Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 3:13pm

Columnist doubts Russell Wilson will ever be elite

"Game manager" has become almost a pejorative term in the NFL lexicon, one that's used to describe quarterbacks who aren't good enough to win games on their own and instead are effectively told not to lose them.

Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and the divisional round of the playoffs last year while tying the rookie record for touchdown passes with 26. The Seahawks, particularly in the second half of the season, won some of those games because of their rookie quarterback, not in spite of him.

So naturally, the gloves nearly came off when ESPN.com's Jeffri Chadiha told "Brock and Danny" on Tuesday that he sees Wilson as more of a game manager than someone who will become one of the game's elite quarterbacks.

"I think there's a perception out there – whether it's fair or unfair – that he's going to be a superstar," Chadiha said, "and I don't think that's gonna be the case."

Wilson's passing yardage was the basis for Chadiha's contention. He averaged 195 yards per game during the regular season while throwing for fewer than 200 yards nine times. Wilson's only 300-yard game came in the playoffs, when he threw for 385 in a loss to the Falcons.

"I think if you look at his numbers, yeah, that's what I would call him. I think if you're talking about somebody who is carrying a football team, you're talking about somebody who is throwing for 300, 400 yards per game, doing what Tom Brady does in New England, doing what Peyton Manning does in Denver, doing what Philip Rivers does in San Diego," Chadiha said.

The genesis of the conversation was Chadiha's latest column on ESPN.com in which he contends Wilson has more to prove than fellow young quarterbacks Andrew Luck of Indianapolis, Washington's Robert Griffin III and San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick – who all had breakout seasons in 2012 as either rookies or first-time starters. Those other three, Chadiha wrote, were more impressive than Wilson because they did just as much or more despite factors that made their situations less favorable.

"I think that team (Seattle) is built to run the football, it's built to play good defense and it's built to have a quarterback who plays efficiently," Chadiha said. "He makes plays, don't get me wrong. But I think it would be wrong to say he is in the same category as some of the guys who are as young as he is."

Huard and Danny O'Neil pick up the conversation there.

You can listen to Tuesday's show here.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 9:04am

'Hawk Talk' set for Wednesday at 12:30

The next edition of "Hawk Talk" with Danny O'Neil is scheduled for Wednesday at 12:30. Feel free to suggest topis for discussion in the comments section below.

Monday, June 17, 2013 @ 2:20pm

Position aside, who's the Seahawks' best player?

Danny O'Neil's latest column provided a starting point for what would be a spirited debate on Monday's edition of "Brock and Danny".

Earl Thomas

"If we forget about the positional pecking order and just talk about on-field performance, [Earl] Thomas right now is the best Seahawk at his craft," O'Neil writes while noting that a safety isn't as important to a team's success as a left tackle or a quarterback.

Sando agreed with O'Neil's choice of Thomas as Seattle's best player, saying his range is instrumental to what the Seahawks do defensively.

"I did this exercise last year, talked to some people around the league about it and Earl Thomas was the name that we kept coming back to. I think there was a period there where you could make a case for Marshawn Lynch, and I wouldn't argue against that, but Earl Thomas for his ability to let them play that man coverage the way they do with bigger guys works because he's able to get over there," Sando said.

"We saw it all the time. Look at the playoff game against the Redskins. There was an outside matchup that RG III likes and because he doesn't throw the ball absolutely perfectly, Earl Thomas picks it off. Well, having a guy who can do that is such a luxury. You talk about trying to make corners in the Seahawks' image, it really helps to have a guy who can let you play that defense the way you do by being able to get to different places around the field."

Clayton went with cornerback Richard Sherman, saying the "mind-boggling" plays he made during offseason workouts are evidence that he's even better than he was last year, when he earned first-team All-Pro honors. Clayton suggested that Sherman could reach double-digit interceptions in a season if opposing quarterbacks weren't so deterred from throwing his way.

"Just incredible to see how he's able to move toward the ball, his ability to read a play and know where the guy's going to be on the route, it's just a marvel to watch," Clayton said.

Huard shares his take as he and O'Neil continue the debate in the video below.

You can listen to Monday's show here.

Monday, June 17, 2013 @ 1:05pm

Seahawks' Moffitt pleads guilty to disorderly conduct

Seahawks guard John Moffitt pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in Bellevue District Court last Friday, paying a fine of $1,407 and receiving a suspended sentence of 24 months in jail.

