The Shaun Alexander era is over in Seattle and it will be interesting to see if the Seahawks’ have an effective running game in 2008 or not.  Julius Jones will likely be the running back who gets the most work in Seattle in 2008.  He has been a decent player in Dallas in his career to date but he has never been an every down back.  He also has a history of being a tad injury prone which often got his ex-coach, Bill Parcells fired up.  Jones played in 16 games (all starts) with the Cowboys last season and he carried the ball 164 times for 588 yards (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 203 yards (8.8 avg).  With Jones likely splitting carries with Maurice Morris it’s hard to see him exceeded the yards he got last season in Dallas.  Jones has now played in 53 games (51 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 885 times for 3,484 yards (3.9 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He also has caught 84 passes for 672 yards (8.0 avg) but he has never caught a TD pass.

Maurice Morris will likely share the workload with Julius Jones in 2008 for the Seahawks.  He played well last season for the Seahawks.  Morris played in 14 games (6 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he carried the ball 140 times for 628 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 213 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Morris has a little more speed than Jones and he’s a better receiver so he will likely get a lot of chances to have the ball in his hands in 2008.  Morris has now played in 88 games (17 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 472 times for 2,038 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Morris has also caught 55 passes for 417 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his NFL career.

T.J. Duckett will likely handle the short yardage and goal line carries as he is by far the most powerful runner on the Seahawks’ roster.  Duckett played in 12 games (1 start) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 65 times for 335 yards (5.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 4 passes for 54 yards (13.5 avg) last year.  Duckett will give the Seahawks a nice change of pace as Morris and Jones don’t have near the power of Duckett.  He’s been lightly used lately so he likely has a lot of tread left on the tires.  Duckett has now played in 77 games (14 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 655 times for 2,642 yards (4.0 ypc) with 36 TD runs.  He has also caught 35 passes for 303 yards (8.7 avg) but he’s never caught a TD pass in his NFL career.

Rookie Justin Forsett of California will have to battle for a roster spot as a rookie.  His size (5′7″, 190 pounds) might hurt him in the pros but it’s hard to overlook how well he played last season.  Forsett played in 13 games (all starts) at California last season and he carried the ball 305 times for 1,546 yards (5.1 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 202 yards (9.4 avg).  He will likely have to make his mark on special teams.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

Matt Hasselbeck should have another good season for the Seahawks in 2008.  He has a good arm, he’s smart and he has enough mobility to evade trouble in the pocket.  The hope is that the Seahawks will have a better running game in 2008 to support Hasselbeck’s passing.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Seahawks last season and he completed 352 of 562 passes (62.6%) for 3,966 yards with 28 TD passes and 12 interceptions (91.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 39 times for 89 yards (2.3 ypc).  Look for Hasselbeck to add to his impressive career totals in 2008.  Hasselbeck has now played in 135 games (96 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,904 of 3,318 passes (60.7%) for 22,333 yards with 142 TD passes and 84 interceptions (86.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 246 times for 891 yards (3.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

The Seattle Seahawks thought of moving Seneca Wallace into a WR slot before last season started but he continued to improve as a QB.  He will be the #2 QB for the Seahawks again in 2008.  He has a strong arm and he’s very mobile but he has some limitations as the Seahawks don’t trust him with the full playbook.  Wallace played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he completed 19 of 28 passes (67.9%) for 215 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception (99.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 17 yards (4.3 ypc).  Matt Hasselbeck is pretty tough and durable so don’t look for Wallace to add to his career totals much in 2008.  Wallace has now played in 25 games (4 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 114 of 194 passes (58.8%) for 1,315 yards with 11 TD passes and 9 interceptions (78.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 22 times for 134 yards (6.1 ypc).

The Seattle Seahawks picked up QB Charlie Frye real cheap (6th round pick) early last season after the Cleveland Browns really had seen enough of him after 1 half of the first game last season.  Frye’s only real strength on the football field is his mobility as his arm is below average.  But, his mobility also gets him into trouble because he sometimes panics and throws the ball into coverage resulting in interceptions.  He also was sacked 5 times in the first half of his only game last year and he has now been sacked 71 times in only 21 career games in the NFL.  He will need to get rid of the ball sooner if he ever wants to be an effective QB in the NFL.  Frye played in 1 game (0 starts) with the Browns last season and he completed 4 of 10 passes (40%) for 34 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (10.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 1 yard.  Don’t look for Frye to add to his career totals this season unless Hasselbeck and Wallace both go down with injuries.  Frye has now played in 21 games (19 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 354 of 567 passes (62.4%) for 3,490 yards with 14 TD passes and 23 interceptions (71.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 66 times for 276 yards (4.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A-

The Seahawks drafted Brandon Coutu to battle Olindo Mare for the starting job replacing the departed Josh Brown.  Coutu played in 43 games for Georgia and he connected on 51 of 64 FGs (79.7%) and all of his 109 extra point attempts.  Coutu also hit 5 of 11 FGs (45.5%) of 50+ yards.  The only problem with Coutu is he doesn’t do a good job on kickoffs and that could hinder him in this competition.

Justin Forsett will have a hard time making the Seahawks’ final roster.  Forsett is small at 5′7″, 190 pounds and he’s not especially fast running a 4.6 40.  Forsett played in 49 games (17 starts) at California and he carried the ball 567 times for 3,220 yards (5.7 ypc) with 26 TD runs.  He also caught 41 passes for 386 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Forsett will likely have to make the team because of special teams play as the Seahawks have a lot of backs ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Seahawks had a ton of mistakes last season with snaps and that’s the reason they drafted Tyler Schmitt.  He is 6′2″, 234 pounds and he doesn’t really do much but snap the ball and he’s good at his job.  Maybe the Seahawks will find something else on special teams that he can help out with when he’s not snapping the ball.