Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
John from parts unknown writes: Your assessment of Koren Robinson is not fair. Granted he has not lived to his potential on draft day, but after GB picked him up, he was a model citizen. In fact GB released him only after Jordy Nelson was drafted. Had he gone to GB and drank himself out of the league, I would agree that he never recovered, but that didn't happen. I wish him the best and hope he does well in Seattle. Except against the Pack.
Mike Sando: I probably could have done a better job relaying the record Robinson established in Green Bay. That is a fair point. I relayed my experience with him, specifically when he looked me in the eye and said he had turned around his life, only to prove otherwise six days later. I respect his stated intention to right past wrongs and I hope for the sake of his children that he can stay on the right path in life.
Troy from Palmetto writes: Give koren robinson a chance. i feel like you're already labeling him a bad guy. he's been clean and sober for 25 months. have you? i think he's gonna be a great pick-up for the seahawks. i'll take him over all seattles recievers except for burleson and engram. branch is a bust. the others wr's are too inexperienced. so koren could be a great story for the hawks. give him a chance.
Mike Sando: No intent to label him. I do think it's fair to point out his history with the Seahawks and the reasons the organization parted with him in the first place. As noted above, I probably could have done a better job relaying Robinson's experience in Green Bay.
Mike from parts unknown writes: MIike, When SEA drafted Koren Robinson, Mel Kiper said whoever takes him needs to be firmly imbedded as coach because he could be a huge bust. Holmgren took the chance and it seems like he has never given up on trying to help Koren as a person and football player. If Seattle's season ends up being a clunker, Holmgren may get closure in Seattle if Koren redeems himself. Do you think it will work?
Mike Sando: I had that thought when Seattle brought back Robinson. This is one final chance for Holmgren to affect his legacy as a general manager concerning a player he thought might provide another dimension to the offense. It's a long shot to think Robinson is going to fulfill his potential at this stage. However, this does have potential as a feel-good story for Holmgren, Robinson and the organization.
Ken from Bellevue writes: Do you think the Seahawks will make another move this year to bolster the WR position? Potentially a #1 type of receiver? Lastly, is signing an unproven WR in Colbert a good idea? He is carrying with him a somewhat hefty contract for $7.2 mil over 3 years. Thanks again Sando, doing a great job on the blog (hope ESPN gives you a raise!)
Mike Sando: That last part was great. Thanks. Ha. I do think Tim Ruskell will make efforts to land a No. 1-type receiver. This team must act aggressively at the position for now and the future. Bobby Engram's time is winding down. Branch's health has been and remains an issue. Burleson will be in a similar situation next season, coming off serious knee surgery. NFL teams cannot expect rookie receivers to step in and contribute right away. Seattle must upgrade the position when it can.
Deric from Twin Falls, Idaho, writes: Why does nobody address the reason why Seattle is keeping two kickers? Every press conference it gets glossed over and nobody asks about it. Mike, please ask why they are keeping two kickers, it's driving me nuts!
Mike Sando: Mike Holmgren likes the veteran in Mare. He also likes the way Mare kicks the ball out of the end zone somewhat regularly. Tim Ruskell and the personnel people like Brandon Coutu's long-term potential. Holmgren is not building for the long term. This is his final season. He has made his feelings clear on Mare.
Chris from Spokane, Wash., writes: First of all, love your blogs. After weeks of constant knee injuries and constant calls from fans to bring in Koren Robinson, we finally got what we wanted. How will this pickup and the trade for Colbert impact the team? Do you think Koren will have an immediate impact against St. Louis? Thanks for your time!
Mike Sando: Great question on Robinson's immediate impact. I think he'll play. The way things are going, they'll probably need him more than they anticipated. This is desperation time. I would think Robinson will be rusty but flash some ability in this first game. His adrenalin will be pumping.
James from Seattle writes: I think the timing of the K-Rob signing is pretty funny. Exactly 5 years ago this sunday, K-Rob and the Seahawks pulled off an incredible come from behind victory (down 13 points) against the Rams in Seattle. K-Rob caught the game winning TD.
