Seahawks 2014 Schedule

[HumanCockroach]

If the Seahawks continue to win 11 to 13 games and have multiple deep post season runs it will happen, the NFL is very slow to change, and it takes some dominant decade or decades type play to become that "model" franchise that gets that type of preferential treatment ( especially on the west coast). They are simply slow to change on this front. Wasn't all that long ago where NE wasn't on Prime time and I would expect it to take the same kind of success before Seattle is considered in that upper tier.

IMO it isn't the "right" way to do it, but it is the way they do it....

( none of that changes how I feel about it personally, you would think the NFL would like to promote the Clinks atmosphere and the rabidness of it's fan base to encourage similar results, but they aren't always smart in those types of choices)

[Vegaseahawk]

As it relates to exposure, jockeying for orbitron ratings,or whatever, I could care less about the Seahawks playing in prime time. But, personally, I really like the days when the Seahawks play in the coveted slots. It is like a day that was catered to my football appetite, with the am games being the 1st course, the pm games being the 2nd course, & then the Seattle game being the Entree of my football feast. It gives me the freedom to enjoy all the other games during the day uninterrupted, thereby maximizing my football fix.

[Vegaseahawk]

I'm certainly not convinced they were under the radar last year, and honestly I can't really understand the desire to be there regardless of prime time games numbers, you simply cannot become a perennial SB contender and "fly under the radar". I'm personally cool with that, doesn't mean I want all the prime time games on the road, but I agree there weren't a ton of real appealing options in that regard this season, networks can profess they want "competitive" games, but really it is based on viewers hip, hence the reason we get Giants or Boys or Skins forced down our throats year after year.

If the Hawks continue to win and draw fans ( bandwagon guys) they'll get to that point ( like the Stealers or Pats) but it takes more than one Lombardi to do it.

Very true. It will take more than one SB win. However I would have thought they would promote the win more to attract those bandwagoners.

It's like a company with 32 product lines. A bunch of the old lines are doing well with not much chance of losing favor, but one of the newer ones have tweaked their product so it's as good or better than the others. I would have thought that company would want to expose the newer product more to create a larger sales base.

I like the "new product" analogy, it speaks to the forward thinkers who would be the policy makers of the NFL if given the chance. Reality, though, is something else. The slow to change thinking of some owners old school m.o., does not facilitate change very well. They know that they must roll with the changes, (credit to REO Speedwagon here), but are reluctant to do so because of the risk involved..... "If it works, don't fix it". But it takes change to progress & grow in todays business environment no matter what endeavor you may be involved in, & owners recognize this. After all, most of them didn't stumble across a pot of gold in building their collective empires, (Queensryche), they worked for it. Thats why they hire people to keep track of public consumption data, etc. In the end, we the Seahawk fan benefit from the whole process. We get to see more exposure of our team as their success builds, but the days of relative obscurity are gone because of that success. Some, (including myself), have a part of me taken away with it. I just loved the Seahawks in the "dog" role. Now that that is no longer the case, I'm enjoying the ride. After all, I've waited in line for 38 years.....

[Hawktawk]

Unless Im mistaken the Hawks had 3 jerseys in the top ten, including Wilson at #1. The other two were Beast and Sherm who was the only defensive player in the league in the top 10. The Hawks are plenty popular and growing in popularity all the time. The scheduling is simply a bunch of BS and a lack of respect by a bunch of fat cats who are rooting for Seattle to go back to the cellar.

[burrrton]

But, personally, I really like the days when the Seahawks play in the coveted slots. It is like a day that was catered to my football appetite, with the am games being the 1st course, the pm games being the 2nd course, & then the Seattle game being the Entree of my football feast. It gives me the freedom to enjoy all the other games during the day uninterrupted, thereby maximizing my football fix.

Good analogy, and agreed!

[RiverDog]

I'm certainly not convinced they were under the radar last year, and honestly I can't really understand the desire to be there regardless of prime time games numbers, you simply cannot become a perennial SB contender and "fly under the radar". I'm personally cool with that, doesn't mean I want all the prime time games on the road, but I agree there weren't a ton of real appealing options in that regard this season, networks can profess they want "competitive" games, but really it is based on viewers hip, hence the reason we get Giants or Boys or Skins forced down our throats year after year.

