Win Or Lose Saturday...

[WestcoastSteve]

Playoffs are definitely a happy surprise from expectations early on. I do feel that I will be let down if we lose this week though. I fully believe that we are good enough to get through the wildcard round.

Yeah I predict they win this week and lose the next round.

Pete is 6-0 as our coach in playoff openers, the Vikings game they got a little lucky but the one variable that gets me is we have so many guys making their first playoff appearance.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

House Money folks! Cowboys are the ones who have all the pressure in this one. Seahawks should come out loose and having fun!

Exactly how I feel.

Great season, far surpassing my expectations.....................and I actually like our chances because of exactly what you wrote, Dallas is the team with all the pressure of their recent playoff failures under Garrett. The further the game goes along if it's close which it should be? I expect Dak to feel that pressure full force.

I expect Russell to come out loose and ready to roll.

 

[semiahmoo]

It's been one hell of a season. So many pleasant surprises from players to victories. May the spirit of Paul Allen forever watch over our beloved team. Thank you Paul.

GO HAWKS!

Agreed! Immensely entertaining season - one of their very best.

GO HAWKS!

 

[TwistedHusky]

It has been better football to watch, by far.




Though, if you make all these changes and you accomplish essentially the same thing - then you haven't really accomplished much have you?

While games are better to watch and more enjoyable they made a lot of changes.

But for this season to be a success or to be considered any kind of accomplishment - they need to win in the playoffs.

We have been beating teams in the wildcard and then getting clownstomped in the next game for years now. That isn't new and doing that again would just be the Seahawks doing what the Seahawks have done for a while.

The Seahawks need to win the next game and then they need to be competitive in the game to follow. Otherwise, it wasn't an improvement just change for change's sake.

Unless you want to take the argument that the team would have been significantly worse without the changes once the new Wilson contract hits. And the goal is really just to hold serve to be the 8-9 win team that gets into wildcard games and what follows is just gravy?

No, I don't think it can be considered a success unless we improve and while we missed the playoffs last year - it was by almost as narrow a margin as we made them this year. A lot of players, coaches and playstyles changed but the end of year outcome wasn't that different as far as record.

However, having a team that can actually play football when the offense is on the field is a really nice change and as a fan I enjoy watching some of these losses this year more than some of last year's wins. The football is clearly better to watch, there should be no dispute there.

This city was tremendously lucky to have Paul Allen to make this possible though. It could have been so much worse and likely would have with any other owner.

 

[AROS]

Are you kidding me? What a myopic POV. To even REACH the playoffs this year is a tremendous success given the challenges Pete has had to face with all the turnover from the pro bowl/All Pro talent to all the coaches and what it means to establish the same winning formula with new coaches and their associated schemes.

While 4-2 was laughable as a prediction, 8-8 was certainly not and seemed to be the ceiling for the majority.

10-6 and in the playoffs? This is a testament to Pete Carroll, John Schneider and the players once again, buying in.

Of course none of us want to see it end in Arlington against THAT team, and none of us want to see another drubbing in the divisional but let's be grateful for what we have accomplished surprisingly so this season, and no matter what, do not lose sight of what lies ahead which appears to be another terrific championship run.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Does the record in the regular season matter or more in the playoffs?

That answer is just subjective, I get it depends on the fan for that.

But, the Seahawks fixed a number of huge issues that were holding them back from being one of the best teams in the NFL and kept them from winning.

1. Offensive line - we now have a solid offensive line. Wilson has a lot more time and the run blocking is solid too.

2. Run game - we had no run game and now the run game is #1 in the league.

3. Offensive coordinator - I wasn't happy with the hire AT ALL at the time it was made. But you cannot argue with the results that this offense is scoring close to 30pts per game after our first 2 games.

We no longer have the offensive line holding the team back, no longer have the run game holding us back and no longer have the OC holding us back.

We lost some defensive players, but a number of those could not play last year because of injuries anyway. And with all the above 'fixed', the defense is still reasonably solid. Not worldclass anymore but certainly not an anchor dragging the rest of the team down.

If the reason this team was underperforming was primarily the issues that were addressed, then shouldn't it be better not worse?

There is no scenario where losing to the Cowboys makes this year a success UNLESS it sets up next year for a better result. Otherwise, why make the change at all? Change in parts/pieces without a change in results is not improvement - it is window dressing.

More importantly, the difference between 8-8 and 10-6 is 2 games. Now factor in one key division opponent literally losing their starting QB for the year, and 2 other key opponents (GB and the Vikings) falling apart this year. Of course, we won more games than projected - because the teams we played were easier to beat than projected.

I still think this is a better team than last year. I think we make this conversation moot by actually winning the playoff game and being competitive in the next one.

