Seattle Seahawks: 5 Reasons They Will Surprise This Season

The 2010 NFL season was a great time to be a Seattle Seahawks fan. 

Well, sort of.

With a new coach and a revamped roster, the Seahawks managed to win their division and even beat the defending champions, the New Orleans Saints, in a well-fought home win in which most predicted them to lose by a wide margin.

On the flip side, the Seahawks finished at only 7-9, making it into the playoffs because they played in possibly the weakest division in NFL history. 

They struggled badly in many key statistical categories, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in both rushing yards gained and passing yards allowed to opponents.

With that being said, Seahawks fans have good reason to be excited for this upcoming year. 

They aren't Super Bowl contenders just yet, but they are in a good place to repeat as division champions and improve their record from last season by at least a couple of wins, surprising a few people along the way.

They Still Play in a Really Weak Division

If any one team in the NFC West really puts it together this year, I think they could easily win 10 or 11 games, simply because they would dominate everyone else so thoroughly.  

Going up against the likes of the Rams, 49ers and Cardinals, the Seahawks have a very good chance to do just that.

No team in the division has really gone out and done anything to make me believe that a free-agent acquisition or draft pick will be the difference-maker from last season.  

So Seattle needs to just do enough to be competitive every Sunday, and they will come out on top once again. 

This Is Their 2nd Season with Coach Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll is not my favorite coach in the world.

But one thing he does well is that he gets his players to believe in themselves and their ability to win, no matter what the media or anyone else is saying.  

It is an incredibly valuable quality when a coach is able to get through to players and consistently motivate them to achieve their full potential, and it is something that is hard to come by.  

Pete Carroll doesn't have the best or most talented team in the NFL, but he gets as much out of his players as anyone could.

They will most definitely be in the hunt for a playoff spot again with him having one more year of experience under his belt. 

The Momentum They Should Have from Last Season's Success

Confidence is an interesting thing.  

When you have it, you can do things you never thought possible.

When you don't, even the slightest amount of success seems to be unattainable.

Right now, the Seahawks are confident, and they have reason to be.  

They made a remarkable and totally unexpected entrance into the NFC playoffs last year.  

They then proceeded to make 99 percent of all sports media members look like fools by taking out the New Orleans Saints in their first round matchup.

Last season's success technically has nothing to do with what happens this year, but it does create a positive backdrop to this season that no other team in the division will have.

Expectations Are Not Too High for This Group

There are always a couple teams every year that are coming off a good season, start off with a lot of media hype and high hopes, and end up crashing down to earth very quickly.

The Seattle Seahawks will not be one of those teams this year.

Without the weight of big time expectations to deal with, this group can simply do it's thing; play hard and keep it close.

The Underdog Mentality

Anyone who has ever watched any kind of sports movie, even if they don't follow any real-life sports, knows the importance of the underdog mentality.

It means there is less pressure when you win and less scrutiny when you lose.

It means you believe in yourself when you feel like no one else does.

It means that you have the support of every impartial fan when you go up against the big-shot teams that are "supposed" to win.

Are the Seahawks true underdogs?  

Not necessarily, but they do have the feel and the mentality of an underdog team, which is probably just enough in their case.

Closing Thoughts

With Matt Hasselbeck having moved on, Tarvaris Jackson, is the new quarterback of the Seahawks. 

Jackson brings a lot of uncertainty to the table, something that could be enough to derail the hopes that the Seahawks might have of returning to the postseason this year.

That being said, a change of scenery may be just what he needs. 

He will probably never be a superstar quarterback, but he is capable of limiting his mistakes and putting his team in a position to win games.

Will that be enough for the Seahawks? 

I guess we'll see.