Will this team be better than last year?

[Kaiser]

Team chemistry hasnt been too upset on D, and whats wrong with harvin, baldwin, kearse at WR? Just because some folks left doesnt mean the ship is sinking. The O-line though, uh...good thing miller stayed?

 

[MysterMatt]

How is the O improved? We've lost arguably our best WR and have nothing but conjecture at RT. A healthy Harvin will be nice, but he comes with risk. Sorry, the O, so far, has taken a step backwards. A lot of the "ifs" like Bowie/Bailey are going to have to step up, and WR is likely going to be thin going into the draft. Hopefully we'll get one of the promising big WRs, but we'll see.

As for the D? It's also gone backwards with the loss of at least two key components, McDonald and Clemons. Spare me the tripe about Scruggs, etc, those are just bodies who've yet to really prove anything. I'm disappointed we didn't sign Allen, but it isn't the end of the world. The way I look at that is that having him would have given us one of the best D's of all time, but now we're just really good. It will be interesting to see how we address the Leo.

My point isn't to be a doom and gloomer, but I don't see how anyone can objectively look at the roster as it stands today and say its done anything but declined a bit. I completely understand the cap situation and the need to be responsible as we're on the verge of signing 3 critical players (Wilson, Sherman, Thomas) but simple math shows we aren't as good. That isn't to say that our team now sucks, as it doesn't, but we're just not as good ON PAPER and I, for one, am not interested in Pollyanna views that our depth will suddenly become upper-level starters.

My theory is this: Schneider will certainly work toward maintaining a quality roster, but he's looking at the 2014 season as a small step backward before making another Super Bowl run in 2015. This year is sort of a "strategic retreat and regroup" year. If I'm right, it sort of bugs me but I also think its the right thing to do.

I won't say we're as good, because we aren't, but being objective, we are still a very strong super bowl contender with the team as it sits now. Let's look at our losses thus far

Offense: Tate, Giacomini & McQuistan gone

Giacomini and McQuistan vs. Bailey and Bowie is pretty much a fairly even swap. We're down some depth here, but as far as starting lineup talent, we should be fairly equal. Remember, McQuistan played a lot for Okung, and with Okung back at LT he didn't really see all that much time playing through the playoffs. Giacomini is a solid guy, but Bowie got to build some experience last season when he was thrown to the fire when Breno was hurt. I think we even out here.

Yes Tate is gone, but we still have Harvin, Baldwin & Kearse to round out our starting WRs. Again we lack enough depth here, but as far as starting talent goes, having Harvin more is a plus and should more than make up for the absence of Tate. There is still time to bring in a tall WR either through FA or the draft, and that is something I'd like to see, but it's not really much declined from last season.

Defensively we lost Clemons/Bryant. I think the rotation of Clemons/Avril/Bennett was a luxury we couldn't afford to continue with at full price. Bennett and Avril will likely get more snaps now that Clemons is gone, but I don't see much decline at all in the pass rush department. As far as the run game, this is where Bryant was a HUGE help, but we have several young guys that didn't get a lot of time last year, that I believe will step up. I don't see that as much of a decline, although there may be a bit of a learning curve.

Overall, I think we have probably regressed just slightly, but not so much as to have given up the role as the team to beat. We still should be favorites for our division and the Super Bowl with the team as is, and we still have a draft and free agency to go.

Keep in mind that I'm not saying we should have broke the bank to keep any player, but:

There is a reason Giacomini started immediately upon his return: Bowie sucks at pass protection and didn't really show any improvement. If he's the answer, he's a step backward. He and Bailey give one hope, but they aren't as good as what we lost. Our OL depends on "ifs" at this point.

Kearse makes some big plays, but then totally disappears for games at a time. He's a really good 4th WR and a gamer, but c'mon.

If you think Clemons wasn't a big contributor in the pass rush, I think you're knowledgeable enough to know better. He put on consistent pressure can kept things contained well on his side. The Leo is a big question mark at this point.

