Seattle Seahawks: What can we expect next season?

Football season is officially over folks but that doesn’t mean we should stop talking about it. While looking back let’s envision the possibilities of the future for our beloved franchise. 2011 NFL season for Seattle Seahawks has certainly been a season of progress especially on defensive side of the ball but yet it felt disappointing. It felt disappointing not just because Seahawks did not reach the playoffs but because as a fan I am not sure of what to expect from this team heading into upcoming season. At times Seahawks looked like a promising team moving into a right direction. However on the other hand in certain games Seahawks looked convincingly poor and underachieving (game against Cleveland Browns comes to mind). So what should we expect as Seahawks fans next year? Well, I believe it all depends on what the Seahawks will do in the off season

   The question I have for Seattle front office is what are you going to do at quarterback position? The reason why is because if you look at today’s NFL, you can’t win many games without a good solid quarterback. To be honest with you all, I do not believe the Seahawks currently have a good solid quarterback on their roster with no disrespect to Tarvaris Jackson. If you look at better teams in the NFL you see the franchise caliber quarterback on their roster. In Seattle case, you don’t and that’s what makes it so hard to even consider Seattle in playoff picture next season. 

   So what should Seattle do about their QB position? Well, in upcoming NFL draft we know for sure that there are talented quarterbacks and their names are Andrew Luck and RGIII.

  What about others you ask, well I am simply not sure about others. I strongly believe that Luck and RGIII will eventually become good if not great QB’s in the NFL. I do not have the same feeling about Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Weeden, Kirk Cousins or Nick Foles and I bet I am not the only one. Before Seahawks even consider drafting one of these quarterbacks, they have to know to some degree of confidence that one of these guys is the one who can lead this team to success. Personally, I like Kirk Cousins the most of out the bunch but I am not in charge of making the decision on the draft day. The reason why I like Cousins the most is because he reminds me of Matt Hasselbeck who did lead the team to a Super Bowl. But to be truly effective on offense, Seahawks need more than just a quarterback.

   Golden Tate also is another guy who needs to step up if he wants to keep playing. Golden did play better towards the end of the season, what he needs to do though is become a better route runner and be more consistent. If he can play all games to the level he played against Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night football then he should be fine.

  What Seattle needs to do is find a good running mate to Lynch because quite frankly I do not believe Forsett or Washington are the answer. Neither is capable of providing five and six yards runs when Lynch is not playing. Seahawks need someone similar to Tate from Texans to help the offense in the ground game. If Seahawks truly want to be a good rushing team they need to add another back who is capable of providing big runs on consistent basis. Seattle Seahawks also need to get more out of their receiving corps. Mike Williams needs to have a rebound year in order for this team to have success passing the ball similar to the one he had in 2010. However Williams is not the only wide receiver who needs to step up in 2012.

  Another guy I need to see more of is Sidney Rice. The number priority for Rice should be staying healthy. If he can stay healthy for the whole season, he could be the dynamic play maker for the Seahawks. He could be a true number one wide receiver for the team but it all goes back to staying healthy. As a fan I sure hope he can do so, because the Seahawks with Rice are a better team than without him.

  Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell also need to find more ways to utilize their tight ends in the passing game, especially Zach Miller. They got to feed them the ball otherwise the offensive will never be as good as it can be. We all know that Pete Carroll wants to run the ball effectively, well to do that you need a good passing game. By utilizing tight ends more effectively Seahawks can truly become one of the better offenses in the league.

  If Seahawks can do all the things I mentioned then they could truly become a great team. However as of right now, I am not sure of what to expect from this team next season. The difference between success and failure could just be a few moves in the free agency or the draft. But at the moment I cannot even predict of what is going to happen next season. With the right moves, it can even end in confetti.