This week is just flying by.
Updated mock draft: 4th January " Seahawks Draft Blog
One thing struck me during Pete Carroll’s end-of-season press conference yesterday – his belief in the need for speed. He talked openly about wanting more pace among his front seven, with the pass rush considered a prime target-area for improvement. The Seahawks generated modest pressure during the 2011 season, often relying on Chris Clemons at the LEO specialist position for sacks. The ‘big three’ in the middle – Alan Branch, Brandon Mebane and Red Bryant – combined for four total sacks. If it wasn’t for a seemingly never-ending question mark at the quarterback position, there’s no doubt what Seattle’s most pressing concern would be.
Seahawks regular-season wrap-up - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Biggest surprise: Seattle's ground game continued building momentum after the Seahawks lost three starting offensive linemen to season-ending injuries.
The most popular Smart Football articles of 2011 | Smart Football
The coming of each new year gives us a chance to look back, and 2011 was a productive year here at Smart Football. In addition to my pieces over at Grantland, I had a number of fresh pieces here on the site. Below are links to some of the most popular pieces of 2011, in no particular order.
Keys to a Good Back-Shoulder Fade | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
The back-shoulder fade can be an unstoppable weapon if a receiver understands how to run the route and the quarterback throws the ball with timing and confidence. Here are components of the route that make the play successful.
Report: Vincent Jackson unlikely to get franchise tag | ProFootballTalk
Now that we know the Chargers will return the same coach and general manager next season, we can move on to discussing the future makeup of their roster.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 17 Quick Reads
Quarterback Matt Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns against Detroit yesterday, setting Green Bay Packers benchmarks in both categories. As Flynn passed names like Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers (not to mention 4,000-yard passers Lynn Dickey and Don Majkowski) in the Green Bay record books, he clearly played the best game of any passer this week, but where does it rank on the all-time list? And as Flynn enters free agency, what can it tell us about his future potential?
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under the Cap: 2012 Offense Tag Projections
With the end of the NFL regular season, the focus in 20 NFL cities is on 2012 free agency and which players might receive a franchise (or transition) tag this offseason.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under the Cap: 2012 Defense Tag Projections
With the end of the NFL regular season, the focus in 20 NFL cities is on 2012 free agency and which players might receive a franchise (or transition) tag this offseason.
Re-Focused: Seahawks @ Cardinals, Week 17 | ProFootballFocus.com
When I mentioned Seattle were stacked at receiver I wasn’t including Ben Obomanu (-2.1) in that assessment. Playing 51% of all snaps this year, the Seahawks have hardly got fair reward for their faith. He averages a feeble 1.27 yards per pass route run and is ranked 86th among qualifying receivers in terms of drop rate. Which brings us nicely to why I singled him out here; failure to catch the ball. Three times he dropped catchable passes, the final of which could probably have won the game if he’d hung onto Tarvaris Jackson’s throw with 14:17 left in overtime. While none of them were simple, not pulling in even one of these opportunities left his side with too much to do and likely him without a roster place out West. Truthfully, this was far more to my taste with some outstanding play on both sides to discuss and extrapolate into next year. When the dust of this season settles, the offseason is done and we are looking forward to Kick Off 2012, will what we saw here be far more salient than what was transpiring in Mile High?
Cosell’s Watching: Tebow Must Learn How to Pass : NFL Films Blog
As he prepares for the Wild Card Playoffs, NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 17 coaching tape of the Broncos offense vs. the Chiefs defense.
Cosell’s Watching: Lions Secondary Can Be Exploited : NFL Films Blog
As he prepares for the Wild Card Playoffs, NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 17 coaching tape of the Packers offense vs. the Lions defense.
Cosell’s Watching: Giants Run Game Showed its Flaws : NFL Films Blog
As he prepares for the Wild Card Playoffs, NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 17 coaching tape of the Giants offense vs. the Cowboys defense.
Cosell’s Watching: Ravens O Conservative in Season Finale : NFL Films Blog
As he prepares for the Wild Card Playoffs, NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 17 coaching tape of the Ravens offense vs. the Bengals defense.
