Once in the playoffs the Falcons advanced to the NFC Championship game, but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, falling one win shy of making the second Super Bowl appearance in team history. After a successful campaign in his first year with Atlanta the future looked bright for Mora. Unfortunately, he was never able to follow up on the Falcons early production under his guidance. In 2005 their record slipped to 8-8. After finishing 7-9 during the year that followed, owner Arthur Blank decided the team needed to head in another direction as he fired Mora at the end of the season.

Leading up to his position with the Falcons, Mora spent seven years as a member of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff – the first six of which were spent under head coach Steve Mariucci, and the last under Dennis Erickson’s stewardship. Mora began work in San Francisco as the team’s secondary coach in 1997. Their 25 interceptions that season ranked 2nd most in the NFL. The 21 picks they had in the year that followed was the 4th highest total in the league.

Before the 49ers 1999 campaign began, Mora was promoted from the position of secondary coach to that of defensive coordinator. He held the title for five years with mixed results. Although San Francisco’s defense did a productive job of limiting opponents yardage gained against them, they were often 18th or worse in terms of points allowed per game. On a more positive note, San Francisco ranked 7th against the run in 2002 and 9th against the run in 2003. They also recorded 36 takeaways and 42 sacks during Mora’s final season with the franchise.

Prior to his tenure with the 49ers, Mora was a member of his father’s staff in New Orleans where he spent seven years as the team’s secondary coach. The younger Mora first began coaching in the NFL however with the San Diego Chargers in 1985. He spent seven years within the organization working under various titles, but his primary function was coaching members of the secondary. Mora has spent the last two years in Seattle working as both an assistant head coach to the departed Mike Holmgren, and as the team’s secondary coach.

Serving as Mora’s offensive coordinator is Greg Knapp. Knapp has spent the last two seasons under that capacity with the Oakland Raiders, but is familiar with Mora from stints they’ve had together in the past. Mora not only hired Knapp as his offensive coordinator during his head coaching tenure with the Falcons (2004-2006), but the two also worked together for seven seasons in San Francisco (1997-2003). Knapp’s coaching career in the NFL began in 1995 as an offensive quality control coach for the 49ers. He later took on the title of quarterbacks coach before being named the team’s offensive coordinator in 2001.

Quarterbacks: Matt Hasselbeck; Seneca Wallace; Mike Teel (R)

The questions surrounding Matt Hasselbeck won’t be focused on how he performs within Greg Knapp’s West Coast Offense (Hasselbeck has been running Mike Holmgren’s version of it for the past eight years), but rather on the status of his health. He went into the 2008 campaign having all ready been diagnosed with a bulging disc in his lower back. While trying to play through the injury, the veteran QB performed poorly (1216 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) before he was eventually forced to the sidelines for the remainder of the year after 7 games as his condition worsened.

If reports heading into the upcoming season suggest he is good to go, then Hasselbeck could be in for a strong outing this year. The addition of T.J. Houshmanzadeh gives him a legitimate number one target in the passing game to compliment the attributes of tight end John Carlson. If veterans Deion Branch and Nate Burleson can remain healthy it gives Hasselbeck valuable third and fourth options as well.

With this in mind, Hasselbeck can be viewed as somewhat of a sleeper option at QB considering most owners won’t feel comfortable relying on him as a starter after his poor showing a year ago. It’s doubtful he’ll rank among the elite players at the position, but there is a fair chance he’ll produce 3200-3400 yards passing with 20-24 touchdowns. Be sure to pay attention to his health status throughout the preseason though. If his back becomes an issue again, it may be best to let someone else select him on draft day.

Running Backs: Julius Jones; T.J. Duckett; Justin Forsett; Owen Schmitt (FB)

None of the Seahawks running backs are worth targeting in the early rounds of drafts this year. While Knapp may be able to get more production this season from the unit than they had in 2008, it’s hard to envision any of them being better than a third option at the position, or a weak number two if you decide to select two receivers among your first three selections.

Julius Jones will receive the majority of touches out of the backfield, but it’s doubtful he’ll produce any better than 850-950 yards on the ground with 4-5 touchdowns. T.J. Duckett is expected to have an increased workload within Knapp’s offense, but to expect him to rush for more than 450 yards with 4-6 touchdowns of his own is a reach.

Wide Receivers: T.J. Houshmandzadeh; Deion Branch; Nate Burleson; Billy McMullen; Ben Obomanu; Logan Payne; Deon Butler (R)

At wide out, expect T.J. Houshmandzadeh to become a favorite target of Hasselbeck’s rather quickly. He’s a good possession receiver in the same mold as Bobby Engram was with the Seahawks when he was with the team. The difference, however, is that Engram lined up in the slot while Houshmanzadeh will be on the field for every snap. Houshmandzadeh also has a better track record of staying healthy. Like he’s done for the past three years in Cincinnati, expect 90-100 receptions for T.J. to go along with 1000-1200 yards receiving and 7-10 touchdowns.

Behind Houshmandzadeh are veterans Deion Branch and Nate Burleson. Injuries have been a problem for both players in recent years with Branch all ready stating he’ll likely never be the caliber of player he once was due to foot and knee injuries. Between the two of them, provided they remain healthy, they should combine for 1000-1100 receiving yards and 5-7 touchdowns with the nod in statistics going to whoever starts opposite Houshmanzadeh.

View that player as a fourth receiving option in fantasy leagues with the potential of playing as borderline number three. Whichever one lines up in the slot could be a decent pick-up for depth, but not someone you’d want to start often.

Tight Ends: John Carlson; John Owens; Cameron Morrah (R)

John Carlson lived up to his billing as an all around tight end coming out of the draft last year. He was expected to be both a solid blocker and receiver when the Seahawks selected him early in the second round of the 2008 draft, and he did just that.

With Seattle continuing to use a West Coast Offense despite a change at head coach, expect Carlson to improve upon his stats as a rookie when he recorded 55 receptions for 627 yards along with 5 touchdowns. He’ll make for a solid starter in most fantasy leagues, ranking in the group that finishes just below the elite options available on draft day.