Seahawks News Thread

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Feb 14, 2004
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The Seattle Seahawks are planning to release running back Leon Washington, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Washington, 30, posted what seemed to be a farewell message to Seahawks fans on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon.

"Seattle It's Been Awesome A Ride, Got Nothing Bad 2 Say About The Gr8 NW #12thMan StandUp!!! Like always... #LetsGetIt," he wrote.

Seattle Seahawks to cut returner Leon Washington -- source - ESPN
 
Sep 20, 2005
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FUCK YOU
Harvin gets $67 million over six years

Percy Harvin has gotten the new team that he wanted, and with it came a new deal.

Per a league source, it’s a six-year, $67 million deal that replaces the last year of Harvin’s rookie deal, at $2.775 million in salary.

Thus, the total average is $11.16 million. In new money (i.e., $67 million less the $2.775 million over five years), Harvin’s average annual haul is $12.845 million.

He gets a $12 million signing bonus, paid in full by the end of 2013 in a state that has no income tax.

The base salaries are $2.5 million in 2013 (fully guaranteed), $11 million in 2014 (guaranteed for injury for now, fully guaranteed on fifth day of the 2014 waiver period), $10.5 million in 2015, $9.9 million in 2016, $9.95 million in 2016, and $11.15 million in 2017.

Thus, $14.5 million is fully guaranteed, with another $11 million guaranteed fully after the 2013 season. The total guarantee, then, is $25.5 million.

He also gets $36 million over the first three years of the deal.

It’s a major commitment for a guy who wasn’t a free agent, and who has a history of being a handful, to say the least. The Seahawks ultimately were the only team that were willing to make the deal required to get Percy from the Vikings, and to make Percy happy.

At least for now.

Harvin gets $67 million over six years | ProFootballTalk
 
Nov 24, 2003
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The Seattle Seahawks are planning to release running back Leon Washington, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Washington, 30, posted what seemed to be a farewell message to Seahawks fans on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon.

"Seattle It's Been Awesome A Ride, Got Nothing Bad 2 Say About The Gr8 NW #12thMan StandUp!!! Like always... #LetsGetIt," he wrote.

Seattle Seahawks to cut returner Leon Washington -- source - ESPN
Man I certainly don't want Percy returning kicks after paying him all that money!!

Especially when Leon is just about as good as Percy. That is a lot of monetary risk for not much performance reward.
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Yeah I agree. Percy is going to have a huge roll on the team being the No. 1 WR, AND kick returning, and who knows how many times he'll be in the back field. But I have faith in the FO. They know what they're doing.
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Percy Harvin does what he does on the football field, which is considerable and versatile. The Seahawks do what they do offensively, which is a lot but also with the desire to do even more.

So could there be a better fit for Harvin, who was introduced Tuesday as the newest Seahawk after the team acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings?

“I don’t think there could have been a better fit for me,” Harvin said after his news conference at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. “It seemed everything unfolded at the right time, at the right place, with the right people.

“So for me, it was a no-brainer. I was telling my agent, ‘Just keep pushing and get this thing done.’ I wanted to be here so bad. … Once my agent called and said Seahawks, that’s where it stopped for me. I said, ‘I’d love to get there, and get me there.’ ”

Harvin was sitting between coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider during his news conference, which was fitting because Harvin is expected to be in the middle of everything for the Seahawks. His primary position is wide receiver, but he also returned kickoffs and was used as a running back in his first four NFL seasons with the Vikings.

Expect that to continue.

“He is such a threat,” Carroll said. “As a wide receiver, he can run and catch the football as well as anybody. But he has a knack for running with the football after the catch that very few players have. It’s because he’s so aggressive and he’s such a tough football player. He’s just a gifted ballplayer, and he understands and feels the game so well you can play him where you can hand the ball to him.

“Percy played in the backfield in college. He played in the backfield for the Vikings. … That’s a tremendous spread of talent that he brings to our club. He will get the ball in his hands a number of ways and he’s going to return kicks for us, too.”

The Seahawks are so enamored with Harvin’s diverse skills that they released Leon Washington on Tuesday, even though he had led the conference in kickoff return average last season and was voted the kick returner on the NFC Pro Bowl squad.

“This is the hard part. These are people’s lives,” Schneider said of Washington, who was acquired in a draft-day trade with the New York Jets in 2010. “We have a very special place in our hearts for him. The hardest part of the business is calling somebody and telling them that we’re going to go in a different direction.

