Founded in 1975, the Seattle Seahawks took to the field for the first time on August 1st 1976 in a pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers. A poor performance both in the pre-season (one win) and regular season (just two wins) left them at the bottom of the NFC West division. In 1977, the Hawks moved to the AFC West, and would not return to the NFC West until 2002. The rest of the 1970s saw steady improvements in performance, and despite a poor season in 1980, the Hawks had their first post-season appearance in 1983 and finished the 1984 season 12-4, their best season until 2005. Poor performance in the 1990s led to changes in coaching staff, including the head coach, and in 2002 they moved to a new stadium. Despite having their best season in 2005, finishing 13-3, they lost the Superbowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
More recently, over the last decade, the Seahawks have made 8 out of 10 playoffs. In 2010 the Seahawks made history by making the playoffs despite a 7-9 losing record. They also made history when their fans caused a small earthquake in the Seattle area following a 67-yard run from Lynch, breaking 9 tackles along the way, clinching victory. The Hawks improved steadily, being undefeated at home in 2012 and winning the Superbowl in 2013. In 2014 they reached the Superbowl again but were defeated by the Denver Broncos.
The 2020 NFL season has started well for the Seahawks, winning all of their games so far. However, as the season has progressed, the margins have become increasingly smaller as opponents are getting stronger and working together more cohesively; the most recent win against the Vikings was by just one point, having trailed by 13 at half time. Nonetheless, experts and bookies feel that the Seahawks have every chance of being successful this season, and they’re now third favorites to win the championship in the betting online.
Despite their initial success, the Seattle Seahawks must ensure that they keep pace with the other teams. One thing that has come through from this season is that the changes that have been made in response to the current global situation have affected many of the teams in the NFL. The cancelling of the pre-season games has meant that teams have been unable to practice as a team in a live setting, and the first time many of the teams got to play together was in the regular season. This has led to most teams needing to acclimatise and find the style of play that works for them as a team, resulting in poor performance from some teams where it would not have been expected. Another change that has been made that will affect the Seahawks is the lack of fans at the games. Often referred to as the 12th player, the 12s, the fans have always been key to the Seahawks style of gameplay, their support invaluable in motivating and driving team performance. With the stadium empty for at least the first half of the season, this will undoubtedly take its toll on the players, and is something to be taken into consideration.
Impressively, despite a roaring start to the season, it is clear that there is still a lot of room for growth and improvement in the Seahawks’ game. This prospect should terrify opponents and bring comfort to the fans. One area that has room for improvement is the offense: whilst it is explosive and an average of 35.5 points per game is second only to the Packers, the third down the Seahawks are at 38.5%, ranked 23rd in the NFL.
Improvements there could ensure continued success. Additionally, the defence, whilst strong, can certainly limit the number of points it allows past it. One area that can be improved on is the tackles, with the aim for the number of missed tackles to be in the single digits in each game. It will also be vital for the Seahawks to continue their investment in and support on the field of Russell Wilson, who is a shining star in NFL and perhaps the best quarterback playing today. Even with the headsets down, Wilson took on the role and ensured continued cohesion and strong gameplay. Wilson has also been improving his gameplay; his worst passing of the season so far at 112.4 is better than his seasons best in 2018 of 110.9, showing just how much he has, and is growing and developing as a player.
