Win Now!
September 12th, 2006 by Wyatt
I couldn’t agree more with this column at the Seattle Times. The move to get Deion Branch was the kind of move that tells fans that Seahawks management is serious. They may have made a misstep in losing Steve Hutchinson over the offseason, but they didn’t screw around. They upgraded the offense and the defense and have, IMHO, the most complete team in the league.
Then, they go out and grab Branch. This is no Billy Beane kind of move. This is a George Steinbrenner kind of move. This is what the Yankees do even when they look better on paper than anyone else. They upgrade anyway. The baseball comparisons are intentional. This is the kind of move I kept waiting for the Mariners to make in 1999, 2000, and 2001. Those were fantastic teams, but they never made that “one more move” to push the team over the hump. They grabbed a little piece here or there, but never found the blockbuster bat or ace pitcher that would have kept the momentum going. It was this lack of big moves that annoyed the heck out of Mariners fans everywhere. It started to make me wonder if I’d ever see one of my favorite teams win a championship.
The Seahawks have made me a believer again. If this is how the front office is going to treat the golden window of opportunity they have, then I’m optimistic. Even better, I think this team has a chance to win a couple. As a matter of fact, there’s some similarity in Branch’s new team and the old. The Seahawks are building a dominating, stable team that can win consistently. They are keeping themselves in a position to keep replacing players as they retire or move on and maintain momentum.
New England has run that plan to three Super Bowl victories. I think that’s within the realm of possiblity here.
But, right now, I’m just enjoying the fact that I can cheer a trade that has clearly upgraded a team that was already pretty darn good.