The Seattle Seahawks are asking their fans not to panic over the quarterback position. They say they've got this thing covered.
"I've been blessed to be around a lot of really good quarterback people that have taught me a lot about the position," John Schneider, Seattle's general manager, told the team's official website this week. "So I just kind of incorporate that with the quarterbacks I've been around.
"... I just know if you panic at the position, it can set the organization back. So we're not going to do that."
These are the words of a man groomed by famed general manager Ron Wolf and brought up by coaches Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden and Andy Reid -- so why not trust his approach?
Still: Tarvaris Jackson's your starter; Charlie Whitehurst is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month; and Josh Portis, a young, untested arm, is all that's left.
"That may disappoint fans, because they want to see an instant guy and have that instant success," Schneider said. "But really, you're better off continuing to build your team. Initially, when I got here, I thought we were going to plug the quarterback in and we were going to build around him.
"If we had done that, we would have panicked in a way. And I'm not sure we would have been able to host the Saints (in the 2010 wild card) and had that great atmosphere and all that."
Yes, a pleasant atmosphere, but those were the 7-9 'Hawks, led by Matt Hasselbeck. This year's 7-9 team had no such luck.
NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock doesn't agree with the passive approach, telling reporters Wednesday, "You know, I've seen a lot of Tarvaris Jackson, because I also used to do the Minnesota Vikings preseason games. So I've seen an awful lot of him. I like him. But I think that position needs to be upgraded. I don't mind T-Jax competing for the position. But he either has to get a free agent in there or he has to draft somebody."
But what if the answer is: "Sorry, Matt Flynn. No hard feelings, Peyton Manning. Andrew Luck and RG3, we wish you well in another city."
This team's not about to panic, but what about its fans?
