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

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENCY: PART 1

After numbers were crunched and the final bookkeeping was finalized, Seattle would enter the offseason with tick over $52M in cap space available to sign free agents, and sign coveted rookies to bolster their team for an attempted reappear next season.

Seattle had 4 players, who were becoming RFA, that had to be addressed. First was Pro Bowl running back Calvin Wallace, who had just received Running Back of the Year honors. He was offered $2.4M to stay a Seahawk, and he accepted.

Next was third string middle linebacker, John Wade. He was selected in the 4th round of the 2015 draft. He had progressed well, but was still looking up as Arden was just as talented and younger then he. Seattle offered him $1M to stay, Chicago countered with a contract of 3yr/$8.88M + $1.2M guaranteed. Seattle wouldn’t receive any compensatory picks, but chose to let him go to Chicago.

Fullback Willie Wolford was next, whom had just received Best Full Back honors as well as a Pro Bowl nod. Seattle saw his value, and offered a contract of $1.5M, but the Baltimore Ravens saw his worth. He was offered a 3yr/$3.62M + $720K deal. Seattle let him walk too, despite not gaining anything back.

Last, was outside linebacker Irv Sosa. He was a serviceable backup, but he was found on the wrong side of the things. Seattle cut ties, but said in a statement “a return wouldn’t be out of the question”

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENCY NIGHTMARE: THE COST OF SUCCESS

Seattle was in a heap of trouble as the list of expiring contracts was a financial nightmare, let alone from a talent perspective. It seemed as if every critical player or marquee name was looking for a new contract. The team had just won a Super Bowl...now it came time to pay the piper as it were. The list of players with expiring contracts was long:

QB: Ray Claybrooks & Chad Richards
RB: Reggie Bush
FB: Nate Erb
WR: Lewis Moore & Nate Tatum
TE: Garrett Fraser
LG: Kurt Holcombe
RG: Kyle DeVan (holdout) & Larry Manley
RT: Deunta Stevens
RE: Damon Abdullah
DT: Lamar Sparks & Randy Schmidt
CB: Benjamin Leon
K: Glen Nichols

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Franchise quarterback, Ray Claybrooks, and his well respected back-up Chad Richards, were both needing new deals. Then the highly touted running back Calvin Wallace whom chose to stay was looking to get paid as well for his excellent play over this past season: over 2000 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

The front office had work to do, to play financial tetris and keep the core together for a hopeful repeat.

General Manager Schneider spoke with Claybrooks, who was wanting a contract close to $50-55M total salary with a hefty bonus. Richards wasn’t going to cost nearly as much, but Schneider didn’t want to lose Claybrooks and get nothing in return. Schneider instead focused on Wallace in hopes a long contact for him might entice Claybrooks to stay for a discount.

Wallace and Schneider agreed to a 4-year deal worth $22.5M total + $8.8 guaranteed. It was a step towards continued success, and hopefully the first of many deals to come.

Holdout Kyle DeVan and Seattle were discussing a new deal, but DeVan’s number was closer to $20-25M + guaranteed money and Seattle didn’t want to pay a man, turning 34 years old that amount of money. They chose to wait out his contract dispute, but made sure to re-sign Larry Manley to a team friendly 6-year deal worth $18M+ $7.2M guaranteed money. This positioned the Seahawks to potentially trade DeVan if the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.

Seattle spoke with many of the pending free agents, and only Garret Fraser was able to strike a deal. It was a 4-year deal worth $12.3M + $4.8M guaranteed. It may have been a small re-sign for some teams, but it gave Seattle flex ability with their 2-TE sets they’ve been accustomed to use.

The financial demand of super star players such as Ray Claybrooks, Benjamin Leon among others was too steep for Seattle to bear. They were forced to relinquish many great players, but chose to franchise tag their star quarterback Ray Claybrooks to ensure at least one more Super Bowl run.

After re-signing whom they could, Seattle had $31M left in cap space, from the $52M they had started with coming into the re-signing period...

