Jim Mora, Will New Coach Bring New Philosphy To The Seattle Seahawks?

Now that Mike Holmgren is no longer the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks and Jim Mora has taken over, the question needs to be asked: Will there me a major change in

Seahawk philosophy?

The answer is yes. Yes there will.

Diehard Seahawk fans of the last decade have become accustomed to the air-it-out west coast offense of Holmgren, and now must prepare for a huge paradigm shift.

Seahawks’ GM Tim Ruskell, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ philosophy that you build championship teams with defense, foreshadowed the inevitable in 2007 by choosing the defensive minded Mora as Holmgren’s replacement.

Any Seahawks’ fan looking for a sign to confirm that the post-Holmgren Hawks wouldn’t be the same Hawks from your older brother, would need to look no further than the team’s main offseason acquisitions.

When you take into context that four of the five newest Hawks all play on the defensive side of the ball, including the teams’ first round draft pick, in an offseason where the offense finished 28 out of 32 teams, it becomes clear as a summer day in Quest Field that the 2006 Seahawks, who led the league in offense in their route to their only Super Bowl appearance, are long gone and are not coming back.

Out, are the old Hawks who relied on the quick precision passing of the West Coast offense to produce excitement and big plays.

In come the Hawks of 2009 who will be defensive minded, led by their new fiery Head Coach Mora, and improved by offseason acquisitions of DT’s Colin Cole and Corry Redding, CB Ken Lucas, and the drafting of OLB Aaron Curry, in addition to the All-Pro’s already on the team: Marcus Trufant, Patrick Kerney, and Lofa Tatupu.

The 2009 Hawks will be a defensive power house who, on paper, arguably have the best defense in the NFC. 

A quick history lesson will show you: In 2004, when the current Seattle trio of Mora, Tim Ruskell, and new Offensive Coordinator Greg Knapp took the Falcons, who won 11 games, to the NFC Championship Game, they did so by leading the league in rushing at 167 yards a game, and having the NFC’s sixth best defense.

Ruskell, who was hired as the Seahawks' president in 2005, appears ready to duplicate the trios’ success based on the same philosophy they used in 2004.

This is why signing running backs T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones, last year, makes sense now. Even though last year the thought of the two were head scratchers when you considered that Maurice Morris and Leonard Weaver had already proved productive.

A year later it is obvious Ruskell wanted to reunite Duckett with Mora, who were successful together in 2004 when Duckett scored eight touchdowns as a goal line back. 

Ruskell brought in Julius Jones to play the role of Warrick Dunn, who ran for 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns. Dunn and Jones have similar running styles and body types.

Hawks fans, if you want to see the 2009 Seahawks, go pop in a tape of the 2004 Atlanta Falcons and imagine Matt Hasselback as Matt Hasselback and not Micheal Vick and presto you have the 2009 Seattle Seahawks.

You need more proof?

Well here you go: Julius Jones will play the role of RB Warrick Dunn; T.J. Duckett will play the role of well… RB T.J. Duckett; TE John Carlson will play the role of Alge Crumpler; and if for whatever reason the Hawks need someone to play the role of Michael Vick, step right here Seneca Wallace.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh will play the role of Brian Finneran but with a little more speed; and Deion Branch and Nate Burleson will both play the role of the over-priced free agent WR acquisition Peerless Price.

The 2004 Falcons went to the NFC Championship game; but the 2009 Seahawks, armed with their new philosophy, are in a position to do more.