Wednesday, March 09, 2005

hartwell, Hartwell, HARTWELL!!!

Alright, enough is enough.

The Seahawks have had 10 middle linebacker changes since 1998. For a moment, the prescence was felt of Levon Kirkland in the middle of the Seahawks 'box'. Anthony Simmons was effective there for a season. But for the most part, this tone setting position on defense has been been run on and run over.

There is NO QUESTION that we need help at linebacker, and that we need a real defensive leader, someone who gives this defense a physical, dominating, and tougher identity.

There is NO QUESTION we need to sign Edgerton Hartwell.

Hartwell has the experience (4 years) and great mentoring (working alongside bada** and former defensive MVP Ray Lewis for his entire NFL career). He has the youth, he is just approaching his prime (26 years young), and he is ready to move out of Lewis' shadow take over a defense to call his own.

His hunger to excel is reflected in a recent statement where he told reporters that he hopes to become the greatest linebacker in NFL history.

That's quite an audacious statement. It means he wants to be better than Lewis, Butkus, Nitshke, and Singletary. At 6-1 and 250 pounds, He has the tools and the range. He was made for the modern-day position.

He has 331 tackles over the past three seasons, and he hasn’t missed a game.

What further pushes this remedial decision into the obvious is the fact that he is the last outstanding LB talent in free agency.

According to NFL.com, these are the best FA LB available, listed in order of quality:

1. Ed Hartwell
2. Tommy Polley (You've got to be kidding)
3. Rob Morris (Who?)
4. Anthony Simmons (Yeah, wouldn't it be ironic if Hartwell, Polley and Morris were hired elsewhere and Simmons was the next best choice. We'll just file that away under FO Nightmare.)

Bottom line: We need to sign Hartwell, and not be coy about it. Put a crowbar in the salary cap and make room for the Edge.

We as fans need to complain mightily until this is done. Every board and blog in the Seahawks universe needs to say in several threads, "SIGN HARTWELL NOW!!!"

You know what to do. Make some noise, gentlemen.

Any thoughts?

17 comments:

  1. The Seattle Seahawks have reached a deal with Hartwell, in principle, for 5 years...contract details are not known yet...zzz...huh...huh...then I just woke up...

    i must of dozed off...I had a wonderful dream that we signed Hartwel...

    anyways...welcome to our side Blue...SIGN HARTWELL NOW

    HARTWELL HARTWELL HARTWELL and NIRVANA BOX SET (sorry, but im waiting for it to arrive at my house anytime now)

    har har

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  2. You're a hilarious jerk, ADP! My heart skipped a beat when I read that first line!

    I owe you one. ;P

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  3. well I always forget April Fools when it comes around...it crossed my mind tonight...so why not let people have it...besides they wouldn't expect it...

    now if I see Hartwell REALLY signing you guys probably won't believe me...kinda like cry wolf lol

    bleh its alright...im going to be up all night, so if i see anything, ill make it known (PI, Trib, and Times all post new articles REAL early in the morn...so I usually see them before most of you)

    and if you haven't noticed yet...im bored...I was medically cleared to play football today...so im anxious to play

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  4. oh and get this...Mike Tice of the Vikings might of been caught scalping tickets...I hope not because if he gets fired, some of our fans are gonna want him to replace Holmgren (although I wouldnt)

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  5. the PI states something a bit scary...

