Change was inevitable, but now its a necessity for the Seattle Seahawks. In order to keep their streak of winning seasons alive, the team must reboot their offense in 2018.
No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s continue the team-by-team overview with the Seattle Seahawks.
As the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers continue to rise, it sure feels like the Seattle Seahawks are on the downside of contention. We knew this was coming years ago. The team had too many similarly aged stars who would price themselves out of long-term contracts, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. Add to that the potentially career-ending injuries to Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor. The edge has been reached, and 2018 must be reboot for Seattle, especially on offense.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Seattle Sehawks in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
Seattle’s defensive line is unrecognizable though not untalented. Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas still roam the middle of the field, which is always a good thing. Despite all the defensive turnover, Seattle’s most pressing issues this coming season will actually be on offense.
Russell Wilson is like the 2016-17 Russell Westbrook of the NFL. His usage rate is off the charts, and no one helps him out. But which came first, an offensive star feeling the need to dominate all aspects of a playbook to survive, or teammates conceding touches to a star that dominates all aspects of a playbook? It isn’t the same thing in football obviously as it is in the NBA, but the parallels are there.
Around Wilson, there are nothing but replacement-level running backs. Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson are both gone. Even disappointing receivers like Paul Richardson will be sorely missed. And remember, in front of Wilson is one of the most critically chastised offensive lines in the league.
How much is Wilson worth exactly? Or, perhaps a better question, could the Seahawks have the worst offense in the NFL next season?
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In 2017, Buffalo dropped from 10th to 26th according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA. Indianapolis fell from 12th to 29th. As we know, the Rams jumped from dead last to sixth. Drastic moves aren’t abnormal, and Seattle was only 14th a season ago to begin with.
We still have a ways to go in the offseason, but the most pressing questions about Seattle feel pretty dark. Is this the worst offense in football, and is this suddenly the worst team in the NFC West? In the NFL, changes sure come at you quickly.
Dan Salem:
We are about to find out just how valuable a quarterback can be, because Wilson is currently the entirety of Seattle’s offense. I’m not sure if this is a knock on Pete Carroll, but it’s unacceptable when your quarterback is your leading rusher as Wilson was in 2017. Under Carroll, the Seahawks made the playoffs in six of his eight seasons and ended with a winning record in another six seasons. That is the definition of success, yet the team has been treading water for two years and can’t keep it up forever.
Wilson has taken his Seahawks to the playoffs in five of his six seasons and never had a losing record. Consider me skeptical of this streak continuing in 2018. I’m not ready to put the 49ers ahead of Seattle, but the Rams have only gained ground. With Arizona getting David Johnson back, they will once again be a viable opponent as well. The Seahawks can reboot on offense and still keep winning, but that will come down to Wilson. It also requires them to find a reliable running back.
Doug Baldwin is still at wide receiver, so that is a positive. He’s been the team’s leading receiver for several years running. Yet there are still major holes at running back and tight end, until someone steps up to prove things otherwise. The draft can potentially plug them up, but it can’t fix everything immediately. I would argue that improving the offensive line is even more critical, as doing so would improve the running game and Wilson’s ability to shine as a result.
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You’re analogy to Westbrook was spot on and the results appear to be heading in a similar direction. The star player shines, but its not enough to make the team great. You never want to be one injury away from irrelevance, but that is the situation as Seattle attempts to find new Pro Bowl talent for its offense.