I did not see last week's exhibition game against the Chargers.
Two weeks ago, a storm and a power outage fried the Direct TV receiver. Because I work all the time and seldom watch TV--except for Seahawks games--I didn't discover this until it was too late.
It had been more than 8 years since I had last missed a Seahawks game.
I watched some highlights from our preseason "victory" over San Diego online.
Direct TV mailed me a replacement receiver, so I should be able to see Saturday's contest against the Minnesota Vikings.
I hope Tarvaris Jackson makes a case for himself as a starting quarterback. If he can't get up for a game against the team that wronged him, then there's something wrong with him.
Against San Diego, T-Jack did nothing to convince Seattle fans that he's a better option than Charlie Whitehurst.
Jesus of Clemson did not perform much better for the rest of the first half, but his Second Coming was something to behold. He came out after halftime and played like someone who wants a starting job.
I want the good kind of quarterback controversy that comes when your anointed starter and his backup both light it up in the preseason.
And I want Russell Okung to quit getting high ankle sprains.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
...and Lofa, too?
Job demands have made it hard for me to keep up with the fast and furious post-lockout free agent frenzy.
Coach Carroll and GM John Schneider continue to overhaul the roster ruthlessly.
Shortly after ditching Hasselbeck, the Great Collabor-haters jettisoned the quarterback of our defense, middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu.
They asked the undersized Samoan to take a pay cut. His contract with Seattle--negotiated shortly after his three consecutive Pro Bowls--was a generous long-term deal designed to keep him here for the rest of his career. However, in recent years, Tatupu has lost a step. Dogged by injuries, he has battled mightily just to stay on the field, but he has proved unable to perform at the high level envisioned when he and the team first inked the deal. His high football IQ compensated somewhat for his physical limitations, but the franchise has evidently determined that he will never return to form as one of the game's best defenders.
Some day, we'll learn whether the pay cut the team demanded was reasonable, or whether it was an insult calculated to force Tatupu's departure.
I hope the front office asked Lofa to accept compensation in line with his performance and appropriate to his leadership role on the team.
On the other hand, if they lowballed him to drive him from the roster, then Carroll and Schneider have made a mistake.
This isn't college ball. You can't win consistently in the NFL with a roster that turns over entirely every 4 or 5 years. Great teams commit to the careers of a few core players. Every dynasty depends on cultivating that nucleus and complementing it with more ephemeral talent. This was true of Lombardi's Packers, Noll's Steelers, Walsh's 49ers, the Cowboys of the '90s, and Belichick's Patriots. No team has ever established long-term dominance without a stable nucleus of veteran talent.
Now that Hasselbeck and Tatupu have left the building, who is our nucleus now?
Postscript: Ever sentimental, the Diehard hopes that Tatupu might yet return to us via the Babs Boomerang route. Last year, the team cut veteran defensive back Jordan Babineaux. When Big Play Babs experienced little love on the free agent market, he came back to play for Seattle at a lower rate of pay, because playing for less is better than being unemployed, and because Seattle was willing to employ him and pay him more than other teams would.
Coach Carroll and GM John Schneider continue to overhaul the roster ruthlessly.
Shortly after ditching Hasselbeck, the Great Collabor-haters jettisoned the quarterback of our defense, middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu.
They asked the undersized Samoan to take a pay cut. His contract with Seattle--negotiated shortly after his three consecutive Pro Bowls--was a generous long-term deal designed to keep him here for the rest of his career. However, in recent years, Tatupu has lost a step. Dogged by injuries, he has battled mightily just to stay on the field, but he has proved unable to perform at the high level envisioned when he and the team first inked the deal. His high football IQ compensated somewhat for his physical limitations, but the franchise has evidently determined that he will never return to form as one of the game's best defenders.
Some day, we'll learn whether the pay cut the team demanded was reasonable, or whether it was an insult calculated to force Tatupu's departure.
I hope the front office asked Lofa to accept compensation in line with his performance and appropriate to his leadership role on the team.
On the other hand, if they lowballed him to drive him from the roster, then Carroll and Schneider have made a mistake.
