Some Thoughts on the Seahawks, Part 2: the WR Gum Wall

At some point this off season all of these player have suited up for the Seahawks at the wide receiver position: Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Mike Williams, Braylon Edwards, Terrell Owens, Ricardo Lockette, Ben Obamanu, Sidney Rice, Kris Durham and that isnt even everybody, the list goes on and on. It sure looks like the front office's strategy is to throw stuff at the wall and hope some of it sticks. All this metaphorical stuff flying at the wall and other stuff falling off makes it hard for a fan to keep track of who all is actually in that group.
 
This approach is worrisome because it gives us outsiders looking in the impression that the coaches and staff dont have much faith in the current corps of wide receivers. Now some might say this is just Pete Carroll practicing his constant roster manipulation, looking for that perfect combination and this might be true. I dont think that is the case though.
 
My confidence in the WR corps is even more shaken when I take a look at the guys currently stuck to the wall. The starting three receivers are probably going to be Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate. All three of them are solid but appear to have major flaws that limit their star capability.
 
When he is healthy Sidney Rice has the potential to be a game changer. He is a onetime Pro-bowler who forces other teams to game plan for him. The problem is he isnt healthy often. During the off season he had surgery on both shoulders and the coaching staff has limited his playing time during the pre-season. For him to find success this year we need both shoulders to have healed well and for him to avoid further injury. I am rooting for him but I am not holding out hope.
 
Doug Baldwin had a really solid rookie season and will hopefully be able to take that next step. He could become a real weapon for the Seahawks, but currently he doesnt strike fear into the opposition's coaches and players for a reason. Even so, he appears to be the most dependable option the Seahawks have. We can expect a lot of hard work and solid play out of Baldwin.
 
Golden Tate has already been labeled a bust by many. This is because of his overall lack of production during his first two seasons. However, I think that before we write him off, we need to remember that he is still young, only 24. When he was at Notre Dame he was a legit offensive force and he has shown some signs of that in the NFL. He just has never been able to put it together for an entire game, let alone a season. If he can final reach near the potential level of talent John Schneider and Pere Carroll saw when they drafted him we could be very happy.
 
Now some of you might be thinking, "what about Obamanu or Edwards or any of the other 15 guys trying out, couldnt they take over as one of the top three?" Let’s face it, none of them are that good. That is why saw many people got try outs. In my opinion if the Seahawks get to a point where one of those guys is starting we are probably in trouble. Most likely they would mean Rice got hurt, Baldwin regressed or Tate failed to take that final step. Those would all be bad things for us, especially when you consider that the Seahawks are going to be starting a rookie QB. This means the guys catching Russell Wilson's passes are probably not going to be making it any easier on him.
 
I don’t want to be all doom and gloom though. I am just trying to be a realist. The WR position is definitely the weakest on the team, but that also speaks to the strength of the rest of the team. Like I highlighted about all three starters do have the potential to step up their game and help the offense shine. It just seems more likely that they will play mediocre and cause us some frustration throughout the season.