Well, not a good Sunday for me in my football picks. At least I got the 8-pointer, which is the one to get, obviously, if one will be 1-for-4. My faith and confidence in the Bledsoe-led Bills was shattered by two kick returns for TD's by the Jets to lead the way to a win in a game "statistically dominated" by the Bills. I'm beginning to wonder if the Rams, while being the most skilled team on paper, are also the most self-destructive. Fumbles, miscues, bad play-calling, general lack of execution. It seems Mike Martz is a great "X's and O's" coach but a horrible game manager... aka he is a great O-coordinator, but crappy coach. And this preseason press about the 'Boys rising back to contender status seem to be bullshit. They may have a great D, but Quincy Carter is simply incapable of being an NFL quarterback, and their offense will never be good enough with him in it. Also, reports of a terrible Texans defense seem to be egregiously false.

But what I really want to talk about is the 'Hawks, and their poor performance against the Raiders in a 31-17 loss that wasn't nearly as close as the score seems to indicate. It is disturbing to me that this was seen as a game they had no chance to win, then promptly went out and had a lost cause by halftime. Self-fulfilling prophecy... or a prime example of a team not prepared for the Season?

And doesn't that reflect on the poor job that Mike Holmgren is doing as King of the Franchise. As a coach, he can hardly be blamed for the inadequate personel which took the field for the game. He did what he could with what he had -- sort of , but that is another rant for another day -- and they lost. But Holmgren is also the GM, "Vice President of Football Operations," (whatever That is supposed to mean) and de-facto offensive coordinator -- seeing as how he calls the plays. There isn't a bit of the day-to-day and game-day operations of this franchise that don't bear at least the partial mark of King Mike, and he is Very well compensated financially for this, and seems to enjoy almost unheard-of job security in the NFL (but these two issues are also another rant for another day!)

So, it seems to Me -- who will readily admit to knowing squat about the X's and O's of game-day and game-preparation of professional football, but from a fan's standpoint feels like I know enough to know a poorly-run team from a well-run team -- that this utter lack of preparation for the Season we saw manifested on Sunday IS Mike Holmgren's fault. What are we paying for again?

It is all-too-easy, and tempting, to blame this all on Trent Dilfer's knee "sprain" in the 1st quarter of the 1st preseason game, and Walter Jones' inexplicable holdout. Throw in some injuries, like All-pro calibre DT John Randle's offseason knee surgery from which he is still recovering, the fact that leading tackler Anthony Simmons went down with an ankle injury early, starting Tackle Chris McIntosh is Out for the year with a chronic (and seemingly career-threatening) kneck injury, and suddenly one can piece together a reason for the fact the 'Hawks didn't have a prayer to win yesterday.

EXCEPT... isn't it Mike Holmgren's Job to put together a competitive team, while dealing with injuries, holdouts, and other "unforseen circumstances." Isn't this what separates the Men who Are capable of doing this job in the NFL from those who Aren't? It is incumbent upon the men who run NFL franchises to field a team that Can win despite various personnel issues, and whil there are admittedly very few of these, it is also becoming more and more clear to me the Holmgren is certainly NOT one of them!

We Knew about Randle's knee surgery. We Knew that Chris McIntosh had chronic kneck problems (as he missed most of last year with the saem thing). We Knew Matt Hasselbeck was largely incapable of being a competent starting QB. We Knew all this before training camp even started!!!

The Seahawks lost yesterday because they have no foundation as a team. This one isn't on Hasselbeck. Granted, 155 pass yards is hardly noteworthy, but 23 of 32 with 2TD and 0 INT for a 103 rating are the kind of performances that made Tom Brady a "superstar" and MVP for the Patriots. Seattle hardly got torn apart by a Raider's high-powered passing attack, either. Gannon's numbers (19/28 for 214, 2T 1INT) are Solid, but not Great. No, the 'Hawks got blown out yesterday because of the most fundamental apsect of football.

40 attempts for a 5.5-yard average. Those are Raiders rushing numbers. 16 attempts for a 2.7-yard average. Those are the Seahawks rushing numbers. From that alone most anyone could tell me who won the game.

And that speaks to the Offensive and Defensive Lines, the foundation of any succesful football team.

"Sure!" you say, "but the injuries and holdouts." Sure, but I re-iterate, isn't it Holmgren's Job to work through those things, to take the 6 weeks of training camp and preseason to field a team that Can win? And please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he Fail to do that?

I see porous run defense, and I immediately think of the DT's and middle linebacker. John Randle Was gone yesterday, but Holmgren also made a highly questionable decision before training camp to cut Levon Kirkland, who had a superb year at ML last season. Ostensibly, it was because of his "weight problem," but it seems to me that it was am attempt by King Mike to prove a point and piss his territory... and I think it Hurt the team. Don't get me wrong, I like Isiah Kacyvinski as much as the next guy, but...

More damning than anything about yesterday's awful performance was that two of the 'Hawks scores were set up directly by long returns. Maurice Morris took the first kick return (after the Raiders quickly socred) of the season 66 yards to set up the Hawk's first TD of the season, and lent the game an all-too-temporary feel of competitiveness. Later, Shawn Springs returned a fumble 71 yards, setting up the offense for a scintillating 10-yard drive to set up a field goal to pull the Hawks to 31-10. Yipee.

Despite all the negativity flowing out of their opening performance, there may still be reason for hope. This was only one game, and one loss, and the first game at that. Last season, they stumbled to a 9-6 win over Cleveland before getting creamed by Oakland and Philly, and a 4-or 5 win season seemed a certainty. They recovered, found their stride, and made a semblance of a playoff run and at least got us a winning season at 9-7. I guess we'll just have to see what happens.