Seahawks are poised for their greatest offense ever

The Seahawks are known for great defense, not offense. I expect Wilson and friends to change that in 2019 as the top-scoring team in Seattle history.

The Seahawks have been seen as a defense-first unit since Pete Carroll’s arrival in 2010. That perception makes sense, as Seattle’s defense ranked first in the NFL in fewest points allowed from 2012 through 2015. Injuries dropped the defense toward the middle of the pack over the past two years, but the offense started to pick up steam in 2018. While I expect both sides to improve this year, I think the 2019 offense will be the most productive in Seahawks history.

We have to go back to 2005 for the most productive Seahawks offense ever. It certainly helped to have league MVP Shaun Alexander run the ball over the goal line 27 times. Matt Hasselbeck had arguably his best season ever as he quarterbacked the run-first high-scoring team. Seattle ran the ball 519 times the year they first made the Super Bowl, and passed just 474 times. Sounds like Mike Holmgren was channeling the future Pete Carroll offense.

As I mentioned previously, Seattle’s offense picked up a lot of the slack for the defense last year. Their 428 points were tied for sixth in the league. I’ll note that 12 of those points were courtesy of the defense. In addition, they were one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL. Seattle amassed 5,653 yards, only 15th best in the NFL. Yet they converted those yards to points more efficiently than almost any other team in the league.

The top three offenses in the NFL were the Chiefs, the Rams, and the Saints. Each team scored over 500 points. The high-flying Chiefs put up 535 points on offense. That required 12.7 yards per point. The Rams needed 13.3 yards per point to put 505 on the scoreboard when they had the ball. The Saints scored for every 12.2 yards they manufactured. Those three were the only teams better at turning yards into points than the Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks will be even better in 2019

I see that efficiency not just continuing, but exploding in 2019. Russell Wilson said he feels much more comfortable with Brian Schottenheimer’s offense this summer. Chris Carson is expected to be back at full strength, and Rashaad Penny is doing everything he can to fulfill the expectations of a first-round draft pick. Carson isn’t Alexander, but there’s every reason to believe that combined with Penny and whoever takes the third-down role, the running backs can match the production of Alexander the – ahh, go ahead, fill in the blank yourself.

After all, Carson, Penny, and Mike Davis totaled almost 2,100 yards on the ground last year. Yes, they were far short of those amazing 27 touchdowns, but with a nastier offensive line, you can expect those numbers to climb, too. I give much respect to Hasselbeck, but he’d be the first to tell you that Wilson is by far the superior quarterback.

It doesn’t help to lose Doug Baldwin from the receivers corps, but I like the way that group is shaping up. Tyler Lockett is poised to take a big step forward from his breakout performance last year. If David Moore doesn’t bounce back, or Seattle somehow forgets last year’s best red-zone target Jaron Brown again, the rookie receivers look ready to step up.

By any measure, this receiver group looks better than the 2005 contingent of Bobby Engram, Joe Jurevicius, Darrell Jackson, and D.J. Hackett. Jackson missed ten games, but that’s part of the NFL. Tight end Jerramy Stevens was a fine player enjoying a career year, as did Jurevicius. I see Will Dissly and his buddies as an upgrade here as well.

Finally, the 2005 Seahawks had one of the best kickers of their existence in Josh Brown. However, 2005 was the worst season of his 14-year career. After he converted 23 of 25 field goals in 2004, Brown made just 18 of 25 in the Seahawks NFC championship year. It was one of the very few mediocre years Brown ever had. Jason Myers shows every sign of being the superior kicker compared to Brown in 2005.

Let’s recap. The Seahawks of 2019 have the superior quarterback over the 2005 edition. They’ll sport an equal running back group – note I said group, not individual – compared to 2005. The receiver corps looks stronger, especially counting the tight end position. The kicker is almost certain to have a better performance. And the offensive line looks to be Seattle’s best in several years. Add in that the rules favor offense far more than they did 14 years ago, and the Seahawks look poised to break team records in 2019.