Start Flappin' Those Wings

Connor Folse

With the recent six year contract given to linebacker Aaron Curry, fourth overall draft pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks have put together the last piece of the puzzle in their quest for the title of 2010 Superbowl champions. Sure, there are plenty of question marks, but this Seahawk team seems like it may have the best chance of returning to the Superbowl since its loss to the Steelers in 2005.

Last season the Hawks were decimated by an unbelievable amount of injuries and with the preseason just around the corner, the 12th man holds its breath in hopes that this year's squad can stay healthy. The damage started with injuries to virtually the whole receiving core leaving tight end John Carlson as the target of choice. Injuries to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and most of the offensive line including perennial pro-bowl tackle Walter Jones followed. Couple the obscene amount of injuries on the offensive side of the ball with a poor running game and the worst ranked secondary in the NFL and the Seahawks brewed the prefect recipe for a 4-12 season.

But with a new year comes new hope. Most everyone from last year starts training camp healthy and a number of new additions have been made in an attempt to bolster the Hawks enough to overtake the Cardinals for the division title. To start, the Seahawks had a brilliant draft. They took Aaron Curry with the first pick, who is said to be the surest thing to come along in a draft in years. They made what is quite possibly their best offseason move by trading their second round pick for the broncos first rounder next year, which means the Hawks may have a top five pick in next years draft the way the Bronco's offseason has developed so far. Kyle Orton is no Jay Cutler. With their next two picks the Seahawks grabbed versatile offensive lineman Max Unger from the University of Oregon to boost a depleted o-line and speedy, underrated wide reciever Deon Butler out of Penn State.

The Hawks also addressed a number of needs with offseason acquisitions. On the defensive side they they traded linebacker Julian Peterson to the Lions for defensive tackle Cory Redding. This was a great pickup because they later resigned linebacker Leroy Hill to a long term contract giving them what may be the best linebacking corps in the NFL. They then bolstered the worst secondary in the NFL by adding former Seahawk Ken Lucas and cornerback Travis Fisher. The promise shown by cornerback Josh Wilson towards the end of last year coupled with these additions and the return of pro-bowler Marcus Trufant should remedy their poor performance from last year. The Hawks also added defensive tackle Colin Cole to strengthen the defensive line and they also get pro-bowler Patrick Kerney back from injury. To bring together the seemingly strong defensive unit, the Seahawks hired former Buccaneers linebacker coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator.

On the offensive side of the ball the Hawks get their leader Matt Hasselbeck back healthy as well as the anchor of the offensive line Walter Jones. The retirement of guard Mike Whale hurts but the Hawks recently signed linemen Cory Withrow and Gary Ruegamer to take his place. The running back core remains the same apart from the addition of fullback Justin Griffith but should be stronger now that Hasselbeck has returned with a stronger receiving core. Carlton remains a centerpiece of the offense after just one year and former Lions tight end John Owens hopes to grab the second tight end spot by the horns. Wide receivers Dieon Branch and Nate Burleson return from injury and if all this wasn't enough, the Seahawks added the Housh, wide reciever T.J. Houshmanzadeh to lead the receiving core back from injury.

The Seahawks look like a team to reckon with and if everyone stays healthy an 11-5 season is not out of reach. There are still a lot of question marks but all i know is that i will be there on September 13th when the Hawks face off against the St. Louis Rams. the sweet sounds of The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony ring in my ears. Ahhh football season.