12th Man Rising » 2009 » February

What Happened, Reggie?

Shaun Dolence — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:09:15 +0000

Reggie Williams is interested in coming back to the Pacific Northwest to play football with the Seahawks?

“Of course, I’d like to come back and play for the Seahawks,” Reggie Williams recently told reporters, expressing a desire to play back home. “I’d definitely like to come back to the West Coast and play. It seems like I haven’t been there in so long. I went from one extreme to the next when you go from Seattle to Florida. So the West Coast is definitely an option.”

Not so fast.

As much as I’d like to see Williams, a former local prep star and Washington Husky, return to Seattle, it isn’t going to happen – not anytime soon. I wasn’t alone in my support for bringing Reggie back, either. Unfortunately for fans in the Northwest, Reggie Williams is a complete knucklehead not capable of foreseeing repercussion and consequence.

Has Reggie Williams been hanging out with Jerramy Stevens? Early Friday morning, Williams was arrested in Houston and charged with DWI and possession of marijuana. What an idiot. Being involved in an incident of this nature is mindless enough, much less DURING free agency.

… [visit site to read more]

Maurice Morris Gone

Shaun Dolence — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:00:35 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

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Houshmandzadeh in Seattle

Shaun Dolence — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:29:50 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

According to several reports, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is in Seattle today. Houshmandzadeh, considered by most to be the best receiver available in free agency, lists Seattle among his list of favorable destinations, which also includes New York (Giants), San Francisco, Miami, and Philadelphia.

Houshmandzadeh, along with his list of preferred teams, also told the media what he is looking for in a new team: a talented quarterback, a strong coach, an aggressive offensive system, and the ability to win (he HAS been stuck in Cincinnati his whole career). Unfortunately for Seattle, they’re bringing in a new head coach and staff, and finished 4-12 last season. However, they do have Matt Hasselbeck, and can offer Houshmandzadeh relocation to the west coast, where he attended college and lives in the off season.

I’m all for signing Houshmandzadeh – but at what price? As the top wide receiver available this off season, the demand for his services will likely increase his value, and someone will probably offer him a huge contract. Regardless, I would love to see him in Seattle – he would immediately improve our team and address a huge need – but there are cheaper, more efficient alternatives available.

It will be interesting to see what develops today with Houshmandzadeh reportedly in town. When pursuing attractive free agents, it has been a tendency of Paul Allen’s to not allow them to leave town without signing a contract (Chad Brown, Patrick Kerney). I’m sure Houshmandzadeh would prefer to explore other options, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Other News From Around the NFL …

Haynesworth picks Washington
Early Friday morning, Albert Haynesworth agreed to a seven year, $100 million contract (which includes an NFL-record $41 million in guarantees) with the Washington Redskins. Not a big shock, as the Redskins (and Dan Snyder) are well-known for not shying away from big price tags in free agency. Haynesworth was considered the most coveted free agent this off season, and fans of nearly every team were hoping to acquire him. According to ESPN.com, his contract can max out at $115 million with incentives, and he will earn $32 million during the first 13 months of the deal.

… [visit site to read more]

Wish List: Update

Shaun Dolence — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:16:19 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

Okay, so maybe the free agent wish list that I recently assembled was a little optimistic. Teams are beginning to focus more on retaining their … [visit site to read more]

Crabtree: And There’s More …

Shaun Dolence — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:27:15 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

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Crabtree: Additional Bad News

Shaun Dolence — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:57:14 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

The news for Michael Crabtree just keeps getting worse. During a medical exam conducted on Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine, … [visit site to read more]

Michael Crabtree Comes Up Short

Shaun Dolence — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:50:52 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

Michael Crabtree. 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. A body that resembles Larry Fitzgerald. Potential to be a dominant wide receiver in the … [visit site to read more]

Hill Tagged

Shaun Dolence — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:47:25 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

The Seahawks have designated Leroy Hill as their franchise player, which will keep him from leaving the team (without compensation) during free agency.

The franchise tag means that … [visit site to read more]

Scouting Combine on NFL Network

Shaun Dolence — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:17:13 +0000

Regarding the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, you can catch all of the coverage on the NFL Network (if you have a capable cable service provider).
NFL Network Scouting Combine Schedule:

February 20th – Senior Bowl replay @ … [visit site to read more]

Weaver Gone, Too?

