One NFC West Championship in the last five years.

Early playoff eliminations.

Between nine and eleven wins.

This is what the Seahawks have come to be since their Super Bowl run in 2014. It’s where I think they’ll continue to be this year.

I’m not going to rehash points made in the detailed review of the off-season posted over the weekend. Yet ultimately I don’t think the Seahawks made best use of their resources this year and they failed to sufficiently address their most glaring need.

They did make a significant addition in Jamal Adams — although at a great cost. Yet it’s fair to wonder if Adams’ impact (and that of a very expensive linebacker corps) will be impacted playing behind what could realistically be the worst defensive line in the NFL.

On offense the addition of Greg Olsen should be a positive, as will the return of Will Dissly if he can stay healthy. D.K. Metcalf has more experience and will be expected to take another step forward. There are questions about the O-line though with three new starters. Ethan Pocic, a draft bust, is at center almost by default. Damien Lewis is a rookie, even if he has a lot of potential. Brandon Shell was benched by the Jets last year.

It’s also worth noting that Duane Brown is now 35-years-old and Mike Iupati is 33.

Russell Wilson is talented enough to prevent the Seahawks ever going lower than nine wins. For him to reach that point in 2017 when everything went against the Seahawks is testament to his qualities. We’ve pretty much seen a worst-case scenario with him at quarterback.

He’s also good enough for the Seahawks to overachieve in terms of win/loss record, as we saw a year ago. They had no business coming within a yard of 12 wins. I don’t think we’ll see another team get to 11 wins with a seven-point differential ever again. They were 9-2 in games decided by seven points or less. No team has ever matched that in the modern era. Seattle also won five games when trailing by +7 points and three games when trailing by +10 points. This is unheard of in the NFL and feels somewhat unsustainable.

Many people like to point to last season as evidence that the Seahawks were on the right track or deserve to be considered an established contender. I never felt that way. To me they looked like a team that needed another off-season. That’s partly why this year has been such a crushing disappointment — they had the money and draft picks to take the next step and I don’t believe they did enough to fix their biggest problems in the trenches.

Wilson’s sheer quality and some fortune gave them a record that was arguably a mirage. After all, consider the following wins:

— Beat the Bengals in week one by a single point, despite Cincinnati going on to claim the worst record in the NFL. Andy Dalton threw for 418 yards and two touchdowns.

— Only just defeated the Steelers 28-26 despite playing half the game against a backup quarterback.

— Won against the LA Rams 30-29 thanks to a missed kick by Greg Zuerlein.

— Beat a struggling Cleveland Browns team 32-28 thanks, mainly, to a horrendous performance by Baker Mayfield.

— Almost blew a handsome half-time advantage against a 1-6 Atlanta Falcons team on a day where Matt Schaub threw for 460 yards.

— Needed Wilson magic to out-gun Tampa Bay 40-34 in overtime on a day when the defense couldn’t do anything to stop Jameis Winston.

— Won in Santa Clara against the Niners thanks to a solo performance by Jadeveon Clowney and a missed kick by the stop-gap San Francisco kicker.

— Almost threw away comfortable leads against Minnesota (home) and Carolina (road).

Over the years I’ve often said a ‘win’s a win’ — especially during some of the messier periods of the Carroll era. That remains the case with the above. Whether you win by one point or 20 — it’s the same result.

The point is though — it would’ve only taken two of the above to swing the other way (such as the missed kicks by the Rams and Niners) and suddenly you’re looking at a nine-win season and no playoffs.

So yes — the Seahawks were close to winning the NFC West. They were also close to not making the post-season too.

I do an instant reaction piece after every game and have done for years. Sometimes I think it’s useful to look back and see how you feel about a game immediately after it. In May I revised how I felt about the 2019 season. Here are some highlights (the name of the article is in bold):

Seahawks beat themselves, lose to Saints

“Whether it was poor preparation, execution, decision making or play-calling — this was a terrible performance.”

