Seahawks lose snoozefest 6-3 to Browns

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(2-4) lost on the road to the Cleveland Browns(3-3) in a game that set football back a few decades. The Browns escaped with a 6-3 win over the Seahawks in a game which featured no offense, missed calls and terrible quarterback play on both sides. The Seahawks who were without Tarvaris Jackson and a late scratch to Marshawn Lynch saw their offense put up just 137 yards of total offense which was just 2.7 yards per play. The Seahawks called 33 pass plays which saw them just put up 72 yards of offense which is also just 2.2 yards per passing play called. The defense played great but that didn't matter as the Seahawks offense couldn't move the ball minus one drive. The Seahawks couldn't overcome a few bad calls and in the redzone despite having several chances couldn't score a touchdown. Pete Carroll's handpicked quarterbacked Charlie Whitehurst appears to not be an NFL quarterback after the Seahawks had two weeks to prepare for this game. The Seahawks also didn't run the ball well either as they ran for just 65 yards on only 17 carries(3.8 YPC). This was a disgraceful offensive performance for Carroll's Seahawks who fall three games back in the NFC West.


The first half was a snooze fest like much of the game was. The Browns led 3-0 at halftime on a Phil Dawson 52 yard field goal which was set up by a Charlie Whitehurst fumble. The first half highlights included a Red Bryant blocked kick. That was the only highlights for the Seahawks who had just 55 yards of total offense which averaged only 1.89 yards per play which for the NFL is beyond pathetic. The Browns offense wasn't much better as they only had 140 yards of offense while averaging only 3.4 yards per play. The first half saw the Seahawks longest drive go only 15 yards while they had five punts and a fumble. The offense was abysmal in the first half as the Seahawks were held in check for the fifth time in six games in the first half. This was also the fifth time in six games the Seahawks trailed at halftime as they went away from the no huddle offense. The first half was so bad that many thought there was no way that the second half could be any worse and sadly many were wrong. The second half did feature one critical blown call that probably cost the Seahawks the win. The second half also saw Whitehurst continue to struggle while the Browns offense did barely enough to come away with the victory. The first half definately set the stage for a terrible game despite the closeness of the score.

The second half saw the Browns open with the ball first. The Browns actually had a nice drive going as they went on an 11 play drive covering 50 yards. The Browns had the ball on the Seahawks 30 facing a second and four when Colt McCoy was intercepted by David Hawthorne to keep the score at 3-0. The Seahawks offense of course did nothing as they punted the ball back to the Browns. The Seahawks forced a three and out and a punt by the Browns. Leon Washington Fielded the punt at midfield then with his burst a speed bust it to the outside and went up the sideline for the games first touchdown giving the Seahawks a 7-3 lead. The officials who made some horrible calls all game long threw a flag for a block in the back which replayed showed was merely a flop. The Seahawks though still had good field position on their own 45 yard line. That is when Whitehurst threw a pass to Sidney Rice which it had appeared Rice was being held. The pass was immediately intercepted as the Seahawks momentum quickly changed. In the matter of moments the Seahawks went from being up 7-3 which in this game felt like being up 21 points to still trailing 3-0 as Whitehurst continued his struggles. Seahawks defense once again forced a three and out then had their only successful drive of the game coming up.

Starting from their own 38 yard line the Seahawks began their only decent drive of the game. The drive began with a Leon Washington run of 11 yards. Washington then ran for four more yards to the Browns 47 yard line. On second and six Whitehurst went back to pass as he saw a wide open Sidney Rice. Whitehurst completed the pass to Rice for a gain of 38 yards to the Browns nine yard line. The pass was so horribly thrown that Rice's momentum forced him out of bounds. Had the pass been a decent pass Rice walks into the endzone and the Seahawks take the lead. As is the Seahawks had first and goal from the nine yard line. Whitehurst tried a wide receiver screen to Rice which he was tackled for no gain. On the next play Washington ran for a gain of five yards and was only brought down due to a game saving facemask which gave the Seahawks first and goal from the two yard line. On the first play they tried Justin Forsett to the left which he was tackled for no gain. Whitehurst then attempted two passes and both were incomplete as his struggles continued. The Seahawks were forced to settle for a Steven Hauschka 20 yard field goal to tie the score up at 3-3 as the quarter was almost over.

The Browns would respond to the field goal with an 11 play drive that ate up over six minutes. Facing a third and three from their own 24 yard line McCoy completed a 13 yard pass to extend the drive. Again on third and six from the 41 yard line McCoy completed another crucial seven yard pass to extend the chains. After that McCoy hit a 16 yard pass to the Seahawks 36 yard line. The Seahawks defense would get tough and stop the Browns. Dawson came out to try to make his second 50 plus yard field goal of the game. Dawson drilled the 53 yard field goal to give the Browns a 6-3 lead over the Seahawks in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks offense of course went three and out like they did all game long.

The Browns took over hoping to put the Seahawks away as they went on a 14 play 60 yard drive which ate up six and a half minutes. Starting from their own 34 yard line the Browns started to grind down the clock. First with a short pass for five yards, then with a run of a yard setting up a third and four. McCoy hit another key pass for nine yards to their own 49 yard line. On third and 11 from the 48 yard line McCoy ran up the middle for a gain of 12 yards to continue the drive. Michael Hardesty had a run of six yards to set up a third and four. The Browns surprised the Seahawks with a run call which went for six yards to extend the drive to the Seahawks 28 yard line. Hardesty then had a run of 15 yards to the Seahawks 13 yard line. The Browns went super consertative as they ran the ball three straight times. Had the Browns scored a touchdown given that there was a little over three minutes left in the game  that would have iced the game. Instead the Browns called on their field goal unit to try and go up six points. That is when Red Bryant came through once again blocking his second field goal attempt of the game as he is trying to go after Joe Nash's record. That blocked kick gave the Seahawks new life but their offense once again couldn't do anything. Whitehurst on fourth and 15 couldn't complete the pass as the Browns had possession again. The Seahawks were going to get the ball back but Bryant who had a great game headbutted a Browns offensive player drawing a penalty which iced the game. The Seahawks lost 6-3 as their offense did nothing. The Seahawks passing game was terrible which saw Charlie Whitehurst complete 12-30(40.0%) of his passes for 97 yards(3.2 YPA) with an interception as his quarterback rating was 35.0. The leading receiver was Sidney Rice who had two receptions for 38 yards while the rushing attack wasn't much better. The rushing game was led by Leon Washington who had 39 yards rushing on seven carries(5.6 YPC) who also had four receptions but just 10 yards. Justin Forsett had 23 yards on eight carries(2.9 YPC) in the game as well.

All in all, the Seahawks dropped a very winnable game which will sting at the end of the season. Had the Seahawks won they would be 3-3 instead they are 2-4 which leaves them three games back of the San Francisco 49ers who are 5-1 and actually that is 3.5 games back due to tiebreaker. I think it is safe to say there will be no more quarterback controversy as Whitehurst showed he isn't an NFL quarterback. With two weeks to prepare the offense was a joke and last year the Seahawks fired the offensive coordinator. At what point does the offensive failings fall on Pete Carroll's shoulders? Carroll better find some answers quick as the fans have turned on him because he let go over overrated veterans. This was a tough loss for sure never good to lose when you allow only six points both on fifty yard plus field goals.

