Jonathan Stewart was on Sirius NFL Radio with Tim Hasselbeck and Adam Schien this morning. He reitterated his desire to play for the Seahawks and said they have shown interest in him.
He said he thinks he would fit into the Seahawks offense perfectly, running, receiving, blocking, and he has absoulutely no problems contributing on special teams. He called the Seahawks his ideal situation.
He said his toe is progressing well. He said he wanted to have the surgery so that teams would be getting the best of his abilities when he started his career. He said if it drops him in the draft that is out of his control. As for being injury prone, he says that is a myth. He plays through injuries like everybody else and he wants to play in every game the team is involved in. He said he got 250 yards on a messed up toe that needed surgery, so that should tell GM's a lot.
Stewart expects to be at full strength when camp starts and he will compete with whatever running backs are on the team and hopes he can win a starting job out of camp. Stewart will be visiting Dallas, a team he rooted for as a child. Houston has been contacting him as well. END
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think this has been covered but I have one question. If Stewart is available at our pick and we do select him, how do you see the RB situation shaking out this next year and possibly the year following? It is safe to assume that Shaun will be gone but what happens with Duckett, Jones, Morris, and Stewart?
Damn Houston! If it looks like Stewart is gonna fall to Houston, maybe Ruskell should get on the horn and offer to release Shaun so he can sign with them, as long as they leave Stewart alone. I like Shaun and think he deserves a shot to redeem himself and shake off the injuries, but getting a shot at Stewart would be great.
ReplyDeleteSo who do I get in touch with to sell my soul in order for this to happen? Maybe Howard Schultz?
ReplyDeleteStewart needs to land in Seattle!
I say we do whatever it takes to get one of the top 3. Stewart is #3. Trade up! Git R Dun! Make it happen! Mortgage the future! (ok, that's going too far...)
ReplyDeleteWe will have an even lower pick next year after we win the super bowl this year.
*Put down the coffee cup and step away from the table...*
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteI know you asked Mike, but I thought I would give you my two cents, if you don't mind.
I kind of think that Morris will be traded if we pick up Stewart. I think the Hawks can be pretty confident that Stewart will contribute, and there just aren't enough roster spots for all of them. Better to trade Morris and get a pick in this year's draft, probably a 5th. Stewart and Jones can battle for the starting spot, though I would assume Jones will be the guy, at least for the first half of the season, probably the whole year. Duckett will likely be the short-yardage guy, regardless, so I don't think he'll be affected much at all. Jones can be cut after two seasons with minimal cap implications, so if we draft Stewart and he eventually wins the starting position, I would assume the Hawks will still keep Jones for at least the next two years.
That would make for a deep backfield, although they'll still need someone who can contribute on special teams...Stewart will definitely be a good special teamer early in his career, but if he becomes the starter, I'm not sure who will step up and help out on kick coverage and things like that. Kirtman has played well on special teams, and if he makes the team, he might fit that role nicely, making Jones even more valuable as a solid backup or change of pace guy who doesn't necessarily need to contribute on special teams. He also isn't really being paid all that much (relatively), and if Stewart gets picked at #25, he shouldn't break the bank either, so financially we shouldn't have any problems keeping them both on the roster, I wouldn't think so anyway.
-Tom
PS - I could also see Morris sticking around through training camp and eventually being traded if we get Stewart and he looks as good as advertised. Stockpiling backs going into camp and pre-season can lead to a trade with a team in need of a RB...like Giants/Packers/Grant in "07.
As a current resident of Houston, I gotta say I don't see Stewart landing with the Texans. The big fish they're going after are the OT and CB variety.
ReplyDeleteI can't say never, but I'd be *really* suprised if the Texans picked him up in the 1st. Now, if he somehow fell to the 2nd, that could change things. But not the first.
I'm not in the camp of giving up the farm for Stewart of Mendenhall.
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to think our defense is better than the '85 Bears or the Ravens of a few years back.
We have a very solid set of DBs and a great set of LBs, but up front we aren't yet great.
We have one really good DE. We have one okay DE. We have very, very questionable depth.
We have two solid starters at DT and one decent reserve. If we keep rotating, we're going to have some so-so DT seeing significant time (and getting the ball ran down our throats like Green Bay). That's not enough. And if I hear another person counting on Tubbs, I'll probably puke.
I don't care if we would like a great RB or a TE (TE who won't really contribute in '08)... I want to solidify our DL so the rest of our defense can play up to the level we'd like them to.
bk
If one of our starting defensive linemen go down for any length of time --- this defense would go down hill fast. I think it's more important to solidify this position than getting another RB.
ReplyDeletebk
BobbyK
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I haven't heard anybody say this will be one of the top 3 defenses of all time. People do expect them to be very good, and I think that is fair. Whether or not they will be the top d next year, who knows, but no one has said that they be the 85' Bears or the 02' Ravens.
Second, I think we all know that anything we get from Tubbs is a bonus. Besides for him they have 3 good tackles and a forth in Green who played OK at the end of the year. I still think we need to take a DT in this draft, and probably in the first couple rounds.
However, at #25 Stewart presents a much better value, as far as upside goes, than any tackle not named Dorsey or Ellis. In any normal year Stewart would be a top 15 pick. If he slides because of his injury or the deep class, he should be considered. In my opinion.
Are you not in favor of taking best player available as opposed to reaching for need position??
I just got this feeling that Hawks will trade down and try to get two picks in the second round, and they will be the "best available" type of player that they have ranked regardless of position.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. Take him Hawks! That would seal the deal for whose new jersey i'm gonna be sporting at Qwest next season.
