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Running Backs

Starters

Out of all the wheeling and dealing that John Schneider has done since he took over as general manager, his finest moment to date has to be engineering that trade with Buffalo partway through the 2010 season that brought Marshawn Lynch to the Pacific Northwest in exchange for a fourth and a fifth round choice.  Seriously, landing someone that young and talented in a trade is about as common as having a unicorn show up on your doorstep; landing that same player with nothing more than two mid-round picks is like having a unicorn show up on your doorstep carrying a basket filled with red emeralds and winning lottery tickets.  And yes, I realize that for some inexplicable reason I am using unicorns to illustrate a point in an article about football, and for that I promise that I will feel very slightly ashamed at some later date¹.

I can’t stress enough how exceedingly rare a player like Lynch is.  His combination of tackle-breaking power, breakaway speed, and instinctual field awareness are a privilege and a joy to behold, doubly so because we get to see him showcase his talents in a Seahawks jersey.  No one runs on the 49ers for 100+ yards, but Lynch does.  No one can move a swarming, angry mass of blockers and defenders for three or more yards to get the ball across the first down marker, at least not on a regular basis, but Lynch does.  No one rams his way through a couple of linebackers and then outruns the defensive backs to the end zone, but Lynch does.  All that, and he’s only 26 years old.  Does it get any better than that?

Fullback Michael Robinson gets a lot of accolades for his lead blocking, and rightfully so.  Focus in on him on tape sometime, the man’s technique is superb.  He was also pretty handy in short yardage situations, converting six of his seven carries on 3^rd & ≤1 during the regular season, and he also managed to catch 11 of the 13 passes thrown his way for a team-leading catch percentage of 84.62%.  However, only half of Robinson’s playing time came on offensive plays; of the 628 snaps he played this season, 299 of them came on special teams².  I know fullbacks are supposed to be going extinct, but I have a hard time believing that lead blockers with skill sets as versatile as Robinson’s will ever die out completely.

Backups

Robert Turbin didn’t get a lot of playing time in 2012, but he showed enough potential in the few touches he received to make me hope we’ll see more of him in 2013.  He isn’t the bruiser that Lynch is, but he’s much faster than I thought he would be when he was taken in the draft and he really shines as a receiving option out of the backfield.

Leon Washington is a running back, or at least that’s what it says on paper, so I’m listing him here with the other running backs.  I’m halfway convinced, however, that he should be listed with the specialists instead.  A full 141 of the 200 total snaps Washington played in 2012 were on special teams, where his ability as a return man more than justified his unusually high price tag for a backup RB³.  Thanks to the top scoring defense in the league, Washington didn’t get nearly as many opportunities to return kicks in 2012 as he did in his two previous seasons with Seattle (27 returns, as compared to 43 in 2011 and 57 in 2010), but he made the most of them by averaging 29 yards per return (3^rd best in the league) and scoring his eighth career return touchdown.

Derrick Coleman spent at least part of the year on the Seahawks’ practice squad, and he will be going to training camp with them this offseason after signing a reserve/futures contract back in January.  Coleman projects to be an understudy for Michael Robinson as an athletic fullback and special teams ace (he was second team All-PAC-12 as a special teamer with the Bruins).  He’s hearing impaired, for which he compensates on the field by wearing hearing aids and reading lips, and he has a reputation for being a tough, mature, high-character player.  His ability to play in the NFL will probably depend heavily on whether he can add enough muscle to his frame to be an effective lead blocker, but Coleman might just end up being a fan favorite in camp this year.

Kregg Lumpkin and Vai Taua were basically fighting for the same job last offseason, as both are big running backs who have the versatility to play fullback, too.  Taua ended up getting injured in the final preseason game and has yet to be offered an invite to this year’s camp, but I liked him enough that I hope he gets another chance to land a roster spot.  Lumpkin ended up earning a spot on Seattle’s final roster, but was never activated for a game and was eventually cut a couple weeks into the season to make room for an injury replacement signing.  He later signed with the Giants and played in five games for them, but according to Baltimore Sun reporter Aaron Wilson the team has already told him that they have no interest in re-signing him for next year.  Honestly, I liked Taua a whole lot more than I did Lumpkin (he’s a harder runner, for one), and it wouldn’t break my heart to see Lumpkin go to camp elsewhere this year.

Free Agents

The only reason I can think of for the Seahawks to sign a free agent running back or two is if they want to grab a couple of camp bodies in preparation for this year’s offseason training regimen.  That’s a good thing, because the sorts of running backs who become available in free agency each year are not players you want to have on your roster if you can help it.  Playing running back is a young man’s game, and backs who are available to shop themselves around to other teams are generally too old or broken down to be useful anymore, or if they’re still young without a lot of wear and tear then you can almost bet the farm that they either have serious, crippling issues or that they’re simply not very good.

This year’s crop of RB free agents are either good players who are almost definitely going to re-sign with their old team (Danny Woodhead, Darius Reynaud) or the usual mix of too old (Steven Jackson, Michael Turner), too broken (Brian Leonard, Felix Jones), too ineffective (Jackie Battle, Reggie Bush), or too screwed up (Peyton Hillis, Cedric Benson) to be worth signing.  One of the few exceptions is Tyrell Sutton, who the Seahawks released in their final cutdown last offseason.  He isn’t terribly big (5’8”, 211 lbs) or fast (he runs the forty in 4.75 seconds), but he’s a great receiver and he’s a more powerful runner than his size would seem to indicate, as he proved last preseason by gaining 59 yards on 7 carries.  If he shows up on special teams and can improve in pass protection he could once again have an outside shot at a roster spot, assuming that Carroll and Schneider feel like extending him an invite to this year’s camp.

On a semi-related note, I noticed that Jerome Harrison appears on Rotoworld’s list of 2013 free agent RBs.  For those of you who don’t remember him, Harrison was brilliant when he finally got a chance to start a whole season his senior year at Washington State back in 2005 (he broke WSU’s single season rushing record, for one), but after he hit the pros he ended up inexplicably buried on the depth chart in Cleveland for years.  For a long time there I hoped the Seahawks would make a trade for him so we could have a better RB to root for than Julius “Run to Darkness” Jones, but alas.  When Harrison was finally given a real chance to play for the Browns in late 2009, he broke Jim Brown’s franchise record for most rushing yards in a single game.  Naturally, the Browns rewarded him by trading him to Philadelphia in 2010, where he sat on the bench behind LeSean McCoy. 

In 2011, he signed with the Lions, who then traded him back to the Eagles.  However, that trade was voided when a physical revealed that Harrison had a brain tumor, after which Detroit promptly placed him on IR.  There were serious complications during the surgery to remove the growth, but Harrison survived.  He was quadriplegic following the operation and suffered a series of minor strokes (assuming there is such a thing as a “minor” stroke), but today the guy is walking around and even making some noise about maybe trying to play football again.  It’s incredible that he didn’t end up in the obituaries, and now his name is showing up on a list of potential free agents, even if he most likely won’t ever return to the game.  (To Detroit’s credit, they’ve been helping Harrison out by sending him a paycheck these past two years by keeping him on their IR list.)  For a more in-depth story on him, check out this article on MLive.com by Anwar S. Richardson.

