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.