If the Hawks continue to win and draw fans ( bandwagon guys) they'll get to that point ( like the Stealers or Pats) but it takes more than one Lombardi to do it.

Very true. It will take more than one SB win. However I would have thought they would promote the win more to attract those bandwagoners.

It's like a company with 32 product lines. A bunch of the old lines are doing well with not much chance of losing favor, but one of the newer ones have tweaked their product so it's as good or better than the others. I would have thought that company would want to expose the newer product more to create a larger sales base.

I do agree that it is a questionable business decision for the NFL not to take full advantage of their newest, most marketable product, ie the Seahawks. But so long as it doesn't affect the play on the field or my ability to watch the Hawks, I don't give a rip.

[Eaglehawk]

I could care less if we fly below or above the radar. If I had to choose though, I would like flying below the radar better. And, starting off last season we were below the radar a bit. Only after beating the snot out of the 49ers did we get more press. We still lost to Indy and a handful of people were calling our receivers pedestrian and our corners not good enough.

Sure you are on the big stage when you get to the Big Dance. No doubt. That doesn't mean I have to like it or even care.

The fewer games we have in prime time, the better. PERIOD. Personally, if everyone were to not mention the Seahawks' name again until Superbowl time, that would be just fine with me.

It's not realistic, but I want us to FLY UNDER THE RADAR EVERY SEASON! Let's face it, I'm a superstitious bastard!

[HumanCockroach]

I could care less if we fly below or above the radar. If I had to choose though, I would like flying below the radar better. And, starting off last season we were belt e radar a bit. Only after beating the snot out of the 49ers did we get more press. We still lost to Indy and a handful of people were calling our receivers pedestrian and our corners not good enough.

Sure you are on the big stage when you get to the Big Dance. No doubt. That doesn't mean I have to like it or even care.

The fewer games we have in prime time, the better. PERIOD. Personally, if everyone were to not mention the Seahawks' name again until Superbowl time, that would be just fine with me.

It's not realistic, but I want us to FLY UNDER THE RADAR EVERY SEASON! Let's face it, I'm a superstitious bastard!

Simply don't agree with the idea that the team with the highest winning percentage in prime time football in the history of the game, benefits from not playing the games in prime time, thats akin to saying it would be preferable to not play games at home?!

[burrrton]

The fewer games we have in prime time, the better.

The superstitious side of me feels this way, too. I want my team to take it personally. We seem to play better when getting underestimated*.

*Admitting it could be confirmation bias.

[Eaglehawk]

The fewer games we have in prime time, the better.

The superstitious side of me feels this way, too. I want my team to take it personally. We seem to play better when getting underestimated*.

*Admitting it could be confirmation bias.

It is going to be interesting to see how PC musters up the chip on their shoulder this season. How much you want to bet that PC and Sherman will pick up on some Seahawk knucklehead hater that calls us names and predicts we don't make the playoffs or are one and done.
Any writer or sportscaster that comes close to that will be used as motivation IMO.
Problem is: there ain't gonna be that many this upcoming season. We shut most of them up last season.

[RiverDog]

The fewer games we have in prime time, the better.

The superstitious side of me feels this way, too. I want my team to take it personally. We seem to play better when getting underestimated*.

*Admitting it could be confirmation bias.

It is going to be interesting to see how PC musters up the chip on their shoulder this season. How much you want to bet that PC and Sherman will pick up on some Seahawk knucklehead hater that calls us names and predicts we don't make the playoffs or are one and done.
Any writer or sportscaster that comes close to that will be used as motivation IMO.
Problem is: there ain't gonna be that many this upcoming season. We shut most of them up last season.

This would be a good topic for another thread, particularly in the offseason.

As far as Pete's job goes, it's going to be quite a bit different than in previous seasons. It's a lot a bit easier to get players motivated and keep them focused when you're a challenger that's 'flying under the radar.' But now that we have that Lombardi, particularly with the way we've gone about it with Richard Sherman's rant and all, it's going to be more challenging to keep the team on the rails throughout the entire 16 game regular season and the playoffs, especially given the division we play in, which in almost every circle, is widely considered to be the best in football.

This is Pete's job, and no one else's. He can delegate a little bit to a degree to his coaches and veteran leaders (we lost a big one in Red), but the direction is set at the top. I suspect that it's one of the reasons why such few teams have repeated as SB champs, at least in recent times.

