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October 2008
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| April 2007So Darrell Jackson..the Hawks wide receiver who's logging Steve Largent numbers as one of the most productive receivers in franchise history...is going to help Seattle's division rival, the 49ers pick up the NFC West title next season. And what did the Seahawks get in return?? A fourth round draft pick. Sweet. D-Jack led the team with a career-high 10 touchdowns last season and is just now reaching the prime of his career at 28 years old. On the day of the announcement, there was obvious tension between Tim Ruskell and Mike Holmgren. Ruskell said he just wasn't a good fit for the seven years he was in Seattle, and while Holmgren agreed that Jackson was a bit of a mis-fit, the coach still preferred Matt Hasselbeck's favorite target on his side. So, okay, Darrell did ask to be traded last year, but after the Hawks picked up Deion Branch and Nate Burleson, he felt pushed out. I like Darrell...he's a gamer. And I say that for two reasons...he produces mad numbers at clutch times in key games and, also, because he is one of those guys that just not much for practice. So fault him for the latter...but don't shoot yourselves in the foot because he won't smile at you as you pass in the hallway. As everyone says...it's business, right? ...Both Hawks coach Mike Holmgren and offensive coordinator Gil Haskell talked at Seahawks Headquarters Sunday. We've got both interviews on the web. I've linked them below. Hawks coach Mike Holmgren why trading D-Jack was necessary Hawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell breaks down the team's draft ...Our NFL expert Brock Huard stopped by the studios today to talk about the recent Seahawks Draft. Plus, Brock sounds off on the D-Jack trade. And as a bonus, Huard explains why there's a lot of expections being put on UW's QB Jake Locker. I've linked them below: Huard on D-Jack and Hawks Draft Enjoy! ...Former Seahawks Tight End Jerramy Stevens is a Buc tonight. Hopefully, Stevens can turn his life around and make a big impact in Tampa. Here's Tampa's site announcing the signing. ...Well it's done. D-Jack is a 49er now. Not sure what this actually accomplishes, besides the obvious. I guess it pulls one receiver out of the Hawks logjam of talented players. But I think I would have rather traded him to one of the worst teams in the NFL and only asked for a 7th round pick...just not to a divisional rival. Hawks President Tim Ruskell says it'll be all right. And generally, that would be enough because Ruskell has had a bit of the Midas Touch in Seattle. I just hope he knows something we don't. Maybe it's the little bit of the T.O. personality in D-Jack, that has stayed out of the press, that'll be his downfall and the Hawks got the most bang for their buck. Maybe it's the case of an aging receiver (he's only 29 and says he's got 5 more good years in him) or his knee will keep on deteriorating. I don't know. Ruskell has the answers. He's talking this afternoon. I'll post it on the web when the tape gets back in house. So you can check it out on king5.com ...Nothing has happened in the D-Jack trade yet. Seahawks President Tim Ruskell says negotiations are on-going. He basically says if it happens, it happens. Ruskell also claims it's very possibly that Darrell will be back in a Hawks uniform to participate in the May mini-camps. Stay tuned. ...Seahawks just drafted DT Brandon Mebane out of Cal in the 3rd round. Here's his college bio. He's a little short...if you can call 6'1" short...but he's a good 3rd round pick. Some had him going in the 2nd. He was an All Pac-10 Defensive Lineman last season. ...The Niners drafted Cougars receiver Jason Hill in the 3rd Round. Not sure if that'll affect the potential trade between the Hawks and 49ers for D-Jack. But it's good to see a Coug get drafted. Bonus for Hill...he's from the San Francisco area. ...The Seahawks have drafted CB Josh Wilson out of Maryland. Here's his bio from Maryland Football's webpage. With all our injuries to our D-backs last season, Wilson will be a nice addition for depth. He has good speed. He ran a 4.39 40 at the combine. Wilson's value could come at the return game. He's a dangerous kick return specialist. A Washington Post article reports that Hall-of-Fame runningback Earl Campbell is a family friend to the Wilson's. Josh calls him "Uncle Earl." The cornerback is a typical Seahawks pick. The team loves character. Wilson won the ACC's top student-athlete award. Click on this link to find out about that and more stats on the Hawks top pick. ...ESPN.com reports that Hawks WR Darrell Jackson is nearly a 49er. According to this report, both sides are working on a deal that will make D-Jack a Niner and the Hawks will receive a 2007 4th Round Pick. We'll keep you updated on this one. ...Former Hawks LB D.D. Lewis is a Denver Broncos. Lewis was with Seattle for 5 seasons. D.D. kind of got lost in the LB shuffle when the Hawks signed Julian Peterson last year. Here's the Hawks depth chart. He was talented enough to start a