The most time I spend with fantasy football is telling people I can’t help them with their picks because I don’t spend time on fantasy football. Still, I know that’s part of our constituency. I just saw ESPN.com’s list of the top 300 fantasy picks for 2007 and it’s worth discussing in a Seahawks context … fantasy or not. It seems obvious that the performance of all these scorers is heavily dependent on the health and development of the piecework offensive line. The same five guys started the first 15 games in the 2005 Super Bowl season. Last season, eight combinations of starters were employed to deal with injuries and ineffectiveness. Sacks went up by 11, rushing yards went down by 500, and scoring dropped more than a touchdown per game. For fantasy players, it was disaster. Many questions still exist up front, and it’s a good topic for another day.

ESPN’s listings of Seahawks are these: Shaun Alexander, No. 5; Matt Hasselbeck, 51; Deion Branch, 82; Mo Morris, 183; Josh Brown, 199; Nate Burleson, 221; Marcus Pollard, 240, Seneca Wallace, 281.

Those ahead of Alexander are Tomlinson, Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson and Frank Gore … a foursome that rushed for 783 yards against the Seahawks last season. Alexander’s foot injury last season caused his output to drop by 21 touchdowns and almost 1,000 rushing yards. In minicamps he’s looked healthy, fit and even playful. This is just an interpretation of all that, of course, but he seems re-energized. Even so, he’s going nowhere if the line doesn’t stay healthy and productive. In camps, Shaun was still not impressive catching the ball, a hole in his game that costs him touches. A tangent to explore on another day is to seek an explanation for the diminished receptions of a back who was so dangerous on screen passes and put together seasons with 44 catches (’01), 59 catches (’02) and 42 catches (’03) before nosediving to 23 catches in ’04, 15 in ’05 and 12 in ’06. Scheme? Motivation? Focus? How much more versatile is this offense with a featured back that catches 59 passes rather than 12?

Hasselbeck dealt with a bad shoulder, bad ribs and a bad knee … at least those were what we heard about. There had to be more. He was hit and hurried, and was further hindered by the lack of a diversionary rushing attack and injuries among the receivers. Coming off left-shoulder surgery, Hasselbeck is deemed ahead of schedule and is expected to be back at full speed come training camp. His seasonal productions of 26, 22 and 24 passing touchdowns prior to last season’s dip to 18 suggest that the problems were an aberration attached to the other factors. I remember noting several times during games last season that some bad throws and misjudgments looked like a case of him trying to do too much.

The receivers are the most interesting part of this. Darrell Jackson and Jerramy Stevens scored 14 touchdowns. Their departures leaves many scoring chances to be spread around to others. It’s logical to assume that Branch, having been with the team a season now, will likely improve on last season’s total of four TDs. He’s been moved to flanker, which seems a more natural position. Hackett emerged last season as a clutch receiver late in games. He’ll only get more chances now. Burleson disappointed last year, playing the early part of the season with a thumb injury. I think he’s going to have to show more in camp and preseason to earn more trust. Stevens’ replacement at tight end, Marcus Pollard, is 35 years old, but still seems to move well. Holmgren has called him a 45-50 catch guy. If so, he could be a sleeper pick.

One player not making the top 300 could be a real oversight: Bobby Engram. Engram is 34, and coming off a season limited by health problems. In minicamps, he looked fit and back up to playing weight. He’s got a ton of savvy and Hasselbeck’s trust. It’s hard to say where he might fit in at a crowded position, but if there’s a real sleeper among the receivers I’d say it’s Ben Obomanu, a seventh-rounder a year ago. He’s got good size, seems to maintain his speed through his cuts and just keeps making nice catches.