The coaches are limited to 45 minutes on the practice field with the players during Phase 2 of the Seahawks’ offseason program. But each session includes, and ends with, a special teams period.

“It’s pretty cool,” said linebacker Heath Farwell, who led not only the Seahawks but the entire league with 21 coverage tackles last season. “We’re out here working hard. Guys just want to get better, that’s the thing. We’ve got one goal in mind, and that’s to win.”

It’s a sign of just how much emphasis coach Pete Carroll puts on the too-often overlooked last third of the three-part equation to playing winning football. And the special teams were just that for the Seahawks last season. Red Bryant set franchise records by blocking two field goals in a game and four kicks during the season. Jon Ryan led the NFL and tied a club record with 34 punts downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, broke his club single-season records for average (46.6 yards) and net average (39.3) and also got off the longest punt (77 yards) in franchise history. Steven Hauschka tied club records by kicking five field goals in the upset victory over the Ravens and converting at least one three-pointer in 12 consecutive games. Doug Baldwin blocked a punt that Michael Robinson returned for a touchdown, while Farwell also had a blocked punt to set up a TD. The Seahawks ranked 10^th in the league in kickoff (24.8) and punt return (11.0) average, thanks to Leon Washington (25.2 and 11.3).

The special teams, under the direction of coordinator Brian Schneider and first-year assistant Marquand Manuel, should only be better – or faster, at the very least – with the infusion of speed from this year’s draft class.

“The two young linebackers look fast and athletic,” Farwell said of second-round pick Bobby Wagner and fifth-rounder Korey Toomer – who have run the 40-yard dash in 4.47 and 4.54 seconds. “That’s going to be a big part of special teams.”

There’s also first-round draft choice Bruce Irvin (4.50 seconds) and sixth-rounders Jeremy Lane (4.48) and Winston Guy (4.53).

But as Farwell as shown in his career, it takes more than just speed to be successful on special teams. He came to the Seahawks at midseason last year after five seasons in Minnesota, where he had 113 coverage tackles to tie for fourth on the Vikings’ all-time list. He led the Vikings in special teams tackles in 2010 (19), 2009 (24), 2007 (32) and 2006 (25), and was voted to the Pro Bowl as the NFC special teams player in 2009.

“It’s the want to make the plays and the want to make the tackles. It’s the effort,” a reluctant Farwell offered when asked the secret to his success. “I don’t know, it’s just something I work at. And I pride myself on it, and outworking everybody and making sure I put more time in than everybody else.”

The players were off today, but return Thursday and Friday to complete Phase 2 of the offseason program.

Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, May 16:

Mike Sando at ESPN.com checks in with George Koonce, who spent one of his nine seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, and he has quite a tale to tell: “I had a wonderful wife, beautiful children, money in the bank and a Super Bowl ring back on that day in 2003 when my post-NFL transition took my Chevy Suburban around a 25-mph corner at three times the posted speed. Whatever happened that day was going to happen. I didn’t really care. By the grace of God, I survived what was, in retrospect, a suicide attempt. But paramedics weren’t going to cart me off. No chance. The football tough guy in me refused to get into that ambulance. My wife, Tunisia, drove me to the hospital and saved my life with words, not medicine. ‘George,’ she said, ‘I don’t understand what you are going through, but I sympathize. We cannot reinvent who you are, but we can redefine who you are.’ ”

Also from Sando, a look at the addition of Alex Barron: “Barron gives the Seahawks seven offensive linemen drafted by other teams. That includes choices from every round but the sixth (and two from the fifth).”

And still more from Sando, a look at the team’s “pressure point”: “Tarvaris Jackson earned the respect of his Seahawks teammates by playing through much of the 2011 with a torn pectoral muscle on his right side. Jackson never complained or made excuses. The injury made it tougher for Jackson to take hold of the starting job for the long term. The Seahawks’ inability to make key plays in critical moments left them with a 7-9 record and kept them in the market for help at the position.”

