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Hey gang.
One of the great things about being a Seahawk fan in Alaska is that we do get opportunities to gain access to Seahawk players in a more informal setting and, every once in a while, get a few minutes alone with a player which is hard to do where crowds can overwhelm the event and security is tight. I once had a chance to sit down with Cortez Kennedy at a local bar in Anchorage and just talk Seahawk football for over two hours when he was on a Kodiak Island bear hunt which was arranged through the Midnight Sun Sea Hawkers fan club.
Yesterday, I did it again this time because my wife is a teacher in the Anchorage School System. I got about 10 minutes with Mack Strong at Muldoon Elementary School in Anchorage, claiming his undivided attention early before there was much competition from kids, parents, and teachers. It was an honor to meet a second Seahawk who was a life-long player for Seattle. Both Cortez Kennedy and Mack Strong share a special spot in my heart because they were Seahawks through and through for their entire careers.
Mack was representing the NFL and their Fuel Up To Play 60 program where the NFL sends representatives into schools to encourage children to eat healthy and exercise regularly. I don't know why Muldoon Elementary School in Anchorage Alaska was chosen for participation but they do have primarily low income students and many non-English speaking parents, which might have been a factor. I wasn't there to hear about nutrition anyway, although the program is a good one and the kids loved Mack.
Mack Strong is a very nice guy who was plenty willing to talk with me for a few minutes about the Seahawks even though the queue of people waiting for his attention was growing by the minute. You could see he was aware of the situation but he never made me feel hurried or like I was monopolizing his time (which I was doing mercilessly). After I got my interview, I watched him patiently go around the room and talk to hundreds of kids, parents, and teachers. My wife and I both got great photos taken with him which I could post if I knew how to do so on the blog here (maybe a little help, Chris?). He then gave a talk about eating right and exercising at an assembly meeting for the whole school.
During the magical 10 minutes or so where I had his undivided attention, I asked Mack if he ever browsed through the various Seahawk blogs that were out there in cyberspace and he said that while he did occasionally, he had never heard of the Seahawk Addicts blog. Oh well. To read what Mack had to say about the Seahawks, please press "Read more" below.
I started out by asking him the question I said I would Tuesday night when I first realized I might have a chance to do a short interview with him. I asked Mack what was wrong with the Seahawks. We discussed Mora and his staff, the new schemes, injured players, and the talent level of the team overall and Mack concluded that it was most likely a combination of all of that. He said it would be hard to put your finger on a single reason the team is not doing well and concentrate efforts to fix things based on one cause. He said that's one of the reasons it gets complicated for a head coach and makes it difficult for a new coach to come in and be successful right off the bat. There are usually too many areas that need attention before a new plan can be solidified and bear fruit. Even Holmgren was fighting on more than one front to get the Seahawks back on track last season as a coach with a 10 year tenure. It's rarely just one problem like injuries alone that derails your team.
However, he then pointed out that you really have a hard time competing when your best three players are sitting on the bench and particularly when one of them is your pro bowl quarterback. When you sprinkle in your all world left tackle and shutdown cornerback, you've carved a sizable chunk out of your team and left yourself vulnerable to a good team's ability to exploit those glaring holes in your amour. The 49ers, Bears, and Colts are all good teams whose coaches have been able to attack the Seahawks' weaknesses successfully.
Mack pointed out that the only time you've really seen the Seahawks who came out of training camp as Seattle's starting team play was in the first game against the Rams, and even then they were missing two of those three top components. He believes that without the injuries we'd probably be looking at a 3 - 1 record right now and the team would be starting to gel into a pretty good team. Instead, we've been putting a different team out on the field each game and the offensive line, which needs to play with the same guys together more than any other unit, has been a turnstile once again.
Mack reminded me that the 2005 Seahawks started out 2 - 2 and then went on an 11 game winning streak to play their way into the playoffs and the Super Bowl. The message is that it's too soon to pack it in at this point. He thinks Mora is a good coach and will eventually present Seattle with a good team when he gets through dealing with injuries and replacing stalwarts like Walter Jones as well as getting the players comfortable in the new schemes being run. Maybe we all expected too much out of the Seahawks in Mora's first year, but Mack believes in the organization and its ability to get things back on track.
The distressing news is that when I asked Mack if he thought Walt would play again, Mack said he thinks he's done and won't take the field in a Seattle uniform again. No one can really be sure, but he's talked to Jones and should know what is the most likely outcome. Jones wants to play but just can't seem to get healthy. It looks as if Walt's career is over; long live the King. He thinks the most likely top need in next years draft will be a left tackle. Not much of a revelation there. He thinks Frye has been doing a pretty good job considering the situation he's been thrust into, and if the offensive line can get stable and get some time together they might surprise some people.
Strong said that he thinks Owen Schmitt will become a very good fullback with both the ability to carry the rock and run a pass pattern when needed. He thinks that Owen has his head in the right place because he knows his bread and butter is his blocking ability and he loves leading the runner through the hole. Good endorsement coming from Mack.
He thinks the Seahawks are still in the race, and if they can get the injured players back before they get too far behind, they will have a good chance to make the playoffs. It all depends on whether they can win at home the next two weeks and then come out of the bye three weeks later as a mended team with Hasselbeck back at the controls and important players like Trufant, Hill, Sims, Wilson, and Locklear back playing at a high level. If the injuries continue, Seattle is going to find it difficult to compete.
I know Mack strong is a member of the Seahawk community and as such doesn't ever say much of a discouraging word, but as I talked to him I thought he was less guarded, especially when talking about Walter Jones. Of course he's a homer, so you're not going to find much in the way of criticism of the organization, but he seemed to be genuinely saying that he thought the team could pick it up and still be what we thought they could be when the season started. I thought he made a good point when he said that the Rams game was the only time we saw remotely what Mora and company thought they would be fielding this season. After that game, the starting lineup became a smorgasbord of backup players and players not able to go at 100% and you can't really tell much about a team in that state.
Mack pretty much nailed it when he said we need to get through the next two weeks with wins and then get our team back healthy and ready to take on the second part of the season after the bye if we want to do anything this year and make the playoffs. So what do you Addicts think of what Mack had to say about the team?
I have this Seahawks-colored football that only Cortez Kennedy had signed up to this point, and Mack became the second player to sign that ball today. That ball will only bear the signatures of those players who played their whole career with the Seahawks. I call it my "Lifer" ball. Walter Jones will be my next target to sign the ball after he retires.
Watch for the Bold Prediction Contest coming out Friday and get your predictions in. As previously stated, I will be traveling to Seattle Saturday and therefore will most likely be a little late for the next couple of weeks in getting the contest results out after the game. I probably won't be writing much either and just taking care of the contest, but I'll be back in full force after October 19th. Let's get a couple of wins at home and stay in the hunt!
Hasta,
Bill T.
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