I agree that we are still really good, but the Rams and Cards at least are catching up, and we got by the niners by the skin of our teeth. I agree completely that we can still contend for the SB, but at this point there are too many "what ifs" to say we're anything other than regressed in some very important positions. We'll just have to see.

 

[Frozenropers]

Waaaaaaay to early to answer this question. As of right now, March 26th, I'd say we are a slightly worse off.

Full season of Harvin, offsets loss of Tate, IMO. Will be interesting to see how Chris Matthews does as a big body receiver added to the mix. I can see them adding a high draft pick here. Decent depth.......Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Lockette, Matthews.

O-Line is decent, however big question mark at RT and no depth behind Okung at LT. I can see them adding a high draft pick here. Ideally a RT who has the skills to fill in at LT too.

LT: Okung
LG: Carpenter, Bailey
C: Unger, Jeanpierre, Van Roten
RG: Sweezy, Schilling, Smith
RT: Bowie, Hauptmann

On the D-line, Avril moving to RDE to replace Clemmons, Bennett spending more time at LDE along with Scruggs. Still decent depth on the interior, Mebane, McDaniel, Hill, Williiams, Smith, Brooks. Time for the red shirts to step up and fill the added depth. Starters are still solid.

 

[volsunghawk]

How is the O improved? We've lost arguably our best WR and have nothing but conjecture at RT. A healthy Harvin will be nice, but he comes with risk. Sorry, the O, so far, has taken a step backwards. A lot of the "ifs" like Bowie/Bailey are going to have to step up, and WR is likely going to be thin going into the draft. Hopefully we'll get one of the promising big WRs, but we'll see.

As for the D? It's also gone backwards with the loss of at least two key components, McDonald and Clemons. Spare me the tripe about Scruggs, etc, those are just bodies who've yet to really prove anything. I'm disappointed we didn't sign Allen, but it isn't the end of the world. The way I look at that is that having him would have given us one of the best D's of all time, but now we're just really good. It will be interesting to see how we address the Leo.

My point isn't to be a doom and gloomer, but I don't see how anyone can objectively look at the roster as it stands today and say its done anything but declined a bit. I completely understand the cap situation and the need to be responsible as we're on the verge of signing 3 critical players (Wilson, Sherman, Thomas) but simple math shows we aren't as good. That isn't to say that our team now sucks, as it doesn't, but we're just not as good ON PAPER and I, for one, am not interested in Pollyanna views that our depth will suddenly become upper-level starters.

My theory is this: Schneider will certainly work toward maintaining a quality roster, but he's looking at the 2014 season as a small step backward before making another Super Bowl run in 2015. This year is sort of a "strategic retreat and regroup" year. If I'm right, it sort of bugs me but I also think its the right thing to do.

I would agree that the team has taken a step back, but with the understanding that we had ridiculous depth in 2013. Seriously, being as stacked as we were in 2013 doesn't happen very often at all to any team in the league. It's better to view last season as a bit of an anomaly then as a standard to which we should hold all other seasons. Fortunately, the team followed through on that unique situation and won the championship.

With that said, we take it on faith every year that players will step up and perform at the level we hope they will. That's why I don't like to automatically discount the potential contributions of guys like Scruggs, Hill, etc. Last season, we took it on faith that Avril and Bennett would deliver on the promise they showed when we brought them in. Luckily, they did. Similarly, the team has seemed high on Scruggs (for example) and Shead and several others. We should expect those guys to see significant playing time this season. The question is whether they can fill in for their departed teammates and to what degree. Maybe it's not as good. Maybe - just maybe - it turns out even better. Impossible to say. You talk about McDonald being a key component that we lost. Remember that we actually CUT him before the season and only brought him back after Week 1. Prior to the season he just gave us, he hadn't shown himself to be an irreplaceable, key component. He was just part of the rotation. What caused the boost in performance? Chip on the shoulder? Coaching? And if it was one of those things (or a combination), why is it Pollyanna-ish to think that those things might manifest in a guy like Hill or Williams?

