Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, links, info, interviews, analysis, and more!
Walter Jones 6/30 - Seattle's live and local sports station: "Future Seahawk Hall of Fame Offensive Lineman joins Softy for a quick chat on being out of football, the future of the O - line and the lockout."
Jameson Konz hopes Seattle fulfills his NFL dream - Canton, OH - CantonRep.com: "Pete Carroll is in his second year as head coach. Konz was being used as a shifting tight end in 2010 spring practice and early in training camp, but he suffered a hip injury during the second week of training camp and went on injured reserve. "We have a new offensive coordinator this year," Konz said. "I’m sure there will be tweaks. We don’t have playbooks. "I don’t have any insight on what my role might be. Whether it’s receiver, tight end or H-back, I’ll do everything I can. "The position doesn’t matter. My love of the game is profound. I just want a chance."
The 2010 St. Louis Rams: TST looks back on the year that was with an eye on the future - Turf Show Times: "Explaining to people that you run a web site dedicated to the St. Louis Rams almost always results in an awkward conversation. I've been doing it since the 2006 season, but the make up of that conversation hasn't changed. "The Rams?" Tinged with disbelief. Once said, I can go in any number of directions, depending on just how argumentative I'm feeling. Something completely unexpected happened last week. Rather than question why anybody would spend a spare second for the St. Louis Rams, someone asked what I though about the Rams, their budding superstar quarterback and their earnest head coach."
Palmer’s house sold to local buyer | Bengals Blog: "The Carson Palmer house saga has officially ended with the closing on the Indian Hill property becoming official last night. Palmer's house sold to a local buyer for $1.915 million, which was slightly less than the $2.1 million asking price. Comey & Shepherd Realtors were the agents for the five-bedroom, two-story property on five acres. Palmer bought the house for a little over $2 million a couple months after being drafted in 2003."
So I guess he now has $82 million in the bank. He's not playing another down for the Bengals. Unless it's to screw them over, anyway.
Clayton: Johnathan Joseph could fill Seahawks' need at cornerback - Blog - MyNorthwest.com: "ESPN's John Clayton thinks the Seahawks' financial flexibility could allow them to fill their need for a starting cornerback with Johnathan Joseph, who's spent the first five years of his career with the Bengals. At 27, Joseph would fit with the Seahawks' plans to get younger. At 5-11 and 190 pounds, he has the size that Pete Carroll seems to prefer in a cornerback. Clayton thinks the Seahawks could get Joseph for around $8 million a season, which makes him a much cheaper alternative to Nnamdi Asomugha."
ProFootballWeekly.com - Seahawks need Curry to step up his game next season: "Many close team observers believe much better production from 2009 first-round draft pick Aaron Curry is essential to a successful Seahawks defense."
Dolphins have very specific FA targets? - CBSSports.com: "This friction across three key areas has created a need come free agency -- Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel writes that the Dolphins have a couple of very specific targets between now and whenever the season starts. First, Kelly believes they'll add a veteran quarterback, but not a Chad Pennington-style backup-type. Kelly believes it will be someone who will be "savvy enough to push -- if not unseat -- [Henne]"; names he floats include Carson Palmer, Kevin Kolb, Matt Flynn, Vince Young, Matt Hasselbeck, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman."
Are we sure on Tarvaris Jackson to Seattle? - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN: "But we shouldn't assume that Bevell's familiarity would compel him to lobby for Jackson in Seattle. Childress was Jackson's champion in Minnesota, and Bevell above all else is a loyal soldier. In 2008 and 2010, relatively minor injuries prevented Jackson from starting games and required Bevell to find other alternatives. If you were an NFL coordinator, would that history move you to continue the relationship?
For argument's sake, let's say Bevell would be on board. We should still consider a bigger question: What about Seahawks general manager John Schneider? Remember, Schneider was a member of the Green Bay Packers' front office during Jackson's first four seasons in Minnesota. One of Schneider's jobs was to evaluate Packers opponents. I have not asked Schneider his thoughts on Jackson, and discussing free agency on any level during the lockout is strictly forbidden. But if you were an NFC North evaluator and studied Jackson's game film with the Vikings, would you be eager to sign him as a free agent?"
