NFL owners have been making a LOT of stupid decisions lately, but one of today's rule changes truly buries the idiocy needle: Kickoffs have been moved from the 30 to the 35 yard line.The ostensible reason for this is "player safety," but I think it comes down to the basic conservatism and risk-averse nature of NFL coaches and management types.

How often have we heard special teams play derided as somehow less important or less of a legitimate part of the game than offense or defense? How often are special teams touchdowns dismissed as "lucky?" Remember last year's win over the Chargers? I couldn't turn on the TV or spend 5 minutes online without someone describing Seattle's win as "lucky," as if it shouldn't matter that San Diego sucked at covering kicks and that Leon Washington is superb at running them back for touchdowns.

The simple truth is that most coaches HATE things that make the game less predictable, and most DETEST making any more decisions than they absolutely have to. A situation that lessens the importance of "wild card" special teams plays and increases the number of times they can expect to just start a drive at the 20 is Manna from Heaven for your more traditional NFL coaches.

So the league has made a rule change that will make one of the most exciting moments in sports- A kickoff return for a touchdown- substantially less likely to happen. It has instantly made players like Leon Washington, Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs less valuable, and has made the greatest game on Earth just a little bit more boring, and a little bit less compelling.

The only conceivably good thing about the rule change? It'll be less likely that teams winning the OT coin toss will score on that first possession. I think those concerns are wildly overblown, but it will be nice to hear less whining and bitching about the OT coin toss "deciding" regular season games.  

What do you think, sirs? Don't forget to check out my home blog: Dave Krieg's Strike Beard. 

Steve Largent might not be the GREATEST Seahawks player anymore (I'm in the camp of folks who think Walter Jones holds that crown now), but he will always be Seattle's 1st great NFL player, and the team's 1st Hall of Famer. I'm old enough to remember the overlapping years of Largent's still-stellar late career and the team success of the Chuck Knox era, and I was lucky enough to be at the Dome for many of Largent's greatest moments (including The Harden Payback), and his final game in 1989. I was 14. Yes, I cried after the game ended.

The Seahawks haven't had another truly great wide receiver since Largent retired (though BMW has potential), and though changes in the way the game is played have made Largent's career numbers seem less impressive, he was a DOMINANT force- Probably the best WR in the NFL over the 10-season period from 1978-1987 (Yes, that overlaps with Jerry Rice's first two great years in 1986-87, but who cares?). No one in the history of the game has ever had better hands than Largent, and despite the stereotype of the "slow, white possession receiver," the guy averaged 16.0 yards per reception in his career (better than Rice, Michael Irvin, Randy Moss, Fred Biletnikoff, etc). 

Then there's the 100 career receiving touchdowns, which has only been bested by five players in the last 22 seasons, in a much more pass-happy league. 

So, here's his top 10 single-game performances.. Enjoy! 

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A slightly weirder All-Time Seahawks roster from me today- One composed of our best players who were never selected to the Pro Bowl or the All-Pro team as Seahawks (Here's the list of 35 players who have reached at least one of those milestones as Seahawks). Let me know what you think! 

OFFENSE

QB Jim Zorn
RB Ricky Watters 
FB Dan Doornink
WR Bobby Engram 
WR Darrell Jackson 
TE John Carlson 
T Ron Essink 
T Ron Mattes 
G Bryan Millard 
G Pete Kendall 
C Chris Grey 

DEFENSE

DE Jeff Bryant 
DE Phillip Daniels 
DT Sam Adams 
DT Brandon Mebane 
LB David Hawthorne 
LB Keith Butler 
LB Bruce Scholtz
S Robert Blackmon 
S John Harris
CB Terry Taylor 
CB Patrick Hunter  

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Josh Brown 
P Jeff Feagles 
KR/PR Nate Burleson 

What do you think? Feel free to check out my home blog: Dave Krieg's Strike Beard 

(Me at Training Camp last summer- I've since ditched the 'stache)

Username:  Johnny Peel (DKSB)

Member of Field Gulls Since:  September 12, 2009

How I Discovered Field Gulls: I don't exactly remember how I discovered Field Gulls, but I've been a reader/lurker since the early days. I used to be heavily involved over at Seahawks.net, but during the 2007 season I got banned for some reason I don't even remember- That inspired me to start my own Seahawks blog (Dave Krieg's Strike Beard) in the forlorn aftermath of our playoff loss at Green Bay in January 2008. Not long after that John Morgan discovered me, and asked me to contribute over here from time to time. I can't thank John enough for that opportunity, and the massive jump in traffic my own blog got when I started writing here.  

My Involvement at Field Gulls:  I have my own blog to tend to, so I'll be at best an occasional contributor here. I'm also not even going to pretend that I'm an expert on the draft or even on X's and O's, so what you'll see from me will mostly be historical stuff, lists, and personal narratives of my experience as a fan.  

Personal Stuff: I grew up in the Tri-Cities in the 80s/early 90s, and got my B.A. and M.A. at Western before moving to the midwest for a PhD program in 1999. I'm a teacher by trade, but also a writer, and only doing both things part-time right now (side note: know about any full-time, well-paying jobs in the Northwest? I'm listening, yo). I've been a Seahawks fan since I was 8, when I was hooked for life by the magical 1983 season. Starting in '83, I've now watched (either in person or on live TV) 459 consecutive Seahawks regular season/playoff games (not counting the '87 scab games). The Hawks' overall record in that span? 229-230. 

I've been a season ticket holder since 1997, when I was lured into the fold by Paul Allen dropping end-zone seats to $10 a pop. I've kept them despite moving away in '99, and I've been lucky enough to be at Qwest for the 2005 NFC Championship, the "Romo game," and the 2007 Wild Card win over DC, among other games. My all-time favorite Seahawk is Dave Krieg, and my favorite current Seahawk is Matt Hasselbeck. 

And yes, I'm a Red Sox fan too. I thought I explained that pretty well here on Field Gulls a while back, but man- Some folks REALLLLLY dislike it when you root for any teams from outside the Pacific Northwest, and they DETEST my Red Sox. I have nothing against the Mariners- Unless they are playing Boston, of course. 

There's more, but I'm rambling at this point- I'll try to be more active here at FG, and hopefully help make this long, strange offseason a bit more tolerable for y'all. 

