Posted by DHarp75 on January 29, 2010 under PartyHawks Central | 
Patrick Kerney has reportedly already held a retirement party... which might be news to the 'Hawks.
After consecutive injury-plagued and nonproductive seasons, it appears
Patrick Kerney has
decided to hang ‘em up.
It really comes as no surprise. At 33, he can’t stay healthy, has lost a step and would have had to take a significant paycut to stay with the Seahawks. But it does further emphasize the team’s dire need to upgrade it’s pass rushing situation.
Lawrence Jackson is serviceable only as part of a rotation, similar to Darryl Tapp. Which leaves, um … yeah, Pete Carroll was certainly checking out defensive end prospects at the Senior Bowl this week.
Posted by DHarp75 on January 27, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Can you picture Mark Sanchez wearing Seahawks blue instead of Jets green?
PartyHawks.com wasn’t a fan of
Mark Sanchez for the Hawks last year. He had only 16 starts at USC, and that lack of experience was a big roll of the dice with the No. 4 overall pick.
Jim Mora, who is losing sympathy for his rough firing with every radio interview he does across town, hinted to the NFL Network that Sanchez might have been a Seahawk if it had been his call.
“I’ll tell you what, we really liked him. I really liked him. The offensive staff really liked him,” Mora said when asked about his interest last year. “We had trouble getting a consensus in the room as to whether he’d be the right fit for our organization at that time.”
That appears to be a direct shot at former GM Tim Ruskell, and it has become clear that he and Mora didn’t part ways on good terms.
I do remember sitting in the front row listening to Mora’s press conference at the Combine last February, and he sang high praise for Sanchez. At the time, and after the draft, I figured it was nothing more than a smokescreen to keep teams in the dark to Seattle’s fondness for Aaron Curry. We’ll never know if that’s true, or if Mora simply got outvoted in the war room on draft day.
Hindsight is always 20-20, but Sanchez certainly looks like an excellent starter in the making. He led a conservative Jets offense based on a strong ground game, but in the game against the Colts you could see Sanchez’s ability to throw on the move and hit tight spaces.
Sanchez would have entered last season as Matt Hasselbeck’s backup, and we might have had a full-fledged QB controversy if the rookie had played well during Matt’s missed time due to a broken rib.
But hey, there’s a slew of mediocre talent to pick from this April.
Posted by DHarp75 on January 12, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Pete Carroll's staff is starting to take shape - with one excellent hire in particular.
critics have quickly pointed to the mostly collegiate coaching staff he’s bringing up from USC as one of the reasons he’ll flop in Seattle. But
Carroll quietly made an excellent hire that was announced Tuesday.
Long-time NFL assisant Alex Gibbs was lured away from Houston. Gibbs is considered one of the best offensive line gurus of his generation. Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary and others enjoyed phenomenal success that belied their lack of elite physical tools in Gibbs’ zone-blocking scheme that helped John Elway win a pair of titles.
Ironically, ousted offensive coordiantor Greg Knapp attempted to install a similar system in Seattle last season. It failed for several reasons – poor offensive line talent, poor running back talent, Knapp’s unwillingness to practice the scheme because of the threat of hurting defensive linemen … and Knapp’s poor play-calling in general.
But Gibbs is a legend in coaching circles who has employed this scheme in Denver, Atlanta and Houston, among other stops. That’s not to say Julius Jones or Justin Forsett are suddenly going to turn into elite featured NFL backs. But the Hawks can wait until the middle rounds to pick up a rookie capable of thriving in the one-cut system and use their early-round picks on the many other positions of need.
Meanwhile, those Dawgs out there still steaming at Carroll’s hire can add fuel to their fire with this FOXSports.com column.
Posted by DHarp75 on January 11, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Tim Ruskell apparently took shots at Jim Mora via text message ... AFTER he was fired.
Forget the regular season if the offseason is going to be this entertaining.
The same day the Seahawks finally announced the poorly-hidden courtship of Pete Carroll, we’re learning about an odd feud between fired general manager Tim Ruskell and fired head coach Jim Mora.
Ruskell apparently took issue with Mora promoting the return of Mike Holmgren. No problem there … except that it came after Ruskell was sent packing.
Mora was a college roommate of Hugh Millen, who relayed a text message from Ruskell on KJR this morning, as told by Danny O’Neal. The text message according to Millen said: “Real classy … Now I know I was 100 percent wrong about you and I paid for it dearly.”
Ruskell didn’t pay dearly for anything Mora did. He paid for letting Steve Hutchinson walk in one of the biggest free-agent blunders in NFL history. He paid for trading two first-round picks for Deion Branch. He paid for signing Julius Jones to be his featured back – when Detroit is the only other team thinking along the same lines, you should be worried. He paid for drafting Lawrence Jackson in the first round. He paid for signing over-the-hill injury-prone Mike Wahle. …
You get the point. But this childish shot at Mora via text message just proves how truly dysfunctional this group had become. Perhaps wiping the slate clean and starting over with Caroll will indeed turn out to be a wise move.
