by: Michael Steffes
Here was something that popped up during draft weekend that I was saving for a later date. If you were here over the weekend -- and there were over 20k visits -- you probably noticed we weren't short for material. Well, this morning it seems we are.
From Pro Football Weekly, in their "The Way We Hear It" section, they drop a nugget about the Seahawks' first mini camp that is worth noting:
Sources on the scene said there was a noticeable difference in free-agent addition T.J. Houshmandzadeh from the first day to the second day of the Seahawks’ first minicamp under new head coach Jim Mora. “On the first day, T.J. was just kind of out there,” one observer told PFW. “The next day it looked like he and (QB Matt) Hasselbeck started clicking instantly.”The chemistry that develops between Hass and Housh is going to be a big storyline in the offseason, and this is a good start. Bobby Engram was the go-to guy on third downs in recent years, and one of the few guys whom Matt could chuck it to with his eyes closed. That doesn't develop overnight.
Last year, because Hass missed so much time, one thing he also missed out on was developing chemistry with John Carlson, who emerged as the go-to guy on third downs last year. Housh has been that guy for Carson Palmer for several years. It is seemingly important to have these options.
Another guy you can maybe even add to this discussion is Nate. I see that many fans continue to talk down Nate, but I remember him making an unbelievable sideline catch in the Redskins Wild Card game that allowed the winning drive to continue. He followed that in the first half of the Buffalo game by regrouping after dropping a ball to make a difficult TD catch. In my opinion, Nate has not only become the vocal leader of the WR group, but he has greatly improved over his time here. Sometimes it is hard to shake a first impression.
The moral of the story is that Hass will essentially be developing chemistry all over again across the board, all while everyone involved learns a news system. As we head through the summer, this will be something that I think will become a hot topic. It makes for good hype. For some reason the WR situation always seems to find its way to the forefront.
The chemistry will come, the important thing is that everyone gets and stays healthy to make this happen. END
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