A while back on my other blog, I compiled a Seahawks All-Time team composed only of players drafted by the Seattle organization. Given the real possibility that NOTHING is going to happen in this offseason until the draft in late April, I thought it might be neat to revisit this topic. First, the rules: 

A) players must have been drafted by the Seahawks (no undrafted players like Mack Strong, Dave Krieg, or David Hawthorne)
B) players must have made a significant contribution with Seattle (so no Ahman Greens, for example)

Here's my squad: 

OFFENSE

QB Seneca Wallace (4th, 2003)
RB Shaun Alexander (1st, 2000)
FB John L. Williams (1st, 1986)
WR Brian Blades (2nd, 1988)
WR Darrell Jackson (3rd, 2000)
TE John Carlson (2nd, 2008)
T Walter Jones (1st, 1997)
T Ron Mattes (7th, 1985)
G Steve Hutchinson (1st, 2001)
G Pete Kendall (1st, 1996)
C Kevin Mawae (2nd, 1994)

DEFENSE

DE Jacob Green (1st, 1980) 
DE Michael Sinclair (6th, 1991) 
DT Cortez Kennedy (1st, 1990)
DT Brandon Mebane (3rd, 2007)
LB Lofa Tatupu (2nd, 2005)
LB Fredd Young (3rd, 1984) 
LB Bruce Scholtz (2nd, 1982) 
S Kenny Easley (1st, 1981)
S John Harris (7th, 1978)
CB Marcus Trufant (1st, 2003)
CB Shawn Springs (1st, 1997)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Josh Brown (7th, 2003)
P Ruben Rodriguez (5th, 1987)
KR Bobby Joe Edmonds (5th, 1986) 

What do you think, sirs? 

I'll admit it: I'm a Matt Hasselbeck fanboy. I bought his jersey in the summer of 2001, before he had even played a game for the Seahawks. At the time, it was a statement of blind faith that this kid from BC could pull Seattle out of the awful quarterbacking doldrums of the Stouffer-McGwire-Gelbaugh-Mirer-Friez-Kitna era (Warren Moon's 1+ year of competent-to-great play was the exception to this depressing rule). I was at his first start in Cleveland in '01, and though I endured taunts of "Hasseldick" and "Asselbeck" for three hours, and though Beck didn't actually play all that well, Seattle's 9-6 victory felt like vindication.

Then Beck played badly enough that first year that he lost his job to Trent Dilfer, who I embraced like every other Twelve back in the Winter of 01-02. Thankfully, we were proven wrong about Hass when he started putting up eye-popping numbers late in 2002, and from there he led Seattle into a Golden Age of pro football success. Over the past decade, he's earned a spot in the Seahawks Ring of Honor, and last Saturday he proved his detractors wrong once again with perhaps the best game of his underrated career. He is my favorite current Seahawk by a wide margin, and 2nd only to Dave Krieg as my all-time favorite Hawk. Here are the 10 best games of his career- Enjoy!

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Seattle has only played Atlanta 11 times overall, but we've come out on top in eight of these epic struggles. In fact, I was lucky enough to attend our last two wins over the Falcons, In January 2005 and September 2005. Here's the top 5 Seattle wins over ATL (it's almost too obvious to mention, but ANY sort of winning result this Sunday probably jumps to the top of this list). 

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There is very little for Seahawks fans to brag about when it comes to our history against the Kansas City Chiefs. Our all-time record against them is 18-31, for a .367 winning percentage. This record of futility and despair makes the few aberrant Seattle wins all the sweeter... Here is the top 5:

5. 11/21/99 Seahawks 31, Chiefs 19

4. 12/26/99 Seahawks 23, Chiefs 14

That game in KC was the high-water mark for the 1999 Seahawks. It was only the 5th Seattle win at Arrowhead EVER, and it ran the Seahawks' record to a gaudy 8-2. After such an emphatic win at the Seahawks' Temple of Doom, I started figuring out how I could scrape together the time and money for a road trip from Columbus, Ohio to Atlanta in January, because my Hawks were XXXIV bound, and my grad school ass was going to be there. It turned out that Ricky Watters' infamous throat-cutting gesture after the game-sealing run at Arrowhead was predicting Seattle's gurgling from gaping neck wounds for the next month, not the demise of the Chiefs. The Hawks were 8-2, and the Chiefs were a lackluster 5-5.

Over the next month, while the Seahawks plummeted into a dark, cold abyss, KC marauded through its schedule destroying any obstacles in their way. I was at the Kingdome's final regular season game, and the Seahawks entered that one in a completely zombified state. Seattle hadn't won since Arrowhead, and it looked like Mike Holmgren's first season would end in a historic collapse, particularly with the streaking Chiefs coming to town on a four-game WINNING streak. Look, I'm not a moron. I know the players are the ones who scored the points, who made the tackles, etc. But on that day, one couldn't shake the feeling that 64,000 Twelves would simply not allow the guys wearing blue to lose. The ONLY time a Seahawks home crowd was ever louder than Boxing Day 1999 was the 2005 NFC Championship, and the Chiefs, an otherwise solid team that year, was obviously and absolutely freaked out by the atmosphere in the Dome. Elvis Grbac was less poised than a meth addict, chucking three picks and making Kitna look competent in comparison.

The Hawks got shanked by the Jets on the road the next week, and needed an OT FG from THE RAIDERS to win the AFC West on the basis of this head-to-head sweep over KC. Then the Hawks would send the Kingdome into retirement (in the way replicants in Blade Runner were "retired") with an embarrassing Wild-Card loss to the ancient Marino and his unremarkable Dolphins.

Jesus, 1999 sucked, didn't it?

3. 11/4/84 Seahawks 45, Chiefs 0

Your usual NFL blowout quickly becomes a turgid, boring affair. This particular game was quite different... It was a competitive game into the second quarter. In fact, KC was deep in Seattle territory and only trailed 3-0 when Dave Brown snagged an errant throw and raced 90 yards the other way for Seattle's first touchdown. Then it was Keith Simpson going 76 yards for another defensive TD, and the rout was on like a bad check from Homer J. Fong. As if to more deeply humiliate KC's quarterbacks, Dave Krieg threw two touchdowns, and it was 31-0 at halftime.

While Coach Knox mercifully tried to shorten the game by calling almost nothing but running plays, the Chiefs kept throwing it and Seahawks defenders kept scoring touchdowns... One more for Brown in the 3rd, and one for DPOY Kenny Easley in the 4th. THREE KC quarterbacks combined to deliver six interceptions to Seattle DBs. Hell, Terry Taylor snagged two but that ninny couldn't find his way to the end zone even once. Loser. Seattle's four interception returns for TDs in a single game is still a league record.

