All the reasons to stay optimistic about the Seahawks this season

Contrary to last season, the Seattle Seahawks entered this season with real expectations, and for good reason. After making last year's playoffs and adding to a young, talented team over the summer, All signs pointed to the Seahawks taking that next step. After Week 1, Seattle got a well-needed reality check, losing to the division rival Los Angeles Rams at home on Sunday. Despite the disappointing loss, fans in Seattle should maintain an optimistic outlook for this team.

This Seahawks squad is young, talented, athletic, well-coached, and as capable as any team in the NFL. One thing to remember for this Seattle squad is their current health problem. Players like Jamal Adams, Jordyn Brooks, and Devon Witherspoon are fighting back from injuries, and some key offensive players sustained new injuries in the week one loss. Remember, Seahawks fans, The NFL season is a marathon, not a race, and Seattle is far from full strength yet.

The setbacks for the Seahawks this week will be the challenges brought by missing Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. The Seahawk's two young star tackles are ailing with injuries and will miss the game against the Lions. This is a problem that poses a crucial mismatch for the Lions, whose former number two overall pick, Aiden Hutchinson, is coming into his own and ready to make his name a world-renowned one.

12s should still have hope the Seattle Seahawks have a successful season

Another issue could be the Lions' highly efficient offense versus the same Seahawks' defense, who seemingly needed help finding a way to get off the field on third downs against the Rams. Seattle was good defensively in almost every area besides getting off the field when it mattered. Third downs proved tricky because Seattle could not get pressure on the quarterback all game, coming up with zero sacks and only two QB hurries.

Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff hasn't thrown an interception in his last 359 attempts, according to yahoosports.com, and the Lions offense boasts one of the strongest O-lines in the game. If Seattle can't find a way to generate pressure and stall drives on third and fourth down, this will be a long day for players and fans alike.

The main positive for the Seahawks is their number five overall pick in last year's draft, Devon Witherspoon, is slated to make his NFL debut on Sunday against the Lions. Also, last year, when Seattle traveled to Michigan in Week 4, the offense put up its highest-scoring total of the season; hopefully, that's something they can emulate to get Geno Smith back on track. But even if the Seahawks go down 0-2 after this weekend, there are plenty of reasons to withhold an optimistic outlook for Seattle.

When fully healthy, The Seahawks roster can comparatively compete with any NFL team. With Pete Carroll at the coaching helm, this team will be competitive in every game. I expect this team to be built for the long run; once every key player returns from injury, they will be made to play the Pete Carroll football philosophy to a tee.

Once the offensive line becomes healthy, the Seahawks are built to run the football and hit you with big play-action passing plays. The running backs in Seattle are very young and even hungrier to make a name for themselves, and in the second year as the Seahawks, starting QB Geno Smith is ready to take this offense to another gear yet to be seen. With a high-powered wide receiver corps, a steady, reliable quarterback, explosive running backs, and a young, talented offensive line, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has everything he needs.

As for the defense, Seattle boasts one of the best young cornerback duos in the NFL, one of the best safety tandems in the league, and finally, one of the best linebacker rooms the game has to offer. Seattle's most significant problem on defense will be the development of its young and hungry pass rushers and D-linemen. It all starts with the big fellas up front, and Seattle is still waiting for players to make a name for themselves and break out. Players like Derek Hall, Boye Mafe, Cameron Young, and Mike Morris have all been critical additions in the last two drafts, but now Seattle desperately needs one of those young bucks to take the next step.

It will be a long, hard-fought battle for the Seahawks, but it always is for every NFL team. Sometimes, it's easy to lose sight of that as an NFL fan as your favorite team's potential builds and builds before the season even starts. But I'm here to put you at ease, Seattle fans; this team will be exceptional. With Bobby Wagner back as a mature voice of reason and Pete Carroll being one of the best coaches in the league, you can count on the Seahawks learning from their mistakes and bouncing back significantly from tough losses.

The NFL season is always an absolute meat grinder, and Seattle will have no shortage of tough challenges the entire way. But once Pete Carroll can get these young players up to speed, the injured players healthy, and develop some continuity within the new faces in the locker room, This team can beat anyone in the NFL on any given Sunday.

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