“Leon did a phenomenal job here. The fans love him. He’s such a pro; he really handled himself with extreme class. He understood what we were doing. The first thing you could say about him is he’s a pro.”

Harvin was hoping he’d be able to continue returning kickoffs, but wasn’t sure that would be the case because of Washington’s presence and the lucrative contract he just signed with the Seahawks.

“I definitely was a little worried,” Harvin said. “But one of the questions coach Carroll asked was, ‘Do you mind doing kick return?’ I looked at him like, ‘Uh? You’ve got to be kidding me.’ ”

In fact, Harvin likes returning kickoffs so much that when asked which element of his game he would chose if given one last play, he opted for the return.

“Just because that’s going to be the highlight. That’s going to be when all the fans standup,” he said. “That’s the game-changer. So I love that.”

Harvin did not come without a double price tag. The Seahawks gave the Vikings three draft choices to acquire him, including their first-round pick next month. They then gave Harvin the multiyear contract.

But they never blinked.

“This is a highly unique player,” Schneider said. “If you placed Percy in this draft, there would be some pretty strong arguments as to how high he would go, and it would be pretty darn high.”

Schneider then explained that sitting at No. 25 in the first round next month, it would have cost a third-round pick to move up five spots. So why not give that third-rounder (next year) and a seventh-rounder (this year) in addition to the first-rounder to get a player like Harvin? Schneider answered that by calling the decision “really, kind of a slam dunk for us.”

Offered Carroll, “There is not a football player that we could find that can compete more and battles more than this guy right here. So he’ll fit in just right with us.”

Things will be different for Harvin in Seattle. New city. New team. New environment. Even a new number. He wore No. 12 with the Vikings, but the Seahawks retired that number in 1984 in honor of their fans.

Harvin not only understands, he is embracing the switch to No. 11.

“I was good with it,” said Harvin, who was signed on the 12th day of the month and the first day of NFL free agency. “I wouldn’t dare even try to disrespect the fans with this organization by asking for that 12. So 11, I was good with that. I wore that in high school. So it will be good to get another change and go back to home.”

Another change in the making? Harvin was accompanied by his girlfriend, Janine Williams, who is expecting their first child in June.

Make no mistake. Harvin is thrilled to be here, and feels blessed to be here. You could tell by the constant smile he flashed during the news conference. You also could tell because his responses were peppered with the terms “thrilled” and “blessed.”

But it didn’t come easy. After the potential trade took a turn toward a probable trade on Friday night, Schneider and Rick Spielman, his counterpart with the Vikings, worked all weekend to get it done.

“I haven’t slept in three days, just anticipating this opportunity,” Harvin said. “I’m very blessed.”

Said Schneider, “It was a long weekend. But it was obviously well worth it.”

Adrian Peterson, the league MVP last season after leading the NFL in rushing, already misses Harvin.

“The best all-around player I ever seen or you’ll ever see!” the Vikings’ All-Pro running back tweeted on Monday after news of the trade became public. “Goes to Seattle! I just got kicked in the stomach. Several times!!!”

Harvin is looking for kicks of a different kind, and seems to have found the right team to receive them and deliver them.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I can’t express how much this opportunity means to me.”

Percy Harvin one more versatile piece to the Seahawks puzzle
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Sander Philipse ‏@Bucs_Nation

Letting Bennett walk over $5 million is the stupidest thing the #Bucs have done this offseason. I would have given him 5 years, $40M.
Retweeted by Danny Kelly

Pro Football Focus ‏ P @pff

Bennett, 9th of all defensive players with 71 total pressures. Our 7th ranked DE last year. Well played Seattle. Well played.
Retweeted by Danny Kelly

Glen Peer ‏@weekapaug009



Biggest difference between what Seattle has done the last 3 days is these are household names…they are solid, young hungry players
Retweeted by Danny Kelly

Evan Silva ‏ E @evan silva

Patient, lurking #Seahawks are gobbling up top pass rushers on the cheap while the #Dolphins blow $7 million a year on inside linebackers.
Retweeted by Danny Kelly
 
Jan 12, 2006
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I always thought the NFC West was underrated and over looked, but never did I see two legit super bowl contenders emerging from the NFC WEST at the same damn time. The road to the super bowl for the NFC teams is going to be hell.
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Percy Harvin makes Seattle Seahawks' attack one of NFL's best

The Seattle Seahawks have climbed into the ranks of the NFL's elite by stockpiling top-notch playmakers on both sides of the ball. Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have been daring and courageous in their pursuit of blue-chip talent; perceived issues and baggage don't scare them away from such players. This was certainly the case when the team landed Marshawn Lynch in a pivotal 2010 trade, and it remained true when the Seahawks acquired receiver Percy Harvin in a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.

