Bleacher Report - Articles by Lars Hanson

Matt Hasselbeck: On a Mission to Prove He Still Belongs

Lars Hanson — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:51:34 -0400

Seahawks starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck—now entering his 11th year in the NFL, two in Green Bay and nine in Seattle—still has a lot to prove to his critics and, most importantly, himself.

It was close to nine years ago when Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren brought him in from Green Bay. Holmgren was in Green Bay with Hasselbeck, and when he came to Seattle he knew he had his quarterback in the Boston College alum.

Nine years later, Hasselbeck is considered one of the top five or 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.

However, Hasselbeck has really fallen out of that elite list the last three years due to injuries.

In 2007, the one year when Hasselbeck did not miss a single game, he had his best year in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl and leading the 'Hawks to the playoffs.

That season he posted 28 touchdown passes, 3,966 yards, and only 12 interceptions in 16 games. He reached career marks in touchdown passes and passing yardage that season. As for the other two years, he missed four games in 2006 and nine games in 2008—both times the Seahawks finished with nine wins or fewer.

In 2006, the Seahawks finished 9-7 and won the NFC West. In 2008, the Seahawks finished 4-12 and picked fourth overall in the 2009 NFL draft.

So the message those statistics clearly show is that when Hasselbeck is the starting quarterback, the Seahawks are a top-flight team. When he's not the starter, the Seahawks are average at best.

In his 11 seasons in the NFL, Hasselbeck has three Pro Bowl appearances ('03, '05, and '07). He only has one Super Bowl appearance in which the Seahawks lost to the Steelers, 20-10.

There are mixed feelings with what went on during the Super Bowl, but in nine years he's made one Super Bowl appearance. He's a great regular season quarterback, but when it comes playoff time, he needs all the support he can get.

This offseason was probably one the most pressure-packed for Hasselbeck, with rumors that the Seahawks were pursuing Jay Cutler and considering rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.

However, Jim Mora Jr. decided to give him the most dependable wide receiver in the NFL, and one of the must underrated and undervalued in T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

This preseason, that looks to be the biggest and smartest move out of any this entire off season; in three games, Hasselbeck has four touchdown passes.

Two of those four have been to—you guessed it—Houshmandzadeh. The other two have been to John Carlson and Deon Butler.

Now this offseason, even though Mora gave Hasselbeck a boost by telling him that he's the quarterback in Seattle, the Seahawks acquired the Denver Broncos' first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

That pick is looking more and more like a top-three pick, with quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Jevan Sneed being the top three quarterbacks, in that order, most likely entering the draft.

If Hasselbeck has another season like he did last season, he's going to be either traded, retire, or be the one holding the clipboard.

On ESPN's NFL Live, Mark Schlereth picked Hasselbeck as the NFC West breakout player...as well as the NFC West player on the hot seat, with my exact same reasoning.

If Hasselbeck doesn't lead the Seahawks to at least a 10-6 record and back to the playoffs, then he's most likely played his last season in the NFL. And with the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks will select Sam Bradford, quarterback, from Oklahoma.

So with the season a few weeks away, we'll see if Hasselbeck can return to prominence, even with a shaky offensive line protecting him.

Chad Ocho Cinco to Race Usain Bolt?

Lars Hanson — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:44:29 -0400

Oh the show that never Cece's to stop. Chad Ocho Cinco, the Bengals star wide receiver and cheerleader has something new to challenged other than NFL defensive backs.

Via twitter Chad was telling all of his followers to go turn on NBC and watch Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay in the 100M sprint.

After Bolt won with a new world record, Chad tweeted and said "Holy ( expletive) 9.58, Child stuttering pppppplllllleeaaasssseee!!!!"

About three hourse after that post Ocho Cinco went to his all american agent. The one and only Drew Rosenhaus.

Here is the quote from the one and only Chad Ocho Cinco to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

"Drew I want to race Usain Bolt in the 20, 20-yard dash, once he opens up you can kiss the baby goodbye!!!!!"

You heard it from the words of Ocho, he wants to race Usain Bolt.

Now last season he raced a horse and won, but he had a huge risk doing it. Most likely if anything where to happen it would be a secure deal and he would not try to pull anything.

Its a great idea and a great money marketing idea from Drew and Chad.

Wait for more news on this subject as times goes on.

Benched: What I Learned From Being Benched By Bleacher Report

Lars Hanson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:18:34 -0400

A week and one day later I have decided to pull a "Grant Wahl" and finally write a "tell all" article about my being benched by Bleacher Report.

I am writing this article for two reasons: To share what I learned from being benched and how it affected me and as a lesson to other Bleacher Report creatures to show that people see what you say.

This article will be broken down into two parts.

Part one will share my reason(s) for being benched (Bleacher Reports version of a timeout/ban) and how it affected me.

Part two will share my incites and why everyone needs to take notice of what they say because everyone is watching.

Part One

On July 23, I logged into Bleacher Report.com, went to click the :write: icon to post my Seattle Mariners breaking news article.

I received a small 2x2 message that said, "You have been benched by bleacher report for your inappropriate behavior. To address this matter please contact info@bleacherreport.com."

It caught me a little off guard, but I proceeded to check my email and then I received a new inbox message from Dave Morrison stating that past altercations with another Bleacher Report writer had gone too far and that both me and the other writer had been banned for seven days.

By that time I had gotten a full page picture of the situation. The previous night before I was benched me and another writer got into an altercation.

As they say on ESPN, words were exchanged and the next thing you know it got out of hand.

Now this had all unfolded on an article that one Bleacher Report writer who was involved in the altercation had a problem with. Since then the article has been deleted and the writer had been banned but has now returned.

So I waited out my seven days which seemed like forever because the one thing that I love doing is writing, not just on Bleacher Report but sports writing in general.

Well as it turns out, during this seven day period I received a job offer to be writer for a sports website called Grid Iron Experts.com

I jumped at the opportunity because it gave me time to reflect off of Bleacher Report, and when I got this job offer five days out of the seven had already passed by.

So I had taken plenty of time to reflect and learn from the benching.

Now I do pride myself on professionalism and when the seven day ban had ended I personally spoke with all of the other writers that had seen the incident unfold. I personal apologized to Leroy Watson and Heart Beat Of the Bronx Stephen Meyer who have been great supporters of me since returning to Bleacher Report.

Both Meyer and Watson accepted the apology but also wanted me to prove that it was behind me and I have done exactly that.

This article is just meant to reach out to everyone on Bleacher Report and share my experience.

My reason for why I received the ban were for excessive profanity usage on a few comment.

Which I take full responsibility for and realize that there were many other options that had been a better route to take.

Now a message from part one to the rest of Bleacher Report is that some people get very involved in debates on this site and sometimes things either get out of hand and or out of context and off subject.

I have been apart and also seen these events unfold and there is no need for it on this site. There is need for great sports minds, opinions and debates that stay within the boundaries of Bleacher Report guidelines.

Debates are what make sports great. Now there are good debates and ones that start good and end bad. Bleacher Report needs just the good debates.

Part two

Part two ties into the end of part one. Everyone can watch what you are writing especially if you are a syndicated writer because your work goes out to top sites and then it links back to Bleacher Report.

Bleacher Report is just like Facebook and other networking sites. Anyone can sign up and see what you say and or write.

I mean for example I wrote an article about me leaving Bleacher Report for reasons that will stay in-house.

It was tagged as an NFL/Seattle Seahawks article because it happened in the Seahawks section.

There had been plenty of comments on it. The article got 500+ reason and not only did it get seen on B/R but it got syndicated out.

It even reached an AOL forum and I had to control everyone on the forum and then Bleacher Report deleted the article.

So it shows if you write an article about someone, or write a comment about someone or leave a comment and you don't think that not to many people will see it.

All anyone has to do is take one sentence from that comment, go to Google and paste it.

It will go right back to you and that does not help your reputation.

Some people say that professionalism on this site doesn’t matter. Well those are the people who will be hit the hardest because if you post it out on the internet for everyone to see.

You'd better hope that it’s professional because if you seriously want to get a journalism job and then your boss says it’s down to you and someone else.

Your boss finds out that you had said and been acting unprofessional on a mainstream website for everyone to see and the other applicant has a clean sheet that other applicant will get the job.

It doesn’t matter if you write on a blog you created, or a website like B/R or Fan Huddle or any site, no one will take you seriously if you don’t take the site seriously.

That's one thing I learned.

Breaking Down the Seattle Seahawks Position-by-Position: Linebacker

Lars Hanson — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:58:34 -0400

The Seahawks on paper have one of if not the best trio of linebackers in the NFL with Leroy Hill, Lofa Tatupu and rookie Aaron Curry. Tatupu is the most proven, followed by Hill and rounding out the three is rookie LB Aaron Curry who was the best complete player in the 2009 NFL draft. So lets get started

Strong side LB: Aaron Curry, Backup: Will Herring

Examination: Aaron Curry, who was a strong side linebacker in college at Wake Forest will also be a strong side linebacker for the Seahawks.

Curry's stats at Wake Forest are as follows. 320 total tackles, five forced fumbles, six interceptions, and nine total sacks in four seasons at Wake Forest.

