The Seahawks escaped with a 14-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Monday night in a game that was not decided until Kellen Clemens’ fourth-down pass into the end zone fell incomplete on the final play of the game.

The Seahawks’ offense did just enough, and the defense did more than could be expected on “Monday Night Football.”

The victory extended the best start in franchise history. It also kept the Seahawks a game up on the San Francisco 49ers (6-2) in the NFC West entering the second half of the season that includes a Dec. 8 rematch with the 49ers in San Francisco as well as a Dec. 2 game against the New Orleans Saints (6-1) at CenturyLink Field.

Recapping this one, the Seahawks won the coin toss, but deferred. The defense then stopped the Rams after six plays, but Johnny Hekker kicked the Seahawks into poor field position with a 55-yard punt that Golden Tate fumbled out of bounds at the Seahawks’ 7-yard line.

The Seahawks held the ball for only four plays on a possession that also included two penalties against the Rams and one on the Seahawks. Jon Ryan’s 37-yard punt gave the Rams the ball at the Seahawks’ 46. The Rams took advantage on a 33-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein with 4:37 left in the quarter. The big gain on the seven-play, 31-yard drive was Kellen Clemens’ 26-yard pass to Austin Pettis on third-and-9.

The Rams were driving again, but Bruce Irvin intercepted a Clemens pass at the Seahawks’ 15.

NFC sack-leader Robert Quinn and Williams Hayes had sacks on Russell Wilson in the opening quarter, but the Rams defense came after the Seahawks’ QB in a variety of ways and gave him no time to find his receivers.

The Seahawks had 27 yards nullified by two penalties on right guard J.R. Sweezy – an 11-yard pass from Wilson to Luke Willson and a 16-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.

The Rams continued to keep the Seahawks on their heels to open the second quarter and had a first down at the Seattle 46-yard line. But Richard Sherman intercepted an overthrown pass by Clemens and returned it 38 yards to the Rams’ 26.

Sherman’s interception, his fourth of the season, was vital because the Seahawks had few answers for what the Rams were doing on defense and offense. So Sherman’s pick and return – with an assist from a big block by strong safety Kam Chancellor – helped out both units. It stopped another Rams drive and gave the offense field position it had not been able to generate.

It wasn’t easy, but the Seahawks scored on Wilson’s 1-yard pass to Golden Tate with 5:37 left in the half on a third-and-goal play. Wilson ran for 17 yards on the second play of the drive, but also was stopped for no gain and a 1-yard loss before throwing the TD pass to Tate.

The post Seahawks escape with 14-9 victory over Rams appeared first on Bola88.

Both could happen, according to Mike Mayock. The draft analyst for the NFL Network participated in a conference-call Q&A session today and touched on two in-state players who have been profiled on Seahawks.com this week: Locker, the quarterback from the University of Washington; and Jones, the running back from Eastern Washington University.

First, Mayock was asked if there was any way he could see the Redskins going for Locker at No. 10.

“Yeah, I do,” Mayock said. “After those first two guys (Blaine Gabbert and Cam Newton) are gone, the game begins. Somebody’s going to take a shot on (Ryan) Mallett at some point and I happened to think that Locker – out of most of the teams in the league – fits Washington better than most.”

Mayock than visited Mike Shanahan’s past, when the Redskins coach had Jake Plummer and Jay Cutler while coaching the Denver Broncos.

“Locker is a little bit like a combination of those two guys,” Mayock said. “Locker likes getting out on the edge and he’s mostly accurate off play-action rolling out right or left. That’s what Mike Shanahan’s scheme is. It’s a lot of play-action. It’s a quarterback making a decision on half the field.

“If he has a chance to play early and play effectively, I think that’s the kind of system he’s set up for.”

Mayock then added, “It wouldn’t surprise me, at all, if he went 10 or 12 – Washington or Minnesota.”

Later, Mayock was asked about players who could have an impact returning kicks, and be selected higher because of it. That’s where Jones came into the conversation.

“Taiwan Jones is a guy that I love, and I think that he’s going to go fairly high,” he said. “He might be the fastest guy in the draft. He was off the radar, but I told people about two months ago that if this kid ran in the 4.3 (second) range – like I thought he would – he’d go from an afterthought to a late two, early three.

