Earlier this week, Seattle parted ways with longtime QB Matt Hasselbeck. Even though he turns 36 in September, Hasselbeck has done a lot for the franchise – he took them to a Super Bowl, and last year, he was outstanding (4 TDs) in a playoff upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. But I guess Pete Carroll and the front office decided it was time to go in another direction, so they let Hasselbeck go to Tennessee.

That leaves Seattle with a QB situation of … Charlie Whitehurst (a guy who nobody thinks is a starter in the NFL; Seattle gave up a 2nd round pick for him) and Tarvaris Jackson, formerly of Minnesota. So your passing game went from good to awful very quickly. Seattle hasn’t been mentioned in the running for Kevin Kolb or Kyle Orton, but I suppose those two guys are options.

So why would you go out and spend $41 million on Sidney Rice when you don’t have a QB to get him the ball? Puzzling, to say the least. (Not to mention giving $18 million guaranteed to someone who has had one great year, which was 2009, thanks to Brett Favre.) The Rice move come on the heels of bolstering their offensive line in the draft – Seattle’s first two picks were lineman. Why fortify your line if you are going to dump your QB? Why not pump up a defense that gave up 25.4 ppg? The Seahawks spent three draft picks on defensive backs (they were 25th against the pass last year) … but the picks were fifth and six rounders who aren’t expected to contribute immediately.

My thought earlier this week was that the plan might have been to build up a defense that is formidable – if anyone should be in the market for overpaying Nnamdi Asomugha, it should be the Seahawks – just deal with a less-than-mediocre offense (start Whitehurst, hope for the best), and then enjoy a Top 10 draft pick in 2012 where you could go after Andrew Luck, Landry Jones or Pete Carroll’s college QB, Matt Barkley. This seems to be what the Cleveland Browns have done the last couple years (nobody thinks Colt McCoy is the long-term solution), and it might be what Washington is doing this year (assuming they start John Beck; not sure why Washington is going out and getting old, crappy receivers, but such is life when Daniel Snyder is running the show).

Of course, when I mentioned this idea on twitter, Colin Cowherd attempted to take a shot at me: “You can’t go into a season saying we’re going 1-15!” (That’s not technically what I said, but hamstrung by the limits of 140 characters, that’s the impression he got.) Naturally, a few days later, he basically said the same thing about the San Francisco 49ers: “They’re gonna start Alex Smith. Go 1-15. You know what? That’s ok. You’re better off doing it.” Here’s video of both days.

Looking at the schedule, I’m thinking the Seahawks start 0-2 on the road, beat Arizona at home but lose to Atlanta, then lose to the Giants and are 1-4 heading into the bye week. If they do nothing else big in free agency, I’m projecting a 6-10 season, at best. 5-11 could be likely. Depending on who comes out in the draft, that may not be good enough to snag one of the big three QBs in 2012.

Apologies for the shaky camera. Note: I’ve never called a radio show.