TJ Houshmandzadeh: Passion or Cancer? Problems Beginning in Sea-Town?

The Seahawks biggest off season acquisition, wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh who signed a five year $40 million dollar contract this past off season has been known for, in the past few weeks, speaking out against the Seahawks coaching staff and players calling for the ball.

In a sense it’s like Terrell Owens yelling at Tony Romo or Donovan McNabb saying “I’m not getting the ball and that’s why we lose.”

Since being signed back in early March TJ has been a complete team player never yapping to the media or being a potential cancer to the Seahawks locker room.

However since the Seahawks-Bears game in week three when he went on the radio saying “the Bears overlooked me in free agency so I’ll have to show them up this week” and “the Bears have a weak pass coverage so I’ll show them it was a mistake not showing interest in me in the off season”.

How did he do against the Bears?

Four receptions, 35 yards, zero touchdowns receptions and the worst statistical game in his short Seahawks career.

So of course next week he becomes “stand office” and doesn’t call out anyone and what happens?

He records his first 100 yard game as a Seattle Seahawk. Eight receptions for 103 yards and zero touchdowns.

Here is one of his comments via ESPN.com before the Jacksonville Jaguars game.

“I just got to get these coaches to realize, throw me the ball,” Houshmandzadeh said Friday, another variation on a public request he’s had for weeks.”

Calling out the coaching staff and your quarterback (not Matt Hasselbeck) is never the right thing to do when your head coach said you were a great team player and would fit right into the great locker room.

Well that hasn’t exactly played out as well as the Seahawks front office and coaching staff thought it would.

It seems like ever since his vocal lashing at Madden 2010 for his player ratings being so low and having a few “lies and false stats”. TJ Who’s-yo-mama has not been the same.

Here is one of many comments from TJ on the Madden ratings.

So, the question at hand: Is TJ Houshmandzadeh’s comments and recent actions passion for the game and wanting to make the team better by having him perform or is it the beginning of a cancer problem in the locker room.

However TJ has so far preformed well in his first five games as a Seattle Seahawk.

27 receptions, 327 yards, two touchdowns and four 20+ yard receptions. According to ESPN.com projections TJ is in line for 86 receptions, 1,040 yards and six touchdown receptions.

However, he just got his prime time quarterback Matt Hasselbeck back after missing three straight games. When Matt is playing the Seahawks have won 69-0 this season.

It will be interesting to see his next set of comments or if the current ones will pay off.

You can follow Lars at Twitter http://twitter.com/larshanson    

This article was origionally posted on NFLtouchdown.com by Lars Hanson.

http://www.nfltouchdown.com/tj-houshmandzadeh-passion-or-cancer-problems-beginning-in-sea-town/

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State of the Franchise: Seattle Seahawks

RENTON—The 2005 Super Bowl runner-up Seattle Seahawks. The 2009 4-12 and fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft Seattle Seahawks.

It’s been a long, hard fall from the great season of 2005, when the Seahawks went 13-3 under former head coach Mike Holmgren. In that season, the Seahawks started 2-2 in their first four games and 5-2 going into their bye week (week eight).

Since their Super Bowl run in 2005, the Seahawks have had only one 10-plus win season. In 2006, the Seahawks finished 9-7. The 2007 Seahawks finished 10-6, and in 2008 the Seahawks finished a measly 4-12.

Looking at the Super Bowl team of 2005 and the last three Seahawks teams, there is one fact that sticks out among others.

In 2005, the Seahawks had all their starters healthy and playing (with the exception of Ken Hamlin with an off-the-field injury at the end of the season). Thus, the Seahawks offense put up the most points in the NFL in 2005, with 452.

Each year since 2005, there have been at least two key players injured for a substantial portion of the season. It’s easy to see why the Seahawks haven’t been the same type of team since 2005.

Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander (former), Deion Branch and Walter Jones lead the injury parade. All three players—except WR Deion Branch, who was not on the team—played a key role in not only getting the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, but playing well in it (despite a few other discrepancies).

Now, every fan, player, and coach knows that injuries are a part of the game, but the Seattle Seahawks have had the most unlucky stretch of injuries since 2005.

Some teams have maybe one or two key players go down for a week or two, but the Seahawks have consistently lost four to five key players each year for long stretches of time.

So let’s look at a few notes on the Seattle Seahawks state of the franchise.

 

Injuries:

Currently, QB Matt Hasselbeck, OLB Leroy Hill, LT Walter Jones, LG Rob Sims, RT Sean Locklear, DE Patrick Kerney, and FB Justin Griffith are all out with injuries.

Matt Hasselbeck has missed at least four games in two out of the last three seasons. Hasselbeck missed four games in ’06 and nine games in ’08.

Matt is the tale of two quarterbacks (healthy and not healthy). When Matt is healthy and plays all 16 games, he’s an elite quarterback in the NFL. When he’s ineffective and hurt, he’s a backup college quarterback.

Here is Matt’s stats each of the last four years.

Year	Games:started	Attempts	Completions	Yards	Completion%	TD	INT	QB rating
2005	16:16	449	294	3,459	65.5	24	9	98.2
2006	12:12	371	210	2,442	56.6	18	15	76
2007	16:16	562	352	3,966	62.6	28	12	91.4
2008	7:7	209	109	1,216	52.2	5	10	57.8

 

The numbers speak for themselves. When he plays all 16 games he’s electric, as is the entire Seahawks offense. When he’s on the sideline and Seneca Wallace/Mike Teel/Charlie Frye are starting, the Seahawks’ offense is extremely diminished.

Now, Hasselbeck is not the entire problem nor the sole victim of the injury plague that hit the Seattle Seahawks.

All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones, who’s been protecting Matt’s blind side, is now showing his age (35). Jones has had two major surgeries (shoulder and knee) in the last two years. The knee injury/surgery recovery that took place about two months ago is still holding Walter Jones out of the Seahawks starting lineup.

Normally this wouldn’t be a big of problem, but Jones’ backup—RT Sean Locklear—is also out with an injury, as well as Locklear’s backup, Ray Willis. The Seahawks have had to count on fourth-string tackle Brandon Frye, who they signed off waivers from Miami one week before the season started.

It reminds a lot of Seahawks’ personnel last season, when all five starting WRs missed four or more games. It looks like the same exact situation, but with the offensive line.

So far, LT Walter Jones, LG Rob Sims, C Chris Spencer, RT Sean Locklear, and RT Ray Willis have all missed time due to injuries. The only player that hasn’t missed any games is rookie RG Max Unger.

As a wrap for the injury portion of the Seahawks’ state of the franchise, the ‘Hawks have been suffering the injury plague since their run at the Super Bowl in 2005. It’s hard to think of one player that has started but not missed a game due to injury for the Seahawks, and that is never a good sign.

 

Confusion:

Confusion plays right into the first note for the state of the franchise of the Seahawks, because when the Seahawks—or any team for that matter—lose starters, the backups are never as good or know the rest of the players as well as the starters do.

This issue has primarily risen this season on defense with Jordan Babineaux, Travis Fisher, and the entire Seahawks secondary.

It also didn’t help that the Seahawks were without Pro Bowl middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who is the captain of the defense.

The Seahawks have had Lawyer Milloy, Jordan Babineaux, and many others fill in on defense for various reasons. Babineaux who is in his first season at safety, even converted from cornerback.

Babs has been looking very shaky and very confused on defense, and for a safety that is never a good sign. Babineaux has been starting more recently, but Milloy winds up taking over because of Babineaux’s performance.

However, he is in the top three for tackles on the Seahawks’ defense. He is a hit-and-miss type of player, and that is not what the Seahawks need to be a great defense.

Babineaux will most likely finish the season out at FS, but don’t except him to be the starting FS or SS come 2010. The Seahawks will most likely draft Eric Berry or Taylor Mays in the 2010 NFL Draft. Or they’ll sign one of the many talented safeties in free agency.

 

Inconsistency:

This also plays into the second note for the state of the franchise, which is confusion. With all the backups having to play this season. outside of LB David Hawthorne, Will Heller and Brandon Frye, not many of the other backups can really step in and hold down the fort untill the original starter can comeback.

Seneca Wallace is good, and some people have said he should be the team’s starting QB a la my last article. I don’t endorse that idea for many reasons, but that’s not the point.

When the Seahawks have their starters go down with an injury, not only is that a huge loss but it is compounded by the fact that many of the backups can’t perform.

