Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEAHAWKS COME OUT VICTORIOUS AFTER BACK AND FORTH OFFENSIVE GAME WITH FALCONS

The Falcons didn’t forget the close loss they suffered at the hands of the Seahawks in the regular season. They showed up and wanted to send a message early. It was Pro Bowl Roddy White who flew past Antoine Cason down the right sideline and caught the first play of the game from Matt Ryan to go in untouched for the 69-yard score, giving them an early 7-0 lead.

Seattle answered right back by going a methodical 81-yards in 11 plays to score a touchdown on a Lynch catch and run down the sideline for 21-yards.

One time Seahawk, Greg Camarillo, caught a 20-yard pass from Matt Ryan to go back up 14-7. Seattle wouldn’t stay down however as Lynch ran in his touchdown from 1-yard to tie the game at 14 at one quarter of play.

Seattle forced Matt Ryan into a bad throw by blitzing him and he failed to see Antoine Cason in front of the tight end to snatch the ball. Atlanta was able to hold Seattle to a field goal to be down 17-14. Atalanta then reminded the Seahawks of their offensive prowess and scored as veteran Anquan Boldin caught an easy 13-yard pass as the Seahawk’s defense committed to a running play and guessed wrong. Seattle got right back to work however, marching down the field as Claybrooks found Rob Gronkowski in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard strike. Seattle went into halftime with a 24-21 lead.

Seattle sputtered with their first possession as Atlanta capitalized after the punt as Ryan found Gary Barnidge for a 28-yard score to go up 28-24. Seattle kept responding though as they marched 72-yards in under 2-minutes to score on a Claybrooks’ pass to Arrington as he scampered into the end zone from 10-yards out to go back up 31-28.

Atlanta held the Seahawks scoreless for the rest of the half getting the ball back twice, but the Hawks defense was tough. Atlanta got into field goal position twice, but Jeff Reed pushed both field goals to the right from 39 and 40 yards respectively. Atalanta would later come to regret those missed points, who knows what the Hawk’s momentum would have been like.

Jeff Reed hit an early field goal in the fourth quarter to make it a tied game 31-31. Seattle then put the accelerator down and score a touchdown taking 4 minutes off the clock in the process. Arrington caught his second touchdown in a swing route and was left alone in the end zone for the 8-yard toss. Seattle would then force Atlanta into a 4th & short, and knocked down the pass intended for Roddy White to get the ball back. They would bleed the clock and get a field goal in the process to push the lead to 41-31 with mere seconds to go.

The Hawks’ next test would be versus the number 1 defense AND number 2 offense in the league...Philadelphia Eagles. They beat them in the regular season, but the Eagles clearly have redemption on their minds in this rematch.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

PHILADELPHIA GETS REVENGE WITH 4TH QUARTER OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION TO HEAD TO SUPER BOWL VERSUS JETS

Seattle and Philadelphia were trading scoring throughout the first half. LeSean McCoy got the scoring started with a 1-yard touchdown plunge sale in the game. Before the end of the first quarter, Jake George caught a little 3-yard pass from Claybrooks on a little hook route.

The second quarter saw both teams score again. The Eagles got a field goal, while Lynch out his team on top with under 2:00 to go before the half after he plunged in from 1-yard out to go up 14-10.

The third quarter saw much of the same as the Eagles once again got a field goal, but Seattle got a score as Lavelle Hawkins caught a 8-yard pass, made a guy miss and go in for the 12-yard score to head into the fourth quarter with a 21-13 lead.

Philadelphia wouldn’t be denied their revenge from the narrow loss they suffered during the regular season. “Shady” McCoy started off with a 1-yard touchdown plunge followed up with a 2-pt conversion by McCoy to make it a 21-21 game. With 8:00 to go in the game Nichols kicked a 53-yard field goal to go up 24-21. The Seattle defense imposed however as they gave up the go ahead and winning touchdown as Jeremy Maclin burned Antoine Cason for the 24-yard score. Philadelphia’s Nate Allen picked off Claybrooks twice in the final 6:00 of the game to ensure Seattle’s defeat. McCoy added a 2-yard plunge with under 2:00 in the game to cap off the victory.

After the game, Claybrooks spoke to the media. “I didn’t play well, and I made a few costly errors at the end trying to do too much. I’ll train hard over the off-season after taking a short break to decompress and we’ll be ready to go next year”

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

PHILADELPHIA CLAIMS LOMBARDI TROPHY AS THEY GROUND THE JETS 32-15 AS RODGERS CLAIMS SUPER BOWL MVP

The Jets got a field goal, but Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t be denied as he ran it in himself for a 7-yard score. Graham got another field goal but Aaron Rodgers found Brent Celek for a 17-yard score. New York got another field goal before the half to make it a 14-9 deficit.

