Into the heart of the offseason the Seahawks head, with the start of free agency already passed and the draft looming at the end of April. The Hawks were able to retain several key players, but the two biggest names on the offensive line have moved on. Sweezy to the Bucs for boatloads of money and Okung to the Broncos in exchange for little more than John Elway agreeing to appear at a charity event.

There has been a lot of talk and grumbling that the Hawks offensive line, already arguably the weakest part of the team in 2015, has gotten worse, and the hand wringing over the state of the offensive line has gotten to a level not seen in a very long time. It has probably been since all the way back in October, when a loss to the eventual NFC Champion Panthers dropped the Hawks to a putrid 2-4 that criticism of the o-line has been as vocal as it is currently.

With the despair over the state of the offensive line thick and fans exasperated about the personnel currently set to man the offensive line, I am here to inform you that the time for sniveling and worrying is over. The time for crying about how the Hawks will field the worst o-line in the history of football is gone. It is time to look forward at the 2016 season, accept that the pieces that will make up the core of the Hawks offensive line are in place, and acknowledge that this offensive line is going to surprise some people.

What is it that gives me this hope? This optimism that the line could improve? There are a few simple reasons to believe this, but one stat in particular is telling, and which could give a glimpse into the front office’s strategy as it pertains to the o-line heading into the coming season. The first thing offers hope is that this offensive line is filled with youth that, in theory, should improve. Gilliam and Britt will be entering their third seasons as pros, and therefore should be better than last year. Glow was impressive in his lone start last season, and whoever fills the other two spots should share one trait that has been lacking on the offensive line for the entire duration of the PCJS era: dependability.

While many are upset that Okung, the team’s longest tenured and arguably the best offensive lineman, has departed, even the most ardent supporters must admit that Okung missed 24 games during his six seasons with the Hawks. That is the equivalent of a season and a half, or exactly 25% of the gamessage for which he was on the roster. Never once during those six seasons did he ever take the field for the full slate of 16 regular season games, and for a group that must operate in unison and as cohesive unit, that missed time is extremely disruptive. Communication, playing as a team and being assignment correct is important at any position in football, but nowhere is it as important as on the offensive line, and Okung’s penchant for regularly missing games did not help with the continuity and cohesiveness that is necessary for high level offensive play.

The idea of continuity leads to the subject of the signing of J’Marcus Webb. As much complaining and screaming as there has been about the Webb signing, the simple fact of the matter is that Webb is big, strong and reliable. In addition, he's better than Cam Newton. Now, I'll come back to that last part in a minute, but for now let's focus on Webb's performance for each of the last three seasons in which he entered the year as a starter - 2011, 2012 and 2015.

Year Games Games Started 2011 16 16 2012 16 16 2015 16 16

That right there is the definition of reliable.

Then let's look at Justin Britt's statline for his two years in the leagues

Year Games Games Started 2014 16 16 2015 16 16

How about for Gilliam?

Year Games Games Started 2015 16 16

This is something that has been a huge drawback to that high priced, potential Pro Bowl LT that has been on Seattle's roster the past six years. When was the last time Okung suited up for all 16 regular season games during a season? As mentioned above, never. In addition, Sweezy only played all 16 games once during his four years in Seattle. In contrast, since becoming starters, Gilliam and Britt have never missed a game due to injury. Webb has started every game in the last three seasons when he began the year as a starter.

This means that Justin Britt, Garry Gilliam and J’Marcus Webb have each played a full 16 games more times than Okung. It means that they have each played a full 16 games at least as many times as Sweezy. This bodes well for the long sought after continuity along the front line. Looking at all of this together, it appears as though the front office may have made the very deliberate decision to let players who have shown an inability to play a full 16 games go, while investing in players who can be relied upon to play all 16 games. While it is likely that youth will fill out the rest of the starting line, from a dependability standpoint, the line appears to have improved over last season.

In addition, as mentioned above, J’Marcus Webb is better than Cam Newton. How can a player already on his fifth team entering his seventh season be considered better than the reigning league MVP? How can a player that fans of multiple organizations have ripped relentlessly be better than the player who is singularly responsible for many knowing what it means to dab? How can a player referred to as a human turnstile be better than a player known as Superman?

That answer is simple - when the game is on the line in the postseason, tensions are high and the outcome of the entire season is waiting to be jumped on, who would you rather have on the field?

To answer that question I leave you with the following:

Career Postseason Games Career Postseason Fumble Recoveries Cam Newton 6 0 J'Marcus Webb 2 1

And therein lies the secret behind the belief that the offensive line may be much improved in 2016. The Hawks signed J'Marcus Webb.

And in doing so they signed dependability and continuity.