Observations:

- The Seahawks passing game was struggling all game so why they called 35 pass plays(30 pass attempts, three sacks, two Whitehurst scrambles) is very confusing. The Seahawks threw the ball 70.0% of the time. The Browns were in the bottom three in the NFL against the run and although Marshawn Lynch was injured still should have ran more. During the game Washington averaged 5.6 yards per carry but only received seven carries. I know he isn't an every down back but still give him 13-17 carries and the Seahawks probably win this game.

While on topic with the run game this last game proved that Justin Forsett serves no purpose on this team. He was held to 23 yards rushing on eight carries(2.9 YPC) and something stood out in the redzone. The Seahawks have no power backs on their roster besides Marshawn Lynch. Forsett basically is a poor version of Washington so having both on your roster not to mention an undersized fullback is just stupid. The Seahawks must get a real fullback this offseason and replace Forsett with a goaline back who can record those tough yards when you need him to.

- Charlie Whitehurst had one of the worst performances I've seen in a while for a starting quarterback. Very rarely does a quarterback play the entire game while attempting 30 passes and somehow threw for under 100 yards. This was a very winnable game where a simple decent throw to Rice on that 38 yard completion and the Seahawks win the game. Had Whitehurst been able to throw for a touchdown when he had two cracks at it from the two yard line the Seahawks win this game as well. Pete Carroll gave up 20 spots in the second round and a third round pick for Whitehurst in a move that at the time was questionable looks downright horrible now.

So far Whitehurst has started three games for the Seahawks going 1-2 in those starts. The Seahawks are averaging only 8.7 points per game while Whitehurst was 46-89 passing(51.6%) for only 402 yards(4.5 YPA) with two touchdowns to three interceptions with a quarterback rating of 57.4 which is downright terrible. The defense played their best game of the Carroll era and it will go down as a loss which will remind fans of the 1992 Seahawks. Whitehurst who is a free agent at the end of the season in his short sample size has proven he isn't the answer for the Seahawks going forward.

- Pete Carroll is a defensive minded coach and his defense when Red Bryant has been healthy has been pretty good. Carroll is the head coach and team president which means the offensive shortcomings also fall on his shoulders. This offense minus the stretch where they used the no huddle(why not use the no huddle this game?!!!) has been terrible. Last year Carroll used his one fire the coordinator get out of jail free card. Carroll can't fire the offensive coordinator again in my opinion without first having his job examined in the process.

Whenever you lose a game 6-3 the fan base is going to be angry and rightfully so. The game plan was just plain  awful to have your backup quarterback throw 70% of the time in a game in which at most you trailed by three points. The Seahawks should have put the ball in Leon Washington and Sidney Rices hands more instead of second tier tight ends. The offensive game plan was terrible and although Carroll has no say on the offensive gameplan as head coach that ultimately falls on his lap. Carroll is now 9-13 as Seahawks head coach and 10-14 if you include the playoff games. I think like most college successful coaches Carroll is realizing that in the NFL you have to draft you can't just sign all the best kids because of where you are located. You have to actually evaluate talent instead of offer 25 scholarships to the best kids in the country. The Whitehurst mistake is squarely on Carroll as that move has been nothing short of a disaster.

In conclusion, the Seahawks lost the probably the most boring game in close to a decade. At least in a blowout I can turn the game off but this game was close so I sat through the entire snoozefest. The Seahawks lost a very winnable game because the offensive gameplan was horrible. The Charlie Whitehurst experiment needs to end as he clearly isn't better than Tarvaris Jackson. Carroll has a ton of work to do as the offseason much like this past offseason will be spent on drafting nothing but offensive guys. The Seahawks lost to a bad football team 6-3 in a game which will haunt them throughout the season.

Seahawks comeback falls short loses to Falcons 30-28

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(1-3) found themselves trailing 27-7 to the Atlanta Falcons(2-2) in a game at home. The Seahawks stormed back to pull within 30-28 but a 61 yard field goal attempt by Steve Hauschka was wide left as the Seahawks fell just short. The Seahawks offense easily played their best ball of the season in the second half led by Tarvaris Jackson who threw for over 300 yards. He also threw for three touchdowns once again connecting on a deep pass to Sidney Rice. The Seahawks defense couldn't stop Matt Ryan early in the game while Michael Turner scored two touchdowns as well. The Seahawks were torched by the Falcons receiver duo of Julio Jones and Roddy White. The Seahawks will now have to go on the road for the next two weeks after falling to 1-3 their worst start since 2009 when they went 5-11.

The game started off terribly for the Seahawks as they went three and out. The Falcons took over on their own 28 yard line would go on a 12 play 72 yard drive having taken up over seven minutes on the drive. The drive would begin with two straight runs to Turner for nine yards. On third and one Ryan would hit Julio Jones for a five yard gain. After no gain, Ryan would complete a pass to Tony Gonzalez for a gain of nine yards. Turner would rush for three yards to record the first down to the Seahawks 46 yard line. Former Oregon State running back Jacquiz Rodgers would rush for seven yards then follow that up with an 11 yard run to the Seahawks 28 yard line. Ryan would connected on a pass over the middle to White for a gain of 26 yards to the Seahawks one yard line. After the Seahawks stopped Turner on the one yard line the Falcons finally punched the ball through. Ryan on a play action pass threw the ball perfectly over the head of K.J.Wright to Gonzalez for the one yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead. The Falcons would have to wait until the second quarter before they would erupt on the Seahawks.

In the second quarter the Falcons would take advantage of a mistake by the Seahawks. The Seahawks on their own 36 yard saw Tarvaris Jackson throw an interception which was returned to the Seahawks 37 yard line. The boo birds were coming out on Jackson at that point although the Seahawks failures weren't resting just squarely on his shoulders. With the ball deep into Seattle territory didn't take long for the Falcons to score a touchdown. The drive would start off with Ryan hitting Turner with an eight yard completion to the Seahawks 29 yard line. Ryan would follow that up with an eight yard run of his own to the Seahawks 21 yard line. After an incompletion that is when Turner would score on a 21 yard touchdown run to his left. Turner simply out ran the Seahawks secondary for that touchdown to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead. The Seahawks were in desperate need to strike back against a team who was 13-3 just a year ago. The Seahawks offense which had showed no signs this season of making this into a game would survive their own fan base on the following drive. As for the Falcons this was just the start to a very big second quarter which saw the Falcons score 17 points.

After a horrible kickoff return the Seahawks began down 14-0 on their own 16 yard line. The drive would start off with a Marshawn Lynch two yard run to the 18 yard line. Jackson would throw an incomplete pass setting up a third and eight on the 18 yard line. That is when Jackson would show the Seahawks 12th man a glimpse of what he is capable of doing. Jackson would hit rookie receiver Doug Baldwin for a 30 yard gain to their own 48 yard line. On the following play Jackson would have a hard count causing the Falcons to jump offsides which meant a free play for the Seahawks offense. Jackson looked to his right and saw his former Minnesota teammate Sidney Rice wide open as he hit him with a perfect pass. Rice would walk into the endzone untouched for the 52 yard touchdown pass by Jackson to cut the lead down to 14-7. The Seahawks were right back in the game. Unfortunately, the Seahawks would have that quick momentum taken away as the defense still couldn't stop the Falcons.

