Seattle Seahawks desperate search for offense falls short

The Seattle Seahawks were good last season in spite of themselves, mainly because their star quarterback is incredible. The team’s desperate search to get him help once again falls flat, making us question if a rebuild is required.

We are witnessing the end of an era in Seattle in real time. The Super Bowl iteration of the Seattle Seahawks has been steadily dematerializing over these past few seasons. The culmination is this offseason, where Earl Thomas and K.J. Wright are free agents. Thankfully Wright was re-signed, otherwise the only faces that remain from the heights of the Seahawks are Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. Everyone else has left.

The Seahawks used the start of free agency to retain as much of its defense as possible, but the unit wasn’t great last season. Furthermore, Wilson still lacks weapons on offense. The team’s desperate search to help him falls flat once again. Is an ugly rebuild looming?

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Seattle Seahawks in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Wilson and Wagner are two superb building blocks, but this team is obviously lacking. The offense isn’t going to have to change much from last season if it doesn’t want to, but it probably should look to change regardless. Despite most pieces returning, this was a group that blocked poorly, couldn’t generate a consistent attack through the air with Doug Baldwin in and out of the lineup, and relied too much on Wilson. Chris Carson and Tyler Lockett were bright spots in 2018, but they aren’t difference makers if the rest of the offense isn’t at least adequate.

On the other side, Seattle was essentially league-average defensively. That may be good enough for offensively potent teams, but the Seahawks were built on defense, and league-average isn’t going to cut it. There are holes now at all three levels, including the holdout of Frank Clark, who will reportedly refuse to sign his franchise tag.

Many mock drafts have the Seattle Seahawks addressing the defensive line. The team can’t continue to leave Wilson shorthanded though. Ideally, additions through the draft on defense to build another fearsome unit would be backed by veteran additions on offense.

Wilson needs line help in front of him where Seattle was incredibly poor pass blocking. Wilson’s ability to extend plays can only do so much if he can’t hit his normal drops. Right tackle and left guard are major areas of concern, He also needs more pass catchers, especially at tight end, where the Seahawks had been unearthing useful players these past few years.

This reboot was inevitable as too many star veterans hit bigger paydays after so much postseason success. It remains to be seen if this next generation of drafted players will live up to the past. We need to see more from Shaq Griffin, Ethan Pocic, Tre Flowers and others drafted in the past few years.

Continued growth from Carson and Jarran Reed will be nice too. All this is to say Seattle has work to do across the board. When future Hall of Famers get replaced by inexperience, there are going to be rough patches. It is only the pairing of Wilson and Pete Carroll that has kept this franchise out of an ugly rebuild.

Dan Salem:

Seattle’s situation reminds me a lot of the Green Bay Packers: Great quarterback with a shrinking cast of supporting talent. The Seahawks have maintained a solid defense, more or less, but their lack of an impactful running game on offense has handicapped the entire team.

Did you know Seattle was number one in the NFL in rushing yards and rushing yards per game last season? Did you know the Seahawks ranked fifth in average yards per rushing attempt? Me either! Despite being statistically good, the Seattle rushing attack felt lackluster.

Wilson obviously skews these rushing statistics, meaning something must be done. The Seahawks have maintained as much of their defense as possible, keeping linebackers Wright and Mychal Kendricks, as well as defensive back Akeem King and the aforementioned Clark. This maintains some continuity on defense to accompany the offensive continuity that exists, but where is this team getting better?

Seattle added a Pro Bowl kicker, but otherwise is operating with the same team that wasn’t good enough last season. The NFL Draft can’t solve all of their problems, so more offense must be added in free agency. At least add some depth, because you can probably get a wide receiver in the draft.

But I must come back to the running game, which needs to control things for this offense. Can’t run the football? Your offense isn’t going to be on the field very long, meaning the defense gets taxed and plays worse. No running game? Your passing game is greatly hindered and Wilson becomes more one dimensional.

The Seahawks put up nice numbers last season because of Wilson, not because they have a noteworthy running game or solid offensive line. Where’s the help? This team is dangerously close to being average, as its competition continues to improve in the NFC. You can’t rebuild when you have a franchise quarterback, so you better get him some help.