Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, links, info, interviews, analysis, and more! Happy Saturday 12s. Here is a look around the NFL.
NFL Rumors - NFL Trade Rumors, Free Agency Rumors and More - Rumor Central - ESPN: "While running back Jerious Norwood has shown that he can be an effective third-down back and factor in the return game during his Atlanta Falcons tenure, it appears that he'll be plying his trade for a new franchise this fall, according to what his agent has told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "With them drafting a back [Editor's note: fifth-rounder Jacquizz Rodgers], they are going in a different direction, I would guess," Bus Cook speculated. "Jerious is a good football player. Somebody is going to pick him up. He's a great player. He has had some injuries, but he's going to make somebody a good player." While Cook's opinion of Norwood oscillates between "good" and "great," there are a number of teams who could use a speedy third-down option that has experience in the return game. Depending on how some other dominoes fall, the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be in the mix."
I kind of doubt we need a speedy 3rd down guy with return abilities (Leon Washington and Justin Forsett) but they threw the Seahawks name out there.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | FO Mailbag: Three-and-Outs Forced: "We do track three-and-outs, as part of our drive stats, although the numbers don't fit on the drive stats page on the site. We usually run the top 10 and the bottom 10 in the statistical appendix of Football Outsiders Almanac. The rankings somewhat follow the rankings for the best defensive DVOA ratings, except that teams which get a lot of turnovers and sacks will rank lower on the frequency of three-and-outs. Pittsburgh, for example, was just average in three-and-outs per drive. Here are the rates of three-and-outs per drive for 2010, along with defensive DVOA ratings for comparison purposes."
Five thoughts: Haynesworth, Pryor, Rogers and more | John Keim | NFL | Washington Examiner: "Carlos Rogers views himself as the best available corner after Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha, but the executive places him in the second tier with guys like Pittsburgh’s Ike Taylor and Carolina’s Richard Marshall – guys who will cost around $4-5 million a year. This exec’s second best corner out there? Cincinnati’s Jonathan Joseph; loves his athleticism."
The Roster Gets $38 Million Bigger (and Hopefully Better) | July: "Like most of us, I read John Clayton’s article on the labor negotiations in which he says that a proposed change in the collective bargaining agreement that would require teams to spend at least 90% of their salary cap every season is now a fait accompli. My first thought after seeing that was something along the lines of "woohoo -- the Seahawks have spend another $38 million? Do you know who we could sign for $38 million?" You see, I was thinking about how the team could sign three or four premier free agents, but then downer that I am I started looking at the state of Seattle’s roster more closely. To start with, I put together a list of the players currently on the roster as well as those who are now free agents."
NFL free agency spending could come fast and furious - Don Banks - SI.com: ""What's going to happen is you're going to have some inexperienced GMs and owners go crazy early on,'' the longtime general manager said. "They're going to think, 'I've got to go out and do something crazy. This is my window of opportunity.' But I think that's absolutely the wrong move. There are so many free agents and so many guys out there that if you're just patient, you can wind up with some good players at really good value and not put yourself out there [at risk] with a couple mega-deals. "That's going to happen, I promise you. A couple of these guys are going to say, 'Hey, we're going to be aggressive. We've got a fat wallet and we're raring to go.' I just hope those teams are in our division. Because when you go back over the history of free agency, it rarely works out with the big-money guys. Just look at the last five years or so, with Albert Haynesworth, Joey Porter or Terrell Owens.''"
Ranking NFC West players: Nos. 1-5 - NFC West Blog - ESPN: "5 Chris Clemons, Seattle Seahawks defensive end: This is a throwing league, and getting after the quarterback is of paramount importance. Clemons was simply exceptional for Seattle last season. Somewhat of an outside linebacker/defensive end tweener, Clemons has found a home in a defense that suits him perfectly by keeping him mostly on the weak side of the offensive formation and allowing him to operate in space. He is both powerful and incredibly quick, and he can translate speed into power. Clemons can beat his opponent with pure speed off the edge or with an array of pass-rush moves. Clemons wreaks havoc."
How the Supplemental Draft Works, and Pryor’s Eligibility | The Blue Bird Herd: "I’ve received several questions about the Supplemental Draft and how it works, so I thought I’d break it down with a quick overview here. The NFL Supplemental Draft was created in ’77 to provide players who did not enter the standard NFL draft, a way into the league. Whether due to missing the filing deadline for the regular draft or as a result of eligibility issues (disciplinary action, etc.), players have an opportunity after the NFL Draft, to be selected."
Sports Radio Interviews " Blog Archive " Matt Leinart: "I haven’t proven anything. Perception is perception. Football has always been number one to me.": "Matt Leinart had the life that every quarterback coming up the pop warner circuit would dream of. Leinart had all the accolades while playing in Southern California including a Heisman Trophy, Manning Award, Johnny Unitas Award, Walter Camp Award and two Archie Griffin Awards. The USC quarterback lead his squad to two National Championship in 2003 and 04, although the NCAA would like to let you know that the 2004 title has been stripped because of Reggie Bush’s off the field actions. Leinart stills counts 2004 as a title year.
When people call you a "bust" at this stage of your career what do you say to that?
