Seahawks So Far

You know, I really didn’t know what to expect when Pete Carroll was selected to be the new head man at Seahawk World.  Would his enthusiastic approach work with pro players?  Especially veterans?  I thought that his previous record as an NFL head coach was just fine, given that he got just one season, and two seasons at his two stops.  That is just not enough time to put your program in place: not enough time to get the personnel you want for your system, not enough time to test that system (and yes, I feel this way about Jim Mora too.  His career was capriciously damaged, and while the team has the right to go a different way if desired, it really was a Florida State-style mess to ignore Mike Holmgren’s likely desire to stay on and get the team back to a level he could feel good about leaving, name Mora coach in waiting, then give him just one year with poor personnel?  Lame.  Lame.  Lame.). 

So, back to Coach Carroll.  I think he is likely to get much better defensive play  out of this team and the new players added.  I think that better line play and a solid receiving corps will show that if he isn’t being pounded into the turf and rushed on every play, Matt Hasselbeck is still a damn good quarterback.  Perhaps seeing the impact Steve Sarkesian has had at the University of Washington and the immediate change in the players and program from moribund and impotent to on the move and expecting great things, has given me a positive feel for the way Coach Carroll’s upbeat ways will forge a new spirit in a team that has fallen like a rock from the elite to the effete the past two seasons.

A better group of players, the sense of meritocracy, the competitiveness at every position every week, the willingness to adapt to personnel, give players second chances, make quick decisions when the second chance ain’t going anywhere…what I am seeing is a team that is competitive, improved in personnel, willing to adapt, has chemistry and a sense of aggressiveness that has been missing of late.  These are all good things, and I won’t be surprised to see this team finish first or second in the division (depending on how the Cardinals work out their offensive problems and the 49ers hold up over a season.  Especially if the line can gel by the end of the bye week, there are some good playmakers (Housh, Forsett, Carlson, a rejuvenated Mike Williams, maybe Leon Washington and maybe Branch), and I am absolutely convinced that Matt can still get the offense as revved up as any QB in the league (if his line allows him some time, and makes some holes for the running game).

I can’t predict how the season will work out – too much is up in the air with Arizona, the 49ers and the Hawks to have a strong sense of how the long season will end,  But I really do have the feeling now that the team is improved in all phases of the game, has chemistry that has been missing, and is lining up for seconds at the Pete Carroll enthusiasm and chemistry buffet.  My guess:

Seattle Seahawks Schedule

Game (Result)	Record
SF at Seattle  (Hawks)	1-0
Seattle at Denver (Broncos)	1-1
San Diego at Seattle (Hawks)	2-1
Seattle at St. Louis (Hawks)	3-1
Bye
Seattle at Chicago (Bears)	3-2
Arizona at Seattle (Hawks)	4-2
Seattle at Oakland (Hawks)	5-2
NY Giants at Seattle (Hawks)	6-2
Seattle at Arizona (Cardinals)	6-3
Seattle at New Orleans (Saints)	6-4
Kansas City at Seattle (Hawks)	7-4
Carolina at Seattle (Panthers)	7-5
Seattle at SF (Hawks)	8-5
Atlanta at Seattle (Hawks)	9-5
Seattle at Tampa Bay (Bucs)	9-6
St. Louis at Seattle (Hawks)	10-6

The great thing about this prediction is that it assumes the defense plays great, and helps the offense with takeaways and tough red zone play over the first few weeks.  By the time of the bye, the O line should be gelling and healthy – good lord willing and the creek don’t rise – and the good start plus home field advantage helps the team get on a roll.  The 12th man is valuable, but not if a team can’t win on the road, as has been the Hawks pattern recently.  In my (hopeful?) prediction here, I am assuming a 3-5 record on the road (better, but not world-beating), and a 7-1 record at home.  That may be tough with Atlanta, Carolina, SF, Arizona and the Giants, but I really think they’ll return to home form.  We shall see.  And luckily, for those of you who enjoy poking me when I am wrong, well, this may just give you the chance to do so four or five times.

I’m truly looking forward to seeing Coach Carroll’s approach and how it translates in the NFL.  And whatever happens, he better get more than one season to “git ‘er done!”

