The Seattle Seahawks Are a Team in Transition

Five years ago, the Seattle Seahawks were on the precipice of NFL greatness.

Were it not for a couple of bad calls (and some non-calls), the Seahawks may have very well been crowned the NFL Champs instead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.

They staggered a bit in the 2006 regular season, finishing with a 9-7 record, good enough for the NFC West crown. They beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-20 in the wild card round and lost to the Bears in the divisional playoffs in a 27-24 OT thriller.

In 2007, the Hawks improved to a 10-6 record, good enough for their fourth consecutive NFC West title. Again they triumphed in the wild card round, beating the Washington Redskins 35-14. But they faced Brett Favre and a rejuvenated Green Bay Packers and lost in the divisional playoffs 42-20.

In 2008, Mike Holmgren announced that it would be his last year as head coach of the Seahawks. I'm sure he felt he could lead this team to another NFC West title, but injuries to the wide receiving corps and his field general Matt Hasselbeck said otherwise. The Seahawks fell to a 4-12 record, and most NFL experts and pundits alike thought it was nothing more than a blip on the radar screen.

Which brings us to the current 2009 season. 

The 2009 draft brought outstanding linebacker Aaron Curry to the Seahawks. With Curry, Leroy Hill, and Lofa Tatupu, the Seahawks created one of the best middle linebacker groups in the NFL. Tatupu has gone down with a torn pectoral muscle and is quite likely out for the year. But David Hawthorne has been a major surprise filling in for him, and the group hasn't lost anything.

Big free agent signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh hasn't quite fit in just yet, but he and Hasselbeck are starting to trust each other. While his numbers aren't what were expected over the first half of the season, I suspect they will improve.

There has been some speculation the Seahawks have a chance at the playoffs this year. I would agree, but the Jekyll and Hyde defense is what has me worried.

This is a team that shut out the St. Louis Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Granted, neither one of those teams is going to scare anyone. But holding an NFL team scoreless, despite its record, is pretty impressive. 

However, this is also a defense that gave up 167 points in six games. In those six games, the Hawks are 1-5 with the victory over the Detroit Lions, who scored 20 points on them.

Because of this inconsistency on defense, I see the Hawks finishing the year with wins over St. Louis, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, and possibly the Titans. The team is now 3-5, and with those four wins, they finish the year at 7-9.

While the Seahawks have declined over the past two years, they are not that far away from getting back to a contending team.

Hasselbeck may have one more year in him for 2010. But Seahawks need to look to the future at quarterback, and I don't think Seneca Wallace or Mike Teel is the answer. Washington Husky Jake Locker could benefit from playing behind Matt for a year and take over the team in 2011.

Since the days of Shaun Alexander, the Hawks have been running the football by committee. Julius Jones has been the feature back, but Justin Forsett has put up some good numbers in a limited role. Could Forsett become an every down back? Forsett does give the Hawks the capability of breaking a big run at any time.

The biggest need after finding a QB would be to beef up an aging line. Walter Jones' great career looks to be about over. Even if he does come back next year, I doubt it will be full time. Rob Sims and Chris Spencer are both playing in contract years. If they can re-sign those two and use Max Unger creatively, the interior part of the offensive line will be OK.

The Hawks will finish below .500 this year, but they are only three to five good draft picks and free agent signings away from being back to playoff contenders.