This isn't college ball. You can't win consistently in the NFL with a roster that turns over entirely every 4 or 5 years. Great teams commit to the careers of a few core players. Every dynasty depends on cultivating that nucleus and complementing it with more ephemeral talent. This was true of Lombardi's Packers, Noll's Steelers, Walsh's 49ers, the Cowboys of the '90s, and Belichick's Patriots. No team has ever established long-term dominance without a stable nucleus of veteran talent.
Now that Hasselbeck and Tatupu have left the building, who is our nucleus now?
Postscript: Ever sentimental, the Diehard hopes that Tatupu might yet return to us via the Babs Boomerang route. Last year, the team cut veteran defensive back Jordan Babineaux. When Big Play Babs experienced little love on the free agent market, he came back to play for Seattle at a lower rate of pay, because playing for less is better than being unemployed, and because Seattle was willing to employ him and pay him more than other teams would.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Carroll dumps Hasselbeck: Fast and spurious
Questions persist about Pete Carroll's character because he can be so remarkably disingenuous.
Back in January, Carroll claimed that re-signing Matt Hasselbeck was the team's "top priority."
But when the lockout ended, Seattle made no effort to retain the services of their best offensive player.
Instead, the team signed Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota's perpetual bridesmaid. Most NFL fans remember how the Vikings twice unceremoniously benched Jackson--a training camp stalwart--in favor of Brett Favre, a preseason slacker who conveniently timed his annual Lazarus routine.
Tarvaris barely fended off challenges from Sage Rosenfels just to secure the right to hold a clipboard for Old Cock & Crocs.
Before that, Lack-of-Traction Jackson lost his starting job to a fading Gus Frerotte.
The last time he consistently started at quarterback was 2007, his second year in the league.
Jackson is a good athlete who has shown flashes of real potential at his position. He may prove to be a good acquisition.
The media has rushed to anoint the ex-Viking as the starter, but Charlie Whitehurst--a third-stringer in San Diego before last year--may outcompete him.
Analysts argue that Jackson's mobility (and Whitehurst's, for that matter) may prove helpful behind Seattle's revamped offensive line.
I retort that mobility at the quarterback position should be less necessary this year.
Recent recruit Tom Cable--one of the league's best offensive line coaches--has assembled a projected starting unit that includes three first-round draft picks (left tackle Russell Okung, left guard Robert Gallery, and right tackle James Carpenter) and two second rounders (center Max Unger and right guard John Moffitt).
This should be our best O-Line since the Seahawk Super Bowl squad.
Imagine how Hasselbeck could have dissected defenses behind an effective line, with the support of a credible running game, throwing to a dream duo of big wideouts (Mike Williams and Sidney Rice).
Keeping Matt would have shown that Seattle intends to resume its traditional dominance of the NFC West.
It would have encouraged top free agents who want to join a winning team to consider the Seahawks.
Instead, by letting Hasselbeck go, we've made the division a tossup. We've signalled that we're resigned to rebuilding, that we're not in a hurry to return to the playoffs. We're telling Nnamdi Asomugha and other top free agents to sign elsewhere.
Prepare to witness the growing pains of a backup quarterback struggling to establish himself as a credible starter.
This is Hasselbeck's reward for a decade of loyal service? For three Pro Bowl years? For six of the franchise's nine playoff appearances? For the Super Bowl season? For teaching and leading and competing during the lean times, as our running game deteriorated and our offensive line disintegrated? For helping the team learn how to win again? For that magical wild card victory over New Orleans? For directing informal practices during the lockout?
Matthew deserved better.
The team deserved better.
The fans deserved better.
Back in January, Carroll claimed that re-signing Matt Hasselbeck was the team's "top priority."
But when the lockout ended, Seattle made no effort to retain the services of their best offensive player.
Instead, the team signed Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota's perpetual bridesmaid. Most NFL fans remember how the Vikings twice unceremoniously benched Jackson--a training camp stalwart--in favor of Brett Favre, a preseason slacker who conveniently timed his annual Lazarus routine.
