New Zealand international prop Ben Franks has committed his future to London Irish.Franks, a double World Cup winner, joined the Exiles on a three-year deal last summer.But speculation had been rife about him potentially moving to an Aviva Premiership club, particularly following Irishs relegation from the top flight.The 32-year-old was injured for most of Irishs Premiership run-in, which ended with the Exiles finishing seven points behind 11th-placed Newcastle.Once Id had a few weeks away to clear my mind, my gut feeling was not to miss out on an opportunity, and Im here ready to work hard, said 45 times-capped Franks, in a statement released by Irish.I am excited at the prospect of getting a solid pre-season under my belt, mainly because I have not done one for many years.The last time I did a pre-season was when I was 23. Im 32 now, and being an All Black you dont get the opportunity to do a full summer programme.Irish head of rugby operations Glenn Delaney, meanwhile, described Franks confirming his Exiles future as a real statement of intent.Delaney added: Ben is a world-class player, and his experience in the pack will be vital as we look to make an immediate return to the Premiership.We have a number of exciting young talents coming through the ranks at present, and his experience and know-how, both on and off the field, will be invaluable.Its a real statement of intent, and underlines the ambition of the club and the owners. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Cheap Nike Air Max 95 . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. http://www.cheapnikeairmax95.com/ . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Discount Nike Air Max 95 . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. The Seattle Seahawks are playing lights-out defense this season. Just as they did in 2015. And 2014 and, in fact, all the way back to 2012.What some would call the Russell Wilson?era in Seahawks history is more aptly termed their Legion of Boom years (or some such nickname). What the Seahawks have done during the past four and a half seasons is rarer than producing consistently good quarterback play. Theyve had the most dominant defense in football over that span, ranking No. 1 or 2 in Football Outsiders DVOA metric each of the past four seasons, and No. 3 so far this season. (For traditionalists, the Seahawks also are tied with the Minnesota Vikings for the lowest average points allowed this season, 14.0 per game)What exactly have the Seahawks accomplished? And how have they done it? Lets take a closer look.First, the basics.The Seahawks have allowed by far the fewest points in the NFL since the start of the 2012 season. Theyre 21 percent better than the next-best teams and 32 percent below the NFL average.Points per game allowed, 2012-16Points are the most important measure of defensive success, but sometimes they can mask other deficiencies. So for good measure, the Seahawks also have allowed the fewest yards and first downs since the start of 2012. Opposing quarterbacks have an NFL-low 46.6 Total Quarterback Rating against them, nearly three points lower than the next-best team.The Seahawks 123 takeaways, combined with their 72 giveaways, give the team a plus-51 turnover margin, the NFLs second best since the start of the 2012 season. The New England Patriots lead with a plus-56 margin, but they join the Seahawks as high-achieving outliers. The next-best team is the Carolina Panthers at plus-27.How have the Seahawks pulled off such consistent achievement? The most obvious answer: They have a bunch of great players.Single seasons of players with plus-14 approximate value, 2012-16Check out the graphic above. Pro Football Reference measures every NFL player with an approximate value (AV) metric that uniformly attaches a number to each players season performance for the purposes of comparison. (Here is a more detailed explanation.)Lets put a strong AV season in the range of plus-14 or higher. Using that cutoff, you can see that the Seahawks have had more defensive players performing at least at that level during a single season than any other NFL team. Cornerback Richard Sherman has reached that level four times, while safety Earl Thomas and linebacker Bobby Wagner have done it twice apiece.A total of eight such performances might not seem high, until you realize thatt 14 teams have not had a single defensive player at that level?-- zero, nada -- over this span.dddddddddddd So the median across the league is one, and the average is 1.6.And if you look at the 2012-15 seasons as a whole, youll find that five of the top 50 players in combined AV played for the Seahawks: Sherman, Thomas, Wagner, linebacker K.J. Wright and safety Kam Chancellor. And that doesnt even count defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, who were mid-dynasty, free-agent acquisitions; they have been among the NFLs top 51 defensive players in AV since the start of the 2014 season.The Seahawks defense has done everything well since 2012. In addition to leading the league in points, yards and first downs, the Seahawks are also No. 1 in passing yards allowed, No. 2 in quarterback pressure percentage, No. 4 in rushing yards per carry and No. 6 in takeaways.But what has made them special? The Seahawks have a relatively rare but lethal weapon: the blitz.Since 2012, the Seahawks have blitzed -- a pass rush of five or more players -- on only 25 percent of opposing dropbacks. Thats the sixth-lowest percentage in the league.When they do send extra rushers, however, they get home at the best rate in football.Highest QB pressure percentage by defense when blitzingThe pressure rate in the graphic above is based on dropbacks in which the quarterback is sacked, put under duress or hit. This can be attributed both to player skill and smart playcalling from the defensive coaching staff.As a result, the Seahawks have allowed the NFLs lowest average yards per dropback when blitzing. Their performance is 20 percent better than the NFL average.Fewest yards per dropback allowed versus blitz, past five seasonsAppropriately, we should finish where we started: with points. Opponents have a far more difficult time scoring against the Seahawks blitz than they do against anyone else. Touchdowns per attempt when the Seahawks blitz is nearly 2 full percentage points lower than the next-best defense. The league average is 5.7 percent.Lowest TD percentage allowed versus blitz, past five seasonsThe Seahawks offense has slumped this season. Through seven weeks, the Seahawks?have the fifth-lowest points per game average in the league (18.5). But the Seahawks are 4-1-1 and atop the NFC West, in large part because of a defense that has picked up right where it left off.ESPN Stats & Information senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg contributed to this story. ' ' '