The question you presented about the most under-rated and over-rated Seahawks players is a tough one. It’s serious but entirely subjective and without context. Whose ratings? What criteria? Value? Production per contract dollar? Linemen have no stats … great cover cornerbacks may get few interceptions … second effort can’t be quantified … playing hurt might be good for the team, but can make a player seem like he’s under-performing.

So you’re putting me on shaky ground. Pure opinion. But you asked for it so I’ll give it a whack. I’ve got my opinions … I’d like to hear yours. For my purposes, the base-line “rating” will be based solely on a general sense of how much public/fan/media attention players seem to generate. (See … entirely seat-of-the-pants analysis). Today, under-rated, tomorrow, over-rated.

Some guys seem chronically under-rated and overlooked to some extent. Chuck Darby is undersized at his position but a battler; Bobby Engram is not the highest-profile receiver, but clutch; Chris Gray has never been to a Pro Bowl, but he started 121 straight games for these guys; Mack Strong was with the team 12 seasons before he made a Pro Bowl.

Seneca Wallace stepped in during Matt Hasselbeck’s injury and ended up with a higher passer rating than the starting quarterback. Guys like Will Heller, Josh Parry, Tom Ashworth, Maurice Morris, Jordan Babineaux and others came off the bench last year and performed well enough that the team stayed afloat despite a rash of injuries.

But I’m going to go beyond that group and pinpoint a few specific guys, in no particular order.

--Josh Brown. Yes, the team franchised him, and he’s become one of the most-recognizable players on the team. But he didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year after making four game-winning field goals. Several of his six missed field goals were blocked, but they count against his percentage. He had a long of 54 yards. All of this was while breaking in a new snapper and holder, which is a major disruption of a mechanism that requires critical timing. His kickoffs were deeper and his positional kicking more precise. Any less reliable and this team doesn’t make the post-season.

--Ryan Plackemeier. Nobody pays much attention to punters until they shank a few. This kid came in as a rookie and had a few exciting moments, but was fourth in the NFL in gross punting with a 45-yard average. Generally the net totals are more important, but during much of the season the Hawk coverage units were comprised of guys off the street, which didn’t help those totals. Plackemeier shanked an 18-yarder in the playoff game against Chicago, but he was under heavy pressure and it might have been blocked had he gone through with the full followthrough. The week before, he adroitly handled a pair of low snaps to get punts away against the Cowboys. The much-overlooked skill that added to Plackemeier’s value was as a holder. During that Dallas playoff game, remember that it was Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo who dropped a hold … not Ryan Plackemeier.

--Leroy Hill. Hill had 92 tackles last year and led the team in tackles in the post-season. He was among those who played with injuries last year, and his sack total dipped from 7.5 to 2. He was used differently last season, though. I would contend he’s under-rated because he plays alongside Julian Peterson and Lofa Tatupu, guys who have been to the Pro Bowl.

--Rocky Bernard. The Hawks’ rush defense took a beating last year, no question. But with Marcus Tubbs out, Bernard was relied upon heavily in the middle. His totals were not attention-getting, as he had 35 tackles, and his sack numbers dropped from 8.5 to 3.5. But Bernard limped through much of the season with different injuries, including a foot problem that landed him on the injury report just about every week in the second half. Talk from some of the staff and players was that he was a lot more banged up than anybody thought, but he kept showing up and playing through it, earning a great deal of respect for his effort.