3 things that could derail the Seahawks season

The Seattle Seahawks looks like a Super Bowl contender, but there are a few things that could prevent them from even winning their own division.

No matter how optimistic you might be about the Seattle Seahawks 2016 season, there are always those things that make you pause and think “damnit….. what about THIS.”

Some are obvious, the performance of the offensive line or Russell Wilson getting hurt,  for example. Others are more subtle, and that’s what we’ll focus on here.

Often times the difference between a good season and a poor one can be one seemingly insignificant things that snowballs out of control before you realize what’s happening (see holdout, Chancellor, Kam, 2015 for reference).

More from 12th Man Rising

• 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
• Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency 
• Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
• 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
• 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson

So with that in mind, here are the 3 things that could derail the Seahawks season.

REPLACING BEAST MODE IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN IMAGINED:

We are all full of optimism about the young stable of would-be Marshawn Lynch replacements. But while Thomas Rawls and new draftees Alex Collins, C.J. Prosise and even Zac Brooks bring a ton of potential and raw talent to the party, they’re still rookies and completely unproven at this point.

Rawls looked great in the 7 games he started his rookie year, but the reality is he’s coming off a major injury. Even if he’s 100% recovered by the start of camp (which he says he will be) it’s still a small sample size we’re talking about. What if that 5.6 yards per carry avg. we saw last year was an anomaly?

And what if that young, rebuilt offensive line struggles to open the holes these guys need? Lynch would sometimes mask the issues up front by simply running through of over defenders. And his presence in the huddle brought a toughness to the team that was transformative.

Can a young, running-back-by-committee approach allow the Seahawks to continue being a physical, run-first offense? What if they struggle with missed assignment or ball security?

That may just be the biggest question that needs to be answered early in the season.

Next: Manning the middle