Author: Rob Staton (Page 305 of 423)

Pete Carroll spoke to the media follow today's Super Bowl parade

For the first time in four years, Pete Carroll didn’t talk about specific team needs in his final press conference of the season.

“(We) don’t see anything we need to add. We just have to get better.”

“It’s not going to be something from outside of us. We have what we need.”

He’s always been candid and honest in these end-of-season post mortems. Whether it was a determination to improve the running game, get more speed in the front seven or enhance the pass rush — he always laid it out on the table.

I guess when you win the Super Bowl 43-8 against one of the supposed elite teams, you can afford a degree of comfort with your roster.

Or maybe it was a nod to something else.

Perhaps, as of today, he simply doesn’t know what his greatest needs are?

He made reference to keeping the group together as best they can. Yet he also knows how difficult that’ll be. When speaking to Brock and Danny yesterday, he noted this would be a challenging off-season for that very reason.

Think about the potential scenarios:

Lose Michael Bennett and he’ll need to be replaced as a major priority.

Lose Golden Tate and cut Sidney Rice as a cost saving measure and you”ll need to make receiver a big time need.

Lose Breno Giacomini and you have to consider adding to the offensive line again.

“We don’t need anything” might be more like “we don’t need anything… yet”.

Carroll wasn’t the only one to speak after today’s sensational parade in downtown Seattle. Funnily enough Bennett and Tate were also interviewed, but not to say goodbye.

– Bennett insisted he wanted to end his career in Seattle and wasn’t planning on leaving

– He added that no firm negotiations had taken place yet and wouldn’t occur until around combine time

– Tate admitted he had a cap number in mind that he would like to negotiate with the Seahawks

– He stated he would be willing to take a “little” discount to stay in Seattle

– Carroll announced Sidney Rice’s rehab from a knee injury was going extremely well, suggesting his rate of recovery was “unheard of”.

The Seahawks showed in Super Bowl 48 they don’t have any glaring holes in the roster. They have the #7 offense according to DVOA, they have the #1 defense and the #5 special teams.

Add that up and you get the #1 overall team. And it wasn’t all that close.

That doesn’t mean they don’t need any new additions — they do — but for the first time since I started writing this blog there aren’t the backbreaking needs to prevent this team winning a Championship.

They’re already Champions.

It’s really just about keeping the band together as best you can.

And while you might be prepared to change the occasional member — you’ve just got to make sure Glenn Frey and Don Henley are sticking around.

***RANDOM PICTURE INTERMISSION***

Of course part of the issue is having to cut players or ask them to restructure their contracts. The media are already latching onto this:

How can #Seahawks sign Golden Tate & Michael Bennett with Thomas & Sherman extensions? Likely to cut Sidney Rice, ask Zach Miller to cut pay

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2014

Rice would be an easy cut at $7m but if he’s progressing well from his knee injury, they might be able to restructure his deal. He is a very good player on his day — he’s just suffered endless injury problems throughout his career.

It would’ve been interesting to see this receiver group with a healthy Rice and Harvin also contributing. Having said that, both Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse really stepped up to the plate in their absence, and deserve even bigger roles next season.

There’s no way Rice survives with his current cap hit of $9.7m. He’d have to strike a new deal.

The problem is, there’s probably not a happy medium if you ask him to restructure. The saving is too good for an outright cut, Rice will get offers as a free agent and there’s no need to accept a drastically low salary for any other reason than a desire to stay in Seattle.

Providing even greater clarity here is a jam packed receiver class in this years draft.

Seattle can save a further $5m by cutting Zach Miller’s contract. I’ve written in the past about him being a potential cost-cutting victim. The best tight ends in the NFL are not paid like Miller.

While he’s been very useful to this team, his salary is just too big. At a time when other players need to be re-signed, he cannot expect to survive on a $7m cap hit having earned a borderline ridiculous $11m in 2013.

He’s only 28 so they might be able to restructure the deal, adding years (he’s a free agent in 2016) or simply reducing his salary.

He’s a nice blocking tight end with some pass-catching qualities but he’s not an elite difference maker. And with guys like Breno Giacomini needing to be re-signed as well as your Bennett’s and Tate’s, Miller surely has to be willing to compromise if he wants to stay.

It’s a little surprising Chris Clemons’ name isn’t mentioned by Rapoport. He’s been a real warrior for the Seahawks, but he’s due $9.7m in 2014 — the year he turns 33. There’s a $7m saving to be had by cutting him.

The likes of Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane may also end up in contract negotiations. Bryant’s cap hit is $8.5m in 2014 and while I highly doubt he leaves the team, I think there’s maybe a reduction to be had there for the greater good of the roster.

