FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Seattle Seahawks -- Your Offense ... Is Defensive

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback:One of the consistencies of Mike Holmgren's regimes has been strong quarterback play. Maybe Matt Hasselback never became the "next Brett Favre", but maybe, on a number of levels, that's actually a good thing. What Hassyback has become, though, is one of the most consistently underrated and, um, consistent signal callers in the league. He's not flashy but he doesn't need big name wideouts to post big stats either. He's got a bad back early this year though, and I'm automatically docking the Seahawks one "heat point" for refusing to use Seneca Wallace at wideout. Also: Charlie Frye. Heat Index: 7

Running Back: There's something to be said of your running back situation when neither Julius Jones nor Maurice Morris can perform at a high enough level in training camp or preseason to make Mike Holmgren name a starter. T.J. Duckett could still be cut, although with the recent Ben Obomanu injury, it looks like both he and Justin Forsett could be on the roster, with Duckett manning goal line carries and Forsett returning kicks. It's not a really attractive situation either way you slice it. Heat Index: 5


Wide Receiver: Giggity-giggity-guh. Nate Burleson has -- by all 2004 accounts -- the talent necessary to be a number one wideout. So does Deion Branch, but he's still injured. Bobby Engram was a catch making machine last year, but again, still injured. Courtney Taylor will actually surprise as a rookie. The aforementioned Obomanu injury definitely hurts the corps talent level as a whole though. The effectiveness of this group, though, will boil down to their ability not to drop the ball; Holmgren and Hassleback will get them the ball, they just have to hold onto it. Heat Index: 3

Offensive Line: The bad news: Steve Hutchinson is not walking in that door. The good news: Mike Wahle already did. So, that leaves the 'Hawks with Walter Jones, Sean Locklear (pine for the halcyon days Wolfpack fans!), Wahle, Chris Spencer and Rob Sims as the starting line. Pretty stout indeed. I give bonus credit for having Wake grad and potential surprise Steve Vallos on the roster as well. In all seriousness though, this is a stout line that will make up for the two previously mentioned deficiencies. Heat Index: 7

Defensive Line: 45 sacks was good enough for a top-five total as the 2007 Seahawks line performed above expectations, particularly Patrick Kerney and his Pro Bowl landing 14.5 sacks. Darryl Tapp secured the other end of the line with not entirely pedestrian seven sacks and the Hawks added Lawrence Jackson for end depth in the draft; combine that with Rocky Bernard and Brandon Mebane in the middle and they should have another productive year from the line. Heat Index: 7

Linebackers: Dee-sgusting, sir. That's the only word that comes to mind when I think of a Julian Peterson - Leroy Hill - Lofa Tatupu combination across the middle for the Seahawks. It's not going to be easy running on these guys, provided health, and Peterson's re-emergence makes this the best linebacking corps in the league. Heat Index: 10

Secondary: The linebackers also help to make up for any lack of sufficient secondary help that the Seahawks have; Marcus Trufant is still a stud, but debating over whether Kelly Jennings and Deon Grant are might be a different ballgame. They both improved last year and Mora's guidance as a superior secondary coach won't hurt matters much Heat Index: 7

Special Teams: Adios Josh Brown, hello, Brandon Coutu (although Olindo Mare is still on the team). Burleson is still listed as the kick and punt returner but it's hard to imagine they'd risk letting their number one wideout get hurt trying to take a kick to the house, even after his impressively productive season last year. Heat Index: 5

Coaching: Everyone's been talking about the weird nature of having Jim Mora, Jr., already named as Holmgren's successor, because he's not necessarily hand-picked or groomed, in any long term sense of the words. But there shouldn't be any serious conflict -- this is Holmgren's team, especially offensively, and Mora's need to have this defense be one of the best in the league should only strengthen and already stout coaching staff. Heat Index: 7

Intangibles: The biggest intangible that the Seahawks have against them is knowing it's Holmgren's last year; after all with another coach already selected to guide the team from 2009 on, things could be dicey. On the other hand, the team could rally behind Holmgren's departure to try and land him an elusive Seattle Super Bowl victory. The biggest intangible they have going for them? The always fantastic NFC West, in which Seattle usually has to feel like a lock to win. Heat Index: 8

Total Heat Index: 66 This is a team with pretty high expectations ... at least until a slew of injuries started making things a little dicey. They have the defense and a sufficient enough offense to win the NFC West -- it hasn't really seemed to be a problem before, anyway -- and make some noise in the playoffs. But it's pretty hard to imagine a team with Julius Jones and Nate Burleson as the RB1 and WR1 taking down a Super Bowl, regardless of how good the defense is. Still, if they can get some guys back and a member of the backfield -- it seems like Jones, or maybe a longer shot in Forsett would have to the answer -- can step up, in addition to everyone staying healthy ... well, you never know.