Peyton getting older and with a new team.  I also don’t see him going and sharing NY with Eli.  I can see him however going to Miami.  The warm weather year around is probably appealing to him.  The problem for them is that they do not have room under the salary cap to sign him, thus I see it a smaller possibility than others may state. 

When negotiations arise with talks of Peyton going to the Cardinals I cringe.  I do not like the idea of him going to a team inside our division, especially with Larry on the outside.  The problem is that they have no money for Peyton.  They also gave up a bunch last year to get Kevin Kolb including a first round pick, a starting cornerback, and more.

This leaves really only Seattle in the negotiations.  I am completely ok with that.  

Special Teams

The big surprise on special teams this year was our kicker, Steven Hauschika.  Olindo Mare had been kicking for us for a 3 years and done a fantastic job, but as soon as the lockout was lifted, Mare did not re-sign with the team, leaving us empty in the kicker position.  We quickly claimed Steven off of waivers.

After joining the league in 2008, Steven bounced around several teams trying to find the right opportunity.  It was never that he had been a bad kicker, he was always the young guy behind an older veteran coming in if needs be because of injuries.  He had the leg and the accuracy.  For us during the 2011 season he did a wonderful job.  He made 25/30 FGs including 7 of 8 between 40-49 yards and 2 of 4 above 50 yards.  He is a great kicker and hopefully can stick around with us for some time.

Jon Ryan once again had at outstanding year.  This year he even got stronger and had longer punts including a 77 yard punt.  He also pinned our oppenants inside their own 20 34 times and did not get blocked all season.  He really is something special.   

2011 Defense

The story of the year on the defensive side of the ball: the emergence of young and talented players.  Moving from the back to the front, we see the safeties with pro bowl years, literally.  The Troy Polamalu type player, Earl Thomas a second year player, had another outstanding year. Kam Chancellor was a powerful weapon at the other safety spot.  Kam was also in his second year but was able to start this year from game one.  Throughout the season, opponents were able to get to know these two up close and personally.  Between the two of them, they were a hard hitting, great covering players.

The cornerbacks started out with not know exactly who was going to start on a week to week basis.  We picked up several young corners in the off season in either the draft or the spring workouts.  Brandon Browner was of those players who came to the workouts and was able to make the team.  He played several years in Canada and each year was an all-star in the league.  Marcus Trufant was healthy and excited for the year.  Walter Thurmond and Richard Sherman were also young and competing for a starting job.  In the first couple games, Browner and Trufant were the two starters but after an injury to Trufant, Thurmond came out and did a great job.  Unfortunately after a couple games, he got injured and Sherman stepped in started the rest of the season.  Between Sherman and Browner, we had the tallest set of corners in the league.  All of these players gave great performances all year.  It was the first year in several that we had great corner performances.  Grade: A-

The linebacking crew was also very good this year.  Aaron Curry was traded half way through the season because of lack of performance.  Though young, he was not getting to the spots quick enough and unable to perform like a top 5 pick in the 2009 draft.  There was also another player who was playing at a higher level than he was.  That player was KJ Wright who was drafted in this year 2011.  So there was no need to keep Curry around.  KJ came in finally at the starting spot half way through the season and he got better each game.  David Hawthorne played solid all year long.  He filled the holes and took goo angles.  Though not the fastest nor slipperiest player, he did get the job done.  LeRoy Hill played the other outside position. He had a good year.  Not great but did a decent job.  Overall for the linebackers, at least for the last half of the season, did a good job.  Grade: B

Down in the trenches we got great performances all around.  On the edges, Clemons and Bryant where both tremendous.  Their backups were both great as well.   Hargrove was picked up from the free agency market after a few games and came in his first game for us and had a sack and a half with several tackles.  Inside at the tackle positions Mebane and Branch were big road blocks.  For the season, we did very well with stopping the run game in and game out.  We did alright with getting pressure to the quarterback.  Grade: B+

Next week we will look at the special teams.

Peyton Manning

I know last week I said I would get into the 2011 defense but with all the talk around Peyton Manning lately, I thought I would share my thoughts on the situation.  

Peyton Manning was unable to play in 2011 due to neck problems which he tried to fix with several surgeries.  Without Peyton, the Colts fell to a 2-14 in 2011.  He clearly was their most valuable player and had been able to cover up some real problems they had in some personnel.  Up until last week, his doctors had kept him from playing.  But with the team heading into the draft with the number 1 pick, many believe they will take the best player in the draft being a new QB Andrew Luck.  That leaves themselves in a huge pickle as they must decide if they want to keep Peyton around or if they move onto a new generation in Luck.  Speculations from the insiders is that Peyton Manning will be out of Indianapolis and playing for another team in 2012.

