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

[Chyli]

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

MUSICAL CHAIRS: COACH EDITION

SEattle was not shocked at all when other teams were looking at their coordinators as potential new head coaches with vacancies coming up. New England saw what Bill Belichick had done as the Seahawks DC, and decided that they wanted him to coach their team again. It wasn’t his fault the team had a 6-10 record in 2011 and then a 5-11 record in 2012 his final years as a head coach. There were injuries, contacts were ending, poor draft class, etc.

The Patriots offered him a 3-year deal for $5M a year. Seattle wasn’t about to lose him, and they matched the offer, and Belichick chose to stay in Seattle.

New England wasn’t done though, they then tried to poach Bates, the offensive mind he was from Seattle for $4.39M for 3-years. As much as Seattle would’ve loved to keep him, they allowed the Patriots to sign him. Seattle then went out and got Mike Martz who was the Eagles OC from 2012-2015, whom they knew back when he was was head coach of the Rams from 2000-2005 when they had the “greatest show on turf”. He was a fraction of the price of Bates, and they felt Martz could do an equally good job.

Some gems would play musical chairs with their coaching staff, while other teams would stay put.

The New England Patriots would try to return to their dominant form by signing Seahawks OC Bates as their new head coach, their new OC would be former wide receiver Doland Driver to mentor their young receiving core.

Rival San Francisco would add former Packers head coach Mike Sherman as their new OC, hoping to turn around their offense.

[Chyli]

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

STADIUM UPGRADES

Seattle loved their fans, and each season wanted to do something special for their loyalty to the team. This year they looks at various upgrades they could do, to make the ‘quality of life’ better.

After deliberation, and figuring out what it would cost Seattle decided upon a pair of ‘thank you’ gifts to the fans.

The first; a laser light projection system. The game intros for the players would spectacular. They felt it would be bring more spectacle to the games. It would cost the team less then $1M per year to keep it operating as well.

The second upgrade would be installing massage seats into the backs of their chairs. If the game was tense and causing stress, the three setting message chairs would help melt the stress away. If the game was easily in hand, then bonus points for a nice comfy massage.

The team want neglected, as the medical facility was improved and updated. New machines were brought in, software was massively updated and the training staff felt that injury times could be cut down as a result to get players back on the field faster.

[Chyli]

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

KEY RETIRING PLAYERS

A pair of future HOFers retired at the end of the season, amongst a slew of others whose careers may not have been HOF worthy but countless fans had rooted for during their careers.

Tony Romo retired at the age of 37, after playing all 13 season as a Dallas Cowboy. He brought a tear to Jerry Jones...but some question the sincerity of Jones’ tear since it Jerry Jones of all egomaniacal owners.

Antonio Gates; whose respected by EVERYONE around the league retired at the age of 36, after he played an amazing 13 year career. His final two years were in Denver, trying to help them win a championship. He finished with over 10,000 receiving yards, 83 TD and respect from everyone.

Seattle lost a longtime Seahawk, in Marcus Trufant. He was born in Tacoma, and played for Washington State in college. He was drafted back in 2003, by his hometown team. He later his entire 13 year career in Seattle and spent his final two years mentoring and passing on his wealth of knowledge to the new generation. He finished with 35 INT, 6 FF, and 711 tackles. He would be missed for his locker room presence.

[Chyli]

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

CONTRACTUAL NIGHTMARES OF THE DEFENDING NFC WEST CHAMPS

Seattle was put in a tough position, contract negations with key players on both sides of the ball. There was a quarter of payers coming up as RFA; Pro Bowl Lamar Sparks ..., Randall Hayes ..., Nate Abdullah ..., and potential stud running back Trent Boyd. Seattle wasn’t playing around, they offered each man the max, 1-year deal they could. Worst case scenario, they lost the upper echelon guys but got a draft pick in return. Best case, they could sign them to a longer deal before the season started.

All four men accepted the deals given to them, and that fixed the first set of hurdles to come for the Seahawks.

Next up, contract negotiations with the high profile players with contracts setting to expire over the next couple days.

Right before teams could initiate contact negotiations, the agents for Max Unger and Rey Maualuga hold told Seattle their players were ‘holding out for a contact that valued his team contributions’. Unger and Maualuga were the second and third players to hold out, as Pro Bowl left end Lawrence Jackson held out all year for similar reasons.

Seattle had a whole other slew of issues, mainly the fact nearly the entire starting offensive line were due new contract or holding out in the case of Max Unger. The team had a tick over $71M to work with, but also had to conscious of the draft in the coming months to pay their rookies.

Seattle looked at left tackles Kwame Harris and backup Aaron Forbes. Harris was turning 35, while Forbes was a much younger 25 going on 26. Forbes was equally as talented as Harris, and Seattle decided to let Harris walk, and give Forbes good money to anchor the left tackle spot for years to come. To the tune of 6-years, $30M + $11.5M bonus.

Next to figure out was their left tackle situation as both starter Mike Pollak and backup Andy Levitre were up for new contracts. Seattle had numerous discussion with Mike Pollak, but the two sides weren’t able to reach an agreement at the end of the day. Andy Levitre, was able to strike a new deal, in the form of a 3-year deal worth $10M + $4M bonus. This would ensure that Seattle wouldn’t have to scramble for a left guard as Larry Manley was a nice third stringer soon to be backup, but Seattle wanted to see more from the man going into his third year.

Max Unger was next to be dealt with, as well as the expiring contract of Eric Heitmann. Seattle and Unger’s agent talked extensively in hopes to get a new deal done. Both sides went back-and-forth. Length of the contract, signing bonus, roster changes, everything come up. Seattle and Unger agreed on a 3-year deal for $18.5M + $7.38M bonus to keep him a highly paid Seahawks. Crisis number one was averted. After getting Unger a new contract, Seattle cut ties with 1st year pro Marty Hunt. The team felt he didn’t have the mental chips to grasp the concepts. The cut would cost the only $140K in cap hit next offseason.

Right guard, Kyle DeVan whose been protecting Claybrooks for the past 5 years was next up on Seattle’s list. He was turning 32 soon, but the team wanted him to mentor his future successor for a little while longer. The two sides agreed to a 3-year deal worth $25.5M + $10M bonus. They then re-signed Doug Hastings, his future replacement to a 7-year deal for $22M + $8.75M bonus to lock him up long term.

Pro Bowl right tackle Winston Justice was going to be a victim of ‘too many mouths to feed’. Seattle had his younger replacement in Deunta Stevens tendered for the next two years, at a reasonable cost. And there was still the looming holdout of Maualuga and Jackson over the heads of Schneider and Carroll.

Left end, Lawrence Jackson was adamant about getting paid what he was worth, as his holdout continued into the offseason. The Sehawks saw something in Vondrell McMillan, who was a young, up and coming player within the organization. They signed him to a 6-year deal for $10M + $4M bonus to secure him. The team kept negotiating with Jackson, but it was clear he would want north of $60M total salary to end his holdout. The team would likely seek a trade partner come next year to get something in return before he walked for nothing after his contract expired after next season.

Mike Patterson may have been surpassed on the depth chart by the sensational Lamar Sparks, but there was no doubt Patterson was still a playmaker. Seattle signed the aging veteran to a 1-year deal for $9M + $3.3M bonus in hopes of finding a replacement via the draft.

Rey Maualuga saw the writing on the wall. Even though he was a dominant force in the middle of the defense, Randall Hayes was a superstar in the making. Hayes was signed to a 5-year deal worth a mighty $68M + $27M bonus cash. Reports surfaced that the Seahawks would also try to find a trade partner for Maualuga come next season.

Seattle had a hard choice because both their free safeties were up for new, big, shiny contracts. Erik Weddle who’d been the starter for years had a younger guy in J.T. Hutchinson right on his heels. After deliberation, Seattle chose to let Erik Weddle hit the open market, to be bough for the highest bidder. Hutchinson was signed to a 5-year deal worth $29M + $11M bonus.

Andrew Buckley, who was a young, athletic playmaking strong safety was signed to a 4-year deal for $14M + $5.5M bonus. Patrick Chung whose been the backup to future HOFer Troy Polamalu for the previous 4 season may be traded for cap relief come the new season.

After all the negotiating was finished and the inked dried on the new contracts; Seattle would have $35M left for free agency and the draft. The list of players hitting the open market were big; Mike Karney, Lavelle Hawkins, Kwame Harris, Mike Pollak, Eric Heitmann, Winston Justice, Kyle Moore, Howard Snow, Eric Weddle.

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENCY ROUNDUP

Seattle, seeing the needs they had at free safety, with Erik Weddle leaving as well as at the fullback position with Mike Karney, decided to look inside their organization before free agency. The team looked at third string tight end, Willie Wolford. They wanted to take a look at how he handled fullback duties. They then took newly re-signed Andrew Buckley and moved him over to free safety in hopes of finding a suitable backup to J.T. Hutchinson. Finally they moved third string right outside linebacker, Irv Sosa over to the left side, as Rey Maualuga was still holding out.

