Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are rubbish. That said, they could well be the least rubbish team in the NFC West. The 49ers continue to bury their reputation as a Superbowl powerhouse, by embarrassing themselves season after season; the Rams are still maturing and have been on the end of some unfortunate team performances, given the excellent play of second year pro Sam Bradford; and the Cardinals Superbowl hangover continues to render them ineffective, despite possessing some of the league’s most devastating offensive weapons.

The Hasselbeck era is over. It was, without a doubt, the most glorious of Seattle eras. For several seasons the Seahawks were genuine NFL powerhouses, even making it to Superbowl XL in Detroit, where they unfortunately fell to the Steelers.

And now, the Tavaris Jackson era, has begun. Tavaris Jackson, the Minnesota cast-off. Attaching the word ‘era’ to a player of Jackson’s pedigree is a tad uncomfortable, and I’d feel much better tagging current back-up, Charlie Whitehurst, with such a label. If I were the Seahawks GM, I would have labelled this season dead, and installed Whitehurst at the helm in order to give him a year to acclimatise to the rigours of being an NFL starter. But after assessing the weakness of the NFC West, you can’t blame Pete Carroll and co for having a crack… After all, they did defeat the world champions last year on the back of a 7-9 season. That’s sport, for you!

Verdict: absolute no-hopers, who will probably win the NFC West again! Their closest rivals, the Cardinals, figure to be hapless throughout the season and there’s every chance the Seahawks might be less rubbish by the end of it. An 8-8 record, the division title, the 4th seed and a first round exit for the Hawks, unless they come up against a pass-first team like they did in the Saints last year. Then that homefield advantage might come into play again.


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