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I am stoked about the Seahawks this year. So I am going to say 12-4 but I don't know who is going to beat them. We are the underdog in only two games I think the Packers and the Cowboys. So maybe 14-2 heck these guys are good enough to be 16-0.

U lose to Packers and Boys - 2
Twice to Rams -2
Twice to Cards - 2
Titans - 1
Suprized by Niners - 1

thats already 8-8 without Giants, Skins and other east coast team

Heck u could be 6-10 easily

Wins: Niners x2, Rams, Cards, Colts, Giants, Redskins, Texans, Eagles, Jags.

Losses: Rams, Cards, Packers, Cowboys, Titans, Falcons.

10-6, should be more than enough to win the division.

Unfortunately, trending downward. 9-7.........

I think the Seahawks are going to have a good year as long as Lacy gets it and goes off.

Wins: Niners x2, Rams, Cards, Colts, Giants, Redskins, Texans, Eagles, Jags.

Losses: Rams, Cards, Packers, Cowboys, Titans, Falcons.

10-6, should be more than enough to win the division.

Ditto River I agree!

11-5.

We'll sweep the sheep.
It'll be the 3rd season since the SB loss, and things have settled down concerning last year.
There really is no clear cut power house in the NFL, except for the Pats in a weak AFC. Even then, they're beatable.
This may finally be the year where age catches up with Brady.

NFC wise...it's wide open again. I don't think the Falcons will recover from last year, and I have them out of the playoffs this season. We'll get into more of that later.

We should be right there in the mix.

I'm going to go ahead and drink the "O-line is finally coming together" cool aid, couple that to a healthy Russ/Jimmy connection ... sprinkle in some 'Lacy as the hammer our running game needs' and viola: we finally have an offense that properly compliments our still elite defense.

13-3, HFA & LII here we come!

I see 16-0. Easy**.





**(like I do every year )

12-4 is my prediction and we may do better than that. This is a very special team this season Pete Carroll is running around like in his first year with the Seahawks. We have improved on defense and the OL and we have another great linebacker to start with Wagner and Wright.

RiverDog wrote:Wins: Niners x2, Rams, Cards, Colts, Giants, Redskins, Texans, Eagles, Jags.

Losses: Rams, Cards, Packers, Cowboys, Titans, Falcons.

10-6, should be more than enough to win the division.

Honestly, this seems pessimistic imo after seeing the breakdown. Don't want to get overconfident, and staying healthy is always key, but 10-6 seems very doable.

We haven't shown to be a strong team Offensively the last couple of years, so I can see arguments for 8-8 or 13-3.
Again this year it falls on how well the OL does in determining our success. I just hope they become a cohesive unit early.
As EmeraldBullett said, staying healthy is a big key.

11-5

"Rambo2014" U lose to Packers and Boys - 2
Twice to Rams -2
Twice to Cards - 2
Titans - 1
Suprized by Niners - 1

thats already 8-8 without Giants, Skins and other east coast team

Heck u could be 6-10 easily

You know, we just came through the greatest recession since the Great Depression, all the out of work comedians, and then there is Dumbo!

EmeraldBullet wrote:Honestly, this (my prediction) seems pessimistic imo after seeing the breakdown. Don't want to get overconfident, and staying healthy is always key, but 10-6 seems very doable.

You don't know me very well. My approach is to set my expectation bar low so that I'm not so down when we lose and even more ecstatic when we win. Some misinterpret this approach as being negative or a Debbie downer, but it's a product of several decades worth of disappointments.

I just don't see this team as being "vastly" improved over the past two versions and definitely not on par with our two SB teams. Add to that the fact that we're playing on a first place schedule, drawing the Packers and Falcons instead of the Lions and Bucs, and I think we're looking at our third straight appearance in a wild card game.

But it's way, way too early to be putting any faith or doubt into anyone's predictions.

RiverDog wrote:You don't know me very well. My approach is to set my expectation bar low so that I'm not so down when we lose and even more ecstatic when we win. Some misinterpret this approach as being negative or a Debbie downer, but it's a product of several decades worth of disappointments.

I just don't see this team as being "vastly" improved over the past two versions and definitely not on par with our two SB teams. Add to that the fact that we're playing on a first place schedule, drawing the Packers and Falcons instead of the Lions and Bucs, and I think we're looking at our third straight appearance in a wild card game.

But it's way, way too early to be putting any faith or doubt into anyone's predictions.

I'm on board with nearly all of this, especially that first paragraph.

I do see some improvements, and I wouldn't be surprised if this defense is one of the best of the Carroll era. I'm not putting money on it, but I think improvement on D is more likely than regression.

On offense, I also see improvements, but unlike bob I'm not drinking the OL Kool Aid before I see the first two games of the regular season. Russell's health will help, as will Rawls', but without OL improvements I'm not putting too much stock into those.

Where I might disagree is on the wild card game. Well, that's putting it too strongly, especially given how much is riding on that big OL question mark, but I think that the weak NFCW (the Cards will disappoint as Palmer doesn't recover his 2015 form) will help propel the Hawks to a bye. The Packers, Falcons, and Cowboys will all be in that conversation, but I see regression to the mean for Ryan (it's just not possible to repeat that kind of historic year) and a year of film on Prescott will bring the 'Boys back to earth a bit. Add on the competition in the NFCS and NFCE and I see the Pack and Hawks getting byes, even though they won't be that much better--if at all--than the other two.

