The Seahawks threw the rest of the league a curve ball earlier this year, trading for the No. 3 guy on the Chargers’ quarterback depth chart. Immediately, Charlie Whitehurst was installed as the backup to Matt Hasselbeck and the heir apparent as the starter.
With the regular season only one preseason game away, there’s a sense in Seattle that Whitehurst isn’t as good as advertised.
The Clemson product drew raves in the preseason opener, generating a passer rating of 107.0 via 14 completions on 22 attempts for 214 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception.
Since then, he has put up a dreadful 31.0 against the Packers (9-for-20 for 73 yards, with a touchdown and two picks) and 46.6 against the Vikings, with 12 completions in 26 attempts for 138 yards and a pick.
Said coach Pete Carroll, per Percy Allen of the Seattle Times: “He’s had a play in there in each game that is really regrettable, you know the turnovers.”
Whitehurst’s subpar performances come at an interesting time for the team, given that Matt Leinart likely will be available on Saturday — and given the growing belief that Leinart’s former college coach will pounce on Leinart once he’s available.
If Whitehurst can’t get it done against the Raiders, it could be that Leinart will land at No. 2 on the depth chart, that Whitehurst will return to his familiar No. 3 spot, and that both of them will compete next year to replace Hasselbeck.
I don’t see Seattle’s management not giving Whitehurst at least two years, considering they’ve got, what, a 3rd round draft pick invested in him??? Management lives for return on investment, or at the very least, giving that investment enough time to produce.
It makes little sense that they’d dump CW and then trade for Leinart for at least another 3rd round pick and end up no better off.
If Seattle wanted Leinart, they would have him.
Carroll has shown time and time again he isn’t going to make stretch for talent he previously had.
Maybe he’ll pick up Leinart, but if Leinart really is as immature as everyone says he is, I doubt it.
Being #3 on the Chargers’ depth chart should have been their first clue.
he will be sniffing mad winefarts before he knows it.
Everyone except Pete Carroll knew that Whitehurst sucked.
“It makes little sense that they’d dump CW and then trade for Leinart for at least another 3rd round pick and end up no better off.”
Makes no sense? It makes perfect sense that a coach would dump a worse scrub than a guy who used to be his QB in college – but not for another high draft pick or with the salary Leinart would make if he isn’t cut. Many a 3rd rounder has been cut in the first preseason with the new team. (I know he’s not a 3rd rounder but that’s what they paid). Of course, Carroll has been on the wrong side of every decision he’s made at the pro level.
“Carroll has shown time and time again he isn’t going to make stretch for talent he previously had.”
I guess that’s why Mike Williams is on the roster
And the winner of the 2010 Billy Volek Award for backup who looks good on tape and in practice but can’t do jack when the cameras come on is:
Charlie Whitehurst. Presenting Charlie with the Volek trophy is Rob Johnson.
Have the ‘Hawks ever heard of throwing good money (and maybe draft picks) after bad? The fastest way to complete failure is to compoud mistakes.
Just out of curiosity. How much money would Seattle save if they cut Whitehurst before the season starts?
Jmajik18 -
Mike Williams has been one of the best players on Seattle’s team this preseason and looks like he may even be starting. Don’t think PC is throwing him a bone by keeping him on the roster.
As for Whitehurst, if they are able to get Leinart for nothing when he is released on Saturday, it will make the overspending on Whithurst a little more palpable…then you basically got two backups (and a possible future starter) for a third round pick to shore up the most important position in sports
I was at the Seattle/Vikes game last week, and couldn’t believe how innaccurate the guy was, thus leading me to wonder what the hell Seattle management was thinking when they traded so much for him.
If Whisenhunt tricks Pete Carroll into signing Leinart… That would be pure genius!
“Captain Checkdown’ at QB for Seattle would guarantee the Cardinals 2 wins every season!!
I wonder if it will be via a trade?… or via Leinart simply being cut?
If it’s a trade, Whisenhunt’s asking price should be a ‘buffalo nickel’.
Jmajik18 says:
September 2, 2010 2:54 PM
“Carroll has shown time and time again he isn’t going to make stretch for talent he previously had.”
I guess that’s why Mike Williams is on the roster
______________________________
…and why Laurence Jackson was just traded and LenDale White released.
“a growing belief,”….? its been mentioned once on this site and now its a “growing belief,”
Please don’t dig to make a story out of it…
He looked pretty good when last I saw him. I cant remember who it was against-maybe SD ?I guess it was that pre-season opener they r talking about.
@ dafish – And the winner of the 2010 Billy Volek Award for backup who looks good on tape and in practice but can’t do jack when the cameras come on is…
***********
Um… I guess you forgot about the ’08 playoff win on the road at Indy…
Starting at the Chargers’ 22-yard line, Volek threw 15 yards to the right, 6 to the left, then 27 more to the left. The drive included a penalty on the Colts and some tough runs by Michael Turner and, of course, no mistakes by Volek.
Suddenly, the Chargers were at the 1, and coach Norv Turner called for the quarterback sneak – Volek up the middle for what would stand up as the game-winning touchdown.
Better than anything that the Phins can roll out.
Trading for Clipboard Jesus (Whitehurst) was a mistake.
db330:
NO, it doesn’t make ANY sense AT ALL.
Don’t you understand the situation here? The basic gist is that Carroll never even sniffed at Leinart this past off season. That should tell us all exactly what Carroll thinks of Lienart. If Carroll had wanted Leinart, he would already be with Seattle.
And, Leinart is basically Charlie Whitehurst in terms of NFL production, and let’s not forget Whitehurst doesn’t have the luxury have having been named “the guy”, and got all the reps multiple times with the #1′s – not the freakin’ scrubs. Does anybody pay attention to anything any longer???
Finally, there is simply NO WAY Seattle brass would agree to dump Whitehurst now, especially considering there is no better option to pick up. Why would you admit a potential mistake before you have to? Keep him on the roster and then if he still doesn’t look worth a shit next off season, then you dump his ass, and look much less foolish in the process. Perception is everything with management-types nowadays.
Charlie Whitehurst was inconsistent when he played at Clemson, so I’m not surprised that he’s struggling a bit right now. He didn’t get much preseason playing time at San Diego and that means his skills are rusty. Combine inconsistent with rusty and you get exactly what we see when Charlie is on the field right now. The way he’s been playing throughout the preseason is exactly what I expected to see when I heard we signed him.
The biggest mistakes I see CW make are overthrowing his targets (we don’t have any 7-footers on the team) and forcing throws into coverage. Both of those are correctable and I’m sure the coaching staff is working with him on those mistakes. I think if Charlie continues to get playing time, then we will see him improve over the course of the season.
No contest here; I’ll take Charlie Whitehurst over Matt Leinart any day. CW makes mistakes, but he’s aware of them and accepts responsibility. Matt Leinart is always looking for somebody else to blame for his shortcomings.
Nobody hold a clipboard better than Whitehurst.
Nobody.
The Seahawks will be drafting their future QB next year. The heir apparent isn’t going to be another team’s cast-off.
Hint: the heir apparent is either at UW or Stanford right now.