Great expectations

Seahawks hope to catch Broncos in AFC West

Middle man: Sean Dawkins will look to work the middle of defenses in hopes of getting Joey Galloway the deep ball. Vincent Laforet/Allsport

The Seattle Seahawks opened their training camp in Cheney, Wash. on July 29. The Seahawks haven't made the playoffs since 1988, but enter this year with great expectations for the new season, with head coach Mike Holmgren taking over for Dennis Erickson. Here are a few questions from Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z, followed by CNNSI.com's perspective on some of the issues facing Seattle this season. SI's season preview will be posted August 24.

1) Mike Holmgren coached Joe Montana, Steve Young and Brett Favre. Can he work his magic with Jon Kitna, or will ex-Jet Glenn Foley be pushing him in October?

2) What happens to the 27th-ranked defense, loaded with talent but prone to mistakes, now that Holmgren's coordinator, Fritz Shurmur, is, sadly, battling cancer and out of the picture?

3) Optimists say this is the year the Hawks can snatch the division away from Denver. Is it too much to expect from Holmgren, taking a team that's been out of the playoffs for 10 years and toppling the two-time Super Bowl champ?

4) Is Sean Dawkins really the perfect complement to Joey Galloway, as everyone is predicting, or is he still the catch-one, drop-one receiver he was in Indy and New Orleans?

The Seahawks should make the playoffs if: Jon Kitna can approach Brett Favre's first season as a quarterback under Mike Holmgren. Favre threw for 3,227 yards and 18 TDs in his first season under Holmgren in 1992. The comparisons between Kitna and Favre start with their mobility and arm strength, and continue with their aloof manners and raw athletic ability. It may take Kitna some time to feel comfortable in Holmgren's quick-thinking offense, but with the many offensive weapons the Seahawks have, a wild-card berth seems likely this season.

Pivotal games: Nov. 1 at Green Bay; Jan. 2 at NY Jets. The first game to jump out at you when looking at the Seahawks schedule is their visit to Green Bay on Monday night in Week 8. Mike Holmgren is such a competitor that he would love to beat his former team, and former boss Ron Wolf, as much as any other team on their schedule in 1999. The regular-season finale in the Meadowlands against the Jets will certainly have playoff ramifications for these two teams -- the Seahawks will probably be fighting for wildcard positioning, while the Jets could possibly be playing for home field advantage for a playoff game.

On the hot seat: Sean Dawkins was signed as a free agent from New Orleans in the off-season to be the No. 2 receiver opposite Joey Galloway. Dawkins should improve from the three touchdowns he caught with the Saints in 1998, but he will often be asked to go across the middle and do the dirty work, so that the Seahawks can spring their speedster Galloway for the deep ball. If Dawkins can't fill the role, the second receiver spot will revert back to Mike Pritchard, who performed admirably in that role the last two years.

Up-and-comers: Ahman Green led the NFL in rushing during the exhibition games last year. He will maintain his role as the second running back behind Ricky Watters, but he should get more chances this season catching the ball out of the backfield, and spelling Watters after long drives. Holmgren feels most comfortable when he has more than one running back to count on, and he hopes that Green can fill the role that Dorsey Levens filled in 1996 for the Packers, when Levens spelled Edgar Bennett, but still managed to gain 566 yards rushing, catch 31 passes, and score 10 touchdowns combined running and receiving.