Monday 23 March 2009

Seahawks to meet with Mark Sanchez

Ed Thompson from Scout.com is reporting that the Seahawks will meet with Mark Sanchez on the eve of his pro-day at USC. Thanks to Michael Steffes at Seahawk Addicts for the link. For more on Sanchez, check out the video below courtesy of ESPN.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rob - correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Sanchez actually accused of sexual assault at some point during his tenure at USC? I think the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence (he said-she said) scenario, but I have to imagine this would not sit well with Ruskell.

Rob Staton said...

You are indeed correct jjhsix. As you say the charges were dropped, but he has had some other incidents that have been documented. The team will do their homework on Sanchez if they want to consider him, they'll do background checks and such and will have an idea if he's a character concern.

He's done a good job over the last few weeks to paint the image of a wholesome individual. How much of this was damage limitations it's hard to tell.

Sanchez is a difficult prospect to place. Charles Davis has him ranked higher than Matt Stafford for example, but the consensus elsewhere has Stafford clearly ahead. He could be a top ten pick, or he could drop into the late teens where New York, Minnesota and Tampa Bay might show some interest. Detroit may even look to trade up for him if they take a left tackle first overall. Although I wonder if these 'reports' that Jason Smith is their No1 target is maybe a leverage tactic in any potential negotiations with Stafford. If they know Smith's demands are the msot reasonable, they can play that off any demands Matt Stafford may have.

Just on Detroit actually, this is why I believe they will still target Matt Stafford despite reports this week that Jason Smith is their choice. The Lions need a franchise quarter back. If they expect anything from Culpepper other than a stopgap then they'll be dissapointed. As much as I like Jason Smith, I'm not sure he's that initial building block the team needs to relaunch itself into a new era. Stafford could be, especially throwing to a guy like Calvin Johnson.

If they take Stafford, they can concentrate on defense with their 20 and 32 pick. My current mock has them taking Peria Jerry and James Laurinaitis, I think they would be two solid additions to go with getting their franchise QB.

Anonymous said...

Great comments Rob. Funny you should mention the negotiating ploy (ie. Jason Smith) because I made the exact same comment over at seahawkaddicts.

Personally I hope your mock is correct as I see Crabtree having the most short-term and likely longterm impact on the Seahawks. I honestly think we will be scratching our heads with regret three years from now if we let him pass. As for Stafford, I know I'm beating a tired drum but, I think the Hawks should at least look into a Cutler trade before using the #4 on a QB. Perhaps, the #4 and Hasselbeck for Cutler? I love Hasselbeck as much as the next Hawk fan but he is 34 shortly and he has some injury concerns obviously. I don't have stats to back this up but I'm pretty sure that injuries frequently are predictive of a decline in performance for older players.