When it came to free agency, Seattle chose to stay out with their roster. They figured the draft was where they built the team, so they would continue the strategy.

Other teams however, were reloading their roster with Pro Bowl caliber talent to push themselves further than previous years.

The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Jets signed strong safety Sherrod Martin to patrol the back end from speedy receivers and re-signed Dustin Keller their start tight end.

The Chiefs loaded up on various levels. They signed Vince Young to lead their offense, Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson to terrorize defenses, former Seahawks Mike Karney to make hole for aforementioned Johnson, Kris Dielman to anchor their left guard spot, former Seahawk great Winston Justice and Cortland Finnegan to shut down opposing receivers.

Erik Weddle was signed by his former team the Chargers.

Kwame Harris was signed by the Dolphins.

Mike Pollak was signed by the Texans.

Eric Heitmann was signed by the division rival 49ers, going back to his former team.

Rams got ready to overtake the Seahawks by signing Dwight Freeney, Calais Campbell to get to the quarterback, Andre Gurode to protect their franchise quarterback Kendall Jenkins, Dan Carpenter to make the clutch kicks missed by Fields.

(When I moved Buckley from SS to FS, he went from a 91->93. When I moved Wolford from TE to FB he went from 68->74. Irv Sosa went from 79->86)

[Chyli]

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

DRAFT RECAP

Seattle had 7 picks in the draft, the 31st pick in each round.

The first round, they selected cornerback Jermaine Webster from Arizona. He was a tall guy at 6’1” who ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash and was a smart football player. Schneider hoped he would start right away for the Hawks and help cut down on the big plays they gave up last year.

The second round, Seattle elected to with Jake Hand, a middle linebacker out of Colorado. He wild provide depth behind Tremain Forbes and John Wade whose in his second year in the league.

Round three, Seattle chose Vondrell Blake, a fullback from Colorado. He was smaller, at 5’ 11”, but they hoped he would progress quickly and be a long term solution of Mike Karney.

Round four, there were not many great PAC-12 options as in years past. Experts might view their pick as a reach, since most teams viewed right tackle Al Robinson from Washington going round 5, not round 4. Seattle had a need at the position, as Stevens needed a backup. Robinson filled a clear void on the offensive line.

Round five, was much like round 4. Arizona’s Alonzo Browing was the obvious choice for Schneider. He is a big, pass blocking left tackle to learn from Aaron Forbes.

Round 6, Seattle grabbed Raven Conley, a defensive tackle from Washington State. He would be a rotation guy, who if performed well could work his way into a starting role over the next couple years.

In the final round, Seattle chose Andre Forrest from Arizona State. He’s a right end, extremely smart and Schneider hoped that he could learn quick from the Abdullah pair.

[Chyli]

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

POST-DRAFT ANALYSIS

Seattle was given a draft grade of “F” for the sixth consecutive year.

“Until they abandon this PAC-12 mission, they will continue to leave guys on the board who are more talented then the guys they drafted” — Mel Kiper

“Repeatedly whiffs on draft day, an organization not focused on winning” — Todd McShay


The Rams were given a “B-“ as according to Mel, “drafted well for their position, it made a few miscalculations”

The Cardinals and 49ers were also given grades of “F”, as McShay felt “neither team addressed key holes on their team”.

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Jermaine Webster is quick with decent awareness for a rookie cornerback. The only concern is his health, as he’s missed some games. If he can stay healthy, he can become great.

Jake Hand is strong, and a wrap-up style tackler. He has no injury concerns and is ready to start making plays for the Hawks.

Vondrell Blake is quite the rough project. He’s not ready for the big leagues yet, and needs to work on his blitz pick-up in order to crack the starting squad.

Al Robinson is young, and talented. He has the strength to hold blocks at the professional level, however his footwork needs work otherwise holding penalties will be his biggest nightmare. Great young blocker with upside.

Alonzo Browning is much like the previous Al Robinson. Strong, talented young tackle who can sustain blocks. Footwork could be his downfall versus faster more agile linebackers.

Raven Conley is quick to get off the ball, strong to push some defenders. Will clog up running lanes with zero durability concerns.

Andre Forrest isn’t very fast or strong. Competent tackler, but that’s where the praising stops as he has a lot of hard work ahead of him to grow into a professional football player.

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENCY POST DRAFT

Seattle only had one hole, that was center. The team signed Adam Koets to a 1-year deal worth $1M +$100K bonus to hack up Max Unger.