I see Curry having the same rookie season as Patrick Willis did in San Fransisco. Willis had 135 solo tackles and 174 total tackles in his rookie season. Now maybe Curry wont be that well but both Curry and Willis are tackling machines.

Middle LB: Lofa Tatupu, Backup: David Hawthorne

Examination: Lofa Tatupu, ever since being selected in the second round of the 2005 draft he's been completely worth it. Tatupu made the pro bowl the first three seasons, this was the only season when he didn't make the pro bowl. Lofa was also a 2007 all-pro.

Last off season Tatupu and the Seahawks came to an agreement on a six year, 42 million dollar contract that will make a " Seahawk for life." So as long as No. 51 is in the middle of the defense no one will take it from him. I expect Tatupu to get back to his pro bowl form this season.

Weak side LB: Leroy Hill, Backup: D.D Lewis

Examination: Leroy Hill, who was drafted in the third round in the same draft as Tatupu still has to make that leap from a solid LB to a great/outstanding LB. This off season the Seahawks franchise tagged Hill, but he refused to sign the tender. After the Seahawks drafted Aaron Curry they rescinded the tag from Hill making him a free agent.

About a week later the Seahawks and Leroy Hill came to an agreement on a six year 38 million dollar contract. Now this season Hill has to prove he's worth the money. This is going to have be the season where he takes that leap.

So looking at this trio of linebackers its hard to disagree that they have the best LB corps in the NFL. But really they can be the best if Curry has a rookie season like Patrick Willis and become a tackling machine and if Leroy Hill can make that leap then this will be the best LB corps in the entire NFL.

Five Questions For New Kid On The Block , Seattle Seahawks LB Aaron Curry

Lars Hanson — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:54:55 -0400

One of the new kids on the Seahawks block, SLB Aaron Curry. The Seahawks selected Curry fourth overall in the 2009 NFL draft, that's the highest they have taken a LB since 1987.

Curry will replace Julian Peterson's spot on the team in a sense. Curry went to college at Wake Forest and was one of if not the best complete player in the draft. I have a few questions for you Mr. Curry.

Lets go:

1) What was your feeling when you heard that you were going to Seattle?

2) What was the first thing Jim Mora Jr asked you when he told you that you were going to be a Seattle Seahawk?

3) Whats been the hardest thing that you have had to overcome in your life>

4) What have you learned so far from Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill about the NFL.

5) What are some of your goals for the 2009-2010 season?

"Thank you Aaron for taking the time to do this interview and good luck."

Seattle Seahawks: In The Center of It All Who Gets The Nod?

Lars Hanson — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:34:49 -0400

One of the biggest position battles that will take place over the course of the eight remaining mini camps (seven OTA'a and the big one in July) will be the battle for the starting center job.

We all know that Walter Jones is the starting LT. We all know Sean Locklear is going to be the starting RT and by all accounts it looks like Rob Sims will be the starting RG. That leaves LG and C.

Mike Wahle, who was signed last offseason is in an interesting position. Coming off shoulder surgery he's not a sure lock to be the starting LG.

The Seahawks drafted G/C Max Unger in the second round of the 2009 draft.

This is where it gets interesting. Spencer and Unger have a 50-50 shot at winning the starting center job, mainly because Spencer was gone last season and Unger is new.

So there are two scenarios:

1) If Unger wins the job, Spencer would most likely be a backup or traded considering it's his contract year they won't keep him. That would leave Wahle as the starting LG.

2) If for some reason Spencer wins the starting center job, Unger could easily beat out Wahle for the starting LG job. However, Wahle would stay around to teach Unger the ropes.

So this is one main position battle to watch. It will definetly be competitive.

Third and Long: Three Seahawks Who Will Have a Make or Break Season

Lars Hanson — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:44:55 -0400

I've selected three Seattle Seahawks players that are going to have a make or break season in 2009. Both on offense and defense. So let's get started.

1.) QB Matt Hasselbeck—Last season Hasselbeck missed nine games. Now Hasselbeck has a new No. 1 WR in T.J. Houshmandzadeh, along with a healthy Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and rookie speedy WR Deon Butler.

Now Hasselbeck has no excuses and if he gets injured for an extended peiord of time this year, he'll be looking the other way come the 2010 NFL draft, where the Seahawks would be looking at Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy with their first-round picks.

2) C Chris Spencer—This is Spencer's contract year. And the Seahawks drafted talented G/C Max Unger in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. Also, the Seahawks have Steve Vallos.

So, it's completely up to Spencer. He can perform great, keep his center job, and force Unger to LG, which would be great as well. OR he can fail and turn his job over to Unger. I could possibly see Unger starting at C for the start of the season, depending on how it goes.

3) WR Deion Branch—Branch, like Hasselbeck has been injured a lot in the past years. Now a lot of Seahawks fans said that Branch was going to get cut or traded. The bottom line is this, Branch has way more value to the Seahawks than some other team.

Mora and Ruskell saw at the end of last season how good Branch really is. He played his heart out and came back at the end of the season when they were already out. He cares about this team. And when healthy, he completely deserves that SB MVP he won. Now he has to do it in Seattle

Mike Carp Would Make Great Addition to Seattle Mariners

Lars Hanson — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:57:17 -0400

Mike Carp is not among the top 10 prospects in the Mariners organization according to baseballamerica.com. However, in terms of talent, Carp definitely ranks.

Carp was acquired in that three-team, 12-player deal that involved the Mariners, Indians and NY Mets. Overall, the Mariners got the best part of that trade.

Endy Chavez has done a nice job and, at one time, was hitting over .300 BA. Jason Vargas did a great job both at Texas and vs Boston. And Carp was, I think, the hidden gem in the trade.

Carp's stats as of May 18: .301 batting avg, nine HRs, 22 RBI, 41 hits, 31 SO, and 26 BB.

The good outweighs the bad in Carp's case. He's a power hitter than can hit for avg. When you see "31 SO" you might think that he's like Ryan Howard: HRs only. But you'd be wrong; 26 walks shows that he's got plate discipline.

Comparing Minor League stats to Major League stats leaves room for doubt, but, if you take his stats and compared them to the top mariners players, they could give you an idea of where he would rank.

He would rank second behind Russell Branyan in HRs with nine, second in hits with 41 behind only Ichiro with 46, first in RBI with 22, and third in BA behind only Ichiro and Branyan.

That's not bad, but, over time, he will get much better. Next season, he will likely be the starting 1B.

The only downside is that Carp has never played in a ML game. The Mariners should test him around August and September if they are still in it or way out of it. That way, he gets a taste of the Majors and he can learn from Branyan, who will not get traded to the Mets.

Farm Report: OF Michael Saunders, Seattle Mariners

Lars Hanson — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:07:46 -0400

The Seattle Mariners No. 2 prospect, outfielder Michael Saunders, is currently with the class triple-A Tacoma Rainiers

Saunders is the starting LF for the Tacoma Rainiers. He's got the potential to be a five tool prospect and has been considered one of the top prospects in the entire Mariners farm system, only behind power hitting Greg Halman.

Saunders, unlike Halman hits for average and has some pretty good pop to his bat. Saunders current stats to date. .311 average, five homeruns, 11 RBI's, 19 hits, and three stolen bases.

The great part about Saunders is that he has a very low SO amount. Saunders has 13 SO and 7 BB.

Thats something the Mariners lack on their major league team, that's patients. Some players are starting to learn that like Lopez, Cedeno, Ichiro (always has been), and a few more.

The Mariners have also recently learned that if a player is not patient, they just have to bench him for a few games like Yuniesky Betancourt. Since coming back Betancourt has had three hits, one HR, one walk, and one SO. Not great but its a good start.

Now here's the problem the Mariners might have. They have Wladimir Balentien that could be a starting LF next season. But they also are going to have a lot of salary available this offseason with Batista (9 million), Washburn (10.35 million), Beltre (12 million) among a few others.

Now this is not including Erik Bedard who will most likely be extended due to the fact they dont have a top SP prospect coming up anytime soon and they are going to need the 1-2 punch of Felix and Bedard for a long time.

The Mariners are going to have around 36 million dollars available with those main three plus a few others becoming a free agent. So they could try and acquire a top LF that has a lot of experience like Matt Halliday (10 years 200 million, 20 million per) or Jason Bay (10 million per).

If the Mariners went that route they would have to either deal Ichiro and then have Halman and Saunders share time in RF and have Balentien play some LF. But I sense that wont happen, maybe they would package Saunders in a trade to get a top first baseman not named Pujols. Maybe Prince Fielder.

But back to the topic of Michael Saunders. He's expected to be on the Mariners starting roster next season (2010) which is also the ETA for Halman and Triunfel (SS/2B).

So the Mariners will have a huge decision to make, but anyway they go will be great. Saunders will be a great player and have a great supporting cast around him to really make something happen.

Farm Report: OF Greg Halman, Seattle Mariners

Lars Hanson — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:41:20 -0400

The Seattle Mariners No. 1 prospect for 2009, outfielder Greg Halman, is currently wit the class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.

Halman is the starting center fielder for West Tennessee. He's currently hitting .216 with 12 HR, 29 hits, 30 RBI, 2 SB and 57 SO in 134 at-bats this season.

