Seahawks Preview: Sports Scene Saviors

The Seahawks are poised to save Seattle sports fans from their summer of discontent.

It’s time to move on from heartbreaking story lines about the See-ya-later SuperSonics and Misguided Mariners. Thank the football gods.

Training camp opens Friday and we’ve got some stuff to keep an eye on. So, here goes:

Running backs
Obviously, the biggest story of the offseason, president and general manager Tim Ruskell is hoping he’s found a solution to an anemic running game. The Seahawks ranked 20th in rushing last season, but the acquisitions of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett will give coach Mike Holmgren more options than what he had under Shaun Alexander. I love the idea of Jones catching the ball out of the backfield on early downs and he’ll hit the hole faster than what Hawks fans have been seeing the last couple years. Duckett could be the guy in tough short yardage situations to help keep Holmgren’s head from exploding.

Tight end
I’d like to see second-round draft pick John Carlson sign a contract quickly and get into camp on Friday. The Hawks have really lacked production from the tight end position and a true threat can take some pressure off quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and the receiving corps. It’ll help solidify Holmgren’s west coast offense if he can get somebody who was even a shadow of Mark Chmura, who he had in Green Bay. But, you know, without all the sexual assault stuff.

Receiving
Lots of questions here and no real answers until these guys strap it on. Bobby Engram says he’s going to show up to camp despite not getting paid what he thinks he’s worth. So, that’ll be nice. But what will we get from Nate Burleson this season – will things start clicking for him? Can Deion Branch bounce back from knee surgery and contribute? Which younger player is going to emerge with a larger role on the team?

Offensive line
I’m going to continue to say that Walter Jones will manhandle opponents until he proves otherwise. I’m not an expert on offensive line play and I’m pretty sure 97% of NFL analysts couldn’t truly tell you how they came to the conclusion that Jones has lost a step. But damn if it doesn’t sound like a cool thing to say on national TV. He’s the best football player the Seahawks have ever had – done and done. Everybody says Mike Wahle should help shore up the left side of the line. He’ll be the fourth guy in three seasons to start at the position since Ruskell brain farted and let Steve Hutchinson go to Minnesota.

Kicking
Goodbye Josh Brown and hello seventh round draft pick and former Georgia Bulldog Brandon Coutu. Actually, Olindo Mare is listed on the depth chart ahead of Coutu, but this is a position battle. Mare played 13 games for the Saints last year with a kicking percentage of 58.8. Not great. In Coutu’s fours years at Georgia his average kicking percentage was 79.6.

Defensive run stopping
This is a much improved defense from prior seasons, but defensive run stopping is one question mark. The Seahawks ranked 12th in the league in defending the run and gave up 235 yards on the ground in the final playoff game against the Packers in the snow. If Marcus Tubbs can stay healthy, he can be a wide body that can take up space in the middle. If Seattle wants to make it back to the Super Bowl it will most likely have to play on the road and in the cold. And that means defending the run. As we saw against Green Bay in the final game of the season, a fast outside pass rush from the ends isn’t going to be effective when the opponent can jam the ball down your throat in the snow.

Mike Holmgren
It’s his last season and it’ll be fun to see how the players react as the games click by. Will it be a rallying cry for the team to send the coach out on top? It'll be tough going from The Big Show to Junior. I like my football coaches mustachioed and carrying a little extra weight.