The final transaction reports looked horrendous for the Seahawk’s faithful:

Re-Signed

TE: Garret Fraser (3-yr/$12.3M total)
RG: Larry Manley (6-yr/$18M total)
QB: Ray Claybrooks (franchise tag/$12.6M)
RB: Calvin Wallace (4-yr/$22M total)

Released
QB: Chad Richards
RB: Reggie Bush
FB: Nate Erb
WR: Lewis Moore & Nate Tatum
G: Kurt Holcombe
T: Deunta Stevens
DE: Damon Abdullah
DT: Lamar Sparks & Randy Schmidt
CB: Benjamin Leon
K: Glen Nichols

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENT FRENZY: LEAGUE RECAP

Seattle wasn’t the only team that had to cut ties with prominent players. There was a slew of Pro Bowl caliber talent, with HOF fringe talent as well.

From Super Bowl champion Mark Sanchez, financial causality/former Seahawk Deunta Stevens, and shutdown cornerback Ladarius Webb.

The first domino to fall in free agency was Mark Sanchez, who signed on with the Indianapolis Colts.

The Rams took the opportunity to convince Deunta Stevens to sign with them; to help take down the almighty Seahawks, his former team.

Players signed big money contracts, and Seattle had to conserve what funds they had for the upcoming draft, and almost helplessly watch their former Pro Bowl talent signs elsewhere...sometimes within the division.

The most player signed by a signed team were the Chicago Bears with 10 free agent pickups.

Key Free Agent Signings

Arizona Cardinals:

Josh Rogers (C)
Antonio Carrier (SS)
Kevin Huber (P)

San Francisco 49ers:

Medic Hunt (QB)
Jamel Watts (SS)
David Buehler (K)
Terry Nalencz (P)

St. Louis Rams:

John Cameron (QB)
Jordan Gross (T)
Deunta Stevens (T)*
Kenny Renick (K)
Zoltan Mesko (P)

Around The League:

QB: Chad Richards, New York Giants*
QB: Kendal Jenkins, Buffalo Bills*
FB: Nate Erb, Pittsburgh Steelers*
WR: Lewis Moore, New York Giants*
DE: Mario Williams, Philadelphia Eagles
DE: Damon Abdullah, Cincinnati Bengals*
DT: Brandon Mebane, Baltimore Ravens*
DT: Lamar Sparks, Atlanta Falcons*
DT: Biff Young, Tennessee Titans*
DT: Randy Schmidt, Philadelphia Eagles*
OLB: Rey Maualuga, Denver Broncos*
MLB: Eugene Bronson, Denver Broncos*
CB: Benjamin Leon, Tennessee Titans*
CB: Antoine Cason, Dallas Cowboys*
K: Glen Nichols, Oakland Raiders*

* Former Seahawks Player

[Chyli]

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

DRAFT DAY: ROOKIE DREAMS COME TRUE

Seattle had multiple holes to fill on their roster, after letting a slew of top talent hit the free agent market coupled with not making any key free agent signings. The team needed a both starting roles and backup roles on their roster: QB, FB, DE, DT, CB, K

Seattle had the last pick in each round thanks to their Super Bowl victory this past season. It was their 3rd Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, and as such they had to navigate the draft.

General Manager Schneider looked at the big board, and saw that the PAC-12 talent was very spread out throughout the draft. He made the decision to see if there were any teams interests in trading for another 1st round pick. The Green Bay Packers offered up a pair of picks, #42 & #105 for pick #32. Schneider pulled the trigger, the more ammunition the better.