I'm hopeful that we will see scenarios play out like we saw with McDonald and Kearse this past season. When given the chance to make an impact, they were able to do so. In our first 8 games (when we had Rice), Kearse notched 8 catches and while the Carolina TD was a game-winner and he did some nice things against Indy, it wasn't a huge impact. But in the last half of the season after Rice went down, he double his catches and began making a bigger impact. Is it tripe to think that we've got players on the roster right now who can step up like that at other positions?

As for 2014, I don't think the team is in any way looking at it as a step-back season. It might end up that way, but I don't think they're interested in wasting a season of Thomas, Sherman, Wilson, etc.'s prime years on anything less than the goal of winning the SB again. I'd be surprised if anything that's occurred to this point in the offseason has been a major shock to the FO and didn't represent a possibility they hadn't considered. Remember, Schneider has said that he sees 3 distinct opportunities to add talent in the offseason - FA, the draft, and then cutdowns when other teams let players go. We're only a few weeks into that first opportunity.

 

[Frozenropers]

Clemons was a big factor late in the season, early in the season he was still struggling to come back from his knee injury. The way I see it right now......Avril will take over early downs at RDE with Bennett and Scruggs getting more time early at LDE. Both Avril and Bennett played very limited on early downs last season. One benefit from that lineup, better pass rush on early downs.....one negative, possible less run defense, however one could argue that Bennett is pretty stout against the run and there won't be that much drop off from Bryant.

Big thing on the D-Line will be our young redshirts from last year. We need them to step up and take some minutes in the rotation this season. If a couple of them do, then I don't see a significant drop off on our D-Line play. If they don't, then we are at risk of the starters logging too many minutes and getting tired resulting in less pass rush late in games. It is a risk, but also the opportunity for our young players to step up and make an impact rotating in this season.

 

[kidhawk]

Keep in mind that I'm not saying we should have broke the bank to keep any player, but:

There is a reason Giacomini started immediately upon his return: Bowie sucks at pass protection and didn't really show any improvement. If he's the answer, he's a step backward. He and Bailey give one hope, but they aren't as good as what we lost. Our OL depends on "ifs" at this point.

Kearse makes some big plays, but then totally disappears for games at a time. He's a really good 4th WR and a gamer, but c'mon.

If you think Clemons wasn't a big contributor in the pass rush, I think you're knowledgeable enough to know better. He put on consistent pressure can kept things contained well on his side. The Leo is a big question mark at this point.

I agree that we are still really good, but the Rams and Cards at least are catching up, and we got by the niners by the skin of our teeth. I agree completely that we can still contend for the SB, but at this point there are too many "what ifs" to say we're anything other than regressed in some very important positions. We'll just have to see.

While I agree it is risky replacing Giacomini with Bowie, you have to consider that Bowie wasn't ready to start when they threw him out there out of necessity and we also had McQuistan on the other side at the same time making our entire line much weaker. Also, we have more time to work with him this off season. Offensive lineman generally improve consistently over their first few years in the league (if they are going to be successful). There is no guarantee that will happen, but considering last year's team had Bowie playing a considerable amount of time, it's not THAT big of a regression to have him out there again this year. Still though we lack any real depth here and that issue is ready to rear it's ugly head at any time.

As for WR, Kearse isn't why we are better there, the fact is, Harvin will be a full year removed from his surgery and should be ready to go game one this year. That alone improves the WR core even with the loss of Tate. Baldwin and Kearse are good enough to handle the number 2 and 3 roles, but again we lack depth and we also lack a tall WR. We could trot out one of our three TE to give us that big WR at any time, so if we don't get one in the draft or via FA, we can always do that. I believe that all three TE on our roster are solid ball catchers and can be a good target for Wilson.

