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Just heard on the radio


bishtw

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I live up here near Seattle and just heard on the local sports radio channel that the Seahawks are aggressively seeking a trade with us for Champ. I heard the rumors a couple days ago about the possiblity of them giving up S. Alexander but that went away with all the C. Portis talk, which I thought was suppose to be a done deal.

Does anyone else know anything else about this? What are the Hawks offering? And what does this say, if anything about the CP deal?

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As of 2/24/04 the Seahawks had not spoken to the Redskins about Roland.

Steve Kelley / Times staff columnist

Why not trade Alexander now?

This just in to The Seattle Times sports desk: After extensive polling, we are prepared to project that Ralph Nader has a better chance of making it to Washington, D.C., next fall than Shaun Alexander.

Alexander isn't the running back of the Redskins' dreams. Denver's Clinton Portis is. Portis is the tackle-busting back who most closely resembles another former Washington back, John Riggins.

He is the kind of back retro coach Joe Gibbs loves. Gibbs won a Super Bowl with Riggins at running back, and he believes Portis would inch him closer to another one.

Portis is a punishing back. He gets yards on his own. He's fast. He's a playmaker. He's a different running back than Alexander. And he's a better running back.

The trade Washington wants to make, and probably will make, is cornerback Champ Bailey for Portis. They haven't even talked to the Seahawks about Alexander, even though, I believe, Alexander would love to play in Washington.

He's always felt underappreciated in Seattle. He's wanted to be a bigger part of the offense than coach Mike Holmgren's West Coast system allows.

He feels isolated in the Northwest. Feels nobody gets to see him. If he played in Washington, senators and Supreme Court judges would watch him. His name would be on the lips of ambassadors and political pundits. And he would be the showcase back in an offense built for the ground.

Alas, it isn't going to happen.

But there is a larger question for hungry Seahawks fans to ponder over this long offseason.

Should the Hawks trade Alexander? It is the question of which Hot Stove Leagues are made.

And there is no easy answer.

He never will be more tradable than he now is. He has a year left on his contract. He won't turn 27 until the end of training camp. He's coming off a Pro Bowl season.

He has never been a big favorite of teammates. His desire to be a multi-media celebrity often clashes with his coach's desire for him to be more attentive to his day job.

Why not trade him now? Package him to Pittsburgh for the Steelers' No. 1 pick. Or to Cleveland for its top pick. Both teams need running backs, and the Hawks could use either pick to draft another piece for their young, growing defense.

Trading Alexander would take guts. There is a healthy segment of Seahawks Nation that loves him. He has been good in the community, and there is no doubting his productivity.

He ran for 1,435 yards last season, 1,175 in 2002 and 1,318 the year before that. He has scored 50 touchdowns in his three seasons as a full-time starter.

He still dances too much on his way to the line of scrimmage, but he also runs harder in the red zone than he does at midfield. Like Emmitt Smith, he has a radar-like sense for the goal line.

But the rap on Alexander, shared by more than one general manager, is that he is too much about himself and not enough about the team, that he likes all of the attachments that come with his profession — the television shows, the commercial endorsements, the celebrity — but that he doesn't have a passion to play the game.

He hates to block, rarely picks up a blitz and is an average receiver.

The West Coast offense is built around the quarterback. It is made for the pass, not the run. When Holmgren was going to Super Bowls in Green Bay, his backs were Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens — good, but not great, backs.

The Seahawks could trade Alexander for a first-round pick; draft a running back with their own 23rd pick; give the starting job to Maurice Morris, whose north-south running style is more suited to Holmgren's tastes; and be a Super Bowl contender for the rest of this decade.

As NFL capologists like to say, the Hawks are in a great state of financial flexibility.

They have about $13.9 million in salary-cap space, and that doesn't include John Randle's $4 million, Norman Hand's $3 million or Chad Eaton's $2.4 million.

Figuring they need some of that money to sign Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones and must-ink receiver Darrell Jackson, they still could have $11 million or $12 million to re-tool their defense.

Because he craves a larger stage, the prospects of re-signing Alexander are slim.

Now is the time to trade him. When there is a market for him. And while the team has more flexibility than a Cirque du Soleil contortionist.

Now is the time, because there never will be another time.

The Sonics couldn't make a trade. Maybe the Seahawks can.

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This morning's WPost:

As for Bailey, sources familiar with the situation said yesterday the Seahawks, apparently resigned to losing Springs, became the latest to inquire about landing the Redskins' cornerback. The New York Jets have also made a push for Bailey if the Redskins-Broncos deal falls through.
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Naw it didn't, it was just on of those top of the hour tickers. And its not the same rumor as the one from a few days ago, Thats why I was intrested. Before it was rumored to be a player for player trade, maybe now that they see there is a pretty good chance of us dealing Champ to Denver the Hawks are sweetening the pot, so to speak( pure speculation(sp) on my part).

It also makes me wonder what the status is on the CP trade? Did we balk at the 2nd rounder or still just shopping to see what the best value out there is? Or is this just something on the Hawks side and the Skins FO isnt the least bit intrested?

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I expect we are still exploring other opportunities while the agents haggle over contracts with different teams to see who provides the best deal for the team and the players involved.

I have a feeling we may not come to a decision until March 3rd.

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Originally posted by bishtw

I live up here near Seattle and just heard on the local sports radio channel that the Seahawks are aggressively seeking a trade with us for Champ. I heard the rumors a couple days ago about the possiblity of them giving up S. Alexander but that went away with all the C. Portis talk, which I thought was suppose to be a done deal.

Does anyone else know anything else about this? What are the Hawks offering? And what does this say, if anything about the CP deal?

Did you go to the Skins/Seahawks game 2 years ago at Seattle? I was curious how that new stadium is.....

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The 2002 Nov game, Yeah I was there setting on the 45 yard line ! But it was the dullest game I'd ever been to , the score was like 14-10 all in the 1st half, setting though the 2nd half was like watching paint dry. LOL. Seahawk Stadium is dope though, except the jumbo trons(sp) They are really clear but on one side of the feild the screen is tall but narrow and the other is wide but short so you cant really get a feel for what you looking at on ethier screen because you're not seeing the whole picture ( if that makes any sence).

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Originally posted by bishtw

Not as many as thought there be but I wasn't alone. I went to an away game at Erikison in N.C. and it was almost half and half. Never seen so many away fans at any game like that before it was awesome!

I was at that game along w/ RICHMOND REDSKIN and we got front row endzone seats... yeah it was about 50/50 easily. We made it onto HBO's Inside the NFL and they got us poppin our collas feeling great after the Patrick Johnson td pass. We were right in front of Jake Delmo-ron spiking that ball in the crowd (a guy 3 seats over managed to get the ball).

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Its really hard for me to plan anything that far out because I'm in the military and .... um... they own me. Like now for example, just found out last week I'm going to Korea for a month leaving on the 8th then going straight to Thailand for 7 weeks. Can't tell you how many weekend get aways I've had to cancele in the last 6yrs. I'm not complaining by any means, I love what I do just hard to plan thats all!

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