8/2011 Football Talk: Seahawks Passing Offense

Football Talk is just a segment where I ramble on about the sport I love the most. I am going to start off by talking about the Seahawks' passing game with the additions of Sidney Rice and Tavaris Jackson. The 'Hawks were 7-9 last season, but they still made the playoffs despite being a poor team. Offensively, they were a mess to say the least.

Darrell Bevell was Minnesota's offensive coordinator, and he has brought along Tavaris Jackson and Sidney Rice from the Vikes. Rice had a great year in 2009 when the Vikings were a contender, and Brett Favre was under center. With a capable quarterback, Rice can once again turn in a year like that. The problem is that he hasn't had a capable QB, and I don't consider Jackson startable

The thing is, Rice was poor with Jackson starting. Another thing, Bevell is really bad at mentoring QBs. I would honestly rather have Matt Hasselbeck than Tavaris Jackson right now, because at least Hasselbeck was consistent in a way. You knew he was going to be subpar, but you also knew that he wouldn't be terrible. Tavaris Jackson still has the potential to be a decent QB and is explosive as a rusher, but upside and rushing ability aren't the greatest skills a QB can have. It's accuracy, and Jackson is not accurate at all.

Contrary to popular belief, the Seahawks offensive line is a great pass blocking unit. Right tackle Sean Locklear did a great job of pass blocking last year, and I hope they bring him back. I'm not sold on rookie James Carpenter. Locklear isn't a special player- he's only average- but at least he can play well in pass pro. Rookie Russell Okung is the best player on that line, and he is also a good pass blocker.

The Chicago Bears signed Chris Spencer, but the Seahawks should be elated that he is on the Bears. Spencer is one of the worst centers in the league, and I have no idea why the Bears want to replace Olin Kreutz with him. Sure Kreutz isn't what he used to be, but he is still a solid pass blocker and a great leader.

Although the Seahawks are a great pass blocking unit, they are a poor offensive line overall. The reason being is the horrible run blocking. They are probably the worst offensive line in the NFL at helping out their running back, so Marshawn Lynch really had to work that much harder last year. People always talk about how Lynch always gets short gains. Well, that's because of the line that's blocking in front of him; they just don't get enough push. Lynch only averaged 3.5 yards per carry because of how awful his line was at blocking for him. The same can be said for Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers' line.

I don't really like the Seahawks right now as a team, and I think they are in line for a worse season. I expect them to be 5-11 with the Rams winning the division. The Seahawks have a better receiving corpse, thanks to the addition of Sidney Rice, but they are still poor defensively and have a terrible QB.