Seahawks’ offseason moves: Offensive line and running backs

Seahawks training camp is approaching and the team has made a few offseason moves designed to push the team to the top in head coach Mike Holmgren’s last season at the helm.

The unit that drew much of the ire from fans last year was the offensive line. The team decided not to chase high-priced guard Alan Faneca in free agency, and instead opted to bring in veteran guard Mike Wahle and a new offensive line coach in Mike Solari. Solari was the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006 and 2007, but he’s best known for his work as the offensive line coach for the Chiefs from 1997-2005.

The early word from some of the players is that Solari is trying to implement a zone-blocking scheme to replace the man-to-man strategy that left the line overmatched at times last season. If the line can pick up the new scheme, it should greatly improve the group’s performance. The only problem is that center Chris Spencer, guard Rob Sims and tackle Walter Jones have all missed time this offseason with injuries. If the line can be healthy enough to practice as a whole at training camp, there should be a marked improvement.

Things will certainly be different in the backfield without Shaun Alexander’s familiar face. The Seahawks brought in Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett to revive the team’s comatose running game.

Jones made a big splash his rookie season (2004) by rushing for 819 yards and seven touchdowns on 197 carries. But he was never able to follow up on his debut and soon fell out of favor in Dallas as he lost more and more carries to Marion Barber. His time as a Cowboy bottomed out last season when he set career lows with 164 carries, 588 yards, two touchdowns and a 3.6 yards per carry average. For all of the criticism Alexander took last season, he rushed for similar numbers. An average of 3.5 yards per carry and four touchdowns.

The team hopes a change of scenery can help Jones get back into the form that made him look like a budding star in 2004. Jones is smaller than Alexander (211 pounds to Alexander’s 228) and while he doesn’t have elite speed, he’s faster than Alexander.

Duckett was brought in to take care of short-yardage situations where the team was terrible last season. Duckett is a load at 254 pounds and excelled in short-yardage situations near the

goal line earlier in his career while in Atlanta.

Don’t forget about rookie Justin Forsett. He’s small (190 pounds), but he was very productive at California, with 1,546 yards and 15 touchdowns. He could be a wildcard as a change-of- pace running back for the Seahawks.

While the Seahawks didn’t bring in any single huge free agent, they did make calculated acquisitions aimed at improving the balance of the offense. We’ll see how the changes work as the season gets closer.

The team will start training camp in Kirkland, then move to the new Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton sometime in August.

Adam McFadden can be reached at amcfadden@reporternewspapers.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5054.

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