Halman is one of the many power hitters in the Mariners farm system. The only problem with Halman is that he strikes out way to much and he's not patient.

Halman only has seven walks to his 57 strikeouts.

There is a lot of upside in Halman's game. He's got great power, something the major league team lacks. He's got pretty good speed, but he's nowhere near Endy Chavez and Ichiro.

Halman leads West Tennessee by a wide margin with 12 HR. The next-closest home run threat to Halman is first baseman Thomas Hubbard who has four.

The ETA (estimated time of arrival to the major leagues) on Halman is 2010. Next year, Halman could possibly be in an outfield that includes slugger Wladimir Balentien, Ichiro, Franklin Gutierrez, and top young prospect Michael Saunders. That's more of a power-slugging outfield than the defensive outfield the Mariners have this season.

It might take a month for Halman to get going when he reaches the majors but I think with the veterans around him, he shouldn't have a problem after that, because of the great support around him.

Memo to MLS: Instant Replay Needs to Come In

Lars Hanson — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:40:56 -0400

This picture of Fredy Montero says it all. The Sounders, in the last three weeks and beyond have had some bad officiating.

Now the Sounders recent results can not blame it all of bad refs but they did have some missed shots and opportunities that they passed up. But looking at it, the refs have really impacted the Sounders FC in recent weeks.

This week, when the Sounders FC faced FC Dallas something that MLB,NFL and NBA use would have come in to play. FC Dallas MF Andre Rocha scored a goal in extra "extra" time.

There was two problems with the goal. One Rocha looked, well not looked, Rocha was very offsides when he scored the goal. And Two, there was two minutes of added time. When the goal was scored the clock read 2:15, fifteen seconds after the game should have been ended for the half time.

Now I understand that the refs can never be exact but 15 seconds is too long.

That's why I think it has come time that the MLS adopt instant replay. It would allow the refs to have a second look at a goal that maybe the opposing coach thought that the player who scored the goal was offsides.

Each team would have two "challenges" per game. That way it's a fair amount, and it makes the game that much better, because a game that would result in a tie could be turned around into a win for the team that played completely clean.

SO that, for example the FC Dallas vs. Sounders FC game would have been won by the Sounders if there was instant replay, because the refs would have seen that Rocha was completely offsides and reversed the goal.

And in the event that the goal does not count, the team that had the ball (the team that had the goal reversed) would start with the ball at the midfield line just like after a goal.

So in that event FC Dallas would have started with the ball at midfield because the goal was not legit.

Seahawks Trading Deion Branch? Not Going to Happen

Lars Hanson — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:37:20 -0400

There have been a few people looking into the completely inaccurate opinion of Michael Lombardi and a trade that would send Branch to the Jets for Thomas Jones.

I respect Lombardi but in this case I really have to disagree with him. There are many reasons why this trade doesn’t make sense from a realistic standpoint.

Now something that people need to notice about Lombardi’s article is that he didn’t say this is close to happening or a possibility, it’s his own opinion.

“If I were working for the Seahawks, I would call the Jets about the availability of running back Thomas Jones.”

What he’s saying is that if he was running the Seahawks that’s what he would do but he’s not running the Seahawks.

Five good reasons why a trade (Jones for Branch straight up) doesn’t make any sense.

1. Thomas Jones is looking for a new contract from the Jets, along with Leon Washington. They’re looking for 6-7 million per year.

The Seahawks have around $7 million in cap room and just got an additional $5 million from the cap raise. So they have about $12 million in cap room.

The Seahawks won’t spend $7 million on a running back who is 31 years old and is demanding a new contract at that age.

Now granted, Jones has earned that right for a new contract, but I don’t see him getting what he wants which is $6 million-$7 million per year.

2. The Seahawks already have a lot of talented running backs who fit the zone blocking scheme.

Julius Jones (27, four years younger than his brother and also half the price), T.J Duckett (led the Seahawks in rushing TD’s last season), Justin Forsett (who the Seahawks are very high on) and rookie Devin Moore (23).

Why would they want to add another RB when they already have four that they are very high on. It doesn’t make any sense, and that’s why this won’t happen.

3. Ruskell is not going to trade Branch because of how much he shined last season. Branch only played eight games last season.

His best two games were week 14 vs. New England, where he had four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Both were top class catches.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80d24791/Deion-Branch-Highlight-WK-14-vs-Patriots-2008

The second touchdown really showed that he really can still play at a high level. It also shows his heart for the game and the Seahawks. They were already way out of it and yet he still laid himself out for the catch and touchdown.

4. Branch has a lot more value to the Seahawks and can be a great slot WR for Hasselbeck this season. Branch has play-making speed and ability and can have a huge impact for the Seahawks this season and beyond.

Branch has more value to the Seahawks than Thomas Jones would be a wide margin.

5. If the Seahawks are going to make any trade that would actually be logical would be a Larry Johnson (29, the same age as Branch) trade.

The Seahawks could use a top back that can handle being a feature back for the Seahawks, unlike Jones.

The trade would look like this. Julius Jones (would be a great addition to a young KC offense) and a second-round pick for Larry Johnson.

Johnson can be able to take the load off of Hasselbeck for a week for two so he doesn’t have to work to the point of injury (god forbid).

So the Michael Lombardi piece is just his opinion with no facts other than what they want in their contracts. The Seahawks will not trade Deion Branch, period.

The Seahawks need all the talented WR’s they can get, so they wouldn’t trade one of them away for an old running back.

Breaking Down the Seattle Seahawks Position-by-Position: Wide Receiver

Lars Hanson — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:52:33 -0400

Current Wide Receivers on the Seattle Seahawks' Roster

T.J Houshmandzadeh, Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, Deon Butler, Michael Bumpus, Mike Hass, Jordan Kent, Billy McMullen, Ben Obomanu, Logan Payne, and Courtney Taylor.

Last Season Examination

The Seahawks' wide receiver corps came into the season without star wide receiver Deion Branch. Then in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills they lost (then current No. 1 WR) Nate Burleson for the season with a torn ACL.

So then the Seahawks had to count on young, unproven wide receivers like Ben Obomanu, Logan Payne, Courtney Taylor, and Jordon Kent to keep the wide receivers corps alive.

One week later, the Seahawks lost Logan Payne to a torn ACL for the entire season, leaving the Seahawks with almost no wide receivers.

They made a few mid-season acquisitions to help out the wide receiver corps. They traded their fifth round pick to the Denver Broncos for WR Kerry Colbert, and signed Billy McMullen and Koren Robinson.

McMullen and Robinson had a solid season with the Seahawks. Robinson had a few problems staying healthy but managed to break a Seattle Seahawks' record for the longest pass play in Seahawks history.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80c2d383/Seneca-Wallace-Highlight-WK-09-vs-Eagles-2008

Once Deion Branch came back in Week 11 he shined. In Week 14 vs. the New England Patriots, he had 88 yards receiving and two TD’s in a last minute loss to the Pats. Then again in Week 17 vs. the Arizona Cardinals he had 90 yards receiving and two TD’s in a loss to the Cards.

Branch finished the season with 30 receptions, 412 yards receiving, and four touchdown catches in just eight games.

Now in the offseason, the Seahawks made it a top priority to sign a top free agent WR. That’s exactly what they did when they signed T.J Houshmandzadeh to a five year, $40 million contract.

Houshmandzadeh immediately becomes the No. 1 wide receiver for Matt Hasselbeck. That wasn’t the only WR acquisition of the offseason for the Seahawks. They drafted speedy Penn State WR Deon Butler in the third round. Butler will do a lot of KR/PR and be the fourth WR to Hasselbeck.

Now the Seahawks have both Deion Branch and Nate Burleson healthy and both were at the last OTA camp. Mora expects both to shine in the big July minicamp along with Hasselbeck and T.J.

As T.J Houshmandzadeh put it during an interview after his contract press conference: “Me, Nate, and Deion, I'll probably say that we have the best wide receiver corps in the league, if we can all stay healthy”.

Here’s the interview and it’s the very first question http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMUHIKYnAAo&feature=related

Tim Ruskell: Go All in On Larry Johnson—Your Payout Will Be a SB Win

Lars Hanson — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:52:22 -0400

This offseason, Tim Ruskell seams like he should be a professional poker player. He convinced the best WR in free agency, T.J Houshmandzadeh, to sign with a team that just went 4-12 over the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings.

Then Ruskell sent out all the smoke screens about drafting QB Mark Sanchez and wound up drafting the player they wanted all along—OLB Aaron Curry.

Then the best hand of “poker” that Tim Ruskell played was removing the franchise tag on LB Leroy Hill after the Seahawks drafted OLB Aaron Curry.

Before the draft, they offered him a six year $36 million contract. Five days after they rescinded the tag, they came to a contract agreement with Hill. Six years, $38 million.

Ruskell knew that if Hill signed elsewhere he was only going to get possibly $4 million. So he let Hill test the water, and once Hill realized that he wasn’t going to get more that what Seattle offered him, he went back to Ruskell and accepted the offer.

