| Brian Carlton. 15th August, 2005 - 5:30 pm
 The sound that you hear coming out of Seattle is a clock ticking away. Everyone on the Seahawks knows they’re on borrowed time, just like they know who gets the blame for it. Mike Holmgren is getting a lot of grief for how the past two seasons have turned out, not because he did anything absolutely horrible but due to a cardinal sin he committed. He offered Seattle hope.
Hope’s a dangerous thing to start throwing around, as several coaches in the NFL can attest. It’s a simple recipe. Take one struggling team, add a Hall of Fall coach or a big name player, promise an end to the losing ways and mix together. Before long you’ve got a city packing out the stadium, willing to trust that things are going to be different. And to a certain extant they have been. Holmgren came to Seattle in 1999, instantly adding some credibility to a franchise that desperately needed it. With him at the helm, the Seahawks have made the playoffs for the first time since 1988, put up double digit wins for the first time since ’86. All this while developing what some people were calling franchise players. Matt Hasselback started to look like an NFL QB and Shaun Alexander kept improving. But why isn’t that enough? Because it’s 2005 and six years later, the team still hasn’t made that giant step into the second round of the playoffs.
Heading into this season, Holmgren’s name is the biggest one out on the chopping block. Having reloaded, players, coaches and fans are all trying to forget the one that got away, namely how they were one catch from a playoff win and job security for their coach. It all came down to a dropped pass, slipping out of receiver Bobby Engram’s hands. Now some new faces have been brought in, while once untouchable players have parted ways with the team. Gone is Koren Robinson, the troubled wide receiver who had loads of talent, but just couldn’t put it all together on or off the field. Also gone are linebackers Chad Brown and Orlando Huff, not to mention Ken Lucas, who went to fill a hole at cornerback for the Carolina Panthers. In their place are a mix of veterans and young talent, nobody you’d immediately recognize but some could argue an upgrade.
One of the main problems with the offense last year was a major case of butterfingers. Receivers simply could not hold on to the ball. It was so bad that some fans were buying glue and sending it to the team. So to solve that, Seattle said goodbye to Robinson and future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. In their place come Jerome Pathon and Joe Jurevicius. Pathon comes over from New Orleans, where he had 121 catches for 1682 yards in three years. To put it in perspective, that’s more catches than both Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson had combined last season. Despite only playing in 10 games due to injury last season, Joe Jurevicius tacked on 27 catches for 333 yards. Even with the shortened playing time, Jurevicius’ numbers would have been good enough for fourth on the team in catches and fifth in yards. Over a full season, he can be a great weapon to have.
More important to some than who the team picked up was who they kept. Hasselbeck returns after a season that saw him throw only 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Granted he can’t take the blame for dropped passes, but he does have to do a better job of leading the team when they’re on the field. And then there’s the potential problem child. Shaun Alexander, when he’s locked in, can be one of the most dangerous running backs in the league. However despite the record numbers last season, 1696 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, what most people remember is his conduct off the field. Alexander came out and attacked Holmgren after the final regular season game, because he lost the rushing title by one yard. Even though the team won, Alexander felt he deserved another carry, so he could have walked away with the trophy. The whole concept of team first playing seemed to be lost on him. In fairness he did later apologize and unlike some didn’t hold out for a better contract, so it’s not like he’s a lost cause.
But now you can’t help but hear the clock. It’s ticking louder than ever and everyone knows it. If Holmgren doesn’t deliver a first round victory, he’s probably gone. The receivers have to prove they can hold on to the ball, to avoid being the goat. Shaun Alexander needs to put together another great year and show why he’s worth the money. Finally Matt Hasselbeck has his contract, but now he has to show that he’s worth it. All these players were either brought in or kept by Holmgren, building a nucleus that he proclaimed would win a championship. For everyone’s sake, some progress toward that has to start this year or the clock will likely run out. |