Mebane earns $5.7m over the next two seasons — but the ease in which he can be cut (he has almost no dead money on his contract) makes a re-negotiation very possible.

These are the decisions facing John Schneider and Carroll. But they’ve acknowledged they have some tough calls to make.

Now we just sit and wait to see how the best team in football tries to stay right at the top of the mountain.

In today’s press conference Carroll also listed a series of improvements he wants to see next year:

– He believes Russell Wilson will continue to develop because of his great work ethic, and also called his post-season form “exquisite”

– Carroll spoke with some passion about cleaning up the teams league-leading penalty problems

– A healthy Percy Harvin can help take the offense to another level, with Carroll stating they were only “scratching the surface” on his potential during the Super Bowl

– Carroll says they didn’t get the pass rush rolling until mid-season, and it’s something they can continue to develop

– He said kick-off returns are another area with major room for improvement — obviously Harvin being on the field helps here

The players and coaches will now take a break, with the next big event the combine in Indianapolis — starting on February 22nd.

Finally here’s some more tape to get into as we roll into draft season. This is courtesy of JMPasq, and it’s Aaron Donald (DT, Pittsburgh) and Eric Ebron (TE, North Carolina):

Could this man land in Seattle? (and no, we're not talking about Tim Tebow)

The Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions, and now face the first of many challenging off seasons.

We talked a lot last week about how one great player (Peyton Manning) would struggle to defeat a complete team (the Seahawks).

The reason a lot of consistent challengers are based around one brilliant individual QB is simple.

It’s so frickin difficult to possess a complete roster and maintain it for the long term.

When your star players are third and fifth round picks on rookie salaries, you can afford to pad out your team.

But when those tiny rookie contracts turn into superstar mega deals, you run into trouble.

There’s a lot of talk today about a potential dynasty because this is a young roster.

That’s all well and good, but the fact is Seattle won’t be able to keep all of its young players.

Not only will they lose some key contributors and starters, even guys like Jermaine Kearse are seeing their value rise because they’re doing it on the big stage.

By keeping the likes of Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Michael Bennett, Bobby Wagner and a few others — they may face something of a mini rebuild down the line.

Replacing guys they’d otherwise really love to keep.

Here’s an example. What happens when K.J. Wright hits free agency in a years time?

Ideally you’d re-sign him. But he’ll know his value is considerably strong as a Super Bowl Champion and starter for the ‘en vogue’ team in the NFL.

Jacksonville will be waiting to pounce on any players who slip through the free agency net. You can pretty much include every other team in the league with money to burn.

Starters, depth players and even practise squad guys — the sharks are circling around the Seahawks.

And this could be the first year where a few tough decisions needs to be made.

Here’s the list of free agents hitting the market in 2014:

Michael Bennett, Golden Tate, Walter Thurmond, Breno Giacomini, Steven Hauschka, Tony McDaniel, Clinton McDonald, Michael Robinson, Tarvaris Jackson, Chris Maragos, O’Brien Schofield, Paul McQuistan, Kellen Davis, Anthony McCoy, Brandon Browner and Lemuel Jeanpierre.

According to Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks “will” re-sign Michael Bennett.

PFT later disputed this report, saying no deal was close to being finalised.

However, I think Rapoport’s point is there’s going to be mutual interest. Bennett has spoken warmly about his return to Seattle and the Seahawks know how important he is to the defense.

This deal will get done. The question is, how much will it cost?

Rapoport also says they will try and keep Golden Tate if they have room.

This looks like one of the first big decisions they’ll face.

Tate’s most productive year for yardage came in 2013 — with 898 yards. He added five scores — two less than 2012.

Judging his value is going to be tough. On the one hand, his increase in yardage isn’t a total shock given the injuries to Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. He’s never been a production machine and he does have games where he simply doesn’t make much of an impact.

At the same time, there are plenty of games where he’s essentially been the MVP. The victory in St. Louis in week eight was pretty much down to his huge downfield score and earlier touchdown in the red zone.

He gets under the skin of defenders and has a knack of making big plays when they’re needed.

He appears tight with Russell Wilson and is one of the players who’s shown real progression in the last two years.

The Seahawks don’t have great depth at receiver. If Sidney Rice is a cap casualty and with Harvin’s health problems, would you really want to lose him?

And yet receivers consistently get overpaid in free agency — and there will be teams out there showing interest in Tate. Keeping him might just be too expensive without letting him test the market first.

Essentially you run the real risk of losing Golden Tate. But such is the situation.

With a deep class of receivers in the upcoming draft, they may have little choice but to invest in youth and grit their teeth on this one.

