2013 Prognostications

kearly":295eyhg0 said:

I say option #1. Seattle dominated in the 2nd half of the season. Maybe I am on crack, but it sure as hell seemed like the Seahawks were the "darlings" of the 2012 postseason in the eyes of the national media. They completely demolished the NFC Champions and possible SB champions on national TV after a week of wall to wall hype. I think people have figured out how good this team is.

This is what I am expecting to hear dozens of times between now and next September: "Whoever wins the NFC West will win it all." The 49ers are in the Superbowl this week, but as things stand now it feels like the Seahawks will enter next season with even more hype.

Click to expand...

It does sure seem like the west coast finally has football teams.

If memory serves, there was once some discussion regarding how Pete and John are/were specifically-building the team to combat the 49ers. Although the mid-season meeting didn't yield the results they hoped for, that final game sure did. The Russellmania has clearly been part of the SB media hype this week and I whole-heartedly agree with you regarding how the talking heads will be focussing on the NFC west diviision as the one to beat next season.

Kearly, you are not on crack.

I don't think the media is ready to give up the Giants, Falcons, Packers or Saints quite yet. If you add Baltimore and the Niners to that mix, there are teams that the media will see as better regardless of matchups and such. I can see the top 10 love, but not the top 5 unless the Hawks do something like go 7-1 in their first half.

It's hard to argue against a top 5 team, when your offense, defense and special teams all rank in the top 5 in the league. In addition to the stats, we just fricken' pass the eye test don't we? We look like a team that is primed to take the next step if you look at how we finished the last 1/2 of the season. In addition to having all of our key personnel return in tact, we will improve even more with key off season additions in free agency and in the draft. I would imagine to virtually any outside observer, the 2013 Seattle Seahawks are going to look like Superbowl Contenders. How could they not? I'm so pumped. This is going to be the longest off season ever.

Absolutly NO way east coast media puts us in top 5. Top 10 sure, they will start us at say 7 or 8 in PR.

I would have to think a top 5 assessment is likely by a fair number of media outlets knowing that this time around, Seattle will be going into Week 1 with a definitive purpose and a far better understanding of what RW brings to the table compared to 2012.

We've definitely earned top 10 consideration and will certainly be placed there at the beginning of the season. The rest is up to us. Hype, shmype...just win.

Was reading mockingthedrafts most recent mock draft today. This is a general NFL site and as far as I know the guy who runs it is not a Seahawks fan. This is what he said during the Seahawks turn at the #25 pick.

25. Seattle Seahawks: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

The Seahawks are the new darlings of the NFL, and going forward they don't have a lot of glaring needs. Pete Carroll has made it known he's going to add defensive linemen this offseason, so a player like Sam Montgomery of LSU could get a look. But a wide receiver like Hopkins could be a star with Russell Wilson throwing deep passes.

Click to expand...

I knew I wasn't on crack.