2011 Season Starts for Seattle Seahawks and Sidney Rice in Week 3

The Seattle Seahawks are counting on some big changes this week as they get their first home game of the 2011 season.

The first big change is 6'4" Sidney Rice. Rice was signed in the abbreviated offseason. The Seahawks and their fans are counting on Rice to make a big difference on offense. He is showing up at an opportune time. Rice's return coincides with a long-awaited home game.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is counting on Sidney Rice to stretch the field and to take some defensive pressure off of Mike Williams. Williams has been getting plenty of double coverage from defenses so far this season, and the addition of Rice will give him an opportunity to see some single coverages. 

This was one of the main reasons Pete Carroll and John Schneider wanted to add Rice to the roster. Carroll has been in favor of tall wide receivers lining up on the outside, and this will be the first real opportunity to get both Rice and Williams on the field at the same time. It is a good scheme, now all they need is time to get open and an accurate throw from the an upright QB.

The next big change will go a long way in slowing down Arizona's offense. That is linebacker K.J. Wright in for Aaron Curry. Curry has been struggling to regain his college success. That has opened to door for a talented rookie to replace Curry for now.

Public statements from Carroll and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley sound like it is a "let's try it and see" type move, but I doubt it.

Wright has shown his mobility and size are an asset. Now we get to see if he can cover tight ends and backs coming out of the backfield. That is something Curry has struggled with, even though he has shown some improvement over last year.

I expect the next change in the starting lineup will be at cornerback. Walter Thurman will take over after this game. As talented and aggressive as Brandon Browner is, he is not the cover corner that Thurman is, and Larry Fitzgerald is about to expose Browner.

I am sure there are many fans out there hoping Brandon can keep Larry contained, but I don't see it happening. The officials in the NFL are much more likely to call Browner for pass interference than the Canadian Football League officials did. It will take him a while longer to get used to coverage rules here.

I really am hoping I am wrong about this one, as I would love to see Browner shut down Fitzgerald. That would go a long way in stopping the Cardinals this weekend.

With the way the Seahawks have played on the road, the same way they have played on the road for the last three seasons, we can only hope that their "real" season will start this weekend at home in Seattle.