John Moffitt

Moffitt originally faced two misdemeanor charges, one for criminal trespassing and another for obstruction of a law enforcement officer after a series of three different incidents at Bellevue Square mall in 2012.

Those were amended to a single charge of disorderly conduct, according to the court clerk who summarized the sentencing terms from last Friday's hearing. Moffitt will not have to serve any of the suspended sentence so long as he avoids further legal trouble.

Jon Fox, Moffitt's attorney, said via e-mail that Moffitt had no previous legal incidents and as a result received a deferred sentence. If Moffitt complies with the court's stipultions for two years, the verdict will be changed to not guilty and expunged from Moffitt's record. Fox said Moffitt is happy to have the situation behind him.

It's very unlikely Moffitt would face further discipline from the league regarding the personal-conduct policy.

The first incident occurred in January, when a member of the mall's security staff stated he saw Moffitt urinating on the skybridge between Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square malls. Moffitt was given an order – which he did not sign – stating that he was not to enter Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place or Lincoln Square for an entire year.

In June, mall security called officers after seeing Moffitt at one of the restaurants at Lincoln Square. The security officers informed police Moffitt was last seen running away from the mall after urinating near a parked car. The officers went to a nearby apartment complex where Moffitt was said to hang out.

Moffitt was seen running away from the apartment complex, and according to the police report, the officer alleged he yelled Moffitt's name while in full uniform, in a patrol car with emergency lights flashing. The officer stated that Moffitt looked back, but continued running.

Mall security later picked out Moffitt from a photo array.

The final incident occurred in August of 2012 and resulted in Moffitt's arrest on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass. Mall security again summoned police, stating Moffitt was seated at the bar of a restaurant in Lincoln Square. Two officers responded, arresting Moffitt when they found him on the premises.

Moffitt appeared at a preliminary hearing last month before entering a guilty plea to the amended charge Friday.

Monday, June 17, 2013 @ 7:47am

Seahawks' Earl Thomas is on the cusp of greatness

By Danny O'Neil

He is the shortest member of a secondary known for its size, and one of the softest spoken members of a defense that has a reputation for its swagger.

But overlooking safety Earl Thomas is impossible. At least it is to anyone paying attention because he just might be the best football player on this Seahawks team that's as loaded with talent as it is with expectations.

That's right: the best player.

Because as good as cornerback Richard Sherman played last season and as much of a cornerstone as Russell Okung is at left tackle and as important as Russell Wilson will be as Seattle's quarterback of the future, Thomas is the member of this team who is closest to being considered the best at his position in the entire league.

Yep, he's that good.

"There's no end to the potential Earl has," coach Pete Carroll said, "because he's so fast and he's so tough, but more than that, he's just so driven to be great. He's just driven to be a great player."

And in that way, it's Thomas who best embodies the situation in which Seattle's entire team finds itself entering this season.

There's no doubt about the talent. Not for Thomas, who has been voted to the Pro Bowl as a starter in each of the past two seasons, and not for the Seahawks, whose roster is considered one of the most stacked in this league. Now, the question is about the ceiling because being considered among the best is different from being anointed the best.

But make no doubt, Thomas is in that conversation as a previous generation of playmakers enter the twilight of their careers. Guys like Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, who's now with Houston, are past 30, leaving Thomas, the Chiefs' Eric Berry and the Bucs' Dashon Goldson as the vanguard of generation next.

Thomas isn't at the top of the heap. Not after a year in which he dropped more interceptions than he made, but in three years he has never missed a game and has proven himself as one of the hardest-practicing players his coaches have ever seen. And his interception totals don't show the fact that he put himself in position to make so many plays, and if he starts hanging on to the ball, we could start talking about him as one of this league's game-breaking players.

After all, he just turned 24, entering the prime of his career at a position that has produced three of the league's past nine defensive players of the year.

"He's really just kind of hitting it now," Carroll said. "He's just getting going."

Carroll has got a little bit of history coaching that position, whether it was Joey Browner with the Vikings, a young Lawyer Milloy – who made his Pro Bowl breakthrough while Carroll was in charge of the Patriots – or Polamalu at USC.

"Earl is as good as any of the guys I've ever coached," Carroll said.

Now, location matters as much in football as it does in real estate, and a safety isn't considered as valuable as a left tackle, a position that Okung occupies so capably. And it's certainly not on par with quarterback.

But if we forget about the positional pecking order and just talk about on-field performance, Thomas right now is the best Seahawk at his craft, a fact that speaks as much to his development as it does to the team's scouting.

