Ever since Pete Carroll took over as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, the 12th man has been accustomed to winning. Five seasons with ten or more wins, Four divisional titles, two NFC championships, two super bowl appearances, and the only Lombardi trophy in franchise history. It was a sweet reign of dominance, and that reign, is over. The 2017-2018 season was filled with every emotion you could think of. It was a roller coaster of a season, and for the next few years this roller coaster won’t be going up.
In the 2013 Super Bowl winning season, the Seahawks defense was regarded as one of the best ever seen. They led the league in takeaways, and gave up the fewest yards and points. A team leading the league in all three categories hadn’t happened since 1985.
On the other side of the ball, they were fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and in 2014 they were first. But, in the pitiful 2017 regular season, the Hawks rushing attack ranked 23rd in the NFL.
The defense has also suffered setbacks. Since the 2013 season they’ve gone from first to eleventh in yards given up, first to thirteenth in points given up, and first to ninth in total takeaways. Going from arguably the best defense in NFL history, to a slightly above average defense is hard to recover from.
If you thought past season of mediocrity was bad, then prepare yourself, because it’s only downhill from here. However, there were good things to take away from the season. Russell Wilson threw for a league leading thirty four touchdowns, and ran in three more. Paul Richardson had the best season of his career, racking in 703 receiving yards, and hauling in six touchdowns.
But, Many key players that we’ve come accustomed to seeing every Sunday could be on their way out due to old age, injuries, or both. In a radio interview, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll stated that star strong safety Kam Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril will have a hard time playing football again after both players suffered neck injuries that cut their season short. Michael Bennett, who racked up eight and a half sacks, the 0.second best on the team was quoted saying, “I probably won’t be back.” Richard Sherman, who leads the league in total interceptions since entering the league, is turning thirty soon and coming off tearing his achilles, an injury that slows almost everybody down. These four players have been critical to the success of not only the defense but the whole team.
On the offensive side, it’s just as bad. Jimmy Graham, who scored ten touchdowns this past season, was reported by the Seattle Times as “really unlikely” to return to the Seahawks. The offensive line was horrible all season and unless they strike gold in the draft, the same problems will persist next year. A new offensive coordinator is being brought in to run the offense and uncertainty is always bad. Although Doug Baldwin is great, he isn’t elite, so the Hawks will have no elite receivers or running backs, a horrible offensive line, new offensive and defensive coordinators, and an injury riddled defense that isn’t getting any younger.
Although there were bright spots here and there, the 2017 season overall was horrible per Hawk’s fans expectations, and 2018 will be much worse. As fans, we’ve been spoiled. If you’ve been a fan since Russell Wilson was drafted, you’ve witnessed the greatest run of success in franchise history. You’re used to celebrating wins almost every Sunday. But with the Los Angeles Rams asserting their dominance in the league, and the San Francisco 49ers on their way up with newly found superstar quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the 12th man will have to get used to the 7-9, 8-8., and 9-7 finishes that were so common before Pete Carroll took over.