This gave Seattle 8 picks in the draft:
(R2/9) #41 Ike Warner, DT, UCLA
(R2/32) #64 Chris Sawyer, ROLB, Washington
(R3/32) #96 Ron Armstrong, CB, Washington
(R4/9) #105 Jay Haley, WR, Utah
(R4/32) #128 Stafon Lewis, MLB, Arizona
(R5/32) #160 Chris Small, FB, Arizona State
(R6/32) #192 Chris Abraham, QB, Washington State
(R7/32) #224 Chris Fox, RT, USC

POST-DRAFT ANALYSIS

Seattle, was horrible at drafting due to Carroll only wanting PAC-12 talent on the roster. Due to this limitation, a lot of very talented players were left to go to other teams. Mel Kiper and Todd McShay ripped the Seahawks once more, much like previous years.

“Abysmal draft, and it is much the same for the Stagnant Seahawks” — McShay

“Reaching for a Defensive Tackle, reaching for a Quarterback, reaching for the stars” — Mel Kiper

Seattle was given a grade of “F”, but it wasn’t as if the rest of the division did any better. The Cardinals and 49ers were both given “F” grades as well. The Rams did marginally better as they received a grade of “D+”.

Seattle’s first pick, Ike Warner out of UCLA was given a solid “A” grade by Kiper, the only such grade of the draft. Warner “is a physical player who could start right away on a defense in need of sold tackle play,” wrote Kiper. Warner is 6’2”, and could drag down the ball carrier most of the time. He was signed for 3-yrs/$15.3M total.

Chris Sawyer, a outside linebacker from Washington is their next pick. Sawyer is a linebacker that “gets after the ball, but needs to improve in weight room to make a bigger impact on the team,” wrote McShay. He was signed to a 3-yr/$6.8M total.

Ron Armstrong is Seattle’s third selection of the night. He wasn’t projected in the 3rd round, but Seattle had to snag him, or else lose out on a cornerback Carroll was eyeing. “Armstrong is fast, and could keep up with the nearly any wide receiver put in front of him. He has some injury issues, but he was a tough kid” as Kiper put it to warrant the risk. He was signed to a 3-yr/$6.75M deal.

Jay Haley, was their next selection. Much like Armstrong, Haley was a reach according to most expert based on the slot. “The biggest drawback for Haley is his lack of awareness. He rarely turned his head and searched for the ball, but if he caught it in open field he could take it far. He was fast, twitchy, agile to juke defenders...all the things that make a wide receiver deadly. If the coaches can fix the awareness issue, he could be the steal of the draft”, wrote McShay He was given 3-yr/$7.7M

Stafon Lewis wasn’t a bad pick, but Seattle already had ...”Forbes and Arden as their 1-2 punch. Lewis was in the same boat as the recently cut 3rd stronger they had. Maybe he’ll progress more, maybe not, but time will tell,” wrote Kiper. He was given a 3-yr/$5.35M deal.

Chris Small was far from his namesake. “He is 6’ tall, and likes to run over people. He needs to learn to block, and that could cost him a roster spot sooner then later in Carroll’s pass heavy offense. His injury list is long, but the cost to sign him is probably worth the risk on such a late flier,” wrote Kiper. His deal was 3-yr/$1.5M total.

Chris Abraham is a ...”serviceable backup quarterback. His talent doesn’t jump off the tape, but he likely won’t cost you many games either. Still could’ve gotten better value for the pick with what was available in the draft or in free agency”, wrote McShay. His deal is worth 3-yr/$1.62M total.

Mr. Irrelevant is a kid named Chris Fox. “He wasn’t even on anybody’s draft board and could have been invited to training camp. But again, he’s a PAC-12 guy. He is a better run blocker than a pass blocker, but not by much. He’s a penalty machine in the making as he lacks awareness, agility, elite strength, everything. The worst pick they could’ve made,” wrote Todd McShay. His deal is 3-yr/$1.5M total.

[Chyli]

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

FREE AGENCY: PART DUEX

Seattle still had two holes to fill after they signed their drafted rookies. They still needed a kicker and a defensive end. They aggressively pursued Ben Carson, a 6 year veteran kicker. He graduated from Arizona in 2012, but had yet to make any attempts in the NFL. He was signed for 2-yr/$2M total.