John Boyle at the Everett Herald also looks at Tuesday’s addition of Barron: “Barron, a former first-round pick who played at Florida State, hoped that his NFC West tour would come to an end at that Seahawks minicamp, and for now anyway, it has. Barron and three other players who tried out last weekend have agreed to terms on contracts with Seattle. ‘I haven’t gone to Arizona and I don’t plan on going to Arizona,’ Barron said. ‘I’d be fine being home right here.’ A contract in May is hardly a guarantee of a job come September, but it is at least a step in the right direction for Barron, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.”

Eric Williams at the News Tribune looks at the crowded situation on the offensive line now that Barron has agreed to contract terms: “At 6-foot-8 and 318 pounds, Barron is long and athletic – he held his own against speedy rookie defensive end Bruce Irvin over the weekend – but has had issues with penalties over his seven-year career. Barron has been flagged 17 times – 14 of them accepted – in his past 17 games started. Barron will compete with Frank Omiyale, Paul Fanaika, Allen Barbre and Mitchell for the backup offensive tackle job behind starters Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini. Last year’s first-round pick, James Carpenter, is still recovering from knee surgery. Seattle now has 15 offensive linemen on the team’s 90-man roster.”

Also at the News Tribune, Dave Boling offers his impressions from the weekend minicamp: “Of the other draft picks, running back Robert Turbin shows a nice burst, and linebackers Bobby Wagner and Korey Toomer are both impressive athletes who flow to the play. Defensive linemen Jaye Howard and Greg Scruggs both are big guys who are lean and have pass-rushing potential.”

Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times also looks at Tuesday’s additions, but focuses on Donny Lisowski: “Lisowski graduated from O’Dea High School in 2008. He played quarterback and defensive back, wrestled and ran track. Lisowski’s speed impressed coach Pete Carroll, who singled him out Sunday after the last of the three practices at the minicamp. ‘He was all over the place out here,’ Carroll said.

Elliott Harrison at NFL.com looks at the QB competitions in the league, including the Seahawks: “Unless (Tarvaris) Jackson plays out of his freaking mind, the odds-on favorite appears to be (Matt Flynn) the former Green Bay Packers backup, who has thrown nine touchdowns and compiled a 123.0 passer rating in two career starts. The other possibility would be to keep them both with the expectation that this is a playoff team in need of two vets. It’s just going to cost GM John Schneider a healthy chunk of change. Don’t forget third-round pick Russell Wilson, who the Seahawks reportedly think can compete, too. The smart money says that’s a year away.”

Also at NFL.com, in his latest “Pick Six,” Adam Rank looks at the best defensive nicknames in league history. The Seahawks aren’t included, but it’s worth a read anyway: “It might be hypocritical to list the Fearsome Foursome after the nickname was used to describe other units (don’t act like you knew that). But the Fearsome Foursome is synonymous with the Los Angeles Rams of the 1960s, which featured Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy. Easily the best nickname ever applied to a defensive unit.”

Jason Smith at NFL.com has a photo essay on the best rookie seasons by team, and the Seahawks are included: “Try as I might, I can’t make the argument for Kenny Easley’s 1981 rookie season over Curt Warner’s in 1983. Easley was the defensive rookie of the year, but Warner amassed 1,449 rush yards and 13 touchdowns. He had a pretty good career, with four 1,000-yard seasons, but he goes down as the guy everyone mistakenly called for interviews trying to reach the other Kurt Warner.”

Here at Seahawks.com, we have not only the word that Barron has agreed, but a look at his participation in the offseason program: “ ‘I just wanted to get somewhere,’ Barron said. ‘I’m pretty confident in my play. I’ve made some mistakes in the past, also. But I’ve gotten to the point where after last season, and coming into the offseason as a free agent, all I want to do is come in and just show that I can play. Because it can’t be talked about, it always has to be shown.’ ”

We’ve also got a look at the winding road that led fifth-round draft choice Korey Toomer to the Seahawks: “Korey Toomer has followed a meandering path to the NFL. But now that he’s here, as the Seahawks’ fifth-round draft choice, the rookie linebacker from Idaho is not only making up for lost time, he’s doing it in a blur. At the rookie minicamp over the weekend, and again in the offseason program workouts this week, the one thing that has stood out about Toomer is that he does everything fast. ‘The dude can run, no question about it,’ veteran linebacker Leroy Hill said on Tuesday, shaking his head. Toomer, in fact, ran himself right into being draft by the Seahawks – even though the team already had selected pass-rushing end Bruce Irvin in the first round and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner in the second round.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame website has the word on Cortez Kennedy dominating items as his Aug. 4 induction draws closer: “Included in the prized gift were Kennedy’s 1993 Pro Bowl jersey, a pair of well-worn shoulder pads and a pair of cleats from his NFL career that spanned from 1990-2000.”

