Posted by DHarp75 on April 29, 2010 under PartyHawks Central | 
LS Matt Overton is a local product out of Western Washington.
The Seahawks did some more post-draft roster tweakage, letting go of RB
DeAngelo Willingham and P
Tom Malone.
Willingham’s time as a roster scrub was numbered when the Hawks loaded up the backfield with the draft-day additions of LenDale White and Leon Washington. Malone was apparently one slappy punter. He was signed in March to be a camp leg so Jon Ryan didn’t get overworked, but only managed to make it through one offseason program before the Hawks decided he wasn’t even worthy of that spot.
In their spots, LS Matt Overton and DB Quinton Teal were added to the 80-man roster. Overton is a Western Washington grad who has been on and off the offseason roster since 2007. He was last cut loose in March, but is getting a look along with Patrick Macdonald as Seattle tries to shore up a long-standing weakness.
Teal has been a strong special teams player for the Panthers in recent seasons, but isn’t much of a threat to crack the two-deep rotation in the secondary.
Posted by DHarp75 on April 24, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
LenDale White said he lost 20 pounds by giving up ... tequila. Welcome to Seattle.
After spending the first two days of the draft making some excellent draft picks, the Hawks turned their attention to veteran castoffs from other teams for their new backfield.
Seattle first traded a fourth-round pick to get LenDale White from Tennessee, and then shipped a fifth-round pick to the Jets for Leon Washington.
White played for Pete Carroll at USC, where he was in the same backfield as Reggie Bush. He’ll have a similar complementary role in Seattle, where Washington and Justin Forsett provide the quicker, home-run hitting ability.
White has always had a different personality. Struggling to maintain his weight during the early seasons of his NFL career, he claimed he dropped 20 pounds last offseason by giving up tequila. That’s right … he open admitted he drank so much of the Mexican goody that he gave it up to get in shape.
If Carroll can keep him motivated, White will provide a bruising presence that will be an important figure in the short-yardage and red-zone running game. Forsett appears to be the starter, with Washington a third-down receiving and big-play threat. Washington – out of FSU, which pleases Mrs. PartyHawk – suffered a scary broken leg in midseason last year, said last week that he is back running and will be ready for training camp.
Noticeably, we haven’t mentioned Julius Jones. That’s because his time with the Hawks has likely – and mercifully – come to an end.
Posted by DHarp75 on under PartyHawks Central |
Golden Tate is an excellent athlete who has also been drafted in baseball.
The Seahawks continued a very solid draft by landing Notre Dame WR
Golden Tate with the 60th overall pick.
Tate was considered a potential first-round talent by our service, and will bring big-play ability in the offense and return game. He’s an excellent athlete who was drafted by Major League Baseball, and his father was a well-known professional boxer.
Tate is a bit undersized, but fights hard for the ball and could emerge as a poor-man’s Steve Smith, although he does need to catch the ball more often with his hands and less with his body. Look for him to play an immediate role as the Hawks’ No. 3 receiver unless Dion Butler significantly steps up his game.
Posted by DHarp75 on April 22, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Walter Jones ... best Hawk ever?
The official end of the line for
Walter Jones is only days away. In saying first-round pick
Russell Okung will start immediately at left tackle, coach
Pete Carroll also intimated that
Jones will make his announcement next Thursday.
Is an expected, but still sad, final chapter for the surefire Hall of Famer. He hasn’t played since Thanksgiving Day 2008, and hasn’t been able to get his balky knee strong enough to last four quarters of football. But his contribution to the Seahawks over the past 13 years will never be forgotten.
Any guess who’ll be raising the 12th Man flag at the home opener?
Posted by DHarp75 on under PartyHawks Central |
With those guns, Russell Okung better be able to push some defensive ends around.
When people asked me who the Hawks would take with the No. 6 overall pick, all I could say was, “as long as it’s not a linebacker, they can’t go wrong.”