This is something the Seahawks will really have to fix for the future in order for this team to be a playoff and Super Bowl-caliber team. Of course, not having key injuries in the first place might help, too.

 

Rebuilding:

Depending on how the Seahawks finish out the season, this will become a very hot topic for the front office to contemplate.

The Seahawks have a lot of injury-riddled players at key positions, and the question will be, “Do we stick with the old and try to squeak more out, or do you move into the future with a one-to-three-year rebuilding process?”

Those players would be QB Matt Hasselbeck, LT Walter Jones, DE Patrick Kerney, and a few others. Then there are some players who just aren’t cutting it we could replacements for who would be an upgrade.

The good thing for the Seahawks is they have a lot of young talented pieces already on the team they can build around ,as well as bringing in the key players to complete the rebuild and move the Seahawks into a new era.

Those pieces would be WR TJ Houshmandzadeh, WR Nate Burleson, WR Deon Butler, TE John Carlson, C/G Max Unger, LG Rob Sims, DE Lawrence Jackson, DT Brandon Mebane, LB’s Lofa Tatupu, Aaron Curry and Leroy Hill, CB Marcus Trufant, and S Deon Grant.

It’s almost like USC. They have the skill positions already down, but they need a QB for the long haul as well as a new running back (not what USC needs) and a few new pieces on the offensive line and at safety.

Currently the Seahawks are on pace for another 4-12 season and most likely the fourth, fifth, or sixth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft—in addition to the Denver Broncos pick.

The Seahawks could look at QBs Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, RBs C.J Spiller and Jahvid Best, OTs Bryan Bulaga and Sam Young, or safeties Taylor Mays and Myron Rolle.

Most likely they’ll be able to look at some defensive ends in free agency, but we’ll have to wait on that for a few months.

Right now, it’s still in the Seahawks’ control whether they want to pull what they did in 2005 and win 11 straight games. Or they can look to do what they did in 2008 and be in position to draft their future starting quarterback in the 2010 NFL draft.

One thing is for certain: Jim Mora, Jr., and GM Tim Ruskell shore have their work cut out for them in the immediate future.

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Matt Hasselbeck: On a Mission to Prove He Still Belongs

Seahawks starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck—now entering his 11th year in the NFL, two in Green Bay and nine in Seattle—still has a lot to prove to his critics and, most importantly, himself.

It was close to nine years ago when Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren brought him in from Green Bay. Holmgren was in Green Bay with Hasselbeck, and when he came to Seattle he knew he had his quarterback in the Boston College alum.

Nine years later, Hasselbeck is considered one of the top five or 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.

However, Hasselbeck has really fallen out of that elite list the last three years due to injuries.

In 2007, the one year when Hasselbeck did not miss a single game, he had his best year in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl and leading the ‘Hawks to the playoffs. 

That season he posted 28 touchdown passes, 3,966 yards, and only 12 interceptions in 16 games. He reached career marks in touchdown passes and passing yardage that season. As for the other two years, he missed four games in 2006 and nine games in 2008—both times the Seahawks finished with nine wins or fewer.

In 2006, the Seahawks finished 9-7 and won the NFC West. In 2008, the Seahawks finished 4-12 and picked fourth overall in the 2009 NFL draft.

So the message those statistics clearly show is that when Hasselbeck is the starting quarterback, the Seahawks are a top-flight team. When he’s not the starter, the Seahawks are average at best.

In his 11 seasons in the NFL, Hasselbeck has three Pro Bowl appearances (’03, ’05, and ’07). He only has one Super Bowl appearance in which the Seahawks lost to the Steelers, 20-10.

There are mixed feelings with what went on during the Super Bowl, but in nine years he’s made one Super Bowl appearance. He’s a great regular season quarterback, but when it comes playoff time, he needs all the support he can get. 

This offseason was probably one the most pressure-packed for Hasselbeck, with rumors that the Seahawks were pursuing Jay Cutler and considering rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.

However, Jim Mora Jr. decided to give him the most dependable wide receiver in the NFL, and one of the must underrated and undervalued in T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

This preseason, that looks to be the biggest and smartest move out of any this entire off season; in three games, Hasselbeck has four touchdown passes.

