Over/Under Rated Seahawks

NFL.com is in the process of releasing lists of each teams most overrated and underrated players in franchise history.  The Seattle Seahawks list will be unveiled on July 10th but I have a good idea of who we might find on those list.

As far as the overrated players go, you can't even begin the conversation without first mentioning Brian Bosworth.  'Bosworthless' was the living definition of the term overrated.  He wasn't awful, but he couldn't have been further from the persona he created--think of Aaron Curry's production combined with Richard Sherman's mouth.

Dave Wyman, the former Seahawks linebacker who was teammates with Bosworth, put it best when the radio show he hosts posed the question "Should Boz hoist the 12th Man flag this season?".  He said that Bosworth wasn't a bad player, but he wasn't good enough to live up to the persona he created for himself. He did not have prototypical size, as Wyman pointed out-- the dude wore size 9 shoes!

Another player I would include on this list that might come off as a tad controversial is our beloved Jim Zorn.   Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jim Zorn-- but I do believe that he is a tad overrated.  I'm not sure he'd even crack my top five all-time Seahawks quarterbacks list.  He had Steve Largent to throw to, one of the best receivers of the era, and he still didn't post that great of numbers.  I think his overrated status lead to him prematurely getting the Redskins coaching job which, in the end, unfairly set back his chances of getting another head coaching job.

As far as underrated guys go, you know I'm going to fly the flag for number eight.  Matt Hasselbeck has been underrated his entire career, even by Seahawks fans.  Hasselbeck took our franchise to unprecedented heights in his time here and throughout his decade of service, Seattle was never counted out as a contender.

Many of you won't remember much from Dave Brown or Joe Nash, but those were two lynch pins of Seattle's early defenses. Dave Brown was a borderline hall of famer at cornerback.  He is still the Seahawks career interceptions leader and at the time of his retirement, he was 7th in the NFL all time in interceptions.  No Seahawks player has appeared in more games than Joe Nash, who wasn't flashy but did his job with remarkable consistency.

It'll be interesting to see NFL.com's take on who the overrated and underrated players are for our franchise. You can see the list on July 10th at NFL.com but feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section.

Seahawks turn down 'Hard Knocks'-- again

Ever since Pete Carroll took over the team, HBO has tried their damnedest to pursued the team to let their camera crews inside the VMAC for an intimate peek at what makes the Seahawks tick. With every season comes the same answer-- no thanks.

Hard Knocks is a show like no other, giving fans the unique opportunity to see what goes on behind the closed doors of practices and meetings. It doesn't matter which team signs on, it is almost always compelling if you call yourself a fan of the game. 

The past few seasons, it appears as though HBO has found it increasingly a more difficult to find a team willing to forfeit their privacy in exchange for some excellent PR and increased celebrity. As of right now, there isn't a team signed up for this season and it went down to the wire last year before the Miami Dolphins eventually agreed.

It's no mystery why teams wouldn't want the world to have an all-access pass to the inner workings of their organization.  While offering a tremendous service to fans like myself, curious how practices are ran and how meetings are conducted, it definitely puts the team under the microscope at a competitive disadvantage. Argue that point if you want, but until the Packers or Patriots agreed to be featured on the program, I'll rest my case.

The question is not "wouldn't it be great to have the Seahawks on Hard Knocks?"-- of course it would!  

I would love to watch Russell Wilson come of age, listen to Sherm trash talk his teammates in drills and get an up close look to see how Pete and John work together to make the counter conventional decisions that have parlayed this team into a Super Bowl contender. 

Alas, in the Championship starved city of Seattle, I don't want to invite any unnecessary distractions that could compromise the season that might well be the most anticipated in Seattle sports history.

Like John and Pete, I'd prefer to err on the side of caution.  Mr. Allen deserves some praise from the fans-- ultimately, it's his decision to make.  This organization, top to bottom, is only focused on winning.

In closing, I would like to make one suggestion to the powers that be at HBO-- why not strike a deal with the NFL to profile EVERY team in the league? Not only would fans be frothing at the mouth for this, no one is at a disadvantage by opening themselves up for the world to see.  

This seems to me like the next logical step to make the NFL a year round, global enterprise. Make it happen, Rodger.