Where could Peyton end up if he is out of Indy?  Is Seattle a possibility? 

I believe that every team in the league would want Peyton Manning as their quarterback.  The real questions is do they have the other personnel, room in their salary cap, and an offensive coach willing to adjust to Peyton as he really is the one in command of the offense and it’s scheme. 

When it comes to Peyton and the possibility of Seattle for him, I am not sure where I stand.  Obviously he would be able to come in and if 100% do a spectacular job.  He would be able to help our offense produce high scores – which we desperately need.  He could help a younger quarterback develop, which would mean we would need to drop all 3 quarterbacks we have now over the course of 2012 and 2013.  We would need to get a quarterback in this year’s draft or next as one that could become the next starter while also looking around the league for someone who could be a good backup.  Maybe we wouldn’t have to look far if T. Jackson would be willing to step down, but that is unlikely in Seattle for him. 

There are several reasons I think getting Peyton into Seattle wouldn’t work either.  I think that with what we have in our salary cap, we need to spread it out a little more than just one person.  We currently need to resign Marshawn and several other key starting and bench players.  Bringing in Peyton would minimize those other areas of need right now.  Just not sure it would be worth it at this point. 

The other problem I see with Peyton coming in is the ability of Darrell Bevell to let him bring his years of experience in running his own type of offense and take over in a sense.  I am just not sure Bevell wants to do that again as he did with Brett Farve.  Then again I guess he has already done it, so maybe he has the experience needed in letting someone like Peyton do his thing, which has been pretty dang successful. 

So there is obviously pros and cons and I am sure, just like every other team in the league, the Seahawks management team is weighing every possible outcome in their decision on if they want to pursue Manning if he does get out of Indianapolis.  It will be interesting to see over the next weeks and months.  

2011 Offense

In 2011, as I have stated a couple weeks ago, the offense was quite different and not yet proven for success.  Quarterback was a big question.  We had made the change with a very short time before pre season games started due to the NFL Lockout.  Travis Jackson came in seeming to know the system being that he came from Minnesota where the new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell came from.  The rest of the offense looked a few pages behind, which was suspected due to the short preparation.  At the beginning of the season we had those miscommunications and misunderstandings.  But from the game to game, we improved.  Then Jackson had an injury to his throwing pectoral muscle and had to sit out a few games.  During that time Charlie Whitehurst showed us what he was able to do, and it was not good.  It was a relief with Jackson was able to come back into the lineup, even if he was only 75%.  In the last half of the season Jackson was able to progressively get healthier and do a better job.  Overall I'd give the position a C grade.

At the offensive line positions, for the second straight year in a row, we suffered several injuries.  In the beginning of the year we started Okung at LT, Gallery LT, Unger C, Moffit RT, and Carpenter RT.  By the end of the year Okung, Moffit, and Carpenter were on the injury reserve.  Only Gallery and Unger survived the year, kind of.  Even both of these two guys missed a few games here and there.  We had a new starting offensive line each game.  But I was impressed with how the O line stepped up there aggressiveness this year.  I believe credit can be given to Tom Cable for helping the new transformation into a new personality.  Overall grade for the offensive line, B-.

Marshawn "Beastmode" Lynch lead the running back core to heights we have not seen in Seattle for some time.  For the first time since Shawn Alexander's 2005 Superbowl season performance, Beastmode gave a +1000 yard rushing season.  Thanks to a new offense and to new offensive line schemes we were able to see a better run offense, which in years past had really been missing.  Justin Forsett and Leon Washington were good different looks on 3rd down or when Marshawn needed a few downs to rest.  Between the three of them, I give the running backs a B+ grade.

With the arrival of Sidney Rice from Minnesota, where he played with Jackson for a few years and inside Bevell's offense, we had hoped he would add another big target to our arsenal of wide receivers.  Unfortunately he missed several games due to injury.  He in fact ended the season on injury reserve.  Our 2010 break out kid, Mike Williams also suffered from several injuries and was never able to get on the same page of the offense with Jackson.  We did however get a very nice surprise in Doug Baldwin, an undrafted rookie free agent from Stanford.  He emerged as the leading receiver coming out of the slot position.  He showed maturity in his route running and confidence in his hands.  Ben Obomanu both Golden Tate had solid years with good catches and solid performances.  Deon Butler came back in the last half of the year from breaking his leg in the end of the 2010 season and showed he can still benefit the team.  And in the last 3 games of the year, Ricado Lockett was another great young receiver who showed he can run by any cornerback.  He is tall to compliment Rice, Williams and Obomanu at above 6'1".  With a solid year even with injuries throughout the receiving core, I give the wide receivers a B grade.

