Making sense of the 2016 Seahawks

A disappointing season for the Seattle Seahawks is a great year for most NFL teams. Perhaps this group has been judged by unfair standards.

It’s been nearly a week since the Seahawks season came to a close in the Georgia Dome. From the moment that final second ticked off the clock I’ve been searching for the proper way to assess the season as a whole. I’ve given myself a cool down period and still I find making sense of the 2016 Seahawks to be a difficult task.

The Seahawks finished with 10-5-1 record, won the NFC West and advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. On its face that seems like a successful season, but one that still falls short of the expectations this team set for itself. This team believes they have the ability to win a championship year in and year out. When they fall short of that goal it’s all the more disappointing.

From a fan’s perspective expecting a Super Bowl appearance every single season is a bit of a ridiculous standard; unless of course you’re Patriots fan. The Seahawks may set the goal of a Super Bowl every year, but it seems a little unfair for fans and those in the media to expect the same. We have to look at this season objectively and realistically.

This team overcame a lot of adversity. It’s important to remember that the Seahawks had the lowest paid and least experienced offensive line in all of football in 2016. We knew it was going to be a bit of a roller coaster up front. Even so the Seahawks were able to remain competitive.

Russell Wilson battled through multiple injuries including a high ankle and MCL sprain that hampered his abilities much of the season. Yet Wilson never missed a game and helped steady an offense that would have otherwise been dismal.

Injuries to Thomas Rawls and CJ Prosise didn’t do the team any favors either. With a struggling offensive line, the revolving door in the backfield didn’t help the cause. As soon as a little chemistry started to develop, it seemed another injury would take place.

The defensive side of the ball had plenty of adversity to deal with too. Michael Bennett missed significant time with a knee injury and Kam Chancellor spent time injured as well. Maybe the most significant development in 2016 was Earl Thomas breaking his leg. The all pro safety was severely missed during the playoff run.

The list could go on and on. The point is, the Seahawks had to deal with plenty of adversity and all things considered, they overcame most of it pretty well.

In the end they had enough flaws to prevent them from winning a Super Bowl. Last Saturday Atlanta was clearly the better team. It would’ve been nice to avoid some costly penalties and seen what would’ve happened but that’s beside the point. They simply couldn’t get it done.

Next: Seahawks set to lose no major pieces before 2017

Though it didn’t end the way we hoped, it isn’t fair to consider the 2016 Seahawks a failure. Finishing as one of the eight best teams in football is nothing to scoff at. Not every season ends with hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.