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Dec. 29
As we head into the
offseason, things will only get more interesting after the most painful
season in a half-decade. A few quick thoughts:
1. The Seahawks have the No. 4 overall pick. Unfortunately, this season
showed the team has holes across the board. In no particular order, they
need to address most the offensive and defensive lines, cornerback, wide
receiver, long-term QB and my personal Public Enemy No. 1, replacing
free safety Brian Russell.
2. Next season's schedule
actually looks quite good. After traveling more than 32,000 miles this
season, the Seahawks' longest road trip next year is to Indianapolis.
Add in two flights to the state of Texas, and it's as favorable a road
schedule as Seattle has seen in many years.
3. Give Jim a chance already. Seahawks fans are
ridiculously critical of a coach they know little about. Mora was
considered an excellent young coach in Atlanta before Michael Vick
brought him down.
He's energetic, has the respect of the players and
knows football. And stop citing how bad the secondary was. He can't make
Josh Wilson taller, he can't make Brian Russell tackle any better and he
can't help that the team goofed on Kelly Jennings before he even got
here. He's a better known commodity than a lot of the new coaches you'll
see around the league next year, so give the guy a chance.
Sound Off in the PARTYHAWKS.com FORUM!
Nov. 24
Has anyone seen this
person?
We put out an Amber alert for the young woman who never appeared at the
tailgate Sunday.
Heard Saturday night:
"Q: "So why isn't Neglay coming?"
"A: "I don't know, but I think someone said his vagina hurt."
Heard Sunday: "That's funny, as long as no one tells me
that I
pulled my Neglay.
Have you seen this vag? If so, tell us his whereabouts in the PARTYHAWKS.com FORUM!
TAILGATE QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"Look at the little man with the little grill making his little hamburgers.
.... How cute!"
-- Anonymous webmaster watching Andy grill in his Warner jersey.
Nov. 20
The first question people
will ask this week is, "So, do we have a chance today?"
The short answer is, "yes." But the explanation is far more complicated.
 Washington brings five former Seahawks and coach Jim Zorn back to Seattle. As Loree can attest, I pumped Zorn for the next coach of the Seahawks this time last year. Most people thought it was far too early in his coaching career to have his first head gig of any type, but how short people's memory can be once Zorn found instant success with the Redskins. He's proving to be an adept play-caller and a strong and respected voice in the locker room.
But the Redskins certainly are invulnerable. Three keys to victory Sunday:
Play-calling.
Zorn is intimately familiar with the Seahawks' offense, so it's on Mike Holmgren to mix up his play-calling and keep the Redskins defense off-balance.
Shake off the rust.
Matt was out of sync against the Cardinals and easily could have had more than the three picks he was charged with. One was a terrible route by Koren, and the other two were simply bad throws. Matt has to read the defense better - which won't be easy because Washington disguises its coverages well.
Big plays.
The Seahawks need to find a few while limiting them on defense. The Hawks lack speed at receiver, which lets opponents sit on the intermediate routes. They have to take advantage of that by hitting on at least two big pass plays. Defensively, they'll be susceptible to the speed of WRs Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. With Josh Wilson questionable, Kelly Jennings could be back in the starting lineup. Uh oh.
At least the tailgates are still fun. Post-game
traffic, not so much. Sue chided Christine and I for not waiting for
them post-game, and our Karma was to get stuck at a broken railroad
crossing and taking two hours to get home.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Look at the little man with the little grill making his little hamburgers. How cute!" -- Anonymous webmaster watching Andy grill in his Warner jersey.
Do we all find Andy obnoxious?
Vent your feeling in the PARTYHAWKS.com FORUM!
Nov. 11
So now it's time to find out who the true diehards are. OK,
maybe not since it's still expected to be sunny and in the 50s this
weekend. But we'll see who shows up for the first windy, wet game to
watch a 3-11 team play some truly horrid football.
Three quick thoughts entering the week:
Welcome back, Matt:
Seneca certainly played far better in Miami. He stepped up in the pocket, made good throws and was victimized by a plethora of drops. Welcome to being a Seahawks quarterback. Regardless, Seneca simply isn't a viable NFL quarterback. The past four weeks have shown how seriously the Seahawks must begin addressing who will eventually take over for Matt.
Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy:
Five false starts in a half-empty Dolphin Stadium? LG Mike Wahle was responsible for two of them as he continues to set the offense back once or twice a game with a penalty this fledgling offense simply can't overcome.
He has pictures of someone in the front office:
FS Brian Russell is my new whipping boy. OK, he's an old one because back in his days in Cleveland I used to point him out in my previews that he was one of the weak links on the Browns' defense. He doesn't provide good support over the top and isn't strong when asked to help in run defense. But it hit a new level in Miami when I saw him take a horrible angle on special teams. This is a veteran starting safety in the NFL who can't even maintain his assignments on special teams.
Agree/Disagree? PARTYHAWKS.com FORUM!!!
Oct. 30
If you're already bummin' about winter coming, I posted a
bunch of good pics Loree took at the first tailgate. It's in the photo
album for the 49ers game on the schedule on the right. Take
a look if yo u need to remember what the sun looks like.
Turns out I created a forum last year and forgot about it.
It's totally ad-free and you don't sign up for anything, so it's an easy
place to trash talk or talk about whether Mora should be the Huskies or
Seahawks
coach.
I started the forum by posting a message about what
everyone's planning to cook so we don't overlap too much (Another
stellar suggestion from Mr. Neglay. So for all of you who haven't
participated in the message board, you don't have any excuse now.
