More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

A bag full of excuses, and each avoids the inevitable.

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If you look to assign blame for the crumbling of the Seahawks, the potential targets are plentiful. Perhaps when everything falls apart this markedly, there's enough blame to hand out to each and every player, coach, and executive. What bothers me is the seemingly pervasive public notion that the offensive line and the defense are to blame. Case in point. Jim Moore decided that Mora and Hasselbeck should be absolved.

When you call out Olindo Mare after the Bears game and the offensive line after the Houston game when the defense should have been called out even more, you don't build a good case for yourself as a leader of men. It's possible that he's lost the team.

But then I think, wait a minute, could Bill Belichick do a better job with the Hawks? It's hard to gauge the quality of the coaching when the players aren't very good.

If that sequence doesn't bother you, you didn't pay close enough attention. Suddenly the whole team is garbage and so Mora gets a pass on his admittedly poor leadership because of it? That's the sort of logic that brings us to my point. 

Assuming the defense is bad means you haven't paid close enough attention to the failings of the offense. The offense has failed primarily because of poor quarterback play. Very poor quarterback play. Yes, the line was not very good in the early portion of the season. The last several games, however, have seen pretty good protection and still the offense sputtered. Yet people cling to Hasselbeck. Read towards the bottom of the article and see the author's recommendations for the new GM. Among them:

Publicly support Hasselbeck. If you think he's part of the Seahawks' problems, you're out of your mind.

I'm out of my mind. Around much of the Seahawks fandom and even on here on Field Gulls, there are some that would prefer to scrap most of the team instead of finding a new quarterback. Change is difficult. As you read articles or listen to the radio or talk to your friends about the Seahawks, don't allow yourself to be swayed by the excuses being bandied about for the failings of the team. Separate your love for a player and their value to a team. Oh, and the failures of the team don't somehow excuse the antics of the head coach. Articles like this drive me bonkers. 

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

Chris Long has a lot of work to do on his pas de deux. Drew Brees? Swan Lake, bitches.

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Brady. Brees. Maroney. Thomas. Moss. Colston. Sharper. Applebee's commercials starring Chris Berman, and of course, Ron Jaworski's incredulous chin wagging. Talk about appointment television!

More photos » by Jim Dietz - AP

This will be a familiar sight today.

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No Seahawks this week. Instead, we have the privilege of watching Favre and Big Ben challenge the limits of pocket protection. 

This is why we love football, after all. Anything can and will happen in any given play, game, or season. Anything except Seattle winning, of course. Doormats turn around and wear the crown and the mighty are made to kneel and kiss the floor.  Remember: It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game.  RAT BASTARDS. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. 

by John Froschauer - AP

Seneca Wallace had better hope that he doesn't finish today's game in a green uniform. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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The Colts are going to score. Given the health of the defense and the Manning across the line of scrimmage, the Seahawks offense had better put together a strong performance against an indy defensive unit handing out fewer doses of Dwight Freeney than usual. As the Cardinals showed last week, abandoning the run game plays right into the hands of the smaller, quicker Colts defensive front. Whoever starts on the Seattle O-line had better get some seams for Julius Jones and Justin Forsett. Seneca Wallace looked comfortable making throws on the run last week, drifting backward out of his drop and then running toward the line of scrimmage to find his receivers. He still needs to make better decisions. How will the Seattle offense manage this week with a patchwork line to compliment their patchwork quarterback?  Will John summon the strength to get in front of a television? Will Scruffy send a shipment of live bears to Lucas Oil Stadium? Will Edgerrin James, like a spurned former lover, tear through the Colts like a man possessed? Probably not. But stay tuned. 

A week and a half ago, John brought up an open thread for the public lusting after college running backs. Not only were we all looking at backs that caught our fancy, but:

So to head off every thread devolving into fantasy GMing and rosterbation, here's a few 2010 prospects, passed through the Ruskell sieve, to enjoy on this autumn day of August.

Blount was brought up fairly quickly, but he was almost immediately dismissed by a certain someone for his track record, which was dubious enough to wilt under the heat of the Ruskell Code. The point of this isn't to toot John's horn, although the timing is hilarious. Unless you don't own a television, computer (demonstrably false), or newspaper subscription, then you probably know that LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player on the field after last night's loss for the Ducks. He has now been suspended for the entirety of the year, ending his career at Oregon and possibly his career as a football player. 

Each year around draft time, there's usually a bit of teeth-gnashing about the players that Tim Ruskell doesn't bother drafting, namely those with any bit of red flaggery in their background. Sure, not every college kid who urinates on a parked car will go all Maurice Clarett and start their own mobile militia. We forget, however, just the magnitude of the investment in these players. Blount came into the season with a scholarship and likely the majority of carries for an Oregon team trying to contend for a Pac 10 Title. Investing a good deal of their trust in a particular player, Oregon was let down.

Just as the level of competition ratchets up with the jump to the NFL, so too does the magnitude of the investment in players. Rosters are smaller and salaries are immense. When thinking about draft-worthy players, we tend to consider the inherent risk of failure to develop or the risk of serious injury. We need to remember to add in the risk of immature or unstable character . It's nice to marvel at the potential of players like Blount, but last night we saw the bottom face of that sort of coin flip.