You are correct, I think that our biggest loss came at DE, but that is a position we are overly stacked at. I absolutely LOVED Clemons' motor and what he did on this team and I wanted him to stay, but even without him, we still have Bennett and Avril and can bring up Irvin to rush the passer at any given time as well. I think this still leaves this position in an overall strong category going into the season. We also have several young guys that didn't get a lot of time last season that I look forward to seeing rotate in more this year. Honestly I think we are good on the Dline for this year. My concern on Defense right now is our lack of depth at the LB and DB positions. As far as our starting units go, I still see this as a top defense in the league.

In all honesty I think we are pretty much in agreement here I just see our glass as half full while you are looking at it as half empty (so to speak). We both agree that we can win the Super Bowl again and we both agree that it's going to be a tough road, but honestly, although it doesn't feel that way now, it was pretty tough last year. Winning our division will be key.

Right now, I'm holding off completely judging this team one way or the other because there's still the draft and a lot of off season to go to tweak the roster and get our depth built back up, and I'm interested to see what we do between now and September.

 

[kjreid]

If the season started tomorrow we would not be the "world beaters" we were last year but we will be the 1 or 2 seed and a West crown. I don't see any of the other west teams over taking us (although with everyone of there moves they have all gotten better). We might only win the Super bowl by 2 touchdowns next year

 

[kidhawk]

If the season started tomorrow we would not be the "world beaters" we were last year but we will be the 1 or 2 seed and a West crown. I don't see any of the other west teams over taking us (although with everyone of there moves they have all gotten better). We might only win the Super bowl by 2 touchdowns next year

To be totally honest, the only problem I foresee for next season (as things are right now) is winning the West. The winner of the NFC west should still be favored to win it all, no matter who it is. I still think we have to be the favorites, but it wasn't the cake walk many people make it out to be. The Niners were nipping at our heels and the Rams and Cardinals are both improving. This division is where the toughest NFL defenses reside and it's not going to be easy.

 

[AsylumGuido]

If the season started tomorrow we would not be the "world beaters" we were last year but we will be the 1 or 2 seed and a West crown. I don't see any of the other west teams over taking us (although with everyone of there moves they have all gotten better). We might only win the Super bowl by 2 touchdowns next year

To be totally honest, the only problem I foresee for next season (as things are right now) is winning the West. The winner of the NFC west should still be favored to win it all, no matter who it is. I still think we have to be the favorites, but it wasn't the cake walk many people make it out to be. The Niners were nipping at our heels and the Rams and Cardinals are both improving. This division is where the toughest NFL defenses reside and it's not going to be easy.

It is the very toughness of the West that may hamper the Seahawks. The Saints will be improved over the 2013 version and the Panthers are far worse. That scenario could very well give the Saints the #1 seed over whichever team comes out of the West, which could very well spoil the Hawks' chances at a repeat.

 

[tom sawyer]

I think we will be better in some ways and worse in others.

Will we win it all again next year? Who knows. I say we have the "ability" and can be better actually.
I think we have a great chance to repeat, only time will tell.

 

[jlwaters1]

Think the D will be a little worse, but the O will be improved. Overall we will not be as good as last year (would be tough to top that even if all the same players were back), but still an elite, Top 3 team with a chance to repeat.

I'm not sure that's what will happen. I don't think the defense will be worse.

Consider this:

Secondary- Improved-- Thomas, Sherman, and Chancellor are awesome. Now you have Maxwell as the undisputed starter and should improve with his first year's experience as a starter. Lane also got extensive work for the first time last year. Should be better able to handle things in year 2 as a key contributor.

Linebacker- Improved--- KJ really showed up last year. He was a good player in 2012, in 2013 he took it to another level. I think he continues to play well. Similarly Wagner- One could argue (I would) that he was playing at a pro-bowl level by year's end. I think in Year 3 he'll emerge as a dominate MLB in the league. Lastly- Irvin/Smith. Last year was their first year as a starter/key contributor on defense. Both will improve with the experience and one would expect to see Irvin take a big step forward in year 2 of a position change. Lastly, Korey Toomer assuming he can finally stay healthy should be a factor. Before the summer break last year he was getting some serious looks as a pass rusher (or so I recall) I think he could be key role player assuming he's fully recovered. If not he'll probably be let go during training camp.

