When a team has had such a clamorous and in-your-face ascension like the Seattle Seahawks have enjoyed over the past two seasons, any regression or minor bump in the road will not pass quietly, either.
That's why hearing one of the Seahawks blame the team's lackadaisical performance Sunday against the Rams on the Percy Harvintrade was strangely predictable.
"Obviously the shock of the transaction and what took place there made for a bit of an emotional roller coaster," Doug Baldwin said, via ESPN.com. "When something that drastic happens, right before we get on the bus, there is going to be an emotional impact. I felt we handled it to the best of our ability, but I think it might have been a factor in some way."
While a little bit of emotional lag was expected, it's hard to imagine Harvin causing the entire punt team to redirect itself out of a play, or the return unit giving up a fake. If anything, those mistakes should be chalked up to a coaching staff that underestimated the Rams' desperation to get back in the win column.
Still, the Seahawks are now losers of two straight and don't like it. They have a second-round pick, Paul Richardson, waiting patiently to step up and replace Harvin, so their built-in excuses won't last for much longer.
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