It's Simple: Just Win

There isn't much to say about the Seahawks last performance worth remembering. The 0-6 St. Louis Rams come to town, and the Seahawks must win this game or the season could be lost. At 3-4, the Seahawks would still be in the hunt for the division statistically. However, it would be hard to imagine a team losing 3 straight, including one to these Rams, and then circling the wagons. To continue the clichés, it would be more likely that the wheels would fall off.

The Rams aren't just 0-6. They are the lowest scoring team in the NFL with 12.2 points per game. And they are also allowing a 7th worst 26.5 points per game. That is simply awful. Losing at home to those Rams would be embarrassing, demoralizing, and revealing of just how bad this team might be.

I don't think that happens. I think the Seahawks use this game to springboard back into the mix of the top teams in the NFC. The Cardinals will probably lose at Washington with Tim Rattay behind center, so the Seahawks would also be alone in first place in the division going into the bye, and I doubt the 49ers win two in a row, so they will still be alone in first place coming out of the bye.

The Seahawks have the players to win. They just need to play well, and the coaches need to put them in the best position to win. We could debate Xs and Os, or what players need to do what, but the bottom line is that they just need to win.

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Seahaws-Saints Preview

The Saints haven't been able to win a game all year, and that should continue on Sunday night. The Seahawks are without their top two wide receivers (Deion Branch and DJ Hackett). Don't worry. Courtney Taylor and Ben Obomanu are very good, and the team still has Bobby Engram and Nate Burleson.

The key is Matt Hasselbeck getting the ball to the open receiver. He is better than he played last week and should be able to get right at Qwest in front of the home crowd. If the Saints keep 8 in the box, then Hasselbeck should have easy pickings; he just needs to execute. The Saints really have a choice between shutting down the pass or the run. I assume they will go the route of the rest of the opponents so far and commit the safeties to stopping Shaun Alexander.

The Seahawks can counter some of that by using draws. A draw is basically the opposite of a play-action pass, and it can divert some of the pressure from the secondary away from the run game. Mack Strong is retired, but he will give the team and crowd a big emotional lift before the kickoff. And it may seem crass to say this, but Leonard Weaver is a better run blocker than Strong has been this year. Old Mack just wasn't the same in that department this season. The concern for Weaver is pass protection.

The Saints offense has been terrible this year, after being so good last season. They are still capable of getting it together, but Deuce McAllister would have been the player to scare the Seahawks. The quick defense should be well-suited to deal with Reggie Bush. Marcus Trufant needs to show he can cover his man without help sometimes. The safeties can't let Bush break the long one if he gets to the second level, so Trufant can't have help all game. The Truf is that Trufant hasn't been very good lately.

The front four needs to get more consistent pressure, but John Marshall needs to learn that you blitz on third-and-long to force a quick, short pass that doesn't go 17 yards for a first down. Doesn't he know that? Has he ever watched a football game before? I'm just saying. Blitz on third-and-long. Don't blitz on third-and-two.

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Roster Moves

Injuries and poor performance have prompted the Seahawks to make a few roster moves.

LS Derek Rackley was released for poor performance, and replaced with LS Boone Stutz. This is the second time in as many years that Rackley has been let go in favor of Stutz. It happened in Atlanta last year before the start of the season.

T Kyle Williams earned a spot on the practice squad when T/G Ray Willis went down with a knee injury. He should keep his place at least until Willis returns.

The Seahawks lost FB Mack Strong and RB Alvin Pearman for the season. The team will now lean heavily on FB Leonard Weaver. Weaver is a decent runner and run-blocker. The concern is his pass protection. That is probably the motivation behind adding 35-year-old Fred McCrary, instead of someone like Josh Parry.

CB Kevin Hobbs has been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster with Josh Wilson nursing an ankle injury. As soon as Wilson is healthy, Hobbs should be back on the practice squad (likely at the cost of LB Cameron Jensen).

When Hobbs goes back to the practice squad, the Seahawks should look to add another running back that can contribute on special teams and get some carries if need be.

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Seahawks at Steelers Recap

What happened in Pittsburgh? It was a disaster. The team lost Mack Strong for the season (and his career) and was completely embarrassed on the field. The defense played well in the first half, but blew it by allowing a long drive at the start of the second half. Can't blame that on being tired.

Marcus Trufant had a terrible game. He has fallen down a few times this year because he was trying to adjust after getting out of position. The result has been touchdowns for the other team. Trufant plays at a Pro Bowl level sometimes, but he needs to be able to cover Health Miller one-on-one if he wants to be a starter in the NFL.

Shaun Alexander is catching a lot of flack from fans, but he isn't the problem. Opposing defenses have decided to flood the box and focus on the run. The same thing is happening to Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, and LaDanian Tomlinson. Don't look now, but Shaun Alexander has more yards and a higher ypc average than all of them, even after his 11 carry, 25 yard performance.

The problem with the Seahawks offense is two-fold. First, the offensive line needs to do a better job with their run-blocking assignments. You can't open holes with extra defenders if you aren't even blocking the correct defensive linemen. Second, if defenses are going to bail out on pass coverage and bring the safeties up to the line of scrimmage, then Matt Hasselbeck needs to hit the open receivers.

If any single person deserves the blame for the loss in Pittsburgh, it is Matt Hasselbeck. Defenses are daring him to beat them, and he either can or can't. He couldn't against the Steelers. Hasselbeck is getting the Damon Huard/Brodie Croyle, Alex Smith/Trent Dilfer, and Philip Rivers treatment. He is better than those players and needs to show it for the team to win.

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It's all my fault

I am the reason why the Seahawks have two losses. The evidence? I was out of the state for both of the losses, and unable to post anything leading up to the games, or watch them live. I actually left Cannon Beach at 7am last Sunday to drive back and catch the game in Tacoma (where it was being TiVo-ed for me, so I didn't have to make it all the way back to Kirkland). I missed the Arizona game completely and watched it just before the Cincinnati game.

Don't fear. I will be around for the rest of the games with previews on Thursdays and recaps on Mondays with additional information at times throughout the week. My travel schedule has calmed down, and I have some more free time to spend here. Unfortunately, sometimes my fiance, family (my sister's wedding) and jobs that I get paid for have to come first.

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News Seahawks Forum

A new Seahawks Forum has been created called NWSportsTalk.com. It promises to be a better forum than the one filled with morans (including the moderators) over at the Seattle Times (the misspelling of morons is intentional for anyone unfamiliar with that forum).

NWSportsTalk.com is your place to talk about Pacific Northwest Sports with other people across the northwest and the world! The forum is open to any type of sports talk. Seahawks, Sonics, Mariners, Blazers, Huskies, Cougars, Ducks, Beavers, Broncos, they are all here! Also talk about high school sports as well!

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