Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks Draft 2012: 5 Most Important Areas to Address
The Seattle Seahawks took leaps and bounds of progress over the later games of the 2011 season and wound up missing the playoffs by only one game, despite their poor start.
With a superstar running back in Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks were able to edge out some games with the aggression of “Beast Mode” and their defense. With the 2012 season looming ahead, the ‘Hawks have a lot of promise and if they improve the right areas, they could be looking at a deep playoff run in the near future.
Peyton Manning Carousel: Is He the Answer to the Seahawks QB Dilemma?
One of the biggest free agents in decades hits the market in a couple weeks, as March 8th is the deadline by which time the Indianapolis Colts must either pay Peyton Manning his $28 million bonus or allow him to become a free agent.
Barring a sudden change of heart by Jim Irsay, all signs point to Manning’s availability to new teams. The big question now is: where will this four-time MVP land.
The idea of number 18 coming to the Emerald City excites most Seahawk fanatics, but many Seahawk fans are opposed to this aging superstar joining this rebuilding Seattle team. He just came off his fourth surgery since the season started and turns 36 years old a month from Friday.
This wasn’t just a common injury, either. A pinched nerve in the neck is a very dangerous ailment and could keep Peyton from ever being fully healthy again. If he gets hit hard–and with the Seahawks offensive line he will take several–he could be facing not only loss of playing time, but also loss of bodily movement because of the delicate nature of the injured area.
But Peyton brings the experience and years of All-Pro quarterback play. A known winner, he brought the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs every year from 1999 to 2010 except for 2001, a year in which he led the Colts offense to the second most points scored in the league. He has led his teams to great records and levels thought unreachable, and maybe he could still do that even at this point in his career.
Manning may be past his prime, but he can provide several years of a solid QB play and can also flourish with the change in scenery. He would come into a team that has a good defense and a “beast” at running back, something that Peyton has never had the privilege of.
Peyton can also mentor any young talent that the Seahawks decide to draft or sign. This draft has many capable quarterbacks and the Seahawks will most likely choose to draft one in the second and third round. With one of the best quarterbacks in the history tutoring a young prospect, Seattle will have a talented QB for the future that also has the experience passed down by a legend.
With all of the pros, though, the biggest problem with picking up Manning is getting the contract that comes with him. He is one of the highest played players to ever play in the league and won’t be very fond of a pay cut. The Seahawks have several free agents to resign first, like Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch, and Peyton Manning’s incredibly large contract may not fit into the Seattle pay scale, which presents a problem.
Peyton Manning has been a superstar in this league for over a decade now, yet this is the first time he has been on the market. There are many benefits to picking up Manning, but they come with the obvious risks that an expensive, injured superstar would have. Seattle has one large decision to make: Do the benefits outweigh the risks to the point where they should sign Peyton Manning?
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NFL Free Agency: Seattle Seahawks Should Not Use Franchise Tag on Marshawn Lynch
As the NFL‘s two-week window begins for applying the franchise tag to top players, the natural question in Seattle is: Should the Seahawks consider using the device to hold Marshawn Lynch or Red Bryant, widely perceived as their two most important free agents?
The answer reportedly is, they will use it on Lynch if they don’t have a deal by the tag deadline of March 5.
But the answer should be no; they definitely should not use the franchise tag.
We already broke down how negotiations for Lynch’s deal are likely to go: His agent figures to ask for a deal like DeAngelo Williams’, worth about $8 million a year and guaranteeing $20 million, and the Hawks likely will try to get a deal like Frank Gore‘s: $25.9 million over four years, with $13.5 million guaranteed.
In the end, Lynch should get a contract somewhere between Gore’s and Williams’ deals—maybe a four-year pact worth up to $28 million, with $15 million guaranteed. That would be more than fair.
But if they can’t reach that deal by March 5, the Hawks should think about using the transition tag rather than the franchise marker.
Yeah, that’s the same device Tim Ruskell used to try to keep Steve Hutchinson in 2006, only to have it backfire when Minnesota signed the All-Pro to a poison-pill deal the Hawks could not sensibly match.
The franchise tag is generally the better method for holding on to a top player, simply because it offers the protection of double first-round remuneration in the unlikely case that a team does sign the player to an offer sheet.
But, a player has to be worth the tag value. And Lynch is not worth $7.7 million a year.
Plus, if the Hawks put the franchise tag on Lynch, they would have to start negotiating at that price (this was Ruskell’s concern in 2006). That is too much to pay a guy who figures to last about four more years (on the high side).
