Niner Noise
FanSided

NFC West: Early predictions for each team’s win-loss record in 2018

By Jeremy Wohlfart

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Reuben Foster #56 and Brock Coyle #50 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after tackling Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Reuben Foster #56 and Brock Coyle #50 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after tackling Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 04: Tight end Jimmy Graham #88 of the Seattle Seahawks scores a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers at CenturyLink Field on December 4, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 04: Tight end Jimmy Graham #88 of the Seattle Seahawks scores a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers at CenturyLink Field on December 4, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

Seattle Seahawks

Season Review

Surprisingly, Seattle was on the outside, looking in for a lot of the season, and a late-season loss to the Rams officially knocked them out of the NFC West race, while they didn’t get the necessary results from other teams to sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card.

Russell Wilson still performed well, and the Seahawks were 11th for scoring, but the blocking let him down constantly. Wilson is an amazingly durable quarterback, who avoids a lot of hits with his legs, but so many plays were broken down by the pocket collapsing and forcing him to run for his life.

Defensively, the aging Seahawks defense fell into midfield in terms of their defensive stats and production and teams weren’t afraid to test them like in seasons past.

State of the Franchise

Pretty much the opposite of the Rams.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like they’re in the basement (they did still finish with a winning record of 9-7) but the warning signs are there. The team is aging, especially in the once-vaunted Legion of Boom, and Over The Cap has the Seahawks wanting for some needed cap room, especially as Wilson will no doubt be looking carefully at the Jimmy Garoppolo contract.

Reports of infighting won’t go away, and the entire direction of Seattle is looking south. If Seattle want to keep pace with the Rams, something has to give to return them to the playoffs.

Think the Seahawks might invest in some blocking soon?

To give you an idea of how amazingly bad the Seahawks offensive line is, the Seahawks actually tied with the 49ers for sacks allowed (equal 10th with 43). This is amazingly bad, because the 49ers had Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard at quarterback for a majority of the season holding the ball too long, at times, and the Seahawks had Wilson, who already is one of the best of all time at scrambling and extending plays.

It’s clear at present, the Seahawks are no longer one of the elite. They’re still a very good team and a playoff contender, but they aren’t one of the Super Bowl favorites like in seasons past.

Schedule

Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Rams 
San Francisco 49ers
Chicago Bears 
Detroit Lions 
Green Bay Packers 
Minnesota Vikings 
Denver Broncos 
Kansas City Chiefs 
Los Angeles Chargers 
Oakland Raiders *
Carolina Panthers 
Dallas Cowboys

* Game to be played in Tottenham Stadium in the UK

It’s a tough schedule for a middling team here, especially considering they’re facing an extra playoff team in the Panthers due to them finishing second. Currently only the Bears and Cardinals look like games the Seahawks should handle comfortably, although they no doubt will win a lot more.

Overall Season Prediction: 8-8