Two of those four have been to—you guessed it—Houshmandzadeh. The other two have been to John Carlson and Deon Butler.

Now this offseason, even though Mora gave Hasselbeck a boost by telling him that he’s the quarterback in Seattle, the Seahawks acquired the Denver Broncos’ first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

That pick is looking more and more like a top-three pick, with quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Jevan Sneed being the top three quarterbacks, in that order, most likely entering the draft.

If Hasselbeck has another season like he did last season, he’s going to be either traded, retire, or be the one holding the clipboard.

On ESPN’s NFL Live, Mark Schlereth picked Hasselbeck as the NFC West breakout player…as well as the NFC West player on the hot seat, with my exact same reasoning.

If Hasselbeck doesn’t lead the Seahawks to at least a 10-6 record and back to the playoffs, then he’s most likely played his last season in the NFL. And with the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks will select Sam Bradford, quarterback, from Oklahoma.

So with the season a few weeks away, we’ll see if Hasselbeck can return to prominence, even with a shaky offensive line protecting him.

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Breaking Down the Seahawks’ Preseason: Quarterbacks

Over the next week, leading up to the final preseason game for the Seattle Seahawks against the Oakland Raiders, I’m going to be breaking down the Seahawks’ preseason by position.

I’ll be starting at the top with the quarterbacks and finishing up with kickers and punters.

So let’s get started with the quarterbacks.

 

Current QBs on the roster: Matt Hasselbeck (starter), Seneca Wallace, Mike Teel, and Jeff Rowe.

Matt Hasselbeck: 38-of-53 (71 percent), 414 yards, four TDs, one INT, and a 111 passer rating.

Seneca Wallace: 20-of-30 (66 percent), 141 yards, two TDs, no INTs, and a 99 passer rating.

Jeff Rowe: 3-of-3 (100 percent), 16 yards, no TDs, no INTs and an 88 passer rating.

Deion Branch: 0-for-1

 

Examination

Overall, the quarterbacks have been great, with the only slip-up being Deion Branch not able to connect with T.J. Houshmandzadeh on an end-around.

Matt Hasselbeck has been “electric” this preseason and has not suffered any sort of injury or setback with his back/knee/head, which is great news for the Seahawks.

Hasselbeck has also been throwing it a lot to his newest wide receiver, Houshmandzadeh—and with great success.

Two out of the four touchdowns Hasselbeck has thrown have gone to Houshmandzadeh.

The other two have been to rookie Deon Butler on a 34-yard touchdown pass against the Denver Broncos and to John Carlson on a 38-yard touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The only problem for Matt is that he needs to really open up the passing game. He must throw it around to Nate Burleson, Branch, and Julius Jones/Edgerrin James (out of the backfield) as well as Houshmandzadeh, Butler, and Carlson.

Seneca Wallace has done what he usually does: be a good, solid backup. Wallace has secured his second spot on the depth chart and is not in shape to lose it.

The surprise has been rookie seventh round pick Mike Teel out of Rutgers. Teel has been above where I though he would be right now. I knew he would get a few snaps this preseason, but I wasn’t sure how he would fare.

Teel has done a solid job this season and projects to be the third and final quarterback on the Seahawks roster.

Some people had thought that Teel would be drafted and molded into the future starting quarterback.

He’s definitely in shape to do that. Teel has performed well in the Seahawks’ system and looked comfortable in the Seahawks offense, which is a good thing for a rookie.

Jeff Rowe does not look like he will be on the regular season roster, mainly because of Teel and also since he’s only had three passes this entire preseason.

Branch also does not look to make the team as a quarterback but will for sure make the team as a wide receiver.

 

Next: The next breakdown will take a look at the running backs, including Edgerrin James and what he can do with the Seahawks.

Seahawks Saturday:Houshmandzadeh, Defense Lead Seahawks To 14-10 Win

Jim Mora Jr. is having the best start to his Seahawks head coaching tenure that he could want. Three up and three in the win column for the Seattle Seahawks in 2009.

Coming into the third preseason game for the Seahawks, Mora Jr. said that he would start all of his starters but would not say if they would start coming out in the second half.

He told his players to “play until we tell you to stop.” That’s exactly what happened in Kansas City.

The only starters to not play where LT Walter Jones, CB Marcus Trufant and C Chris Spencer.

