Canada Pushes Walter Jones' Timetable to November
by John Morgan on Oct 7, 2009 4:16 PM PDT
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PrintCanada has launched a brutal attack on American soils, reporting that Walter Jones is shelved until at least November. This attack comes with our nation's army overextended two worlds over. The shame, Canada.
Ok, if you don't think I'm funny, this has been a bad day of content for you. I'll be perfectly serious for a second.
2009 is undoubtedly the end of an era. It is the first season without Mike Holmgren, future Hall of Fame enshrined coach. There was good reason to believe Jones was not going to be healthy this season, and longtime readers of Field Gulls know my initial reaction to reading he would undergo microfracture knee surgery was a tentative goodbye. The value of left tackle is sometimes overstated, but Jones is one of the greatest players in NFL history. It is almost impossible to overvalue a pure talent of his stature. He is everything Mean Joe Greene was for the Steelers, Walter Payton was for the Bears or Ronnie Lott was for the 49ers. He is, was, will forever be a transcendent talent.
Matt Hasselbeck is fading now too, and that is casting a shadow over this season. When we evaluate Tim Ruskell, we must understand that however he may have anticipated Hasselbeck and Jones' decline, he could not have replaced either. Not functionally, and certainly not their production. The loss of those two players alone is enough to hurt Seattle's chances of contention in 2009. This team is rebuilding, not because it hasn't efficiently procured talent, but because two irreplaceable members of its foundation are getting old, and their respective injuries have advanced to a point of being unpredictable and career threatening.
I'll save the afterword until his retirement is official, but God bless you Walter Jones. You did something in pads and with slide steps and pull blocks that brought joy into the hearts of millions of people.
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One of the greatest to ever play in the league
And if ‘Tez doesn’t get in then Walter Jones will be the next Seahawk to get into the HOF.
It is sad that it has to end like this.
As I said in the other thread he should have #71 retired by the team and raise the 12th Man Flag in our home opener next season.
There will never be anyone more dominant at LT than Walter Jones was.
Even if you do play this season I still congratulate you on a sensational career. When all is said and done I hope you enjoy your life after football.
Seattle is cursed. For life.
It starts and ends with Nickelback
That should be enough to declare war.
Seattle is cursed. For life.
Hey, YOU guys are the ones buying their albums.
Don’t Blame Canada.
Blame Napoleon and the French for metric
We’re not even to blame for Celine Dion, no one here buys her records. Where does she sing? Oh yeah, Vegas.
Just FYI
I think there may be more Canadians per capita in Afghanistan than Americans.
Wikipedia says there are about 2,500-2,800 Canadians in Afghanistan
and about 30,000 Americans in Afghanistan. It also says there are about 33 million Canadians and 307 million Americans.
Wikipedia says you may have thought wrong.
""I wanted to be a quarterback, but I got hungry."
-LG Rob Sims
The same is true for almost everybody involved
The US military is one of the biggest in the world.
I’m not going to deny the contribution of Canadian (or European) military personnel, but you don’t get extra credit for coming from a smaller country.
""I wanted to be a quarterback, but I got hungry."
-LG Rob Sims
Uh. No.
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 7, 2009 6:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Remind me, again, why we tolerate Canada
""I wanted to be a quarterback, but I got hungry."
-LG Rob Sims
Plus
Extra light maple syrup, for those of us trying to shed some pounds but still eat great food.
by Brendan Scolari on Oct 7, 2009 4:42 PM PDT up reply actions
You have to listen to Derek Edwards
Look him up on Youtube. Fricking hilarious.
Seattle is cursed. For life.
Neil Young, Leonard Cohen
David Cronenberg, Terry Fox, John Kricfalusi, Alexander Graham Bell, Guy Maddin, Dai Vernon, Sarah Polley, Michael Ondaatje…
Wow
How embarassed am I to not have a clue who any of those guys are? (Okay, I knew Alexander Bell, but didn’t recognize the name buried in the middle there).
Answer: Pretty embarassed.
by Brendan Scolari on Oct 7, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions
singer/songwriter, singer/songwriter
director (scanners, dead ringers, eastern promises), long distance runner who ran across the whole country on one leg while dying of cancer, creator of ren and stimpy, either the first or second inventor of the telephone, director, maybe the best sleight of hand magician of all time, actress, author of one of my favorite books of all time
Here's some basic dai vernon for you.
