Eric Winston

[McG]

Not a big fan of this move to be honest. All I can think of in regards to Winston is this play.



In case you can't tell that's Bam Bam not a defensive lineman.

I'm not a professional scout or anything, but it would appear that Kam lowered his shoulder right into his head/chest/neck. Last I checked that's grounds for a KO. Ask VD aka Vernie-poo Davis what I mean. He's lucky he still has a career, that hit was deadly.

 

[SomersetHawk]

Really? We're that confident on Britt starting?

I've been waiting for this signing, initial reports on Britt haven't been great. He should get the benefit of the doubt until we see him in preseason but it won't surprise me if he doesn't cut it yet, he looked every bit a day three draft pick.

Think Winston is a solid if unspectacular pick up, could have been a lot worse.

He was a second rounder for us, but yea, he has struggled.

Which just goes to show how bad Bowie has been. The FO let Breno walk because they thought Bowie was going to do something, and he showed up out of shape, overweight, and predictably got hurt. Now we are going to be stuck with a struggling rookie on the right side again. Ouch, that's all... ouch!

I know he was, that was my point. If he doesn't work out then I think Cable will be lucky to have much influence in our future drafts.

Let's hope Winston can be as serviceable as Giac in the increasingly likely event that Bowie and Britt aren't up to it.

 

[DavidSeven]

Winston is a legitimate NFL tackle. We don't know if we have that in Britt or Bowie yet. At the very least, you have a benchmark to measure those guys against. Good signing.

 

[Scottemojo]

Other than Hawkblogger's thoughts on Britt, I haven't really heard anything negative on him, and rookies have growing pains and learning curves. Its part of the process. Its why you go through minicamps, otas, training camps, and pre-season games. To coach these guys up before games count. And some of you guys have made up your opinion and folded your cards after 4 days of practice?

And for the record the replacement level at RT isn't that great... we are talking about an injury weakened Breno Giacomini and 7th Round 21 Year Old Rookie.

Now "this" is overreaction. LOL! I haven't "folded my cards". I have high hopes for Britt, probably too high, but he is going to struggle because he is a rookie. Like I said: "IF Britt goes down..."

That's when my concern kicks in. Yes, I had a negative impression of Winston last year based on his play in AZ. I live in AZ and I see most Cardinal games - so I did not have a great impression of him as a starter.

However, most of my disappoint here is over Bowie. I just can't believe that someone would spend a year getting schooled by all these great DE's in this division, and knowing you have to face them all again-- you come in out of shape and unprepared for camp.

It's bogus and it hurts the team. And clearly the coach is just as unimpressed because he never calls out players like that.

Well, the reason Bowie transferred From OSU to Northeastern was a violation of team rules got him kicked off the team. Keep in mind, not even Blackmon could get kicked off the Cowboys and he had a DUI and got suspended for a game one other time as well for breaking team rules. Makes me wonder what the hell gets you kicked off that team? Bowie seems to lack some personal discipline at the very least.

I took Pete's comments to be a pretty serious indictment as well.

 

[kearly]

Something to keep in mind about Winston is that PFF kept handing out high grades for him even during some seasons when he had very poor sack numbers. I generally don't trust PFF's numbers for OL anyway, but even they thought Winston sucked in 2013 for Arizona.

The one thing I do like about Winston is that he never gets hurt. Having a 16 game starter on our OL would be a very nice thing to have, assuming that player is non-horrible.

Winston is experienced and has been part of some good running games. He's only a year older than Breno. Even though I think he will probably give up more sacks than we'd like, I am happy with this move because I am skeptical of Bowie ever becoming a non-liability pass protector (especially now with his weight issues) and Britt is very likely to be a liability in pass pro as a rookie.

I also like this signing because it gives the Seahawks a chance to get lucky like the Mariners did when they took a last second flier on Chris Young this Spring. If Winston bounces back he could be a huge upgrade over the other two guys, who will probably have growing pains to say the least in 2014.

 

[kearly]

One other thing that is interesting about Winston.

In 2011, Winston had a very good season for the Texans. He was on a reasonable contract given his performance level. The Texans cut him anyway, and it is widely believed to be because of Winston's leadership role with the NFL's player union.

He was signed by the Chiefs and was an above average player by most accounts. The Chiefs released him after one season despite that.

The Cardinals would sign Winston for 2013, but they didn't sign him until July 25th. So even a guy who had been one of the league's better RT didn't get signed until TC started.

And now he signs with the Seahawks, a few days into TC in 2014.

Over and over, you see teams avoiding Winston until they have no other choice, or releasing him even after he had good seasons. You wonder if he's a bit of a clubhouse lawyer to get that kind of treatment.

 

[Scottemojo]

One other thing that is interesting about Winston.

In 2011, Winston had a very good season for the Texans. He was on a reasonable contract given his performance level. The Texans cut him anyway, and it is widely believed to be because of Winston's leadership role with the NFL's player union.

He was signed by the Chiefs and was an above average player by most accounts. The Chiefs released him after one season despite that.

The Cardinals would sign Winston for 2013, but they didn't sign him until July 25th. So even a guy who had been one of the league's better RT didn't get signed until TC started.

And now he signs with the Seahawks, a few days into TC in 2014.

Over and over, you see teams avoiding Winston until they have no other choice, or releasing him even after he had good seasons. You wonder if he's a bit of a clubhouse lawyer to get that kind of treatment.

