Cyber surfing: Thursday

[News Bot]

Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, May 26:
John Clayton of ESPN.com takes a look at possible suitors for Eagles QB Kevin Kolb, and what it might take to prey him away from Philly. Clayton lists the Arizona Cardinals as the leading team to make a pitch for the promising passer, at 2-1 odds. He has the Seahawks at 10-1, offering: “Pete Carroll has said he’s interested in Kolb, but will the Seahawks offer a first-round pick to acquire him? At the very least, they can stay in the bidding and make the Cardinals pay more for Kolb.”
Playing off Clayton’s story, ESPN.com NFC West blogger Mike Sando has a poll asking how much the Cardinals or Seahawks should pay for Kolb. You can vote here.
Sando also has a quarter breakdown of when the NFC West sack leaders generated them last season. The Seahawks’ Chris Clemons led the division with 11, and five came in the third quarter.
Pat Kirwan at NFL.com ranks the league’s QBs and has Hasselbeck at No. 22, in Group E that also includes David Garrard, Chad Henne, Donovan McNabb and Matthew Stafford, offering: “He had seven touchdowns to one interception in the playoffs and still has some tread left on the tires. He’s a free agent and hopefully he stays in Seattle. His 11 postseason games, including a trip to the Super Bowl, is the kind of experience a team will need if the lockout goes deep into the summer.” Kirwan has Kolb at No. 28, in Group F.
The owners’ annual spring meeting has ended, but the lockout continues. And there are several interesting points of view on the situation available:
Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters during his wrap-up session at the meetings that the league already is seeing the negative impact of the work stoppage – including Goodell being booed by fans at the NFL Draft last month. Said Goodell: “I think it’s clearly had an impact on our fans already. You see that in the various metrics we have, whether it’s ratings or traffic on NFL.com – we see that.”
Joe Linta, an agent who represents 45 NFL players, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he would like a copy of the owners’ latest proposal on a new CBA so he can take it to his clients. Says Linta: “These guys are driving these players right off a cliff right now. I told a father of one of my players who got drafted, it’s 50-50 this season is not going to happen. These coaches are starting to go looney-toon too.”
Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that the quality of play will be down and the risk of injury down because the players are missing offseason minicamps and OTAs. Crowder also said he thinks some players are starting to run out of money. Says Crowder: “You have the first-, second-year guys – they buy a house, they buy a $100,000 car and now they’re broke and they had just enough money to make it to this next season. And I know it. I know plenty of guys that are like that and (there are) already guys trying to take loans out.”
Andrew Brandt, a former league executive and agent, writes on ESPN.com that it’s time for the players and their representatives to adopt a new strategy. Offers Brandt, ESPN’s business analyst: “I sincerely hope for two things in the coming weeks: 1. That the NFLPA’s Plan B – if the players lose on appeal – is a willingness to move from litigation to negotiation and make a deal; 2. That the NFL – if it wins on appeal – uses the leverage of an indefinite lockout fairly and reasonably with its most important partner, the players, for a deal that will define their relationship for years to come. As the NFL has found out, no one wins with a one-sided agreement.”
Les Carpenter of YahooSports.com says the union never should have decertified. Writes Carpenter: “For all of his shouting and table pounding and proclamations that the NFL Players Association “went to the mattresses” with the NFL, here is where DeMaurice Smith has his decertified union two months into the lockout: about to argue a case it will probably not win in a labor battle his constituents will soon tire of fighting.”
The NFL Coaches Association, headed by former Seahawks assistant coach Larry Kennan, has filed a brief supporting the players’ efforts to end the lockout. According to the report from the Associated Press, “No individual coaches were identified in the brief, which said that the eight new coaches hired this year face particularly daunting odds of success if the lockout is not lifted soon.”
Here at Seahawks.com, we continue our series of articles profiling the players voted to the 35th Anniversary team. The latest is on a pair of special teams aces who became productive linebackers: Fredd Young and Rufus Porter. We’ve also got a look at the top Pro Bowl-to-seasons played performers in franchise history.

Source: Seahawks.com