Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, January 19, 2017
NFL
High-octane offenses in conference championships
defenses will be the deciding
factor in Foxborough or Atlanta.
Yes, the Patriots yielded
the fewest points in the NFL
this season, but the three best
offenses they played were
Arizona, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals matchup
was in the season opener, when
Arizona’s offense was not
tuned-up. New England beat
the Steelers without Roethlis-
berger, who was injured, and
no one would mistake the Bills
for a juggernaut with the ball.
Then again, the Patriots are
a juggernaut with the ball. Look
at how they beat Houston,
the top-ranked defense in the
league, in the divisional round
even though Brady was not at
his best. And think about what
they are capable of.
“I think we’ve just got to
learn from it,” he said. “It was
a lot of things, and then when
you add our poor execution
on top of that, then you add
our turnovers on top of that, it
doesn’t feel great because we
worked pretty hard to play a
By BARRY WILNER
Associated Press
This should be fun.
The conference cham-
pionship teams feature
big-time offenses — yes,
we know, the Steelers didn’t
look like one in the red zone
last weekend — that could
turn the scoreboards into tote
machines.
And while Pro Picks has
always preferred the bruising
defensive battles, there’s no
denying how entertaining
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers,
Ben Roethlisberger and Matt
Ryan can be when flinging
the ball around the field.
Add in some terrific runners,
led by Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon
Bell and New England’s
LeGarrette Blount, and such
All-Pro targets as Antonio
Brown and Julio Jones, and
bettors will be in love with the
over (60 for the NFC, 50½ for
the AFC) this week.
Indeed, it’s difficult to make
an argument that any of the
lot better than we played.”
One thing the Steelers
won’t be on Sunday is intim-
idated by Brady and New
England’s resume. The only
way to win at Gillette Stadium
is to be aggressive from the
opening kickoff, and Mike
Tomlin’s team will be that.
Oddly, Roethlisberger has
never faced the Patriots in
a postseason game at New
England. He’s 0-1, that defeat
coming in Pittsburgh during
his 2004 Offensive Rookie of
the Year season.
New England is a 5-point
favorite to make its seventh
Super Bowl with Brady at
the helm; the Patriots are 4-2
in their previous trips.
Pittsburgh, which has been to
three Super Bowls with Roeth-
lisberger, going 2-1, is the one
AFC team capable of pulling off
the upset. But it won’t.
PATRIOTS, 34-26
Green Bay (plus 5) at
Atlanta — As we marvel at
the talents of Rodgers, not to
mention his prognosticating,
and enjoy how much excite-
ment he brings to the field,
there’s one thing we can’t
ignore. The Packers are too
undermanned in the secondary.
Dak Prescott tore up
Green Bay’s struggling
and tiring D in the second
half last Sunday. Cowboys
receivers were so open that
Jerry Jones probably could
have completed some passes.
That’s a recipe for failure
against Ryan and all the
weapons he has. Julio Jones
could be a bit hobbled, which
would even things up a bit.
And if Rodgers gets back a
somewhat effective Jordy
Nelson from his rib injury ...
Sorry,
Cheeseheads,
can’t persuade ourselves to
believe. Pro Picks thinks
this comes down to one unit
being too banged-up and
deficient.
FALCONS, 35-31
HALL OF FAME: Seattle great Edgar Martinez garners 58.6 percent of the vote
Continued from 1B
Expos, who left Canada to
become the Washington
Nationals for the 2005
season, and joins Andre
Dawson and Gary Carter as
the only players to enter the
Hall representing the Expos.
Raines hit .294 with a
.385 on-base percentage,
playing during a time when
Rickey Henderson was the
sport’s dominant speedster.
Rodriguez, a 14-time
All-Star who hit .296 with
311 homers and 1,332 RBIs,
was never disciplined for
PEDs but former Texas
teammate Jose Canseco
alleged in a 2005 book that
he injected the catcher with
steroids. Asked whether he
was on the list of players
who allegedly tested positive
for steroids during baseball’s
2003 survey, Rodriguez said
in 2009: “Only God knows.”