Another thing to consider — Doug Baldwin is a RFA this year and will likely be tendered and therefore kept. But in 2015 he’ll need paying too, and I’d argue he’s shown a ton of value to this team as a reliable third down converter.

With a hopefully healthy Harvin as an X-factor, you can perhaps prioritise a longer team deal for Baldwin over paying Tate.

Unless there’s a way to keep both, but that could be expensive given Harvin’s massive contract.

Breno Giacomini is one of the more underrated players on the team, but he can’t expect to continue on a salary that pays him $4.75m a year. I suspect there’s a deal to be done here, with the 28-year-old taking a smaller annual salary for long term security.

The tackle class in the draft has also been weakened somewhat with a number of players opting to stay in college.

Steven Hauschka had a sensational season, and truly deserves an extended contract.

But here’s the issue. Dan Bailey just signed a 7-year $22m extension in Dallas, setting the market for kickers of this standard. The cap hit for Dallas in 2014 is $1.75m, but it gradually progresses to a peak of $4.2m.

The Seahawks, unlike the Cowboys, won’t be paying their kicker that kind of money.

Like Tate, it might be a situation where you let Hauschka test the market to see what kind of money he can get. He’s at least as good a kicker as Bailey, and yet earned just $620k this season.

He’d have to be crazy not to at least see what’s out there.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Seahawks have done serious due diligence on the college kickers turning pro. The Minnesota Vikings had Blair Walsh tied up for four years earning an average salary of $500k per year after drafting him in 2012.

As good as Hauschka was this year and deserves to be rewarded, you have to pick your battles carefully.

Tony McDaniel and Clinton McDonald had fantastic seasons, emerging from nowhere to be key contributors. Again, you’d be stunned if Gus Bradley and Jacksonville weren’t showing interest here. Other teams will be too.

Jordan Hill might have to step up in year two to replace McDonald, and he’s capable.

I’d love to think they can keep McDaniel, but it might just be too expensive.

Michael Robinson has probably played his last down in the NFL — and what a fitting way to depart. You’d love to see him continue, but I think a career in the media now awaits Mike Rob.

On Tarvaris Jackson — give him a modest two-year deal if he’ll take it and keep a backup who knows the offense like the back of his hand. I think the time has passed where teams will consider giving him a chance to compete to start.

For the long haul though it’d be nice to see the Seahawks drafting quarterbacks and developing their own guys. Logan Thomas’ stock has slipped considerably over the last two years. If he’s available in round four or five, I’d be all over that as a developmental pick.

Chris Maragos restructured his contract in 2013 from $1.3m to $700k plus a $155k signing bonus. He’s a nice special teamer and backup and there’s possibly a deal to be done here too. Demand elsewhere will be limited.

I would expect O’Brien Schofield, Paul McQuistan and Kellen Davis to move on. We may see Anthony McCoy return for camp to compete for a spot, ditto backup centre Jeanpierre.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Browner. I don’t think anybody is.

Walter Thurmond is a tough one to judge. He’s another candidate to be reunited with Gus Bradley — and it wouldn’t surprise me if the 49ers and Rams showed interest to bolster their secondaries.

He’s also coming off a recent suspension which will damage his stock, not to mention all the injuries he’s suffered in his career.

This coaching staff prides itself on being able to find and develop starting corners. So Thurmond might be replaceable.

It’s really about damage limitations in terms of losing starters (eg Giacomini) while trying to keep a high level of overall quality. I’d argue keeping Bennett and Giacomini will benefit the team more than keeping Tate, especially with the great receiver class this year in the draft.

But the thought of losing such a core player who’s been with the team since 2010 is tough to take. This is the kind of heart wrenching scenario facing the Seahawks.

Rapoport also reported the Seahawks will prioritise re-signing Earl Thomas over Richard Sherman this off-season.

Make no mistake, Thomas is getting an extension this off-season. It’s a matter of when, not if.

With Sherman they could theoretically run his contract down. You’d have the security of the franchise tag, knowing there’s nobody else who would really warrant it in 2015. Plus in a years time we might see contracts like Cliff Avril, Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane leaving the books to free up some room.

This might push back an extension for Russell Wilson until his rookie deal expires, but again — you’d have the franchise tag as security in 2016 and it should be a pretty easy deal to negotiate anyway.

There are going to be some cap casulaties to raise cash. Rice is likely a gonner earning close to $10m a year. Chris Clemons’ swansong might be a Super Bowl ring and a sack in the big game. Cutting both saves around $14m.

