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The Seahawks have released rookie RB Justin Forsett. Forsett was the most impressive RB in the preseason for the Seahawks as he carried the ball 46 times for 248 yards (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also caught 4 passes for 32 yards in the preseason. If the Seahawks thought they were going to sneak Forsett through waivers to re-sign him to the practice squad they were wrong as the Colts claimed him off waivers.
The Seahawks released WR Jordan Kent and then they re-signed him to the practice squad. This shows that the Seahawks are running out of patience with Kent. Kent played well in the preseason as he caught 11 passes for 128 yards (11.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs. But, he didn’t catch any passes against the Bills last week. He better get his act together soon or he’ll have to get a real job.
The Seahawks have signed 26-year old punter Jon Ryan to replace Ryan Plackemeier who was released. Ryan played the first two seasons of his NFL career in Green Bay with the Packers. He played in all 32 games and he punted the ball 144 times for 6,403 yards (44.5 avg) and he had a net average of 37.0 yards. Ryan pinned the opposing team in the 20-yard line 35 times (24.3%) and he had 23 touchbacks (16%). Ryan is a upgrade over Plackmeier who didn’t punt well in the opener for the Seahawks. He punted the ball 11 times for 450 yards (40.9 avg) with a 30.0 yard net average. Roscoe Parrish of the Bills returned one of Plackmeier’s punts for a TD last week. This was a move that had to be made by the Seahawks.
The injuries keep blasting away at the Seahawks’ roster as Nate Burleson will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. He was the leading receiver against the Bills in the season opener for the Seahawks with 5 catches for 60 yards (12.0 avg) with a TD. The Seahawks are contemplating on converting Seneca Wallace into a WR to help out the offense. He has caught 2 passes for 47 yards (23.5 avg) in his NFL career. The Seahawks have to figure out if they are comfortable with Wallace playing WR and Charlie Frye taking over as the backup QB. Logan Payne (2 rec, 25 yards) and Courtney Taylor (2 rec, 19 yards) must step up or the passing offense will be in trouble for the Seahawks this season.
The Seahawks have lost starting running back Maurice Morris for the next couple of weeks due to a knee sprain. Morris ran the ball well in the opener against the Bills last Sunday as he had 31 yards on 6 carries (5.2 ypc). Julius Jones will have to shoulder most of the load in the running game while Morris is out. Jones carried the ball 13 times for 45 yards (3.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards against the Bills. It will be interesting to see how well Jones can handle shouldering a full load of carries as he has always operated on a timeshare in his career to date.
The under manned Seahawks never had a chance in Buffalo on Sunday as they were outplayed badly in all three phases of the football game. Matt Hasselbeck had problems playing without his top two receivers (Bobby Engram and Deion Branch) as he only completed 17 of 41 passes for 190 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. Julius Jones did most of the work in the running game as Maurice Morris hurt his knee. Jones carried the football 13 times for 45 yards (3.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards. Nate Burleson was the leading receiver on the Seahawks with 5 catches for 60 yards (12.0 avg) with a TD grab before going down with a season ending injury. Rookie TE John Carlson did make a solid debut for the Seahawks with 4 grabs for 52 yards (13.0 avg) as he was one of the lone bright spots for them. The Seahawks finished up with 85 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 41 passes for 167 yards.
The Defense had some issues but they weren’t nearly as poor as the offense was. Linebackers LeRoy Hill (9 tackles), Lofa Tatupu (8 tackles) and Julian Peterson (8 tackles) led the way for the Seahawks against the Bills. But, the Bills still rushed for 106 yards on 29 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes for 232 yards. The Bills also had huge issues on special teams as PR Roscoe Parrish of the Bills returned a punt 63 yards for a TD in the 2nd quarter. But, Bills’ punter Brian Moorman’s 19-yard TD pass to DE Ryan Denney in the 4th quarter on a fake field goal essentially ended any chance that the Seahawks had to win this football game. The Seahawks have to gather what few troops they have left and fight or they are going to have a awful season.
The Seahawks are banged up right now and every team in the division has gotten better. With that in mind I would take the under with the Seahawks. Too many things are going against the Seahawks right now.
The Seahawks are really banged up coming into this football game especially at WR. With that in mind look for the Seahawks to throw a lot to the TEs and RBs in the passing game. Rookie TE John Carlson could have a huge game against Bills’ safeties Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson who are much better in run support than defending a pass. The Seahawks will rotate carries between Julius Jones and Maurice Morris giving them both a big workload in this game. It will be up to Bills’ DTs Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams to stop the Seahawks’ ground game with the help of MLB Paul Poslusny. OLBs Keith Ellison and Kawika Mitchell will be responsible to contain the outside running game of the Seahawks. Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck has been banged up this season but he will start. WRs Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are out for this game so Nate Burleson will be the go-to man by default. Hasselback will have to be careful when he challenges CB Terrence McGee who will probably follow Burleson around the football field. The Seahawks will need Courtney Taylor, Jordan Kent or Logan Payne to step up in this game if they are going to have any kind of a passing game.
The Bills will probably focus on running the football in this game as that will give them their best chance to win. RB Marshawn Lynch will have to deal with one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL (Lofa Tatupu, LeRoy Hill and Julian Peterson) but he has the skill to succeed against them. The Bills will have to pick their spots to throw the football because the Seahawks have a couple of good pass rushing ends (Patrick Kerney and Lawrence Jackson) and they also have a nice set of starting CBs (Kelly Jennings and Marcus Trufant). The Seahawks will likely double Lee Evans (everyone does) and force Trent Edwards to beat them with someone else. With that in mind I think that TE Robert Royal could be the secret weapon in this game for the Bills as he will square off with safeties Brian Russell and Deon Grant.
PREDICTION: BUFFALO BILLS 17, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 14
The Seahawks have lost WR Ben Obomanu for maybe the entire 2008 season with a broken clavicle. This is a shame as a opportunity was there for Obomanu to earn a starting job due to the injuries to Deion Branch and Bobby Engram. Obomanu played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he caught 12 passes for 180 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.