Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, links, info, interviews, analysis. You name it, I got it here for you. It's Thursday folks, which means it's one day until Friday. Also, it's one day closer to the end of the lockout. Which is a good thing. Because I hate the lockout.
The best potential free agents under 4-year rules - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports: "Johnathan Joseph(notes), CB, Cincinnati Bengals One of the few legitimate lockdown corners in the NFL, Joseph has teamed with Leon Hall(notes) to form what might be the league's best cornerback duo. Cincinnati placed a first- and third-round tender on Joseph before the lockout, and he would be a very attractive option for teams looking to seriously upgrade their secondaries without paying Nnamdi Asomugha(notes) money. Joseph's performances in Mike Zimmer's frequent Cover-1 and Cover-3 looks put him in a position to play tight coverage and off-man — such versatility is uncommon at his level.."
New CBA could create strong free-agent class - NFL - CBSSports.com Football: "To some young veterans and several agents, one of the most interesting elements to emerge from the owners' meeting in Chicago on Tuesday was the presumption that the proposed CBA agreement stipulates that the requirement for unrestricted free agency will return to four seasons of accrued service. That was the threshold throughout free agency until 2010, when the rules for an "uncapped" season raised the bar to six seasons. There were a goodly number of disgruntled players who were unable to test the unrestricted market because of the "uncapped" rules, and who were forced to play under one-year restricted free-agent tenders, rather than benefitting from total freedom. That is likely to change when there is a CBA accord."
Potential second-year impact players | National Football Post: "O’Brien Schofield – Arizona Schofield had a strong senior year as a defensive end at Wisconsin and followed that up with an outstanding week of practice and game at the East–West game. He was named the defensive MVP for the game, playing both linebacker and defensive end. The following week at the Senior Bowl he tore an ACL and because of that was unable to work out for clubs and that hurt his stock. He looked like he may have been a 2nd round type but because of the injury he went in the fourth. He was unable to play in training camp and the first part of the season but ended up playing in 10 games. While not quite 100 percent he still was able to get 2 sacks in the last few games. Now that he has had another offseason to rehab I expect him to come on strong this year. He will give Arizona edge pass rush skills from his outside linebacker position."
Mac's Football Blog: 49ers DE Ray McDonald Wants to Start, Test Free Agent Market: "While he's played defensive end in the 49ers' 3-4 defense, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound McDonald could be viewed as a solid "Plan B" for a team looking for a penetrating "3" technique tackle in a 4-3 system. Two teams that might have interest in McDonald as a "Plan B" are the St. Louis Rams, who are likely to initially target New York Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield, and the Seattle Seahawks, who may lose four-year starter Brandon Mebane to free agency. (Mebane was chosen 12 picks ahead of McDonald in '07) The Seahawks added former 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan to their personnel department last June."
NFL.com news: Fourth-year players would make free-agent class worthwhile: "Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane is coveted by several teams (Denver and Cleveland are among those who could make a bid), and his time in Seattle could be closing, though there is not much standout interior talent among fourth-year free agents."
Breaking down wide receivers: St. Louis - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "Scouts Inc.'s Matt Williamson breaks down the wide receivers of each NFC West team. Today: St. Louis Rams. St. Louis has a lot of wide receivers in the mix. The quality here isn’t bad, but the quantity is a bit overwhelming."
Rookie Spotlight - KJ Wright; - Rookie Spotlight - John Moffitt: Two more videos in the Tony Ventrella/John Schneider series highlighting the Seahawks' new draft picks.
NFL.com news: Expect Kolb, not McNabb, Palmer or Orton, to get dealt: "Kevin Kolb Okay folks, our first fine contestant is none other than Kolb, one-time Eagles' starting QB of the future, and now squarely on the market and readily available. Odds: Very likely (with a small caveat to be detailed below, and yes, I'm already breaking my own rules). The skinny: It's go West young man. Most of the people I talk to in the league believe it's a two-horse race between Arizona and Seattle. The Eagles want first-round compensation, and if the market bears only a second and a little something else, then sources say there is a very real chance Philly holds on to him as insurance for 2011. Ultimately, I think they get the first-round pick for him, though. If not, he stays."
AP source: NFL owners, players to meet again - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "The next time NFL owners meet over labor, there is hope it will be to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the players. Don’t get carried away thinking a deal is imminent. Optimism is in the air, for sure. That doesn’t mean the end of the lockout is at hand."