He’s Ricky Jay’s hero and mentor, if that means anything to you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPiSXzsjTg
Yeah I looked most of them up
Thanks though.
by Brendan Scolari on Oct 7, 2009 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Never thought I'd see the day...
…that Guy Maddin would be mentioned on a football forum.
The Saddest Music in the World is one of the funniest, weirdest things I’ve ever seen.
Don't be.
I know Graham Bell, but the others I have no idea.
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 7, 2009 6:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Because we sell you everything
from cheap hydro-electric power to lumber to celebrities to fresh water.
Dont be a hater, Canada isnt the enemy.
Because we dont feel the need to piss everyone off
with ignorant xenophobic comments about our friends and allies based off the satirical stylings of a sophomoric cartoon show.
We’re nice.
Why is it that nobody suggested Kids in the Hall?
Or that TV show that spawned Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy?
""I wanted to be a quarterback, but I got hungry."
-LG Rob Sims
I'm crushing your head.
Crush crush crush.
Mancrushed. Jake Locker for Heisman 2010.
by Tyler Jorgensen on Oct 8, 2009 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions
That's 3 words
In. My. Book.
And now, sadly, I have to google him. I’m going to be pissed if this isn’t funny after finding out who he is, after THAT tremendous effort.
Mancrushed. Jake Locker for Heisman 2010.
by Tyler Jorgensen on Oct 8, 2009 12:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Never mind.
Humor not relevant, but I’m ashamed I didn’t catch the name.
I think I got caught up by the “fucking” in the middle…
Mancrushed. Jake Locker for Heisman 2010.
by Tyler Jorgensen on Oct 8, 2009 12:16 AM PDT up reply actions
Remind me, again, why we tolerate Canada
Toilet Paper.
by mrcoffee1969 on Oct 8, 2009 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
So, I know people who lived in Bellingham
and they had an honest to goodness thing against Canadians. Isn’t that funny? Like and the scene was exactly what you’d envision: It started as jokes, but then real rancor was loosed. How do people get like that?
Stereotypes are a hell of a time saver.
We all do it to some degree with various things. Us vs them. It’s pretty built into nature. Something different is something to be feared, a possible threat, competition of differing memes. How people get fanatical about it over something as silly as Canadians would make for a very interesting study. I think it’s the difference between convincing someone your idea is better then theirs via a constructive argument vs convincing them via force. Usually in human history, and certainly in nature, force has been the main vehicle, and to use force requires dehumanizing your opponent. So I would argue, that behavior is pretty built in, and to not act that way (tolerance of others) has been a relatively new behavior.
I know, seri0s rplys only
If They Just Left Their Cars at the Border
There wouldn’t be a problem.
by Santolina chamaecyparissus on Oct 7, 2009 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions
They built a mall in Bellingham for the Canadians
It resulted in the decimation of Bellingham’s downtown for a decade and the birth of a big stretch of sprawl.
Also, they drive like crap, their beer stinks, their talk about “heritage” is pretentious and they enunciate way too much.
""I wanted to be a quarterback, but I got hungry."
-LG Rob Sims
The only "heritage" that Canadians have
is roasting like lobsters on South Florida beaches in February….while wearing speedos.
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 7, 2009 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Kind of like how
we started with jokes about Brian Russell, and then after a while wanted him put on the rack?
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 7, 2009 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Unresolved bitterness over the Pig War
"I'm tired of chasing after my dreams. I'll just find out where they're going, and catch up later." - Hedberg
I went to Vancouver BC with some friends,
it was my first time visiting Canada, and I had thought the "eh"s and the weird “aboot” (about) pronunciation was just overblown teasing.
Anyways, it’s true, they really do talk like that, but when you mention it to them, they get all serious and say they don’t. And that it’s just douchy Americans making fun of them.
So I told them I’ll admit I’m a douchy American if they admit that they talk like that……
There's a Canadian who says he or she never says "eh"?
I live here, and I never met one.
"he could not have replaced either."
I really am not trying to beat a dead horse, but I was under the impression that he could have?
