Q.  If Dr. D is making the call, who starts?

A.  Whitehurst, only because the Hawks' offensive line is getting smashed on a snaply basis.

If the Seahawks had any pass protection, -OR- any running game at all (they finished #32, I think), -OR- if Matt Hasselbeck was mobile, then I would definitely give Hasselbeck the ball.

But all three of those things return -FALSE- on the register, so Whitehurst has to play a semi-collegiate game behind the line of scrimmage.

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Q.  Can Whitehurst perform like this again?

A.  I've been in a running argument with my son all year, him ferociously against Whitehurst and me just as adamantly insisting that Whitehurst can play in the NFL. 

So what do you think I'll say after his game-16 performance?  :- )

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Q.  How was it even possible for him to perform in such a mistake-free fashion?

A.  First play of the game, Carroll gave him an easy little swing pass, got his head into the right place right away... the whole game went like that.  Carroll visibly structured the offense so as to ask very reasonable things of Whitehurst, play after play.

As you probably also know, Carroll (though himself a bit of a gambler) coaches his QB's not to gamble.  He tells them to take sacks rather than to force passes.  The year-long grooming paid off.

The conservatism paid off.  Remember, the Seahawks only scored 16 points.  This was a Chuck Knox type of game.  And it worked.

.............

But still, the Rams were loading up and crashing the line in a terrifying way.  Whitehurst, with no running game for a long time and receivers not getting open, spun away from rushers time and again, and refused to make mistakes.

He was under immense psychological pressure:  Chris Collinsworth stated -- on national TV -- that Whitehurst might have been one bad game (this bad game) away from being out of Seattle and maybe out of an NFL starting career.

The poise and performance was sensational.  So I'm good with Whitehurst next week, again, in Qwest, again.

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Q.  Would Whitehurst be likely to  perform well against the Saints?

A.  This question is essentially the same question as, "Can the coaching staff's X's and O's save the offense again?" 

The Rams nuked the Seahawks' offensive line until it glowed radioactive yellow.  At one point in the second quarter, Whitehurst was catching the ball in the shotgun with two rushers bearing down as he took the ball -- and no receivers open.

It was the X's and O's that bailed the offense out of an overmatched situation.  SSI is very impressed with Pete Carroll and his staff.

It says here that there is a decent chance that Carroll's X's and O's will cover for the O-line against next week.  ... to some extent.

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Linkage:  Check out this gush by Carroll over his QB-of-the-future.

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Cheers,

Dr D