DL- No change (to perhaps a possible decline)-- Let's look at who we've got. Avril, Bennett, McDaniel all enter year 2 of the scheme. All should be able to function better right out of the gate with the experience of last year. Add in the steady Mebane and you have 4 stout DLmen. The loss of Clemmons hurt but Irvin should make up for some of that as a talented rusher who should get more chances.

Most critical depth players and their development will be:
Jordan Hill, Gregg Scruggs, and Benson Mayowa. If these 3 can make a leap forward in their progress, than I don't see a dropoff from 2013 to 2014. Hill and Scruggs showed flashes in their limited opportunities the last 2 years. Mayowa was a preseason phenon. Hopefully he'll be able to contribute as well.

 

[amill87]

Kearse makes some big plays, but then totally disappears for games at a time. He's a really good 4th WR and a gamer, but c'mon.

Just like Tate and all 61 of his yards in the post season? Hell Harvin contributed almost as much as Tate did the entire super bowl run with one play.

You said people desperately want to believe we will be ok based on past successes and hope.

Really it's the same thing on the other side of the fence. You (and others) believe we are worse based on an assumption that the players we lost cannot be replaced as effectively.

Neither side really has a lot to stand on. Neither side is necessarily the wrong way to look at it. We just don't know right now.

The same debate happened with our offense during the season. One side said not to worry.To have faith that Carroll has a plan with the offense and things will work as intended. The other side said there is no way we can win a super bowl with our offense throwing for under 200 yards and Lynch slowing down.

Yeah.

 

[Scottemojo]

If the season started tomorrow we would not be the "world beaters" we were last year but we will be the 1 or 2 seed and a West crown. I don't see any of the other west teams over taking us (although with everyone of there moves they have all gotten better). We might only win the Super bowl by 2 touchdowns next year

To be totally honest, the only problem I foresee for next season (as things are right now) is winning the West. The winner of the NFC west should still be favored to win it all, no matter who it is. I still think we have to be the favorites, but it wasn't the cake walk many people make it out to be. The Niners were nipping at our heels and the Rams and Cardinals are both improving. This division is where the toughest NFL defenses reside and it's not going to be easy.

It is the very toughness of the West that may hamper the Seahawks. The Saints will be improved over the 2013 version and the Panthers are far worse. That scenario could very well give the Saints the #1 seed over whichever team comes out of the West, which could very well spoil the Hawks' chances at a repeat.

Yeah, well I would also expect the Falcons and Bucs to get better too. Which may keep you from the one seed, but will still make your team better in the long run.
I don't think a tough division is ever a detriment, unless it costs a team the playoffs. A string of SB victors over the last 10 years like the Giants, Ravens, Steelers came out of brutal divisions as 3 and 4 seeds.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

If we upgrade the offensive line so that RW gets some protection, then yes, we'll be a better team. If we don't upgrade at oline, having slightly downgraded on defense, then no, we're not going to be better than last year, even with Harvin.

 

[CurryStopstheRuns]

As for the D? It's also gone backwards with the loss of at least two key components, McDonald and Clemons.

Clemons provided very little last season and McDonald was a preseason roster cut. Yet, you refer to them as key components. McDonald was the beneficiary of Avril and Bennett's production.

Spare me the tripe about Scruggs, etc, those are just bodies who've yet to really prove anything.

McDonald was a "Body that had yet to really prove anything." In fact, very little was ever expected of him after swapping Kelly Jennings for him. McDaniel was also an unknown and unproven player last season after signing a minimal free agent contract out of Miami.

Not sure why you are so down after watching "nobodies" in the same positions last year do what you are so willing to dismiss as likely to happen this season.

