What's Up With The Seahawks??!!

While I don’t think most Seattle fans were expecting a blow-out win for the 'Hawks in Buffalo (especially with Hasselbeck sitting out almost the entire pre-season), I don’t think anyone anticipated a 34-10 debacle on the road.

First, give credit to Buffalo where credit is due. Their offensive line did a great job preventing Seattle’s pass pressure defense from getting to Trent Edwards more than once…pretty admirable considering the Seahawks were #4 in sacks last year.

Secondly, special teams was a problem area just as it was all pre-season. The Bills put up two touchdowns on special teams and forced a fumble inside the 20 the set up a third. You take away those 21 points, and that score is only a field goal difference (and yes, I think veteran kicker could have made a chip shot FG in the last quarter instead of Seattle going for it four times in the red zone).

Thirdly, yes the referees did appear to be a bit biased, but this influenced neither the Bills offensive line play, nor the poor special teams play. And not all of their calls against the ‘Hawks were “ticky-tacky” (as the announcers called ‘em).

OKAY…now that THAT all’s out of the way, let’s talk about what’s on everyone’s mind: what happened to the Seahawks high octane offense? This is a 3-4 touchdown per game team…why’d they end up with 10 points instead of 24-31? What about all those off-season running back acquisitions? Seattle put up some pretty good running numbers in pre-season.

I’ll break it down into three parts.

Here’s the CONVENTIONAL interpretation: the Seahawks are still “gelling” as an offense. All their starting wide receivers are injured. The new guys need real (regular season) game time with the starting QB. The O-line is getting settled. The skill players are still “learning the system.” Hasselbeck is a little rusty. Etc.

Here’s the GUT-THEORY interpretation: Holmgren is going with his game own game plan that relies on history and “sound fundamentals” rather than the heart or "gut feeling." 4th and 1 inside your own 40 yard line? Fundamentals say “punt the ball” even when your kicking game has looked like crap all day, especially when the Hawks struggled a LOT last year to get one yard. What happens? The punt is run back for a touchdown. For me, I was yelling “don’t risk another garbage punt” at my TV…the TV folks didn’t seem to hear me.

How about some other examples: I don’t know who Jeb Putzier is, but he dropped every pass thrown to him. Every one. Says here he’s a tight end with a couple years experience in the NFL. What about John Carlson? For that matter, what about Will Heller? Why don’t they suit this guy up…what, he can’t block or something? I know he can catch…he did fine last season. Courtney Taylor got a lot of looks and missed on all but two…why not try out Jordan Kent, the leading receiver from pre-season? I’m guessing it’s because Taylor has actual “NFL experience” and Kent is a rookie…but if you’re going to drop the ball anyway, why not?

Okay, enough of the mental vs. gut…let’s look at the ASTROLOGICAL issues: I’ve actually been avoiding looking at the roster, afraid of what I might see. On a surface level it doesn’t appear to be too bad, but our performance says otherwise.

Matthew Hasselbeck is a Libra, a Cardinal Air sign. This makes him a leader, a thinker, and a team player. Traditional wisdom would say he connects best with the signs Aquarius, Gemini, Sagittarius, and Leo. However, last year’s New England Patriots showed just how strong a Grand Square could be (see my earlier post regarding the Pats for more info). A Grand Square with Hasselbeck would be the Cardinal Cross of Libra, Aries, Capricorn, and Cancer. Let’s see how close we get to either:

Traditional “good” connections: Logan Payne (Aquarius), Jordan Kent (Leo), Nate Burleson (Leo; out for season with a torn ACL after Sunday’s game). That’s pretty short, though if the Seahawks go back and sign Michael Bumpus (Sagittarius; #2 receiver in pre-season but cut) we might be okay.

Grand Square: Deion Branch (Cancer – out), Bobby Engram (Capricorn – out), Courtney Taylor (Aries). Pretty slim pickings there as well.

Unknown: TE Jeb Putzier (Capricorn/Aquarius). Depending on his birth time, he might fall into either category. Based on the lack of chemistry displayed, I’d guess Capricorn but I’d be interested in knowing who he caught passes from in the pre-season (Capricorn works well with Virgo Charlie Frye or Scorpio Seneca Wallace).

