A Vicious Cycle: Anger, Depression, Anticipation

Tomorrow, a frustrating season will finally come to an end. With any luck, the Seahawks might be able to defend Qwest Field and shock the visiting team from Tennessee. Yes, I’m aware that a potentially higher draft pick is at stake, but can you really root against the Seahawks on any given Sunday?

Either way, this season can’t end soon enough. It has been one full of disappointment, letdown, and sometimes grief.

Anger every Sunday. Depression lingering throughout the week. And then another weekend, anticipating the moment the Seahawks take the field — only to be disappointed yet again. I’m not off the bandwagon yet; as a fan of Seattle sports, I’ve developed quite an immunity to disappointment and failure.

That doesn’t mean I’m compliant with the garbage that the Seahawks have put on the field this season. Seattle is supposed to be a place full of lenient and fairweather fans, but there are still some of us who’re unwilling to accept two seasons of excuses without results.

A healthy Matt Hasselbeck was supposed to be the solution to most of last year’s problems; through the course of the season, a lot of fans have targeted him as the problem.

Justin Forsett showed flashes of playmaking ability that this offense has lacked since its Super Bowl run in 2005-06. But an aging, ineffective Julius Jones continues to carry the load and lead an anemic running attack.

The coaching staff, lauded for their preciseness, leadership, and up-tempo style during the offseason, has seemingly lost control and the inmates appear to be running the asylum.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh was signed during the offseason to provide the offense with a big, versatile threat.  Through seventeen long weeks, he has only shown an ability to open his mouth and has been mostly ineffective with the rest of the offense.

Not that I agree with all of the preceding statements (Matt Hasselbeck is not the problem), but they definitely illustrate the 12th Man’s frustration surrounding the current state of the franchise.

How do the Seahawks improve? Is this another excuse-ridden aberration, or a trend that should’ve been identified several seasons ago? Tim Ruskell is gone, and the announcement of his replacement could spur several more changes to the front office and/or coaching staff.

The five-year run prior to last year was great; I’m not ready to continue life again in Seattle proclaiming, “There is always next year.” Especially not after week eight.

This team has to find a way to fix the offensive and defensive lines. The offense must find a playmaker and establish an identity on the field. Players need to start executing on the field and playing to their potential. And post-game press conferences must stop becoming an outlet for coaches to call out players and fumble through excuses.

As we enter the offseason following tomorrow’s game, this franchise has a lot of work to do. But until then, I suppose “there is always next year.”