IT TOOK LATE HEROICS BUT A SWEET ROAD VICTORY FOR HAWKS

It was a struggle and wasn't pretty,  but it was a Win,  A Road Win. The Seahawks will take it.

SEAHAWKS WIN IT  12-7 IN A HOT HUMID SQUEAKER

The Seattle Seahawks have had perhaps more hype surrounding their upcoming season than any other team in the NFL.  Russell Wilson has turned heads of all of his doubters and Richard Sherman has backed up his talk on almost every stage across the country.  The Legion of Boom certainly has earned its moniker and Beast Mode has lived up to his grisly reputation as a punishing, tempo setting running back.  So as the 2013 season begins, the expectations cannot be higher for the fourth youngest football team in the league.

Pete Carroll and the rest of the Seahawks players knew that this opening game in Charlotte wasn't going to be a cakewalk and they were right.  The Panthers have one of the best front seven defensive sets in football and a quarterback who has perhaps the highest ceiling in terms of potential of any quarterback in the NFL.  Seattle's defense knew they were in tough Sunday morning with the 247 lb., 6'5" former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Cam Newton.  He is simply a nightmare to take down once he decides to pull up the ball and run, and he has a laser right arm capable of making all the NFL throws necessary to be elite.  Newton threw the ball well and took advantage of a couple of mismatches down the field, but for the most part the Seahawks secondary responded and kept him mostly in check, allowing just 116 net yards on 16 of 23 passing.  This is a quarterback and receiving corps capable of putting up much higher numbers.  Some of Newton's decision-making wasn't the best Sunday, hence the 74.1 QBR for the day.  However, with his supreme athleticism and that rocket launcher connected to his right shoulder, the game was constantly in jeopardy of getting out of control.  Despite his mediocre passing stats, Newton made few mistakes and ran with the football very well, lumbering down the field to convert three first downs.  Cam Newton was fun to watch, but it was Carolina's defense that gave Seattle fits all Sunday morning.

The Panthers defensive line definitely won the battle in the trenches.  Russell Wilson had a good day throwing his first 300+ yard game in the regular-season.  However, Wilson's legs are what really helped the Seahawks offence score enough points to win this game.  The diminutive Seattle QB spent most of the early afternoon running and extending plays as the pocket collapsed on nearly every passing play.  Not many of Wilson's completed passes came easy.  In fact, one of his longest completions was to Doug Baldwin on the left sideline as Wilson tried to avoid a quickly disintegrating pocket.  After the game, Wilson said he was throwing to Baldwin, hoping he could make a play on the desperation pass, but he appeared to be throwing the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack.  Lo and behold, out of the dust and smoke came Baldwin seemingly out of nowhere, catching the rainbow pass and just scraping his toes in-play as he crashed and burned on the sideline.  Out of the heap of players also landing on the sideline chock, Baldwin rose with the ball still in his hands as the official signaled a completion.  Baldwin was all over the field with his never failing soft hands and the ability to deceptively create separation between defenders, giving Wilson a place to throw especially when he was in trouble.  It would be natural for most to criticize the Seattle offensive line for failing to protect their quarterback, but that would be an insult to the Panthers' front seven defenders who were an "all day nightmare" for Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and all five offensive line positions.  The truth of it is that Carolina has an awesome crew of defensive linemen and Luke Kuechly leading a very formidable trio of linebackers.  It seemed like Kuechly was everywhere at once, sidelined to sideline, and in Wilson's face most of the game.  Head coach Ron Rivera might lose his job this year if the Panthers don’t improve their season record, and if he does, it won't be because the Panthers don't have the horses to do the job.  Cam Newton has Hall of Fame potential and D'Angelo Williams did an admirable job against a very good defense in the Seahawks.  This was proof that Seattle can have a bad game and still do enough to win, even on the road.  Anyone who thought the Seahawks were going to march into Bank of America Stadium and romp all over this Carolina team hasn't been watching this football team the last two seasons.  They are young, very smart and athletic football team and have the talent to challenge the best in the NFC South.  Any team boasting players like; Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith, Star Lotulelei, DeAngelo Williams, Ryan Kalil and Greg Olson, has a great nucleus and this is a very much improved football team since Seattle play them a year ago.  Seattle seems to have their number, but that number is small represented by the margin of victory.  Seattle escaped Carolina two years in a row… on a razors edge and with a very tough, resilient and determined Seahawks combined team effort.

It's difficult to name a Most Valuable Player in this Seahawks game victory, because it was one of the more ugly wins that the team has had in recent history.  However, Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Jermaine Kearse and Zach Miller didn't fail their quarterback this week.  There were very few dropped balls and some of the catches were simply spectacular.  Baldwin's sidelined miracle highlights some of the clutch catches by Seattle’s receivers, but Kearse’s end zone beauty was the difference in the football game.  Wilson threw the football in the only safe place it could have been thrown, as Kearse timed his leap perfectly, muscling the football away from the two Panther defenders that doubled him in the end zone.  Kearse seemed to jerk the football out of the sky like a bug and tumbled to the grass.  He rolled out of his fall to stand up facing the Panther crowd in the end zone, then ripped open his imaginary white dress shirt, exposing a super "S", in a "how about that" gesture to quarterback Cam Newton who has made it his trademark to do his Superman move in the end zone after scores.  It was timed beautifully and had a certain "You ain't Nuttin" to it, that a team (like the Seahawks) expecting to win- should have.  I'm not one to applaud end zone buffoonery, but this was "smart" and it was humorous and one of the things that keeps the NFL fun. 

Special attention should also be given to the mostly unheralded position, Jon Ryan, the punter.  Ryan saved the Seahawks a couple of different times as they were pinned very deep in their own end zone and not able to put together consecutive positive yardage plays.  Ryan launched a 69 yard punt from 8 yards deep in his own end zone, saving the Seahawks a possible short field to defend.  With all the other key plays in the game, it's difficult to imagine giving an MVP to your punter, but he also should be given the credit due him.  He was everything you would hope to get from the man whose job is to dig you out of trouble every time he comes onto the field.  That's his job, and Ryan can fly home feeling pretty good about his contribution to a very tough and well-deserved road win across the country.

So, it was an ugly win, but it was still a win… and not only that, it was a conference win and those don't come easily in the NFC.  Russell Wilson proved, in the first game of his second season, that he indeed doesn't really know what the words "Sophomore Slump" even mean.  Pete Carroll and Daryl Bevell put the game in his hands and treated him like a veteran quarterback attempting 33 passes and completing 25 which is 76% and Wilson took care of the ball, throwing zero interceptions!  Wilson did commit one fumble resulting in a turnover, but it was during a passing play when the right defensive end came at him completely unblocked from behind,  swatting the ball out of his throwing hand.  Wilson probably hung on to the ball a little too long, but the Panthers pass rush was relentless.  Those defenders definitely did their job against the Seahawks offense and went away from that loss with a lot to build on.  This was certainly a game of big plays and no two plays were bigger than Jermaine Kearse catch in the end zone and Earl Thomas' hit and strip of D'Angelo Williams as the Panthers were driving toward the red zone for either a touchdown or at least, a field goal.  It turned out that that turnover, recovered by Richard Sherman, was enough to seal the victory and as the Seahawks offense chewed up 5:25 left in the fourth quarter on a couple of great passes by Wilson and some valuable (YAC) yards after catch by Derrick Coleman, Golden Tate and Marshawn Lynch.

