This afternoon the Seattle Seahawks informed their All-Pro left guard that they're placing the "transition" tag on him. The moves comes as somewhat of a surprise, as many people expected the Seahawks to designate Hutchinson as their "Franchise" player.
The differences between the two are:
1. Money. The "Franchise" tag comes with a 1-year, guaranteed contract equal to the average of the Top 5 salaries at that position. The "Transition" tag is a 1-year guaranteed contract equal to the average of the Top 10 salaries at that position.
2. Compensation. The "Franchise" tag deters other teams from negotiating with the player, as signing a player with that tag requires you to fork over two 1st round picks to the other team. Under the "Transition" tag rules, no compensation is awarded if the player signs elsewhere.
This is definitely a calculated risk that the Seahawks are taking. Seattle will undoubtedly match any offer that Hutchinson receives on the open market, as they have ample cap room and internally, signing Hutchinson to a long-term contract has always been the team's #1 priority for this off-season.
In the short term, they're on the hook to pay Hutchinson the terms of his transition status ($6.391M for 1 year) and by not using the franchise tag, they're saving $592,000 in cap room.
Other "Tagged" Players
Franchise
DE John Abraham, NY Jets ($8.332M)
OG Jeff Backus, Detroit ($6.983M)
CB Nate Clements, Buffalo ($5.893M)
Transition
CB Brian Williams, Minnesota ($4.774M)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
The Greedy 9
With free agency ready to begin on March 3rd, the owners and the NFLPA still have not come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. A failure to extend the current CBA, or come up with a new one, would be devastating to the NFL.
And what is keeping an agreement from getting done? An expanded system of revenue sharing.
Currently, the 32 billionaires who own and operate NFL franchises equally divide a certain portion of the league revenue. Teams share all broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing and revenue generated by visiting team's ticket sales. These elements comprise what is called the "Defined Gross Revenue", which determines what the annual salary cap is for the league.
What isn't shared is the revenue generated locally (tv/radio, ticket sales, stadium-related revenue such as parking, concessions, advertising, luxury suites), and the league and union tentatively agreed that this money should be included in the defined gross revenue. This would mean that the salary cap would go up, and by sharing the revenue, the smaller market teams could remain competitive by receiving a healthy boost from the shared money.
23 teams are on board with sharing that local revenue, and they're doing so because they recognize that it's in the league's best interest to do so. Unfortunately, there are 9 owners who aren't willing to share what they grow locally, and since the measure needs 24 "yes" votes to pass, those 9 are holding the rest of the league by the short and curlies.
So who are the 9 teams that unwilling to share locally-generated revenue? The answers are fairly obvious. Owners with teams in large media markets (like say, the two New York teams), or huge stadiums (Washington, Denver), or in stadiums that generate truckloads of cash by having high ticket prices and copious amounts of luxury suite revenue (Philadelphia, Houston, New England). You could also look at owners with a history of belligerence (Jerry Jones in Dallas) to be a part of the Greedy 9.
There's only one team rumored to be voting "No" on this issue (and I stress "rumored", since none of the teams have been confirmed publicly) whose rationale I do not understand. The Carolina Panthers, who don't play in a new stadium, nor do they sell out their stadium on a regular basis, apparently are the 9th dissenting team. Plus, they play in what is technically a small market, and would benefit greatly from this plan.
What are the ramifications of going forth without a collective bargaining agreement?
Good question. If no agreement is reached, 2007 will be an "uncapped year". Before you start thinking that a team with deep pockets can go out and buy themselves a Lombardi Trophy, there are severe restrictions in place for the "uncapped year".
For starters, there's whats called a "30% Rule", wherein a player's salary (everything except the signing bonus) cannot increase by more than 30% from the last capped season (2006) to the first uncapped year (2007) and any future years. This harshly penalizes the player, and it's presence is there for a purpose. To get the NFLPA to agree to an extension of the CBA before the current one expires.
Also, any incentives earned during 2006 would count directly in 2006, which would screw things up next month for contract negotiators since they can't move this money into 2007 (like they normally do). What this means is if a team signs a player to an incentive-laden contract, and the player meets those incentives, the team may have to release players to fit that incentive money under the 2006 cap. Again, it's set up like this to penalize the team, and to get them to the bargaining table before the current CBA expires.
There are other rule changes as well, which I won't get into at this time. Suffice to say, teams and players will be spending more on lawyers than they will on anything else, if a labor agreement isn't reached.
We're approaching zero hour, and it's time for the owners and players to get their act together. Leave it to Matt Birk, a Harvard grad, to shed some light on the current labor situation in his recent interview with PFT.com: "...but players are making a lot of money, owners are making a lot of money, and the league is as strong as it's ever been. Why would they screw everything up?"
Exactly. The league is as strong as it's ever been, and it's the model that other professional sports leagues are attempting to emulate. The current system works, and messing around with it right now makes no sense. We may never know who the 9 owners voting "No" actually are, but it shouldn't be too hard, since they're likely wearing t-shirts like this.
And what is keeping an agreement from getting done? An expanded system of revenue sharing.
Currently, the 32 billionaires who own and operate NFL franchises equally divide a certain portion of the league revenue. Teams share all broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing and revenue generated by visiting team's ticket sales. These elements comprise what is called the "Defined Gross Revenue", which determines what the annual salary cap is for the league.
What isn't shared is the revenue generated locally (tv/radio, ticket sales, stadium-related revenue such as parking, concessions, advertising, luxury suites), and the league and union tentatively agreed that this money should be included in the defined gross revenue. This would mean that the salary cap would go up, and by sharing the revenue, the smaller market teams could remain competitive by receiving a healthy boost from the shared money.
23 teams are on board with sharing that local revenue, and they're doing so because they recognize that it's in the league's best interest to do so. Unfortunately, there are 9 owners who aren't willing to share what they grow locally, and since the measure needs 24 "yes" votes to pass, those 9 are holding the rest of the league by the short and curlies.
So who are the 9 teams that unwilling to share locally-generated revenue? The answers are fairly obvious. Owners with teams in large media markets (like say, the two New York teams), or huge stadiums (Washington, Denver), or in stadiums that generate truckloads of cash by having high ticket prices and copious amounts of luxury suite revenue (Philadelphia, Houston, New England). You could also look at owners with a history of belligerence (Jerry Jones in Dallas) to be a part of the Greedy 9.
There's only one team rumored to be voting "No" on this issue (and I stress "rumored", since none of the teams have been confirmed publicly) whose rationale I do not understand. The Carolina Panthers, who don't play in a new stadium, nor do they sell out their stadium on a regular basis, apparently are the 9th dissenting team. Plus, they play in what is technically a small market, and would benefit greatly from this plan.
What are the ramifications of going forth without a collective bargaining agreement?
Good question. If no agreement is reached, 2007 will be an "uncapped year". Before you start thinking that a team with deep pockets can go out and buy themselves a Lombardi Trophy, there are severe restrictions in place for the "uncapped year".
For starters, there's whats called a "30% Rule", wherein a player's salary (everything except the signing bonus) cannot increase by more than 30% from the last capped season (2006) to the first uncapped year (2007) and any future years. This harshly penalizes the player, and it's presence is there for a purpose. To get the NFLPA to agree to an extension of the CBA before the current one expires.
