Safety Deon Grant continues to show that he’s a tough guy, and plans on making it on the field on Sunday.
Grant has a 138 consecutive games started streak going, dating back to his second year in the league at Carolina in 2001, starting every game since then. And Grant doesn’t plan on it stopping on Sunday against St. Louis.
After seeing a hand specialist on Tuesday, Grant said he suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist and a chipped bone in his hand. He plans on wearing a club cast on his left hand for games that will not allow his fingers to be free.
Grant said it shouldn’t be a problem for him to play that way, and that he’s played with that type of cast before. However, some people close to Grant advised him that he should season-ending surgery to fix the issue, but Grant said in his mind he always feels that he should play, and never thought about not getting on the field.
Grant was a full participant in practice, along with Craig Terrill (shoulder) and Chris Spencer (thumb).
Defensive tackle Cory Redding (knee) was a limited participant in practice. And Running back Julius Jones (bruised lung) and DT Red Bryant (knee) did not participate in practice.
For St. Louis, QB Marc Bulger (knee) is out.
RB Steven Jackson (back), FB Mike Karney (neck), OT Jason Smith (concussion), OG Richie Incognito (foot) and P Donnie Jones (illness) did not participate in practice.
LB Chris Chamberlain (concussion) was a limited participant in practice.
Quarterback Hasselbeck was asked about the team’s performance at the end of the 2002 season, when the Seahawks won the last, three games to finish at 7-9 that year. That late-season run eventually served as momentum for the team’s 10-6 in 2003.
“It was a fun time, but we also weren’t a very good football team,” Hasselbeck said. “Our numbers were very good at the end of the year. Third down we were great. Our yards were great. But when we got good a few years later, our yards were down, the touchdowns were down, the catches were down but we were a better team.”
Hasselbeck said the team developed an offensive identity that season, and he also began to develop a rapport with receiver Bobby Engram that lasted for the rest of the veteran receiver’s tenure in Seattle.
Asked to compare that situation with this season, Hasselbeck said this year is different.
“I think it’s a different situation,” Hasselbeck said. “That year, our defense just couldn’t stop anybody that year, and we just were really young. And I think it’s a different situation. I think we’ve got the talent here. We’ve just got to get better. Every person has just got to get a little bit better.”
Hasselbeck stayed after practice working with receivers Nate Burleson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch on timing routes, as he continues to try and develop a better rapport with the receivers. Hasselbeck said he’s still working on perfecting that timing with the receiving corps, something he had developed with Engram over their years of offseason and in-season work together.
“I think it something that needs to be done,” he said. “We’re kind of making up for lost time there. That wasn’t a huge part of what we did this offseason, and it probably should have been. It wasn’t a huge part of what we did this training camp.
“Looking back, I wish we would have. And there was a lot of missed time there when I broke my ribs. And so I’d like to get back to doing that stuff with those guys, and they’re willing.”
Hasselbeck went on to say part of that is figuring out what routes each receiver runs well.
““I think it’s a different situation,” Hasselbeck said. “That year, our defense just couldn’t stop anybody that year, and we just were really young. And I think it’s a different situation. I think we’ve got the talent here. We’ve just got to get better. Every person has just got to get a little bit better.””
So basically, we just suck. Our defense can’t stop anybody this year either. Thanks Ruskell. ugh
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And don’t get me wrong, while I do respect Grant’s toughness and mentality to continue playing because of the recent health issues everyone’s had the last 2 seasons…he’s been awful this year. He dropped off in 08 but I thought it was due to Brain Russell. Now it looks like he’s just an average starter given an exorbitant contract by Ruskell. But hey, that’s not new.
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I too respect Grant, but yes…
- Hasselbeck went on to say part of that is figuring out what routes each receiver runs well .- I don’t want to read too much into this, but are you kidding me? Am I to understand that throughout OTAs, training camp and into week 12 of the NFL season there is still some question as to what routes and patterns fit which receiver best? I understand that this process takes time, but excuse me, isn’t Housh the only new component? As for putting too little time into drilling the timing and patterns into their subconscious, I put that on what is becoming a VERY long list of coaching oversights and instilling poor discipline. Shameful.
