NFL Power Rankings:

RANK 7 SEAHAWKS

What will Pete Carroll's team look like in 2016? The guess here is it'll probably be closer to the scoring machine we saw from Week 12 on last season than the ball control, play defense and out-physical you squad we saw from 2012 to '14. Running back Marshawn Lynch and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane -- core players on a squad that has fielded a top-five rushing attack and a top-five overall defense in each of the past four seasons -- are gone. Can second-year pro Thomas Rawls -- recovering from a fractured ankle -- be the workhorse who moves the chains enough to burn clock and let the Bobby Wagners of the world rest their legs? Maybe he won't have to, with the way Russell Wilson (2,146 passing yards, 25 passing TDs, two picks and a 124.3 passer rating over the final eight games) fared late in 2015. Losing linebacker Bruce Irvin to free agency hurt, too.



http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... er-broncos

I would put us a bit higher but I don't think 7 is unreasonable. We have potential to win it all but we do have some question marks like the Oline and SAM.

ivotuk":ai4suc2g said:

top-five overall defense in each of the past four seasons

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Pshhhhhhhhh

Overseasfan":gzqhhh0k said:

I would put us a bit higher but I don't think 7 is unreasonable. We have potential to win it all but we do have some question marks like the Oline and SAM.

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What year have we gone into that we didnt have questions about the Oline? Thats par for the course anymore.

Dumber than I expected.

Zebulon Dak":303twqko said:

ivotuk":303twqko said:

top-five overall defense in each of the past four seasons

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Pshhhhhhhhh

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He's not wrong but it takes 11 on 3 downs to stop an O.

If you take it from the point of post-free agency and pre-draft status, which means LITERALLY nothing, 7th seems right. Lose your 2 "best" OL and DL anchor and replace them with question marks will get you 7th.

I expect us to address these positions in the draft, especially considering this draft is heavy on talented DL and OL prospects. I expect this rank to change by April 30. If not, we love us some doubt.

My thoughts on the rankings (as listed from the article):

#1 Carolina. All they did was just suffer one of the more frustrating and humiliating SB losses in NFL history. Their 2015 season was nearly a mirror image of the 2005 Seahawks, from the league's easiest schedule to the the really weird and painful SB loss. We all know what happened to Seattle the next year, they were lucky to hit 9-7. Carolina will likely experience a similar decline next year, and truthfully told they were nowhere near as good as their record even in 2015. Cam Newton's confidence, as well as the belief of his teammates, has to be damaged after his antics in that game. They've also done pretty much nothing in FA, and though they are getting Benjamin back, it remains to be seen if that is even a good thing given that the offense did so much better when it wasn't relying on him.

#2 New England. Tom Brady showed slight signs of decline late last season, and it's looking like there is a real chance he could face a 4 game suspension this year given the way the appeal hearings are going. The Pats also gave up their best pass rusher for chump change and replaced him with two players who collectively have averaged 1.25 sacks per season over the past two years (5 total sacks over 4 total seasons). Their contract for Kevin Hogan is nothing to celebrate.

#3 Arizona. This sounds about right. They are having a great free agency period too.

#4 Pittsburgh. They did just lose Martavis, and overall their free agency period has been just okay, but I'm fine with this ranking. Pittsburgh felt like the most dangerous opponent Seattle played last season, and if not for some key injuries late in the year they might have made a SB run.

#5 Green Bay. This is probably fair, especially in light of Eddie Lacy's dramatic weight loss, which on it's own is almost like a FA addition. Getting Nelson back, albeit at probably 90% coming off an ACL, will help them too. The rest of the division is still languishing with mediocre QBs.

#6 Denver. No team has been more brutalized in FA than the Broncos. While the Broncos defense will still be good in 2016, it probably won't be historically good again, especially after losing Malik Jackson. And if Sanchez is the starting QB, then Denver would have an uphill battle just to win the division or make the playoffs. The only way putting the Broncos this high makes any sense is if you think they will acquire Kaepernick and make it work.

#7 Seattle. The Philadelphia Eagles had the #76 pick in the 2012 draft. They are confirmed to be one of two teams that gave JS an angry phone call after he selected Russell Wilson at #75. You know who the regional scout was who covered Russell Wilson for the Eagles and urged them to draft Wilson in round 2? It was the very same Elliot Harrison who compiles these power rankings. Obviously, he doesn't have a job in the scouting world anymore. Where would the Eagles be today with Russell Wilson? Certainly the scout who pounded the table for him would be ascending the ranks...

So if that causes him to have the Seahawks a few spots lower than he can justify with logic, I understand where he's coming from. I'd be bitter too.

kearly":jmhyugkg said:

My thoughts on the rankings:

#1 Carolina. All they did was just suffer one of the more frustrating and humiliating SB losses in NFL history. Their 2015 season was nearly a mirror image of the 2005 Seahawks, from the league's easiest schedule to the the really weird and painful SB loss. We all know what happened to Seattle the next year, they were lucky to hit 9-7. Carolina will likely experience a similar decline next year, and truthfully told they were nowhere near as good as their record even in 2015. Cam Newton's confidence, as well as the belief of his teammates, has to be damaged after his antics in that game. They've also done pretty much nothing in FA, and though they are getting Benjamin back, it remains to be seen if that is even a good thing given that the offense did so much better when it wasn't relying on him.

#2 New England. Tom Brady showed slight signs of decline late last season, and it's looking like there is a real chance he could face a 4 game suspension this year as the NFL appeal process seems to be going well. They gave up their best pass rusher for chump change and replaced him with two players who together have five sacks over the previous two seasons COMBINED. Their contract for Kevin Hogan is nothing to celebrate.

#3 Arizona. This sounds about right. They are having a great free agency period too.

#4 Pittsburgh. They did just lose Martavis, and overall their free agency period has been just okay, but I'm fine with this ranking. Pittsburgh felt like the most dangerous opponent Seattle played last season, and if not for some key injuries late in the year they might have made a SB run.

#5 Green Bay. This is probably fair, especially in light of Eddie Lacy's dramatic weight loss, which on it's own is almost like a FA addition. Getting Nelson back, albeit at probably 90% coming off an ACL, will help them too. The rest of the division is still languishing with mediocre QBs.

#6 Denver. No team has been more brutalized in FA than the Broncos. While the Broncos defense will still be good in 2016, it probably won't be historically good again, especially after losing Malik Jackson. And if Sanchez is the starting QB, then Denver would have an uphill battle just to win the division or make the playoffs. The only way putting the Broncos this high makes any sense is if you think they will acquire Kaepernick and make it work.

#7 Seattle. The Philadelphia Eagles had the #76 pick in the 2012 draft. They are confirmed to be one of two teams that gave JS an angry phone call after he selected Russell Wilson at #75. You know who the regional scout was who covered Russell Wilson for the Eagles and urged them to draft Wilson in round 2? Elliot Harrison. Obviously, he doesn't have a job in the scouting world anymore. Where would the Eagles be today with Russell Wilson? Where would the scout be who pounded the table for him? Just food for thought.

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Generally agree with your assessments though I think Carolina will still be a playoff team because of the division they play in. But you're right about Cam's teammates and their feelings about him. And Denver at #6? No way in hell right now with that QB situation.

Happy to see AZ ranked ahead of our team. Will give the Hawks some motivation. Plus, I said this on another thread, Carson Palmer sucks in pressure situations, especially the playoffs.

How I'd rank them:

1. Seattle - They ended the year weighted DVOA over 50, one of the highest marks ever. When field conditions were decent Seattle looked unbeatable. Seattle has weakened slightly in FA but not enough to close the gap.

2. Pittsburgh - If not for the injuries to Brown and Big Ben I think these guys would have won it all last year. They also beat Arizona with Big Ben on the sideline, and nearly beat Seattle at Century Link even though the Seahawks themselves were playing outstanding football at the time.

3. Arizona - Arizona utterly collapsed after losing an undersized safety and their QB banged his finger, which suggests that Bruce Arians is a sorcerer who gets more wins out of his talent than he should. Still, they've had a nice offseason so far and up until the injuries the Cardinals looked like the NFL's most consistent team.

4. Green Bay - With Lacy not being a fatass anymore and Jordy coming back, it feels like Green Bay has every reason to be a 12 win team again.

5. New England - I think they've gotten worse this offseason by a significant margin by trading Jones. It's just speculation but, it sounds probable at this point that Brady will lose the appeal and end up serving his 4 game suspension. There's also New England's dip in play at the end of the season. The Pats were 3-5 over their final 8 games and Brady actually looked his age during that stretch. It's hard to put them much lower than this though, given that their division is still very winnable.

6. Kansas City - They won 10 straight last season and were nearly as hot as Seattle. They had a wildly under-rated offseason where they found a way to keep almost all of their defensive free agents. Alex Smith doesn't seem to be quite as big of a burden on their chances as he used to be.

7. Carolina - Carolina's defense will keep them from falling too far. But I think that SB loss will definitely hang over that team, and even if it didn't, repeating the magic of their 2015 season would be like asking the 2002 Mariners to win 116 games again. Cam is a mentally fragile QB and this will hit him very hard. And if J-Stew runs out of gas as you would expect, their offense will likely lurch back to 2014 levels.

8. Bengals - They are talented, but they were just 4-5 over their last 9 games, including a one and done in the playoffs (again). This is a good team, but it's hard to get a feel for where they are heading.

9. Ravens - The Ravens were bad last year but I blame that almost 100% on injuries. They had the money to keep Kelechi Osemele but let him go on purpose, choosing instead to use that money on Benjamin Watson, Mike Wallace, and Eric Weddle, three excellent additions. The Ravens 2nd round pick will likely have a stud offensive tackle waiting for them (Shon Coleman, etc). Ozzie Newsome is maybe the savviest GM in the league and this is yet another example of that. Mike Wallace is going to pair very nicely with Joe Flacco and they also have Steve Smith un-retiring. If you want to make money in Vegas, bet the over on the Ravens.

10. Cowboys - I'd favor the Cowboys to win the NFC East if Romo can stay healthy and if they can find a decent RB. Derrick Henry in round 2 would make an awful lot of sense for them.

I would put us higher in the Power Rankings, but not by much right now. Somewhere around 4-5 seems right to me.

kearly":7fnths28 said:

How I'd rank them:

1. Seattle - They ended the year weighted DVOA over 50, one of the highest marks ever. When field conditions were decent Seattle looked unbeatable. Seattle has weakened slightly in FA but not enough to close the gap.

2. Pittsburgh - If not for the injuries to Brown and Big Ben I think these guys would have won it all last year. They also beat Arizona with Big Ben on the sideline, and nearly beat Seattle at Century Link even though the Seahawks themselves were playing outstanding football at the time.

3. Arizona - Arizona utterly collapsed after losing an undersized safety and their QB banged his finger, which suggests that Bruce Arians is a sorcerer who gets more wins out of his talent than he should. Still, they've had a nice offseason so far and up until the injuries the Cardinals looked like the NFL's most consistent team.

4. Green Bay - With Lacy not being a fatass anymore and Jordy coming back, it feels like Green Bay has every reason to be a 12 win team again.

5. New England - I think they've gotten worse this offseason by a significant margin by trading Jones. It's just speculation but, it sounds probable at this point that Brady will lose the appeal and end up serving his 4 game suspension. There's also New England's dip in play at the end of the season. The Pats were 3-5 over their final 8 games and Brady actually looked his age during that stretch. It's hard to put them much lower than this though, given that their division is still very winnable.

6. Kansas City - They won 10 straight last season and were nearly as hot as Seattle. They had a wildly under-rated offseason where they found a way to keep almost all of their defensive free agents. Alex Smith doesn't seem to be quite as big of a burden on their chances as he used to be.

7. Carolina - Carolina's defense will keep them from falling too far. But I think that SB loss will definitely hang over that team, and even if it didn't, repeating the magic of their 2015 season would be like asking the 2002 Mariners to win 116 games again. Cam is a mentally fragile QB and this will hit him very hard. And if J-Stew runs out of gas as you would expect, their offense will likely lurch back to 2014 levels.