Also, any incentives earned during 2006 would count directly in 2006, which would screw things up next month for contract negotiators since they can't move this money into 2007 (like they normally do). What this means is if a team signs a player to an incentive-laden contract, and the player meets those incentives, the team may have to release players to fit that incentive money under the 2006 cap. Again, it's set up like this to penalize the team, and to get them to the bargaining table before the current CBA expires.
There are other rule changes as well, which I won't get into at this time. Suffice to say, teams and players will be spending more on lawyers than they will on anything else, if a labor agreement isn't reached.
We're approaching zero hour, and it's time for the owners and players to get their act together. Leave it to Matt Birk, a Harvard grad, to shed some light on the current labor situation in his recent interview with PFT.com: "...but players are making a lot of money, owners are making a lot of money, and the league is as strong as it's ever been. Why would they screw everything up?"
Exactly. The league is as strong as it's ever been, and it's the model that other professional sports leagues are attempting to emulate. The current system works, and messing around with it right now makes no sense. We may never know who the 9 owners voting "No" actually are, but it shouldn't be too hard, since they're likely wearing t-shirts like this.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Ricky Don't Lose That Number...
Ricky Williams has reportedly violated the NFL's substance abuse policy...for the 4th time.
For his 3rd violation, Williams was forced to sit out the first month of the 2005 regular season, after returning from his 1-year, and thoroughly bizarre, retirement from the NFL. Despite Williams insistance that his return to the NFL wasn't financially motivated, rumors persisted that Williams returned to the Dolphins only to avoid paying the team the $8.3M an arbitrator awarded the team after Williams "retired".
Williams did show some flashes of his former self last season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry in his 12 games. He even scored 6 TDs, and over a full season, Williams would've approached 1,000 yards for 5th time in his career.
If this report is true, and Williams is suspended for another season, it'll be another sad chapter in what was supposed to be a very promising career. Williams dominated the college game, leading the nation in rushing in 1997 and 1998. Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998, after finishing 5th in the voting the previous year. He was a two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award, given to the best RB in Division 1 football.
His combination of size and speed, showed enough potential for Mike Ditka to mortgage his reputation along with the future of the New Orleans Saints on Williams by trading his entire draft to move up to select the RB out of Texas.
Williams struggled to adjust to life in the NFL, amassing only 1884 yards in his first two seasons combined, and missed 10 games due to various injuries. After a successful, but not spectacular 2001 season, Williams was dealt to the Miami Dolphins.
It was in Miami where Williams appeared to right himself. Williams led the NFL in rushing in 2002, racking up over 1800 yards and scoring 16 TDs. In 2003, Williams ran for nearly 1400 yards, and led the NFL in rushes for the 2nd consecutive season. Nobody in the NFL touched the ball more than Williams those two seasons, as he was also a very reliable receiver out of the backfield (246 career receptions).
Despite all his potential, Williams has appeared in only 1 playoff game (in 2000, while with the Saints) and one Pro-Bowl (following the 2002 season). As Williams approaches the dreaded age of 30 (he turns 29 this year), it's obvious that Williams will never reach the levels his talent projected.
For his 3rd violation, Williams was forced to sit out the first month of the 2005 regular season, after returning from his 1-year, and thoroughly bizarre, retirement from the NFL. Despite Williams insistance that his return to the NFL wasn't financially motivated, rumors persisted that Williams returned to the Dolphins only to avoid paying the team the $8.3M an arbitrator awarded the team after Williams "retired".
Williams did show some flashes of his former self last season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry in his 12 games. He even scored 6 TDs, and over a full season, Williams would've approached 1,000 yards for 5th time in his career.
If this report is true, and Williams is suspended for another season, it'll be another sad chapter in what was supposed to be a very promising career. Williams dominated the college game, leading the nation in rushing in 1997 and 1998. Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998, after finishing 5th in the voting the previous year. He was a two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award, given to the best RB in Division 1 football.
His combination of size and speed, showed enough potential for Mike Ditka to mortgage his reputation along with the future of the New Orleans Saints on Williams by trading his entire draft to move up to select the RB out of Texas.
Williams struggled to adjust to life in the NFL, amassing only 1884 yards in his first two seasons combined, and missed 10 games due to various injuries. After a successful, but not spectacular 2001 season, Williams was dealt to the Miami Dolphins.
It was in Miami where Williams appeared to right himself. Williams led the NFL in rushing in 2002, racking up over 1800 yards and scoring 16 TDs. In 2003, Williams ran for nearly 1400 yards, and led the NFL in rushes for the 2nd consecutive season. Nobody in the NFL touched the ball more than Williams those two seasons, as he was also a very reliable receiver out of the backfield (246 career receptions).
Despite all his potential, Williams has appeared in only 1 playoff game (in 2000, while with the Saints) and one Pro-Bowl (following the 2002 season). As Williams approaches the dreaded age of 30 (he turns 29 this year), it's obvious that Williams will never reach the levels his talent projected.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Lindsey Jacobellis
Olympic spoiler alert! Olympic spoiler alert!
If you've watched any sporting event in the last two months, you've no doubt seen US Olympic snowboarder, Lindsey Jacobellis. She can be found in the advertisement for Visa, with her coach telling her to "picture being on the winner's stand" in an effort to calm her down, and then realizing that the best way to relax an athlete is to have them imagine that their credit card was stolen.
Well, Lindsey Jacobellis learned today that Visa's seven layers of protection doesn't stop you from being a dumbass.
Well on her way to a Gold medal in the brandy-spanking new "snowboardcross" event, Jacobellis decided that winning the gold medal by a wide margin wasn't enough, and she decided to "style" her way to the finish line. What else would you expect out of a snowboarder, right?
Unfortunately, Jacobellis fell and was passed by Switzerland's Tanja Frieden, who claimed the gold medal. Frieden's boyfriend (Seth Wescott) won gold in the same event for the United States yesterday.
Way to go, Lindsey. Leon Lett needed the company.
On a side note, the snowboardcross event is wildly entertaining, and earns a "thumbs up" from this sports fan.
If you've watched any sporting event in the last two months, you've no doubt seen US Olympic snowboarder, Lindsey Jacobellis. She can be found in the advertisement for Visa, with her coach telling her to "picture being on the winner's stand" in an effort to calm her down, and then realizing that the best way to relax an athlete is to have them imagine that their credit card was stolen.
Well, Lindsey Jacobellis learned today that Visa's seven layers of protection doesn't stop you from being a dumbass.
Well on her way to a Gold medal in the brandy-spanking new "snowboardcross" event, Jacobellis decided that winning the gold medal by a wide margin wasn't enough, and she decided to "style" her way to the finish line. What else would you expect out of a snowboarder, right?
Unfortunately, Jacobellis fell and was passed by Switzerland's Tanja Frieden, who claimed the gold medal. Frieden's boyfriend (Seth Wescott) won gold in the same event for the United States yesterday.
Way to go, Lindsey. Leon Lett needed the company.
On a side note, the snowboardcross event is wildly entertaining, and earns a "thumbs up" from this sports fan.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The Blog World Welcomes....Peter Gammons
Be sure to mark February 16th on your calendars, as it was the day the most important blog was launched. Ok, maybe not. But it is the most important baseball-related blog ever launched, as it's being written by none other than Peter Gammons.
Here's the link.
Be sure to bookmark that site. Or you could bookmark this one, read the goodness, and then head off to see what Gammons has to say, as his blog link is available to the right under "Baseball Sites".
