FanPost

What Should We Be Expecting This Year?

I was reading through the comments on the fanpost discussing who the Seahawks starting QB will be next year, and noticed a commenter arguing that PC and JS should be fired following what he considered a woeful draft (I would like to point out at this stage that this post is not up to discuss, or in any way draw negative attention to that commenter. Everyone is entitled to an opinion). The responses were unanimously in favor of the current regime, but it did get me thinking, is year three of this front office the year when it should be expected that “Always Compete” should translate to “Always Compete for the Superbowl?”

I’m a huge fan of both John Schneider and Pete Carroll, and feel that the way that this roster has been reconstructed since their arrival has been nothing short of exceptional. Watching Jim Mora’s disinterested and, by NFL standards, largely untalented troops stumble their way through an inept 2009 had led many of us to believe that we were entering a phase in Seahawks football that would be characterized by multiple losing seasons and numerous high draft picks. We’d had our period atop the NFC West, now was the time to slowly rebuild.

Although it’s impossible to say with certainty, I’m sure most of us would agree that this rebuild wouldn’t have achieved the same success had we not brought in PC and JS to administer it. A cursory glance at our revamped secondary paints a picture of the unique vision they had in mind, a combination of genetic mutants with Stretch Armstrong-like limbs, and speedy ballhawks with an eye for the ball. From the off, this front office was going to do it their way, with little or no regard to the accepted prototypes and conventions of the NFL.

Looking back on this draft, it’s my opinion that roster construction is complete. On defence, we have our oversized line, pass rushers, speedy backers, press corners and “little and large” safeties. On offence, we’ve previously brought in (and paid top dollar to) Sidney Rice, Zach Miller and Marshawn Lynch as well as drafting two 1st round bookend tackles. This year, Matt Flynn and Russell Wilson have been acquired to compete with T-Jax. To get to my point, there’s no area on the roster that doesn’t have PC / JS’s stamp on it, this is a team fully comprised of talent that they evaluated and invested in.

So, after three off-seasons (a lifetime in the NFL) at what point does liking the direction that the franchise is going in transform to expecting the Seahawks to legitimately contend for a championship? We all expect, and hope for, improvement, but what are our true expectations for this year? The NFC West is getting steadily stronger, but is still one of the lesser divisions in the NFL. So, at this point, should we as fans consider an 8-8 season cause to question Schneider and Carroll’s respective positions?