Seattle Seahawks
2010 record: 7-9
Last playoff appearance: 2010, 7-9, won NFC West, W 41–36 NO, L35-24 CHI
General Manager: John Schneider (2010 – current)
Head Coach: Pete Carroll (2010 – current, 7-9 as Seahawks head coach, 40-40 all-time as NFL head coach)
Offensive Coordinator: Darrell Bevell
Defensive Coordinator: Casey Bradley
Defensive alignment: 4-3
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 19.4 PTS (23rd) 297.8 YDS (28th) 208.8 PASS (19th) 89.0 RUSH (31st)
DEF: 25.4 PTS (25th) 368.6 YDS (27th) 249.6 PASS (27th) 118.9 RUSH (21st)
Jeremy’s Outlook: Since Pete Carroll became head coach last year, there’s been more turnover on Seattle’s roster than in Reggie Bush’s trophy case. But hey, they made the playoffs, that’s got to mean something, right? Free agents coming in this season (Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, Robert Gallery, Tarvaris Jackson, Alan Branch) should help improve the team, right? Wrong and wrong. Seattle is doomed to regress this year…or be stagnant…whichever way you want to look at it. The Rams are going to pass them up and the Cardinals may be doing the same.
Signing Jackson after they hired Darrell Bevell (Jackson’s former offensive coordinator in Minnesota) may be a good idea in theory, but I’m just convinced that Jackson isn’t good enough. He’s not going to have the threat of Adrian Peterson in the run game. The offensive line won’t be as good either, but who knows? Pete Carroll could work his magic. The offensive line is young and full of potential (except Gallery), so it’ll be interesting to see how they progress. In the future, the line could be very impressive. Marshawn Lynch is a mystery to me. After I saw what he could do in the playoff win over the Saints, you’d think that he was All-World. Maybe it was being in Buffalo that prevented him to produce. Seattle WAY overdrafted James Carpenter in my opinion, but if they really liked his run blocking, hey, go for it. More talent for the other teams.
Overall, the defense needs to improve over last year. The rankings and team stats tell the story there. Alan Branch was signed from Arizona to help the interior of the line improve. Lofa Tatupu was let go and David Hawthorne will replace him at middle linebacker. I think that’s an upgrade. Aaron Curry, 2009’s first round pick, has yet to live up to his high draft position (fourth overall). Earl Thomas was a very good pick last year and I like him to become a top safety in the league in the coming years.
Prediction: The Seahawks added talent from the free agent pool and I’d say they ended up with more talent than they had before free agency started. But I just look at quarterback and I downgrade them. Additionally, take a look at their schedule a little bit further down the page. Outside of the NFC West is rough. I see them losing a win in their record from last season and going 6-10.
Projected Starters:
QB: Tarvaris Jackson
RB: Marshawn Lynch
WR: Sidney Rice
WR: Mike Williams
WR: Golden Tate/Ben Obamanu
TE: Zach Miller
OT: Russell Okung
OG: Robert Gallery
C: Max Unger
OG: John Moffitt
OT: James Carpenter
DE: Chris Clemons
DT: Alan Branch
DT: Brandon Mebane
DE: Red Bryant
OLB: LeRoy Hill
MLB: David Hawthorne
OLB: Aaron Curry
CB: Marcus Trufant
CB: Walter Thurmond
FS: Earl Thomas
SS: Kam Chancellor
K: Steven Hauschka
P: Jon Ryan
Fantasy Performers:
1. Marshawn Lynch RB
2. Sidney Rice WR
3. Mike Williams WR
4. Zach Miller TE
5. Tarvaris Jackson QB
2011 schedule:
1 Sep 11 at 49ers 4:15 PM Tickets
2 Sep 18 at Steelers 1:00 PM Tickets
3 Sep 25 vs. Cardinals 4:15 PM Tickets
4 Oct 02 vs. Falcons 4:05 PM Tickets
5 Oct 09 at Giants 1:00 PM Tickets
6 Bye
7 Oct 23 at Browns 1:00 PM Tickets
8 Oct 30 vs. Bengals 4:15 PM Tickets
9 Nov 06 at Cowboys 1:00 PM Tickets
10 Nov 13 vs. Ravens 4:05 PM Tickets
11 Nov 20 at Rams 4:05 PM Tickets
12 Nov 27 vs. Redskins 4:05 PM Tickets
13 Dec 01 vs. Eagles 8:20 PM Tickets
14 Dec 12 vs. Rams 8:30 PM Tickets
15 Dec 18 at Bears 1:00 PM Tickets