The Falcons would respond by going on an 11 play, 72 yard drive which lasted over six minutes. The drive would begin with Ryan completing a pass to Turner for a gain of 10 yards. Facing a third and 13 from their own 35 yard line Ryan would hit rookie receiver Julio Jones for a gain of 29 yards to the Seahawks 36 yard line. On third and seven from the Seahawks 33 yard line Ryan would hit White for a gain of 15 yards to the Seahawks 18 yard line. Ryan would hit White again for a gain of 16 yards to the Seahawks two yard line. After a short run by Turner to the one yard line, Turner would finish the drive off in style. It had appeared Turner was going to be stopped short but instead he did his best Bo Jackson impression making LeRoy Hill his Brian Bosworth. Turner scored on the touchdown giving the Falcons a 21-7 lead. The Falcons would force a three and out while then going on a nine play drive which accounted for 33 yards. The half would end when Matt Bryant would drill the 47- yard field goal giving the Falcons a commanding 24-7 lead at halftime.

The Falcons would begin the second half with the ball on their own 20 yard line. Ryan would once again hit Jones for a gain of 45 yards to the Seahawks 35 yard line. The Seahawks would stop the Falcons after that forcing a long field goal attempt by Bryant again going into the Hawks Nest. Bryant would drill the 50-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 27-7 lead which had everyone thinking this game was going to get ugly. The Falcons to that point were not being stopped and minus one long pass the Seahawks offense wasn't doing anything. Well that would change as the Seahawks offense would finally wake up to make this into a game again.

The Seahawks would receive a nice 36 yard return from Leon Washington to their own 39 yard line. Lynch would rush for three yards, then catch a pass for five yards setting up a third and two. Justin Forsett would rush for three yards giving the Seahawks a first down at midfield. Jackson would once again hit his rookie receiver Baldwin for a gain of 20 yards to the Falcons 30 yard line. Jackson would dump the ball off to Washington for a gain of four yards to the Falcons 26 yard line to set up a third and six. That is when Jackson would hit a receiver who hasn't been thrown to very much this season. Jackson would connect with Mike Williams for a gain of 19 yards. After a short gain by Washington then an incomplete pass the Seahawks were facing a third and goal. Jackson would connect with Williams for the six yard touchdown to pull the Seahawks within 27-14. For Williams that was his first touchdown reception of the season.

What would transpire next involved plenty of momentum swings. The Seahawks would record a stop on the Falcons. Then  on their own 28 yard line Jackson would complete a 26 yard pass to Lynch to the Falcons 46 yard line. He would then hit Baldwin for a gain of 11 yards. Jackson would complete a pass to Forsett for a gain of 17 yards to the Falcons 18 yard line. Jackson would throw an interception intended for Zach Miller to the Falcons five yard line. Seattle would then force a three and out. Washington would take the punt 33 yards to the Falcons 11 yard line. The Seahawks would waste little time as they handed the ball to Lynch. Lynch would bust the run for 11 yards for the touchdown. That touchdown would close the lead to 27-21 and for Lynch that would be his first touchdown of the season.

taken by Jimmy Hickey

The Falcons would go on a 13 play, 57 yard drive which took up six and a half minutes of clock. The drive would start on their own 20 yard line with Ryan hitting Jones for a gain of four yards. He would hit White for eight yards. On the 30 yard line Ryan would hit Gonzalez for a 22 yard gain to the Seahawks 48 yard line. On third and two from the Seahawks 40 yard line the Seahawks committed a five yard penalty give the Falcons a first down. Facing a third and eight from the Seahawks 33 yard line Ryan would hit Rodgers for a gain of 10 yards to the Seahawks 23 yard line. The Seahawks defense would deny them of the endzone which brought on Bryant again. Bryant would make the 42 yard field goal to give the Falcons a 30-21 lead. Due to a poor kickoff the Seahawks would still have life left in them.



The Seahawks would respond with a nine play, 60 yard touchdown drive to make the game interesting. Lynch would begin the drive with a six yard run to the Seahawks 46 yard line, Jackson would complete a pass to Ben Obomanu for a gain of 12 yards to the Falcons 42 yard line. Jackson would rush up the middle for a gain of 13 yards to the Falcons 29 yard line. Facing a critical third and nine Jackson would connect with Baldwin for a gain of 16 yards to the Falcons 13 yard line. Lynch would rush for two yards then catch a pass for another two yards which set up a critical third and six from the eight yard line. Jackson would scramble around buying time for his receivers to find a way to be open. Then Jackson found Obomanu wide open on the left side of the end zone for the easiest touchdown pass of his career. That would be Jackson's third touchdown pass of the game and more importantly pulled the Seahawks to within 30-28. The Falcons wouldn't score but would go on a 13 play, 37 yard drive while taking up over six minutes. By the time they punted the ball to the Seahawks there was only 1:49 left in the game. The Seahawks were starting from their own 15 yard line with only one timeout left in the game hoping to complete the comeback.

With the odds stacked against them Jackson would start the drive off with a nine yard pass to Forsett to the Seahawks 24 yard line. Forsett would rush up the middle for a gain of eight yards to the Seahawks 32 yard line. Jackson would complete a pass to Forsett for a gain of three yards, then to Baldwin for a gain of seven yards to their own 42 yard line. Jackson would hit Zach Miller for a gain of 13 yards to the Falcons 45 yard line with 22 seconds left. The Seahawks would spike the ball then see Rice be called for a false start pushing the ball back to the 50 yard line. Jackson would hit Miller for a gain of seven yards but would miss his throw on third down. Facing a fourth and eight with one timeout remaining the Seahawks elected to attempt the 61 yard field goal. Hauschka would miss the kick wide left as the Falcons would hang on for the 30-28 win improving to 2-2 while the Seahawks would fall to 1-3.

The Falcons controlled the time of possession for a little over 40 minutes as they put up 412 yards of total offense. The Falcons were led by Matt Ryan who was 28-42(66.7%) passing for 291 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Ryan also ran for 26 yards as well. Ryan's favorite targets were Julio Jones who had 11 receptions for 127 yards(11.5 YPC) and Roddy White who had six receptions for 78 yards(13.0 YPC). Ryan also hit hit tight end Tony Gonzalez for seven receptions for 56 yards(8.0 YPC) with a touchdown. Michael Turner carried the ball 26 times for 70 yards(2.7 YPC) with two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 18 yards to help the Falcons build an early lead on the Seahawks. The Falcons scored three touchdowns and three long field goals due to Matt Bryant to earn the victory on the road over the Seahawks.

For the Seahawks who saw their comeback effort fall just short they were led by Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson to date had his best game as a Seahawks quarterback completing 25 of his 38 passes(65.8%) for 319 yards(8.4 YPA) with three touchdowns to two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 96.3. Jackson also ran for 16 yards during the game. This game Jackson spread the ball around to his receivers. Doug Baldwin led the team with five receptions for 84 yards(16.8 YPC). He was followed up by Sidney Rice who had three receptions for 79 yards(26.3 YPC) with a touchdown. Mike Williams had three receptions for 36 yards(12.0 YPC) with a touchdown, Justin Forsett had three for 30 yards(10.0 YPC), Ben Obomanu had three for 25 yards with a touchdown. Zach Miller had three receptions for 21 yards while Marshawn Lynch had three for 33 yards.  Lynch also had just 24 yards rushing(3.0 YPC) with a touchdown on the day. The Seahawks fell behind early and couldn't run the ball effectively so they had no choice but to go to the air. Although the Seahawks lost at least for now Jackson quieted his home fan base from booing him after every incomplete pass.

