Seahawks release Mike Williams

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks have announced that they have released wide receiver Mike Williams. Once again Pete Carroll is proving the myth that he is loyal to his former USC Trojans is false. Williams who had a decent sized contract and coming off of an unproductive season in 2011 meant he was on the chopping block. For Carroll he has the right attitude that all NFL teams must have which is "what have you done for me lately?" Now Williams who was a big part of the Seahawks winning the 2010 NFC West championship and had a productive playoffs was beaten out by younger guys in 2011. Williams production dropped off big time and he showed up to mini-camps in April fat which is what got him bounced from the NFL the first time around.

When Mike Williams came to Seattle in 2010 he was a former first round bust that his old college coach in his first year gave a chance to. Williams was an instant hit that season playing in 14 games making 13 starts he caught 65 passes for 751 yards(11.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. He became Matt Hasselbeck's favorite target that season as he played so well in the preseason the Seahawks cut T.J. Houshmanzdeh  and later traded Deion Branch away. Williams was productive especially against the divisional rivals Arizona Cardinals who had beaten the Seahawks four games in a row. Williams against the Cardinals caught 22 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown as the Seahawks finally swept the Cardinanls. In his first playoffs with the team in two games Williams caught nine passes for 83 yards with three touchdowns. The Seahawks rewarded Williams with a three-year contract after that terrific season.

Then the lockout happened, Hasselbeck was let go and the Seahawks signed Sidney Rice. They also brought in a new quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and Williams numbers declined. In 12 games, Williams made 10 starts he had only 18 receptions for 236 yards(13.1 YPC) with just one touchdown. Williams was held without a reception four times that year and had just one reception in two games. After the first game when he caught four passes he would never catch more than three passes in a game again. Rice was injured some but undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin came in with 51 receptions for 788 yards(15.5 YPC) with four touchdowns. Ben Obomanu and Golden Tate also outproduced Williams during the season as well. The Seahawks are also high on Ricardo Lockette who caught a 61 yard touchdown pass in the final game of the season, Deon Butler and Kris Durham who are mid round draft picks. There just wasn't room for Williams who had an awful season last year. I felt Jackson didn't look his way enough like Hasselbeck did but Williams was slow as well which hurt him.

I'm sad to see Williams go because he gave the Seahawks a wonderful 2010 season and had appeared he had turned it around. I do like this move because Carroll once again proves that what you did yesterday doesn't matter for today. Williams was an all-american receiver for him at USC and gave him a great comeback season in 2010 then after a bad year Carroll showed him the door. That is how Carroll operates with the Seahawks if a guy isn't being productive or there are younger guys willing to take his spot he'll show them the door regardless of what they have done for this team. The Seahawks although short on big names will be fine at the wide receiver spot. Carroll once again is continuing to clean house and rid this roster of lazy guys who are resting on their past achievements. If you are Marshawn Lynch you know that if you have a bad season there is a chance Carroll shows you the door so you have to come to camp ready to reproduce that season. That is what I love about the Seahawks, Carroll isn't afraid to cut a player who the fan base is attached to. He is simply here to do one job and one job only which is to win. For Mike Williams he helped this franchise win in 2010 but he isn't going to help this team in 2012 which I'm fine with.

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.

Seahawks Still Looking for That First Win

(Photo Courtesy of @RGray525)

By Wyatt Lyles

Another weekend, another chance for the Seahawks to finally get a win this season. I know that it's only been two weeks, but it just seems to have lasted a lot longer than that. Hopefully, that feeling will end tomorrow with a win in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals. 

If there was ever a time for the Seahawks to finally get things going, now would be the time. With all those fans in the CLink cheering on our guys, I would hope that they wouldn't want to let everyone down. Even though they haven't exactly inspired much confidence thus far in the season, I believe that the Seahawks will indeed win tomorrow. For that to happen, though, some things are going to have to change. 

First and foremost, the offense needs to find its groove. After being shut out by the Steelers last week, the Seahawks have now been shut out of 6 quarters from a possible 8. That is not good at all. There is no way you can expect to win games with those kinds of numbers. Now is the time for Tarvaris Jackson to stake his claim on the starting QB position on this team. Now is the time for him to show everyone why Pete Carroll named him starter before he even took a snap in practice. 

