|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 02:41:20 pm
Here are Seattle's draft picks now that the compensatory picks have been issued:  Essentially, the Seahawks lost four spots in the fourth round because (4) compensatory picks were issued in the third round; they lost 5 spots in the fifth round; one spot in the sixth round; and nine spots in the seventh round.
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 01:09:19 pm
Here is who got compensatory picks, which are based on salary, playing time and postseason honors for players who leave via free agency: Baltimore 4 Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell said right before free agency that he expected to get a compensatory pick, though that clearly was not the case.
Posted by Dale Phelps @ 12:18:07 pm
Frank is at the owners meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. He currently doesn’t have Internet access, but passes along this bit of news: The NFL today awarded 15 teams a total of 32 compensatory draft choices, but the Seahawks were not one of those teams.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 7 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 11:01:52 am
A lot of things were covered, so I'll just start listing them: * It sounds preliminarily like there is not a great deal of support for re-seeding. I spoke with Tony Dungy for a few minutes, and he seems to think that if winning a division title means nothing, then just scrap the whole division breakdown and give playoff berths to the top six teams based on record. I think most are of a feeling that winning a division should mean something. It is not a dead issue and has not been voted on, but it sounds like there is some push against the current proposal.
Categories: NFL Meetings
• 5 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 08:39:26 am
The league's executives are in meetings right now, locked up for about another hour in a ballroom at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach. There is a news conference at 1 ET during which they will update us about some of the morning activities. I will file a post after that. I ran into Tim Ruskell briefly, but he was on his way into the meeting and couldn't talk. I'm hoping he has some time later. Also, I think the league is going to issue compensatory picks today, though most folks are saying the Seahawks are not due to get any, even though Ruskell said earlier he thought they were. We'll see how that shakes out, as well.
Categories: NFL Meetings
• 1 comment
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 08:17:18 pm
Lindsey is a long snapper the team signed after the regular season. This is really a poor job of writing a story (I'm assuming the TV station's site on which it is posted does not have editors), but there is some mildly interesting information in there if this guy happens to be the team's next long snapper. You have to fight through the grammar.
Categories: Street free agents
• 15 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 03:51:04 pm
As always, traveling is for some reason an odyssey. I had a 6 am flight this morning to Palm Beach to attend the owners meetings, which start tomorrow. But just before we were about to take off, the underground gas line at Sea-Tac blew and apparently there was a geyser of airplane fuel that spouted 100 feet into the air at Alaska Airlines, at least according to our captain. So we had to sit around for over an hour waiting for that to be rectified before we could take off. In Denver, I landed after my connection took off, but sprinted to the gate anyway just in case they were late. They had actually held the plane for me and a few other passengers, though there was not time for luggage to make it. So here I sit in Florida wearing my cold-weather Seattle gear. Hopefully it will get here by tonight, but who knows. Se la vie. A few of the topics that will be discussed this week include: * The collective bargaining agreement, which is not up for a few more years but already there is discussion of a lockout/strike because the owners are said to be displeased with the amount of money they are paying out in salaries. One thing I think they will probably look at is a rookie salary scale to avoid the huge payouts that are going out to first-rounders, which particularly hurts for teams that draft players who happen to be busts.
Categories: NFL Meetings
• 8 comments
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:11:11 am
The Denver Post did a pretty good piece on former Seahawk Niko Koutouvides, why he left Seattle and what he is expected to do in Denver. Here is the link.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 20 comments
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 03:14:02 pm
There was a story on the Web today about a Seahawks fan who was working in a fast-food restaurant, and he ended up spitting on the hamburger of a guy wearing some Steelers gear after they traded words about the Super Bowl. Here is the link. Ummm, yuck.
