Happy Halfway Day!

Every football fan knows that the offseason is long, and with the lack of news about signings, OTAs and other items during much of the offseason, it can drag.  That’s why I am here to tell you that today is a holiday - today is Halfway Day.

This year there are 214 days between the Super Bowl and the start of the 2016 regular season, and today is the midway point.  We have made it halfway to the goal of living through the offseason.  We are now more than three and half months into the offseason, with just under two months left until the start of training camp.

The Seahawks first preseason game is on August 13, a mere 81 days away.  While that might seem like a long time off, rookies can report up to three weeks prior to that date, which would be 60 days, or just two months from now.  Veterans are able to report two weeks prior to the first preseason game, so we’ll have to wait a little extra before we can enjoy seeing the players we love back on the field.

That said, a lot has changed in the 107 days since we watched the Super Bowl, and 2016 is shaping up to be an extremely exciting season.  Marshawn and Ricardo Lockette have retired, while Rawls and Graham continue to rehab, but the team returns the overwhelming majority of its starting defense.  This is particularly true if one wants to consider the nickel defense as the starting lineup, in which case 10 of 11 starters return from the number one scoring defense.  It’s possible the only spot which isn’t all but locked down on the defense is inside where second round pick Jarran Reed seems the early favorite to fill in the spot left by Mebane who went to play for the much more talented Chargers defense that finished 21st in points allowed last season.

In addition, the running back position should be interesting, with a bevy of backs duking it out for the right to be the first Seahawks running back in the post-Beast Mode era.  These backs will be running behind a completely revamped offensive line, and we’ll see if they can create a pocket for Russell to throw from.  If the offensive line can provide some protection for Russell, then it could be a long season for opposing defenses, who will have to attempt to slow down an offense loaded with weapons added in the draft (Prosise, Collins and Vannett) and returning from injury (Rawls, Prich and Graham).

However, we’ve come to know that this front office will not sleep and will continue to scour the landscape for potential acquisitions, with bottom of the roster churn the norm for Pete and John.  As such, as excited as I am (and as excited as I’m sure you all are) there’s plenty of time for things to change between now and opening day, but at least we’ve had an exciting 107 days of bringing in new talent, watching J.R. Sweezy get overpaid and over analyzing everything we possibly can.

Happy Halfway Day!  Just 107 days until regular season football is back upon us.