Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, links, info, interviews, analysis, and more! Here are Friday morning's batch of Seahawktastic links! God that sounded stupid. I'm too lazy to go back and erase it though.
NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Josh Johnson form Oakland foundation | San Francisco Business Times: "With pomp, circumstance and a glorious roster of sponsors, NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Joshua Johnson unveiled their Fam First Family Foundation today at EPIC Roasthouse in San Francisco. Lynch and Johnson, who are cousins, will base the foundation in their hometown of Oakland, and they plan to build a youth center there by 2013. Fam First's mission is to empower at-risk youth by bridging academics and athletics. Once open, the proposed youth center will offer free after-school tutoring, arts programs, vocational training, a media center, and of course, athletic training."
Seahawks Blog | First QB domino falls: Kerry Collins | Seattle Times Newspaper: "Kerry Collins will retire, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, in a move that could be considered the first domino in what will be the league's post-lockout quarterback scramble. Right about now, you're probably thinking, "And this impacts the Seahawks how?" After all, Collins is 38 and there's no chance the Seahawks would be considering him."
Game 8: Cinderella Seahawks Return: "(Editor's Note: While there may be uncertainty surrounding the NFL this offseason, the regular-season schedule remains intact. With that, DallasCowboys.com will preview each game in a 16-part series profiling the Cowboys' 2011 opponents - their offseason and draft news, along with the recent and overall history between the two. Today, we'll preview Game 8 against the Seattle Seahawks.)"
Fantasy Football - 2011 Fantasy outlooks: Seattle Seahawks : FantasyNews.CBSSports.com: "Champions of a weak NFC West last season, Seattle has three significant questions to answer in 2011. Not least of which is deciding who will be the team's starting quarterback. Jamey Eisenberg breaks down the Seattle Seahawks."
A closer look at Pep Levingston | Seahawks Insider: "Defensive line was one of the Seattle Seahawks most pressing needs heading into this year’s draft. And with plenty of talented defensive linemen available in the first round, the smart money was on the Seahawks grabbing one of those prospects on the first day. Yet the Seahawks waited to the final day of the draft to select LSU defensive lineman Pep Levingston 205th overall in the seventh round."
JRich Report for July 5, 2011: Raiders’ Mike Mitchell and Seahawks’ Roy Lewis | Football News Now: "The JRich Report made it’s official debut Tuesday on the EYES Radio Network on FootballNewsNow.com. Hosted by former Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Jay Richardson and Football News Now founder Chuck Carroll, the show got off to a rousing start as Richardson talked about his fondness for sacking ..."
7/7: What Kerry Collins' retirement means for Matt Hasselbeck - Blog - MyNorthwest.com: "In Thursday's Wrap Up video, Brock Huard says the Titans will likely have even more interest in Matt Hasselbeck now that quarterback Kerry Collins has retired."
Twitter / @HBalzer721: NFL bust WR Reggie William ...: "NFL bust WR Reggie Williams (D1 JAX 2004) signs with Sacramento of UFL."
Kiper's summer audits: NFC West - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "Seattle: "Mimicking a constant question in this division, what happens at starting quarterback is still the biggest question for this team. I can see Matt Hasselbeck back, but his performance last year was, for the most part, in line with the idea that he is past his prime. Late-season heroics helped his cause, but it's clear Seattle has its eyes wide open. I think Pete Carroll believes that if they can block, they can continue the improvement that was shown in 2010. But fans looking for big gains from the draft may be disappointed. More questions will be answered by health and more continuity on the roster.""
Ranking NFC West players: Nos. 6-10 - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. ranks the top 15 players in the NFC West. Today: Nos. 6-10."
Whither Revenue Sharing? | National Football Post: "Strangely absent from the list of issues being hashed out by NFL Owners and Players in this long-running labor dispute is perhaps the most important issue of all: revenue sharing among Owners. Although it was the issue dominating the final hours of negotiating the 2006 CBA, it has been largely absent from this round of negotiations."
NFL.com news: Back at it: NFL owners, players come together for crucial talks: "NFL owners and players arrived at a Manhattan law firm Thursday for a critical set of labor talks, with the possibility of cancelled preseason games becoming more real by the day. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Aassociation executive director DeMaurice Smith each came with five representatives of their constituency, as has been the case at many of these meetings."
NFL lockout: Discussions resume as pressure mounts - ESPN: "Members of the NFL Players Association executive board and owners resumed negotiations Thursday at a law firm in Manhattan in hopes of resolving a lockout that began in March. Mike and Mike in the Morning ESPN NFL reporter Sal Paolantonio says the death of John Mackey is a reminder for the players of what they are fighting for. Paolantonio also talks about the current state of the lockout. More Podcasts " Sources told ESPN on Wednesday afternoon that both sides hope to achieve a true framework for a new collective bargaining agreement by the close of business on Friday. Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, owners and players are involved in the talks Thursday to finalize the details of a new revenue split, which is getting closer to agreement."
One GM says lockout negotiations are ‘at the five-yard-line’ - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports: "It's hard to come by good, tangible information on the status of NFL lockout negotiations. That's as it should be. I do not miss the days when both sides spent all their time trying to convince the public that they were the noble, wronged party just fighting for financial justice. But I'm still more than a little curious, and if someone has information to share, I'll take it. Don Banks of SI.com squeezed this quote out of one NFL GM yesterday. "It does feel like we're at the five-yard line, and we're right there. But it's like Jerome Bettis has the ball, and I've seen him fumble on the 1-yard line before. If there's a fumble now, hopefully either Goodell or Smith plays Ben Roethlisberger(notes) and stops the whole thing from falling apart.''"
NFL: Year of the RB? Hold that thought - ESPN: "The other day, Cal from Los Angeles had an interesting question for the mailbag. He looked at the incredible class of free-agent running backs scheduled for 2012. The contracts of Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Matt Forte, Peyton Hillis, Ryan Grant, Reggie Bush and Frank Gore all expire after the 2011 season. Athletes often play their best in contract years. Any questions? Have a question for John Clayton? Connect with him here. So Cal wondered if that type of incentive could turn this into the "Year of the Running Back.""
Care of young QBs is too often an afterthought | National Football Post: "I built a forty-year representation career around the quarterback position. There was one weekend in the 90’s when my firm represented half the starting quarterbacks in the league. In the Pittsburgh-Dallas Super Bowl we represented all seven of the quarterbacks on the roster."