Defining Our Expectations

It has been a funny couple of weeks here at 12th Man Rising. Over the past 14 days, I’ve been told that I have both a natural bias toward Tarvaris Jackson, and that I’m a Tarvaris Jackson hater. I’ve been told that I’m far too negative, and I’ve been accused of being a paid member of the Seahawks PR firm. I’ve been told I need to write more about what “really matters” for the Seahawks, and that I take the games too seriously and that I need to have more fun with off-beat stories. Basically, it’s been an awesome couple weeks.

I thought, in light of all the contradictory feedback, that it would be best to explicitly state what my expectations are for the Seahawks this season. Hopefully, if you know where I’m coming from it’ll help provide a little bit of context for how I view things.

For starters, I expect the Seahawks to win games.

That’s not just in theory like “I’d like them to”, or “I prefer if they did.” No this team has enough talent to win games this season. They play in a bad division. There’s no reason they can’t go to the playoffs. I’m not going to simply except the “well, they at least played better” mantra. Winnable games should be won. Excuses aren’t going to cut it to me.

At the same time, this team isn’t perfect and is flawed in many ways. Some games just aren’t winnable. The Steelers game is an example. I’m tempted to say the same thing about this week’s game against the Giants. Maybe the ‘Hawks simply get outplayed. I think it’s likely. Maybe they can pull off the upset. We’ll see. There’s a reason games are played on the field and not on paper.

You might be thinking that the previous two paragraphs are polar opposites, but they’re not. I believe my views of this team see both the good and the bad. They can have talent and not be a great team. They can be flawed and not be awful. It’s why I’d picked them to finish around 8-8, which should be good enough to win the division again this season.

Similarly, there is no “Suck for Luck.” All teams owe it to their fans to win as many games as they can each and every year. And if that causes the Seahawks to miss out on a particularly good player in the draft, well, I really couldn’t give a damn. Now if the Seahawks are sitting at 1-8 or 2-10, well, we’ll talk then. (I hope not!) but until we get that late in the season there should absolutely never be anything other than doing everything possible to win every game. Besides, I think the Seahawks have way too much talent to be in the running for Luck. We’re much more likely to end up with Ryan Tannehill.

So there you have it. I think my views are pretty centrally located. Even my views on the Qb situation aren’t strongly for either candidate. Yes, I think Charlie offers the most promise, I’ve been pretty clear on that. I’ve also been clear that I don’t think he’s a magical cure, and that I think the Seahawks will stick with Jackson if for no other reason than because of his contract last through next season so he’ll make for an easier bridge to whoever is drafted in April.

Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think this is why I get such conflicting comments about my opinions. People who think this team can win playoff games think I’m too negative. Those that believe this team is bound to end up with a top 5 pick in the draft think I’m drinking too much of the Pete Carroll cool aid.

So now I’m asking you: What are your expectations for the Seahawks this season? Can they win the division, or are they bound for early draft pick? Should they try and win as many games as possible, or tank it to help get the best possible players in next April’s draft?

You can leave your answers in the comment thread, or if you’d prefer a less public way to answer the questions, drop me an email at marinermyers@live.com