    "Linebacker Ed Hartwell (Ravens) and cornerback Kelly Herndon (Broncos), whose agents had said their clients wanted to meet with the Seahawks, are considering offers from the Dolphins and Falcons, respectively"

    the Dolphins don't need another LB...theyre about to get Spragen...but this still scares me

    I want him to sign!!!

    plus, Dyson left without a contract, but will remain in contact with Seattle

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  6. argh...sorry for a million posts in a row...

    but I left out that Bryce Fisher and Anthony Thomas are supposed to meet with team officials today

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  7. Bluefoot, You know I've been on this bandwagon for a while now, but not just because I think we need a MLB so much as we need a guy who is able to play inside or outside. That make Hartwell the perfect guy. Right now as I see it, we have Niko in the middle who I think will become a good MLB for us, however if he does not, we will be needing a MLB badly. Right now, we have a huge hole left over by the cutting of Simmons. While I think that DD lewis or White could become good starters there, I am as yet still unconvinced.
    In my mind signing Hartwell then becomes the perfect option. Since he can play inside or outside, and play it well, no matter how it turns out in the spring, whether Lewis or or White step up and earn a starting spot, or whether Niko solidifies his hold on the middle spot, we get an upgrade, and we add depth. Hartwell just makes way too damned much sense not to sign him.
    Plus I love his attitude, his quote about becoming the greatest LBer of all time reminds me of a certain reciever named Jerry Rice, who was asked in his rookie year, well before he had established himself at all, what his goals for the season were. His response was that he wanted to become the greatest reciever to ever play.
    Bottom line is, whether he ends up playing inside or outside he gives us a big upgrade, a guy who played with the best in the game Ray Lewis and a guy who has the right kind of attitude for greatness. Everything about this makes sense.

    Hartwell, HARTWELL, HARTWELL!!!

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  8. Jason Taylor's also been mentioned in a possible trade w/ Miami.

    It also sounds like Hartwell won't even be coming to Seattle, unless I'm reading the PI article wrong, it sounds like he's probably going to Miami.

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  9. I mentioned this in another thread, but how about Boulware? Peter Boulware is quietly being shopped around by Baltimore.

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  10. Way to have the feelers out P, Boulware would be great! The Boulware boys together on the field, and a little family rivalry at that.

    Couldn't be a bad thing right.

    That would be a sweet pick up.

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  11. (Seahawks - Hartwell's cap hit) + Hartwell > (Seahawks - (Boulware's cap hit + Item of Trade)) + Boulware

    Romantic notions of brothers playing together do not necessarily make the team better. It may make them more likeable to the fans, but it also opens the door to locker room politics.

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  12. Honestly, with Boulware, it's not lockerroom politics that concern me, he's always been a great team player. But he's injured all the time, and I hesitate at having another injured LB.

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  13. I have a (improbable) suggestion to possibly solve the MLB problem. Right now, Kiper has three of the top five teams taking a RB. Would one of these teams be willing to trade that pick for the rights to SA instead of the college RB they'd get in the draft? SA is more proven and, likely, more expensive than the top three college backs (Auburn1, Auburn2 and Benson), with a little less upside, IMO. So, I'm not sure I'd make the trade if I were them. But...

    The reason for this is to take Derrick Johnson. There are concerns that he may not be able to play MLB, but I really think this guy is going to be the next great LB. If the concerns about him being able to work in traffic are, in fact, well founded, play him at OLB. If the worst-case scenario is acquiring one of the best OLB's available over the last 5 years, then so be it. I just have a feeling about this guy. I think he's going to be a perennial all-pro. Now, if they can just get one of the teams in need of a RB to bite.

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  14. The Dolphins probably can have SA for Surtain if they wanted. Off course they do not need SA as they can draft any RB they want at #2. Edge wants to play in Miami as well. Rumors have it that Hartwell wants to play in Miami too. This is part of the "Pigeon problem"; noone wants to play here. Miami is probably going to be a deep playoff team because everyone wants to play there. Anyway, MIami will take your 2nd round pick for Surtain and Seattle can mosey on in their mediocre way to another 8-8 season.

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  15. Miami is probably going to be a deep playoff team because everyone wants to play there.Nothing like a 'realist'-ic statement.

    Everyone? EVERYONE?

    Surtain doesn't even want to be there. He's the one seeking the trade.

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  16. Well, realist gets the honor of being the first downer on the site. Congrats!

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  17. Well, realist gets the honor of being the first downer on the site. Congrats!

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