All the Small Things

My excitement for the Seahawks acquisition of superstar tight end Jimmy Graham was tempered by the my concerns regarding our thin offensive & defensive lines. The subsequent acquisitions made by the Seahawks have settled my nerves enough to fantasize about what having Graham will bring to the Seahawks offense.

While the Graham move made waves across the NFL landscape, Seattle's ensuing transactions were much more low-key.  Quietly resigning long snapper Clint Gresham to a 3-year deal  helps keep the continuity of the team together while preventing another roster hole needing to be filled though the draft or free agency. 

Coach is mesmerized by The Professor's ponytail

With Brandon Mebane's contract needing to be reworked, rather than sit and wait until he restructures or have their hand forced to cut him, the Seahawks signed two inexpensive veterans to bolster their defensive line.  The Seahawks added defensive tackles D'Anthony Smith and Ahtyba Rubin, giving them the depth that they sorely needed down the stretch of last season. Resigning Ricardo Lockette to a one-year deal might not mean much to our receiving group, but his talents on special teams were second to none last year. 

Those small, unsexy moves coupled with the 11 draft picks they'll have next month take a lot of the pressure off the team to reload for the coming season.  If they can bat .272 and snare 3 starters from those 11 picks-- it's hard not to pick the Seahawks as favorites for Super Bowl 50.

For those of you that require drama to carry you through the days until we are again blessed with football, there's still plenty to unnecessarily worry about.

Russell Wilson still hasn't been locked into a long-term deal.  They don't have to until next season, but everything that has been said eludes to the likelihood of the deal getting done before the season begins.  Hammering out that deal would be incredibly comforting to the team and fans alike. 

Still, after Wilson is secured, it's on to Bobby Wagner.  Hopefully the team can quietly work out extensions for Wagner and Bruce Irvin as the season progresses, but we'll have to hold our breath.  Perhaps their heirs will be drafted next month and spend the season training under them.  Either way, hopefully we'll have something to hang our hats on by the time the season is underway.

You can speculate over the Michael Bennett rumors, you can worry about the health of our secondary heading into the season or you can continue to grieve over the heartache of the Super Bowl.  We've got a lot of time before football is fully back in our lives and you've got to fill the void somehow.