If you don't recognize your Seattle Seahawks after a long and incredibly active holiday weekend, that's OK. A flurry of moves saw the team's roster rebuild continue in a major way. Let's take a look at some of the biggest repercussions.
Earlier we noted that the Seahawks led the league in roster turnover. Today, Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times writes that more than half of the team's 53 man roster are new faces.
Of the 53 players on Seattle's active roster, 27 have been acquired since coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider took over. Seven players have been added in the last seven days alone, including three offensive linemen.
"It was literally like draft weekend for us," Schneider said.
Speaking of the offensive line, O'Neil also notes that one projected starter will not be ready for week one.
Rookie left tackle Russell Okung has not recovered from his high ankle sprain and will not play this week, Carroll said. Ray Willis is on injured reserve.
That leaves Seattle to choose between Chester Pitts, who is recovering from knee surgery and did not play in an exhibition game, and Tyler Polumbus, a former Bronco acquired by Seattle on Aug. 31.
Another position that is up in the air is running back, where Pete Carroll has named Justin Forsett as the starter but doesn't sound like he's all that certain about it, writes the Seattle PI's Greg Johns.
[Julius] Jones started two of the preseason game and Forsett and [Leon] Washington each got one start, but the running game wasn't particularly effective with anyone in the backfield. None of the backs got much room to run behind a retooling line, but Carroll opted for the third-year back out of Cal.
"I thought about it through the weekend," Carroll said. "That's the way we'll go for right now. He may not even carry the ball more than the other guys. But that's just the guy who is going out first. This is a competition that is still open. This is not set in stone. Somebody has to go out first and I want Justin to go out first.
Not only is Julius Jones not the starter, he's not making as much money as he was previously. Johns reports that the pay cut came amid false reports that Jones had been released by the team.
Schneider said he apologized to Jones for the reports getting out, even though he said he didn't know where they originated from. For Jones, that was all he needed to hear.
"Yeah, we talked and he apologized for everything that happened," Jones said. "It's water under the bridge. Done."
Add it all up, and Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer sees trouble coming.
This team doesn't want to win now. It wants to build now. Instead of having an awkward transition year, the Seahawks prefer to move on with players who have an upside. But they can't admit it because they have a season to play and an "Always Compete" mantra to fulfill.
"I think we're a more talented football team," Schneider said. "We're bigger. We're faster. We're absolutely a more talented football team."
In terms of raw talent, maybe. In terms of talent that will translate to victories this season, no way.
Meanwhile, John Morgan of SB Nation's FieldGulls.com calls the roster move parade what it is: "unprecedented".
I can not remember an off-season in recent memory where Seattle has dropped so many players that signed with and became starters or major contributors on other teams. Perhaps the first big Holmgren purge in which Seattle moved Ahman Green, Pete Kendall, Joey Galloway and Sam Adams. That was spread over a couple years. This off-season is unprecedented in Seahawks history.
For everything Seattle Seahawks, check out SB Nation's FieldGulls.com.