Fantasy News
A couple of notes on the Seahawks:
I don’t understand what the team is doing at tailback. I can understand the reasoning behind getting rid of Shaun Alexander. He’ll be 31 on opening day, and he hasn’t run hard the last two years. But is the tag-team of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett really any better than Alexander and Morris? Jones averaged only 3.6 yards per carry last year. Duckett is a big bruiser (and played pretty well at times for the Lions last year), but I don’t know that Duckett will be any better than Shaun Alexander in short-yardage. Alexander has some Marcus Allen in him – he’s good at finding little openings at the goal line.
Maybe the Seahawks are still going to use their first-round draft pick on a runner like Jonathan Stewart, who should be available when they pick. But if that’s the case, why spend $9.5 million in guaranteed money on these other guys?
Best I can offer is that I was wrong last year in criticizing Seattle for getting rid of Darrell Jackson.
Seattle signed Olindo Mare, but I don’t think he’ll be their opening day kicker. I heard an interview Tim Ruskell did on the local sports radio station, and Ruskell said the team would likely both sign a veteran and select a kicker in the draft, which he says contains plenty of good kicking prospects.
“Maybe for a short while, you keep them both, then the young guy takes over,” Ruskell says.
Mare has a strong leg, but he’s been woefully inaccurate on field goals. I expect him to be released in August – maybe he lasts until mid-September. He’s got the two-year contract worth $3.5 million, but probably none of that money is guaranteed.
I think Seattle has big problems at wide receiver. Deion Branch (ACL) probably will begin the year on the PUP list. D.J. Hackett is gone. That leaves only Bobby Engram and Nate Burleson, and neither of them is a can’t-miss type talent. Engram is 35 and has been a No. 3 receiver for most of his career. Burleson isn’t very fast and has struggled for most of the past three years. Seattle better hope that some of its young receivers – Ben Obomanu and Courtney Taylor, perhaps – are ready to play.
—Ian Allan
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