Alex Barron is back in the NFL, thanks to the extended tryout the veteran tackle was given during the Seahawks’ rookie minicamp over the weekend.

The Seahawks liked what they saw from the former first-round draft choice of the Rams, and Barron liked what he saw of from a young Seahawks team that can use his experience as part of its young offensive line group. As a result, the 6-foot-7, 320-pound Barron agreed to contract terms and joined the team’s offseason program today.

“That was pretty good, because it’s a little different than just a one-day workout,” Barron said of participating in the three minicamp practices. “I got to move around, be in the huddle, do some drills, have some one-on-ones with some guys, show a little movement.

“It was great.”

At the weekend minicamp, Barron was working at left guard with the No. 1 line. Today, with the veterans on the field for a 45-minute workout, Barron was at that spot with the No. 2 line.

But he’s just happy to be with a team, and in a situation where he can again display his talents. After being the 19^th selection overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, Barron started 74 games in five seasons with the Rams. Traded to Dallas in 2010, he made one start for the Cowboys. Barron signed with the Saints last year, but sat out the season after being placed on injured reserve in August with a knee problem and then released in October.

“I just wanted to get somewhere,” Barron said. “I’m pretty confident in my play. I’ve made some mistakes in the past, also. But I’ve gotten to the point where after last season, and coming into the offseason as a free agent, all I want to do is come in and just show that I can play.

“Because it can’t be talked about, it always has to be shown.”

That’s where the extended stay at the minicamp played to Barron’s strengths.

“He did a nice job,” coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. “He’s been around the block and you could tell that. He did enough good things that we could see that he could have a chance, so we’ll see where that fits. But he did a good job in this camp.”

Today, the No. 1 line included – from left tackle to right – Russell Okung, Paul McQuistan, Max Unger, John Moffitt and Breno Giacomini. McQuistan is in his seventh season in the league, but he started almost as many games last season (10) as he had in his first five seasons (12). Unger (32), Okung (22), Moffitt (nine) and Giacomini (eight) have combined to start 71 games – or four fewer than Barron has on his resume.

“This is real good, especially when you consider that I had to sit out all of last year on injured reserve,” Barron said. “But I’m over that now and moving forward. I’m here to help the team the best way I can.”

Veteran tackle Alex Barron, a former first-round draft choice of the Rams, has agreed to contract terms with the Seahawks.

The 6-foot-7, 320-pound Barron participated in the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend on a tryout basis. He started 74 games in five seasons with the Rams after being the 19^th pick overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. After being traded to Dallas in 2010, he made one start for the Cowboys. Barron signed with the Saints last year, but sat out the season after being placed on injured reserve in August with a knee problem and then released in October.

“This is real good, especially when you consider that I had to sit out all of last year on injured reserve,” Barron said today after participating in the team’s offseason program workout. “But I’m over that now and moving forward. I’m here to help the team the best way I can.”

The club also reached agreements with two other tryout players from the weekend minicamp – cornerback Donny Lisowski, who went to Seattle’s O’Dea High School and then Montana; and Cooper Helfet, a 6-3, 239-pound tight end from Duke. Also added was Andrew Mitchell, a 6-5, 308-pound tackle who signed with the Bengals after the 2010 draft. He suffered a knee injury in a preseason game that August and spent the season on IR. Mitchell also missed last season.

To clear spots on the 90-man roster, linebacker Adrian Moten, offensive lineman Brent Osborne, cornerback London Durham and tackle Jon Opperud were released. Moten played in two games last season after being signed off the practice squad, while Osborne spent the season on the practice squad. Durham and Opperud were signed as free agents last month after the draft.