"I've heard everything. I've heard everything. I've seen everything. For me I haven't proven anything, so I haven't proven that I could play game in and game out. I understand that. I believe I can play and I'm not one to make excuses. I've never made an excuse with my time in Arizona. It just didn't work out for whatever reason. Those are reasons people outside of the organization won't understand, but it didn't work out and it wasn't a right fit, so you move on. You kind of look at the timeline of what has happened to me and with having a pretty good rookie year and the second year getting the injury and Kurt Warner played himself into the Hall of Fame in the last 3 years.
There's not a lot I can do about that. I battled with a Hall of Famer two training camps in a row. I thought I competed as well as he did and obviously Kurt was a great player. He took us to a Super Bowl. I truly believe he got himself into the Hall of Fame those last couple of years. Last year with everything that happened it just didn't work out. I said what I said about the situation and I moved on, so there's people thought I never got a fair shot. People that think I can't play. There's a lot of things. For me I've worked hard this off-season and I'm always work hard. I'm always ready. I'm always prepared and like I said it's just always about being a quarterback, but being the right situation. For me hopefully that situation comes up this year and I can thrive and show I belong in the league and I can play because I know I can and that's what I plan on doing."
Former CU Buff holds Boulder football camp for developmentally disabled - Boulder Daily Camera: "From the punting practice to the agility drills, the developmentally disabled participants at Thursday's football camp were eager to learn from NFL players. The free clinic was held at East Boulder Park and sponsored by Denver-based group Tyler's Kids Outreach, a nonprofit organization for kids created by Tyler Polumbus, offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks. Polumbus, 26, played for University of Colorado and even spent two years with the Denver Broncos. He started his organization two years ago and frequently does work with kids in Colorado and Seattle."
NFL combine '10 same day edit for the NFLN on Vimeo: "for the 2010 NFL combine, the sm team headed down to indy and produced three same same edits throughout the event. we have done quite a few same day edits at weddings before but these were are first in a sports environment. these edits were to air within..."
The Process Continues | National Football Post: "With the inexorable march of time continuing through the negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA, I constantly am asked the questions: "Are they close?" and "What is going on in there?" ICON Kevin Mawae is part of the talks. Talks lasted deep into the night at a Manhattan law office last night (first-year associates there looked up from their books and said, "Welcome to our world.") While the details are certainly kept quiet, here are some things that are happening:"
NFL.com news: Ruling leaves open possibility for NFLPA to file injunction: "However, according to legal sources who have read Friday's ruling, the language from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court creates an opportunity for the NFL Players Association to file another expedited injunction seeking additional rights for rookies and free agents not under contract. And, according to a high-placed source within the NFLPA, the players would file that injunction if a labor agreement is not struck in short order. The NFL would not be permitted to appeal any ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson regarding a new injunction for rookies and free agents, according to lawyers who have read Friday's decision. The wording of Friday's decision says that injunction, if sought, would be legal."
Mac's Football Blog: Buccaneers QB Josh Johnson Would Welcome Trade To 49ers: "When the San Francisco 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach, there was plenty of talk that the 49ers would look to acquire Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Johnson, who had played for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego. With his path in Tampa Bay blocked by 2009 first-round pick Josh Freeman, Johnson, an Oakland native, would welcome a return to both Harbaugh and his native Bay Area, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports."
Making the Grade: 3-4 Defensive Linemen, 2008-2010 | ProFootballFocus.com: "Aubrayo Franklin, San Francisco 49ers If this was just about what a player offers his team in run defense, Franklin may have been top of the pile such is his impact on that area of the game. It’s why some team will pay him a lot of money to shore up their defensive interior, and rightly so. He’s exceptional at it. But, you have to remember he does spend a number of snaps rushing the passer, and for a number of those snaps he may as well not be on the field. Still, if a team is going to try to run on you, you want Franklin on the nose."
Here’s one vote for Vince Young over Kevin Kolb as next Cards QB - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports: "Pretty much everyone other than Derek Anderson(notes), John Skelton(notes) and Max Hall(notes) believes that the Arizona Cardinals need to go out and get a quarterback, and pretty much everyone assumes they're going to. And it seems like most people also assume it will be Kevin Kolb(notes), the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who was displaced when Michael Vick(notes) decided to be All-World again. Kolb, at the age of 26 and a second-round draft pick in 2007, has shown a modicum of ability, but where anyone got the idea that Kolb was head-and-shoulders above all other available quarterbacks, I'm really not sure. He's had a few solid games, but has he shown enough that you'd want to bet your team's future on him? I wouldn't. Former Cardinal Bertrand Berry(notes) is thinking along those same lines and suggests the Cardinals target another guy: Vince Young. From ArizonaSports.com:"
Jim Trotter: "Look for a CBA agreement by the middle of next week" - Big Cat Country: "Anyone who believes the 8th circuit ruling is a leverage shift for the owners isn't following closely. Consider court said rookies an free agents can't be locked out. If Judge Nelson grants an injunction that forces teams to do business with all 800+, then what? And does anyone believe that judge nelson would NOT rule in favor of the rookies and free agents? Having said all of that, look for a CBA agreement by the middle of next week, with league business to resume a week or so after that. I know you all will hold me to that timeline but remember, there is a difference b/n "informed opinion" and "fact". Mine: informed opinion."
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