Keep on keepin’ on, Harrison.  For what it’s worth, the first thing I always did on Madden’s franchise mode was make a trade to put you in a Seahawks uniform.  You helped me bring a lot of digital Lombardi trophies home to the Pacific Northwest.

Tight Ends

Starters

After spending most of the previous year hanging back in pass protection to shore up a patchwork offensive line, Miller entered the 2012 season with a lot of folks loudly questioning the wisdom of paying $6 million for a guy who caught just 25 passes in 2011.  This time around he’s scheduled to make $9.8 million, but after the season he just had I don’t think there’s a Seahawks fan alive who thinks that isn’t money well spent.

He still did plenty of in-line blocking for Seattle in 2012 (he’s pretty great at it, after all), but he also became an increasingly bigger part of the passing game as the season wore on.  According to my numbers, Miller had a 71.70% catch rate (38 receptions on 53 targets), which was the highest percentage among all the tight ends and wide receivers on the team, and he was at his best when Wilson targeted him on deep passes (11 receptions on 15 targets for a 73.33% catch rate).  He’s a strong route runner, he’s just fast enough to get behind safeties up the seam, and he showed off his great hands and body control on catches all season long, most notably on a go-ahead TD reception in the fourth quarter of the game versus the Lions.

Also, if you’re worried about Miller becoming prohibitively expensive after this season, I’ve got some good news for you.  The way his contract is structured, the 2013 season is his biggest payday by far.  After this season, his salary drops to $5.8 million in 2014, then drops again to $4.8 million in 2015.  Whoever Miller’s agent is, he’s damned good at his job.

Backups

Anthony McCoy was heralded as a sixth-round steal in the 2010 draft, but you wouldn’t have known it from watching him play those first two seasons.  He didn’t record a single catch his rookie year, and in 2011 he caught just 13 of the 24 passes that targeted him for a dismal 54.17% catch rate.  He was a strong blocker, but one with zero consistency; in some games he dominated with crushing blocks, but in several others he seemed to miss almost as many blocks as he made.

Luckily for McCoy, 2012 was something of a breakout year.  He routinely made key blocks and didn’t miss often, and he improved in the passing game with 18 catches on 28 targets for a 64.29% catch rate (ESPN’s stats have him at just 27 targets, which would improve his catch rate to 66.67%).  He still isn’t a strong enough receiver to give the Seahawks the one-two receiving TE punch they envisioned when they originally signed Miller to pair with the since-departed John Carlson, but he’s no longer a liability in that phase of the game, either.

Evan Moore was signed at the beginning of the season to potentially become that receiving threat, but he failed miserably, catching just one of six targets in limited playing time (and wiping out a second catch with a painfully blatant offensive pass interference penalty).  He was released following the game against the Bills in week fifteen, after which the Eagles signed him to a two-year deal for the veteran minimum.  As the cherry on top of the hugely disappointing sundae that was his 2012 season, he dropped a pass in Philadelphia’s week 16 game, then was an injury scratch for their season finale.  Amazingly enough, he’s still under contract with them for next year.

I like Cameron Morrah’s potential, but he can’t seem to stay healthy.  His blocking skills seem to be limited, but he’s a deceptively fast, athletic receiving threat in the mold of a Jimmy Graham or Kellen Winslow, Jr.  Eric Williams over at the Tacoma News-Tribune seems to believe there’s a good chance Morrah will re-sign with Seattle and go to camp with them, but I think the coaching staff will likely decide that he hasn’t done enough in his four seasons with the Hawks to warrant another opportunity.

If Morrah doesn’t return, the third TE spot will be wide open for either Sean McGrath, Cooper Helfet, or Darren Fells to secure, with McGrath being the likeliest of the three to take the job.  He’s just fast enough to get the job done and he looked competent as a blocker in preseason action, but the main thing working in his favor is that he has good hands.  The word all through last training camp was that McGrath was a favorite target of all three QBs that were on the roster.  Apparently he can also long snap, so I suppose there’s that, too.

Cooper Helfet had positive reviews all through training camp last year and looked good as a receiver in preseason action, but McGrath’s presence on the team stole some of his thunder.  Still, he persevered on the practice squad throughout 2012 and he’s been invited to this year’s camp on a reserve/futures contract.

At 6’7” and 280 lbs, Darren Fells is an intriguing physical specimen, but he also hasn’t played football since he left high school seven years ago.  Instead, he opted to play basketball in college, then spent the past three years as a pro basketball player overseas (¡Segui a Libertad de Sunchales!⁴).  He clearly impressed the coaches enough to give him a tryout, and Antonio Gates is living proof that basketball players can excel as tight ends even if they never played college football, but Fells is still a long shot to make the team.

Free Agents

Next to running back, tight end is probably the diciest position to pick up in free agency.  By its very nature, the position lends itself to injury -- they’re asked to block like linemen but don’t have a lineman’s strength or size, and they can count on getting slammed by a linebacker or safety nearly every time they make a reception.  There are still quality signings to be made (see Miller, Zach), but you have to wade through a lot of injury-plagued detritus to find it (see Heap, Todd).

The Seahawks are definitely in the market for a tight end with stronger receiving skills than McCoy’s to pair with Miller.  Jared Cook is probably the top free agent TE available this year, but he’s almost certain to want more money than Seattle can afford to pay him, plus there’s a better than average chance that he’ll just re-sign with the Titans after spending a few days driving up the price for his services. 

Thankfully, there are a few more economical options available this year like Martellus Bennett, Brandon Myers, and Dustin Keller.  Bennett was an immature, underachieving jackass throughout his four years with the Cowboys, but he shut up and played reasonably hard last year for the Giants. 

Myers was brilliant last year with the Raiders, but that may simply be an indication of how weak the rest of Oakland’s receiving threats were.  He’s pretty average in terms of physical ability, and he was a virtual non-factor his first three seasons with the silver and black. 

Keller missed half the season for the Jets last year with injuries, but he was highly productive in his four seasons prior to that.  New York is expected to take a pass on him, and there’s a possibility he could be picked up on the cheap.  Assuming he’s healthy enough to revert to form, Keller would be a dangerous new weapon for Seattle’s passing game.

Wide Receivers

Starters

Because of his stats, a lot of people seem to believe that Sidney Rice is not playing like the number one receiving threat the Seahawks are paying him to be.  Had he suffered through another injury-riddled season like he did in 2011, I would probably agree, but he didn’t.  Instead, he didn't miss a single game, and in all the coach’s tape I watched during the 2012 season I saw a receiver who sure as hell looked like he was playing like a number one wideout.  He doesn’t have blazing speed, but his exceptional body control and ability to shield defenders away from the ball are well worth the price of admission.

I would also argue that Rice’s receiving numbers are artificially low. The Seahawks threw the fewest passes in the NFL -- 79.5 fewer attempts than the league average of 338.5, to be exact -- and Wilson overthrew Rice on more than a few deep passing attempts.  His catch rate of 62.5% on short passes is still a bit too low for comfort (25 receptions out of 40 targets), but not so low that I think the team would be better off finding someone else instead.