Coach Pete Carroll was impressed with the 5-11, 185-pound Lisowski during the weekend minicamp.

“He was all over the place out here,” Carroll said on Sunday. “I had no (idea about him), other than he ran extremely fast when he showed up for a workout day. And then he went out there and made a bunch of plays. So I was really fired up about him.”

Last year, the Seahawks were blanked in the NFL Network’s list of the Top 100 players in the NFL. This year, they already have one – running back Marshawn Lynch at No. 94 – and will get a second when the players who rank 61-70 are announced on Wednesday night.

The list of those 10 players will be revealed in a program that airs at 5 p.m., PDT. The only clues as to who it might be: He plays defense and was not on the list last year.

That the Seahawks were shutout last year was understandable. The team also failed to have a player selected to the Pro Bowl, for the second consecutive season. That there are at least two Seahawks on this year’s Top 100 list also is understandable. Free safety Earl Thomas was voted to the Pro Bowl last season, and joined by four teammates who were added as alternates for injured players – Lynch, fullback Michael Robinson, strong safety Kam Chancellor and cornerback Brandon Browner.

Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, May 15:

Mike Sando at ESPN.com offers a glance at the Seahawks’ offseason, including what went right – with a couple of items you might have forgotten or overlooked: “The Seahawks signed quarterback Matt Flynn in free agency without paying an exorbitant price. That made it easier to justify using a third-round choice for quarterback Russell Wilson. … Re-signing Marshawn Lynch before free agency and Red Bryant during free agency was critical. Lynch is the focal point of the offense. His running style became inseparable from the Seahawks’ identity on offense. Bryant was the most important defensive player against the run and a leader in the locker room. … Highly valued offensive line coach Tom Cable returned to the team after some speculation that a college program such as UCLA might consider him as head coach. … Free-agent defensive tackle Jason Jones chose Seattle over St. Louis at a reasonable price, making it easier for the Seahawks to part with Anthony Hargrove, who subsequently incurred an eight-game suspension. … The linebacker market was soft enough for Seattle to bring back Leroy Hill without overpaying.”

In her “Between the Tackles” feature at ESPN.com, Ashley Fox tackles the Seahawks’ QB situation now that coach Pete Carroll has added Wilson to the mix for the starting job: “Given that the Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year, $26 million deal in free agency, he would seem to be the front-runner for the job. But Carroll has said that (Tarvaris) Jackson, who started the final 10 games of last season with a torn pectoral muscle, will get first crack at the first-team reps. Then Flynn. Then, presumably, Wilson. There is nothing wrong with competition in May and June, but if it lingers too long into training camp, it could prove counterproductive. Whoever is going to be the starter will need all the reps he can get.”

ESPN.com also has a survey where you can rank your favorite sports franchise.

Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times offers some impressions from the rookie minicamp, including this one: “In a draft where the Seahawks surprised a number of people, (Korey) Toomer was perhaps the most under-the-radar selection. A linebacker Idaho recruited out of junior college, he missed the 2010 season after breaking his hand, and while he played well as a senior, he was not invited to the combine. He is long-armed and fast with incredible athleticism. His vertical leap measured 42 inches in a workout, and he looked every bit as athletic as advertised in this first weekend of workouts. He’s playing strongside linebacker, a spot that is locked down by K.J. Wright now, but it’s possible Toomer could land a role in the Seahawks’ nickel defense sooner, rather than later.”

In his “Shutdown Corner” at YahooSports.com, Doug Farrar says the Seahawks could reap dividends from the surprising picks of Wilson and Bruce Irvin, the pass-rusher who was selected in the first round: “While Irvin (the 15th overall pick) impressed through the Seahawks’ 2012 rookie minicamp, the real news came via Wilson, who showed impressive command of an NFL offense in his first opportunity to do so. Despite standing 5-foot-10 5/8 – a fact that had a lot of draft experts rating him as a fourth-round prospect – Wilson displayed many of the positive aspects required for his position. He was consistently nifty in the pocket, rolled out to throw very well, threw his receivers open downfield over and over, and sold play-action like a pro. Head coach Pete Carroll was beyond impressed – with Matt Flynn, Tarvaris Jackson and Josh Portis already on the roster, Carroll insisted that Wilson had already done enough to be in the running for the starting quarterback competition. If Wilson won the job before the season started, he would be just the second third-round quarterback in NFL history to claim that prize – Buffalo’s Joe Ferguson did the same in 1973.”

