The Seattle Seahawks have put to rest any doubts as to whether or not they are poised to make a run at the Super Bowl this season. They made the trade with Minnesota to bring in a dynamic playmaker in Percy Harvin, which will not only add a threat to their offense that they were lacking last season, but will certainly help with the development of Russell Wilson. They also made big moves on the defensive line adding Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to bolster their pass rush. And now, with the acquisition of Antoine Winfield to an already dominant defensive back corps, the Seahawks have made their case for not only the most improved team of the off-season, but also as the top team in the NFC. (And as my fiancee' thinks, the best team in the whole NFL).
The Seahawks already have a stacked squad of defensive backs with Pro Bowl free safety Earl Thomas, Pro Bowl strong safety Kam Chancelor, and Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Browner. Not only do they boast three Pro Bowlers, but they also have the biggest snub in last year's voting, Richard Sherman. Every one of these defensive backs has the talent to be the top guy on any team in the NFL, so to have all of them playing on the same team is quite an accomplishment. One of the biggest reasons for their collective success is their unheard-of size. Three of the four are 6'3'' or taller (Sherman, Chancelor, and Browner). The size and physicality of these corners and safeties is just too much for the wide receivers in the league to handle on a consistent basis.
Now Seattle has brought in one of the most consistently great cornerbacks to ever play in the NFL, Antoine Winfield. Despite his advanced age (Winfield will be 36 come this June), he has been ranked as the number one cornerback by Pro Football Focus in two of the last three years, ranking ninth in his "off year". Not only is Winfield a premiere cover corner, he is also the best tackling corner that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Most corners that you see in the NFL are almost allergic to coming up and making a tackle, but Winfield plays with a completely opposite mindset. He loves to come up in run support, stick his nose in there and make the tackle. He exemplifies what it means to do whatever it takes to help the team win.
While I have seen countless examples of teams making a huge splash in the off-season, having huge expectation and falling flat on their faces, it is hard for me to imagine that this will happen to Seattle. They already had a playoff caliber team before all of the moves that they made, and every single one of their moves has provided them with an elite player that fills a need that prevented them from going to the Super Bowl last season. Let me go on record right now as predicting that the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in Met Life stadium in Super Bowl 48.
Showing posts with label Seattle Seahawks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle Seahawks. Show all posts
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Bye Bye Birdie
Matt Flynn appears to be on his way out of Seattle, just one season after the failed experiment to bring him to the organization. Before the start of last season the Seattle Seahawks signed Flynn to a three year, $19.5 million contract, ostensibly to be the QB of the future for the franchise. Then, as insurance, they drafted Russell Wilson III, to be his backup. Wilson ended up beating out Flynn in training camp and the rest is history. Now Flynn will be on to his third team in as many seasons and there seems to be four logical places for Flynn to end up: Oakland, Jacksonville, Buffalo, or Arizona.
Oakland seems to be the most likely suitor at this point. They are desperate to get out from under the huge cap hit that Carson Palmer is going to be this season, and Palmer has thus far been unwilling to restructure. Palmer is under contract for $13 million this season and there is no way that Oakland, as frivolous as they have been in past seasons, is going to pay that much for a 33 year old QB so obviously on the down slope of his career. Flynn would seem like a logical replacement for Palmer. He's younger than Palmer by six years, so he is in the prime of his career and has several good years left. Oakland, however, does not have much talent to surround Flynn. Their best player, Darren McFadden, is also one of, if not the most, injury-prone players in the NFL. Factors like this may mean that Flynn may not be so willing to continue his career as a Raider.
Jacksonville would appear to be another good fit for Flynn. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville's new head coach, was the defensive coordinator with Flynn in Seattle. Jacksonville also has considerably more talent to surround Flynn with, having one of the league's best running backs in Maurice Jones Drew and a couple talented young wide receivers: Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts. The Jags, however, are reportedly not interested in acquiring Flynn, as they already have former first round draft choice Blaine Gabbart and capable but limited Chad Henne on their roster. If a former coach doesn't want Flynn, I'd be surprised to see the Jacksonville front office overrule him.