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 10:05:14 am
With Olindo Mare choosing Seattle over Denver a year after Patrick Kerney made the same decision, the Broncos (who beat out the Seahawks for Daniel Graham) are left looking for a kicker. The pickings are slim, according to the Rocky Mountain News. Mare may be on the downside of his career and he is probably a downgrade from Josh Brown, but at least the Seahawks have a proven guy in hand and they still can draft or sign a youngster to compete in camp.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 23 comments
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:50:00 pm
Here is the press release: Kirkland, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks have signed 12-year veteran kicker Olindo Mare, the team announced this evening. Originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent in 1996 where he spent the season on the practice squad, he spent 10 years with the Miami Dolphins before spending the 2007 season with the New Orleans Saints. He left Miami as the Dolphins all-time leader in field goals (245), scoring (1,048) and field goal accuracy (.809, 245 of 303). He has posted six 100-point seasons in his career, including a career-high 144 points in his Pro Bowl season in 1999 when he set a then-NFL record with 39 field goals made. Mare has played in 168 career games and connected on 255 of 320 field goals (.797) with a long of 54.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 37 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:32:28 pm
Apparently, PK Olindo Mare's visit with Seattle went well. He was is expected to sign a two-year, $3.5 million contract with Seattle on Thursday. The story was first reported by Pro Football Talk. Mare will replace Josh Brown, who departed for St. Louis via free agency. Here is a profile of Mare. It is unclear what this means for the Seahawks in terms of the draft, or post-draft. GM Tim Ruskell has said that he wants to sign a veteran and have him compete with a draft pick or an undrafted rookie. It remains to be seen if that is still the case. Also, this seems to pretty much to complete the Seahawks' transactions in free agency. This was one of the final things Ruskell needed to do before concentrating on the draft.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 26 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 10:31:48 am
Here's the team's press release: WHAT: Installation of FieldTurf at Qwest Field PHOTOS: 28 rolls of FieldTurf Crews sewing the rows of FieldTurf together WHEN: Thursday, March 27 from 1-2:30 p.m. WHO: Donny Jones, FieldTurf representative
Categories: Miscellaneous
• 10 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:00:17 am
The NFL held a teleconference yesterday in preparation for its owners meetings in Palm Beach next week, which I will be attended and from which I will be blogging. One of the primary goals of the meetings is to revisit the competitive balance in the league. Rich McCay, a co-chairman of the competition committee, said after reviewing last year, the league thinks the competitive balance is in good condition, citing these examples: * A fifth seed won the Super Bowl this year, two seasons after a sixth seed won the Super Bowl. (I know, I know, splenectomy needed for the latter portion of that sentence.) * In the AFC-NFC crossover games, each conference won 32 games in head-to-head competition. * Statistically, plays were up to 153.1 a game. Points were up to 43.4, the highest since 1983. Yards per game were up to 650.4, the 10th highest in league history. And passing yards were 428 a game, second-highest in league history. * Touchdowns per game were up to 4.85. Penalties per game were down, to 13.45 -- which seems like a high number if you watch the infrequently penalized Seahawks play regularly. And length of game is down to 3:02:59, which the league says it is happy with given the inclusion of instant replay.
Categories: NFL Meetings
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 07:32:51 am
He has not taken it yet, according to the Rocky Mountain News, and still could land in Seattle. A kicker is the last big item left on Tim Ruskell's offseason to-do list before the draft -- at least in terms of signing people.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 20 comments
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:44:18 pm
Here are a few quotes from Marcus Trufant after signing his big contract today: “All the way around, even from your rookie year on, making it to your next contract, that’s what a lot of the players are into now. As you’re coming in your agents tell you what you can do after you play out your first contract so getting to this day is a dream come true. It kind of just seems like everything is working out like a storybook in my life. I played ball here. I grew up here. I got to play college ball here, NFL ball here. I’m getting married in Seattle. Things just all come together and it’s kind of like a dream come true.” “Does a contract like this motivate me anymore? I don’t know if it motivates me a whole lot more. Being the player that I am, the kind of guy I am, I’m going to go give a 110 percent every time. I want to be the same player, get better, but at the same time I want to still do what I’ve been doing; getting better at that and not try to do things all out of the ordinary. Do this and do that. I’m going to be the same player. I’m going to work hard in practice every day and try to help my team win ball games.” “The foundation has been something that my family and I have been very involved with in the community and the foundation will benefit. First off, I’ll be here in town so I’ll be able to be at all the functions, be at all my bowling tournaments and all that kind of stuff that I do like that. I’ll be close to my mom and my dad. I’ll be able to work with them as they go out into the community. I think that’s the main thing, that I’m here in Seattle so I’ll have that close base, that relationship with the foundation. I wouldn’t be running from out of town and doing stuff like that. I’ll be able to go out and meet and greet people, shake hands, high five, and do all that kind of stuff.”