The Seahawks have a lot to work on after this nailbiting performance, and penalties are on top of the list.  The offensive line cannot be criticized too much, for they were playing one of the best rushing defenses in football, and it was the Seahawks offensive line that provided Wilson enough time to throw the 43 yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse.  The O-line did their jobs, helping the Seahawks offense “shore up the game” gaining a series of first downs to eat up the remainder of the game-clock and doing what it takes to finish games down the stretch.  This is extremely important and an obvious factor on how this game was won, they made plays when they needed to.

It was an ugly game, I don't think there would be a player or coach on the team that would deny that.  But it was a rare road victory for the Seahawks and one that will get them closer to the ultimate goal.  This is an important thing and bears repeating:

It's always a good win; when you go on the road, across the country, in inclement playing conditions, in your first game of the season, playing horribly, making several physical and mental mistakes, against a very good opponent with several key players out with injuries… and still Win the game.  All NFL games are difficult to get a win, and road wins are particularly difficult, but each of them is vital on the road to a Super Bowl Championship. 

There's a lot of work to do for this Seahawks football team, but coming home 1-0 fits right into Russell Wilson's wheelhouse.  As he says each week at his press conferences; ”Each week it is our goal to go “One and Oh.”  Well, the Seahawks are “one and oh” this week and on the season.  Next week, the much maligned, conference and division rivals, the 49ers visit the C’Link in Seattle.  There's no question that the 12th man is ready to do their jobs.  Expect  record-breaking noise and nearly legal mayhem coming from 67,000 questionably sane Seahawks fans.  Amidst an already raging Stadium of screaming Seahawkers, will be a semi-organized attempt to best the Guinness Book of World Records loudest stadium ever at 131 dB. Set by a rowdy bunch of Turks in Istanbul at a soccer game.  So, what does that mean to you and I in our homes?  Expect some damage to your TVs loudspeaker.  For the fans at the stadium… I have three words for you; "Serious Ear Protection!"

For the Seahawks players, this will be a much more difficult opponent than the Panthers and the Seahawks must right their wrongs of the week prior, because this football team won’t allow the Seahawks to make many errors, and it’s a new season.  The Seahawks’ 42-13 drubbing of the Niners last December is history and you don’t simply pick up where you left off last season.  The boys better be ready…  because Colin Kaepernick burned the Packers for 412 yards passing, and three TD's.  They're going to come to play and they will be salty about last December.  Getting a 42 burger hung on you is something you just don't forget for a long off-season.  However, Seattle better forget about it.

Go Hawks!

 

 

SEAHAWKS MOVING FORWARD DESPITE SEVERAL INJURIES

Just like the rest of the NFL, the Seahawks are dealing with a variety of injuries to key players at key positions on the offense as well as the defense and special teams.  I've never seen so many preseason injuries in my history of watching football, which spans over 40 years.  It makes you wonder if the injuries are more frequent, and what is the reason or reasons for the increase?

Every week, the football news reads like a casualty report from a war battle.  The Seahawks were one of the teams recognized for their brilliant off-season moves in 2013 to bring in excellent players to fortify their team, which was already considered to be a Super Bowl contender.  They made perhaps the biggest off-season acquisition through a trade making a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to bring wide receiver, Percy Harvin, to Seattle in exchange for a first-round draft choice and a seventh from 2013, and a conditional third round selection in 2014.  In addition to the valuable draft selections, the Seahawks traded for Harvin, they also paid him handsomely.  Harvin signed a $67 million six-year deal to be a Seahawk that will make him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL, not counting quarterbacks.  Granted, Harvin is a thoroughbred of an athlete and one of the most dangerous players in the history of the NFL when he has the ball in his hands.  He is a legitimate threat to make a touchdown every time he touches the ball.  This is the kind of player the Seahawks traded for, but shortly after Harvin came to practice in Seattle, during one of the mini-camps over the league off-season program, he complained of some pain in his hip.  The Seahawks reported it to the press, believing it was a minor hip flexor injury and would heal through simply "rest and non-invasive therapy treatments."  However,  after going through a series of tests, including an ultrasound treatment, a CT scan and an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) it was determined by physicians that Harvin did indeed have a slight tear of the hip labrum tissue.  The Seahawks medical team believed that Harvin could play through the 2013 season with a small tear in his hip. Harvin had a league sanctioned right to seek medical advice independent of the Seahawks medical team, and he exercised that right, flying to New York City to see a highly regarded hip specialist (Dr. Brian Kelly) who examined Harvin, as well, performing many of the same tests as he went through with the Seahawks medical team.  However, it was Dr. Kelly's findings that the tear would need surgical intervention and that with a "Labrum arthroscopic procedure", Harvin would likely miss 3 to 4 months of the season, healing and rehabilitating before he could return to football activity with the Seahawks.  Harvin chose to have the surgery and started is rehabilitation process almost immediately.  The New York physician group examined Harvin "post-op" and evaluated the procedure a huge success.  Almost a month after the procedure, surgeons and special therapy physicians reported that Harvin's rehab was significantly ahead of the timetable they had originally anticipated..   This is primarily because his hip range of motion flexibility was unusually good, which is one of the most important yardmarkers to returning to athletic competition after the procedure had been performed.  In other words, instead of the late November or early December timeline that most of his medical team had anticipated, it looks as if Harvin could return to the team as soon as the beginning of November.  This is, of course, providing his rehabilitation assignment doesn't experience any "setbacks" while he is working the hip and during the time he continues to heal.  Dr. Brian Kelly said pre-surgery, "Percy has approximately 90% chance that he can return to his full potential if his rehabilitation assignment goes as we expect.  Regardless, this is not how Pete Carroll and the Seahawks wanted Percy Harvin's career to start in Seattle.  Many analysts throughout the NFL picked Seattle as the best team in the NFL after Harvin signed with the Seahawks.  Harvin was that deep threat and exciting offensive weapon that Pete Carroll lacked last year and really since taking the job Seattle 2010..  He's a special player and will be missed this year, but this Seattle team had a fantastic season in 2012 and Harvin was not a Seahawk then. Seattle returns all 11 offensive starters and nine of the 11 defensive starters for 2013.  There's no reason that this football team  can't be just as good or perhaps even better playing together for another year as a complete team.