Out of synch: Will Heller, John Carlson, Ben Obamanu (out). Earth and Water signs, these guys should be good for either of our backup QBs (Earth and Water signs also), but are probably not starters. Unfortunately, two of the three are TEs (Hasselbeck loves hitting the TE in the endzone) and need to be developed. As a Taurus, Carlson needs to develop a fixed determination that he OWNS the endzone…if he can do that, he shouldn’t have a problem converting no matter who is throwing to him. Heller has shown his Piscean adaptability and soft hands in the past, and should be a versatile role-player.

Okay…the running backs and O-Line will require a separate entry. But it's obvious Seattle needs to pick an identity for the year, and stick with it.

Where Have I Been?

Just in case anyone was wondering: busy traveling. Spent May in Europe, July in Mexico, August in Montana, and just got back from the San Juans.

June was spent mostly at home with my new puppy...yes, we added a second beagle to our household, this one a Taurus named Buddy as he is my older beagle's "little buddy."

However, I do intend to be more active this football season...I've got tickets to all but one of the home games this year!

NFL Draft Day

NFL Draft Day will be kicking off in just a few minutes and ESPN is broadcasting non-stop the moves and maneuvers of NFL teams trading young rookies like poker chips.  And why not?  As the Sun leaves the sign of Aries and enters into Taurus, humanity turns inward to seek the value, meaning, and purpose of our own lives...”value” perhaps being the key word.

Some folks look at Taurus as being all about money...but that is really missing the mark. Taurus as a sign is about self-sufficiency and finding one’s own resources. And a person’s (or player’s) skills are just another type of available resource.  Placing a value on that is something a person needs to do for himself...though I guess agents can always help find the market value for young players who are as yet unsure (or have an exaggerated) sense) of their own value.

Taurus is also a good time to settle down and get ready for the long haul...Aries is all about starting new things; it is the fire of inspiration. But Taurus takes those new experiences discovered in an Aries period and takes stock of their value, meaning, and purpose in life...retaining everything useful in preparation for the next step of the journey.  With the NFL Draft, this is all about preparation for the future, folks.

Anyway, which teams are looking at the Draft with a Taurean state-of-mind?  Well, the pro’s generally talk the good talk about “building blocks for the future” but there are always moments of reactive madness.  Whenever you throw a time limit on picks, and have folks making last-minute deals and trades, things can get a little heated and the best laid plans can go awry.  How many contingency plans can someone really have?

A lot of course...in the pro’s, you hire people to assist your assistants.

So as of this moment, only two picks are for sure: Jake Long (tackle) going to Miami at #1 and Chis Long (defensive end) going to St. Louis at #2.   

Perhaps it is only fitting that Jake Long, as the 1st pick, is in fact a Taurus.  Miami is certainly hoping he’ll be a rock on their offensive line for a long time.  Based on the astrological chemistry of the ‘Fins current offensive line, he may not be able to make any kind of impact immediately...or perhaps HE will but the rest of the line isn’t going to support his play-style.  Oh, well, astrologically Miami’s a mess anyway...there are many reasons why they ended up last in the League last year, but the stars weren’t a great help either...anyway, it’s not going to turn around in a single season.

Chis Long on the other hand...well, this is a guy who may actually do some damage if he can win a starting spot on the Rams or if another team member goes down with injury.  An Aries, this is a guy who is going to try going it alone anyway...or at least will attempt to lead the charge (it IS a team sport, after all).  He’ll definitely have a different play-style than Leonard Little (a Libra), whom the Rams seem to want Long to eventually replace. Libra is the opposite sign from Aries...relying on team mates and contributing to the line himself.  We’ll see how long the transition takes.

One interesting thing about Long...as a Ram he’ll be facing the Seattle Seahawks twice a year (at least) as long as he stays in St. Louis.  His father  (Hall of Famer Howie Long) played the same position for the Raiders before re-alignment and thus also played against the Seahawks twice a year, when Seattle was still in the AFC West division.  The elder Long had a great career against everyone, but certainly had the occasional problems in Seattle (Dan Doorninck notably ran over him for 123 yards in the 1984 play-offs preventing the Raiders from returning to the Super Bowl).  I can only assume father will share his old war stories with his son...I wonder what he’ll tell him about Seattle.  Certainly, Chris will never have to play in the Kingdome, but Qwest Field is still a pretty tough venue for visiting teams....