It's rather fitting that the Seahawks are going to play the Rams in Seattle this weekend exactly five years after K-Rob's catch. I'm sure I don't have to remind you what a huge win that was for a young Seahawks team. That 2003 victory really set the table for the Seahawks run at the top of the NFC West. I'd love it if you could get K-Rob or anyone else involved with that game to reflect on it.
Mike Sando: I thought of that game yesterday. The score was 24-23 as I recall. Very exciting finish with lots of give-and-take. The other thing that struck me yesterday was the fact that Robinson has only 14 career touchdown receptions. So much talent squandered.
Oren from Baghdad writes: As a Seattle fan, I'm not going to hide my curiosities with which the front office has handled personnel issues.
With the signing of both K-Rob and Keary Colbert, obviously K-Rob will take Payne's roster spot, but who do you see the team dropping to make room for Colbert. The team has shown reluctance to release Coutu since they seem to see him as the future kicker for the franchise. So does Bumpus get knocked back down after a pretty decent week, does McMullen get released, or is this finally the week where Coutu is let go? We finally seem to have enough receivers that I can't really see them letting go of Coutu, but at the rate we're losing them, I think everyone at practice needs to start catching passes.
Mike Sando: The team released Jason Babin this morning.
Adam from Sacramento writes: Sandomando... Is it just me or did the 49ers actually look worse in their win than they did in their loss? The running game was non-existant and pass protection was well... non existant. And they gave up 120 yds to Julius Jones on 14 carries. What gives?
Mike Sando: The feeling I got was that the 49ers' success in that game was not sustainable. A team simply cannot give up eight sacks in a game. So, while the victory was rightly acknowledged as significant, questions lingered.
Curtis from parts unknown writes: Hey I really enjoy your blog so thanks for all the coverage. Just a simp
le question. What do you think happens with Alex Smith after the season? I know he is done in frisco, do you think he might end up back with Norv in San Diego?
Mike Sando: It almost makes too much sense to happen. That would be the perfect place for him, yes.
Carlos from Whittier, Calif., writes: No respect for the 49ers in the power rankings for week 3. Despite a win over Seattle, the Seahawks get sympathy for their injuries.
Mike Sando: No question, there's a healthy and well-earned skepticism with the 49ers. They'll move up in the rankings if they deserve it because they'll keep winning.
Jason from parts unknown writes: you've officially stolen me away from all of the other Hawks news feeds/blogs here in Seattle. Thanks for all of your diligent, level headed reporting. Seattelites (even writers) are known to jump ship quick. Quick questions: 1) your impressions of the Colbert signing. How severe was his knee injury last year putting him on IR? Also how much are we on the hook (guaranteed $) for his overinflated contract that Denver signed? 2) what does Seneca's injury mean for his future? Never try him again at WR or condition him so he's better suited to play the position? thanks!
Mike Sando: Thanks, Jason. I'm initially skeptical on the Colbert move given that Seattle parted with a draft choice for a player two teams ruled out of their plans. Denver gave him $2.5 million to sign and then decided he wasn't even worth a roster spot. That is telling.
Seattle comes out OK from a financial standpoint because the bonus money accelerates against the Broncos' cap. Seattle gets him for his $605,000 salary, which would be about $530,000 for the remainder of this season. The Seahawks cut could cut him without further consequences. As for Wallace, you might be right. He might need more sustained work at receiver before they try him there in games. The team's hope, I'm sure, will be to never need him at receiver again.
Randy from Seattle writes: Sando great blog...sure miss you @ the TNT! What do you make of the Koren Robinson signing? We have all heard the term "Ruskell Guy" and based upon Robinson's past troubles he is the opposite of a "Ruskell Guy". Did Ruskell swallow a bit of his pride in order for this signing to occur? I wonder what the conversation between Ruskell and Holmgren was like regarding the possibility of signing Robinson. Anyway...Who will show up on the field K-Rob or K-Drop?