16 Dec 24 vs. 49ers 4:15 PM Tickets
17 Jan 01 at Cardinals 4:15 PM Tickets
Re-signed:
Leon Washington RB - 4 yrs, $12.5 mil, $16 with incentives
Michael Robinson RB – 5 yrs, 3.225 million
Sean Locklear OT – 5 yrs, 32 million
Raheem Brock DE – 1 yr
Jay Richardson DE – 1 yr, 466,760
Junior Siavii DT – 1 yr
Brandon Mebane DT – 5 yrs, 25 million, 9 million guaranteed
LeRoy Hill OLB – 6 yrs, 36 million
Free agent acquisitions:
Tarvaris Jackson QB (Vikings) – 2 yrs, 8 million
Sidney Rice WR (Vikings) - 5 yrs, 41 million, 18.5 million guaranteed
Zach Miller TE (Raiders) – 5 yrs, 34 million
Robert Gallery OL (Raiders) – 3 yrs
Ryan Sims DT (FA) – 4 yrs, 8 million
Alan Branch DT (Cardinals) – 2 yrs, 8 million, 4 million guaranteed
Free agent losses:
Matt Hasselbeck QB - signed by Titans
Brandon Stokley WR
Ray Willis OT – Signed by Dolphins
Stacey Andrews OL – signed by Giants
Chris Spencer C – signed by Bears
Matt McCoy OLB – signed with Panthers
Will Herring OLB – Signed with Saints
Lofa Tatupu MLB
Olindo Mare K – Signed with Panthers
Trades:
Traded CB Kelly Jennings to Bengals for DT Clinton McDonald
Picks in 2011 NFL Draft: (overall draft grade: C-): What was more surprising? The Seahawks win over the Saints in the wild card playoffs last year or how bad they drafted? I gave the Seahawks an A- grade in 2010, but their 2011 draft class was clearly a step backwards. Carpenter and Moffitt were picks who can become good players (as is the case with all picks), but the value just wasn’t there. Better players at the same positions were available. Seattle may just feel that both linemen were better fits for what they’re trying to do, however. Just an overall disappointing draft value wise.
(! Indicates draft pick who was interviewed, had a private workout, etc. prior to the draft according to my compiled list):
Rd 1, Pick 25 (25) James Carpenter OL, Alabama – My 61st rated player. He was reportedly a late riser on team’s boards, but I stayed true to what I watched during the season. Seattle said that they liked that he could play four positions along the line and will start out at right tackle. I loved what the Seahawks did in the first round last year (DB Earl Thomas & OT Russell Okung), but I’ve got big concerns about taking Carpenter this high.
Grade: D Rated: 61
Rd 3, Pick 11 (75) John Moffitt OG, Wisconsin – mauler in the run game, but too early to take him. The Seahawks definitely wanted to get stronger in the run game.
Grade: C Rated: 159
Rd 4, Pick 2 (99) K.J. Wright LB, Mississippi State – Solid pick because of the value and the fact that Seattle has been looking for some better production from their linebackers.
Grade: B+ Rated: 111
Rd 4, Pick 10 (107) Kris Durham WR, Georgia! – Durham played well when AJ Green was suspended. I don’t think any of Seattle’s picks were good value.
Grade: F Rated: 307
Rd 5, Pick 23 (154) Richard Sherman DB, Stanford – former wide receiver has good hands, but lacks instincts.
Grade: C Rated: 244
Rd 5, Pick 25 (156) Mark Legree FS, Appalachian State! – This was a weak safety class and I’m seeing a lot of reaches. Seattle has yet another reach here. 22 career interceptions against lower competition.
Grade: C Rated: 225
Rd 6, Pick 8 (173) Byron Maxwell DB, Clemson – Physical corner with good size and speed.
Grade: B- Rated: 233
Rd 7, Pick 2 (205) Lazarius Levingston DL, LSU – Injuries happened a bit too often to the defensive line in Seattle. Levingston will help with depth.
Grade: D+ Rated: 295
Rd 7, Pick 39 (242) Malcolm Smith OLB, Notre Dame! – struggles with tackling some, but is excellent athlete.
Grade: C+ Rated: NR
2010 Stat Leaders
Matt Hasselbeck 266-444 59.9% 3001 YDS 6.8 YPA 12 TD 17 INT 73.2 RTG
Marshawn Lynch 165 ATT 573 YDS 3.5 AVG 39 LNG 6 TD
Mike Williams 65 REC 751 YDS 11.6 AVG 68 LNG 2 TD
Olindo Mare 25-30 83.3% 51 LNG
David Hawthorne 106 TCK
Chris Clemons 11 SCK
Earl Thomas 5 INT
Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)
Darrell Bevell Hired As OC