Also at YahooSports.com, Jason Cole wonders if Pete Carroll has commitment issues because of his decision to turn the QB situation into a three-man competition: “But shouldn’t the Seahawks have had an answer by now as to who will be their top option for a long-term successor to Matt Hasselbeck? Shouldn’t there be some sense of commitment to Matt Flynn, the former Green Bay backup who was signed in free agency? Shouldn’t Tarvaris Jackson get more than one season to show his ability? ‘At some point, we’re going to have to make that decision and that’s up to Pete to find out how that’s going to unfold,’ Schneider said. ‘We wanted to do it like in Green Bay, where we had a guy and we were always developing someone.’ OK, but … ‘Eventually you have to find someone and settle on that guy. We all realize that.’ “

Alex Marvez at FoxSports.com has a photo gallery of his 32 breakout players in the league for 2012, and he selects K.J. Wright for the Seahawks: “A 2011 fourth-round pick, Wright immediately displayed far better instincts at linebacker than 2009 first-rounder Aaron Curry ever did in Seattle. Wright’s quick emergence led to Curry being traded to Oakland midway through last season. Wright should be even more effective in 2012 since the Seahawks chose two front-seven defenders (pass-rush end Bruce Irvin and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner) in the first two rounds of April’s draft. ”

Here at Seahawks.com, “Monday Metatarsal Musings” makes a rare offseason appearance so we can review the weekend rookie minicamp: “When the Seahawks said they were bringing in 30-something players on a tryout basis to flush out the roster for their three-day rookie minicamp, my initial thought was good luck with that. And that was followed quickly by visions of offensive linemen running into one another while trying to block for a running play; cornerbacks colliding with receivers, and vice versa, on pass plays; and just a mish-mash of mangled assignments. It didn’t happen. None of it. The players – a group that also included the team’s 10 draft choices and 10 other rookie free agents who had been signed after the draft – went through two-hour practices on Friday and Saturday and a final 100-minute session on Sunday. While it wasn’t exclusively an exercise in precision, it was closer to that than the maddening mayhem it could have been.”

We’ve also got a look at the rookies joining the offseason program, and Carroll’s reflections of his draft experience (this one is worth checking out just to see the picture of Carroll as a safety at Pacific).

Remember Brandon Coutu? Sure you do. The kicker, and former Seahawks’ draft choice, has signed with the Jaguars, according to the team’s website.

2002: It is announced that Seahawks Stadium and Exhibition Center will be the interim name of the team’s new home field that is being built on the site where the Kingdome had stood. The complex was changed to Qwest Field in 2004 and in 2011 it became CenturyLink Field and Event Center.

When Pete Carroll came out of the University of Pacific as an all-conference free safety in 1973, the NFL Draft was a 17-round, all-in-one-day affair and neither ESPN nor the NFL Network was around to televise it.

So how was a hopeful in Stockton, Calif., to find out if he had indeed been among the 442 players who were drafted?

“I drove over to San Francisco – over to Lombard Street, where the news shops were – to get the paper where they have the list of everybody (who was drafted),” Carroll said Sunday after the Seahawks had completed their three-day rookie minicamp.

The Seahawks coach had prefaced this recollection by calling it “one quick, little sad story.”

“I’m sitting there in the half-dark, under the lamplight off the side street,” Carroll continued, growing more animated – and agitated – with each word. “Just every round, one-by-one, all the way down to the dang end.

“Nothing, man. I was so bummed.”

But his half-dark experience made the sun-drenched weekend even more enjoyable for the players who got to practice on the shores of Lake Washington.

“I’m so glad these guys get this chance here to have this opportunity,” Carroll said.