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Just how did the former Texas Longhorns perform during week eight of the NFL season? Images, statistics and highlights.
The NFL is almost at the midway point of the season with only nine more weeks of football before the postseason.
Continue reading “Horns in the NFL: How Texas Exes fared in week 8”
Former Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Poona Ford creates opportunity for his offense after forcing a fumble by Cardinals receiver.
During Sunday Night Football on NBC, there are plenty of former Longhorns in action for this one. On Arizona’s side you have linebacker Jordan Hicks. For the Seahawks it is punter Michael Dickson and safety Quandre Diggs. Then there is defensive tackle Poona Ford. He can at times be a one man wrecking crew.
The 5-0 Seattle Seahawks are looking to remain perfect against the 3-2 Arizona Cardinals. The Texas ex Ford went for a tackle on Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins when he punched the ball loose and the defense pounced on the ball to give it back to the Seahawks offense. So far in the first half Ford has one tackle and one forced fumble for Seattle.
Poona Ford with the clean strip
@PoonaF_95 @Seahawks
#SEAvsAZ on NBC pic.twitter.com/tQTkqVP4Id
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 26, 2020
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The Seattle Seahawks’ failure to land free agent, Jadeveon Clowney, creates uncertainty for the defensive line heading into the 2020 season.
The Seattle Seahawks notably had one of the worst defensive lines in the NFL last season, ranking dead last out of 32 teams according to Pro Football Focus. As such, fans were expecting to see the Seahawks make some significant changes to the unit over the offseason, particularly in the pass rush – first, however, they had to re-sign defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who was a force to be reckoned with in the 15 total games that he played with the team in 2019.
Although the ups and downs of Clowney’s free agency saga lasted all the way until final roster cuts on Saturday, when he agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the Titans that also includes up to a further $3 million in incentives. According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Seahawks continued to call late into the evening:
This is true. The Seahawks were calling late too. There's definitely a whole lot more to how they were attempting to potentially get Clowney back last night too, but I'll leave it at that. https://t.co/gWOWbDf41k
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 6, 2020
Even before the Clowney news broke, the Seahawks needed to make some major moves if they hoped to bolster their defensive line before the start of the 2020 season – after all, their pass rush wasn’t the only thing that needed adjusting, as Seattle placed No. 22 in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (117.3). The current defensive line roster as of Sept. 6, 2020, is as follows:
DE L.J. Collier
DE Rasheem Green
DE Benson Mayowa
DE Damontre Moore
DE Alton Robinson
DT Poona Ford
DT Bryan Mone
DT Jarran Reed
Reserve/Injured: DE Branden Jackson
Reserve/Non-Football Injury: DE Darrell Taylor
The Seahawks will be placing more of an emphasis on their defensive backs this year with the increased implementation of the nickel defense, but a strong effort at the line of scrimmage will nonetheless prove vital in a make-or-break situation.
Of the Seahawks’ current defensive linemen, only Green and Ford saw more than 500 defensive snaps last season in Seattle. Currently, the plan for the defensive line appears to rely on hoping that somebody – 2019 first-round draft pick L.J. Collier, perhaps, or 2020 fifth-round pick Alton Robinson – will step up to the plate to provide that much-needed consistency in the trenches.
That may very well happen, yet banking on the wait-and-see approach – particularly after letting a stud like Clowney walk – may make fans question the Seahawks’ commitment to addressing the team’s definitive weaknesses.
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Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson switched to Octagon to represent him in upcoming contract negotiations.
Entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson has switched representation.
He will now be represented by Octagon instead of Dream Point Sports.
— Octagon Football (@OctagonFootball) June 22, 2020
Octagon will have Casey Muir and Murphy McGuire representing him. McGuire also represents Seattle defensive tackle Poona Ford.
Carson’s timing is not random, as he is likely hoping to find someone who will help him negotiate a potential extension to remain in Seattle beyond the 2020 season. Carson will be paid $2.13 million in 2020 after reaching the playing time requirements for a Proven Performance Escalator (PPE).
