Feature

2013 2nd Round Draft Summary

Posted on April 27, 2013 by 12th Man Rising

Jan 1, 2013; Pasadena, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal tight end Zach Ertz (86) catches a pass over Wisconsin Badgers defensive back Dezmen Southward (12) in the first half during the 2013 Rose Bowl game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday night the 2nd night of the NFL Draft some of the big name specialty players finally started coming off the board after a predominantly trench player 1st round. There was only 1 Quarterback taken in the 1st round and zero Running backs.

The Tennessee Titans made the first trade of the 2nd round by moving up into the San Francisco 49ers spot and Drafting the Physical Wide Receiver Justin Hunter from Tennessee. The Eagles then

Drafted Tight End Zach Ertz from Stanford who could really develop into a nightmare for defenses to cover in Chips Kelly’s up tempo high speed offense.

After day one there was not a single Running Back taken, although by the end of the 2nd round 5 Running Backs had come off the board. The first to be taken was Giovani Bernard from North Carolina selected by the Cincinnati Bengals followed by Le’veon Bell selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then came the selection of the all-time NCAA Touchdown record holder Montee Ball selected by the Denver Broncos. It wasn’t until the 61st pick that the number 1 rated Running Back came off the board when Eddie Lacy was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. With the last pick in the 2nd round of the Draft the Seattle Seahawks made their first pick when they picked the highly talented Christine Michael out of Texas A&M.

Another player that slid out of the 1st round was Notre Dame Linebacker Manti Te’o who was selected by the San Diego Chargers with the 38th pick in the Draft. The Chargers are hoping they selected the playmaker that they have been missing since Shawne Merriman left.

In the 2nd round the New York Jets finally selected what they hope will be their Quarterback of the future when they picked Geno Smith from West Virginia. Smith was predicted to be the first Quarterback selected but after EJ Manual was picked by the Buffalo Bills in the 1st round the slide continued until he was picked with the 39th pick in the Draft.

Also selected on day 2 was the Honey Badger Tyrann Mathieu from LSU who was selected by the Arizona Cardinals. Mathieu was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2011 but after being in trouble with the law and team policies in the spring and summer of 2012 he didn’t even step foot on the football field in 2012.

Now that most of the big names are off of the table after an exciting 2nd and 3rd round of the NFL Draft it is time for teams to fill their rosters up and attempt to find the next Russell Wilson of the 2013 Draft. Matt Barkley is the one big name still on the board so we will have to wait until this afternoon to see who gets the once prized Quarterback from University of Southern California after his huge slide down the Draft boards.

Tags: draft, feature, football, News, nfl, NFL Draft, Popular, Recaps, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks

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Grading The Seahawks After The Rams Game:

Posted on January 1, 2013 by 12th Man Rising

Dec 9, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) is accompanied by safety Kim Chancellor (31) and free safety Earl Thomas (31) on a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks finished the 2012 season on a winning note. This game did not come as easily as the past 3 games have. The St Louis Rams made this game very difficult for the Seahawks. But in the end the home team Hawks came away victorious with smart hardnosed football and great Halftime adjustments.

Offense B-

After the last 3 games this game on the outside looks like a complete failure. Although, we have to keep in mind that we will not win every game by 30, 40, or even 50 points. Offensively the Seahawks struggled to contain the Rams pass rush. The Rams did not have to throw a lot of blitz packages at the Hawks; they were able to create pressure that Russell Wilson hasn’t had to deal with in over a month. Wilson was bottled up and Chris Long forced Wilson to step up instead of being able to roll out of the pressure. The Seahawks Offense allowed a season high 6 sacks.

Russell Wilson still was able to control the tempo of the game in the 2nd half by again not turning the ball over and throwing the ball 15-19 for 250 yards with 1 touchdown (tying the rookie mark for touchdowns with Peyton Manning at 26.) Wilson also added 58 yards on the ground and 1 rushing touchdown (Wilson had an opportunity to set the mark for rookie touchdowns but selflessly ran the ball into the end zone.) The Seahawks used a lot of bootlegs and rollouts in the 2nd half to give Wilson the added time that he needed.

