SeahawksFTW Special Edition: Wildcard Preview and Season Review

The Seahawks will take on the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs this Saturday night at CenturyLink Field.  That means that the Seahawks are among the 12 remaining teams left standing this league year and that's nothing to shake a stick at. Still, opinions are mixed among the 12s and emotions are all over the place.

So for this special edition of SeahawksFTW, I have brought in Adam Hayes, a lifelong Seahawks fan and tremendous writer that recently relocated to New York City, to provide a bird's eye perspective of the Seahawks. We're going to review the season and speculate on the playoffs while hopefully drumming up your excitement for the Wildcard match up.

Will Adam's experience of following this team from the other side of the country this season differ from mine-- someone who lives 10 minutes from team headquarters and works 5 minutes from CenturyLink Field? Let's find out!

2016 in Review

Adam

The Seahawks 2016 campaign started off well enough as they won four of their first five games, but then signs of trouble began to show. A 6-6 tie in Arizona, followed by a loss in New Orleans, had people thinking this Seattle team was not as good as previous versions. The Seahawks, however, rallied to win their next three and stood at 7-2-1, firmly in control of one of the top spots in the NFC playoffs. They faded from there however, going 3-3 over their last six games, including a loss to Tampa Bay in which they only scored five points and a 28-point drubbing in Green Bay. During that span, they lost all-world safety Earl Thomas to a season-ending leg injury and Russell Wilson battled knee issues. Through it all, they still managed to finish 10-5-1, winning the NFC West, securing the #3 playoff seed and guaranteeing at least one home game.

Chris

It's hard to complain about a season wherein you accumulate double-digit wins and come away with a division title, but we have been spoiled in Seattle the last 5 years or so.  Things felt unusually different this season and I believe the team took a small step backward this season. Through 16 regular season games, it became increasingly apparent to me that this team's addressing of Marshawn Lynch's departure was poorly executed. The offensive line has proven to be the worst that's been assembled under Pete Carroll. One of the more under-criticized roster moves was replacing the team's long snapper, Clint Gresham, with rookie Nolan Frese-- who has struggled mightily and cost Seattle a few games with his inconsistency. Perhaps all of those things may have gone unnoticed, had Russell Wilson not struggled with significant injuries for most of the season.  While the team never seemed to find consistency on the offensive line or establish much of a running game, they did find ways to win games and earn a home playoff game.


Wild Card Round vs. Detroit

Adam

When the Seahawks kick off against the Lions on Saturday night at CenturyLink Field, they’ll be doing so a week earlier than many people would’ve thought when the season began. Just two years removed from back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, many people thought Seattle would again grab a top spot in the playoffs and at least get a first-round bye, but the season didn’t exactly unfold that way. While some people will argue that Seattle is in a slump because of the way they finished the season, there is no argument that Detroit is not playing well coming into this matchup, having lost three straight to finish 9-7, while falling from the NFC North lead (and possible home and game first round bye) all the way to the sixth and final playoff spot. On paper, this matchup favors Seattle in many ways. The Seahawks were 7-1 at home this year, while the Lions went 0-5 against playoff teams they faced this season. The Seahawks are also better in major statistical categories including total offense, rush and pass offense, as well as total defense, rush and pass defense. The one red flag that could point to an improbable Detroit victory is the loss of Thomas in the Seattle secondary. As the numbers show, the Seahawks defense is vulnerable without him and if Matthew Stafford gets hot, anything can happen.

Chris

As challenging as this season has been for the Seahawks and their fans, outside of a first round bye, they could not have asked for much softer of a landing than Detroit.  The Lions started this season 1-3 and finished the season 1-3.  In between, they won a handful of games on some late 4th quarter heroics at the hand of Matthew Stafford.  That hand, by the way, will not be 100% when the Lions play here Saturday night.  Less than a month ago against the Bears, Stafford dislocated the middle finger on his throwing hand and tore ligaments as well. They have not won a game since he sustained that injury, which speaks volumes. 

Believe it or not, the Lions are actually worse than us when it comes to running the football, despite having the best white running back in the NFL today. The Lions' defense ranks middle of the pack and they give up an average of about 106 yards per game on the ground. Stafford is a great quarterback, the Lions' best player and an MVP candidate to boot-- but Seattle's defense is solid, he's hurt and we have home-field advantage.

Offensive Player to Watch For

Adam

Yes, Seattle would like to run the ball better in the playoffs than they have in the regular season, but the truth is that the outcome of this game, along with any others they play, as Russell Wilson goes, so go the Seahawks. Wilson, one of the most accurate quarterbacks this season, completing over 64 percent of his throws, faces a Detroit defense that gave up a league-worst 72.7 percent completion rate to opposing quarterbacks. This matchup will go a long way towards determining the winner of this game.

