Wednesday. Football. Links. Internet. Stuff. Seahawks.
NFL.com news: Grab bag: Game’s best WRs ride first-round pedigree: "5. Mike Williams, Seahawks (>): Reinvented himself when he realized his career was over. He dropped weight and developed a work ethic. He only caught 44 passes from 2005-2007, was out of football for two seasons, and then returned to grab 65 balls last season. He will easily repeat that performance in 2011."
This list by Pat Kirwen is fine I guess. Too bad he puts Julio Jones and AJ Green, two guys that have never had an NFL snap, ahead of Mike Williams. Whatever, BMW will just have to have an All-Pro year and we'll sort it out later.
NFL.com news: League, players meet voluntarily for second straight week: "The NFL and players resumed talks on Tuesday, according to sources, in an attempt to build off last week's secret talks in suburban Chicago, and work toward a resolution to end the three-month-old lockout. The location of this set of talks remains unknown. The NFL declined comment on the matter."
Power Rankings: Top 10 toughest venues - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "Seattle's Qwest Field, where opponents have committed a league-high 104 false starts since 2005, was third. Outdoor venues swept the first five spots and eight of the top 10. Fifteen venues drew at least one vote."
Pressure Into Sacks | ProFootballFocus.com: "Continuing a week long look at pass protection in the NFL, Pro Football Focus' Khaled Elsayed examines which teams were best at keeping pressure form turning into sacks."
This is a look at defensive line effectiveness. Not surprisingly, Seattle ranked 30th in the league in Elsayed's metric on QB pressures turning into sacks.
The Rest of the Bunch: Wright, Smith, and a Guy Named Lazarius | June: "I know seventh round picks like Levingston aren't typically worth getting excited over, but I'm making an exception in his case (and no, I'm not just doing that because his name isn't Balmer or Richardson). On film, Levingston is not exciting to watch. He doesn't do anything jaw-droppingly awesome, but that's okay because what I saw is a guy who plays assignment correct, rarely gets beaten outright, and doesn't give up on plays. After watching the wheels fall off the run defense last year when the team lost Bryant, "solid but unspectacular" sounds like a nice upgrade in the backup department."
Matthew Heuett with an in depth and interesting look at our later round draftees for this year. Worth a read.
Seahawks Blog | Trophy hunting at what cost? | Seattle Times Newspaper: "The trophy is gone. Does everyone feel better now? The Bowl Championship Series has stripped the USC Trojans of their 2004 national championship. Actually, does anyone feel better? It's an honest question and also an important one because it gets to the heart of just what the BCS specifically and the NCAA in general achieves with this type of public defrocking."
Farrar: Free agent Hasselbeck still in command | Seattle Seahawks: "Though he's currently a free agent and has been tied to a number of other teams in various rumor mills, Hasselbeck ran Friday's workout with a sense of order and command that exhibited his value beyond stats and plays to his team."
What do Scouting Departments do in June and July? | National Football Post: "Many people believe June and July are down months for NFL scouts. That's far from the truth. While it is during this time that personnel people get some vacation time it is also the time of the year when the top scouting departments are starting preparations for next year's draft. The pro departments are also getting a jump on things. Let's take a look at both."
Interesting read about pro scouting and what they do during the slow months after the draft.
What happened to Mitch Mustain? - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports: Doug Farrar: "Mitch Mustain was once the best high school football player in the country — voted the Gatorade, USA Today and Parade Magazine National Player of the Year in 2005 after leading Springdale High in Arkansas to a 14-0 season and a state championship. The quarterback certainly never expected that five total seasons in two of the NCAA's biggest and most successful programs would lead him to a pro career in Canada instead of the NFL, but that's where things stand now."
Crabtree on Alex Smith: 'He's the quarterback?' - CBSSports.com: "Barrows reports on Tuesday that he asked Crabtree if thought "throwing with the quarterback was beneficial toward improving chemistry." "Who's the quarterback?" Crabtree responded. Barrows then told him that Smith was. "He's the quarterback? I'm just asking," Crabtree said. Crabree later clarified his remarks at the practice. Well, kind of. "I wish I could tell you that [Smith is the quarterback]," Crabtree said. "I know that you're all scratching at it. I wish I could tell you who is going to be the quarterback. I don't know. I don't know. "Whoever the quarterback is, I'm 100 percent down with it and I'm ready to go. That's it.""
How great would it be if Crabtree just ruins the chemistry for the 49ers?
NFL files Motion to Dismiss, hearing set for 9/12 - CBSSports.com: "On Monday, the NFL filed a motion to dismiss the original antitrust complaint from the players in Brady v. NFL. More interestingly, this motion will now be heard on September 12, 2011. Yes, that does happen to be one day after the first Sunday of the NFL's regular season, thanks for asking."
FP - AN EXCELLENT VIEW OF THE SITUATION: "George Will's take on the NFL's current labor situation."
Alshon Jeffery Player Profile - SHAS - Mocking The Draft: "Alshon Jeffery is one of the best players in the 2012 NFL Draft class. He has great size and good speed and his hands are awesome. He should be the first WR taken next year."
Matt Barkley Player Profile - Mocking The Draft: "Matt Barkley is one of the three best QBs in the 2012 draft class. He has all the tools to be a very good QB in the NFL but also needs a lot of work."
Terrelle Pryor quits Ohio State " Seahawks Draft Blog: "Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor has parted ways with the Buckeye’s, reports Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It follows an off season of drama in Columbus with a NCAA investigation, the resignation of Jim Tressell and chaos surrounding the organisation. Pryor was due to miss the first five games of the 2011 season along with several other teammates as a sanction for selling memorabilia. Most recently, it was revealed he’ll be investigated for driving multiple vehicles on a suspended license."
NFL.com news: Redskins D-coordinator talks frustration over Haynesworth: "Haslett qualified his statements by saying he likes Haynesworth, and believes the defensive lineman can still thrive if returned to a 4-3 scheme. But he also described Haynesworth as a lazy player who either has trouble listening to -- or plain ignores -- his coaches. "He can do almost anything he wants. He doesn’t want to do anything. To me that’s the issue," Haslett said. "He’s one of those guys you walk in a meeting and you tell him, ‘Put down the phone.’ The next day you have to tell him to put down the phone. The next day, you tell him to put down the phone. "You tell him, ‘Don’t read the newspaper in meetings.’ The next day you have to tell him the same thing. It doesn’t stick; it’s an every-day thing." Haynesworth set an NFL record in 2009 with $41 million guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins. But Haynesworth fell out of favor with new coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 and repeatedly clashed over workout routines and playing time. The Redskins suspended Haynesworth for the final four games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team."
For those of you who want to sign Haynesworth. Just seems like a great, great guy. (I couldn't find the sarcasm font).