All in all, the Seahawks must find a way to come out better in the first half. This season Pete Carroll has seen his team fall behind 19-0 in week one, 17-0 at halftime in week two, trailing 10-6 at halftime in week three to trailing this week 27-7. The Seahawks went toe to toe with one of the better teams in the NFC but in the NFL you are measured by wins and losses. The Seahawks are 1-3 as they are two games behind the San Francisco 49ers who hold tiebreaker so in reality they are two and a half games back. The Seahawks dropped a golden opportunity to jump into the NFC West race which is currently being held by Alex Smith and his 49ers. For the Seahawks to be successful for the rest of the year they have to match what their opponent is doing in the first half or this is going to be a very long season.

Observations:

- I thought Tarvaris Jackson played his best game as a Seahawks quarterback. He actually played better than any regular season game Matt Hasselbeck played in last season as well. Jackson completed 65.8% of his passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns. Of his two interceptions one wasn't his fault. The reason the Seahawks were back in this game was because Jackson was making plays with his arm. Jackson had seven different receivers with at least three receptions in the game showing he was sharing the wealth.

For the season Jackson has completed 62.2% of his passes for 846 yards(6.3 YPA) with five touchdowns passing and four interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 80.0. Jackson won't make you forget about Hasselbeck but it is time for the fans to give him a chance. If he is playing terrible then yea you can boo him but during today that was getting annoying. Jackson was the only reason the Seahawks even had a chance at the end of the game.

- For Pete Carroll this was a tough loss as the Seahawks fall to 1-3 and he falls to 8-12 as Seahawks head coach. I felt Carroll blew it at the end of the game by attempting the 61 yard field goal. The best chance was to let Jackson complete that fourth and eight pass then call timeout to kick the game winning field goal. Carroll did have his team ready and I will say the Seahawks aren't quitting on him like they did last year when they lost nine games by 15 points or more. The Seahawks have twice this year almost came back from large deficits only to fall short. In the NFL you have complete those comebacks or else you are in for a rough season. The Seahawks are now 1-3 with two east coast games then the bye week. This is the most critical stretch of the season for the Seahawks. Lose both games your season is over. Even a split will put the Seahawks at 2-4 which will make it hard to recover from that.

In conclusion, the Seahawks lost a winnable game today which is going to hurt going forward. If the Seahawks had any chances of being a playoff team they needed to win today's game in my opinion. Like I said for a franchise who hasn't won on the east coast since 2007 playing the New York Giants in New  York will be a tough challenge. The Seahawks can't afford to go 1-4 with another road game. This is critical to see if this season will matter or if the fans will be doing mock drafts by Halloween. For the Seahawks they can't accept close losses anymore they must find ways to win games like today or their season is in danger of being irrelevant.

Seattle Seahawks 2011 season preview

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks begin year two of the Pete Carroll era much like last season. Last season the Seahawks made plenty of changes and had low expectations. Well despite making several key acquisitions and coming off a season in which they won the division title the Seahawks are picked by many to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks will begin this for the first time since 2000 without Matt Hasselbeck who was let go. Carroll is reshaping this roster with plenty of activity and remember last season he made a few midseason trades. I don't expect this year to be any different as Carroll inherited a mess and is trying to turn the roster as fast as possible.

Last season the Seahawks became the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a 7-9 record as they won the NFC Western Division championship for the fifth time in seven seasons. Then after everyone ragged on the Seahawks all season long they shocked everyone in the playoffs beating the defending super bowl champions New Orleans Saints 41-36. In that upset win the star of the game was departed quarterback Matt Hasselbeck who would throw for a playoff career high four touchdowns. Marshawn Lynch also busted a game clinching touchdown that went 67 yards where he broke eight different tackles. The Seahawks season would ultimately end the following week in a 35-24 loss to the Chicago Bears which nobody knew at the time would be the final game for Matt Hasselbeck in a Seahawks uniform. Hasselbeck would throw seven touchdown passes in two playoff games for the Seahawks.

Now that the Seahawks decided to get rid of Matt Hasselbeck the franchise is in the rebuilding process. The Seahawks did make plenty of offseason moves which shows they are committed to winning this year and beyond. Last year everyone thought the Seahawks were tanking and when they had a chance to tank they won that key game against the St.Louis Rams. By winning that game the Seahawks would have had the 8th pick in the NFL draft but instead had the 25th pick. The Seahawks did win their division and a playoff game which had a great moment for the Seahawks franchise. This season is about turning the page as the Seahawks don't really have a face of the franchise anymore. The Seahawks let go Matt Hasselbeck on offense and Lofa Tatupu on defense which shows there is a changing of the guard. In this following season preview I'll break down each position of the Seahawks team.

Quarterbacks:

Despite being outplayed all preseason by Charlie Whitehurst the Seahawks are sticking with Tarvaris Jackson all preseason as their starting quarterback. If Jackson keeps playing poorly he will be pulled in favor of Whitehurst. Jackson with the Minnesota Vikings is 10-10 as a starting quarterback while completing 58.7% of his passes for 3,984 yards. He has thrown for 24 touchdowns to 22 interceptions in his career. Jackson some feel doesn't receive a fair chance with the whole Brett Favre saga well here in Seattle this is most likely his last chance to be a regular starting quarterback. Jackson is familiar with the offense as his top receiver Sidney Rice and offensive coordinator come from Minnesota. This is a make or break season for Jackson or else Whitehurst will take advantage.

Last season the Seahawks traded quite a bit to acquire Charlie Whitehurst even though he had never thrown a pass. Last season Whitehurst made two starts where he completed 57.6% of his passes for 507 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Whitehurst did start the final game of the year where the Seahawks won the NFC West title 16-6 over the St.Louis Rams in which Whitehurst played poised. Whitehurst completed 22 of 36 passes and most importantly didn't turn the ball over. Whitehurst did all that he could do to win the job in preseason and by doing so if Jackson struggles out of the gate look for Whitehurst to take over. You sure can tell Matt Hasselbeck isn't in Seattle anymore as the Seahawks have a quarterback controversy.

Running Backs:

The Seahawks have three running backs that they feel very comfortable with. First I'll start off with Marshawn Lynch who the Seahawks acquired during the season. In 12 games with the Seahawks Lynch led the team in rushing with 573 yards(3.5 YPC) and six touchdowns. Lynch also caught 21 passes for 138 yards. In the playoffs many remember Lynch having that memorable run against the Saints but he was also having his best game as a Seahawk to that point. Lynch would finish that playoff win rushing for 131 yards on 19 carries(6.9 YPC) with a memorable touchdown run. This year with an offensive line still trying to find themselves Lynch's hard rushing style will be crucial for the Seahawks. Whenever you are having problems in the passing game you tend to lean on the run. Lynch will have to receive most of the carries this season as he is the big physical type of back that Carroll wants in his offense.

The other two running backs for the Seahawks are smaller quicker backs. First I'll start with Justin Forsett who last season ran for 523 yards(4.4 YPC) and two touchdowns. Forsett also caught 33 passes for 252 yards last season. In 2009 Forsett ran for 619 yards(5.4 YPC) and four touchdowns. He also caught 41 passes for 350 yards with a touchdown. The other back who should help out on third downs is return specialist Leon Washington. Washington last year ran for 100 yards(3.7 YPC) and a touchdown. He also caught nine passes for 79 yards last season. With the new kickoff rules look for Washington to be involved in the offense more. Washington last season was second team all-pro returner behind Devin Hester as he had 1,461 kickoff return yards with three touchdowns and 249 punt return yards including an 84 yard return. The Seahawks will also go with fullback Michael Robinson who last season ran for 77 yards(6.4 YPC), caught eight passes for 43 yards and completed a 28 yard pass. The Seahawks running game hasn't produced a 1,000 yard rusher since 2005 when Shaun Alexander won the NFL MVP award.

