MARINERS: Another frontrunner for the closing role emerges

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Ever since JJ Putz was traded, the closer role has been a constant source of speculation. Who is going to fill his enormous shoes? One such candidate arrived in the Putz deal--Aaron Heilman.

To most, Brandon Morrow was the logical choice. Then Mark Lowe threw his name into the hat, followed shortly by the signing of Tyler Walker, another possible candidate.

Now,the latest candidate for closer has emerged after Putz claimed Roy Corcoran should be his heir apparent.

Why? Well, apparently Putz believes Corcoran is the only one with the cajones to man the closer position.

“If you’re looking for the guy who’s got it downstairs, Corcoran is best suited to close,” Putz said. “Roy didn’t care what his role was last year, when he came in, he was ready. I think if he knew the job was his, he’d be even better at it."

Corcoran came to the Mariners last season after sporadic play in three previous seasons. He pitched in 50 games with a 3.22 ERA.

At 28, it is likely Corcoran has yet to reach his potential, but he needs much more than a decent season in the bullpen and some flattering words from Putz to win the job. As it is, I've yet to hear his name bandied about in discussions over who's to be closer.

His motto is, "I might not throw 98, but I act like I do." It shows the attitude Putz talked about, but you still need some talent to back it up.

As for yet another candidate for the position, Putz said Miguel Batista has the fastball but doesn't use it enough. The fact is there exist no frontrunners in this race, and we won't know if anyone's prepared to step up until spring training begins.

All that's left is to make a prediction. Mine? Roy Corcoran... There's certainly more talent on the roster, but he's the only one who showed anything last season. He won't be amazing or anything, but he'll probably show more consistency than the others. Plus, you have to like anyone who can sing the classic AC/DC song and mean it. "But we've got the biggest balls of them all!" Read more

SEAHAWKS: *Bad Pun Alert* Don't nap on Knapp

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With the hiring of Greg Knapp as offensive coordinator, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will have a new man calling the plays and working on the offensive system and gameplan for the first time since he arrived in Seattle eight seasons ago. The hiring of Greg Knapp as offensive coordinator should come as no surprise.

Knapp and head coach Jim Mora Jr rose to prominence at the same time in the San Francisco 49ers organization, eventually becoming contemporary coordinators, Knapp for offense and Mora for defense. When Mora was hired in Atlanta to be head coach, he brought Knapp over to lead the offense and train the young Michael Vick.

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This makes it sound like a boring, croney hiring, but it isn’t. Knapp was once considered one of the league’s bright young minds when he was with the 49ers. Though his subsequent teams haven’t had the best success record-wise, they have had successful offenses and players have enjoyed fruitful seasons under his guidance.

The main asset that stands out is Knapp’s ability to develop young quarterbacks. While Knapp’s list of tutored quarterbacks is not all that impressive—Jeff Garcia, Vick and JaMarcus Russell—he coached each of these players to career seasons and developed them about as well as could be expected. Between the three, they went to a combined five Pro Bowls in nine seasons under Knapp.

He also led the last 49ers offense that was actually good. In his last season, the 49ers finished fifth in total yards, before falling off to 26th the following season.

With Mike Holmgren gone, the Seahawks will have a great need for a proven quarterback guru to lead the West Coast attack, especially if Hasselbeck’s deterioration rapidly continues. Assuming this coaching staff succeeds is the long-term solution in Seattle, Knapp will be the man to tutor Hasselbeck’s eventual successor.

One concern is Knapp recently had his play calling duties stripped from him in Oakland by interim head coach Tom Cable after the team failed to crack 100 yards of offense against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 4. However, the offense had been quite successful in the weeks preceding that game, and Cable seems to be quite the micromanager, as he retained offensive line coaching duties when he became head coach in addition to the play calling.

It should also be noted that Knapp only called plays in four games during his two years with the Raiders, as head coach Lane Kiffin called offensive plays before he was fired. Also, despite what may seem to be the worst of his quarterbacks, Russell showed great improvement in the team’s final eight games, and it was still Knapp who tutored him.

As for Knapp’s conversation with Hasselbeck upon being hired, I’m sure it means little as far as the team’s future plans. The team probably doesn’t know yet whether Hasselbeck will be retained, and until he is traded or released, Hasselbeck will be treated as he’s always been—the starting quarterback for the Seahawks.

Should Hasselbeck start this season, little will change for the Seattle offense.
Knapp runs much the same system Holmgren did, and Knapp will not want to make any drastic changes that will disrupt the veteran quarterbacks. All we can really hope is Knapp does away with the dreaded third-down, fullback draw. (Though I never thought it was that bad, as we’re not a team built to succeed throwing far downfield.)

One thing that will likely change is the reliance on passing. If you look at the numbers, a Knapp-run offense has always finished in the top 10 in rushing, including number one rankings in all three seasons with the Falcons, though Vick’s legs had much to do with that.

In addition to his success with quarterbacks, running backs Garrison Hearst, Warrick Dunn and Justin Fargus all had career seasons with Knapp.


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SEAHAWKS: Greg Knapp named offensive coordinator

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Danny O'Neil reports that Greg Knapp was named offensive coordinator.

Knapp worked with Mora in Atlanta and San Francisco. He will not be officially named as the OC until he signs his contract. The amount of the contract is not known at this time.

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Knapp was most recently with the Oakland Raiders and their west coast offense as their offensive coordinator.

Farnsworth is reporting the first thing Knapp did coming to Seahawks headquarters was phone Hasselbeck about the future of the offense and Hasselbeck's roll in it. This squelches the rumor that the Seahawks could be looking to trade Matt.