Luckily, he will have his #1 receiver back this week. Sidney Rice will finally make his regular season Seahawks debut tomorrow after sitting out the first two games with a shoulder injury. It is very clear from Jackson's words, and his actions, that he is much more comfortable when Rice is on the field. In practice, he often looks Rice's way frequently. This is understandable since they spent a considerable amount of time together in Minnesota. So hopefully with him back on the field, the offense can finally get going. 

It will take more than just Rice coming back, however. Jackson needs to start making better decisions on the field. Too often he stands around in the pocket way too long, and doesn't go through all his progressions like he should. And he can't blame the offensive line on him not having time anymore either. They did a much better job last week on giving him time. He just hardly ever looks down field. Right now, his yards per completion is average is sitting pretty at a whopping 5.4 yards. This has got to change if there is any hope of winning games. Having Rice back should help, but Jackson still needs to work with the other options he's got. Mike Williams is another 6 foot 5 guy out there who can catch most balls thrown his way. Jackson needs to use him. There's also the big tight end Zach Miller. Give this guy a chance to earn his $34 million salary and throw him the ball. 

The running game has also got to get things going. They've just been completely underwhelming at this point. Marshawn Lynch was supposed to be a breakout player this year, but that hasn't happened. So far, he's got 44 yards on 19 attempts, which is good for 2.3 yards per attempt. Tarvaris Jackson, the QB, is right behind him with 25 yards on 7 scrambles. That just can't happen. Last week, the Seahawks only had 31 net rushing yards, and Jackson had 12 of them. This run game is just ridiculous. They really need to step to up if they want to help this team win. 

Looking lastly at the defense, I'm hoping to see a much better overall showing from them this week. In week one, they looked phenomenal. In week two, not so much. Granted, it was against the Steelers, but still. There were times that they just look out of it. From Aaron Curry's dropped potential pick 6 to Brandon Browner just getting beat left and right by Pittsburgh receiver Mike Wallace, it just didn't look to hot. Now, they did do well in the red zone, and in goal line situations, but that's not enough in my eyes. They've got to stop the other team from even getting to the red zone. Furthermore, they haven't forced a turnover yet in the season. I'm hoping that one will finally come this week to give some help to the offense. 

I realize that this post may sound a bit melancholy, but like I said, they haven't exactly inspired confidence. That being said, though, I think this game is the perfect one for the Seahawks to finally get that first win and get their own confidence back. The Cardinals are a team that while, yes, they do look good, I think the Seahawks can beat them. I really do believe that. While it will actually happen, that remains to be seen. But I'm still going to predict a win for tomorrow. Look for the Seahawks to finally get some swagger after tomorrow. 

Seahawks 17 - Cardinals 14

Seahawks Take On the Angry Steelers

(Photo Courtesy of @RGray525)

By Wyatt Lyles


Tomorrow, the Seahawks will be taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is a matchup that a lot of Seahawks fans will react pretty negatively to given the fact that they're the ones who beat us in Super Bowl XL. So that already makes this a sort of grudge match. Couple that with the fact that the Seahawks just lost pretty badly to the 49ers last week and this is going to be a heated matchup to say the least. 

Last week, the Seahawks just did not look all that great against the 49ers. Well, everything except the defense, which was awesome, but I'll get to that later. The offense just could not get it going at all in the first half, and by the time they finally scored, it was in the 3rd quarter when they were down 16-0. That just can't happen. Period. If the Seahawks do that again this week against Pittsburgh, we're done for sure. 

The Steelers are going to come out swinging tomorrow. After being completely manhandled by the Ravens last week, they're going to be out for blood. I really wish that we didn't have to play them this week just for that reason. They don't want a repeat of last week, so they will make sure that it doesn't happen. I think they're going to be back to their normal selves this week, unfortunately for us. 

That being said, all hope is not lost for the Seahawks. The defense played very well last week against the 49ers, so if they can come back hard like that again, things may not go as everyone is predicting. The defense just needs to give the offense a chance to make something happen. If they can get some key stops against the Steelers, they just might be able to keep us in this game. 

But then the offense needs to take over, which is where the problem lies. The Seahawks offense just did not look good last week. Nothing happened until the second half, and even when it did happen, it was nothing spectacular. Yes, there was the 55-yard TD reception by Doug Baldwin, but you have to realize that the catch was only about 7 yards. The other 48 yards was from Baldwin's insane speed. So that TD wasn't because of how amazing Tarvaris Jackson is. Which, was a problem all day last Sunday. Tarvaris Jackson did not look like a guy who was comfortable running the offense at all. He often held onto the ball way too long, and when he finally passed, it was all short passes. He never looked down the field. That is something that has to change in order for the Seahawks to even have a chance of winning this game tomorrow. But I'm not too optimistic about it. 

