Seattle Seahawks Sign Chris Duvalt
by John Morgan on May 3, 2010 12:22 PM PDT
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PrintChris Duvalt contributed primarily on special teams for the Fighting Illini and if he makes Seattle's 53 man roster, it's likely as a gunner. Chirp, by way of Mac's Football Blog, by way of Duvalt's agent's Twitter, is reporting that Seattle has signed the former Illinois player to a three-year deal. In four seasons in Champaign, Duvalt had 33 receptions and nine tackles. As a receiver, he's playing at a position pretty choked with bodies. Not to say he couldn't fight his way into the mix, but he's currently behind T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Deion Branch, Deon Butler, Golden Tate, Mike Williams, Reggie Williams; presumably, Ben Obomanu, Ruvell Martin, Mike Hass, Jameson Konz, and maybe even Michael Jones and Patrick Carter.
Seattle is not lacking for players to run drills. It has a punt return problem. I think the problem is with punter Jon Ryan and his tendency to kick the ball long rather than high, but if the punter is over-kicking the coverage, the other solution is to get more speed on the coverage unit. Obomanu developed into a solid gunner as the season progressed but he's no speed demon. It wasn't a position I thought Seattle needed to upgrade at, but like a lot of decisions this offseason, that it doesn't accord with my opinions does not mean it's wrong. Whatever the outcome, I am happy to see the FO acknowledges a problem. Ryan kicked the crap out of the ball and his average punt length ranked seventh among primary punters, but his net was only 15th because Seattle allowed the third most yards per return.
Duvalt once had 4.38 speed. He can get further faster than Obomanu. Not even Sean Morey is free from competition. I love it.
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As Both a Seahawk Fan and an Illini Fan/Grad
Don’t try to make Duvalt a receiver. He can’t catch.
I'm still trying to figure out what we're going to do with all these receivers.
We need to develop our youth at the position, then we go out and sign a mid-30’s career gunner and a kid out of university that will probably never catch a ball?
Anyone know how many receivers Bates/Carroll like to keep on the roster?
Perhaps,
but it seems odd that they’d bring in another body, to be a gunner, unless they felt he had value elsewhere. As an example, what Obo may lack in speed he makes up with value as WR and can return kicks. Do you think they envision Duvalt as someone who can compete for one of those spots or is this simply bringing in a guy who “once had 4.38 speed” because you can’t have too many of those?
I'm gonna go calm submissive on your ass.
Purely speculation: I think he worked his ass off and impressed the team with his desire and raw talent
but I do think he’s primarily a gunner. Obo had four receptions and was pressed into returning because Seattle didn’t have a real solution. I don’t think Seattle needs to replace that fringe contribution if it wants to upgrade special teams.
I would presume they feel he has at least a chance of improving said fringe contributions.
And I’m in no position to argue either way as I first heard his name 45 minutes ago. lol. Thanks John.
p.s. – What’s the status on the book…?
I'm gonna go calm submissive on your ass.
I just got an image of you trying to shake David Sedaris' hand
and him saying ’Fuck you, Rook! Get me more Chi Tea!"
Kind of strange to have all of these dudes working hard, trying to make the team
and then they sign this random dude to a three-year deal
It's Great to be a Florida Gator!
What the french, toast?
I like a coaching staff that remembers Special Teams is 1/3 of the game.
Sucking at special teams wasn’t often highlighted as a problem last year, perhaps because our offense super-sucked. But great Teams play can add a couple of Shocking Wins a year to any team’s record.
Some of these early personnel moves look like a shotgun-approach to finding talent, but I like the way Carroll is intent on creating competition at every single spot on the field. No one can rest.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
I think it's great.
We have been addressing our special teams unit with a variety of moves. Having so many needs it could easily have been ignored or deemphasized to concentrate on other areas.
Big Walt: thanks for the smile. Thanks for your Hall of Fame career.
why not?
It’s not guaranteed, so it doesn’t matter how long it is.
From the team’s perspective, the incentive is usually to sign players for as long as possible (especially when it’s all minimum salary) – if they stick on the roster, then you don’t have to worry about re-negotiating with them the next offseason. The team keeps all the leverage.
"I'm tired of chasing after my dreams. I'll just find out where they're going, and catch up later." - Hedberg
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