Seattle wasn’t the only team to make a splash in signing players to fill their weaknesses and their roster overall.

The Cardinals signed rookie quarterback Raeshon Rogers

Vikings signed Joseph Addai to be a change of pace back and Louis Murphy to strength the defense.

The 49ers signed Aundre Krause to be their change of pace back, Maurice Pouncey to be the back up center and Jay Feely to be their dependable kicker.

The Rams grabbed Jason McCourty to shadow the stellar wide receivers in the conference and also Chris Horton to blast receiver foolish enough to go over the middle of the field.

[Chyli]

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

PRESEASON ROUNDUP

Patrick Chung, backup strong safety, suffered a strained Achilles as he attempted a diving tackle in the 39-3 preseason week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Doctors say he will need 3-4 weeks of rest before he can resume football activities.

There appears to be no activity on the waiver wire, seeing Chung should return for the regular season opener versus the Bills.

Weeks 2 & 3 saw the Seahawks lose by a combined 4 points! The Denver Broncos won week 2, 13-10 on a late field goal. Carolina, beat Seattle 14-13 as backup Richards threw a pick-6 with under 2:00 to go in the game.

Seattle came back and whopped up on the Packers 41-27 to enter the regular season on a high note, with game 1 on September 11th, at home versus the Buffalo Bills.

[Chyli]

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

DISGRUNTLED PLAYMAKER LAWRENCE JACKSON TRADED TO WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Seattle Seahawks had traded Pro Bowl, superstar left tackle Lawrence Jackson to the Washington Redskins on Monday afternoon.

Washington gets an instantaneous boost to their defensive line, as Lawrence recorded double digit sack back in 2013 and 2014 before he held out for a better contract. Lawrence will join a talented defense.

In return, Seattle will receive the Redskins’ s third string right end, Bobby Ramey who went to the University Washington, and looks to be a promising young player. He will be moved to left end, and looks to be the starter, as McMillan will back him up. Seattle also received picks in round 1 and 2, which should help Seattle for years to come.

REY MAUALUGA TRADED TO CHIEFS OVER HOLDOUT

Outside linebacker, Rey Maualuga traded Monday afternoon to the Kansas City Chiefs. Rey Maualuga will star at left outside linebacker for the Chiefs, opposite rookie Wayne Clayborn.

Seattle will receive speedy wide receiver Eugene Alvarado out of Stanford. He is in his 5th year as a professional and has 3-years left on his rookie deal. Seattle also receives the Chiefs 3rd round pick in this years draft.

[Chyli]

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

GM SCHNEIDER SPEAKS ABOUT TRADES AND STATE OF THE TEAM

General Manger John Schneider spoke briefly, but openly to the media in regards to recent trades, state of the team, among other various topics.

“We are a team, first and foremost. No one player is above the organization, hence why I needed to move on from [Lawrence] Jackson and [Rey] Maualuga on Monday afternoon” wrote one reporter. “I received equitable compensation for both the superstar players, which I feel will help propel us back to Super Bowl aspirations for the foreseeable future. They wanted a new, better, profitable contract, which is something we couldn’t come to agreement upon. I found teams willing to do just that while preserving our team values, our team identity and our overall purpose. While I’ve heard chatter from the locker room about the business I’ve conducted, every player knows it’s a business league and my decision weren’t made in haste or lightly. If any players take an issue, I urge them to come see me, and I’ll be happy to discuss this or any issue further”

[Chyli]

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

SEATTLE DEFEATS BUFFALO 54-23 AS TRUFANT BUST ENTERS SEAHAWKS RING OF HONOR

Longtime Seattle Seahawk, Marcus Trufant was given a bust in the Seahawk Ring of Honor during the pregame show. Trufant would join other great former Hawks: Dave Brown, Kenny Easley, Pete Gross, Jacob Green, Walter Jones, Cortez Kennedy, Chuck Knox, Dave Krieg, Steve Largent, Curt Warner and Jim Zorn. The fanfare, spectacle and showmanship got the crowd jacked and ready for the opening kickoff.

Buffalo got the ball first and put up a field goal to get the scoring set started. Seattle would respond by by going down the field as Claybrooks found Gronkowski for a 3-yard score to go up 7-3. Buffalo then got the big play as Paterson put a double-move on Jermaine Webster and went to the house for a 65-ultras score to take a 10-7 lead after one.