Bonds, a seven-time
Mussina at 51.8 percent,
Curt Schilling at 45 percent,
Lee Smith at 34.2 percent
and Manny Ramirez at 23.8
percent.
Players will be inducted
July 30 during ceremonies
at Cooperstown along with
former Commissioner Bud
Selig and retired Kansas City
and Atlanta executive John
Schuerholz, both elected
last month by a veterans
committee.
Bagwell was a four-time
All-Star who spent his
entire career with Houston,
finishing with a .297 batting
average, 401 homers and
1,401 RBIs.
Raines, fifth in career
stolen bases, was a seven-
time All-Star and the 1986
NL batting champion. He
spent 13 of 23 big league
seasons with the Montreal
MVP who holds the season
and career home run records,
received 36.2 percent in
his initial appearance, in
2013, and jumped from 44.3
percent last year. Clemens, a
seven-time Cy Young Award
winner, rose from 45.2
percent last year.
Bonds was indicted on
charges he lied to a grand
jury in 2003 when he denied
using PEDs, but a jury
failed to reach a verdict on
three counts he made false
statements and convicted
him on one obstruction of
justice count, finding he
gave an evasive answer. The
conviction was overturned
appeal in 2015.
Clemens was acquitted
on one count of obstruction
of Congress, three counts of
making false statements to
Congress and two counts of
perjury, all stemming from
his denials of drug use.
A
12-time
All-Star
on the ballot for the first
time, Ramirez was twice
suspended for violating
baseball’s drug agreement.
He helped the Boston Red
Sox win World Series titles
in 2004 and ‘07, the first for
the franchise since 1918, and
hit .312 with 555 home runs
and 1,831 RBIs in 19 big
league seasons.
Several notable players
will join them in the compe-
tition for votes in upcoming
years: Chipper Jones and
Jim Thome in 2018, Mariano
Rivera and Roy Halladay
in 2019, and Derek Jeter in
2020.
Lee Smith, who had 478
saves, got 34 percent in his
final time on the ballot. Jorge
Posada, Tim Wakefield and
Magglio Ordonez were
among the players who got
under 5 percent and fell off
future ballots.
EDGAR
GAINS
STEAM: Edgar Martinez
continued his steady climb
toward becoming the first
player who was primarily
a designated hitter to be
elected to the baseball Hall
of Fame.
Now, is there enough
time remaining in Marti-
nez’s two years eligibility
to make up the remaining
gap to reach the needed 75
percent of the vote?
The former Seattle star
and current Mariners hitting
coach drew 58.6 percent
of ballots when results
of voting by the Baseball
Writers’ Association of
America were announced on
Wednesday.
Martinez was on 259 of
the 442 ballots, good for
sixth most among the candi-
SCOREBOARD
Nyssa
Riverside
Local Slate
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Friday’s Games
Culver at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m.
Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Cove at Echo, 7 p.m.
Vale at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m.
Burns at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Nyssa at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
South Wasco at Ione, 7:30 p.m.
Arlington at Sherman, 7:30 p.m.
Joseph at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m.
Helix at Pine Eagle, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Pilot Rock at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Burns at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m.
Nyssa at Umatilla, 4:30 p.m.
Vale at Riverside, 4:30 p.m.
Ione at Horizon Christian, 5:30 p.m.
Arlington at Dufur, 5:30 p.m.
Sherman at Condon/Wheeler, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m.
Echo at Helix, 5:30 p.m.
Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m.
1-1
0-3
4-9
4-9
21
37
2A Columbia Basin Conference
Conf.
Ovr
Stanfield
2-0
11-1
Weston-McEwen
1-0
8-5
Pilot Rock
1-0
8-5
Heppner
0-2
8-4
Culver
0-2
0-12
Rank
4
9
20
13
40
1A Big Sky League
Conf.
5-0
3-0
3-1
2-1
1-2
0-3
0-3
0-4
Ovr
10-4
8-4
8-2
7-5
8-6
3-7
1-8
1-11
Rank
3
27
12
29
19
39
62
47
1A Old Oregon League
Conf.