If you're a fan of Peter Gammons, you're already familiar with his famous "Diamond Notes" columns. Gorm passed this along to me a few weeks ago, and it's a site I visit once a day.
Peter Gammons Random Diamond Notes Generator
Refresh it to get brand new quips, and yes, they're all phony. Who doesn't love quotes like this "There was a lot of groaning in the Indians front office when Jhonny Peralta got through waivers without anyone claiming him. They either really want a taker for that contract, or the lukewarm gumbo they had for dinner didn't agree with them.".
Now imagine Gammons repeating that on Baseball Tonight, and therein lies the comedy.
Here's the link.
Be sure to bookmark that site. Or you could bookmark this one, read the goodness, and then head off to see what Gammons has to say, as his blog link is available to the right under "Baseball Sites".
If you're a fan of Peter Gammons, you're already familiar with his famous "Diamond Notes" columns. Gorm passed this along to me a few weeks ago, and it's a site I visit once a day.
Peter Gammons Random Diamond Notes Generator
Refresh it to get brand new quips, and yes, they're all phony. Who doesn't love quotes like this "There was a lot of groaning in the Indians front office when Jhonny Peralta got through waivers without anyone claiming him. They either really want a taker for that contract, or the lukewarm gumbo they had for dinner didn't agree with them.".
Now imagine Gammons repeating that on Baseball Tonight, and therein lies the comedy.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Spring Cleaning
It feels like April outside, so I got an early jump on cleaning up the site. Actually, I had always planned on swapping templates after football season as I felt the blue was a bit too dark and made it difficult to read. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this background better.
I'll have some updates regarding the Olympics in Turin, Italy and this weekend's great event, pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, in the coming days. I'm already looking forward to baseball season. The football season was great, but it was exhausting and baseball is a good way to relax. No better way to re-charge the batteries then spending those hot summer nights than with some ice cold beer and the Extra Innings package for DirecTV.
Oh, and as far as the NFL goes, the league's Head of Propa..err, Officiating will be on NFL Total Access tonight to tell us why the officiating in Super Bowl XL was actually, you know, good. So if you're a fan of having people pissing on your head while telling you its raining, you might want to tune in.
I'll have some updates regarding the Olympics in Turin, Italy and this weekend's great event, pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, in the coming days. I'm already looking forward to baseball season. The football season was great, but it was exhausting and baseball is a good way to relax. No better way to re-charge the batteries then spending those hot summer nights than with some ice cold beer and the Extra Innings package for DirecTV.
Oh, and as far as the NFL goes, the league's Head of Propa..err, Officiating will be on NFL Total Access tonight to tell us why the officiating in Super Bowl XL was actually, you know, good. So if you're a fan of having people pissing on your head while telling you its raining, you might want to tune in.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Thursday, February 09, 2006
It's All Lies...
On Wednesday evenings throughout the NFL season, the NFL's Head of Officiating Mike Pereira has had a weekly segment on NFL Total Access to clarify some of the officiating calls that happened in the previous week's games. As I'm sure some of you noted, Pereira wasn't on the NFL Network last night.
There's no limit to the reasons for his absence. The NFL had to shuffle back to its offices in New York City after 2 weeks in Detroit, everyone is in Hawai'i for the Pro Bowl, etc...So it's possible that they simply were not ready to give what will assuredly be a heavily scrutinized analysis of the officiating in Super Bowl XL. Not to mention that in their minds, there is no problem and that was a "well officiated game".
Denial is more than just a river in Egypt, my friends.
Look, I'm not one that believes that the game was rigged, on any level. Even with the horrible officiating, the Seahawks had several opportunities to win that game, but they didn't get it done. However, I'm morbidly curious as to what he has to say about the officiating in this game, and perhaps gain some insight into what the NFL has planned to improve the officiating after an NFL Playoff season that was full of horrible officiating.
It does concern me, as a fan, that the NFL is sounding more and more like the former Iraqi Minister of Information when it comes to explaining their officiating.
"Pass interference...#82 of the offense...10-yard penalty, repeat 2nd down"
And I know that the Steeler fans are going to point to a few of the calls that went against them. As well they should, too. They were penalized 3 times in the game for 20 yards, so sure, it's comparable.
What they're pointing to is the Jerramy Stevens "dropped" pass in the 1st quarter of a scoreless game. They feel it should've been ruled a fumble. Of course that's the same thing as taking a TD away from Darrell Jackson, and a 1st and goal from the 1 in the 4th quarter of a 4-point game. But what they miss about that blown call (and I agree it should've been ruled a fumble) is that James Farrior recovered the ball at his own 5-yard line. Farrior isn't exactly Antwan Randle-El, so at best he gets out to the 25 or 30 yard line. Two plays after that, Seattle's punter, Tom Rouen, put the ball into the end zone and the Steelers had the ball at their own 20. So at worst, the Steelers lost 10 yards of field position midway through the 1st quarter.
Hardly the same thing, but then again, this is the same group of fans that vandalized the home of the referee after the Colts-Steelers Divisional Playoff game.
There's no limit to the reasons for his absence. The NFL had to shuffle back to its offices in New York City after 2 weeks in Detroit, everyone is in Hawai'i for the Pro Bowl, etc...So it's possible that they simply were not ready to give what will assuredly be a heavily scrutinized analysis of the officiating in Super Bowl XL. Not to mention that in their minds, there is no problem and that was a "well officiated game".
Denial is more than just a river in Egypt, my friends.
Look, I'm not one that believes that the game was rigged, on any level. Even with the horrible officiating, the Seahawks had several opportunities to win that game, but they didn't get it done. However, I'm morbidly curious as to what he has to say about the officiating in this game, and perhaps gain some insight into what the NFL has planned to improve the officiating after an NFL Playoff season that was full of horrible officiating.
It does concern me, as a fan, that the NFL is sounding more and more like the former Iraqi Minister of Information when it comes to explaining their officiating.
"Pass interference...#82 of the offense...10-yard penalty, repeat 2nd down" And I know that the Steeler fans are going to point to a few of the calls that went against them. As well they should, too. They were penalized 3 times in the game for 20 yards, so sure, it's comparable.
What they're pointing to is the Jerramy Stevens "dropped" pass in the 1st quarter of a scoreless game. They feel it should've been ruled a fumble. Of course that's the same thing as taking a TD away from Darrell Jackson, and a 1st and goal from the 1 in the 4th quarter of a 4-point game. But what they miss about that blown call (and I agree it should've been ruled a fumble) is that James Farrior recovered the ball at his own 5-yard line. Farrior isn't exactly Antwan Randle-El, so at best he gets out to the 25 or 30 yard line. Two plays after that, Seattle's punter, Tom Rouen, put the ball into the end zone and the Steelers had the ball at their own 20. So at worst, the Steelers lost 10 yards of field position midway through the 1st quarter.
Hardly the same thing, but then again, this is the same group of fans that vandalized the home of the referee after the Colts-Steelers Divisional Playoff game.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Super Bowl XL: The Aftermath
In my 25 years as a Seahawks fan, I've spent many a Monday morning feeling as though I spent the day before being kicked repeatedly in the man parts by Mia Hamm. I don't really feel like that today.
It was a great season to be a Seahawks fan:
- Seattle won a franchise-record 13 games, including 11 in a row.
- Shaun Alexander was the league's Most Valuable Player.
- Alexander also set the single-season TD record (28)
- Seattle will send 7 players to the Pro Bowl.
