Pro Soccer: Does Seattle have too many stars and not enough soccer players?
Any flourishes the Seattle Seahawks football team may have had have officially faded with the soon-to-be-falling autumn leaves. It was good while it lasted. The fans were awarded 4 straight NFC West titles, an NFC championship, and a Super Bowl appearance.
The apex of Seattle’s rise to prominence was in 2005 when the Seahawks went 13-3, won the NFC Division title, won the NFC championship, and played Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 40 (XL for fans of Roman numerals), losing to the Steelers 21-10. .
This year, the Hawks entered the season with their sights set on returning to the Super Bowl and winning, which would have given Mike Holmgren his second Super Bowl win of his final season before leaving Seattle to take a year off. Holmgren would have become the only NFL head coach to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl and win.
Here’s what the Seahawks have done so far: They traveled to Buffalo and the Bills beat them 34-10. They lost 33-30 in overtime in their home opener against San Francisco. They managed to beat St. Louis at home 37-13 (almost a turnaround). They took a week off. They traveled to New York and were humiliated by the Giants 44-6. They spent last Sunday (10-12-08) losing to Green Bay at home 27-17.
I was at the Green Bay game watching the current disaster called the Seattle Seahawks. After Green Bay scored a touchdown to go up 24-10 with about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, I got up and went with my friend. Thousands of fans literally got up and left with me.
After more than 50 years of watching soccer games, covering soccer as a sports editor for a newspaper, and being a lifelong fan, I can tell when players have built up and couldn’t go back and win if their life depended on it. . He was right, they eventually lost 27-17.
Whatever magic Seattle has had in the past has gotten up and left the franchise. The Seahawks are terrible right now. They could improve, but they’ll still suck.
Some fans think the Seahawks’ demise is due to an excessive amount of injuries to wide receivers or battered quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who is probably lucky to be able to get up from a chair right now.
The team returned the starting 11 defensive unit from last year, but someone forgot to tell them that they still have to play again this year. They’re not where they belong, they look dazed and confused, and even All-Pro cornerback Marcus Trufant couldn’t stop Green Bay’s Greg Jennings from scoring on a 45-yard touchdown pass.
All of which leads me to ask a simple question: Does Seattle have too many stars and not enough football players?
Think about it. There’s Walter Jones, arguably the best left tackle in NFL history. There’s Matt Hasselbeck, one of the best quarterbacks around. There’s Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson, two of the best linebackers in the NFL. There’s Leroy Hill, who many fans think is just as good as Tatupu or Peterson, and some think even better. There’s Marcus Trufant, a tight corner.
At least 5 of these stars have big contracts, only Leroy Hill, who will become a free agent this year, doesn’t.
Notably absent from the 2005 banner team are guard Steve Hutchinson (he left for the Minnesota Vikings in a salary dispute) and running back Shaun Alexander (former 2005 NFL MVP who just signed with the Washington Redskins as a backup). .
It’s easy to get caught up in clippings and even easier to relax when you’re making a lot of money. It doesn’t take any talent to screw up assignments. It takes a lot of talent to stay on top year after year, game after game, and play after play.
No one gets very far without talent, and some players don’t get very far with talent. What separates the great players from the good players from the average players?
Consider at least 4 things: 1) Talent. 2) Focus. 3) Consistency. 4) A white heat, deep inside burning to be the best of the best and ahead of others. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, watch a Brett Favre (pronounced Farve) game movie.
There have been more talented quarterbacks than Brett Favre, but none have been tougher, played harder or went further. Statistics tell the story, but there is no measure of Favre’s heart, desire and sheer joy on a football pitch. No wonder he can’t stay retired.
The Seahawks could use a little less of the “it’s all about me” attitude and a little more of the “we are one” mentality. The teams win matches and titles, not the individual ones. There is no sport that requires as much teamwork to succeed as soccer.
Seahawk players, not the coaches or fans, must decide whether they are going to be an all-star team or a winning team.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley