Put this one in the "Mike Wahle, *gulp*" file: The Seahawks have signed OG Cory Withrow, according to Danny O'Neil's twitter feed.

This isn't a big signing, but it does provide more depth at the guard position which is increasingly looking like the top position battle on the Hawks this year. He did not see any action in 2008, but started 4 games in '07 and has seen action in 103 games in his career (16 starts). He's given up only 2.75 sacks in his career which is, y'know, hard to really measure with 103 games over 8 years. Still. Welcome to the Hawks!

A few of you have emailed me the Yahoo Sports / National Football Post article saying that "multiple league sources" are "mentioning" that Mike Vick "could land in Seattle" to Matt Bowen. This is being put forth by Bowen as a rumor or a news item, but it simply isn't. Multiple league sources have mentioned that Seattle could go after Vick. Seattle could go after a trade for Braylon Edwards too, but they aren't going to.

I understand that a lot of fans want Michael Vick to become a member of their team. This includes Seahawk fans. That's fine. I personally do not, and can actually think of almost no less desirable teammate for the locker room that Ruskell has put together over the last four years. Vick is an excellent athlete who has a way of making things happen on the field that are simply fun to watch. He had one excellent year and a number of okay years. His last 32 games he started, he went 15-17 with a team that was not markedly worse than the one Matt Ryan saved last year. He has a lifetime QB rating of 75.7 and completion percentage of 53.8. The only time Matt Hasselbeck has ever been below either of those numbers was last year when he was injured.

There is absolutely no sensible reason for the Seahawks to go after Vick. I think he deserves a second chance, I hope he gets it, and I hope he does fine. More than that though, I hope he's not getting that second chance in South Alaska, and I can not think of a single reason why he would be.

(Sidenote: I stand by my argument that Mora and Knapp inherited Vick and would not seek him out, regardless of personal feelings for the man. He's not a west coast quarterback, period. Also, note that Vick's only stand out years were under Reeves, despite his team's best year coming under Mora.)

As discussed in this morning's press briefing with Tim Ruskell, Jordan Babineaux is apparently going to get a shot in camp at unseating starting FS Brian Russell.

Some fans are probably going to break out the champagne at the very mention of this happening, as Russell has been taking a verbal bludgeoning on local blogs (see here, for one) for being the weakest link in Seattle's secondary last year. Also, the natural position of "Big Play Babs" is safety rather than cornerback, and many have been calling for his re-insertion into the starting lineup over Russell.

From where we stand now -- one day before the start of training camp after a dreadful season -- Babs has every chance in the world to beat out Russell for the job. Babs has unrelenting athleticism and hustle, possesses superior instincts over Russell and plays much more physically (not unlike SS Deon Grant.) Riding on all this, I see no reason why Babineaux can't one-up Russell in camp. If that ended up happening, the Seattle secondary would end up with that much more toughness and physical play. (And someone who isn't likely to bounce off a quarterback like a spitball hitting the ceiling.)

Questions to consider, while I'm at this:

-Was Russell's lackluster play in 2008 another casualty of John Marshall's schemes? After all, he played decently in 2007.

-If Babs can't oust Russell, does this spell bad news for the secondary in 2009?

-What is Babs' fate if he remains bound for the bench?

-What is Russell's fate if Babs wins the job?

As we near the start of training camp, the Seahawks will have many position battles that could decide whether or not this team is a legit contender, or another team that tears our hearts out. One of those battles rests at defensive end.

Defensive end will be a position to watch this training camp as we should see a fantastic battle for the starting left end position between Cory Redding, Lawrence Jackson and Darryl Tapp.

The right defensive end position will be anchored again by Patrick Kerney who returns from his season ending shoulder surgery. Kerney should (we hope) be healthy again and looks to repeat his 2007 season where he registered 14.5 sacks and won NFC Defensive Player of the Year honors

Where things get tricky is who is going to start at left defensive end between new-comer Cory Redding, second year man Lawrence Jackson, and fourth year veteran Darryl Tapp. Redding had been slotted in to start at RDE, but in the first official depth chart of the preseason, the Seahawks have him listed as Brandon Mebane's backup at the 3-Tech DT position. Lawrence Jackson will be playing with the first team come Friday, and it is largely his job to lose. 