Mike Sando: The Seahawks are judging Robinson on what they see now, with less regard for what he might have represented earlier. The injuries at the receiver position convinced Ruskell to consider this move. This is an exceptional situation. Ruskell has taken a very black-and-white view to these issues at times, but as Holmgren said today, every situation is different and rarely would he apply a blanket standard for everyone. I think it's a good sign for the organization that Ruskell and Holmgren were able to reach common ground on this type of issue. I don't think Ruskell had to swallow too much pride. It was his decision, after all, and he could have blocked it.
Chuck from Norwich writes: Not that it makes them give up less sacks but you're counting sacks against pass attempts not pass plays when you say JT O'Sullivan has been sacked on 23% of pass plays. None of the sacks resulted in pass attempts so you should be dividing 12 sacks into 64 pass plays. If you want to be really accurate you should also count scrambles on plays where JT scrambles on a pass play and ends up gaining yards.
Mike Sando: I had that exact thought but mistakenly read the official NFL stats as sacks per pass play, not per attempt. I just double-checked it and you are correct. Thanks!
Brian from Modesto, Calif., writes: I want to know the statistics for the seahawks pass rushers at home vs. on the road. They were in the backfield before the niners oline was out of their stances. Is the crowd noise that much of an advantage?
Mike Sando: Last season Seattle had 29 sacks at home and 14 on the road. Good question!
Matt from Scottsdale, Ariz., writes: Not really a question, but a suggestion. I love seeing the breakdown of all the bloggers power ranking votes. However, it would be nice to see how they voted last week to compare how much they've changed. Would it be possible to add how they voted the previous week in parentheses next to the current vote in the table?
Mike Sando: Yeah, I would like that. The problem we have is that there isn't enough room to display that many columns in the current blog setup.
Greg from Dallas writes: Mike, We all know about the issues with Seattle's offense and their lack of experience with their receivers, but what is going on with their defense? Is it just that they're on the field too long? Isaac Bruce should never, ever, at this point in his career, have the day he had against their "d". Also, is the J.J. sighting more of an expected trend to come or a one week wonder? ...Still holding out hope for a playoff berth, but we've got work to do. thanks -
Mike Sando: I did wonder how Seattle could give up so many big plays while dominating so thoroughly at the line of scrimmage for stretches. Eight sacks could have been 10 or 12 if O'Sullivan didn't make some good plays with his feet. The best explanation I can come up with is that they hadn't played against the 49ers with Mike Martz as coordinator, and they'll need to make some adjustments. The 49ers did a nice job hitting some deeper routes.
Reg from Maine writes: Mike.. with the current state(s) of the Seahawks receiving corps and the Bengals offense, couldn't Seattle of sent the Bengals a bunch of stuff (draft pick(s)) and acquired Chad Johnson?
Mike Sando: I'm not sure Seattle wants to add that type of personality to its locker room, and the Bengals have said they're not trading him.
Mike B. from Los Angeles writes: Mike, I've been far more disappointed with the Seahawks difficulties on defense and special teams than I have been with the offense, which played well enough to get a win last Sunday against the 49ers. To me, the breakdowns in pass coverage on 3rd down are especially disturbing. Some fans have targeted safety Brian Russell as a problem in coverage. Do you think that's fair, and is there a chance we may see Jordan Babineuax or Josh Wilson in for Russell and Kelly Jennings? The way things are going now, I think a 1-5 start is a real possibility.
Mike Sando: Not sure those are moves I'd make after two games. Seattle feels as though its defensive issues fall into the "correctable" category. Smaller corners are sometimes going to give up plays even when they are in position. We have seen that with Kelly Jennings and even Josh Wilson at times this season. Now might be the time to "coach 'em up" and see if things can stabilize through the bye week.Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Mike Sando
Sando joined ESPN.com in 2007 after nine seasons covering the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune. He lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area with his wife and two sons.