Seattle Seahawks: The Rejuvenated Team Will Win the NFC West

Going into the 2010-2011 NFL season the NFC West looked weaker then the previous years, which is tough to say after some pretty dismal seasons. Still, someone has to win the division. 

So who will? 

How about the Seattle Seahawks?

Going into the season the Seahawks practically looked like a new team. A new coach had been hired from a prestigious college program at USC, veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck actually had competition at camp and the defense looked brand new with the 3-4 look. 

As a Seahawks fan myself I had very low expectations after the last two seasons where they had a record of 8-24. But going into this season things looked a little bit more exciting. Maybe it was just Carroll's "rah rah" kind of spirit but never did I think we could win the NFC West.

Since the retirement of Kurt Warner the Cardinals looked like they were missing the glue that held everything together. The Rams coming off a 1-15 season didn't look much better and the 49ers looked good, but of course a little bit overrated. 

Going into Week 1 the Seahawks played the heavy NFC West favorite 49ers. The entire game looked like a disaster, for the the 49ers. The Seahawks played stifling defense that lead to one of the best running backs, Frank Gore, rushing for only 38 yards, and quarterback Alex Smith throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns.

The offense didn't look to shabby either scoring 31 points. Hasselbeck threw for two touchdowns and one interception, while eight receivers caught at least one pass from Hasselbeck.

In Week 2 the Seahawks lost a tough road game to the Denver Broncos. The defense didn't look as great and the offense didn't either. 

But there were still some positive things about the game. Running back Justin Forsett averaged 5.5 yards per carry, while rookie Golden Tate caught a pass for 52 yards. 

In the third week maybe playing their hardest opponent all year the Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers 27-20. 

The Chargers were looking like Super Bowl favorites at the beginning of the season, but the Seahawks didn't care. 

Hasselbeck threw for 220 yard with one touchdown and one interception. Forsett had 63 yards on the ground. 

Rookie safety Earl Thomas also had two interceptions with his final one clinching the victory. But with maybe the most exciting scene from the Seahawks in a while, former Pro-Bowler Leon Washington returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

With five more games left against NFC West teams the Seahawks could easily go on to win this division, with the new kind of attitude they have. 

Of course winning the NFC West will not make them a heavy favorite to do well in the playoffs but who knows, we all remember the 2008 Cardinals with their run to the Super Bowl.

With a veteran quarterback, a solid running game, a defense that is underrated and special teams that can return kicks the Seahawks could be very dangerous, even in the playoffs.