The second quarter was all Seahawks, but could have much more of Claybrooks wasn’t making bad throws. Lynch got a 1-yard score at 10:14; which Nichols then followed up with a field goal at 7:31, and finally Wallace got a 3-yard rushi kg score at 3:49. They may have put up 17 in the second quarter, but it could have easily been another 6 points minimum of Claybrooks didn’t throw a pair of interceptions on drives. Buffalo prevented the game from getting out of hand at the half, the score was 24-10, manageable.

The third quarter was Seahawks again as Nichols kicked a field goal at 7:44; followed up as Randall Hayes got a strip-sack as he ripped the ball out of the quarterback hands. He picked it up and ran it back for the 17-yard fumble recovery TD. Marshawn Lynch got a 1-yard plunge to put the Hawks up big 41-10.

The fourth quarter was a scoring wash as Seattle gave up an 11-yard passing score to Sullivan at 7:40. Claybrooks then threw a pair of touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski from 36-yards and 1-yard to run the score up to a staggering 54-16 after Nichols missed the first PAT. Buffalo salvaged their pride as Scott took the kickoff 104-yards for a meaningless kickoff score making the final 54-23.

The biggest blow was when superstar cornerback Benjamin Leon went down with an injury, during Buffalo’s second to last scoring drove. Tests in the coming days would reveal the severity. Next up would be Seattle hosting the St. Louis Rams in a divisional clash.

The offensive player of the game was SEA Rob Gronkowski: 14 catches, 261 yards, 3 TD

The defensive player of the game was BUF Duane Valentine: 13 tackles, 1 FF, 1INT

[Chyli]

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

BENJAMIN LEON OUT 4-6 WEEK WITH ABDOMINAL TEAR

Benjamin Leon suffers mild abdominal tear during week 1 blowout victory over the Buffalo Bills. He will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks to recover from the injury.

[Chyli]

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

SEATTLE OFFENSE STARTS SLOW BUT ROUTS RAMS 50-14

Seattle’s offense wasn’t able to put up any points in the first quarter, as their defense allowed a O’ Sullivan touchdown run from the Rams to go down 0-7 early.

The Seahawks didn’t abandon the run game, as newly converted fullback Wolford ran it in from 1-yard to tie the game, but Nichols missed the PAT. Seattle forced a punt, and scored quick as Clay forgot behind the defender for an easy lob pass for the 74-yard score. The 2-point conversion run also failed. Nichols then kicked a 47-yard field goal before the half to go up 15-7 into the locker room.

The second half was all Seahawks as they scored 35 more points. Wallace and Lynch each got a 1-yard score of their own in the third quarter. Gronkowski got a 9-yard score, followed a few minutes later as Claybrooks got his second touchdown grab of the night. The Rams scored as Harvin double moved his defender for a score. Seattle capped off the 50-point night newly acquired Eugene Alvarado streaked past his man and caught a 50-yard ball that he ran the rest of the way for the 72-yard score.

Ray Claybrooks got the offensive game ball: 29/42 for 562 yards and 4 TDs

Vondrell McMillan got the defensive game ball: 7 tackles (2 TFL), 2 sacks

The Carolina Panthers were on tap next, whom were also 2-0 to start the young season. Their battles are always epic, and this one looks to be much of the same.

[Chyli]

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

SEAHAWKS DEFENSE FOCUSED AS TEAM WINS 37-6

Seattle’s defense was on point again in their victory over the Panthers. The defense forced three turnovers on the day; an interception and a pair of fumbles.

Seattle’s offense wasn’t too shabby either as they scored in every quarter.

Marshawn Lynch was going good in the first. He scored on an 11-yard swing pass, then after the defense picked off Carolina quarterback J.R. Rucker, Lynch got a 1-yard plunge. Carolina answered in the next possession as Adrian Peterson broke off a 75-yard run. The PAT was missed and the Seattle defense locked them down for the rest of the game.

Lynch got his second rushing touchdown in the second quarter in a 1-yard plunge. Gronkowski caught a 8-yard pass in traffic to go up 26-6 at the half.

Gronkowski got his second touchdown pass as he bullied his way in after catching a pass near the goal line for the 11-yard score. The defense then added a safety as Lamar Sparks got into the backfield and tackled Adrian Peterson in the end zone.

“It was a good win” spoke Carroll “now we focus on the Saints coming into town next week. They’ve had some early stumbles, but they play hard every down”

The offensive game ball went to Rob Gronkowski for 10 catches for 152 yards and 2 TDs

The defensive game ball went to Randall Hayes for his 7 tackles and 1 forced fumble