2012 Seattle Seahawks Preview

2012 Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are always a pesky team. They have a great home field advantage, and Pete Carroll is working hard to establish a winning culture in the Pacific northwest once again. They finished 7-9 last season, but beat the Giants, Ravens, and Eagles. They also lost another four games by three points or less. And they did all this with a crappy offense. Cue Russell Wilson. But I’ll get to that. The Seattle defense, like Arizona’s D, is vastly underrated. You don’t really think about the Seahawks as a great team, and they aren’t just yet, but they are a team built to win now, or maybe in a year or two when they add a few more pieces (like a number one receiver). Seattle looks like they have found their quarterback of the future, and they aren’t looking back. Can they challenge the 49ers for the NFC West crown this year? I think they are one year away at least, but that process starts this year, when they have to show that they will be ready to take the next step when the time comes.

Offense

The world is absolutely crazy about Russell Wilson, the rookie quarterback out of Wisconsin, and previously NC State. And you know what? Good for him. He was a third round pick, and most experts thought even that was a stretch. He has been criticized heavily for being too short (5’10”), and for not being able to see over the offensive line (looking at you, Mel Kiper, Jr). Seattle had signed Green Bay backup QB Matt Flynn to a contract this offseason, expecting him to be the starter, but Wilson has immediately silenced all the critics by having a masterful preseason, and is even being picked by some to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year over Luck and RGIII. Russell Wilson has earned his starting job, and I hope he plays great. He needs help to make this offense tick, however, and that starts by Marshawn Lynch having another fabulous season at running back again for this team. Lynch’s talent had been questioned mightily after failing in Buffalo and being traded to Seattle but he was a superstar last year, which was probably predictable after he had that classic touchdown run against the Saints in the playoffs two years ago. He will need another season of at least 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns to take pressure off of Wilson. Russell will also need help from his group of subpar wide receivers. There is no star power on the outside, but perhaps the combined group of Rice, Tate, Obomanu and Edwards can produce as a whole, with no one player standing out. Someone will need to step up and establish himself as the go-to guy, however, and Seattle would like that to be Sidney Rice if he could just stay on the freaking field instead of being hurt all the time. If the receivers play well, Wilson will play well, and if Wilson plays well, all of a sudden this is a potent offense.

Defense

While there is a lot of speculation about what the offense can accomplish under Russell Wilson, but there aren’t many questions about this defense. They were a top 10 D in 2011 and are looking for more success this year. They have a good defensive line led by Chris Clemons, and they drafted Bruce Irvin, a defensive end, to help boost the pass rush. They have an underrated linebacking core of which Bobby Wagner is the leader in the middle. Finally, we come to the secondary of the Seahawks, which is Seattle’s best unit on defense, talent-wise and depth-wise. Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are two up-and-coming stud corners who should both be primed for breakout seasons this year, and Seattle sports two of the top safeties in the league, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. Chancellor flies all around the field making tackles and impacting plays, and Thomas at his best is a ball hawk in the middle of the field providing protection from the deep ball. I really like this defense a lot and I think they will give many opponents lots of trouble. Especially at home.

Schedule

Seattle is a very tough place to play and they have an extremely passionate fan base. They definitely have a top five home field advantage in the entire league, which is saying something. I think they will give a lot of good teams a run for their money when they come play at Qwest Field, but with a rookie quarterback, as good as he might be, they will most likely struggle mightily on the road this year. Let’s check out the schedule, and see if Seattle can improve on their 7-9 record from 2011.

Week 1: W at ARI

Week 2: W vs DAL

Week 3: L vs GB (single digit loss)

Week 4: L at STL
Week 5: L at CAR
Week 6: L vs NE
Week 7: L at SF
Week 8: L at DET

Week 9: W vs MIN

Week 10: W vs NYJ

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: W at MIA

Week 13: L at CHI

Week 14: W vs ARI

Week 15: L at BUF

Week 16: W vs SF

Week 17: W vs STL

When all is said and done, I think that the 2012 Seattle Seahawks will finish 8-8, one game better than their 2011 record, but not quite good enough to make the playoffs. It doesn’t help that they play a brutal first half of the schedule, with multiple tough road games and having home games against the Pack and the Pats. However, Seattle should be proud of an 8-8 record, because that will be the best mark by any rookie quarterback this season. Seattle will have a solid season, but they still are a few pieces away from having a special team. They absolutely need to get themselves a true alpha dog receiver for Russell Wilson to throw to. They have no threats on the outside, so opposing defenses will be able to load the box and/or blitz all season long to see how Wilson responds. They also need another pass rusher (unless Irvin plays big). But this team is close, and the 49ers better watch their heels, because Seattle is coming. I’ll have my bold prediction for you, then I’ll wrap up my team previews with the St. Louis Rams. Thanks for reading, everyone.

Bold Prediction: Seattle will have a top 5 defense this season. Russell Wilson’s stats: 3,000 total yards, 25 total touchdowns, 12 interceptions.