Could this be our best team since 2013?

It's way too early to make any proclamation like that. But there are reasons to be excited. Nearly every player of significance is back this year. In the era of free agency, this is rare.

Depth has already been improved over last season, and we haven't even drafted yet (five picks in the first three rounds).

We have, by far, the best defensive coach in the league in Pete Carroll. The team has led the NFL in scoring defense in four of the last five seasons, and probably would be going for its 6th-consecutive defensive scoring title if Earl Thomas had stayed healthy.

We return FIVE defensive Pro Bowlers: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Richard Sherman. That does not include the aforementioned Thomas (our best overall player) or Kam Chancellor, who is coming off of what I consider to be the best individual season of his career. Along the defensive line, youngsters Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, and Quinton Jefferson are due for breakout seasons. They are too good not to. Deandre Elliot is going to be a special player; I can't wait until the rest of you see this.

The offense has got to be more consistent. How could they not be with a healthy Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham, Thomas Rawls, C.J. Prosise, etc. I underestimated Prosise, but he's the real deal. Don't sleep on him just because of an injury. Doug Baldwin has been playing dominant football. Tyler Lockett is expected back by training camp. Paul Richardson looked phenomenal at the tail end of last season. And don't forget about Tanner McEvoy, who has enormous potential and seems to be putting it all together this off-season. In addition, Big Eddie Lacy is a perfect fit for this team. Runs hard through tackles and was in great shape last season. He is a bell-cow RB if I've ever seen one.

And then there is the offensive line . . . all five starters are back, plus Luke Joeckel is an upgrade. He's long, tough, and fundamentally sound. If they can draft a starter-quality offensive tackle, I will be excited about this group. I think Justin Britt could be one of the better centers in the league. Ifedi and Glowinski are tough SOBs inside; I just hope they draft that OT who can allow Ifedi to continue his development inside. Ifedi looks much better charging forward in the interior than moving laterally in space outside. I think the line is one more piece away from being complete.

Justin Britt has taken over the Offensive Line and is pushing these guys to get better, and to gel as a line. I think this OLine will be night and day from last year.

I'm excited about the prospects for 2017..

IIRC this will be year 3 with the 4-2-5 defense as the most frequently used personnel group. They have gathered all the information they need for expanding and fortifying the defense with this year's draft. I think we have already seen evidence of that during free agency and am very excited about this being a growth year with the 2017 defense.

The expanded offensive mix and holdovers suggest the likelihood of a bigger play book and a growth in match up options. They are starting the season with a lot known tools to work with. I anticipate better drives and more explosive plays this year.

I'm rarely interested in the draft but I feel this year it will be very important in determining this teams overall success. From what I am reading on our Draft forum there are impact players in positions we are thin at that could (understanding they are rookies) fill a significant need and maybe recapture some of the old swagger.

To the OP, thank you for a great positive outlook on this team. I am so sick of the negativity here and a post like this just lightens the mood. :2thumbs:

Appreciate the positivity but I wouldn't say Jarran Reed and Quinton Jefferson are due for breakout seasons. Hopefully they make good contributions and maybe they'll even be awesome. But let's be honest, if they are awesome it will be a welcome surprise, not that they are due.

Three freak injuries to the QB last year set the team back. If he stays healthy the Hawks should be good this year.

The OL should be better.

The running game should be better.

If all of the above the defense will be better.

Good season ahead but not 2013. Salary cap keeps getting in the way.

Lol. NO! This will not be the closest team we had since 2013. Not even close. Our Oline will still be the worst in the NFL. There's no Lynch. The LOB isnt close to what we had in 2013. Heck, nothing is even close come to think of it.

An optimist is likelier to get disappointed

A pessimist is likelier to get positively surprised....

It must be wearing on Nash 72 to be so unremitting in his negativity. Everything sucks all the time, the Head Coach can't control his hopelessly incompetent assistant coaches, even though the team is a consistent annual 2nd round or better playoff team, nothing is any good, Firing the coaching staff for him would be a fine start. I suppose it's hard to be disappointed when everything sucks, it's just as you expect it.