Posted by DHarp75 on January 8, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
The Hawks are trying to lure Pete Carroll to be GM & coach with a truckload of money.
A few hours ago we questioned why the Hawks would fire
Jim Mora before hiring a new general manager.
The answer came a few hours later with ESPN and FoxSports.com both reporting that Seattle is trying to make a huge splash by luring Pete Carroll away from USC. If he accepts, Carroll would serve as coach and have a say in personnel matters.
It’s an enticing combination, especially with Paul Allen also willing to back the Brinks truck up to Carroll’s front door as well.
By big splash, we’re not necessarily advocating the move. It would certainly be an attention-grabber and stir up a lot of debate in an area that has very mixed feelings about Carroll thanks to his years of dominating the Pac-10.
But Carroll is also a two-time failure as an NFL head coach. A great defensive mind and motivator of young men, he faces the similar struggles that many collegiate coaches endure when they have to lead players who have already locked up millions of dollars.
Posted by DHarp75 on under PartyHawks Central |
Jim Mora was surprisingly canned by the Hawks in the latest baffling move by the organization.
The Seahawks pulled a surprising move in
firing head coach Jim Mora on Friday. The first question is, why? The second question is, why now?
The team hasn’t hired a new general manager, so why fire the current coach at this point? It’s further proof that the top of the organization has lost its way. From hiring Mora as a coach-in-waiting while Mike Holmgren was still here to holding onto Ruskell at least a year too long to letting a PR mess unfold when Holmgren was interested in returning … the organization continues to make baffling decisions at every turn as the team spirals into the pit of the NFL.
Perhaps there’s a vision. Perhaps they already have a GM closed to coming on board. Perhaps they intend to make a big push for a name like Bill Cowher or Brian Billick. But Cowher isn’t likely to move to the west coast and while Billick does have a Super Bowl title, is he really the answer?
But Mora wasn’t the problem with the team last year. Ruskell left him with a noncompetitive roster that was further decimated by injuries. He’s a young, energetic coach who players will play for if the team is competitive. Perhaps his downfall was his longtime relationship with offensive coordiantor Greg Knapp, who stubbornly stuck with his philosophy for a team ill-equipped to zone-block and refused to put Matt Hasselbeck in the up-tempo situations in which he has thrived throughout his career.
Right now, answers are impossible to come by while the questions keep mounting.
Posted by DHarp75 on January 5, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta is the type of young talent evaluator the Hawks are in need of.
When the new Seahawks general manager is announced sometime this month, the average fan is going to throw their arms up and say, “Who?” But the team brass is going about this the right way … so far.
As much confidence as we’ve all lost in the organization’s direction the past two years, they did the right thing in now caving to the public’s misguided pleas to bring Mike Holmgren back. They’re doing an exhaustive search that is producing the types of candidates this franchise needs – even if it won’t ultimately lead to a big splash name to rev up the fan base.
This is a team in desperate need of playmakers on both sides of the ball. We’re a huge proponent of looking at the personnel departments for teams that have built deep, playoff-contending rosters through strong drafts. That’s what the Seahawks have failed to do, and it’s why they’ve plummeted to the bottom third of the league.
Look at New England, Philadelphia, San Diego, Baltimore and even, gulp, Arizona and soon San Francisco to follow. They are enjoying prolonged runs of success with no signs of slowing down because they continue to pump new talent into the roster on a yearly basis. And among the 10-12 candidates thought to be targeted by Seattle, there is one from each of those teams on the list.
You might have never heard of these names, but here’s hoping one of these proven talent evaluators is introduced at a Seahawks press conference in the near future: Steve Keim (Cardinals), Jimmy Raye (Chargers), Tom Heckert (Eagles), Eric DeCosta (Ravens), John Schneider (Packers), Jason Licht (Patriots), Trent Baalke (49ers)
Posted by DHarp75 on January 4, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Will Jim Mora be around to enjoy the Seahawks' weak 2010 schedule?
As we close the book on 2009, there is uncertainty all over the Seahawks organization. From who the new GM will be to whether
Jim Mora stays to how fast we can send
Deion Branch skidding into the street on his loud butt.
The first two positive things to grab onto are a pair of first-round picks come April and another creampuff schedule.
The 2010 list of opponents was released Monday (dates to be announced later), and the Seahawks made out extremely well. Outside of Arizona, Seattle will play just one 2009 playoff team at home (San Diego) and the only trip to the East Coast is to Tampa (road trip anyone?). New Orleans is the only road playoff team outside of Atlanta.
That means 12 of 16 games will be against teams who are also sitting home watching the playoffs this weekend. Granted, the ‘Hawks turned one of the league’s softest schedules into a 5-11 season in ‘09.
But you have to like a road schedule that includes St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Denver and Oakland. The Seahawks might not be favored to be many – or any depending on how the offseason goes – but they’re all highly winnable games.
HOME OPPONENTS
Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers
ROAD OPPONENTS
Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders
