Is it time to worry in Seattle?

Michael Young August 7, 2012 0

Get your popcorn ready 12th Man

On Monday the Seahawks signed Veteran receiver Terrell Owens. Yes he of the; pull-a-Sharpie-from-his-sock-to-sign-an-autograph-after-a-touchdown-&^$%@!-malcontent, is now one of our Seahawks. While I was quick to defend Coach Carroll’s choice in signing Braylon Edwards and Antonio Bryant, the signing of Owens worries me. The money is not the issue as it’s a low financial commitment, he signed for the veteran minimum of just less than 1 million with no money guaranteed. The worrisome thing is that if this signing goes bad it might be a decision that even the charisma of Carroll can’t defend.

Terrell Owens, for all of his problems, has had a remarkable 15-year career. He is 6th on the all-time list for receptions with 1,078 which is more than Art Monk, Shannon Sharpe or (GULP) Steve Largent. Owens is 2nd on the list for receiving yards with 15,934, more than James Lofton, Charlie Joiner or Michael Irvin. Owens is also 4th on the list for total touchdowns, more than Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk or the late Walter Payton and the only receiver to have more is some guy with the last name of Rice. Believe it or not, Terrell Owens has put up numbers worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame. Yeah that’s right; Terrell Owens should end up in the NFL Hall of Fame.

While Owens has put up top flight numbers there is a reason that Seattle is his 5th team. The fact that Owens has been a locker room cancer is well documented and so is the truth that his behavior has overshadowed his career accomplishments, so there is no need to re-hash them now. The real question of the day is: Why did the Seahawks even give him a tryout, much less a contract? I don’t believe it was because Pete was impressed that a (nearly) 38-year-old ran a reported 40 time of 4.45. What I do believe is that Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks front office are the one thing they can’t afford to be…desperate. If the team felt confident in the performance of Golden Tate, the potential of Ricardo Lockett and the prospects of Sidney Rice returning to full strength, Owens would still be doing sit-ups in his drive way.

Carroll is in year three of his five-year deal and might be starting to feel the pressure. He hit pretty big with Mike Williams for a year and maybe is over confidant because of it. On the bright side the front office has shown that it will admit a mistake and drop dead weight pretty quickly if it’s not working. The recent release of Antonio Bryant will attest to that. This signing might end up being a non-issue by opening day. Unless there is a rash of injuries or Owens has found the fountain of youth, I don’t see him making the trip to Arizona for opening day. Whether Owens makes the team or not, he is not going to help the Hawks take the next step toward a championship. For the Seahawks to do that, the front office needs to stop taking fliers on former stars and start investing in the scouting department to find the future ones.

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Michael Young

I have been an unbiased Seattle sports fan since the mid-80′s. I have lived and died with every win and loss by our teams. The Dawgs national title in ’91 to the 0-12 in ’08, The M’s magic of ’95 to the 100 loss season of ’08, the Hawks run in ’05 to their demise in ’08, the Sonics flash in ’96 to…Well I don’t even want to talk about it but it hapened…’08. I will look to bring an every fans perspective to local Seahawk news as well as a look at some of the men and women that make the 12th man the loudest fans in the N.F.L.!