Nixyaawii
5-0
Joseph
5-1
Powder Valley
4-0
Echo
2-4
Wallowa
2-4
Cove
1-3
Helix
1-3
Pine Eagle
0-5
Ovr
8-4
11-3
9-3
3-12
2-12
3-8
2-8
1-11
Rank
20
14
11
51
54
31
52
65
GIRLS BASKETBALL
5A Columbia River Conference
Conf.
Ovr
Hood River
0-0
6-4
Hermiston
0-0
6-7
Pendleton
0-0
3-5
The Dalles
0-0
3-5
Rank
16
22
21
20
4A Greater Oregon League
Conf.
Baker
2-0
La Grande
1-1
Ontario
0-1
Mac-Hi
0-1
Ovr
11-3
7-7
2-13
1-10
Rank
9
19
26
30
3A Eastern Oregon League
Conf.
Burns
2-0
Riverside
2-1
Vale
1-0
Umatilla
1-1
Nyssa
0-2
Irrigon
0-2
Ovr
10-4
8-4
11-2
6-9
8-6
7-7
Rank
6
23
7
29
18
31
2A Columbia Basin Conference
Conf.
Culver
2-0
Weston-McEwen
1-0
Stanfield
1-1
Pilot Rock
0-1
Heppner
0-2
Ovr
10-4
9-4
3-10
10-3
5-7
Rank
8
18
33
14
26
Conf.
3-0
3-0
2-1
2-1
2-2
2-3
0-3
0-4
Ovr
8-4
6-4
8-5
5-7
4-6
4-9
2-6
0-12
Rank
17
24
27
30
37
45
54
55
1A Old Oregon League
Conf.
Nixyaawii
5-0
Powder Valley
4-0
Echo
4-2
Joseph
4-2
Wallowa
2-4
Helix
1-3
Cove
0-4
Pine Eagle
0-5
Ovr
12-0
10-2
11-4
10-3
2-12
5-5
3-9
0-9
Rank
3
4
9
12
38
21
35
39
Sherman
Condon/Wheeler
Dufur
Arlington
Horizon Christian
South Wasco
Mitchell/Spray
Ione
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Friday’s Games
Culver at Heppner, 4:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Vale at Irrigon, 6 p.m.
Burns at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
Nyssa at Riverside, 6 p.m.
South Wasco at Ione, 6 p.m.
Arlington at Sherman, 6 p.m.
Joseph at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m.
Helix at Pine Eagle, 6 p.m.
Cove at Echo, 6 p.m.
Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m.
The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Nyssa at Umatilla, 3 p.m.
Burns at Irrigon, 3 p.m.
Vale at Riverside, 3 p.m.
Ione at Horizon Christian, 4 p.m.
Arlington at Dufur, 4 p.m.
Sherman at Condon/Wheeler (Condon), 4 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m.
Echo at Helix, 4 p.m.
Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Heppner, 5:30 p.m.
PREP WRESTLING
Thursday
Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Friday
Hermiston at Liberty, TBD
Mac-Hi at Parma (ID), TBD
Irrigon, Heppner at Grant Union Tournament, TBD
Saturday
Hermiston at Liberty, TBD
Mac-Hi at Parma (ID), TBD
Riverside at Gervais, 10 a.m.
PREP SWIMMING
Saturday
Pendleton, Hermiston at Hood River, 10 a.m.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Friday’s Games
Eastern Oregon at Northwest Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m.
Eastern Oregon at Corban, 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Friday’s Games
Eastern Oregon at Northwest Christian, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m.
Eastern Oregon at Corban, 5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE WRESTLING
Friday
North Idaho at Eastern Oregon (men), 7 p.m.