lot of game for Seattle, including the Super Bowl, but not talented enough to be a "must keep". Before I'm done with this blog, I've got to give a little love to my Cougar brethren. The Colts reportedly won't match the Saints offer sheet given to Jason David. The CB and former Coug will get payed by the Saints...to the tune of $15.7 million over 4 years. Indy will receive a 4th round for their troubles. ...Just ran across an article on a website that says former Seahawks OT Chris Terry is in trouble with the law. There's a warrant out for his arrest for missing a court date. Terry has had a few run-ins with the law in the past. The Hawks signed him in 2002 hoping he would be the starting right tackle. Well, Terry had a few more issues and the Seahawks cut ties with him after the 2004 season. The NFL suspended him for 2005. Recently, he's been with the Chiefs. With the League's new stricter rules for misbehavin', you wonder if Terry will miss a few more games. ...NFL.com reports that Matt Hasselbeck will be ready for mini-camps in May. He may not be a full bore in every drill, but he'll be there. Hasselbeck had surgery on his left shoulder (non-throwing arm) back in January to fix a torn labrum. Shortly after the surgery, the team believed he wouldn't do much until the training camp (meaning no mini-camps). But Matt's ahead of schedule. ...President Tim Ruskell and VP of Player Personnel Ruston Webster talked Wednesday about the Seahawks draft strategy for Saturday's NFL Draft. It's no secret, the Hawks don't have a #1 pick, but that's OK with them...they got Deion Branch for that top pick, add his production from last year...and they figure they're ahead of the curve. I've posted their draft insights on KING5.com. I've broken them down into 3 parts...here are the links: Hawks Draft Strategy: Part 1 - Mock Drafts Hawks Draft Strategy: Part 2 - Scouting Hawks Draft Strategy: Part 3 - Grading Players and Scouts The interview starts slow on Part 1, but after a bit, it picks up and becomes very interesting...especially if you love the draft. Ruskell and Webster tell what they emphasize most priot to the draft...and a lot more. But I digress...I don't know about anyone else, it's tough for me to get too excited when you don't have a #1 pick (well at least until draft day). Barring a trade, Seattle owns the 55th pick. Yawn! Let's hope they trade up a bit. Maybe deal a player. I need some spice. But I guarantee you, no matter what, Ruskell will draft the right players...his recent track record proves it. Finally, don't forget Thursday we'll have Matt Hasselbeck's behind the scenes video of his Campbell's Soup shoot. It should be on KING 5 and Northwest Sports Tonight (and of course on the KING5.com). ...Chiefs return specialist/WR Dante Hall got traded to the Rams today. Hall earned the nickname, the Human Joystick, for the ability to avoid people and score on punt returns. But he's seem to have lost something over the past few seasons. The Rams gave up a 5th round pick to get him. ...For cops, it's a drug case that cuts too close to home. For cops, it's a drug case that cuts too close to home. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to be a pitchman for Campbell's Soup again. Hasselbeck will join 7 other NFL stars in the Soup's ad campaign. Here's Matt's campaign from last year. Tune in Thursday night to Northwest Sports tonight. We'll show you the new campaign including some of the "behind-the-scenes" footage of Matt and his Mom making the commercial. That's on Northwest Sports Tonight: 9:30pm on Northwest Cable News, 10:30 on KONG, 11:30 & 12:30 on NWCN. I was also going to link the "I am Matt Hasselbeck" song, but it's disappeared from the web (or at least I can't find it). So here's a website on KZOK where you can find Bob Rivers' song about Hasselbeck set to the song "Like a Rock" by Bob Seger. It's about two-thirds of the way down.
Pro Football Weekly says they know 3 top 10 NFL prospects admitted to smoking weed. The admission apparently happened at the NFL Combine. Here are the 3 guys: WR Calvin Johnson - Georgia Tech While we'll have to see if this affects their draft status, I think it won't. It also reminds me that pot use to be a big red flag in the NFL. It caused Randy Moss to slide to the 21st spot in the 1st round. WR Kevin Dyson went 5 spots ahead of him. Probably Hall-of-Fame bound Warren Sapp fell to the 12th pick. Defensive linemen Kevin Carter, Mike Mamula, and Derrick Alexander were snagged ahead of Sapp in the 1st Round. QB Dan Marino slid in the 1st round, amid rumors of marijuana use, to the 27th pick. Three no-names QB's were picked before him. We'll see if smoking the cheeba is still a big taboo as it use to be. ...CNBC's Darren Rovell writes that LaDainian Tomlinson didn't want to be the coverboy for EA Sports Madden NFL 2008. He turned down the endorsement deal worth $100,000 to $200,000 and a lot of pain and misery from the sure-fire injury to come (the Madden Curse - see previous post titled "RB Alexander off the hook"). Maybe an LT fan deserves the credit for a grassroots effort to keep the star back off the