The Seahawks will likely still be without their #1 receiver Sidney Rice, the one who Jackson is most comfortable with. So that is definitely continuing to be a big loss. Without him, I just don't see any big plays coming from this offense. While Mike Williams has the potential to do great things, he doesn't have the opportunity to do them when he doesn't get the ball. 

Robert Gallery will be back, though, which will hopefully mean that the offensive line will do better and Jackson will have more time to go through his progressions and maybe make some big plays. I wouldn't hold my breath, however. I know I sound like Debbie Downer right now, but the team didn't give me all that much confidence last week, and with this tough matchup, things don't bode well for our Seahawks. 

Overall, I think this will be a tough day for Seahawks fans. The Steelers are going to be pissed, and they will be taking it out on us. While I am totally down for them surprising me and stealing this game, I just don't think that it can realistically happen. I'm going to have to say that after tomorrow we will be 0-2. 

Seahawks 10 - Steelers 24

Seahawks Open the 2011 Season Against the 49ers

(Photo Courtesy of @RGray525)

The NFL season is finally upon us! In about 30 hours, the Seahawks will kick off the season against the 49ers in San Francisco. I don’t know about you all, but I’m SO pumped for this game.

The story lines going into this game are just about the same ones that the team has been facing all preseason long. How will Tarvaris Jackson do? How will the offensive line hold up? Will the defense step things up? I won’t bore you all with yet another rehash of the QB situation, so I’ll just get into the other issues.

The offensive line is perhaps the biggest question mark going into the season aside from the obvious QB situation. If things were questionable before, they’ve gotten even more murky with the injury left guard Robert Gallery. Gallery hurt his knee in the final preseason game and is doubtful for tomorrow’s game.
 
The injury to Gallery means that the whole line is pretty much getting shifted around now. Russel Okung will be back at left tackle, James Carpenter is moving over to left guard to take Gallery’s place, Max Unger stays at center, John Moffitt is staying at right guard and Breno Giacomini will be at right tackle. Got all that?

Things haven’t exactly been stable so far with the line, but things looked better in the last preseason game, so I’d expect them to keep on getting better as they start to get chemistry together. Giacomini will definitely be a person to keep an eye on in this game. Raheem Brock was quoted at practice saying that he’s irritated by Breno, but in a good way. So it sounds like he creates problems for opposing defenses. Which isn’t too surprising considering the fact that he’s 6’7” and weighs 318 pounds. So look for him to make an impact out there tomorrow.

Sticking with the offense, Sidney Rice is also doubtful for tomorrow’s game as he’s still dealing with a bum shoulder. It’s the same shoulder that kept him out of the preseason opener way back on August 11 in San Diego. With his history of injuries, this was definitely a cause for concern, but Pete Carroll has assured everyone that this shoulder injury is not like John Carlson’s season ending one. Rice could be back by next week.

With Rice out, though, Mike Williams should get more passes thrown his way, as he looks to continue to improve this season. Tight end Zach Miller should also benefit from Rice, as well as Carlson, being out. Look for both of these guys to establish their presence early on.

  
I’d also like to see Golden Tate have a good game this week. He had a great performance last week against the Raiders in the final preseason game, and I’m sure he wants to continue that success into the season. Being that he’s been considered somewhat of a bust thus far in his career, now is the time for him to step up his game.

Looking at the backfield, Marshawn Lynch is slated to have a breakout season this year. If he picks up where he left off last season, he could be the Seahawks first 1,000 yard rusher since Shaun Alexander. I definitely believe that he will be a pivotal part of the offense this year. If he gets going, they could get a good play action going, and with weapons like Rice, Williams, and Miller, that would be a deadly combo.

The defense has got a few question marks of its own going into the season as well. Both linebacker David Hawthorne (knee) and defensive end Chris Clemons (ankle) are probable for tomorrow’s game. It sounds like Hawthorne may be good to go by game time, but he probably won’t start. The team has been prepping rookie K.J. Wright to start in Hawthorne’s place at the middle linebacker position. I’m confident that Wright will do well in that spot, if called on to start since he’s shown nothing but good things throughout camp and preseason. Clemons tweaked his ankle during a walk-thru on Thursday, and has not practiced since. Carroll insists that he will be available to play tomorrow, though.

