CSI: Seahawks a weekly investigation into the fatal flaws of the most recent defeat, with no shortage of explanations for Seattle's demise. The offense moves like an inchworm; the quarterback has weathered the kind of repetitive beatings usually reserved for snare drums and dead horses; and the defense has showed a propensity to behave very much like a turnstile.

Three months of forensic investigation have enumerated any number of ways in which this team is not very good.

Less clear is what has gone right.

Start with rookie tight end John Carlson, who had the first 100-yard receiving day of his career on Thursday in Dallas when he caught six passes for 105 yards. The second-round pick leads the team with 38 receptions, more than any of the six other tight ends chosen in the first three rounds of last year's draft.

After that ... ummmm ... well, cornerback Marcus Trufant has played pretty well. Not that you'd notice, because teams have been content to pick on the guy starting at the other side, whether it's Kelly Jennings or Josh Wilson.

Oh, wait. Almost forgot. There's also kicker Olindo Mare, who is having a legitimately fine season. He has made 19 of his 21 field-goal attempts and has booted 17 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, tied for third in the league. And, yes, the fact that counting up the number of touchbacks constitutes a bright spot says as much as anything about just how bad this season has gone for Seattle, up and down the roster.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has twice as many interceptions (10) as touchdown passes (five); no wide receiver has caught more than 28 balls; and nobody on the defense has more than five sacks or two interceptions.

The sum of those parts is so unambiguously awful that this just might be worse than the team that finished 2-14 in 1992, posting the lowest winning percentage in franchise history.

At least there was something worth watching on that team, because the defense was extraordinary. Cortez Kennedy had 14 sacks and became the second Seahawk to be named the league's defensive player of the year.

The Seahawks held seven of their 16 opponents to fewer than 20 points that season, and everyone understood that the team's record was the result of a historically inept offense. The Seahawks went 11 quarters without scoring a single point during one stretch and finished the year with 140 points, still an NFL record for the fewest in a 16-game season. Of course, that's going to happen when the quarterback carousel consists of Kelly Stouffer, Stan Gelbaugh and Dan McGwire.

But there was optimism moving forward, because the Seahawks had a formidable defense in place and the chance to draft a franchise quarterback the following April.

Just one little problem: The quarterback Seattle picked was Rick Mirer. The Seahawks lost out on their chance at the No. 1 overall pick and Drew Bledsoe because of an overtime victory over Denver.

There is no similar blueprint going forward for Seattle, where the needs can be found on both sides of the ball. Seattle needs more size in the front of its defensive line, and more of a pass rush off the edge as Patrick Kerney will finish his season on injured reserve for the second time in three years. Then there's an aging offense that has a distinct lack of playmakers. Left tackle Walter Jones is 34, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is 33 with a back condition.

Last year, the Seahawks used draft picks on a kicker and a long-snapper. This time, their needs are nowhere nearly so specific after a season in which they've been deficient in almost every category this season. They rank 27th in scoring and 28th in points allowed.

Only one team has gained fewer yards than Seattle this season (Cincinnati). Just three have allowed more yards than the Seahawks.

The question of what has gone wrong this season isn't nearly as hard to answer as what has gone right. After 12 games, the answer is not that much.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com

Dec. 7

New England Patriots @ Seahawks, 1:05 p.m., Ch. 7