They then brought back Nick Reed, a 9 year veteran who played for Seattle from 2010-2012. Reed then spent 2 years in the Cardinals organization, but hadn’t played from 2015-2017. He will play backup to Pro Bowl Nate Abdullah. He was signed for 1-yr/$1.5M total.

Seattle’s division got better too, as all three teams were focused on de-throning the Seahawks from their perch atop the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals:
Tay Crane (LE)
Trevor Sylvester (WR)
Ed Dickson (TE)
Tavian Santiago (LT)
Moise Fokou (OLB)
Darcel McBath (FS)
Andre Smith (RT)

San Francisco 49ers:

Antonio Alderman (MLB)
Lomas Garner (CB)
Dan Santiago (QB)
Irv Sosa (OLB)*
Eugene Lake (K)
Phillip Merling (LE)
Jared Odrick (RE)
Anthony Spencer (OLB)

St. Louis Rams:
Keith Marshall (OLB)*
Darrell Sexton (DT)
Laron Landry (FS) (previous 11-yrs with Redskins)
Jason Brown (C)

Around The League:
Heath Miller, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Mike Iupati, G, Cleveland Browns (previous 8-yrs with 49ers)
Dwight Lowry, CB, Buffalo Bills

*Former Seahawk

[Chyli]

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

SPECIAL TEAMS UPGRADE

Seattle’s front office looked at their depth chart, and was pleased with the talented team they had constructed. Their quarterback was ready for another season, albeit under the franchise tag. Their offense was ready for another high-scoring explosive season. The sense with new coordinator was ready to continue its ball Hawk ways and frustrate offenses. The only glaring weakness was the special teams game. Daryl Clay, who was a super star wide receiver in his own right was not the best man to return kicks/punts.

The team looked on the waiver wire, and came across former Oregon Duck star, Jonathan Stewart. His first 8 years in the league were all spent with the Carolina Panthers in a dual-back role in which he topped 10 rushing touchdowns in three seasons (2008-2009, 2015). The past two season were with Green Bay where he didn’t find the end zone much.

Seattle still saw flashes of speed and quick decision making and signed him to a 2-year contract worth $4.5M total salary in hopes to ignite their special teams play.

[Chyli]

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

PRESEASON ROUNDUP

Seattle’s first preseason game was against their division rival San Francisco 49ers...which they beat down by a final score of 37-0. Ray Claybrooks threw two touchdowns as well as Abraham their rookie backup throwing a pair of touchdowns. The defense collected 5 sacks on the day, to go with a pair of turnovers forced in a fumble and interception. The main part: nobody was injured during the game. Their week 2 opponent would be traveling to Houston to face the Texans who they throttled last year.

Granted it was preseason, but the result was much the same as last year. The Texans got a quick 3-points on board, but that was all they would get. Seattle put up 45 points to squash the Texans. Abraham had a stellar game, throwing 4 touchdowns as Daryl Clay pitched in a 95-yard punt return for a toucbdown to make the case for his ability to return kicks/punts. Next on the docket, a trip to the Nation’s Capital to square off with the Washington Redskins.

Washington gave Seattle their first real test, even if in preseason. Seattle would put up all their points in the first half, highlighted by a Andrew Buckley pick-6. Seattle gave up 17-points in the game, but Washington’s final score came with :07 left in the clock as Seattle recovered the onside kick to hang on to the 20-17 victory. Abraham threw 0 touchdowns, but again didn’t turn the ball over. He demonstrated his ability to manage the game, which is al that would be required should he be thrust into a game due to injury. The final tune-up would be at home versus the 3-0 Buffalo Bills.

Seattle handedly won the final game 31-9. Claybrooks and Abraham both tossed touchdowns; Claybrooks two and Abraham with one. Both men threw an interception, the first ones all preseason. The team escaped the preseason without suffering an injury, which pleased GM Schneider most for the current 4-game stretch.

The regular season would kick off as Seattle traveled to face the San Francisco 49ers Sunday September 9th.