cover, too. Oh, by the way EA Sports denies that LT was their first choice. Of course, Vince Young was their man the whole way. Yeah and Alex Rodriguez left Seattle for the chance to win in Texas, not the money. ...Former Seahawk Koren Robinson takes the next step towards rehabilitating his life. K-Rob will serve the last 45 days of his 90-day jail sentence at a Green Bay hospital with a lojack around his ankle. The hospital stay will allow Robinson to rehab his knee as he works around the building. Here's the rest of the story. ...Thank You Vince Young. VY is expected to be on the cover of Madden NFL 2008. So the Madden Curse falls off of Hawks RB Shaun Alexander and onto Young. Don't believe in it? The past 7 of 8 coverboys were either hurt, underperformed or retired. Madden 2000 - Barry Sanders - retired I mean seriously, would you want to endorse this product? Maybe EA Sports (maker of the game) should provide some sort of insurance program for the Young. No matter, it's not Shaun's concern anymore. He's off the hook. (unless he's back on the hook by me mentioning it...could be like talking about a no hitter?) So here's you first warning Fantasy Football fans, DON'T DRAFT VINCE YOUNG. ...Former Seahawk Grant Wistrom is going to coach high school football at his brother's high school. Chance Wistrom is a principal at Parkview High School in Missouri. According to an AP story, Grant is 99.9 percent sure he's done in the NFL. Here's the link to read more about it. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Grant loves working with and helping kids...that's what his charitable foundation is all about. ...NFL Europa (use to be NFL Europe) began its season this weekend. The Seahawks allocated QB Travis Lulay to the Berlin Thunder. Saturday, he led them to a 15-3 win over the Cody Pickett-led Rhein Fire. Lulay was 22-32 for 189 yards. His biggest play came in the fourth quarter when he scampered 61 yards for a TD. For you UW fans, Pickett also has a diary/blog on the Rhein's website. Here's the link. More Huskies news...according to NFFL.com, the Hawks worked out UW safety C.J. Wallace on Friday. Wallace had a poor Pro Day back in March due to a recent knee surgery. Apparently, he had a better workout. ...On this Monday April 16th, I find myself in the Skagit Valley to report on a man who disappeared in the Skagit River. He and a friend were on a boat that ran out of gas. After landing the boat on a sand bar, they decided to swim to shore. While many parts of the Skagit look serene and peaceful, what lurks beneath the surface are anything but. Eddys, rocks, snags, logs - they're everywhere and they can be deadly. As a young child, ignoring my fathers warning, I was running along banks of the Skagit and fell in. As the current began to wash me downstream, my dad grabbed me by my coat collar and likely saved my life. If you or your family plan on spending time on the water this summer, be careful. For your safety and those around you, please wear a lifejacket. Don't take the chance. ...On this Monday April 16th, I find myself in the Skagit Valley to report on a man who disappeared in the Skagit River. He and a friend were on a boat that ran out of gas. After landing the boat on a sand bar, they decided to swim to shore. While many parts of the Skagit look serene and peaceful, what lurks beneath the surface are anything but. Eddys, rocks, snags, logs - they're everywhere and they can be deadly. As a young child, ignoring my fathers warning, I was running along banks of the Skagit and fell in. As the current began to wash me downstream, my dad grabbed me by my coat collar and likely saved my life. If you or your family plan on spending time on the water this summer, be careful. For your safety and those around you, please wear a lifejacket. Don't take the chance. ...Recently, there's been talk about Hawks QB Matt Hasselbeck going Hollywood. Last night on Northwest Sports Tonight, we ran a story about Hasselbeck's potential role in a movie called "Scouts Honor". But last night, sources close to Matt told Northwest Sports Tonight that he's out of the production. His shoulder injury prevented the former Pro-Bowl to take a stab at, what we believe, his first acting role. The story first appeared in the St. Petersberg Times in Florida. Hasselbeck was set to join former Seahawk Joe Jurevicius, NFL legend Jim Kelly, and Broncos safety John Lynch to play the role of Biker Buddies. Matt's character in the movie was going to be "Rocko". We all know from those Chunky commercials that Matt can act. Plus, with all his injuries last season, no one in the public really knew the pain he was going through. That's gotta take some acting chops. But alas, Matt's those same injuries will keep him off the silver screen. So for now, the Academy must wait. In the meantime, keep watching Northwest Sports Tonight on Northwest Cable News (9:30pm & 11:30pm) and on KONG (10:30) for the latest on Matt's acting career and more. ...Cougar great Drew Bledsoe has decided to call it a career. Bledsoe has said in the past that didn't want to backup anyone. He wanted to start. Most Cougars will call the Snow Bowl as Bledsoe's defining moment. But he led New England to the Super Bowl XXXI in 1996. The Patriots lost to Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers. Another defining moment may have come back in 2001. Jets LB Mo Lewis crushed Bledsoe in the second game of the season. Bledsoe severed a blood vessel in his lungs and lost his job. That's because a little known QB named Tom Brady took over and Drew's career in New England was over. Bledsoe played for 14 seasons. Nine of them, he passed for over 3,000 yards. From what I've heard, the 4-time Pro-Bowler has property in Western Washington and he's planning to retire somewhere in the Northwest...so don't be surprised him from time to time this fall. ...Because I've been asked, here are my thoughts about the new schedule. Not too bad...at the start. If the Hawks play to their potential (and have no key injuries) the team may not have any early losses simply because of travel (the Seahawk Nation cringes when the Hawks play 10 am East Coast games) -- until maybe the Pittsburgh game. I like the first eight weeks a lot. Because of the Hawks homefield advantage, and their two road games aren't too arduous, they could actually be 6-1 or 5-2 by the bye. And the bye comes in the middle of the season, which is perfect. The last six games, however, eek. Too many 10 am games with four of six on the road. Before that however, all three primetime games are at home, and I like that. I'd have to think the Hawks have the early advantage over New Orleans and Chicago. And having SF being here on MNF, I like that, too. Here's to Matt being Mr. November, December and January. ...The Seahawks just released their 2007 schedule. The Hawks open the season with Tampa Bay on September 9th. Then they'll have a tough stretch of road going on the road for 3 of the next 4 games. Those road games are against division rivals Arizona & San Francisco, then a Super Bowl XL rematch October 7th against the Steelers. That's followed by the first Sunday night game on KING 5-TV. The Saints come to Seattle Sunday night and play what could have been last season's NFC Championship. The "Bye Week" is October 28th. Seattle's only Monday night football game comes November 12th against the Niners. The following week, the Hawks return to KING 5-TV for Sunday night football. It's against Da Bears. Hopefully, the outcome will be a little different than last year's Sunday night game when the Hawks got their lunch handed to them 37-6. The second half of schedule keeps getting tougher every week (and it could be the toughest in the league). First up is division rival the Rams in St. Louis. Then the perennial playoff bound Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. The up-and-coming Cards visit Qwest. Then it's back on the road to Carolina, our 2005 NFC Championship foe. The Ravens bring their tough defense to Seattle in the second-to-last week of the season. Then, hopefully, the Jim Mora hire pays off. The Hawks finish the season at Atlanta. There's no real "gimmees" on the schedule. Maybe the Bucs, but we've seen how the Hawks have started the season the past two years (Jacksonville in '05 and Detroit in '06...both were ugly games). The only other game that we "should win" is against Cleveland. Man, the guy or guys who made the NFL schedule didn't do the Hawks any favors. But on the bright side, at least the 12th Man should see a lot of good football. Personally, looking at the schedule, I think if the Hawks are 11-5 or better, they can call the regular season a success. Take a look at the schedule and let me know how well you think the Hawks will do. Regular Season Here's more about Grant Wistrom's retirement plans. Seahawks.net has a good article. They've written the cliff notes from Grant Wistrom's weekend interview on NFL Radio. Sounds like Grant will leave Seattle to move home to Missouri. Wistrom's family is there. He also says that he saw his release from the Hawks/retirement coming. If you want to hear Grant's interview, click on the link I've provided above. It has the audio from that interview. ...I've been watching the NFL combine on the NFL Network today. I know, it's a re-run and kind of geeky, but I noticed on their ticker that Grant Wistrom is retiring. I found the article. It sounds like he could still change his mind. Here's another source that's reporting it as well. I can't believe this flew under the radar. Apparently, this initially came out a couple of days ago. Wistrom only played a couple of seasons for the Hawks. The last probably being the hardest. With all the injuries to the D-line, Wistrom got a lot of attention from the opposing team's O-line. Consequently, his numbers suffered. Another thing that flew under the radar, was all of Wistrom's philanthropy. Grant held his Halloween Bash here for at least the past 3 years (Grant went as: 2004-Willie Wonka, 2005-Napoleon Dynamite, 2006-Ronald McDonald). The money went to help kids with cancer. Here's a link to his website, if you want to see more. Hopefully, Grant will stay active in the community. He's was a great player for a brief