Seahawks Have the Guys but Not the Experience… Yet.

The bad news: The Hawks just lost to the 49ers.

The good news: at least they’re better than the Colts.

Before you hit the panic button take a deep breathe, and ask yourself, “Did you really think this team was going to be better?” I sure didn’t. Regardless of that, I still like the direction this team is going… in the long run that is.

Remember Mike Holmgren’s first year as head coach? He captured the AFC West for the first time since 1988 and took a team led by John Kitna to the playoffs despite the fact that he didn’t even have his most potent offensive weapon for most of the season (Joey Galloway). After that year Holmgren struggled while building a new program from the ground up. The Hawks didn’t make the playoffs for the next 4 seasons. During this time, however, Holmgren built a high powered offense that would eventually land the Hawks in their first Super Bowl appearance in Franchise history, but it didn’t happen overnight.

My point is that this things like this are going to take time to develop. Even with the likes of Huthinson and Jones on the offensive line, the Hawks took their bumps and bruises as they matured into a playoff caliber team. Right now the grapes have barely made it off the vine, and some fans are wondering where the wine is.

Patience.

Even though the offensive line struggled… tremendously in the first half, I think the Hawks have a good core of young guys who need a couple of years to gain the experience necessary to be an elite unit in the NFL. This is the youngest offensive line of any NFL team over the last 16 seasons, and they will look like it. But as bad as it sounds this year, the Hawks may benefit from this in the near and distant future.

One of the most important aspects of football is the idea of cohesion. This is most true on the offensive line. The ability to work together as a group can compensate for skill level more at this position than any other. Chris Gray wasn’t a Pro-Bowl guard, but he was an intricate part of the best O-line in Seahawks history because he never missed games. His knowledge of the scheme made him more valuable to his team than a better player on a different team at the same position who lacked the experience.  The more these guys play together, the better they will get, and this offensive line could play their entire careers together in Seattle.

The offensive line is an investment this season with an expectation for high dividends in the future. I’m not saying that they will be great, but the potential is there.

Unfortunately potential has a way of getting beat by bad teams like San Francisco this season.

Hang in there Hawk fans. Pete Carroll always seems to find ways to keep things interesting, and the defense is actually looking pretty good, but don’t expect too much from this young offensive line in the near future, however, you might want to hold your breath this time.