Sunday
Eastern Oregon (women) at Clackamas CC Open, TBA
Prep Standings
1A Big Sky League
Arlington
South Wasco
Horizon Christian
Condon/Wheeler
Dufur
Sherman
Mitchell/Spray
Ione
Football
NFL
Conference Championships
Sunday
NFC: Green Bay at Atlanta, 12:05 p.m. (FOX)
AFC: Pittsburgh at New England, 3:40 p.m. (CBS)
Rank
7
28
23
24
4A Greater Oregon League
Conf.
La Grande
2-0
Baker
1-1
Mac-Hi
0-1
Ontario
0-1
Ovr
12-1
7-11
5-6
4-7
Rank
2
24
30
31
3A Eastern Oregon League
Conf.
Umatilla
2-0
Vale
1-0
Burns
1-1
Irrigon
1-1
Ovr
10-5
3-9
8-6
8-5
Rank
8
29
27
17
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W
L
Toronto
28
14
Boston
26
16
New York
19
24
Philadelphia
14
26
Brooklyn
8
33
Southeast Division
W
L
Atlanta
24
18
Washington
22
19
Charlotte
21
21
Orlando
17
27
Miami
12
30
Central Division
W
L
Cleveland
29
11
8
9½
9½
11
GB
—
1
8½
16
18
GB
—
2
8½
9½
12½
GB
—
7
18½
22
22½
Pct
.667
.619
.442
.350
.195
GB
—
2
9½
13
19½
Pct
.571
.537
.500
.386
.286
GB
—
1½
3
8
12
Pct
.725
GB
—
105
120
132
128
GF
141
132
128
119
126
135
86
GA
96
120
135
115
144
148
143
GF
125
131
117
124
111
112
94
GA
117
122
102
127
110
130
143
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
————
Wednesday’s Games
Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 1
Winnipeg 6, Arizona 3
Detroit 6, Boston 5, SO
Florida at Edmonton, late finish
San Jose at Los Angeles, late finish
Today’s Games
Ottawa at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Dallas at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Toronto, 4:30 p.m.
Washington at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
Arizona at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Nashville at Calgary, 6 p.m.
Colorado at Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Chicago at Boston, 4 p.m.
Detroit at Buffalo, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Montreal at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m.
Nashville at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Florida at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
PGA
FedEx Cup Leaders
Through Jan. 15
NCAA
Men’s Top 25
Wednesday’s Games
Oklahoma 89, No. 7 West Virginia 87
No. 10 Florida State 83, No. 15 Notre Dame 80
No. 16 Virginia 71, Boston College 54
No. 24 South Carolina 57, No. 19 Florida 53
No. 20 Cincinnati 81, Temple 74
Today’s Games
No. 3 UCLA vs. Arizona State, 8 p.m.
No. 4 Gonzaga at Santa Clara, 8 p.m.
No. 11 Oregon vs. California, 6 p.m.
No. 12 Louisville vs. Clemson, 6 p.m.
No. 14 Arizona at Southern Cal, 6 p.m.
No. 23 Saint Mary’s vs. Pacific, 8 p.m.
No. 25 Maryland at Iowa, 4 p.m.
Friday’s Games
No games scheduled
Women’s Top 25
Wednesday’s Games
No. 2 Baylor 68, Iowa State 42
No. 9 Louisville 91, Georgia Tech 51
No. 22 Kansas State 74, TCU 63
No. 24 West Virginia 62, Kansas 51
No. 13 UCLA at Southern Cal, late finish
Today’s Games
No. 3 Maryland vs. Michigan, 3 p.m.
No. 4 Mississippi State at Alabama, 5 p.m.
No. 5 South Carolina vs. Mississippi, 4 p.m.
No. 6 Notre Dame at Boston College, 4 p.m.
No. 7 Florida State vs. Syracuse, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Duke vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech, 4 p.m.
No. 16 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, 4 p.m.
No. 25 Texas A&M at Missouri, 6 p.m.
Friday’s Games
No. 10 Stanford vs. Arizona, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Oregon State vs. Utah, 8 p.m.
No. 18 Arizona State at California, 8 p.m.
