The offensive line has some issues at the center position, but we all hope that problem will be resolved with a full recovery by Chris Spencer (fingers crossed). Second-year player Pat Ross is not terrible, but a Chris Gray-Pat Ross depth chart to start the season would be bleak. Not to mention the wrench it throws into the situation at right guard.
If we have no Spencer, then the Seahawks are looking at a starting unit from left to right of: Walter Jones-Rob Sims-Chris Gray-Floyd Womack-Sean Locklear. That is a disaster waiting to happen. Gray and Womack wouldn't make it through the season healthy. The interior of the line was never properly addressed after the Seahawks lost Steve Hutchinson. Picking up Tom Ashworth only made sense if the team planned on moving Locklear to guard because Ashworth cannot play on the inside. The Robbie Tobeck idea is both appealing and possible, but unlikely.
And the other obvious problem is at tight end. Marcus Pollard is a backup on a lot of teams in the NFL, so the Seahawks are already weak at the top of the depth chart. Will Heller was thought of as a weak third tight end last year during training camp. I don't care how far he has come since then, he is a lower-tier second stringer at best. Backing those two up with Joe Newton, an undrafted rookie, might give the Seahawks the worst tight end group in the NFL, top-to-bottom. Sorry to all you Bennie Joppru fans, but I think Newton beats him out if we are stuck with the current group.
I don't have a problem with Joe Newton per se (I even mentioned him last preseason as a possible addition for 2007), but the team needs someone they know they can count on to go along with Pollard and Heller. Ryan Hannam would be a fan favorite to return to the Seahawks, but don't hold your breath. It looks like the Seahawks made the right call not to give a big contract to someone with a degenerative knee condition (maybe they made the right call on Darrell Jackson as well). Dallas cut Hannam outright, so his knee probably means the end of his career.
As long as we are talking about former players returning to the area, I will throw one more name out there: Ernie Conwell. The veteran tight end was never a Seahawk, but the Renton native strapped on a helmet for Kentwood High School and the University of Washington. Conwell in 34 years old and has had injury problems of his own in the past few years, but he is a hard-working, high-character guy that can play football. He was never exceptional, but he is a reliable veteran that can run-block, make blocks on the second-level, and get open underneath. If he has anything left in the tank, the Seahawks could use his experience to solidify a bad situation.
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