Seahawks | Could show interest in Dwight Freeney
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:05:50 -0800

The Seattle Seahawks could show interest in Indianapolis Colts impending free-agent DE Dwight Freeney this offseason if he is willing to take less than the over $14 million he received this season.



Read more: http://www.kffl.com/hotw/nfl#ixzz2KHYCrhIu

He might end up in a Seahawks uniform, but I don't see them jumping at him, particularly after 5 sacks and 12 tackles in 2012. Maybe it was because of the transition from DE to OLB, but I'm more inclined to think it is because he is 33 years old.

I could see him doing a decent enough job filling in while Clemons is out. Then again, I haven't seen or heard much of him in a bit. Still need to draft someone though, I see him as a super short term solution, imo.

Sorry but not interested. If we're going to go with an aging vet I'd much rather take Osi Umenyiora (although I'm not really sold on him either). Here are the stats from the last two years:

Dwight Freeney: 30 games, 31 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles (Will be 33 at the beginning of the season)
Osi Umenyiora: 25 games, 68 tackles, 15.0 sacks, 4 forced fumbles (Will be 31 at the beginning of the season)

Would be great for him to play at CLink and see the retired #71 jersey over his head every game.

IBleedBlueAndGreen wrote:Sorry but not interested. If we're going to go with an aging vet I'd much rather take Osi Umenyiora (although I'm not really sold on him either). Here are the stats from the last two years:

Dwight Freeney: 30 games, 31 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles (Will be 33 at the beginning of the season)
Osi Umenyiora: 25 games, 68 tackles, 15.0 sacks, 4 forced fumbles (Will be 31 at the beginning of the season)

Dwight Freeney: Crappy team around him while playing from behind and had a scheme change this year.
Osi Umenyiora: Great team around him while playing from ahead. Missed 5 more games despite playing part time.

Weird idea. Can we have both? And run a 3 man rotation with Irvin at Leo? Not sure they'd both agree to share snaps, or if we have the roster space for 3 pure rushers, two of which aren't on rookie contracts or young. A weird thought anyways. Bruce would get to learn a lot.

Honestly though I've always been more interested in Osi for this year, felt like playing devils advocate though.

I know it's not totally up to him, but I know he recently said he wants to end his career in Indy.

JKent82 wrote:

IBleedBlueAndGreen wrote:Sorry but not interested. If we're going to go with an aging vet I'd much rather take Osi Umenyiora (although I'm not really sold on him either). Here are the stats from the last two years:

Dwight Freeney: 30 games, 31 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles (Will be 33 at the beginning of the season)
Osi Umenyiora: 25 games, 68 tackles, 15.0 sacks, 4 forced fumbles (Will be 31 at the beginning of the season)

Dwight Freeney: Crappy team around him while playing from behind and had a scheme change this year.
Osi Umenyiora: Great team around him while playing from ahead. Missed 5 more games despite playing part time.

Weird idea. Can we have both? And run a 3 man rotation with Irvin at Leo? Not sure they'd both agree to share snaps, or if we have the roster space for 3 pure rushers, two of which aren't on rookie contracts or young. A weird thought anyways. Bruce would get to learn a lot.

Honestly though I've always been more interested in Osi for this year, felt like playing devils advocate though.

IMO, going after the older guys is asking for problems and is completely against the Seahawks philosophy for building a team. They might sign them just to get them on the team in case they need them, but I see this being another Barrett Ruud/Terrell Owens/Kellen Winslow/Other old guys that found the door sooner than later. The younger talent will be faster, stronger, hungrier, and more durable.

Isn't this just pure speculation?

I actually wouldn't mind this move at all. Why not take Dwight Freeney or Osi, still draft a DE in the high round, and let the DE develop and learn from the vet. This only build depth, and it still addresses a position of need. Variety is the spice of life, we don't need to go after ALL young players.

No, I want to build through the draft; we've got vets like Red, Clemmons, and such to help the rookies. The team needs to be built right, through the draft, to be a team with lasting success.

A veteran DE would be a nicety, but I don't think the DE position warrants spending a lot of money on a big name free agent. Unless an old veteran like Osi or Freeney are willing to sign at bargain basement prices, I'd prefer to see us keep building with young up-and-coming lesser knowns. Our FO has proven they can find diamonds in the rough and build through the draft. I think we're on the verge of making multiple Super Bowl appearances over the next 5-10 years with the FO and coaching staff we have in place. If a player believes that and they want to be a part of that, they'll sign at a bargain. If we get players like that, we get players that are already bought into the program before they enter the program.

