Offseason Outlook 2015: Seattle Seahawks

Offense

THE SEAHAWKS GOT JIMMY GRAHAM! THE SEAHAWKS GOT JIMMY GRAHAM! I know. Probably the most talked about thing this offseason apart from Chip Kelly doing his crazy thing out in Philly. Jimmy Graham is a huge threat to a Seahawks team that doesn't really have a red zone receiving option for Russell Wilson. Don't expect Graham to have the same numbers he did with New Orleans, because he is entering the least productive passing offense in the NFL, but he could end up having a bigger impact on his new team. Even though it's completely obvious and this is very basic analysis, getting the second best tight end in the NFL is huge for a team with few established threats in the passing game. At quarterback, the Seahawks have one of the brightest young stars in football with Russell Wilson. He is easily a top 10 QB in the NFL, and there is an argument to be made that he should be in the top 5. He is mobile, has incredible skills when the pocket breaks down, makes good decisions, and has one of the best pure arms in the NFL too. Unfortunately, there was some regression in 2014 with Wilson (he regressed as a passer), but if he bounces back and improves on his 2013 Super Bowl winning season, then this kid will easily be a top 5 QB. Either way the Seahawks should be handing him a hefty contract soon if they are smart. In the backfield, Seattle has one of the most entertaining, and one of the best running backs in football. Marshawn Lynch is outstanding. As much as Russell Wilson is the star and face of this team, I would say that this offense relies on Marshawn Lynch just as much as Wilson, if not more so. Lynch is the classic power back, and about once a year he runs for one of the craziest 60 yard "bust through the entire team" runs. It's not just about one run with him, he is so consistent and even though defenses stack the box he can break off a touchdown at any time. Literally any time. Watch the two crazy runs he had against the Saints and Cardinals. This offense works so perfectly with Lynch and Wilson too because they help each other so much. This team had 25 rushing yards per game more than the next highest in the NFL, because Wilson and Lynch are terrific off of read option plays, and they both spread out the field for one another. At wide receiver, the Seahawks look better than they have in recent years. I think Tyler Lockett will have a huge impact on this team right out of the gate. He is explosive, has versatility, and is just a flat out playmaker. Russell Wilson will love him, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him lead Seattle in receptions next season. They also have Doug Baldwin who just goes about his business being a very good wide receiver for a run first team. As added depth, they have Ricardo Lockette, Paul Richardson, Super Bowl breakout player Chris Matthews and Jermaine Kearse. In my opinion, I don't think any of those players will be consistent players for them, I'm sure all of them will have a big game or two, but Baldwin and Lockett are going to be the receivers to watch on a consistent basis. Past the skill position players is where I have a problem with this offense. I don't like this offensive line one bit. They have one good established player, and that is Russell Okung at left tackle. Unfortunately, even he has had some injuries and has struggled to stay healthy. From left guard to right tackle, the Seahawks have Alvin Bailey, Lemuel Jeanpierre, J.R. Sweezy and Justin Britt. All of those players are either unproven, or just not very good. Sweezy and Britt (even though they both had bad seasons last year) could be decent, but that's no guarantee. I feel like this is an issue that a lot of people have been overlooking because of the Jimmy Graham trade. Wilson has the ability to mask a lot of issues on the offensive line, and he's been very healthy thus far into his career, I just worry about him holding up behind this offensive line. Especially having to face the St. Louis Rams defensive front twice this year. I really am expecting more moves to at least add some more depth, because they have very little depth behind these underwhelming starters too. Overall, this offense should still be good. If a team has a good defense, it can really help out an offense by giving them better field position, creating turnovers, etc. This is what Seattle has done over the last couple of years, and I expect them to do it again in 2015. In my opinion, the struggles along the O-line cancel out the additions of Jimmy Graham and Tyler Lockett, so I'm predicting the Seattle offense to rank similar to where they were last year, which was around 10th in the league. If Seattle does finish around the top ten, then Seahawks fans should be very happy about that because their defense will be elite again and that is more than enough offense to win with.

Defense

Seattle's defense is elite, and is the favourite to have the number 1 ranked defense by the end of 2015. Should I keep going? Well I may as well start with the Legion of Boom. It starts with Richard Sherman. He is the most talkative (trash talk wise) player in the NFL, but he always backs it up on the field. He is the premier cornerback in the National Football League, and he has games where he shuts down one side of the field. Remember the first game of the season when Green Bay didn't pass to the right side of the field? Yeah, good times. Not saying he can't be beat (Odell Beckham Jr. did it), but he is not only the best cornerback, but one of the best players in all of football. While Sherman gets all the publicity, Earl Thomas might be the most important player on this defense. The best safety in all of football, Thomas is just incredible to watch. He has instincts out the wazoo, terrific ball skills, and insane closing speed too. He really is the perfect player to have manning center field for any football team. He also works perfectly in the Seahawks Cover 3 defensive scheme. His running mate Kam Chancellor is the enforcer of this secondary. He's basically a linebacker with the speed and athleticism of a safety. One play that describes him perfectly, (this is purely off memory so bear with me) Seahawks were playing the 49ers, and Kaep threw a ball near the sidelines, a foot away from the end zone too, and Crabtree (I think?) went up and Chancellor hit him. He hit him so hard that the refs threw a penalty flag. It wasn't an illegal hit, or he didn't show any intent to hurt him, he just destroyed him and got penalized for it. Kam isn't perfect, he's definitely no Sean Taylor back there, but he does his job very well in Seattle's scheme. The Seahawks signed Cary Williams to be their second CB to replace Maxwell, and... Well... Maybe he'll be okay? I thought he was very bad with the Eagles. At times he was a liability in coverage, so I'm not really a fan of that signing to replace a very good cornerback in Byron Maxwell. Jeremy Lane will be their slot cornerback, and he's solid. Nothing special or flashy like the rest of the LOB, but he's fairly reliable. Seattle has quietly (I say quietly because all of the attention is on the LOB) put together a deadly front seven. At linebacker, this team has three very good starters. Bobby Wagner is an incredible inside linebacker, I don't think he's elite yet, but if he shows any more development in coverage, he'll be right up there with Kuechly and Bowman. Seattle also has two very good OLB's in K.J. Wright and Bruce Irvin. Wright is a terrific coverage linebacker, and Irvin is more of a pass rushing LB. On the defensive front, this team showcases two very successful free agent signings. Michael Bennett being one of them, is one of the most versatile defensive lineman in football, and he is a terrific pass rusher too. He can move all around the line, and the Seahawks line him up inside a lot of the time as well as outside. Opposite Bennett, Cliff Avril is another very successful free agent signing. He didn't put up ideal sack totals last season, but he was constantly getting pressures on opposing QB's and still managed to have a huge impact in their pass rush. Inside, Brandon Mebane is coming off of an injury riddled 2014 season, and he looks to bounce back to form. He wasn't great last season even when healthy, but he was sensational in 2013, and if he can recapture that form then he will once again be one of the most vital pieces of their defense. Tony McDaniel will play alongside Mebane, and he's decent. He can struggle at times, but he's not a horrible option, especially on a defense with so much talent. This defense has been the best defense in the NFL for 3 straight years and after 2015 it should be 4. They lost their defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, and that could hurt them as he was loved by players and clearly a very good coach. They also lost a key piece in Byron Maxwell, and that could hurt them more than they think because their number 2 cornerback can be more easily targeted based off of their scheme. That shouldn't matter in the long run, as this defense exhibits strength across the board. Their D-line is strong, their linebackers are very versatile, and their secondary is almost legendary at this point. This is the defense to beat going into 2015. Every team knows it, now it's just a matter of doing it.

Seattle on paper is a ridiculously good team. They are incredibly strong at every single position group on their team, except for WR (which they are young) and offensive line. I have them as the second best team in the NFL, behind the Green Bay Packers. I still do really think their offensive line is an issue, and until they prove to me they can keep Russell Wilson upright I won't think differently. The Seahawks have been to two consecutive Super Bowls, and are one misplay (run with Marshawn!) away from winning both of them. They are one of the elite franchises in the NFL, and they have a historic defense behind them. Pete Carroll is a terrific coach too, and he should once again have no trouble posting one of the best records in the NFC, and returning to the NFC Championship game once again.

The "Short" NFL Player Dilemma

This article was supposed to be a small description of the Chargers cornerbacks in their Offseason Outlook article. I started writing it, and I got very invested because it is actually an amazing situation when you really think about it. What's amazing is that the Chargers two best cornerbacks are both only 5'9. Maybe I'm the only one who is shocked by that, but I could say that a thousand times and it would still surprise me. In today's NFL, receivers are getting bigger and bigger, and because of that, some teams just draw the line in the sand at cornerback and only want them to be 6 feet tall or they won't draft them. Theoretically, I can understand that because 5'9 seems almost tiny going up against 6'5, 230 lb wide receivers. Yet these two cornerbacks, who again are both only 5'9, are making it their personal vendetta to make any team that passed over them because of their height pay. To go on a brief tangent here, Kevin White (6'3, 215 lbs) has gone on record saying that Jason Verrett is the toughest cornerback he has ever faced. Granted he hasn't played a down in the NFL, but he did face some tough CB's in college; and the reason why he said that, is because it is completely true. Verrett makes every WR he faces make them earn whatever yards they get off of him. It starts at the line, he may only be 5'9, but he plays like he is 6'5. He has terrific explosiveness right from the snap, and he has incredible footwork and anticipation to mirror the receiver and not give up an inch of ground. Verrett was passed on by the Browns who drafted Justin Gilbert ahead of him, then the Bears that drafted Kyle Fuller ahead of him, then the Bengals that drafted Darqueze Dennard ahead of him. The reason he was drafted behind those players is not because of talent, but because of his size. In his scouting report on NFL.com, the first thing Mike Mayock says in his weaknesses section is that he does not look the part. The rest of his "weaknesses" are just other ways of saying he's short. Mayock gave him a 2nd round grade. This has absolutely nothing to do with Mike Mayock either, obviously he can miss on certain players just like everybody, and if he gave him a 2nd round grade then he gave him a 2nd round grade there is nothing more to it. I understand the stigma in the NFL about small players. Sometimes they don't work out. Especially at cornerback, almost every NFL team wants big tall cornerbacks like Richard Sherman. The reason why I'm turning this into it's own article is because NFL teams need to wake up. I actually have no problem with putting height or size as a weakness or strength when scouting NFL players. A lot of the times it can be useful scouting scheme fit and all. Except when NFL teams completely take a young, talented player off of their board because of it. Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and as a franchise saying you won't draft players under a certain height can cripple your franchise. Your team could miss out on the next Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, or Jason Verrett just because they were too short to play professional football. That was also the biggest knock on Wilson too right? He was too short, how could he even see over an NFL offensive line. Well personally I think that hasn't been too big of a problem for him on his way to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances after only 3 years in the league. Maybe this frustrates me because I'm 5'9 and am waiting for my shot in next years NFL draft, and that's why I need an entire article to complain about this completely arbitrary (I know I have said it is arbitrary a lot but it truly is) line that prevents players under a certain height at a specific position being drafted. Or maybe I see something wrong with the way certain teams are scouting players and I want my voice to be heard. Whatever the reason is, the Chargers are going to reap the rewards this season if/when Jason Verrett proves that he can stay healthy so Verrett and Flowers can be a dominating duo.