SB Nation - Mike Gibson

Winning with Seneca Wallace Part 3: Punchline

John Morgan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:37:48 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

I'm free! Free me!

Seattle adds an offensive tackle and transforms its offensive line. It adds a superstar rusher and pairs him with Julius Jones and Justin Forsett in a three-headed hell dog of a rush attack. Cerberus if you will. It takes all pressure off Seneca Wallace. It attempts to make him a franchise quarterback by reducing the standards for franchise quarterback to almost nothing. The Seneca Plan is executed and aided by impeccable scouting and tremendous dumb luck. The Seahawks add a return ace and cybernetic punter. Its defense clicks and coalesces into a rampaging monster. The Seneca Hawks are built and ready to storm the NFL.

They back their way into the playoffs and get blown out in the Wild Card round. When they can't get ahead early, they lose. When injuries run in and weaken the defense or rushing attack, they lose. When Seneca's unruly style meets his 30 year old body, they lose Seneca and slip out of contention. They become the Bears, the Titans, the Vikings or the Jaguars; they tease, they lose, they don't lose enough to rebuild and the franchise is mired in boring mediocrity.

Seattle cannot afford the Seneca Wallace Plan. It's as flawed as the thinking that landed them Brian Russell. This is a quarterback's league and that fact becomes more entrenched each passing season. Seattle has a talent on the out and it needs a talent on the in. Tim Ruskell has backed himself into an unenviable position. He has pressed his quarterback resources to exhaustion and failed to restock.

The Seneca Wallace bluff revealed, what can Seattle do? Free agency is thin. Seattle could sign Jason Campbell or Kellen Clemens and attempt to develop a young, but not yet prime quarterback prospect. It could patch with a reclamation project like Daunte Culpepper or David Carr. I can hear your heart beating with anticipation. It could draft a talent and hope he develops quickly. Or Seattle could attempt to do what Mike Holmgren did and trade for a promising looking quarterback talent stuck behind an entrenched veteran. Vetting that list is a lengthy process, but before we cannibalize too much of the offseason, let's brainstorm names to target.

Erik Ainge: Ainge was suspended for steroid use and that put a black mark on an already fringe prospect. I've always liked Ainge from a pure prospect standpoint. He was a four-year starter on a rather miserable Vols team that improved steadily from his freshman season. Ainge is 6'6" and a pure pocket passer. He was once considered a very good college prospect after shredding the PNW at Glencoe. Ainge is heavy with intangible red flags, but those flags may have little substance.

Brady Quinn: Quinn is a sack machine and well on his way to full bust status. His raw passing stats don't look bad, but he still has the sheen of quarterback prospect and that could make him expensive. There's little reason to think he'll shake the sacks that have plagued him for his entire career. Seattle could acquire him but they'll pay too much for a prospect never as good as many, including myself, thought he was.

Kevin Kolb: Kolb would have been a fine and dandy addition until he knuckle-slapped Kansas City and put himself into Matt Schaub country. Houston exchanged two second-round picks for Schaub and moved down two places in the first round. That is a lot to give for an unproven prospect, but it has worked for the Texans as Schaub has proven capable of top-ten production. Schaub has a slightly better scouting profile than Kolb, but never attained Kolb's regular season heights before being traded. It might take up to or even including one of Seattle's first round picks to swing a deal with Philadelphia, but it might just be worth it.

Brian Brohm: Brohm has faded as fast as any elite quarterback prospect in recent memory. He isn't controversial or speculated over. Brohm is buried. He was compared to Drew Brees by NFL Draft Scout and looked like Brees in college, completing a high percentage of throws and carrying a Louisville offense almost bereft of pro talent. The best receiver he played with was Harry Douglas, now a Falcon. The only other notable pro talent is Michael Bush and Bush missed most of Brohm's career.

Brohm sits on Green Bay's practice squad. Seattle could acquire Brohm simply by signing him to their 53 man roster. He could displace Mike Gibson, Mansfield Wrotto, rarely used and practice squad eligible Cameron Morrah or even Mike Teel. I try not to stump for everything I believe, but this one confounds me. Unless Brohm hides razor blades in Halloween apples, no team with a quarterback need should think twice about adding him and figuring out his potential for themselves.

And that is about it. Seattle could inquire about Jim Sorgi, but Sorgi is already 28. Quarterback is the most essential single position perhaps in all of sport. A great one like Peyton Manning can make his team a perennial contender. Teams that lack a quarterback must conceive farfetched plans that lead from failure to postponed failure. This need is overdue and my tenuous faith in Tim Ruskell is tested each offseason he ignores it. It is time Seattle becomes aggressive about finding the successor to Matt Hasselbeck, because no one wants to see the Seneca Wallace Plan enacted.