Golden Tate had a great year for the Seahawks, especially in the short passing game (36 receptions on 45 targets for a catch rate of 80%), but after watching him struggle badly through his first two seasons I’m going to need to see him prove he can do it again in 2013 before I start to believe he’s capable of being the starter for the long run.  Like Miles Austin over in Dallas, Tate is essentially a wide receiver who is built like a running back, and he’s at his most dangerous when he gets the ball in his hands with enough room to make some moves.  He’s exceptionally good at high-pointing the ball over the heads of defenders, and his ability to pirouette his way out of tackles is notable both because he’s so damned good at it and because he never seems to catch his cleats in the ground and tear out every ligament in his knee and ankle when he does it.  Again, I’m not convinced yet that he’s a long term answer, but I’d love for him to prove me wrong.

Technically Doug Baldwin isn’t a starter, but slot receivers are so important to the modern passing game that I’m listing him as one anyway.  Baldwin was hampered by injuries throughout the season, and there was a long, difficult stretch there where he dropped a whole lot of passes.  Injuries are a problem for most slot guys, but if he can stay healthier and build some of his confidence back up he should hopefully be able to get right back to being one of the best slot receivers around.  Baldwin has a knack for settling into soft spots in zone coverage, and he isn’t intimidated easily by big hits from linebackers and other defensive behemoths.

Backups

If someone had asked me back in 2006 to pick the player most likely to still be on the roster in 2013, Ben Obomanu would definitely not have been my choice.  Hell, he probably wouldn’t have even been one of my top fifty choices, and yet here he is.  Obomanu is a solid receiver, thanks in large part to his picture-perfect route running, and when he sees time on the field he gets behind defenses far more often than you would expect from a guy with his average speed.  His real saving grace, though, is his solid play on special teams.  In short, Obomanu is exactly the sort of dependable, Swiss army knife player that teams look for to fill out the lower reaches of the depth chart.

The main thing working against Obomanu staying on for an eighth season with the Seahawks is the $2.3 million he’s scheduled to make this year.  I fully understand why the team signed him to that deal.  At the time, he was coming off a strong 2010 campaign in which he emerged as one of the team’s only reasonably healthy and halfway reliable receiving options so the team didn’t want to lose him, and giving him that contract served notice to the rest of the league that Seattle is a place where players who produce get the reward they’re due when it comes time to negotiate a new contract.  The question is, is his value to the team in 2013 still high enough to pay him that much money?

Out of all the backup receivers who played for Seattle in 2013, Charly Martin is my favorite.  He’s the only player on the roster other than Baldwin who seems to have any feel at all for the slot, he’s a surprisingly effective blocker in the run game, and he gets open more often than you would expect from a guy with his limited physical ability.  Admittedly, I have a weakness for try-hard underdogs like Martin, but I really do think he has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.  If Obomanu ends up on the outs, Martin would be my pick to replace him.

Jermaine Kearse is a raw but supremely athletic player who could be phenomenal if he can manage to learn to do all the little things it takes to succeed as a wide receiver in the pros.   My main concern with him is his hands, as he seems to drop a lot of passes that should have been easy receptions (that seemed to be his main problem in college, too).  If he can improve in that area, he has a shot at being the team’s next Golden Tate; if not, he’ll probably be the next Deon Butler instead.

Speaking of Butler, I highly doubt he’ll be returning.  He’s tough and exceptionally fast, but he doesn’t catch the ball consistently enough to justify keeping him on as a situational deep threat.  He was only brought back late in the 2012 season as an injury replacement, and while there’s an outside chance he could get an invite to camp this year I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes elsewhere.  Butler is a restricted free agent, which gives the Seahawks the right of first refusal, but as far as I can tell they’ve chosen not to present him with a qualifying offer sheet.

Phil Bates and Bryan Walters both spent time on the Seahawks’ practice squad last year, and both will be attending camp after being signed to reserve/futures contracts.  Bates generated a lot of buzz in camp last year for catching every ball that came even remotely close to him, but he ended up being cut after failing to do anything noteworthy during the preseason.  If he shows up this time, he’ll have an outside shot at a roster spot.  Walters looked promising in two seasons with the Chargers’ practice squad (apparently he was athletic enough to play Tim Tebow during scout team scrimmages), but last year failed to make the cut in Minnesota.  Past that, I don’t really have much information on the guy.

The Seahawks signed Stephen Williams the week of their divisional playoff game against the Falcons.  He looked promising as an undrafted rookie in preseason action with the Cardinals in 2010, but injuries and mental errors soon dropped him to the bottom of the depth chart.  He’s a mildly promising prospect if he can stay healthy, but that’s about all I’m willing to give him for now.

Braylon Edwards made a couple of nice plays for Seattle last year, but multiple dropped passes and a bum knee eventually resulted in his being released.  He was snapped up by his old team the Jets after the Hawks cut him, and he’s likely to sign a veteran minimum deal to remain there.  No loss there.

Free Agents

I’m rather ambivalent about the wide receivers available this year in free agency.  Part of that is because I don’t think the Seahawks necessarily need to sign a free agent WR, but also once you get past the big-money guys (Wes Welker, Mike Wallace, Brandon Gibson) there really aren’t any clear cut value choices out there.  Mark Clayton appears to be ready again after sitting out last year with knee problems, but he’s 30 and has never really lived up to his potential.  Greg Camarillo has some value as a possession receiver, but I don’t think he brings anything to the table that Obomanu and Martin don’t have.  Everyone else seems to fall into the usual avoid-‘em-if-you-can categories of has-beens, never-will-bes, the perpetually injured, and head cases.

*        *        *

¹ Note: this will probably not actually happen.  As it so happens, I’m remarkably impervious to any and all feelings of guilt.

² All data on snap counts in this article is courtesy of this handy sortable page Football Outsiders has on their website.

³ I know I’ve said in the past that the new kickoff rules made Washington a bit too overpriced to keep, but he proved me dead wrong this season.  A guy like that is a weapon worth holding on to.

⁴ I have no idea if this usage is even close to correct, so I apologize if I’ve just accidentally insulted everyone’s mothers or something.

Okay, now that I’m done with an unscheduled few weeks’ off from, well, everything (short explanation: heavy furniture + back problems = ouch) it’s time to start talking about the Seahawks’ offseason plans.

First off, the good news: Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s rebuild is finished, or at least as close to finished as a team overhaul ever gets.  Earning a playoff berth after a 7-9 season in 2010 might have been highly improbable, but there’s nothing fluky about the 2012 team going 11-5 in the regular season and coming within thirty seconds of beating out Atlanta in the playoffs for the right to duel San Francisco for a Super Bowl berth.  Barring injury, this is a team that is set up for success for many years to come.

Among other things, that means we can all say goodbye to the days of madly scrambling to unearth a few semi-warm bodies to fill a talent-bereft roster, and good riddance to them.  Schneider and his scouting staff are still going to be searching far and wide for those diamonds in the rough and surprising choices we’ve all come to expect from them (case in point being the recent signing of pro basketball player Darren Fells as a developmental tight end prospect), but on the whole I wouldn’t expect to see a whole lot of movement on the roster this year.  Carroll’s “always compete” mantra side, there simply aren’t that many roster spots that are realistically up for grabs, and most of the ones that are open are backup positions.