NFL could be back in business by July 15 - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "Now that NFL owners appear to have cleared a significant hurdle on the way to labor peace with the players, the question for the league is simple: How fast can they get the league year started? The short answer is sometime on or just before July 15. By that point, the league may be reopen for business on a permanent basis, meaning free agents could get signed and draft picks could start to meet with coaches for the first time in hopes of catching up as much as possible by the start of training camp."
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Pass Tackles 2010: "Time to continue our series presenting various 2010 stats from the multitude of Football Outsiders spreadsheets. Today, we're going to look at pass tackles. You've seen our numbers on run tackles and Stop Rate against the run. If we are separating plays into run and pass categories, that also means that we can track pass tackles as a specific stat. These totals include any tackle or assist on a receiver after a catch, but do not include sacks, passes defensed, or interceptions."
Is Sidney Rice Damaged Goods? - Daily Norseman: "Sidney Rice might not be as hot a ticket in free agency as initially thought."
NFL labor talks: What we learned - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN: "NFL owners met for a little more than five hours Tuesday at a Chicago airport hotel to hear from commissioner Roger Goodell about the progress of labor talks. Although he appeared a little fatigued after dealing with five hours of owners’ concerns, Goodell, along with his negotiating team, appears to have the go-ahead to plow through the final run at getting a collective bargaining deal with players. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who, according to sources, had concerns about some proposals if the economy got worse, said things were progressing but a lot of work still must be done. A deal still might be two or three weeks away. Talks are scheduled Wednesday between the NFL and DeMaurice Smith and players in an undisclosed location in Boston, where the framework of a deal could begin to be finalized."
Three Years of Pass Rushing Productivity: Interior Defensive Linemen | ProFootballFocus.com: "Club hand and all, Cullen Jenkins is likely to have quite the market for his services given what he can do (and has done) in 3-4 and 4-3 defenses. He was even more productive than a guy who seems to be finally get his due in Justin Smith. He’s another one with a more detailed piece."
Free agency in the East: Cornerbacks - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN: "2. Johnathan Joseph. Some talk that the Bengals will make him their franchise player, but if they don't, the 27-year-old rising star stands to ride Asomugha's coattails to a big payday somewhere outside of skimpy-spending Cincinnati. A fine fallback for the Eagles or Redskins. Cowboys? Sure, but my hunch is, if they don't get Nnamdi, they spend elsewhere and either keep the corners they have or go further down this list for a replacement. 3. Antonio Cromartie. Remains to be seen if the Jets will keep him (or if they'll pursue Asomugha as well!). Cromartie comes with plenty of baggage, as his attitude and effort were in serious question at the end of his time in San Diego. Doubt he'd fit in a place like Dallas or Washington, where peace and quiet are going to be important to the short-term and long-term plans."
Report: Barely any owner opposition to proposed CBA | National Football Post: "According to The Sports Xchange, there are only a few to a handful of owners who aren't on board with some of the details. "Obviously, there are some people who don't agree with some of what was laid out," an AFC owner said. "But it doesn't look like there's enough (opposition) to stop the train." Another owner said four or five owners are opposed to the deal at most. It would take nine votes against the deal to stop a new CBA from happening."
Proposed NFL labor agreement would benefit three 49ers - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee: "Goldson and Lawson each started 16 games for San Francisco last season. The 49ers are expected to try to re-sign Goldson, who called the team's defensive signals in 2010. But he also could be coveted on the open market, given his starting experience and youth (26)."
City Schools: Tradition and winning help Washington Huskies thrive in NFL market - ESPN: "SEATTLE -- Everything you thought you knew about urban college football programs in NFL markets does not apply to the Washington Huskies. When the Seattle Seahawks began playing 35 years ago, they didn't shove the Huskies out of the limelight. In fact, Washington enjoyed its greatest success in the quarter century after the NFL came to the Pacific Northwest."
Traces of a deal? | National Football Post: "As the optimistic drumbeat continues towards eventual resolution of the long-running labor dispute between the NFL Owners and Players, we are starting to hear reports of proposed deal points about what may be part of a settlement of Brady v. NFL and an eventual Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). I am optimistic but cautiously so. Again, until everything is agreed to, nothing is agreed to. However, there appears to be some momentum."