Thomas was the second player drafted by general manager John Schneider, someone Seattle didn't think it would ever get the chance to choose with the 14th overall pick in 2010. Not after the Philadelphia Eagles vaulted up the draft order, trading into the 13th spot.

Schneider was so certain the Eagles were selecting Thomas to replace the departing Brian Dawkins that Schneider had a trade worked out to move back from No. 14 if Thomas were gone. But after the Eagles chose pass rusher Brandon Graham out of Michigan, the Seahawks picked Thomas, one of the youngest players in the draft and someone who had played just two seasons at Texas.

Three years later, that 5-foot-10 safety stands out not only amid one of this league's most talented teams, but all of pro football.

Friday, June 14, 2013 @ 5:16pm

Where Seahawks-49ers ranks among NFL rivalries

The Seahawks and 49ers have been in the same division for just 11 years. The two teams hadn't made concurrent playoff appearances until last season.

But while nascent, their rivalry is considered by some to already be the best in the NFL.

After 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh fanned the flames earlier this week with comments about the Seahawks' string of PED-related suspensions, Danny O'Neil and Tom Wassell spent part of Friday's show discussing where that rivalry ranks compared to some that have more history behind them.

They share their thoughts in the video below.

You can listen to Friday's show here.

Friday, June 14, 2013 @ 4:17pm

'Hawk Talk' highlights: Tom Cable's coaching future

The Seahawks were worried about losing Tom Cable to a head-coaching job after their 2011 season ended, so much so that coach Pete Carroll joked about cutting the wires on Cable's phone to thwart any interested team's attempt to reach out.

Cable, Seattle's offensive-line coach and assistant head coach, was considered the driving force behind what progressed into a formidable running game despite losing three starting offensive linemen to season-ending injuries.

Tom Cable

The Seahawks lost one coordinator, Gus Bradley, to a head-coaching job earlier this offseason and nearly lost another as Darrell Bevell interviewed with a pair of teams before receiving a new contract to stay in Seattle. There were no reports of Cable, who had head-coaching experience, interviewing for any vacancies despite Seattle finishing the 2012 season with the league's No. 3 rushing offense.

But as Carroll said, it's only a matter of time.

Cable's coaching future was among the topics during the latest edition of "Hawk Talk" with Danny O'Neil. The full transcript of the chat can be found here. Highlights are below.

K Falls asked whether Cable would want to become a head coach again or if he'd rather remain an assistant.

Danny O'Neil: Yes, I think Tom Cable wants to become a head coach again, and I think he certainly has a resume worthy of another head-coaching job. His 8-8 season in Oakland was the one beacon of hope in that franchise's dark decade. Unfortunately for him, that year in Oakland brought out a great deal of baggage. I'm torn on the discussion of the spousal-abuse allegations from his past because he was never charged with a crime, which is usually the barometer for reporting on those. He was never charged, but those allegations were widely reported to the point he had to comment on them. But football-wise, he absolutely deserves another head-coaching opportunity.

Isaac asked whether the Seahawks' defensive backs coach, Kris Richard, could become a defensive coordinator or even a head coach in the near future.

Danny O'Neil: Very much so. He seems like he would wear that very well, and certainly, Seattle's success in the secondary and developing players (not just Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, but right now, Jeremy Lane).

Isaac later asked which Seahawks have reached their ceilings.

Danny O'Neil: Ceilings? Well, Marshawn Lynch isn't going to get better. The question is how long he can stay this effective. Ditto for fullback Michael Robinson. And for offensive linemen, I would say Paul McQuistan is in the same boat, and I wonder how much room for improvement there is with Breno Giacomini.

Slim Shady asked how rookie wide receiver Chris Harper has looked during offseason workouts before Craig asked for a comparison between Harper's minicamp performance and that of Golden Tate when he was a rookie in 2010.

Danny O'Neil: Chris Harper has not stood out following the three-day minicamp. Golden Tate stood out MUCH more. But that just goes to show you how much (or in Tate's case) how little minicamps and offseason training translates to regular-season success.

Friday, June 14, 2013 @ 8:11am

What we learned from the Seahawks' OTAs, minicamp

By Danny O'Neil

June is no time for conclusions.

Not in the NFL, where players spend two months getting themselves ready for training camp, which is where they'll get ready for the actual season. Yup, these past couple months have been about preparing to prepare for this season of unprecedented expectation in Seattle.

