The sun
was shining
at Mile High
in Denver.
On September 9th
the Seahawks kicked off
their 2018-2019 regular season. Watching on tv.youtube.com I paused at the 2 minutes and 30 seconds mark. In the far end-zone, 2 hawks players took a knee and embraced, brothers in arms.
Twin Brothers. Brotherhood has been the identity of the Seahawks during their most successful era in franchise history. Brotherhood birthed the Legion of Boom, arguably one of the best defenses in league history. Russell Wilson is the glue. The offense belongs to him. He is the quintessential leader of this team. But the defense - the heart & soul of the scariest part of this Seahawks team, is built on brotherhood.
Obviously, Coach Carroll's & John Schneider’s finger prints are undeniably on every facet of the team. Great leadership stems from great ownership, and it’s hard to find better than the late Paul Allen, rest in peace to a Legend.
What are the keys that will keep the Hawks window wide open?
Full Reload on Defense
Usually it takes 3 years of rebuilding through the draft and free agency to retool a defense. However, when you have John Schneider super GM, all you have to do is….
Draft ball-hawking twin brothers real quick
Use advanced scouting to find diamonds like Tre Flowers and Jaraan Reed
Get a career year from Frank Clark. Only 3 players in the NFL have 10+ Sacks, 1 INT, 3 FF & 2 PD… Kahil Mack, Von Miller…and Frank the Tank.
Keep one undeniable anchor to help chemistry & leadership, aka Bobby Wagner. @Bwagz cannot stop and will not stop until he is cemented as one of the best linebackers & defensive captains to ever play the game.
- Also anchoring the new era, Earl Thomas was playing one of his best seasons, ever - prior to injury. This also played an enormous role in the accelerated chemistry.
With the help of ET & B-Wag – Tedric Thompson, Bradley McDougald & brothers, are now ready for primetime.
Sprinkle in a couple of contributing veterans like Mingo & Kendricks
Voila! – Reloaded defense. The very same year that the last LoB member left the field. You need not look any further than Monday night’s game against Minnesota to get a glimpse of what the new look Seahawks defense can do.
Salary Cap Management
The Seahawks have avoided big paydays on many occasions. Like Nik Wallenda, they have carefully placed every step by step to balance themselves for continued forward momentum. Finding value in the draft is always helpful. While Russell was on his rookie deal, it was no doubt far less challenging that it is today. But now they have been forced to repeat the previous success and they did just that. We are witnessing Frank Clark playing like an elite DE in the NFL, on his rookie contract. His current cap hit this year is $1.2M (rounding up) Not to mention he is the 2nd most vocal leader of the defense. He is basically the assistant to the regional manager Bobby Wagner in that department. Both starting corners will be on rookie contracts for at least 1 more year. The rookie deal savings are still being found, in new areas.
Coupled with the mantra that everyone is accountable, is the need to improve. The Seahawks have made countless tough decisions at the mere potential of improvement. Look no further than Special Teams for the most recent example of this. John Ryan, almost every player and fan will tell you – is a great punter and special teams’ player. But, the Seahawks saw the opportunity to be elite in an area where teams are happy to be good or great. You can just see the Hawks brass nodding their heads with approval as Michael Dickson was just named to NFL.com's all-rookie team.
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