Philadelphia got an early third quarter field goal before Sanchez finally got a touchdown for the Jets with about 8:00 to go in the game to make it a 15-17 game. They failed at 2-pt conversion leaving the dot open for the Eagles to put the game out of reach, as Rodgers found McCoy from 7-yard out and followed it up :90 later with a toss to rookie Odrick for the game sealing 42-yard score.

Aaron Rodgers had an excellent night and deserved the MVP trophy as he went 23 of 32, 272 yards, 3 touchdowns and ran in another score from 7-yards.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE UPGRADES STADIUM TO ‘THANK FANS’ FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT

The Seahawks thanks to a pair of back-to-back Super Bowl victories and playoff births in 4 straight years had been able to have a very friendly expense report. They wanted to give back to the loyal fan base over the years and upgraded the stadium to reflect this.

The team had installed a Global Village Eatery to give the fans more options when it came to food choice. The Eatery had it all, Korean bbq, Italian gelato, french fries and burgers. The menu would rotate everyone month to include different cuisine.

After upgrading the food, it was decided to add a Team Theatre Screen. Hawks fans could relive the great moments, and amazing catches by the team. The first Super Bowl, then the second. The last minute heroics from kicker Glen Nichols to ice the regular season games from years prior. The team hoped it would keep the morale high and everyone having a good time between games.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

THREE PLAYERS RETIRE FROM HAWKS ROSTER

After Chad Ochocino sufferd a broken tailbone towards the end of last year, there was instant speculation he might retire, and that he did. He had spent 13-years in the National Football league, most of them with the Cincinnati Bengals organization, and his final 2 years with the Seahawks. He took to Twitter to a announce his retirement with just a photo of his cleats hanging in a hook in the locker room. He wanted to thank the Bengals and Seahawks for the chance to suit up for the past 13-years and do what he loved.

Tully Banta-Cain had also decided to call it a career after 11-years. He wanted to thank Coach Pete for the great times he had, and helping him get another couple rings.

Shaun McDonald, who had spent the 3-years with the Seahawks had not caught a single ball in his final year in the league and decided that the young guys were stronger, faster then his current state. He was called a ‘professional until the end’.

NOTABLE RETIREES

Matt Birk (Center, Ravens)
Reggie Wayne (Wide Receiver, Colts)
Santana Moss (Wide Receiver, Chargers)
Champ Bailey (Cornerback, Colts)
Brian Urlacher (Linebacker, Broncos)
Adam Vinatieri (Kicker, Browns)

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

EARLY OFFSEASON ROSTER CHANGES

The off-season had barely begun as final numbers were crunched by the financial guys who cut the players their checks. The Seahawks as cap room of $45M with a small cap hit of $940K do to the injury bug of last year needing to free up roster space.

Seattle, had 13 players with expiring contracts, 3 of which were Restricted Free Agents. The first was stud free safety J.T. Hutchinson, the second defensive tackle Biff Young and the last being Keith Marshall who made the Pro Bowl last year. General Manager Schneider knew that all three men were young, important cogs of their talented defense. They each agreed to the max amount of $2.82M as a long term deal would be discussed for each player.

The other 10 players with expiring contracts were Frostee Rucker, Pro Bowl Antoine Cason, Eric Heitmann, Adam Snyder, Shaun Cody, Craig Stevens, Lavelle Hawkins, Derrick Nystrom, Antonio Alderman and Jonathan Morrissey.

After much deliberation and looking at the best way to construct the football team; offers were extended to multiple players:

Lavelle Hawkins; 2-years for $3.4M + $500K bonus
Eric Heitmann; 2-years for $4M + $1.5M bonus
Antoine Cason; Franchise Tag for 1-year $12M

The remaining guys were cut; some were just on the declining stages of their career, others like Craig Stevens were someone signed due to necessity of injury woes to start last season.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEAHAWKS FREE AGENCY ABD OTHER NOTABLE SIGNINGS

Seattle made 2 signings during the initial free agency period. The first was punter Chris Kluwe to a 1-year deal worth $1.3M + $450K bonus and the other “T-Sizzle” Terrell Suggs for 3-years $9M + $3.54M bonus. They would go on to cut their other punter Nick Harris, in a corresponding move.

There were a handful of players that Seattle would have loved to add to their team, one being Steve Smith, former wide receiver for the New York Giants. The two sides were unable to reach a deal, and he instead signed with the Chicago Bears.

The Super Bowl Champion Eagles parted ways with Aaron Rodgers (whom would sign with the Jaguars), and instead brought in Joe Flacco. They also signed Jonathan Babineaux to retool their defensive line and Antone Bathea to be the middle of the field enforcer.

The Dallas Cowboys re-signed Tony Romo to a 3-year deal hoping he will retire in their uniform.

The New Orleans Saints signed both Jeremy Maclin and Santonio Holmes to stretch the field, and give Drew Brees more aerial weapons.

