Good morning, 12s.
Here's a look at what's "out there" for today — Thursday, September 1 — about your Seattle Seahawks:
Doug Baldwin, Cliff Avril Named In ESPN's Underrated List
ESPN NFL Insiders made their predictions for which NFL players are the most underrated heading into the 2016 season. Doug Baldwin and Cliff Avril were both mentioned in the piece under the "best player no one's talking about" category. Baldwin was mentioned on the list twice for offensive players, and Avril once for defensive ones.
Here are the explainations for why each writer selected Baldwin:
Matt Bowen, NFL writer:Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks. Baldwin caught 14 touchdowns in 2015. And he took over the league during the second half of the season. That doesn't happen by mistake.
Aaron Schatz, editor-in-chief of Football Outsiders: Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks. Baldwin led all wide receivers with at least 50 targets last season in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric (value per play) and was second (behind Antonio Brown) in DYAR (total value). He also led all receivers by catching 76 percent of intended passes. This was not a one-year fluke; Baldwin ranked second among receivers in DVOA in 2013.
And here's why Avril made the list:
Mike Sando: Cliff Avril, DE, Seahawks. Avril is quieter than high-profile defensive teammates. Is he less valuable? Tom Brady went from floundering to lighting up the scoreboard once an injury forced Avril from the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. That was not coincidental.
Tweet Of The Day
Today's "Tweet of the Day" comes from running back Thomas Rawls, who tweeted a gameday photo of himself.
More From Around The Web
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll provided injury updates and a glimpse into tonight's game against the Raiders. (Here's all the information you need in case you're not sure how to watch it.)
Celtics All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas stopped by the VMAC yesterday and showed off his efficient free-throw shooting stroke.
Bowen writes that Earl Thomas is Seattle's biggest game plan wrecker (ESPN Insider access is required to read the full article). Here's what Bowen said about Thomas' impact:
*Michael Bennett was one of my picks for the Seahawks because of his versatility.Kam Chancellor, too. And Richard Sherman is still one of the top cornerbacks in the league. (Man, the Seahawks are loaded, huh?) But I'm going with Thomas because of his range, ball skills and impact on the Cover 3 scheme. How do you occupy (or remove) Thomas in the post? That's the question every offense is trying to answer when they play the Seahawks. Thomas just shuts the door so quickly in the deep middle of the field. *
And Matt Calkins of The Seattle Times wrote about Kasen Williams' challenging road leading up to tonight's preseason finale.