[Chyli]

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

INJURY BUG BITES TEAMS

Even though Seattle had currently escaped the injury bug during the preseason, other teams were not as lucky. Some teams lost role-players while others lost key cogs in their championship aspirations.

Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken tibia after a hard sack, and would be sidelined for the first 6-7 weeks of the regular season.

Star wide receiver for the New York Giants would be out for the season as he ruptured a disk in his back.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Sam Bradford would be out 1-2 regular season games with a sprained PCL, but Tennessee didn’t seem worried about their star play-caller.

Other teams thats lost players included:

Tight End Jason Pratt, Bengals, Upper Arm Fracture, 6-7 weeks
Middle Linebacker Al Douglas, Browns, Torn Tricep, 6-7 weeks
Left Tackle Billy Cain, Buccaneers, Broken Tailbone, Out for Season
Quarterback Frank Brown, Cowboys, Broken Wrist, Out for Season
Tight End Tim Carswell, Cowboys, Broken Elbow, Out for Season
Center Marvin Combs, Cowboys, Broken Hand, 9-10 weeks (rookie)
Wide Receiver David Hendrickson, Eagles, Broken Vertebrae, Out for Season (rookie)
Cornerback D.J. Moore, Saints, Paetially Torn ACL, 3-4 weeks
Center Nate Houston, Steelers, Foot Fracture, 7-9 weeks
Running Back Travis Solo, Vikings, Dislocated Elbow, 6-7 weeks

[Chyli]

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

NEW SEASON BUT SAME RESULTS

While Seattle didn’t shut them out, like they did in the preseason, Seattle still found a way to claim victory.

The game was close for the first half, as each team picked off their opponent one time. The interception of Claybrooks was solely on his attempted receiver, Boyd not catching the damned ball more so than a Claybrooks errant pass attempt.

San Francisco put up a pair of field goals in the first quarter to take an early 6-0 lead as Seattle started out slow. The second quarter Seattle got on the scoreboard at 10:06 as Claybrooks found Alvarado beat his man off the line for a 42-yard Go Route touchdown; nothing fancy, just beat your man style of play. Seattle led 7-6. San Francisco kicked a field goal on their next possession to go ahead 9-7. Seattle answered with their own field goal at 2:14 to go back up 10-9. With 1:11 left in the first half, the 49ers kicked a field goal to go into the locker room with a 12-10 lead.

Seattle came out of the locker room after the break, ‘ready to play’ said the announcer. Claybrooks found Jake George for the 33-yard hookup to take a 18-12 lead at 8:42. San Francisco answered at 7:46 when Santiago found his speedy wide receiver Young for a 67-yard bomb down the left sideline to go up 19-18 over the reigning Champions. Seattle then scored at 7:06 after Stewart had a phenomenal kick return. Claybrooks found Clay for a 22-yard score, but failed to convert the 2-pt attempt to take a 24-20 lead. Seattle then made it 27-20 at 2:20 with a 31-yard field goal.

4446A03C-CA3E-43C0-9585-2723378A1883.jpg

Calvin Wallace with a 5-yard touchdown scamper

Seattle put a fourth quarter whopping on the 49ers. All San Francisco got was an early field goal at 11:57 to make it a 27-24 game. Seattle then proceeded to ensure there was no comeback bid as the offense tacked on 17 points to close out the game. Gaffney scored on a 3-yard run at 9:59, followed up at 8:12 by Wallace after Mitchell picked off Santiago. Carson then kicked a field goal to finish off the 44-22 route.

The offensive game ball went to Ray Claybrooks for his 346 yards passing with 3 TD, 1 INT game.

The defensive game ball went to Raven Conley for his 6 tackles and 2 sacks on the day.

Next week, Seattle will face off against the Raiders at Qwest Field. The Hawk’s Nest would be crazy as it always is.


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My Ps2 died today...99.9% aired its the lens. Until I can address it, my games of course are on hold. I could always start a SNES franchise lol