Anybody who second-guessed GM Tim Ruskell's decision to cut Seattle favorite Shaun Alexander and sign Julius Jones and TJ Duckett in his place must now kiss ruskell's ring. He did a great favor for Seahawks fans everywhere. With the running game looking sharp, Seattle achieved its first win in a 37-13 blowout of the St. Louis Rams.
For starters, let's look at Julius Jones. When he first signed with Seattle, I was skeptical. I had seen his games against Seattle, and boy were they good. I also saw how he lost his job to Marion Barber, someone who hadn't started a game all last season. During the pre-season, he was terrible. So terrible, Head Coach Mike Holmgren gave Maurice Morris the starting job in a "run by committee" backfield. Needless to say, Morris went down with a knee injury in the opener and Jones didn't do great filling in for him. Then again, no one on the roster did good in the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
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Then came the home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Jones immediately turned into a demi-god. He rushed for about 120 yards, including a long touchdown to put the Hawks up early in the game. However, Seattle faltered and gave up a 14-0 lead, losing in OT, 33-30.
Now, it was time Jones went from demi-god to god. Backed by 140 yards and a touchdown, Seattle's superman, along with bruiser TJ Duckett, paved the way for a big win against the division rival Rams. Jones's 140 yards was only second to, you guessed it, Marion Barber's 142 yards, on Sunday. Duckett also added two touchdowns on a 19 carry, 79 yard day. What does this mean for Seattle? It means that after their bye week, they can count on a strong running game to face the Super Bowl Champion Giants, along with a few healthy bodies coming back for the wide receiver position.
If you are as excited as I am to see Jones and Duckett moving the chains agaisnt the Giants, imagine Matt Hasselbeck throwing to some familiar faces he trusts. That usually adds to a Seattle win. A win against New York would give the Seahawks a 2-2 record, which was the same record they had before letting loose on an 11-1 run during the 2005 Super Bowl season. Maybe Seattle is about to have a fortunate blast from the past coming their way very soon.
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about 1 month ago
JJ and TJ have were able to run all over a couple of poor defenses the last couple of weeks, if they have similar results versus the G-Men defense, i think that will turn a lot of heads and start to make some believers in the Seattle ground game. Getting the receivers back will take some pressure off them as well.
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