Eagles Do the Practice Squad Shuffle

Bob_Q — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:51:11 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

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For the Eagles, the past week has certainly been an active one in terms of personnel changes. Amid all the talk of the Brandon Gibson for Will Witherspoon trade, the team made a few adjustments to their practice squad. Second year guard Mike Gibson was signed to the Seattle Seahawks active roster, leaving a vacancy on the eight man squad. Soon after, the Eagles signed center/guard Dallas Reynolds, an undrafted rookie who spent training camp and all four preseason games with the team, only to be released during the final roster cutdowns. The 6'4" 314 lb BYU standout has shown versatility along the offensive line, and should be a decent insurance policy should another o-lineman get injured (god forbid).

In addition, Brandon Gibson's departure prompted the Eagles to sign another wide receiver to compliment Jordan Norwood on the practice squad. Enter Dobson Collins, a 6'2" 178 lb receiver who spent the summer with the 49ers. The rookie free agent was a two-time All-Big South selection at Gardner-Webb where he caught 143 passes for 1,745 yards and 14 touchdowns during his college career. In order to make room for Collins, recently signed cornerback Stoney Woodson was given the boot. Now that the Eagles are down to only five active receivers, there is a chance that Norwood or Collins might land a promotion should Kevin Curtis' frequent knee problems continue to sideline him.

Now, with Omar Gaither expected to miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc sprain in his foot, look for even more personnel changes on the horizon.

Meet Mike Gibson

John Morgan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:03:36 -0000

Birthdate: November 18, 1985

Height/Weight: 6'4"/308

College: California

College Position: LT

Starts and Games: 22 and 26

Notable: Gibson played two seasons at California after transferring from Solano Junior College. Gibson was the starting left tackle for the Bears for most of 2006 and 2007. The 2007 team allowed only 11 sacks, best in the Pac-10 and fourth overall in the nation. Gibson was an honorable all Pac-10, but not considered a great pro prospect.

He was however considered a pro prospect and was invited to the 2008 NFL scouting combine. There he benched 225 pounds 31 times and led all offensive linemen in the three cone drill. That, his build and his reputation as a "nasty" and "technically sound" blocker makes me think a little of Max Unger. Like Brandon Frye, Gibson came to the pros typecast a guard, but does give Seattle some left tackle depth.

The real question and the one not answerable from second hand information and stopwatches is how well does he move? As you might guess, youtube is bereft of Mike Gibson highlights, but here's a familiar face that played beside him: Justin Forsett. Gibson is 53.

And for a sense of his pass blocking:

Gibson strikes me as at least interesting.

Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp Preview - Interior offensive line

JasonB — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:00:13 -0000

This is the next installment in our series of 12 positions in 12 days previewing the upcoming Eagles training camp. Rookie and selected vets report to Lehigh July 26th and each day leading up to that date we will bring you a preview of a different position battle.

The big uglies. The trenches... That's where we look to today as we take on the interior of the Eagles offensive line. Center and Guard.

The Bodies

Stacy Andrews, Nick Cole, Mike Gibson, Paul Fanaika, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Max Jean-Gilles, Mike McGlynn, Fenuki Tupou, Chris Patrick. (Tupou & Patrick are listed as OTs, but they'll probably compete at several spots on the line)

Presumed starters

Stacy Andrews(RG), Jamaal Jackson(C), Todd Herremans(LG). Assuming all are healthy, it's pretty unlikely that any of these three won't be starting this year. The only real question is the knee of Stacy Andrews. He tore his ACL last year and had surgery in early January. Whether he'll be 100% ready to go by the time the season starts is not sure.

New additions

Stacy Andrews signed as a free agent from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Paul Fanaika was drafted in the 7th round & Fenuki Tupou was drafted in the 5th this year.

What to watch for

There's a lot of capable players and new draft picks fighting for a precious few spots on the interior of the Eagles offensive line. Nick Cole, being able to play C or G is probably a shoe in to make it... Max Jean-Gilles is the most senior member of the group fighting for backup jobs. However, Gilles broke his fibula last year in the Thanksgiving game against Arizona and it will be interesting to see how he's recovered and whether the injury will bother him in camp.

A guy I'll have my eye on is second year man Mike McGlynn. McGlynn was a 4th round pick last year and his nasty demeanor on the field drew comparisons to Jon Runyan. Having spent a year in the system with offensive line coach Juan Castillo, I'm excited to see how how McGlynn's development is progressing.

Another second year man to keep an eye on is Mike Gibson, who was spending time learning both guard and center last year. Jamaal Jackson and Nick Cole have generally been the only centers in camp in recent years and it will nice to see some more competition in there.

All that said, the #1 storyline is going to be the health of Stacy Andrews. If he's not going ot be ready to start the season, the likes of Jean-Gilles & McGlynn will be fighting for starting jobs... not backup positions.

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