However, Jackson really disappointed as a rookie last season, recording only 29 tackles and two sacks.  He often looked lost, missed gaps, and ultimately did not look like the 28th overall pick.

Darryl Tapp has been up and down since he started here in Seattle.  He has had flashes of brilliance (four sack game against St. Louis in ’07) but has never been consistent.  Tapp becomes a free agent after this season and could look to have a big year, but erratic play could signal his way out of Seattle.

As I prepare to go and see training camp first hand, I will keep an eye on this battle.  Both players have the ability to be great defensive ends.  Tapp has a great first move and can shed blockers very quickly on his way to the quarterback.

Jackson has strength and agility; he also has tenacity, but in watching him play last season, he looked like a player who got tired as the game wore on. This could also have something to do with the fact that most of his rookie campaign, Jackson played with an injured right foot.  

Perhaps the NFL season wore on him as it did the entire defense.  When your offensive has the lowest time of possession in the NFL, it wears on your defense tired, especially an undersized defense like the 2008 Seahawks.

If the Seahawks plan to return to the playoffs they will need to put pressure on the quarterback.  That is why this camp battle is so important.  Kerney could command double teams, and there are not too many outstanding right tackles in the NFC which leaves these players one-on-one. 

Its sink or swim time for Tapp and Jackson.

One of the positions that the Seahawks most need to upgrade by almost anyone’s reckoning is the interior of the offensive line. Both guard and center play has been considered to be mediocre over the last couple of years. Spencer at center and Wahle and Sims at guard have all been on the hot seat in their respective position battles and during the off-season, those positions were most often mentioned as the ones Seattle needed to fix if they were to come back and become a contender for the NFC West title and the NFC Championship once again.

Today, I want to focus on the guard position. I started out with the intent to produce an article of around 500 words but ended up quintupling that and then some as the topic just seemed to explode off the page in order to adequately explore the position and the problems Seattle has at the position. I think it ended up being sized proportionally to the problem the position represents.

Seattle had one of the best guard/center units in the NFL in 2005 when Steve Hutchison manned the left guard position and Chris Gray was at right guard with Robbie Tobeck at center. Hutch was the young fire breather who brought an attitude and Tobeck and Gray were the experienced veterans who brought stability and savvy to the interior of the offensive line. Then one by one, they disappeared from the Seahawks in short order. Hutch defected to Minnesota then Tobeck and Gray had to retire because of career ending injuries. Seattle’s interior offensive line play has never been the same since.

Ruskell drafted Spencer to replace Tobeck at center then Rob Sims and Mansfield Wrotto to play guard. He also brought in Mike Wahle from the Carolina Panthers last season to add veteran stability at the guard position. Ray Willis was drafted as a tackle but has also been played at the guard position over the last four years. Even Spencer was tried at guard. Sims has not developed as quickly as many though he would after an impressive rookie season. I wrote an article on Sims for Seahawk Addicts on Monday that you can review to see how Sims has fared with the Seahawks so far in his career.

Wrotto had little experience as an offensive lineman having played as a defensive tackle for three years at Georgia Tech until his senior season when he was moved to the offensive line as a tackle. Mike Wahle had mixed reviews from last season making many mental mistakes as well as being injured and finishing the year on injured reserve. Wrotto did get some much needed experience at guard due to injuries on the offensive line last season as did Willis who logged more games in 2008 than in his previous three years combined. It should be noted that the Seahawks have stated that the plan is for Willis to be the successor at right tackle when Walter Jones retirees and Locklear is moved to left tackle. It is presumed that if he plays at guard, it will be an interim assignment and the Seahawks will still need to find a suitable replacement at guard.

To Continue reading press Read more... below.

Mike Sando, after consulting with ESPN injury expert Stephania Bell, has compiled an analysis of the NFC West teams and their most severe injuries. His in depth analysis lists Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle offensive line as the players to be most concerned with on the Seahawks.

Bell details the injuries of Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck, Patrick Kerney, and Nate Burleson for the Seahawks giving an analysis of each injury and the prognostication for their recovery. You can read the full article here.

