Terme posted on ESPN - 40 mil

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3305560

Good news but I was hoping it was about us cutting the diva.

this is the best move the team coulda made in the off season, bar none..maybe now Lofa can buy the Sonics off Clay and turn this into a win-win :)

he began a seahawk, he will end a seahawk.

#51, baby!

wow read the espn story....we wants to ensure they sign Leroy Hill and Marcus...how could you not want to play with this guy.
and the fact that he signs ..with Mora taking over...kinda makes me feel that the players except what is going on....

Love the LOFA man!!!!

Sweet move Ruskell. A+

Yup, Now we need Balmer (the DT from North Carolina in the First round) up front to let LOFA Dominate!!!!!!!! Top D next year = Super Bowl, Baby!!!!!

Sorry if I got anyone's hopes about Shaun. And yes, I agree signing Lofa to an extension is great move.

Franchise player for life that is brilliant news!
Well done to the guys that restructured Babs, Kerney, Deon and one other!

Lofa Tatupu can already sign his name into the ring of honor already!

Yup, Now we need Balmer (the DT from North Carolina in the First round) up front to let LOFA Dominate!!!!!!!! Top 5 D next year = Super Bowl, Baby!!!!!

I doubt that Leroy Hill would want to stay here. He is a pro bowl quality LB and may never get the recognition he (I assume) craves while playing in the shadow of Lofa and Peterson. Granted I would LOVE to be wrong. Leroy is a great Seahawk. I'm just saying.

Love the extention... what a great move. I am wondering how the re structred contracts look, was this all for Lofa, and i am fine with it if it was, or does this also give some relief for this year, i am curious to find that out??

Leroy doesn't strike me as that type,*cough* hutch, of player at least not yet. Bottom line he knows Seattle's D will be really special and once JP goes him a Lofa could easily be one of the best LB combo's ever.

If Lofa did this to get Leroy signed, its a huge boost of confidence in Leroy. I know Leroy's going to be an excellent player a Lofa does too.

Lets hope Ruskell takes a gamble and locks Leroy up long-term this off-season because if he puts up a huge next year, which i think will happen, you're looking at huge $'s.

Wow, look at all the 'team player' guys that stepped up and re-structured their contracts to ensure that this deal could get done.

Paging Mr. Trufant! Please take notice what your TEAMMATES are doing and consider taking less money to stay and be part of something that has the potential to be special.

The only thing I could see to make this off season better is SA Retires instead of being cut and Tru walks in and says OK were do I sign. He says if Lofa can do it so can I. Lofa gets 16 mil guaranteed I think he will be OK for life. Tru how much can you spend, leave a little to bring in the people to surround you to win a SB. That is what a lot of Veterans will do, they want to win. Whats more important a couple more bucks or a ring?

This is a great move!!! You take care of your own and Ruskell drafted Lofa so he's going to make sure he stays in Seattle for a long and prosperous career.

I only wish Hutch would have been a Ruskell guy so he wouldn't have risked losing him. And before the idiot factory begins chirping about how he was a traitor... How many of you would want to continue working for an employer who lied to you about negotiating a new contract and then said you weren't important ("just a guard")? You would have left your job too to go where you were truly wanted and if you had to sign a 'poison pill' offer to do it, then so be it. All of us would have done that, except for the liars who say otherwise.

I think it's possible to resign Hill too. Afterall, Ruskell drafted him and isn't going to want his guys getting away.

This is the exact type of move that class organizations make (learn from your mistakes, right?).

Very excited/happy about this!

"Whats more important a couple more bucks or a ring?"

Hutch would say $'s.

"Timmay!" seems to be learning from his mistakes and giving up his "We'll let you test the market," philosophy. It always good to lock up a cornerstone player long term like this, especially a year early because it always costs you more next year.

If only he'd have taken this approach with Hutch, we might have gone back to the Super Bowl one of these last few years.

But give him credit for learning from his mistakes.

