Friday cyber surfing: Checking in from the Pro Bowl
Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, Jan. 27:
Here at Seahawks.com, we check in with Earl Thomas, the Seahawks’ second-year free safety who’s in Honolulu for his first Pro Bowl: “Once the Pro Bowl begins on Sunday, it will be just another football game. Right? The tone of Earl Thomas’ voice says otherwise. ‘This is something special to me,’ Thomas said Thursday during a telephone interview from Honolulu, where the Seahawks’ second-year free safety is preparing to play in his first Pro Bowl. ‘I don’t know how the other guys are taking it, but I’m going to give it my best when I get out there. Because I know once I start playing, it’s going to be like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. So I’m just really looking forward to it.”
We also have an item on Marshawn Lynch, who’s also part of the Seahawks’ five-man Pro Bowl contingent, being ranked as the 40th best player in the league by Pro Football Weekly: “Here’s what they had to say about Lynch: ‘Rushing for more than 100 yards in six of Seattle’s last nine games, Lynch finished with a career-high 1,204 yards and 12 rushing TDs (13 total). A bruising, between-the-tackles, downhill runner with make-you-miss ability, Lynch, who is a free agent, runs a lot bigger than his 5-foot-11, 215-pound size – with a ‘Beast Mode’ attitude that has endeared him to the Seahawks’ fan base. Having become the team’s offensive centerpiece and most popular player, Lynch’s re-signing is Pete Carroll’s No. 1 priority.’ ”
Pete Prisco at CBSSports.com checks in with Deon Grant, the former Seahawks strong safety who is now playing an important and versatile role for the Super Bowl-bound Giants: “Over the course of the game (in Week 9 game against the Patriots), Grant lined up 30 times as a linebacker, 26 times as a safety and 13 times on the line of scrimmage. He was locked in man coverage with Rob Gronkowski, New England’s all-world tight end, 15 times, getting an interception of (Tom) Brady when matched in man coverage with Gronkowski. He also blitzed nine times from various spots along the line. ‘It’s a special defense,’ Grant said. ‘Sometimes I am a linebacker. Sometimes I am safety. Sometimes I am a nickel back. It worked that day.’ ”
Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, via CBSSports.com, focuses his Senior Bowl coverage on North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins: “He has put to rest any debate as to who is the most talented senior cornerback in this year’s group with his performance in practice this week. He is a fluid athlete with very light feet and swivel hips to turn and run downfield, but also shows the closing burst and physical nature to attack what’s in front of him. At practice on Wednesday, Jenkins showed impeccable timing and explosion to plant, drive and blow up the play, knocking the ball and North Carolina receiver Dwight Jones to the ground in one of the drills.”
This one has nothing to do with the Seahawks, and little to do with football. But Ian O’Connor’s story on John Mara and his daughter, Rooney, at ESPN.com is a must-read: “Chris Mara, football scout, was on the edge of his seat and staring down the TV as if he were watching the NFL draft. This was Tuesday morning, and the longtime talent evaluator for the New York Giants was waiting to see if a certain prospect was picked in a first round loaded with high-profile stars. Meryl Streep. Glenn Close. Viola Davis. Michelle Williams. Mara didn’t know if his own million-dollar baby would make that kind of Academy Award cut, and he didn’t want to get his heart broken. Again. Yeah, he knew the feeling. Mara badly wanted to be the general manager of the Giants five years ago, only to be told by his brother John that the Oscar would be going to Jerry Reese. So Chris delayed his commute to work to watch the nominations. He figured it was better to be disappointed in his home, alone, than to endure another round of you’ll-get-’em-next-times at the office. And when Rooney Mara’s name was indeed called in the best actress category, her father did what any father of a 26-year-old hopeful would do when nominated for an Oscar. ‘I let out a pretty big scream,’ he said. ‘And then I cried.’ ”
On this date: Seahawks lead AFC Pro Bowl victory
A look at a memorable moment in Seahawks history that occurred on Jan. 27:
1985: Fredd Young blocks a punt to set up a touchdown, Norm Johnson kicks two field goals and Kenny Easley has a game-high 10 tackles as the AFC wins the Pro Bowl 22-14. The Seahawks’ largest Pro Bowl contingent in franchise history also includes Steve Largent, Dave Krieg, Joe Nash and Dave Brown.
Lynch No. 40
Marshawn Lynch actually wears No. 24. But Pro Football Weekly ranks its Top 50 players in the NFL in this week’s issue and the Seahawks’ leading rusher checks in at No. 40.