The Seahawks division got better as Arizona signed Eli Manning, tight end Zach Miller, Elvis Dumervil to rush the passer, and Antonio Cromartie to shutdown opposing wideouts. San Francisco and St. Louis didn’t make much noise in free agency...leaving many wondering if they are gonna load up for the upcoming draft.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE DRAFT DAY

Seahawks on draft day would stick to what they’ve always done...draft young and talented guys from the PAC-12 and coach them up to their full potential.

They drafted ROLB, Carlos Armstrong out of California with their first round pick. The experts had him going in the mid-late 2nd round, and it was deemed a stretch of a pick by Mel Kiper.

“He’s a second round talent, you could have traded into the second and picked up more picks of that was the route you wanted to take” commented Kiper.

The second round pick was used on Damon Abdullah, a right end out of Arizona, who has no relation to fellow right end Nate Abdullah.

Again, Mel Kiper didn’t speak highly of the pick. “There was talent on the board at other skill positions like wide receiver and cornerback. I know what they are doing up in Seattle, but it’s still a head scratcher”

Third round saw Seattle take right guard Doug Hastings from Arizona. The hope is he will grow under the knowledge of Kyle DeVan since DeVan is getting older.

This was one of the few picks McShay praised, “they took a guy who is very smart and will study tape. He has the mental makeup, now he just has to get the physicality to match”.

Fourth round saw right guard Larry Mankey come off the board out of Washington State. He would be third on their depth chart behind Pollak and Levitre, but Levitre was a stop-gap option when he was signed year ago.

The fifth round was time to select cornerback Howard Snow from Arizona. He would add depth to their back.

The sixth round more help was drafted for the defensive line. Randy Schmidt a defensive tackle from Arizona was picked. He would add depth to an already scary front. Mel Kiper praised this pick, “he’s a solid guy, who will help solidify the front line better and give a better rotation”

Their final pick for round seven was center, James Carrier out of California. Heitmann was getting older and he might be retiring sooner rather than later.

POST DRAFT ANALYSIS

Seattle and St. Louis were given grades of “F” by McShay and Kiper for not adding skill position depth to their teams. San Francisco got a “D-“, for trying to fix holes...but there were just too many holes to fix in the draft. Arizona got a “C” for doing better then the other divisional teams, but they reached on a 3rd round pick.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE ROOKIE SIGNING DAY

After the spectacle of the draft was over, both sides went to work, drawing up contracts for their incoming draftees. Some were easier than others, but in the end all was solved and players signed.

Carlos Armstrong 5-years, $14.6M + $2.45M bonus

Damon Abdullah 4-years, $11.7M + $1.4M bonus

Doug Hasting 3-years, $4.3M + $840K bonus

Larry Manley 3-years, $3.2M + $570K bonus

Howard Snow 2-years, $2.8M + $320K bonus

Randy Schmidt 3-years, $2.9M +$450K bonus

James Carrier 1-year, $470K + $60K bonus

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

FREE AGENCY: PART 2

The draft is over, a new fresh batch of players have just signed their first ever professional contract. Some deals are more ludicrous than others, but that’s a normal state of affairs in the NFL. Teams look over their roster from top to bottom, and proceed to look at the free agents available to try and fill any glaring weakness or maybe just add depth to their team.

The Seahawks wanted to add an extra wide receiver to their mix, in Brandon Gibson from Washington State. They signed him to a 1-year deal worth $1M + $410K bonus. He would be the fourth option of the depth chart, but with as much as the Seahawks throw the ball there will be enough to go around in theory.

—————

The Minnesota Vikings plucked Carson Palmer to be their backup as well as Michael Huff to roam the secondary for them.

Arizona made noise by signing strong safety Tyvon Branch and wideout Trevor Sylvester who is one of the fastest guys in the league, defensive tackle Shaun Smith to plug up running lanes.

San Francisco added strong safety Kevin Payne, wideout Steve Breaston to help stretch the field, backup tackles Jermon Bushrod and John White, guard Donald Thomas to help the offensive line.

St. Louis signed fullback Gary Russell to help block and occasional run, tackles Kareem McKenzie and Khalif Barnes to solidly their offensive line, outside linebackers Antwan Barnes and Parys Haralson to rush the quarterbacks.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

PRESEASON ROUNDUP

Seattle had an average preseason going 2-2 for their slate of games. The won their first game, versus Green Bay in Lambeau Field by a score of 27-9. Their next game they lost to the Super Bowl Champion Eagles 10-15, on a late score as the defense collapsed. Their third game was better, defeating the Falcons 21-16 at Qwest Field as the defense picked off their comeback attempt. The. Arizona came into Qwest Field and stopped Seattle on their comeback attempt to win 23-17.