Plus, if an extension is not reached, Carson will now have new agents helping him explore the free agent market for the first time.
A former seventh round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2017, Carson has been among the biggest draft deal steals in recent history – having run for over 1,100 yards in each of the last two seasons.
He is coming off a season-ending hip injury, but is expected to be fully healed in time for training camp and the 2020 regular season, where he will reprise his role as Seattle’s top back.
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The Seattle Seahawks need a run-stuffing defensive tackle, and Damon Harrison is a perfect fit in free agency.
It’s no secret the Seattle Seahawks are going to add a veteran defensive tackle before the 2020 season kicks off.
After all, recent years have seen late additions of Al Woods, Shamar Stephen and Sheldon Richardson, and this year’s squad has almost no depth behind presumed starters Jarran Reed and Poona Ford.
The question, however, is how much Seattle will be willing to spend on a third defensive tackle, a role typically reserved for a veteran guy near the end of their productive NFL seasons.
If they are willing to dip into their cap space, one name who would really help shore things up on the front lines is Damon “Snacks” Harrison.
Harrison spent the first 6.5 years of his career in New York, split between the Jets and the Giants, before joining the Lions for the last half of the 2018 season and all of 2019.
Named an All-Pro in 2016, Harrison racked up 485 tackles, 11 sacks, 10 passes defended and four forced fumbles in his career – cementing himself among the best run-stuffers in the NFL over the last decade.
As a No. 3 option behind Reed and Ford, Harrison would give Seattle some desperately needed depth on a defensive line that struggled against both the run and the pass last year, and lost Jadeveon Clowney and Quinton Jefferson, as well as Woods, this offseason.
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A look at an NFL defense comprised of Texas Longhorns. Earl Thomas and Jordan Hicks were bonafide locks but who are the rest?
Some of the best defenders in the NFL hail from the University of Texas. Earl Thomas being one of the bigger names as he was recently named safety of the decade by Pro Football Focus. The lineage of defenders doesn’t begin with Thomas, but it goes all the way back to players such as Tommy Nobis, Tom Landry and more recently Casey Hampton. The series of professional teams comprised of Longhorns continues. Recently we published our list for the offense.
What would an NFL offense look like comprised of only Texas Longhorns? https://t.co/Lj5y5BWiFF
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) May 24, 2020
The focus will shift to the defensive side of the ball. After all there is that old adage of defense wins championships. Not necessarily the case in all championship teams but without one your team stands no chance of winning. Top defenders such as Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton and Roy Miller won’t make the list as they have retired from their professional careers but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty to choose from.
Let’s start with the defensive ends of our all Texas Longhorns team.
Josh Avery has the size and maturity to make an impact for the Seattle Seahawks as a run-stuffing defensive tackle right away in 2020.
The Seattle Seahawks brought in a whopping 17 undrafted free agents from the 2020 class to compete for spots on the active roster.
Most years, teams are lucky to get one UDFA to make the squad, as they are primarily brought in to give the team extra bodies during training camp.
However, the Seahawks have had plenty of luck in the past, going all the way back to Dave Krieg and including Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin and more recently, defensive tackle Poona Ford.
In fact, the Seahawks had an interior defensive tackle make the roster as an undrafted free agent two years in a row, as Ford was followed by Michigan’s Bryan Mone in 2019, who appeared in four games for the Seahawks.
If they are going to keep the streak of undrafted defensive tackles alive, hope will rest with either Cedrick Lattimore out of Iowa or Josh Avery out of Southeast Missouri.
While Lattimore went to a more notable school and posted good numbers, his size (six-foot-three, 295 pounds) is more suited to a five-tech in Pete Carroll’s defense, rather than a big run-stuffer in the middle, which is what the Seahawks need.