Wide Receiver:

Last season Carroll found his former USC standout Mike Williams who had been out of the NFL for two seasons. The former first round bust was huge for the Seahawks. Without Williams last season the Seahawks don't make the playoffs. Last year Williams caught 65 passes for 751 yards with two touchdowns. Last year Williams had three games where he had double digit receptions including two against division rival Arizona Cardinals. Williams combined to catch 22 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown as the Seahawks swept the two-time defending division champions. In the playoffs Williams was on fire against the Saints with five receptions for 68 yards with a touchdown. Against the Bears he caught four passes for 15 yards and two touchdowns. Williams at times last year showed he wasn't ready for the long haul of an NFL season which was to be expected. Williams went from a guy out of the NFL for two seasons hoping to make the roster to the teams #1 receiver. Now this year Williams will have another tall target standing opposite of him. That will help Williams slide over the #2 receiver on the team which should help Williams become more consistent.

This offseason the Seahawks signed former pro bowl wide receiver Sidney Rice of the Vikings as first reported by our very own Insider Steve and later confirmed by Jay Glazer. Rice comes to the Seahawks signing a five year 41 million dollar contract. Rice is only 24 years old and showed in 2009 he can be the #1 receiver the Seahawks are lacking. The Seahawks haven't sent a wide receiver to the pro bowl as a receiver since 1989 with Brian Blades. With Rice the Seahawks land a receiver who has 146 career receptions for 2,129 yards and 18 touchdowns. His pro bowl season of 2009 he had 83 receptions for 1,312 yards with 8 touchdowns. Rice is a big receiver at 6'4" 200 lbs which will make life difficult on opposing defenses in the red zone. With Rice and Mike Williams the Seahawks now have two big targets they can lob the ball up to for a touchdown. The Seahawks are hoping with a new and improved offensive line they can finally put some points on the board.

The other Seahawks receivers will be second year wide receiver Golden Tate. Last year Tate had a dissapointing season with just 21 receptions for 227 yards. Tate also did some returning with 202 punt return yards including a 63 yarder. The Seahawks will have special teams standout Ben Obomanu(just like that has the third most experience on the team) who last year had a breakout season. Obomanu had 30 receptions for 494 yards with four touchdowns. In the two playoff games he had nine receptions for 111 yards. The Seahawks also kept rookie wide receivers Doug Baldwin(5'11" , 190 lbs) from Stanford and Kris Durham(6'5", 209 lbs) from Georgia. The Seahawks will also later in the year gain back Deon Butler who caught 36 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns. Overall this is probably the strength of the Seahawks team with the two giants in Williams and Rice. Just a matter of finding a quarterback who can get the ball to these guys.

Tight Ends:

The Seahawks this past offseason went out and signed former Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller. It was a good thing the Seahawks signed Miller as they lost their own starting tight end for the past three seasons John Carlson for the season. Miller is a pass catching machine who is actually younger than Carlson. In his four year career he has caught 226 passes for 2,712 yards with 12 touchdowns. Last season for the Raiders he caught 60 passes for 685 yards with five touchdowns. In 2009 he caught 66 passes for 805 yards with three touchdowns. Miller is an athletic tight end and for a team who will most likely have some quarterback issues this season having Miller will be much needed. Miller will help the team in the passing game this season and beyond.

The other tight ends on the roster are second year tight end Anthony McCoy who Carroll coached at USC. Last year he was a sixth round pick of the Seahawks but did not play in any games. The other tight end will be Dominique Byrd who was a third round pick back in 2006 who is also out of USC. Like with Mike Williams, Carroll will try and work his magic on Byrd who has just six career receptions for 83 yards with a touchdown in his brief career. Byrd hasn't played in the NFL since 2007 when he played for the St.Louis Rams. The Seahawks tight end situation definitly doesn't look as solid as a few weeks when Carlson factored into the equation. As is the Seahawks still feature Miller who is one of the better tight ends in the NFC which will be nice.

Offensive Line:

When the Seahawks reach their first and only Super Bowl back in 2005 that team featured two first-team all-pro offensive lineman plus a probowl center. The Seahawks that offseason let Steve Hutchinson walk and the offensive line hasn't been the same since. Walter Jones retired after the 2009 season even though he last played a game in the 2008 season. Now the Seahawks offensive line features some talent led by 6th pick overall Russell Okung. The Seahawks are also a young offensive line featuring basically a second year player in Max Unger(missed all of last season), Okung and rookies in James Carpenter and John Moffitt. The only veteran is newcomer Robert Gallery. The Seahawks offensive line is the one unit most hurt by the NFL lockout as they have no continuity playing together.

The Seahawks offensive line will be coached by former Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable(went 8-8 last season). Cable will whip his boys in shape but the problem is like I said four of the players haven't played many games. The Seahawks have some veterans in Tyler Polumbus who started some games last year all over the offensive line and brought in Breno Giacomini to compete with the struggling Carpenter. I think this unit in 2012 should be a good unit. Unfortunately this year is 2011 and I think you'll see some growing pains with this offensive line due to the youth.

Defensive Line:

This is probably the strength of the Seahawks defense which features a couple of good run stoppers and two pass rushers. The main guy on the defensive line is Chris Clemons who Carroll traded for last offseason. Clemons was a big surprise for the Seahawks as he led the team with 11 sacks last season. Having Clemons record 11 sacks was huge for the Seahawks last season as their secondary was weak so having a pass rush was pretty signficant. Clemons last year played big in the NFC West championship game over the St. Louis Rams and the Seahawks will need him to continue to bring the pressure on opposing quarterbacks if they have any chance of repeating.

The Seahawks other pass rusher was veteran Raheem Brock who record nine sacks last season. Brock had 2.5 sacks in the win over the Rams for the NFC West title. In the playoffs Brock recorded a sack against the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. With Brock and Clemons the Seahawks received 20 sacks.  The Seahawks also return defensive end Red Bryant from injury. Bryant is a run stuffer and when he was on the Seahawks for the first six weeks the Seahawks were 4-2 and second in the entire NFL in rush defense. His impact was missed greatly once he went down. Then at the defensive tackle positions the Seahawks return Brandon Mebane who is 6'1" 311 lbs and has the ability to create a pass rush but is mainly a run stuffer up the middle. He'll be joined with former Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Alan Branch who is 6'6" 338 lbs who is also a run stuffer. The Seahawks due to this defensive line will be a hard team to run the ball on. The Seahawks will also be tough as they have two defensive ends who can create a pass rush.

Linebackers:

The Seahawks this past offseason released the face of the defense middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu. Now the face should be Aaron Curry but so far in two seasons he hasn't lived up to the 4th pick overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. As a rookie Curry recorded just 61 tackles in 14 games with only two sacks. Last season Curry was a little bit better with 73 tackles in 16 games and only four sacks. He hasn't been the playmaking outside linebacker that the organization was hoping they'd acquire when he was drafted. This past offseason Carroll had Curry restructure his contract so Curry is in a make or break season. If Curry doesn't produce this season look for him to be let go as Carroll has shown anyone who underachieves shall be cut loose. Hopefully Curry can play like he did in the playoffs where he had seven tackles against the Saints including five solo. Then against the Chicago Bears he had his first professional interception which he ran back 23 yards to spark a late Seahawks rally. Curry needs to start producing for this defense to be successful or else it will be another long season for the Seahawks defense.

