What makes the NFL great is that every year, there are teams going from mediocrity to making the playoffs and even winning the Super Bowl, just as the New York Giants did this year. The Seattle Seahawks were on the verge of making the playoffs last season, while being one of the NFL’s youngest teams. They had quality wins against some of the best in the league, such as the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants.
Pete Carroll has the Seahawks playing competitively and took a team that was ranked 24th in the league in total defense in 2009, when he became head coach, to 9th in the league. The Seahawks also ranked 4th in the league in Takeaways/ Giveaways, which is a vast improvement from 2009 when they were ranked 26th.
With Seattle having a very good defense, it was clear to see that the offense was holding the team back. There has been plenty of talk about Peyton Manning being on his way out of Indy and rumors circulating that Seattle could be one of the teams interested in making him their quarterback. John Schneider and Pete Carroll should think twice about acquiring Manning. The most obvious reason as to why Seattle should stay away is due to the injury that he is coming off of and that 3 reported surgeries were needed. Manning was never known to have a strong arm and with his injury and lack of playing. There are reports that his arm looks to be even worse and this is critical in that the Seahawks play outdoors and not in a dome where he was able to pass for over 50,000 yards. Also Peyton Manning’s style of play does not fit what the Seahawks are ideally looking for in that Manning lacks mobility and Pete Carroll clearly is looking for a quarterback that could move in the pocket.
Seattle should not have to change their philosophy for a quarterback that will be nothing more than just a stopgap and should look to continue adding youth to this team including the quarterback. Seattle can definitely return to the playoffs this year if they use this year’s draft wisely. The Seahawks should add a defensive end to play on the opposite end of Chris Clemons to improve their sack totals, as this will only help in increasing their 31 takeaways from last season. The team should strongly consider using their first round pick on a defensive lineman, as there are plenty of good ones in this year’s draft such as Melvin Ingram of South Carolina and Devon Still of Penn State.
On offense, Seattle should take a closer look at quarterback prospect Nick Foles from Arizona. He is athletic, has a strong arm, good size and is accurate and efficient. Seattle would only have to spend a second round pick on him and with weapons like Sidney Rice, Zach Miller and Marshawn Lynch, Foles could easily be this year’s Andy Dalton. Seattle should also look to add another receiver alongside Rice and should consider free agent Laurent Robinson, who played for the Cowboys last year and caught 54 balls for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns. Adding another solid receiver will not only help a young quarterback but it could also help to improve their ground game which even with Lynch, still only ranked 21st in the NFL last season. Seattle should either look to add a young back to compliment Lynch or find a way to incorporate Leon Washington into the offense even more. Either way, the Seahawks need to give Lynch a little more help.
Bill Parcells always believed a championship team is built from the inside out and the teams that have consistently won Super Bowls followed this formula, strong defense, big lineman on both offense and defense and solid running game, along with a quarterback that can manage the game and make big plays down the field. Pete Carroll and John Schneider have done an excellent job in laying the foundation and should stick with this proven formula; if they can fill their needs, the sky is the limit for the Seattle Seahawks in 2012.
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