The Forgotten Years: 1992-1998

As I get older, I have become dimly aware that many Seahawks fans are wayyyy younger than me. In fact, there is a huge chunk of the Twelve Army that joined the ranks in the last decade or so- Many of these fans may have some sort of historical knowledge of the Ground Chuck Glory Days of the 1980s (they might even have throwback jerseys from that era), but most are probably unfamiliar with a dank, forlorn period in team history- The intermission between Knox and Holmgren, where the team struggled, the Kingdome emptied out, and there was the very real threat of the team skipping town. However, there are many things about this 7-season stretch in franchise history that are actually worth remembering, so today, and in posts to follow, I will try to shed some light upon the Behring Dark Ages.

Astute readers may notice that I'm not a Mariners fan, and that while I empathize with their plight, I was never actually a Sonics fan. One reason? The amazing amount of shit I had to put up with from front-running, bandwagon Mariners and Sonics fans during this era. Now I know a lot of you are/were passionate tripartite fans of the Hawks, M's and Sonics- I'm not slagging on you. More power to you that the M's and Sonics soothed your pain as Seahawks fans back then. No. I'm talking about the sentient, bipedal hemorrhoids who mocked me for sticking with the Seahawks in the mid-90s while the region's NBA and MLB sides were ascendant.

If you survived this era as a Seahawks fan, you earned your buttons. People gave you reams of crap for showing up in public in your Joey Galloway jersey. If you lived in the Seattle broadcast area, games were often blacked out. When you went to games, the Dome was half full, and/or mostly filled with opposing fans. Worst of all? The Seahawks lost most of the time and looked BAD doing it. How bad was the team? A highlight of the era was Sir Mix-A-Lot's posse wearing Seahawks gear in the video for "Baby Got Back."



The Presidents of the United States weren't making any songs venerating the Seahawks- and why would they? Over these 7 seasons, the Seahawks were 45-67 with no winning seasons and no playoff appearances. Even worse? They often were not just bad, but also BORING. These were also my college years at Western in Bellingham, so thankfully I was a bit distracted from the Seahawks' struggles- But every loss still stung, and I felt the glee of victory far too rarely.

Still, there are things worth remembering from this era- Guys like Cortez Kennedy, Chris Warren, Warren Moon, Chad Brown and Joey Galloway wore Seahawks blue in this era. We rose up and smote our divisional rivals and the NFL's elite once in a while. These men fought for us, and I aim to tell some of their stories.

First, the top 5 most important events of this era:

5. Paul Allen Sells 300 Level End Zone Seats for $10, I Get Season Tickets (1997)

Ok, this one is very personal, but when Paul Allen made a block of end zone upper deck seats available for $10, I thought "Holy shit! Even as a Cup-Noodle-Slurping impoverished grad student, I can scrape together $200 for Seahawks season tickets!" I've held onto them since, and I've gotten to be there in the flesh for amazing moments like the 2005 NFC Championship Game and the "Romo Game."

Thanks, Mr. Allen.

4. Rick Mirer Gets Spun Into Walter Jones (1997)

In 1993, the Seahawks used the 2nd overall pick in the draft on Notre Dame QB Rick Mirer (after- and this is just a widespread rumor- the Seahawks perhaps refused an offer from the 49ers of Steve Young for our first round pick). The short version? It didn't work out. After a promising rookie season, Mirer failed to progress, then started to regress, until finally playing himself onto the bench. Another major fuck-up by Behring's minions? Totally.

But... Somehow they hornswaggled the QB-poor Chicago Bears into giving Seattle a 1st round pick for Mirer in 1997- A pick that the Seahawks would use to select Walter FUCKING Jones.

Sometimes, despite themselves, the Behringites did the right thing.

3. Cortez Kennedy's 1992 Season

This really had to been seen to be believed. Budding superstar Cortez Kennedy, drawing additional motivation from the untimely death of friend/University of Miami teammate Jerome Brown (Kennedy switched to #99 in honor of Brown for the 1992 season), dominated the middle and notched 14 sacks AS AN INTERIOR LINEMAN.

Kennedy did all this on one of the worst teams in NFL history- a 2-14 team that included an offense that CONSTANTLY left the defense to fend for itself (they scored an NFL record-low 140 points over the entire season). Despite playing for a terrible team with NO national exposure, Tez was so overwhelming in 1992 that he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Why is he not in the Hall of Fame again?

2. The Phantom Touchdown (December 6, 1998)

The Seahawks were 6-6 and fighting not only for their playoff lives, but to keep Coach Dennis Erickson employed. They played their best game of the year, on the road, at 10 am Seattle time, and against the playoff-bound Jets. All they had to do to hold on to a 31-26 season-defining, coach-saving victory was to stop the Jets on 4th and goal... and they did.