Tarvaris barely fended off challenges from Sage Rosenfels just to secure the right to hold a clipboard for Old Cock & Crocs.
Before that, Lack-of-Traction Jackson lost his starting job to a fading Gus Frerotte.
The last time he consistently started at quarterback was 2007, his second year in the league.
Jackson is a good athlete who has shown flashes of real potential at his position. He may prove to be a good acquisition.
The media has rushed to anoint the ex-Viking as the starter, but Charlie Whitehurst--a third-stringer in San Diego before last year--may outcompete him.
Analysts argue that Jackson's mobility (and Whitehurst's, for that matter) may prove helpful behind Seattle's revamped offensive line.
I retort that mobility at the quarterback position should be less necessary this year.
Recent recruit Tom Cable--one of the league's best offensive line coaches--has assembled a projected starting unit that includes three first-round draft picks (left tackle Russell Okung, left guard Robert Gallery, and right tackle James Carpenter) and two second rounders (center Max Unger and right guard John Moffitt).
This should be our best O-Line since the Seahawk Super Bowl squad.
Imagine how Hasselbeck could have dissected defenses behind an effective line, with the support of a credible running game, throwing to a dream duo of big wideouts (Mike Williams and Sidney Rice).
Keeping Matt would have shown that Seattle intends to resume its traditional dominance of the NFC West.
It would have encouraged top free agents who want to join a winning team to consider the Seahawks.
Instead, by letting Hasselbeck go, we've made the division a tossup. We've signalled that we're resigned to rebuilding, that we're not in a hurry to return to the playoffs. We're telling Nnamdi Asomugha and other top free agents to sign elsewhere.
Prepare to witness the growing pains of a backup quarterback struggling to establish himself as a credible starter.
This is Hasselbeck's reward for a decade of loyal service? For three Pro Bowl years? For six of the franchise's nine playoff appearances? For the Super Bowl season? For teaching and leading and competing during the lean times, as our running game deteriorated and our offensive line disintegrated? For helping the team learn how to win again? For that magical wild card victory over New Orleans? For directing informal practices during the lockout?
Matthew deserved better.
The team deserved better.
The fans deserved better.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Uncompetitive disadvantage
Lots of NFL players are working out on their own during this prolonged lockout.
Athletes on teams that really want to win have been getting together for informal practices.
Several Houston Texans are working out at Rice University.
Tony Romo has convened Cowboys practices.
Eli Manning is taking snaps and throwing passes to Giants teammates in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Giants quarterbacks Eli Manning and Sage Rosenfels brave the rain to practice the Sailors' Hornpipe.
Why aren't any Seahawks getting together to practice?
Location is not an issue. Many players don't live in Seattle in the offseason, but nothing says the practices have to take place in our emerald Eden by the Sound.
LaDainian Tomlinson and Dirty Sanchez have led Jets workouts in sunny California.
The lack of veteran leadership certainly contributes to the dereliction of voluntarist duty on the part of our players. Seattle's two veteran offensive leaders--Matt Hasselbeck and center Chris Spencer--are both free agents who may not be back.
In Lofa Tatupu, we have a credible defensive leader, but the other teams' informal practices seem to have consisted primarily of quarterbacks throwing to backs and receivers.
A lack of veteran offensive leadership does not necessarily prevent players from holding informal practices. For example, Bengals backup Jordan Palmer has assembled his team's wideouts in California for some workouts.
Charlie Whitehurst could advance his case as a prospective starter by organizing some practices.
Our athletes' inaction has surrendered the initiative to our rivals in the league and in the division.
Last week, in Arizona, All-Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald led several fellow Cardinals through workouts with Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb, a Phoenix resident who may be auditioning with prospective teammates for a role with his hometown pro franchise.
The future in Arizona?
As long as league owners continue to dawdle, it is up to the players to salvage their team's prospects for the regular season by convening their own practices. Football is a team sport. Unless you're a world-class badass like Walter Jones, you can't get ready to play by working out all alone.
Seahawks players need to come together and make something happen.
A Seahawks Diehard exclusive photo of informal practices held by Seattle players thus far during the lockout.
Athletes on teams that really want to win have been getting together for informal practices.
Several Houston Texans are working out at Rice University.
Tony Romo has convened Cowboys practices.
Eli Manning is taking snaps and throwing passes to Giants teammates in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Giants quarterbacks Eli Manning and Sage Rosenfels brave the rain to practice the Sailors' Hornpipe.
Why aren't any Seahawks getting together to practice?
Location is not an issue. Many players don't live in Seattle in the offseason, but nothing says the practices have to take place in our emerald Eden by the Sound.
LaDainian Tomlinson and Dirty Sanchez have led Jets workouts in sunny California.
The lack of veteran leadership certainly contributes to the dereliction of voluntarist duty on the part of our players. Seattle's two veteran offensive leaders--Matt Hasselbeck and center Chris Spencer--are both free agents who may not be back.
In Lofa Tatupu, we have a credible defensive leader, but the other teams' informal practices seem to have consisted primarily of quarterbacks throwing to backs and receivers.
A lack of veteran offensive leadership does not necessarily prevent players from holding informal practices. For example, Bengals backup Jordan Palmer has assembled his team's wideouts in California for some workouts.
Charlie Whitehurst could advance his case as a prospective starter by organizing some practices.
Our athletes' inaction has surrendered the initiative to our rivals in the league and in the division.
Last week, in Arizona, All-Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald led several fellow Cardinals through workouts with Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb, a Phoenix resident who may be auditioning with prospective teammates for a role with his hometown pro franchise.
The future in Arizona?
As long as league owners continue to dawdle, it is up to the players to salvage their team's prospects for the regular season by convening their own practices. Football is a team sport. Unless you're a world-class badass like Walter Jones, you can't get ready to play by working out all alone.
Seahawks players need to come together and make something happen.
A Seahawks Diehard exclusive photo of informal practices held by Seattle players thus far during the lockout.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Great Collaborators now a power trio
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider.
Last year, Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider dubbed themselves the Great Collaborators, working together on drafting talent for the Seahawks. Musical analog: Simon & Garfunkel.
Simon & Garfunkel, feeling groovy
This year, they heavily involved a third man: assistant head coach and O-Line guru Tom Cable.
Tom Cable, former Raiders head coach
Now that the Great Collaborators have incorporated a third member, their new musical analog is Rush!
When you listen to Canada's premier prog rock power trio, Neil Peart's thunderous drumming and literate lyrics leap out at you. He establishes both the beat and the thematic content of each song.
Neil Peart, Rush drummer and lyricist
In determining Seattle's first two picks, Cable assumed the Neil Peart role. He set the rhythm and the theme: In this draft, more than anything else, the Seahawks moved to shore up the offensive line. Since that unit--once the strongest in the NFL--has become our Achilles' heel in recent years, that emphasis seemed entirely appropriate to me.
Most rock bands write songs about love and sex. Neil Peart rejects such tired themes, even if they are tried and true and timeless. Instead, he writes lyrics about atheism ("Free Will," "Faithless"), intolerance ("Witch Hunt"), and Dungeons & Dragons ("By-Tor and the Snow Dog" and "The Necromancer"). His magnum opus was 2112, a science fiction concept album channeling the philosophy of Ayn Rand. (Note: That was back in 1976. Unlike most Randroids, his thinking has matured and evolved since then.)
Similarly, Tom Cable evidently bucks conventional wisdom when it comes to the draft. Most analysts regard our first two picks as reaches, as offensive linemen who might have been good picks if taken a round later. However, Carroll and Cable claim that the road graders Seattle selected--tackle James Carpenter of Bama and guard John Moffitt of the false UW (Wisconsin)--were the two linemen that Cable most coveted from all of college football.
Of course, they might just be blowing smoke after the fact in an effort to justify risky picks.
Bama offensive tackle James Carpenter, Seattle's top draft pick
However, our O-Line selections clearly reflect the team's strong faith in Cable's ability to size up talent at his position of expertise. Certainly, he has had great success as a position coach, assembling effective front fives everywhere he has worked. In Oakland, he took Robert Gallery--for years a hopeless and bitterly disappointing draft bust--and built him into a valued and viable player, and now a coveted free agent.