Ruskell didn’t show anyone his hand and wound up winning the pot. He saved the Seahawks about $3 million and kept Leroy Hill in the Seahawks top line backing corps with Tatupu and Curry.

Now Ruskell needs to win this last pot. His payout will be better than a world series of poker bracelet, better than a trip back to the playoffs, better than getting back to the NFC championship game, and better than just getting to the Super Bowl.

No, if Ruskell wins this hand of poker his payout will be a Super Bowl title.

The last pot is between the Seahawks' Tim Ruskell and Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli (on the middle of the table is Larry Johnson).

The Seahawks have 10 out of 11 positions filled to bring a Super Bowl to Seattle. The last one is running back.

The Seahawks have two first round picks (Denver’s and their own) while Kansas have top five RB Larry Johnson, who wants out and the Chiefs want to trade him.

Tim Ruskell needs to trade the Seattle Seahawks' first round pick (not Denver’s because that would be stupid) to the Chiefs for RB Larry Johnson. All of the pieces to the puzzle will be filled for the Seahawks to finally bring home a Super Bowl trophy to Seattle.

Think about this for the Seahawks. They already have a defense that could be the same as 2005. They have a great LB corps, a great DL, and a solid DB corps (the weakest part of the defense).

On offense they have an elite QB in Matt Hasselbeck (when healthy, which he is) and a top WR corps in Houshmandzadeh, Branch, and Nate Burleson. They have a great TE in John Carlson and a great OL (when healthy, which they are).

Now they just need a top running back to seal the deal.

Now, some people can make the argument that Johnson is not a team player and that he has had some off the field issues. Well, look at Leroy Hill, he was arrested for marijuana position and yet he still gets $15 million guaranteed. Plus Johnson wants out of KC and I don’t blame him.

If Johnson was traded to the Seahawks, which is what Ruskell needs to do, you could bet anything that he would become a team player in Seattle.

He would be much happier in Seattle because with him they have a Super Bowl-caliber team. And depending on whom they would play, a Super Bowl winning team.

Think about this; Greg Knapp has never finished below 10th in the NFL in rushing, and that includes the Oakland Raiders. Just imagine what he could do with Larry Johnson. Now Seattle would have a more explosive offense than Arizona and Philadelphia.

Plus Mike Solari was the offensive line coach in Kansas City so he already knows Johnson, so that’s an added bonus.

And one final note; the Seahawks trading their first round pick, which would be from 28-32, for Larry Johnson is better than any first round pick from 10-32. So it would be a great deal for Seattle and Kansas City

Breaking Down the Seahawks Position-by-Position: Running Back

Lars Hanson — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:17:14 -0400

Last offseason, the Seahawks' number one priority was to add a number one running back. Since they already had Maurice Morris. they wound up signing Julius Jones and T.J Duckett.

Current running backs on the Seahawks roster include: Julius Jones (27), T.J Duckett (28), Justin Forsett (23), and Devin Moore (23).

Last season, the Seahawks' new running back Julius Jones was the starting running back for the Seahawks weeks 1-7. Then, for the rest of the season, it was Maurice Morris who is now in Detroit along with Julian Peterson. Jones had 698 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Maurice Morris had 574 yards rushing and zero touchdowns.

This season, new head coach Jim Mora has added new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp who used to be in Oakland and was with Mora in Atlanta.

Every team he’s been with has not finished less than 10th in the NFL for running backs. When he was in Oakland he made Justin Fargas, who was nothing, into a pretty good running back.

I think if given the chance, Julius Jones could be the same as Fargas. I could see Jones being a top 10 running back in the NFL with Knapp’s offensive scheme.

Now, what Seahawks fans would love to see happen is Kansas City releasing running back Larry Johnson and the Seahawks signing him.

The Seahawks have about seven million in cap room left after all of their signings. I think Hasselbeck, if Johnson is released, should restructure his contract to give the Seahawks a little bit more room to sign him.

It would benefit Hasselbeck. He would have a true number one running back, just like Shaun Alexander. Plus, in Knapp’s offensive scheme, the Seahawks, along with their passing game, could have one of the top five offenses in the NFL.

Of course, that’s if they sign Johnson if he’s released. Which has been rumored.

2009 projected starting running back: Julius Jones (unless KC releases Johnson and the Seahawks sign him and then it easily becomes Johnson).

King Felix to the Nation? Mariners Would Be Smart to Make It Happen

Lars Hanson — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:20:57 -0400

The Seattle Mariners are currently in third place in the AL west (1.5 GB) and have a 16-16 record.

New general manager Jack Zduriencik said this offseason that the Mariners front office wants to acquire players than can have the team competing now and long term.

Which is what they did when they made the big three-team trade involving JJ Putz.

There are a few people around the league that expect the Mariners to have a fire sale during or close to the trade deadline with the prediction that they would be out of contention by July.

Now it looks like they could be “in the hunt”. If the Mariners are in first, second, or third (third depending on how far out GB-wise) maybe the Mariners would hold on to their trade pieces like Bedard, Felix, Ichiro, Washburn, and Beltre, among others.

I think, from an overall standpoint, no matter where the Mariners are place-wise in the division, come end of June/early July they need to put Felix Hernandez out on the market.

The Mariners are going to have a very high price tag on Felix if they did trade him and one team that I think would be interested would be the Boston Red Sox (The Nation).

The Redsox have the pieces to offer to the Mariners. A possible trade involving Felix to Boston could look like this.

OF Jason Bay (Pacific Northwest native, and wants a contract extension), SP Jon Lester (Also a Pacific Northwest native and would be a nice story to see him come back), SP Clay Buchholz (I think the Sox would be willing to give up Buchholz because they still have Bowden), and OF Josh Reddick.

The Mariners could also include Rob Johnson with Felix.

If you a Red Sox fan you would love to see this rotation:

1) Beckett

2) Hernandez

3) Dice-K

4) Wakefield

5) Penny/Smoltz

The Mariners rotation would look like this:

1) Erik Bedard (the Mariners would extend him if they traded Felix)

2) Jon Lester

3) Buchholz

4) Washburn

5) Silva

Now I’m not saying this is close to happening, but I think it would be an even trade and one the fans of both teams would like. Most likely the Mariners would follow that up by trading Ichiro (Balentien/Saunders would replace him), Washburn, and Beltre.

Breaking Down the Seattle Seahawks Position-by-Position: Quarterback

Lars Hanson — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:04:39 -0400

Current quarterbacks on the Seahawks' roster. Matt Hasselbeck (34), Seneca Wallace (28), Jeff Rowe (25), and Mike Teel (23).

Last season examination: Last season, Matt Hasselbeck went down do to injury. Hasselbeck only played in seven games. In those seven games he didn’t do much better throwing for 1,216 yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The reason he did so bad was that he had no one to throw to. Nate Burleson tore his ACL in week one. Deion Branch wasn’t even available until week five, which was the exact same situation for Bobby Engram. So they lost their top three wide receivers.

The time period of when Hasselbeck did play was from week 1-5 and 11-13.

Seneca Wallace played the most games of any Seahawks' quarterback with eight games. Statistically, Wallace did the best out of the three Seahawks' quarterbacks who played last season, the other being Charlie Frye. Wallace threw for 1,532 yards, 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Wallace had four games with 200 or more yards passing (Arizona week 17, New England week 14, St Louis week 15, and San Francisco week eight).

The time period when Wallace STARTED was from week 7-10 and 14-17. If you look at his game stats for 2008 it said he played in 10 games, which he did but he didn’t start in 10.

For the rest of the Seahawks' quarterbacks Charlie Frye, Jeff Rowe, and Mike Teel. Charlie Frye played one game against the Green Bay Packers. For Rowe and Teel, Rowe hasn’t played in a game for the Seahawks and Teel was drafted in the sixth round in the 2009 NFL draft.

Now Matt Hasselbeck is completely healthy and has a revamped offense to throw to. A lot of people had the Seahawks selecting QB Mark Sanchez with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft but they passed on him for Aaron Curry.

The Seahawks acquired Denver’s 2010 first round pick, which a lot of people believe will be in the top 10 or possibly top five. And they have the Seahawks selecting Texas QB Colt McCoy with that pick. This seams for of a likely hood than the Seahawks passing on another top young QB. It will make a lot more sense to take a QB like McCoy next year because he fits the system and it would be the perfect time for the Seahawks to have a new, young starting QB.

Let’s say the Seahawks go to the super bowl and win, which is a possibility. Hasselbeck would feel a lot better about ending his career on a high note and if the Broncos pick is in the top five McCoy would become the new starting QB for the Seattle Seahawks.

2009 starting QB: Matt Hasselbeck

NFC West: Still Owned by the Seattle Seahawks

Lars Hanson — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:12:30 -0400

The NFC West has always been considered a weak division, and it still is. Over the last five years before this past season, the Seahawks had won the NFC West. This included one trip to the Super Bowl.

Last season, the Arizona Cardinals won the NFC West, which was their first playoff appearance since 1998. During the season, the Cardinals won the division only because of their offense.

The Cardinals offense had pro bowlers WR Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and QB Kurt Warner. Warner broke four Arizona passing records in 2008: passing yards (4,583), passing touchdowns (30), passes completed (401) and passes attempted (598).

