Seattle Seahawks Slide Predicted to Continue in 2018

The Seattle Seahawks fans have to wonder what in the world is happening. This was supposed to be the next great dynasty team. Now look at it.

For the first time since 2011, they missed the playoffs and their once great defense seems to be coming apart at the seams. Richard Sherman is gone. Michael Bennett is gone. Cliff Avril is gone. PIece by piece the once fabled Legion of Boom is disappearing. Meanwhile, the team hasn’t done the best job cultivating possible replacements. One could say the recent Seahawks drafts have been underwhelming. A far cry from their insane success from 2010 to 2012.

Adding to the problems is the plight of their head coach. Pete Carroll turns 67-years old in September this year. That’s getting up there. Not only that, but a number of players including Avril no longer on the team have spoken out openly against him. The belief is his voice in the locker room lost a ton of credibility after the disastrous decision to pass at the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX. Players began to tune out his messages after that.

Above anything else, the decline has been steady. They were 12-4 that year. Since then they’ve gone 10-6, 10-5-1 and 9-7. Will they be able to reverse the sinking in 2018? Not according to experts.

Seahawks slide projected to continue among new challenges

Seattle beat writer Brady Henderson of ESPN offered his take on total wins projected for this season. It turns out he’s in agreement that the Seahawks won’t be able to reverse their spiral. Instead the slow disintegration of their core and rising challengers in the NFC will only make matters worse.

"“FPI’s projection is in line with my prediction of an 8-8 season. That took into account all the key pieces who departed this offseason, including Richard Sherman and Jimmy Graham; the renewed competitiveness in the NFC West, in which the Rams are the clear favorites and the 49ers are on the rise; and the fact that Seattle’s schedule is tied for fifth-hardest in terms of opponents’ 2017 win percentages. Although some are expecting the Seahawks to bottom out after such a significant talent drain, that isn’t going to happen on a team with an MVP-caliber quarterback in Russell Wilson and other stars such as Earl Thomas and Bobby Wagner on defense, not to mention an excellent coach in Pete Carroll. Prediction: Over 7.9 wins. Barely.”"

It’s not just the roster that continues to look depleted. At one point in time, the Seahawks appeared loaded with tons of young and veteran coaching talent. This past offseason saw many of their more proven commodities get cut loose including Darrell Bevell and Kris Richard. In their places, it doesn’t look like the team upgraded with the likes of Brian Schottenheimer and Ken Norton Jr.

Next: 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Oakland Raiders Put AFC On Notice

Suffice to say the team has a ton of proving to do. Otherwise even more change could be on the horizon. These likely higher up the chain.