Here’s what they had to say about Lynch: “Rushing for more than 100 yards in six of Seattle’s last nine games, Lynch finished with a career-high 1,204 yards and 12 rushing TDs (13 total). A bruising, between-the-tackles, downhill runner with make-you-miss ability, Lynch, who is a free agent, runs a lot bigger than his 5-foot-11, 215-pound size – with a ‘Beast Mode’ attitude that has endeared him to the Seahawks’ fan base. Having become the team’s offensive centerpiece and most popular player, Lynch’s re-signing is Pete Carroll’s No. 1 priority.”
No. 1 on PFW’s list? Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. In fact, the top four players are quarterbacks, as the Saints’ Drew Brees, the Patriots’ Tom Brady and the Giants’ Eli Manning follow Rodgers’ in the rankings. You can check out the entire list here.
Lynch is the sixth running back on the list, behind the Ravens’ Ray Rice (11), Texans’ Arian Foster (13), Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew (17), Eagles’ LeSean McCoy and Saints’ Darren Sproles (25).
Lynch is currently in Hawaii, where he will represent the NFC in Sunday’s Pro Bowl along with teammates Earl Thomas, Michael Robinson, Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner.
Thursday cyber surfing: Lynch upstaged
Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, Jan. 26:
Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times checks in from the red carpet at last night’s Sports Star of the Year banquet: “The incredible still occurs, and some of it happened last year. Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard touchdown run in the Seahawks’ playoff victory over the Saints was one such moment. So was Sounders FC winning a third consecutive U.S. Open Cup. Yet both of those moments were topped by Eastern Washington winning a national football title as the sports story of the year.”
Bob Condotta at the Times has the list of winners.
Here at Seahawks.com, via SoundersFC.com, we take a look at Gary Wright, who was named Executive of the Year at the event: “Gary Wright’s office at Virginia Mason Athletic Center could be mistaken for a combined Sounders FC/Seahawks mini museum. It is filled with mementos from the 32 seasons he spent with the NFL team, features memorabilia from his three years as senior vice president of business operations for the MLS club and includes souvenirs from his love affair with the game they call soccer in the United States. But two items among the photos, jerseys, plaques and other tributes – aside from the pictures of his five grandchildren in their kit – mean the most to Wright: The Sounders FC Brand Wheel, which is framed and on the wall behind his desk; and a “full” team photo of the club, which includes all the employees as well as the players, that dominates another wall. These two objects also explain how Wright is approaching being named Executive of the Year at 77th annual Sports Star of the Year banquet on Wednesday night at Benaroya Hall.”
Dave Boling at the News Tribune weighs in on the Seahawks having five participants in Sunday’s Pro Bowl – Earl Thomas, Michael Robinson, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner and Marshawn Lynch: “They’re all young (average age 25), they were all acquired during the two-year reign of Pete Carroll/John Schneider, and all but one has represented a bit of a reach in some respects. What it says, then, is that these managers are willing to take a few chances, and they seem effective at targeting talent when they do.”
The Seahawks’ contingent has left Mobile, but preparations continue for Saturday’s Senior Bowl. Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, via CBSSports.com, says Boise State pass-rusher Shea McClellin is using the week to emerge from the shadows of more heralded teammates: “ ‘Don’t write too much about the guy,’ one high-ranking scout said following practice Wednesday.‘We’ve been on him all year long and don’t want others jumping on him now.’ Sorry, but it is unfathomable that McClellin’s play this week was unnoticed by the rest of the league. Listed by the Broncos at 6-3, 255 pounds, McClellin was moved around a great deal but saw the majority of his snaps at defensive end, where he’s currently rated by NFLDraftScout.com as a fourth-round value. McClellin accepted the invitation to the Senior Bowl, anticipating he would remain at the position but perhaps see some time at linebacker. Instead, he has worked almost exclusively at linebacker, taking virtually every snap Wednesday on the weak side and proving his versatility and draft grade are perhaps significantly underrated.”
Rang also looks at a trio of players who have forced him to reevaluate his assessments, including Boise State’s George Iloka: “At nearly 6-4 and 222 pounds, Iloka looks more like a potential linebacker than a free safety, but his athleticism and instincts have been on display all week long. He intercepted a pass during Tuesday’s practice, making an impressive diving pick-off of Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins in front of Massachusetts’ H-back Emil Igwenagu. Iloka is not surprisingly a bit high in his back pedal but he showed surprising agility and burst when asked to drop down and cover receivers when the offense switched to a three receiver set. In a relatively weak year for safeties (outside of Alabama’s Mark Barron), Iloka’s size, athleticism and experience (40 consecutive starts) stand out.”
