Randall Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Seahawks should be positioned for another run at the Super Bowl By Mike Wilkening (mwilkening@pfwmedia.com) Feb. 10, 2006 Everyone knows the story: Of late, NFC teams that make Super Bowl fall on hard times the next season. The last NFC team to make it back to the playoffs the year after reaching the Super Bowl was the ’99 Rams, who lost in the wild-card round to the Saints the following season. Since then, the Giants, Rams, Buccaneers, Panthers and Eagles have all flopped the season after the Super Bowl. Look for the Seahawks to buck this trend, if for no other reason than they tower over the rest of the NFC West. Seattle swept the Rams, Cardinals and 49ers this season, scoring at least 27 points in every division game and outscoring their West foes by a 206-106 margin. The NFC West will spend the offseason trying to catch up to the Seahawks. I am not overstating the importance of divisional wins. Seven of eight divisional winners (with the Giants the exception) held or tied for their division’s best record vs. division opponents. The Steelers know better than anyone the importance of taking care of business within the division; losses to AFC North rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore helped the Steelers fall to the AFC’s No. 6 seed. The Steelers will be favored to win the AFC North in 2006 as the Bengals try to regroup after QB Carson Palmer’s serious knee injury in the wild-card round. Cincinnati could also lose WR Chris Henry, whose playing status for ’06 and beyond is unknown because of Josh Gordon and firearm charges. Picking the Bengals to win that division will take confidence in Palmer’s condition and the improvement of a defense that buckled at season’s end. Ravens supporters will temper their enthusiasm until the offense shows consistent improvement. The Browns look (at least) another year away and don’t match up well with the Steelers at all. Still, while the Steelers must be regarded as favorites, their division rivals are much stronger than Seattle’s. In the Bengals’ last two matchups with Pittsburgh, they won at Heinz Field and held a lead in the wild-card game into the third quarter. The Ravens, in the midst of their lost ’05 campaign, still mustered two highly competitive performances vs. hated Pittsburgh. Were it not for the Steelers’ last-minute drive on Halloween, the Ravens would have swept the season series. It is easy to forget these details as the season ends, what with Super Bowl XL so fresh in our minds. Yes, the officiating left something to be desired. Yes, the Seahawks were buried by their own mistakes and an inability to stop Pittsburgh from making three pivotal plays (Roethlisberger’s throw across his body to Hines Ward, Willie Parker’s too-easy 75-yard TD run, Antwaan Randle El’s 43-yard TD toss to Ward). But Seattle must also be lauded for the execution that got it to the Super Bowl, even if it disappeared for much of the biggest game of the year. The Seahawks’ playoff game-planning was brilliant and carried out with precision. Head coach Mike Holmgren’s play-calling in all three playoff games kept defenses off-balance, even when Seattle lacked MVP RB Shaun Alexander for much of the division-round matchup with Washington. And LB coach John Marshall, asked to assume some of Ray Rhodes’ responsibilities during the season when Rhodes’ health started to fail, oversaw a defense that generally held its own. Rarely was it better than in the NFC title game when taking Panthers WR Steve Smith completely out of the game. Schemes like that earn trips to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks now turn their attention to re-signing several key contributors, with RB Shaun Alexander and OLG Steve Hutchinson the most costly to bring back but DT Rocky Bernard, WR Joe Jurevicius, S Marquand Manuel and FB Mack Strong also likely to be priorities. However, president of football operations Tim Ruskell has the wherewithal and the resources for the Seahawks to emerge from free agency still strong and a contender. Even if Alexander were to leave, the Seahawks couldn’t be counted out, not with a long list of capable replacements available in free agency. The Seahawks will enter the 2006 season with the confidence of knowing they could have won the Super Bowl if they would have played their best game. QB Matt Hasselbeck very well could have corralled game MVP honors in a Seattle win; even in defeat, he did nothing to prove he wasn’t worthy of Pro Bowl status. Only 30, Hasselbeck should continue to play at a high level for the next several seasons. So, too, should the Seahawks, especially if their division rivals can’t find their way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinersIn2006! Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 No way man!! Watch out for the 49ers next year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 No way man!! Watch out for the 49ers next year!! 1318163[/snapback] Yeah, and the Lions and Packers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Goes Frazia Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 (edited) the hawks will sign Shaun....... franchise or sign Hutch & resign Jurevicius. Bernard may be gone but that's the breaks if he does. If & when all this gets done...... there's noone that comes close to them is the NFC. Edited February 10, 2006 by Down Goes Frazia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSupe4You Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 I think they also need to hope that Hamlin can play and Dyson stays healthy next year. Almost as key as the other things mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpholmes Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 They keep Hutch and Alexander, they will walk back to the playoffs with 6 easy-gimmie wins against AZ, SF, and STL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Are they done calling for Holmgren's head out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Are they done calling for Holmgren's head out there? 1318787[/snapback] Some fans were calling for that last year, but managment suprised everyone by firing team president Bob Whitsitt (who apparently didn't get along w/ Holmgren) and hiring Tim Ruskell. Holmgren is out of the hot seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holliday Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 the hawks will sign Shaun....... franchise or sign Hutch & resign Jurevicius. Bernard may be gone but that's the breaks if he does. If & when all this gets done...... there's noone that comes close to them is the NFC. 1318225[/snapback] The key is making sure they keep Hutch. Jurevicius is a fine 3rd WR, but he is just a 3rd reciever. Alexander would of course be good to keep but I think they can get by without him. If Hutch goes so does their chances at repeating a superbowl bid (of course unless they can find someone close to as good in the draft or free agency,and I hardly see that happening.