NFC West News

Use this thread to report on NFC West opponents news, rumors, injuries etc etc.

Rams corner goes down

Another practice, another player ends up riding on a cart.

This time around it was Rams cornerback Ron Bartell, who suffered what Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispath describes as a "significant right ankle injury" in a Tuesday night practice.

Per Coats, Bartell limped to the sideline, and he was taken off on a cart.

A second-round pick in 2005, Bartell became a full-time starter in 2007.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/03/rams-corner-goes-down/

Carroll tells agents for unsigned Seahawks rookie Okung to act

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says it's time for Russell Okung's agents to act now that the No. 6 overall draft pick has missed the first three practices of training camp.

Carroll said Sunday after Okung, the replacement for retired All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones, missed another workout that the deal already should be done given that the No. 5 and No. 7 picks have signed.

Carroll said missing the first days of camp works "immeasurably against" the rookie.

The coach, who also has executive vice president powers in personnel with the Seahawks, said the team is ready to get the contract done right away. He added "it's pretty clear how this should work: They have to pick up the phone."

Eric Berry received $34 million guaranteed from the Kansas City Chiefs as the fifth pick. Seventh overall choice Joe Haden received $26 million guaranteed from the Cleveland Browns.

The Seahawks signed their other first-round draft pick, safety Earl Thomas to a five-year, $21.1 million contract Saturday. Thomas, the 14th overall pick, received $12.31 million in guarantees.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d819745ca/article/carroll-tells-agents-for-unsigned-seahawks-rookie-okung-to-act

Seahawks' Curry misses another practice because of concussion

RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry likely will remain out until at least Thursday because of a concussion he sustained on the opening day of training camp last weekend.

Curry, Seattle's fourth overall pick in 2009, missed his third consecutive practice Monday night, but coach Pete Carroll said the linebacker was much better.

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Asked if Curry had a concussion, Carroll said, "Yeah, he got hit the other day in the head and we rested him. He's OK.

"With one practice (Tuesday, then a day off from practice Wednesday), we'll cruise him through until Thursday, but he's just about ready to pop back out there, so that's good. Good signs."

Besides Monday's two practices, Curry also missed Sunday's more intense, full-pads drills.

Team doctor Stan Herring, considered an expert in brain trauma, was seen at Seahawks headquarters between practices Monday.

Herring, the co-medical director of the Seattle Sports Concussion Program, led a crusade to have a new concussion law passed in Washington state, setting out conditions for how head injuries are to be dealt with in youth sports.

Saturday, Curry repeatedly banged his head into running back Justin Forsett and other teammates in a particularly spirited first day of camp.

Carroll said Sunday that his $34 million linebacker got "dinged a little bit" and had some headaches.

The NFL's awareness of concussions and brain injuries is increasing. The league is placing posters in team headquarters to warn of the dangers from concussions in much harsher language than previously used in a pamphlet distributed to players from 2007 through last season.

The league's steps last season included stricter return-to-play guidelines detailing what symptoms preclude someone from participating in games or practices; a mandate that each team select a league- and union-approved independent neurologist to be consulted when players get concussions; and the departure of the two co-chairmen of the NFL's committee on brain trauma.

http://www.nfl.com/trainingcamp/story/09000d5d81977c6b/article/seahawks-curry-misses-another-practice-because-of-concussion

Nice thread bro! We needed something like this.

Ask for more feria Okung!!!

That'd be awesome if Okung held out for a lot longer. He's probably having the same argument Crabtree did, that he should be paid more than Trent Williams because he was a better college player than him, and better looked at prospect. Hope he keeps asking for more money

Originally posted by WillistheWall:
That'd be awesome if Okung held out for a lot longer. He's probably having the same argument Crabtree did, that he should be paid more than Trent Williams because he was a better college player than him, and better looked at prospect. Hope he keeps asking for more money

That would be great.

OT is not a position you can pull a Crabtree with.

Rams Injury Notes - August 3

Bartell, who is in his sixth season out of Howard University, was carted off the field Tuesday evening after injuring his right ankle on the last play of the final team drill of the practice. He was sent for X-rays with more information expected on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old cornerback had eight interceptions in 73 games during the first five years with the Rams and is expected to start at cornerback this fall next to second-year cornerback Bradley Fletcher out of the University of Iowa.