In the deepest NFL Draft in 20 years and with one of the league’s worst rosters across the board, the Hawks needed help everywhere. They took two solid steps forward by drafting Russell Okung and Earl Thomas in the first round Thursday.
Okung isn’t quite as athletic as most linemen in Alex Gibbs schemes, but he is a tremendously hard worker with a good attitude who will step in immediately at left tackle with Walter Jones set to retire next week.
Okung isn’t a sexy pick, but it is a very solid one. I personally was pulling for the gamble on greatness with C.J. Spiller, but I can’t argue a bit with Okung. Some thought he’d go as high as No. 2 overall, and he was an excellent pickup at the sixth spot if he does wind up being a long-time stalwart on the blind side.
Cornerback? Safety? Can we clone Earl Thomas and have him play both?
Thomas played safety at Texas, but many NFL scouts consider him a better fit at corner because of his good ball skills and lack of bulk for the safety spot. Either place he winds up, Thomas will be a major upgrade.
He was the No. 2-rated safety by NFLDraftScout.com, and clearly coveted by the Hawks. They feared Philadelphia would snag him when the Eagles moved up to No. 13, and coach
Pete Carroll and GM
John Schneider high-fived when Philly instead picked
Brandon Graham
The Hawks traded their No. 40 overall pick in the Charlie Whitehurst deal, so you won’t hear from them Friday until No. 60, unless they trade back up. They still have significant needs along the offensive line, at running back, on the defensive line and at least one more quality defensive back.
But at least Okung and Thomas are two significant steps in the right direction. And they lend a sigh of relief since the new regime hadn’t shown much of what the plan is so far. Low-level signings and a lot of roster purging finally gave way to some tangible progress Thursday.
Posted by DHarp75 on April 21, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Ben Hamilton is expected to step in at left guard.
After spending most of the offseason dumping players and adding scrubs to the roster to use as bodies for offseason workouts, the Seahawks actually made an impactful move by signing OG
Ben Hamilton.
Hamilton is expected to step in on the left side in place of Rob Sims, who was jettisoned to Detroit because he’s a mauler who didn’t fit the zone-blocking scheme Seattle is employing. Hamilton played for nine seasons in Denver, including under new Hawks offensive line guru Alex Gibbs. He fits the mold of the more athletic linemen the Seahawks are seeking.
And talking about the offensive line, don’t be surprised if the Hawks pass on a left tackle with both of their first-round picks on Thursday. If Oklahoma’s Trent Williams is gone by No. 6 as expected, he’s the most athletic of the top-tier offensive tackles this year. They’d probably skip over Russell Okung and Brian Bulaga and pick up a tackle or nine in the middle and later rounds.
Posted by DHarp75 on under PartyHawks Central |
No surprise that when the 2010 regular-season schedule was released that the Hawks didn’t have any primetime games. Crappy team stuck in the far reaches of the country.
A few quick notes on the schedule:
* Week 5 bye week is a bit early and will force the team to play the final 12 consecutive weeks of the season.
* If the Hawks can beat the 49ers at hom and the Rams on the road, they have a chance to be 2-2 at the bye, and can reevaluate at that point.
* If you play in Oakland ON Halloween … is that redundant?
* Play at Tampa Bay the day after Chrismas. Hmm… Mr. and Mrs. PartyHawk will already be in South Florida. Road trip?!
*The road schedule isn’t as daunting as in som recent seasons. Tampa is the only East Coast trip, with nothing else further than St. Louis and New Orleans … which sounds like another road trip!
