What Went Wrong With TJ?
By author
I hate giving unproven free agents huge contracts based on one “break out” season. I prefer the sure thing: A guy who has a good 3 year average stat line. That was supposed to be Tj Houshmandzadeh. He averaged 98 catches, 1042 recieveing yards, and 8 touchdwns a season for the Bengals over the last 3. Those numbers dropped tremendously when TJ came to Seattle last year: 79, 911, 3. So what happend?
1. He was a Ruskell guy. This has become a phrase I find myself stating a lot this off-season.
2. I am not a salary cap expert, in fact, I find it quite confusing at times. But I can’t help but think the Hawks are clearing his salary for the future. My understanding is the Seahawks will face a significant cap penalty (as they are paying Housh $6.15 Mill to play for Baltimore) this year, but then will be better off the following season.
3. Bad Attitude. This guy never felt like a Seahawk to me. He never took credit for his own mistakes, and he made sure to point out everyone else’s. The only consistency he demonstrated was complaining about anything he was asked. Every Time I think of him, an image of him throwing his arms up on the field pops up into my head. I would much rather see an upcoming WR who is hungry to show what he can do rather than an overpaid ego who throws the rest of his team under the bus.
4. He is not a #1. During his days with the Bengals, Housh thrived because of the attention given to the opposite side of the field. Really great wide recievers demand double coverage and are able to play through it. When Housh came to Seattle, he was expecting to be one of those guys, and he wasn’t. Notice that he will not be the featured reciever in the Ravens line-up. He has learned his lesson.
I will not miss Housh one bit. I struggle to find anything positive that came out of his single season with the Hawks. I don’t despise him, as I did Steve Hutchinson, for leaving, but I am glad to see him go. I don’t wish him luck or failure. I guess that as far as I am concerned, Housh was never really on OUR team. He may have worn the colors for a year, but his brief stint in Seattle will soon be forgotten as each party moves forward into the future. Expect for Housh to bad mouth Seattle through the upcoming season, especially if he experiences any success in Baltimore.