The Cardinals also set a single-season team record for points scored with 427.

The rest of the teams in the NFC West were the San Fransisco 49ers (7-9), Seattle Seahawks (4-12) and the St Louis Rams (2-14). The 49ers usually finish third in the NFC West behind Seattle and recently Arizona.

The Seahawks had the worst luck last season by losing all of their key players both on offense and defense to injuries. The Rams have had the second overall pick back-to-back years.

With what the Seahawks have done this off-season and also having everyone healthy this season, the Seahawks will be back where they usually are: on top of the NFC West.

To recap who the Seahawks have added, they signed WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, DT Colin Cole, TE John Owens, CB Ken Lucas, and FB Justin Griffith. They acquired DT Cory Redding from the Detroit Lions for LB Julian Peterson.

For the draft they added LB Aaron Curry, C Max Unger, WR Deon Butler, QB Mike Teel, DE Nick Green, FS Courtney Greene, and TE Cameron Morrah.

Curry will replace Peterson at OLB. Houshmandzadeh will be the Seahawks new No. 1 WR. Redding and Cole will share the DT starting spot, but Redding will play more at DE.

Lucas will be the starting CB opposite Trufant. Unger has a huge possibility to be the starting center over Spencer. Butler could be the KR/PR and the fourth WR behind Housh, Branch, and Burleson.

Adding that with the players they already have, and all healthy the Seahawks could look to win 10-12 games this season.

For the rest of the division. The Cardinals resigned Warner, cut James, and did not trade Adrian Wilson, Anquan Boldin, Darnell Dockett and Karlos Dansby. They all have demanded either a trade or a request for a new contract. They haven’t gotten either.

The Cardinals have added RB Chris Wells, CB Bryant McFadden and FS Rashad Johnson. So now that everyone knows how the Cardinals work, they won’t do as well next year. I’m predicting 7-9 wins for the Cardinals.

The San Francisco 49ers, as usual, will finish either second or third in the west. They have made some nice additions but none that would put them over the top. They added OT Marvel Smith, WR Brandon Jones, WR Michael Crabtree, QB Damon Huard, QB Nate Davis, OT Alex Boone and RB Glen Coffee.

They could possibly come in second, but either QB situation just doesn’t work. Alex Smith is good but still unproven. Shaun Hill is a solid QB but I can’t see Hill leading the 49ers to the playoffs.

Davis and Huard are just insurance. It will be interesting to see what the 49ers do this season.

And last but not least, well actually least is the correct term, the St Louis Rams. Can they make it three for three selecting second overall in next year's draft?

Well, they brought in new head coach Steve Spagnuolo. I can’t say they got better in the off-season. They might have even gotten worse.

The Rams cut WR Torry Holt (was a great option with Avery), OT Orlando Pace and recently LB Pisa Tinoisamoa. They added OT Jason Smith, C Jason Brown (way overpaid), and LB James Laurinaitis as key additions.

Smith replaces Pace. Brown just becomes the starting center and James Laurinaitis is not as good as Tinoisamoa.

I can’t say this team has gotten better. I would have rather seen them take a WR like Crabtree and keep Pace. That way, Bulger could really have someone to throw to.

So looking at each team’s key off-season additions the Seahawks not only were the best NFC West team but they did the best out of the entire NFL over the off-season.

Think about this. The Seahawks now have an up-tempo head coach in Jim Mora, which is what they need. They get back QB Matt Hasselbeck, a #1 WR in Houshmandzadeh, all of their starting offensive linemen, DE Patrick Kerney and they also get a bonus with Curry and Lucas.

So with this entire team healthy, I can really see the Seahawks winning the NFC West easily, going deep in the playoffs and if the defense and offense can go back to their 2005 form, they can get to the Super Bowl.

Seahawks Getting Back to Super Bowl Form—Flying High in 2009

Lars Hanson — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:32:06 -0400

The Seattle Seahawks had one of their worst seasons in franchise history last season, going 4-12. The previous five seasons the Seahawks won the NFC West and had one trip to the Super Bowl. Now the key for Seattle is staying healthy.

Last season, the Seahawks struggled with a series of injuries. They had three different starting quarterbacks (Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace, and Charlie Frye), 10 different starting wide receivers (Deion Branch, Nate Burleson (played in only one game), Bobby Engram, Ben Obamanu, Logan Payne, Billy McMullen, Michael Bumpus, Mike Hass, and Koren Robinson, each starting at least one game.

The Seahawks lost all four starting offensive linemen (Walter Jones, Mike Wahle (ended on IR), Chris Spencer (misses’ entire 09 season), Rob Sims, and Sean Locklear. They also lost DE Patrick Kerney midseason.

So, what happens when you lose basically all of your key players? It equals a 4-12 record and the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

The Seahawks decided that their worst season should be backed up by their best offseason in recent memory. Coming into the offseason, the Seahawks had needs at wide receiver (a true No. 1), offensive line depth (C, LT), CB, S, QB (future QB), and DT.

They had a few key free agents but no-one that was “five star caliber”. They did not retain DT Rocky Bernard, RB Maurice Morris, QB Charlie Frye, FB Leonard Weaver, WRs Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson, TE Will Heller, OG Floyd “pork chop” Womack, LS Tyler Schmitt (cut), and DT Howard Green.

They did, however, re-sign OLB Leroy Hill to a two year $13 million contract (six year $36 million contract), RT Ray Willis (two year contract), WR Ben Obamanu, LB D.D Lewis, and FS C.J Wallace.

The Seahawks made a big splash when they signed WR T.J Houshmandzadeh to a five year, $40 million contract. He chose the Seahawks over Minnesota and Cincinnati.

Their most hated move by fans at the time was their decision to trade OLB Julian Peterson to the Detroit Lions for DT Cory Redding and a fifth round draft pick. The key reason they made the trade was that Redding was willing to restructure his contract whereas Peterson was not. Redding wound up restructuring his contract to a one year, two million dollar deal, blowing up the last six years of his contract.

Some other moves that weren’t so well noticed, but the Seahawks are very high on, were DT Colin Cole, TE John Owens, CB Ken Lucas (after the draft), and FB Justin Griffith (after the draft).

Where the Seahawks made their biggest mark was in the NFL draft. They had 10 total picks coming into the draft, including the fourth overall pick. There was a lot of buzz that the Seahawks would draft QB Mark Sanchez, but that did not happen. They went with a player that was not expected to fall to them—outside linebacker Aaron Curry.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/seattle-seahawks/09000d5d80ffa810/2009-Draft-Seahawks-No-4-pick

Right after the draft, a lot of people around the league said that, with the addition of Curry, the Seahawks now have the best linebacking corps in the entire NFL. They have MLB Lofa Tatupu (who signed a six year $42 million contract) and OLB Leroy Hill (who was released when they drafted Curry but wound up signing a six year, $36 million contract).

For the rest of the draft. They traded their second round pick to the Denver Broncos for their first round pick in 2010 (which based on 2010 mock drafts and common consensus could possibly be a top 10 pick).

Second round pick (trade w/Chicago), C Max Unger. Third round pick (trade with Philadelphia), WR Deon Butler. Sixth round pick, QB Mike Teel. Seventh round picks, FS Courtney Greene, DE Nick Green, and TE Cameron Morrah.

Max Unger could have a great opportunity to beat out current starter Chris Spencer for the starting center job.

Deon Butler will be looking more at the fourth WR and possibly KR/PR duties. Courtney Greene could beat out FS Brian Russell for the starting job but look to the 2010 draft for the Seahawks future FS, Taylor Mays.

On ESPN.com, John Clayton named the Seattle Seahawks the best team in the offseason. Now there might be some bias opinions, but the Seahawks were still one of the top teams this offseason, success wise.

The key now, no matter who the Seahawks sign, is health. If the Seahawks' entire team, or at least two thirds of it, can stay healthy they have a great chance of going deep into the playoffs. The Seahawks' top passing game and shutdown defense could even lead them to the Super Bowl.

The 12^th man would love to see the Seahawks flying high this season and, if they can stay healthy, they will be in for a heck of a ride (in a good way).

Seahawks Negotiating with Levi Jones

Lars Hanson — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:56:32 -0400

According to Alex Marvez of Foxsports.com, the Seattle Seahawks are going to bring in former Cincinnati Bengals LT Levi Jones for a visit.

Levi Jones was released by the Bengals recently after drafting LT Andre Smith. Jones could turn out to be the replacement for RT Sean Locklear, when he moves over to LT following the retirement of Walter Jones.

The Seahawks decided to pass on OT like Eugene Monroe and Andre Smith and drafted LB Aaron Curry fourth overall. So, Jones would be a better fit for RT talent-wise.

I don’t see him being the LT because of Sean Locklear and his huge contract, and as Jim Mora has said that Locklear will move to LT when Walter Jones retires.

Levi Jones, because he has been on the market for a while, won’t have a huge price tag. Maybe the Seahawks are will offer him a four year contract if he’s going to be the future RT.

If the Seahawks sign Jones, look for Mansfield Wrotto or one of the other backup offensive linemen to be cut.

