Well, the 5 questions are back for a 3rd week in a row! This week we teamed up with James Satterberg over at SeaTown Sports enjoy! Be sure to head over to their site and leave some love!
A Cowboy Nation: How do Seahawks fans feel about Julius Jones in general? Do you think he will get booed in Dallas this week?
SeaTown Sports:
First off, last year, Seahawks fans were forced to endure the horror that was 30-year-old Shaun Alexander. The once great back lost more than a few steps and was arguably the worst back in the NFL due to his deadly combo of bad rushing, hands of stone, and totally incompetent blocking. His performance caused even some of his biggest fans to boo him at Qwest field, anything for the coaches to put in another back, which seldom occurred. Having gotten that out-of-the-way, Jones looks like Barry Sanders in comparison. I don’t know what he was like last year in Dallas, but Julius Jones has really performed well in Seattle this year. He has been the most complete back we have seen in a long time, as everything that Shaun did poorly at last year Jones can do at a high level. I originally thought that Jones would simply be a complement at best to the criminally underused backup Maurice Morris, but he has proved to be much more. Easily the best back on the team, for what that’s worth. Now whether he gets booed or not is not for me to decide.
A Cowboy Nation: What area of the Seahawks needs the biggest improvement in order for them to become a playoff team again?
SeaTown Sports:
The most pressing issues this year have been safety and quarterback. I’ll talk about Hasselbeck later, but I should quickly mention that Brian Russell is by far the worst NFL defensive starter I have ever seen. Simply incompetent. Considering that Walter Jones is going to be 35 next year, I would really look for a tackle. Beyond that it would be nice to have depth/insurance at OLB, DT, DE, and OG.
A Cowboy Nation: I have noticed on a few Seahawks websites that there is a lot of doubt in the QB area of this team. Hasselbeck is coming off of a pretty good year last year, is there any reason to think he won’t be the QB after this year?
SeaTown Sports:
Last year Matt Hasselbeck played better than ever before. Maybe not statistically, but considering all of the injuries and setbacks, he put up his best season ever. His play single handily moved the Seahawks offense, and thus, the team’s record. However, he’s a 33-year-old quarterback with an injury history. It was inevitable that he would begin his decline. It’s just a shock to us that it actually happened. Anyway, he has been hurt really since before week one, and he has missed a couple of games. When Matt has played, he has looked awful, constantly making bad reads and under-thrown passes. It’s not like the Seahawks have anybody waiting in the wings, as the closest thing we have to young QB talent is Charlie Frye, who played against Green Bay, and from what I saw, e clearly isn’t the answer. No matter whether Matt Hasselbeck will rebound or not, injuries are a part of decline and the Seahawks should be looking for a prospect to groom for the role. However, I would be shocked if Matt didn’t begin the season as the starter next year. The Seahawks are smart enough to know that putting a rookie quarterback onto the field is not a good idea. It is much better to have them wait a few years first, like, for example, Matt Hasselbeck did. Or Tony Romo, for that matter. Matt will keep his job next year regardless.
A Cowboy Nation: In your opinion what is the most intriguing match up this week against the Cowboys?
SeaTown Sports:
Tough question, because there isn’t one real defining matchup I see, but I’m going to go with the Seahawks run defense against the Cowboys rushing attack. The Seahawks started out very well against Portis and the Redskins before kind of falling apart a little later. It will be interesting to see if they can hold it together against Marion Barber and however much of Felix Jones we see on offense. Of course any improvement in Hasselbeck is something to watch for in terms of the Seahawks’ future.
A Cowboy Nation: How do you feel about the Seahawks/Patriots game being removed from the Dec. 7th Sunday Night Football spot and being replaced with the Redskins/Ravens game?
SeaTown Sports:
Whatever. Redskins vs. Ravens is a more interesting game. Besides, I don’t like going to Sunday/Monday night games. It’s too much trouble as a fan to be out that late with stuff to do in the morning.
