The Seahawks were efficient on offense and opportunistic on defense on Sunday Night.  Matt Hasselbeck was efficient completing 12 of 17 passes for 129 yards with 1 interception.  Seneca Wallace finished up the ballgame completing 5 of 7 passes for 77 yards with 1 TD pass.  Shaun Alexander got his work in carrying the ball 8 times for 30 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Marquis Weeks continues to make a strong case to be on the opening day roster as he carried the ball 4 times for 25 yards (6.3 ypc).  WR Ben Obomanu only caught 1 pass but it was a 57-yard TD from Seneca Wallace.  Bobby Engram also pitched in with 4 grabs for 53 yards.  The Seahawks finished up rushing the ball for 75 yards on 23 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards.

The Seahawks played good defense against the pass but the Vikings pushed them around in the running game.  The Vikings finished up with 152 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.5 ypc)!  But the Seahawks held the Vikings to 167 yards passing on 16 of 30 passing.  Rookie CB Kevin Hobbs picked off a pass from Brooks Bollinger and he returned it 39 yards for a TD.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825026

Coach Holmgren decided to play his backups most of the game against the Packers and that was smart because he better hope he doesn’t have to use them.  Seneca Wallace had a rough game as he completed only 6 of 15 passes for 94 yards and he lost two fumbles that were both returned for TDs by the Packers defense.  David Greene finished up the game and he was downright pathetic.  He completed only 6 of 17 passes for 68 yards with 0 TDs and 3 INTs!  Undrafted rookie A.J. Harris was one of the only bright spots on offense as he carried the football 15 times for 54 yards (3.6 ypc).  Maurice Morris also pitched in with a nice game as he carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Leonard Weaver didn’t do much with his 6 carries as he only rushed for 17 yards (2.8 ypc).  Nate Burleson only made one catch but it went for 55 yards.  The Seahawks wound up carrying the football 34 times for 127 yards (3.5 ypc) and they completed only 12 of 32 passes for 112 yards.  The Seahawks better hope Matt Hasselbeck stays healthy this season.

The defense of the Seahawks actually played pretty well against the Packers Saturday.  They only allowed 79 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) and the Packers completed 22 of 38 passes for 197 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818009

The Seahawks finally tired of Jerramy Stevens act so they let him walk away and signed Marcus Pollard to be their starting TE.   Pollard played in 15 games (5 starts) last season for the Lions and he caught 12 passes for 100 yards (8.3 avg).  Look for Pollard to rebound in the Seahawks’ offense as he will catch 35-40 passes for 400-500 yards in 2007.   He has now played in 177 games (125 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 321 passes for 4,007 yards (12.5 avg) with 38 TD grabs.

Will Heller will be around again this season to handle the run blocking and once in a while snare a pass.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) last season for the Seahawks and he caught 4 passes for 32 yards (8.0 avg) and a TD.   He has now played in 42 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 19 passes for 146 yards (7.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

You might question the wisdom on trading the #1 WR from last season to your biggest rival but the Seahawks did that because they could.  They think they have more than enough depth to carry on without Darrell Jackson who is now an enemy 49er.  The Seahawks are banking on Deion Branch stepping up and being a true #1 guy in the offense.  He played in 14 games (13 starts) last season for the Seahawks and he caught 53 passes for 725 yards (13.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also ran the ball 4 times for 30 yards (7.5 ypc).  I am predicting right here that Deion Branch will have a career season as long as Matt Hasselbeck starts all 16 games in 2007.   Branch has now played in 67 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 266 passes for 3,469 yards (13.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs and he has also carried the football 7 times for 41 yards (5.9 ypc).

D.J. Hackett played so well as the Seahawks #3 WR that he is the reason the Seahawks felt they could trade Darrell Jackson.   Hackett played in 14 games (5 starts) last season and he caught 45 passes for 610 yards (13.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.   Look for Hackett to catch at least 60 passes this season and approach 1,000 yards.  He has now played in 27 games in his NFL career (8 starts) and he has caught 73 passes for 1,010 yards (13.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Bobby Engram is the likely #3 WR for the Seahawks this season.  He played in 7 games (6 starts) last season for the Seahawks and he caught 24 passes for 290 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards.  Look for Engram to continue helping the offense out.   He has now played in 142 games (89 starts) in his career and he has caught 504 passes for 6,054 yards (12.0 avg) with 29 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards (3.8 ypc).

Look for Nate Burleson to rebound after having a rough first season for the Seahawks.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he caught 18 passes for 192 yards (10.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.   He was productive on special teams for the Seahawks as he returned 26 kickoffs for 643 yards (24.7 avg) and he also has returned 34 punts for 322 yards (9.5 avg) with 1 TD return.  Burleson has now played in 60 games (40 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 145 passes for 1,981 yards (13.7 avg) with 14 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 8 times for 43 yards (5.4 ypc).  He has returned 28 kickoffs for 694 yards (24.8 avg) and 65 punts for 557 yards (8.6 avg) with 2 TDs in his career.