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Maybe it’s part of the 2 year plan? LOL.
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You have to respect Grant for staying out there. It would be very easy to say see ya and go on DL…
Grant has done an admirable job considering opposing QBs have all sorts of time to dissect the coverages in play. and RBs are continually loose in the secondary. It comes down to that defensive front…the ability of your defensive front to control or stalemate at the point of attack sets the tone for your run and pass defense. Lacking stout prototypical guys in the middle you would think creating confusion with movement and stunts would be warranted to help even the odds against these huge O lines…just thinking out loud.
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Other than getting an offensive minded genius back with Holmgren as GM, I bet you bucks that we would get Zorn back to implement it as OC.
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I haven’t been particularly easy on Grant through the years but you certainly have to admire him for this. It would be very easy to pack it in and collect the pay day in a season that’s not worth a darn anymore.
From the moment we signed him and made him the 3rd highest paid Safety in the league, when he wasn’t even a top 10 type of guy, I didn’t think too highly of the guy. I know it’s a business and the only reason he’s here is because of the money and I can’t fault him for that. We all probably would have gone to the highest bidder.
I don’t know if his $4 million salary will be back in Seattle next season, but I can almost guarantee that he won’t be back in ’11 with a $6 million deal.
However, it would actually be nice to see how he’d do if he had a legit pass rush. We were decent in ’07 with Kerney and Grant/Russell being an upgrade too, and that was also the year Tru (contract year) played his best. It’s not rocket science — you get to the QB and you play better defense (’07)… or you don’t get to the QB and get carved up(’06, ’08, ’09)…
“With the first overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, with the pick acquired from the Cleveland Browns, the Seattle Seahawks select Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, from the University of Nebraska.” [Loud applause]
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Clarification – never questioned his character and being a good person, just on field performance with respect to where he’s paid in comparison to other elite players at his position.
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Is there room on the Suh bandwaggon? The dude sounds like a beast!
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The Hawks have four holes on defense and five holes on offense. They don’t have enough high draft picks to fill those holes so they better make a splash in free agency.
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Audible – Nebraska plays Colorado Friday on ABC so you’ll get to see him there. But really, you’ll want to tune into the Texas / Nebraska Big 12 Championship on Dec 5th. Big stage against one of the best teams in the country. That will be a great opportunity to watch him. (Of course the ‘Horns will shuck the ‘Huskers, so Bobby will be disappointed…)
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Thanks duke…I’ll be sure to tune in!
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The following week is also going to be great… GT (DE, Morgan) will be going against Clemson (RB, Spiller). I’d like either of them. As Duke said, Suh will be playing against Texas (McCoy… Matt’s possible replacement)… And FL and AL (LG, Mike Johnson… who I hope is our 2nd rounder) both have plenty of future NFL stars too, in addition to both having a 1st round DL on their teams (Mount Cody is a huge NFL NT, but I know least about DE Carlos Dunlap from FL, so I’m excited for that).
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Who here thinks Jake Locker would be a good candidate to succeed Hasselbeck?
Yes or No ? You don’t have to give a reason, just put yes or no at the top so we can count the votes.. I’m just curious..
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Yes – For the same reason the 49ers should have taken Aaron Rodgers from Cal in ’05.
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Bobby – Do you envision them taking 2 o-lineman with their 1st three picks? For me, today in any case, I’m hoping for o-line and d-line in the first (in either order, depending of course who is selected ahead of them) and targeting someone like Myron Rolle in the 2nd.
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I’d love to see Locker here next year. Everything about that move fits. Jake is a couple years away from having NFL skills, but he has all the physical tools and leadership qualities. Seems like a great young man to have on the bench for a year or two learning from Hasselbeck.
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I posted this on a dead thread earlier.
This past year, I’ve been undecided on what to do with Ruskell. The confusing thing is that he has made some good moves and some bad moves, so it’s difficult to assess the job he’s done based solely on that criteria.
What just occurred to me is that the main reason we should move on without Ruskell is not because of his business dealings, which as we all know has been up and down. We need a new GM because Ruskell has a flawed philosophy as GM.
