On offense, Matt Hasselbeck has established himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. He had 3,966-yards passing, 28 touchdowns, 12 picks, and a 91.4 rating, without the benefit of getting much help from the running game. He is now the featured element of the Seahawks' offense.

Alexander had only 716 rushing yards and four touchdowns in 2007. That seems incomprehensible when you consider he had 1,880 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns in 2005.

Alexander was released, and while it will look strange not to have him as the featured runner for the first time since his rookie season in 2000, the Seahawks abandoned him in 2007 and were already featuring Hasselbeck and the passing game. That will make that transition easier.

Finally, you can’t talk about the Seahawks' offense without mentioning Walter Jones. He has been as solid of a tackle as the NFL has had over the last decade.  At 34, he is still going strong. He anchors a line that is still good, but not as dominant as 2005, when they went to the Super Bowl.

Weaknesses: This is a team with a lot of question marks on offense. That is a surprising statement, given Mike Holmgren’s reputation as an offensive mastermind.

Let’s start with the wide receivers.

Deion Branch tore his ACL in the playoff loss to the Packers on January 15, 2008. That really puts his status in jeopardy to start the season. Bobby Engram is 35-years old. He had a career year with 94 catches and 1,147 yards. He is unhappy and demanding a new deal. D.J. Hackett left for Carolina.

That leaves special-team standout, but disappointing receiver, Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu to battle for playing time opposite Engram. That is huge, because of the Seahawks' inability to run the ball last year. They used a lot of four-WR sets to spread the ball out. Teams need a lot of WR depth to do that. The Seahawks are not as deep as last year and that is a concern.

The Seahawks have no tight-end production. The tight end is a big component in the West Coast offense. Marcus Pollard was released, and Will Heller is expected to be the starter. He has 32 catches for 228 yards and seven touchdowns, not last year, but in five years and 58 career games. John Carlson is a rookie second-rounder and will be expected to contribute immediately.  

Then there is the running game. People need to stop acting like Julius Jones is the savior of the running game. He rushed for 3.6 yards per carry behind one of the best offensive lines in football with Dallas last year. There is a reason the Cowboys went with Barber and let Jones walk.

He should be a good fit in this offense, but I can’t see him rushing for 1,200-plus yards and 10 touchdowns. He is not a featured back. Maurice Morris, T.J. Duckett, and Julius Jones will split duties depending on the situation. I don’t look for any of them to emerge.

Then there is the offensive line. Walter Jones is now 34-years old. The Seahawks have never really replaced Hutchinson since he left for Minnesota. Mike Wahle was a good pickup at guard, but he hasn’t been the same since he left Green Bay. He was injured in 2006 and played on a bad offense in 2007. If he can return to his Green-Bay form, it will help the Seahawks regain their running form of a few years ago.

Finally, there is the special-teams factor. Josh Brown signed with St. Louis and was an extremely reliable kicker. The new kicker is no other than Olindo Mare, who was a disaster in New Orleans. He was 10 for 17 on field goals, and New Orleans plays in a lot of nice-weather sites, including their dome. Then you factor in how he is going to respond kicking in the elements. When you add those things all together, I think the offense is going to take a significant step back in 2008. I think Mare could cost them a couple games that Brown would have won.

Prediction:  This is supposed to be Mike Holmgren’s last season with the Seahawks before he calls it quits on what has been a legendary career. He has coached in three Super Bowls, winning it all in Super Bowl XXXI. He coached all-time great Joe Montana and Hall of Famer Steve Young as a coordinator in San Francisco. He developed one of the all-time great quarterbacks in Brett Favre as the Packer’s head coach.

He has gone to a Super Bowl in Seattle, developed Hasselbeck to go along with Alexander and a strong running-game. His coaching-tree speaks for itself. The number of ex-Holmgren assistants coaching around the NFL is long and prominent. If he actually decides to hang it up, it will have been a fantastic career, one that should see him inducted into Canton, Ohio.

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