It is pretty clear we need to ratchet our expectations back

[TwistedHusky]

That SB loss, was probably as good as we will be for a while.

Given what this team is doing and how the coaching staff is producing - it just does not make sense to count this team as a contender.

Admittedly, I didn't see them making the playoffs - mainly because the lack of pass rush (which ended up hurting us all year anyway) and the lack of OL.

At some point, you don't have the horses.

A lot of teams want to go to the SB, but it is ridiculous to think every team has a shot at it. And given what we know about the team, the holes, the weaknesses and proclivities of some members of the coaching staff - it probably was not reasonable to expect it either.

I think a lot of us bought into the "Wilson Magic" but some of that was created by defenses keying in on a once in a decade runningback, that allowed our QB a lot less people focusing on him. Wilson is still spectacular, but without the other threats and without an OL (or a coach that adjusts the playcalling to account for the weaknesses of the opposing defense)...asking Wilson to heroball us to the SB is kind of ridiculous.

Think back to the Packers teams where Rodgers kept them a threat but watching them you knew they really were not a serious threat to make the SB. Having a great QB is really important but it isn't enough, and to be fair - Wilson was pretty injured this year which might account for his below par performance even when supposedly healthy.

This is a team that needs to fill a lot of holes. And there are teams all over the NFL that have to fill holes. The idea we can just easily fill the gaps, as other teams don't is probably unreasonable.

We looked like a wildcard team all year and ended up looking like one in the playoffs. Because we are one.

 

[Siouxhawk]

So what I get out of this post is that we're optimistic for the future. Here here!

 

[2_0_6]

Critical injuries to key players on both sides of the ball, and abismal Oline play would make any Super Bowl contender look like trash.

In years past we could rely on the "next man up" mantra, but we aren't as deep right now. We had an embarrassment of riches that damn near every team wanted a slice of. We are a playoff team this year, and we will be next year as well. Book it.

 

[sutz]

I expect to be in the playoffs again next season, with a shot at going all the way. You lower yours all you want. Mine remain high.

 

[Seymour]

You are as good as your weakest link. This year that was too weak to get past 8. Next year? who knows but just hoping it improves without a new plan and direction is a very disappointing approach. I for one am growing restless watching all this talent coming up short lately though.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

Critical injuries to key players on both sides of the ball, and abismal Oline play would make any Super Bowl contender look like trash.

In years past we could rely on the "next man up" mantra, but we aren't as deep right now. We had an embarrassment of riches that damn near every team wanted a slice of. We are a playoff team this year, and we will be next year as well. Book it.

Yep.

We are a fan base beginning to learn how to live with high expectations. This is the first year that we've had expectations to win it all (as almost what seemed like a given from game one). Between injuries in key, critical positions, and an offensive line that did not come close to those expectations, we severely underachieved. We underachieved to the point where many fans are calling this the most disappointing season in the history of the franchise.

But duplicate this season next year, minus the play of the offensive line, and minus those key injuries, and we'll be talking Super Bowl all over again, and much more realistically. At the core, this team is still one of the top few in the league, and will remain so for at least the next few years.

As fans fairly unaccustomed to this new-found perennial success, we're still figuring it out. But don't worry; as long as Pete and Co. take care of business, we'll be like Patriots fans soon enough. :twisted:

 

[Largent80]

Instead of saying WE you should say YOU.

Everyone has their own take, and not only is this a game, but there are too many pieces that need to fall into place just to get to the SB. Fans here are so spoiled. Every thread has some mention of firing someone even after a very successful season that saw us overcome injury after injury, yet still have a very good winning record and win a playoff game.

For years we have deserved this team and now we have it. Just enjoy the ride, and quit bitching about every single nuance.

 

[Popeyejones]

I think there's really two-steps to winning a super bowl:

1) Making it to the playoffs.

2) Getting hot (or just lucky) at the right time and then winning the Super Bowl.

The Packers this year, if they win, are a great example of this: they were trash for the first half of the season, got into the playoffs and have been really striking on all cylinders at the right time.

It's the same story with the Steelers, who lost four straight from weeks 6 through 10 (with a bye in there), but got hot again and went into the playoffs on a 7 game win streak.

The Seahawks this year were the same as the Packers and Steelers for #1 (they made it to the playoffs) but the reverse of them for #2: they just weren't playing well when the playoffs came around (they lost to the under .500 Cardinals and beat the 2-14 9ers by two friggin points in the last two weeks of the season).

As far as expectations go, I think #1 is the important part and #2 is pretty unpredictable and random.

As for #1, the NFC West is so ungodly awful right now we might as well just give the Seahawks a playoff birth for the next two years at a minimum. That means it really comes down to the chance of #2, so I don't see any reason to ratchet back expectations unless someone thought the Seahawks were somehow exempt from #2, which nobody really is.

 

[Sox-n-Hawks]

Yeah... because winning the NFC West and making it to a divisional playoff game is a failed season. Newsflash even the greatest players DO NOT win every superbowl... heck, rarely do they win 10+ games a season. Winners find ways to win games. RW is doing just that. He's still a young QB playing behind an incompetent line. There will be off season changes to fix it... and I promise, there will be struggles next season. EVERY team has struggles. Even the best of the best.

Joe Montana: 16 seasons... 4 Superbowl Rings (6 10+win seasons)
Tom Brady: 14 seasons... 4 Superbowl Rings (14 10+win seasons)
Troy Aikman: 12 seasons... 3 superbowl rings (5 10+win seasons)
Russell wilson: 5 seasons... 1 superbowl ring (5 10+win seasons)

 

[Sports Hernia]

In my opinion as stated above Seattle will make the playoffs the next few years by default. The 2 weakest links are the o-line and the coordinators. Until those 2 things are fixed, I don't see anymore deep playoff runs. We no longer have the depth of talent to overcome coaching deficiencies.