ReplyDeleteStewart-Jones-Duckett...hell yea
We have a very talented group of defensive players, but we lack coaching. John Marshall has done very little with a whole lot of talent.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago he wasted an entire season blitzing only Julian Petersen, when it was obvious when ,and who, the hawks were blitzing. Great coaches dont take an entire year to realize teams have you figured out.
Last season he fixed that problem, but our defense was up and down. Several games Marshall didnt blitz enough, relying on the D-line to rush, with lousy results. When he did blitz, it was usually third and long, which everyone saw coming.
So many times we blitzed mutliple players, only to arrive at the qb way late...our cb and safety blitzes NEVER worked...Are our db's and lb's slow?! no, they arent, so it has to be the scheme, which is Marshalls responsibility.
No matter what players you have, if you use base defenses, dont blitz much, and blitz only on obvious blitzing situations, you will not have an elite defense.
Marshall needs to take a good look at the Jags and Eagles blitz schemes...
Im not holding my breath that our defense looks anything like the 85 Bears or the Ravens.
If we trade up for Stewart EXPECT Morris to be traded for a 5th round draft pick.
ReplyDeleteBesides Im sure Stewart is saying he wishes he plays for Dallas and Houston as well.
Nick~Hawk
anon @ 1:28 (guys, get nicknames already!): the Seahawks were third in the league in sacks last year. Marshall's blitzing must be doing something right.
ReplyDeleteMike, I think everyone agrees that we would love to have Stewart at 25. However, trading away any number of other picks to trade up and take him might wind up being detrimental. Walk the line and someone good will be there for us at 25... either Stewart or a good DE/DT.
ReplyDeleteThe sack totals are solid, but last year the defense would have been more successful if they had been more consistent. That might have something to do with coaching, considering the talent and high character that is on the field. I think John Marshall is a pretty good coach, but there does seem to be something missing. When you have a great group of guys, but they aren't consistent, I tend to think it has something to do with coaching, motivation and preparation. Perhaps Marshall isn't a great motivator? Perhaps he just doesn't always put together a good game plan? But to say we lack coaching is a bit extreme. Shams is right, poor coaching doesn't usually result in such high sack totals.
ReplyDelete-Tom
Oh, I agree completely, I strongly doubt there will be any trading up. What I was saying is passing on Stewart because the GB game left a bad taste in our mouths as far the DL is concerned would be a mistake. He is a much higher value than the other players that are expected to be available at 25
ReplyDeleteNobody has said this is the best defense ever (thought people could read through the sarcasm). However, everyone is making it seem so great. This is basically the same unit that got pounded in Green Bay (and Atlanta). Just because Tatupu and Trufant signed extentions (thank God!) that doesn't mean this defense will all of a sudden be better. It means we kept what we had, which is good. But we still had faults to begin with. I'm all for taking the best player available (never said I wasn't as seemed to be implied). I am in favor of trading down and getting those early/mid second round value guys like Sims or Laws.
ReplyDeleteI Like the defense. I Don't love the defense... yet.
I like the DBs and LBs. Not overly impressed with where it all starts... the defensive line, mainly the depth.
Great website by the way! A place to talk 'Hawks all the time!
bk
and, yes, a better offensive line will help out a little with the D having to (hopefully) not be on the field all the time
ReplyDeletebk
I am not sure I think it is fair that you use the Atlanta and Green Bay games as your basis for all that is wrong with the defense.
ReplyDeleteThe Atlanta game could easily be blamed on complacency. Who the heck wants to fly 3500 miles to play a game that means absoulutely nothing on New Years weekend.
And as for the Green Bay game, sometimes you just get beat. The Hawks D came out and made some good plays and Green Bay responded. They just turned it up to a level higher than the Hawks were capable of going. Sometimes that is just the way it is. There is a reason the home team wins 80% of the games in the divisional round, historically.
Okay, I have to chime in here, and you guys feel free to violently disagree with my comments.
ReplyDeleteThe Atlanta game? Who knew what was going on? Were they not going full-out to minimize the potential for injury before the playoffs? Maybe I'm just looking for something that isn't there, but it seemed that it wasn't exactly a crucial win for us.
Green Bay: Snow is Kryptonite to our defense. We have to play well enough during the regular season to ensure we don't end up in Green Bay, in January, in blizzard conditions. I realize there are several other places in the league in which we'd end up freezing our butts off, too, but I refuse to believe that we were playing under optimal conditions.
IMHO, YMMV, whatever.
-S
or usually its because the home team had more wins and they are better
ReplyDeleteI just wonder if there would be so much clamour about Stewart if he had played at Texas or Florida? i.e if he wasn;t such a "local" boy?
ReplyDeleteDL needs more cover than RB at the moment.
Just wanted to put my two cents on our D. No, they are not among the great D's of all time, but they proved to be one of the better D's last year. What people forget is that despite the kind of talant you have on the field (which we have a lot of) the longer a squad plays together the better they are. I see our situation as a HUGE advantage. They were extremely good last year, yes inconsistant at times, but good none the less and now they have a year under their belts playing together. So yes, signing all of these players again DOES make them better. Teams that make major changes to their squad tend to take longer to mesh well. Granted, there will always be players added, but it is usually to replace weak links or losing guys to FA... We don't have weak links. When was the last time our D was good enough that we didn't have to fill gaps? I can't remeber. Expect great things from them this year.
ReplyDelete