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts
Montreal
46 27 13
6 60
Boston
48 23 19
6 52
Ottawa
42 23 15
4 50
Toronto
42 21 13
8 50
Florida
46 20 18
8 48
Tampa Bay 46 21 20
5 47
Detroit
45 20 19
6 46
Buffalo
44 17 18
9 43
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts
Columbus 43 30 9
4 64
Washington 44 29 9
6 64
Pittsburgh 44 28 11
5 61
N.Y. Rangers 45 28 16
1 57
Philadelphia 46 22 18
6 50
Carolina
44 21 16
7 49
New Jersey 46 19 18
9 47
N.Y. Islanders 42 17 17
8 42
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts
Minnesota 43 28 10
5 61
Chicago
47 28 14
5 61
St. Louis
45 23 17
5 51
Nashville
44 20 17
7 47
Dallas
46 19 19
8 46
Winnipeg 48 21 23
4 46
Colorado
42 13 28
1 27
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts
Anaheim
47 25 13
9 59
Edmonton 46 24 15
7 55
San Jose
44 26 16
2 54
Calgary
47 24 20
3 51
Los Angeles 44 22 18
4 48
Vancouver 46 21 19
6 48
Arizona
44 13 25
6 32
Golf
1. Justin Thomas
2. Hideki Matsuyama
3. Pat Perez
4. Brendan Steele
5. Mackenzie Hughes
6. Rod Pampling
7. Cody Gribble
8. Russell Knox
9. Gary Woodland
10. Luke List
———
World Rankings
Through Jan. 15
1. Jason Day
2. Rory McIlroy
3. Dustin Johnson
4. Henrik Stenson
5. Jordan Spieth
6. Hideki Matsuyama
7. Adam Scott
8. Justin Thomas
9. Patrick Reed
10. Alex Noren
Points
1,614
1,177
754
648
643
560
481
449
411
382
YTD Money
$3,802,167
$3,127,100
$1,873,685
$1,383,038
$1,354,838
$1,312,387
$1,152,195
$1,038,334
$1,035,251
$868,047
AUS
NIR
USA
SWE
USA
JPN
AUS
USA
USA
SWE
10.60
9.59
9.19
8.41
8.19
7.95
6.34
5.78
5.40
5.24
Tennis
Hockey
Basketball
BOYS BASKETBALL
5A Columbia River Conference
Conf.
Ovr
Hermiston
0-0
10-3
Hood River
0-0
5-7
Pendleton
0-0
3-4
The Dalles
0-0
2-6
Indiana
21
19
.525
Milwaukee
20
21
.488
Chicago
21
22
.488
Detroit
20
24
.455
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W
L
Pct
San Antonio
32
9
.780
Houston
33
12
.733
Memphis
25
19
.568
New Orleans
17
26
.395
Dallas
14
27
.341
Northwest Division
W
L
Pct
Utah
27
16
.628
Oklahoma City
25
18
.581
Denver
17
23
.425
Portland
18
26
.409
Minnesota
14
28
.333
Pacific Division
W
L
Pct
Golden State
35
6
.854
L.A. Clippers
29
14
.674
Sacramento
16
24
.400
Phoenix
13
28
.317
L.A. Lakers
15
31
.326
———
Wednesday’s Games
Charlotte 107, Portland 85
Philadelphia 94, Toronto 89
Washington 104, Memphis 101
New York 117, Boston 106
Detroit 118, Atlanta 95
Houston 111, Milwaukee 92
New Orleans 118, Orlando 98
Indiana at Sacramento, late finish
Oklahoma City at Golden State, late finish
Thursday’s Games
Phoenix at Cleveland, 4 p.m.
Dallas at Miami, 4:30 p.m.
Washington at New York, 5 p.m.
Denver at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Milwaukee at Orlando, 4 p.m.
Portland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Toronto at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
Brooklyn at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Atlanta, 5 p.m.
Golden State at Houston, 5 p.m.
Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Utah at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Indiana at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
GF
139
122
111
132
108
126
118
104
GA
117
123
111
123
127
135
132
124
GF
145
138
157
158
132
122
GA
96
94
132
123
148
121
Australian Open
Thursday
At Melbourne Park
Melbourne, Australia
Purse: $37.4 million (Grand Slam)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Singles
Men
Second Round
Richard Gasquet (18), France, def. Carlos Berlocq,
Argentina, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.
Philipp Kohlschreiber (32), Germany, def. Donald
Young, United States, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.
Pablo Carreno Busta (30), Spain, def. Kyle Edmund,
Britain, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Gilles Simon (25), France, def. Rogerio Dutra Silva,
Brazil, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Roberto Bautista Agut (13), Spain, def. Yoshihito
Nishioka, Japan, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
Women
Second Round
Johanna Konta (9), Britain, def. Naomi Osaka,
Japan, 6-4, 6-2.
Karolina Pliskova (5), Czech Republic, def. Anna
Blinkova, Russia, 6-0, 6-2.
Ekaterina Makarova (30), Russia, def. Sara Errani,
Italy, 6-2, 3-2 (Ad-40), retired.
Caroline Garcia (21), France, def. Oceane Dodin,
France, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4.
Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, def. Yulia Putintseva
(31), Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-1.
Caroline Wozniacki (17), Denmark, def. Donna
Vekic, Croatia, 6-1, 6-3.
Dominika Cibulkova (6), Slovakia, def. Hsieh Su-
wei, Taiwan, 6-4, 7-6 (8).
Elena Vesnina (14), Russia, def. Mandy Minella,
Luxembourg, 6-3, 6-3.
dates. It was his eighth try,
and players get 10 chances.
“In general I would
have loved to be over 60
(percent), but at least I’m
closer to 60 (percent) than to
50 (percent),” Martinez said
on a conference call. “The
jump is encouraging. I still
have two more years to go. I
think it is moving in the right
direction right now.”
After dropping to 25.2
percent in 2014, Martinez
has made an impressive rise
in the balloting, especially in
the past two years. Martinez
was at 27 percent in 2015,
before climbing to 43
percent last year.
Martinez’s jump of 15.2
percent from last year was the
highest among any returning
player on the ballot and put
him in position to possibly
make a surge during his final
two years of eligibility.
SEAHAWKS:
Continued from 1B
The Seahawks are attempting to
reconstruct a position group using
young players rather than spending
resources.
It’s a risky proposition if you
miss on the right players, but can
be a huge success if done correctly
and allows for money to be spent
elsewhere.
“We’re not going to go out
and spend a ton of money in free
agency, on one guy to try to save
the day. That’s not how we func-
tion at all,” Carroll said. “We bring
the young guys up, developing
them and make them a part of this
program. Then as they go and they
earn their opportunities, then we’ll
reward them as we can. I hope that
it’s really clear that that’s the way
we’ve done this with a really clear
intent.”
Because of their youth, the
Seahawks had the lowest-paid
offensive line in the NFL,
spending just over $6 million on its
inexperienced unit. Seattle ended
up starting a converted basketball
player at left tackle, a rookie at
right guard, a second-year player
with one previous game at left
guard and a center on his third
position in three years.
Seattle’s offensive line was
bound to struggle. In Carroll’s
eyes, that also means he sees the
potential in their future as a united
group.
“I think we have a chance now
that this is maybe one of the two
or three years, of the seven or
eight, that we have a chance to
come back with kind of the same
group and have a chance to build,”
Carroll said. “We’re going to try
to, but we’re going to challenge
the heck out of those guys, too.”
The anchor for that group
will be center Justin Britt. After
playing right tackle and left guard
his first two seasons, Britt found a
home at center. He was a Pro Bowl
alternate and the most consistent
of Seattle’s linemen.
Britt will be one of the certain-
ties for next season along with
rookie Germain Ifedi, whom
Carroll intends on keeping at
right guard despite his experience
as a tackle in college. Left tackle
George Fant was a basketball
player less than two years ago and
left guard Mark Glowinski had
one start prior to this season.
“The good thing about being a
young group is we will be together
a long time,” Britt said. “So the
longer we’re together the better we
will get together.”