- Seattle won it's first playoff game in 21 years.
- Seattle played in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
Winning a Super Bowl would've made this season even sweeter, but it wasn't to be. Seattle missed some opportunities, that's fairly obvious.
TE Jerramy Stevens could've been the game's MVP, but he picked the worst time to revert back to his pass-dropping days of 2002-2004. He's most likely the "goat" for the 'Hawks, but hey, one "drop" was probably a fumble as the ball was knocked out on a great play by Chris Hope. The last "drop" happened at the 3-yard line with :03 showing on the clock. Did that one even matter? I can't beat up on Jerramy, since without him, Seattle likely wouldn't have made it this far.
Losing Andre Dyson, Marquand Manuel and Rocky Bernard during the game were injuries the Seahawks could not afford...or overcome.
Overall, it was an uncharacteristic performance by the Seahawks. They could've played much, much better than they did. That said, the team did amass nearly 400 yards in total offense, including 137 on the ground, against a defense they were expected to struggle against. Penalties, both real and imagined, shot them in the foot every time they got things going in the right direction.
It's hard to not point at the officiating as a reason why the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl last night. When the officiating is that bad, that one-sided, it's next-to-impossible to ignore. And I'm not alone.
Mike Florio, Jason Whitlock, Michael Wilbon and Michael Smith all seem to think that the Seahawks were royally screwed last night. Even Skip Bayless, who all but declared war on the city of Seattle, recognizes that the Seahawks never really stood a chance with the way the officials called the game last night.
In this day and age, when the NFL is making money hand over fist, these types of things simply should not happen. NFL officials are part-time employees, and the time has come for that to stop. There's no justifiable explanation the league can give for some of the game-altering penalties called, so I'm not even sure I'd listen to what Mike Periera, the NFL's Director of Officiating, will have to say on his weekly segment on the NFL Network's Total Access. I mean, what's the point? The game is over, and there's no solace to be found in the "yeah, we kind of jobbed you on that one" after losing the biggest game in professional sports.
And furthermore, why am I even remotely surprised by this? Let's not forget that it was Steelers LB Joey Porter (speaking of which, how many times did you hear his name mentioned yesterday?) that publicly claimed the NFL wanted the Indianapolis Colts to win in their divisional playoff game. Well Joey, I think they made up for it last night, and I noticed that you had no problem kissing the Lombardi Trophy afterwards.
Even after losing the Super Bowl, I'm proud of this team. I LOVE this team, and what they accomplished in the 2005 season will never be lost on me. The season is not at all tainted by what occured last night, and I feel strongly that the Seahawks are going to back much sooner than the Steelers will be.
Heading into last off-season, the Seahawks had about $30M in cap room to spend, and 1/3 of their roster was headed towards free agency in some form, 16 of which were unrestricted, including 80% of the offensive line, their starting QB, RB, TE, DE and CB. Seattle managed to lock them all up, despite not having a personnel man in place until March.
Now this month, Seattle will have about $25M in cap room, and only a fraction of the players heading towards free agency. Who are the priorities?
The most obvious is Mike Holmgren. He's definitely coming back for 2006, but that's the final year of his contract. Paul Allen has stated that he'd like to extend his contract for a few years, but there's no telling whether or not Holmgren will be interested in coaching beyond 2006.
As far as players go:
1. Steve Hutchinson, LG. All-Pro lineman like Hutchinson don't grow on trees, and signing Hutchinson is downright vital to this offense. More so, than...
2. Shaun Alexander, RB. To outsiders, Alexander will appear to be the biggest guy the Seahawks need to ink to an extension. He's not, but signing Alexander is something the Seahawks should at least try to do. His durability and production make him less of a risk than most 28/29-year old RBs. Whether or not Alexander realizes that the best situation for him is actually in Seattle (and that offensive line), and it might be worth it to sacrifice some dollar signs to remain as successful than he would in a place like Arizona, for example.
3. Joe Jurevicius, WR. He signed a 1-year deal with the Seahawks last March, and even Mike Holmgren didn't know exactly what to do with him. Good thing they had him, though, when starters Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson went down with injuries, because the big, sure-handed Jurevicius stepped in and had some huge games for the Seahawks. He's not a guy that's going to start somewhere else, so a smart 3-year deal is something the Seahawks should absolutely get done.
4. Rocky Bernard, DT. I'm always wary of guys who have breakout seasons when their contracts are up, but you get the sense that the light bulb went off for Bernard this season. He had 8.5 sacks during the regular season, a few more in the playoffs, and the Seahawks need his pass rush up the middle. Some team will likely swoop in and make him an offer he can't refuse, but Seattle should attempt to retain the big fella.
5. Marquand Manuel, FS. With the uncertainty of Ken Hamlin's health, Manuel is a guy the Seahawks will attempt to re-sign. In his first opportunity to start in the NFL, Manuel showed that he's a pretty solid option at the position.
Other free agents the Seahawks should re-sign: QB Seneca Wallace and K Josh Brown (both are restricted), P Tom Rouen, RB Maurice Morris (especially if Alexander signs elsewhere), FB Mack Strong (if he doesn't retire), TE Ryan Hannam, S John Howell (missed him on special teams this year) and possibly WR Peter Warrick to return punts.
With ample room under the cap, Seattle is in a great position to contend for the NFC crown for years to come.
It was a great season to be a Seahawks fan:
- Seattle won a franchise-record 13 games, including 11 in a row.
- Shaun Alexander was the league's Most Valuable Player.
- Alexander also set the single-season TD record (28)
- Seattle will send 7 players to the Pro Bowl.
- Seattle won it's first playoff game in 21 years.
- Seattle played in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
Winning a Super Bowl would've made this season even sweeter, but it wasn't to be. Seattle missed some opportunities, that's fairly obvious.
TE Jerramy Stevens could've been the game's MVP, but he picked the worst time to revert back to his pass-dropping days of 2002-2004. He's most likely the "goat" for the 'Hawks, but hey, one "drop" was probably a fumble as the ball was knocked out on a great play by Chris Hope. The last "drop" happened at the 3-yard line with :03 showing on the clock. Did that one even matter? I can't beat up on Jerramy, since without him, Seattle likely wouldn't have made it this far.
Losing Andre Dyson, Marquand Manuel and Rocky Bernard during the game were injuries the Seahawks could not afford...or overcome.
Overall, it was an uncharacteristic performance by the Seahawks. They could've played much, much better than they did. That said, the team did amass nearly 400 yards in total offense, including 137 on the ground, against a defense they were expected to struggle against. Penalties, both real and imagined, shot them in the foot every time they got things going in the right direction.
It's hard to not point at the officiating as a reason why the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl last night. When the officiating is that bad, that one-sided, it's next-to-impossible to ignore. And I'm not alone.
Mike Florio, Jason Whitlock, Michael Wilbon and Michael Smith all seem to think that the Seahawks were royally screwed last night. Even Skip Bayless, who all but declared war on the city of Seattle, recognizes that the Seahawks never really stood a chance with the way the officials called the game last night.
In this day and age, when the NFL is making money hand over fist, these types of things simply should not happen. NFL officials are part-time employees, and the time has come for that to stop. There's no justifiable explanation the league can give for some of the game-altering penalties called, so I'm not even sure I'd listen to what Mike Periera, the NFL's Director of Officiating, will have to say on his weekly segment on the NFL Network's Total Access. I mean, what's the point? The game is over, and there's no solace to be found in the "yeah, we kind of jobbed you on that one" after losing the biggest game in professional sports.
