2011 Seattle Seahawks Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

The Seattle Seahawks made a surprising trip to the playoffs in Pete Carroll’s first year as head coach. While they went just 7-9 during the regular season, it proved to be good enough to win the NFC West. Seattle then pulled off the biggest upset of the season, a 41-36 victory over New Orleans in the Wild Card Round. That game featured the best run of the year as well when Marshawn Lynch nearly broke a tackle from every member of the Saints’ defense on his way to the end zone.

Carroll vowed to make his team more physical up front this offseason, and he has done just that by selecting offensive linemen with his first two picks in the NFL Draft. Both RT James Carpenter from Alabama and RG John Moffit from Wisconsin are expected to start right away. This is a team that has gone through a lot of changes heading into 2011, and now it’s time to see how Seattle stacks up against the rest of the NFC West.

Offense

Seattle featured an offense that ranked 28th in the league (297.8 yards/game) last year. They decided to trade franchise QB Matt Hasselbeck to the Tennessee Titans, but brought in Tarvaris Jackson from the Minnesota Vikings. Jackson looks to have the edge over Charlie Whitehurst, but don’t be surprised to see both get a crack at starting before season’s end.

The Seahawks added a much-needed playmaker to their receiving corps in Sidney Rice, who comes over from the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Williams was one of the biggest surprises in the league last year, catching 65 balls for 751 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of the few former USC Trojans Carroll brought in that actually panned out. Seattle added TE Zach Miller from the Oakland Raiders as well, and he’s one of the more underrated players in the league at his position.

The RB duties will go to Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett again this year. These two combined for 1,096 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground last season. Lynch is better between the tackles, but Forsett is clearly the better back in space.

Former Raider head coach Tom Cable takes over an offensive line that had 10 different starting combinations last year. This appears to be one of the best young O-lines in the game now as Carpenter and Moffit join Russell Okung and Max Unger. While this is a raw unit, it has the potential to be an excellent group in a year or two. LG Robert Gallery comes over with Cable from the Raiders to add veteran leadership and toughness.

Defense

The defense was certainly a weakness last year as the Seahawks yielded a whopping 25.4 points and 368.6 total yards/game. Like on offense, they must get much tougher up front. Injuries took their toll on the defensive line last year as the combination of Red Bryant, Colin Cole and Brandon Mebane missed a total of 18 sacks last year. LE Chris Clemons was a bright spot last year, leading the team with 11 sacks. Bryant, Cole and Mebane return healthy, and the Seahawks add in young NT Alan Branch from the Arizona Cardinals.

The linebacker position in Seattle just hasn’t been the same over the last few years. This used to be a dominant group, but that’s no longer the case. Three-time Pro Bowler Lofa Tatupu has been cut, and Aaron Curry still hasn’t lived up to the No. 4 overall pick back in 2009. Curry will get another shot at OLB this season, while David Hawthorne moves to MLB. Hawthorne has been a surprise, leading the team in tackles for consecutive seasons. OLB Leroy Hill looks to return healthy and take over a starting role opposite Curry.

In the secondary, Seattle needs to get improvement from a unit that ranked 27th in the league against the pass (249.6 yards/game). They also gave up 31 touchdowns through the air, which was the third-most in the league. The Seahawks are solid at left corner with Marcus Trufant (80 tackles, one INT) and free safety with Earl Thomas (75 tackles, five INT). They will be relying on either second-year man Kam Chancellor or free agent signee Atari Bigby from the Green Bay Packers to start at strong safety. Second-year CB Walter Thurmond appears to have the inside track at right corner.

NFC West Prediction: Fourth Place, 5-11 Overall – I do like a few of the moves the Seahawks made this offseason, bulking up their offensive line and adding to their receiving corps. I just don’t think it’s going to be enough to finish out of the basement in the NFC West, let alone repeat as division champs. This is the least talented of the four teams, and they certainly have the worst quarterback situation. The defense still has a lot of question marks, from injuries up front, to poor play from their linebackers, to new and unproven starters in the secondary. They also have the most difficult schedule in the division, which is a big reason why I have them picked last.

Individual Team NFL Season Predictions

AFC
AFC West	AFC North	AFC South	AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs Predictions	Pittsburgh Steelers Predictions	Indianapolis Colts Predictions	New England Patriots Predictions
San Diego Chargers Predictions	Baltimore Ravens Predictions	Jacksonville Jaguars Predictions	New York Jets Predictions
Oakland Raiders Predictions	Cleveland Browns Predictions	Houston Texans Predictions	Miami Dolphins Predictions
Denver Broncos Predictions	Cincinnati Bengals Predictions	Tennessee Titans Predictions	Buffalo Bills Predictions
NFC
NFC West	NFC North	NFC South	NFC East
Seattle Seahawks Predictions	Chicago Bears Predictions	Atlanta Falcons Predictions	Philadelphia Eagles Predictions
St. Louis Rams Predictions	Green Bay Packers Predictions	New Orleans Saints Predictions	New York Giants Predictions
San Francisco 49ers Predictions	Detroit Lions Predictions	Tampa Bay Bucs Predictions	Dallas Cowboys Predictions
Arizona Cardinals Predictions	Minnesota Vikings Predictions	Carolina Panthers Predictions	Washington Redskins Predictions

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