The hiring of Knapp also squelches the rumor that Jeff Jagodzinski would be interviewing for the offensive coordinator position. Jagodzinski was recently fired from Boston College after interviewing for the head coaching position for the Jets. Numerous reports said that Jagodzinski was on the Seahawks radar for assistants, but he may have just fallen off. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Musical teams: a look back at Seahawks WR free agents

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Billy who? Carry… no Keary Colbert? Do you pronounce that like Stephen Colbert? Wasn't Koren Robinson in jail?

Maybe you get the point. We had a few castoff free agent WRs join the team during the ill-fated 2008 campaign. I’ll rank the three free-agents-turned starters on their performance throughout the most injury-riddled season in franchise history.

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3. Keary Colbert. How many NFL Teams were you on last season? Zero, hah. Well Colbert was on three! Colbert didn’t do a thing with the Broncos before joining the Seahawks three games into the season.

The man didn’t compile THAT bad of stats, hauling seven balls in four starts, 52 yards and a touchdown. That’s one more touchdown than Billy McMullen. However, Colbert struggled at doing what he gets paid an absurd amount to do: catch the football. He sealed his fate against the Dolphins when he let a perfect pass bounce right of his numbers. Catch it with your hands Keary! He ended his season at the bottom of the barrel in Detriot.

2. Billy McMullen. This free agent was a hair better than Colbert because he held onto the ball more often than not. McMullen compiled 76 yards in four games, but was placed on injured reserve after breaking a finger. He had a knack for the big play, making two 30+ yard catches against SF and St. Louis, but he also fumbled a crucial ball in the red zone against SF that could have cost us that game.

During the Giants game, it was like watching our wide receiving corps run around like little kids at a McDonalds play area; aimless, without reason. He didn’t record a catch against the Giants or Packers and was waived by the Seahawks Oct. 18.

1. Koren Robinson. Remember when K-Rob used to lead officers along on high-speed chases? Remember when he used to wear orange jump suits rather than NFL uniforms? Now he’s criminal turned Christian, according to Holmgren and Hasselbeck, and was one of the better stories coming out of a dismal season. Robinson played his first game week six against GB and finished with 400 yards on the season, including a 105 yard one touchdown game against the Eagles.

Most importantly, K-Rob was the only starting free agent WR to make it through the whole season without injury and without being waived. This fact alone makes Robinson top the list. He also had the reception of the season for the Seahawks (90) and was third in receptions (31) and touchdowns (2). Will he be on the team next season? There’s no way of telling just yet, we’ll have to see how the draft and free agency shape up.

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SEAHAWKS: Reading the field

Cortez Kennedy was caught by surprise when he received a phone call that he moved one step closer to Canton, making it as a top 17 finalist.

Bobby Engram could be headed to Washington... D.C. to play for Jim Zorn and the Redskins.

The Seahawks are interviewing another assistant from Cleveland, possibly for the defensive coordinator position.

People in Minnesota seem to think Matt Hasselbeck is worth a second round pick. Yeah our starting QB is worth a second round pick and backup Texans QB Sage Rosenfels is worth a 3rd.

Jim Mora Jr. is expected to call the defensive plays, starting a shift in in the organization. So what is Marinelli doing here if Jim Mora Jr. will essentially be the defensive coordinator?

The Seahawks signed six players to their practice squad, including Michael Bumpus.

Casey Bradley expressed desire to remain in Tampa Bay, but there is a chance he will be a Seahawk next season. He took a tour of the facilities today.

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SEAHAWKS: Boston College fires Jagodzinski

Considered by many to be an offensive coordinator candidate for the Seahawks, Jeff Jagodzinski moved one step closer to re-joining the NFL after Boston College fired him as head coach. BC had warned Jagodzinski that if he interviewed for the Jets' vacant head coaching job, then he would be fired.

Jagodzinski seemed to haven no intentions of coaching for BC next season after two successful seasons there.

Here is our write up on Jagodzinski.


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MARINERS: Daily news

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The Mariners added depth to their bullpen today when they signed former San Fransisco reliever Tyler Walker to a one-year deal. Walker returned from elbow surgery in 2006, keeping him out of baseball for more than a year, to pitch in 65 games for 4.56 ERA.

It remains to be seen whether Walker, who has 34 career saves, will be the closer this season like the article speculates, but the move certainly seems to point toward pitcher Brandon Morrow being a starter. The decision will probably rely on whether or not the team believes Morrow has a future as a starter.

While the team added to their bullpen, the main concern of a power hitting outfielder remains unfilled. With price a major sticking point for GM Jack Zduriencik, the team continues to wait things out and hope a power hitter such as Adam Dunn lowers his price.

"You don't always get the player you most want, but someone might fall to you that you didn't think you could get," Zduriencik said.

If such a player doesn't become available, the team may be forced to look to its current roster and hope young players step up and rapidly develop. Wladimir Balentien is one such player. In his first extensive playtime in the majors, last season Balentien hit .202 for seven home runs and 24 RBIs.

Zduriencik said he's intrigued by Balentien's potential, despite the 23-year-old's poor debut.Like many others on the team, Balentien must decide whether to represent his country, the Netherlands, in the World Baseball Classic. Manager Don Wakamatsu has said he wants players to skip the WBC and report to spring training on time, but it's doubtful any skip the event.

Another player likely to spend his spring at the WBC is Adrian Beltre, who is still recovering from season-ending surgeries. Beltre hopes to be ready for the WBC and fully recovered by the start of the MLB season.