Shaun Dolence — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:04:42 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

Owen Schmitt may very well be Seattle’s starting full back next year. Leonard Weaver is a free agent, and although it seems as if re-signing him is … [visit site to read more]

2009 NFL Scouting Combine

Shaun Dolence — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:48:09 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

Ah, finally – the media circus that is the NFL Scouting Combine begins today. This annual examination is where prospective players are tested, measured, and interviewed to determine their draft stock, and will ultimately affect what happens in April.

The combine, which has called Indianapolis home since 1987, will be held at recently opened Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time. Even though the event is closed to the public, it sure would be nice to see the combine rotate around other NFL cities, more of a possibility now since Indy’s contract to host the event has one year left on it.

Media access opens today, and the actual workouts begin on Saturday. Below I’ve posted a complete breakdown of the 2009 NFL Combine schedule and a list of selected participants.

… [visit site to read more]

Hill: Franchise Tag?

Shaun Dolence — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:25:02 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

February 19^th is the deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition players. The next few days are especially significant for Seahawks fans, because the franchise must decide whether it wants to designate Leroy Hill as the franchise player.

Unfortunately from what I’ve heard, it sounds as if the Seahawks are nowhere close with Leroy Hill in terms of a new contract. It is starting to look like they’ll have to either designate him the franchise player, or allow him to test the market in free agency. To make matters worse, it appears the Cardinals are leaning towards retaining linebacker Karlos Dansby by way of the franchise tag. This complicates things for the Seahawks – with Dansby off the list of unrestricted free agents, potential bidders for his services may now be more attracted to Leroy Hill should the Seahawks let him hit the market.

Because of Leroy Hill’s recent off the field incident, however, this already muddled situation has become even more complicated. I’ve already addressed my position on Hill’s minor offense in a previous post, and I haven’t changed my opinion since then. There is no way we can let Leroy Hill walk away from this organization (especially without compensation).

… [visit site to read more]

Pair of Former Seahawks Released

Shaun Dolence — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:31:37 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

The Denver Broncos have released a pair of former Seahawks: linebacker Niko Koutouvides (2004-07), … [visit site to read more]

Around the NFL

Shaun Dolence — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:12:50 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

A couple of stories from around the NFL, as the league prepares for what should be an eventful off-season:

Bengals Franchise Kicker

The Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on kicker Shayne Graham, which comes as big news to some in Seattle. Why? With the Bengals designating Graham as their franchise player, T.J. Houshmandzadeh will inevitably become a free agent. There are a lot of folks in Seattle, myself included, who wouldn’t mind seeing T.J. in blue next year. It makes sense as well; Ruskell has shown his willingness to plug holes by free agency in the past, which allows the team to draft more by talent than by need.

… [visit site to read more]

Looking Back: 2006 Draft

Shaun Dolence — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:16:57 +0000

Posted by: Shaun Dolence

The 2006 NFL Draft took place shortly after a heartbreaking loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL. In the same off-season, Seattle lost Steve Hutchinson to Minnesota in what could have been the biggest personnel blunder in franchise history, and saw big name additions in Nate Burleson (3^rd round pick surrendered to Minnesota) and Julian Peterson. For the draft, help to their defense was going to be a definite priority.

Although the Seahawks had some needs developing in some areas, they were determined to select the best athlete available. In an ideal scenario, the best player available when they picked 31^st overall would fit a position of need. Drafting by this strategy has worked well in the past, bringing players like Shaun Alexander and Steve Hutchinson to Seattle. Both played integral roles in the run to Super Bowl XL.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the 2006 draft class was unusually deep at the cornerback position, and Seattle definitely needed to bring help to the defensive backfield. Here is a look at the players drafted by Seattle that year:

Round 1
Pick (Overall)	Player	School	Position
31	Kelly Jennings	Miami (FL)	Cornerback
Round 2
63	Darryl Tapp	Virginia Tech	Defensive End
Round 4
128	Rob Sims	Ohio State	Guard
Round 5
163	David Kirtman	USC	Fullback
Round 7
239	Ryan Plackemeier	Wake Forest	Punter
249	Ben Obomanu	Auburn	Wide Receiver

This time around, Ruskell seemed to receive less criticism than the year before. Maybe after finding gems in Tatupu and Hill after the first round, Seahawks fans had more confidence in Ruskell and his staff. Analysts from all over were grading the Seahawk’s draft above average, with most grades close to B. Nothing spectacular happened, but definitely a good day for the Hawks.

The Seahawks draft was relatively easy to predict, with some writers such as The News Tribune’s Mike Sando predicting Kelly Jennings in the first round. This was because it was well documented the Seahawks were going to select the best available player, and this draft was extraordinarily deep in positions that matched the Hawk’s needs.

… [visit site to read more]