David Troy:Fox News -Why defending Champs could struggle

[Hawknight]

Why defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks could struggle to match last season's 14-3 record

Sam Darnold and the Seahawks face a tougher path after their Super Bowl win, with the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals all expected to improve this year.

www.foxnews.com

Lot of unknowns for sure...but...

Lot of what-ifs here in a positive sense. I personally think these are the biggest reasons for optimism:

• Continuity. Unlike many Super Bowl winners, Seattle returns almost its entire starting lineup. Having 21 of 22 starters back means the team doesn't have to rebuild chemistry.
• Mike Macdonald's defense should improve. Defenses often make their biggest jump in the second and third years under a coach. The Seahawks already fielded one of the NFL's best defenses, and another year in Macdonald's system could make communication and execution even sharper.
• An elite defensive line. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Derick Hall give Seattle one of the deepest fronts in football. They can pressure quarterbacks without blitzing, which is exactly how Macdonald likes to play defense.
• Young stars are still ascending. Players such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Byron Murphy II, Devon Witherspoon, and Nick Emmanwori are either entering their prime or expected to take another step forward. If just two or three improve significantly, the team becomes even more dangerous.
• The offensive system is familiar. Although there's a new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury is expected to keep many of the same concepts that made Seattle's offense successful rather than starting from scratch.
• Special teams remain a weapon. Jason Myers and Michael Dickson continue to give Seattle advantages in field position, and explosive returners can change games in a single play.
• More explosive offensive options. If Rashid Shaheed expands his role while maintaining his big-play ability, Seattle's offense could become even more explosive than it was last season.

 

[sutz]

Not a betting man, but if I were I'd take the over on that 10.5 win number.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

They were all so wrong last year, they're trying to speak it into existence.......again.

Here's to hoping EVERYONE picks against the Hawks

 

[CouchLogic]

They were all so wrong last year, they're trying to speak it into existence.......again.

Here's to hoping EVERYONE picks against the Hawks

 

[Trackhawk]

I have a really hard time taking seriously someone who writes with grammar like this.

They did lose some key pieces of their defense as well. Perhaps the one that will be the hardest to replace is Klint Kubiak, who is now the Raiders' head coach.

 

[glenwo2]

I have a really hard time taking seriously someone who writes with grammar like this :

They did lose some key pieces of their defense as well. Perhaps the one that will be the hardest to replace is Klint Kubiak, who is now the Raiders' head coach.

And just think, Trackhawk....That guy gets PAID for this.

 

[chris98251]

Keep it coming Mac says he don't care, I would add except posting this stuff on the bulliten board to stoke the fires of the team.

 

[Mike MacDarnold]

Are they passing out dunce caps at a faster rate than usual? We won in multiple ways last season, the sign of a well rounded team.

 

[GeekHawk]

What's the present over/under for regular season wins per Vegas?

 

[Chapow]

To be fair, the full title of the article is "Why the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks could struggle to match last seasons 14-3 record".

So, couple things. One, they aren't predicting that they will struggle to win 14 games again, just giving some reasons why they could. Two, It's hard to win 14 games in an NFL season, and it's even harder to do that in what might be the toughest division in the NFL.

I'm not really seeing this as disrespect or a lack of belief in the Seahawks. Seems more like just stating the obvious. Like, well no shit, they could struggle to win 14 games again.

Quite frankly, I agree with the general premise of the article, if not necessarily the specifics. Back to back 14 win seasons is going to be tough to accomplish, even for a very good team. It's the NFL. It's tough to win games, and it's even tougher to get through an entire NFL season with only 3 losses. A helluva lot has to go your way to do that, even for the best teams.

 

[Trackhawk]

What's the present over/under for regular season wins per Vegas?

Over 10.5 (-125) / Under 10.5 (+105)

So books are favoring the over.

Rams and Ravens top the league at 11.5

Bills, Lions, Packers, Chiefs, Chargers, Eagles and Niners join the Seahawks at 10.5

 

[Hawknight]

Over 10.5 (-125) / Under 10.5 (+105)

So books are favoring the over.

Rams and Ravens top the league at 11.5

Bills, Lions, Packers, Chiefs, Chargers, Eagles and Niners join the Seahawks at 10.5

Are the Niners in the 10.5 conversation? Still iffy at WR I believe, aging players, and they have yet to kick the injury bug. Purdy is also a question mark about what he will do. But if Kittle and McCaffrey go down, Purdy's go to guys will keep him in check IMHO.

 

[GemCity]

I have a really hard time taking seriously someone who writes with grammar like this.

Waaaaiiiitttt…

Did this cat design JSN’s Defensive Player of the Year award?

 

[Rat]

lol Fox News. Sure, let's take this seriously.

It would be unrealistic expect the same crazy good injury luck we had last year, so a couple of wins fewer isn't out of the question, but "struggle" is pretty absurd.

 

[SeahawkSteve80]

SeahawkSteve80 stopped taking predictive “journalism” seriously during his sophomore year at college.

Can’t explain why that specific time period, but something clicked and I turned off ESPN talking heads and reading their nonsense. I can predict crazy things too, but I’m not smart enough to get paid for it.

Regarding the OP, I will simply say that I hope the Seahawks have a strong season and prove the doubters wrong.

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

We hand them one of the easiest teams to predict and they still can't stick the landing.

 

[oldhawkfan]

They did lose some key pieces of their defense as well. Perhaps the one that will be the hardest to replace is Klint Kubiak, who is now the Raiders' head coach.

I’m still trying to figure out who these “key pieces of their defense” are that are going to make the team worse.

 

[GeekHawk]

I'm not a gambler. What does the =/- 105 mean?

 

[Jac]

Until proven otherwise, I think Macdonald is a 10-win floor type coach. So while technically under the 10.5, a lot would have to go wrong with the current talent level.

 

[jammerhawk]

Underestimating a team that went 17-3 last season is always likely to create concerns for that individual.

We'll see.

Every season the same disrespect for the Hawks happens from the poorly informed media and those prepared to toe the Rams party line.

Smile and wave boys, smile and wave. This idiots and the rest of the naysayers have their heads up their nether regions so far they can't see the light any longer.