Also not playing was the newest Seattle Seahawk Edgerrin James who sat because he did not have enough practice.

So let’s look at the game and see how it went.

First quarter:

KC- 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Brandon Flowers

Second quarter:

SEA- Eight-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to TJ Houshmandzadeh. Seven plays, 48 yards. 1:11 TOP.

Third quarter:

SEA- 28-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Carlson. Nine plays. 74 yards. 4:23 TOP.

Fourth quarter:

KC- 35-yard FG made by Ryan Succop.

Final score: SEA 14 KC 10

Well you can’t have a worse start to a game than Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did.

Three plays into the game, the Seahawks’ quarterback threw an interception to KC Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers who return the pick 28 yards for a touchdown giving Kansas City the 7-0 lead.

Flowers later left the game with a shoulder injury.

Now for the majority of the game, it was missed chances which hurt them. 

The second drive for the Seahawks led to a missed field goal attempt by Olindo Mare. Two drives later, Mare missed another field goal, this time midway through the second quarter.

The Seahawks missed out on six points which at the time would have helped fuel the seemly dead offense.

However, late into the second quarter with a minute and change to go till half, one of the best two minute drill quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks down to the eight yard line.

The next play, Matt Hasselbeck hooked up with wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh on an eight yard touchdown strike to tie the game up at 7-7.

At half time the Seahawks defense had shown that they are the better side of the ball on this Seahawks team by forcing four three-and-outs and two missed field goals.

Now coming out in the second half the question was would Jim Mora put his first team offense out there? The response was a definite yes.

On the first drive in the second half, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks offense down the field and finished it off with a 28-yard touchdown reception by tight end John Carlson to make it 14-7 early in the second half.

After that there was only a Kansas City Chiefs field goal and that finished it.

The Seahawks Jim Mora wanted to see how his team would respond to a hostile environment like Kansas City and see if they could do as well as they did at home as they could on the road.

Well it wasn’t the best showing, but the Seahawks still played great to be able to go to 3-0 under head coach Jim Mora Jr. and 3-0 in the preseason.

Now let’s take a look at some key players for the Seahawks in week three.

QB Matt Hasselbeck: 19-25, 216 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT and a 118 Qb rating.

WR TJ Houshmandzadeh: 5 receptions, 60 yards and 1 TD.

TE John Carlson: 5 receptions, 68 yards and 1 TD.

MLB Lofa Tatupu: 4 tackles

Tonight Hasselbeck really had the passing game going with John Carlson, TJ Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson.

The running game led by Julius Jones was the main reason why Hasselbeck was able to throw the ball around so well.

Jones and Justin Forsett have both done great under the new Zone Blocking Scheme as well as the young offensive line.

A lot of people where wondering how the offensive line would fair without Walter Jones, Mike Wahle and Chris Spencer.

Well they have responded well. Tonight the Seahawks offensive line allowed only two sacks the entire game.

Hasselbeck had plenty of time to find an open receiver and deliver the ball without pause.

On defense they really stepped up and did not allow one Kansas City touchdown. Larry Johnson only had 36 yards on the ground. The Seahawks have again started to take out quarterbacks this season.

Last week it was backup Broncos’ quarterback Chris Simms. This week it was Chiefs starting quarterback Matt Cassel who left in the third play after an apparent leg injury.

The Seahawks defense is finally stepping up and becoming their old form of 2005 and the offense is firing on all cylinders so far in the preseason.

The Seahawks have only allowed 37 points this preseason while putting up 57 points. That’s a number the Seahawks coaching staff will definitely take.

This week the Seahawks, along with every other team will have to make five cuts to trim down the roster.

It will be interesting to see who the five are.

Jeff Rowe, Olindo Mare, Tyler Roehl, Kevin Brown and Mike Hass would be my five.

Seattle Seahawks: Weighing the Branch

The Seattle Seahawks have done a lot this season with player personnel movement with a very limited salary cap space.

The Seahawks managed to bring in 23 new players and only lose four.

A lot of those players came with reasonably sized contracts a la TJ Houshmandzadeh (five years, $40 million with $15 million guaranteed), Colin Cole (five years, $21 million with $5 million guaranteed), and Aaron Curry (six years, $60 million with $34 million guaranteed).