Other injury news from Tuesday's two practice sessions...

Defensive tackle Chris Hovan practiced Tuesday morning after suffering a back injury in Monday's practice but was held out of the evening practice.

Safety Darian Stewart returned to practice after missing all the full-squad workouts since Saturday. Stewart suffered a shoulder injury near the end of the final rookie practice last Friday.

Still not practicing are tackle Jason Smith (toe), defensive end C.J. Ah You (hamstring), defensive tackle Darell Scott (hamstring), cornerback Marquis Johnson (knee) and guard Mark Lewis (ankle).

Camp Carroll: Day 5 -- A break

Posted by Danny O'Neil

The Seattle Seahawks players got the day off on Wednesday, four days into training camp.

That is, well, unusual in the NFL. There are going to be plenty of other adjectives that people will apply because I haven't been able to find anyone who remembers an NFL team being given a full day off four practices into training camp.

One of the very easiest criticisms of any football team is that practices and/or preparations are not sufficiently intense or demanding.

It is a knee-jerk reaction, one that is not necessarily indicative of the real impact because I can't help but think back to a year ago when the coverage of Jim Mora's first training camp focused on the pace of the practices, the length and the demanding physical nature. This was unilaterally heralded as a good thing. He was challenging players, making sure they would be in the best shape when the season began.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawksblog/2012535846_campcarrollday5abreak.html

Tight end Ben Patrick injures left knee

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick injured his left knee during an often-intense practice Wednesday night.

Cornerback Greg Toler jumped on Patrick from behind just as the tight end caught a short pass over the middle. Patrick had to be helped off the field but later was able to put some weight on the knee as he limped along the sideline.

General manager Rod Graves said the injury might not be as serious as it first appeared but that wouldn't be determined until further examination.

The injury came during a practice under the lights at a local high school. The workout culminated with a full-speed goal-line scrimmage dominated by the defense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5439141

OT Jason Smith takes limited reps

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Jason Smith, recovering from a broken toe on his right foot, took limited repetitions for the first time in training camp.

Smith, the second pick in the 2009 draft, said Wednesday he wasn't sure when he'd be ready for full duty. He broke the second toe on the right foot.

"It's kind of hard to say," Smith said. "We're just kind of going day by day, going on how it feels that day. Today it felt good."

Rams cornerback Ron Bartell missed practice because of a sprained ankle sustained on Tuesday. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo had feared the injury would be serious, but X-rays were negative and Bartell was listed as day to day.

The Rams practiced for more than two hours in 100-degree heat. Spagnuolo cut the workout short by about 20 minutes and gave players two lengthy breaks.

"Yeah, some good Oklahoma heat," rookie quarterback Sam Bradford said. "At least it was breezy today, made it feel a little bit better."

Temperatures have been in the mid-90s or above with high humidity since training began on Saturday, but Spagnuolo said players have done a good job dealing with the heat. Spagnuolo said usually there have been only a few players requiring IV fluids.

"Two after each practice, something like that," the coach said. "There's Gatorades and waters all over the place."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp10/news/story?id=5438488

Originally posted by jreff22:
Camp Carroll: Day 5 -- A break

Posted by Danny O'Neil

The Seattle Seahawks players got the day off on Wednesday, four days into training camp.

wtf!

Carroll is an idiot. can't wait to see his ass fired after the 2011 season.

Originally posted by jreff22:
Camp Carroll: Day 5 -- A break

Posted by Danny O'Neil

The Seattle Seahawks players got the day off on Wednesday, four days into training camp.

That is, well, unusual in the NFL. There are going to be plenty of other adjectives that people will apply because I haven't been able to find anyone who remembers an NFL team being given a full day off four practices into training camp.

One of the very easiest criticisms of any football team is that practices and/or preparations are not sufficiently intense or demanding.

It is a knee-jerk reaction, one that is not necessarily indicative of the real impact because I can't help but think back to a year ago when the coverage of Jim Mora's first training camp focused on the pace of the practices, the length and the demanding physical nature. This was unilaterally heralded as a good thing. He was challenging players, making sure they would be in the best shape when the season began.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawksblog/2012535846_campcarrollday5abreak.html

Phase 1: Time off from camp
Phase 2: ????
Phase 3: Profit!!

