Seattle Team Preview

I am excited to see how the Seahawks do this season as new coach Pete Carroll enters after his escape from L.A. Carroll brings a laid back and youthful flare to the once rigid and conservative coaching staff under Mike Holmgren and Jim Mora. Carroll inherits a young team with a veteran QB, yet many question marks surround the depth and talent of many key positions on the team.

At QB Matt Hasselbeck still is a capable team leader and shows he still has great accuracy to stay the starter. Backup Charlie Whitehurst seems poised to take the spot from Hasselbeck if he stumbles. Hasselbeck has an interesting surrounding cast that focuses primarily on the line. Coached by legend Alex Gibbs, the youth of 1st round pick Russell Okung, Chris Spencer, and Max Unger I see the potential of this group helping protect Hasselbeck and foster a healthy rushing attack. A major doubt for the Seahawks is the lack of talent at RB. Justin Forsett Leon Washington and Julius Jones all look to compete for the starting job. Neither one is particularly talented, yet Forsett has shown glimpses of promise. Receiving for Seattle is better than most would say. T.J Houshmandzadeh is still a capable wide out. He doesn’t offer the deep threat ability that would set him apart from most other players in the league, yet he still is a capable possession receiver Seattle can lean on. TE John Carlson is one of the best in the league at his position. His ability to pass catch and get to the second level downfield, makes for a great mismatch that Seattle can exploit when in long down scenarios. Rookie WR Golden Tate is full of potential and could prove a great complement to Houshmandzadeh. Tate possesses an excellent ability to jump up and catch balls even though he is not large in size. Tate brings a much needed youthful feel to a receiving corps that has been below average the last 2 seasons.

The defense for Seattle is much like the offense, an underrated unit that hinges on the success of a couple key people. The most important of those is 2nd year LB Aaron Curry who didn’t live up to expectations last season. Look for Curry to come into his own this year and play up to the potential he has. Along with Curry LB Lofa Tatupu is a great player who should anchor the team in providing excellent tackling skills and play recognition. On the defensive line, DT Brandon Mebane is an excellent pass rusher and brings a unique skill to the line. Other players such as DE Lawrence Jackson and DE Chris Clemmons don’t provide enough skill to prevent teams from double teaming Mebane. If Jackson can develop in his 4th year, the line should play better than their dreadful performance of last season. The secondary for the Seahawks offers the most depth on the team. CB Marcus Trufant, Josh Wilson, and Kelly Jennings to go along with Safeties Jordan Babineaux Earl Thomas and Lawyer Milloy offer some of the greatest blend of youth and experience in the league. Trufant leads in terms of talent, and at times can be one of the best in the league. Expectations are high from Earl Thomas who should provide a lot of playmaking opportunities for this unit.

Seattle can, and will be easily looked over many times this season. The question marks surrounding Hasselbeck and Forsett along with a weak defensive line offers suspicions on the ability for the team to be competitive. Luckily for the Seahawks, playing in a weak division should bolster their win total above what pure talent would produce elsewhere. I only see 5-6 wins coming from this group but a few surprise wins could put them in playoff talk later in the year.