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:08:46 am
Marcus Trufant's deal is actually $50.2 over six seasons. He has a $10 million signing bonus for this year, a $7 million roster bonus in March of 2009, and a $3 million roster bonus for March of 2010. His salary for this year and next year will be $1 million, and his salary for the third year of the deal is $5.7 million. He also has $100,000 workout bonuses. Effectively, he has $28 million in guaranteed money, assuming he plays for the Seahawks for the next three years. When you take into account that Washington state does not have a state income tax, Trufant's deal is actually pretty close to the deals given to Nate Clements and now DeAngelo Hall because California's state income tax is 9.8 percent. This is no small consideration. When I was covering the Washington Bullets way back in the mid-90s, Juwan Howard went to the Miami Heat for $98 million. The NBA voided the contract, saying there was improper contact, but the Bullets had to give Howard a $105 million contract to make the contracts equal because Florida, like Washington, has no state income tax.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 26 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 07:48:06 am
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract with the Seahawks late last night. He will sign the contract today. It is unclear if the sides will announce the decision today or wait a day. It also is unclear what the guarantees or signing bonuses are, though my guess is he got between $15-$20 million guaranteed, in line with the contract that Asante Samuel received. With an $8.33 million average, both sides gave some on negotiations. Trufant had been asking for about $9 million a season, while the Seahawks came in somewhere around $8 million a year in their latest offer. I don't know yet what Trufant's opening contract number will be, but I presume it is close to the $3 million he was offering in his initial proposal, which would save the Seahawks $6.5 million under the salary cap, which they will need to sign a new kicker, as well as some of their draft picks.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 30 comments
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 03:47:23 pm
 Greetings from sunny Arizona where it's 91 degrees ... I was perusing my e-mail and received this press release about a few Hawks signings so here it is.... Kirkland, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive end Chris Cooper and linebacker D.D. Lewis to one-year contracts, the team announced today. Cooper, entering his seventh season, went to training camp with Seattle in 2006 but was released and picked up by Arizona where he spent the last two seasons. He has played in 78 career games with 12 starts and posted 135 tackles (101 solo) and 8.5 sacks. Lewis started his career in Seattle in 2002 after making the team as an undrafted rookie free agent. He played five years for the Seahawks, starting 18 of 48 games, with 141 tackles (103 solo) and served a key role on special teams where he had 26 tackles and a blocked punt. He signed with Denver as an unrestricted free agent on April 26, 2007 but was released on October 16 after playing in five games for the Broncos.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 40 comments
Posted by Darrin Beene @ 10:53:44 am
From News Tribune wire services: Told that The Sporting News had selected Ted Thompson as its George Young NFL Executive of the Year, Ron Wolf was not surprised. “If I had told you before the season that the Packers would go 13-3 and make it to the NFC title game, you would’ve sent me to the loony bin,” says Wolf, the Packers’ former general manager who hired Thompson in 1992 as assistant director of pro personnel. “Ted understands every aspect of how an organization works. That’s why he was able to put together a winning team so quickly.” Since rejoining the Packers as general manager in 2005 after a stint in Seattle, Thompson has blended the right mix of players. He has kept productive veterans such as end Aaron Kampman, wide receiver Donald Driver and offensive tackle Chad Clifton while acquiring such players as linebacker A.J. Hawk, cornerback Charles Woodson, running back Ryan Grant, tight end Donald Lee and wide receivers Greg Jennings and James Jones. Thompson also hired Mike McCarthy, who won a division championship in only his second season as a coach. “Ted rebuilt the Packers quickly and efficiently with expert drafting and roster management and selected the right coach at the right time,” says Rams G.M. Jay Zygmunt. Thompson displayed that same eye for talent when he was the Seahawks’ vice president of football operations from 2000 through 2004. Nine of Seattle’s starters in Super Bowl 40 were drafted by Thompson. The Packers face another challenge this offseason with the retirement of Brett Favre, but Thompson began preparations for the post-Favre era in 2005 when he drafted Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick. “I’m sure the Packers had other needs at that point, but Ted saw the need for a young quarterback, and now that pick has a lot greater impact than it did at the time,” says Wolf. “You can look pretty smart if you have a knack for planning ahead. That’s Ted. The Packers are in good hands.” Giants general manager Jerry Reese finished second in the polling of 48 NFL executives, while VP of player personnel Scott Pioli of the Patriots was third.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 8 comments
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Posted by Doug Pacey @ 12:22:56 pm
Updated at 1:15 p.m. The Seahawks have announced that Lofa Tatupu has signed a contract extension through the 2015 season. ESPN.com is reporting that the six-year extension is worth $40 million, with $16 million guaranteed. The deal includes the remaining two years on his original contract, plus six additional years. The Seahawks restructured the contracts of Patrick Kerney, Deon Grant, Craig Terrill and Jordan Babineaux to make Tatupu's deal work. Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said Tatupu's extension did not "free up any cap space." The contract is essentially an eight-year deal, which is nearly unheard of in the NFL, and all but ensures that Tatupu will be a Seahawk for the rest of his pro football career. "I couldn't picture myself in any other uniform," Tatupu said, "and now I don't have to." Seattle general manager Tim Ruskell said the team and Tatupu's agent, Fletcher Smith, began talking about a contract extension in the summer, but the talks heated up after the playoffs. The third-year middle linebacker has made Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell and head coach Mike Holmgren look awfully smart after they traded up to select the Southern Cal linebacker in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Since then, Tatupu has made three straight trips to the Pro Bowl and averaged 112 tackles per season. As for running back Shaun Alexander, Ruskell said there has been no movement on that front. Ruskell did say that the team is still looking at what players are available in the free agent market, but said none of the signings will be a "big deal." The Seahawks are still in need of a kicker after Josh Brown signed with St. Louis earlier in the off-season.
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 09:37:15 am
 Is it "The End of the Road" for Shaun? Greetings from sunny Peoria, Arizona The Seahawks just issued a e-mail announcing press conference today with Mike Holmgren and Tim Ruskell at 12:30 p.m. The announcement didn't have any other specifics. I just got off the phone with Frank, who's actually in Tucson but doesn't have internet access, so I'd told him I'd post this. We were guessing on what this press conference is about.... the guess.... Shaun Alexander. Could it be Shaun agreed to restructure his contract? It seems unlikely, but who knows. Frank was told that neither Holmgren nor Ruskell was going to be available before the draft. And now they are having this press conference. Also it would seem logical to take care of the situation with Shaun before the draft. Or could it be Marcus Trufant signing a contract? Who knows? But I doubt the email would've been so cryptic if it was Trufant signing... Again this is only a guess at this point. Frank said he'd call me if heard anything and I'll post it for you ASAP. We're all about team here at the TNT.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 43 comments
Monday, March 17th, 2008
Posted by Darrin Beene @ 10:56:00 am
Free agent wideout D.J. Hackett agreed to two-year, $3.5 million deal with Carolina on Monday as the Panthers continued to upgrade their receiving corps. The former Seahawk chose Carolina over Seattle, Washington and Tampa Bay, according to his agent, Kevin Robinson. The Panthers have been busy trying to get star receiver Steve Smith help after he faced constant double-teams last season. The Panthers signed receiver Muhsin Muhammad last month after he was released by Chicago. The 6-foot-2 Hackett provides a big target opposite the small and speedy Smith. The 26-year-old Hackett has been plagued by injuries.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 145 comments
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 01:16:21 pm
For those of you who were not big Darrell Jackson fans, you were vindicated. He was cut today by the Niners. Here is a blog entry from the San Francisco Chronicle, which points out that the Seahawks got Baraka Atkins with the pick that they got from San Francisco for Jackson. Also, with news from Kirkland slowing to a crawl, I am taking some time off until the owners meetings commence in Florida at the end of the month, from which I will blog in full. After some discussion in the office, I have been assured that Darrin Beene and Dale Phelps will continue to post any news regarding the Seahawks on the blog so it does not go inactive in the time that I am gone. I know that was issue last time I took some time and we want to address it. I will be keeping in touch with the Marcus Trufant situation, and will of course write if anything happens with Shaun. Until then ... Friday, March 14th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 06:32:14 pm
The NFL Media Web site released a statement today about how many of its shows, including Inside the NFL on HBO, has been nominated for television Emmys. In fact, Inside the NFL received the most nominations, according to the release. Why is this pertinent? Because the show has been canceled. Which makes you wonder why? Here is the speculation on Wikipedia: On February 6, 2008, HBO suddenly announced that the show would end its run after 31 seasons. HBO Sports cited increased competition in NFL-related programming since the show's inception as a reason for its cancellation.[1] Skeptics, however, believe that the real reason for HBO's decision to drop the show was due to the increasing cost[2] for usage of the NFL Films produced highlights. In the final episode, a taped montage with highlights from the series' 31 seasons was aired. In addition, former hosts Dawson and Buoniconti did the final signoff as the credits rolled. Bob Costas soon regarded the cancellation by HBO as being a "boneheaded"[3] move.
Categories: Programming Note
• 27 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:26:00 pm
Here is a blog item from Philadelphia that talks about the Washington Nationals stealing the 12th Man concept for their new stadium in D.C. and applying it to baseball -- which would I guess make it the 10th man. Anyway, here is the blog post: Because No One's Tired of the 12th Man Gimmick The Nationals, wanting fans to feel all warm and cozy in the confines of the new stadium they're set to open this spring, are actually going to attempt to apply the "12th Man" theme made popular by Texas A&M and the Seattle Seahawks. So I guess Phillies players and fans should be intimidated by the menacing 10th man in DC, despite their not having even set foot in the new stadium yet, nor the Nats having finished higher than 4th since relocating from Montreal.
Categories: Miscellaneous
• 16 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:14:05 am
The well-traveled wide receiver visits Tampa Bay today in an effort to see if he can play opposite Joey Galloway. Here is the link to the Tampa paper. It'll be interesting to see if Hackett gets close to the type of deal he was hoping for by leveraging Washington, Carolina and Tampa against each other. None of the three seem inclined to overpay for him. And Seattle always remains a possibility.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 28 comments
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:15:09 pm
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant received a counterproposal from the team, according to a league source, though the sides do not appear close to coming to an agreement. The exact amount of the counterproposal is not known, though it is somewhere between where the two sides started at the beginning of free agency. Ten days ago, Trufant approached the Seahawks and told them he would take a contract worth less on average than the $9.5 million a year that Asante Samuel signed with Philadelphia shortly after free agency began on Feb. 29. It is believed Trufant told the Seahawks he would take about $9 million a year over five or six years. Before free agency began, the Seahawks offered Trufant a deal that was worth approximately $7 million a season – though that offer was extended before Samuel signed his contract, which affirmed a cornerback market that had been established by Nate Clements in San Francisco last offseason. Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell did not immediately reply to Trufant’s proposal because he was working on the contracts of running backs T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones. It is not clear how the Seahawks and Trufant left their latest round of negotiations, though the league source said a resolution does not appear imminent. After Trufant did not accept their initial offer, the Seahawks designated Trufant their franchise player, tendering him an offer worth $9.465 million. That amount is eating up much of the Seahawks’ cap space, which they would like to use to sign other free agents and/or their upcoming draft class. Trufant’s proposal 10 days ago would have allowed the Seahawks to save $6.5 million in cap space because he would have taken a 2008 salary and bonus of around $3 million.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 30 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 07:41:50 pm
He visited Seattle a few weeks ago. He re-signed with Baltimore, according to Ravens Insider.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 1 comment
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:03:01 pm
The Washington Times (which I worked for from 1994-97) talked to Jim Zorn about D.J. Hackett's visit to Redskins Park and Zorn (as he always is) was pretty candid about the Hackett situation. Here is the link. It's a pretty good read. Zorn maintains Seattle is a destination for the big wide receiver. Also, I am not hearing anything happening on the Marcus Trufant front -- which makes me think there is something happening on the Marcus Trufant front. I know Ruskell was busy with the RBs last week and so couldn't address Trufant, but I think that is his next order of business. I'll let you know as information becomes available.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 15 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 03:52:54 pm
Former Seahawks QB Trent Dilfer was released today by the San Francisco 49ers. Not that it means a ton to Seahawks fans, though there was some speculation after the season that Dilfer should be Hasselbeck's QB coach after Zorn departed. To this day, Hasselbeck regularly talks about Dilfer and the affect he had on his career when he took Hasselbeck's starting job from him. In any case, here is the AP story on Dilfer's release: SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) _ The San Francisco 49ers terminated quarterback Trent Dilfer's contract Thursday, possibly signaling the end of the 14-year veteran's career.
Categories: Former Players
• 13 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 09:07:06 am
It appears as if Hackett's agent, Kevin Robinson, is lobbying for the Seahawks' free-agent wide receiver to land in Carolina, opposite Steve Smith. Here is a story in the Charlotte Observer quoting Robinson as saying that Hackett would like to join a playoff team and he thinks Carolina is that team. Not quite sure how that makes Washington or Tampa Bay feel, but ... Also, if you are interested in a feel-good story, here is the link to a story about David Kirtman going to a local school to talk to the kids. These stories usually don't get that much publicity from cynical sportswriters so they are nice to read occasionally.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 23 comments
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:45:03 pm
This is Frank's wife -- he's away from his computer right now but he asked me to post this. After multiple calls, Shaun's agent Jim Steiner called Frank to basically say he couldn't comment on Shaun's situation. He said that when there is any news, the Seahawks and Shaun will issue a joint press release. He could not comment on the time frame for a resolution.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 36 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 12:02:21 pm
According to Scout.com, wide receiver D.J. Hackett will visit Tampa Bay and then Carolina after his visit with Washington tomorrow. Tampa and the Redskins were the first two teams to contact Hackett, but they waited until now to bring him in. Here is the link to the story. Also, speaking of receivers, a sort of interesting side story is going on in San Francisco, where Jerry Rice has given Isaac Bruce permission to wear the No. 80, in the same way that Steve Largent allowed Rice to wear 80 when Rice briefly played in Seattle. It is a topic of debate, of course, because if somebody else is wearing it is it truly a retired number. In any case, if you are interested, here is a link to a story that discusses the subject.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 29 comments
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 06:04:43 pm
This is an update of the previous post, after we got Tim Ruskell in the parking lot. OK, here is the deal with Shaun Alexander. KJR's Softy Mahler was reporting that Alexander is about to be let go. We ran into Mike Holmgren in the parking lot of the practice facility as he was leaving, and he confirmed that he did speak with Shaun today at the facility. He did not disclose what was said. But he said unequivocably that Shaun is not being released immediately. He said he could not be released right now anyway because of his injury. He had surgery on his wrist and is currently wearing a cast. When asked if Alexander was going to be released at a later date, Holmgren deferred to Tim Ruskell (which to me says "guilty"). So a little bit later, Ruskell comes out to the parking lot to leave and we asked him about Shaun. "Shaun Alexander has not been released," Ruskell said. "What about the future?" we asked. "Shaun Alexander has not been released," Ruskell said. Holmgren said he also met with Mo Morris and had a good conversation with him. I was reading through some of the first comments/questions on this thread and wanted to clarify something. We did not have a lengthy conversation with Holmgren. It was essentially about Shaun. Holmgren was on his way home and wanted to make sure we knew that Shaun was not released, but not a great deal past that other than talking about T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones. Holmgren said he really likes the acquisitions of the two, though he has to figure out exactly how he is going to use Duckett. I hope that clears things up somewhat.
Categories: Miscellaneous
• 72 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:52:19 pm
Here is the team's release: KIRKLAND, WASH. – The Seattle Seahawks have named former University of Maryland wide receivers coach Kasey Dunn running backs coach, the team announced Tuesday. Dunn will begin his first NFL season in 2008 after spending the previous 15 years at the collegiate level. In 2007, he became the assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach at Baylor after spending three seasons at the University of Arizona (2004-06). A University of Idaho graduate, Dunn began his coaching career at his alma mater as a volunteer wide receivers coach in 1993. After stops at the University of San Diego (1994) and the University of New Mexico (1996-97), he moved to Washington State University (1998-02) as assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and running backs coach. Dunn was part of the coaching staff which directed the Cougars to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history before moving on to TCU in 2003. Additionally, Dunn worked in the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship Program with the Seahawks (2003) and Denver Broncos (1997) during training camp. Dunn attended North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Wash. He is married to Janelle and they have two daughters, Kayla and Lauren.