The Seahawks will bring along rookie WR Courtney Taylor slowly as their is no need to rush him with the veteran receiving corps that they currently have.

The Seahawks have signed cornerback DeJuan Groce to give them some depth in their defensive backfield.  Groce played in 12 games last season for the Saints and he made 18 tackles and forced a fumble.  Groce has now played in 4 seasons in the NFL covering 54 games in which he has made 113 tackles, has 3 interceptions, defensed 14 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  He also has returned 2 kickoffs for 48 yards (24.0 avg) and 19 punts for 135 yards (7.1 avg).  Groce was a good low risk/decent reward signing by the Seahawks.

The Seattle Seahawks scored 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter last night to beat the Chargers.  Seneca Wallace and a host of second year players led the charge.  Wallace completed 17 of 25 passes for 191 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the football 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc).  Matt Hasselbeck started the game at QB and he looked sharp completing 4 of 5 passes for 65 yards and a TD.  2nd year running back Marquis Weeks looked good last night as he carried the ball 5 times for 37 yards (7.4 ypc) with a TD.  Maurice Morris also looked pretty good carrying the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc).  Second year wideouts Ben Obomanu (5 rec, 83 yards, TD) and Chris Jones (4 rec, 49 yards) were both outstanding last night.  Veteran Deion Branch only caught one pass from Matt Hasselbeck but it was a 31 yard TD.  The Seahawks ran the ball 28 times for 107 yards (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 30 passes for 255 yards.

The defense was in bend but don’t break mode but they didn’t look good despite only allowing 16 points.  The Chargers ran the ball 22 times for 124 yards (5.6 ypc) and they completed 29 of 47 passes for 253 yards.  It’s still early in the pre-season but the coaches have some work to do with the defense.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270812024

The Seahawks still have Mack Strong as their starting fullback and he’s still playing at a high level.  Strong has played in 16 games (10 starts) and he carried the ball 33 times for 149 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has caught 29 passes for 159 yards (5.5 avg).  Strong has now played in 196 career games (102 starts) and he has carried the ball 226 times for 890 yards (3.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also has caught 209 passes for 1,384 yards (6.6 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Josh Parry is more of a receiver out of the backfield than a blocking fullback.  He played in 8 games last season (0 starts) and he caught 1 pass for 11 yards.  Parry has now played in 37 games (15 starts) and he has caught 23 passes for 175 yards (7.6 avg).  David Kirtman did not play as a rookie and it will be hard for him to do so this season.

Josh Brown had a good year in 2006 and the Seahawks will need him to either repeat it or improve on it.  Brown made 80.6% of his field goals last season and he converted all 36 extra points to finish with 111 points last season.  Brown made 15 of 17 field goals that were 39 yards or less and he made 10 of 14 kicks that were 40+ yards.

Brown has now played in 64 career NFL games and he has scored 444 points for an average of 6.9 points per game.  Brown has now made 88 of 111 (79.3%) of his field goal attempts and he has converted 180 of 181 field goals.

With the Madden Curse not being a factor this season look for Shaun Alexander to return to his perch as one of the best running backs in the NFL.  Alexander suffered through foot injuries last season and he never seemed to be 100%.  He played in 10 games (all starts) last season and he carried the ball 252 times for 896 yards (3.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs and he also caught 12 passes for 48 yards (4.0 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Look for Alexander to go over 10,000 career yards rushing for his career as long as he stays healthy.  Alexander has now played in 106 games (86 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,969 times for 8,713 yards (4.4 ypc) with 96 TD runs.  He also has caught 200 passes for 1,435 yards (7.2 avg) with 11 TD grabs in his NFL career.

Maurice Morris got his big chance to step up while Alexander was injured and he didn’t take advantage of it.  Morris played in all 16 games (8 starts) and he carried the ball 161 times for 604 yards (3.8 ypc) with 0 TD runs and he also caught 11 passes for 46 yards (4.2 avg).  Morris is better when he can come in as a backup and change the pace a little bit.  He has now played in 74 games (11 starts) and he has carried the ball 332 times for 1,410 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 32 passes for 304 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Morris also has been a good kickoff returner in his NFL career as he has returned 129 kickoffs for 2,843 yards (22.0 avg) with 1 TD return.

Leonard Weaver missed last season due to injury but he is in line to be the #3 back for the Seahawks this season.  As a rookie in 2005 for the Seahawks he played in all 16 games and he carried the ball 17 times for 80 yards (4.7 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 12 yards.