2011 Seattle Seahawks: Headed for a 10-Win Season?

The Seattle Seahawks have made it to their bye week with a record of 2-3. My projection was 1-4. Some predicted they'd be 0-5.

Now the season begins in earnest.

I still contend that Seattle was affected by the lack of offseason workouts more than any other team in the NFL. They brought in many new parts, including a new offensive coordinator, line coach/assistant head coach, seven new starters on offense, four new starters on defense and a new defensive backs coach—not to mention the number of new backup and special teams players.

So where do they go from here? Many fans might be happy with a repeat of last season's 7-9 record.

I would not. If this team doesn't finish at 10-6 or better, they will not have lived up to their potential. They've shown flashes of that potential, but still have some unanswered questions.

Before the final preseason game I predicted that QB Charlie Whitehurst would be starting for the Seahawks after the bye week. There's still a chance that could happen; it depends mostly on Tarvaris Jackson's healing powers and whether or not his strained pectoral muscle was more severe than Pete Carroll wanted to indicate.

I also predicted that WR Doug Baldwin would be the starter over Golden Tate. At the time this idea looked pretty controversial, but with Baldwin's production so far it seems to have been a no-brainer. I still think Tate has a place on the roster—he has shown marked improvement blocking and meshing with the offense, but it hasn't shown up in his pass receptions yet.

What is showing up is the youthful energy and stamina of this team. Their conditioning is better than Seahawks teams of the past five years. Players at almost every position have gotten bigger, stronger and faster, and it's starting to show.

Remember when teams like the New York Giants would wear the Seahawks down in the third quarter of games and take over in the fourth quarter because they were larger and stronger?

That is not the case any more.

The offensive line is beginning to gel even without Robert Gallery. He is scheduled to return for next week's game with Cleveland, providing a good tune up for the next game with the Bengals in Seattle. It will take at least half a game to integrate Gallery back into the line. He came into the season out of shape and proved that by straining a groin muscle early on. When he does return it will take him at least two games to catch up to the rest of the line.

He might be able to offset his late arrival with his level of experience at the position, but by the time Seattle plays in Dallas in November, he better have his game on. It would make sense for the rest of this youthful line to cover for their left guard until he has time to catch up. They should run the ball as much as they can for now.

The defense needs to keep playing as a unit and let the line continue to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Although they've had only eight sacks so far, most of those have come in the last three games. Quarterback pressure was one of the main reasons the Seahawks won in New York. Eli Manning definitely had his share of hurried passes, and the turnovers showed it.

Seattle showed up during a difficult game on the road and made the difference in the win.

Many NFL analysts said that New York simply blew that game, but here in Seattle we know differently. Stopping the run early, putting pressure on Manning and keeping the offense in the game were exactly what they wanted to do when they came to New Jersey.

Barring two early fumbles, this would have been a blowout. Some may have a hard time giving the Seahawks credit for the win; it's easier to say that New York blew it.

And there is still the question mark at quarterback.

Depending on the severity of Jackson's injury, Whitehurst might start after the bye week, but it won't be because Tarvaris deserves to be benched. With the addition of the no-huddle offense, Jackson and Seattle's offense have been productive and will only get better with time. There are a number of things that can be added to put wrinkles into the offense to keep opponents honest and off balance.

In the half that Whitehurst played against the Giants, I noticed a bit of rust. Holding the ball too long, not making quick decisions and starring down his primary receivers were a few in the first two series. Once he had a few completions, and the run game worked a bit, he settled in nicely in the fourth quarter. The defense stepped up to put the game away, giving Whitehurst the win and the bye week to get his game legs completely under him.

Taking reps this week, even in two light workouts, gives Whitehurst more time under center than he has had since training camp, which will help him get back in playing shape. I will be interested to see if he comes out quicker and sharper at Cleveland.

Pete Carroll has remained solidly behind Jackson as his starting quarterback, however, so anything is possible. Carroll has shown the patience at other positions to make sure players are completely healed before they return to the lineup. If Whitehurst does start, I'm sure Carroll will be 100% behind him too.

One of the most consistent parts of Pete Carroll's message is that there are no excuses.

Whoever starts is the best available player at that time for the position, and they are expected to perform at the highest level. This expectation brings out the best in players and quite often gets them to play better than before.

The recent trading of Aaron Curry is another example of the "Always Compete" motto, and sends a familiar message to the rest of the team: produce or else. Carroll also follows through with the other side of that message and is dedicated to those players that continue to show up, compete consistently and buy into what this team is about.

I expect this team to be 10-6 at the end of the year, with the additional defeats coming in the games with Dallas, Baltimore and Chicago. There is a chance that they can win two out of three of these with continued improvement and similar efforts as they showed against the Giants.

I am trying to be realistic, something that is difficult for a fan. As a fan I want and expect them to win every game, but that is rarely the case with young teams. It took Green Bay three years to win the Super Bowl with the youngest team in the league after Brett Favre moved on.

I am staying tuned, and ready for the bye week to be over. I hope the Seahawks feel the same way.