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Seahawks skipping rebuilding phase opens up big-picture possibilities
Quinn Harris/Getty Images

Seahawks skipping rebuilding phase opens up big-picture possibilities

The Seahawks’ 2012 ascent to the NFL’s contender ranks involved a third-round rookie piloting a playoff return. Over in Indianapolis, Bruce Arians received NFL Coach of the Year acclaim for his work replacing a cancer-stricken Chuck Pagano.

Seattle zoomed to the NFC’s No. 1 seed in each of the next two seasons. Ron Rivera of the Panthers and Arians, respectively, earned Coach of the Year honors.

Although the Seahawks made the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons with the team, Pete Carroll has never won this award. He will be deserving this year, even if it again eludes him.

Carroll’s 2018 work may exceed his performance during Seattle’s climb and subsequent apex, but the ninth-year Seahawks coach is again up against stiff competition. Matt Nagy revitalizing the Bears will probably generate more votes. Andy Reid turning a second-year quarterback into the MVP front-runner may as well.

Though, by the traditional "who has done the most with the least" criteria, what is transpiring in Seattle should be considered.

Entering 2018, the Seahawks roster housed most of the Super Bowl core. The transactions that followed — releases of Richard Sherman and Cliff Avril, a trade of Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor’s non-retirement retirement and injuries to Earl Thomas and K.J. Wright — gutted Seattle's defense. Even when the Seahawks’ non-Bobby Wagner first-stringers take their spots against the Vikings on Monday, many casual fans still may be unfamiliar with the bulk of this defense.

Doug Baldwin has struggled, and a Jimmy Graham void remains, to some degree. Although Seattle has transformed its running game — going from no running back amassing 250 rushing yards in 2017 to the attack leading the league at 148.8 per game — it still relies on a seventh-round pick (Chris Carson), a journeyman (Mike Davis) and a player most believed to be a first-round reach (Rashaad Penny).

Nearly all fronts made the Seahawks’ rebuilding-year classification appropriate, but they are barreling toward another postseason berth. Given this team's roster makeup, this stands to be the most impressive of the Carroll era’s January journeys.

Even if the 2018 Seahawks’ ceiling is lower than that of the top-tier NFC contenders’, the start of the Carroll regime’s second act skipping the rebuilding stage should not be overlooked. Almost no one expected this, and it will likely be an indicator for what will follow.

Russell Wilson may be even more responsible for the level jump, but he is not going to receive MVP consideration. But again, this latest Carroll-Wilson effort should not be dismissed.

The historically unusual Super Bowl XLIX ending destroyed Carroll-Wilson 1.0’s chances of establishing a dynasty. And the outspoken cornerstones from that run did not let the franchise forget it. This was published barely three months ago, when it did look like the Seahawks were going to trudge through a tough season with a painful "what if" backdrop lingering. The Legion of Boom and other defensive presences, perhaps rightfully, felt cheated. But not realizing Wilson’s importance and status looks naive in hindsight. 

Former teammates going after a quarterback with Wilson’s resume is uncommon, and Carroll was right to recognize that the centerpiece of this operation needed to be prioritized.

Though, instead of a gradual shift from a team with a veteran-fueled defense being largely responsible for the direction of the Seahawks, Carroll and general manager John Schneider thrust the next era upon their seventh-year quarterback suddenly.

Both Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger began their careers as game managers for defensively geared powers. New England eventually installed Brady as the point man, but Bill Belichick did not jettison his early-2000s defensive core in one offseason. The Steelers, whose shift to Roethlisberger-dependent teams this decade has not gone as well as the Patriots’ adjustment, did not immediately overhaul a defense that played vital roles for three Super Bowl qualifiers in six seasons.

Wilson's 29 touchdown passes (five shy of his career high) have come on 326 attempts. His TD percentage (8.9, with a 1.5 INT rate) ranks behind only Patrick Mahomes’ entering Week 14 (9.6, 2.3). Wilson and Mahomes’ weaponry contingents are not comparable. Brady, Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and other veteran signal-callers commanding contenders (including Andrew Luck) are working with better offensive setups than Wilson has. Nevertheless, Seattle's QB sits fourth in passer rating and is on the verge of a sixth postseason trip.

Playing with the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense from 2012-15, Wilson enjoyed a greater margin for error than most passers. While more responsibility now falls on the 30-year-old quarterback, Carroll and Co. have helped ensure the just-who-are-these-guys defensive arrangement hasn’t meant a production free fall.

Seattle’s defense lost Thomas after four games and has had Wright available in only three. It enters Monday as the league’s No. 8 scoring group (21.6 points per game) and 16th in DVOA. Wagner remains on a Hall of Fame course, but the rest of the cast consists of mid- or late-round draft picks or mid-level free agents.

This unit being competent accelerates the Seahawks’ timeline, even if 2018 will likely not be the season they make a legitimate Super Bowl challenge. 

But with a young supporting cast and $63 million in projected 2019 cap space, the ’18 team’s progress opens the door to near-future possibilities not previously expected to be available.

The Seahawks did well to support Wilson when he played on his rookie deal, and although they left a championship on the table, that was one of the best examples of window maximization since the 2011 CBA reshaped roster construction. Seattle contending with Wilson on a veteran deal, without most of its big-name defenders, will add a layer to the Schneider-Carroll regime’s accomplishments.

After outlasting the 49ers’ and Cardinals’ Super Bowl windows, the Seahawks are now trailing the Rams. But Los Angeles’ equation — Jared Goff’s rookie contract — will soon change. Seattle is not yet in position, despite two close losses to its current top rival, to disrupt the present NFC West hierarchy. But the Seahawks being back in the NFC race with this roster shows that the Rams are not likely to discard them the way the previous division kingpin did with past threats.

Seattle's reload may mean nothing when that February awards show airs, but this overqualified bridge season shows the Seahawks — without most of their 2010s cornerstones — will have plenty to say about how NFC brackets are constructed when the 2020s begin.

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