Peyton Manning Rumors: Why Seahawks Fans Shouldn't Get Too Excited

The writing on the wall is now clear: Peyton Manning isn’t interested in joining the Seattle Seahawks. 

While Manning could have been an upgrade at QB, is the news that Manning has crossed the Seahawks off his list of destinations even bad news for Pete Carroll and company?

With the Seahawks looking at potential upgrades at the QB position this offseason it wasn’t surprising when news broke late last week that the Seahawks wanted to make a run at the former Indianapolis Colts QB. 

That being said, Manning is coming off of a serious neck injury that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2011 season.

While Manning has made significant progress in his return from the neck injury, questions still remain about whether Manning can resemble the QB that he was pre-injury. 

Additionally in the wake of last season’s injury, which led some to believe Manning would retire, teams figure to be worried about whether Manning can handle the beating that being an NFL QB brings.

For the Seahawks, the news that Manning will sign elsewhere may become a blessing in disguise.  Obviously, it goes without saying that if Manning can come back healthy and perform reasonably close to his pre-injury form, then the Seahawks will likely regret not being able to sign the future Hall of Fame QB. 

Still for as good as a healthy Manning sounds, whichever team signs Manning will be taking an enormous risk and betting that Manning will return an above-average QB and remain healthy.  Some teams consider this a worthwhile chance, but would this have been the right move for the Seahawks?

Last year's much maligned QB, Tarvaris Jackson, is still under contract for the Seahawks in 2012 and as evidenced by other QB’s in the league, the Seahawks could do worse at the position.  Jackson for all his struggles this past season, was right in the middle of the pack in most QB metrics.

T-Jack did leave something to be desired for the Seahawks at the QB position in 2011, but there are also signs that Jackson warrants another chance to be the starting QB in 2012. 

As previously mentioned, Jackson was about as average as they come last season, which isn’t exactly something that you want to hear about your QB, but Jackson also faced a series of difficult circumstances.

The major obstacle that Jackson had to face in the 2011 was that he had very little time to get acquainted with his new team as a result of the lockout.  Perhaps as a consequence of this, Jackson struggled early in the season before picking things up in the second half of the season.

Adding further problems was the banged-up offensive line that allowed Jackson to be the second most-sacked QB in the 2011 season. 

Similarly, although Doug Baldwin was a nice rookie revelation, the WR’s for the most part were a disappointment as Sydney Rice struggled with concussions and Mike Williams faced his own injury issues.

With a full offseason as a Seahawk, Jackson could emerge a more potent QB in 2012?  Even if he doesn’t improve that much this offseason there is still reason to believe that the Seahawks could make a playoff run in 2012 with Jackson under center.

All the Seahawks have to do is look at their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, for evidence that they can contend with an average QB under center.  Despite having Alex Smith, who threw for fewer yards per game than Jackson at QB, the 49ers made it to the NFC Championship game in 2011.

The 49ers asked Smith to take care of the ball and let their ground game, defense and special teams take care of the rest.  Is there any reason that the Seahawks can’t do the same thing in the 2012 season?

Offensively, the Seahawks in 2012 could very much become a team like the 49ers were in 2011 behind the recently re-signed Marshawn Lynch and a healthier offensive line. 

On defense in 2011, the Seahawks emerged as one of the better units in the NFL and beside possible defections at LB, the defensive unit should be very similar to last season's unit. 

Although this is a brief comparison, there are enough similarities between these teams to assume that the Seahawks could potentially make the playoffs with Jackson as the QB in 2012. 

Even more promising is that the Seahawks still have plenty of cap space to work with in free agency and selections in the NFL Draft.

A positive that can be taken out of the Seahawks' failed attempt to sign Manning is that the Seahawks are still in a position to make a run at other elite free agents.  One such free agent that the Seahawks could now shift their attention to is defensive end Mario Williams.

For as good as the Seahawks defense was in 2011, it didn’t do a very good job at getting to the QB, as the Seahawks only ranked tied for 19th in the league in sacks. 

Williams would instantly change this, as he is undoubtedly one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL.  If Williams were to become a Seahawk, the defense would instantly move from a great unit to an elite unit.

There is even another QB option that the Seahawks could pursue in Matt Flynn.  Flynn, despite having only two NFL starts, has flashed great potential and figures to be a highly sought-after commodity.

The bottom line is that while Manning could have been the Seahawks' answer at QB, his signing with another team isn’t that bad for the Seahawks.  It could even become a positive if Manning struggles or becomes injured in 2012. 

With the available cap space and the talent on the current roster, the Seahawks can easily overcome the loss of not signing Manning.