The Seahawks went with a lot of one-year contracts this offseason, including the signings of CB Ken Lucas ($1.3 million), DE Cory Redding ($2 million), FB Justin Griffith (league minimum), and CB Travis Fischer.

Then, of course, you have all of the undrafted free agent signings and the rookie signings.

Four days ago the Seahawks signed running back Edgerrin James to a one-year, $2 million contract. In doing so, they cut ties with RB T.J Duckett, saving about $2 million in cap space.

Now the Seahawks have Deion Branch who, in reality, is one of the nicest and funniest guys I’ve had the honor to meet. But when you don’t produce or if you’re not healthy, you’re living on borrowed time.

Not only that, but Branch’s contract isn’t the best it could be.

Branch accounts for $7.5 million against the cap this season. If the Seahawks were to release him he would account for only $6.4 million, giving the Hawks a total savings of $1.1 million.

There are a lot of Seahawks fans out there who think Branch needs to go. While I might agree with that idea, it does raise a question as to which is more valuable this season.

Is Deion Branch—who is still a great slot WR—or $1.1 million?

Knowing the Seahawks, unless they are planning to sign a WR like Marvin Harrison—which actually would make the Seahawks worse—I don’t see the Seahawks front office choosing a paltry $1.1 million over a healthy Deion Branch.

2009 Seahawks: New Faces, Old Numbers

The Seattle Seahawks are now officially in the Jim Mora Jr. era, as we can see by the new players and new jersey numbers.

In the Mike Holmgren era, Bobby Engram wore No. 84, Mack Strong wore No. 38, Shaun Alexander wore No. 37, and Chris Gray wore No. 62, and way back when, Ricky Watters wore No. 32.

Those five players are some of the best to put on Seahawks blue. And usually in the NFL, after that player either leaves or retires, their number doesn’t get taken.

Well this is not good old Mike’s team any more, it’s Jim Mora Jr’s team.

The Seahawks have brought in a few players this offseason to shore up the team. A few of those players have been in the league a long time and have been a great player in the league, like TJ Houshmandzadeh.

However, there are rookies that have only recently gotten their feet wet in preseason waters.

For some reason, I like to give respect to players who have been great and feel that they should be respected by not having their number taken over.

Currently, TJ Houshmandzadeh is No. 84. Rookie safety Courtney Greene is No. 37. The Seahawks’ brand new offensive lineman brought in off waivers Brian De La Puente is No. 62. Newly acquired running back Edgerrin James is No. 32, and fifth string cornerback Kevin Hobbs is No. 38.

I think those numbers look familiar to the ones mentioned earlier. Now, TJ Houshmandzadeh (84) and Edgerrin James (32) are the only two exceptions on that list because they have been in the NFL for a number of years, and they have been great players in the NFL.

However, a seventh-round rookie gets Alexander The Great’s number? A waiver LG that just made his first practice in a Seahawks jersey gets Chris Gray’s number? A fifth-string CB gets Mack Strong’s, the best fullback in NFL history, number?

That’s just not fair to the guys who have earned their jersey.

I think Seahawks fans remember Jerry Rice getting the No. 80 jersey, formerly of Seahawks and NFL great, Steve Largent.

That one wasn’t so bad because it was Jerry Rice.

Imagine if Deon Butler got the No. 80 jersey; I think Seahawks fans would either have the world’s highest expectations of Butler, or be very unhappy with a rookie wearing 80 in a Seahawks jersey.

For a team like the Seahawks, which has been enforcing respect and good character, to do this kind of thing leaves you wondering why certain players who haven’t earned their stripes in the NFL are getting some of the greatest jersey numbers in Seahawks history.

Those numbers are (and feel free to add in one with a comment):

71-Walter Jones

37- Shaun Alexander (now Courtney Greene)

10-Jim Zorn (now Olindo Mare)

32- Ricky Watters (now Edgerrin James)

28- Curt Warner (now Travis Fischer)

17- Dave Kireg

96- Cortez Kennedy (now Michael Bennett)

79- Jacob Green (now Red Bryant)

45- Kenny Easley (now Kevin Houser)

22- Dave Brown (now Julius Jones)

1- Warren Moon

81- Carl Eller (now Nate Burleson)

34- Franco Harris (now David Kirtman)

Someone tell me what’s wrong with this picture. Now, I know most of those players are not going to be on the roster, but still…I would like to see more respect coming from the Seahawks to their former great players.

