My Expectations: Seattle Seahawks Will Regain the Perch

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Unless you’re the New England Patriots, if you finish 4-12 you are not likely to be a favorite to win your division the following season. After a dismal 4-12 campaign, the Seahawks are underdogs in the NFC West to the one-year-wonder Arizona Cardinals.

The slight is not unjustified; The Cardinals are the defending NFC Champions and were within grasp of a stunning upset of the heavy-favorite Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

Even after a four-year reign atop the NFC West, and five straight playoff appearances, the Seahawks are now merely an afterthought.

Injuries decimated the team in 2008; still that aspect cannot be the sole blame for playing some bad and ineffective football. Whenever you lose a total of seven WR’s, you know the football gods are not on your side. Add in the mix of a Pro Bowl QB missing nine games, your entire OL going on IR, and a Holmgren in a pear tree, a dreary season was to ensue.

Hope is not lost, in 2008 three teams (Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons) climbed out of the cellars to make the postseason after posting 1-15, 5-11, and 4-12 records, respectively in 2007. All three employed rookie head coaches, and new QB’s (two were rookies), that mix does not generally bode well in the first season.

We saw it when Matt Hasselbeck came over from Green Bay in 2001. It was two years before the Seahawks saw the playoffs with him at QB. He even had familiarity with coach Mike Holmgren from their time in Green Bay to boot.

The Seahawks have had the best off-season in the league so far. Instead of stripping down the team’s core, they went out and restocked the ammunition. They added pieces to a team that is built to win now. With their moves, I expect them to become the next 2008 Atlanta Falcons.

The Expectation

The Seattle Seahawks will be nothing less then NFC West champions in 2009. Seattle has won the NFC West four out of five years and it took an injury plague to wipe them from contention in 2008. They were not only playing terrible football, they were playing bad with a good portion of the reserves in as well.

With a healthy, and upgraded roster, the Seahawks will certainly push for the crown, and fly under the radar as the usual modus operandi. Despite their pathetic output last season they were only 14 points away from postseason contention (six-point loss to AZ, three points to WAS, two points MIA, three points NE). 

If healthy there is no reason to believe the Seahawks cannot dominate the West like they have in recent years, and for years to come.

The Cardinals have as many division titles in their history as Seattle does in the last five seasons. As of now they are the defending NFC Champions, and Seattle is coming off a third place finish. The Cardinals finally broke through the matra "Their going to do it this year, there going to win the West."

With magical QB Kurt Warner at the helm, they can certainly make another title run. Although I have yet to be convinced until I see a repeat performance considering their multiple shellshackings on the road (47-7 Patriots, 56-35 Jets, etc.). Regardless, the Cardinals deserve the respect they earned by making the Super Bowl last season.

If the Cardinals can drop bombs on people with their aerial assault as per usual, they have a strong chance to keep their crown. If they can find a running game with rookie Chris Wells at RB, the Seahawks could have their hands full. Someone the Seahawks will not be able to stop is WR Larry Fitzgerald, few CB’s in the league have an answer for him.

Seahawks Significant Offseason Activity

Their first signing was grabbing NT Colin Cole with a five-year, $21.4 million contract. Cole is massive (6'1", 330 lbs) and commands double teams on every down. He opens up the rest of the DL, and helps keep bodies off of the LB’s. Cole gives the Seahawks a much-needed run stuffer with good size.

The Cole signing was hardly on the minds of Seattle fans; I know my eyes were on a much bigger prize.

At the time the Cole signing commenced, marquee FA WR TJ Houshmandzadeh was making up his mind between the Seahawks, Vikings

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