Beltre is finding himself one of the last veterans left on the team, and he find himself auditioning for a future employer this season. Zduriencik seems to know the team won't compete this year, and he won't break the bank for any free agent names (like Dunn or Manny Ramirez). In the final year of Beltre's contract, Zduriencik will likely look to deal Beltre before the trade deadline to a contending team in order to get something for him. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Tarvaris Jackson and Pennington wish they had Hasselbeck's blocking skills

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Hasselbeck is a unique quarterback in that he isn't afraid to make a tackle or block. He even made NSS's top five plays of the season when he double-blocked two Rams to carve a path for Julius Jones into the end zone. There are many more example's of this, but one of the more salient tackles he has made was during super XL after he threw and interception. He was flagged for the tackle, but we won't get into that...

Anyway, check out these two quarterbacks who could learn a thing or two from Hasselbeck.

To Watch the Videos...


This one's called a choke slam. Here's a little tip to Jackson: don't jump when you're trying to block or tackle.


At least he fell before Suggs could completely drill him.

Alright Jackson, Pennington... this is how you take guys down.



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SEAHAWKS: Quick update: Cortez Kennedy Hall of Fame finalist

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It's been a long time coming, but Cortez Kennedy has finally made it as a finalist to the pro football Hall of Fame. He is among 17 finalists, weeded out of 25.

That number will drop between 4-7 the day before the super bowl.

Kennedy logged 167 games for the Seahawks, went to the pro-bowl eight times and was an all-pro four times. Kennedy is a Seahawks ring of honor inductee and was Sport's Illustrated's best player to ever wear the number 96.
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SEAHAWKS: Mora takes aim at Patriots ST coach Brad Seely

According to Adam Schefter over at the NFL Network, the Seahawks are requesting permission to speak with Patriots special teams coach Brad Seely. The Seahawks need permission because Seely is still under contract with the Patriots.

Jim Mora Jr. hasn’t fired any of his assistants yet, but actions speak louder than words. Within the past few days, the Seahawks have either shown interest in or interviewed Rod Marinelli, Buccaneers linebacker coach Casey Bradley and Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski.

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Seely would be replacing Bruce Dehaven at special teams coach. DeHaven had pretty good seasons in Seattle, with Nate Burleson having a great 2007 year returning punts. In 2008 his, kick return unit averaged the most yards per return in the NFC. Still, the unit appeared unprepared to open the season, allowing a fake field goal to go for a wide open pitch and catch for a touchdown, among other disasters.

Seely would bring ample experience at the special teams coach position; he’s been ST coach for four NFL teams since 1989. He has been with the Patriots since 1999 and contributed to three super bowl wins. He also led the 2007 special teams unit to two NFL records with the longest kick return (108) and most PATs in a season (74) on their way to a 16-0 record.

If the Seahawks obtain Seely, he would further cement that culture of winning Holmgren worked hard to supplant into the organization. Under this man, there’s no way we would appear as under prepared as we did to begin 2008.

The big question seems to be if the this would be a positive upgrade to Seely’s position with the Patriots. He’s found pay dirt coaching at New England so would he really want to move out to the no-man’s land to coach the same position? He hasn’t had much of a problem shuffling between franchises in the past, manning the same coaching job between four organizations, and with the right paycheck, anything is possible. We’ll keep you updated if the Patriots allow the interview.
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SEAHAWKS: Mike Wahle a "cancer" in the locker room?

At the beginning of the season, Mike Wahle was thought to be a definite upgrade at left guard -- not the second coming of Hutchinson, but a positive upgrade. He had a good season while he was on the field except for a few crucial mental errors. But was he an upgrade in the locker room? Here's an excerpt from the Gaston Gazette:

Misperceived as a locker room leader, several players have since privately said Wahle was more of a cancer than anything else and they were glad to see him go.

I'm not sure about the credibility of this report, but it's worth mentioning because of the problems we've had on the offensive line this year. There are no names mentioned and there is no context given, so for all we know it could be Steve Smith.

For my take...

From what I've read, he appears the opposite but he could be the type of player to rub others the wrong way.

For example, after being walloped by the Buccaneers 20-7 in front of a booing home crowd, Wahle called out the entire team and scheduled a players only meeting. Actions like this could be perceived as over-stepping your bounds, but I'm only speculating so take it for what it's worth.

From offseason reports, several writers noted how much leadership and toughness Wahle brought to the line. Are all these writers really missing Wahle's "cancerous" side? I'm not so sure, and he appears to fit in just fine here in Seattle. It's just too bad he only played 10 games.

Your take. What do you think about these allegations?
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SEAHAWKS: Bears offer Marinelli job

The Bears are moving quickly to snatch up Rod Marinelli. They have reportedly offered him a job after meeting with him over the weekend and it is most likely the defensive line coach opening.

Meanwhile the Seahawks met with Marinelli today. Most people think the Seahawks want to replace current defensive coordinator John Marshall for the unit's poor 2008 showing, but it is unclear what position the Seahawks think Marinelli would fill.

Marinelli has ties to Jim Mora and GM Tim Ruskell but he also has significant ties to Bears' head coach Lovie Smith when they were both assistants under Tony Dungy for the Buccaneers.

So when will Marinelli make his decision?...

Marinelli could accept the job as early as Tuesday (1/6). If he waits longer than that, then it could be a good indication he is waiting for Seattle to send him a job offer.

The thing holding the Seahawks back from firing their assistants is most likely the 10-day transition period in which Holmgren prepares Mora for the head coaching job. This period is set to end Wednesday afternoon, so look for the Seahawks to start firing assistants and coordinators around then. This is also the time the Seahawks may start offering jobs to applicants such as Marinelli.

There are also unsubstantiated rumors that Marinelli may be interested in one of the six new assistant openings in Green Bay, including defensive coordinator. This could further postpone his decision.

UPDATE 1/5: It looks like Mora met with all of the assistants today in a group and individually so the transition period may have ended early.