So far, the defense has looked pretty solid. Besides Wright, I expect cornerback Brandon Browner to excel in his position as well. He will be starting across from Marcus Trufant tomorrow. He’s another one who has shown nothing but good things in preseason. At 6’4” and 221 pounds, he’s for sure one of the tallest corners to play the game. So look for him to be good out there.

Keeping with the secondary, safety Kam Chancellor should have a great year as well. He’s looked great in camp and preseason so far, and I don’t expect that to change now. He will be one to watch for during this season.

Red Bryant is another guy to watch out for to see how he’ll in his first regular season start since his season-ending injury in week 8 of last season. He will be a pivotal component in the attempts to stop 49er running back Frank Gore from having a hug game. Gore is a tough running back who will fight for every yard, and Bryant is the perfect counter to that kind of guy. Look for him to pick up where he left off last season when the Seahawks run defense was one of the best ranked run defenses in the league prior to his injury.

Now for my quick predictions. Contrary to the belief of most people out there, I think the Seahawks will pull out a win in the season opener tomorrow. Red Bryant and the defense will work wonders in stopping Frank Gore from having a big game. The secondary will shut down Alex Smith. Tarvaris Jackson won’t have a huge game, but he will be adequate enough to pull out a win. Marshawn Lynch will struggle a bit against the 49ers tough run defense, but will also do just enough to help squeak out a win here.

Final prediction: Seahawks 24 - 49ers 20

Seahawks history with season openers

By Kshell

The Seahawks led by Pete Carroll take on the San Francisco 49ers this sunday down in San Francisco. This will be the second straight season that the Seahawks open their season with the 49ers. The Seahawks are 6-3 since moving to the NFC in their openers. The Seahawks are led by the new face of their franchise safety Earl Thomas who appears to be the only jersey that is safe to buy nowadays. The Seahawks are also opening up with a new era of quarterback play with Tarvaris Jackson making the start. This will be the first time since 2000 when Jon Kitna started against the Miami Dolphins that Matt Hasselbeck won't be starting for the Seahawks. The Seahawks are a team in transition heading into this opener against the 49ers just like last season. What I'll do in this following post is I'll bring up the Seahawks history in season opening games.

I'll start with last years season opening win over the 49ers. You can read more in depth about the win by clicking on this link . The Seahawks were expected to do horribly last season while the 49ers were predicted by many to win the division. The Seahawks were being dominated in the first quarter and a half trailing only 6-0 as the 49ers had to settle for two field goals and were stuffed on a fourth and goal. The Seahawks finally scored when Matt Hasselbeck after hitting Mike Williams with a long pass scored on a one yard quarterback keeper. Then shortly after that Jordan Babineaux intercepted an Alex Smith pass which set up a Hasselbeck touchdown pass to Deon Butler. To start the third quarter Marcus Trufant then intercepted Smith's pass and went for a 32 yard touchdown to give the Seahawks a commanding 21-6 lead.  Hasselbeck would later hit Deion Branch for a three yard touchdown to go up 28-6. The Seahawks would win 31-6 as Hasselbeck would go 18-23 for 170 yards passing with two touchdowns and another one rushing. The Seahawks had began the Pete Carroll era with a win. Prior to Carroll only the coach he replaced Jim Mora Jr. the year before had won his first season opening game which the Seahawks shutout the Rams 28-0.

The Seahawks as a franchise begin in 1976 and in that year they played their first ever game at home against the St.Louis Cardinals. The Seahawks at first played like an expansion team as they trailed to the Cardinals 23-3. Jim Zorn would then start the comeback as he would hit Sam McCullum for a 15 yard touchdown to pull within 23-10. That was also the first touchdown in Seahawks franchise history. After allowing another touchdown the Seahawks were trailing 30-10. Zorn then hit McCullum for a 72 yard touchdown bombs to pull within 30-17. Zorn on the following drive scored on an eight yard touchdown run to pull within 30-24. The comeback would stop just short as the Seahawks would fall 30-24. Zorn would finish the game 17 of 37 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He would also rush for 26 yards with a touchdown. McCullum finished with four receptions for 112 yards with two touchdowns. Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent finished with five receptions for 86 yards as well.