We know Schneider prefers to build through the draft, and when free agency begins next Tuesday I don’t expect to hear the Seahawks name come up during the first round or so of pricey, high-profile signings.  That said, tthe $41 million contract Sidney Rice signed back in 2011 proves that Schneider is willing to whip out the checkbook if the right player comes along, and this year he’s got plenty of extra cap room to work with thanks to this gem buried in Article 13, Section 6(b)(v) of the collective bargaining agreement:

Carrying Over Room.  A club may “carry over” Room from one League Year to the following League Year by submitting notice in writing signed by the owner to the NFL no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the start of the next League Year indicating the maximum amount of Room that the Club wishes to carry over.

Simply put, if your team finishes the season under the salary cap, you can raise your cap for next season by the amount you didn’t spend.  Without that pretty little chunk of legalese, the Seahawks would be headed into 2013 with a measly $5.4 million in cap space.  Instead, they get to carry over $13.2 million they didn’t spend in 2012, which raises their 2013 grand total to $18.6 million.  Joke about lawyers all you want, but sometimes they come up with stuff that just plain rocks.

Anyway, starting today and leading up to the beginning of free agency on the 12^th I thought I’d spend some time breaking down the current roster to see what the contract situations are at each position.  How much money do the Hawks have tied up at each position?  Who’s likely to be re-signed?  Is anyone making more/less than they deserve?  Are there any better and/or cheaper alternatives hitting the market this year? Let’s find out, starting with the quarterbacks and the offensive line.

Quarterbacks

(Updated 3/8/13 at 1:59 AM: I forgot to include salary totals, so I added in the bottom row.)

Starters

Is there anything I can say about Russell Wilson that you don’t already know?  He’s accurate, he’s poised, he’s very smart about avoiding unnecessary hits when he takes off with the ball, he studies for each game like he was cramming to pass the medical licensing exam, and (to quote the man himself) he throws “a sexy deep ball.”  Wilson may have lost out to Robert Griffin III for the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but he did win the Pepsi Max Rookie of the Year Award (I know, I know, it’s only a fan-voted award) and also received top honors from Pro Football Focus and various other football news & analysis sites¹.  And I know this has been said by about a million other folks already, but watching him evade defenders and scramble to buy time to throw looks eerily similar to footage of Fran Tarkenton in his prime.

Backups

Matt Flynn is both one of the highest paid backup quarterbacks in the league and the only other QB currently under contract with the team.  Seeing as how Wilson’s rookie contract entitles him to a ridiculously low $526k for next season, paying Flynn won’t break the bank for the Seahawks, and having a guy with his ability on the bench as the next man up is a luxury most head coaches would give their eyeteeth to have, but $5.25 mil is still $5.25 mil – if the right offer materializes (as in a second round pick), Schneider and Carroll will probably be more than willing to ship him off to a team like Jacksonville in dire need of a living, breathing QB who doesn’t throw a pick on every other pass attempt.

Josh Portis spent part of the year on Seattle’s the practice squad after getting the axe in the final cutdown prior to the start of the regular season.  He went undrafted in 2011 because of concerns about his maturity and shaky technique, but he excels at extending plays with his legs when things start to break down and the coaching staff really seems to like him.  Don’t be surprised if he gets invited to a third straight training camp with the Seahawks this year.

Potential Free Agents

The other reason for Seattle to hold on to Flynn is that this is not a great year for quarterbacks.  Tarvaris Jackson wouldn’t be a half bad choice, and both Matt Moore and Drew Stanton have some strong potential (I think both are still capable of turning into solid performers), but after that there’s nothing but a sea of perpetual disappointments (Jason Campbell, Rex Grossman, aging guys with diminishing abilities (Seneca Wallace, Sage Rosenfels), and other undesirables (J.P. Losman, Vince Young).  Still think Flynn’s price tag is still too high?

Offensive Line

(Updated 3/8/13 at 2:05 AM: Just like with the QB table I forgot to include salary totals, plus I wrote in the wrong salary figures for Person.  Both mistakes are fixed now.)

Starters

Max Unger and Russell Okung each turned in a full season’s worth of superlative work in 2012.  Both were voted starters in the Pro Bowl, and Unger also earned a first team All-Pro nod².  That’s good news for Seattle, because both players are playing as well as they’re being paid (Okung is currently earning the sixth-highest average salary in the NFL for an offensive tackle, while Unger is earning the seventh-highest average salary for a center).

In terms of pure physicality, Unger is probably about a seven on a ten point scale, but when it comes to how much he gets out of his natural abilities the guy is a straight-up eleven.  He plays intelligently and with superb technique, and like any good center he excels at coordinating blocking assignments with his fellow interior linemen no matter who lines up next to him.  And as good as his pass protection was in 2012, his run blocking might have been even better.  Not bad for an art major.

Okung most likely missed the cut for the All-Pro team because of the 13 penalties he committed this season (8 false starts and 5 holding calls).  Yellow flags aside though, his run and pass blocking were more than strong enough to merit consideration for the honor. and he missed just one game to injury, which is a big step up from the four he missed in 2011 and six in 2010.  Oh, and he only allowed one sack last year, so that's good too.

Unger and Okung are the only virtual locks to be starters on the offensive line in 2013, but Breno Giacomini and (to a lesser extent) Paul McQuistan probably aren’t too far off from being added to that list.  I put the two of them in the same category as Chris Gray: neither is particularly dominant or irreplaceable, but they do enough things well that they have a better than average chance to stay in the starting lineup.

Giacomini was originally just an injury replacement for Carpenter in 2011, but he ended up supplanting him as the starting right tackle in large part because he has a faster kick step and reaction time.  Carpenter was eaten alive by speedy edge rushers during his brief stint at RT, but Giacomini at least has a fighting chance at stopping them from getting to the QB.  He had some pretty rough games in 2012, but overall I think he did more good than harm.

Giacomini’s main drawback is that his greatest asset, his nasty temper,  also doubles as his biggest weakness.  If you focus in on his play, it becomes readily apparent that the guys he goes up against may sometimes be faster or stronger than him, but there’s no way in hell they’ll ever be meaner.  The surly attitude he brings to the table counts for one hell of a lot down in the trenches, but it also helped him commit twelve penalties in 2012 (4 holding, 4 false start, 2 unnecessary roughness, and 2 personal fouls).  Thankfully, he earned fewer penalties in the second half of the season, which hopefully means that he’s starting to learn how to make that anger work for him instead of against him.

McQuistan first joined the Seahawks back in 2011 after roughly three and a half middling years with the Raiders, followed by brief stints with the Jaguars and Browns.  At that point in his career he was a backup with the versatility to fill in at both guard and tackle positions, but nobody expected him to amount to anything more than that.  Two years later, thanks to his knowledge of Tom Cable’s blocking system and multiple injuries suffered by more highly touted free agent signings (Robert Gallery) and draft choices (Carpenter, Moffitt),  McQuistan has started a total of 26 regular season games and two playoff games for Seattle at both guard and tackle.

