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Pete Carroll expects a bust out year from Golden Tate
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is expecting a breakout NFL season in 2011 from second-year NFL wide receiver Golden Tate.
A second-round NFL draft pick out of Notre Dame last year, Tate caught only 21 passes for 227 yards with no touchdowns. He made some impressive catches at practice during training camp and early in the season, but he struggled with running precise routes and making the right reads.
“There’s nothing we would like to see more than to elevate Golden’s effectiveness,” Carroll told the Tacoma News Tribune. “We just didn’t get him over the hump last year, and we need to do that. He’ll be in a position to take over a huge role for us.”
Can Cutler Step Up Or Will Seahawks Capitalize On Their Experience?
Jay Cutler has reached the NFL playoffs for the first time, his first time in the next level of spotlight. So it’s time to get to know who he really is. Is the public image of him right?
“Just the opposite,” Chicago running back Matt Forte said. “Jay is a good guy and he comes to work everyday to work hard.”
Well, that was interesting. No one had mentioned anything about Cutler’s image being of a bad guy who is lazy. Forte came up with that on his own, also saying that Cutler isn’t arrogant at all.
The truth is, it doesn’t really matter what kind of person Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is, though he seems wholly unlikable.
What we need to find out about Cutler is what kind of quarterback he is, whether he is a star of the future, as he has been labeled forever, or just another person willing to coast on his great talent, never bothering to make the most of it.
This is it for Cutler, his big moment. The next step is right there in front of him, facing Seattle, with its losing record. It is such an easy step against a mediocre team, on the home field, that to blow this would be to define Cutler as all hype.
The city of Chicago knows it has a Super Bowl-quality defense and Super Bowl-quality special teams. So why isn’t it feeling super confident now, going crazy the way it did in 1985 with its one Super Bowl-winning team?
Cutler.
No one is sure who he is.
“I’m probably not the first quarterback who hasn’t ever been to the playoffs in his first five years,” Cutler said. “And I won’t be the last.”
Has anyone on the team with playoff experience said anything about …
Marshawn Lynch Impresses Saints Even as He Knocks Them Out of Playoffs
If they hadn’t been playing the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints might have had a greater appreciation for the 67-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that pushed Lynch into NFL postseason lore Saturday.
Running a play the Seahawks call “17 power,” Lynch broke through the right side of the Saints defense with 4:20 left in the game, then treated the Saints defenders as his personal rag dolls, throwing them left and right as he exploded for a touchdown run that not only secured a 41-36 win for Seattle but will be on highlight films for years to come.
Lynch broke a half dozen tackles, and the each one of the misses lowered the Saints’ postseason coffin another foot into the ground.
The trouble for the Saints was that, down by four points at the time, they spent all their energy trying to strip the ball out of Lynch’s hands. As they did, the game slipped through their arms.
“In a situation like that, the first thing you have to do is make sure you’ve got the tackle,” New Orleans defensive end Alex Brown said. “Then you can go for the ball.”
It’s a basic rule, but in the last five minutes of a playoff game, even the defending Super Bowl champions aren’t immune from making huge mistakes. The missed tackles were as huge as they come.
And then there was Lynch, running as if he was the target in a greased pig competition, running both around and over the Saints’ defenders.
“Lynch ran his ass off on that one,” Brown said. “That’s one of the best runs I’ve ever seen. He was really moving.”
Wild Card Wild Weekend
OK, we all know Seattle doesn’t really belong in the NFL playoffs. And if anyone doesn’t, just look at the spread: New Orleans, which is traveling 2,100 miles to the Pacific Northwest, is a 10 1/2-point road favorite for Saturday’s opening postseason game.
Is it a little too much?
Well, the Saints’ running game has problems: Both Pierre Thomas and rookie surprise Chris Ivory went on injured reserve this week — leaving the major burden on fumble-prone Julius Jones, a Seahawks reject; and putting a bigger load on Reggie Bush, who is usually better with less use.
It also means Drew Brees will throw more, which probably won’t be a problem.
And Brees overmatches either Matt Hasselbeck (and his sore back) or the inexperienced Charlie Whitehurst — Pete Carroll has been coy all week about his starting quarterback. If it’s Whitehurst, he’ll see blitzes from Gregg Williams that … well, he really won’t see them coming and the revolving door offensive line probably won’t block them.
And it’s not as if the home-field advantage in Seattle is as great as it’s been in the past — the Seahawks allowed 42, 41 and 34 points at Qwest Field to the Chiefs, Giants and Falcons, respectively.
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Seahawks Get Last Laugh – A Long Shot At Redemption Though
Somebody had to win it, so it might as well be the place that spawned Temple of the Dog.
Viva the NFC West, a NFL division so weak and mediocre — if we were in a holiday hangover mood we’d call it just plain awful – it’s sending a sub-.500 team to next Saturday’s slaughterhouse. The Seattle Seahawks, by virtue of a 16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams here Sunday night, will play host to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card, and really, isn’t that pretty much the exact scenario Pete Carroll had in mind when he brought his coaching talents to the Pacific Northwest?
Sure, Carroll didn’t predict it happening quite like this, but the first-year Seattle coach is hardly bothered his 7-9 team is the first with a losing record to make the playoffs in the modern era. He began the season on such a high, firing up the fan base with a 4-2 start, but then came the maddening free-fall, the Seahawks losing seven of nine games, blowouts everywhere. A recent poll had more Seattle fans hoping the Seahawks would lose their final game so the team would get a higher draft pick, rather than beating the Rams and prolonging the inevitable face slap.
Embarrassing, slipping so ignobly into the playoffs? Tell that to the New York Giants, who’d love to be this embarrassed. Or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who wouldn’t mind such a slip.