Until dipshit official Phil Luckett signaled touchdown. Later, he would say that he thought that Testaverde's helmet was the ball. For reals. I was so incensed that I broke numerous items in my tiny Bellingham apartment. Seattle would limp to 8-8, and Dennis Erickson would get canned.

Two very important things happened because of this game. The NFL brought back Instant Replay, and Paul Allen hired Mike Holmgren to run and coach the Seahawks. In the end, it all worked out- But I'll never forget the rage and hopelessness I felt that day.

Here's the Seahawks' 1998 team video- The Jets footage is right at the start:



1. Referendum 48 Passes by 36,870 Votes (June 17, 1997)

You know the story: California carpetbagger Ken Behring bought the Seahawks in 1988 and quickly started running the franchise into the ground. In 1996, he used falling tiles in the Kingdome as a pretense to try to move the team to Los Angeles. It went so far that minicamp was held in Southern California that spring. Paul Allen stepped in and made an offer to buy the team, but that offer was contingent on funding for a new stadium to replace the Kingdome. Just two years earlier, at the height of Mariners fever, a similar vote for a new M's stadium failed- So the Seahawks' chances looked slim at best.

With Seattle and its suburbs supporting the stadium, they were able to overcome opposition from the rest of the state (expect for the Tri-Cities, which was only area of Eastern Washington where a majority voted yes). The rest is history, right? Holmgren, Hasselbeck, a decade of success, and an amazing new stadium... and it all started here.

Coming up? The top 10 games and Top 10 Seahawks players of The Forgotten Years- I'll show you the #1 player now:

Bobby and Darrell

A few days ago on twitter I started a conversation about which Holmgren-era Seahawks would end up in the Ring of Honor someday, and I came up with Mike Holmgren, Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander, Mack Strong, Lofa Tatupu and Marcus Trufant (That list by itself, and how I came up with it, might warrant another post soon). I asked my followers if I was missing anyone, and a chorus arose of "Bobby Engram!"

I love Bobby Engram. He was a great 3rd-down receiver, and his career year in 2007 (perhaps the best single season for any WR in team history) helped the Seahawks win the NFC West and reach the divisional playoffs. The dude is also a class act by all accounts- Add that all up and you've got a fan favorite... But not someone deserving of the Ring of Honor, in my opinion. Among other reasons is this simple fact: By almost every statistical metric, Darrell Jackson had a better Seahawks career than Engram, but NO ONE (not even me) is arguing for D-Jack's name to be placed up there at the rim of the 300 level. Let's check the numbers:

Engram:
109 games, 399 catches for 4859 yards and 18 TDs

Jackson:
96 games, 441 catches for 6445 yards and 47 TDs

Dang! It's not even close. But there's more- What about post-season play? Not only does D-Jack have more catches, yards, and TDs in three fewer Seahawks playoff games than Engram- He also has more signature moments- The TD that jolted the Seahawks to life against DC in the 2005 Divisional Playoffs, and the TD that pretty much put the Panthers down for good in the NFC Championship Game. Finally, you know how Engram had that amazing 2007 season? Well D-Jack's 2003 and 2004 seasons were damn near exactly the same statistically.

But wait, you say! Darrell Jackson dropped a ton of passes! True- But back in 03-04 ALL Seahawks receivers dropped a crapload of passes, including maybe the single biggest drop in franchise history (skip forward to 2:47 mark):


Bobby Engram seemingly gets a free pass from most Twelves for that dropped pass- Why? Another thing I've heard is that Engram did the dirty work going over the middle. True- But D-Jack didn't? He went over the middle too, risking serious injury (and suffering it in this case):


Jackson also had perhaps the greatest game of his career just hours after his father's death in a must-win contest at Minnesota in 2004. As I wrote back then:

-To Darrell Jackson, who had one of the best games of his life despite the death of his father this morning. Like all Seahawks fans, I find his bouts of the dropsies infuriating.. But this dude is a warrior, and he is showing why we gave him that big contract this offseason.. I’ll be sporting my D-jack jersey around town tomorrow…

Does that sound like someone unworthy of some Twelve adoration?

My point is less about Bobby Engram or Darrell Jackson than about how we as fans decide which players we like and which ones we don't. I heard multiple people argue that Engram was simply more "likeable," or that he was someone you'd want to have over for dinner. What did D-Jack do or not do to fall into a lesser category among most Seahawks fans? I haven't heard anything concrete from anyone, beyond some vague chatter about Jackson not being "loyal" or a "team player." If there is hard evidence for any of the negativity around D-Jack, I haven't yet seen it. Anyone care to take a real stab at explaining why Engram became a fan favorite and Jackson didn't? Frankly, this has always flummoxed me.

