4 Reasons to Believe the Seattle Seahawks Will Repeat as NFC West Champions

With the lockout on the brink of extinction, it's time to start up the competitive rhetoric. The Seahawks will repeat as NFC West champions!

Uh, not so fast. Let's be real. The Seahawks may have won the division last season, but they are no given to repeat.

They are "rebuilding," as is the division as a whole, but all four clubs are trying to gain a competitive edge.

The NFC is becoming a more competitive conference, and teams in the West know they need to win the division to get into the playoffs. During the collective "rebuild," a wild-card berth is no given, especially if 7-9 or 8-8 wins the division next season.

The NFC South had three 10-win teams last season. The NFC East isn't far behind, three of the four teams are almost-yearly playoff contenders. Oh, the NFC North supplied the two teams in the conference title game and the Super Bowl champion. 

Every team in the division will try to win the NFC West—or at least start the season with that goal—as winning the West is the only surefire way to make the playoffs in 2011.

Here are four reasons why Seattle has a chance to repeat. 

Seattle Is in Transition, but so Is the Division. Is Seattle Ahead of the Curve?

As mentioned, the entire division is undergoing repair, and no, that image has nothing to do with Golden Tate.

Jim Harbaugh is in his first season ushering the overhaul for the 49ers. He's a confident coach who is looking to rebuild a program in the Bay Area for the second time. Could they surprise in 2011?

The Cardinals are searching for a franchise quarterback and may be looking to re-shape their roster and become younger. But they had a solid draft and are looking to regain their division title. 

The Rams have a franchise quaterback and budding defense but are undergoing a transition into a more complex offensive during a lockout. There is a chance free agency brings the Rams some integral pieces. 

A competitive, growing division.

Seattle has a new assistant head coach, new offensive coordinator and new quarterback coach. On defense, they have a new defensive line coach, in addition to other changes.

And while the changes appear to be a hindrance on the positive effect of momentum, Pete Carroll has insisted from day one the changes are meant to enhance the teaching of his football philosophy, to better the message he's trying to bring to Seattle.

Many of the hires were the result of lengthy, multiple decade-plus football relationships. Carroll sees the program ready to hit the ground running after the lockout.  

Carroll has continually mentioned during offseason pressers, particularly pertaining to the draft, about the extra time the coaches have had to tweak, alter and generally be more involved. Perhaps more time to gel as a coaching staff before teaching the philosophy to the players? A clearer message?

Carroll spoke early in the offseason about aiding the offensive transition. Potential changes on offense could pleasantly surprise fans in coming seasons, and the extra time to prepare for 2011 hopefully has allowed the staff to fine tune the gameplan for next season.  

The organization faces a tough task, but it's an open race in the NFC West. It's anyone's guess as to who will take the biggest step forward in 2011, and we already learned the unexpected is certainly possibly with the new Seahawks regime.

They Are Already on Top and Intend to Stay There, "Win Forever"

Simply put, Pete Carroll is always optimistic and heading into 2011, why shouldn't he be?

A bevy of free agents to re-sign or replace? Check.

One quarterback on the roster, with exactly two career starts? Check.

Heading into free agency in the unenviable position of facing another roster overhaul? Check.

Nearly 300 roster transactions in year one—only 27 players on the current NFL.com roster are players from the old Seahawks' regime—and an NFC West title, against nearly all expectations? Check. 

Pete Carroll came to a dream-like job in Seattle, because of his power as vice president of football operations, and the "always compete" attitude that came with him has percolated into the fabric of the organization.

This article and video by Doug Farrar of Yahoo! gives sound insight into the "win forever" philosophy Carroll preaches. 

So while the Seahawks overachieved in the eyes of many, their eyes are on maintaining the prize. Some in the locker room may feel the team achieved in 2010, but some wins were left on the field. They did lose seven of nine in the "middle" of the season.

Confidence building, Leon Washington led out a losing locker room in Chicago after the Divisional playoff loss with a, "The best is yet to come...believe that."

Pete Carroll made it clear to the fans, less than a week after the loss in Chicago, their intention for the future. To own the division. 

Many are doubting their ability to repeat, but there appears to be a growing belief within the organization that success is on the horizon. "Buy in," or move on.   

Leon Washington Spreads the Word; Pete Carroll Is "Great to Work With"

Pete Carroll's always upbeat nature is somewhat of a mystery to those who don't understand how one can be so up-beat, all the time. 

However, that up-beat nature has been a selling point for Leon Washington staying in Seattle, and he's spreading the message. He had the following to say about his offseason last week on 950 KJR:

First, on the status of many of Seattle's free agents:

"

"I've got a feeling that most of the free agents that we have on the team that could potentially go somewhere else, want to be in Seattle, want to play for Coach Carroll, they want to play for John Schneider.

We have a great coaching staff and great teammates so, that's the thing...if we got a lot of the guys back that we had last year, and you know, we'll obviously have a lot of help from free agency, we could be a pretty special team. Especially in the NFC West.

"

According to Washington, the locker room wants to remain, for the most part, intact.

"We don't want to take a step back." 

Washington took it one step further and revealed the vibe of his offseason recruiting, in regards to if players are interested in coming to Seattle:

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"Yeah, I can definitely tell you there is. I've been in New York three times since I've been back over here on the East Coast, and I've run into a lot of my former teammates with the Jets, and every player asks me, you know, how is Pete Carroll, how is he to play for? And I tell them man, 'He's a SoCal guy, happy-go-lucky, always positive, and he's great to work with.'

We're going to have an opportunity to get some guys to come in and play in Seattle, because it's a beautiful city, that's why I decided to come back for the next four years, and I love it there. So hopefully we get some guys that feel the same way and can come out here and help us out."

"

Leon came back to Seattle to work towards owning the division and earning a home playoff game every year. Sounds like he has been doing his part during the lockout to make his bold statement a reality.  

CenturyLink Field, Home of the 12th Man

We all know Seattle is one of the NFL's most head-ringing places to play as an opponent.

A stadium where opponent false starts are celebrated by showing a list of stadiums and opponent false starts, with Seattle on top of the list. The counter moving one penalty higher with each flag thrown and the resulting roll of the hands.

If nothing else, the Seahawks can always rely on the 12th man. It no secret this organization wants to give it their all for the fans every home game, but they also expect the fans to return the favor. 

Seattle was 6-3 at home in Pete Carroll's first season as coach, and the relationship with the fans has been a continued focus under the new regime; the organization understands the importance of home field advantage.

The homefield advantage at the CLink is the best in the division and one of the best in the NFL. The voice of the 12th man was front and center on national TV in 2010.

Their influence as a legitimate factor eight times a year, and maybe one or two more, is why the Seahawks have a chance to own the division in 2011.