I suspect they might keep hold of both Bryant and Mebane for another season for continuity’s sake — especially if they lose both McDaniel and McDonald. If either or both re-sign, obviously that potentially changes the situation.

Seattle has become a very attractive place to play football. Don’t be surprised if there’s a couple of eye catching free agent moves that are pretty cost effective.

My prediction? Jared Allen on a one or two-year deal at a very reasonable price to replace the veteran departure of Clemons.

He had 11.5 sacks in 2013 on a bad team. Reports emerged via Adam Schefter prior to the trade deadline that Seattle was interested in acquiring Allen from Minnesota. Nothing came of the story, although there’s no smoke without fire and all that.

Allen turns 32 in April and hasn’t been to a Super Bowl. He’d likely get better offers elsewhere, but he’s at that stage now where it’s another pay day versus the chance to win a title.

Would he be interested? Perhaps.

Plus, it’d fill the yearly quota for ex-Vikings moving to Seattle.

Lamar Houston might be another one to watch. Like Bennett last year, he might not find an amped market for his tweener skill set. If he’s willing to play on a similar ‘prove it’ deal if his market is fairly cold — it’s a situation worth monitoring.

But hey, we’re a long way off discussing potential free agent signings.

As for the draft — well we’re well under way there. The combine takes place at the end of the month and we’ve already seen in the Senior Bowl.

Tape is starting to emerge from the event in Mobile, so we can finally get into that.

I still believe the #1 priority for this team should be a big receiver, with adding depth to both lines a close second.

The sheer depth of first round talent at wide out makes it an obvious option for the Seahawks, now that we know they’ll be picking at #32.

Here are the last five players taken with the final pick in round one:

2013 — Matt Elam (S, Florida) – to Baltimore
2012 — David Wilson (RB, Virginia Tech) – to NYG
2011 — Derek Sherrod (T, Miss. State) – to Green Bay
2010 — Patrick Robinson (CB, Florida State – to New Orleans
2009 — Ziggy Hood (DT, Missouri) – to Pittsburgh

As you can see, none of the previous five Super Bowl winners made a deal to move back into round two. With it being the final pick on day one, it might be difficult to trade.

If there’s a player you just have to have at the bottom end of the first round, you typically don’t wait until pick #32 to get on the phone. There’s actually been a handful of deals over the last few years just ahead of the final pick, but none of the Super Bowl Champions have moved down.

So let’s celebrate and then get back into it.

Even with that elusive Championship finally in the bag, it’s going to be another very interesting off-season in Seattle.

Would you expect anything else?

You can help Seahawks Draft Blog by purchasing all your Super Bowl Champions gear via the banner below, and using the sidebar:

Seattle Seahawks... Super Bowl Champions

We did it.

The Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions.

We endured the final days of the Ruskell/Mora era. Debated the merits of the 2010 quarterback class. Wondered if this team would ever make it back to the big game.

And here we are, right at the top of the mountain.

Winning in style on the biggest stage imaginable.

Champions.

We all we got, we all we need.

From the very first play it was destined to be Seattle’s day. A botched snap led to a safety, and the momentum built from there.

The Seahawks led after 12 seconds and never looked back.

The narrative of Seattle’s ‘mediocre’ offense being unable to keep up with Peyton Manning was truly redundant. Not only did they keep up, they dominated Denver’s vastly overrated defense.

I don’t recall hearing the words ‘pot roast’ once.

The #1 defense in the NFL didn’t just shut down the most prolific offense in NFL history.

This was a massacre.

They did the little basics they needed to do to win the game. Tackle well, limit the damage, bend but don’t break.

They also did what they needed to do to take complete control. Manning was constantly under pressure and had no answers. The defense took the ball away time and time again.

Let’s reflect on what this unit did tonight.

This wasn’t some random offense they faced. This was Peyton Manning, coming off the best statistical season by a quarterback.

He and the Broncos attack scored eight points, having averaged 38 per game during the regular season.

Something aint right if we’re not talking about this unit like the ’85 Bears.

What else do they need to prove?

But it wasn’t just the defense who turned up in what has to be one of the best Super Bowl performances ever.

Offense, defense, special teams.

Seattle was just better in every single department — and that’s why they won 43-8.

Has there ever been a more balanced Super Bowl Champion?

Don’t make the mistake in thinking this is just something that happened over the last fortnight.

Think back to the pre-season. Seattle faced three playoff teams (San Diego, Denver and Green Bay) plus the Oakland Raiders.

It was pretty obvious even then that the Seahawks had the deepest and most talented roster in the NFL.

They haven’t always played lights out football. The three defeats were all avoidable, while some of the wins were closer than they needed to be.