It’s possible the Lynch negotiations go much smoother than that and they don’t even get to March 5. But if they don’t have a deal, the Hawks would be financially foolish to use the franchise tag and give up their bargaining position.
They would be much better off using the transition tag, which carries a projected value of $6.7 million for running backs.
The Hawks would not be entitled to draft-choice compensation if they decided not to match any offer sheet, but they at least would have the option to match. And, because the NFL has banned poison-pill contracts in the wake of the Hutchinson fiasco in 2006, there would be no danger of the Hawks losing the player—unless they simply didn’t like the terms of the deal he arranged with the new team.
You might ask: Why use the transition marker now if it wasn’t a good idea in 2006? Because Hutch was a much better player than Lynch and needed to be kept at all costs. Lynch is more of an emotional investment because Pete Carroll likes his tough attitude and fans love him and his Skittles. He is not a necessary piece, just one it would be nice to have back.
Beyond that, there is little risk of losing him anyway. Running backs just don’t receive big contracts on the free-agent market. That’s why it is very likely the Hawks will have Lynch signed by March 5 and why the transition tag wouldn’t be a big risk (some other team probably would not want to do all the work for Seattle of negotiating a contract the Hawks probably would match anyway).
If Lynch does get signed by March 5, the question becomes, what if Bryant is not signed by then? And the answer is, keep negotiating until March 13 and let him become a free agent if a deal has not been struck.
The $10.6 million DE franchise tag is out of the question, and so is the projected $8.9 million transition marker. The Hawks don’t have a single player on the team worth that; Bryant is worth about $5 million a year, as we outlined last month.
If the Hawks are able to sign Lynch before the tag deadline, the other guy they might consider using the transition tender on is tight end John Carlson.
We have already talked about what a great pairing Zach Miller and Carlson could be, and Pete Carroll has said the same thing and mentioned he would like to bring Carlson back. The Seahawks have a hodgepodge wide receiver outfit, and their best weapons are really their tight ends.
The Hawks might be able to re-sign Carlson before March 5, but if they can’t, the TE transition tag is expected to be around $4.7 million and wouldn’t be the worst way to keep him. No, he doesn’t seem worth that now because of his recent injury issues and the presence of Miller. But after he set team records for receptions by a tight end in his first two seasons, most people would have said he was worth every penny of $4.7 million. So why can’t he be again?
At this point, he’s really worth about $2 million to $3 million, and his agent knows it. The transition tag would be a mutual favor, keeping Carlson in Seattle for at least a year and guaranteeing him that $4.7 million. Then, the Hawks could use that $4.7 million as the guaranteed money in a long-term offer, say, a four-year deal worth $12 million.
The Seahawks have used the franchise tag on kickers (Josh Brown and Olindo Mare), so why not use the transition marker on a tight end?
Speaking of the transition tag and Hutch, it looks like he won’t make it to the seventh year of that $49 million deal.
Hutch played at an All-Pro level his first four seasons in Minnesota, but has started just 25 games the last two years, ending each on injured reserve (broken thumb in 2010 and concussion in 2011), and it sounds like he won’t get to finish the poisoned contract.
As for the guy who lost Hutch, Ruskell was in the running to become GM of the Bears, but Chiefs scouting director Phil Emery got the gig and let Ruskell go.
Ruskell’s former boss in Seattle, Tod Leiweke, talked him up last month, and Leiweke proved he made a good decision to leave the NFL since he knows nothing about it.
“If you think about who’s out there, I don’t think there is a better guy to lead a team,” said Leiweke, who fired Ruskell in December 2009 and left the Seahawks seven months later to take over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Leiweke defended Ruskell’s drafts in Seattle, even though Ruskell went 0-for-5 in the first round. And then, Leiweke ridiculously defended Ruskell for not using the franchise tag on Hutch in 2006.
“Never did we think a team would invoke that kind of offer,” Leiweke said of the Vikings‘ $49 million poison-pill deal. “To lay that on Tim is just unfair.”
This shows Leiweke’s complete lack of knowledge about the NFL and the way business should be done. Ruskell messed up, plain and simple, and the Seahawks running game paid for it for over five years. Now, just as Hutch is finally winding down, the Hawks seem to have rebuilt their rushing game.
