doubledeuce Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 After a weak 1-3 start, Seattle media is second-guessing the decision to let Zorn come to DC... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2008238528_kelley08.html Steve Kelley Jim Mora, Jim Zorn could have both coached in Seattle A year ago, Jim Zorn and Jim Mora were both Seahawks assistants looking for head-coaching jobs in football. Mora could have been, in hindsight should have been, named as Tyrone Willingham's replacement at Washington. Zorn could have been and should have been named to replace Mike Holmgren of the Seahawks after this year. A year ago, they were both in Seattle. Both were assistants looking for head-coaching jobs. They were here, and they were ready for the next step, the next stop. This is a tale of two Jims, Zorn and Mora. What might have been and what is. The solutions that weren't. In a perfect world, Seattle could ask for a mulligan, a do-over to start fixing its football emergency. It could ask, as referees sometimes do, for the clock to be set back to, say, late last autumn, after the Apple Cup, when Washington football was beginning its free fall, and before Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren had decided his future. The solutions were there, right in front of us, as obvious as Mount Rainier. The answers to the troubles at Washington and to the future of the Seahawks were a pair of Jims. It could have happened, but it didn't. Jim Mora, the assistant head coach of the Seahawks and a former Husky, could have been, in hindsight should have been, named as Tyrone Willingham's replacement at Washington. He would have reawakened the Tyee Club. He would have opened up the program, invited the entire state to practices, revved up recruiting and outworked every coach in the Pac-10. Mora is a great communicator. He could have been the Northwest's Pete Carroll. The rebuilding plan already could have begun. There would be energy, instead of ennui, on Montlake. Hiring Mora would have been the right call. He still bleeds purple and, quietly, he probably relished the idea of returning to his alma mater. He would have felt it almost was his duty as a Husky to come back and repair the mess. But Washington decided to give Willingham a fourth year, and Mora, who is in charge of the Seahawks' suddenly shaky secondary, was named to succeed Holmgren after this swan-song season. In this lost season, when the Huskies and Seahawks are a combined 1-8, we are left to think about what might have been. While the Hawks were losing by 38 points last Sunday to the Giants, Zorn, just a short drive down the New Jersey Turnpike, was coaching the Washington Redskins to their fourth win in a row in Philadelphia. Last year Zorn was the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach. He was Matt Hasselbeck's muse, a bundle of kinetic energy and sound coaching principles. After seven seasons as a Seahawks assistant, he was ready to become a head coach. And it could have happened here. Instead, Zorn, a Washington outsider, has become the ultimate Beltway insider. He has won the hearts and minds of fans there, not an easy task. Washington is 4-1. It has won consecutive games at Dallas and Philadelphia and, with games against St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit looming, it should be 7-1 by Halloween. This is not to say that Mora won't succeed with the Seahawks. But imagine the excitement this city would be feeling with one Jim at the University of Washington and the other Jim preparing to replace Holmgren. Losing makes a town feel whimsical. And no city in America feels more pain and knows more about losing in 2008 than Seattle. And now losing Zorn hurts as much as losing games. Jim Zorn is as much a Seahawk as Tommy Lasorda is a Dodger. But he is in Washington now, remaking Jason Campbell into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL. Through the first five games, Campbell's quarterback rating is 96.7. After throwing 17 interceptions in the first 20 games of his career, Campbell hasn't thrown one this season. A classic dropback, pocket passer, he has been transformed by Zorn into a quick-flick, West Coast kid. Meanwhile, without Zorn, Hasselbeck has struggled. Last season he threw 27 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He had an efficiency rating of 91.4. In the first quarter of this season, he has thrown for only two touchdowns and has been intercepted four times. His rating is 57.7. Of course Hasselbeck has had to deal with the injury plague that cost him all of his experienced wide receivers. And he has bravely played through back and knee problems. But he hasn't been the same without Zorn. And in this autumn of our discontent we look at a pair of Jims and wonder about solutions to Seattle pigskin problems that no longer exist. Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Master III Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thanks Seahawks! We owe you one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins:Victory_or_Death Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thanks Seahawks! We owe you one. We don't owe them anything but an assbeating on November 23rd. :helmet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Taylor Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thanks Seahawks! We owe you one. We owe them two more - one for 2005, one for last year. Hopefully, we can pay in full on 11/23. :hungry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail_Skinz Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 We don't owe them anything but an assbeating on November 23rd. :helmet: Exactly! And, this time they will NOT overlook the 'Hawks like we did in last years contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd421 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 HAHAHA those poor hawks fans they are going through a tough time since there team is pure CRAP this year! This is the icing on the cake.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPortJGibbs89 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Its nice for once to be on the winning side of an article like this. Lets still take this one game at a time. No reason to say we are already 7-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike21 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Finally out of the message boards and actually written by a Seattle writer. I think after reading that, Seattle's biger mistake was the Willingham extenstion but I digress.....Just think about how critical people were about our hire at first? It's amazing what winning can do..