Harvin isn't the only off-season acquisition that Seattle signed to be a Seahawk this year.  Originally, GM John Schneider, told the press not to expect a lot of aggressive signings of free agents once the market opened up for the unrestricted players around the NFL without contracts for the 2013 preseason.  So, as soon as the market opened, the Seahawks went out on a veritable shopping spree. Carroll and Schneider brought home some of the most highly sought after defensive players the league had to offer.  The first was sack specialist, Cliff Avril, a very good pass rushing defensive end formerly of the Detroit Lions.  He was the number one rated pass rusher available in free agency this year, and the Seahawks brought him in for a tryout..  Once Avril got a chance to meet the coaching staff, some of his potential teammates and tour the fantastic state-of-the-art Seahawks training facility… he didn't want to leave Seattle.  In fact, Avril wanted to stay badly enough, he accepted a much less lucrative deal with the Seahawks than he would have just to stay in Detroit.  Last season, the Lions offered Avril a franchise tag tendered at over $10 million, the going price for the best defensive pass rushers in the NFL.  He refused to sign the tag and decided to play out his contract.  After a very solid contract season in Detroit,  the Lions never offered Avril a deal once the season had concluded. No one's really certain why,  but  the relatively lean contract for Avril set the market  on pass rushing defensive ends so low,  that Dwight Freeney and John Abraham took deals  that were even  smaller than Avril.   It was considered a coup by Schneider and Carroll and gave Seattle another quality Leo End to fortify a defensive line that already included first-round draft selection Bruce Irvin and the Seahawks best quarterback sacking end, Chris Clemons.

After the signing of Percy Harvin and now Avril, the press was all over themselves, smitten and in love with the Seattle Seahawks, now adding one of the premier pass rushing defensive ends in football to go with their already "stingiest defense in the NFL" allowing just 15 points a game last season, an NFL best.  But Avril came to camp complaining of a foot injury he sustained while going through his personal conditioning program during the off-season.  Plantar fasciitis was the diagnosis  an injury that has only one solution;  Rest.  The Seahawks just started training camp and already two of their shiny new toys couldn't even be taken out of the box.  Once Avril healed the plantar  injury, he returned to practice, but then somehow sustained an injury to his hamstring.  Pete Carroll ordered more rest for Avril, but when he returned once again to practice, he apparently re-aggravated the hamstring strain.  Not only has Avril not been able to see any action preseason, now he is considered doubtful to start the regular-season.  Obviously, this is a great disappointment to the Seahawks, who released DT Alan Branch after last season, who subsequently signed with the Buffalo Bills.  Branch was a solid, but aging interior defensive lineman and  the Seahawks decided to go  younger and more athletic..  Unfortunately  Carroll's crystal ball didn't predict  the spattering of injuries that has,, at least in the short-term, decimated Seattle's D line for training camp, preseason and the early regular-season. To make things a little more difficult, DE/LB Bruce Irvin serving a four-game suspension and DE Chris Clemons still rehabilitating a surgically repaired ACL, the Seahawks are looking quite thin on the defensive line that was considered one of the best in football. Hopefully part recalled   the

The Seahawks signed another defensive pass rushing gem out of Tampa Bay, Michael Bennett, a double digits sack machine who actually started his career in Seattle before being traded to the Buccaneers.  For some unexplainable reason, Tampa decided not to offer a contract to Bennett.  He was the teams best pass rusher, and he was released.  Seattle decided to right the wrong and sign Bennett back in Seattle where they and he thought he belonged.  Just after the signing, the Seahawks released the information that Bennett was suffering from a partially torn shoulder labrum.  He played through the 2012 season with the same ailment, and still recorded 9 1/2 sacks for the Bucs.  Bennett will not have surgery during the season, and believe he can play through 2013 and have surgery once the season concludes.  Still, there is a potential for Bennett to worsen the condition and end up not helping Seattle at all.  Things that once looked so bright and so auspicious, began to have a great cloud hanging over training camp.

Seattle wasn't through in free agency, though.  Just days after the Bennett signing, the Seahawks approached defensive tackle from the Miami Dolphins, Tony McDaniel, who was very active on the interior defensive line making tackles and stuffing the run.  His 6'7" frame was something that Seattle lacked and his ability to either knock down passes with his great height or bulrush offensive guards back into the passing pocket could make Seattle's defensive ends the recipient of quarterback sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  This is a move that Seattle may count on more than they had ever thought they would.  McDaniel is presently healthy and fighting for a job on the defensive line that once had so much potential, but now looks as if they will start the season a lot lighter than they had thought originally.

The Seahawks also wanted to bolster their defensive secondary after not offering a contract to longtime Seahawk, Marcus Trufant, they needed a slot corner to defend wide receivers in the middle of the field.  They took little time after landing that the Minnesota Vikings would not offer a contract extension to Antoine Winfield, a nine-year veteran of the Vikings and five years before that with the Bills in Buffalo.  Winfield is one of the most sure tacklers in open field and have logged over 100 tackles twice in his career and has never had less than 40.  Most of his years, Winfield logged an average of 80+ tackles.  While Winfield isn't the tallest player in Seattle's secondary, not by a lot, but he is a hitter and he will punish receivers in the middle of the field which is exactly what the Seahawks need after Marcus Trufant finally slowed down in Seattle.  Winfield hasn't given up a touchdown pass three years playing right corner for the Vikings, and in a conference with Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford, that's saying a lot.  Recently, Winfield was held out of practice for what was reported a sore knee.  It will probably not mean any playing time once the regular-season begins, but it is something to watch.  Especially considering the fact that Seattle has the deepest secondary in the NFL and there are a lot of young, excellent second straight defensive backs just drooling at the opportunity of making this Seattle team.  However, Winfield will likely make the 53 man squad, and he is a monster in the middle and hits like a Mack truck, even considering his diminutive frame at just 5'9" 180 lbs.  Antoine Winfield is definitely a player to watch.

The Seahawks made some very aggressive moves during the off-season, trading for Harvin, signing free-agent like; Avril, Bennett, McDaniel and Winfield, and all of this was done before Seattle had even made their selections at the NFL draft.  The Seahawks had 11 selections, but had no first-round pick because of the Percy Harvin trade.  They also sacrificed one of their two seventh round picks, but this was no worry to Pete Carroll and John Schneider.  In the rounds between two and seven, they seem to thrive finding talent where other teams seemingly cannot:  Players like; Kam Chancellor, KJ Wright, Brandon Browner,  All-Pro Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin,  all outstanding players selected in the middle to late rounds of the draft, and Browner and Baldwin weren't selected at all.  Carroll and Schneider found them as unrestricted undrafted free-agents.  The 2013 draft wasn't much different for the Seahawks.  Schneider and Carroll went wheeling and dealing picking up extra middle and late round selections.  In the second round, and Seattle's first pick in the draft, they selected an extremely athletic and talented running back named Christine Michael, an athletic freak of nature, an unheralded wide receiver Chris Harper, with the speed of receiver and a body of a running back, a defensive tackle behemoth in Jesse Williams and several more players who just might stick with this year's 53 man roster.  Some of these unheralded players could end up on the Seahawks practice squad, but there have been practice squad players that have bided their time just getting better learning the pro game and are moved up and activated sooner or later.  Some of these obscure, but talented and notable players who have stood out in practice and in the preseason, include; DE Benson Mayowa, LB John Lotulelei, and T Alvin Bailey, all players who were never selected in any of the seven rounds of the NFL college football draft.  It's players like these that set the Seahawks in a completely different, special category than the rest of the NFL teams.  The Seahawks are finding talent in the middle and late rounds, and even players never given a chance through the draft. It's things like that which truly creates a football team with something to prove and the Seattle Seahawks in embrace it.

