Aaron Curry's First Big Play

by John Morgan on Sep 1, 2009 4:51 PM PDT

Seattle substituted Craig Terrill for Brandon Mebane to start the Chiefs third offensive series then allowed 27 yards and two first downs on the first four plays. They were all runs. Deon Grant was charged with illegal contact on the fifth play. Mebane substituted for Terrill. And then, Aaron Curry made his formal introduction to the National Football League.

1-10-SEA 44 (:49) 27-L.Johnson up the middle to SEA 44 for no gain (59-A.Curry).

Kansas City is split two-wide left. Ken Lucas is covering Dwayne Bowe in the left flat. Curry is playing over Devard Darling in the left slot, with Josh Wilson aligned deep over both. Deon Grant is positioned opposite the right tight end. Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill are semi-bunched across the offensive right.

Curry shifts down to attack the left "C" gap. Darling motions right. Wilson follows him but retains deep cover.

Curry surges around left tackle Brandan Albert, nearly untouched. Grant slices hard in and draws Darling's block. Wilson charges from the third level. Curry closes on Johnson as he's taking the handoff and tracks him towards the edge. Leroy Hill is cut blocked by fullback Mike Cox and extends into a superman position before falling to the ground. Curry tackles Johnson from behind for no gain. Wilson piles on. Unaware of the play ending, a pulling Rudy Niswanger attempts to block Tatupu. Tatupu stops him and throws him to the ground.

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I vividly remember the play

and vividly remember cheering my brains out (I was at the game).

The speed and power were unmistakably Aaron Curry and made me very confident that this kid is so unlikely to bust and much more likely to straight up dominate when he’s got a few years under his belt.

Great analysis as usual, John!

The demise of the Broncos in '09 is our future. Pray hard.

by Nick Andron on Sep 1, 2009 5:17 PM PDT reply actions

Sweet

I watched that play four times on the DVR. It was sweetness.

by jeager on Sep 1, 2009 5:40 PM PDT reply actions

Aaron Curry's First Big Play Cont.

Airborne jumps up from his seat, spilling his drink into the C(leavage) gap of the SMU coed seated next to him. He guido fist pumps the air violently as a primal “fuck yeah!” pierces the room. The bar is aware now; a Seahawk fan has unsettled the calm Dallas night.

Child please...

by Airborne Hawk Guy on Sep 1, 2009 6:39 PM PDT via mobile reply actions 4 recs

Hahahaha!

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 1, 2009 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions

love it!!

by John Edwards on Sep 1, 2009 7:54 PM PDT up reply actions

Fantastic.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Sep 2, 2009 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions

Awesome

by rex92 on Sep 2, 2009 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes

Career Safeco Record: 7-2

by .Taylor on Sep 2, 2009 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Bulwer-Lytton nominee

by Groundhog on Sep 2, 2009 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions

For all those fans pre-draft...

…who were calling for Crabtree, or even Andre Smith (and there were a few, believe it or not)…gotta feel good about the Curry pick now…

by Hawksince77 on Sep 1, 2009 6:40 PM PDT reply actions

feel good pick.

Yes I think we can justify away the whole 60 mil now. (snark)

by paul2 on Sep 1, 2009 6:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, I don't see why the FO didn't try trading down

Even if they didn’t want to try to trade down, Crabtree or Andre Smith would have definitely signed for less per year. (more snark)

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 1, 2009 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions

What makes you think that they didn't try to trade down?

by ty540 on Sep 1, 2009 7:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Sorry

I forgot my sarcasm tag.

I think they tried like hell to trade down but no one was offering anything worthwhile. No one wanted to pay the salaries the players were going to get. Heck, Mangini had a personal connections with the Jets and the only thing he could swing for the 5th was the 19th, the 5?th and a handful of role players.

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 1, 2009 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Slotting is the factor there

Didn’t matter who we picked, we were going to pay. We paid for picking 4, not for picking Curry. Plus we have him locked up for much longer than most rookies.

by timlin45 on Sep 1, 2009 6:50 PM PDT up reply actions

If we'd have picked an LT or a QB we would have paid even more

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 1, 2009 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions

That high in the draft its pretty strict by slot.

Sanchez signed a contract nearly identical to Curry’s (same total amount, more money per year but less guaranteed).

Last year McFadden was a RB (a relatively low cost position) selected #4 and signed for $64 million.

That’s the reason why QB’s, LT, CB’s, DT, and DE’s are very common at the top of the draft while G, C, LB, S and K are much rarer, because of the salary compared to contribution. That’s why a very rare talent like Hutchinson slipped to the 17th pick in 2001 or why Ed Reed fell to the 24th pick in 2002, etc. It also partially explains why LB’s are only rarely taken in the first 10 picks.