8. Bengals - They are talented, but they were just 4-5 over their last 9 games, including a one and done in the playoffs (again). This is a good team, but it's hard to get a feel for where they are heading.

9. Ravens - The Ravens were bad last year but I blame that almost 100% on injuries. They had the money to keep Kelechi Osemele but let him go on purpose, choosing instead to use that money on Benjamin Watson, Mike Wallace, and Eric Weddle, three excellent additions. The Ravens 2nd round pick will likely have a stud offensive tackle waiting for them (Shon Coleman, etc). Ozzie Newsome is maybe the savviest GM in the league and this is yet another example of that. Mike Wallace is going to pair very nicely with Joe Flacco and they also have Steve Smith un-retiring. If you want to make money in Vegas, bet the over on the Ravens.

10. Cowboys - I'd favor the Cowboys to win the NFC East if Romo can stay healthy and if they can find a decent RB. Derrick Henry in round 2 would make an awful lot of sense for them.

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Sorry Kearly, but that is too high for us right now. I love your hope, but just think we need to see more from the FO on the last FA signings and the draft before we can give them that spot. Sure hope your right though!

hawksfansinceday1":3rge6eca said:

kearly":3rge6eca said:

My thoughts on the rankings:

#1 Carolina. All they did was just suffer one of the more frustrating and humiliating SB losses in NFL history. Their 2015 season was nearly a mirror image of the 2005 Seahawks, from the league's easiest schedule to the the really weird and painful SB loss. We all know what happened to Seattle the next year, they were lucky to hit 9-7. Carolina will likely experience a similar decline next year, and truthfully told they were nowhere near as good as their record even in 2015. Cam Newton's confidence, as well as the belief of his teammates, has to be damaged after his antics in that game. They've also done pretty much nothing in FA, and though they are getting Benjamin back, it remains to be seen if that is even a good thing given that the offense did so much better when it wasn't relying on him.

#2 New England. Tom Brady showed slight signs of decline late last season, and it's looking like there is a real chance he could face a 4 game suspension this year as the NFL appeal process seems to be going well. They gave up their best pass rusher for chump change and replaced him with two players who together have five sacks over the previous two seasons COMBINED. Their contract for Kevin Hogan is nothing to celebrate.

#3 Arizona. This sounds about right. They are having a great free agency period too.

#4 Pittsburgh. They did just lose Martavis, and overall their free agency period has been just okay, but I'm fine with this ranking. Pittsburgh felt like the most dangerous opponent Seattle played last season, and if not for some key injuries late in the year they might have made a SB run.

#5 Green Bay. This is probably fair, especially in light of Eddie Lacy's dramatic weight loss, which on it's own is almost like a FA addition. Getting Nelson back, albeit at probably 90% coming off an ACL, will help them too. The rest of the division is still languishing with mediocre QBs.

#6 Denver. No team has been more brutalized in FA than the Broncos. While the Broncos defense will still be good in 2016, it probably won't be historically good again, especially after losing Malik Jackson. And if Sanchez is the starting QB, then Denver would have an uphill battle just to win the division or make the playoffs. The only way putting the Broncos this high makes any sense is if you think they will acquire Kaepernick and make it work.

#7 Seattle. The Philadelphia Eagles had the #76 pick in the 2012 draft. They are confirmed to be one of two teams that gave JS an angry phone call after he selected Russell Wilson at #75. You know who the regional scout was who covered Russell Wilson for the Eagles and urged them to draft Wilson in round 2? Elliot Harrison. Obviously, he doesn't have a job in the scouting world anymore. Where would the Eagles be today with Russell Wilson? Where would the scout be who pounded the table for him? Just food for thought.

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Generally agree with your assessments though I think Carolina will still be a playoff team because of the division they play in. But you're right about Cam's teammates and their feelings about him. And Denver at #6? No way in hell right now with that QB situation.

Happy to see AZ ranked ahead of our team. Will give the Hawks some motivation. Plus, I said this on another thread, Carson Palmer sucks in pressure situations, especially the playoffs.