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 the hawks will sign Shaun....... franchise or sign Hutch & resign Jurevicius. Bernard may be gone but that's the breaks if he does. If & when all this gets done...... there's noone that comes close to them is the NFC. 1318225[/snapback] There's an overstatement.....although I wouldn't expect the same success out of DC, both Carolina and Chicago will come back reloaded, young and with more experience. If Carolina adds Edge, look out. Beyond that, I expect Atlanta to get back to winning (lost the NFC Champeenship in 2004), and the Vikes should be solid, without all the drama enveloping them in the first 2 months of the season again. They might be the defending NFC champs, but that doesn't mean much in the days of parity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Seattle won't have that gimmie sked they had last year. Plus, once the 'Skins address their QB problem... the NFC Championship will have to go through D.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 (edited) Seattle won't have that gimmie sked they had last year. Plus, once the 'Skins address their QB problem... the NFC Championship will have to go through D.C. 1318906[/snapback] QB problems are not easy to solve overnight. That being said, if the Skins can address that problem and get a valid #2 WR they are there (and Brunell may surprise). The Giants need more consistency out of Eli and some improvement on the defense, that can easily be next year. If Carolina gets a RB and a #2 WR, watch out. As far as Seattle goes...they will franchise Hutchinson (if need be) and attempt to sign Alexandar and Mack Strong. Losing any one of three will hurt. They can improve farily easily on an overachieving D. I still think, at the present time, they are head and shoulders above everyone in the NFC. As far as not having a cake schedule next year...my first thought is, how could Seattle's schedule get that much harder playing San Fran, Arizona, and St. Louis 6 times a year? Well, you are right. The 2005 schedule only had one tough AFC game for Seattle (Jax on the road, Indy didn't count) and 2006 has Oakland/San Diego home and KC/Denver on the road. Edited February 11, 2006 by bushwacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Seattle won't have that gimmie sked they had last year. 1318906[/snapback] Shhhh ... you'll let them in on the fact that the league's conspiracy against Seattle extends into next year. Scheduling patterns are currently being revised to have Seattle play four road games vs New England and four road games vs Chicago, all in December (playing double headers, playing one on each Thursday morning in Chicago and then flying to Gillette for a Thursday night game), plus home games vs Indy, Denver, Jacksonville, Chicago, Carolina, Washington, the 85 Bears brought back through a time tunnel, and the Harlem Globestrotters (in basketball, as a weird scooby-do twist to the conspiracy). Good thing Jeremy Stevens fumble wasn't properly ruled a fumble, or someone might buy into this conspiracy theory!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 The Seattle sked part of the post was a joke.... which no one got I guess. The Redskins part of the post was not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk37 Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I think they also need to hope that Hamlin can play and Dyson stays healthy next year. Almost as key as the other things mentioned. 1318292[/snapback] Hamlin said no matter what the risk he will play next season unless it is life threatening but he isnt at that high of risk so look for Hamlin to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitzkek Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Doesn't anyone remember that whoever loses the Super Bowl doesn't make it to the playoffs the following season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 absolutely no guarantee at all they make it back ...if anything this was their year ..they took advantage of schedule and had some NFC teams take big steps back like Eagles Next year i think Eagles will improve , Dallas will improve , Giants should be solid , Panthers , Bucs , etc ...if Seattle signs Shaun i would make them the favorites but nowhere near a lock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youre Going Down Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 It's the year of the CARDS next year!!! (note to myself, I say this every year and it does not happen) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Doesn't anyone remember that whoever loses the Super Bowl doesn't make it to the playoffs the following season? 1320143[/snapback] Except Buffalo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat2334 Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Yeah, we are definitely the favorites next year BUT alot things need to go right, play out in order to get back- always tough to do. NFC goes thru the Skins?? No way, I see them haveing a tough time getting back to eh playoffs actually. QB situation?? Brunell?? Ramsey?? come on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitzkek Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Except Buffalo. 1320162[/snapback] That's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 Dallas, New England and the Packers made it 2 years in a row. In their division you have to like their chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSupe4You Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 ...if Seattle signs Shaun i would make them the favorites but nowhere near a lock 1320158[/snapback] I really don't think signing Shaun is the biggest factor. If the resign Hutchinson, Strong and JJ and then find an above average runner who can catch and pass block and I think there isn't that much of a drop off from Alexander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 (edited) I really don't think signing Shaun is the biggest factor. If the resign Hutchinson, Strong and JJ and then find an above average runner who can catch and pass block and I think there isn't that much of a drop off from Alexander. 1320351[/snapback] 1800 + yards and 28 tds will not be replaced that easily though :doah: Edited February 12, 2006 by isleseeya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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