He called out Chief fans when he thought they cheered a Matt Cassell injury.
So yeah, he might have trouble controlling his vocal ability.

 

[chris98251]

Repeat CBA violation? Hope we don't lose draft picks now. I thought a player had to wait a few days before practicing ala TO in 2012

ESPN Link from 2012 incident explaining CBA rules

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyid=8253150

You just signed the President of the players Union, do you think he would allow rules to be broken?

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

One other thing that is interesting about Winston.

In 2011, Winston had a very good season for the Texans. He was on a reasonable contract given his performance level. The Texans cut him anyway, and it is widely believed to be because of Winston's leadership role with the NFL's player union.

He was signed by the Chiefs and was an above average player by most accounts. The Chiefs released him after one season despite that.

The Cardinals would sign Winston for 2013, but they didn't sign him until July 25th. So even a guy who had been one of the league's better RT didn't get signed until TC started.

And now he signs with the Seahawks, a few days into TC in 2014.

Over and over, you see teams avoiding Winston until they have no other choice, or releasing him even after he had good seasons. You wonder if he's a bit of a clubhouse lawyer to get that kind of treatment.

Quite the opposite at that time Kansas City was in the middle of an internal power struggle. Winston is a solid RT. And not a troublemaker. Other then calling out the fans for being the classless idiots they were about Cassell when it was Romeo Crennell being at fault.

 

[Sarlacc83]

I feel like, if Cable is as good as advertised (not that everyone's convinced of this) Winston could be one of the steals of the year for Seattle. Never forget Omiyale...

 

[Sherman4Prez]

A little late to be signing quality T's. I just hope this isn't an indication that our line is underperforming in camp. It's a peculiar signing...

 

[sc85sis]

One other thing that is interesting about Winston.

In 2011, Winston had a very good season for the Texans. He was on a reasonable contract given his performance level. The Texans cut him anyway, and it is widely believed to be because of Winston's leadership role with the NFL's player union.

He was signed by the Chiefs and was an above average player by most accounts. The Chiefs released him after one season despite that.

The Cardinals would sign Winston for 2013, but they didn't sign him until July 25th. So even a guy who had been one of the league's better RT didn't get signed until TC started.

And now he signs with the Seahawks, a few days into TC in 2014.

Over and over, you see teams avoiding Winston until they have no other choice, or releasing him even after he had good seasons. You wonder if he's a bit of a clubhouse lawyer to get that kind of treatment.

He called out Chief fans when he thought they cheered a Matt Cassell injury.
So yeah, he might have trouble controlling his vocal ability.

Oh, he's that guy! I gave him a lot of credit for that. He was right. I don't care how bad you think one of your players is, you never cheer when he gets injured. That's tacky as hell. I loved that Winston stood up for his teammate and was willing to take heat from the fans for that.

 

[CANHawk]

Nice signing. I approve.

 

[jake206]

Only thing that has me worried about this team is offensive line. If Eric Winston is the bar that other OL are comparing themselves to, we are in for a very long season. If they get any more injuries on OL, Hawks will be in big trouble. Considering we play Rams DL twice and Cards, 49ers ...etc, this season may be more difficult than most people realize.

 

[sc85sis]

Repeat CBA violation? Hope we don't lose draft picks now. I thought a player had to wait a few days before practicing ala TO in 2012

ESPN Link from 2012 incident explaining CBA rules

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyid=8253150

Your link didn't work for me. Found the original story at http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8253150.

Was this ever resolved as actually being a violation? I just looked through the CBA and think it probably was NOT. The language isn't specific to a given player's first three days of camp, it just references the first three days of a CLUB'S camp.

ARTICLE 23
PRESEASON TRAINING CAMPS

Section 6. Conduct of Practices:

(a) The first day of a Club's preseason training camp shall be limited to physical examinations, meetings, and classroom instruction; no on-field activities shall be permitted other than running and conditioning. No contact shall be permitted and no pads shall be worn during the second and third days of Preseason Training Camp. Thereafter, two-a-day practices shall be permitted, subject to the following rules: (i) players may be on the field for a total of no more than four hours per day; (ii) players may participate in no more than one padded practice per day, which shall be no longer than three hours of on-field activities; (iii) there must be at least a three hour break after the practice; and (iv) the second practice on the same day may only be for a maximum of the remaining available on-field time, and shall be limited to only "walk-through" instruction (i.e., no helmets, full-speed pre-snap, and walking pace after the snap). The three-hour limit on padded practices shall begin as soon as position coaches begin to coach players on the field. The definition of a "padded practice" under this Article shall be the same as the definition used for regular season practices in Article 24, Section l(c) of this Agreement. In the event that a Club begins a padded practice but such practice is cancelled within sixty minutes of its commencement due to inclement weather or for any other reason beyond the Club's control, such practice shall not count as a padded practice under this Article or Article 24.

http://images.nflplayers.com/mediaResou ... al_CBA.pdf

 

[Smellyman]

this is a GREAT signing.

 

[HawkWow]

In other news, Zach Miller has the best hands of any O lineman in the league.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Not a big fan of this move to be honest. All I can think of in regards to Winston is this play.



In case you can't tell that's Bam Bam not a defensive lineman.

Stop at 'that's BamBam' That's all that needs said. [emoji41]