2. 11/27/83 Seahawks 51, Chiefs 48 (OT)

This is still probably the most entertaining regular season game in team history. The Hawks came in 6-6, and needed a win to keep any hope of postseason play alive. At the half, the Chiefs led 28-14. Early in the 4th, they led 42-31... But the Seahawks never stopped digging those talons into the flesh of the KC invaders... Chuck Knox used rookie stud Curt Warner as a blunt instrument of trauma, feeding him the ball 32 times. The former Nittany Lion rewarded his coach by gobbling up 207 yards rushing and notching three touchdowns... However, the story of Seattle's amazing 1983 season probably has a very different ending if KC had converted a PAT attempt late in the 4th quarter. Instead of Theotis Brown's TD giving the Chiefs a 49-45 lead, it was only 48-45. Norm Johnson made one 42 yard kick as time expired to tie the game, and another in OT to give Seattle a season-saving triumph.

1. 11/11/90 Seahawks 17, Chiefs 16

Nothing I would write could really do justice to the historical documents (though I've tried): 

Fun fact: after that joyous day in 1990, the Seahawks would lose 14 out of their next 15 games against the Chiefs. That single win in 1994? By one goddamn point.

Side note: I'll be at the game this Sunday, and I request and require a Seahawks performance so awesome it takes a spot on the the next iteration of this list. I've only seen one loss in person at Qwest out of 14 visits, and I don't intend to witness number 2 on Sunday... 

What do you think, sirs? 

If you're in your mid-30s like me, you probably

A) have fond memories of experiencing the heyday of Northwestern rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.

B) can quote the Schwarzenegger films you grew up watching over and over on HBO to an embarrassing level of detail.

C) still think of that team down the coast as the Los Angeles Raiders, and still hate them with every fiber of your being. 

If it wasn't for John Elway and Super Bowl XL, the Raiders would probably be the indisputably most hated foe in Seahawks history. We've played them 52 times, winning 24 contests. We battled them for division titles and in the playoffs, and it was never anything less than a 60-minute eye-gouging, fish-hooking street fight. Here's the 10 best Seattle wins over those despicable Raider bastards, updated from a similar list I published back in the day on my home blog Dave Krieg's Strike Beard. 

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Before the Seahawks joined the NFC West in 2002, they only had six meetings with the St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals. They lost FIVE of them. While the teams have split 16 NFC West meetings 8-8, there really isn't a fierce rivalry here, mainly because when the Seahawks were great from 2003-2007 the Cards SUCKED. Conversely, over the last two seasons Arizona ruled the NFC West while the Hawks were bottom-feeding sucka fools. Sunday's meeting is for first place in the NFC West, and might be the most important game the Seahawks have ever played against Arizona.

Of course, I expect nothing less than a brutal, gory mauling of the Cardinals this Sunday.. But first, a look back on five memorable Seahawks wins over their feathered foes...

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It would be REALLY stretching it to argue that the Seahawks have any sort of rivalry with the Chicago Bears, even though in very recent memory we suffered a heartbreaking OT divisional playoff loss to these jokers. Still, I can honestly say I hate them; not in the way I hate the Steelers, Niners, Rams, Cardinals, Broncos, Raiders or Cowboys, of course... But it's still low-grade hatred I feel when I am forced to think about that team in Chicago. Why? 

It's mostly because they have an insufferable fan base that has made living in the past a twisted form of high art. Yes, the Bears have a long, impressive history of playing hard-nosed defense (which Chicago fans will never shut up about), but in terms of overall team success there really isn't much to get excited about. Just for funsies, let's compare the Bears and Seahawks since the start of the 1986 season: 

Winning seasons? Both teams have 11. 

Playoff appearances? Bears 9, Seahawks 8. 

Division titles? Bears 8, Seahawks 6.

Super Bowl appearances? Both teams have 1. 

Very similar profiles, huh? But you'd never know it because of the huge shadow cast by the 1985 Bears. 

Obviously, the '85 Bears were one of the greatest teams in NFL history. How do I know this? Because there are about a krillion former Bears in the media spotlight who NEVER STOP BLATHERING ABOUT IT. On top of that, since a ton of actors, comedians, musicians, etc hail from Chicago, the team gets a huge share of pop culture attention, particularly when they experience even modest success. 

1985 was a LOOOOONG time ago. I was 10, and I bet a huge swath of you readers weren't even born yet. Today, Chicago sports a puffed-up, overrated, overhyped, Martz-tainted crew that will suffer an upset loss on Sunday. But enough about the glorious future... Let's look back on Seattle's 5 greatest wins over these schmoes... 

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Isn't it hard to believe that these lowly, downtrodden schmucks were once, briefly, our most loathed/feared rivals? Yeah, I still hate them, but certainly less than I hate the Steelers, Niners, Cardinals, Broncos or Raiders. But back in 2003-2004? The Rams were the bullies of the new NFC West. They chopped us down, put the boots to us when we were on our knees, and then laughed in our faces about it. After the trifecta of trauma STL laid on us in 2004, which included the biggest 4th quarter collapse in team history AND a home playoff loss, it felt like we'd forever be the dirt under their hooves.

Ten wins in a row later, those wounds have healed nicely. Even in 2008/2009... Seattle's worst seasons since Nirvana was still actively smashing up their instruments, the Hawks swept their Arch-cowering nemeses. We were Boo, and they were Randall. We went from shivering in terror of these guys popping out of our closets to bashing them over the head with a wiffle bat (alright, having a 4-year-old may have made me overdose on Pixar flicks a bit). So the Seahawks visit STL on Sunday, and a 11th consecutive win seems probable, even with the Rams rising up to take down DC last week.. Here's the 5 greatest Seattle wins over the Rams, presented to give your post-SD-victory warm and fuzzies an extra boost... 

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Yeah, it's a bit early to be posting this, but I figured the entire Twelve Army needed a boost after Sunday's game. So here's our nine most memorable wins over the San Diego Chargers (who are the only old AFC West foe Seattle has a winning all-time record against at 25-23), joined by one close loss that was more or less a win. 

It's hard to really get a good lather of hatred going for the Chargers; Since the early 80s we've dominated the series against them, and we never really battled them for division titles or wild card spots. The Broncos and Raiders usually stood between us and playoff success back in the 80s, the Chiefs dominated us at Arrowhead for decades... But the Chargers? They were just sorta there. Meh. 