“He ran 4.28. He jumped 40 inches. He had a big day. Because of his return ability and because he can catch the football out of the backfield, I don’t think he’s getting out of the second round now.”

Mayock also discussed another topic that has been included in our series leading up to the draft: Whether there is a player who deserves to be selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers.

“I do feel very strongly that Carolina would love to get out of No. 1,” he said. “I’m not even convinced that Carolina is going to take a quarterback at No. 1. I think that’s the prevailing attitude, but I’m still fairly skeptical about that.

“I think they would like to get out of there, leverage that first pick and let somebody come up and get Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert; drop down three or four spots and still get a quality player and multiple picks. I think that’s exactly what Carolina would love to do.”

The post Jake Locker Picked number 10 in round 1? appeared first on Bola88.

Like many kids, Mason Foster’s dreams of some day reaching the NFL began when he first started playing the sport.

Unlike most, it’s about to happen for the tackling machine of a linebacker from the University of Washington.

“Since I first started playing football, since I was 9 years old, you dream about running out there with your favorite team,” Foster said after his Pro Day workout. “Each day, it’s getting closer and closer. So I’m excited to see at the end of April where I end up.

“This means everything to me. So I’m just going to try to keep getting better every day, to make the dream come true.”

2011 DRAFT: LINEBACKERS
A look at the positions heading into the April 28-30 NFL Draft (position and overall rankings and projections by Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com):

Rank Player, School Projection
1/2 OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M First Round
2/30 OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA First/Second Round
3/38 ILB Martez Wilson, Illinois First/Second Round
4/40 OLB Justin Houston, Georgia First/Second Round
5/44 OLB Brooks Reed, Arizona Second Round
What’s it all mean? Not a great year to be in the market for an impact player at what needs to be an impactful position. Rang’s overall grades reflect that, with Miller the only linebacker rated among the Top 25 players. As NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock put it, “The linebacker class is not real good. But Von Miller is the prototype rush linebacker, and immediately becomes the headache in a guy you’ve got to game plan for every week coming off the edge.”

More Below

Foster is rated No. 9 among the outside linebackers by Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com. But in the Sporting News draft preview, Foster is listed as the top inside linebacker.

Which spot will he play in the NFL? That depends on where he ends up playing. But there seems to be little doubt that Foster has what it takes to play at the next level – his dream-come-true level.

“Mason Foster, I like him. He’s always around the ball,” said Todd McShay, draft analyst for ESPN. “Clearly he doesn’t have the best top-end speed. But he’s strong, he’s powerful and he always shows up on tape.”

As for that lack of top-end speed, Foster ran the 40-yard dash in 4.74 seconds at his Pro Day workout last month, which was consistent with his 4.75-second effort at the scouting combine in February. At least one scout, however, had him faster than 4.7 seconds.

“I definitely could have run faster,” Foster said. “But that’s a great range for me.”

It’s his football numbers that are even more telling. Foster averaged 12.6 tackles last season to lead the Pac-10 and rank second in the nation. His 163 tackles were the most by a Pac-10 player since the Huskies’ James Clifford had 168 in 1989, and 58 more than anyone else in the conference last season.

The efforts that led to all those tackles can’t always be measured in 40 times and number of reps in the bench press (Foster did 22 with 225 pounds at the combine).

“As a linebacker, a lot of it is instinctual,” Foster said. “It’s stuff that you do on the field. Your film speaks a lot as a linebacker. Because a lot of these drills show your explosiveness, but they have nothing to do with you making a tackle and reading the pulling guard.”

McShay has Foster rated as a late-third round pick, but also sees that as a plus for Foster.

“Mason Foster has a chance, if he gets with the right team and is given the opportunity, to become a real value pick in this draft,” McShay said.

While learning the nuances of being a linebacker in the NFL, Foster can earn his keep by playing on special teams. Just like fellow former UW linebacker Donald Butler, who went to the San Diego Chargers in the middle of the third round last year. Butler spent his rookie season on injured reserve after damaging his Achilles during a training camp practice.

Foster and Butler covered kicks for the Huskies, and scouts from several teams said at the combine that is a definite advantage because they don’t have to project how they might handle playing on special teams.