This would be a great addition for the Seahawks. Knowing their injury problems they can never have too many talented offensive linemen.

Seattle Seahawks Aiming for the Future in the Big Picture?

Lars Hanson — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:21:21 -0400

Are the Seattle Seahawks aiming towards the future or are they aiming to win now? Truthfully it’s a little bit of both. This offseason, if you examine who the Seahawks have signed, traded for, or drafted you could clearly see that they are trying to win now but also build towards the future.

The Seahawks had needs at wide receiver, safety, running back, cornerback, depth on the offensive line, and a future quarterback. Through free agency, the Seahawks filled two of those needs. They signed wide receiver T.J Houshmandzadeh to a five-year, $40 million contract.

The signing of T.J. falls into the category of winning now because he gives the Seahawks a true No. 1 wide receiver, but at the same time it falls into the category of building to the future. Housh will be the Seahawks' No. 1 wide receiver for five year, until they draft the next Andre Johnson, which could be A.J Green from Georgia—that’s the future.

Now they signed defensive tackle Colin Cole to a five-year, $21 million contract. That signing falls into the same one as Housh. The only difference is he’s a lot younger than Houshmandzadeh, so he will be around longer into the “future.”

This next move is what made the Seahawks offseason interesting. They traded pro-bowl line backer Julian Peterson, who fit the “win now” only category, to the Detroit Lions for DT Cory Redding and a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

That began to show that the Seahawks were not just aiming to win now but to build to the future. What added to that speculation was when the Seahawks restructured Redding’s contract. It states that he will be a free agent next year; he’s going to make only $2 million this season.

They just blew up the rest of his contract. So for Redding it’s a one and done. Then after the Draft the Seahawks used the free cap space, which was created when the Seahawks let of Leroy Hill, they signed CB Ken Lucas. Which fills a hole at CB opposite Marcus Trufant.

Now for the 2009 NFL draft. The Seahawks had the fourth overall pick, the highest pick since 1997. So, with the Seahawks having MLB Lofa Tatupu already in the fold, and Leroy Hill refusing to sign the franchise tender, the Seahawks lucked out.

The Kansas City Chief’s passed on OLB Aaron Curry for DE Tyson Jackson. So it was too easy for Seattle. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell strolled to the podium and announced the following...With the fourth pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select, Aaron Curry, linebacker, Wake Forest.

Which was great for the Seahawks because they didn’t know about Hill, they traded away Peterson, and Aaron Curry was the best player in the draft and the best player available on the board when the Seahawks picked at four.

So now the Seahawks have quite possibly the best young LB corps in the NFL, with Leroy Hill, Lofa Tatupu and now Aaron Curry. Curry falls into the category of “win now” but mainly building towards the future.

The biggest move that the Seahawks made that shows that they are building towards the future was when they traded their second round pick to the Denver Broncos for their first round selection next year, which a lot of people around the league suspect will be sixth overall or higher.

That gives the Seahawks two first-round picks next year, which is any team’s goal if they are building towards the future. For the rest of the draft, they took the following players:

Wide receiver Deon Butler in the third round, who is more of a “build to the future” player. Quarterback Mike Teel in the sixth round, definitely a “build to the future” player, but I see him as the next Charlie Frye for Seattle.

Strong Safety Courtney Greene could turn out to be a “win now” type of player depending on if he beats out Brian Russell for the starting job. Defensive end Nick Reed in the seventh round could also be a “win now” player.

Now every team wants to try and win right now. Which is what the Seahawks are trying to do. But Tim Ruskell is smart, he knows that he has a lot of aging veterans on his team like QB Matt Hasselbeck (34), LG Mike Wahle (32), LT Walter Jones (35), WR T.J Houshmandzadeh (31), DE Patrick Kerney (32), and FS Deon Grant (30) among others.

So what Ruskell has done over the last two years and it will be completed next year is bring in top young talent and lock them in long term. Like CB Marcus Trufant (six years $50.2 million), MLB Lofa Tatupu (six years $42 million), OLB Leroy Hill (six years $38 million).

They have also signed/drafted OT Ray Willis (resigned), OT Sean Locklear (five years $32 million) and drafted OLB Aaron Curry, C Max Unger, DE Lawrence Jackson among others. And next year the Seahawks have two first-round pick (Denver and their own).

They passed on Mark Sanchez this year, so look for the Seahawks to take QB Colt McCoy with Denver’s pick, which will be in the top 10. That way, McCoy can either learn under Hasselbeck or it means they traded him which would also be smart because they could pick up another first or second-round pick.

Then with their own pick they could target a FS like Eric Berry or Taylor Mays. Most likely it will be Mays, because Berry is going to go in the top five and Seattle should pick around hopefully 32. So they could possibly trade up to get Mays.

Those are really the only two positions that Seattle needs to fill. Running back they can get in the second round or via free agency. But hopefully Julius Jones pulls a Michael Turner this season.

So overall, Tim Ruskell has made all the right moves and has put this team in a position where if they can stay healthy they can make a deep playoff run and possibly a super bowl run. They just have to get back to what they did in 2005. Attacking offense and a shutdown defense. When healthy, they have that.

MLS Should Listen to Jose Mourinho

Lars Hanson — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:42:49 -0400

The Seattle Sounders FC will be used for examples in this article.

Mourinho said in an interview a few months back that the MLS should change, which I agree with.

He listed the following things....

1) Two European players on each team
2) No salary cap
3) More European coaches

I agree with Mourinho.

Seattle has a European mindset; they signed Ljungberg and Keller ( American who played in Europe).

I like the no salary cap idea.

I mean really, the MLS is holding itself back. They could be a top league in about five or more years if they wanted to.

Garber cares a lot about the quality of the ownership, so why not reward them with no salary cap?

And because most of these Owners are smarter than the NASL ones, who screwed it up?

Think about this...take out the DP rule, which is really stupid for the league because basically your setting a team up to fail.

If the league wants to be great they need to get rid of the cap. Look at the top European teams.

You don't see them with a cap.

Imagine Seattle with this realistic team.

Montero (sign him to a DP like contract, six years 20-30 million), Ljungberg and possibly Henry, or Shunsuke Nakamura who's contract is up at the end of the year.

It would be great for the league because they can have the college players be drafted and learn from top Euro players, they can have a great future in the MLS and, at the same time, have top Euro talent on the team.

Now something Mourinho didn't include, but that I have a problem with is that with or without (please without) the top college players—all need to be signed/drafted.

MLS has this thing called Generation Adidas which is a project aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States.

The program, sponsored by Adidas, encourages early entry (without college graduation) of American players into MLS.

I think, for example, all of the top college or before college soccer players should get a generation Adidas contract. That way top U.S. soccer talent stays here instead of going to Europe.

Now the last thing the MLS should focus on is bringing top young South American players into the MLS.

Seattle brought in John Kennedy Hurtado DF and Fredy Montero FW, and they have done great.

In order for the MLS to be a top league in the world they need to bring top Euro players over, have great U.S generation Adidas young players, some top young south American players, and current MLS players all combined.

Like the Seattle sounders FC for example..

Some good South American players that the MLS could look at to build up the league are...

MF Daniel Sanchez-Peru-19. Seven goals in 45 appearances for Sporting Cristal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_San ... footballer)

FW Junior Aliberti-Uruguay-24. Three goals in six appearances for Sporting Cristal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Aliberti

FW Daud Gazale-Chile-24. Seven goals in 15 games for colo-colo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daud_Gazale

Those three players are just examples of what the MLS should try and bring in.

So, lets put this into play and use Seattle Sounders FC as an example.

This is without salary cap, two European players on each team and top college players being a part of Generation Adidas and top South American players.

Here is what the Sounders FC could look like....

------------Henry----Montero-------------
--Zakuani-----Evans----Ljungberg---
--------------------Alonso------------------
Sturgis---Hurtado---Mashall---Riley
-------------------Keller---------------------

Bench:

MF Daniel Sanchez (one of the young SA players), GK Chris Eylander (a good young American player brought up), DF Zach Scott (same as eyelander), DF Tyson Wahl (same as Scott), FW Sebastien Le Toux (same as Wahl), MF Sanna Nyassi (signed from Gambia, a good MLS player), FW Jarrod Smith (same as Le Toux), and Roger Levesque (good experience as a leader).

SO, using that as an example, that would be a great starting 11 and a great bench with players than can step in if needed.

That would be a great look for any MLS team.

Thierry Henry,Ljungberg, and Keller qualify as Euro players.

Zakuani is a GA player.

Montero and Hurtado are top South American players.

SO, having that kind of mentality in the MLS can really help this league:

No salary cap, two to three top European players, two to three top South American players, and good experienced MLS players.

Any team could win with that mentality.

Seahawks Finish out “Moving Rebuild” (Part Two)

Lars Hanson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:50:20 -0400

In part one of the Seahawks “moving rebuild” I explained how the Seahawks were aiming for a “win now” mentality in 2009/2010. Fast forward through the season and now this is the part where it’s just a “scenario” or projected outcome of the season and the 2010 NFL draft.

In the 2009 NFL draft the Seahawks took OLB Aaron Curry, C Max Unger and WR Deon Butler. Curry won the defensive rookie of the year award. The Seahawks finished the 2009/2010 season 7-9 and earned the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft (only a projection).

