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| Brand-New Seahawks: Percy Harvin-Michael Bennett-Cliff Avril |
Much to Be Excited about for Seahawks Nation
As the 2013 NFL seasons approaches, Seattle Seahawks fans have a lot to be excited about. Without a doubt, head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider have manufactured the best Seahawks team from top to bottom in franchise history. Over the last 37 years since the Seattle franchise made its inception to the National Football League in 1976, there have been few reasons for enthusiasm. However, the Pacific Northwest is an inherently football crazed part of the country and Western Washingtonians are practically married to their beloved U-Dub Husky football team, and of course, Seahawks fans bleed blue and green all over the Pacific Northwest region including; Alaskans, Idahoans, Oregonians and even British Colombians. Despite the fanatical climate surrounding the Seahawks football team, the organization has only managed one trip to the biggest game in football, making the trip to Detroit to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL.
Unfortunately, the Seahawks failed to overcome the Pittsburgh Steelers and some poor officiating and aside from the NFL officials "admitting publicly" that they made several bad calls hurting the Seahawks and killing their momentum, there wasn't much to remember about that game for Seahawks fans. As the NFL has seen so many times before, franchises that lose the Super Bowl have it far worse than any other team, because first; they obviously don't come home with a Lombardi trophy. Secondly; teams that have the talent to simply make it to the Super Bowl often have players who want to be paid and paid well for this accomplishment. This often requires teams to release several of their best players because they are unable to fit them under the NFL salary cap. Thirdly, and another detriment to going to the Super Bowl without winning is that the team inherits a second-place schedule which is the second most difficult in the NFL. Now, if all that isn't enough to make it difficult on a Super Bowl loser, they have now tipped their hand to the rest of the NFL that they are Super Bowl contender and now the entire league is going to be gunning for them in each game, always getting up for the best teams. Over the next few years after their Super Bowl appearance, the Seahawks made one more trip to the playoffs as a 7-9 wildcard team, the first sub 500 franchise to get a playoff berth in NFL history. Not a record you want your team to be remembered for, but it seems that most of the NFL's fans seem to remember the Seahawks for negative reasons rather than their achievements, like; the Rick Mirer failure, the Brian Bosworth experiment, and the now infamous "immaculate deception" also known as "The Simultaneous Catch" giving the Seahawks a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night football at Centurylink field in front of 70,000 Seahawks fans and the rest of the worldwide TV audience. So what now? It's time for the 2013 Seattle Seahawks coaches and players to make their case for (NFL and worldwide respect) and they finally have a complete team that can accomplish that lofty goal. However, it's time to stop talking and start showing the world that this is a team to be reckoned with… if not completely feared.
The Seattle Seahawks now have many new smart, driven and talented people involved in redefining what Seahawks football is all about. There is a new owner, new coaching staff, new uniforms and a completely new roster. In the three years that Pete Carroll and John Schneider have been sculpting this football team into their own brand, over 300 transactions have been made and none of the players from the 2005 Super Bowl team remain on the roster. The final two pieces that were part of Holmgren's Super Bowl team were corner Marcus Trufant and linebacker Leroy Hill. Marcus has been a fan favorite, great leader and a very productive player for the Hawks, but he has lost a couple of steps and his body shows the wear of his 11 years as a professional corner. He will likely make his exit from the only franchise he has ever played for. Leroy Hill has also been a career Seahawks linebacker. Drafted by the Seahawks, Hill has played 9 seasons in Seattle and has been a solid player on defense, though he has created multiple reasons why he will not return to the Seahawks roster, including; multiple scrapes with the law, including; twice violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, arrest for driving under the influence, in the most recent ordeal, his arrest for domestic assault and unlawful imprisonment which is still pending sentencing if any. Hill also will be released for reasons he has no control over, namely the fact that he's not getting any younger (31) and no longer has the explosiveness he once had playing the weak side linebacker position. Now it's time for the Seahawks to find a new nickel corner and right OLB. It's unclear how Carroll and Schneider will address these two areas of need, but it very likely could come from the NFL draft on April 25. The 2013 draft class is very deep in talent at defensive lineman, offensive lineman and linebackers, which just happens to be the very positions the Seahawks would like to fortify. Last year, the Seahawks had one of the best if not the best defensive teams in football, sharing the power rankings with fellow NFC West foe, the San Francisco 49ers, who also had an elite style defense. The strength of the 2012 Seahawks defense was its physical and athletic linebackers and huge defensive secondary. In 2011, the Seahawks drafted a surprise standout linebacker, KJ Wright, who tore up the league as a rookie and in 2012 the Seahawks drafted another excellent linebacker, Bobby Wagner, out of Utah State. Wagner was the runner-up for defensive rookie of the year honors racking up 140 tackles, 3 interceptions as the new Mike linebacker calling all the defensive sets, and as a rookie in the Seahawks defense.