Marshawn Lynch was in full out Beast Mode in the 1st half of this game. At one point he had 7 carries for 70 yards, and he finished the game with 100 yards and 1 touchdown.

Defense B

The Rams game was another very strong game for the Seahawks Defense, the secondary played outstanding. Richard Sherman again was very dominating in his performance and had the game icing interception late in the 4th quarter. It will be interesting to see what the Seahawks do with Jeremy Lane who started another game and again looked good. He will lose his starting spot to Brandon Browner as he returns from suspension although the game experience Lane has gotten the last month will hopefully show with the other injuries in the secondary. Marcus Trufant had a great pass deflection in the end zone although he seemed to be terrorized as the nickel corner with all of the underneath passes that the Rams threw.

Bobby Wagner again had a strong 10 tackle day, and he has positioned himself to have a shot at Defensive Rookie of the year after having 140 tackles on the season to go along with 3 interceptions.

It has become increasingly obvious that the biggest issue on this defense is the lack of a consistent pass rush. Sam Bradford seemed to have all day in the pocket and the Hawks didn’t get a single sack. Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin are clearly the only consistent pass rushers on this front 4 now that Jason Jones is on the IR. If our secondary was not as strong as it is this issue would be even more obvious then it was against the Rams.

Special Teams B+

Jon Ryan had a punt that was not blocked but extremely rushed that ended up giving the Rams decent field position in the 1st half on one drive. Steven Hauschka continues to have a accurate leg within 50 yards, he was 2 for 2 and 2 extra points.

Leon Washington again continues to scare Seahawks fans when runs his kick-offs out of the end zone from 9 yards deep. Although, he offers so much excitement and big play ability that we have learned to live with it.

It is important to start talking about how great our kick coverage has been. Out of 5 punts, Danny Amendola was only able to return 2 of them for 8 yards. This has been a huge upgrade this year that has gone unnoticed but has helped out in the field position game all season long.

Wrap Up

This was not the blowout that Seahawks fans have grown accustomed to in the last month. But this was a good eye opener with the Playoffs right around the corner. The Seahawks will have their work cut out for them this week and a hard fought win like this should show them that they can win on both spectrums. #InRusswetrust (Russell Wilson)

Tags: Bobby Wagner, feature, football, nfl, Popular, Russell Wilson, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks

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Grading the Seahawks After the Bills Game:

Posted on December 19, 2012 by 12th Man Rising

Dec 16, 2012; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scrambles away from Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams (94) during the second half at the Rogers Centre. Seahawks beat the Bills 50-17. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Last week we were all blown away by the Seahawks dominant 58 point performance against their division foe Arizona Cardinals. In week 15 the Seahawks were favorites in this international game against the Buffalo Bills played in Toronto, but nobody could have predicted the Seahawks putting up another 50 points. That is exactly what happened as the Seahawks became only the third team to ever put up 50 points in back to back weeks and the first in 62 years. Although, the competition may not be the best in the NFL, these are still professional football teams and this is a feat that we will soon not forget.

Offense A-

This game showed the world again that the Seahawks offense is coming into its own and finally starting to catch up to the strong Defense that the Seahawks have. Pete Carroll keeps saying that Russell Wilson is able to run the whole offensive playbook and that was very evident in this huge win. Wilson had 3 rushing touchdowns and 1 passing touchdown. He rushed for 92 yards and threw for 205 yards while playing only 3 full quarters and 1 drive in the 4th quarter. Wilson has clearly become the leader that this offense so badly needed. Wilson was running circles around the Bills defenders in the backfield. Wilsons emergence as a dual threat has opened the door for Lynch to consistently run for over 100 yards a game. Lynch had a 54 yard run enroute to 113 yard game with 1 touchdown.

The Seahawks receivers continue to impress with a team first attitude. Sydney Rice had 76 yards continuing to be the sure handed possession receiver we thought we got last year. Golden Tate had 64 yards with a large chunk of it coming on a Wilson to Lynch to Wilson to Tate gadget play. Zach Miller is continuing to show why the Seahawks chose him over John Carlson in the offseason. Miller is able to use his size to be the sure handed reliable Tight End the Seahawks need.

