Turkey & Sea Lions

It's been awhile since we looked in on former Seahawks playing around the league.

The Thanksgiving games give us a good opportunity to see some Seattle castoffs in action.

People often complain that Detroit doesn't deserve their annual televised holiday game, since they've been so bad for so long. It is often tempting to skip watching the Lions lose. Certainly, today's matchup against the Patriots looks daunting, but despite their poor record, Detroit has distinguished itself by keeping it competitive in most contests this year. So, the game may reward watching on its own merits.

But Seahawks fans have another reason to watch: our team's castoffs comprise about one-eighth of Detroit's roster. Seattle exiles now playing for the Sea Lions include:

Nate Burleson, starting wideout
Will Heller, backup tight end
Lawrence Jackson, backup defensive end
Maurice Morris, backup running back
Julian Peterson, starting outside linebacker
Rob Sims, starting left offensive guard

Detroit signed Burleson with the expectation that he could complement Calvin Johnson. Since Johnson goes by the Transformer nickname "Megatron," Burleson dubbed himself "Recepticon." In the first four games, Burleson produced little and missed two games due to injury, leading me to call him "Receptican't" and "Receptinot." However, over the last six games, he risen to the occasion, catching four touchdowns and averaging six catches for 70 yards each game. Receptibadass now wears #13. I wish he were still playing for his hometown Seahawks.

Will Heller plays exclusively on special teams and as a blocking tight end. Seattle fans will recall that Heller can catch, but Detroit hasn't thrown a ball to him all year.

Former 1st-round pick Lawrence Jackson has seen spot duty in six games for Detroit, rotating into a strong defensive line that includes Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch. Despite limited time in those six games, Jackson has 3.5 sacks, including 2.5 in the last two games.

Maurice Morris gets few touches, playing behind rookie star Jahvid Best and solid veteran Kevin Smith. However, injuries gave Mo the start last week. He performed acceptably, carrying 10 times for 31 yards and catching 4 passes for 40 yards. But he'll be on the bench most of the game today, as Best appears set to start.

Julian Peterson continues to play at a high level. However, he missed the Pro Bowl last year, and Detroit has demanded that he return to form in order to justify his high salary and keep his job. Peterson ranks among the team's leading tacklers, but hasn't made a lot of big plays (sacks, interceptions, etc.). Peterson was benched near the end of Detroit's loss to Philadelphia. Here's a link to a story about that incident, which is also interesting because it includes a photo of the linebacker tackling fellow ex-Seahawk Owen Schmitt (the fullback is now an Eagle):

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/detroit_lions_benched_julian_p.html

Rob Sims has blossomed in Detroit, becoming a key cog in their productive rushing and passing attack. Given Seattle's continuing problems on the offensive line, we probably could have used him this year.

After the Sea Lions play, we can see if Jon Kitna can build on last week's stellar showing. If the former CWU and Seahawks quarterback can maintain that level of performance, he could steal the starting job from a frustrating Tony Romo.