The one (impossible?) move the Seahawks need to make

By Mike Salk

Thought #1: The Seahawks continue to make good moves.

Thought #2: The Seahawks are not going to be that good in 2011.

Thought #3: The previous two thoughts do not contradict each other.

Thought #4: Huh?

I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I love the players the Seahawks have signed thus far, and yet I’m not sure they are good enough to win this year.

That stems in part from the sheer lack of talent on the roster when the offseason began. Let’s face it, the Hawks were a mediocre-to-bad football team last year that took advantage of a weak schedule and an even weaker division to take a home crowd-aided win in the playoffs. They aren’t exactly laden with talent, as seen by their lack of presence on the NFL’s Top 100 Players list.

Yes, the team filled major holes along their offensive line (Robert Gallery and maybe James Carpenter etc.), wide receiver (Sidney Rice) and defensive line (Alan Branch provides depth). But they still have holes in their defensive backfield and at linebacker.

And oh yeah, they need a quarterback!

I may not know much about the NFL (feel free to make your jokes here), but I know one thing: you HAVE to have a quarterback. And with limited exceptions, you need to have an elite one to win big.

And while Tarvaris Jackson and/or Charlie Whitehurst may be capable options, it is unlikely that either of them are of the elite variety. They are likely placeholders until the team can draft a franchise quarterback next year.

So as I watch the Hawks amass talent in many of the right positions without overpaying for the wrong ones, I can’t help but wonder what this team could achieve if they had the right trigger man – especially as the rest of the already weak division steps collectively backwards!

Unfortunately, all of the potential franchise quarterbacks are off the board now.

Except for one: Carson Palmer.

Yeah, I know, the Bengals aren’t going to trade him. But that answer just isn’t good enough for me. Maybe it’s because I prefer logical thinking to dumb thinking, but I just cannot understand why Bengals owner Mike Brown won’t help his pathetic team and get the most out of an asset. Heck, if he was worth his salt as a commissioner, I think Roger Goodell would step in (behind the scenes) and force Brown to do the right thing. The league needs as many marquee players (especially quarterbacks) to play as possible. For one of the potential elite quarterbacks to sit home for no good reason is unacceptable.

This could be the time for an activist owner to appeal to the commissioner (again, behind closed doors) to make this happen. Let’s see if Paul Allen is that guy…

Yes, I hold out some (slightly) logical hope that Palmer could still get dealt and that Hawks remain the obvious choice to land him.

Until then, I’ll be satisfied that Seattle is a few steps closer to a Super Bowl, even if that wonderful moment is unlikely to come this year.