| Christopher Reina. 18th January, 2009 - 2:24 pm
 Record: 4-12
Trench Counter: -5.9 (28th)
Point differential per game: -6.1 (26th)
Payroll: $103M (24th)
Cost Per Win: $25.7M (26th)
Passing offense: 163.6 (29th)
Rushing offense: 110.5 (19th)
Passing defense: 259.3 (32nd)
Rushing defense: 118.7 (18th)
Turnover differential: -0.4 (25th)
Strength of schedule: 19th
If their season were a song: Out Of Gas - Modest Mouse
Game-by-Game (Score, Trench Counter)
Week 1: at BUF, 10-34 Loss, -11.3
Week 2: SF, 30-33 Loss, -10.3
Week 3: STL, 37-13 Win, 17.3
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: at NYG, 6-44 Loss, -26.4
Week 6: GB, 17-27 Loss, -10.3
Week 7: at TB, 10-20 Loss, -11.0
Week 8: at SF, 34-13 Win, 4.7
Week 9: PHI, 7-26 Loss -6.4
Week 10: at MIA, 19-21 Loss, 0.6
Week 11: ARI, 20-26 Loss, -11.0
Week 12: WSH, 17-20 Loss, -10.9
Week 13: at DAL, 9-34 Loss, -15.0
Week 14: NE, 21-24 Loss, -0.5
Week 15: at STL, 23-20 Win, 4.1
Week 16: NYJ, 13-3, Win, 4.0
Week 17: at ARI, 21-34 Loss, -12.6
Seahawks Season Review
With Shaun Alexander already gone, Mike Holmgren on his way out, and Matt Hasselbeck beaten up, Seattle quickly began transitioning out of the era that took them to Super Bowl XL.
Whether the 2008 season was an overlying symptom of Seattle's future or whether it was a fluke in which they battled through injuries where 26 players missed 163 games is not quite clear. Their offensive line was especially battered and bruised, and although he still is one of the game's best left tackles, Walter Jones is not the Walter Jones he once was, especially when on a knee that required microfracture surgery.
Reina Value and FIC Rank
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Quarterbacks
- Seneca Wallace (31st, 351, +101%)
Wallace got increasingly better as the season progressed was was unquestionably excellent against San Francisco, New England, and the Jets. He finished the season with an 87.0 passer rating, which easily beats Hasselbeck's 57.8 mark. Seattle has made it clear that Hasselbeck projects as the 2009 starter, and even though no player should lose his job because of injury, the quarterback position should be at least subtly up for grabs given Wallace being five years younger and far more effective in 2008.
- Matt Hasselbeck (37th, 244, -77%)
Hasselbeck got off to a rough start with that back injury, and he attempted to play through the pain but was far off from his career passer rating of 84.5 and the 91.4 mark he had in 2007. His completion percentage of 52.2 was easily the worst in his career, and he threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns.
Running Backs
- Maurice Morris (49th, 279 [177 rushing, 102 receiving), +8%)
Morris has been a great soldier for the Seahawks, filling in for Alexander in 2006 and 2007 and then being the other back for Julius Jones. He had a 4.3 yards per carry average, which was down slightly from 2007.
- Julius Jones (52nd, 261 [210 rushing, 51 receiving], -13%)
Jones began the season very well, but he couldn't take care of the ball and fumbled four times, losing two. His signing didn't exactly work out as well as predicted even though his yards per carry average rose .8 from 2007. He also wasn't as effective as a receiver.
Wide Receivers
- Bobby Engram (60th, 312, -10%)
Tim Ruskell didn't really want Engram back in 2008 to begin with, and he is just about guaranteed to be done in Seattle. Engram eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in 2007 by catching 94 balls, but he caught just 47 balls for 489 yards this season.
- Deion Branch (71st, 274, -78%)
Branch was limited to eight games because of that persistent knee injury. His yards per catch was on par with the rest of his career, and if you throw out the Jets' game, he was very solid in Weeks 13-17 including a pair of two-touchdown games (New England and Arizona).
- Koren Robinson (72nd, 263, -31%)
In his first season back with the Seahawks, Robinson put up nearly identical numbers to 2004, his previous Seattle season. He had 31 receptions and two touchdowns in each season and 400 yards in 2008 compared to 495 in 2004.
Tight Ends
- John Carlson (8th, 430, +400%)
Carlson was a brilliant find and was easily Seattle's most accomplished receiver in 2008. He caught 55 balls for 627 yards and five touchdowns, the first time a Seahawks' rookie has led the team in receptions and yards since Steve Largent. It is extremely rare for a tight end to lead his team in those three categories, something only done by Keith Jackson, Mike Ditka, and Bob Trumpy.
Defensive Summary
The Seahawks had 35 sacks but gave up a passer rating of 94.6, which easily was the worst amongst teams with that many sacks. Brandon Mebane and Darryl Tapp each had 5.5 sacks, and Josh Wilson had four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The injury to Patrick Kearney was clearly one reason why their pass rush was subpar.
As a whole, Seattle's defense will need to get bigger, but that's not a huge surprise from a team that has invested so heavily in their linebackers. Speaking of which, LeRoy Hill could possibly get franchised this offseason.
Lofa Tatupu really wasn't a factor the way he was during his first three seasons, but you can blame his thumb injury or the Seahawks not having much power at tackle in front of him for that.
Julian Peterson became an injury replacement on the Pro Bowl team, but he only recorded five sacks after having 10 in 2006 and 9.5 in 2007.
Biggest draft needs:
As evidenced above, Seattle's production from their receiving unit was dreadful, and Michael Crabtree would clearly be a sexy pick with the fourth overall selection. Ruskell has already gone on record stating how he isn't a fan of selecting offensive linemen with a high pick, but Seattle, of course, took Walter Jones with the sixth overall selection in 1997, and that seemed to work very well for them.
Between Michael Oher, Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe, and Jason Smith, the market for tackles is flooded, and Seattle is guaranteed to get an excellent one.
Jim Mora seems to be inclined to stress the running game, and I believe whichever lineman they prefer would be the better choice for Seattle. Unless Seattle is absolutely convinced that Crabtree will become a transcendent receiver as Calvin Johnson already has for Detroit (not convinced of that), then they could find a much better value at 36 at receiver with a Darius Heyward-Bey out of Maryland.
Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM |
