An 11th Season for Matt?

First of all I love Matt and everything he has done for the organization. The debate about Matt is about whether it is time for us to move on. It was clear that was the case with Sean Alexander, it was simply time to go. It reminds me a little of the Rolling Stones circa 1995, Steel Wheels was a great last gasp and the tour that followed was great. Matt would be leaving this year with his head held high, no matter what happened. It was a rough year but we made it into the playoffs and he gave us a home victory and will put a good fight in Chicago, and if the stars align we could be in the championship...But an 11th season seems way to Bridges to Babylon to me, not even a good song to hang your hat and tickets starting at $75.00, no thanks...

I wouldn't mind seeing him come around as a coach. He strikes me as the type of player who could be a good front office person (who knows scout or eventually a GM?) and would love to see him do it. I could see it if it meant him sticking around as a mentor but something tells me Matt is not Chad Pennington and he won't stand for having a first round pick nipping at his heels.

Adalius Thomas was cut loose by the Patriots yesterday. Could we use him for this season as our Elephant or as a DE/Pass Rusher? Does he fit our scheme? He's huge, a sure tackler, and fast (even though he has slowed down a lot) and I also going to assume that we won't have Leroy Hill most of this season with his impending suspension.

I just like him. He brings a certain amount of physicality to our defense. His supposed issues last year means he could be picked up fairly cheap. I think Belichick tried to scape goat him for some of the problems this year. I don't think showing up 10 minutes late during a blizzard is a lack of commitment.

Bear with me there is a thought process that is kind of long here and it will take a few minutes to get to the Hawks...

Bradford won't sign a contract before draft day

This was the primary reason the Texans went with Williams in 2006 because he would sign a contract. Everyone scoffed at the time but it has worked out well for them. Where are the Rams, they did a good job in the first two rounds of the draft last year in bringing in impact players. There is some money invested on the defense and there are few play makers who can they can rely on, if Adam Carriker is healthy, this team becomes a lot by bringing in Suh to work with Long, Carriker, and the revolving door of solid but not great potential on the other End spot .

I also keep thinking Spagnuolo made his name and got his job because of a scary front four and solid linebackers and a secondary but no one who really sticks out as elite. Suh may not be a bad investment for this team, there are no garuantees in a draft but Suh is as close as they get than Bradford.

They are in a similar situation to us where they are so bad they are not going to fix the team in one draft. The defense is in a little better shape than the offense - granted that is not saying a lot. A.J. Feeley and Keith Null have shown that can at least start - again that is not saying a lot - and they can run the ball with Jackson who will be out of his prime by the time this team is even close to being considered good, so they could run him into the ground in the meantime, which they kind of do anyway. 

Which finally brings us to the Hawks...

What do we do if the Rams take Suh? Something tells me the Skins will definitely take Bradford, but with Shannahan who knows what will happen.The Lions would take McCoy, which leaves the Bucs heartbroken and having to choose between Berry or Okung, both of which could be available at 6. That also means our fantasies of taking McCoy are gone too and we may not have Berry available at 6 either, which means Williams or Bulaga is it. If we want to we need to make an immediate move and most likely he would fall to at least four so we'd have to get on the phone with the Bucs to get him. Is it worth the costs to move up? I imagine it will cost a lot - probably 14 and 60 if not more in the future.

After the release of Deon Grant I am thrown for a loop and think 6, 14, and 40 will not include QB.

Carroll and co. probably assume that Bradford and Clausen will not be available by the time we get to pick. Which leaves Tebow as the only other first tier Quarter Backs available in the draft. I consider Tebow to be a first tier QB because someone will take a chance on him, even if it is as some sort of role player. I think the questions surrounding McCoy's injury and size keep him out of this 1st tier contention. If the blogs are to accurate Le Feverour and McCoy go I think it would be somewhere in the 3rd round where he could be an investment or career back up, which means most likely he would not go to us.

Assuming we get Whitehurst or some other stop gap measure is there a diamond in the rough that we can groom? Assuming Matt is sitting next year and his bitterness about it doesn't become a locker room cancer who can he mentor?

I know it is a lot of speculation involved in the scenario above but

What do we know about the 2nd tier quarterbacks? All I have found is that they are not ready to start and their size. I am intrigued by Snead because he is young and won't go until very late, if at all, but he is young and maybe the most groomable. I am curious about Crompton, who improved a lot last year on a Tennessee team that was not very good, he wasn't great by any means but showed that he was coachable, he has a good arm and is the ideal size.

I think the wild card is John Skelton from Fordham, I found this write up on him from the National Football Post (are they any good?)

