SB Nation - Logan Payne

Courtney Greene Signs with Jacksonville

John Morgan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Losing Courtney Greene doesn't hurt. The financial tight rope Ruskell walks, and the big risks he takes to ensure the team has enough money to sign the Colin Coles of the world, does and has hurt the Seattle Seahawks.

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Readers number_twentyone brought this to my attention and I thought it deserved a front page post. LoHud.com reports that Courtney Greene signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and will be on their active roster. The intriguing detail is that Seattle was set to re-sign him to their practice squad.

Courtney Greene was all set to return Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie from New Rochelle had completed rehab for his sprained left knee, and after being cut by Seattle Labor Day weekend, he was prepared to reach the NFL by way of the practice squad.

Hours before Greene boarded a flight back to Seattle on Sunday, he learned his NFL dreams would be realized on this side of the country.

That kind of too-clever roster wrangling, and pound foolish money saving is nothing new to Seahawks fans, but this is a reminder that not much has changed. Tim Ruskell has found some hidden talent and pulled off a few financial coups, but he gets too cute with penny ante decisions. His most infamous blunder was losing Steve Hutchinson. The loss and decisions that led to the loss have become the third rail of Seahawks coverage. Ruskell doesn't want to talk about it and fans don't want to read about it. Was the decision made before he arrived? Could he have anticipated the Vikings treachery? I don't know, but applying the transition tag to Hutchinson sure fits Ruskell's MO.

Greene didn't show much in the preseason, but he has pro talent. I praise Ruskell when he finds pro talent for cheap, be it a free agent or a late draft pick, but when he loses pro talent to retain Mike Hass or Logan Payne, I have to chide him. Seattle lost special teams and secondary depth, but it didn't have to. It could have signed Greene to the practice squad and allowed him to heal in the confines of the VMAC.

Seattle Seahawks Announce Practice Squad, New Names

John Morgan — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:48:19 -0000

by Ted S. Warren - AP

Chris Spencer is not 286 pounds.

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Seattle's practice squad is headlined by a couple new faces: Roy Lewis formerly of Washington and Blake Schlueter. Schlueter is a former Horned Frog. Years of cosmetic surgery have...

His acquisition is interesting. Like Vallos, Schlueter is an undersized college star that only fits in a very-pure zone -blocking scheme. If you're looking for further writing on the wall about the future of Chris Spencer, note Schlueter is 286; that Schlueter is another bad-frame, good at football pick. A guy Alex Gibbs might like.

Lewis should be familiar to most. I assume the Husky standout and former captain is the honorary Michael Bumpus signing with side benefits. He could have been hidden on a bad team.

The rest of squad is familiar.

Jamar Adams S

Mike Hass WR

Devin Moore RB

Logan Payne

Kyle Williams

And one open spot.

Seattle Seahawks Practice Squad Odds & Ends

John Morgan — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:54:13 -0000

by John Froschauer - AP

Devin Moore, a couple flashy moments aside, struggled against Oakland's terrible second-string run defense.

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It's Labor Day and I want to honor my former and forever brothers at Teamsters Local 162. Bend those knees! Field Gulls will be fully active again tomorrow, but today some light writing, barbecue and beer.

Seattle will announce its practice squad sometime this afternoon. When it's up I'll post it with all due commentary. Some names are confirmed. Logan Payne and Mike Hass made it. Payne has some small upside, but I wonder when that Biletnikoff sheen will come off Hass. He hasn't done anything as a pro since being drafted. He has eight receptions for 101 yards in 12 preseason games, and his production in the preseason has dropped three straight seasons.

Jamar Adams is in. It's good Seattle hasn't given up on his potential entirely, but he hasn't developed. Adams is quickly becoming an afterthought.

The final notable name of those announced is Devin Moore. Moore took my criticism of being a routine all-speed and no-size non-drafted free agent running back and turned it into 75 yards...on 22 carries. Eh. Buried in the hoopla of a couple nice cuts was that Moore ran eight times for no gain or negative yards. Oakland has had one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL for the last two seasons. Years of bad drafting has left their depth as thin as Al Davis' patience. Moore struggled against one of the worst rush defenses in professional football. Today he is a Seahawk, but he's no Lynell Hamilton.