“If nothing else, early on Foster can contribute on special teams,” McShay said. “He’s got a great motor. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. And he has enough ability – especially in tackling and explosiveness – to go cover kicks.”

But there is a difference between Foster and Butler.

“No qualms whatsoever,” Nick Holt, the Huskies’ defensive coordinator, said when asked about Foster’s ability to play in the NFL. “Mason has all the tools you’re looking for.

“Mason is a little different type player than Donald. Donald is really a good middle linebacker. But Mason is one of those guys that has a lot of different things about him.”

Holt then rattled through a mental checklist that included Foster’s ability to play either outside or inside as a linebacker; contribute in the nickel; cover backs and tight ends; and rush the passer.

“So he has a lot of stuff about him,” Holt said. “Donald is a helluva player, but Mason does a lot of different things really, really well.”

Like play special teams.

“I love to play special teams. I just love to run down there and hit anybody,” Foster said. “It helps me a lot, just being versatile like that and showing that you can play different positions. The more ways you can help a team, it makes you more valuable to that team – and more teams, at that.

“So I have no problem with playing anything. I’ll play whatever; as long as it helps the team win.”

Which, of course, will help Foster reach the dream he has harbored since he was 9.

2011 Draft: Linebackers

A look at the positions heading into the April 28-30 NFL Draft (position and overall rankings and projections by Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com):

Rank Player, School Ht. Wt. Projection
1/2 OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M 6-3 246 First Round
2/30 OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA 6-3 254 First/Second Round
3/38 ILB Martez Wilson, Illinois 6-4 250 First/Second Round
4/40 OLB Justin Houston, Georgia 6-3 270 First/Second Round
5/44 OLB Brooks Reed, Arizona 6-3 263 Second Round
What’s it all mean? Not a great year to be in the market for an impact player at what needs to be an impactful position. Rang’s overall grades reflect that, with Miller the only linebacker rated among the Top 25 players. As NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock put it, “The linebacker class is not real good. But Von Miller is the prototype rush linebacker, and immediately becomes the headache in a guy you’ve got to game plan for every week coming off the edge.”

What about? Dontay Moch. Is he a pass-rush specialist from the defensive end position, as he was while collecting 30 career sacks at Nevada? Or is he an outside linebacker, because he weighs only 242 pounds? That’s up to teams to determine. But one thing is certain: Moch is fast – as in 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in February, when he also popped a 42-inch vertical leap while working out with the D-linemen. As NFL Network analyst and former Seahawks scout Bucky Brooks put it, “He has a chance to be a special rusher in the right system.”

What’s up with? Casey Matthews. He is rated as only the eighth-best inside ’backer by Rang, and 167th prospect overall. But when it comes to genes, No. 55 for the Oregon Ducks is second to none. His father, Clay, played 19 seasons in the NFL. His brother, Clay III, finished second in the voting for defensive player of the year last season after registering 13½ sacks for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. His uncle, Bruce, was a Hall of Fame offensive lineman. While Casey is not in the same class as his brother when it comes to athletic ability, he was asked to do a lot in the Ducks’ defense scheme and did most of it very well.

Seahawks situation? Once a position of strength when Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill were the “3” in the 4-3 for the Seahawks, they somehow got by with only four true ’backers last season: David Hawthorne, the free-agent find of 2008 who led the team in tackles for the second consecutive season and from his second position in as many seasons; Tatupu, who remains the brains of the entire defense from his spot in the middle; Aaron Curry, the fourth pick overall in the 2009 draft; and Will Herring, a versatile and invaluable backup. So while linebacker is not a high priority, depth in the unit needs to be addressed.

The post Mason Foster a special linebacker appeared first on Bola88.

Barnes was a four-year starter at UW and a second-round NFL draft choice. The school hasn’t had a player sign with a Pac-12 school since, a drought that Jackson is on track to break next February.

Jackson, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive lineman, committed to sign with the Huskies, becoming the eighth member of UW’s Class of 2012, and the fourth to become public since Sunday.

Jackson does not have a rating by any of the major recruiting services. But Mount Miguel coach Tom Karlo said that “Washington got a real sleeper,” and that Jackson began to attract a lot of attention when coaches looked at his film during the spring visitation period that ended in May.