The Seahawks would lose their first eight season openers including losing all four at home in the 1970's. In 1983 at Kansas City the Seahawks had highly drafted running back Curt Warner take his very first career of his NFL career for a 60 yard touchdown. The Seahawks would lose that game and would have to wait until 1984. The Seahawks were playing at home to the Cleveland Browns and because of a scheduling conflict with the Seattle Mariners the Seahawks were playing on a Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Most of the fans were at work and the game wasn't on t.v. The Seahawks would destroy the Browns 33-0 as they were building from the momentum of their AFC Championship game appearance from the year before. In that game though the Seahawks would lose second year running back Warner for the season. That year the Seahawks would go 12-4 but lose to Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the playoffs.

The Seahawks as a franchise have struggled in season openers. In the 1970's the Seahawks went 0-4, in the 1980's went 4-6 and in the 1990's went 2-8. The Seahawks are 13-22 all-time on season openers and 6-10 at home with 7-12 on the road. Then everything changed with the Matt Hasselbeck era. Hasselbeck went 7-3 in season opening games including 4-0 at home. Mike Holmgren was 5-5 in season opening games but began his career 1-3. In 2003 the Seahawks blew out the New Orleans Saints 27-10 which includes a famous knockout by rookie safety Ken Hamlin. The Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander as he ran for 108 yards with a touchdown while catching another touchdown. Hasselbeck completed 12 of 23 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns. That was the start of the Seahawks making five straight playoff appearances and winning six of their next eight season opening games.

In conclusion, the Seahawks haven't had the best history of season openers but lately they are 6-2(.750) which is good to know.  The season opener is pretty important as of 1990 only 24% of week one losing teams have made the playoffs. In years the Seahawks have made the playoffs they are 7-4 in season openers but did lose in 2005 the year they made the Super Bowl. The season is almost here and hopefully this Sunday can add to the list of many great Seahawks openers in the past. This is a divisional game against another team many expect to do poorly. Hopefull Jackson can light it up by hitting Mike Williams early and often. Carroll is 13-1 in season openers dating to his NFL and college days. Carroll will be looking to gain some revenge on Jim Harbaugh as he makes his 49ers debut down in San Francisco. The Seahawks open the season this Sunday and I'm sure everyone who is tired of watching the Mariners sucking are excited!

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.

Curry loses his cool, as Seahawks fall to Vikings 20-7

By Wyatt

The Seahawks lost their second preseason game 20-7 against the Vikings in Seattle. For the most part, there wasn’t a whole lot to like in this game. The Seahawks pretty much gave the game away. So let’s do a quick recap and then get deeper into what actually went wrong.

The Vikings scored late in the first quarter on an interception from Tarvaris Jackson. The pass was thrown perfectly, and the intended receiver, Golden Tate, should have come down with it, but instead he tipped it. Then a Vikings DB caught it and ran it back for a touchdown. Not Jackson’s fault at all. The Vikings would get two more field goals in the half to go up 13-0 at the end of two.

Charlie Whitehurst came into the game with about 8 minutes left in the third with a chance to get within a touchdown of the Vikings. He did just that. In the drive, he went 10-for-11 passing, which was good for 79 yards and a touchdown. That made the score 13-7 with pretty much all of the fourth quarter left.

On the next drive, Emmanuel Arceneaux got a nice pass from Joe Webb, and looked like he was going to score, but Josh Pinkard had other plans. At the five yard line, he punched the ball out of Arceneaux’s hands into the endzone for a touchback giving the Seahawks the ball at the 20 yard line.

Things were looking pretty good to get the go ahead touchdown until Patrick Williams dropped a pass on a third-and-7 at the Minnesota 47, which pretty much ended the game for the Seahawks. The Vikings scored again late in the fourth to put the nail in the coffin.

Now let’s break down what went wrong. First off, the quarterbacks. Looking purely at Tarvaris Jackson’s stats does not tell the story of his game. He was 11-for-21, with 75 yards and 1 interception. I already talked about the interception that wasn’t his fault. Now, it may look like he wasn’t all that efficient in his passing, but in reality, he had no time to do anything. While he ended up only getting sacked one time, he got hit many more times than that. The offensive line did a HORRIBLE job of blocking for him. You can tell me all you want that he’s not a good passer and all that, but what we saw Saturday night wasn’t a true gauge of his skills. If he had adequate time to actually go through his options and make a pass without having to rush it, I think he would’ve been much better. Despite the line not giving him any time, Jackson showed once again that he’s a very mobile QB and can run pretty well. If Matt Hasselbeck was still our QB, he would’ve gotten pounded many more times than Jackson did.

