Seattle Seahawks: 3 Key factors for conquering the NFC West
By Samuel Teets
Lockdown defense
When the Seahawks held opposing teams to under 20 points, they were 6-0 in 2018. Conversely, when they allowed 24 points or more, they were just 4-7 (including playoffs). While the Seahawks have a bunch of talented players on their offense, their running style isn’t built to consistently outgun high scoring teams. That puts a lot of pressure on the defense to keep games low scoring and within reach.
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Last year, injuries and absences tormented the Seahawks defense. Earl Thomas was lost midway through the fourth game of the season, Bobby Wagner was hobbled for a few weeks, and K.J. Wright only played in five games. Mychal Kendricks‘ spotty availability didn’t help either.
Things are looking better this offseason though as both Wagner and Wright should be fully healthy and ready to go. The Kendricks situation is still working itself out, but there’s hope he’ll play this year as well.
Besides health, the Seahawks also have several maturing players who should be ready to raise their games in 2019. Shaquill Griffin is looking to take the next step this offseason and follow in the Legion of Boom’s footsteps by becoming elite.
Tre Flowers is entering his second season in the league and is still getting adjusted to playing corner at the pro level. After a breakout year, Jarran Reed is looking to become a Pro Bowler in his fourth season, and second-year players Rasheem Green, Shaquem Griffin, and Jacob Martin are all looking to earn more playing time.
If there’s one fear I have about the defense going into 2019 though, it’s how the unit looks going forward. Reed and Bobby Wagner are in the final years of their contracts. While both of these players are true professionals and are expected to show up and play, we saw what happened to Thomas last season.
Wagner is in a similar boat to his former safety teammate. 2019 will be Wagner’s age-29 season, just like 2018 was for Thomas, and both players have been banged up in the past. We’ll see how the situation plays out, but the worst-case scenario could get very dramatic for Seattle.