Engram is less famous, but his absence is felt

By Michael Murillo  |   Thursday, November 02, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Seattle Seahawks
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Losing Shaun Alexander for an extended period of time is bad. Having Matt Hasselbeck join him on the injury report is even worse. Losing Bobby Engram for several games can't make that much of a difference, right?

Seattle fans know better.

His name doesn't get the same press attention as the team's other offensive weapons, but losing Engram to viral thyroiditis has had a huge effect on the offense.

He's "only" the 'Hawks' third receiver in their formations, but he often has the quarterback's eye. When he was healthy, Engram caught at least four passes in every contest; last week against Kansas City, no Seattle receiver caught that many. In half the games in which he's appeared this year, he was Seattle's leading receiver. Losing that kind of production would hamper the Seahawks, even if everyone else was healthy.

Engram is more than just a talented pair of hands at a critical position. He signed with the Seahawks in 2001, the same year Hasselbeck joined the team. In the era of free agency, it's unusual for a quarterback and receiver to share that many seasons together. And since Darrell Jackson was with the Seahawks before either of them, there's no doubt that the passing game has benefited from incredible stability.

Now, of course, stability is the last thing Seattle's offense enjoys. Engram would have provided a great deal of it for Seneca Wallace, which also would have helped Maurice Morris and the team's running game. Instead, another cog in the wheel is out of the starting lineup, and the team's record is suffering as a result.

They should all return to the starting lineup...eventually. Alexander has already been ruled out of the Nov. 6 contest against Oakland, and Hasselbeck is at least a couple of weeks away from returning. But those hoping for Engram's return -- and fans are certainly eager to see him on the field -- face more questions than answers. He was listed as questionable before Week 8 and did some practicing in the days leading up to the game. But he wasn't ready to go, and there's no definite timetable for his return. He might beat Alexander and Hasselbeck onto the field (maybe even against the Raiders), or he could be the last of the three to return.

The only thing fans know for sure is that his presence is missed in the huddle, and his 18 catches for 198 yards don't begin to describe how valuable he is to the team.

Weekly Seattle Seahawks columns, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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