The Seahawks: Who's to Blame?

In a Seahawks season filled with frustration, anger and disappointment, there's been plenty of blame to go around. Under-performing athletes. A defense that couldn't slow down a junior-high offense. Injuries to virtually every receiver on the team. The lion's share of the blame, however, must be placed squarely on head coach Mike Holmgren and defensive coordinator John Marshall.Let's start with Holmgren. Seattle fans have always had something of a love/hate relationship with him: he brought the team to the elite level of the league, but he's seen as overly loyal to under-performing players and unwilling to open up the playbook enough. When he announced his pending retirement during the off-season, followed closely by Jim Mora's anointment as the official heir, a lot of fans worried that a)Holmgren wouldn't be able to bring the same fire and intensity as in past years, and b)the situation with Mora would be a distraction to players and fans.Both fears appear to have been well-founded. Instead of going out on a high note, Mr. Holmgren seems content to limp his way through a final farewell tour. This is the man who told his team prior to the Thanksgiving Slaughter that they were out-manned against the Cowboys, so they should just go out and have fun. Out-coached is closer to the mark. And Mora? Any time players spend practice time asking a position coach about his philosophy and practice schedule next season, it can't be a positive development. Football teams need one clear coach. Mora's promotion -- through no fault of his own -- has muddied the waters.The biggest shock for Seahawks fans this year, however, has been the porous defense, and for this John Marshall must take the blame. The problems are rampant, but they boil down to lousy schemes. This is a man who has consistently called a 15-yard-deep zone defense in third and ten situations. Not once, or a few times, but over and over and over, in every game. Someone should let him know that teams are allowed to throw to the middle of the field on third and long. It's almost unbelievable how wide-open the short middle passing game has been for opponents this season. With a team built for speed and aggression, Marshall has consistently been content to lay back and give up yardage. The problem is so bad that Seahawks defensive starters are beginning to grumble about it to the local media, something almost unheard of in Seattle. The linebackers, in particular, have been wasted on ill-timed blitzes or stunningly poor coverage schemes.Unfortunately, with only four games left, the coaching staff isn't going to change. Holmgren will continue to alternate between bemused and resigned -- his only discernible sideline emotions this year -- while John Marshall will continue to sit in the coach's box and look befuddled. One hopes, however, that Jim Mora is taking careful notes and learning from the mistakes of the current regime. If he isn't, his time in Seattle could (and should) be brief.