(/Serious)
"I wish the Seahawks were back in the AFCW so we didn’t have to face Willis and Gore twice a year."
Replace no
He has added tackle depth, but you don’t replace Walter Jones. Regarding Hasselbeck, the team could have drafted Sanchez, I guess, but that’s another discussion. He could have prepared better for the two player’s loss, but he could not have replaced either.
"but you don’t replace Walter Jones"
That’s true, but I’d guess the best attempt at replacing him would be a high draft pick, on a player who has drawn comparisons to Jones due to their styles of play.
I suppose the gripe I have is that it was clear from the get-go we did not have a good situation at tackle. Most readers here knew the likelihood of Walt returning at all was slim, let alone at the high-level. And even if he did, then what? He was almost undoubtedly going to retire after this season anyway. The only other tackles worthy of seeing starter time on the roster were Locklear and Willis, and Locklear hadn’t played LT for a significant stretch of time so we still didn’t know whether he could handle it capably. Even if one considered Locklear and Willis the future at both tackle positions, the depth was nonexistent in case of injury. I’m not too enthralled with the prospect of Brandon Frye starting at left tackle for an extended period of time and last Sunday didn’t do anything to assuage my concerns.
While I understand passing on Sanchez due to the risks he posed and the sticky QB situation that could have unfolded, I still don’t like the fact we’re coming into the first round of the next draft with the same needs we had during the last one…
"I wish the Seahawks were back in the AFCW so we didn’t have to face Willis and Gore twice a year."
by Fearless Frog on Oct 7, 2009 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Hey, I thought this was a blog about Canada!
Okay, back to the topic at hand. Key word here in John’s post is “rebuilding”. Its something that does not happen with one draft. Or even two. Its way too easy to look at needs in the middle of a season and scream “why didn’t the stupid GM see these needs before the season and fix them all! I can see it and I predicted this, and everyone should be fired.” …. which is basically what most comments on most other Seahawks blogs seem to say at this time of year. Geniuses that they all are.
Last offseason, our needs were healing injuries that ruined 2008, rebuilding a defensive front seven with holes that had become exposed, finding a new safety, adding depth to an interior offensive line with too many question marks, and searching for future starters to develop at OT and QB.
A lot of these needs were addressed in the offseason. Some with deft moves including the trading of Peterson for Redding, resigning of Hill at a bargain, trading up to grab Unger in the 2nd, and stealing Butler in the 3rd, bringing back Lucas at a bargain, and finding young defensive linemen with potential. That was a good offseason of work. Running out of players to target and money to spend, Ruskell then whiffed on addressing the safety position, and took a calculated ‘hold-em’ position at OT.
With Locklear, Willis, and Jones collectively being paid a fortune to staff the OT position (over $12M cap for these three OTs) the GM could not afford to spend good money at that position unless he has a sure thing. He didn’t see that value in the draft or in the free agency players available and he decided that Locklear and Willis were adequate starters and the position would need to be further addressed next year. That, to me, was a completely responsible position. Ruskell ended up spending his money at LB, WR, DT, OG, and CB, all positions of need.
Just because a GM can foresee many needs on a team, this does not mean he can fill all those needs in one offseason, or even two.
Its still early, and I think the depth of our roster will show its value as the season wears on. But if we are going to start critiquing our GM, I think the first thing we need to assess is this: does the 2009 team have a stronger roster top-to-bottom than the 2008 team had? Will the team arrive at the 2010 offseason in a better position than they found themselves in 2009 offseason. I think the answers to both is yes, and that is exactly the result that GM is paid to produce.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
I've always contended it's flat out appropriate
for fans to question the selection of Curry over a tackle, QB or WR prospect. Early doesn’t matter, because it’s not the results it’s the process.
That’s not to say it’s an open & shut case against Curry or for the other guys. We all know, he had the highest floor. we know the risks of the other guys. That’s fine. We’ve all heard the cases made against the other guys and for Curry, and there’s a lot of credence there, but there’s no open & shut rebuttal to the case against Curry/for one of the others. From the beginning, FF was pretty quickly persecuted for questioning the pick. However long the dead horse was beat, from the very beginning there was resistance to whether he even had grounds to question at all, from my view.
