(Sports Network) - The Seattle Seahawks will try to take a step forward in their home preseason finale on Saturday night, which features a visit from the Green Bay Packers to Qwest Field.
The Seahawks were 20-18 winners over the Tennessee Titans last Saturday night, though the work of Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle first-string offense was less than impressive.
Hasselbeck was just 4-of-10 for 26 yards in the contest, and other notables like Julius Jones (5 rushes, 13 yards) and wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2 receptions, 12 yards) failed to register much of an impact.
On the bright side for Pete Carroll's team, quarterback Charlie Whitehurst (14-of-22, 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) began to justify the draft pick the Seahawks used to acquire him this offseason. One of Whitehurst's two touchdown passes was a 51-yarder to former Lions first-round bust Mike Williams, who is attempting to make the team.
The Seattle defense will bear watching as well on Saturday. The Seahawks made headlines earlier this week by acquiring former 49ers first-rounder Kentwan Balmer, who is expected to play both end and tackle in Seattle. Carroll's squad subsequently shipped out their own former first-round d-lineman, sending end Lawrence Jackson to the Detroit Lions for an undisclosed 2011 draft choice.
In a curious preseason reversal of fortunes, the Packers' actually lost their opening warm-up despite a nice effort from their first-string.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was 12-of-13 for 159 yards in the 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to wideout Greg Jennings.
On the injury front for Green Bay this week, frequently injured tackle Justin Harrell (back) is a question mark against Seattle, as is running back Ryan Grant (concussion).
Seattle holds a 2-1 edge in its all-time preseason series with Green Bay, but was a 48-13 road loser in the last such meeting, prior to the 2007 campaign.
The clubs also met in Week 16 of the 2009 regular season, a 48-10 Packers rout at Lambeau Field.