An Opinion Piece

I am writing this post in light of the recent comments from Chike Okeafor and the Trent Dilfer comments given to KJR radio.

I have had, for a long time, a suspicion, that the reason the Seahawks have had so many difficulties landing good free agents had less to do with the fact that Seattle seems a long way away from anywhere, than it does the attitudes of the players and coaches. After all, players are used to flying, they are used to hopping on a plane to go to their favorite place to shop, hunt, fish, water ski, buy marijuana, etc..., so why should living in Seattle, (a great place to do any of those things) be a problem?
I remember very clearly when Holmgren first got brought in to coach, how, many of the players balked at what they percieved to be an innordinate amount of ego from him. (Not saying that's right or wrong, or that it's Holmgren's fault).
I remember hearing and reading quotes from players who saw Holmgren as an ego maniac.
Then came the massive purges, and I had hoped that the problem had been rectified. Unfortunately, many of the players drafted and brought to the team were of the same whining ilk as the ones released, ie. Simmons, Stevens, Robinson, I could go on.
I even remember how after John Randle was brought here, in his last remaining seasons in order to bring leadership and a winning attitude to the team, the resistance that he got from many of the players when he tried to be that leader.
I don't think that any one player or coach can be blamed for this, I think it's a widespread attitude problem that exists on the team, which resists hard work and accountability. I think that there are still several players here who have never bought into what Holmgren is preaching.
This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but it must be fixed if we are ever going to become more than just a mediocre team. Dilfer talked about it very plainly, now we here much of that sentiment echoed in Okeafor's statements.

For years now, the Seahawks have been a mediocre team with extraordinary talent. Though I would hardly call them Super Bowl contenders every year, last season they certainly had the talent to be. If underachieving isn't an indication of leadership problems and attitude problems, I don't really know what is.

The one hope that I have, is the statements made by Hasselbeck after signing his contract. He was elated that now he feels he can have some real say, some real control over this team. And that's how it should be. I sincerely hope that between Hass and Jones, (who are now going to be playing for the greater part of their careers here), one or both of them can take hold of the teams leadership reigns, and begin to set a winning tone on this team.