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STICKING WITH JACKSON IS THE RIGHT MOVE (FOR NOW)

What did you expect?

The Seattle Seahawks are halfway through the preseason with a new quarterback, new offensive coordinator, and an offensive line so new the paint hasn’t dried yet after three months of missed OTA’s and minicamps thanks to the lockout. Is it really so surprising that Seattle’s first-team offense would still be struggling at this point? Is the offensive line’s inability to create much of a push in the running game unexpected considering the line features two rookie starters and is missing its best player? Seattle’s 20-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday may have been disappointing, but it was hardly anything that should have caught fans and pundits off guard.

Yet there is a growing chorus of people—led by former Seahawk Lawyer Milloy—who think that changes need to be made already, and the man in their crosshairs is Tarvaris Jackson. They point to the success Charlie Whitehurst has had in the preseason so far and say that he deserves a chance to start. The sentiment may be understandable, but it is misguided for several reasons.

First and foremost, Seattle’s offensive struggles are hardly all Jackson’s fault. It’s not Jackson’s fault that the Seahawks tried four times to run the ball in from the two-yard line and failed miserably. It’s not Jackson’s fault when Golden Tate bobbles a catchable ball straight into the hands of a defender for a pick-six (though maybe he would have had better luck throwing Tate a maple bar.) Jackson has been erratic, granted, but it’s not as if he is Seattle’s only problem right now.

Second, Whitehurst has looked better but the fact that he is playing against second stringers has to be taken into account. Also, Whitehurst’s own yards per attempt so far this preseason is a paltry 5.5, which isn’t much better than Jackson’s. There is no guarantee that he would look any better as a starter than Jackson does right now, especially not when the regular season starts.

Third, Pete Carroll made it clear from the start of training camp that Jackson would be his starter. He needs to stand by that decision, at least for the time being. All of the “com-pete” talk notwithstanding, changing quarterbacks after only two weeks could turn what is already looking like a difficult season into an epic disaster. Say that Carroll starts Whitehurst and he struggles to move the first-team offense, too. What then? Stick with Whitehurst? Go back to Jackson again? Start an undrafted free agent in Josh Portis? Not only would such a move doom this season before it even begins, it could have serious repercussions in the locker room, as it would leave Carroll looking indecisive. Last year’s Seahawks scraped and clawed their way into the playoffs and shocked the world because they believed what Carroll was selling. If he loses that, he loses the team.

Nobody wants to see the Seahawks struggle this year after winning the NFC West last season, albeit in fairly atypical fashion. But making a knee-jerk decision to switch to Whitehurst so soon in the year would make a bad situation worse. Jackson needs more time. He needs to have an offensive line that learns how to work together and receivers and running backs making plays around him. If he still can’t get it together in a month or two, THAT is the time to make the switch to Whitehurst, not before.

Pete Carroll set the course last month when he named Jackson his starter. For now, the Seattle Seahawks have no choice but to see where it takes them.