On the other hand, one fears that Cable might have picked up some bad draft habits from Raiders owner Al Davis. Once a gifted talent scout, the Crypt Keeper seems to have lost his touch since joining the ranks of the undead. (Evidently, lichdom isn't all it's cracked up to be.) Analysts who trash our draft are already lumping us in with Oakland as losers. (See http://www.sbnation.com/2011-nfl-draft/2011/4/30/2146305/2011-nfl-draft-grades-losers-raiders-seahawks.)
Oakland Raiders Al Davis (left) and his doppleganger, the Crypt Keeper (right).
However, Rush fans forgave Neil Peart's youthful fascination with Ayn Rand because 2112 rocked, and because the concept album told a story that's compelling even if you reject Objectivist philosophy.
Similarly, I can tolerate Tom Cable's quirky draft selections if Carpenter and Moffitt quickly become strong cogs in a dominant offensive line.
After Peart writes Rush's lyrics, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson develop fitting musical accompaniment for them.
In much the same way, after letting Cable grab two O-linemen, Carroll and Schneider took over the rest of the draft.
Geddy Lee tends to dominate the sound of Rush, with bombastic basslines and helium-fueled banshee wails of awesome nasal power, reflecting routing through one of the world's most prominent proboscises.
Rush bassist and banshee, Geddy Lee.
Likewise, Carroll seems the stronger partner in his collaboration with Schneider. The rest of the draft reflected Pete's infatuation with big wideouts, big D-linemen, and big, fast corners who can press.
Conventional critics condemned Seattle for its failure to draft a quarterback. I laud the team for refusing to reach and squander a pick at that position. Re-signing Matt Hasselbeck is the right solution. Failing that, we have made a substantial investment in Charlie Whitehurst, and he performed well in the one high-stakes contest where we customized the game plan for him. If we need backup insurance, it's a buyer's market for capable free agent quarterbacks.
Charlie Whitehurst and Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle's best bets at quarterback next year
Rush isn't for everyone. Music critics have never liked the band, and Rush songs have rarely dented the charts, but the power trio has thrived for more than three decades by continuing to please a substantial niche audience.
By the same token, the Great Collaborators don't need to please draft pundits or impress a national audience of football fans in their selections of college talent. They just need to serve the Seahawks faithful by assembling a team that can maintain Seattle's traditional dominance of the NFC West.
Occasionally, it takes time for a Rush album to grow on you. Intially, I didn't like Grace under Pressure or Test for Echo, but over time, I came to appreciate their subtle and considerable virtues.
In a similar vein, I expressed skepticism regarding many of the personnel changes Carroll and Schneider made last year, but in retrospect, their overhaul effort basically succeeded.
Like almost every band, Rush has released uninspired albums. No matter how many times you listen to it, Vapor Trails is a bad trip. (The flatulent implications of its title should have served as ample warning.)
Rush's nadir, Vapor Trails
But I don't think this was a Vapor Trails draft.
After last year, the Great Collaborators have earned a modicum of faith from Seahawks diehards.
Wisconsin guard John Moffitt, now a Seahawk.
Monday, March 7, 2011
How to have an 18-game regular season
This blog is in the players' corner on almost every issue at stake in the collective bargaining process.
We watch the NFL for the players. Not for the coaches, not for the cheerleaders, and certainly not for the fatcat owners in their luxury boxes. We watch to see great athletes compete in a brutal and beautiful sport.
Pro football players really are like gladiators. They absorb and dish out a great deal of punishment for our entertainment. Playing pro football shortens their lives and reduces the quality of their lives in many ways. They deserve to be well-compensated for their sacrifices.
Owners make no comparable contribution to or sacrifice for the game. They can cope with a reduced slice of the pie.
The NFL proposes to "make the pie higher" (to invoke a Bushism) by increasing the regular season from 16 to 18 games. This would generate more revenue. Understandably, players object, citing the increased toll on their bodies, and wondering how the league squares an extended season with its professed desire to enhance player safety.
