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Seahawks Blog |
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February 2008
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Foxsports.com writer John Czarnicki recently posted a story called 10 burning questions for NFL off-season. Check out #4 - Sleepless in Seattle. The Czar implies that Hawks owner Paul Allen agreed with GM Tim Ruskell about not giving head coach Mike Holmgren an extension. Thus giving Holmgren only 1 more year in Seattle, his final year of his contract. I was talking to Paul Silvi about it tonight. He co-hosted the Mike Holmgren Show with Mike for the past 2 seasons. Paul says he got the feeling from Holmgren that next... Wow! That was quick. The Seahawks announced they've signed OG Mike Wahle to a multi-year deal. Wahle just came to town yesterday. He'll definitely give Seattle a nice 1-2 punch on the left side. I'm sure this isn't good news for Chris Gray. Wahle will probably start at left guard and Rob Sims will move to right guard. Gray turns 38 in June. He's likely to move into a backup role or look for another team. I'm not sure what that means for the Seahawks in free agency. Everyone speculated the Hawks were gonna focus on Steelers guard Alan Faneca (if he's not franchised by Pittsburgh). But do the Hawks now have the money t... This afternoon, the Seahawks finally announced they've hired Bill Lazor as their new quarterbacks coach. Here's the press release: Hawks Press Release: The home of the Seattle Seahawks is getting a facelift, replacing the existing Field Turf with the same material -- get this, just in time for the Dalai Lama's rally in April. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Paul Allen's First & Goal was concerned the playing surface has become faded and impacted, and possibly more injuries. It'll take six-weeks to yank out th... It's done. Redskins head coach Jim Zorn has stole Stump Mitchell from the Seahawks. Stump will be the 'Skins new running backs coach. Yeah, the same position he held with Seattle. Unless my count is off, Stump is the sixth assistant coach who's left the team or been let go. Zorn wants former Hawks RB Sherman Smith to run the offense. If the former Seahawks QB coach fails to procure Smith, it's rumored that Mitchell will be promoted to run QB Jason Campbell and crew (of course, with the help of Zorn). ...Inside the Panthers is reporting that former Pro Bowler, Panther and Packers guard Mike Wahle is in Kirkland today to visit Seahawks brass. Wahle played for Holmgren back in the Green Bay days of yore. Wahle was cut by the Panthers earlier this week. He suffered a torn labrum in 2006 while suiting up for Carolina. The 31-year-old Wahle played in the Pro Bowl in 2005. Releasing the 6-foot-6, 304-Wahle freed up cap room. ... How many Seahawks fans -- season ticket holders or not -- really plan to attend that other football, when MLS starts at Qwest Field? Is the venue simply too big for Pelé's Beautiful Game, or does the stadium fall under the "if you build it..." category? As Houston Dynamos GM Oliver Luck said, "...there's nothing worse than 15,000 people in a 72,000-seat stadium. That's been proven over and over by MLS teams." Yet MLS president Mark Abbott told the >> Continue reading: Soccer at Qwest: does the 12th Man care? Former Seahawks QB coach turned new Redskins head coach Jim Zorn needs a new offensive coordinator. According to the Washington Post running backs coach Stump Mitchell is in the mix. Although Stump has never been an offensive coordinator (nor has Zorn for that matter), both Mitchell and Zorn could make the calls by committee. ...That is the question being raised over in that other Washington as sports writers in the nation's capital try to figure out newly hired head coach and Seahawk icon, Jim Zorn. So, who deserves the credit for Matt's growth from boo-bird bullsye at Husky Stadium back in those days to the Pro Bowl moustache-wearing QB he is now? Quarterback guru Mike Holmgren or Zorn? Over at the Post, they're ... Now that the Pro Bowl is over (does anyone really watch the game?), all eyes in the NFL can turn to Redskins' head coach Jim Zorn's fumbled first news conference...wait. How about... free agency. For Seahawks fans, FA No.1 is likely Marcus Trufant, commonly known as Mr. Elite Cornerback. 411mania.com... The sudden promotion of Jim Zorn from o-coordinator to head coach is sending ripples of ">wha-huh? throughout the league. Jim Fassel, who was considered the front-runner for the gig told CBS, "This is a shock to me." Fassel goes on to say, "...Jim Zorn has three jobs he hasn't done now...he's a head coach, and he's never done it. He's an offensive coordinator, and he's never done it. And he's calling the plays, and he's never done it." Is Zorn ready?... Take that, Redskins. The Washington Post is reporting that the Seahawks have hired Bill Lazor to replace Zorn as QB coach. Lazor was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 'Skins back in 2006, replacing Bill Musgrove. In 2003, he was offensive quality control coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. Lazor was a quarterback for Cornell in the ninties, setting numerous records. ...The NFL network's Adam Schefter is reporting that the Seahawks are toying with the idea of letting Pro Bowl corner Marcus Trufant hit the open market -- and hitting kicker Josh Brown with the franchise tag. This came across Rotoworld.com. It sounds like the thought behind these comments is the high price Trufant will demand on the market. When asked earlier this year by the Seattle Times if he'd give the Seahawks the oppurtunity to g... In case you haven't seen the blog lately, watched our KING5.com live stream on the Hawks presser, or been out of the country, the Seahawks have named Jim Mora as Mike Holmgren's successor in 2009. Unfortunately, Jim Mora isn't at the press conference (nor is Mike). CEO Tod Leiweke and President/GM Tim Ruskell are making the announcement. Ruskell says it's a four-year extension (five-year if you include 2008). Ruskell and Leiweke gave Holmgren a ton of compliments, mainly for announcing next season will be his last season and giving the franchise an opportunity to find his replacemen... Joel just sent me this: Packers GM Ron Wolf trying to take back last week's slam of Holmgren. You may remember Wolf essentially blamed Holmgren for losing Super Bowl XXXII, going as far as to call Holmgren "pig-headed." “For something like that to come out 11 years later makes me look like an idiot,” Wolf told Mike Vandermause. Wolf says he called Holmgren and apologized. “I told him quite frankly that if he never spoke to me again I could understand it....