The Hawks will not be drafting at their natural 25 spot in the 1st round, instead giving it (and some scraps) to the Minnesota Vikings in a blockbuster trade for WR/KR/PR Percy Harvin, thought by many to be the most versatile and complete football players in the NFL today However, forfeiting the Seahawks' 1st round pick for Harvin isn't a huge sacrifice for such a great player. Harvin is just 26 years old and a very dangerous offensive threat and far and away a better wide receiver than any players currently offered in the upcoming draft. Before sustaining a high ankle sprain last year, he was the leading candidate for the NFL MVP, the most prestigious honor for a professional football player. Giving up Seattle's number one just wasn't a difficult choice for Carroll and Schneider, besides… It has been in the middle rounds where John Schneider has shined most brightly at the NFL draft and he has proven it in his first three years as Seattle's general manager with great success finding talent in the rounds 2-7. Seattle will be making their first selection at this annual event with a pick in the 2nd round (56th overall). Because of the great depth of talent on defense, there will still be plenty of talent at the linebacker position as well as the offensive line, where Seattle could use some fortifying depth. Offensive tackle will be some focus, particularly on the right side, where Breno Giacomini has struggled with some critical and untimely penalties hamstringing the offense after important scores, first down conversions and large gains of yardage. There is a huge upside having Giacomini on the offensive line, though. He is a big, nasty, aggressive and talented tackle that plays angry, with an edge that Pete Carroll and offensive line coach (Tom Cable) like. The penalties Breno has a propensity of drawing, are flaws that coach Cable and Pete Carroll feel they can remedy without too much trouble. Regardless, the Seahawks could still use depth at that position as well as a backup for Paul McQuiston at the right guard spot.
The Seahawks have eight selections in the draft, (after the trade with Minnesota) plus 2 compensatory draft picks that have not been determined yet by the league office. They are expected to be two picks somewhere in the neighborhood of a (sixth round selection and seventh). him and him him him him a cellphone for a in their own or the charger other door the charger your it will were by the corner of other routers. The kitchen to the charger at the extended scattered here and who is rain. draft picks this year (8), it is still likely Carroll and Schneider could attempt to trade up in the draft to get a specific player they may want and fear maybe gone from their board before they picked at 56. Don't expect them to move up to the first round this year, though. In order to regain a first-round pick, Seattle would have to give up far too much and gain too little to make it worthwhile. If Seattle did move up into the first round, it would likely be a late pick, somewhere between 28-32. It would cost the Seahawks valuable draft selections next year or beyond, plus perhaps veteran players and it is the opinion of many draft analysts that first round draft selections are overvalued by many. In addition, John Schneider is not the kind of GM that tends to move up in draft selections, choosing rather to trade down collecting additional selections in the middle and later rounds using his expertise to find great talent were other GM's. After being as aggressive as they have been in the free-agent market, the Seahawks won't have to gamble on a defensive pass rushing defensive end and tackle because of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. Avril and Bennett are proven players and have wreaked havoc throughout the NFL taking down quarterbacks and making tackles for loss. Seattle will be very good this year with the additions of those two players and the return of Red Bryant, Brendan Mebane, Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons once he recovers from ACL surgery. The Seahawks very well might re-sign Alan Branch as well, depending on whether he gets any attention from other teams looking for an interior run stopper in free agency. The Seahawks are waiting and will likely retain Branch with a cheap short-term contract, somewhere in the area of $1.5 million on a one-year deal. It's uncertain whether or not Seattle will attempt to bring back Clinton McDonald, even though he had a solid 2012 season. One thing that the Seahawks will definitely be in the market for and that is an outside linebacker to replace veteran Leroy Hill. Malcolm Smith is still a capable backup, but Pete Carroll and Mike Quinn will be shopping for another gem in the draft to fill that right outside spot. The way that the Seahawks draft, I won't even attempt to predict what player they are considering in the upcoming draft in April.
Now that Carroll and Schneider have gobbled up some of the best free agents available this year, now what are they going to do with those players and how will they use them? This is one of the most delicious times to be a Seahawks fan because the possibilities are endless and Seattle hasn't even drafted a single player yet. Just considering what the Seahawks have on the roster presently, you would consider perhaps a title of "shock and awe" as the season approaches. Already one of the best defensive squads in football and an up-and-coming offense with rookie sensation quarterback Russell Wilson Leading the Way, Seattle is starting to look like a very scary team to line up against on both sides of the football.