As for the Draft un-knowables:

I don't agree with him on much, but Steve Young's analysis of Atlanta is spot-on.  If they don't pick up Matt Ryan as a QB for the future, the Falcons are going to have a tougher time with their re-building process.  Actually scratch that: Young is only right slightly more often than Ditka (which isn't saying much).  Atlanta does need to re-build and do need a QB, but Matt Ryan isn't necessarily the answer to their prayers.  I'll be interested to see what they do.

Washington Redskins were looking to pick up a Wide Receiver in trade from more than one team, and have got to be thinking WR in the draft.  Makes a lot of sense when you consider Jim Zorn is their new head coach.  Ex-Seahawk QB, ex-Seahawk QB coach...you think Snyder is saying, 'all right enough of this smash-mouth nonsense...we keep losing to the Seahawks in the play-offs?'  I think so.  I think he wants his own "greatest show on turf" and if there's a way to buy it, he will find a way to do so.

As for the Seahawks themselves...oh, man I was hoping Michael Turner (of the Chargers) would leave for free agency and that the Seahawks would pick him up.  He DID leave, but ended up with the Falcons.  All the newspaper pundits are talking about how Seattle needs a receiving Tight End, but rather than drafting one, I'd like to see them work out a trade for Jeremy Shockey. There's been much speculation that Shockey will be traded to the Saints in exchange for their number 10 draft pick; it's just too bad the Seahawks pick is only 25.  Astrologically speaking, Shockey (a Leo) will do no better with Drew Brees than he did with Capricorn Eli Manning.  But with Matthew Hasselbeck (a Libra)...well, that's a completely different story.

Back To Work

Well, time again for another apology.

What can I say...it’s been nearly a year since I started this blog, and yet my blogging has trailed off to nothing since November.  I’ve missed almost the entirety of the 2007 NFL season (including the play-offs), almost all of the NBA season (the Sonics are done, anyway...in more ways than one), and opening day of the Major Leagues. Hell, I even blew off my chance to blog for USA Today!

In my defense, I will say I have been writing, nearly every day...I’ve simply been focused on other writing projects.  It might be easier if I had a bit more Gemini in me, or even Sag...those people can blog lots of topics (the former) or lots of opinions (the latter), like there’s no tomorrow.  As a Scorpio, I tend to be a “depth not breadth” person...and it can be exhausting to do hours of research and analysis for a short daily blog.  Ah, well.  I will try to pace myself and get back into it.

There’s still plenty to discuss...Shaun Alexander has been released from the Seahawks, and so it’s time to talk about their new acquisitions.  I should do a re-cap of the NFL play-offs for sure (I will say this...I picked the Pats to be defeated in the Super Bowl by the Giants, though I was hoping for the more Disney-esque version where Old Man Favre pulls one last championship out of his back pocket).  And Favre has retired!  The King has left the building, ladies and gentlemen...lots of stuff on the football front.

Way back in pre-season of last year, I talked about the astrological chemistry of the ‘Hawks running game and offensive line, and yeah it turned a little ugly at times last year.  We’ll need to take a look at the new crop of linemen suiting up. The defense, though played fantastic and with the exception of God stepping in nothing could have stopped them from returning to their 2nd Super Bowl.  Of course, we all saw how that turned out.

And the new Seahawks schedule turns up plenty of topic fodder as well. I haven’t seen such a happy little schedule in many Moons!  Certainly kinder than last year’s ass-kicker.

On the basketball front, we’re losing the Sonics...um, nothing much astrological to say about how the ownership purposefully tanked the team this year. But we can look at the extensive NBA finals and the teams matching up for the trophy.

And soccer...hoo-boy!  Seattle just acquired a Major League soccer team.  Hello, Sounders FC!  I can even guesstimate their actual birth date and time based on the announcement of their name (kind of a Christening for the team).  Thank the Lord that so many of my fellow Seattle-ites felt as strongly as I did and wrote in the name Sounders; we were nearly saddled with...well, we’ll talk about that, too.

All right, more later.  I do have a laptop now, so blogging should be an option more often.  As we enter into the season of Taurus, it’s time for me to put my head down and keep pushing like an ox!