After the lockout finally conceded, we quickly picked up tight end Zach Miller from free agency.  Tom Cable coached him in Oakland and gave good input into what he could do for the team.  Along with John Carlson, both tight ends have Pro Bowl attributes and I looked forward to seeing double tight end formations throughout the year.  But just as every other position on our team, the tight ends suffered injuries.  John Carlson did not even get to the season before being placed on the injury reserve list for the whole year.  Zach had a few little injuries throughout the year and never allowing him to really get into a rhythm with Jackson and the offense.  It also never allowed Bevell to really put in a good tight end scheme into the offense.  Anthony McCoy and Cameron Morrah did average jobs in both blocking and routes with catches.  Overall I give the tight ends a C grade.

Next week I will go over the defense and what 2011 held in store for that group of players on the Seahawks.

Defensive Positions

The defense in 2010 had a lot of struggles especially with injuries.  In the beginning of the year we were having somewhat of success but then injury after injury lead to us to enduring some big plays made against us.

Defensive Line:  This is big highlight for us during the beginning of year as we were able to get pressure and defend the run.  Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane and Colin Cole had proven themselves before in years past and were again doing a very decent job.  Then Big Red had a season ending injury and Chris was moved into his defensive end where he emerged as a great end and had 11 sacks for the year.

After the season we made sure to keep Bryant and Mebane around by extending their contracts.  This was a good foundation along with Clemons for 2011.

Linebackers:  For 2010 we hoped that Aaron Curry would be faster and more reliable seeing that 2009, his rookie season.  We had drafted him 4th overall that year and we needed him to play like it.  We needed more production out of him.  We also needed Lofa Tatupu to be health.  The previous three seasons he had suffered injuries that kept him sidelined for most of the seasons.  We really needed him to be on the field leading the defense as he was the cornerstone that held it all together.  And for our weak side linebacker, Leroy Hill had been suspended for some off field activities, meaning we had to rely on unproven linebackers in 2010.

The season for the group was not what we had hoped for when it was all said and done.  Lofa had a few minor injuries that kept him out of games, especially toward the end of the season.  Curry really did not shine like we needed him to.  And the absence of Hill all year left a gap that was not permantely filled with outstanding performances by either Will Herring or Matt McCoy. 2011 needed to be a year were we fixed a few problems in these positions.

Defensive Backs:  During 2009 we had an horrific year when it came to our pass defense.  Our secondary was a huge benefactor to this.  So with Pete Carroll coming to town and having been a defensive backs coach immediately addressed some of these issues.  In the draft he drafted two safeties and a defensive back.  All three of these guys had great potential, especially Earl Thomas who many people had been comparing him to Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburg Steelers.  Now this was a huge tale to live up to but sure enough he started living up to it.  He had a great 2010 season where he flew around the field.  We also signed Jordan Babineaux who had been on championship caliber teams and been a large contributor to those teams successes.

2010 turned out to be an improvement, though it was not difficult, on the 2009 season.  We still were not were we needed to be.  Babineaux helped fill the hole to allow Kam Chancellor, one of the 2010 draft picks, to really ease into the position.  With the glimpses of Kam throughout the year, the hard hitting kid out of Virginia Tech showed a lot of potential.  With Earl Thomas back there as well, our deep field coverage and run stop were terrific.  The corners on the other hand were not as terrific.  Marcus Trufant had a few injuries in 2009 but set out to have an outstanding 2010.  He did look more like his youthful self where he went to Pro Bowls, but not completely there.  And on the other side, Kelly Jennings was down right bad.  2011 really needed to be a year where we made some acquisitions and changes on that corner.

These actions taken by the Seahawks in 2010 started laying the foundation for what Pete Carroll really wanted to see out of a defense under his rein.

Next time I will look into the 2011 season and how the offense panned out to be.

Offensive Positions

There were some major pick ups during 2010 that helped the team toward the end of the year, but Pete still had to make some moves to find the team he was really looking for.  I am going to be looking at the Offense and the changes that helped 2011.

Quarterbacks:  During 2010 Matt Hasselback had an up and down year.  He had a few injuries which lead to some inconsistent games on his behalf.  He did help lead the team in victory over the reigning champions, the New Orleans Saints, but that was his high point.  With his age, he was getting very injury prone.  After the season the team did offer him a one year extension but with no decision on his end, the lockout began.  As soon as the lockout was over, Seattle had decided to pull the offer and trade Matt to the Tennessee Titans.  He gave Seattle several great years and lead us to several conference championships along with a Super Bowl appearance in 2005.  He had a great run, but it was time for him and Seattle to part ways.

A few days later, we picked up Travares Jackson from the Minnesota Vikings.  T Jackson had been with Bevell (Seattle's new Offensive Coordinator) at Minnesota for several years and knew his system extremely well, and with a short pre-season that was a huge factor in Pete Carrell naming him the starter from day one.  Hopes that T Jackson could help the team move into the next phase were very high, but confidence wavered.

Wide Receivers - A huge surprise during 2010 was the emergence of Mike Williams.  He played for Pete Carroll at USC but left early for the NFL.  After a 1st round pick to the Detroit Lions, Mike had a rough few seasons where he gained weight and slipped into some poor workout habits.  He turned out not to be what the Lions wanted and he retired early out of the NFL.  Then when Pete got the job in Seattle, Mike called him up and asked if he could try out.  When he showed up, he had gotten back into shape and worked hard to be at the top of his game.  2010 was a break out year for him and he had some great games and 2011 looked to be another great year for him.

During 2010 we also saw some young receivers step up to the call.  Golden Tate, a rookie, was one of these guys along with Deion Butler and Ben Obomanu.  These three young receivers showed they could play at the NFL level and contribute to the Seahawks offense.

After the acquisition of T Jackson, we hunted down Sidney Rice from the Vikings as well.  A young Pro Bowl receiver who had a break out year in 2009.  During 2010 he was set back with an injury but had league leading receiver potential.  This was another great pick up for the Offense.

Running Backs - The big story here is the pick up of Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch half way during the 2010 season.  With Marshawn being best friends with Justin Forsett, a member of the Seahawk running back group, Lynch really seemed to enjoy his new team.  With some great runs at the end of the year one of which was named the "Beast Quake."  In this run, Marshawn busted out a 67-yard touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints and broke tackles from 9 out of the 11 defenders which caused the stadium fans (of which I was one present) to go wild and made the earth quake, literally.  Hopes for Marshawn in 2011 where extremely high, especially with new OLine coach Tom Cable being the type of coach who likes to get physical in his run block schemes.

Offensive Line - The line needed some help after the 2009 season.  One of Pete's first responsibilities as head coach was the 2010 draft where he picked up Russell Okung in the first round.  This helped out during 2010 but we still needed some better personnel on the line.  So in the 2011 draft, we picked up James Carpenter from Alabama in the first round.  Later in the draft we picked up another offensive linemen John Moffit from Wisconsin.  These three guys really completed themselves with Max Unger who was drafted out of the 2009 Draft.  We needed a veteran though, so we grabbed Robert Gallery from Oakland.  Tom Cable came into Seattle with high regards for Gallery.  This completed out our starting O Line.

Next week I am going to review the 2010 defense and it's personnel that lead to the 2011 season.

Seattle Seahawks 2012: Coaches

The year 2011 had some good ups and some poor lows in the Seahawks world.  After an average 2010 season and a spectacular win against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, in Seattle during the playoffs (of which I attended with the rest of the Stephan boys), hopes were high that a 9 maybe even 10 win season was in the horizon.  But to our disappointment, we had only 7 wins, tying 2010 but with no playoff spot.  So what went wrong and what could be improved upon in 2012?

Over the course of the next few weeks I look to expound on what lead to the 2011, what happened, what needs to be addressed and last but not least, what 2012 could store for the 12^th Man and the Seahawk Nation.

Today I would like to look at the coaching changes that had to be looked at before the 2011 season. 

1.     Offense Coordinator :  Coming into 2011, we let go of the old Offensive Coordinator and brought in a new OC by the name of Darrell Bevell from Minnesota.  This move was critical as the old OC was just not getting the job done.  Darrell did a nice job in 2011 with mixing things up and getting a more balanced run attack at the defense.

2.     Offensive Line coach :  a few weeks before the 2010, our long time OLine coach retired leaving the team in a scrabble all year at that coaching position.  You could see the confusion with the linemen throughout the season.  Tom Cable was a MUST for Seattle.  His style of in your face, toughness and show no mercy style was just what our young line needed.  The running game was almost laughable in 2010, especially before Marshawn “The Beast” Lynch showed up. 

Next entry I will look into the offensive positions that lead us to the 2011 season.