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SEAHAWKS: Marinelli not only possible DC candidate: enter Casey Bradley

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Our friends over at Seahawks Addicts found another bit of news today concerning the Seahawks' search for a new defensive coordinator.

Apparently, the Seahawks will be interviewing Buccaneers linebackers coach Casey Bradley tomorrow.

Here’s Bradley’s background.

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Bradley began coaching at Fort Lewis College from 1992-95 as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In 1996, he joined North Dakota State for nine seasons, where he was assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In 2005 the NDS defense ranked no. 1 in scoring, rush and total defense in the Great West Football Conference.

He joined the Buccaneers as defensive quality control coach in 2005. The position calls for the QCC to breakdown game film weeks in advance, among other duties specific to different organization. In 2007 he was promoted to linebackers coach.

Bradley's resume' doesn't compare favorably to Marinelli's, who spent 10 seasons with a very successful Bucs defense that had more sacks than any other NFL team during that timespan.

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SEAHAWKS: Jeff Jagodzinski on the Seahawks radar for offensive coordinator

USA Today and Seahawkaddicts.com are reporting that Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski will be interviewing for the Jets head coaching job, despite reports that BC stated they would fire him for doing so.

If he does lose his Boston College coaching job and not get the Jets head coaching job, he would be a possible candidate as offensive coordinator for the Seahawks.

It's also possible Jagodzinski is looking to leave college football to return to the NFL and plans to leave BC no matter what, after spending two years there.

Jagodzinski has a few connections with the Seahawks that could draw him to Seattle.

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Jagodzinski has ties with Hasselbeck going back to his senior year at Boston College back in 1997. Jagodzinski was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Boston College from 1997-98, producing on average more than 400 yards per game. The ties to Hasselbeck are important, but the connection to the Seahawks goes even deeper.

He joined the Falcons and head coach Jim Mora Jr. and Tim Ruskell in Atlanta in 2004 as offensive line coach. On the way to an NFC championship game, the Falcons set a franchise record for rushing yards in 2004. And, in 2005, Warrick Dunn rushed for more than 1,400 yards behind a zone blocking scheme he learned from Alex Gibbs, who was offensive line coach under a Broncos team that won super bowl XXXIII.

Seahawks fans should be excited about the prospect of Jagodzinski joining the team as offensive coordinator because success seems to follow him wherever he’s coaching. When he went back to Boston College in 2007, he led the team to a no. 10 rank in the ACC at 11-3.

He helped produce Matt Ryan and Gosder Cherilus, two first-round draft picks. He’s also got loads of experience beginning his college coaching in 1985. Since then he has been the RBs coach, OL coach, TE coach and offensive coordinator. He also worked with Green Bay as OC in 2006.
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SOUNDERS: Around the Pitch

Sounders FC will have the first pick in the MLS Super Draft on Jan. 15 in St. Louis and most sites are speculating over how the club will fill its 10 remaining roster spots.

The January transfer window is currently open for leagues in Europe and Sounders FC executive director Adrian Hanauer, during head coach Sigi Schmid's signing announcement, mentioned the club speaking with players overseas to fill the roster.

GoSounders.com has a good article on the basics of the draft and also found several rumors of players that may sign with Seattle.

MLS Seattle gives an account of where the Sounders stand going into the New Year and asks questions about the weakness of the clubs roster.

Sounderstaheart.com writer Dave Clark writes an article about “having a league of our own, where our own play and succeed.”

Jose Romero lists some information on the Super Draft and found an article on the Player Combine prior to the draft.

The News Tribune’s Don Ruiz analyzes a “to-do list” from Sounders FC executive Tod Leiweke and believes the club is making good progress before its inaugural season.

And here is the rest of it. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Reading the field -- Crabtree to declare, Seahawks in competition with Bears for Marinelli

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According to the rumor mill and Seahawk Addicts, Crabtree is telling people that he will declare for the 2009 draft.

Marinelli met with the Bears this weekend for a possible coaching job, most likely on the defensive side of the ball.

Marinelli is also set to meet with the Seahawks. Here's our write-up on Marinelli.

Marinelli would most likely take defensive coordinator John Marshall's job after poor showing this year (to say the least). We think the firings will start as early as this week.

Apparently, all Seattle sports team look like they will improve next year. Uhh, ya think? How could they get worse?

And here is the rest of it. Read more

SOUNDERS: Holiday coaching updates

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Sounders FC made a few coaching moves over the holiday which helped solidify the staff that will train and work the Sounders players.

Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid hired Seattle-native Brian Schmetzer as his first assistant coach, the club announced on Dec. 22.

Schmetzer coached the USL Sounders for seven seasons and has 15 years of professional playing experience.

Tom Dutra was hired as the goalkeepers coach and Schmid's second assistant on his staff, the club's website announced on Dec. 29. Dutra has worked with current Sounders FC starting goalkeeper Kasey Keller and had helped Schmetzer's USL Sounders for two seasons.

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Dutra's hiring means USL Sounders 'keeper Chris Eylander will be brought up as Keller's understudy, Sounder at Heart speculates and MLS Seattle blog confirms.

Schmid was recently on Fox Soccer Channel's "Fox Football Fone-In" on Dec. 22 to answer questions about the club's direction, here is a clip from the Sounders website. GoSounders.com has a good recap of Schmid's interview, including confirmation of Eylander becoming the number two keeper and comments on some players.

Apologies for the missed time, more to come as the new year unfolds!
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MARINERS: Griffey coming home?

With spring training just around the corner, it's that time of year for veteran players to figure out where they'll be spending 2009.

In a recent article by MLB.com reporter Kelly Thesier, the speculation that future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. could return to Seattle makes it sound that if he were to return, it would be to end his career.

Although Griffey still has interest from four other teams, one being the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, it seems unlikely he'll be signed anytime soon with so many other younger hitters still left on the free agent market.

If Griffey were to sign with Seattle, it would most likely be a one-year deal filled with incentives, but most likely it would be because Griffey wants to retire.

Injury after injury has stalled "the kid" from reaching milestones. He still has something left to prove he says, and I think that hinges on the fact he's never won a world series, something he tried to accomplish by being traded to the Chicago White Sox in the middle of last season.

To get another shot at a world series, I'm sorry to say, Griffey would need to find employment elsewhere, or play with the M's until 2012.

As my favorite player of all time, I hope he does. For him not to even get a shot at a ring would be a great dissapointment to a career of "what if's."
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SEAHAWKS: Carlson has room for improvement despite a record setting season

Remember when Jerramy Stevens was arrested… like six times – including suspicion of rape, reckless driving, and suspicion of second-degree armed assault with a weapon? Yeah, he played for the Seahawks for five years after being drafted 28th overall in 2002.

Remember the free agent acquisition of Marcus Pollard in 2007 and how he dropped that one wide open touchdown pass during the playoff game in Green Bay? He had good character but not the greatest hands.

Come to think of it, Stevens didn’t have good hands either.

The point is, the Seahawks haven’t had a good character and sure-handed tight end in a long time, but now we have the positioned locked in for years to come. So how much better is Carlson and can he maintain the staggering pace he set his first year in the NFL?

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Well if we look at receptions yards over the last two years then he’s better than both tight ends combined plus an extra 123 yards. As a rookie he was 8th in the league in reception yards and he led a receiving corps decimated by injuries in touchdowns (5), reception yards (627) and receptions (55). Those are all franchise tight end records. That just doesn’t happen. In fact, it’s never happened in the history of the NFL.

But can he keep up the pace?

2008 was a unique year in that the Seahawks top five receivers were all injured at some point. This left a rag-tag group of free agent castoffs and practice squad players. No players stepped it up (except Koren Robinson).

Carlson quickly established himself as a skilled receiver and route runner early on in the season against the Bills after no Seahawk could catch the ball. But, it was clear there was room for improvement, after a couple of drops when he was about to take hits.

This was Carlson’s biggest improvement throughout the season in terms of catching the ball. The best example of this is his diving catch against the Jets for a touchdown when he was being covered heavily. As a tight end, Carlson is going to take many hits from big LBs immediately after touching the ball, that's just the nature of the tight end. Before, he would catch the ball, take a huge hit and it would pop out, but he seems to have lost that case of the drops he had during the first half of the season.

As for blocking, he improved drastically throughout the season especially in run-blocking situations, accounting for a lot of the late success the unit had with an offensive line made up of back-ups (the Seahawks used a lot of two-tight end sets in those situations).

But, there is room for improvement; it’s only his first season. His blocking, despite the arc of improvement, can still go further, especially in pass blocking situations. He was a bruiser in run blocking, but in passing situations he wasn’t always on point, letting guys run around him on occasion. But, he will improve his technique, and is essentially a dream-come-true for the Seahawks because he will become a complete tight end.

The outlook is good for him to improve in all three categories is positive. One of Carlson’s best attributes is his work ethic, so look for him to continue to improve, even if his 2009 numbers aren’t as impressive as 2008’s.
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SEAHAWKS: Rod Marinelli speaking with Seahawks, Bears

Adam Schefter from NFL Network reported that Rod Marinelli is in talks with the Seahawks. But don't get your hopes up (if they were) for Marinelli just yet. The Seahawks are competing with the Chicago Bears for Marinelli's services.

Marinelli was fired from the 0-16 Detriot Lions as head coach earlier this week. He was a a defensive line coach in Tampa Bay for 10 years, but he has never been a defensive coordinator.

To read a more extensive background of Marinelli, click here.

The current defensive coordinator of the Seahawks is John Marshall, but probably not for much longer. He took some heat this season by a few Seahawks, most notably Julian Peterson, for not utilizing the players correctly.

Read our full write-up on Marinelli and his connection to Holmgren and Ruskell here. Read more

MARINERS: Building for the Future Part II: Rotation

As Earned Run Average is concerned, the statistic hasn't been friendly to the Seattle Mariners. Pitching in Safeco Field should make pitchers better but for whatever reason, acquisitions Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista can't take advantage of the spacious park.

The Mariners scored a measly 671 runs while giving up 811, 754 of which were earned. That's a lot of unearned runs, which is the main reason why new GM Jack Zduriencik has focused on improving the defense this off season.

According to Jim Street of MLB.com, the projected Mariners rotation is Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn and Brandon Morrow. If these players play to their career averages, then just maybe we'll have a legitimate starter win double digit games.

Hernandez, who led the team with 9 wins, needs to prove he's the ace we've all been waiting for. At 175 strikeouts in 200.2 innings, Hernandez could benefit from improving his control.

While leading the team in strikeouts, Hernandez also led the team with 80 walks. Not to be outdone, Batista came in a close second with 79 with nearly 50 fewer innings pitched.

A career ERA of 4.56, Batista inflated his ERA to 6.26 in 2008. Washburn went from 4.13 for his career but spent 08 losing 14 games with a 4.69 ERA.

The most frighting stat of all however could be hits per nine innings.

After an injury plagued season, Bedard had the fewest hits per nine at a staggering 7.78.

We all know Silva is going to give up hits, probably five before throws his first pitch, but Washburn gave up 10.19 hits per nine, more than a hit per inning isn't going to get you any Cy Young votes.


Just in case anyone has forgotten the joy of watching Silva pitch, Larry Stone wrote a great article last August.

Along with Washburn's gift to hitters, he also gave up 2.93 walks per nine. To fully understand the horror Mariners fans can experience when he walks toward the mound, the opposite team can enjoy at least a hit an inning and a walk every three.

Even with the best defense in baseball, pitchers can't expect to win games if they're allowing that many base runners.

If the Mariners expect to be anything more than a cellar dweller, or the joke of the American League, oh wait that's the Detroit Tigers, then new Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair has a lot of work to do with the rotation.

Luckily for Adair, Hernandez has lowered his ERA each of the last three season while pitching more than 190 innings each year as well as lowering the amount of home runs given from 23 in 2006 to just 17 in 08.

The X Factor in all of this will be Brandon Morrow. Slotting Morrow after Washburn and Silva makes him the stop-gap pitcher. Morrow can handle the pressure of being the pitcher to stop a losing streak, and the hope is that by doing so, it will ease the rest of the staff.

The other bright spot might be in rookie Phillippe Aumont.

Here's to hoping that Silva and Washburn can turn some of those many, many losses into wins.
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SEAHAWKS: How can we contain Fitzgerald?

Happy playoff football day everyone!

Did anyone expect the Cardinals to pull off that win? I sure as hell didn't. At least Warner and Fitzgerald scored lots of fantasy points for me.

Speaking of Fitzgerald, did any of you witness that amazing 48-yard TD pass in double coverage?

Meanwhile the Seahawks are hoping Trufant can cover Fitzgerald man-on-man (this didn't work out so well last game). So how do you think the Seahawks will be able to contain Fitzgerald from demolishing them in the years to come?

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Obviously they need to double up on him more but then there's a little problem; the Cards also have Boldin (assuming he stays in Arizona). The key, as always, lies in pressuring the quarterback. We could be looking at Leinhart next year and that bodes well for the Seahawks because he is younger and more mistake prone. We should be expecting good things from LoJack next year after he steadily improved throughout the season and hopefully Patrick Kerney stays healthy because he regularly demands double teams.

If we learned anything from the first game against the Cardinals this season, we can't just sit back with a four man rush and expect success against what might be the most talented receiving corps in the league. Leinhart and Warner will turn the ball over if pressured enough, be it a fumble or a pick (see week 11.)

With pressure comes a lot of one-on-one's, which is always risky. But, if our corners step it up like we know they can (looking at you Trufant) then I think we will have something to celebrate next year when the Cards fly into town next year.
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SEAHAWKS: Reclaiming NFC West will not be so easy

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The Arizona Cardinals proved the doubters wrong and put the rest of the NFC West on notice with their 30-24 upset of the Atlanta Falcons today. The main thing the Hawks can take away from this game is that the Cardinals season wasn't a fluke, and it won't be so easy topping them for the NFC West crown next year, even if the Seahawks can quickly return to being a playoff contender.

The Cardinals have a terrific nucleus of players to build around and a young head coach in Ken Whisenhunt, who seems to be bringing a winner's mentality to the team.

Here's the caveat. While the Cardinals ran well, they did so against the league's 25th ranked run defense, and their quick, opportunistic defense was able to capitalize on a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan, who was clearly flustered in his first playoff appearance, facing a hostile crowd.

With all this in mind, perhaps the Falcons shouldn't have been so favored after all.

Even with the win though, it's doubtful Arizona gets past the second round, and there will still be plenty of question marks surrounding this team heading into the offseason. Still, you can't deny the talent they have, and so long as Kurt Warner's arm works and he's healthy, the Cardinals will be a more than formidable opponent.

The Hawks have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to catch up to the Cardinals. Hopefully, Anquan Boldin doesn't get caught up in the team's success and rescind his trade demands from this past offseason. Read more

MARINERS: Future future future

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With all this talk about building for the future, here's a top 20 list of the Mariners' minor league prospects. Infielder Carlos Triunfel is the obvious stud in Seattle's farm system, as he may be the long awaited heir apparent to Alex Rodriguez. If he and Greg Halman pan out, then that could quickly solve Seattle's lack of power hitting.

At only age 18, Triunfel is ranked 30th on milb.com's top 50 prospects. The other Mariner prospect on the list at 33 is pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who the Mariners selected 11th overall in the 2007 draft.

Whether or not the future looks bright for Seattle, The Bleacher Report continues to show love for the M's chances in 2009. With improved defense and the potential already on the roster, Ben Brown predicts a contending season for Seattle.

The preview on mlb.com is a little less rosey due to a a returning core of players who lost 101 games last season. While the core remains the same, one thing is certain, the overall identity has changed. Read more

SEAHAWKS: With Holmgren gone, what changes might Ruskell bring?

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Holmgren's out, Mora's in, and that leaves general manager Tim Ruskell as the main man in charge here in Seattle. So what exactly does that mean, if anything, to the makeup of this team?

Few can argue that one of Mike Holmgren's main flaws was his devotion to players and coaches well beyond their ability to contribute to the team in a positive manner (see defensive coordinator John Marshall). Like most general managers, Marshall has no qualms dropping a player when they grow too old or overpaid.

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With that in mind, one position I expect we see some shakeup at is quarterback. Injuries at the position this season gave us a good view of all three quarterbacks we have, and it was not pretty.

Charlie Frye, well, he sucks. I hate making such a definitive judgment, but he's had plenty of opportunity to prove otherwise and hasn't. He posted a 53.4 quarterback rating in two games this season, and in the only time he received consistent playing time--his second season in Cleveland--Frye threw 10 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. While Frye has the physical attributes to be a good fit for the West Coast offense, he just makes too many costly mistakes.