Now get on the phone with the Eagles and offer a 4th for Lito Sheppard, then give Tru a take or leave it offer and cut him if doesn't sign.

And actually, the only thing that could make this offseason better would be if we had a kicker, a long snapper, a big speedy split end and a true NFL quality tight end.

"Timmay!"

According to Shaun, the Seahawks were supposed to be 'too classy' to ask players to restructure. I'm glad Terrill, Babs, Kerney and Grant didn't get that memo!

Isn't this like the first time in Seahawks history that the front office has locked up an impact player before the 11th hour of free agency? It's really fun having a front office who knows what they're doing and isn't operating from a position of paranoya.

Good job Timmay! (as some here like to call him)

Thanks, Bobby and Osiris.

I was worried that we might have a news item go by that didn't turn into a Ruskell-bashing Hutchfest. I knew we could count on you guys. We wouldn't want anyone thinking this story might have been about anyone else (like Lofa, for example), would we?

stigmata - Reread my post. It was positive. He learned from the past and he's making our Seahawk future better because of it.
Lofa is a stud!

Perhaps it was as positive as you could make it. What I saw was:

"Great move!"

"Hutch... Ruskell lied... said Hutch wasn't important... if you disagree, you're a liar, too... Ruskell only wants his own guys..."

"Very excited!"

Perhaps it's just me, but exhuming and beating a 2-year old dead horse seems kinda out of place in a thread about our greatest defensive player since Tez being signed to a contract that will put him in Seahawk blue for his career.

Needs over the next few years:

-sign leroy to a long term deal?
-jennings long term deal? Still lots of time left.
-TE, RG, DT, all can be addressed if need be in the draft


SA's already has a replacement on the books, Matt has a lot years left, Walt still has a few years so Seattle's window doesn't seem to be that small. Apart from Jones in 2-3 years and Matt in 5 all positions on the hawks should be solid.

Of course Tru's wants big $'s and that could really mess things up.

I think Ruskell will wait with Hill and a long term deal. He seems to get minor dings a lot. He'll probably be good to miss a few games in '08 with a stinger or something like that. That's a reason I would have liked to have kept Bentley --- you know Hill's back-up will probably have to start a game or two.

Well he doesn't have any $'s to negotiate right now but when SA is released? Its probably an ongoing thing that will take awhile.

But according to clayton:

"But Tatupu knew by taking a little less, it would free up room to help with a contract extension for linebacker LeRoy Hill, who is a free agent after the season."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3305560

Maybe Lofa knew that LeRoy's contract was getting worked on also.

This is amazing. I'm going to go out and buy a Tatupu jersey on payday. Thank you Tim and Paul! :)

Rating Lofa's Defense

C+ Tapp; above average pass rusher, below average run stuffer (no depth)
B- Mebane; very solid (so-so depth) will improve to a "B" this year
B Bernard; very solid (see above - don't expect Tubbs healthy, Craig is okay)
B+ Kerney; better pass rusher than I expected, not a stud vs the run but he's okay (screwed if he goes down, can Atkins replace him?)

Bottom Line: I expect Timmy to draft a DE and DT in the early rounds of the draft. Adding talent only makes our stud LBs look even better. Now that Ruskell has invested so heavily in LBs (JP/Lofa contracts) he's going to want to look like a genius by making them look even better by freeing them up with quality players in front of them.

B+ JP; just a damn good overall player, it's fun to watch him line up on the line as a RDE every once in awhile
A- Lofa; stud MLB (looks average if DTs suck, like Urlacher has when his main guys have been hurt/ looks like a stud when they are gobbling up blockers/ either way, he's damn good)
B Hill; better than I expected him to be, solid run defender, has improved in coverage, wish they would let him blitz just a bit more

Bottom Line: Starters are awesome. Depth is a worry at this point in time.

B- Grant; solid player, overpaid for his production, not many game changing plays from someone paid so well, still - solid player (I wouldn't have turned more money than I deserved down either)
C+ Russell; solid player, nothing overly special, but certainly not bad
C+ Jennings; will turn into a B- or B this season, keeps improving and will get better, a solid player
B (or B+) Trufant; career year in contract year, but nevertheless a good player
C+ Babs; solid nickel guy, will get overmatched here or there but has a knack for doing some solid things here and there too

Bottom Line: Maybe adding a young safety wouldn't be a bad idea, but this is a solid group. Last years first pick (second round) is also waiting in the wings looking (I hope) to make an impact in year two.

If a "C" means average, and we have nobody on our defense under a "C+" then that means we should expect special things from our defense in '08!

Great report Doug! That's what we like to see.

I wonder what we would have to give up to pickup say a Sedrick Ellis?

i just noticed the new pic on the top of the page!!!! bout time

Not only does this signing lock up our glue guy on defense, it takes a potentially big distraction for this season right off the table, and shows other good young players that this organization will step up with real money. Love that Lofa isn't going anywhere.

Seems like we're about done with any FA signings and/or trades, just waiting for the Shaun situation to conclude, and the draft, not complaining about having such a nice winning record again, but too bad we don't have a bit higher pick to get all excited about.

Hopefully this creates some momentum to get Trufant done, which could very easily get Hill excited enough to not want to wait and break the bank and sign on as well.

If the scouting dept can hit some home runs in the latter rounds this defense could become legendary.

1st rounder is going to go JStewart all the way to superstardom on Hawk offense.

im going to go and buy a ruskell jersey

It's funny, all you knuckle heads that like this deal but they hate the Shaun contract. This is about the same structure as Shaun's deal. If Lofa starts to deteriorate in the next year or two these same bandwagon fans will be booing him on game day like they did Shaun.

I like the Lofa signing but i also liked the Shaun signing. I just hate to see these loser fans turn on these guys so quick!

Good report Doug, too bad you had to go all the way up to Kirkland just for that!

PUTTING LOFA AND THE SOFTEST RUNNING BACK IN THE LEAGUE IN THE SAME SENTENCE SHOWS YOUR KNOWLEDGE. Lofa is a different player than Shauna PERIOD. Moron

There's a big difference between signing a running back nearing the magic age of 30 to a long term deal, and signing a young linebacker who has been to the pro bowl three times in his first three seasons to a long term deal. BIG difference.

I love this news! Tatupu as a Seahawk for the rest of his career, and Kerney/Gggrant/Terril/Babs selflessly making it possible. Great stuff!

Sorry for the extra g's in Grant...key jammed...

About the new banner, its not bad.

But Matt running reminds me of the Holmy's gooney bird comments. The throwing stance would be better.

Contracts in the NFL are not like in the NBA; they aren't guaranteed. It is silly to get worked up about a long term deal. The team wont end up paying all that money if they don't want to.

Our defense should be even better this year. Bring on the season!

This is exciting news. Lofa is a stud. Ruskell just sent a shot across the bow of the SS Trufant. Great gesture of the part of guys steping up to make this happen for # 51.

Did this deal free up any cap space for this year or next year?

I'm thrilled about this signing because signing Lofa was something I was getting nervous about coming next season. This just reinstates the fact that there are team players out there that money is not the primary factor but actually the well being of the team. I was getting very tired hearing some of our FA's that left proclaiming it had nothing to do with the money but about winning (The Rams....come on....). Do players honestly think that we're that obtuse to buy into that nonsense. Thank you Lofa for placing the Seahawks first before coin! It's a generous contract but considerably less than what he would have gotten if he'd hit free agency (cough...cough...Raiders).

P.S. Thank you Kerney, Terrill, Babineaux, and Grant that's what leadership is about!!!

I am proud to be Seahawks fan. Class all the way around.

I agree Jim.

Excellent, excellent move. Well done.

At least they got this right.

P.S. Lame banner. What, is Hass trying to avoid a sack or doing Shaun's job?