1. Ruskell overemphasizes the character issue: Now, I don’t want a team full of thugs and loudmouths, but I think there has to be some leeway given to 23 year old millionaries, with the understanding that even good guys make mistakes. I also think that some disruption is not as big of a distraction on the field as some people claim, and especially if there is strong leadership and strong coaching on the team.
2. Ruskell drafts guys who are too small. He spins this strategy by saying he builds his team and especially the defense for speed, but clearly this does not work for long. He drafts guys who will do well for awhile, which makes Ruskell look good initially, but then they wind up with chronic injuries. I think this partly explains why we have had so many injuries the past couple of years. Jennings, Hill, and Tatupu are great examples of this flawed philosophy.
3. Ruskell wants to build his defense around speed at LB. He’s drafted five LBs, two DTs (Mebane and Red Bryant, and two DEs (Jackson, Tapp).
He has poured in more than twice the resources (from the draft value chart) into LB as he has the defensive line.
LB = 2387
DT = 207
DE = 916
So, we have DTs who can’t get the job done, which causes our small linebackers to get beat up by the opposing teams lineman.
Football is a brutal sport, so undersized players may be fast, but often that speed is because they have smaller and lighter frames, which results in more injuries and especially so at higher speeds.
4. Ruskell undervalues the OL and especially the guard and tackle positions:
Tackle: 105
OG: 94.7
Center: 1112
Again, Ruskell has put nearly twelve times as much emphasis on LB as he has Tackle and Guard combined.
5. He’s spent a measly 1 pt on safety but 950 pts on cornerbacks who are too small and often injured.
Yes, you can find incredibly gifted athletes who are smaller because other teams pass on those players knowing they’re too small and fragile to have long careers in the NFL. These guys may have heart and speed but they can’t help the team win if they’re on the sidelines or on IR.
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Jake Locker – I have not watched a full Washington game this season and I don’t like reading internet sights that tell me who is and isn’t good. Don’t get me wrong, I read them and that can slant my views, but in all honesty I hate saying a guy is or isn’t good if I haven’t seen them enough for myself.
I think Ruskell was great for the ’05 team. There were too many idiots (Terry, KoRoOne, Simmons) and he got rid of them. Our talent level actually decreased, IMO, from ’04 – ’05… but we had our best season ever thanks, in part, to the tweeks Ruskell made (Jurevicius, Tatupu, Hill, Dyson, Fischer, etc.).
Now, if we get a new GM, I also think they are in a good/great position. The talent level isn’t what it should be (thanks to Ruskell and his first rounders like Spencer, “Branch,” LoJack and overpaying for certain FAs like Grant, Kerney, etc.) but he will inherit a team of good/great individuals. That means if he adds a few core pieces (even if the character stuff is overlooked), we can have a good/great ’10 because of the overall character of the current pieces. If you’re a moron, but surrounded by good people, well… you don’t have a chance to be as big of a moron as you would/could otherwise… The problem is if we add a bunch of thugs year after year and turn into ’04 again where we had too many talented idiots. Then the cycle will repeat itself…
The word “midget” gets used like all small people in the history of the league are worthless. Was Josh Wilson really a terrible 2nd round pick? I don’t think so. He was a great pick and I don’t think anyone here would have made a better pick. Sure, you can look on a website, three years later, and look to see who we “should” have taken… but there’s also 32 teams who would be willing to make Tom Brady a 1st round pick if that were the case too. And, really, how many players “should” have been taken after the Wilson pick? Wilson may be small, but he was a great pick for where he was selected. And if you disagree, please go back to the archives of this blog and copy/paste the part of where you said we should have taken someone else who turned out better.
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Duke – That’s such a tough queston. It depends on FA. And my love for Suh. I’d give anything to trade for him… but I also know OL is more important at the moment… if we could go Suh, Bulaga (LT), and Johnson (LG) with our 3 picks in the top 40 (I know we’d have to trade down with the Denver 1st rounder though and Bulaga may not be there)… I’d be thrilled with that. But I hate missing out on a playmaker like Spiller or a potential FS who can actually take a good angle on a tackle or INT a pass (gulp).
