Seahawks: What I think I think after Week 1’s win over Miami

Things I think I think about the Seattle Seahawks after Week 1: Russell Wilson’s injury, an amazing defensive performance and lots of special teams questions.

Even after a sloppy performance, I still think that the Seattle Seahawks are a Super Bowl contender. I also think that Seattle’s offensive tackles are pretty bad. There are other things that I think that I think are true, but I’m not completely sold on.

Here are three things that I think I think after Seattle’s 12-10 win over Miami:

I think I think Russell Wilson will be ok

Come on, when you saw Wilson’s ankle bend like that you freaked out, didn’t you? I know I did. The expectations for the entire season almost vanished in one instant.

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The next play didn’t help matters either. Wilson took the snap and just stood there unable to move his feet. When the pass rush came, he just side-armed the ball into the turf. He couldn’t even set his feet to throw a quick pass.

Wilson stayed in the game. While he was obviously hobbled, he was still great. On one foot he led the Seahawks down the field for a touchdown to win the game. That included a magnificent pass to Doug Baldwin in the end zone.

Wilson is going to play this week in LA. He won’t be making linebackers and defensive ends look foolish with his scrambling ability, but he will play.

Ultimately, this might not be a bad thing against the Rams. A hobbled Wilson will mean more short passes and more handoffs to the Christine Michael and Thomas Rawls.

While that limits some of the explosive potential from Seattle’s offense, it will also prevent Aaron Donald from single-handedly dominating the game.

I think I think Seattle’s defense will once again be great

10 points. That is all the defense gave up.

They got almost no help from their offense: No sustained drives and two turnovers by Wilson. Throw in a very bad day at the office for All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, and you have the makings of a very rough outing for Seattle’s defense.

Except that didn’t happen. Seattle’s defense was dominant.

The Dolphins were just 3 of 11 on third down. The had only 11 first downs all game. Ryan Tannehill threw for only 189 yards. The team combined for only 69 yards on the ground. Pick any offensive stat you want; Seattle made Miami’s offense look pedestrian.

Deshawn Shead was a big part of that. He looked great on the outside at CB. With two pass breakups and very sticky coverage, he looked like a Pro-Bowler.

The pass rush was better and more consistent than it was last year. Even the backups like Cassius Marsh and Frank Clark got involved and made an impact.

This was a great showing by the defense, and it looks like they’re going to be among the best in the league once again.

I think I think special teams aren’t a strength

They’re also not a weakness. Let’s get that out there right away. I’m not saying they’re terrible, but I don’t believe they’re a strength of this team.

There was a missed (partial blocked) extra point. And a number of punts were almost blocked. Neither of those results are acceptable.

The Seahawks also had a net punting average of only 36.8 yards. Some of that was due to a couple of short punts, and some of that is a problem with the coverage unit.

The kickoff coverage unit was also fairly average. Giving up 26 yards per kick return is a fairly middle-of-the-road performance. Steven Hauschka had to make a tackle, which is never a good thing. The Seahawks can definitely do better.

Some, but not all, of the blame here lies with long snapper Nolan Frese. He was off target all game, and that rushed Jon Ryan on his punts. The extra point issue was mostly on the blocking, but the bad snap certainly didn’t help.

Cleaning up the long-snapping issue will help, but it won’t solve all of Seattle’s special team concerns.

There is reason to hope though. The team is still adjusting to not having guys on the roster who were here in the preseason. They also traded for a special teams ace a week ago, and it will take time to fully integrate him into the coverage teams.

Next: 5 takeaways from Seattle's win over Miami

I do think the Seahawks have the makings of a very good special teams unit. They just aren’t playing at that level quite yet.