Seahawks’ luck runs out, they drop to 5-2

“Nothing will ever top the 2017 beat-down by the Rams. Yet these two games — against the Saints and now the Ravens — are extremely concerning. It pulls the curtain back on the reality with this team. You can get after them, even at Century Link Field.”

Seahawks struggle unnecessarily in Atlanta

“Today they faced an Atlanta team on its knees. They were 1-6 coming into today and without key players, including quarterback Matt Ryan. Seattle rolled to a 24-0 lead by half-time and the rout was on. Finish the game. Go back home. No stress, for once. Assert your will. Dominate. Show some teeth. Set the tone. The Seahawks lost the second half 20-3. They were less tiger and more kitten. Matt Schaub ended up throwing for 460 yards. Atlanta had thirty first downs.”

Russell Wilson saves the Seahawks

“In 2018 the Seahawks regained their identity. A year later, they’ve lost it again. The Seahawks are 7-2 and it’s 100% down to their MVP candidate playing quarterback. Russell Wilson is a genius. At the exact moment his team has needed him to take yet another step forward — he’s pulled it off.”

Seahawks flop in LA, drop to 10-3

In the last five games between these teams, the Rams have scored 42, 33, 36, 29 and 28. In other words, the Seahawks were either going to need to turn this into their type of game or they needed to score a lot of points. They did neither. They’ve now lost four of the last five games to LA with the solitary win coming off a missed field goal. The Seahawks aren’t chasing the Rams in the NFC West this year but they’re still chasing them on the field.”

Injury-hit Seahawks lose to Cardinals

“Very few teams can withstand this number of injuries. This was still a humbling afternoon. They were beaten, handily, in all four facet’s of the game — offense, defense, special teams and coaching. They suffered a third home spanking of the season. If they lose to the Niners next week, they’ll finish 4-4 at home and they’ll be 14-10 at home over the last three seasons.”

Seahawks come within an inch

“The game also highlighted, again, Seattle’s greatest weakness moving forward. The defense has struggled all year to create pressure and impact games. If they’re going to take the next step in 2020 they cannot field a D-line as inadequate as this again. Even a modicum of pressure or resistance could’ve been the difference today. It was simply too easy for the 49ers.”

Seahawks beaten in Green day

“They have to re-sign Jadeveon Clowney. They can’t rebuild their D-line by allowing their top player, at a great age, to walk away for nothing in free agency. They desperately need to add a speed rusher who can trouble offensive tackles with quickness and burst. Whether it’s going out and signing Dante Fowler, trading for someone like Von Miller or a different move entirely — the main thing the pass rush (and defense in general) is lacking is speed. A talent infusion is needed on the D-line.”

There were big problems a year ago. That’s why I often trot out the defensive horror stats that I listed in Saturday’s article.

The hope for many is that Jamal Adams can help provide a tougher edge to the defense this year. He will also provide a needed X-factor. Yet many of the issues still remain. Improved speed in the pass rush is going to rest on the shoulders of a soon-to-be 33-year-old SAM linebacker. They haven’t increased their talent on the D-line. Many of the key issues from 2019 simply remain.

They now run the risk of developing into a team relying on the quarterback. There’s nothing massively unusual about that. Green Bay relied on Aaron Rodgers for years. That in itself is part of the problem though. The Seahawks have kind of become the Packers. Rodgers won one Super Bowl then struggled, year after year, to get back there. He’s actually returned to the NFC Championship game so they’ve got closer than Seattle. Yet ultimately his supporting cast wasn’t good enough, his defense wasn’t good enough, the defensive scheme was stale and could be exploited and the Packers consistently lost to more physical teams.

The Seahawks face the same issues now. You expect great things because of Wilson. However there’s too much responsibility on his shoulders. Teams do exploit Seattle’s weaknesses and the defensive scheme hasn’t changed in a decade. They play in a conference where one coach (Sean McVay) has got all of the answers for Pete Carroll’s defense and Kyle Shanahan did what he wanted in week 17 last season with the pass rush on its knees.