Could Seahawks make play for Tarvaris Jackson? | National Football Post: "Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN in the Twin Cities reports Seattle has done its "due diligence," which probably required asking new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell about him. Bevell was the offensive coordinator for the Vikings under Brad Childress when Jackson was there. Childress had hitched his wagon to Jackson up until the point the Brett Favre era was launched."
Packers' Jenkins Heads FA Crop At DE: "What He Brings: Jenkins has flourished since the Packers moved to a 3-4 scheme, led by Dom Capers. Last year, Jenkins had a career-high seven sacks, which ranked second on the defense behind All-Pro Clay Matthews. Jenkins did record just 29 tackles, playing in a rotation, but flourished on passing downs. The one drawback with his game would seem to be his size, standing at just 6-2, but in seven years he has not only overcome that, but put himself in position to become the best target in free agency at his position."
Best of NFL: NFC West teams - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "Best team facility: Few team headquarters in any sport can compete with the $75 million facility Seahawks owner Paul Allen constructed on Lake Washington south of Seattle. The practice fields overlook the water, with swank homes staring back from the opposite shore. Giant doors slide up for an open-air experience in the players' weight room, offering views of the practice field and, nearby, the water. The team has flown in free agents via seaplane, docking right at the facility. Square footage is right around 200,000 -- second-highest in the NFL, according to the team -- and includes an indoor practice facility adjacent to the locker room. No other facility in the division comes close."
Michael Floyd update, more Bruce Irvin tape " Seahawks Draft Blog: "ESPN reports that Notre Dame wide out Michael Floyd pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drink driving and has been given a suspended sentence. It’s not the first incident involving Floyd and he was suspended by coach Brian Kelly following the news he’d been arrested at 3:18am with a blood-alcohol level more than double the legal limit in Indiana. He hasn’t been reinstated with the team and although that will be a formality down the line, this could well be a final chance for Floyd to let his play do the talking."
Milloy hosts football camp in hometown; free agent could play elsewhere next season | Seahawks Insider: "So it doesn’t have to be in Seattle? "Yeah, I’m a free agent," he said. "As a business person, you never say you love one situation over another when you’re trying to get a job. I want to win a championship, that’s always first and foremost. Being at home is a bonus. I’m open to whoever thinks they can have an older guy that can make plays, make people around them better and that can lead a team ¬ that’s the best situation for me and that’s where I’ll be.""
NFL.com Blogs " Blog Archive Data Points: Sharper, Reed lead safeties in INTs ": "The "Player 2K" debate moved to the safety position on Thursday, with Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu the center of the discussion."
NFL.com news: Top interior defensive linemen feature distinct skill sets: "Ranking the interior defensive linemen in the NFL required me to break the players into four distinct groups just to do justice to the different assignments asked of them in various schemes around the league. Kirwan's offseason rankings How impressive was Earl Thomas in his first NFL season? Pat Kirwan listed the Seahawks rookie among the league's top tier of safeties in his position-by-position offseason rankings.
A 3-4 nose tackle is asked to command double teams and prevent guards and centers from getting to second-tier blocking at the linebacker level. A 4-3 nose tackle is required to penetrate the inside "A" gap and often loop around and be responsible for containing the "C" gap. Then there are 3-4 defensive ends who really aren't ends, but instead work down into the "B" gap to defending power running plays. Then there is the hard-to-find, 4-3 three-technique tackle who is asked to penetrate and be disruptive. With four distinct assignments for defensive tackles, I differentiated the groups and ranked the top five players within each category."
NFL.com news: Willis, Harrison highlight list of NFL's best linebackers: "In many ways, the essence of what it takes to play football is epitomized at the linebacker position. The ability to play linebacker requires a love for the physical aspects of the game, a nose for the ball and a level of toughness that matches any other player on the field. A great linebacker imposes his will on the offense, uses keys to diagnose plays in a split second, always finds a way to get to the ball and is a versatile enough athlete to play sideline to sideline. Kirwan's offseason rankings How impressive was Earl Thomas in his first NFL season?