Gawd, I am so ready for games to start...

All good comments, Oly.

One thing that I'll add is that offensively, we have a real wild card in the equation in the form of Eddie Lacy. If he reports to camp somewhere in the 240 lb range and is healthy, there could soon be signs in the C-link crowd saying "Beast Who?" I've always felt that Eddie Lacy is the current running back that most resembles Beast's running style. He could make Russell Wilson that much more effective and could return our offense to the type that we saw in 2012-14.

Although I liked Lacy coming out of college and thought he was the closest I'd seen to Lynch, I doubt that he can break tackles like Lynch did.
When you break more than 100 tackles, and the nearest is somewhere around 60, and this with Lacy playing in the NFL, I doubt he will have similar success.
Unless the OL can clear a path to the 2nd level to allow Lacy to get rolling. Lacy might have the power of Lynch, but doesn't have the quickness and subtle slipperiness needed to
augment the power for Beast Mode type runs.
He's going to need a better OL in front of him than Lynch had to come close to the production. Time will tell if they can do it.

NorthHawk wrote:Although I liked Lacy coming out of college and thought he was the closest I'd seen to Lynch, I doubt that he can break tackles like Lynch did.
When you break more than 100 tackles, and the nearest is somewhere around 60, and this with Lacy playing in the NFL, I doubt he will have similar success.
Unless the OL can clear a path to the 2nd level to allow Lacy to get rolling. Lacy might have the power of Lynch, but doesn't have the quickness and subtle slipperiness needed to
augment the power for Beast Mode type runs.
He's going to need a better OL in front of him than Lynch had to come close to the production. Time will tell if they can do it.

If Lacy is going to need a better OL than Lynch had in order to be productive, then we might as well cut him now because it ain't gonna happen. The reality is that he's not going to have an OL on par with the 2012-2014 era. The best we can hope for with this OL is that it will be better than the past two editions, which is a very low hurdle to clear. I don't think Lacy will need that much blocking, ie better than Lynch got, to get his yards if he's in shape.

We'll see. The OL is the major reason I'm low balling my prediction. At least on paper, I don't see a lot of difference between this unit and the past two. I'm just saying that Lacy is the wild card if he comes to camp close to his 235-240 target weight.

I think Lynch made our OL look better than it was in '12 - '14.
He had (and maybe still has) the ability to move subtly, like a QB in the pocket, to avoid taking a solid tackle. It's part of his wide base running style and coupled with his power, it let him break tackles.
I don't see that quality in Lacy, but I do see the power and once he gets a head of steam he can do real damage. It's up to the OL to give him the room to get rolling.

NorthHawk wrote:I think Lynch made our OL look better than it was in '12 - '14.
He had (and maybe still has) the ability to move subtly, like a QB in the pocket, to avoid taking a solid tackle. It's part of his wide base running style and coupled with his power, it let him break tackles.
I don't see that quality in Lacy, but I do see the power and once he gets a head of steam he can do real damage. It's up to the OL to give him the room to get rolling.

I agree with most of that. Lynch without question would have made ANY offensive line look better, he was that good. And I agree that Lynch was a lot more elusive than Lacy and because of his wide running style, he was able to maintain his balance and stay on his feet, a key ingredient in his ability to gain yards after contact. Lacy is IMO the closest active RB to Lynch in terms of his running style and can have the same affect on the OL as did Beast, except to a lesser degree. IMO he'll make our OL play better..providing that he comes to camp in good shape.

Lacy might be a difference maker.Don't sleep on Rawls either, or Prosise for that matter. Rawls isn't going to go quietly. Its seems people forget what he did his rookie year which includes a couple of NFL records and the highest YPC in the league for that season. If the injury bug doesn't bite the Hawks run game might well be formidable, especially if Wilson has his wheels back. He is reportedly 10 pounds lighter than last year and in the best condition of his career.
My 11-5 is based on the schedule, especially the opener against a team Russ has played the worst football of his pro career twice. If they get that one I automatically put them on a 13-3, 14-2 trajectory.

it is an easier schedule ( although it's hard to tell before the season) than we have had in a while my homerism wants to say 13-3 but I will go with 12-4 which will still be enough to get the division and decent seeding in the playoffs

Feez wrote:it is an easier schedule ( although it's hard to tell before the season) than we have had in a while my homerism wants to say 13-3 but I will go with 12-4 which will still be enough to get the division and decent seeding in the playoffs

I'm not sure how much easier it is. This year, we have the NFC South, ie Texans, Colts, Jags, and Titans instead of the AFC East of Pats, Dolphins, Jets, and Bills. This year might be a tad easier, mainly because the Pats aren't on it.

But we're playing a first place schedule this season vs. last year's 2nd place schedule, meaning that we pick up the Packers and Falcons, the two NFCCG participants. If anything, on paper it's a push if not tougher.

But like you said, it's really hard to handicap a schedule until we're a good 3-4 weeks into the regular season.

If both Clowney and Watt are healthy, that Texans DL could wreak some major havoc on our OL if it isn't running on all cylinders.

NorthHawk wrote:If both Clowney and Watt are healthy, that Texans DL could wreak some major havoc on our OL if it isn't running on all cylinders.

Fortunately we get them at home so their advantage won't be as dramatic as it would be if we were playing them in their dome, plus the Texans won't be starting a proven quarterback, which usually spells defeat in our house. So I'm calling that one a win. The team I worry about in that division is the Titans.