Let them over👀 the Seahawks

The Seahawks are not a fourth place team, but that's what others seem to think

I try never to give the Seahawks a homerism advantage at Seaside Joe — my objective is to be objective — which is why it’s all the more relevant when I say that the general perception of the franchise (fourth in the division, not a playoff team) is WAY DIFFERENT than my own.

I don’t write that the Seahawks are a playoff team, maybe even a good one, because I am a Seahawks fan. That would be like Robert Englund (actor who plays Freddy Krueger) saying that all the Nightmare on Elm Street movies are good. Well sure you’d say that, they’re your movies!

But I’ve seen 2, 4, 5, 6, and Freddy vs. Jason…movies that only a superfan could defend.

And similar to a film franchise or a TV show that you hold dear, everyone who reads this newsletter never misses an episode of the Seattle Seahawks. We’ll watch whether they are great, good, mediocre, bad, or the 2010 remake.

For the past 10 years, the Seahawks have been acceptably entertaining. Although I do semi-disagree with John Schneider’s stated intention of the franchise, as he explained in this hour-long interview recently, which is that the Seahawks are supposed to be a “consistent championship caliber” football team:

The Seahawks have been a consistent playoff caliber football team. But if you fail to get past the second round of the playoffs for ten years in a row, you are not a championship caliber team.

Despite critics and many analysts arguing that Seattle is currently the fourth best team in the NFC West, I do think that the Seahawks could make a run at it next season and become what Schneider says they already are: a championship caliber team.

Based on their recent draft investments since trading Russell Wilson three years ago and hiring Mike Macdonald as the new head coach/defensive coordinator in 2024, the Seahawks are running out of excuses to not become one of those soon.

I think the Seahawks are on the verge. Not everyone agrees with me. Which is fine (remember when Bill Barnwell wrote that the Seahawks had the worst offseason out of all 32 teams in 2022?), and it could even work to Macdonald’s advantage.

SI’s Gil Manzano ranks Seattle’s roster 4th out of 4:

Seattle’s defense could make strides in Year 2 under coach Mike Macdonald. There’s plenty of talent throughout this defense, which could be better with second-round rookie safety Nick Emmanwori. But this secondary needs better performances from cornerback Riq Woolen, who has regressed since his impressive rookie season in 2022.

I don’t find Manzano’s takes to be entirely unreasonable, which is that the Seahawks took a gamble by replacing their quarterback and top receiver with options who have question marks (keeping Geno Smith and paying DK Metcalf would have simply been a different kind of gamble and not necessarily “the safe route”) and that certan starters have much to prove.

But the Cardinals have the second-best roster in the division?

Arizona’s offensive line appears worse than Seattle’s and even includes a player or two who were not good enough for the Seahawks: Evan Brown and Jake Curhan. (And McClendon Curtis is there too.)

In Macdonald’s first year, the Seahawks were 5th in points allowed per drive. In Jonathan Gannon’s second year, the Cardinals were 21st in the same category. Arizona has invested a lot into their defense (several high-profile free agents and most of their draft class) but rarely do projects this big get fixed in one offseason.

In other words, it is more understandable that “Seattle has to prove themselves” than it is that they’re worse off than a suddenly-popular Cardinals team that lost 13 games in 2022 and 2023 and went 8-9 in 2024.

(The Seahawks have only lost more than 12 games once in franchise history.)

Vegas Odds: +500 to win the NFC West

1. 49ers, +150

2. Rams, +160

3. Seahawks, +500

4. Cardinals, +550

Again, the issue here is more about relativity than skepticism directed at the Seahawks. Bettors find little difference between Seattle and Arizona, but more curiously think that the 49ers are MUCH better off than the Seahawks.

However, it gets worse for Conferece Championship odds: The Seahawks (+3500) are 13th, behind the Cardinals, as well as the Bears, Cowboys, and Falcons.

The 49ers are third!

As I’ve mentioned recently and several times before, San Francisco does have the advantage of a fourth place schedule from going 6-11 last season, and they’re the best “worst team” in the NFL. But third-best odds in the NFC?

And for the Seahawks, it’s stunning that whether we point the finger at the media or the fans, somehow Seattle winds up behind a team that won half as many games as them in 2024 (5-12 Bears), behind the Cowboys, behind the Cardinals, and behind a team with Raheem Morris and Michael Penix.

Do people really find Sam Darnold’s 2024 season to be that unbelievable?

How is it that a year ago, the media hailed Darnold as a QB who “only needed a real chance” to become a star away from the Jets and Panthers…

But now that he actually did it, he’s overrated and set to fail.

Darnold is probably not going to be the best quarterback in the NFC West and I’m not saying that this stat matters all that much, but I find it interesting as far as the perception of these four quarterbacks:

• Darnold had 35 TD passes in 2024

• Brock Purdy’s career high is 31 TD (Purdy had 20 TD in 2024)

• Kyler Murray’s career high is 26 TD (Murray had 21 TD in 2024)

• Matthew Stafford’s career high is 41 TD, which he has done twice in the last 16 years. His third-best season is 32 TD. (Stafford had 20 TD in 2024)

Give credit where credit is due, which is probably somewhere between Justin Jefferson’s skills as a receiver and Kevin O’Connell’s abilities as a play caller, but if the Seahawks found answers with Klint Kubiak, Cooper Kupp, Grey Zabel, and Elijah Arroyo being added to the offense this season then Darnold has proven capable to perform under ideal circumstances.

He had almost as many touchdown passes in 2024 as any other two QBs in the NFC West combined!

But in CBS Sports’ QB power rankings, Darnold was 22nd in the NFL, behind the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence, Geno Smith, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, Dak Prescott, and best of all….J.J. MCCARTHY!

A 22-year-old first-time starter with zero NFL snaps, coming off multiple knee surgeries? McCarthy's obviously a major projection. But man is he set up to excel in Minnesota, boasting an upgraded line, elite pass targets and a beloved head coach in Kevin O'Connell. A playoff push might be the expectation.

NFL.com Power Rankings: 19th

A reader brought this up after the draft, specifically the fact that the three other NFC West teams were all ahead of the Seahawks, so it’s been addressed once already.

Fascinating situation up there for a team that was remarkably hot and cold last season and let a playoff spot slip through its fingers.

I don’t necessarily agree that Seattle was “hot and cold”, other than to say that they beat some really bad teams, then they lost to some good teams. The Seahawks simply lost to teams that were better than them and beat teams that were worse than them (with a few exceptions) which is how sports usually works.

The question should not be if the Seahawks will be more consistent next season. It should be:

Are the Seahawks one of the best teams next season?

If there are only a few teams better than them on their schedule, then “consistency” will follow.

What I see is a defense that doesn’t have many (any?) holes when the starters are healthy and an offense that figures to be unpredictable after so many changes (OC, QB, WR2, WR3, maybe TE, 2-3 OL) in the offseason.

But if they’re overlooking the Seahawks, so what? It only stands to benefit Macdonald and Darnold, so long as their early season opponents are overlooking them too.

Seaside Joe 2258