Inside linebackers are usually credited with more than 100 tackles per season. The best outside linebackers typically play in 3-4 defenses and have half the number of tackles but produce double-digit sack totals. Because many of the teams in 4-3 schemes utilize so many "stack" looks, I decided to put the strong-side linebackers in these defenses in the same group with inside linebackers. To do the position justice I split up the linebackers into two groups, inside and outside 'backers. As I have done with the other position rankings in this series, the players are listed in groups of five and in alphabetical order within each group. The list has 20 players, which is only about 18 percent of the approximately 112 starting linebackers in the league. The result is a large number of players will end up in the honorable-mention category or nowhere on the list at all."
NFL.com news: Which under-the-radar free agent will make biggest impact?: "Aubrayo Franklin will bring his lunchpail Aubrayo Franklin played on the franchise tag for the 49ers in 2010 but wasn't the same dominant force coming off an All-Pro type season. The sides tried to reach a long-term deal that made sense for both parties, but the deal didn't come together and it doesn't seem likely he'll be back. A role player early on, Franklin is young despite his age and is a late bloomer. He has received excellent coaching and has made the most of his opportunities, and with some long-term security I believe he will perform at a very high level for his new team. Franklin is a selfless guy and won't be pulling power plays or star treatment stuff despite a big contract. He's a lunchpail guy who could make a dramatic, immediate impact with the right team and the right system. My honorable mention goes to Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane."
The Shutdown Scouting Report: Terrelle Pryor - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports: "By all accounts, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was very interested in improving his game before the scandal in which he was at the center and has rocked the Buckeyes to the core. Now, he's a lockout-fed cause célèbre in NFL terms, because of the value of quarterbacks and his pure athletic potential. But as a quarterback? Pryor is coming into the NFL very much as a work in progress."
Wildcat Review: The Best of 2010 | ProFootballFocus.com: "After our looks at how teams produce when in the wildcat, the logical next step is to sort them into some kind of order, right? So today I’ll show the league’s top wildcat players and teams, judging them by usage and success. It should be no surprise who the Top 3 are, with them employing the formation far more often than anyone else. The fourth team on the list may not be as expected, and because they used multiple wildcat quarterbacks, we’ll feature them as a unit. Another six teams used the wildcat on at least five plays, and they’ll get a quick look too. After we’ve crowned the best wildcat quarterback & team of 2010, we’ll look at the wildcat in 2011 and how, even though its usage may be waning, it won’t die out completely."
Sports Radio Interviews " Blog Archive " Chad Ochocinco Feels It Will Be Impossible To Start NFL Season On Time, Threatens He’s Going To Whoop Marvin Lewis’s Ass: "Is Carson Palmer done? Is he playing? "I haven’t talked to him, but he’s not playing. He’s not playing. When someone goes out of character like that, especially a white guy with red hair that grows a random beard? When he says he’s going to do something he’s going to do it. He’s not playing.""
Ocho keeps bringing up that beard.
Report: Smith tells players optimism is 'way off' - CBSSports.com: "There's been more than ample reason to wax optimistically about the NFL's labor situation over the past few weeks, with Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith playing friendly for the NFLPA's Rookie Symposium the chief reason. But Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported on Wednesday night that such optimism is misguided, and that Smith called a large group of players to throw cold water on any hopes they had for a CBA deal this week. Glazer reports that "50 Pro Bowlers were given call-in information but the number who participated is unknown," although he does point out that player reps Ray Lewis of the Ravens and Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars were on the line. "How optimistic are you that a deal will get done soon?" Lewis asked, according to Glazer. Smith then told Lewis, according to Glazer, that "there is reason for hope.""
NFL Lockout Talks Hit Snag Thanks To Revenue Discrepancy - SB Nation Seattle: "While talks have been civil and encouraging, the negotiations reportedly took a step backwards on Thursday after the owners brought expense credits back into the mix. Before the reported snag, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith had been playing nice, even flying to the NFL Rookie Symposium together. But now, the revenue issue has reared its ugly head, and has the players upset again."