Seattle Seahawks Sack Oakland Raiders 31-21 to Sweep Preseason

John Morgan — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:01:02 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Ben Obomanu ruled Qwest.

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Winners, Losers and Projecting
the Final 53 Man Roster

Winners

Dan Quinn: A great position coach finds hidden talent. It's perhaps the single greatest impact a position coach can have. In one draft, Quinn has found, coached up and scheme matched Nick Reed, Michael Bennett and Derek Walker. Quinn deserves some credit for Cory Redding too. Classes like this put position coaches in line for defensive coordinator positions--and head coaching positions.

Losers

Secondary: The front seven looked terrific throughout the game, but the secondary was sloppy, slow and not opportunistic. Seattle might lean on Jordan Babineaux to play two positions and keep seven defensive backs.

Courtney Taylor: Not sure he's cut, but it's very possible. I'd love to credit him for his sweet RAC on the Morrah moving pick, but we can't be sure he would have been open if not for the penalty. If he is cut, I expect him to make another team. Some receivers coach will see his athleticism and desire and give the kid a call.

Curt Menefee: It takes a special kind of genius to make sideline interviews more awkward and irritating, but Curt Menefee is that genius. Instead of sticking to pleasantries and platitudes, Menefee put on his reporter cap and got controversial. Asking Deon Butler about the poor quarterback play at Penn State or Darryl Tapp about how he feels about not starting does not inspire honest, insightful answers. It causes an athlete to bristle and be more guarded.

Seattle Seahawks 53 Man Roster

Deon Butler

Ben Obomanu

Tight End

John Carlson

John Owens

Joe Newton

Offensive Line

Kyle Williams

Defensive Tackle

Michael Bennett

Defensive End

Patrick Kerney

Cory Redding

Lawrence Jackson

Darryl Tapp

Nick Reed

Baraka Atkins

Linebackers

Leroy Hill

Corners

Kelly Jennings

Ken Lucas

Josh Wilson

(Free Agent or Trade)

Safety

Brian Russell

Deon Grant

Jordan Babineaux

C.J. Wallace

Specialist

Olindo Mare

Jon Ryan

Kevin Houser

PUP: Marcus Trufant

IR: Jordan Kent..Cory Withrow

Practice Squad

Derek Walker

(Acquired)

Winners, Losers and Projecting Seattle's 53 Man Roster

John Morgan — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:35:12 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Ben Obomanu ruled Qwest.

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Winners

Losers

Seattle Seahawks 53 Man Roster

Quarterback

Matt Hasselbeck

Seneca Wallace

Mike Teel

Running Back

Julius Jones

Edgerrin James

Justin Forsett

Fullback

Justin Griffith

Owen Schmitt

Wide Receiver

Deon Butler

Tight End

John Carlson

John Owens

Joe Newton

Offensive Line

Kyle Williams

Defensive Tackle

Michael Bennett

Defensive End

Patrick Kerney

Cory Redding

Lawrence Jackson

Darryl Tapp

Nick Reed

Baraka Atkins

Linebackers

Leroy Hill

Corners

Kelly Jennings

Ken Lucas

Josh Wilson

(Free Agent or Trade)

Safety

Brian Russell

Deon Grant

Jordan Babineaux

C.J. Wallace

Specialist

Olindo Mare

Jon Ryan

Kevin Houser

PUP: Marcus Trufant

IR: Jordan Kent..Cory Withrow

Practice Squad

Derek Walker

(Acquired)

Projecting the Seattle Seahawks 53-Man Roster

John Morgan — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:55 -0000

Seattle must cut its roster down to 75 tomorrow. This is news. It has already cut four players, Kevin Brown, Dan Curran, Shane Simmons and John Tereshinski. This is also news. Poor John Tereshinski couldn't even get the Seahawks to spell his name correctly. I've never found much drama in the final push to 53. Here are the guys, minus injury, I think are locks for the team. All 53.