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Charles Johnson and Mike Tolbert left millions on the table to resign so we'll see about the teammates thing. Good point about the division-Paul Soliai is being paid by the Falcons and was going to be their 3rd highest paid player after Ryan and Jones, and will now rotate with Short and Lotulelei.

It is pretty much ridiculous to try to rank the Hawks now.

Too many holes, too many question marks.

Will we be competitive? Absolutely. We have a great QB and the NFL is slanted to favor teams that have that.

Can we run the ball? Did Rawls recover 100%? Will our offensive line be able to block effectively with so many losses?

How will the hits to our defense affect our effectiveness? Will our rookie DC get better and learn from his mistakes? Is he a top tier DC that can deal with the talent losses or an average DC that was successful because of the tremendous talent he had available?

Is our TE going to be able to even play at near the level he did? And will that even be a good thing considering the offense seemed better the moment he left the field?

Can our OL get even worse? And if it does, how does that affect this team? If we get more average OL that are better at pass blocking does our run game suddenly start to struggle? Can the new guys even run block like the guys we lost?

Do we even have an answer for the other side of Sherman? Will Kam return to form or are we going to be stuck with McCrary (or whatever his name is)? Can Earl stop the mistakes and return to form? Or are those the results of players trying to play through injuries or something more significant?

Given all those ?, "The QB is really good" is not going to be enough to know whether this team is 2, 5, 10 or ? There is literally no way I would rank a team that barely got into the playoffs, only won a single playoff game because of a fluke event and didn't really threaten in the 2nd game (beside threatening to almost tie) = #1. Especially after that team lost a bunch of pieces and then is scrambling to replace them with a bunch of nobodies.

Ultimately we have to hope our defense comes back into form, and some of the guys on the sidelines step up. We have no idea if they will be able to. If they can, sure, we can go right back to the top. If not? No chance. But with all the ? it would be impossible to objectively rank this team.

kf3339":2hvil54d said:

Sorry Kearly, but that is too high for us right now. I love your hope, but just think we need to see more from the FO on the last FA signings and the draft before we can give them that spot. Sure hope your right though!

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Why do they need more help? The roster as it stands now is still easily the most talented in the NFL. With a top 3 QB leading the team. Also, while I think the 2016 draft is mediocre overall, I think the few spots it looks decent match up nicely with Seattle's needs.

I think Seattle is set up to start next season fast. They don't have to figure out how to use Jimmy Graham or deal with an aging Marshawn Lynch. They don't have the SB hangover or Cary Williams or Kam Chancellor's holdout. The offensive line is still a work in progress, though with the spread heavy emphasis it will mask a lot of the issues that plagued Seattle's pass protection in the first half of 2015.

And lest we forget, Seattle has been #1 in DVOA four years straight, and they've never been hotter than they were at the end of last season. I think this next season is going to be a LOT of fun for Seahawks fans.

jdemps":3sof5nhn said:

Zebulon Dak":3sof5nhn said:

ivotuk":3sof5nhn said:

top-five overall defense in each of the past four seasons

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Pshhhhhhhhh

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He's not wrong but it takes 11 on 3 downs to stop an O.

If you take it from the point of post-free agency and pre-draft status, which means LITERALLY nothing, 7th seems right. Lose your 2 "best" OL and DL anchor and replace them with question marks will get you 7th.

I expect us to address these positions in the draft, especially considering this draft is heavy on talented DL and OL prospects. I expect this rank to change by April 30. If not, we love us some doubt.

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Oh I don't disagree with all that. Just pointing out that "top-five overall defense in each of the past four seasons" while factually true, and impressive in and of itself, is a little bit of an understatement.

Just a Seahawks fan wanting to see his team get the credit it deserves, that's all.

Bobby Wagners of the world? I'm sorry, there is only one Bobby Wagner.

kearly":3r2ciwp9 said:

kf3339":3r2ciwp9 said:

Sorry Kearly, but that is too high for us right now. I love your hope, but just think we need to see more from the FO on the last FA signings and the draft before we can give them that spot. Sure hope your right though!