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike21 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Exactly! And, this time they will NOT overlook the 'Hawks like we did in last years contest. I don't think we overlooked them. Their defense was (in the words of Mr. Zorn) a "violent" defense. Their pass rush was extraordinary. But that was last year and this is this year. I still don't like the fact that of the 4 west teams we travel TO San Fran and Seattle while the closer ones like Phoenix and St. Louis come to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Jones Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 In the other thread on this subject matter the Hawk decline, IMHO, is more do to FO failures than succeeding coaches. They let too many players go, Springs/Hutchinson/Hamlin/etc and didn't bring in anyone to replace them. They overpaid for some ok Dline players and really have not drafted that well. Add in injuries and I doubt Zorn could do that much better than their current coach. A coach that Zorn continuously refers too. That said, you guys are right, time for some redemption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydogg3eb Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I still don't like the fact that of the 4 west teams we travel TO San Fran and Seattle while the closer ones like Phoenix and St. Louis come to us. Dude, do you really think that makes much of a difference? We have a bye week and then a home game against Dallas. Then we fly out to Seattle and come back home for the Giants. At the end of the year, we play Philly at home and then fly out to San Fran for the final game, which could be a throw away game for us anyway. It really isnt that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zCommander Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Hmmm...seems like they will be eating a lot of sour grapes in Hawk land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail_Skinz Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I don't think we overlooked them. Their defense was (in the words of Mr. Zorn) a "violent" defense. Their pass rush was extraordinary. But that was last year and this is this year. I still don't like the fact that of the 4 west teams we travel TO San Fran and Seattle while the closer ones like Phoenix and St. Louis come to us. I vividly recall Mike Sellers saying after the season finale victory against the Cowboys: "When we play Dallas again". He was referring to the second round of the playoffs. He was inferring that we'd defeat Seattle hands down. IMO, that's overlooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartColtNow Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 After years of total incompetence with Norvous and retarded play calling with Joe Gibbs vol. 2 we deserve SOMETHING to go right for once. Jim Zorn is the best thing Seattle has produced since Starbucks :applause::point2sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor4Life Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The search feature, it works wonders... http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?t=264312&highlight=mora+zorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins:Victory_or_Death Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I vividly recall Mike Sellers saying after the season finale victory against the Cowboys: "When we play Dallas again". He was referring to the second round of the playoffs. He was inferring that we'd defeat Seattle hands down. IMO, that's overlooking.I don't Sellers was overlooking Seattle - I think he was just talking up the game and how dominant over the Cowboys the Skins were - it was simple trash talk. Saying something like, "Seattle is a bunch of panty-wearing emo coffee snobs who we will beat like little children on our way to the SuperBowl"...THAT would be overlooking Seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Well waaaaaah to Seattle, I seem to recall a whole big bunch of "who cares?" when Zorn left, let their karma chew on them a bit longer. And how sad is it that this is their poll on that page? Survey Who's our biggest loser? UW football Seahawks Mariners Sonics WSU football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail_Skinz Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I don't Sellers was overlooking Seattle - I think he was just talking up the game and how dominant over the Cowboys the Skins were - it was simple trash talk. Saying something like, "Seattle is a bunch of panty-wearing emo coffee snobs who we will beat like little children on our way to the SuperBowl"...THAT would be overlooking Seattle. Well, whatever...I can tell you that I HAVEN'T overlooked your sig! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I don't think we overlooked them. Their defense was (in the words of Mr. Zorn) a "violent" defense. Their pass rush was extraordinary. But that was last year and this is this year. I still don't like the fact that of the 4 west teams we travel TO San Fran and Seattle while the closer ones like Phoenix and St. Louis come to us. Part of the rotation. Last time we played the NFC West, we went to Arizona (W 17-10) and St. Louis (L 37-31 OT) and played Seattle (W 20-17 OT) and San Francisco (W 52-17) at home in 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Well waaaaaah to Seattle, I seem to recall a whole big bunch of "who cares?" when Zorn left, let their karma chew on them a bit longer.And how sad is it that this is their poll on that page? Survey Who's our biggest loser? UW football Seahawks Mariners THUNDER WSU football Fixed part of it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoRnAndRaiSedSkinsFan Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'm so happy for the state of the Seahawk fans...The Hawks beat us both times we made the playoffs...And their fans were saying some cruel things about ST during the game...Serves those ****es right!!! Hopefully we can stomp them when we play them this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAAZ227 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 We don't owe them anything but an assbeating on November 23rd. :helmet: Hell yeah! I think JZ is going to give it to them. The Seahawks were'nt going to renew his contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Fixed part of it for you. And what makes me laugh is that I don't have any idea who they are, but their loser list is even longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Igive myself all the credit for talking Dan and Vinny into making this move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrfriedm Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 My heart breaks for the poor state of Washington. To bad so sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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