I believe LT is more important than DT… but I don’t trust Okung, whereas I do with the Nebraska boy. If I knew it was between Walt and Warren Sapp… I easily pick Walt. But in this scenario, I trust Suh.
I remember me and you both talking about Myron Rolle last year… at this point, I actually think he may be there with our 4th rounder. I’d love that.
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In a perfect world, we could trade Curry for Joe Thomas or Michael Oher. Even if we have to throw something else in, I don’t care.
We could trade both of our 1st rounders to the team with the #1 pick and their #1 overall pick in the 2nd round and draft Suh, FS, LG.
In FA, we sign Jahri Evans (the 2nd best guard in the NFL).
Basically, in that scenario, we’d have an OL of:
LT Oher/Thomas
LG Johnson (Alabama, LG)
C Unger
RG Evans
RT Lock/Willis
IMO — this is the best OL in the NFL if Walt is healthy (which puts Thomas/Oher at LG for a year and Johnson as depth) and is still damn good even if Walt can’t play (which none of us expect anymore, anyways).
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I’ll be so glad when we can put our OL problems behind us.
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And it’s been since ’05 that we were any good on the OL… you’d think we could figure it out…
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Yea our records indicate (13-3, 10-6, 9-7, 4-12, 6-10 this year maybe) how terrible both lines have declined. We’ve went up in skill on every level except safety, and downward spiraled on the d-line and the o-line (colin cole… Seriously??)
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Bobby – I really don’t like reposting, so I apologize, but I put this in an earlier thread on Monday about the draft. Just my general thoughts…
Dukeshire says:
NOVEMBER 23, 2009 AT 2:48 PM
Agreed. But what players they take are all conjecture now, so it’s difficult to project, this far in advance. Despite that how about this: Let’s say Okung and Suh are gone (likely) by the time their 1st pick comes, where do you go? Someone like Bruce Campbell (Maryland) or Trent Williams (Oklahoma) by all reports are NFL ready and could step into LT at the start of camp. Or do you address the DL in this position (pick 6ish) with Gerald McCoy (DT, Oklahoma) or Carlos Dunlop (DE, Florida) waiting until later in the 1st to address the o line? Both areas are great needs but I feel if they go o-line first that allows them greater flexibility with their 2nd first rounder. Someone like Jahvid Best (RB, Cal) or even CJ Spiller (RB, Clemson) would be very tempting. Or then address the d line with Greg Hardy (DE Mississippi) Arthur Jones (DT Syracuse) or whomever. But if you address the d line first, I think you’re then tied to taking a o lineman at the end of the 1st. No flexibility. So for me, not only is the o line the greatest area of need but if you’re comfortable with whose left after Okung is gone, you have to pull the trigger. For what it’s worth…
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You just can’t focus on one side of the ball and Ruskell is guilty as Sin for doing that.
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In fairness, so was Holmgren.
That’s why I think an entirely new set of eyes would do us some good..
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Duke – as it stands right now, to answer your question, and assuming we can’t trade up/down… I would personally go with the best available OL or DL… if it turns out to be a DE like Derrick Morgan or DT such as Mount Cody (if we are serious about a potential 3-4), so be it. I like the best available lineman approach (although I’m starting to think Cody might be there with the Denver pick). Whichever side of the line we address first, I’d really like to go to the other side of the line with the second 1st rounder we have. If we go DL with our pick, then I’d like an OT with the Denver pick. If the Bronco pick turns out to be 15-18 (about where I think it will end up… but I’m hoping for 10-15), I think one of those 2nd tier OTs like Campbell or Bulaga (if he comes out) will be there. As much as I want a good RB to pair with Forsett and as much as I want a FS… I’d really like to add a LG in the second round… If we could have a 22 year old LT, a 22 year old LG, and a 23 year old Max Unger at C… that would be a great investment for the next decade. We all complain about continuity on any OL so I’d love to build a unit that we wouldn’t have to worry about for 10 years.
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“In fairness, so was Holmgren.
That’s why I think an entirely new set of eyes would do us some good.. ”
Yes but Holmgren actually had excellent offenses. Ruskell’s fingerprints are all over this defense and they are PATHETIC!!!!
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