And furthermore, why am I even remotely surprised by this? Let's not forget that it was Steelers LB Joey Porter (speaking of which, how many times did you hear his name mentioned yesterday?) that publicly claimed the NFL wanted the Indianapolis Colts to win in their divisional playoff game. Well Joey, I think they made up for it last night, and I noticed that you had no problem kissing the Lombardi Trophy afterwards.
Even after losing the Super Bowl, I'm proud of this team. I LOVE this team, and what they accomplished in the 2005 season will never be lost on me. The season is not at all tainted by what occured last night, and I feel strongly that the Seahawks are going to back much sooner than the Steelers will be.
Heading into last off-season, the Seahawks had about $30M in cap room to spend, and 1/3 of their roster was headed towards free agency in some form, 16 of which were unrestricted, including 80% of the offensive line, their starting QB, RB, TE, DE and CB. Seattle managed to lock them all up, despite not having a personnel man in place until March.
Now this month, Seattle will have about $25M in cap room, and only a fraction of the players heading towards free agency. Who are the priorities?
The most obvious is Mike Holmgren. He's definitely coming back for 2006, but that's the final year of his contract. Paul Allen has stated that he'd like to extend his contract for a few years, but there's no telling whether or not Holmgren will be interested in coaching beyond 2006.
As far as players go:
1. Steve Hutchinson, LG. All-Pro lineman like Hutchinson don't grow on trees, and signing Hutchinson is downright vital to this offense. More so, than...
2. Shaun Alexander, RB. To outsiders, Alexander will appear to be the biggest guy the Seahawks need to ink to an extension. He's not, but signing Alexander is something the Seahawks should at least try to do. His durability and production make him less of a risk than most 28/29-year old RBs. Whether or not Alexander realizes that the best situation for him is actually in Seattle (and that offensive line), and it might be worth it to sacrifice some dollar signs to remain as successful than he would in a place like Arizona, for example.
3. Joe Jurevicius, WR. He signed a 1-year deal with the Seahawks last March, and even Mike Holmgren didn't know exactly what to do with him. Good thing they had him, though, when starters Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson went down with injuries, because the big, sure-handed Jurevicius stepped in and had some huge games for the Seahawks. He's not a guy that's going to start somewhere else, so a smart 3-year deal is something the Seahawks should absolutely get done.
4. Rocky Bernard, DT. I'm always wary of guys who have breakout seasons when their contracts are up, but you get the sense that the light bulb went off for Bernard this season. He had 8.5 sacks during the regular season, a few more in the playoffs, and the Seahawks need his pass rush up the middle. Some team will likely swoop in and make him an offer he can't refuse, but Seattle should attempt to retain the big fella.
5. Marquand Manuel, FS. With the uncertainty of Ken Hamlin's health, Manuel is a guy the Seahawks will attempt to re-sign. In his first opportunity to start in the NFL, Manuel showed that he's a pretty solid option at the position.
Other free agents the Seahawks should re-sign: QB Seneca Wallace and K Josh Brown (both are restricted), P Tom Rouen, RB Maurice Morris (especially if Alexander signs elsewhere), FB Mack Strong (if he doesn't retire), TE Ryan Hannam, S John Howell (missed him on special teams this year) and possibly WR Peter Warrick to return punts.
With ample room under the cap, Seattle is in a great position to contend for the NFC crown for years to come.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Don't Believe the Hype
"All the critics you can hang'em...I'll hold the rope" - Chuck D of "Public Enemy"
Yes.
We're only a little bit more than 48 hours away from kickoff in Super Bowl XL and we're even closer to the end of all the hot air that so-called "experts" have been blowing in and around Detroit, Michigan.
With the notable exception of the Jerramy Stevens/Joey Porter "war of words", which did nothing more than make me wonder how the person who shot him in the ass in 2003 manage to miss that super-sized mouth, it was a boring week as far as Super Bowls go. Granted, there's still time for someone to pull a Eugene Robinson (soliciting sex from an undercover police officer), Stanley Wilson (coke binge) or Barrett Robbins (bipolar-fueled drinking binge in Tijuana) and completely submarine his team's chances of winning the game, but I wouldn't count on it, though. Both head coaches are in complete control of their teams and neither team appears to have someone that careless...or crazy.
First the links, then my obvious Super Bowl XL prediction.
John Levesque, whose photo reminds me of my Intro to Philosophy professor in college, chimes in on the whole "Porter vs. Stevens" issue, referring to Jerramy as "positively brilliant" in how he handled it. Trust me, "brilliant" and "Jerramy Stevens" rarely collided in the same sentence before this season.
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times shows why Seattle has the reputation of being an overly nice city, as he introduces you to the Joey Porter you don't know. After writing this column, I think Kelley bought Porter an ice cream cone and they may have even held hands.
No link, but the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year award went to Tampa Bay RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. Lofa Tatupu was one of the 5 finalists for the award, but he couldn't attend the press conference because he was, you know, practicing to play in the Super Bowl.
I'm linking to this story, because the people who write the headlines need "link" love, too.
Michael Smith (from Boston) has a great article about the Seahawks defense, who you most assuredly don't know too much about. What he didn't mention was this: That group is surprisingly young, and will be together in some form for a few more years.
Want to know which team people like Carrot Top, Bill O'Reilly or Vince Neil picked to win Super Bowl XL? Go here to do so.
My favorite was Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady, who picked the Steelers to win because "they are used to the cold". Ok Greg, but did you know that Ford Field is a domed stadium? And Bob Cousy picked the Steelers. We'll see if I ever hold the elevator for him again.
Mac's Much-Anticipated, Highly-Objective Super Bowl XL Prediction
I've been a Seahawks fan for 25 of my 30 years on planet Earth, so you already know who I am taking. And while my personal bias plays a role, it's not the only reason I'm making that prediction. You see, everyone wants their team to win. That's why we're fans. The difference is this: I KNOW that the Seahawks are going to win.
Why the Seahawks Will Win
- Talent. From the front office to the long-snapper, Seattle is more talented than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Right now, Seattle has the better QB (for how long, I have no idea, because Roethlisberger is going to be a very, very good QB), the better RB (Alexander is far superior to Willie Parker), the better offensive line (including the best two lineman in this game) and a better group of WRs (Ward is the best overall, but Jackson, Engram, Jurevicius and Stevens are better than Ward, Randle-El, Cedrick Wilson and Heath Miller).
Defensively, the schemes make it impossible to accurately compare who's better. But in the secondary, where both teams use similar packages, the Seahawks are slightly better than Pittsburgh in coverage, whereas Pittsburgh tackles a bit better. Plus, Troy Polamalu is an absolute demon on the field.
- Experience. Just because this is Seattle's first trip to the Super Bowl, that doesn't mean they have the least amount of experience. Five members of the Seattle Seahawks already own Super Bowl rings (Chuck Darby, Joe Jurevicius, Tom Rouen, Grant Wistrom and John Howell), whereas only one Pittsburgh Steeler (Willie Williams) has played in a Super Bowl. His team lost, by the way. On the coaching front, Seahawk coaches have 18 Super Bowl rings between them, which far exceeds the Steelers total.
- Pressure. Seattle is the underdog, the team that's merely there to keep the Steelers from feeling lonely. Everyone devalues the NFC so much, the 6th-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers are the favorites over the Seahawks, who were the best team in the NFC this year. Couple that with Porter's trash-talk and the overwhelming need to get Bettis his ring, and you can already sense that the Steelers' throats are tightening.
