Seattle Seahawks Information
The Seattle Seahawks joined the National Football League before the 1976 season and have played competitive football for most of their near 30 years in the league. Their first season, a rough 2-14 season, was almost expected by the organization and the rest of the league. However, in their third and fourth seasons, the team posted matching 9-7 records, showing that they were ready to make an impact on the rest of the league. The team made their first playoff appearance under new coach Chuck Knox in 1983 by posting another 9-7 record and followed it with a 12-4 season the next year making another postseason. Their two division championships came in 1988 and 1999, both in the competitive AFC West division. Mike Holmgren, the coach that led the Brett Favre and the Packers to their Super Bowl win in the mid 1990s, was the coach and general manager in Seattle but has given up his GM duties to focus on coaching the squad. Holmgren has led the team to winning seasons in three of the last five years and has a 41-40 record with the team including two playoff appearances.
The Seattle Seahawks are led on offense by QB Matt Hasselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander. Hasselbeck threw for nearly 4,000 yards last season with a 61.0% completion percentage. Hasselbeck also had a favorable touchdown/interception ratio (1.73:1) and led the team to numerous fourth quarter comebacks during the 2003 season. Alexander was a pro-bowler in 2003 and rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and had another 295 receiving yards. He finished the season with 16 touchdowns and only lost three fumbles all season. Maurice Morris, a change of pace running back and solid kickoff return man, had 38 carries and 6.3 yards per carry. Darrell Jackson, Koren Robinson, and Bobby Engram could all be solid number one or number two receiving options on most teams, but they’ll team up in 2004 to form one of the most dynamic groups in the league. Tight end Itula Mili will be a big target in the end zone on goal line situations just like in 2003 when he had four touchdowns.
Anthony Simmons recorded 100 tackles last season to lead the team. He also finished in the top-five on the team in forced fumbles, tackles for loss, interceptions, and sacks. Chike Okeafor, Ken Hamlin, and Reggie Tongue led the team with two forced fumbles each while Chad Brown had a team high eight tackles for loss. Brown finished with seven sacks, one off the team lead of Okeafor. Tongue and Simmons finished ranked one and two in team interceptions with four and three, respectively. Defensive lineman John Randle finished his season and career with 17 tackles and 5.5 sacks before retiring from the league. During the off-season, the Seahawks lost cornerbacks Shaun Springs and Willie Williams but managed to sign Bobby Taylor from the Philadelphia Eagles. The team also signed defensive end Grant Wistrom from the St. Louis Rams to tighten an already strong defensive unit.
The Seahawks had seven picks in the 2004 NFL draft but already boast one of the top offensive units and only used one pick on a receiver. That pick, the 157th overall, was used to select D.J. Hackett, a wide receiver from the University of Colorado. The Seahawks used their first round pick on Marcus Tubbs, a defensive tackle from the University of Texas. Tubbs was one of four picks the Seahawks made on the defensive side of the ball. Their other two picks were used on offensive guard Sean Locklear out of NC State and Donald Jones, a punter from LSU.