Reasons why: Hasselbeck was injured for eight games (beginning of the Season) with a knee injury, but when Hasselbeck came back he did very well leading the Seahawks to wins in their final five games. The defense was the only reason they did as well as they did while Hasselbeck was gone.

Now here comes the off-season. Seattle has impending free agents CB Ken Lucas, DT Cory Redding, RG Rob Sims, C Chris Spencer, and DE Darryl Tapp. Possible trade chips for the Seahawks include QB Matt Hasselbeck, LT Walter Jones, WR Deion Branch, and QB Seneca Wallace.

Walter Jones could either decide to retire OR turn into an “Orlando Pace” situation which is trade him or release him. In this case, because Jones played all 16 games and played in the pro-bowl he would be very appealing to a team that needs at HOF LT and would be worth a first round pick. Hasselbeck, because of his great second half performance could earn either a late first round pick or early second round pick.

Branch and Wallace could bring back mid second round picks. Now the bonus for Seattle, the Denver Broncos have earned the sixth overall pick (projected by Walterfootball.com). So lets but this scenario into play. Seattle trades QB Matt Hasselbeck to the Buffalo Bills for their first round pick (13th overall projected by Walterfootball.com). Seattletrades WR Deion Branch to the Tennessee Titans for a second round pick. The Seahawks will keep OT Walter Jones and QB Seneca Wallace.

For free agency, the Seahawks won’t re-sign center Chris Spencer and DT Cory Redding. They will how ever re-sign RG Rob Sims and CB Ken Lucas.

Now the Seahawks finish off their two year “moving rebuild” with the 2010 NFL draft. As of now the Seahawks hold the 6th overall pick via Denver, the 10th overall pick (their own), and the Buffalo Bills first round pick, 13th overall.

NOTE: this is after the trade scenarios. So with the sixth overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft the Seattle Seahawks select Taylor Mays, FS USC. With the 10th pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Colt McCoy, QB, Texas. With the 13th pick in the 2010 NFL draft the Seattle Seahawks select Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska.

Now what theses three picks to for the Seahawks is give them a great, young, Laron Landry type of safety. A great, young, smart and most important ACCURATE QB to replace Matt Hasselbeck to lead this team back to a super bowl. It gives them a great, strong DT in Suh to pair along side Brandon Mebane and combined those two they will have one great defensive line.

The Seahawks on defense already have LB’s Lofa Tatupu and Aaron Curry, along with CB Marcus Trufant, DE Patrick Kerney and SS Deon Grant. Adding Mays and Suh to that defense will give the Seahawks what they had in 2005 when they went to the super bowl. The best defense in the NFL. Now what it gives the offence is the most accurate QB in the 2010 NFL draft in Colt McCoy who already has a talented supporting case in Houshmandzadeh, Deon Butler, Carlson and a great OL in Jones, Wahle, Unger, Sims and Locklear. McCoy will do great in his first season because of his supporting cast and Jim Mora will do a great job teaching him

The Seahawks Third-Round Pick's Official Grade, WR Deon Butler: B

Lars Hanson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:41:30 -0400

The Seahawks kept wheeling and dealing in day two of the draft.

They dealt their fifth-round pick, one of their seventh-round picks, 213th, and a third-round pick in next years draft to get the Eagles third-round pick this year.

To me, that’s way to much to give up and, considering who they drafted, they better be very high on Butler.

Players like FS Rashad Johnson from Alabama and CB Keenan Lewis from Oregon State among others, were still on the board.

Now, onto Butler. He’s basically a younger version of former Seahawks WR Bobby Engram. He’s 5'11" and had a 4.26-40 at the combine. Butler’s going to be a great slot WR for Seattle or fourth string WR.

I give the pick a "B." I was going to give it a "C+," because of what they gave up to get the pick and who was still on the board.

Greatest Day in Seattle Sports History: April 25, 2009

Lars Hanson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:58:41 -0400

Today, April 25, 2009, had to be one of if not the greatest day in Seattle sports history. For many reasons.

The Seattle Seahawks started it all by selecting Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry in the NFL draft fourthoverall. Curry was the best player in the 2009 NFL draft.

The second reason, for all Seattle Sounders FC fans out there, the Sounders won their fourth game and goal keeper Kasey Keller set an MLS record for not allowing a goal in a new MLS-record 389 minutes, which includes the 29 minutes before he was sent off against KC.

The record was held by Ronald Waterreus who opened with 375 scoreless minutes for the New York Red Bulls in 2007.

And last but not least the Seattle Mariners held on to beat the LA Angels 9-8. They are now 12-6 and stand atop the AL West.

Everyone predicted the Mariners to finish last again but this is still a great start for the Mariners.

But the key reasons why this is one of the greatest days in Seattle sports history is because of Aaron Curry and Kasey Keller’s MLS record.

The only possible down side to the day was the Seahawks letting go of Leroy Hill. But the day as a whole for the Seahawks was great.

Let's now go through the Seattle sports teams and see how there day went and why it equals one of the greatest days in Seattle sports history.

1) Seattle Seahawks: Draft Day

The Seahawks started the day with the NFL draft. They had the fourth overall pick in the 09 draft and the possible picks were OT Eugene Monroe, QB Mark Sanchez, WR Michael Crabtree and LB Aaron Curry.

Now on a lot of people's mock draft, Curry was projected to go to the Kansas City Chiefs third overall. Instead they took DE Tyson Jackson and passed on the No. 1 player in the draft LB Aaron Curry.

That allowed the Seahawks to be able to pass on a plain value pick like Mark Sanchez who wouldn’t be an immediate impact player and select a value pick AND a immediate impact player in Aaron Curry. That adds a huge defensive presence to the Seahawks.

Then in the second round the Seahawks decided to trade their pick to the Denver Broncos for a 2010 first-round pick. This could turn out to be a huge steal for Seattle because if the Broncos defense doesn’t step up and be the 29thdefense in the league again and considering Kyle Orton is no Jay Cutler talent wise, this team could earn a top 10 pick next year which would help out the Seahawks a lot.

Because the Seahawks are aiming to win right now, which is why they signed T.J Houshmanzdeh and drafted Aaron Curry, who are both immediate impact players, so if the Seahawks go deep in the playoffs and hopefully a Super Bowl title, they could still draft a guy like Taylor Mays or decide than next year is the better year to get a QB for the future. Either way, they will have two first-round picks.

So this was a great day for the Seattle Seahawks organization and Seahawks fans.

2) Seattle Sounders FC

The Sounders FC started the season 3-0 with three straight shutouts. But they have lost their last two games without GK Kasey Keller. Keller in his first three games had all clean sheets.

He kept that going tonight against San Jose and didn’t allow any goals for his fourth consecutive clean sheet. By doing that he set a new MLS record for not allowing any goals. He’s gone 389 minutes without allowing a goal, which broke the former record of 375 minutes.

Not only did Keller shut out San Jose but Seattle picked up two goals via Steve Zakuani his second goal of the season and Brad Evans also his second goal of the season.

This gives the Sounders a 2-0 win, earning the three points they needed to get back on a winning note.

So this was a great night for the Seattle Sounders FC organization to get back on a winning note along with their fans.

3) Seattle Mariners

The Mariners were supposed to do horrible this season that included not doing great in the month of April. But they are 12-6 and atop the AL West.

They held on to beat the LA Angels. Also, SP Carlos Silva got his first win since last August. He had been 1-17 since going 3-0 in his first three starts as a Seattle Mariner. So Carlos Silva broke his slump, and the Mariners just keep on winning.

A great win for the Seattle Mariners, especially Carlos Silva, and it keeps the fans happy.

NOTE: The UW Huskies held their second Purple vs. white spring game. All of the starters did very well with new head coach Steve Sarkisian on board. QB Jake Locker went 16-of-18, throwing two TDs and 200 yards in a 33-0 win.

That's a nice sight for Sarkisian and his entire coaching staff.

Leroy Hill Now a Free Agent

Lars Hanson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:39:22 -0400

The Seahawks drafted LB Aaron Curry from Wake Forrest fourth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. A lot of people around the league were saying that adding Curry with Tatupu and Leroy Hill would be one of the best LB corps in the league.

That idea ended Saturday night when the Seahawks removed the Franchise tag from LB Leroy Hill. The move saves Seattle $8 million in cap room.

This happened because Seattle and Hill could not come to a long-term contract agreement. They offered Hill a six year 36 million dollar contract but he declined it. So now Leroy Hill is a unrestricted free agent and can now sign with any team.

I don’t see Hill getting more than five million because he hasn’t made any pro-bowls and was arrested for marijuana in Atlanta Georgia almost a month ago.

The Seahawks can still try and sign him. I think Seahawks fans should give it a few weeks and the Seahawks and Hill will come to an agreement. Otherwise this is a huge lose for the Seahawks. Now you just have Tatupu and Curry. That’s a great duo but having Hill makes it even better.

Seahawks Second-Round Selection Grade (Oregon Center) Max Unger: B+

Lars Hanson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:19:15 -0400

Earlier in the second round, the Seahawks traded their second-round selection to the Denver Broncos for their 2010 first-round pick.