Skelton is a tall, strong-armed quarterback prospect who showcases the ability to spin the ball downfield and make all the throws needed at the next level. He gets the ball out of his hands quickly and showcases good zip when asked to throw outside the numbers. He generates some natural power from his lower half on his throws and can drive the ball downfield when exploding off his back foot. He needs to clean up his footwork a bit. Skelton looks balanced in his drop but has a tendency to rush his footwork into throws in the face of pressure and can get spotty with his accuracy. But he showcases good overall balance for his size and has the ability to move around the pocket, keep his eyes downfield, set his feet and stride into throws. He displays good touch downfield on his deep ball and does a nice job allowing receivers to run under his passes. But he needs to do a better job underneath.

Skelton doesn't throw the most catchable ball in the short passing game and needs to learn to take a little velocity off his short ball. He showcases the mental ability to manipulate defenses but always has his first or second read in mind. He can decipher the defense but hasn't been asked to find his second/third read on a consistent basis. Overall, he's one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in this year's draft and has a lot of upside to his game. He will need time to develop, but the skill set and intelligence are there.

Grade: 6.1

We probably aren't drafting a corner this year, we all agree we need to fix the D-line first, that our safeties are good enough, and our corners are okay. We have enough on the roster but the problem is that other than Trufant none of them are what would be classified as particularly good. I like Josh Wilson but his can be a problem and he is more of a nickel corner. So far he has visited the Eagles and Ravens without a contract and is on his way to the Jets who hopefully won't sign him.


Jackson not being signed by Baltimore

He had an ACL injury so there is a risk but I think we could get him and he makes our secondary a lot better if he is healthy.

I know there were some character risks, but charges were never filed, and he won the civil suit against and was awarded damages according to Wikipedia.

Assuming all the scenarios being discussed on most blogs are accurate (Bradford to the Rams, Suh to the Lions, McCoy to the Bucs, Okung/Williams going to Redskins and Chiefs). The rules for this are no trades because who predict what will happen there. 

6:  Spiller

14:  Charles Brown

40: Bruce Campbell

I would make the choices assuming we are picking mid-round next year, and that the Rams, Bucs, Lions, and Chiefs will still be in the top 5. Our defense ranges from okay to pretty good, next year is the year we can make a bad ass defense. This year I think the biggest favor we can do for our defense is give them an offense that can put up points.

I am just not sold on any of these QB's at least until we know that we can protect whoever starts for us. Matt used to be a good QB but our line has made him awful, I'd rather protect him, and try to enter the Locker sweepstakes next year. If we take a QB to sit I am the most comfortable with Canfield in round 5. When Matt gets banged up in week 5 next year, I think Canfield can come in midseason next year and perform better than Seneca Wallace with a good running game and decent protection.

Spiller's speed makes him special and from what I can tell he seems to be a good receiver too. I think Matt could really use an emergency valve check down target on the field with him at all times.  Charles Brown has a lot of experience and this a place where Carroll's knowledge of a player's strengths will pay off. Bruce Campbell has the size, speed, and strength but lacks the experience, I think know would be the time for him to go to RT.

Our Husky fans would be happy to know that this scenario also allows us to take Te'o in round 4.

Dwyer highlights - I grabbed this video of some of his highlights and most of these clips come from teams that usually have good defenses - Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Miami, and Mississippi State.

I think I may want this guy more than Spiller. At this point I think he is also going to be available in the second round - something tells me people are going to want Spiller's speed and kick returning ability more than Dwyer's ability to pound the ball. I think he should fall to the second round leaving us the first round to fill some other serious holes.

I'm kind of excited to see what a Dwyer/Forsett tandem could do.

McNabb on his way out of Philly?

This happens every year...right before the playoffs we hear anything short of a Super Bowl and he is done. Maybe it is some sort of masochistic motivation tool for him but if it isn't he has to be tired of it. It never goes away and with Kevin Kolb playing well in his absence at the beginning of the season this year it would the time to move him. I don't think the fans deserve him, he could provide some gutsy leadership for us. 

If McNabb is on his way out of Philadelphia would you want him to come to Seattle? This could be a decent move for us; it is definitely a stop gap measure, especially if we want to draft a QB, I don't think any of them could come in. McNabb could turn this team around, he can make plays outside of the pocket and on the run so we could draft some defensive players in the first round, he is also from the same coaching tree.

I am still a fan of Matt Hasselbeck even if I think his team in Seattle should be done.

I can see it either way depending what they decide to do with Quinn. It is no secret that the guy is on the downside of his career, if they draft a QB I doubt Holmgren would want them to start, and if they stay with Quinn they may want him to have some veteran mentoring. Hasselbeck and Pennington are cut from a similar cloth, smart guys who made careers on brains, leadership skills, and hard work, and wouldn't be surprised if these guys become head coaches one day. This may be the best chance for Hasselbeck to start the new phase of his career.