Quarterback

Matt Hasselbeck

Seneca Wallace

Mike Teel

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

John Carlson

John Owens

Joe Newton

Offensive Line

Kyle Williams

Defensive Line

Michael Bennett

Linebackers

Leroy Hill

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Specialist

One of Olindo Mare or Brandon Coutu

Jon Ryan

Kevin Houser

IR

Walter Jones

. . .

If Jones isn't put on IR, Kyle Williams is signed to the practice squad displacing William Robinson.

Practice Squad

William Robinson

Seattle Seahawks Beat the Preseason

John Morgan — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:01:53 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

This is what a bad preseason looks like.

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The first three games of the preseason are practice. The fourth is an exhibition. This Thursday will be fun. I might just stock the beer cooler and take the game in with long, languid sips of MacTarnahan's Lip Stinger - a surprisingly-good local saison. Watching the kids play is always relaxing. Seattle has negotiated the preseason and succeeded. Its starters survived, its scheme looks functional and executable, some fringe talent stepped up and the draft picks that matter are all healthy and producing; whatever drama the season brings, this team is in a good place right now.

This time last year, Seahawks fans were taking exaggerated, desperate breaths after learning Lofa Tatupu had suffered only a bad bone bruise to his right knee. Matt Hasselbeck had not participated in preseason games against San Diego or Chicago and would not participate against Oakland. Chris Spencer had a bad back and Seattle's depth at center had retired. Mike Holmgren was comparing his back to his long snapper's. Deion Branch was on the PUP list and no where near ready. Bobby Engram was out with a broken shoulder. Seahawks fans were picking sides between Logan Payne, Ben Obomanu, Jordan Kent and Courtney Taylor. Seattle had terminated the contract of Marcus Tubbs. Sean Locklear was out and likely to miss the start of the regular season. Jordan Babineaux and Rocky Bernard were staring down suspensions. The Seahawks were nearing a season lost to a historically bad run of injuries.

If you need the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl to be happy, find your Yankees cap and your "fast" Willie Parker jersey. Seattle has long odds of winning the Super Bowl. Something like: 1 in 32. The part of the preseason that matters is over, and I'm not furiously reloading Seahawks Insider for injury updates. I'm not bombarded with emails about every hack writer's two cents on Holmgren's impending retirement and its implications to Seattle's season. Instead, I am wondering how Seattle will keep all of its promising depth, Nick Reed's ceiling, if Justin Griffith may have wrestled starting fullback from Owen Schmitt, who will kick and return kicks for Seattle and how good this team can be when things start clicking. It's August 30, 2009. The Seahawks season starts in two weeks. It's a good time to be optimistic. It's a good time to be a fan.

Seattle Seahawks 14 - Kansas City Chiefs 10 (Winners and Losers)

John Morgan — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:13:49 -0000

More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

Corey Mays is forgiven for his foul. John Carlson deemed no flag shall be thrown.

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Winners

Seattle Seahawks: Won at Arrowhead. Won with their starters and won with their depth. The Seahawks showed something passing, rushing, defending the pass and in coverage teams.

Matt Hasselbeck: Has developed #1-receiver like chemistry with T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Hasselbeck showed confidence in the system and decisiveness in his reads. Spread the ball well. Better poise in the pocket and near flawless decision making.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh: Fulfilling potential of stronger, more athletic Bobby Engram.

John Carlson: Better as a blocker, and taking his receiving game to the heights of ‘game-changing'.

Julius Jones: Productive, undemanding, reliable and fearsome as a pass blocker.

Courtney Taylor: Played with the first team and contributed. Put a sizable gap between himself and Ben Obomanu.

Ray Willis: His pass protection has grown in bounds.

Nate Burleson: Freed from Holmgren's exacting offense.

Aaron Curry: Still a rookie, but fans needed to see the athleticism and power. See the athleticism and power.

Will Herring: Herring entered the league a tweener with a legitimate chance to never make it. His light build and cover-only instincts threatened his chance to ever become an NFL linebacker. Tonight, he survived in the scrum and showed what it's like to have a linebacker with DB zone skills.