To put it another way, how many 4-3 LB’s are currently on a bigger contract than Aaron Curry? To justify his deal, he would have to play like the best 4-3 LB in the game. Mark Sanchez, to justify his deal, would need to play like an above average QB. Andre Smith, to justify his deal, would need to be an above average LT. But neither of them would need to be the best in the game to justify their contracts. Curry would though simply because of the market for his position.

by kearly on Sep 1, 2009 8:31 PM PDT up reply actions

Mark Sanchez is due more per year than Aaron Curry

Because he’s a QB, he’s getting paid more than an LB. QB contracts at the top of the draft are different than contracts for other positions and don’t follow the slotting that other positions do.

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 1, 2009 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions

does anybody have a breakdown per year for Curry's deal?

All I can find online is the basics: 6 years, $60M with $34M of that guaranteed.

According to rotoworld, Sanchez is 5 years, $45M with $28M guaranteed

Unless Curry’s deal is significantly backloaded, I suspect he making more per year than Sanchez.

"I'm tired of chasing after my dreams. I'll just find out where they're going, and catch up later." - Hedberg

by jteckmann on Sep 1, 2009 11:04 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't know the specifics

but the face value of contracts rarely shows how much money the player will really make. Sorta like Burleson’s huge contract, but we didn’t actually end up paying him all that much even though he’s still on the team.

by Fear on Sep 1, 2009 11:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Sanchez is 5/60, from what I've read

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 2, 2009 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions

I guess there are mixed reports

Rotoworld says the figure is $45 million. ESPN and the NYT’s 5th Down Blog say the figure maxes out at $60 million. The maximum values of NFL contracts aren’t often paid out, but I’m not sure that you can expect Sanchez’s contract to be any more padded than Curry’s.

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 2, 2009 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions

Um, no

Sanchez is basically making less than Curry. Depending on incentives, Sanchez could earn more (or less) in base salary than Curry does depending on how Sanchez plays (60 million is the maximum). And in the most important area of contract negotiation, guaranteed dollars, Curry signed for for about 22% more.

I was being generous calling them identical. They are close, but Curry’s contract is the more lucrative of the two.

And last year, a RB made more than either of them in the #4 slot.

by kearly on Sep 2, 2009 3:52 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure that there are incentives in Curry's contract as well

I’m sure almost every NFL player has performance incentives in their contract.

Because NFL contracts are so murky (so many performance clauses, bonuses, padding, etc) its difficult to gauge how much players will be paid. Curry was offered more guaranteed and more years but only marginally more guaranteed money per year. Sanchez, on the other hand, was offered more money per year on a basis of maximum salary.

Neither of these guys is going to get paid less than or equal to the guaranteed figure and I don’t think either guy is going to be end up getting paid the maximum figure.

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 2, 2009 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions

Curry looks so powerful

I love it. Taking Larry down like that was great.

by ASeahawkfan on Sep 1, 2009 8:26 PM PDT reply actions

The play that caught my eye the most

was when he popped a receiver right after a 2 yard catch. I’m not sure if it was a TE or a RB, but he absolutely smacked the guy. At first I thought “who is that guy? Hawthorne?” Then I saw the number 59, and thought, “oh my.”

by kearly on Sep 1, 2009 8:34 PM PDT reply actions

Also

I couldn’t help but notice how “thick” Curry looks. He looks like a DT/DE tweener manning OLB sometimes. He looks too big for the position… even though he’s perfect for it.

Its just nuts that he can move as fast as he does with a body like that.

by kearly on Sep 1, 2009 8:41 PM PDT up reply actions

It is crazy isn't it?

I can’t believe how big he is and how fast he moves. He’s one of the few guys I’ve heard say the game is moving too slow for him from the get go. I’m listening to him in this interview on Brock and Salk and he’s talking about playing too fast and running past plays and overthinking. It’s funny. He’s so big and fast he isn’t overwhelmed yet at the NFL level. I can’t wait until the game starts to click for him. He’ll tear it up once he’s playing purely off reaction.

by ASeahawkfan on Sep 2, 2009 12:01 AM PDT up reply actions

When his play diagnosis and reaction times become better in line w/ Tatupu's with some experience...

He’ll move to a whole new level. He’s physicality, speed, and hitting ability are evident now…soon to be amazing when he can really time plays and understand the game better.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevan Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Sep 2, 2009 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions