Seahawks Insider
Seahawks Insider
where there is no offseason

Eric D. Williams took over the Seahawks beat and Seahawks Insider blog in December. Williams has covered the Seahawks, Sonics and high school sports for The News Tribune since joining the paper in 2006. Eric lives in Tacoma with his wife and two children.

Tacoma News Tribune columnist Dave Boling also contributes to the Seahawks Insider blog.

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Seahawks Insider
Friday, August 15th, 2008
Morning links: Has Alexander taken his last snap?
Posted by Eric Williams @ 10:03:41 am

A tour around the NFC West on what is predicted to be a scorching hot Friday afternoon.

Seattle Seahawks

Frank Hughes writes about Patrick Kerney returning to practice. Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren also said that he might try and rest Kerney more this season so he doesn’t break down toward the end of the year.

Gregg Bell of the Associated Press updates us on Matt Hasselbeck’s back injury and also provides a description of some drills former quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn used to help Charlie Frye improve his throwing motion.

Roy Johnson of Yahoo wonders aloud if Shaun Alexander has taken his last NFL handoff.

Scott Johnson of the Everett Herald writes about veteran kicker Orlindo Mare’s battle with rookie Brandon Coutu to make the final roster.

ESPN’s Mike Sando provides a pretty good run down on how the Seahawks draft picks are faring so far during training camp.

David Baugh of the Chicago Tribune believes Rex Grossman needs a good performance against Seattle on Saturday in order to remain in the battle for starting quarterback against Kyle Orton.

[More:]

San Francisco 49ers

Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that J.T. O’Sullivan will start this Saturday against Green Bay and that basically the starting job is his to lose.

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat writes that tight end Vernon Davis and rookie linebacker Larry Grant threw blows during practice. Maiocoo also offers some answers to key questions on the 49ers as they break training camp.

Alex Smith continues to handle a difficult situation with class. His best friend David Edwards committed suicide and he will leave the team to attend the funeral today. However, Smith answered questions from reporters on Thursday about his friend’s death and the quarterback situation.

Arizona Cardinals

Another training camp fight, this one in Cardinals’ camp. It’s interesting that San Francisco, Arizona and St. Louis all have had fights in training camp, while Seattle’s training camp has been pretty mellow. It shows the difference in where these teams are at and the expectations for each team heading into this season.

Cardinals graybeard Kurt Warner will start at quarterback for Arizona at Kansas City on Saturday.

East Valley Tribune columnist Scott Bordow says that Warner is the team’s best quarterback, but Matt Leinart is the team’s future and should open the season as the starter.

St. Louis Rams

Offensive lineman Nick Leckey provides some versatility for the Rams and has played well so far during training camp. Leckey is currently filling in for starting center Brett Romberg, who is out with a hand injury.

Categories: Seahawks Insider, Blog News • 9 comments

COMMENTS:

Regis @ 14:19 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
There have been several RBs cut over the last month or so...have any of them been picked up?
Canfan @ 14:45 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
I'm glad Roy Johnson calls SA a great RB. He definitely was great, the last two seasons notwithstanding. And while he probably isn't capable of 1,800 yards, I'm sure he can get 1,200 for a team with a decent OL.
drmossguy @ 16:42 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
http://www.mythsabouthealth.com
How many teams have actually talked to Shaun? Granted, he WENT to speak with some, maybe without an invitation. Just curious if there has been any real interest. Interesting that RBs arent getting picked up, if thats true...
drmossguy @ 16:43 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
http://www.mythsabouthealth.com
One more note... its sad to me that Shaun couldn't make it work. Those times I watched him really run hard, when it looked like he was really going for it--I will be damned if he wasn't a fine running back. But I think that was a total of maybe 6 games that I can remember.
klm008 @ 17:21 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
None here has seen much of SA since the end of last year(?) He'd supposedly healed all of his injuries prior to being cut by Hawks. His running style over his career - which worked best with the '05 OL group, reduced the likelihood of chronic debilitating joint problems. Broken bones and the OLs poor run-blocking had a lot to do with the decrease in SAs production last year.

Last year, MoMo's production did not spike when given the starting role. Last week, MoMo's average yards per carry exceeded 10 yards, while last year it was around 5 yds in spot duty. Against one of the best OLs in the NFL (sans Pat Williams), MoMo's increase can seemingly be attributed to the improved OL play. Without broken bones and with a better OL, SA's yards might have reached back into the 1500 yd area this year.

The problem with SA performing with other teams is his lack of knowledge of other teams OL (& FB) players - how they react to situations. SA knew which way to run by the sound of Strong's block. He knew what Walt, Hutch, Tobeck, and Grey were going to do as well as they did. He's got an uphill battle with whomever he lands with.

I would watch out for him come December if he lands with the Pats.
klm008 @ 17:25 - Friday, August 15th, 2008 Email
Correction: Against one of the best "DLs" in the NFL . . .
Just me @ 22:01 - Friday, August 15th, 2008
I think he would get picked up if he didn't ask for starters money. Although I think the Hawks could have saved money by keeping him and not signing Duckett. That was a step back.
jammer @ 08:34 - Saturday, August 16th, 2008 Email
It was the right move for the Seahawks to terminate Alexander's contract. He's done as most RBs suddenly are upon reaching 30. He was the man and had enough of an ego that he would have been a distraction as a grossly overpaid backup. The team will be better running this year both in terms of Oline performance and personnel at RB.

I just wish that the team hadn't given him the big deal that we will have to eat this with this year's cap, even though his efforts got the team to XL. The focus should have been in keeping Hutchinson instead of of Rb that was weak in making short yardage conversions happen.
thedude @ 10:14 - Saturday, August 16th, 2008
It's hard to judge SA on last years performance as he was hurt most of the time. It's true, he would definitely avoid the big hits, but when he ran well, it was great to watch. And having a great OLine in 05 was key to his success, but it's still kind of sad to see him not even picked up.

SA reminds me of that college girlfriend who was always so wild at parties and looking back you actually realized she had a serious drinking problem...but at times she was so fun and when it was good it was great, but when it was bad, it was horrible...what? am i the only one that experienced that?

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