Ranking the 8 Worst Moments of the Seattle Seahawks' 2011-12 Season

The 2012 offseason is officially underway following the final play of Super Bowl XLVI. While mostly looking forward, some fans of the Seattle Seahawks are pondering what could have been for the team had a few plays and games been just a bit different.

The Seahawks certainly had their ups and downs during the 2011 NFL season.

On the positive, the Seahawks won five of their final eight games, giving fans hope for 2012. Seattle also beat the Super Bowl champion New York Giants on the road and landed five players in the Pro Bowl. 

The Seahawks secondary comprised three of those players. This unit looks very solid and should be a strength in 2012.

However, there were several issues in 2011 that didn't tip the Seahawks' way and that ensured the season ended after Week 17.

There are a few items of note that didn't make the list.

Seattle couldn't generate a consistent pass rush, making life a bit harder on the secondary and allowing teams to extend drives. The franchise also had to recognize the failure of its 2009 draft by trading Aaron Curry for a seventh-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional pick in 2013.

8. Failing to Draft or Sign a Game-Changing Quarterback

Yes...I just had to start the top eight with the departure of No. 8.

I won't spend much time on this slide, as it is hard to fault the Seahawks for not acquiring a long-term answer at the quarterback position in 2011. 

Some wanted Matt Hasselbeck to return, while others feared for his health behind a young offensive line with five starters where none had taken a regular-season NFL snap together.

It is also understandable that the team wanted to draft needed offensive linemen instead of gambling on which available quarterback would catch fire in the NFL. Some bemoan missing out on Andy Dalton, but he is far from assured of being a star.

The only step at quarterback that I did question was the lack of interest in Matt Moore. I called him the NFL's most underrated free-agent quarterback last May and liked him to step in and compete for the starting quarterback spot with Seattle in 2011.

The Seahawks have promised they had a plan in place at quarterback. It is hard to believe Tarvaris Jackson was their long-term plan, witnessed in part by signing him to just a two-year contract.

The 2012 offseason looks to be a difficult market as well, but there are a few options the Seahawks may pursue. 

7. Losing to the San Francisco 49ers...Twice

The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2011 season with an 11-7 record against the San Francisco 49ers since the 2002 divisional realignment. The 49ers have been expected to step up and be the power player in the division for the last several seasons, but haven't been able to win the division since 2002.

Seattle knew the games against the 49ers would be difficult but had the opportunity to win both games. It came away empty, in part to reasons on following slides.

If the Seahawks are going to make the playoffs in 2012, they will need to at least secure a split with San Francisco.

6. Injuries to Tarvaris Jackson, Sidney Rice and Mike Williams

The Seahawks offense struggled to find continuity all season. It began to get some traction in Week 5 against the New York Giants, but that was short-lived. An injury to Tarvaris Jackson limited the offensive effectiveness over the next seven quarters until he returned in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, Jackson seemed to aggravate his strained/torn pectoral muscle against the Bengals and continued to struggle with velocity. 

Seattle's offense took an additional hit when Sidney Rice was lost for the season. While his production wasn't up to his former Pro Bowl season, the offense simply ran better when he was on the field. He provided a legitimate No. 1 target and kept opposing defenses honest by keeping the field stretched. When teams did try to sneak in, Rice found empty real estate deep and made several huge plays.

Mike Williams was a non-factor in 2011. When he was most needed following the injury to Rice he still evaded the eye of Jackson and eventually was injured himself. Williams will not likely be available until deep in the 2012 campaign, which is why he makes this list.

5. Breakdowns in Special Teams

The Seattle Seahawks had the ability to be one of the stingiest kick coverage teams in the NFL. Time and again opponents attempted to return kicks from the end zone, only to be stopped inside the 15-yard line.

However, there were also too many lapses in coverage that cost the Seahawks an opportunity to win games.

The San Francisco 49ers' Ted Ginn, Jr. had two returns for a touchdown in Week 1. The effort turned a 19-17 lead into a 33-17 victory.

The Cincinnati Bengals also dropped a 56-yard punt return for a score and a late 15-point lead that turned out to be insurmountable. 

On the other side of the ball, the Seattle Seahawks failed to score a special teams touchdown in 2011.

Leon Washington secured a significant contract extension in the offseason after posting three touchdowns on kick returns in 2010. He also came up a yard short on a fourth effort, in part because he failed to hustle to the goal line.

Seattle had four games turn on special teams play in 2011, none of them in its favor. The opposite was true in 2010, helping the team reach the playoffs in Pete Carroll's first year.

Look for the Seahawks to tighten down special teams play in 2012 or they could again miss out on postseason play.

4. Week 2 Loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle traveled to Pittsburgh for the second consecutive time following an NFL scheduling adjustment to make life easier on East Coast teams having to travel all the way to the Pacific Time Zone. The Seahawks hoped to improve on their 21-0 loss in 2007.

They didn't.

