Seahawks quarterback situation still a muddle

Some people argue that NFL preseason statistics essentially have little relation to what someone will do in the regular season, but try telling that to a follower of the Seattle Seahawks who is split on who should be the team quarterback this season. All I know is that given a small sample size, anything can be interpreted anyway one wishes. On Saturday, I watched Matt Flynn throw a perfect pass fifty yards in the air that fell right into Terrell Owens’ hands—and Owens dropped it as if someone had just lobbed him a hand grenade. As I noted last week, the difference between Flynn looking “fair” and Russell Wilson looking “good” was one pass play; for Flynn, 7-13 for 77 yards and a touchdown looks a hell of a lot better than 6-13 for 31 yards and no touchdowns against a first-team defense. But Flynn will be judged not on what was certainly the kind of throw that was for him routine in Green Bay, but on how he performs with what he has to work with in Seattle. Personally, I ask just one thing from Flynn: Don’t make the people who have supported him look like idiots. On paper he has not impressed this preseason, and on the field it seems he has certain expectations, the lack thereof which seems to puzzle him. But then again, the Seahawks are not the Packers, who win by outscoring their opponents, not by out-muscling them. What does seem certain that Flynn was done no favors by Pete Carroll in playing the musical chairs game, especially with this crop of receivers; if Owens drops another pass like that, either deliberately or he just can’t cut it anymore, he should be cut immediately.

But, of course, we must speak of Russell Wilson. I still suspect that Wilson is fool’s gold, who looks great in flashes, but over the long hall is an 8-8 or 9-7 type. However, I don’t think there ought be any question that Wilson should be given the opportunity to see how he functions with the starting unit in the next preseason game. Fans and commentators will no doubt expect this, given how Wilson has without question put-up better numbers on the field than Flynn. To my eyes, Wilson looks more like Tom Matte as a quarterback; credit Jermaine Kearse for making an outstanding catch while having a defensive back cradled all over him, and Denver’s third unit taking a nap on Wilson’s second touchdown pass. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that fans and commentators will be demanding to see how Wilson operates with the first unit in a preseason game, and I agree with them. While many established quarterbacks have looked less than stellar in the preseason—while their backups have looked stellar against the second and third teams, Flynn does not have that benefit of the doubt, and starting Wilson in the next game—the last time that starters will see significant time before the regular season—should answer some questions:

Is the first team offense as it is presently configured—especially with a mish-mash of receivers, some of debatable capability—adequately functional as a unit with a different quarterback, one who likes to run as much as he passes, to cover the inadequacies? Of course, that begs the question how long can such a quarterback can stay healthy, given Wilson’s size.

Is it too early to decide Tarvaris Jackson’s fate? Few people expect him to actually play better, but he “knows” Darrell Bevell’s offense. Sure does; during the five years Bevell was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota, the team ranked 23^rd, 13^th, 17^th, 5^th and 23^rd in the NFL in offense. We need not ask who was really running the offense in that 5^th-rated season.

Another question mark, as I intimated a couple of weeks ago, was one of harmony, or lack thereof. I have no doubt that many players on this team are unhappy about how matters have turned in T-Jack’s apparent disfavor, and one can speculate how it has in subtle ways effected the team’s play—especially the first unit; the second unit is mostly players who are fighting for a job, and have their own cares. In Green Bay, Flynn had four years to develop a rapport with the team, and last season against Detroit the camaraderie was infectious—save for one glaring exception: Jermichael Finley, a growing head case on the team who has complained about the lack of “chemistry” he feels with Aaron Rodgers, has “suggested” that the team develop “special plays” for him when he is double-teamed—while dissing other tightends with better numbers than he, like Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. Finley also has trouble with route running and dropping balls, just managing to get away with his mistakes because of his size and speed. After throwing the gaming-winning touchdown pass to Finley against the Lions, Flynn ran up to greet him, and Finley simply ran past him, his only acknowledgement a hand tap; by his body language it was obvious that Flynn felt slighted. I wonder how many Finleys are on the Seahawks side; they may behave in practice, but during a live game, who knows.

Before Seattle signed Flynn, some of his critics insisted that he was best suited for a pass-first team, which the Seahawks are not. Whether they are right or not is beside the point. If the team can’t get Flynn right, they might not be able to get anyone who is a true pocket quarterback to work on this team.