But What About That 3-4 Defense?
If you've been watching ESPN, FOXSPORTS or the NFL Network, you no doubt heard them wonder how can Seattle beat the Steelers' 3-4 defense. Here's a secret for you: The West Coast Offense (Seattle runs the purest form of it) was designed by Bill Walsh to beat the 3-4 defenses that was popular back in the 70s and 80s. Walsh taught Holmgren, who in turn, will teach Cowher and Dick LeBeau on Sunday night.
People will point to the way that Dallas (who, like Pittsburgh, runs a 3-4 defense) effectively stopped the Seahawks offense back in October. That's true, but Pittsburgh doesn't have the physical CBs to throw Seahawk WRs off their routes like Dallas does. Also, Seattle played that game without their top 2 WRs (Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram), who were out with injuries. Towards the end of the game, Seahawk WRs did a great job of beating the press coverage and Seattle marched 80+ yards in less than 2 minutes to tie the game, which they eventually won.
Can Seattle stop the Steelers running game?
Absolutely. While the Steelers offensive line is very talented, so is the front four of the Seahawks defensive line. Seattle is an under-sized, but fast defense, and they'll be able to get to Parker before he gets to the edge, where he's most effective. When the Steelers turn to Bettis, Seattle is quick to plug up the holes, leaving Bettis little room in which to run.
I like the Seahawks chances against Ben Roethlisberger, as well. They may not sack him, but they did a tremendous job of confusing Jake Delhomme (another Super Bowl QB) and applying enough pressure to force some bad throws, something Big Ben is already prone to do anyways.
The Steelers have several good WRs, but none with the game-changing speed of Steve Smith or Santana Moss, the two WRs that the Seahawks shut down already in the playoffs. Being able to play man coverage, and not roll coverage towards one side or the other, will allow them to be there to make plays on passes to Randle-El or Heath Miller in the middle of the field.
What's the X-Factor?
The "X-Factor" in any game is always turnovers. If either team turns the ball over a few times, they're not going to win. Both teams did a good job in terms of "Turnover Ratio" this year (Seattle was 7th, Pittsburgh 10th), so it may be more of a matter of who is more likely to turn the ball over in this one? There's no clear answer to this, but I'd feel more comfortable with Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck handling the ball than I would with Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger.
Mac's Pick
Seattle 31, Pittsburgh 16
Super Bowl XL MVP: Matt Hasselbeck
Yes.
We're only a little bit more than 48 hours away from kickoff in Super Bowl XL and we're even closer to the end of all the hot air that so-called "experts" have been blowing in and around Detroit, Michigan.
With the notable exception of the Jerramy Stevens/Joey Porter "war of words", which did nothing more than make me wonder how the person who shot him in the ass in 2003 manage to miss that super-sized mouth, it was a boring week as far as Super Bowls go. Granted, there's still time for someone to pull a Eugene Robinson (soliciting sex from an undercover police officer), Stanley Wilson (coke binge) or Barrett Robbins (bipolar-fueled drinking binge in Tijuana) and completely submarine his team's chances of winning the game, but I wouldn't count on it, though. Both head coaches are in complete control of their teams and neither team appears to have someone that careless...or crazy.
First the links, then my obvious Super Bowl XL prediction.
John Levesque, whose photo reminds me of my Intro to Philosophy professor in college, chimes in on the whole "Porter vs. Stevens" issue, referring to Jerramy as "positively brilliant" in how he handled it. Trust me, "brilliant" and "Jerramy Stevens" rarely collided in the same sentence before this season.
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times shows why Seattle has the reputation of being an overly nice city, as he introduces you to the Joey Porter you don't know. After writing this column, I think Kelley bought Porter an ice cream cone and they may have even held hands.
No link, but the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year award went to Tampa Bay RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. Lofa Tatupu was one of the 5 finalists for the award, but he couldn't attend the press conference because he was, you know, practicing to play in the Super Bowl.
I'm linking to this story, because the people who write the headlines need "link" love, too.
Michael Smith (from Boston) has a great article about the Seahawks defense, who you most assuredly don't know too much about. What he didn't mention was this: That group is surprisingly young, and will be together in some form for a few more years.
Want to know which team people like Carrot Top, Bill O'Reilly or Vince Neil picked to win Super Bowl XL? Go here to do so.
My favorite was Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady, who picked the Steelers to win because "they are used to the cold". Ok Greg, but did you know that Ford Field is a domed stadium? And Bob Cousy picked the Steelers. We'll see if I ever hold the elevator for him again.
Mac's Much-Anticipated, Highly-Objective Super Bowl XL Prediction
I've been a Seahawks fan for 25 of my 30 years on planet Earth, so you already know who I am taking. And while my personal bias plays a role, it's not the only reason I'm making that prediction. You see, everyone wants their team to win. That's why we're fans. The difference is this: I KNOW that the Seahawks are going to win.
Why the Seahawks Will Win
- Talent. From the front office to the long-snapper, Seattle is more talented than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Right now, Seattle has the better QB (for how long, I have no idea, because Roethlisberger is going to be a very, very good QB), the better RB (Alexander is far superior to Willie Parker), the better offensive line (including the best two lineman in this game) and a better group of WRs (Ward is the best overall, but Jackson, Engram, Jurevicius and Stevens are better than Ward, Randle-El, Cedrick Wilson and Heath Miller).
Defensively, the schemes make it impossible to accurately compare who's better. But in the secondary, where both teams use similar packages, the Seahawks are slightly better than Pittsburgh in coverage, whereas Pittsburgh tackles a bit better. Plus, Troy Polamalu is an absolute demon on the field.
- Experience. Just because this is Seattle's first trip to the Super Bowl, that doesn't mean they have the least amount of experience. Five members of the Seattle Seahawks already own Super Bowl rings (Chuck Darby, Joe Jurevicius, Tom Rouen, Grant Wistrom and John Howell), whereas only one Pittsburgh Steeler (Willie Williams) has played in a Super Bowl. His team lost, by the way. On the coaching front, Seahawk coaches have 18 Super Bowl rings between them, which far exceeds the Steelers total.
- Pressure. Seattle is the underdog, the team that's merely there to keep the Steelers from feeling lonely. Everyone devalues the NFC so much, the 6th-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers are the favorites over the Seahawks, who were the best team in the NFC this year. Couple that with Porter's trash-talk and the overwhelming need to get Bettis his ring, and you can already sense that the Steelers' throats are tightening.
But What About That 3-4 Defense?
If you've been watching ESPN, FOXSPORTS or the NFL Network, you no doubt heard them wonder how can Seattle beat the Steelers' 3-4 defense. Here's a secret for you: The West Coast Offense (Seattle runs the purest form of it) was designed by Bill Walsh to beat the 3-4 defenses that was popular back in the 70s and 80s. Walsh taught Holmgren, who in turn, will teach Cowher and Dick LeBeau on Sunday night.
People will point to the way that Dallas (who, like Pittsburgh, runs a 3-4 defense) effectively stopped the Seahawks offense back in October. That's true, but Pittsburgh doesn't have the physical CBs to throw Seahawk WRs off their routes like Dallas does. Also, Seattle played that game without their top 2 WRs (Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram), who were out with injuries. Towards the end of the game, Seahawk WRs did a great job of beating the press coverage and Seattle marched 80+ yards in less than 2 minutes to tie the game, which they eventually won.