Sep. 12 San Francisco 49ers 1:15p
Sep. 19 at Denver Broncos 2:05p
Sep. 26 San Diego Chargers 1:15p
Oct. 3 at St. Louis Rams 12:00p
Oct. 10 BYE
Oct. 17 at Chicago Bears 12:00p
Oct. 24 Arizona Cardinals 1:05p
Oct. 31 at Oakland Raiders 1:15p
Nov. 7 New York Giants 1:05p
Nov. 14 at Arizona Cardinals 2:15p
Nov. 21 at New Orleans Saints 3:05p
Nov. 28 Kansas City Chiefs 1:05p
Dec. 5 Carolina Panthers 1:15p
Dec. 12 at San Francisco 49ers 1:05p
Dec. 19 Atlanta Falcons 1:05p
Dec. 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00p
Jan. 2 St. Louis Rams 1:15p
Posted by DHarp75 on April 17, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
Reggie Williams has been given a second chance by the Hawks - and likely his last - to stay in the NFL.
The Hawks decided to sign
Mike Williams and
Reggie Williams following a three-day tryout at last week’s offseason program.
Question is, can either one make a real impact on this talent-deficient team?
Both are former first-round picks who bombed their way out of the league due to off-field issues. I first met Mike at the 2005 combine. Many people forget he was the other player along with Maurice Clarett who attempted to sue the NFL to test the league’s rule that players have to be at least three years removed from high school to enter the draft.
Back then he came of as cocky and aloof, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when he couldn’t stay in shape after being drafted by Detroit. After eating his way out of the Motor City, Williams bounced to teams including Oakland and Tennessee, and has been out of the league for two years after ballooning as high as 270 pounds. His work ethic has always been the No. 1 concern. No. 2 is that he lacks the speed required to be a difference maker as an NFL receiver and is built more like a tight end.
Apparrently coach Pete Carroll likes his tall possession receivers who lack elite speed, but that description also fits Reggie. The former Husky has always been a good route-runner with above average hands. The main problem has been he can’t separate from receivers, which forces quarterbacks to fit the ball into very tight windows when throwing his way. The other problem has been his fondness for the herb. He was arrested on a drug charge last year and after his release by Jacksonville he spent 2009 out of football.
Our take? If either makes the roster, it’s likely to be Reggie. He has proven an adequate receiver who is an excellent blocker. Meanwhile, Mike, despite his USC ties to Carroll, has never been a productive NFL receiver and has never proven mature enough to stay in shape.
Posted by DHarp75 on under PartyHawks Central |
Every new coaching staff does a roster purge, getting rid of odd fits for their scheme and talent that just doesn’t match up. That continues for Pete Carroll in the days leading up to the draft.
Offensive guard Trevor Canfield was cut loose. The seventh-round pick by Arizona last year was signed off the Cards’ practice squad in December to add a pulse to an injury-ravaged 0-line. He was replaced by Mitch Erickson, who finished last season on Denver’s practice squad.
Also signed was Jaguars defensive back Kennard Cox, a two-year veteran who has bounced between Jags’ practice squad and active roster.
Posted by DHarp75 on April 15, 2010 under PartyHawks Central |
The Hawks expect Big Walt to retire soon.
One-time ironman
Walter Jones has struggled to get on the field the past two years because of knee injuries. And at 36, the Seahawks expect him to retire soon.
That’s what GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll confirmed at the team’s minicamp Tuesday. With the No. 6 overall pick, the Hawks could have a shot at one of the top three left tackles in next week’s draft: Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung, Iowa’s Brian Bulaga or Oklahoma’s Trent Williams.
But don’t be surprised if they pass on an offensive linemen. As we’ve said before, offensive line guru Alex Gibbs’ zone-blocking scheme requires smaller, more athletic linemen. And historically Gibbs-coached teams have found them in the middle and later rounds.
On a side note, my top analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, Rob Rang was at a recent workout and said the starting o-line consisted of (going left to right) Ray Willis, Mike Gibson, Chris Spencer, Max Unger, Sean Locklear.
Willis is NOT an option at left tackle, so someone will be drafted with the mindet of filling that hole. Gibson is an interesting kid – a former undrafted rookie from Cal who fits the athletic mold.
Tags: Brian Bulaga, Chris Spencer, John Schneider, Max Unger, Mike Gibson, Pete Carroll, Ray Willis, Russell Okung, Sean Locklear, Trent Williams, Walter Jones