Buffalo is another team who is in desperate need of someone at the QB position. Earlier this month the Bills released their starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in a move to save some salary cap room. With the loss of Fitzpatrick, the Bills have a gaping hole on a team that has a lot of talent. They have two very strong running backs in the oft-injured Fred Jackson and the electric C.J. Spiller. They also have an extremely talented, yet problematic, receiver in Stevie Johnson. On the surface, this seems like a great fit for Flynn. Unfortunately for Flynn (and fortunately for the Dolphins fan in me), I really don't see Buffalo being willing to bring on Flynn's salary if they weren't willing to put up the money for Fitzpatrick.
Arizona, the last possibility, seems to be the most far-fetched to me. They have a very large need at the position and have a decent amount of talent around him, namely in arguably the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald. The downside to the Cardinals is mainly their offensive line. Anyone who watched a Cardinals game last season could see that they have the worst line in the NFL. I can't imagine that Flynn would be thrilled to go to a team with such a porous line, especially when you consider that they also have a relative paucity at running back as well. I doubt that the lure of Fitzgerald alone would be enough to entice Flynn. That being said, Flynn is still under contract with Seattle and may not have any say in the Cardinals if they put up the best offer for him.
Wherever Flynn ends up, a trade will be a win for everyone involved. The team who gets Flynn will have significantly upgraded their QB situation. Seattle will pick up draft picks that will off-set the trade they made with Minnesota for Percy Harvin. And most of all, Flynn will finally get a shot at being a starter in the NFL, something he has been after since he left the Green Bay Packers.
Oakland seems to be the most likely suitor at this point. They are desperate to get out from under the huge cap hit that Carson Palmer is going to be this season, and Palmer has thus far been unwilling to restructure. Palmer is under contract for $13 million this season and there is no way that Oakland, as frivolous as they have been in past seasons, is going to pay that much for a 33 year old QB so obviously on the down slope of his career. Flynn would seem like a logical replacement for Palmer. He's younger than Palmer by six years, so he is in the prime of his career and has several good years left. Oakland, however, does not have much talent to surround Flynn. Their best player, Darren McFadden, is also one of, if not the most, injury-prone players in the NFL. Factors like this may mean that Flynn may not be so willing to continue his career as a Raider.
Jacksonville would appear to be another good fit for Flynn. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville's new head coach, was the defensive coordinator with Flynn in Seattle. Jacksonville also has considerably more talent to surround Flynn with, having one of the league's best running backs in Maurice Jones Drew and a couple talented young wide receivers: Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts. The Jags, however, are reportedly not interested in acquiring Flynn, as they already have former first round draft choice Blaine Gabbart and capable but limited Chad Henne on their roster. If a former coach doesn't want Flynn, I'd be surprised to see the Jacksonville front office overrule him.
Buffalo is another team who is in desperate need of someone at the QB position. Earlier this month the Bills released their starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in a move to save some salary cap room. With the loss of Fitzpatrick, the Bills have a gaping hole on a team that has a lot of talent. They have two very strong running backs in the oft-injured Fred Jackson and the electric C.J. Spiller. They also have an extremely talented, yet problematic, receiver in Stevie Johnson. On the surface, this seems like a great fit for Flynn. Unfortunately for Flynn (and fortunately for the Dolphins fan in me), I really don't see Buffalo being willing to bring on Flynn's salary if they weren't willing to put up the money for Fitzpatrick.
Arizona, the last possibility, seems to be the most far-fetched to me. They have a very large need at the position and have a decent amount of talent around him, namely in arguably the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald. The downside to the Cardinals is mainly their offensive line. Anyone who watched a Cardinals game last season could see that they have the worst line in the NFL. I can't imagine that Flynn would be thrilled to go to a team with such a porous line, especially when you consider that they also have a relative paucity at running back as well. I doubt that the lure of Fitzgerald alone would be enough to entice Flynn. That being said, Flynn is still under contract with Seattle and may not have any say in the Cardinals if they put up the best offer for him.