Yay!

bobbyk03, I usually appreciate what your saying. But I just don't see it this time. Seattle-D had four probowl players last year. FOUR! And you gave those players the following grades: B+, A-, B+, B.

Freak - what does someone have to do to get an A from you? Enter the H.O.F.?

BTW, how many other Defenses in the league had 4 Probowlers?

It's funny. Every time I buy a player's jersey, they are on the team for one more year and then they're gone. Example: Anthony Simmons, Grant Wistrom, and soon Shaun Alexander. (Just got Shaun's before last season and we all see where that is going.) I'll think I'll get Lofa this year because he's not going anywhere. Great move.

scottiedog65 please don't go anywhere near a Lofa jersey. With that kind of karma you never know what might happen. :) May I suggest a custom made bobbyk03 jersey?

No Stevens jersey?

any word on Weaver? I'd expect he would be the next guy to at least get a 3 year deal.

scottiedog...

did your SA jersey come with a cast and a boot protector?

A means the best of the best (Kenny Easley and Walter Jones in their prime, Lofa is close to getting here, instead for now he's an A-)
B means very good (means you are a valuable asset, could easily play in the Pro Bowl)
C means average
D means you suck but you could suck worse than others suck who really suck
F means you are a total craphole

How could I be disrespecting someone for calling them "very good."

Most people in society today thinks anyone and everyone deserves "A's" Well, they don't. If you get an "A-" that means you got a fricking good/great grade. It doesn't mean you suck.

If 4 players truly deserved an A that would be saying they are the best of the best (not just in getting sacks, but dominating in run defense too, as with Kerney). That would mean it would be impossible for a defense like this to do totally crappy against a bad Atlanta team at the end of the year and get blown away by Green Bay in the play-offs when you're supposed to be at your best.

Huge move. Does Tatupu take less if he doesn't expect Leroy to sign up long term too??? It will be great to see those two grow up in seahawk uni's. Now how about some young, mean DT's to let these horses run around and hit.
I keep hearing miami wants to trade out of the #1 spot because in today's nfl the contract has become something of an burden...... so naturally I would ask how amazing lofa would look behind a glenn dorsey/ sedrick ellis type elite young player...........Hey, isn't this the place for big dreams....

Completely off-topic, but I thought some might find this funny. I found this item on NFLShop.com tonight.

http://www.nflshop.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3060954

Thinking either Kelly Jennings is gettin' paid, or they jumped the gun on these. Who would buy one of these at this point, when there's no guarantee Jones will keep this #.

Just wanted to add my .02 here. Lofa is one of my all-time favorite Seahawk players (along with guys like largent, Zorn, Hass, Kennedy, etc). His number will be in the ring of honor when he finally hangs up his cleats, and has the best chance to make the HOF out of our past greats. He well deserves his contract, and I'm completely happy he's signed for basically the rest of his career.

jerrycurl-
Right under the description of the jersey it says that numbers are subject to change. Jennings shouldn't give up his #, as excited as I am about Jones, he hasn't gotten to the level of asking guys for jersey #'s yet

It says they won't ship the jersey until the official number is given to Jones..

I know both play different positions but Jennings shouldn't have to play second fiddle to Julius. After only two years in the league has better future ahead of him.

Kind of old, but a funny video. Mattt Hasselbeck wired at the pro bowl pre-game practice. Check it out, it's pretty good stuff.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80699a5d

Somebody buy Frank an iPhone.

hawks111,syndro22... It also says...

AVAILABILITY: Leaves warehouse in 1 - 2 full bus. days.

I did see the note at the bottom, it still just struck me as a little to soon, as if all Seahawk fans went into this offseason thinking I hope Seattle signs Julius Jones, I really want to get his Jersey... or maybe they have, my bad.

" Comment by stigmata @ 13:29 - Friday, March 21st, 2008 Thanks, Bobby and Osiris.

I was worried that we might have a news item go by that didn't turn into a Ruskell-bashing Hutchfest. I knew we could count on you guys. We wouldn't want anyone thinking this story migh