Part of the problem for me comes down to Carroll’s desire to play complete-circle football. He wants everything to connect — the offense, defense and special teams. The running game and the defense. Ball control and takeaways.

There’s nothing wrong with that philosophy. It won Seattle a Championship. Yet for too long now they’ve not had a completed circle. The running game was a hot mess in 2017. The defense hasn’t been good enough for the last two years. Can anyone remember the last time Seattle’s special teams unit was a positive?

If you set out to play connected football with missing pieces it just won’t work.

I don’t have much sympathy with the ‘Let Russ Cook’ movement on twitter. It’s mostly shit-posting anyway. It’s hard to argue though that the Seahawks wouldn’t be better off just living or dying on the arm of Wilson given the major question marks at other positions.

I’m not convinced they’re good enough to play complementary football.

Having said all that, Wilson is still an incredible player. It won’t be a surprise, for example, if the Seahawks defense struggles horribly against Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, gives up another 450-500 passing yards and Seattle still wins because of Wilson.

That’s why I think they have a floor of about nine wins with their quarterback.

The frustrating thing is with a different off-season they could’ve realistically been pushing for 13 or 14 wins. Even in the NFC West. A concerted effort to properly address the trenches followed by the Adams trade and you’d be looking at a veritable powerhouse.

I think we’ll see a similar pattern to 2019. Close games, often high-scoring, where Wilson will need to carry the team. There will be high points, probably because of Wilson. I also think they will have beatings similar to the losses against New Orleans, Baltimore and LA.

I do think they will make the playoffs. That’s easier this year anyway with seven teams making it. I think, ultimately, they won’t go any further than the wildcard or divisional round (again).

If that’s the case, especially if the pass rush holds them back, I think next year will be intriguing. They won’t have the means to do much in terms of additions in free agency or the draft. There will be players they need to make a call on in terms of contracts. I don’t think Wilson is going to accept many more years where the Seahawks make the post-season because of his presence, only to fall at the first or second hurdle because of glaring issues in terms of roster building. If he was more outspoken this year, imagine what next year could be like if history repeats.

My prediction for the Seahawks in 2020 is 10-6.

Game-by-game predictions

Atlanta (A) — L

New England (H) — W

Dallas (H) — L

Miami (A) — W

Minnesota (H) — L

Arizona (A) — W

San Francisco (H) — L

Buffalo (A) — W

LA Rams (A) — L

Arizona (H) — W

Philadelphia (A) — W

New York Giants (H) — W

New York Jets (H) — W

Washington (A) — W

LA Rams (H) — W

San Francisco (A) — L

Super Bowl champion prediction — Kansas City

I think the unusual season is perfectly suited for the defending champions. They have a settled roster, have avoided any kind of off-season drama and are very capable of carrying on where they left off. They know what they are, what they need to do and I think Patrick Mahomes will cement himself as the player of his generation.

Feel free to post your own predictions in the comments section.

One final thought for today. The LA Rams have just agreed a record-breaking contract with Jalen Ramsey worth around $20m a year.

Both the Rams with Ramsey and the Texans with Laremy Tunsil had to pay well over the odds because they failed to agree terms on a new contract before completing trades.

The Seahawks are facing a similar dilemma with Jamal Adams.

They have no leverage in negotiations. They either have to pay up or give up two first round picks on a short-term rental.

Adams is probably going to want to top Ramsey’s deal and become the highest paid defensive back in the league. The Seahawks might have to go beyond $20m a year which would be an eye-watering amount for the position.

All three teams warrant criticism for making these trades without a new contract being part of the agreement. It’s completely reckless. As soon as the ink is dry on the trade, all leverage is conceded to the player.

The Seahawks faced the prospect of starting the 2020 season with the only significant differences to their defense being Benson Mayowa replacing Jadeveon Clowney and Bruce Irvin replacing Mychal Kendricks. That’s why they made the Adams trade a month before the season started. You could call it a panic move, very easily.

Perhaps the nature of it being somewhat a desperation trade played into the lack of forward planning on a contract? Either way, it’s going to cost them big time in terms of cap space down the line.

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