The Seahawks do gain back Leroy Hill who is one of two players left on the roster from the Super Bowl team in 2005. Hill is probably the Seahawks best linebacker and will finally have a chance to be the "man" after being in Tatupu's shadows and Julian Peterson's. Hill as a rookie had 7.5 sacks then from 2006-2008 he was a tackle machine. In 2006 Hill recorded 92 tackles, in 2007 he recorded 81 and then 84 in just 12 games in 2008. He was a monster in the 2007 playoffs recording 13 tackles and a sack in the win over the Washington Redskins and he followed that up with 11 tackles and a sack in the loss to the Green Bay Packers. The man filling in for Tatupu is David Hawthorne who has been the starting middle linebacker when Tatupu was hurt in 2009 and outside linebacker for the injured Hill. Hawthorne had 117 tackles in 2009 and 106 last season. In 2009 he had four sacks and three interceptions. Hawthorne is more than capable of starting in the NFL as he has proven to be an NFL linebacker despite not being drafted in the 2008 NFL draft out of TCU. The Seahawks linebackers have plenty of potential to be a successful unit just a matter of playing to their potential.

Secondary:

The Seahawks secondary appears to be the weakest part of the team despite featuring the new face of the franchise and another guy with the longest tenure on the roster. First I'll start with second year player Earl Thomas. Last season as a rookie Thomas was named a pro-bowl alternate as he was a playmaking safety. Last season Thomas recorded 75 tackles with five interceptions. Thomas also just turned 22 years old and will only get better. The rookie from Texas last season was a big part of the Seahawks winning the division. Thomas was huge in the win over the San Diego Chargers as he picked off Phillip Rivers twice in that game including the game ending interception as the Chargers were trying to tie the game up. With Thomas the Seahawks have a great building piece on their defense.

The man with the most experience as a Seahawk is Marcus Trufant. Trufant entering his ninth season in Seattle will have to play like he did in 2007 where he had 85 tackles and seven interceptions plus an interception that went for  a touchdown in the playoff win over the Redskins. Since that year though Trufant has had just four interceptions with plenty of pass interference penalty's. Like Curry the Seahawks restructered Trufant's contract so this is most likely his final season in Seattle. Starting opposite of Trufant will be second year Walter Thurmond who was a fourth round pick from the Oregon Ducks last season. Thurmond will be competing with CFL star Brandon Browner who is from the Oregon State Beavers. The other starting safety besides Thomas is second year safety Kam Chancellor from Virginia Tech. Other than Trufant the Seahawks will be starting three second year players which shows the 2010 draft was pretty good but this year could be a long year for the secondary.

Kicking:

The Seahawks kicking game will see a new field goal but return punter Jon Ryan. Ryan has been solid for the Seahawks as he enters his fourth season with the Seahawks. Last season Ryan averaged 41.7 yards per punt with 27 of his 78 punts inside the 20, nine inside the 10, 23 were fair caught and only one was a touchback. His average has decline over his first two years but so has his touchbacks. With Ryan the Seahawks know they have a punter who can down his opponent deep into their own territory which should help the defense out. The Seahawks this offseason let go of Olindo Mare and originally signed Jeff Reed. Due to Reed being unable to kick the ball in the endzone on kickoffs the Seahawks parted ways with him and Brandon Coutu. The Seahawks did sign Steve Hauschka who kicked the game winning kick to defeat the Seahawks in Denver in the third preseason game. Hauschka in his career has made 16-22(72.7%) of his field goals and can kick the ball in the endzone on kickoffs unlike Reed. With the new kickoff rule it's an absolute must to have a kicker who can kick the ball deep in the endzone to make the opponent start off on the 20 yard line. The Seahawks have had good success in the past with field goal kickers hopefully the move to release Reed and ultimately letting Mare walk won't bite the Seahawks in the end.

Coaching:

Before Pete Carroll only two Seahawks coach had ever led the Seahawks to the playoffs. The same coaches also led the Seahawks to the playoffs in their first season. Chuck Knox like Carroll won a playoff game in his first season with the Seahawks. Mike Holmgren like Carroll won the division title in his first season like Carroll did last year. The Seahawks may have only went 7-9 but considering everyone expected them to be terrible that was good coaching. To defeat the New Orleans Saints was great coaching. Carroll won plenty of games at USC and didn't do as poorly as many think with the New England Patriots.

Now this is Carroll's second season with the team as head coach and president. Carroll is putting his stamp on his team. Very few players remain from the Holmgren era or even the one year Mora era. Carroll has blown up this roster and for the most part every player on the roster is a Pete Carroll player. Of the active 53 man roster only 10 players were on the roster in 2009 under Jim Mora. The Seahawks have brought in 43 players since 2009 so there has been a major lift in the Seahawks roster under Carroll. This year might be a trying year for Carroll but I do believe he is a good coach even though he is the second oldest head coach in the NFL.

Outlook:

I see the Seahawks not having history repeat itself this year. I don't see the Seahawks surprising everyone like they did a year ago. The Seahawks early schedule is brutal and with so much turnover on the roster that could be rough. The Seahawks have four road games in the first six games including three back east. The Seahawks also face three 10+ wins in the first six as well. With the quarterback situation being so much up in the air look for the Seahawks to be 5-11 this year if not worse. I was going to say 6-10 but after what I saw in preseason I'm not so optimistic anymore.

I do think the Seahawks will be in pretty good shape next year when they draft that franchise quarterback. Next year in the draft you should have Andrew Luck, Landry Jones and Matt Barkley. The Seahawks have a young talented offensive line that should be pretty good once they have played together. The receivers are both tall and young which should help along with Miller the tight end. The Seahawks have just two players from ages 31-34 so they are in full rebuilding mode right now. In the NFL it doesn't pay to be average so I don't mind that approach. That just means this year is going to be tough to watch at times especially when Jackson is the quarterback.

All in all, I hope you liked my season preview of the Seahawks. I know I didn't say what the 12's wanted me to say but I had to be honest with this team. There is way too much turnover for a team who had no offseason to practice together. The Seahawks are one of the teams hurt most by the lockout as they have a brand new offensive line and offense in general. Max Unger only starter on offense from the Tim Ruskell era which was just two seasons ago. Now the Seahawks will be rebuilding and hopefully the fans give Carroll an one season free pass. The Seahawks will be drafting a quarterback in the first round next season as they currently don't have their franchise quarterback on their current roster. The 2011 season looks to be a rough one for the Seahawks but hopefully like last year they prove me wrong.

Seahawks win NFC West Championship over Rams 16-6!

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(7-9) set history when they defeated the St.Louis Rams(7-9) to win the NFC West Division title. The Seahawks are the first team ever in a 16 game schedule to reach the playoffs with a losing record. To make matters worse the Seahawks will also host a playoff game against the New Orleans Saints who won four more games and defeated the Seahawks. The Seahawks didn't make up the rules they are just playing by them and the Seahawks with backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst defeated the Rams 16-6. With Whitehurst smart passing and a great defense Pete Carroll won a division title in his first year back in the NFL in over a decade.



In a big game with a backup quarterback many figured the Seahawks would come out featuring the run. Instead the Seahawks came out throwing with Whitehurst in shotgun hit Justin Forsett for a gain of 13 yards. On the next play Whitehurst found a wide open Ruvell Martin for a gain of 61 yards. Whitehurst still throwing hit Forsett for a gain of four yards. Facing a third down the Rams committed a crucial holding penalty giving the Seahawks first and goal from the seven. After completing a pass to Golden Tate, Whitehurst hit Mike Williams for a touchdown from four yards out to give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead.