Seahawks 16, Rams 6: Quick Hits | Recap | Box Score
Carroll, Seahawks Won’t Apologize for Record
“We didn’t get here the way we all dreamed of getting here, but we got here,” Carroll said. “We really came together on this night and played really good ball. A complete win for us and I’m really fired up about that.”
Now Carroll gets a cozy reunion with Reggie Bush, just one of the spicy sidebars to a postseason game few expected. Some other twists to ponder: Will Charlie Whitehurst, so inspiring and mistake-free in just his second NFL start, get the call at quarterback against the Saints, or will Carroll go with old-reliable Matt Hasselbeck, whose injuries should be mostly healed? Can the Seattle defense do to Drew Brees what it did to St. Louis rookie quarterback Sam Bradford? Were those pod people posing as Seahawks rushers? Is it possible for Qwest Field to get any louder, or should fans just assume hearing loss is part of the pain?
“I’m so proud of him. This was a big deal, big stage for him,” Carroll said of Whitehurst, while dodging the question of which QB gets the next, most important start. “So proud of Matt for trying to get back tonight. It was great we didn’t have to play him. Charlie had his chance, stepped up and did it.”
Chiefs Rolling With Ease
There were many statistical anomalies (are there other kinds of anomalies?) in Kansas City’s win over Seattle. Running back Jamaal Charles had 173 yards rushing and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe had 170 yards receiving.
How often does a NFL team have a RB and WR over 170 yards?
Especially when the receiver gets three touchdowns.
Bowe’s day was pretty ridiculous. Matt Cassell had 223 yards passing, and Bowe had 170 of them — on 13 catches.
In the category of obscure records, only two other receivers in NFL history have had games with at least 13 catches, 170 yards and three TDs: Jimmy Smith of Jacksonville and a guy named Jerry Rice. Now Dwayne Bowe is in that group.
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Seahawks Remain Only Team Eligible to Get Vincent Jackson from Chargers
If San Diego is going to trade top-flight wide receiver Vincent Jackson, it’s going to be to the Seattle Seahawks. The question now is this: Are the Chargers serious about trading Jackson?
Maybe not. The agents for Jackson, Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod, say they were denied permission by San Diego management to talk to any team other than Seattle. The Seahawks were given permission to talk to Jackson, who has made it clear he does not want to play under the one-year tender offer the Chargers have made to the restricted free agent.
Jackson, who has 168 catches for 2,888 yards and 19 touchdowns the last three seasons for San Diego, would be a huge boost to the Seattle offense. But Schwartz said he doesn’t get the impression that the Chargers are trying to move his client.
“I asked the Chargers if we could talk to the rest of the teams in the NFL,” Schwartz told Yahoo.com “They said there were certain teams they didn’t want to trade him to, and I said, ‘Fine, tell me those teams and we can exclude them.’ Even after that, they said no, so the only conclusion I can come to is they don’t want to trade him.”
The agents are saying about a half dozen teams have indicated some level of interest in obtaining Jackson’s services. If the Chargers want to work the best deal they can, it would seem to make sense that they open the field to other interested parties.
Seahawks Lawyer Milloy Learning Curve
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For the time being Jordan Babineaux remains the starting free safety, all while newly signed Lawyer Milloy scurries to learn the Seahawks way behind head coach Jim Mora.
“Believe me, I tried to hit the alarm clock like 10 times,” Milloyjokes about his 6 AM wakeup. “I had to get up because I have a job now.”
“I’m trying to get in and fit in,” Milloy said. “Get friendships and learn the playbook. Everything else will take care of itself. If I have to be a backup, that’s what I have to do. I’ll accept that role.”
Exactly how Milloy will fit into the equation has yet to be determined since signing with the Seattle Seahawks, but it is doubtful that he filled the role of Brian Russel to become a backup – which he has not been in 13 years, since his rookie year with New England. But as Seattle looks to regain its composure after allowing the most passing yards over any other team in the league, the latest changes to the secondary begin to shed light on just how different things can be.
Lawyer Milloy Fills the Seahawks’ Saftey Void
With safety Lawyer Milloy signed to a one year contract, the 13-year veteran brings his experience in his NFL career including 1,586 tackles, 25 interceptions and 17 sacks.
After having reportedly rejected an offer from the Detroit Lions he had expressed a desire to finish his career with his hometown team. In a move to solidify their secondary the Seahawks wasted little time in completing the deal.
“It’s official… I’m a Seahawk! Let’s Go!!!”
Having played seven seasons with the New Englad Patriots, three with Bufflao and spending the past three with Atlanta, Milloy looks to bring a reputation as a reliable, hard hitting tackler.
An unfortunate happen stance for Russell Lewis, whom was released just a day before the Seahawks announce their deal securing Milloy. A decision which could very well be looked at as a decision based on the relationship Seattle Seahawks coach Mora’s built while both he and Milloy were in Atlanta in 2006. Regardless of the reason, after having started in every game these past three seasons, his release is still a little surprising.
Aaron Curry, Welcome to the Seattle Fans
Aaron Curry, could be made the highest paid non-quarterback rookie in NFL history should the deal for $34 million become official. The number 4 overall draft pick last spring is happy to rejoin the team and looks to be well on his way to earning his position on what is set to be another stellar year.
“I am just as excited to be out here and just to see the emotion from the fans and get back with my team is just an amazing feeling,” he said.
Mora has already made it clear that Curry will start ot strong-side linebacker despite getting burned so bad one fan felt it necessary to voice some welcome of his own, “Welcome to the NFL,” the fan yelled sarcastically.
“He wasn’t in there with the first group just because he’s got so much catching up to do,” Mora said. “I don’t know at what point we’ll make the switch and he’ll start running out there with the first defense, but I think it will be pretty soon.”
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