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If you remember when MTV actually played music videos, or when Eddie Murphy still made good movies, you probably have a life-long hatred of the Denver Broncos. Sure, this was somewhat based on the fact that they were our divisional rivals through the 2001 season, but mostly it was because for about a decade and a half, John Elway TORMENTED all of us. Elway won more games, threw more TDs, and passed for more yards against Seattle than any other NFL team. No single enemy player broke our hearts more often than Mr. Ed. He's our equivalent of how Red Sox fans loathe Derek Jeter, or how Cavs fans detest Michael Jordan.  Even though that horse-faced goon is long gone, Bronco-hatred still flows freely through my veins, and this Sunday is more than just another regular season game, at least to me. 

You know what our all-time record is against these Rocky Mountain Oysters? 18-33. That's a .353 winning percentage, WORSE THAN THE 2010 MARINERS! But whether they were festooned in orange like a prison work detail, or wearing nike unis with huge sweat stains... every once in a while Seattle would rise up and take a piece out of these jokers. A while back on my home blog I wrote up a top-10 list of Bronco beatdowns... here's a shiny, fresh, updated list: 

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The Seahawks are 12-10 all-time against the 49ers, including a 10-6 record since Seattle joined the NFC West in 2002. I'll be there at Qwest this Sunday up with the rabble in section 325, and a Seahawks victory would definitely knock one of these five games off this glorious list... Enjoy! 

5. December 21, 1997: @ Seahawks 38, Niners 9 

The Niners came in with HFA locked up, and treated this like a glorified preseason game. Despite that, this was still a rousing win. Warren Moon wrapped up his spectacular 1997 Pro Bowl season with four TD passes, including two to Joey Galloway. This was my first season as a Seahawks season ticket holder, so this game has an added bit of personal significance... The Hawks finished '97 at 8-8 (which I'd be very OK with in 2010, frankly).   

4. October 12, 2003: @ Seahawks 20, NIners 19

This was a big early-season ESPN Sunday Night test for the 2003 Seahawks. Even though the Hawks came in 3-1 and SF was 2-3, the Niners were defending division champs and only a year earlier T.O. had humiliated Seattle on MNF with his Sharpie stunt. The boys in blue ran out to a 17-0 lead, which evaporated into a 19-17 4th-quarter deficit. The Twelve Army watched anxiously as Josh Brown booted Seattle to a 20-19 lead with five minutes left, which was immediately followed by a Frisco march down the field. 

Thankfully Chad Brown forced a Garrison Hearst fumble in the final minutes, and the Seahawks' march towards the 2003 playoffs continued. 

3. September 30, 2007: Seahawks 23 @ Niners 3 

How many times in recent years have we all been told by our social betters in the football press that the glorious revival of the 49ers was jusssssst around the corner? Early in the 2007 season, a trip to Candlestick was supposed to be the changing of the guard. Then this happened: 

SQUISHED! 

Yup, I have no problem reveling in Rocky Bernard fucking up Alex Smith's career by smashing his shoulder into meat-flavored goop. More of this on Sunday, boys! 

2. December 6, 2009: @ Seahawks 20, Niners 17 

The Niners came into Qwest needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive against the (frankly sorta pathetic) MoraHawks. Though last season was an unmitigated clusterfuck, this was a spectacularly satisfying win... As I wrote on my own blog last year: 

Let me say this clearly: Fuck the Niners. Fuck 'em. For all the bluster and chest-beating and media slobbering over them, these Niners haven't accomplished DICK yet. Nothing. Zilch. 2009 will be ANOTHER season that will end with them in their usual place: sitting at home, watching the playoffs. Once again, with feeling: FUCK the Niners. 

All week all we heard about was how Coach Bug Eyes and the big, mean 49ers were going to come into Seattle, pistol whip our players, pillage Pioneer Square and generally lay waste to all things Seahawks. Mr. Commercial Star Mike Singletary would motivate his talented minions to subjugate our poor, defenseless Seahawks on their way to reclaiming what the media sees as the SF birthright: the NFC West title.

The Seahawks decided not to play the victim in this perfectly composed narrative. Of course, it helped that Singletary passed up 3 sure points by arrogantly going for it on 4th and goal early in the game. It also helped that the over-rated Frank Gore killed a Niners scoring drive in the 4th by coughing up the ball, and that Michael Crabtree was scared shitless by a charging Lawyer Milloy on what could have been SF's winning TD in the waning minutes. 

1. December 27, 2003: Seahawks 24 @ Niners 17 

The Seahawks went to Candlestick Park for a Saturday afternoon game just after Xmas, needing a win and some help the following day to qualify for the postseason for only the 2nd time since 1988. Seattle entered the game at 9-6, but sported a pathetic 1-6 road record coming into the game. Niners coach Dennis Erickson was hoping for a win to finish the season 8-8 (which was a habit he picked up back in Seattle during the 1990s), and to exact vengeance upon his old employers and the coach who replaced him in Seattle. 

The Hawks quickly fell behind 14-0, and lamentations of "same old Seahawks" rang out across the land like church bells. Another winning but playoff-free season loomed.. It was '78, '79, '86, and '90 allll over again... but the Seahawks clawed and gouged back into the game, and then something amazing happened late in the 3rd: 

Matt Hasselbeck threw a PERFECT pass to Koren Robinson in the back of the end zone... and K-rob HELD ONTO IT and got both feet in bounds. 21-17 Seahawks. Josh Brown extended the lead to 7, and Shaun Alexander ate up most of the 4th quarter on the ground. The D stopped a last-gasp Niners drive, and Seattle triumphed in a game very few expected them to win (just like this week, huh?) 

I was visiting my parents in the Tri-Cities, and caught a flight back to Ohio that night after the game. We got back to Columbus just in time to see the right combination of Sunday results to put the Hawks in the playoffs. Here I am 7 years and about 40 pounds ago: 

All preseason predictions are, to a greater or lesser degree, bullshit. The beauty of this game is its unpredictability. Anyone who tells you they KNOW who will make the playoffs, who will win the Super Bowl, etc, is trying to sell you something. Folks with deeper, more detailed knowledge of the game might be able to give you slightly more accurate predictions, but at the end of the day it's still at best educated guessing.

