Four Seahawks Questions

After an incredible off-season, the Seattle Seahawks begin the season at home on Sunday against NFC West rival (and Division favorite) the San Francisco 49ers. The flurry of transactions this off-season appear done, so it is appropriate to ask a few questions heading into week one.

Will Matt Hasselbeck be protected?

This question could also be ‘Will the offensive line perform?’
Hasselbeck will turn 35 later this month. It’s no secret his pro-bowl years are behind him. In 2005 – the 13-3, Super Bowl appearance season – Hasselbeck played as well as any quarterback in the NFL. He played the season with Hall-of-Fame tackle Walter Jones and perennial Pro-Bowler Steve Hutchison protecting his backside. This season? Russell Okung is the heir apparent to Jones but he’s injured and won’t begin the season on the field. His preseason replacement, Mansfield Wrotto, is no longer with the team. At present, it looks like Tyler Polumbus will start at left tackle. If he goes down, Chester Pitts will step in. After that, only God knows. Alex Gibbs, a respected, veteran offensive line coach abruptly quit (Retired? Fired?) this week and now the ‘Hawks offensive front is being led by a guy Pete Carroll took from the UFL. To be sure, none of this is good news. The offensive line is a giant question mark heading into the regular season. That is not good news for an aging quarterback who has struggled to stay on the field recently or for a backfield in transition.

If Hasselbeck is protected this season, however, he will be the undisputed ‘king of quarterbacks’ in the NFC West (more on that later).

What about the running game?

Justin Forsett will start. Leon Washington will get touches. So will Julius Jones. Splitting carries in an NFL backfield is paying dividends for some franchises (Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart in Carolina) but what about touches spread between three? And let’s not forget all three are, essentially, NFL castoffs. Forsett couldn’t hang in Indianapolis and barely made it in Seattle. Jones was jettisoned from Dallas due to the emergence of Marion Barber and promise of Felix Jones and Washington was expendable to the Jets. Of course, Washington is an explosive runner and appears ready to handle a workload out of the backfield in addition to returning kickoffs. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Also, don’t be surprised to see Jones talking loudly to reporters if he doesn’t get the same opportunities as Forsett and Washington early in the season; something to look forward to there.

Regardless of how touches are dispersed out of the backfield, will any lanes be available? There’s no continuity up front, as mentioned above. Shaun Alexander was a successful back in Seattle because he ran behind an offensive line with almost unprecedented continuity and tremendous talent. He didn’t win NFL MVP because of his outstanding elusiveness or penchant for big plays; he won because his legs stayed fresh and his body stayed strong running wild and free.

Seattle’s running game heading into week one is a giant question mark and the outlook is not promising.

Will the defense consistently get to the quarterback?

The Seahawks finished last season with a paltry 28 sacks. Not surprisingly, the defense also finished 30th against the pass. In other words, the pressure up front must materialize for any hope of defensive success. Thankfully for Seahawks fans, there are plenty of reasons for optimism.

Red Bryant had a fantastic camp and is thriving. Brandon Mebane looks immovable. Colin Cole looks rejuvenated. The addition of Chris Clemmons on the edge looks like a coup. Lofa Tatupu is healthy. Aaron Curry is a beast.

Beyond the initial size, strength, and talent up front, however, the defensive line is thin. Also, Leroy Hill will miss the opener and is dealing with a serious off-the field issue (although, reworking his contract should prove as a great motivator). Finally, although Curry is a beast and has physical tools reminiscent of (pre-steroids) Shawne Merriman, he still makes a lot of mistakes. Dumb mistakes, too. The hope is he’ll grow as a professional this year and fit well into the new scheme.

What about the secondary?

Josh Wilson is gone and now there is no doubt that Kelly Jennings will hold down the corner opposite Marcus Trufant. Jennings is small and open to exploitation opposite Trufant – who looks like a pro bowler again. In his defense, however, Jennings is clearly making it his mission to make plays on the ball and he seems committed to tackling and supporting on the run. He must be ready to make plays, too, because as the season progresses Trufant will see fewer and fewer balls come to his side.

The biggest addition to the secondary, obviously, is first-round pick Earl Thomas. He is a ball hawk, creates turnovers, and is more than willing to lay the wood. Before the draft, there was plenty of discussion surrounding Pete Carroll looking to draft his former player, Taylor Mays, to improve Seattle’s secondary. He didn’t draft Mays though because Thomas is better in coverage; a fact that can easily be overlooked in a hard-hitting safety like Thomas. Lawyer Milloy, a savvy veteran, will provide plenty of leadership from the other safety spot. Cutting and subsequently resigning Jordan Babineaux was a money-saving move but odd nonetheless. He’s not good in coverage and simply lacks some physical tools but the ‘Big Play Babs’ moniker may carry him through his Seattle career.