Injuries played their part — and very few teams could’ve coped losing both starting tackles, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice and Brandon Browner.

And yet they made it all the way to the final game, providing the opportunity to prove what we found out in the summer…

That this is the best roster in the NFL.

It was fitting that pretty much every active player had a role tonight.

A few highlights:

Kam Chancellor — set the tone on defense immediately with a sledgehammer hit on Julius Thomas. It wasn’t the only blast of the night. He also had a key interception and played at an unbelievable level in the post season this year.

Malcolm Smith — the MVP. He ended the season with four interceptions in five games, including two touchdowns. His pick six tonight was the killer — it ended a long Denver drive as they tried to recover from a 15-0 start. They chewed a ton of time off the clock and gave up seven points. That interception was the really the first point in the game that we knew this was going to be a beat down.

Russell Wilson — didn’t we say it? Didn’t we all point out that this defense wouldn’t be able to contain him? Unlike the Rams, Cardinals and 49ers — they don’t have the edge rushers to bottle him up and cause problems. Wilson did what he does to any average defense — moved around and made big plays with ice in his veins. He made some crucial third down conversions when the game was still a contest.

Jermaine Kearse — duck’s all across New Orleans will be rushing to emulate Kearse’s touchdown run. After two weeks of blah blah blah about Denver’s receivers, an undrafted free agent playing for his hometown club had the biggest impact. And that touchdown was pure Beast Mode.

Percy Harvin — So, who wouldn’t trade for Percy after all? Denver had no idea how to stop him on a very basic sweep play. He was explosive, a complete game changer. And that kick return to start the second half ended the contest. Imagine a full season of this…

Cliff Avril — his pressure forced Manning’s first interception to Chancellor, and his QB hit led to Smith’s pick six. As the 2013 progressed, Avril developed into a huge X-factor for this team. And the best thing is he’s signed up for the 2014 season.

Doug Baldwin — scored a touchdown eerily similar to the one he got at Metlife against the Giants, but also made some big conversions along the way. What a post season he’s had. A huge day against the Niners, the key third down grab against the Saints and now a decent stat line in the Super Bowl.

I’ve singled guys out there, but make no mistake — this was a complete team display.

A performance for the ages.

A night to look back on for the rest of our lives.

Here’s a couple of interesting facts — Manning broke a Super Bowl record for pass completions tonight (33). Demaryius Thomas broke the record for most receptions (13).

It equated to one touchdown and eight total points.

It’s yet another example of a better overall team dominating a side that has total reliance on one aspect (passing game).

I remember listening to Pete Carroll’s first press conference when he revealed the Seahawks would run the ball and play tough defense.

It seemed like a dated approach at the time. The NFL was all about big name quarterbacks throwing for hundreds of yards.

Now the entire league will be scrambling to mimic Carroll’s approach.

He hasn’t just won Seattle’s first Super Bowl title, he’s changed the game.

The way teams approach the draft. The way they treat their players. The way they set up on offense and defense.

Everyone will be rushing to copy the Seahawks.

You can’t expect to get by with just a great quarterback. Not with teams like Seattle around.

You have to be balanced. You have to play tough defense. And that’s why the teams that pose the greatest threat to this franchise are all in the NFC West.

This isn’t something that is easily copied by outsiders. Carroll is unique. An underrated coach for the ages.

A legend in the making.

To have the success he’s had at USC and now in Seattle is really unprecedented. And yet you get the feeling we’re just getting started.

By the end of next week I sincerely hope and expect he’ll have a new contract. His current one runs out at the end of next year.

It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s already signed and sealed, waiting to be announced.

The Seahawks have the best coach in the league, supported by the best GM.

And now they officially have the best team too.

They’ve received no accolades along the way. No ‘Coach of the Year’ for Carroll or ‘Executive of the Year’ for John Schneider. Despite going 13-3 and winning the NFC, none of Seattle’s players came close to winning any ‘Player of the Year’ awards.

This is a team that couldn’t stop the Broncos, according to 27/37 “experts” on ESPN’s web site.

Nice words and praise don’t suit this bunch.

I guess winning titles kind of does.

It won’t stop here either. Aside from this being a young group, you better believe every pending free agent — every young draft prospect — wants to play in Seattle tonight.

They see these players enjoying themselves — and winning Championships in the process.

In fact one of the greatest challenges this front office will face going forward is identifying those who will really cherish the opportunity to be part of this thing, versus those who expect an easy ride.

It’s a great problem to have, as Carroll and co go about trying to turn this into a rare (and yet somehow achievable) dynasty.

There are two other things I want to mention quickly.

