Seattle Issues

Few team's fans bother me more than those of the Seattle Seahawks. Desptite a Super Bowl appearance the Seahawks have had less to cheer than pretty much every other team that has taken the field. The fans have very nice enthusiasm but little direction. For whatever reason the Seahawks, and as a result their fans, have had a very unhealthy relationship with the Minnesota Vikings. It's rarely worked out well for the Seahawks when they get together but it's been dyanmite for the Vikings.

First of all, Hall of Fame defensive linemen Carl Eller and John Randle ended their amazing careers with forgettable seasons with the Seahawks. More must have been expected but they got what they got. The Seahawks were hatched in the mid '70s and started their steady thirst for former Vikings players immediately, the Seahawks traded receiver Ahmad Rashad for backup defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema. That Seattle team couldn't get away from those Vikings defensive linemen. Rashad might have been a Hall of Famer if he'd played all his career like he spent his Minnesota years. #28 was warming that jersey for the current #28. He warmed it well. Ahmad Rashad was a fantastic receiver. This one-sided trade started a trend of shaky judgement when it came to Seattle's dealings with Minnesota.

Seattle was no bother for a few decades and then, without notice, they became a pain in the ass to nearly all things Vikings. In 2006 the Seahawks had a talented team with an awesome offensive line led by tackle Walter Jones and guard Steve Hutchinson on the left side. The Seahawks completely hacked up the negotiations with free agent Hutchinson. The team had shown all kinds of love to their other star players but showed little to Hutchinson. They assumed that he'd fall in line and placed the transition free agent tag on him just to save a little money. The Vikings stepped in with a unique plan. Months earlier Minnesota's salary cap and negotiations whiz Bob Brzezinski warned the NFL about the possibility of including a "poison pill" in a contract. The NFL didn't seem to care so the Vikings decided to take advantage. They signed the unhappy Hutchinson to a $49 million contract. A very nice contract for a guard. As a transition free agent the Seahawks had a week to match the contract and retain Hutchinson. Brzezinski included a clause that would guarantee the entire $49 million if Hutchinson wasn't the highest paid offensive lineman on his team. That was the case with Vikings. That wouldn't be the case with the Seahawks. Walter Jones' contract was more. The moment the Seahawks matched the Vikings offer to Hutchinson the entire $49 million would be guaranteed. So, the Seahawks cried, and cried and cried all the way to the NFL offices. They filed a grievance over the Vikings dirty tactics. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Vikings and Hutchinson moved to Minnesota and the Seahawks received no compensation. The Seahawks cried some more. Then they decided to get back at those mean Minnesota Vikings. They signed Vikings restricted free agent receiver Nate Burleson to an offer sheet that contained their own "poison pill" clause. They were so creative in their thinking that they used basically the same clause as the Vikings contract with Hutchinson. Only the numbers were different. The Vikings didn't match the offer to Burleson but as a restricted free agent they received a third round pick as compensation. Burleson was a nice receiver but Hutchinson and a third round pick for Burleson is a landslide in the Vikings favor. Seahawks fans exploded with hatred toward the Vikings. I found it misdirected anger seeing as the Seahawks basically did everything wrong in their negotiations with Steve Hutchinson. The fans should have been upset with their own team. If Hutchinson had been given the respect and attention that he deserved as an impact player and team leader, he'd still be in Seattle. It was sad to see and Seahawks fans couldn't see it.

Five years later the Seattle-Minnesota issues continued when the Seahawks hired former Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevel. Then they went after Vikings free agents when they added quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and receiver Sidney Rice. Rice hurt the most and continues to hurt. When they added Jackson, Seahawks squirrelly head coach Pete Carroll started taking shots at the Vikings over their handling of their former quarterback. He said they never gave Jackson a chance. Right or wrong, it's really none of his business how another team deals with their players but Carroll never really knows how to mind his own business. Instead of acting as he preaches, Carroll goes on to treat Jackson just he accused the Vikings. He never gives the quarterback a chance. Carroll signs Matt Flynn a year after he makes Jackson the starter. Then he drafts Wisconsin's Russell Wilson in the third round of the draft. To cap it all off, Carroll trades Jackson to Buffalo. Doesn't look like he ever gave Jackson a chance.

I'd be pretty happy if the Vikings never deal again with the Seahawks. It's just too annoying to hear from any of those fans. Fortunately the brilliant play of Ahmad Rashad and Steve Hutchinson make it so much easier to deal with those fans. I'm not sure anything can soften the annoying ways of Pete Carroll. It just goes to show that you never go to USC to find a coach.