However, there is a way to go to an 18-game season without endangering players: increase the regular season to 18 games, but make each player eligible to play in only 16 of those games.
Each week, the coaches would have to decide who plays and who sits.
Under my plan, the NFL could even ditch the bye week, because each player would enjoy the equivalent of two bye weeks sometime during the regular season.
We watch the NFL for the players. Not for the coaches, not for the cheerleaders, and certainly not for the fatcat owners in their luxury boxes. We watch to see great athletes compete in a brutal and beautiful sport.
Pro football players really are like gladiators. They absorb and dish out a great deal of punishment for our entertainment. Playing pro football shortens their lives and reduces the quality of their lives in many ways. They deserve to be well-compensated for their sacrifices.
Owners make no comparable contribution to or sacrifice for the game. They can cope with a reduced slice of the pie.
The NFL proposes to "make the pie higher" (to invoke a Bushism) by increasing the regular season from 16 to 18 games. This would generate more revenue. Understandably, players object, citing the increased toll on their bodies, and wondering how the league squares an extended season with its professed desire to enhance player safety.
However, there is a way to go to an 18-game season without endangering players: increase the regular season to 18 games, but make each player eligible to play in only 16 of those games.
Each week, the coaches would have to decide who plays and who sits.
Under my plan, the NFL could even ditch the bye week, because each player would enjoy the equivalent of two bye weeks sometime during the regular season.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Go, Pack.
Notice the lack of an exclamation point on that title.
It's hard to get too excited about a Super Bowl that doesn't include the Seahawks, or even any former Seattle players.
However, my belief in a just world requires that Green Bay wins.
I realize that the Steelers are a good team, and they might in fact win. I could put up with a Pittsburgh victory, but only if Big Ben Rapistberger exits the game with a career-ending injury.
I've imposed an almost complete media blackout upon myself regarding the Super Bowl because the steady stream of Roethlisberger "redemption" stories sickens me.
If Pittsburgh had any integrity as an organization, they would have cut the rapist before the season began, rather than reinstate him as their starting quarterback after he served his suspension. The Steelers proved they could win without him when Roethlisberger was sidelined. So why bring him back?
Also, Green Bay has solid underdog credentials, as the league's smallest market and the only publicly-owned team. Every time the Packers win, it's a thumb in the eye to the NFL's sordid tradition of individual ownership. Public ownership is obviously good for fans--Green Bay wouldn't have a team anymore without it--but the league won't allow any other team to adopt the practice, because they'd rather maintain the freedom of plutocrats to steal a town's team if the taxpayers don't give them everything they want. Congress should end the ban on public ownership the next time the NFL's anti-trust exemption comes up for renewal.
So: Go, Pack.
It's hard to get too excited about a Super Bowl that doesn't include the Seahawks, or even any former Seattle players.
However, my belief in a just world requires that Green Bay wins.
I realize that the Steelers are a good team, and they might in fact win. I could put up with a Pittsburgh victory, but only if Big Ben Rapistberger exits the game with a career-ending injury.
I've imposed an almost complete media blackout upon myself regarding the Super Bowl because the steady stream of Roethlisberger "redemption" stories sickens me.
If Pittsburgh had any integrity as an organization, they would have cut the rapist before the season began, rather than reinstate him as their starting quarterback after he served his suspension. The Steelers proved they could win without him when Roethlisberger was sidelined. So why bring him back?
Also, Green Bay has solid underdog credentials, as the league's smallest market and the only publicly-owned team. Every time the Packers win, it's a thumb in the eye to the NFL's sordid tradition of individual ownership. Public ownership is obviously good for fans--Green Bay wouldn't have a team anymore without it--but the league won't allow any other team to adopt the practice, because they'd rather maintain the freedom of plutocrats to steal a town's team if the taxpayers don't give them everything they want. Congress should end the ban on public ownership the next time the NFL's anti-trust exemption comes up for renewal.
So: Go, Pack.
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