PauliePlaymaker

It would be easy to give the PauliePlaymaker award for preseason week 1 to Seneca Wallace. Between the spot on passes and the highlight reel runs, his play in Friday solidified his role as the #2 quarterback. The man that I’ve long called a “poor man’s Michael Vick” truly produced. But we must remember that he was playing the #2 defense. Therefore, the PauliePlaymaker award must go to...



Niko Koutouvides.

Other than position battles, the biggest question going into this season for the Seahawks was the defense. The Hawks started out strong last season, ranking #1 for the first few weeks, only to fall to the bottom third of the NFL by the end of the season. Ray Rhodes squad needed to come out swinging, to show that they were not a weak team in a weak division. They needed big plays and hard hits to prove that they belong in the discussion with the NFL’s best.

Niko provided both.

With less than two minutes gone in the first quarter, Koutouvides ended the Saints first possession by stripping the ball away from Deuce McAllister, whose recent contract extension puts him among the top paid runningbacks in the league. Michael Boulware picked up the fumble, and the turnover led to the Seahawks first score, a 13 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Bobby Engram.

From that point, the #1 defense never turned back, giving up less than 100 yards and only 3 points in the first half.

While it’s too early too early to give nicknames or announce the arrival of the Hawks D, this first preseason game showed that as long as they have playmakers like Niko Koutouvides, they will produce.

Niko Koutouvides, congratulations.

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