Not all is wonderful down at the Virginia Mason athletic center.  The casualty list seems to grow daily, sometimes hourly.  Bumps and bruises and sometimes worse injuries are putting Seattle in a position where they have to regroup and utilize backup players to fill in while the first line players healed and rehab back to the point where they can be 100% healthy and effective.  Players who are currently ailing and one way or another include;
Zach Miller who has returned to practice and will likely suit up and play against the Oakland Raiders tomorrow night.
Cliff Avril who has re-aggravated his hamstring pull and it is reported that his ability to play in the first regular-season game in Carolina is now in jeopardy.
Brandon Mebane has an undisclosed injury and it is uncertain whether he will be ready for the first game of the regular-season.
Jesse Williams has been put on a season-long injured reserve and will not play in 2013.
Jordan Hill has been diagnosed with a bicep strain, preventing them from taking part in the Oakland Raiders preseason game in Seattle and also the first game of the regular-season.
Antoine Winfield has a sore knee, he is day-to-day and will not play in the final preseason game, but is expected to be ready for the regular-season opener in Carolina.
Korey Toomer is on the non-football related injury list and will likely not be with the team this year.
Chris Clemons is still listed as active, but will likely miss the first portion of the regular-season.  It's uncertain how many games Clemons will miss, but for now, the team has avoided putting him on the injured reserve list which would keep him out of action and practice for six weeks.
Bruce Irvin will miss the first four games of the season due to violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.  He did not appeal.
Michael Bennett was kept out of practice today for an undisclosed injury.  Pete Carroll indicated the injury is not serious.
Sidney Rice has not played in any of them preseason games and is nursing a pre-existing the injury that took him to Switzerland to have a noninvasive procedure done on the knee and is expected to be ready for the regular-season, but will not play at all in the preseason.
Richard Sherman was reported to have a minor foot injury after getting it stepped on by Golden Tate in a passing drill at the teams training facility.
Tony McDaniel sat out most of training camp and missed the first two preseason games against San Diego and Denver.  He played against Green Bay and looked good, making several plays up the middle and putting pressure on the quarterback, something Seattle has needed now for two years.

All in all, the Seahawks are probably not in any worse condition than any other NFL team suffering with players injuries. In fact, they might be in a better condition than most.  Seattle has had their share of nagging injuries, bumps and bruises and some of the most serious, but because the Seahawks enjoy more depth at each position than most teams they will likely be able to survive the time that their starters are healing or rehabilitating or coming back from suspension relatively unscathed.  Starting the season against the Carolina Panthers is probably about as good as Seattle could hope for, matching up well against the Panthers and knowing their style of play after matching up against them just a year ago.  However, in week two they will have one of their hardest test against the 49ers, but their first matchup will be at CenturyLink field and I believe that the 12th man will be the deciding factor between two teams who are both fighting against injury bugs, but the Seattle Seahawks will tip the scales, hopefully causing as many problems for the 49ers offense as possible.  Last year's visit to the C'Link, showed quarterback Colin Kaepernick firsthand what a living hell looks and sounds like.  He acted accordingly, often appearing rattled and shaken and above all, completely confused and irritated by the searing crowd noise cascading down the concourses and right into the ear holes of his helmet.  I think it's fair to say Kaepernick doesn't like our little, cozy 68,000 person cottage. Another problem for the 49ers is that they don't have particularly good corners or safeties.  They lost their best defensive back, Deshon Goldson, and now he has been replaced by a rookie Eric Wright.  Also, Nnamdi Asomugha is returning to the Bay Area, but this time not in a Raider uniform, he's going to don 49ers duds and attempt to resurrect his disappointing career since traveling across the nation to the Philadelphia Eagles organization.  On the other hand, Russell Wilson, does have a full complement of wide receivers to utilize at the beginning of the season, a luxury which is something that the 49ers cannot boast about.  Michael Crabtree was their hot hand last season, and he will not be available until perhaps the end of the season after having a terrible Achilles tendon tear.  The only other wide receivers that San Francisco has are Mario Manningham, who won't return until midseason and rookie Quinton Patton who hasn't played particularly well in preseason, the rest are relative unknowns.  Their failed first-round experiment, WR AJ Jenkins, ended this month as the 49ers swapped their failure first-round WR for the Kansas City Chiefs first-round first-round failure at wide receiver.  Jenkins was traded straight across with the Chiefs for Jonathan Baldwin, another player that won't exactly strike fear into the hearts of the Legion of Boom.  In fact, the 49ers best wide receiver isn't even a wideout at all; Vernon Davis is a true tight-end, and a good one, but he's not a wide receiver and doesn't have the skills necessary to to run the deep routes, stretching the top of Seattle's defense like wide receiver Michael Crabtree would try.  There's no doubt that the 49ers best true wide receiver is newly acquired possession receiver, Anquan Boldin, the same player who, at least in part, ended the dreams of the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. Boldin was supposed to be the 49ers answered to the Seahawks signing Percy Harvin.  That's not a fair comparison at all, though some of the talking heads on television would tell you differently.  Boldin was one of the up-and-coming wide receivers in the NFL while he played with the Arizona Cardinals opposite of Larry Fitzgerald.  However, once Fitzgerald wasn't on the other end drawing double and sometimes triple coverage, Boldin's numbers would slide when he wasn't able to draw single coverage anymore.  This is exactly what's going to happen when Seattle plays the 49ers in September.  Anquan Boldin will draw doubles sometimes, even though the Legion would rather man up and go "Mano y Mano" bumping and pushing at the line of scrimmage and let the best man win.  The Seahawks talented secondary rarely loses this battle to the best wide receivers in the business. Boldin is a mere shadow of his former self and the Seahawks will exploit his age and a lost step or two.  This is not to say that Sherman, Browner, Chancellor or Thomas will take him lightly, but they will be ready to play and there will be a lot said before the game, definitely during the game, and don't be surprised if there isn't some jawing at the end.  To the victors go the spoils and the Seahawks would sincerely love to tear that ridiculous logo off of the size of the 49ers helmets.  All in good fun, of course…

 Boldin is a formidable receiver and has had a very productive  career throughout his illustrious11 seasons as a pro, but he is not even close to having the speed and physicality he once had when he was considered an elite receiver, and he's entering his 12th season a little beat up and a lot less fuel in the tank or trade on the tires.  A good possession receiver, Boldin will give Colin Kaepernick a big target outside numbers and even perhaps shallow and intermediate routes across the middle; he's a possession receiver. However, this is a place where few receivers dare enter when they are young and ignorant. Seattle's linebackers and  huge secondary are going to make him pay dearly  for making catches in their territory, particularly between the numbers and around the hashmarks.  This is what the Legion of boom does to players who dare catch passes over the middle.  They punish with vicious and physical collisions and they are the ones initiating the contact..  In the game of baseball, which hurts worse?   The baseball bat or the ball?  If you look back at the Seahawks game at CenturyLink Field vs. the Cowboys, you'll see some of the best  possession receivers  completely lose confidence and concentration dropping passes and completely running short routes because of the expected contact by Seattle's linebackers, corners and hard-hitting safeties.  With the addition of Antoine Winfield, one of the hardest hitting corners in football,  don't look for the Seahawks to take it easy on the 49ers wide receivers just because they're shorthanded.