Can Seattle stop the Steelers running game?
Absolutely. While the Steelers offensive line is very talented, so is the front four of the Seahawks defensive line. Seattle is an under-sized, but fast defense, and they'll be able to get to Parker before he gets to the edge, where he's most effective. When the Steelers turn to Bettis, Seattle is quick to plug up the holes, leaving Bettis little room in which to run.
I like the Seahawks chances against Ben Roethlisberger, as well. They may not sack him, but they did a tremendous job of confusing Jake Delhomme (another Super Bowl QB) and applying enough pressure to force some bad throws, something Big Ben is already prone to do anyways.
The Steelers have several good WRs, but none with the game-changing speed of Steve Smith or Santana Moss, the two WRs that the Seahawks shut down already in the playoffs. Being able to play man coverage, and not roll coverage towards one side or the other, will allow them to be there to make plays on passes to Randle-El or Heath Miller in the middle of the field.
What's the X-Factor?
The "X-Factor" in any game is always turnovers. If either team turns the ball over a few times, they're not going to win. Both teams did a good job in terms of "Turnover Ratio" this year (Seattle was 7th, Pittsburgh 10th), so it may be more of a matter of who is more likely to turn the ball over in this one? There's no clear answer to this, but I'd feel more comfortable with Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck handling the ball than I would with Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger.
Mac's Pick
Seattle 31, Pittsburgh 16
Super Bowl XL MVP: Matt Hasselbeck
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Joey Porter Is Out of Control
LB Joey Porter once again lashed out to reporters for what he perceived as a slight by one of the more famous prognosticators within the United States.
"He's too soft to say something like that", Porter fumed, before adding "You look for the guys that say something that aren't supposed to say nothing, and I feel like he definitely was out of pocket to say what he said..."
"I'm going to make sure he owns up to those words."
Porter was reacting to the news that Punxsutawney Phil had indeed seen his shadow, meaning 6 more weeks of winter.
"I've been asleep all week but now I got woke up", Porter continued, "He's been asleep all winter. He's a former first round bust who barely made plays this season."
News of a prolonged winter is disturbing to Porter, who plans to spend his week at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu by engaging in his favorite non-football activity, yelling at traffic.
Happy Groundhog Day, everybody!
"He's too soft to say something like that", Porter fumed, before adding "You look for the guys that say something that aren't supposed to say nothing, and I feel like he definitely was out of pocket to say what he said..."
"I'm going to make sure he owns up to those words."
Porter was reacting to the news that Punxsutawney Phil had indeed seen his shadow, meaning 6 more weeks of winter.
"I've been asleep all week but now I got woke up", Porter continued, "He's been asleep all winter. He's a former first round bust who barely made plays this season."
News of a prolonged winter is disturbing to Porter, who plans to spend his week at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu by engaging in his favorite non-football activity, yelling at traffic.
Happy Groundhog Day, everybody!
Thursday Morning Links
Thanks to yesterday's war of words between Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens and Steelers LB Joey Porter, the Super Bowl week got a bit more interesting. I've already linked to the story (below), but I'll just add this final word on the subject: It's utterly meaningless.
Stevens rarely covers up Walter Jones, as the 'Hawks line him up either in the slot or next to RT Sean Locklear. So it's not as though Porter is going to get a lot of opportunities to make Stevens "own up to those words", which weren't really inflammatory to begin with, this Sunday.
It's hard to ignore Porter's performance on the field this post-season. The guy has been an absolute terror. But let's be clear about Porter: He's not a two-dimensional LB. He's a pass-rushing LB, who won't kill you in the running game. He is horrible in pass coverage, barely capable of covering me, so if he wants to trail Stevens, the Seahawks would take that matchup all game long.
What's really disappointing about this is the way Porter personally attacked Stevens, who has had a fine season for Seattle, and in fact, complimented Porter's performance against Denver. But Stevens knows that Denver attempted to block Porter with a TE or a RB, which is a major mismatch, something the Seahawks will absolutely not make. Porter is going to see either Walter Jones or All-Pro LG Steve Hutchinson, and both are fully capable of turning Joey Porter into Joey Lawrence. "Whoa!", is right.
Bob Candotta of the Seattle Times checks in with a story about, you guessed it, Jerome Bettis. Again, I can't be sure, but I think he's from Detroit or something.
Jose Miguel Romero introduces people to Matthew Hasselbeck, going back to the 2001 when he was summarily booed by the Seahawks fans in Husky Stadium during his first home start. (Sadly, Romero covers the 'Hawks for the Seattle Times, and in the personal bio for Hasselbeck, neglected to mention that Matt and his wife, Sarah, have a son named Henry.)
Great story about Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, including some quotes from fellow Samoan and former USC teammate, Seahawks LB Lofa Tatupu. Polamalu, right now, is the best safety in the NFL, and you can bet that this Sunday, he'll do something that makes your jaw drop.
Longtime Seahawks beat-writer Clare Farnsworth of the Seattle-PI recalls the team's dark ages. You may know of this period, as it is generally referred to as the 1990s.
Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune ponders what winning a Super Bowl would do for Matt Hasselbeck.
Stevens rarely covers up Walter Jones, as the 'Hawks line him up either in the slot or next to RT Sean Locklear. So it's not as though Porter is going to get a lot of opportunities to make Stevens "own up to those words", which weren't really inflammatory to begin with, this Sunday.
It's hard to ignore Porter's performance on the field this post-season. The guy has been an absolute terror. But let's be clear about Porter: He's not a two-dimensional LB. He's a pass-rushing LB, who won't kill you in the running game. He is horrible in pass coverage, barely capable of covering me, so if he wants to trail Stevens, the Seahawks would take that matchup all game long.
What's really disappointing about this is the way Porter personally attacked Stevens, who has had a fine season for Seattle, and in fact, complimented Porter's performance against Denver. But Stevens knows that Denver attempted to block Porter with a TE or a RB, which is a major mismatch, something the Seahawks will absolutely not make. Porter is going to see either Walter Jones or All-Pro LG Steve Hutchinson, and both are fully capable of turning Joey Porter into Joey Lawrence. "Whoa!", is right.
Bob Candotta of the Seattle Times checks in with a story about, you guessed it, Jerome Bettis. Again, I can't be sure, but I think he's from Detroit or something.
Jose Miguel Romero introduces people to Matthew Hasselbeck, going back to the 2001 when he was summarily booed by the Seahawks fans in Husky Stadium during his first home start. (Sadly, Romero covers the 'Hawks for the Seattle Times, and in the personal bio for Hasselbeck, neglected to mention that Matt and his wife, Sarah, have a son named Henry.)
Great story about Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, including some quotes from fellow Samoan and former USC teammate, Seahawks LB Lofa Tatupu. Polamalu, right now, is the best safety in the NFL, and you can bet that this Sunday, he'll do something that makes your jaw drop.
Longtime Seahawks beat-writer Clare Farnsworth of the Seattle-PI recalls the team's dark ages. You may know of this period, as it is generally referred to as the 1990s.
Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune ponders what winning a Super Bowl would do for Matt Hasselbeck.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
It's on....
Joey Porter isn't happy that Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens is confident that the Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl this Sunday. That irks Joey Porter, who before he got his reputation as a trash-talkin' LB, was most known for getting shot in the ass outside of a Colorado bar in 2003.
