| 26 May 2010
There's a different kind of feeling surrounding the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, and it's becoming increasingly harder to ignore.
ESPN readers recently submitted their votes to Mike Sando as to who they thought would earn 2010 NFC West Player of the Year honors, and the list was paved with the usual suspects leading the way: Larry Fitzgerald, Frank Gore and Patrick Willis.
But some of the other votes were more surprising (some voted for Matt Leinart, Matt Hasselbeck and even Cardinals' third-string draft pick John Skelton) and some were absolutely ridiculous. (At least one person voted for Olindo Mare. If that's the kind of year we're going to have again in Seattle, I'm moving to Tierra del Fuego.) And among those surprising votes, a case for none other than recently-acquired running back LenDale White was made by one adventurous reader:
"LenDale White definitely merits inclusion, if not the top spot," TitoKohout wrote. "He's going back to Pete Carroll, [for whom] he played his best, he's in shape, he's the No. 1 back, he's in a contract year and the Seahawks have a pretty easy schedule. Barring injuries, I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit 1,000 yards."
This isn't uncharted territory for White. He rushed for 1,110 yards in 2007 and added seven touchdowns, and then put up 773 yards and 15 touchdowns the following year -- on 103 fewer carries. So he's a proven back; a reliable goal-line threat who can pound the rock through defenders and break tackles. It's completely feasible that if the Seahawks' line decides to have the consistency of something more resilient than cellophane, White could put up similar numbers and take the division by storm.
And let's not forget about Justin Forsett, who averaged a deceptive 5.4 yards per carry last year even while the line was giving up 103 sacks per game and giving Hasselbeck a frequent look at how the sky looked during each game. Forsett can break tackles. He can outrun linebackers and turn a 3-yard gain into a 10-yard gain. With these two and Leon Washington hopefully coming back 100 percent, this is a trio of running backs that simply cannot be ignored. This may remind some of us of what Shaun Alexander was able to do in 2005 by himself. Sando:
norcal114 made a good point about the Seattle Seahawks' LenDale White being in a contract year. Seattle fans remember how well Shaun Alexander performed when a payday was on the line. Alexander was also running behind a formidable offensive line, but for as bad as Seattle appeared up front last season, Justin Forsett still averaged 5.4 yards a carry.
White seems poised to have a huge year in 2010, and the Seahawks have an all-too-important opportunity in Week One to come out with all guns blazing against San Francisco. Expect this division rivalry to heat up quick, now that both teams are building up solid depth on both sides of the ball. The season should start with a bang.
Some might call the NFC West "the Cardinals' to lose" in 2010, but with the way things are shaping up with the Seahawks, I'd venture to say it's anyone's to take.
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