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:Isn't this just pure speculation?

Yeah, seems like it.

I'd be down with Freeney. Yeah, he's going to be 33 in a few days, but if you check out the league sack leaders annually you'll see that most of the guys near the top of the list are on the wrong side of 30 anyway. For that 1 year deal as the "Raheem Brock" role, it could work. His production dipped but that was because of a move to OLB in the Colts 3-4. Problem is, he's said that he wants to retire a Colt and I'm thinking that he'll take the pay cut to get that done.

Just noticed, not really but felt strong enough to comment on it, what a load of crap ESPN Insider is. They've got an Insider article, that you have to pay for, that mentions Freeney as a possible fit in Seattle and that Seattle might not show any interest in Paul Kruger because of 2 red flags. The red flags being that he performed well in a contract year and that he only performed well when Suggs was back in the lineup. I can almost guarantee that if the Seahawks ARE interested in Paul Kruger, the red flags wouldn't be those 2. It'd be his lack of speed and excellent athleticism. ESPN must make a slaying charging for "Insider" information that's really just speculation and countless articles mentioning every possible FA as a "good fit" for X team. What a load of crap! But I digress...

Freeney or Osi? How bout we pass on both and go with William Hayes if we want to shore up the DE position. Not only that, he can play some DT as well, fitting that versatile mold that PC/JS covet.

OP: your thread title is bullshit.

Scottemojo wrote:OP: your thread title is bullshit.

Seconded. The "Seahawks" have not talked Dwight Freeney. It's KFFL speculating.

SeAhAwKeR4life wrote:No, I want to build through the draft; we've got vets like Red, Clemons, and such to help the rookies. The team needs to be built right, through the draft, to be a team with lasting success.

Clemons was a free agent and has provided most of our sacks since he arrived.

This team has already been built mostly through the draft. It's not as if you can't supplement the process with a few well-placed free agents. You just don't want to rely on them like Rusk-hell.

MontanaHawk05 wrote:

SeAhAwKeR4life wrote:No, I want to build through the draft; we've got vets like Red, Clemons, and such to help the rookies. The team needs to be built right, through the draft, to be a team with lasting success.

Clemons was a free agent and has provided most of our sacks since he arrived.

This team has already been built mostly through the draft. It's not as if you can't supplement the process with a few well-placed free agents. You just don't want to rely on them like Rusk-hell.

I agree with your post Montana, but Clemons was acquired in the Darryl Tapp trade. Still, not through the draft, but not an FA either.

I'd rather have Jared Allen

this... if Freeney was more productive maybe... but seems like he's declined over the last couple years, 33 years old.. i agree we should stick with the youth movement, build through FA or draft.. Jared Allen would be nice.

NYCoug wrote:

MontanaHawk05 wrote:

SeAhAwKeR4life wrote:No, I want to build through the draft; we've got vets like Red, Clemons, and such to help the rookies. The team needs to be built right, through the draft, to be a team with lasting success.

Clemons was a free agent and has provided most of our sacks since he arrived.

This team has already been built mostly through the draft. It's not as if you can't supplement the process with a few well-placed free agents. You just don't want to rely on them like Rusk-hell.

I agree with your post Montana, but Clemons was acquired in the Darryl Tapp trade. Still, not through the draft, but not an FA either.

Didn't we let Clem wander around in FA before we re-signed him? Either way I know he's not working under the same contract he had when we got him from Philly.

As for a guy like Freeny or Osi, they'd be band-aids against Clem's knee. I'm confident that Bruce will be a great Leo, but likely needs another season of work on his game to become a 3 down Leo. Having guys like Osi or Freeny (I vote for Osi btw) to rotate in would help Bruce with his learning curve. I think Clem will come back, but odds are pretty good that he'll probably be on the PUP to start the year. I don't think I'd feel all that comfortable going into the season with only Irvin and Scruggs ready to play the Leo.

Clemons held out "kind of' and got that extension before playing his final year, 2012.

I think Freeney would be a good fit for LEO or Irvin's situational role, perhaps they could both rotate? I don't think Schneider will make a reactionary move like that. They will add someone who everyone doesn't see as a starter like Clemons was before we traded for him. They would probably be more interested in a teams practice squad player listed as OLB/DE before paying big cash to Freeney. Freeney would need to get a contract like 2 mil a year max from Seattle for it to make sense. Don't see it happening, but not because I don't think Freeney could play the Irvin role.

I say, let Irvin play full time Leo and pick up another potential guy that can take Irvin's spot from last year or rotate with Irvin at Clemons spot. You drafted him to be the LEO, don't throw him under the bus after one season, one game against the top seed in the NFC.