 

[Hawks46]

It's still too early to make any judgements. We have the draft coming up (where we've had a recent history of success) and a draft class that basically redshirted for the most part last year. We also have a ton of young talent; talent that can improve or never pan out, and that's difficult to predict.

Offense:
Bailey and Bowie. These guys should get better. They have real game experience last year, so they know what they need to do and how to prepare this offseason. Most players and positional groups make their biggest jumps between their 1st and 2nd years, and 2nd and 3rd years. They aren't getting used to being in the NFL, Training Camp, and how to be a pro, so they're going to not only get more reps in TC (which can only help), but understand more on what's needed, plus have another year in a professional level strength and conditioning program.

Kearse. I see him getting better, for the above reasons with Bailey and Bowie. He's proven he can get it done, and now with some confidence and big game experience, I don't think he's hit his ceiling.

Harvin. I'm not sure we can count on him the whole year, but he'll play more than last year, which is going to help us tremendously on offense. He's a guy that can get open, and if he's shut down, someone else is open.

Wilson. They say a QB peaks around his 4th year. Wilson is going into his 3rd, and with his work ethic I can see him getting better. A lot of his development is going to be tied to how well the OL plays. Last year, I felt he didn't get to work on doing deep into his progressions and seeing the entire field, as he rarely had time to do so.

Willson. I see him getting better. He's athletic and a mismatch on most LBers. As he gets a better idea of how to read zones, blocking, etc. he'll be much more important. Also, if he emerges, we can run more 2 TE sets which would take away from lack of depth at WR.

Defense:

Maxwell. He should get better. He hasn't even started an entire season yet, so odds are, he'll improve. If he stays healthy all season, we'll actually have a better secondary.

Smith/Irvin. I see Irvin improving, IF he stays at LB, as last year was his first at the position. I feel Smith has hit his ceiling, but he's still a good LBer. I could also see Irvin improving at DE.

Wagner. He still hasn't quite hit his ceiling (I'm theorizing). We could get a bit more consistent play out of him I think.

DL. We have Scruggs (who has shown flashes), Hill, Williams and Brooks (who's also shown flashes). It's hard to tell what we're going to get.

Overall, our starters are mostly the same. I think with the draft and younger player development, we'll be fine. The thing that worries me is that we aren't THAT much better than the Niners. Keeping ahead of them and AZ will be key to us repeating. This division will be brutal and I also see injuries being a factor, for all of us.

 

[MysterMatt]

Keep in mind that I'm not saying we should have broke the bank to keep any player, but:

There is a reason Giacomini started immediately upon his return: Bowie sucks at pass protection and didn't really show any improvement. If he's the answer, he's a step backward. He and Bailey give one hope, but they aren't as good as what we lost. Our OL depends on "ifs" at this point.

Kearse makes some big plays, but then totally disappears for games at a time. He's a really good 4th WR and a gamer, but c'mon.

If you think Clemons wasn't a big contributor in the pass rush, I think you're knowledgeable enough to know better. He put on consistent pressure can kept things contained well on his side. The Leo is a big question mark at this point.

I agree that we are still really good, but the Rams and Cards at least are catching up, and we got by the niners by the skin of our teeth. I agree completely that we can still contend for the SB, but at this point there are too many "what ifs" to say we're anything other than regressed in some very important positions. We'll just have to see.

While I agree it is risky replacing Giacomini with Bowie, you have to consider that Bowie wasn't ready to start when they threw him out there out of necessity and we also had McQuistan on the other side at the same time making our entire line much weaker. Also, we have more time to work with him this off season. Offensive lineman generally improve consistently over their first few years in the league (if they are going to be successful). There is no guarantee that will happen, but considering last year's team had Bowie playing a considerable amount of time, it's not THAT big of a regression to have him out there again this year. Still though we lack any real depth here and that issue is ready to rear it's ugly head at any time.