Seneca Wallace meanwhile proved he may have a future as a starter in this league. He showed improvement from the last time he received significant play time two years ago. His touchdown to interception ratio improved from 8-7 to 11-3, and he led impressive victories over the Jets and Rams. Still, Wallace's completion percentage continues to fall under 60 percent, and he lacks consistency while throwing from the pocket. By now, we all know what we have in Wallace--a great backup, mediocre starter.

Finally, this leads me to Matt Hasselbeck, who, with all due to consideration to Dave Krieg, is the greatest quarterback in Seattle history. However, he's missed significant play time in two of the last three seasons and is coming off the worst season of his career after posting a 57.8 quarterback rating in seven games. There are plenty of reasons to believe he'll come back strong next year, but for how long. He'll be 34 next season.

A position that was once locked down by a perennial Pro Bowler is now clouded with mystery as we enter the offseason. Holmgren's gone, and I doubt Mora will just hand Hasselbeck the starting job without giving Wallace a competitive shot.

Like any good GM, Ruskell knows the importance of the position, and I doubt he sits pat and watches the position deteriorate with no long-term strategy. We're still probably a few seasons away from needing a new starting quarterback, but that's why it's important to address the position soon.

A new quarterback probably won't come in the first round though. The top two quarterbacks, assuming both declare, are Sam Bradford and Matt Stafford and neither fit the Ruskell mold of tough, savvy players who produce. Bradford has the production, but he hasn't shown the consistency Ruskell likes to see with only one year starting under his belt. Stafford has the experience, but he's still drifting on potential.

Especially if he trades down from the fourth pick, I expect Ruskell to address quarterback at some point in the middle rounds. It will be interesting to see how things unfold. Whatever happens, I just hope we don't get stuck for too many years with Wallace starting at quarterback. Those could be some frustrating years. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Cardinals sell out playoff game (kinda)

Good job Cards. You won half the battle; you sold out the first playoff game you’ve had in more than 20 years. Since you couldn’t find enough people the first time, Goodell’s sympathetic hand dished out a 24-hour extension to avoid a television black out to the locals. And what kind of local would want to miss the Cardinal’s first home playoff game in more than 20 years? A bad fan, that’s who!

So after that first extension, we were all biting our nails in anticipation. Would enough people pay the $50 or more for a Cardinals playoff ticket?

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The answer was still a resounding “no” as 3,700 tickets remained of the 63,400 seats. There are only a little more than 6 million people who live in Arizona so I can imagine how it could be hard to sell out such a large stadium. I mean the poor economy has hit us all hard and to assume that about one percent of the people in Arizona would be able to afford or even want to go to a game is preposterous, to say the least.

I mean, it took the Seahawks a while to sell out their playoff tickets last year, and they have a comparable population to Arizona. What was it, like 10 minutes? But I digress…

The Cardinals wouldn’t give up, just like their fairytale 2008 campaign where they finished 9-7 while wrapping up the NFC West in a mere 14 weeks. They took down the likes of a 2-14 Rams teams, a 4-12 Seahawks team and a 7-9 Niners team to have the only winning record in the division. After beating up on those piss-poor teams six times, the Cardinals needed only two more wins to secure a playoff spot.

Like those hard fought contests, the Cardinals wouldn’t surrender to a television blackout. They lobbied and battled their way to another 24-hour extension, and like the old saying goes the third time was the charm. What amazing time, too; just a day before the big game!

The Falcon’s allotment of visitor tickets returned and are still available for purchase, as are the fancy schmancy club seats. All can be bought at www.ticketmaster.com. Keep the dream alive! Cards forever! NFC West dynasty in the making!

But in all seriousness: 40-24 Falcons.

Screenshot is from 11:35 the night before the game, click the image to enlarge.
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SEAHAWKS: Why isn't John Marshall fired yet?

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As the regular season ends all the teams that came up short try to find a way to rebuild. So, everybody fires everybody.

The Jets, Browns and Broncos all dumped their head coaches and numerous other teams fired position coaches and coordinators. Last time I check, the 4-12 Seahawks hadn’t fired anybody. Does the front office think we have the coaches of the future already in place?

For the answer...

That’s doubtful. Last Monday, Holmgren started the 10-day transition process to prep Jim Mora Jr for the head coaching job. By my calculations, that officially gives the job to Mora this Wednesday, Jan. 7. Look for the firings to begin that day or the next.

Many consider Marshall's job in jeopardy after a terrible showing by the once mighty Seahawks defense. Some players, most notably Julian Peterson, had gripes with Marshall's play calling abilities and failing to utilize the skills of certain players. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Tatupu on the decline? Naaahhh

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There’s no question that the defense struggled this season. Maybe it was the lack of size and increase in play time or maybe it was the injuries or maybe it was all just Josh Marshall’s fault. Most likely it’s a combination of all these things and more. This week we’re going to take a look at one of the key cogs in the Seahawks ill-fated 2008 defense: Lofa Tatupu. Here is a statistical breakdown of Lofa throughout the years. Click the image to enlarge.



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There’s no doubt Lofa struggled this year compared to the other three years, but he is not entirely to blame. He was playing hurt for probably the entire season. He had a cast on one of his hands for most of the season and he had a bum knee that forced him to sit out a game. I don’t care who you are, taking a guy down minus one hand is a significant disadvantage.

Tatupu has been a sure-tackler throughout his years with Seattle but he did miss a noticeable amount this year. Besides, Brian Urlacher had one less tackle than Tatupu and Urlacher played one extra game.