(Holmgren) is by far the smartest coach I’ve ever been around,” he said. You can read the Packer News article >> Continue reading: Wolf backpedals on Holmgren slam Does the hiring of Jim Mora as the next head coach of the Seahawks relieve or frustrate Husky fans? Does it make head coach Ty Willingham's job easier? How many fans ever thought/hoped there was a real shot of Mora becoming the next UW coach? As many Dawgs know, the Interlake graduate, Mora, was a linebacker for the Huskies and started his career under Don James in 1984. The 46-year-old spent seven seasons with the Niners, before being let go from Atlanta in the '06 season after telling KJR radio that the UW was his 'dream job.' Either way, Ty certainly has one less shadow to work under. And the Seahawks organization can start stitch... Foxsports.com reports that the Seahawks have tabbed Jim Mora to be the team's next head coach. Current head coach Mike Holmgren has said next season will be his last season. Foxsports.com's insider Jay Glazer says the soon-to-be promotion comes with a contract extension. No doubt, we'll hear something from the Seahawks about it, soon. So the Hawks are promoting from within. I guess it's the en vogue thing to do. The Colts are doing it. Jim Caldwell will t... As today's Sporting News article focusing on NFC needs for '08 points out: Seattle needs a RB, TE and G. While the TNT is throwing out the idea of the Seahawks making a play for Jeremy Shockey, what about RB? From the draft, the Sporting News likes Oregon's Jonathan Stewart and Illinois' >> Continue reading: Options at running back, draft and FA Saw this and thought it was worth a gander, as Hollyscoop interviews Hasselbeck in the Super Bowl celebrity lounge. Matt talks about what he was in Phoenix to promote. For those who didn't know, Matt was a marketing-and-finance major, as shown in this Conde Nast Portfolio.com article from early January. An article where Matt swears to never wear hair-plugs. ...First off I have to say "Take that!" to all the pundits who start every NFL season by saying the NFC sucks compared to the AFC. Thank you, Giants. So what's next for the Super Bowl winners? Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell has some advice, after dealing with the team's SB XL loss. "Work hard to maintain your core players," he told the Sporting News. "Don't lose sight of the fact you still have to recruit for free agency...everybody says, 'we made it to the Super Bowl, so this is my year to ask for a new contract or go into free agency'." Ruskell also... Ouch. Talk about taking a swipe at a former employee. Green Bay GM Ron Wolf told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Mike Holmgren's coaching was responsible for the Packers loss to the Broncos in SB XXXII. "Certain calls were to be made that weren't made," Wolf is quoted in the article. "Mike Holmgren refused those calls. There would have been an adjustment on the blocking scheme and it would have been over." Wolf goes on to blame Holmgren for being "pig-headed" and not listening to assistant coaches to stop the Bronco's blitzes. "I found this out abou... Is something fishy going on in the Patriots Spygate case? It seemed like NFL commish Roger Goodell punished the Pats and it was over. But now a Pennsylvania senator wants to talk to Goodell about Spygate. Who knows if he has his reasons or if he's just grandstanding, but a New York Times article brings new light to New England's spying problem. They tried to talk to former Pats video department employee about New England's history with tape. Matt Walsh worked for owner Robert Kraft from 1996 to 2003. ... Don't rule it out. The Buffalo Bills want to play a "home" game in Toronto for the next few seasons. It's possible that the Hawks will play the Bills in one of those games north of the border. Here's the article from a Rochester, New York paper. Also, it looks like the Chargers and Saints will play in London in 2008. There's a good chance the Hawks will play in Beijing in 2009. You might remember, Seattle was suppose to play there in 2007. That >> Continue reading: Hawks to play in Toronto? Not only will Zorn be revamping the Redskins offense to the West Coast, which Rotoworld is reporting and the Washington Post is hinting at, the new Washington offensive coordinator is getting high praise from Steve Largent. Largent >> Continue reading: Zorn and Redskins to use West Coast offense While Seahawks coaches are enamoured of his possibilites on the field, wide receiver Ben Obomanu fits the role of inspirational speaker off the field, and gladly. The WR is back in Selma, Alabama, where he went to school, trying to motivate local students. Something, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, the three sport star has been doing since high school. "I tried to motivate kids back then," he told the Advertiser. "I'd rather see them in person instead of having them watch me on television." Obomanu was no slouc... |