The secondary will be better than last year – provided Seattle gets consistent pressure up front. Also, rather than facing Kurt Warner twice this season, Seattle will face the Derek Anderson-led Arizona Cardinals. That fact alone will help out the secondary. In that same vein, Alex Smith (49ers) has been maddeningly inconsistent in his career and Sam Bradford (Rams) is a rookie; a much-heralded rookie, but a rookie nonetheless. Seattle will face Anderson, Smith, and Bradford six times this year – unquestionable good news for the secondary.

Seahawks lose ‘must win’ game to Cardinals

The Seattle Seahahawks made it much harder on the Arizona Cardinals then they did in week six when they lost by 24 points. Nonetheless, Seattle came up short and suffered their sixth loss of the season, 31 -20.

Early in the 4th quarter with the Seattle Seahawks driving, they were forced to settle for a field goal after three attempts from the one yard line. The Arizona Cardinals responded with an 80 yard drive capped by a Beanie Wells touchdown run to take their first lead of the game.

On their third down play from the one on that pivotal drive, the Seahawks elected to throw a fade to wide receiver Nate Burleson. Burleson, who did not catch a pass in the game, could not come down with the ball opening the door for Kurt Warner and an explosive Cardinals offense. The Cardinals took advantage of the opportunity.

After Wells touchdown run, the Seahawks were stymied near midfield and punted. The Cardinals responded with an 85 yard drive, ending with quarterback Kurt Warner hitting Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown leading to the final outcome.

The loss means the Seahawks are now three games behind the NFC West division leaders. For all intents and purposes, the Seahawks hopes for post season play evaporated with the loss.

The game started well for the Seahawks, forcing three-and-outs and holding Warner in check while taking a 14-0 lead. At halftime the Seahawks held a 17-10 advantage. However, the Seahawks managed only three second half points and watched the Cardinals finish the game with 14 unanswered points.

For the game, Wells had 85 yards rushing to go along with two touchdowns. For the Seahawks, Justin Forsett, taking over for an injured Julius Jones, rushed 16 times for 113 yards.

After the Fitzgerald touchdown, the Seahawks tried desperately to get back in the game down the stretch. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh down the middle getting the Seahawks into the red zone. Unfortunately for Seattle, Hasselbeck’s shuffle pass intended for Forsett was intercepted by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson and the game ended with the Cardinals taking a knee.

With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 3-6 on the season, while the Cardinals improved to 6-3 and took a commanding lead in the NFC West.

Game notes: Warner’s touchdown pass to Fitzgerald was the 200th touchdown pass of his career…Warner finished the game with 29 completions for 340 yards and two touchdowns…Seahawks tight end John Carlson caught his first touchdown since week one against the St. Louis Rams…Seahawks wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh caught nine balls for 165 yards…Julius Jones left the game in the first half with a chest injury.

Seahawks, 49ers: First Half Analysis

When the Seahawks got the ball deep in their own territory with 2:51 left in the half, it was a perfect set up for a Matt Hasselbeck engineered two-minute drill. He completed four passes underneath, found Nate Burleson and Deon Butler for first downs, handed to Justin Forsett for a tough 13-yard rush and, eventually, Seneca Wallace found Julius Jones out of the backfield for the touchdown. Add the Mare extra point, and at halftime it’s 13-10 49ers.

A lot will be made about Frank Gore going wild in the first half. In total, he rushed for 113 yards in the first half; 79 came on one touchdown carry in the first quarter. So really, the Hawks defense is not doing all that badly against the run. On Gore’s long TD run, Aaron Curry took a bad angle from the backside and was subsequently blocked down allowing Gore to sprint through virtually untouched. Honestly, not a huge concern.

Also, Patrick Kerney, Craig Terrill and Lawrence Jackson all contributed sacks and two were to derail potential touchdown drives. Furthermore, the 49ers only converted two third-downs in the first half. The defense is depleted (Marcus Trufant, Brandon Mebane, Leroy Hill) yet keeping us in the ball game.

The defensive front is applying plenty of pressure and as long as Gore doesn’t bust another huge play, our defense will win the battle over the 49ers offense.

Offensively for the Hawks, other than the two-minute drive, our offensive was middling. I think the final two-minute drive provided a great example of what the Hawks are missing offensively — a true “field-stretcher.” In other words, if the Hawks believe Nate Burleson has deep-play ability, then he must be allowed to stretch the field and provide that threat. Otherwise, the Hawks will continue to dink-and-dunk down the field and a very good defensive team (Chicago Bears) will take that away in the second half.

Obviously, the Hasselbeck injury is a potentially HUGE development. He won’t be back in the second half while he nurses a rib injury.

NO MORE BIG PLAYS!

Seahawks Defeat the Rams in Week One

The Seattle Seahawks began their season Sunday afternoon against the St. Louis Rams. The Hawks overcame three first half turnovers, utilized a highly productive and dynamic offensive attack and an aggressive defensive scheme to run roughshod over the Rams, winning convincingly 28–0.

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