Granted, that may speak more highly of McQuistan’s durability than his technique, but there seems to be a feeling among the coaching staff that he and Giacomini have turned into a solid team on the right side of the line.  There’s an argument to be made here that having two good players who work well together is preferable to having two great players who don’t (please note that I’m not actually making this argument, just pointing out its existence), but that probably isn’t going to make me wince any less each time I see McQuistan whiff on a block upfield or get shoved backwards by a strong bull rush.  It’s probably best to think of him as the default choice: if someone better comes along, fantastic, but if not the team has someone who is at least an average blocker they can slot in at right guard.

Backups (and Potential Left Guards)

To summarize thus far, the Seahawks have two definite starters at left tackle and center and two probable starters at right tackle and right guard, which leaves left guard as the odd man out.  Not that that’s anything new, since roughly eleventy billion different players have started at left guard for Seattle since Steve Hutchinson left following the 2005 season.  This time around, the three prime candidates for the job are James Carpenter, John Moffitt, and J.R. Sweezy.

Of the three, Carpenter is probably the likeliest to win the job, assuming his surgically repaired knee holds up.  After watching him struggle greatly at right tackle his rookie season³, it was nice to see him excel as a guard for the handful of games in which he was available to play in 2012.  Remember, he was originally supposed to be out the entire season, so any playing time at all last year was a bonus. 

Carpenter is a powerful run blocker, but he doesn't seem to have much in the way of lateral quickness.  That doomed him in pass protection at right tackle, but that deficiency is mitigated at guard because there isn’t as much ground to cover.  I know he was drafted specifically to play tackle, but if he can stay healthy and anchor the left guard position he will more than justify his late first round draft status.

On paper, Moffitt should be the logical second choice here, but after rewatching a few games I’m starting to have serious doubts about his ability to play at the NFL level.  Much like fellow 2011 draft choice Carpenter, he’s a powerful run blocker, but he is a horrible, horrible pass blocker at the guard position⁴.  Add in his injury problems and his complete lack of speed and you have a one way ticket to bustville.  I’d love for him to prove me wrong and turn into a solid guard, I just don’t think that’s likely to happen.

Instead, I think the next guy in line (and my dark horse favorite to eventually supplant McQuistan in the starting lineup) is Sweezy.  Watching him play in the regular season last year it became readily apparent that the guy’s skill set is raw as hell, especially as a pass blocker, but it was hard to ignore the guy’s potential.  He’s clearly got more than enough strength and attitude to get the job done, and he’s faster than any offensive lineman has any right to be, both in terms of straight line speed and initial burst off the snap.  If he can master the requisite technique, the sky’s the limit on how good he could be.

I rather like Lemuel Jeanpierre, and I think given the right circumstances he could develop into a starting-caliber guard, but he rarely sees the field as an injury replacement at that position because he’s the only other player on the roster besides Unger who can play center.  I can understand Carroll’s reluctance to risk injuring his only viable backup center by slotting him in at guard, but that’s proably small comfort to Jeanpierre.  When he hits free agency at the end of the 2013 season chances are good that he’ll sign with some other team that will give him a legitimate chance at starting, so enjoy him while you can.

Frank Omiyale is a veteran castoff from the Bears who signed on with a one-year deal last offseason, and he quickly became my favorite backup lineman next to Jeanpierre.  He was pretty subpar when he played for Chicago, so I didn’t expect much from him, but when he saw action in a Hawks uniform he surprised me by playing almost as well as the guys he replaced in the lineup.   Given his age (30) and his less-than-sterling rep from his days with the Bears, I doubt there’s going to be much of a market for his services, so Schneider should be able to re-sign him on the cheap.

The last two names, Rishaw Johnson and Mike Person, are young developmental prospects.  Person was an first team All-American as a left tackle for Montana, but his short arms make him better fit at guard in the pros, which is why he didn’t get drafted until the seventh round in 2011.  From what I understand he's got a ways to go still, but at the very least he projects to be a quality backup guard and there are some indications that he could develop into a decent backup center as well.  Johnson has all the measurables you want to see in a franchise left tackle, but after he spent his time at the 2012 combine showing off his lack of technique and attention span (and just generally acting like a braying jackass when he wasn’t on deck) he ended up going undrafted.  The kid has tons of potential, but before he can capitalize on it he's got to learn how to straighten up and fly right.

Potential Free Agents

Tackle and cnter aren’t really serious needs right now, which is great because good centers are hard to come by and just about all of the starting-caliber tackles hitting the market are guys with big question marks like Jake Long (injuries) and Sebastian Vollmer (ditto).  That said, Phil Loadholt over in Minnesota looks pretty damn good.  He's just 27, he’s missed only one game in four seasons, and his crushing run blocks has helped pave the way for Adrian Peterson’s many, many great performances.  His pass protection isn’t the greatest (that seems to be a common refrain when it comes to right tackles) and he’ll probably want more money than the Seahawks are willing to pay, but he’d be an upgrade over Giacomini.

At guard, the top prospects this year are probably Cooper Carlisle, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Moore, and Andrew Levitre.  Carlisle is a dependable lineman who’s only missed one game in the past eight years, but that's roughly where the good news ends.  He’ll be 36 headed into next season, so at best he isn’t more than a one year solution, and there’s some chatter that he’s planning to re-up with the Raiders for the veteran minimum and end his career there instead of actually testing the open market. 

Andrew Levitre and Louis Vasquez are both young, solid performers with many years of play ahead of them, but their respective teams (the Bills and Chargers) are not likely to let a couple of their only Pro Bowl-worthy players head out the door without waging a hard-fought bidding war for their services.  The only way either player ends up in Seattle is if Schneider decides he's good enough to justify sending dump trucks filled with money to his front door until he agrees to sign.

Moore’s performance last year was one of the few bright spots for the Jets’ offense, and at 33 he’s probably got a few years left in him but not so many that New York would fight tooth and nail to re-sign him.  I’m more than a little leery about signing yet another aging guard after watching veteran stopgaps Mike Wahle, Ben Hamilton, and Robert Gallery all flame out in quick succession, plus Moore has a rep for being a great pass protector but a weak run blocker (although that might be a refreshing change of pace for Wilson).  If nothing else, Moore is likely going to be very interested in signing with a Super Bowl contender before he inevitably runs out of gas, which means a team like Seattle should be able to sign him for a rather modest sum.

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¹ Interestingly enough, Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk was among the writers to name Wilson as his choice for Rookie of the Year.  Florio’s never been one of my favorite writers, but he was dead on in this article he wrote on the subject following Seattle’s playoff game versus Atlanta.  Credit where credit's due, you know?

² For my money, being voted to the All-Pro team is exponentially more significant than going to the Pro Bowl, the difference being that All-Pro teams are voted on by a select panel of 50 Associated Press writers, while everyone and their dog gets a say in who goes to the Pro Bowl.  Among other things, the All-Pro voters are good at avoiding unfortunate situations like, say, Jeff Saturday making the cut despite being benched partway through the season for poor performance. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Pro Bowl is a good thing, mainly because it gives players a prime opportunity to learn from and collaborate with other players and coaches they wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance to spend much time around.  For those who take full advantage of it, the Pro Bowl is basically a Master’s class in football with some white sandy beaches thrown in as a bonus.  The whole fan “vote as many times as you like” thing is still complete and utter crap, though.

