Pete Prisco at CBS Sportsline has given his thoughts to the signing of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and what this might mean for Seattle with regard to the draft.
"Seattle signed Houshmandzadeh to a five-year, $40 million deal with $15 million in guaranteed money. That's No. 1 receiver money, and thus lies the problem. Can your No. 1 receiver be a guy who gained 9.8 yards per catch last season? I think not. Seattle paid a lot of money for a No. 2 receiver. Sorry, T.J. That's what you are. That's why I still think the Seahawks will take a close look at Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree with the fourth overall pick in the draft. He would be the No. 1 and Houshmandzadeh the No. 2."
- Pete Prisco
It's a subject that is likely to be discussed 'ad nauseam' up until April 25th. Will the Seahawks rule out Michael Crabtree having invested so much in Houshmandzadeh? Or will the Texas Tech receiver be the perfect compliment in a new look passing offense?
6 comments:
Please, please, please draft Crabtree!! Can you just imagine for a second if our recieving corp consisted of Crabtree, Houshmandzadeh, Branch, and Burleson? If Hasselbeck stays healthy, that could easily be one of the best in the league. I would buy a Crabtree jersey in a second.
Just like saying Matt H. is done due to last years production, without looking at what happened to the WR's or OL not having any impact. Same with TJ, his starting QB out most of the year and Ocho Stinko hurt most of the year will have some impact on his production. Weak point of view by this expert in my opinion.
I love the pick up, but I am worried by the report posted on PFT talking about TJ getting an MRI. He talked about it on the Dan Patrick radio show according to the story. If he is sound health wise, we win big. And I agree with Patrick, go after Crabtree if the medical team feels he will be OK.
Big Joe
I completely agree with Patrick. I cannot stop thinking about a Housh, Crabtree, Branch, Burleson receiving corp. With Hasselbeck as the QB and John Carlson at TE. The offense goes from a joke to a serious threat instantly. Are you kidding me with that four receiver set?
Housh is a great fix for next season. But I'm not sure he alone "fixes" the receiving issues. And he isn't a long term solution. I think the Hawks still need Crabtree in a big way. And I'm with you, Patrick, I'd buy a Crabtree jersey in a instant. Heck, I'd grab a Houshmandzadeh one too and sit there with my new jerseys losing my mind over how crazy our new offense would be.
Putting Crabtree alongside Houshmandzadeh is certainly a way to get the offense moving. Teams would have to respect the passing game, and that in turn releases the kind of pressure we saw on the offensive line in 2008 and will open up the running game too. Tim Ruskell doesn't do things with half measures, we've seen him rebuild sections of the team that have needed a make over. It'll be interesting to see if Hosuhmandzadeh is just the beginning of his latest project.
However, with less 4 WR sets supposedly on the menu under Greg Knapp, it still seems something of a stretch to think Branch, Burleson, Crabtree and Houshmandzadeh would all be on the roster. It's impossible to predict what direction Seattle will go in the draft. Tim Ruskell has eliminated the 'handcuff' that would force him to target a certain position rather than a particular prospect.
Rob, why is everyone so obsessed with Houshmandzadeh's YPC last year? Yet, almost everyone who brings this up fails to mention he had Ryan Fitzpatrick as his QB last year in one of the most inept offenses in the NFL (Cedric Benson was their most efficient player besides TJ). It just gets tiring reading all these so called "sports experts" who fail to look at the big picture of a situation, but rather opt to look at a stat sheet and draw out theories based solely on numbers. Nobody would argue Darrel Jackson or Bobby Engram are #1's either, but they both excelled in this offense as well. So Mr. Prisco, CBS pays a lot for a No. 2 reports. Sorry, Pete. That's what you are.
Hi Chris, you make a very good point regarding Houshmandzadeh's production. Personally, I was stunned when I read how productive he'd been for the Bengals. I believe in the last four years, he's caught more passes than anyone in the NFL? As you say, playing for an awful Bengals team that only showed signs of life late in the year, he still put in a excellent season with close to 100 catches. He will be a valuable weapon for the Seahawks next year.
I'm inclined to suggest, if he catches 90+ passes in 2009 and still only has a 9.8 YPC, he'll have had a succesful first season in Seattle. You don't sign Houshmandzadeh as a home run threat, you sign him for consistent, dependable production. Matt Hasselbeck will always have a safe option with T.J. on the field.
With regard to Michael Crabtree and how he fits into this, I think you can look at the Cardinals during the playoffs. I'm not going to compare Crabtree to Fitzgerald - but you see the attention Fitzgerald warranted in games. During the Super Bowl, it appeared during the first half the Steelers had completely set their game plan to stopping Fitzgerald. If Seattle were to add a threat such as Michael Crabtree, both he and Houshmandzadeh would be very, very effective. Now, who's to say that the same thing will not happen for Branch and Burleson should they not draft Crabtree? But the one thing that makes me still wonder 'maybe they just might take Crabtree' is the fact Branch has failed to complete a 16 game programme, Burleson is coming off surgery and Houshmandzadeh is 32. If they want a younger, future 'play maker' but perhaps don't want to throw him 'to the Lions' and rely too much on him as a rookie, Seattle has just created the perfect situation for him to arrive. Houshmandzadeh will help Crabtree's development and introduction into the NFL.
So Prisco may have a point regarding the chance Seattle might take on Crabtree. It's impossible to rule anything out at this stage.
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