2009 Record: 5-11, Third in Division
2009 Playoff Record: Did Not Qualify
Key Losses: Nate Burleson, Patrick Kerney, Walter Jones
Key Additions: Leon Washington, Earl Thomas, Golden Tate, Russell Okung
Alright, I know soon enough I'll be out of the NFC West and I'll be devoid of aviary puns, but for now I'm milking it for all it's worth. The Seahawks were the team to beat between the reigns of Warner in Arizona recently and St. Louis during the Greatest Show on Turf. Following a breakdown during Mike Holmgren's final year as head coach, the Seahawks quickly became one of the lower teams in the pecking order of the NFL, no pun intended, and are looking to rebound after two sub-.500 seasons.
The biggest story for the Seahawks so far, and there have been other big stories, is the acquisition of new coach Pete Carroll. Allow me a mini-rant here, Jim Mora should never have been fired so early on. Jim Mora inherited the Seahawks and had very little control over personnel. He received a 4-12 team and turned it into a 5-11 team, which isn't bad considering most new coaches typically regress during their first season. Furthermore, his much-praised predecessor, Mike Holmgren, was the coach who complied a 4-12 record the season before and who left him the majority of the personnel present. The good news is that Carroll shouldn't be a downgrade, at worst he should mirror Mora's performance. Carroll is a defensive-minded coach, and Seattle's primary weakness has been with its defense. Carroll hasn't been overly impressive with his NFL track record, though, and ironically was fired from the Jets after one season when he led them to a record that was just one game better than the one that got Mora fired from Seattle. It's a safe assumption he'll get at least one season to implement his system, but there could be problems if he doesn't show some immediate improvement. That might be easier said than done, considering the personnel moves he has made this season.
Seattle's offense has two very different sides. Up to this point, it has been predicated on a passing attack led by Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. That's a good thing and a bad thing, seeing as how despite his brilliant performance at times, Hasselbeck has been very prone to injury, and one could argue that said injury has kept the Seahawks from a better record the past two years. That brings the other aspect of the offense to light, the running and blocking. Both areas have been sub-par, and could be blamed in part for the excessive number of hits on Hasselbeck. Given that he sustained 41 sacks and 91 hits, it's no surprise that he missed three games last season. His running backs also did very little to take the pressure off him, amassing a meager four yards per carry and allowing defenses to focus in.
The news going into the season is also very lopsided. The good news is that Carroll has instituted a new zone blocking scheme and signed a handful of talented running backs. They added Leon Washington, a standout for the Jets, to veteran Julius Jones and newcomer Justin Forsett, both of whom have the potential to reach 1,000 yards given the right opportunity. The more likely scenario, though, is that the carries are split between all three, and if they can all hover around 500-700 yards the running game should be sufficient to keep pressure off Hasselbeck. That's no guarantee, though, as all three have questions of either durability or talent. Carroll will have to motivate them to play at their best to get that kind of production out of all three. He's also going to have to get his blocking scheme run very well by his line, which will likely rely heavily on the play of first round pick Russell Okung. Especially dependent on him will be pass defense, if Hasselbeck is hit as often as he was last season he probably won't make it all the way through. There's reason for optimism along the line and in the backfield, but the players must perform at a high level.
While Passing has typically been the strength for Seattle heading into the season, this season it looks like the area that has seen the least improvement. Among all the positions undergoing changes, the most active movement has been at the wide receiver position. Nate Burleson is arguably the biggest loss on the whole team, and his 812 yards won't easily be replaced. Seattle's offense sputtered when it lost Burleson last season, and the pressure will be on a group of veterans and youngsters to pick up the slack. having T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch around certainly helps things, but second round choice Golden Tate is yet another offensive rookie who must live up to high expectations if Seattle is to succeed.
Defensively, the Seahawks are also heavily reliant on rookies. They drafted on of the best safeties in the draft in Earl Thomas, and he will also have to meet expectations if Seattle is going to drag its pass defense up from 31st in the league. They haven't made too many other moves in the secondary, though, and in addition to the production from Thomas they will be relying on increased production from their corners. Their D-line is another area full of questions, last season they ranked last in the league in pass rush and the departure of veteran ends Darryl Tapp and Patrick Kerney won't help matters much. They picked up ends Chris Clemons and Robert Henderson, but comparing sack totals of the four from 2009 amounts to a net loss of four and a half sacks. Again, they will be heavily reliant on late round picks E.J. Wilson and Dexter Davis, and Henderson, who has never taken an NFL snap, for increased production. As far as run defense goes, they were just on the better side of half the league last year, and they should be counting on the continued improvement of young linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Aaron Curry to improve in that aspect or, at worst, remain at that level.
Seattle's strength of schedule will largely be determined by how all of their question marks turn out. Their defense will have to maintain a balance, as they face both pass and run heavy teams, but not a lot of balanced offenses. They do face some heavy pass rushes, however, and they will have to have a very good running game to keep pressure off Hasselbeck. Their swing games are no walks in the park, either, with Chicago fielding Julius Peppers and a high-octane passing system, and New York fielding what figures to be a dominant defense in terms of pass rush and secondary. Their biggest respite comes within their own division, with all of their opponents fielding offenses with shaky pass production. They should be poised to win a minimum of three division games, although San Fran looks to be a major hurdle for them; I wouldn't bet on them beating them in either game or challenging them for the division. They should be extremely competitive with the Cards, though, and have a decent chance of taking second place, with a Wild Card berth being an extreme longshot.
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