Wherever Flynn ends up, a trade will be a win for everyone involved. The team who gets Flynn will have significantly upgraded their QB situation. Seattle will pick up draft picks that will off-set the trade they made with Minnesota for Percy Harvin. And most of all, Flynn will finally get a shot at being a starter in the NFL, something he has been after since he left the Green Bay Packers.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
An Embarrassment No Longer
Just two short years ago the NFC West was the laughing stock of the NFL and an embarrassment to professional team sports across the globe. The Seahawks "won" this division with an abysmal record of 7-9 and were inexplicably allowed to participate in the playoffs. Fast forward to the present, and the NFC West has become arguably the toughest division in football, and just might possess the two best teams in the NFL: Seattle and San Francisco.
San Francisco has turned their franchise around 180° in the past few years. They have gone from a doormat in the post-Steve Young era, to a legitimate yearly contender, even playing in this past Super Bowl, ultimately losing to the Baltimore Ravens. They appear to have found their quarterback of the future in the strong-armed, swift-footed Colin Kaepernick. They have a formidable defense led by the dynamic linebacker duo of NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. Combined with the recent theft of Anquan Boldin from the aforementioned Super Bowl champs (only giving up a sixth round draft pick, one of their fifteen total draft selections) it is clear that the 49ers franchise is back to it's former glory and intends to challenge for the Lombardi trophy for years to come.
Not to be outdone, the Seattle Seahawks have done everything they can to keep pace with, and possibly surpass the team in San Francisco. They have their own answer for Kaepernick in Russell Wilson. They have built what, in my estimation, is the strongest defense in the NFL with the addition of Cliff Avril to a line-up that already has Chris Clemmons; the surprise of last-year's draft, Bruce Irvin; and the best secondary in the NFL headed by one of my favorite non-Miami Dolphins, Richard Sherman (of the 'U Mad Bro' fame). Seattle also made their own move in the trade market, giving up multiple picks to acquire the services of the immensely talented Percy Harvin. The addition of Harvin should add an element to the Seahawks offense that just might put them over the top and into the discussion of "Best Teams in the NFL".
With a combination of savvy picks through the draft, the acquisition of many key free agents, and the gall to pull off blockbuster trades, both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have done all they can to ensure that the NFC West is an embarrassment no longer.
San Francisco has turned their franchise around 180° in the past few years. They have gone from a doormat in the post-Steve Young era, to a legitimate yearly contender, even playing in this past Super Bowl, ultimately losing to the Baltimore Ravens. They appear to have found their quarterback of the future in the strong-armed, swift-footed Colin Kaepernick. They have a formidable defense led by the dynamic linebacker duo of NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. Combined with the recent theft of Anquan Boldin from the aforementioned Super Bowl champs (only giving up a sixth round draft pick, one of their fifteen total draft selections) it is clear that the 49ers franchise is back to it's former glory and intends to challenge for the Lombardi trophy for years to come.
Not to be outdone, the Seattle Seahawks have done everything they can to keep pace with, and possibly surpass the team in San Francisco. They have their own answer for Kaepernick in Russell Wilson. They have built what, in my estimation, is the strongest defense in the NFL with the addition of Cliff Avril to a line-up that already has Chris Clemmons; the surprise of last-year's draft, Bruce Irvin; and the best secondary in the NFL headed by one of my favorite non-Miami Dolphins, Richard Sherman (of the 'U Mad Bro' fame). Seattle also made their own move in the trade market, giving up multiple picks to acquire the services of the immensely talented Percy Harvin. The addition of Harvin should add an element to the Seahawks offense that just might put them over the top and into the discussion of "Best Teams in the NFL".
With a combination of savvy picks through the draft, the acquisition of many key free agents, and the gall to pull off blockbuster trades, both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have done all they can to ensure that the NFC West is an embarrassment no longer.
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