I would rather go with someone like Osi. But really, we need to get some type of FA to fill some on the holes that are gonna open up on our dline.

Montana is spot on. We are trying to win a Super Bowl. The team has been built through the draft now sign a couple pieces that would help us get to the top of the mountain if they are available. It's HARD to win the big one to not sign that piece to put you over the top is foolhardy.

benbu75 wrote:He might end up in a Seahawks uniform, but I don't see them jumping at him, particularly after 5 sacks and 12 tackles in 2012. Maybe it was because of the transition from DE to OLB, but I'm more inclined to think it is because he is 33 years old.

Was playing out of position in 3-4 switch

Pure speed off the edge...period

12th_Bob wrote:Clemons held out "kind of' and got that extension before playing his final year, 2012.

I think Freeney would be a good fit for LEO or Irvin's situational role, perhaps they could both rotate? I don't think Schneider will make a reactionary move like that. They will add someone who everyone doesn't see as a starter like Clemons was before we traded for him. They would probably be more interested in a teams practice squad player listed as OLB/DE before paying big cash to Freeney. Freeney would need to get a contract like 2 mil a year max from Seattle for it to make sense. Don't see it happening, but not because I don't think Freeney could play the Irvin role.

I say, let Irvin play full time Leo and pick up another potential guy that can take Irvin's spot from last year or rotate with Irvin at Clemons spot. You drafted him to be the LEO, don't throw him under the bus after one season, one game against the top seed in the NFC.

Yeah, but the team is built to make a run now. Building through the draft time is over. That's not to say we can't keep building and developing through the draft, but the starters are all here and are all entering the primes of their careers. It's GO time. That "next year" that we've all been waiting for is here... THIS year.

I agree that all that Irvin is missing at this point is reps, but unlike Russell last year (2012), I don't think we can afford to let Irvin take his lumps developing in-game. Let Irvin play (hell, let Irvin START) but if Clem isn't available, we'd be better served by having a proven vet who can rotate in and get the job done in situations where Irvin may struggle.

.

zayden185 wrote:

benbu75 wrote:He might end up in a Seahawks uniform, but I don't see them jumping at him, particularly after 5 sacks and 12 tackles in 2012. Maybe it was because of the transition from DE to OLB, but I'm more inclined to think it is because he is 33 years old.

Was playing out of position in 3-4 switch

Pure speed off the edge...period

The problem is that the Seahawks defensive scheme is very 3-4 like, with 3 large run-stopping linemen with the weak side defensive end (the LEO) being a smaller edge rusher, much like a 3-4 OLB. Clemons is 6-3, 255; Irvin is 6-3, 248. Freeney is 6-1, 268, which is great for a Tampa 2 DE, but not for a LEO. I'm afraid Freeney would not be much better of a fit in the Seahawks scheme than he was in the new Indy 3-4

Looking at the DE that are available, I think the Seahawks should go after Cliff Avril and probably part ways with Clem. Avril is 6-3, 260 and all of his measurables are fairly comparable to Bruce Irvin.

Am I the only one that caught the "could" part of that statement?

Hell Pigs "could" fly

Hell "could" freeze over.

But this happen? doubtful.

I just don't see them shelling out anywhere near that kind of moneys for this guy.

I say we throw everything we got at improving the pass rush. Sign aging free agents, Draft a couple of DT's and DE's. We fix our pass rush, and holy mother of the lord, we dance....

Smoke wrote:I say we throw everything we got at improving the pass rush. Sign aging free agents, Draft a couple of DT's and DE's. We fix our pass rush, and holy mother of the lord, we dance....

We would be death to opposing offenses. Sure would be nice to find a DT that can disrupt AND stop the run effectively when need be. It's amazing how Clem got the sacks he did with so little help from the interior. Irvin would be much more effective if we had a pocket pusher.

We are going for a string of chances to win the Super Bowl not a one and done with expensive free agents, I see so many new posters come in and want to play Madden 2013. We were two games away this year with a restrictor plate on Wilson, I think without it we may have been in the dance. But we were close with what we have and all them are going to be back as a core of this team.

So take all those expensive over the hill free agent fantasys and put them on the Cardinals or Jaguars, it won't be here.

I think Freeney could be productive in a bridge manner at the LEO.

I'd be interested but if the guy really wants to be in Indy, you have to wonder about his motivation. At 33, he'd have to be really motivated to increase his production, although last year was a bit of an anomaly since he played out of position.