Avery is listed at six-foot-three and 322 pounds, plenty big enough to plug holes up the middle in a reserve role. Plus, Avery is already 24 years old, and the Seahawks made it clear they are looking for more mature rookies this season, in light of the pandemic that limits their opportunities to see players on the field before the season begins.
With Ford and Jarran Reed expected to start on the interior defensive line, Avery will compete with Lattimore, Mone, and Demarcus Christmas for the backup DT role, assuming the team doesn’t sign a veteran – something they have done in each of the past few seasons.
While it won’t be an easy path, it never is for undrafted free agents, Avery has the size and maturity to make an impact for the Seahawks in year one, and if he does well in training camp he could be a surprise addition to the roster, or at least the practice squad, in 2020.
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The Seattle Seahawks only have three defensive tackles with NFL experience on their roster, and one of them is Bryan Mone.
The Seattle Seahawks biggest area of need between now and the start of the 2020 regular season is along their defensive line.
While most will focus on the lack of a big name pass rusher, this team is also severely lacking depth on the interior defensive line. After losing Al Woods to free agency and cutting Nazair Jones, Seattle is left with Demarcus Christmas, Bryan Mone and two undrafted free agents – Cedrick Lattimore and Josh Avery – as options to backup Jarran Reed and Poona Ford.
The Seahawks almost always sign a veteran defensive tackle to serve as the No. 3 lineman, and there are still plenty of options left on the open market, including Mike Daniels, Damon Harrison, and Brandon MeBane.
However – if the team opts to save some cap space and go with internal options instead, perhaps the most likely candidate to win the job outright is Mone, an undrafted free agent who joined the team last May.
Mone is a hulking presence, standing six-foot-three and weighing a whopping 366 pounds. He made the team out of camp last year in part thanks to Reed’s six-game suspension. He ended up pinballing between the practice squad and the active roster, appearing in four games and 89 total defensive snaps.
He didn’t do much with the opportunities he was given, recording just three combined tackles and one pressure, but he is the only other DT on the roster outside of Reed and Ford with any NFL experience.
Christmas was a sixth round pick by the team in 2019, but he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. Lattimore and Avery are both camp fodder, and while either could impress, the odds of making the team with such a limited window of exposure to the coaching staff thanks to COVID-19 are even trickier this season – giving Mone the upper hand.
Mone is the best bet for that No. 3 tackle role on the roster as things currently stand, but it would be a surprise if this team didn’t aggressively pursue a veteran upgrade on the interior over the next few weeks.
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The Seattle Seahawks have 17 undrafted free agents vying for roster spots this summer. Here are three that could make it.
The Seattle Seahawks have now signed a whopping 17 undrafted free agents to the 90-man roster, after reportedly coming to terms with 12 more on Monday afternoon.
Add in the eight draft picks and the Seahawks have 25 first-year players vying for spots on the active roster this summer.
While most of the draft picks are expected to earn a spot, that is not the case for the undrafted guys. Seattle has had plenty of success with undrafted free agents in the past, including Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Poona Ford, but for the most part they are camp fodder who end up getting cut in early September.
Still, of the 17 newcomers, there are a handful who appear to have the tools, athleticism, and performance to make this squad out of camp.
Here are the three with the best chance, and why they could find themselves on the field in Week 1.
The Seattle Seahawks need to add a defensive tackle via free agency, and here are three options they could pursue.
The Seattle Seahawks did not address the interior defensive line during the 2020 NFL draft, instead focusing on the LEO position and the offense.
That’s not too surprising, as Seattle has preferred to add veteran, run-stuffing defensive tackles via free agency the past few years, including Shamar Stephen, Tom Johnson and Al Woods.
This year’s crop still has a handful of options for the Seahawks to choose from, and it’s basically a guarantee they’ll find someone else to add to a mix that already includes starters Jarran Reed and Poona Ford as well as a trio of backup candidates: Nazair Jones, Bryan Mone and Demarcus Christmas.
Adding any of these three guys would shore up a big-time position of need for the Seahawks, and should not break the bank.
