Seahawks may have come up short, but went much further than we hoped
The Seahawks may have been bounced from the playoffs in the first round, but let’s remember they beat all expectations. Not their own, but everyone else’s.
It was a very disappointing way to end the season, as Lee Vowell wrote in his article grading the wild card loss. What made it so disappointing was the Seahawks could have won the game. The Cowboys played well and deserved the win; no sour grapes here. Despite Pete Carroll’s support for the play-calling, I agree with so many others that the Hawks pressed the run far too much. I also freely admit Coach Carroll knows more about football than most NFL coaches, let alone me.
But I’m not here to talk about disappointment. I’m not here to complain about the chances that got away. I’m here to celebrate a season that few outside the locker rooms at VMAC in Renton expected. From where the Seahawks began their 2018 campaign, this was a terrific season.
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Think back to the gloom and doom of all the departures from this team. All World cornerback Richard Sherman was cut in March to save cap space. Just days later, he announced he had signed with bitter division rival San Francisco. Just two days later, Michael Bennett was traded away for more cap space. Cliff Avril never came back from his season-ending injury.
Worst of all, Kam Chancellor announced he couldn’t ever play again. To be clear, he didn’t retire because that would have cost him millions of dollars. He deserves every penny he gets.
Four huge pieces of the defense, gone. This doesn’t even include the departures of key offensive players like Jimmy Graham, Paul Richardson, or Eddie Lacy.
Yeah, I just threw in Lacy to see if you were paying attention. As for Graham, in our opinion, this was addition by subtraction, but the expectations took a hit with his departure. Add the constant discussion concerning Earl Thomas and his love for the Cowboys, and the Seahawks looked like a train wreck to many outsiders.
One ESPN writer predicted a miserable record of 4-12, and he had plenty of company. Many writers expected Seattle to have their first losing season since 2011. Not us, but we’re not horrible soulless devils. Lee predicted the team would go 8-8, while I pegged them as returning to the playoffs. Lee actually has more faith in the team than I do. He’s just superstitious, and figures if he says they’ll win, they’ll all come down with the measles and forfeit every game.
Next. Pete Carroll talks Seahawks free agency. dark
For a team that lost about 25 seasons of Pro Bowl experience, and had a huge overhaul in the coaching staff, the Seahawks had an amazing season. It took a while to get over that playoff loss, but the ten victories that got us there are something to savor for a long, long time. This is a very good team that can be great next year, and for many years to come.