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Why do they need more help? The roster as it stands now is still easily the most talented in the NFL. With a top 3 QB leading the team. Also, while I think the 2016 draft is mediocre overall, I think the few spots it looks decent match up nicely with Seattle's needs.

I think Seattle is set up to start next season fast. They don't have to figure out how to use Jimmy Graham or deal with an aging Marshawn Lynch. They don't have the SB hangover or Cary Williams or Kam Chancellor's holdout. The offensive line is still a work in progress, though with the spread heavy emphasis it will mask a lot of the issues that plagued Seattle's pass protection in the first half of 2015.

And lest we forget, Seattle has been #1 in DVOA four years straight, and they've never been hotter than they were at the end of last season. I think this next season is going to be a LOT of fun for Seahawks fans.

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All great points. I'm still worried about the OL a bit (namely LT), but there's a few things going for us:

SAM is an easy hole to fill in our defense.

Lockett should actually be even better, and he'll start faster and with more chemistry with Russ. Paired with Baldwin, that's going to make it hard for teams to sneak a Safety into the box.

Even if Michael plays exactly the same as he ended up last year (with no improvement), him plus Rawls is an improvement over Rawls and Lynch.

Speaking of Rawls, if he comes back from injury at 100% (indications are that he will), he can actually improve. Think about it: an UDFA with limited reps in TC and the regular season goes into this season getting the 1st team reps in both OTA's and TC, carrying the experience he has from last year. Yeesh.

We won't be starting out the year with an unproven SS and a massive hole at RCB. Either Lane or Shead will have us starting out better than last year's secondary.

Wilson has proven he's a player than can build upon success. If he even starts out at 50% of what he ended up as last year, and improves thoughout the season, what will we end up seeing ? Plus throw in Kearse, Lockett and Baldwin, all players he's more comfortable with and two guys vastly improved last season.

Sure, we have a hole at 3T DT but we haven't drafted yet. We do have a few holes, but overall, we have a lot to build off of.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

It is pretty much ridiculous to try to rank the Hawks now.

Too many holes, too many question marks.

Will we be competitive? Absolutely. We have a great QB and the NFL is slanted to favor teams that have that.

Can we run the ball? Did Rawls recover 100%? Will our offensive line be able to block effectively with so many losses?

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I think if the team were concerned about Rawls injury as much as some fans seem to be, they would have had him get surgery. Further, everyone seems to forget that the run game was still one of the best in the NFL after Rawls went down, or that Seattle is likely to draft a pretty good RB this year.

Regarding the OL, it went from historically bad to basically about league average after the team switched to a spread heavy game plan. I think the line will likely be better after the draft, but even if it is worse, the spread will greatly mitigate the damage.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

How will the hits to our defense affect our effectiveness? Will our rookie DC get better and learn from his mistakes? Is he a top tier DC that can deal with the talent losses or an average DC that was successful because of the tremendous talent he had available?

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I'm concerned about Richard's soft zones. Seattle downgraded from Irvin and Mebane. Those are concerns for me.

On the other hand, no more Kam holdout, no more Cary Williams, Jeremy Lane will show up in week one and not at the end of the season, etc.

The defense actually struggled last year and dropped significantly from its 2013 peak. The reasons for those struggles have already been corrected so I'm not worried much about it.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

Is our TE going to be able to even play at near the level he did? And will that even be a good thing considering the offense seemed better the moment he left the field?

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Seattle's offense looked amazing with very little contributions from Tight Ends over the last several weeks of the season.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

Can our OL get even worse? And if it does, how does that affect this team? If we get more average OL that are better at pass blocking does our run game suddenly start to struggle? Can the new guys even run block like the guys we lost?

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As said before, the spread is going to neutralize a lot of what has plagued our OL in the past. In terms of run blocking, it seems like Cable's scheme magically finds a way to produce good numbers with mostly bad run blocking, and this was more true than ever in 2015. I think Cable has a lot to answer for but the one feather he has in his cap has been consistent rushing production regardless of the quality of the OL.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

Do we even have an answer for the other side of Sherman?

