Say it with me, Hoosh-man-zaa-deh, or if you’re going by the Persian pronunciation, Hoosh-man-za-dei. Learn it, love it because it seems as though former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. (Touraj) Houshmandzadeh is coming to Seattle for a long time.
If you don’t know by now, he has been a large part of one of the league’s most lethal passing attacks of the past four years.
Always the sidekick never the star, he now has an opportunity to step up and become the focal point in another one of the league’s better passing offenses. The question is, will he be good enough to be number one in Seattle?
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Coming into the NFL out of Oregon State as a seventh-round draft pick in 2001, Houshmandzadeh spent his first two seasons as a bench receiver and part-time returner. He spent almost all his third year on injured reserve.
His breakout year came in 2004 when starter Peter Warrick went down with an injury and quarterback Carson Palmer was taking the helm as a starter for the first time.
On a whole, Houshmandzadeh’s statistics are modest. His only Pro Bowl season came in 2007 when he tied for the league-high in receptions with 112. He also finished with a career-high 12 touchdown catches.
However, that was one of only two seasons in which he managed more than 1,000 yards receiving. Part of that is due to the pairing with Chad Johnson, who in Houshmandzadeh’s span as a starter, went to the Pro Bowl four times, including two first-team All Pro selections.
Anytime you evaluate a number-two wide receiver, you come to a chicken before the egg argument. Was Houshmandzadeh’s success a product of his star receiver partner or was it in spite of him.
In 2007, he seemed to be finally eclipsing Johnson as the Bengals’ number-one receiver, but injuries slowed him, and Johnson finished with almost 300 more receiving yards, albeit with four fewer touchdowns.
Last season, Houshmandzadeh was the Bengals’ number-one receiver after Johnson appeared to have a total collapse, having the worst season of his career since his rookie year.
Still, despite a lack of flashy numbers, Houshmandzadeh will have plenty of receiver talent to work alongside in Seattle with Deion Branch, Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu.
Matt Hasselbeck likes to spread the ball around, and Houshmandzadeh’s numbers are likely to take a dip unless injuries decimate the position once again.
He won’t be the big-play receiver in the offense (13.4 yards per reception being the highest in his career with only 9.8 las season), but he will provide Hasselbeck a big target with steady hands (only five dropped passes last season) and the ability to get consistently open.
With these attributes, Houshmandzadeh seems tailor-made for a West Coat offense, which is likely why Tim Ruskell went after him so hard.
Houshmandzadeh will be 37 at the end of his contract, but as long as injuries don’t become too big of an issue, he should be a steady contributor for the entire length of the deal, as his speed isn’t why he’s a terrific receiver.
In a nutshell, he’s Bobby Engram with more size and more speed (bye bye Engram?), which should make him a perfect number-one receiver for Seattle, as he's proven to be a better possession receiver than Branch, though it remains to be seen in Seattle.
Read more about the ramifications of his signing here.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
