It Never Rains In Seattle

How to write a eulogy for a dream never fully realized?

It’s one thing to ruminate on the end of Montana/Young to Rice. Or Ray Lewis out of Baltimore as it looked just a couple weeks ago.

Those accomplishments are identifiable, potential made concrete in championships, echoed in the reverential tones of adversaries past.

Sometimes that which makes the most sense, however, seems destined to never work out. We express surprise from the outside looking in when a combination so complete on paper never coalesces into a force unstoppable. But it’s a potent reminder that the game unfolds not according to one logical progression, rather manifests from myriad destinies colliding and the resulting chaos.

So it was with the Seattle linebackers for much of the last three seasons.

Julian Peterson is leaving Seattle after three mostly great seasons for Detroit, traded by the Seahawks, breaking up what could have been the best starting linebacking corps, one to three, in the league.

Pro Bowlers Peterson and Lofa Tatupu along with the insanely athletic Leroy Hill fueled high expectations for a defense often undersized along the front and thin in depth.

After a Super Bowl run in 2005 with Tatupu and Hill, Peterson was to be the final piece, propelling an overachieving defense into a consistent playmaking unit.

The Seahawks defense of the last three years has been anything but consistent, however.

There were flashes of brilliance. Tatupu's three interceptions against Philly in 2007. Peterson's dominant mid-season stretch in 2006. Hill's campaign of terror against the Redskins in the Wild Card round a season ago.

It's not that Tatupu-Peterson-Hill were ever bad. They simply never seemed to propel each other to greater heights. The 2007 season appeared to be a turning point, if they couldn’t exactly synch up, each could take his turn dominating for stretches. But in 2008 as the rest of the defense backslid, the trio couldn’t halt the regression or stop opponents from racking up yards especially on crucial third downs.

Part of the problem may have been Peterson’s acquisition in 2006 bounced the promising Hill to the strongside linebacking position, a spot often devoid of playmaking potential. While Peterson more than capably ran in the weakside spot, he might have hindered Hill’s development, Hill who often played like he busting at the seams the few chances he had to rush and react.

I don’t know if it’s addition by subtraction, a concept I tend to find shortsided. It certainly makes sense from a payroll standpoint after franchising Hill this year in the wake of GM Tim Ruskell’s big contracts to both Tatupu and Peterson. (Is it just me or does Ruskell have a fetish for bloated contracts? Shaun Alexander. Marcus Truffant. Patrick Kerney. Tatupu. Peterson.)

The offseason is often flush with optimism. Veterans seem easier to replace in March than they do in August. Hill steps over to Peterson’s weakside spot, his athleticism and experience softening that blow of Peterson's loss. But the Seahawks likely won’t have nearly the same talent on the strongside in coverage of tight ends and fighting through double teams on running plays.

In some sense it’s a vote to let the young Hill and Tatupu continue to develop together. And for Peterson it’s a chance to be Jim Schwartz’s rangy weakside backer a la Keith Bulluck in Tennessee as well as a vocal professional leader the Lions so desperately need.

What was supposed to be a perfect balance of youth and experience, was instead an up-and-down seesaw between brilliance and disappointment. The line that connected Tatupu and Hill to Peterson is broken down the middle, youth goes one way, experience another, each allowed to write their story from here on out.