Seattle Seahawks 2012 Season Preview

Seattle’s top rated passer last season was Sidney Rice. The wide receiver finished 1-1 with 55 passing yards and a QB rating of 118.8.

Ok, that is unfair, but still. Tarvaris Jackson played 15 games last season and finished with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, earning a 79.2 QB rating. The Seahawks aimed to correct that inefficiency this offseason with the signing of former Green Bay backup Matt Flynn. Flynn signed to a three-year, $26 million deal. He was going to be the Opening Week starter until, well, rookie Russell Wilson set shit on fire.

So Seattle will be one of at least four teams to start a rookie quarterback right away. Compare Wilson’s 35-52, 464 yards for five touchdowns and one interception preseason to Flynn’s 17-26, 102 yards for zero touchdowns and one interception preseason and it makes sense.

Wilson is a change, but not a savior. Seattle finished 23rd in offensive scoring with 20.1 points per game last season.  Their defensive allowed 19.7 points per game last season, ranking them seventh in the league. Seattle finished 7-9 last season. Unlike 2010, that record did not send them to the postseason.

The answers to three questions pose the biggest challenges to Seattle’s 2012 season. To wit:

1. Can they win Week 9 and Week 10? Seattle’s bye comes Week 11. Their two games before the off week come against Minnesota and the New York Jets. Whether or not they win those two games could determine their postseason fate. Both games will be played at CenturyLink Field, a place where Seattle finished 4-4 last season, including a win over Balitmore and two-point losses to San Francisco and Atlanta. Midway into the season, Wilson should be acclimated with the Seahawk offense, which head coach Pete Carroll appears comfortable with giving free reign to Wilson, anyways. These two games are Seattle’s most pivotal.
2. Who carries the rock? Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch went for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Fourth-round draft pick Robert Turbin, a Utah State product, has turned heads this offseason and ran for 93 yards on 14 carries in Week 3 of the preseason. In his second year of a four-year, $31 million deal, Lynch could benefit from a bit of competition. The 26-year-old bruiser will likely share a minority of the carries with Turbin. Both could benefit. Seattle finished 21st in rushing yards per game and 22nd in passing yards per game last season. The additions of Wilson and Turbin could boost both numbers.
3. Maintain Giveaway/Takeaway Ratio? Seattle finished +8 last season in this category, tying them for fifth overall. A comparable ranking this season, with improved offense behind Wilson and similar defense behind the likes of Earl Thomas (98 tackles in 2011) and Brandon Browner (six interceptions in 2011) could put Seattle into the playoff picture. Replacing 2011-leading tackler David Hawthorne will be a major hurdle, and rookie Bobby Wager’s (second-round, Utah State) play will loom large in Seattle’s season.

Seattle is a youthful team. Optimistically they could finish 10-6. If things go wrong and Wagner, Turbin and especially Wilson do not perform, they could finish 7-9 or 6-10. Wilson is a winner and Carroll seems to have the team pointed in the right direction. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King said Seattle’s training camp had an unusual feel, one that seemed best tuned to a young team’s attitude. Look for Seattle to open eyes behind an effective air-attack and a bruising one-two running combination.

The Big Guy

Meet Russell Wilson

Head coach Pete Carroll was not joking when he said the quarterback spot was an open competition entering training camp. The Seattle Seahawks coach named rookie Russell Wilson the Week 1 starting quarterback Monday. The third-round draft choice beat out free agent signee Matt Flynn with two solid backup performances before earning an starting spot in Week 3 of the preseason.

Facing the Kansas City defense, Wilson went 13-19 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 58 yards. In three preseason games he is 35-52 for 464 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. In ten carries he has 150 rushing yards.

The 5’11”, 206 pounds Wilson was respected coming out of Wisconsin, but was not expected to succeed this early. No quarterback not named Luck or Griffin III faces that pressure. Then again, if Wilson were a few inches taller, his name likely would have been grouped with those other heralded passers.

In his lone season at Wisconsin, Wilson amounted 3,175 passing yards for 33 touchdowns against four interceptions with a 72.8% completion rate.

Wilson began his collegiate career at North Carolina State. While there he set numerous passing records, perhaps most impressive his 389 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, an all-time NCAA record. In three seasons at NC State, Wilson finished with 76 passing touchdowns and17 rushing touchdowns against 26 interceptions.

Wilson will begin his starting quarterback career against the Arizona Cardinals on September 9 on the road. Coach Carroll has raved over Wilson’s understanding of the playbook and does not seem interested in coddling his rookie quarterback. Expect the Seahawks to run their typical offense with Wilson at the helm.

It is far too early to begin comparisons to other quarterbacks knocked for their height, but many of the praises showered on Wilson sound quite similar to those once directed toward Drew Brees. Hold hope for the future, Seahawks fans, but remain realistically optimistic in the present.

The Big Guy