Silver Lining

by: Mike Parker

Sure, it was a bad game.

Sure, the team this city holds in such high regard disappointed us to the nth degree today.

Sure, we should probably think about sending Bruce DeHaven packing.

Sure, the injuries are piling up.

Sure, we probably missed Jordan Babineaux and Rocky Bernard more than we thought we would.

And sure, the inexperience of the younger players - save John Carlson - showed today.


But one bad game - on the road, no less - isn't grounds for declaring the Seahawks' season completely lost. It's not even fair to say the team won't find success this year.

There is simply too much talent and potential on this team for it to fall flat on its face.

Jordan Kent, Logan Payne and even Courtney Taylor had a rough welcoming committee to the NFL today. Taylor had played in games before, of course, but never filled a starting role. He played as if the pressure he felt was a physical presence rather than a psychological obstacle. A 310-pound angry presence, at that.

Going into this game, the confidence level emanating from Seattle was high. We all felt it, and this blog perpetuated a great deal of it. Expectations were high. Hopes were high. We were all high on this team.....

The result, of course, is that we've all been invariably let down. There's no question about that. The lack of Deion Branch, Bobby Engram and Sean Locklear quickly turned into a minor concern into an unending nightmare by the third quarter, and the team couldn't recover. The injuries to Maurice Morris and Nate Burleson, though not reportedly serious (and let's cross all available fingers for that), were huge psychological blows to a group of players already down on themselves at halftime. Holmgren's usual opening-drive burst of energy he injects into the team going into the third quarter lasted exactly three plays, and then fell flat from penalties and miscues.

But Holmgren just said it best - maybe in the long run, it's the best thing. Maybe this is what this team needed to wake up and realize their confidence level and their performance level were not on the same page. Maybe this loss was a lesson to all parties involved, and a good road map for what needs to fixed going into the next 16 weeks.

And with all this being said, guess what? It's only Week One. We've seen exactly four quarters of football from a team that can do better, and they will do better. They've shown us what they're capable of before.

It's now only a matter of time until we see it. Not a question of "if," but "when."

So remember all this going into next week, when the Seahawks welcome the inept San Francisco offense into Qwest Field. Remember all this as you watch Patrick Kerney and Lawrence Jackson knock over JT O'Sullivan so many times that he forgets what city he's in. Remember this when you see Matt Hasselbeck return to form and show us how he's carried this team on his shoulders when all else seemed lost in the past two years. Remember how downtrodden and disappointed you feel today. Remember that you've been humbled.

And remember that you've tasted victory before, and you will taste it again. -END-