Tag Archives: Seattle Seahawks

NFL, University of Texas

Swoopes, Tyrone ‘Swoops’

Card: Sage 2017
Acquired: 2017, Hobby Box Breaker

A rock solid athlete, Tyrone Swoopes played for the Texas Longhorns. During his time at UT, he played quarterback and wide receiver. At the scouting combine, scouts liked his frame and skill set so much they thought that Swoopes was better suited to be a tight end. That begs the question. Were things that bad at the University of Texas at quarterback during the Charlie Strong era at one point, that their best quarterback was a tight end? Tyrone played mostly mop up duty in 2013. His best season at quarterback came in 2014 when he compiled 224/384 with 2409 yards passing and 13 TDs.

In 2015, Strong opted to take the offense in a two-headed quarterback approach with Jerrod Heard primarily manning the starting position, while Swoopes came in as part of the 18 Wheeler package. The 18 Wheeler was a mismatch package the Longhorns used placing typically 7-8 men on the line, while the QB sat in shotgun with a RB while a FB moved in motion. More often than not, it was a run play.  Primarily from this formation, Swoopes finished with 74 carries for 451 yards and 12 TDs rushing. He also threw for 537 yards and 4 TDs.  With the arrival of QB Shane Buechele on the 40 acres and him stretching the yardsticks, the Longhorns didn’t really need to use the 18 Wheeler package as much. Swoopes was backup QB for the season, and rushed 54 times for 174 yards and 7 TDs.

Swoopes is fondly remembered at UT home games for inspiring the school to play “Whoomp There it is” after every TD that Tyrone scored. Longhorn Legend Rod Babers is credited with making the association and changing the song to “Swoopes There it is”. The rest is history.

Tyrone was not selected in the 2017 NFL draft. He elected to sign with the Seattle Seahawks as a tight end. It should be an interesting transition for the former quarterback as he did not catch a single pass in college. He made the practice squad for the Seahawks and was activated for their final game in 2017, but did not see any significant playing time.

NFL

Morris, Stephen

Card: Topps Strata 2014
Acquired: 2017, Walmart Box Breaker

Stephen Morris played college ball at Miami (FL).  Over his college career from 2010-2013 he posted 7896 yards and 49 TDs to 30 interceptions. He was not selected in the 2014 NFL Draft, but signed a free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. For pretty much the entirety of his career he’s been relegated to the practice squad or 3rd string quarterback and while his body of preseason work has improved over the year, he has never attempted an NFL pass.

After a little over a season in Jacksonville Morris was waived in 2015. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and was added to their practice squad. The Colts claimed him right before Christmas and added Stephen to their active roster. With Andrew Luck ailing Morris stood a decent chance of making the team- and while he had a more impressive preseason than fellow QB Scott Tolzien, Morris was inexplicably cut before the season began.

After a year away from the NFL, Morris was signed and cut by no less than 3 teams during the 2017 off-season including the Redskins and Seahawks. On the same day as this posting, Morris was claimed off of waivers by the Houston Texans.

NFL

Brown, Duane (2)

sp08 dbrown Cards: SP 2008 (#431/1399), Topps 2013
Acquired: IP 2016, Texans Tuesday @ Fuddruckers with Duane Brown
See Also: Duane Brown

Duane Brown has really shaped up into one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. Already an outstanding run blocker, Duane also made massive strides over the past few years with his pass blocking. Duane earned Second Team All-Pro Honors after allowing zero sacks or penalties in 2011, and First Team Honors in 2012. From 2012-2015 he’s earned a trip to Hawaii to play in the Pro Bowl, with many publications calling him one of the top offensive tackles in football. With the departure of Andre Johnson, Duane Brown was the longest tenured Texan.

to13 dbrownDuane became involved in a long and acrimonious holdout with the Texans in  2017. He wanted to be paid more even though there was two years left on his current contract. The market on offensive tackles had soared in recent years, and Brown felt he should be paid in line with what players of his caliber were being compensated. The team felt otherwise. You see it was a Catch 22 for the Texans. If they paid Duane, they’d be setting precedence for any player who wanted more money just to hold out. In the end, the Texans refused to deal while their offensive line stunk it up. Duane returned for the Texans week 8 tilt against the Seahawks. He suited up and played for most of the game. Two days later right before the trade deadline, the Houston Texans traded him to those same Seahawks for a 3rd round (2018), and a 2nd round (2019) pick. While some fans may argue that the reason he was traded was personal- the Texans probably weren’t acting maliciously, and did right by Duane trading him to Seattle.

I had read that the Texans did a radio show with Brown in Houston at Fuddruckers, but was under the misunderstanding that he didn’t sign autographs. I was certainly wrong, as during the show he was complimented by the radio crew about how he had gotten autograph signings during the break down to a science. He signs one for each fan during breaks, and then after the show finishes up any additional autographs.

The last stop on our marathon Houston Texans autograph tour, Lance and I rushed over to Fuddruckers and arrived with about 30 minutes to go or so. Duane nicely signed these 2 cards for me and a card for Lance right before he left.