Ready or not

At a time of year that is all about fresh starts, the Seattle Seahawks sure have a lot of finality as they open another training camp today.

It’s the last training camp at the team’s Kirkland facility. It’s the last training camp of the Mike Holmgren era.

It’s also the last time for a few months that any of that will matter to the Seahawks.

As of this morning, when the players and coaches take the field for their first practice, the Seahawks will only concern themselves with the 2008 season.

Seattle is picked by most prognosticators as the team to beat in the NFC West, but the Seahawks are a far cry from ready to fly.

Among the biggest question marks as Seattle heads into another season of high expectations:

•The running game? What is certain is that this is no longer Shaun Alexander’s show. The 30-year-old former MVP was given his walking papers in the spring and the Seahawks are now trying to figure out how to replace him. Veteran guard Mike Wahle was added to shore up the offensive line, and running backs Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett were added to the mix. Jones and Maurice Morris are the most likely candidates to replace Alexander as the starting halfback.

•The offensive line? Wahle is not the only change along the offensive front. New position coach Mike Solari hopes to get things back to the level they were in 2005, when Seattle had one of the best running games in football. The biggest factor in how this unit performs could be the improvement shown by center Chris Spencer, who is coming off shoulder surgery, and right guard Rob Sims, who was so inconsistent last season that the team brought in Wahle to take his spot on the left side.

•The wideouts? Bobby Engram reported to camp on Thursday, which takes away one major question mark. But the team is still without starter Deion Branch, who could miss multiple games in September while he recovers from off-season knee surgery. The unit also lost D.J. Hackett to free agency, so one of the younger receivers, including Ben Obomanu, Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne or Jordan Kent, could earn significant playing time with a good camp.

•Tight end? As of Thursday night, rookie John Carlson was one of two Seahawks not in attendance. Carlson sure could use the reps, seeing as how he has the inside track on the starting job. Veterans Jeb Putzier and Will Heller will try to make the Seahawks forget about Carlson’s potential.

•Missing rookies? Carlson and first-round pick Lawrence Jackson, a defensive end from USC, were still unsigned as of Thursday night. Recent Seahawks draft picks who don’t show up for the first day of camp have had pretty rough starts – Lamar King, Chris McIntosh, Jerramy Stevens and Marcus Tubbs among them. Then again, 2005 second-round pick Lofa Tatupu missed a couple days of training camp and picked things up pretty quick.

•The kicking game? Josh Brown took his clutch right leg to St. Louis, so now the job is open for competition. Veteran Olindo Mare has the experience, but rookie Brandon Coutu has a strong enough leg to win the position. This should be one of the most heated battles of training camp.

•The inconsistent defense? If Seattle’s D plays all 16 games like the 2007 unit played its nine home games, the Seahawks will have one of the best defenses in the NFL. That’s easier said than done, considering how much the defense struggled in road games last season. It’s a good start that the Seahawks have all 11 starters back again.

While training camp opens in Kirkland, the schedule calls for practices to move over to Renton on Aug. 18.