As for WR, Kearse isn't why we are better there, the fact is, Harvin will be a full year removed from his surgery and should be ready to go game one this year. That alone improves the WR core even with the loss of Tate. Baldwin and Kearse are good enough to handle the number 2 and 3 roles, but again we lack depth and we also lack a tall WR. We could trot out one of our three TE to give us that big WR at any time, so if we don't get one in the draft or via FA, we can always do that. I believe that all three TE on our roster are solid ball catchers and can be a good target for Wilson.

You are correct, I think that our biggest loss came at DE, but that is a position we are overly stacked at. I absolutely LOVED Clemons' motor and what he did on this team and I wanted him to stay, but even without him, we still have Bennett and Avril and can bring up Irvin to rush the passer at any given time as well. I think this still leaves this position in an overall strong category going into the season. We also have several young guys that didn't get a lot of time last season that I look forward to seeing rotate in more this year. Honestly I think we are good on the Dline for this year. My concern on Defense right now is our lack of depth at the LB and DB positions. As far as our starting units go, I still see this as a top defense in the league.

In all honesty I think we are pretty much in agreement here I just see our glass as half full while you are looking at it as half empty (so to speak). We both agree that we can win the Super Bowl again and we both agree that it's going to be a tough road, but honestly, although it doesn't feel that way now, it was pretty tough last year. Winning our division will be key.

Right now, I'm holding off completely judging this team one way or the other because there's still the draft and a lot of off season to go to tweak the roster and get our depth built back up, and I'm interested to see what we do between now and September.

The offseason if far from over, that is certainly true. I just think that at this point we're thin at some areas, WR, OL, and DE in particular, and it's hard to see how'll they'll be addressed in the near-term, baring a trade. I have confidence that some of our depth guys can eventually be good players, but am not sure it will be as soon as we like, OL in particular. No matter, it ain't the end of the world...we agree on that.

 

[Largent80]

Interested to see Hill, Williams, and Brooks do something. We know jack squat about these guys other than "potential".

The benefit is, they are basically rookies this year with the benefit of a year under their belt. All of them know they have a shot for a starting job or a lot of playing time. If that isn't motivation for that pay day they all seek I don't know what is.

I don't know, it just seems at this moment that we are going to have to rely on some players without much playing time to make contributions.

Also the injury factor. With the embarasment of depth we enjoyed last year we were able to overcome it. We will see what happens but for realz, P & J have some magic going on and I am more interested this year than last, just because we won it all, and how hard it is to repeat.

 

[hawkfan68]

Hard to say at this point. On paper, it seems they may have taken a step back but games aren't played on paper. It depends on how the schedule plays out, if the opposing teams are better or not, injuries, etc. Many factors go into it. Historically, it has been near impossible to repeat but this team has done the improbable too many times. In PC/JS tenure, they have equaled or bettered the previous year. So I'm looking to see that continue. It will be much tougher to best a 13-3, Superbowl championship season.

 

[jblaze]

If the season started tomorrow we would not be the "world beaters" we were last year but we will be the 1 or 2 seed and a West crown. I don't see any of the other west teams over taking us (although with everyone of there moves they have all gotten better). We might only win the Super bowl by 2 touchdowns next year

To be totally honest, the only problem I foresee for next season (as things are right now) is winning the West. The winner of the NFC west should still be favored to win it all, no matter who it is. I still think we have to be the favorites, but it wasn't the cake walk many people make it out to be. The Niners were nipping at our heels and the Rams and Cardinals are both improving. This division is where the toughest NFL defenses reside and it's not going to be easy.

It is the very toughness of the West that may hamper the Seahawks. The Saints will be improved over the 2013 version and the Panthers are far worse. That scenario could very well give the Saints the #1 seed over whichever team comes out of the West, which could very well spoil the Hawks' chances at a repeat.

Regardless of whether or not the Saints get the first seed, they can't play with the NFCW be it the niners or the Hawks. I don't care if the game is in NO, there is no way that's happening. Playing against tough competition all year like we'll have to will make us better and much more capable to stomp finesse teams like the Saints.