What do you think, sirs?

Tangent Universes: Seahawks Bolt for L.A., Reach AFC Championship Four Years Later

In sad commemoration of the Oklahoma City Thunder reaching the NBA's Western Conference Finals, here's some alternate history of what might have happened had Referendum 48 failed to pass in June 1997- Followed by Paul Allen letting his option to buy the franchise lapse, and a swift move to the L.A. Coliseum for the 1997 season... No matter how ugly or long this lockout might get, we still have our Seahawks, and that's something, right? Enjoy?

CHAMPIONSHIP BUZZ IN LOS ANGELES; BITTERNESS UP THE COAST IN SEATTLE

Associated Press, January 14, 2001

The City of Angels is abuzz with talk of a possible trip to the Super Bowl for the L.A. Blackhawks, who host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game today in the final NFL game to be played at the L.A. Coliseum. It's a different story in Seattle, where fans of the former Seahawks have to watch from afar while their former team reaches for championship glory.

The tale is told this way in the Pacific Northwest: Californian Ken Behring bought the Seattle franchise in 1988, and after almost a decade of sub-par football and mismanagement, he used falling ceiling tiles in the Seattle Kingdome as an excuse to attempt to move the team to California- Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen agreed to buy the team in 1996, but only if a new stadium was built for the team. After a public vote on a new stadium failed by less than one percent of the vote, Allen voided his option and Behring quickly moved the team to Los Angeles and rechristened them the "Blackhawks."

L.A. fans saw the Coliseum's new tenants get off to a dreadful start, finishing 2-14 in their tumultuous inaugural season, punctuated by Cortez Kennedy's holdout (based on the claim he signed a contract to play with the SEATTLE Seahawks) and eventual trade to the Dolphins. However, that performance put them in position to draft All-Pro QB Peyton Manning with the #1 pick in the 1998 NFL draft. In January 1999, Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren was lured to L.A. by millions of dollars and the promise of total command of the Blackhawks' football operation. After a 9-7 campaign ending in a Wild Card loss to Miami last season, L.A. now finds itself one win away from a trip to Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa.

A crowd of well over 90,000 fans is expected today for the Coliseum's final NFL game (the Blackhawks move into the 70,000 seat Behring Stadium at City of Industry next fall), many of them still delirious after L.A.'s dramatic Divisional Playoff overtime win over the Coliseum's former tenants: The Oakland Raiders. After a brief absence, L.A. is a football town once again, embracing young stars like Manning, left tackle Walter Jones, and rookie running back Shaun Alexander.

In Seattle there is little goodwill towards the former Seahawks- Most former Seahawk fans actually rooted for THE RAIDERS last week, by all accounts. On the streets of Seattle, attention has turned to the NBA's Sonics and baseball's Mariners (who just moved into their own new stadium, despite losing a public vote much like the Seahawks did). Efforts to lure an existing or expansion franchise to Seattle seem stillborn without a new stadium, so it appears that the Seahawks' 20 seasons in Seattle are destined to be an NFL footnote (beyond the career of Seattle's lone Hall-of-Famer, Wide Receiver Steve Largent).

Los Angeles is on the verge of seeing an NFL team reach the Super Bowl for the 3rd time, something that will likely never happen for NFL fans in Seattle.

The Case for Carson Palmer

Oh, the crushing boredom and despair of the lockout... It's reduced us to endlessly debating who will be Seattle's starting quarterback this fall. Given that the lockout will probably drag into at least late June in the best-case scenario, we've still got plenty of time to mull this decision that we have A) no control over and B) has probably already been made.

In any case, here's my current take on the Seahawks' QB scenario...

While I still nurse a crush on Kevin Kolb, it seems unlikely that he will come to Seattle, given the cost in draft picks to acquire him. The same logic applies to Kyle Orton. A lot of the other options out there (Vince Young, McNabb, Bulger, Leinart, etc) would be obvious downgrades from Matt Hasselbeck, so they can be dismissed fairly easily (which also, in my opinion, eliminates Charlie Whitehurst from serious contention to be Seattle's starting QB).

I firmly believe it will come down to either Matt Hasselbeck or Carson Palmer. WILL Palmer come to Seattle? Maybe not. Mike Brown is a moron who might not be able to put aside his ego and get some sort of compensation for a player who has given him almost a decade of service and wants to move on. In another scenario, Cincy might ask too high a price for Palmer- anything more than a 3rd rounder and change wouldn't make any sense from Seattle's perspective. But SHOULD the Seahawks try to get Carson Palmer at the right price? Hell yeah they should.

