By Daniel Hill - Staff Writer
With free agency and the Draft impending, a current Seahawks 'State of the Union' address is in order.
In professional sports, every franchise has the proverbial "window" in which they have the capability to win a championship. Some franchises, like the Los Angeles Lakers, or the New York Yankees, always seem to have this "window" open to win. Other franchises, like the Kansas City Royals or the Cleveland Browns , never seem to have one at all.
Thankfully for the 12th Man, the "window" for the Seahawks is starting to open.
Obviously, the dark cloud hovering over the Seahawks is the hole at the quarterback position. While I do think has the talent to win games, he hasn't shown up when the spotlight is on him. My faith in his ability to get the job done was waning over the late period of last season. The optimist in me thinks that T-Jack can carry the franchise to the playoffs. But once that happens, I'm not sure I have the faith in him to out-perform opposing QBs and lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl run. But then again, you have to wonder what a 100% healthy Tarvaris Jackson and Seahawks offense could look like.
T-Jack deserves props for suiting up and competing last year despite the fact that he had a torn pectoral muscle in his throwing arm for most of the season. The grittiness and guts that he played with has to be commended. It's not impossible to think that a healthy Tarvaris in 2012 could have a career year. However, Tarvaris might not even be the Seahawks' starting QB next year. With Peyton Manning presumably about to hit the open market, and with upstart Green Bay quarterback Matt Flynn on the open market, it's not crazy to think that either QB could become a Seahawk. With the NFL Draft approaching in April, the Seahawks might be inclined to take a QB in one of the early rounds such as Ryan Tannehill from Texas A&M or Kirk Cousins from Michigan State.
Last season, some of the Seahawks' weapons had disappointing seasons, like Sidney Rice and Zach Miller (two former Pro Bowl selections). The down years of Rice and Miller might actually be a blessing in disguise because their lack of availability and lack of production led to the development of other offensive weapons. Doug Baldwin , Golden Tate , and are three young receivers who played as if last year could be a launching pad for future success. Doug Baldwin showed that sometimes getting drafted is overrated, as he led the Seahawks in receptions and yards with 51 catches for 788 yards.
Golden Tate finally flashed the rock star talent that he showed at Notre Dame and that resulted in him getting drafted with the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2010 draft. Although Ricardo Lockette had only two receptions last season, they were two clutch catches and two big gains. His first catch came in the opening drive of the Week 16 game against San Francisco and resulted in a 44-yard gain that sparked an opening touchdown drive, and his second catch was a 61-yard TD against the Cardinals in Week 17. I know it's a small sample size, but Ricardo Lockette could be a guy who develops into a deep threat for the Seahawks offense. If Sidney Rice and Zach Miller can return to their former Pro Bowl forms, the Seahawks offense could see a flourishing 2012 aerial attack.
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Daniel HillStaff Writer
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