2009 NFL Preview: Seattle Seahawks

By JFein:

Ah, Seattle. Home to great coffee, great music, and great people such as this guy. Okay, maybe that guy not so much, but you get my point. Anyway, coming off of an injury plagued season where everything possible went wrong, the Seahawks made several big off-season acquisitions and are poised to make a run and re-claim the title of NFC West championsh.

"PLAYOFFS?!?", Jr. Jim Mora, Jr. is the new coach of the Seattle Seahawks and I would certainly consider that a good thing. The downfall of Atlanta under his watch came because the team relied so heavily on Mike Vick talent wise that when he went to prison, the team did not have a leg stand on. Vince Lombardi would not have been able to make the playoffs with that team. I thought that he did well with what he had to work with and now he has a lot to work with in Seattle so all should be right in the world with Mora, Jr. as the coach of that team.

Wide Receivers: A constant problem of the Seahawks is that they don't have the WRs. Well this year they did something about it by signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh. And even though he was 2nd fiddle to Chad Ochocinco in Cincinnati, do not estimate the effect that a good possession receiver can have on a team. Combine that with Nate Burleson and Deion Branch, and you have a pretty fearsome trio of wideouts that could give a lot of teams some fits, especially in the NFC West where defense in the secondary is nnot exactly a strong suit.

Running Backs: Over the off-season, the Seahawks made a surprising move by signing Edgerrin James. I think that this is actually a good move despite the fact that James' career all but seemingly died in Arizona because he did not have the offensive line to support him. I mean look at it. No Cardinal runnign back was able to get any consistent offense on that team, not just James. While he is getting older, I would not be surprised if James has one more strong year, especially considering he has a superior offensive line in Seattle and a superior starting running back in Julius Jones as compared to Arizona.

The Seahawks cut Brian Russell: And Mookie is giddy! "HOLY CRAP!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!! I’d never thought he would leave. His performances on the field are so bad and Ruskell wouldn’t pull the trigger. Until today. I wish Russell the best by tackling his teammates and using his grit and sheer determination to almost make a play elsewhere. This team just improved tenfold. [...] Lawyer Milloy signed with the Seahawks earlier today. This day totally rocks. I can’t contain my excitement!!!" And now Russell is a Jaguar. At least my pick for the Jaguars to end up in last place in the AFC South won't be changing anytime soon....

Video: Best. Seahawks win. Ever



And now for a video of the play taken live at the stadium with someone looking like the Burger King coming onto the field at the end.



Prediction: 10-6, 1st place NFC West. While I have gone back and forth on this and I think it will come down to the last week, the Cardinals lost too many people both on the field and in the coaching staff to win the division, let alone be dominant in it. The Seahawks are the best team in the NFC West and they might just be a darkhorse to do some serious post-season damage.