Seahawks 2014 Postmortem
Season summary -
Team finished 12-4, winning the NFC West by 1 game over the Cardinals. Went on to lose in Super Bowl XLIX after a miraculous comeback against Green Bay in the NFCCG.
Offense -
The Seahawks were ranked #1 in rushing, ahead of the #2 team (Dallas) by over 400 yards, in part due to the rushing threat of Russell Wilson (849 yds, good for second on the team). However, their passing attack ranked just 27th in the league, behind offensive juggernauts like Oakland, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis.
Overall, they finished 9th in yards and 10th in points. The offense struggled at times with injuries, including season-ending injuries to TE Zach Miller and WR Paul Richardson. Starting C Max Unger and LT Russell Okung also missed significant time. The loss of Pro Bowler Golden Tate (also the team's best punt returner) and clubhouse cancer Percy Harvin (the team's best kick returner) also didn't help.
Despite all these setbacks, the offense played well enough for the team to be successful. They put up nearly 600 yards in a Week 16 win at Arizona with the NFC West title on the line. Much of this will be overshadowed by the decision of their offensive coordinator to throw a pass on the 1 yard line in the Super Bowl instead of handing the ball off to the league's best RB, a play that resulted in an interception and ended their season.
Defense -
The Seahawks' defense ranked 1st in yards and points allowed (again), despite some struggles early in the season (such as getting torched by Antonio Gates and the Chargers). Similarly to 2013, they ranked first in pass yards allowed and third in rush yards allowed. However, they took a significant dip in pass rush capability (T-8th total sacks in 2013, 20th in 2014) and takeaways (1st in 2013 with 2.5/game, 14th in 2014 with 1.6).
This was partially due to 1) significant injuries in the secondary around Richard Sherman, a unit that was, for the most part, healthy all of 2013, as well as the defensive line (Jordan Hill, Brandon Mebane) and 2) the free agent departures of solid contributors such as Chris Clemons.
Spotlight - The 2014 Draft -
The Pete Carroll-John Schneider brain trust has typically done well with their drafting, essentially building the foundation of their team entirely through the draft (outside of a few key moves such as trading for Marshawn Lynch). However, the jury is still out on this class. Here is their draft class:
WR Paul Richardson - Little playing time early, started to get more snaps after the departure of Percy Harvin. Started to make an impact late in the season, before a season-ending ACL tear in the divisional round of the playoffs. Was also the team's kickoff returner.
RT Justin Britt - Britt struggled in pass protection (as did much of the O-line), resulting in a dropoff from departed RT Breno Giacomini. He seemed to hold up alright in run blocking (based on the team's rushing stats), but will need to improve his pass pro if he wants to keep that job locked down.
DE Cassius Marsh - Appeared in 5 games before being placed on IR with a broken foot. Didn't make much of an impact when he did get on the field.
WR Kevin Norwood - Like Richardson, struggled to get on the field early in the season. Had some catches later in the season as playing time opened up, but was largely not a difference-maker. WR is typically a difficult position at which to make an early impact, so we'll see how he develops.
LB Kevin Pierre-Louis - Compared to Navorro Bowman coming out of college by one scout, KPL contributed in spots in seven games before being placed on IR in November.
DT Jimmy Staten - non-factor.
OT Garrett Scott - non-factor.
FS Eric Pinkins - non-factor.
FB Kiero Small - non-factor.
The Seahawks needed contributions from this class to keep up their dominant standard of play, and did not get it, in part due to bad luck with injuries. The team will need their top picks to step up as their depth is raided by free agency and cap casualties.
What should/will happen this offseason -
#FireTheBevell2015
The Seahawks struggled the most in the passing game in 2014. They need better pass protection around Russell, as well as legitimate downfield threats to allow Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse to get open underneath. Paul Richardson could end up being that guy, but he's not a sure thing yet.
They'll need help on the O-line in general, after RT Justin Britt struggled at times, and with LG James Carpenter potentially leaving in free agency.
On the defensive side, they need to continue to replenish their depth (as they had to do after 2013), particularly along the defensive line. Their pass rush fell off significantly, and they struggled to get to the QB in key moments this season. When Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane got injured, the CB depth behind them struggled mightily, including 2013 draft pick Tharold Simon.
Finally, they need to make improvements in the return game. Richardson was an acceptable kickoff returner after Harvin was traded (until he got hurt, anyway), but the Seahawks got nothing in the punt return game, with Bryan Walters not coming close to filling Golden Tate's shoes.
Summary -
Defense pretty good, rushing game pretty good, passing game sucks.
Pay Lynch and actually use him.
Yes!
