There were some major pick ups during 2010 that helped the team toward the end of the year, but Pete still had to make some moves to find the team he was really looking for. I am going to be looking at the Offense and the changes that helped 2011.
Quarterbacks: During 2010 Matt Hasselback had an up and down year. He had a few injuries which lead to some inconsistent games on his behalf. He did help lead the team in victory over the reigning champions, the New Orleans Saints, but that was his high point. With his age, he was getting very injury prone. After the season the team did offer him a one year extension but with no decision on his end, the lockout began. As soon as the lockout was over, Seattle had decided to pull the offer and trade Matt to the Tennessee Titans. He gave Seattle several great years and lead us to several conference championships along with a Super Bowl appearance in 2005. He had a great run, but it was time for him and Seattle to part ways.
A few days later, we picked up Travares Jackson from the Minnesota Vikings. T Jackson had been with Bevell (Seattle's new Offensive Coordinator) at Minnesota for several years and knew his system extremely well, and with a short pre-season that was a huge factor in Pete Carrell naming him the starter from day one. Hopes that T Jackson could help the team move into the next phase were very high, but confidence wavered.
Wide Receivers - A huge surprise during 2010 was the emergence of Mike Williams. He played for Pete Carroll at USC but left early for the NFL. After a 1st round pick to the Detroit Lions, Mike had a rough few seasons where he gained weight and slipped into some poor workout habits. He turned out not to be what the Lions wanted and he retired early out of the NFL. Then when Pete got the job in Seattle, Mike called him up and asked if he could try out. When he showed up, he had gotten back into shape and worked hard to be at the top of his game. 2010 was a break out year for him and he had some great games and 2011 looked to be another great year for him.
During 2010 we also saw some young receivers step up to the call. Golden Tate, a rookie, was one of these guys along with Deion Butler and Ben Obomanu. These three young receivers showed they could play at the NFL level and contribute to the Seahawks offense.
After the acquisition of T Jackson, we hunted down Sidney Rice from the Vikings as well. A young Pro Bowl receiver who had a break out year in 2009. During 2010 he was set back with an injury but had league leading receiver potential. This was another great pick up for the Offense.
Running Backs - The big story here is the pick up of Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch half way during the 2010 season. With Marshawn being best friends with Justin Forsett, a member of the Seahawk running back group, Lynch really seemed to enjoy his new team. With some great runs at the end of the year one of which was named the "Beast Quake." In this run, Marshawn busted out a 67-yard touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints and broke tackles from 9 out of the 11 defenders which caused the stadium fans (of which I was one present) to go wild and made the earth quake, literally. Hopes for Marshawn in 2011 where extremely high, especially with new OLine coach Tom Cable being the type of coach who likes to get physical in his run block schemes.
Offensive Line - The line needed some help after the 2009 season. One of Pete's first responsibilities as head coach was the 2010 draft where he picked up Russell Okung in the first round. This helped out during 2010 but we still needed some better personnel on the line. So in the 2011 draft, we picked up James Carpenter from Alabama in the first round. Later in the draft we picked up another offensive linemen John Moffit from Wisconsin. These three guys really completed themselves with Max Unger who was drafted out of the 2009 Draft. We needed a veteran though, so we grabbed Robert Gallery from Oakland. Tom Cable came into Seattle with high regards for Gallery. This completed out our starting O Line.
Next week I am going to review the 2010 defense and it's personnel that lead to the 2011 season.
No comments:
Post a Comment