While some teams saw Harvin as a talented malcontent, the Seahawks viewed the fifth-year pro as the missing piece of a championship-caliber roster. With a week to fully examine how Harvin could fit into Seattle's plans, I've come up with three reasons to believe the move will push the team to the top of the NFC in 2013:

1) Harvin's versatility will make the Seahawks' offense more explosive.

The Seahawks' offensive attack developed into one of the most dangerous in the NFL under the direction of quarterback Russell Wilson. The rookie sensation spearheaded a unit that averaged 32.4 points over the final 10 games of the 2012 season (including the playoffs). Numbers like those are typically reserved for high-powered passing attacks. However, the Seahawks were blowing up scoreboards across the league with a power running game driven by Lynch and complemented by a varied passing attack that featured receivers Sidney Rice and Golden Tate terrorizing opponents outside of the numbers. The evolution of the offense nearly catapulted the Seahawks to the NFC Championship Game. Still, the team was missing a crucial ingredient: a dynamic slot receiver.

In today's game, the middle of the field is where explosive offenses find ways to pick up chunks of yardage and points, by creating mismatches against linebackers and safeties. Elite units feature a dynamic, playmaking tight end or slot receiver who can exploit the less-athletic defenders lurking between the hashes. With Harvin in the lineup, the Seahawks will no longer lack that key component. One of the most dangerous playmakers in the NFL, Harvin primarily does his damage while working from the slot. He excels at running option routes and short crossing routes from that position; this allows him to get the ball quickly in the open field with plenty of room to maneuver.

When I broke down the All-22 Coaches Film of Harvin's best plays from his time with the Vikings, I came away impressed with his ability to find open areas between the hashes on underneath routes. He has a nice feel for using picks and rubs from tight ends (and/or inside receivers) to create separation from defenders in the slot. Harvin also displayed excellent field awareness, and the Vikings were able to capitalize on his abilities as an outstanding runner in the open field.

Harvin is an outstanding option route runner. He flashes remarkable stop-start quickness, allowing him to obtain significant separation from defenders at the top of his routes. Additionally, he is stronger and more physical than his 5-foot-9, 184-pound frame would suggest. He isn't afraid to push or pull his way through contact to get open against tight coverage. Earlier in that same game against the Broncos, Harvin showcased his strength and power while separating from a defender on a "bench" route (10-yard speed out) from the slot for a 52-yard touchdown. Whereas most diminutive receivers shy away from contact down the field, Harvin uses his body to shield and push off against defenders at the top of routes. This allows him to routinely win against man coverage in key situations. Defenses likely will be reluctant to try covering the Seahawks with a two-deep zone, thanks to the presence of Lynch in the backfield. Harvin's explosiveness and effectiveness as a slot receiver certainly will make the passing game even more difficult to defend.

2) The Seahawks' read-option package becomes harder to stop.

The Seahawks quietly implemented several read-option concepts over the course of the 2012 season. The threat that the quarterback would take off enhanced the team's power running game, creating hesitation in the minds of defenders at the point of attack. Defensive ends in particular were routinely left in a bind by Wilson's clever handling at the mesh point as they tried to determine which player had the ball. Edge players who overreacted to the chance that Wilson would keep the ball would leave huge creases for Lynch on the back side.

Defenses are spending the entire offseason crafting plans to stop the read-option. Harvin will help Bevell stay a step ahead, allowing him to expand the package in a variety of ways. The Seahawks can add the bubble-screen option to the play, providing Wilson with the ability to hand the ball off, keep it or throw it, depending on the defense's reaction. This stresses the defensive end and puts linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks in conflict, due to the triple-option effect.

As I studied tape of the Vikings, I noticed that several of Harvin's big plays had come on a variation of a receiver screen on the outside. From bubble screens (in which the slot receiver races away from the quarterback and toward the sideline to receive a quick pass behind the line of scrimmage) to tunnel screens (in which a receiver takes a few steps up the field before working toward the quarterback to field a pass behind the line of scrimmage, with a convoy of blockers leading the way), Harvin showed he could turn short plays into huge gains, weaving through traffic with his electric running style. The Seahawks already incorporate the zone-read concept and a handful of receiver screen plays. It's not a stretch to imagine that the playbook will feature more plays with screens included as an option.