Meanwhile, the coach who lost Hutch (through no fault of his own) has hired the coach who gained Hutch. Mike Holmgren’s Browns named former Minnesota coach Brad Childress their offensive coordinator last month. If Hutch were released by the Vikings, it would be pretty funny if the Browns signed him.
It’s a safe bet, though, that Holmgren won’t be interested in bringing Ruskell on board.
Forget Peyton Manning and go Outside the Press Box to see which guys the Seahawks could be eyeing at the Combine this week and why we think they should look at drafting another offensive lineman in the first round.
Read more Seattle Seahawks news on BleacherReport.com
Seattle Seahawks 2012 Mock Draft: 7-Round Predictions
With the Seahawks learning last week they will lose their fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in compensation for Marshawn Lynch, I figured it might be worthwhile to provide an updated mock draft following my first attempt for the Seahawks earlier this month.
At the same time, the NFL Combine will be taking place this week in Indianapolis, and with it we should expect to see some movers and shakers as players rise and fall across the board.
What makes this particularly entertaining is seeing how perceptions change about players after this week once they are put under the microscope.
So once again, let’s give it a go; nevertheless I will continue to offer my disclaimer…
Disclaimer: All picks guaranteed wrong come April…or your money back!
NFL Free Agents 2012: Long-Term Marshawn Lynch Deal Bad for Seahawks
There are some decisions to be made in Seattle. Following a 7-9 season which gave Seahawks fans hope for the future, it appears they are just a few pieces away from contending in the NFC.
Quarterback is one of the pieces Seattle needs to improve if they wish to return the their NFC West dominance of the 2000s. Tarvaris Jackson played well, but surely he isn’t the right fit going forward. The draft is coming up and if the right QB isn’t there they will need to pick one up via trade or free agency.
After quarterback, the next issue for the Seahawks front office is what do to with free-agent running back Marshawn Lynch. The former Bills ball carrier made an impact right away in Seattle, scoring six rushing touchdowns in 12 games for the Seahawks in 2010, and contributing the unforgettable 67-yard game-winning score against the Saints in the playoffs.
Lynch was even better in 2011, totaling career highs in carries, rushing yards, yards per carry and touchdowns on his way to six 100-yard rushing games.
The 2011 campaign was nothing short of spectacular for Lynch, and Seattle would lose their most valuable offensive player if they fail to re-sign him. After that type of season, Lynch will most likely be asking for a long-term deal worth much more than the $19 million he signed for with Buffalo in 2007.
There is no question the Seahawks need Lynch back, but a long-term contract isn’t the answer.
Age
Lynch will be 26 in April—not an old NFL running back by any means, but in a couple years he will be. Former Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander improved every year until he was 28, when he had by far his best season and one of the best ever by a running back. The next season and the two subsequent years were huge drop-offs, as Alexander suffered injuries that his highly used body couldn’t recover from.
Lynch has already racked up 1,137 carries. Alexander reached that mark in the middle of the season in which he was 27, leaving him one huge season before falling off. Even the great LaDainian Tomlinson suffered a statistical decline once he reached 29. Seattle would be better off either slapping Lynch with the franchise tag or signing him to a modest three-year deal.
Off-field issues
Lynch has had his share of non-football related incidents, and the Seahawks shouldn’t sign him long-term at the risk of suspension or jail time. The last thing Seattle fans want is for their star player to be paid to get into trouble.
He hasn’t had any run-ins with the law since 2009 and has matured, but off-field issues could be a problem in the long run.
Desire for larger market
A player with Lynch’s talent will want to be paid top dollar for a top team in the league. Depending on how Seattle fares in upcoming seasons, he could demand a trade or hold out for more money. If Seattle re-signs Lynch to a long-term deal, they could have two low-caliber backup running backs on their roster, which wouldn’t leave any room for Lynch to get hurt or worse, hold out or demand a trade.
If they can sign him to a two- or three-year deal, they could take a running back in the draft who would be ready to step in and start by the time Lynch’s contract expires.
No “contract year” season
Throughout professional sports players tend to perform better in the final year of their contracts, in determination to sign a long-term contract worth the big bucks. Lynch’s contact expired after the 2011 season, the best of his career.
A five- or six-year deal would mean he would be stuck in Seattle and wouldn’t have a chance to impress other teams in the league during the final year of his contract for quite some time. There is the possibility that Lynch could lose motivation to play to his full capability, especially if the Seahawks struggle.
Risk of release
If Lynch gets hurt or doesn’t bring it on the field, the Seahawks could be forced to release him if no teams express interest in a trade.
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