 

 

Breaking News: Seahawks Walter Jones Could Be Done For The Season

Breaking news into Seahawks camp that is not about Edgerrin James.

NFL.com is reporting that Seahawks injured left tackle Walter Jones could be out for the season, which is longer than originally expected.

Here is the direct quote from NFL.com.

“While the Seahawks are talking as if future Hall of Famer Walter Jones could be back in 4-6 weeks, league sources say it could end up being a much longer, perhaps season-ending situation, given where Jones is at this stage of his career.”

Now after that report came out, Seahawks.com updated the Seahawks depth chart with Walter Jones being third string left tackle.

About a week ago Seahawks head coach Jim Mora Jr. said both cornerback Marcus Trufant and left tackle Walter Jones were out indefinitely.

Now with this report coming out that Jones’ injury could be season ending it would not be surprising if Jones decided to retire given his age.

It’s perfect timing for the Seahawks because it’s still the preseason and they also have their long term replacement ready in Sean Locklear.

This past off-season the Seahawks announced that right tackle Sean Locklear, who signed a five year $32 million dollar contract in 2008 would become the new left tackle once Walter Jones retired.

Thankfully Locklear has been getting a lot of work at left tackle this preseason so it won’t be a new thing for Locklear.

The Seahawks have also been in contact with free agent tackle Levi Jones as a possible signee to lessen the blow to the offensive line.

Report: Seahawks Sign RB Edgerrin James

According to Profootballtalk.com, the Seattle Seahawks have signed free agent running back Edgerrin James to a one-year contract.

This might come as a little bit of a surprise, given how well Justin Forsett has been this preseason.

This certainly means the end for fourth-string running back Devin Moore, an undrafted rookie out of Wyoming.

Also, the Seahawks had been shopping around for an offensive tackle and will most likely add one in the coming days.

Last season, James was with division-rival Arizona Cardinals, but because the Cardinals drafted rookie running back Chris Wells, James no longer fit in Arizona.

James is a great addition to the Seahawks backfield, bringing experience and talent to a not so well known running back corps.

The contract is a one-year, $2 million dollar contract according to sources.

 

Seattle Seahawks Injuries: Chris Spencer Joins a Growing List on the Sideline

Last night’s 27-13 win over the Denver Broncos showed that the Seattle Seahawks have really turned around under first year head coach Jim Mora Jr.

There is, however, one lingering effect from the Holmgren era: injuries. Countless mounting injuries have always killed the Seahawks.

That statement was heard loud and clear last season when the Seahawks lost four starting wide receivers, Matt Hasselbeck, all five starting offensive linemen, Patrick Kerney, and others.

This season, they haven’t lost as many players yet as last season, but I would like to say that it’s only the preseason where injuries annoy coaches.

Current injured Seahawks are LT Walter Jones (knee surgery), LG Mike Wahle (retired), C Chris Spencer (leg injury, left last night), CB Marcus Trufant (back), RB Julius Jones (leg), and LB Aaron Curry (groin).

The list is getting long, but will shorten when Curry and Jones come back next week as expected. Jones, Trufant, and now Spencer are out indefinitely.

Last night the starting offensive line looked like this: LT Sean Locklear, LG Rob Sims, C Chris Spencer, RG Mansfield Wrotto, and RT Ray Willis.

Locklear, while performing badly in the start of the game, with two sacks allowed and one false start penalty, will remain at LT until whenever/if ever, Walter Jones returns.

I expect Sims will be the starting RG by the third or fourth preseason game, and allow first round draft pick Max Unger to become the starting LG.

Spencer, who was replaced by backup Steve Vallos, is now out with a leg injury. Vallos is now the team’s starting center, just like last season.

There is no way Wrotto will be in the starting lineup come the third or fourth preseason game.

Willis is pretty much a lock at RT, and he didn’t do anything to hurt his chances of that last night.

How will Matt Hasselbeck be able to throw the ball around to all of his weapons? What about Jones and Forsett running the ball? The Seahawks’ offense, which has to be led by a great offensive line for all that to happen, is now looking dim and not getting better.

Stay tuned for more information.

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