Super Bowl XL: The Aftermath

In my 25 years as a Seahawks fan, I've spent many a Monday morning feeling as though I spent the day before being kicked repeatedly in the man parts by Mia Hamm. I don't really feel like that today.

It was a great season to be a Seahawks fan:

- Seattle won a franchise-record 13 games, including 11 in a row.
- Shaun Alexander was the league's Most Valuable Player.
- Alexander also set the single-season TD record (28)
- Seattle will send 7 players to the Pro Bowl.
- Seattle won it's first playoff game in 21 years.
- Seattle played in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Winning a Super Bowl would've made this season even sweeter, but it wasn't to be. Seattle missed some opportunities, that's fairly obvious.

TE Jerramy Stevens could've been the game's MVP, but he picked the worst time to revert back to his pass-dropping days of 2002-2004. He's most likely the "goat" for the 'Hawks, but hey, one "drop" was probably a fumble as the ball was knocked out on a great play by Chris Hope. The last "drop" happened at the 3-yard line with :03 showing on the clock. Did that one even matter? I can't beat up on Jerramy, since without him, Seattle likely wouldn't have made it this far.

Losing Andre Dyson, Marquand Manuel and Rocky Bernard during the game were injuries the Seahawks could not afford...or overcome.

Overall, it was an uncharacteristic performance by the Seahawks. They could've played much, much better than they did. That said, the team did amass nearly 400 yards in total offense, including 137 on the ground, against a defense they were expected to struggle against. Penalties, both real and imagined, shot them in the foot every time they got things going in the right direction.

It's hard to not point at the officiating as a reason why the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl last night. When the officiating is that bad, that one-sided, it's next-to-impossible to ignore. And I'm not alone.

Mike Florio, Jason Whitlock, Michael Wilbon and Michael Smith all seem to think that the Seahawks were royally screwed last night. Even Skip Bayless, who all but declared war on the city of Seattle, recognizes that the Seahawks never really stood a chance with the way the officials called the game last night.

In this day and age, when the NFL is making money hand over fist, these types of things simply should not happen. NFL officials are part-time employees, and the time has come for that to stop. There's no justifiable explanation the league can give for some of the game-altering penalties called, so I'm not even sure I'd listen to what Mike Periera, the NFL's Director of Officiating, will have to say on his weekly segment on the NFL Network's Total Access. I mean, what's the point? The game is over, and there's no solace to be found in the "yeah, we kind of jobbed you on that one" after losing the biggest game in professional sports.

And furthermore, why am I even remotely surprised by this? Let's not forget that it was Steelers LB Joey Porter (speaking of which, how many times did you hear his name mentioned yesterday?) that publicly claimed the NFL wanted the Indianapolis Colts to win in their divisional playoff game. Well Joey, I think they made up for it last night, and I noticed that you had no problem kissing the Lombardi Trophy afterwards.

Even after losing the Super Bowl, I'm proud of this team. I LOVE this team, and what they accomplished in the 2005 season will never be lost on me. The season is not at all tainted by what occured last night, and I feel strongly that the Seahawks are going to back much sooner than the Steelers will be.

Heading into last off-season, the Seahawks had about $30M in cap room to spend, and 1/3 of their roster was headed towards free agency in some form, 16 of which were unrestricted, including 80% of the offensive line, their starting QB, RB, TE, DE and CB. Seattle managed to lock them all up, despite not having a personnel man in place until March.

Now this month, Seattle will have about $25M in cap room, and only a fraction of the players heading towards free agency. Who are the priorities?

The most obvious is Mike Holmgren. He's definitely coming back for 2006, but that's the final year of his contract. Paul Allen has stated that he'd like to extend his contract for a few years, but there's no telling whether or not Holmgren will be interested in coaching beyond 2006.

As far as players go:

1. Steve Hutchinson, LG. All-Pro lineman like Hutchinson don't grow on trees, and signing Hutchinson is downright vital to this offense. More so, than...

2. Shaun Alexander, RB. To outsiders, Alexander will appear to be the biggest guy the Seahawks need to ink to an extension. He's not, but signing Alexander is something the Seahawks should at least try to do. His durability and production make him less of a risk than most 28/29-year old RBs. Whether or not Alexander realizes that the best situation for him is actually in Seattle (and that offensive line), and it might be worth it to sacrifice some dollar signs to remain as successful than he would in a place like Arizona, for example.

3. Joe Jurevicius, WR. He signed a 1-year deal with the Seahawks last March, and even Mike Holmgren didn't know exactly what to do with him. Good thing they had him, though, when starters Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson went down with injuries, because the big, sure-handed Jurevicius stepped in and had some huge games for the Seahawks. He's not a guy that's going to start somewhere else, so a smart 3-year deal is something the Seahawks should absolutely get done.

4. Rocky Bernard, DT. I'm always wary of guys who have breakout seasons when their contracts are up, but you get the sense that the light bulb went off for Bernard this season. He had 8.5 sacks during the regular season, a few more in the playoffs, and the Seahawks need his pass rush up the middle. Some team will likely swoop in and make him an offer he can't refuse, but Seattle should attempt to retain the big fella.

5. Marquand Manuel, FS. With the uncertainty of Ken Hamlin's health, Manuel is a guy the Seahawks will attempt to re-sign. In his first opportunity to start in the NFL, Manuel showed that he's a pretty solid option at the position.

Other free agents the Seahawks should re-sign: QB Seneca Wallace and K Josh Brown (both are restricted), P Tom Rouen, RB Maurice Morris (especially if Alexander signs elsewhere), FB Mack Strong (if he doesn't retire), TE Ryan Hannam, S John Howell (missed him on special teams this year) and possibly WR Peter Warrick to return punts.

With ample room under the cap, Seattle is in a great position to contend for the NFC crown for years to come.