Caw, Feed the Hawks!

The 2007 Seattle Seahawks open their season officially with the first preseason game on national television this Saturday night against the San Diego Chargers. With the media and all of my friends predicting the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and even the Saint Louis Rams to win the division, it is time for the Hawks to prove everyone wrong.

People write off the Seahawks despite going to the Super Bowl only two seasons ago and one overtime away from reaching the NFC Championship game last season. That all happened with Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander missing significant time throughout the year. What if Tom Brady and Laurence Maroney had missed the same amount of games last year? Or Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai?

Nevertheless people will believe what they wish. The fact remains that this team won three straight division championships and reached the playoffs the past four seasons. The only other teams to make the playoffs the past four years are the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. The Seahawks will win the division again and be a force in the NFC.

Is the division improved? Yes. Are the other teams better than the Seahawks? Absolutely not.

To further examine, let's take a look at the Seattle offense.

In a division packed full of high-powered offenses, the Hawks have the edge in experience if not explosiveness. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck returns after a season full of injuries. After leading Seattle to a 4-1 start, E.J. Henderson tried to "Theismann" Hasselbeck and end his career. Fortunately it was only a MCL sprain, but nonetheless he missed almost five games. He returned only to break multiple fingers on his left hand, injure his ribs, and tear his labrum. Despite all of this, Hasselbeck threw for 2442 yards and 18 touchdowns. He returns healthy now and while missing his old favorite target in Wide Receiver Darrell Jackson, will now have a full season of chemistry with wideouts Nate Burleson and Deion Branch.

The silver lining of the Hasselbeck injury proved to be the play of Seneca Wallace. Even though the team only went 2-2, Wallace threw for nearly 1000 yards and eight touchdowns. Most teams will take that from a back up quarterback. Wallace proved he can be the back up quarterback and if (oh please no) Hasselbeck were to go down again, he can do the job. While he is no Steve Young, he certainly isn't Jim Sorgi either. David Greene will need to have a good camp to cement the third string position and thus far he is achieving that. If he ever plays in a game, the season is over anyway.

With the emergence last season of Frank Gore and Stephen Jackson, the running back position in the NFC West no longer belongs to Shaun Alexander as the king. Just don't tell him that. When asked on the radio where fantasy owners should draft him, Alexander responded, "it depends if the person wants to win." Laughing he continued, "if you want to win, draft me first." Never one to lack confidence or hunger for touchdowns, Alexander's foot now is healed and he seems hungry to return to his status among the elite. If statistics tell the story then watch out. But if age tells the story, then the Hawks may struggle to run the ball. He will be 30 years old this season and not many thirty-somethings do much running the football in the NFL. Yet it is hard to ignore these numbers when healthy.

In 2001, he put up 1318 yards with 14 touchdowns. He followed that up with 1175 and 16 touchdowns the next year. In 2003, Alexander racked up 1435 yards with 14 touchdowns only to trump that with 1696 yards and 16 touchdowns the next season. The MVP year of 2005 was simply ridiculous with 1880 yards and 27 TDs. Then 896 yards and 7 touchdowns last year in only ten games. Yet the biggest concern last season involved the yards per carry (3.6). Every other year listed above he carried 4.0 or higher per carry including 4.8 in 2005 and 5.1 in 2006.

The success of Shaun may rely most on the offensive line. His MVP year involved a great line that played together for years in left tackle Walter Jones, left guard Steve Hutchinson, center Robbie Tobeck, right guard Chris Gray, and right tackle Sean Locklear. Jones, Gray, and Locklear remain on the squad, but the other two positions now are held by youngsters. Center Chris Spencer is entered his third year and guard Rob Sims comes into his second year. They are both held in high regard and seem to be doing well in camp, but Hutch and Tobeck both made Pro Bowls so they have big shoes to fill. (Spencer wears a size 17 shoe, yes!) Ray Willis apparently is pushing Gray for time at the right guard spot, but his value may be best felt filling in as a back up at either tackle spot. When Floyd Womack remains healthy (never) he backs up both guard spots and Tom Ashworth provides a veteran presence as a back up also. A couple young guys provide depth but will never see the field if this team is successful.

If the starters at the line positions can remain healthy and play together, Alexander can have a good season. And if he does well, we shouldn't see too much of Maurice Morris. He remains a decent change of pace back and can run after the catch, but it is doubtful the Hawks' coaches want him playing too much. Meanwhile Mack Strong returns for his 87th season as fullback, but Leonard Weaver may get some time there as well. Coaches, fans, and players alike all rave about the ability of Weaver and he may even see some split back action with Alexander.

The receiving corps remains talented and should be a strength even with the trade of Jackson. Deion Branch enters as the primary receiver and will run the same routs that D-Jack did the past few years. It wouldn't be suprising for Branch to put up 65-70 catches this season in the West Coast offense. He runs precise, quick routes and has good hands (a big downfall of Jackson). Either Nate Burleson or D.J. Hackett will start as the other receiver. The camp battle thus far has been fantastic as Burleson apparently has been catching everything. Hackett remains a fan favorite and has both size and "deceptive quickness" according to those who know these things. Either way, both receivers will be on the field a lot as Head Coach Mike Holmgren and Offensive Coordinator (puppet) Gil Haskell love the three and four receiver sets. Of course Bobby Engram remains the best threat on third down plays as he simply does not drop balls and Hasselbeck loves to find him over the middle. With those four receivers, it is easy to love the depth at the position. The fifth and sixth receivers will be a combination of Ben Obomanu (who is almost a lock to make the team and maybe see playing time), Jordan Kent (please no), and Courtney Taylor.

The question mark aside from the line is the tight end spot. Marcus Pollard comes in at 35 years old, but a good receiver. Whether he puts up good numbers or not, it seems hard to believe he could be worse for the team then Jerramy Stevens. Aside from the arrests and idiocy, the man dropped a lot of balls the past couple years (nice Super Bowl buddy) and had trouble staying healthy. The most he ever caught in one season was 45 balls in the Super Bowl run and clearly he was a threat. Pollard will need to catch between 30 and 40 passes to be a real threat to other teams and hopefully he does because back up Will Heller sure as hell isn't going to do it.

With age and some question marks, it would be easy to write off the Seahawk offense. Yet they still have one of the top three left tackles in the game, a top ten quarterback, a top seven running back, and depth at receiver. So will they score points? Yes and it will be a lot. So will the other NFC West offenses, but will they be able to stop anyone? Will the Hawks?

Soon to come....