Maybe he should look elsewhere for a team that meets his expectations, but even the Patriots
May not
Live up
And if not
No team will. After all the Hawks suck, to him at any rate.


Many here disagree completely with his negativity, and his post above which I won't repeat causes me to say I totally disagree. I sure notice the negativity rankles a few here from time to time. It derails threads and brings the tone down. Maybe that's the goal, different strokes I suppose. However, it's tedious. I do unfortunately believe he likes to create arguments.

To his post I can only say whatever? You Nash are the hands down Mr. Positivity award winner .... Eeyore would be proud.

How could the team not be better with the injured players returning, the depth improved, some potentially legitimate competitors added through the draft? I believe it will be, even if you don't.

jammerhawk":1ae9agny said:

It must be wearing on Nash 72 to be so unremitting in his negativity. Everything sucks all the time, the Head Coach can't control his hopelessly incompetent assistant coaches, even though the team is a consistent annual 2nd round or better playoff team, nothing is any good, Firing the coaching staff for him would be a fine start. I suppose it's hard to be disappointed when everything sucks, it's just as you expect it.

Maybe he should look elsewhere for a team that meets his expectations, but even the Patriots
May not
Live up
And if not
No team will. After all the Hawks suck, to him at any rate.


Many here disagree completely with his negativity,and his post above which I won't repeat causes me to say I totally disagree. I sure notice the negativity rankles a few here from time to time. It derails threads and brings the tone down. Maybe that's the goal, different strokes I suppose. However, it's tedious. I do unfortunately believe he likes to create arguments.

To his post I can only say whatever? You Nash are the hands down Mr. Positivity award winner .... Eeyore would be proud.

Click to expand...

Some people don't know how to be happy without a nice, splashy free agency.

HawkGA":1ae9agny said:

Appreciate the positivity but I wouldn't say Jarran Reed and Quinton Jefferson are due for breakout seasons. Hopefully they make good contributions and maybe they'll even be awesome. But let's be honest, if they are awesome it will be a welcome surprise, not that they are due.

Click to expand...

Any particular reasoning behind that? I'd say Reed has already justified his draft slot by not providing a letdown from freakin' Brandon Mebane.

Quality post there OP.

The Seahawks Super Bowl window is far from closed. In fact, regardless of what some prognosticators might say, I have them as a top 5 team in the NFL currently, and that could improve with the additions thus far, plus what happens in the draft later this month. Even if we can get our OL to #20 in the league, mixed with a HEALTHY Russell Wilson and company, look out.

Is the Seahawks' Super Bowl window closing? Please. They're just getting started.

I just placed a bet for Seattle to go 19-0 this year. Let's just say that I'm going to be rich next year.

Aros":1n8f5ax3 said:

Quality post there OP.

The Seahawks Super Bowl window is far from closed. In fact, regardless of what some prognosticators might say, I have them as a top 5 team in the NFL currently, and that could improve with the additions thus far, plus what happens in the draft later this month. Even if we can get our OL to #20 in the league, mixed with a HEALTHY Russell Wilson and company, look out.

Is the Seahawks' Super Bowl window closing? Please. They're just getting started.

Click to expand...

I don't know that I would go THAT far, Aros. We would have to see a giant turnaround from several players for the "window" to be as wide open as it was in '13 and '14.

We've been a contender for five years in a row now and look to remain that way for at least a while longer. We've had three down seasons in the last decade and a half and an overall winning record as a franchise. That's amazing in today's NFL and if a vocal minority insist on being unhappy anyways then that's their loss.

Personally, I think it's easy for fans to look at the 2013 with rose colored glasses simply because we had the best outcome that year. We didn't always look good, losing two of our last three divisional games and had a handful of wins that we could have easily lost (@Texans, Bucs). Then in 2014 we lost a Super Bowl that we could have easily have won.

One outcome was great and the other outcome sucked, but if you can take a step back from only reacting to outcomes and look at the long-term view it's clear that the key to post season success is frequent trips to the post season. Things will eventually go your way every now and then and you'll get the outcome you want. The Patriots have been sent home from the playoffs most of the time during their current dynasty but they've been consistently good long enough to have plays like 2014 win them championships to make up for the years when they lose in the playoffs due to similarly close plays.

