In trying to figure out some things about what's gone wrong this season, something occurred to me.  One reason I've been so consistently surprised over the first half of the year is that every report on the defense has been so positive.  Evening as we continue losing games, the word out of practice has commonly been "the defense looked good today, making some interceptions and batting down passes."  That's the word out of camp today, again.

And then I started to wonder, maybe that's because our offense has become so broken down by injuries.  As a consequence, maybe the defense is suffering because they're consistently practicing against inferior competition?  They get used to the speed and execution of Charlie Frye throwing to Jordan Kent, and then get into a real game and they're just a half-step behind?

This is totally off-the-cuff and sort of inconsequential, just something that occurred to me, thought I'd share it.

There's been an awful lot of Brian Russell bashing going on lately, on some larger sites, too.  And most of it's deserved.  You know why?  Because Brian Russell is football's answer to Darin Erstad.  He's white, gritty, doesn't really do much very well, and he used to be a QB/punter way back in the day, and can claim that as a reserve skill.

Brian Russell is a jack of all trades, just as able to throw a tight spiral into an empty area on the field as he is to defend an empty area on the field. 

Bleah.

So, I'm a long-time Seahawks fan who lives in Portland, OR.  As such, I've had a number of things to be upset about with the beginning of this season.

First off, you guys beat the tar out of my team.  Good job with that, I wish we'd won, of course, but I developed a lot of respect for your squad.  Especially after you backed it up with a win against Jacksonville, I think you guys might have something developing!

The other complaint I have, however, is that Portland, for God only knows what reason, is home to a lot of Oakland Raider fans.  As such, every Sunday we're subject to watching the Oakland Raiders on TV as long as it doesn't interfere with the Seahawks broadcast.  This, needless to say, is an abysmal development, as the Raiders are both utterly hateable and completely awful.

But, you guys are playing them this week.  So I'm looking forward to getting another chance to see your promising team thrash another opponent, and take some pleasure from watching Al Davis blow another blood vessel.

This week and the weeks that follow, Buffalo, I'm rooting for you from afar!  It's not like the investment I have in my own team, of course, but you're my AFC adopted team of the year.  So go win a game and make the Raiders look bad!

Every year, every team has a certain number of hardships they have to endure.  A few significant injuries, an upsetting loss where they had hopes of victory, a bizarre move by the FO that doesn't really make sense at the time. 

The Seahawks have decided to test our spirits by going through all their bad luck at the same time.  We're getting blasted from all angles over the last three days, and it's definitely been trying.  But we'll rally, pull together, and from adversity we'll bounce back and still be a quality team. 

It'll be a hell of a lot more satisfying to win this division when we're overcoming so many hurdles, not just winning by default.   From the hardships will come our rewards, and the rewards shall be all the more sweet.

(And before anyone gets too worked up, I know there isn't a limit to good or bad fortune within a season, I'm just playing the good humor man here.)

So, Frank Hughes has a quick piece up over on Seahawks Insider about the implications of James Farrior's new contract extension with the Steelers.  Hughes thinks that Farrior signing a contract worth near 3.5 mil per will established the market for Leroy Hill at about 5 or 6 million per, since Hill is younger and with a higher upside.

Now, John's been quietly convincing me over the last year or so that Leroy Hill seems like one of the more undervalued pieces on this team.  I'm not sure he's the most significant contributor on the defense, but his versatility is extremely useful, and he's still young and developing.  We've got a good one already, and he could be great with a little more growth. 

We also, however, have some genuine depth at linebacker right now.  Hawthorne's emergence this preseason is giving me some hope that we're sitting pretty at the position for the next few years to come, with Lofa locked up and Muscly Arm still not that old.  Our linebackers corps might be the best in the league, and I think we can continue to keep it so, if we choose to lay out the money and keep Hill. 

My question for you is:  Should we?  Lofa's already making 7 million per, Peterson's making a pretty hefty amount too, if we give Hill the contract he'll get on the open market (much less the contract he deserves), that's a very large percentage of our salary cap going towards just the LB's.  Does it make sense to be REALLY great at LB at the expense of say, perhaps, Rocky?  Or should we shed either Hill or Muscly Arm next year?

I genuinely don't have an answer, I just know that I would hate to see Hill leave.  But, I also don't think we need to be investing 25+ million on the linebackers alone.  Oh, the indecision!

So, I don't know who amongst you is as ready for the Seahawks as I am.  I know John Morgan went up today to take a look at this morning's scrimmage in person, and I think he might regret the fact that he chose this one to go see, considering that it's on tv here in Portland on channel 49 (Northwest News?). 

Just wanted to let people know that there's a chance they might get it in their region if they're so inclined.  No biggie, but I'm simply aching for football now!   It's on in 15 minutes!

Footballoutsiders is reporting that the Broncos and John Lynch have agreed to part ways, and goes on to speculate that Ruskell might want to grab up Lynch.  Apparently Ruskell originally scouted Lynch back in TB, and wouldn't be adverse to switching him out for Russell. 

Thoughts?  Considering Russell seems like nothing but useless, if he comes for cheap, I'd have no objection to this.  It's a stopgap, but every little piece could make this a superbowl team, in my opinion.  We're near good enough, but every addition can only help.

I just saw over on Footballoutsiders that the Chargers are going to send Eric Parker on his way.  I don't know much about the man, but apparently he has good skillz.  Is there anyone out there who is in favor of adding him to the Seahawks, providing a little depth at Wide Receiver?

I know we've got some studly young prospects who might turn out to be values, but we certainly have some questions right now.  Maybe this is an answer?  I'm not advocating, I'm just polling opinions.

So I'm curious.  For many, many years my sports allegiance ran first and foremost to baseball, and the Seattle Mariners.  I lived and died with baseball, and the thing I wanted more than anything in the sporting world was a World Series victory.

I've by no means given up on the Mariners as a franchise, I love baseball, and I'll never stop pulling for them.  But over the last few years, watching a shrewd and resourceful front office like the Seahawks possess artfully construct a competitive team, I've really come to love and watch football with a much greater passion than I ever thought possible.

This isn't all about winning and making the playoffs, though I'll readily admit that that plays a part.  But I'm so tired of the horrid steps and jumps backwards that the evil and charismatic Mr. Bavasi makes as a matter of course.  With this Mariner season already likely on the skids, I find myself still watching and following the team, but already shifting a little interest over to football.  I'm anticipating the 'Hawks so early this year....

I guess I'm just slowly shifting priorities.  I'll never abandon either franchise, I'm not saying that at all.  I'm just looking forward to the Seahawks so much more than the Mariners that it isn't really even a competition anymore.  Is anybody else going through this transformation?   Obviously we're all Seahawks fans (seattlesucks notwithstanding!), but I'm curious how passionately people follow one sport or the other, and how that might be different than 5 years ago.  Do we have any other converts from die-hard baseball fans to revelers of the fusball?

Damn, I just can't wait to watch our defense this year....

Just saw a link over on FO, somebody's been having some fun with the wiki page for Taco Wallace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taco_Wallace

Check it out, it's one of the more enjoyable 3-minute reads I've encountered in a while.