Aaron Curry: Where Has the Seattle Seahawks Linebacker Gone?

How terrible it is to see Aaron Curry stumble and bumble himself on the professional football field. He is a disillusioned athlete now. Did this man sit lazily at home during the eight offseason months?

Did he allow his belly to swell and loosen and his muscles to fall into jelly? Did he let his mind, which was so pertinently shaped while at Wake Forest to watch and break down film, suddenly falter?

This season, although still early, has carried Curry through a gauntlet of underwhelming performances.

On Sundays, we see this man often injured, getting blown up by fullbacks, taken out of the play by tight ends, and rarely surrounding the ball. An outside linebacker should be a storm on the field with 10-12 tackles a game.

One cannot believe that this is the same athlete who easily pushed blockers aside in college, was numerously selected as one of the top defenders, and was selected fifth overall in the NFL draft (ahead of many players who have already earned their paychecks).

Seattle fans, bow your head and close your eyes at the next sentence: Aaron Curry was given the highest rookie contract ever by a non-quarterback.

Has he earned even one morsel of the big pile of money?

Maybe we are being unfair in criticizing Curry at this young stage of his career. But it is difficult not to at this moment, especially with how poor the Seattle defense has played, and especially considering his contemporaries' skill and statistical advantage, such as Brian Orakpo (Washington), Brian Cushing (Houston), Clay Matthews (Green Bay), DeAndre levy (Detroit), and James Laurinaitis (St. Louis).

For a team that has talent and a legitimate shot at getting to the playoffs (which is considerably true considering how awful the NFC West has been so far), it is disappointing that Curry can’t be a part of the fun.

With David Hawthorne having another good season, and Lofa Tatupu playing well and staying healthy, this defense should be much better than what we have. Look at the effect that good linebackers have on defenses.

Brian Urlacher in Chicago is the best example of this. Last season, the Bears' attack looked lost. Now they have him back, and he single-handedly improves the entire team.

For what the pitiable Seattle front office paid Curry, he should be pretty damn close to Urlacher in skill level and on-field play. The NFC West title will be a fight (and by “fight,” I mean the fights that toddlers have with themselves over a straggly doll), but if Seattle had a decent Aaron Curry on their depth chart, then they would be that much closer in getting there.

But instead, Seattle is just “one of those teams” on the top of the scrap pile that will have to fight and bite and push to get to that winning record.