Seahawks swoop in and snag DE Kerney
Jay Glazer / FOXSports.com
Posted: 44 minutes ago

The Seattle Seahawks made their second big move for a pass rusher in as many years.

Falcons DE Patrick Kerney has informed FOXSports.com that he has signed to a six-year deal with Seattle, the team his former head coach Jim Mora coaches on. Kerney will receive $19.5 in guaranteed money and the total deal is worth $39.5 million.

Mora was part of the contingency that went to recruit the former first-rounder to Seattle as Mora and other Seahawks officials took owner Paul Allen's private jet to Atlanta to get the deal done.

Last off-season the Seahawks brought in Pro Bowl LB Julian Peterson and he panned out extremely well. Kerney is coming off an injury-plagued 2006 in which he only played nine games and had 4.5 sacks.

Last week Kerney told FOXSports.com he is a stunning two months ahead of schedule from a torn pectoral muscle that cut his season short. The former University of Virginia star has had three seasons of 10 sacks or more and made the Pro Bowl after 13 sacks in the 2004 campaign.

I am guessing you are also looking at the next successor to Holmgren here.



MIKE SANDO; The News Tribune
Published: January 21st, 2007 01:00 AM
Tim Ruskell’s phone rang after the Seattle Seahawks signed Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson in March.

The caller had a message for Seattle’s new team president.

“He told me (Peterson) is one of his favorite guys of all time,” Ruskell said a few weeks later.

The caller was Jim Mora, then entering his final season as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach.

Mora had served as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator when Peterson played for the *****. Calling Ruskell was natural for Mora because the two worked together with the Falcons (2004).

They might be working together again, and soon.

The Seahawks hope to add Mora to their defensive staff in the coming days. The team has talked to Mora about taking a role that could include overseeing defensive backs. Given his experience as a head coach, Mora would also become a potential candidate to succeed Mike Holmgren, whose contract expires after the 2008 season.

Ruskell said Friday that current Seattle assistants Larry Marmie and Ray Rhodes are candidates to coach defensive backs. The job opened when Teryl Austin accepted a similar position with the Arizona Cardinals. Austin’s contract with Seattle was about to expire.

Mora would be the Seahawks’ top choice for the job. NFL.com reported that Mora’s title could be assistant head coach/defensive backs.

John Marshall is the Seattle defensive coordinator. Rhodes held that job starting the 2005 season, but health issues pushed him into a consulting role.

The Seahawks think Mora’s energy could breathe life into a defense that improved late in the 2006 season, but did not meet Ruskell’s expectations.

“Julian Peterson has the potential to take the defense to another level,” Ruskell said in March. “Our goal is to get in the top 10.”

The Seahawks finished with a No. 19 ranking.

Mora, 45, was a defensive back at the University of Washington in the early 1980s. His father, also Jim, coached the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

The younger Mora led the Falcons to an 11-5 record in 2004, his first season as head coach, before posting 8-8 (2005) and 7-9 (2006) records.

The Falcons fired Mora earlier this month. The Falcons ranked 14th, 22nd and 22nd during his tenure.

By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Sep. 21 2008
When the Rams run

With two games and three weeks of practice under his belt, Steven Jackson is
ready. Ready to carry a full load in the running game. The Rams need to make a
concerted effort to give Jackson a full workload — 25 to 30 touches — if they
expect to leave Seattle with their first victory of the season. Although known
for their pass rush, the Seahawks did a good job on run defense last week,
limiting San Francisco's Frank Gore to 61 yards. The Rams need to establish
Jackson to keep the Seattle pass rushers guessing, and keep their beleaguered
defense off the field. Opponents have held the ball an average of 7 minutes
longer per game against the Rams — the third-worst time of possession
differential in the NFL this season.

EDGE: EVEN

When the Rams pass

Seattle ranks 27th in pass defense, just five slots ahead of St. Louis. The
Seahawks have allowed seven pass plays of 25 yards or more, just one fewer than
the Rams. Although the numbers look similar, the Seahawks haven't allowed
receivers to run free all over the field, as has been the case for the St.
Louis secondary. Seattle's coverage hasn't been bad; the Seahawks simply
haven't been making plays on the ball. Starting corner Kelly Jennings will
attempt to play with broken ribs. Rookie Donnie Avery is expected to see more
extensive action at wide receiver for the Rams, but with no proven second
option, don't be surprised if Pro Bowl corner Marcus Trufant shadows Torry Holt
all day.

EDGE: SEAHAWKS

When the SEAHAWKS run

Julius Jones was supposed to split time with Maurice Morris in the Seattle
backfield, but Morris has been sidelined with a knee injury. Jones responded
with 127 yards rushing last week against San Francisco, the highest single-game
total for a Seattle running back since 2006. Jones, the former Cowboy, is a
downhill runner who gets to the line of scrimmage quickly, and accelerates
through the hole in a hurry. No tap-dancing here. So if the Rams are caught out
of position, Jones will make them pay. Seattle could be missing two offensive
line starters because of injury. In addition, eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle
Walter Jones will be at less than full strength with a hip injury.

EDGE: SEAHAWKS

When the SEAHAWKS pass

The injuries keep coming for Seattle. Koren Robinson was signed in desperation
Tuesday to help a Seahawks unit that previously had lost six wide receivers to
injury. Well, Robinson suffered a knee injury Wednesday at the end of his first
practice. He isn't expected to play Sunday; if he does, it will be in a limited
role. So far this...

Seattle 5-9
St. Louis 1-13

It should follow that the Rams have further to go to become a playoff contender. Well... maybe not.

There are a lot of similarities between these teams in terms of roster turnover. However, I believe that the Rams are a year ahead of Seattle in this process.

At QB, the teams are similar. Both are at a point where a "QB of the future" must be found. However, in the Rams case, Bulger's fate is pretty much sealed. Seattle, on the other hand, will likely rely on a 35 year old Hasselbeck for another year.

At WR, the Rams have purged their roster of the aging vets they relied on, and have started the process of developing a young WR corps. Seattle's top 3 WRs will be 29 (Burleson), 33 (Houshmenzadeh) and 31 (Branch) when next season starts. They need to begin planning for the future.

On the O line, the Rams let Orlando Pace go and have drafted his replacement. The Seahawks will have a similar decision to make with Walter Jones, and will have to consider using their first pick in 2010 to draft his replacement.

On defense, the Rams youth movement is in full swing. With the exception of Leonard Little, the Rams' starting unit is very young. Seattle, on the other hand, has several key parts that are aging rapidly (Kerney, Trufant, D.Grant).

Even in the Front Office, the Rams have made their changes, while Seattle is in the process of finding a new GM.

It isn't unsual for a team that has had success to try to hold on to their veterans for one more run at the playoffs. The downside is that a veteran roster can age rapidly, requiring a quick purge and a difficult reload process.

The Rams have started that journey.

Seattle soon will as well.

Chris Collinsworth, as he usually does, called it as he saw it during the Seattle/New England game. In the last few minutes of the contest, he called the Seahawks “wanna-be’s”, because they couldn’t come through with a win against an elite team. I give credit to Seattle for hanging around with New England, but winning, as opposed to hanging around sets good teams apart from great teams. If the “wanna-be” comment wasn’t enough, Collinsworth also joked that Dan Klecko could start at wideout for the Seahawks after the defensive lineman made a first down catch while playing on offense. The sarcastic statement could be close to the truth after another game of multiple drops by Seattle receivers.

The once heralded #1 defense in the NFL gave up 30+ points for the second straight week, making that 4.3 PPG number after weeks 1-3 look like an aboration. Looks like Seattle is good, but not THAT good.