I know that it's only preseason, but I liked what I saw last night. This team has a lot of new faces. It was the first time in a very long time, perhaps since Pete Carroll initially took over and turned the roster out, where I found myself longing for a media guide.
So much talk has been centered around those who will not be with the team. It's definitely worthy of discussion, but lost in that noise is the imbibing of youth that became of those departures.We can remember so easily how fearsome our team was with names like Chancellor, Avril, Bennett, Thomas and Sherman roaming the field. What is often forgotten is that those names did not enter our lexicon until Pete & John blew up the Seahawks roster, started from scratch, and allowed for those young & hungry players to have an opportunity.
Last night reminded me an awful lot of those early days.
That's not to say I didn't have my share of concerns, but I am considerably more optimistic than most when it comes to the Seahawks chances this season. I've seen predictions as low as 3-wins and the highest being 9-wins. The general consensus leans a lot harder toward the 3 than it does to the 9.
I'm picking the Seahawks to go 10-6. That's been my stance since the conclusion of the draft.
I understand why so many are concerned and therefore picking the Seahawks to find themselves lucky if they win 6 games. Earl is as good as gone. No Kam, No Sherm, No Cliff. That's a lot of production lost.
However, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Seahawks play all of last season without Avril? Didn't Chancellor, Thomas and Sherman miss considerable time? My point is that we experienced just about all of those concerns last season with a garbage running game, an abysmal offensive line, a handful of games choked away by Blair Walsh, and awful play-calling to boot.
We still finished 9-7.
The reason: Russell Wilson.
Guess what? We still have Wilson. Not only that, we have a full offseason with Duane Brown at LT, a first round running back, a healthy Chris Carson, new line coach and coordinator and a renewed appetite for success.
I think that's good enough to expect one more win than last season.
Last night certainly showed that the Seahawks are trending in the right direction in spite of the loss. Here are a few of my quick takeaways from the game:
- Chris Carson is this team's workhorse. He looks big, physical and determined. He'll be the one setting the tone for the offense.
- Penny wasn't great, but he definitely looks like he is primed to contribute this year. He picked up a great block on Russell Wilson's touchdown pass to Vannett-- which was supposed to be his main weakness.
- I'm done with CJ Prosise. He has proven two things in his tenure here: he's got tremendous potential and he's completely unreliable. I will be extremely disappointed if he vultures a roster spot from someone like McKissic or one of the young receivers fighting for a spot.
- Shaquem Griffin is going to give you 110%. Still not entirely sure where he fits, but you'll never complain about his effort.
- I like Mr. McGough! Not a bad debut for the rookie. He won't be threatening Wilson's spot anytime soon, but I wouldn't be the least bit upset if Austin Davis gets cut. I'd much rather carry 5 RBs or 6-7 WRs than 3 QBs.
- Tedrick Thompson looked good. Nowhere near Earl, but promising.
- Rasheem Green could be a future stud. Great performance working with the 1st team defense.
- Solari and Schottenheimer know what they're doing. I feel like we're going to spend this season wishing that move had been made much sooner.
- We have two, really good punters. We can't afford to carry both and Dixon would not survive the practice squad without being poached. I hope we can trade Jon Ryan to recoup some value for losing him.
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