The Seahawks did the most important thing during the preseason, escape injuries. Nobody got injured for the Seahawks as they looked to be a 5-time NFC West Dicision Champions.

——————

Other teams were not as lucky to avoid injury woes transitioning from preseason to real games.

The Buffalo Bills suffered 3 injuries. Wideout Jonathan Holland, and outside linebacker Rashad Jeanty were out multiple weeks while wideout Anthony Gonzales was probable.

Baltimore lost their starting running back Steve Slaton for the year with a torn shoulder.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

(So I’m gonna do something a bit different for this year of the team. I am gonna SIM each week and let the wonky algorithm that is EA Sports decide if I win or lose. I will give a recap of the game like always, and I will only play the Super Bowl if I make it there. Let’s see how awesome the game thinks I am)

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE STARTS OFF 1-0 AFTER DEFENSE STAYS STRONG

Seattle started off with a strong win on Sunday versus their rival San Francisco 49ers. The defense gave up a paltry 109 yards of total offense to the visiting 49ers. Seattle got the scoring going early as Nichols knocked home a 41-yard field goal to at just squeezed inside the left goalpost. Claybrooks then added a 3-yard pass to Gronkowski who caught it in traffic in the middle of the end zone.

The second quarter saw both teams exchange field goal as Nichols hit one from 34-yards and San Francisco finally got on the board with a 41-yarder.

Seattle went into halftime with a 13-3 lead and came out still defensively strong as only a field goal of given up as time ticked off for the third quarter to make it a 13-6 game.

San Francisco kicked off to begin the fourth quarter. After a pair of tackles for loss, Claybrooks was sacked in the end zone by Sam Hawk for his 4th sack on the night and gave San Francisco free points with the safety to make it 13-8 game. The 49er finally got a touchdown as Steve Breaston took a punt by Kris Kluwe starting from his own 7-yard line, weaving through countless would be tacklers and taking it back for the improbable 93-yard punt return touchdown. They failed with the 2-point conversion, but they led 13-14. Seattle led by Claybrooks would drive down the field in 3 minutes, to go ahead as Jake George caught a little 3-yard out route as Lynch added a 2-yard 2-pt conversion to go up 21-14.

Seattle finished off the 49ers as Colt McCoy threw his only interception on the night as Tremain Forbes showed his soft hands and picked off a pass intended for the tight end Craig Young.

Coach Carroll gave the dirty game ball of the season to Jake George who caught 8 balls, for 104 yards and the go ahead score.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE TAKES EARLY NFC WEST LEAD WITH 34-15 WIN OVER RAMS

Seattle and St. Louis started with a mediocre first half. Seattle got points on the board first as Nichols hit a 40-yard field goal. The Rams got a pair of field goals during the second quarter to go up 6-3 with about 10 minutes to go in the half. Seattle tied it up with 6:00 to go, via a Nichols 52-yarder. Then Benjamin Leon showed why he deserves to get paid well as he picked off Sam Bradford and ran it back for the 70-yard pick-6. Seattle went into the locker room with a 13-6 lead.

The Seahawks made adjustment as Claybrooks tossed a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter. The first was 21-yards to Tatum and the other was 54-yard down the left sideline to George. The Rams added on a field goal before the fourth quarter to make it 27-9.

The Rams got a single field goal in the final quarter, but not before Claybrooks found Gronkowski for the 2-yard score in the flat.

Ray Claybrooks showed why he was the MVP last year; going 24 of 34 for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He was awarded the game ball, as he had one of the best games in a while dating back to last year.

[Chyli]

Re: Pete Carroll’s PAC-12 Pipeline (PS2 Madden Franchise)

SEATTLE DEFEATS DALLAS IN MONDAY NIGHT THRILLER 24-20

Seattle and Dallas were event matched for nearly all of the game. Settle got a field goal to start the game, but then gave up one at the beginning of the second quarter to be tied at 3-3. Jake George then caught his 3rd touchdown on the season from 11-yards out to go up 10-3. Dallas marched won the field and scored before the half as Tony Romo found Kelvin Claybrooks to tie it up again at 10-10.

Dallas got the ball to start the second half, and scored on their opening drive. Romo found longtime Cowboy Miles Austin for 19-yard score on a post route. Jake George and Claybrooks responded on their next possession to tie the game at 17-17 as George caught the 6-yard score, number 4 on the year.

Gronkowski caught the game winning touchdown early in the final quarter from 3-yards to go up 24-17. Dallas added a field goal to make it 17-24, with 9:39 to go in the game. Seattle’s defense was very much ‘bend but don’t break’ as they allowed Dallas a couple more opportunities to do something, but they came up big when they needed it.

Gronkowski received the game ball, for scoring the winning touchdown as well as reeling in 8 balls for over 100 yards. Week 4, would be the early bye week for the team, before heading to Kansas City to face their former AFC rivals.