time, but he's a much greater human being. Here's hoping he'll at least have one more Halloween Bash just so we can see his next costume. ...Does this sound familiar? Disgruntled Patriot wants out of New England for a better contract. Last year it was WR Deion Branch. This year it's CB Asante Samuel. Seattle feels Branch was worth a #1 pick. Maybe the team could do the same for Samuel? A #1 pick in 2008 and, if necessary, we could toss in a receiver. He told the NFL Network that he wants a trade. Samuel intercepted 12 passes last year, including 2 for TD's in the playoffs. The Hawks could use a big-play CB opposite Marcus Trufant. No disrespect to Pete Hunter and his wonderful play in the playoffs, but Samuel would be a great upgrade. Then you'd a good group of CB's: Trufant, Samuel, Kelly Herndon & Kelly Jennings...from weakness to a strength. Sure, this is all "Fantasy Island" kind of stuff, made up in my own little mind...but it would be nice. ...Free agent QB David Carr decided to sign with the Carolina Panthers. The former #1 overall pick signed a two-year deal. It makes a little bit of sense. Carr wouldn't get any real playing time with the Seahawks unless Matt Hasselbeck got hurt. In Carolina, the team wasn't too happy with Jake Delhomme's season last year. Add that to their capable receivers in Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson and Carr finds himself in a good situation. ...Just got off the phone with the Seahawks. They say there's no announcement ready pertaining starting guard Chris Gray. But TNT's Mike Sando reports that Gray has signed on for another 2 years. Gray is 35 years old, so it's hard to expect much out of him anymore. I'm not trying to bad mouth last season's starting guard, but eventually, his body will give out. That being said, he's built like a good ol' farm boy, stout and strong. He'll probably be the starting guard because Pork Chop is too fragile to be a starter. A couple more notes for ya. FB Leonard Weaver signed his tender earlier this week. Before he got hurt in the pre-season last season, the Seahawks said they had big plans to integrate him into the offense. Weaver is 250 pounds and real quick. Keep an eye on him in 2007. Lastly, NFL.com reportst free agent QB David Carr is in Seattle visiting the Hawks. They're reporting that Carr will decide between the Hawks, Panthers or possibly a late entry team by the end of the week. ...As reporter, I've been around the block - at least most of the way around. I got my start as intern at KOIN-TV in Portland. For ten years, I've been covering news. As reporter, I've been around the block - at least most of the way around. I got my start as intern at KOIN-TV in Portland. For ten years, I've been covering news. DT Craig Terrill will remain a Seahawk. According to the Times, his agent says he's signed a 1-year deal worth $850,000. While on paper, it doesn't look like a huge deal, but it'll help the D-line if he can stay healthy. Terrill gives the starting DT's a breather here and there and generally comes in with good energy. Now I know his numbers aren't astronomical (14 total tackles and 3 sack in '06), but Paul Allen will be happy to have his favorite Seahawk guitarist to jam with back. ...Detectives in Thurston County are looking for the thief who cleaned out a recreation vehicle resort. Someone stole more than 7,000 feet of copper wire worth about $21,000 from Lost Lake Resorts on the 1500 block of Reservation Road SE, between March 5th and 6th. Detectives in Thurston County are looking for the thief who cleaned out a recreation vehicle resort. Someone stole more than 7,000 feet of copper wire worth about $21,000 from Lost Lake Resorts on the 1500 block of Reservation Road SE, between March 5th and 6th. Today, the NFL officially cancelled the China Bowl game. So here's the Hawks pre-season schedule. Sunday August 12th the Hawks play the Chargers in San Diego. Saturday August 18th Seattle heads to the soon-to-be frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to face the Packers. Saturday August 25th the Vikings visit Qwest Field. In the last pre-season game, the Raiders come to Seattle on Thursday August 30th. All games will be televised KING 5 TV. ...SI.com is reporting that the Seahawks and Patriots game in China will be cancelled on Monday. It's something we, in the KING Sports department, have known about for a few days, but no one would confirm it. We spoke with two of the top guys at the NFL. One p.r. person passed us on to league spokesman Greg Aiello. Aiello wouldn't say a word about it, except that the NFL would have an announcement on Monday. Shortly after the China Bowl was announced, the Hawks said they wouldn't return to Cheney for training camp. Instead, they would finish the rest of camp at its Kirkland headquarters. That meant the fans would get shutout from watching camp. But now that the China Bowl is soon to be cancelled, maybe Cheney will be back on the plate. I'm sure the good folks of Cheney would like to at least give the Hawks a proper sendoff in the supposed last year of camp at EWU. We'll have to wait and see. ... |