Seahawks Reap an Early Reward During Rebuilding Season
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You can’t ask for any more from this team than they displayed on Sunday. I was happy seeing the improvement despite the loss during the Atlanta game last week. This game might have been viewed in the same way except the Seahawks did more than just show improvement. They beat a team favored by 9 points on the East Coast.
Quarterbacks: This was actually a great opprotunity two see both Charlie and Jackson handle the same team during the regular season, and I must admit that the gap between them was not as much as I thought it would have been. Needless to say, I have decided to give them each a grade.
Tarvaris Jackson: B+
Whatever Jackson changed between weeks 3 and 4, I hope he keeps doing it. He has been improving consistently since the begining of the Atlanta game until his injury early in the 3rd quarter against the Giants. I know that is only a span of two games, but based on what I saw at the begining of the year, I’ll take it. Jackson looks like a completely different quarterback right now than… well in his career I guess. Before you jump all over me yelling, “It’s only been 2 weeks! It’s way to soon!” I agree with you, I’m not saying he’s “the guy,” but I do think he’s played well enough to get some of us off his back at this point. It’s just too bad about his pectoral injury. No telling when he will be back, and how the injury will effect his accuracy.
Charlie Whitehurst: B
Well all of you chant happy fans lacking the patience to suffer through a rebuilding season finally got your wish, and he actually looked pretty good. The most impressive aspect of Whitehurst’s game was that the Hawks continued to run the “no huddle” offense despite the fact that Whitehurst never gets an opportunity to work with the 1st team. Charlie looked like a totally different quarterback than he did last season during the St. Louis game. This year he looks confident and showed the ability to win a game rather than just not lose it. All in all I think Whitehurst did a fantastic job despite a lack of reps with the first team. If he continues to do well in Cleveland, the Hawks could find themselves with a bit of a problem. For the record, I am not a fan of guys losing their spot to injury. Especially with the way Jackson has turned it around in recent weeks. His pectoral injury could be one that lingers, and I do believe in putting in the best guy on a week to week basis, and that guy might end up being Whitehurst for a while.
Aaron Curry: F
Thank goodness his time in Seattle has come to an end. I am embarrassed that I even bought this jersey during his rookie season. For the second time this season, Curry dropped an easy pick. This time he looked like a setter for a men’s volleyball team as he basically slap, passed the ball to Chancellor who ended up making the play. I don’t know which is actually more embarrasing for Curry: the fact that he dropped the ball or the fact that a men’s volleyball reference now applies to him. I am going to go with the latter. The Hawks werebe lucky to get more than a 7th rounder for him as he can officially be labeled as a “bust.” The good news is that this should be the last Tim Ruskell problem fans will have to deal with in Seattle.
Brandon Browner: D+
Before we get too giddy about the interception return, remember that Browner didn’t exactly make a play on the ball. He was at the right place at the right time, and luck had more to do with this than anything. That being said, congratulations to the man for taking it back to the house, but let’s not let one play blind us from an entire game of typical Browner errors. In my last article I dubbed Browner “Magnum p.i.” and he lived up to the name again in New York. I guess the Hawks have to make due with what they have this year, and with Trufant sitting out last week, there wasn’t much left. All of a sudden Josh Wilson doesn’t sound that bad anymore.
Overall Grade: B+
One thing that I can say about this team right now is that they are funner than hell to watch. The Atlanta may have been a turning point in this season, and I am hoping for this momentum to continue. I’m not saying we are going to win the Super Bowl, but the Hawks are exceeding any expectations I had for them going into this season. The offensive line seems to be looking better than anyone thought they would by this point in the season, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Fans of the “Suck for Luck” campaign: F-
One thing I am growing tired of is fans who are complaining about winning, and pointing to the draft for their justification. The Hawks have had 3 1st round picks in the last 2 seasons, and they just traded thier number 4 overall pick for a 7th and 3-5th round pick. If you don’t like winning go cheer for the Rams, they should have a real high draft pick next year. We dealt with this at the end of last season, and I am telling you right now that there is not a player drafted that I would trade for that New Orleans game last season. That’s what Denver fans must have felt like when they knocked the Sonics off in the first round so many years ago. It’s nice to be on the other end of that equation for once. Suck it up Hawk fans, and stop complaining about how good this team is doing. Or the Hawks might trade you to the Raiders as well.