I've always had particularly deep contempt for implausible preseason predictions. I don't mean things like "the Rams will make the playoffs," either. I'm talking about when some lazy sportswriter predicts the records for all 32 teams and comes up with an impossible aggregate record, or predicts playoff matchups without working through tiebreakers, etc. That's why every year I go through the ENTIRE regular season (using a grid like this) and predict the winner of EVERY game, so all the pieces fit together. After the jump, my own particular flavor of bullshit, which you can dissect in the comments at your leisure. (and don't be shy about moseying over to my home blog, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard) 

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My 28th season as a Seattle Seahawks fan unofficially kicks off this Thursday, when I make the trip out to the VMAC to take in a day of Training Camp. Starting with week one of the 1983 season, I have watched 441 consecutive non-strike Seahawks regular season & playoff games (no, the '87 scab games DO NOT COUNT. I refused to watch the first two games, but my resistance broke down when Largent crossed the picket lines for game #3. Please don't take this as something overtly political, but I'm a pro-labor guy, even when it comes to well-paid athletes). I attended 49 of those games in person, and watched the other 392 live on television. The Seahawks record with me watching? 

221-220. 

Nearly perfect mediocrity. If you know your Seahawks history, there is something almost poetic about this. Let me explain... 

There are teams out there that have histories festooned with championship glory, while still others have sent their fans down a long road pockmarked with the potholes of defeat. In some cases, if you have personality and a huge fan base, you can become "loveable losers" like the Chicago Cubs. 

Our Seahawks have neither consistently soared to championship heights or plummeted into the valley of top-5 picks. No; Our claim to fame is an almost mystical ability to stay in an odd 7-to-9 win limbo state. In the entire history of the franchise, the Seahawks have never posted consecutive 10-win regular seasons. Conversely, they've only had one three-year stretch of seasons with 10+ defeats (1992-1994). 

Pro Football Reference has done the heavy lifting research-wise on this, and the results are clear. The Seahawks are an almost shockingly consistent franchise, and that consistency is in the 7-to-9-win range. This consistency is a big reason why the Seahawks are also among the NFL's "leaders" at JUUUUST missing the playoffs (which I talked about in more detail on my home blog). In 30 non-strike seasons since the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule, the Seahawks have finished 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7 16 times(!); In 32 total seasons (including the strike years of 1982 and 1987), Seattle has finished +1 to -1 in relation to a .500 finish 18 times. 

This is something easy to bemoan, because in addition to being up in "South Alaska," this tendency towards mediocrity has made our franchise nearly invisible to the rest of the football world. In a sense we don't even have the virtue of being bad enough to draw NEGATIVE attention our way. Also, we rarely are crappy enough for long enough to get a string of choices at the top of the NFL draft, so the mediocrity can become self-sustaining. 

One of the few good things about enduring the last couple of awful seasons is that I'd greet an 8-8 campaign in 2010 like it was a personal visit from Bill Murray, and he was at my doorstep to deliver me my own Unlicensed Nuclear Accelerator. In a larger sense, I'm pretty content as a fan if my teams are at least competitive late into the season. Maybe those expectations are too low on my end, but if the Seahawks go into the season finale against the Rams next January with SOME sort of chance at the playoffs, I'll be a very happy Twelve. 

What do you think? If Pete Rozelle's ghost showed up and told you the Seahawks would finish between 7-9 and 9-7 for the next, say, four seasons, would that sound like cruel torture or would you think "well, at least we'll have a shot at sneaking in the playoffs and going all '79 Rams/'08 Cardinals on everyone's asses?" 

Don't forget to check out my home blog, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard. 

The only proper garment for members of the Twelve Army to wear on gameday is a Seattle Seahawks jersey. Any time I've ever gone to Qwest Field for a game, that is what the vast majority of folks are wearing. From Alexander to Zorn, I've seen hundreds of different jerseys at Seahawks games. Today, I'd like to talk to you about properly caring for your jersey, and avoiding the pitfalls that can make you look like a beacon of douchebaggery. 

First of all, for the love of Knox: NEVER PUT YOUR JERSEY IN THE DRYER. EVER. It will go from Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls to Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me in about 3 trips in the dryer. Take it directly from the washer to a hanger and let it air dry. 

The easiest jersey to care for is a replica (around $70-$80). In my experience, the "semi-authentic" jerseys (around $100-$125, with sewn names and numbers instead of screen-printed ones), tend to have problems with the shoulder logos fraying, even if you keep them out of the dryer. Also, the numbers get beaten up and discolored fairly quickly. I'm not even going to cover the authentic jerseys, because if you can plunk down $200-$250 on a shirt, you should get back to making sure your butler is correctly polishing your monocle collection, Lord Richington of Moneyshire. 

While a lot of us are pretty much forced to shop for jerseys online, I strongly recommend that you only buy jerseys you can physically inspect before you buy them. More than once, I've received a jersey I purchased online only to find it was misprinted or faulty in some other obvious manner. 

That was all basic, universal stuff... Now, onto my opinions... 

Continue reading this post »

This is a Seahawks blog, but it's safe to say most of you readers have other rooting interests in various sports. At least a plurality, if not a majority of you, root for other Seattle-area or Pacific-Northwestern teams. This weekend Safeco Field will be overrun by Red Sox loyalists, which will trigger the usual tsunami of complaints about "bandwagon" and "fair weather" carpet-bagging fans.

Since my first trip to a Mariners' game at the Dome in 1990, I've been one of those carpet-baggers. Yup. I'm a Washingtonian born-and-bred, and I'm also a proud member of Red Sox Nation. Almost every year, I make a trip to Seattle and root for the bad guys...

Why?

Continue reading this post »

It's that time of year again, my fellow Twelves... We start poring over fantasy football magazines, we try to figure out what new Seahawks jersey (if any) to buy for this season, and if we are really lucky, we are waiting to get our season tickets in the mail. For folks in the northwest, we also are trying to figure out if we can make it to a Training Camp session in Renton.

Here's a link to the Seahawks training camp schedule, with info on how to sign up to attend a practice. I'm going to be in Seattle for my best friend from WWU's wedding in mid-August, and thankfully I'll be able to go to practice at the VMAC on August 12. If you have the chance to go, it is worth way more than the $5-per-person "transportation fee." (eyes roll, wanking motion)

Why?

Continue reading this post »

This weekend, we are celebrating our nation's Independence from foreign rule, but on the awful anniversary of the Supersonics' demise, we should also revel in the Twelve Army's independence from fear: The team has had a rough stretch, and that might continue, but the franchise itself isn't going anywhere. This fall Qwest Field will be packed, and the waves of noise will buffet our foes Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. We should all take a moment to remember the dark times when we lacked this security, and reflect on how close we came to meeting the awful fate suffered by thousands of Supersonics loyalists.

