9/3/11: They could give San Francisco a run for their money as the worst team in the league, but Seattle does have the home field advantage of Qwest field working for them. Tarvaris Jackson was the worst starting quarterback hands down this preseason. It would be very surprised if he wasn’t benched for Charlie Whitehurst at some point this season, but I don’t know if Whitehurst will be much better.

The Seahawks went into week 17 in an interesting situation last year. They were 6-9 and missing their starting quarterback. If they lost by 15+, they’d set a record for most losses in a single season by 15+ with 10. For those of you who can’t do math, that would have meant that they lost all 10 of their games by 15+. However, if they won that game, which they did, they would make the playoffs. The Seahawks made the playoffs and actually won a playoff game. Let’s just say it was a weird season for them.

Matt Hasselbeck was their best player last season and a huge part of the reason why they won 7 games, made the playoffs, and won a playoff game. Hell, the old veteran could have easily won another playoff game if his receivers didn’t drop 7 passes and his defense could actually hold onto one of Jay Cutler’s interceptions.

Hasselbeck is gone, obviously a bad thing for this team. I could kind of understand this team letting Hasselbeck go in favor of seeing what Charlie Whitehurst has. He probably didn’t have anything, but they gave up the equivalent of 2 third rounders for him, as well as a sizable contract. They might as well at least make sure he doesn’t have anything.

Instead, the Seahawks let Hasselbeck go and won’t even be letting Whitehurst start. They let Hasselbeck go in favor of Tarvaris Jackson. Tarvaris Jackson is not a starting quarterback in this league. I don’t know why anyone would think he is. Without Hasselbeck and without the luck that allowed them to go 7-9 despite a minus 97 point differential, the Seahawks figure to be really bad this season.

The offensive line was a weakness last season, but should be a strength this season. Center Max Unger and left tackle Russell Okung missed significant time with injuries last season. Both are talented players and will help their offensive line now that they’re healthy, though Okung frequently suffers ankle sprains. He suffered one in their first preseason game, but is expected to be ready for week 1. He’s still an injury risk, but he’s very talented when healthy. The 6^th overall pick in 2010 allowed just 4 sacks and 16 quarterback pressures on 684 snaps last season. If he can ever play a full season, he’ll make a Pro Bowl.

The Seahawks also added 3 other offensive linemen this offseason, drafting James Carpenter in the first round, John Moffitt in the 3^rd round, and signing Robert Gallery from the Raiders. Carpenter, a reach in the first round, will start on the right side. Moffitt will start at right guard. Both will be hurt by the lockout, but they should be minor upgrades over what they had at the position last season.

Gallery, meanwhile, should be a major upgrade at left guard. Gallery, once a huge bust as the 2^nd overall pick in 2004 (after Eli Manning, before Larry Fitzgerald and Philip Rivers), has reinvented himself as a guard. He’s become one of the best guards in the league over the past few years. He reunites with Tom Cable, his Head Coach in Oakland. Cable is the offensive line coach in Seattle and was a huge part of the reason why Gallery was able to evolve into the player he is today.

Their receiving corps, another weakness last season, has been upgraded this offseason. The talented, but injury prone Sidney Rice is a huge upgrade opposite Mike Williams. Meanwhile, Zach Miller is a talented tight end and a huge upgrade over John Carlson, who has been relegated to being a backup. He could be traded. However, they won’t get the full value of their strong receiving corps because of how bad Tarvaris Jackson is at quarterback.

They also won’t be able to run the ball very well either. Marshawn Lynch has struggled behind poor run blocking lines in Buffalo and Seattle in his career. Lynch has the best offensive line of his career, so he won’t have any excuses this season. He should run better, but it is possible that the 2007 11^th overall pick just lacks the desired talent or motivation to be a strong lead back in this league. Justin Forsett will be his backup. Forsett can’t carry a load or anything, but he’s a nice change of pace back. Leon Washington, meanwhile, will focus mostly on being a dynamic kick returner. Washington is extremely talented, but will be hurt by the NFL’s new bullshit kickoffs at the 35 rule that has made kickoff returners far less valuable.

Speaking of that bullshit new rule, I have been looking for a place to write about it and why I think its bullshit. I figure this is as good a place as anywhere because Leon Washington might be the best kick returner in the league. He returned 3 kickoffs to the house last season. The NFL has moved the kickoff spot up to the 35, leading to two times as many touchbacks.

They have made this rule in the name of player safety. However, all the players hate it. The players would rather risk their long term health than play this pussy shit. I’m not saying they’re right for choosing that, but it’s their choice. They should be able to make it for themselves. They just shouldn’t expect the NFL to pay for their health care when they’re 50, broke, and can’t keep the drool in their mouths. They know what they’re getting themselves into and they want to get into it anyway.