So, are these two players Shaun Alexandering out (playing soft after getting paid?) Urlacher and Tatupu both signed lucrative extensions this offseason. While it would make more sense for Urlacher to do that at 30 years old, it wouldn’t make much sense for Tatupu, who’s a ripe 26. Only $16 million out of $40 million of Tatupu’s contract is guaranteed so he needs to earn his keep to earn his money.

Lets just chalk up this down year to a poor team effort and injuries to our beloved middle linebacker.
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MARINERS: Daily news

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The winter meetings have passed and spring training is still six weeks away, so things are quiet on the Mariners front. What that means, is it's time for rampant speculation and some feel-good stories.

Leave it to the New York Times to top local coverage on new manager Don Wakamatsu. Some believe Wakamatsu was hired for Seattle due to his Asian heritage. Whether or not that's the case, one thing is for sure--he understands what there is to learn from his past and what it means to be the first Asian manager in Major League Baseball.

Speaking of speculation, there are rumors that Seattle may be talking with the Yankees about trading Erik Bedard for Hideki Matsui. Matsui would certainly bring power to left field, but he's 34 and has failed to appear in more than 100 games in two of the last three seasons. Trading a young starting lefty for an aging hitter is the kind of move that could bite the Mariners in the ass in a couple seasons and doesn't seem to jive with the more long-term moves general manager Jack Zduriencik has made thus far.

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Another option for left field may already be on the roster though. At least that's what Bryan LaHair thinks. It seems LaHair has been drinking the Kool Aid on himself. At six foot five, LaHair appears to be a natural power hitter, but he didn't show much in more than 100 at bats last season in his first major league appearance. LaHair was moved from outfield to first base a few seasons ago in the minors, and it's doubtful he has the defensive range Zduriencik and Wakamatsu seem to be looking for in outfield. Still, if he can find the power in the majors that he had in the minors, LaHair may make the roster and contribute, especially if Russell Branyan doesn't work out as an everyday starter.

Another player hoping for a breakout season with the Mariners is catcher Travis Scott, who spent last season at the High Class A High Desert farm club. Scott has shown promise there, and this season he hopes a fully healthy season may land him a spot on the Mariners roster. The Mariners have plenty of catchers though, especially after the recent re-signing of Jamie Burke. Best case scenario is Scott stays healthy and continues to excel in the minors, making him a solid sweetener in a trade for the Mariners. Read more

SEAHAWKS: Video of the day

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If Seneca Wallace starts, we need to see more of this. Wallace ran for about 120 yards to make a 12 yard TD.



END

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SEAHAWKS: Reading the field

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Study of Sports writes that John Carlson is Seattle's rookie of the year. Who else could it really be...?

The Bleacher Report takes a look back at the 2006 NFC Wildcard game, one of the most memorable games in Seahawks history. Thus began the legendary chokage of Tony Romo.

They also say that we are drafting Michael Crabtree with our 4th overall pick.


William Tomisser over at Seahawk Addicts takes breaks down the defensive line.

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SEAHAWKS: 2008 Qwest attendance

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While every city has their fair share of fairweather fans, Seahawks fans didn’t exhibit the normal drop in attendance typical of hopeless teams.

To Continue...

Qwest Stadium has a capacity of 67,000 with a possible 5,000 extra seats during special events. Throughout the year there was a fluctuations of 656 seats, the highest being 68,302 and the lowest at 67,616.

Here's a graph charting attendance throughout the season. Click to enlarge.












And here are the actual numbers: Niners: 67,951 – Rams: 68,012 – Packers: 68,302 – Eagles: 68,055 – Cardinals: 67,616 – Redskins: 67,771 – Patriots: 68,077 – Jets: 68,181

Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com Read more

SEAHAWKS: Top 5 plays of the year

There weren’t many plays that stood out during this 4-12 year because, well, we sucked. You know it was a tough season when some of the best highlights come out of the preseason games and Justin Forsett.

But, there were a few spectacular plays that made you long for yesteryear. Here are my top five plays of 2008.

To the top 5...

5. Branch has got some moves. We didn’t get a lot of flashiness out of the 2008 Seahawks, but Branch had a juke-filled catch and run against his former team, the Patriots. He took it for 63-yards while following blocks down the field and weaving in and out of defenders. The play set-up a four-yard fingertip TD grab to Branch to take 21-13 lead. Video

4. Josh Wilson 75-yard pick-six. Wilson jumped the route on O’Sullivan to take it to the house, and extend the Seahawks lead. Wilson seemingly lost his motor as he was about to cross the pylons when ex-college teammate Vernon Davis caught up to him to tackle him into the end zone. Video

3. Branch’s sweet TD grab against the Cards. How the hell did he get that one? Not only was it an amazing catch that could’ve been pass interference on the cornerback but Seneca Wallace stood up to make the throw, knowing he was about to be absolutely laid out by Gerald Hayes. Video

2. Koren Robinson’s 90-yard TD against the Eagles. This play was promising, but too bad we didn’t score again for the rest of the game. After exploiting some man coverage, Wallace connected with K-Rob at the 35-yard line. From there, he juked his way to the end zone after getting a key block from Bobby Engram. Video

1. Hasselbeck? More like Hasselblock. (sorry that sucked) Not only did Julius Jones bounce and spin out of tackles for a huge gain, but Hasselbeck ran the thirty yards with Jones and laid out two Rams defenders in one block, resulting in a Jones touchdown. Have any of you ever seen a quarterback do that before? Video
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SEAHAWKS: Reading the field

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Happy New Years all!

Seahawks.net looks at the possibility of drafting a quarterback in the first round.

Eric Williams points out some bowl games to watch.

Sullivan has some Seahawks links of his own.

Rob Staton reports that Chris Wells is still undecided on whether he should declare for the draft or not.

The Seahawks have a chance of coaching the Senior Bowl.

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