Read Stevens' comments, and tell me what's so inflammatory about them. I don't see what the big deal is, but if this is what "Joey" needs to get up for the big game, so be it. He's matched up against LT Walter Jones, which is like entering the NFL's witness protection program.
Maybe knowing this is your fan base is what really bothers Porter.
Read Stevens' comments, and tell me what's so inflammatory about them. I don't see what the big deal is, but if this is what "Joey" needs to get up for the big game, so be it. He's matched up against LT Walter Jones, which is like entering the NFL's witness protection program.
Maybe knowing this is your fan base is what really bothers Porter.
Wednesday Morning Links
Media Day at the Super Bowl was yesterday, and as expected, it was a circus like atmosphere. OL Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack was given an award by Entertainment Tonight for "Person Most Likely to Endorse the Other White Meat", and was asked by another reporter how loud he farts. Yep, that's the media for ya.
Mike Sando has a story on how Paul Allen hopes to extend Mike Holmgren's contract for a few more years. In 2006, Holmgren will be entering his 8th and final season of his contract, and is set to earn $10M.
This link (audio link) is of the "Jimmy Jam Network" (Seahawk DBs Etric Pruitt and Jimmy Williams) joining reserve CB Michael Harden, who was being interviewed by the sultry Melyssa Ford of the BET. How good is life for Michael Harden these days? I'm sure none of you know his story, but he was with the Seahawks in training camp, was cut and bounced around the NFL all season. He was released from the New England Patriots practice squad in early December, but when the Seahawks lost Andre Dyson to an ankle injury, they quickly signed him to their own practice squad, promoting him to their active roster a few days later. He won't be active for the Super Bowl, but have his arm around Melyssa Ford is a pretty consolation prize.
The Jimmy Jam Network also had some fun with defensive coordinator Jim Marshall, and even "comedian" Gilbert Gottfried.
Clearly Etric Pruitt and Jimmy Williams, who play primarily on special teams, had a lot of fun on Media Day. Big thanks to Mike Sando (whose blog is linked to at the right) for having the presence of mind to make these available on the web. They are quite hilarious.
You need a subscription to Sports Illustrated to know why Rick Reilly thinks Seattle sucks at sports. Funny he mentions this, because I'm usually of the opinion that Reilly sucks at life.
(Ironically, Reilly mentions that the last Seattle professional sports team to win a championship was the 1979 SuperSonics. That's true, for the most part. The 1991 Washington Huskies did win half the National Championship, and who could forget the WNBA's Seattle Storm winning the 2004 title?
Oh, and the last time a Pittburgh team won a sports championship? The 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, which is at least equivalent to the Huskies co-national championship or the Storm winning the WNBA crown. They don't have an NBA team, the Pirates haven't won anything since...1979.
As for the Steelers, the last time they won a Super Bowl was in 1978. Seattle joined the NFL in 1976, so why is it that Pittsburgh needs the Lombardi trophy more than Seattle? Well, have you even been to Pittsburgh??)
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times spent his Media Day profiling the best French-Canadian long-snapper in history of the NFL, J.P. Darche.
If you're planning on watching the Super Bowl with me, be sure to bone up on your Seahawks-themed cocktails. I'll take a 12th Man Margarita, but don't tell Texas A&M, ok?
And finally, we've got the perfect undershirt for the 20 or so members of the Jerome Bettis Fanclub (ok, the Pittsburgh Steelers) who wore throwback Notre Dame Jerome Bettis jerseys when they arrived in Detroit on Monday. As you know, the sign "Play Like a Champion Today" graces the locker room walls in South Bend, Indiana, but Ben Roethlisberger prefers to honor Notre Dame (not his alma mater) in a slightly different way.
This is an undated photo of Big Ben, so there's no telling when this may have been taken other than late at night, and after Roethlisberger downed several cocktails. His t-shirt reads "Drink Like A Champion Today", which he no doubt purchased at Spencer Gifts when he was at the mall pretending to be Brian St. Pierre.
You can view several other photos (some rather blurry) of the Steelers QB in action at this part here, including a nice shot of him pouring the bottle of booze directly into one of the mouths of one of the Sunday School teachers he was partying with.
Mike Sando has a story on how Paul Allen hopes to extend Mike Holmgren's contract for a few more years. In 2006, Holmgren will be entering his 8th and final season of his contract, and is set to earn $10M.
This link (audio link) is of the "Jimmy Jam Network" (Seahawk DBs Etric Pruitt and Jimmy Williams) joining reserve CB Michael Harden, who was being interviewed by the sultry Melyssa Ford of the BET. How good is life for Michael Harden these days? I'm sure none of you know his story, but he was with the Seahawks in training camp, was cut and bounced around the NFL all season. He was released from the New England Patriots practice squad in early December, but when the Seahawks lost Andre Dyson to an ankle injury, they quickly signed him to their own practice squad, promoting him to their active roster a few days later. He won't be active for the Super Bowl, but have his arm around Melyssa Ford is a pretty consolation prize.
The Jimmy Jam Network also had some fun with defensive coordinator Jim Marshall, and even "comedian" Gilbert Gottfried.
Clearly Etric Pruitt and Jimmy Williams, who play primarily on special teams, had a lot of fun on Media Day. Big thanks to Mike Sando (whose blog is linked to at the right) for having the presence of mind to make these available on the web. They are quite hilarious.
You need a subscription to Sports Illustrated to know why Rick Reilly thinks Seattle sucks at sports. Funny he mentions this, because I'm usually of the opinion that Reilly sucks at life.
(Ironically, Reilly mentions that the last Seattle professional sports team to win a championship was the 1979 SuperSonics. That's true, for the most part. The 1991 Washington Huskies did win half the National Championship, and who could forget the WNBA's Seattle Storm winning the 2004 title?
Oh, and the last time a Pittburgh team won a sports championship? The 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, which is at least equivalent to the Huskies co-national championship or the Storm winning the WNBA crown. They don't have an NBA team, the Pirates haven't won anything since...1979.
As for the Steelers, the last time they won a Super Bowl was in 1978. Seattle joined the NFL in 1976, so why is it that Pittsburgh needs the Lombardi trophy more than Seattle? Well, have you even been to Pittsburgh??)
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times spent his Media Day profiling the best French-Canadian long-snapper in history of the NFL, J.P. Darche.
If you're planning on watching the Super Bowl with me, be sure to bone up on your Seahawks-themed cocktails. I'll take a 12th Man Margarita, but don't tell Texas A&M, ok?
And finally, we've got the perfect undershirt for the 20 or so members of the Jerome Bettis Fanclub (ok, the Pittsburgh Steelers) who wore throwback Notre Dame Jerome Bettis jerseys when they arrived in Detroit on Monday. As you know, the sign "Play Like a Champion Today" graces the locker room walls in South Bend, Indiana, but Ben Roethlisberger prefers to honor Notre Dame (not his alma mater) in a slightly different way.
This is an undated photo of Big Ben, so there's no telling when this may have been taken other than late at night, and after Roethlisberger downed several cocktails. His t-shirt reads "Drink Like A Champion Today", which he no doubt purchased at Spencer Gifts when he was at the mall pretending to be Brian St. Pierre.You can view several other photos (some rather blurry) of the Steelers QB in action at this part here, including a nice shot of him pouring the bottle of booze directly into one of the mouths of one of the Sunday School teachers he was partying with.
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