³ According to Pro Football Focus’ pass blocking efficiency stats, Carpenter was the fourth worst tackle in the NFL that season.  The three worst were the Bears’ Lance Louis, the Falcons’ Sam Baker, and the Giants’ David Diehl.

⁴ Pro Football Focus rated him the sixth worst guard in the NFL in 2011 by pass blocking efficiency.  I haven’t seen the figures on him for 2012, but I doubt they’re going to show much improvement over his rookie year.

For roughly two weeks now we’ve been sitting in a rut known as the “dead season”. There is nothing of major interest going on in the NFL right now. (Note: At the time I was writing this, Richard Sherman’s Twitter war with Darrelle Revis had not yet occurred.) The next event on the list is free-agency, but even that isn’t for another three weeks. Well then, what should we keep ourselves occupied with? The only thing that’s generating any kind of buzz (amongst certain audiences, mind you) is the draft.

Don’t have anything to do later on this week? Tune in to NFL.com and watch the NFL Combine. You can read as many of the so-called experts’ analyses on these college players as you want, but sometimes it’s better to just watch them and form your own opinions. The list of players we could potentially draft is still dauntingly long; our team could go in numerous directions come April’s draft. It’s not until we get into the thick of free agency that we can get a better idea of where our needs still lie.

Until then, here is a list of gentlemen to keep an eye on during this NFL combine and perhaps beyond. They are listed by projected round, position, name, and capped off with a brief reason why they might fit the bill. Note that none of the top-10 players are listed, since there is no chance that they will fall to the 25^th pick.

1^st Round

• DE, Alex Okafor  --  LEO candidate
• DE, Barkevious Mingo  --  LEO candidate, athleticism
• DE, Dion Jordan  --  LEO candidate
• DE, Ezekiel Ansah  --  Freak athleticism, comparison to Jason Pierre-Paul
• DE, Sam Montgomery  --  Productive.
• DT, Kawann Short  --  3-technique DT, stout and powerful
• DT, Sheldon Richardson  --  3-technique DT, great against run and pass
• FS, Kenny Vaccaro  --  Earl Thomas’ former teammate, versatility
• OLB, Alec Ogletree  --  Athleticism, versatility
• TE, Zach Ertz  --  Red-zone threat, versatility
• WR, Cordarrelle Patterson  --  Size, speedy, #1 potential
• WR, DeAndre Hopkins  --  Russell Wilson-esque work ethic, well rounded
• WR, Keenan Allen  --  Size, #1 potential
• WR, Tavon Austin  --  Game breaker, speedy, versatility, comparison to Percy Harvin

2^nd Round

• DE, Margus Hunt  --  Freak athleticism, size
• DT, Jordan Hill  --  3-technique DT, pass-rush
• DT, Sylvester Williams  --  3-technique DT, pass-rush
• OLB, Khaseem Greene  --  Rangy, speedy, versatility
• TE, Jordan Reed  --  Red-zone threat
• WR, Justin Hunter  --  Size, #1 potential
• WR, Markus Wheaton  --  Crafty, dependable, legit #2 potental
• WR, Robert Woods  --  Shifty, route-running, #1 potential
• WR, Terrence Williams  --  Athleticism, game-breaking playmaker

3^rd Round

• CB, David Amerson --  Size, physicality
• WR, Da’Rick Rogers  --  #1 potential (barring major character concerns)
• WR, Marquise Goodwin  --  Freak athleticism (10^th in long jump at 2012 London Olympics)

4^th – 5^th Round

• CB, Tharold Simon  --  Size, smart player
• CB, Terry Hawthorne  --  Size, physicality, work-ethic

One particular player to keep close tabs on is outside linebacker Alec Ogletree. He easily has the talent to be a top-10 pick, so why did I include him? In light of his recent arrest for a DUI, in addition to his history of off-field issues, his stock could easily drop him down into the 20’s. Pete Carroll has never been averse to bringing in a player that has off-field issues, so long as he has the right skillset and his problems are controllable and/or fixable. I don’t know the specifics of his issue-riddled past, but I do know for a fact that he possesses incredible athleticism and instincts. His multi-faceted skillset allows him to rush the passer, stop the run, and drop in coverage extremely well. He’d fit in very nicely, so make sure to keep an eye on him in the coming months.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for additional, and more specific, draft analysis. Until then, good luck enduring dead season! (And watch the NFL Combine if you can!)

Both coordinators for the Seahawks, Gus Bradley and Darrell Bevell, have been cashing in on the team's success the last few weeks by interviewing for multiple head coaching vacancies across the league.  But while it appears likely that Bevell will stay on for the 2013 season, earlier today it was announced that Bradley has been hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to be their new head coach.

Given the mess he's inherited, Bradley's got his work cut out for him (Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne are the top two QBs on his roster, for starters), but of more interest to us is how this move will affect the Seahawks.  Bradley has been the team's DC since 2009, and the defense has made steady improvements during that time.  It's hard to argue that Bradley wasn't responsible for some of that success, but I think a much bigger factor in that improvement was the hiring of Pete Carroll and the installation of his hybrid 4-3 under defensive scheme.

Don't get me wrong, losing Bradley hurts.  The players loved him and responded well to his leadership, he meshed well with the rest of the coaching staff (don't be surprised if he ends up hiring away a few assistant coaches to work with him in Jacksonville) , and he knew how to call a game.  That said, I think the Seahawks' defense will be just fine without him, in large part because the team announced almost immediately afterward that Dan Quinn will be taking over the DC job.

For those of you who don't pay much attention to position coaches, Dan Quinn was the defensive line coach for the Seahawks from 2009 to 2010, after which he left to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida.  Among other things, Quinn was one of just two members of Jim Mora's staff to be retained by Carroll (Bradley being the other), and he was also the guy who came up with the idea of moving Red Bryant from DT to DE, where he has become a dominating run defender.  He was also at the top of my short list of coaches I'd want to become Seattle's DC if Bradley left, but I suppose that probably doesn't count for as much as I'd like it to.

Headed into 2013, the Seahawks desperately need to bolster their pass rush, and if there's one thing Quinn knows it's how to coach pass rushers.  He worked with Andre Carter in San Francisco ('01 - '04), Jason Taylor in Miami ('05 & '06, the year Taylor won NFL Defensive MVP), and Shaun Ellis in New York ('07 & '08).  This is a fantastic hire; if the Seahawks' defense continues to dominate in 2013, it'll be due in no small part to Carroll sweet-talking Quinn into moving back to the Pacific Northwest.

The Seahawks' season may be over, but that doesn't mean that we've run out of things to talk about around here.  First off, I'd like to extend my congratulations to the Falcons and their fans.  I'd much rather see the Hawks play in the NFC Championship, but watching an all-world class act like Tony Gonzalez react to finally getting his first playoff win after sixteen long years of trying was pretty great, too.  Besides, I'd much rather see Mike Smith get fitted for a Super Bowl ring than that seething white-hot ball of hate the 49ers are using instead of a human head coach.

But while there may be two more Sundays' worth of NFL games left to watch (two and a half if you count the Pro Bowl), around here it's time to start taking a look at Seattle's offseason needs.  This week I'll take a look at player contracts throughout the roster to see who will become a free agent this year and how much the team is slated to pay for each position group.  I'll also be examining the final stats for the regular season (I was going to post the article earlier, but it felt wrong somehow to be doing a post-mortem sort of article while the Seahawks were still alive in the playoffs).

