The Seattle Seahawks may actually be in the best possible position right now, as defending Super Bowl champions, with the mission to repeat next season: underdogs. Move over, Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams have become the favorites for most, and that's okay, even if it is confusing.
The Rams, to their credit, have done a bang-up job with their offseason. They've made the exact sort of moves that seemlessly align with Rams general manager Les Snead's sports philosophical outlook: "F them picks." It's not for everyone, but it has worked for Snead and the Rams before. Why not give it another go? They're giving it another go.
It's because of the Rams' blockbuster additions that many have knocked the Seahawks down a peg. Every Seahawks player who has been asked about it over the course of this summer isn't sure why they, Super Bowl champions, are no longer the favorites. Thirteen-year NFL veteran and a Seahawks fan favorite, Leonard Williams shares those same thoughts.
Seattle Seahawks veteran Leonard Williams warns the rest of the NFL to 'watch out'
It's not often that the team that won the Super Bowl is not made the favorites going into the next season. Before the Rams trading for Myles Garrett, nothing had changed, really, but the Rams' first big trade earlier in the offseason for Trent McDuffie sure got the ball rolling.
Garrett simply tipped everything over the edge, though, and the Seahawks were no longer the overwhelming favorites afterward; the Rams had snuck their way in and claimed that honor. Yes, the Rams got much better, a lot better, especially on defense. But the Rams were already an exceptional team last year, and the Seahawks still got the best of them two out of three times.
Since Garrett's trade, Seahawks fans have heard from a few of their home-team players, and Leonard is the latest to speak out. Leonard recently spoke with the NFL Network about the Seahawks being overlooked. Although he came off as peaceful about everything, he made sure to hand out a stern warning at the end.
“I think that’s something that we have out here in Seattle,” Williams said. “Playing in the Pacific Northwest, we feel like we get overlooked a lot of times. So I feel like we already kind of have a chip on our shoulder, and even after winning the Super Bowl, we’re still not considered favorites. So I think that’s definitely stacking some chips on everybody’s shoulders and we’re just saying, ‘You know, watch out.'"
So, being overlooked and losing the "favorites" tag might be good for the Seahawks going into next season. Furthermore, playing with those chips on their shoulders is added fuel to the fire, and that makes for a dangerous team. Favorites or not, the Seahawks should not be overlooked; that's a mistake many might come to regret down the line.
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