The Offensive line struggled at times picking up the blitz packages that the Bills brought. Although, Wilsons ability to move around in the pocket, and his ability to throw the ball outside of the pocket disguised the lines hiccups on the blitz’s.

Defense B+

After the first 2 drives of the game the Buffalo Bills were able to successfully run the ball on the Seahawks. The Seahawks continue to give up big games to opposing running backs. The Seahawks are without Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond which forced the Rookie Jeremy Lane to line up opposite Richard Sherman. Lane filled in admirably although against stronger competition he may be too inexperienced.

Carroll stressed at halftime the importance of the Defense coming up with turnovers. Carroll got his wish right away in the 3rd Quarter. The Seahawks had 3 turnovers, one that was returned by Earl Thomas for a Touchdown. Thomas dove to intercept the pass putting his hands under the ball and then picked it up and returned it 57 yards for a pick 6.

Special Teams A-

This was a pretty standard week for the consistent Seahawks special teams. Steven Hauschka made 3 field goals. Jon Ryan only punted 2 times pinning the Bills inside the 20 yard line once. Leon Washington had a huge punt return for a touchdown called back by two very soft penalties committed by the Seahawks punt return team.

Wrap Up

As hard as it is to repeat a performance quite like the Cardinals the Seahawks came awful close. This was a huge win that suddenly has the entire league beginning to see how good this team is, Sportscasters are wondering whether the Seahawks Offense has become better than their much talked about Defense. Only time will tell

Tags: Earl Thomas, feature, football, nfl, Popular, Russell Wilson, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks

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Update On Browner And Sherman Suspensions

Posted on November 27, 2012 by 12th Man Rising

There’s a lot to get to, so I’m just going to list out the main points:

Oct 14, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) intercepts the ball from intended for New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch (84) during the 2nd half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated New England 24-23. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

1) Both players WILL play this week. They are appealing the results of the test, and thus suspensions will not begin until the appeals ruling is given. The league said today that the hearings for both players will happen next week, so both players will be out there on the field when the Seahawks take on the Bears.

2) The Adderall reports cannot be confirmed, and wont be. The NFL is not allowed to say what substance showed up on the test. Doing so, would be a major violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The report appears to have started as speculation and was picked up other media outlets.

The only way we ever learn what substance a player tested positive for, is if the player or his agent divulges that info. Unfortunately, this often leads to misinformation. A player can test positive for some nasty anabolic steroid, and then tell the media and the fans that it’s something innocuous like Adderall because the league cannot, and will not, refute that report.

That is why Adderall has become the old “tainted GNC supplement” that all players claim to be what they tested positive for.

3) Both players aren’t taking that road though. Both have said that they have never taken anything and they believe that there has been some break in the testing protocol that has lead to both of them failing tests at the same time. Both have been very clear in their assertion that they are innocent.

4) That said, it will be very difficult for the players to win this appeal. The league has a positive test, it’s up to the players to show that there is a problem with that test. That is no easy task.

John Clayton says there’s a 95% chance the appeal with fail. Unfortunately, this is the case even if they are telling the truth and are innocent.

They said they would like to take a polygraph to show that they are telling the truth. That can’t hurt, but even a favorable result might not effect the results of the appeal. All it would show was that they didn’t knowingly taking anything, but it doesn’t show that they didn’t take something accidentally, or that someone didn’t “slip them something.” Even if they didn’t knowingly take anything, the test still says that they had the substance in their system, and that’s all that matters.

Basically, its an uphill climb for the players to win this appeal, no matter how innocent they are.

Tags: brandon browner, feature, football, nfl, Popular, Richard Sherman, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks

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1st Round Draft Preview

Posted on May 30, 2012 by SoDo Mojo

The MLB Draft is less than a week away. There are a lot of different opinions floating around, especially on this blog, concerning what the Mariners should do, but here is my … [visit site to read more]