 

[Overseasfan]

If your expectations are SB or bust then you're setting yourself up for disappointment, even Patriots fans would have a hard time with expectations as high as that.

Look at the PCJS era:
70-41-1 regular season record in 7 years (average of 10 wins a year)
Made the play-offs 6 out of 7 times
9-5 play-off record (never one and done)
4 division titles
2 NFCCG wins
1 Superbowl

How in the world does this sound disappointing to anyone? If the next 7 years produced similar numbers I'd be incredibly happy and grateful.

 

[Sox-n-Hawks]

If your expectations are SB or bust then you're setting yourself up for disappointment, even Patriots fans would have a hard time with expectations as high as that.

Look at the PCJS era:
70-41-1 regular season record in 7 years (average of 10 wins a year)
Made the play-offs 6 out of 7 times
9-5 play-off record (never one and done)
4 division titles
2 NFCCG wins
1 Superbowl

How in the world does this sound disappointing to anyone? If the next 7 years produced similar numbers I'd be incredibly happy and grateful.

:ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto:

 

[Boycie]

I expect to be in the playoffs again next season, with a shot at going all the way. You lower yours all you want. Mine remain high.

Exactly! Shoot for the moon,.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

We were three Hauschka misses and a Kearse foot away from being the #1 seed. I don't see the need for pessimism.

 

[Sparkchaser737]

If your expectations are SB or bust then you're setting yourself up for disappointment, even Patriots fans would have a hard time with expectations as high as that.

Look at the PCJS era:
70-41-1 regular season record in 7 years (average of 10 wins a year)
Made the play-offs 6 out of 7 times
9-5 play-off record (never one and done)
4 division titles
2 NFCCG wins
1 Superbowl

How in the world does this sound disappointing to anyone? If the next 7 years produced similar numbers I'd be incredibly happy and grateful.

:ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto: :ditto:

This sums it up for me as well. I'm sold on the coaching staff because I believe in what PC has brought. The only question mark I have there is Richard.

If the Seahawks hit a few players in F/A and in the draft, why wouldn't they be expected to make a deep run next year.

The injury bug hit this team hard this year. Wilson, Rawls, Prosise, Willson, Bennett, Chancelor, Lockett, Thomas, Sherman, plus others. Most teams loosing or having injuries to those kind of impact players would have rolled over. Instead this team made it to the divisional round.

I guess I'm not sold on sending PC down the road yet, as some have said. This is still a great team with tons of talent on the roster. When the Seahawks are 100% healthy with the team they choose to field, and get curb stomped by another team. Count me in on different expectations.

 

[Hawks46]

Injuries are always a key factor and we were just snake bit this year.

So OP (talking posts here) is typically negative...and I tend to try to be realistic, which sometimes could be negative. I get it, but this seems overly pessimistic to me.

Our QB was hurt most of the season. Something was bothering him all season as his deep balls were typically shorter than usual.

Brand spanking new OL. Center: 1st year (position). LG: 1st year (position), RG: Rookie, RT: 2nd year (but not a lot of experience coming in), LT: raw raw raw rookie with literally no previous experience. All are very athletic. It's not a stretch to think they could improve just from game experience, time in system and continuity. A league average OL and this team is the 2 seed going away.

Thomas hurt. That's huge for us.
Kam hurt. We've seen it before, and it's never pretty.
Bennett hurt. His first time, and it gave us a chance to play other guys. Our pass rush wasn't hit too badly but our run defense suffered a bit.

We also had a lot of good happen, including the return of Jimmy Graham. Keep in mind, we had a bunch of internet doctors on this site proclaiming that he would never fully recover, because Victor Cruz. I've read posts here during the season claiming that Graham has lost a step and looked slow. All he did was go out and get the highest yards per catch in his career. Slow indeed.

Was last season disappointing ? yes, and not fun to watch at times. Just seeing us get to 10 wins and make the playoffs in a year where our starting QB was playing with multiple injuries is a win to damn near every team out there. Yet there's still reason for optimism going forward.

 

[kidhawk]

I expect to be in the playoffs again next season, with a shot at going all the way. You lower yours all you want. Mine remain high.

Here Here :irishdrinkers:

 

[Uncle Si]

Who is "we?"

Do posts like that make people feel better about themselves? You want to dial back expectations then feel free. Seems condescending to assume "we" all should though...

My expectations haven't changed for this team since 2004. Win the Division, make the playoffs, see what happens. Anyone expecting Super Bowls need not look any further than this years Panthers and Broncos or last year's Patriots and Seahawks.

 

[AROS]

I expect to be in the playoffs again next season, with a shot at going all the way. You lower yours all you want. Mine remain high.

Here Here :irishdrinkers:

Here! Here! Here! :irishdrinkers: :irishdrinkers: :irishdrinkers:

(Sorry, just felt like piling on the positivity pile. )

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Who is "we?"

Do posts like that make people feel better about themselves? You want to dial back expectations then feel free. Seems condescending to assume "we" all should though...

My expectations haven't changed for this team since 2004. Win the Division, make the playoffs, see what happens. Anyone expecting Super Bowls need not look any further than this years Panthers and Broncos or last year's Patriots and Seahawks.

Sensible approach, but I think most people here, myself included saw our roster healthy and loaded in the spring and during training camp and had higher expectations and aspirations than just making the playoffs again.

So I agree with the OP, I won't have those same expectations next year. Too many holes and internal issues going on right now to expect anything more than competing for an NFC west title, but that's as far as I'll go.