The Seahawks defense would stuff the Rams the first three series of the game holding the Rams to just 23 yards on 10 plays. The Rams would then go on a 13 play 83 yard drive which resulted in a Josh Brown 32 yard field goal. The Seahawks defense did a good job of holding the Rams to just three points. Seahawks defense would three and out the Rams on the next two series. The Seahawks would head into halftime up 7-3. Whitehurst was 15 of 20 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

In the second half as the Seahawks were at their own 28 when Whitehurst completed a pass to Marshawn Lynch who then fumbled the ball. The Rams trailing 7-3 had the ball on the Seahawks 21. The Rams then had first and goal from the six yard line but after a costly penalty had to settle for a Josh Brown 27 yard field goal. The Rams did cut the lead to 7-6.



The Seahawks feeling momentum slipping away had a key scoring drive. The drive began when Lynch ran for 24 yards. After a penalty and facing a second and 17, Forsett then ran for 21 yards. Facing a third and four Whitehurst hit Mike Williams for a gain of six then shortly after that hit Leon Washington for a gain of 10 yards. The Seahawks had the ball on the Rams 15 yard line but would settle for an Olindo Mare field goal 31 yard field goal to give the Seahawks a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter the Seahawks would extend their lead when Whitehurst would hit Ben Obomanu for a gain of 13 yards to the Rams 35 yard line. Lynch would rush for another 13 yard run to the Rams 22. The Seahawks would have to settle for a Mare 38 yard field goal to extend the Seahawks lead 13-6 over the Rams with over 10 minutes to go in the game.



With under nine minutes to go in the game the Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford finally made a rookie mistake. Trailing by seven points with the ball on the Seahawks 46 yard line Bradford threw a costly interception to Seahawks linebacker Will Herring. The Seahawks then went on a 13 play 47 yard drive eating up over seven minutes in time which ended with another field goal by Mare to go up 16-6. The Seahawks offense didn't do much but did just enough to get the win.



The Seahawks defense which has been getting crushed lately stepped up. The Seahawks defense held Steven Jackson to just 45 yards rushing. The defense also pressured Sam Bradford as Bradford completed 19 of 36 passing for 155 yards with an interception. The defense sacked Bradford three times with Raheem Brock getting 2.5 sacks on Bradford. The Seahawks defense allowed the offense to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.



This year hasn't been pretty but the Seahawks are back in the playoffs. The Seahawks winning their fifth division title in the last seven years get to raise up another division championship banner. Pete Carroll and Charlie Whitehurst seen to the right hugging who would have thought that a year ago when the team had quit under floundering head coach Jim Mora. The Seahawks are in the playoffs and despite what people say the Seahawks have earned it. You play to win the division and Carroll was brought in here to win games. Carroll won just enough games this year and the Seahawks will host a playoff game this Saturday. It will be nice seeing playoff football at Qwest field once again.

Observations:


- Charlie Whitehurst finally took advantage of his opportunity and now we have a quarterback controversy. Whitehurst finished the game completing 22 of 36 passes for 192 yards passing with a touchdown for a quarterback rating of 84.5. Whitehurst also ran for 30 yards extending a couple of drives.

Whitehurst most importantly didn't turn the ball over which has been a problem for Matt Hasselbeck. On the year Whitehurst was 57 of 99(57.6%) for 507 yards(5.1 YA) with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown. His quarterback rating is 65.5.

Hasselbeck was 266 of 444(59.9%) for 3,001 yards(6.8 YA) for 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Hasselbeck has three rushing touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 73.2. So who Carroll chooses to start should be an interesting decision.

I'll break it down in a few days who I think should start at quarterback. Whitehurst was the player of the game though given the circumstances. The season was on the line and he took the opening drive for a touchdown then played smart the rest of the game.

- Leon Washington had a nice all around game. I'm glad he is being used more on the offense. Washington had three kickoff returns for 62 yards, six punt returns for 25 yards, caught three passes for 24 yards and also ran for four yards. Washington is a nice spark plug and how the Seahawks used him was perfect. If it wasn't for Devin Hester, Washington would be going to the pro bowl this year.



- The Seahawks ran the ball effectively especially in the second half. Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 20 times for 75 yards rushing and Justin Forsett added 28 yards on just three carries. Both backs were effective catching passes out of the backfield.

Forsett had 22 yards receiving on three catches and Leon Washington added 24 yards receiving on three catches. Marshawn Lynch also caught a pass. The Seahawks offensive line has been a work in progress all year long but when Lynch does have some holes to run through he has been taking advantage of those.

With the Seahawks Lynch finished with 573 yards rushing on 165 carries(3.5 YPC) with six touchdowns. He also caught 21 passes for 138 yards. Forsett finished with 523 yards on 118 carries(4.4 YPC) with two touchdowns. He also caught 33 passes for 252 yards. This is the first time in a while I like the Seahawks running backs just give them a line to run behind and the running game should be fine.



- Pete Carroll fled USC for a team who was 9-23 the last two years. He now has the Seahawks in the playoffs in his first year similar to what Mike Holmgren did when he first took over in 1999.

Carroll made plenty of risky moves in the offseason by releasing T.J.Housmandzadeh, trading Deion Branch midseason, trading for Whitehurst, trading for Chris Clemons who he is hugging on the picture to the right, etc. Carroll despite a roster that has bandaids over broken bones got more than enough out of this roster. This was a team many including myself figured would be drafting in the top three. The Seahawks will now take on the New Orleans Saints at home in the playoffs. The Seahawks are 4-1 all-time at Qwest Field.

Carroll and Schneider had a great first draft give them another year or two of that kind of drafting should be fun. Tim Ruskell really killed the Seahawks look up his drafts in the past which Carroll and Schneider are trying to recover. Carroll is a great motivator and hopefully this team can build on this win.

At the end of the day the Seattle Seahawks are the 2010 NFC West division champions. Nobody can take that away from this team. Despite having zero pro bowlers on the roster for the second straight year the Seahawks will be hosting a playoff game. Carroll won a division title with mostly castoffs that nobody wanted. The offensive line has been a work in progress all year, the quarterback play hasn't been good neither has the defense, the rushing game was historically awful yet the Seahawks are division champions. The 12th man will be loud and hungry for the playoffs and the Seahawks have nothing to lose. Regardless of what happens in the playoffs the Seahawks have already exceeded expectations this year.

Seahawks overcome slow start in 31-14 win over Panthers

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(6-6) overcame a slow start in defeating the Carolina Panthers(1-11) 31-14 at Qwest Field. This was the first game in Seattle for the Panthers since the NFC Championship game which was played in January of 2006. The Seahawks who lost Mike Williams early in the game counted on the running game for once. The Seahawks ran for 161 yards on 31 carries for a 5.2 YPC on the game. Behind the three rushing touchdowns of Marshawn Lynch and a defense that shut the Panthers out in the second half Pete Carroll saw his team respond. The Seahawks after falling behind early 14-0 scored 31 unanswered points and did what they had to do which was win the game to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The underdog Panthers came out and silent the Seahawks crowd quickly. The Panthers on their opening possession of the game drove 61 yards on 10 plays which ended on a Mike Goodson six yard touchdown run. The Panthers in the second quarter would go on another long drive which saw the Panthers go 79 yards on 10 plays which saw Jonathan Stewart rush for a three yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

The Seahawks crowd was booing the Seahawks who couldn't stop the Panthers or move the ball on offense either. The Seahawks offense had just 28 yards in 12 plays in the first quarter. The Seahawks were finally moving the ball in the second quarter until Matt Hasselbeck was intercepted. The boo birds were out as the fans were in disgust with how terrible the Seahawks looked against the worst team in the NFL. Then an ex-Seahawk may have inspired the current Seahawks.