The Seahawks offense found very little traction, and when it did the Steelers simply started to blitz Tarvaris Jackson again. The offensive line wasn't able to protect him and Jackson wasn't able to get rid of the ball even when he did anticipate the pending pressure.

The Steelers moved the ball almost at will in the first half, although the Seahawks did show they had a very good goal-line defense.

This was a game they weren't expected to win, but fans at least expected them to be competitive. They lost 24-0.

3. Charlie Chanters Believing They Have the Best Understanding of QB Situation

Following the 2011 preseason games for the Seattle Seahawks, there were three schools of thought relative to the quarterback situation.

One group, while very, very small, believed Tarvaris Jackson earned the starting quarterback job. The largest group, consisting of about two of three fans, felt Charlie Whitehurst should be the starting quarterback for the season opener in San Francisco.

Then there is the camp in which I and quite a few others fell. The coaching staff has spent a lot more time with both quarterbacks and better know which player is deserving the starting quarterback position.

As the season played out it was clear Jackson was better prepared to lead the offense. 

The obsession with Whitehurst started during the 2010 season when Matt Hasselbeck was struggling to keep his team in games. The absolute low came when fans chanted for "Charlie" during Seattle's humbling 34-18 Week 15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons 

It continued during the 2011 preseason when Jackson and the Seahawks starting offense struggled heavily, and carried over after difficult losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers the first two weeks of the season.

The players eventually began to gel and Jackson proved to be the better quarterback. It was a difficult road, but one that likely ended with the 2011 season.

Whitehurst is not under contract with the team next season and doesn't figure to get a contract offer from the Seahawks. 

2. Issue Behind the Missed 61-Yard Field Goal vs. the Atlanta Faclcons

Pete Carroll's decision to go for a long field goal on a 4th-and-8 play with time almost expired drew a lot of criticism from fans and analysts. 

At the time I thought it was the right decision, as it eliminated the potential for the offense being on the field and failing. The expectation was simply giving the team a chance to win could provide a boost for the offense's confidence.

The unit had one of its best outings of the season the following week in New York, giving credence to the field goal attempt.

So why does this play make the list?

Because the long field goal try and fourth-and-long effort were prompted by an issue that plagued the team all season long: penalties, often untimely penalties.

Sidney Rice somehow managed to jump offsides on second down. It mitigated a seven-yard gain by Zach Miller and gave them 3rd-and-8 instead of 3rd-and-3. There is also a possibility the Seahawks would have gone for a longer gain on 2nd-and-10 vs. 2nd-and-15.

The distance of the field goal is certainly in Steven Hauschka's range. I had the opportunity to speak with a member of his on-field team and was told Hauschka consistently hits from this range and welcomed the opportunity to finish the game for the Seahawks.

Carroll opted to give his team a chance to score and win the game, as he did often in 2011. Fans were hoping for a positive outcome, but Hauschka over-kicked the ball and pushed it left.

His efforts were undermined here, and several other times this season, by a careless penalty.

The Seahawks did clean up their act late in the season. Brandon Browner continued to show he could be all over a receiver without contacting him illegally and his infractions diminished. Holding penalties also tapered off.

The Seahawks still ended up with the second-most penalties on the season. Some of it is due to a more physical style of play (they were fifth in the NFL with six unnecessary roughness penalties), while some was just a lack of discipline, witnessed by leading the league with 38 false starts.

The new practice rules in the NFL certainly made it more difficult to work on these issues with the young players. The lack of an offseason also hurt.

Most fans will give the team a pass on the issue in 2011, but if the issue isn't cleaned up in 2012 fans will be restless. 

1. Losing to the Cleveland Browns, 6-3

The next time the Seahawks took the field for a game following the win in New York was against the Cleveland Browns. The Seattle Seahawks failed to show up for a game they needed to win to maintain a realistic shot at the playoffs.

This game alone could provide several season low points.

A potential game-winning Leon Washington punt return for a touchdown was called back after a very questionable illegal block call on Kennard Cox. After the penalty the Seahawks still had the ball in good field position, taking over at midfield. 

Charlie Whitehurst threw the ball deep to Sidney Rice on the next play, but not deep enough. The underthrown pass was intercepted by Sheldon Brown and the Browns held a 3-0 lead. 

Whitehurst did connect with Rice on the next possession, but again struggled with accuracy. Rice was wide open down the right sideline. Whitehurst's pass was too close to the sidelines and Rice wasn't able to stay in bounds after making the reception. Instead of the easy touchdown, the play led to a field goal and a 3-3 tie.

Whitehurst ended the day 12-of-30 for 97 yards, one interception, a lost fumble and a QB rating of 35.0.

To be fair, the Seahawks didn't feel they could rely on their ground game on the day. Marshawn Lynch was a late scratch due to a back injury, leaving the ball-carrier duties in the hands of Washington and Justin Forsett.

The two combined for 62 yards on 15 carries but were not able to help the offense sustain drives.