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.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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 12th 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.
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