The Seahawks also will take advantage of Harvin's versatility as a running back to enhance their exotic running game. Harvin regularly has carried the ball from the tailback position throughout his collegiate and pro career, showing he can handle a moderate workload as a runner. Bevell will be able to motion Harvin into the backfield as an extra running back in some sets. Additionally, the Seahawks can tap into his running skills by mixing in some fly-sweep concepts to get him the ball en route to the perimeter. He can also motion into the backfield and serve as the pitch back on some of the read-option concepts from one-back or two-back formations. This will create confusion in the minds of defenders and keep defensive coordinators up at night trying to anticipate the myriad gadget plays Bevell can use on a weekly basis.

3) The Seahawks' return game gets a big boost.

I know it's crazy to suggest the Seahawks' return game will improve without one of the most prolific returners in NFL history (Leon Washington), but Harvin is a special playmaker in the return game. He has averaged nearly 28 yards per kick return during his career, scoring a total of five kick-return touchdowns. Washington certainly deserves props for his illustrious career as a return man, but he is not nearly as explosive or dynamic as Harvin, a rare speedster with exceptional stop-start quickness whose superb vision allows him to spot creases anywhere.

The Seahawks' return unit excels at knocking cover guys out of their respective lanes, which makes an explosive returner like Harvin a threat to score whenever he touches the ball in the open field. The return game plays a big role in determining the outcomes of NFL games down the stretch; acquiring a younger, more explosive return man could pay dividends in the Seahawks' quest for a title in 2013.

Percy Harvin makes Seattle Seahawks' attack one of NFL's best - NFL.com
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Cast your vote to help us determine the greatest play in NFL history. NFL.com has picked the 64 best plays ever, and throughout the month of March we are asking football fans to cast their votes as we go round by round through our bracket to determine the fans' selection as the greatest play of all time. Voting ends March 30th.

Vote for BeastQuake!

 
Nov 24, 2003
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Not really liking this Flynn deal. I think he is more valuable to us as a backup than as a 5th round and conditional pick in 2015.

Leinhart backing up? Scary.

Plus with as many bad QBs as there are out there, I am a but surprised we couldn't get more than that.
 
May 9, 2002
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Not really liking this Flynn deal. I think he is more valuable to us as a backup than as a 5th round and conditional pick in 2015.

Leinhart backing up? Scary.

Plus with as many bad QBs as there are out there, I am a but surprised we couldn't get more than that.
Tell that to Flynn. He will get a chance to start in OAK...he aint sniffing time here barring injury.
 
Feb 14, 2004
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We won’t get the full 2013 NFL schedule until later this month, but the Seahawks on Thursday announced their preseason schedule for the upcoming season. And one of them is a nationally televised primetime game against Green Bay.

Aside from the Packers game, the exact dates and times haven’t been announced yet. But we’ve got Seattle’s opponents and the game locations:

Week 1 (Aug. 8-12): at San Diego Chargers
Week 2 (Aug. 15-19): vs. Denver Broncos
Week 3 (Aug. 23): at Green Bay Packers
Week 4 (Aug. 29-30): vs. Oakland Raiders

Here’s the 2013 Seahawks preseason schedule | Seattle Seahawks & NFL News - seattlepi.com
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 10s
Nice job by Darren Sharper. Just reported on @nflnetwork that Antoine Winfield has picked the #Seahawks. Winfield told him.

Nice addition to the #LOB
 
Feb 14, 2004
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Seattle Seahawks 2013 Schedule

W1 9.8 @ Panthers
W2 9.15 vs 49ers
W3 9.22 vs Jaguars
W4 9.29 @ Texans
W5 10.6 @ Colts
W6 10.13 vs Titans
W7 10.17 @ Cardinals
W8 10.28 @ Rams
W9 11.3 vs Buccaneers
W10 11.10 @ Falcons
W11 11.17 vs Vikings
W12 BYE
W13 12.2 vs Saints
W14 12.8 @ 49ers
W15 12.15 @ Giants
W16 12.22 vs Cardinals
W17 12.29 vs Rams

Four prime time games and week 12 BYE, yee!