The Seattle Seahawks came this close to a repeat. This close. It’s possible that every person on the planet has now seen that season-ending interception, but now the Hawks will look to rebound. Luckily, they’re in a prime position thanks to a weakened division and improved team.  

After losing a few key pieces from last year’s 12-4 team, Pete Carroll and company are looking to bounce back from last season’s Super Bowl.

Additions and Subtractions

Luckily, they weren’t ravaged in free agency like they were after winning the championship. The most notable losses include cornerback and Legion of Boom member Byron Maxwell and the anchor of the offensive line, center Max Unger. The team also lost reserve linebacker Malcolm Smith and another offensive lineman in James Carpenter.

The Seahawks were never going to pay Maxwell as much money as the Philadelphia Eagles threw at him with an eye towards saving cash for bigger fish (i.e. Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner). Seattle essentially traded cornerbacks with Philadelphia by signing the player Maxwell displaced, Cary Williams, to join the secondary.

Smith, meanwhile, was slowly losing playing time. His reps will likely be absorbed by the likes of Brock Coyle and Kevin Pierre-Louis, who may have taken the reps anyway.

Unger and Carpenter will be more of a challenge to replace. Patrick Lewis and Lemuel Jeanpierre both received starts last season and may be counted on again in terms of reps at the center position. Additionally, Alvin Bailey will likely benefit the most from Carpenter’s departure. Bailey has shown flashes of promise and could very well start opposite fellow guard J.R. Sweezy.

While the likes of Maxwell and Unger will be missed, the Seahawks made up for it in a big way. The club brought in tight end, wide-out, and overall pass catcher extraordinaire Jimmy Graham in a trade with the New Orleans Saints that cost the team Unger. Graham’s jump-ball ability will be massively important for a scrambling quarterback like Wilson, especially in the event that the offensive line struggles in pass-protection. John Schneider and Carroll provided Wilson with yet another new toy to play with, drafting speedy receiver Tyler Lockett in the third round. Lockett has a chance to make an impact in his rookie year as he represents the kind of big play threat the Hawks have been lacking. Granted, the team made the Super Bowl without a big play threat, so adding Lockett will make the offense that much more dangerous.

On the other side of the ball, the team added defensive line depth with Ahtyba Rubin and drafted high-risk pass rusher Frank Clark in the second round. Those two, combined with the return of Jordan Hill (who recorded 5.5 sacks in the final six regular season games before landing on injured-reserve) will make one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing units even better.

Schedule

With these new additions in tow, the Seahawks will embark on a 16-game schedule that features seven playoff teams. Seattle plays at the Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals while hosting the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.  

However, before this, the team will play the entire AFC West during the preseason. The Hawks are home to Denver Broncos before playing at both Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. The team wraps up the preseason at home versus Malcolm Smith and the Oakland Raiders.

The Seahawks’ full regular season schedule is as follows—

Week 1 at St. Louis

Week 2 at Green Bay (Sunday Night Football)

Week 3 - Chicago

Week 4 - Detroit (Monday Night Football)

Week 5 at Cincinnati

Week 6 - Carolina

Week 7 at San Francisco

Week 8 at Dallas

Week 9 Bye

Week 10 - Arizona (Sunday Night Football)

Week 11 - San Francisco

Week 12 - Pittsburgh  

Week 13 at Minnesota

Week 14 at Baltimore (Sunday Night Football)

Week 15 - Cleveland

Week 16 - St. Louis

Week 17 at Arizona

There are a couple scheduling nuggets of note. First off is the Week 2 matchup with the Packers. Green Bay will clearly be looking for payback after the Hawks robbed them of a potential Super Bowl bid at home last year in the NFC Championship Game. Also, the Seahawks will play both teams that had a tie on their record last season, in consecutive weeks. The Hawks will travel to Cincinnati during Week 5 while hosting the Panthers the next weekend. Week 12 also brings a Super Bowl XL rematch with the Steelers.

Offensive Player to Watch: Russell Wilson

It’s tempting to pick someone like Graham, or Marshawn Lynch, but if there’s one offensive player to watch for the Seahawks, it’s the one throwing the ball. Wilson had a tremendous season in his second year in the league, registering a career high 3,475 passing yards while also throwing for a career-low seven interceptions and running for 849 (!) yards.

Wilson will now have a chance to improve on all of his numbers thanks to the arrival of Graham and Lockett. The former Saint is the big bodied receiver the Hawks have long been searching for. They received mixed results from Mike Williams, struck out on signing Brandon Marshall and saw Sidney Rice’s career decimated by injuries. Graham is the perfect fit in that sense. He will be especially effective when Wilson is forced out of the pocket in scramble situations, as well as the end zone. Lockett, on the other hand, will give defenses problems with his speed and stands to be a significant contributor on an already talented offensive unit.

With these two, as well as Lynch, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and the emerging Luke Willson, Russell Wilson will have a number of dynamic weapons to throw to during the coming season.

Defensive Player to Watch: Cary Williams

Williams may not be the most obvious pick, but his role on the team is an intriguing one. The former Eagle takes Maxwell’s place in the LOB and could benefit from his surroundings just as Maxwell did. If Williams can play around his predecessor’s level, or even above (which is entirely possible), the Hawks’ defense will run smoothly.

Having the two best safeties in the league (not to mention the league’s best cornerback) in the same secondary was extremely beneficial for Maxwell and Brandon Browner before him. Carroll and the rest of the coaching staff will be hoping the Legion of Boom has the same effect on Williams.

Injury Concerns

Safety Earl Thomas is currently out, still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and may not be ready to start the season. Cornerbacks Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon are both recovering from injuries sustained last season. Lane hurt his arm and tore his ACL during the Super Bowl while Simon injured his shoulder during the regular season and figures not to miss nearly as much time as Lane, who could be out for a significant amount of time. Receiver Paul Richardson is also nursing a torn ACL, but has progressed well in his recovery.

Division Outlook

Seattle enters the 2015 season as the clear favorites in the NFC West. Arizona may have played above their punching weight last season and could struggle to reach the 11 wins they accumulated last year. The Seahawks’ one-time heated rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, lost almost everyone of note from their team, whether it be to retirement or free agency. The word “exodus” doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. With the Niners’ experiencing a head coaching change as well, don’t expect anything above .500. Almost by default, the St. Louis Rams could cause the Hawks the most trouble in the division. The team is stout on defense and has a talented (if healthy) rookie running back/bruiser in Todd Gurley. If St. Louis had a top flight quarterback it may be a different story, but Nick Foles isn’t close to being good enough to unseat the Seahawks atop the division.

Predicted Record

Best case scenario: 14-2.

Worst case scenario: 12-4.

Regardless of whether the Hawks finish 14-2 or 12-4, they should claim the division. Seattle has the talent to run the table next year, and an inferior division will only support that notion. Going on this, an undefeated home slate certainly isn’t out of the question either. The team will have tough road games at St. Louis, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Baltimore and Arizona, but expect the Hawks to emerge from the regular season with a division title, and at the very least a first-round bye in the playoffs. 

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About the author
Ben Rosener
Ben Rosener is a sports writer born and raised in the greater Seattle area. He is a college who is the editor and founder of two sports websites, Kingdome of Seattle Sports and Know Hitter, the latter of which is a member of the BBA. Ben’s work can also be found on the digital pages of Bleacher Report, USA Today, World Soccer Talk and FanSided among others. He only refers to himself in the third person for bios.