It's now been two years since the Sonics skipped town, and while I was never a fan of the Supes, every time I see highlights of Kevin Durant and the Thunder on SportsCenter I feel like punching something (preferably Clay Bennett). They may not have been my team, but the way the NBA treated Seattle and the Supersonics fanbase felt like a personal insult; in part, because the Twelve Army came SOOOO close to disbanding under similar circumstances back in 1996 (If you are old enough, you remember that fat bald interloper Behring actually moving Seahawks mini-camps to California that spring).

In fact, the near-move by the Seahawks down to L.A. in 1996 leads to the most regrettable part of this little story...

Continue reading this post »

Let's get this out of the way first: I was a weird kid. I was bookish, nerdy, and without a doubt the King of Spaz. At age 8, I watched more CNN than most adults, and more HBO and MTV than most teenagers. I was clearly the outlier in my family, and my oddness bordered on going full retard. I never learned how to ride a bike, whistle or snap my fingers. I didn't learn how to tie my shoes until I was 10, and there were just these weird gaps of experience and knowledge in my childhood (which my wife still discovers and points out to this day).

Book learning skills? That's what I had to offer the world, coupled with an obsessive streak that I have never shaken. None of this added up to an easy connection to my rather traditional, emotionally distant father, who tried to butch me up by teaching me how to box, to fish, and so on. Nothing worked, and we were in very different orbits by the fall of 1983.

There was one glimmer of hope for me in his eyes: I had gotten interested in football. It started in the strike-shortened 1982 season, when I stumbled upon a Seahawks game on TV and got sucked into it. Quickly he cultivated my love for the NFL, even though he was much more of a boxing fan himself. I got a black and white TV for my room for Xmas, where I would watch the last couple Seahawks games and the '82 playoffs. I insisted that we have a XVII party, and was disappointed when the Dolphins didn't win, for reasons I no longer remember.

It was on like Tron for '83 though. Curt Warner grabbed everyone's attention in the first half of the season, particularly with a 60-yard scamper at Arrowhead on his first NFL touch. The Hawks rode Warner and an opportunistic defense + special teams to a respectable 4-3 start, but there was one big problem: Jim Zorn was holding Seattle back.

Zorn hit rock bottom in the first half against the Steelers in week 8: 1 for 8 for 2 yards and an interception. Seattle went to the locker room down 24-0 and Dave Krieg took over at QB for the 2nd half. He led a rally that failed to win the game, but changed the course of franchise history. Mudbone was 14-20 for 214 yards and 2 TDs in the second half, and the Hawks fell just short, losing 27-21.

But now my obsession with the Seahawks reached a new level, and Dave Krieg became MY quarterback. To my 8-year-old mind, Zorn was old and broken, while Krieg was exciting and fresh. Sure that was pretty unfair and not entirely accurate, but the results that followed backed these notions up.

The second half of the '83 season seemed to speed by in a blur of dramatic finishes and unexpected triumphs; A regular season sweep of the Raiders... The 51-48 OT classic against Kansas City... a rare 10 am win at the Meadowlands, completing a road sweep of both NY/NJ teams.... The 8-7 Seahawks found themselves needing a home win against the 8-7 Patriots to clinch the franchise's first-ever playoff berth.

My Dad took me to that game, and EVERYTHING about it was awe-inspiring; from the first moment I saw the Kingdome driving in from I-90, to the dizzying cavernous grandeur of the Dome's interior. Of course, as I grew older I began to consider King County Stadium more or less a shithole, but on that day, it was the Louvre to me.

I screamed for what seemed like 4 hours straight, starting with a shrieking series of boos aimed at the Patriots as they took the field for warm-ups. We were in the 300 level, and there was no way they could possibly have heard me, but I still roared until my voice was gone. What an annoying little shit, huh?

The game itself was perfect: The deafening roar of the 12th Man, a Largent touchdown, and an easy blowout victory. As we left for home, I had no doubt about it: The Seahawks were going to win the Super Bowl. I was too young and ill-informed to think anything else was plausible.

Thus, I EXPECTED the Wild Card win over the Broncos, and I couldn't fathom why everyone was convinced we were going to lose to the Dolphins. When the miraculous upset happened, I was overjoyed but not shocked like all the adults were. We had already beaten L.A. twice, so I went into the AFC Championship Game strutting around like Mick Jagger. 60 minutes to the Super Bowl.

Then the football gods brutally punished my hubris. The awful, despicable Raiders dominated our Seahawks, and I spent HOURS crying alone in my room afterwards. I would be in a funk for days, until I realized what was inevitable: The Seahawks would just come back and win the Super Bowl the next year.

The funny/sad part of the story is that many of my most positive memories of my father are from that magical 1983 season. We don't talk anymore, but the Seahawks were something I shared with him, and it started in '83.

What about y'all? What's your '83 Seahawks story?

Don't forget to take a look at my home blog: Dave Krieg's Strike Beard.

Happy unofficial start of summer! In other news, I HATE summer. 

Sure, there are things I like about summer... going to see big, dumb, summer blockbusters in air conditioned movie theaters, watching baseball in my air-conditioned house, etc. But willingly going outside, and exposing myself to insects, sunburns and becoming a sweaty, uncomfortable blob of discomfort? No thank you. 

I know most of you are in the Seattle area, where summer is more temperate and pleasant. Me? I grew up in the Tri-Cities, which meant enduring 3 Tatooine-esque months a year... Then I moved to the midwest after college, which was like buying a time-share inside of a fucking ceramics kiln. If I am doing anything outside besides moving from one air-conditioned building to another, I slather myself in near-toxic levels of deet and SPF 150 sunscreen. 

Thankfully, the Seattle Seahawks aren't spectacular wusses like me. For a big chunk of their history, they held training camp in the desolate outpost of Cheney. Inaugural Head Coach Jack Patera famously (and stupidly) withheld access to water from the players on 100-degree days back in the 1970s, just to show that he was some kind of hard-ass. Thankfully nobody went Korey Stringer, and sanity prevailed in the 1980s when training camp was moved to team headquarters in Kirkland. Needing Eastern Washington votes for a new stadium, camp was moved back to Cheney in 1997. 

This made it possible for me to watch training camp in person twice, in 1998 and again in 2006. Both trips were fun, but I'm glad it'll be in Renton from now on. 

