The Seattle Seahawks are not going to make the playoffs.

That statement hardly comes as a shock to Seahawks fans.  There was a possibility, though remote, that the Seahawks could have made a playoff run.  They had a favorable schedule against opponents that have a lot of issues.  It was improbable, but still possible.  Even though they aren’t officially eliminated from playoff contention, last Sunday’s loss to the Washington Redskins ended Seattle’s playoff aspirations for all intents and purposes.

Now Pete Carroll can make the decision he should have made a couple of weeks ago, a decision that he doesn’t want to make, but needs to.  He needs to sit Tarvaris Jackson for the rest of the season.

Jackson has gamely played the last five weeks with a partially torn pectoral muscle.  However, his game is clearly deteriorating.  Jackson is an average quarterback at best when healthy.  This injury is limiting his capabilities more each week.  The coaches have done a good job of working around Jackson’s limitations, but that can only work for so long.  Jackson was exposed during the Washington game, and the situation is only going to get worse.

Carroll and General Manager John Schneider must accept blame for not having an adequate backup in place.  Even though the team paid a huge price for him and to him, Carroll has no confidence whatsoever in Charlie Whitehurst.  This is not a new development; Carroll felt the same way last season.  Matt Hasselbeck had injuries, but nothing nearly as severe as what has befallen Jackson.  If a coach is not willing to play someone unless under the most dire of circumstances, then that player shouldn’t be on the team.  … [visit site to read more]