In addition, while Jackson again wasn’t able to lead the Seahawks to any points, this again wasn’t completely his fault. They had a 1st-and-goal at the Vikings 2-yard line, and proceeded to have Justin Forsett, the smallest running back on the team, run the ball four straight times and get stuffed every time. So if they had let someone else run the ball or even went for a pass, they might have scored and Jackson could have been shown as actually leading them to some points.

Just like Jackson, looking purely at Whitehurst’s stats does not tell the whole story. He was 14-for-19, with 97 yards and 1 TD. Just looking at those stats, you'd think that he had an really good game. While I will say that he looked on that touchdown drive, there's a pretty big caveat there. He was playing against the Vikings backup defense at that point. So it's not all that impressive when looking at it in that light. Some people out there, including former Seahawks safety Lawyer Milloy, who took his voice to twitter, were taking his performance as evidence that he should be the starting QB. I just don't see it.

At this point, I'm still pretty confident that Jackson will be good enough to keep the team afloat this season. As I've said before, he's definitely not the Seahawks' QB of the future, he's just a temporary remedy for our murky QB situation. Look for him to get better in the coming weeks once the line can actually block for him.

I mentioned it above, but the offensive line was so bad in this game. It seemed as if they couldn't block anyone out. Jackson had linebackers and defensive ends coming at him left and right all night. This is a big problem that needs to be fixed before the season opener on September 11. Hopefully this has something to do with the absence of Russell Okung because then it can be rectified upon his return.

Looking at guys on offense aside from the quarterbacks and the line, there were some bright spots, however:

Mike Williams played his first game of the preseason and while he only had one catch, it was a nice one for 17 yards that set up that goal line situation that failed horribly.

We got our first look at rookie Kris Durham, and it was a good one. He had four catches for 26 yards. Dominique Byrd had another good game bringing down four catches for 32 yards. Anthony McCoy had four catches for 24 yards, including one 3-yard catch for the lone Seahawks touchdown. It's definitely nice to see those young guys doing good.

We also got out first look at new receiver Sidney Rice, and it wasn't a great one. Not that he had a bad game, it was just an underwhelming one. He only had two catches for 11 yards, and his first catch didn't come until late in the first quarter. Then again, you can't really expect him to do all that great when the quarterback's had no time to find him down the field. Definitely look for a better game from Rice next Saturday.

The defense was pretty good throughout the game. Aside from the aforementioned defensive touchdown, only one touchdown was allowed, and that came late in the fourth quarter; the rest of the points giving up by the D came via field goals. Some of the few bright spots of the game came on defense. Of course there was Josh Pinkard's nice stop at the goal line to prevent a touchdown. Then there was Raheem Brock showing why his re-signing was so important. He had a team high 3 tackles, including one sack. Leroy Hill also had 2 tackles showing that he was another good pick up.

Obviously defense isn't all that much of a problem with this team as the offense is. Last week, they allowed just one touchdown and one field goal in the first half, and shut the Chargers out in the second half. The other touchdown last week was allowed by the special teams. This week, only one touchdown and two field goals were allowed. The other touchdown this week was off of an offensive turnover. So far, the defense is looking much better than the offense. Hopefully the offense can get some cohesion between now and the first game of the season.

I also need to point out Aaron Curry’s stupid play in the 2nd quarter. He received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taking off an opposing players helmet, and then proceeding to throw it 20 yards towards their bench. This was an unnecessary play that just can’t happen. Curry should know better than to do something like that.

Speaking of penalties, the Seahawks had a lot of them. They had 10 penalties for 84 yards. That’s something that they can’t do if they want to win games. Especially since the Vikings only had 5 penalties for 46 yards. Hopefully they get themselves together on this front before Saturday as well.

Overall, this game wasn’t all that great. While there were some small bright spots, like the young receivers doing well, none of it translated into a win. The Seahawks gave this game to the Vikings. They’ll need to play much smarter in order to win games. I pretty just want to erase this game from my memory. As Pete Carroll said after the game, this game was just a testament as to how easy it is to give the game to the other team. Let’s hope next week’s game is better, or else we could be looking at a long season.