THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Nov.27, 2013

Fitting isn't it that just a few days from Thanksgiving, the Seattle Seahawks locker room has been infested with a few turkeys.

Don't get me wrong, they'll recover from this - but are you kidding me right now?

FIRST OFF, it was announced on Sunday that Seattle backup cornerback Walter Thurmond was about to be suspended due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

That stuff happens.

Seems to a lot more in Seattle, with this is the sixth player to be suspended for it in the last two years, but Thurmond will miss the next four games.

Then on Monday came possibly the biggest punch as cornerback Brandon Browner tested positive for marijuana and will be suspended for a year.

No big deal right, unless you count this Monday's game against the New Orleans Saints and the Dec. 8 game vs. the San Francisco 49ers as big games. Who'd want to be at full strength against those two anyway?

To listen to other fans, they'd tell you that they've got depth and the next guy up is just as good.

Browner likely won't return to the team as his contract is up at the end of this season, but with Thurmond, they'll need him back eventually if they still want to finish the season in New York for the Super Bowl. Keep in mind, Browner missed the final four games of the regular season last year, so apparently he didn't learn his lesson to begin with.

Thurmond will be eligible to return to the team on Dec. 23 and be able to play in the regular season finale against St. Louis, but by that time, they should know where they'll be heading in the postseason, if anywhere.

FOR AS much as the news of the Seahawks felt like a punch in the gut, hearing of Mariners president Chuck Armstrong announcing his retirement, effective in January, might have been a breath of fresh air.

On the one hand, Armstrong built the team into a contender since taking over in 1983, with a few playoff appearances in between.

He helped the team transition from the Kingdome to Safeco Field, giving fans an outdoor venue to watch professional sports in Seattle until CenturyLink Field was built across the street.

But in the "what have you done for us lately" day and age of baseball, the Mariners hasn't reached the playoffs in well over a decade, and haven't contended for the playoffs in quite a while either.

Armstrong had a good run, but maybe it was time that the two parted ways.

In order to contend, the team will have to sign at least three to four free agent hitters, just to replace guys like Raul Ibanez, Michael Morse and Franklin Gutierrez, who are now free agents.

Who knows, maybe things will work out for the best.

Right now, I just feel like everyone else does after a Thanksgiving meal.

Tired and grumpy with the whole situation.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.