The NFL Lockout Could End Soon With A New CBA And More Football, More Often - SBNation.com: "The NFL lockout is nearing an end as the owners and NFLPA are reportedly getting close to a new collective bargaining deal with an agreement that would give fans more football than ever. But if the NFL plays on Thursday nights all year round, is that a good thing?"
Negotiations to resume: "The parties are looking to build off existing momentum. According to sources in the room, the owners spent Tuesday's meetings discussing ideas and concepts, rather than specifics, as they hammer out a complex deal with many moving parts. Although no votes were taken nor proposals approved, they avoided potential hiccups that the summit might have produced. "It was a good day in the sense of we had a full discussion on the issues," Goodell said. "Ownership is united and determined to reach an agreement and have a full 2011 season. ... The membership has a strong view of the priorities and what we need to do and a determination to get there.""
NFL.com news: Meeting adds to optimism, but there's more work to be done: "The NFL has always been a shared-revenue league -- almost to the detriment of promoting the art of entrepreneurial leadership. Teams without great stadium leases or money-making venues, or those without the initiative to find alternative ways to make money, must rely on the profitable teams to fund an account that then will allow the poorer teams to have similar economic prosperity as the richer ones. This method of sharing is what has made the league so strong, and there was a concern that this revenue-sharing plan might hold up an agreement of a new deal. Yet after yesterday, I was told by a league official that "nothing will keep the owners from getting a deal done.""
Free agency adds urgency to NFL talks - The Washington Post: "One factor contributing to the urgency to finish an NFL labor agreement quickly is both sides' desire for a free agent signing period long enough to allow owners to put together their teams. Hundreds of NFL players who could be eligible for free agency have been in limbo for nearly 3-1/2 months, leaving teams unable to assemble their rosters for the upcoming season. Free agent signings and trades of players have been prohibited during the lockout, which began March 12. Teams also have been barred from signing the players they drafted in April and from signing undrafted rookies. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? The result of all of that will be a mad scramble of signings and trades before training camps open. But that period won’t begin until there is a formal, signed collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players, people familiar with the process said."
NFL.com news: Respected veterans top list of NFL's best corners: "When it comes to the endeavor of ranking NFL cornerbacks, there are a lot of different issues to consider."
The Daily Shoutout - CBSSports.com: "MOCK OWNERSHIP VOTE: Yes, I have too much time on my hands, but this is actually instructive. After speaking with people around the league this is how some in football think the ownership vote would go for a new collective bargaining agreement as its being currently constructed."
Players like CBA deal...so far - CBSSports.com: "If the responses of the five players I contacted is any indication, the new collective bargianing agreement should pass a vote by the player membership somewhat easily. Though the players explained to me they don't like everything they know about it thus far -- the true sign of a good deal is when both sides are unhappy about some aspect of it and that seems to be the case -- overall they think it's a solid one for the players. "Most guys won't love this new CBA," said one player, "but they'll live with it.""
Five changes brought on by the lockout | National Football Post: "1) The longer the lockout continues; we will see more aging vets on Sunday. With limited time to prepare rookies and even second year players coming off the practice squad, teams committed to winning now will keep and/or sign older players like S Darren Sharper, CB Al Harris, SS Tyrone Carter, WR Derrick Mason and OL Matt Light. Coaches want players they can trust and depend on to execute their schemes. Experienced vets can excel in situations where preparation time has been limited. Offensive linemen will be especially appreciated to protect premium quarterbacks. Defensive backs and receivers will also benefit."
The NFL Lockout Could End Soon With A New CBA And More Football, More Often - SBNation.com: "The NFL lockout is nearing an end as the owners and NFLPA are reportedly getting close to a new collective bargaining deal with an agreement that would give fans more football than ever. But if the NFL plays on Thursday nights all year round, is that a good thing?"
Motivated owners look ready to seal labor deal soon - NFL - CBSSports.com Football: "It is, as Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay said before Tuesday's meetings, "the season to make a deal." And so the NFL and its players should reach a labor agreement soon -- presumably, within the next few weeks -- that will save the season. That is not a guess. It is a feeling, and it is a feeling of owners like Irsay who believe the lockout will be lifted in time to put teams in training camps and leave the preseason and regular season intact..."
Timeline To A Deal - ESPN Video - ESPN: "ESPN Video: John Clayton discusses the timeline to get a deal done and potential obstacles to a new deal."