A rash of some Titans

Last week, I lamented the fact that David Hawthorne remained unsigned in Seattle and that, should he leave in free agency, the Seahawks had to consider drafting middle linebacker Luke Kuechly out of Boston College when they pick twelfth overall on April 26. In fact, allow me to correct myself: considering Kuechly is just the start of it. Should he be available at 12, get him in, get him integrated and get him started. That may still happen, but there has been some movement at the ‘Mike’ position since my last post. Somewhat predictably, Hawthorne was eventually lost, to New Orleans, a move that saddened me, but one that sees him on his way with plenty of goodwill ringing in his ears from the Pacific Northwest.

Now, I’m in no position to gauge the inner most thoughts of the Seattle front office, but it’s no coincidence that Barrett Ruud was signed from the Tennessee Titans soon after Hawthorne’s departure. Leaving a Washington State sized hole at linebacker with the Draft fast approaching would’ve made obvious where the Seahawks were looking come Draft day and while Ruud is immediately slated to start at middle linebacker (thus moving K. J. Wright out to the weakside...thank Heavens!), there’s little guarantee of him actually being there come opening weekend. For the moment, Ruud brings depth and acts as a smokescreen; he possesses more than enough ability to still play the position, despite having his worst season in 2011 since his sophomore year as a Buccaneer in 2006. However, what if Seattle does still covet Kuechly? I believe that, despite signing Ruud, Kuechly remains firmly on the Seahawks’ radar and that makes the signing of Ruud an extremely shrewd move.

Speaking of which, this isn’t the first time Seattle’s pilfered the Titans’ roster this offseason. During the first week of the free agency signing period, the Seahawks snared defensive tackle Jason Jones from Tennessee and he bolsters an already solid interior front two in Brandon Mebane and Alan Branch (Branch was a pleasant surprise last year). Unlike Ruud though, Jones wasn’t signed merely to put other teams off the scent when snooping around the Seahawks’ intentions in the Draft. He’s here to start with Branch becoming the backup.

Drafted by the Titans in the second round in 2008 out of Eastern Michigan, Jones brings further veteran presence to a good, if not great, defensive line, but it’s a signing not to be underestimated. Behind the aforementioned line lies a young crop of talent so leadership up front is perhaps imperative and I’m loving the way the Seahawks are going about their business. That young crop of Wright, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, while only possessing six years worth of experience among them, has created a buzz in the city and, along with Marshawn Lynch, are creating a fearsome identity for this team, one that we hope will reverberate around the league during the 2012 season.

This is an exciting (did Tim Tebow just take over my keyboard???) time to be a Seahawk. Injuries notwithstanding, the roster has taken a nice shape under the guidance of Pete Carroll and G.M. John Schneider since 2010 and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t follow two already successful Drafts with another promising class in two weeks time.