Get Well, Walter Jones

The Seahawks are going to be a nightmare to face at Qwest field this year, but I believe that the true ceiling of their 2009-10 ceiling depends on the health of the best offensive lineman in Seattle Seahawks history : Walter Jones. Jones is out indefinitely after (another) surgery on his problematic left knee. The effect on the Seahawks? One needs only go to the tale of the tape from tonight's week three preseason game against the Denver Broncos. The defense was swarming, opportunistic. They created turnovers and made big third down stops, feeding on the energy of the Seahawks crowd, already rabid in August. Hasselbeck looked sharp, spreading the ball to all of his major weapons, most notably the rookie Deon Butler, who stepped up again in the absence in an injured Nate Burleson.

And then, the other shoe dropped - Sean Locklear, starting at left tackle in Jones' place, is beaten by Kenny Peterson for a blind-side sack on Hasselbeck. The Seahawks have another drive squashed when Locklear is beaten by Peterson again on a bullrush, and Hasselbeck has to call timeout to gather himself off of Qwest field. All told, Hasselbeck is sacked outright three times in one half of play, and hit many more times. When he has time, he looks every bit like the Pro Bowl Matt Hasselbeck. However, his body (his back in particular) cannot withstand 17 games of punishing hits from his blindside. Locklear looked outmatched against the likes of Kenny Peterson and Dumervil - what's going to happen when they play one of the elite front fours of the NFL?

The Seahawks cannot withstand the best pass rush defenses in the NFL without Jones - period. As much as I like the prospects of the Seahawks, with several key players returning from injury and some nice offseason additions, Jones is still the key. If reports are true, there's a chance that he'll be back on the practice field in 3-4 weeks, which would give him a chance to be back up to speed around week 4 of the season. Seahawk faithful had better hope for this best case, or Jones will soon have more company on the sidelines and in the training room.