Technorati Tags: Seattle Seahawks,NFL Football,Pete Carroll,Steve Sarkesian,University of Washington,Jim Mora,Mike Holmgren,Seahawks Schedule,Seahawk Season Prediction

Complications of Spondylitis - Ankylosing Spondylitis Complications, Areas of Inflammation and More

If someone in your life has Ankylosing Spondylitis, this article is an excellent and succinct tutorial that will give insight into how the disease affects them.  If you have AS, this article is an excellent tutorial and offers some very good information to consider.

This is an outstanding article describing the impacts of Ankylosing Spondylitis.  Many people – if they have heard of it at all – think AS affects only the lower spine.  This article describes the process and progression of the disease, and the impacts on other areas of the body, fatigue and even chest pains caused by AS. 

I find myself in the position of having an advanced level of AS – impacts in the shoulders, hips, knees, back, and calcification (causing inflammation) where ligaments and tendons attach to bone.   Because of injuries early in life, and the resulting early onset of osteoarthritis, the first two rheumatologists I saw simply noted the osteoarthritis and stopped looking there.  Finally, I was referred to an excellent doctor who looked beyond the first issue and identified AS as a culprit in my life.  This diagnosis allowed me to get treatment for the process (AS) that was causing most of my symptoms- including Remicade infusion therapy- which helped me a great deal.  If you’d like to read more about Dr. Overman, and his highly regarded book  - You Don’t LOOK Sick! Living Well With Invisible Chronic Illness, which was a finalist in the Health category of Best Books 2005 awarded by USA Book News, here is a link to his profile and clinic information: Seattle Arthritis Clinic Staff

Understanding the disease you have, and managing your own treatment, lifestyle and health is an absolute necessity in my opinion, and this article is a good place to start:

Complications of Spondylitis - Ankylosing Spondylitis Complications, Areas of Inflammation and More

Technorati Tags: Ankylosing Spondylitis,AS,Health Care,Medicine,Arthritis

Washington over Cal

With a resounding five touchdown performance by Jake Locker leading the way, the University of Washington Huskies pounded nineteenth-ranked Cal 42-10.  The home win was a fitting capstone for a resurgent program that in no way reminds me of the shambling, disorganized, under-coached, under-recruited Huskies of recent years.  Finishing at 5-7 under first-year Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, the team won its’ final two games by a combined sixty-two point margin.  Locker and the offense have been solid all season, if not always consistent, but perhaps the most encouraging element of the final games was the improvement in the defense.  It hardly seems possible that this is a team just one season removed from an 0-12 debacle, and an overall 11-37 record in four seasons under former Head Coach Tyrone Willingham.

Locker’s stock with NFL scouts has skyrocketed this season, and with three touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns today, Locker may find himself so highly regarded that he’ll be a very high pick in the NLF draft, should he choose to make himself available.  Locker was 19-23 for 250 yards passing, and rushed for 82 yards on just 13 carries.  Locker’s performance notwithstanding, the Huskies team has come together, with the defense improving and managing to stop an earlier season trend of giving up big plays.  The improvement from zero to five wins in a single season marked just the eleventh time since 1945 that a team managed such a turnaround.  And, if not for last-minute losses to Notre Dame, UCLA and Arizona State, the team might have managed an even greater turnaround and even earned a bowl berth.  It was great to see the program improve so much in tangible results such as wins, but also in intangible ways harder to put into words, but resoundingly present.  This team and program resembled a nice outboard motorboat after last year’s leaking tow man raft (with only one paddle).  Not the cigarette boat fans hope to see sometime in the next few years, but an amazing and doubtless extremely encouraging improvement year-over-year as well as over the course of this season’s twelve games.  Fans were heard chanting “Stay, Jake, stay” at Husky Stadium today and it sure will be fun if he does stick around for another season.  Unless the Seahawks could end up with Locker via the draft (a longshot to be sure), I selfishly would love to see him play another year, and see where he might lead this team . 

I recall the feeling of the eighties and early nineties under Coach Don James, and while there is a long ways yet to go before it is anything but breathless hyperbole to compare this team and program with that of the earlier era, it is clear that the team is heading in the right direction.  Quickly. 

Technorati Tags: NCAA football,Washington Huskies,University of Washington,Sports

Washington rolls to 42-10 romp over No. 19 Cal - College Football - Rivals.com

Box Score

Huskies Recap from gohuskies.com