I think it would be interesting to see what the players would choose if given a choice between getting to set their own rules and getting their health care covered when they’re retired. You see, the NFL is not just making these rule changes in the name of player safety. They want the players to be safe because they don’t want to spend a ton of money on their health care after they retire. It’s a financial decision by the NFL, which is fine, but I think the players should be given a choice between normal kickoffs, helmet to helmet tackles, etc and getting retirement benefits.

 

Anyway, back to the Seahawks. They managed 37 sacks last season despite having mediocre talent on the defensive line. Raheem Brock had 9 sacks and Chris Clemons has 11 sacks last season. Clemons had managed just 20 sacks in the previous 5 seasons, while Raheem Brock had managed just 28.5 sacks in his previous 8 seasons. Both had by far the best seasons of their careers last season. They could easily not repeat those numbers this season. Defensive line coach Dan Quinn is gone, taking a position as the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida.

One defensive lineman who will have a great season even without Dan Quinn is Brandon Mebane, who has been good even since before Quinn got there. He’s a fantastic run stuffer who offers a decent pass rush as well. He recently signed a long term deal. Red Bryant, another fantastic run stuffer, will start opposite him. He’s had injury problems in the past, but it’s noticeable when he’s not in the lineup. They’re much worse against the run without him.

Free agent acquisition Alan Branch, as well as Kentwan Balmer, and possibly even Colin Cole, once he returns from injury, will also see time on the defensive line. They love mixing things up and rotating defensive linemen. They should once again be strong against the run (15^th last year even with injuries), but they will struggle to generate a pass rush without Dan Quinn coaching up Clemons and Brock. There’s a reason they were interested in Osi Umenyiora.

At linebacker, gone is Lofa Tatupu, once their best linebacker and the heart and soul of this defense. Tatupu was cut this offseason because he refused to restructure his contract. David Hawthrone, who played on the strong side in place on the injured LeRoy Hill, will move inside. He’s a very underrated linebacker. He was their best linebacker last season.

On the weak side, the Seahawks are hoping Aaron Curry can live up to his potential as the 4^th overall pick in 2009. However, it is appearing that Curry will be one of those players who, while good, never lives up to his billing as a top 5 pick. You can’t exactly call him a bust either. He’s their 2^nd best linebacker after Hawthorne.

On the strong side, LeRoy Hill is back. He’s had legal problems and injury problems that have caused him to miss 21 games in the last 2 seasons, but he was an above average player before he got hurt. If he struggles or gets hurt again, they don’t have too many other options. 7^th round rookie Malcolm Smith is the 2^nd stringer. Career backup Matt McCoy could also step into that void. They also have undrafted rookie Michael Morgan in the mix. So basically, they are really hoping Hill can stay healthy.

The Seahawks don’t have a lot of talent in the secondary either. They ranked 24^th against the pass even with a solid pass rush. Marcus Trufant allowed a 60.2% completion percentage with 14.2 yards per completion and 6 touchdowns to 1 interception. #2 cornerback Kelly Jennings allowed a 54.3% completion percentage with 7 touchdowns to 1 interception. Both should be even worse this season, assuming the pass rush declines. Nickel cornerback Richard Sherman is a 5^th round pick rookie.

On safety, Lawyer Milloy is no longer a starter. That’s good news. He was one of the worst coverage safeties in the league last year. However, that’s about where the good news stops. His replacement, Kam Chancellor, is a 2^nd year player without a lot of upside. Easily the most talented defensive back on their roster is Earl Thomas, the 14^th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He should be even better in his 2^nd season, but I think the pass defense as a whole will be even worse this season. There’s just not a lot of talent in their defensive backfield and without a strong pass rush, their secondary could easily get lit up frequently this season.

With Matt Hasselbeck gone and, presumably, worse luck this season, this should be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. They have talent in their receiving corps and on the offensive line, but there’s only so much those guys can do if there isn’t the talent at quarterback and they don’t have the talent at quarterback. They also won’t be able to run the ball very well because I just don’t think Marshawn Lynch is that talented.

Defensively, they’ll once again be solid against the run, but they’ll really struggle against the pass, even more than last season because they’ll likely lack a pass rush. They have the worst quarterback in the division and they also have to play a first place schedule which almost isn’t fair. However, they have the magic of Qwest Field, which should win them a few games. They could easily go 0-8 on the road, however.

Quarterback: D

Running backs: C

Receiving corps: B

Offensive line: B-

Run defense: B

Pass rush: C

Pass coverage: D

Coaching: C-

Projection: 4-12 4^th in NFC West