Summer's greatest sin is its lack of NFL football. Yes, we will have training camp and preseason games, but those are merely reminders that the game is meant to be played when the leaves have turned and the air is crisp... Few things seem weirder to me than football games played in sweltering, you-can-see-the-heat-in-the-air conditions. Plus, if anything noteworthy related to the Seahawks happens in the summer, it's almost always bad news (injuries, holdouts), or meaningless news (oooh! That ___________ sure looks good in these preseason games that don't count!)... 

So I will spend the next three months cowering inside, with the possible exception of a trip to camp in Renton when I am out visiting Seattle for a friend's wedding in August. Each sunset will bring us closer to that inevitable and glorious beating of the 49ers on September 12... hopefully on an unseasonably cool and cloudy day, since I'll be there. 

What do you think, sirs? Check out my home blog too: Dave Krieg's Strike Beard 

Pffft... of course not. Never going to happen. But now that XLVIII has be awarded to New Jersey, the last valid argument against having a Super Bowl in Seattle has vanished. Long time fans may remember the NFL has teased the Pacific Northwest with the possibility of hosting the roman numeral game before: XXVI was nearly awarded to Seattle, but instead was held at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Additionally, the league made vague promises to site the championship game in Seattle back in 1997 to entice voter support for Referendum 48. So what are the main arguments against having, say, XLIX at Qwest Field?

1. Seattle is too small

Bullshit. Seattle is the 14th biggest metro area in the US, and is bigger than  future Super Bowl host Indianapolis, and previous hosts Minneapolis, New Orleans, San Diego, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Jacksonville.

2. Seattle is too remote

If the NFL is willing to put the big game in L.A., San Diego, Palo Alto, or Phoenix, there's no geographical reason to deny Seattle the big game. If you're coming from the East Coast or the midwest, it's a plane ride anyway. 

3. Seattle's weather is too crappy

New York City in February? Average high of 40 F, average low of 27 F, with an average of 3 inches of precipitation. 

Seattle? Average high of 49 F, low of 36 F, and 4 inches of rain. 

Worried about the Seattle rain? I'm sure Paul Allen would spring for some sort of canopy to be strung over the playing surface. 

The biggest argument that Seattle deserves a Super Bowl? The league has held the Super Bowl in FUCKING DETROIT. TWICE! Last time I checked, the Emerald City isn't a rotting death gauntlet. 

What do y'all think?

Don't forget to sneak a peek at my home blog: Dave Krieg's Strike Beard. 

We are all Seahawks fans, and all of us have a story of how we became foot soldiers in the Twelve Army. We also have certain seasons that build  huge piles of riprap around the pillars of our fandom. This is one of those stories.

In the summer of 1999, I hoisted myself out of the happy little rut I had dug for myself in Bellingham to attend graduate school at Ohio State. I left all my friends and a place I loved because it was the "mature thing to do." Plus, I had no idea how to do anything but go to school. I went on a trip with my parents and little brother down the Oregon Coast before I moved, and in almost all the pictures from that trip, I was clad in my Galloway jersey (which got promptly shelved once the greedy prick started missing games due to his contract dispute with Holmgren).

In mid September I drove cross-country with my best friend, and he dropped me off at my new home: Jones Graduate Tower. My room was basically a cinder-block prison cell with cable TV and high-speed internet access. No friends, a new town, a dank living space, and the brutal initiation of an elite PhD program sent me into a deep depression. 

What saved me? What kept me going through these dark days?

Continue reading this post »

Friday is the deadline for season ticket holders to lock down their seats for another year, and despite a 6-10 home record over the last two seasons, the Seattle Seahawks will undoubtably sell every season ticket package that is made available. I renewed my seats today, even though Mr. Allen's minions raised the price of my uncovered seats in section 325 AGAIN. Over the 13 years that I've had season tickets, a lot of things have changed for the Twelve Army... Let's take a look back:

In 1996, Ken Behring announced his intentions to move our team to Southern California, accelerating the fraying of the team's relationship with its fans. Eight years after buying the team, Behring had entirely destroyed the love affair between Seattle fans and their pro football team that grew between 1976 and the glory days of the Ground Chuck era. Home games went unseen on local television, as thousands of seats went unsold and empty (unless a popular opponent rolled into town), and us dead-ender Twelves became second-class sports citizens during the height of Mariner mania...

At the time I was in college up at Western, and Bellingham was in the blackout zone... This meant I went to games when I could, but more often I'd drive back home to the Tri-Cities to watch the games. When Alpha Nerd Paul Allen swooped in and offered to buy the team if a new stadium was built, I shamelessly used my radio show on KUGS-FM to push people into the "YES" camp on Referendum 48. After it barely passed the Seahawks announced something astounding: $10 seats. To NFL games.

Even as an impoverished college student, I could scrape together the $200 for a pair of season tickets. I got seats in the top row of the 300 section, in the south end zone opposite from the Kingdome jumbotron. That might sound pathetic, but I could stand up for the whole game without pissing anyone off, I had a little shelf behind my seat to put my coat, and I could make even MORE noise by banging on the metal panels behind me.

After I moved away to Ohio for grad school before the 1999 season, I kept my season tickets. I would go to games when I came back home to visit, and either gave the tickets to other games to my friends or sold them on eBay... Since I became a season ticket holder I've been to 16 games at the Kingdome, 4 at Husky Stadium, and 14 at Qwest Field (including 3 glorious playoff wins)... Today my seats are 290% more expensive than they were in '97, but I'll keep paying up as long as I can keep convincing myself that the second I give the seats up, the team will get back in the playoffs and I'll be stuck watching the next NFC Title Game/Romo Drops the Ball/Tru Pick 6 TO CLINCH THE WIN on TV.

Fuck. That.

Any other season ticket folks around here on FG? Share your stories in the comments, y'all.

If you listen to media types like Peter King or Mike Florio, the NFL's overtime rules are the biggest miscarriage of justice since the Sacco and Vanzetti trial... "How can it be fair to leave Brett Favre or Peyton Manning on the sidelines without a chance to score in OT of a playoff game?? ATTICA! ATTICA!!!"

Here's the thing: You know who doesn't complain about the OT rules? NFL players and coaches.

Why the players? Because football, particularly at the elite level, destroys the human body. Yes, they are very well compensated for destroying their bodies, but every additional snap taken is another chance to suffer a crippling injury or even death. Why on earth would they want anything but a system where the game is over as quickly as possible?