And just as a reminder, Optimum Scouting's Eric Galko is on location this week covering the East-West Shrine Game, so if you have any questions for him about any of the prospects in attendance there or whatnot let me know ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) and I'll pass them on.  Also, if you'd like to voice your thoughts on the team's offseason needs or anything else Seahawks-related, I can help with that, too.  Things are a lot more fun around here when my opinions aren't the only ones getting broadcasted, you know?

After a horrific first half, the Seahawks managed to fight back in the second and get within two points of advancing to the championship game.  It's hard to overstress just how close this one was.  If Lynch hadn't lost that fumble, if the offense had converted that 4th and one (or kicked a field goal instead), if the defense had gotten one more pass deflection or Irvin had finally gotten a sack on that last drive, if, if, if.

Still, this team is no longer one or two drafts away from a serious run at a Super Bowl, because they proved this year that they're serious contenders already.  And think about this: the Seahawks did all this with one of the youngest rosters in the league.  Add an extra year of experience, a speedy deep ball threat, and some pass rush depth (especially at the 3-tech position) and this team is going to be hell on wheels for years to come.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a wall to go punch.

I've been hearing a lot about how the Falcons shouldn't be a problem for the Seahawks, but this game is far from a circled win.  I know Atlanta's schedule was relatively soft, but no one puts together a 13-3 record in the modern NFL without doing a lot of things right.  And as for them being 0-3 in the playoffs with head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan, that first loss happened back in Ryan's rookie season in 2008 while the other two were suffered at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champions in 2010 (Packers) and 2011 (Giants).  I have a hard time reading too much into defeats like those.

However, the Seahawks aren't exactly pushovers either.  Wilson and his receivers will have their work cut out for them against Atlanta's strong pass defense, but the Falcons' 29th ranked run defense is going to have a hell of a time stopping Lynch from taking over the game.  The battle on the other side of the ball is an old school strength-versus-strength matchup, with the Falcons' top flight passing attack going up against the Hawks' elite secondary (the Falcons' run game, thankfully, is not so hot).  The special teams units also appear evenly matched, with both teams roughly equal in nearly every meaningful category (the lone exception being the Seahawks' exceptional kick return average).

Here are the main things I'm looking for in today's game:

1) Can the Seahawks stop Tony Gonzalez?  Even if Sherman and Browner can keep Julio Jones and Roddy White in check on the outside, Ryan can still carve up the defense if Gonzalez can get separation on a consistent basis.  The pressure's going to be on the safeties, linebackers, and nickelbacks to neutralize the future Hall of Famer.

2) Will either team get their pass rush going?  With Clemons out for Seattle with a torn ACL and Johnathan Abraham questionable for Atlanta with an injured ankle, the pass rush for both teams will need to rely heavily on understudies like rookie Bruce Irvin and, uh, whoever the second-best guy on the Falcons happens to be (Jonathan Babineaux? Kroy Biermann? Vance Walker?).

3) Who will win the turnover battle?  The Seahawks and Falcons have identical stats for the regular season in turnovers (18) and takeaways (31), so there's no telling who will have the advantage.  With both teams featuring strong offenses, whichever defense manages to steal an extra drive or two from their opponent may very well end up deciding the game.

Kickoff can't get here soon enough.

SEA! HAWKS!

If last week was a swell of Seahawk hype, this week has been a tsunami. 

After last week's comeback win over the Washington Redskins, something clicked into place. I think it was the sound of the nation's heads turning towards the Pacific Northwest, because the "click" they all heard was the same thing we've all been saying up here since Week 8: "This team is for real." 

The difference now is everyone else is starting to believe us. For once. 

While we're being honest here, allow me to make a confession: Last week's start to the Redskins game probably scratched six months off my lifespan. The defense looked outmatched. Alfred Morris was running like Marshawn Lynch. Russell Wilson was getting sacked. The score quickly ran up to 14-0 before I could throw my head back and say "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO SOMETHING!" 

Fortunately, it never came to that. 

The Seahawks did what they've been doing all throughout the 2012 season -- not panic, figure out what to do, and execute. The 14-0 deficit was the largest they had suffered during the entire season, and it never amounted to any more than that. 

With the victory, the Seahawks had to have gained more confidence. There's absolutely no way anybody can say this team doesn't have a swagger that's as large as Richard Sherman's mouth. They talk, they back it up. And in some cases, they become your worst nightmare. 

The true test is still to come though, and that's why I've been obsessively going over stats, doing research, watching endless hours of NFL Network analysis, and basically wanting to jump around my house waving a whiskey bottle in nerve-jangled anticipation for this weekend's Divisional Round playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. 

There are several intriguing matchups between these two teams in Angry Bird Bowl 2013, but a few are especially worth noting:

1. Marshawn Lynch vs. Falcons' Run Defense

Lynch has had five consecutive 100-yard rushing performances going into this game. The Falcons finished the regular season ranked 21st in run defense, allowing an average of 123 rushing yards. This is an area you know Tom Cable and Darrell Bevell are going to attack all day. Lynch should get upwards of 25 carries if the Seahawks are going to have a shot at winning this game. 

2. Julio Jones and Roddy White vs. Bradon Browner and Richard Sherman

ESPN 710's Brock & Salk love to play the sound byte of Pete Carroll saying "This is REALLY fun." There's no better quote I can think of to describe this matchup. Seriously, Roddy White is one of the bigger-bodied receivers in the league, and has no fear of making acrobatic plays for balls thrown overhead. This is where the physical play of both starting CBs is going to be crucial in breaking up passes. Fortunately, Sherman had 24 of those this season. He and White will be going at it all day, as will Browner and Jones (if that's the way the matchups play out, but I'm sure some rotation will be taking place.) 

3. Matt Ryan vs. the Legion of Boom

The Seahawks had 18 interceptions this year; 14 of which belong to the Legion of Boom. Earl Thomas in particular has had two exceptionally spectacular picks in the past two games, so the deep ball Matt Ryan loves to throw to his guys downfield is going to be under attack. That air raid will be under siege from the Legion of Boom. 

4. The Falcons' Defense vs. the Read Option

If the offensive staff was smart in Renton, they'd be playing footage of the Carolina-Atlanta game in the film room all week. Cam Newton and the Chudzinski read option had 120 yards and a touchdown on 20 runs against the Falcons in Week 4. Despite having skilled defenders in Sean Witherspoon and Dunta Robinson, they're obviously vulnerable against the read option. Nobody left standing in the playoffs does that better than the Seahawks. 

5. Bruce Irvin vs. Matt Ryan

With Chris Clemons out, Bruce Irvin is in. Even before Clemons went down with an ACL injury last week in DC, Irvin had already increased his snap count from 35 percent to 57 percent. His role is expanding as he continues to get comfortable in this defense, and with good reason - he was the 15th pick in the draft. This is what he's supposed to do - rush the hell out of the passer and make life miserable for the offensive line. Irvin led all rookies in sacks this year with 8.5. His bell-rattling performance against RG3 was a promising showing, no matter if RG3 was hobbled. He still got around the 'Skins offensive line with his combination of speed and raw strength. If the Seahawks can generate a solid pass rush and force Matt Ryan into errant throws, the secondary will take care of the rest. 

