APAs the lockout continues into June, more and more players from more and more teams are finding ways to get together for some group jumping jacks.
Of course, it’s more than jumping jacks. (Then again, as to the teams that close the lockout practices to the media, it very well could be only jumping jacks. And s’mores. Definitely s’mores.)
In Seattle, roughly 40 Seahawks players convened on Thursday for player-organized practices. Among the players was free-agent-to-be Matthew Hasselbeck.
“Camaraderie builds when players have to take ownership for things when the coaches aren’t around,” Hasselbeck said, per the Seattle Times. “This year what’s been a positive is the brotherhood of NFL football that has come together.”
Attendees including cornerback Marcus Trufant, quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, linebacker Aaron Curry, safety Lawyer Milloy, cornerbacks Jordan Babineaux, cornerback Kelly Jennings, and former Washington linebacker Mason Foster, who was drafted by the Buccaneers in April.
Unlike many teams, the Seahawks players are practicing without a playbook, something that coach Pete Carroll and his staff apparently failed to distribute during the temporary, court-imposed lifting of the lockout. “We have a new offense here in Seattle and we don’t have the playbook, but Matt has a lot of experience so we can utilize that,” tight end John Carlson said. “We have to make the best out of the situation as we possibly can.”
Since we called out the Dolphins for not getting playbook to the players during the lifting of the lockout, we need to call out the Seahawks, too.
Is there anything specific we have to say, or do we just say we’re calling them out?
Just to be safe: Seahawks, we are hereby calling you out.
UPDATE: As a reader with a better memory than yours truly points out in the comments, playbooks were distributed to Seahawks players. It’s unclear why Carlson would say that the players don’t have one.
Channel Finder
He looks like a white JaMarcus Russel.
American Pie Football
A long, long time ago…
I can still remember
How those playoffs used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
I could do that endzone dance
And, maybe, T.O. would be quiet for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every story PFT delivered.
Bad news on my desktop;
I couldn’t take one more drop
And I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about their phony pride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day that football died.
So bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
“this’ll be the day the league dies
Did you write the helmet rules?
And do you have faith in the Goodell fool?
Even if the ref tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can the NFL save your mortal soul,
And can you teach us how to tackle real slow?
Well, I know that you’re in love with them
`cause you’ll pay the price, now that’s a given.
We all kicked off our shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.
I was a lonely teenage Bronco’s shmuck
With an Elway boss and a pickup truck,
But I knew we were out of luck
The day that football died.
I started singin’,
bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
This’ll be the day the league dies
Now for ten weeks we’ve been on our own
And rookies grow fat when they’re all alone
But that’s not how it used to be.
When Ryan sang for his fetish queen
In a car he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me,
And while the Commish was looking down,
Smith came and stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was ever returned.
And while Harrison read a book of rules
The judges played us like some fools
And we drank light beer by the pool
The day that football died.
We were singing,
bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
“this’ll be the day the league dies
Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
Legal filings fell like a fallout shelter,
A hundred yards high and falling fast.
And they landed foul smelling on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the owners on the sidelines in a cast.
Now the draft-time air was sweet perfume
While the lawyers played a hardship tune.
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
But the owners stood and refused to yield.
Do you recall what was the feel?
The day that football died
We started singing,
bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
“this’ll be the day the league dies
Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A bunch of fans lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: Smith be nimble, Smith be quick!
DeMaurice sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the lawyer’s only friend.
Oh, and as we watched him on the stage
Our hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that bastard’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial fight
I saw Smith laughing with delight
The day that football died
He was singing,
bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
“this’ll be the day the league dies
I met a Seagal who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just frowned and turned away.
So I went down to the field of war
Where I’d seen the games some years before,
But the man there said the games wouldn’t play.
And in the streets, the fans just screamed,
The mothers cried, and the players dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The trusting times all were broken.
And the three men I admire herewith,
The Commish, the Owners, and the guy named Smith,
They dropped the last pass from Alex Smith
The day that football died.
And they were singing,
bye-bye, Mr Commissioner guy
Drove my RV to the stadium
But the party was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “this’ll be the day the league dies
“this’ll be the day the league dies
So no one got playbooks?
It wasn’t that long ago that there was an article here about how Matt didn’t get a playbook, but others on the Seahawks did.
Then later, there was an article that Matt had received copies of the playbook from teammates.
Just to be safe: PFT, I’m calling you out.
hah, with the high turnover under this regime, not handing out the playbooks was probably the smart move.
Long live Touchdown Jesus!
I always believed that the best employees were those who worked harder when the boss was not around than when he was, Seems like some teams have bonafide leaders while others seem to be lacking in that regard.
IF the Seahawks did not get playbooks, that falls directly on a poor management system. Very poor execution and worse planning by the management part of the organization. That could be a bad portent for the team in the future.
The Seahawks had six more players show up for their workout than the Raiders did a week ago, yet you’d think the Raiders had already won the Super Bowl by the way their fans were beating their chest about how great their team is because guys got together to practice. You know, the same team that hasn’t posted a winning record in eight seasons. As usual, Raider fans tried to get NFL fans to forget what an awful team the Raiders have been the better part of a decade. Sorry guys, didn’t work.
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on May 18, 2011, 12:37 PM EDT
When the lockout was briefly lifted last month, the Seahawks passed out a bunch of playbooks. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck wasn’t one of the players to get one.
“I didn’t get one,” Hasselbeck told 710 ESPN, via Liz Matthews. “It definitely hurt my feelings, but it’s alright because all my teammates gave me theirs. So it worked out. It worked out fine.”
It figures that John Carlson doesn’t know what is going on. He seemed lost on the field in 2010 as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are playbooks but Carlson lost his.
5-11
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/18/matt-hasselbeck-gets-his-seahawks-playbook/
How hard would it to be to ‘lose’ a playbook in the vicinity of the backyard of a player?
Wouldn’t the cost (fine) be worth the benefits?
MicroEconomics 101…
Yeah really seahawk fans u guys have done real good the last 2 year you guys have no room 2 talk at least the raiders have a few rings what do u guys have nothing a stolen ring well do u have 1 no so shut up cry babys.
Let’s hope the playbook isn’t what Matt’s holding in his hand in that pic.
As for Carlson, if last year’s any indication, he dropped the playbook about 8 yards into his route.
and they sat around doing bong hits and watched cartoons.
@hillkirk, endzonezombie, trbowman: In Carlson’s defense, he *did* go to Notre Dame. Maybe the Fighting Irish didn’t refer to it as a “playbook,” but as a “decided schematic advantage.”