Firstly — the Seahawks officially own the #32 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

I’ve waited a long time to write that.

Secondly — we deserve this.

I bought into this team after one visit to watch them play. Not because of anything I necessarily saw on the field. It was the way this franchise valued its fans, plus the way those fans valued each other.

It felt like home. It felt right — and I had to be part of it.

Carroll’s podium interview had me choked up.

“This trophy is for you”

Yet again it reminded me how much this team values the people that matter the most.

So many sports, so many teams take their fans for granted. They’re viewed as customers — there to be exploited and abused.

Not in Seattle.

Not with these Seahawks.

Tonight, the 12th man can celebrate.

We did it.

And we did it in style.

You can help Seahawks Draft Blog by purchasing all your Seattle Seahawks Championship gear using the banner above and in the right hand side bar.

Russell Wilson, loose and ready to lead this team to a Championship

We all we got.

We all we need.

That was the message that started it all.

Back in 2010, the Seahawks were a shell of a team.

Pete Carroll and John Schneider had gone through so many roster moves, tried out so many players.

They were left with a small group of guys willing to buy into the vision and start this thing off.

Very few actually remain as the Seahawks try to win Super Bowl 48. But that same message has stood the test of time.

And it has just as much value today.

We all we got.

We all we need.

The Seahawks are not favourites to win the Super Bowl. That’s despite having the best overall roster in the league, a much healthier group of players and for the most part superior quality than the Broncos.

Yet very few people outside of Seattle really believe in this team.

Would you want it any other way?

This is what the Seattle Seahawks are about. Shutting up the doubters. Proving people wrong.

Winning football games.

It’s not totally disrespectful to expect a Denver victory — Peyton Manning has just recorded the best single season by a quarterback in the history of the NFL.

To quote Richard Sherman: “We’ve got 11 players out there to play great ball, and we’re never going to let one man beat us. It’s not just about one man.”

He made that comment after beating Tom Brady last season.

That’s another game Seattle were not favoured in.

I’d say it’s fantastic news that the majority of pundits seem to be picking the Broncos.

Take a look at ESPN’s pick page.

I’ve removed the word ‘experts’, seeing as for the most part the term is not relevant. It’s basically a comedian, Skip Bayless (he’s not the comedian) plus a handful of insiders and radio broadcasters.

Of the 37 people asked to decide, 27 pick the Broncos.

Here are a few of my favourite quotes:

Cari Champion, “First Take” host
Broncos 31, Seahawks 26 — Peyton Manning is a surgeon. He will carve up the defense and go down as the greatest doctor in NFL history

What does this even mean? The greatest doctor in NFL history? Shouldn’t he be working on RGIII’s knees instead?

Tom Jackson, “Sunday NFL Countdown” analyst, former Broncos LB
Broncos 24, Seahawks 13 — If you give Peyton Manning and this Broncos team two weeks to prepare, they’ll figure out a way to score 24 points.

The Seahawks, of course, spent the last two weeks finishing off a Breaking Bad box set — so will only score 13.

Mark Schlereth, “NFL Live” analyst, three-time Super Bowl champion, former Broncos OL, Denver resident
Broncos 31, Seahawks 17 — As long as it’s not windy out, I think the Broncos have too much offensively.

The last time Seattle lost a game by more than seven points was week 9 in the 2011 season. Good old Mark.

Another note of interest — nobody is predicting more than a six point victory for Seattle. The narrative appears to be Denver ‘could’ win quite convincingly, but the Seahawks can only get by with a squeaker.

We’ll see.

It’d be easy to get frustrated by stuff like this — and there’s worse out there.

Scott Wetzel at Sirius Radio called Russell Wilson one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, Jim Rome has predicted a Manning-inspired blow out and apparently some guy named after a pot roast is suddenly the NFL’s defensive MVP.

None of this noise matters.

In fact, it’s a really good thing.

The attitude inspired by ‘we all we got, we all we need’ is crafted by doubt.

Every scout, coach, GM or ‘expert’ who questions these players — it just fuels the fire.

This is a rag tag bunch of so-called misfits who found a home and turned into the best.

#1.

And now they get a chance to prove it.

Gushing praise just doesn’t suit this team, this group.

It’d be weird to hear universal approval of what’s going on, however much it’s justified.

And maybe, just maybe, it’d take away some of the edge?

Right now there are players in that locker room determined to make the ultimate point.

Red Bryant. Doug Baldwin. Richard Sherman. Earl Thomas. Breno Giacomini.

These guys don’t want praise.

They just want to win.

At the heart of everything is a quarterback who quietly just gets on with his business.