Seattle fell short of what they hoped for in 2012 concerning sack production and defense against the run. Their defensive line was exposed on a few occasions last year, most memorably the 49ers game in San Francisco and the NFC playoff game in Atlanta versus the Falcons. It's important to mention that Red Bryant was suffering from a foot injury which hampered his production significantly and Chris Clemons was injured with an ACL tear he sustained against the Washington Redskins in the wild-card game before playing the Falcons. But there were other times when, Seattle, a team with such talent on the interior defensive line didn't play up to expectations. When Seattle lined up with; Alan Branch 325 lbs. , Brandon Mebane 311 lbs. , Clinton McDonald 297 lbs. , and big Red Bryant 323 lbs. stuffing up the middle and long bodies speedsters; Bruce Irvin 6'4" 248 Lbs. and Chris Clemons 6'3" 254 lbs. screaming fast coming from the edge, they were extremely hard to defend on passing plays. However, with those big boys playing defensive tackles, one would expect an imposing presence on the interior keeping the run under control. That wasn't always the case and it might mean exits from the Seattle roster for Branch and McDonald.
The Seahawks fell short of their goals for 2012 concerning sack production and run defense. In 2011, the Seahawks defense logged just 36 sacks. Signing sack specialist in the first round of the 2011 draft out of West Virginia, Bruce Irvin, and with Chris Clemons on the other end, Carroll and Schneider believed that the number of sacks by the defense would increase significantly. Irvin led all rookies with eight sacks in 2012, but the defense as a whole only increased its number of quarterback sacks by its entire defense by three (36) and there were games when Bruce Irvin's name wasn't mentioned once in the broadcasting booth or the PA announcer. Now, I think you can be assured that the Seahawks are going to shatter that number (36) with the significant additions to their defensive line. Defensive coordinator Mike Quinn could literally line up five dominating defensive lineman with; Bruce Irvin, Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, and Cliff Avril. Also, free-agent acquisition, Michael Bennett, is available to come in on passing downs to increase pressure up the middle. This could be a very scary defensive line coming in to the 2013 NFL football season. If Chris Clemons rehabilitates from his ACL tear, you can add one more elite pass rusher to the team's roster and that's assuming that Seattle doesn't develop last year's defensive line selections, Jaye Howard, Greg Scruggs or any of the defensive line help drafted in the upcoming draft. Howard and Scruggs filled in nicely for rookies after Clemons' season was ended against the Washington Redskins in the wild-card game on a field that has led to controversial discussion of field maintenance and surface evaluations by the league. The Seahawks offense will also be high-octane, and this will change the way the defense can play. Mike Quinn will likely be sending a lot more linebacker blitzing packages as well as the big the Seahawks huge defensive secondary players.
Lastly, I'll discuss the Seahawks frightening new offensive team boasting some of the most high impact players in the NFL. Seattle played much better offensively in the second half of the 2012 season with wide receiver Golden Tate emerging as a legitimate receiving threat as well as Sidney Rice who is finally healthy and creating height mismatches with some of the smaller cover corners used by many teams. Marshawn Lynch will be coming back after one of his best years statistically and without missing a single game despite having chronic back spasms. Another slot wide receiver, Doug Baldwin will be healthy and returning to form and tightend Zach Miller will likely be included in more passing formations than last year with the rookie quarterback Russell Wilson opening up the playbook and utilizing more complex and dangerous offensive formations. Offensive for dinner Daryl Bevell and Pete Carroll wanted to bring along Wilson slowly and not put him in to many positions where he felt he had to win the games himself rather than relying on his teammates to contribute throughout some of the tougher games of the season. Wilson responded like a veteran, throwing the ball intelligently and using his athleticism to extend plays until receivers were able to get open… When they weren't… He was able to pick up positive yardage carrying the ball. His leadership qualities are perhaps his greatest attribute, with intangibles completely off the chart and a complete belief by his teammates that he is indeed the man to take this team to the playoffs and beyond. Russell Wilson is simply one-of-a-kind. Veteran players were following his lead after just minutes on the practice field when the Seahawks gathered for training camp last year. Wilson has a unique ability to stay humble, yet understanding just exactly what his role is as a field general and locker room Sage keeping the team upbeat and confident when the team is leading or trailing at halftime. Seattle already had several ways to beat their opponents, but with the most recent trade acquisition from Minnesota, the Seahawks are going to be terrifying to defend now that wide receiver/kick returner/punt returner and auxiliary extraordinaire Percy Harvin will be in Seattle's offensive sets. Daryl Bevell is going to have to use a special charging system to keep track of all the varieties available in offensive sets with Harvin. The man could literally play five positions on the offense and I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't line up in the shotgun formation to further red confusion to opponents defending the Hawks. Harvin can line up in the backfield as a halfback or flanker or he could line up in a two-point stance in the pistol formation which is gaining popular with teams that have mobile quarterbacks. Harvin can also line up outside the numbers on the left and right sides (Z) or on each side of the slot as the (X) receiver or even set up off the line of scrimmage as a scat back. The Hawks are going to frustrate many defensive coordinators this season because of their versatility and lining up; (Z) Percy Harvin, (X) Sidney Rice, (Z) Golden Tate, (X) Doug Baldwin and (Y) Zach Miller and (HB) Marshawn Lynch, defensive players are not going to know what to do when Russell Wilson takes the snap. When this happens, it's going to create infinite problems for the middle linebacker tasked to make the defensive set calls throughout the game. It's going to be a headache, you can count on it.