 

[toffee]

Both team are hot, both teams have improved since they last met. Arguably, the girls enjoyed more improvement, has a bit more momentum, and play at home.

But we have Russell Wilson, he needs to be very DangeRuss for us to win.



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[toffee]

All the credit to Pete for so quickly making this a talented playoff team with the loss of so many defensive standouts. This is all Pete's vision coming to fruition. And this team is so much more enjoyable to watch than the prior couple years. It's extremely promising for the future and we're not done this year!

You see, I don't see this as a "quick" turnaround. The current roster was drafted and built over the last 2-3 years by P&J, carefully crafted and coached up to be ready just for this occasion, when all of the big money FAs left. I always had a lot of faith in Pete just for that reason. He knows good players when he sees them, and with the coaching changes, a lot of those young guys who had been buried down roster have had their chance to shine this year, and hopefully moving forward.

Pete & John really do know what they are doing.

And .... fans were foaming that we didn’t draft well



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[SoulfishHawk]

Been a great season, so many fun games and the team is actually very fun to watch. Last year's team was painful to watch at times.

 

[Followthelegion]

Listening to all of the talking heads on the shows this week, most are basically saying if Dak doesn't have a meltdown then Dallas should pull this game out. Pointing to a stronger defence, Zeke and home crowd.

I really only see two types of game happening on Saturday:

- Tight low scoring game which comes to the 4th Quarter and which team can hold on to the ball and score at the end or
- Seattle gets out to a lead and puts the game on Dak's shoulders. They get away from Zeke and Seattle holds them at bay. The game would be very similar to the Lions game we played earlier in the year (both away from home, on the turf)

Either way, I'm happy if those are the only 2 options on the table! Not quite sure exactly why suddenly we think Dallas has a massive home crowd advantage (going 7-1 I don't think is anything to do with Jerry World being intimidating), or Zeke being an upgrade over the number 1 rushing team in football....

 

[Mad Dog]

I still think this is a better team than last year. I think we make this conversation moot by actually winning the playoff game and being competitive in the next one.

You think? It's clearly a better team than last year. Last years team couldn't play offence for 3 quarters. Last years team's defense got old and injured in a hurry. Last years team couldn't make game winning field goals. Last years team got blown out by the Rams at home. Last years team finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs.

This years team was in the playoffs at the 5 seed with a 10-6 record while playing a nastier schedule.
This years team could run the ball, score early and was in every single game until the end.

There is no doubt the team has improved. It's gotten better on offence and younger on defense. It is a recapitulation of that 2012 team. A team everyone knew was heading in the right direction.

So no matter what happens tonight, the season is a success. It's just a matter of whether you consider it a modest success or a huge success. Playoff wins determine the latter.

 

[John63]

It has been better football to watch, by far.




Though, if you make all these changes and you accomplish essentially the same thing - then you haven't really accomplished much have you?

While games are better to watch and more enjoyable they made a lot of changes.

But for this season to be a success or to be considered any kind of accomplishment - they need to win in the playoffs.

We have been beating teams in the wildcard and then getting clownstomped in the next game for years now. That isn't new and doing that again would just be the Seahawks doing what the Seahawks have done for a while.

The Seahawks need to win the next game and then they need to be competitive in the game to follow. Otherwise, it wasn't an improvement just change for change's sake.

Unless you want to take the argument that the team would have been significantly worse without the changes once the new Wilson contract hits. And the goal is really just to hold serve to be the 8-9 win team that gets into wildcard games and what follows is just gravy?

No, I don't think it can be considered a success unless we improve and while we missed the playoffs last year - it was by almost as narrow a margin as we made them this year. A lot of players, coaches and playstyles changed but the end of year outcome wasn't that different as far as record.

However, having a team that can actually play football when the offense is on the field is a really nice change and as a fan I enjoy watching some of these losses this year more than some of last year's wins. The football is clearly better to watch, there should be no dispute there.

This city was tremendously lucky to have Paul Allen to make this possible though. It could have been so much worse and likely would have with any other owner.

See I don't understand this post at all. In the last 7 years we have gone to the playoffs 6 of the 7 times. we have played what will be at least 13 playoff games and your complaining. Makes no sense 90% of the teams would love that. We have never been 1 and done, and only not in the game once. in 2015 we won the WC game and was 1 score form the next level. I also don't understand why you feel if we resign Wilson(if since I am not convinced they will ) that we should then be happy with 8-9 win teams. I mean last year with virtually nothing we were a good FG kicker from being 11-5 or better, this year in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year we were 10-6. While I get your feelings, and of course you are entitled to them, the facts don't support them.