Me, the day of the draft I had a short list, Sanchez, Crabtree, Stafford, Smith, Monroe Curry. I knew I was not going to be disappointed. We would get one of these guys. I was fine with any of them, but that was my order. We went with the last guy on my list with three of them still available, and I did not and have not complained. I see the reasoning. I would have went another way, but it’s fine. I love Curry. I don’t hold it against my GM.
But it does illustrate the rebuilding is not the key word, here. The pick demonstrated clearly that the intention was to provide key contributors to Hasselbeck & Jones’ team. He was trying to give them a ring, not blow it all up out of lack of confidence in them. No matter the result, I respect and appreciate that. It was a bold move with greater regard for this personnel than his own job security. The excitement of a young QB developing into a possible franchise makes for a pretty big question mark in response to any case made against his legacy.
I respect and appreciate the aversion to risk. I love Curry the player, and I have confidence in Ruskell that these greater macro factors led to the neglect of the offense in early picks, and that that won’t continue now that the need is clear.
So that’s my view, but I see a lot of resistance to the questioning of the Curry pick, as though there’s no grounds for it. I see plenty of grounds. I don’t agree, but I see no issue with the questioning. It’s not inappropriate.
That's like saying you can replace Chuck Norris
You can’t. He’s immortal.
Seattle is cursed. For life.
Wait.
We cannot be counting out Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones right now… Look at how banged up Kurt Warner was for like a decade and now he is what? 5 years older than Hasselbeck and has played in like 40 straight games…
I hear the arguments for Hasselbeck’s career winding down, but maybe the last 18 months are just a bump along the road with 30 straight starts in the mans future..
Jones, we cannot be counting out Jones, he is coming off some surgeries- they are taking it slow. He may very well contribute this year and next..
I know there are concerns, but be an optimist, it wouldn’t be crazy for both to bounce back.
I tend to think Warner is more of an aberration than the norm.
Matt’s had a long injury history and has had problems every season since 2005, some injuries worse than others.
As for Walter, the big frightening red flag was the fact that the microfracture knee surgery he had is one of the scarier knee operations an athlete can go through, especially a big left-tackle.
It’s definitely possible that both could bounce back, but if I had to wager a guess I’d bet that the odds are stacked against them. It’s not just injuries at this point, it’s injuries plus very real age issues.
Plus Warner can still chuck...
I love Hass, but his arm is simply not all that strong, and losing just a little means he becomes Chad Pennington.
Mancrushed. Jake Locker for Heisman 2010.
by Tyler Jorgensen on Oct 8, 2009 12:18 AM PDT up reply actions
It would not be crazy for both to bounce back, but it would be a friggin' anomaly.
Warner’s injuries were: a broken finger and an injured groin. Those are not recurring injuries, and don’t nag. His story is not normal.
Hasselbeck and Jones are both suffering from nagging (and career threatening) type injuries.
Hasselbeck's injuries
Are not “nagging” or even “recurring”. He torqued his knee one year when a Minnesota lineman rolled into him, he hurt his back last year and didn’t take long enough to heal from it, and this year he broke his ribs when a big LB landed on him. Those are all separate injuries and they are unrelated. His knee hasn’t bothered him, his back is ok this year, and broken ribs are not a chronic condition that I’ve ever heard of.
If Seneca wasn’t so useless, Matt could sit for 3 more weeks and he’d be fine
Garcia. Do it. Should have done it 4 weeks ago.
Disc herniations tend to linger, and connective tissue injuries do too. Not only that, but these sort of injuries beget further re-injury.
Age generally increases the risk of these types of injuries as well.
Warner has also been playing behind a line
that is far, FAR superior to anything Matt has had in two years.
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 7, 2009 6:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Which is weird
Because this year’s offensive line looks like a flipping train wreck.
29 yard sack, FTW!
Even that has been better than our lineup with Porkchop and Kyle Williams.
Seattle is cursed. For life.
Nah
Those tackles are atrocious at pass blocking. Decent at run blocking, tho, but this is simply not the case.
NNoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo!
I weep when I think of Big Walt retiring
Rest this year Walt. See how you feel next year.
Nah, I think he's done.
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
Next year's notable Ex-Seahawks:
Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Seneca Wallace
by Wayward Llama on Oct 8, 2009 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions
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