That might sound like disloyalty from a Matt Hasselbeck fanboy like myself, but the reality is pretty stark: Carson Palmer would give the Seahawks a better chance to be competitive, and for a longer period of time, than you could expect from Matt Hasselbeck. If we cannot land Palmer, Hasselbeck is BY FAR the best plausible "plan B," and I firmly believe that the Seahawks will not be caught unprepared. Don't be a sucker- The front office probably already knows whether they will be able to get Palmer or not, and are (wisely) not going to tip their hands before the lockout ends. Once the NFL year starts, expect either a trade for Palmer or the signing of Hasselbeck to be announced within 24 hours.

So why Palmer over Hasselbeck?

You've heard a lot about how Palmer had a "terrible" 2010 season, right? That "terrible" season saw Palmer throw for 3,970 yards and 26 TDs. That's more yards than Hasselbeck has thrown for in ANY season (though he came close in 2007), and Beck has matched or exceeded 26 TDs only twice in his career (2003 and 2007). Yes, Palmer threw 20 interceptions last year... but Hasselbeck threw 17 while only counter-balancing them with 12 TD passes.

The bottom line? Palmer's "terrible" 2010 season was FAR better than anything we've seen from Hasselbeck since 2007. Yes, Palmer would have to learn a new system and build a rapport with our WR corps (meaning a long lockout dragging into the fall might tip things back in Hasselbeck's favor), but I still see more upside from Palmer at QB than Hasselbeck for the Seahawks.

Some more numbers to chew on: Which QB has a higher career passer rating, completion percentage, and TD percentage? Carson Palmer. Team success is really the only metric where Hasselbeck CLEARLY tops Palmer... But Palmer PLAYS FOR THE FUCKING BENGALS. Can you really put all the blame for that on him? You might say that Palmer is injury-prone... Um, it's not like Hasselbeck is some Brett Favre-esque Iron Man either.

The final, decisive bit of info? Palmer is 4 years younger than Hasselbeck, and is far more likely to keep Seattle competitive in the years after 2011 while the new franchise QB is presumably drafted and groomed to take over (probably in 2013 or '14).

What am I missing, guys? How is acquiring Palmer for a couple mid-round picks NOT the obvious way to go in terms of solving our short-term QB issues? Enlighten me.

Seahawks Draft Grade? A+++/F-/Who the Fuck Knows?

If you're looking for informed analysis of the Seahawks' 2011 draft, this is the LAST blog you should be reading. I'm not a college football fan, and I don't have the time, energy or desire to become a committed draftnik- To be brutally, embarrassingly honest? I had NEVER heard of any of the players we drafted until the picks got announced. So, if the standard of evaluation for the Seahawks' draft is "getting college players I happen to have heard of," Seattle failed miserably.

Thankfully, despite what Trent Dilfer or Mel Kiper think, that's NOT how draft classes are evaluated- They are judged by team success down the line. Plenty of folks outside the cloistered walls of The World Wide Leader think that Carpenter and Moffitt are going to help the Seahawks get meaner, nastier and more effective at running the ball. Among our later picks, we seem to have gotten a bunch of athletic (if raw) prospects- They might all end up playing arena ball in a couple of years, but if 4 or 5 of them end up making significant contributions this will end up being a worthwhile draft class.

The national media types are aghast that we didn't reach for a QB like the Vikings did with Christian Ponder, but I am totally fine with it- NONE of the QBs in this year's draft looked like the type of player who could lead Seattle to the Super Bowl, and assuming that the front office has a plan to install Palmer, Kolb or Hasselbeck under center, I think it's ok to wait another year to find that franchise QB.

My first choice is still to make deal for Kevin Kolb, but that seems unlikely at this point. I prefer Carson Palmer to bringing back Matt Hasselbeck ONLY if we can get him for something like the terms mentioned on Seahawks Draft Blog: A 5th and a conditional 3rd. At that price, I think he's worth it, and would give us a longer "bridge" to the eventual Franchise QB. If the Palmer deal doesn't happen, I'm perfectly happy to see Hasselbeck return- What I DON'T want to see is Charlie Whitehurst as our 2011 starter (shudders).

The problem is this stupid fucking lockout. If the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Nelson's injunction, we should get back to relative normalcy soon. If they permanently reinstate the lockout? Get ready for that 14-game season starting in October that I wrote about last week, which would SERIOUSLY complicate any attempt to bring in Palmer, Kolb, Orton or any other outside QB- A long lockout vastly increases the chances that Hasselbeck will be re-signed by Seattle, given his familiarity with Seahawks personnel, etc.

So root for a ruling favorable to the players union, ya bastads! What do you think, sirs?