[NorthHawk]

Yes, it will be interesting to see how much buy-in to the Win Forever philosophy the team has after winning it all.
There might be some surprising cuts over and above the normal roster churn if some want to rest on their laurels.

[Zorn76]

Only 3 early starts on the road, which isn't bad (though not sure how many we had last season). Either way, we proved we could win away no matter what the start time.

A couple of back to back road games, with only one back to back at home.

I don't like playing Thursday night games - though it's unavoidable at this point - but I do like that we get to play SF in the evening, instead of a regular 1pm start, even if it comes 4 days after hosting the Cards.

The Seahawks do a great job of getting fired up for primetime, while some of the bigger disappointments for the 49ers have come under the bright lights, even at home. Regardless, we've been pretty flat in SF for day games, though they were pretty close contests.

Health is the key, obviously. And while the schedule is tougher, we remain as good or better than every single opponent on our schedule.

I expect another 13-3 season, to be honest. I think 12-4 might be good enough to win the west. And depending on when Navarro Bowman returns, and how much time Aldon Smith misses. the 49ers could find themselves in a hole pretty early in the year.

X-factor is our new OL. It won't be difficult, IMO, to easily match - and very likely completely exceed - what we saw in 2013 up front.

[Eaglehawk]

Only 3 early starts on the road, which isn't bad (though not sure how many we had last season). Either way, we proved we could win away no matter what the start time.

A couple of back to back road games, with only one back to back at home.

I don't like playing Thursday night games - though it's unavoidable at this point - but I do like that we get to play SF in the evening, instead of a regular 1pm start, even if it comes 4 days after hosting the Cards.

The Seahawks do a great job of getting fired up for primetime, while some of the bigger disappointments for the 49ers have come under the bright lights, even at home. Regardless, we've been pretty flat in SF for day games, though they were pretty close contests.

Health is the key, obviously. And while the schedule is tougher, we remain as good or better than every single opponent on our schedule.

I expect another 13-3 season, to be honest. I think 12-4 might be good enough to win the west. And depending on when Navarro Bowman returns, and how much time Aldon Smith misses. the 49ers could find themselves in a hole pretty early in the year.

X-factor is our new OL. It won't be difficult, IMO, to easily match - and very likely completely exceed - what we saw in 2013 up front.

Great analysis Z-76. I agree with you especially the part you said about our 0 line. Gonna be very interesting to see if PC puts that as a priority for the draft or if he sticks with Defense.

[Zorn76]

Only 3 early starts on the road, which isn't bad (though not sure how many we had last season). Either way, we proved we could win away no matter what the start time.

A couple of back to back road games, with only one back to back at home.

I don't like playing Thursday night games - though it's unavoidable at this point - but I do like that we get to play SF in the evening, instead of a regular 1pm start, even if it comes 4 days after hosting the Cards.

The Seahawks do a great job of getting fired up for primetime, while some of the bigger disappointments for the 49ers have come under the bright lights, even at home. Regardless, we've been pretty flat in SF for day games, though they were pretty close contests.

Health is the key, obviously. And while the schedule is tougher, we remain as good or better than every single opponent on our schedule.

I expect another 13-3 season, to be honest. I think 12-4 might be good enough to win the west. And depending on when Navarro Bowman returns, and how much time Aldon Smith misses. the 49ers could find themselves in a hole pretty early in the year.

X-factor is our new OL. It won't be difficult, IMO, to easily match - and very likely completely exceed - what we saw in 2013 up front.

Great analysis Z-76. I agree with you especially the part you said about our 0 line. Gonna be very interesting to see if PC puts that as a priority for the draft or if he sticks with Defense.

Thanks, Eaglehawk.

Yeah - I just don't see how we can go BPA for this draft, with all he needs up front to protect RW. He's as valuable as they come at this point, and Seattle needs to take every precaution in keeping him upright, especially coming off a season where he was sacked 44 times.

It's the biggest need, and we can afford to focus on that unit since we have good, solid depth on both sides of the ball otherwise.

I'm hoping we draft 2 guys relatively early - 1st round for starters - then go from there. We don't have what you'd call a stellar track record in the opening round, but we gotta hit one of them sometime.