No news, new narrative?

The latest news out of Seattle is that there is no latest news.

We're smack in the middle of the NFL doldrums, adrift in a windless calm, wandering a dune-strewn football desert in search of any oasis of interest. Shimmering far off on the horizon are Vegas-bright circus lights illuming a tremendous towering word that begins with a "D," but the rest is too far off to discern. Underground can be heard the subtle shifting of magisterial machinations, the deliberate buzz and hum of a process unknown but that has brought the Emerald City such glory out of seemingly nowhere in the past, and that I trust to again.

But right now? Nada. Zip. Not much. Chris Clemons signed? Ok. Birthdays for half the Legion of Boom? Happy for them, but a little sad too. A bevy of possible players Seattle might maybe potentially take in the draft? Fun to think about, but hardly concrete.

So, what about that old chestnut, "no news is good news;" too trite to be true? For Seahawks fans, maybe not. Might this be the year that the Seahawks do the expected, which would certainly be unexpected for a team that never does the expected? It would almost be a surprise, no, if Pete Carroll and John Schneider simply stuck with pick twenty-six and nabbed an O-liner? It would, at least, be different. Or maybe...oh no! I'm hallucinating hypotheticals; weren't I talking about news?

It is, in a way, almost curious that the NFL, which strives to eek every ounce of entertainment out of their turf-prowling gladiators and their concomitant drama, hasn't hatched some sort of scheme to distract we hoi polloi from ogling this new spectacle of men with bats occasionally hitting balls - even if just an ungainly abomination like the Pro-Bowl.

But no, now is the time of quiet gestation, of draft anticipation, and of wild, unhinged speculation - also, like participants of a post-white elephant party, we get to peer at what gewgaws others were gifted or nicked in free agency, and ponder what their teams may look like now, and perhaps even envy some of the fancier pieces, still sitting in the center of a shimmery corona of wrapping paper. In short, to familiarize oneself with the new topography of the league. Boy, those Raiders look interesting, don't they?

Anyway, since I am a new contributor here at Field Gulls, and thus, by definition, myself a sort of "news" of the most lowercase kind, I should qualify, given the opportunity granted by this calm before the late April storm, that my understanding of what is and isn't news is entirely subjective. So, since I'm a News and Transactions writer, and maybe you'd like to hear more about a tidbit that you find fascinating but that simply hasn't hit with the mainstream yet, you can contact me via twitter @LucasOsterW (I just created the account - I am a twitter naif, so forgive my maladroit twittering) and I will weigh the request with Osiris-like circumspection.

Thus, in lieu of new news, I'd like to throw forth the following for discussion: what has been the theme of the Seahawks offseason for you? What's been its defining moment?

I realize the offseason isn't over yet, but for me, its been the relative quiet itself that's been decisive in determining the new narrative. Pete Carroll and John Schneider are patiently and deliberately tweaking an already menacing machine. But perhaps the defining theme thus far has been the disarray surrounding the offensive line? Or the seeming rejuvenation of The Legion of Boom? Or Russell Wilson marrying Ciara?

The Seahawks are in an interesting place right now; they appear, from the outside, to be somewhat protean and unformed, but all the more dangerous for it. They could go anywhere from how they're presently constituted. So what say you? Where do you think the Seahawks' offseason is headed based on the moves they've made thus far? Can you see a design in the meticulous maneuvering of Pete Carroll and John Schneider?

April, too, has ides - a lull affording the spectator a little opportunity to speculate on what comes next. Soon enough, a large man will be standing on a podium awkwardly wearing a Seahawks hat and holding a college navy-colored shirt; the wind will pick up, the desert will give way to green, chalk-lined fields, and the 2016 NFL season will shift into more visible motion.

Till then, take some time to ponder while Robinson Cano casually swings his bat in the on-deck circle: if you had to summarize the Seahawks' offseason up till now in a couple of words, what would they be?