Chris

I certainly can't disagree with Adam's assessment-- this team will only go as far as Russell Wilson takes them. However, he's not the only one on the offensive side of the ball consuming too much cap space to not be expected to shine in moments like this. Jimmy Graham needs to have a huge game.  We've seen flashes of brilliance from Graham this season that prove he's capable of earning the huge contract he was given to pry him out of New Orleans and we need to see a whole lot more on Saturday.

Defensive Player to Watch For

Adam

Just like year’s past, there isn’t one player who is going to have to step up if Seattle is going to advance to the Divisional Round, it will take a group effort, but that group will not be the Legion of Boom. Weakened without Thomas, the group will need an assist from the Seahawks able-bodied pass rushers. Cliff Avril, Frank Clark and Michael Bennett had 26.5 sacks between them this season and Seattle will count on that ferocious pass rush to harass Stafford into mistakes that their secondary can take advantage of.

Chris

I'm go away from conventional wisdom on this one. We know that we need big games from Chancellor, Wagner, Sherman, Avril and Bennett. Hell, the entire defensive front needs to pressure Stafford if Seattle wants to win. But I'm going to pick Jeremy Lane as my player to keep an eye on. Lane has had an up and down season this year, but he has come through in big games in the past. Before sustaining a gruesome injury in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Lane was the X factor. I'm counting on him to make a big play Saturday.

Wild Card Player to Watch For

Adam

There are actually two and both play special teams. The first is long snapper Tyler Ott. He was just signed by the Seahawks after they placed their normal long snapper, Nolan Frese on injured reserve. Ott will play a key role not just in snapping for field goals and punts, but for those 33-yard extra points. His ability to quickly (or not) gel with the kicking unit could be a factor in this game. You should also watch out for recently signed kick/punt returner Devin Hester. While the 34-year old’s numbers weren’t great this year, he holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns and all it takes is one to flip a game.

Chris

I'd love to see Devin Hester prove he's still got something left in the tank, but I'm just relieved that we have a dedicated return specialist for the playoffs. My 'wild card' for this Wild Card game is the same guy that has been the wildcard all season-- Tanner McEvoy. They have sprinkled McEvoy in throughout the season with great success and I believe they have more in store for the playoffs.

Playoff/Super Bowl Expectations

Adam

While all signs point to Seattle advancing to the Divisional Round, things get murky after that. If the Giants beat Green Bay and the Seahawks go to Atlanta, despite the Falcons high-powered offense, Seattle could take advantage of an average defense and advance to the NFC Championship Game. In this scenario they are either in Dallas or hosting the Giants. The home game would be a win while the road game would likely be a loss. If the Packers beat the Giants, Seattle goes to Dallas in the Divisional Round and bows out there. Either way, a World Championship is probably out of reach this season with New England and Kansas City being too strong for Seattle, in my opinion.

Chris

I'm confident that Seattle will defeat Detroit on Saturday-- my hope is that they do it in a manner that inspires the team to go forward with momentum. The funny thing is, I'm more worried about our chances against a Green Bay or New York than I am with the top seeds. We beat Atlanta earlier in the season and we match up well against Dallas. If the Seahawks manage to beat the Lions and win in Atlanta, they will defeat whoever remains in the NFC Championship.  As for the Super Bowl, I'm anticipating a rematch against the Patriots.  Not only did we beat them this year in Foxborough, but you can bet there's a lot of pissed off players and staff that want nothing more than vengeance. 

_______________________________________________________________________________
Special thanks to Adam Hayes for contributing to this article.  Adam is a die-hard Seahawks fan now living on the east coast. He has written for Pro Football Guru and Fantasy Omatic, and his website is USS Sports Machine.

Ending on a Relatively Positive Note-- Seahawks 25 @ 49ers 23

The Seahawks ended the 2016 season with their 5th consecutive 10-win season and another NFC West crown.  They won the final game of the regular season by defeating a division rival.  The team appears to be in relatively good health and their playoff game is home in Seattle.

So why am I so unhappy with where we are and the way this season ended?

SeahawksFTW will be putting out a special piece before Saturday's playoff game that will delve more

We can't run the ball.  We just can't.  Time to accept that, make adjustments and move on.
deeply into the 2016 season, so I won't go into much depth in this piece.  To make a long story short-- we don't know what this team's identity is.

