Seahawks in the Super Bowl, part two: (r)ode to joy

2013 was the ode, or road, to joy for the Seahawks

The Seahawks put it all together in 2013. Russell Wilson improved on his Pro Bowl rookie campaign, pushing his passer rating from 100.0 to 101.2. Marshawn Lynch saw his average yards per carry drop from 5.0 to 4.2, but caught 13 more passes than in 2012. He also bumped his touchdown total up from 12 to 14. Both Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse emerged as prime targets for Wilson, along with Golden Tate.

The biggest change came on defense. The Buccaneers decided to let Michael Bennett go in free agency, despite his nine sacks and eighteen quarterback hits in 2012. The Lions did the same with their standout defensive end, Cliff Avril. Avril amassed 29 sacks and 50 quarterback hits in his previous three seasons. As we’ve written elsewhere, the salary cap wreaks havoc on teams trying to hold onto their own free agents.

As for the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, these were the final pieces Carroll had wanted. Bennett and Avril reinvigorated the pass rush, as the team’s sack total jumped from 36 in 2012 to 44 in 2013. Quarterback hits climbed from 84 to 99 and tackles for a loss moved up from 58 to 70. Not surprisingly, the increased pressure from the front seven paid dividends in the secondary. Interceptions rose from 18 to 28 and passes defended from 78 to 91.

Remember I mentioned the defense would improve its rankings from 2012 to 2013? Of course, you can’t move any higher than first in points allowed. But the Hawks did improve from 245 points allowed to 231. They also gave up 500 fewer yards, which moved their rank from fourth to first. In 2012 they allowed opponents to score touchdowns in the red zone on just 45 percent of their attempts, good for fourth place. Again, the Legion of Boom and their brothers up front turned up the heat in 2013. Seattle allowed a touchdown in the red zone a ridiculously low 36 percent of the time. For context, the Seahawks scored a touchdown in 56 percent of those situations. All of this showed up in their beautiful postseason run.