NFL.com news: Rodgers on Flynn: Sunday 'shows Matt is a pretty good QB'
Aaron Rodgers: System quarterback? As the Packers starter kept comfy in his winter hat Sunday, understudy Matt Flynn slashed the Lions for 480 yards and six touchdown passes, a display that prompted outsiders to ponder if Rodgers, in fact, is a straw man -- simply the cog in a machine geared to churn out yardage, touchdowns and wins -- one easily replaced by Flynn or any man off the street.
Seattle Seahawks Blog - Hawk Blogger: Pass Rush May Not Equal Defensive End
Seattle ended the season in the Top 10 of just about every meaningful statistic on defense, from scoring to yards per play to opposing passer rating to turnovers. They finished tied for 19th in sacks. TeamRankings.com puts Seattle as 23rd in the NFL in sack percentage, the percentage of opponent passing plays that resulted in a sack. Philadelphia led the league at nearly 9% (meaning they sack the QB almost 1 out of every 10 times he drops back). The Seahawks posted a 5.73% sack percentage, same as they did a year before. Pete Carroll mentioned the challenge in his season-ending press conference yesterday, stating the team needed to improve in that area. Most people are assuming that means adding another defensive end. Not necessarily.
Seahawks headed on right path | HeraldNet.com - Sports
Not all expectations were met in 2011 season, but head coach Carroll encouraged about the team's future.
Lynch, Bryant at top of Seattle's free agent list - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
Just as Marshawn Lynch became the Skittles-loving face of the Seattle Seahawks, he could just as quickly be leaving town. Or he could remain part of the foundation that led to the Seahawks' turnaround in the second half of the season.
Thiel: Seahawks no closer to QB resolution | Seattle Seahawks
In his first season after a dubious career in Minnesota,Tarvaris Jackson did just enough in Seattle to be credible, but not enough to be good.
The Brewery | Podcast: Putting a bow on the Seahawks' season | Seattle Times Newspaper
So, remember that Seahawks review/preview radio show that I did all season with Danny O'Neil? We had our finale Tuesday night on Sportsradio KJR. Yes, the show is called Monday Night Quarterback, but we ended it on a Tuesday night. Hey, just roll with it.
Seahawks Blog | All quiet (for now) regarding Tom Cable | Seattle Times Newspaper
Coach Pete Carroll isn't expecting inquiries regarding Tom Cable so much as he's fearing them. "I don't want to expect that because I want him to stay here forever," Carroll said. "He's a really good football coach, and he has a tremendous impact on a football team. We felt it. It was a tremendous get for us to have Tom come here."
From the sidelines: Seahawks at Cardinals
A season-ending overtime loss doesn’t negate the positive momentum for the Seahawks, who look to 2012 brimming with optimism for what’s ahead.
Carroll looks back, but mostly ahead
In a season-ender news conference peppered with quarterback questions, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll also was able to make his points on other topics.
Sounds like Hawks thinking QB in draft | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
You may remember last year’s Seattle Seahawks season post-mortem, when the re-signing of free-agent quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was listed as the team’s top priority.
2011 Seahawks: A Tale Of Two Seasons - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
From an outsider’s view looking in, the Seahawks finished the 2011 season with the same 7-9 record as the 2010 regular season. From even further out, it would look like the team made no progress under head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider’s second year at the reigns. However, anyone who habitually watches the team has a very dissident view, one of hope and for the first time since around 2008, clarity.
Pete Carroll's Press Conference
On Tuesday, Pete Carroll held a nearly 50 minute end of the season press conference, which I found pretty interesting and fairly telling of the direction of the team. He discussed the obvious- QB situation, team strengths and weaknesses, etc; but also shed light onto free agency, the Green Bay draft model, and the 49ers. It’s absolutely worth a watch, if not for your own enlightenment, then to discuss with us! Here’s what I took away from it:
Praise for Tom Cable | Seahawks Huddle NFL Football Forum
Tom Cable, to the public at large, is mostly known for allegedly striking Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson during a team meeting in 2009 while Cable was the head coach in Oakland and for then being fired unmercifully about a year ago by Al Davis.
The future looks bright
Despite finishing with the same 7-9 record in 2011 that they had in 2010, coach Pete Carroll and his players are optimistic that the Seahawks are just getting started.