The Seahawks will go into their final preseason game at CenturyLink Field without the services of; Brandon Mebane, Cliff Avril, Jordan Hill, Sidney Rice, Tony McDaniel, Michael Bennett, Chris Clemons, Michael Robinson, Antoine Winfield, Richard Sherman. Players that will be held out for different reasons will likely be; Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Golden Tate, Christine Michael, Robert Turbin and Bobby Wagner.  These players will likely be held out because it's the last preseason game and all of these players are ready for the season, some of them have little dings and bruises that need not be re-aggravated.

I will be excited to watch the game, simply because I'm curious which players will perform well with all of them struggling and fighting to earn a position after the final cuts next week bringing the team down to the regulation 53 man roster.

STOP THE PRESSES. BROWN'S VOID MOFFITT-SANFORD TRADE. DEAL WITH BRONCOS INSTEAD.

Sealver Siliga                                           John Moffitt

The day after the Seahawks traded third year offensive guard John Moffitt to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for defensive tackle  Brian Sanford, the Browns void the trade after Moffitt fails his physical which was continued on the trade.   Sanford will return to the Browns and the Seahawks automatically regain the rights to Moffitt.

However, it didn't take the Seahawks long to deal the former Wisconsin Badger to another team.  The Denver Broncos have reportedly accepted a trade for Moffitt in exchange for defensive lineman Sealver Siliga, a huge, imposing interior run stopping tackle from University of Utah.  

A 2011 third-round draft pick, Moffitt started nine games as a rookie and six games last year. Siliga entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and has played in just one regular-season game. Siliga is just 23 years old and at 6'2", 330 lbs. he could be a project for the Seahawks to fill the interior defensive line with a run stopping player in the mold of Jesse Williams.  Williams is experiencing problems with his surgically repaired knee and might be causing Pete Carroll some anxiety as to whether the rookie from Alabama can get on the field this season and be effective.

It's not clear whether or not the Broncos are aware of John Moffitt's health status or perhaps they are not as concerned as the Cleveland Browns were.  It is also possible that Moffitt could fail the Broncos' physical as well and end up back in Seattle once again.

Moffitt was in competition with guard JR Sweezy, Alvin Bailey, rookie Michael Bowie and Paul McQuiston for the right guard position. However, he apparently wasn't showing enough positive development for Pete Carroll.  Moffitt was a very popular player in the locker room, noted for his lighthearted humor and oddball idiosyncrasies.  Unfortunately for him and the Seahawks, he just didn't progress at the level or speed that Carroll and GM Schneider hoped he would be their third round selection in 2011.

SEAHAWKS MAKE ROSTER MOVES DEAL MOFFITT FOR D LINE DEPTH

 The Seattle Seahawks have made a couple of roster moves and they may be tipping their hand at what's going on inside the organization,  personnel--wise.

Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider announced today that they had traded offensive guard John Moffitt to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Brian Sanford, a 6’2” 280 lb. defensive lineman who can play up and down the line making him versatile and perhaps valuable to the Seahawks who clearly made this move in an attempt to shore up the defensive line, a line that is currently suffering from a bevy of health issues.

Moffitt was the 75th pick overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Seahawks and started the first nine games that season before getting a season-ending knee injury. He played in eight games last season, starting six.  Moffitt was a team favorite in the locker room and also a favorite of local radio hosts, mostly for his sense of humor and lighthearted honesty and humility.  Unfortunately, those characteristics are typically valued by players who can perform on the field in contrast to their easy going, funny man persona in the locker room and with the press.  He will be missed by the guys at ESPN Seattle and KJR 950 AM; however he never really got into a groove of consistency, despite his high draft position and high expectations coming out of Wisconsin and a very respectable college career.

Seahawks trade G John Moffitt to the Browns for DE Brian Sanford.

The trade was really a need for need type of transaction has Pete Carroll was uneasy with his defensive line and their injury problems, as the Cleveland Browns were suffering in their offensive line after leaving Brandon Weeden out to get mugged too many times in a collapsing pocket that never really gave the rookie quarterback a chance to throw in a rhythm the way he did at Oklahoma State as a 28-year-old senior.  If Moffitt can stay healthy, he has a good shot at starting in Cleveland and Sanford might be able to contribute if he can beat out a couple of other Seahawks hopefuls, and there is also the injuries that might make Sanford’s chances better as camp progresses.  It will all depend on whether or not Sanford can learn the system and whether or not he is a polished player after three years in the NFL.  Dan Quinn’s defensive line schemes are somewhat complicated with a lot of stunting, requiring players to develop a sense of chemistry so that confusion doesn’t open up holes in the line allowing ball-carriers to knife through the line of scrimmage without pressure.

Dewayne Cherrington makes a tackle while playing for Mississippi

In addition to the trade for Brian Sanford, John Schneider and Pete Carroll were busy trying to bring in more talent to challenge for a spot in the defensive line rotation. Dewayne Cherrington was signed yesterday, a defensive tackle who will probably play the three technique and the five technique.  Dewayne Cherrington is a very large man at 6’3” 335 lbs.  He was picked up by the New England Patriots as an undrafted unrestricted free-agent.  Cherrington is massive and has the strength to match his enormous frame.  At the NFL combine, Cherrington managed 36 reps of 225 lbs. and bench presses 525 lbs and squats 675 lbs.  Both Cherrington and Sanford are beasts on the defensive line, Cherrington is one of the strongest players in the NFL, and what’s better is that both of them have the quickness and frame to fill in to the Seahawks defensive line and perhaps provide help at both the running game and the interior push to force quarterbacks out of the pocket where the edge rushers like Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and O’Brien Schofield can pursue at the edge.

2013 NFL PRESEASON MARRED WITH LEAGUE WIDE INJURIES

Seattle Seahawks Team Surgical Specialties Physicians 2013

So, just where do the Seahawks stand with their 90 man roster and which players are most likely to stay and which players will likely be released before August 31, the date when all NFL teams must reduce their rosters number to 53?  One thing is for certain… The players that get cut from this talented football team won't be out of work for long.  Particularly considering the fact that former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who is now the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie head coach, will be waiting in the wings for the Seahawks to make their cuts.  The Jaguars are number two on the waiver list and will have an early opportunity to make Seattle's trash their treasure.  Bradley is intimately invested in many of the players that the Seahawks might cut and with a team that is in a rebuilding mode, it would be very natural to see Gus pickup talented football players who just weren't enough to make one of the best rosters in the NFL.  This is going to be one of the most difficult seasons in Pete Carroll's career in making player cut before the season starts.  Seattle is extremely deep at; defensive  line, wide receiver, running back and their deepest talent, defensive corner.  Several of the players that will be released by Seattle could start for several teams throughout the NFL, and they will.