Russell Okung Really Wants More Money Than Eric Berry?

Unbelievably, it’s looking like the impasse in negotiations between the Seahawks and Russell Okung is indeed about money, with Okung’s agent reportedly thinking a tackle should be paid more than a safety, even if the safety was drafted first.

Okung, picked sixth overall, is one of only two unsigned first-rounders, and the players picked all around him have signed, so the money parameters are well established.

“It's pretty clear,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters Sunday. “All of the work has been done and the staging of the position we’re in, it’s really clear how this should go.”

No. 4 pick Trent Williams, also an offensive tackle, and No. 5 pick Eric Berry, a safety, each signed six-year deals worth $60 million. No. 7 pick Joe Haden, a cornerback, got $50 million over five years. So, we know Okung should get a contract worth $10 million per season.

The haggling comes down to years and guaranteed money. Williams received $36.75 million guaranteed, an average of about $6.1 million per year, while Berry got $34 million, an average of $5.67 million. Haden received $5.2 million per year.

Sensible folk would rightly conclude that Okung should receive guaranteed cash in the range between what Haden got and what Berry got—i.e., $5.4 million per year.

But, according to the beat writers who cover the Seahawks, Schaffer apparently wants Okung to be paid more than Berry, even though the safety was drafted one spot ahead of the tackle.

Mike Sando of ESPN.com wrote, “For Okung, the issues are twofold: Should his deal run five years or six? And how much should that sixth year cost?

“Okung, as a left tackle, stands to gain more in free agency once his deal ends than Berry is likely to command as a safety. He’ll naturally want a five-year deal and, if he’s going to take a sixth year, he’ll want to be paid at a premium offsetting the extra year he’ll spend before reaching free agency.

“But, if you're the Seahawks, it's difficult to pay more for the sixth-overall choice than the Chiefs paid for the fifth pick.”

Meanwhile, Danny O’Neil of The Seattle Times says it’s simply a matter of Schaffer thinking a left tackle is worth more than a safety.

“The biggest sticking point right now is over the idea of a position premium,” O’Neil wrote in an online chat Wednesday. “This is about the value of left tackle vs. the value of a safety, and while it's true that in today's NFL economics a left tackle is more valuable than a safety by almost every measure, it's also true that quarterback is the only position that has commanded a premium in terms of rookie negotiations in the past.”

By “premium,” O’Neil means that quarterbacks have been the only rookies who traditionally have been paid more than their draft slots would otherwise merit.

It seems that Schaffer might be trying to milk the final uncapped year before a rookie wage scale is imposed, and he might be trying to leverage the Seahawks’ desperate need for the left tackle they drafted to replace Walter Jones. He also might be trying to see whether the Seahawks’ new management team will blink, like it did with Charlie Whitehurst.

If Schaffer wants more money for his client, here’s a solution: The Seahawks can give Okung the extra cheddar—e.g., a six-year, $60 million deal with a very generous $36 million ($6 million per year) guaranteed. But make Schaffer agree to a team option for two more years, with the salaries dependent on Okung’s performance in his first four seasons—i.e., if he becomes a Pro Bowl player, pay him at the franchise-tag level (and if he's just average, pay him accordingly).

Otherwise, the Seahawks should make the sixth year voidable through incentives or just settle on a five-year deal within the financial parameters that have been set by other signings (five years, $50 million, $27 million guaranteed).

Of course, that assumes Schaffer isn’t trying to get the “tackle premium” even on a five-year deal. If he is, he’s just wasting everyone’s time.

In the end, there are only a couple of ways to do this fairly: Straight-up slotting or added money with added time. Anything else is unrealistic and will result in a very long holdout and a wasted rookie season for Okung.

At some point, Okung is going to have to evaluate whether his agent is doing the right thing and decide whether to keep Schaffer or find someone who is willing to do a fair deal.

Until then, it’s simply ridiculous the Seahawks don’t have their new left tackle in uniform yet.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/430156-russell-okung-really-wants-more-money-than-eric-berry