Karlo said Jackson had six Pac-12 offers, including Washington State, Arizona and UCLA.

“He was pretty dominant as a defensive tackle last year on a team that went 9-2,” Karlo said. “He’s got the frame to go to 290 pounds and play defensive tackle at the next level.”

Jackson has yet to visit UW, but Karlo said he became enamored of the school when the Huskies played in the Holiday Bowl last December in nearby San Diego

“He did his research online and said ‘this is where I want to go,”‘ Karlo said.

The post California defensive tackle picks Huskies appeared first on Bola88.

This was not a scientific poll of a number of people or anything — just a quick list put together as I studied the roster again this week. And for this list, I didn’t include incoming freshmen.

I’m starting the countdown with place kicker Erik Folk, pictured at right in a Dean Rutz photo.

Kickers aren’t often at the top of such lists. But as coaches often say, the best way to understand the value of a kicker is in years when you don’t have a good one. In his two years as UW’s starter, Folk has begun to restore the school’s tradition for good kickers. He’s made 31-41 field goals in his career, a percentage of that 75.6 that is third in school history behind only Chuck Nelson (61-75, 81.3) and Jeff Jaeger (85-105, 81.0). He’s a perfect 68-68 on PATs, tied with Mike Lansford (who was 73-73 in 78-79) for career percentage in point afters.

He’s also made a number of big kicks, such as game-winners in the final seconds the last two years against USC (the picture is the beginning of the celebration after the winner against the Trojans last year).

Folk did tail off a little bit at the end of last season, hitting three of his last seven in the final four games to finish at 13-20 for the year. He said in the spring he was working on keeping his head down, saying he sometimes threw off his form by looking up too quickly.

He also said in the spring he was working on increasing the distance on his kickoffs. He had just two touchbacks last season while UW’s opponents had 15 (though five were by Nebraska’s Alex Henery who was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Eagles). And interestingly, Folk’s average kickoff distance of 63 yards wasn’t much off that of UW’s opponents of 63.7.

Assuming he can regain the field goal consistency of 2009 and the first half of last season, and add a little distance on the kickoffs, Folk will be among the better kickers in the Pac-12, if not the country. And in a season when UW seems destined to again play a few nailbiters, that’s a valuable commodity.

The post Counting down the Top 10 Huskies – No. 10 appeared first on Bola88.

When UW finished up spring drills in April, the quarterback job was officially open between redshirt sophomore Keith Price and redshirt freshman Nick Montana. Shortly after the spring, UW coach Steve Sarkisian named Price the starter.

Monday was the first practice since, and also the first time either of the combatants spoke to the media.

“I was excited,” Price said of being named the starter. “But still, I know I have a long way to go. We still have thre to four weeks until the season, so I’m just going to keep on getting better. … I’m still pushing. Anything could happen from now until the end of camp, so I still see it as competition.”

So does Montana, the son of Hall of Famer Joe, who along with wife, Jennifer, watched practice Monday.

“I still have the same approach,” said Montana, who was a heralded member of Sarkisian’s first full recruiting class at UW. “I’m still coming out and competing every day. Shoot, in my mind I still have a chance, so you never know what can happen. I’m just playing. Keith did a great job and is obviously a great quarterback, so I’m just trying to push myself and him every day.”

Before practice, Sarkisian said at a season-opening news conference that Price would get roughly two-thirds of the snaps with the starting unit throughout camp and Montana roughly one-third — a typical starter-to-backup ratio.

But while Price is the listed starter, Sarkisian said he doesn’t rule out that Montana could emerge as the guy “if he plays really well — that’s the reality of it. And we’ll give him opportunities to do that. I don’t want people to think and Nick to think he’s going out to practice for the sake of practicing. He’s competing. If Keith doesn’t perform well and Nick does and it shows itself and lends itself that way, that could easily happen.”

Montana said he wasn’t disappointed to hear the news, saying “I wasn’t really paying attention to that. I was just going out and playing and whatever happens, happens.”

What he has paid attention to is increasing his weight and strength. Montana said he weighed about 190 pounds when he first enrolled at UW in spring 2010 but is now up to “206ish.” He’s officially listed at 203.

“I’m just stronger and smoother,” he said. “It’s a lot better.”

Sarkisian singled out the play of Montana after UW’s two-hour non-pads workout at Husky Stadium.

“I thought he had a great day, threw the ball well and made plays,” Sarkisian said. He said naming Price as the starter is “fuel to the fire” for Montana, and that Montana has reacted as the coach would have hoped.

For now, though, Price is the starter, and Sarkisian said he carried himself as if he’s the leader of the team during practice Monday.

“”I thought Keith missed a couple of throws but that didn’t ruin his day,” Sarkisian said. “What I was impressed with is when a guy feels he is really competing for the job, those plays can sometimes harbor and affect the rest of your practice. He made some other plays and did some good things, so I think that is the mentality you get when you feel like you are the starter. That this one play isn’t going to make or break my career so you can move on from it.”

Price, who has also been attempting to get a little sturdier, said he weighs 195 pounds. He also spent part of his summer getting tutoring from a pretty good source — former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who worked out with other NFL players at UW during the lockout.

“I threw with him a lot this summer,” Price said, saying the main thing he learned was “precision and just being accurate and on-time. That’s a big deal in the NFL and still at this level he was just teaching me certain footwork just to better myself.”

The post Price, Montana still see starting QB as competition appeared first on Bola88.

That’s the speculation anyway the day after the Seahawks 34-22 trouncing of Cardinals Thursday night. A brief video clip going around the Internet posted by Reddit user Kookp1 appears to show Lynch give the finger to his bench after coming out of the huddle on 3rd-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line.

Rather than hand the ball to Lynch, the Seahawks instead ran a play-action pass, with Russell Wilson throwing to Kellen Davis for a touchdown.

It’s hard to tell from the quick clip whether Lynch is actually flipping the bird or not, but it’s making for some fun speculation.

There was no mention of it afterwards, and Lynch never speaks with the media, so we’ll likely never know the truth. Maybe we can get Richard Sherman to ask if Marshawn is mad.

The post Did Marshawn Lynch give own bench the bird over play call? appeared first on Bola88.

A recap of the activities at Virginia Mason Athletic Center for Oct. 21, when the players had an “off” day while the coaches were putting together the game plan for next Monday night’s game against the Rams in St. Louis:

WORD OF THE DAY: PERCY

As in Harvin. As in the Seahawks’ big acquisition this offseason. The versatile player who was acquired in a March 12 trade with the Minnesota Vikings had hip surgery during training camp and has been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since Aug. 27.

But that changed Monday, when Harvin rejoined the team and worked out with quarterback Russell Wilson on a day when the team did not practice.

Harvin now has a three-week window to practice with the team, and the team has a roster exemption for Harvin during that time.

Coach Pete Carroll offered this assessment of Harvin’s status following Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals in Arizona: “He’s a great football player. He’s a guy we cherish, when we went after him and all that. But our expectation is, like I said from the start, we’re going to fit him in. Fit him in to help this team in any way that he can, which is exactly what he wants to do. We’ll grow with him also. It won’t all come out the first time we get on the field. We’re not changing what we’re doing. We’re just going to try to fit him in and welcome him to be part of it when the time is right. I don’t know when that time is, honestly.”

But Monday was a needed next step for Harvin, who was a threat as a receiver, kickoff returner and runner for the Vikings.

“One of the best football players in the National Football League,” Wilson said when asked about Harvin after the game against the Cardinals. “Makes a lot of plays. Can do a lot of great things. When you have him on the field, he’s just so electric. And we haven’t even used him yet. So I just think about Percy Harvin, a guy who just loves the game of football, a guy that’s so competitive.

“When he does come back, whenever that is, we’re looking forward to that moment.”

The post The long wait is over for Percy Harvin appeared first on Bola88.

That apparently means he will be on the field today when the Seahawks practice later this afternoon.

No corresponding move has yet been announced, but the team is signing Robinson to fill in at a fullback spot where he has no healthy players at the moment with Derrick Coleman ailing with a hamstring injury and Spencer Ware out since game two with a high ankle sprain.

The post Robinson Tweets he’s back with Seahawks appeared first on Bola88.

The post With Harvin, Seahawks ‘Multimillion-Dollar Backfield’ appeared first on Bola88.