Christine and I are planning on getting there about 9. If it's raining, we'll try to get underneath the overhang of the building immediately to the left when you drive into the lot. Maybe then the prima donna Blaisdell's will be good enough to hang with us for more than 10 minutes :-)
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Oct. 28
So the season was salvage for at least one more week -
thanks to the weakest division in football. In fact, being just two
games behind Arizona with two games remaining against the Cardinals, the
argument could be made that the Seahawks are right in the thick of
things.
I said it could be made. Doesn't mean it'd be a smart argument.
Matt Hasselbeck was in California on Monday meeting with a back specialist. Not good. And outside of two stroke of luck touchdowns off screen passes to Leonard Weaver, Seneca Wallace still looked incapable of moving the ball through the air against San Francisco.
No team in the league is as aggressive rushing the passer and sending blitz packages than the Eagles, who will throw the kitchen sink at Seneca unless the Hawks can put together some semblance of a running game.
Philadelphia is finally healthy and looks at Sunday's game as one of its soft spots on a brutal schedule in the ultra competitive NFC East.
I know, Mr. Negativity. But reality is ... well, reality.
Stranger things have happened and there's no doubt the team will play more inspired at home. But while the Hawks managed to steal one against a reeling team on the road, they're now preparing for a
buzz saw in Philadelphia, who was my preseason pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Don't
agree? Speak up in the PARTYHAWKS FORUM
Oct. 23
OK... I finally got off my butt and put together a Hawks
forum. Don't like Charlie Frye? Did Patrick not pour you a shot at the
last tailgate? Wondering where the Brummetts are? Want to make sure
you're not cooking the same thing as someone else? Here you go.
PARTYHAWKS FORUM
Oct. 20
So it's officially that time of year when the real fans
will separate themselves from the bandwagoners.
After dominatin g the NFC West for the past half-decade,
Seattle won't be dominating anything this season other than a Top 10
draft pick. With Sunday's road game at San Fran likely to be without Matt Hasselbeck again and Philly coming to town the following week, we're staring at 1-7 at the midway point.
But as Patrick so eloquently put it: "I love tailgating and I love you guys!" So hopefully we'll all be there even during the hard times for five more good tailgates.
Oh yeah, Patrick also said, "I love this woman." Fortunately, he was talking to Janie - that woulda been really awkward otherwise.
Congrats again to their engagement. At least something good is going to come out of this season.
On the football front, there really isn't anything to feel positive about. The offense is beat up and out of sync, and the would-be dominating defense can't stop anyone.
Injuries can't be helped, they're part of the game. But the defensive implosion is really hard to fathom. This was supposed to be the year the defense had all to tools to "take the next step."
Instead, the linebackers aren't tackling well and if the pass r ush doesn't get to the quarterback, anyone can play pitch and catch against Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson. Wilson gives up far too big a cushion, while Jennings flat out gets beat any time he's in one-on-one coverage.
As an undersized defense predicated on speed, you can't win if you can stop people on third down. And you can't stop anyone on third down if you can hold coverage for more than two seconds.
What has also become brutally apparent is Seneca Wallace and Charlie Frye aren't fit to run this offense. Matt's not getting any younger and his style of play will always leave him susceptible to injury. So expect the Seahawks to either bring in a veteran backup or use a pick in the first three rounds to select a legitimate quarterback to groom behind Matt.
Got something to say?
PARTYHAWKS FORUM
Sept. 12
Amazing how one ass-kicking 2,500 miles away and a slew of injuries can
change people's outlook. I can't remember the last time I saw so many
tickets floating around on game week, especially for a season opener in 80 degree weather.
Before jumping ship on the season, remember the Hawks still reside in the NFC West, where the 49ers and Rams haven't made nearly enough improvement to knock the Seahawks off their throne and the Cardinals are pinning their hopes on 38-ear-old QB Kurt Warner
Of course, the 'Hawks have already suffered a season's worth of injuries before they even take the field for their home opener.
RG Rob Sims is out for the season, replaced by perennially-injured Floyd Womack. Womack will start next to Ray Willis, who is filling in for RT Sean Locklear, giving Seattle backups at both spots on the right side. The 49ers will blitz that tandem mercilessly Sunday.
The team's top four wide receivers are still injured, leaving QB Seneca Wallace as a possible starting split end against the 49ers. He could also return punts.
I t got so bad, the 'Hawks actually entertained bringing back Koren Robinson (damn, I gave that jersey to the Goodwill! They probably used it to stoke a campfire). Instead, we got Billy McMullen and Samie Parker.
Is that the best they could do out of the pool of approximately 30 free agents they considered?
McMullen was a solid pickup. He can pick up the offense quickly after spending three years in Philadelphia with Mike Holmgren
protégé Andy Reid. The Eagles at one point saw McMullen as a possible long-term starter, but he never progressed to that point.
Parker? There's the head scratcher. The former Duck left Kansas City, where the Chiefs made little attempt to re-sign him and then couldn't make the Panthers' final roster. He runs decent routes and has solid speed, but was plagued by drops throughout his Chiefs career. That's pretty much the same scouting report as Darrell Jackson. 'Nuff said.
I have always respected the job GM Tim Ruskell has done in Seattle - we owe him a debt of gratitude for the best run in franchise history. But that faith is eroding quickly following a series of head-scratching personnel moves since the end of last season. But that'll be a topic for next week ... especially if T.J. Duckett gets stuffed on a first 3rd-and-1's.
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