Throughout the National Football League team trainers and doctors are working around the clock to help mend the bumps, bruises and various injuries to rookie players and veterans alike.  In over 40 years watching NFL football, I've never seen so many preseason injuries to players, and at all positions; quarterback to kicker.  It's difficult, without access to each teams medical history, to determine if there are more injuries occurring during the 2013 preseason [comparatively], or if there are simply more injuries being reported to the media than ever before.  Technology has certainly changed the way the media covers football and it has drastically increased the way that fans follow the intricacies of the pro-football experience. The advent of the Internet, combined with the various communication systems, available to practically every football fan, has opened up a new awareness of what is happening inside the game.  The National Football League has continued to be the  pioneers in making pro-football the most exciting, enjoyable and watchable sport in America. Decade after decade, and every step of the way the NFL has attempted to bring the fans closer to the field in every way possible.  Where we once marveled at the fantastic camerawork the NFL used for its Super Bowl coverage, now you see that kind of attention to detail in every single game played today.  It used to be common for a regular-season game to have eight fixed standard definition cameras stationed at various positions around the stadium… and the fans were satisfied.  However, the NFL was not satisfied, and now there are dozens of cameras all over the stadium; in the crowd, up and down the sidelines, in the end zones, and now even above the field, giving viewers the ability to see plays develop from the perspective of the actual players on the field.  The motorized and remotely operated "Sky-Cam," is suspended by cables high above the gridiron and is able to cover every inch of the football field.

Along with all this amazing camerawork and press coverage of the games, practices and training preparation, we are also seeing some of the more intimate details of the lives of players, coaches and other people involved in the game… and with it, we are seeing aspects of their lives that are not at all exciting or entertaining.  I am speaking specifically of player and their injuries.  Injuries are naturally a part of tackle football, a game that features; huge, strong, fast, and powerful athletes who purposely crash and colliding with one another with the goal often winning by attrition.  The question isn't "IF" a player it might get injured, but when and the level of severity.  Because of the violent nature of football, most players will admit that they never play 100% healthy.  There is always some nagging ache or pain that goes along with playing the game.

Because of the public's steadily increasing access to the NFL game in America, the players health and conditioning have become an open forum to the press and therefore to the public.  We are hearing about every groin pull, stubbed toe, sprained ankle, torn ACL or any other health complication that jeopardizes the player's ability to take the field at practice or a game.  I wonder if this is why we are hearing so much about player injuries.  Is it just increased awareness Or is there something more troubling for the NFL to investigate, perhaps even the NFL players Association.  Is it just a coincidence that player injuries have escalated since the signing of the new collective bargaining agreement?  Are players coming into camp not prepared for football related drill?  The question needs to be asked and answered and any solution would benefit both the owners and the NFLPA. Strength and conditioning coaches are typically held responsible for keeping players fit and ready to play.  However, all players presumably have their own off-season workout regimen to keep themselves physically fit and ready to play once they join their respective teams at the OTA's,  minicamps and especially the preseason training camp.



The NFL has continued to try and bring football fans closer to the game, filming portions of training camp practices that are also open to the press and to the public for the first two weeks of the season. Fans can now witness their performance in practice and in training camp and even learning of players sustaining injuries in almost real-time. Any way you look at it, I think America is becoming more educated about the common and not so common injuries occurring to some of the most supremely conditioned athletes in the world.  Words that you may have never heard or thought about before have now become commonplace in the discussions going on concerning football teams and their players; Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injuries, Patella Tendinitis, Lisfranc injuries, Plantar Fasciitis, Rotator Cuff Tears, Hip Flexor injuries, Hip and Shoulder Labrum Tears, Spinal Stenosis and all sorts of other medical terms have found their way into common football vernacular.  For sure, football fans are learning about human anatomy whether they planned to or not.

The Seahawks coaching staff and medical staff have probably never worked so closely together and probably wished it was never necessary.  Each day Pete Carroll ends his training camp practice with a rather lengthy press conference going over the teams infirmary report.  Prior to the first preseason game in San Diego, the Seahawks reported eight players being held out of action due to injury.  Some of those injuries were considered minor, some were relatively severe and some of them included players rehabilitating from off-season surgery.  However, after the Seahawks' preseason game against the Chargers, Seattle's infirmary report shot up to 18 players.

As the seasons pass, it seems that more and more coaches find less and less use for preseason games.  Too many pointless injuries occur and because of the odd brand of coaching during these insignificant scrimmages, it's difficult to determine whether a player is performing at a high enough level to be worthy of the 53 man roster, or not.  Since the team owners and the NFL players Association stipulated on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), it has drastically reduced the amount of time players are on a practice field competing for their jobs, and even more limited opportunity to see them making any real contact.  The CBA eliminated the long-standing "two a days" which required players to take part in a morning practice session and an afternoon session.  Players objected to the grueling nature of these long practices and negotiated to have them not only reduced to once a day, but the number of hours they are on the field was also limited.  In addition, players are rarely in full contact drills, handicapping the coaches ability to see them in real time, real speed and real contact situations.  Much of the practice drills are referred to as "walk-through drills" further frustrating coaches and making it particularly hard to see players create separation between themselves and those competing for the same position.  With the current state of injuries in the NFL preseason, it's even making things more difficult.

The Seahawks made key acquisitions during the off-season including, Percy Harvin, the player that Seattle and almost every other football analyst believed was going to be the player to take the Seahawks to another level and perhaps to their second Super Bowl appearance.  Harvin was signed to a lucrative deal in Seattle, but almost immediately he reported that he was experiencing discomfort in his hip.  Seahawks doctors and trainers believed it was a hip flexor strain, but after all of the off-season training sessions concluded, he reported to training camp with much more serious news.  He was taken in to have his hip scanned with an MRI, and Seahawks physicians reported that he had a possible small hip labrum tear, but could possibly play through it.  As the NFL CBA provides, players have the right to seek another opinion independent of the Seahawks franchise.  Harvin flew to Germany to be examined by a highly regarded hip specialist who advised Harvin to have it surgically repaired immediately.  Harvin decided to take his advice and went through a arthroscopic procedure to have a hip repaired.  Percy Harvin's expected return is estimated to be mid-November or early December.  If everything goes as expected during his rehabilitation assignment, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks are hoping to have their newest and most dangerous weapon in uniform for the New Orleans Saints game on December 2.  However, Carroll was careful to point out that they have no reason to hurry up his rehab if he's not completely ready to play.  It's important to remember, this Seahawks offense was one of the most prolific scoring teams in the NFL over the second half of the 2012 season scoring 150 points total in three games (50 point average) This was all done without Percy Harvin on the roster.  The point is Seattle has plenty of play-makers to be just as dangerous, if not more, than last season.  Sidney Rice remained healthy all season long, Golden Tate proved to be the play-maker everyone new him to be out of Notre Dame, and they have a healthy slot receiver, Doug Baldwin, returning to the lineup this year.  Baldwin led the entire team in receptions as a rookie coming out of Stanford an undrafted free-agent.  In addition, new acquisition, 6'5" WR Stephen Williams, has looked outstanding in camp and also in the first preseason game against the Chargers, playing the X receiver.  Jermaine Kearse has had a terrific camp and could be another dangerous weapon for Russell Wilson.  Kearse has also been an outstanding special teams player, which could be a determining factor as the coaching staff evaluates the entire package offered by each receiver.  The Seahawks also drafted Chris Harper, a 6'1" torpedo of muscles, weighing 235 lbs. and running the 40 in just 4.47 seconds.  Carroll and the Seahawks are expecting a lot from this talented rookie receiver.  The wide receiver Corps for the Seahawks is alive and well and to add to that, the Seahawks have Zach Miller returned and new draft selection Luke Willson, of the University of Rice, who is 6'5" and has 4.5 speed to go with his large frame. This Willson with two  L's in his name, is a tremendous pass receiving tightend and could make dynamic matchup advantages for their quarterback to hit deep and intermediate passes outside the pocket.  This could be an incredible value for the Seahawks to have a dangerous weapon downfield with size, speed and great hands.

