mad sweeney said:
bocksheesh said:
Thought I'd bump this discussion as I think the downgrading of Shaun Alexander to be one of the more underrated developments in drafts this year.As training camp opens, I'm interested to revisit what people think about Alexander, what the Seahawk OLine will look like this year (hopefully better than last season during the post-Hutchinson shock), whether that bone crack in his foot is fully healed, whether Hasselback is fully recovered, and what the Seattle offense will look like following the departure of DJackson et al.Lots of questions!I too agree that there's very little chance that Alexander will come close to matching his dominant 2005 campaign. But I also do think his demise has been greatly exaggerated.
The foot is fine. He played full speed in voluntary OTAs and the team did NOTHING to backup the position which makes it clear to me that all involved are worried about Alexander's foot as much as they are what I had for breakfast. Hass' recovery is way ahead of schedule and he also participated in OTAs and is spending extra time with Branch. The Oline will be improved with the last few year's worth of draft picks starting in the 3 middle slots. Chris Spencer learned all he could from probowler Tobeck and is ready to lead the line. The guard spots look solid. Jones is Jones, Strong is Strong, and Locklear will continue to improve at RT. One thing to look for in preseason is Leonard Weaver FB. He's a quick, big and punishing runner with a vicious stiff arm and good hands. 3rd downs could get interesting. At this point I would take him before I took LJ, if he fell to me at 6 or 7 I'd be ecstatic. I'm an admitted
but I am also one of SA'a harshest critics.
You talk a lot about the improved OLine play. And it sounds like you're a Seahawk fan so you've followed the OLine closely.What is the primary difference between this year's OLine and last years? The OLine was just atrocious. I've never seen a line go from that dominant to that mediocre in one season. And as great as Hutchinson was for Seattle, it's still hard to believe that one player could make that big of a difference.But I for one think that 80% of the reason for Alexander's drop off last season was all about the OLine. People forget that even BEFORE Alexander got hurt last season, he was already struggling mightily behind the Hutchinson-less OLine.SO what gives?
Injury. With the exception of Walter Jones, (who got hurt by Shaun Rogers week 1 and was not his all universe self all season) no one started every game and they probably had 10 different combos throughout the season so they could never get any cohesion. Very rarely did the same 5 guys play together in back to back weeks. Centers were playing guard, guards were playing tackle, then centers went back to being centers. Guys would get hurt come back and get hurt again. It was a mess. And losing Hutch hurt more than I thought it would, though injuries could certainly explain that. On top of all of Seattle's injuries to the offense the whole O never had rrythym enough to get anything going. So even when SA was in, few were in top shape. I know injuries are a part of the game but every year 2-3 teams get hit hardest and we were one of them, losing a ridiculous number fo probowlers for long stretches. Jones will be healed up and dominant and next to him will be 2nd year guy Sims who got some experience last year and is looking good. Spencer will now have the mind game down more than last year now that he is the starter at center, he blew a lot of coverage calls last year but that should be gone with all the reps. He was panned for his performance at guard but he excels at center (Shick has documented some of Spencer's cener skills) RT Locklear is getting very good and shold shore the right end well. And it looks like rookie Willis will be the RG sooner or later. Chris Gray is still good and rookie Willis will be able to very ably back him up if anything should happen to Gray's 35 year old body. So just like everything, if they can stay healthy they'll be fine, SA will get his holes and Hass will have time to set up the run with Holmie's O. And again, if SA's foot was a problem the team would've done something about it in the off season. He ran for a good SA game in Chicago, bad weather against the best D and he's had 6 months since then to heal it. It is the most non factor topic of the year IMO and should he fall past 4-5 you'll get a bargain. Additionally, though I don't have the articles, in the OTA's where SA was first on the field and first to jump into drills, Holmgren said that they wanted to make SA the big RZ threat again as well as back into the passing game.
