by: Chris Sullivan
Alright ladies and germs, it's that time of year... time to give thanks for your many blessings and close calls. Even in the worst years there are a few things that can make a fan smile. Following are mine:
- John Carlson. Ruskell traded up for a solid player who was a little bit boring as a draft prospect, but has been everything we could expect from a rookie. The team's leading receiver has been a decent blocker and appears to be getting better by the week. Most importantly, he has come into a difficult system and gelled with the leader of that system -- be it Matt, Seneca or Charlie.
- Mike Solari. Solari has created a pretty solid line that makes few mistakes and has clearly improved over the season. This is despite the fact that injuries have plagued the line, with Sims going out early, Locklear having nagging injuries, Womack being Womack, and now Spencer and Wahle with an injury. Knock on wood the list stops there, but regardless, we have replaced those guys with backups who have played well (sometimes better). This is a testament to Mike Solari, and I'm thankful we've got him and hope he sticks around for years to come.
- Josh Wilson. Wilson has stepped up (get it, cuz he's short?) to the challenge and has become a playmaker on the Seahawks defense and special teams. He's not the best CB in the league, no, but he appears to be getting much more technically sound and with that, he is able to keep up with the top guys in the league, persistently force them towards the sidelines, and make the big play when it's needed. He has also pushed Jennings into stepping up his game, which he appeared to do in Week 12.
- Brandon Mebane. What can I say, he's my favorite Seahawk right now. Mebane is becoming a dominant force in the trenches in his second year. He came in last year as a so-so middle-round pick, and, taking over for an injured Chuck Darby, he became one of our most consistent players on defense. That continues this year, especially clutch considering nothing else on our defense has been very consistent (well, not consistently good).
- Mike Holmgren. Yep, we know. It's a lame duck year. That's fine. But I thank Mike Holmgren for what he has done for this franchise, what he has meant to the players, and how he has created a program of winning. In a way, it seems fitting that in this, his last year as coach, we are having a terrible season. It helps to remind me of what things were like before Holmgren came here, when every single year we sucked and quite honestly, we could never look forward to getting back to our "winning ways." We didn't have winning ways!
Happy Thanksgiving, Americans, and happy November 27th to the rest of ya. END
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