I would love to see Seattle reincorporate the zone read into their offense, the way we saw Colin Kaepernick work over the Seahawks defense.  At present, we have no threat of a run, which places a tremendous burden on our passing game. 

This season has exhausted our defense.  Losing Earl Thomas hurt this team without question, but you could tell they've been overworked as a unit all year.  It's catching up down the stretch.

But everyone is undefeated in the post season.  This Saturday, the Seahawks will face the Detroit Lions, coming off a 3-game losing streak, at home in CenturyLink. As rough as this year has been, you should still feel good about this weekend.

Nightmare Before Christmas-- Seahawks 31 Cardinals 34

We're down to the final game of the regular season and this team looks every bit as uncertain as they did going into training camp. 

Traditionally, under coach Pete Carroll, December is a month of dominance for the Seahawks.

Statistically, Russell Wilson is in a league of his own at this point in the season. 

Additionally, the roster decisions that had us scratching our collective heads early on begin to come to fruition and help us see the vision the staff had for this roster from day one.

This year has been quite different, however.  The Seahawks are .500 this month and still plenty of
questions remain unanswered. Something isn't right with our rushing offense.  Whether it's the offensive line, an inconsistent Thomas Rawls or a combination of the two is a topic of debate.  The only thing we can be certain of this season is just how much Marshawn Lynch had meant to this team and how much we had taken his presence for granted.

I was at the game on Saturday, Christmas Eve, when they faced a Cardinals team that had had Super Bowl aspirations going into this season, but had long since collapsed and played their way out of playoff contention.  Sure, they have arguably the best, most complete running back in the NFL with David Johnson, but many and more of their star players are done for the season.  Half of their defensive starters seemed to be on IR.

The Seahawks were at home, relatively healthy and in dire need of some momentum to carry them into the playoffs.   Everything was lined up in Seattle's favor, yet somehow they squandered the opportunity. 

Seattle fought through losing their best offensive weapon when Tyler Lockett went down with a broken leg and Wilson lead the team on a comeback to tie the game with about a minute left.  The stadium was raucous and the momentum had swung back into their favor.  All we needed was a 'gimme' extra point, a big kickoff and a stout defensive series to shore up the victory.

Haushka missed the PAT and Carson Palmer marched the Cardinals into field goal range where they kicked the game winner as time expired.

It was heartbreaking.

What a shitty way to begin the night before one of the most joyous days of the year.  However, it wasn't just the choke-job and losing Lockett that stung.  It wasn't even the fact that we basically handed the Falcons the number two seed and a first round bye.  The most painfully frustrating part of this weekend was the fear that accompanies uncertainty.

We have no idea what this team's identity is heading into the playoffs.

There's only one get-right game left in the regular season.  While it is about as soft of a landing as this team could hope for, shy of a regular season finale at home against Cleveland-- we've had 15 games to sort ourselves out, yet every week seems to raise more questions than it answers.

Here's a list of the teams that will likely make the playoffs in the NFC and their rank in offensive/defensive scoring:


Giants         Scoring Defense    #3      Scoring Offense   #25
Cowboys    Scoring Defense    #4      Scoring Offense   #4
Packers       Scoring Defense   #22     Scoring Offense   #6
Lions          Scoring Defense   #13     Scoring Offense   #21
Falcons       Scoring Defense   #25     Scoring Offense   #1

Seahawks   Scoring Defense #2   Scoring Offense #20

The seeding won't be entirely finalized until the conclusion of the coming weekend's games, but Seattle will have their first playoff game at home.  I really hope the Seahawks put forth a good showing against San Francisco so us 12s can go into that playoff game with some confidence.

Lights, Camera, Action Green-- Seahawks 24 Rams 3

The Seahawks were back in the spotlight on Thursday, sporting a vibrant, new look. As part of Nike's partnership with Thursday Night Football the Seahawks donned 'Action Green' uniforms that looked as though they might glow in the dark.

Unfortunately, the color was about the only thing that 'rushed' on Thursday.  Both teams combined for 119 yards on the ground (47 for LA, 72 for Seattle).  However, we did see a resurgence in Seattle's pass rush.  Seattle registered 4 sacks on the night.

Russell Wilson had an outstanding night, throwing for 3 touchdowns and one head-scratching interception. Tyler Lockett had a career game (while single handedly keeping my fantasy football playoff hopes alive) putting up 130 yards and a touchdown.

My favorite play was when Richard Sherman knocked Jared Goff out of the game with a good, clean
hit that saved a touchdown.  It would have been Jon Ryan's fake punt run that picked up 26 yards and a first down, had it not ended with Ryan getting knocked out cold.