Categories: Coaching Staff
• 8 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 02:26:59 pm
The Seahawks have hired Kasey Dunn as their running backs coach, replacing Stump Mitchell, who departed for Washington with Jim Zorn. Here is a pretty good link from 2006, when Dunn was hired at Baylor. In 1993, Dunn held a minority internship with the Seahawks.   As you can tell, I received a tutorial on doing charts and tables. So bear with me while I fiddle with the color schemes, backgrounds and font size. This is a maiden voyage. Also, I spoke with Mark Briggs, our Web editor, and he is working on having the picture changed at the top of the blog, as man of you have requested.
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 08:37:47 am
Now that the Seahawks have filled the need at running back, I caught up with draft guru Rob Rang to get his thoughts on how the acquisition of T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones affects the Seahawks' draft. Rob said he was surprised that in a draft deep with running backs, the Seahawks committed to much money to Jones and Duckett, essentially sending the message that they are for now the solution to the team's running woes. Rob said unless one of the Big Three running backs are there on the board, he no longer seems RB as a pressing need.
Categories: Rob Rang Analysis
• 33 comments
Monday, March 10th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 08:15:02 pm
Shaun Alexander's agent, Jim Steiner, spoke with Seattle AP writer Gregg Bell today, telling him that they plan on speaking with the Seahawks about the backfield situation in Seattle.  He did not say much more than that. (I know that all the Seattle beat writers have been trying to get ahold of Steiner, who has not returned calls. It looks like he covered the whole thing by speaking with Gregg.) Here is the link to Gregg's story. It will be interesting to see what comes out of Steiner's conversation with Tim Ruskell.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 36 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 05:15:37 pm
I think there is a general feeling that Shaun Alexander is going to be released any day now. Even if he is released, there is a chance that it does not happen for two and a half months. Not saying the Seahawks will definitely wait that long, but there is that possibility. Here's why: Under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, if Alexander is designated a June 1 cut, they don't realize the cap savings until June 2. And with Alexander, they almost certainly would have to designate him a June 1 cut because that would only cost them $2 million against the cap in 2008 instead of $6.6 million. So, if the Seahawks are not going to realize the cap savings immediately, it doesn't make sense to waive him immediately when they could still try to work out a trade with somebody. The only reason to waive him immediately is out of respect for him, allowing him to try to catch on with another team.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 58 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 03:38:31 pm
The Seahawks announced that Julius Jones has signed a multi-year contract. Here is the release: KIRKLAND, WASH. – The Seattle Seahawks have signed RB Julius Jones to a multi-  An original second-round draft choice by Dallas in 2004, Jones played his first four seasons for the Cowboys. Last season, he started all 16 games, rushing for 588 yards on 168 carries with two touchdowns. His best season came in 2006 when he rushed for a
Categories: NFL free agency
• 22 comments
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 02:43:22 pm
I have been trying to do some background stuff on some of these contracts the Seahawks are agreeing to, and this is what I came across regarding T.J. Duckett. He has a guaranteed base salary of $605,000 in 2008, with a guaranteed signing bonus of $2 million. In 2009, he has another guaranteed bonus of $2 million, plus a $2.5 million non-guaranteed salary. For cap purposes, the $4 million will be spread over the five-year length of the contract. But for practical purposes, assuming he is on the roster in 2009, Duckett will earn $7.1 million over the first two years of the contract.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 11 comments
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 04:25:13 pm
According to NFL Network's Adam Schefter, Julius Jones is getting $5.5 million in this first season of a contract that could pay $16 million over four seasons. $4 million of the deal is guaranteed. This means that the Seahawks currently are paying $5.5 million to Jones for 2008, $4.475 million to Shaun Alexander, $1.47 million to Leonard Weaver, $1 million apiece to T.J. Duckett and Maurice Morris and $370,000 to David Kirtman, a total of $13,815,000. That is 12 percent of the $116 million salary cap. By comparison, LaDainian Tomlinson will make $5.75 million in 2008. It also means that Jones' contract ate up a lot of what the Seahawks had remaining under the salary cap, which means they are going to have to make some moves -- sign Marcus Trufant, release Alexander -- to free up more space to do much else.
Categories: NFL free agency
• 58 comments
 |