Later in the draft they have moved back into the second round by trading their third and fourth round picks to the Chicago Bears for their second round pick 49thoverall. With that pick they selected Max Unger, center from Oregon.

This pick can be seen as a need pick OR a value pick. Like for example IF the Seahawks selected Mark Sanchez that would have been a value pick because right now they don’t need a QB so he would sit behind Hasselbeck for backup value.

The way this pick could be seen as a need pick is if the Seahawks don’t believe that current starting center Chris Spencer is working out or if he is not fully healthy which are both key for the Seahawks this season.

The upside with Unger is that he can play any position on the offensive line but is the best at center.

The way this could be a value pick is if the Seahawks feel that Spencer is sort of working out but that they want to push him so they draft Unger to add talent on the entire OL because he can play at any position on the offensive line and to challenge Spencer for the starting center job.

Talent-wise, Unger is better than Spencer also because he is 100% healthy.

So I give this pick a B+ because Unger his first round talent but he fell down to the middle of round to. He can start if Spencer doesn’t work out. Either way Ruskell always does great finding talent in the later rounds and this is a great example.

Seahawks Second-Round Trade with Denver: How Good of a Deal It Can Be?

Lars Hanson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:16:24 -0400

The Seahawks have made their first trade of the 2009 draft. They swapped their second-round selection (37th overall) to the Denver Broncos for Denver's first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft. And just to make it clear, that 2010 pick from Denver is the Broncos' pick, not the Chicago Bears pick they recently received in the Cutler trade.

With the selection just acquired from the Seahawks, the Broncos selected cornerback Alphonso Smith from Wake Forrest.

This trade could be result in a huge boon for the Seahawks if (and only if) the Broncos don’t do that well in the 2009 regular season and end up receiving a top-10 pick in next year's draft.

In that case, it could be great, especially if Seattle gets all of its top players healthy. With a little luck, the Seahawks could go deep in the Playoffs and still have a very high selection.

Either way, Seattle now has two first-round picks in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Seahawks Fourth Overall Pick Grade: OLB Aaron Curry A+

Lars Hanson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:48:47 -0400

The draft can do a lot of weird things. We all knew Matt Stafford was going to Detroit. A lot of people had Baylor OT Jason Smith going to the St Louis Rams, and he did. Now the third overall pick, held by the Kansas City Chiefs was between LB Aaron Curry and DE Tyson Jackson.

You would have though that the best player in the draft would be a better pick that Tyson Jackson but that’s not the case. The Chiefs took DE Tyson Jackson third overall and passed on Curry and Crabtree among others.

This is any Seattle Seahawks fan or front office dream. The best player in the Draft, LB Aaron Curry is still available at four. They were rumored to like Sanchez, Crabtree, and OT Eugene Monroe but they decided they needed an OLB to replace Julian Peterson and add with Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill so they took OLB Aaron Curry. The grade for this pick is an easy A +.

If you look at the Seattle Seahawks defense, they spent a lot of work on the defensive line by acquiring DT Colin Cole in free agency, trading for DT Cory Redding and they still have DT Brandon Mebane, DE Patrick Kerney and DE Darryl Tapp. Now they need the final piece to the great defense. That piece is Aaron Curry. He had 101 tackles in his senior year. 320 tackles overall in four years at Wake Forrest.

The Seahawks, by adding Curry, now have one of the best front seven in the NFL. Here is a list of names on the Seattle Seahawks defense. Lofa Tatupu (3 time pro-bowler), RE Patrick Kerney (14.5 sacks in his first year in Seattle), Leroy Hill (Seahawks franchise player aka the Seahawks franchise tagged him this off-season), Marcus Trufant (one of the top CB’s in the NFL), Brandon Mebane (underrated, young, talented DT). Honorable mention DT Colin Cole, Deon Grant and Josh Wilson.

So Seattle gets their man, LB Aaron Curry, the best player in the NFL draft. He will fit great with Jim Mora Jr and Gus Bradley’s aggressive defense.

NOTE: This pick shows that Hasselbeck is 200% healthy, yes I actually mean 200%. IF they had the slightest of doubt in Hasselbeck they would have took Mark Sanchez. This pick has to be one of the best in Tim Ruskell’s career and now his head is not on the chopping block from a Seahawks fans point of view.

Seahawks Mock Draft: Rounds One Through Seven

Lars Hanson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:00:57 -0400

Over the last two weeks, rumors have been going around the league about what the Seahawks might do with the fourth overall pick. There have been links to OT Eugene Monroe, LB Aaron Curry, QB Matt Stafford, QB Mark Sanchez, and possibly WR Michael Crabtree.

Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell came out this week and said the he has a list of four players that he is considering drafting fourth overall. Some of those players could go before Seattle or be there when Seattle picks at four. This mock draft will shed a lot of light on what the Seahawks remaining needs are and how they plan on filling them.

First round pick: Fourth overall—Mark Sanchez, QB, USC

Reasons: The Seahawks have two QB’s on the current active roster. Matt Hasselbeck (34) and Seneca Wallace (28). Matt Hasselbeck has had multiple injuries the last two out of three seasons. He says that he is healthy now but he is getting up there in age and they don’t have a FUTURE QB behind him, and I stress the word future.

Some Seahawks fans make the point about Wallace and that he is a good starting QB. Wallace has been a good starter when needed but I can not see Wallace leading the Seahawks under center for all 16 games. Wallace is like Michael Vick without the off-the-field problems, and is not as fast as Vick but still has great feet.

The Seahawks have always been a pass first team, at the least it has been 60-40 or a little 50-50, but never less. Wallace is not a full-season throwing QB. Think about it, he only lead the Seahawks to three wins this season in nine starts. Not that great, even though there was no help but Carlson and Branch.

Getting back to Sanchez. The Seahawks have brought in Sanchez for two private workouts and have basically locked in on Sanchez. Tim Ruskell said that even if QB Matt Stafford was there at No. 4 with Sanchez, the Seahawks would select Sanchez over Stafford because they feel he fits there needs and system best.

Sanchez can benefit a lot from this because he only played 16 games in college. Having a full year to learn the system behind Hasselbeck, and filling in when Hasselbeck gets injured again, because he always does, would help to make Sanchez ready for the NFL. Then, next season, he will take over as the Seahawks new franchise QB.

NOTE: The Seahawks also never pick higher than 20 in the draft, and a lot of scouts and personnel around the league are saying that the Seahawks want to use this chance to take there future franchise QB because they will not be selecting this high for a very long time. The last time they had a top five pick was 1997.

Second round pick: 37th overall—Brian Cushing, OL, USC

Reasons: No this is not going to be a Seahawks-USC love fest where they take all USC Trojans in the draft, but if Brian Cushing is there when the Seahawks pick in the second round, there is no way they will pass him up. The Seahawks traded LB Julian Peterson to the Detroit Lions for DT Cory Redding and a fifth round pick, so that created a huge hole at OLB, opposite of Leroy Hill.

Pairing Tatupu, a former USC Trojan, with Leroy Hill, who the Seahawks hope to sign long term will solidify the position. And if they can't, they really will need to draft Cushing. That trio of LB becomes one of, if not the best, young linebacker corps in the NFC, and possibly the NFL, if they are all healthy.

NOTE: The Seahawks lead the league in players drafted from USC. Now this will not be a Seahawks-USC love fest.

Third round pick: 68th overall- Rashad Johnson, FS Alabama

Reasons: The Seahawks have Deon Grant and Brian Russell. One of the two is a complete failure and is not the hardest hitting safety in the NFL, as Chad Ochocinco said.

That man is Brian Russell. The Seahawks need to address there secondary for once, since drafting CB Marcus Trufant. Kelly Jennings is fine at CB and can be good in the nickel defense. But they are going to need more talent and depth no matter what, and Johnson brings both to the field.

Fourth round pick: 105th overall—Brandon Gibson, WR, Washington State

Reasons: I don’t think you can call this a boom or bust pick because its in the fourth round. Gibson is a very good WR and could make a great slot WR for Mark Sanchez and Matt Hasselbeck. More or less Sanchez, because Gibson will shine more next season than this season.

Jim Mora Jr. likes players who come out and bring everything they have talent wise on the field, and show it, and Gibson does exactly that. He could turn out to be great in the NFL.

Fifth round pick: 137th overall—Kory Sheets, RB, Perdue

The Seahawks will be looking for the next Maurice Morris in the draft, a late round pick that has the talent to be a future starter in the NFL. If he shares time with Julius Jones, who will screw something up, and all of a sudden Sheets becomes the starter and will do better overall than Jones.

Sixth round pick: 178th overall—Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State

The Seahawks, even though I have them already drafting Kory Sheets, can always use depth, especially at RB. Johnson and Sheets could compete for the third running back spot with Justin Forsett. Forsett could become the KR, but its nice to always have competition.

Seventh round pick: 213th overall—Alex Boone, OT, Ohio State

The Seahawks won’t take top OT Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith, but they need depth on the offensive line. This is a great value pick.

This fills the following holes left on the Seahawks roster. QB, RB, OL and OLB.