Pete Carroll's defense has unlimited potential, but until he can get them all on the field at the same time healthy, all that potential will remain on paper.  The Seahawks were far more aggressive than anyone believed they would be during the free-agent market of available players.  The top defensive prize was Cliff Avril who became an unrestricted free agent after the Detroit Lions failed to offer him a deal.  No one really knows why Detroit allowed one of their best pass rushing defensive ends to hit the open market, but it likely happened because of a lack of available money in their salary cap.  Nevertheless, Seattle became the recipient of this experienced pass rushing phenom.  Unfortunately, Avril came with a few bumps and bruises.  Immediately when the minicamps began, Avril complained of a foot injury.  Plantar fasciitis was the diagnosis and it would mean that Seattle's new play toy would sit and watch the off-season drills as he waited for his foot condition to heal.  Not long after his foot injury seemed to heal, Avril sustained a minor pull of his hamstring.  This also kept Avril from training camp drills, but most of it was primarily decided on as a form of insurance that he would not exacerbate the problems.  Avril is a seasoned veteran and the layoff shouldn't slow him down.  In fact, this week (Thursday) the great defensive  end joined the rest of the team in full speed training camp activity.  To add to some of the less than encouraging news about Percy Harvin and Cliff Avril, the Seahawks learned that Michael Bennett has been suffering from a torn labrum on his right shoulder.  He played through the entire season with the injury and is expected to play through 2013 and address the shoulder injury after the season has concluded.  Pete Carroll is encouraged by the rehabilitation process of Seattle's top sack specialist, Chris Clemons, and said that he is hopeful that he could be ready for the beginning of the season.  They're not going to hurry him back, being 32 years old, and the fact that there are other players who can shore up the defensive line while he continues to get into game-playing shape.  Seattle signed Tony McDaniel shortly after acquiring Avril and Bennett, and he is a player who can provide pass rushing pressure on the interior of the defensive line, something the Seahawks lacked in 2012.  Bruce Irvin was going to be part of a major overhaul to his responsibilities for the upcoming year, but during the off-season Irvin tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug of some time, plus he sustained a groin injury just prior to the first preseason game.  Irvin will miss the first four games of the season due to a suspension for the PED's, and looks to be absent from the second preseason game as well.

Other nagging injuries affecting the Seahawks defensive squad include; Bobby Wagner (shoulder), Jesse Williams (knee), Tony McDaniel (ankle) and  Korey Toomer who has again injured his knee and may be out of the lineup in the first half of the regular-season.  The offense has its own nagging health issues, but none of them are particularly severe, Percy Harvin notwithstanding.    Oft injured lineman, James Carpenter, is again suffering a knee injury and of course Seattle has lost the services of tight end Anthony McCoy for the entire 2013 season.

It's a wonder why they are so many injuries in the NFL this off-season.  The NFLPA got what it wanted in the CBA regarding work-related issues, reducing the amount of time the players are required to be on the practice field, the number of training sessions per day and the contact drills have been reduced to the point where there is little hitting, blocking and tackling going on during training camp drills.

So why so many injuries you might ask?  Yes?  Well, for now, nobody really understands why the injury report has been so littered with players from all team and all positions.  It's likely an in-depth study will be done once the season concludes.  In the meantime, all NFL players will be required to wear; shoulder, hip, thigh and knee pads, no matter what position an athlete might play and when they play.  In theory, NFL officials are hoping to see less abrasions, lacerations and contusions than during the years when many players chose to omit these protective pads. The argument goes on as to whether players avoided these pieces of protective padding because they believed it limited their  performance oon the field, or if it was complete ego driven vanity.  The reaction by NFL players has been mixed. Wide receivers  and  defensive backs, like;  WR DeShawn Jackson and DB Dominique Rodgers Cromartie,, seemed to agree that pads limit their movement and slow them down, while other players like RB Adrian Peterson and RB Marshawn Lynch, think all the whining is all  for nothing.

Plenty of NFL players are griping about the looming requirement that they wear leg pads in 2013.  The reigning league MVP doesn’t want to hear that leg pads reduce player speed.

“I’ll call BS on that,” Peterson told Mike Garafolo of FOXSports.com.  ”It’s like, ‘You’re a National Football League player.  If a pad that doesn’t weigh but a couple of ounces slows you down, you don’t need to be playing in this league.’  Like, come on now.  Seriously.”

So what’s the real reason for the resistance?

“Guys like to be pretty, not wear the thigh pads and knee pads, but it protects you,” Peterson said.  ”There have been plenty of times I got hit in my knee and when I had my pants pulled up too high and that pad wasn’t there to protect it.  It didn’t feel good.  So I make sure I keep my pads pulled down and covering my knee just to be able to protect my body.”

NFC WEST COPING WITH INJURIES AND HIGH HOPES IN THE TOUGHEST DIVISION IN FOOTBALL

What is happening in the National Football League?  Every day the infirmary report seems to include dozens of casualties and some of the most high profile players are standing around the training camp practice fields in street clothes or jogging suits with ballcaps.  The Seahawks have been no exception, nor has division rivals San Francisco been able to avoid the injury bug to several players and at key positions.

Just prior to the NFL draft, national sporting news sources picked up on the so-called arms race between the Seahawks and the 49ers.  Each of their moves seemed to be connected in some way to the transactions of both teams.  Early in the off-season, the Seahawks made a blockbuster trade to bring the highly sought after, multi dimensional wide receiver, Percy Harvin, to Seattle.  Almost immediately, Jim Harbaugh's Niners made a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire wide receiver Anquan Boldin.  Not exactly a tit-for-tat equal with the Harvin pickup, but it was clearly a move to keep up with the Seahawks potentially superior aerial attack.  Boldin provides a big bodied receiver that San Francisco didn't have on the roster last year except for perhaps Vernon Davis, their tight end. With big hands and the ability to physically take the ball away from defenders, Boldin added a new dimension to a defense that featured primarily speedy, but shorter wide receivers.  Because the Seahawks have such unusually tall, physical defensive backs, it's presumed that Harbaugh needed players who could match up with the press, man-to-man style coverage that Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner present.  Boldin had an outstanding 2012 season with the Ravens, showing exactly the kind of physicality that the 49ers needed to counter the tough corner play of the Seahawks huge DBs known from the Pacific to the Atlantic as "The Legion of Boom." 