Aros":1ki96hde said:

Quality post there OP.

The Seahawks Super Bowl window is far from closed. In fact, regardless of what some prognosticators might say, I have them as a top 5 team in the NFL currently, and that could improve with the additions thus far, plus what happens in the draft later this month. Even if we can get our OL to #20 in the league, mixed with a HEALTHY Russell Wilson and company, look out.

Is the Seahawks' Super Bowl window closing? Please. They're just getting started.

Click to expand...

Exactly. This team has the pieces to make a run they also have the pieces that they can trade to reload for another run in the 2020's (Can't belive how close that decade is)

I think Wilson, Wagner, Thomas are the three guys who are going to stay with this team for over a decade and keep this team competitive with all the other players getting moved around to accommodate them. Last season proved that Thomas is the cyclist that makes the secondary and to a lesser extent this whole defense work.

No.

With a healthy team I'm certainly excited to see how they'll perform. I think Lacy, Rawls and Procise could be very effective and the emergence of Richardson breeds much optimism.

We'll without question be competitive again, but I just haven't seen much improvement in offseason OL acquisitions and as a result, Wilson's health will once again be a concern. It doesn't matter who we draft for the OL, I just don't see a rookie tackle drafted late in the 1st or later having an impact and our line troubles should continue.

The D will need to improve. Another year older and banged up will be a test if they can maintain play at a high level. The DB situation is another concern.

On balance, I see anywhere from 9-11 wins.

It could be... but it's doubtful.

QB: Russ better now w/experience (2016)
RB: No Lynch, lots of bodies, but none proven they can stay healthy (2013)
OL: Dumpster fire to bad, maaaaaybe avg??? (2013)
WR: Better now, Doug is a beast, Tyler was looking great, PRich could be good, Kearse???? (2016)
TE: Jimmy F'in Graham (2016)

DBs: OG LoB :'( (2013)
LB: Wagner and Wright are studs w/experience, but lost Irvin... does his position even matter that much? (2016)
DL: Less depth atm, but Frank Clark is a difference maker, Reed on the way to replace Mebane (2016)

Based on my crappy analysis, it looks like 2016 actually has more superior groups... but the difference is that the OL is really awful now and we don't have Marshawn. Defense was also newer and the book wasn't really out on how to beat it to the same extent as now and the guys were younger overall. "It" factor seems to be less prevalent, but there's no way to prove that, just a feeling some fans share.

Honestly, it's gonna come down to execution, injuries, and luck. Glad someone mentioned '13 games against the 2 and freaking 14 texans and, at the time, 0-7 Bucs... If the Hawks could've gutted out a win @LA, against a similarly garbage team, things could've been different. :/

jammerhawk":23hjfe5l said:

It must be wearing on Nash 72 to be so unremitting in his negativity. Everything sucks all the time, the Head Coach can't control his hopelessly incompetent assistant coaches, even though the team is a consistent annual 2nd round or better playoff team, nothing is any good, Firing the coaching staff for him would be a fine start. I suppose it's hard to be disappointed when everything sucks, it's just as you expect it.

Maybe he should look elsewhere for a team that meets his expectations, but even the Patriots
May not
Live up
And if not
No team will. After all the Hawks suck, to him at any rate.


Many here disagree completely with his negativity, and his post above which I won't repeat causes me to say I totally disagree. I sure notice the negativity rankles a few here from time to time. It derails threads and brings the tone down. Maybe that's the goal, different strokes I suppose. However, it's tedious. I do unfortunately believe he likes to create arguments.

To his post I can only say whatever? You Nash are the hands down Mr. Positivity award winner .... Eeyore would be proud.

How could the team not be better with the injured players returning, the depth improved, some potentially legitimate competitors added through the draft? I believe it will be, even if you don't.

Click to expand...

Man thats a long post just to react to mine. Are you going to respond to the other posters who feel the same way? 2013 had a historically good defense which we no longer have. 2013 we had a healthy and hungry Marshawn Lynch that we no longer have. We had a superior Oline compared to the tragedy we have now. With barely any improvements from last year, why is it such a stretch to say the 2013 team will go down as being far better?