A player who has barely received any attention this week, except for those complaining about his recent lack of prolific stat-making performances.

It’s funny, I went back and had a look at the stats from last season.

(You know, the time when Russell Wilson was the next best thing)

In the last four games of the regular season, when Seattle was blowing everyone out of sight, he recorded an average of 194 yards per game.

He had a further 187 yards in the playoff victory over Washington.

The Seahawks won all of those games without Wilson needing to be sensational or carry his team.

Guess what? He wasn’t flawless either. He struggled against the Rams — missed a couple of opportunities against the Redskins and played a minuscule role in the 58-0 win over Arizona.

Right now he’s not playing as well as he did to finish the 2012 season, but the facts are he’s never been a big yardage quarterback. He’s been the point guard this team has always wanted under Carroll.

And coming up against the lowest ranked defense he’s faced since week 11… tomorrow, I fully expect Wilson to play a great game.

This guy has been preparing for this moment his entire life.

The words, ‘pressure’, ‘choke’ and ‘worry’ are not part of his vocabulary.

Russell Wilson is a gift to Seattle. On and off the field.

And it’s a gift that’ll keep on giving, win or lose against the Broncos this weekend.

This city deserves some success.

The Seahawks fans finally have the team they fully deserve. And more importantly, this fantastic Seahawks team have the fans they deserve.

It’s time to make history.

My final message tonight is to enjoy these last few hours.

Make a toast to this team and its direction.

Treat yourself to a bit of humour and watch this video:

There’s no need to stress about this game.

Unlike 2006, this isn’t a window waiting to be slammed shut. This team is here for the long haul, with the right people in charge.

And despite that fact, they are ready to deliver right now.

They really are bigger, faster, stronger and louder.

They’re ready to leave no doubt, 24/7.

And there’s only one more question to ask…

Why not us?

We all we got.

We all we need.

Let’s do this.

This’ll get you in the mood.

Enjoy.

A quick reminder you can help Seahawks Draft Blog by making all your pre-Super Bowl purchases via the official NFL store.

Simply click on the banner below…

Earlier today they made available some white Russell Wilson jersey’s (Seattle will play in white on Sunday) with the Super Bowl patch on the correct side.

They’ll probably sell out quite quickly so hurry if you want one.

Time to end media madness

For those who don’t know, I am a journalist by trade. I work for the BBC in England as a radio host and spend a lot of my time going to press conferences and conducting interviews.

Usually, the idea of daily access to players and coaches plus a specially organised ‘media day’ would be music to my ears.

At the end of the day, journalists have a job to do. They have a boss like everyone else, and they have to deliver results.

Putting all of the players and coaches in a giant arena or on a podium just makes life easy.

When you get access every day, you barely even have to try.

So I approached the idea of media day with some relish.

But as I watched it unfold, I couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

This week — a week that is supposed to be filled with excitement, anticipation, nerves and even more excitement — has actually been…

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLY BORING TO THE POINT OF ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH

SOMEBODY KILL ME NOW….

I usually wait with great anticipation to hear what Pete Carroll has to say.

For the first time today, I was bored.

In fact not even bored. I wanted to put my hands over my ears and run around the room screaming for this to end.

Right now I will listen to anything else. “Music” by Pitbull. Janice from ‘Friends’ laughing over and over again on repeat. Perhaps even a Colin Kaepernick interview.

I cannot cope with any more half baked press conferences involving the Seattle Seahawks.

You can only hear so many questions about a defense, Percy Harvin or Marshawn Lynch’s interview technique.

And none of this is the players or coaches fault.

I’m absolutely stunned by how much they have to do in this — the most important week of the season.

Surely they’d be better served concentrating on the game?

After all, even as a member of the press, I just want to see a great contest.

I want the players to be completely prepared, relaxed and concentrating on what could happen on Sunday.

I want them going about their usual routines — so they are ready to perform as they have in the previous 18 games.

If they can spare 10-15 minutes once or twice along the way — excellent. That access should be granted.

But what we’ve seen this week is needless overkill.

Death by boredom.

What on earth is anyone getting out of these endless press conferences?

If the fans are anything like me, they’re bored stiff. If there are journalists out there who still need access after media day — what on earth were they doing?

We’ve had two more press conferences since Tuesday’s press bonanza.

I had to turn today’s interviews off. Enough is enough. Let’s play some football already.

We simply do not need all of this coverage.

Not in an age where press conferences are streamed live into our homes. Not in an age where everything is on Twitter, usually repeated by multiple journalists.

And not in an age where players themselves can directly give us an insight into their personalities via their own social media accounts.

