After Week 11, there are only 9 teams with a winning record...that's right...only 9 out of 32 teams have a winning record. The Falcons technically have a 6-4 record, but their days are numbered. They haven't played even one team with a winning record, and they've lost to some bottom of the barrel teams. They will be lucky to finish this season with an 8-8 record.
I don't ever remember seeing this many teams without a winning record. Right now, there are 23 out of 32 teams that are at .500 or below. There are also no teams in the NFC with less than 3 wins. There are no teams with less than 2 victories in the AFC. It is rather uncharacteristic of the NFL having no teams with 1 or zero wins 10 weeks into the season. Think about recent weeks in the NFL...the Lions beat the Packers, the Texans beat the Bengals, Ravens beat the Steelers, 49ers beat the Vikings and the Falcons, Rams beat the Cards...the list goes on and on.
And no other team in the NFL has had to play as many of the best teams in the NFL as have the Seahawks. 4 of their losses were to the Bengals, Panthers, Packers, and Cards. Those 4 teams are ranked in the Top 6 in every power ranking. They are also a combined 33-7.
And the Hawks had a lead in the 4th quarter in all 4 of those games. It's not like the Seahawks suck this year...they just had a tough schedule and things didn't quite click in those games. The Hawks just aren't playing that badly. They are still the #2 D in the NFL, and their rushing offense is ranked #1 once again. They are even ranked #2 in passing defense. Ranked #10 in total offense...#5 overall in DVOA at Football Outsiders.
I'm not saying that they'll win their last 6 games or that they are the "best" team, but they ARE CAPABLE of winning out. In addition to being a great team, can you imagine how much luck it takes to make it to the SB 3 straight seasons. Given the current level of parity in the NFL and the strength of schedule for the Seahawks, one could easily argue that they are still one of the Top 10 teams. With 12 teams making the playoffs, there's no reason to think that they can't or won't get a Wild Card berth.
I think that maybe we fans forget all too quickly the bad parts of the previous season. Honestly, how much better were the Hawks last year? Or were they? If the O-Line can maintain the pace they set in the last 3 games, Wilson will end up with 43 sacks...he was sacked 42 times in 2014. Russell's completion % is now 67.5%...last year it was 63.1%. Russell's yards per attempt is at 8.1...last year it was only 7.7. Wilson's TD % is 4.4%, the same as it was last year. The one area that Wilson doesn't look as good is his interception %, but given the caliber of teams he's faced, it's likely his interceptions will decrease in these last 6 games. His current passer rating is 97.6, better than last year's 95.0.
After the 10th game last year, the Hawks were 6-4...this year they're 5-5. But look at the caliber of teams they played last year and how those games played out. According to passer rating, Russell even had 3 games that were worse than last week's game against the Cards which was 67.2. Last year, it was 47.6- Cowboys; 63.9- Raiders; and 53.7 Giants. And most importantly, some of the losses were not as close as the losses this year. True the Hawks held a lead in every game since mid-2011, but against the Chargers last year, the lead was 7-3 in the 1st quarter...they were out of the game from early in the 2nd quarter on. Against the Cowboys, they were leading 23-20 in the 4th quarter, but lost 30-23...total yards- 206. Then against the Rams, the Hawks had a 3-0 lead early in the 1st quarter, but that didn't last long...behind 21-6 at halftime; behind 28-19 in the 4th quarter. The Chiefs held a lead through most of the game, and though the Hawks took a 20-17 lead just before the 4th quarter, they lost 24-20 in the 4th quarter. So although 2 games took the same path as the 5 losses this year, 2 games were games in which the Hawks relinquished the lead in the 1st quarter and never got it back. I would also contend that all 4 of these losses were to teams of a lower caliber than the 4 losses in 2015 discussed above.
And with the exception of the Packers' game in 2014, the other 5 wins were all nail-biters. In fact, against the Broncos, Redskins, Panthers, Raiders and Giants, the games could have gone either way...with a bit of bad luck, the Hawks could have easily been 1-9 at this point last year. Not that I want to go back further, but I remember quite a few tough games against mediocre teams even in 2013. I think the Seahawks have gotten into a pattern...a pattern where they get overly confident/comfortable, and proceed to play way too conservatively on offense. This strategy will by its nature eventually lead to some 4th quarter losses.
I believe that in today's NFL, there is a very fine line between winning and losing. Given the state of win-loss records this year, I have to say, the most important reason for parity is the salary cap, and it's definitely fulfilling its purpose. Don't give up on this team...they have just as much going for themselves as they did last year. I see them at least making the playoffs as a Wild Card. Go Hawks!!!
I don't ever remember seeing this many teams without a winning record. Right now, there are 23 out of 32 teams that are at .500 or below. There are also no teams in the NFC with less than 3 wins. There are no teams with less than 2 victories in the AFC. It is rather uncharacteristic of the NFL having no teams with 1 or zero wins 10 weeks into the season. Think about recent weeks in the NFL...the Lions beat the Packers, the Texans beat the Bengals, Ravens beat the Steelers, 49ers beat the Vikings and the Falcons, Rams beat the Cards...the list goes on and on.
And no other team in the NFL has had to play as many of the best teams in the NFL as have the Seahawks. 4 of their losses were to the Bengals, Panthers, Packers, and Cards. Those 4 teams are ranked in the Top 6 in every power ranking. They are also a combined 33-7.
And the Hawks had a lead in the 4th quarter in all 4 of those games. It's not like the Seahawks suck this year...they just had a tough schedule and things didn't quite click in those games. The Hawks just aren't playing that badly. They are still the #2 D in the NFL, and their rushing offense is ranked #1 once again. They are even ranked #2 in passing defense. Ranked #10 in total offense...#5 overall in DVOA at Football Outsiders.
I'm not saying that they'll win their last 6 games or that they are the "best" team, but they ARE CAPABLE of winning out. In addition to being a great team, can you imagine how much luck it takes to make it to the SB 3 straight seasons. Given the current level of parity in the NFL and the strength of schedule for the Seahawks, one could easily argue that they are still one of the Top 10 teams. With 12 teams making the playoffs, there's no reason to think that they can't or won't get a Wild Card berth.
I think that maybe we fans forget all too quickly the bad parts of the previous season. Honestly, how much better were the Hawks last year? Or were they? If the O-Line can maintain the pace they set in the last 3 games, Wilson will end up with 43 sacks...he was sacked 42 times in 2014. Russell's completion % is now 67.5%...last year it was 63.1%. Russell's yards per attempt is at 8.1...last year it was only 7.7. Wilson's TD % is 4.4%, the same as it was last year. The one area that Wilson doesn't look as good is his interception %, but given the caliber of teams he's faced, it's likely his interceptions will decrease in these last 6 games. His current passer rating is 97.6, better than last year's 95.0.
After the 10th game last year, the Hawks were 6-4...this year they're 5-5. But look at the caliber of teams they played last year and how those games played out. According to passer rating, Russell even had 3 games that were worse than last week's game against the Cards which was 67.2. Last year, it was 47.6- Cowboys; 63.9- Raiders; and 53.7 Giants. And most importantly, some of the losses were not as close as the losses this year. True the Hawks held a lead in every game since mid-2011, but against the Chargers last year, the lead was 7-3 in the 1st quarter...they were out of the game from early in the 2nd quarter on. Against the Cowboys, they were leading 23-20 in the 4th quarter, but lost 30-23...total yards- 206. Then against the Rams, the Hawks had a 3-0 lead early in the 1st quarter, but that didn't last long...behind 21-6 at halftime; behind 28-19 in the 4th quarter. The Chiefs held a lead through most of the game, and though the Hawks took a 20-17 lead just before the 4th quarter, they lost 24-20 in the 4th quarter. So although 2 games took the same path as the 5 losses this year, 2 games were games in which the Hawks relinquished the lead in the 1st quarter and never got it back. I would also contend that all 4 of these losses were to teams of a lower caliber than the 4 losses in 2015 discussed above.
And with the exception of the Packers' game in 2014, the other 5 wins were all nail-biters. In fact, against the Broncos, Redskins, Panthers, Raiders and Giants, the games could have gone either way...with a bit of bad luck, the Hawks could have easily been 1-9 at this point last year. Not that I want to go back further, but I remember quite a few tough games against mediocre teams even in 2013. I think the Seahawks have gotten into a pattern...a pattern where they get overly confident/comfortable, and proceed to play way too conservatively on offense. This strategy will by its nature eventually lead to some 4th quarter losses.
I believe that in today's NFL, there is a very fine line between winning and losing. Given the state of win-loss records this year, I have to say, the most important reason for parity is the salary cap, and it's definitely fulfilling its purpose. Don't give up on this team...they have just as much going for themselves as they did last year. I see them at least making the playoffs as a Wild Card. Go Hawks!!!
