Be proud of the Always Compete 2018 Seahawks

The 2018 Seattle Seahawks are a team to proud of, whatever happens from this point forward. The Los Angeles Rams loss was a disappointing one. However, the overarching feeling should be one of pride, not sorrow or anger.

Effort is subjective and difficult to measure, particularly in football. In the earth’s best sport, a certain level of effort is required otherwise players will get hurt. Still, the fight of the 2018 Seahawks is something that fans can be immensely proud of.

Because, talented quarterback or not, this is undoubtedly a rebuilding year. Most of the Seahawks’ roster has a patchwork feel. They’re utterly desperate for pass-rushing talent; frequently seeing quarterbacks given days of time to dissect the defense.

And yet, even in defeats, Seattle is playing teams close. This includes their losses to the best team in the NFL whose talent level starkly outmatches the Seahawks’. Despite everything that transpired, despite all the doomsday dark proclamation pieces calling an end to the Pete Carroll era, Seattle is still fighting. Every L this season has been by a single score or less.

Contrast this with the ‘quit’ of the 1993-1998 Seahawks teams. Compare it to the resignation of Mike Holmgren’s second season in 2000. These 2018 Seahawks? They’re warriors who will not give in to narrative, foregone conclusions and their own deficiencies—even if the ending is still frustrating toil.

The biggest question heading into this new iteration of Seattle was whether Carroll could still get “buy-in” from players—or if his somewhat corny stories and enthusiastic approach had expired as an effective strategy. The Seahawks are nine games into the season and sit below .500.

Nevertheless, it’s clear the days of players reading books and falling asleep in team meetings are thankfully gone. Last year’s sense of an ‘all-in’ Seattle slipping into playing below their ability has been dramatically reversed into the exact opposite. The 2018 Seahawks will not give in. Carroll is their crazed hypeman.

Furthermore, John Schneider’s roster management seems capabale of producing another elite squad. The rookie days of his 2018 draft class already look impressive. In next year’s free agency, cap room will be back. Another injection of younger talent to the current personnel and suddenly Seattle will be back in Super Bowl-contender conversation.

This young, hungry-once-more team is heading for a top-10 DVOA finish. Making the playoffs is going to be tough, given they can likely afford only one more loss. But, post-season or not, this is a team that is a pleasure to support. I’ll dig into the deeper schematic positives and negatives in two editions of Seahawks on tape this week; though no Xs and Os are needed to quantify the lovability of this scrappy underdog.

They meet all the clichés of fighting until the last whistle. Of punching above their own weight. The Seahawks’ perpetual drive gives them a distinctly positive, exciting, “one year away” feeling. Hope has been restored. Always Compete.