Why the coaches? Because coaches HATE making any additional decisions. They spend 18-hour days prepping for Sunday, and then make all manner of tough decisions throughout the game. The last thing they want is some new OT system that they have to navigate and risk getting fired over making the wrong call. Right now it's simple: Tie game? Coin flip. We won the toss? Awesome! Get in FG range, bang it through and get the fuck off the field! Lost the toss? We gave up a FG? Oh well, it's not MY fault.

The 3rd factor is the TV networks: Until the playoffs, they hemmorage money broadcasting the NFL. Why do they do it? So they can promote the holy fuck out of their crappy shows. Ask yourself: Are you more aware of what's on ESPN, NBC, FOX and CBS than you are of what's on ABC? I sure as hell am.. besides Lost and Modern Family, I have no idea what is on ABC or when it's airing. Given this reality, the networks DON'T WANT REGULAR SEASON GAMES THAT LAST FOR 4+ HOURS. Then they bleed into 60 minutes, etc etc, and they lose even more money.

For my own part, I've never once though this after a Seahawks game that went to overtime:

"Man, we sure got fucked by the OT format! DAMN YOU ROZELLLLLLLE!!!!"

And we've lost THREE playoff games in OT over the years I've been a fan!

A lot of this sentiment comes from misguided notions of fairness, and an over-emphasis on offense. Seriously, if your kickoff coverage team lets the other guys return it to the 45, and then your defense allows a FG, I don't really see how you "deserve" a shot at the ball. This isn't baseball. Both teams aren't gauranteed an at-bat.

Except in college, with its retarded OT format, which disfigures the game almost beyond recognition. No kickoffs. No punts. Just an amped-up, convoluted scrimmage because, apparently, sudden death would traumatize the fragile brainpans of college football players?

Florio and his ilk think the NFL should emulate college ball. Why? Why in the name of Johnny Unitas should the most popular, powerful sports league that has ever existed take its cues from its little brother, which more or less functions as a glorified minor/developmental league? To be blunt, the NCAA can pound sand. Get back to me when their TV ratings even approach the NFL's.

So I say leave OT the fuck alone. If you have to change it, keep it SIMPLE. "First to six" is way easier to explain than the Rube Goldberg scheme the NFL is considering.

Last year on my home blog, I came up with a (somewhat) empirical system for ranking the performance of all NFL teams over the last decade.. Here it is:

+1 for each regular season win
+5 for each Wild Card appearance
+10 for each Divisional Playoff appearance
+20 for each Conference Championship Game appearance
+30 for each Super Bowl appearance
+50 for each Super Bowl victory

(note: there is no "multiplier" effect. The Saints get 50 bonus points for winning XLIV, NOT 115 points for reaching each playoff milestone in 2009-2010)

Got it? Here's the list... Debate my results and methodology in the comments

1. Patriots (327)
2. Colts (260)
3. Steelers (258)
4. Eagles (228)
5. Ravens (197)
6. Giants (193)
7. Saints (163)
8. Packers (160)
9. Buccaneers (149)
10. Chargers (147)
11. Titans (146)
12. Seahawks (143)
13. Vikings (139)
14. Jets (139)
15. Panthers (139)
16. Bears (131)
17. Broncos (126)
18. Rams (124)
19. Raiders (122)
20. Cowboys (112)
21. Falcons (110)
22. Cardinals (102)
23. Dolphins (99)
24. Jaguars (91)
25. Chiefs (85)
26. Redskins (85)
27. 49ers (83)
28. Bengals (79)
29. Bills (66)
30. Browns (57)
31. Texans (49)
32. Lions (43)

Last year back on my humble little home blog, I ranked every squad in team history (76-08), and planned to come back after the '09 season and adjust the rankings. Sadly, I've concluded that this version of the Seahawks is the worst that the franchise has ever fielded. Worse than the '76 expansion Hawks, worse than the 14-loss 1992 team.

How can a 5-win team be considered worse than teams that only notched a pair of victories? My detailed explanation after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

Does this sound familiar? The Seahawks reach the end of a long run of success, landing with the dull thud of a losing season. Regime change is imminent, and one of the big decisions is what to do with the team's quarterback/locker room leader, whose performance has declined significantly from a Pro Bowl level just a couple of seasons before. Obviously this describes the Seahawks' current situation, but also where the franchise stood after a 7-9 campaign in 1991.

Amateur historians in the Twelve army know what happened after Dave Krieg was released following the 1991 season: The team cratered with the infamous 2-14 campaign of 1992, starting a decade of futility and mediocrity punctuated by multiple massive failures in picking the "QB of the Future." Krieg showed that he still had some skills by leading the Chiefs and Lions to the playoffs in 1992 and 1994, respectively. As a teenage Seahawks fan back then, I always wondered if those mid 90s Seattle teams might have been more competitive with Krieg under center, or at least on the sidelines mentoring the new guy. 

There are some parallels between '91 Krieg and '09 Hasselbeck. Krieg was 33 in 1991, Hass is 34 now. Both players had been Seattle's primary starter for nine seasons, and had mediocre Seahawk swan songs with about 1:1 TD/INT ratios. 

A dead-ender of a Hasselbeck loyalist like me might be expected to use these similarities as ammunition for a "keep Beck" rant... sadly, both the current state of the Seahawks and the accelerated erosion of Hasselbeck's skill set points toward a repeat of the brutal decision made by the Behring junta after '91: One of the best players in franchise history needs a shove... if not out of town, at least off the field. 

1991 Dave Krieg was less ground down by injuries and a decline in surrounding talent than Beck is now. The '90 Hawks were 9-7 and barely missed the playoffs, and over Mudbone's last 20 starts, the Seahawks were 11-9. Beck's last 20 starts? Seattle is 6-14 in them. That's a reflection of the team's overall decline as much as Hasselbeck's, but believe your eyes: Do you think that The Objectivist has SEVEN more 300+ yard games left in him? Krieg did that after leaving Seattle. Hell, Beck might not have ANY 300 yard games in his future. 

I'll never make any money on my football prognosticating talents, but my instinct is that Hasselbeck lands in Cleveland as Holmgren's "bridge" QB or New England as Brady's back-up in 2010. This time, however, the Seahawks will be making the right decision when they part ways with the veteran QB who led them through a successful decade. 

More of my Seahawks-related brain-droppings can be found over at Dave Krieg's Strike Beard.