The 2014/15 NFL season is upon us and reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks look to repeat as NFC West and NFL Champions with a lineup that is largely healthy coming out of the preseason.  The Seahawks are the favorites to win it all again, with Las Vegas oddsmakers making the team the favorite in betting, alongside their Super Bowl XLVIII opponent, the Denver Broncos.

Below is a breakdown of the team’s schedule, offensive and defensive rosters, and a look ahead at what we might see from the Seahawks towards the end of the season.

Schedule

  1. Thursday, 9/4 vs. Green Bay Packers
  2. Sunday, 9/14 @ San Diego Chargers
  3. Sunday, 9/21 vs. Denver Broncos
  4. BYE
  5. Monday, 10/6 @ Washington Redskins
  6. Sunday, 10/12 vs. Dallas Cowboys
  7. Sunday, 10/19 @ St. Louis Rams
  8. Sunday, 10/26 @ Carolina Panthers
  9. Sunday, 11/2 vs. Oakland Raiders
  10. Sunday, 11/9 vs. New York Giants
  11. Sunday, 11/16 @ Kansas City Chiefs
  12. Sunday, 11/23 vs. Arizona Cardinals
  13. Thursday, 11/27 @ San Francisco 49ers
  14. Sunday, 12/7 @ Philadelphia Eagles
  15. Sunday, 12/14 vs. San Francisco 49ers
  16. Sunday, 12/21 @ Arizona Cardinals
  17. Sunday, 12/28 vs. St. Louis Rams

The Seahawks open the NFL season this Thursday night and will raise the championship banner at CenturyLink Field ahead of their match-up vs. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.  Two weeks later the team will have rematch from Super Bowl XLVIII against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.  

Seattle doesn’t face an NFC West opponent until week 7 in St. Louis.  In fact, only one of their first ten games are against divisional foes.  The back half of the schedule will be rough for Seattle, as they face the San Francisco 49ers twice in three weeks, including the Thanksgiving night game.  Those two match-ups sandwich a trip to the east coast to take on the Philadelphia Eagles.  The season wraps up in Arizona and then home against the Rams.  

Roster Preview - Offense

The Seahawks starting offense looked liked a well oiled machine in the preseason, marching up and down the field against each defense they faced.  The offense will be led by third year QB Russell Wilson, who has done nothing but win in his first two years in the NFL.  Wilson looks to have complete command of the playbook and has become one of the faces of the league in a short amount of time.  Wilson had an amazing preseason, completing 79% of his passes (33-42) with 3 TD’s and 0 interceptions, good for a 133.8 QB rating.

After waiving Terrelle Pryor (and BJ Daniels) this weekend, the Seahawks decided to go with only two QB’s on the 53 man roster, with Tarvaris Jackson remaining as Wilson’s backup.  

Marshawn Lynch returns as the main man in the backfield after receiving a slight pay raise after his third straight 1,200+ year, 11 TD+ season with the Seahawks.  However, fans can expect to see more of Robert Turbin and Christine Michael this season as featured backs.  The Seahawks decided to only keep one FB on the roster as well, with Derrick Coleman returning for duty.  

Assuming they can stay relatively healthy, the WR corps are likely to be much stronger this year.  Aside from Wilson’s natural progression in his third year, the group of WR’s have a more wide array of talent and skill set than the past two years.  The Seahawks decided to keep three TE’s on the 53 man roster.  

The biggest question mark for the Seahawks’ offense is undoubtedly their offensive line.  Rookie RT Justin Britt won the starting job with a decent preseason, but there is concern on the right side of the line with him and JR Sweezy declared the starting pair at RT and RG.  An injury prone Russell Okung must shed said label and be able to make it through the season relatively unscathed.  

53 man roster - ordered by current depth chart on Seahawks.com:

  • QB - Russell Wilson, Tarvaris Jackson
  • RB - Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael
  • FB - Derrick Coleman
  • WR - Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Paul Richardson, Ricardo Lockette, Kevin Norwood, Phil Bates
  • TE - Zach Miller, Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet
  • OL - Russell Okung, James Carpenter, Max Unger, JR Sweezy, Justin Britt, Lemuel Jeanpierre, Alvin Bailey, Garry Gilliam, Stephen Schilling

Roster Preview - Defense

The backbone of the Seahawks defense continues to be the “Legion of Boom”, with All-Pro FS Earl Thomas, CB Richard Sherman, and SS Kam Chancellor leading the way.  CB Byron Maxwell earned the other starting CB spot last season and will be a target for opposing QB’s given that Sherman is on the other end.  With more than enough tape on Maxwell at this point, the defense will need to make the necessary adjustments to add a new wrinkle or two to their play calling.  

While there is a good amount of turnover vs. last year’s roster, the Seahawks defensive line and linebacker corps should be able to play at an equal, if not greater, role in the grand scheme of things for the club.  The Seahawks group of linebackers may be one of the more underrated groups in the league, led by MLB Bobby Wagner and OLB KJ Wright, who the Seahawks are expecting even more from this season.  

53 man roster - ordered by current depth chart:

  • DL - Michael Bennett, Brandon Mebane, Kevin Williams, Cliff Avril, Tony McDaniel, O’Brien Schofield, Cassius Marsh, Jordan Hill, Greg Scruggs
  • LB - KJ Wright, Bobby Wagner, Malcolm Smith, Bruce Irvin, Mike Morgan, Brock Coyle, Kevin Pierre-Louis
  • DB - Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Jeremy Lane, Jeron Johnson, DeShawn Shead, Tharold Simon, Marcus Burley

Roster Preview - Special Teams

Aside from the top ranked defense according to DVOA and the #7 offense, the Seahawks also boasted the #5 Special Teams group from last season.  It was the third area of the game that often goes overlooked but clearly was the difference in several games for the Seahawks - the Super Bowl notwithstanding.  

K Steven Hauschka and P Jon Ryan return for another year in Seattle with both regularly considered to make the trip to the Pro Bowl at the end of the past few seasons.  Pete Carroll has listed Percy Harvin as the kick returner and Earl Thomas as the punt returner right now.  

53 man roster - ordered by current depth chart:

  • K - Steven Hauschka
  • P - Jon Ryan
  • LS - Clint Gresham

Predictions

The Seahawks looked primed for the start of the regular season over the past two weeks of preseason action, with the first team offense showing an ability to drive down the field with very little resistance.  The natural progression of Russell Wilson, combined with an improved group of Wide Receivers, leads to high hopes in Seattle.  At the same time, the defense will continue to be as close to dominant as you will find in the league.  

If they can stay relatively healthy and not lose any of the key cogs - Wilson, Harvin, Thomas, Sherman, & Okung - this team has the potential to win 13+ games very easily.  There is a good chance this team travels to Kansas City with a 9-0 record and a lot of discussion about the '72 Dolphins.  Final record prediction: 14-2.