The gut-check: 3 things we learned from Seattle Seahawks Week 2 win over Detroit

This Seahawks tight end group is going to be seriously underrated.

It seems like we, as Seahawks fans, operate in a constant state of confusion as to why the tight ends never get the kinds of targets that tight ends on other teams get. Seattle's not lacked for talent at the position since I've been alive. From Christian Fauria to Itula Mili to the mercurial Jerramy Stevens to John Carlson to Zach Miller to Jimmy Graham, and now the Seahawks have maybe the best group they've ever had collectively.

No, I don't think any one of Will Dissly, Noah Fant, or Colby Parkinson is better than the majority of names I listed above. But it's worth pointing out how often Seattle has only had one tight end to throw to. With the exception of the brief overlap between Mili and Stevens, there has almost always been a massive drop-off between Seattle's TE1 and everyone else (it's hard to count the overlap between Graham and Dissly because of how frequently one or both of them were hurt).

This group is different. Any one of these three could be a major threat game-to-game. Dissly, especially, is a tough assignment because of how good a run blocker he is — his presence on the field makes Seattle's play action that much more deceptive. Fant is a phenomenal vertical threat, and when he's on the field, safeties can't cheat to cover Lockett or Metcalf. Parkinson is the purest mismatch of them all. He's too big for defensive backs and too fast for linebackers.

We saw just how effective that hydra can be on Sunday, as well. Between the three of them, they racked up 9 catches for 132 yards. That's some Tony Gonzalez volume for you, and their presence as legitimate pass-catching threats makes life so much easier for the receivers, as well. The number of packages the Seahawks were able to run helped them give the receivers a breather and load up the box with blockers for the running game, as well.

So long as Geno can keep pace with the number of options he has and not get tunnel vision as a passer — nine different Seahawks caught a pass in Detroit, by the by — these tight ends will be the key to unlocking the full 2005 potential in this offense.