Field Gulls - Your 2008 Seattle Seahawks

In my mind Hasselbeck gets another chance after he gets an off-season to recuperate. There's just no way to tell if his back is going to heal at this point. If he plays well, he can finish out the season and play the next season, if he doesn't the draftee can play.

Regardless of Hasselbeck's back this year, it is the right time to draft a quarterback. He's 34 and does have quite an extensive injury history, so it's better to take a QB now and not be flat-footed later. Hasselbeck might rebound, but he's just not at an age where it happens very often. The Farve/Garcia route to playing well into your late 30s isn't exactly common in an NFL quarterback.

Better safe than sorry.

 

kinda have to include warner in the late 30's discussion as well. shockingly.

i definitely matt gets another shot, but it somehow doesn't look so good to me. and i'm thinking playing him this year would be a mistake. if he has a bulging disk i'd rather have him miss out on the rest of a lost season and play the backup, get him experience and see what you have next year. i kinda think the bengals are completely crazy for even considering playing carson palmer for the same reason. you do NOT want a career-ender in a season that is completely hopeless. especially to QB's of their calibre.

:snoopy

 

I'd play Matt because I believe that the Seahawks can compete for an NFC West title next season. Arizona is slightly overachieving and Seattle has been underachieving and decimated by injuries. The record this season looks bad, but it's not indicative of the team's true talent level.

These guys aren't the Detroit Lions.

 

oh, i agree with that. heck, they owned the division last year, no question on that.

however, i'm not entirely sure that arizona is overachieving or if they've just been underachieving for a number of years. think about how many times they've been picked to win the west in the last few years, and fallen flat on their faces. but in the process of doing so they've flashed the brilliance that they are capable of, as long as their not on the east coast (for whatever reason). i think i'd beware them next year, they might be surprising. them and the 49ers.

the reason i wouldn't play matt for the rest of the year, other than the risk of injury, is that they're going to have a new coach, so possibly everything changes. in all honesty there's not any benefit to him playing the rest of the season, and there is for wallace. i mean, it's not like matt's gonna be improve with the additional experience at this point, so i think i'd hedge my bets on this one as a result of the upcoming changes.

:snoopy

 

Oh I misread your question. Matt should be IR'd tomorrow along with Walter Jones.

 

ah, i hate when i do that.

i agree with you there. definitely. you can't replace guys like that.

:snoopy

 

The thing about this team is they have a great WR core. They just need a fresh face at QB and a half decent running back, and their starters to be healthy from the start of the season and they could do well.

 

Well this is devastating news.

All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones underwent microfracture knee surgery today. This injury quite often the kiss of death for a tackle's career, but when you compound that with Walter's age and inability to take pain medication stronger than aspirin, it's quite likely that his career in the NFL ended today.

 

Some early off-season news for the 'Hawks

Seattle is letting go of offensive coordinator Gil Haskell, defensive coordinator John Marshall, and special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven.

I'll elaborate more tomorrow, but this is good news for the 'Hawks. These three men are largely responsible for the stale play-calling Seattle was plagued with last season.

 

How do you think the Seahawks will go in the draft?

 

Depends on who's available. If left-tackles Oher and Smith or QB Matthew Stafford is available at pick 4, I suspect one of them will be taken. If not, I suspect Tim Ruskell will trade down for a lower first-round pick and additional second and third round picks.

If I had to wager a guess, the Seahawks will be looking for a QB, LT, DT, WR, and SS in that order.

 

It's been two months since the Draft, and hopefully the Seahawks front office made some good decisions on who to pick.

 

Aaron Curry is a great player, but not a great pick for the Seahawks. They already have a great Linebacking Corps, I don't know how they can justify taking Curry at 4, when they have greater needs at Left Tackle, and on the D-Line.

 

A Seahawk thread! Good!

 

Huh. I should update this more often.

One game into the season and the Seahawks are 1-0 after shutting out the hapless St. Louis Rams.

The bad news:

Weakside OLB Leroy Hill (who mercifully signed a sweetheart contract with the 'Hawks that GM Tim Ruskell can opt out of in only a few seasons) tore a groin muscle and will be out until after the bye. Week 7 will likely be the soonest he can return.

#1 CB Marcus Trufant is on the PUP List with a bulging disc in his back, the same injury that plagued Matt Hasselbeck last season. Week 7 will be the soonest he can return.

LT Walter Jones underwent microfracture knee surgery over the offseason and arthroscopic surgery on the same knee during training camp. He will practice during week 2, but the jury is out as to how effective he will be. The new offensive scheme requires O-lineman to be able to cut-block and move downfield in a hurry, the question is whether Jones still has the mobility to do that.

C Chris Spencer tore his quad during a preseason game. He is slated to practice this week and may be back by Sunday.

The good news:

Strongside OLB Aaron Curry is a physical freak of nature. He was regarded as being the safe pick in the draft, but also being one of the greatest LBs to come through the combine in ages. Seattle passed on QB Mark Sanchez and a LT or two to take Curry, drawing the ire of some people who would have preferred to see the 'Hawks draft for need. Regardless, Curry was the most polished player in the draft and was a fantastic selection.

The Denver Broncos are run by crazy people. In the second round of the 2009 FYP draft, the Broncos traded their 2010 first round pick for Seattle's 2008 second round pick. Yes, read that again. The Broncos traded a first round pick for a second round pick. What's even better? The Broncos aren't very good (and are worse after trading Jay Cutler and replacing him with Kyle Freakin' Orton). That is going to be a very valuable pick that could net us our QB of the future.

Matt Hasselbeck is healthy. He's getting older, and chances are he's not a QB who can buck the aging trend, but he may still have a season or two left in him.

Brian Russell is gone. The worst starting safety in the NFL was released in favor of Jordan Babineaux. This move actually improves two positions at once. SS Deon Grant can shift back into a coverage role that he really excels at and Babineaux can be the hard-hitting safety that plays in the box.

 

Time to talk draft. I have seen some sites project the Seahawks getting CJ Spiller. As a fan of both the Hawks and Clemson, this would be an awesome move for me, I think it would be good for the Seahawks as well because they really need a playmaker.

 

Argh, another year of losing and injuries for the Seahawks. Makes it hard to watch them even though they're the closest team to me.