At the two minute warning the Seahawks retired future hall of fame left tackle Walter Jones jersey. Jones played for the Seahawks from 1997-2009, he gave a speech in which the big man started to choke up. I'll talk more in depth on Jones later after that though the Seahawks drove down the field and got some points when Olindo Mare would kick the short field goal from 24 yards out. The Seahawks would go into halftime down 14-3. Now I don't know what Carroll said to the Seahawks or what but they were a different team in the third quarter.

The Seahawks began the second half with former pro bowl kick returner Leon Washington fumbled the ball and being down on the Seattle one yard line. The Seahawks would respond though and drive 99 yards on nine plays. The key plays in the drive was when Hasselbeck hit tight end Cameron Morrah for a 26 yard gain. Then Justin Forsett would rush for 31 yards and be horse collared which gave the Seahawks the ball on the Panthers nine yard line. After Hasselbeck hit Golden Tate where he broke a defender tackle to the Panthers on. On third and goal the Seahawks ran the ball to Marshawn Lynch for his third rushing touchdown of the season. The Seahawks had cut the lead to 14-10 and Qwest Field was starting to get loud once again.



The Seahawks if they hadn't already would snatch momentum on defense. Facing a third and one rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen tried to check the ball down but Lofa Tatupu intercepted the pass and ran it back for a 26 yard touchdown. The Seahawks then led 17-14 and for Tatupu that was the big play which saw him reach the pro bowl his first three years in the NFL including first team All-Pro in 2007. The Seahawks would force another stop which had the Panthers punt the ball to dangerous Leon Washington. Washington made a move and it appeared was gone but he slowed up just a bit to point to the crowd as he was tripped up by the Panthers punter down at the Panthers two yard line. That was an 84 yard punt return by Washington who has been terrific for the Seahawks this season on special teams.



The Seahawks wouldn't waste much time as Lynch would rush for another touchdown. Lynch would rush for his second touchdown of the game. The Seahawks would finish the third quarter up 24-14 while scoring 21 points in the quarter. The Panthers ran 14 plays for just 22 yards in the third quarter. The Seahawks defense came out fired up and shut down the Panthers while the offense set the tone with the 99 yard drive then scored touchdowns not field goals on their short yardage opportunity.

In the fourth quarter the Seahawks would continue to feature Lynch. Lynch would carry the ball six times in the fourth while rushing for 37 yards and caught a 17 yard pass. The Seahawks would put the game away with under five minutes to go when Forsett would rush for 19 yards to pick up a second and 17. Then Lynch would rush for a 22 yard touchdown to put the game out of reach 31-14. For Lynch he would finish with 21 carries for 83 yards with three touchdowns and one catch for 17 yards. Forsett would add 60 yards on six carries. When the Seahawks acquired Lynch they had visioned games like today with Lynch providing the power and Forsett the speed like they did at California.

The Seahawks had to feature the run since Matt Hasselbeck was missing Mike Williams for the second straight game. Hasselbeck finished 17 of 30 for 229 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Not one of Matt's better days that is for sure but he didn't play bad either. Hasselbeck is trying to get this inexperienced team to the playoffs. Carroll is counting on Hasselbeck for this month as the Seahawks are tied for first place in the division with just four games left in the season. The Seahawks took care of business because of the defense and run game. The Seahawks now travel to San Francisco next week for a critical NFC West game. The Seahawks will need Hasselbeck next week and for the rest of the month if they wish to be raising up another division championship banner.

Observations:



- Walter Jones was the anchor on the left side of the offensive line for so many years. He made the Pro Bowl a franchise record nine times(1999,2001-08) while also being named first team all-pro four times(2001,2004,2005,2007). Some may argue he is the greatest Seahawks player ever as he was more dominant as a Left Tackle than Steve Largent was as a receiver. He joins Largent as only the second player ever in franchise history to have his jersey retired.

I'm glad I got to see it on T.V. and hearing him getting all emotional was a touching moment. That could be the reason for having doing the ceremony at the two minute warning. That just seems weird to me to do it right then, why not before the game or at halftime like every other franchise does. In baseball you don't see them do that at the seventh inning stretch or in the NBA do that at a timeout. If this was Jones idea or if this was so the fans can see it at home then I accept that. Just wish it was handled differently but at the end of the day doesn't matter what I think or you think matters only to big Walt who was the greatest offensive lineman of his era.

- Leon Washington was a great draft day trade with the Jets. He won the Chargers game and gives the Seahawks great field position every game. Although he'll be made fun of for being caught from behind by a punter he did set up a crucial touchdown to put the Seahawks up 24-14. Washington has done it on kick off returns and now that he is returning punts is leading the league in punt return average. Washington's 84 yard punt return was huge. The Seahawks are mixing him in on offense today as well which is good. You saw Washington attempt a half back pass which didn't work, run twice for five yards. I'm just glad to see them featuring Washington a little bit in the offense.



- Marshawn Lynch easily enjoyed his best game as a Seattle Seahawks running back. Lynch carried the ball 21 times for 83 yards, scored three touchdowns and even caught a pass for 17 yards. Lynch was getting those tough yards. The Seahawks also finally gave him some carries today and let him do his thing. They didn't get cute in the goaline and with Russell Okung back the Seahawks should be able to run the ball better. Mix in Justin Forsett who had 60 yards on six carries the Seahawks have the pieces at running back to be a good running team. They just need to get better play from their offensive line. This was good progress by Lynch which was nice to see.

- The Seahawks receivers are becoming a mash unit with Mike Williams hurt. Ben Obomanu got hurt early one(2 catches for 40 yards) so somebody has to step up. Brandon Stokley is the new Bobby Engram third down specialist with four receptions for 47 yards on the day. The Seahawks need Deon Butler(4 catches for 43 yards) and Golden Tate(2 catches for 13 yards) step up or else Hasselbeck is going to keep struggling.

- Chris Clemons recorded his ninth sack of the year today. Clemons has been a great acquisition from the Philadelphia Eagles. Pete Carroll and John Scheinder made a ton of underated moves that nobody talked about at the time which have put the Seahawks in a position to win a division title. Clemons had just 20 career sacks heading into this year but did have eight sacks for the Oakland Raiders back in 2007. Clemons was asked to play every down and he has done a great job at rushing the quarterback. He currently ranks tied for third with seven guys in the NFC with nine sacks on the year.

The Seahawks led by the rushing attack and defense found a way to win this year. Now the Seahawks have four games left with two on the road and two at home. The Seahawks have two games against divisional opponents including last game of the year against the St.Louis Rams at home. The Seahawks with the win today improve to 4-2 at home which equals last seasons home win total. The Seahawks took care of business and regardless of what people may say just get in the playoffs and go from there. The Arizona Cardinals didn't exactly impress anyone in 2008 but they reached the playoffs at 9-7 and were one miracle catch away from winning the Super Bowl. The Seahawks at least this year have given the fans meaningful December games. Just remember the Seahawks wouldn't be here without some nice under the radar moves in the offseason.