Pete Carroll is big on finding unusual athletes with unique skill sets and that he has done masterfully over the last three years with the Seahawks. The Seahawks have the biggest, most physical corners in the game and a safety that has the body type of an outside linebacker. The Seahawks linebackers are long and angular, with explosive small space speed and the ability to chase down players from sideline to sideline. With these athletic players in the secondary, it frees up the defensive line to stop the run up the middle and create pressure from the perimeter edges. Carroll utilizes the Leo defensive end (Irvin and Clemons) with players that are slightly undersized, but possess great "get off" speed and explosiveness from the outside edges and Irvin and Clemons fit that player profile perfectly. In the interior defensive line, Pete Carroll and Gus Bradley focused on putting tremendous pressure up the middle to close off gaps and force ball runners to adjust the original play objective and find alternate gaps to exploit. However, with the outside pressure, most ball runners are going to run out of room and then turn back inside where huge defensive tackles are waiting. While all of this is happening, Seattle's linebackers are reading and reacting to the defensive push and the offensive lines immediate point of impact posture. Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright are excellent, instinctive players with a nose for the ball and the ability to shed blockers with relative ease, allowing them the ability to make tackles closer to the line of scrimmage. Both Wagner and Wright have enough speed to drop into coverage and shadow running backs and tight ends across the middle where they are usually running shallow or intermediate routes. Both linebackers have extraordinary athleticism and can play all three downs never needing to substitute out in case a running play turns into some kind of passing formation. Leroy Hill, the right outside (or weak side) linebacker will probably not be offered a contract for the upcoming season, so it will be important for the Seahawks to find a player that can shore up the linebacking corps in the Seahawks 4-3 defensive scheme.
Seattle's defensive ends and tackles are basically two gap players that take on offensive lineman, gaining leverage underneath the shoulder pads and shedding blockers to stop the run in the (A) or the (B) gap. Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane are excellent bull rush type down lineman, but with the addition of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, Seattle will gain a tremendous force at cutting down offensive tackles with a swim, rip or spin technique to get through the gaps and put pressure on the quarterback and forcing them to deliver the ball before the receivers patterns have matured. This is exactly what defensive backs, like Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas, thrive on because of their tremendous closings speed and ability to erase the league's best wide receivers right out of plays. It will be fascinating to see how loose Seattle's secondary will be able to play with an improved defensive line creating havoc in the offensive backfield. With a generally mediocre pass rush, Brandon Browner, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas have been able to overwhelm receivers and tight ends with bump and run pressure at the line of scrimmage and punishing hits over the middle and perimeter as receivers reach for passes or pulled back (with alligator arms) readying themselves for another thundering hit to the solar-plexus or shoulder pads. Offensive players have just come to expect that after a couple of hours on a football field with the Seattle Seahawks defense, they're going to be spending more time with the team trainer, getting ice baths and whirlpool therapy. If you don't believe that, just watch the Dallas Cowboys loss to Seattle at Centurylink field last season. Jason Witten, one of the most tough, courageous and sure handed tight ends in football was short handing every pass thrown to him and dropping most of them… Dez Bryant and Miles Austin grew tiny arms and swivel heads as well after taking a beating every time they lined up and ran down the field for passes from Tony Romo. Even Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate showed the Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee exactly what it means to be hit so hard that a snot bubble flies out your nose as he put a block on the big backer during a rushing play. The Hawks have definitely earned a reputation for teams to heed; if you're going to walk onto a field playing tackle football, you'd better prepare to get hit and hit hard. Tackling is not the primary goal for the Seattle Seahawks. The goal is to hit the ball carrier so hard he is separated from the football… Permanently if possible.
This season will be no exception to the rule of extreme physical football from the Seattle Seahawks and you can bet that Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett and any other players coming on board with the Hawks are going to buy in to that philosophy of physics; SxM=TO+M (speed times mass equals turnovers and momentum )
There is no doubt that the Seahawks are feeling IT. Where John Schneider came from the school of thought developed by his mentor in Green Bay (Ted Thompson) that you don't build a team through free agency and money, you do it through draft selections and finding talent at a decent price, he is now going all in and his owner is getting out the checkbook for what should be an exciting and thrilling season. Nearly all the pieces of the puzzle are in place, now Seattle Seahawks fans can wait for the NFL draft and see what the architect and the magician have in store to fortify what is already believed to be the scariest football team in the NFL.
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