A shot at mediocrity

When NFL first published the season schedule, today's game looked like an intriguing matchup, pitting the NFC's best defending division champion (the 13-3 Falcons) against its weakest (the 7-9 Seahawks).

Now it's just a showdown between two 1-2 teams trying to claw their way up to .500.

Atlanta, an impressive offensive powerhouse last year, has struggled to protect quarterback Matt Ryan thus far this year. Seattle's pass rush must salivate at the prospect of adding to the Falcons' league-leading total of sacks surrendered. Possessed by the hellish din of the 12th Man, Seahawks defenders need to take the supposedly unflappable Matty Ice and shatter him into Rattled Ice.

So far, Seattle's defense has generally shut down uncertain offenses like San Francisco and Arizona. Against Pittsburgh's more capable offense, they yielded 24 points. Atlanta's offense remains potent, so today poses a real test for a Seahawks defense, playing today without starting strong safety Kam Chancellor.

Although relatively unknown, Eric Weems of the Falcons is one of the better return men in the game, so our wobbly kick coverage teams have their work cut out for them. (Weems racked up a lot of points last year for the Cholo Lowriders, my fantasy football team, which plays in a custom league that awards points for return yardage.)

Of course, offense remains our Achiilles' Heel.

Despite the loss of left guard Robert Gallery, our offensive line performed better last week, and we made progress in our ground game.

Happily, Sidney Rice fulfilled expectations in his first game, but our aerial attack as a whole remains suspect.

On his blog B/X Blackrazor, my man JB offered an incisive analysis of Tarvaris Jackson's performance as quarterback. Since he attended the game in person, JB's view was not confined to television camera angles. Thus, he saw the many times during the game that Mike Williams got open on the left side. Unfortunately, T-Jack never seemed to notice this, always looking to his right for Sidney Rice.

Jackson could have saved himself a collision at the goal line if, instead of running for a touchdown last week, he had simply looked left and lofted the ball to a wide-open Williams.

The sad thing is that even when Williams doesn't achieve separation, he's still open. The wideout's freakish size and reach allows him to box out all but the best corners. As Hasselbeck demonstrated persistently last year, you can always put the ball in a place where only Williams can grab it.

Sidney Rice is a great receiver, too, and it's understandable that he has become a security blanket for T-Jack. But our quarterback's right-side fixation has helped defenses to shut down our drives. Distributing the ball better would allow Seattle to sustain drives and score more often, increasing opportunities for every back and receiver, including Rice.

If Jackson can't see the whole field and run through a proper progression, then the coaches should hand the reins to Charlie Whitehurst, who has shown the ability to do both things.

By now, T-Jack has had more than a fair shot at the starting job. Coach Carroll needs to get over himself, think about the team, and be prepared to make a change at quarterback in mid-game if Jackson falters.

Since the NFC West remains weak, Seattle could actually take pole position today with a win.

Go, Seahawks!