Many different experts this year believe that the Seattle Seahawks are in a transitional stage. They have already resigned the 2018-2019 season as some sort of re-building year. I understand their perspective on the issue but I am here to inform you that they are wrong. I believe that this is the best team that the Seahawks have had since their heart-breaking super bowl loss to the New England Patriots.
To begin with, the Seahawks would have been at least 11-5 last season if it wasn’t for the highly questionable field goal kicking by Blair Walsh. To put that into perspective, the Seahawks were a playoff team last year if it wasn’t for Blair Walsh constantly shanking field goals. Against the Washington Redskins Blair Walsh missed three makeable field goals which allowed the Redskins to hang around and eventually steal a win from the Seahawks at Century Link Field. He also missed a 52-yard field goal against the Falcons which would have won the game. It’s safe to say that the Blair Walsh experiment was a failure. I am grateful to have a reliable veteran in Sebastian Janikowski kicking field goals for the Hawks this year.
In the off-season the Seahawks released a variety of big name players who were actually hurting the team’s overall chemistry. As much as I will always love Richard Sherman and his energetic rants, he had lost a step last season even before the Achilles injury. Sherman averaged one penalty per game last season, before his injury, including three costly third-down penalties against the Tennessee Titans in week three. He also had a very late hit against Marcus Mariota in this game which ignited the fire within the Titan players. The Seahawks ended up losing this game. Sherman is not even close to the same player that he was during the Seahawks Super Bowl Runs. Furthermore, he was a nuisance in the locker room and has spewed constant negativity ever since Pete Carroll’s unfortunate decision to throw the ball on the one-yard line in the Super Bowl. I will always love you Sherman but you have become a mediocre player at best.
On offense the Seahawks released the most overrated player in team history, Jimmy “I Don’t Block” Graham. Now don’t get me wrong Jimmy Graham is an amazing receiving tight end but that is never what the Seahawks have needed. The Pete Carroll era Seahawks are a team built on the power run. A good power running team generally needs a blocking tight end. In 2014 before Jimmy Graham was a Seahawk, the Hawks averaged 5.3 yards per rush attempt. After signing Graham in 2015 the Hawks averaged 4.5 yards per rush attempt. In 2016 and 2017 respectively, the Hawks averaged 3.9 and 4.0 yards per carry. Jimmy Graham doesn’t believe in blocking. If the Seahawks had a dominating offensive line than Jimmy Graham would have been a great fit for the Hawks, but the Seahawks never had the right personnel to make this a reality. Furthermore, Jimmy Graham constantly demanded the ball and took touches away from other players, mainly Doug Baldwin. Losing Jimmy Graham is a huge benefit to the Seahawks and gives me extreme confidence in the upcoming season. As far as I’m concerned, I hope Jimmy flies his plane to the land of the cheese heads and never comes back.
Losing these two players will improve the locker room morale and give new players and veterans alike an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
One of these new players is Brandon Marshall. Brandon Marshall is the most physically talented receiver that the Seahawks have had in the Pete Carroll era. Marshall has over 12,000 receiving yards and over 80 touchdowns in his career. Furthermore, Marshall has never played with a good quarterback in his career with the exception of Eli Manning last season. Marshall has put up amazing careers stats catching balls from the likes of Jay Cutler, Chad Henne, and Kyle Orton. I am excited to see what Brandon Marshall can do playing alongside an elite quarterback in Russell Wilson.
Another key addition to the Hawks this year is rookie tight end Will Dissly. Dissly is a 4thround draft-pick out of the University of Washington. He is a solid blocker and will help improve the Seahawks power run game this season. The injury to Ed Dickson will immediately give Dissly a chance to prove himself in the NFL. I am excited to see what the rookie will do with the opportunity. He is the first true blocking tight end we have had since Zach Miller and all Miller did with the Seahawks is win a super-bowl.
A returning player I am excited to see this season is running back Mike Davis. Many Seahawk fans don’t even know who Mike Davis is. I believe that Mike Davis is the most over-looked player on the entire Seahawks roster. He isn’t the fastest, strongest, or the most elusive running back in the NFL but he gets the job done. Whenever he is on the field he finds a way to make plays. Mike Davis runs hard every time he carries the ball and has great vision for a running back. He led all Seahawks running backs in running yards last season with 240 yards. Furthermore, Davis averaged 4.3 yards per carry in this year’s preseason leading all Seahawks running backs in this statistic. Chris Carson will be the starting running back this season but Mike Davis is a name to remember. If Davis gets enough touches this season he could become a fan favorite overnight. He has a skill-set comparable to former 49ers running back Frank Gore. I see something special in this kid and I can’t wait to watch him on the field this year.
I am predicting that the Seahawks will finish 12-4 or 11-5 this season. I believe that this Seahawks team will return to the power run style that made the Seahawks so dominant during their Super Bowl runs. I can’t confidently say that the Seahawks will win the Super Bowl this season but I am convinced that they will make the playoffs. All I know for sure is that this is a much different roster than the Hawks had last season and I can’t wait to see how this season plays out. I guess all that’s left to say for now is GO HAWKS!