Simon Samano at NFL.com takes a look at Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, who might be short in stature but is long on intangibles: “In 2011, his only season with the Badgers after transferring from North Carolina State, Wilson led Wisconsin to an 11-3 record, including a heartbreaking defeat to Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Wilson finished with a career-high 33 touchdown passes to just four interceptions and dramatically improved his accuracy with a 72.8 completion percentage. Those numbers speak volumes, but what makes Wilson “intriguing,” as NFL network draft guru Mike Mayock says, are his intangibles. Mayock has even gone so far as to compare Wilson to Doug Flutie.”
On this date: Knox hired
A look the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Jan. 26:
1983: Chuck Knox is named head coach. Knox previously had coached the Rams (1973-77) and Bills (1978-82), guiding seven of his 10 teams to the playoffs and winning six division titles. He would lead the Seahawks to their initial playoff berth, and the AFC Championship game, in his first season.
1999: Mike Reinfeldt is named senior vice president, following executive VP of football operations/general manager and coach Mike Holmgren from Green Bay to Seattle.
Seahawks remember Joe
Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson and wide receiver Deon Butler are in Happy Valley, where former Penn State coach Joe Paterno is being remembered following his death on Sunday.
Robinson and Butler played for Paterno, and the Nittany Lions, and have said repeatedly what an impact their time at Penn State and with Paterno meant to their careers and lives. Former Seahawks wide receiver Bobby Engram also played for Paterno at Penn State.
And Robinson and Engram were included in the memories shared Tuesday by Paterno’s son, Jay.
“There’s Slot Left 62Z Post, Bobby Engram’s touchdown against Michigan, we won the game in ’94 out there,” Jay Paterno said.
“There’s a touchdown, Mike Robinson to Derrick Williams, Northwestern in ’05,” he added.
Ivan Maisel at ESPN.com was at the ceremony in University Park, Pa., and provides additional details here.
Thanks, Gary
Gary Wright will be honored as Executive of the Year tonight at the 77th annual Sports Star of the Year banquet for his work as senior vice president of business affairs with Sounders FC.
But without his efforts in several roles with the Seahawks from their inception in 1976 until he retired as vice president of administration in 2008, well, there likely would not have been the job he currently holds with the MLS team or the award he will be presented tonight at Benaroya Hall.
Most fans – of either team – don’t know Wright, or what he does so well behind the scenes. But those who do are aware of his invaluable contributions and the no-nonsense approach and class with which he has conducted his business over the past 36 years.
Suffice it to say, neither franchise would be as successful without his Wright-stuff efforts.
Tod Leiweke knows. He worked with Wright in both his professional incarnations from 2003-10 as CEO of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment.
“Gary is not only a great sports executive, but he is a great man and as responsible for the success of the Sounders off the field as any one person,” Leiweke, now CEO of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, said this week.
As for Wright’s impact on the Seahawks, you only need to know one thing about him: When Steve Largent was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, he chose Wright to present him at the induction ceremony that summer.
There’s much more to Wright’s story, and you can read it here in this feature at SoundersFC.com.
Wednesday cyber surfing: Pro Bowl and Senior Bowl
Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, Jan. 25:
Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times wraps up three more Seahawks being added to the NFC Pro Bowl squad in less than 24 hours: “In the previous two years, the Seahawks were the only team in the NFL that did not have a player either named to the Pro Bowl or chosen as an injury replacement. Seattle’s five Pro Bowlers matches the franchise’s fourth-largest contingent.”
John Boyle at the Everett Herald and Eric Williams at the News Tribune also weigh in on Marshawn Lynch’s addition to the Pro Bowl.