The thought of this game -- what's at stake, who's under pressure, and what would come next -- is driving me nuts. I've never been such a crazed combination of nervous and excitement. This feels different than any Seahawks team I can remember, surpassing even the storybook 2005 season. The swagger and physical style of play this team brings on each and every down is infectious, and that's why the entire city is losing its mind whenever anyone so much as mentions the Seahawks lately. 

It's a very exciting time to be a Seahawk fan. And win or lose, this should be one hell of a football game. 

Today, Chris Clemons was officially placed on injured reserve, a move that should surprise no one after Clemons tore his ACL against the Redskins last Sunday.  Somewhat more surprising was the announcement that Steven Hauschka was also put on IR, which means Ryan Longwell will be the Seahawks' kicker for the duration of the playoffs.

To fill the empty spot on the roster, DE Patrick Chukwurah was signed off the street today.  Chukwurah played for three NFL teams from 2001 to 2007 mainly as a special teamer, although he did manage to rack up nine sacks in limited defensive snaps  Since then, he's worked as a personal trainer and played two seasons in the UFL.  I've read a few reports that say Chukwurah led the UFL in sacks during those seasons, but that's hard to verify since the league doesn't seem to keep an official stat book of any sort (and possibly never will, since they suspended operations halfway through their 2012 season).

I know signing a 33 year old pass rusher who's five years removed from his last NFL action isn't the most thrilling move, but the pickings are slim this time of year.  According to Ian Rapaport of NFL.com, the Seahawks also brought in Aaron Maybin, Ray Edwards, and Travis LaBoy for tryouts, so at the very least we know Pete Carroll thinks he's a better choice (or at least a better fit) than those three guys.

ADDENDUM (12:56): Chukwurah was on the Buccaneers' roster in 2008, but only briefly.  He spent about three or four days with Tampa Bay in late August before being released, then was signed again for the last two weeks of the season.  He didn't appear in any games.

The biggest news this week – aside from Wilson being the last starting rookie QB standing – is that Chris Clemons will be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL.  The injury occurred late in the third quarter as Clemons was running a stunt that looped him from the right DE spot over to attack the B gap between the right tackle and guard.  It’s unclear exactly what happened.  It’s possible the ligament was partially torn earlier in the game or season and that play just happened to be when it finally gave out.  However, it’s sounding more and more like the chewed-up turf of FedEx Field had a lot to do with the injury.

The field could have been worse, I suppose.  It was clearly worn out and treacherous with loose dirt, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as, say, the one the Dolphins and Steelers played on back in ’07 when Pittsburgh’s groundskeepers decided that the best way to deal with a torrential downpour was to roll out a second layer of turf on top of the waterlogged layer already in place.  That’s setting the bar pretty low, though.  And before someone brings up the difficulty of keeping a real grass field healthy in the middle of winter on the East Coast, I’d just like to point out that the turf in Baltimore and Green Bay is still pretty plush.

Poor field traction forces speed rushers like Clemons to resort to wearing longer cleats – ¾” ones, in this case – in order to keep their footing when they turn at full speed.  But the longer the cleats, the greater the risk is that the player’s foot will stick in the ground at an inopportune moment and cause injury to the knee and/or ankle joints via rotation or hyperextension.  And it isn’t like the Seahawks were the only ones affected; for instance, I doubt the field conditions did Robert Griffin III’s injured knee any favors.  I wonder if Dan Snyder is happy he saved a few bucks by scrimping on lawn care this season?

Regardless, Clemons’ season is over, and he’s looking at 6-12 months of recovery time after his knee is surgically repaired.  The Seahawks’ pass rush was already hurting with the loss of DT Jason Jones in week 15 (they’ve averaged just 1 sack and 4.3 QB hits in the three games since then), and now they’re going to have to place their top pass rusher on injured reserve. 

Rookie DE Bruce Irvin will take over as the starting Leo in the base defense against the Falcons.  Irvin has rare speed and may end up putting more pressure on Matt Ryan this Sunday than Clemons would have, but he’s nowhere near as stout as against the run.  The Seahawks also don’t have a clear-cut replacement to insert opposite of him in their nickel rush line package.  Rookie DE Greg Scruggs has performed respectably enough, but he’s not a speed guy, and the only other name I’ve heard touted as a possibility is backup LB Mike Morgan.  Moving Scruggs outside could also open up some opportunities for rookie DT Jaye Howard, who looked promising in preseason action but has been inactive most of the regular season.

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The other injury of note from Sunday’s win over Washington was K Steven Hauschka, who suffered a calf injury of some sort to his plant leg midway through the game.  Hauschka was able to finish the game, but P Jon Ryan had to take over his kickoff duties and now Hauschka’s availability for the Falcons game appears to be in doubt.

According to various reports, Seattle is on the verge of signing free agent kicker Ryan Longwell as insurance.  Longwell has been out of the league this year after a bad 2011 season with Minnesota in which he was successful on just 78.57% of his field goal attempts.  Prior to that he was money in the bank for the Vikings, connecting on 87.60% of his attempts in his five other seasons (2006 - '10) with the team.

Not that Hauschka has anything to worry about, job security-wise.  Hauschka has a stronger leg than Longwell (36 touchbacks on kickoffs in 2012, compared to 19 for Longwell in ’11) and he's been deadly accurate at ranges under 50 yards this season, making 100% of his attempts of 49 yards or less.  The only category in which Longwell is clearly the better kicker is on long range attempts.  Hauschka has connected on just one of four 50+ yard attempts (25%) this year and is four for ten (40%) in his career, while Longwell made two of his three attempts (66.67%) in 2011 and is 24 for 39 (61.54%) in his career.

Did I mention that I really like special teams?

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For those of you who want to take an early look at some of the top prospects for this year’s draft, Eric Galko of fellow Bloguin site OptimumScouting.com will be covering the East-West Shrine Game all next week  and the Senior Bowl the week after that.  I’ll try to put up a reminder the day before the games themselves, but in the meantime if you have any questions about specific positions or players or whatnot, let me know via comments or email and I’ll forward them on to Eric.

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Do you like Russell Wilson?  Are you a fan of repetitive motion injuries?  Then vote for Wilson for Pepsi Max Rookie of the Year!  Sure, the only rookie awards that actually matter are the ones the Associated Press gives out for best offensive and defensive rookie, but the AP doesn’t allow you to vote for your favorite player over and over and over and over again like a demented robot!  Exclamation point!

Seriously though, vote if you like, but I’ll never understand these ridiculous “vote as many times as you want” awards the NFL likes to give out.  Surely there are ways to get fans more involved that are less demeaning for all concerned?

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And because I don’t know what else to do with it, here’s a drink recipe that was recently sent to me by Seahawk Addicts reader Mark A.:

"My daughters made their own drink called the SEAHAWK. 3 parts lemonade, one koolaid kiwi-strawberry jammer, 4-6 shots of pure lime juice. Pour over lots of ice...vodka optional! Man it's good."

Imbibe at your own risk.