Darryl Tapp: Disruptive.

Josh Wilson: Incredible awareness. Wilson adjusted to an underthrown ball as it passed over the linebackers and broke for an impressive near-pick before defending the ball from his back.

Derek Walker: Made impressive plays in garbage time to protect him from the cut to 75.

Losers

Devin Moore: Cut is a lock, but does Seattle bother with the practice squad?

Logan Payne, Jordan Kent, Mike Hass and Michael Bumpus: Will, short of injury, not make the roster.

Jeff Rowe: Camp days coming to an end.

Steve Vallos: Enough of a problem at center that Seattle will entertain free agents.

Seneca Wallace: That grimace and sullen look says: "the dreaded groin."

Olindo Mare: Unable to make up ground.

Kevin Hobbs: Picked on and playing his way out of the league.

Ken Lucas: Another so-so game.

Lofa Tatupu: Have we reached the point where Tatupu is too bulked up? I think he'd have trouble hugging me.

Cameron Morrah: Now well behind Joe Newton.

A Brief Interview with Bill Barnwell

John Morgan — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:15:44 -0000

Bill Barnwell is the managing editor of Football Outsiders and perhaps its most regular contributor. I agreed to asking him questions about the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a free .pdf copy of Football Outsiders Almanac 2009.

Field Gulls: Football Outsiders projects Seattle to rebound this season and win 9.9 games. That projection relies on Seattle’s injury rate regressing towards the mean. How did you determine the replacement value of a player and how much Seattle’s starters were worth above replacement?

Bill Barnwell: Well, that's one of the things it takes into account, although it's certainly not the only one. You can't truly calculate individual replacement value for players like offensive linemen or non-"skill position" players. We simply separate players into simple sections of starters and reserves because it's certainly preferable to not doing so.

FG: Did you group Seattle’s replacements into a "starter" box and therefore value the team losing Sean Locklear the same as it losing Walter Jones? How do you compare the value of Logan Payne and Nate Burleson?

BB: Yes, we consider losing any starter to be as valuable as losing any other starter. Of course, that's not ideal. We're working on ways to quantify individual player value in an attempt to improve the reliability of the data, but we haven't found anything we're happy with yet. There is a very tangible difference in data reliability, though, when we do separate "starters" and "reserves".

As for Payne, we designate players like him who inherit starting jobs because of injury as "NEW STARTERS" and assign them a partial value for their injuries.

FG: Vince Verhei states "The ten most injured offenses from 2004 to 2007 averaged 6.2 wins and a -3.6% offensive DVOA; the next year, those numbers jumped to 7.2 wins and 0.9% DVOA." What was the average record the following season of all teams that finished with 6 wins? Could this be explained by regression towards the mean?

What was the offensive DVOA the following season of all teams that finished a season at 0 to -5% DVOA? Could this be explained by regression towards the mean?

BB: You're conflating cause and effect here with these two questions, John. Teams regress to the mean because their injury rates improve, not vice versa. Teams don't regress to "the mean" because it's a nice mathematical concept; there are tangible reasons, things like fumble recovery rates and uncontrollable special teams factors and, in a big way, injuries.

. . .

That last answer seems a little evasive to me. I know I didn't conflate cause and effect and I'm pretty sure I didn't confuse cause for effect and effect for cause, if that's what he meant to say. What I was asking is simply how much of the team's in question rebound in performance is because of improved health and how much is it because of the remaining factors that cause a regression towards the mean? I think that could be reasonably tested by seeing how much all teams that win six games improve the next season and how much all teams that score within the given DVOA range improve the next season. If injuries were a major factor, we would expect a significantly better improvement from the teams impacted by abnormally high injury rates.

I sent him the above response, and if and when he responds I will update it.

I usually run a review of Football Outsiders annual book, but haven't had time this year. I'm sure many of Field Gulls readers have already bought a copy, and if you're interested in exclusive stats and essays from some of the most prominent football analysts, buy a copy.