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Jeremy Lane is pretty good. Shead held his own. Tye Smith looked like a baller in college. Tharold Simon is maddening with penalties but good on coverage when playing outside.

I used to think that corner was a huge need for Seattle, but now I'm starting to think that the real problem was really just from early season complications (Cary Williams, Kam's holdout, new DC and new secondary coach).

I think Richard needs to trust his talent more and call for tighter zones, but the talent is decent enough.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

Given all those ?, "The QB is really good" is not going to be enough to know whether this team is 2, 5, 10 or ? There is literally no way I would rank a team that barely got into the playoffs, only won a single playoff game because of a fluke event and didn't really threaten in the 2nd game (beside threatening to almost tie) = #1. Especially after that team lost a bunch of pieces and then is scrambling to replace them with a bunch of nobodies.

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The reason they ended at 10-6 is because they started 2-4. And the reason they started 2-4 had to do with a very unique set of conditions that doomed the team, including a particularly nasty SB hangover. It's not something I would expect to repeat again any time soon.

I don't think we've really lost anything that is going to hurt us much. Irvin will be a challenge to replace but Seattle can adjust around his absence. I'm not as high on Siliga as some people are but I think the dropoff from a 31 year old Mebane to Siliga is pretty modest.

Imagine if Seattle had utilized the spread from day one last season. Or if Kam hadn't held out. Or if a healthy Lane would have started over Cary Williams. Or if Thomas Rawls had been the guy from day one. Last season was very exciting, but left us with a lot of "what if" questions. I see 2016 as a chance to re-do the 2015 season and fix the mistakes, even with the roster as it currently exists it would be a very exciting team.

TwistedHusky":2ldx159a said:

Ultimately we have to hope our defense comes back into form, and some of the guys on the sidelines step up. We have no idea if they will be able to. If they can, sure, we can go right back to the top. If not? No chance. But with all the ? it would be impossible to objectively rank this team.

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2015 was the year of the question mark for me. I had no idea if Seattle was going to go 16-0 or 10-6. You had the SB hangover, the Kam holdout, several new coaches, Marshawn could collapse at any time (and he did), our OC was burdened with a superstar TE to force-feed in a power offense that didn't really fit his skills, and then you had that crazy experiment on the OL which was made much worse by the demands of an inline power rushing offense.

By contrast, 2016 feels like everything is pretty much set in place and ready to continue the insane run that the team finished the 2015 season on.

I got a hunch that Seattle could hit 13 or 14 games this year, although I'm a little worried about the postseason since Seattle is built more for regular season dominance than postseason dominance at this point.

kearly":3hhmhsq0 said:

kf3339":3hhmhsq0 said:

Sorry Kearly, but that is too high for us right now. I love your hope, but just think we need to see more from the FO on the last FA signings and the draft before we can give them that spot. Sure hope your right though!

Click to expand...

Why do they need more help? The roster as it stands now is still easily the most talented in the NFL. With a top 3 QB leading the team. Also, while I think the 2016 draft is mediocre overall, I think the few spots it looks decent match up nicely with Seattle's needs.

I think Seattle is set up to start next season fast. They don't have to figure out how to use Jimmy Graham or deal with an aging Marshawn Lynch. They don't have the SB hangover or Cary Williams or Kam Chancellor's holdout. The offensive line is still a work in progress, though with the spread heavy emphasis it will mask a lot of the issues that plagued Seattle's pass protection in the first half of 2015.

And lest we forget, Seattle has been #1 in DVOA four years straight, and they've never been hotter than they were at the end of last season. I think this next season is going to be a LOT of fun for Seahawks fans.

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Kearly your optimistic belief sure makes me feel a little better about things right now. I'm not ready yet to go as high on things as you. That is just the cautious nature of me. But no one wants to be wrong about things more than me.

So let's hope all of your comments in this thread are right on! :thirishdrinkers:

I don't think we go to the spread as much as Kearly believes, I would bet we go pretty straight fundamentals until we see what the O Line is like and what kind of protection Wilson gets and then how much he can trust them. That means run and run some more.