Saturday’s 36-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons marked the second year in a row that the Seattle Seahawks have been bounced in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. Making it that far may seem like a solid accomplishment. But, when you think about where this franchise was three years ago, multiple Super Bowl wins didn’t seem that out of the question.
The “Legion of Boom” was shutting down offenses completely. The emergence of Richard Sherman as one of the best cornerbacks in the game, and the vocal leader of this defense, seemed to give the Seahawks secondary an edge. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor both presented arguments for the NFL’s best safety. And, they all played in the same secondary.
This team was defined by its defense in that Super Bowl winning season – men like Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor, Brandon Browner, Brandon Mebane, Red Bryant, Michael Bennett, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Bruce Irvin, Cliff Avril, and Malcolm Smith made the 2013 Seahawks defense one of the best in NFL history.
Pete Carroll’s squad has gone to the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, but those are five years tacked on to the careers of the players who made this team dominant in 2013 and 2014. No one’s getting any younger.
The winds of change seem to be blowing in Seattle. What led this team to a Super Bowl win in 2013 and a Super Bowl appearance in 2014 seem to have dissipated. They’re still a top-10 defense in every significant category, but they aren’t nearly the force they were several seasons ago.
Chancellor and Sherman are 28. Thomas is 27. Bennett is 31. Realistically, these guys probably only have two or three truly great seasons in them. It doesn’t help that the injury bug hit this team pretty hard in 2016. Thomas was out late in the season, Chancellor missed time, and now Carroll is saying that Sherman played a large chunk of the season with a sprained MCL.
Tirades against the media, scuffles with teammates and coaches, criticizing the play-calling – they all seem like distractions. But, it’s more of a visible sign of frustration. These guys sense how close they are to being dominant again. Maybe the frustration is fueled by realizing that when Seattle loses in the Divisional Round, that’s wasted another season of these elite defenders in their prime. I don’t know – that’s pure speculation. But, if I were an elite athlete in my prime – I wouldn’t want this time lost.
That being said, I’m not sure the Seahawks are a defensive team anymore. Sure, the Legion of Boom could stand for some added depth, and you can never have too many pass rushers, but they have one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL: Russell Wilson.
If this team wants to get back to the Super Bowl, it’s time to start building around him. They need to protect and Wilson, and simply put, score more points. Priority #1 this offseason has to be beefing up the offensive line. Find Wilson a reliable deep threat, and get the offense rolling.
Then, focus on adding depth to that defense. It’s not that far away – especially in a division Seattle shares with Los Angeles and San Francisco. The aura around this team was built on playing home games in January.
This season has put Seattle at a crossroads. They can keep trying to be the team they were in 2013-14, or they can adapt. Whichever decision Carroll and company make, this pivotal offseason will define whether this team returns to Super Bowl glory, or finds itself closer to mediocrity.
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, Contributor to FanSided’s Bama Hammer, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo, @Bama_Hammer
Follow us on Twitter at @SoBrosNetwork