Update: After a little back and forth, we have an answer.

BB: The r2 of our correlation would suggest that something like 20-22% of a change in a team's year-to-year performance is due to the effects of injuries. That assumes that our metric is a perfect indicator of injuries, which it obviously isn't, but I don't doubt that our metric could get even better. So I'd estimate that's a reasonable guess.

. . .

R² as defined by Wikipedia means:

In statistics, the coefficient of determination, R² is used in the context of statistical models whose main purpose is the prediction of future outcomes on the basis of other related information. It is the proportion of variability in a data set that is accounted for by the statistical model. It provides a measure of how well future outcomes are likely to be predicted by the model.

So, assuming the metric is a perfect indicator of injuries, it can account for about a fifth of a team's future performance. Which is significant, but also underscores the fact that Seattle needs more than health to rebound. Football Outsiders believes the Seahawks have what they need to be a playoff contender and even a Super Bowl contender.

Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Notes, Part 1

John Morgan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:29:43 -0000

I just got in and am I'm a little worn out and more than a little hungry. Here are a few quick notes until tomorrow.

Logan Payne knows how to play. You can see his practiced feet in cut drills. He sets ups his breaks with a deep plant foot and snaps his body around. During receiving drills he watches the ball into his hands and after catching, holds it high between his forearm and bicep. It's the technique that Tom Coughlin taught Tiki Barber that fixed Barber's fumbling problems. Payne goes all out in practice and his effort is admirable, but he does look to be putting in maximum effort around players that are not. I can see why the front office likes Payne. More than most of Seattle's receivers, it's not technique, effort or consistency that will determine Payne's potential, but his athleticism. If he can contribute, he will contribute.
On Monday, Brian Russell and Josh Wilson were jawing about something or another on the sideline. Wilson had gotten into a scrape with Michael Bumpus and it looked pretty intense. There was a dog pile and the two were forcibly separated. Bumpus is in a position where he has to go all out. Wilson is not. I wonder if that creates some friction between the established players and the guys on the bubble. Russell was probably telling Wilson to act like a veteran if he wants to become a veteran.
Wilson did turn it on for one play. He had tight man coverage on Branch on a deep pass, and when Matt Hasselbeck's pass sailed a little, jumped up and caught it for an interception. It was Trufant-esque.
Watch Mike Teel's pocket presence if he gets snaps on Saturday. I saw the strangest thing on Monday. Seattle's quarterbacks were alternating during receiving drills. In one, a coach was acting as a pass rusher. He would "rush" the quarterback with his hands up and the quarterback would need to complete the pass over or around him. It was decidedly low-pressure. But there was 14, inexplicably throwing pass after pass off his back foot. Teel has a cannon. Easily the best arm in camp, but "under pressure" he was throwing Alex Smith ducks from Alex Smith's second favorite position.

SB Nation - Logan Payne

Courtney Greene Signs with Jacksonville

Seattle Seahawks Announce Practice Squad, New Names

Seattle Seahawks Practice Squad Odds & Ends

Seattle Seahawks Sack Oakland Raiders 31-21 to Sweep Preseason

Winners, Losers and Projecting the Final 53 Man Roster

Winners

Losers

Seattle Seahawks 53 Man Roster

Quarterback

Running Back

Fullback

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Defensive Tackle

Defensive End

Linebackers

Corners

Safety

Specialist

Practice Squad

Winners, Losers and Projecting Seattle's 53 Man Roster

Winners

Losers

Seattle Seahawks 53 Man Roster

Quarterback

Running Back

Fullback

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Defensive Tackle

Defensive End

Linebackers

Corners

Safety

Specialist

Practice Squad

Projecting the Seattle Seahawks 53-Man Roster

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Defensive Line

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Specialist

IR

Practice Squad

Seattle Seahawks Beat the Preseason

Seattle Seahawks 14 - Kansas City Chiefs 10 (Winners and Losers)

Winners

Losers

A Brief Interview with Bill Barnwell

Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Notes, Part 1

Winners, Losers and Projecting
the Final 53 Man Roster