Next, Seahawks GM John Schneider worked some magic to bring sack-master, free-agent defensive end, Cliff Avril, to Seattle to shore up the Seahawks pass rush.  Last season, the Seahawks improved their pressure on the quarterback, but only by four sacks did they improve from the previous season 32/36.  That wasn't satisfactory to the Seahawks organization and they meant to do something about it.  Avril was a free agent, having several successful seasons with the Detroit Lions, but the Lions requisitioned most of their salary cap reserves toward their offense to improve the rushing attack acquiring Reggie Bush from the Dolphins and to pay Calvin Johnson who recently signed a $135 million contract for seven years, with $60 million of that guaranteed.  This made Avril a numbers game for them and because the Seahawks had such a promising season, Seattle has become a destination for veteran players looking for a chance to get on with the team that could possibly challenge for Super Bowl.  Schneider negotiated a two-year deal for Avril, for approximately $7 million a year  Before the 2012 season, the Lions offered Avril a franchise tag of over $10 million for one season and he turned it down.  Avril was asked whether or not he regretted turning down the offer, but he said that he believed everything happens for a reason and he was glad to be in Seattle to show his talent and help the Seahawks compete for a division title and perhaps a lot more.

Almost immediately after signing Avril, Schneider parlayed his luck going after former Seahawks Michael Bennett, who was a free agent and left for Tampa Bay.  The Buccaneers released Bennett and the Seahawks were fortunate enough to be able to sign him to a one-year deal in Seattle.  The Buccaneers fan base was furious to see their best pass rushing defensive end leave.  Bennett is familiar with Seattle's system and should fit right in without much in terms of growing pains learning Seattle's defensive sets.  This gave the Seahawks the best  two of three defensive pass rushing free agents on the market.  San Francisco answered by signing first-round draft pick from 2008, Glenn Dorsey, who became a free agent after a disappointing four seasons with the Chiefs who released him leaving him an unrestricted free agent.  He was expected to be a standout defensive end, and San Francisco is hoping that a change of scenery will improve his play on the field.

The Seahawks continued their gluttony of good defensive line free agents by signing defensive tackle, Tony McDaniel, a 6'7" 305lb. earth-mover from the Miami Dolphins. McDaniel is an interior pass rushing tackle who ironically uses all of his 6'7" to get down and develop leverage on offensive lineman.  It is extremely rare for such a tall defensive tackle to be effective in the interior defensive line, but McDaniel has been a great run stopper with the Miami Dolphins and should be able to help Seattle replace Alan Branch who had a subpar season particularly against the run last year.

The Niners, suffering in their defensive secondary, due to the casualties of pro-bowl safety, Deshon Goldson, to free agency and the inconsistent play of Carlos Rogers, Chris Cullinver and Dante Whitner, made a move to pick up free-agent, Nnamdi Asomugha, the former standout from the Oakland Raiders. Asomugha played three years in Philadelphia first, where he drastically underperformed his huge contract, forcing the Eagles to release him.  Again, the 49ers are hoping that another veteran underachieving will come closer to achieving their potential in the Bay Area.

The Seahawks appeared to react to the Asomugha deal in San Francisco by signing the best available slot corner, Antoine Winfield, who was released by the Vikings for financial reasons.  Winfield will nicely fill out an already ridiculously talented defensive secondary in Seattle.  At 36 years old and entering his 15th season, Winfield still has a lot in the tank, but he will be a nickel and dime back on primarily passing downs allowing him to rest so that he's fresh on every down.  Winfield is a masterful open field tackler and in coverage, hasn't given up a touchdown pass in three years.  Although, even older than Marcus Trufant, Winfield doesn't have a litany of injuries slowing him down.  Trufant was released and acquired immediately on waivers by Gus Bradley, the Jacksonville Jaguars new head coach, after Bradley left Seattle's defensive coordinator job.

Since the slew of new acquisitions by both the Hawks and Niners, things have slowed down somewhat in terms of veteran free-agent acquisitions.  However, the Seahawks acquired Brett Swain, a WR dropped by the Niners and San Francisco acquired Charly Martin and Ricardo Lockett formerly wide receivers with the Seahawks earlier in the year. 

There's definitely something going on between the Seahawks and the Niners, but most of it really couldn't be categorized by good or bad.  What can be categorized is the injury onslaught on both teams and throughout the NFL.  Ironically, before the 2011 season when the NFLPA and the league officials came to terms on the new collective bargaining agreement, the stipulation on work conditions restricted coaches from continuing several traditional agendas developed over the decades since the NFL AFL merger in 1970.  Gone are the days of the grueling two-a-day practices sessions and full pads and helmets contact drills throughout training camp.  Now, coaches are limited to one training session per day and the number of hours are limited.  Also limited, are the number of minicamps and OTA's leading up to the summer training camp.  With nearly no real game like player contact during drills and scrimmages and limited hours on the practice field, it's astonishing how many moderate and serious injuries have been reported even before contact drills commenced.  Reports of; concussions, ACL tears, Achilles tears, hamstringing injuries, Hip and shoulder injuries and ankle and foot injuries have dominated the training camp headlines and many of them are season ending injuries or at least injuries that will preclude players from practicing or taking part in preseason games.  It's difficult to evaluate the difference between coaches and trainers being extra sensitive to nagging but insignificant injuries or if players are just getting injured at an alarming rate.  Even before teams began engaging in serious player contact drills, there there have been reports of several notable players ruled out for the season already;

TE Dennis Pitta, Ravens
CB Chris Cullinver,  49ers
WR Santonio Holmes, Jets
WR Jeremy Maclin, Eagles
TE Anthony McCoy, Seahawks
WR Michael Crabtree, 49ers
DL Tyrone Crawford, Cowboys
C Dan Koppen, Broncos
WR Armon Binns, Dolphins
DL Jason Pierre Paul, Giants
 LB Jason Phillips,Eagles

There are far more than this list injured, but some have indefinite return predictions and some are held out for minor injuries without explanation by the teams doctors or trainers.Regardless of the severity of each of their injuries, it's not debatable on how much precious time they're missing to prepare for the upcoming regular-season, particularly the rookies and younger players as well as players new to the system.

So, the questions beg; "What is making the injury statistics skyrocket during the NFL off-season and preseason camp activities? With the shorter camp sessions and decreased amount of player contact with pads and helmets, why are so many players getting injured? How severe are these injuries that are landing scores of players on physically unable to perform lists and the non-football injury category before the big hitting even starts?  One thing is for certain, it's time to revisit the idea that shorter training camps and shorter fitness training before the season is helping players stay uninjured and ready for the regular-season.  Something isn't working,