It seems so long ago. But just turn back the calendar about fifty days and Seattle Seahawks nation was filled with hope. The Hawks sat at 3-0 and led the NFC West. New blood. New energy. The tired old regime was gone and the future was wolf gray.
Considering that those three wins included a narrow victory over a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start, an overtime squeaker against one of the weakest teams in the league, and an easy win over a team that had just lost its starting QB, maybe we should have pumped the brakes a bit.
But fans are not brake pumpers.
So now the Seattle Seahawks have come back down to earth, losing five of their last six games, including their only two division games so far. First-year coach Mike Macdonald doesn’t seem to have a handle on the team. Injuries have hurt, but every team has injuries. The schedule has revealed roster holes. John Schneider continues to tinker around the edges. Macdonald and his assistants continue searching for some kind of identity. However, as they enter the bye week, there are precious few positives to latch onto.
Three bold predictions for the rest of the Seattle Seahawks season
Blowing a ten-point halftime lead at home against the Rams was devastating. Arizona looks resurgent this year and San Fran is about to get Christian McCaffrey back. So what does the second half of a once-promising season look like?
I’ll warn you up front. The following predictions are not optimistic. They are realistic. I am not predicting that Christian Haynes suddenly emerges as an elite offensive guard, or that Roy Robertson-Harris solves the defense’s running game problems. But I’ll try to offer a glimmer or two of hope.
But the hope comes later... To be a Hawks fan right now, you need to practice patience. We’ll start with the doom and gloom.
For the first time since 2010…
Seattle will not have a single representative in the Pro Bowl. 2010, the last time this happened, was the first year under Pete Carroll, and somehow, miraculously, the Hawks won the NFC West, advanced to the playoffs and won the Wild Card game despite having a losing record. They did not have a single player make the Pro Bowl at the end of the season (though kick returner Leon Washington was accorded second-team All Pro honors.)
Last season, Seattle placed six in the all-star game. Two (Bobby Wagner and Nick Bellore) are gone. Two others (Geno Smith and DK Metcalf) are not having Pro Bowl seasons. The most likely Seahawk reps this year are the other two 2023 selections – defensive backs Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love. Both are playing at a decent level but will need to step it up in the second half. And what I fear is that Mike Macdonald is having a lot of trouble figuring out how to adapt the successful Baltimore Ravens’ system to his new personnel.
Witherspoon, in particular, has been hurt by being asked to do a lot of different things. There’s a chance that Macdonald uses the bye week to recalibrate and players like Spoon and Love benefit. But I need to see that happen. Even if they improve, there are a lot of other worthy players in the league. As of right now, Love may have the best chance if Detroit goes to the Super Bowl because both of their safeties look like locks for Pro Bowl honors.
Leonard Williams or Kenneth Walker III might sneak in this year, but they only make it if the team’s overall play improves. Last season, four teams did not have a single Pro Bowl selection. It’s a dubious honor. The one silver lining from history is that in 2011, Seattle put five players in the Pro Bowl, and between 2012 and 2017, Pete Carroll’s squad never failed to have at least six Pro Bowlers. Patience.