Here at Seahawks.com, we take a closer look at Brandon Browner’s improbable journey from the CFL to the Pro Bowl: “ ‘I was up there for four years, trying to get back every season,’ Browner said. ‘I got a few calls after every season up there, but nothing ever panned out. The best I could get was a tryout.’ The Seahawks gave him a chance, albeit a slim one, by signing Browner to a future contract last Jan. 21. The idea when training camp opened in late July was that Walter Thurmond would be the starter on the right side. But when a sprained ankle sidelined Thurmond, Browner stepped in – and there he stayed. ‘I had a good feeling about it here, once they said they would give me a shot,’ Browner said. ‘That’s all I really wanted was a shot. I knew I was going to make the most of it. Once they gave me that shot, I jumped on it and went at it as hard as I could.’ ”
We also take a closer look at Lynch’s addition to the team: “Lynch did not have a 100-yard effort in the first seven games, when he sat out one due to back spasms. But in the final nine games, Lynch went for 135, 109, 111, 148, 115 and 107. Part of that was the coaching staff deciding that running the ball with Lynch gave the offense its best chance to sustain drives, and the team its best opportunity to win. In the games where Lynch had at least 20 carries, the Seahawks were 5-3. In the games were he didn’t get 20 carries, they were 2-6.”
Mike Sando at ESPN.com looks at the 2010 draft classes in the NFC West after Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor was added to the NFC Pro Bowl squad: “(Free safety Earl) Thomas and Chancellor are making this a successful class. (Left tackle Russell) Okung might be the best of the three, but only if he can get healthy. (Cornerback Walter) Thurmond was a starter until suffering an injury at Cleveland. He’ll have a hard time winning back a starting job now that Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman have locked down jobs. But he could still factor. (Wide receiver Golden) Tate made strides late in the 2011 season.”
Also at ESPN, they have started a series looking at current NFL players who also could have been effective in any era.
Rob Rang at NFLDraftScout.com, via CBSSports.com, has the word from Tuesday’s practices at the Senior Bowl: “With Penn State’s Devon Still – NFLDraftScout.com’s top-rated senior defensive tackle – out of the Senior Bowl due to a sprained toe, scouts were curious to see which of the remaining interior defensive linemen would be able to step up their play. Based on Tuesday’s North practice, Connecticut’s Kendall Reyes and Michigan’s Mike Martin are taking full advantage of the opportunity.”
Rang also has a new mock draft, but gives the Seahawks the same player as in his previous mock – USC defensive end Nick Perry: “Having captured a full third of Seattle’s 33 sacks in 2011, Chris Clemons has quietly emerged as one of the NFL’s most productive pass rushers. His statistics are inflated due to the matchups presented by Seattle’s LEO position, a hybrid pass-rushing role. Carroll recruited Perry to Southern Cal three years ago to fill precisely this role. The 6-3, 255-pound Perry led the Pac-12 with 9.5 sacks as a junior and may be just scratching the surface of his potential. Whether serving as a complement to Clemons or as his eventual replacement, Perry’s speed and pass rushing potential will be highly valued come draft day.”
Bucky Brooks at NFL.com tackles some questions from the Senior Bowl, including one that could interest the Seahawks: Who is the third-best QB in this draft class? Says Brooks: “The competition for the third quarterback position on draft boards is wide open with Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden, Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins and Arizona’s Nick Foles viewed as viable contenders for the spot. … One player to watch is San Diego State’s Ryan Lindsey. He spent four years directing a wide-open attack that featured several pro concepts and his intriguing physical tools could shine on the Senior Bowl’s big stage.”
Also at NFL.com, Pat Kirwan looks at the offensive and defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl: “The Senior Bowl has a reputation for showcasing a number of quality linemen that can play in the NFL, and this year appears to be no different. There may not be a sure-fire left tackle that can start on opening day or an Aldon Smith-type pass rusher on either roster, but teams that do their homework will find a number of players that can contribute early in their professional careers.”
On this date: Solari hired
A look at a memorable moment in Seahawks history that occurred on Jan. 25:
2008: Mike Solari is named offensive line coach on Mike Holmgren’s staff, for Holmgren’s final season as coach.
And Lynch makes five
Marshawn Lynch has become the fifth Seahawk on the NFC Pro Bowl roster.
The Seahawks’ Beast Mode running back, a second alternate in voting by players, coaches and fans, was added today because the 49ers’ Frank Gore is unable to play in Sunday’s game at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu due to an illness.
Free safety Earl Thomas was voted a starter to the Pro Bowl, while fullback Michael Robinson, cornerback Brandon Browner and strong safety Kam Chancellor – all first alternates – have been added as injury replacements.
Lynch produced Pro Bowl-worthy numbers during his first full season with the Seahawks, putting up career bests in rushing yards (1,204), rushing touchdowns (12) and total TDs (13). In doing so, Lynch became the Seahawks’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Shaun Alexander in 2005 and set a franchise record by scoring in 11 consecutive games.
He joins the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy, the starter, and the Bears’ Matt Forte as the running backs on the NFC squad.
