Season Retro: DJ Hackett

DJ Hackett

Stats

Highlights

Lowlights

Outlook

Drops: 1

*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.

Highlights

11/18/07

Hackett was awesome on the touchdown reception on the following play, he faked Tillman out so badly that I honestly thought from the bleachers he had simply split a deep zone. In fact, the safety was playing deep left, and was not assigned Hackett at all. Hack came free when he performed a lightning-quick juke right before cutting left and into the endzone. Hacks had the move of the quarter just 4 plays earlier in the same drive and right after the Archueletta sack put Seattle into third and long. Playing from the left slot on a four wide, single tight, empty backfield formation, Hacks runs a simple dig route with a literal twist. Everything you could ask for on a route is here: He long strides 8 yards selling the deep pattern, turns quickly back using his body to screen Lance Briggs from defending the pass and then, and here's the money, uses his momentum from spinning about face to continue up and now past Briggs on what looks like an improvised post pattern. Hacks had longer receptions, but none prettier.

1/5/08

Speaking of mis or dis-information (pick your level of paranoia), Landry may have bit on Beck's playfake right before Hacks' touchdown reception, but its sorta irrelavent. Hacks had about a 10 yard radius of open field all around him. Without question the blown coverage is on Pierson Prioleau, the man covering Hackett. If you've watched much of DJ, he does his stock and trade move, the same one he used on Trumaine McBride of the Bears, a little inside deek, then a two armed swim move. He hardly makes contact with the DB, but for whatever reason, DBs charge through it like a bull and Hacks gets unbelievable separation. The play fake looks nice to Seem Heads, but crediting it for the score seems like missing the forest for the trees.

Lowlights

11/18/07

Before dropping the TD, Hacks ran a near perfect post pattern.

Outlook

Future former Seahawk DJ Hackett sure looked brilliant when he took the field, but until they start making DBs out of torch sweaters, you don't want your wide receivers made out of matchsticks. Hackett's injuries are decidedly not of the freak nature, but manifest from the simple wear and tear that comes from running and being tackled. As a long time champion of Hackett and what he could mean to this offense, it's sad to see him go, it's frustrating the collection of talent Seattle will be left with in his absence, but it's necessary. A team in Seattle's good but not gaudy cap situation must look at Hackett as a risk/reward with too much risk no matter the reward. It's possible Hackett will find his groove, become the receiver he's teased for these past three years and be a star somewhere else. It's possible Hackett has benefitted inordinately from playing from the slot, against Cover-2 DBs, rested and largely anonymous. He could sign somewhere else and bust without appearing once on the injury report. Of course it's much more likely that Hacks will never be healthy, that his fragility and slow healing forever cap his potential and that the injuries eventually mount and surmount his natural gifts. Whatever the case, it won't happen in Seattle.