Final Seahawks grades for defense and special teams in 2018
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks exceed expectations in 2018. This includes a defense that wasn’t great but better than most thought it would be and a punter that was the best in the NFL.
The Seahawks are a lot better than other franchises. Seattle could be the Cardinals, for instance. Or the Dolphins. But Pete Carroll and John Schneider seem to have found a way to get Seattle either to playoff contention or deep into the playoffs every season. 12s should be proud.
2018 was supposed to be a rebuilding season. Or, as Schneider called it last offseason, “re-tooling.” Well, Seattle re-tooled right back into the playoffs, and with a better offensive game-plan against the Cowboys, might have won their Wild Card game.
No matter because 2018 was a success even if the Seahawks didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. Heck, they weren’t even supposed to win half their games, according to some. But they did because they have an excellent quarterback in Russell Wilson and a great running game with Chris Carson. Wilson and Carson were two major reasons that Seattle won 10 games. The offense was decent enough.
But this article isn’t about the offense because the defense was good enough to get Seattle 10 wins as well. In fact, the offense was somewhat known because of Wilson. The defense was much more of a question mark with players at safety, cornerback and linebacker who you just weren’t sure were good enough.
Yet, at the beginning of the season it was the defense that kept Seattle in games. Oh, and there was a certain punter who met, and maybe exceeded, every high expectation he had. How did the defense and special teams grade this season? Here’s how.