Not only is Jon Ryan a top 5 punter-- he's a helluva athlete and a bad ass, to boot.

Seahawks have a pair of winnable division matchups to close out the season and are sitting well to get a first round bye for the playoffs. I will be in attendance for the game against the Cardinals on Christmas Eve and the one thing I want to see is marked improvement in the run game. 

Thomas Rawls needs a 100 yard game.  I want to see Kelvin Taylor get some carries and show that he can be a complementary back down the stretch. The defense should continue to hold steady and the offense needs to shift to a pass-first mentality. 

Most importantly, Seattle needs to string together a few wins to get momentum going in their favor to rally in the playoffs.  

Who are you?-- Seahawks 10 @ Packers 38

A Packers team with a hobbled Aaron Rodgers and a run game so disheveled that they're forced to start a receiver in the backfield absolutely destroyed the Seahawks on Sunday.

Green Bay came into this game annihilated by injuries with a defense that had been mediocre at best this season, but you'd never have guessed that by looking at the box score.

Seattle was awful. Embarrassingly bad. In a statement game, where a victory would've locked up the NFC West title, Seattle put on their worst performance of the Pete Carroll era.

As much as we would love to pin this loss on the absence of Earl Thomas, with a few exceptions, Thomas' absence was largely unnoticed.

The Seahawks pass rush was non-existent.  If not for a garbage time sack by Ahtyba Rubin, Seattle would have set a franchise record by going 3 consecutive games without registering a sack.  With everyone on the defensive front healthy-- it makes you wonder if Kris Richard and his defensive gameplan is to blame for the Seahawks recent defensive struggles.

The truth is, for the first time since coach Carroll took over, the Seahawks enter the final quarter of the season looking like a team that has no idea what it's identity is.

Russell Wilson had a career high 5 interceptions on the day.  Baldwin, Lockett, Kearse and Graham all had key dropped passes during the game and Wilson missed on at least a pair of passes that could have been touchdowns.

I don't get what we're doing with the run game, but it sure as hell isn't working.

The lone bright spot for Seattle was the performance of the recently acquired Marcel Reese. The former Washington Huskies stand out had a few big receptions in his Seahawks debut.

Outside of Reese, not one single player had a performance they should be proud of.

This should be a tremendous concern to everyone that follows the Seahawks.  Historically, this is the time of the season where the Seahawks have fought through adversity, sorted out their problems and taken on a full head of steam heading into the playoffs.

But this year has felt different.

We sill don't know who our offensive line starters are.  We have no consistency from our backfield.  I couldn't begin to describe the identity of the offense.

Defensively, things are different, too.

I would love to see the defense take more risks.  Man up and blitz to try to force turnovers and sacks.  It feels like they're in a perpetual state of bend-don't-break mentality from fear of the offense's ineptitude.

We know enough about this group of players by this point to realize where our strengths lie.  I think we can safely admit by now that we can't run the ball with any consistency without Marshawn Lynch.  Thomas Rawls only seems to be available for about 12 carries per game and everyone behind him on the depth chart is completely unreliable.  I'm counting down the days until this team comes to it's senses and releases Alex Collins.

We need to be spreading this offense out and throwing quick passes to account for the lack of a legitimate run game.  This would help with our blocking issues up front and make it harder for opposing defenses to disguise blitzes.

Playing more uptempo and with a sense of urgency would wear the defenses out more and soften them up for the bruising rushing style of Rawls. Since Rawls is showing to be more of a change of pace than an every down player, I think Tyler Lockett needs to line up in the backfield more, like Ty Montgomery does for Green Bay.

We have far too much of our salary cap resources tied to our receivers and quarterback to continue to pretend that the run game is the focus of this offense.

Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse need to be relied on to carry this offense more.  Both were rewarded with contract extensions recently, yet they continue to be treated like secondary role players. While both of them have proven to be worthy and capable of fulfilling the criteria of a bigger role, the results for this season have been disappointing.

Neither Kearse nor Baldwin possess the top-tier speed to be a legitimate deep threat, but they are typically sure-handed and can break tackles in the open field. Their involvement would open up big play opportunities for Jimmy Graham, Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson.  Kearse and Baldwin need to be the workhorse receivers we know they can be.  Bevell needs to give them the opportunity.

Seattle has a short week with a Thursday night match up at home against the Rams and games against the Cardinals and 49ers to finish out the season. Yesterday's loss may have cost us a first round bye in the playoffs. The Seahawks seem to want to make things as difficult as they possibly can in their efforts to win their second championship.

There is no reason not to expect them to win out these final three games, but we need to see them not only win, but figure themselves out in the process. We need to see some individuals step up and prove they can be counted on when their team needs them.

A Bittersweet Victory-- Seahawks 40 Panthers 7

The Seahawks responded to their miserable performance in Tampa Bay exactly how they were supposed to.  They put a 40-point thrashing on the defending NFC Champions while all but mathematically ending Carolina's playoff hopes.

Unfortunately, it's hard to look back on this game feeling anything but somber.  Early in the second quarter of last night's game, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor collided in mid air while going for an interception.  The safeties clacked their shins together resulting in a broken tibia for Earl Thomas that effectively ended his season.

Not but a half hour after being carted off the field, Thomas fired off a tweet that referenced the word 'retirement' and the collective hearts of Seahawks fans everywhere skipped a beat. Never mind that, just moments after that, he followed that tweet by jesting that Chancellor owes him a meal.

Without speaking for him, I think it's pretty plain to see that Earl was just expressing the bevy of emotions that he was experiencing in that moment. We've all been in those situations where something bad happens and we all assume the worst. Just because your girlfriend didn't immediately respond to your text doesn't necessarily suggest that she's cheating on you--  but sometimes your mind races all over when everything is so uncertain.

It was a strange game to say the least.

No one expected Derek Anderson under center when the Panthers opened up on offense.  It wasn't revealed until later in the game that Cam Newton was being punished for breaking a minor team rule, which was even later revealed that he lost the 'start' for not wearing a tie.

Anderson attempted a pass in the flats that bounced off the hands of his fullback into the arms of the Seahawks recently recovered linebacker, Mike Morgan, for an interception.  The Seahawks failed to convert the interception into a touchdown, instead settling for a Hauschka field goal.

It looked like Seattle was going to continue their offensive struggles into this game, but that was quickly proven wrong. Seattle finished the night with more than 500 yards of offense-- the sixth highest output in franchise history.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any more strange, there was a Beast Mode sighting.  Marshawn Lynch was on the sidelines, making the rounds giving love to his former teammates.

Despite not registering a single sack, Seattle's defense dominated the Panthers all night long.  In fact, the only touchdown Carolina had all night was one that should've never been credited. All scoring plays are reviewed, but somehow they missed this one.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure Carolina would've got any more than 3 points had the officials got the call right. Seattle's defense was ferocious and the 12's were deafening from start to finish. It's entirely possible that we could have witnessed a shut out, if not for the blown call.

Any doubt that may have carried over from last week's loss should but moot now.  The offensive line looked their best so far and we ran the ball spectacularly.  Baldwin, Kearse, Lockett and Graham were all involved and on point.  Russell is mobile once again and the defense seems to get better with every game.

The Seahawks play the Packers next week in snowy Lambeau Field.  I was worried about this game last week, knowing that Seattle would have to rely some semblance of a run game if they'd have any hope to win. Those fears were quelled after watching the dominant performance the Seahawks put on the leagues top-rated run defense.

If it ain't broke, break it! -- Seahawks 5 @ Buccanneers 14

Gross.

The Seahawks looked bad on Sunday.  All we needed was a single touchdown to seal the deal, but it never came.  Aside from Russell Wilson, who accumulated more rushing yards in this game than he had in all of the previous games in this season combined, Seattle was once again unable do get anything out of their running backs.

Justin Britt was absent from the lineup due to a sprained ankle.  I hadn't heard anything about this leading up to the game and there was no mention on the broadcast.  He is expected to return Sunday, but Joey Hunt started in his place last week.

Center wasn't the only position that saw a new face.  Bradley Sowell started at right tackle in place of Garry Gilliam.  Not a move forced by an injury, but one of competition.

For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks started three rookies across the offensive front. Needless to say, it didn't pan out as well as hoped.

Russell Wilson was sacked a disturbing six times in this game, proving that it might not be the best idea to monkey around with an offensive line that is already without its best player.

Just when it was beginning to look like Seattle might run the table to close out the season, they suffer this head-scratching defeat.  We have to hope that this is the wake up call this team needed to get their mind right for a playoff run. 

The Seahawks have the defending NFC Champion Panthers this weekend before heading out to Lambeau to face the struggling but dangerous Packers.  After that, they will close out the season with divisional opponents.  Seattle could clinch the division title before Christmas, but the #2 seed in the NFC is what they should be gunning for.

We're all hoping to put this atrocious performance behind us and expect Seattle to come out swinging against the team that ended their season last year.  The Panthers are beat up and all but out of playoff contention, but I'm sure they would love to play the spoiler.