But with the Seahawks' offseason conditioning program for veterans concluding on Thursday, now is as good a time as any to summarize the lessons drawn from the June workouts.

Three things we learned:

I. Right guard will be Seattle's Thunderdome in August.

Two men enter the competition, one will exit the starter.

Right guard John Moffitt is in the best shape he's been in going all the way back to when Seattle chose him in the third round in 2011 while J.R. Sweezy has continued what is nothing short of a remarkable transition from playing defensive tackle at North Carolina State to being an NFL offensive lineman. The Seahawks loved the nasty edge Sweezy showed in the running game, but Moffitt demonstrated a better understanding of protection schemes last season.

They took turns playing with the first-unit offense at this week's minicamp, Moffitt getting repetitions there on Tuesday and Sweezy taking his turn Wednesday. That spot is going to be one of the only starting jobs truly up for grabs in Seattle this August.

II. Tight end Luke Willson looks great in shorts.

That's not a commentary on his legs, but rather how quickly he can move them. As advertised, Willson is the fastest of Seattle's tight ends, and the fifth-round pick out of Rice showed he just might be capable of making an immediate impact as a rookie. Not only that, but the injury to tight end Anthony McCoy opened up the backup position behind starter Zach Miller.

Whether Willson is capable of filling that will depend on his blocking, though, and if he's not stout enough at the point of attack, he might wind up being strictly a big-play option as a rookie. Sean McGrath is bigger this season and might turn out to be a more well-rounded tight end, but it's still very possible Seattle could wind up adding another veteran to provide depth at the position.

III. Cornerback is the single deepest position on this team.

It's not just starters Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, who've created a new prototype at the position with their size and physical style of play. It's also more than veteran Antoine Winfield, the three-time Pro Bowler signed to serve as the team's nickelback.

Walter Thurmond is completely healthy for the first time in two years and looks like someone ready to make an impact. Jeremy Lane – a sixth-round pick in 2012 – also played well, and given his status as a special-teams mainstay, he is someone who will be impossible to leave off the 53-man roster. Then there's Byron Maxwell, Will Blackmon, Ron Parker and rookie Tharold Simon, who has been unable to practice as he rests an ailing foot.

There is no position that has changed more since coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider took over, and no position on the roster that is better stocked at this point.

Three things we're still trying to figure out:

I. Is Red Bryant back?

That's not a literal question as Bryant was present from the start of the team's offseason training program to the finish. The uncertainty is whether Bryant is back to being the end-line pillar of Seattle's rush defense.

One of the most perplexing facts about last season was that Seattle went from having one of the NFL's very best rush defenses for the first six and a half games to being mediocre, maybe even below average, for the second half of the season. That decline culminated in the playoff loss in Atlanta where the Falcons – who ranked No. 29 in rushing yards during the regular season – ran for 167 yards.

Some of that regression was attributed to the foot injury Bryant played through, and if that's the case, the Seahawks should be able to return to their run-stopping ways since Bryant said the foot feels better. This is a critical question, though, because all the resources Seattle spent to improve its pass rush won't mean nearly as much if the Seahawks can't stop the run.

II. Can James Carpenter can stay healthy?

The fact Carpenter sat out much of the team's offseason conditioning after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery isn't nearly so concerning as the reality that for the third straight year, his preparation in training camp might be limited.

In 2011, he turned up out of shape after the lockout. Last year, he didn't practice at all in training camp as he was rehabilitating from the season-ending knee injury suffered in November. This year, there's no guarantee he will be ready to go.

Seattle thinks he can be a mauler at left guard, providing a uniquely punishing presence, but his two years as a Seahawk point to the difficulty in counting on the former first-round pick to stay on the field.

III. Where will Bruce Irvin fit into the final picture?

Seattle is trying him at strongside linebacker, a move that is going to be complicated in August because while he'll be practicing with the team, there's also the underlying reality that he will miss the first four games of the season because of a league suspension for a performance-enhancing drug violation.

That puts the Seahawks in a pickle because while Irvin could probably use every rep he could get at a new position that will see him dropping into coverage more, Seattle must also keep K.J. Wright plugged into that spot since he'll be playing there for all of the first four games.

Carroll has praised Irvin's adjustment to the position, pointing out that he'll still largely be a speed rusher off the edge, but this is a new role for Irvin and his preparation for that switch is going to be impacted by the reality of his looming suspension.