We don’t need to hear Carroll answer a question about whether he looks like Owen Wilson. We don’t need to hear Russell Wilson talking about his hair.

Absolutely nothing interesting has come out of all this over the last few days. No fresh or interesting angles what so ever.

All of the players are on best behaviour. All are speaking in cliche’s just trying to survive the chaos.

What a completely pointless waste of time for all involved.

The NFL needs to review the schedule leading into its show-piece event for next year.

The whole thing turned into a shambles this week. Too much talk about what Marshawn Lynch didn’t say, too much talk about what Richard Sherman did say and too many questions about Justin Bieber.

(One is too many)

Either have media day and nothing else, or just have a couple of press conferences involving the coaches and key players who are used to speaking for the team.

That’s enough.

The NFL Network can fill its time talking to Jesse from Breaking Bad (who is picking the Broncos, because his wife is a Giants fan. Yeah.)

ESPN can have Stephen A. Smith repeat over and over again that he hasn’t made his pick yet but here’s 100 reasons why Denver will win.

Fox can have Jay Glazer flogging designer watches or whatever he does on Twitter these days.

It’s what they’ve done anyway this year, even with all the access.

Time for a rethink, before we’re all bored into submission and start watching the NBA again.

Now — less of the serious stuff.

Enjoy.

One narrative I really don’t get is this idea Seattle’s offense is mediocre.

It isn’t.

Not unless a top-ten offense is classed as mediocre these days.

According to DVOA, Seattle had the #7 offense in the league in 2013.

Combine it with the #1 defense and #5 special teams unit — and it’s easy to see why they were ranked #1 overall as the most complete team in the NFL.

Yes — they had some issues late in the season and haven’t exploded in the playoffs either.

There’s a pretty obvious reason for that.

They’ve consistently faced elite or very good defensive units since week 13.

Here’s the list, with each teams DVOA defensive ranking in brackets:

New Orleans (x2) – #10
New York Giants – #6
San Francisco (x2) – #13
Arizona – #2
St. Louis – #12

It’s not really surprising that they’ve only averaged 22 points in those seven games.

In the three games before this stretch, they faced Tampa Bay (#8), Atlanta (#29) and Minnesota (#27).

They averaged 34 points in those three.

What some people perceive as a dramatic slump or evidence of mediocrity, is probably more the opposition performing to standard from week 13 to the NFC Championship game.

Seattle faces the #15 defense in the Super Bowl. Yet it’s the #15 defense without Chris Harris (Denver’s best corner), Von Miller (their best pass rusher) and Derek Wolfe (a very good defensive tackle).

What’s more, while certain media outlets have focused on Seattle’s offense — they’ve been willing to look beyond some of Denver’s defensive issues.

Yes — the Broncos played very well against an injury hit New England offense in the AFC Championship game.

But look at the complete schedule this year.

They conceded less than 15 points on just two occasions — to the Houston Texans in week 16 (#29 ranked offense) and the Oakland Raiders in week 17 (#28 ranked offense).

Suffice to say, neither team had a great deal to play for.

They also gave up a lot of points in 2013 for a 13-3 team.

Take a look for yourselves. I’ve included each teams DVOA ranking on offense in brackets:

27 vs Baltimore (#30)
23 vs New York Giants (#31)
21 vs Oakland (#28)
48 vs Dallas (#11)
33 vs Indianapolis (#13)
21 vs Washington (#23)
34 vs New England (#4)
28 vs Kansas City (#15)
28 vs Tennessee (#16)

Remember, Seattle has the #7 offense. So they’re ranked higher than Dallas and Indianapolis, who combined for 81 points against the Broncos. And slightly worse than New England, who managed to register 34.

You could argue there’s a lot of selective opining going on here.

Don’t get me wrong — Seattle’s offense can improve. Third down and red zone performance has been surprisingly weak recently.

Yet the Seahawks have still made big plays to offset these issues. And they’ve kept on winning despite that 22-point average since week 13.

Without doing any real homework it’d be easy to point to trends.

To the passer-by, Seattle’s offense is regressing and Denver’s defense is improving.

In reality, the Seahawks have come through a stretch where they consistently faced top defenses with enough points to make a Super Bowl.

Denver’s defense over the course of the year has given up a ton of points.

And if you want one other myth busted tonight — look at how many points Denver have scored in their last two playoff games.

Despite dominating T.O.P. against San Diego and New England, they put up 24 and 26 respectively.

San Diego’s defensive rank in DVOA? #32 and dead last.

New England comes in slightly better at #21.

On Sunday the Broncos face the #1 defense.

It might be worth adjusting some of those +30 point predictions for Peyton Manning and co.