This is a must read for any Seahawk fans concerned with the players who had significant injuries last season and are who concerned for their recovery and ability to continue their careers this season.

Hasta,

BillT 

The Seahawks have announced a defensive end shakeup, waiving Brandon Miller and signing Derek Walker. According to Danny O'Neil, Miller was waived with a non-football injury designation.

Here's the NFL Combine scouting report on Walker:

A durable, consistent performer with the size and strength to compete on a rotational basis in the NFL, Walker started his career at Illinois with a bang, emerging as a redshirt freshman in 2005 to finish with 26 tackles and second on the team with six tackles for loss. Even after three seasons as a starter, Walker remains essentially the same player. While blessed with good size, strength and a nonstop motor, Walker lacks suddenness off the snap and struggles to consistently make plays behind the line of scrimmage. He enjoyed the finest statistical season of his career as a senior and was honorable mention All-Big Ten, but his 33 tackles, seven tackles for loss and six sacks were only slightly better than the numbers he put up in 2005.

Walker was an undrafted free agent, signed with Washington and was waived about a week ago. This should put to rest the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that the Hawks might be interested in Stryker Sulak, the 6th Round pick by the Raiders this year who was unceremoniously waived without remark from the cryptkeeper.

Second-round pick Max Unger agreed to terms with the Seahawks today, signing a contract that will guarantee the former Oregon center $1.95 million, and totaling over $3 million for the next four years.

The deal comes at an ideal time, as Unger will be able to report with the rest of the rookies tomorrow. This leaves only Aaron Curry left to sign, which is not a concern at this point because most first-round picks have yet to sign a deal.

Now let's see Unger get in there and compete for a starting role. Inspiring news for an already-impressive draft class!

It's no secret that the Seahawks were in need of some help defensively last year. During the offseason, we've been able to look back and reassess the causes of the problems last year: poor defensive line play, crappy schemes, short cornerbacks, Brian Russell, et cetera. Tim Ruskell clearly saw eye to eye on some of these concerns -- he went out and bolstered the defensive line with Cory Redding and Colin Cole, changed the scheme (okay, that was Mora, but still), and went out and signed Ken Lucas to a one-year deal.

Lucas has been named the starter at the Right Cornerback position and, in all likelihood, he will be the starter in Week One. However, Josh Wilson has made it clear that this disappointed him and he is looking to have a big role on this team. Don't be surprised if, in 2008 as in 2007, Wilson proves himself a competitor for the starting spot by mid-season.

Last year, Josh Wilson came out and took the starting job away from Kelly Jennings somewhat surprisingly. A lot of people have snarked that Jennings always stunk so this didn't mean much, but that's not true. In 2007, Jennings made a clear step up and had a very good season. In 2008, he lost his groove and Wilson was all too willing to step up and start. Further, he markedly improved throughout the year. Wilson has the speed required to succeed at this level, fluid hips, and a killer instinct when the ball comes his way. Yes, he gave up a lot of yards to Larry Fitzgerald and some of the bigger receivers, but so did practically every other cornerback in the league. His size hurts him, we get it, but the majority of starting CBs in the NFL are between 5'9" and 6'0". I don't think those three inches are as make or break as many others do.

Still, the battle for the RCB position will be a quiet one. It won't necessarily be won out on the field so much as on the practice field, it won't be dueling banjos like the RB situation last year (Jones starts, no Morris starts, wait Jones is starting, oh look Morris...). If Wilson can come out and be a) technically sound, b) effective at blitzing, and c) a ballhawk, look for him to threaten by mid-season for this job. This all starts in the Pre-season. The way I see it, Wilson's effectiveness as the nickel corner is going to alter our game plans. If he is competing as hard as he did last year, they are going to want him on the field. We need a fast, hard, aggressive defense and Wilson, though small, can provide that.

Beyond that though, Lucas was signed to a one-year contract. Will he be re-signed? Will we fill that role in the draft or free agency next year? Or will Wilson prove definitively this year that he deserves to be the starter for years to come? It all starts in training camp, and that all starts THIS. WEEK.